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animbear) and Richard (redbeardedblond) in San Clemente. Went to Curry House for lunch for the first time---I'm in love with it. Japanese curry, so incredibly delicious. Then to a huge Japanese supermarket, where we got amongst other delights Miso Easy, miso paste you can squirt into a cup of chicken broth for instant miso soup. Back to the house to watch numerous videos on the boys' fabulous 3D TV, then out for burgers, then back and to sleep. Next day, off to the Lego store. I bought an awesome toy that I've been coveting for quite a while---will post pics when it's all assembled. Mongolian BBQ for lunch, then we tearfully parted and drove home, with promises from R&R to visit soon.Lazy day today, with pool and spa time, beanie weenie for dinner, and a Big Bang Theory marathon. Tomorrow--dinner with our other dear and fabulous friends John and Frank (
sunbeam_bears). We are geeks and proud of it!- Location:Casa Plumeria
- Mood:
happy
Today Steve (
rootbeer1) returns to Palm Springs for the rest of the month. We commun icate every day of course, but I've missed him terribly. He gets a nice rest, punctuated by finishing up the unpacking and waiting on me hand and foot. The weather has been lovely---in the 90s The pool is about 80 without heat, so I've been jumping in.Things are going well with Steve (
rootbeer1) and me. We've officially changed our residence to Palm Springs, and I'm living and working here full time. Steve is still working in San Francisco, but his schedule allows him to work 5 long days, then have 9 days off, so he's down here as much as possible. He's been using some of his time off to coordinate prepping our house for rental. To date we have redone 2 of the 3 bathrooms, painted, made repairs and replaced all the carpeting, as well as cleaned up the landscaping and disposed of all the leftover furniture. We still have a few carloads of stuff in the carage, but that will be gone in time for our new tenants. We've hired a great property manager. The rental market in SF is extremely tight right now, so we already have several potential tenants in the works, and should be renting within the next few weeks. Then we can recover some of the upgrade costs and do a few projects around the PS house.
We've had lots of houseguests this spring, for vacations, the Coachella music festival, and a couple of overnights by friends passing through. We've been spending time with our friends here too, and look forward to even more quality time. We have several family visits coming up, including my 16-year old grand niece Mandy in August. She will be the first member of my family to visit since we moved to California 15 years ago. Steve's family, on the other hand, are here all the time. His brother David and wife Andrea will be here in the fall, but they live the closest to us (in Tuscon) so we see them the most often.
I've found a great new primary care physician in Palm Springs, looking for an ophthamologist and dentist, am registered to vote here, joined the gym, so pretty much all settled in. Loving the warmth and sunshine and relaxed pace, and the proximity of so many good friends.
- Location:Palm Springs
- Mood: relaxed
- Music:KDES 98.5 - Hits of the 60s 70s and 80s
Palm Springs, CA
Anaheim, CA
Miami Beach, FL
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Melbourne, FL
Orlando, FL
The Ruby Princess, the Caribbean Sea
Orient Beach, St. Martin
- Mood: recumbent
- Started spending more and more time in Palm Springs.
- Completed six months of Coumadin therapy following last year's pulmonary embolisms. Clean bill of health.
- Became an official full-time telecommuter.
- Had Steve's siblings visit--went to Disneyland for two days.
- Houseguests too numerous to list. Lots of pool time.
- Steve and Tim from Wales visit us in SF. G&Ts!!!
- Decided to move to Palm Springs full-time and rent out San Francisco house.
- Vacationed in Florida. Saw Steve's dad and his wife, Disney World, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach and the Chumley Bear Cruise to the Eastern Caribbean.
- Reid, Richard and Ray out for Thanksgiving.
- Steve published his second cookbook, this one an in-house for his employer.
- Moving van in December for the rest of our furniture.
- More and more friends moving to PS too. Loving the sunshine and warmth and friendliness.
- Happy New Year everyone!!!
- Mood:
enthralled
I've been telecommuting full-time from Palm Springs for the last six months or so, with a few week-long visits back to San Francisco. Steve (
rootbeer1) has been working for Virgin America at SFO, but his schedule is flexible enough that we can spend every few weeks together. Now that VA is beginning service to PSP, his commute will be much easier and perhaps he can transfer down here at some point. Eventually we'll both be here full-time, one way or another.We've had a number of lovely houseguests. We just returned this week from a two-week vacation in Florida. We visited Steve's dad and his wife, went to the Disney World Magic Kingdom, and hung out for a few days at the Coconut Cove guesthouse in Fort Lauderdale (which we very highly recommend), then went on the Chumley's BearCruise on the Ruby Princess, to the East Caribbean. We stopped at Princess Cay, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Grand Turk. We had never been to the Caribbean islands before, and it was lovely, although way more humid than I am used to now. Many old friends were also on the cruise, and we made many new ones. Steve will soon post pictures and the full list of LJers, I'm sure. Came home with a darker tan and a nasty cold.
