_zemlet.com_news_
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
The Secret to Housework
Well since I am not the greatest housekeeper, I probably don’t know THE secret… but A secret is to buy cool, high-style gadgets for cleaning to make it fun and efficient. I find myself buying Casabella stuff, including a new mop made in Italy I got over the weekend. They donate 10% of every sale to help stop domestic violence. You can find their stuff at many fancy schmancy home wares shops like City People's Mercantile and regular places like Storables and Bed Bath & Beyond. I especially like their microfiber stuff for dusting. Well, we have lived in the house for a month now and I’ve kept it pretty clean the entire time. The kitchen is so fun and easy to clean and that dishwasher is a dream. I thought keeping 3 bathrooms in shape would be difficult, but I just spend a little time each weekend wiping things down, and nothing seems to get out of hand. I need to do some research on vacuums so I can buy one of those- we desperately need one.
We had Gigs over last night and I made him and Jonathan watch “The Tomorrow People” an early 70’s British Sci Fi TV show. Now when my sister and I make jokes about how we should just “jaunt” somewhere, someone else will understand them. I made a really good dinner. The new wild sockeye are out, so I bought a big salmon to grill and it was mighty tasty without hardly any work. I paired it with rice and asparagus and made a sauce and put it into one of those little squeeze bottles just like fancy chefs do. The sauce was a few tablespoons mayo, juice from half a lemon, 1 sliced garlic clove (so the flavor will mix, then they are easy to take out), a tablespoon of olive oil, half tablespoon Dijon mustard, and a very generous dash of curry powder. We had a Four Emus Western Australia Sauvignon Blanc, which was very tasty with lots of fruity flavor that paired nicely.
Then we had dessert and I tried to follow the guidelines Melissa had talked about for good desserts but Jon and I disagreed on what they were. He thought there had to be something hot and cold, but that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I thought it was more about texture: you need something firm or crunchy, something soft, something sweet, and something tart. Well there was something hot and cold anyway just to cover all the damn bases. I started with a really good vanilla ice cream. (I like the Whole Foods Market brand, which I have not figured out who really makes. While similar, it doesn’t seem like Dryers to me- this one is denser somehow. I’m not fond of a lot of air whipped into ice cream, especially with how long it will sit in our freezer.) OK so, start with ice cream and pour over a fruit sauce, described below, and garnish with small, really spicy ginger cookies and mint leaves. I got the cookies in the bulk section at Whole Foods. (You can tell there is a WFM just down the road, can’t you?) Actually I go a little crazy in the bulk section whenever I go there, this time getting fancy Turbinado sugar, which I read an article about indicating it was the best to use with fruits to really bring out the flavor. OK so here is the recipe for the fruit sauce, obviously you can substitute liquors and use raw or regular sugar, but you get the general idea:
In a saucepan, melt 3 tb butter and add:
1 large sliced peach (I used the fancy white kind) leave skin on
1 cup pitted, sliced fresh cherries
1-2 tb (depending on how sweet you like it/how ripe the fruit is) turbinado sugar
1 splash each: Port, Orange Curaçao, Chambord (raspberry flavored)
2 splashes of Amaretto
1-2 squeezes of lemon juice
I cooked it at low/medium heat until the juice from the cherries started to mingle and color the sauce. I made this before anything else, like 4 hours ahead, then put the lid on the saucepan and left it on the stovetop. I heated it when we were ready for dessert, bringing it back just to the point of bubbling. I think it might also be fine cold, especially for a summer dish and so your damn ice cream won’t melt, but I would have to try it to see if the fats congeal and look ugly.
I have been eating cherries nonstop- they are so good! There is this Rainier type of cherry up here that is so amazing, I cannot believe it. They are only available a few weeks a year- I wish my Dad was here, he would love them. Jonathan doesn’t like them- more for me! He would rather I use berries and apples instead of cherries and peaches in my desserts, but he’ll just have to wait for that to be in season so there.
