Halloween menu planning

 Did you know that grocery stores don't carry spiral-cut hams as a matter of course? I mean, I knew they were special occasion foods, but I figured people bought them for parties any old time. I'm disappointed, I wanted to have one for Halloween this year, but I was told that they are usually only available on pre-order for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Bah, I love ham, and it would have saved me a lot of work. I could get one at a specialty store like Honey-Baked Ham, but I'm not sure the convenience would outweigh the expense. The alternative is to roast a pork loin, which wouldn't be as expensive, but probably a lot more work. I do have a good one with apples and mirepoix, so that's an option.

Everything else will be vegetarian and kosher-dairy. Other items on my list at the moment are cornbread, gingerbread, and pear and parsnip puree. Wow, this is going to be one starchy spread. But I guess fall foods tend that way. I also want to do something with squash. I'm considering my favorite butternut squash soup, to give a substantial alternative to the pork, though soup may a bit awkward to serve. Ah, well, I may just do it anyway. The puree is a show-offy dish and always a favorite, though it is a wee bit labor intensive to make. I'd also like to do something with cranberries, besides the juice I'd like to serve out of Skully's head. (We're actually calling him Yorick now, on Charlotte's suggestion, which you may scoff at as uncreative, but we live at Elsinore, so there.) And besides cranberry juice, there will be apple cider and probably some Coke as well. Must remember to make sure I have enough paper flatware. This is going to require a lot of work, but fortunately there are several lovely people I plan on drafting into service as kitchen slaves. There will probably be lots of other random edibles, like Halloween candy and perhaps some snacky things like chips and pretzels, but those will be the real foods I'm planning on making.

Must look into that ham...

Stage kitten

So all the week I've been helping out backstage for the Wrathskeller, the Boston Babydolls Halloween production at the Cambridge YMCA. It's a really fun show, and I am happy that laurion* asked if I wanted to help with it. He's a very good stage manager, and a fun part of the show itself as well. I am being what is known as the stage kitten, the person who collects all the shed costume pieces between the acts. Though I am enjoying the experience, I have most definitely decided I like being onstage far more than I like teching. Stage crew specifically does not suit my skill set. As an actor, I have developed the tendency to focus strictly on bearing my part of the show, getting my cues right, minding my own timing, doing whatever little responsibilities have been closely assigned to me. If actors worry too much about whether or not other show things are being done, they get distracted and miss their cues, so they are encouraged to just trust the techies and the other actors and do their own parts. But as a techie you have to be aware of everything that's going on in order to time your stuff right, and to be able to provide the most support to everyone else. It's been a tough mentality shift. Also, being slightly nightblind, doing things in the dark isn't my strong suit, and hunting across the stage for lost pieces of clothing and then collecting them all as quickly as is necessary is not the easiest thing in the world for me. I am doing a passable but not great job of it. I probably would be doing better if I'd been able to be there for more rehearsals, but I imagine even with practice I can never be more than a strictly average stage tech.

But I got to wear a neat costume. I wore the neat bodice I found with the red corduroy side out over this gauzy black blouse I have that is a fantastic psuedo-period costume piece because it is ruffly, and a floppy enough fabric that I can get it to drape pretty much however I want, in this case off my shoulders. On the bottom I wore a full black skirt with flounces in it, graciously lent to me by blendedchaitea*. I was pleased because it suited the show's overall aesthetic, but wasn't so flashy that I drew unnecessary attention to myself. I ran into in_water_writ* and bleemoo* afterwards, and had a lovely time chatting with them for a bit. It was nice to see them, it felt like it had been a long time. Jenn was nice enough to snap a couple of pictures of me. Pardon the lousy lighting and low quality, it was just on my iPhone after all.

The show itself is really cool. It has this very 20's aesthetic to it, and tells a creepy story in a seedy cabaret setting with a great gothic atmosphere. The dancing is excellent, and the costumes are really fantastic to look at. And though I confess I personally don't find it all that hot (I've learned I find pasties and g-strings more absurd-looking than sexy, plus none of the ladies are my type) they are certainly experts at the art of burlesque. It's going on now through Halloween, so there's still time to check it out.

Simple hairstyling of which I am childishly proud

I like what I did with my hair this morning. It's nothing fancy, but it's more than I usually do and I am pleased with it. The old mane was an absolute horror when I woke up today, so there was nothing for it but to brush the hell out of it and confine it to a ponytail. My bangs were driving me nuts, so I wanted them out of the way. Normally I'm a wash-and-wear kind of girl and don't go in much for styling, but since today it looked painfully clear that the "wash" part of that equation wasn't really evident, I tried sweeping the bangs back, but not so far that they laid flat. Rather, they kind of puff up in front and give a little definition to the shape of my hair. This I affixed with a barrette and and a few spritzes of hair spray. Lo and behold, it has actually managed to hold its shape and I managed somewhat downplay the effects of my greasy Italian genetics. I wanted to show you what it looks like, but since in about eight thousand pictures I did not manage to take one that was either flattering or represents how I actually look with my hair this way, I will settle for an image that at least kind of shows what I did.

Bah. You can't really see the shape in front, which is the part I like about it, but none of the head-on shots really captured it either. At least I don't look like Grease Thing. Also, note my pretty new earrings, which consist of three pearls dangling on lines of silver, one white, one black, one pink. They were a gift from Jared's parents from their recent trip to Vietnam, and I like them very much. They didn't even know pearls are my favorite. :-) Cut out of the shot is the matching necklace, which I am also wearing today.

Intercon K plans

So the schedule has gone live, and with the first round signup fast approaching, me and my fellow larp addicts must decide what we are signing up for.

Now my last several cons have been packed to the gills. I've certainly enjoyed them, but so much non-stop activity really takes it out of me. Still, this time it's looking like I'm going to have four out of five slots filled. I wish I could go a little lighter, but I'll probably end up in too many games yet again.

Friday night I believe my preference is The Clockwork Cafe; it looks really cool. The Anthropophagy Society looks weird and creepy and clever, though. And I only just noticed the Expedition games, apparently authored by zapf*. Curious, I wonder what those will be like.

Saturday morning I'm leaning towards Snaf University. It's become a Brandeis classic by now and I've never played it. Andy Kirschbaum's Peter Pan-themed Never, Never Again (did he also write Wonderland 2.1? Apparently he wants to adapt all the same children's stories I do) sounds interesting, but still, I think I desire to play in Snaf most of all.

The Stand is slotted for Saturday afternoon, so that's where I'll be. At least I find GMing to be a lot less intense than playing. So it'll be a little bit of a break. Somebody should sign up for this, yo. It has cowboys.

Saturday night I'm not sure what I want. Resonance is no longer an option as I've just recently agreed to be a writer monkey for it. Better Off Dead: The Necropolis Senior Prom looks fun, but I'm unsure. I'm signed up for Haz's two other games, one at SLAW and the other just at Brandeis, and I wish I had time to play one of them before the signup to see if I like the style. I guess my first choice at the moment is Game of Thrones: Blackfyre Rising. I'm a fan of the book series, but as I mentioned before, I am concerned the massive interconnectedness and meticulously detailed plot that makes me like the books will not be possible to duplicate in larp form. We shall see, I guess.

Sunday I will not play. I will hang around and sit on my ass and eat breakfast foods. This at least I am certain of.