Back home now...in Palm Springs. I officially changed my residence today, and Steve will in the near future and we continue to move fully down here. We plan to rent out our San Francisco house for the time being, and live and work in the sun. So many of our best friends now either live here or are in the same process of relocation. It seems to go: --visit Palm Springs---visit more often--start going to open houses--buy a vacation home--spend more time at the vacation home---decide "Why don't we just live here all the time?" And here we are. We're the Golden Girls!!
- Location:Sunny Palm Springs, California
- Mood: happy
- Music:Thank You For Being a Friend
rootbeer1) and I meeting in person for the first time. Tomorrow is the 3rd anniversary of our marriage in the State of California.
We were in our 30s when we met. We're now in our 50s.
We have been together for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.
We have cared for each others' families, for our friends, and for each other.
We have laughed, cried, danced, slept, traveled, exercised, and shared our deepest secrets.
We have cooked, entertained, built households, worked, and grown together.
I never thought I would have such a life.
I love you, Bear.
- Mood: loved
rootbeer1 on Sunday. Life is good.- Location:Palm Springs CA
- Mood: happy
I'm so proud...honeybadger do care
I've been spending a lot of time in Palm Springs. It's relaxing and the sunshine is great, but since Steve (
rootbeer1) can't be here as much, I'm missing him a lot. He's coming down next week, then the following week till the end of June, when we'll return to San Francisco together. I've been socializing a bit with our good friends down here. I had dinner with John and Frank (sunbeam_bears) and Curtis (dr_scott) and Paul (excessor) and had a great time. We all seem to be on the same wavelength conversationally, and if I hadn't needed to work the next day I could have stayed way into the night. We laughed, we drank, we ate delicious foods.Earlier that day (it was this lastTuesday) I ate lunch out on the patio in my rocking chair. I was under the sunshade, but a little corner was in the sun, where my right shin was. I have a really strong base tan, so usually don't worry about sunburn. But later that day I noticed a red spot on my shin, and it really burned as was hot to the touch. I put some aloe gel on it and merrily went off to dinner. That night I applied more gel, took some Advil and went to bed. Next morning it was less painful, but still red.
Thursday morning (yesterday) I woke up, and the whole front of my leg was cherry red. Not too painful unless I touched it, but since sunburn doesn't usually spread, I suspected something else was going on. I quickly showered and drove to the brand new Eisenhower Urgent Care on Sunrise Way. The wonderful nurse practicioner that saw me suspected a bug bite that caused an infection, since I was also running a 100° fever. Because of my DVT/PE episode last year, they also wanted to give me a chest xray and ultrasound my leg. I was very relieved at this, since hypochondriac as I am, I was worried about clots. They performed the chest xray there, a very handsome nurse gave me a shot of antibiotics in my butt, then I drove over to the medical center imaging center for the ultrasound. No clots---vein function perfectly normal. I returned to the clinic--chest xrays normal. Whew! So it's cellulitis, most likely caused by an insect bite. I'm on oral antibiotics and ibuprofen for the inflammation. Should clear up nicely. I just love the Eisenhower staff--they were all so wonderful and informative. And the building is brand new and absolutely gorgeous--not so much on the exterior, but the inside is fabulous. And five minutes away. We're lucky to have great medical facilities here in the desert.
Work has been very interesting. We had a massive reorg and my team is now part of the main corporate technology division. I actually started out there, so it's a full circle for me. But new bosses, new meetings, lots of new stuff, plus the major project I'm working on is really ramping up, so I'm kept very busy.
That's all for now---
- Mood: relieved
- Music:Carrie Newcomer, The Gathering of Saints
- Mood: happy
rootbeer1 )family.Speaking of Steve, he's flourishing at Virgin America. He got tickets to attend the grand opening of Terminal 2 at SFO, where he'll be relocating next week. We drove down with our friends Dave and Cal and checked it out. No free snacks, but the terminal was nice. They had a few performance stages set up with dancers, choral groups, etc. One group, the International Orange Chorus, was especially nice, performing the kind of pieces I used to sing when I was a member of various academic and community choral groups.
