I don’t know what it is about the accordion, but I’ve wanted to learn how to play it for a long time. One of those things that I put on my long list of things to do or learn.
I just found this gorgeous accordion on craigslist:
Maybe it’s time. . .
Summer has been flying by with nary a blog post from me! Here’s an update on what’s been going on around here:
BBQs with nephews
I’m not much in the post writing mood currently, dealing with some layoffs at work as many people are right now, but my online newspaper reading continues undaunted and I found two articles that I really enjoyed and thought I’d share.
The first is about kids in a juvenile detention center in Rhode Island who are learning trades and restoring vintage diners in the process.
“The whole poetry behind it is that these are kids who have been pretty much cast away emotionally and criminally, getting a chance to restore beloved eateries that have been cast off from society, too,”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/us/14diner.html
The second is by Ben Stein, a brilliant, funny guy, entitled Lessons of Love, by Way of Economics. It’s just a light hearted article about love.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/business/13every.html?scp=1&sq=economics%20of%20love&st=cse
This is how we reward kids who actually show some intiative to get up from in front of the tv or computer?
I really miss the days of my youth (the late ’70’s and early ’80’s), where we would stay out playing all day during the summer, wander the neighborhood, play baseball in the street, walk miles and miles, unsupervised no less, and as long as we were home before dark, everything was fine. I really feel that inspired a certain kind of adventurous, self-sufficient person and this kind of narrow-minded, controlling thinking makes me sad for their childhood and wonder what kind of people and society we’re trying to end up with.
You might think that I’m obsessed with food, given the number of posts dedicated to the subject. And you would probably be right. I love good food and I love trying to create new dishes at home. Don’t get me wrong, I love going out and eating fabulous food that someone else has prepared as well, but there’s something very satisfying with taking the time, in our rushed, overscheduled world, to create something handmade and delicious. Because of the aforementioned rushing and overscheduling, most of my creative cooking takes place on the weekends.
I made this a few weeks ago and have been too busy practicing my procrasting skills to get it posted. Let me start by saying I love gnocchi. And you might say, but Dana, the premade gnocchi you buy in the stores are so heavy and filling. And I would say to you sir, you are correct and how the hell did you get in here?
I first had homemade gnocchi in Venice many years ago in college, on the recommendation of a classmate who grew up eating them - and they were horrible. We were so desperate to eat something at the time that we unfortunately wandered into a touristy restaurant that cared much more about overcharging the unknowing American college girls than about the quality of their food. The gnocchi were overcooked to mushy and tasteless. Needless to say, I was not impressed, but I tried them again, on the same girl’s insistence that that was not typical gnocchi, and this time I loved them. Soft pillows of potato and ricotta, covered in a light tomato sauce. I’m drooling on myself just thinking about them.
I decided it was finally time to try them at home and was somewhat successful.
Since flour, water and my camera are a poor combination, there aren’t that many pictures. I skipped the first steps of the boiling and mashing of the potatoes, which I did a few nights before.
Here is the potato, egg, flour, and salt mixture, cut into eight parts, ready for rolling.
Inspired by a very cool retro hat a friend of Mike’s wore to a shindig we went to at the Top of the Hyatt on Saturday night, we went looking for a hat for Mike at the Village Hat Shop in Hillcrest.
Not quite me, but I’m feeling the Amelia Earhart vibe.
I was reading around on the internet, like you do, one site leads to another and so on. I ended up on The Sartorialist website and an interview with designer, Sohiny Das out of New Delhi. She was doing the usual Q&A and was asked the question -
Guilty pleasure?
Her answer?
No guilt in pleasures.
I stopped and reread it.
And loved it.
What a fabulous point of view. Why hadn’t I thought of this before??? I answer that question automatically when people answer it. Dark chocolate, massages, vintage shoes and clothes, books, time by myself, wine, gelato, good cheese, flowers from the farmer’s market every week. And yes, I will admit that sometimes there is some guilt involved, regarding the time or money spent, or usually the caloric content of something. I’ve had an epiphany people, at 34, and maybe you’re already there, so thanks for waiting so patiently for me. Here it is - There is absolutely no reason to feel guilt for things that make us happy or give us pleasure, with the caveat of course, that we receive pleasure from something that doesn’t hurt anyone else. Other than that, the sky’s the limit I think. I also think that with the increased economic and mental stress from the way the American economy has gone sideways that it’s necessary to find pleasures in not only the big things, but the little, inexpensive things as well. The scene from Amelie comes to mind, where she’s skipping rocks across the water and slipping her hand into the beans to feel their texture.
My to be henceforth known as absolutely-no-guilt pleasures?
I’m a bargain gal. Don’t get me wrong, I like the things I buy to be good quality and usually, preferably vintage, but there’s definitely a thrill from finding something fantastic for a deal.
Mike and I visited a few yard sales on Saturday. One in particular I was very excited about because it mentioned that there was a lot of vintage stuff available. When we walked up it was definitely a hodge podge of stuff and the backyard was even hodgier and podgier, but there were fantastic deals to be found and definitely a lot of cool vintage items. I’m trying to cut back on spending and especially accumulating, after just moving and realizing how much stuff we have, but I couldn’t resist.
I have to credit Mike for sending me this. Love the Stephen Colbert.
“There’s an old saying about those who forget history. I don’t remember it, but it’s good.”
- Stephen Colbert
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