artykins

So I pinched this from Nossie just for kicks and giggles.  Enjoy.

Who is your all-time favourite author and why?

It's a toss up between Tennyson and Baroness Emuska Orzcy.  Two totally different genres of writing, but Tennyson is one of my all time favorite poets and Baroness Emuska Orzcy is the author of The Scarlet Pimpernel, a fabulous historical fiction.

Who was your first favourite author and why? Do you still consider him/her to be among your favourites?

Eric Carle.  Are you kidding me?  The Very Hungry Caterpillar is the best book ever.  EVER!

Who is the most recent addition to your list of favourite authors, and why?

Joseph Conrad.  I had never read any of his stuff until my last year of college when I had to read Heart of Darkness.  It's the most fascinating novella I'd ever read.  I highly recommend reading it and then coming to talk to me about the nameless woman he encounters on the shore from the deck of his boat.  We'll have ourselves a great conversation.

If someone asked you who your favourite authors were right now, which authors would first pop out of your mouth?

Tolkien.  Matt is making me read The Hobbit again.  I read it as a kid and hated it, but in the midst of his portestations of 'you're crazy for not liking The Hobbit' I've given in and started reading it again.  So far, so good. 

If all else fails, however, I adore the Lord of the Rings triology.  I've always loved those.  I tend to like stories that have some adventure in them.  I get to live vicariously through the characters.  That's also one of the reasons I write stories myself.

Shakespeare.  He's an oldy, but a goody.  Matt and I saw Pericles a couple weekends ago at an outdoor amphitheatre and I had forgotton how good Shakespeare really is.  

Steinbeck.  Matt is reading Cannery Row again because it's his favorite book.  He reads it at night when we're in bed, so sometimes I curl up to him and read along. I must admit, I'm not a Steinbeck fan, but reading the parts of Cannery Row that I have, I'm slightly amused by the writing.  I might have to read it cover to cover when he's done with it. 

Also, I'll have to read The Pearl by Steinbeck.  It helps that both books are really short.

Homer.  The Odyssey is amazing.  I'm not so hot on The Iliad, but The Odyssey is freaking brilliant.  AND I read an article yesterday that reported how scientists are using star locations and constellations to pinpoint exactly when Odysseus returned home to slay all his wife's suitors.  They pinpoint it to around April 16th, 1178 B.C.  You can have a gander yourself here. 

Sedgwick.  Catherine Maria Sedgwick is an odd author in that she was a woman when her novel, Hope Leslie was written.  I mean, she was never man, but being born in the late 18th century and living in the early 19th century, it was odd that someone would publish her writing.

Hope Leslie is a wonderfully surprising delight.  It's not llight-hearted reading, but there's something very noble about her heroine, Hope Leslie.  I had to read this for an American Literature class that spanned the 17th and 18th centuries.  I fully expected not to like it, but it ended up being my favorite book of the whole semester in that class.

Zora Neale Hurston.  She lived and wrote during the Harlem Renaissance and was a contemporary of Langston Hughes and F. Scott Fitzgerald.  She wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God, which is quite possibly the most beautiful book I've ever read apart from our next contender.

Yasunari Kawabata. Author of Snow Country.  He's one of the world's most celebrated authors, not to mention his native country of Japan.  This book won him the Nobel Prize for Literature.  I really should re-read this one.

Twain.  What's not to love about Mark Twain?!  He's brilliant.  His books are hilarious, thought-provoking and complex all at the same time.  Among writers of satire, I'd say Twain is the best.  Shakespeare ranks way up there too, but Twain is overtly satirical, making him delightful.

Of his works, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court are my favorites. 

Aaron Sorkin.  Let's skip out on some of the classics and move to more contemporary, still-with-us authors.  Aaron Sorkin is the creator and writer for The West Wing series.  The man is brilliant.  If I could write like him, you can bet your bottom dollar I'd be working somewhere in New York or Los Angeles in the entertainment business.

Tina Fey.  The woman is freaking hilarious!  30 Rock is a testament to this and for anyone who hasn't seen 30 Rock, RUN to somewhere that sells it and buy it.  I'm telling you, you'll need to watch it with the pause button close at hand because you WILL need to stop it playing in order to laugh.

