Today I figured out how to make letters bold and M helped with a few additions. Like I now have the correct time and stuff like that. And...I think that in a few days I will know how to let people comment. Thanks Mani!!
If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
That we all think of everybody as fellow humans and make sure that everyone is ok.
Do you like to dance?
Yes.
George Bush:
Too scary, I don't want to go there.
Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
She is and her name is Artie.
Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
Alexander, Xander for short.
Would you ever consider living abroad?
All the time. We come up with all sorts of ways to get there. The current is to get our apartment in Saratoga fixed up nice and then do a house swap. I think that Glastonberry, England is high up on our list of places to live. We want to travel
just about everywhere!!
Ah, the quiz is done. Today A is having a birthday party. For party fun the girls are going to dye their hair. We went out and bought pink, purple, blue, and red. I am now in the posession of a nice big tub of hair bleach. I think that I will get purple streaks. A is very excited about doing M's hair. She has come up with the idea of braiding his hair and then putting the bleach on whatever hair shows...then after you bleach it you put on a range of colors. After he unbraids his hair it will polka dotted. He is much braver than I. I will let you all know how it comes out.
A rented "Night of the Living Dead" for some fun watching. The kid has good taste...she likes the classics.
Blessings....V
Friday, April 09, 2004
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Maybe someday I will figure out how to let people make comments about my blog and maybe I will figure out how to get some links set up. Maybe......
I got these from my friends blog. I do appreciate her so!!!
Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says.
...up to two days ahead of time, but postpone adding the bell pep.... "Still Life With Menu" by Mollie Katzen.
Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?
X's Yamaha electric piano.
What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Law and Order. It was a repeat I went to bed.
With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
M is cooking dinner in the kitchen. A is asking him all sorts of questions about his grandparents and what they were like. I hear part of him telling her that they were nothing like my parents. (Thank God!!!).
When did you last step outside?
This afternoon I drove X to her piano lesson. Then we went and borrowed a vcr from a friend for A's birthday party tomorrow. She is having an outdoor sleepover and wants to watch movies in the tent.
Before you came to this website, what did you look at?
www.utterchaos.blogspot.com.
What are you wearing?
Jeans, black shirt, and black slippers.
Did you dream last?
Most likely. I very rarely remember them.
When did you last laugh?
In the car today. X and I were listening to the Prairie Home Companion Joke show from 2001. How many dull people does it take to screw in a lightbulb? One.
What is on the walls of the room you are in?
A golden wheat paint that I mixed myself with my friend Vince. I love it!! A shit load of ceramics...this is M's studio. And three paintings by an artist buddy who has a great sense of humor. M traded for them.
Seen anything weird lately?
Yeah. One our tenants brought her adult son over to meet us. Not once during the whole time he was here did I see his teeth. Even when he smiled his lips just sort of spread out not up. I thought it was weird.
What do you think of this quiz?
I'm doing it aren't I? I like the glimpse of someone that you get.
What is the last movie that you saw?
XMen 2. Watched it with the girls on our new DVD player. I can honestly say now that I don't think DVD's are so great!!
If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy first?
First...what would I buy first. I would want to buy airline tickets!! Probably it would have something to do with our house on Lopez.
Tell me something about you that I don't know?
I am such a blabber mouth anyone who knows me...knows about all there is to know. At the moment....I am done with living on the East Coast mostly because of my parents. They are very disrespectful to me and my family and basically just a pain in my psyche!!! I have an ulcer..Definitely because of them!!
It is "games night" and Mark and Terry are here. I'll finish up the quiz tomorrow. Blessings...V
I got these from my friends blog. I do appreciate her so!!!
Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says.
...up to two days ahead of time, but postpone adding the bell pep.... "Still Life With Menu" by Mollie Katzen.
Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?
X's Yamaha electric piano.
What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Law and Order. It was a repeat I went to bed.
With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
M is cooking dinner in the kitchen. A is asking him all sorts of questions about his grandparents and what they were like. I hear part of him telling her that they were nothing like my parents. (Thank God!!!).
When did you last step outside?
This afternoon I drove X to her piano lesson. Then we went and borrowed a vcr from a friend for A's birthday party tomorrow. She is having an outdoor sleepover and wants to watch movies in the tent.
Before you came to this website, what did you look at?
www.utterchaos.blogspot.com.
What are you wearing?
Jeans, black shirt, and black slippers.
Did you dream last?
Most likely. I very rarely remember them.
When did you last laugh?
In the car today. X and I were listening to the Prairie Home Companion Joke show from 2001. How many dull people does it take to screw in a lightbulb? One.
What is on the walls of the room you are in?
A golden wheat paint that I mixed myself with my friend Vince. I love it!! A shit load of ceramics...this is M's studio. And three paintings by an artist buddy who has a great sense of humor. M traded for them.
Seen anything weird lately?
Yeah. One our tenants brought her adult son over to meet us. Not once during the whole time he was here did I see his teeth. Even when he smiled his lips just sort of spread out not up. I thought it was weird.
What do you think of this quiz?
I'm doing it aren't I? I like the glimpse of someone that you get.
What is the last movie that you saw?
XMen 2. Watched it with the girls on our new DVD player. I can honestly say now that I don't think DVD's are so great!!
If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy first?
First...what would I buy first. I would want to buy airline tickets!! Probably it would have something to do with our house on Lopez.
Tell me something about you that I don't know?
I am such a blabber mouth anyone who knows me...knows about all there is to know. At the moment....I am done with living on the East Coast mostly because of my parents. They are very disrespectful to me and my family and basically just a pain in my psyche!!! I have an ulcer..Definitely because of them!!
It is "games night" and Mark and Terry are here. I'll finish up the quiz tomorrow. Blessings...V
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Today I give you the recipe for that great Passover cake that hit the deck on Monday night.
Chocolate Orange Torte for Passover
I make this torte every year for Passover and we all love it!! It’s from a recipe book called “Cocolat”. It’s a bittersweet chocolate torte with lots of freshly grated orange zest, lots of ground almonds and some matzoh meal. This recipe can easily be doubled to fit a 10” round. Enjoy!!
Preparations…
1. Preheat the oven to 3750F
2. Line the bottom of 8 X 2” round cake pan with a circle of parchment paper.
Ingredients:
· 4 oz. Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate cut into pieces
· 4 oz. Butter at room temp.
· 2/3 C. sugar
· 1/8 t. almond extract
· Finely grated zest of one orange
· ¾ C. (3 oz.) ground blanched almonds
· ¼ C. matzoh meal
· Chocolate Honey Glaze
· ½ C. sliced toasted almonds (optional, to use to press in sides of cake after you have glazed it)
Process:
1. Melt chocolate. Either in a double boiler or in a microwave.
2. Beat butter, sugar, almond extract, and orange zest with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add eggs, one by one, beating well after each addition. On low speed add chocolate, beating only until incorporated. Stir in almonds and matzoh meal until combined.
3. Turn batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 min. until a toothpick plunged into the center of cake shows moist crumbs. The torte should be neither dry or runny in the center.
4. Allow torte to cool completely in pan on a rack. After you have unmolded your cake you can freeze it for later use or glaze it for dinner.
5. To glaze the cake I put it on a wire rack and put that over a sheet pan. I pour my glaze over the cake and whatever drips off lands onto the sheet pan. Remember that you never want your chocolate glaze to be used while it is still really hot. I let mine cool a bit so it is not so runny. If you use a glaze while it is too hot, it won’t stick to your cake.
... and the glaze....
Chocolate Honey Glaze
This is a very simple chocolate glaze to be used on cakes and tortes that are stored at room temp.
Ingredients:
· 6 oz. Bittersweet or semisweet chocolate cut up into pieces
· 4 oz. Sweet butter (1 stick) cut up into pieces
· 2-3 T. honey
Process:
1. Melt all the ingredients together in either a double boiler or a microwave. Do not overheat the glaze, there is no need to warm it above 120 degrees F.
2. Allow the glaze to cool a bit. When the glaze is at 90 – 92F. it is time to glaze your cake.
3. Gently pour the glaze over your cake. I like to have my cake set up on a wire rack over a sheet pan. Start in the center and in gentle circles work your way to the edge of the cake. To get the top to look uniform gently jiggle the rack, side-to-side, so that all the glaze on the top is even. If you are decorating the side of the cake with nuts or whatever don’t worry about how the glaze looks because it is just there for glue. If you are not decorating the side of your cake then pour glaze down the sides.
4. As you are working with your glaze you can scrape whatever you need off the sheet pan and reuse it. I like to work with a bent spatula to manipulate uncooperative glaze on the edges.
Blessings Y'All...V
Chocolate Orange Torte for Passover
I make this torte every year for Passover and we all love it!! It’s from a recipe book called “Cocolat”. It’s a bittersweet chocolate torte with lots of freshly grated orange zest, lots of ground almonds and some matzoh meal. This recipe can easily be doubled to fit a 10” round. Enjoy!!
