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Having family in town is not conducive to blogging. It's good for going out to eat, but not blogging about it afterwards.

So far, we've been to La-Tea-Da for tea and dessert, Plum House on Monroe for sushi (and salmon teryaki for someone afraid to eat raw fish), Starbucks at Marketview Mall and probably a couple of other places I'm forgetting.

Still no time now to actually write. I've been thinking about what I'm going to write - like at 4 a.m. when I know I'm not going to physically sit down a write, just think about it in between bouts of unconsciousness.

Breakfast is a great meal to eat out.

The earlier in a day you go to a restaurant, the less expensive the food is. Breakfast (at least anywhere I frequent) is affordable. Cheap, even.

Lunch is still fairly affordable, especially in fancier places that charge and arm and a leg for dinner.

Dinner...well, let's just say that unless it's Boston Market, the Hunan Wok, or pizza, it doesn't happen very often.

So back to breakfast. The English part of me loves a good fry-up to start a weekend day. The problem with going out for breakfast - at least in this house - is deciding where to go. In Kevin's bachelor days, he practically lived at Mark's Texas Hots on Monroe Ave. When we were dating, I let him take me. Until he found a stone in his homefries and the waitress didn't even bat an eye when he told her. No more Marks.

But allmost everywhere I like to go (or at least try), he has some kind of complaint about:

The Highland Park Diner -- too crowded (which I agree) and something always goes wrong with our food or the service when we go.

Patrik's Culinary Kreations -- gives him heartburn, not enough food (that'd be due to the corned beef hash he insists on getting every time and his amazing ability to consume mass quantities of food at a single sitting).

SouthWedge Diner -- served him food he was allergic to once, although neither of us can remember the specific details (he's coming around on this one, fortunately)

I, on the other hand, refuse to go to places like Denny's or IHOP for breakfast. I just can't do it.

So, our compromise this Saturday was the Liberty Family Restaurant on Winton Road. I used to eat there all the time after church. Before we had the building we're in now, we used to meet at the Days Inn on East Ave and Alexander and we'd all go out for brunch afterwards. Since then, Kevin and I have been there a few times for breakfast. But I realized that it's been a full year since the last time -- Exhausto-Boy was just a tiny, crying baby the last time we were there.

This time he was a happy toddler, quite able to cram in handfuls of eggs and french toast and flirt with the next table.

Coming up this week, I'll be eating out a bit. My mom's visiting for her birthday, so we'll have to do some culinary celebrating -- the plans so far include the La-Tea-Da Tea Room and a revisit to Phillip's European to get some of my favorite dessert.

Stay tuned. Updates as events warrant.

I've figured out what my problem (this week ;) is: I'm in Rutland. Insider editor Mike Johannson talked about it in an editorial a few weeks ago.

After some mulling, I realize I've misplaced my sense of adventure. An e-mail from a friend sparked this new awareness. She won tickets to Comix Cafe. Great. The hitch? The show starts at 9:45 p.m. A few years ago, that wouldn't have been a problem. I mean, no one went out before 10 p.m. Now? Um, well, I'm asleep by then.

What a difference a few years makes. Then I went out -- on my own -- to new places, to meet new people, just because I wanted to. Mostly I didn't want to hang out in my apartment with the cats. I didn't even own a TV. Now I know lots of people, yet resist going out because... I don't know. Because I want to hang out with the people I already know. And bars just aren't so much fun anymore.

Anyway, in order to get out of Rutland, I'm supposed to try new stuff. And not just ice cream (since I've tried a whole lot of that already).

Maybe beer. Or looking at fall leaves. Or something.

(I was supposed to post this on Sunday...time kinda slipped away...oops)

OK, so I'm not big on spending the bucks on a vacation. If I can go somewhere fun and inexpensive, that's great. Hey, if I get out of town at all, that's slightly amazing these days.

It seems like I haven't been on vacation in forever. Or at least a couple of years. So we decided to get together with some friends in Montreal and finally got around to booking somewhere to stay right after the season ended.

We picked the 1000 Islands because
1) I've never been there,
2) They sounded kinda fancy,
3) I like the salad dressing that's named after the place, and
4) It's halfway between Rochester and Montreal which is where my best friend from Barbados lives.

Overall, it was a good trip.

Kevin and I were on the tail end of a cold, Robyn (the Barbados friend) was just beginning a cold. The cottage we stayed at was tiny. As in, the bedrooms were so small, we could barely squeeze the pack-n-play for Exhausto-Boy at the end of the bed. Plus the doors didn't latch and were really thin, so there wasn't so much napping or sleeping at night going on for the boy. The fridge sounded like an incessant coffee maker and the ceiling fan motor made whirring noises that indicated it was about to plummet from the ceiling at any second.

I learned that the 1000 Islands aren't so fancy. Kinda expensive, but not fancy. We didn't find anywhere to eat where the food was actually good. Captain Thomson's Floating Restaurant sounded like a really good idea. But wasn't. My over-priced seafood salad contained 4 small shrimp and 4 scallops that weren't so fresh for $10-something and the effect of eating on a moving restaurant was unsettling to say the least. Physically unsettling. Hello porcelain gods unsettling.

