I feel like painting a room, and I want to do something really vibrant.  So I’m going to paint my bathroom, and it’s going to be blood red. This should be a fun project. I’m off to Homo Depot for some red primer first. Then I’ll get the red paint.

It’s finally snowing in Boston!

I’m on my way to Trader Joes and Best Cellars at the moment.

This is a moblog entry.

I was talking about going to Salzburg at the end of February, but I’m not sure I can pull together that much money that quickly. HOWEVER, I just found a non-stop fare to Frankfurt for $332. That’s rediculously cheap.

I posted this to PugVillage earlier….

Let me preface this by saying that my “little” sister is a little more than three years younger than me. I’m 34 and she’s 31. My parents have always gone out of their way to treat us equally, sometimes to a frightening degree. At Christmas, they always try to spend the same amount of money on us. My sister lives closer to home and I’m several hundred miles away. Since my mom babysits regularly, and they go out to dinner often, my parents will often just send me a check. It’s never expected, rarely solicited, usually at random, but always appreciated.

For Christmas, my parents were paying for a couple of windows for my sister’s new house. At Thanksgiving, my dad said they were going to give me an equal amount in cash. I put a stop to that and gave my mom a rediculous list of gift ideas. Let me tell you that my parents rocked this Christmas for me. I got a Calphalon grill pan, a set of Wüsthof knives (in addition to the santoku knife that Smeg and Diosa got me), the 7th season of the West Wing on DVD, and a new set of sheets for my bed that are Pug-colored to hide the fur.

My intent was to give them some ideas. Instead, my parents got me some really cool stuff that not only could I use, but that I actually wanted.

Before I left on Wednesday morning, my mom gave me gas money. I didn’t need it but completely appreciated it. It cost me close to $75 each way in gas.

In all of that, the best part of my Christmas was having a place to go “home” to. It was great to sit by the fireplace in my parents’ house and appreciate my parents’ company. My parents are young (early fifties), and I’m glad I can appreciate them while I still have them.

Is anybody else glad that this fucker is going to be dead in a few hours?

(link)

I made a quick run to Ikea today for a magnetic knife rack. I got some new knives for Christmas, and I want to take care of them properly. That means not throwing them in a drawer. I always spend way too much money when I go into that store, so I set a mental budget of $100 today. I walked out spending less than $30, which was a major coup for me. I got the knife rack, a few throw rugs, and a few more cutting boards.

When I got home, I hung the knife rack and washed my three new Wüsthof knives. (The chef’s knife came with a pairing knife.) I sliced the hell out of the sponge, which is a good sign. Then I hung my five Wüsthof knives.  I have two older ones I bought a few years ago. They’re long overdue to be sharpened.

On the way back, I got gas in my car, and the pump stopped on 20.07. I’d like to think that’s a good sign.

Next is a haircut, but my cutter wasn’t in the shop when I went by. I’ll stop in tomorrow.

This is a great waste of time and incredibly funny…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoozYuSKdnA

My friend Steven is having a New Year’s Eve party, and I’ll be attending. I told him that I’d bring a bottle of Prosecco, which is an Italian sparkling wine. I’m in one of my “hate all things French” moods, thus I went into the wine shop near my office and asked for a bottle of Prosecco.  He told me that he only had one bottle and pointed me to Ferrando Erbaluce di Caluso, which is another Italian sparkling. He claimed this is the best Italian sparkling he’s ever had. It was a little more than I had wanted to spend, but I bought a bottle to take. I also wanted a bottle to drink at home, but at $40 a bottle, one was enough.

So I headed back to Best Cellars, which has recently become my favorite store. I had picked up a bottle of VILLA JOLANDA PROSECCO for Christmas Eve, and it was outstanding. So I got another two bottles. At $11 a bottle, it’s a great buy.