I am uncertain what to use my first signup on. I believe Snaf is the smallest game I'm considering, and conventional wisdom suggests that smaller games will fill faster and therefore should be snagged early. But Clockwork Cafe, though large, is a Brit game, and those always go fast. I'm expecting Blackfyre Rising to be similar. I think I will go for Clockwork. If I end up locked out of either my Saturday morning or evening pick, well, at least I'll have a slightly lighter schedule. I think that is a pretty good preliminary plan.

What are you all thinking?

Secretariat

Saw Secretariat this week and really enjoyed it. He's always been my favorite racehorse. As great racehorses go, people tend to disagree whether Secretariat or Man O' War was the greatest of all time. Man O' War had the better, more consistent record of winning races, but I have always preferred Secretariat because when it came to sheer equine speed, he was beyond any other horse that ever lived.

Big Red, you see, was impossible. He was capable of moving at speeds that, before him, people had believed no horse could. He was strangely fickle about unleashing that speed; his winning record was far from perfect, since some days he just wouldn't break it out. But still, he could sprint so fast that he could hang back at the rear of the pack and explode forward for the win. He was what was known as a pace stalker, a horse that just barely matched the speed of his opponents for the majority of a race and then kicked into gear to beat them at the end. The kind of speed he opened up with broke records that have never been equaled-- he won the mile-and-a-half Belmont by a shocking thirty-one lengths. The announcer yelled out at the time, "He is moving like a tremendous machine!" He really was, after all. When they autopsied him after his death, they found he had an enormous twenty-two pound heart, which people theorize delivered so much more oxygenated blood to his muscles than any of his competitors. He was a freak. He was a miracle.

It's a good film, well-made and interesting to watch. The dialogue was a bit cheesy in places, but they didn't squishify the horse too much and the dramatic tension built during the races was awesome. I spoke with Jared afterward about it. He'd also liked it but he said he was a bit weirded out by their choice to play "Oh, Happy Day" over the last few strides of Red's Belmont win, jokingly asking if they were saying the horse was Jesus. I laughed that no, but I still found it an appropriate song-- that too was impossible, and yet. It was a really beautifully set up shot up, too, with silence as Red went into the curve and then bursting into the song as he exploded into the final stretch. Very beautiful, and about a truly amazing animal.

Halloween is coming

I am now back from my lovely excursion, and smack back in the middle of work and responsibilities. Ah, well. Idle hands are the devil's workshop and all that. It was nice to have such a lovely break.

I have a number of things going on right now, but since Halloween is less than a week away, my preparations must buckle down in earnest. My costume is very nearly in order. I am pretty much just wearing the bellydancer outfit I assembled for Stars of Al-Ashtara-- I was not feeling particularly inspired this year and it saves me having to construct an extra costume. I could use a few more little details like a veil and maybe some bangles, but I can figure that out. I just need to finish sewing the waistband into the skirt I am making from the fabulous patterned blue muumuu I thrifted. It's a bigger job than I thought it would be, because there is so damn much fabric. I will put an elastic inside this case I'm sewing so that it will gather around my waist just fine, but that case has to be very long before the elastic can get in there to scrunch it up. Such is the nature of a muumuu, I suppose. I guess I could cut a chunk out of it to make it smaller, but I kind of like how full it is, and it wouldn't exactly eliminate a lot of sewing if I had to sew the side back up as well. So, I'm just going to keep on with the casing. I'm about a third of the way finished, so I should be able to get it done before the day.

I also need to plan the goodies menu. I want to have lots of tasty seasonal delicacies available, but I have yet to decide what they are. Pie is certainly desireable, and I will probably go with pumpkin but apple is a possibility as well. Cider is another fall favorite of mine. Besides apples and pumpkins, other foods I associate with fall are cranberries, squash, pears, ginger, and corn, so I will have to figure out what sort of things I can make involving those. Suggestions as well as the volunteering to bring dishes are welcome.

Whatever my spread, the centerpiece of it will be my newest acquisition, my beautiful skull bottle. In the liquor store on Main Street I saw that there is now a kind of vodka out called Crystal Head, which is sold in this fantastic bottle in the shape of a skull. I don't drink, and the stuff inside it was fifty bucks a pop, but I had to have one for this Halloween. So I stalked an empty one on eBay, nabbed it in triumph, and returned last night to find it already delivered and waiting!

Creepy little bugger, isn't he? I'm not sure what I'll fill him with-- kind of makes me wish I drank just so I could put some creative and brightly-colored cocktail in him --but I want him to serve a drink. Maybe cranberry juice, for the fall feel and the bright blood red. Ah, so much planning to do, and so much lovely cooking to get ready for! God, I love Halloween.

Unexpected costuming possibility

So one thing I didn't mention about my trip to the Renaissance Fair with my parents is that I found something interesting in the parking lot on our way out. On the ground in the mulch was a forgotten bodice, or possibly a vest for a young boy, reversible with red corduroy on one side and silky gray with swirls of red velour on the other. I wondered if it fell out of someone's bag, or if they took it off at the end of the day and it dropped out of the trunk of their car. I felt bad for them, as this sort of thing isn't cheap and the owner would probably kick themselves for losing it, but I had no way of figuring out who it belonged to, so I decided to just keep it. It was very small, leading my dad to speculate that it might have been sized for a child, but once we were on our way in the car I took off my coat and tried it on over my shirt. I was disappointed to find that I couldn't even come close to closing it. No manner of my trying to pull it could bring the two sides of it to meet. Still, I didn't want to give up on it yet. When I got home I tried messing with it a bit more, deciding that maybe if I laced it I could at least get it closed enough to look okay. I decided I'd buy a shoelace for the purpose and find out. I forgot about it for a while, and didn't mention it here because I was fairly certain that it wasn't going to end up being wearable. But today, looking for elastic at the drugstore but not finding any, I remembered I wanted to try lacing it.

What I found was... kind of shocking, really. With the laces I not only could make it fit but cinch it all the way closed, without an excessive amount of pulling. Wouldn't be the first time I squeezed into child-sized clothes. I took this picture to commemorate the miracle.

Hello, breasts. So that's where you've been hiding.

It's not really very comfortable. It's pretty damn tight this way; deep breathing is pretty much an impossibility. And I can't say I pleased with the way it pushes my fat out into bulgy love handles down below. But it pretty much fits, and it actually does for my bust what these sorts of tops are supposed to do for one's bust. Overall I wouldn't say it looks bad. A bit over-the-top, but not bad. That specific quality makes me think it might be good to incorporate into my Wrathskeller costume plans, specifically on the red corduroy side not pictured here. I think it needs something underneath it, if only to distract from the bulging. My cropped chemise would not do in that case. But it definitely has the tavern wenchy aesthetic I'd want, and I'm sure I can find larp and other costuming opportunities to make use of this. It may encourage me to drop those last five pounds. We'll see what I can put together.

Chemise put together

Finished the basic construction of the chemise, meaning that all the major seams are done and all the pieces are put together. It is somewhat less ugly now that it is closer to being complete, so for this picture I turned it right side out so you can roughly see what it's supposed to look like in the end.

