tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66373932024-03-21T19:14:20.267-07:00Lately It Occurs to MeI'm starting here, at the bottom, off the top of my head.Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.comBlogger172125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-82332208835979829812012-11-27T16:25:00.001-08:002012-11-27T16:25:09.981-08:00Robin's blog: Deriving and Divining in Delhi: India BoundYou bet I'm following you, Robin! Digitally speaking, that is.<br />
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<a href="http://derivinganddivining.blogspot.com/2012/11/i-depart-on-december-1-2012-for-five.html?spref=bl">Deriving and Divining in Delhi: India Bound</a>: I depart on December 1, 2012 for a five week residency at the Sanskriti Foundation in New Delhi, India. My daughter, Sadie, will jo...Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-71565174519258550732011-08-21T10:11:00.000-07:002011-08-21T10:17:43.205-07:00An Archdruid on the Internet?<span style="font-style: italic;">It sounds oxymorony, but it's true, there is an archdruid on the Internet. Probably not the only one. I like this blog that my dad recently introduced me to, </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/">The Archdruid Report</a><span style="font-style: italic;">. Thoughtful and intelligent though somewhat predictable stuff about life yesterday, today, and tomorrow. His post last week, "</span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/2011/08/twilight-of-meaning.html">The Twilight of Meaning</a><span style="font-style: italic;">," inspired me to make this comment:</span>
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<br />I thought when the post opened with "this is hard to write" and then led to "unplug" that you were leading up to saying that you were ending your blog. Very relieved to find that that's not the case.
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<br />But I have the subsidiary reaction of .... well, do we unplug or not? I suspect my habit of spending so much time reading one pundit, blogger, commenter, tweeter, or what-have-you or another expostulating on his or her theories of life, the universe, and everything is probably at least as mind-numbing/culture-killing as watching a few episodes of "The Wire" or "Arrested Development," if not more so.
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<br />I also suspect that contemporary popular culture has not really changed so much throughout history, whenever your version of "contemporary" is. It's the same as the "kids today" complaint... the same lament, repeated generation after generation; why can't we hear ourselves being our grandparents? Popular culture is never good enough for the people who consider themselves "cultured." Charles Dickens was not revered as a literary master in his day. He was more like, say, Stephen King. I can easily imagine that one day Stephen King will be respected more like Charles Dickens.
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<br />And I have to ask, why does everyone who wants to take a pot-shot at popular culture use Lady Ga-Ga as their target? Because it's easy? Requires no research, no verification of any claim? Because lots of people who have also not investigated will chuckle and nod? That's certainly one formula for appealing to the lowest-common-denominator. I'm not an art historian, I'm not a teen-ager, not a hipster, not even a Lady Ga-Ga fan. But it doesn't take too much investigating to see that Lady Ga-Ga is a phenomenal and powerful cultural force, delivering messages that seem to be going over most of our heads. Next time you need a cultural punching bag, I suggest you use a Kardashian, Justin Bieber, or maybe The Wiggles. But maybe, for the integrity of your argument, at least Google them first.
<br />Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-82730488192600868162011-01-02T11:22:00.000-08:002011-01-02T11:23:52.136-08:00Stalling -- Master ClassWhy am I stalling? I've been here at my computer for, wow, three hours, reading, tweeting, doing basically nothing, and not opening this window and starting to blog. Why not? I had a couple of ideas of things to write about -- the great story by Stephen Millhauser that I read in the New Yorker this morning. Something else that I can't even remember I've fooled around so long. It may be that I felt pressure to write well about those things, that's why I couldn't get started. I'm keeping in mind what the Pomodoro man said. Fear of not meeting my own expectations causes me to interrupt myself, or in this case prevent myself from even starting.<br /><br />The trouble with this, what I'm actually writing right now, is that it's the worst sort of drivel that exists in the civilized world. Writing about not writing. And I'm doing it, because, seeing as it's the worst thing there is, I can't possibly not meet that expectation. Not writing is better than this writing. That is a low expectation. I'm not intimidated by that.<br /><br />Don't want to take this into a "what causes me to be so easily intimidated by expecations" vein. That would be sickening for all parties. Especially my parents, probably. And they don't deserve that. How chickenshit is that to blame my parents for the fact that I sit here in my pajamas and tweet while I should be writing or taking down the Christmas tree? Especially since I now have kids who are mere moments away from being old enough to start blaming their disappointments in life on their mom and dad. Especially mom, of course. Everything is always the mom's fault.<br /><br />Okay, Christmas tree. Brace yourself. You're coming down.Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-31115704872759120262011-01-01T09:15:00.000-08:002011-01-01T09:16:45.405-08:00Hoppin' John and Mom<p>Maybe I'm not a real cook. I can't really tell the difference between my mom's Oklahoma-born Hoppin' John and Deborah Madison's vegetarian Hoppin' John. I follow a recipe when I cook just about anything, but, in essence whichever recipe for Hoppin' John I follow, I'm dicing onions and peppers and cooking beans. I don't put ham or any meat in it. Not because I'm a vegetarian, just because I have never liked the flavor of cured pork that has cooked a long time. This year will be interesting because I forgot to buy peppers. I've got chili flakes, but there's usually sauteed bell pepper in there too. We'll see. And I bought kale instead of collards just because there was so much fabulous kale at the grocery store. I cook that without pork too. Same reason. I use Deborah Madison's trick of cooking it with brown butter. It's an excellent trick, make a note of it. There's probably another reason, apart from whether I am a real cook or not, that I can't tell the difference between my mom's Hoppin' John recipe and Deborah Madison's, even though my mom is just...my mom who cooks, and Deborah Madison is a renowned chef. My mom is a kick-ass cook. I mean, people hear you talk about "mom's cooking" and figure well, yeah, everyone loves their mom's cooking. No. Everyone loves MY mom's cooking. She's just really damned good at it. She learned from books. Joy of Cooking and James Beard, specifically. But of course there has to be more to it than that. She's got some certain knack that just makes everything she cooks taste exactly like it should. Even when she cooks something that turns out to be a disaster -- I'm remembering some chicken mole thing one Christmas about 40 years ago -- she manages to salvage it so that it's still good, just not what she intended. She can walk into a kitchen where there seems to be "nothing to eat" and next thing you know you're having a sundae of granola and chocolate sauce, or toast with garlicky tomato sauce. As I mentioned, she's from Oklahoma, there was no cuisine there beyond well-done steaks and Campbell's soup. Her mother was not an enthusiastic cook, my mom did not learn from Grandma. My mom came to San Francisco and noticed the people smelled different. Before long she realized it was garlic. Italian restaurants used lots of garlic and everyone ate Italian food. So she used garlic. Maybe garlic was her gateway flavor. After living in a boarding house and eating prepared meals for a year or so, she got pregnant, married, and was suddenly responsible for producing meals. She says the first time she and my dad went to a grocery store to stock their kitchen, a friend came with them. My dad said he was going to read magazines while she got the groceries. She looked at the friend and said, "What do I buy?" He was equally mystified. They wandered through the store, guessing at groceries. After that she knew she needed to know more. She went to a bookstore and found The Joy of Cooking. And she studied it.</p> <p style="text-align: center;" _mce_style="text-align: center;"><a target="_self" href="http://api.ning.com/files/IVSM8x0JKjz9A6kqCi9fGcS4A*L9d5f2qzJrplqtDTL-pJEiMIfJ-OoOxxnvwECoU9ZYIymOk6r8czmX-ADgbp4N-LJqQ5vd/MomsJoyofCooking.jpg" _mce_href="http://api.ning.com/files/IVSM8x0JKjz9A6kqCi9fGcS4A*L9d5f2qzJrplqtDTL-pJEiMIfJ-OoOxxnvwECoU9ZYIymOk6r8czmX-ADgbp4N-LJqQ5vd/MomsJoyofCooking.jpg"><img class="align-center" src="http://api.ning.com/files/IVSM8x0JKjz9A6kqCi9fGcS4A*L9d5f2qzJrplqtDTL-pJEiMIfJ-OoOxxnvwECoU9ZYIymOk6r8czmX-ADgbp4N-LJqQ5vd/MomsJoyofCooking.jpg" _mce_src="http://api.ning.com/files/IVSM8x0JKjz9A6kqCi9fGcS4A*L9d5f2qzJrplqtDTL-pJEiMIfJ-OoOxxnvwECoU9ZYIymOk6r8czmX-ADgbp4N-LJqQ5vd/MomsJoyofCooking.jpg" width="600" /></a><em>Mom's 1952 Edition of "Joy of Cooking," in 2010. She Still Uses It.