Good News, Bad News

Bad news first: earlier activities led to a major headache, so we stayed in to watch movies

Good news: Dazed & Confused is on and Mr. D has never seen it

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Saturday Adventures

Today was gorgeous. The heat wave finally broke and the high is only in the eighties. In celebration of the lovely change in temperature, I suggested we head out to Pier I (recognize it? - I ALWAYS want to go there). To get Sasha excited about our trip, I started packing her bag early. She fits into Mr. D's gym bag (not that he uses it for the gym, ours is in the building), and when we take her somewhere like Pier I, the bag has a bottle of water, a little tupperware for a bowl, treats to bribe her with on the subway, and a greenie and tennis ball to occupy her while we are wherever we are going. She definitely found the pocket with the treats.

We put Sasha into the bag and took the subway up to Columbus Circle, stopped at the cigar store so that Mr. D could get his fix, then walked over to the river and up to Pier I. We walked down the pier and sat on the bench watching the boats while Mr. D finished up his cigar.

We ate lunch and Sasha entertained herself by going bananas and turning into Kujo anytime she saw a pigeon. After lunch we wandered through Riverside Park, plopping down under a tree for a while to read/let Sasha recoup:

Book Update

Tadaa! I officially finished reading Guns, Germs, and Steel. Yay me. This means that I am frantically reading "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest." Good so far... :)

Weekend Activities

This weekend tacked on another two days of record heat (hence my really short post on Saturday). I was miserable. For example, we had J of R&J over for dinner while R was out of town, and I couldn't even change out of the shorts and tank top I had on all day. Sorry, J. We made chicken in almond butter sauce with cold, roasted zucchini, and homemade bread (zucchini and chicken from the Silver Spoon cookbook, and the bread from the Ratio cookbook). J brought over peach buckle, which is a cake-y thing made in a cast iron skillet.

Sunday, we hung out with J again and went to see SALT. We convinced Mr. D to go, despite the poor Rotten Tomato ranking - he's usually a stickler. I thought it was great - I mean, not fabulous or deeply meaningful, but definitely a fun way to spend a few hours in the air-conditioning.

Not that we don't have air-conditioning at the apartment, but, and I never thought I would say this, I miss the Texas heat. In Texas, no one is silly enough to venture outside to walk anywhere, much less the grocery store, like I did. As I tried to explain to our doorman, it may be hot, but no one goes outside until twilight. You go from your air-conditioned house to the air-conditioned car, to the air-conditioned store. Not from your air-conditioned apartment, to your un-air-conditioned hallway/elevator, to the sweltering subway station, to walk to your air-conditioned office. Disaster. Luckily, it cooled off today, but we'll just have to see about tomorrow.

Hot

The heat index us 102. I found this out after walking 7 blocks to the store and back. Ow.

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I have two new heroes

The first is my husband. He apprehended someone on the street this weekend. No, really. We were going to look for a pair of pants for Mr. D, walking along the street, when we saw one guy (gesturing as if he had been robbed) running through the streets chasing another guy. For some reason, two tour-bus ride hawkers were also chasing the duo. The ran across the intersection across from us, then the "robber" came running towards us. So Mr. D just stuck out his arms and stopped him! No, really. Then the bus ticket guys came over and held the guy while the other guy came over to yell at him, and someone else started calling the police, so we headed out on our way.

Hero number two is AB - from her facebook status, it sounds like she is in labor! Hooray - go A!

Random thoughts

• When I said "on the wagon," what I should have said is that I am hobbling along next to the wagon. Which means that I have been to the gym twice in the past two weeks (or twice in the past 10 days, technically).
• My dog is super-cute tonight. She has this game where she holds her stuffed animal in her mouth and plays soccer with the ball. Tonight she's in the mood to go get it twice, then take it back to her bed, until I get comfortable on the couch again.
• Did I mention we went to Mr. D's coworkers apartment to watch the Fourth of July fireworks? And that immediately after the fireworks, another guest plugged in his camera and we all had to watch 70 photos of the fireworks show that we just watched?
  
• I finally updated my Goodreads shelf, but I don't know why I didn't get a notification that Michelle was waiting to be my bookshelf friend (or whatever they call it). Notes on the books:

1. I guess I am technically still reading "Too Big to Fail," but it's not exactly a read-before-lights-out-in-bed book, unless you want to immediately fall asleep.
2. I have been reading "Guns, Germs, and Steel" since we got back from Italy in May. Normally, I don't read this slowly, but it's a dense book. Interesting, but dense.
3. As soon as I finish #2, I'm going to read the new Stieg Larsson (sp?) book, but if I give up #2 now, I don't know if I'll have the willpower to go back.
4. I am always reading Ratio (a present from J&R). I lurve it - I have used it to try to get away from recipes without creating disasters, but this would be an excellent choice for anyone trying to learn how to cook, too. Michael Ruhlman (blog here) wrote the book to explain the most basic recipes in cooking, from a chart he found in a professor's office at cooking school (which he wrote about in one of his other books). I use Ratio all the time, but I still feel like I should use it more (I have another post on this in me, but it will need a few days to put together). In the meantime, check out Michael Ruhlman's blog, where he elaborates on some of the ratios in each post (unless he's having fun adventures, like eating his way through cured meat in Italy), and you can always click on the book on the right to find out more about the book.
   