Mitchell Hurwitz.  Creator of Arrested Development.  He's admittedly much too funny for most of America.  Most Americans prefer the stupid humor, whereas only a very small portion of us actually understand and enjoy more subtle, more advanced humor.  If you like the latter kind, this is a show for you.

John Cleese.  Original.  Hilarious.  Ground-breaking.  Cleese is a class act.  I mean, come on...Fawlty Towers?  'Nuff said! 

My dad.  He'll deny it, but he's a fantastic writer.

Bello.  My great-grandfather.  He was an orator, he was a member in the House of Representatives and a poet.  I have a book of his writing in my house.

Later Days,
Arty

Having my own place, I've really come to notice certain things in my flat that are always found there in the cupboards and in other various places.   In my flat you will always find: - Flowers - Books - A few anthologies, three on British literature, two on Shakespeare, a couple on British culture. - Shade - Light - Color - Laughter - Memories - Interesting art - Something from IKEA - Something from Pottery Barn - Something from Craigslist - Something Matt and I traveled a long way to find - Brown, burgundy and black sharpies to fix the little knicks that spring up in the furniture - Pens - Soap - Olive oil - Balsamic vinegar - Good wine - Cheese - Beans (dried or canned) - Butter beans - Lemons - Limes - Greek yoghurt - Nuts and seeds - Pasta - Spices - Tofu and/or other soy products - Paper - Clean sheets - Clean towels - Hardwood floors - Circles/roundness - Crystal flower vases - White dishes - Tea - Coffee - Free range eggs - Butter - Nutella - Marmalade - Marmite (although I'm working on getting rid of this constant of the cupboard) - Cholula - Onions - Frozen green beans - Corn - Organic chicken breasts  - Music - A view of the fountain in the courtyard - Comfort - Family and friends - Lots of shoes (thanks to me) - Australian kangaroo paw flower products for my hair - Witch hazel - Medicine - Two people ready and willing to have a good time with others - Mac geeks - Mac computers - Mac-made iPods - Very soon, Mac-made iPhones - All the Indiana Jones films  - All the Star Wars films - Arrested Development - The West Wing - Psych - An Oxford atlas of the world - A book of photographs by Ansel Adams - Wine corks  (don't ask me why) - Curtains - Rugs - Soft things - Minimal clutter - Baking soda - Flour - Sugar - Cake tins - Baking sheets - Kick-ass knives - Rum - Really good tequila - Margarita mix - Giant green olives (and yeah, if you didn't catch on, those are the makings for a margatini, which I always have on hand) - Ice - Juice - Cream top milk - Cornflakes - A crystal pineapple - Candles - Elderflower cordial - Energy saving light bulbs - Big (and admittedly, rather awesome) speakers - Balled up socks - Smiles - Sleep (when you're looking for it) - Neosporin - Bandaids - Breezes - A smoke detector There are a few other things you'd find, but in light that it's kind of late, I'm going to leave it there and go get my shower and crawl into bed. Later Days, Arty

*sits down on her sofa with a glass of Kagome juice*

As I sit, the smells of cake are filling the flat. It's lovely. I've been talking off and on with Matt today and he's having a rough day at work and a rough day all around, so I decided to make him a cake. It's a lemon cake with some poppy seeds thrown in for good measure. I'm a sucker for lemon poppy seed stuffs.

I've come to realize that I need to find a good ice pick. I really have no need for one, but nothing beats my grandmother's ice pick for checking whether a cake is done or not. I know, I know...use a toothpick like normal people. I have good reason not to be normal people with this, though!

For one, an ice pick is easily cleaned and reusable, which is good for the environment. Secondly, an ice pick keeps one from getting burned by hot yumminess while it's still at molten temperatures. Thirdly, an ice pick is compact enough to fit into my baking drawer with everything else I have, including my sifter! Lastly, and most importantly, I just don't want to use toothpicks. 'Nuff said.

So the cakes are like two minutes from being done. I'll be forced to use a toothpick, thus risking a third degree burn from which I'll scream in agony and beg pity for three weeks hence. Once tested for done-ness, I'll set them out on the counter to cool off near the window. I'll probably be tempting fate with that, not to mention some winged intruders which will face a quick and violent death should I catch them.

Once cooled, it's a trip out of the pans they're in, layering and then a lemon glaze that I'll make in a little while to drizzle over the cake. I see three fresh lemons in the citrus dish that are begging to be used.

