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Learn Where You Can
I had an interesting vocab lesson the other night…I learned the following words: parvenu – one that has recently or suddenly risen to an unaccustomed position of wealth or power and has not yet gained the prestige, dignity, or manner associated with it. I think I’ve always used the other French term, “nouveau riche“, though in looking at the definition, it is slightly different in meaning. dyspeptic – showing a sour disposition. I think I’ve always used “sour puss”.  I think I need to try to use these words in conversation…that’s how you keep them, right? Anyway, the funny thing is where I got these new words…from the Netflix jacket…
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Lame Meme
OK, I got nothing today. It’s Monday, after all, and besides that, my Brother and my SIL are coming to visit! YAY! They live in Alaska, and don’t get down this way as often as we would like. And us up there? We went in ’99, but haven’t gone back since. Dang it all. Stupid poverty. 😉 Anyway, since I need to get all of my WORK work done early, plus wash the sheets on the bed where they’ll be sleeping, and swiffer the floors, I’m going to keep this quick and easy today, OK? This will be a lame meme about your favorite foods, in different categories. I figure,…
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Chicken Muffin Recipe? Ewwww…
Last year, in the clearance section of Barnes and Noble, I was tempted into buying a muffin cookbook. Tempted by the beautiful pictures and the yummy sounding recipes, like cranberry muffins, spiced carrot cake muffins, etc. What I forgot in the heat of the moment was, I don’t really LIKE baking. One little thing goes wrong, and the recipe is ruined. Blech. I’m much more of a cook. One section that I found especially intruiging was the section of savory muffins. Hmmm. Sounded good. Leek and ham muffins. Bacon and cornmeal muffins. I tried one recipe, for Spicy Chicken Muffins. Ted and Maya thought it was good, I thought it…
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Screw You, I’m NOT “Uncovered Meat”.
I’m assuming you’ve all heard of the uproar in Australia, regarding comments made about women by Sheik Taj ElDin Hamid Hilaly. I’ve been trying to figure out what to say about this, but I’m having trouble because it makes me want to vomit every time I think about it. So, I decided to copy and paste someone else’s words for you instead. Here then, straight from Salon’s Broadsheet: When are women like “uncovered meat”? What a nasty, nasty development in the now-global controversy over Muslim women’s dress. On Thursday, reports surfaced that Australia’s lead Muslim cleric suggested that women who do not wear hijabs are responsible for rape. The chronically…
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Eastern State
Yesterday, I had a sudden craving for Orange Chicken from Panda Express. So good, and so bad for you. So I hopped in my trusty car and drove over to the local PE. On the way, I was listening to Talk of the Nation on NPR. The few minutes that I heard were discussing Eastern State Penitentiary. I remember when we lived in Philadelphia, once in awhile we would drive past this prison, and I knew a little bit of its history, but not a lot. They have tours of the prison, which are supposed to be pretty amazing, but I was unaware of that at the time. And I’m…
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Bitacle?
