Welcome to mid-November, Vancouver-style. Cold, wet, and rainy. But that didn’t deter us from checking out the winter farmer’s market today outside Nat Bailey Stadium. Less fresh fruit, more fresh root vegetables, several baked good stands doing brisk business, and the the food trucks were out in force. I counted five in all, including one I tried for the first time: Le Tigre Cuisine offering “scrumptious modern Chinese delights”. I was expecting good and got even better:
My sole disappointment was the fact that I was too full to try the “Kick Ass Rice” – cooked in sake, with butter and dash, and topped with a poached egg, fresh herbs, and thai chili. You can have it with either pork belly or popcorn chicken.
My new favorite food truck. You can check out their facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/LeTigreCuisine
After that, it was back home for my favorite rainy day activity = agonizing over a script. I wrote the tease last weekend, Paul forged ahead and wrote the first act and a half this past week, and I ended up spending most of this afternoon trying to craft the scene in the mental institution. Amusingly enough, this is the third “mental institution scene” I’ve written in recent memory. And, in spite of what they tell you, they don’t get any easier. I’m pleased to report, however, that I got it done, ended the act, and am now trying to figure out how to attack the ensuing scene which involves, pictures, diagrams, and a (hopefully) clear as day explanation of a complex worst-case scenario.
By the way, thanks to everyone who weighed in the last couple of days with: a) suggestions for my insomnia, and b) weird J-pop/K-pop recommendations. I am officially enlightened.
So, what’s the weather like in your neck of the woods? And how go your various weekends/secret projects/scripts?
It’s been nice, but cool here in B’ham. I’ve REALLY enjoyed this weekend. Boys are at youth retreat so I’ve spent quality time with hubby and got to write and shop in my favorite two places. (Barnes and Noble and Bath and Body Works) Hubby and I saw Skyfall this afternoon. It was great! The movie theater was crowded, think the showing sold out, and we went to dinner and enjoyed the Christmas decorations at our local outdoor mall after.
Have a great night!!!
The weather’s nice, a little frosty in the mornings.
My latest project involved watching the entire TV run of The Walking Dead in one big lump. Really. It is a well-done series so not at all a chore.
Although Saint John mid-November is usually exactly the same as Vancouver, these last few days (and the next few days, apparently) have been sunny and cool (around 4C). Not too bad for this time of year, really.
Exciting stuff for the weekend? Not that much – had to work some OT today, coordinating with Ottawa on implementing a new data reporting system. Only to be called this evening with them asking me to switch everything back first thing Monday morning because of problems on their end. Oh well.
Was in to see my step-mom at the hospital after the OT and she is still doing pretty well and seems to be on the mend. She does seem to have some memory loss from the few days previous to the operation, though nothing major.
Tomorrow, I have an afternoon practice for our annual performance of Handel’s Messiah on Dec. 21st (I sing baritone.) I’ve done it so many times now, I barely need the music, but the practices are still recommended.
Agree with DP, New Jersey has been chilly in the mornings and again 2 hrs or so past sun down, into the low 30’s. Br-r-r…
That braised pulled pork shoulder bun looks yummy. Please send one to me via UPS.
I sympathize with your insomnia. After trying the usual home remedies, through several weeks of awake-nearly-all-night scenarios, I finally bought a box of Alteril. It combines 3 natural ingredients in a pill — it worked, I slept — yay.
Special projects? I decided to buy a Kindle Paperwhite. Early Christmas present to me. And again I will gripe that it is too early for Christmas decorations to be shown in stores when Thanksgiving has not yet arrived.
2cats
Those roasted beet fries look fantastic! I want!!
The weather? Pretty nice – in the 50s, breezy, sunny. My project? I cleaned the house today (the first time I really was able to clean from stem to stern since the storm). I turned off the heat and opened the windows – it was mild enough and the house never went below 60 degrees – a good temp for housework, imho. Took longer to clean than I had hoped, but I had to organize my linen closet and dust the ceiling fans and walls and try to put some things back in order that Boo kitty has single-pawedly managed to destroy. Feels nice to have it all done in one shot, even if I did miss a few cobwebs. 😛
(Right after I got it all done, Boo jumped into a plant on the porch and knocked it upside down onto the floor! Thankfully Mr. Das went to the rescue with dustpan and broom. I swear this cat is worse than having ten kids!)
I suffered terrible this past week with a bad back…I never have back pain. Everywhere else pain, but not the back. It started Sunday night (I suspect that I twisted something when I almost slipped on a ramp), and I couldn’t move by Monday morning. My entire back from my ribs down to my hips – both sides – just ached, and I was sort of frozen in a twisted position because of a catch in my spine. I took one aspirin, applied an ice pack, and wrapped myself in a giant ace bandage – like The Mummy! 😀 Monday afternoon it had eased up a bit and I went for a walk on the beach (walking felt good, sitting and laying down felt horrible). Tuesday was okay, I was able to go to work at least. Hubby insisted I use a heating patch when I went to bed (one of those chemical heat thingys), and Wednesday morning I was in agony! I went back to ice and the ace bandage, and Thursday was a bit better, and Friday almost back to normal. Today it felt great, but now I think I may have overdone it and fear that tomorrow it will be hurting again. 😛
That’s all I have to report. Wish my life was more exciting for ya. 😉
Have a good night, sir!
das
It does rain in southern California! We had a good steady rain last night and this morning, but since then it’s been off and on. I put a new bookcase together this afternoon, however, I neglected to get my project approved by the Anti-Change Committee (i.e. the cats) beforehand, so I’m being snubbed this evening. Currently watching the Iron Chef America Thanksgiving Showdown and making a grocery list for tomorrow.
Yeah…it’s getting mighty chilly in NJ. I just pray for all those who are displaced by Sandy…or still have no power…that they find a warm place to stay. There gonna need winter coats…warm blankets and sweaters.
Projects? Gee. Um…I supposed to make pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. I have yet to buy the stuff. And…I need to start my Christmas shopping before it gets too crazy. I hate crowds. And…I certainly will not…absolutely not…do Black Friday.
The weather? Here is the Chicago suburbs it is positively gorgeous. Sunny with highs in the mid to upper fifties and down in the thirties at night.
Super-secret projects? Coming along nicely, thank you very much. I’d tell you about it but then I’d have to hunt down everyone on the blog…
Hope your back is feeling better, das!
And I hope you get past this round of insomnia soon, Joe. Not being able to sleep is no fun.
@Joe on weekend projects:
Well the first order of business is jetlag containment. Secondly, buy a Turkey and brine it (with maybe a small one for the smoker). We’re having some family friends over for Thanksgiving and I’m trying to get the meal planned out. Maybe pumpkin cheesecake?
I also need to catch up on “homeschool auto shop” with my daughter Jackie and spend some time with her on the automatic transmission rebuild, and go over the geocaching merit badge requirements for my son David’s scout troop (since I’m a GPS engineer, I signed up to help out the troop as a merit badge councillor…I might also do the electronics merit badge later).
So a pretty busy wsk ahead!
@gforce:
Sorry to hear about your mom; sending prayers your way.
*pretty busy week ahead 😉
Here in north central Texas, the weather is beautiful. Crystal clear blue sky, high about 70, low about 50. Very nice.
I’m writing my script for Thanksgiving…the menu. Right now I am cooking for 14-15. It was 18, but 3 have had to cancell. So far I am cooking pecan pie, pumpkin pie, a cheesecake made with biscuits (JeffW would be horrified)(I need JeffW!). I was going to make something chocolate, but I have an apple pie coming. Also, broccoli caserole, broccoli salad (wow I just realized I have 2 broccoli items!-crap!)(oh well), corn caserole or corn salad, a huge assorted fruit tray, orange jello salad, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, green beans. Also turkey, ham, dressing, gravy, rolls. What am I missing? (besides a brain to not invite so many)
Weather wise – well this is the UK so what do you expect me to say 😛 😀
Kriss 🙂
Western Colorado (the dry side of the Rockies) is day/50s-night/30s and clear: beautiful. And we actually had precipitation last week, less than an inch of snow that didn’t stick on the roads and melted by early afternoon, but any break in the drought is welcome!
