Dark

Walking the dog this morning, early, 6:30.  Still dark outside. Very cold. Cooper and I were startled a couple of times, surprised to come upon someone sleeping near the sidewalk, in a doorway, against the wall of a building.  Cooper, being much lower to the ground than I am, spots them first, probably smells them before he sees them.  He approaches with great caution, gives them a wide berth, doesn't want to get involved.

It is surprising how many people sleep outside in Santa Rosa.  By 7:00 most of them are awake and moving slowly along the sidewalks, often hauling their possessions with them, sometimes stashing them someplace well covered with foliage. It seems that in the year I have lived in SR the number of homeless has doubled.  Maybe not, but it seems so.  

Some say "good morning" and some say nothing.  Some scowl, some just look vacant.  None look happy, most resigned at best.

It's cold outside at 6:30 am. Freezing lately.  It makes me feel bad for them and lucky to have a bed with blankets. They have nothing to feel lucky about, at least that's what I think every morning. There is nothing lucky about being alive if your life is simply awful.  

Life is never fair, is it?

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Holidaze

There should be something wise to say about the holiday season or at the very least something witty but I have nothing.  It's a cold day after Christmas, my gas oven is on because the space heater isn't doing its job and Cooper is curled up on the couch, under a blanket.  Gabe and Annie and I were lucky to find crab for Christmas Eve (thanks to their insight about which SF neighborhoods would not be crab consumers) and many bottles of champagne were happily sipped.  We had serious plans for making it an early night but in the middle of the second Scrabble game Gabe suddenly reported that it was already after 1:00 am! We quickly quit the game (fine with me since I was definitely not winning that round) and went directly to opening our gifts.  We had pledged to NOT buy gifts this year but one needs to open something, so the gifts were things like Beer Nuts and socks and used books.  (My expenditures for all 5 of my kids was less than $25 total.  A lot less, actually, more like $15.)

And now there is the wait for the end of the year. I have a couple of days of work, thankfully, and then who knows what happens after that.  Maybe it's the lack of meaningful engagement or it's the cold weather or it's just me, but I feel blank and worn.  Not worn out, not tired,  just worn.  Frayed. Threadbare. Could be a reflection of my bank account as well, down to bare bones. It's like looking in the pantry (if I had one) and finding only an old box of pasta and some soy sauce: just not enough to even discuss.

That's all I've got for now.

Embarrassing

There is great awkwardness (is that even a word?) in re-reading one's blog posts a day or two after publishing them. The mis-used words (manor instead of manner, how embarrassing) and the stupid grammar errors.  Sigh. Ah, well, we are all flawed creatures.  And awed creatures at the same time.  I thank every one of  you for not pointing out the errors.  And that's easy because perhaps no one actually read the post so I am possibly off the hook. 

Great dinner with Steve tonight, back to Spinster Sisters here in Santa Rosa.  I am serious, if anyone who reads this wants to come to SR and have dinner with me, this restaurant is a great choice.  Lots of small plates, great tastes, really good wine list and, most important, good people and a lot of fun. Go early.  It gets very crowded and loud after about 7:00. 

Back to MI-5.  Cheers.

And another week gone!

Yes, another week has zipped by.  Now home from Texas where I had a great time visiting with my lovely daughter and letting her boss me around.  Jenn was catering a weekend party at her girlfriend's house but she also had to work so I got to be the fill-in cook for a couple of days.  However, since her kitchen is set up to cook (and we all know mine isn't) it was a pleasure.  I rocked out dozens of cookies, chicken Thai dumplings (think pot-stickers), artichoke dip, cakes, breads, spicy nuts, all manner of tasty bits.  We even made deep-fried mac and cheese balls! (Yes, wrong in many ways but just think: crispy on the outside, melting in the middle, finger-lickin' good.)  In Texas, it isn't a party unless something is deep-fried.

We also got to see the Grand Prairie Christmas light show!  4 million lights in two miles!  I was expecting houses decorated to the nines but this is a entire regional park given over to some crazy crew with lights on the brain...... you drive down small roads at a snail's pace and there are light displays all over, with moving parts and themes and brilliant displays that would be totally awesome if you were on drugs.  (The lights were quite nice without the drugs, but I'm just saying.)

Texas is Texas.  Land of hugeness, whether light displays or dead bugs on the sidewalks or front yard Christmas displays.  It was nice to be there and it's nice to be home.  

It's probably time to start Christmas shopping but since we aren't really doing gifts this year, I can put it off until next year.  Going to see the aged Mom tomorrow to fulfill my holiday responsibility.  Back on Friday for great festivities abounding this coming weekend.  Crab for Christmas eve with tons of champagne and lots of thanks to the universe for getting us this far through the year.  It has been a fucked-up year in many ways, but I guess if you are alive and healthy and not sleeping on the street, you can't complain too much.

 

 

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A week later.....

You know, writing this silly blog has given me great respect for people who actually WRITE.  Not scribble, like me, but actually spend time each day writing.  It takes a great deal of dedication, determination and discipline.  If you don't do it every day, a whole week zips by and you think "what?  where did those seven days go and what was I doing all that time?"  I could say something here like "from now on I am going to write a blog post every day" and I could mean it and honestly, it still wouldn't happen.

This past week:  came to Daly City, took Gabe and Annie to the airport, made dinner for some friends here in DC, went to Stacey and Ben's to hang out with Sam and Henry (twice!), made some cookies, walked the dogs, and watched some crappy TV.  The crappy TV part is important because I don't get TV at my house, just movies and stuff via my Roku.  So I miss things like CSI and Chopped and Iron Chef and even the evening news.  It's amazing how addictive television is and at the same time how vacuous. But I guess we all know that.  Now that I have had a good, satisfying fix, I am happy to leave it alone for another several months. 

Tomorrow I am jetting off to Texas for a couple of days to see my daughter and do Texas things, whatever that may entail.  I will definitely do a blog from Jenn's house, perhaps with photos attached!  There are things that happen at this time of the year in Texas that probably don't happen anywhere else in the USA and I intend to find out what they are and report back.  After all, as we all know, Texas is the gold standard for creativity, good taste and seasonal art displays.  I would really like to see a Christmas manger scene with Jesus, Mary and Joseph wearing cowboy hats or boots or the like.  That would be superb!