Dog Park Outing

Yesterday was really hot, and I didn't feel like moving, much lest taking Sasha out on my own while Mr. D was at work, so we definitely owed Sasha a trip to the dog park. To make it a fun trip for all involved, we stopped by Stumptown Coffee on the way there. I love getting breakfast there, the restaurant next door makes the pastries, so they have delicious mini banana breads, croissants, and pretzel rolls with brie, as I found out this morning. Happily, they also make iced coffee, but you may have to ask for cold-brewed, which is good, since a steaming cup of coffee was not feeling particularly refreshing this morning.

Unfortunately, once we got to the park, there weren't any tennis balls, so poor Sasha had to sit there and actually meet other dogs. Boo. Until she discovered some gingko branches that had fallen on the ground. She goes NUTS over gingko. Apparently it is supposed to be good for dogs, but at the least, it's not hurting her, so once in a while, I'll pull a leaf off the tree outside work and bring it to her. See how happy she is?

Mr. D's iPhone

My husband is one of the luckiest people on the face of the planet. As an early anniversary gift, we got each other the new iPhones. Mr. D took care of everything, calling AT&T the week before to see how much it would cost to set up, then logged on the day of the pre-order launch and ordered the phones, so that we would have them the first day.

Fourth of July weekend we were walking over to the pier for our lunchtime picnic, and Mr. D was checking the map to see which street went over to the right pier, when he DROPPED it. Right on the ground and cracked the glass in the back. Sad Mr. D. Sad me.

UNTIL I remembered that we bought it on our AMEX, which has buyer protection, so Mr. D called them and started the claims process. They hadn't gotten back to us yet, but he thought that they would need an estimate of how much the repair would cost, so he made an appointment at the Apple store.

When we got there, they were running a little behind, and Mr. D was more than a little impatient, and after half an hour, they called his name. We show the woman behind the counter the phone, and she says she has to go talk to her manager. She comes back to us and says that the problem is that Apple is going to get the parts in, but hasn't started shipping them or even set a price yet. Pause. Sad Mr. D. Sad me. THEN, she says that since she felt bad for us, and we had gone to all the trouble to get the phone, they were just going to give Mr. D a new one!!!!

Happiness ensued. Yay Apple!!

Meatopia

Today we went to Governor's Island for the first time - for Meatopia! We met J&J from Mr. D's office at the ferry building to take the boat across to Governor's Island, and made it onto the 11:00 ferry, which meant we got there with time to spare for the 11:30 kick-off time. Disaster. When we got to the ticket booths, we realized that the line was longer for people who had pre-purchased tickets, than for the cash line. Umm, and the people who bought them on-site didn't have to pay a service charge. AND since it was taking so long, they stopped IDing people in the pre-order line, so we had to go to the cash line (which was empty at the time) to get our wristbands. Fail, Meatopia, fail.

The rest of Meatopia was not a fail. I cannot help but compare it to the Big Apple Barbecue, though the events were really very different. Big Apple Barbecue was restaurants from around the country bringing the foods that they make every day, but Meatopia was really about New York chefs creating barbecue, whether it was something they made every day, or something they created for the event. Another fun part of the event was that the chefs were the ones actually cooking at the event, so you were able to see chefs like Jonathan Waxman and Amanda Freitag, who are on TV all the time, working the grill and they actually handed you the food.

The food - soo good. We started out with delicious smoked duck tacos, and wound our way through the tents eating for a while, then we went over to the "beer garden" (read: tents set up behind ropes) and rested in the shade, sitting on a blanket I had brought while enjoying some cold ones. The we realized we should improve upon our planning, and went out in search of more food, which we brought back to the beer garden and ate with our cold ones. YUM!

Back on the Wagon...

...the exercise wagon, that is. The heat wave, along with social events, this week really cut into my "exercise" routine. Usually I try to walk to work at least 4 days a week, and if the weather is really nice, and dinner is simple, I'll walk home. Walking to work in 100-degree heat should not be attempted - walking to the subway is miserable enough; so this past week, I didn't walk to work. Most days this week, I made up excuses to not go to the gym. Monday after Fourth of July got too busy, I forget why Tuesday didn't work, Wednesday I had to make desserts for a going away party, then a going away dinner Thursday, and last night, drinks with J that turned into dinner with J&R.

