elainegrey: Inspired by Grypping/gripping beast styles from Nordic cultures (Default)
Tuesday, June 5th, 2018 11:30 am
Yesterday i drank most of my water with a dash of slightly sweetened oregano vinegar. (I haven't added enough sugar to really think of it as a shrub). It's a bit like adding lemon juice in the level of tartness. The oregano comes through lightly. I didn't add so much sugar to the vinegar because i think it might be good in a sauce or dressing.

Last night we bought insulated grocery bags and packed our cold things in those and ate out after our grocery shopping. We went to a beer and burger place that has several vegetarian burger types (one quinoa, one black bean) as well as fish and crab burgers. We both had decadent cheese dishes. We've started eating at the bar there, and so i order a beer. I ordered "Sweetwater Tropical Lover," a Berliner Weisse style beer (says the menu).

I enjoyed the tangy taste but there was something familiar.... and then i realized that the vinegar flavoring in my water all day was what resonated.

When we got home, i took Carrie on a short walk down the grave road opposite our home. At the end, Carrie was greeted by dogs T-- and C--- with the usual raucous barking. Sa-- stopped mowing and came over to let me know that their neighbor is "freaked out" by the barking, and could we not bring Carrie all the way down the road. I will certainly comply, as it is their road, but i am a little taken aback. Does this mean we can contact all our neighbors with guns and let them know that shooting distresses us? I actually looked up the noise ordinance once, i think i concluded it was unlikely Carrie's barking would break the ordinance.
elainegrey: Inspired by Grypping/gripping beast styles from Nordic cultures (Default)
Tuesday, July 23rd, 2013 07:32 am
I'm not sleeping well. It's an odd sort of not sleeping well: it's very unusual for me to have such a hard time waking. I know there were night sweats but...

Ah well.

My nephews stopped by Sunday afternoon and we showed them our seltzer bottle, and the eldest, Z, helped inject the CO2 into the bottle. Very good drama for kids! We're enjoying the seltzer and i'm kicking myself for buying the syrups instead of the bitters: the flavor is more dilute and the sugar isn't necessary. But it was good for the kids: blue curaƧao flavored syrup is fun for kids.

I'm not sure if my taste buds are off due to a low grade case of rhinitis. The new Keemun has the smoky note, i guess, but not the other notes i favor. It doesn't have the edge, though, so that helps.

While i'm grumbling about my health, i should note that i do think i'm finally coming off the flare from this spring. The coughing from the asthma subsided months ago, but my skin still seemed very reactive. I haven't had new locations for skin issues for a while now. None of the locations were very extensive, but there were so many of them. My hands are well on the way to healing, my cheeks have been clear except for the one point i worried at so much. So i acknowledge that there is an improvement again.

--==∞==--

In the dresses off of eBay saga, i'd become frustrated at getting summery colors, so i'd gone over my budget a bit on the last two purchases (still far less than the clearance prices at Travelsmith).

The last one is a bright pink -- Code Pink pink -- and has a sheen to it that screams (to me) PLASTIC. Part of the issue is it is very similar in feel and fit to my swimsuit top. I am getting up the nerve to wear it to work despite feeling cheap. Not cheap like sexually promiscuous but cheap like lacking in quality. On the other hand, other than the sheen of the dress (and the BRIGHT, the BRIGHT) it's REALLY comfortable and well made. It's actually completely lined with a more form fitting slip, so the fabric doesn't cling or bunch around all my lumps. The dress is fairly form fitting too, but fits well, so i'm curvy not paunchy.

This switch to dresses has been a switch to clothes that fit me well in a flattering way, but have also been far more bold in displaying myself as a curvy (large) being. This pink dress isn't easy to ignore.
elainegrey: Inspired by Grypping/gripping beast styles from Nordic cultures (Default)
Friday, August 28th, 2009 11:52 am
It's been some intense days as i worked on getting Product tested. Yesterday in the evening, i was done with the critical testing, and Christine and i went out to eat. We ended up first stopping for a perusal of the Asian grocery store downtown with an eye to rice noodles and rice crackers, then went to Sakoon Restaurant, an upscale modern Indian place. The decor is very entertaining by itself, with lots of glass mosaics glittering on the walls, modern furniture and giraffe furniture. They were busy, but offered to seat us upstairs in the Lounge. It was an interesting place to sit, with the ESPN plasma screen across from us seeming incredibly out of place. That, too, was entertaining, as we watched ECU lose a football game and then "American Gladiators." We definitely indulged (see below), and i relaxed. And i had a wine flight, because Christine wanted to try the claret, and it seemed like a wonderful indulgence.
Menu )

Home to bed. Up early this morning. With a hint of, i dunno, hangover? Six oz of wine? Or is it the spicy food? This morning i didn't know, but i still feel unpleasant.

Of course it doesn't help that Product has a horrible bug we discovered just in time and i've gone on a limb to commit we can test it and build it in time for a Monday -- any time still in "August" -- release.

And it's hot.


So here's Edward with a tube through his head.

Edward prepares to connect to the intertubes
elainegrey: Inspired by Grypping/gripping beast styles from Nordic cultures (Default)
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009 11:00 am
Tea review, part one: Boh tea from the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia.

My sister-in-law, who is Malaysian-Canadian, brought this tea as gifts for her & my brother's family's summer US visit. I was fortunate to be at her parents' home when she handed me the tea, and so witnessed the jealous interest of her parents. They didn't quite come out and say, "Where's ours!?" but the wish for the tea was clear. Fortunately, she had tea for them and their friends as well.

I made the tea as my second pot today, knowing i needed to find out if it would be suitable for my first pot when the current Organic China Keemun runs out. One criteria for my morning pot is a difference i find between China teas and Indian teas: i think it is an astringency. Apparently, per wikipedia, the Indian tea plants are a distinct botanically from the Chinese tea plant, which may account for the difference in the teas.

My guess would be that the Malaysian tea plantations were planted with the Assam variety of C. sinensis, so i suspected that the Boh tea would be too astringent for my morning pot (on a fairly empty stomach with no milk). Unintentionally, i have committed the perfect test: i let the tea steep for hours. This is a usual mistake for me, particularly with the first pot of the day, and surviving this mistake is a prized feature for me. The Keemuns survive it -- and so did the Boh tea. It's actually been just fine over steeped. I won't describe it based on this tasting, but i look forward to my next pot of it.