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I went to see Amanda last night! :-D

I seriously haven't seen her since my wedding.

(And - I just realized now - I forgot to bring her the little baggy of thanks-for-being-my-MoH goodies last night. Dammit...)

But. I got to see her house. Which is lovely. :-) It's the house she grew up in, and she's totally re-done it, painting all the rooms and re-staining the living room floor in a dark red stain (it's gorgeous) and everything. She's got heaps of plants already, and wants more - A good house-warming present, that, I suspect... :-)

I got to meet her dog - Rupert the Very Big Terrier, who's a dear - and we made a yummy dinner. Coucous w/ green pepper, garlic, ginger, mushrooms, fresh basil and broccoli, plus a salad of greens, small tomatoes, lentil sprouts and alfalfa sprouts w/ a roasted garlic dressing. There were also a collection of cheeses and cheese and bean dips w/ bread and crackers. And rum. Cranberry juice w/ rum. Now that is a yummy, yummy beverage. :-)

Which reminds me, I need to hit up the LCBO.

It also reminds me why vegetarian cooking (which, ironically, I got her into) is so cool. You actually have to *think* to do it. Which is awesome. It felt like a work-out when you haven't done it in a while -- a bit tricky to get back into, but it feels good to do it. :-)
I kinda miss it.
I don't miss the not-eating-meat part (which is odd, perhaps, given the whole vegetarian aspect of vegetarian cooking), but I miss the thinking part. I miss engaging my brain in meal preparation.
As much as I love being able to pick up, say, a pre-cooked chicken and a stir-fry-in-a-bag from the grocery store and say "Dinner!", it's also really fantastic to be able to look in the fridge and (A) see *produce* (stupid Chron's!)[1], and (B) have to come up with a creative way of putting it together so that it's both palatable and protein-y (no, really - I am definitely a protein junky).

I may start trying to do one non-meat dinner per week, just to give me that opportunity. :-)



also: I saw New Zealand Jade - that is Green Stone or Pounamu - for the first time.
As you can see, it's totally gorgeous. It's got, like, blue lights inside it or something. It's totally magnificent. Amanda's rock has got something going on energetically with it. It's pretty awesome. :-)
I totally want some.
I will have to go to the Crystal Dawn.
Or, better: I will have to go to New Zealand. :-)


Anyway. We talked about magic and romance and cooking and work and general Stuff and Things, and it was so, *so* good.
And here I was, thinking I'd lost her forever.
SO GLAD I WAS WRONG!!! :-D


Anyway, so that was my awesome evening of awesomeness. :-) What a wonderful Tuesday night. :-)


On a totally unrelated note: There's a radio station called Aboriginal Voices and, I gotta say, it's really nice to listen to pop music that talks about the Earth not only as holy, but as 'She'. Woohoo! :-D

Back to pounding out the last of my word-count.
[EDIT: 48,433! :-D Go me! :-D]


- TTFN,
- Amazon. :-)


[1] On my fucking gods, I miss produce! I miss having avocados and fresh tomatoes and *lettuce* and all the stuff my husband can't eat and which goes bad if I only get it for myself. I *miss* that stuff.

So, last night was my staff dinner. :-)

The original plan was to do coctails between 6pm and 7pm at the Blue Cactus, and then get dinner at Tucker's Marketplace.

However, due to a good hour-long wait (or more, I suspect) we ended up doing Tucker's first, and then going back to the Blue Cactus (only to find out that the wait was still huge), and then deciding to hit the Highlander (my second time there in as many days) instead.

So.
Dinner was good, and very tastey. :-) I had heaps of seafood and roast beef, and just about zero vegetables (how intelligent of me), and a very, very delicious mudslide. :-)

Now, there were a couple of adventures last night. Well, quasi-adventures.

Adventure #1 happened at the Highlander.

See, I dressed up last night. I wore high heels and pattered fishnets, and the little black dress I got on our honeymoon, and I did my hair (sort of) and my makeup, which I haven't done (in combination, at least) in months.
So, there I was, all dolled up and, for all intents and purposes, out with 'the girls'.
So.
While trying my first margarita (it was okay. When it comes to drinks that taste like candy, though, I still prefer the chocolate end of the spectrum) a random, drunken guy came over and said hello, and offered me: A blue, paper coctail umbrella. He said that he and his friends had seen me downstairs and felt that I should have it.
Given that I tripped twice (pre-margarita, I should point out) on the stairs, I'm not sure if this was meant to help me keep my balance, or what, but there you have it. Blue, paper coctail umbrella.
Hm. :-)


The other adventure involves my getting home.
See, I stuck around at the Highlander for... probably a good 30-45 minutes longer than I really wanted to (don't get me wrong, I was having a good time, which was nice, but I knew my fella was waiting up for me and I didn't want to be *too* tired when I got in), specifically because I knew that the 97 would drop me off right near my house provided it went through South Keys after 11pm.
Unfortunately the bus I got went through South Keys at about 10:58.
Er.
And took the Airport Parkway to the airport, instead of Uplands Drive.
Woops.
So, at the airport, I went up to talk to the driver -- to see how long I'd have to wait to go back the other way, and if the bus that took me would be going down Uplands or not (essentially, do I wait for the bus, or do I take one of the many, many cabs that are waiting at the airport).
Also talking to the driver was a woman (with a very drunken husband, although I suspect she was a bit blitzed, too) who had wanted to go to Saint Laurent.
I gave her dirrections on how to get back there, since she'd taken the wrong bus. I hope she and her husband got back okay.

Anyway.
Back to me-me-me:
I was about to follow the lady off the bus, when the drive closed the doors and offered to take me back to Uplands himself.
Isn't that awesome?
He said that he really didn't want the drunken couple on the bus anymore, but that, when I get on the bus, I always have a nice smile, so he was willing to take me back home.
Which was just fantastic. :-)
Who knew. Being nice actually does pay off once in a while. :-)
Yay! :-D

And those were my adventures for the evening. :-)

Anyway.
I am now famished, and I think I will go to brunch today. (This would involved heading out in about... an hour, I think. :-)

In other news: I seem to have aquired a random (and very shallow) slice on my right thumb. I have no idea where it came from, and didn't even realize it had happened until I was at dinner last night, at which time I saw the long line a blood, and went: "Oh. Maybe that's why my thumb's been hurting today". Random cuts and scratches seem to be my forte these days. Perhaps the Gods are as hungry as I am. :-)

Sidenote: The Horrorpops seem to be what you'd get if you bread The Misfits with No Doubt. Or thereabouts. (A conclusion at-which my husband and I arrived, yesterday).

- TTFN,
- Amazon. :-)