I unpack a box per day and yesterday’s box was the cookbooks, so I totally want to make soups and things. I am hoping to set up a dinner party where I cook but host it at Britta’s since we have no dining room set. We don't even have a card table to sit at. We have this rickety table that is one of those drop leaf deals best suited as that extra table you get out to put drinks on at parties. You cannot really sit with your legs under it because there are all these supports for the leaf, etc. that are horribly in the way. Plus we only have 3 chairs so if we have more than one person over, one of us has to sit on a tuffet or desk chair. It is so stupid. That kitchen is going to waste with nobody to cook for but Jon who doesn’t like garlic or cherries for crying out loud. Anyhow, I totally want to have a soup night where I make a bunch of fancy soups for everyone to try. I unpacked my Follow Your Heart Soup Cookbook (anyone remember that place in Santa Barbara- oh man it was good!) and have lots of plans. I think I’ll make a large batch of Beef Bourgogne with 3 smaller vegetarian soups, like a creamy tomato, summer corn, and chilled leek avocado. I was so excited about this idea, I bought a ton of yellow onions and carrots and 3 pounds of chuck steak. I think I can make the two hot vegetarian soups ahead of time and store them in the fridge to heat when I get there, then make the big beef and cold soups the day of and let someone else bring wine and a really good crusty bread. I must be hungry… better go down and make breakfast.
.: posted by Zemlet 9:48 AM
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
flowers
Well while I was taking pen and texture photos for the job I am working on, I took a few pics of the new flowers we got from a neighbor. Isn't that great?! As a welcome to the neighborhood the gal who lives kitty-corner from us brough over these gorgeous pink flowers from her garden. Now I know who to hit up for gardening advice. She admitted she wanted to bake us something, but it was 80 degrees that day. It worked out perfect becuase they matched the fuschia peonies I bought to decorate for the party. You can see the bouquets in the photo. I have not finished putting our entertainment center together, so the shelves are piled up and I put a few artfully arranged in the large niche above the fireplace. I think that niche needs to be painted some wild color, don't you? Anyway the pale pink blooms she brought were just lovely and I spread them out throughout the house. I'm very fond of putting one stem in a small vase, or a candle with a small book or something on the window sills. We have these very deep window sills that totally need something placed on them. I am starting to put little accents like this around the house- I'm very jazzed about it. I found a few good books for guests to read and stacked them on the bureau in the green room next to a vase and one of the cool wooden boxes Jon brought back from Hong Kong, so it is starting to look pulled together in there. I've got extra toiletries in the guest bath too, so we are almost ready for visitors. I just need to get to the hardware store to get new bolts for the bed to hold the canopy, etc together and perhaps a nightstand or two and a few lamps. Eventually I want to make a sheer fabric canopy for that bed and paint the walls a nice pale sage. Oh and put a chair or bench in there for folks to put their suitcases on. Oh and extra hangers and a cute bottle of water and a tiny clock that makes no noise. OK I've crossed over into Martha land now, I should stop. Just know that if you come to visit, you will certainly be comfortable.
.: posted by Zemlet 2:35 PM
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Graffle Nation
I am responsible for creating the icon for the new version of OmniGraffle, a program that ships with every copy of Mac's professional OS and their high-end boxes. What I am working on is now holding up production of the manual, so I am working all day today until I get it done. No goofing off the rest of the day until I have finished a deliverable.
To help me create a stylised photo-realistic look, I'm taking photos of the objects that will be portrayed and some reference textures I'll use. So I actually needed to hook my camera up to my computer to download photos. There were a ton of pictures on there, including our pre-move party and Artfest. I'll post those when I'm not supposed to be doing work for clients, but one of them needed to be shared. When I saw the house, I immediately called Jon so he could come look, since I new this was a very special place. Here is his first trip to the second floor as we are taking a look around. He looks so thrilled and happy, even if he does need a damn haircut. All the other pics from our first walkthrough are of the bathroom. I probably would have taken more pics of the kitchen, but the owner was down there. I love this huge tub... thinking I can take a nice long bath when I get home, sure makes waiting in traffic easier.
