my LYS had a GREAT sale a couple of weeks ago, and check out my haul! all of this yarn was about a hundred bucks, and covers at least ten christmas presents--excellent! i bought some stuff for which i have plans, some i don't have a clue what i will do with, and a lot of high quality orphan singles to use for small projects (a one skein wonder, perhaps?) and/or trimming. it's kind of silly how excited i get over new craft supplies--makes me feel like an actual real knitter.
meanwhile, this picture of scout was too amusing and too typical of cats not to share. i finished knitting this blue, soon-to-be-felted bag, laid it out on the couch, turned my back for all of two seconds, and scout immediately turned it into a temporary cat bed. what is it with cats and the need to be on the new thing, whatever that may be? maybe it is as the hippie says, and all cats are Bad Cats. good thing they are so cute, even when they are being bad. :)
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
blossom
the winter before last, i took the pruners to these two enormous bushes beside our front porch. no one had trimmed them at all in at least ten years, and they were not only tangled together, but they were also ugly, leggy, and taller than the house. so i decided to cut them way way back to see what happened--if they didn't make it, i would just pull them out and put something new in. against all advice, i cut them back to about 1/6 of their original heights, shaped them up, and waited. (i also pulled my back in the process and could hardly walk for 2 months, but that is another story. let's just say i should have either gotten a better tool (read: chainsaw) or some help (read: hippie), but i am stubborn and was determined to do it myself (read: moron). but anyway...) so that spring, they leafed out a little, but looked crappy, and i thought they would not make it. but i am a hopeful person, so i just left them alone--this spring, i didn't even trim them.
well--last night i was watering all the outside plants (which took like 40 minutes!), and i kept getting these faint whiffs of gardenia. and i was like--WHERE is that coming from? i followed the smell, and lo and behold--my gardenia is blooming! and not just a little--it is full and bushy and COVERED in beautiful, sweet-smelling blossoms! it is still in need of a little shaping, and it is still all entangled with the other bush, which is also blooming. but man--it was such an unexpected treat! i cut one and brought it into the house, and now my whole kitchen smells like gardenias. yay for blossoms! :)
well--last night i was watering all the outside plants (which took like 40 minutes!), and i kept getting these faint whiffs of gardenia. and i was like--WHERE is that coming from? i followed the smell, and lo and behold--my gardenia is blooming! and not just a little--it is full and bushy and COVERED in beautiful, sweet-smelling blossoms! it is still in need of a little shaping, and it is still all entangled with the other bush, which is also blooming. but man--it was such an unexpected treat! i cut one and brought it into the house, and now my whole kitchen smells like gardenias. yay for blossoms! :)
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
rant: wolf camera
one of my goals for saturday (in addition to cleaning the world) was to get prints made of some pictures from the beach from a couple of years ago. they are specific pictures, long planned for this extremely cool frame from pottery barn that the hippie gave me for christmas. so i put the pictures on the SD card in my fabulous phone, and i take it with me on a target run so i can make prints there. but NOOOOOOO! target is upgrading their photo equipment and i am DENIED!
so. we get home, walk up to the local wolf camera, go over to the digital photo printing kiosk, put the card in, pick the images i want to print, and click "print." seems simple enough, right? then i take the receipt up to the guy at the counter, but the register isn't working. in fact, NONE of the registers are working. so we wait while they reboot their system. then the guy takes the receipt, and prints out a different receipt and hands it to me. and i am like--but where are the prints? and he is all, "these will be ready at 6." so, i am wondering WHY he can't walk to the back and get them out of the printer--i mean, they ARE digital media and not actual film to be developed, and i did click "print," which you would THINK would PRINT the pictures--but whatever--we leave. at 6:15, we come back. they are CLOSED. they closed AT SIX. so i ask you--what the fuck? and are they open on sunday??? NOOOO! so yeah. i STILL don't have pictures for my frame. i guess i will try to make it there before they close today. anyway--this is my second bad experience at wolf camera, which appears to be run by morons and provide bad, but very expensive service. ugh!
so. we get home, walk up to the local wolf camera, go over to the digital photo printing kiosk, put the card in, pick the images i want to print, and click "print." seems simple enough, right? then i take the receipt up to the guy at the counter, but the register isn't working. in fact, NONE of the registers are working. so we wait while they reboot their system. then the guy takes the receipt, and prints out a different receipt and hands it to me. and i am like--but where are the prints? and he is all, "these will be ready at 6." so, i am wondering WHY he can't walk to the back and get them out of the printer--i mean, they ARE digital media and not actual film to be developed, and i did click "print," which you would THINK would PRINT the pictures--but whatever--we leave. at 6:15, we come back. they are CLOSED. they closed AT SIX. so i ask you--what the fuck? and are they open on sunday??? NOOOO! so yeah. i STILL don't have pictures for my frame. i guess i will try to make it there before they close today. anyway--this is my second bad experience at wolf camera, which appears to be run by morons and provide bad, but very expensive service. ugh!
