Sunday, May 22, 2011
Farewell
I started this blog thinking it would be a fun way to post about the various adventures on which Captain America and I embark. However, I discovered that while I enjoyed setting up the blog, and I enjoyed the activities, blogging about them after the fact just became another thing on my to-do list. Therefore, I have decided that I am no longer going to continue with 52 Saturday Nights. There is just no sense in having a hobby you don't enjoy. But you can still follow me over at Virginia's Rants.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
A hauntingly Egyptian weekend
This is another post that I began over a month ago and never moved forward with. I'm posting it as is.
Earlier this month, Captain America and I took a weekend trip to LA to participate in Tea with Amelia Peabody. For those of you who don't know, Amelia Peabody is the narrator of a series of books that take place in the Victorian era in England and Egypt.
I must admit, I had to trick Captain America a little bit to get him to go to this, but I think he ended up having a jolly good time. First, I told him that we were going to meet the Professor and the Professoress in LA. That was fine. Then I told him that we were going to tea. He thought that was a little unmanly, but agreed. Then I told him it was Egyptian-themed, and was put on my ARCE, the same group that organized our Oasis trip. He was okay with that. The the Porfessoress bought the tickets, I sent her a check, and informed Captain America that it was a costume event. He declared, in his most Emerson-esque voice, that he was NOT going to a costume event. I could go alone and waste the money we spent, AND that I had better not spend too much on the costumes, either. It's a good thing I have my own bank account!
The website promised a skit, and that never really materialized, but we did get pictures with Peabody and Emerson. Everyone at our table won something in the raffle, so that was fun. There was a ton of food and tea, and little games on the table, including Amelia Peabody mad libs. Here is an example:
Amelia peered over her husband's shoulder at the papyrus he was unrolling. It seemed a _____ specimen, possibly dating from the reign of _____. She could see finely painted figures of _____, _____, and _____. The hieroglyphs seemed to have been written in a _____ hand. Her _____ son, Ramses, cleared his throat. "Excuse me Mother, your _____ hat impedes my view." Reluctantly, she withdrew her hand from her husband's _____ chest, went to the mirror, unpinned and removed the offending hat, decorated with ever fashionable _____. Really, she thought, they might have washed up after coming in from the railway station at _____, which everyone knew was _____.
It was good fun that became even better fun when we stared making up our own words instead of using the set we had been given.
Did you know that Amelia Peabody loves donkeys? I knew she liked them to be clean (or as clean as possible) and that she abhorred the mistreatment of animals, but I did not know of Animal Welfare of Luxor (AWOL--no, I did not pick that acronym). You can check out their site and make a donation at http://www.awol-egypt.org/.
Earlier this month, Captain America and I took a weekend trip to LA to participate in Tea with Amelia Peabody. For those of you who don't know, Amelia Peabody is the narrator of a series of books that take place in the Victorian era in England and Egypt.
I must admit, I had to trick Captain America a little bit to get him to go to this, but I think he ended up having a jolly good time. First, I told him that we were going to meet the Professor and the Professoress in LA. That was fine. Then I told him that we were going to tea. He thought that was a little unmanly, but agreed. Then I told him it was Egyptian-themed, and was put on my ARCE, the same group that organized our Oasis trip. He was okay with that. The the Porfessoress bought the tickets, I sent her a check, and informed Captain America that it was a costume event. He declared, in his most Emerson-esque voice, that he was NOT going to a costume event. I could go alone and waste the money we spent, AND that I had better not spend too much on the costumes, either. It's a good thing I have my own bank account!
The website promised a skit, and that never really materialized, but we did get pictures with Peabody and Emerson. Everyone at our table won something in the raffle, so that was fun. There was a ton of food and tea, and little games on the table, including Amelia Peabody mad libs. Here is an example:
Amelia peered over her husband's shoulder at the papyrus he was unrolling. It seemed a _____ specimen, possibly dating from the reign of _____. She could see finely painted figures of _____, _____, and _____. The hieroglyphs seemed to have been written in a _____ hand. Her _____ son, Ramses, cleared his throat. "Excuse me Mother, your _____ hat impedes my view." Reluctantly, she withdrew her hand from her husband's _____ chest, went to the mirror, unpinned and removed the offending hat, decorated with ever fashionable _____. Really, she thought, they might have washed up after coming in from the railway station at _____, which everyone knew was _____.
