Pagemas 2008
Yesterday's Pagemas celebrations were decidely low-key, but excellent. I went in to work and plowed through the things I had to do listening to The Mothership. Good lord, as skeptical as I was when I first heard about this thing, I have come to love it utterly. It's an excellent collection, first of all, but the packaging is what really gets me. Every time. I can also really hear some of the remastering stuff even through crappy speakers. It's so good.
Our afternoon meeting was cancelled so I left early (which means at my actual scheduled time, rather than the one or two hours later I usually leave) and walked to TJs to get some supplies for the Pagemas Private Fondue Party. First I stopped at CVS and indulged in a box of 625 cotton swobs. I've been using up this box of really shitty cotton swobs I got at Family Dollar for probably a year, and I've really been missing a satisfying ear swob for a while. I know you're not supposed to do it, but it's not the only thing I do that I'm not supposed to. (heh.) Anyway, my life will be so much sweeter now that I can swob with abandon. After CVS I treked to Fashion Bug to check out their 70% off sale. I gotta say, despite the sort of crappy standard of most fashion bug merchandise, they have a panty line that I really like. And they were buy 3, get 3 free again, so I stocked up on panties. (sorry J*)**
I also got two pairs of pants---one pair of black jeans that were on DEEP DISCOUNT, and one pair of fashionable jeans that were not on as deep a discount as I thought, but I really really liked them. And the last time I really, really liked a pair of jeans was about 4 years ago, so I thought I should make hay while the sun shines, as it were. Plus, they came with a belt that if it isn't real leather is at least real leather like, and is brown. I don't have a brown belt. So, that's it for the justification on spending a chunk of change on jeans. (I'm not going to tell you how much of a chunk, but I feel pretty safe in saying that i'ts less than some people spend on jeans regularly)
It's also less than I went on to spend at TJs for fondue party supplies. I went a little over the top, I suppose, but it was Jimmy's birthday and he deserved a special party this year more than ever, I think. So I got asparagus spears, and chicken sausages, and shrimp, and baby potatoes and pearl onions for the cheese fondue, and then peppermint marshmallows and dried cherries and bananas for the chocolate fondue. As well as some fancy coffee grown by an all woman coffee cooperative. Got home and got crackin. Unfortunately, the cheese fondue did not turn out quite as superbly as it did on New Year's Day...I feel a little bummed about it, but it was still delicious. Just stringy. I boiled the potatoes and onions, and baked the shrimp in garlic, butter, and white wine with a little jerk seasoning sprinkled in. OMG. So good. I heated up the sausages in the oven and cut everything into bite sized pieces, and then I started drinking Jack. I actually was in such a good mood that I thoroughly enjoyed the jack on ice, with sparkly little star shaped ice cubes in a green cut glass goblet. I am definitely off to a roaring start on my resolution to enjoy more Jack Daniels in the new year. I loved it, and what a pleasant drunk it was! I felt all warm and cozy and happy, and though I could tell that I was sort of stumbly and maybe a little mush mouthed, I didn't feel sloppy at all. I felt ALERT. For that reason perhaps it is a dangerous drunk and I should confine it to my own home. That's fine. Rebby had to run an errand to pick up some gay art from a friend, so I had about an hour to myself with Jimmy and Jack. Sigh.
What a nice night all around. Our grand plans to celebrate in true "Dazed and Confused" style were sidetracked by the fact that we got up so damn early, but that's fine. I'm sure the crops will still grow.
Speaking of crops, some guys came today and weed whacked the side lot. That filled me with a mild panic---I fear that means the city is fixin to sell the lot. To someone else. That would suck with a serious suckiness, so we are going to contact the office again today and try to put in our bid. Wish us luck.
Yesterday I found out that there is sewing machine studio/workshop just down the block from me. Apparently I can take sewing machine classes there! I am so jazzed. I'll be a curtain and pillow making fool by the summertime, for sure!
Today I was going through some old cooking magazines cutting out recipes I might actually use someday in order to recycle the bulk of them, when I came across a Viking ad that featured, no lie, the kitchen of my dreams. The walls are the perfect shade of orange, and the floor is the exact tile I want. The refrigerator and oven are cobalt blue! I don't aspire to actually get cobalt blue Viking appliances, but the color scheme is PERFECT and I immediately taped it to the wall. For reference.
Time to go punch down my bread dough. Have a lovely Thursday!

**not to say that J* isn't in favor of me getting new undergarments, but rather she really, really dislikes the word p**ty.