internets, it's true. we took advantage of them.

Here is my advice: if your is closing its doors, don't invite Joe, Brad and me. Chances are we'll perform some illegal and/or shady maneuver.

Here is my request: don't turn us in to the authorities.

I didn't even remember this first anecdote until last night. We were headed to a local Mexican place which was closing down after over 30 years of business. We were discussing what the restaurant would be like on its last night when Joe said "Knowing us, we'll walk out on the bill."

And that's when it came back to me. We neglected to pay our last tab at the infamous Wonder Bar. The place was mostly empty and only one bartender was working that night-- the random guy who always provided the worst service of all the waitstaff at WB. I think we only had one drink each that night. We discussed it for 10-15 minutes before ducking out when the bartender was at the other end of the bar. Please don't turn us in, we practically kept that place in business!!

I actually feel more guilty about what happened last night-- and I wasn't even party to it. When we arrived, the place was packed. I dropped off the guys to get our names on the list while I parked the car. When I got in, there were maybe 20 people waiting (mostly in parties of 3 or 4) and the guys were no where to be found. I called Joe. "We're in the back, at the table." Uh, ok.

I sat down at what was clearly a 2-top set for three and asked how they got seated so quickly.

When they walked in, Brad explained, the hostess was calling for "Joe, party of two." Joe (who claimed to be unaware of the fact that Brad had not yet put in our name) said, quite truthfully, "I'm Joe. Except, we have three. Right? Three?" He looked at Brad.

"Yep."

The hostess said it was fine, they could easily remedy that. Thus, we stole the table from poor Joe and his or her husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/friend/companion/etc.

And the queso tasted that much cheesier.

baked goods in August

So, I've been temping some days... but the days I'm not working I get bored sometimes. Since I'm my mother's daughter, and my sister's sister, this means I've been cooking. Baking, even, although if I were truly my mother's daughter I would refuse to turn the oven on as "it heats up the house."

Meh. I wanted cookies. Chocolate chip cookies, to be exact. We (or, for the sake of clarity *I* ate some of them) and Joe took the rest to work. This time I remembered to use the high altitude recipe and they actually looked like cookies, rather than wafers with lumps where the chips were. I haven't yet perfected them 100%, but we are getting closer.

Then I made brownies, again with the high altitude recipe. From a box, not very exciting.

This morning I wanted muffins-- so I got out How to Cook Everything. (When he says everything, Mark Bittman means it -- there is a recipe for Gefilte fish, yick). Anyway, so I'm tooling around in the Muffins and Biscuits section... when I find popovers!

I remember my mother making popovers when I was a kid and in my memory they are a light, eggy muffiny type thing, the perfect vehicle for Nutella, jam, butter or whatever spreadable goodness you want.

I worried a little about the altitude issue, but decided I wanted to try anyway. They didn't POP as much as I'd hoped and are kind of shrimp shaped, but turned out nice and chewy and browned:



NOT PICTURED: The three I already ate.

All in all, a success-- and a recipe I will be revisiting soon.

BTW, since I stopped measuring success by whether or not anyone else in my house wants to eat my baked goods, my success level has increased tenfold.

it's AUGUST

50 degrees feels COLD in august!

A hot saturday night

A hot saturday night
Originally uploaded by kackie

Nom nom

yes, neighbors, i judge you by the content of your recycle bin

Really dude? Molson Ice?

Jug wine? Are you serious? Plus other wine bottles. I saw those.

A Brother brand printer, sure. Print away. But don't bother to break down that oversize box.

Why can't any of you bother to put your stuff in a bag, as requested by the homeowner's association? Perhaps then you would not be judged so harshly by me, The One Walking to the Mail Room.

Also, important Mike Rowe update (or, you know, from the past):



Hi again, pretty! You look young!

brief note on weather

"Rain showers" in Colorado are for lame-os.

powerless morning

Not an accurate description.

The power flickered twice before it went off for a couple hours at about 8 am. Joe missed his usual bus, and I missed some work time trying to find a place that (a) had power and (b) had wireless. Both Panera and my neighborhood coffee shop were out.

I ended up at LaMar's donuts. A donut shop is not the worst place to be forced to work, that's for sure.

spoke too soon

It snowed Saturday night and last night. Brr. Guess we won't be enjoying the new outdoor furniture again tonight.

We're sorry, State of Colorado. We should not have tempted Fate and Mother Nature with the purchase of outdoor-use only items.

SIGH.

sunny day in CO

Enjoying the new bistro set on our balcony.

not your usual DMV post.

I (finally) carried my happy ass out to go get my Colorado driver's license. With apologies to LWC, who worked so hard for the birth certificate she did not need, the entire process was relatively painless. The process was 45 minutes start to finish, mostly because it took me a while to figure out that yes, the driver's license office was, in fact, in that shady looking shopping center.

I walked in, walked straight up to the counter, walked straight out to the ATM for the cash I needed, walked back in and up to the counter, and then over to the picture lady. When I commented on how efficient they were and how I brought a book, the picture lady told me I was welcome to sit down and wait if I wanted to. I declined.

This is a milestone in a couple of ways-- it will be my first non-Virginia license, and it was the first driver's license picture I've taken since 2001. The streak is over.

I topped off my excursion with a visit to the Superior Liquor Mart, just to prove that I really do belong in the Denver area. Can't believe they gave me a license. SUCKAAAAAAAAAZZZZZ!!

brrr