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Blue Valentine
Dean and Cindy are a husband and wife, far beyond the first blushes of love. It’s more like the first blushes of disgust, actually. They’ve been married now for 6 years, and their marriage is falling apart. Blue Valentine travels back and forth, from the early days of discovering each other and rushing into marriage, to a day 6 years later, when we see that Dean hasn’t changed at all, and Cindy wishes very much that he had. Dean is a man without ambition, who considers himself to be living the good life because he has a job where he can have a beer when he gets up in the…
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Every Last One
I came across this book in the silliest way. A few months ago, Ted and I had some time to kill at the bookstore downtown while Maya did some cheer thing or another. I had a pile of library books at home to read, so I wasn’t really looking for something to buy. I got a little bored and started playing a dumb game with myself. The game was, looking at the bookcases at the bookstore, and seeing if there were any shelves without at least one book I had read before. I was feeling pretty smug and proud of myself, seeing books that I had read on so many…
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New Orleans BBQ Shrimp
Ted’s birthday was a few weeks ago, and we had a barbecue theme. I made chicken, ribs, and I wanted to make barbecue shrimp, but something different than just shrimp cooked on the grill. So I did a little internet search, and I found a wonderful recipe on Food Network, from Emeril. I bought a couple of pounds of jumbo sized shrimp, and cooked up a batch. I followed the recipe exactly, except that I used purchased Cajun seasoning rather than Emeril’s homemade Creole seasoning, and I didn’t make the biscuits. Instead I bought some delicious bread to sop up the yummy sauce. Between using the shells to make the…
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Miscallaneous
Back in February or March, Issa mentioned on Facebook that she was going to do the 30-Day Shred. What, I thought, is the 30-day shred? Perhaps I even asked her. Or perhaps I looked it up. Either way, I thought it might be good to mix up my workout routine a bit and try something new. I’m pretty good about taking walks, but I need something that builds a bit more muscle, and gets my heart rate up higher, since I rarely walk as fast as I could/should. It’s cheap on Amazon, and the reviews are great, so I went ahead and ordered it. The first time through, I really…
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Herb Brined Lamb Chops
My good friend Janet came to visit a few weeks ago. Janet lives in DC, though she used to live in Texas, and before that, she lived in New York, and before that, DC. It’s been a long time since we lived close by each other in San Francisco and Berkeley, or Stockton and Lodi. She had several hours to spend before heading back to DC, and wanted to know if I wanted to have lunch or dinner and a visit. Often when she comes to visit, she spends a bunch of money taking me to a fancy lunch, and we have a nice visit, but she doesn’t get to…
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Pictures of You
April Nash is leaving her marriage. Leaving her husband and young son behind, traveling on a foggy road towards another life. Unbeknownst to her, her son, Sam, is asleep under a blanket in the back seat. The car was moving. Sam heard the rivery sound of the road under him, and he sat up, rubbing his eyes, pulling the blanket from him. Cars were zipping past in a blur of color. And there was his mother in front, singing along to some song on the radio. “You are my spec-i-al someone,” she sang, and because Sam thought she meant him, he grinned. Her voice sounded bright, like it was full…
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Mother’s Day
Pretty pretty please, don’t you ever ever feel Like you’re less than, less than perfect Pretty pretty please, if you ever ever feel Like you’re nothing, you are perfect to me* I don’t even like this song. Sorry Pink. Nothing personal. But the other day I was in the car, and it came on, and I found myself wondering if Maya knows that this is how I feel about her. I know, I nag. Pick up your clothes. Do your homework. Make your bed. Finish your girl scout award commitment. But none of that means I think any less of her. It means I know she’s a teen, and sometimes…
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Garlicky Broiled Salmon and Tomatoes
I’ve been wanting to make this recipe for awhile now. It’s in an issue of Real Simple, easy, delicious meals. (The link goes to a more current issue, I believe…mine is dated January of 2010.) Well, last night was the night, and I decided to give this one a try. I must say, it was both easy, and delicious. Really, really good. I can imagine it would be even better if you live somewhere where you can catch fresh salmon yourself. Mine was from the grocery store, and it was still very good. If you were to make it later in the summer, you’d get better tomatoes, though the salmon…
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Wordless Wednesday
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Happy Birthday Ted!
OK, this is just about as corny as it gets, but still….here goes…my message to my darling beloved husband Ted, whom I’ve known and loved for over 23 years…(sing it with me here people, and give it your all…) You light up my life You give me hope To carry on You light up my days and fill my nights with song And you….you light up my life…. Happy Birthday darling!
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Royal Wedding
Today is the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and I wish them every happiness. After the unhappy marriage of William’s parents, it feels like a happy ending to see a couple with a chance of happiness, even under the ugly microscope that follows the Royal family. I’m sure we’re all tired of seeing stories on the news, magazines, etc. And by now if you’re in the least bit interested in this story, you’ve seen the wedding, you’ve seen the dress, and they’re partying like it’s 1999 at Buckingham Palace. So, what do I have to say about it all? I wish them well. I think about the ugly…
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Finding Nouf / City of Veils
Jeddah, gateway to Mecca, on the Red Sea. Photo found here “Despite the independence, or perhaps because he had too much of it, his childhood had provoked an intense longing for a family, a longing that lasted well into adulthood and that he was certain would never be satisfied. His deepest fear was that he’d never marry. Parents arranged marriages. Parents had brothers and sisters who had children who needed to be married. They organized the complicated social visits in which a man got to meet a prospective bride – veiled of course, but the groom could at least study her fingers and feet (unless she was socked and gloved…
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Shrimp Curry
Last week I was watching Nigella Lawson cook on TV, and she made a delicious looking chicken curry, muttar paneer, and something else that I don’t remember. I was mostly sucked in by the muttar paneer, because I love peas. So I wanted to build a dinner around it. I had made a chicken curry just a week or so ago, so I wanted something different. I decided that I’d rather make a shrimp curry, sort of like the seafood tikka masala we had a few weeks ago at a local restaurant. This was truly delicious. I might try a fish tikka masala next time, but this was really, really…
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Legion of Honor
Maya had Spring Break last week, and I took a few days off to spend with her. Originally, she wanted to paint her room, but when I told her how much work that is (moving furniture and cleaning being most of it), she decided she didn’t really want to do that anymore, and could live with the sage green color that she has previously described as ‘mucus’. Undaunted, I insisted that we clean her room anyway. Which didn’t involve moving any furniture, but it did involve getting mounds of dust off of her toys, pulling 2 years worth of backpacks and paperwork out of the closet, going through her books…
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Crabby Patties, two ways
Last week, I saw Ina Garten make Crab Cakes on an old episode of Barefoot Contessa. What especially intrigued me was the bell peppers. I know that crab cake purists say the fewer additives, the better, but if I want pure crab, I don’t bother with crab cakes, I get whole crab and crack it with my teeth. That’s how I roll. I thought the veggies might be a really welcome addition. I mentioned the crab cakes to my sister-in-law, who said that she uses canned crab for crab cakes. “CANNED????” I thought….“THE HORROR!” But what she said made some sense, which is that with all of the other flavors,…
