Weekend update
Putting my feet up on a cloudy Sunday afternoon feels pretty great. It's been a nice weekend.
On Friday evening, I relaxed to the max with a cook-whatever's-left-in-the-kitchen-dinner of roasted sweet potatoes, green bell peppers, chick peas, and celery over whole wheat orzo. Surprisingly tasty. I watched Parenthood, which has held up remarkably well over the past 20 years. Seriously: every moment is perfect, particularly every one involving Dianne Wiest.
I arose at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning to go on a 15.5-mile bike ride with a friend. It was nice. I still struggle a bit getting foot #2 into the toe clip but I feel practice will help me improve in this regard, much as I can now grab and replace the water bottle with ease. It was nice to ride with a friend instead of solo and great to be done, showered, and ready to go to the farmers' market by 8:15. I bought eggs, a basket of assorted sweet peppers, and some baby tomatoes and ran into my parents, who bought me some small spicy onions and a dozen big fat shrimp. I keep meaning to become a vegetarian, but my mom made tuna salad this week, and then they bought me shrimp, so I keep failing. It was fun to wander through the market with my mom, who basically bought all of the peaches and all of the corn.
Saturday was a busy day. I don't remember the exact order, but I went on a very satisfying greeting card shopping spree, bought a bike rack for my car I have no idea how to install and a tire patching kit I have no idea how to use, bathed not one but two dogs in the tub and half-assedly put the bathroom back together after the great flood caused by Zuko, enjoyed homemade cool-brewed iced coffee placed in the freezer for a while to get slushy, watered all my plants, and washed a million gross and furry dog towels.
That night, I decided to thank my parents for petsitting during my recent trip to D.C. by bringing a movie over and cooking them dinner with the farm-fresh fixins. I cooked the shrimp in a skillet with olive oil and a little Tony's and sauteed garlic, the tiny purple onions that basically made my eyeballs explode with tears, red and yellow bell peppers, and tomatoes in olive oil until they were caramelized and mushy, mixed the shrimp in, and served it over whole wheat angel hair. My mom cooked a half-dozen corn cobs and we ate every single one of them. It was such a fresh and sensational dinner and we all moaned a lot and celebrated our local farmers. I tried to explain The Omnivore's Dilemma to them and how it has revolutionized my thoughts on food but I'm not sure I did a very good job. We rubbed our bellies and watched Stranger than Fiction. I knew they'd be prime for another Emma Thompson/Dustin Hoffman movie after the way they loved Last Chance Harvey, and they really enjoyed it. After not seeing it since it was in the theater, I'd forgotten how good it is. It's so, so good! Love. Also good: The Book Thief, which I love on a level that prevents me from being very articulate about it.
I took to my bed with The Castle of Llyr and slept well, going grocery shopping this morning and attempting to put a dent in the piles of pet hair wafting through my house. I had a nice lunch with a friend and headed to the gym for a treadmill run, which was surprisingly tolerable, thanks largely to my intense enjoyment of the adorable, inspiring, and triumphant "Expressing Yourself" from Billy Elliot and Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now."
Then I put Patty Griffin on loud and made myself my first ever pie. It's a blueberry pie with a pecan crumble topping. I feel really good about this and hope I don't burn it. I can smell it baking now, and I am kicking back with season four of Weeds, which I've gotta tell you, is not exactly uplifting. The problem with this show is that not a single character is likable. They are all fundamentally vile. If Mary Louise Parker were not so pretty I doubt I'd keep watching it, but there you go.
This is really the first part of my summer, this week ahead, where I'm not on vacation or super-duper busy at work. It's in stark contrast to last summer at this time, when all I did was read, analyze, and write about graphic novel after graphic novel for class in every waking moment. I have to say that it's pretty pleasant. I'm going to have to hit the training hard in the next few weeks pre-triathlon, see the new Harry Potter movie, and mentally prepare myself to swim 500 yards in a lake filled with brown water and slime.
And ... the pie is ready!
On Friday evening, I relaxed to the max with a cook-whatever's-left-in-the-kitchen-dinner of roasted sweet potatoes, green bell peppers, chick peas, and celery over whole wheat orzo. Surprisingly tasty. I watched Parenthood, which has held up remarkably well over the past 20 years. Seriously: every moment is perfect, particularly every one involving Dianne Wiest.
