Potatoes in the Mist

From MSN: All you " Office " fans secretly hoping for a real-life Jim and Pam romance, just give it up already. The New York Daily News spied John Krasinski "canoodling" with on- and off-screen ex Rashida "Karen" Jones at a post-"SNL" party last week, the second time in six months they've been seen cozying up. The paper also caught the sometime squeezes looking thisclose at a May screening of " Shrek the Third ." Oh well...I kind of thought he and "Karen" were good together anyway.

So I woke up at the crack of dawn this morning (this could have to do with falling asleep at 10 pm) and figured I'd see if there was anything on the tube. Weirdly enough, all the channels seem to be off the air. I wonder if this has to do with the writers' strike. Anybody else have this problem? I wonder if aspiring TV writers in L.A. can step forward and be scabs for the striking writers right now. I guess they probably don't want to, especially if they are part of the union. Update: D called RCN, and now the TV is working.

So I turned on the TV tonight before Pushing Daisies came on, just in time to catch the tail end of Wheel of Fortune. Pat Sajak and Vanna White look exactly like they did when I was a kid. Pat asked Vanna, "What are you wearing for Halloween?" Vanna replied, "Easy. Black. Simple. Maybe I'll put a letter on the front." They laugh and Pat leans in: "What letter?" Vanna (nervously): "I dunno. Maybe an N?" Pat: "Well, I wish you would wear an I. So I could dot it." This, um, clever innuendo made me wonder...have Pat and Vanna ever been...together? Ick.

So D and I tried out Pushing Daisies , the new show about a guy who can bring back people from the dead (usually temporarily) and solve mysteries with their assistance. I liked it. D thought it was "fun and weird," and was surprised it got funding because it was a tad inaccessible. I hope it lasts! In other news, Dave Eggers is coming out with a new book in 2008. It's an adult version of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. I'm looking forward to reading it. And...Sophie Kinsella is coming out with another book in 2008 as well! Not in the Shopaholic series, but I'm happy about it anyway.

I take back what I said about The Big Bang Theory . Mostly. Penny is still a really dull character. But most of the other people are funny. An embarrassing thing happened today. My SIL told me she was going to leave some yarn in a bag on my doorknob. I had a feeling it had arrived, so I opened the door to fetch the bag. Unfortunately, an old guy on my hallway was walking toward my door, so he could use the garbage chute. Why was this unfortunate? Because it was about 89 at the time, our building shut off the A/C in September, and well, you get the picture. The good news is, I didn't open the door all the way. I just kind of snaked my arm out. So I don't know how much he saw. Hopefully not a lot. Usually our hall is about as lively as a tomb. I guess I'll just pretend nothing happened when I see him again. Ugh. And I finished a scarf! The pattern was fun to make.

I realized I hadn't blogged in a few days. It kind of slipped to the back of my mind. Well, here's some of the stuff that's been going on with me/us: I'd been remiss about watching my Netflix movies, in particular Step Up (starring Jenna Dewan and Channing Tatum - Who? Right.) Actually, you may remember that Jenna dated Justin Timberlake for a while, and was one of his dancers. I felt like it was time to get some new movies, so we watched this one. It wasn't great but not horrible either. It's a good one to watch with your significant other/friends because you'll have fun accurately predicting most of the movie based on the first 19 minutes. Then, at the 1 hr 30 min mark, you can accurately predict the ending. I've also been working on a number of knitting projects. I'm finishing up a capelet for my cousin, and a scarf with a fun pattern and a hat are also in progress. Hopefully I'll have pictures of everything up within a week. I also think Big ...

I did a search for "Fall Lineup 2007 TV" (yes, I miss my shows) and ended up at Futon Critic . Futon Critic shared a few disheartening things with me: 1) The New Adventures of Old Christine won't be back until 2008. What the heck? It's better than a lot of movies. Evan Almighty, for one. (Wanda Sykes is in both of them so it's easy to compare.) 2) Notes from the Underbelly, which I started to watch at the end of last season, is also delayed until 2008. 3) Something I've been dreading in the back of my mind finally happened: The Office and Grey's Anatomy will be starting at the same time. Since The Office is shorter, I can catch the last half of Grey's. At least nothing is competing with Desperate Housewives.

My mother sent me the following e-mail today: Did I tell you I think my coyote ate my groundhog? I haven't seen the groundhog since the day the coyote was outside the family room window staring at him (about a month). *Shiver*. I always liked the little guy, though he left holes in my mother's lawn. His handiwork made it hard for her to mow. Also, she may have even tripped in the holes. So she was probably grateful to the coyote. Still, the groundhog was a cute little fellow. He used to stand on his hind legs with his paws clasped, as if in prayer. He liked to eat apples from my mom's two apple trees. In other news... I was watching Big Love last night (no spoilers, don't worry) and wondering what is in it for Margene. Barb was roped into it (the polygamous marriage, that is); Nicki is from the compound. But Margene didn't grow up with the Principle, had no prior husband to pressure her into it, and is young and pretty. I'm still half-hoping she'll run off w...

So tonight we went to dinner at a place we hadn't been to in a long time. D asked if they still had the goat cheese tempura salad. The waitress said, "Well, it's a secret salad." This meant it wasn't on the menu anymore, but we could order it. We felt like part of a secret salad society. Then we saw License to Wed. It was good, but not great. It featured performances from almost everyone in The Office (Mindy Kaling, Angela, the big balding guy, and of course, John Krasinski) and several other fun actors (Lois Hendrickson from Big Love * and the girl who played Marcia Brady in A Very Brady Movie and also appeared in The Wedding Singer ). There were a couple of "babies" who stole the show. They definitely created the most humorous moments in the movie. I would say Knocked Up, Ratatouille and Waitress (other than the heinous ending) are the best movies of the summer so far. Grade: B *We caved and got HBO just so we could see Big Love live, as it were. Bill...

So I had another unsettling dream. I was sitting in a kitchen that looked like my mother's, but D was there and it was our NYC apartment. We saw a small mouse nibbling in the corner. "D, there's a mouse," I told him. "It's okay," he said. Note: I married the most unflappable man in the universe. I had to rip out a hat and start over last night due to some hairiness when I changed from circular needles to double-pointed needles (a move I have never done before). He said soothingly, "It will all work out." I could be running through the apartment screaming and on fire and he would say, "It's okay, honey, just stop, drop and roll." It's a nice complement to my high-strungness. Anyway, going back to the dream. The small mouse vanished. Then a large one appeared in its place. It was the SIZE OF A PUPPY, except it was gray. It nibbled something with great enthusiasm near my foot. I stood on my chair. I tried to shoo it, but it RAN T...

So D and I watched 2 episodes of Big Love tonight (from Netflix). Episode 2 was called Viagra Blue, so I thought it would be terribly banal. Wrong! I really liked the show. My favorite part of the show is the interaction among the three wives. They have shifting alliances and a fragile balance needs to be maintained. I think each one wants to maintain the illusion that she is the only one sleeping with Bill Paxton (the husband)...hence the scheduled places and times for "togetherness." I think Chloe Sevigny's role is like Omarosa's on Season One of The Apprentice... there has to be somebody people love to hate. I actually like her, though; she stirs things up and keeps them interesting. I think Bill Paxton's relationship with Jeanne Tripplehorn (the first wife) is the deepest, and the most like a conventional marriage. His relationship with the youngest wife (who is dating Chris Klein in real life) is almost father/daughter. Disturbing...but fascinating. My obsess...