too much food

yesterday morning i rode my bike to the post office- not far at all, i bet i could walk. i mailed laura's package, again, hopefully this time with the right address. samir's hasn't gotten there yet, either. i hope erin mckeown's made it there safely. from the post office i rode down clark to ch's edgewater produce market. I love it! everyone needs a cheap mexican grocery store nearby! they didn't have liquor or fancy cheezes, so i had to go to the real grocery store too. the produce mart filled up my pannier and my backpack, so i ended up having the flour and olive oil and ammaretto hanging from my handlebars. it was a very precarious ride home! i was home by one, then started cooking!

i made: rosemary focaccia, roasted green bean salad, a vegetable fritatta, grilled eggplant, orange walnut salad, tomato and mozzarella salad, marinated peppers, lentil bulgar salad and amaretto cheesecake. in under 5 hrs. i think that's pretty good!

it all turned out fabulous, except perhaps for the eggplant- it was kina a wierd recipie. jen brought vegan almond cherry cookies. ch brought cheese roll things and chips and salsa. jack brought yummy black beans and rice, and they brought good alchohol. g and her old roomate helen also came. we ate, we played a game of five crowns, and then pam and mike came, tired from work. so it was a nice sized party. 8 people fit better in this apartment than the old one, i think.

SO MUCH LEFT OVER FOOD! laura said she wished she could come to my party and eat my food. now she'll get a chance. it will still be here next week. i'll have to see what i can freeze. sigh. i just don't know how to cook for large numbers of people.

talked to g and laura after the guests left. i like my friends, but i feel like all of the people i really love don't live in chicago. other than ch, everyone here is just whoever's around. not people i feel passonate about. i want a and g and laura and ruth and meike and michi and bethany and beth and mairee and ch and leah all to live in the same town. or two of them, at least.

this morning i was procrastinating doing the dishes by scraping candlewax off my candlesticks. my fingernails weren't strong enough to do the trick, so i got a butter knife. it wasn't working that well, and then it slipped and gouged my finger. Big Cut. Blood everywhere. mind in panic mode, thought: what must i do before i faint? hold it high, not stopping, blood dripping on my back. wrap it up in toilet paper, no, that won't work, it's too absorbent and will leave fuzzy stuff in my cut. i have paper towels, in the kitchen, can i make it to the kitchen? where's my phone- someone should know if i faint before this stops bleeding. i wrapped my finger up in a paper towel. applyed pressure with my head, laid it down on the cold marble floor and called my mother, who approved my first aid and chatted with me until i got a glass of water and a granola bar.
while i was cleaning all the blood out of the bathroom, i pulled it open again, amd so i had to do the whole staunching process again. my sugar made me less lightheaded, though. finally got it wrapped up in a bandaid, and all the blood i could find cleaned out of the bathroom.

now, i need to go to osco to buy gloves so i can wash all these dishes. i also need to wash my hair. and of course, paint. so what have i been doing? z's been sending me personal ads from craigslist. iming with g- she's going shoping in the loop today.

fuck! i forgot to tell you g's big news. she's not going to costa rica. she's going to san francisco, where her bf is, to do an internship. she leaves sat. gasp! i'm really worried that she won't get to meet laura. she has to go out with co-workers friday night. so i pray laura will be able to get here in time to do dinner or something before she does that. laura, of course, doesn't want to intrude on my last precious moments with sgwiailw. i'm like, girl, it's sooo not like that.

final party thought- i decided to wear my tie dye dress, after much deliberation. ch broght these jack daniels lemonade things, with twist off lids and g asks if ti have a bottle opener, cause she's cutting up her hand. and i say here, and open her bottle with my skirt, just like i do everything else with it. and i say, "i use my dress to wipe up my drink." and ch says, as he's supposed to, "you know, i care less and less what people think." another point aginst pants! i couldn't decide between laura's unstoppable outfit and the tie dye, but you know, i felt pretty unstoppable in the tie dye.