Oh say, can you see?

My IT department at work hates me, for I can no longer IM. This is disturbing, much more so than one would think is rational or sane.

But y'all, I LURVES me some IM. Sweartogawd I do. I'm kinda lost without the immediate gratification of the instant messaging. It's sad, I know.

I'm THIS CLOSE to getting myself a CrackBerry just so I can do my own thang while at work. They're good for that sort of thing, aren't they? Is there some gizmo that I can use that's JUST for IMing?

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A blogger friend let me know that emus run in mobs. Doesn't it just figure?

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It's Friday. Already! Amazing.

It's Friday, yes, but also the Friday before a long weekend, which is also a long weekend on which we're getting a visit from my mother, who will no doubt want to see the new house, which still has the big hole in the floor and the mouse poo on the kitchen counters, which means that I will be spending some of SATURDAY cleaning up the poo and erecting police tape across one corner of the front bedroom, then maybe finishing the lawn mowing and also gilding the front steps.

Because my mother, she likes a neat house, and I like to not make my Mom think I've taken a one-way trip to Crackertown. Yes, I'm 44 years old and still want my Mommy to think I'm better than I am. What of it?

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Also featured on the weekend dance card is a trip to my boss' house to pick up some free furniture! A loveseat/sleeper sofa, a big teevee watchin' chair, an ottoman, and maybe a cupla end table-y things. There is talk of a desk also at some point in the near future.

To say I'm gratified by this handoff is to commit criminal understatement.

Let's hear it for well-timed interior design re-dos and the designer who demand that old furniture be shed for new! Hear hear!

Now, where can I buy tie-dyed slipcovers?

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I'll finish today with a recipe for a dish I had a puppy shower two weeks ago. Yeah, for JC's new doggie. The party was at Purl's house, and she went all-out, as per usual, and fixed her world-fmaous guacamole, a terrific crab dip, "puppy chow for people," and this amazing pickled shrimp. I had to fight to NOT just grab the bowl and run to some hidden corner, so as to have it all for myself. As it was, I believe I ate half of what she put out.

Ahem.

The recipe is from "The Pat Conroy Cookbook," which seems a little odd that a novelist should write a cookbook until you start reading it, at which point you realize that you can't put it down while also risking marking the pages with drops of envy and spashes of drool. The man writes of times and places with utter clarity, then drops a few great recipes in just for good measure. I have no idea how Purl found this book, but if none of the recipes are any good except for this pickled shrimp, it was still worth the money she paid for it.

This, BTW, is in the "funeral food" chapter entitled "Why Dying Down South is More Fun." Believe me when I say that dying down south involves food, and lots of it. Southerners grieve by cooking. Conroy shows his respect for the dead by pickling shrimp.

As Conroy says, "When a good friend dies, I take two pounds of shrimp for the mourners. When a great friend dies, I go to five pounds. WHen I die, I fully expect all the shrimp in Beufort to be pickled that day." This maeks me wish for someone around HERE to pass on, so that I can make 5 pounds of this stuff and take two to the wake. Until then, I'll just make and eat and enjoy the lack of mourning.

Pat Conroy's Pickled Shrimp
Serves 6 to 8 (normal people. Serves about 1 Tiff)

1 cup thinkly sliced yellow onion
4 crushed bay leaves
2-ounces drained capers
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 olive oil
1 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 tsp coarse or kosher salt
1 tsp celery seeds
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 pounds large (21- 25 count) chrimp, peeled and deveined

1) mix all ingredients except shrimp in a large heatproof glass or ceramic bowl
2) bring a gallon of well-salted water to a boil, add shrimp and cook until pink (about 2 minutes)
3) drain shrimp and toss into the marinade (P.C. says "transfer," but you and I know we'd all toss. perhaps with vigor.)
4) bring to room temp, cover tightly, and let soak overnight in the fridge.
5) serve cold. (I'd suggest with a nice malted and hopped adult beverage)
6) do not expect leftovers if I'm around.

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Have a terrific weekend y'all, and enjoy a safe and restful Holiday. I am done here.