anzovin and I got home yesterday around 4:30pm from a really fun and relaxing Thanksgiving break. We drove down to my parents' house on Thursday morning (which was a good plan from the perspective of avoiding traffic) and had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. He and I went for a walk afterward with my dad - which goes to show that I ate more reasonably this year, since last year involved a food-coma in front of the fire instead - and then had pie a few hours later.

On Friday the four of us drove over to my aunt's house for the traditional day-after-Thanksgiving family reunion that my mom's side of the family always does. It gets more crowded every year, though, I swear! People (by which I mostly mean my cousins) just keep getting married and having babies! The pizza and salad were delicious, and I ate WAY too many cookies, on account of having to try most of the different kinds. I actually spent a lot of time talking to my sister rather than the more distant relatives, but I enjoyed that very much, and my cousin Amy made a point of passing on some real-life breastfeeding stories to (inspire? horrify?) educate me. :)

The "Yankee Swap" gift exchange was hilarious, as usual. Fate decreed that my brother picked out a bright pink "Snuggie" blanket with sleeves (as seen on TV!), and the eldest of my aunts got "Tired Old Ass" brand aromatherapy mineral bath salts. Hee hee. Jon ended up trading his Snuggie with cousin Molly for a $15 gift certificate to a book store, so that ended well. And I traded with my sister - a gift that included trail mix that had things I'm allergic to in it for some art supplies. Mom got the gift that zadnyl brought; tea and truffles with a pair of mugs. The Mayan Chocolate Spice tea by Yogi teas is pretty tasty - I may have to get some of my own.

Saturday was a day of pure indolence, spent reading in front of the fire. That was pretty awesome, since I've been feeling tired this week. The fire was very smoky due to some flue problems, and I've noticed since I got home that some of my clothes and pillows still smell slightly smoked.

And then on Sunday we drove home!

It's still weird to me to realize that I won't be staying at their house again without a baby.

Starting to cross things off of my list of "things to do before leaving town" for Thanksgiving, which is nice. anzovin and I have a crazy plan that involves driving to my parents' place on Thanksgiving morning, hoping to miss the rest of the traffic. We'll see how that goes. I'm really looking forward to visiting the family; having Thanksgiving be the holiday I spend visiting and Christmas be the holiday I spend at home suits me well. I may try and go with space_craft to Virginia and/or Chicago some Yuletide, but this year is not my year for traveling in December or January. :)

I'm planning to roast a chicken tonight, which ought to be delicious. I'll probably start prep around 4:30 to get things in the oven by 5; dinner around 6:30.

I'm also doing a little internet research that will soon turn into kitchen experimentation about how one might adapt a cookie recipe to make cashew-butter cookies. Man, oh man do I miss peanut butter. Allergies are a pain in the butt. I think my first attempt will involve a peanut-butter/oatmeal cookie recipe I found, and I'm planning to add some dried cranberries or maybe raisins. Either of those dried fruits go well with cashews... better than I imagine chocolate chips matching. *sigh* A moment of silence for the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. The essential thing about substituting cashew butter for peanut butter is that it is both sweeter and milder in flavor. So I plan on reducing the sugar, punching up the salt, and making sure I use spices (like cinnamon, perhaps.)

I'm having quite the busy weekend! We're already starting to get ready for the party next Saturday, and today I went out for a hike with anzovin in the lovely weather. Yesterday I spent a lot of time with space_craft, which was awesome, and I've been doing my exercises and general chores on top of everything else. I'm setting records for the amount of dishes washed in one weekend, and I'm on my third load of laundry for the day. Whew! Dinner tonight will be spaghetti squash with sausage in the sauce and spinach on the side. (anzovin cooked last night, much to my delight!)

Credit to space_craft for owning the adorable mug that made this new icon possible. :)

I enjoyed my walk this morning immensely. I visited with the Mapleline cows, listened to the goats, watched someone burning off a field where cherry tomatoes had been growing this year, and was passed on the road by a blue pickup truck full of sacks of onions.