Next step is the finishing up the edges, which entail sewing casings to hold pieces of elastic. I'm starting to think I bought elastic that is too think for everywhere but the hemline-- it's a full inch thick. What I want is for the fabric to gather around the hem, collar, and cuffs, and I'm getting nervous that it's not going to come out right. valleyviolet* suggested I put a facing on the collar instead of trying to fold over that uneven line into a casing, which I may do if that would help it gather better. If anyone has any further suggestions, it would be much appreciated. I guess I'll just have to give it a try and see how it comes out. I don't have anything to do tonight, so I think I will see what I can accomplish with that free time. Wish me luck!

Chemise progress

I want to have more pictures to accompany my posts, particularly when I'm working on a project or talking about something that would benefit from a visual reference. It would make the blog a lot more interesting to read and to look at. It would be easy enough; I have a pretty decent point-and-shoot digital camera, plus there's always the not-totally-terrible camera built into my iPhone. So I think I will document the progress of my endeavors will pictures of things like the dishes I cooked and the costumes I put together. So, in the spirit of this, here is a picture of my progress on my chemise.

Kind of ugly, isn't it? Well, it's my first try, and I'm hoping once I finish up the edges it will be less so. At the moment, one half of the bodice is put together, and the sleeves are attached to that half. You can see the unnecessary seam up the middle that I would not have had to put in if I'd doubled up the fabric when I cut it out. The sleeves have the same problem; I folded the left side over onto itself to show what it's roughly going to look like when it's totally sewn up, and I left the right side unfolded to show the unnecessary seam. At least on the sleeves a seam up the side is not that noticeable and probably won't change the overall appearence of them all that much. But since I had a little extra fabric, I cut out the second half of the bodice in the proper way so that at least one side of it will look the way it's supposed to. And to save me on sewing. If I'd cut things out properly the first time, I'd have sewn everything that needed sewing already. ;-)

The next steps will be attaching that second bodice half, and then finishing up the sleeves. You may have noticed that this is extremely short for a chemise, and that is intentional. Partially to save on fabric if this thing turns out to be a total mess, and partially because I was thinking of wearing it to the Wrathskeller as part of a slutty tavern wench look if it doesn't turn out to be a total mess. After everything is attached, then i will be trying to put elastic in at the neckline, cuffs, and hem. I am kind of dreading that part, as it will require care to put in some meticulously straight seams. I will just have to pin very, very carefully and draw a guideline, I guess. More pictures to come once those steps are taken.

Mom suggests I learn to sew costumes

So I mentioned this fleecy white hooded zip-up I have that I loved and was wearing all the time because it was warm, well-fitting, and went with everything. Unfortunately, because of how often I wore it, it was getting progressively more threadbare and the white wasn't really so white anymore. I hadn't really noticed how ratty it had gotten until my parents saw me in it one day and condemned it in the same manner as a building inspector condemns a delapidated house. Ever since then I have been too embarrassed to wear it in public, but not without much moaning about how much I loved it and its warmth and versatility. This visit, however, my mom told me she'd been checking J. Crew where she'd originally bought it for months now trying to find a replacement for me, and was finally about to present me with two very similar fleecy zip-ups in the colors of cream and olive. I have already worn both of them in the two days since they've left. Don't tell Mom I said this, but these two new ones are not quite as perfect as the original was. They are longer and less form-fitting, giving me a boxier shape, and though still neutral in color they are not quite as versatile to match with things as the white one was. Still, they are warm and almost as nice, so I expect to wear them until they fall apart just as I did their predecessor. Thank you, Mom, for thinking of me.

My parents were looking for an activity for us to do as a family, so, since I had fun there, I suggested I take them to King Richard's Faire. They hadn't been to a Ren Fair in years, and nobody could suggest anything we all liked better, so they agreed. Everyone ended up really enjoying it (perhaps more than they expected to, heh). My dad bought a fox tail that can be worn on a belt, because he and Mom are going to a Halloween party and she will dress up like a foxhunter and he will be a fox. :-) I like that. Also, my mom has set me onto a new project. While we were at the fair, I kept pointing out all these costume pieces I liked but thought were too expensive. Her response was "Why buy them? It wouldn't be hard to teach yourself to make a lot of this stuff." Which intrigued me, because I had never seriously considered it because I didn't think I would do a good job. But she said that she didn't know much about costume making either until she decided to learn, and she got to be a rather capable seamstress. And learning to sew better is something I've always wanted to do. So I have decided to teach myself about costume construction. I am starting small, trying to make a very simple Renaissance chemise and seeing what I learn from that.

I found a patternmaking tutorial on the Internet and bought myself some cheap linen fabric to give things a try. I have already made about six mistakes, the first and most egregious being I did not realize that I was supposed to be making patterns that were folded in half. Thus is my unfamiliarity with patterns. So I ended up cutting out, for example, four quarters of a bodice rather than two halves. This means I had to do twice as many seams as I was supposed to. Ah, well, at least it will help me practice my stitching, and now I have learned. I don't have a sewing machine, though my mom may send me up her old one if I get serious about this, so I am just doing a simple backstitch to put everything together. I was surprised at how easily the thread tangles, so my stitches are very ugly in places, but when I turn the fabric right side out at least the seams are pretty straight. I will work on it more tonight. I don't know if it will come out wearable, but at least I'm learning about how to put this sort of thing together.

"It's like I speared you-- like a fish!"

Okay, so I didn't really follow my plan (such as it was) when it came to signing up for stuff at SLAW last night. I ended up going with Martha Stewart on Friday, The Sound of Drums and Clarence on Saturday, and In the Jungle on Sunday. I blame natbudin, captainecchi, and electric_d_monk as bad influences, since I did my signing up while I was at the Fantasycraft game with them last night. I went with Sound of Drums because I'd never played a game in that sort of setting before, though I am very sad to miss Two Hours in London. Costumed Henchman was full (surprisingly one of the first to do become so) so Nat suggested I sign up for Clarence, since, as he pointed out, if I hated it, storming out because I thought it sucked would not only be acceptable but totally in character. So I figured, what the hell, why not? And Lise and I made pacts to sign up for games we weren't sure we would enjoy together, because then at least we'd have a buddy with us, and maybe we could find some way to make them fun for each other in spite of everything. Like, we're not sure we're going to enjoy In The Jungle, as we both tend not to like extremely freeform games, but we figured that we could at least get some fun out of being hobos together. :-) And I am curious how many more romance plots I will be in with Matt, as this tends to be a recurring theme. So this SLAW looks to be an interesting one!

The game last night was fun as well. I really enjoy being Ophelia, yammering on about nothing in particular and making really inappropriate observations about everything like a small child. Ophelia's exploits last night include picking the pocket of an unconscious stoner, fending off the advances of a pervy pech-fancier, pegging a fleeing assasin with my throwing dagger "like a fish in a barrel" and thereafter referring to him as "Fish," getting courted for a covert op by an elf who apparently has species-dysmorphia, and telling and retelling an acnedote involving a stolen greatsword and a barrel of pickled herring. Lise, I like this game you've got going on here. :-)

After work I will be hanging out with my family. Today will probably loosely scheduled, but I really hope we nail down what we're doing tomorrow. My parents are normally rather firm and decisive planners, but they want to spend time with my brother as well and he hasn't really gotten back to them about his availability, so they're afraid of making any plan that he wouldn't be able to go along with. :-P Hopefully we'll do something fun. I just wish we could figure out what the hell it is already.

Weekend of parents

Parents will be coming into town today. The timing is good, as they will be claiming the majority of my time from now until Sunday evening, so I will be busy during the same period Jared is busy in Albany visiting Sharone. That means I will have less time to call him at the same time as he has less time to call me. He should be busy doing fun special things like one does on vacation, rather than sitting around on the phone with one's girlfriend like one does at home. I just need to confer with Mom and Dad to figure out what our plans will be. Two possibilities include visiting Salem and my taking them to Kind Richard's Faire, neither of which we are settled on. Tonight, however, I will be going to the next session of captainecchi's Fantastycraft game, which I committed to a long time before they told me they were coming up. They tend to prefer I clear my schedule when they visit, since they see me so rarely these days, so I can't tell whether or not they're annoyed with me. Ah, well. Tonight should be fun. I will enjoy getting to be Ophelia again, and must make certain to think of lots and lots of fun inappropriate things to say.

SLAW schedule is up, signups to open soon

The schedule for SFS Live Action Weekend has gone live! This Worcester version of Festival of the Larps will be going up the weekend of November 19th at WPI, and the schedule of games is now open for viewing. My compliments to nyren* and company for getting everything arranged-- thank you for your hard work, friends! Signups are to open this evening of October 14th at 7PM. I am very much looking forward to it, and those of you coming from my neck of the woods, let me know, as I am more than happy to include you in plans to organize a transportation caravan there and back.

Due to the extreme degree to which my schedule is packed, I elected not to run anything this year, and while I will miss the fun of seeing my games run, I am grateful that I will not have the addition burden this time around of planning and packing in preparation to GM. (Most of my games need a break from running anyway.) And that means, for the first time in many a con, I am totally free to play! Let us examine the schedule and see possibilities emerge.

Begin with Friday night. The choice for me here is clear. Though I have not played Mary Celeste, I was so thoroughly spoiled on it back before Festival of '06 (thank you, Jared and Mac ;-) ) that I am absolutely no longer eligible. No matter, that leaves Martha Stewart's Guide to Interdimensional Summoning and Basting a Turkey. I am not totally certain the "gimmick" of the game appeals to me, but I have heard good things, so I am interested in giving it a try. I do so prefer having a Friday night game. So, Martha Stewart it is.

On to Saturday. Looks like two light silly games in the morning (or "morning," rather, since they both start at noon) both of which look to be funny, a snippet of Alleged's "10 Bad Larps" series, and a Paranoid and Crotchey piece called Crochety Old Folks With Shotguns. Not sure which, if either, I will go for. Depends on how many other games I'm in, I think, since I don't like packing my larp weekends too tightly. Saturday afternoon, however, presents the toughest quandary to me. I've heard excellent things about both P&C's The Sound of Drums as well as laura47*'s Two Hours in London, and I'm interested in both. Gah. I'm not sure what I'll do there, but I definitely signing up for one of those two. Saturday evening, if I end up signing up for anything, will certainly be The Difficult Life of the Costumed Henchman. I've already played in acousticshadow2*'s Nepenthe A Surcease of Sorrow (which I recommend to the rest of you) and though I find Clarence hilarious, it's not my preferred style of game.

Typically on Sundays I do not sign up for anything, but I may end up making an exception this time. Not going for 'Tis No Deceit, as I have no interest in a game where I would be singing, or having to listen to other people sing. Already played in Diamond Geezers (another one I recommend if you haven't), but I've always been kind of curious about In the Jungle. I tend to not love excessively freeform games, but this one is written by writers I really respect, and two hours is not too long to just see what it's like.

Hmm. I am less settled than I usually am. But roughly my schedule will fall out like this:

Friday night: Martha Stewart, definitely
Saturday morning: either 10 Bad or Crotchety, if I don't sign up for an evening game
Saturday afternoon: either The Sound of Drums or Two Hours in London, not sure which but definitely one of those two
Saturday evening: The Difficult Life of the Costumed Henchman, if I don't sign up for a morning game
Sunday morning: In the Jungle, most probably

I hope to see you all there!

I LOVE THE SUPERSIZERS AHHHHH!!!

There is a BBC series of specials called "The Supersizers Go..." where a British food critic and comedian spend a week eating the authentic cuisine of previous eras of history. They take all these interesting major periods, from Medieval to the Renaissance to the Restoration to the Regency and beyond, and have the hosts live the lives of people in those times, complete with costumes and historical activities and course after course of the food of the times. I find it utterly fascinating. As a lover of period stories, I feel one of the most immersive touches you can include is to have the details of daily life, and its so hard to find information on that kind of thing when most sources focus on great public events. And of course the cuisines of the past are particularly interesting to me. It looks like great fun, though I don't exactly have the strong stomach such an exercise would require. I love seeing what the tastes and cooking techniques of these other times are, as food and eating has had such a huge impact on human culture and ritual. It's also really cool to see how things evolved and grew into the way we cook and eat today. Of course, this focuses mainly on the British tradition, and I must say, it explains a lot about the way British cooking developed, particularly the ways that are not known in the world as haute cuisine. :-) It is not only interesting and informative but also incredibly clever and funny, so I suggest you check it out right away.

Experimenting with Blogger

God knows I'm not very technically savvy. The level of knowledge I possess about how technology of any kind works and can be used is pretty pathetic, especially by comparison to so many of the people I spend time with. But one thing I've always been pretty proud of is I'm not half bad, when given a decent chunk of time, at messing around with a computer program until I figure out how to more or less use it and make it do what I want.

Today I was messing around with Blogger. I've been toying with the idea of keeping a freestanding blog in addition to this Livejournal, with content mostly the same but geared less toward people who know me personally and more toward the public at large, taking a more "article" approach for the format and not so much a diary. I would post mostly only my rants, musings, projects and the like, but not so much the stuff I did this past weekend. Since I've had a Blogger site that I've mostly used as a mirror of this LJ for use in cross-posting to Google Buzz (never did manage to get the LJ-cross-posting-to-Buzz to function) I thought it might be worth messing around with that to see if I could get it to look the way I wanted.

Basically I wanted to construct a widget that would let me divide my writing into broader categories of my interests-- larp, cooking, writing, theater, culture and criticism, that sort of thing --and have icons across the top of the page leading to posts on each particular subject. The closest I could manage in Blogger to that was to construct original HTML widgets that allowed me to link an image to a particular tag page on the journal in a left-side column. This is imperfect, as I wanted to cull only certain entries from within those tags and also combine certain other tags under new headings, which this doesn't allow. I suppose I could re-tag everything, but that would be labor-intensive and make these icons redundant with the tag system.

What I have right now I kind of like, but as I said I'm dissatisfied. The header image definitely needs tweaking, and as I said my categorizing is not quite what I want. I'll have to mess around with it more. And this is still just basically a mirror of my LJ. Perhaps I'll just reorganize everything and actually bother to re-tag if I make a more "general-audience" version of the blog. I know you can tag things and make those tags invisible in Blogger, which might eliminate the redundancy problem. For now I'm just experimenting with the setup, and seeing if I can use the conveniently already-existing Blogger technology to accomplish what I want.