Projects? Christmas presents to be knitted and crocheted. There is yarn everywhere – blue, brown, red, pink – Aaaaggghhh! I hate pink! But there’s this granddaughter… 🙂
@Joe
Hey Joe, when are you going to continue with your SGA memory lane? Gateworld has already finished with Season 5 and I’m wondering when you’ll do…
(I didn’t find any “mail” button so I’m just commenting…)
Here in the south west of the UK it’s a clear, crisp morning. Frost overnight but it’s about 1°C at the moment. Yesterday I was working to upgrade the servers in our datacentre which thankfully went smoothly. Plan for today is to do some work in the garden, watch some Desert Bus For Hope 6, cook a roast chicken either for lunch or dinner (haven’t decided yet) and catch the highlights of the US Formula 1 Grand Prix from Austin, Texas later tonight.
The weather is beautifully crisp and clear, here in NJ. Typical and perfect November, lows in the 30’s, highs in the low 60’s. My favorite time of year.
Perhaps you can use American Horror Story for some mental institution inspiration. Disturbing, yet entertaining show. Have you caught it at all this season?
I’m going to get my comfort food on today: homemade mac & cheese and cream of broccoli soup!
Good luck, Ponytail! That’s a lot of food!
Baby shower dinner was a blast, the place looked fantastic, the food was delicious, the cake was gorgeous (and tasted great) and my daughter had a great time. I would have been toast without my son and his girlfriend, though, there was so much to do at the last minute and they stepped in to take a lot of the heat off of me. I boarded Riley and Cody for the night and am off to pick them up in a little while, I miss them! I’m glad I did that, it would have been too much for them, and keeping them in a bedroom would have been miserable for everybody! The weather last night actually was a bit chilly, but nobody seemed to mind. Off to get my dogs! xo
Das: I hope you back keeps feeling better. When my back aches, stretching helps. The doctor gave me a pamphlet of exercises when I had a bad case of sciatica and it really helped.
Deni: How was the baby shower? Is Lauren doing ok?
JeffW: You stay so busy. How do you keep up that pace after traveling? My hubby has been traveling some lately and he always comes back cranky. We make him take a nap when he gets home 😉 .
The food looks wonderful! I never seen beet fries. Would like to try those!
The weather has been cool in the mornings. We just started having a frost. Then it’s been getting up to the low 70’s (21C) in the afternoon. So we are dressing in layers here. I’m slowly cleaning out the dead plants from my garden. My allergies are killing me just being outside that long. Something is blooming and everyone here seems to be sneezing/sniffling.
Our TV went out a couple of weeks ago and we bought a replacement. The replacement TV started locking up, so we had to take that one back. Yesterday was marathon TV shopping day. NOT FUN! Of course, the boys picked a TV out bigger and better. I pay the bills and I’m getting hit right and left. 🙄 Things will ease up after Christmas though. I’m thankful that when something an appliance goes out, we have the money to replace it. A lot of people around here don’t have the money for such luxuries.
Ponytail: Yum! What time should I be there for dinner? 🙂
@Ponytail:
Biscuits for cheesecake doesn’t sound bad (we are talking about hard biscuits for the crust, right? 😉 ). I’ve used crushed almonds, graham crackers, and crushed cookies as a crust. My favorite is still the graham cracker crust (usually with some additional ingredients like chocolate or butterscotch chips to compliment the rest of the cake). Almond is pretty good if your going for a more subtle flavor.
Let us know how it goes; I may want to copy you! 😀
Hey Joe
Weathers been nice here. 10 degrees yesterday in Oshawa (just east of Toronto) and expecting the same again today.
My “Super Secret Project”? I’m trying to hold off the snow for the whole season. Wish me luck!
Elminster
In northern Utah, we’re rainy, a t warmer than average, in the 50s. Not bad.
We have no Thanksgiving plans, other than walking over to a burner family of friends. If hubby is home, he often is not. I do have a turkey thawing, but mostly because I like turkey. We’ll bring pumpkin beer if we go to the massive potluck.
