Last Week

• My whole house is newly recarpeted and I have a new roof and gutters. Trixie and I have had enough of hammering for a while.
  
• Trixie LOVES the carpet. She likes the springy plushiness beneath her tummy. So do I. It's like walking on a mossy forest floor. Except that the moss is pumpkin spice-colored and there aren't any trees.
• I recently saw the movie An Education. Great movie. It's so rare for me to embrace any films nowadays, in this post-LOTR era. Immediately upon viewing the movie I started over again and watched it with the director's commentary. Well, I usually watch the commentary version (I like to be thorough), but not immediately after. Nick Hornby wrote the screenplay, so I guess it's obvious that I was going to like it.
• Oh, OK. I have watched another good movie. Finished that Anna Karenina miniseries; a good way to distract from roof-installing. It was only 10 hours long, not 30. I was confused. Loved it. The costumes were fabulous. Even the winter coats were amazing. Levin had a fuzzy knobbly white hat that I couldn't take my eyes off of. The actresses who played Dolly and Kitty actually looked like sisters. The actors who played Nikolai and Constantine actually looked like brothers. My only complaint was Vronsky's hair--I had envisioned it as having more volume. It reminded me of that Seinfeld episode with the low-flow shower heads.
• As mentioned before, I am spending as little as possible on food this month. I made it through the first 16 days with only one grocery shopping trip and very little hardship. Food just seems to be multiplying in the cupboards without any effort from me.
• For example, I used up a package of tempeh that had been stashed in the fridge for a while. I hadn't tried tempeh before. I tasted a bit before throwing it in a stir fry and thought, meh, I don't understand this. But somehow, after it was browned and crunchy and tossed with veggies and a sauce of my own creation (tamari, sherry, fresh ginger, hot sauce, garlic, honey), a change came over me. Tempeh is MEATY. Richly fermented and chewy. I am now evangelized. Must pursue more tempeh opportunities.
  
• Trixie had her dental cleaning under anesthesia. She had a huge cavity and the tooth had to be pulled. Her recovery was odd and troubling. Trixie might not always understand what I say, but she's generally delighted to hear my voice. For several hours after the procedure, she just stared at me when I talked to her. Glassy-eyed, like she had no idea who I was. But now she's much better. She's got her sparkle back.
  

Alex Letter 2

(Note: Fiction. See Letter 1)


Alexander,

Well, this is a surprise. After two years of sullen and silent acquaintance, occasionally interrupted by outrageous outbursts, I receive a plea for help! Such boldness! Accompanied by an insult, of course. I will not assist in your mysterious project. I have more important things to do. I am severing all ties with the Hennings family. Since you obviously haven't heard, Michael and I are no longer an "item," as they say. My preference is to forget him and the majority of the previous two years. Your note rubs salt into my raw wounds. But here is a big hint, from the bounds of my innate generosity. I know exactly what is wrong with your dear brother. He has suddenly developed terrible tastes in women.

Sincerely,
Meredith Samuels

P.S. Please refrain from sending me further letters, or casually leaning against my locker. People are beginning to talk and draw their own conclusions. Of course, their conclusions are reasonable. There are a lot of guys around here that desperately seek my attention.








(Note: to be continued)

Cinnamon Rolls and Obsessions

As I mentioned before, I am trying to sharply reduce spending on groceries this month. Partly for a fun spring-cleaning challenge (must clean out freezer for spring veggies) and partly to hasten the elimination of the student loan.* I have discovered that if I really scrimp and pinch, it is faintly feasible that it could be paid off in SEVEN MONTHS. But that would require some dangerous reductions in the emergency fund, putting off some other things I sort-of need to buy, etc, so maybe more like twelve months. But either number is a number that I can wrap my mind around.

I am not suffering and don't plan to, but I do have to be a little creative with the pantry and forgo some cravings that might previously have prompted a spontaneous trip to the store. And with every bite of rice or oatmeal or scrambled eggs, I think to myself, I am increasing my net worth with this little sacrifice.

Yesterday I made cinnamon rolls from scratch, from ingredients that I always have around the house, and using my newly-honed courage for baking with yeast. I probably wouldn't have thought to make them without the money-saving challenge. They didn't look beautiful, but tasted divine: buttery, flaky, oozy. I burnt my tongue and melted glaze coated my hands because I was too eager to wait for them to cool.

I think I should gain more experience in sweet roll-making. I will need volunteers to help consume the practice sessions. I'm dreaming of a variation on the cinnamon roll: hazelnut-orange-chocolate. Maybe add a splash of OJ to the dough, leave out the cinnamon, add finely chopped hazelnuts to the filling. Sprinkle in a few chocolate chips; not enough to leak out and burn on the bottom of the pan, but a handful to add a dark surprise every once in a while. Add orange zest to the glaze. Maybe I could sell them, and further pay the debt!!!




*Also, it was an unseasonably warm March and I got a new furnace. So, once I get the March energy bill (hopefully a smaller one than March 09), I will use the difference to pay down the debt!!!