Below are the most recent 7 friends' journal entries.

Monday, December 21st, 2009
braxana	12:51p	this is cool Meet Japan's First Western Geisha (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
braxana	10:01a	huzzah! 2010 start seems good so uLocate has proffered an employment agreement (start date of 1/4/2010) and I have officially accepted (signed etc)! so the hopefully this is a good start for the coming new year! (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
braxana	12:49p	yay i am eating french fries!!!! YAY! (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, December 14th, 2009
braxana	10:32a	damnit damnit! I want a cheeseburger!!!!! * goes back to the jello and the puddings he can only have right now due to the recovery from teeth surgery * (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, December 12th, 2009
countgeiger	4:55a	The Ghosts fade, but... ... they're always there. I'm in Elkins, WV at the moment, visiting some of my surviving relatives. We're staying with my cousin, who lives in what was once my paternal grandfather's house. Here, and all through town, the ghosts of those gone walk along side, an ever-present but mostly quiet entourage. All four grandparents, my mother, an older sister who lived a day. Of two parents and twelve aunts and uncles (including by marriage, so six couples), five are left including Dad, and three of them are fading. The town itself is a ghost. Much of what I grew up with is gone - replaced, remodeled, or razed to make room for a development or churches. In my minds eye, I still see the hill I used to climb to three hundred feet above my grandparent's house just for the view - (there's a Jehovah's Witness church there now.), the pond I used to fish in has been filled in and houses built on it. Places, people... they're all still there in my mind's eye - I doubt I'll ever really see this town as it is now, but always as it was thirty, forty years ago. Current Mood: contemplative (Comment on this)
Friday, December 11th, 2009
braxana	7:13p	mrple murphle i am now speechless... quite literally. just had 3 wisdom teeth pulled (snap crackle pop) and my face is swollen and numb as well as gauze is in my jaw..... picked up the pain pills i will need at some point tonight, but for now i am finally home and attempting to relax..... (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
lwood	4:54p	Recipe: Hrafnar Yule Barley Because I'll be spending much of today packing, but still wanted to get something really nice in for Hrafnar Yule, and I wanted a good vegetarian entrée for the delectable purplevenus, this is what I've come up with. Completely untested, but should be sound. In the medieval fashion, I like it when sweet and savory are cozy with each other, as they are here. If you can't find purple barley, you can substitute ordinary hulled (but not pearl) barley, or other whole cereal grains, such as wheat, rye, or brown rice. Non-Boring, Non-Bland Barley 5 c low sodium vegetable broth (as 4 c + 1 c) 1 oz dried porcini mushrooms 1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter 1 lb Purple Prairie Barley 2 md red onions, diced to 1/2" cubes 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed     salt and fresh-ground pepper 1/2 t each of thyme, savory, and sage 3   freshly ground allspice berries 1/2-1 c slivered almonds 1/2-1 c dried sliced cranberries Instructions: Bring the broth to a boil, and add the dried mushrooms. Once they have rehydrated, cut into bite-sized pieces, if necessary. While the mushrooms are rehydrating, melt the butter in a generously sized Dutch oven over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, bubbled, and is just beginning to brown, add the barley and cook, stirring frequently, until it starts to "pop" and smells slightly toasted. Add the onion and a generous punch of salt and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the onion has softened and begun to grow translucent, another five minutes. Stir in the garlic and herbs (but not the bay leaves), stirring constantly until fragrant. Add about a cup of the broth, and scrape to remove anything that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining broth (with mushrooms) and the bay leaves. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cover. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until barley is cooked--one and a half to two hours. Just before serving, garnish generously with slivered almonds and sliced dried cranberries. Current Mood: creative (1 Comment |Comment on this)