I'm going here for dinner. Poutine! [link]

Flax-seed pasta tastes a bit different than regular pasta, so you've got to think about the sauces a bit -- I think it would taste kind of weird with marinara, but it's good with something less tomato-ey, and fabulous with something a little earthier, like a sauce with balsamic vinegar or a peanut sauce. Basically, the flax seed gives it a slightly nutty taste, so you've got to take that into consideration.)

Good to know, thanks Hil. I generally don't do tomato sauce with pasta anyway. I most often do mushroom or greens (often with some sausage thrown in there). So that would probably work well for me.

Thanks, ita. We're about to go visit her again. I hope we're doing the right thing by her. It's so hard to know.

Weekend (all conditional - see kitty news above):

• Tonight: Eat pizza and play Wii (and see baby) at friends' house
• Sat: Root canal in AM (ugh) - to Santa Barbara for friend's b-day in PM.
• Sun: School work, possibly hang with GF's mom

Just microwaved some frozen haricots verts. Added a splash of sesame oil, splash of soy sauce, little bit of ginger (the refridgerated jarred kind), tiny little bit of maple syrup, and some scallions. OMG teh yum. Must remember this.

Thanks for the validation -- I kind of needed it. I know people grow up with different attitudes about hair being 'dirty', but I was beginning to wonder if I'd missed a memo about scratching your head in public or something.

GC, I hope your kitty is OK. Kat, I can't begin to say how happy I am to hear some GOOD Gracie news with the promise of further improvements for her!

{{{GC}}}

If you would like surreal, yet oddly addictive, entertainment, watch Kitty Dance. No fair blaming me for the earworm.

Yes, I found while I was supposed to be writing comments. What.

and-cut frites, braised Berkshire pork, gravy and melted cheddar

That's not actual poutine, brenda. You're cheating.

All that and a root canal, GC? This is not a fun couple of weeks for you, is it?

I am having a fucker of a migraine. Hit hard and knocked out some of my brain cells. I've had to seriously concentrate to prevent myself from sending bizarre work emails. Not my most productive afternoon. I don't even know if I can drive home.

But you did have the convenience of the coffee hose coming right out of your computer.

This would be the most genius invention on the planet.

Aw, GC, senidng your kitty some good vibes. .

Hey, you take what you can get in these parts.

I'm confused by my Shabbos candles. I always light them in roughly the same place, but not exactly the same place -- I just put the candlesticks on the table, so they could move a few inches to one side or the other from one week to the next. And the two candlesticks are maybe three or four inches away from each other. And each week, without exception, the candle closer to the kitchen will melt normally and without a mess, while the one further away from the kitchen will melt down really quickly and leave a huge puddle of melted wax in the candle holder. My guess at first was that one was in a draft, but it's the same whether the heat or the air conditioner is on, and whether the window is open or closed.