A cone of strawberry cheesecake ice cream at Poor John's "Everthing Must Go!" ice cream stand did perk me up a lot while the men folk played life-size chess in Alexandria Bay.

We also visited the Aqua Zoo and Aquarium - which contained a lot more fish than we anticipated from outside appearances. And an owner who's quite angry at the world. Perhaps his speech about the current state of the country (and how he got along better when he could solve all his problems with his fists) was part of the show and included in the admission price ($6 for adults, free for the kiddo). It did give us a lot of joke fodder over the weekend, so was well worth the experience.

On Sunday we stopped at Mazeland and wandered around for a good hour before finally, joyfully finding the exit. I will say that I'm not usually a person of outward displays of exuberance. But I jumped up and down when I saw that exit sign. Apparently if you're not good at mazes you're supposed to tell them before you enter... But we made it through New York's largest hedgerow maze and then found somewhere else for lunch back in Alexandria Bay that was on firm, dry land.

It was a good weekend. It was great getting together with friends, hanging out and exploring somewhere new. The $300 price tag is what Kevin and I spent on lodging, food, gas and fun. And the postcard I sent to my mom.

I need to take some cooking classes.

I had a sudden craving for something apple-y and crispy today. Remembering the Fillo dough in the freezer and the 3 old apples in the fruit bowl that I don't seem to get around to eating, I thought I could whip up something like apple turnovers. Add some butter and sugar. Stick it in the oven. Voila.

I think I was also inspired by Omar's attempts at making pie. Maybe I should have learned from him. And not tried it.

OK. So I took the layers of Phillo dough. I slathered them with a buttery substance (it was actually margarine, not butter. ugh). I layered and slathered and layered and slathered. Then I cut up some apple, sprinkled on some brown sugar, folded it over and squished down the edges and added a little more buttery substance. Then sprinkled more sugar on top for good measure.

Popped them into a 375-degree oven for about 15 minutes or so (I wandered off and got distracted by something else). They really smelled good. Maybe they needed to cook more. They were sweet and a little crispy. The apples were actually cooked enough (which surprised me). But it was lacking something. (Like a clue of how to actually make them. Or real butter.)

I didn't take a picture.

According to this Cooks.com recipie for Apple Turnovers, I think maybe I just didn't use enough phyllo pastry and didn't do enough folding and turning (and possibly used way too much buttery substance).

I am a pretty good cook. Kevin unfairly describes me as an "English" cook - i.e. I don't put enough seasoning in and overcook the vegetables. What does he know? He doesn't eat vegetables. I describe myself as a French cook (since my French mom taught me how to cook, I think that's accurate enough). Maybe I'm just not a good baker.

So I'll just daydream about taking cooking classes - like these ones the insider wrote about in January - (but won't actually follow through) and go and find a good bakery to indulge my dessert cravings at from now on.

On Sunday night I had this crazy dream that involved some kind of unisex locker room in an airport.

I don't know why there was a locker room where people could shower and change in this international airport. I don't know why it was unisex. I don't even know why I was in this airport, where I was coming from or where I was going to (I think it was somewhere near what used to be the Soviet Union).

I do know that the concept didn't work well in reality. Or at least in dream reality.

Men kept crowing around me, watching me dry off from my shower and get changed. I'd move to another corner of the room and they'd just follow and stare. It was disturbing.

Anyway, in the middle of this dream, I distinctly remember thinking, "This [unisex bathroom] idea sucks. I'm going to have to blog about this on the ROC oustider blog!"

And that might be more disturbing than the leering men. I'm dreaming about blogging now. I can't escape it, even in my subconscious.

From this blog, you would probably surmise that I mostly do the following things:

• Go to Wegmans (and complain about it)
• Eat ice cream
• Wish my son would nap more
• Watch TV
• Attempt to complete various home remodelling projects (but mostly ask my husband to do it as I seem to get hurt a lot)
• Get lost when driving outside of Monroe County

There is something else I also do. I talk to dead people.

Actually, the official line is that there is no death and there are no dead, so they're just people who are no longer in physical form. But they're still alive. And not creepy The Sixth Sense alive. Just alive on a different plane of existence that takes a bit of skill and attunment to tap into.

Why am I telling you this?

I'm now officially nationally certified to talk to "dead people." :) And I think it's pretty cool.

My church (Plymouth Spiritualist Church) is a member of the National Spiritualist Association of Churches. That national association has an educational arm called the Morris Pratt Institute. Long story short, I took 3 years worth of classes, demonstrated mediumship a whole lot in church, had enough people fill out afidavits that they recognized the people I brought through to them, and then took a bunch of exams which I apparently somehow successfully passed. And now I'm an NSAC certified medium.