Over the weekend I spent most of my time weeding. I went to the hardware store and bought one of those snake tongue looking things worked on eliminating any plants I don't like. Little by little I'll just get rid of everything I don't like (the landscaping isn't really my style) and replace it with things I do. Yesterday we had a party and I was a little overwelmed by th amount of cleaning and rearranging I had to do, just to make room for everyone. So I decided to check out the nearest coffee shop.
Now what were my main complaints about Walnut Creek? (Not all of them, mind you, just my main ones.) 1) Everyone went to bed too damn early, and 2) that there were no cool, independent coffee shops. Here is Seattle, those things are not the case- I have found plenty of people who stay up late and tons of interesting coffee hangouts. For working, because sometimes you need to go hide someplace to get things done, I prefer Cafe Zoka by U-illage. Since some people (ok, perhaps just Will) actually run their entire businesses from there, it has a laid back but professional air to it. But for actually hanging out and doing some primo people watching or doing art or writing your novel or whatever, you need a different kind of place. A place like Mama's Royal Cafe or Gaylords. I've found it, and it is right around the corner: Cloud City Coffee. Here was the scene yesterday:
- guy & gal working both sport black rocker t-shirts & dyed mohawks
- man in galoshes & overalls: is it something for work, or is that his wacky style?
- woman in Docs, ripped skeleton hoodie (it is 80 friggin degrees- is she cold?!), and princess leia buns all over her head- like 7 of them
- disco ball hangs from ceiling
- place used to be a garage or auto body place or may be a fire station or something, so there are these 2 huge roll-up doors that are currently lifted up to give the whole place a breezy cabana kind of feel
I'm glad Jon doesn't take the laptop to work anymore, because I get to borrow it all the time now. Seattle was recently named the most wireless city- there is free internet access everywhere. There are entire blocks of University Ave that are a big free WAN and anyplace you are expected to spend enough time that you actually sit down, usually has a hotspot. About half the patrons at Cloud City had lappies, so I'm sure there were enjoying free access. But I think I'll go there to journal or just feel cool, not actually get anything done. I am interested in checking out more of the neighborhood and taking photos, but that will have to wait. After I finish with Graffle, I need to work on Dr. A's web site and one for Sheep Floozy. And I really need a vacuum, I totally suck at sweeping. Damn and someday I should plan my wedding. Perhaps we'll all go to Denny's and tell them it is everyone's birthday.
.: posted by Zemlet 2:08 PM
Friday, June 17, 2005
ok it is over
The last day I had to work 22 hours straight, but now that job is over. I'll go in Monday to drop off an invoice and pick up my copies of the final product. It really sapped all my energy, so now I feel like just sitting up is an accomplishment. But now I have 3 days to unpack and clean this place good enough to have a party. Yes, apparently I am having a party. Aaron, who has had hair over a foot long since forever is getting it cut. He's getting married soon, and he really shouldn't have longer hair than the bride, I suppose. So Britta thought it would be a good idea to have a party after the cut, so he couldn't squirrel out! My house is closest to the salon. So I have some mad cleaning and unpacking to do this weekend. I think this will be a good opportunity to figure out how my gas grille works... I think I'll do grilled chicken satay with thai peanut sauce. I saw this in a magazine or something, you put the sauce in the bottom of a clear plastic cup and then the guests can store their chicken in the cup (it will be on a squewer) and use it for dipping. I have to be creative like this since we have no table. All the food has to be things that are easy to tranport around and munch on. However, I totally want to have some kind of cold angel hair pasta dish as a joke. Since I already have something in a cup, I'll have to think of something else or put everything in clear plastic cups. Well, hopefully I'll figure that out soon. All I really want to do is sleep. That sounds so pathetic, but I think it is a side effect of all that intense working right there at the end of that job. I had fun working, but it just drained me. In my head I know there are all these things I need to do, but my body just wants to head for the couch and play some Zelda. Perhaps I'll make a deal with myself. If I go work out and unpack 3 boxes, then I can spend the rest of the day flopping. What I really want to do is call everyone I haven't talked to on the phone but I don't have a phone now do I? And my cell barely works in the house, which is so safe and convenient. So perhaps I'll take myself on a little trip into the City or something and talk on my cell phone until the battery dies. No that isn't a good idea either. Last month my cell bill was twice the size it should have been since I went so far over my minutes. Dammit I really need a land-line phone, but do I have the energy to research all the options and all that stuff? Hmmm... perhaps I'll just get a real phone from the phone company like most losers do and then ditch it later when I have time to figure out if VOIP will work with our special DSL, etc. Uh Oh, now I am thinking of all the other things I need to take care of too, geez: arranging for someone to mow the grass, finishing some other graphics work I need to do, making arrangements for our vacation next month, and setting up a trip to go do some work for a client in California. We all know what I'm really going to do. Take a nap that I'll plan on being for only an hour, and then I won't wake up until like 6PM. I shouldn't feel bad about it, I guess. If my body needs to sleep that bad, I should let it, right?
