Mossies, Music, and Mayonnaise

This last week has been a mixed bag, so I thought I would just write about bits and pieces.

David is gone on a trip to India - Bhopal of all places. He had a ridiculously long travel schedule and was not looking forward to the trip, but he's there now and everything is fine.

I was dreading going back to work after the weeks of crazed holiday shoppers. I was exhausted even after four days off. Luckily, the store is pretty much back to normal with a reasonable pace and workload. It isn't going to lead me to fame, fortune, or enlightenment, but it is acceptable for now. The people are nice, it is good to interact with a huge cross-section of the population, and I do find myself thinking of creative projects all the time. It is also good for me to remember to have a zen like objectiveness, and to let myself appreciate the flow of the routine.

I was tired at the end of this week, not because it was so busy, but because I was staying up late and not getting enough sleep. Tuesday night we watched movies. We finally got a Blockbuster membership. Yuck, I know, but it is the only way to watch videos here. We watched The Elegance of the Hedgehog (really good, but not as great as the book) and All About My Mother. Last night we watched Annie Hall. It was about the fifth time I had seen it but the girls wanted to see some classics so I thought they would like AH, and they did.

I also decided to clean up the front of the house a little since we live on a somewhat busy street and people walk by all the time. The plants and bushes were growing over the sidewalk so I cut them all back and made it look tidy. I was only out there for about 10 minutes but I got 4 mosquito bites on one leg. I think it was one greedy bastard playing dot to dot with my blood. I didn't scratch them because I tend to get bad bruising but even with leaving it alone, I was going insane from the itch. It even woke me up in the middle of the night. I tried various remedies but was actually in pain from it. Long story short, I have a cure that I could get rich off of if I wanted to. I mixed 1 tablespoon of baking soda with 5 drops of water and 1 teaspoon of anti-itch goo. It made like a glue which I spread over the bites. It stopped the itching, stayed on until I washed it off, and basically sucked the poison out of the bites, shrunk them and stopped the itch. Hooray!!

Thursday night, I came home from work, jumped in the shower, got dressed trying not to sweat in the muggy weather, put cover up on my leg to hide the bites, and went down to the Opera House with Mira to see the band from Santa Fe, New Mexico, called Beirut. I don't know why they are called that, but they were delightful. We had 4th row center seats so it felt like a private concert with hundreds of cheering people around us. The energy was positive and lively and the accordion, trumpets and tuba made it feel like a circus. They also have a ukelele which always makes everything sweet.

I felt like my face was going to crack from the smile.

Saturday, Mira and I went to the beach early in the morning. It was warm with a cool breeze and we almost chickened out but once we jumped in the water at the Women's Pool, it felt perfectly nice and refreshing. We swam around and looked at the crabs on the rocks. We dried off in the sun then went to a little cafe and had a yummy, late brekkie. Mira had goat cheese and grilled mushroom with rocket on toast, and I had porridge with grilled apples and pecans. Just as we were heading back to the bus home we saw more and more people crowding to the beach. It is always good to be going in the opposite direction to the crowd.

The last thing that I want to write about is Mayonnaise. It is totally random, but I have been wanting to write about it and haven't been able to find a place for it. When we moved here I found that part of the adjusting was figuring out what groceries to buy. Just as the language is English and, yet, I can't always understand what the words mean, the food may look the same but the taste does not translate. Things are just slightly different for whatever reason. This is not a big deal except when trying to combine things in a recipe that you are expecting to taste a certain way. Mayonnaise is a critical ingredient. Some love it, some hate it, but it is not a simple food. The taste and texture are very important, and there is a huge variety in both characteristics. I tried various brands from various countries even, but was almost prepared to take the advice of chefs and make my own. Luckily, I found (should have guessed in the first place) the Japanese Kewpie Mayonaise! LOVE IT!! It is thick and salty and fresh tasting. If you can find it, try it. Not surprisingly, it even looks cute and squirts out of a star-shaped opening so it looks decorative as a garnish. Just another reason to be in awe of the Japanese.

I have been sewing a little bit so I feel inspired and am going to start on a dress for myself. I will post pictures of it when it is done.