Le vacance

So this vacation has not turned out like I'd thought. It isn't as endless and lonely as I'd expected, except when it is, and I'm not working as much as I'd hoped, except when I am -- Christmas day I'm working twelve hours. Ten more days and I'll be back on the road, packing my suitcase, driving a thousand miles, depositing stuff places, and heading back on tour. It will be nice...

The only bummer is the hobbying that I've been able to do. No bringing my new scrapbook rolly case on tour I suppose. How much do I really need clothes?

Return of the King

I've been haunting blockbuster all week waiting for Return of the King Extended Version to come back, and yesterday it paid off.

YAY!!!!!

And since I can take out three movies at a time, I think the time has come for a complete extended version viewing of the trilogy. Goodness knows I have enough quilting to do to justify it.

And the scenes they cut were so good! I was a little shocked at Saruman's untimely end -- I thought it was something they'd invented. But then I went back and read the rebuilding of the shire, which I usually skip over a bit. But, no, that's pretty much how he died -- minus falling off the tower and getting impaled. And his throat was slit by Grima, he wasn't stabbed in the back. And a three hobbit arrows got Grima wormtongue, not Legolas. But, since they didn't have the rebuilding of the shire, even in the extended version, all the changes make sense.

Eomer and Eowyn got more screen time - with an especially beautiful scene when he finds her lying prone on the battlefield. I wish they'd kept it in. It was only a few more seconds. And the Faramir - Eowyn love story was explored.

The Man who Cried

The Man who Cried

Stop me if you've heard that one. A Russian Jewish man and his daughter are walking through the forest towards a small village in the late 1920's. Skip ahead a few years. A Jewish girl, a Gypsy, a Russian, and a fascist Italian opera singer are living in Paris in the last 1930's. Any guesses how that movie is going to turn out?

Really, though, go and rent it. It was beautifully done acted and directed. It is not a concentration camp movie, though it does show the occupation. And Cate Blanchett is doing another linguistic chameleon act. She's amazing. And Johnny Depp does play a gypsy so well, better than in Chocolate, though he talks less.

A good part of the sountrack is operatic arias and choruses. And the costumes are beautiful, at least Cate Blanchett's.

Not working quite enough

Still on the movie kick. Tonight its "The boy who Cried" with Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett, Christina Ricci. Should be good, and I hope it's not depressing. Either way I have Emma (both versions) to watch, and Princess Diaries 2, which wasn't as good as the first one, but cute anyway. What was up with the Raven cameo? Back to quilting, and spending my last $12 on tunafish and saltines to last until monday.

Payday! Finally...

Oban Scotch Whisky

498 AD was the fateful year when Fergus, Angus, and Loarn, sons of King Erc of the Scotti mounted an eastern expedition from the Glens of Antrim to invade and colonise the Oban shores, naming their little kingdom "Calriada." Fergus Mac Erc became the first monarch, his seat the great fortress of 'Dunaad." Angus and Loarn help the lands to the North and South to which the latter Loarn gave his name. The monarch moved north to the ancient Pictish fortress of Dun A Mhonaidh near Oban. The Scotti brought with them the sacred block of time worn red sandstone known as 'Lia Fail' the symbolic "Stone of Destiny."

The coastland of the Gaelic people known as "Earra Gael" fell to the dreaded Viking overlorship in the middle of the eighth century when their rule was at its harshest. It was then that the warrior King Somerled mac Gillibride became foremost in Oban history. Part Viking, part Celt, he rallied his oppressed and despairing countrymen leading them towards a new and lasting freedom from their oppressors. His spirit is said to live upon the precipitous crag of Dun Ollaigh which for centuries has been the home for descendents of his son and heir Dougall mac Somhairlie, the founder of the great "Clan MacDougall."

This moment in history is brought to you from the side of a bottle of Oban Single-malt Scotch Whiskey. Who says bartending isn't an intellectual profession?

Countdown

My new phone has a countdown feature. So I put 10am, January 10th on it. By the way, 25D 20H 18M left until we're back in rehersals.

Audrey and Grant

I've been on a movie-watching binge this month, since I'm trying to get a rather large quilt finished. Having something on in the background makes life happier. Unfortunately, I'm not getting on very fast because I keep picking out movies I haven't seen before. Last night it was Ocean's Eleven, and I didn't even get my quota done (one flower a night quilted).

My current favorite is Charade with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. One of my friends in high school used to be into old movies, but I never acquired a taste for them. I'm on an Audrey Hepburn kick right now. Last night I watched Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Cary Grant is amazing. I'm going to watch, maybe, if I can find a box of kleenex, It Happened One Night. No doubt the most depressing movie ever -- well, I'd put Schindler's List and The Diary of Anne Frank up there somewhere. My favorite scene in Charade was him showering in his suit, because washing a suit on the body "maintains its shape." And Audrey Hepburn in the only woman alive who can look sophisticated with her mouth hanging open, as she frequently does in emotional scenes.

I read a quote by her that says anybody can have her style by putting on a little sleeveless dress. I think being 5'7" and having a 20" waist have SOMETHING to do with it...

Chicken Yellow Curry

Yellow chicken curry(Gaeng ka-ri gy)

3 Tbsp. Yellow Curry paste (either from the recipe above or from a can like Mae Sri brand)

1-lb chicken, cut into 2 inch pieces(cut through the bones with a sharp cleaver if using chicken with bones)

2-3 small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 2 inch pieces

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 can(16oz) coconut milk, shake before opening to mix seperated milk

2 Tbsp. fried shallots(available in a plastic jar in Asia groceries), optional

1 tsp. fish sauce( to taste)

In a small bowl mix the curry paste with 1 Tbsp. of water to dilute. Add to the coconut milk in a medium sized sauce pan. Stir to mix. Add the chicken and potatoes, and 1/2 tsp of sea salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until the meat and potatoes are cooked through, not simmering on low heat, but let the curry roll on a low boil.
At the end of cooking, taste and add fish sauce to adjust the saltiness. Cook a minute longer. Remove from heat. Garnish with fried shallots(available ready made in a plastic container), if desired. Serve with Thai jasmine rice.

Belated Birthday

Belated Birthday

I got the best birthday present yesterday. Almost killed two motorcyclists trying to get the wrapping open while driving...

And then, I was talking on my phone and got distracted, and locked my keys in the car. Pop-a-lock came, and charged $50 to go *click.* Today I'm making a spare key.

Wycliffe Spring Schedule

Wycliffe has finally published our Spring Schedule...thus far at least. We have around 30 gigs booked, and have room for 20 more. I notice we're stopping in Santa Barbara on one of our travel days. Galanga Thai here I come...