Current state of my costume life

Finally found a skirt for my Al-Ashtara outfit-- sort of, at least. I have been hitting the thriftstore about once a week keeping an eye out for full skirts that might go well with my dark blue belled sashes, with little success until now. Yesterday with katiescarlett29* I found the most fantastic billowy garment in a lovely shade of blue with fanciful lighter blue designs on it that feel suitably Arabic to me. This magical garment is not exactly a muumuu, but it is close. I now have two options. The easier of the two is to just yank the dress down so that the extremely wide neckline hangs arounds my hips and then gather and tie up the rest of the dress interestingly such that it looks like a flounced skirt. The more labor-intensive but probably more sensible option is to cut the skirt off from the bodice and sew in some elastic to create a real waist. It has been some time since I've done any real sewing, and I don't have access to a sewing machine right now, so it might be challenging. Still, though I have never done it before, hand-sewing an elastic band into the waist of a costume skirt can't be too far beyond my admittedly atrophied skills. It might be nice to have a project for myself that involves working with my hands and improving/gaining a skill. I will have to play around with it to see which option will best serve my needs, and consult the all-knowing Internet for advice.

Also, laurion* recently asked me if I wanted to do run crew-type stuff during the Boston Babydolls Wrathskeller performance. I have happily agreed. It should be fun, and as he pointed out, meeting them might help me get my foot in the door if I do ever go ahead and audition. I think I will end up being the person that gathers up the shed clothes between each act, referred to by Chad as the "stage kitten." And since crew for the Babydolls do not wear stage blacks, that means I need an appropriate costume. Since the setting of the Wrathskeller is a seedy tavern-type place, I figure saucy tavern wench would be very appropriate. I think my black bodice would work, and perhaps a skirt over my black crinoline, but I believe I need one of those blousy white off-the-shoulder chemise-type things. I don't suppose anyone has one I could borrow for the week leading up to Halloween? An apron would probably also be a nice touch, as well as possibly a scarf over my hair. Shall have to start experimenting with different pieces together.

Finally, I am thinking about my costume for Winter's Tale. Of course I will not be constructing it myself, as there is a costumer for the show, but by this point I've gotten eager to get it. It always help me feel more in character to have a costume. Steph has told me that we Sicilians will be dressed in cool wintry colors while the Bohemias will wear warm springy colors, which I like. So I'll be wearing some cool scheme, until my last scene, after which I've been mauled by a bear and am appearing as a figment of my wife's imagination. Then I will be wearing all black to indicate my deaditude. :-) Works for me. My contribution to the ensemble will be my neato costume boots. They're actually women's fashion shoes, but my mom bought them for me one day on the belief that they looked a lot more like men's Renaissance boots, something I could use with all the larping and Shakespeare I do. They've come in handy many times now.

So I have so many fun outfits to look forward to, and to get to work on. Suggestions welcome!

Random feminist grumblings

I am no longer as amused by Feminist Hulk as I was at first. The formula is pretty facile, and I've grown weary of the fill-in-the-blank messages of "HULK SMASH (insert reference to patriarchy, masculine hegemony, gender inequality, whatever)". How helpful, physically breaking down a concept with no physical manifestation. :-P Also, it conflates a lot of things-- veganism, genderqueer, alternative sexuality, nontraditional relationships, and all manner of hippy-dippy things --into the definition of feminism as if they were intrinsic parts, which I dislike. Adding all these unrelated conditions turns feminism into some kind of exclusive club that you can only join if you agree with all these leftist politics that don't even factor into it. Feminism is not a lifestyle, it is a simple straightforward belief. The only "thing feminists do" is believe in the inherent value equality between the genders.

By the same token, I must point out that it feminism and being pro-LBGTQ do not necessarily go hand in hand, nor, I feel, should one necessarily enter the definition of the other. While I certainly believe you should ALSO be pro-LBGTQ and it may be a related issue, it is not in fact the same issue, and I think that the simple, elegant, effective definition of feminism gets clouded enough without giving it corollaries.

Just fucking call yourself a feminist, already. I know many people who refuse to identify as feminists because they dislike the implications. But all it really means is belief in the inherent value equality between the genders! I know the word might kind of imply something different, but that just means more people need to be educated as to the real definition. GET YOURSELF EDUCATED ON IT ALREADY.


I am so tired of people for whom their desire to construct a feminist image for themselves obscures the point of feminism. While you are out there talking about sex toys and objecting to the word "pussy" as a derogative and all the other trappings of feminism you assume, you are not always remembering to act, in all ways, on the belief that there is an inherent value equality between the genders. THAT is all of feminism that matters. The minute you treat a man like he's less or bad because he's a man, or the minute you treat a woman like she's not responsible for her own choices and actions, you are failing in being the thing you are trying to wear the costume of.

I am all about personal responsibility. I believe being a capable, discerning agent of your own actions is part of being an independent and important member of society. Therefore, any notion of feminism that does not expect personal responsibility from women offends me deeply. Either we are adults who owe the same level of responsibility as any other adults, or we are children and cannot be held responsible. So, for example, if I don't want to have sex with someone, I need to SAY SO. Unless I am being forcibly held down and violated beyond my power to control, if I just allow someone to interact with me sexually in a way I do not desire, I am at fault for my own bad situation. The man's at fault too, if only because he should be able to tell when his partner is not into it. But if you're not giving him any indication, what, he was supposed to read your mind? The average man is not a rapist; he is almost certainly going to stop the minute you say something. If it is at all within your power, by not speaking up, YOU deny yourself that agency, NOT the other person in the equation. Be your own advocate, do not make yourself into the victim.

The fact that I am a woman does not need to factor into every decision I make about the way I live my life. I am a person first and a woman second. I swear, the way some of these people see the importance of my having a vagina, they want to reduce me to the sum of my girl bits more than the knuckle-dragging cavemen-types. My vagina is not the most important part of me. I am the most important part of me.

I don't like the Bechdel Test. It's got an interesting idea on it's face, ostensibly intended to encourage female characters who are more than just foils to masculine journey and activity. That I can get behind, but I find this particular presentation flawed. I believe it is possible for women to talk about men (who, we must not forget, are human beings as well) in ways that are not subservient to a male character's narrative, and in ways that contribute to her being a full and complex character. The implication that women just shouldn't talk about men at all because it means they are inherently subjugated in such contexts is offensive to me. Way to encourage the notion that men and women just never can get along in equality.

I also don't like the Vagina Monologues. I don't understand why it is the premier women's performance piece that gets done again and again; is there really nothing better out there? The misandry running rampant throughout it is pretty disgusting to me-- there are so many recollections of horrible things done by men to women, but very, very few depictions of positive, loving men in the speakers' lives. Also, "The Little Coochie-Snorcher That Could" is so offensive I cannot believe anyone puts up with it. That one portrays in a positive light the sexual predation of a young girl by an adult woman. Apparently it's okay if A WOMAN SEXUALLY ABUSES ANOTHER WOMAN, while if it had been a man the Monologues WOULD CRUCIFY HIM. Disgusting. Disgusting to glamorize sexual assault so long as the sexuality is lesbian. A screaming, sexist double-standard. Feminism is about equality, NOT superiority! Gah!

In short: stop being anti-man, stop shirking personal responsibility, stop corrupting the definition, stop wearing it's like it's a trendy outfit that makes you cool, stop thoughtlessly playing at empty girl-power games that accomplish nothing.

As a final note, I am sorry for how often violation of these notions causes me to scream, "AHHH NO WONDER MEN HATE YOU I HATE YOU AHHHH." It is flawed and unfair to assume that men generally hate women, and it is also not good for me to hate women. I acknowledge this. I will probably not stop doing it.