The next cake I make will probably be a poke cake, which is loved and adored by anyone related to me. My grandmother is famous for them, so I need to extract the recipe and technique from her so I can carry on the tradition of insanely good food.

So I joined in a harrowing experience today at work with Linda and Nancy. You all know Linda as my cohort in office crimes, more commonly known as the school secretary. Nancy is one of the teachers upstairs who happened to be in the office at the time.

Well, a bird wandered into the office this morning and decided to terrorize us for a while. Now, Linda and I wanted to help the thing get back outside, but like most birds it ran away when faced with something fifty times its own size. So here we are, three grown women, cowering in the presence of a common robin as it flew past us and in some cases straight at us.

Amidst tons of screaming and tons more laughter, it took the bravery of Sarah (one of our high school students) to pursue the bird fearlessly until it went outside again. Even as I write this, I have a big smile on my face just thinking about it.

Matt and I have found a church that I think we'll be making our own. We've been going a couple months now and despite some things I'm not quite used to (and thus find a bit weird) it's a place of good people with a solid footing in the Word of God. They're doctrine is sound from what we've observed and heard.

Last night Matt and I had Eric and Paula over for dinner. They're a couple from church with two kids and last night Isabella, their daughter, came with them. We had a lovely time laughing and getting to know one another better and getting to know about the church more. They brought us a big pot full of flowers, which is now sitting near the door looking all happy.

This past Saturday my cousin Rachel had a baby shower. She's very pregnant with twin boys and she's due to deliver next week, all things permitting. Both boys are over five pounds, which is really good for twins. They're names are going to be Anthony and Jose Jr. (the latter being named for his father). Apart from being grossly hot and really big, Rachel looked good and was in good spirits.

I got to spend the afternoon sitting at Aunt Addie's feet. Aunt Addie is my grandmother's sister-in-law and of all my great-aunts, Addie is my favorite. I know you're not really supposed to have favorites, but she's it. I love her.

Aunt Addie managed to distract me with something shiny after which she stole my chair and convinced me to get her some food. At least that's what I'm teasing her with. In truth, I gave her my seat and offered to get her a plate of food along with some water. The rest of the time I spent on the floor in front of her while she talked to me and some other family that had gathered there.

One such person was my grandmother, who was seated next to Aunt Addie on another chair. Needless to say, Diana (Addie's daughter) had fun telling stories about the two of them. And needless to say, there was lots of laughter.

This coming Saturday, a cousin on my grandfather's side is getting married so we'll all be going to her wedding. I'm kind of excited because Matt's going to be in a suit with a tie and I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen him in a suit of any kind with a tie. I'm hoping to find a new dress before then to wear. It's the first wedding we'll be going to as a married couple, so I want to look extra cute for the occasion.

The following day (Sunday) Jeff will be having his graduation party. We're calling it Sundae's in the Part with Jeff just to amuse ourselves with something. It should be a good time. Family and friends will be there and Jeff has asked our dad to plan and organize the games, which is something my dad is the master of. Seriously, I have no bad memories of any games he ever planned as a child.

I remember this one time we had a sleep over at the church as kids and for one of the games, my dad had us going on a snipe hunt through a dark church, crawling on our stomachs underneath the pews. It was amazing. That and commando when I was in high school are the two games that stick out most in my mind, though admittedly, my dad didn't plan out commando.

Commando consisted of four teams, each with different colored tokens. We were given the tokens on one side of the gym, which was dark save for a search light mounted on a platform at the other end doing sweeps of the room. The rest of the room had various tables turned on their sides. There was also a fog machine going so there was a thin layer of fog along the floor.

The object was simple: get to the other side of the gym, past the searchlight without getting 'swept' up in the light while running from the cover of table to table. Once at the other side, you put your token in a collection bag kept by a counselor and went down the stairs and up the other side having crossed underneath the gym in a hallway that's there. It was excellent fun!

Anyway, the point of that story is to say that I'm really excited my dad is planning and organizing the games for Jeff's party. It promises to be a good time if he's in charge.

Well, the boys are heading over for dinner tonight, so in an hour or so I'll throw together a shepherd's pie with leftover stuffs from last nights dinner of homemade gyros. I have some ground beef to add to the ground lamb that's already cooked off. Some veggies and some gravy will be added and then it'll all be topped off with some mashed potatoes. It's not super fancy, but it's good eats.

