Cowgirl Creamery

I have had a love affair with stinky cheese ever since I wrangled, and eventually wheeled around the “cheese cart” at my waitressing gig in France. My friend Jenny went through this transformation with me, though her love affair took a more intellectual tone as she wrote her final thesis on the politics of cheese in the EU. You read that right- her university career was capped by cheese. So she’s the most trustworthy source in recommending “new” cheeses- and she did me good. She brought me to the DC cheese mecca: Cowgirl Creamery, and yes, I’m now hooked. http://www.cowgirlcreamery.com/aboutus.asp

So upon my return to New York (stinky cheese is a faux pas on the BoltBus) I went to the NY, and one could argue, American mecca of cheese. (Imagine a holy-sounding choir singing in the background) Behold. The Cheese Section of Zabar's.

And behold, the newest cheese in my repertoire: Red Hawk.











And behold, I might be suckered by a marketing ploy to buy this cheese on my next visit.



PS if you want to read the clever descriptions, double click on the photos to make them larger.

Tony Robbins on Pause

Is it a good, neutral, or bad sign that my acupuncturist was watching Tony Robbins on YouTube when I came out of my treatment?



As of now, my hip is feeling much better- who am I to judge on what's getting me (and him?) to a better place?

I'm assuming they only have Chevy Novas over there

In DC my friend Annie, as always, cooked thoughtfully delicious food for me. One night, after she laid out a cheese platter with Brie, Manchego and sliced baguette, I decided to focus on “food that I can’t easily get in Asia” over the next few weeks. What better way to kick off this kick than with a trip to Barney Greengrass. Thank goodness my high school friends were willing to share with me so that I could sample all the more. Latkes (not pictured) an Everything Bagel, Eggs with Nova and Onion, and Eggs with Horseradish and Cheese. New York culinary heaven.

Cell Phones vs Lockets

Had a quick visit with friends and my Godson in DC. My favorite nickname for him these days is the Roomba because his current crawling style is more like a soldier on his belly going through trenches rather than a crab tottering around. The result is that his belly mops up the floor no matter how many times my friend vacuums.

On my way back to the BoltBus I was able to pop into the National Portrait Gallery. They have a beautiful “new” enclosed courtyard with a fancy undulating roof. The exhibition that struck me was a tiny one about “Photographic Jewelry”- i.e. lockets, watch fobs, pins, etc. that were popular in the 19th Century. It was fun to compare the typical images that people use on their cell phones today for reminders of their loved ones versus how portraits were staged 150 years ago: http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/jewels/index.htm

Pudding Pooling Out Flat

The acupuncture is getting odd, not disconcertingly odd, but definitely odd. The Dr. was spot on about certain things- he said I’d feel sleepy after the treatment, and yes, I did laze around the couch quite a bit more than usual at my parents’ house for Thanksgiving. One could argue it was due to my cleaning out the basement, discovery of the “True Blood” series on demand, or heavy doses of tryptophan, but I’d like to give the Dr. the benefit of the doubt.

The 1st time I went in they told me that the treatment requires me keeping relatively still for 28 minutes after they put in the needles. Yesterday, after the usual “You feel better, don’t you?” leading questions, the Dr. put in a slew of needles, and left the room.

And I behaved. I used the time to come up with the images to describe the sensation: it is as if some parts of, though not the entirety of your muscles, start to feel very heavy. Like they were injected with (non poisonous) lead. And after a while they feel like really thick pudding pooling out flat. It’s not unpleasant, but it does makes one feel tired.

But only so tired. I slept very well the previous night. The clock read 28 minutes, and I was ready for the Dr. to come in and send me on my way. Then the heat lamp went out. And I tried to meditate, and make up stories in my head, visualize what the beach in Bali’ll look like, and amuse myself while keeping perfectly still, but the time wasn’t passing very quickly. I had needles all around my calves and I couldn’t physically see how to get up without jabbing myself to yell out the door “Hello! I believe you may have forgotten about me! The nice warming lamp ran out 32 minutes ago! I got here at quarter to and now it’s 20 to! Did you run out for a slice or something? ”

When the Dr. finally came back he was very surprised to find me gingerly sitting up, plotting how to scootch to the door for the yell. When I mentioned that I had arrived over an hour earlier and I was concerned he had forgotten about me, he told me that sometimes it takes “a time and a half to work.” Fuzzy math? Or overly revved up New Yorker?

Latest Culinary Obsession

Electrolytes, no sugar, instant pick-me up post Annie Whupping. (Annie is my new-ish trainer)

http://www.zico.com/

Can't wait until I can get the non-tetrapacky version on a regular basis. Flight leaves Jan 13 for Bali!

Rock and Roll at the Huntington Theatre

Last week my father & I saw Tom Stoppard’s “Rock and Roll” at the Huntington Theater in Boston. The Boston Globe has a slideshow which captures the main actors and scenes:

http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/specials/14rocknroll

In regards to Czech authenticity- the beer bottle size was off, the accents were atrocious (they sounded more Russian than Czech- thanks to the James Bond franchise for making a generation of russophile accent inflectors), but the actors seemed to capture bits and pieces of mannerisms and traits of people that I knew when I lived in Prague.

The writing was fantastic- I had no idea that the playwright was born as Tomáš Straussler in Zlín, The Czech Republic. The feature that stood out most to me were (was?) the really simple sets - there were only about 4 in total, but they looked truly lavish and big budget. René Augesen, an actress I’d never seen before, was phenomenal- she plays 2 roles that made me well up repeatedly. Maybe we’ll see more of her in the future?