lately...

I have been a mess. I've been trying to keep up with the last week of classes but I have felt like I'm in some kind of dream.. probably because I have not been sleeping normally for the last couple weeks. I had not gone on a food run(until last night) since I went with Alicia to stock up for the cookout last week, but I've been going around places in the city. Late at night/early in the morning on the weekends, after the bars have closed and people are going home, I have found is a wonderful time to scan the streets and check the cans in and around downtown for some interesting things.. I also went back to the train station (first time since the incident) and found that there are many good things there as well. I may not have been taking the time to log my findings lately, but I am constantly on the lookout and have found several interesting things over the last couple of weeks.To name just a few items:
1 leather bound bible
1 pair size 11 nikes in relatively new condition
2 cell phones (which I could use if i ever decide to get a phone again...)
1 bottle black beeswax shoe polish - had nice shiny shoes for my last orchestra concert monday night :D
$10
2 porn DVDs.. havent checked them out yet; thought it was amusing
tons of assorted easter candy and paraphernalia
1 bottle hand sanitizer ..to stay in the car for when I go diving

Im glad that Movie Night is starting up tomorrow night; it's given me a project to work on that makes me feel like I have a purpose in life.. If you want to know more about it, I have a facebook group with all the info about it here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=67596363883&ref=share
Ive been cooking today in preparation for the pre-movie feast. I want to be sure there is tons of food; I felt like last thursday's cookout didnt have enough after I hyped it up to everyone... I will probably go back to the dump tonight just to see what else I can find, so maybe Ill be able to thorw something together tomorrow with whatever I find. I have been making apple crumbles a lot lately. I never realized how much easier and less consuming they are to make than a pie is. I love to make pies, but only for special occasions and for people who really deserve one :) Most of the recipes I use are based on ones I look up online to use as a guide, then I change them according to what I want or whatever I have available. The crumble recipe I am using is really easy, so Ive been trying different renditions each time.

Apple Crumble
6 apples
1/3c butter
1/2c brown sugar
c oats
whatever else you want in it.. I chopped up toasted almonds and added them to the crumble mix and added nutmeg, ground cloves and added the juice of 2 oranges to the diced apples.

Peel, core and dice apples. Stir in spices and juice. Mix sugar, soft butter, oats, and chopped nuts together to make the crumble topping. Pour apples in a baking dish, cover with topping, and bake at 375˚ for about 30 minutes or until top is gold and crisp and apples are bubbling. Cool on the sill of an open window for 15 minutes before serving.

Last night I was feeling kind of down and even though it was raining I really, really wanted to go to the dumpsters. Whenever you go find something good, it makes you feel like you won the lottery or something, so I got my friend to come along and film some of it. We stopped at three places but didnt get a whole lot, partly due to the rain and my unwillingness to climb in to some of the really soggy bins. But what we found was good and helped to lift my spirits. It seems that every time I go, I find what I need:

6pk Mott's applesauce
1 bag sesame bagles mmmm.. pizza bagles
1 pack okra (which I needed for a movie night dish)
3 bags salad lettuce
8 cans Dr. Pepper
4 packs butterscotch pudding
1 bottle ranch dressing
1 apple
48piece box of plasticware yay! I won't have to wash all my silverware after the feast!
1 bottle pine sol cleaner