</em></p> <p>Maybe another thing that contributed to her knack is her appetite. She's not greedy, she doesn't eat a lot, but when it's time to eat, she's going to eat. Delaying a meal is wrong in every way. It can be somewhat unpleasant to be with her in a restaurant if the service is delayed. She wants her food and she wants it now. Of course, 50, 30 years ago people didn't eat fast food or any restaurant food as readily as they do now. Even when she was a swinging single girl in San Francisco they ate most of their meals in the boarding house and went out to dinner occasionally. But once married, almost every meal was prepared and eaten at home. Maybe because she'd had that year between leaving her mom's home and starting her own, of having meals prepared for her, she'd gotten more into a rhythm of "proper" meals three times a day. No grabbing a bowl of cereal here, a cheese sandwich there. In any case, she became the cook she is today. Now when I talk to her on the phone, if she starts telling me what she made that day, or reminiscing about something she always likes to cook, I flip open my laptop and start typing. She's chatting about food and I'm typing as fast as I can saying, "uh-huh, uh-huh, go on...." so I can hand some of this skill, talent, and magic on to my daughters.</p> <p>Here's one of her recipes just as I captured it during a phone call:</p> <blockquote><p>ground meat. 1/2 lb<br />onion. dice<br />green beans 1 lb<br /><br />par-boil beans, crisp-tender.<br />brown onions and meat.<br />toss all together.<br />lots (3 Tbspns) of soy sauce<br />serve over rice.</p> </blockquote> <p>And it works, just like that. It sounds absurdly simple, but it's also simply delicious.</p>Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-35816231200796021712010-12-02T20:36:00.000-08:002010-12-02T21:04:09.951-08:00Beautiful Crazy SoupThe carrots, bell pepper, and bok choi combine beautifully in this straightforward soup. When I made this, I roasted vegetables in the oven too with the idea that I'd have sauteed and roasted beautiful crazy soup. But the soup seemed so complete without the roast vegetables (rutabaga, parsnips, turnip, purple potatoes) that I served them separately after all.<br /><br />Makes about 10 servings.<br /><br />3 tblspns olive oil<br />1 onion diced<br />1 lb chicken, red pepper, spinach sausage, sliced<br />2 carrots sliced thinly<br />2 stalks celery sliced thinly<br />1 red bell pepper, diced<br />1 tsp tumeric<br />1 tsp cumin<br />1/8 tsp cayenne<br />2 cans (or equivalent homemade) pinto beans (drain one, use one's juice)<br />1 quart chicken broth<br />1/2 a large bok choi, washed and sliced, whites separated from greens<br /><br />In a big soup pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onions and sausage. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions begin to soften. Add carrots, celery, and bell pepper. Stir well. Add spices. Cook, stirring frequently until vegetables begin to soften. Add beans and broth. Add whites of bok choi. Cook until broth begins to simmer. Add bok choi greens. Cook until soup is hot and greens are wilted. Serve.<br /><br />Got crunchy bread? Parmesan might be nice. Mmmm, maybe a dollop of pesto.Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-34755980966292645752010-10-10T12:06:00.000-07:002010-10-11T10:34:55.713-07:00Nick Kristof Does It AgainHere is my cheater-version of the brilliant quiz that Nick Kristof wrote for us in his recent <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/opinion/10kristof.html?_r=1">NYT Op-Ed column</a>:<br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:180%;" >Q1</span><span style="font-size:180%;">.</span></span> Which holy book stipulates that a girl who does not bleed on her wedding night should be stoned to death?<br />a. Koran<br />b. Old Testament<br />c. (Hindu) Upanishads <br /><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:180%;" >A1</span><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span></span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">b</span>. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+22%3A20-21&version=NIV">Deuteronomy 22:21</a>.<br /></blockquote><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Q2.</span></span> Which holy text declares: “Let there be no compulsion in religion”?<br />a. Koran<br />b. Gospel of Matthew<br />c. Letter of Paul to the Romans<br /><blockquote><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A2</span>.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">a</span>. Koran, 2:256. But other sections of the Koran do describe coercion.<br /><br /></blockquote><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Q3</span>.</span> The terrorists who pioneered the suicide vest in modern times, and the use of women in terror attacks, were affiliated with which major religion?<br />a. Islam<br />b. Christianity<br />c. Hinduism <br /><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:180%;" >A3.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">c</span>. Most early suicide bombings were by <a href="http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2008/january/tamil_tigers011008">Tamil Hindus</a> (some secular) in Sri Lanka and India.<br /></blockquote><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Q4.</span></span> "Every child is touched by the devil as soon as he is born and this contact makes him cry. Excepted are Mary and her Son.” This verse is from:<br />a. Letters of Paul to the Corinthians<br />b. The Book of Revelation<br />c. An Islamic hadith, or religious tale <br /><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:180%;" >A4.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">c.</span> Hadith. Islam teaches that Jesus was a prophet to be revered.<br /></blockquote><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:180%;" >Q5.</span> Which holy text is sympathetic to slavery?<br />a. Old Testament<br />b. New Testament<br />c. Koran <br /><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:180%;" >A5.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">All of the above.</span></blockquote><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Q6.</span></span> In the New Testament, Jesus’ views of homosexuality are:<br />a. strongly condemnatory<br />b. forgiving<br />c. never mentioned <br /><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:180%;" >A6.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">c.</span> Other parts of the New and Old Testaments object to homosexuality, but there’s no indication of Jesus’ views.</blockquote><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Q7.</span></span> Which holy text urges responding to evil with kindness, saying: “repel the evil deed with one which is better.”<br />a. Gospel of Luke<br />b. Book of Isaiah<br />c. Koran <br /><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:180%;" >A7.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">c</span>. <a href="http://quran.com/41/34%C2%A0">Koran, 41:34</a>. Jesus says much the same thing in different words.<br /></blockquote><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Q8.</span></span> Which religious figure preaches tolerance by suggesting that God looks after all peoples and leads them all to their promised lands?<br />a. Muhammad<br />b. Amos<br />c. Jesus <br /><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:180%;" >A8.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">b.</span> Amos 9:7</blockquote><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:180%;" >Q9.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span>Which of these religious leaders was a polygamist?<br />a. Jacob<br />b. King David<br />c. Muhammad <br /><blockquote><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A9.</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> all of them</span></blockquote><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Q10.</span></span> What characterizes Muhammad’s behavior toward the Jews of his time?<br />a. He killed them.<br />b. He married one.<br />c. He praised them as a chosen people. <br /><blockquote><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A10.</span></span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">all of these.</span> Muhammad’s Jewish wife was seized in battle, which undermines the spirit of the gesture. By some accounts he had a second Jewish wife as well.</blockquote><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Q11.</span></span> Which holy scripture urges that the "little ones" of the enemy be dashed against the stones?<br />a. Book of Psalms<br />b. Koran<br />c. Leviticus <br /><blockquote><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A11.</span></span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">a.</span> Psalm 137</blockquote><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Q12.</span></span> Which holy scripture suggests beating wives who misbehave?<br />a. Koran<br />b. Letters of Paul to the Corinthians<br />c. Book of Judges <br /><blockquote><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A12.</span></span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">a.</span> Koran 4:34</blockquote><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Q13.</span></span> Which religious leader is quoted as commanding women to be silent during services?<br />a. The first Dalai Lama<br />b. St. Paul<br />c. Muhammad <br /><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:180%;" >A13.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> b.</span> St. Paul, both in 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2, but many scholars believe that neither section was actually written by Paul.</blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-22430919864136118482010-10-07T10:17:00.000-07:002011-01-16T16:31:03.778-08:00Rage StrudelMaybe rage is a good spice to have on hand for strudel emergencies...<br /><br />Filling:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7p-xDptREbnh0TAjJOWqIJzuQ2p-DAToPlxCZit3kpG0kWX1Ha_Eh9vcO2cY703PZNjQi7Nc251gIMDF9qBJwK4XKHeRkSybCQHdDkNjW8emR6Bai3XR6WGxzRlf0No3OYsZeNg/s1600/IMAG0103.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7p-xDptREbnh0TAjJOWqIJzuQ2p-DAToPlxCZit3kpG0kWX1Ha_Eh9vcO2cY703PZNjQi7Nc251gIMDF9qBJwK4XKHeRkSybCQHdDkNjW8emR6Bai3XR6WGxzRlf0No3OYsZeNg/s320/IMAG0103.