Happies Halloween!

Zach is all set for Trick or Treating now that his Frida Kahlo costume is complete.


Now I have go to work on my Sexy That's So Raven costume.

Dancing Spooky Awesomeness!

Hee hee. Since I'm not allowed to have gourds according to everyone who forwarded me this, I guess this is my lone Halloween / Autumnal decoration. Good thing I love it so.

Ain't No Cure For Birthday

So last year, I think I did a pretty nice birthday post for my dear chum David.

However, now that we are both smack dab in the mid of our 30s, I'm just too pooped to create a proper one.

But really, isn't it amazing we made it this far?

Sigh.

Getting High With My Nephew

So I had a nice time with my nephew this weekend. He's a good-natured little baby, and he looks like a mini-me so I'm evolutionarily-disposed towards liking him.



He's a bit of a squirmer though, which makes holding him an adventure in and of itself. Here we are enjoying the sights of the the Highline, which my tax dollars may or may not be funding. I seem to be pointing out to him where the Lure used to be, which I would go to on Pork Night back in the day when I would stay up past 10pm on a Wednesday and wear leather pants.


And here we are with Nana and Papa, who clearly love him more than anything else in the world.

Here's a nice one of the two of us which caused some controversy at the office. It's not like I dropped him or anything, or held him anywhere near the edge. And he's smiling!

Right? It's totally different.

So in conclusion, babies are cute, if squirmy.

Gettings It In The Can

Who doesn't love getting it in the can?

Sillies.

Zach vs. Zach

So this weekend was very exciting, because My Two Zachs finally got to meet.

My Sister brought Baby Zach over on Sunday for belated birthday wishes. Zach and I had been discussing how to behave around babies all week, so we thought we were ready.

What we weren't anticipating was Baby Zach's delight in seeing what he thought was a real live cutie stuffed animal, moving around and wagging his tale.

Sister and Brother-in-Law attempted to demonstrate how to softly pet Zach on his noggin,

But Baby's tiny paws mostly petted a little too hard.

A good hour or so of scampering ensued - Baby Zach would crawl after Zach on the floor at what seemed like lightning speed for such a little fella, Zach would eventually hop onto a window sill or the bed or me or another high up object. Baby would get distracted, then Zach would come pop up again, curiosity having gotten the better of him during his few minutes' reprieve. Repeat.

We finally had some fun together when I busted out Hopsy, a wind-up pooch I got in my Christmas stocking one year.

Both boys were captivated -

Suddenly they were intellectual peers, mystified by this little third party.

Here's a short video capturing the Hopsy Saga:



But, you know, a few minutes later and Baby would go in for the not-so-soft-kitty-petting.


At last, detente was reached. Baby Zach played with Alligator on my bed, and Zach perched in the window, safe and sound.

By the time everyone left, all Zach could really do was conk out. I think he slept for about eight solid hours. Good job, little buddy!

Zachs Galore!

This has just been a dilly of a week. I never quite caught up from my North Coast and West Coast travels of last week, and slid straight into meetings about BOOKS. Turns out, we're in a tough economy! I'd like to encourage all my friends to head up to Canada and buy some books and help me out.

In other news, I'm very excited to report that Baby Zach will be coming to visit this weekend, and will finally get to meet my Zach.

I'm hoping this is more or less what ensues:


Watch this space for details!

Horses! Horses! All Directions!

The past few days have been silly busy with books. Fortunately, I have recently been alerted to two great horse programs.

Patches is delightful. My heartstrings twang when he pulls the covers up over himself, though I get a bit of a chill when I see him eating a cheeseburger. Cows and horses should be friends, yes?

Anyway, kinda makes me want to be an Equine Entrepreneur.

And this one, well, bravo, stranger.


Back to the Books!

! Una Burrito Misterioso!

Imagine my surprise tonight, upon leaving my Total Body Conditioning Class (a total surprise in and of itself), to discover that my Chelsea Burritoville had reopened just one door down from where it had recently shuttered.

Now, some may recall that my Hell's Kitchen Burritoville closed just about a year ago, suddenly, and sadden-ingly. I dunno if that one reopened too, it's too far away to check.


My experience at New Burritoville was OK, not great. The folks behind the counter were pleasant, but the menu was different. No more Lost In Austin Burrito or Hole Moly Burrito, but they did still have the old movie posters on the walls. The chips and salsa were still free, but they were behind the counter and handed out by my server.

Still, it was a nice reward after a tough 45 minute work out, plus all my stairs. I don't know, New Burritoville. Who are you? Are you the same people that closed it suddenly? Are you really, as wikipedia tells me, co-owned by Blimpie? What if I had my order To Stay, could I get more chips?

I'll try you again, and reserve judgment. Ole!

It's Business Time!

I decided to upgrade myself for the return trip. Look how far away
from me my feet are! Leg Room!

Stairs!

This was the first of 4 flights. I'm earning my tacos today.

Live Blogging! They're Official

Live Blogging! Dory's Wedding

Fancy Dress!

