Food that gives you pause

I'm on a food theme, it seems. Today Micaela was craving pho, so three of us headed out to Vietnam Palace for lunch. I wasn't hungry because I had had a large breakfast of leftover Thai chicken with cashews, so I started looking at the interesting drinks section of the menu. They have some really neat drinks, but I wasn't up for durian drink (durian smells like old sweaty mouldy socks, and that's me being polite). Right below that, though, was a listing for avocado milkshake. I like avocado, and I like milkshakes. Sounds kind of weird to put them together, but why not give it a shot?

You can't really see it in the picture, but it's a lovely pale pale green shade.


A weird concept, but in practice a truly delicious experience. The shake was extra creamy and tasted just like avocado, but sweeter. It was mild and delicate and I wish I had known about this during the summer. I'd definitely order it again. Actually, when I got home I dug out my ice cream cookbook and found a recipe for avocado ice cream, which I'm totally going to try.

food onna stick!

Because everything's better on a stick, even a heart attack!

Twins?

I think I now understand why people keep stopping my sister and me and asking if we're twins. I never got it before seeing these pictures.

Cheesy eighties fun!

I've been watching Celebrity Duets, and am now in full-on eighties flashback heaven. Watch the first 2:50 of this video and just try not to sing along! I'm beginning to really love Hal Sparks. And Dennis Deyoung of Styx makes me smile.

Aw, cute!

It's a baby panda infestation!

My not-so-new obsession

For the past few months I've been hooked on a fun and productive new activity. I started bookswapping, which fulfulls my desire to get rid of the stuff that's been sitting around the apartment, lets me know that it's going to someone who really wants it, and gives me the chance to get something in return.

I started out on (not just for paperbacks).

Then I discovered .

And now has started up and I'm using all three.

In the past few weeks Librarything, on which I've catalogued my entire collection, started integrating with swap sites.

It's fun, it's addictive, and it's a wonderful way to recycle books! If you want to join up (and give me valuable referral points), drop me a line and I'll refer you.

Avast, me hearties!

It's the Annual "Talk Like A Pirate Day" today, so a big "YARRRR!" to you all!

Book title of the week

Ways to my heart

If you are an author - especially a really cool author like Christopher Moore - and you are promoting your new book (in stores Jan 2007), what better way to a girl's heart than a bag of candy hearts? Yeah, I'm buying.



Thanks to Tess who went to the NAIBA tradeshow this weekend and brought back loot for me, including signed Eloisa James books.

HoYay!

Is it wrong that I think this is hot?

Not safe for work or young'uns. Mom and dad, protect your innocence.



Wait for it to load, it's worth it!

And one thing not to be happy about

Nights where you spend more time trying to fall asleep instead of actually sleeping. I don't remember actually sleeping at all last night, just hours of lying in bed telling myself that I'd better get tired, dammit.
I am one cranky librarian this morning, let me tell you!

Things to be happy about

1. I had a great vacation with my sister - 10 days, and with the exception of 1 hour I think we spent every single minute in each other's company. And it was fine!
2. Seeing "The Drowsy Chaperone" in New York
3. Finally buying the painting that I've been eyeing on the wall of Dessert for the last few months. My first real post-university art purchase. I love it, it makes me happy just looking at it!
4. Going hiking in the Wissahickon
5. Having space in my bedroom again now that the air mattress is gone.
6. Discovering the joys of Marshalls with Micaela.
7. Buying a fabulous pair of blue Clarks shoes at Ross for under $20.
8. Getting tickets for "The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee" for when it comes to Philly next month
9. Restaurant week!
10. The weather has broken and it's actually comfortable outside now.

