Drive In Lookit

Last Friday, I think, I went to the Montana Drive-In to see the new Harry Potter movie. I stood in a terribly long line after being in a terribly long car line. I realized that I had lost track of days a bit and hadn't really understood that Friday would be a rather more crowded day to go see a movie then, say, a Tuesday. So I didn't get as good a place to park. Though it was fine. But the line for wanting to get a soda and candy was stupid and made exponentially worse by a chubby, purple sating pajama wearing, 12 year old girl and her cowboy hat wearing, add expressing brother and another boy that may have been another brother. Oh god, it was awful. Firstly the girl was supposed to be in charge but the boys were having very little of that. So she would yell and threaten to call somebody on the cell phone. She opened the cell phone at least fifteen times in the course of standing in line. And the boy in the cowboy hat was a real jerk and instigator and the girl had no authority and they all, THEY ALL, kept on bumping into me without apologizing. I shot them very dirty looks. At one point the two boys left the line entirely (this was a line with at least twenty people in them) and so the girl started shouting at them and directly into the woman behind her's ear. The woman said EXCUSE ME and the girl seemed a bit sorry. But not really. It was awful. The soda and candy were fine. I ate a bag of radishes and they were great.

Shr'amp

Also, a while back...last Friday when I think about it...I think. I made myself more shrimp while reading Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. They were good though not as good as the last batch I made way back when. But that's also because I didn't follow my own recipe or directions.

It May Or May Not Look Like Vomit But Keep It To Yourself

I made chicken and dumplings with gravy from the left over chicken and drippings. I know it doesn't look that good and it was starchy but tasty...in small amounts.

I Like Them

I guess you could say if you've seen one pilleated woodpecker (pileated? pilate-icized? piliated?
) you've seen them all. But if you said that, you'd be wrong. At least in my opinion. There are at least two or three of the birds that seem to hang out right around the house. I've seen them solo but lately I'm also seeing them hop around banging their heads into trees in pairs and that is even cooler than just seeing one. These birds are, dare I say it, ginormous! <--------soon to be in the Webster's dictionary...take that spell-check! They have a very unique call and, come on, look at them...they are awesome. That's it on the birds.

Chicken Dinner

Last week...no, the week before that...my cousin, her husband and son came over for dinner. I made roasted chicken with cilantro butter, baked potato and green pepper with a yummy cheese and gazpacho. I tried a new method for baking the chicken. New to me, not new to the world. I started the bird on its side and didn't cook it breast side up until the very end. This method...and the butter...led to the moistest chicken I've ever made. It was superb! It was ideal! It was exactly as I intended...though I wanted the chicken a bit browner and an oven whose temperature I could rely on.

Back In The Business

Well. I've sorted the whole power cord computer thing out. Mainly by going to a mall in Nashville and buying a new cord. I was flabbergasted by the expense...I was thinking thirty bucks but it was actually eighty. Goodness gracious. So now I will start a slew (or two) of posts. Above is a detail shot of one of the many things I photographed for my mother's friend. She made it, you see.

Splosion

Last night as I was reordering my netflix queue (has anyone else found that a larger number of their disks are turning up unplayable?) I suddenly noticed smoke. I had not had a cigarette in a while so the smoke, though often quite understandable, seemed rather out of place. Then I realized that it was emanating from the computer monitor. Now that wasn't good. And then thirty seconds after that the screen went dead and I rushed around looking for an extinguisher and imagining the computer screen exploding and lots of shards of glass rushing out to meet with my face, innards and cat. Luckily that didn't happen and I didn't even have to use the extinguisher. Though I did stay up an extra hour watching Alias (what is up with that show?) waiting for the sparks to continue. This now means that I can't check my email constantly nor can I apply to jobs...since my laptop is currently without power source. So I'm in the library but I don't want to come here three times a day to check my email...someone would notice and then comment (to themselves if at all) that I have no life if I'm coming into the library so often. Very problematic indeed.

I started to read a book about a certain kind of oyster in France written by the wife of Robert Penn Warren. But I keep thinking about Harry Potter. What it comes down to is that I love stories that function, in a way, like television. In that the story isn't *really* over with the book that you have a guarantee that you have another chance to read about and enter the world of the characters. Harry Potter is, for me, the book equivalent of Buffy The Vampire Slayer or Veronica Mars...only with magic and school and stuff. And a book about oysters, as much as I love oysters, doesn't have that same narrative grab. It's not easy, this.

I Really Could Read Them Over and Over

Two nights back I went to the drive-in and watched the new Harry Potter movie. In the days before that I watched the two movies that preceded The Order of the Phoenix and started reading, for the second or third time I think, The Goblet of Fire. I finished that book today and went to the library to get the next one or the one after that. Unfortunately everybody and (I'd think literally) their mother had gotten there first. So now I don't want to read grown up books that I have...like Michael Chabon's collection of short stories or Don Delillo's White Noise. Alls I want to do is read more Harry Potter and those bastard children (and their mothers) have taken away this wonderful pleasure.

I enjoy the movies but the books, my goodness, the books are better.