Of course, before I went out for this delightful walk I woke up with a cold sore outbreak (blech) and accidentally broke my favorite mirror. (I was putting away laundry and when I closed a drawer with too much force, a metal candleholder plummeted off a high shelf and onto the mirror, smashing it quite spectacularly.)

The good news is, space_craft was kind enough to pick up my prescription, and I have ordered a new mirror which, while not identical to the original, I think I will like very much, and it only cost me $23, including the shipping. Unlike the original, which was a beveled, frameless, 6-inch round feng shui mirror that I bought during college from a store in Northampton that no longer exists, this one is a round silver double-sided compact mirror with a neat blue, silver, and black design on the outside. Like so.

mythmaster for this one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKss2pBYQ6Y And why is Frankenstein's monster in there?

Went out hiking today with anzovin, unfolded_cranes, and a friend of ours from out of town. We got a little turned around in the woods and ended up hiking for an hour and 45 minutes instead of the amount we had originally planned on. Apart from being a little footsore, I had a great time, though, and we topped off all that exercise with lunch at Fresh Side in Amherst. I got a curry-coconut soup with seafood in it which was delicious. The seafood included mussels, which I had never had before. I didn't fall instantly in love, but I didn't hate them, either. Then we stopped at an Asian grocery and I bought a couple of snacks (mango-cream filled cookies which were delicious and dried sweet plums which were really weird/kinda gross).

Now to marshal my forces for baking a birthday cake for anzovin who turns 28 tomorrow! He's requested an apple spice cake, which should be both easy and fun, and will go well with the beef stew he's making tonight. (Birthday dinner is a day early because space_craft and I will be at a class tomorrow night and eating on the run.)

Hope everyone is able to have a happy and fun All Hallow's Eve! (I will be dressing up tonight for a party, and if the pictures come out well, I'll share later.)

I went for a lovely walk yesterday to visit the cows that provided the milk for my breakfast cereal. (The icon above is the result - it would have been more awesome if the cow was closer or my phone camera had a zoom function.) Jersey cows are so pretty! I really prefer them to Holsteins. But then, that might just be because Holsteins are so... overdone in this country.

Here are some photos I took of some apples I bought in the hope that someone could help me name that variety. I forgot to jot it down at the store, and I'm not sure when I'll be back there again. I do recall that the sign recommended them as cooking apples on the basis of having a very superior cooked texture.
( Cut for image size )
As you see, they have a very distinctive shape.

So many calls, texts, cards and people on my Facebook wall! Thanks to everyone for remembering my birthday. :) Tuesday's dinner was a smash hit composed of roasted chicken with garlic, sauteed spinach, and cider-braised winter squash. anzovin brought me home some lovely flowers. My massage on Wednesday was wonderfully relaxing and thank you space_craft for making it happen! Today I got an amazingly sweet letter from my mom in a cute birthday card. Y'all rock my world.

My birthday unofficially started yesterday with a trip to Atkins Farms in the company of space_craft and sydneycat. I got cider donuts to serve as my birthday cake today, and also some cider for the dinner that unfolded_cranes is whipping up this evening while anzovin and I have a romantic outing to... the Jones Library. :)

sydneycat also baked me some delicious brownies and gave me a couple of small cute presents. And zadnyl was kind enough to give me a call this morning. She seems to be planning something food-related, as she asked me about my allergies.

Tomorrow the festivities continue as I redeem a birthday present from space_craft and anzovin at East Heaven... a lovely massage! Everyone is being so great this year. Thanks you guys!!

Making homemade chili tonight; going to the Garlic and Arts Festival tomorrow. Started listening to my audiobook of Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food today while going for my walk. Even had a salad for lunch, and planning to follow it up with some of unfolded_cranes's dairy-free squash pie. (Although actually the crust has butter in it, so it's just the filling that's dairy free.)

Cooking with whole foods is pretty awesome.

sundart: "Gee, I wonder why I still smell bleach over here in the living room? I don't think I got any on my hands when I was starting the laundry."

*fast forward half an hour*

sundart's green skirt from Deva Lifewear: "I'm melting, melting...."
sundart: "Oh, crap!"

