Recently in celebrations & merriments Category

How do you stick candles into shrimp?

Today is John's birthday and to celebrate in style we're heading to Red Lobster for their annual Shrimp Fest. No cakes, no candles, no overly gift wrapped presents. What we will have are plates upon plates of buttery-garlicky goodness of shrimp scampi.

What does "scampi" mean, I wondered. It does refer to the garlic-butter sauce, but is also a word for a shrimp or prawn, therefore shrimp scampi is almost like saying "shrimp shrimp". It is derivative of the Italian word "scampo" meaning "a kind of lobster". Thus ends our lesson in etymology.

I've made chicken scampi before and it tastes just as good as the shrimp variety. I wonder if there was a painful trial and error process in someone's kitchen to determine what foods could be "scampi-tized"?

I digress along a culinary path, forgetting that today is about John's birthday...Indeed, he is celebrating one of the unforgettable ages for it is not a milestone age. Next year will land him resolutely in "middle age" and he'll be due for a mid-life crisis.

Departing Soon

John is set to depart for North Carolina on the 14th, so about 8 days to go. He still hasn't received his "relocation package" from the company that will outline and detail what benefits he's been given. Perhaps all he will receive is a map and one of those lame compasses that floats in water and randomly points north?

He is taking Teddy and Stash with him so that he may have feline companionship. Honestly, it is Teddy that cannot live without John. Teddy requires a beard to nestle into and I lack sufficient facial hair. Teddy and I have never warmed up to each other. I'm too busy swooning over Smee to notice that there are the other cats. (Madam Ming is domesticating to the point now where she does accept the love and worship, even seeking it out.)

I'm considering soliciting for a roommate. There is plenty of house for another person to share, only I've never done anything like that before and hopefully will find someone suitable who must like cats.

By later this afternoon I just know I'm going to feel like a stuffed prawn.

On Christmas Day I flew out to eventually arrive at my destination of Pinehurst, NC, home to my brother and his family. My hurried layover in Las Vegas afforded me a quick glimpse of The Strip, and right outside of the runway is the big black pyramid hotel complete with Sphinx replica.

After taking off from Vegas I think I had the pleasure of enjoying the Grand Canyon from an altitude of 20-something-thousand-feet. It was amazing! One thing I've learned is that something has to be pretty darn large in order to be seen from this height, which means the Colorado River must be very impressive at ground-level!

Though I had limited visibility because of the airplane window, I still think that I got to see an incredible amount of the canyon—enough to inspire me to see the real thing in person!

The Family

Quality time has been so far spent getting acquainted with Sara, Jonathan, and Rachel. Rachel lugs around a princess-pink rotary phone in which we frequently call celebrities, dignitaries, and the family cat: General Sherman. My brother and sister-in-law have showered me with incredible hospitality! The guest bed is very comfortable and I've got my own bathroom, which means that my visit here is all too comfortable and I am certain to want to return for future visits.

General Sherman & Catie

Sherman who is a Siamese, is affectionately called The General as he was named after the famous southern general. Catie is far more spooky and she has so far only stared terrified at me. Sherman slept at my feet the first night and has since duly ignored me, but last night I tried winning his favor with small piece of my steak. My bribe didn't pay off as Sherman reposed elsewhere.

Pine Trees Everywhere

I am in the midst of a pine forest and the soil looks like beach sand. The lawns here are red pine needles—very little grass is grown—most of the grass I've seen is on a golf course.

Speaking of Golf Courses

Apprently this is one of the biggest golf centers around, with the US Open being held here a couple of years ago. Many elite resorts are to be found, all containing what I think of as southern flair. The resorts are white buildings that have a classic design. The people milling about all have an air of sophistication and tradition about them.

Tobacco

We're off today to investigate some local history! Today's adventure is to the north where we'll take in the Duke Homestead, where everything we ever wanted to know about tobacco (but were afraid to ask) will be revealed. I chose this historic site because it is close, isn't closed for the holidays, and is a unique part of North Carolina history. I shall return with photos from this exciting adventure!

Design My Own Shoes

I got this brainy idea that a nifty way to connect with my non-adult clients is to wear funky shoes that would be very noticeable and possibly start a conversation. The shoes would have to be child-friendly and yet express my Shrone nature all at the same time. I knew that I needed to acquire a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor's.

Little did I know that I could design my own! Oh, blessed are the Shoe Gods for making this available to the masses like myself who desire control over colors! I am in absolute shoe-heaven-on-earth!

Immediately I told Pooky of my creative discovery, and so it came to pass that he said that if I wanted a pair (or two) of these specially created Shrone shoes that I could order them as his holiday present to me. So behold my creations:

Shrone low suede
Shrone low canvas

Both shoes are personalized with "SHRONE" on the heel. I'm sure people will want to know what that means and I shall say to them my usual statement about Shrones: "Think of a crazy cat lady, only she's sexy and would invite children into her gingerbread house, only she wouldn't eat them, because cannibalism is not her style."

I hope that my shoes arrive before I leave for North Carolina. I'd so love to be able to show off my new Shrone shoes as I travel.

I gave into the gravity of cooking a holiday meal. It's a stronger influence than gravity now that I think about it. What swayed me to buy a Butterball wasn't the low price—it was the thought of enjoying turkey panini sandwiches in our new sandwich maker; it was thinking I'd have an excuse to make green bean casserole, pecan pie, and Stove-Top stuffing.

Now that the Day of the Bird is here it also means the flood-gates of Christmas marketing have been opened. I think of it as Mr. Burns releasing his hounds. For the next 32 days there's going to be Christmas crammed down our throats—some of it will be enjoyable: like those cute Rankin/Bass productions with Rudolph and the Bumble.

As much as I do enjoy having a real tree in the house, I think I'll skip it this year. I'll be flying on Christmas Day and so we'll more than likely celebrate Christmas at someone else's house on Christmas Eve. Perhaps I'll look into putting up a Christmas Twig.

The year is winding down, winter is almost here, and that puts us into an introspective and reflective mood. How will I remember 2006? Will it truly be the year without a Santa Claus? Will 2007 not happen at all until Rudolph and previous Father Times find the lost Baby New Year?

In thinking about being thankful, I notice that each day I have a little bit of thanks and appreciation—though not a conscious and deliberate declaration of thanks. Examples: During the night when I am bone tired and would like to sleep un-interrupted, Smee decides that this is the ideal time to come and lay on my head and try to hatch me. He purrs with such happiness that whatever irritation and annoyance I initially felt is melted away into blissful love. I recall life before Smee and how I longed for this kind of feline companionship—the kind that transcends species differences and reaches a deep spiritual level.

And my thanks isn't all for Smee. I've been known to be thankful for the other 4 felines, and yes, thankfullness for Pooky. In my mind Pooky is the closest human there is to being a cat—minus the purring and kneading. Often I do take Pooky for granted, but then I catch myself and realize that though Pooky's behavior gets under my skin, I remember to laugh about it. It's silly to let little annoyances get in the way.

Least I not piss off the karma gods and powers that be, I give thanks, too, when things go right—and I've been known to be thankful for when things go horribly wrong. When things go wrong it teaches me a valuable lesson and I learn something from the experience. Mostly I learn that I'll never do the same thing again that made things go horribly wrong.

May your holiday feast be blessed with a moist turkey,
May you enjoy the warmth of love from family and friends,
May you get the bigger end of the wishbone, and
May you experience great joy and happiness on this day of celebrating thanks!

Happy 40-something birthday, Pooky!

Yesterday we celebrated Pooky's birthday! While the torrential rains came down (I believe we received 3.33 inches of rain yesterday which I'm sure is a record) we spent the day at the dentist for me and then we went to Endless Shrimp at Red Lobster where we enjoyed way too much scampi.

Earlier in the day I gave Pooky his "special" present ;-) and we've already enjoyed the nifty panini sandwich grill that I bought as his memorable birthday gift.

I awoke this morning and found this strange, brand-new car in the driveway. Pooky says that I shouldn't feed a strange car as it will think it belongs to us and it won't go away, and I certainly shouldn't give it a name, (which I am kind of thinking I might call it Inky), because once you name it, then you won't be able to take it back to the car lot where it followed us home.