We don’t do weekend plans, we do “whenever hubby is home” plans. He put in a new deep sink in the laundryroom for me, instead of the shallow dual bar sink that was in place. The old valves had locked up, so those had to be replaced, and the floor drain is nearly plugged. Sigh. Old house, old plumbing. The washer quit dead in the middle of a cycle, a fairly new (6 years) Kenmore. So our cash cushion for fripperies just vanished. That would be Christmas gifts (although I did get my annual Swarovski ornament already). My new Maytag sings to me when I open the lid, way too cheerful for laundry day.
Off tangent memory: a close relative of mine as once a resident at the mental institution where they filmed One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. He says much of the film was BS, but the one thing they almost got right was how much sex was going on in the hospital. Visitors and patients, patients and patients, patients and random furnishings…. the broom closets saw more action than the Rossebuurt in Amsterdam.
Hi Joe:
Well, I guess I am the lone arctic survivor of your bunch of readers. We have a foot of snow and it never, never, never goes above 30 Fahrenheit this time of year. Where I am, the trees literally push the leaves out full grown on the branches in spring. When it’s fall, the trees come by the name very properly. The leaves all detach at noon on October 9th and fall to the ground. You can hear the “whump” sound.
Anyway, I’ve been busy writing for http://www.wormholeriders.com. We are as busy as ever, interviewing celebrities and writing reviews of television shows. Good times. There are a couple of super secret projects on the horizon. They are currently in the planning stage. Hopefully, we can report on them soon.
Just an FYI for something that might help you fall asleep. It works for me. Maybe it will work for you. When I am having trouble sleeping, I visualize myself lying on a beach under a palm tree in the shade with no one else around, just the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, maybe the breeze through the trees. I find it very relaxing. Every time my mind begins to wander back to worries or concerns, I immediately bring myself back to that beach. I smell the smells and feel the sand between my toes, the warmth of the breeze…before long, I’m fast asleep.
Patricia
@das – I’m sorry we scared you. Is this look more to your liking? (I mean the taller one.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85ap3Psj6B4
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I have to get me some beet fries.
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Oh, despite my ambiguous tone about HyunA, I do know she CAN pull off everything it takes to be an international superstar in the U.S., too. Will she make the right creative choices remains to be seen. If she insists on baby-voicing and having face sex with the camera, she’s going to run up against hard limitations on her potential fan base.
@Joe
Cold, wet and rainy … sounds like Vancouver and London were seperated at birth!!!
Sunny and pleasant here in eastern PA. Mid to upper 40s. This is still nice weather to be working outside. It’s supposed to be nice all week too.
@Tam Dixon:
As for busyness, I’m just tackling one thing at a time and taking my satisfaction in getting each small step done (when I can).
I sympathize with your hubby’s crankiness…especially with the way travel is now days. For me, an afternoon nap while trying to re-synchronize time-wise would probably do me more harm than good.
@Tam Dixon and Maggiemayday on appliance failures:
Looks like my curse of “major appliance failures before vacations or holidays” is spreading! Expect another one before Christmas 😉 The jury is still out on whether they come in 3’s or 4’s…
@ JeffW – my cheesecake is nothing like yours. Yours is an original, classic, beautiful creation. My is wierd. I spread 1 can of crescent rolls in a 9×13 pan. Mix cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and spread on top of rolls. Lay out a second can of crescent rolls on top of the cream cheese. Pour melted butter on top then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top of that. Nothing like the beauties you make but it is still good. By the way, i just got one of those special pans needed to make yours. I plan to try it in the future.
It’s been sunny, in the 50s during the day, 30s at night. Not bad at all, but brrr! feels cold when you miss the warmth of Indian summer. The last colors of fall are fading in the blazing reds of (ornamental) Bartlett pear trees.
Have gathered all the late season tomatoes, and all the green ones, before frost got them. Keeping the green ones out in the breezeway (unheated) keeps us in ‘maters sometimes till Christmas. Playing hide-and-seek with my 2.5 y.o. nephew that day was a riot. Just plain joy was written all over his face. Hope to never forget it. And tall as he is, he can still hide behind the huge tomato cages. Contrary tomatos show off and thrive in the midwestern clay here. Root vegetables compensate for the hard soil by forming mutant sci-fi creatures underground. Seems a shame to cut them up before cooking. 🙂
Saturday, we did get to see “Skyfall.” 😯 What a ride! The reviews are no exaggeration. It IS the best James Bond movie made so far. Thrilling performances by Daniel Craig and Judy Dench. Good story-telling not compromised by the fast-paced plot. Jaw-droppingly beautiful film to look at. Both the cinematography and art direction crews should get Oscars. So many visual nods to the Bond franchise for its 50th anniversary. A seamless, extraordinary film. It never would have worked without the strong acting in the lead roles. I do have a couple quibbles, but those would be spoilers. I know I’ve said this before, but Do Not cheat yourselves. See this on the BIG screen! 😀
Das — Glad your back is better! I’ve done that, too. After feeling yucky for a few days, I just wanted to get all wild and woolly and knock out a big project.
Deni — Was wondering how the baby shower went. It sounds terrific! Maybe we should all celebrate the holidays in Florida with you! We’ll keep Riley and Cody busy while we wait for Hanna-Klaus. 😀 Hey! When is D-Day for Baby Blake? How did Lauren like her party?
Ponytail — I’m praying you get a sous chef to help you with the feast you’re cooking! Maybe we should come visit you this weekend to help you get rid of the leftovers. Yum! (We’ll do the dishes.)
Joe — Man, you had a food truck feast. The Shao Bing looks great. Might have to see if we have gourmet food trucks here. Our metro area has so many nationalities. My big project is to get the gift shopping and card writing done by the first week in December. Otherwise it gets stressful, and I don’t want the Grinch to steal Christmas. I want to enjoy it. Cross your fingers! 🙂
I’m declaring victory in the war to get my dishwasher to wash dishes thanks to my new ally, trisodium phosphate. I thought I was going to have to re-purpose my dishwasher as a drying rack. I bought some TSP online and now I just dump the bigger food chunks in the trash and let the machine do the work.
My weekends gone well, despite feeling a bit tired. Odd how its even possible to get enough sleep and still be tired? Lol
Anyway Joe, you should check out Angel Beats. The anime is very very sad 🙂 And I pretty much wanted to suggest a dozen things all at once on your other post, if you ever do a J pop type post again, I’ll name some more I guess.
Oh and i hope your script stuff goes well. I miss seeing the names Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie pop up on the screen for the writing/producer stuff, we only get that for Stargate, we should for more stuff lol
Just a quick mom update – I was just in the hospital and she is doing much, much better. I would say better than she’s been in the last few weeks, looking back. She does still have a few short term memory issues but even that seems to be improving a lot. Whew! Dodged another bullet, I guess.
I agree that Skyfall was excellent! As long as it was, it held my interest from start to finish. Of course, it wasn’t that I didn’t have my nit-picks (having studied film review at Cookie Monster’s knee, of course!), but they were so minor to not detract from the movie at all.
Weather here was beautiful this weekend. Yesterday Patrick’s flu virus wanted one last hurrah, but he was much better today. I’m sending him to school tomorrow; hope they don’t call me to pick him up, but since he gave me a rough time going to sleep tonight, I’d say he was back to his normal self. Today (Sunday) I started a new pet sitting job. A Bichon Frise and a mix breed of Jack Russell terrier and some other breeds. She is 18 months old and loves to pull on her walk. I’ll have none of it. Going to try a harness that is really cool and comfortable and if that does not work, there is the old Halti standby. The Scnoodle I finished watching–his owners were very happy to see he had learned sit and stay and they felt he had better manners now. It makes me happy that they see a difference in their pets. Of course in between Fox Broadcasting is keeping me busy. I’m liking this association I have with them. It’s built on respect and I especially like the lack of censorship (which is the antithesis of their news channel. If I don’t like something, they WANT to know. It’s a better fit for me. It’s volunteer of course but I get some really cool gifts and access to previews of shows. And then there was my epic American Idol finale trip. Busy, busy, but I’m less stressed since I quit my job in May.
@Deni. Glad to hear everything was a smashing success!
Still making posts to my own blog website: stargateatlantisseasonsix.com
It’s still on the first story which would be the equivalent of the first episode of the might-have-been Season Six.