Tomorrow we're off to Meatopia - the barbecue festival on Governor's Island, which should be fun, since meat is always good, especially when barbecued, and we haven't been to Governor's Island yet, which is supposed to be lovely.

Excursion

This past Saturday (aka July 3rd) we took R of R&J (J in Maine visiting family) out to the Pier I Cafe, which is located (drumroll, please) on a pier! Pier I is just south of the Boat Basin, which is the "famous" place people go. We were attempting to go to the Boat Basin last summer, but a friend told Mr. D about Pier I, so we went there instead, and I haven't let Mr. D try to take us (and by us I mean Sasha and me) to any other spot. Why mess with a good thing, once you've found it - and Pier I has great burgers and great garlicky-parsley fries.

As I mentioned, we take Sasha with us, since it is outdoors, and this week was no exception, but this time, we took her on the subway (in a gym bag, with the top open, from Mr. D's office. When we got to the cafe, we were pleasantly surprised with how deserted it was, usually it is packed with people, and you have to hunt for a table, but because of the holiday, most tables were empty. We pulled up to a shady spot, and Sasha and I waited while the boys grabbed us burgers and a pitcher of beer - yum!

A family with a little boy sat down behind us, and the little boy (Teddy?) came over and asked to pet Sasha. Unlike some NYC kids who have no idea what dog manners* are, he gave her the back of his hand to sniff. Most of the time, Sasha does not like kids, since they tend to run, scream, and (shocking) try to pet her, but she seemed to tolerate this one, so I handed him a french fry to give her (ok, not the healthiest thing for her, but she was going to get one from me anyway). Ta-Daaaa!! Sasha loves Teddy. Teddy loves that Sasha loves Teddy. Teddy asks Mr. D for another fry. Sasha and Teddy rejoice. We keep talking, with an eye on Sasha to make sure she's still ok with the whole situation, when Teddy reaches over to Mr. D's basket and takes another fry. We all exchange a quick laugh, but it wasn't really a big deal, so we went on talking. Midway through the next sentence, Teddy reaches for another french fry (at this point Sasha is in love). He didn't even hesitate, and even examined them (with his eyes) to see which one he would choose next. When he grabbed this one, his parents spotted him, so Teddy had to go find another dog to say hello to, but we (well, at least I) still thought it was hilarious.

*Seriously, people. When I was growing up, we learned that not all dogs like to meet new people, or sometimes aren't feeling well, whatever, so you are supposed to hold the back of your hand out for them to sniff. Things you should not do are: try to pet them straight out; scream around them; run at them; run around a dog park with a ball in your hand holding it straight up (really - we saw a kid do this while his parents were there!).

ps - why doesn't blogger think ok is a word? I mean it's not, but what would someone be trying to say that looks like "ok"

Confrontation

Today was hot, like Houston hot. Despite the fact that our real estate agent was convinced that south-facing windows were ideal for our northern climate, I know better. Growing up in Texas, you know that south-facing windows are the equivalent of having your oven on with the door open (without the potential for gas-poisoning). Given the heat, Mr. D and I decided to check out a movie (Cyrus - very good, you should go see it).

We bought the tickets when we entered the theater, and since we used our loyalty card, we got a coupon for a free large drink & popcorn or a free ticket, which is exactly as it is written on the coupon. This theater chain has been running the promotion at least since I was in college, so 10 years (yes, that's scary). I really wanted a soda, so we decided to go ahead and use the coupon to get a popcorn - until the kid behind the counter tried to tell me it was for a soda or a popcorn.

Me - "No, it says popcorn and drink or ticket"

Kid - "No, it's for a popcorn or drink or ticket"

Mr. D - "That doesn't even make sense, a popcorn is $5, and a ticket is $13"

Kid - "Sorry, it says popcorn or drink or ticket"

Me - "No, look - putting coupon in his line of sight - popcorn AND drink OR ticket"

Kid - "I'm sorry, that's not what it means"

At this point, I marched over to guest services, which was conveniently located 10 feet away and asked a "manager." He immediately agreed and literally shouted across the lobby to the kid.

We then sort of cut in front of one guy, but we had already waited in line, and when we told him that, he was ok. When we walked up, the girl behind the counter was CONSOLING our guy, for having difficult customers. Right, even though if he had actually read the coupon, much less known about the promotion that has ALWAYS been in place, or even THOUGHT that the CUSTOMER might be right, this could have all been avoided.

I was quite proud of us, as I was the one who stood up for us, and Mr. D didn't start yelling at the guy (though it came close when he heard the girl consoling him).