After a while, Dave, Cal and I left Steve to start his work shift and head home. As we were riding the moving sidewalk out of the terminal towards the AirTrain to get back to our car, the Orange Chorus had moved to the passageway and was singing Victoria's O Magnum Mysterium, a piece from the classic early music polyphonic repertoire that I've sung and listened to countless times. As we glided past the chorus, I joined in with my clear tenor. The singers smiled at me, pleased that I appreciated their efforts and knew the piece. It was a special moment.
O Magnum Mysterium, Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611)
- Mood:
artistic - Music:O Magnum Mysterium
So about a month ago I made an appoinment with H&R Block in the Castro office. The website recommended an agent who had extensive experience with same-sex married/domestic-partnered filings. Our appointment was for this morning (March 25) at 10:00AM. We were in Palm Springs the last two weeks, and I even received a call 2 days ago reminding me of our appointment. We drove back up to San Francisco yesterday to attend the appointment, lugging all our forms and records with us.
This is the review I posted on Yelp after our encounter:
Epic fail. My husband and I drove 500 miles from our vacation home to make a 10:00AM appointment with Robert McHugh. Arrived 10 minutes early. At 10:05 nothing was happening, so we asked the receptionist what the delay was. She passed a note to Mr. McHugh with no response--he was still with his clients. At 10:10 I walked over to his cube and interrupted, saying we were on a tight schedule (both of us needed to get back to work). He just looked up at me, then turned back to his clients. Five minutes later he dismissed his clients and came over to us. "Are you domestic partners?" he asked. "Yes, and we're legally married," I replied. He said "We have a problem." He escorted us to his cube and said he couldn't take our account--they were swamped and behind and he was overcomitted. I asked why we weren't notified of this in the two weeks since I made the appointment, and he just shrugged. In a way I'm glad, because I wouldn't trust someone so disorganized and poor at communication to do my taxes anyway. I asked if there were any other agents available today. "Do you own property?" he asked. I replied yes, we own two homes together. He said that the only agent that was available wasn't experienced in property issues, so we were out of luck. No referral to another office. No offer to help us find another agent. Just an "I don't care, I'm overworked and can't deal" attitude. I got his manager's name and plan to complain to the branch and to the national firm about the totally piss-poor service we got (or didn't get--they did nothing at all.)
I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon with Liberty Tax Services. Sheesh!!!
- Mood:
cranky
- Mood: relaxed
You were born during a New moon
The moon is dark in this phase, because the half that's illuminated by the sun is facing away from Earth.
- what it says about you -
You want to leave an impression on people and make your mark on the world. When you love an idea, you'll work hard for it, sometimes even dropping whatever it is you're doing to go on to the next new great thing that's captured your imagination. The more freedom you have to chose what you're doing, the busier you'll be.
What phase was the moon at on your birthday? Find out at Spacefem.com
beg1n) has passed away. Jeff was the definition of sweet. Our hearts are aching.He was an inspiration to all--valiantly facing his obstacles and overcoming them, the likes of which most of us will never come close to experiencing. And with such grace and love. Our only consolation is that he is finally at peace. Requiescat in pace, buddy. And our deepest condolences to Dave and Phil, the two towers of strength whose love sustained Jeff so profoundly.
- Mood:
sad
rootbeer1!!! Hard to believe he was only 33 when we met. To celebrate, we're having pizza and cake tonight and going on the Chumley cruise in November. Woohoo!!- Mood: jubilant
So I was chatting with a guy online, and expressing how I wished I was in Palm Springs. I told him how we have a place down there now and try to spend as much time as possible there. He responded, "Oh, you have a house here and there. I don't even have one house :-(" I explained that this was our retirement house, and that we'd eventually sell the San Francisco house and relocate. He responded with a WASPish "How nice for you."
This left me a little peeved. I grew up in a working-class family. My father was a meat cutter in a supermarket and my mother worked in a sandpaper factory. We had litte money to support five kids, but we did-- we didn't have a lot, seldom ate out (and then it was McDonalds) and I wore hand-me-downs. My parents always told us, and set the example, that you had to work hard in this life to get anything.