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525724284604580834" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">4 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced thin</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">juice of one lime</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">1 tblspn cinnamon</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">1 cup brown sugar</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">3/4 cup almond meal</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">2 tblspns butter</span><br />Mix all that, set aside.<br /><br />Dough:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">One package phyllo dough</span><br />Mangle whole thing badly, getting flakes all over kitchen.<br />Abandon all hope, foment blind rage.<br />Move on in desperation.<br /><br />Rage Dough:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Crust for two crust pie</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">2.25 Cups flour</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">1/4 tsp salt</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">1/2 cup shortening</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">2 tablespoons butter</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">5 - 6 tablespoons water</span><br />Dump it all, except water, into the mixmaster.<br />Add water, one tablespoon at a time until dough is all slightly moistened and starts to stick together. Divide dough into two equal portions, form into balls, wrap in wax paper, refrigerate for 15 minutes. Take out one ball. Roll it a bit, fold it in half, roll it a bit more. Repeat a few times. Then roll it out into a thin 8ish x 12ish oblong. Transfer to a parchment covered baking sheet.<br />Oh, now's a good time to pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.<br /><br />Also, EndGame:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">1 tblspn butter, melted</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">1 tblspn almond meal</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">1 tblspn cinnamon sugar mixture that you happen to have on hand</span><br />Just hang on to those for a few minutes.<br /><br />Take out the other ball, do the same thing, but end up with a slightly narrower, shorter oblong.<br />Dump the apple mixture onto the dough on the baking sheet. Neatly. It's probably pretty juicy by now, gonna slop all over. Try to confine it. Keep the outer inch or so of dough free. Now take the second sheet of dough and cover the apples. Brush melted butter onto the free inch of the bottom sheet. Fold that bottom inch up and pinch it onto the top sheet. I don't know how, the whole conceit is absurd. Just finagle it as best you can. When you've accomplished this, brush the top of the Rage Strudel with melted butter (I meant to do this, not sure if I actually did it). Dust the top with almond meal; sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Tell yourself oh well, you did your best, and bake for 40 minutes or until it seems about right.<br /><br />This is as far as I've gotten. I really don't know what to do with it now. In one hour I'm supposed to transport this to the 7th grade German class; I don't even know how to get it off the baking sheet. Sheesh.<br /><br />Okay, relax. I just had to use a spatula to pry it away from the melty caramelly sauce that oozed out and then it slipped right off the baking sheet onto the cutting board. Let it cool a bit; it sliced up fine. I am amazed. It's pretty good!<br /><br />EPILOGUE: January 16, 2011. So, months ago, not long after I first made this, a mom in the class asked me for the recipe. She said her daughter reported that it was "the best thing EVER." I was happy to hear that report. I'm making it again today. But this time, just because I have it and am not going to make Apple Dumplings after all, I'm using the biscuit-y dough I made yesterday for a recipe in the Cook's Illustrated "Best of America's Test Kitchens" 2011 Annual magazinie-cookbook thing I bought at Costco this week. I'll report on how this turns out when I know more. So far, it is baking and smelling good.<br /><br />Mmmm! Tasting good too. Didn't seal the sides up well enough and apple caramelly saucey dripped all over the bottom of the oven, smoking up the house and necessitating the whole-house fan, but that's to be expected. The doughier biscuit-y dough didn't take as long to bake, about 35 minutes. Might have been better if I'd baked it at 400 instead of 350. But overall, yum.Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-18555068709954964572010-08-31T14:26:00.000-07:002010-08-31T14:30:08.516-07:00PAYPAL IS THE WORST COMPANY IN THE WORLDThe title says it all, echoes my experience quite accurately. The only point I would add is that I once found myself part of a class action suit against paypal, and was awarded damages, and I was so naive I had them put my award in my paypal account, because I believed that after THIS surely they'd be different. Not different. I have never been able to access that money. Or the $10 they "gave" me for being one of the first people on earth to ever sign up with paypal.<br /><br />Paypal causes money to unexist.<br /><br />Read <a href="http://www.balloon-juice.com/2010/08/30/paypal-is-the-worst-company-in-the-world/">John Cole's story here.</a>Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-46682064485155894772010-08-19T10:39:00.001-07:002010-08-19T11:14:04.921-07:00Half a Chance to Not Look Stupid Half the TimeI haven't blogged in a while. That can mean a few different things. One, my life has been so mundane as to seem unworthy of any noting. Two, my life has been so scintillating that I haven't paused to reflect on it. Three, I'm distracted by mundane idiocy and consider it unworthy of sharing, but can't tear myself away from it to share other topics. <div><br /></div><div>I think this current dearth is attributable to Thing Three. I got a new phone, a smart phone -- also known as a smartphone -- and I'm so busy employing it to make my life better that my life is currently all about it. As shall be this post. Abandon me now, all ye who care not about this crap and all ye who already know 100x more than me about this crap.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hello? Anyone? Seems that covered just about everyone. Blogging to myself again...</div><div><br /></div><div>It's an adorable little HTC Hero from Credo Mobile, this new phone of mine. The greatest downside to it is that my kids are SO JEALOUS they can't even begin to be happy about their new phones, which are very fine phones as well in which I, like the kids, take no interest. Their phones just aren't as smart. And we all know there's nothing as sexy as smartness. By sexy, I mean distractingly appealing. But smartness costs $25 a month extra, and I'm not forking it over for a twelve-year-old, sorry. I'd consider it for the 15-year-old if she had a demonstrated academic need for it, but so far she doesn't. And not even that much interest. It's really the poor little 12-y-o who runs technological circles around the rest of us. But it's not need, it's interest. I'm spending her portion of the family fortune on school and lessons and food. Not digital signals. For now. </div><div><br /></div><div>BACK TO MY HERO -- it's so adorable. It's my first touchscreen anything, I think. I spend quite a bit of time just screwing up the typing. I don't know why this doesn't enrage me, but so far I just find it amusing and keep struggling. Also, the first call I got, I hung up on. And then once we did connect, and finish the conversation, and I tried to hang up, I called them back instead. There's a bit of a curve, learning/adapting-wise with this thing. I think I mainly just love it cuz it fits easily in the palm of my hand and my whole world is right there. My calendar, emails, texts, files, tweets, everything. Especially the calendar. I can make an appointment for the orthodontist and know if it conflicts with the karate lessons, even if the lessons changed from 3:30 to 3:45 two weeks ago -- I don't have to count on myself to have raced through the calendar pages erasing all the :30s and changing them to :45s. The same calendar that I see on my computer at home is right there in my purse with me. I heart it. I feel it gives me half a chance to not look stupid half the time. These are not chances I feel I have all the time.</div><div><br /></div><div>I also like that it's Credo. They are also "Working Assets," remember them? The groovy credit card company. They openly commit to making a portion of what we pay them into contributions for liberal causes. Since AT&T and Verizon clandestinely make portions of what we pay them into contributions to right-wing causes, I'd just as soon not give them my money. Especially when their service is CRAP. If I'm going to pay for crap, at least let it not conflict with my core values for pete's sake. It's bad enough to be reduced to a simpering puddle of impotent fury by a "customer service" encounter of any kind; add to that the knowledge that they are also taking the (amazingly large) profits generated by my dependence on them and using it to undermine liberty and justice for all, well, if you think about it too much, it could give you an aneurysm. I don't want to think about that. I said to heck with it and switched. It helped quite a bit that Credo was willing to buy out my existing contract (up to $200 for up to three lines -- bingo! that's us). "Buying out" seems to mean they give me credit toward my bill equal to what I pay my old carrier in contract termination fees, but that's still money. I'm okay with it. I was so disappointed in Verizon from the get-go that I am just happy to be able to say so long! </div><div><br /></div><div>My next step in the project is to get rid of our land line. I'm a bit intimidated by this step. We have our phone and Internet service through AT&T U-Verse cable, which I'm far less than happy with. Our phone calls have sounded scratchy ever since we made the change and it drives our answering machine nuts, recording the dial tone after every call. And our internet connection has been herky-jerky. Honestly, I am TOTALLY dreading calling AT&T and talking to them about what my options are. The nightmare web of "press or say..." and "please hold while we transfer you" and "thank you for holding, your call is important to us" awaits me and I am full of dread.