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Perfectly imperfect...I realize that's what I was going for, but it IS a compliment, right, Cristina?

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Eight years together, three years of marriage: how else can you celebrate but with gluttonous excess?

On about Wednesday, I emailed Phil with, "Holy crap! Our anniversary is this weekend." He responded, "Well would you look at that?" With that loving exchange, we settled on Friday to mark the occasion.


As a result, we finally tried Kathmandu. Kathmandu is a Nepalese/Himalayan restaurant on Solano Ave in Albany, CA. We have been trying to eat there for a month. One might think, eating at a restaurant, not that hard. However, our experience would indicate otherwise. One night we stopped by and they were closed for the week. Two weeks later, we tried to take Sarah (many visitors lately...an excuse for blog absence? Yes): closed for private party. Yesterday Phil informed me that if we didn't make it that very night, we should never go because we may upset the space-time continuum. Turned out, those crazy, crafty fates wanted to save it for our wedding celebration.

The food was well worth the effort of the two failed attempts. If for some reason you find yourself on Solano Ave, stop there and order the Khasi Ko Chhwela, which Phil had. On paper, it's lamb with onion. Really, it's the most savory and interesting lamb dish I've ever tasted. The Piro Kukhura, my meal, also tasted wonderful, but it was not unusual. It was shredded chicken with onions and ginger. The nasty surprise was the tomatoes. You've got to warn a girl before you do that to her! We washed it down with a 22 ounce Kirin Ichiban (er, each). Many people would have anniversary wine. That seems a poor, strange choice. Kathmandu had a fair wine selection, but the food was much better suited to beer. Northern California calls up images of vineyards and wine bars. In my limited experience, the beer available at almost any restaurant, domestic, international, and micro-brew all, is at least as varied and interesting, if not more so.




After, because we are extremely exciting people, we played cards and enjoyed more beers at The Pub. I highly recommend playing Spit with Phil when he's had a few. It's much easier to win. The Pub may be my favorite bar, only excepting Nick-a-Nees, which has PBR on tap for $1.00 (or did when I was in RI). Just ignore the extremely drunk middle-aged yuppies philosophizing over Sorry!, and focus on the $10.00 pitchers of Summer Solstice. A deck of cards helps as well. Because The Pub sells tobacco (nice tobacco, not like, Marlboros), the inside has that deep tobacco smell without the smoke. It looks like (and in fact I think is) a converted house, with comfy chairs and wooden tables crammed in. It's starts getting packed at 10:00PM on the weekends, which works for me and the old ball and chain, because that's just about when we are ready to go home. I enjoy being 80 years old in my 20s. I hit all the happy hours and am in bed by 11:00.

I think Phil and I are well-suited (which is good, see above re: married). I'm glad he doesn't want to have lavish plans for our celebrations; there's always so much pressure to make it PERFECT. We simply strolled out or door and wended our way through the hills of Berkeley to an evening of fine dining and romance. Well, our version of romance.

Winner of the competition

She's such a weird beard.

1) I love my Royal vacuum cleaner.

2) When I see a little baby I automatically think about my cat.

3) When I get dressed up I feel like I'm in costume.

4) I'm secretly relieved in the fall when my perennial bed dies and I
don't have to go out and pick beetles every day.

5) When everything is boring at work I put on my "Queen of Reference" hat-
a pink crown with question marks on it. You wouldn't believe how many
people pretend not to notice.

6) This summer I'm making everyone at work play either "That's your
boyfriend" or "I think he likes me".

7) Whenever anyone asks me if I want to go to the movies I always think to
myself "Why would I want to do that?" before I realize some people like to
see movies.

Cristina tagged me.

So, here it is. Some navel gazing (link posted for non-believers..ahem, Cristina and Jess).


Seven Completely Fascinating Things About Me

Rules: Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag 7 others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.

1. I have an extra half lung lobe.
So the doctor showed me after a bronchitis x-ray. It didn't worry me until he said, "don't worry, it's not dangerous."

2. I sometimes make up words and sayings.
I swear I've heard them before: weird beard; any who will do; taking a chowder (I think this one might be Joe's).

