I need some help with a cheese problem.

I bought some Brie at the Farmer's Market two and a half or so weeks ago.  I don't eat much Brie; I've probably only had it a handful of times.  But we (Angie and I) tasted the cheese before we bought it, and it was delicious.

But that was two and a half weeks ago.  And I'm only just opening the package and considering having it as a little snack.

 

And I don't know what it's supposed to look like. 

I get that it was aged 60 days, but there's no expiration date on the package?  

Does that mean it's good forever?

What if there's a little spot of mold?  Think it's still safe to eat?  

 

I don't know if you can see it, but it's there.

Is the rind supposed to look like this?  

And my biggest question:

Is it supposed to make my fingers smell like puppy breath?

What say thee, Internet?  Safe to eat?  

Please say yes.  

You know I already ate some.  

(You knew that, right?  Of course you did.)  

If you're reading this tripe regularly, you may remember how I mentioned at 6:45ish or so on Friday morning that there were bunches of parties happening this weekend and I was feeling the need to be social so I was going to go to some of them.  I didn't.  (I know, let's all act surprised together...ready...GO!)

We had dinner at Tumbleweed (of all places) with Stacy and Jessie Friday night.  I say "of all places" because Jimi and I promised each other we'd never eat there again because, well, it sucks balls.  (Why do we say things like "it sucks balls" or "you suck!" or "cocksucker!" like they're insults?  In reality, most men I know adore cocksuckers, and they mostly enjoy a little attention to their balls too...I'm just sayin'.  Maybe we as a society need to reconsider and revamp our slurs.  I tried to start a trend where I said "that's so gay!" any time something was awesome, but people mostly just looked at me funny and then turned away, so I figured it wasn't going to catch on quickly and I should probably stop before people stopped talking to me altogether.)  Anyhow, we don't eat at Tumbleweed; it's just not what we do.  But we did, and much to my pleasant surprise, it was good.  I had a steak and a baked potato for $8, and both were tasty and better than I'd expected.  The flavor and enjoyment of my $8 meal may or may not have been improved greatly by good company and a $6 top-shelf margarita...but then again, isn't everything?

The puppies are ready for their new homes and so Jimi and I have been reminded that if we're taking a puppy, we need to get on with it and pick the one we want before they all find new homes and we're left with one less desirable or none at all.  As if there's a such thing as a less-desirable puppy; they're all so freakin' cute and sweet.  I'm in love with no fewer than 3 of the 5 remaining pups, and I don't know how I'll ever decide between them.  Mostly I'm waiting for Jimi to fall in love with one in particular so that can be our new baby that we bring home and make part of our happy little family.  He's a pretty good judge of people; I can't see why it would be any different when it comes to judging dogs.  He picked Finn, after all.

Hey, i know this is going to shock the hell out of you, but we planned on cleaning up the house on Saturday and then didn't.  I know, be still your heart and all that.  What we did do was go to McAlister's for lunch (where I had baked potato #2 just over 12 hours after I'd eaten #1 - I really should try to expand my palate), then shopped at Target for what felt like a hundred kadrillion years.  Jimi made me wander the store and do my own thing while he picked up stocking stuffers for me, because heavenfreakinforbid we actually do shit apart from one another like Christmas Shopping.  Anyhow, I did manage to check one thing off my not-ever-going-to-get-smaller-if-I-don't-start-buying-more-than-one-thing-at-a-time list.  So now my Christmas shopping is still not done, but at least it's a little less not-done than it was on Friday.

Saturday evening we were invited to several parties, but alas our(my) anti-social tendencies won out.  Besides, we'd been trying to get together with Brennan and Tiffany for weeks and it just never worked; this weekend it did, so they came over with the intention of playing Gloom.  The cards got shuffled and the players sorted, but we never actually dealt a hand or played a game; instead I made (then, as previously mentioned, burned) a batch of blondies, we gabbed about relationships and gossiped about friends, we drank coffee and ate little chocolate and vanilla wafer cookies our guests had brought to share, we laughed and shared stories and told tales.  Brennan used to be over almost every weekend and now we go months without breaking bread together; it's always good to spend time catching up.

