Knitting loopholes, and Nostalgia Central

Thank Jesus this week is over.

I don't know exactly what the issue was, but I could not get it together this week. I've late to work everyday. Work was crazy busy with crazy accidents and crazy lawyers to talk to. Wednesday night I went out for sushi with Shelley (this time edemame, a dragon roll, a fresh salmon bagel roll, a spider roll and a rainbow roll, all to share), I got a new pair of shoes at DSW and we worked on the thank you notes some more (we've finished writing them and now we just have to address them). Yesterday I bought some yarn and knitting needles and attempted to begin learning how to knit. The casting row was really easy, but I kept messing up when I went to knit my first line. They kept falling off the needles, no matter how tight or loose the stitches were. Anyone know how to knit that can give me a few pointers?

Tonight Shell, Richard and Shea are coming over for drinks and dessert, which I'm psyched about. I washed the sheets on the spare bed in case anyone gets too tired to drive (that's usually me) and I'm making brownie ala mode :) Kyle can't come because he has to go see Jade at some club called Hot Wax? I don't know; it sounds sketchy ... hehe.

Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to get together with Matt. I never realize how much I miss that boy until I hear from him. Somehow we have the type of friendship where whenever we hang out it's just like no time has passed. I knew this, but it still came as a surprise to me when we were hanging out at the reunion, because I had such a blast with him. I'll miss him being in Miami for 6 years, and then who knows where he'll end up. I'll have to spend as much time as I can with him while he's back for the summer.

There's also Charlie and Katie; I'm looking forward to seeing them when they move back down here. I keep meaning to email them, but I don't know what to say -- hey, had a great time at the reunion with you guys, hope you didn't get too sick! :) Hey, maybe I'll email them today! hehe. And Justin, dear Justin, who needs to come hang out with me when he comes down on leave. And Kristin, who I was going to start biking with on the weekends but I haven't actually gotten around to calling ... Hey Kristin, you want to go for a bike ride or something this weekend?

Well, it looks that I'm getting all nostalgic, so I'm promptly changing the subject.
I finished Church of Dead Girls which was very good, but not very scary until the very end when it turned out just like every other "scary book". So I have to say that the majority of the book was fantastic, and it let me down a little at the end -- but not enough that I wouldn't recommend it to someone. After all, most people aren't as picky as me. It has a very conversational tone, from the voice of a man from the town, but he's a very sympathetic and reliable narrator, although there are a couple times where he's imparting information that he shouldn't know, and that bothers me. I'm onto Broken for You, which I had high hopes for when I bought it last weekend but after reading a couple pages I think that Christen's mom will like it better than I. It just might not be my type of book. I'll give it a shot though -- the one time I sat down with it I wasn't feeling so good and read at the table while eating cereal for dinner. You never know.

Father's Day is Sunday. I need to pick up a card. Dad and I usually go for lunch at Sonny's or something and then perhaps we'll go to the driving range (maybe I can pursuade him to get me some right-handed clubs ... after all, it is Father's Day? :) )

All in all, it promises to be a productive and amusing weekend ... I hope it doesn't let me down! All else fails, I'll just curl up with a book and waste the weekend away. Toodles!

Friendship (a reprint from a MS Bulletin)

Are you tired of all those namby, pamby, girly, sissy "friendship" poems that never come close to reality?

Well, here is a series of promises that really speaks of true friendship:

1. When you are sad - I will help you get drunk and plot revenge against the sorry bastard who made you that way.

2. When you are blue - I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

3. When you smile - I will know you've had sex.

4. When you are scared - I will tease the crap out of you about it every chance I get.

5. When you are worried - I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be to stop your whining.

6. When you are confused - I will use little words.

7. When you are sick - Stay the hell away from me until you are well again, I don't want whatever you have.

8. When you fall - I will point and laugh at your clumsy ass.


Remember: A good friend will help you move. A really good friend will help you move a body!!!

Books galore!

