Get thee behind me!

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We’re all chillin’ in the crib this afternoon when I hear a knock at the door. I pick Lydia up and round the corner into the front hallway, figuring it’s gotta be either a package delivery or my friend Jeremy. Through the door-height window I see that it’s neither, and before I can slip out of sight, the guy makes eye contact with me. Can’t back out now, so I open the door.

Through the storm door I see a team of religious proselytizers grinning back at me. Great. I crack the door and say, “Can I help you?” as I start planning their exit strategy.

But before they can even get through saying “…and talk to you about God,” Lydia sticks her bottom lip clear out, tears up, and starts crying at them rather pointedly. I hug her, and over the noise I say, “Looks like it’s not a very good time.” They give me a little info card and split.

As soon as they turn around, Lydia not only stops crying immediately, but she’s enthusiastically waving goodbye to them.

Aww, that’s my girl. *high five* 😀

My folk band lurches back to life

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It had been been ages since I’ve gotten together with my neighbor Jeremy to jam, but he came by yesterday afternoon. He didn’t have time to play, but asked me if I would be free that night. We ended up going to his friend Dylan’s house, the one with the sound booth and recording setup in his basement. A few hours later, we had a rough demo of one of Jeremy’s songs. I’m not even sure the song has a name yet, I’ve only heard him call it “that banjo song.”

He put down the banjo part first, then I did accordion. Nothing fancy, just simple backup chords, but it still filled out the sound nicely. I was a little rusty, and had to think too hard about playing. I need practice, and also confidence to play it more decisively. But it was good enough for this. Then Jeremy sang lead vocals, and Dylan threw down a quick and dirty bass part. Jeremy and I each sang some harmony on the chorus, and then I even recorded a ukulele track if you can believe it. Dylan’ll be mixing it some more, but it sounded pretty cool already when we called it a night. It was quite a trip to hear us that way.

Jeremy is wanting to do a disc of seven or so songs, and take them around town to get us some live gigs. I’m a little worried that it’ll sound too different than we do live, but we’ve got a while to worry about that. But even if nothing else comes of it, we’ll have a record and some good memories.

*hic*

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Okay I’ve had the hiccups just about all. Day. Long. I’m about ready to commit hara-kiri to keep my gut from twitching one more freakin’ time. My usual cure isn’t working, and it’s normally pretty reliable. And I’m coughing, which generally makes them come back even if I do manage to get rid of them. And then of course the hiccups prevent the coughs from actually accomplishing anything, so there’s no end in sight. My body is stoooopid.

Sausage, Sweet Potato, and Garlic Pasta

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They were giving out free samples of this Emeril brand sausage (“with bacon, garlic, & red wine flavors”) at Sams Club. Riley liked it, and it’s always good to have more things to offer Mr. Finicky, so I bought some. The packaging had this recipe printed on the back, and I was intrigued enough to give it a try.

Ingredients:
4 links Emeril’s Chef’s Specialty Smoked Sausage
14oz fresh or dried pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
2 sweet potatoes, peeled, sliced lengthwise
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp rosemary
2 tsp shredded lemon rind
1 cup pitted kalamata halves
black pepper

Cook pasta al dente. While pasta is cooking, peel and slice* sweet potatoes. To roast, place potatoes on baking sheet. Combine sesame and vegetable oils and brush on potatoes. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake at 400 degrees F until golden brown. Slice sausage into 1/2″ diagonal pieces. Place olive oil and garlic in sauté pan and cook about 1 minute until golden. Add sliced sausage, rosemary, lemon rind, olives, and pepper. Cook 3-4 minutes or until warmed through. To serve, combine sausage mixture with warm pasta and top with roasted sweet potatoes.

I made it once, and found it delightful. I made it again a few nights later, and mistakenly grabbed a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon when adding the sea salt. Just about ruined the whole thing. I don’t believe I’ll be making that mistake again. It’s a pretty rich recipe anyway, and not “comfort” enough to become a dietary staple, but I’ll make it every now and then to shake things up.
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*I basically julienned them, french-fry size, and that worked pretty well with the fettuccini noodles.