Remember:  only 11 more shopping days until xmas.  Don't waste them! 

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Yumm and Yuck

The yumm:  I made a most delicious dinner last night, bought a cheap piece of pork roast from Safeway (and yes, I hate buying meat from them but the bank account wouldn't allow Whole Foods) and basically made a great winter stew with cubed meat, onions, red pepper, carrot, sweet potato, garlic, apple.....  a little kick from some red pepper flakes and it was delicious.  Very comforting and cheap!  And there are left-overs, which I love.

The yuck:  my so-called job, which was supposed to start last weekend, then was postponed until Dec. 18, has now been postponed again until after Jan. 1.  Really guys?  How badly do you want me to work for you?  Do you understand that all the training I had TWO WEEKS AGO will be just about forgotten by then?  I think it's back to looking for other employment, just in case.  At least the unemployment check still comes in but as my previous post indicated, I am tired of not having enough to do. 

And isn't that just the most whining thing you have heard someone say in a while?  That I am tired of sitting around doing nothing?  I apologize for that, I know many of you reading this would be very happy to have some time off with some money coming in.  I get that.  I won't talk about it again, I promise.

At the end of this week I am going to Gabe and Annie's to dog-sit for them for a few days and I am looking forward to using their kitchen for my personal baking needs.  They have more than 18 inches of counter space (!) and an oven that can accommodate a real baking sheet. Shortbread, bread, pies, cakes, all manner of things may be produced.  I am looking forward to that. 

Finally, thanks to all of you who responded to my email about the blog.  Honestly, I do write it mostly for my own amusement but it is rather heartwarming to know that many of you take a peek at it now and then.  Thank you for that.

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Cabin Fever

When I was out of work for two years, I didn't sit still all that much. Worked in West Marin for most of a year, stayed with Gabe and Annie for six months and for part of that six months I drove around a bit.  Let me clarify:  I drove around a lot, to Oregon, Texas and parts in between.  Then I went to Texas for a couple of months (in the summer, if you recall and how nasty that was!) and leaving Texas, I drove some more.  I was either on the move or planning to be on the move. It was fine. I like being on the move.

This time, unemployed, I am sedentary, everyday looking for work, finally finding it but with a delayed start-by date.  I have read so, so many books, have watched so, so many movies and taken more walks with the dog than I care to remember. It's all been fine but I have a serious case of cabin fever right now.  Must. Do. Something.

Yesterday, on a whim, I tossed my overnight kit, my pj's, some dog food and a book into a bag and Cooper and I hit the road.  We drove out to Jenner and then north, up Hwy. 1 for a while.  It was a lovely day and it reminded me of how much I like to drive.  The ocean was chocolate-colored, sandy from the storm on Sunday.  The sky was gray but not too ominous.  Cooper continued to pant, as he does in the car but I didn't care. I was happy simply driving.  We drove past Elk then turned around and went back to Gualala and stayed in a cottage on the edge of the ocean. (It's amazing how many great deals on lodging you can get this time of the year, especially if you admit you are in the lodging business. It helps!)  The cottage had a spectacular view and it was quite nice but really, how much time do I need in another small cottage?  Not much.   The ocean was soothing, that part I loved.  But when we woke this morning it was raining and we faced either another day hanging out inside or hitting the road.  We hit the road.

We drove north, through big rain, the coast was gorgeous, up to Mendocino, made a loop around town and then went back south to 128.  That road, from the coast to Boonville, is one of my faves.  The redwood trees are so strong and sturdy, the light is blocked out on days like this. The trees drip, the rain spatters, the air smells like pine needles and heaven.  At other times of the year, when the sun is shining it's like a movie:  shafts of light filter through the trees, you could be anywhere in the world, waiting for the Rapture, if you believed in that sort of thing.  (Hah!)  But today we were simply there, driving along, happily.  Once through Boonville, instead of continuing on 128, we took the road to the left to Ukiah. Oddly, it's a road I have never been on before and it was a good one, less curvy and nice scenery. Fog and rain and green. What more does one need?

That's it.  From there we hooked up to 101 and home.  I toyed with the idea of staying somewhere else but when it's raining and one has a dog, there isn't much to be done but hunker down and I can do that fine in my tiny abode.  Cooper was happy to be out of the car, I dropped some books off at the library (and got a friggin parking ticket, for which I wrote a sad, pleading letter to the city of Santa Rosa), went to the market and now there is a nice pork stew with apples, fennel, onions and yams simmering on my stove.  The house smells delicious, the rain is falling outside and, for a day, my cabin fever, my wanderlust, is put on the back burner.  

 

 

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Movie: "Lincoln"

Bottom line, one of the best movies I have seen in a long time.  I honestly didn't think I would be as impressed or as captivated by this film.  Yes, it's Spielberg, but he often seems long-winded to me.  This movie is nothing but dialogue (an opening scene of hand-to-hand combat is, mercifully, short) but that dialogue is so intelligent and engaging that you don't want to miss a word.  We know the outcome but there is still a sense of suspense:  will President Lincoln get the votes he needs in the House of Representatives to get the 13th Amendment passed?  Will he be able to do this before the war ends, before the South surrenders? 

The cast of characters is huge, and they are almost all men.  Lincoln's wife is the only substantial female role and as important as she is, even Mary Todd could have been left out.  This is all about Lincoln's struggle to "do the right thing" by outlawing slavery via a constitutional amendment.  He knows he doesn't have enough votes and he is almost willing to use slightly underhanded means to get the additional votes from his political adversaries.  

Daniel Day-Lewis must have gone to bed one night as himself and woke the next morning as Lincoln.  That's how perfect he is in this role: he simply is Lincoln.  The reedy voice, the scraggly hair and beard, his obvious lack of formal education heard in his grammatical errors, his stoop, his sad eyes.  He is Lincoln. 

The details alone make it worth seeing "Lincoln."  The haze of smoke from many cigar-smoking legislators, the low light from candles, the scraggly beard of Lincoln, the clothes, the furnishings, there is no detail missed.  My only negative, and it's one that I often have with Spielberg movies, is that the music is sometimes too obvious, too emotive.  It is a small quibble and 95% of the viewers won't be bothered by it.  (Movie music is often like a small rock in my shoe, and I readily admit it is a personal pet peeve.)  And I had a small issue with Hal Holbrook's hair.  Too much of something isn't necessarily a good thing.  But it's a minor quibble.

Go see this movie. The marvelous acting, the set details, the incredible script, everything is excellent.  But there is also a relevance today in what those statesmen were discussing almost 150 years ago.  It was put most succinctly by Diane, a good friend:  "I will buy this movie to show to our grandkids when they are older."  It's that kind of movie, one for posterity. 

Laurie Colwin

Because of this  rainy weather, the most sensible thing to do today is to stay indoors and cook and read and laze about.  I, personally, have done too much of that lately, being out of work and all. But I was talking to a friend about this and she mentioned making some lamb soup from a Laurie Colwin recipe and it made me want to pick up my Laurie Colwin books and either start reading or start cooking or both.

Laurie Colwin was a fiction writer and also wrote a column for Gourmet Magazine in the late 1980's and early 90's.  I was a huge fan of both her stories and her food essays.  She died, sadly, at the age of 48 of a heart attack, suddenly and much too young.  But she left behind a great stack of books, so her legacy continues.

You can still buy her books, and you can often find them used, but it is worth searching out her two volumes of food essays,  "Home Cooking" and "More Home Cooking."  There are recipes but you really read them for the prose, for the witty asides about food and people and for the community of those of us who love both pursuits, reading and cooking. Just now I just sat on my bed and read an essay I had never read before, about picking raspberries.  It's lovely.  In an essay about roasting chickens, she discussed free-range chickens and their deliciousness and their free-range eggs, years before the whole free-range movement was even heard of. Laurie Colwin believed that what you ate should be good, no matter what it was.  Beets, shortbread, soup, picnics, finicky children, she tackled all subjects and gives them all credence.  Her cooking isn't fussy and doesn't involve a lot of ingredients. 

Her Cornbread and Prosciutto Stuffing is a family tradition in our house.  I have made her Nantucket Cranberry Pie dozens of times, there is never a scrap left (and yet I still have to explain that it is a cake, not a pie.)  She makes an excellent argument against picnics and an excellent argument for making your own bread. Laurie Colwin's "recipes" are often just general notes: put the lamb shank in the pot with an onion and some garlic cloves, cover with water and let it set for hours on the lowest possible burner.  That's it.  But it works.  

Find one of her books, whether it's from the library or a book store. Make a cup of tea (or pour a glass of wine) and curl up and read.  You will be happy.

 

Make this!

Of the three or four people who read this on a semi-regular basis, I  know most of you are good cooks.  You probably have made this many times in the past.  I haven't, not until this evening. I've thought about it many times but simply didn't do it until now.  You can buy this in a jar but it costs about two bucks to make a batch and it goes a long way.

Caramelized Balsamic Onions

Cut two onions in half and slice thin.  (Red or white or yellow onions, they are all fine, use whatever  you have.) Saute in a large frying pan in a couple of tablespoons of butter (or oil)  with some salt and pepper for about ten minutes, medium heat, til juicy and soft.  Mix in three or four tablespoons of sugar, white or brown, turn the heat down a bit to medium low and let cook for another 5 - 8 minutes or until the onions are less juicy and look sort of dry. (It could take more than 8 minutes,)  Once they are dryish, add about a half cup balsamic vinegar.  Don't use the really good stuff, the Trader Joe's balsamic is fine.  Stir it up and drop the heat down to really low and cook for a while, stirring about every ten minutes.  This will take close to an hour.  When done, you will have a tangled mess of really dark, dense, delicious onions.

You can use them in many ways.  Put them on a sandwich. Eat them with a fork. Mix some of them with sour cream and a little more salt and pepper for a delicious caramelized onion dip.  Thin them out a bit with some chicken broth and toss with hot pasta.   Serve them along side a steak or a roast chicken or put them inside a grilled cheese sandwich.  Put them on a baked potato. These are so yummy.

Movie " The Sessions"

We have all read about this movie and we all know what it's about.  Therefore, this is a quick review. 

It's good, although I wanted it to be better.  While it is obviously about sex, it is just as much about the connections we need and try to make, about who we touch and who touches us and why that is important.  Everyone in the movie is good, and there are not many players. It is charming, often funny, poignant and moving.

I think my main complaint is that they went for the emotional Hollywood ending.  (No spoilers here.)  There was a perfect place to end it about five minutes before they did, when all the pieces had come together, when all the characters were well on their way to being complete and whole.  But I suppose that wasn't enough for the director, so it took another turn.  Not a bad turn, just one that I personally felt wasn't needed.

It was nice to see Helen Hunt in a role appropriate for a 50 year old woman.  Her face is angular, not always very pretty, but her body is very nice indeed.  John Hawkes is really good and William H. Macy has a great role as the listener.  It is certainly good enough to warrant the $7 ticket price.  See it, let me know what you think.

Baking. NOT!!!! But thanks.

OK, I love baking.  I love making cookies, pies, bread. I often give them away but the process is wonderful.

Today, with this awesomely beautiful rainy weather, I thought I would do some baking in my teeny kitchen.  To refresh your memories, I have, literally, 18 inches of counter space.  (I know people think I am making that up but it is true.) In those 18 inches, that's where it all has to happen. First I made a pan of cornbread because I need that for my upcoming cornbread and chorizo dressing for Thanksgiving. I make a rough cornbread, so the fact that it came out dense is fine.

Second, I wanted savory shortbread. If you know me, you know I make good shortbread. My shortbread is quite decent. However, maybe it was the fact that I tried a new recipe, maybe it was because my kitchen was warm, but honestly I think it was the teeny oven:  failure!
They just didn't cook. Recipe said 45 minutes.  They were in there for an hour and 15.  I have an oven thermometer, so I know the temp was OK. I took them out and yelled at them.

But then, after I yelled and walked the dog in the rain (which is another story) I started thinking about those ruined shortbread with rosemary and thyme.  I took all of them, as crumbly as they were, and smushed them all together, forced them against their will into a small (6 inches) springform pan and put them back in the oven. I figured there was enough butter there, they should come together and somehow cook. They are still in the oven, baking.  Perhaps something good will come out of that flour and butter mixture. We'll see.  Not holding out great hopes, but it could happen.  A Thanksgiving miracle!

So, if you are reading this, (and why do I even say that, of course you are)  have a great Thanksgiving holiday. As Jon Carroll said a couple of years ago, it is about gratitude.     http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/A-song-of-thanks-3280426.php

No matter what, we all can give thanks. More to follow.

xoxo to you all

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Wine and rye

In Santa Rosa there is a great warehouse of wine, Bottle Barn.  Voted top wine shop in SR by the local paper.  I first had the Columbia Crest second label, Two Vines, from them. Nice Cabernet. But Safeway is currently having a sale on wines and you can get this nice Cabernet for less than $6.00 a bottle if you buy six or more.  Honestly, this is a wine you can hide in your wine closet and when you have peeps over, and they have already plowed through your $30 - $50 bottles of wine, you can pull this out and not be embarrassed. It is better than average. For the price, it is very nice. I have had a couple of bottles of this and still like it a lot.  The one I have now is 2009 but I kinda think they are all good. Check it out.

If you are a whiskey drinker, and like rye, I had a taste of this at Gabe's this past week and it is a winner. It tastes like autumn. It tastes warm and inviting, almost like it has some spice in it (but it doesn't, of course) and on a rainy day it makes you want to sip it and stare out the window at the rain.  It's called High West Whiskey, Double Rye.  If you like that sort of thing, you will like this sort of rye.

cheers.

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A movie and a job. Yes, A JOB!!!!!!

I could do the movie review first, order of importance and all that, but I will do the right thing and revel in the fact that I actually got hired today!  I have a job!  One that I got all by myself!  No friends, no family, no broken bones, no connections.  Yes, it is low paying but it's a job.

It is an innkeeper position in Glen Ellen, about a thirty minute drive from where I live.  Front desk, standard stuff, making reservations, checking guests in and out, nothing new.  The owners bought the inn last year and spent months renovating it and it is quite lovely.  They have a chef person who does breakfast but they asked if I liked to cook. Duh. Yes, of course, I would love to make breakfast.  It doesn't pay much but it is a foot in the door.  More when I know more.

Movie:  See the new James Bond movie, "Skyfall" if you haven't already.  It hearkens back to the spirit of the original Bond films, but so much more visual.  There are some stunning scenes, mind-blowing colors, incredibly gorgeous sets, almost Dali-esque scenes.  Fast, tricky,  sarcastic.  Daniel Craig is good, of course, but pretty much over-played by Javier Bardem, who rocks as a villain. Albert Finney has a small part as well, and it was nice to see him back on screen.  Judi Densch, always good, Ralph Fiennes, also. Check it out, it is great entertainment.


I've got turkey legs simmering in my Le Crueset pot, making some stock for Thanksgiving. My tiny home smells like the holidays.  Sipping on a Manhattan. It is raining quite nicely, which makes me most content.  Watching an episode of "The Guardian" via my smart Roku muffin.  All is right with the world right now.
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Random bits

It's true, I haven't posted anything in ten days.  I don't know why, things have been cruising along, just didn't get motivated enough to write about stuff.  Here are a few points I could have elaborated on:

1.  The election.  There is nothing to say about Obama's win that hasn't already been said, especially by Rachel Maddow.  Four years ago we were elated that Obama was elected; this time it was more a great sense of relief.  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show#49736294.

2.  Movies:  I saw "Argo" and you should, too.  It's fun, fast, suspenseful, based on a real story and there is a great scene when Ben Affleck takes his shirt off.  Yumm.

3. Books:  Read "The 500" by Matthew Quirk.  It is, as they say, a real page-turner.  It could have been culled from today's headlines but that would mean that power is definitely corrupting.  Taut, fast-paced, intriguing.  Check it out if you have the chance. (Your local library is still a good source for books, and FREE!)

And again, if you haven't read anything by James Lee Burke, you are missing a great writer.  Not only are his characters extremely well-drawn and his plots nailed down as tight as storm windows, he gives philosophy lessons as well:  Once in a while, even the slowest of us has an epiphany, a brief glimpse through the shroud when we see the verities reduced to a simple equation.  For someone whose profession requires him to place himself inside the mind of aberrant people, the challenge is often daunting.  Then, as if you're tripping on a rock in the middle of a foot-worn, clay-smooth path, you suddenly become aware that the complexity you wish to unravel exists to a greater degree in your own mind than in the problem itself. From Burke's "The Glass Rainbow."

4.  Dinner:  Ate on Saturday night at Central Market in Petaluma with two of my brothers.  Excellent meal, great service, delicious wine.  Highly recommended.

5. Jobs:  I drove to Paso Robles on Monday for a job interview, an innkeeper position.  Stayed overnight at the inn, was offered the job, drove home.  After mulling it over (and over and over) in the small web of my mind, I have decided not to take the job.  Yes, it is a job.  But there are at least a half dozen negative aspects to the situation and when added all together, those six things outweigh the goodness of being employed.  Oh well.  I guess I just need to trust that something else, something better, will present itself to me sometime soon.

There are other things that occupied the last ten days as well:  Henry and Sam.  My mother's health.  Friends.

I will try to write more often, not for you out there, but for myself.  However, if you do read this, thanks.


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So many movies, so many movie reviews

Another lovely side effect of being out of work is that I can go to the movies during the day.  Reading book after book gets a little tiresome, even if the book is great, and really, how many times can walk the dog?  The sad side effect is that going to the movies takes money.  $7.00 a shot with my senior discount, sometimes a little less. (Hint to children:  for xmas, movie passes if I am still on the dole.)   Oh well.  I eat a lot of free zucchini from the garden (although they are waning now) so what I spend on a movie I make up for by eating cheap.

There are no spoilers here, trust me. It's not about the plot, it's about the rest of the experience.  And if you think I am spoiling, please tell me.

"The Master"  Stellar performances all around.  However they made this movie, which had to be on film, not digital, it is really beautifully photographed.  There are scenes that show the actors faces in the perfect light which renders them true to their characters: not always nice, not always pretty but always gut-true. You could write a thesis about this movie and its themes, all about men coming home from WW2 and finding they can't fit in, about religious zealots who promise so much but deliver disappointment, about the power some have over others, about addictions, failure and lethargy.  Hmm, with a list like that it's no wonder I didn't like the film.  I really appreciated the talent, the amazing technique, the intensity of the story.  But when the movie was over, I thought, as I did when leaving "There Will Be Blood" by the same director (Paul Thomas Anderson) "why did I watch that?" It wasn't enjoyable and left me unsettled.  I must admit that it stays with you for a few days, rolling around in your mind like lost dice.  I would give it a B+ for acting, technique, writing, all the concrete things about a movie but a low C for likeable-ness.  Approach with caution.  I know a lot of critics really liked it, so don't be afraid.  Let me know what you think.

"Perks of Being a Wallflower" A much more indie movie, and I would classify it as a good date movie.  High school angst, much of it deserved, much of it typical, a few twists thrown in.  A bit cliched, a bit tear-jerking at parts, but OK.  Good soundtrack.  Worth seeing, especially at home with a bucket of good popcorn, some alcohol and a mate.  I give it a C+, and if you factor in some of the songs, a B-.

"Flight"  It is unlike me to see a movie in the first week it's been released.  I don't like the crowds.  But Steve and I went because, for me, the Denzel factor.  What can I, or any woman with blood in her veins, say about Denzel?  Hot?  Smoking hot?  Words fail.  As you all undoubtedly know the arc of the story, I won't go into detail.  Let's just say that as tough as this movie is, as unpleasant as it is to watch at times, I liked it.  A lot.  The cast is great although it is Denzel's game.  Good music as well.  And (no spoiler here, don't worry)  John Goodman simply makes you smile.  A really solid B+ and I might move it to an A- in the next couple of days.  Again, no spoiler (so don't worry Gabe,) but the moral dilemmas presented many times over are great food for discussion.  Would love to chat about this movie with smart movie-goers out there.

"Breakfast on Pluto"  Made in 2005, directed by Neil Jordan, a very sweet, funny, serious film set in Ireland and England.  Basically an abandoned baby gets raised by a regular family (in the 70's) but the kid turns out to be a transvestite, more or less.  (More.) Handles the brunt of a lot of nastiness but no matter what, this character rises about it all in a nice, almost angelic manner. Grows up, tries to find his Mom, and in the meantime makes friends, enemies and tells a story.  Based on a real guy's stories about his life.   Maybe it was my mood at the time but I liked it a lot. And all that 70's music is spot-on. It's on DVD, perhaps on Netflix but definitely through the library.

OK, gosh, that's my movie stuff for this night.  But I have more to tell you about the Smothers Brothers last season on TV from 1968-1969 which I am currently watching (thanks to the library) and will report on tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

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Unemployment insurance woes

The most frustrating day:  when I was last receiving unemployment benefits in the summer of 2011, EDD switched from issuing checks to issuing Bank of America debit cards.  I received such a card for my last unemployment check, used it and threw it away.  BAD IDEA!  It turns out that you are supposed to keep those cards for three years, a fact I never knew until today. 
It seems that the card I tossed out is now the card I need to actually get any unemployment from the government.  I found all this out by listening to a taped message about the debit cards, which is astounding to me that you have to go through about ten steps to even get to that message.

Of course, the only address Bank of America has on file for me for that card is the address I was using last year, the address of my son in Daly City.  B of A won't allow me to get the card because of that address.  Never mind that EDD has my current Santa Rosa address, B of A doesn't care about that.  I have to call EDD and explain this to them and have them contact B of A to change the address.  In the meantime, I get no benefits.

I called EDD at least a dozen times today and every time, after going through the phone tree over and over, I got to the message "Due to the high call volume, we cannot assist you at this time.  Please call back.  Good-by."  It takes  more than four minutes to get to this message and you can't bypass any of the steps or the system hangs up on you.  So I spent at least an hour just making the same call over and over.  I also spent 30 minutes on the phone with B of A, trying to get my money.  They will, of course, wire it to me via Western Union for a $25 fee, but come on, that's my friggin money, why do I need to pay to get it?  So I will begin calling again tomorrow at 8:00, when EDD starts answering the phone again.

Bottom line is  this: I was let go by the owners of the inn almost six weeks ago.  I have had no income in that time and the small amount of unemployment insurance I will  supposedly be getting isn't even enough to pay the rent, but I can't even get my hands on that. Am I pissed off?  You betcha.  Am I pissed off at more than just EDD?  Yes.  Frustrated?  Oh, most certainly.  

That's all.

 

GIANTS!

What can one say about the four game sweep that hasn't already been said?  Nothing.  It was, as has already been reported, exciting, fun, dramatic, satisfying and awesome.  And more.

On watching the last two games:  not having broadcast TV and not getting enough of a baseball fix via the radio, I walked over to the closest local bar to watch games 3 and 4.  What fun!  Saturday night was surprisingly not crowded, but the two guys I sat next to were interesting and fun to chat with.  The Manhattans were delicious and were only $4 each, a bargain!  Good game, fun and not expensive.  Last night was a little busier, at least in the early innings.  By the last innings it was really hopping, and lots of fist bumps, lots of high fives, lots of baseball talk.  Even if you didn't love the Giants, you had to love good baseball, and we got that.  At the end of the game there was a lot of screaming, a lot of hugging strangers and lots of shots bought by everyone......  I enjoyed two glasses of wine during the game and two shots of Jack in the three minutes after the game and ducked out of there before I could get in serious trouble.

There are few things more enjoyable than watching the World Series in a bar with strangers.  With your friends there is always the subtext of what's going on with each other and the concentration just isn't there.  In the bar, with the express purpose of Watching The Game, there is no personal chat except during commercials and that is usually baseball related.  Bottom line, you don't have to talk if you don't want to and no one cares.  But you can talk a little and learn tidbits about the team or the game and it's nice.  And celebrating a victory with people who mean nothing to you except that they are very big team fans is, honestly, a thrill.

Go Giants!  What a ride!

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Laundry

One of the side benefits to working at a bed and breakfast inn is that you always have a place to do your laundry.  One of the side benefits to having no such job and no laundry facilities at your home is that you get to go to the Laundromat!

I fully understand that many people have an aversion to laundromats.  When you mention that you are planning an outing to the local washeteria many people get a disgusted look on their face because they have not had pleasant experiences at the washing/drying place.  Some people get a sad look on their face because they feel sorry for you; your life has been reduced to this dismal state and it's much too sad to contemplate.  Many people get the disgusted look AND the sad look, at the same time.

However, I like the Laundromat.  It's very efficient, you can wash and dry every thing you own in an hour, it has one purpose and doesn't have airs of pretense and sometimes you meet interesting characters.  The laundering facility near my Santa Rosa home is just a couple of blocks away, so rather convenient.  Today I did three loads of wash and was out in just over an hour.

There are sometimes (well, often) people in the laundromat who are not doing laundry, but are just hanging out there with their phones.  I assume these are people without homes, but maybe they are simply people who have no dirty clothes and need a place to transact some lucrative side business and what better place than a laundromat!  There are often people doing laundry and conversing with their invisible friends at the same time.  Sometimes they yell loudly at these invisible friends, sometimes they swear at the I.F. and sometimes they take a swing at their I.F.  All while getting their clothes clean.  It's like a little theater show, albeit with no plot or scene changes.

This particular place has many machines so I have never had to wait around for a washer or a dryer.  Smash clothes into the washing machine, be sure to bring a book, read for 27 minutes while the clothes wash, then pop them into dryers, read a little more, then start pulling out clothes as they dry.  Honestly, in an hour you get entertainment and clean clothes.  Too bad it isn't free..... that's the only down side, it costs a couple of bucks for each washing machine and almost a dollar for 15 minutes of drying time.  But still, it breaks up the day, is amusing at times and has function. 

The photo below is exactly what the dryers look like at my local spot.  Two rows of dryers...... no waiting!

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Spinster Sisters Restaurant

Ate at a local restaurant last weekend with Steve and had a great time and a very good meal.  The Spinster Sisters has been around for a short time but just moved into a new spot and it's a good place for a restaurant.  Street parking, sort of a residential neighborhood on the edge of some commercial businesses as well.  Good reviews. We got there early, a bit before 6:00, place was pretty empty.

The menu is mostly small plates with a couple of "big" plates as well.  We split four small plates and had a good bottle of wine from Chile (under $30) and everything was good.  Our four choices were a country duck terrine, lamb sausages (merguez), grilled calamari and pork belly. Each came with a salad or some kind of accouterments.

Duck terrine:  country style, so it was chunky, not smooth like a pate.  With cornichons and a seeded mustard and grilled bread.  Very good, nice duck taste, the bread and the pickles and mustard were perfect.

Lamb sausages:  they were good and there was a little curry yogurt sauce that was fine but they were served on a bed of red quinoa. To be clear, I like quinoa, I eat it often but I don't want it when I go out to eat.  It's a health food, in my mind, not something to eat when you want yummy-ness.

Calamari:  delicious. Tender and juicy, served with a Thai-styled slaw, some peanuts on top. Sometimes grilled calamari is tough or tasteless.  This was neither, and the crispy salad was the perfect foil for the softness of the calamari.

Pork belly:  what can I say about pork belly?  It is pretty much wrong on all levels except those that count:  Taste!  Lusciousness! Texture!  There were four generous strips of belly, served on top of something that was good but I can't remember what it was. The pork belly was so good it erased my memory of anything else on the plate. It had been roasted or baked until tender and succulent and then somehow fried or sauteed until the outside was crispy, like cracklins, with the inside still soft. I am drooling just thinking about it right now.  Perfect.  If the restaurant was within walking distance of where I live, I would be putting on my shoes right now to get some of that pork belly. It is the stuff dreams are made of.  Well, if you like to dream about pork, that is. 

So, to recap:  the only thing we didn't finish was the red quinoa. Every other dish was licked clean. An order of four plates was the perfect amount.  The wine was delicious, the service was stellar the the entire bill, including the wine, was under $75 with tax.  We tipped generously.  A very good meal for under $75, including a bottle of wine?  How crazy is that?

Their website directs you to Facebook, which I think is a detriment.  Also, when we left the restaurant around 7:00, it was packed and it was noisy.  They have a bar which would be great for me (!) to sit at when I go by myself later this coming week and indulge in my pork belly fixation.


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Technology, zucchini and jobs

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted anything here, not that too many people check in on a regular basis.  First, I was gone for a week and therefore did not have access to my computer, nor did I want to touch any computer during that time.  I spend way too much time on it these days.

Then when I returned home I foolishly tried to download something that would have given me access to the major league baseball playoffs.  A friend recommended it so I thought "why not?"  Why not, indeed!  I forgot that my laptop is old, cranky, stubborn and does not like new things.  "I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them, Sam I am" could be the motto of this computer.  It doesn't even like me to play new kinds of solitaire!  Freezes up like a guilty man in front of the judge.  Nothing, nada. That's what happened this past week.  Nothing, wouldn't load up anything.  I could reboot but it just sat there, cursor blinking, defying me, laughing at my feeble attempt to watch a baseball game. At one point I had it in my hands, raised over my head, about to throw it across the room.  Sanity prevailed for an instant, I put it down and just walked away.  For a week I walked to the library and used their computer or I checked for jobs through my kindle.

Finally, yesterday, a day of rest, the Lord's day to many, I stealthily sneaked up on it, gently turned it on and waited.  After about five minutes it loaded Windows. Very, very slowly.  But I was able to eventually uninstall some programs that it had tried to load and can now actually use it.  It's old and laptops don't last forever.  I think, once I get a new job, it will be replaced.  

Moving on:  Zucchini.  This year has been a rather abundant year for zucchini.  Not only do friends give me zukes, but the community garden has some out for the taking and we have three huge plants here in my little backyard.  Zucchini is like the chicken of the the vegetable world.  You can do almost anything to it and it's happy.  Steam, bake, broil, grill, saute.  With other tasty things or on it's own, it is always serviceable and sometimes down-right delicious.  For most of the summer my go-to zuke prep was thinly sliced, tossed into a hot frying pan in which I had just toasted some chopped almonds in olive oil, thirty seconds or less it was done.  Salt and pepper, quite tasty.  I sometimes sliced it lengthwise and grilled it.  I made zucchini bread, sliced it and froze it; now I can take out a piece and toast at will.

But my best preparation was this weekend:  zucchini fritters.  Fritters are always great but these were so good I ate the entire batch for dinner.  If you do it correctly, there is not much oil that gets absorbed, they are actually pretty  good for you since they are mostly vegetables and you can sprinkle some finely grated Parmesan cheese on top or top with a dollop of sour cream.  I didn't have sour cream but I stirred a little lemon juice and a little Sambal Oelek (chile paste) into some non-fat greek yogurt , used it as a dipping sauce and it was perfect.  The recipe is here:  http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2011/08/zucchini-fritters/ and I didn't change anything except the scallions. I didn't have any so substituted a generous tablespoon of finely diced onion. It was perfect.  Two thumbs up, I guarantee you will love them.

Finally, jobs. I have been applying like crazy, but of course no response, except for a response from Whole Foods Market.  They advertised for a deli person, which I can do.  I applied on-line, got a call the next day.  Their side of the conversation went something like this:  "The shifts are from 6:00 am to 2:00 pm or 2:00 to 10:00 pm.  But you have to be available to work either shift on any given day.  Your schedule will change every week.  You will get two days off but they will not be consecutive days and they will not be on the weekend, and those days off will also change every week.  Are you interested?"  My response: "So sometimes I will work from 2:00 to 10:00 and then be back the next day to work the 6:00 shift in the morning?"  Them:  "Yes, that happens about half the time."  Plus I would have to work whatever holidays they are open.

Now, this is for the grand sum of $11.35 per hour before taxes are taken out!  Which is certainly more money that I will get from unemployment but it is definitely not enough to pay rent and health insurance.  Needless to say, I declined.  For one thing, it is simply not enough money.  For the other, what would I do with little Cooper?  I could probably arrange care for early morning or the evening, at around $50 a day (which wouldn't leave me a lot of take-home pay) but not for a varying shift!  Or I could turn him back into the Humane Society, as many people are forced to do.  Or I could just say no.  I picked door number three and said no.

That's my Monday morning report.  Back to the job search, and with the retarded speed of my computer, it's going to be a long, slow slog. Ah well, I certainly have enough time on my hands! 

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Two small movies

These are both instant downloads if you do the Amazon thing or have a Roku player, the small english muffin sized purple amazing device.

"Take Me Home"  A true indie movie, no stars but several of the players are related, obviously made on a budget but truly made well.  Two out-of-sorts people taking a long road trip, get kind of connected, sort of share a little of their lives, almost like each other at the end.  Yes, it sounds vague. It is in the beginning, isn't in the end but I don't want to give too much away.  The guy drives a renegade cab, the woman gets into it and wants to go from NYC to California.  All that time in a cab, well you can predict what happens. Except it doesn't.  It's charming (which I usually steer away from) and nice and the script is good and the actors are quite fine. It seems like it could happen, the dialogue is real and it made me tear up (not hard right now) and also made me laugh out loud and smile several times. It's not long so put it on your instant queue, make some popcorn on a quiet night and check it out.  It carries you along for the ride and in the end  you will be glad you paid the fare.

"Rare Birds"  This has been on my queue for a while because it stars William Hurt, whom I always like.  This is such a quiet role that it seems odd to say he "stars" in it.  Whatever.  (Made about ten years ago, it also has Molly Parker, one of the key actors in "Deadwood." )  The story isn't important (well, the set up of the story seems important at the moment but it just serves to drive the plot)  but the characters drive the movie.  Slow at times (but it's supposed to be that way) and worth the wait.  Again, nothing great happens except the characters unfold nicely. A small tale of duplicitous actions but not in a mean way.  Honor wins out, sort of.  Check it out. Hurt is, as always, lovely to watch, his face registers so much in such small ways.

That's it for today, folks.


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The Out-of-Work Blues

Don't worry, I'm not going to belabor this issue but I do have to occasionally acknowledge it. I need to recognize a few facts about this unemployment go-round:

• Even though the economy is supposedly "on the rise" that will have little effect on my getting a job.
• The odds of my getting a decent (or even an indecent) job at the age of 62 are very slim.
• The amount of unemployment compensation I will get will be very small this time.
• I am very worried and afraid.

OK, those are my salient points.  If I was the same person I was three years ago, almost to the day, that I was layed off from the oyster company, I would be spouting the party line: "something will turn up, I always land on my feet, I am not too worried, there are still jobs out there."  And on and on.  However, since previously I only found a job after being on the dole for two years because a friend broke her leg, I doubt that scenario is going to repeat itself this time around.

But for now all I can do is look for work, apply for jobs that I am either over or under qualified for, be willing to work for less than $15 an hour and hope for some benefits.  In the meantime, which could be years, I take my cup of coffee out into the garden and watch the bees on the tall, blue-flowered salvia do their work and feel the warmth of the sun on my legs.  Cooper and I take longer walks every morning and I drink less whiskey every night.  (Not talking about my wine consumption, however!)  I am reading a lot of books, obviously, and have a slew of them on my request list at the library.  This weekend I am flying to Texas to see my beautiful daughter, a trip planned weeks ago, and I am looking forward to that.  My life at this moment is on a sort of  "one day at a time" calendar.

Sad and cranky and depressed, they are lurking around the corner and show up unannounced and uninvited at the most unusual times. So do tears.  I am accepting them as characters in this current production.  Too bad it's my life that is the script.

Cooper is laying in the sun right now.  The day, so far, is lovely.  We'll leave it at that.

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West Marin restaurant: Saltwater

My good friend Tom invited me out to Inverness yesterday to stay over at one of the cottages on Tomales Bay and to have a celebratory "Getting Fired" dinner.  I said yes.  The cottage was lovely, quiet and peaceful and a great place to hang out.