I and my younger brother worked our way through college. I have worked continuously since I was 16. For a 10-month period in my mid-twenties, I was unemployed, but did odd jobs and helped fix up my parents' house until I got a job. I finished my bachelors degree while working full-time.
I've had my share of financial setbacks and consumer debt, but by working hard I've achieved a level of financial security my parents never had, but wished for all their children. I've tried to be wise about saving, investing and giving back and as a result am pretty well positioned for retirement. I'm 55 years old and
ready. I refuse to feel guilty for being successful (on the relatively small scale that I am) because what I've done anyone can do if you work hard and try to give back a little.
It also helps that our needs are fairly simple--a comfortable house, not too big but with room for guests and entertaining, low maintenance, broadband, the occasional dinner out or simple vacation. But I'm content cooking dinner, watching TV and crocheting a new afghan.
Anyway, we do count our blessings every day and are so grateful for our success, our friends and family, and for each other. As a wise teacher once told me, "The Universe wants you to be happy.". Go with the flow, work hard and trust in the power of love and you'll be fine. At least that's what I've learned so far, and it works.
Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.
Instructions: Copy this list; bold those books you've read in their entirety. Italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read only an excerpt.
( Click to see the list )
My doctor was very pleased with my weight loss, and best of all gave me the go-ahead to go to Palm Springs tomorrow for a couple of weeks--sun, relaxation and Thanksgiving with friends. I can do my labs less than a mile from our house, and I'm at a very nice theraputic level, so I'm safe. He shook my hand at least five times, and when I left he gave me a big hug. He's the best doctor I've ever had--not only professionally, but also the way he truly cares about me and all his patients.
I was originally referred to him by sweet Gary (
fuzzygruf), who also has been his patient a long time. He's now Steve's (rootbeer1) primary too. His name is Gary Feldman MD, here in SF, and I've been his patient for about 10 years now, and will never have another primary care physician if I can help it (hopefully we can convince him to retire to Palm Springs!). He has a practice with two very fine nurse practitioners and a full staff, and I can't recommend them highly enough. So tomorrow we're off (with frequent stops to stretch!) to the desert. I'll telecommute the rest of this week, then have all of the next week off to relax and cook and visit. We're having an old-fashioned New England Thanksgiving dinner hosted by our dear friends John and Frank (
sunbeam_bears) , Ray (profkampf) is staying with us, Tim (timmmmbar) and Peter (peterinoakland) will be in town, as well as the friends who already live there like Curtis (drscott) and Paul (excessor). I'm so ready for a festive holiday. I may even cheat a teensy bit on the diet, but so far being very faithful to the 1500 calorie limit.This on rereading is almost sickeningly sweet and Pollyanna-ish, but dang it, I'm finally feeling like my old self a bit. And I'm not even on Vicodin!!!
- Mood: happy
- Music:Simon and Garfunkel, The 59th Street Bridge Song
- J R R Tolkien
- Lewis Carroll
- L Frank Baum
- C S Lewis
- Harper Lee
- Margaret Mitchell
- Louisa May Alcott
- Jack London
- Ira Levin
- Issac Asimov
- Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Rumer Godden
- Claire Weekes
- Norman Vincent Peale
- James Redfield
Back to work (telecommuting) tomorrow.
Also, lost 17 pounds since this whole thing began. Kickstarted the nutrition program and observing 1500 Kcal/day religiously. My dietician will be pleased!
- Mood: happy
Waiting for the wheelchair to bring me to the lobby. Last view out my window:
Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.
My highest complements to all the staff here at California Pacific Medical Center--everyone has been so comforting, informative and attentive, and without exception just plain sweet. Even the food isn't half bad.
Many thanks again to all who sent good thoughts, prayers, messages, cards, and who visited my room and endured the spectacle of me sitting on the bed clad only in underpants and wires and tubes (the room was really hot). It was great to see you all.
And of course the highest praise to my loving husband, who has stayed in the room with me and been jolted awake each night by my many vitals checks, blood draws, and peepee runs. True love!
First thing I'm doing when I get home is taking a long, long shower.
- Location:CPMC Pacific Heights
- Mood: relieved
First off, many thanks from the bottom of my heart for all the good wishes, thoughts and prayers you've all been sending my way. I'm incredibly cheered by them, and so thankful for my many blessings, most important of which is the love and support of my family, friends and caregivers.