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-892131386722898872010-08-04T08:43:00.000-07:002010-08-04T09:14:14.359-07:00The Governor Wounds Me<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;">Here are the Governor's remarks: http://blogs.sacbee.com/the_state_worker/2010/08/schwarzenegger-were-not-taking.html</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;">Here's my comment at The State Worker blog, now buried by the hundreds of other comments:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><br /></span></div><blockquote>Those are the most personally hurtful remarks I have ever experienced from a government official. I feel as if I have been slapped. And then kicked. It is insulting on so many levels that he feels it is appropriate to accuse the questioner of ignorance in order to answer the question. That isn't a response, it's bullying, plain and simple.</blockquote><blockquote>State employees know what's going on in the private sector. There is no possible way to not know--the lives of private sector working people and public sector working people are inextricably linked. The people of one "sector" cannot even function without the other. All workers need state employees and state employees need grocery checkers and car mechanics and babysitters and on and on. Not to mention that all the workers in these two sectors are each others' spouses, sons, daughters, parents, neighbors, lovers, bffs... </blockquote><blockquote>This, I'm afraid, is where we completely diverge from the lives of the Schwarzeneggers, no matter how many millions he generously hasn't made in the past 7 years. It is physically sickening that he thinks it is valid to compare his choosing to stay as rich as he is, instead of becoming richer and richer and richer, to the plight of the working people in California. There. Is. No. Comparison.</blockquote><br />That was yesterday and it's still bothering me that he said these things. I am not even opposed to furloughs; I'd be FOR them if they actually seemed to help with California's deficit, but there is too much evidence that they don't -- the State still owes workers either the time or the money and it's costing a bundle to fight the legal challenges. Politically I may be a Democrat, but at the molecular level I seem to be a Socialist; I am never comfortable having more than others. He's misguided when he thinks that everyone who disagrees with his approach is merely greedy. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;">I strongly object to the insinuation that the people who depend on every dollar they earn every month are simply whining when they say they need that money. His statement that "the banks immediately offered" to cover workers' salaries if budget problems caused them not to be paid is patently false. IF you bank with a local credit union, and IF you have direct deposit, and IF the minimum wage threat took effect, it was announced last month that the credit union would cover your salary. But before that we were told no, they wouldn't. One reason was that it was possibly an ethics violation for State employees to receive 0% loans. No relief was ever offered for bridging the salary gap brought on by furloughs. If you don't have direct deposit at a participating credit union, you could apply for a loan at 4.9% and good luck with that.<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;">Face it, movie stars and people with trust funds and others who do not depend on your salary every month to make ends meet, people who don't even know what the ends are -- you do not understand what it means to live month to month. It means so much more than the math of how much comes in vs. how much goes out. It means that every little incident in your life ripples out in unpredictable ways; ways that can be inconsequential, or catastrophic. There is a level of uncertainty that cannot be quantified continually taking its toll on your peace of mind. A leaking pipe, a broken down car, a sick parent, any routine little incident of daily life can spin your world into a dizzying spiral of calamity. That knowledge is always there. And it's not theoretical. At the least it's about threadbare towels vs fluffy ones, but it always carries the potential of food vs. hunger, safety vs. danger, life vs. death. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><br /></span></span></div>Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-63046339367922863552010-07-09T11:26:00.000-07:002010-07-09T11:30:45.596-07:00You Runs, I Chases<a href="http://sfappeal.com/news/2010/07/ggp-dogs.php">This article at SF Appeal</a>, San Francisco's online news'paper', prompted this comment from me:<div><div></div><blockquote><div>No banning or outlawing or rule-making is going to stop dogs from being a potential danger that runners have to be prepared for. Unless we somehow manage to rid the world of dogs altogether. Or maybe we'd do better to rid the world of runners.... Neither of these ridiculous extremes solves anything. Any dog, no matter how well-bred and well-trained and well-cared-for, might respond in a dangerous and/or frightening way to a person running. The perfectly plausible scenarios are endless -- dog protecting a new baby; dog sees another dog playfully chasing and gets the wrong idea; dog's fence blows down and it finds itself unexpectedly at liberty in the wide world.... And none of those scenarios justify blaming anyone, dog or owner. </div><div><br /></div><div>Animal lovers are a lot like English Majors. They measure their love by considering their version The Correct One, and those whose love (or grammar, or spelling) is expressed differently just don't love as well and are bad and not as good and neener-neener-I-am-holier-than-thou. I believe you can love animals and still have some compassion for humans. You can even love animals and consider a particular dog an asshole, pure and simple. I mean, really, they are individuals -- they can't all be noble help-meets; that'd be boring and kinda sick. </div><div><br /></div><div>Runners have got to carry protection. One commenter mentioned several products -- pepper spray, some sonic thing, a stun gun...maybe you could use a phaser? -- to deter the random, typical dog from pursuing and/or injuring you. And runners should be able to use these non-harmful but very discouraging deterrents with impunity. Even if you find out afterwards that Fluffy was just wanting to tell you that your shoe is untied, it should be perfectly kosher, culturally, among us, to first mace any dog who rushes up to you, and ask questions later. </div><div><br /></div><div>Although commenter Jayne's remark that every runner should bring a man along gave me a good laugh, I do agree that no runner should go out alone at any time of day or night without some kind of protection from unexpected encounters of all kinds. Golden Gate Park is a wonderful, magical, enchanting place, but it's not Disneyland. Nowhere is Disneyland. </div></blockquote><div></div></div>Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-85808855450805919562010-06-30T22:44:00.000-07:002010-06-30T23:41:59.898-07:00Call Me Crazy<div>We're not calling it a "diet." We're calling it a "menu." We want to get a handle on our sugar/simple-carb addiction, so we are following an adapted version of the <a href="http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/shoppinglist_p1.htm">South Beach Diet</a>'s "phase 1." Simplified, it's a lot of protein and vegetables, no fruit, no grains, no sweets, no potatoes, no corn (is corn a grain? Anyway, none of that). Considering that our family could probably go for days barely eating a vegetable and otherwise consuming ONLY starches, this is a fairly dramatic shift. We started Monday officially, Sunday night a little sorta.</div><div><br /></div><div>To cheer ourselves up, we have sugar-free, fat-free Jello Instant Pudding (chocolate fudge flavor) with sugar-free Land-o-Lakes heavy whipped cream from a can at night after dinner. And it is, truly, quite cheering. And that worked so well that in the afternoons the girls and I make ourselves iced coffees, using the spray-on whipped cream as both creamer <i>and</i> sweetener. So, a lot of it is required in each coffee. We have not quite used two cans in two days. Of course there are four of us. Husband is at work in the afternoon, so he doesn't participate in the afternoon coffee fest. So, maybe that's more like 3.3 of us. Oh, who's counting?</div><div><br /></div><div>No one. We're counting nothing. Fat does not count; calories do not count. We just want to get through from Monday to Saturday without eating any grain or sugar. It's now Wednesday and we're doing okay. Actually, Old Daughter is doing pretty well. She started feeling more energetic and perky after just over a day of eating more protein and veggies and less other stuff. Husband just always says fine when he is reporting his status. Make of that what you will. Yesterday Young Daughter looked like she thought she was a character in a Twilight movie -- humorless and self-pitying to an unnatural degree. Much better today already, but she's still pining for the noodles. Me, I am eating ceaselessly. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here is some of what we've been eating. Add coffee and V-8 and nuts, and this is about the size of it:</div><div><br /></div><div>Breakfast [I had imagined I would make things, like frittatas and omelets, but so far that has not happened even once. I just throw things into the skillet and scramble em]:</div><div><ul><li>Egg and something, like smoked salmon or sausage or cheese & chives or canadian bacon</li><li>V-8 (we use the low-sodium kind and add salt. It's still probably lower sodium than the regular)</li></ul></div><div>Snack:</div><div><ul><li>Slice of turkey sandwich meat in a lettuce leaf w/cilantro mayo</li><li>A cheesestick or two and carrots</li><li>Hummus and cucumber</li><li>Celery and cream cheese</li></ul></div><div>Lunch:</div><div><ul><li>Caesar salad (with chicken or extra anchovies or something) </li><li>Cobb salad (with bleu cheese and canned crab]</li><li>Gazpacho and a hamburger patty</li><li>Taco salad with no taco, but salsa and cheddar cheese cubes okay</li></ul></div><div>and more V-8 </div><div><br /></div><div>Snack:</div><div>Same as morning snack, or...</div><div><ul><li>Mozzarella and tomatoes</li><li>Hardboiled egg and some crunchy veggie, maybe a bell pepper, or sugar snap peas [sugar! yay!! oops, sorry]</li></ul>Dinner</div><div>Lots of SBD's (no, smarty, in this case it stands for "South Beach Diet") menu suggestions call for chicken or fish. I'm not taking advantage of too many of those good ideas because we just bought a quarter of a grass-fed cow and I am too stubborn to buy any other meat. So we are eating mostly steaks and ground beef. No complaints.</div><div>Like,</div><div><ul><li>Steak and a salad and broiled tomato halves</li><li>Cheeseburgers with romaine leaves in place of buns (very messy, and actually, truly delicious)</li><li>Steak with spinach stuffed mushrooms and salad</li><li>Beef, cabbage salad (thinly sliced cabbage tossed with rice vinegar and a few drops of sesame oil), snow peas</li><li>Beef, asparagus, fennel salad</li><li>Beef, cauliflower mashed not-potatoes, green beans</li></ul>And I already described our fabulous dessert.</div><div><br /></div><div>Maybe I should've weighed or measured myself before I started this so I can dazzle you with the results. (I had to resist very hard the urge to put "results" in "quotation marks.") But, regardless of the numbers, if my kids and I can go three days without sugar or dough, and with very little suffering of any kind, I call it three days of WIN. (I guess three is a number. Whatever. I coulda just said "a few" -- still, it's all WIN WIN WIN.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, tonight, for dinner, cuz we're on, you know, like, a diet, we had tasty, refreshing gazpacho, and <a href="http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/02/photo-of-the-day-bacon-cheese-turtleburgers.html">this</a>. Except ours had no feet, tails, or head and were DELICIOUS. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-29822935614647060952010-06-21T07:52:00.000-07:002010-06-21T08:38:01.409-07:00A Better Flour?I want to recommend Eagle Mills All-Purpose Unbleached Flour to you. But I'm not sure if I can. If the mere fact that I have been using it and love it is enough, then there's your recommendation. I have been using it (I guess I'm on my 30th pound...) and I do love it. I don't know much else about it though.<br /><br />I buy it at Costco, but I've never seen it anywhere else (haven't looked), so I don't know if the price is competitive, I'm just assuming it is.<br /><br />I use it for everything -- pie crust, cookies, bread, muffins, whatevs. It bakes up just like white flour, except not icky. It seems to have the good properties of white flour, light, crisp, flavorful but not dominating, without the bland, pasty, whiteness of white flour.<br /><br />According to its package, it's just about perfect:<br /><ul><li>"All Natural"</li><li>"Replaces Other All-Purpose Flours Cup For Cup"</li><li>"Double the Fiber Of Other All-Purpose Flours"</li><li>"9 Grams of Whole Grain Per Serving"</li><li>"A Wholesome Blend of White and Ultragrain (r) Flours"</li></ul>Uh-oh. That trademark symbol. That is not a good sign. At one time I searched the whole label and found something that reassured me about its content, but now I can't find it. Maybe I'd gone to the Eagle Mills website. I'll check and report back. But for now I'll just tell you that the ingredients say<br /><br /><blockquote>"Ingredients: Unbleached Flour (Wheat Flour and Ultragrain (r) Whole Wheat Flour)."</blockquote><br />Seems like it's gotta be GMO. Or something.<br /><br />OK, here we are at at the <a href="http://www.ultragrain.com/faqs.jsp">Ultragrain Eagle Mills FAQ</a>. All natural, all natural all natural. They're really touting the all-natural, cup-for-cup angle. Finally, way down the page:<br /><blockquote><br />"Is Ultragrain(r) genetically modified in any way? No, Ultragrain(r) is an all-natural, 100% whole grain product."</blockquote><br />I don't know the law, but I think GMOs can be called all natural. They grow outta the ground after all. And being whole grain is not going to affect whether it is GMO or not, so the answer seems...can I use the word specious here? I'm gonna try it. Also, I don't know that GMOs are all bad. But, as we also don't know that they are all safe, I prefer to steer clear of them.<br /><br />Anyway, as comforting as Ultragrain(r)'s "all natural" assurance may be, I also learn on this page that Ultragrain(r) is made by ConAgra Foods Inc. (sounds like the name of a recent movie, don't it dot dot dot). I have never known ConAgra to do anything for me that doesn't benefit them tenfold. And they are certainly willing to do do things that benefit them and do me no good at all. For instance <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/business/15ingredients.html?_r=1&ref=conagra_foods_inc">these pies</a>. This <a href="http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/ConAgra-Foods">fairly neutral site</a> gives a general sense of the nature of the company. The sense I get is that they aren't about the food. They're about the stockholders.<br /><br />So, there you have it. I use this product, I like it, but I'm looking over my shoulder.Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-21582050661901775162010-05-14T05:45:00.000-07:002010-05-14T07:17:19.888-07:00Follow Along With Kitchen Katastrophe!I woke up at three this morning, yes, 3:oo a.m. The thought of what my kid would eat while she was out all day with her class -- oh, you know, one of those bravery team-work adventure things that classes do -- struck a chill in my heart. I have been sick all week and the house is not at its toply hummingest. Do we even have packable lunch foods? She's going to be out exerting herself all day. That's a 100% increase over her usual level of exertion. I thought of my good old reliable whole wheat muffin recipe and got out of bed to start cooking. The muffins are reliable indeed and turned out well except for when it came time to turn them out. I used my non-stick heart-shaped muffin tins, and I even sprayed that nasty cooking spray in there. But the muffins still stuck. I had to pry them out with a lettuce knife (hey, it's thin, and it's plastic and it's not like I have any other use for it). Half of them came out split down the middle. But half of them came out okay. So that's okay.<br /><br />Then I went on! I made these little <a href="http://www.simplecomfortfood.com/2010/05/12/mini-chili-frittata/">mini muffin frittata things</a> that I saw a recipe for yesterday. Once I looked at the recipe, I thought four eggs is not that eggie for 12 muffin cups, and I wanted to give her something with a lot of protein. So I added an egg. And I omitted the half an onion because I didn't feel like cutting up an onion at 5am. So, I mix it all up, mix mix mix, gotta mix a lot because our backyard hens' eggs don't mix as easily as store-bought eggs. I don't know why but I'm sure it's another indication of our eggs' betterness. I did not use my heart muffins for this. Just a regular ol' muffin tin. Yes, it's true, I didn't wash a single dish in between recipes. I'm on a deadline! She's gotta leave at 6:30.<br /><br />I guess I over-filled my muffin cups, because I could only fill seven of them. I was expecting to make 12. And again, non-stick pan, icky spray, and they're all sticking to the pan like glue anyway. Not like glue, okay. I am able to pry them out. But they have clearly been traumatized by the experience. Gah. Am I going to have to start individually greasing each cup in each tin when I make muffin-shaped foods? What is this -- the middle ages?!? Next time I make this I will use more eggs, more flour, and perhaps a lower temperature and longer cooking time.... Anyway, they aren't bad. Her dad got up and ate one and he said it was good. I felt successful. I packed her a yummy lunch and snacks that would make any traveling athlete happy.<br /><br />When she got up at 6 she reminded me that two months ago we wrote a check for eleven dollars -- to pay for her lunch and snacks at the event. She doesn't need to bring any food.Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-9998865643554456692010-05-10T01:24:00.000-07:002010-05-10T01:32:04.444-07:00Now What Am I Getting Myself Into?Another thing to drain me of any pretense of "privacy"? For some reason the fact that I learned of <a href="http://www.empireavenue.com/">Empire Avenue</a> from <a href="http://twitter.com/adrielhampton">Adriel Hampton</a> makes me think, Oh, then it must be a good thing. I only "know" him from Twitter. But I've been following him for a pretty long time, and he's a public figure who seems to have values that I respect, so...so, yeah, like that means anything. Let's face it, we're living in a world where words like "privacy" and "know" make more sense in quotation marks. Which, I think, means they are heavily qualified by tacit yet widely understood qualifiers.<br /><br />This Empire Avenue place says when I copy this code<br />EAVB_MCQPSUZQHL<br />into a blog post, it uh, verifies my blog. Or something. I don't know. The whole thing's so crazy! Hold me.Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-52343926698174559142010-05-04T10:21:00.000-07:002010-05-04T17:32:21.366-07:00Not that you need any adviceI started to make a kitty suggestion on Dina's facebook page, and then it turned into two, and they got a little long, and next thing you know, I'd exceeded the unspoken facebook wall page comment length protocol. So, instead of politely making it shorter, I just hauled the whole job lot over here.