Yesterday Pooky got the idea to car shop and do some comparisons. We've been planning on getting a second car as I have this lovely commute ahead of me each day I have my internship, and we were thinking we were about 2 weeks away from making a purchase. My eye has been on the Saturn Ion, and recently we stopped at looked at the new ones.

But then Pooky felt we should look at the top-rated models in comparison, so we went to Mazda, Toyota, Hyundai, et al, and we ended up back at the Saturn lot. I spotted a deep blue Ion immediately and scurried over to it. It was a bare-bones manual transmission with A/C. The price was just right! The dealer said that cars priced under $15K are moving fast, so the chances of the car being here in two weeks was slim, and doing a dealer swap would be slim since bare-bones cars are in high demand.

We pondered the idea of buying the car now and then paying it off once my loans come through. What would be the worst-case scenario with my loans? If in the small event there would be a delay, it wouldn't be more than a month, so we weighed that against the 45 day grace period before the first payment would be due.

After having lunch (or was it an early dinner?) we came back and signed the papers. The interest rate is wicked, but not surprising to us since Pooky's credit is in rehab/recovery. Let's just say that the sooner we pay off the car, the happier life will be and the more money in our pockets instead of the bank's. But, the good news is, out of the money we had figured for a second car, by getting the bare-bones model we came out ahead of budget by $2500! Yeah! Which means my credit cards can be paid down, and maybe have something left over for the holidays.

So, that leaves me to talk about the car's name. Our older Saturn is known as the C-Berry (for "Cranberry") and I was think this one could be called "B-Berry" for "Blue Berry" but that doesn't hit the spot. My sister suggest Inky. I kind of like Inky. She also suggest Nocturne, which is cool, too. In the direct sun the car looks a deep blue, but in direct shade it takes on that nighttime appearance.

The car has OnStar which means I will find out about my car's monthly diagnostics, and in case I lock myself out or need roadside assistance, I just press a button. The car has manual windows, semi-automatic locks, CD player/radio, 5-speed manual, hydraulic assisted clutch, regular disc brakes, and cup holders. Not bad for about $14,500.

It's weird we have a new car! I keep thinking it will drive itself back to the car lot—like it hasn't imprinted itself upon us yet. I have yet to see if my cello will fit in the car. That's a concern. The new cello I am renting has a larger case and it wouldn't fit in the C-Berry with the seats folded down; I had to wedge it in the back seat.

The new cello is named Shady Bourbon. I haven't even taken it out to tune it, let alone practice! As soon as I got it we went to Pennsylvania. Today I have to crack it open and get acquainted with it as tomorrow will be the 2nd week of rehearsal and since I missed the first week, I need to get up to speed.

Somehow I almost forgot my birthday did happen on Tuesday. With the hassles of flying on that day, it slipped my mind. I consider the weekend my birthday and not just the actual day. When we got back I realized that now on applications, forms, and surveys I get to claim I'm 34. I also returned to find gift surprises!

Gift Certificates

Special gift certificates were received from Shrone Ro (iTunes), Sister Elle Marz (Handy Hands Tatting), and my Dad (Amazon.com). The GC from my sister bought me a whole box of threads that I'll be drooling over—so many pretty colors and doilies awaiting to be crocheted! With the Amazon.com GC I bought the two crocheted Aran sweater books I've been drooling over, added to my Muppet movie collection, and got the third book in the K-Pax series. I think with the iTunes card I'll indulge in some favorite 80s music that I miss! Will I go with my favorites of k.d. land and Morrisey/The Smiths, or will I go the route of XTC and OMD?

Thank You, Jen!

Jen of SheCrochets sent me Cool Crochet, another crochet book with awesome patterns! I've already picked out a sweater I want to make! This is such a wonderful surprise! Jen is also a fellow Shrone and now a fellow participant in Thursday 13.

