But I'm Canadian, So Everything's OK

Bought these glasses for $14.99 US at the John Wayne International Airport. Finally opened them up and read the warning label:

WARNING: This material used as colored decorations on the exterior of this product contain lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.

This warning applies to the State of California only

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman's Corned...Beef

Have had a Corned Beef Hash fixation since that Sunday morning a few weeks back in Blue Ridge Georgia when Sheena chose grits instead and regretted it ever since.

So shopping on Friday when I saw a can of Hereford Beef up on the shelf and I insisted we buy it.

How to Make Kick Ash Hash (with kudos again to El Chaperone):

1. Chop up one potato into teeny little cubes. Sheena said "just grate them" but he insisted on the personal touch cubing.

2. Same thing with one medium onion. Heh heh... love to see grown men cry.

3. Smash up one can of Hereford Corned Beef. Make low guttural mooing sounds as you open the tin.

4. Saute the chopped potatoes and onions until mostly cooked through and almost tender to touch.

5. Add flaked up corned beef.

6. Add a couple of tablespoons of something wet to hold it together. We used BBQ sauce. Some recipes suggested hot sauce, ketchup or beef stock. That sounded gross.

7. Optionally, fry up an egg or two. Toast if you want it. Put the egg on top and poke it with a fork and let the runny yolk get all over it. Eat.

Why can't MY name be Sue Surly...

Dinner at Lee's on King W tonight with some girl peeps. Intended as a more affordable, accessible gastronomic journey than the flagship Susur right next door, Sheena's curiousity was piqued. Online reviews were all over the map; yet Sheena completely trusted the judgment of the recommender. Only a careful personal inspection could resolve the dilemma.

It was a lovely meal, and would not hesitate to embark upon a return visit. Tapas style service, but fairly generous servings intended for sharing and snitching. Only one item likely not to be reordered - the satay plate - but not because it wasn't good (it was), it was just nothing all that different.

Salads and appetizer type thingies were fabulous. Glad to have a repeat visitor at the table to offer suggestions. All winners: Singapore Slaw salad. A bit of a production when it is brought to the table and mixed to your personal satisfaction. Pommes Frites (with pre-drizzled spicy mayo) was featherlight and super crispy. Left the table a complete mess, but rendered Sheena feeling shameful and inadequate (see immediate previous post....)

Blue Cheese Fresh Fig Toasted Walnut Salad was divine. Reminded me of the Goat Cheese Salad I love so much at Cafe Taste on Queen W.

Braised Beef was like eating meat pudding. Oh Oh Oh. Falling apart roast on top of fluffy mashed potatoes. Sort of reminded me of the Braised Beef at the Swan.

Duck Confit was unique and packed with flavour - roasted dried pineapple (spicy and concentrated), goat cheese and more wonderful toasted walnuts.

Sparkling Sake Strawberry cocktail, chocolate molten cake with banana stuff and a spicy ginger creme brulee with lots of fresh fruit ended our din-din. Kind of felt rushed out the door for the next wave of reservations. Recommended for the semi-adventurous eaters not hung up on price. Was nice to see the Big Kahuna do a little meet & greet walkabout.

Did a very generous feed for 3 unapologetically hungry chicks including dessert and some basic wine and ended up under $200. Not bad, but could certainly do more damage next time round...Wines by the glass selection not exactly earthshattering, so stuck to an inoffensive Chilean Sauvignon Blanc.

You Want Fries with That?

Home cookin' Chez Sheena last night featuring mucho carbs, big pans of hot grease, too much salt and of course, a little snack of Bouq Emissaire during the preparation...








Mayor McCheese can so kiss my ass.

Happier Than a Scoopful of Egg Salad in a Pumpernickel Sammich

Peter Mackay, Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Questionable Long Distance Hookups displays trademark shit-eating grin as he fantasizes about being the "Other White Meat".

Proofreader Required

Err... yes. Of course. The Balony Rapist.

Something Fishy? Or Just Ducky?

