For these and many, many other reasons I give thanks...

Turkey day Part I
+ dpolicar and earthling237's house for Thanksgiving Turkey.
+ Laughing Out Loud with esclaremonde's mom
+ catching up with esclaremonde
+ meeting Hector after giggling in the corner with dpolicar's mom last year about him.
+ hugs
+ Interesting conversations with interesting people
+ None of the people there were dead!
+ There was no cannibalism*

Turkey Day Part II
+ miss_chance's nephew who told me I could use his seat as he was done eating with great earnestness. (melt)
+ Interesting conversations with interesting people
+ Pecan Pie
+ hugs
+ Mint tea with honey
+ leftovers

Day after Turkey Day
+ Seeing eclecticavitar off to NYC Adventures and her making the earlier bus!
+ Seeing t_l_e_e, her family from out of town (Chaia, hubby and kids & Jeff) and her in-town family (Mom & Aunt)
+ quiet conversations and low-key when mostly peopled out.
+ more hugs
+ rain that never turned into downpour but remained quiet and calm
+ bbbsg's place and running into miss_chance's nephew again who explained to me he runs a wizard school out of his back yard and who showed me his wand. (He'd just been to the museum of science where the Harry Potter exhibit is touring right now).
+ Beatles Rock Band with three singers, one bass, one guitar and drums!
+ More Beatles Rock Band with three singers, one bass, one guitar and drums!
+ Switching from Beatles Rock Band to REGULAR Rock Band
+ quiet conversations
+ More Rock Band
+ getting better on the drums (I think the beer helped).
+ Uneventful drive home to a soft bed and a cuddly kitty.
+ sleep

The Big Picture
+ And people! There were loads and loads of wonderful people, some of whom I hang out with normally, some of whom I don't get to see nearly often enough and some people who were new and interesting.
+ hugs


* There is a sign on the cabinet door which explains "Cannibalism is strictly forbidden. All violators shall be roasted and served."

My heartfelt thanks to earthling177, my mom, Hector, esclaremonde, esclaremonde's mom, hahathor, barodar, Matt, muffyjo, hammercock, trowa_barton, Frank, and Debbie for helping me celebrate Thanksgiving with some truly excellent company over dinner, to bedfull_o_books, r_ness, Kyri and Charles for joining them and me for dessert and subsequent socialness, and to navrins, lignota, Lynn, Aimee, Steve, and Elan for assisting me with the Thanksgiving aftermath tradition.

Good food, excellent friends, and a truly glorious life. I can't begin to express the breadth or depth of my gratitude for the grace by which I enjoy friends, fortune, family, and love; I won't even try. But it's there just the same.

The turkey carcass is now stock in the freezer, joined by Thanksgiving soup comprising the leftover gravy, roasted garlic, mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, baby corn, asparagus, and green beans. The white bean, split pea and corn soup, the orzo, the cranberry chutney and sauce, and carrots, mango, and red pepper are sitting in the fridge preparing to feed me over the next few days. And a truly inspiring quantity of pie, cake, turon, baklava, pannetone, and cheese are waiting to join them (though I suspect I will require some help finishing them).

What is this thing called?

I know it's named for someone at Tufts, but can't think of anything aside from that...

Apparently, the Somerville Theater used to play the movie Alice's Restaurant in the Somerville Theater for folks who were in town, or so I heard yesterday. They no longer do this, and I wonder why not; I think it would be a blast to go to that during the day before Thanksgiving dinner. The 30th anniversary edition of the song was played at the event I attended yesterday, and it was actually quite a lot of fun to listen to it along with folks who had never heard it before. Who knows, maybe they will bring it back...

Happy Thanksgiving, folks:)

As promised, an illustrated chronicle of my (our) trip to Iceland. Sarah's full gallery (including our time in England) is available on Flickr and I'll be posting highlights to Facebook eventually.

