A Note about "The Unconcious Witness"

Let me tell you something about this book. Or more specifically, something about the cover of this book. Did you look at the picture? Did you take a good look at it?

Now, I like hardboiled detective fiction, so although I found the cover a bit cheesy, it did not deter me from reading the book. I'd been meaning to read a Dr. Thorndyke story since reading Partners in Crime, so while I wasn't expecting any incidents in the book to match the scene depicted on the cover, what did I know? I'd never read anything from the series.

But as it turns out, I did know.

I draw your attention again to the cover.

Among the characters in the story are a man and a blonde woman. That's about where the cover's relation to the story ends. At no point in the story does anyone wear an evening gown. At no point does the protagonist --or any other character--wear a tuxedo. At no point in the story does a woman faint. At no point does the protagonist--or anyone else--wield a gun.

This begs the question for the illustrators--what story did they read?



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What the--is THAT what I look like these days?

I freely admit that since I stopped taking classes to focus on my thesis, I kind of let myself go. This trend was not reversed when I finished the thesis, graduated, and began my job search. I stopped exercising. I stopped ironing my clothes or taking the trouble to put on clothes that matched (unless I planned to leave the house, which was not often). I haven't had a hair cut in I don't know how long. But I have nevertheless maintained some standards...or so I thought.
Today, I glanced in the mirror before heading out the door to a meeting. To my horror, I noticed that my eyebrows have taken on an appallingly unattractive pattern. While I've been sure to stave off the monobrow, and while I've remembered to tweeze the hairs growing under the main brow line, I've totally neglected the hairs growing to the upper ends of my brows. In other words, I looked vaguely like that guy from the Hudsucker Proxy ("He didn't look unhappy..."). As usual, I was running behind schedule, and I had no time to dash upstairs and remove or trim the offending eyebrow hairs. All I could do was slick the hairs down as best I could and hope that no one would notice.




In other news, here are the latest incidents:
1) In trying to scoop out the pit from an avocado, I accidentally sent it shooting across the counter and onto the floor, where it landed in the pitcher I use to water the plants.
2) Tried to make mung bean/broad bean noodles for the first time the other day. Thought instructions said to cut into pieces, then soak for ten minutes. Cutting the noodles was like trying to cut fishing wire, and I sent pieces of noodle flying all over the kitchen. After cutting noodles, looked at package for cooking instructions and realized that the instructions were to soak the noodles for ten minutes, and then cut them...when they're softer.
3) Have started eating persimmons, but wasn't sure which parts were edible. Read online description of fruit that said it could be eaten like an apple. Have been slicing and eating them, skin and all. Read today that the skin is definitely not to be eaten.
4) Forgot to take coffee grounds I've been saving to friend who composts. Coffee grounds now growing mold but can't bring myself to throw them out. Would put them in own small compost bin, but the neglected compost is now growing seedlings, and I can't bring myself to disturb them.
5) Landlord is giving us a new refrigerator and oven this weekend, which means I have to clean the refrigerator and oven in the next two days. More importantly, when they move the fridge, they'll see the piece of chicken bone I accidentally shot behind the fridge when I was chopping chicken bones for stock.
6) Mystery cuts on fingers of right hand. Am afraid they're the result of having old lady easily-cut dry hands.
7) Blood blister on left pinky toe from stubbing foot on banister.

Legume Day, My Favorite!

Must. get. motivated. to. find. job.

The rational side of me realizes that the contents of my savings account are rapidly disappearing. The used-to-student-loans-coming-in side of me says, "What's the big deal? You'll get another check in a week or so. Right? Right?!?"

Anyway, in other news, JLR and I are on a rotation diet in an effort to avoid developing sensitivities to other foods. So if we eat something from one food family on Monday, we don't eat it again until Friday. We're doing this mainly because we our diet had been consisting of legumes, fruit, oats, and rice. Since oats and rice are both in the same plant family as wheat (to which I already have a sensitivity), and since JLR has already demonstrated an allergic reaction (we think that's what it was) to eating too much peanut butter (legumes) over a short period of time, a rotation diet seems a good idea. I won't tell you what happened, since it's her story, but it had never happened to JLR before and hasn't happened since. And that's a good thing. Nothing gross--just midly frightening.

Today is legume diet. It is our favorite. Today, we may have: black bean soup; hummus; cannellini dip; peanut butter cookies; green beans; black eyes peas; or any other member of the much-beloved-by-us plant family. It's hard not to think about food all day when it's legume day. Or Lara Bar Day. Yum, lara bars...I've been thinking about food all day.

Sad. *Sigh*.