Irene!

I experienced my first hurricane this weekend, and it brought some nice Autumn air with it.  It's my favorite kind of weather.  I love waking up in the morning and grabbing my bathrobe before I make breakfast, instead of turning on the AC in every room.  The mornings become sunny afternoons, and the weather was delightful on my walk home today. I love Fall, and although Irene was a little scary, I welcome the change in weather.

On Thursday, we went out to dinner to celebrate a recent promotion. I was also celebrating Chase's last week of surgery, but I didn't tell him that.

Chase was on call over the weekend, so I spent Saturday preparing for the storm. A million people were out at Target, hysterically buying water and non-perishable food items. By the time I got home it was pouring down rain, so I closed all of the windows and hunkered down.  The satellite dish went out about 15 minutes after the rain started, so I knew it would be a long day. I ended up reading an entire book that Saturday, and I took a break to make some dinner. Pasta, goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and portabella mushrooms.  It was a conglomerate of whatever I had in my fridge, but it came out great.

Chase made it home early morning on Sunday, and the electricity came back late morning.  We had lots of fallen trees and brush in our neighborhood, but we survived Irene pretty much unscathed. Linus and Olive were bundles of energy on Sunday, stuck by the window, jumping at every burst of wind. 

Chase and I made a large pot of chili, downloaded some movies and enjoyed being stuck inside without any plans to fulfill.  The only picture we could manage before my battery died is below.

Summer's holding on

Friday night, I made the hardest and least rewarding recipe to date.  Chicken and Artichoke Fricassée with Morel Mushrooms (yes, I know, the name indicates it will probably be overly complicated). I cursed about six times while I prepared all the stupid vegetables and cooked the chicken three stupid ways.  The entire time I promised myself its deliciousness would be the reward for the torture I endured at the hands of my kichen. I was underwhelmed, and some of the chicken didn't even cook through. All I could think about was if I had made it for guests, how humiliating it would have been. I am thankful that my husband rarely passes judgment on my cooking. I will illustrate my disastrous cooking below, and if you ever feel so inclined to make something that even partially resembles this picture, don't.

I realize you're probably thinking that both of these pictures look like regurtitated food, but epicurious made it look delicious! Proof below.

Maybe it was the camera angle?

I managed to salvage my taste buds with an excellent chocolate chip cookie recipe. I borrowed the recipe from a blog, and just as promised, they were the best cookies ever.  It probably had something to do with the 2 1/2 (!) sticks of butter, 3 different types of sugar and Ghiradelli chocolate chips--but they were divine.

I took the bus to NY this weekend to see Jo and Tom. It was an awesome trip. I was able to see their spacious new apartment, ponder over potential baby names and wander the streets of New York. Very cliché, I know, but New York is always so bustling, it never fails to draw me in. I really like being able to walk around and watch people without having them fully aware that they are being watched. Everyone is so interesting in New York. Sometimes New York even tricks me into thinking I can also be interesting, but it is usually at this point that I catch a glimpe of myself in a cab window and see the awkward, fumbly self that I am.  Anyways. A few photos are below.

Flea Market in Brooklyn.

The sky finally broke lose when I was conveniently safe within the iron confines of my Greyound bus.

Happy Monday!

Feline Affinity

We had a really nice weekend filled with friends, a visit with baby kittens and some DIY projects around the house.

Saturday morning--lounging and coffee cake.  I woke up extra early to make this coffee cake, and Chase wrestled with cutting the watermelon, which was the size of a small child.

We decided to sand down our bedroom dresser in the hopes of refinishing it.  It will now be painted--more on that in a later post. The mother cat with her six kittens to the right, were born five days ago. They were found by the side of the road in a residential neighborhood where three little kids were throwing the babies around. A shelter was called, and eventually they contacted our friends, Ashley and Matt, to foster them, so they could rest and recover in a peaceful environment. Chase and I drove the hour out to Bethlehem on Saturday to visit with the kitties and have dinner with Matt and Ashley. 

Here I am holding the baby rat kitten. They still have their eyes closed and do not quite resemble cats yet. I'll be back in a week! To the right, I made a delicious scallop recipe from Bon Apetit.  Scallops sauteed in butter over mashed potatoes, with a garlic and caper relish. It was beyond delicious.

Linus had a vet appointment a few days ago, and although it tends to be an unpleasant experience for the cats, I cannot get enough of the staff who work there. It is a "cats only" clinic, and they do not mess around with their affinity for felines. The Veterinary Assistant began the appointment by weighing Linus and getting some of his updates on file (food preference, tendencies, etc.). I expected the visit to be as any visit to the doctor is, where the nurse takes your blood pressure and tries to get your stats as quickly and efficiently as possible. This was not the case with the friendly, cat-loving assistant.  I explained that Linus was a very needy cat and consistently follows me around the apartment from the time I get home at night until the time I go to bed. He nodded in agreement.

"One of my cats does EVERYTHING I do. When I get home from work, if I head to the bathroom, he usually follows me and uses the litter box at the same time!"

I nodded, trying not to allow any judgment to pass as a Fellow Cat-Lover. But alas, it was a little strange.  He continued on.

