Menu of the Day:
In my glass: The Guardian. a good red from Walla Walla. I'll explain it after the menu.
Music: I just bought the Black Keys cd called El Camino and it's awesome! I love the video for Lonely Boy and will probably put it up for my first January blog post. It's hilarious. For those of you on Facebook, i already did.
Book: I just finished reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. I had not read this book since i was 17 years old so re-reading it was like the first time. This book will go on my list of Top Ten favorites books of all time. Maybe in the Top Five even. The book is told through the voice narrative of the big tall Indian guy. Even if you have seen the movie 10 times like i have, you should still read the book. It's amazing. (Brian got it for me as one of my presents.)
What else i got: Bowling lessions...but sssshhhhh, it's a secret from the bowling league! I want to go back there and start bowling a 150 average! ..... I also got a Kindle Fire (as you can see in the photo).... I think I'm going to like it! ..... I got other stuff, including a Memory Foam topper that i thought i wanted for our bed. But after three days of trying it i feel like i need a chiropractor and i never have back problems. So back it goes. Plus it made us both too hot.
About the photos: The first photo is Brian and his mom Christmas day playing Chinese Checkers while i made Beef Wellington. (for the first time). The second one is my favorite Christmas Moment when Ashley and her boyfriend and Kylee came over to exchange presents Christmas Eve with us before we headed out to the big family affair.
After that are photos of my Beef Wellington. I used Tyler Florence's recipe that uses something like a mushroom pate that i made called a duexe?.... Anyway that's the stuff you see on the proscuitto that goes on top of the beef tenderloin which helps to keep the puff pastry from getting too soggy. The mushroom stuff looks ugly, but it's very good. It was fun to make and i would do it again.
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The Guardian wine:
My nephew Brian (Troy's son) got me the bottle of this good red called The Guardian. It's a Washington blend and very very nice. And kind of pricey. We had this conversation the last time i had seen him as we were watching Brian's band play in mid-December.
(That evening my other brother Scott was so funny going table to table with Brian's recorder interviewing all the folks in the bar about the band. As i'm watching this i say to Brian the nephew something that went kind of like this:
Me: Damn, I want to be the funny one in the family! I am tired of being the boring one. Scott and Troy are so funny and love to party. I want to be more like them.
Brian (nephew): But you don't like to party.
Me: I know. I know.... But I'm going to change! I'm going to start doing wild things and be bad and funny and do outrageous things.
Brian: But it's not you. We need you to be you! You're the matriarch in the family. You're the one we go to when we need to get straightened out. You always give it to us straight. We need that.
Me: I know, but now i want to go be bad so that i can come to YOU so YOU can straighten ME out.
Brian: But the Louvraks need you to be the matriarch.
Me: I don't want to be the matriarch anymore! The matriarch NEVER has fun. She just irritates everyone. I don't want that job. I'm sick of being responsible!
So i loved when I opened up this present from him that also included a very poignant note that I didn't read until i got home. That note means a lot to me. (My other Christmas Moment).
6 comments:
I just noticed that this was the most blog posts of the year since i started. And while i know blogs are sort of on the way out i will probably keep blogging for a few reasons:
#1.... i can type faster than hand writing in a journal.
#2. That i can quickly check back and see what' i've done in the past year. (Or what i haven't done.....)
#3. I get feedback/credence from people who feel like i do. and have even more to add.
So if you are reading at all and i from the stats, i know there are more people who do read than post, i wish you would come and add your two cents in the year 2012. This blog was never meant to be only about my rants/thoughts/musings. I always meant for people to participant and add their own to get depth. But hopefully mostly to gripe and bitch and make us happy that we;re not the only ones!......
Example of my typing abilities in an email sent to Kylee - the 'No' is supposed to be "jo"........
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Oops I.
Damnthis is hard totype on a kindle, I coould never text. I forgot to say I got a cell phone too with texting abilities, but I this.k I will take it back. Right now I am typing w one hand.
The kindle is cool but I will still.buy books. I likethe idea that I will be a le.to.put Ny cooking.
Magazines on.here.instead. I have no idea why. I keep typing a period. This f.ckibg ..imean f.cling message took.me about a half uor to ypel ...type.
No
Sent from my Kindle Fire
Your beef is beautiful!!
Em and I just watched someone make it on Top Chef or Next Iron Chef or something, and yours is just as good looking as theirs was. Can’t remember if the Beef Wellington lady won or not. I love those cooking shows, all of them, but then can’t remember squat later. I know I saw a recipe I wanted to try from the Barefoot Contessa for a Greek salad with bread cubes. Not sure of the name but it looked fantastic.
Our Christmas was great too. Christmas Eve with my family (no Nick, and my sister’s husband wasn’t there) all together at my moms. We went Mexican this year (usually has a Asian flavor) and everything was great.
The best was Christmas Day when my sister, her daughters and son in law came over for Lasagna Rollups. They were good and not too complicated; lots of work you can do ahead. We had a relaxing time with good conversation and . . . (hee hee I was going to say fellowship, but I was afraid Jo would ban me from the blog)
Em and I made curry yesterday, what a ton of chopping! My fingers still burn from the peppers. Because I have fresh curry, today I am making coconut seafood soup; I've made it a ton of times and still like it. I also fried some wontons. They turned out pretty good. I am not much of a fryer, so I was nervous. I’m sure all will be fine.
Our New Years eve plans fell through. I’m sorry it’s because our friend is sick, but am kind of glad to do low key.
On New Years day, Em is coming over with her Vegan boyfriend and another couple where the gal is allergic to a ton of things – including soy. We are having black bean soup with fried polenta and a green salad. No cookies for them!! Guess I’ll bring my leftover cookies to my brothers for all the football on the 2nd.
UPDATE:
while I was typing this, my soup that was supposed to be simmering gently, boiled over!!! So I guess this recipe isn't so easy for me after all. Better sign off and pay some attention to my cooking.
OOH, thanks for the compliment on my Beef Wellington, louie! I do want to make your lasagne rollups next. I have never ever made curry and didn't know until a few years ago that you didn't just get it out of Spice Island jars.
Your soup was so fabulous yesterday. I haven't really wanted to do much cooking post holiday time. But i will get back into it.
I am worried about how i'm going to go back to work after this time off. I'm on a sleep schedule that is screwy. I wake up around 3:00-ish and then i'm wide awake for 2-3 hours. I fall back asleep and then don't wake up until 8:30 or later. I've been doing this the whole time. I need a job that starts at either 4 am or one that starts at 10 am.
Today is my official first date of retirement! Now i'm considered an emeritus employee through at least until Aug. 2013 unless i want to quit sooner. But today is the official day. Pension starts next month. Yay!
I love having choices.
Happy New Year everybody! I reached my goal of at least once a week. I'm going to try and keep that as a goal for 2012.
Happy New Year y'all. We had a great time last night at the Moose Lodge, of all places....which is where Brian's band played. It was like going to a really fun wedding reception without the bride and groom. So it was really fun! And we didn't have to dress up. Troy came for a while and joined us and we danced so much my hip is sore again.
But i'm beat today and while i did go out for a run since it's a rare sunny day, i've been watching the House marathon on the Oxygen channel most of the day! A perfect start to the new year.
Ok, back to House. I love this show. Does anyone else watch?
I watched a good chunk of the House marathon, too. Sometimes I get halfway into an episode before I realize I've already seen it. But, Hugh Laurie is so handsome, I don't mind at all.
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