Letters Never Sent

Verbatim recently discussed the proper forms of address for letters and it reminded me of the days, long ago, when I used to write letters. When writing to friends, I didn't worry too much about the forms of address or the correct format of a letter. But writing to my grandmother was a different story. She was very conscious of social norms and so my mother made sure my brother and I knew how to write a proper letter. We also learned about the art of letter writing in school. The salutation (Dear ), the body (blah, blah, blah) and the the closing (Love, Me). 

Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

In the darkness of the night, Tiger Woods ran his car into a fire hydrant. Or tree. Or both. Everyone - well at least the media - is wondering why he was out at that time of night and how he lost control of the vehicle at a speed so slow that the air bags didn't deploy. Tiger isn't saying much.

And I hope he keeps saying nothing. It isn't any one's business. He wasn't drunk, he didn't hurt anyone and I'm pretty sure he'll pay for any damages. So, Tiger, just keep golfing and don't answer any questions about your personal life. Maybe you'll start a trend.

Please Correct Me, Let Me Know

Today I was rereading a older post and found a glaring error. Not just a typo but a sentence with one word left out and another one just dropped in that didn't belong. I'm not a good editor - self or otherwise. I need two or three people to review reports before I publish them at work. I don't have a blog reviewer (anyone want that job which pays nothing?) and I'm always in a rush to publish. I usually remember to run the spell check but spell check is limited when it comes to scanning for coherence. So if, in the future, you notice typos or just incomprehensible sentences please comment or shoot me an email. I'll thank you, I promise!

Salmon and Ginger

Today I made two different ginger items. The first was pickled ginger and the second was maple-ginger marinated salmon. I love pickled ginger and decided I wanted to make my own. So I checked around the Internet and found this recipe. The hardest part about the preparation is peeling the ginger. The recipe says to rub the skin off but that didn't seem to work so I used a knife. Ginger has lots of odd shapes so it's hard to get all the skin off. Next time I may try just rubbing as best I can and leaving the skin - it might soften up a lot when pickled. I sliced the ginger thinly - not as thin as the ginger you get in the restaurant but I think I like my slices better. I didn't wait a day to try it and it tastes great!

The maple-ginger salmon is a recipe I got from a friend. I had about a pound of salmon. For the marinade, combine 1/2 of grade B maple syrup with 1 TB each of soy sauce, grated ginger, and lemon juice. I also added a little salt, lemon pepper and a touch of grated lemon rind. Then I tossed the fish and all but about 1/8 C of the marinade into a plastic bag and left it in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour. I preheated the oven to 400 and then wrapped the salmon loosely in foil and baked it for about 25 minutes. I topped it with the reserved marinade and served it with fresh green beans and some pickled ginger. It was YUM!

No Nudes Is Good Nudes

This post over at Woulda Coulda Shoulda sums up my thoughts pretty well. I'm all about freedom but I really don't care to see your naked body parts, in action or not. The post reminded of a time, long ago when I held lingerie parties. Kind of like Tupperware parties but with nighties. It was a part time job to bring in some extra money and, for the most part, I enjoyed it.

Serving 101

I completely agree with #7, #8, #32, #34, #36 and #47. I agree with #17 unless I've indicated the plate should be taken.

I don't mind #10, #43 or #37 (when invited).

The rest seem pretty reasonable to me.

100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do