"I wouldn't have it any other way.  They are my best buds!"

Again, I smiled and nodded. This is also a true statement for me, but I am beginning to wonder if I am on the same level as Cat-Loving Vet Assistant.  Hm.

He gave Linus a friendly squeeze and ear scratch as he left and told me again how handsome he was.  I really really like this guy, but he made me wonder if he had a companion (human) to be around when he went home, as it seems he lives and breathes cats. As soon as I got home from the appointment, I fed Linus and locked him out of the living room where I watched TV (sans my orange feline).

40 Book Challenge

This week flew by, and the weather has been delightful in Philadelphia. I walk to work in a light cardigan, instead of puposefully taking the long route with shaded sidewalks to keep from baking in the hot morning sun, and I am also able to open my windows throughout the apartment, instead of subjecting myself and two lovely cats to the frigid, Alaskan air conditioner. Anyhow.

Earlier this week, I decided to challenge myself to a book list for the next year. Typically, the challenge consists of 50 books in one year, a little less than a book a week. Because I thought it might be discouraging if I was not able to average a book a week, I made a more reasonable goal of 40 books in a year (a week and a half per book). Using selections from Oprah's 2011 Summer Reading List, ALA Notable Book Lists, and NPR and the New York Times top rated books from the past three years, I formed my list.

1.   A Small Hotel, Robert Olen Butler

2.   A Good Hard Look, Ann Napolitano

3.   Sister, Rosamund Lupton

4.   Someday This Will Be Funny, Lynne Tillman

5.   Stiltsville, Susanna Daniel

6.   I Knew You'd Be Lovely, Alethea Black

7.   Us, Michael Kimball

8.   Comedy In A Minor Key, Hans Keilson

9.   Great House, Nicole Krauss

10. At Freddies, Penelope Fitzgerald

11. Tender Is The Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald

12. Half The Sky, Nicholas Kristof

13. Half Broke Horses, Jeanette Walls

14. All Other Nights, Dara Horn

15. History Of Love, Nicole Krauss

16. The New Yorker Stories, Ann Beattie

17. The Privileges, Jonathan Dee

18. Spooner, Dexter, Pete

19. Brooklyn, T’ib’n, Colm

20. Await Your Reply: A Novel, Chaon, Dan

21. Lord Of Misrule, Jaimy Gordon

22. Cutting For Stone, Abraham Verghese

23. The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter, Carson Mccullers

24. Housekeeping, A Novel, Marilynne Robinson

25. Breakfast Of Champions, Kurt Vonnegut

26. Both Ways Is The Only Way I Want It, Maile Meloy

27. Gate At The Stairs, Lorrie Moore

28. Lit:  A Memoir, Mary Karr

29. Netherland, Joseph O’Neill

30. Unaccustomed Earth, Jhumpa Lahiri

31. Nothing To Be Frightened Of, Julian Barnes

32. So Much For That, Lionel Shriver

33. Room, Emma Donoghue

34. 36 Arguments For The Existence Of God, Rebecca Goldstein

35. In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, Daniyal Mueenuddin

36. Just Kids, Patti Smith

37. Faithful Place, Tana French

38. Sunset Park, Paul Auster

39. Teacher, Mark Edmundson

40. Tinkers, Paul Harding

I'm lucky that Penn library has most of these books, and even luckier that as a staff member I am allowed

up to six months with each book I check out.  Score!

Lazy Days.

We spent another lazy weekend doing virtually nothing.  Lately, Chase comes home physically and mentally exhausted from his 60 hour weeks, and I have no problem joining him on the couch. (My job can be exhausting too!)  

I finished reading this

and Chase watched lots of this

We both went on a walk to get these

and ate them here

Yes, I had a boring weekend, but the simple days I can enjoy with my husband are invaluable to me, as we are able to unwind from the past week and simply be together. I did attempt some new recipes in order to begin Operation Fatten Chase Up, and it seems that casseroles are the way to go if you wish to load up on calories.  I'm sure cakes, pies and donuts also have that effect, but Martha offered an uber heavy cheese dish for anyone lacking in fat like my husband (or if you are like Martha, and enjoy a good casserole every now and again).  I wonder how popular the idea of googling fattening recipes is.  Anyhow.  Chicken Tetrazzini offered the most calories per serving and could be whipped up in under an hour.

Mushrooms, chopped up and sauteed.

An extremely heavy cheese/cream/butter sauce:

Linguine.  Chicken.  Peas.

It looked pretty disgusting, but it should do the trick for late night post-hospital dinners.

I also made a healthier meal for dinner consisting of fresh farmstand green beans, basmati rice and pork chops with homeade marinade: spicy brown mustard, mayonnaise, brown sugar and tarragon.  The mustard glaze gave the pork a little kick without compromising the taste.

I would not make the Chicken Tetrazzini again, simply because I am not a fan of casseroles, nor do I enjoy gaining 5 pounds after each meal, but it seems to have served its purpose for Chase.  

I leave you with an adorable picture we took of Linus, after he got himself stuck at the top of my armoire and was crying to come down.