Does any other night of the week ever feel quite like Sunday night? There is a certain almost pleasant sense of melancholy about seeing the end of another weekend arrive. Sunday night is when all of the things I have been putting off all weekend reach a point at which they can't be put off anymore if I'm going to get them done before the work week starts. So, right now the house is warm and slightly steamy and suffused with the smell of fresh laundry. The last load just went into the dryer. I'm about to haul out my book bag and clear out the massive accumulation of extra bits of paper and other crap that build up in there over the course of a week. I need to figure out which fountain pens I will be carrying around with me this week and make sure I have the proper ink bottle or catridges to be certain that I don't run out of ink in the middle of a shift at work.
I'll need to put the fresh, crisp sheets I just took out of the dryer on to the bed. And I need to remember to scoop the cat boxes because I won't have time to do it before I leave in the morning.
There's something about Sunday night that feels like the sense of mingled anticipation and dread I used to feel looking at the first blank page in a new notebook the night before the first day of school. I ventured out through the gathering dark and biting cold earlier to get groceries, something I normally do in the dead of night when I get off work. It was actually kind of nice to be doing it at a time when there were actually other customers there.
I dunno, one forgets, sometimes, when you work second shift and all your friends live in the computer that being out among other people can actually be sort of fun. (Especially when you're in a good mood and not in a hurry.) All around me, people were doing the same thing as me, buying bread and sweets and breakfast cereal, coffee and frozen pizzas and produce. Shopping for groceries in the middle of the night when the store is deserted and there's no one around can make you feel like the loneliest soul on earth. Conversely, shopping with lots of other people, couples, groups of kids from the dorms, that makes me feel a little less existentially alone, you know, just another animal coming to the watering hole.
Maybe it's just that so much of my life has been so deeply weird that when I do something normal, it seems like this extraordinary treat. Paying the bills on time? Ooooh! How exciting! Sunday evening grocery shopping? Whoa, dude, look at all the people here! I guess a lot of people shop here. Who knew?
What do you do on Sunday nights? Any particular rituals or things you do to get ready for the week? Or is Sunday just the night you groan and say, "Here we go again…"? Anybody got anything extra special planned for the week?
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TRex!
Well, that’ll teach me to read first…
Well, this Sunday nite I’m happy there are dead Presidents and that we honor them!~
TeddySanFran @ 3
I’d be happier if one of those dead Presidents was alive and in the Oval Office. Well, except Nixon, Reagan, Taft, McKinley…
You don’t have the holiday off, TRex?
After I got outa undgrad school (I was 39), for about a year thereafter I would have to fight off anxiety feelings on Sundays…‘dude, you don’t have school in the morning. You don’t have to study…’
Now I just think ‘where the hell did the weekend go?’
Glad I’m off tomorrow. Gonna go hoopitup.
_
Honoring dead presidents will be giving me double time at work tomorrow!
T, help me!
I have snarked below and stuck my flaming feet in my flaming maw.
Must I engage in self criticism yet again?
anyone else notice that john mccain’s website looks like the after-effect of the “turn off computer” button in xp?
Suzanne @ 5
Nope. I don’t mind so much, though. I have a great job.
Dryer?
Ironing?
Clean bookbag?
Clean catboxes?
Grocery shopping?
Crisp sheets?
You will make some lucky boy-dino a wonderful husband, dear. It’s wonderful to take comfort in the calm of domestic bliss (especially given previous loving embrace of chaos?)
Anybody else remember an old episode of the Daily Show when Jon Stewart described Dubya running down the White House stairs in his footie pajamas, anxious to see what he’d gotten for President’s Day?
I am baking cookies, ok chocolate in the form of cookies.
It warmed up a bit today so in and around the fireplace are extra spiffy tonight. Feels odd with no fire. Shouldn’t I be cold?
Love the photo, TRex.
So… any speculation (snarky or serious) on how much Toensing got paid by the Libby Defense foundation for her hit piece in WaPo?
Does anyone know if there’s some way to find out?
trex,
i dunno, man, it’s like you’re channeling me….
i was just in that sunday night mode myself, doing dishes, bringing laundry up, folding and putting it away, rounding up the trash and preparing for the week. (i could beat myself up for the stuff i had to get done this wekend but didn’t, but i choose not to, because who wants to start the week like that?)
it’s funny, i worked a second shift, as you call it, for a dozen years, before coming back to dayside in ‘05. i really miss the extra time working nights gave me — i had my days, and did not have to compete with everyone else at stores, or doctor’s offices, or haircuts, or any of a dozen errands that now pretty much get compressed into saturdays. it’s nice to be back in sync with most of the rest of the world, but still….
will fall asleep to some bach tonight, i think, and enjoy the slide into morpheus all the more because you have given me a new pride in my sunday night routines.
bless you bro.
This week I will FDL addicted pending the verdict. When do ya think?
Thursday? Friday? I don’t think they’ll go beyond the week.
_
No matter what shift or schedule I was on, the day before the start of my work week was always Sunday to me. I was doing all the stuff that needs to be done so I could go to work on my Monday. Sunday nights had a fine sense of accomplishment – I was ready to go to work the next day with nothing left over that needed to be done.
Tis a good feeling.
President’s Day Special.