It was good fun that became even better fun when we stared making up our own words instead of using the set we had been given.
Did you know that Amelia Peabody loves donkeys? I knew she liked them to be clean (or as clean as possible) and that she abhorred the mistreatment of animals, but I did not know of Animal Welfare of Luxor (AWOL--no, I did not pick that acronym). You can check out their site and make a donation at http://www.awol-egypt.org/.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
A heartfelt weekend of eating
So I started this post back in February, when all of this was relevant, but somehow I've lost interest, and now I'm just going to publish it the way it is.
This was supposed to be a blog about all sorts of things to do in California, San Diego, specifically. And yet, all I seem to do is eat on my weekends. This is, actually, mostly true because a) I don't like to cook, 2) all of my friends have to eat, too, and d) (you're welcome, Kiddo, for that Home Alone reference) wait, I'm not sure there was a "d." But I promise some exciting events are in the works, so stay tuned.
In the mean time, this weekend I went to Pappa Lecco on 5th Ave. in Hillcrest with two friends from work. Captain America decided to go to some sort of airshow on Coronado and had to sit in a lot of traffic while I enjoyed an Italian soda, a latte, and a margarita pizza.
Sunday, some other friends flew into town and we met them at a Hawaiian breakfast place, then we went to the zoo, then we went to Hash House a Go Go for dinner.
Monday, Captain America took Voracious, T kayaking while the Professor went to his conference or whatever it was (someone has to work around here). Voracious, T, Captain America, and I went to Lei Lounge for dinner, which would have been quite nice except it took us over an hour to get there because traffic was atrocious, and we were all a little irate upon arrival.
This was supposed to be a blog about all sorts of things to do in California, San Diego, specifically. And yet, all I seem to do is eat on my weekends. This is, actually, mostly true because a) I don't like to cook, 2) all of my friends have to eat, too, and d) (you're welcome, Kiddo, for that Home Alone reference) wait, I'm not sure there was a "d." But I promise some exciting events are in the works, so stay tuned.
In the mean time, this weekend I went to Pappa Lecco on 5th Ave. in Hillcrest with two friends from work. Captain America decided to go to some sort of airshow on Coronado and had to sit in a lot of traffic while I enjoyed an Italian soda, a latte, and a margarita pizza.
Sunday, some other friends flew into town and we met them at a Hawaiian breakfast place, then we went to the zoo, then we went to Hash House a Go Go for dinner.
Monday, Captain America took Voracious, T kayaking while the Professor went to his conference or whatever it was (someone has to work around here). Voracious, T, Captain America, and I went to Lei Lounge for dinner, which would have been quite nice except it took us over an hour to get there because traffic was atrocious, and we were all a little irate upon arrival.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Triple D
For those of you who thought you'd be getting a post about gigantic boobs, I'm sorry to disappoint you.
As luck would have it, Wednesday is the food day for section E in the local San Diego Tribune. Section E is that human interest section that features a different theme each day of the week. I think Monday is science, Tuesday is health, Thursday is sort of funny because there's a section called Night and Day to gear readers up for the weekend, and then Friday is another Night and Day, and Saturday is Home and Garden. I have no idea if there is a section E on Sunday because all I read (from the paper) on Sunday are the comics and Parade.
The last Wednesday that my mother was here, the food section had an article on that guy, Guy Fieri (really, that was not an intended pun), and the Triple D restaurants in San Diego. My mom picked out Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill for dinner. I had the clam chowder, which was more pepper-y than I like it, and two different fish tacos. They were fantastic and huge! Next time I'll only order one. Mom and her friend had the fish plate. Both of them enjoyed their meal, too.
If you're going to meet friends there, make sure you all arrive at the same time, because you order before you get a table. The restaurant does take reservations for parties of seven or more.
