Saturday, May 24, 2008

Li La Li

Yikes! A weird winged bug just flew past me and landed on the wall! I can't wait to get out of this apartment and the window screens that don't do a proper job. Seriously, SO many bugs come in through the screens.

Hopefully we can be out of here by July. I didn't think it would happen, but I saw another terrific place today - 3 bedroom, 2 bath, new pretty kitchen, backyard, garage, located near Cherokee, and near our price range. On Monday, I have an in-take appointment at Acorn Housing, so hopefully we can get in on one of their mortgage programs. No down payment and no mortgage insurance? Sign me up. I'll post more info on Monday because 1) it's freaking hard to find details online, and 2) it's been difficult to get in touch with the Acorn people in St. Louis. Maybe because it appears only two people work at this office.

Maybe you have figured out that Porkchop is back in St. Louis. Here are snippets from her return trip...

Thursday
I flew down to Albuquerque, and my flight was only 20 minutes late. For a while, I was worried that there would be no flight because a fire alarm went off in the terminal, and we were evacuated. Fortunately, the cause was some jackass pulling an alarm in a shop. If there is ever a real emergency, I hope to god I'm not at the airport. It was the most half-assed, disorganized, f'ed up evacuation I've ever seen (not that I've seen a lot).

But, so, Albuquerque! Thursday night was a tear-filled goodbye graduation ceremony/potluck. I didn't even attend Tamarind and only met Porkchop's colleagues a few times, but I wanted to cry too. All the kids were such good people! And good people are hard to find (kind of like good houses are hard to find).

Also, can I say that any graduation ceremony that includes a custom-made unicorn pinata totally rocks? Here's Patrick spinning Porkchop around for her turn:


The pinata was awesome and heavy-duty and required several rounds of beatings before its contents of candy and mini alcoholic beverage bottles spilled forth.

Oh my, the party also included some of the best food I've had in a while. People in Albuquerque know how to make mean tamales....yum.

Friday and the Weekend
Friday morning came waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy too early! Porkchop and I returned our rental car at 7:00 am and picked up a different rental car for the one-way drive. Then we packed it totally full! Fortunately, Porkchop has had lots of experience driving without being able to see out the back window. I, on the other hand, do not like it so much.

Patrick and his girlfriend Chelsey then met up with us with their equally full car for The Long Drive.

It was such a long drive. But, it went by rather quickly. I guess Porkchop and I had lots to talk about. And we had crossword puzzles to do and XM radio to listen to. By the time we reached Missouri at 10:00 pm, however, we had to resort to singing Simon & Garfunkel tunes a cappella. We pulled up to our apartment around 2:30 am, unloaded the rental car, and then returned it to the airport. So...we finally got to sleep around 4:30 am Saturday morning. Blech.

We were all tired heads on Saturday because we had to get up for the 12:15 Cardinals game! It was an exciting game that ended with a home run in the 10th inning (I totally called the home run, by the way). Not only did the Cards win, Porkchop scored an Albert Pujols dinner plate:


The plates were given to kids 16 and under upon entering the stadium. Porkchop managed to get one by wearing her huge baseball cap and looking wide-eyed and innocent. Also, Patrick made a discreet hand signal to the plate-passer-outer, indicating that Porkchop should get one. Porkchop has yet to use the plate, but I'm sure she will later.

After the game, we checked out the Arch:


And then it was on to dinner at Schlafly's Bottleworks, then home for a nap, and then out to Ted Drewes for custard.

The next morning included brunch at La Dolce Via and a sad goodbye to Patrick and Chelsey. Murrr!

The Rest of the Week
I'm not really sure what happened. I spent way too much time talking to mortgage people and thinking about houses. I know I worked some, and Porkchop and I did some things.

Here is one thing I remember:


This week's share! Porkchop picked it up, and it was a good one. We have trout, bread, mache (which I've never had before, and I love it!), parsley (ummm...don't know what to do with it), fake pork, Dogtown pizza, Ropp green onion cheddar cheese, sticky toffee pudding from Schlafly (YUM - the caramel sauce by itself is worth it), and Pilgrim's Acres eggs.

Pilgrim's Acres is another example of the hybrid of religious conservatism and sustainable food practices. I love (seriously) that their bookstore section includes The Omnivore's Dilemma, along with the Bible.

Anyway, their eggs are super tasty. But, after this week's pick-up, we had nearly 20 eggs. So, I'm making egg-y things.

Like quiche! I took the bus down to the Tower Grove farmer's market this morning and picked up some asparagus, and then my realtor took me by Local Harvest for mushrooms (I was car-less today)...so I was able to throw together this kick-ass quiche:


It is super-yum. I used whole wheat and white flour for the crust. The filling consists of the green onion cheddar cheese; asparagus, mushrooms, and garlic sauteed in butter; fresh tarragon (I think it was tarragon - it was included in the herb bouquet from my previous share); eggs; milk; and salt, pepper, and nutmeg. I was worried about the quiche overflowing while baking, but I could have even used another egg because of their smaller size.

The asparagus is awesome by itself. I only used half the bundle, so we'll do something else with the rest.

Also at the farmer's market, my creepy stalker ways at the market last season totally paid off. This morning, the 4 Seasons guy gave me an extra mocha macaroon. Yes!

I cannot wait for the rest of the summer and all the vegetables that we will have. Our garden is currently producing yummy lettuce and radishes. But we're really waiting on carrots and beets. And tomatoes (hopefully).

No comments: