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Oh happy day.
06/05/2005 09:10 pmIzzzhie issssh pissshed. Slinked back to Privet Drive after a delightful day on the bottle. Still sober enough to feed the doggies their tofu cutlets. Nooo. We are not that evil. They really trully got proper minced beef for dinner. No muck out of a can for Fluffy and Brutus.
This morning, was so so so tempted to stay snoozing instead of attending our evil Friday meetings where all the wierd oddballs and misfits of Dursleyville congregate and sympathize with each other.
After lurking about until 1am in the morning reading the latest offerings from the Library - the missing manuals, Dummies guide to computer programming and other such wannabee geekish stuff, and setting the alarm for 5.30 - it truly was most tempting indeed. But not only do these meetings recharge the Izzie batteries, they are such a ritual that it is most disorientating indeed to miss them.
The Spirit was willing but the flesh was weak. So Izzie resorted to an old but very effective mind game. How will you feel about your decision ten minutes, hours, days, months, years etc from now. Izzie knew that ten years later would not matter at all but an hour would. So we got out and about and did not regret our decision. Was sort of helped by a visit to one of the owleries last night where we got an email from the bus company saying that while usually the 2004 student discount was valid only until 31 March, due to delays in changing over to the new Smart Rider card system, the validity would be extended until 31 May!!! Izzie did get told of this by a bus driver more than four weeks ago but heard nothing about it since. But here it was in black and white in the Izzie owlery. One happy serpent. Izzie has holidays starting 18 May so this is just the perfect excuse to spend every second day at St Brutus.
So instead of pottering off to the Lair after work tomorrow, the Izzie could get an all day bus ticket today for only 3 silver sickles, go to our meeting and then later to the Lair, pick up the mail and bits and pieces before finally returning to Privet Drive to feed and water the creatures before once more departing for the evening wine tasting.
It is most scary indeed. The Izzie has not only corrupted a decent God Fearing member of our public speaking group into an incurable Potter head, but today this critter turned up to the meeting wearing - would you believe it? A GREEN hat! Izzie was so so shocked and ashamed that she was not wearing hers. But we did pick it up at the Lair today knowing that it can grace this place safely in the knowledge that green hat hating Petunia is half way around the planet by now and beyond caring that her precious Privet Drive has been defiled by such sacriligious objects.
After the meeting, the Iz went for a drool looking for presents for the Preciousss. Particularly useful would be one of those iSkin thingies that cover keyboards and protect them from crumbs or the antics of Drunken and disorderly rodents such as Wormtail. But while in the other 50 states, they come in all shapes and sizes including the Preciousss and its upmarket Powerbook relatives and cost the princely sum of just under twenty American silver sickles, here in the Apple Store, they are an utterly outrageous $$54.95 and fit only boring standard desk top keyboards. Bastards. So Izzie left empty handed. But after a bit of constant vigilance, we did pick up another prezzie for the Preciousss. Supposedly there is no defence against the Killing Curse, but Izzie did find a gadget that claims to offer immunity against the nasty evil green lightseses. Been lucky so far with the Precioussss but it is now coming into winter and now the election is well and truly over, who knows what evil surprises the electricity network has in store for poor innocent defenceless critters like the Preciousss.
Bestest thing about all day bus tickets is not worrying about clock watching. Left downtown Dursleyville at 10am for the Lair, picked up the Pipsqueak and Braun kitchen wand along with a stack of CDs. Also safely locked away that utterly droolworthy collection of jewellry - a most exquisite set of 14 rings forged by the brilliant BBC elves. The Preciousss will one day get around to munching on it and making lots of sneaky thieving copies but not just yet.
So after a snooze in the garden of the Lair and a peek in the mail box where we found a snail eaten letter from the evil overlords of the Apple orchard (curse those bastards in their marketing department) the Iz finally returned back to the Dursleys doggies. Oh enroute, popped by a computer store stocking stuff from the Evil Empire. Only stuff that was any use to the Iz would be ears for the Preciousss. Lots of very cheap and nasty speakers. Sure they are all made in China these days - whether they be Harman Kardon ? JBL or Acme. But at least the JBL thingies look like works of art. Izzie must find a Choice magazine review of speakers for computers. The built in ones are terribly tinny and not nice at all. Lisa Gerrard deserves much better than that.
