Shoes and Ships and Sealing Wax

We sat around yakking a lot today. Manning is one of those people I can yak with for hours. Strider always has been, but it's good to mix it up. The convo went all over the place and through all kindsa topics. At one point I told him about going to see Zep one month and ELP the next. And for just a split second I felt what I felt those nights. The rush of a huge live concert, those minutes before the band appears where the anticipation, hormones and recreational substances combine in an energy that fills the whole place.

And damn did I remember it.
A Zep concert was like going to a religious rite. The smoke was so thick you barely saw the gods from afar... the people danced and sang with abandon...there was joy and hope in the temple of Led Zeppelin. I miss those rites.

An ELP concert was just as heady but different. For one thing, there were way fewer women, ever. Two or three times as many guys as gals. And lots of nerds. At a Zep concert people dressed for sex. At ELP concerts people dressed for anthropology class. ELP had an audience. We weren't there to go wild, though that happened; we were there to hear and see them play. The rest, the showmanship and the crowd, was gravy. The playing of this complicated and surprising music was the focus. People would shush you at an ELP concert, however wasted you or they were; that never happened with Zep.

Zep can never reunite. Now it looks like ELP won't ever again. That time is past, at least we have the memories. It really stinks that there are so many who would've grooved just as righteously as we did, but they were babies or weren't even born yet.

From another part of the convo, we may see time travel in our lifetimes. If at all possible, I'm taking Strider and Manning back to the summer of  '77. Maybe I'll be one of those old people I saw there in MSG and thought, "Why are old people here?"

New Beginnings

Had a really fun afternoon with Strider, Manning and Ems. They headed home a little while ago. And now the Hildebeest is mine. She's made herself at home and is under the desk with her butt on my feet right now. There's really nothing better than a furface. If I can't have Ems the Wonderdog (Strider would kill me if I ever kidnapped him), I'm glad I have Hildie. She is my cat. She picked me as much as I picked her, with Strider as the matchmaker. It's that weird animal sense Strider has. Hildie's personality is much like Sputzelda's was, my old and dear Russian Blue. All good.

But I miss Strider and Ems (and Manning, I like him) already. At least I didn't cry this time.

While here, Strider hung my paintings. The place is looking like home. Not bad for 4 weeks back in. Tomorrow I'll finish the tree and start wrapping presents, as a bunch of them came in the mail today. It's full-production Christmas now. Keep your hands and feet on the sled til we get to the bottom of the hill. It'll be a fast ride.

Yay!

Just got the email from Strider saying she's got the car loaded and they're on their way. She's stopping in NH to collect Manning, so they'll be here around noon. Very excited.

My day will be full. I have yet to make the soup for lunch and make myself look less like a banshee. Don't want to turn Manning's hair white on first sight. But I have time. Still haven't created a place for The Beest's litter box... hmmm. I'll get my derriere in gear after the second cuppa.

Will be back to brag tonight. ;)

The Man in the Moon is a Lady

When I was very little I wanted to be an astronaut. I fell asleep at night imagining me in a spacesuit outside a rocket ship. The Earth from up there was green and brown and you could see clouds floating around down there, through my big helmet visor. Years later when I saw the Big Blue Marble it is, reflected in Alan Shepard's visor, it was a surprise. Part of me expected it would be green and brown. But most water was brown to me; I lived by the NYC harbor in the 60s.

Anyway, my first treasured book (I still own it) was Tom Corbett's Trip to the Moon. It was a 50s thing. Tom Corbett was a handsome astronaut. Brewster Rockit but brainy. And he was very kind to children. The space program was huge and miraculous when I was a kid. Every kid I knew was into the space thing. Some of us wanted to be astronauts. After a while I stopped saying it because every single person I said it to said, "Girls can't be astronauts!" and laughed. Every single person. When people say the world hasn't changed, I think of that.

So that's where my love affair with the moon began. If you pay attention you can see how the moon affects weather. And we all know about the tides. The moon is a magnet in the sky for us, gently shaping and moving our world. An amazing part of our system. It fascinates me.

And then I began reading moonlore when I was in junior high. Native Americans gave the full moons names which I find very cool:
  http://www.moonphases.info/full_moon_names.html

Around every 2.5 years there are 13 full moons in a year. The 13th moon is called the Blue Moon, and falls as a second full moon within a calendar month. Hence the saying, "Once in a blue moon" which refers to something rarely happening. But there are about 4 times a century when we get 2 months in a year with 2 full moons. This most often occurs in Januarys and Marchs, leaving February without a full moon at all. And I've never heard anyone name that odd 13th moon that is a second Blue Moon. I nominate it be called Tom Corbett Moon.

Here's a Blue Moon calculator:
   http://www.obliquity.com/cgi-bin/bluemoon.cgi

Over the years and cultures the moon has been perceived as either a man or a woman. Jackie Gleason's face fit in pefectly. Personally, I think the moon's female. A big round woman sitting cross-legged and laughing, in a big white dress with long white hair.

Tonight and tomorrow the Cold Moon is full. Give the Lady a smile.

Confessions of a Tired Cook

This morning's post by Delores over at http://mybabyjohn.blogspot.com/2011/12/where-have-all-he-turkeys-gone.html inspired me to confess what we're having for Christmas Dinner this year.

In Christmases past I've made everything from turkey to lasagna, roast beast with Yorkshire pudding to crown roast of lamb. This year I'm throwing the classics and all good taste to the wind. We are having a White Trash Christmas Dinner.

Oh. I know what you're thinking, "That's nasty."
Well, yes, it is. It's also fun. And easy. And yummy, too.

There is such an assortment of foods to work with for one thing. As a main course I debated fried chicken, meat loaf, chili mac, franks and beans, baked spaghetti, all kinds of casseroles and even chicken 'n' dumplings. But the best and my favorite, is ShakenBake pork chops, so that's the winner. Side dishes abound and you can't get away from casseroles here. We will have The Green Bean Casserole. Add to that tater tots, candied carrots and baked beans and you've got a feast of good old American cooking.

And for dessert? I flirted with the idea of what is called "Ambrosia" in these parts but was called "Watergate Salad" where I grew up. This is tinned fruit salad and mandarin oranges combined with Cool Whip, nuts, tiny marshmallows and Jello powder. I can't make myself do it. So we're having box brownies with ice cream and Cool Whip.

Arguably White Trash-ish is making your own Irish cream. It's cheaper, easy and more potent to make your own. Traditionalists make it a month ahead of time and let it "cure". This has led to multiple batches being made over the holiday season in my house. It's too good. Once you have the first taste it just sits in the refrigerator calling your name. So I'll be making it tonight and hopefully it will make it to next Friday, when I'm sure a second batch will have to be made.

Here's a recipe:
750ml (3 cups) Irish whiskey
8 oz. dark chocolate chips
28 oz. sweetened, condensed milk
24 oz. evaporated milk
20 oz. heavy cream
1/4 tsp. dry instant coffee
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Melt the chocolate chips in a heavy pot. Turn off the heat, then stir in the coffee, vanilla and milks. Stir until totally blended. Let cool. Stir in Irish whiskey and heavy cream. Refrigerate. Shake or stir well before serving.