Wednesday, December 23, 2015

may the force be with you

The dreary weather is still lurking around outside. There is a fine drizzle or mist hanging its grey shroud over the sun, obliterating most light. I have a few lights on, but it isn't enough to banish the gloom. I did have some cheer in the morning when I meet with friends at the bakery - a nice way to start the day.

We went to see Star Wars Tuesday. We were late booking our tickets and ended up sitting in the first section, just a few rows back from the screen. I tipped my chair back to take in the enormity and was glad that Star Wars isn't particularly gory. Blood and guts in my face would be hard to take. As it is, IMAX 3D really brought the action right into my lap; there were a few times I would have jumped back if I wasn't trapped in the theatre seat with people equally trapped all around me. We were truly immersed in the movie as we had to turn our heads to see the sides of the screen. I like that! Good movie, true to Star Wars.

Who remembers watching the first movie 38 years ago? It was the summer after grade 10 and I was 15. I was grounded, but Mom & Dad let me go with Jeff Charter and Olaf Verhoufen who were trusted friends from school. I can still picture the words scrolling across the screen. Oh so long ago.

We celebrated Solstice Monday night with Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding. And a bottle of bubbles. I was going to save the meal for Christmas Eve but felt that the return of the light was worth celebrating. I don't cook meat very often, maybe half a dozen times a year, but a prime rib at this time of year has been traditional for years. I'll talk about my aberrant oven in a minute, but what saved the day as far as the meat was concerned was a remote meat thermometer. It sat on the counter and beeped when the meat reached the desired temperature. I removed the beast from the oven and covered it with a bowl to let it sit while I made the yorkshire pudding. The roast turned out perfectly: melt in your mouth tender and evenly pink. Oh heaven. Remind me again why we don't eat meat all the time… I vote for the Sunday night roast dinner to return.

Merely the thought of the first returned second of light brightened my life.

Speaking of the oven, it has gone rogue. The temperature can vary 150F in a tiny turn of the knob. From a setting of 300F the temperature fluctuated wildly. 325 to 475 was within an 1/8 inch variation on the dial. Super frustrating. It required opening the oven door constantly to check the oven thermometer (remote one is already ordered). This of course varied the temperature more. Cookies cooked too little, then too much. Yorkshire pudding didn't rise. Good thing I wasn't making a souffle - that would be a disaster.


"It's true. All of it. The Dark Side, the Jedi. They're real."  ~Han Solo

No comments: