Well, I’ve gotten a lot of what I needed to get done done. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get it all, but I tried. I’ve still got time to get things taken care of.
First day back to work - what a struggle! About 10:30, I was fighting to stay awake! Makes for a long day.
And that’s all I’ve got. Just a gray, drizzly, boring day…
Is it Friday yet??
Well, Happy Yom Kippur to everyone.
Or would it be Merry Yom Kippur?
In my (rather secular Hanukkah-tree-type) experience, it is neither happy nor merry, as Grandma won’t feed anybody until after sundown. 
(Dad usually suggested we eat before we leave the house–he wasn’t very religious. Or he thought we didn’t have much to atone for.)
SuperTarget is SuperJake! I have two–wish I could send you one. The new one is a little closer, and it’s by the mall, so it’s more convenient than the other one. I feel a wee little bit spoiled.
Lissla, a cookie exchange sounds like fun! Who else wants to trade cookies? My favorites probably wouldn’t mail well, but I’d send 'em anyway–Whole Foods has pecan pie cookies that are just the most fabulous cookies ever. I have a new favorite cookie–Back to Nature chocolate-mint pseudo-Oreos. They’re very minty and creamy and chocolatey.
taxi, where did you find the Sichuan pepper? I’m not having any luck finding anything that combines Sichuan and pepper. You’d think around here it wouldn’t be a problem, but nobody has it. The Orient Supermarket usually has Sichuan peppercorns, but they were out last week, so maybe they’ll get some in soon.
MagicEyes, I couldn’t find Sizchuan pepper here, but do you know about www.penzeys.com? They have a ton of peppercorns, and maybe they are calling them something else.
If nothing else, you can waste some time spicegazing.
Shit, that question mark shouldn’t be in the link.
MagicEyes… you were supposed to mention the yummy-sounding pecan pie cookies before I went to Whole Foods for the first time on Saturday. Of course, maybe I didn’t need the calories. I would participate in a cookie exchange. I know that Lissla is angling for cookies from Trader Joe’s; I have a couple of TJ’s at my disposal…
Posting to the MMP is a critical part of my day. It is, in fact, so critical that I had a violent conversation with myself that consisted of “post to MMP” vs. “make grilled ham & cheese sandwich.” Sadly, this resulted in my reading the MMP while the first side of the sandwich was [del]burning[/del] grilling. I successfully scraped off the burned part, but it just wasn’t the same.
I think an MMP fest would be fun. I propose Ohio as a location as it is the home of our leader. (Do not look at my location! Thank you.) Also, in addition to Scotland, we occasionally have Singapore (dangergene) and South Africa (please don’t make me look up melli’s whole name). Maybe someday long-distance travel will become cheap and easy. (That sounds kind of disturbing, doesn’t it?)
I only have a regular Target near me, but that covers most of my needs. Most of my food comes from Wild Oats and Trader Joe’s (and now some from Whole Foods) . I get a few things at Giant Eagle (normal supermarket chain), but I really like Wild Oats and TJ’s because I can get in and out quickly.
I thought Sichuan peppercorns weren’t legal in the U.S., but it turns out that heat-treated ones have been imported into the U.S. again for the past couple years. (Raw ones carry a disease that could allegedly wipe out the citrus crop.) Google is a helpful tool.
Glad you’re feeling better, ems. But the car bill… Eeeeek!!! Seems like it would have been less trouble for everyone just to get you another new car.
Just signed up for a new natural gas supplier so that I could lock in a better rate for a while. I’m locked in for three years at a rate that’s only a teeny bit higher than what I’m paying now. Hopefully the supplier won’t bail on me when the prices go way up. And hopefully they’ll accept me as a customer. (I applied online and am supposed to get a confirmation letter in a few days.)
Nothing else for the moment. Need to get to Target and Wild Oats real quickly.
GT
Chocolate chip pecan cookie anyone? They’re nummy! I did have to invoke the first dozen rule. I thought somebody would be too full to attempt to make a pig of himself from eatin’ all that pizza we ordered but somebody was still trying to hoover cookies right outta the oven, so I had to invoke the rule. I got two out of the dozen. I hope he gets a tummy ache!
Drae! You looked fabulous in that dress!
and a belated happy day to Ellen Cherry!
There’s Super Targets? Maybe it’s a good thing we don’t have one, since the local Super Walmart killed a man. Naw, Target is nifty, Super or not.
Not to worry about the big stuff happening at work. I’m not more likely to get fired than usual, which with our weasely administration is about 27% maybe.
[sup]The red wagon may roll downhill on monday-- alert the lemur[/sup]
Draelin, did you blow on your boob before rubbing it? That gets rid of a lot of the powder so there’s less smearing. Then use a sharpie, but as with ironing the same clothes you’re wearing, hold it away from your skin while marking.
SCL, I wonder which is worse sometimes-- the people who deny the Holocaust or the ones who’ve never heard of it. Two different kinds of sad.
Gardentraveler, why-for do you have to apply for natural gas? It doesn’t just come in one flavor in Ohio?
A weekend would be much appreciated, very soon please.
Individual tickets for hockey go on sale tomorrow, so after I go do my cat-sitting gig (including chasing one down to give him his stool softener) I have to go to the box office to pick up opening night tickets for Mr. SCL, my sister in law, and the lady I’m catsitting for. Box office opens at 10:00 so I want to be there when it opens so I can get them seats next to (or behind) mine. Mine are already locked in the console of the Wrangler!