Dinner at Simon Lin's just outside Chicago tonight. Forgot the camera at the hotel. Dammit. But yay for Simon Lin who has a neato picture menu on his site.

Oh... first a Seaweed Salad sidebar: had seaweed salad and a lovely smoked fish plate at the Drake Hotel in Toronto yesterday and Sheena remembered how much she adored seaweed salad, and thought I'd eat it again today. Then looked at the nutritional content. Yowza baby. A sodium dirty bomb. Just a heads up. That is all.

Tonight wasn't in a huge sushi mood but the Tartare Parfait was too much to resist. Tuna and Salmon tartare with a bit of avocado, creme fraiche topped with caviar. Served on an upside down martini glass with some baby greens under glass. Yummy, and bristled with hostility when required to share.
Main was the Sweet Crispy Duck. Done medium, on a bed of sweet potato mash in a yummy sweet & sour type of glaze. Lightly spiced steamed veggies on the side.

One of the dining companions had the Hot Roll, which Sheena coveted from afar. Maybe next time.

YYZ ------> ORD

Holy Craparoni! The Revue Falls Down: Goes Boom.

Thankfully, no lingering boozehounds or smokers injured at The Local next door on Roncesvalles. The intrepid North Ronces Blog is on the scene... as is Blog TO (good pics there...)

February is Free Month

A recent post by Crazy Legs over at Theatre of Cruelty reminded me of why February is the shortest month.

Growing up in a middle-middle class family in a blue collar Prairie city, we kept our sanity through twisted humour and relentless one-up-manship. Sheena can't remember ever living through a winter where she didn't hear the words "February is Free Month". Competitive juices and never-pay-retail fierceness kept the Winnipeg winters at bay, warming our hearts with questionably procured booty.

Aunts, uncles, mothers, fathers, siblings and cousins. We made furtive evening phone calls, slammed down fists at Sunday dinners and in more recent years exchanged dissing emails. At the end of the month the bragging rights are awarded: He/She who gets the most free stuff by guile, contest or pure sheer luck was crowned winner for the year.

The last time Sheena won was about 8 years ago. That was when the stray kitten who refused to leave the front stairs finally was taken in for neutering and shots. We had agreed that he was officially adopted. Unfortunately there was another white cat at the vet that day. So when the poor darling was placed back into our arms, he not only was missing his balls, but no longer had any claws with which to scratch them. Yep - accidentally declawed during a mixup. All told, the free neutering, free declawing, free food and shots came to about $300 bucks. Sheena cried for her poor mutilated kitty, but won the family bragging rights, and that made it all OK.

So what's your free shit this month? Come on. Bragging rights on the table. Whaddya score?

The Breakfast Vegetable

This morning El Chaperone the Einstein of Pancakery made Sweet Potato Pancakes from the mix I bought at SuperTarget in Atlanta. A kick-ass source of betacarotene, the Bruce's mix is high fibre, low fat, low cholesterol, blah blah blah.

Sheena loves exotic pancakes, but never orders them out in restaurants. They are a home cooking thing. If I'm going to spend money eating out, there has to be meat. Otherwise it's a rip.

Previous pancake successes have included Alberta's pride Coyote Pancake Mix, the mortar of choice for firewall construction, and available at Safeways up until Thunder Bay. Utter resolute failure in the form of Williams & Sonoma Egg Nog Pancake and Waffle Mix both from price point and fake tasting flavour.

The Sweet Potato pancakes were a bit gluey, but very very flavourful. A touch of cinnamon added in the mix created a nice homey scent in the air as they were cooking. Only downside: the package of mix only made a measly four medium sized pancakes. Enough, but not going to last us until dinner like a mess of Coyotes often will...

Sheena's Travel Tips #7

Be flexible with travel schedules during the unpredictable winter weather months. CNN Reporting flight delays and cancellations due to cold weather affecting airplane windshields at Denver International.

Sheena can verify these reports, having very recently herself observed an airplane with a crack in the window.

