Hornswogglers and Snozzwangers

My new MacBook arrived today! A 13-inch black 2.4 GHz machine. I've been happily using a a 12-inch PowerBook for the last couple of years, but it's reached an age where the latest software won't install on it, and there wasn't enough space on the hard drive for everything I wanted. My boss wanted me to upgrade a while ago, but I was really hoping that a new 12-inch model would be announced. Instead, Apple chose to unveil the MacBook Air, which is a really pretty machine, but without enough guts for me. The hard drive wouldn't have been any bigger than the old one, and the lack of a CD/DVD drive would annoy me. So, we ordered a 13-inch MacBook, since my personal definition of a laptop requires that I be able to lift it with one hand from the coffee table :-) .

Apple makes it as easy as it could possibly be to upgrade. First, I backed up everything onto an external hard drive (not a required step, but since DH's last two machine "upgrades" have eaten various files belonging to me, I thought it would be a good idea). Next, I turned on the new computer, which walked me through the steps to connect it to the old laptop. Then, I had lunch and read a magazine for a while while the Migration Assistant copied everything over to the new computer. Desktop pictures, applications, all my files. My only complaint about Migration Assistant is the countdown. I expect a bit of inaccuracy, and it doesn't bother me when it takes a while at the beginning to decide if this is going to be a six-hour job or a one-hour job, but when the "less than a minute remaining" stays on my screen for 30 minutes, I find it to be really annoying.

This afternoon I played for the school musical again. The Oompa Loompas did their blocking for the first Oompa Loompa song, and the golden-ticket winners and their parents blocked their boat trip in the chocolate factory. Last night I finally got around to watching the DVD we'd bought of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original, with Gene Wilder). I'd forgotten a lot of the details--I can't remember how long it's been since I last saw it.

Tonight's dinner was an experiment, and it turned out quite well. I'm always looking for quick meals that can go in the crockpot, and I decided this week that I wanted chicken pot pie for dinner. After a little web surfing for ideas, I invented this recipe:

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Chicken Crockpot Pie

2 medium potatoes
1 medium onion
2–3 chicken breasts
1 stalk celery
1 family-size can cream of chicken soup
1 lb. frozen mixed vegetables
1 can large buttermilk biscuits

Peel and dice potatoes and onion. Dice celery and chicken. Put in crockpot with cream of chicken soup and 2/3 can water. Stir. Cook on low until chicken is completely cooked.

1–2 hours before serving, add frozen vegetables and stir.

15 minutes before serving, flatten biscuits to fit tops of bowls. Bake according to package directions until browned (approximately 10 minutes).

Ladle chicken mixture into bowls. Top each with browned biscuit.

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