ginolina & dean-o

in
I was so high on food & drink last night after leaving Bistro Ginolina on B Street in San Rafael!

I like to go to restaurants, knowing the dish I want, walk in, and say "i came here for _______" and then i get ________. So last night, I was trolling Marin for MUSSELS. mmmmmmmmmmm. What a dream to have a french place in Marin that serves all you can eat Moulles Y Frites, RIGHT?? not happening. So anyway, in I walked to Ginolina. Immediately the owner grabs my hand, and gives it a kiss. I tell him I want MUSSELS and i told him I wanted to sit in the corner and he was SHOCKED that i was by myself. i of course, was not shocked, and was actually a little TICKLED to be so.

1 ferrari fume glass & 28 mussels later, i had licked the platter clean (using the table bread).

elation. skipping. spinning.
light years away from electronics.
it made me think about my summer in italy.
wine oozing out of my pores
friends free. walking cobblestone. love.
basics - tomatoes! lemons! olive oil.
fruitti di regazzi.

oh - back to sitting there, on a wednesday night in san rafael.

i was offered cafe, and espresso, tiramisu, blah blah.
i waltzed back to my miata.
what does miata mean? for a japanese company, it sure does sound italian!
miata - Make. It. A. Topless. Afternoon.
once i got into my car, all i wanted to do was BELT dean martin.



i recently watched the movie MOSTLY MARTHA - it was delightful. there is a scene where the man in the kitchen says of dean martin's voice "he really puts feeling into it" or something like that. i totally agreed with the comment, and thought i'd round out that whole sequence by having my own special dean-o moment.

so the end of my story is me, dean-o, the miata, and a belly full of mussels rolling home so happy and skippy, feeling life is back in order.

miata top & men

i've typed it before, i'll type it again - i really love working with men. they are all so individually attentive.

i have a miata with a rear window that works like a flap - it can zip up on rainy days, and i keep it zipped down on cold, dry days when its too cold for top down, but too sunny for zip up. make sense?

every time it is zipped down, a different male coworker approaches me during the day to ask me if my miata top is OK. i explain that everything is normal, etc.

i have had the miata about 6 months now, and honestly can tell you that every man in this dealership knows about my miata top, because they approached me and asked me about it.

none of the women even notice. and the gay guy doesn't count. i love men.

freaks&geeks

i just finished watching the tv show freaks & geeks.

1. my little brother geo was told to watch the show also, and i think its funny that we both discovered the show at the exact same time.

2. characters in order of which i liked them starting with my favorite:
the little brother
lindsay
bill
high school counsellor
millie
kim
lindsay's parents

3. my favorite part of the show, or the part that i identify with the most was a conversation between lindsay & millie. they are discussing why lindsay is hanging out with the "freaks". lindsay's response is typical lindsay - she shrugs and says idunno, and then she reflects on the crowd, and says "you know, they don't really inspire me." i feel that way OFTEN. i mean, who doesn't like a little inspiration. right? so i've been thinking about that and thinking about that, and now its carrying into my life and i'm working on hanging out more with people that INSPIRE me. or doing things that INSPIRE me. i'm pretty sure thats some kind of key to something.

and thats what i got out of freaks & geeks.

sunday supper

well. did you know that there is a website called bon appetempt, where they attempt (and consume) bon appetit recipes? so fun.

so i attempted to tackle the column "sunday suppers" in bon appetit's april 2010 issue. i was debating between this, and a yummy-looking kale lasagne in the issue, but after reading the editors note about her memories of sunday suppers with her family, i was swayed.

The recipe was Chipotle Roast Chicken Tacos.


with Poblano Potatoe & Corn Gratin:


new-to-me trick - sliding my hands in-between the breast & skin of the chicken. i was nervous at first, but my brother walked me through.

other thing i havent quite mastered - gravy. my roommate walked me through that one.

overall thoughts:
this meal was a little heavy for my standards. The gravy was greasy, and I would have made the gratin with a lighter cream base; -maybe a ricotta cheese instead of mozarella. i would probably not add this recipe to the rotation of meals, but it sure was fun to make! and most importantly, it sure was fun to entertain & make other people happy. i am curious to see what they have in store for the reader in next months "sunday suppers" column.

before&after:

going green


i'm a little bit happy about it raining all week. i want the hills to stay green as long as possible. i am not quite ready to let that go. its such a treat when they are green. sure, the golden hills are nice too, but the green hills are........ special. alive. fruitful? vibrant. wet. bright. and well, GREEN.

DoItAgain- QOTSA



I fall over and over and over over, oh, I want you
I get in, I get in, I get in, you're the only one I'm into
You and me
Fit so tight
I go lower and lower and lower lower livin easy
I don't know, I don't know how long I got till it's over
You and me
Fit so tight

Can you do it again
Do it again
Do it again
Can you do it again

All the way, all the way, all the way, there's no where left we can be
I'm into what you do but I lead you nowhere
You and me
Fit so tight
All we need
Is one more time

Can you do it again
Do it again
Do it again
Can you do it again

Only get to live one life
Won't pretend you're only mine
Where will you go when we all fall away

So do it again
Do it again

torn curtain

this hitchcock was quite possibly in the top 5 for me. i loved the relationship. i did have a problem with julie andrews in the roll, but it really wasn't that big of a problem.

favorite scene - green room - position of bodies - looked like a sketch.

favorite sound scene - being followed in the museum scene.