Three Parties and a Lesson

I didn't set an alarm for this morning, so I slept 11.5 hours. Guess I needed it.

So I missed the first half of the first party. But I figured out the presents, figured out the costume, went to the other half of the first party, then the guitar lesson (our last one), then the second party, and then the third party.

I ate yummy baked goods. I learned (almost) to play a James Bond theme and "Summertime" on the guitar. I practiced juggling for a while again. I was able to lure Dr. Lucky into the room where my weapon was super-powerful, but had forgotten that someone had a perfect view into that room (during the Kill Dr. Lucky game). I killed my own evil twin, which was not easy since he was just as mighty as I (during the haunted house game).

I also got to hear a little bit about how some people rearranged the furniture in the house of the guy they were cat-sitting for. And redecorated.

And I heard that women are better at stretching (such as to reach far away frets on the guitar) because they have more estrogen. And if they want to be able to maximize this stretch, they should get pregnant. And men could get estrogen therapy. Our instructor explained that this is a very personal choice and it is up to us how committed we want to be to our craft.

I learned about a guy who re-did part of his garden with waterways lined with rocks that not only look cool but that will relieve actual drainage problems. Water from their roof now drains to the street, as does water from the neighbors' yards that drains into their yard.

And I learned about the gal who's probably selling her condo and using the profit to pay off the debt she accrued while studying for a new line of work. And she's got a new job starting soon and everything.

And I heard about a dress someone had to wear as a bridesmaid, which a second person fixed up with beads and who knows what else, and which a third person received as a present. We forced her to try it on and it fits perfectly and looks good.

And one party activity that people enjoyed was reading this livejournal entry.

I also got to see Darth Tater, a Mister Potato Head. And a recipe book for disgusting-looking cakes. Fortunately I seem to have already blocked those cakes out of my head except for the green goo pastries. Whew. And I saw a t-shirt with Darth Vader trimming a topiary bush in the shape of the Death Star. And I got to see someone very happy about receiving a classic book on statistics. She and a co-worker want to write their own book and feel they should use this book as a reference. But their book is going to be written in good English.

I decided I want to make some more juggling balls. I'm remembering that I found a possible filling that may be better than rice or beans (which are enjoyed by moths). It's a kitty litter that looks like little crystals (not the kind made of clay).

Sale Price Alert

From now until Christmas is generally a good time to stock up on baking supplies (and turkeys). I've seen great prices on flour, sugar, butter, and chocolate chips this time of year. Now that I use only whole wheat pastry flour, relatively unprocessed sugar, and fair trade chocolate chips, I don't expect to find bargains on my cooking supplies except for butter. (And only because I'm still on the border of being too cheap to buy organic butter.) However, today I found my flour on sale.

For those of you in Austin, some things are having amazing prices right now at Sun Harvest (2917 West Anderson Lane, between MoPac and Burnet).

* 5-pound bags of whole wheat flours (including my favorite, whole wheat pastry flour) from Bob's Red Mill for $2.50. That's $0.50/lb versus $0.59/lb at Whole Foods' bulk bin for whole wheat pastry flour, and in the handy five-pound bag, so you don't have to fit 20 (or however many) scoops into one of those flimsy plastic bags and hope it holds. If you normally cook with white flour because you don't like the flavor or texture of whole wheat flour in your light, fluffy cakes and whatnot, I recommend taking this opportunity to try whole wheat pastry flour.

* giant pieces of filet mignon for $6.99/pound, normally $27/lb at Whole Foods. R's getting 10 (thick) steaks out of one piece, which cost about $20. He did have to trim off some fat, but not very much. The second piece he's calling "dream steak"--hardly any fat at all. Note: if you put it in the freezer for five hours, it becomes the perfect texture for slicing (we have only one data point for that number--your freezer may vary). But it is easier to slice partly frozen than it is either totally frozen or totally thawed. Then you can store most of it frozen in serving-sized pieces in your freezer.