My mom thinks that trains will become very big, soon, as people become more concerned with the environment and so on, and that part of how Obama will fix the economy is that he will have people building a real high speed train between the major cities, probably starting in the Northeast, where Amtrak is most profitable. When she described this whole theory to us, she called it "the New New Deal". Which made me wonder: Will Obama be like FDR and pull us out of our nasty recession bordering on depression? At least FDR knew that fixing the economy would be his job as president when he started running. _

The Circle School had their first ever alumni gathering on Saturday. (We don't bother with "class reunions" because the number of people who aged out in the same year is small enough that it would really just be like four people getting together going "um...hi.") The definition of alumni, for us, involves having been a student for at least a year, and now being at least 18 (I think that's the definition.) I wound up rebonding with a girl my sister and I had been pretty good friends with from like sixth to eight grade. She and her mother threw a fit of nastiness when she decided it was time to leave, and by the time she was gone, all we could really remember was the intense nasty drama. And the boy whose lips she'd been attached to for the past two months. He came towards the end of what wound up being her last year, and they made out constantly, all over the school, and glared at you if you dared to, say, come into the library while they were making out. Connor and I showed up early, at the request of the party organizers who didn't want the party to be completely dead when it started, and someone did a "well, of course you know ((insert names of people who I have known for nearly 20 years and whose parents are best friends with my parents)), and that's ((new girl who I had never met and don't remember her name)) and ((insert name of the couple))." And I said " Wait, I know who?" And then it hit me, and I said "they are still together?" Jamie and I wound up spending most of the night talking to them, and it was totally incredibly sweet. They have been together since they met at TCS, which he thinks was his 8th grade year, and wound up getting married a couple of years ago. Theoretically, they are going to meet Jamie and me in New York to see a show at some point.

 

The Circle School did a reunion thing five years ago, too, and someone else who had left in a huge dramatic huff showed up, and that was also totally sweet. These things make me happy, finding old friends who I had turned into horrible hysterical dramatic messes in my head, and remembering that there had been a reason why I was friends with them in the first place. _

Armed with a single allergy pill taken in the morning, it seems I can spend just under two hours in a (very incredibly clean) house inhabited by 18 cats before the sneezes start, and it's another half hour before I need to make sure that my inhaler is in my purse. (Note to self: Inhaler is in purse. Mace is in pocket of coat. Don't mix these up.) _

My fudge failed and I am sad. _

There was an ad for the Coraline movie along the tunnel wall on the Red Line. Ads along the sides of subway tunnel walls always confuse me a little, and I only sometimes see them, even if I think I know where I saw one before. But they are also kind of cool. _

Walking in a winter wonderland...

From Winter 12/20/08

From Winter 12/20/08

From Winter 12/20/08

Most of the snow, I think, actually hit Boston. We were at the edge of the storm where it was part "Wintry Mix". But then it turned into a very heavy wet snow, and it is all over everything. Sam and I went walking around to take pictures (and sniff the snow. He likes snow, apparently) this afternoon. _

So, what's with the error saying things aren't posting, but them posting anyway? _

I have been curious, and baking, and been wondering what sorts of cookies other families make at Christmas?

My maternal grandparents always make a series of German Christmas cookies; we make pecan crescents and call them Kipling, Lebkuchen (which I have no idea how to spell, and I don't think it's proper Lebkuchen anyway, but it's tasty), Speculatchi (which I am even worse at spelling, and don't particularly like), and an anise cookie. My mom still makes the Kipling, and we will usually do Ginger Snaps, as well as these absurdly compliciated spice cookies that Connor and I made a huge mess baking and haven't done since. We also usually make fudge (by "we" when it comes to fudge, I mean I). Sometimes we make candied walnuts. My dad makes pretty similar cookies to my mom, although he doesn't do the Kipling (since that was her family tradition; never mind that the complicated spice cookies are from his mom). He makes fudge, and brickls of various kinds, and toffee. Last year I made caramels, but this year my el-cheapo candy thermometer is in storage in PA, and I don't have a new one, because Connor doesn't believe in early Christmas presents. I'm also making Julia's shortbread cookies, although they will be the least Christmas looking Christmas cookies ever, since I don't have cookie cutters, and they were out of Christmas colored sugar, so I figure we'll have suns (I got yellow).

What cookies do you make? _

I always thought that one of my mom's lullabies was about dying. It was always a very strange thing, I thought, to be sung to about drowning while angels take you away. She still doesn't think it is, and she called me a geek when I pointed out that if you have line like "while angels sing you to sleep" it's totally like "goodnight sweet prince let flights of angels sing you to your sleep." _

I think Firefox hates me. And my computer. I'm looking forward to Chrome for the Mac. _

My perfect apple pie.



I love cooking desserts. Desserts, appetizers and sides are my favorite things to cook. However, I have this absurd phobia about pies. Crusts stick to my rolling pins, the edges burn. I wind up screaming and throwing things across the kitchen. (I was forbidden from making pies when I did that. I had spent ten minutes putting foil over the edges, it fell off, I did it again, and it fell off again, and I lost it.) But, I love my apple pie recipe (it is the Sour Cream Apple Pie from The Silver Palate Gourmet. And so I sort offered to make the apple pie. We almost bagged the apple pie yesterday, but Jyles said "NO! There MUST be apple pie!" So we started. Jyles rolled out my crust, and Peg and Jyles did the lattice on top. We have decided it's the perfect looking apple pie. _

I usually completely forget about Jack Handey, but then this showed up in Shouts and Murmers and Jamie, Connor, and I lost it. _

First off, it sounds like the series they're doing is nifty. And secondly, man, I want a job tasting chocolates. _

I seem to have an every other day sort of cold. I will feel dreadfully sick for one day (no fever, though) with a nasty sore throat and or dizziness and nauseous stomach. And then the next day I will feel fine. Yesterday was an "Oh, I think I'm better" day and now today is a "Oh, I think I woke up with knives in my throat." Fun. _

I must be late to the game, but happy birthday Sandman. _

I bet it makes the best popcorn ever. And also I bet it would be spectacular for easy mac and cheese, and ultimately cheaper than Annie's. (Mmm...Annie's...) _

My hatred for Twilght is pretty irrational in proportion to the book (it wasn't actually offensive, or even particularly bad, it was just mediocre and dull); I think I have reacted largely to how obsessed with it people are and how wonderful they think it is. Nevertheless, it fills my heart with glee that has a green spat next to it on rottentomatoes. _

I just spent far too long trying exporting my contacts off of my phone and onto my computer and then out of gmail into Address Book. It took forever, cause gmail keeps everything. Now I just need to figure out how to get this all onto my new phone. _

Brianne and I have just tried dying my hair with a brighter shade of red than I am used to using. And now I look like Tonks. I'm tring to figure out how long I have to wait until I over dye it. _

Brianne and I floated into Del Rey around 2 in the afternoon, and there was no line at all for polling. We had both made sure we had books in our purses and everything. We then spent time trying to kill the hours between the and when I had agreed to meet up with Katherine and Tracy.

Katherine and I missed the last subways into the city. We poked our heads out at King Street and the signs said there was another yellow line coming up, so we got off only to find out that there were no more. We wound up sharing a cab with a girl who had been campaigning and celebrating all night and got to around Metro Center. And then we walked back to her place, with all the stuff that I needed for the week. It took forever. We tried to get a cab, but no one wanted to take us.

But yay! It was so awesome! _