*rinses skirt off*

*changes clothes*

*examines yellow splotches on formerly green skirt*

sundart: "Sigh...."

space_craft and I had a gay, gay overnight in Provincetown on Friday night. I had actually never been out on the Cape before, and it was pretty neat. I'd certainly go back. Obviously, Saturday was very rainy, but we had walked around downtown P-town the evening before (post check-in, pre-dinner) so we were still able to enjoy a little shopping in the rain. And we had a rainbow umbrella, though I could have used a raincoat! We had some delicious pizza on Friday night and some quality seafood on Saturday for lunch on our way out of town, and overall it was a lovely brief getaway. I'm trying to get as much traveling in before I'm responsible for a wee one as I can!

One thing about living in farming country: produce falls out of trucks on its way to market more than you might think. Not in large quantities, but I've seen cabbages, cherry tomatoes, green beans, and corn on the roads around our house in the past few months. Also doughnut holes. But I don't think those grew in a field.

Our birdfeeder has attracted what I can only describe as a gang of tufted titmice, who hang around in the lilac bush nearby and harass each other and the goldfinches and cardinals in loud squawks. For such dainty looking birds, they're loud little guys. But when they grab a single black-oil sunflower seed (and no, it doesn't have anything to do with the X-Files) and perch in the bush to peck it open, it's adorable.

On my walk this morning I saw a really big snake.An Eastern Garter Snake which was about two feet long!

Yesterday, Valentino spent the day at the vet having a tooth extracted. (They said that he'll probably eventually need the other lower canine out as well, since the type of tooth decay he had is a genetic problem.) He charmed everyone at the vet's office with his handsomeness and headbutts. And they sent him home still under the influence of his anesthesia.

Unlike all the other cats I've seen groggy with general anesthesia, who tended to settle down and nap, V was wandering around purring and headbutting everyone and asking for the love even though he was a little wobbly on his feet. His eyes were hugely dilated, and he was walking around with one half-closed against the light. But he sure seemed happy about it!

What he's less happy about is the terrible-tasting antibiotic we have to give him once a day for the next two weeks. It's so bitter it makes him gag. We've decided that he deserves gooshy food after taking his medicine for the full two weeks, even though he's allowed to eat kibble after tonight for the rest of his meals.

Hopefully once he stops smelling like the vet, Copper will stop hissing at him. Poor guy.

So I went out into the yard to gather together some flowers for a pretty bouquet for the front hallway, mainly looking for a good excuse to bring in and admire the deep purple gladiolus that sprung up into bloom over the weekend. I got some orange daylilies, yellow rudbeckia, and spotted a couple of purple coneflowers in another area to the side of the yard. Sadly, it turned out they were being guarded by a GIANT swarm of mosquitoes. Ten seconds and seven bites later (including one on my upper lip and three on my left arm), I ran away into the house with my prizes.

The bouquet is lovely. But man, do I itch.

Here are some photos from the weekend, in no particular order:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40684268@N02/tags/reception/show/

I can't wait to go to my sister's wedding reception this weekend and visit with my parents! We're leaving on Friday. I'll be sure to take pictures for your entertainment.

Tonight, anzovin and I will be going to Paul & Elizabeth's for dinner to celebrate our 2nd anniversary! I'm gonna dress up. :)

We inaugurated our hot tub last night, in a cloud of bromine and at a tepid spa temperature that was just the thing for a hot July evening. But I'm not here to talk about that.

I'm finally joining the Smith gym! I'm planning to go swimming 2-3 times a week starting week after next and continuing through the fall! Clearly, it involves a lot of hanging around the studio, since I find that my time is not usually worth more than the gas and wear-and-tear of dropping anzovin off at work and running around with his car all day and then picking him up in the evening. In fact, as long as one of my swimming days is Monday, I'll be able to go along with unfolded_cranes to pick up our farm share and attend Meeting of the Minds in the evening. In all other cases, I'll just bring a book (or even a book-on-iPod). And one of the days will also be Saturday, so space_craft can get her toes wet too.

All that remains is for my new swimsuit to come in the mail and for me to go down to Public Safety and blow $50 on a parking sticker. (Which considering my gym membership was pro-rated to $75 for the rest of 2009, is not too much of a hardship.)

Hooray for swimming!