Weekends Are Too Short

I think we can all agree, right? Five days of work and two days of "leisure" is an incorrect balance. I mean, first of all, those two days are never actually leisurely to begin with so, really, you're working seven days a week - just at different jobs.

That being said, I do manage to cram a lot of fun into my two days of housework and errands.

This past weekend, I saw two movies at the theater (trying to keep up with my summer blockbuster movie list). One of these viewings allowed me to spend time with a group of friends that I don't get to see nearly as often as I'd like. I also did some gardening, cleaned my house, went to an Arbonne party where I spent more than planned (imagine that), and hosted a birthday party for two friends who both turned *cough, cough* this month. Not a bad showing for a mere 48 hour period of time.

As for movies, I finally saw Snow White and the Huntsman. It was really good - dark, creepy, and lots of action. The story seemed more like the original book than like the Disney-movie version. I'm tempted to go read the book again to see how closely it followed. There were a couple of "revisions" I didn't care for but, overall, it was pretty awesome. Charlize Theron is the best wicked witch ever. Seriously. I could have done with someone other than Kristen Stewart as Snow White. I just didn't buy her as "fairest in the land". She's pretty and all but she can't hold a candle to Charlize.

I also saw Moonrise Kingdom - the new Wes Anderson movie. *sigh* If you're not a fan of the Andersonian quirk, steer very clear of this movie. It is HIS movie - funny, beautiful, and weird. I was lucky enough to view it with three friends who are involved in movies - two for work, one as a reviewer - as well as three others who are passionate movie-goers with great opinions. After the film, we went out for a drink so we could "discuss it". One of the most film-educated of our group is exhausted by Anderson's need for the set/costume design and shot set-ups to take precedence over the story and acting. We had a lot of lively discussion about whether or not one could love a Wes Anderson film for just being pretty. And, me, being the corporate shill that I am, brought up the fact that, if Anderson stopped making Andersonian films, people might stop going to see them. Regardless of artistic integrity, at some point his style became his franchise. If the dude wants to keep making money, he needs to keep making his style of film. (see: Woody Allen)

You may also be interested in what happened in my garden this weekend. As many of you know, I've been battling a variety of garden pests and learning all about how to control the destructive little bastards as organically as possible. On Saturday, I discovered a whole new level of (*#$&Q$^ bugs on my chard plants - Leaf Miners (aka: Cockroaches of the Plant World) I swear, if there's a nuclear explosion, Leaf Miners will be living alongside the cockroaches in the brave new insect-ruled world.

Here's the deal - leaf miners start out as flies that lay eggs which turn to larvae on the backsides of your chard leaves (also susceptible are beets, spinach, and other leafy plants). The larvae then burrow in between the layers of the leaf and start eating, destroying the leaf in the process. Once the larvae is done, it turns into a fly which then lays more eggs and the cycle continues. Basically, they can wipe you out of leafy greens for the entire summer. So, how do we get rid of them? Well, outside of using some really harsh chemicals, the only option is mitigation and control - trying to stop the cycle before it happens again and staying on top of any eggs/larvae you see.

I spent over an hour on Saturday cutting all the damaged leaves off my chard plants *sob!* (they were almost ready for harvest too), and then sitting amongst my plants with a wet rag and insecticidal soap, wiping the disgusting eggs off the backs off all the undamaged leaves. If that's not garden love, I don't know what is.

Finally, for the birthday party we had at my house, I tried a variation on a recipe that I shared with you all a couple of weeks ago - Spinach and Feta Orzo Salad. Since a number of the attendees are vegetarian, I decided to try making the salad with quinoa instead of orzo. Not that orzo isn't vegetarian - it's a pasta - but the quinoa would add protein to the meal. The texture is very different but I have to say that I really enjoyed the end result - maybe even more than the original recipe. If you're interested in trying it, use all the same ingredients as the original recipe except substitute the orzo with 1.5 cups of quinoa cooked in vegetable broth.

So, those are the highlights of another too-short weekend. I think that, next weekend, I might just plan to do nothing. :)

- Alex