Ugly Dolls

The two plush critters up in the photo are part of the Ugly Dolls collection. They remind me of Lady Linoleum's creations with the odd number and style of eyeballs. The 3-eyed octopuss like creature, called Cinko, is for Pooky's birthday. The reversable doll, with two personalities, is called Bop N' Beep. I think it fits me because some days I do feel like the green monster and other days I feel like the pink one.

There are so many more must-have Ugly Dolls that I'll be wanting them now for all holidays, birthdays, and assorted just-because moments.

Moon Mug

Rounding out the gifts is a new mug bought at the Puyallup Fair. It's a local ceramic artist who also have a starry night sky design, but I opted for the moon design as I was feeling more like a lunatic yesterday, and I am more partial to moons than stars.

Thank You!

Among the mail that I received upon coming back from Pennsvylania was an envelope containing the two ribbons pictured. I have no idea who sent them, the postmark isn't clear, but whomever you are, thank you do much for sending them to me! I feel blessed to have friends at C'Ville who would take the time to lift my dampened spirits regarding the outcome of the Tala doily at the fair.

When I get back the doily I shall put these two ribbons with it, and when I do get around to making a display, these ribbons will be what I put with it. This small gesture means more to me than I have words to express!

I've been curious for ages now about the local Sunshine Hill Garlic Festival and yesterday evening we sated that curiosity by attending and spending.

We had our dinner of garlicky goodness. I had a garlic filled hot dog, then for dessert bought a sample of garlic ice cream. It's not gross! It kind of reminds me a bit of a garlic alfredo sauce and shrimp scampi sauce. The cream of the ice cream blends well with the garlic, so it's like eating food only without the noodles or shrimp. It's not something you could eat a large serving of, I'm sure. I also bought a stick of deep-fried garlic. It had a salty batter and it was actually very good.

Somehow we bought a bottle of garlic seasoning for mushrooms, and I got my sister some garlic stuffed green olives soaked in chardonnay. I'm hoping she'll like them. I ate free samples of picked garlic. Pickled garlic is wonderful.

Ending our binge was a whole loaf of garlic bread. My tongue and mouth still feels assaulted by garlic. But it's a good assault.

Now I am curious to attend other local garlic festivals. I see there is one in June out on the ocean where people dress as garlic bulbs and dance. It touts over 80 vendors. Imagine all of the food! Yes, I know what I'll be wanting to do next year: visit as many garlic fests as our budget and time allow.

Fun at the Ren-Faire

Pooky and I went to the local Ren-Faire over the weekend with my sister and her husband. Pooky and I had never been to a historical re-enactment type faire before. It was open to fantasy, too, so there were elves, fairies, vikings, cave people, and Goth rockers.

I got suckered into the Aura Photography booth and had my aura photographed. I'll be posting about it separately. I had Pooky get his aura photographed, too. Each picture came with a 10 minute reading, and the reader was very insightful! I'm sure she could see auras without the aid of a camera. She could tell things about us that would indicate she could see them.

The jousting was of course staged, but still they have to be able to be rough and tumble. While sitting in the stands I looked across the way and saw someone I recognized! I was certain it was a lady whose handfasting I had performed in May. So after the joust ended, I went over and sure enough, it was her! She was dressed up and looked mighty fine, like a real person come to life from the past. She plays a harp and does Medieval music.

Not everyone who attended the faire was in costume. Some were in modern clothes. Which makes me wonder if in 500 to 1000 years if there won't be "2000 Faires" in which people dress like us and marvel at the antiquated technology like cell phones and laptop computers.

Wings were put on just about everything—dogs, children, and women. I suppose having wings is a cheerful thing, only trying to fly with them wouldn't be wise. Men wore tights, which is probably the only venue in which most men will publicly be seen wearing them.

The pirates had also a large presence at the Faire. A couple of Jack Sparrows were roaming around. Many other assorted pirates were plundering about.

A bridge troll caused a traffic jam, and an ogre clomped through the faire to make sure everyone had a good scare.

I think it would be cool to dress up. I'm torn between having a costume as a noble lady, or going as a sorceress. I'm sure I'll settle for something totally Shrone. Whatever I dress up as, I'll have to have a magical element to my character, 'cause I'm all for magic!