Julia Slaughter

Archive for the ‘Random’ Category

It is a nasty habit that I have that during the holidays, everything suffers. I don’t read as much, I don’t see as many movies (though there seem to be plenty of movies to see), and clearly I don’t blog as much. (Though I am frustrated because I have been tweeting more frequently than my Twitter feed seems to indicate which means I’ve got to poke at that soon.) I will not make excuses, it’s life it happens and you really don’t want to read any excuses so let me instead get on with it…

I picked up some extra work days during the holidays, which means that I get to take a random day off later. I love having a holiday when everyone else is working – it feels decadent to me somehow. Frequently I use these days off to do one of the things I love to do best and I go to the movies early on a Friday.

Not surprisingly on one such Friday I saw Avatar again and I liked it even MORE the second time. I could regal you with charming details and other tidbits I’ve picked up about it since then but I won’t. Avatar has set records, has won some awards, and is nominated for plenty more. I am confident that you’ve heard of, if you’re here you probably know how I feel about it – I’ll spare you the rest.

The Book of Eli Poster

If you’re like I am you might have seen trailers for this, and felt like the trailers seemed interesting but perhaps not interesting enough to motivate you to actually go see it. I was motivated to see it because apparently the author of the material is a friend of my friend Kathryn. (Maybe I’ve found my link to Kevin Bacon?) Kathryn was adamant that I should go see and as she rarely leads me astray – off I went.

I was amused that there was a pair of tiny older Southern ladies sitting in front of me at the theater. (Okay, I admit that I wasn’t so amused when one turned to the other loudly and said “I don’t know why anyone would want to see that” LOUDLY during the Clash of the Titans trailer.) However about two minutes in when a cat gets shot for dinner and they physically recoiled – I was very amused.

I have been telling my friends that the movie is like Mad Max with soul. We’re in a post-apocalyptic world, where people are eating people for want of food (the people who have gone cannibal develop the shakes which identifies them as what they are) and there are people who are pulling together to try to rebuild some semblance of society, the good and bad parts of society are manifested in the various pockets of civilization that appear on the landscape. Eli is a nomad, making his way west, he carries a book and most trailers give you an indication as to what book it is, but I won’t spill the beans here.

I really enjoyed the movie, it was portrayed by a GREAT cast. In addition to Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman, I was thrilled when Ray Stevenson flashed up on screen – I love him! I think he’s a tremendously talented actor. The plot has a twist at the end  that absolutely shocked me! It was something that I just never anticipated. However, I think that despite the sometimes grim and grisly scenes the movie brings in an unexpected audience because it has a powerful message.

I’ve seen a few other movies here and there, I went with a friend and her kids to see Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Squeekel (how the heck do you spell that?!?!). The next movie coming up that I am really excited about opens tomorrow Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief – I’ll let you know how it goes.

I love this time of year, not because I like shopping or even getting gifts, but because there are so many other things I love about this season:

Houses dripping in Christmas Lights, with Christmas Trees peeking out of the window. Even the most humble home looks grand to me, in all of it’s Christmas splendor and I love them all – from the humble homes “tastefully decorated” to the homes that set out to rival Clark Griswold.

Christmas movies. There’s not much that is unpredictable in Christmas movies but I love them all from various incarnations of  A Christmas Carol (though the Muppets Variety is my favorite) to A Wonder Life. My eyes well with tears and my heart skips a beat when the lessons are learned and love has reigned over even the coldest hearts during the holiday season.

Peppermint Ice Cream. Okay what’s funny about my love of Peppermint Ice Cream is that during the summer I’m an indifferent Ice Cream person at best. Every now and then I might grab a cone but even then I rarely finish it, but when December rolls around, the weather gets colder and the Peppermint Ice Cream hits the stores I can’t get enough of it!

Starbucks Christmas Treats! It was my love of peppermint that first brought me to Starbucks – Peppermint hot chocolate was what caught my attention the first time and then I saw Gingerbread Loaf, after that it was all over. I start doing driving by to check out Starbucks right after Thanksgiving and once I see the red cups, I’m in!

Oh sure there are other things I like that have nothing to do with things that you can buy and sell but those things are  so much harder to put into words…

I like that feeling of getting someone a gift that I know they are really going to like, a gift that says something about the way I feel about them. Sometimes I enjoy making gifts – baking them, creating photobooks, etc.

I love spending time with friends and family from near and far, everyone seems their best and brightest during the Christmas season.

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I went away from home and visited some friends in Oklahoma, and it was fun and fascinating to participate in their Thanksgiving traditions. Despite my many blessings, Thanksgiving has never been a big holiday for my family (in fact we usually leave town), because I am a direct descendant of Mrs.Claus and Santa Claus.

My first scrap of evidence that I am related to Mrs.Claus came when I was in kindergarten, we had parents day and the next night I went to school and found a letter to me from Mrs.Claus! It talked about how she was making Pineapple Upside Down cake for Santa and that day when I went home from work I found my grandmother there in the kitchen making Pineapple Upside Down cake! (Aha! so that’s why I never saw grandpa – he was Santa Claus!)

The other supporting evidence is that my Mom has always been Christmas crazy! She puts up roughly twelve Christmas trees that range in size from 12 feet to 3 feet, there are elves and reindeer scattered through out the house, and tinsel and twinkle lights gleam from every surface that will hold still to tolerate such treatment. The decorating usually begins in October, it starts with mysterious boxes appearing from out of storage units and the attic and well before Thanksgiving it’s finalized, every piece of garland in place. I love our over the top Christmases but it’s always been a little much for me, I like to contain my Christmas decorations to the period after Thanksgiving and into the first week of January.

After Thanksgiving dinner, my Oklahoma friends piled up into cars and we headed to the Chickasha Festival of Light and it was a perfect end to Thanksgiving and a wonderful kick off for Christmas. There were horse drawn carriages to trot around the park in and a bridge that had been turned into a a tunnel of white twinkle lights. I giggled at the mermaids, seahorses, and ostriches and my heart swelled when I saw the huge tree and the 12 days of Christmas. It was wonderful.

I was so excited to get into the Christmas festivities that I ended up coming home and starting my own decorations, even though the weather doesn’t seem quite Christmasy enough yet.

I cannot help myself, I love this time of year. I love the smells of gingerbread, chocolate, and peppermint. I love seeing people in the season. I love twinkle lights and tinsel. I love it all, all of it but shopping…still not a big fan of that.

http://www.chickashafestivaloflight.com/

At work I heard a statement that I found completely and utterly fascinating. Theresa, one of my coworkers standing by the microwave announced “I don’t like Vampires, they are all ugly.”

I considered that for a moment, “All of them?” I asked.

She nodded.

“Even though, like people, they are all different?”

Theresa nodded again, and this was right before she confessed that she had seen and liked Twilight, the first movie in the Twilight saga. I desperately longed to ask more questions, but I wasn’t sure where to start or if the lunchroom was even the appropriate place for my questions.

If all you know of vampires is the Hollywood portrayals, really what’s not to like? Way before Twilight and Rob Pattinson, Hollywood stars and constellations alike have played vampires – Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, Robert Sean Leonard, Bill Nighy, Kate Beckinsale, Gary Oldman,and of course how can we forget Keifer Sutherland and that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Vampire movies go back almost to the beginning of films and they long ago abandoned the white (not pale but white) skinned vampires with black circles painted around their eyes clad in a black cape.

As my mind wandered down those lines I thought if her issue isn’t with the Hollywood kind of vampires, which I don’t see how it could be, does she know real life vampires? I don’t think that I do. The closest I’ve ever seen in Don Henrie from Mad Mad House on SciFi (back before it was SyFy) and while I don’t know that he really is a vampire, (Googling him reveals that there seems to be conflicting reports as to if he could possibly be a vampire or not) I know that he is of Asian American descent and a fairly handsome man. (I did not post a picture because I couldn’t bring myself to bother him by asking for permission for a personal blog.) In fact if you look at his MySpace currently – http://www.myspace.com/donhenrie, the picture there is pretty mundane. (He looks more like a model than anything else.)

I guess I assume that like every other life form on this planet, there are attractive and less attractive examples out there. I still can’t stop kicking it around in my head, Theresa knows ugly vampires, who knew?

It’s funny how my moods are tied to the weather, because when I opened the door and the hot air hit me in the face – I felt myself deflate. I suppose this is Indian Summer. The temperature is rocketing towards the upper 80’s and the humidity makes the air feel like a hot wet towel. Sadly,  the weather was at its nicest while work was at it’s busiest, but I’ve had a taste of Fall and I’m hopeful that more is coming soon!

Yesterday I retreated from the heat to my local bookstore, but the clock was ticking as Rascal was at home waiting to be let outside. I wandered among the aisles and picked up a book, but on my way out I spied this sitting on a table:

At first I thought that surely it was a joke, but upon further investigation I find that it’s not a joke, per say, but rather a parody. See, Pride and Prejudice is in the public domain which means the copyright has expired, it’s why you can download a copy of someone reading it for free from Librivox, so someone decided what Pride and Prejudice really needed was, of course, zombies.

