Well, I sent Sebastian off to school with his Valentine cards and candy today. The three of us finished them up last night, and they look very nice. I thought we’d make them ourselves this year, so we used red paper heart doilies and gold doilies then glued a vintage valentine in the center that says “I Greet Thee My Valentine”. Kinda corny, I know, and perhaps I should have  written “Love, Mrs. Steidl” on the back, but I thought I might as well  let Sebastian sign them (smiley, winking emoticon here). Well, perhaps next year we’ll return to the land of modern greetings, but it was very pleasant visiting “The Golden Age of Valentines.”

Over the weekend, I was window shopping in Pasadena while waiting for Jeff and Sebastian to return from the restroom. I saw a wonderful Alexander Mc Queen handbag in the window, but did not go into the store because I knew for a fact that I could not afford it.  Yesterday, before noon, I was thinking about fashion designers, and Alexander Mc Queen specifically. I was wondering what it’s like to be a tremendously talented designer who has to come up with new creations all the time, so that those ideas can be taken by thousands of workers and made into a product. Sure, hoards of mediocre designers churn products out every year, and just sit back and let the money roll in. I was imagining that I would have a really hard time moving from couture into mass production, and letting my name be put on things that I didn’t quite necessarily think were brilliant. Then I thought, ” I hope Alexander Mc Queen hasn’t gone down that road”.  Then today, exactly 24 hours later, I found out that he killed himself.   I don’t stand around thinking about fashion designers generally, so I suppose this is why this specific synchronicity took me by surprise.  What a shame.  Think what you will about fashion, especially those who slavishly follow it (!), but there are some really talented artists and artisans in the industry. It’s sad when such talent is lost.

I’m experimenting in the kitchen today, and made some chocolate balls with raw cacao powder, raw almond butter, raw hemp seeds, cinnamon and stevia rolled in sesame seeds and cacao powder.  I’ve been wanting some sort of sweet while on phase 1 of Dr. Gabriel Cousen’s “Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine”. This definitely scratches that itch.  They’re really good!

“Stop thinking this is all there is…. Realize that for every ongoing war and religious outrage and environmental devastation and bogus Iraq attack plan, there are a thousand counter-balancing acts of staggering generosity and humanity and art and beauty happening all over the world, right now, on a breathtaking scale, from flowerbox to cathedral…. Resist the temptation to drown in fatalism, to shake your head and sigh and just throw in the karmic towel…. Realize that this is the perfect moment to change the energy of the world, to step right up and crank your personal volume; right when it all seems dark and bitter and offensive and acrimonious and conflicted and bilious… there’s your opening. Remember magic. And finally, believe you are part of a groundswell, a resistance, a seemingly small but actually very, very large impending karmic overhaul, a great shift, the beginning of something important and potent and unstoppable.” -Mark Morford, San Francisco Chronicle

This is where we are going today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We got our Christmas tree in South Pasadena tonight. It is TINY (just barely 3 feet) and it is perfect.  I’ve been trying to convince Sebastian and Jeff to get a fake pink tree, but that didn’t happen. Perhaps in a parallel universe somewhere.

Jeff made delicious goat cheese, asian pear and muenster grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. The idea came from a series of sandwich photos on chowhound titled “The Most Delicious Sandwiches”. Sebastian loved the sandwich as well, and commented that “it’s a nice change” from boring old grilled cheese.

…soon. maybe.