( Read more... )

All in all, a lovely holiday in a lovely country. We had packed for wind and rain, but were blessed with sunny skies pretty much every day. Daytime temperatures ranged from lower thirties to mid-forties, hovering around the upper thirties for most of the trip. The very short span of daylight (about 6 hours) meant that the angle of the sun in the sky resulted in attractive light and/or clouds for almost all of those 6 hours (and into the twilight and dawn beyond). Though the sulfuric smell in the shower did take some getting used to, I'm generally a fan of this readily-available hot water thing. Plus, the mineral-rich cold tap water was divine (Sarah threatened to fill the suitcase with it). It was good to have an apartment with a kitchen and we got by just fine without a car. I think I'd get one next time so I could spend more time exploring other parts of the country (volcanoes! glaciers!) and maybe even venturing out to search for aurorae. However, the bus/shuttle/tour services were very efficient and so, for a first foray into the so-called land of fire and ice, I give it two be-gloved thumbs up. Well done, Iceland; well done, McMonkeypants.

I've been watching Dirty Jobs a lot lately, and had some thoughts about it that I wanted to share with the host, Mike Rowe. There's a message board on the Discovery site that he reads and occasionally posts to, so I finally wrote it up there, rather than find an address and send a letter that went through other people and *maybe* eventually got to him. Took me a while to write it, polish it, and get up the guts to post it, but I finally did it yesterday. Of course, I hoped for a response, but I didn't think I'd actually get one. So I was kinda shocked (and utterly thrilled) to see this message this morning. Squee!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Gilly

Quite possibly the most gratifying letter I've read since episode one.
The lessons I've learned these last five years have been big.
Actually, more like reminders of lessons learned a long time ago, but
conveniently forgotten. Funny how we do that, isn't it?

Thanks for watching, and Happy Thanksgiving.

Mike

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

My letter, in case you're curious:

Dear Mike,

When my TiVo first recorded Dirty Jobs on its own, I was skeptical, but decided to give it a try. I very quickly became hooked: in part because I like to learn how things are done, but mostly because of you -- your obvious education and intelligence, your dry wit, and your engaging sense of the ridiculous. As an over-educated East-coast intellectual myself, I found it easy to identify with you. And I was particularly impressed with the respect you showed the people you worked with, even when they were often -- I thought -- clearly less intelligent than yourself.

But the more I watched, the more I realized that I had it completely backwards. A sesquipedalian vocabulary and a library of classical quotations are all very impressive, but they don't get a job done any better or faster. In the positions you often attempt, those "uneducated" workers are the ones with all the knowledge. If anything, they should be condescending to you -- and it's remarkable how forbearing they seem to be, at least from what I've seen so far.

So thanks for reminding me that I'm not always as smart as I think I am, and for teaching me a lesson that I'm making an effort to absorb into my own life. I've always tried to be polite to everyone, from
senator to trash collector, but I'll admit I have sometimes fallen into the trap of equating education with intelligence. It's good to be reminded that there are many people in my daily life who have knowledge I probably never will -- and likely a good bit of wisdom, as well.

Thankful that I still have a lot to learn,

--Gilly

P.S. In regard to Safety Third: The MBTA, the Boston subway system notorious for its terrible service and frequent delays, often makes announcements over the PA service that "Safety is our number one
priority." I always wish that their number one priority was, in fact, transportation...

Subject line says it all.

Comment away!

I hope everyone is able to share this Thanksgiving with those they love and if not know that there are some who love you out there thinking of you.
Happy Thanksgiving.

The bathroom door had a ridiculous amount of paint build up. I guess no one who's ever lived in this house before has ever heard of sandpaper. So I took the door off the hinges and planed down all the edges. I removed the hardware, filled in the unneeded holes and have replacement hardware standing by.

I used 60 grit paper on a palm sander to strip off some of the paint around the inside of the door jam. Jon asked me why I was doing this. I said because the amount of paint on it was dumb. It's much smarter now.

Switched to an 80 grit to sand the walls, taking care to smooth over all the areas where the paint peeled up when I replaced the shower walls weeks back. (Note to self: always score the paint around something before you rip it off the wall.) Hopefully when I paint over it, you won't be able to notice any lines. *fingers crossed*

I installed a new latch in the door, one a raped out of an unused door in the basement. I had to reposition the catch plate in the jam. This required me to do some minor but highly necessary chiseling (thank you, Andy). Then I rehung the door.