Bleah, I don't even have the energy to inject some much needed humor into this entry. So do I take that nap or go find some coffee and push myself to get things done? I was drinking up to 4 or 5 cups of coffee a day to keep up at work, so perhpas I've had enough for the month. And if I take the time to recover, perhaps I'll get more done altogether. I need to hire a college student to make decisions for me. Too bad they all just left for summer vacation. OK I'll give you all an update when I am feeling more like myself. Here is a standard blog feature, hopefully you can come up with better names than mine, which are dismal. Yes, I am sure you can:
FOREIGNER ALIAS = Favorite Spice + Last Foreign Vacation Spot:
Curry Paris (that sounds awful)
SOCIALITE ALIAS = Silliest Childhood Nickname + Town Where You First Partied:
Smelly Los Angeles (again, horrible, who comes up with these things?)
GIRL DETECTIVE ALIAS: = Favorite Baby Animal + Where You Last Went To School:
Kitten Occidental (ok it isn't where I last went to school but I have a degree from there and I wanted something to sound haflway decent, so I cheated. Kitten Art Center College of Design has a bad ring to it)
SOAP OPERA ALIAS = Middle Name + Street Where You First Lived:
(hey wait a minute, you almost tricked me into revealing my middle name! this game sucks)
.: posted by Zemlet 1:28 PM
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
fortune cookies I'd like to see
if your in-box is more full than your junk mail box, you're working too hard
your wife would look good too, if you took her out once in a while
shut up and relax
.: posted by Zemlet 6:28 PM
blog
My sister got a blog and then my Mom had to get one too- geez so jealous. I'll post the links as soon as they write something other than "hi here is my very first post on my new blog go me boy I wonder if I will make a fifth post LOL" Boy I am really bitter today.
OK here is how you know you are having a bad day at work: the lyrics to that song "Hated" from the movie Mean Girls are totally going through your head.
They are certainly going through mine. The funny thing is, I'm not actually mad at anyone female. I feel the song applies nonetheless (see lyrics below).
I will feel so much better when this is over. Perhaps I love working on proposals for the euphoria of never having to do that one ever again. Things I will do when this is over:
- Get a one month gym membership and go every weekday I am not working
- Write thank you notes to people I like
- Research different models then buy a vacuum because nobody should have to sweep 2700 square feet. Not even people I don't like.
- Wash my car in my own driveway!
- Use the neato grill insert for my Jenn-Air stove to make dinner
- Buy more Illy coffee (geeeee, I wonder why I am out?)
- Wait forever for my check from this job to arrive in the mail
i hate you/I haa-aaate you-o-o/because I see through/to what a bitch you are
.: posted by Zemlet 9:29 AM
Monday, June 13, 2005
toast
this is a funny toast that might be appropriate sometime: "Here's to you, and here's to me. May we never disagree. And if we ever disagree, to hell with you, HERE'S TO ME!"