After a few doggie cuddles and squishes and a quick catch up in Cyberia, was time to hit the road again. First stop was to return some CDs to the library. Had a Bob Dylan compilation including Hurricane - got lots of Dylan stuff on old fashioned vinyl but not that song which Izzie just adores, along with Henryk Gorecki's 3rd symphony. Sad spooky blood curdling stuff. Most of the CDs on the shelves were schmalzy crap but did eventually find the soundtrack to a certain film. While checking it out, the critter in the queue before Izzie had the real McCoy -the DVD itself of the Fellowship. Izzie had seen that movie before knowing the basic outline of the story and really would like to see it again as it would make more sense the second time around. (Besides being the perfect excuse to drool over Gollum and sexy Saruman) *Adds external DVD burner to the Precioussss wish list*
Next stop was that grocery store that sells stuff loose. Izzie wants to make Cockroach Clusters for Teresa our ex boss as well as "plum puddings" coated in chocolate. Shocked to see that slivered almonds now cost the same as pine nuts. Izzie is a pine nut junkie.
As well as the almonds and pitted prunes (which we shall soak in whiskey before pureeing and mixing with chopped up cherries and almond meal and dipping in chocolate) the Iz also got some dates and rye flour. Got chickpea flour too. Will try to make some pakora. Izzie just adores anything with pine nuts, peanuts, basil, sesame seeds or chickpeas in it.
It was then that we finally slinked off to the evening's wine tasting at Vintage Cellars. Must have been at least 15 different bottlies for tasting. These included the very tasty Taylors 2003 shiraz and the somewhat disappointing Wynn's 2001 cabernet sauvignon. But the Iz went and bought two bottles of it anyway. Not that it really was worth the $$20 that they were selling it for (It normally retails for $$33 or so and the Gramps Shiraz we paid $$18 for on Tuesday night was infinitelly inkier and tastier) but the Izzie shares a bottle of this particular wine twice a year with her favorite rat on two particular days of the year. Had a big stash of the very tasty 98 vintage which we got half price in a closing down sale in 2001 and finished the last bottle on 7 February this year.
In 2002 we wanted to celebrate certain days with the bestest bottles we had and as they turned out to be Wynns' it has become a sort of tradition.
But there is still 363 other days to dare to be different. So far Taylors, Gramps and Ingoldby Shiraz are the Izzie favorites.
So, after sampling a most exquisite selection and buying those two bottles, the Iz pottered past the old graveyard and down the hill past the gorgeous gardens to the bus back to Petunia' s place. It was so so like 2002. Had just enough time to sit down comfortably and find our ticket without rushing or anything when the 106 bus that we thought we had missed cruised by. Perfect timing.
So now it's time to go snoozies as we got to be at work for 7am Saturday morning. More of the same on Sunday so the Iz will not be able to chat with Cats or other online creatures until some time Sunday evening.
This morning, was so so so tempted to stay snoozing instead of attending our evil Friday meetings where all the wierd oddballs and misfits of Dursleyville congregate and sympathize with each other.
After lurking about until 1am in the morning reading the latest offerings from the Library - the missing manuals, Dummies guide to computer programming and other such wannabee geekish stuff, and setting the alarm for 5.30 - it truly was most tempting indeed. But not only do these meetings recharge the Izzie batteries, they are such a ritual that it is most disorientating indeed to miss them.
The Spirit was willing but the flesh was weak. So Izzie resorted to an old but very effective mind game. How will you feel about your decision ten minutes, hours, days, months, years etc from now. Izzie knew that ten years later would not matter at all but an hour would. So we got out and about and did not regret our decision. Was sort of helped by a visit to one of the owleries last night where we got an email from the bus company saying that while usually the 2004 student discount was valid only until 31 March, due to delays in changing over to the new Smart Rider card system, the validity would be extended until 31 May!!! Izzie did get told of this by a bus driver more than four weeks ago but heard nothing about it since. But here it was in black and white in the Izzie owlery. One happy serpent. Izzie has holidays starting 18 May so this is just the perfect excuse to spend every second day at St Brutus.
So instead of pottering off to the Lair after work tomorrow, the Izzie could get an all day bus ticket today for only 3 silver sickles, go to our meeting and then later to the Lair, pick up the mail and bits and pieces before finally returning to Privet Drive to feed and water the creatures before once more departing for the evening wine tasting.
It is most scary indeed. The Izzie has not only corrupted a decent God Fearing member of our public speaking group into an incurable Potter head, but today this critter turned up to the meeting wearing - would you believe it? A GREEN hat! Izzie was so so shocked and ashamed that she was not wearing hers. But we did pick it up at the Lair today knowing that it can grace this place safely in the knowledge that green hat hating Petunia is half way around the planet by now and beyond caring that her precious Privet Drive has been defiled by such sacriligious objects.