<br /><br />Handy tip #1: with kittens, start trimming their nails now, while they are young and little. Do it ALL the time, like daily or even more often, with lots of cuddling and treats. Don't trim a lot, just teensy snips. You don't even have to actually trim them every time, just hold their paws and touch their claws with the trimmer. Make a life-long habit of trimming their claws. The more you do it, especially while they are young, the easier it is. If you can take care of their claws with regular, gentle trimming, the whole scratching question becomes a non-issue. Chris trims all four of our cats' and our dog's claws (if you do the math, that's a lotta claws).<br /><br />Handy tip #2: Get a good, big, carpeted cat-tree and put it in a choice spot (near a window maybe, or in a part of the house where they can see who's coming and going, but feel unobserved....). Don't skimp on the cat tree. Get them something sturdy with lots of surfaces to lounge on and jump to and from and lots of scratching area. Play with them there. Pet them there. Give them treats there if they like treats. They will shred that instead of your furniture. You'll still end up with a shredded thing in your house, but at least this way you planned it. Generally they mostly shred from the bottom, so you may be able to buy some time by putting the tree behind something so at least the bottom half is obscured from view.<br /><br />Handy tip #3: Don't play with them with your hands. Always use a toy or wear gloves. Otherwise, your hands are toys and even to the gentlest cat, play means claw use.<br /><br />Handy tip #4: I hated this tip when I first read it, but it really does seem to be a good idea: multiple cats means one litterbox per cat, plus one. We are doing okay without the +1, but no matter how often you clean it, they really do seem to like to have their own territory.<br /><br />Handy tip #5: I read this in some Cat Obsession magazine years ago, I'm sorry I can't give the originator of this tip credit...unknown tipster advised that you give your cat a bear hug every day, tight enough that they get the air squeezed out of them for a teeny moment. Especially indoor cats, this really does help them stay mellow.<br /><br />Handy tip #6: Young adult cats can be pretty obnoxious. Their hunting play gets pretty serious and you are their favorite playmate. Kinda like dogs and humans, it's not the most pleasant time to live with them. Personally I ignore them during this phase. And then they grow to be comfortable, lazy companions. I know there are people who say that they want a lively playful cat, but you can't turn on and off the Play switch on a cat like you can on a computer or a dog. And they are naturally active at night. So, if you want someone to play with, be prepared to play when they want to.<br /><br />Handy tip #7: You may have heard some fantastic tales about cats who will play fetch. It's true! Our family has had two cats who were committed fetchers and a couple who would indulge their humans when they were in the mood. My sister figured out the formula for bringing latent fetchery to the fore. She started by whenever she fed her kitten, Pebbles, she would say "Pebbles! Here Pebbles!" Even if Pebbles was already right there. Gradually over time Pebbles got to where she would come when called, just from habit. Pebbles also liked to carry her little toys around in her mouth. Sister called Pebbles while she was carrying the toy and Pebbles just trotted over. Sister took the toy and threw it, Pebbles went after it, picked it, and came when called again. In Pebbles's case that was all it took. She caught on and played every day with anyone. My mom had a cat who loved fetch so much he would drop slimey little scraps of paper into my mom's hand in the middle of the night while she was asleep, trying to get her to play. Many cats just aren't into it. And there's that whole middle range of the spectrum who can be encouraged to play along.<br /><br />Handy tip #8: Let go. Let cat.Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-79956925460696963482010-04-17T10:30:00.000-07:002010-04-17T11:44:49.256-07:00Obsessive volcanism<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/ss-100415-iceland-volcano/ss-100415-iceland-volcano-03.ss_full.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 1200px; height: 751px;" src="http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/ss-100415-iceland-volcano/ss-100415-iceland-volcano-03.ss_full.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eyjafjallajökull</span></span> (click the image to get the full effect)<br /><br />Here's what I have learned about this volcano from going to Wikipedia and following many many links on the subject. If you'd like to retrace my steps, this is a good place to start:<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_eruption_of_Eyjafjallaj%C3%B6kull"><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_eruption_of_Eyjafjallaj%C3%B6kull</a><br /><br />No idea how you really pronounce it, but the "listen" link on Wiki sounded kinda like: <span style="font-style: italic;">ai'yavuhlo'vik</span> (they say it's pronounced AY-ya-fyat-la-yo-kult)<br /><br />E-etc (sorry, I am way too lazy to type Eyjafjallajökull) is the name of a glacier; by Icelandic standards a small one. This smallish glacier, known as an ice cap, is over a volcano which has been erupting from time to time since the last Ice Age.<br /><br />An ice cap is a type of a glacier that isn't a gigantic sheet, or stream, of ice. It's just a huge blob that covers everything around it, including mountains. The ice will flow from the highest point of the ice cap, called the ice dome, down in all directions.<br /><br />Earthquakes in the area of E-etc became frequent in December 2009. In February geologists noticed that the Earth's crust in that area had shifted south about 3 centimeters--it shifted 1 centimeter in the space of four days. That's fast for crust. This told geophysicists that magma was moving from the crust to the magma chamber of the volcano.<br /><br />A magma chamber is a large pool of molten rock under the Earth's surface.<br /><br />Between March 3 and March 5 nearly 3,000 earthquakes were measured at the epicenter of the volcano. First volcanic eruption was 20 March 2010.<br /><br />The area is not heavily populated. About 500 farms were evacuated. Flights to two airports in Iceland were postponed, but only for about 24 hours. On 22 March, the farmers were allowed to return.<br /><br />This eruption was a fissure, 500 meters long, with 10 to 12 erupting lava craters spewing lava up to 150 meters into the air. So far it has formed a 200 meter long flow of lava.<br /><br />"On 25 March 2010, while studying the eruption, scientists witnessed, for the first time in history, the formation of a pseudocrater during a steam explosion."<br /><br />A pseudocrater looks like a volcanic crater but it is formed when lava passes over a lake, swamp, stream or other wet surface--in this case, a glacier. Pseudocraters do not have any connection to the magma below the surface as real craters do.<br /><br />Another smaller fissure opened on 31 March. It shares the magma chamber with the first fissure.<br /><br />This eruption is considered small by Icelandic standards. It did not happen under the ice, but instead in a mountain pass to the side of the glacier. This was good for the community because there is less flooding from melting glacial ice.<br /><br />At first there was not a lot of volcanic ash from this eruption. But after two days an explosion sent eruption columns 4 to 7 kilometers into the air.<br /><br />Eruption columns are the ash rising into the air out of the volcano. Everyone loves lava, but eruption columns are pretty danged amazing on their own. In a major explosion they can go 40 kilometers into the air, reaching the stratosphere. This can cause short-term climate changes globally as well as locally.<br /><br />The volcano paused for a couple of weeks, then on April 14 the center of the glacier erupted about 20 times stronger. This eruption sent glacial meltwater flooding down the sides of the ice cap in two flows. 800 people were evacuated from the surrounding area, which is mostly farmland.<br /><br />The cold water from the melted ice chills the lava and fractures it into tiny particles of glass that are carried up into the eruption column. This formed a plume of volcanic ash and glass that drifted eastward to Europe.<br /><br />This sort of plume is a major hazard to aircraft. It can "sandblast" the windshield, preventing the crew from seeing. But more severely, the ash and glass are sucked into jet engines. The glass melts onto the blades and other parts which can cause jams and destroy parts.<br /><br />The volcanic ash plume from E-etc has caused flights to be canceled all over Europe. An air traffic halt on this scale has never happened before. Although there hasn't been a crash from planes flying into volcanic ash, planes have flown through volcanic ash plumes in the past and it is very dangerous. It can cause the engines shut down and that's never good. Flights were canceled and airports closed starting in Norway on April 14; by April 16 flights have been delayed or canceled in at least 19 countries, including the United Kingdom. Several students at our school were on a trip with to the UK with their history teacher during break. They returned over the weekend. If their return were scheduled just a couple of days later, they would be able to give us a first-hand account of what it's like to need to fly in a land with no air travel. Many European leaders were just in Washington for the major nuclear summit with President Obama. Some of them are now stranded as they are not able to fly back to their countries. I read that the prime ministers of Germany and Norway both had to fly to Spain and then take a train the rest of the way (that's a long way by train -- Spain to Norway!)