Dubya’s Theme Song.
Sunday nights are usually when I try to catch up with FDL and Digby since I’m too tired most weeknights.
Speaking of fresh sheets, I learned today that “percale” means 180 thread count. Many standard sheets (used by hospitals, hotels, common people) were 140 count muslin, so percale was a step up in luxury. A higher thread count doesn’t necessarily mean it will wear better, and it may not last as long as a simple cotton percale.
Also, I just had the horrible thought that if Libby is convicted and appeals, Bush and Cheney will have many more months of excuses of why they can’t talk about the case. I’m just dying to hear Bush explain how he is going to punish anyone in his administration who leaked!! Spankings, presumably?
TeddySanFran @ 11
I am a very good boyfriend in some ways. I cook, too.
I’ll try again some day. Just not right now.
I work tomorrow. It’s the end of a temp project, so I will have days off soon enough.
The kids have had 5 or 6 days off recently due to snow and cold, so having *another* day off tomorrow feels a bit excessive.
preznit giv me turkee @ 9
Allow me to EPU myself and present Pander Bear McCain’s latest paean to wingnut fundamentalism:
Yeah, why not vote for him? Reading verbatim from a teleprompter was enough to get Bush through the last six years.
News You Can Use:
A recent Pew report cited that the poll asking respondents for one word descriptions of President Bush was led by the word ‘incompetent’.
Left unsaid was that 43% of the respondents actually said ‘fuckwit’, which was toned down for general consumption.
Clean the kitchen, do the laundry and either cook a real meal or at least get really good take out. And open a bottle of wine.
Falling asleep on sheets fresh from the dryer.
It was many years after school ended before I could appreciate Sunday nights. And only if all the errands have been run. ;)
TheOtherWA @ 24
Sounds like we’d be good roommates.
TRex..where did you get the picture of my first wife?
Don’t let this Sunday end without telling Harry Reid what you think of having FOX Noise Channel sponsor the August Democratic Presidential debate in Nevada!
Oh, speaking of Fox News, we need to give them props for announcing on today’s Chris Wallace show that Doug Feith lied on last week’s show.
Sparkles the Iguana @ 28
i’m sorry, i’m seriously conflicted about the concept of giving fox news props for ANYTHING.
Sparkles the Iguana – 400 thread count is the only way to sleep.
Are you serious about FOX calling Feith on lie?
Sparkles the Iguana @ 28: “Oh, speaking of Fox News, we need to give them props for announcing on today’s Chris Wallace show that Doug Feith lied on last week’s show.”
It’s a sad comment on the state of American journalism when we feel compelled to congratulate them for reporting the truth.
dmg @ 29
I’d call this a minimum standard for journalism. Congratulations, Faux News, you just achieved your first moment of mere mediocrity.
One Sunday a month I have a progressive organizational meeting; I have to prepare dinner and get the laundry done before I leave the house since I’ll be back only in time to nag the boy to take his shower and do tuck-ins.
But the other three Sunday nights are pretty banal. Wash jeans, on which the new teenager insists every Sunday night; cook dinner so that we have a sit-down tonight and an easier dinner tomorrow when everybody’s tired and cranky; make sure there’s gas in the car, milk and bread, snacks to pack in the bookbags, sign any papers to be turned in at school, check the homework status, write checks for hot lunch or whatever weekly expenses are expected. And then crash early — for which I am already late — listen to some music after making final rounds around the the house, finish a chapter and drift off to sleep.
Maybe I could outsource some of this stuff to TRex…
That’ll be expensive, ma’am.
TRex Sunday Militia Inc.
Eureka Springs, AR @ 30
Yup. Last week he claimed his office had never claimed that there was an “operational relationship” between Iraq and al-Qaeda. Today Wallace put a quote on the screen from a Weekly Standard article in which he had claimed exactly that.
Sparkles @ 19:
I went to a family dinner at a local chain in Friendship Heights (just over the DC line in Maryland). I stopped in a linen store which had moved from very near to where I lived to this shopping center by the restaurant. They had Italian sheets of 500 thread counts. These things felt like my old sheets which had been laundered a million times, except, of course, they were new. Apparently, you need to have your “Laundress” wash and iron these suckers. Maybe they think anybody who can afford these things can also afford a “laundress.”
Me, I was glad to find to 300 thread-count sheets at Linens-N-Things at $50 for a set. And, NO, I don’t iron them. Sheesh.
I’m just trying to hook up with Jane before she leaves town for good.
I’ll let you use my spiffy new Maytag drying center and Neptune washer, TRex…perfect for those sweaters you’re so keen on.
;-)
Sparkles the Iguana @ 36
Just following Jon Stewart’s lead from Tuesday, iirc.
I liked your post.
I usually have all my chores done by Sunday at noon. Gives me the whole day to relax, read, watch movies, blog, etc. I never look forward to Monday because we always have a 3-hour meeting that gets real boring after the first half hour. Something to do with male egos around the conference table….
EvilDrPuma @
22
….and less we forget the funny back bulge transmitting Rove or Cheney or Matalin’s answers for the drunken sociopath during the debates? At least we won’t have to endure that sorry sight & sound again.
Hey Eureka Springs — got a mission for you, should you choose to accept it.
Need to know whether there are any Native American tribes in Arkansas that are seeking formal recognition as nations under state or federal law. Any chance you might have seen something to that effect in the news there?
We’re still working on the same investigation, now looking from a different angle. Think Abramoff.
Ain’t that the truth…
Hey there TRex!
between feith’s flailing about, and greenwald’s takedown of frank gaffney, i really do get the sense that these guys know how discredited they are.
there’s a measure of satisfaction in that, but i also think it makes the neocons even more dangerous. pretty soon, they won’t even bother coming up with rationales, they’ll just get us into a hot war with iran while they still can.
John Aravosis’ Neighbor Barbara @ 37
Maggiano’s? Cheesecake Factory?
Oprah changes her sheets every day. Or should I say, Oprah’s sheets are changed every day.
They say you are supposed to peel down all your covers and blankets and let your sheets breathe for at least an hour every morning, to let perspiration evaporate and mites be killed by fresh sunlight. This keeps them fresher between washings.
Sparkles the Iguana @
36
I guess Harry Reid owns ‘em now?
Hey T
I’ll be watching Rome tonight on HBO. I have a slight crush on the actor who plays Mark Antony. Hubba hubba
Sparkles: Oh good. Now I have a good excuse not to make my bed in the mornings. Mites, you say?
Trex @25
I’m sure we would be. :)
Balrog @ 8
Well…you did get me going. The thought of two children under five watching NBK makes a parent’s blood run cold.
But I “get” your snark and I think it had the desired effect (panic, horror, etc). All I can say is I am extremely relieved it was a joke.
Elizabeth De la Vega left a couple of astute comments re jury nullification in the libby acquittal thread starting here.
ccmask @ 49
Mites, oils and flakes from your skin, sweat, bedbugs….etc. Here’s my cool fact in honor of Presidents Day: when Mamie Eisenhower was a young bride, she kept bedbugs at bay by resting each of the legs of their bed in a bucket of kerosene.
I love history!
dmg@67,
You’re probably right. I hope so, at least.
dab from CT @ 44
Hey, honey!
*waves at dab*
Rayne @ 43
Rayne – I think I successfully re-ignited a spark in a good Little Rock blogger (Griffins home office now) and the subject is back on top with a daily posting on the subject. Will put the question out there and do a little digging…)
ccmask @ 49
oh Gawd, don’t ask.
My three favorite times of the week are Sunday evenings, all day on Monday, and Saturday mornings. Sunday night always feels kind of quiet and intimate, like the end of a party when everyone has gone home and there are just a few people hanging out quietly. Mondays are always productive days for me– I get more done on that one day than the rest of the week combined. I run my own business, so there isn’t the sense of Monday morning dread that some people experience. And I think there is still a soft spot in my heart for Saturdays mornings because you wake up and realize that there is no schoool….
Donita Sparks @ 48
Never seen it. Hey, Donita, are Sunday nights on the road for you kind of like Sunday nights at home? When we were touring, that was always the night that I did our laundry, they guys changed their strings and drum-heads, and all that. Was this your experience?
I’m considering taking the new computer over to friends tomorrow to do some software installation. It isn’t that I need help doing it, it’s that they have a high-speed connection and the software is of the persuasion that wants to call home when it’s installed. (Fscking software designers: I shouldn’t have to jump through hoops with stuff I paid for!)
Suzanne @ 52
I’m more of the opinion that she’s trying to cause a mistrial maybe.
Funny thing about Chris Wallace, his professional journalism skills peek through every once in a while. The last time they were on display was during the Swiftboat Season. He was interviewing on of the Liars and asked him “what evidence do you have for your claims?” The guy started spinning, and Wallace repeated the question (and maybe pointing out that Kerry had military records to prove where he was and what he did) and kept pressing the guy, who finally said they didn’t have any actual proof of their claims.
Now, true professionals would have had that conversation in an office when the Liars first showed up, then escorted them to the door without ever putting them on tv. For Faux, it was amazing.
ccmask @ 49
AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!
Eureka Springs, AR @ 57
Geez…I don’t have mites. But my mom always makes her bed the minute she gets up in the morning and I make mine when I get home after work. She always yells at me when she comes for a visit. Now I can tell her that it prevents mites. :))
TRex @ 59
Everynight is sort of the same. Days blend into days, weeks blend into weeks. The only time you feel a diffence is the day after a holiday ‘cuz the crowds are a bit pooped out.
Remember, darling…
Don’t smoke
In bed.
(Peggy Lee)
TheGris @ 54
raw story is quoting from an early story budget, which can reflect a great many articles that are not yet in shape to run, especially for sunday stories.
i hardly think the times took any phone calls from the white house on this. if anything, that would make them a bit more eager to print. you can argue about their self-censorship, but i think it’s safe to say this pullback wasn;t the result of any wh intervention.
it could well be that they’re still pursuing certain elements of the story, or more likely, waiting for the end of the trial.
ccmask @ 41
You’re smart. I put off things like laundry and cleaning the house till the very last minute on Sunday (I’ve tried having folks come in to clean but I invariably get upset that they are not cleaning well enough for me to pay $75 for two hours of work)
Rayne – am so impressed with your dogged research. Are Abramoff’s court files sealed – assumed since he was serving time at least those records would be available in the public domain.
dab from CT @ 68
you only pay $75?
