the world is your acorn

The Little Red Haired Girl is getting 4 wisdom teeth out tomorrow morning, which means that she won’t be able to eat normally for a while. So I’m trying to think of things to make for dinner with lots of different textures. I’ve already decided on an Korean and Chinese theme. I think I will have something bulgogi-like, some crispy picklish items, then some other small apps like bean sprouts and oyster sauce potatoes. I am also going to do some crunchy spring rolls and pan fried salt and pepper shrimp. I may be inspired with more when I go to the grocery later.

I also have to think of things that she can eat once the teeth are out. It’s been a decade since mine were pulled, so I don’t remember. Can she drink smoothies through a straw or will that hurt? How much will her jaw hurt? I remember chewing with my front teeth, but I don’t know how soon after the surgery that happened. Anyway, so far I’ve got things like pudding, bananas, jello, cottage cheese, yogurt, mashed potatoes, and silken tofu on my list. Any other ideas?

Yesterday as I made dinner and waited for The Little Red Haired Girl to come home from yoga I looked out and noticed it was getting dark out. The days are getting shorter, new seasons of tv shows are being advertised, my research project is starting to meet at a regular time, and the city is repopulating with returning students. It’s the end of the summer. I have mixed feelings. The summer has been amazing. I’ve done so many of the things that I planned, and lots that were unplanned. I’ve never found myself bored or impatient to be doing something else. I don’t feel like I’ve wasted any time. At the same time, as school things like my project meetings and thinking about courses ramp up, I’m getting more excited about going back. I had a moment a few weeks back where I was so happy doing my own thing at home that I forgot why it is that I’m in school at all. Happily, I’m starting to remember. So, I’ll be sad to leave behind the leisure of summer, but just as happy to dig in and push myself ahead.

freaking brilliant. via Gizmodo

There are a bunch of social library websites out there. I’ve tried many of them mostly to get organized. I never stayed for long on any single one, and now I know why. It’s a totally different game when you take advantage of the social aspect. The Bachelor (who isn’t) and Mrs. Superhero got me into Goodreads a few months ago. I joined, and have since managed to link up with a bunch of other friends there. Using the site to keep track of my books and my thoughts on them is one thing. Getting access to what my friends are reading and their thoughts makes it a site that I visit regularly and delight in keeping up-to-date. But that’s not the point of the post.

A lot of similar sites do the same thing. I happen to be on Goodreads just because other folks I know were already there. I’m pimping it though, because of this: When I first started using the site there were some navigational things that irritated me, and there were other features I hoped for. So I emailed them my comments, and got a nice response back addressing the things I’d said. Next thing I know, one of my suggestions was implemented! So exciting. Now if you are on the page for a book on Amazon, you can click a bookmarklet to add it to your Goodreads! Love it. Thanks, kind people at Goodreads, for paying attention to your users.

btw, join me at Goodreads!

The weekend was a whirlwind of catching up with old friends, eating good food, and spending quality time with Lady E. Fanclub Girl’s wedding was beautiful and a ton of fun. It was on a gazebo in Gloucester overlooking the water, and the weather was perfect for it. After a nice service during which The Little Red Haired Girl cried, we headed down the street for a lobster reception. We had all our seafood cravings satisfied there. Fried calamari, clam chowder, steamers, and lobster. Freakin’ delicious. After which we danced the night away.

Saturday was a busy day. I was recovering from many beers and glasses of champagne at the wedding, but we had 5 or 6 restaurant/bars to hit. The Little Red Haired Girl and I had made a list of all our favorite foods and places in Boston, and we were planning to get to as many as possible. On Friday afternoon before the wedding we managed to get to the Corner Mall for Jamaican Beef Patties and McDonald’s apple pies. They are fried there. Yes. We had fried apple pies. Anyway, Saturday started with dim sum. It was just me and The Little Red Haired Girl, which is a tough situation for dim sum. You want to have as many people as possible there so that you can order a ton of different things. We restrained ourselves though, and only ordered our very favorite items.

The rest of Saturday afternoon was spent in Allston, where I lived for the first two years after college. A lot has changed over there, but my favorite bars and restaurants still survive, thank goodness. We started with potato skins and sweet potato fries at Sunset Grill & Tap. At Big City we were too full so we just had beer and played pool. After that we were running out of time, so we skipped Great Scott but had a bottle of wine, some fried calamari, caesar salad, and bruschetta at Carlo’s Cucina. We finished off the night with a drink at Club Cafe. Not in Allston, but close to Lady E’s home.

By Sunday we were exhausted. Lady E. made us pancakes and bacon, which was nice. Then we shopped around for a while, and sampled some oysters and fried clams at Legal. Met up for drinks with Party Girl Doctor, then off to The Burren for dinner with Fanclub Girl. and her new bride. We finished the night at Top of the Hub, Lady E. and The Little Red Haired Girl and I, discussing what The Little Red Haired Girl’s and my wedding will be like. After which we headed home and played Karaoke Revolution until we couldn’t stay awake any longer.

The next morning we got up early to walk around just a little more. I got my spinach and cheese filled croissant at ABP, and The Little Red Haired Girl and I walked from Harvard Square to Central, just remembering. We took my picture in front of City Hall where, one rainy summer afternoon in 2005, The Little Red Haired Girl and I signed for our Qualified Domestic Partnership. Very Romantic.

So, there were a couple of things that we did not get to do while in Boston, but we accomplished a heck of a lot, so I ain’t complainin’. Plus, now that there is a possibility that our wedding will be up there (that story is for another day), we may be back real soon!