carbonel

UPDATE: Membership acquired!

I delayed buying my membership, and at this point it's awfully expensive. Anyone have an attending membership they're not going to be able to use? Or know someone who's looking to sell one? I don't need voting rights, though I'll take them if they're on offer.

Thanks for any help!

(In case it's not blazingly clear, I'm talking about this year's Worldcon, in Chicago.)

Tomorrow, I'm having some friends over for cards and a light collation. Here is the current planned menu, which is also serving as a reminder for me not to forget any of these.

Savories
Quesadillas
Cucumber sandwiches
Radish sandwiches (I may only make one of these two)
Potato chips
Onion dip
Terra chips
(I also bought a packet of Bugles totally on impulse, but I think three chiplike items is one too many. Possibly two too many, actually.)

Sweets
Brownies (already made; need to be defrosted)
Palmiers
Watermelon
Eton mess

It's that last one that led to my fruitless (as it were) quest. An Eton mess is a classic British summertime dessert consisting of slightly sweetened whipped cream mixed with macerated strawberries and broken bits of meringue shells, topped with more strawberry. Variations can include many different fruits, of course. But all of the recipes I looked at online called for commercial meringue shells to be broken up.

The Target grocery (my usual one) doesn't carry meringue shells -- no surprise there. Cub (big box grocery chain) also doesn't carry meringue shells, or even meringue cookies, though it does carry meringue powder. Since that was around $6, and I already had eggs and sugar, I didn't choose that route. The one that really surprised me is that Kowalski's also doesn't carry meringue shells. I didn't try Trader Joe's because that was too far away to drive to for just one item. Luckily, the recipe from the Telegraph also included an added recipe for making your own meringue -- though I've been making chocolate chip meringue cookies for years, and would have coped just fine on my own.

I wonder if meringue shells are a standard item in British grocery stores. They certainly aren't in my local options for groceries, though I know I've seen them from time to time.

As long as I'm musing about things culinary, I have a question about strawberries. Does anyone else cut out the white core bit from their strawberries when they're cleaning them? My mother never did; she just slice off the tops. But I don't like the texture, so after I slice off the tops, I cut it out as part of the cleaning process. Am I the weird one, or is she? (I can't attribute it to laziness on my mother's part; for years, she cut off the little thorny spikes on asparagus, until we persuaded her that once you cook them, they pretty much disappear. Strawberry cores are much easier to deal with.)

I'm back from my trip to Skokie, IL for a very family weekend. I took the train this time, which worked out amazingly well. The price was a bit less than flying would have been, and I was able to get about three ounces of lace weight spinning done on my miniSpinner during the two trips. Because the return train gets in at 10 pm, I came back on the Saturday train, giving me an entire Sunday to myself. Also a win.

On Wednesday, I took the train in, and was met by my mother at the station. After a couple of hours at her place, we went to a local Chinese restaurant for dinner and then to see a play: The Book of Will. It's about the people behind the creation of the Shakespeare First Folio, and it was excellent.

On Thursday morning, we went bowling. This is a tradition going back over 50 years that apparently started with mothers shoving husbands and kids out of the house so they could get all the cooking done. Now that things are easier, we get entire families. It's also a cold potluck brunch, with bagels and coffee and bakery items.We took up 14 lanes at the bowling alley.

When I got back, I watched the Vikings beat the Lions, which was very satisfactory.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was at my brother's and sister-in-law's in Skokie, IL. My SIL is a so-so cook and apparently cares more about no-fat and no-salt than she does about taste. The turkey was okay, but the baked sweet potatoes were not quite done and the cut-up oven-baked regular potatoes were leathery and she didn't have any salt on the table to put on them. The stuffing she put in the turkey was just barely moist enough to eat; the out-of-the-turkey stuffing was chunks of bread and celery, literally. There were also three kinds of quick bread, all dry. My guess is that she just left out whatever fat the recipe called for and didn't substitute. (I'd kept all of this to myself, of course, but the day after, my mother said something about SIL being a terrible cook, and that the no-fat thing probably had a lot to do with it.)

There was plenty to eat, though. My mother brought her wonderful ratatouille and cranberry sauce, my cousin brought raw veggies and homemade hummus for appetizers, and for dessert one person brought cut-up fruit, I brought oatmeal ginger bars based on an Australian flapjack recipe, and my mother brought apple and pumpkin pie from Costco.

There were nine of us there, family and friends. It was supposed to be eleven, but the two Chinese students my SIL invited via the Northwestern foreign student office never showed. SIL was disappointed, but the rest of us weren't. It's really hard to have nine people who've known each other for years have to try to make conversation with total strangers. I've been the total stranger, and I'm not fond of being on that end of things, either. I'd much rather be at a "widows and orphans" dinner where everyone is a total stranger to each other. There was also a certain amount of elephant-in-the-room about the fact that my oldest nephew wasn't there. He was married last year, and this year he spent Thanksgiving with his wife's family. My SIL was very gracious about it, but with a certain edge in her voice.

(Lest anyone misconstrue things: I like my SIL a lot, but we have different views about many things (not politics, thankfully). And she and my brother raised three wonderful sons, so mostly I just roll my eyes and keep my mouth shut.)

On Friday, I made my annual Black Friday pilgrimage to Lands' End when they opened at 8 a.m. and bought two turtleneck tops, a fuzzy half-zip top, and two chamois shirts (to replace the one that wore out). Unfortunately, they didn't have any black shirts, so I settled for navy and charcoal. I mostly wear them as layering overshirts, so neutral colors are good. I also bought four more turtlenecks at the online site. Everything was 50% off, and the total damage was around $150.

Then we had lunch at a local deli with my mother's Hadassah group. We were a little early, and my mother suggested we stop at a game store and asked if I recommended anything that the family could play. I suggested Apples to Apples. The store was sold out of the full version, but they had the smaller "to go" one, and she bought that. The clerk tried to sell her on Cards Against Humanity instead, but I decided that that would definitely be pushing things. Lunch for me was soup (mushroom barley) and a half sandwich (corned beef), and chocolate phosphate -- all things I don't get in Minneapolis. My innards rebelled a bit about them later, but it was worth it.

In the evening, we had my brother's family over for Shabbat dinner (including the missing nephew and his wife), and played Apples to Apples, which went well.

On Saturday, my mother and I puttered around a bit, then she took me to the train station in the early afternoon. The train trip was properly uneventful, and my car was in the parking lot where I left it. I got home shortly before 11 pm.

All in all, a very pleasant weekend, but a bit stressful with all the socializing involved for the introvert I am.

As usual, it was a very family Thanksgiving. I live in Minneapolis, but the rest of my family lives in Skokie, one of the north suburbs of Chicago. I was ambivalent enough about traveling there that I was late in buying my plane tickets, but I did find a decent price. My compromise was to head home on Saturday, giving me one day to myself. If I could, I would have made it Saturday afternoon for the return, but the schedules and prices meant that the 7:30 pm flight was the best option.

I flew in on Wednesday afternoon and was met at the airport by my mother. Everything was crowded but moving steadily at both ends.

Wednesday night was dinner with my mother and the local brother's family -- two of the nephews are staying with my mother because their own house has some sort of mold or fungus that makes them sick every time they're BIS (back in Skokie). After dinner, my mother and I watched Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. It had its moments, but it wasn't as good as I'd hoped.

Thursday morning was bowling with family and a bunch of people that have been doing this for over 60 years, though of course there's been a lot of turnover. Also brunch, because people bring bagels and other food.

Thursday afternoon my mother and I watched the DVR'd Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, fast-forwarding through all the commercials and a lot of the commentary.

Thursday evening was Thanksgiving dinner at my SIL's. Small crowd this year, with only 10 people.

Friday morning, I went to Lands' End as the doors opened, which is my one Black Friday tradition. I've gained some weight in the past couple of years, having decided that I'm done with dieting. I seem to have stabilized where I am now, and I bought three pairs of slacks, a nice dress, and a bunch of tops, all for $187. The receipt said I saved over $400 over the original prices.

Friday afternoon, most of my brother's family was over to hang out, and then the oldest nephew and his fiancé came with their two small dogs for Shabbat dinner. They used to have just one well-behaved dog, but the new dog is yappy and not so well-behaved. My mother had told him it was okay to bring the one dog originally, and now feels she can't rescind the invitation when there are two. The second dog pooped on the carpet, and barked through most of dinner. The fiancé explained that they're training the dog by ignoring her when she barks, which is all very well, but means the rest of us have to live with it. Other than that, it was a nice family dinner, but when I retreated to my room for a few minutes of introverted decompression, I should have locked the door, because my SIL walked in on my twice. The first time, fine, but the second time she should have had a clue.

Early Saturday morning, I went with my two nephews to deliver my mother's and a friend's cars to a transport place. They put the cars on a carrier to take them down to Florida. My mother became a snowbird a few years ago, and will be flying south for the winter on Tuesday. After that, we took an Uber to my brother and SIL's synagogue, where they were having a service and oneg (after-service food and chat) in honor of my mother's 80th birthday. We ended up reporting the Uber driver for taking us the wrong way and (much more scary) cutting off a driver to exit the highway, almost causing an accident. First time I've ever had problems with Uber.

