OK -- TwoSheep, you are a goddess for reminding me about this NY Times Bread recipe!!! WOW! absolutely effortless, no kneading, and I have perfect, delicious bread! I took your advice and went 1/2 whole wheat, 1/2 white (yeah, health nut that I am!). It's amazing. Hey, can I come to MN for a cooking class? all your recipes & recommendations rock:)

( Read more... )

Sometimes it takes a while to figure out who's who ( Read more... )

One of my students from last semester grew up in Budapest & is meeting with me 2/week to teach me Hungarian...trying to pick up where I left off two years ago at posh West Coast institution. I vaguely remember something about verbal suffixes, even more vague is my recollection of the dozen or so prepositions I learned that each govern a specific ( Read more... )

Ah, DocBroc reminds me that I didn't finish my riveting car story. I bet you're all dying of suspense ( Read more... )

Yesterday started out oddly. Midwesterngal decided to return the video she watched a few nights ago: I'm your Man (the Leonard Cohen documentary). Verdict? a bit lame, to be quite honest. I adore Leonard Cohen and would have preferred watching a video of his concert rather than have Rufus Wainwright perform Cohen songs. You know what I mean? just ( Read more... )

Drove out to the Big City to hear the Symphony do Schubert #8, Berg's 3 pieces, Webern's Passagalia and Radu Lupu playing the Schuman concerto. A beautiful evening, save the (close to)4 hour ride home in a snow storm. Thank heavens X was driving. I would have panicked with flurries attacking my window. Reminded me of Tolstoy's story Master and Man ( Read more... )

A Shout-out to all you culinary RockStars!
I'm in desperate need of a foo-proof, AWESOME cornbread recipe. I've tried a couple, and they're OK, but not nearly as FLUFFY as I would like.
Father-to-be of Sister Sue: got any tips for me?!
MN Bread-Goddess: HELP!
DocBroc: you too!
Periwinkle: don't let me down!

MIDWESTERNGAL IS GETTING DESPERATE OUT

Midwesterngal continues her cinematic pilgrimage ( Read more... )

I love the first day of class. it's like a Dress Up game! Look good, feel good, add a few sly comments in the syllabus which nobody notices...Funny, it's those little acts of writing that get me excited about the profession; turns of phrase that display (falsely?!) a sense of control. I love writing syllabi, love seeing how a class comes together ( Read more... )

My return to El Hamleto coincided with an Ice Storm! A real one! My poor little car was covered in a sheet of ice, and I had to do the Midwesterngal "enter-through-hatchback-trunk" manoever. I should market that one and make a pretty penny! By some miracle (thank you, oh Gods!, especially Hephaestus, my altime fave, for this one!!) the car started ( Read more... )