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.