Sunday? Today, hiking an area above Santa Barbara called “the playground” with huge rocks, sandstone caves, and a view of at least twenty miles of the coast. Watching my eight year old daughter put on all the gear and free climb all the way up a thirty foot boulder. Then pancakes and strawberries for dinner. Tonight, PBS Nature had an amazing program on raptors that rivited us. Tomorrow taking a day off and going up past Morro Bay to look at the elephant seals. Good times.
TheOtherWA @ 62
There was also that moment when he was interviewing Cheney, who was trying to bullshit Wallace, but it was just such an ugly and transparent bullshit that Wallace felt compelled to point out to Cheney that Democrats had WON CONGRESS in November. I assume Wallace is a conservative, but it was a moment where you just got the sense he was thinking, “What do you think I am, a total idiot?”
ccmask @ 61
which “she” VT or EdlV? EdlV also left a second comment, showing on my screen as 132 which includes Toensig knows the argument is improper, but her conduct throughout this investigation has been despicable.
We were strictly low-budget touring so there was never a guaranteed crowd anywhere. I loved playing shows, but constant touring was really never my thing. I got homesick and cranky very easily.
And we were doing it very intermittently. I bet you find a rhythm after a while.
I pay $40.
rmg@67,
You’re probably right. at least, I hope so.
Sunday nights – in no particular order:
- wait for night owl second wind to kick in while the house settles down (at an increasingly late hour due to nocturnal teenagers)
- take stock of the week ahead (triage of work priorities); get a head start on some work (but it’s actually playing catch-up from the previous week)
- avoid a pile of home paperwork to be dealt with
- catch up on blog reading (so many good FDL posts that I tend to miss on weekends)
ThGris, perhaps during Libby’s trial isn’t the right time to publish an article detailing others role in the case. We’ve all slammed Toensing’s attempt at swaying opinion. Would it hurt to hold the story for a few days until after the verdict?
Actually, right after the verdict might be a much better time to report on others actions…
TRex @ 75
now you’re just making me jealous.
Suzanne: I was thinking Victoria was trying for a mistrial. Her front page story could have been read by a member of the jury without the jury member picking up the paper. If they decide to tell the judge, could it cause a mistrial? Chances are she will be in hiding for the rest of the trial maybe.
dmg @ 79
I have a very small apartment.
ccmask @ 80
that’s why i thought it was irresponsible of the washpost to run the piece.
Thanks for the clarification. I think they are very worried about the verdict and willing to do almost anything they think they can get away with. Mistrial or nullification, either way.
woo hoo punaise is in da house!
hey you – did you catch up enough to see that emptywheel may do a book tour that may include the west coast?
Yeah, but like Pach said earlier today, I guess Toesning is the new editor. She is a real Cruella.
Catch you guys on the flip-flop. G’nite!
used to be gray’s anatomy, but now it’s the amazing race.
Victoria’s op-ed is 3rd most emailed. I’m sure it will climb to #1, and they will have to invite her to write another op-ed.
Trex,
I’m like you. Take care of the business like laundry on a Sunday I’d rather not have to do. The other thing I’ve gotten into is the cook and freeze. I usually cook two or three main dishes so I have them during the week and later. It works out really well-totally mess up the kitchen on Sunday, clean it, and it’s clean for the rest of the week. I like leftovers so it works for me and I still eat something different each night because I have frozen food from previous weeks. It’s an organizational trip.
ccmask @ 86
Sleep well – hope to see you around on the (Good) President’s day.
dmg @ 70
Do you pay more for a few hours work? That’s the going rate for CT (for an average sized house, not a McMansion). The going rate wasn’t very different when I lived in Maryland.
Nighters, cc!
ah well, fellow pups, i’ve made my bed and am now forced (actually eager) to sleep in it.
all best wishes for a thoughtful presidents day; i know i’ll be pining for a time in the not so distant future where we’ll have someone in the white house who will be willing to do battle against the corporatists, instead of being their lackey.
waving my wings,
dmg
dab from CT @ 91
back when i had a house in westchester, a swat team would come in and be deployed, prolly 3 hours worth at a time. it never failed to be less than $125, most often more.
course, now i live in an apartment and never have anyone in. just me and a mop and sponge.
When I lived in New Orleans, I cleaned a few houses for pocket money. Nowadays, I figure I’ve earned a little house cleaning karma. My lady comes once every two weeks and I get the little stuff in between.
Now I just need a cook.
dmg – good lord!
Aside from avoiding the sense that I’m being ripped off – I keep telling myself that cleaning the house burns calories.
Good night.
NYT is reporting that al-Qaeda has reasserted control over its once battered worldwide terror network, and there is an uproar that the word “scrotum” was used in a children’s book.
Disturbing!
Heh.
“Scrotum” is an inherently funny word.
Going to fold a bit of laundry. I’ll be back in a minute.
On Sundays lately I have been cooking up a big pot of something and freezing it for the week. I also go to a friend’s to watch BattleStar Galactica.
You know. ‘Cause I’m cool and all.
