-
SBIFF '08
The 23rd annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival finished last weekend, but I claim it's not too late to post about the movies I saw.
Cream of the crop:
Beautiful Bitch - A story of a Romanian teenager trying to be a "normal" kid while meeting her quotas as a pickpocket for an organized crime ring. Extremely touching without being sappy.
( Read more... ) -
Chocolats
Last night for dessert, Tim treated us to chocolates from the new chocolate shop within walking distance of his house in Carpinteria, Chocolats du CaliBressan. Yum. yum. yum. I ate two of the divine morsels: the "Bourguignon" (white chocolate with blackcurrant) and the "Venezuelien" (pure dark chocolate from Venezuela). The most amazing part ( Read more... ) -
Purple lunch
In preparation for joining Fairview Gardens' CSA program, I've been reading through Deborah Madison's Local Flavors, a book I picked up a few years ago while Paul and I were still members of one of those "cookbook of the month" clubs. Most of the recipes are fairly simple, but the book really encourages you to get out and explore the flavors and ( Read more... ) -
Community Supported Agriculture
Paul and I just filled out the application for a small share in this year's production from one of the local farms. We'll get 37 weeks of tasty, fresh produce grown at Fairview Gardens, about seven miles from our house. This is something we've talked about for years, but normally during the summer when it's too late. It'll be fun trying to ( Read more... ) -
New lair
Paul and I moved today. We're only about two miles from our old house, but it was still a pain to get everything here. Fortunately, we had friends willing to help. We've still got some of the little stuff at the old house to bring over, but 95% of things are moved now. And the kitties are exploring their new lair. It's all still a bit scary to ( Read more... ) -
Now, for the moving
It's official, Paul and I just signed the paperwork for a new place to rent. Now, we just need to get everything packed up and moved before January 15th ( Read more... ) -
moving
Paul and I will be moving between now and February 1st. Don't know where yet, but we found out this morning that our landlord is terminating our lease since she wants to remodel the house and use it as a second home. We're planning to stay in the Santa Barbara area, so we just need to find a place we're happy with. Just what I wanted to deal ( Read more... ) -
spun down
I like traveling, but the last week and a half has been a bit much.
Sunday, October 7 - 15 hours of travel from the west coast to the east coast thanks to delayed / rescheduled flights
Monday, October 8 - Orlando, FL
Tuesday, October 9 - Columbia, MD (DC area)
Wednesday, October 10 - Philadelphia, PA
Thursday, October 11 - San Jose, CA
Friday, October ( Read more... ) -
Today's air quailty: nasty
What does a dry SoCal winter foreshadow? A memorable fire season ( Read more... ) -
first harvest
Memorial Day weekend, I planted a small rooftop vegetable garden on the patio over our garage. This weekend I harvested the first veggies of the year: a cookneck squash and a few small radishes. The tomatoes, beans, and chiles all seem to be doing well, and I expect I'll be able to harvest a larger variety of veggies within the next month or so ( Read more... )