Live Blogging! His & His

SF MoMA. "Art." Modern.

Live Blogging! Morning Latte

With heart in foam! And gourds!

Live Blogging! 8 Legged Chum

Sarah's guard spider.

Live Blogging! (With FAA Mandated Time Delay): Crossed Words

Take that, American Airlines! I filled in (almost) all your blanks.

Pack It Up! Again!

Phew! I came back from Canada last night. As soon as I unpacked, I packed up again. I'm going in to work this morning to sort some BOOK CRISIS, and then I'm off again, this time to San Francisco to see Sarah and to watch Dory get Straight-Married.



Can't wait to see what adventures take place!

Also? These Are A Few Of My Scariest Things

Who knows if Canada has internet! I may not be able to blog tomorrow.

So just in case, here are previews to two of the scariest movies I know.

Here's one...



And the other...



Oh Dame Julie, you frighten me so.

Packing Up, Canada Style

Heading to Canada this afternoon for another 24 hour jaunt. This is what I'm taking (minus Alligator, who is helping me pack). Wish me Bon Chance!

Red Hot Chili Friendship!

Cookery!

So, on Saturday, I had plans with my friend Brian. We decided we were going to make dinner, and I took this photo of the ingredients I had on hand and sent it to him via Technology.

As you can see, these ingredients include Eggplant, Garlic, Onions, Green Tomatoes, and Chilis (HOT Chilis!). Brian put those items into his smart phone and out popped this recipe from a Turkish website:

I like Turkish things, and I certainly liked that all the ingredients from this recipe were things I had on hand.

Anyway, later that day he arrived, and we got to work.

Brian washed the tomatoes

Then chopped them up.

Then he chopped the chilis. Three of them, all different colors (green, yellow, and orange). The chilis were VERY HOT. Much hotter than we had expected. HOT.

In unrelated news, a friend of mine discovered very recently that if you cut chilis, and use your hands to pick out the seeds, then go to the men's room, you will have a 100% chance - even if you wash your hands first - that your man parts will be on FIRE, lasting about 40 minutes. I'm just saying.
Anyway, here's Brian again and all the things he chopped. Green Tomatoes, Eggplant, Chilis. And then he visited the men's room.
Meanwhile, I put the onions and the garlic in the pot. I don't mind telling you I had the WEEPIES from all the onions. People tell you to do stupid things like put a match (unlit! unlit!) in your mouth, or whatever, but it doesn't help. Tears.

Anyway, I very carefully - using the knife not hands! - put the chilis in the mix.

Mmmm! Safety first.
Brian added the seasonings - SALT and PEPPER.

Here it is, cooking up. So in there we have all the aforementioned ingredients, and then a few minutes later we added three spoonfuls of rice. The juice that the vegetables gave up is what puffed up the rice. Science!
Then, about an hour later, it's ready to eat! Lesson Learned: stir it every now and then, or else the bottom of your pan will get blackened. Oh well, that's why God made Brillo Pads.
We served it up with some of that Greek Yogurt and a dusting of mint.
And then we ate it.
Mmmm.
The outcome was pretty good. Next time we wouldn't use all the chilis, because this ended up so spicy there were some more tears. But still, it was tasty, and all the friendship was good too.

Just, you know, next time use gloves.

Also? From My Sister. CUTE

Zachary says, "Happy Birthday Uncle Christopher!"

Wait - It's NOT 1996?

Supers Troopers

I really, really want to understand this, but I don't.



I simply don't understand the technology. Was I a better Spider-Man way back when? Who is to say, really?

This Is Not Going To End Well

Great Art asks questions. I can barely begin with this one.

Special Kevin Awesome Day

Happy October 5th!

What makes today special, other than such fun Historical Items as what the Times tells us?

On October 5, 1947, in the first televised White House address, President Truman asked Americans to refrain from eating meat on Tuesdays and poultry on Thursdays to help stockpile grain for starving people in Europe.

It's Kevin's Birthday! I am more excited about Kevin being born all those years ago today than I am about the fact that I can eat meat on Tuesdays and poultry on Thursdays.

One of Kevin's Signature Styles is Books, and therefore Reading. I thought a fun way to celebrate him would be to publish this photo essay (with a lot of assistance from James' archives)



Speaking of James, here's Kevin & Diana reading at his wedding.

Here's Kevin reading what appears to be a Fortune Cookie, or perhaps the bill.

Here he is reading a WW2 DVD my dad bought him at Costco. When we purchased it, I predicted he would make this EXACT pose. I was really proud of myself for my predictive powers.
Another bill reading pose. He seems to read the bill a lot.

Here's one of my favorites, also captured by James. Here Kevin and I are doing one of the fun activities you can do at his house - Research. It's funny to do this with "books;" I guess this is how they did it in the old days before smart phones and Google made us all stoopid.

My favorite part is that Kevin took time out from Research to help me with something. It's kind of hard to tell what he's doing, but it looks helpful, right?

Thanks Kevin, for all the Friendship. And Happy Birthday!