Vampire-proof

So tonight I decided to cook for just myself. Shocking, I know. Normally, between portion sizes (most recipes are scaled for starving families) and laziness/fatigue, I opt for no-cook dinners. But tonight, this morning's insomnia-inspired flipping through the recipes from Jacques Pepin's More Fast Food My Way (have YOU visited your local public library lately?) I was inspired to make the rather unfortunately named but quite tasty Crusty Chicken Thighs with Mushroom Sauce.

Alas, I was a little heavy on the garlic (oops) so while appetizing, the sauce was a wee bit strong.

Of course, it could be that having a 32 ounce bottle of minced garlic makes me rather reckless in that regard. Yes, thirty-two, not 3.2 oz. You know, like the size of a giant jar of Hellman's. I accidentally ordered it from FreshDirect a while ago because I thought it said 3.2 oz. Lawd knows when I'll finish the dang thing...

Anyway, the stuff in the pan is leftover. I think I'll leave cleaning the dishes for the morning since I seem to be waking up at 5am all the time anyway, dammit. Hmmm... maybe a Lunesta before bed (I'm feeling kinda desperate after 4 nights of this) which I'm aiming to hit before the late news begins, or the early (10pm) news ends.

So yeah, apparently, I am through with chemo, but it's not through with me yet. Feh.

On the bright side, check out the loot I got using the PaperBackSwap book club. The principle (have I raved about this already?) is a 1-for-1 trade of books, of any kind. Your only cost is postage to the other members. So for instance, I list a novel (book 6 of the blah blah blah series) and someone requests it using the online system (which cleverly bases everything upon ISBNs). I mail it to them, and get 1 credit which I can them use to request book 7 from of that series from someone else, assuming it's available.

I have been stalking their recipe and knitting books and listing my mysteries. (I mean, come on, am I ever gonna reread a trashy thriller? I think not.)

Originally, I looked upon this as a great way to send books on to new homes and clear out some space here. I forgot that this only works if I don't request any more books myself! (Hmmm... a librarian practicing restraint on acquiring new books... riiiiight.)

And now, I leave you all with a macro shot (I find the macro-focus feature on my digital camera lots of fun) of the lilies my friend gave me: every single bud has exploded like demented floral popcorn. Wheeee!

Oooooh... hey, it's time to go SLEEP! Excitement!