Monday, June 13, 2005
slow day at the office
after the last two work weeks being absolutely full throttle, today is actually kind of boring. i have a few things to do, but nothing earth-shattering. my bosses are at a conference in a different time zone, all tied up in meetings and out of touch with me--thus, i have little to do. i am just keeping on top of things and trying not to mourn the fact that i am not home knitting. adding to the boredom, the sam has deserted me to go home to her 'rents this week, leaving me without the running YM conversation that keeps me going throughout the day. *sigh*
all that said, once i make it through the long afternoon ahead, i have something fabulous to look forward to! our friend mary is flying in tonight! YAY! she is just one of the most awesome people on the planet, and i LOVE it when she comes to stay. her birthday was last week, so we are taking her out to frazier's tonight to celebrate. whoo hoo!
this weekend, we ran about 9M errands, and i FINALLY found the time to clean the beejezus out of the house. i finished the massive overhaul and re-org of all the bookshelves, and believe me--this is no small undertaking at our house. it took all my evenings for a solid week! we bought a new shelf for the DVDs, so even those are organized. (alphabetizing! my favorite!*) even the tufts of cat hair blowing all over the place are minimized.
odd how much some cleaning can lift my spirits. i have been a little stressed lately, and i tend to nest when stressed out. there is actually a lot going on, but i am not at liberty to discuss it on the internet yet. it's all out of my control, so i think i have just been focussing on the things i CAN control--i.e., the house. i have not even had time to knit as i have been cleaning everything in the world instead.
man, i am boring today! maybe i should have called this post, "slow day on the blog." i promise to get back to normal and to come up with something more interesting to talk about in the very near future.
*not really...
all that said, once i make it through the long afternoon ahead, i have something fabulous to look forward to! our friend mary is flying in tonight! YAY! she is just one of the most awesome people on the planet, and i LOVE it when she comes to stay. her birthday was last week, so we are taking her out to frazier's tonight to celebrate. whoo hoo!
this weekend, we ran about 9M errands, and i FINALLY found the time to clean the beejezus out of the house. i finished the massive overhaul and re-org of all the bookshelves, and believe me--this is no small undertaking at our house. it took all my evenings for a solid week! we bought a new shelf for the DVDs, so even those are organized. (alphabetizing! my favorite!*) even the tufts of cat hair blowing all over the place are minimized.
odd how much some cleaning can lift my spirits. i have been a little stressed lately, and i tend to nest when stressed out. there is actually a lot going on, but i am not at liberty to discuss it on the internet yet. it's all out of my control, so i think i have just been focussing on the things i CAN control--i.e., the house. i have not even had time to knit as i have been cleaning everything in the world instead.
man, i am boring today! maybe i should have called this post, "slow day on the blog." i promise to get back to normal and to come up with something more interesting to talk about in the very near future.
*not really...
Thursday, June 09, 2005
geeks are better...duh
who doesn't know this already? apparently things i have known for years are now being validated in the news. check out this article: nerds make better lovers. while i dislike the implication in this article that nerds are "less-than-perfect male specimens," and that they are "grateful for what they can get," i DO agree that they are fabulous and awesome and that a geeky man is the best companion a girl could ask for. i sure do love mine, anyway...
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
never enough days at the beach
week before last, we were at the beach. and yes--it has taken me this long to get around to writing about it. i have been so freakin' busy catching up from being gone a week, i haven't had time to do much of anything personal since we got back. i am getting back into my groove now, though--this promises to be a really long post.
meredith and i cooked a lot over the course of the week, as we always do. we kind of trade off being each other's sous chef. it's amazing how much we eat and how little we end up spending on it! we spent more on the three times we ate out than we did on the food for the whole rest of the week. for breakfast we had french toast, shrimp and grits, scrambled eggs and thyme with bacon and cheese grits, etc. for dinners, we went all out. we had a beer-boiled shrimp night, a grilled tuna night, a mahi mahi tacos night, a pasta night with lots of fresh shellfish cooked in white wine and lemon... we also made strawberry rhubarb pie, and little key lime pies, and the highlight of all the desserts, the dessert we got to set on FIRE: bananas foster! meredith and i read all these safety precautions, made fun of people who need safety precautions in the kitchen, and then proceeded to follow NONE of them. the heat from the fire actually blew my hair back! it's hard to tell in this picture, but my arm is actually IN the fire. stupid? maybe. fun? yes. will we do that again? DEFINITELY.
