Questions and Soup

Re: 2008 survey

What were your favorite purchase(s)?

I just got an 8 gig Ipod Nano (thanks for your help Ginger!), but that will have to wait for 2009's list, because I bought it Sunday.

2008 - definitely the slow-cooker. Paired with the immersion blender we already had, it's a culinary tour-de-force. Ah, the immersion blender.....when a recipe calls for putting soups or sauces through a blender or foodprocessor in small batches - ha ha! No! Just put your trusty immersion blender into the pot, turn it on, and puree away. No mess, no drips, no extra dishes.

Last night's creation has been dubbed 'stuff what we done got' soup. Lentils, tomato, onion, garlic, leftover butternut squash, a shake of lemongrass curry, a heaping pinch of aleppo pepper, a few allspice berries, salt, pepper, a pinch of ginger, and three rather sad looking bay leaves. (note to self - stop household from buying bay leaf at the grocery store. go to savory spice instead). After simmering away for eight hours, it was broth with veg floating in it. After meeting the immersion blender......thick & creamy, with a few chunks left for textural interest.

It was good. And nutritious. And filling. Lentils are good that way.

What did you purchase that cost $500 or more?

Car repairs. Twice. My car is a '95, it has about 140,000 miles on it. When it goes, I'll be riding the bus.

What sporting events did you attend?

A Rockies game, with my friend Najah. The beer was good (Blue Moon Harvest Ale), the food was fun, people watching was excellent, and we watched the full moon rise over the stadium. Oh, and the Rockies lost. Big time.

Get married or divorced?

Have we met?

Change your hairstyle?

Constantly. Right now I have an intense red, short, anime sort of thing going on......but I miss my barettes, so I may grow it back out.

What were your favorite moment(s) of 2008

Reconnecting with old friends, making new ones, solo vacations, horseback riding up (and down!) a very steep mountain, going to the same parks often enough to see the changes as the year went by,playing dressup at Samhain and a masquerade ball.

What's something you learned about yourself?

That taking risks is usually not fatal.

What was your status by Valentine's Day?

Exhausted. Truffle production was hellacious, because Valentine's is a last-minute sort of holiday. It always seems to take people by surprise......

What concerts/shows did you go to?

Lunar Fire - techno-tribal-rap with belly dancers, fire twirlers, lights on strings and fabulous masks and costumes. It was awesome :) Also, my sister's play and the Santaland Diaries.

What are you wishing for in 2009?

Tougher sentencing for parole violators, Stan. And world peace.

Seriously, I want to get rid of my useless hang-ups and inhibitions, and do more with my stifled creativity.

Been naughty or nice?

Absolutely.

Dancing the Night Away

Najah: Kate! Come with me to Lunar Fire! It's a masquerade party - you know you like playing dress-up!

Kate: What's lunar fire ?

Najah: They're great! You'll love it!

Kate: Okay.

Kate: So, I'm redoing my fairy wings for winter, for this masquerade concert/party thing..

Chef: I'm doing your wings! And a mask!

Kate: Okay.

(I'm not usually this docile. I'm working saying 'yes' to opportunities.)

On the way, we stopped at Shanti's to drop something off. She lives near the club that was hosting the masquerade. It should have been easy, but it's that part of Denver where the streets stop and start and move around apparently at will, so we ended up getting turned all around but eventually wound up where we were going. Shanti's living room is festooned with sheer fabric, softening the angles from ceiling to wall, low couches piled with cushions - a sort of gypsy, bohemian seraglio sort of thing. It's the sort of thing I'd do if I lived alone or was in charge of how things look. But I don't, and I'm not.

I looked amazing in the dark ballroom with the lights from the slowly spinning disco ball dancing over me - this photo doesn't even come close.

Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom is worth visiting just to see the ladies' room - it's muralized with scenes from the Wizard of Oz, and has sayings and poetry all over the walls and ceiling and stalls. The stalls are chalkboard, chalk is provided, and grafitti is encouraged. I didn't write anything, being somewhat preoccupied with wing management. Whoever designed the average bathroom stall did not take wingspan into consideration.

Lunar Fire started playing around 10:30, and played straight through until about 2am, with one ten minute break around 1am. I was dancing the whole time - so not like me. I usually hide in a corner, if I go out at all. They started with an invocation, chanted over percussion and guitars, as dancers came out one by one and created an altar at the front of the stage. Four dancers, three women, one man, who came and went and changed costumes throughout the night. I alternated between being lost in the beat and being entranced by the dancers - veils, wings, fire, swords, lights on cords that surrounded the dancer like tiny faeries, fans streaming veils that rippled like water, balls that seemed to float in the air......it was amazing, made me want to paint, to make costumes, to transform myself, to create......
I danced so hard my pointed ears popped off, my wings bent and the feathers in my mask curled over. By the end, my feet hurt, my calves were screaming, and I kept going until the music stopped.

Today I put my wings and mask on the wall, hovering up in the corner of my room. A fey touch of wildness in a serene sea of blue.
It's a start.