As a recap, I saw my doctor on Monday after getting very winded just making the bed that morning. He examined me, and since my heart was A-OK he sent me to the nearby CPMC ER so they could run some tests. Long story short, they found pulmonary embolisms (blood clots) in both lungs. Serious if left unattended, but very treatable with anti-coagulants to help the body naturally absorb the clots. But it takes several days (like 4-6) for the meds to reach the proper levels, and they need to monitor all that, so I'm in a lovely room with a panoramic view from the Golden Gate Bridge to the ocean, cooling my heels till I can go home and start the oral meds. PEs aren't uncommon, and usually caused by long period of sitting, like on a plane or a long car ride. We suspect possible one of the 8-hour drives to and from Palm Springs. So kiddies, on a long drive stop often and literally stretch your legs!
This is my first hospitalization and emotionally I've been feeling kind of low, even though everything is under control. Steve spent the day with me in the room, and as he was leaving around 9 PM I broke down a little. He left and I settled in for bed, reading something or other on my phone. Anoint an hour later Steve comes back in the room with a bag of his stuff--he brought the car home and had his BFF Carl from work, who is a major sweetheart, drive him back so he could spend the night with me in the room.
For all the conservative twats out there who oppose gay marriage, this is what it's about--love and support, for better, for worse, in sickness and in health. We said those vows and we meant them. When this is over, I may get on my soapbox and tell all the people who have seen us get married over and over on TV (cause we are stock footage) that this is the reality of marriage, no matter the sex of the spouses.
Here's the view from my bed:
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Hmmm...the only work of hers I've read is The Handmaid's Tale, which was good but chilling. I'm more good but warming, I like to think.
You are The Sun
Happiness, Content, Joy.
The meanings for the Sun are fairly simple and consistent.
Young, healthy, new, fresh. The brain is working, things that were muddled come clear, everything falls into place, and everything seems to go your way.
The Sun is ruled by the Sun, of course. This is the light that comes after the long dark night, Apollo to the Moon's Diana. A positive card, it promises you your day in the sun. Glory, gain, triumph, pleasure, truth, success. As the moon symbolized inspiration from the unconscious, from dreams, this card symbolizes discoveries made fully consciousness and wide awake. You have an understanding and enjoyment of science and math, beautifully constructed music, carefully reasoned philosophy. It is a card of intellect, clarity of mind, and feelings of youthful energy.
What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.
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I am a glaucoma suspect, which means my intercorneal pressure is above normal. I have a few more tests to undergo to see if I need to start treatment (which means eyedrops). At one point one of the doctors was tapping on my corneas with a pen-like instrument. Luckily she had given me drops so I didn't feel pain, just a little pressure. But it was weird nonetheless.
- Mood: cranky
Your rainbow is shaded yellow.
What is says about you: You are a joyful person. You appreciate optimism. You're good at getting people to like you.
Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.
What is says about you: You are a joyful person. You appreciate optimism. You're good at getting people to like you.
Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.
We left San Francisco on May 4th, driving down to LA in the afternoon. We had originally planned to stay overnight with Ray (
profkampf), but due to an upstairs neighbor's water tank leaking all over Ray's apartment, we were graciously hosted by Jason (fidgetcub) and Dave (e_ticket), whom we wanted to see too, so it worked out wonderfully. Ray and Brad joined us for dinner, and we caught up and relaxed.Next day we drove down to Aliso Viejo to visit Reid (
animbear), Richard (redbeardedblond), Robert (bigsabu) and Tim (martini_tim). It was so good to see the boys together after such a long time, and stay overnight. We ate, we drank, we played with electronics and watched videos. These two visits were all too short, but we had an itinerary to follow, so eastward ho!!Thursday we drove to Palm Springs for the first of two stays. This one was with Randy and Dick and their two adorable miniature Dachsunds Sparky and Buddy. We caught up and spend several days relaxing in the pool and looking at real estate. Dick took us out all day Friday, and Randy all day Saturday, to see what was available and look at some open houses. I should explain the Steve (
rootbeer1) and I are beginning to explore getting a second home, for vacation use and eventual retirement, and Palm Springs is our primary destination. Well, we looked at condos and houses, in a variety of price ranges, and saw a few we really liked. We also met a plethora of realtors, all friendly and eager to assist us, of course.We ate out a lot and had plenty of downtime, and also saw a lot of Keith and his magnificent show Boxer CJ, who is 16 months old and the friendliest dog of that breed I've ever met. Keith was busy bringing him to training and scoring events--he's only five points away from his championship, at which time he can enter a lot more shows. He's quite beautiful and a real chick magnet too--women were coming up to us all weekend to fawn over him.
