The Lisa Life

Basket Case

Basket Case, by Carl Hiaasen; Alfred A. Knopf, pub.

I'm becoming a huge Carl Hiaasen fan. What's not to love? The guy writes a great story.

In Basket Case, Jack Tagger is a washed up investigative reporter now assigned to the obituary desk after pissing off the new boss during a shareholder's meeting.

In the meantime, a has been rock star mysteriously drowns leaving behind a very young rather merry widow.

Jack smells something stinky in the Florida swamps and it ain't clam chowder that's gone over.

Funny, ironic, a bit of romance thrown in. Thoroughly entertaining.

Guest Author Randy Finch

Editor's Note:
I remember Randy as being very funny and charming in high school. What I most remember is his effort to scuttle our insipid senior class song (I think it was something sappy by Journey, Don't Stop Believing perhaps) in favor of the Who's teen-age anthem, Baba O'Reilly. You know, the song who's chorus contains the words, Teen Age Wasteland.

By Randy Finch
www.iceguru.com

The Howell High School Class of 1984 reunion. Our 20 year is finally here, and how cool, another reason to party. Are all these occasions often overlooked for what they are, sweet music for our economy. Banquet halls and hotels aren't the only ones cashing in. From Jenny Craig to the Hair Club for Men, class reunions all over America are a welcome event for entrepreneurs dedicating their lives to convincing people that they are aesthetically challenged. By the time of the reunion, I will have visited almost all of the above establishments, while waiting in line for a tanning bed. By the way, for those using artificial tanning foam, hope you're not using the cheap stuff. The oompa-loompa look is definitely out this year.

Having only been to one other reunion, I'm not quite sure what to expect, but the 20th reunion does have at least one enticing trait. For the first time, the class has experienced a majority of their lives away from their high school alumni. Growing up together is somewhat like having kids. The metamorphosis in a child can be less noticeable to a parent than to those who rarely see them. The prospect of discovering what 20 years has done (and in some cases not done) to everyone has certainly made me curious. Okay, enough sounding sappy, I'm getting teary eyed.

After reviewing my yearbook, I also find it interesting that I am looking forward to actually meeting people that I graduated with. If you think about it, the word reunion itself suggest a previous connection. Although made up of smaller cliques, I'm sure most graduation classes are rarely what one would call a "union."

Maybe it's just the allure of the beer tent at the Melon Fest, but I am looking forward to the week-end. So pop in your contacts, pump up with Botox and let the party begin.

Basket Case

Martin went to Borders in Novi today with his dad to find another Master and Commander book and asked me what I wanted. I requested "Basket Case" by Carl Hiaasen and a Pat Metheny CD.

I got "Basket Case" albeit in paperback and he claimed he couldn't find a Pat CD. I bet he didn't even look for the CD.

Carl Hiaasen is my latest greatest find. He writes fiction, which I am generally not real fond of, but he writes good fiction, not dreck. His books are always funny, have great plots with a lot of twists and he is a hottie.

Not that him being a hottie affects his writing, but.

Someone needs to option one of his books for a movie.

Diamond's Steakhouse

My husband and I went to dinner with our friends Tom and Kelly at Diamond's Steakhouse in downtown Howell. Diamond's has been around for quite a while with a few moderations, but they remain an old school type steakhouse.

If you're on Adkins, you don't want to go here.

I had a wonderful martini pre-dinner drink, Absolut, straight up with a twist. I had a perfectly grilled Teriyaki Sirloin with their house mashed potatoes, which are baked mashed potatoes with bacon and cheese.

Their meat is superb and grilled just right and the drinks are generous and reasonably priced. The atmosphere is casual and the service is wonderful. (It helps that I know a lot of the waitresses and the owner at least by sight.)

I love going to an independently owned local restaurant where nothing is prepackaged or precooked.

Word of the Day

I stumbled across the Merriam Webster website completely by accident and found out they have the "word of the day." Today's word is "kaput". A cool under used word.