SkyWest Airlines reported cracked windshields on eight planes that were taking off or landing Friday as winds gusted up to 50 mph, spokeswoman Marissa Snow said. One plane's windshield cracked while it was airborne.
"Only the outermost layer was affected," Snow said of the windshields, which are made from multiple layers of glass.
SkyWest, a regional carrier for United Airlines, said the planes involved were the Embraer EMB120 Brasilia and Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet, though she did not immediately have numbers.

Two Frontier Airlines Airbus planes had their windshields crack while airborne, while two other windshields cracked while at the gate, airline spokesman Joe Hodas said.

In all instances the planes returned to the airport and/or made it to the gate safely. No emergencies were declared and no injuries were reported.

Hodas said it was unclear whether the high winds were to blame.

Sheena has no further information on how high winds may have exacerbated the situation.

Smell The Glove

Pints last night at Pauper's Pub at Bloor & Bathurst with some strangers from the innerdnets. Somewhat pedestrian beer on tap list, but appetizers were half-price until 7pm, and the waiter was funny and snarky as all get out. The chicken quesadillas were adequate, but a little thin on the chicken and heavy on the dilla. Not a hell of a lot of quesa found. A few laughs were had, a toast was made, some rude stories shared. All good fun. Thanks guys. And Joanne

Best part of the evening was finding a really nice pair of gloves after everybody left. Kept my hands warm on the rather indirect route home. If they look familiar, please let me know and I'd be happy to return them. But don't dilly-dally. I only have one roll of toilet paper left in the bathroom cupboard...

An Estrofest Valentimes: AKA SHEENA WENT TO ORANGE COUNTY AND GOT CRABS

Valentines away from home, so Sheena looked for the little things around her to spread the lurve. While shopping in Atlanta last week, picked up a few boxes of Necco Valentine Hearts. Worked out to 25 cents a pack. But the big smile on everyone's face when I slipped a box into their hand or pocket was worth a million bucks. Random acts of Kindness. Sheena kicks Oprah's ass.

Dinner was five women on the loose. Loose women, as it were. Central meeting point was Evita's big comfy king size bed. Don't think we could have fit 6. Then on to the Main Street stroll in Huntington Beach in search of fun. Wandered and read the menus and settled on No Ka Oi, Hawaiian cuisine. Great choice. Only regret was larger than expected portions and none of us could finish it all.

Starters included Grilled Artichoke, coconut shrimp, homemade potato chips with grated parmesan. Sheena had the crab cakes - very generous helping accompanied by garlic mash and really interesting french fried green beans. I found it a touch greasy, but my dining companions raved and they ate most of the beans. Only 18$.

Mai-tais not made to spec, so not cracking the neck-and-neck power tais from Don Ho or Trader Vics, but still very yummy. Found the coconut rum used a tad too sweet. Kind of plain on the garnishes. No fruit or weird plastic swirl sticks or anything.

FUH2

Fuck You H2. Sheena hasn't uploaded these yet, but will soon....

Why Americans Think Canadians Are Idiots

2 AM on Tuesday Night: She says I'm going in the Ocean Tomorrow. You guys think I won't do it, but I will. They say: But it's like, 55 degree water, you'll freeze. I don't care, I'm Canadian, I can take it. OK fine. Noon, Wednesday, at the Beach in front of Taco Bell.

Noon on Wednesday: OK, so where's all the others. They're not coming. Apparently he does not feel obligated to follow through with any promise made after more than 3 beers.

Sheena the wise observer from afar: The sign of a TRUE man IS following through with stupid promises made after more than 3 beers. Hang on, let me put in new camera batteries.

M0nd0-uber shrinkage shot:

You Must be 21 To Read This Post

Lunch on the patio at Sharkeez Bar and Grill. Surprisingly good food for a sports-themed-mexican-roadhouse-surfer chain restaurant and very decently priced. Excellent freshly made guacamole.