On Tuesday we headed east to Tuscon to visit Steve's brother David and his wife Andrea for a few days. We helped them select and install a new 52" LCD television, and I was wowed by all its features, especially the built-in Internet connectivity. I helped David get his wireless router back online, and we then watched some YouTube directly off the net. Hooray for technology!
Wednesday we hung out at the pool, went out to lunch, and D&A hosted a little cocktail party in the evening to introduce us to the neighbors. There were three couples and the widow next door, as well as the four of us, and we had a very nice time chatting about the climate, living in the desert, and the joys and woes of retirement in Arizona. We were the youngest ones there by far--Tuscon is known for its retired snowbirds. Most of the elderly neighbors felt the desert was nice, but too hot, so they traveled a lot to avoid the intense heat in the middle of summer.
It was great spending time with family (I wish mine weren't so far away), but on Thursday we needed to move along back to Palm Springs. We were staying with John and Frank (
sunbeam_bears) this time, our first stay in their new Mid-Century Modern Alexander home. We've been friends with these guys for at least ten years, and they've hosted us so many times. We caught up, cooked, sunned, and relaxed. We also checked out a few more houses, and found a few that were very interesting. More on that to come---anyway, on Sunday we drove back west to the Disney resort complex in Anaheim to stay a couple of days at Frank and John's vacation club villa at the Grand Californian. What a beautiful place! The food and wine festival was going on too, so we explored that in the parks, and since the villa has a full kitchen, we brought a ton of groceries and cooked all our meals the two days we were there. We were glad to see the recent and ongoing changes at California Adventure, and it was nice to be in Disneyland without holiday decorations for the first time in many years. Tuesday we made breakfast out of leftovers (jambalaya omelets!) and headed back to San Francisco. It was a great, relaxing vacation, and also productive. We did a little shopping, a little exploring, a lot of relaxing, and best of all a lot of time with our dear friends and family, whom we're very blessed to have in our lives. Thanks everybody for having us!!!
( Pictures behind cut )
- Mood: relaxed
- Mood: tired
martini_tim), soon-to-be-local Erik (erik415) and the local Donovan (bigreddee). We went to All Seasons Sushi in the Castro and had a great time, all talking nonstop at once as we consumed raw fish and rice at an alarming rate. It was so nice to spend time will all the guys and catch up. Came home, set the clocks ahead, and watched Project Runway on TiVo. This morning I drove Steve (
rootbeer1) into work so I could have the car for the day. I need to do some shopping, and want to go to the gym and soak my sore back in the jacuzzi for an hour or two.I'm getting tired of Facebook. It's confusing, the interface changes constantly, and it's a pain to keep up with. I don't think I'll cancel my account, just not check it anymore. I do read Live Journal every single day.
I've been playing Words With Friends on my iPhone a lot--it's really addictive if you like Scrabble. Plus there's a chat feature. I'm qbear on it if you want to play.
I'm starting on a controlled nutrition program to lose hundreds of pounds. I've met with the dietician already and am on the pre-diet. Lost 6 lbs. this week. I meet with him this Thursday, with the program MD the following week, and start on the shakes and bars in April. It's a safe, medically-supervised program through UCSF that's worked really well for some friends, including the awe-inspiring John (
keanubear). That is all.
- Mood: content
- Music:ABBA Mechamix 2010
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Damn iPhone app--it forgot the message! Happy, happy birthday to myrootbeer1!!!
- Mood: hungry
- Music:Carbon Leaf, Nothing Rhymes With Woman
rootbeer1) and I stopped by Rainbow Grocery the other day on the way to driving me to work. Our main goal was to get some nutritional yeast flakes so I could experiment with vegan mac and cheese recipes (see previous post). Today for lunch I tried one of the recipes for cheese sauce that I found online, cooked up a pound of penne, added the sauce, turned it into a baking dish, sprinkled with bread crumbs and a drizzle of olive oil, and baked for half an hour. It really isn't bad---cheesy-enough tasting to fool some people at first bite. Definitely a nice dish in its own right, especially for the lactose-intolerant. The cheese sauce itself was a good consistancy and pretty darn good for having no actual dairy in it. I went ahead and ordered the source cookbook from Amazon because I'm curious about what other things can be made from yeast. Here's the recipe:
Melty Nutritional Yeast 'Cheese' Sauce
from The Nutritional Yeast Cookbook by Joanne Stepaniak
* 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
* 1/4 cup cornstarch
* 2 Tablespoons flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 2 cups water
* 1 teaspoon mustard
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil (to reduce fat, I have successfully reduced the oil by
1/3 to 1/2, but don't tell on me)
Mix the dry ingredients in a saucepan.
