Unfurnished Brooklyn

This is only a test

Because I was especially crabby over the weekend (TMI:PMS), right now I choose not to participate in the argument Cheburashka wants to have and I'm in the bedroom blogging. I've got a mug of coffee, even though I know that coffee at 6 PM means I'll be up at 1AM channel surfing.

There is mac-and-cheese dumped in anger (hey- not by me) all over the floor; I'm not touching it. There's a pissed-off little girl outside the bedroom door who thinks I'm a moron and has been lecturing me for 10 minutes about my parental shortcomings and that she wants to go live with her father. It is a testament to my strength of will that I have not yet said "Go ahead. If you can find his ass, feel free." I'm letting her rant because I know she needs to let off some steam. I'm staying quiet only because I know that right now that I will flip out and scream and yell and that's not how I do things, so I'm having a little time out.

I'm exhausted. I'm worn out from running back and forth between job interviews that I probably couldn't accept even if I were offered the job because I have no childcare. I'm frustrated at the lack of after-school childcare in this neighborhood. I'm pissed that I can't afford to move to one that has better options.

And yet, I'm very lucky that despite the craptacular half-assed part-time work I occasionally find, I'm able to keep the lights on and food in the fridge and I still have DSL so I can rant online. I don't know how I do it, but I do it.

My rant is over. The crisis has passed. But I'm going to go ahead and post this, and stop trying to front like I'm Superwoman. I guess while I'm up at 1 AM waiting for the caffeine high to end I can review the divorce papers I received today. Party on.

(Cheb's rant is over. She came in to apologize, and is now cleaning up the mac-and-cheese. I wonder if pms is contagious...?)

Update: I just got an email from Netflix saying I will receive The Pursuit of Happyness in the mail tomorrow. This is hilarious. See this post to understand why this is so funny to me. Or maybe you still won't understand. Anyway, I find it funny.

Behold!

I have made bread.

This is the very first loaf of bread* I have ever made. And it was good. That stuff on the top is a "light dusting" of cornmeal. Looks more like I hit it with one of those giant clown powder puffs (makeup!). I used that no-knead recipe, with 1 cup of whole wheat flour subbing for white. Not bad, though it didn't rise all that much. I'd love some olive bread- which I can't find around here- so I think next time I'll experiment with the recipe. But it was otherwise very easy- how could it not be? Mix it and ignore it for hours? No sweat.

Today Cheb helped me baked cinnamon buns- small hands are excellent for kneading dough. No pictures: we attacked them right out of the oven.

*Not counting the many banana breads, pumpkin breads, gingerbreads, zucchini breads, etc. This is bread bread, people.

Also: from last night's SNL: Maraka! For anyone who's had to sit through an episode of Dora The Explorer.

stealth chicken

Is there any way to roast a chicken in secret? If there is, I'd like to know.

Cheb is becoming more and more militant about being a vegetarian. She'll allow seafood (she can't imagine a life with out sprats or sushi), but she stands firm on any other type of meat. And in the past few weeks, I've been craving roast chicken. Covered in rosemary and lemon and garlic. How could I make one in secret?

I'm cool with her being a vegetarian. I was one for many years (8? 10? I forget), and I was never really big on cooking red meat anyway. I don't like fake meats either- I worked for several years in a health food market, and I've tried different substitutes and they're all blecch. Also- Cheb can't really eat milk-based products (she has a milk protein allergy, which we cheat on once in a while), so she's really making me work as far as coming up with meal choices. Happily, she loves vegetables so it won't be all grains, all the time.

Still no photos. I should get it together: I still have the Spunky Eclectic socks, the Cabled Riding Jacket, and the vest from the last issue of Rowan to show y'all. I'm working on a pair of socks and another Clapotis in the silk I bought off eBay ages ago. Yep. I'll get around to it.

Quickie

I have a post that's maybe three weeks old that I haven't, um, posted because I'm too lazy to take the pictures. And, okay, I've been a little busy.

But I have to pop in and tell an amusing (to me, anyway) story.

Cheb announced that she had to bring in 15 (!) photos and a small scrapbook for a project at school. I went to a discount store in my old neighborhood because they've recently stocked up on scrapbooking supplies. And anyway, I love that store & I haven't been in ages. So I'm cruising down the aisles, turn a corner, and gasped. Out loud. There was a wall of yarn. Yes, it was all Lion Brand, but still: Wall of Yarn, people. Nothing cost more than $2. Lion Suede and that Moonlight Mohair and some chenille.  I didn't buy any; can't spend money on yarn right now, and I'm starting to look towards warmer weather items anyway. But Wall of Yarn. Where I didn't expect to see one. Always a good thing.

Hey, here's another amusing story: the other night I'm trying to sleep, and Cheb is in the bed with me, thrashing as usual. She has a habit of tossing all the pillows onto the floor, in her sleep. Having no more pillows to toss, she reaches for the next best thing- my head. I'm awakened suddenly by her grabbing fistfuls of my hair and pulling me toward the edge of the bed. I pull myself free, and grab a pillow from the floor and hand it to her. Eyes still shut, she throws the pillow to the floor, and goes back to sleeping like a little angel. What the hell???

It's like living with Baby Face Finster.

I'll be back soon with some knitting pictures. Though for me, soon can mean a month or so.