This is why I love my boyfriend: On our day off together he suggests we peruse the used bookstores in the area, even though he doesn't read. I love him.

And etc: I went looking for a cheap copy of The Devil Wore (Wears?) Prada, because I'm curious even though it's not really my type of book. It must be said that a movie sure makes the used copies of a book disappear off the shelves, though. I couldn't find it anywhere, and all the copies in all the libraries in the county are checked out. Game over, I lose.

I did, however, pick up three books that look promising: Without Reservations by Alice Steinbach, Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos, and The Church of Dead Girls by Stephen Dobyns (yes, Autumn, when you come down we can switch Dobyns books). I've already started WR, and it is charming and sincere and makes me yearn for Paris. Forget that I've never been there, I've read so many books about writers in Paris it makes me long for the cafes and streets and bridges.

I found that there's a Tampa Writer's Group that meets twice monthly and I'm thinking of joining. It means I'd have to start writing again, and that I'd have to allow people other than friends read, but I'm really pondering it. I need to get back into the game.

Last night was a lovely night for friends. I spent the early part of the evening enjoying sushi and wine in SoHo with Suz, April and Stacy -- a wonderful time of catching up with good friends. After I navigated backward through the narrow lot of Mercedes and Lexus (an '85 Cabrio decided to park itself directly behind me so I couldn't pull out properly), I picked up Shell and we headed out to Odessa for more wine and dessert at Casa de Shaw ... lots of laughter and girltalk to be had. Christen was the proper gentleman who drove Shell and I home once I started to fall asleep from the indecent amount of imbibing in which I partook. Ahh, good times.

Tonight I shall attempt that earlier recipe for shrimp and crab au gratin -- I'll let you know how it goes!

Hot Summer Night

BOY: On a hot summer night would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red
roses?
GIRL: Will he offer me his mouth?
B: Yes.
G: Will he offer me his teeth?
B: Yes.
G: Will he offer me his jaws?
B: Yes.
G: Will he offer me his hunger?
B: Yes.
G: Again, will he offer me his hunger?
B: YES.
G: And will he starve without me?
B: YES.
G: And does he love me?
B: Yes.
G: Yes.
B: On a hot summer night would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?
G: Yes.
B: I bet you to say that to all the boys.

Hungry and lusting for knowledge

So I've been looking for a recipe for Shrimp & Crab au Gratin that's worth a damn, and I think this may be the one:

Crab and Shrimp au Gratin

1/2 pound crab meat
2 pounds shrimp, steamed, shelled, and deveined
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 teaspoon onion flakes
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup medium sharp cheese, grated

Melt butter over low flame. Add flour to form a paste. Slowly
stir in milk to make white sauce. Combine remaining
ingredients, except cheese, shrimp, and crab meat, and add to
white sauce. Fold in shrimp and crab meat. Pour into a
casserole dish, top with cheeseand bake at 350 degrees
for 25 minutes.

It looks the most promising. Keep your fingers crossed and I'll let you know how it goes.

In other news, I'm in the middle of 100 Years of Solitude, and all I can say is, I love Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Love him love him love him. Too old to marry and bear his children though. Well ... yes, too old. Ick.

Shoes shoes shoes

So I love shoes -- love them. I was cleaning up my closet and reorganizing and decided to take pictures of my shoes. Not pictured: 1 pair Steve Madden white shoes (pictured here though), 4 pairs of tennis shoes (3 Addidas, 1 Reebox), 1 pair spa slippers and about half a dozen flipflops.

Just because you wanted to know my obsessions. Next up: my library.

Shell was a beautiful bride

Shell got married last Sunday (5/21) and it was so beautiful -- she was so beautiful! Here are a couple pics ...



They look so wonderful! That's my boob to the left -- can't keep those things out of the picture, evidently!



This is such a pretty picture of Shell -- I wish it were lighter, but that's what the professionals were for!



I got under Shell's dress before Richard! Of course, he was left holding the bouquet ...



The happy wedding party ... before we got down and partied!