Trip to King Richard's Faire

Saturday was a lovely trip to King Richard's Faire with Bernie and lightgamer*. I haven't been to a Renaissance Fair in years, so I was very excited to do this. I'm really glad we ended up doing it when we did, as the rest of my weekends are booked up until my death. ;-)

First of all, I like the atmosphere. I'm always so impressed to see the fairgrounds for these things. I love that they actually built permanent structures with neat pseudo-medieval appearences to house the works of the vendors and artisans. It makes it so much more immersive, and I'm pretty shocked that somebody was actually willing to front the cost for it! ANd we saw lots of people in garb of varying degrees of awesomeness. Favorites included a terryfingly badass looking pirate, an extremely complex gypsy outfit, and the man covered in green body paint apparently dressed as a troll. Least favorites as always include the sneakers worn with elaborate dresses, and the women who cram themselves into corsets such that their breasts resemble freshly risen pizza dough that is pinched in awkward ways. Is that supposed to be sexy? Meh.

I wanted to find a neat thing to buy while I was there, like a costume item or a neat piece of jewelry, and perhaps something as a present for Jared. But sadly everything that caught my eye was extremely expensive and nothing within my price range appealed to me enough to spend the money. I brought a hundred dollars with me to spend, and after purchasing fifteen dollars worth of food tickets (clever scam they've got going with that there), I ended up putting the rest back into my savings account. I must say, in the long run it's probably more satisfying to see that safely put away than blown on Renaissance memorabilia. Ah, well. Still no corset for me, I suppose.

As a side note, I am developing kind of a sour-grapes dislike of corsets. I want to like them, but I never can find one that looks good on me. My experiences with them tend to consist mostly of my torso being too narrow for the laces, thus in no way benefiting my waist, and my breasts just kind of slipping pathetically behind the bodice part, thus in no way benefiting my bust. I have about a twenty-five-inch waist, and according to the ladies who helped me try one on, I should be shooting for a size twenty-three corset, which they didn't have in stock because "All the tiny sizes sell out really quick." I was a little shocked to hear that, seeing as most people around my size tend to be fairly young, and young people don't tend to have the money to blow on expensive costume pieces like a corset, but maybe they just don't make many to begin with. Ah, well, I suppose it's good I didn't spend the money, as I am both young and not financially free. And to be honest I find the look rarely works quite the way I like it anyway. Girls with big racks all-too-often end up with the pizza dough problem, and girls with small racks end up looking kind of pitiful and meager all shoved up like that. I even saw some girls built similarly to me in corsets, and frankly the way the corset wasp-waisted them looked weirdly disproportionate, and their boobs were just sort of sad. To make matters worse, the corsets gave even these skinny little slips a hideous overflow of BACK FAT, and I would rather wear a burlap sack than a garment that inflicts that particular atrocity on me. *Sigh* I probably would have to have a custom-made one if ever I am to own one that actually fits and flatters, and that is certainly not in my budget right now.

My favorite part of any Renaissance Fair, though, is always the joust. I love watching the knights thunder around on their horses performing feats of martial skill, and I like the pagentry of the storyline that usually goes around it. This time there was a black knight, masked to conceal his identity, competing who turned out to be Sir Joseph, a knight of the court who was banished for a murder he claimed was actually committed by Sir James, the most psychotic of his jousting opponents. After literally reciting the Old Code from Dragonheart (squee!) they squared off in a duel to the death to restore the victor's honor. The knights were asked if they swore to adhere to the rules of chivalrous conduct. Quoth Sir Joseph: "I do." Quoth Sir James: "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Yes, clearly this man is absolutely incapable of committing murder. Their battle, though, was absolutely badass, with them getting knocked off their horses and going at it hand-to-hand.

Now, I know this stuff is staged, and that somebody has to come up with what goes on in these shows. And apparently somebody was like, "Okay, armed combat is awesome, but you know what your average swordfight is missing? FIRE!" So Sir James attacked Sir Joseph with a flaming sword, and was literally SETTING everything on fire! He set Sir Joseph's clothes on fire! Sir Joseph grabbed a whip, and he set the whip on fire! Every time he cracked the whip, the flame flashed and burst! Let me tell you, nothing takes an awesome thing and makes it even more awesome like throwing some fire into the mix! By the end of this epic fire-soaked battle, Sir James as well as the knights' two seconds lay dead upon the sand. Yes, Sir Joseph, now that I have seen you bring about the deaths of three separate men, I now believe that you are not in fact a murderer. :-)

I wonder if I could get a job as a script writer for the Ren Fair. You don't even have to be historically accurate, just suitably dramatic. That would be awesome. Is there an application I can fill out?

Afterward, Bernie, Matt, and I came back and finished the evening with low-key chatting and playing of video games. It was a lovely day, all and all, and the company was excellent. I'd love to go back, perhaps in an even bigger group, but I think I may not have time before the end of the season. If you're thinking of going, I heartily recommed it.

10:10 10/10/10

Right now it is 10:10AM on 10/10/10.

Cool. :-)

Busy like whoa

I just finished updating my calendar with all the commitments I must prepare for over the next month or so, and DAMN, am I even busier than I thought I was. I didn't realize until some interesting new possibilities for activities arose, and when I checked my availability, I was shocked to see that I don't have a totally free weekend until the 11th of December! When in the world did that happen?

Okay, I knew October weekends were pretty booked, because one must be devoted to my visiting parents, and another to a much-anticipated trip to Chicago to be with Jared. Tomorrow I will be going to King Richard's Faire with hopefully a small group, and endeavoring not to spend too much money on Renaissancey stuff I don't really need. But it didn't really hit me until I looked at the calendar that I saw the full extent. Yes, there are two loved-one-visits that take a good chunk of time, but there are also outings, parties, two larps, a larp weekend, a tabletop game, a performance week, a play with rehearsals and a tech week. I don't even have time for one of my little Friday night dinner parties until at least November! And there are STILL one or two more things I hope to cram in there if at all possible! Madness!

So the upshot of all this is, if you'd like to involve me in something, you shall have to book me, apparently, two months in advance. Gah!

Antigonus as Leontes's punching bag, emotionally and physically

I have developed a character trait for Antigonus that I really feel is helping build him. His role is often the person who wants to do the right thing, but wants to maintain respectful and correct behavior in the course of doing it as much as possible-- while his wife Paulina is the hothead, who is willing to throw all propriety to the winds in the service of standing up for the right, Antigonus is more moderate, more concerned about the consequences of rash action. Therefore he must be a steady, reliable personality with a kind of inner strength, and I wanted a way to portray that.

I had a gut instinct that in our scenes of confrontation that Leontes should shove me around and rough me up, which I should take without resistance or complaint. I realized I wanted Antigonus, in keeping with his explicit actions in the rest of the play, to be the one who tries to absorbs all Leontes's acting out on his bad feeling, so as to protect other people from having to do it.

Have you ever found moments in your life where you were doing really badly, and you had a person that you seemed to take out all your bad feeling on because they felt safer than anyone else? Like, you want to vent your upset somehow, and if you did it to anyone else, they would resent you and judge you for it, but that one person you knew would bear the mistreatment and be able to forgive you for it? I want my Antigonus to be that person for Leontes. He sort of offers himself to be Leontes's punching bag, both physical and emotional, so that other people who cannot bear it as well will not be victims of it. He feels that if the king has to vent his rage somewhere, he is the safest target for it, and better him than Paulina, or the child.