Saltwater is a new restaurant in Inverness.  Previously an overpriced pizza joint, it is now focused on, what else, fish. The menu is small: several oysters, raw and cooked, several first courses (soups, salads, smoked fish, and more) and the main courses are mostly fish, although there is a roasted quail and a smoked pork belly.  It was a delicious meal.

We shared the two different cooked oyster preparations, one with spinach and breadcrumbs (Oysters Casino) and the other with caramelized shallots and brown butter. Both were perfectly cooked and we ate them all in about thirty seconds. Tom had the quail with roasted figs, I had the fresh salmon on top of a succotash of vegetables and topped with a radish salad.  Excellent.  We shared a bottle of Thomas Berridge Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley that was perfect with both our meals. We didn't have pizzas but they looked outstanding.

The force behind the new restaurant is Luc Chamberlin, a local guy with a lot of industry experience.  He has put his heart and soul and a lot of money into transforming the space into a cleanly streamlined place to get good food. The decor is simple and sophisticated, white finish on the shelves, uncluttered.   You can order anything to go, and he will even sell a bottle of wine to take away for $10 off the menu price.

Sit at the counter if you can.  It's quieter and easier to talk to your mate, shoulder to shoulder.  It's sometimes easier to snag a seat at the bar than at a table. The place gets very busy, so go early or late.  But go!  It would be nice to see this place succeed, it's what Inverness and the Point Reyes Station area needs, something new.

Getting fired and a good dinner

Let's take the second subject first.  Last night I had  in the fridge a couple of boneless chicken breasts, which I rarely eat.  I prefer them on the bone. Whatever.  I had a russet potato and some butter lettuce.  In the spirit of hunters and gatherers everywhere, I nipped a bit of fresh basil and parsley from the community patch and some mint from the garden where I live.  I tossed the butter lettuce with the herbs, tossed them in a little olive oil and put them on a plate.

I salted and peppered the chicken breasts, sauteed them in some olive oil and deglazed the pan with a couple of fingers of marginal white wine. The potato I had cut into wedges, soaked in cold water, patted dry and roasted as fat french fries in a hot oven. I made a garlic aioli.

Finally, when the chicken was done, I sliced it, bathed it in the pan sauce and then put all of it on top of the lettuce, wilting it a bit and served the potatoes on the side.  I am telling you, the lettuce with the fresh herbs and the hot chicken and sauce and those fat fries with the aioli..... it was a lip-smacking dinner.  And simple and cheap.  Can't beat that.

OK, now the getting fired part: about six weeks ago two women from the Wilson Empire (the Wilsons' own the inn and seven wineries in the Healdsburg area) decided that the Calderwood Inn needed help.  It didn't but they knew best. They started randomly coming over, moving furniture, buying things like new placemats and napkins and iPod docking stations, working on the garden seating, getting new plants and on and on.  I should have seen the writing on the wall but I thought my wonderful unsolicited reviews about my talents as an innkeeper would see me through their job-grabbing desires.  (Check them out here:  http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g32482-d73573-Reviews-Calderwood_Inn-Healdsburg_Sonoma_County_California.html )  I was wrong.  Yesterday, after making breakfast, one of these women came to the inn and fired me.  On the spot. Pissed off, I got in the car and drove for a bit (always calming to me) and then called the CFO, whom I have had dealings with in the past, and asked to come in to get an explanation of why I was fired.  Bottom line, there was/is no reason.  Someone else wanted my job and they had seniority and so they got what they wanted.

Oh well.  It is what it is, as they say.  Today I slept in a bit, walked Cooper, took a shower and went to Safeway to get coffee, since I normally have coffee at the inn. I spent about 20 minutes in Safeway, wandering from one side to the other, feeling untethered.  Then I metaphorically slapped myself and said, silently "cut it out, you have a home, go make coffee" and I did.  The rest of the day was spent productively:  looked at job ads, read a bit, went to the laundromat and did a load of clothes just to check it out (bleah), walked Cooper for another 30 minutes, got a pedicure, got my free tire rotation and balancing after 10,000 miles, went to Whole Foods and bought tasty treats for dinner.  I was going to eat out but this is better, get to watch some of "Hell on Wheels" via the Roku, get to drink and not drive, get to eat dinner in my pajamas.

Ah, life does deal its trump hand, doesn't it?  Play the cards you are dealt and hope there's a good card on the turn or the river. Jacks or better open, but there could be a full house somewhere. Or at least two pairs.

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Mornings, a movie and a meal

This is a scattered blog post, just a warning.

Cooper and I walk in the morning, usually around 6:30-6:45. Lately the mornings have been much colder and much darker. It's nice, though, it feels like fall is coming. Leaves on the trees are starting to change or starting to fall off the trees. It's difficult to get out of bed because it's so warm in bed and so chilly out of bed but the unpleasantness of getting up is offset by the pleasantness of the morning walk. It's quiet, usually, not much traffic, and the morning walk has always been rather meditative for me. Don't know why I am even writing about it, but there you have it.

Movie: I stream movies from Netflix to my TV via a little Roku box. Let's me watch all sorts of instant down-loads, old TV shows, movies no one ever heard of, foreign films, documentaries that I always planned on renting but never did. Last night I watched a movie that was about five years old with Tom Selleck.  Tom Selleck was once very cute, in his "Magnum P.I." days. He had cute dimples. Now, 25 years later, he isn't cute. His face is obviously more mature, more lined, much more interesting. It seems he made a series of TV movies about a character called Jesse Stone. I knew nothing about these movies but watched one called "Sea Change" and lo! and behold!  It was good!  A little slow, a bit dark (which I always like) and somewhat honest, a rare thing in movies.  Jesse Stone is a tired and sad cop trying to do a decent job. Sometimes he succeeds. Sometimes not. But worth watching.

Meals: right now I have just one word for you regarding food: tomatoes. Fresh, off the vine tomatoes. Sliced thick, on good bread with mayonnaise, eaten over the sink. "My word," as Martha use to say. So, so good. My friend Margaret has lots of tomatoes and shares them and I have been eating them every day. The season seems long when your kitchen counters are covered with tomatoes but it is actually rather short-lived. If you can get your hands on good ones, do yourself a favor and Eat. Them. Now.

So, so delicious. 

That's all for this day.  Have a good weekend.

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