Why do I think I'm going to be checking this site every day?

http://www.m-w.com/

Fifty More Things About Me

1. I like to smoke. It's sort of a hobby to me. Marlboro Lights are my nicotine of choice. I also like English Ovals, but since they are non-filtered (just put a gun to your head and be done with it) and difficult to find, I don't smoke them often. I also like Nat Sherman's.

2. Mexican Jones in Brighton makes the margaritas I like best in the whole world.

3. Although I am a huge true crime buff, I rarely write about true crime because I think my creative bone doesn't lie in that area.

4. I just frosted my hair. I think it looks strange and very 80s. I don't know if I like it. My husband thinks it looks good, but this is a Brit who doesn't understand you don't need socks when you wear sandals.

5. The occasion of my 20th high school reunion is causing me great angst. I think I am having a mid-life crisis.

6. I went through a stage where I was totally addicted to the Sims and played it constantly. They bore me now.

7. My husband successfully created a lesbian Sims couple. They were very funny because they were the horniest Sims I'd ever seen. They were both lipstick lesbians and were always hopping in the sack.

8. I will wear a two piece bathing suit until I am 60.

9. I hate wearing dresses and skirts and rarely put one on except for weddings or funerals. I actually own a "funeral dress" that I have never worn other than to funerals. It's a black silk Liz Claiborne.

10. I am very clumsy and am always walking into things.

11. I am the worst singer, ever. Period.

12. I like to shoot pool and I'm pretty good at it with a little warm up time. I beat the pants off our friend Don. He was amazed.

13. I like to play darts and I'm pretty good at that, as well.

14. I could be a very good golfer. I have great drives but my putting needs a lot of work.

15. I like golf very much but haven't played in 2 years. Other than chipping balls in my large backyard.

16. I can be very blunt. People either find this refreshing or annoying.

17. My favorite band in high school was the Dead Kennedys. Mostly because it pissed my mom off.

18. I hate necklaces and very rarely wear one.

19. I once tried to hit on David Letterman.

20. The "art" in my great room is actually European liquor advertisements from the 1920s.

21. I love taking pictures and have a really nice camera that was my dad's.

22. I lust for a key chain digital, but wonder about the quality of the pictures.

23. I experienced premature menopause at the age of 31. It really sucked.

24. I swear far more than I should. This is a bad habit from working in the car dealership and now around excavator guys.

25. Boss the Son and I can act like brother and sister (quarrel) but are really fond of one another.

26. I plan the Christmas party every year at work. Also known as "Holiday Drink Fest and Bonus Check Party."

27. Both of my children are horribly spoiled.

28. I rarely get hangovers as I tend to drink only wine.

29. I love martinis but they get me way too drunk.

30. The thought of "natural" (read "no drugs") childbirth horrifies me.

31. I have a very high tolerance for painkillers.

32. Although I have broken several bones, I have only had stitches twice.

33. My husband has gotten chubby from my cooking.

34. I am very close to my in-laws and they have become my de facto parents.

35. My mom and dad died within 14 months of each other. That was a very difficult time for me and I think I had a bit a of a breakdown.

36. I miss my mother every single day of my life. She was a fantastic woman who overcame incredible obstacles.

37. My dad was a jerk and not a very good father.

38. I have a butt load of cousins I am not close to at all, although we were very close as children. I am the black sheep.

39. I have distant cousins (my dad's cousins' kids) who, many of them, are in prison. I saw them at family reunions as a kid, but we never socialized with them as their fathers were considered shady characters back then.

40. I look great in red.

41. I've never watched any reality TV shows except for The Simple Life. God knows why I picked that one.

42. I love nice things but I am fairly frugal. I bought two of my Coach purses off Ebay.

43. I love t-shirts and wear them almost every day. In winter, I throw a sweatshirt or sweater over it.

44. I miss sitting in the hot-tub.

45. My husband and I decided to adopt while sitting in the hot tub.

46. I am a secret Dixie Chicks fan.

47. Being an adult adoptee married to an adult adoptee who has adopted, I consider myself an armchair expert on adoption. I've also done a lot of reading.

48. I have a much greater quest for knowledge now than I ever had in high school, college or grad school. If I am curious about something, I have no hesitation about pursuing it.

