Just bits & pieces....

I finished reading _HP & the Deathly Hallows_ last night. I can't say as it was my favorite of the HP books. There were parts which felt very contrived.... As if J.K. Rowling was having a hard time getting the plot to come together. A couple of questions which _I_ had that weren't answered (like, why didn't Harry's grandparents take him in, instead of his Aunt & Uncle). Some plot twists which I didn't see coming at all!!!! Other questions were answered (like who was RAB) where the answer was pretty obvious to all. Somebody else had mentioned that the epilogue felt like poorly written Fan-Fic, and I must agree with that statement. Not a bad book, but certainly not my favorite.

*****

I did take my application for that Lib. Assistant job in yesterday. But the woman who will be my boss (and was previously my boss) is out of town for a while, so it may be weeks before I find anything out regarding the job. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, though. And I'm going to go over today and mention to the other librarians that I did put in for the position.

I've decided that if I get the position, one of the first things I'm going to do is get back into TaeKwonDo. This past weekend I realized how much I've missed it. But, over the past couple of years I've been running into folks that used to attend the same school as I did, and the desire to return to it has been building. But last weekend was the straw on the camel's back, so to speak. And, as the new job would allow me 10 more free-hours a week, I would have more time to persue classes. And not just TaeKwonDo, either. I'm going to look into starting on a college education as well. Of course I've got to start from scratch as I did get to college right out of HS. But, I'm not going to keep putting it off. First things first, though, will be finding a Dojo that teaches in a style comfortable for me. The school I used to attend has unfortunately moved locations and is too far for me to travel to, a couple of times a week. I'd love to go back there, but I just can't justify the fuel costs.

*****

A couple of recipes for my friends:

Homemade Kimchi

1 head cabbage, sliced to bite-size pieces. Stuff as much as possible into a large pickle jar. (I could only get 1/2 the cabbage in my jar, this morning.)

Blend together vinegar, store-bought chili-garlic sauce, sugar, and extra garlic & salt to taste. (I used about 1 cup of vinegar, a mix of both white vinegar & rice-wine vinegar; 2 Tbsp chili-garlic sauce; 3 small cloves garlic, pressed; and 1 Tbsp of sugar. Didn't add any salt, though I have for previous batches.) Pour this mix over the cabbage, cover with lid, and stash in the refrigerator for a couple of days before trying.

Really any veggie can be used. I got the basic recipe from the owner of Choice Rib (new restaraunt in Fairbanks, on 3rd Ave). We've had cucumber kimchi, salad-mix kimchi, and turnip kimchi at this place, previously. But, cabbage was cheap at the grocery store this morning, so that's what I used.

Madame Wu's Spicy Noodles (I got this one off recipezaar.com.)

1 lb spagheti noodles (I use angel-hair), dry

1/8 to 1/4 c sesame oil

1/4 c chili-garlic sauce

1/2 c soy sauce

1/2 c rice-wine vinegar

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain & rinse with cold water. Place in large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients & toss. Refrigerate till ready to serve. Will keep in the refrigerator for several days.

DD loves taking a dish of spicy noodles & some kimchi to daycare for lunch, lately. Gets her odd looks from the other students, envious looks from the teachers. *grin*

*****

I had a moment yesterday when I realized that in 10 years, at our next reunion, everybody else will be talking about how adolecense is affecting their children and their return to the job-scene after so many years away for raising their children, and I'm going to be (hopefully!) talking about a child in college and persuing an Olympic Gold in hockey.

(Though, Mom told me yesterday that one of her older brothers just became a great-grandpa, at 55 years old. He had his daughter at 17 years old, she had her son at 17 years old, and how now that 17 year old son has just had his first child. I hope my daughter doesn't follow in my footsteps that way.)

But, thinking about what we actually had in common in HS (all the same age, attending the same school, in the same classes, living in the same town) versus what we all have in common now (we're all still the same age) was very odd. I realized that we were so blind to our commonalities back then, and yet now we've got even less in common with each other, except that by & large we are all much more emotionally & mentally mature than we were back then. When others were busy persuing college degrees, I was busy changing diapers. And now, when everybody else's changing diapers & watching their children climb onto that bus for the first day of kindergarden, I'm struggling with an adolescent daughter and starting to persue a career. When all the other moms are just starting to get back into the work scene, I'll hopefully be a good ways into a solid career. *shaking head* It's odd to think about it that way.

Anyway. Just some odd bits & pieces for today.

Have a Blessed Day!