Not Dead.

Not cooking, either. Not doing much other than putting things in boxes and going out drinking instead of having normal meals. The second truckload of stuff is rolling over the hill tomorrow, I had dreams of fitting two bookshelves and a loveseat in among other things but had to settle for one bookshelf and a side table for now, along with maybe 40% of my kitchen in boxes. Good lord, I don't want to get rid of any of this stuff. I want it all in my new kitchen so I can cook in my new house!

Also trying to repress the plant-buying urges re: the new place. I am not allowed to move or plant any plants there until we are living there full time so I need to calm down. In the meantime I am reading this and making plant lists.

It is dated, but beautifully written. And the garden I am inheriting is decidedly old-fashioned so maybe dated isn't so bad. And for her day, she sure was into organics and composting!

Pictures of the new place may ensue this weekend... cross your fingers!

Urges.

I am having one last dinner party out of the blue Friday night. Guests know I have already packed my wine glasses so they are bringing the wine AND the glasses. I have plans for a nice pork roast but keep having urges to pair it with some sort of vegetable gratin. And then I look for a recipe and am overwhelmed by all the cream. I just can't do it. Looks like mashed potatoes it is. Possibly popovers too, just so we can be a little bit decadent. This is the general plan, just with some more Hungarian spices so my grandmother isn't too offended. And then her mashed potatoes and some kind of vegetable. I am always drawn to roasted carrots but am wondering if that's too root-vegetable heavy. But I do love me some roasted carrots, mmm. Maybe I will just make them tonight. Is it too early for decent asparagus? That might balance things out better...

Using an old desk so I don't have to sit on the floor (but I need to Craigslist it too...) and I just made an appointment to sell my dresser Saturday a.m. It's a start!

Probably Not Ideal.

I sold my desk this morning. So now I am sitting cross legged on the floor at my computer perched on its little stand. The pile of boxes is getting bigger...

However our storage thing has not yet been delivered (it is going to live at Matt's parents house and we can stash our crap behind their barn) so we aren't getting furniture out of here like I'd like to. But he is doing his darndest to pawn off his gear on his friends. It's not my favorite thing to watch. This was the comparison. Why is she wearing a garbage bag?

Not Much.

Listening to the new Cake album:


And thinking of Eddie Izzard- one of my favorite routines of his:


And putting miscellany and whatnot in boxes. All my boxes are too small. Ugh. Pre-move trip down to the  Bay Area next weekend will involve lots of little boxes and a call to the Salvation Army. Now that's excitement!

Weekend Earworm

Thinking of you, Alana. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Not Exciting.

Pardon the radio silence, there is not much going on here. I am trying to cook vegetarian and put things in boxes for a preliminary trip to the new place (which will hopefully occur next week). I am trying to think of ways to speed up the emptying of the current house and the future house. Salvation Army, I'm sure you're breathlessly awaiting my call. And no, I don't agree with all their practices but they are the only ones who seem to pick up. And there will be a bed, a hideabed couch and some other large pieces that need a loving home and nobody in my family is attached to enough to keep. Also they are large and heavy and I am sick of stupid Craigslist people.

And I am already starting to fantasize about a garden somewhere temperate where everything grows! Everything! And what would look good with the existing plantings, which include fairly massive jade plants and tons of azaleas. It should be interesting, I have epic plant lists and a preemptive shopping trip to both the local Farmer's Market and the Santa Cruz Arboretum on my To-Do list. And the first thing I am going to do is plant tomatoes! In February! I am SO excited.

 

From here. 

But seriously. These jade plants are like trees. You never see jade with other plants, you see it  indoors, in a pot. Or tiny ones in with a bunch of succulents on top of a table. For "interest". Maybe I need some tropical-looking stuff or something. With the azaleas.Yeah. And I am incredibly sad  for all of the cymbidium orchids that used to be there. She couldn't take care of them so she gave them away. So sad.

Back In The Saddle Nevada Again

It was an interesting trip to California again. I went down last Monday and  got  to spend some time  with my sisters and the kiddoes. I also got to spend some time cleaning out my grandmother's house. Specifically there is a semi-built-in old grotty plywood desk in the room that will be Matt's office that needs to come out. But it was my grandfather's, and it is FULL. We got to see old birth certificates, a ton of old black-and-white photos, and my grandmother's immigration papers - she was coming for a six-month visit. That was over 60 years ago and she's still here. Thankfully there was a lot of duplication and a lot of the good photos were already in my grandfather's albums, so we got to go through and do a lot of clearing out and consolidating. It was good to make a dent, as next week the bathroom is getting demo'ed and the desk is coming out at the same time. I still have to go back and do a number on the closets and see if the Salvation Army will come and pick up some of the furniture. There is some good wood stuff that I would like to use but there is some stuff that we can't use that has no sentimental family value so it is out!

It was a relief to come back to Reno, even though I flew (tip: 7am New Year's eve is not a bad time to go to the airport). Thank goodness for Southwesst frequent flier benefits! We had a nice NYE at a friend's and watched fireworks from his balcony, and then New Year's day we had hot pot at  my sister-in-law's house with mushrooms and noodles and dumplings and shrimp balls and, oddly enough, lamb. It is always really tasty, there is a sesame dipping sauce involved that I swear is like crack. So this week we are going  vegetarian. At least, until next weekend, which is my new nephew's 100 Day celebration, although sadly we  are going to a buffet instead of a big Chinese dinner. For my eldest niece's 100 Day we went to a Chinese restaurant where my sister-in-law is friends with the owners and had a feast of  all the stuff I could never find on the menu (like duck with the head still on, whole fried fish, all AWESOME). But it is supposed to be the best buffet in town so I know I won't be hurting for options. I just have to have a little post-holiday self-control. Bleah.