Monday, November 29, 2004
Thankyouverymuch
Things went thankfully fine this long weekend. We are now officially embarked upon the holiday season, with its attendant treacly muzak and adorable windowdisplays of ambiguous elves and chortling bearded older men in loosely draped clothes holding onto big knurled poles. Now, before I get totally sick of the xmas cheer (already I’ve et too much candy, I’m a bit off my breakfast this morning), it’s a good time to look back on a truly thanks-inducing weekend:
* I matted and hung the first decent photo I took with my digital camera, just in time for thanksgiving guests, and I really like how it came out. Do they train the jaded art-school wannabees who work in frame shops to rave about any piece of crap you bring in for them, or can I be proud of the approbation of an underpaid stranger?
* A successful thanksgiving was thoroughly hosted chez nous, with brined and bagged turkey, sausage-mushroom dressing, Kel’s cranberry jelly (sweet like candy, jiggles like jello, red as sin and nearly as much fun to eat), greenbeans-taters-onions-gravy, carrot-ginger soup, and cabbage koftha Sundram, which turned out great. Oh yeah and kielbasi broiled in a mustard-maple sauce. And eight pies. For 11 adults, that was a decent ratio.
* Charles has a pie philosophy, and shared with us his three secrets for making apple pie. The first secret involved using four kinds of apples, to achieve certain standards for sweetness, structure, melting-in-your-mouth, and something else. I don’t recall which apples met which criteria. I also do not remember secrets 2 and 3. Charles knows, it seems, how to keep a secret even while sharing it. However, I still have 1/3 of an apple pie in the fridge, so at least I know how to keep a dessert. Over the short term, anyway. It won’t last the week but it’s a good way to start.
* The big supper featured staggeringly good wine, including at least four beaujolais and aligned varietals, two “super tuscans,” a ‘93 Amarone that was so spectacular I almost stopped drinking at 6 pm (but of course I didn’t), plus a Navarro Zin and a Brutocao Syrah and a few other standout examples of winemaking… in unrelated news, I took a 30 minute nap on the tan couch between courses amidst my carousing guests. I felt much better afterwards. Oh, there was also port-bourbon-tequila-whiskey too, and nobody wanted even so much as a single spode saucer of coffee. Fun party.
* Survivor was broadcast on thanksgiving night, so we could just cue it up and watch people starve, connive, and exert themselves as we luxuriated in our lassitude. Dave and Kim stayed over to watch with us. A perfect end to our thanksgiving feast, and only partly for ironic reasons.
* Things of which much got done this weekend include: shoppping, cleaning, sleeping, reading, laundry, eating thanksgiving leftovers, watching television, reconciling old bank statements, quiet time at home.
* Things not enough of which got done: yogi Steve is on vacation for three weeks in Spain (tough life) so my standard sunday workout wound up cancelled; I tried to make up for it with a sauna but there was a guy in there who was perfectly civil, polite, friendly, and he WOULD NOT SHUT UP. He was as irritating as skin fungus on an equatorial hike. I just sat there not telling him to clamp it, for some reason, for about 15 minutes; once I had a bit of a sweat going I just left him in midsentence to shower off and go home. So, I’m underexercised and a bit tense around the spinal region this fine morning. If that’s my biggest complaint this week, I should not be complaining.
* Things I got a bit too much of this weekend: The movie “Saved” seemed to me to be about 20 minutes too long, and I ate way too much candy (Razzles! First it’s a candy, then it’s a gum! O frabjous day!) so I’m feeling gross now. Oh, and the dog snores a lot. So you can see I’m living the divine comedy here. Why does fate so torment me (with nostalgic candies and dog snores)?
* We saw The Incredibles on Saturday and it was much more entertaining than I’d expected it to be, even if only from a purely visual standpoint. And come on, Craig T? The Dr. Phil of situation comedy? I don’t have to be told twice to fall in with the rest of America. Really, it was a fun movie, though violent and inappropriate for young kids. Added bonus: preview for StarWars 6: Starwars III, the Onus of the Ambergris. Looks like lots of space battles, swordfights, explosions and mayhem. The preview did not indicate too many bloated scenes of unconsummated young love or lengthy imperial negotiations. Should be a bruising bloody good time. Added added bonus: Kel’s proposed tag line - “Star Wars VI: Who Are You Not To See It?”
That is enough for me to feel like I can start this week with some decent momentum. Welcome, once again, to the holiday season - and may god have mercy on our souls.