Preparations…
1. Preheat the oven to 3750F
2. Line the bottom of 8 X 2” round cake pan with a circle of parchment paper.
Ingredients:
· 4 oz. Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate cut into pieces
· 4 oz. Butter at room temp.
· 2/3 C. sugar
· 1/8 t. almond extract
· Finely grated zest of one orange
· ¾ C. (3 oz.) ground blanched almonds
· ¼ C. matzoh meal
· Chocolate Honey Glaze
· ½ C. sliced toasted almonds (optional, to use to press in sides of cake after you have glazed it)
Process:
1. Melt chocolate. Either in a double boiler or in a microwave.
2. Beat butter, sugar, almond extract, and orange zest with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add eggs, one by one, beating well after each addition. On low speed add chocolate, beating only until incorporated. Stir in almonds and matzoh meal until combined.
3. Turn batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 min. until a toothpick plunged into the center of cake shows moist crumbs. The torte should be neither dry or runny in the center.
4. Allow torte to cool completely in pan on a rack. After you have unmolded your cake you can freeze it for later use or glaze it for dinner.
5. To glaze the cake I put it on a wire rack and put that over a sheet pan. I pour my glaze over the cake and whatever drips off lands onto the sheet pan. Remember that you never want your chocolate glaze to be used while it is still really hot. I let mine cool a bit so it is not so runny. If you use a glaze while it is too hot, it won’t stick to your cake.
... and the glaze....
Chocolate Honey Glaze
This is a very simple chocolate glaze to be used on cakes and tortes that are stored at room temp.
Ingredients:
· 6 oz. Bittersweet or semisweet chocolate cut up into pieces
· 4 oz. Sweet butter (1 stick) cut up into pieces
· 2-3 T. honey
Process:
1. Melt all the ingredients together in either a double boiler or a microwave. Do not overheat the glaze, there is no need to warm it above 120 degrees F.
2. Allow the glaze to cool a bit. When the glaze is at 90 – 92F. it is time to glaze your cake.
3. Gently pour the glaze over your cake. I like to have my cake set up on a wire rack over a sheet pan. Start in the center and in gentle circles work your way to the edge of the cake. To get the top to look uniform gently jiggle the rack, side-to-side, so that all the glaze on the top is even. If you are decorating the side of the cake with nuts or whatever don’t worry about how the glaze looks because it is just there for glue. If you are not decorating the side of your cake then pour glaze down the sides.
4. As you are working with your glaze you can scrape whatever you need off the sheet pan and reuse it. I like to work with a bent spatula to manipulate uncooperative glaze on the edges.
Blessings Y'All...V
Monday, April 05, 2004
I just got back from our first of two Seders. I just love this holiday. The ritual eating of food, the remembering of ancient events, the discussions of how not to repeat history, and the ritual eating of food. I made a chocolate orange torte to have for desert and had some left over so I brought it home. There I am standing in front of our door and someone has left us a gift in a plastic bag hung on our door knob. I lean in to look inside the bag and swoosh, the chocolate torte disengages from the plate and lands glaze side down on the floor. It was classic. And it was a damn good torte too!!! Thank you who ever you are that left us a well intentioned gift on our door!!
It was very cold today. I packed up all our winter clothes this week. I am standing upstairs in my mud room donning on a polartec vest and hefty sweater and my winter coat is keeping all the other winter coats warm and snuggy in a plastic bin in the basement (which is now a little more slightly flooded). M and X and I walked to the post office shivering and talked of our golden days that we spent in the sun just two weeks ago.
Last night M brought out the road atlas so that we can plan our trip to WA. We have friends that we want to visit on the way out. I want to stop in Butte, Montana. We stopped there last year and we all really liked it. It's an old mining town and it has a bit of the ol' ghost town feel to it. The last time we were there we found out that you can buy buildings there for about $200.00. Yes, it's a bit depressed. But, the buildings are old and brick and rather beautiful. M keeps telling me that we are going to stop there and get us our very own Butte building. We'll start an artists colony. Nope, no Butte building right now for us, but maybe someone out there wants to check it out. We like Butte, you might too.
I had a cup of tea at desert and now I'm wide awake. I don't do caffeine and I knew better but I was driving and thought it was a good idea at the time. I shall now retire and go read my Clive Cussler. Clive is good because I can read him when I'm half asleep and still understand what's going on. In my house we call books like that "mental popcorn". Sweet Dreams!!
