2010-03-11: my hair is now officially long enough that i need an entire extra towel in order to dry it after a shower., originally uploaded by octette_stars.

today for lunch i ordered from sirtaj, which is probably my #1 favorite restaurant in manhattan. #2 is angelica kitchen. after that they all sort of blend together.

this morning i went downtown to matt’s office and he did things to my bank account to make it work better, and transferred some money out of my ira. i’m pretty glad that lisa found him, because i really can’t imagine having a better brother in law. he’s a good dude, and i appreciate that.

2010-03-10: betazoid lamp, originally uploaded by octette_stars.

diana bought this lamp made out of salt that makes negative ions when it heats up, and the negative ions clean the air and make it easier to breathe. i know it sounds weird — and looks weird — but i called it her “betazoid lamp” because it looks like something from star trek: the next generation. i dig it.

2010-03-09: they call kids like us vicious and carved out of stone, originally uploaded by octette_stars.

i spent a lot of time staring at my own eyes in the mirror today. i mean, okay, i spent like ten minutes, but considering how rarely i do it, that seems like a lot of time.

today i leave to spend a few days in manhattan — first with diana, then with val and drew. and, of course, i am bringing my laptop so i can work the whole time, because i am on deadline for three manuscripts. but i am the expert at editing while watching criminal minds.

(i’m also bringing my knitting! even though i am not quite finished with either of the two surprise gift projects i’m working on, i’m bringing my sweater — i don’t want to be wrestling with six different balls of yarn and yarn needles and buttons and whatever. i just want to knit a lot of stockinette.)

i am also bringing a lot of food with me to diana’s — shepherd’s pie and pasta fagioli and challah bread. we’re going to eat like queens.

2010-03-08: you know what the chain of command is?, originally uploaded by octette_stars.

it’s the chain i go get and beat you with until you understand who’s in command here.

ahh, firefly. christina and i watched star trek (the reboot) this morning, and then i put on firefly.

while we were watching star trek, i started making a body block. according to the costume design book i am reading, that is the first step to designing for someone’s body. okay! i was going to do a very small one for a stuffed animal, so that i could make small outfits, but christina volunteered to be my model (i think she is hoping for cute clothes made to her measurements; boy, is she going to be totally disappointed!!!!).

anyway, what you see in this picture is the body block for christina’s upper body. it took about four, four and a half hours to do it (including the time i spent measuring and doing all the required math and meticulously taping together pieces of graph paper).

here is what i have realized: i need a freaking ruler. my measuring tape is awesome, but i can’t draw straight lines with it. oops! i did okay with a piece of cardboard, but it was annoying.

anyway, whatever. LOOK! I MADE BUST DARTS ON PAPER!!!

2010-03-07: it’s hard to pull quotes from alias, b/c they are usually only funny in context., originally uploaded by octette_stars.

this is how i feel today because everything is annoying me. even the pizza we had for lunch is annoying me. growl, boo, hiss.

2010-03-06: scones, originally uploaded by octette_stars.

they are funny shaped because i dished them out with a disher. i wish i’d remembered to mix the cranberries into the batter, because having to press them into the dough for each individual scone sucks.

(i forgot to take a picture yesterday.)

2010-03-04: like the year i spent comparing me to you, please return it, originally uploaded by octette_stars.

mom found a mouse in one of our junk drawers, and i’ve appropriated it for use in editing. i am literally twice as fast when i am using the regular mouse instead of a touchpad. amazing!

please note my fat, blunt, peasant fingers. they are good for editing and kneading bread and other things, but i will never be a hand model.

2010-03-03: brace yourself, bite your lips, originally uploaded by octette_stars.

tonight’s supper is all veg — steamed artichokes with melted butter, stuffed mushrooms, and steamed broccoli with mornay sauce. i did think about roasting the broccoli in the oven, but i don’t think it would taste very good with the mornay sauce.

here is my recipe for mushroom (or artichoke!) stuffing; this recipe filled my two packages of stuffing mushrooms with enough left over for at least one more package. (i froze the leftover, along with the mushroom stems; i’ll stuff some more mushrooms next week or the week after, and use the stems the next time i make veg broth. no waste!)

1-1/2 c bread crumbs
2/3 – 3/4 c grated romano cheese (to taste)
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp oregano
1/8 tsp black pepper

mix together in a bowl with a fork. then stream in olive oil as you’re mixing, until the mixture resembles wet sand. the amount of oil needed is going to vary depending on the moisture of the air around you. sometimes it’s 1/3 c olive oil. sometimes it’s 1/2! sometimes it’s 2/3 or 3/4! don’t stress out. if you feel like it ends up too wet with oil, add some more bread crumbs.

2010-03-01: queenie’s mrs potts toy., originally uploaded by octette_stars.

i tried to get a picture of queenie playing with the toy but she gets really embarrassed when people look at her playing with the toy. she runs away whenever the camera veers near to her!

2010-03-02: kneading bread dough for brioche burger buns!, originally uploaded by octette_stars.

mmm… delicious. i can’t wait for supper. i am super hungry. i think i need to start eating lunch regularly instead of just drinking a pot of coffee and snacking on cut up veggies.