Thanks to very generous friends and family, I am now in possession of many new kitchen utensils. I even have a new cookbook, and since Sunday I've been inspired to bake giant muffins in my giant muffin tin, create casseroles in my pyrex pans, and make more granola with my new jelly roll pan. I had even looked up a few gluten-free recipes to make (e:matthew) happy.
Alas, it was not to be. The god of plumbing has chosen to smite our house, and whenever we run the kitchen faucet or dishwasher, gross water backs up through the downstair's neighbor's drain. This is most unpleasant. It's not anything in our drain and I don't know enough about plumbing to know what to do. Hopefully the plumber can come tomorrow and make it all work again. At least we can use the bathroom. I did manage to cook up some pasta this evening, and remembered to strain it into the bathtub. That was really weird.
Look for more recipes later this week. I plan to make a roast chicken, honey balls, crazy chocolate cake, and something involving rice.

This weekend I had the distinct pleasure of visiting the La Tea Da Tea Room and Parlour
in Rochester. (There's a La Tee Da Tea Room in Buffalo on Allen Street, but I haven't been there yet).
It was wonderful, with outstanding food and a great atmosphere. As we walked in, the "Lady of the House" offered us a selection of hats and feather boas to wear. After settling in, we had trays and trays of little sandwiches, little cookies and scones that would make Paula Dean smile.
If you're up in Rochester and are looking to score some tea and scones, that is the place to go.

Today was Dolphy Day at LeMoyne College in Syracuse. This tradition stretches back many years, and is basically a day for all students to skip class and get drunk beyond all comprehension. The dining hall sets up grills outside, most classes are cancelled, and fun is had by all. Public drunkenness reigns; it's a great way to end the academic year.
The name of Dolphy Day has a few different potential origins. Some say it has something to do with jazz legend Eric Dolphy ; my issue with this theory is that, besides a choral group, the school is not musically oriented. I tend to believe that Dolphy is a corruption of "Dolphin," which is the school mascot. When you're too drunk to feel your own face, "Dolphy" would be a reasonable interpretation of that word.
From what I remember of my first Dolphy Day, I lived on campus, and after a few days of D-Day alarms, with M-80s going off outside my window, the day began at 4 a.m.
The day was damp and dark, and a hill on the quad got completely muddy from the weather, spilled beer and the amount of people trouncing around. I spent a lot of it covered from hair to foot in mud. Apparently, sliding down the muddy slope seemed like a good idea the first time I did it. The second time I was so filthy that it didn't seem to matter. I also remember eating donuts, not being able to tie my shoes, a nap in someone's lounge, and thinking "wow, hundreds of college students too blasted to stand. Cool."
Their alumni office, rather than try to ignore this time-honored tradition, actually sent out an email to let their graduates know that today was the day, complete with a slideshow. I appreciated it.

My dog was born one year ago today. Her main gift was a life preserver for when we're out sailing, and as her special treat this evening she had a giant bowl of ice cubes and a bunch of crunchy carrots.

My grandparents sent her a birthday card. They are the coolest people on the planet.







She's my bear.

Anyone else get spam in the flavor of one of those Nigerian bank scams from johnmichael_2k@yahoo.com?
(e:paul) - the IP was 196.201.88.200.