Once the fill dries, I'll sand the door smooth and paint it before putting all the hardware back on.

I'm pressing pause on this project to indulge in some sleep, to be followed by overindulging in food and family. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Come Friday I'll put some color to the wall, then step back and say "Aw yeah!"

You guys, I have internets at home again now! The wireless card still isn't working (Belkin recommends updating the drivers), but I have been graciously lent a 20' ethernet cable that is doing the trick just fine in the interim.

Thanksgiving is so totally the Yomtov That Isn't. It's extremely weird to watch everyone disappear out of school and have it *not* be a case of running home in time for candlelighting...!

I am spending this weekend locally, since I had invitations to Thanksgiving dinner from several different friends -- thanks, you guys, all of you, for making me feel loved and included. :-) So although this will still mean driving well over an hour each way (with traffic) tomorrow, I don't have to get up early or do any of the driving or, in fact, do anything but pack some good music for the car and be a gracious guest. I'm looking forward to it.

And now that I've finished the shul newsletter, and uploaded it to Kinko's for Friday morning pickup... *BED*.

i'm going backwards. rather than upgrading my mac laptop, i'm looking to downgrade it to osx 10.4 (tiger).

does anyone know where i can find a copy of an older apple operating system?
almost everyone i see in the cafes with macs are running updated leopard or snow leopard. if anyone has upgraded lately, and no longer needs their original osx 10.4 disks, maybe we can work out a deal ($, box of kickass cupcakes, ?).

ideas? thanks!!

Somerville Police Chief Anthony Holloway is one of a dozen short-listed candidates for the post of police chief in his hometown of Clearwater, Fla.

“Chief Holloway has done an outstanding job during his first 18 months here in Somerville and we certainly hope he will stay,” said city spokesman Tom Champion. “His hiring was part of an ongoing reorganization and reform process on which we have made enormous progress. Of course, there’s still plenty of work still to be done and it would be great to have him here to help see it through.”

http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/news/x826021989/Somerville-Police-Chief-interviews-for-Florida-job-after-18-months

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/somerville/2009/11/somerville_police_chief_a_fina.html

The week has flown by and tomorrow is Thanksgiving and my birthday. I apologize if I gave the impression of things being disastrous in a way that they were not and are not. (I'm guessing I did so based on some of the expressions of concern I've received since then, which I very much appreciate in any case. I do like that people care, but I don't want anyone worrying needlessly.) Holiday plans are proceeding apace and at this point I seem to have sixteen people coming for dinner. Meep! And even more for dessert, to which y'all are still quite welcome. (Let me know if you need details.)

Yesterday I gave blood and this morning I ran four miles. It felt a bit strained but I don't know how much of that was after-effects of donation, how much was starting at 7am (which is too early for that much activity), and how much was the cramps. Grr, argh. Today I will see if I can dig up any potatoes from the garden, get whatever else I need from the last farmers market of the year (boo), and get going with cooking and cleaning.

Tomorrow morning I was thinking I'd run along with the Tri-Gobble for fun, but I'd rather do it with someone. Any of y'all doing this one? Or want to? I'm looking at you, anomie666.

I've never been very good at wishlists (I don't expect gifts from anyone, anyway), but if anyone would like to do something nice for me (and for others, and for yourself via tax deduction), you should know that the reason I've been getting up at ungodly hours to run is that I am training for the 2010 Boston Marathon. Okay, yeah, I said it. The Boston Marathon. I will talk a lot more about it in the coming months. To be honest, you may have to remind me to talk about anything else. By necessity, it does become a bit of an obsession.

As with all runners who don't have a qualifying time (which I obviously couldn't since I've never run a marathon before, and also the qualifying times are much faster than I can possibly run), I need to raise a fair bit of money in order to participate. I am running with the Tufts University President's Marathon Challenge. The money raised by our team will fund important research at the Tufts School of Nutrition and all donations are fully tax deductible.

