Inertia
This meme or whatever has nothing to do with anything at all, and neither does my post. I’m just trying to be here. I’m frustrated with blogging right now, because I can’t leave comment on so many of your blogs (via my iPad) and it doesn’t really feel safe to use my work computer. I need to try Ted’s desktop, perhaps that is the solution. And to be clear, I don’t have trouble leaving comments on ALL of your blogs, just some, but somehow the knowledge that I am having trouble sometimes seems to have stymied me from even READING any blogs lately. I’m just playing stupid games on my iPad and ignoring you all. Sigh. So, in an effort to be more active, here I am with some pictures and maybe some words to go with them.
The end of March was Maya’s birthday, and she shared her birthday party with her ‘niece’, Sloan, who turned one 9 days earlier. I say ‘niece’ because Maya is an only child and says since she won’t have any nieces or nephews of her own, she is co-opting Sloan. Sloan is Ted’s cousin’s daughter, so maybe Maya’s 2nd cousin once removed? I never remember that stuff. Anyway, we had a great time. My contribution to the food was a cheese board and a few other snacks, including these delicious peppers stuffed with goat cheese. Picture is not mine, it is from the website where I got the recipe, which I saw on Suzanne’s blog, Life of Doctor’s Wife. I didn’t take a picture of my cheese board either, but it was a hit, as were these delicious (and ridiculously easy) peppers.
Since Maya is the aunt and much older, she is likely going to have more control over what kind of cake and menu for joint parties, at least for the foreseeable future. Certainly this year, as Sloan’s parents are hoping to keep her away from sugar until she is 2. So we all ate cake right in front of her, and because she didn’t know any better, she didn’t care. Pretty cake though. It’s chocolate with cream cheese frosting.
What else is going on…well, I took a half day off from work last week and went to linner (late lunch, early dinner) with some friends from my hotel days. I worked in hotels from ages 18 to about 28, 7 of those years at a big hotel in San Francisco, and I still keep in touch with a few of my coworkers from that time. 2 of them still work in the industry, which means weekends are generally not options for getting together. We went to one of my very favorite Italian pasta restaurants, Belotti in Oakland, which I wrote about the last time I was there. Their mushroom pasta is so incredibly delicious, though not vegetarian, as it has a beef reduction. And the salad. So simple, so good. It was so lovely to get caught up with these dear friends. Sorry, I don’t have any pictures.
Speaking of pasta and good friends, this coming Friday I am getting together with my darling friend Neva, and we are going to a newish place in my part of the Bay Area, Montesacro. It is a very small chain of restaurants…they have 1 location in Brooklyn, 2 in San Francisco, and now 1 here in Walnut Creek. The last time I got together with my hotel friends, we went to one of their San Francisco locations, and we had the Cacio E Pepe, which is a very simple Roman (I think) dish of pasta, cheese, and black pepper. I am sure there is salt in there as well, and likely pasta water to make the sauce delicious and creamy. I loved it so, so much. I’ve been curious about this dish for awhile, but I was afraid to try it until we went to a really authentic type restaurant. I kind of hoped to have some in Italy, but I didn’t see any on the menus in the region we visited for our one afternoon. We were on the border of France, North Western Italy, and I have read this is a Roman dish. Anyway, I am excited about having it again (and seeing Neva, of course!)
OK, that’s all I have for now. Seems like there should be more. But gosh, if it turns out there is more, perhaps I can write about it, right? In the meantime, I’m going to try to be better about coming by your place.
16 Comments
Margaret
Sorry about the commenting frustration. I’ve had to make up fake blogs and lots of sign-ins to be able to comment on Blogger and WordPress blogs. It is discouraging, especially if my computer forgets all my passwords. Children of first cousins are second cousins to each other. My older daughter kept their older son away from sugar for his first year. Now at nearly three he has quite the sweet tooth although they still restrict his sugar. (not completely though)
J
Thanks Margaret, I think I knew about second cousins, but I forgot. Ted and his cousin are 25 years apart, and Maya and Sloan are 26 years apart, so it just feels more removed than it is, I guess.
We didn’t give Maya sugar for her first year either, and kept is pretty limited for awhile after that, but of course she has a sweet tooth now. Not a big one, she doesn’t eat dessert most of the time.
Yes, my blog commenting issues are the same as yours. I think I’m going to keep track of which ones give me grief, and try just those on my husband’s computer. That might at least motivate me a bit.
Nicole MacPherson
I just heard someone talk about cacio e pepe! It sounds so nice and simple. I wish we could food a food because that sounds fun. Can we start saying food a food, maybe it could be a trend?
THAT CAKEEEEEEE. It looks amazing.
When I’m on my phone – so I assume it’s the same as your iPad – I can’t comment on most blogs, particularly ones on blogger. It always ends up with an error. WordPress I usually can. I just got back from vacation and I didn’t read any blogs – and now I have 158 unread ones!
J
Nichole, yes, that is exactly my issue with the commenting. I get an error. Frustrating.
158 unread blog posts? I guess it’s good that I don’t use any sort of reader or anything to help me keep track. I just click on my sidebar and go visit, which is so very non-techy of me. Sometimes I think about changing my ways, but then I don’t. Anyway, with 158 unread posts, aren’t you glad I haven’t written more? You’re welcome.
Elisabeth
I cannot keep track of how the cousin and second cousin etc thing works. Once a year I sit down and figure it out when my kids ask me how they’re related to X, Y, Z…and then I promptly forget how it all works seconds after I sort out the relevant relationships.
Oh goodness that cake looks AMAZING!!!
What a funny meme at the top; in French, V = “veigh” and W = “dubla veigh” – so it in that language at least it makes sense!
J
Elisabeth, I was thinking of French with that meme and their ‘Dubla Veigh’. Kudos to them! I’ll admit that I was hoping while you were in Rome that you would have the Cacio e Pepe.
nance
I could eat pasta far more often than I dare. Does that make sense?
You’re not alone in your Blog Inertia. Or Blog Sloth. Mine is in a coma right now, and I keep saying I need to write, I need to write, but I don’t do that at all. Sigh.
Maya is lovely. She got all the best parts of you and Ted.
J
Nance, I do know what you mean about pasta. I suspect I could eat it at least 3 or 4 days a week and not get tired of it. A few weeks ago was supposed to be my ‘pasta weekend’, with Neva time on Friday and hotel friends time on Monday, but then we had to postpone Neva time. Better this way perhaps.
Thanks on Maya, and I wholeheartedly agree.
Suzanne
Being unable to comment is SO frustrating!!! I have figured out that I can comment on most people’s blogs via Chrome, so that’s helped. But I cannot comment on many blogs when I’m on my stupid phone, so I have to wait until I’m at my computer. UGH.
Loved that meme at the top — although it made my head spin. The “ough” thing especially. What a ridiculous language we have here! (Ridiculous and fascinating.) And that photo of the birthday babies! So cute!
I am so interested in the parents keeping their daughter away from sugar until age 2. Our neighbor’s daughter is doing the same thing. It makes me feel kind of guilty, honestly, about how lax I was with our kid. I remember my husband being so eager to get her to try things like ice cream and cake and cookies and all sorts of sugary things. Maybe that’s why she is OBSESSED with sugar now? And why she eats like three vegetables? Ugh. So many ways to screw up your kids!!!
J
Blah, I just tried chrome on my iPad to see if that would help, and it does not. Frustrating. And I had one of the blogs I have trouble with open on the browser, so I guess I tried it when I first got my new iPad in January.
Regarding sugar, I think some people just have a sweet tooth. When I worked in San Francisco, we had a lot of Chinese born employees, and often one would tell me that they didn’t have a sweet tooth because sweets aren’t a thing in China. Then I get together with my work friends from that time, one of whom is Chinese born, and she plans her entire meal around dessert. So don’t feel guilty, the power of sugar is STRONG.
NGS
I read one blog that has a commenting system of Disqus and I cannot figure out how to leave a comment and I feel terrible because I LIKE this blogger and have so much to say and questions to ask and I also cannot find a contact email for the blogger, so I don’t even know if she knows her comments are problematic. *huge sigh* I actually updated the contact form on MY blog because of this fiasco, but she doesn’t even know who I am because I’m just a creepy lurker. I also feel a lot of guilt when I go to this blog now because I am not doing my due diligence as a blog friend.
For my last book club, I made mini peppers that were stuffed with a cream cheese/broccoli mix and they were easy to prepare and everybody loved them and now I’m convinced that the secret to any good hosting duty is to just stuff a vegetable with cheese and serve it.
J
NGS, I love your comment about veggies and cheese. I bought more of those peppers today so I can make a few for our dinner tonight.
I don’t know what to do about the commenting. Yours is one of the ones I can’t comment on, except with my work computer. Which is feeling dangerous right now. FRUSTRATING!
Ally Bean
I have an iPad and it doesn’t always let me do the same things that my desktop computer does. I know that commenting on WP blogs can be ridiculously difficult, but I seem to have more trouble on Blogger blogs where I sometime have to sign in three times before the system permits my comment to go through.
I love Sloan’s smile. Oh my goodness, she is a cutie patootie.
J
Thanks Ally! I tried using Ted’s computer, but it didn’t work either. Next step is Maya’s gaming computer…it is not an apple product, so maybe that will be the ticket?
Tobia | craftaliciousme
I feel you on the commenting thing. I have issues with blogger for decades. And lately with WordPress.org blogs that constantly require sign-ins and not taking the passwords and stuff. very frustrating.
I started having two reading lists saved. Blogs I can easily access. And then the other ones. Often times those fall to the way side in visiting. So sad…
Anyway, in case you are wondering. I have no issue commenting here (I did not jinx it, I did not jinx it…)
J
Thanks Tobia! If there’s one good thing to come out of all my griping, it’s that I know I’m not alone in this issue. That’s comforting in a way.