What that means is, well, that I went through all of the above. And that I'm for real. Which I find kinda funny. Because I really am for real, but I'm also a skeptical person, even though I've had enough direct, first-hand experiences that I know it's not bogus.

What it doesn't mean is that I'll be opening up shop. So don't call me if you want to talk to someone in Spirit. I know a few good mediums who can help you out there, but I don't think I'm going to be one of them for a while. I'll be too busy tuning in on my next favorite flavor of ice cream.

I have a DVR and don't know what to record on it.

Now that I've watched practically every episode of the many seasons of Charmed, I'm left without a show to spend too much time watching. Good thing, as the WB is disappearing in a few weeks. I guess WBGT-TV is becoming MY18 or something.

But what do I use my DVR for now? Sure, there's always Sesame Street and Bob the Builder, and the various things I have no interest in that Kevin records. And I have gotten into Ghost Whisperer and Medium in the last week or two out of desperation. Given my interest in such things, I guess that's no surprise.

Unfortunately, nothing that the insider recommends for the week appeals:

REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER - unlikely.
WHEN SURGICAL TOOLS GET LEFT BEHIND - oh God, no. I'm already afraid enough of modern medicine.
HOOP DREAMS - possibly as long as I really don't need to care about basketball.
CELEBRITY FIT CLUB 4 - saw an episode once, that was enough for me.
HOUSE HUNTERS - watch it when desperate, but can't bring myself to DVR it. Same goes for Flip This House and any other homey kinds of shows.
POINT OF NO RETURN - too cheap to get HBO.
THE PRODUCERS - made before I was born.

The beauty of the digital recording device is that once I find a show, I can set it up to record every episode of it ever on that channel, preventing me from having to search for it again. The drawback? No channel surfing. Guess I'll have to grab the remote and start, or I'll be stuck watching Mythbusters. Did you know you can start a fire with ice?

So I'm in Wegmans yesterday (yes, again, it's like an addiction) running from aisle to aisle trying to get everything I keep forgetting and this woman/girl (couldn't tell her age) starts going on and on about someone else she saw walk by who was wearing short exercise shorts. They were red. They were short. They looked fine to me.

She goes on and on about it to the person she was with (I'm guessing her father unless she was dating a MUCH older man, which I'm not criticizing if she was). About how bad the girl looks. About how short the shorts were. About...I don't even remember. Because all I could notice about her was how incredibly ugly her shoes were. They were black heels. Incredibly high heels. And just looked terrible and uncomfortable.

I realize the irony (or perhaps hypocracy) in me blathering about some woman in a store tearing down someone else. I can't even remember what shoes I was wearing yesterday, but there was probably something "wrong" with my outfit, too. It just struck me how mean she was being about someone she probably didn't even know.

It was also interesting to be in the store after regular work hours. I normall shop during the day -- more parking, less people. But it's also a different crowd - either other moms and kids or people who work something other than the 9-to-5 shift. Or people who don't work at all, I suppose.

I used to be a 9-to-5er, so I'm not bashing here. But daytime shoppers seem to operate in a lower-key, less in a hurry, less impatient. Less mean about short shorts. I bet someone in there appreciated them.

How did it get to be Sunday already? I'm working this weekend on a project that Needs To Get Done, so time is just slipping by.

However, I realize I've been slacking on my ice cream tasting and summer is just about officially over. So here's a summary of the latest ice-creamy things I've eaten:

Klondike Heath Bar
Description: " HEATH® collides with Klondike creating a toffee flavored ice cream wrapped in a chocolate flavored coating loaded with HEATH® toffee pieces."
Tastes like: Better than an actual Heath Bar.
Worth eating?: Every day. And if you're slightly dyslexic, you might be able to convince yourself it says "Health."


Soy Delicious Vanilla Ice cream
Description: "A creamy organic dairy-free frozen dessert with a delightful vanilla flavor; perfect all by itself or combined with your favorite dessert toppings."
Tastes like: Light frozen h. Kinda watery. Refreshing.
Worth eating?: Not really, unless you have to.



Wegmans Low Fat Raspberry Truffle Ice Cream
Description: No official description. No photos either. Basically, vanilla ice cream with bits of chocolate and raspberry swirls. And it's low-fat, gluten-free and low in sodium.
Tastes like: Very sweet (probably to make up for the low-fatness), but yummy.
Worth eating?: Yes, when served to you by a friend after a walk (Thanks, Sharon!).


Perry's Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwiches
Description: "Creamy vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate wafers. A favorite for generations!"
Tastes like: Better than Wegmans' ice cream sandwiches as there's no artifical flavors.
Worth eating?: Yes, regularly.




Ben & Jerry's Coffee Ice Cream
Description: "There's more to this smooth Coffee Ice Cream than creamy richness as good as homemade. It's made with deliciously Fair Trade Certified™ coffee extract. "
Tastes like: Creamy, coffee ice cream goodness.
Worth eating?: Good for an afternoon pick-me-up -- it gives you a little jolt and you feel good knowing you're consuming fair trade coffee.