New Thing: Identify My Typewriter

For Christmas, Kurt got me an old manual typewriter, which is something I have wanted for a long time.



I'm not sure if this will happen or not, but I always thought there was a certain charm to writing on a manual typewriter, and I'm hoping it will inspire some writing energy.

So now I want to figure out just what variety of typewriter I have. I know it is a portable Smith-Corona Galaxie, but that's about all I know. I think it was manufactured in the late 1950's or early 1960's. A cursory Internet search has not helped me much, nor have I been able to find where the serial number is located.

Thing #6 Completed: Move!

We are moved. We are even getting pretty well settled in and unpacked. Life is good. So, a few facts about the new house:

• built post-WWII, roughly early 1950s (the paperwork is buried at the moment)
• 1250 square feet
• 3 bedrooms, 1 bath
• 2-car attached garage
  

And a few pictures:

(clean, working fireplace in the living room)


(small, but adequate kitchen)


(beautiful knotty pine master bedroom)


(and just for fun: a mountain of packing paper in the den - enclosed porch seen rear-left, kitchen and dinette are rear-right)

Moving Update

(and no, by "moving" I don't think you'll be in tears...)

Here's a picture of the new house:



This picture was taken before it got cold and winter-y, so the landscaping is looking a little more drab at the moment, but great curb appeal, no?

Schedule delivery of new washer/dryer? Check.
Schedule locksmith to change the locks? Check.
Schedule electrician to fix some faulty outlets? Check.
Schedule Stanley Steemer to clean and deodorize the carpets? Check.
Schedule movers? Check.

It's a lot of work to move. More updates later.

New Thing: Move

Some of you have heard the seemingly unending saga of Kurt and I trying to find a quiet apartment. We've moved so frequently in the past couple of years, that I'm starting to think maybe we really are running from someone or something. I won't bore you with all the details here, but suffice it to say we are through with sharing walls with noisy neighbors.

We closed on a house on Friday. This is my first experience with buying a house, and so I was astonished by the volume of papers to be signed in a room full of people. The sellers will be out by Tuesday, but I'll be out of town all week for work, so we will probably not actually move until the weekend Dec. 15. I'll try to post pictures, etc. later.

Thing #5 Completed: Eat at Dragonfly Neo-V

I am noticing that it's been a full two months since my last post. Oops. And this particular Thing seems so simple too: eat at a restaurant. How hard is that? The trick is, this is a semi-fancy restaurant, requiring the whole dressing up bit, and the rationalization of spending extra $$ on dinner. Last night though, we finally had a legitimate reason to celebrate (moving!), so off to Dragonfly Neo-V we went.

Dragonfly has been celebrated by numerous local publications (and even some national ones) as one of the top restaurants for vegetarians to visit. Vegans and vegetarians alike will find plenty on the menu to tempt their curiosity. The chef also uses local and/or organic produce as much as possible, which means the menu changes by season and availability.

Since this was a celebration (more on that, anon), I started the meal off with a Lavender-infused Bombay Sapphire Gimlet (very smooth and subtle flavors). For a first course I ordered a Roasted Pumpkin Bisque topped with a Rum-Raisin Gelato (which complimented the bisque amazingly). Kurt ordered a Salad which included such exotic ingredients as Baby Turnips basking in Rose-infused Almond Milk. Intriguing, but I was glad I went with the bisque.

For the main course I ordered Grilled Tofu and Kurt ordered Butternut Squash Gnocchi (they were accompanied by more fancy ingredients and adjectives, but I didn't write them down). My dish featured a base of pumpkin surrounded by some sort of a white dough-like creation (I liked the pumpkin, but wasn't crazy about what surrounded it), topped with a slab of grilled tofu (very spicy and delicious), topped with some hearty cooked greens.

For dessert we ordered the Pumpkin-Chocolate Torte which was accompanied by a scoop of Coffee Gelato. The torte had three primarily layers: pumpkin, chocolate, and a cookie-style base. The flavors were good, and it wasn't too sweet, but the cookie layer seemed a bit dry to both of us.

One of the fun parts of eating at Dragonfly was the little mini-courses that also came with the meal. The chef sent out a little miniature appetizer at the beginning (a smoked mushroom artfully placed atop a small orzo salad), the bread served at the table was paired with a really wonderful pumpkin/squash spread, and after dessert we were served a miniature cup of spiced hot chocolate.

My overall review: 4 out of 5 stars. The food was good overall, and some of it was really top-notch, but for the price, there were a couple of small points (the dryness of one of the dessert layers, for example) where I expected slightly better.

New Thing: Write a Short Story

One good thing about being in school was that I wrote more frequently: often for assignments, but also to follow my own creative impulses. I have not written as much in the past few years (other than one script for a play that I revisit from time to time, but still haven't finished). This Thing will hopefully provide some additional motivation to flex my writing muscles.

I have always admired the well-crafted short story (whether it be presented as a narrative, or as a short film or play). I ran across a draft of a short story that I began several years ago, and I am hoping to finish it, or failing that, start from scratch. I'll let you know how it goes. If it goes well, you might actually get to read it.

Thing #4 Complete: Get a Bartending Job

As of today, I am officially a hired bartender! I will be working for the catering department at Weiland's Gourmet Market as their resident bartender (and also as an occasional server). Previously they have always hired bartending out through temp agencies, and haven't always been pleased with the results. This seems like a win-win situation for both of us. I am already scheduled to work the next three weekends, two bartending gigs, and two food serving gigs. Hooray!