Posts filed under 'TinaStewart'
Yesterday my brother-in-law, Brad, presented me with an assortment of Korean foods that he purchased during his travels. Feeling somewhat adventurous, I brought one of the soup-bowl-looking things to work for lunch today. The packaging is reminiscent of something we’d buy here, with a pretty picture on the front, bold colors to attract your eye, a bar code, and what looks like an ingredient list, cooking directions, and even an evaluation of its nutrition. None of that is useful to me, though, as all of the text is in Korean. I do get the idea that I’m not supposed to microwave the packaging (its a Styrofoam bowl), and that I shouldn’t spill it on myself due to hot liquid contents, based on some icons that seem to transcend cultural boundaries.
The packaging did provide me with one useful clue, though - a web address for the company that makes the product. Luckily, they even provide an English version of the site (Russian, too, apparently, though that’d help me about as much as Korean). Doing some hunting, I think my lunch is the Spicy Soya Ramen, as I do have two packets included with my ramen noodles.
And now the taste test: I’m afraid of their description of “spicy”. In past foreign food adventures, I’ve discovered that one culture’s idea of spicy may be magnitudes greater than my threshold for spicy, even though I generally like spicy foods. This stuff is pretty good, though. It’s got a bite to it, but nothing that leaves me fearing that I’m searing my tastebuds.
Neat change of pace for my day, between the food itself, and the wondering what exactly it was I was going to end up with. Can’t wait to try some of the other goodies Brad brought back… I remember seeing seasoning paste for kimchee (salted spicy cabbage), as well as some other spicy sauces. I’m going to have me some fun in the kitchen!
April 15th, 2003
Lemon meringue, cooling on my stove top. Mounds of fluffy white sugary confection globbed over a thick lemon goo. Beautifully brown crusts, tightly encircling, and bounded themselves by a silver pan.
Waxing poetic over the pie. No mention of the stack of dishes that surround my artwork, or the wrung-out lemon peels, or the cracked and crumpled egg shells in the sink. With any luck, my husband will write that prose.
March 7th, 2003
Flowers: I love to have them around the house, and my cat loves to eat them. Ran across the following postcard out there in the digital ether of cyberspace - thought I’d share it.
Amazon has a Wish-list feature - Burpee’s ought to, too. . . Included on my wish-list would be the gardener who’d come along to keep me from either accidentally killing off whatever I try to plant outside or from planting something that in various places would be considered a weed that attempts to take over gardens (our mint plants and yarrow plants come to mind).
January 26th, 2003
In the vein of they-can’t-be-serious(!):
Keep it Clean House-Cleaning Kit and CD-ROM
As quoted from their website:
“Humor him with the idea of housework. That’s right! He may not want to know how to clean the toilet, mop the floor or make the bed, but he will want to watch these captivating cleaning experts show him how to DO IT!”
Key critiques: one, I don’t want to “humor him” with the “idea” of housework. I’d much rather he do it, whether it’s humorous or not, and not just think about it. (I’m referring here specifically to their text - there’s no tie-in here to my hubby and our housework.) Two, again in the same vein, a guy who just wants to “watch [their] captivating cleaning experts” isn’t very helpful. “Dear, are you watching soft porn again? No, honey, I’m just refreshing on how to clean that toilet.”
[Brought to you courtesy of “Charlotte and John” who nicely sent me an e-mail with the subject “Make Your Valentine Shine!”. ]
January 16th, 2003
I vow to have made my last Michael’s run this year. . . my craft supplies are stocked with more stuff than I can possibly do in the limited time between work, mommyhood, and sleep (oh, to have more sleep!). Yet I still am lured by the siren call of one more neat project, one more craft that just would make the holiday season complete. Yesterday’s purchase was a set of white card stock with which I hope to make snowflake picture frame ornaments. The hope would be to make these each year, putting in that year’s new pictures of Cora, so that she’d have a full set by the time she was too embarassed to let her mom put those ornaments on the tree.
But there’s no reason that that particular craft needs to happen between now and the 25th, other than it’s the holiday craft season! Similarly, I have wooden birdhouses downstairs that have just screamed to be decorated as little gingerbread houses, rather than remaining on a shelf completely bare of paint or ornament. And the pile of yarn left over from other projects that just might be usable on the next one is a source of great amusement for our cats. Still, every time that flier from Michael’s comes, or I run across a new craft idea (there’s one in a new magazine called Budget Living - use those Christmas lights to poke through an artist’s canvas to make a neat lighted picture - bare canvas with a constellation of Christmas lights). . . well, I add another item to my mental want-to-do list.
Maybe when my daughter’s old enough for us to do crafts together, we’ll make beautiful things and I’ll be able to pass along my crafting disease. For now, I must suffer alone. . . and the stockpile of supplies continues.
December 16th, 2002
Michael’s craft stores are open until 10:00 for the holiday season! Hurrah! That they’re open later, giving me the opportunity to shop in peace after my daughter’s gone to bed, doesn’t in any way mean that I have any more time to do all of the various projects that I’d buy supplies for. But, hey, buying the supplies is the first step! Of course, judging by the supplies stacked in various spots in my basement, I’ve already taken too many first steps. . .
November 25th, 2002
The Ghosts of Christmas Present(s) has appeared to me, beckoning me to the mall and to the online retailers, calling me to steal o’ deals and wonderfully chosen gifts. The list of things purchased is slowly beginning to gain ground against the list of gift recipients. So, if you think you’re on my present list, or think you ought to be, now’s a good time to both be nice to me, and drop hints!
October 1st, 2002
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