One of the more in-your-face cocktail menus Sheena's seen in a while. Was finished being a grownup for the day, so went for the ace card. "Montezuma's Revenge". Hand shaken margarita with premium Gold tequila and Everclear. Yes. Everclear. That shadowy mythical elixir rumoured to have killed that unpopular kid in shop class at someone's party in grade 10. The whisper drink. The illegal in several jurisdictions hooch. A panic suppressant and hand disinfectant.

Added little bonus flavour of a jalapeno which I slightly muddled to give a pleasant hot sting with every little sip.

VD in the OC

Walking around the Pier on Huntington Beach and one of Sheena's companions looked up.

Sky writing is actually pretty slow and kind of boring to watch. By the time he got to "Marry" the "Will U" pretty much got blown away and just looked like regular chemtrails. So we expected the next word to be "ME". We were surprised when he did a M-A instead of M-E.

"MA"? Will U Marry Ma? Hey, I wonder if the kids all saved up their allowance to get their deadbeat dad to get off his ass.

But it turns out it was just a do-over.

Two Deads Are Better Than One

Regular readers of SheenaVision know that she is a piggish whore for all things D'Arenberg. Recently had the absolute sheer delightful pleasure of uncorking TWO Dead Arm Shirazes with my dear Georgia Peach, one of the few women who can rival Sheena's collection. Except she has a wine room. Yep. A whole room just for wine. Note to self... I hate her now.

I bought my first Dead Arm (a 1999) in Sydney a couple of years ago on my first visit down under. Have been buying and loving D'arenberg reds and whites ever since. Uncorked it with some appreciative friends and marveled at how it changed in the glass over a couple of hours. Decanting in advance a must.

We opened a 1997 and a 2000. The '97 was lovely. Rich and full, hints of chocolate and dark berry. Lots of swirling and sniffing. The 2000 was very nice, but not nearly as gorgeous as the older vintage. A little greener, maybe a bit of bell pepper. Probably still too early for it.

She has the whole series from 1995 to the recently 2004. Did I mention I hate her now? Sheena still has about a half dozen, but nothing older than '99.

Baci Ball

Dinner at Baci last night. Don't ask Sheena why it is called "Beach Boulevard", because the only sights seen beyond the parking lot was a DUI with 4 cop cars and lots of broken automotive glass.

Meat seemed to be the hit of the night, with the waiter bringing out a big old bloody plate of lamb chops, rib eye and filet to tempt the testoserone laden among us into fighting for the last of the 'specials'.

Sheena had the lobster pasta with house Pinot Grigio. Good food but not worth the sketchy cab ride into Stripmallvilleland. Hate places with bathrooms right off the dining room floor where noises are apparent and obvious for lactose and/or fibre intolerant companions.

Talkin' Art

Sheena appreciates the urban experience and this enjoyment extends to the colour and creativity that surrounds her as she short-cuts through back alleys in her magnificent realm of East Parkdale.

Today she happened upon some pictures of what struck her as, well, lame-ass. To get a second opinion, she reaches out to her mentor and tutor in all things paint, the internationally renowned urban artist and social critic Jeks.


Sheena:
Good morning Jeks. As a respected urban artist, Sheena wishes to incorporate your experienced eye into her assessment of some pictures of a recent tagging of the Trans-Con. Do you have a moment?

JEKS: Yo what up Sheena... much love, girl!

Sheena: My gut opinion is that, well, the colour schemes in these paintings are pretty weak. Maybe even kind of flouncy. And they seem, well, prematurely gesticulated. Am I being snobby, or are these tags, well, shitty?

JEKS: Yo K check it. These guys bombed this train hard!! Props yo. Da shits not da best but like yo they aint goin for sum artistic integrity er nuthin.

Naw, they heated themselves out hard and just destroyed da VIA train, thats like the most ballzy train in all of Canada to hit. Yo like these dudes coulda spent a couple hours workin on a boxcar in a yard and made that shit look all nice, but naw, they just wanted to get da name up n show people they got ballz, not skillz.