That said, I think I'll sign off and enjoy the rest of my Kagome, maybe wander into chat for a while.

Later Days,
Arty

So it's been two weeks since I last blogged. Two weeks! Wow, that time went by fast. To be fair, the school year was winding down at work and things were absolutely crazy. Manic, I tell you.

So two weeks has seen a lot of stuff.

Went to the beach with the family for a barbeque. Grilled up some chicken, steak and salmon. Roasted up some s'mores. Watched the boys play frisbee. After all was said and done, the boys and I ran to the water's edge and threw rocks into the water. No matter how old we get, it never loses its appeal.

Have a baby shower for my cousin Rachel coming up this Saturday. She's pregnant with twins. I'm hoping she's got the genetic curse of twins in our family for our generation. That'll mean I won't have twins. But we'll see.

Going to another cousin's wedding weekend after this one coming up.

Planning a graduation party/bash/show-down/grand old time for Jeff. It'll be called 'Sundaes at the park with Jeff' and only the clever people will see the humor in that.

Been the only one at the office this week. It's been nice, but creepy at the same time, if you know what I mean.

Decided, after watching live coverage of the House of Representatives, that Texas should be sawed off from the continental United States and allowed to float around aimlessly in the Caribbean until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean at which point its fate would take any number of turns, none of which I really care about. And I'll tell you why.

A Representative from the House asked the Speaker for five minutes to present a motion. It was sustained and said Representative was yielded the floor to talk about CFL light bulbs. That's right. He made an argument that CFL were stupid. Why? Because they contain mercury. And because they're only manufactured in China. And because, if they break, they're hazardous to our health and we 'must vacate the room, use duct tape to pick up dust particles of the broken lightbulb' and do everything short of calling in all the men geared up in HazMat suits.

I could make the same argument for thermometers. I mean, really. Those are worse because the mercury is in a liquid state. That stuff can bead up on the floor and not be seen again for years! In that instance, we'd expose ourselves to hazardous material every single day without knowing it. Yet is there a case being made to destroy those? Not at the moment, no. At least not on the floor of the House of Representatives.

Between him and Bush, I think there's sufficient evidence to not elect anyone from Texas to any position of power for the next two hundred years. Arkansas suffers the same fate because of Clinton. Gosh, our last few terms have sucked eggs! And to think, there's an entire generation that's never known anything but a Bush or Clinton in office.

We seriously need to rock the vote this time around.

Moving right along, I went with Jeff and my grandmother to see my uncles out in Dublin today for lunch. We took BART and went to Red Tractor Cafe where I was insulted deeply by a woman who is really nothing more than a tri-valley cow.

I was returning to my table with my glass of iced tea in hand when this woman approached me and said:

'We need three glasses of water. We're sitting outside.'

At this point, she gestured to her family seated outside. I followed the gesture, looked at the family and then looked back at her. I said:

'I don't work here.'

I should have said:

'I don't work here. In fact, I don't serve your kind at all. What makes you think I would?'

I didn't know whether to be insulted or amused.

In other news, I went to the pool earlier and swam for half an hour straight doing the breast stroke. It was great. It felt wonderful, but not as wonderful as coming back to the house and showering. That was pretty amazing.

I was eating dinner...actually I was eating my dessert, which was a giant piece of angel food cake, and I bit myself. We're not talking a little bite. I seriously did some damage to the inside of my upper lip. I had to go stand over a sink with an ice cube on it for a while.

Thus my day was filled with insult and injury.

And now, if you'll pardon me, I'm going to wrap up the blog and head back home to my flat to await the arrival of my husband, who is out having a good time with some of his co-workers tonight. Well...maybe I'll head home in a little while. Alton Brown is on TV and when he's on TV I geek out.

I'll go home in half an hour.

Later Days,
Arty

Howdy kids!  Well today is Thursday.  The week is almost over and I'm pretty happy about that.  It's been an exciting one.  My boys have done relatively well for themselves this week.  And when I refer to 'my boys' I'm referring to Matt, Jeff and Jeremy.

Uncle Benny already blogged about this, but I feel like doing my own version of things.

Jeremy is walking as valedictorian for his middle school, which makes me a tremendously proud sister.  Valedictorian is a hard thing to get because it means that you have to maintain a 4.0 throughout your time at a school.  Jeremy has been able to do that.  The little boff.

