I SO Needed That

I had a really fun day, and I'm sure my regular readers will recognize that I really needed that.

But first, yesterday we made Potatoes Duchesse:

before and after browning:

Yum!

This morning I started out pretty stressed, and I'll keep to myself the details because really, who cares? We'll just say I had a lot to do, and lately I've had a lot to do that should have been done yesterday. But I got done what needed to be done, and my team had a "team building" afternoon planned. We started at the Schlafly Tap Room, where our Head Honcho allowed us to partake of the Schlafly beer. It was a lovely lunch, and all had a great time. Then it was off to the City Museum, which is a big old shoe manufacturing building that has been converted into a gigantic jungle-gym composed of tons and tons of refuse. Everything in the museum has been salvaged from something. It was crowded with children, it being spring break, but it was really an amazing experience. I find it hard to describe, but there are a lot of tunnels and places to climb, and just about anywhere you walk a child may just pop out of nowhere. There are slides and artisans and all sorts of things. Here's a taste:

under the giant underpants:

what a view!

Head Honcho mid-air

Rebecca emerges


After we were done sowing our oats some of us headed back to the office, and I headed to school even though I was about an hour and a half early. I figured I could hang out somewhere on campus. I ran into Maggie, one of my classmates, and we went to the cafeteria where I knitted and she studied. Then we went to the bookstore where we both bought fruity candy, and proceeded to class.

Since the mid-term debaucle we've all been a lot more restless in class. Today was no different. Maggie and I had been there early, and I was knitting. As usual, my teacher came in and cranked up his music, saying "I bet you can't guess who this is" as he walked out of the classroom. I told Kyle to go look at his computer to find out who it was, which he did. But then neither of us felt we could pull off pretending to guess, so when Maureen came in we enlisted her in the joke, and she tried, but when he asked if anyone knew who it was, and she said "Isn't it The Coasters?" He just looked at her like she had Kale growing out of her ears. When he questioned her further, she caved immediately and told on us. But boy was that look priceless. Mission achieved.

Then, after class started, Tim came in late, as he usually does, and sat by me, which he usually doesn't. Tim and I feel each other to be hilarious. This doesn't work well when someone else is trying to talk. So we got in a little trouble. Our teacher kept asking "are you with me?" which is his way of saying "are you paying attention?" Nevermind that we're often talking about the topic at hand, like if a certain vegetable is available in local grocery stores or not. At one point he zoned in on Kyle, whom he told to sit up, and "where are your socks?" At first Kyle said "I've got socks on." but then he said "She's knitting them for me." Great. My first day trying to get away with knitting during class, and Kyle's getting me in trouble for it. I sure gave him a talking-to later on in lab. :)

Then we started discussing mushrooms. He was explaining how you shouldn't pick wild mushrooms, etc. Maggie says "My cat died from eating mushrooms," which was sad, but funny at the same time, I guess it was the way she said it. Our teacher says "You really have to know what you're doing when you pick your own mushrooms. You should have someone with you who knows the area,... blah blah blah..." Maggie says "Yeah, my cat didn't know what she was doing." Again, sad but funny. I turned to Tim and said "I'm sure the cat wasn't trying to commit suicide. Maybe she was just looking for a good time." Which gave us the giggles. Which got us in trouble. Oops.

And I'm sure I haven't mentioned it but one of our teacher's favorite topics is how what you eat will give you gastro-intestinal distress. Today he really laid it on, and when he said "and if you eat eggs on top of that...ooo eee! You'll be feeling something, and it won't be good!" Maureen and I started giggling like 12-year-old boys and he just kept going on and on, and we kept laughing more and more. Every day we talk about this. Oh yeah, and you should put turmeric in everything. Either it needs it instead of saffron because saffron is too expensive, or it needs it to make it yellow. Everything. Nevermind if you don't want it to taste like turmeric. Just throw some in there anyway. Every day.

This is what we made today - Cuban red beans & rice

Yummy as usual.

And to those of you who think you can't try on a top-down sock - Fie!


AND, tomorrow I don't have to go to work, which makes me want to jump up and do the Happy Dance.

ps. Give me a buck. Don't be a cheapskate.