Eureka Springs — cool, keep me posted on whatever you find. You can always leave a comment at my blog (link at my name, then go to most recent post) if you want to catch me.
newspaperbrat — thanks, but it’s not just me, there’s a bunch of us who are doggedly trying to run these monsters to ground. I don’t know how we’re going to stop them without a village of people going after them, especially when they’ve co-opted all three branches of the government.
Here’s our money quote: Ms. Nilsson, reached at Sunnyside Elementary School in Durango, Colo., said she had heard from dozens of librarians who agreed with her stance. “I don’t want to start an issue about censorship,” she said. “But you won’t find men’s genitalia in quality literature.”
Sparkles the Iguana @ 101
she obviously never read playboy.
good night mrs. kallabash!
TRex @ 98
33 years ago I bought a fishing skiff in Cordova by bailing it out of “skiff prison,” a place the harbormaster kept little hulks for moorage non-payment. Afterward, I found an ex-owner of the skiff and asked him if it had a name.
“It’s called the ‘Scrotum,’” he told me. Not a lucky boat, that one…
ccmask @
64
You people are too much fun! I’m a clean freak, but I only throw the covers up on my bed unless I am having company.
Talk about being in a Sunday night “mood” TRex… Nicole Belle ran with my mood tonight over at C&L. Check it tonights Late Nite Music Thread.
So I posted an update over at my site.
Sunday….. If I am traveling out for the week then it is wash and pack night, errands to make sure their is enough dog food etc.
If I am not traveling….. do my 15 minutes clean up in every room, garbage out to the curb as Monday is garbage day. Do all the pool stuff to make sure that is ok.
Love to head out really early and hike while the sun is coming up and in a few months before it gets too hot.
Hot News in Phoenix:
1. so called Senator Kyl swears that he has seen those Iranian weapons
2. Some white supremacy group was flyering neighborhoods with hate… “Love your race” with pictures of pretty blond women.
3. Madame Speaker will be at ASU tomorrow at 2 pm.
Most excellent, Nate. Both your post and your guest blogging at C&L. yeah!
Thanks Suzanne. It was fun and done on relatively short notice.
Nice Sunday night – sitting on the front porch with husband and 2 littlest kids (biguns are out camping) in a light drizzle around a fire-pit having hot dogs and s’mores. Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!
All the little goose-steppers are going “Toensig-Heil” tonight!
Let’s hope that none of the jurors used her article to pick up their dog-crap from their pooches morning BM!
Sunday night? For the last
27multitude of years it’s been “Coffee Night”. Go out to a nearly empty bar with some friends, drink the coffee left over from dinner, along with some adult libations, drive home on the deserted roads. We met The Trybe’s drummer on Coffee Night – he’s the bartender at one of the few places that bother to stay open past 9PM. He knows how to serve up a late night cuppa.RE: The latest WaPo water-carrying op-ed. Judge Walton was more than a little unamused when Joe Wilson’s lawyer made ONE COMMENT about this case on TV: http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/ms….._Order.pdf
I wonder what he’ll think of this latest op-ed.
Frank, I think Court will be very interesting Tuesday morning.
Suzanne @ 114
I certainly hope so. :)
OK, One more plug for comments on Teddy San Fran’s important post at Give ‘EM Hell Harry…..
Sunday nights are left free for vegging. Suck up some caffine with the morning paper, a couple hours of housework and then fixing sunday dinner. After doing the dishes, it is early afternoon and the rest of the time is spent on not much at all. I do love sunday dinner. I make the sort of things that the rest of the week really doesn’t leave time for. I came across an absolutely idiot proof bread recipe, so recently its been soups, stews and chowders. Anything that goes well with bread hot from the oven. Followed by a carbohydrate coma.
how idiot proof is that bread recipe?
Suzanne @ 118
Very. Its an odd one too. An 18 hour rise time, no keading and it bakes in a dutch oven inside the oven. You want?
yes, please, thank you very much, helpless dancer
Suzzane – I have been meaning to add homemade bread to my life again. It makes so much difference and grocery store bread around here is just awful and the bakery is expensive.
Reminds me of a story on bread by Henry Miller but I can’t find it at the moment.
The life of a disabled person on Sunday is no different than it is any other day of the week. The only way I used to break up the monotony of the week was by cooking a big, decent meal on Sunday with my mother. We would gather our favorite indulgent ingredients after spending an hour or two perusing recipes online, then go to the Kroger and/or the farmer’s market if it was open and in season and spend the rest of the afternoon whipping up elaborate and sumptious meals from exotic locales we new we’d never visit but could always imagine sitting at a cafe in whatever city whose cuisine we were sampling.
Tonight I microwaved some dirty rice and a pair of grilled fish fillets with Italian Herb sauce. It doesn’t make sense to cook elaborately for one person these days. Afterwards I went back to work on the websites I maintain for several clients and now I’m taking my late night break to hang out here before I finish my work and go to bed. Sigh. I miss my mother.
fini, i’m solo here too but still made a smothered chicken with homemade mashed pototoes with gravy (from the chicken) alongside corn with butter. gonna have lots of days worth of leftovers (especially the chicken).
it is my way to treat myself after a rough week, because i am worth it.
dmg @
70
$75?? For 2 hours of work?
Health care techs, take notice. Housework pays, hospital work doesn’t!
