jaysaint Getting it all down on paper…

I’ve been doing a little mooning about how it’s cold and wet and windy here and that I want to go back to Hawaii RIGHT NOW. Obsessively watching Lost isn’t helping.

Tonight when I came home from work I opened the front door and Damon was standing there in his Hawaiian shirt and wearing red and yellow leis. He put a beach hat on my head and two fluffy leis around my neck and said, “Aloha! Welcome back to Hawaii.” Our hallway was lined with candles and at the end (in the doorway into the living room) was a glittery green and gold palm tree. When I parted the fronds and walked in, I saw what was making it sparkly. The whole room was filled with candles. The coffee table was gone and Damon had laid out bamboo mats and a bunch of colorful pillows. There’s a collection of tiki guys around the tv (including a bobble head) and — the funniest part — bright-colored puffy little paper fish surrounding our seating area.

He said that we never made it to a luau in Kauaii, so we were going to have one tonight. And we did!

We ate, we watched Lost, we looked at our newly-developed honeymoon photos. That’s not all we did, but I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.

Lucky, lucky girl. That’s me.

Everything seems to be going well at work. I’m getting lots of “Jillian is our star!” and “God, we’re so happy that you’re here!” This is gratifying, but also a little nervous-making. I’m not being disingenuous when I say that I’m not all that. I’m really not. I guess everything is relative, and the Redbook gals haven’t had an internet-savvy person on their side before. But really, I can name plenty of other people who could do as well or better than I do. But I feel a little bit like all I could do is disappoint them at this point.

BUT, while I will admit my cares to my trusty journal, I will sweep into my office tomorrow wreathed in confidence. And I will fake fake fake it. And they will love me.

Steakums asked me tonight what I’m reading. (I need to learn how to do those LJ cuts.)

I’ve got a little stack of books by some of the big names, none of which I’ve read before. In order that I plan to read:
1. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck.
I’m already into this one. I expected to like it, but I like it even more than I expected.
2. Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare
3. The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
4. The Western Lands by William S. Burroughs

With the exception of Shakespeare, I’ve never read anything by the writers mentioned above. I think that’s a pretty surprising thing for me to say about Steinbeck in particular, but it’s true.

Damon is working his way through his third serving of dinner. He’s heard it before, but I doubt he really knows how it gives me a glow when he treats my cooking like it’s made his lucky day.

It was a good night in the kitchen. We’d had a light snack of a vat of cheesy popcorn (thanks Tsalino!) so I opted to go light. I made a big pot of blackberry congee and a beet salad. It was so pretty — all red, white and green like the Italian flag. I’m so in love with pasta, olive oil, cheese and company that sometimes I’m chagrined by my neutral-palate meals. But not tonight.

This was my first foray into sweet congee. For those who don’t know, congee is Asian comfort food. You take white rice, add about ten times more water than rice and then cook, cook, cook until you’ve got a thick porridge. Add a little salt and then pick your seasoning. Congee’s nature is simple, so you don’t want to go crazy. First decide if you’re going sweet or savory. In congee and all other things, I almost always go savory myself. Good savory additions are scallions or butter and salt or peas. The list goes on. For sweet, fruit is the way you go. Pears are, I think, the best. But I think ripe melon is a nice choice. I’d stay away from anything that doesn’t want to mush (say, pineapple) but otherwise the fruity sky is the limit. Tonight we learned that blackberry is tasty and lovely to look at.

If you’re ever sick (if it’s your stomach, stick with savory) or cold or sad, a bowl of congee will fix you. I was none of those things tonight, but now I feel fortified.

Beet salad is, you know, beet salad. I made a tangy dressing and marninated the beets while the congee cooked. Goat cheese is really nice with beets, but I didn’t have any. Instead I poured them over lettuce and then dressed them with a little ranch dressing for the dairy component. It came out pretty well. It would have come out better if I’d had goat cheese (and onions for the dressing) but it was still much better than merely edible.

I’m awfully pleased with myself in this post. I know.

I think I’m officially back in high-intensity work world. It seems this re-design and build process is all tangled up and now lots of people are looking at me with hopeful, dewey eyes. At first blush I think the consultants are the problem.

I’ve been coming home exhuasted.

On a fun recreational note, I just joined the Theatre Development Fund so that we can buy TKTS tickets online. No more standing outside on Times Square to get show tickets. I don’t think we’ll go to a show tonight, although tickets to ‘Bridge and Tunnel’ did look tempting.

I’m thinking now about Damon’s birthday, which is at the end of this month. I could get him something practical. He’s made a few requests. But I was also considering getting him a gift certificate to the New York Trapeze School. I think he would love that. I know I’d love watching him do it.