have you seen these dog accessory/outfits? [link]

Man, it shouldn't be, especially during Christmas season! Unless people are buying more of it right now and that's why it's not on the shelf?

EXACTLY. When I say I found it in the last place I looked (duh), it was the last place to look. Not the main spice section, but a smaller one on the other side of the aisle that I hadn't realised had more.

I feel like a traitor for using ground nutmeg, but...at the rate I'm turning out muffins -> guaranteed RSI. I'm telling myself that for delicate flavouring, like eggnog or that delicious Cake Bible spice cake, it's the good stuff. Most of the rest, I'll save my power arm.

I just got an email back from Annalee. She said that the Fan Fiction Friday was a failed experiment, and they're going to yank it and apologise tomorrow. I know the truism that things would be so much better if women were in charge isn't actually true, but the trickle down effect of queer (if memory serves...) and female at the top of the org chart is a helps balance things out.

I'm watching Starship Troopers and it's ridic how they managed to show so much death and devastation without any emotional impact whatsoever. This is my first time at this rodeo, and I have no idea how to tell if it's satire or not.

Then again, Denise Richards playing a hotshot pilot with dewy puppy dog eyes that keeps turning around to look at some really fascinating stuff behind her while trying to navigate through a debris field that was banging her ship thirty seconds ago.

If I had seen that in the theatre, I think I would have been way pissed. As it is--interesting sociological something something.

Randomly-my browser's spell check language is set to British English. So much more relaxing, but it's obviously calling out the Americanisms that have wormed their way in. Doesn't like movie, much prefers film. No problemo. I can handle that.

But anymore is a no go. Are the Brits saying it in two words instead of one? It's really bugging me. It's the last non-web-related common underline I get.

I just want to be clean and pretty. Is that so much to ask--clean and pretty?

If you've got a microplane, then grabbing the whole nutmegs from Cost Plus can be awesome. Fresh is nice. And, with a microplane, crazy easy. Also cheap. All of which are important to me. I wouldn't suggest it until I thought you might already own something rasp-y like a Microplane.

I don't know how to self-grind cloves easily. I use preground unless something needs to be armored by being stuck with whole cloves.

If I had seen that in the theatre, I think I would have been way pissed. As it is--interesting sociological something something.

I saw it when my grandfather passed and no one got a hold of me for a couple of days. So I found out at work. My now ex left work to come fetch me, feed me a few martinis and then expose me to excessive movie violence. I've never seen the movie as anything but an overload/reset switch. It's so far beyond what I'd choose to watch for enjoyable reasons but it was really effective.

I don't know how to self-grind cloves easily. I use preground unless something needs to be armored by being stuck with whole cloves.

You can do it in the coffee grinder but be prepared for a little lingering flavor for a few pots.

This happened today: [link]

That's a fabulous parade, sarameg!

I get my nutmegs from Jamaica, and they have their dedicated microplaner--for the uses I described, that's what how I'm grating it. But in a big batch of muffins, I think the balance between how much I'm putting in and how all the other components of the muffins make the nuance indistinguishable and the planing still more than I can be arsed to do.

You can do it in the coffee grinder

The coffee grinder. Not mine. With the no coffee thing I figure I might as well track down a bit of McCormicks instead of adding another effectively single use (and kinda rare at that) piece of paraphernalia for my kinda over-engineered kitchen.

Not the main spice section, but a smaller one on the other side of the aisle that I hadn't realised had more.

I don't like it when supermarkets try to be helpful and put seasonal stuff in an endcap or different area like that. Because I'm logical and go to the spice aisle when I'm looking for spices.

Penzey's, if you have it, is also an excellent source for all kinds of spices (including ground cloves.) They had two kinds of whole cloves in mine last week! (Also, failing a local location, mail-order.)

One time I was looking for lime juice, and I circled the grocery store twice trying to find it until I thought to check the booze aisle and finally found some with the margarita mixers.