ES, so many of my cookbooks are packed away and at my daughter’s place. I’m jonesin’ for good baking recipes using simple ingredients.
As an older person with some disability, a few years ago I discovered Home Delivered Groceries from a really good source. So Sunday Nights, I sit down and plan meals for the week — precisely what do I want to cook in the next week? I spend an hour or so with my receipe books, with the Food Lover’s Companion, and then I log in and shop for what I need. And at 5 or so on Monday, the guy appears at my door with what I’ve ordered. I’ve gotten the matter of ordering down to less than half an hour.
There are a few things the service does not carry which means that once in a while I have to work out the logistics and get to the supermarket. I happen to like Lamb Shanks cooked with dried White Beans in a wine and herb sauce — service does not do Lamb Shanks. It also does not do cheap veal shoulder pieces which I like to do in wine and with tomato. It also does not carry lemon and pepper pasta, which is great with many dishes. And I like one pod of cardamom ground in with my French Roast Coffee — they don’t carry cardamom whole pods. So once in a while I do have to get these things — (plus dried woodland mushrooms) — but in the meantime, Grocery Shopping is a Sunday Night look through a life’s accomulation of recipe books, and a few decisions about what would taste great next week.
The service is run by a really reactionary Republican who once tried to run for Governor, but sadly I’ve put eating well and enjoying it, ahead of party. It would be nice if a Progressive would invent a service like this.
Suzanne @ 123
I have a thing against leftovers from having to eat so many of them growing up broke. I resolved when I started living on my own that I would limit the leftovers by only cooking enough for myself, which helps save on grocery bills by not overbuying ingredients.
I was so happy when I came across this recipe. All my previous attempts at a french syle loaf turned out somewhat leaden.
It produces a round rustic syle loaf with a crunchy, chewy crust and a light and fluffy interior. A couple of observations though. Ignore what it say about seam side up or seam side down. The dough is loose to the point where the seam just dissappears. Kinda the same thing for quickly forming it into a ball. The idea is to just get your hands under it in order to move it to the towel. Apart from that, just follow the instuctions. I’ve made it at least twenty times and never a failure.
edited to correct some character that didn’t like the cut and paste.
Fini – I love spending time with close friends in the kitchen. I just cannot bring my single self to consider a microwave, they still freak me out.. Now meet me at Suzzanes for left overs, i’ll do the dishes.
Sara – I like your taste.
OOOOOOH! I think that Toensig, as an interested party, and a member of the DC Bar could be in BIG DOO-DOO!
Judge Walton has already given notice about such activities…and attempts to taint the jury at the very point the trial is ending and closing arguments and deliberations are imminent.
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/ms….._Order.pdf
“As the Rules of this Court make clear:[i]t is the duty of the lawyer or law firm not to release or authorize the release of information or opinion which a reasonable person would expect to be disseminated by means of public communication, in connection with pending or imminent criminal litigation with which the lawyer or the law firm is associated, if there is a reasonable likelihood that such dissemination will interfere with a fair trial or otherwise prejudice the due administration of justice. LCrR 57.7(b)(1).
This Court expects that movants and their counsel in any collateral matters, including counsel for Ambassador Wilson, will demonstrate the same restraint as Mr. Libby and counsel for the parties have exercised to date. If this does not occur, this Court will not hesitate to take the necessary action to insure that the ability of the parties to obtain a fair trial is not impaired. See LCrR 57.7(c).”
helpless, the fractions did not translate well – could you edit what the yeast and amounts please?
Suzanne @ 131
Already done.
BTW Thanks to Frank Probst for pointing out the above!
Eureka Springs, AR @ 129
Unfortunately I am currently limited to microwaving everything that I can’t cook in the rice cooker/steamer. When I moved in here the landlord made it clear that appliances are my responsibility. The previous tenant had left behind a refrigerator and a “stove” that is to cooking what the Cheney Administration is to Katrina Recovery. It has one burner and the broiler works but the oven element is broken and the other 3 burners don’t work.
I’ll bring the wine, but someone has to pick me up, I don’t have a license and you don’t want me on the road even if I had one.
thanks, helpless dancer…. looking forward to trying this one out
Young it was Eliot Mintz, incense and candles. Now it’s trying to remember what that felt like.
I didn’t catch the yield at the the bottom of the recipe. It should say 1 1/2 lb. loaf.
Fini – It’s a deal..)
Suzzane – I actually have a cast iron dutch oven. Think I will try that recipe. You know homemade bread makes the best french toast.
Helpless Dancer – Do you have a favorite brand of flour for that recipe?
Helpless Dancer @
128
Thanks for the recipe – my family may have a collective heart attack if I actually bake bread for them! (I’m a lame cook, but this looks doable!)
Suzanne @ 135
Your welcome. It’s a wonderful recipe and if you don’t look out, you’ll end up getting fat like me.
Eureka Springs, AR @ 139
I just use ordinary general purpose flour.
es I’m wondering how it will turn out in my old yellow enamel pot. home made bread makes the best bread pudding in addition to french toast.
Eureka Springs, AR @ 138
Deal.
By the way, if its available, King’s Hawaiian bread is the best french toast ever IMHO.
Christy posted a wonderful bread pudding recipe quite a while back. It made buying bread at the bakery worthwhile for a time.
Fini – I haven’t had Kings in years….yum!
alicia – it is the fastest way to impress anyone when ya bake bread. my fav easy bread recipe (packed away alas) is a simple amish one that has i think only 4 ingredients and produces a wonderful bread.
Suzanne @ 143
It should turn out fine. I found the recipe in the food and wine section of my local paper. From the article that accompanied it, the idea is to use a dough with a lot of water in it and the pot or dutch oven is to keep the moisture confined.
here is my bread pudding recipe
yummy
It’s great when other people are around. Maybe I am being obnoxiously invasive, but it sure is fun to try to make jokes they like, or add details that show our commonality.
Eureka Springs — you can see that no-knead bread in various stages at Real Baking web site. I think I’m going to try it, too, although I have a bread machine that I use to do all my kneading for homemade bread. The hole structure looks awesome on that no-knead bread, haven’t gotten that kind of texture in breads I make with a sour dough or biga.
Okay, off to bed here. Stayed up way too late once again.
I’m out as well, gnight firepups.
Suzzane – That looks great. I like to put in yellow raisins when I have them or a mixture. There must be a million variations of bread pudding recipes.
g’nite, rayne and fini.
es, i’ve done that recipe all kinda ways, without raisins, with chocolate swirls. very versatile recipe. it is from that same amish cookbook that is packed up for the eventual move.
jacqrat – Are you trying to put some nutmeg in our pudding? *s*
niters Rayne and Fini.
es, the photographer came yesterday and took the listing photos for the sale of the little cottage by the creek in the redwoods. fingers and toes crossed for a quick sale
Oh geez, I read jersey joe as jacqrat…
almost time for me to count threads.
Suzzane – I hope its a sppedy sale and you find the perfect woods in Oregon. Are you doing any shopping in anticipation of the sale?
es, until it sells, i’m still squeezing every penny and looking for change.
after it sells is a whole nuther story.
newspaperbrat @ 84
oops – stepped away for a long moment…
yes, I caught that about a potential CA tour – that would be great.
buona notte
Eureka Springs, AR @
116
Hey late nighters – TeddySF’s post deserves a whole lot more comments than the two that followed by me and Eureka Springs – so at least please follow Eureka’s Give Em Hell Harry link and read Teddy’s post and consider adding your support in the comments and email around to your fellow Democrats. Its our party and our job to call out our leadership when they do something so stupid. I don’t know if Reid is dumb as a door and doesn’t realize how offensive this FOX plan is to those of us in the party grass/netroots – or if he is an old fox deliberately putting Obama on the spot. I just know it is a rotten idea and frankly I’m surprised the announced candidates aren’t riled up too.
Calling Doctor Howard Dean – cleanup needed at good ole Give ‘Em Hell Harry blog! ;~)
Eureka Springs, AR @ 154
what?
How did you know I was reading? I wasn’t saying anything.
Mucho comprende’. I am in the slow time of year as well. Just three more years on my mortgage and I will be freeee, I hope..)
Anyway if I wasn’t happy here I would be jealous over your choices in where you live.
We are fortunate and quite wealthy in our penny pinching.
Well I am signing off for now. Bake bread before potential buyers stop by, they say that smell helps a lot!
niters ((Suzzane))
jacqrat, es was getting tired, he later said:
Oh geez, I read jersey joe as jacqrat…
almost time for me to count threads
I’m headed over to Teddy’s to add my two cents.
Eureka Springs, AR @ 161
wait! don’t go until you explain your last comment to me, please. I’m screwed up enough without having that to ponder all night..
jacqrat – It was my subliminal detection system..)
I detect a spiderpaws too.
nite all and listen to newspaperbrat!
Suzanne @ 162
oh! well, damn. you’d have thought I was high by the way it freaked me out that he knew I was reading but being quiet tonight! 707Eureka Springs, AR @ 164
I hope so. I MISS Spiderpaws. She makes me feel safe. and I’d go over to TSF’s and comment but after what you all wrote i’d sound like a goof. or high. which I am NOT, sadly.
well jacqrat….baked Alaska did enter my mind..)
caio
niters, es. sorry you got spooked, jacqrat.
hey teddy, if you are around, give em hell harry won’t let me log in.
Eureka Springs, AR @ 166
I LOVED that comment~! HUGS and sleep well.
Hey, the new A’s skipper reminds me of John Tester.
Hey, Jersey Joe – I see you are from Jersey! “What Exit??!?”
yeah, thats the ticket, and also listen to eureka springs, jaqrat and most of all Teddy and hit his great link and let Harry know what you really think about kicking off our party’s late summer presidential campaign on FOX. ;~)
Yikes, it is so late it’s President’s Day already – past time for this old brat to head off to dreamland.
G’nite guys ‘n gals.
katymine @ 107
You could shove them up Kyl’s ass and he’d think they were rectal thermometers if George Bush told `im that’s what they were.
that’s it for me tonight, folks. g’nite
I know this is simple, but it just might stick, “Been-a-Dicked” Cheney.
BENEDICT Cheney!! The shoe fits, he needs to wear it.
I will try the Dutch Oven Bread in the next days, sounds interesting.