<br /><br />As of April 17, weather and air travel authorities are not certain when flights will begin to return to normal. Other issues that arise when all air travel is halted like this are shipments and deliveries. The UK, for instance, imports 90% of its fruit.<br /><br />The ash is dangerous for planes because it rises so high into the atmosphere. This ash plume, though it is causing so much trouble for aircraft, is not expected to cause health problems for the people who live under its path. It is too high to have a serious effect on the air we breathe.<br /><br />However, it could have an effect on the weather. People in Europe will be able to see fantastic red sunsets as the sunlight slants through and reflects off of the glassy ash.<br /><br />In the past, volcanic eruptions in Iceland have been severe enough to lower the average temperature of the Earth's surface by up to half a degree for one to three years. In 1821, a relatively small eruption began and continued with varying degrees of intensity through 1823. In 1783 a volcano near E-etc, called Laki, erupted for 8 months, affecting both summer and winter in Northern Europe to the extent that many crops failed and people starved. It is believed that Laki contributed to the French Revolution because of its effect on food crops.<br /><br />East of the vent that is erupting now is a much bigger volcano called Katla. It is also under a glacier. It has been known to erupt when E-etc erupts. But... it is a volcano and cannot be relied upon to behave consistently.<br /><br />P.S. I love Wikipedia.<br /><br />Oh, and Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yahooeditorspicks/galleries/72157623855495574/Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-321651639757094432010-03-07T22:33:00.000-08:002010-03-07T22:38:42.715-08:00Relative GreetingsHi Dad!Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-52994574672016492062010-03-02T11:25:00.000-08:002010-03-02T11:29:10.826-08:00Cripes. I've already blown it.I thought this sounds like a good little project -- I can't string the letters together right, but it's a take-off on NANOWRIMO, instead it's blog everyday for a month and you can pick your own month. Which is good for me because I don't seem to be novelable and because November is about the busiest month of the year for me. Lotta family birthdays. Anyway, I picked March. And then February -- well, you know how February is, it just slips out the back door while you're in the bathroom. You hardly know it's gone it comes and goes so quickly. So, yeah, I missed the first of March. Duh. Gives ya that gee-you're-a-dope feeling. I guess this is my warm-up month.Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-17300907175875971862010-01-10T16:07:00.001-08:002010-01-10T16:07:33.606-08:00Harry Reid's "Negro" ProblemI've read lately that Reid was instrumental in convincing Obama to run. He wanted Obama to be President. When a party is selecting a presidential candidate, the gloves are off. They are going to weigh every aspect of that potential candidate.<wbr/>..is his nose too big? breath too bad? scream too shrill? hair too thin? accent too thick? mole too ugly? Politicians and strategists are in it to WIN. They aren't going to pretend to not consider *any* factor that could influence voters, no matter how petty or even insulting those considerations might be. At a cocktail party, or a chat over coffee, a white person discussing a black persons' blackness would be base and conniving. But in a presidential campaign, it's the nature of the beast. The party, and the candidate his- or her-self, have to examine that candidate under a harsh light and a very unflattering magnifying glass. No sacred cows.<br/><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/keli-goff/harry-reids-negro-problem_b_417870.html">Read the Article at HuffingtonPost</a>Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-74088263257240329592009-12-21T09:26:00.000-08:002009-12-21T09:31:59.178-08:00Speaking of Baked Alaska......we were speaking of Baked Alaska, weren't we? Well, SlowChristmas.org and I were. I made this comment on their Facebook fan page:<br /><blockquote>I made Baked Alaska for two birthday cakes in 2008 using Amy Sedaris's recipe in her funny yet practical "I Like You" cookbook. It's fairly straightforward. But for some of us, just baking a cake is a major undertaking. (I made brownies.) Maybe I'm just not a skilled enough cook to bake one component, have one frozen, one whipped to defy gravity, and then broil all of it at 500 degrees without burning and/or melting and call it easy. It's a lotta dishes and a lotta work. But it's delicious! and spectacular! and fun! I heartily recommend it, just don't underestimate what you're getting into.</blockquote>Slowing Christmas is a great idea. You might want to be their fan too: http://www.facebook.com/slowchristmasPaprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-5502817424331327352009-12-06T20:25:00.000-08:002009-12-06T20:27:51.799-08:00Grammar Police on a RampageHere is a great list of 32 common grammar mistakes in English, very helpful:<br />http://helptutorservices.com/blog/the-32-most-commonly-misused-words-and-phrases/comment-page-14/#comment-989<br /><br />However, it touches on a philosophical point for me, brought home by reading the comments on the page. Here's my perspective, as I commented on the post:<br /><blockquote><br />The more multicultural we become the more important it is that we be tolerant of each person's level of mastery of English. It is fine to feel superior if you have superior knowledge, but remember it's not actually a sign of intelligence or breeding or any other such nonsense. It's certainly not a sign of graciousness to hold someone's mistakes against them.</blockquote>Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-2674698305464618782009-11-25T23:38:00.001-08:002009-11-26T00:12:48.520-08:00Turkey in FranceDear Jane,<br /> We have mostly nothing in common. My mom is a spectacular cook, I'm an okay cook, and it's too soon to tell for my daughters. I admire the life-choice of watching suns set and herbs grow in Italy, but here in Sacramento County, I can't see the western horizon and I tend to let my herbs parch and or bolt. I don't travel to report on travels or food or for any other reason, generally. When I write, it's ... well, like this.<br />BUT<br /> I have cooked Thanksgiving dinner in Paris. In 1986 I was an au pair. At 25, I was old for an au pair, but there I was nonetheless. I had never cooked Thanksgiving dinner before. My mother, having no idea the difficulty of the undertaking, suggested I cook our national holiday dinner for my French family. She sent me a detailed shopping list and Thanksgiving-dinner-step-by-step how-to. The family I lived with was intrigued enough to agree to it. They weren't your typical French family, as you may already suspect. The mom, Helen, was a New Zealander and the dad, Thierry, was born in Egypt to a Swiss mom and French dad. They had an international circle of friends. But none who had ever cooked them Thanksgiving dinner. Especially in their own apartment. The shopping, of course, was the first challenge. Helen managed to convince her butcher that she really did want a turkey. She had greater difficulty convincing him not to stuff it for her, but she managed that too. I searched everywhere for cornmeal -- cornmeal stuffing is our family specialty too. They just don't eat that much corn in France, it seems. I finally settled on a small packet of polenta. Being the kind of person who is never organized enough to have buttermilk when I want to use it for cooking, I took care of that the same way I did even when I lived in San Francisco: put lemon in the milk. I knew how to make mashed potatoes pretty well. Lumpy with lots of cream and butter. Since I'd already ruined gravy multiple times on my home continent, I was sure I'd do that here too. Anything that had to thicken intimidated me. I know there was also some kind of green vegetable, but the only other menu item I remember is creamed onions. I held out little hope for their success.<br /> My mother's instructions included how to "quickly" peel the dozens of teeny white onions. Helen, willing to go along with the other weird American traditions, scoffed loudly at peeling your own onions. She said, "I know an even quicker way," and showed me a big bag of the congellee ones from the all-frozen store. (Why don't we have those? I loved that place.) The onions turned out delicious, smooth, tender, creamy. I haven't included them in subsequent Thanksgiving dinners, I don't think I could top them. The turkey was even more challenging than I expected it to be. It was pure chance that it fit into the oven. Technically, I suppose that when your food presses against all four oven walls it doesn't really fit at all. But since we were using the turn-turn-turn method of turkey roasting, it was handy to be able to wedge it in there, held on its side, back, or front by the close fit. The turkey, potatoes, stuffing, and gravy were all, miraculously, delectable. I was the only American present. My co-hosts and nearly every guest told me how completely surprised, shocked, astonished they were that it was so good. They did not expect to enjoy a meal based on American cuisine. Maybe it wasn't so good considering the low expectations. I didn't even expect it to turn out. I have to give most of the credit to my mom's instructions. I questioned nothing. Except for using frozen onions, I did everything exactly as written. It is one of the great regrets of my life (I have a few) that I do not know what happened to those pages. I can still picture them. One page for each menu item. One page listing what to do when so that it would all be ready together. White pages, typed on an IBM Selectric. Everything centered. A few splatters of gravy.Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-2426826981732517942009-10-04T09:11:00.000-07:002009-10-04T09:15:10.158-07:00Responding to JoyHere's my comment to <a href="http://joygreenmcgann.wordpress.com/2009/10/01/open-letter-to-white-people-racism-what-you-can-do/">Joy Green McGann's evocative post</a>, (read it!) and her husband David's reply, about racism and all of us:<br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Great job, Joy. It's such a difficult thing to express--to explain to caring, loving, open-minded people that they are probably contributing to the perpetuation of racism in America. I have known this my whole life. When I'm not actively working against racism, I'm letting it happen. I know, even tho I'm a white lady, because I grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood. I can relate to David's perspective of having lived as "different" although I was able to grow up and move away from my "differentness" in many respects. In other respects, it follows me wherever I go and inserts itself into all of my relationships. Obviously I'm not black. I don't blend into that culture/community. Not so obviously, I'm not completely versed in white culture either. I tire early of criticizing someone's punctuation errors or obsessing over whether my food is organic enough. So I live in both worlds in my own way. I don't need to raise awareness of life as a white person within black culture; every day is a lesson in whiteness. But I do try to bring a little perspective to the flip side of that coin. I try not to be too tedious, but I know my friends are sick and tired of hearing me say, "Think, what if you were black" every time they get pulled over or go on a job interview or have to explain their mistakes to an authority.</span>Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6637393.post-65691499630324077112009-10-03T15:13:00.000-07:002009-10-03T15:31:32.550-07:00Mugcakes!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_47QahEgefUwuRaXyfKF4lKRdJA2b9e8KT0RJqizUCn7U-5-1Qa7nE0hXxS885mQbKh1_NVEoZ3dFRFHdhqOdqYcuJOliu3AlAIWZd0ifjaDVeUpWrFdjKZwfRZepjOycGwhaA/s1600-h/IMG_4586.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_47QahEgefUwuRaXyfKF4lKRdJA2b9e8KT0RJqizUCn7U-5-1Qa7nE0hXxS885mQbKh1_NVEoZ3dFRFHdhqOdqYcuJOliu3AlAIWZd0ifjaDVeUpWrFdjKZwfRZepjOycGwhaA/s320/IMG_4586.JPG" alt="" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0pt; clear: both; float: left;" border="0" /></a>Somehow, Larissa got it into her head that she wanted chocolate cake. Being the resourceful modern gal that she is, she Googled it and found this link: <a href="http://cocoa-chocolate.com/the-5-minute-chocolate-cake-recipe/" target="_blank">http://cocoa-chocolate.com/<wbr>the-5-minute-chocolate-cake-<wbr>recipe/</a><div>Yes. A homemade chocolate cake that you mix in a mug and bake in a microwave. And shock of shocks, it's pretty tasty!</div><div><br /></div><div>As you can see, it rises pretty well.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXxRsOzGpXPKVE_wKXwYw_7IGKrgRD6GwKmDgHt49fdOFF2sXRrUBEaEt3d1p695WuPkH5IRqHzUT9RNlClZHDjx4krXU4dNuc_U_2XNWZrW5m_LoDevBtoDS1H0OpIiaeTcZYQA/s1600-h/IMG_4587.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXxRsOzGpXPKVE_wKXwYw_7IGKrgRD6GwKmDgHt49fdOFF2sXRrUBEaEt3d1p695WuPkH5IRqHzUT9RNlClZHDjx4krXU4dNuc_U_2XNWZrW5m_LoDevBtoDS1H0OpIiaeTcZYQA/s320/IMG_4587.JPG" alt="" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0pt; clear: both; float: left;" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj41jEuIKvZW5EPnHRgIZZ3_YTX_ykOFmpz26Mn2wpSDrZ7qbbSTfYCJroLPOzkyvoITbTS-ta6D6mhxAm1_g4S8gsZ20TS6hMORaiwMW-lpjWsKPc6FQYjpACAy0jXnabB21wx-w/s1600-h/IMG_4588.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj41jEuIKvZW5EPnHRgIZZ3_YTX_ykOFmpz26Mn2wpSDrZ7qbbSTfYCJroLPOzkyvoITbTS-ta6D6mhxAm1_g4S8gsZ20TS6hMORaiwMW-lpjWsKPc6FQYjpACAy0jXnabB21wx-w/s320/IMG_4588.JPG" alt="" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0pt; clear: both; float: left;" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipN8QYu5LwX05u92R5YenBxUpONtx5wytREpVyyFl2sAWIv_nqfRxaEPMWnDyjP_B8ElaNyMpqZO2IgJOppbjGNFK6_yE3siakZ0dfM2JexEzDhoLUkUL90x7zF975n_zForpZ9A/s1600-h/IMG_4589.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipN8QYu5LwX05u92R5YenBxUpONtx5wytREpVyyFl2sAWIv_nqfRxaEPMWnDyjP_B8ElaNyMpqZO2IgJOppbjGNFK6_yE3siakZ0dfM2JexEzDhoLUkUL90x7zF975n_zForpZ9A/s320/IMG_4589.JPG" alt="" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0pt; clear: both; float: left;" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Don't even need a potholder to take it out of the oven if your mug has a handle.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Light and fluffy.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Hey! It didn't occur to us at first that we could actually get it out of the mug, but it just slipped right out. Heck, we could even frost it if we wanted to go whole hog.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>All in all, the experiment is judged a success. Although we did have to keep testing revisions. This first batch, we decided, had a bit too much peanut butter and baked a smidge too long.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXw-NmG1fX4PaX4d9R3ZT7KZ38mJOgOcGUEBY53x_PKWH9xOOHcwh-rjn54shC4RLCGlpCY1qfgATVnj_KCLOPpPxS6_rcEATV6lbzfpqPlHmrA5jh9Z3BlASx8Jek_s7zRV3UQ/s1600-h/IMG_4594.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXw-NmG1fX4PaX4d9R3ZT7KZ38mJOgOcGUEBY53x_PKWH9xOOHcwh-rjn54shC4RLCGlpCY1qfgATVnj_KCLOPpPxS6_rcEATV6lbzfpqPlHmrA5jh9Z3BlASx8Jek_s7zRV3UQ/s320/IMG_4594.JPG" alt="" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; clear: both; float: right;" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsKj9iQSjA1rppwAHtfj6jo6CP294zCBnsaGX3TYnXZvURlFCVy9jT705-CsySOBKe9FqhZferDvQluGkcVVAKOWGvYA91I_Kvxv9B2w3RBfi4CG26uq0VFEXNYTpqzjlp02TlNw/s1600-h/IMG_4599.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsKj9iQSjA1rppwAHtfj6jo6CP294zCBnsaGX3TYnXZvURlFCVy9jT705-CsySOBKe9FqhZferDvQluGkcVVAKOWGvYA91I_Kvxv9B2w3RBfi4CG26uq0VFEXNYTpqzjlp02TlNw/s320/IMG_4599.JPG" alt="" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; clear: both; float: right;" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFl5v7GAvQ9lIRkWt0qZedJH6kNwFuc8VmTLRVGUL15hqU43ZyKO1qVPR8UBksCInKftvpSgZi-CYsKpjzIlbbuzAdj6MBmRiM65tbamEVy3e0HaruCScCFyR4wYRbodpwizb0dg/s1600-h/IMG_4600.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFl5v7GAvQ9lIRkWt0qZedJH6kNwFuc8VmTLRVGUL15hqU43ZyKO1qVPR8UBksCInKftvpSgZi-CYsKpjzIlbbuzAdj6MBmRiM65tbamEVy3e0HaruCScCFyR4wYRbodpwizb0dg/s320/IMG_4600.JPG" alt="" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; clear: both; float: right;" border="0" /></a> Here's Lana, mixing directly in the mug.<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Ready for the microwave.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Whoa, a little overflowy!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>But tastes great! As you can see, Lana is quite astonished at her accomplishment. This one had 1/3 the peanut butter as the first cake. Judged better, but why add peanut butter at all?</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkyDhps_5Cfh2Vz82NWQ0mq5gQgvCDbMPqgHt-nFPHMrcQifGDVfYnaIZgDQqaC17gAhil1Ojl_-68JczSCe8VUSIJ-74Clw_h1oMbgugLlymOIZChwbf06kgUF0pLwAMK8hIaWA/s1600-h/IMG_4601.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkyDhps_5Cfh2Vz82NWQ0mq5gQgvCDbMPqgHt-nFPHMrcQifGDVfYnaIZgDQqaC17gAhil1Ojl_-68JczSCe8VUSIJ-74Clw_h1oMbgugLlymOIZChwbf06kgUF0pLwAMK8hIaWA/s320/IMG_4601.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a> </div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">Turns out Larissa is a tireless mugcake baker.</div><br /><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNzUnanevgWfhIydUF806XZHS9nMJ3qDFMnTpC_kIy9DZIub2Z28vT2JVLlseLuDhwulIo_rcT7scoNN0lOh82TP6J9w7gJFlXTgzmIiNihHIjAuPa_esGFF8J208KhkVAFtjoA/s1600-h/IMG_4602.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNzUnanevgWfhIydUF806XZHS9nMJ3qDFMnTpC_kIy9DZIub2Z28vT2JVLlseLuDhwulIo_rcT7scoNN0lOh82TP6J9w7gJFlXTgzmIiNihHIjAuPa_esGFF8J208KhkVAFtjoA/s320/IMG_4602.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a> </div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">This one has no peanut butter and we cooked it just over two minutes.</div><br /><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceDSOYsWJPHJJ3n0E3raSKed9BQkQLh6r9sPbwU92aRgM9o7m_7LarSxGXVtn_quqZS-gd7K3YeNZ08EI099K0wN5-_A9aijWyKhVRV3IhYXcJE2Gv6MudnrXRGRKuZ6mz4VqtQ/s1600-h/IMG_4603.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceDSOYsWJPHJJ3n0E3raSKed9BQkQLh6r9sPbwU92aRgM9o7m_7LarSxGXVtn_quqZS-gd7K3YeNZ08EI099K0wN5-_A9aijWyKhVRV3IhYXcJE2Gv6MudnrXRGRKuZ6mz4VqtQ/s320/IMG_4603.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a> </div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">Perhaps that's not enough cooking. But maybe that's not a bad thing.</div><br /><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz068Mxn1JoAbEr62QTDVm8odrXBLQjF0D_Gu0LWe5W4yKc4BDWRCndGxFvv443CQHlu-tu5iXobjTsiBm7T5Vw7_KTxljqXIAEk0WPK-jurY8Vwwd2OJnRV38U7jhbyRGK1Ij6Q/s1600-h/IMG_4604.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz068Mxn1JoAbEr62QTDVm8odrXBLQjF0D_Gu0LWe5W4yKc4BDWRCndGxFvv443CQHlu-tu5iXobjTsiBm7T5Vw7_KTxljqXIAEk0WPK-jurY8Vwwd2OJnRV38U7jhbyRGK1Ij6Q/s320/IMG_4604.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a> </div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">I mean, doesn't that look...FESTIVE?</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqxGXfWLV58BR7bANhE7Nzg2BCWpovpayxUu0pLEPh7letB4ZElHqm1wjoc4Uqzj27uMH7QzJPPHSQkBUY-0WZYgGFN3rYW6JfWXgoLkRw4z4pxvXBXDC-bG9lx2B9AB1q63hGQ/s1600-h/IMG_4605.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqxGXfWLV58BR7bANhE7Nzg2BCWpovpayxUu0pLEPh7letB4ZElHqm1wjoc4Uqzj27uMH7QzJPPHSQkBUY-0WZYgGFN3rYW6JfWXgoLkRw4z4pxvXBXDC-bG9lx2B9AB1q63hGQ/s400/IMG_4605.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a> </div>And, ultimately, mugcake hangover.<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" border="0" align="middle" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div></div>Paprikapinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09236912376624098456noreply@blogger.com1