And what's more is that Jeremy is one of those kids that excels in academic realms, but at the same time he's very social and very easy-going and just an all-around cool kid.  He's the kind of kid you'd love to hate.  Except you can't hate him.  It's too hard.  And for that you hate him more.  Except, again, you can't.  It's a vicious circle that way.

Jeff is graduating from high school tomorrow night.  He's not valedictorian, but he'll be walking with multiple honors and cords from the Performing Arts Academy at Skyline.  

Every year there's an awards ceremony for the performing arts academy kids and this year, Jeff apparently did a clean sweep, bringing home three trophies and a handful of medals.  While the trophies are a bit much to carry for graduation, he's totally going to wear his medals.  He'll be wearing those with his cords.

Now, the cords are there to mark you with honor.  The Performing Arts Academy has always decorated its graduates with cords to honor them and set them apart from the other graduates.  They do this because PA (Performing Arts) kids go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to school.  In order to enter and remain in the academy, you must maintain a 3.5 GPA (that's a B average across the board), but what's more is that these kids maintain top grades while putting in countless hours of extra work into shows and productions.  

If you come from the PA Academy, you know what hard work is, and you're honored for your work.  I keep my cords from the academy in my Christmas box and I put them in my tree every year along with my medals and my tassel.  It's good to remember where and what you've come from.

Lastly comes Matt.  God has been good to me with him.  Very good.  My patience and faith were tested last year, but more and more I'm coming to trust the Lord with providing goodness to us.  More and more I'm being shown that His plans for me are to prosper me and not to harm me.  And yet with all the learning, I never cease to be amazed by the goodness God has given me. 

Yesterday I went with Matt to the USCIS in downtown so he could be fingerprinted.  Neither of us knew what the next step would be, but when he was finished, the woman told him that that was it and his green card and work permit would be sent out in the mail.  So he's done.   For the next two years he's done.

Amen.

In other news, there's gonna be a big party tomorrow night at the house to celebrate the three aforementioned things, but mostly to celebrate Jeff's graduation.  There's gonna be drinks.  There's gonna be food.  There's gonna be laughter.  And the there's gonna be a whole lot of people there.

You see, the house is already pretty full.  Six people live there now that I've moved out.  Uncle Benny is coming over and spending the night.  Matt and I are crashing in the living room on an air mattress because neither of us wants to be a des and Doug is driving in from Atwater to hang out for the weekend.  All said and told, ten people will be crashing out at the house and it's gonna be interesting and fun all at the same time. 

Matt and I stocked up on some good tequila this past weekend.  And when I say good, I mean really good.  Tequila is something both of us are willing to plunk down some extra cash for because cheap tequila not only makes you feel cheap and tawdry, it makes you violently ill.  We're talking Alf-lost-his-dignity-in-an-airplane-lavatory-not-to-mention-countless-other-places ill.

So the point of the story is to buy the good stuff.

I'll be making margatinis with Julia's legendary recipe.  I have big, fat Spanish olives for them along with the good tequila and margarita mix.  My mom is stocking up on the Triple Sec that we need so I'll be good to go.

I'm taking some martini glasses, some shooters and some martini picks with me today over to the house in preparation for the big event.  I'm also taking my shaker.  We'll be needing more than one shaker with the number of drinks we'll be making.

Doug and I alone can each tuck away four margatinis easily.  Of course, after the third one, Doug tends to forget my name.  I'm still pretty lucid after four.  And I know some of you might be shocked by that, but consider this: the olives are so big and they take up so much valuable real estate in the glass that there's less room for alcohol.  And I like the olives, so I normally have two in each glass.  That's TWO giant olives taking up twice as much real estate in my glass.  Doug likes the olives too, but he's a bit more lightweight than I am so the real estate that the alcohol DOES take up affects him faster than it does me.

Oh, the good times we've had with Craig and Julia!

Let's see.  What else?  Oh! 

I made eggplant melanzane for dinner last night.  And I've never been one to like eggplant because the times it was prepared growing up, it was gross.  Still, Matt likes eggplant and I agreed to try my hand at making a melanzane because he had a really good one the other night when we went out to dinner.

For more information, go here

So yeah.  It's gonna be a good weekend following on the footsteps of an even better week.

Salud!

Later Days,
Arty