Tomorrow I make my annual Cherry Pie. I make four pies per year — this one, a blueberry in the summertime, an apple in September, and Pumpkin in November. Love pie, but it fattens.
(oh yes — sometimes I do a summertime peach)
Microwaving — don’t be stupid. It will not hurt you. It is just an added way to treat food beyond the burner or the grill or the oven. It saves a whole lot of energy properly used if you are cooling your house in the summer. If you are cooking for one, it is a godsend. You can cook for four, freeze much of it, and come back a couple months later and defrost and re-heat. Try making Lasagne with both Italian Sausage and ground round for one with all the cheeses — nope, you have to do a whole pan of it. But, it freezes nicely, and micro’s very well as a defrost and re-heat.
One reason I love microwave ovens is because back in the late 1970’s, I taught my Dad who had just been widowed, to cook all sorts of stuff in the micro. He had never cooked a meal in his life. He was lost in his own fancy kitchen. So I installed a micro when he was still in the hospital, (Heart Attack) and when he came to visit, I educated. No big book — just demonstrated one dish at a time. It worked — kept him on his diet but he got interested in learning to cook at the age of 74. He even read the cookbook that came with the Micro. It was the difference between a nursing home, and staying at home. Keep the Elderly out of Nursing Homes — teach Microwave cooking. It isn’t the best way to cook everything, but I recommend it as the alternative to institutional care. I just had to let go of my old one, built into my old stove that needed replacement, after 29 years, but I have a new one that I am only beginning to fully appreciate, and I swear it might launch a missile if I am not super careful.
Good morning, pups. I’m with Sara on the new nukes. Mine has bells and whistles I’ll NEVER need to mess with.
Today in the NYT it’s Bob Herbert, saying we need to take back the country, and Paul Krugman saying that admitting you’ve been wrong is a good thing. (Plus he takes a few swipes at McCain and Guiliani.)
http://mgpaquin.blogspot.com/
Coffee and tea are ready, and pecan coffee cake. Do you lucky people have Presidents Day off? (Someone earlier reminded us of the image of President Bush rushing down the White House stairs in his footie pajamas, all excited to find out what he got for Presidents Day…)
Marion in Savannah @
176
Hi Marion,
Thanks for the peek at today’s Krugman — brilliant as always.
My pleasure, wigwam. I drag them kicking and screaming out from behind their firewall daily. (Even Babbling Brooks…)
Marion in Savannah @
178
I read Krugman at TruthOut from time to time, but seeing him in real time is much better. Thanks again.
Good Morning, Firepups,
Still clear and cold here in central Jersey, only 13 degrees, with a forecast high today of 27. Heading off to NYC with my sibling unit to go see several exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
When Mr. NJP and I were still dating [more than a couple of decades ago], we’d spend most of the weekend together, usually at my place. Late Sunday afternoon, he’d head back to his apartment, and I would take a long tranquil bath [my apartment didn’t have a shower]. Then I’d fix myself a simple early supper, prep food for lunches during the week like cutting up veggies and portioning out soup, and finally tidy up the apartment. I lived in a town where I could just walk to a grocery store, so I’d do my shopping after work on a weekday evening. And on Tuesday evenings, I’d go to Mom and Dad’s house [one town away], to do my laundry, and watch a little television. I was making next to nothing, and I hated laundromats.
Marion, thanks for the pecan coffee cake. May I please have a second slice to bring to my sister when we meet up on NJ Transit [the joys of being on the Northeast Corridor line]?
Stay warm.
Mornin’ all!
Hi, twolf, Ms. Marion, njp (say hello to the MMA for me) & wigwam -
What an extra nice late nite thread !
New thread
When I was a girl, way back when, Sunday night meant the Ed Sullivan Show.
The February issue of PC World recommends an “old fashioned To-Do-List”
http:/www.rememberthemilk.com”
RememberTheMilk which “reinvents the to-do-list in a snazzy interface that lets you make lists in configurable categories” such as Ironing, Bills, Cat Box, whatever. “It’s a tremendously well-rounded free product, with neither more nor less than you need to get and stay organized”. You could set up a schedule to go shopping during the day every Sunday and have RememberTheMilk remind you at the website, as well as via any other media be it email or cell phone etc etc etc. I started using it today and highly recommend it. Try it. I think you will like it.
Love this post.Esp. since you use fountain pens. Sunday night is when I sometimes do laundry (if the only washer/druer is free!), read a pile of papers worth sinking my teeth into and sometimes watch “Extreme Home Makeover” on TV. That show is incredible-and they build th e houise in ONE WEEK!
Keep up the great blog.
Sunday night I let out my pent-up breath from friday’s reoccuring nightmare. My long distance lover and I looked forward to free phone time starting each friday evening ending for us on sunday night. The last time we spoke was on a friday… then she was dead the next day. Friday, Saturday… all day Sunday haunt me with the woulda, coulda, shoulda thoughts only death and love brings
Last night was a Sunday night before a Monday holiday. I stayed up late, watched a movie, and played with my cats.
During football season, I watch football. After football season, I look for substitutes but don’t often find any thing and mourn the loss of football until it starts again. Last night’s NBA game was pretty much a blow out by the west. Boring by the second quarter. So, I went to watching movies.