darien lake visit

Allison, Jodi & I went to Darien Lake with Rand on Saturday, had lots of fun. We took the bus to Buffalo, where Rand picked us up. Were grilled quite a bit at the border ("Who are you visiting? Who's Rand? How did you meet him? What kind of shampoo does he use?" etc. etc.) Jodi pulled out a copy of our CD; the customs guard was impressed but didn't want to buy any CDs.

Darien Lake (a.k.a. "Fun Country!") was pretty crowded, surprisingly so for its second-last weekend. Lots of screaming babies and men with bared chests (mostly men who really shouldn't have been baring their chests). We didn't go on any rides (none of us could agree on any :)) but we did indulge in Icecream Of The Future as well as other park culinary offerings. The icecream was overpriced but very good, and consisted of frozen pellets of icecream. My favourite flavour was mint chocolate. We also hung around Adam's caricature booth quite a bit. I bought a tacky Darien Lake souvenir (a miniature plastic 99c license plate with my name and a Darien Lake logo...it's too big to fit through my portable scanner, sorry). We also played a couple of arcade games, and Jodi won an adorable white polar bear while playing darts! She's named him Arcturus, I think. After Adam got off work, we spent the evening at his place (yes, the infamous Ookla the Mok Secret Headquarters). Got to meet his two cats, Schroedinger and Einstein...VERY cute. Allison and Jodi were all mushy over them. Ok, so maybe I was a bit mushy, too, but that was mainly because of the allergy drugs I had taken just before. :)

Luis called just before we left to say hi; unfortunately he couldn't join us at Darien Lake because of work. :(
Drove to Rand and Tanya's place. They had kindly stocked their fridge with a variety of Ben & Jerry flavours, so we had a B&J sampling...my favourite was the coconut, though the Passion Fruit sorbet came in a close second. Allison seemed to like the chocolate bits in the Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz flavour the most. :)

Had Peanut Butter Captain Crunch with milk in the morning! The only time I get to have this is at Rand and Tanya's place since I haven't been able to find it anywhere else. Hung around gabbing with Rand in the morning (Tanya had to leave early for work), went for a walk in the park area near their townhouse complex. Went to the Factory Outlet Mall for lunch and some shopping, as well as more Ben & Jerry's. We all split a pint of Heath Bar Crunch (sorry, can't remember the exact name, but it was YUMMY).

Rand was a sweetie and drove Allison, Jodi, and I all the way home to Toronto. After dropping off Allison and Jodi, it took him a much longer time to get me home since the Don Valley Parkway (the usual route) was closed! Glad I brought my map...it seemed to take us ages to navigate home through the smaller roads.

Anyway, 'twas a fun weekend. :)

p.s. Hey, Inkspot was mentioned in the Sept/Oct issue of The Writer's Journal! (p16) :)

racing demon

Cathy and I went to the Royal Alex to see RACING DEMON. Can't say I was terribly thrilled with it (both of us found it a bit too text-heavy, lots of long speeches). Looking forward to the other shows in our subscription, though, which includes OLIVER and FAME. I'm a sucker for sappy musicals, I must admit. :-) Jeff hates them. When channel surfing (and of COURSE he has to be the one to hold the remote control, Cuz He's A Guy :)), he'll automatically surf over any show where anyone is singing. According to him, the idea of interrupting a plot with spontaneous singing and dancing is ridiculous.

Any other musical lovers out there? What are your favourites? Mine include: Singin' in the Rain, My Fair Lady, Les Miserables, Sound of Music...wow, my mind's gone blank. I'll list more later as I remember them.

Jeff was foolish enough to leave his box of Astros on the kitchen counter today and I ate the rest of them. I've guiltily hidden the box...maybe he won't remember there were any left!