I've been blogging my training for the past couple of months at my runner page, though I suppose I should mirror that someplace else since there isn't even a way to get an RSS feed as far as I can tell. So there's my bit of self-promotion for the day. I appreciate your support whether it takes the form of donations, equipment loans, training company, words of encouragement, or something else. Extra big thanks to those who have already donated. Feel free to pass along the link to anyone you think might be interested. That link again:

http://run.peace.net
(Which redirects here if that link isn't working for you.)

To everyone I won't see tomorrow, have a great holiday!

Stumbled across this, and it's fascinating listening. I definitely recommend listening with headphones to get to full impact. I especially like the bits where you can hear separate tracks from the original Beatles recordings.

The show is not actually available on their web page, but you can find a copy here.

The Record Producers profiles a man often labelled "The Fifth Beatle" - Sir George Martin.

Richard Allinson and Steve Levine examine his work as a producer, arranger and, through his experiments with sound, technical innovator. Highlights include the first chance to hear newly restored versions of the original master tapes for Please Please Me, along with analysis of the original multi-track of Come Together.

This programme also gives Radio 2 listeners the opportunity to hear some of the Beatles most famous songs in a new way. Because of the limitations of tape machines during the 1960s, it was necessary to either record or mix various instruments and voices onto the same track. Once they'd been committed to tape there was no way of separating them. But now, through the use of revolutionary software, listeners can hear some of these parts in isolation for the very first time.

In his exclusive interview, Sir George talks about various aspects of the studio and recording process, the albums Sgt Pepper and Abbey Road, along with a number of songs, including Strawberry Fields Forever, Tomorrow Never Knows and Rain.

I went to a reading by the fabulous Kristin Cashore at the Harvard Book Store tonight. If you like YA fantasy and have not yet read her books Graceling and Fire, I highly recommend them. And if you have, you'll be happy to hear that she's currently working on Bitterblue, although it'll probably be a while before it hits print.

Anyway, she was just lovely. I told her how that I really appreciate the fact that her characters manage to be simultaneously both strong and vulnerable, and how much I enjoy watching the process of them falling in love, which she seemed pleased to hear. And she wrote "for Gilly -- you are strong! :)" in my copy of Graceling. Squee!

Not in Davis, but in Somerville and there are several Davis artists showing/represented.

On Saturday, Dec. 5, 11 am to 5 pm there are THREE art/crafts fairs in close proximity.
Somerville Museum, Union Square and Washington Street Studios are ALL having sales of original work by local artists.

On Sunday, Dec. 6 the Somerville Museum will continue for a second day with jury selected artists, mulled cider and snacks, and the Somerville Museum itself with it's current Mosaics show.

We'd love to see you here!

So, I have this fleishig crockpot. :-)

Which is to say: muffyjo was brainstorming last week about recipes and food planning, which reminded me that I am overdue in posting some of the awesome things I've done with this useful little (5.5qt? something over a gallon) appliance. So here are three.


DUCK IN SLOW COOKER
Adapted from http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1626,151178-245202,00.html
( I made this for Gilly's birthday luau )

CROCKPOT LAMB STEW
Adapted from http://southernfood.about.com/od/lambstewrecipes/r/bl115c11.htm
( I made this for Joel & Renee's sheva brachot )

REVITHIA STO FOURNO (OVEN-COOKED CHICKPEAS)
A.k.a. Six-Hour Chickpeas. And totally worth that amount of planning ahead.
Adapted from http://graphics.boston.com/globe/magazine/2-4/food.shtml
( I made this in the crockpot for potluck Shabbat dinner at Arisia '09, but it really didn't come out as good as it does in the oven. Which means I need a larger casserole dish so I can make double batches. I also made it for Eric & Johanna's wedding potluck. )

OK, I tweeted this, but it's cool enough to merit an actual post. Local a cappella group Overboard is offering their latest album for free (Donations appreciated). The album is Help!, a cover of the Beatles album, but with some very imaginative and enjoyable new arrangements. I generally don't like to mess with a good thing, but some of the spins they put on the songs really make for a new song.

The very last Davis Square farmer's market of the year will be tomorrow (Wednesday 11/25), noon to 5 pm in the Day Street parking lot. After that, no more markets until next May. I'll miss it.