Da pink makes you notice it yo. I luv pink yo it's silly fresh and I aint no friend of Dorthy if ya know what im sayin.

Sheena: "These guys bombed this train hard!! " Why do you assume it's guys? Maybe the pink indicates a girl painter. Why is graffiti so sexist?

JEKS: Yo my badd. Coulda been some chicks or something that would be dope. Coulda been a hermafradite for all Jeks knows. Theres some honeys that write graffiti but da theory is like cats pissin in your shoes cuz they markin they territory. Yo it’s a guy thing.

Sheena: Why do you say the "most ballzy train in all of Canada to hit"? Are you saying that there's some ranking of targets out there in graffitiland? Are points awarded? What are some other prime targets?

JEKS: Yo we get points there called props. Can be redeemed at UnderPressure da graff-fest in MTL every year. Prime targets is like anything that will get noticed ya know. Trains and busses is pretty fresh cuz they move round for everyone to see. Billboards is ill too cuz like fat cats spend mad cash on plannin the perfect spot for advertising so we just climb up n get our own for free. Yo as long as its gunna be seen, it be a prime target.

Sheena: Hm... So in a lot of ways, tagging is kind of like blogging. It's all about being noticed. Just another form of attention whoredom? I geddit.

But back to the pictures. So, is this trying to say TOM B or TOMB? How does one distinguish a mere doubter from a desolate grave?

JEKS: Yo I aint hearda this dude before ever, but Im pretty sure it says "TOMB". Could be TOM B tho, I aint here ta spekulate.

Da point of dis lil stunt wuz to get people talkin about it... "TOMB is crazy, yo! He hit da VIA train" Prolly a pretty cocky dude in his teens lookin to earn some respect in a crowded "urban" subculture. So many kids competin for respect that they start doing real risky shit to get noticed. This shit takes sum plannin. Prolly cut holes in da fence and chilled there scopin out the train for a couple nites til they figure out da best way to hit it without gettin busted.

Sheena: "Da point of dis lil stunt wuz to get people talkin about it... " - So are you saying that Sheena is falling into this sordid little ploy? I've been duped? Will this up my blog hit traffic?

JEKS: Yo I aint sayin you been duped, like yo if someone scaled the CN Tower and painted it we’d be talkin about that. If sum dude in BC kills sum hoes at a pig farm then we talk bout dat too ya know. Graff is a enough a crime to be in the papers and news and like thats dope cuz I’d be cuttin that shit out and hangin it on my fridge. Famous… Infamous… either way, dudes is talkin ya know! Yo I’ll get ya some madd traffic like the 401 up in here ya know what im sayin!

Sheena: What is the significance of 315? I understand that many graffiti kids use their area code as a shout out to homies in homieville, but - like... Albany, NY? Come on. Are you sure these weren't perhaps special ed students tryingto do Jesus proud by respecting John 3:16, but missing a verse?

JEKS: Yo Jesus aint a big parta graffiti. I aint real sure what da 315 crew is... most likely a buncha dudes who paint together n stuff. It's just numbers yo I aint no mathematician. We used to rep da 594 crew cuz dats da cops code fo graffiti in progress... also da country code for French Guyana but yo I aint never been there yet.

Sheena: Well, thanks for the input, Jeks. I hear it's pretty cold out West these days. Keep ya earz to the ground so you can hear the warm vibz I'm sending out to ya crib! And next time at UndaPressure, stay away from noo shooz. Word. Maybe find a little place for Jesus in your work some day.

JEKS: Yo it's been a real slice, girl. Hit me up on Myspace Yo, I'm out like the Jerry Curl... Peace!

Conservative Prime Minster Death Match 3000

Digging around some officialdomish web sites today and came across The Office of the Prime Minister of Canada site as well as the Conservative Party of Canada and Sheena learnded something interesting.

That:

In 2003, Mr. Harper co-founded the Conservative Party of Canada and went on to contest and win the new party’s leadership.

