Happy Thaksgiving

So, in case you haven't heard, I got a job yesterday. After months of waiting and searching, I got a freelance job with Egmont USA. I have a six month contract with them to be their library marketing consultant. The pay is good, the hours should be good, and I can work from home or the office. The job will be very much the same as what I've done for the last eight years, which is fine with me because I have loved what I've done. I am very relieved and happy to be working again. I start December 1, although I have some reading and work to start this weekend. But I won't start until tomorrow. Today is a holiday after all.

The stuffing has been brewing in the crock pot. I started it yesterday and it was on for hours. But I turned it off overnight. We woke up at 4:30 this morning due to a cat heaving up a hairball, so we plugged the stuffing back in. It smells really good and should be perfect by the time we eat. I also made gingersnaps yesterday that turned out really well after I got the baking time correct. The book suggested 15 minutes but I thought the cookies were a little too done. So I tried 13. Nope, not done enough. Fourteen minutes proved to be the sweet spot.

Today I am going to make sand tarts and get the mashed potatoes prepared without actually finishing them. I'll finish them over at Reka's before dinner.

The Macy's Thanksgiving parade starts in 15 minutes. I like the idea of this parade and there are some floats, balloons, and performers I like seeing - Sesame Street, all the balloons, the Rockettes - but overall the parade has become way too corporate and amounts to one long commercial. I rarely know the pop "stars" the "sing" on the floats anymore. I also like the high school bands. The Rose Parade is still the grand-daddy of all parades in my opinion. (Excluding the Mardi Gras parades down in NOLA.)

Hope everyone has a fun, safe, and YUMMY day today. Love me some Thanksgiving leftovers tomorrow.

Good Day

Yesterday was a good day. The weather was cold but gorgeous. I got my Brooklyn Public Library card, so I am officially a member of the neighborhood. I figured out what I am going to contribute to the Thanksgiving dinner I'm going to. I mailed what I hope are my last unemployment claim forms EVER. I went to Trader Joe's during an off-peak time and bought three pounds of butter. And I heard about a job that I thought was not an option anymore. It sounds extremely promising and I am going to go in and talk to them next week. I also had a good second meeting with another potential employer on Thursday. When it rains . . .

Steve and I had dinner at another restaurant we haven't tried yet. This was Apartment 138. They bill their menu as modern comfort food. They have a little bit of everything at pretty reasonable prices for NY. We split a huge field greens salad with tarragon dressing, and a chicken fried steak! It was a special for that night and neither of us could believe we found a place that has it in NY. It's sorta hard to find even outside of the South. It was good and came with smashed potatoes and fresh veggies that were crisp tender and not cooked to mush. It was good. The restaurant was very dimly lit and crowded but the volume level didn't offend us like it has at some places we've gone to. I'd like to go back and try some more.

Oh, and before we got to the restaurant, Steve and I were Shanghaied by a group of 13 year old girls and their dad chaperon who were out on a birthday party scavenger hunt. They needed to photograph Steve & one of the girls and the dad and me dancing - "get two of your group to dance with strangers on the street." So we posed and they snapped the pic.

Yes, it was an eventful day in Brooklyn.

Observation

The laundromat/dry cleaners around the corner from us has a meat counter and deli slicer. If that's not the weirdest combination of services, I don't know what is.

Snow Patrol

No snow here yet. Flakes have been sighted in the area, but I have seen nary a flake fall in Brooklyn. I'm watching for them since every day this week has had flurries in the forecast. I'm looking forward to that first real snow and we can make a snowman up on our roof, but after that I know I'll grow sick of the stuff fast. It's cold here. Our heat was on the fritz but it's been working properly for two days now, so hopefully I won't have to call our landlord, Mr. Lee, about it anymore.

Mr. Lee is very nice. He calls himself a "developer" not a landlord. He has other properties but since we reside in his newest, and there are still bugs working themselves out, he is quite attentive. Besides, if a landlord doesn't provide heat, we don't have to provide rent. So he has financial as well as legal motivation to make sure our heat works every time. Mr. Lee is Chinese. He's always very polite both in person and on the phone. He dresses very neatly and a little on the nerdy side. Mr. Lee is here at the building at least once a week, or if he isn't, someone from his family is. They take care of our weekly overflowing trash cans and recycling. They also clean up the foyer, laundry room, and ground level. I haven't seen anyone clean the stairs and boy, they sure need it. I like Mr. Lee. I just hope he doesn't kick us out in April when our short six-month lease is up.

Christmas is creeping into all the shop windows and decor. I haven't seen any Christmas tree lots/stands yet but I bet they start popping up this weekend. The big tree at Rockefeller Center goes live on December 3.

I had another meeting today with a prospective employer. It went well but it sounds like they won't be able to pay me anything near what I was making. Even on a part-time basis. But I think it would be an interesting job and there is tons of room for growth and more money down the road. I'll let you know what happens.

In between errands, chores, and job meetings, Steve and I eat. Amazing! This week, we've had Thai at a neighborhood spot, Thai leftovers, and homemade calzones. I did those last night. They came out really well and I have a feeling they will be added to the regular rotation. I made them with Trader Joe's herb & garlic pizza dough (divided in two and rolled out into 12" circles), spaghetti sauce, fresh mozzarella (because we live in an Italian neighborhood and can get such things for not very much $), diced browned chicken breasts (with olive oil, oregano, s&p), and a taste of browned Italian sausage. I also gave each calzone a light coating with egg to get a little crispy and brown. Steve declared the calzones better than the pizza I make from the same dough and almost same ingredients. I remember when Susan used to make us spinach and chicken calzones in college. Will have to try that version next.

I went to Lush today. Yay! Bought a shampoo (Big), conditioner (Retread), and one bubble bath bar. I also got another FREE bubble bath bar because I had received an e-mailed coupon from Lush for any solid product under $10. I love free things from Lush. I bought the French kiss (lavender scented) and Floating Island (sweet scented) bubble bars. Can't wait to try them out. Thanks for the gift card, Mom!

I'm also doing quite a bit of reading. I just read three books for the meeting I had today, and I'm in the middle of another but I just can't pick it up again so I don't think I'll finish it. It's very bleak and I don't care for the style. I think I'll move on to Peter Golenbock's In the Country of Brooklyn: Inspiration to the World. It's a not-too-short 20th-century history of Brooklyn. Peter Golenbock might be familiar to some of you because he's written other histories about baseball and baseball players. I picked up an ARC of this title at BEA and I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Sounds interesting and I'd like to know a little bit about where I live.

Voting in Brooklyn

I've done my civic, patriotic duty and voted about 9AM this morning. Before I left California, but after I had an official address in Brooklyn, I registered to vote in New York. Luckily, I had 30 days before the election to register so I just squeaked in. The polling place was a high school just in the next block. The process went fairly smoothly. The only real problem I saw was poor placement for the voting machines. I think four to six districts were voting at this particular location. Each district had two voting machines. Everything was crammed into the main hallway of the school. It was very hot, very crowded, and confusing as to which line is the correct line to stand in. I'm not sure why they didn't place the machines and check in desks in a gym or cafeteria. But everyone remained patient and pleasant. People helped others to find the right line. We waited in line probably 20 minutes, so the wait could have been worse. The machines appeared to be working properly. The only other complaint I have besides the poor placement of the machines is that they didn't have any "I voted" stickers. Bummer.

After voting, Steve went off to work and I came home. I'm going to do some housecleaning and make a pie as I watch the news all day. I can't wait to watch returns tonight. Happy voting everyone.