HP7.1 was entertaining, even if I did get a little bored and wonder "is it over yet?" a time or two.  I hate cliff-hangers.  I want it all, and I want it now - just call me Veruca Salt.

James brought the bunnies and I fed them carrots (the ones I bought at the farmer's market last Saturday and let go limp in the 'crisper') and petted them and then Stacy came and took them away to her home where they're going to be killed and turned into dinner.  I shouldn't have petted them.  Poor bunnies.

I only have to work three days this week, then I'm off until 1/3/11.  (I'm not counting the fact that I'll have to come in the Tuesday after Christmas to do billing as actual "work", as I'm going to pick up the paperwork and take it home with me to complete.  If I don't have to put on a bra and answer phone calls it doesn't count as an actual work day.  That's the rule in my head.)  Oh, I hope this week is not a bitch.



So.  Many.  Words.

Hope your week is a good one!

Bigass bone

This is a picture of the bigass bone I bought for Finn at the Farmer's Market on Saturday.  When I brought it home, it was still covered with some sort of something - gristle, a little meat, a bunch of gross stuff I didn't want to touch - but it's been pretty well stripped by now.  

It is huge and weighs a million pounds.  (That's an ink pen there on the right, for comparison sake.)  

That bit there at the top branching off?  (The part that looks a little naughty in this pic, actually.  Oops.)  It's part of another bone; that's a joint there at the top.  And what I'm pretty sure is a knee-cap of some sort.  It moves.  It reminds me of when you eat crab legs and you can get to that one tendon-thingy that makes the claw move, clasping and unclasping.  This isn't quite as cool as that, but it's still pretty neat. 

Much to my chagrin, Jimi was a bit perturbed with me when I came home with this beauty.  He'd previously issued a moratorium on buying more dog bones; Finn's currently got 2 real ones (one deer, one cow) and a Nylabone in addition to his newest gift, all lying on the floor, waiting for some dumb unsuspecting bare-footed human to tread upon it.  It's like a landmine up in here in the wee dark hours of the morning.  However, I'd mistakenly assumed he meant the moratorium to last THAT DAY, not FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.  Honestly, I didn't even remember about the DONOTBUYBONES order; buying shit for Finn makes me happy, the same as buying shit for Jimi makes me happy.  I wouldn't have dreamed of coming home without a little treat for Jimi on Saturday; that's why I bought the chorizo.  (And I did really enjoy the chili he made with it Sunday night.)  I can't pass up an opportunity to make my puppy happy, too.  Besides, who can remember details like "he has too many already" when faced with the awesomeness that is the bigass bone? 

Oh, and I don't think the quality of my bullshit Blackberry camera would allow it, but please don't zoom in too close to check out the condition of the carpet.  With two hairy animals and a hairy Jimi in the house, we're way overdue on vacuuming.  DON'T JUDGE ME!!!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's off to the Farmer's Market I Go...

I went to the Farmer's Market with Angie yesterday.  She facebook-messaged me out of the blue Friday afternoon and so we made a date for 8 a.m. Saturday.  I'd never been to a farmer's market before - it was everything I dreamed of and more.  I expected the potatoes and squash and the free-range eggs and maybe even the apples, but I was pleasantly surprised by the turnips and cabbage and carrots and pork and chicken and beef and cheese...oh, the cheese!

I'd planned on taking $20 from the ATM, but I followed Angie's lead and pulled $60 instead. I'm pretty sure Angie went home with nearly $20; I have a single, solitary dollar bill left in my wallet.  I don't care, though; I got a hell of a bounty:

one pound of chorizo sausage
a dozen farm-fresh, free-range jumbo eggs
two turnips
two pounds new red potatoes
three bulbs of garlic
a head of cabbage
a bunch of carrots
a round of fresh goat cheese
a wedge each of brie, aged cheddar, and smoked gouda
And a bigass bone for Finn-dog

The cheeses were the most expensive, of course, but man, I love cheese.  Cheese is my favorite.

They gather every Saturday, and next on my shopping list will be beef, bacon, mushrooms, and local honey.  (Local honey can help prevent allergies - have you heard that?  I'd like to test the theory.)  And this is just the winter harvest!  I can only imagine what next summer will bring.

This makes my inner hippie so happy.