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November 07, 2005
One of the Family
It's hard to be entertaining while simultaneously coughing up one's left lung, so please bear with me, dear reader. It's been 4 days since my last blog entry, and I have thought "ooh, I should write about this" on numerous occasions; however, now that I'm sitting down at the computer I'm drawing a blank. So rather than try and make a coherent storyline, let me briefly sum up the weekend's activities:
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Apple Cider Butter
On Saturday, I met up with Ms. Wish To See for some apple cider butter making fun. We've previously explored the exciting world of jam, but this was an altogether different experience. First of all, let me just say that EVERYONE should have an apple peeler/corer thingamabob. Not only did it make the preparation of FORTY-EIGHT apples managable, but it was also delightfully remeniscient of a Spanish Inquisition torture device. Good times were had by all, and I came home with 8 jars of beautiful, delicious apple butter.
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NB Meets Family
On Sunday, NB came to lunch. It was quite successful, if I do say so myself. Despite Ms. NYC Rouge's offer of her famous Mexican Chocolate Cake recipe, in the end I went with a Moroccan theme. The group of eight dines on Spaghetti Squash with Morrocan Spices, Moroccan Vegetable Skewers, and Cinnamon Oranges. The best part was that it was vegan and everyone STILL liked it (although there were several--okay MANY--references to my last vegan disaster, Warm Artichoke and Chickpea Salad).
After lunch (in which Janie arranged for the guys to sit at one end of the table--the better to discuss hunting and killing bears, from what I overheard), NB and I went to The Chairs at the Roundhouse Theatre. Here's the summary:
French director Alain Timar restages his acclaimed production of Ionesco’s absurdist play, seen at the 2002 Avignon Festival. His fresh interpretation casts a pair of young actors as an elderly man and woman who organize a reception for a group of imaginary dignitaries. The chairs are assembled, but the guests are invisible! Don’t miss this exciting theatrical event, performed in English and re-imagined for an American audience.
And here are my comments:
- First, thumbs down to the Roundhouse Theatre, who recently changed their Young Adult policy. In years past, anyone under 30 got tickets for $10. Now it's anyone under 25, which means that instead of seeing a quirky, experimental play for $20, NB and I got to see a quirky, experimental play for $86. Grr.
- Second, NB and I were CLEARLY the only people under 60 in the audience, which was full. This was a little disconcerting, since the play had a few overt sexual references, but also meant that it's highly unlikely that changing the Young Adult policy has had a significant impact on their ticket revenue. Double grr.
- Third, the play itself was delightful. It was incredible high energy, making me want to see the traditional staging (in which the two actors are usually older). It was definitely absurd, but I was totally engaged throughout the whole thing. NB thought "it was fine", but I was much more enthusiastic. My favorite part was when the actors try to engage the audience. Everyone was uncertain whether or not to shout back (in a "hip hipn hooray" sort of way) and you could actually feel everyone shift in their seats, feeling sorry for the actors but also unwilling to be the only person to shout into a crowded theatre.
Afterwards, we came back to the house for a bit, and that's where my favorite exchange of the night happened:
(First let me set the stage. NB and I are sitting on the couch in the living room. My dad is in the next room, watching a football game. My mom is in the kitchen. I sidle up next to NB, who is clearly uncomfortable with any physical contact so close to my parents--who could walk in at any time. I put my hand on NB's knee--totally innocently.)
"So what do you want to do now?"
"I don't know. Are you hungry for dinner?"
"Not really. Wanna make out?"
"No. And stop touching me."
I have never seen a guy so uncomfortable. It was highly entertaining.
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Random Miscellany
Well, that's about it for my weekend. Sunday night, NB and I went grocery shopping to avert death-by-famine for my two cats. While at Giant, I was able to implement a new trick, one which I'm very excited about.
First, the backstory. When Ms. Wish To See and I lived together, we shared a Giant Food Card account. She had set it up so that the account was not attached to our phone number. All fine and good (and splendid for our privacy), but that meant that when we forgot our cards, we couldn't just type our phone numbers into the handy keypad to receive the discounts.
Well, it turns out that Ms. Wish To See has been very sneaky for a LONG time. For the past several years, she has been using Ms. NYC Rouge's MOM'S home phone number as the "I forgot my card" access code. She told me of this fact on Saturday during a apple-butter-making trip to the grocery store, and I decided to adopt it as my own.
So Natasha and Madchen can thank Ms. NYC Rouge's family for their supply of reasonably priced, sale-item cat food.
Comments
Hahaha. Don't tell Karen. She's probably been wondering why the store coupons are for Morningstar Farms and the like.
And my mom hasn't been at that number in a year and a half . . .
Posted by: KT at November 7, 2005 03:20 PM
I can't even make out with TK when the phone is plugged in. You never know when her dad might call.
Posted by: gizmo guy at November 7, 2005 09:58 PM
