sunnyside up!

(leave your worries on the doorstep)

catching up

So sorry to have neglected you, my three readers, for so long!  It’s been rather hectic, what with trying to get together our proposal for inclusion in this year’s GoodPitch at SILVERDOCS.  Between reviewing the trailer, drafting and redrafting the treatment, meeting with our lawyer, etc. there’s been little downtime, and what downtime I do find I spend researching the subject:  defending the teaching of evolution in American public school science classes.  I don’t think I need to tell you folks that unless something is done to improve the situation we can expect American children to grow up  greatly disadvantaged to compete in our ever-shrinking world.

Anyway, homework has included re-watching the NOVA episode, “Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial,” which recounts the recent landmark Kitzmiller v. Dover case in which U.S. District Court Judge Jones ruled: “Intelligent design is a thinly veiled attempt to introduce creationism into the public schools and as such violates the Establishment Clause separating state and religion.”

Also, this debate on evolution vs. creationism hosted by William F. Buckley in 1997 on his old “Firing Line” program.  Intensely interesting, but honestly it’s very difficult to watch such super-educated, high-IQ people deny the overwhelming evidence for evolution.  Makes you wonder if there’s any point in trying to debate.

Also, Dr. Kenneth Miller’s book, “Only a Theory.” Fascinating reading it really opened my eyes to the magnitude of the ignorance.

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AW has had time to work on her blog, Pixel Kitchen, as well as contributing posts to the Washington DC MetBlogs.  AW pointed me to this post in the Washingtonian about an “Irish-themed dinner for under $25” that feeds six, with recipes by an up-and-coming DC chef.  She knows I’m a frugal foodie!  My own frugality manifsted itself today in my using my overripe bananas and stale Italian bread to make this banana bread pudding.

humble birthday bash

Yesterday was Paul’s birthday.  I didn’t have a gift or card — and spending money on anything extraneous is really out of the question now that I am officially living off my unemployment benefits: $405/week.  But I figured I could find an inexpensive box of chocolates at the Butcher Block, my local Irish grocery store.  I needed to head down there anyway, having eaten through all the Taytos during my insomnial episode earlier this week.  The trip paid off: the stock boy was swapping out the boxed chocolates regularly featured in the front of the store near the cash registers with the incoming Easter chocolates.  The BB always has great deals when they want to move inventory and I was able to pick up two Cadbury Flake “Moments” for $5 — they normally retail for $9/each.

Birthday dinner consisted of lasagne and a home-made apple pie (well, the pie-crust was left-over from the bag of frozen crusts I bought last week.  I didn’t mind the frozen crust as much with the apple pie as I did when I used one for the spinach quiche).  I  splurged and bought a quart of vanilla ice cream to go with the pie and we did have a lovely birthday dinner.  Also celebrating R Jr’s acceptance to Queens University of Charlotte.  I asked him how he felt about maybe going there, but he says he can’t really say until he sees the schools in Rome.

It turns out that R Jr. will be spending a full two weeks in Rome.  His school planned a last-minute, one-week  exchange with a Roman high school that falls the week after our trip.  Originally, we were planning on having him join  us in Ireland on our way back to the U.S., but now we’ll just extend the apartment rental so that he and his sister can have a mini Roman holiday before his classmates arrive.

random thoughts on valentine’s day

I don’t have anything for Paul for Valentine’s Day this year.  He said not to bother since I’ve no job hence, no extra spending money, but I usually do like to give him a little something — especially chocolates from Jacques Torres.  Ever since I made the “Master and Commander” valentine (about 4 or 5 years ago) it’s been pretty hard to come up with anything better.

My cousin’s husband, RV, sent his wife some kind of Facebook gift-app valentine.  It was unintentionally funny, too, as it read “Free Love” and I don’t think R, being from another country and not totally up to speed on America’s bizarre cultural history (especially in the 1960s-70s) understood what we think of when we think of “Free Love.”

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I’ve been experiencing a lot of sad feelings lately — I’ve shared some of them with some of you.   Those of you who know the story know that it was a struggle to mend the damage that arose from a particular individual’s selfish and neglectful behavior late last year.  I was just starting to settle down again, after being left so emotionally drained by the whole debacle, when a new chapter of the drama unfolded, setting everything in motion again.  Without having to recap, let me just alert those of you following the soap-opera to this latest plot twist:  the T family tree is sprouting another new and diverse branch — scheduled to blossom in later August/early September.

Having sad feelings is sad, but at least it’s not depression and I can at least feel happy that I recognize the difference enough to know I’m not depressed!

Also: being jobless makes me focus on things of a more urgent nature — sticking to a budget and looking for ways to raise cash and cut costs — and prevents me from indulging in any real regret or self-pity.  Paul tasked me with an activity I’ve been enjoying: rolling up the coins he’s been stashing in his big Arizona Iced Tea one gallon bottle.  So far, I’ve rolled and wrapped about $240 and the bottle is not yet half empty.  The goal is to gather about $1,000 which is what we need for our accommodations in Rome next month.

The Rome trip was planned before I lost my job and the flights are already paid so we just need to save up $$ for the apartment rental.  It will be the last — but most exotic and exciting — of our visits to check out colleges for R Jr.  We’ll be looking at the American University of Rome and John Cabot University, both in the Trastevere section.  I can’t wait!

close to home

Sticking close to home again today — not too much “work” work, so I’m focusing on what to make for dinner. I already know what I’m making for tomorrow night’s dinner: fresh pappardelle with a spicy sausage and pork ragout. I’ll make the ragout today and let it stand until tomorrow.

I also know what we’ll be having for dessert tonight — I baked a Duncan Hines Devils Food cake which I’m going to layer with strawberries and bananas and frost with whipped cream. I was inspired by a strawberry shortcake my sister-in-law served me a few weeks ago, and now that I’m out of work I’m trying not to spend money on the over-priced yummies available at Sugar & Joe, the new cupcake cafe that opened up on Greenpoint Ave some months ago.

I discovered one of my neighbors has already posted something about Sugar & Joe — I have to agree with her about the service and the beverages.  I ordered a Mexican hot chocolate recently, waited FOREVER for it (although I was the only one in the place), and was terribly disappointed when I finally tasted it.  I could have saved myself the trouble and just mixed a little cinnamon into some Hershey’s cocoa at home.

For a better cup of Mexican hot chocolate, the answer is De Mole.

craigslist rants

Sometimes when I’m bored I read through the “rants and raves” section of Craig’s List. I think I’ll start a weekly feature of my favorite posts. Here’s the first one:

RE: How to live on $10

Date: 2006-08-27, 12:32AM EDT

It can be done. Eat fried chicken, download all your music and movies illegally, and shoplift on the side. You can even smoke: order tobacco in bulk from Kansas, and roll it yourself. I have a titanium-steel “tube-injector” model that is a year old and still dependable.

Don’t go to bars. Drink Steel Reserve or St. Ides in your bedroom. I wouldn’t recommend drinking malt liquor your whole life but it will do for a few years.

Stay cool, and look for something better. Be patient. Federal minimum wage is still $5.15. High-fructose corn syrup has made a plethora of foods a lot cheaper, and drinking tap water won’t hurt you either.