I had rather mixed emotions about this book, see I like Pride and Prejudice. I’ve read it half a dozen times and listened to it about a dozen times, so I wasn’t sure how I felt about anyone messing with Miss Elizabeth and Mr.Darcy but I have to admit – I’m intrigued. I read the plot summary on Wikipedia and I think I might actually buy it.

What is so tantalizing to me is that the author managed to right a few wrongs. There are some characters that I always felt that Austen let get off too easily, but not so now that Seth Grahame-Smith has interceded. It looks like the dastardly Wickham is going to get his just desserts! (Even more so than just by virtue of marrying the flighty, superficial Lydia!)

I have another stack of books on their way from Amazon, but once it starts to dwindle – bring on the undead!

Yesterday I woke up and opened the door to let the dogs out and I braced myself for the worse. I was prepared for the heat to wrap itself around me like a damp hot towel, and instead I was pleasantly surprised when cool crisp air welcomed me. I stepped out in the cold dark morning  in my bare feet and night gown and reveled in that feeling that perhaps Fall is finally here. I drove to work with my windows down and stopped by Starbucks to indulge myself with a Spiced Pumpkin Latte, which sounds horrible but is absolutely delightful! It’s deliciously Fall, in a way that can only be eclipsed by the smell of freshly baked Pumpkin Bread.The five day forecast promises more of this Fall weather, and I refuse to look past those days in case there’s an Indian Summer lurking around the corner.

I love Fall, like some people seem to love Spring. I long to go home and open the windows and let the fresh air in to touch all the dark and shadowy corners that have been untouched since Summer set in around me. I long to fire up the oven and make Pumpkin Bread and warm soups and stews with savory smells. I wish I had a hammock and I would spend the day in the dappled sunshine, reading and napping to my heart’s content. I just love this time of year.

I think for other people Fall is the threat that Winter is coming, but for me it’s the promise of Winter. I love Winter too. Of course I live in a part of the country where Winter is pretty mild, there’s no snowstorms to keep us home bound, in fact there’s hardly any snow at all. (Every few years we get an inch or so.) Fall and Winter bring some of my favorite holidays – Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and of course Mardi Gras.

Sadly, I’m at work so instead of getting to enjoy this beautiful Fall day, I’m sitting at a desk day dreaming but in my heart I’m in a hammock with a book in my hand, dozing off.

Before I roll up my sleeves and get into this, I should tell you – I’ve never been to England, or anywhere else where they have teatime in earnest. I’ve always liked the way it sounds though. I imagine lovely teas with dainty sandwiches and small but decadent desserts, served on beautiful and elegant dishes. I don’t know that I was much on Tea Parties when I was a little girl but as I’ve grown up to appreciate food and the insight it offers to different cultures, I’ve always thought it would be interesting to participate in tea time.

Over the weekend, I got my chance as there was a celebration at the Shamrock, Rose, and Thistle Tea Room. Ironically I drive by this little gem several times a week and I had no idea where it was until Saturday! However, it’s a lovely little building set back off a busy road and when you pull back into the parking lot you feel like you’re crossing a threshold where all of life’s problems are left behind, it’s lovely.

The table I sat at was beautifully set, but I was thrilled to notice that each place setting was very distinctive and though they weren’t all uniform there was a certain beauty in the mismatched place settings. I liked my place setting the best!

We tried an iced tea and a hot tea, and sadly I’ve already forgotten the name of the hot tea. For the iced tea we had a white tea called Strawberry Seduction. We got it sweetened and I was pleased to discover despite the fact that we were in the South, it wasn’t Southern sweet tea where there is so much sugar in it that it almost overpowers the taste of the actual tea. It was light and refreshing, absolutely wonderful.

Just as we were settling into our teas, they brought out the tea fare or as I liked to call it – the Tower of Treats!

On the bottom level, they had scones – a traditional raisin and pralines and cream for the other two. I went for the traditional raisin with the lemon curd on it, it was amazing. I felt that the scones were heavier and more dense than biscuits, but in a wonderful and pleasant way. I also used the lemon curd on it and thought that was amazing! I loved the light lemon taste and the gentle creamy texture.

I sadly cannot tell you what a single of the savory sandwhiches were in the middle were, I should’ve been paying closer attention I suppose. There was a quiche with broccoli and cheese which I passed on (I’m not one for broccoli) but my companions found delightful. There was one sandwhich with Roast Beef and Cream Cheese on it, that I tried and enjoyed. There was a third sandwhich which had three pieces of bread and colorful spreads in between each layer. I think one of the layers was something with a beat. The flavor was so delicate I couldn’t really place it. The final tier was desset, and I’m a total loss for what I ate! There was something with puff pastry and a delicate shell with some sort of mousse in it. Quite frankly, I could’ve just had scones and been perfectly satisfied. (Clearly since I paid very little attention to anything else!)

I know growing up in New Orleans there were places that had high tea, but I was too young to appreciate that kind of thing, I wish I had taken advantage of those places now. I wonder if there are places like this all over, but I just never noticed them until now? I also wonder how authentic my tea experience was. I did like the slogan of Shamrock, Rose, and Thistle – British Tradition with a Southern Accent. If you’re ever in my neck of the woods – you should check them out!

http://www.shamrockroseandthistle.com/index.asp

I was born and raised in New Orleans, and even now that I’ve moved I still consider New Orleans to be my hometown. “Do you know what it means to Miss New Orleans?” brings tears to my eyes, more so today than when I moved almost fifteen years ago. I love the City That Care Forgot, the crazy politics that pit crooks and klansmen against each other, the food,the music, the style that is completely unique to the city.

I’ve lived in different places along the Gulf Coast and I’ve grown to appreciate the unique charm and flavor that each provides, Pensacola where the white beaches permeate the whole community with a laid back beach attitude and Mobile with its proud history and beautiful pageantry. However, this time of year despite the places where I’ve visited or the places I’ve called home I start day dreaming about some place I’ve never really been.

I live in a part of the South where it’s green pretty much year round. In the Winter I’m grateful that the highways are lined with green instead of the blues and greys of my friends in the North but in the Fall I long to see the leaves change. We have a tree or two, here or there that will blaze to herald the Fall but for the most part, it’s just green and in September, on the first day of Fall – it’s still hot. (Today we’re expecting highs in the upper 80’s)

A Picture of Fall Leaves from Sleddogmusic.com

Every year I promise myself that I’m going to back up my car one weekend and drive North until I find Fall, beautiful brilliant colors to mark that Fall is here. However, I haven’t managed to pull it off yet, it seems like there’s always too much to do, but today I’m looking at the heating rising off the asphalt dreaming of the colors of Fall. I’ve also been poking around blogs reading about things like apple picking and fall baking, and I look forward to the smell of Pumpkin Bread coming out of the oven soon.

My "To Be Read" stack of books

I keep a stack of books “To Be Read” and despite the fact that you can see my list in the Now Reading  section of my website, I couldn’t resist snapping a quick picture of them.  I feel real anxiety if I don’t have at least one book in the stack, because what if I finish what I’m reading and the bookstores are inconviently closed? What would I do? (I know that sounds so silly!) I take at least three books with me if I go on vacation just in case between plane rides and hotel rooms I end up knocking out more than one. Yes it’s true, I am a book loving fool.

I have a confession – I am a food blog junkie. I’ve never really got into reading blogs, in their infancy I would find someone interesting, read along for a while and then inevitably they would stop updating or they would go somewhere that I couldn’t follow and I would stop reading. I haven’t really paid much attention to this whole blogging thing since the late 1990’s, which is ironic I suppose since now I’m writing one.

I was first called back into blogs by some of my favorite authors – George RR Martin and Neil Gaiman offered a unique window into their world and their lives through their blogs. (Even though GRRM maintains that his is NOT a blog.) I look forward to Neil Gaiman’s updates on his beehives with genuine interest. I admit that sometimes George RR Martin dips into politics which I find rather dull, I do like hearing about his travels with his wife and following along with one of my favorite series.

I don’t remember how it happened but one day I stumbled across a food blog and I felt like I had found buried treasure. I liked seeing real pictures of food that people had cooked, not super beautiful glamor shots that make me feel inadequate when my food doesn’t look like the picture in the book. I liked real recipes that acknowledge that perhaps after a full day at work I might need a recipe that can be prepared in under an hour.

Many food blogs are all linked together and so from that first blog, I went on to another site, and then another. I loved seeing what different people were cooking, and I was fascinated when I found food blogs written by people from other ethnic backgrounds. They use exotic ingredients I’ve never heard of but the bowls of shimmery green soup are intriguing.

I suppose it was a natural evolution for me to start reading food blogs, I’ve fallen in love with Ruth Reichl’s books about food. I love that she tells you something touching and personal and then punctuates those stories with recipes from her personal kitchen. My mouth waters at the way she describes food – it’s wonderful. She really made me start paying attention to what I was eating, not just how it tasted but the textures and the experience of what I was easting.

I’d like to tell you that at some point in time I’d venture to share my recipes and pictures of my concoctions here with you, but the truth is – that’s not really the way I cook. I usually start with a base recipe and then I twist it around until I’m no longer even bothering to measure anymore. I could never tell anyone how to make my Crawfish Pie, I merely get into the kitchen and make it, I need someone else to follow behind me and write down what I pick up and put in there.

Now that I’ve started this it’s really got me thinking…I wonder what’s for dinner?