Flying Cookbooks of Meme!

[muchabstracted]

(Well, if "meme" and "doom" are synonyms, the subject line makes sense.)

On Saturday, zippysilver and I went for our first-ever plane flight with countessofgroan piloting! It was too hazy to see the mountains, but there was still plenty to see on the ground. The marshes were my favorite part, but I also quite enjoyed seeing the horrifically ugly roofs of otherwise normal buildings. One building, in a particularly improbable shade of green, was so astonishing that it spurred this entire line of thought. I also picked out my future home on the trip. It's big, of course, and is located on a lovely large peninsular spit of land. countessofgroan plans to use my yard for her own personal runway. With my permission, of course, but as I expect it will just induce her to visit my home frequently, I have no objection.

I might have promised to not mention any of my presents, but there is one whose excitement might be partly transferable to LJ. The Book Lover's Cookbook! With recipes for the Tea Cakes that Algernon of The Importance of Being Earnest dislikes so greatly (as well as "Consolation Bran Muffins", whose purpose I have less understanding of), Fried Green Tomatoes, and Turkish Delight. There are also recipes for tea, which leaves me simultaneously puzzled and desirous of immediately making some. Anyone for tea?

No, I'm not as real a cook as, say, the Roommate. If I was, I would probably be sneering at the gimmickry instead of desperately scanning the pages to see how many recipes are easy enough to look tempting.

It is now January 2nd, which signals the end of my vacation. As such, I am reviving the meme of a month ago, as gacked from rymenhild. Reply to this post, and I'll tell you one/a lot of reasons why I like/love/adore you. Then post this in your LJ and share the love. Disclaimer: I don't promise to respond quickly, but I will respond.

Comments

[obopolsk.livejournal.com]

That cookbook sounds really cool! What exactly is in Turkish Delight?

[muchabstracted.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... *rifles* Gelatin, cold water, sugar, orange juice, lemon juice, zest of 1 lemon and 1 orage, hot water, powdered sugar, and optional food coloring.

I feel it is appropriate that there is orange juice and lemon juice in it, because for some reason that feels decadent. But gelatin (even though I already knew that was part of Turkish Delight) is just a let-down to me. I'm sure Edmund wouldn't have been tempted if he knew gelatin was involved.

I'm amazed and in awe at your dedication to what are, as far as I can tell, several totally different career paths. It does seem like it would be possible to pursue those particular interests all at once, but worthy of note that you are not only interested in all of them but able to properly spend time on each of them.

[muchabstracted.livejournal.com]

Also, I like the two stories of yours that I've read. Particularly the one that got accepted, because it -- well, simultaneously reminded me of something I'm prone to forget now and gave me a new image to carry around in my head.

[obopolsk.livejournal.com]

Thank you for both of those comments. :) It means a lot to me to know that someone has enjoyed my stories -- it helps me persist in the face of frequent rejections.

And honestly, I'm not sure why I persist in these two career paths. I often wish I could choose just one -- I'm sure I'd be much less stressed. But I can't, which is odd, because I sometimes think neither is really what I want to do with my life anyway.

[muchabstracted.livejournal.com]

Well, given that my own planned career path comes out of me taking something that I can do relatively easily (social work; with emphasis on the "relatively" part) and shoving in other interests that are only tangentially related (storytelling, literature, music, art)...? If neither one is exactly what you want to do, maybe pursuing both will bring you to exactly what you want to do.

[muchabstracted.livejournal.com]

To be honest, my reaction partly comes out of the difficulty I feel in concentrating on both social work and The Other Stuff. For myself, I am mainly hoping I don't fall down on the storytelling/literature/music/art part of what I plan to do with social work.