Wednesday, December 26, 2007 

cousins

Sunday, December 23, 2007 

great minds...

i had christmas with my immediate family last night. when i handed rich his present he cracked up. "i think we got each other the same thing, shan!"

Thursday, December 13, 2007 

the amateur chef is at work...

i have spent a glorious day in the kitchen. i'm a little out of control -- must have been all those months without cooking.

i just made candied walnuts for what i hope will be a glorious creamy blackberry dessert.

that's right. i just made candied walnuts. i tried just one and i don't know that i will be coming down from the sugar rush any time soon. i also made the following: pesto, the sauce for friday's pasta, and ciabatta starter. it's time to make my famous hummus, clean up and head to work.

my home is filled with the aromas of roasted tomatoes, fresh herbs, sugar, toasted nuts... it's not a bad mix. this weekend my friends are in for a treat.

and then i get to cook for family.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 

menu(s)

Friday:

Artichoke Hearts and Crimini Mushrooms
Roasted Eggplant, Walnut and Basil Pate
Rosemary Foccacia
Angel hair Pasta with Pesto and Roasted Tomato Sauce
Thin-crust Pita Pizza



Saturday Appetizers of Glory:

Roasted Eggplant, Walnut and Basil Pate
Black-eyed Pea Hummus with Southern Fusion Naan
Marinated Goat Cheese
Mascarpone Dip with Roasted Red Bell Peppers and Other Ingredients (the latter have not yet been determined)




as many of my friends would say, inshallah. i look forward to trying these out.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 

a day in the life

today shan:

ran some errands and saw the black cloud of death approach.

-----


i've never seen anything like it, and the strange thing is that once it arrived there was no rain.

until it hit.

no hints. no sprinkles, no sheets of rain slipping their way towards me. this was an instant barrage of drops like grapes, slamming their way into the path of cars, slamming away the mild humidity that hung across the first portion of the day. drops meant to intimidate windshields and wipers, umbrellas and raincoats.

and now outside feels like the cool butterfly kiss of early spring.



today shan studied german. she ran errands. she ate a grilled cheese sandwich (did you know that cafe brazil now has fries? they are amazing. we need to get meridian the recipe. best fries ever. seriously). the german is still focused on pronunciation, but that's good. my mouth is still working on forming some of the sounds. there is something delightful about the spoken language, the way the consonants feel when you utter them.

shan renewed library books and checked her box (she has a grade for NT as a course but no marked final or john exegesis paper! ) and visited the cantankerous registrar.

she learned a recipe for artichoke pesto dip that she wants to try out on her official food critic.

she needs to clean her apartment (mop. mop. mop.) and take out the trash before walking the dog and tending to the family.

not a bad day's work for one with free time.


----

**addendum**

while not in the midst of a semester of coursework, shan reserves the right to vacillate between first and third person. especially when speaking of rain or emailing good friends.

also to write sentence fragments.

Monday, December 10, 2007 

the stars at night

nights like last night remind me why, exactly, i love living in dallas.

it's not just big hair and debutantes who occupy this fair city (though we do have our share of both). yesterday evening a crowd descended on the former gypsy tea room for art conspiracy.

deep ellum may be fast asleep, but last night she cracked open one eye before returning to dreams of her next cycle of renewal.

 

on ketchup and gasoline

i must have slipped into an alternate reality yesterday. after waking to a wintry morning, i attempted to purchase gas at the local 7-11. they were out, so i bought a bottle of fiji water and a banana. hey: if i'm going to run out of gas on the way to texaco i'm going to need supplies. (the hybrid, thankfully, held up, preventing me from being stranded on forest lane.)

later in the day shan, lazy american that she is, went through the drive thru at burger king to get a veggie burger. AFTER the poor underpaid worker took my cash she informed me that they were out of ketchup.

out of ketchup? how on earth does that happen?


i must be everyone's least favorite customer because for both incidents i asked with an incredulous voice, "why don't you put up a sign?"

Sunday, December 09, 2007 

amazing. glorious. incredible.

i use too many modifiers.

Friday, December 07, 2007 

everyone keeps asking me what i'm doing with my time this month.

short answer? enjoying the space to breathe.


listening to the new andrew bird. going out for drinks with a friend. working. singing. planning to cook. going to a fifth grader's band concert. reading the news. studying for the GRE. trying to learn german. itching to get the sewing machine out (i haven't touched it since i moved). wishing i had more money to buy gifts. long baths. lentil soup. did i mention work?

the first time i got a root canal the very expensive and sexy specialist asked me what i liked to do. i rattled off the list and he was taken aback. he told me that no one really ever has an answer to that question, other than that they watch television.

hmm.

i'm getting over my snobbery in regard to TV. i watch TV, but i watch it on DVD. with the exception, of course, of cooking shows.

-----

it's early december and there are currently five tomatoes ripening on my plant. the high today is 80. i'd complain, but i'm more interested in reading on the veranda in my bikini.

life is bisa. hope is present.

Saturday, December 01, 2007 

saturday morning, roughly around 6:30AM

okay: the study session did devolve into a discussion about the meaning of life.

but it was a good one. only three beers were consumed among the participants. and hey, i think we're ready for the exam.


in other news, check out rlp's latest. that's humbling.

also, i want a cayote and an orange cat.


------

it's the first day of december. very soon i will be visiting berkley (and many caugheys).

thanksgiving was quiet, calm, and glorious.




















in just a few days i shall be free of this semester's stresses. december is a month of freedom before i plunge into new coursework (yes, i can't wait to purchase my books for january and spring terms)... i'm going to sit and talk with loved ones. read rorty. listen to good music, take long contemplative walks. sing. recalibrate (or "defrag," as aunt jac says).

i'm going to sit in my gold chair and devour the stack of books that have been neglected in favor of process theology and systematics, the gospel of john, etc.

here's to december.