Dec 13
The cascade of cute shoes!
My friends in the Cult of Cute Shoes have been waiting for this all year. The only animated items in this window are the assorted monsters.
Since I belong to the Cult of Shoes that fit, my purchase this year was two round-neck cashmere sweaters: One coral (the color of the year, according to Pantone), one baby blue.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/13/seen-at-galeries-lafayette/
Dec 13
We’ve had some scheduled items on this year’s trip. However, we’ve had plenty of chance encounters. On our first full day we went to the Church of St. Denis. This is a very old church that’s the burial place of much of French royalty, from Dagobert and Charlemagne to Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI. St. Denis was the first bishop of Paris. The Romans beheaded him in the 3rd century. Then he walked up Montmartre Hill, head in hands, still preaching. His bones are in a reliquary behind the chapel.
On Monday we went to the Les Halles neighborhood to visit the holy shrines, Librairie Gourmande and Dehillerin. I walked out of the former with three cookbooks. We didn’t get any cookware at the latter.
Recipes from Syrian exiles.
The one on the left is from a well-known blogger. I bought the one on the right to mollify Julian when he saw the title of the one on the left.
On Tuesday we went to Place St. Michel and Ile de la Cité. On the way out of the Metro, Julian looked at a boquiniste along the Seine and saw a vintage 1930 cookbook. (No, I didn’t coax him into buying it.) Lunch was at the Café St. André, where we had hot drinks last year
The score from the banks of the Seine.
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We went to St. Chappelle with about 5000 of our closest friends. Our friend Bruce left us to get ready for his night at the opera. Then we FINALLY got into Notre Dame. In previous years the line to get in was too long. The church was decorated for the holidays. The side chapels were interesting. We took the train back to the apartment and got some takeout at a traiteur around the corner.
More adventures to come.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/13/paris-promenades/
Dec 10
So we were at a café in Paris this afternoon people-watching. The vast majority of passersby were wearing black or gray. We figured that anyone who walked by wearing bright colors had to be a tourist. Now this was a Monday. Come Saturday, yellow vests will be de rigueur.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/10/noir-est-le-noir-nouveau/
Dec 08
We’re used to seeing ducks, cormorants, geese, eagles, and herons fishing in the river behind our home. Today I saw something completely different. I saw some ripples near the shore, indicative of some bird looking for lunch. What I was not expecting was to see a crow surface with a minnow in its beak. I told Julian about what I saw. As usual, he was skeptical – until he saw it himself. Crows are known to be extremely intelligent, but this bird had to have learned it from watching the other birds fish. Nature will always surprise me.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/08/diving-crows/
Dec 07
As with applesauce apples, I have strong opinions on eating apples. The latest fad in apple varieties is super-sweet. Witness the popularity of the Honeycrisp variety. I bought some Sugar Bee apples a week or two ago, and they were even sweeter than Honeycrisps. I prefer my apples crunchy with a tart edge. Perhaps tastes will swing back my way – eventually.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/07/how-do-i-like-them-apples/
Dec 07
We’re traveling to Paris for a quick vacation. This was a spur-of-the-moment decision and came together surprisingly fast. Julian made the plane reservations and rented the apartment we were in last year within a 48-hour span.
Going to Paris this year may be a little different, thanks to the “yellow vest” riots. President Macron increased taxes on fuel. These, combined with reduced buying power, have mobilized the citizenry to protest. So these developments have forced us to pack alternate items in our suitcases. Julian had these suggestions:
And my mother is worried about terrorists?
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/07/paris-packing/
Dec 01
I believe that the status of children is a key performance indicator (to use an MBA term) of an administration. Children are faring very poorly these days. A few examples:
No amount of “Be Best” Christmas ornaments in the White House can camouflage the record of the Occupant-in-Chief.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/01/compassion-and-children/
Nov 25
Ah, the good old days. When something broke, we’d call the landlord. Now when something breaks, we realize WE’RE the landlords.
On Friday I noticed that the condo was cold. I looked at the thermostat and it said the inside temp was 62°. A little investigation by Julian revealed that the igniter for the gas furnace wasn’t igniting. The water heater and gas dryer were working fine. Naturally, this happened Thanksgiving weekend, when most self-respecting furnace repair folks are drinking mai tais on Maui. Puget Sound Energy sent over a gentleman today. Unfortunately, he’s not licensed to do any repairs and the utility’s techs who are don’t work weekends. One outfit that supposedly makes weekend calls wants $500 up front before walking in the door. Another repair outfit can’t fit us in until December 3. So we’ll shiver for at least one more night.
We’ve had a little experience with heat-less homes, mostly in conjunction with power outages. We had two ice storms when we lived in Greensboro that knocked out power for two days each. We piled every last blanket and comforter in the house on the bed and slept fully clothed. The second ice storm happened about a month before we moved to Seattle. We resorted to burning Julian’s father’s old business records, since we didn’t want to move them. One year’s worth of paperwork kept us warm for 15 minutes. The first night of that outage we heated Lean Cuisines for dinner in the gas grill.
With luck, I’ll come home to a warmer house tomorrow.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/25/staying-warm/
Nov 22
Thanksgiving is time for tradition with a twist. I made the usual cranberry-orange relish. I also made applesauce. Most of the apples were Braeburns, but I tossed in a Pink Lady and a Fuji that were languishing in the fruit drawer. This year’s twist: Later on I’ll roast some delicata squash, using a method I found in Cook’s Illustrated. Julian made the key lime pie while I was sleeping. We are guaranteed not to starve tonight.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/22/todays-feast/
Nov 22
We are thankful to have a home that overlooks a river and a park, particularly at this time of year. The bald eagles are back from summering in the mountains. Mergansers and cormorants also return. The herons, mallards, and Canada geese are here year round, although I’ve yet to see the snow goose that slums with its cousins during the winter.
Today I saw something swimming low in the water heading for shore. I aimed the binoculars to where I saw the ripples and was treated to the sight of three otters cavorting on the riverbank. They weren’t on dry land long. It was the first time in quite a while that I’d seen an otter, let alone three of them, on the river. With luck, I’ll see them again over the holiday weekend.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/11/22/otters/
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