Internet! Roommate! Chicken Feet!

Ummm, we moved. You knew that, right? Basically successfully though there are still boxes lingering. Need to figure out more heating a place where the heater is in a silly place, doesn't move air, and the power surges if you use space heaters. Though we now have a key to get into the fuse box, that's yet another thrill.

Also exciting was that we finally found a roommate - Nic (for Nicole) is hilarious, lived in London and loves tea, bakes yummy things and works at a design firm with an incredible job title I can't remember off the top of my head. We like her; she came over to meet the landlady and everyone ended up hanging out, eating nachos and telling stories. Definitely a good start.

Barb told me to post this last bit - we've been experimenting with soups and slow cooked food since Mike got a crock pot. At the market yesterday found free-range organic stew chickens for $5, thought we'd make stock. Picked one up and some other yummy things, went to look at incredible Asian art, and then came home. Mike took a nap and I started onions, opened the plastic bag with the chicken (can you feel the tension build?) so I could chop it up for the stew pot.

And there, naked and floppy, were chicken feet! YIKES! I just couldn't deal with their paleness, so I closed up the bag, put it in the fridge and made a cup of tea. Mike had no interest in dealing with it so I sent Sarah a text saying we'd, ummm, need her help majorly. When she came home, tired and worn from work, she laughed at us and then proceeded to pull out the bird only to discover it still had its head attached too! It was a mini horror movie as she deconstructed the bird, and now we have stock.

I did read a lot in the River Cottage Meat Book and learned why buying industrial chicken is pretty gross. As well as how to make stock, his take on pot-au-feu, and some delicious sounding lamb dishes.... Good things to do as the rain begins to actually fall (finally). And it keeps us warm, yes? Huzzah for gas stoves!

Quelle surprise!

Did you know there are strikes in France??!?!

I had no idea!

But the BBC does. And watch out world - hopefully no one is trying to travel Thursday in that great nation. Here I thought that groups weren't allowed to strike in support of others - but I guess everyone can agree that the economy is only going downhill. Everywhere.

Roommate hunt still progresses; we had over 25 responses that first day of craigslist ad. Just goes to show - people want to live with people. Or cheaply. Or both.

Social experiment time

WOOOOOOOO inauguration. A little girl kept saying Obama was a present, not the president. Perhaps a bit of both.

In the spirit of "yes. we. can." the roommate/housing saga has progressed to a whole new level. Apparently when someone says "I'm committed 110%" it actually means that they can then tell you the day before you're supposed to sign your lease that, well, ummm, he's backing out because there's something he likes better that's possible. On Friday (and it's Tuesday evening). And he wants the biggest room (though the two that share one are paying equal rent to all other house members).

Today I told customers I was full of ire. They seemed taken aback.

But, wait, you say. It's the time of CHANGE. Of NEW direction. So Mike, Sarah, and I did what anyone sane would do - we signed a lease tonight and have started looking for a roommate. It's cheap, centrally located in Hayes Valley. Our landlady is wonderful already - she said she was hoping that we'd come back after Sarah and Mike had looked at the house weeks ago. She even spontaneously hugged Sarah when she found out her job as a chef. And our idea of having a rack of ribs bbq once the back yard renovations are done. (Yes, we have a yard. In the middle of the city).

I posted not even a half hour ago, already two responses from responsible sounding grad students. Woot! Feel free to guess how many I get in one day - I'll post the answer soon!

Take that to people who aren't honest. And taking destiny into own hands... Now to start making our home. It's heady stuff - the day has gotten much much better.

But ask me about describing tea tastes. I may or may not have said to the trainer that since I don't eat leather (or hay or other fodder) that I can't quite get to saying the brew tastes like that. It was silly, especially since another attendee and I discovered that if you squint right you can make anything sound serious when it comes to descriptions. "Composty" "Wet" "Woodsy" "Complex"

Just try it. Think "blue steel" and run with it.

Delicious.

And one more thing

I'm more than my credit score. Or my bank account balance.

Why can't we find people who happen to be renting a place we want to live in who agree? Is that really too much to ask?