goodnight!

this weekend is so busy at work, marnie, my boss, says we have a whole year of work to do in one weekend. the containers are prepped, flowers cleaned and conditioned, knives sharpened. i've been to the chiropractor and spent the night with a heating pad, eating thai carry out and alternating between reading and watching tv. the espresso beans are ground and the german girls have the dogs out for the last walk of the day. i'm off to bed, cause 6:15 comes around quickly, the first walk happens then. here are a couple of pics of centerpieces from last week' wedding. now goodnight all, sleep well. or if you're in australia, g' day.

out of the roasting pan

last night i roasted a chicken a la greque. this means, i made a fast basting sauce/ marinade from olive oil, lemon juice, lots of garlic, oregano, rosemary and thyme ( all herbs still putting out in the garden) . i roasted it at 450 degrees for a half hour, then turned oven down to 350 for another hour. it smelled delicious, it tasted delicious. i served it with a brown rice pilaf and sauteed spinach. i had visions of feta cheese and greek yogurt, both of which were in my refrigerator, but we were too hungry to garnish. tonight is cold and rainy, so i made a fast chicken stock from the carcass, sauteed onions, carrots, garlic, green pepper, jalapenos in olive oil . i added a bit of quickly crushed plum tomatoes and a dash of cumin and oregano and chili powder. strained my chicken stock into soup pan, added black beans, diced zucchini and potatoes. when all of this smelled heavenly, i threw in shredded chicken from last night, and more salt and pepper. then, i cut up homemade ( by someone trader joe's knows) tortillas into strips, crisped them up in hot oil, drained then salted. dished up soup, added tortilla strips and freshly grated cheese. i felt very cared for.

new kid on the block

german girl's sister, tini, moved across the street from us a week ago. she comes with a yellow lab, balu, and two cats. she is very welcome. now our lab gets twice as many walks, a buddy to race around the yard with and extra treats! we get good company, a sister to talk though the day with and lots more german sausages to eat. on sunday we grilled an assortment of meats, i made the endless sauerkraut ( but with 5 people to eat it , it was gone in one night) tini made her signature salad of spinach, garbanzo beans, red onion, avocado, tomatoes and feta cheese. for starters we had smoked salmon smoked and sent from connecticut from "the hai" father of all who is german on my street. we gave thanks for the food, the beautiful weather and our new additions. the next morning at 8:00am, tini and i went to the gym.

love is... a friendly wedding

last night we went to a party to celebrate the wedding of our friends katie and steve. the venue, mie n yu, was a glam mix of red velvet drapes and reclaimed wood throne like chairs. the food was asian fusion and the music rocked. the bride was beautiful and 6'4" in her stilettos. the groom was beautiful, articulate and heavily tattooed. actually, everyone but me was pretty heavily tattooed. we cleaned up well, and german girl herself hit 6' in her own heels. so there. when it was over we raced out of georgetown, stripped ourselves of our finery, threw on our sweats and took the dog for a walk. she wasn't invited, but was much talked about. even the cat was mentioned. friends in love is a splendid thing!

still life with artichokes

i went to the wholesaler today and finally remembered to bring my camera. visions of beautiful pictures (how could i miss) danced in my head but, alas, not in the eye of the camera. two friends of ours are getting married this weekend and i want the flowers, if not the pics of the flowers, to be beautiful. i got ornamental purple kale, little purple artichokes, bright orange hypericum berries, dahlias, an incredible big brown rose " coffee break", bright blue alpine thistle , pistachio berries on and on and on. i took the opportunity to lament i wasn't chosen as the new white house florist, i wasn't even a contender. though i was assured it was a thankless job, i would like to have had a chance to say no thank you! oh hell, they probably wouldn't have let me bring the lab to work anyway.

small but charming house for sale by democrat

i want to sell my house and go live in the magical kingdom of Anthropologie. all are equal there, women control the right to make decisions for their own bodies and souls. both genders make the same wage for the same job and fruit and vegetables are grown locally and organically. everything is beautifully decorated and fantasy reigns. who wants to join me? i'll cook.

after the storm

halloween took quite a toll on our little 'hood. last walk of the night with the lab and there was a RABBIT. lab ran after it, german girl's threadless old kicks skating over the wet leaves and paving. they were both stopped by a parked car. oouf, ouch. our roommate, he-man, managed to tear his bicep, protecting a woman from a beer throwing drunk in a bar. he's a weight lifter, that's a lotta bicep. another friend and neighbor is recovering from the flu, his roommate just diagnosed with bronchitis. me, i'm cooking. almost afraid to leave the house. tonight, chili made with chunks of beef and lots of red kidney beans. i'll serve it with rice and a big bowl of guacamole made with avocados that came to us from california via connecticut. we'll feed as many of the injured as possible. keep cooking, stay healthy!