My sister started a blog and it is so darn cute... I'll have to ask her if I can link to it. My Mom had to go to the dentist so my sister called the office to talk to them about her treatment or something like that. She works for a doctor now so she, like knows all the words to use and stuff. It is like having a lawyer in the family- you have your personal patient care coordinator call and make sure your dentist doesn't give you any funny business. I think whatever drugs they give my Mom she should palm and sell later to the kids at Dunn.
this post isn't funny at all and Gigs is over at my house apparently so I should go bye
.: posted by Zemlet 9:34 PM
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Shrine
We are having a tough time getting people to turn in their reseume information that we need to put in these big tables. Two people are working on pestering people, but it doesn't seem to be enough. So I built a shrine to pray to so that they will come in. As you can see, the "please" sign is easily removable, in case we get desperate.
.: posted by Zemlet 5:42 PM
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
to all the moves I've loved before
note: this has been edited because people who helped me move reminded me how we did them)
2005: moved to Maple Leaf using Chipman- a measly crew of 3 that grew to 7 by ten pm.
2005: moved to Laurelhurst in Seattle using Chipman- crew of 4
2004: moved to Walnut Creek using Chipman- professional packers! totally worth the money, plus a crew of 6 to move
2003: moved to Grandlake in Oakland- crew of 3
2002: moved to Temescal in Oakland- crew of 4
2001: moved to Adam's Point in Oakland using United- professional movers at last! I'll never go back: a crew of 3
1999: moved to Ventura- rented a truck and moved with help of family, then got really drunk two minutes after everything was in the flat while Terry and my Mom returned the truck
1997: moved to Santa Barbara- we borrowed Uncle Steve's truck again and Laura helped a ton, I remember her helping me unpack and thinking it was so funny we could put breakable things down low, since I didn't have kids
1997: moved to Santa Ynez- this happened so fast, I cannot recall how I did it- my parents must have done all the work- I remember Mike helping though, for some reason, because he discussed with me later all the things I had accumulated since he moved out (such as a joint savings account with David, who I had already broken up with, for HIM to send ME money). Uncle Steve helped too and supplied his big truck.
1994: moved to Burbank- my Dad helped me move in "The Whaler" (which got taken out so infrequently, he got pulled over for no registration and they let him go since he was only helping me move) in addition to Mike's station wagon and my VW Fox. Then my Dad moved my fridge up 3 flights of stairs all by himself while Mike did nothing. He made me swear I would never move a fridge again, and I haven't.
1993: moved to Toland Way in Los Angeles using only my VW but with multiple trips
1989: moved to Los Angeles for college and moved home every summer using only my VW
This morning, I got up with every intention (ok well, a portion of intention) to head right in to my client's office and get down to business. But a piece of clothing I wanted to wear was on the first floor (I do laundry at Britta's to help her with her Boggle score) so I went down there and then decided to fix an english muffin and a latte and then decided to put the dishes I had hand-washed last night away and THEN put away all the clean dishes in the dishwasher. Before I knew it, I had unpacked all but 3 boxes in the kitchen and cleaned all the surfaces. I hate to clean! Why would I want to do it first thing in the morning?
Well I think it is two reasons: 1) I was procrastinating getting to work. My flat in Ventura was fairly clean most of the time (even if it wasn't up to Terry standards) as I looked for any excuse to avoid work I didn't want to do. Scratch that: to get the creative juices flowing. I can recall struggling with how to write something, so I'd give up, make a nice drink with ice and a straw and find a book or magazine, then put on sunscreen and get my patio lounge and umbrella adjusted just right and the second I laid down, I'd know what to write. Hmmm... come to think of it, my room at college was always immaculate with even my dirty clothes neatly folded. That was pure procrastination.
