A Little Rambling

If you've never seen Sports Night, this is Dana, right after she sees the Lion King for the first time (after going only very begrudgingly). That's about my reaction. (It is noteworthy that Isaac Jaffe, the producer she's talking to, is the original Rafiki in the Disney movie.) Phindile Mkhize was Rafiki, and definitely the highlight of the experience for me. I want to know how to sing like that without dying. (audio on that video is not particularly great, but oh well.) The costumes were incredible, too. Mom got us aisle seats, so when the Circle of Life started, I was brushed by an enormous elephant, and then wildebeests and some long, curly-horned singing rams. At the beginning of the 2nd act, the singers behind my shoulder scared me to death, as I didn't see them. It was GREAT! I've always loved the music of the Lion King, and hearing it live and with even more of the African traditions built in was breathtaking. There were two drummers up on the walls,...

I love my friends dearly. We celebrated Black Friday by having our first Christmas party of the season, complete with singing Christmas carols, doing a Christmas puzzle, eating pie (I baked a fool-proof cherry pie this time, no more pumpkin disasters!) sitting around the fire, and making s'mores. I don't know what I'd do without these lovely people.

"Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude." (E.P. Powell) Ahhh, I am stuffed full of stuffing and other stuff. Well, I've never liked turkey or stuffing or green bean casserole or gravy or sweet potatoes. (I know, I know, how unAmerican!) I like the ham, the mashed potatoes, the cranberries, the rolls, and the relish tray. And this year, I decided I liked the martian goop, a green, creamy, marshmallow-y concoction of my cousin's husband's. I ate my plate piled high and did not have room for seconds, though I did manage to consume a small slice of Tollhouse cookie pie for dessert. When I got to David and Sarah's house, the first thing Abby asked me was if she could wear my boots. Having just entered the home, I told her after dinner she could. As soon as I finished eating, she reminded me of my promise and spent the rest of the evening clomping around in bo...

Saturday was a big day. In the most exciting news, my cousin's little boy was OFFICIALLY adopted (the last hearing, after more than 7 months!). It just so happened to be National Adoption Day, too, so we celebrated our expanded family, and I was reminded how thankful I am that my grandparents chose to adopt my mother. I also got to go to my very first football game. Well, not ever, but I'm not counting high school games. For one thing, I never watched more than about 30 seconds of those, and could usually not tell you if we won or lost at the end. What I do remember is I could usually just guess that we'd been mercy ruled, and I'd probably be right. We didn't have much of a team for most of my time there. No, this was no such game. This was a college football game. And not just any game, but ASU vs. U of A. Matt was able to get some extra tickets from his bishop, so Shantel and I both got to experience our first real football game together. I'll go ahe...

Arrrrrgh it's that point in the semester again. The point where all those big projects are almost due, but not quite due, so motivation to get them done ahead of schedule is at a minimum. I work best months ahead of time or under the strenuous pressure of, "oh crap it's due tomorrow." However, I know that I like to savor my weekend days by lounging and munching and napping, not typing up projects, and so here I sit... ...clearly not making headway. Instead, I shall say that if you are in Tucson, or have the means to conveniently get to Tucson, you should go see UofA's production of "The Secret Garden." I drove down yesterday to see the understudy performance, and wow. If the understudies are all that good, the actual cast (overstudies?) must be great. I will staunchly defend my opinion that it probably can't be as good without Ryan as Archibald Craven, but I may or may not be a little bit biased. I had tears in my eyes for about half the sho...

Oh, goody, you clicked through to read my blog, even after I've abandoned it for so long! I'm so glad to see you again. I am writing to you now in a state of complete contentment. Let me enumerate the wonderfulnesses of my day. 1) I am still in my pajamas, wrapped up in a fleece blanket, with a purring kitten on my lap. 2) There are clouds in the sky! It is cool and gray and autumnal. 3) I am drinking a steaming mug of feiner rauchtee. This is a loose leaf German tea that I am particularly fond of because I shared it with Lauren in Germany as we talked and talked and talked, and we decided it tastes just like a campfire. Odd as that may sound, it's perfect. 4) My house smells like stoup , which is one of my ultimate comfort foods. (click through for the recipe!) 5) I am about to be eating a pomegranate, picked from Bex's tree. I also have a whole bag full of mandarin oranges (which I am munching on now)! And I'm going to make pie, and honey glazed pecans....

One of my very favorite 'holiday' foods. And by holiday, I mean any time that the weather is cool and cloudy and warm, hearty food sounds good. Those days here in the valley are rare, so they all get to be special! Stoup is wonderful for having groups of people over, as it is non portion-specific. (The name comes from the cross between stew and soup.) It's also good for having just to yourself, since it will last forever and just gets better with age. It's super easy, not too pricy, and deeeeelicious. Good college-student food. You will need any of the following: beans - as many kinds as you want: black beans, kidney beans, red beans, great northern beans, pinto beans, ranch style beans, blackeyed peas, more black beans (cause they're the best, of course!) - no garbanzo beans - stewed tomatoes - generally 1 can to every 3 or 4 cans of beans? mexican style is yummy, or some kind of fire roasted tomato salsa (I used one can of each today) onion (red, white, yel...

So, I feel badly that I neglected to post about my lovely Hallowe'en. I also feel a little guilty that I'm planning three separate blog posts today - but it's for a good cause! What cause, you ask? Not making you trudge wearily through one never-ending post. You're welcome. Halloween was celebrated on Saturday the 29th, as a continuation of our Shakespeare readings. Appropriate to the spookiness of the day, we chose Macbeth I mean, the Scottish play. In keeping with the theme, I borrowed some authentic Ren Faire wear from Aunt Lauri, and enjoyed my chances to read both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. We set up a huge bonfire, hung some lights, hauled out some couches and camping chairs, wrapped up in cloaks for warmth, and read aloud - mostly from pdf scripts on laptops. High tech, we are. There was marshmallow roasting, (a party was hosting! No caroling out in the snow...) and an enormous bowl of puppy chow, as well as my two pies. There were swords and cloaks, lea...

My Halloween was celebrated early, which I will blog about later. My actual Halloween was spent sitting in a vet's office with my black cat in an old tangerine crate, glaring balefully at me through the air holes. He suffered in the indignities of poking and prodding and awkward thermometers, being shaved, and having his wound painfully cleaned out. Tonight, he's been glaring at me with eyes filled with betrayal, peering out from inside his cone of shame. Now he's locked up in the bathroom, since he is clever enough to twist around until he fits through the cat door even with the ridiculous 'Elizabethan collar.' So I feel like a terrible person, listening to the wailing meows echoing down the hallway, accompanied by the sounds of plastic scraping along the wallpaper, and the thudding of a fury body into the door. Here's to sleeping with earplugs to drown out the pitiful cries of my favorite furry friend. Just look at those doleful eyes!