Last night, my wife and I attended a small party (about 15 people) thrown in honor of a guy we know who recently married a woman from an eastern European country. After more than a year of dealing with immigration issues, etc. , she was able to immigrate to the U.S. They got married in Mexico in March or April this year. It was an interesting get-together and an opportunity not only to talk to people who rarely get to see, but to nibble on interesting party dips, etc.
We took a bottle of wine, some stuffed jalapeños (stuffed with a mixture of neufchatel cheese, canned shrimp, lemon juice, cumin powder, and chile powder) topped with a sprig of cilantro, and my wife's hummus, which is the best I've had. Among the other 'stuff' we sampled: a dip made of salmon paté drizzled with watercress-mustard sauce; an interesting dip based primarily on kernels of corn; and some interesting (but probably prepackaged) cheese spreads. Not a big meal, but satisfying nibbling.
The people who hosted the party live in a house in a neighborhood similar to ours...decent houses, all built in the 60s or 70s, but nothing fancy. But, these folks had upgraded their house in some ways that made it very special. They had taken out the wall between their kitchen and living room, opening it up and making it much more conducive to entertaining. They put in a very nice high-end countertop and a gas stove, over which they put a beautiful stainless steel hood...a very modern look to it. They had nice artwork, much of it done by their son who just entered college; the kid is an absolute genius with his art. If I could afford it, I would buy some.
Unfortunately for the hosts, their house is having serious foundation problems. Doors all over the house won't close, there are large cracks in the corners and above doors, etc. We have had such problems before and know they are horrifically expensive to fix. The godawful heat this summer has dried the ground so much that we are experiencing some doors that won't close...we have to do more to water around the foundation to avoid a repeat of the miseries we experienced a few years ago.
Later this morning, my wife and I will do our Sunday wanderings...including a visit to a strange little import joint that doubles as a restaurant and bar, a place called Obzeet. We're looking for very cheap but interesting stuff to add to our tiny collection of oddities that we hope will, eventually, turn our backyard into a funky little oasis.
My mind is musty this morning. I need to take it out for some air.
1 comment:
It's funny you should mention subsidence, which is what it's called when the ground dries out and sinks--I learned this last night.
I noticed some sinking in our yard, and told our estate agent. She's sending a surveyor out today, but meanwhile, last night I read in an article about the heat we've been having that subsidence can occur in dry weather. Curious, I googled it, and learned we're prime targets, with clay soil, a willow tree near the house, and underground streams that are dry.
Here's an article with some advice: http://www.norwichunion.com/press/fs-subsidence-heave.htm
One of those weird times when information converges!
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