Stuff again
Nov. 3rd, 2009 03:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarea
So I've been reading about foot binding, and it sounds HORRIFIC. I'm reading Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and the protagonist goes through the process as a little girl. I'd always been under the misguided thought that all it really involved was binding the feet really tightly to stop growth or something. What it entails seriously sounds like something you might wish on your worst enemy, or if you wanted to torture someone into submission. AND PEOPLE DID THIS TO LITTLE GIRLS. *Parents* did it to their children. For fashion. Or status. Or whatever. Omfg. They CRIPPLED people. They deliberately took beautiful, natural things and made them deformed. WTF was wrong in their heads that anyone would ever consider it AESTHETICALLY PLEASING? I've never been a big fan of feet, but I have newfound appreciation of mine. Ever since reading about foot binding and seeing pictures of women whose feet had been bound (you know, if they didn't die from infection), I'm admiring what a beautiful thing the natural foot is, with its pretty arch and 5 perfect toes. Thank GOD I wasn't born during the 2,000 years that foot binding was practiced in China, because I might very well have had to endure it!! OMG.
My mom is leaving today. :( We decided to take it easy on her last day and went to a Japanese place for lunch and for an early dinner we're going to have some braised oxtail and leftovers. I don't think I mentioned that I made my mom short ribs in red wine sauce the other night and the whole process took 7 hours. O.o Maybe 2 1/2 hours of active cooking time and 5 hours of oven braising. It was delicious, but so much work for so little (6 little ribs). I'm probably never going to make it again ... but it did make me appreciate the food at nice restaurants like Tavolata (whose short rib dish I was trying to emulate).
I have hired a new gardener, and I'm pretty happy about it. I did end up going with my neighbor's gardener, who was willing to come just once a month (usually they want to come more often or it's not worth it) -- probably since they're right next door doing the other house anyway -- and are charging $40. That's half the price I was paying before, and at the frequency I wanted in the first place! So yeah, very glad about that.
My mom is leaving today. :( We decided to take it easy on her last day and went to a Japanese place for lunch and for an early dinner we're going to have some braised oxtail and leftovers. I don't think I mentioned that I made my mom short ribs in red wine sauce the other night and the whole process took 7 hours. O.o Maybe 2 1/2 hours of active cooking time and 5 hours of oven braising. It was delicious, but so much work for so little (6 little ribs). I'm probably never going to make it again ... but it did make me appreciate the food at nice restaurants like Tavolata (whose short rib dish I was trying to emulate).
I have hired a new gardener, and I'm pretty happy about it. I did end up going with my neighbor's gardener, who was willing to come just once a month (usually they want to come more often or it's not worth it) -- probably since they're right next door doing the other house anyway -- and are charging $40. That's half the price I was paying before, and at the frequency I wanted in the first place! So yeah, very glad about that.
