Week in Review

[kate_nepveu]

This week had good things bookend too much cold and not enough sleep (one night the dog was a pain, another I was feeling rotten). Last Monday, I got very welcome, very unexpected news at work. Yesterday, the Patriots won the AFC title and are going to the Super Bowl. I was reminded that it's dangerous to offend the sports karma deities: once I thought that the game was going so well that I was sorry I'd doubted the Pats' ability, and the Colts scored their first points, and then towards the end, the announcers were saying that the game was over, and sure enough, the Colts went and made it interesting. So, I believe, but very very quietly.

I vaguely paid attention to the Panthers' game against the Eagles, which was pretty much a foregone conclusion once McNabb was hurt—not that his receivers were doing him any favors before that. They look much in the mold of the Pats two years ago, which should make two weeks from now an interesting game, though probably not exciting to the wider world, alas.

Today I had off for the holiday, so I said "what the heck" and saw Return of the King for the third time (first, second viewings). You know, there are a number of chunks that raise the hairs on the back of my neck—the Minas Morgul sequence, the beacons, Shelob, the Pelennor Fields (the Fields, not the stuff in the city), the Black Gate—but the stuff between, well, it doesn't gel as well, or hold together as strongly, or flow smoothly, or something. Once again, greatly looking forward to the Extended Edition.

I actually cooked this weekend, too. Saturday I made meat lasagna, which was tasty, but not as thick (height-wise) as I would have liked, so I think I'll look for a different recipe. Today I tried Mormon funeral potatoes (simple)—I didn't really know what it would taste like, but it was good, definite comfort food.

Oh, and the booties work to protect the dog's feet in the slush, and don't seem to give her problems when walking outside (though they sound weird on the pavement, clop clop). She doesn't seem to like them, though, and we had a twenty-minute battle of wills over it one night. It was fairly impressive. I won, of course; the day my dog out-stubborns me is the day I give up pet ownership.

Speaking of dogs, Izzle Pfaff had a good post on dogs:

" . . . just like many of you, I once had the best dog on earth. For a lot of people, they all had the best dog on earth. Dogs are just that way: they're the best."

We tell Emmy that she's the best Emmy ever (Chad refuses to call her the best dog ever, because his childhood dog owns that title). Of course, when she's being a pain in the ass, we add, "and we feel bad for the owners of all those other Emmys."

Link things:

• Cold snap pictures from the Boston Globe:
  • "Biscuit, a snow leopard, examines an icicle at the Bronx Zoo"
  • Billowing clouds of steam, with a small dragon in silhouette (no, not really)
• Bubble wrap!
• Best headline of the week (New York Times): Tests Suggest Scientists Have Found Big Bang Goo

I have a booklog post on The Silmarillion mostly done, but I'm stuck on articulating precisely why it pissed me off. Unfortunately, I'm pretty tired from staying up to watch sports highlights last night, so I don't think I'll make any progress on it tonight. Good night, everybody.

Comments

Best. Lasagna. Ever.

[desdenova.livejournal.com]

I have a bitchin' lasagna recipe. It's the lasagna recipe which convinced me I like lasagna. I usually make spinich lasagna, but it's easily adapted to make it meaty. I'll post it some time this week.

Re: Best. Lasagna. Ever.

[texas-tiger.livejournal.com]

I've never really liked lasagna after the debacle which had a college cafeteria serving seafood lasagna to me and my friends:

a) There was literally, nothing else to eat
b) It was not labelled as such
c) When I asked what kind it was, the servers didn't know
d) It contained whole, half-dollar sized, rubbery scallops, among other things

Not that it was *bad*, but the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth, if you see what I mean.

Re: Best. Lasagna. Ever.

[kate_nepveu]

Chad made a really good cheese lasagna recently, and honestly that's what my backbrain thinks lasagna ought to be, but it seemed like a good idea to try a meat version too. You can tell I was heavily into oven-baked comfort foods this weekend.

Re: Best. Lasagna. Ever.

[montoya.livejournal.com]

A cheese lasagna seems like it wouldn't have enough THERE there. I mean, without layers o' meat or leafy vegetables to prop up the noodles, it seems like it'd just collapse into a noodle-cheese soup.

Re: Best. Lasagna. Ever.

[kate_nepveu]

Not in the least. I believe Chad found the recipe online, hopefully he still has a link.

Re: Best. Lasagna. Ever.

[orzelc.livejournal.com]

Ask and ye shall receive (http://www.italianfoodforever.com/iff/news.asp?id=593).

Re: Best. Lasagna. Ever.

[montoya.livejournal.com]

Ah, right, ricotta. So did you really make pasta from scratch?

Re: Best. Lasagna. Ever.

[kate_nepveu]

No indeed. Barilla no-boil noodles work wonders.

[annewashere.livejournal.com]

I loved that recipe post of TNH's, probably because I recognized so many of them. I know exactly what that potato recipe will taste like.

I can't believe you got a dog to wear booties. I would never have even tried it...

[kate_nepveu]

Chad wouldn't have, either.

The problem, of course, is that dogs only recognize causal connections in the most immediate and limited sense. "If I sit when I'm told, I might get a treat", sure; "if I wear these booties, I won't get slush and ice and salt between my toes and be hurt and whine piteously," not so much.

[silmaril.livejournal.com]

Kitty picture: Thanks for sharing, that's a very good catch. The potatoes seem tasty, too.