Meandering Missive: Making up for lost time: parties, sales, seeds!

Friday, December 30, 2005

Making up for lost time: parties, sales, seeds!

In continuing the game of catch-up, I don't want to let this week go by without blogging about a bunch of other cool things, which certainly made up for all the NON coolness of being sick for several days beforehand. Buying a new laptop on Monday (as I finally wrote in yesterday's entry) was the BIGGEST news, "but wait -- there's more!" ;)

Tues., Dec. 27: family party

My two cousins (Julie and her son Brandon) who were supposed to come with my aunt to the party on the 23rd, which was cancelled due to me being sick, came on the 27th for a secondary party and gift exchange, along with two more cousins (Ron and his son Joshua) who were staying with my aunt while visiting from Texas. Along with my folks and myself, it was a crowded party of seven at the dining room table! :) A very FESTIVELY decorated table, I might add! The only person missing was my aunt. We had a great brunch and a fun gift exchange, with everybody liking their presents!

I was so happy to feel better that I even made (the day before) a delicious Mandarin orange fluff pie whose recipe I found in an old dessert cookbook I almost sold on eBay! My best friend "Milgwimper" (she doesn't like her name used) who blogs at Some Like It Hot has been bugging me to post some more entries about my adventures in cooking/baking, so hopefully the photos below will placate her *grin* Unlike she, I'm not very good at cooking, although I'm OK at baking. Even her husband cooks more than I do! However, I truly am trying to build my confidence, even if it's a little at a time. And this pie helped, even though it was a super-simple recipe involving just a few things: store-bought chocolate pie crust, mandarin oranges, mandarin orange juice, water, orange Jello, lemon juice, lemon zest (could substitute orange zest), and Cool Whip (which I substituted for beaten whipping cream).

Click a pic for a larger version. I don't know why the pie looks two-toned in the second pic; it really isn't!!

Tues., Dec. 27: Bath & Body Works sale

I actually visited my favourite place of indulgence BEFORE the family arrived, but they are more important than my shopping trip, so I put them first. But now I get to write my "confession", as Shari of L.V. has been eagerly awaiting all week! Then again, she got a personal email from me on Dec. 27, the first day of the Bath & Body Works semi-annual sale and holiday clearance, so she already knows every last item I bought, from lathery shower gel to creamy skin lotion to sparkly lip gloss to refreshing body splash! Everything smells and/or tastes like either sweet treats, baked goods, fresh fruits or flowers. Or some combo thereof! Let's just put it this way -- when a store with such amazingly delicious and indulgent bath and body products marks a bunch of things down by 50% to 75% -- I'm there! A few things I actually keep for myself at these events, and a few I save to give as gifts, but MOST I buy so that later, once B&BW no longer has the items on the shelves, I can turn around and sell them on eBay. It's all about supply and demand, baby! ;)

I think Shari's the only person, outside of myself, who could find so much commentary to write about each and every B&BW purchase. Check out The Bountiful Damage Report if you're curious. I love it, not only because she writes well and amusingly, but also because it validates my own compulsion to wax verbose about my purchases!! *giggle* I think she's also the only person who has half a dozen or so B&BW shops within convenient driving distance for her. I guess Las Vegas is truly like the buffets it's known for: too much to pick from, and too many places to pick it! So, shall I plan my next Vegas trip during B&BW's June sale? ;D We can shop 'til we drop in a whirlwind of Shariness!

Weds., Dec. 28: lunch festivity

The first fun thing I did Wednesday was attend a deliciously catered farewell/congratulations lunch for my friend and former co-worker Bea, former longtime editor of the Evergreen Times, part of the Times Media Inc. family of community weekly, twice-monthly and monthly community newspapers.

Not only was it a great treat to see Bea again (joined by her hubby and daughter) but also a bunch of other cool folks from the Times and elsewhere. And the lunch repast was amazing: Caesar salad, garlic bread, several types of pizza, calzones, and fried calamari and dipping sauce. The portions were enough to feed an army! I believe it was all from Megabyte Pizza, which also happens to be located in the Evergreen/Silver Creek area of San Jose. I've been there a few times myself, and it's quite good.

Bea is leaving the Times to work full-time as campaign manager for San Jose Mayoral candidate Dave Cortese, who currently is a San Jose City Councilmember, representing District 8. I haven't yet decided which person I'll vote for next year when San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales' term is up, especially since I'm sure more candidates will throw their hats into the ring down the road. However, from what I know of Dave, he definitely is a worthy contender. (He's also a Democrat, which is a plus in my book!) I hope Bea has an edifying, interesting and exciting time working on the campaign. She's a super-nice, super-organized and hard-working person, so I'm sure she'll do great.

Weds., Dec. 28: "coffee talk"

I forgot where that saying came from (where you pronounce it like "kauwfee tauwk" - LOL) but I think it's pretty funny. At any rate, I had to leave Bea's lunch party sooner than I wanted, because I was meeting my friends Nicole and Tammy for coffee at the Starbucks in the cool town of Los Gatos . Nicole's one of the few friends I've known since middle school who I'm still in touch with. Tammy is a friend I met through Nicole. Well, okay, that was my first time meeting her, but I can always tell after hanging out with someone if they are someone I'd like to consider a friend. And Tammy is. :)

Anyhoo, due to distance and work conflicts, Nicole and I only get together a few times a year. At least now that she moved back to her native Bay Area, it's easier -- once upon a time, she lived out of state! We met in Los Gatos because I had to check my P.O. Box there (long story) and Nicole wanted to see the town again, as she and her parents used to live there. (Well, in the Santa Cruz Mtns part). We met at Starbucks because Nicole insisted on buying me a dessert and my guilty indulgence, the Java Chip Frappuccino (click with caution; it's addictive!), in exchange for a book she bought from me the other week on eBay. I didn't realize she was the bidder until after the auction closed. As soon as I found out, I emailed to tell her NOT to PayPal me the money; I'd just give her the book as a Christmas gift.