49. I am a breast cancer survivor. I had a lump again at the last mammogram that scared the bejesus out of me. It was just fibrous, but I was in a state of horror until I found out.

50. Doing 50 Things About Me gets tedious.

The Husband Experiment

So this morning I overslept and was late for work. In my haste of making that critical first cup of tea, I knocked a receipt off the kitchen counter. I almost picked it up, but thought instead I would perform one of my semi-regular husband experiments. I left it on the floor.

Got home from work today, and guess what? It's still there. Oh and the toilet paper roll was empty, but there was a partly used roll sitting on the back of the toilet.

Max the Shar Pei

Max was my Shar Pei. He was a gift from my ex-husband, inarguably the best gift the asshole ever gave me. Shar Peis tend to be one person dogs, and I was his person.

He didn't do much, no tricks, he wasn't too keen on the leash, but he was my constant companion. One time, at my former in-laws in Lockport, New York, the ex was supposed to be watching Max outside, as Max tended to get confused and wander off in new settings. (He wasn't the smartest dog.) Max meandered away to some woods behind their house. I was sure he was gone forever and stayed up all night. The next morning, I went into the woods to see if I could find him and called him. He ran toward me so fast and so hard, he knocked me over. Very unusual for him, as he didn't move fast ever.

Now that's love.

He was a very passive dog, unassuming. If he wanted attention, he would sit next to you. When my mom died, and we stayed with my dad for a few days, Max never left my side and would sit with his head in my lap.

Max's health started deteriorating last winter. He had trouble holding his bladder, so we got him doggie diapers. He started losing his hair. The vet we were taking him to wasn't making much progress so we switched vets. The second vet had a good idea of what was wrong with him and took some blood for testing to confirm her suspicions. That was on a Wednesday. Friday evening, my husband and I had gone out for dinner and when we returned home, we found Max.

He had died in his sleep, laying in his favorite spot between the kitchen and the great room.

I was a mess. Saturday morning, we called the vet, and they had us bring him in to be cremated. He is sitting on my bookshelf now, still with me in spirit if not in body. I still get very teary thinking of him. I am right now, as a matter of fact.

He was a sweet and gentle soul and he gave me such love and simple joy.

The Yearbook

I just spent half an hour looking through my 1984 yearbook.

I can't say it was a very uplifting half hour.

It's very unprofessionally done, even for 1984.

Lots of the same people photographed over and over again.

Anyhow. Just for fun. I'm going to make judgment calls on people by looking at their senior pictures. Since I don't know who is lurking here, if you really want to know, get out your Howell High School Torch, Volume 55.

Front cover says, "What d'ya expect?" Inside cover says, "We're from Howell." What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Okay, flipping through the Howell High School 1984 Yearbook, some of the things I have revisited:

Burnout or a Jock?
Great Seniors.
Super Seniors
1984 is Here
Hey You!
Friends Forever!
etc etc ad nauseum.

Looking at individual pictures of my classmates, I can only think, "Yep, considered a dork then, very successful now; used to be homely, hot now; lorded it over all of us then, lives in a trailer park now."

I know, I am not very charitable. But I do believe in karma.

The one predominant thing I notice: I have never seen so much feathered hair in one place at one time, after looking at my year book.

Sicilian Orange & Almond Cake

4 eggs, separated
3/4 cup superfine sugar, plus 2tsp for cream
finely grated rind and juice of 2 oranges
finely grated find and juice of 1 lemon
1 cup ground almonds
1/4 self rising flour
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
confectioner's sugar, to dust

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease and line the base of a 7 inch round deep dish cake pan. Blend the egg yolks with sugar until creamy and thick. Beat in half the orange rind and all the lemon rind into egg yolk mixure. Mix the juice from both oranges and the lemon with the ground almonds and stir into the egg yolk mixture. (It will be really runny.) Fold in the flour. Whisk egg whites until stiff and fold into the yolk mixture. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes until golden and springy. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out. It will sink slightly. Beat the cream to form soft peaks. Stir in remaining orange rind, cinnamon and sugar. Once cake is cool, cover with toasted almonds, sift with confectioners sugar and serve with cream.