Goops & Glops

French toast achieved.

My little brother and our family friend P (who is staying with my parents for a while) are downstairs in the kitchen shooting little yellow foam balls at each other while my parents laugh at them. This is what happens when my mother buys ridiculous toys as gifts around here. Kind of hilarious.

Later: Indian food and Sherlock Holmes!

I got up at the normal time this morning (6:30ish) but didn't go into work. I figured I would get the Oreo Cheesecake done first, so it will have plenty of time to chill for tomorrow. I don't know why people think making a cheesecake is a big deal, I find it rather easy and fun. I even took pictures:

Here's what I started with:




I LOVE the professional mixer that we have and have made good use of it. I also did the double boiler thing for melting the chocolate like a real professional would. Something I never did before. This recipe called for an Oreo crust:






Then bits of cookies in the batter:




Then spread the rest on top (not too sure if I like that...):



The problem we have is the "let it bake" part....I'm never too sure of myself if it's done or not. I'll let it cool a bit, then stick it in the refrigerator. I am by no means a professional, but it sure does look tasty...

Now this afternoon will be the pumpkin and apple pies...

It does and does not seem like Christmas already. For the past two years, I have been dealing with medical crap that would usually take its toll on the celebrations. This year, with the new drug I took last week, my side effects have been less, and I have been feeling OK...although, my blood work will reach it's lowest in the next two or three days. I'll go in Monday and get that checked.

Also, I love this time of year to "do stuff"....gift shop, or bake/cook...something I don't do as much as I would like to. I really enjoy it, and it takes abit to motivate me, which is this case is the calendar. Generally, I like to cook a big holiday meal, but it needs a big family to enjoy it. That only happens if we go back to the family homesteads back east to get that kind of a holiday population. This year, starting with Thanksgiving, we decided to do something different. As previously posted, we went to a really nice restaurant for Thanksgiving, and were very impressed at the "family quality" of the meal.

This year at Christmas, we are getting out of the house to spend with our "adopted" family....which is much better, since we get to choose who that is, rather than be born with "questionable" cousins and the like. There will be nine of us: Phillip and me, Wayne and Barry (our hosts), Wayne's mom, Wayne's cousin and her partner along with the cousins two little girls...which we are really looking forward to. My idea of a nice holiday is to hang out, chat, eat, etc...just lazy visiting. Maybe even a DVD on Wayne's new plasma set up. Since we are invited guests, and Wayne is going all out for food (rack of lamb anyone?...hey, they were at the first Christmas!)...and I could not let that just stand on its own...so tomorrow I have to make a pumpkin pie, and apple crunch pie and a Oreo cheesecake....so, it will be a busy day tomorrow, and hopefully will document it with pictures!

In case there was any doubt, being sick is an unfun experience. Head colds are stupid things.

So...we have been to Rhode Island to visit my family and for Phillip to see them too...it's been awhile since he has been back there with me, so this was a fun trip. It was a quick one, we flew in on Thursday and then back out on Monday. On Friday, we drove almost up to Boston and caught the Red Line into downtown Boston...Phillip didn't want to be recognized...



On Saturday, Phillip, Dad and I took a ride along the coast of Rhode Island, something that I haven't done in a long time, visiting the beaches that I used to go to as a teenager some (cough)30(cough) years ago...





And lunch at the Coast Guard House restaurant with my dad:



I didn't take too many pictures this time, but I like these...Sunday was spent with my sister and her family for a nice full dinner..as a matter of fact, all we did was eat during this trip, which is what naturally happens when I visit family back there...

List of foods I sometimes forget are really amazing:

sweet potato, mashed: so bright orange and sweet and *flails*

pretzels: so much better than even the very best potato chip!


List of foods that I never forget are really amazing:

yogurt: yummy & makes my tummy feel better when nothing else works

kefir: so conveniently drinkable, also see above

dark-chocolate-covered molasses chips: best combo of sweet and salty invented so far

baby pumpkin with garlic and sugar sauce: so incredibly yummy


Obviously this is just all I can think of right now. More later?

What kind of hub airport for Delta closes the Starbucks at 7pm...when we deplane at 7:15?? Oh yea... Cincy... But you can still buy a Brooks Brothers shirt, cause, ya know they are still open!!

You usually don't think much of Delta Airlines, since their presence in Denver is, well under the radar..but we got a killer deal DEN to BOS ($191 r/t with all taxes) that we couldn't pass it up for a good weekend back in RI to see family for the holiday season. But most surprising is that there is wifi on board and this month, it's free. So I am updating live from 30,000 feet. Flying cars are next!