As luck would have it, Wednesday is the food day for section E in the local San Diego Tribune. Section E is that human interest section that features a different theme each day of the week. I think Monday is science, Tuesday is health, Thursday is sort of funny because there's a section called Night and Day to gear readers up for the weekend, and then Friday is another Night and Day, and Saturday is Home and Garden. I have no idea if there is a section E on Sunday because all I read (from the paper) on Sunday are the comics and Parade.
The last Wednesday that my mother was here, the food section had an article on that guy, Guy Fieri (really, that was not an intended pun), and the Triple D restaurants in San Diego. My mom picked out Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill for dinner. I had the clam chowder, which was more pepper-y than I like it, and two different fish tacos. They were fantastic and huge! Next time I'll only order one. Mom and her friend had the fish plate. Both of them enjoyed their meal, too.
If you're going to meet friends there, make sure you all arrive at the same time, because you order before you get a table. The restaurant does take reservations for parties of seven or more.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Mom's birthday
My mother was able to celebrate her birthday in San Diego this year. For fun, she got to run errands and take care of her post-op daughter (me). But we did manage to get in some fun things, which I thought were on the list, but as it turns out, were not. But I'll add them anyway.
After running a few errands, we headed over to Extraordinary Desserts for lunch. We each ordered a pot of tea, Mom had a salad, but unfortunately I can't remember which one. I had the aged cheddar grilled cheese sandwich and I added avocado. It was fabulous. For dessert, Mom had a lemon bar and I had a strawberry shortcake. The "cake" part of both of these desserts was not what we expected, but I guess that's what makes them extraordinary, and we both LOVED our desserts.
Next stop, the Wangenheim Room at San Diego's Central Library. The Wangenheim Room houses the San Diego Library's rare book collection. The collection includes media dating back 4000 years and even includes Babylonian clay tablets from 2300BCE. There is also a substantial collection of miniature books. The room is named after Julius Wangenheim who donated much of the collection. As a bibliophile, many of the books relate to the history of writing and bookmaking.
One interesting thing I learned was the origins of the term pulp fiction. Early written documents were made of animal products or linen, but when a technique for incorporating wood pulp into the paper making (or perhaps page making) process, it created a cheaper, easier to mass produce, surface on which to write. This surface was especially popular with a particular niche of fiction writers, thus the term.
And I learned a new vocabulary word: incunabula, or items printed before 1500AD.
Then we moved on to Balboa Park, where I took a nap and Mom enjoyed the artist's village. We even signed her up for a glass class when she's back next week. Balboa Park has a lot to offer, including gardens, museums, a carousel, the Zoo, and theaters, in addition to the artist's village.
Finally, we picked up Sister and took Mom to The Merk for dinner.
Also while Mom was here helping me convalesce, Captain America took us to La Jolla Cove, where I sat on the beach and read while Mom and Captain America went kayaking. They had a blast, and although Mom got soaking wet, she did not fall into the ocean.
All in all, I think she had a pretty good visit, and as bizarre as it is to say, it's definitely better when the visit begins with general anesthesia, than when it ends with it.
After running a few errands, we headed over to Extraordinary Desserts for lunch. We each ordered a pot of tea, Mom had a salad, but unfortunately I can't remember which one. I had the aged cheddar grilled cheese sandwich and I added avocado. It was fabulous. For dessert, Mom had a lemon bar and I had a strawberry shortcake. The "cake" part of both of these desserts was not what we expected, but I guess that's what makes them extraordinary, and we both LOVED our desserts.
Next stop, the Wangenheim Room at San Diego's Central Library. The Wangenheim Room houses the San Diego Library's rare book collection. The collection includes media dating back 4000 years and even includes Babylonian clay tablets from 2300BCE. There is also a substantial collection of miniature books. The room is named after Julius Wangenheim who donated much of the collection. As a bibliophile, many of the books relate to the history of writing and bookmaking.
One interesting thing I learned was the origins of the term pulp fiction. Early written documents were made of animal products or linen, but when a technique for incorporating wood pulp into the paper making (or perhaps page making) process, it created a cheaper, easier to mass produce, surface on which to write. This surface was especially popular with a particular niche of fiction writers, thus the term.
And I learned a new vocabulary word: incunabula, or items printed before 1500AD.
Then we moved on to Balboa Park, where I took a nap and Mom enjoyed the artist's village. We even signed her up for a glass class when she's back next week. Balboa Park has a lot to offer, including gardens, museums, a carousel, the Zoo, and theaters, in addition to the artist's village.
Finally, we picked up Sister and took Mom to The Merk for dinner.
Also while Mom was here helping me convalesce, Captain America took us to La Jolla Cove, where I sat on the beach and read while Mom and Captain America went kayaking. They had a blast, and although Mom got soaking wet, she did not fall into the ocean.
All in all, I think she had a pretty good visit, and as bizarre as it is to say, it's definitely better when the visit begins with general anesthesia, than when it ends with it.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Party Time!
Tonight, Barbie and I are throwing Ken and Captain America a joint birthday party. Ken and Captain America both have birthdays in March, and since they work together, they know a lot of the same people. And from a practical standpoint, this way there's only one keg, and one mess to clean up.
Barbie and I are rockstars at this sort of thing. The only thing the men were in charge of were hanging lights and getting the keg.
We're going to have homemade mac and cheese, pulled pork sandwiches, spinach and artichoke dip, Pubcakes, brownies, and the ubiquitous fruit and veggie platters. We're going to have a beer pong tournament, with official beer pong rules. We have sleeping arrangements for out-of-town-guests, contingency plans if it rains, and fun non-alcoholic drinks for the designated drivers. We've even arranged for the maid for tomorrow. Yup, we should do this for a living!
Barbie and I are rockstars at this sort of thing. The only thing the men were in charge of were hanging lights and getting the keg.
We're going to have homemade mac and cheese, pulled pork sandwiches, spinach and artichoke dip, Pubcakes, brownies, and the ubiquitous fruit and veggie platters. We're going to have a beer pong tournament, with official beer pong rules. We have sleeping arrangements for out-of-town-guests, contingency plans if it rains, and fun non-alcoholic drinks for the designated drivers. We've even arranged for the maid for tomorrow. Yup, we should do this for a living!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
The best tortellini soup ever!
I really thought I had "host a dinner party" on my list of Saturday Night activities, but the closest I could find was "invite friends over," and that's exactly what happened this weekend. When I had surgery in February, my mom made tortellini soup, and it was easy, tasty, and a 1-dish meal. So, I thought, I'll invite some girlfriends over (since Captain America was spending the weekend watching the Big Dance), and I'll make soup and we'll have some wine and chit-chat, and it'll be good fun. This is a great soup to serve a bunch of people because it makes a lot, but it doesn't keep quite so well because the tortellinis continue to retain water (I'm not sure that's the best culinary wording) and start to expand and get soggy and fall apart if you keep it in the fridge too long. So all of my girlfriends were sent home with lunch for the next day! Everybody wins!
Here's the recipe:
1 can chick peas, drained
2 small cans stewed tomatoes with juice
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
32 oz chicken broth (I used vegetable broth)
5 cups water
1 package fresh baby spinach
1 package cheese tortellini
minced garlic
1 package sweet and 1 package hot sausage (or, 32oz sausage)
Method:
Here's the recipe:
1 can chick peas, drained
2 small cans stewed tomatoes with juice
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
32 oz chicken broth (I used vegetable broth)
5 cups water
1 package fresh baby spinach
1 package cheese tortellini
minced garlic
1 package sweet and 1 package hot sausage (or, 32oz sausage)
Method:
- Cook sausage out of casing with garlic in large stockpot, crumbling the sausage while cooking. Drain the sausage.
- Add stewed tomatoes, chick peas, mustard, chicken broth, and water to stock pot.
- Add tortellini and baby spinach to stock pot, and cook until spinach is wilted and tortellini is done (don't bring to a boil).
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