Definite Possibilities

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They did it right: Jim Henson productions did all the monsters, and Maurice Sendak not only asked Spike Jonze to direct, he was in on all the scripting and filming. I have high hopes for this one, as it's always been a favorite children's book of mine.

Quick food prep tip

I want to thank my friend M for giving me this tip:

Do any of you get the terrible, teary, burning, sting-y eyes that I get when slicing onions? I've tried burning a candle, clamping my mouth shut the whole time, you name it. Those methods work partially, but it all usually ends up with me screwing my eyes up in pain, staggering around the kitchen, and making inarticulate squawks as I lunge at my face with a towel, desperately trying to appease my poor eyeballs.

So here's the deal: Take a slice of throw-away bread (you know, not the nice stuff) and bite gently down on it so most of it is hanging out of your mouth while you cut the onion. The bread absorbs all the onion fumes because it's so porous, and voila!, just like Johnson's, no more tears! No NOTHING! Just chuck the oniony smelling bread, into the compost heap, of course.

Ta-daaaaaaah! You're welcome.

Drained

I spent the majority of this weekend reading rough drafts of research essays, most of which answered the question, "Does evil exist?" and putting forth three topics that answer the question. So now that I've spent hours reading about child and animal abuse, molestation, terrorism, serial killers, genocide, arson, and abortion PLUS banging my head on the table as I read the umpty-umpth sentence "They don't care who there hurting" or "There reasons are evil to", I have to distract myself with something delightful. Seriously, one essay had me sobbing and ready to sign my entire paycheck over to the SPCA. They obviously were into their topics, which was great, but I'm emotionally exhausted. T was wonderful this whole week and weekend, cooking me dinner, massaging my neck, and generally showing masses of support. Thank you, honey!

So here's a nice website to go to, compliments of Alice over at Finslippy: Cute Things Falling Asleep

Annnnd, my parents get back from their 20 day trip to Vietnam, so I'll be glad to see them!

P.S. I think my favorite essay typo was the "Untied States".

Getaway weekend

I now have appreciation for the newly coined word "staycation". Thanks to the generous wedding gift (only took two years to use it) from C and M, T and I got to stay in a lovely bed and breakfast a scant 45 minutes away from home. It was just far enough to serve as a getaway: We made it out of our own area code. Truly the nicest little place, owned by a retired couple who do all the repairs and cooking. She's a former English teacher, so we talked shop, plus she makes the BEST chocolate chip cookies and cooks a mean breakfast. He redoes all the rooms and repairs himself. Roses in the room compliments of DH, plenty of videos and board games, and part of the package included a gift certificate to the Red Osier restaurant, which does not mess around with its prime rib, let me tell you. Plus T knew the owner through work, so the latter sat us down at the bar afterward for a final on-the-house drink and chat.

The inn used to be an old mill, so they have a lot of original beams and wheels and things. We walked around the property, T taught me how to play Parcheesi (I had never learned!) and I actually won once, we slept in.... Just a great birthday weekend for me. Plus the B&B is down the road from the Genesee Country Village and Museum, a "living history museum" where the people dress in period costume and you get to go into all the old houses and stores. Neither of us had been there since our respective third grade field trips, so we wandered around a bit, even though it wasn't quite open season. Unfortunately for those who work there, the 38-degree day doesn't do much when you're in a house only heated by the fireplace/oven; the one poor girl had her shawl wrapped around her so tightly I almost offered her my coat.

our room!

view from the bed (it was a pretty cozy little room-perfect)

After dinner

The whole experience was just what we needed, and we definitely want to stay there again. It reminded me that we do have so many little places to explore within a 100-mile radius. We've got museums, nature trails, historical destinations, wineries, white water rafting, Niagara Falls.... If I got a travel brochure that tourists to this area pick up, I think I'd realize my area has a lot more to offer than I realize. It's something we want to explore more in this economy and time in our lives. Do you even know half of what you can do in your town and its surroundings? See what you can find. :-) I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised.

This sums it up nicely

Click on it to make it larger, and you'll see what I mean.

This concerns me

I read an article yesterday in the NYT about Rihanna going back to Chris Brown and how a large number of teens out there think it's either her fault ("She must have provoked him") or that Brown shouldn't get in trouble because she took him back. The article also mentioned that a lot of Chris Brown fans can't get over the idea that the press is simply villfying him, and anyone who's done videos with Elmo could not do something like that. These adolsecents "see in absolutes", so it's either right or wrong. Plus the hip-hop culture sends messages that often have tones of misogeny and aggressive male behavior (and, I think, women as objects a lot of the time)--as the article reads, it's not to blame, but it doesn't help.

I get very frustrated when I hear of teens accepting violence as something that simply happens, something they have to accept, or something that they will do to another person just because "that's the way it is". I don't think we all should go running hand-in-hand through the flowers, but stories like this slay me. I realize--not firsthand, mercifully--that getting out of an abusive relationship is not easy, even when it's the obvious choice to the outsider. How do adolescents gain good ideas about how to treat each other with the role models they choose?

I didn't mean to sound down, but as the post says, this concerns me. A lot. I'd love to know your thoughts.

I think I can live by this alone

T and I made onion rye bread. You saute the onions first, then roll them up in the dough and cook it, so they're all gooshy and soft. These carbs, I won't give up. It tastes SO GOOOOOOD....


Tonight I have a concert I'm singing in, with two pieces all about the awfulness of war, as it is a Concert for Peace. Some of the words are biblical and others come from Walt Whitman. The Whitman stuff's quite haunting and often discordant, but it somehow works. I meant to take a shower beforehand, but since a strangely high number of my choirmates have bad reactions to scented ANYTHING (hand lotion, shampoo, perfume, etc.), I am going to go slightly dirty. I don't want to cause anyone's attacks. I write that a bit facetiously--I do feel terrible that they have such bad reactions, but my being unshowered is admittedly a little tongue-in-cheek.

I'm off to eat more bread. I will brush my teeth--toothpaste doesn't bother any of them and singing with onion breath is just mean and wrong.

By the way, does everyone else love it that it's light out so late?