I arose at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning to go on a 15.5-mile bike ride with a friend. It was nice. I still struggle a bit getting foot #2 into the toe clip but I feel practice will help me improve in this regard, much as I can now grab and replace the water bottle with ease. It was nice to ride with a friend instead of solo and great to be done, showered, and ready to go to the farmers' market by 8:15. I bought eggs, a basket of assorted sweet peppers, and some baby tomatoes and ran into my parents, who bought me some small spicy onions and a dozen big fat shrimp. I keep meaning to become a vegetarian, but my mom made tuna salad this week, and then they bought me shrimp, so I keep failing. It was fun to wander through the market with my mom, who basically bought all of the peaches and all of the corn.
Saturday was a busy day. I don't remember the exact order, but I went on a very satisfying greeting card shopping spree, bought a bike rack for my car I have no idea how to install and a tire patching kit I have no idea how to use, bathed not one but two dogs in the tub and half-assedly put the bathroom back together after the great flood caused by Zuko, enjoyed homemade cool-brewed iced coffee placed in the freezer for a while to get slushy, watered all my plants, and washed a million gross and furry dog towels.
That night, I decided to thank my parents for petsitting during my recent trip to D.C. by bringing a movie over and cooking them dinner with the farm-fresh fixins. I cooked the shrimp in a skillet with olive oil and a little Tony's and sauteed garlic, the tiny purple onions that basically made my eyeballs explode with tears, red and yellow bell peppers, and tomatoes in olive oil until they were caramelized and mushy, mixed the shrimp in, and served it over whole wheat angel hair. My mom cooked a half-dozen corn cobs and we ate every single one of them. It was such a fresh and sensational dinner and we all moaned a lot and celebrated our local farmers. I tried to explain The Omnivore's Dilemma to them and how it has revolutionized my thoughts on food but I'm not sure I did a very good job. We rubbed our bellies and watched Stranger than Fiction. I knew they'd be prime for another Emma Thompson/Dustin Hoffman movie after the way they loved Last Chance Harvey, and they really enjoyed it. After not seeing it since it was in the theater, I'd forgotten how good it is. It's so, so good! Love. Also good: The Book Thief, which I love on a level that prevents me from being very articulate about it.
I took to my bed with The Castle of Llyr and slept well, going grocery shopping this morning and attempting to put a dent in the piles of pet hair wafting through my house. I had a nice lunch with a friend and headed to the gym for a treadmill run, which was surprisingly tolerable, thanks largely to my intense enjoyment of the adorable, inspiring, and triumphant "Expressing Yourself" from Billy Elliot and Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now."
Then I put Patty Griffin on loud and made myself my first ever pie. It's a blueberry pie with a pecan crumble topping. I feel really good about this and hope I don't burn it. I can smell it baking now, and I am kicking back with season four of Weeds, which I've gotta tell you, is not exactly uplifting. The problem with this show is that not a single character is likable. They are all fundamentally vile. If Mary Louise Parker were not so pretty I doubt I'd keep watching it, but there you go.
This is really the first part of my summer, this week ahead, where I'm not on vacation or super-duper busy at work. It's in stark contrast to last summer at this time, when all I did was read, analyze, and write about graphic novel after graphic novel for class in every waking moment. I have to say that it's pretty pleasant. I'm going to have to hit the training hard in the next few weeks pre-triathlon, see the new Harry Potter movie, and mentally prepare myself to swim 500 yards in a lake filled with brown water and slime.
And ... the pie is ready!
Life is good.
Labels: weekend update
posted by eliza @ 1:48 PM
3 Comments:
I'm with you on the bike stuff. I have spare tubes and a patch kit, but if I ever got a flat I have no idea how to change out the tubes or how to use the patch kit. I just keep hoping never to have a flat, which is probably wishful thinking.
Plenty of bike maintenance tips on the web. Swapping out the tube is slightly easier than patching a tube - which requires the swap anyhow.
I just think it's great you're enjoying getting out and riding!
I have to say - that pie looks absolutely decadent! I gotta go grab a bite of something to eat!
Hi Eliza - I'm the commenter from a few weeks back who asked you about The Book Thief.... I love it on the same level as you do! Your weekend sounds absolutely perfect and topped off with that beautiful pie....life doesn't get any better than that, does it?
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