I don't usually daylog. It's just not something I'm good at, so all the random blather goes to my LJ. But today I feel compelled. Why? Because today is my 2 year E2 anniversary. Yes, 2 years ago today, a certain friend and co-worker introduced me to the massive whirlpool that is E2, may he be blessed forever.
So, for the next few minutes, it's all about me, okay?
I love this place. Have I mentioned it lately? Well I do. That's why I knit for it, and participate in things. It supplies me with silliness and seriousness in proper measure at the proper time, sometimes at one and the same time. I come here for intellectual stimulation and to blow off steam. I've met some of you in person, and I've chatted with some of you so much that I wonder why we haven't yet met in person. It's not about the XP, it's not about the C!s, it's about the noders, and the things I didn't know, and the things I learn every day.
I haven't posted much in a while. Things are busy here in grad-school-land. The next thing I post will hopefully be a recipe for Pumpkin Pasties, both savory and sweet. I'm testing sweet and alternate savory versions tonight, and once all varieties are deemed 'good' I'll write 'em up. I'd like to do so in time for Hallowe'en, as they seem appropriate.
It's odd shopping when one is broke. I dashed into the supermarket tonight with my wallet and a pasty related list. It was unusually empty, but that was good as there were so many bad drivers on the road weaving and being altogether brainless, that I was in no mood to have to fight through the aisles. I think it might have been because of the weird smell in the store. I should listen to local radio more often, as our usually clean and vaguely vegetably supermarket had a distinct funk about it. It was a weird heavy odor, sort of sweet in a really really bad way. It was strongest near the back, so I figure something must have gone wrong with one of the walk in refrigerators.
Anyway, back to the realm of unaccustomed poverty. I noticed that all the meat was marked down. This substantiates the broken refrigerator theory, at least. I was looking for oxtails, but they didn't have any. They did have a large new display of liver, kidneys, tripe, sweetbreads, and brains though. The barrel of onions placed suggestively next to it was odorously amusing. I would have picked up some brains just to see what all the fuss is about (it seemed to be popular as the section only had a few packages left), but I didn't have enough cash for them if I wanted to get everything else I needed. I imagine brains have a nice tender texture, like marrow. Kidney is too chewy and tough, and I'm under the impression that sweetbreads are spongy, but if brains are like marrow, I can see the appeal.
So, I dashed through the store picking up flour, and butter, and a few other things. Some people seemed to have come shopping straight from a party. 5:30pm is a bit early for a party, but they'd clearly been drinking heavily, if not also indulging in other things. I also hadn't realized there were so many goths in my conservative little neck of the woods. Learn something new every day. I had to step over one person who was lying in the baking aisle, twitching. I tried to find someone to tell, but the store seemed understaffed, and I didn't see anyone except the cashiers, not even baggers.
Anyway, I was trying to explain how odd it is to not be able to buy whatever one wants upon sight. I bought extra butter because it was on sale, and I avoided the green filled Shrek Twinkies (oddly popular, the display was gutted) without a backward glance. *shudder* But I had to give the ice cream a lingering look. In the past, I've purchased up to 4 kinds of ice cream on whim. And I didn't buy any fresh chestnuts, and I studiously ignored the specialty cheeses. This not having serious gainful employ is starting to get me down.
Perhaps it's lucky that by the time I got to the ice cream, though, I was in too much of a hurry to get out of there to mourn overlong. The smell was getting worse, I could almost taste it breathing through my mouth (which was disgusting, I must say). The line at the checkout was interminable, even though there weren't that many people in the store. There were only two registers open with some poor half-dead high school students who looked simply exhausted. I used a deserted self-checkout and was out of there much faster. More morons on the road, though, and not a police car in sight. *sigh*
Ah well, it's not all about money. One day in the next year or so, I'd like to put together a cookbook of about a dozen Harry Potter themed foodstuffs, and send it to JKR just for the fun of it. I'm talking recipes for things she mentions in her books, that are average wizarding fare. Things which are amusing riffs on regular foods, like the pumpkin pasty. This is a little like my Lord of the Rings food experiments, except that it's more like lembas and less like baked Orodruin. Although, I think that some of the spectacle foodstuff skills may come in handy for the less typical of HP items. Because several minds are always better than one, if anyone has any ideas as to what I should make a recipe for, please let me know. If I can make a realistic recipe for it, I'll also node it.
Oh, also, I have a prodigious quantity of sourdough starter in need of a home, despite having sent out eight batches. If anyone wants some, let me know!