home sweet home

so after all that whining about an anticipated interminably endless search for a place that would turn out to only do, not be something we really like, it turns out drew and i got the first place we looked at (of a whopping two), and we really love it! as of august 15th we'll be the proud tenants of a charming two bedroom house in the willow glen neighborhood of san jose. i don't have any pictures to post yet, but we are very, very, happy and so relieved!!! you have no idea. i've never had house hunt go so quickly or smoothly. willow glen is a great neighborhood, eminently walkable, and so convenient to work. goodbye getting home at 7:30 p.m.! adios highway 17 daily commute - won't miss ya! we're so close i'll be able to ride my bike to work. how's that for reducing my carbon footprint? not to mention my ass, which is as big as it's ever been, but that's another story.

so, the house... well, it's a two bedroom, as i already said. you enter directly into the living room which extends on the left from the front door. on the right hand side wall by the door is a huge, built in bookcase that is almost the entire length of the wall. can you say totally rocks???!!!! there's also a decorative fireplace and windows, nice light and so on. walking towards the back of the house the next room is a very small but distinct dining room. i like having an actual dining room even if it's little; next is the kitchen. the kitchen is quite small but it seems like it'll be functional. it's a good layout and very pretty... granite counter tops, newer stainless appliances (gas stove!), new cabinets and for a small kitchen a surprising amount of counter space, partially because the kitchen opens onto a family room; the two rooms are separated by a step and a counter, as in more counter space. oh, wait, i misspoke, it's not the family room it's the lounge. drew doesn't want to call it a family room, so that's fine, lounge it is. the lounge has a wood burning stove and french doors that open onto a really nice deck, and then there's a big yard for little zing zing. the living and dining rooms and lounge all have hardwood floors, the kitchen is tile. just before you go into the dining room (at the end of that built in bookcase) is a little hall on the right; straight is the bathroom and then there's a bedroom to the right (front) and left (back), plus a nice hall linen closet. i can't remember about the hall but the bedrooms are carpet, but it's pretty nice for carpet. it's not that standard "rental" carpet, which is nice if we have to tolerate carpeting. i just don't get carpet, carpet = dust collector, but whatever. there's a one car garage, a nook by the back door/kitchen for the laundry (hook ups), and in the yard is a free-standing one room building, like an office, so for a little house it feels like there is a lot of space. it's not cheap, but nothing here is, and for that neighborhood we got a deal - so score one for ar²! woo hoo!!!

after drew's chiropractor appointment tonight we're going to look at washers and dryers, stackable front-loaders... i feel so chic! ; ) nothing like buying major appliances to celebrate, i guess. still, sears is having a great sale so we should be able to get a good deal - and they have free delivery, too. and then it'll be a whirl of packing and moving stuff, and then it's christmas in august because our stuff has been in storage for a year and a half so it'll be like it's all new again. can't wait to have our own stuff again!

thank you to all of you, because those positive vibes, prayers, and thoughts clearly paid off big time.

there are times when i'd rather be in pittsburgh even more than usual. since we just started looking for a place to rent, just sticking our toe in the water without really planning to move before september at the earliest, this is definitely one of those times. it's more than just having to sift through all the listings and the prospect of spending lots of our preciously little free time looking at crummy places until we find a good one. it's the prospect of sifting through all the listings and spending lots of our preciously little free time looking at the exorbitantly priced crummy places until we find an even more exorbitantly priced place that will do. not a place that we'll love, just a place that will do, because something we'd love would be silly expensive.

welcome to the bay area rental market.

we need a place that's at least two bedrooms, because drew (well, we) needs an office. ideally we would like to rent a house with a yard so that little dog will have somewhere to frolic. and we need (and this really is need given the commute we've been doing) a place within thirty minutes of work. that'll be at least two grand, thank you very much, unless the heavens take pity on us and we happen across some little old lady who's renting her place severely under market rate because it's been paid off for thirty years and she wants to help a young couple out. townhouses are also in the same range, and for a two bedroom apartment low end might be $1650, but an apartment would be really difficult because they're so darn small and they're more restrictive towards pets. the rent for our three bedroom, two bath, all hardwood floors flat in highland park was $800, and that was more than some people's mortgage payments. it's easy to get despondent, i suppose, especially if you'd like to own a house before turning 50, but i refuse to let it get me down. at least we aren't looking under a deadline of needing to move by a certain date. that's usually how the new place search is conducted in these parts because who can afford to pay even part of the rent for two places at once? moving under a deadline adds an extra layer of hysteria to and already completely insane process in such a tight rental market. i am not looking forward to open houses with 30 other shelter-seekers, landlords who want a resume for you pet, and tying up thousands of dollars in deposits, but it is what it is.