3. I hate Classical music.
It just makes me so angry

4. I am very sensitive to noise.
Styrofoam, the vaccuum, loud...anything


5. I think my two best features are my eyes and my feet...is that four best features? Oh, wait, I forgot about my butt.
Like you never noticed


6. I have trouble remembering lyrics.
I get this from my Dad. Of course, I haven't gone as far as he has: "What Child is this who made Joe's list?"

7. I yell at Phil in my sleep.
Not on purpose. But sometimes he wakes me up. And sometimes he tries to make me promise I won't yell at him. The trouble is, I don't remember any of this. Do I believe him?

Tag, you select few are it

Kate
Kristin
Jen
Jess (do you have a blog?)
Mim (email to me and I will post it)
Aunts (see above)

That's only six. Someone who has more friends, pass on one extra

Greetings on this gray Sunday morning.

"Oh, it's so much sunnier on the East Bay."

"The East Bay will be nice and warm."

Lies. All of them.

Treating the Beth Right

A huge thank you to my friend and craft cohort Cristina who made me the most adorable house warming gift.



Although technically they are coasters, I just couldn't bring myself to put a potentially staining substance on them.



So now they live here. The pins say "look, I may take them down and use them."



The embroidered lady bug says "Don't put your f%$#ing drink on me" (sorry, Mim and Aunts, but that's how ladybugs talk. The whole "lady" thing is like calling a big guy tiny).

Thanks again, Cristina. It may be you have discovered my subtle color preferences.

The Ethical Treatment of Bloggers

Time and again, I have been shocked by how mean people are to each other online. Is it because there is no physical manifestation of how your pompous attempt to seem superior hurts people? I don't know. It's like the internet is the island from Lord of the Flies or something.

I saw a post on a sock knitters blog on LJ where someone was asking for help with toe socks. The comments were cutting.

"Even I could find this" one began, and then when the poster explained that she needs one for six toes and also has a wrist problem which doesn't allow her to knit on small needles, someone cut her down again. "It's so simple to calculate." They all seemed to imply that not only should the girl hate herself for being just too stupid to find toe socks, she should stand in front of the microwave to prevent infesting the human race with her inevitably inferior spawn. Ugh! Send the girl to Etsy (which I did) or shut the hell up. (Sorry, that was the lady bug again).

Here's a picture of Pan's belly to make you feel better after that unpleasantness.



Finally! The Ethical Treatment of Windows

Window Treatments.



These curtains hail from Ikea, but hemmed by yours truly (with technical support from Phil). With the left over material, I made leetle curtains for the door.





They really look way better than this, but the light is bad in this part of the room.

Now, I need some advice. I made a valance from some of the leftover leftovers, and created...



When the sun shines, it matches perfectly, when night falls, I get these colors. Should I leave it? Change it? Give up crafting and move to a hut somewhere? If the first, should I make valances from the non-Ikea material for the Ikea curtains?


Hardly an Ethics Issue

It ain't a whole room, but it's a start.



My very own craft corner. I'm going to make a cover for the sewing machine and leave it on the desk. I've been whipping it out for curtains a lot, and I think having it sit around would be awesome.

If you've stuck around this long, you should go get a drink or use the bathroom or something.

I came home and this was on my desktop:



Phil's reasoning:

"It's a dumbo octopus. But I figure, it's like the Pan of the sea."

Judge for yourself.

One of the Bay Area's gems is Acme Bread.



According to Phil, according to his buddy who makes his trade in bread (or should I say makes his bread in bread...no, no I shouldn't), Acme is a Mecca for bakers. Another interesting fact about Acme, they sell bread at the Kensington Farmer's Market. Today we picked out "sheaves of wheat" for a French Onion Soup we will make this week.



To eat the bread (or use it to soak up onion broth), you pull off one of the little bits of "wheat."



We thought it was clever and perfect for our soup.

We also purchased a local cheese.



Spring Hill Farms Monterey Jack. It's not Gruyere, but it's local and was just too good to pass up. These plus the 8 beautiful local onions we bought make me thing we should call our soup "California Onion Soup."

Just a little picture of the ladies (lest you thought they were lost in the move and I'm signing off.

I can't help posting pics of flowers. It's just that time.