So when I am in the scene with Leontes's upset, we have been having him manhandle and push me around, because Antigonus will not shove his liege lord back, and will not condemn him for it afterward. Even in the state he is in, he will not just physically hurt a woman, or a baby, so Antigonus becomes the only acceptable target. And Antigonus is willing to bear it to spare the others. I feel like it dovetails nicely with his willingness to sacrifice himself to save the child. He is the sort who puts himself forward as the one to absorb all the strife and suffering so that others do not.

It feels pretty good. It feels like it fills out the character for me.

Crawling out of the smoking crator of my rage...

Wow, yesterday was a bad day. An angry, upset, yelling kind of day. Apologies to anyone whose feelings I hurt by focusing my rage on that Facebook breast cancer meme. But yesterday was not a good day for that meme to be in my world. Due to certain things I've had to deal with recently, I am a little too aware of cancer, thank you.

So, on to nicer things. It occurred to me the other day that despite my ravenous need for protein, there are not many forms of non-animal protein that I like. You'd think with the particular quirks of my metabolism any and all protein would be glommed up, but while I guess I can eat these things, I don't really enjoy them, and I don't feel satisfied afterward. Still, I am trying to experiment with reducing my meat intake at least a little for the sake of the environmental and of my pocketbook. Having failed to really enjoy soy, lentils, or really any kind of bean, I have turned to chickpeas to see if I can teach myself to like them. I found a recipe on Stonesoup called Butter Chickpeas that seemed like it might taste like my favorite Indian dish, chicken tikka masala. I didn't have garam masala, though, so I had to make it myself out of various spices I had in my cabinet that I knew garam masala often contains. Don't know how different it was from the intended dish, but while it didn't come out too badly, it wasn't what I wanted. I did a little research and found out that it was a spin on Butter Chicken, which is a dish similar to and commonly mistaken for tikka masala. Which explains it, and makes me want to find a real tikka masala sauce recipe to cook chickpeas in, because that I think I could get behind.

Also, have sought comfort in blog-reading, including some I haven't checked out in a long time. I remember why I stopped reading Tomato Nation. Back when I started reading as a little nipper all the way back in, like, 1999, her entries on this humor pop-culture-and-quirks-of-life blog used to be all essays-- I called her an "essayist" way back when I didn't know the term "blogger" --posted once weekly. And I read faithfully all through that time. But by about 2007, they started becoming little snippets of stuff and less like complete, coherent pieces. More like a personal blog, which I guess the site was, than like a column, which I kind of wanted it to be. Not that they weren't interesting, but they were usually way shorter, less substantial, and harder to follow. I dropped off not long after that point. I'm trying to give it another try for old time's sake, and I still enjoy the old essays, but the new still is a little tougher to get into.

And that's all the positivity I can must for now.

Quit pretending your idiot meme is feminist

HEY, EVERYONE. THERE IS SUCH A THING AS BREAST CANCER. IT'S BAD AND WE SHOULD DO STUFF TO FIND A CURE ABOUT IT. NOW YOU'RE AWARE.

I find this a more effective way to get people thinking about breast canncer than a stupid Facebook status meme THAT DOESN'T EVEN CONNECT TO CANCER IN ANY WAY. See, see, it's really kickass GRRL POWER answering the question of "Where do you like to put your handbag when you first come home?" with statuses that sound vaguely sexual, like "I like it on the floor," or "I like it on the kitchen table" without every letting anyone (except other girls, of course) know what the hell you're really talking about! Doesn't that like raise so much awareness of a disease that's NOT EVEN MENTIONED?

But see, here's the really awesome part! We don't explain it to men. So we get to laugh at them all like, "Buh?" That way they think we're talking about how we like it during sex and get all turned on by us. Then we get to feel sexy and desireable AS WELL as all superior to them because we're manipulating their base caveman urges when in fact we're doing something RIGHTEOUS FOR THE SISTERHOOD YEAH.

BECAUSE MEN CAN'T CARE ABOUT BREAST CANCER. Men can't hurt because they have mothers or sisters or wives or daughters who got the disease. Men only have one use for tits, am I right?

I'm sorry, but IT IS STUPID. Stupid to do something cryptic to raise awareness about something, particularly when couching in in false feminism. Oh, yes, let's all us women have our little solidarity meme, but let's not explain what we mean by it except to each other who ALREADY ARE AWARE and keep its meaning secret from men, because that's how you raise awareness-- you only let people who are already in the know in on it! Yes, this makes the most sense in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD.

It is NOT feminist. It is ELITIST, SELF-SATISFIED, and SEXIST. And if in its current form it does a damn thing to help even one person in regards to breast cancer, I'll drop dead of shock.

Sorry, but I'm in a BAD MOOD and this tweaks my feminist nerves.

My minimalist pantry

A while ago captainecchi* suggested that if I was interested in a cooking blog, I should check out Stonesoup, written by a cool Australian lady named Jules Clancy concerning keeping a minimalist kitchen and producing delicious dishes in a minimalist fashion. I am very grateful to Lise for the suggestion, as reading this blog has provided me with lovely fascinating reading on one of my biggest interests. One of my favorite entries on Stonesoup is the one about what Jules keeps in her minimalist pantry-- the absolute essentials she keeps on hand at all times due to their importance in her cooking, plus the other, slightly less vital things that she still likes to have. I like this exercise, to figure out what is most important to your cooking and eating like that. So I thought I'd make a version of that list of my own.

I define a pantry essential as a thing you want to have on hand at all times because of the frequency with which you cook with it, the sort of thing you buy as soon as it runs out without having a specific dish in mind. On the secondary list, the nice-to-haves, are the ones that I like to keep around because I use them regularly, but not necessary all the time, so I wouldn't suffer immediately if I didn't replace them right away.

Here's what I have in my minimalist pantry.

The Must Haves:

1. Olive oil - The perfect cooking medium for practically anything you can name, plus the most delicious dressing I can think of. Extra virgin that is not too expensive is usually able to do double duty as both cooking fat and finishing touch. Still, it is nice to have a bottle of the really fine stuff on hand for dressing.

2. Butter - So versatile and delicious in cooking, baking, and plaing eating, so much is possible with good sweet butter.

3. Onions - I use these in just about everything I cook. The most versatile aromatic there is.

4. Garlic - Just love the flavor. Use it all the time.

5. Flour - Necessary for most baked goods of course, but also good for dredging meats so that they brown better.

6. Sugar - A dessert making necessity, and the most efficient sweetness delivery system there is.

7. Salt - Goes without saying. Things taste flat and dead without seasoning with salt.

8. Basil - Easily my favorite herb of all time. I prefer the fresh, but it doesn't keep long, so I always want to have the dry stuff around for seasoning purposes.

9. Chicken broth - Great as a base for sauce. Chicken broth is the most flexible flavor of broth and can work well with a wide variety of meats in addition to chicken.

10. Balsamic vinegar - God, I love balsamic. Good for sauce making as well as the other half of my favorite salad dressing. A middle-range bottle can perform for both, but having an expensive aged bottle for dressing means flavor incomparable.

11. Red wine - I don't drink, but it's one of my favorite flavorings in savory dishes; another fantastic base for sauce.

12. Milk - I probably shouldn't drink it due to lactose intolerance, but I love chai latte, and a shot of it improves all manner of cooked dishes and baked goods.

