Thoroughly productive

[mrissa]

Before lunch, I had already made a pan of bars, a double-batch of chili, and the beginnings of cheese. The cheese obviously won't be ready for a few days, but the other two things mean that all I have to do about dinner is whip up a batch of cornbread and decide whether to roast asparagus or toss a salad. I love the crockpot.

I also did a bunch of non-food stuff, paying bills and firing our snow removal guy and exercising and putting together a submission package for a new short story and finishing The Habsburgs: Embodying Empire. (It is a really, really sad thing when the historian keeps trying to tell the reader that members of a dynasty weren't as stupid as everyone thought they were, and his evidence of that point is pretty shaky.) I've also read half of the first volume of Moberg's Swedish history, and I'm not enjoying it quite as much as the second volume, but it's still interesting and fun. And I'm poking The Mark of the Sea Serpent and enjoying it, and soon I will go to the chiropractor. It's one of those days with lots of stuff happening, none of it grand and dramatic. So far. If anyone has anything good and grand and dramatic to visit upon me, please do.

It's missista's first spring, and she seems to be a fan so far. There is a lot of stuff in the backyard that really needs smelling, apparently. I like spring better here than anywhere else in the world, which still puts it third on my total ordering (I know, I know) of seasons. But I'm ready to wear different clothes again, so I suppose it can go on with being spring. Not that I could stop it.

Comments

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

Num num num. I've been thinking about making those bars.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

The thing about making them yourself is that you get a fingerful of brown sugar and butter in the first step. Which is worth it right there.

[apis-mellifera.livejournal.com]

I've been meaning to tell you that Baf made some of your grandma's banana bread and brought it to my house and OMG SO GOOD. Especially with honey butter.

And as royal dynasties go, the Habsburgs really were not all that bright. I've always wondered, though, if their contemporaries knew how dumb they were or if this is something that only became obvious in hindsight.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

It looks from what I've read as though their contemporaries -- particularly their subjects -- particularly their Hungarian subjects -- were well aware.

Glad you could enjoy my Grandma bread (now made with artificial Grandmas). I don't know what people do to banana bread that doesn't come out that good, but I love it.

[callunav.livejournal.com]

I remember having the strong impression that the Habsburgs were less dumb than insane, and that everyone with a survival instinct - which is admittedly not everyone, by a long shot - knew it.

I remember them best from the Mad Monarchs web page, though, which may account for my perceptions. As I recall, they /did/ have an explicit and adhered-to principle of marrying their neices to keep power close to the center line, which might have a wee little bit to do with things, as well.

[apis-mellifera.livejournal.com]

Well, they probably started out relatively intelligent, but the inbreeding certainly didn't help matters any.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

There were plenty of them who were equally dumb and insane. Which is not a great combination in a monarch.

oh oh

[angeyja.livejournal.com]

First volume. Mine* doesn't seem to have a volume number. I wonder if that means it is the "not as good" first volume.

(*Still on hold down at the Sandford. I've decided to stop at the Mastodon Library today instead, and pick up Juniper, Gentian and Rosemary. I think I am sleepy enough that it is safe to read on a work night, and it will help with being done with Tam Lin. I took a look at the Beagles but other than A Fine and Private Place, there's nothing really pulling at me.)

Re: oh oh

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

The volumes are subtitled "from prehistory to the Renaissance" and "from Renaissance to Revolution." It's not that Vol. I is bad so far, it's just less chewy and more didactic. Still good stuff in it, though.

[bradipo.livejournal.com]

Now I have a picture in my head of "Marissa holding back the spring." It's all wintery and has a Marissa (as an allegorical figure) striking a heroic pose. But in the foreground, despite her efforts, the buds of spring flowers threaten to burst into bloom.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid I'm neither Dutch nor a boy. Hmm, well, Dutch by marriage -- but if it works that way, I would probably wind up a boy by marriage, too, so we'll stick with neither.

[bradipo.livejournal.com]

I was thinking more king Canute holding back the tide than the little Dutch boy, but I guess the allegory works okay either way.

[columbina.livejournal.com]

In college I had a revelatory history teacher who taught world survey, but he was slumming - he taught it because he enjoyed introducing people to history; his real love was the Habsburgs, and he made frequent trips to Austria etc to do work on that. He didn't go too deeply into that in the survey class, obviously, but based on a few remarks around the edges it was clear that he - a man who probably knew as much about them as any modern-era person can - didn't think they were very brilliant. However, he also felt they used their power and expanded their empire shrewdly, if I recall correctly - which may prove you don't have to be bright to be powerful, or it may just prove they had smart advisors.

We had a window open for the cat today in honor of springlike weather, and there were indeed many smells that apparently really needed smelling.