Happy Wednesday!

[magid]

Today's been a pretty good day so far.

+ I got the trash and recycling out in plenty of time.

+ I found that the fabric store in Twin City Plaza has a (rather limited) selection of yarn, so now I have some bamboo yarn, among others, to play with (for wicked cheap: 6 skeins of three kinds of yarn plus some safety pins for $10).

+ I got organized and brought 18 hats to the friend who runs Curious Alchemy, who will be vending this weekend at Steampunk Waltham this weekend. So if you've wanting a hat, go check them out! (Or ping me about a commission, of course.)

+ And it was good to catch up with him. Plus a phone visit with a long-distance friend.
+ I got the car inspected (late... oops. At least I did it before any law enforcer noticed.). Relatedly, realizing that perhaps the car starting issues I've been having may be related to how infrequently I've been using the car.

+ Using the upcoming houseguest as an excuse to stop by the Taza store, which also included some interesting conversation with the clerks.

+ I spotted four chickens in Cambridgeport! (I'm not sure why I'm so tickled about this, but I am.)

+ Trader Joe's yielding some unexpected things: chili mango frozen fruit bars (pico review: much spicier than I expected! I bet they'll be wonderful when it's hotter out.), and small organic pineapples. Which leads to the question: if I make pineapple liqueur, should it have a vodka or a rum base?

+ Getting some real cooking done. It's kind of embarrassing how empty my fridge was. I'm glad I finally acquired groceries; I'd been eating easy things, which is why there aren't any chestnuts in with the chicken after all...

+ Knowing that with a houseguest coming, I'll get the apartment picked up tomorrow, if not tonight.

+ Having a generally better frame of mind.

Trader Joe's also lead me to a poultry conundrum: why is whole chicken and chicken in eighths the same price? Presumably, there is *some* labor cost to cutting it up, even if done mechanically. Similarly, why are leg quarters the same price as whole chicken, while chicken breasts are so much more?

Comments

[ruthling]

nifty!

[alandd.livejournal.com]

"Breasts are so much more" (biting my tongue) because they're basically all meat; on the others, you're paying for bones... That's my opinion anyway.

[magid.livejournal.com]

::laugh::

But wouldn't that mean that the leg quarters should cost less than the whole bird, since there's more bone as a percentage?

[alandd.livejournal.com]

I thought you were talking about 'per pound'... I don't know - I don't buy ingredients! :-)

[magid.livejournal.com]

Yes, I was thinking per pound. If the breasts are so much more meat than bone, they must bring the average meat-to-bone for the whole bird higher. Perhaps not, though, with all the frame.

[cellio]

I think I would go with the rum.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Yours seems to be the overwhelming opinion (many more people have weighed in on this important issue on FB). I think I'll start the tonight.

[(Anonymous)]

Which leads to the question: if I make pineapple liqueur, should it have a vodka or a rum base?

Ooh, do the rum! Good idea.

Having a generally better frame of mind.

Nice. May it continue. And sorry this lately hadn't been so.

[magid.livejournal.com]

So, everyone but one person has jumped at the rum. When I went to the cabinet last night to check what kind it was, it turned out that while the bottle was large, the clear liquid in it wasn't so much, so I ended up with two smaller batches, one rum, one vodka. I resisted the urge to add vanilla to either, since this will make a great comparison case plain.

Thank you. It's odd how things that I know will make me happier can sometimes be hard to get myself to do...

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the hat sales! :)

[magid.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

It's really lucky for me that my friend offered to sell my stuff with theirs, since I don't do Shabbat sales (and when I looked at the cost of a table, it seemed enough that my not-really-steampunk things might not be right for it).

[(Anonymous)]

Scientific boozery!

I've heard of homemade vanilla flavoring made by steeping vanilla beans in rum instead of in vodka. Sounds good to me.

Odd, perhaps, but normal, I think.

Though there aren't things I can do to actually make myself happy, I have experienced something similar the past many months; it is easy when something's gone wrong and caused me to be feeling quite unwell to be unable to do things that will keep me from becoming more upset and anxious and will bring about feelings of satisfaction.

Life is hard when one is unhappy.

I am glad things do exist that you know you can do to make yourself happier.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I've used vanilla beans with other fruits, but they're pretty strong, so I'd want a larger batch than I managed for this.

There are things I can do that will make it more likely I'll have a positive perspective on things, and I wish I didn't let myself down when I wouldn't do this to someone else....

[(Anonymous)]

That's pretty powerful, to be able to do things that will encourage you to have a more positive perspective!

Gaining a more positive perspective strikes me as very practical, more pertinent than just cheering up.

I find it's easier to help someone else than to help myself.

Are there close and sensitive friends with whom if you now were to share a list of these things, then if and when you are next in need of doing such things they'd notice on their own and take it upon themselves to gently suggest them and help you to do them?

(I'm very curious about what might encourage a more positive perspective. That could really help me out right now.)

[(Anonymous)]

And best wishes for a good Shabbat that sees the continuation of your good frame of mind!

[magid.livejournal.com]

For me, getting out and about helps, any kind of movement/exercise, even better if I can get myself to physical exhaustion. Time one on one with good friends. Really good hugs and other low-key physical touch. Making things that turn out as I envision them is pretty helpful too. Focusing on something enough to not think of myself at all for a while is great.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Thanks you. I hope you had a lovely Shabbat yourself :-)

And last night was 18, or 24_{base 7}...

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you so much for sharing all that!

And I apologize if my suggestion was at all inappropriate.

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks! Not exactly lovely, but it was for me the first largely unproblematic and most calm Shabbat in a long time. And for you?

Indeed. *grin*

Shavua tov.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Unproblematic and calm is pretty good.

I had a house guest, so things were nice with intermittent company.

[magid.livejournal.com]

No worries!

I'm someone who finds it difficult to ask for things that can be impositions, so I don't know that I could manage asking. If I had a roommate, I suspect it would be easier to get myself to do things, just by virtue of having another person around....

[(Anonymous)]

Understood. Guess that's a benefit of having an online journal; you reflect that you know of certain things that will help improve your perspective, and someone like me prompts elaboration. Then again, the same discussion might have come about through a one-on-one conversation. Either way, if you and I were also in-person friends, I'd now know of actions I could initiate to help when I knew you were or sensed that you might be feeling negatively.

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, it is, thank you. I am appreciating it.

So glad things were nice for you!

[magid.livejournal.com]

::nod::

It's tricky, sometimes. I suspect if I'd thought that this conversation were going to have gone in this direction (English has such wonderfully convoluted verb tense possibilities :-), I might have locked the post, protecting myself from... I'm not sure what, but often more introspective posts feel more comfortable when I can control who reads (and possibly comments) to them.

Which is not to say I'm unhappy the thread went this way, btw.

[(Anonymous)]

I do like what you did with those verbs!

I think I understand.

Thank you for thinking to mention that you aren't unhappy that this discussion arose.

It was actually somewhat helpful for me. Not to the same extent as the conversation we had in the fall prompted by your link to that article about perfection, but in a slightly similar way.

In any case, may you feel well!