Well, now. Sheena is no expert on memory erasure or historical revisionism, but I'm pretty sure that Macdonald, Bowell, Tupper, Borden, Meighen and Bennett at the very least could progress Harper's ass right back to Diefenbakerville. Al Gore eat your heart out.

Airport News Flash! Skid Marks On Runway At YHZ

In airport news today, Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially christened the Halifax airport with its new name: The Robert L. Stanfield International Airport.

Often referred to as the Greatest Prime Minister Canada Never Had, Stanfield today was referred to as one who "set the standard for dignity and civility" in Parliament.

It is in this solemn vein that Sheena asks if perhaps this is a whole new way to skid down the runway. Wonder if there is any connection between the new Stanfield Airport and this product launch.

Unintended Side Effects of Wrinkle Cream

This post by MomTheMinx reminded me of something that happened last week shopping at Bloomingdales.

Several years ago in New Orleans, a few of us went to Jackson Square for some palm reading after a lovely dinner at K-Paul's. We picked an old wizardly man, dressed in leather breeches. Had long flowing grey hair and beard.

He read us all. Was fascinating. Pointing out the differences and similarities among us. We sniggered at how accurate some of the personality traits were. He sat up and took notice when it was Sheena's turn. My hand is different than most. Only seen it a few other times. His was like mine. A multitude of spidery thin lines, making it difficult to see some of the traditional lines. Mine was 1 in 10,000. He said represented an old soul: wisdom, insight, armchair strategist.

Walking through the cosmetics department, a taut peroxided woman approached us, offering us a sample of a new skin enhancement creme. It was meant to be put on the face before any make up, so that it would plump in any fine lines before the war paint. Skin looks smoother, younger.

She took a little sample on a stick and asked us to try it. Put out my hand and she rubbed it right in. Minutes later my heart stopped and I gasped. "Oh my God... I've lost my soul". Sure enough, the lines were gone. I felt very Bart Simpson for the rest of the day until it wore off.

When Party Girls Get Old (updated...)

So like what do you get when you combine 5 career women with a North Georgia fully equipped mountain cabin, a case of wine, $100 worth of Whole Foods cheeses, and a deck of tarot cards?

Yep. You get 48 hours of MBA and PHD level poop talk.

From constipation to asparagus pee smell, the magic of fibre additives and new perspectives on the word smash to images of pressed ham by the light of the full moon....


Updated to add a link to the weird parallel world called Variety Shac. Courtesy of Various and Sunday Sheena presents The Country House

Celebrity Sighting

The last person to board Sheena' flight from Washington Reagan National up to La Guardia was none other than Jon Voight. He looked quite handsome in all navy, sitting in business class, Sheena about 6 rows behind in economy. Wondered how weird it would be to walk through the airport terminal with all the magazine stores displaying picture of the daughter who won't speak to you every where you turn. Wondered if he was coming back from the funeral of of his ex wife, the mother of Angelina Jolie.

Then as we were waiting for the luggage after landing, saw he was wearing a Buffalo Bills jacket. Probably just coming home from SuperBowl XLI.

Mai Tai Night at Trader Vic's

$4.50 Mai Tais, free validated valet parking at the Hilton and most excellent musical entertainment courtesy of Tongo Hiti. A Thursday night tradition at the Atlanta Trader Vic's.

The Mai-Tais were very yummy. Sheena loved them, but must confess that they reside in the #2 position on the Official Mai-Tai Tasting Scorecard, just a smidge behind those at Don Ho's Island Grill in Honolulu. I think they needed the little floater splash of dark rum that Don does and it would have been perfect.

Sheena ordered one, so did The Georgia Cheek and then the third guest said "Me Too". We turned to her and said, No, it is pronounced "Mai Tai". I think that is when the waiter realized it might be a long and aggravating evening for him.

The biggest and most pleasant surprise was the food. It was really good. Guess we expected just puu-puu platters or something, but the meals kicked ass.

