Jan

2010

That's the best I got

On the way to visit Eric at gunnery last weekend, we made a pit stop at a 7-Eleven, of all things.

I wanted the bottle of peach 2 water you see in the back – love that stuff.

But when I saw the DMZ water, I had to buy it just for the novelty of it.

DMZ water? As in Demilitarized Zone Water? The 38th parallel? That 2 & a half mile wide strip that divides North from South?

Really?

Ever since I brought it home I’ve been racking my brain for creative, tongue-in-cheek advertising slogans they could use.

But I’m coming up blank.

Total blank.

Nada.

Zip.

Zilch.

Not even chocolate is working.

I’m going to blame it on the Korean cold I managed to contract a few days ago.

(The first cold I’ve had in 5 years.)

So help a girl out, what would be a funny slogan for DMZ water?

But the good news is that Eric comes home for good tomorrow – well, at least for a little while before they head out again for the next gunnery in February.

Keep your fingers crossed that they give him & the guys a few days off before they have to be back at work.

Category: Jennifer, Life in Korea, Quick Pics 5 Comments

Jan

2010

I HAVE MADE BREAD!

And all is right in the world again

jennifer

So here’s something you should know about me…besides the fact that I can’t cook.

I have a juke-box in my head.

Yep…and without any conscious effort on my part it pulls out the perfect song to fit any given situation – like this one!

So sing along & enjoy!

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[humor me - play the music]

For Eric’s one-night home from the cold, frozen tundra of gunnery I decided to make one our favorite winter meals…

Soup with Crunchy Bread.

Any homemade soup will do…but the bread?

You just can’t substitute store-bought, sandwich sliced bread for a good crunchy bread.

So all winter long I’ve been missing Panera, Le Madeliene and Central Market…artisan crunchy bread paradise for a carb-addicted bread lover like me.

And if you thought my quest for pumpkin was hard - try finding a decent bread, any decent bread, at the commissary!

They all expire within a day or two…and mold by the 3rd or 4th. It’s because they fly our bread in from the states.

But after finding a no-knead crunchy bread recipe online, I was determined to make it myself.

And look!

I HAVE MADE BREAD!

As I pulled this beautifully rustic, golden-brown artisan bread out of the oven…

…thumping the hard crust to hear that lovely hollow sound…

Julie Andrews & the Von Trapp Children started singing in my head.

Incessantly.

I mean it.

All night.

“Jam and bread…tea with jam…jam and bread.”

It was like my own personal Hallelujah Chorus complete with trumpets & thunderous applause.

“TEA WITH JAM & BREAD…

WITH JAM AND BREAD…

WITH JAM – WITH JAM …

AND…

BREAD!”

[bowing profusely]

Thank you, thank you!…No really, thank you – you’re too kind!

Thank you Ladies & 2 Gentlemen…you’ve been a wonderful audience!

Thank you so much! Good night!

I’m off to the after party!

FOOTNOTE: If you’d like to have your own Hallelujah moment, you can try out the recipe here at King Arthur Flour.

God bless King Arthur.

Category: Commissary, Jenn Can't Cook, Jennifer, Set to Music 5 Comments

Jan

2010

Kitty Litter

Of a different sort

jennifer

I’ve been here how many days now?…250-something?…

But it wasn’t until about a month ago - when it really started getting cold – that I began to see neighborhood cats.

Wild strays – scavengers picking through the slop tossed out for the chickens in the goat pen.

There’s this little kitty, a mouthy gray & white male, a beautiful orange-striped & orange-eyed tom and the fluffiest – yet filthiest- white Persian looking cat…well, more of a drab gray, really.

Not to mention the custodian’s short-haired calico with a mouth bigger than my Kitten.

But I thought I’d share this quick picture with you before calling it a night.

Eric made it home & because of some scheduling issues he’s staying the night & he’ll be home all day tomorrow before heading back up north.

PS – The Little Green Men are in my woods again. And this time they’ve brought razor wire…rolls & rolls of it.

Category: Jennifer, Our Neighborhood, Quick Pics Leave a Comment