Although, not officially until December 21…but the temperatures are dropping and the rain has arrived!
Turkey
I hope that everyone had an enjoyable and safe Turkey day! With the exception of my international readers. ;o) I just hope that you had a nice weekend!
Thanksgiving this year was a lot easier and not as hectic as last year. I think that once you get that first meal under your belt, the subsequent Thanksgiving meals are easier to handle. Not to mention that I did NOT roast a whole bird this year. Since there were only going to be 6 adults, I figured a bird wouldn’t be worth it. Instead I roasted 1 turkey breast and 2 turkey legs. Turns out, even that was too much for 6 adults – 1 leg went untouched! Alongside the bird, I made cheesy mashers, green beans, apple and onion stuffin’, whole cranberry sauce and a green salad with a fig and date vinaigrette. We had plenty of leftovers that made for the most dee-lish sandwiches the next day.
Sh**** Timing
Frenchy and I have the worst timing or the worst luck with it! When the stucco and dry rot were being repaired, it rained. Now, as we’re starting to take up a “couples” sport – tennis – it starts to rain. We treated ourselves to quality tennis rackets from Target last Friday and made it to the court with Lucie in tow. We played for about an hour and did quite well considering neither of us knows how to play and are quite sucky at it.
So it’s here…
Winter. The Holidays. Since my family is usually all over the place on Christmas, we’re getting together a tad bit early this year. Oh, like 2 weeks early. So, naturally, I HAD to get our house ready and decorated for Xmas. So we have our tree, which is all ready to go. The stockings are hung and the apple scented candle has been bought. The mantle is missing a few things, but I’m not too worried about it. So far, Lucie hasn’t tried to break off a tree branch or eat a glass ornament (as she did her first Xmas). She’s a little frustrated because she doesn’t have full access to the front window.
New home
So Kellybean is now at it’s new home. Let me know what you think. What you like, what you don’t. I’ll take it into consideration if I feel like it. ;o)
Pictures will be posted as soon as I figure out how to do so. Rhapsody links? Hmm, we’ll see.
“All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning.”
–Albert Camus
The princess of fug and Talan?
headline from Yahoo! News:
Stewart to Marry ‘Laguna Beach’ Star
Yes, my guilty pleasure MTV’s Laguna Beach. But, really how random is this?! Talan and Kim Stewart? Are we kidding?
I don’t what it is, but this month has been mad busy! So much going on everywhere!
Frenchy is in Brussels on his first European business trip. Taking advantage of the location, he’s going to pop in quickly to see papa et maman and pick up some staples this coming weekend.
The past couple months, Frenchy has been searching high and low for Krisprolls. A savory snack he would have at breakfast or at tea. He couldn’t quite explain what they were – I was imagining something along the lines of wasa crispbread. Anyhow, late last week, after hitting the Neiman Marcus sale er, um, window shopping at the mall, I stopped into Oakville Grocery to grab a salad. I walk into the store, and what do I find? Baskets and baskets of Krisprolls! Just as he’s prepping for a visit home, I find one of two items he’s going home for! (The other is Savora – I didn’t check to see if they had it there, but will next time.)
With Frenchy gone, the daily routine schedule has taken its toll on Lucie and me. We’ve been waking up WELL before 6am for me to be able to get my s*** together and to go for a W-A-L-K and time for breakfast and one more Lucie potty break before I leave for work. She was a bit confused one morning and couldn’t understand why we were going to the P-A-R-K when it was still dark out. She quickly got over it though. Thank goodness for Tailwaggers!
Mmm…crab fat.
I haven’t checked the papers recently, but crab season is soon approaching (or has approached, if prices have been negotiated). To get ready for the season, Lisa and I attended a cooking demonstration class. (Though not hands on, it’s a great class, because you sit back, watch, drink wine and eat whatever they’re making.) We tasted (and got the recipes for): Dungeness crab cakes, Crab-stuffed Red Peppers with Beurre Blanc and Hazelnuts, Cioppino and Crab Roasted in the shell with Garlic Noodles (super yum!). We also got instruction on how to kill, cook and clean crab – which is nice, because it does seem a bit daunting. We also got instruction on how to clean squid – interesting.
C’est arrivé!
The Beaujolais Nouveau is here! I wasn’t sure what the big deal is – but apparently it’s a huge deal! (Something about taking baths in it in Japan…) So huge, there’s a French law that states that Beaujolais Nouveau is to be released no earlier than the third Thursday in November. Of course, it’s just another reason for the French to celebrate, n’est pas? I don’t know that much about the varietal, just that it’s a red wine. So after some serious research on the internet, I found out that:
1. Beaujolais Nouveau is “about as close to white wine as red wine can get. It makes a great transitional wine for anyone wanting to move from white to red wines.â€
2. Beaujolais Nouveau tastes better chilled and should be gulped and not sipped.
3. Beaujolais Nouveau is always released on the third Thursday of November, regardless of the start of harvest.
4. All grapes in the Beaujolais region must be hand picked. These are the only vineyards, along with Champagne, where hand harvesting is mandatory.
5. Beaujolais Nouveau is meant to be drunk young – in average vintages it should be consumed by the following May after its release. However, in excellent vintages (such as 2000) the wine can live much longer and can be enjoyed until the next harvest rolls around.
So to celebrate, the Neighbors (not our neighbors-neighbors, but nice people like Brad and Lisa), Lisa’s friend, Kayne, and I are going to partake in the Beaujolais Nouveau celebration at Chouchou.
So if you can, pick up a bottle tonight and partake in this crazy party taking place all over the world!
Thanks to S’ coworkers, I can say that now we are both devoted viewers of HBO’s historical dramas…Deadwood and Rome.
I wasn’t sure that I was going to enjoy Deadwood, it being a western and all, but I am hooked! Some episodes are heard to stomach – but other than that, two thumbs up!
Though, I enjoy both shows, Rome is my favorite (Sylvain favors Deadwood). Rome chronicles Julius Caesar’s rule of the Roman empire. Well, we all know that he dies…but here we see the fictional “behind the music”, if you will. Again, if you’ve got HBO – I recommend it!
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