Sunday Stealing--The Household Meme

Play here.

This is a rather odd set of questions, stolen from MimiWrites

(Thanks for the suggestion from The Gal Herself)

 1. How many gravy boats do you have in your kitchen?  Just the one.  White.  Like all our other dishes.  I love the look of food against a pure white, plain jane dish.  We get ours at Cost Plus World Market and Target. 

2. Do the clothes in your laundry basket need ironing?  Bahahahaha.  I own an iron, but can’t recall the last time I personally used it.  Hubs send his pants to the cleaners.  I should just donate or curb alert the darn thing, and the board too!

3. What is the last thing you wallpapered?  I have never wallpapered, and never shall. 

4.  Wooden floors or carpet?   Ugly ass carpet.  Our house was a rental for its entire life, until we rented, and then bought it.  It is the original berber carpet, and I am happy to say, that shit is coming out in the next few months to be replaced by lovely, easy to clean TILE. 

5.  Why do we put out guest towels if no one is supposed to use them?  I have never owned a guest towel.  My gram did, and I never got it.  What the hell are you supposed to dry your hands on—those things had lace and embroidery and stuff…

6.  If your spatula could talk, what would it say about your duvet?   What duvet?  This is the best question ever in any meme, swear!

7.  Have you replaced the batteries in your smoke alarms this year?  We replaced all the smoke alarms.  They have about a 10 year life, so sayeth our handyman guy (something about the isotope that detects smoke or some such).  Ours were going off randomly and since they are all hooked together, that was no Bueno.  Screeching fire alarms at 1 am, OMG!!!!!  Anyhow, we replaced them all, and it’s just LOVELY to not be constantly wondering if the fire alarm is going to freak you out at any given moment.  It was a bit terrifying though, since we have vaulted ceilings in most of the house and hubs was at the tippy top of a 15' ladder with a drill and... well he had to rest and let his heart rate come down after that, lol.

8. If you could put thyme in a bottle, what is the first thing that you'd like to do?  Pour some very good, very old aged white wine vinegar over it and use it for cooking.  If I didn't have thyme or vinegar though, I'd get some of this amazing ramp vinegar from Lindera Farms.  Daniel Liberson makes the best small batch vinegars and finishing salts....seriously, check out his page...

9. Do eggs really crack or do they merely have a nervous breakdown?  I’m voting for crack.  If they had a nervous breakdown, they’d dissolve into a puddle of egg goo.

10. Why are you whipping the butter? What did it ever do to you?  I don’t get whipped butter.  What’s wrong with a perfectly good stick?

11. Do your spoons spoon in the drawer? Have you ever noticed? And more importantly, if wooden spoons spoon do they get splinters?   I.just.can’t.

12. You hear: "Dumpling, my Dumpling, come hither." The candles are lit, the fondue is dipping, the Godiva is pouring, the scallions are steaming and the music is playing.....but wait, the windows are open.  Why did you close them?  The wind in New Mexico would blow out the candles, spray fondue all over the room, cause the Godiva (ewww) to turn to a Hershey bar, and make the scallions cold.  Besides all the dust and sand that would blow in.  Better to close them.

13.  Do you need a recipe to cook or are you a bohemian chef?  Always a recipe.  I’m a perfectionist with an OCD streak that keeps me terrified that I will make a mistake.  Better to just use a recipe.

14. Is your pot black?  Not a one.

15. What is the sexiest spice or condiment in your cabinet?  What makes it so?  Urfa Biber.  Just the sound of it.

Saturday 9: The Rain, The Park, and Other Things

Saturday 9: The Rain, The Park, and Other Things (1967)

1) The Cowsills were a family band who had three hit singles. Can you name another group of popular singing siblings?

Gladys Knight and the Pips.  Gladys, her brother and sister, and two cousins.  This is one of my favorite songs of all time (and this is a great version):

2) This was their first hit, and it reached #2 on the Billboard charts. It was kept out of the #1 slot by the Monkees and "Daydream Believer." What's your favorite Monkees song?

Not a big Monkees fan, but I like Daydream Believer well enough.

3) After seeing the Cowsill brothers perform with their mother and sister, TV producers were inspired to create the sitcom, The Partridge Family. Did you ever watch it?

Never missed it when I was a kid.  Who didn’t love David Cassidy?

4) In the song, the narrator takes a flower from a girl in the park. Are there flowers in your home right now?

Fake orchids.  I can’t grow a thing.

5) He isn't sure if the girl was real, or if he dreamed her. Tell us about a recent dream you had.

I rarely remember my dreams, and when I do, it’s because it was a nightmare, so I’ll pass.

6) At the height of the Cowsills' popularity, they were hired by the American Dairy Association to promote drinking milk. If we were to peek into your refrigerator right now, would we find any milk?

Nope.  Lactose intolerant.  Although, I do keep a little half and half around for my coffee.

7) After the band stopped performing together, John Cowsill went on to become a back up musician for the Beach Boys. His job has kept him on the road much of the time. When you travel, do you enjoy staying in hotels, or would you rather stay with friends/family?

It depends on the visit.  For any reason other than going to my Mom’s house, I’d rather stay in a hotel.  I love destination-type 5 star hotels, and will literally save for years to go on a vacation and stay at one.  My favorite is El Convento in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.  I saved like a fiend for over 5 years to stay here for a week for our 10^th anniversary, and it was mad worth it.  Here are some pictures of the hotel from our trip.

Inner Courtyard--the Nispero tree in the right side of the picture is hundreds of years old.

Looking out into the courtyard from our "hall"

Patios all around the upper stories--this was a favorite for lunch

Overlooking the Cathedral, my spot for morning coffee

Looking towards the bay

One half of our enormous room

8)  In 1967, the year this song was popular, Elvis married Priscilla in Las Vegas. Have you attended any weddings yet this year? Are there any weddings in your future?

Nope.  And Nope.  I have a limited circle of friends, and they are all married.

9) Random question: Are the bottoms of your feet ticklish?

Not particularly.