Last post -- We're back where we started!

We started our time in Chicago last year watching our friends Judy and Nicole race in a triathlon, and this year we came full circle and returned to that race and Susan even participated in it. Our friends Nicole and David came to support her through the race. Here's some pictures of from the event. What a great year! We hope the blog gave you a sense of what it was like for us, but we know there's no way we could have totally captured how great it really was! Thanks everyone!

Reduced Recipes: 4-13

4: Meat (Lamb) with whole spices. Excellent flavor, but high on the fat content. Out of An Invitation to Indian Cooking.

5: Uncle Sherman's Homestyle Chicken and Vegtables. From The Breath of a Wok. Servicable stir-fry.

6: Shiro wot. One of the real finds of the year. An Ethiopian peanut stew. From A Taste of Africa. Note: we were not able to make the flatbread that went with this, but found that pita works just as well.

7: Crispy edged roasted brussel sprouts. These go great with salmon. From The Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without.

8: Cold Gingered Asparagus Salad. We brought this to Preaster and it was a big hit. Also from The Vegtable Dishes I can't Live Without.

9. Pasta with Chickpeas. Really really really good. Tastes decadent but is actually good for you. From The Mooosewood Low Fat Cookbook.

10. Chicken and Chickpea Tajine with Vanilla. This is soooo good -- From Bittman's The Best Recipes in the World. This one really is.

11. Cassoulet. Kind of a bean casserole with fake meat in it. Pretty good. From the Moosewood Low Fat Cookbook.

12. Shrimp Waldorf Salad. This is so good -- tastes like an appetizer in a high end restaurant.

From Cooking Light magazine.

13. Bean and Chick Pea Stew. Pretty good. From Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East and North Africa.

Reduced CDs 32-40

REDUCED CDs:

32: Passionworks disk given to us by our friend Miriam that pairs developmentally disabled folks with Athens musicians resulting in some great songs.

33: Miriam's mixed cd. Just like a mixed tape, but a cd, given to us by our friend and loyal blog reader Miriam upon hearing the great news that Susan no longer has cancer. Happy go lucky songs from various eras. Thanks Miriam!

34: Marshall Crenshaw's latest. This became a must buy after we saw him recently at Schubas.

35: Congress of Starlings. Having enjoyed seeing these girls play out several times this year, we'll need to bring them home to Athens with us in CD form.

36: Jack Johnson -- Give his new song "Hope" a listen.

37: Coldplay -- still the number one selling cd in the country, you have to give them a lot of credit for taking a chance on an innovative marketing strategy for the age of the internet.

38: The Duke Spirit: check out "The Step and the Walk" for a kind of Amy Winehouse-ish vibe.

39: Duffy: Her song "Mercy" is another great Amy Winehouse knock-off.

40: G. Love and Special Sauce: "Peace, Love and Happiness" -- Can't get enough of this stuff, especially as we slouch towards the end of the Bush Administration. (See picture above.)

Reduced Blog: Movies 29-40

Time is running out! The reduced blog is becoming shorter and shorter! Reduced movies are:

29: Enchanted. Kate gives it a thumbs up.

30: Smart People. Maybe the dumbest movie we saw this year. No chemistry between Sarah Jessica Parker and Dennis Quaid, but is that surprising?

31: And Then She Found Me. Awful, humorless adaption of Elinor Lipman's wonderful book.

32: Wall - E. Touted as a masterpiece by stuffy NYT reviewer.

33: Wanted. Anglina Jolie at her adventure movie best. Said to harken back to Pulp Fiction by stuffy New Yorker reviewer.

34-37: LAFS (Lesbian Association of FilmS) classic viewings: My Life as a Dog; Racing with the Moon, Fast Times at Ridgmont High, Say Anything.

38: Iron Jawed Angels. Made for HBO rendition of the movement for women's right to vote.

39: Dick. Is there a better version of Watergate than this satirical take starring Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Phillips before they were famous? The second viewing of this 1999 film did not disappoint.

40: Girls Rock. A documentary about summer girls rock camps. Girls really do rock.

Reduced Blog: Places 37-40

37: Lake shore bike path: There is no better place for a long bike ride than the path that faces downtown from beautiful north and south facing vantage points.

38: Schubas -- this neighborhood bar brings in both local and national talent. Marshall Crenshaw played a great set the night we were there.

39: The Spot: The queer prom and feminist burlesque show at this bar near Broadway and Wilson was a great way to start the Pride celebrations

40: Pride parade viewed from atop a float. A great way to see a fabulous see of humanity -- a nearly 500,000 people attended this year.