So I’ve heard about this Bitacle thing…you go to the site, and they have content from people’s blogs there. Here’s what I got when I searched on my url: http://en.bitacle.org/blogs/blogsearch/jellyjules Mostly what I’ve read is on people’s blogs, saying, if you’re reading this elsewhere, don’t. It’s stolen. This content is only valid if you’re reading it on my site. What does this mean? I mean, I know it’s an example of someone stealing content, and putting it up on their site, but they’re not claiming to have authored the content, so I’m not sure what the difference is between this and, say, bloglines. It’s not plagarism if they link to…
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TV Shows I Tried, but Couldn’t Get Into
For my 13th Thursday 13, I thought I would confess some of the TV shows that I have watched, or TRIED to watch, but just couldn’t get into over the last several years. Yes, there are gratuitous Buffy references, when obviously, Buffy does not belong on this list. So sue me. 1. Desperate Housewives. I tried a few episodes, and I liked it at the beginning, but when Terri Hatcher’s character got stuck outside naked in the bushes, I just thought it was too dumb, and stopped watching. 2. Grey’s Anatomy. Everyone loves this show, and maybe I should have tried another season, but we rented season one, and found…
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An Unmade Bed…
 Gina wrote recently of her love for a clean, uncluttered top of the fridge. She hates to have stuff up there, where some folks might not even notice. Py cannot stand to have any miscellaneous items in the car. Car must be clean and uncluttered at all times. The house? Not such an issue for him (as long as the bathroom is clean, he’s OK). Maya’s Granny likes to have all of her books alphabetized. Not sure if she still sorts her clothes the way she used to…with different colored hangers for different seasons or whatever… My sister likes to have EVERYTHING very clean, organized, and put in its proper…
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DVD Weekend…
I’m slowly renouncing my claim to her, and all that I had hoped for in the world. ~ Jules and Jim. There’s nothing like a good French film to give you poignant little tidbits like that, huh? But I’m getting ahead of myself. Friday, after going to Stockton to see my Grandma, and after the presentation I had to give on Thursday (which was really no big deal, but that didn’t stop me from getting very tense about it), I was ready to relax on the sofa and watch a good romantic comedy. Something frothy and light and sweet. Unfortunately, we watched “Must Love Dogs” instead. This film can best…
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My Grandma
I am a very fortunate person, in that I still have both of my Grandmothers. I don’t know a lot of 40 year olds who can say that, and I suspect that most of those that do, count themselves as lucky as well. My Grandma Wells is the one I told you about last month, she of the cole slaw and turning 90 and all. She is my father’s mother. The beautiful woman in this picture is my Grandma Ward, who is my mother’s mother. This picture was taken at the time of her marriage, when she was only 18 years old. My Grandma Ward is much in my thoughts…
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What’s in a Name?
Over at Gina’s blog yesterday, she asked this question: “For what Latin number is October named?” Well, I knew the answer, but not quickly enough to win any points on her ongoing trivia game. Dang. It got me to thinking about the names of the months, though, and how interesting the first 8 are, and then how…boring…the last 4 are. Interested? I found this on Encyclopedia Mythica. Tell me that naming a month after its place on the calendar (like October, for the 8th month) is as interesting as March being named for a Roman god, Mars. I won’t believe you. January Named after the Roman god of beginnings and…
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Sunday Cooking
I had a request in the comments from yesterday’s post for Indian recipes. I don’t cook much Indian food, so I’m not much help. However, my mother-in-law recently gave me a recipe for yummy eggplant. She doesn’t cook from a cookbook, doesn’t measure, so you’ll have to just figure it out. It’s not hard, and very yummy. Bolange* 1 globe eggplant, whole 2 or 3 cloves garlic, sliced 2 or 3 tomatoes, whole 1/2 small onion salt and pepper Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Poke holes in the eggplant, insert garlic slices into holes. Place eggplant and tomatoes on a baking sheet. Roast in 350 degree oven until eggplant gets…
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Happy Diwali
  Today is Diwali, the Indian ‘Festival of Lights’. We will celebrate by going to Ted’s parents’ house, lighting lights to welcome the gods and blessings, and then we’ll have a nice meal. If you’re craving Indian food today, maybe this is why. ;) Happy Diwali!
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Madonner (That’s Madonna with a cockney accent, if you’re confused…)
I don’t have much today. I went and gave my presentation last night, which went OK, but I was nervous all day, so it sucked my energy dry. I received a phone call that my poor Grandma had fallen and hurt herself (she’s going to be OK, no broken bones, but still, she fell pretty darned hard), which was very upsetting because I love her to pieces, and that kind of took what energy I might have had left. And it’s only Friday, not Saturday, so I have a bunch of work to do today, blah blah blah. SO, I’m going to post today, because you know, the world would…
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Thirteen Thursday Tidbits
1. I had a dream the other night that I died. The good news is that there is an afterlife, and everyone I know and love was there. The bad news is that apparently we still have to work, pay bills, and buy groceries. WTF? 2. Maya and I have been fighting lately about her getting out of bed in the morning. Meaning, I go in and try to wake her up with kisses, then words, and finally I give up and yell. Don’t tell me, because I know, she should use her alarm clock. She turns it off and goes back to sleep. It takes her about 1/2 hour…