The Case of the Alcoholic Mouse

Last night was girl's night, which was a blast. Pizza, Project Runway, and wildly inappropriate talk about animals, republicans, and babies. About halfway through the evening Jen jumped up on her chair, cookie in hand, and went all girlie about seeing a mouse. Philly mice are incredibly bold. This one (the first I've seen in almost a year) was on my kitchen counter trying to move a bottlecap from a mudslide. So not only do I have mice again, I have alcoholic mice. It's amazing how blase I have become about mice and creepy crawlies living in Philly. If this happened a few years ago, I'd be up on the chair next to Jen. Last night I just wandered over to the kitchen and chased the mouse away. It reappeared later on near everyone's shoes, so that pretty much put an end to the night, but since it was really late and everyone had to work the next day, that was fine. One of the reasons I wasn't freaking out was because I have a rat zapper, which I pulled out and reset last night after everyone was gone and I bleached my counter. This morning, one dead mouse. I'll keep the zapper on for the next little while just in case there were more than one of them.

Oh yeah, and my new VCR came yesterday as well, so now I just have to find time again to watch my tapes.

In the Aw, cute! category

Rare newborn albino Pygmy Marmoset monkey perches on a zookeeper's thumb at Froso Zoo in Ostersund, Sweden August 22, 2006.

It's dead, Jim!

My friend Alex taped the third (and final) season of "This is Wonderland" for me because it doesn't air in the States. He gave me the videotapes when I visited Edmonton, but I haven't had time to start watching them until today. And of course, when I go to turn on my VCR it dies a sudden and pathetic death. I suppose I shouldn't complain, as in this age of disposable electronics and designed obsolescence my VCR had worked faithfully for over ten years. Still, it's very frustrating that it happened right now, as I was looking forward to spending the evening curled up in front of the tv watching as many episodes as I could before falling asleep. Bummer.

On the plant theme

I fear that this might be my last resort if I ever get another plant:

Sayonara Bob

I was given a lovely little plant a year or so ago with the promise that there was pretty much nothing I could do to kill it. This is a very good promise, as I am able to kill just about any living plant-based life given to me. I haven't experimented on non-plant-based life, but I'm sure that the animal kingdom is grateful that I have a pet vacuum cleaner, and not an actual living thing. Anyway, Bob lived quite happily in my window for many many months, successfully surviving periodic drought (when I forgot about him) and tropical downpours (when I kept forgetting if I had watered him so kept watering him more, just in case). Last month I went away for a vacation, Philadelphia experienced disgustingly high temperatures, and poor Bob pretty much fried in his window. When I got back he looked a little brown around the edges. Over the next few weeks he became progressively more dessicated and leave started falling off in droves. I finally gave him a decent burial (well, I put him in the trash) yesterday, and Bob is no more. He lasted longer than any other plant I ever had. Longer than Betty the avocado I grew from a pit and the peanuts I tried to grow from a peanut farmer kit. It's a good thing that my tree is in the watchful care of my mother back home. Rest in Peace, Bob.

Things I didn't know, part 763

I walked to work yesterday morning with Rachel and Liz, and we took a different route than normal. We headed up Camac street, and I don’t think I’ve ever walked up that part of the street before. It was really cool because there's one part of Camac that is the last remaining wood block street in America. I didn’t have a camera, and evidently it’s not a popular image on the web, but here’s a shot of the wood blocks (in pretty bad shape in this section)

How cool is that?

Phenomenal book

I know I shouldn't be talking about this until after book club next Tuesday, but I just finished our book for this month and it was wonderful. Liz suggested The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I started reading it last night and instead of just finishing a couple of chapters, I ended up reading about a fifth of the book before realizing that would I probably need some sleep for the next day. Today I read on my breaks, at lunch, and pretty much resented anything or anyone who got between me and the book. I finished about ten minutes ago, and have just now stopped crying.
According to the publisher, "it's just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery...."

By a chapter in or so I was sucked into the power of the flow of the words. I finished the book with a tissue in one hand because I was crying for the last 75 pages. It was so beautiful and ugly and sad and powerful.
Go and take it out from your library and lock yourself away for the day or two (or more, I'm a fast reader) it takes to finish it. You won't be disappointed.

Zombie fun!

My friend Karin is a huge zombie fan. In her honour I present to you two zombie related sites:

Spelling with Zombies - type in any text and will be spelled out in zombie bodies.

Since we are within a couple of months of Halloween, this site shows you how to make realistic looking lacerations so you can make yourself into a disgusting, disfigured zombie to scare the kiddies!