13. Eggs - Useful for so many culinary things, and a quick, high-protein meal all on its own in a pinch.

The Nice to Haves:

1. Vanilla - My favorite flavoring in baked goods, and I enjoy a little shot of it in my chai. But I do not bake desserts so frequently that I need it all the time.

2. Honey - I like to having it around, mostly for sweetening tea, but I don't use it for much else. I wish I liked it more.

3. Marsala - Not as versatile as red wine, but I love the flavor, and it's great in many of my favorite sauces as well as desserts.

4. Oregano - Another frequently used herb I like to have around in dry form for seasoning. I guess I could also include thyme and tarragon, which I also use more than most other herbs.

5. Cinnamon - My favorite and most frequently used spice. I mostly use it in baked goods but I also like it on roast squash and in my hot apple cider. But again, I don't bake all the time. Ginger is probably the only other spice I use with particular frequency.

6. Canned tomatoes - An easy addition to any number of dishes to add savory flavor. Not sure which variety I prefer, but probably diced is what I go with most often.

7. Brown sugar - I like to have it, because some things are better than if you use regular sugar, but more often I find I need the white kind.

8. Baking powder - There really isn't any subsitute for it in certain recipes for baked goods.

Things I Keep Around Because I Like to Eat Them:

1. Chai mix - A specialized luxury item, but my personal crack. Mix with milk, heat up, and you're in Heaven. Fragrant, sweet, spicy, rich, warming. Worth enduring the effects of my lactose intolerance.

2. High-quality tea - In addition to my spiced chai mix mentioned above, I also like to have a high-end chai of the sort one steeps in hot water. It's comforting, hydrating, low-calorie, and often I use it as an appetitue suppressant.

3. Lowfat yogurt - My breakfast pretty much every morning. I like vanilla, raspberry, and strawberry best.

4. Carrots - Great for healthy snacking, and a useful aromatic.

5. Apples - Also great for healthy snacking. I try not to let myself snack otherwise.

Things I Pointedly Do Not Keep Around:

1. Pasta - I try not to eat pasta. It's just starch and not good for the figure.

2. Potatoes - Ditto. I love them, but I just try to avoid them entirely.

3. Coke - If I have it, I will drink it. I love it so, empty sugar solution that it is. It's my one real nutritional pitfall.

4. Crackers - Another thing that I just keep eating until they're gone. Not healthy.

5. Nutella - I used to think that a spoonful of Nutella would be a nice, moderate little treat to reward a healthful day. Then I found out it's over two hundred calories a tablespoon. Fuck you, chocolate-hazelnut traitor.

6. Snacky anything, really - I have a tendency to eat food like this until it's totally gone if I have it just around. Not so much in a self-control department, you see.

The Silver Palate Cookbook

It's funny to think that my mother, who in her Practically Perfect way has always amazingly balanced being the caretaker of the family with work, art, fun, and amazing personality, was at one point, back when she was a young art student, vehemently opposed to conventional domesticity. Back then she was kind of a hippie, and for a long time she thought that typical home and family life would mean certain death to the creativity and personality. Eventually she got over it, realizing that things like marriage and children did not have to turn you into a soulless suburban drone, but it happened in stages. She was young when she decided she wanted to get married, but she still wasn't interested in things like having kids, or much in the way of homemaking. Both my parents are neat freaks, so that wasn't so much an issue, but cooking definitely fell under the heading of domestic servitude, so for ages she never really cared to learn.

She had a friend, however, who was a talented and enthusiastic cook. Her way of viewing cooking intrigued my mother and got her to see it as another form of artistic expression, and one with particular power to bring people joy. So, now interested in learning to cook herself, Mom asked her friend where she got all of those fantastic recipes. Her friend directed her to a book called The Silver Palate, from which she proceeded to teach herself her way around the kitchen.

Now the Silver Palate is really not for beginners. It is, in the way of most entertainment-oriented cookbooks, intended for experienced cooks with the resources to throw fancy parties with menus that require intricate planning. So my mom was kind of thrown into things in the toughest possible way, having to navigate recipes that usually demanded a higher level of skill and tended to be very complicated. Lucky for her she's one of those people who's good at everything! :-P Someshow she found her way through it, and is amazing in the kitchen today, but she often says that getting thrown into the deep end like that is probably the worst way to learn how to cook. When I was learning, by contrast, she directed me to easier cooking styles like Rachel Ray's to master easier stuff before moving on. But because of this series of events, the Silver Palate became the staple cooking reference in our house, and I grew up on its techniques and recipes.

Last Christmas my mother gave me the complete set. She said since I'd gotten so good at cooking by this point, and since so many of our family's favorite recipes had come from them, she wanted to share the sources with me. Complete with the eighties-tastic picture of the authors on the cover.

I have been trying more and more to incorporate recipes from this book into my repetoire of dishes. But to be honest, I am quite glad I learned the basics of cooking before I tried to make any of the recipes in this book. They really do require a lot more skill on average to put together, and they usually call for approximately eight million ingredients per dish. Having more experience and knowhow really helps when tackling these recipes. For example, I'm now knowledgeable enough that I can look at these ridculously long ingredient lists and make educated decisions about what is necessary to the character of the dish, and what can be eliminated for the sake of simplicity. (Of course, sometimes that is influenced by my particular likes and subjectivity. I can't taste parsley, for example, even Italian flatleaf, so I rarely bother to include it in a dish. Though perhaps I should be more considerate of whether or not guests might enjoy it.)

This past weekend I made sirloin steaks in a shallot wine sauce from one of their recipes. I was quite nervous, as it called for pan-searing, which I'd never tried for steak before, and I'm still kind of intimidated by red meat because of how tough it can be to nail the right doneness. It called for two-inch-thick steaks to be cooked eight minutes on either side for rare meat, but I could only find one-inch-thick, and I prefer my steak medium rare. So I figured it made sense to try four minutes on one side and three on the other to get the one-inchers the way I wanted them. As for the sauce, it called for a bunch of ingredients in small amounts, but instead of a highly seasoned butter sauce, I elected to make it as a simple red wine reduction with sauteed shallots in it. It was delicious, rich yet delicate, and requiring fewer steps and less software. I am quite pleased with myself. It might not be a great leap of logic to halve the cooking time for a half-as-thick piece of meat, but it did require a bit of discernment to simplify the sauce, and I am proud of myself for having developed some.

Pretty jingly costume

The costume pieces I ordered from eBay for Stars of Al-Ashtara have arrived. They are very pretty, and did in fact come in the color change I requested at the last second, so I am pleased with them. I am not going to be able to sneak up on anyone, as they will be jingling wherever I go. :-) They are, however, a fair bit briefer than I'd expected them to be, so I will have to be clever with how I wear them to balance sexiness with good taste. At the very least I need a real skirt to wear beneath the belled and beaded dark blue sash. I hit the thrift store today but no luck. I'm thinking I need a long full skirt of some variety that would complement the dark blue, though I'm not exactly sure what kind or color. If anyone has any suggestions, or possible options that I could borrow for Halloween and then the game, I would be much obliged. I also would like to acquire and/or fashion some sort of a veil. I like the idea of finding a mesh material of the same dark blue, which I think I might have better luck with if I go to a fabric store and buy the materials to make my own. There may be some other accessories I would like, but those are a pretty good start.