After the meeting, the Iz went for a drool looking for presents for the Preciousss. Particularly useful would be one of those iSkin thingies that cover keyboards and protect them from crumbs or the antics of Drunken and disorderly rodents such as Wormtail. But while in the other 50 states, they come in all shapes and sizes including the Preciousss and its upmarket Powerbook relatives and cost the princely sum of just under twenty American silver sickles, here in the Apple Store, they are an utterly outrageous $$54.95 and fit only boring standard desk top keyboards. Bastards. So Izzie left empty handed. But after a bit of constant vigilance, we did pick up another prezzie for the Preciousss. Supposedly there is no defence against the Killing Curse, but Izzie did find a gadget that claims to offer immunity against the nasty evil green lightseses. Been lucky so far with the Precioussss but it is now coming into winter and now the election is well and truly over, who knows what evil surprises the electricity network has in store for poor innocent defenceless critters like the Preciousss.
Bestest thing about all day bus tickets is not worrying about clock watching. Left downtown Dursleyville at 10am for the Lair, picked up the Pipsqueak and Braun kitchen wand along with a stack of CDs. Also safely locked away that utterly droolworthy collection of jewellry - a most exquisite set of 14 rings forged by the brilliant BBC elves. The Preciousss will one day get around to munching on it and making lots of sneaky thieving copies but not just yet.
So after a snooze in the garden of the Lair and a peek in the mail box where we found a snail eaten letter from the evil overlords of the Apple orchard (curse those bastards in their marketing department) the Iz finally returned back to the Dursleys doggies. Oh enroute, popped by a computer store stocking stuff from the Evil Empire. Only stuff that was any use to the Iz would be ears for the Preciousss. Lots of very cheap and nasty speakers. Sure they are all made in China these days - whether they be Harman Kardon ? JBL or Acme. But at least the JBL thingies look like works of art. Izzie must find a Choice magazine review of speakers for computers. The built in ones are terribly tinny and not nice at all. Lisa Gerrard deserves much better than that.
After a few doggie cuddles and squishes and a quick catch up in Cyberia, was time to hit the road again. First stop was to return some CDs to the library. Had a Bob Dylan compilation including Hurricane - got lots of Dylan stuff on old fashioned vinyl but not that song which Izzie just adores, along with Henryk Gorecki's 3rd symphony. Sad spooky blood curdling stuff. Most of the CDs on the shelves were schmalzy crap but did eventually find the soundtrack to a certain film. While checking it out, the critter in the queue before Izzie had the real McCoy -the DVD itself of the Fellowship. Izzie had seen that movie before knowing the basic outline of the story and really would like to see it again as it would make more sense the second time around. (Besides being the perfect excuse to drool over Gollum and sexy Saruman) *Adds external DVD burner to the Precioussss wish list*
Next stop was that grocery store that sells stuff loose. Izzie wants to make Cockroach Clusters for Teresa our ex boss as well as "plum puddings" coated in chocolate. Shocked to see that slivered almonds now cost the same as pine nuts. Izzie is a pine nut junkie.
As well as the almonds and pitted prunes (which we shall soak in whiskey before pureeing and mixing with chopped up cherries and almond meal and dipping in chocolate) the Iz also got some dates and rye flour. Got chickpea flour too. Will try to make some pakora. Izzie just adores anything with pine nuts, peanuts, basil, sesame seeds or chickpeas in it.
It was then that we finally slinked off to the evening's wine tasting at Vintage Cellars. Must have been at least 15 different bottlies for tasting. These included the very tasty Taylors 2003 shiraz and the somewhat disappointing Wynn's 2001 cabernet sauvignon. But the Iz went and bought two bottles of it anyway. Not that it really was worth the $$20 that they were selling it for (It normally retails for $$33 or so and the Gramps Shiraz we paid $$18 for on Tuesday night was infinitelly inkier and tastier) but the Izzie shares a bottle of this particular wine twice a year with her favorite rat on two particular days of the year. Had a big stash of the very tasty 98 vintage which we got half price in a closing down sale in 2001 and finished the last bottle on 7 February this year.
In 2002 we wanted to celebrate certain days with the bestest bottles we had and as they turned out to be Wynns' it has become a sort of tradition.
But there is still 363 other days to dare to be different. So far Taylors, Gramps and Ingoldby Shiraz are the Izzie favorites.
So, after sampling a most exquisite selection and buying those two bottles, the Iz pottered past the old graveyard and down the hill past the gorgeous gardens to the bus back to Petunia' s place. It was so so like 2002. Had just enough time to sit down comfortably and find our ticket without rushing or anything when the 106 bus that we thought we had missed cruised by. Perfect timing.
So now it's time to go snoozies as we got to be at work for 7am Saturday morning. More of the same on Sunday so the Iz will not be able to chat with Cats or other online creatures until some time Sunday evening.