Sorry. I’m obsessed with those cookies, so it’s surprising I’ve never mentioned them in the MMP. I have posted about them in favorite-cookie threads. But see, this is a good reason for you to go back to Whole Foods, right? Get some pecan pie cookies and almond croissants. Then run 25 miles to work it all off. I’m still looking for a recipe so I can make dozens and dozens, all for meeeee!!! And welcome to the cookie swap! Anyone else wanna trade cookies?
scout, I checked Penzey’s, but I didn’t see any Sichuan pepper. Maybe they have something else that would work, though. I might just try some random hot pepper thing. This reminds me, I’ve never told my mom about Penzeys. I think she needs to buy some spices.
Ashes[sup]2[/sup], I’m dyin’ to know, how did your Super Walmart kill a man? I mean, I knew it turned people into the alien beings known as Walmartians, and if you’re there too much it starts sucking out your soul, but I didn’t know it killed people. Well, there was that woman who got trampled in the cheap DVD player stampede. I can’t remember if she actually died, though. I think she did. I may never go to Walmart again.
Well, Ashes, if you get fired, you can always write a book giving people practical tips for everyday life. Blow powder off self and then use Sharpie. It’s a stroke of genius, I tells ya. [sup]The elephant will swallow the red wagon.[/sup]
As for the natural gas thing, in Ohio we have a choice of gas suppliers. You can use the default supplier that comes with your gas company, but their rates fluctuate with gas prices. You can also sign a contract with a supplier to lock in a specific rate for a longer term. Since natural gas prices are supposed to go up 50% and I have a gas furnace, gas stove/oven, gas water heater, winter is expensive at normal prices. The gas supplier can give me 14 days notice that it wants out of the contract, but even if I only lock in the lower price for a few months, I should save money. Of course, they may have stopped signing up customers and not updated their website yet… But I figured I’d try. I did this a few years ago and got a really good deal. (For those of you following along at home, here’s the site to go to if you live in Ohio. You want to look at the Natural Gas Apples-to-Apples Charts in the links in the right-hand column.) For the moment, my rate will be more expensive, but if the rates go up as high as they’re supposed to, I should save big. If I don’t, I can drop out for $25. We’ll see. That was way more of an explanation than you wanted, wasn’t it? But educational. (Is that kind of like culture? We were going for culture this week, right?)
There was more, but I’m old and can’t remember what it was.
GT
I just made cheddar bacon corn muffins. More cheese and bacon would have been good. I ate two anyway.
gt, I hope you get cheap gas! And not the kind you get from eating in a greasy spoon diner.
Back from another day of jury duty. I have been selected as a juror yet again, so I’m on my THIRD trial. Yep, they just seem LOOOOOOOVE me. I don’t know why. I don’t volunteer info, I answer any questions put to me in a succinct manner, and I’m brutally honest. Hopefully, the trial I’m currently sitting on will wrap up by Friday morning, and then I’ll be done.
Jury duty for Pierce County Superior Court is a two week deal. They obviously had lots going on in the courtrooms because I’ve had to go in every day but last Friday. Of course, I was on one trial or another for six of those days. Now, I’m on this one.
Today was the longest I’ve had to stay. I actually had to stay until 4:30 today, but that’s okay. You know, if I’m going to be called for jury duty, I’d rather actually be a juror on a trial. It’s interesting and you’re not sitting around picking your nose and wasting your day in the jury pool room. So, even though I’m going to have a major buttload of work to catch up on, I don’t mind jury all that much.
I made jambalaya for dinner tonight. It was tasty.
ems, I’m sorry to hear about your car repair bill. That really, really, really sucks. I’m glad to hear that you’re feeling a little less pain today.
FCM, how is FC Dad doing today?
I don’t have any good cookies here at the house. I did come home and eat a Little Debbie’s Marshmallow Pie. It’s certainly not gourmet, but I like them all the same.
Rue, we miss you. Check in and let us know how you’re doing.
Time to check the news sites.
Taters, would acting nuts get you out of anything or would you just have to wait around anyway? Two weeks! In Cali you call in for a few days, maybe you get called in, and then that’s it if you’re not chosen (right Ca. people? I’m pretty sure that’s how it was last time).
Truly gardentraveler your gas story is the first thing, in at least a decade, to make me say ‘I’ll be damned.’ It sounds kinda good and kinda annoying. People in cold states use oil for heating, right? But some use natural gas? My gas bill is chump change, it’s the electricity that the killer. Wish I could choose there, lemmee tell ya.
Also, it’s amazing what I didn’t know I didn’t know. Let me seeee… okay! There’s something in the photo developing process (at least our brand) that will take your acrylic nails right off, so always use the tongs. It’s all about the sharing, thanks and yer welcome.
Bedtime!
Which reminds me, I was thinking that I know pretty much how Mrs Vunder is doing, but what about Bobbio himself? Off buying new clothes?
Okay, wait a minute. Somehow my Bedtime! snuck in early and made that last part sound odd, to say the least! Plus all those typos and coding errors-- it really is bedtime.
I want cooookies. 
I went home and cleaned the gutters last night, Yuck. I don’t think they had been cleaned in about 3 years. But the stuff I pulled out will make a great starter for the impending compost pile. Just gotta cut the grass today or Saturday to add to it, to really get it growing (and decomposing.)
GF cooked a roast with the little cubed potatoes that turn brownish yellow when they’re in with the roast for awhile. Yummy! And she made a lot of extra, so I gets me some leftovers.
I took the stepdaughters-to-be (and their mother) to see Neil Gaimen’s MirrorMask last night. Very interesting movie. And I have a new movie actress crush - the girl who played Helena in the movie (yeah, Helena is 15 in the movie, but the woman who plays her is 21. So I’m not ookey.)