Saturday morning services were somewhat interesting. This is a Reconstructionist congregation that has been functioning without a rabbi for over a year, though they're searching for a new one. Lots of politics, I gather. It's not the prayerbook I'm used to (I grew up in a Reform congregation), and only knew about half the music. Instead of a sermon, the leader asked people to talk about people who are influences on them. I hate public speaking, but with this being in honor of my mother, I managed to say something about my parents' involvement in community and how that inspired me to volunteer for things I wouldn't have otherwise.

Saturday evening, everyone else went off to the housewarming for oldest nephew and fiancé -- they've bought a house in Buffalo Grove. Instead of driving out there and then having to take a long Uber to the airport shortly after arriving, I stayed in Skokie and took the shorter Uber to the airport in good time for my flight.

Finally got home around 9:30, and decided I was too tired to go to a friend's party, even though it would probably still be going strong.

On Sunday, I got to hang out with my cat, my spinning wheel, and the Vikings game. And the Vikings won (now 8-3), which was a relief after the disaster that was last week.

This year I made it to the Fair three times. I had two spinning demonstration slots, and the Weaver's Guild provides tickets for the demonstrators. The other time was Wednesday evening, with 1crowdedhour, to see the 4H llama costume competition and the 2nd Annual Cat Video Film Festival.

The first spinning slot, on the first Sunday, was brutal. The temperature peaked at 96 degrees, with a heat index of 105 or so. My slot was from 9 to 1, and I should have left after that. Instead, I rambled around and went through the Creative Activities building and annex, and saw many sheep (sheep are much more interesting when you're more familiar with the breeds). I also went through the Ag building to see the honey-related exhibits and the gladioli. I was sorry that my schedule didn't overlap with the bonsai this year. I had honey ice cream, which I hadn't had in several years, and a frozen cider stick -- always one of the best bargains at the fair. My last pass was through the International Village, where I had the stir-fried noodles. They always smelled good, but usually they looked like too much food. This time, they were just right, and delicious, though I would have preferred hot chili oil as a condiment to the sour (but spicy) red stuff they offered instead. About that time, I totally ran out of stamina, and tottered back to the Park 'N Ride area, with several rests along the way.

On Wednesday, I left work a little early, in order to meet 1crowdedhour by the AgStar building at 5:30, for the 6:30 costume llama contest. This was the culmination of several years' worth of failure to connect properly, because in past years, the Fair website either neglected to provide the information or (worse) provided incorrect information. But this year, the costume llamas were folded into the main Fair's schedule instead of the separate 4H schedule, and things seemed to be better organized. I actually made better time than I expected, so I had time for a chocolate shake from the Gopher Dairy Barn. It wasn't as chocolatey as some others, but it was beautifully creamy. The costume competition was worth making an effort for. There were three categories, from 6th grade to 12th, though only three entries each in the older kids' categories. I was quite taken with the pair where the handler was dressed as the 11th Doctor and the llama as the TARDIS. Yes, really. But that one didn't get the nod from the judges. The judge seemed more interested in the llama-handling aspects (llamas are fussy about having their legs, neck, and ears covered, so if they tolerate those, it shows good training and rapport) than the aesthetics of the costumes. There was quite a large crowd, and they brought out extra seating.

After that, we went to the Grandstand for the cat videos. I had not checked the schedule, and had thought that when they said the show started at 7 pm, it meant that cat videos would start at, say, 7:15. Instead, there were a couple of hours of filler (live music, introduction of celebrity cats, and much talky-talk), and the videos started just before 9 pm. I ducked out for a while during the early part to get dinner -- a London broil sandwich (new to me) and roasted corn. The videos were worth watching, if not worth a 2-hour wait. I suspect they were edited down from the originals, and benefited thereby. The standout moment in surreality was the video of "Cat in a Shark Costume Riding a Roomba Chasing a Duck." Which was, in fact, just what it sounds like. After the show was the fireworks, and this was the first time I'd seen the Fair fireworks from the Grandstand.

My final time this year was on Labor Day, and thankfully, the weather broke. It was actually chilly when I headed to the Fair in time for my 9 to 1 spinning slot, though it warmed up later in the day. Both fgherman and the minnehahas stopped by to say hello. Apparently everyone who had been holding off because it was too hot decided to come that day, because the place was jammed. Apparently they broke all previous attendance records. I spent the rest of a leisurely day wandering around. I went to the Fine Arts building, where I have my own system for seeing everything without repetition. Thence to the Dairy Building, where I had a raspberry malt, and chatted with a friend at the booth that sells yarn and knitted goods. I wanted a bacon-on-a-stick, and had failed to find the booth when I looked for it earlier. Finally I resorted to the Internet, and Google led me to a well-designed smartphone site that told me exactly where to go. With that help, I found the Big Fat Bacon booth. My routes must have taken me past it several times, but somehow I'd missed it before. After the bacon, I headed home, and got home around 7:30.