> A grammar game! I know someone who would love this. But I shouldn't make fun, especially since I want to buy the book it's based upon. UPDATE: I bought the book. I loved it. Go get it now!
I figured I had a 50% chance of guessing whether I was about to roast the bird upside down or not. And I'm here to say, yes, I did roast it UPSIDE DOWN. Martha would never do that.
Clearly I am lacking in the old-school kind of culinary skills. At least no lives were lost - ok, other than the chicken's.
But despite it all, the bird turned out very well. I used a recipe from Canadian Living which involved stuffing it with garlic, lemons, onions, fresh rosemary and thyme, and rubbing it all over with lemon juice, olive oil and sprinkling it with paprika and more herbs. It was all very yummy, but a shame that I cooked it breast-side down.
a.
<monday august 23, 2004 - 4:09 p.m>
Philosopher Emma:
"Mummy, if there's no one in the house, does the doorbell make a sound?"
also...
Andrea cooks a chicken
Buys chicken too large for the recipe.
Has no idea of the whereabouts of her proper roasting pan.
Recipe calls for rack. What's a rack?
Congratulates herself on removal of heart and neck from cavity and removal of wet paper from the bottom.
Reaching into aforementioned cavity makes her feel rude.
Doesn't know which way is up. Figures she has 50/50 chance of getting it right.
Kitchen string? Is garden twine ok?
Halfway through cooking she decides to turn it over. Armed with thick wads of paper towel, she succeeds (without dripping fat everywhere or dropping it on the floor.)
Chicken looks funny upside down. She turns it back over. Rips holes in skin. Watches juices drip away from potentially juicy bird. Feels tears spring into her eyes.
It’s times like this that I’m glad to have a husband around to do the dirty work.
Emma just lost her second tooth. It’s been wiggly for weeks, and for the last couple days was hanging on a thread sinew. If Mark weren’t here, I would have let it wiggle until it fell off all by itself. I just couldn’t have handled it. I can handle my own teeth (brushing, flossing, trips to the dentist) I can handle brushing/flossing Emma and Sarah’s, I can’t however, handle the sound of other people flossing *shudder* and wiggly teeth make me cringe. For some reason it ranks right alongside centipedes, cockroaches, slimy ham, and nails on chalkboards.
I think the trauma of having my father rip out my loose teeth when I was little scarred me for life. In fact, the theme of tooth loss is one of my most frequent reoccurring nightmares: the feeling of that loose tooth, the iron-tasting blood in the little divet underneath, the Chicklet-like feeling of the tooth in my mouth. Ugh. Thank god Mark was here to save the day!
Mark's two cents: "I knew from they day she was born that I was going to be the one pulling the teeth."
p.s. thanks everyone for your birthday wishes. I had a very nice day, which was celebrated with gifts, takeout from Mekong, and a large vanilla raspberry white chocolate cake.
p.s. thanks everyone for your birthday wishes. I had a very nice day, which was celebrated with gifts, takeout from Mekong, and a large vanilla raspberry white chocolate cake. 