OFFICEMUSIC: Ookla The Mok - "Super Secret"

food movies

Went biking with David this morning. We decided to start our ride at 7:30 a.m. instead of 7 from now on to avoid having to ride in the dark! :) It's getting colder out now so we both bundled up more than usual, and the Martin Goodman Trail was almost empty (compared to mid-summer, anyway). We stopped for a break on some sunny rocks just past the Humber Bike Bridge (I'm not sure if this is the real name of the bridge, but it's my personal nickname for it). David showed me some pics from his kayak expedition. He had sent me a great trip report earlier this week (after I bugged him for details...all he told me is that it was an 'awesome' trip, and naturally I wanted more details!), and a friend posted it on the web along with some photos...you can see Dave's Kayak Expedition '98 report at http://noisey.oise.utoronto.ca/kayak98/.
Dave and I plan to keep biking as late in the season as possible...we'll see how the Toronto weather holds out for us. :)

Saw a good Food Movie last night called The Big Night. I love Food Movies, and welcome suggestions! Some of my favourite Food Movies include Tampopo, Babette's Feast. Also liked Like Water For Chocolate (I think that was the title). Tampopo is my very favourite, and I always get a desperate craving for Japanese noodles right after.

Speaking of Japanese, Jeff & I went to Fune last night. Had my usual: salmon sashimi, steamed rice, shiitake mushrooms. Jeff & I also really like ume-shiso sushi, a new discovery (it's not on the menu, but Chris suggested it to us one day). This is a sushi roll with pickled plum paste and a shiso leaf as a filling. Reminded me a lot of a snack my mom used to make all the time when we went on day trips or picnics as a family...sushi rice rolled into a ball with a piece of pickled plum (say that ten times fast) inside, rolled in poppy seeds. YUMMMMMMM. The taste of pickled plum isn't for everyone, and is definitely meant to be eaten with something bland, like sushi rice. I'm sure if shiso leaves were handy, she would have put them inside as well. My grandfather used to grow shiso in his garden, and I had considered growing it when I lived out in the country.

How on earth did I end up getting on THAT tangent?

Officemusic: Sam Baardman's KICKING THE STONE HOME.

chili day

Thanks to those who responded to my comment about musicals! Lissa, I forgot all about Seven Bridges For Seven Brothers! Loved that movie, must rent it sometime. And West Side Story. And it's true, Allison and I want UT to cover that "Seasons of Love" piece from Rent. Also love Grease! It's one of the few videos we own. Jeff despises it, though, so I can only watch it when he's not around. I've practically memorized all the songs from the movie. And how could I have forgotten the King and I? I always bawl through that last bit of that movie. And I'm immensely jealous of anyone who saw the play with Yul Brynner. Merav, I liked your comment, "Filking musicals can be hysterical fun. That is if you start out hysterical enough." :)

Am reading a wonderful book of poems lent to me by Rand: THE TUNNEL, by Russell Edson. Must buy this book for myself...look out, Amazon.com! Many of the poems are the sort that could make you laugh or cry, depending on your mood and interpretation.

Actually cooked something from scratch yesterday (since I got Internet access, my cooking skills have sadly degenerated) because I was overtaken by a sudden craving for chili con carne. My recipe for chili last night:

1. Remember to defrost a pound or so of ground beef. This is the killer for me, since it requires deciding in the morning what I'm going to have in the evening.
   
2. Cook the hamburger.
   
3. Vaguely recall that some chopped up onions would be nice, but realize I don't have any. Hunt around in the freezer and find an aged bag of frozen chopped onions. Hammer off a chunk into the pot and watch the icy bits slowly melt.
   
4. Add a can of tomatoes and two cans of kidney beans.
   
5. Look for my bag of frozen peppers, sadly realize I used them all up.
   
6. Look for tomato paste, can't find any, decide to use a small can of tomato sauce instead.
   
7. Stir it all around for a while, decide to add more tomatoes. Hm...looks awfully watery, maybe substituting for the tomato paste wasn't such a great idea.
   