wish us luck, say some prayers (st. joseph is the patron saint of house hunters), and i'll keep you posted. oh, and donations are accepted, too! :)

it seems that barack obama is that guy. i supported john edwards for president and while i still think he was a better candidate than hillary or obama, i was prepared to vote for obama in november, support the party and all that, and send a little dinero his way as well. that was before his FISA amendments act vote last week. i can't remember the last time i was as pissed off about anyone's vote as i am about his. i don't even know if i'll vote for president at all, and believe me, i can't believe i am even contemplating such a thing. i remember gerald ford being sworn in as president and i couldn't have been more than four years old, that's how into politics my family is. i remember carter running for president and how exciting it was; i was in 2nd grade. i've always exhorted people to vote, if for no other reason than so many people in other countries can't or risk their lives to do so, but i just don't think i can stomach any more. it was one thing when it was bush and his cronies ramming this sort of shit down our throats (with the help of many cowed and useless democrats, lest we forget) but to have the candidate for my party, the candidate who's supposed to be the alternative to bush and his corrupt administration, shoving this shit down my throat? i really think that was the last straw for me, on top of the complete disregard for the Constitution and the principles and ideals that this country is founded on. maybe i'm a bit naive, but i take that stuff very seriously. it's very important to me that the Constitution and Bill of Rights be defended and exercised. rights are no good when you can't use them, and laws don't mean anything when they don't apply to everyone. when i think of voting for someone who went from "i'll filibuster this bill" to "it's flawed but trust me... i'll fix it later," especially after blasting hillary for making the politically expedient choice with her yes vote to authorize this fricking war in the first place, it literally makes me feel queasy and sick. i so sick and tired of being given the choice between this pile of shit and that pile of shit. i am royally fed up and disheartened. i honestly don't recognize this country i'm living in anymore.

obama didn't get where he is by pandering to the religious conservatives who won’t support him come november, or wearing american flag lapel pins, or reversing his stance on public campaign financing, or supporting this clusterfuck of a war, or supporting illegal spying on law-abiding americans and giving the companies who helped the government do it a free pass. i don't really care about the telecoms being held responsible per se (though they should be), but now that they're off the hook the lawsuits against them, which were the only chance to find out the scope and severity of the spying, are moot.

the problem, well one of them, with the democratic party imho is that they take the vote of liberal democrats and progressives for granted. in their political calculus, who else could we possibly vote for? certainly not john mccain, so no matter what they do, they have our vote. i for one am sick of being taken for granted. i certainly won’t be voting for john mccain in november but i don’t think i'll be voting for obama, either. he's done nothing to earn my vote and has, with his “yes” vote on the FISA, betrayed the very foundation and principles upon which this country is based. i don’t believe him when he says he'll fix this law if he’s elected president, and if it was so flawed why would he vote for it except for political expediency? why should i believe anything coming out of his mouth when, once he's got the nomination sewn up, he reverses himself on such important issues? i'm not a totally naive idiot... i know politicians pander and change their tune depending on which way the wind is blowing. i'm just tired of participating in it (don't worry, i'll still vote for other races in november for sure.) obama has shown me that he's exactly what he said you wasn't: more of the same old politics as usual. i never believed him when he talked about rising above it all - that's just not reality when it comes to politics - but he's gone and confirmed it in about the worst way possible from where i stand.

and it's not that i don't think having a black president would a paradigm shifting event for our country; it would. things would never be the same, and that's a good thing, a great thing! i just can't stomach voting for someone who's already shown that he won't preserve and defend the Constitution of the united states. i just can't.

drew and i decided the money we were going to give to obama is going to the aclu instead. they'll do something we support with it. at least we didn’t waste any money on obama.

sometimes i forget...

sometimes i forget just how much of a pittsburgh girl i am. last night there was a really great episode of the american experience about roberto clemente. my parents, especially my dad, really admired clemente and while i wasn't old enough to remember his tragic death it was always obvious to me that both my parents felt the world lost a great person far too soon. i went out to tell drew how i'd taped it for him, and that i was going to burn a copy for my sister who i recently found out had love clemente as a kid, when he looks at me blankly and asks "who's roberto clemente?" the only thing i could say in reply was "i can't believe you. first franco harris and now roberto clemente?" drew hadn't known who franco was, despite rooting for the steelers as a kid, and when that came to light i said something along the lines of "you don't know who franco harris is? one of the greatest running backs of all time?!?!?!?!" i just took it for granted that if you were familiar with the 70s steelers you'd know who franco was, and that everyone knew who roberto clemente was. guess i was wrong.

