Cranky with a Side of Stream of Consciousness

Man, I wish I was anywhere but here today. I'm thinking of all the things I could be doing at home and wishing I was there.

Do I need another new hobby????? I asked Jillian the other day what a good starter cookbook was. She recommended How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman. I immediately went to my favorite book sites and nabbed a used copy of this tome. I knew I could trust her, she has every cookbook known to woman at her fingertips. This book is amazing. I pulled open the package and skimmed through. Then sat down and opened the book at the very beginning and started to read. How very 1950s - sitting down to read a cookbook. You gotta love a man who tells you that you don't need to spend $3,000 getting the best of everything before you can cook edible stuff.

And because once I'm obsessed with something, I take it all the way...I've been perusing food blogs for a couple weeks. I can't tell you how hungry this makes me. All that good food and I have to live with the cafeteria upstairs. Anyway, someone recommended Pie, by Ken Haedrich. It came yesterday. Who knew there were this many kinds of pie? Really. My mother makes apple (with 2 kinds of top crust), blueberry, pecan, and pumpkin. This morning I found a recipe for fig and grape pie. Fig. And. Grape. Pie. Have I mentioned my obsession with figs lately? Now if I could just find a receipe for goat cheese and fig pie...

I finished registering for graduate school yesterday. Yes, ma'am, I said Graduate School - at the renowned Ford School of Public Policy. It's a one-year program that I'm sure will age me 10 years. I have to take calculus. Let me just explain that I have a BA in English Language and Literature. I managed to go my entire undergraduate career without ever having to take a class from the mathematics department. Calculus. Does your head hurt yet?

One thing to look forward to this weekend. Lynne Vogel is coming to do a workshop that yours truly organized. She'll be here for 3 days - allowing me to spin, dye, and knit like crazy. What fun. I will say there's a special place in hell for anyone who commits to something and then backs out at the very last minute. Suffice it to say that the woman who did this will not be invited to attend an event I organize again. Ever.

Did I mention I was cranky?