8. Be overcome by hunger and do a tasting. A bit bland.
   
9. Add salt, sugar (don't make that face, I only add a BIT), pepper, Worcestshire sauce, marjoram, garlic powder, Pickapeppa sauce, soy sauce, cumin, and loads o' chili powder.
   
10. Be overcome by hunger again and do another tasting. Much better. Add more chili powder. Not as watery now, good.
    
11. Bring to a boil (do another tasting first), then let simmer for ages. Taste every once in a while.
    
12. When the chili is actually finished, I am too full (from all the tastings I did) to have any, so I let it cool and put it in the fridge. Chili generally tastes better the next day anyway, right? :)
    

Hung out at Karen Linsley's and Lloyd Landa's last night, did musicstuff. Those two are so talented it makes me ill. :) I'm disappointed to have to miss their concert at OVFF! UT is sadly unable to attend OVFF this year because it falls on Canadian Thanksgiving, but those of you who ARE attending should definitely check out Karen and Lloyd's concert...it's bound to be a real treat.

UT practice tonight!

Officemusic: Indigo Girls - SWAMP OPHELIA.

life and death and rollercoasters

Today's pic was taken in a motorboat at the cottage, when my sister and her family came to visit. Sara is wearing her Camera Face. It's almost impossible to get a picture of her now with a normal expression...she insists on putting on her Camera Face.

Speaking of my sister...it's her birthday today! Feel free to send her birthday greetings!

re: chili. To D. Glenn Arthur: I like my chili medium spicy, and thanks so kindly for the offer! I'd love to try some vegetarian chili sometime. CINNAMON. That's what I forgot to add to my chili. I usually end up throwing in whatever sounds interesting, and I do like cinnamon. I've never added chocolate to my chili, though some friends (Lloyd and Yvonne Penney make a WONDERFUL chili, often available in consuites at some Toronto cons) do.
To Joel Polowin: yum, must try that sometime! For those who haven't checked Blatherchat, his recipe is at
http://www.cyberus.ca/~jpolowin/recipes/chili.htm.

re: musicals. I've never heard of "Chess", but now I'm really intrigued. Hope it comes to Toronto. Oh, yes, love "Little Shop Of Horrors"! Never saw "Guys and Dolls" but hope to someday.

Annie: I wanna hear that Winnie the Pooh filk!

Had a good practice last night, polished up some of our repertoire.

I can't get my Pilot to HotSynch anymore. :( :( It hotsynchs until it reaches the DateBook, then times out. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be eternally grateful.

Went to the Ontario Science Centre yesterday afternoon with Ruth and my nieces. Sara showed me around one of the new sections, "The Science Of Thrill Rides". By the time we left, I was feeling pretty nauseous. Yes, practically every exhibit and ride had a "Barf Warning" sign, but how could I say no to Sara, when she was so excited about showing me stuff? I am so weak. The worst one was where we sat in a small dark room in a roller coaster car, and you could push a button to indicate which of six roller coaster videos you wanted to see. Sara wanted to see all of them, of course. It was pretty realistic...they had fans blowing at the right times, and you really did feel as if you were in the roller coaster. I ended up shutting my eyes through most of it. Sara found this fascinating.

"Is your stomach not feeling well, Auntie Debbie?" she asked politely.

"That's right, Sara," I replied, my eyes still shut. "So I think I'm just going to keep my eyes closed for now."

"It doesn't bother ME!!!" she'd say happily, and turn her attention back to the screen.

On the way home, Sara and Annie sat in the back seat in their carseats while Ruth and I chatted a bit. Out of the blue, Sara asked, "When am I going to die, Mommy?"

Ruth only hesitated for the briefest of moments before answering, "Not for a long, long time, Sara."

Sara seemed to think about this. Then she said, "I hope Grandpa's still going to be around then."

Sometimes I really wish I could see inside that 4-year-old brain of hers and find out where this stuff comes from...