i am really missing home. it's been far too long since i've visited (thank you stupid herniated disc for screwing up my trip in march) and it feels like christmas, when we're planning to visit, might as well be forever away from now. i suppose i'll snap out of it but right now i feel generally friendless, and i have so many friends in the 'burgh i could call up. i haven't really had the opportunity to make any new friends here, thanks to the soul and time sucking commute, so it gets kind of lonesome. thankfully we won't have this commute forever, but still....

the best blueberry pie in the world

if, like me, you are a blueberry buying fiend who buys entirely too many pints at a time now that they are in season, you're probably looking for ways to use them before they get moldy in your fridge. if you ever thought about making a blueberry pie, i have the recipe for you! i've made it twice and it's been fantastic and has gotten tons of yummy endorsements. the recipe is from cook's illustrated magazine, one of the best cooking & baking magazines out there, in my humble opinion. my subscription is the best $20 i spend every year.

the directions for the crust seemed completely counter-intuitive to me as i'd never seen anything like it when it came to how to add the liquid, not to mention the use of vodka. i decided to just trust the recipe, which was one of the smarter things i've ever done. just do it like they say to and your crust will be magnificent! do not substitude water for the vodka (it uses some of both) because it's essential to the texture of the crust and you can't taste it since it cooks off. they don't say how it's essential, but i think it has something to do with the rate at which the vodka evaporates out of the crust being different than that of the water. whatever it is, i abandonded the martha stewart pate brise pie crust recipe that i've used exclusively for the past ten years without a second thought. this is seriously the best and easiest pie crust i've ever made. i did make one change to the crust re: assembly. they say not to make a lattice, and just cut some holes in the crust with a cookie or biscuit cutter, but being a purist when it comes to fruit pies i couldn't even consider such blasphemy. it has to be a lattice, end of story, so i did change the assembly step for the top crust. you'll notice the picture has their heretical top crust... pay it no attention and make a lattice. it's the only way to stay in right relationship with the fruit pie goddess.

tips and ruminations: both times i made this pie i found that when it comes time to turn down the oven that the edges of the crust have browned sufficiently, so cover them with foil so they don't burn. i didn't measure the lemon zest or juice, either. i used a small lemon so i just used it all. if you don't have a rasp grater, get one. they make zesting a breeze and you'll wonder how you ever got along without one. they're also unbeatable for grating fresh ginger. i used a mortal and pestle to grind up the tapioca, but it didn't seem to do much to it, so the next time i didn't bother with grinding and the pie worked out just fine. just make sure you use instant tapioca like the recipe calls for. c.i. says you can use frozen blueberries, so if you have a jones for blueberry pie in january you don't have to wait six months to satify it. we had people over tonight so i made the pie again (two times in two days) and added a pinch of nutmeg and a 1/4 teaspoon allspice and it was even better than before. i saw the allspice/nutmeg thing in another c.i. blueberry pie recipe. i put an asterik next to them in the recipe below as it's my addition but i highly recommend it. it's divine.

so... without further ado, the best blueberry pie!

Best Blueberry Pie - from Cook's Illustrated July/August 2008

Foolproof Pie Dough

2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup cold vodka (do not substiute)
1/4 cup cold water

Blueberry Filling

6 cups fresh blueberries
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated on large holes of box grater
2 teaspoons grated zest and 2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons instant tapioca, ground
Pinch table salt
2 tablespoons unsalted better, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water

* 1/4 teaspoon allspice

* pinch of nutmeg

1. FOR THE PIE DOUGH: Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.

2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

3. Remove 1 disk of dough from the refrigerator and roll on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch think. Roll dough loosely and rolling pin and unroll into pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang on each side. Working around circumference, ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Leave dough that overhangs plate in place; refrigerate while preparing filling until dough is firm, about 30 minutes.

4. FOR THE FILLING: Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place 3 cups berries in medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Using potato masher, mash berries several times to release juices. Continue to cook, stirring frequently and mashing occasionally, until about half of berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes. Let cool slightly.

5. Place grated apple in clean kitchen towel and wring dry. Transfer apple to large bowl. Add cooked berries, remaining 3 cups uncooked berries, lemon zest, juice, sugar, tapioca, and salt; toss to combine. Transfer mixture to dough-lined pie plate and scatter butter pieces over filling.

6. Roll out second disk of dough on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 11-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut 1/2 - 1 inch strips, depending on width desired. Work in a lattice pattern, leave at least 1/2 inch overhang on all sides.

7. Using kitchen shears, trim bottom layer of overhanging dough, leaving 1/2-inch overhang. Fold dough under itself so that edge of fold is flush with outer rim of pie plate. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with times of fork to seal. Brush top and edges of pie with egg mixture. If dough is very soft, chill in freezer for 10 minutes.

8. Place pie on heating baking sheet and bake 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until juice bubbles and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer. Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. Cut into wedges and serve.

you can also eat it warm with ice cream, it'll just be runny, but it's worth it. :)