I also gave her a packet of more than two dozen hand-harvested 4 o'clock seeds, as she really wanted some, and they're really easy to grow. I know I haven't been obsessing in this blog about 4 o'clocks lately, but that doesn't mean I don't think about them! Visit my Sept. 28 entry "My 4 o'clocks are sprouting!" for the start of it all, or check out "Garden update: 4 o'clocks" written on Oct. 6 or "Garden update: 4'oclock SURPRISE" written on Oct. 31 for more -- including photos! Heck, here are two sample photos now! (Click for close-ups)

Sadly, most of the seedlings in the first container succumbed to what appears to be damping-off. That's odd, since they were the ones NOT transplanted! (Tony thinned the original container by pulling and transplanting about half the seedlings into a second container). The second container seedlings are doing well, but what's doing best are the seeds I planted along the fence. They took off like rockets and -- get this -- even formed FLOWER BUDS! In mild winter climates like the Santa Clara Valley, you can sow fours in late summer/early fall, have them grow all through winter (which includes bulking up their tuberous roots) and then enjoy the beautiful and fragrant summer bloom! After their first year and every year thereafter, fours go dormant in fall and do nothing until early summer, when they resprout from the large tubers. But during their first year, when growing from seed in a mild winter clime, I guess sometimes they get a little confused (or eager?) and set a few flower buds in the middle of winter! I'll be sure to post photos when the first bud opens! :)

Thurs., Dec. 29: more laptop adventures

Yesterday, my old friend Mark, who among other business ventures runs a computer consulting/technical support biz called Go Guys , made a house call to help me set up and configure my new Toshiba Satellite laptop (see yesterday's blog entry), along with the wireless router, the anti-virus/firewall software and various other things. (I still have my iMac desktop, don't worry!) Long story short about the laptop, there's still an as-yet unresolved issue with the router, which I'll explain after Mark returns Sunday or Monday. That's right -- another house call! But at least it's him and not the Geek Squad! I've heard very good things about them, and I'm sure they make great house calls too, but Mark is more flexible and more affordable. Plus I've known him at least 4 or 5 years and can vouch for the fact that he's a very nice person and a hard working family man. I'd truly recommend him to ANYONE! :) Like every other independent tech consultant, he's extremely proficient with everything PC-related. However, unlike every other consultant, he's also extremely proficient with all things MAC!

Oh, and in between all the things I just wrote about this week, I also squoze in some time (on Weds) to shop the semi-annual sale at The Body Shop , but it wasn't nearly as big/good as Bath & Body Works. I also went grocery shopping in several different stores on two different days AND made an unplanned trip to the chiropractor one day when my upper-left trapezius muscle went majorly and painfully OUT! :(

And now I think I'd better try to hit the hay early, since tomorrow night is New Year's Eve! :D I hope no one was bored to tears reading about my week. I know I certainly wasn't bored writing about it. In fact, I'm excited all over again, just thinking of everything!

Today I am feeling (interpret as you wish! heehee)

posted by ScaryShari @ 10:02 PM

4 Comments:

At 2:02 PM, Shari said…

Hmm... Mike Myers as Linda Richman, fabulous Jewish matron hostess of "Coffee Talk" and lover of all things Barbra Streisand (with a voice like BUTTAH!), as featured on SNL a decade-ish ago?

When you have coffee talk, do you ever get a little verklempt and have to tell people to talk amongst themselves? :)
At 3:58 PM, ScaryShari said…

LOL! Thanks for the cool transcript link. I should have just done a simple Google search for Coffee Talk before I went and revealed how out-of-it I am by not knowing whom I was quoting! *blush* (I've known the "talk amongst yourselves" thing forever, but didn't know where that quote came from either.)

I must admit I never really watched much of Saturday Night Live during its heyday. I don't know why that was, since I always heard good/funny things about it, and whenever I *did* watch it, I really liked it. :) Well, now another of my shameful secrets is "out" -- not only did I never learn how to ride a bike completely, but I reached the age of 33 without having watched more than a dozen SNL episodes altogether.

I guess it just wasn't usually convenient. In SNL's early years, I couldn't stay up that late. In later years, I was old enough but found myself too preoccupied with homework, term papers or extra-curricular stuff for high school or college. PLUS there were also many times during the aforementioned H.S. and college years when I wasn't home at all on Saturday nights, but rather was hanging out with friends, going on dates, going dancing, or to parties, or other such things.

I don't know what my excuse is now; I guess I just never think of it. :( That's the story of my disorganized, absent-minded life lately -- so many things I mean and want to do, but most of them don't get done.

Wow - I was going to write a "confession" the other day about my Bath & Body Works shopping spree, but instead I wrote one about SNL! Truth is stranger than fiction, as they say. (LOL)
At 9:31 AM, Unknown said…

Oh yes, "kauwfee tauwk"!!! Cawl me, we'll talk!

And Dave Cortese... Definitely a contender. Other Council members running for Mayor are Chuck Reed and Cindy Chavez. I want to see who OUTSIDE of the Council runs, though, since I can't say I entirely trust any of them.

Have you seen sanjoseinside.com, by the way? Very interesting political blog.

And one more thing! I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop too! I got it for my birthday in 2005. I also set up a home wireless router on the main computer and it's been a PITA to keep it working. You're lucky to have someone helping you. :)
At 4:41 PM, Anonymous said…

Oooh!
Pie likes great!

We used to have lots of f o'clocks grwing at my next door neighbours house :) I love their seed pods

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