2) The joy of home ownership. For some reason this really makes a difference. Every place I lived before wasn't mine, so the only reasons for cleaning were if people were coming over or to maintain a basic level of good repair to ensure I received back the maximum deposit money. If things ever got really bad, I could just move. If something broke- not my problem. But because I know what this house is actually worth and because I've sunk my entire savings into it, it feels like it is in my interest to maintain it as best I can. Isn't that strange? I am suddenly responsible for the house, as if it were a child, and want to keep it unscathed, so it can grow old beautifully.
We'll see how I feel after living there a year or so. I know deep down I hate housework, so will I revert to my lazy ways (read: hiring a maid) or will I take this opportunity to develop new habits that become second nature to me? Perhaps I will become the tidy person I was in my dorm room at college, taking time to fold clothes and arrange flowers. Perhaps "FLY Lady" will actually make sense to me, and I'll start referring to Jonathan as my "DH". Perhaps I'll move the book Mel gave me (as a joke) on housekeeping (although it is a good reference) to a more prominent place- handy to refer to and inspire. (Is Thursday market day or mending day? I can never remember!) Time will tell. I am feeling optimistic- perhaps a clean sink is a permanent fixture (ha: plumbing joke, that) in my life.
.: posted by Zemlet 9:34 AM
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
It's Not Unusual
I've been really busy working on a contract job. I was hired to do one proposal and then last week, they changed it to two, so I am pretty jamned. Both projects are due the 15th, so after that I'll be back to my old self. I am totally loving my new house. Over the weekend I patrolled the yard a bit and gave a mild cleaning to every room- it was such a good feeling. As I dusted or polished, a little voice repeated in my head things like "and I own all of this," or "this is mine."
But ye gods it seems big. I literally got lost when I worked from home yesterday. I knew we were out of toilet paper in the master bath, and that we had an extra roll in the guest bath (note high level of logic and memory). So I stroll down the hall from my office and open a door that I think is to the bathroom. It isn't. It is this whole other room I had completely forgot about and there were actually two boxes in there, one of which I had been wondering about. Dude, I repeat: I got lost in my own house.
It is more than twice as big as the last place we shared, and we feel like we need walkie talkies to get through any evening that doesn't put us in the same room. Usually Jon and I play WoW up in the library, or we cuddle in front of the fire to watch movies in the living room, or attmpt to lull ourselves to sleep watching DVDs in the bedroom together. (The first season of "The Office" keeps one up surprising later than one would expect, FYI.) But lately I use the evenings for billable work, so I spend a lot of time in my office, putting us in seperate areas- both feeling utterly alone. Now I am a loud person. (This is an understatement. My voice car-ries.) Jonathan cannot hear me if he's up in the library, even if I yell. So last night while I plugged away on refining an outline for work, he settled into -my- office with the laptop so we could be together- ain't that cute?
But we're not total homebodies now just because we are homeowners. Last night we also went out with Gigs to see the new Miyazaki movie: Howl's Moving Castle. Now while I have never even cracked open one of those stupid Harry Potter books people like Dale go on and on about, I have read and enjoyed "Howl's Moving Castle" and I love Miyazaki (the guy who did "Princess Mononoke" and "Spirited Away") and animation, so it was very cool. It was a special preview screening, since the film actually opens on Friday. If you recognize any of the above references, you should treat yourself to seeing this in the theater.
The movie gang is going to Boeing IMAX or someplace for a similar preview of Batman Origins or WTF it is called. It is the 14th, so I cannot go, but the guys promised to call me and tell me all about the plot. My comeback: "good thing that will be a short phone call, I'm watching my cell minutes."
OK, but the funniest thing I said all week? We're at Britta's watching "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" with Ali, Cedar, Wolfe, Lois and Kevin. Lois speaks a fair amount of Chinese, so we'd ask her opinion from time to time on the accuracy of the subtitles. Towards the end of the movie, there is a dramatic moment where the lilt of singing can be heard along with the background music and someone asked Lois if she knew what it was saying. She did not, so I started translating for her: "it's not unusual / to be loved by anyone..."
.: posted by Zemlet 6:15 PM
|
