One or two bloomed throughout last week but the biggest party happened Monday night. I think these flowers bloom based on daylight hours. In the Summer, they bloom closer to midnight. Now that the days are shorter, they bloom earlier in the evenings at around 10 or 11pm.
These past few weeks, I’ve been counseling a friend about her on-again off-again relationship. I often have to temper what I really want to tell her with what I think might be more helpful. Usually, the first version of the email reads something like, “Yikes, head for the nearest exit!” Then I delete, and send this, “What is the outcome you’re looking for? Given, what you know, is it realistic?”
Sometimes, it seems clear to me what she should do given the circumstances but then I think, only the two people know the ins and outs of what’s going on so what do I know?? Basically, nix therapist from my list of “what I want to be when I grow up” because I haven’t the foggiest. By the way, they reunited and are happy again so I’m glad I didn’t tell her to give up!
I haven’t been drinking coffee regularly for a while so when I downed it this morning it worked. Really well. Like normally, I snooze on the bus ride in but because of the coffee, I caught a glimpse of how our crazy driver battles post-Labor Day rush hour. So first, he sped up on an exit only lane then cut in at the front, then he changed four lanes into the HOV lane and maybe 5 minutes later, change four lanes back out to exit. In the middle of rush hour traffic which wasn’t stop-and-go yet. I think to make his job more interesting he pretends he’s on the Indy500. I wasn’t sure if it was the driving or the caffeine that made my heart race. Tomorrow I’m going to skip the coffee.
As mornings have gotten darker and chillier, resisting caffeine has gotten harder and harder, particularly when it comes in the form of aromatic-belly-warming deliciousness.
The coffee cravings are definitely stirring. Not to worry, I’m 6 pounds of beans prepared.
Sheesh now look what happened. All that talk of coffee and before I knew it, a pot was brewing. I don’t know how it happened!!
Our Cereus is riddled with blooms again.
I counted 18, maybe 19. It started out with over 20 but many of the buds didn’t finish forming before they dried out.
Aside from wine, I consider bloody mary’s a sort of health food of alcoholic beverages. There’s V8!
I just made one but it didn’t turn out as tasty as the last one I had last Christmas. Maybe I missed some key ingredient since I was limited to what I had around the house. V8, vodka, cayenne, and hot sauce. What’d I miss??
I just made a second one, this time with a bit of Worcestershire sauce. Thank you Internet, it’s better!
Don’t: Ask your program managers how much money they need next year to run projects. (They’ll ask for the moon and stars.)
Do: Ask your legislators how much money we should blow next year so they can secure re-election.
It’s not Fall yet but it’s feeling like it already. Yesterday, when the bus picked me up in the morning, it was dark and when it dropped me off in the evening, it was dark. Puts a damper in my mood.
I went to a classmate’s house for a group project this morning. This lady has a spoiled, grumpy-old-man sorta bichon frise. I’m leery of him and give him his space. Incidentally, he decided I was his friend today and tried to play fetch.
Meeting at her place with her mom and nanny around, we kept eating. First was a spiced rice with onion, scallion, cumin, tumeric, and mustard seeds. Tasty! Then we had Indian tea, which was probably the same as British, with sugar and milk. It was so rich almost like hot cocoa. On our way out, her nanny was making naan phulka (Indian friend corrected) for lunch and we got a little demo.
First, take a piece of dough and roll it into a ball and flatten it with your palms. Then roll it out into a flat round circle.
Second, on a flat pan, roast the flattened dough.
Third, and this is the fun part, you roast it right over the gas stove flame and it puffs up! I guess you have to have a gas stove for this.
And repeat!
My boss pronounces words funny. He says wif.
When I read his emails to me, I read it as wif.
Por ejemplo, his email reads:
I talk with [Potatohead] yesterday afternoon and she will provide me some feedback on the schedule hopefully today.
I hear: I talk wif [Potatohead] yesterday afternoon and she will provide me some feedback on the schedule hopefully today.