It was very cold today. I packed up all our winter clothes this week. I am standing upstairs in my mud room donning on a polartec vest and hefty sweater and my winter coat is keeping all the other winter coats warm and snuggy in a plastic bin in the basement (which is now a little more slightly flooded). M and X and I walked to the post office shivering and talked of our golden days that we spent in the sun just two weeks ago.
Last night M brought out the road atlas so that we can plan our trip to WA. We have friends that we want to visit on the way out. I want to stop in Butte, Montana. We stopped there last year and we all really liked it. It's an old mining town and it has a bit of the ol' ghost town feel to it. The last time we were there we found out that you can buy buildings there for about $200.00. Yes, it's a bit depressed. But, the buildings are old and brick and rather beautiful. M keeps telling me that we are going to stop there and get us our very own Butte building. We'll start an artists colony. Nope, no Butte building right now for us, but maybe someone out there wants to check it out. We like Butte, you might too.
I had a cup of tea at desert and now I'm wide awake. I don't do caffeine and I knew better but I was driving and thought it was a good idea at the time. I shall now retire and go read my Clive Cussler. Clive is good because I can read him when I'm half asleep and still understand what's going on. In my house we call books like that "mental popcorn". Sweet Dreams!!
Sunday, April 04, 2004
Today I arrived at church just in time to open the front doors during the moment of silent reflection that happens after the sermon. YES!!! We forgot to turn our clocks ahead. We had a very nice time at coffee hour. Next week I think I might show up for the service.
I found out today that a house/store front building that is a block away from sold for $280,000.00 just this week. My word, we bought our three family house about 3-4 years ago and now its tripled in value. I feel the kahching - kahching of money rolling into my upturned palms. I am in a sweat of anticipation. I want to sell this house and move back to Lopez!! We decided last week that in 2006 we want to sell our East Coast home and move the brood back to Lopez where our hearts are. Something happened to us while we were at the Florida Renaissance Festival. I can't put my finger on it yet. Maybe it was hanging out with alot of alternative minded people that reminded us of our friends on Lopez. Whatever it was/is we find ourselves feeling detached here in Saratoga. Michael didn't even want to go to church this morning and I felt indiferent about it. I went because X wanted to go. We enjoy our UU church and M & I have great philosophical discussions about the sermons. Something is amiss if we don't even care about going. I, personally, am feeling stuck in a place I don't want to be. I am here waiting to leave. The kids like it here very much and have good buddies that they connect well with. M & I have some very good friends here and we have M's Mom (the whole reason why we are here). But I feel like the ghost of me is going through the motions and Goddess only knows where the other part of me is!!
Tomorrow is the beginning of my favorite holiday, Passover. We are going to two passover dinners. How fortunate to do it twice!! M just told me that the soup is on the stove so I can have my turn to make the chocolate orange torte for tomorrow.
Funds are low. Spirits are about average. Sense of humor is in full Spring. And my love for M is constant.
I found out today that a house/store front building that is a block away from sold for $280,000.00 just this week. My word, we bought our three family house about 3-4 years ago and now its tripled in value. I feel the kahching - kahching of money rolling into my upturned palms. I am in a sweat of anticipation. I want to sell this house and move back to Lopez!! We decided last week that in 2006 we want to sell our East Coast home and move the brood back to Lopez where our hearts are. Something happened to us while we were at the Florida Renaissance Festival. I can't put my finger on it yet. Maybe it was hanging out with alot of alternative minded people that reminded us of our friends on Lopez. Whatever it was/is we find ourselves feeling detached here in Saratoga. Michael didn't even want to go to church this morning and I felt indiferent about it. I went because X wanted to go. We enjoy our UU church and M & I have great philosophical discussions about the sermons. Something is amiss if we don't even care about going. I, personally, am feeling stuck in a place I don't want to be. I am here waiting to leave. The kids like it here very much and have good buddies that they connect well with. M & I have some very good friends here and we have M's Mom (the whole reason why we are here). But I feel like the ghost of me is going through the motions and Goddess only knows where the other part of me is!!
Tomorrow is the beginning of my favorite holiday, Passover. We are going to two passover dinners. How fortunate to do it twice!! M just told me that the soup is on the stove so I can have my turn to make the chocolate orange torte for tomorrow.
Funds are low. Spirits are about average. Sense of humor is in full Spring. And my love for M is constant.
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