Whisk in 1 cup of water and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until it thickens and bubbles.
Remove from heat and whip in 1/2 cup oil and mustard.
Put back on the heat and slowly add the remaining water.
Cook until thickened and bubbly (it will have the consistency of a nacho cheese sauce).
- Mood:
accomplished
rootbeer1) working Saturdays and Sundays, from 4:30AM to 1:00PM. By the time he gets home from work, we have not a whole lot of time before he has to go to bed (at 7:30PM or so). We're trying to get out and do stuff more rather than retiring to our respective studies and banging on the computers. We can do that when each other is sleeping. Today we met Peter (
peterinoakland) and Tim (timmmmbar) at the Oakland Club One to work out. After the gym, we went to this vegan soul food place right across the street from our favorite Buttercup in Oakland. The place is called Souley Vegan, and damn if it's not some of the best soul food I've ever had, and totally vegan. Here's the Yelp review. Everything was delicious, but the mac and cheese was utterly amazing. 
Steve's now asleep, I'm banging on the computer and watching Cops. Later I will retire to bed and continue reading Little Men on my iPhone.
moroccomole on Jeopardy right now!!!Christmas was always a big deal in our house growing up. Decorations went up early, Mom started baking hundreds of cookies for us and to give to the neighbors, there were tons of church activities (choir practice, caroling, parties), and of course the big day itself. Even after I was grown and out of the house, every year I would drive up to my parents early Christmas morning and join them for gift opening and the big prime rib dinner. The next day or so my sister and her family would drive up and we'd have more gift giving and another big dinner (traditionally Shake and Bake Chicken and Noodles Alfredo). We'd watch movies and play board games and the kids would run around.
After my mother moved to the nursing home when her Alzheimer's progressed, we still kept the tradition, stopping by the home first to see Mom and give her her gifts. When my father died in 1996 the day after Thanksgiving, we did it one more time at the house, mainly for the kids (my brother's this time--my sister's were all grown up). We made the dinner, decorated the house, exchanged the gifts--and knew it was the last time. One year later I was living in San Francisco and my brother and his family were in Alabama. My other brothers still lived at the house--I don't know what they did. My sister stayed home.
These days I celebrate Christmas with my own tiny family (me and Steve) and the larger chosen family of our close friends. It's generally happy, but I'm always haunted (in a good but sad way) by the memories of Christmases past. I miss my parents. I miss my family. I suppose I could move back East and reconnect with my sister and brothers and nephews and nieces and their kids, but it wouldn't be the same. And there would be snow and cold, which I think I'm allergic to now.
I'm very, very grateful for all the blessings in my life--my home, my job, my health, my husband, my friends, my family. I don't take any of them for granted. But I guess the holidays will always be a mixed blessing for me. And that's OK. It is what it is.
A very merry and joyful holiday season to you all. Off to make a tourtiere!
- Mood:
pensive - Music:WeThree Kings - The Roches
profkampf) swept into town. Steve (rootbeer1) picked him up at the BART station (he railed in from the Oakland Airport), and we hung out and caught up before heading down to the Castro. After shopping a bit (we found some fabulous hats for Halloween) we met Kevin (simonbear) and Jeff at Starbuck's before walking over to the Crepevine for dinner. My back has been acting up, so I took Muni home while the boys walked around the Castro some more.Saturday bright and early we drove to Oakland to get mani/pedis with the usual crowd. It was a continuation of the Tim (
timmmmbar) birthday festival, and there was a great turnout. Then we went to brunch at Buttercup, where they gave us our own room. We watched women's gymnasitics as we ate. We split up and Steve and I went to the gym where I gave my back a good soaking in the jacuzzi. In the evening my back was still achy so I stayed in while Steve attended Paul (excessor) and Curtis' (dr_scott) cocktail party.Sunday Ray, Steve and I met Kevin and Jeff at the new Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio. It was far larger than we expected, and really just spectacular. All our Disney fan friends must see it. Steve and I became members on the spot, so we can go for free now.
Tonight, The Amazing Race and The Next Iron Chef. And back to work tomorrow.
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