why not swearing in front of kids is so great

When Rishi dropped a giant bag of Halloween candy he had been lugging around, he cried "Oh DEAR!"

things that have been stolen from my property

i hate oakland sometimes. the neighbors can give my kid balloons all day, it doesn't change the fact that stuff disappears, on a regular basis, from my doorstep. ARGH.

So, in recent weeks, I've lost

• a side table. this table furnished my stoop for several months until it abruptly disappeared this afternoon. Right after I thought/said to myself "I should take this in now that the rain has started."
• 4 pieces of outgoing mail. containing a birthday card to my mother, a personal check, and MY COMPLETED (absentee) CALIFORNIA BALLOT. Have you ever seen a California ballot? It's like a final exam of studying you have to do to be a conscientious citizen. And mine was stolen. Thankfully, since then my mail has been full of voter guides of the sort where you just take the Democratic (or Green, or "Conservation"??) flyer to the poll and check off what they tell you. But I voted my conscience! GDMF, as they say.*
• A bag of soiled diapers. SERIOUSLY??
• a car stereo. ok. we expect these to get stolen. FINE.

that's all. except maybe a plastic spider. Can you believe the nerve of these people?!?!?

luv

R

* I wonder about going to the polling place on election day. The vote-by-mail envelope has all sorts of warnings against voter fraud. So while I completed the ballot and signed it the way you're supposed to, did the crackhead who stole it mail it anyway, knowing there was no money in there? Or was it a Meg Whitman canvasser who stole it, knowing there's not a chance in hell I'd vote for her? OR WAS IT ONE OF THE MULCH PEOPLE? Pissed that the mulch was wet and possibly full of mold spores? Oh god. I have too many enemies.

pumpkin pie and a technique to keep your house warm for an afternoon

With all of the boiling and baking in this recipe, it's perfect for the first cold day of the rainy season. It coincided nicely with the first pumpkin in our veggie box. 

Take one small pumpkin (about this size or a little smaller)

From Fall 2010

, chop it up. Roast the seeds, well salted, at 200 degrees for about an hour.

Steam the pumpkin chunks in a steamer basket - about 30-40 mins

Mix these things in a bowl:

mushed pumpkin ~ 1.5 cups

3-4 heaping tablespoons crystallized honey (you know you have some hiding in the cupboard)

1/4 - 1/3 c. agave nectar or similar agave/maple blend

1 14oz can coconut milk 

2 eggs

if you have a toddler, let him help with:

1/2 tsp salt

1.5 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp powdered ginger

1/2 tsp powdered cloves (we may have gone a little light on the cloves)

mix it up, bake it in a pie shell at 425 for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 300 and bake another 40-ish minutes. it bakes a LONG time because of all of that liquid. it will be gooey, and delicious. 

what's wrong with this recipe?

THERE IS NO FAT AND NO SALT in this beautiful looking pot of soup

so even though it has yummy things like spinach and lentils and curry powder, it is dull. the flat kind of spicy that lacks the love of butter, or coconut milk. bummer!

from the desk of Madonna

"i hate actresses, they have nothing on the house of extravaganza."

!!! I would just really like to remember that phrase. 

dancers 4e!

luv, r