Sheena had the mixed grill (lamb, small filet, chicken). The duck sitting next to me was also very nicely done. Trader Vic's has this indoor smokehouse fire oven so the meats are tender, lightly smoked and perfectly done.

For dessert, we split 2 creme brulees - a chocolate one and a coconut one. We wanted something that could be set on fire, but their signature flaming dish, Bananas Foster, could only be done in the dining room instead of the lounge area where we were. Something about firecode and blocked aisles. Goddamn nanny state always ruining our lives.

Official Mai Tai Recipes over the years

THE ORIGINAL FORMULA
2 ounces 17-year-old J. Wray Nephew Jamaican rum

1/2 ounce French Garnier Orgeat

1/2 ounce Holland DeKuyper Orange Curacao

1/4 ounce Rock Candy Syrup

juice from one fresh lime

Hand shake and garnish with half of the lime shell inside the drink and float a sprig of fresh mint at the edge of the glass.

FIRST ADJUSTED MAI TAI FORMULA
1 ounce 15-year old J. Wray Nephew Jamaican Rum

1 ounce Coruba or Red Heart Jamaican Rum

1/2 ounce Trader Vic Formula Orgeat

1/2 ounce Holland DeKuyper Orange Curacao

1/4 ounce Rock Candy Syrup

juice from one fresh lime

Mix and serve as in the original formula.

SECOND ADJUSTED MAI TAI FORMULA
1 ounce Trader Vic's Jamaican Rum (15- or 8-year old)

1 ounce Martinique Rum (St. James or Trader Vic's)

1 ounce pre-mixed Curacao, Orgeat and Rock Candy Syrup

juice from one fresh lime

Mix and serve as in the original formula.

PRESENT DAY FORMULA OF THE MAI TAI
2 ounces fine dark rum

4 ounces Trader Vic's Mai Tai Mix

juice of one large lime

Shopping in Atlanta - Part 2

So the one item Sheena deliberately left off her list yesterday was finally sampled tonight. Celebrating a belated birthday/divorce/housewarming/new job thingie this weekend up in a remote corner of North Georgia.

Our charming hostess cracks open a delightfully cheekily labled Sophia Cuvee (named after Sophia Coppola - scionessette to the Francis Ford Coppola movie and wine amalgamation...)

Lovely, light, tasty. A wonderful gift months ago from one of our party to another.

Mistake of the night:

Pairing this charming sparkler with the "Bingles Red Velvet" prepackaged snack cakes.

Or as I exclaimed tonight: The Tampon Twinkie....

Shopping in Atlanta

Family Dollar, College Park, Georgia near Hartsfield International

LINDSAY LOHAN WAS MY STEWARDESS!!!

From NYC to Fatlanta via Dulles dishwater last night. On the connection from IAD to ATL, a flight attendant in full uniform sits beside me on the cramped and full-to-capacity CRJ 700. Mostly business people and blingers. Once we reach cruising altitude, the service cart comes out. Sheena flips through her wallet looking for an American $5. Finds one, puts it on the table tray. Waits patiently trying to crack through Level 16 Brickbreaker while the cart inches its way up the aisle.

The in-uniform flight attendant leans over and asks if I am planning to buy something from the cart. Sheena replies, "Probably. If they have white wine, I will".

"Oh," she says. Then she smiled slyly at me and said, "If you were going to get a cocktail I was going to offer to save you the money. I have a bottle of vodka in my purse".

Wow. Thanked her and chuckled. Figured she must have hit duty free on a stopover.

So Sheena got her white wine (The Sutter Home Pinot Grigio - which is actually drinkable with a full cup of ice - unlike its rancid Chardonnay little brother). And my seatmate got some cranberry juice. She took a sip, leaving an inch of space at the top. Then reached into her purse and pulled out a Dasani water bottle. Opened it, and poured it into her juice. Took a sip, and topped it off a bit more.

Very impressive. Though I did wonder how she got it through the no-liquid security zone...