Alas, Alas

My computer's electric cord finally kaputted the last time I blogged. This is disappointing but also not surprising and a little amazing. You see the thing has been frayed/live wire exposed for nearly three years. Ever since I was watching a movie in my Hudson Valley apartment and got up to get something from the kitchen which led to me tripping over the cord which, in turn, led to the computer crashing to the ground and wrenching the cute little plug into my computer. So, really, it's like it was diagnosed with six months to live and squashed all odds. It does, however, lead me to be without the power of photographs. I plan on getting a new cord when I pick my parents up in Nashville. Ugh. Malls. So, until then there will be a lack of photographs...which probably will lead to a lack of posts. Yeah, cause my computer went to zero percent battery power awfully darn quick. This is strange because it's a new battery. I'm not sure I calibrated it properly. In fact, I don't know that I know how to calibrate a battery. Anywho.

Grimapacho

To read about my tasty way of making gazpacho go here.

Mistake

Yesterday I drove down the mountain to get groceries for my cousin's then imminent, now postponed, weekend visit. Also to get groceries for an entirely different cousin and her family to come to dinner today. I had been thinking about trying a Sonic Burger ever since I got down here and yesterday, I decided, was the day. It's novel having your own drive thru which gives one the opportunity to push a button to order. I wanted to try one of those frozen drinks they're always talking about in their commercials. The burger with cheese was sloppily put together and not all that much better than McDonalds. And my cream slush was only okay. Though I wonder if what I really wanted was not a cream slush but a straight up slush. The fries were utterly forgettable. All I got out of it was a reason to feel bad about myself. I really have enough reasons already and so I call this fast food experience a big mistake.

Pork and Balsamic Onions

Dinner two nights back. Pork loin baked with olive oil and rosemary. Topped with almost caramelized balsamic onions. The onions were good. I dried out the pork.

Argh!

Something bit my foot yesterday...on the bottom of my foot...and it itches like mad. It's a mad itching in such a terrible location. Well, I guess worse locations exist. Like the armpit or innermouth. Can you imagine if a bug bit you on the inside of your mouth? Oh my goodness. I didn't go to the library today for any job applying or photo blogging. Simply a movie getting. I just watched Charlie and The Chocolate Factory for the second time. Johnny Depp is such an interesting Willy Wonka. I think I'll have to re-read the books to know whether he or Gene Wilder reflect the actual book character's personality more accurately. Or I'll simply wonder without doing any thing about it. Right now I'm trying to decide if I'm hungry...I don't think I am. I'm also trying to figure out why so much of television is so lame. So many reality shows and I just don't get it. They are not like a car crash, I can look away. I am properly excited about the Harry Potter movie coming out tomorrow. Though I may not go see it tomorrow. I want to see it at the drive-in, I think. Basically I'm in between activities/non-activities to amuse me. So this is what I'm doing. And now that I've admitted my lack of ability to properly entertain myself I'm going to go try to entertain myself.

Dinner Á La Someone Else

I had lunch with friends of my parents a few days back. Deviled eggs, rice, beans and other tasty tricks. Treats.

Sandwich Kind Of Thing

Smoked turkey, stilton, mayonnaise and tomato on an English muffin.

Pork Tenderloin And Book

So the parents left copious amounts of pork in the freezer and I took some out and barbequed it on the fourth. Unfortunately I didn't allow the coals to lose enough of their heat...so one side of the pork looked like the above. Luckily I managed to figure it all out so that the other side looked like this. I also grilled some potatoes, green pepper and garlic in olive oil...it was good. Oh and I read The Battle Over Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts by Louis De Bernieres. I enjoyed it.

Woods

Sun and leaves.

Full Parade Mania

More photographs from the fourth.
Man on unicycle.
People on loud, blaringly loud, fire engine. This was one of a million siren capable vehicles in the parade. Many vehicles (with or without sirens) threw candy. I saw starburst but I realized that I wasn't allowed to compete with the little children and their big ol' bags. I did, in the end, get one forgotten Werther's original.
One of about two groups with a liberal point of view.
The other.


This float won second place. I truly think it was robbed. First place was so lame I'm not even showing you a photograph of it.

Down With Heathens Up With Church

Later in the day I watched the parade. I have a large number of photos but I don't really feel like dealing with all of them right now. So I'll leave with these three photos and no explanation. Except for the title. A float that I did not take a photograph of had that saying on its side. It made me feel very confused and icky.

Small Town Anybody?

Yesterday was the fourth of July. I went to the town's annual dog/mutt show. About ten years ago this event attracted about ten contestants and maybe fifteen observers. This time around there were fifty dogs, five(?) categories and easily one hundred spectators.

This girl and her Mastiff were in the best dressed competition. They were "Beauty" and the "Beast".
Clown and clown.
This was a "Beagle and Cream Cheese". This one I liked because it was slightly clever. Though the actual outfit could have been better.

Check out the biker dog checking out that man's crrrraaaazy pants!
Below is a Springer Spaniel. My dog Sam was a Springer. I think they are great. Especially when black and white..this one was liver and white.
Tricks.