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December 27, 2005

We made it back to Woodland without encountering any major tragedies, unless you consider incivility a tragedy.

The cats survived the week alone, though they aren't quite sure what to make of us now that we've returned to their den. I think we smell of foreign cats. Chubby Mister looks svelte compared to the critters that reside in my parents' home. Jazzy pretended to be ferile for about five minutes, but now she's back to normal.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 01:01 AM | Comments (0)

December 24, 2005

Merry Christmas

Lana got promoted. Ross is dallying in the illicit. Emily is getting married. Susan's company is merging. Laura's almost an official librarian. Morgan is moving. Several people are suddenly unemployed. Several others are suddenly working. My doctor friend is preparing to specialize -- and she's a doctor, this woman I've known since we were both 14. A number of people are enrolled in school, in the midst of becoming different versions of themselves or official versions of the selves they've always been.

I'm feeling old. Not creaky bones old. Pays-the-bills and worries-about-money and watches-her-friends-advance-in-their-careers old.

Both of these things are true: I'm not the same person who could fly in and fly out and catch up with friends and miss out on sleep and slip back into the same old role as comfortably as ever; I'm the same person I've always been.

The New Year is approaching. I'm dreaming about 2006, 2007, 2008. I'm remembering 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002. So much experienced. So much yet to live. The future is writhing with potential.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 07:39 PM | Comments (0)

December 19, 2005

Christmas, part one: white

Last night we drove to Tigard for Christmas, part one. Ben and I exchanged gifts with Sue, John and Amy. We ate a lovely dinner and a sumptous dessert. We watched some Buffy. And best of all, it snowed.

We don't get a lot of snow out here in the Pacific Northwest. It seems to fall about an inch at a time, once every two years. As a result I get very excited because I love snow

At work today, the recent Montana transplants (one originally from Alaska) were mocking the locals for their reactions to the snow. But the Montanans didn't seem to grasp how ill-equipped this region is. It's illegal to use salt on the roads here. Almost none of the jurisdictions own snow plows. None of the drivers out and about has any experience on snow and ice. The departments of transportation wind up telling everyone to stay home or use chains, which seems absurd for such a small amount of precipitation.

Tomorrow morning, Ben and I leave for Virginia and Christmas, part two. It doesn't seem as likely that we'll see snow. We return to the Northwest on Dec. 26.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 08:59 PM | Comments (0)

December 15, 2005

I have a job that I love. A man that I love. A couple of friends at work, and a lot of friends all over the country. I read great books and great articles. I'm learning and growing every day. And I can make myself oatmeal cookie dough for dinner anytime I want, and nobody can stop me.

I love adulthood.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 07:24 PM | Comments (0)

December 13, 2005

Cooking with the wrong side of my brain

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 09:05 AM | Comments (11)

December 11, 2005

monsters!

I've been baking a lot of bread lately. Tonight I'm making "monster bread" -- the sourdough recipe from "Whole Foods for the Whole Family." When my mom used to make it when I was little I called it monster bread because of the bubbling sourdough starter.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:05 PM | Comments (1)

December 09, 2005

media consumption

Ben and I have been watching Lost on DVD. It's a bit melodramatic, with silly orchestration. It's also insanely addictive. It kind of reminds me of Twin Peaks.

I finished "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" this week. Then I came across this online seminar on the book. Apparently Neil Gaiman called the book "unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last seventy years." (Emphasis on English, as in "British," I think.)

It was definitely a fun and clever book, easy to read and occasionally incisive. Author Susanna Clarke didn't do anything new or beautiful with the language, however. She wove her threads together well and tied everything up neatly at the end, but she would have much improved her book by trimming 200 or so extraneous pages. Not every clever thought an author has should necessarily survive into the final draft of a book.

Now I've got a few back issues of the Wall Street Journal to catch up on before I start "Middlesex."

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 09:53 PM | Comments (3)

December 06, 2005

I am reading "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell." I am at page 576. For about a hundred somewhat-slow pages I was wondering if I should keep reading, but then the plot got interesting again.

I've just had a moment of revelation about author Susanna Clark's ironic British examination of class and identity. I love books.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 07:41 PM | Comments (1)

December 03, 2005

uber-geeky

You may or may not want to read a long, nerdy entry about comparing prices at the grocery store, and how to get the best deal.

A few days ago, when Ben & I were low on food, I made up a not-comprehensive list of some of the items we buy frequently.

In spare moments, I went to the five grocery stores closest to my home and to my office, as well as to two big box department stores near where I work. I jotted down pricing information for each item I could find at each store, though not every store carried every item.

I entered the prices into a spreadsheet and identified the best price, median price, and mean price for each item. Then I set up a list of cheapskate buying guidelines.

My goals are to stock up on things when they're at their cheapest, and never to pay more than average (the lesser of the mean and the median price).

If you'd like, you can check out my Excel spreadsheet, where all this nerdy calculating took place.

Hopefully this list will help me become a more efficient shopper, though I'm not going to count on my produce price points holding steady through the year. Maybe I'll come up with an addendum list of other frequently purchased items and expand my survey next time I feel like geeking out again.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 09:28 PM | Comments (5)

I helped a friend from work move across town today. We were joined by two men who took pride in their physical prowess. They did all the heavy lifting. For much of the day I had dog duty, which consisted of soothing my friend's three dogs. The dogs were alarmed by the moving activity.

I made a sourdough starter recently, and I'm supposed to feed it every week. I forgot to feed it last weekend. I need to feed it tonight. Here's hoping it's still good.

Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 06:42 PM | Comments (4)