the hippie spent the week either working or hanging out smoking ceegars on the deck with grant and brent and jeff and chad. he's so cute when he's all laid back and chillin'--i could just eat him up! but i digress... those boys went through about 4 bottles of scotch and a couple of bottles of whiskey as well. meredith and i forewent that for some pineapple infused vodka martinis (from last month's bon appetit). the vodka took a couple of days to make, but it was damned fine in the end. and our drinks were absolutely GORGEOUS--isn't that what really counts?
i did a little knitting at the beach, even though i STILL have not gotten started on the crumpets top. i DID manage to whip out this little pink critter hat for ella, using yarn i found for less than two dollars in a really random craft store the hippie and i stumbled across while out shopping for his new kite. the hat came out really cute, fit her perfectly (i totally guessed!), and turned out to be a good idea, as it was pretty chilly on the boat when we went sailing--she wore the hat the whole time. :)
the requisite group shot of the group as we are sailing back into the harbor at beaufort after going on a sunset sail. yes, meredith is actually driving the boat! this has become such a tradition for us. this is the 6th year that we have managed to go on vacation together. some have not made it every year, but meredith, jeff, grant, and i have gone every time. i hope we are still going in 30 years, when the kids are having kids. i love these people so much--they are, as meredith said, part of our chosen family. what a fabulous week--i wish we had stayed longer...
there are a ton of pictures in the new gallery the hippie made on our web server--check them out here.
meredith and i cooked a lot over the course of the week, as we always do. we kind of trade off being each other's sous chef. it's amazing how much we eat and how little we end up spending on it! we spent more on the three times we ate out than we did on the food for the whole rest of the week. for breakfast we had french toast, shrimp and grits, scrambled eggs and thyme with bacon and cheese grits, etc. for dinners, we went all out. we had a beer-boiled shrimp night, a grilled tuna night, a mahi mahi tacos night, a pasta night with lots of fresh shellfish cooked in white wine and lemon... we also made strawberry rhubarb pie, and little key lime pies, and the highlight of all the desserts, the dessert we got to set on FIRE: bananas foster! meredith and i read all these safety precautions, made fun of people who need safety precautions in the kitchen, and then proceeded to follow NONE of them. the heat from the fire actually blew my hair back! it's hard to tell in this picture, but my arm is actually IN the fire. stupid? maybe. fun? yes. will we do that again? DEFINITELY.
the hippie spent the week either working or hanging out smoking ceegars on the deck with grant and brent and jeff and chad. he's so cute when he's all laid back and chillin'--i could just eat him up! but i digress... those boys went through about 4 bottles of scotch and a couple of bottles of whiskey as well. meredith and i forewent that for some pineapple infused vodka martinis (from last month's bon appetit). the vodka took a couple of days to make, but it was damned fine in the end. and our drinks were absolutely GORGEOUS--isn't that what really counts?
i did a little knitting at the beach, even though i STILL have not gotten started on the crumpets top. i DID manage to whip out this little pink critter hat for ella, using yarn i found for less than two dollars in a really random craft store the hippie and i stumbled across while out shopping for his new kite. the hat came out really cute, fit her perfectly (i totally guessed!), and turned out to be a good idea, as it was pretty chilly on the boat when we went sailing--she wore the hat the whole time. :)
the requisite group shot of the group as we are sailing back into the harbor at beaufort after going on a sunset sail. yes, meredith is actually driving the boat! this has become such a tradition for us. this is the 6th year that we have managed to go on vacation together. some have not made it every year, but meredith, jeff, grant, and i have gone every time. i hope we are still going in 30 years, when the kids are having kids. i love these people so much--they are, as meredith said, part of our chosen family. what a fabulous week--i wish we had stayed longer...
there are a ton of pictures in the new gallery the hippie made on our web server--check them out here.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
30-minute dinner for two:
mediterranean chicken stew
voilá--to make amends for being away so long, i offer you 30-minute dinner #2: mediterranean chicken stew. this recipe is something i whipped up on the fly when we were hardcore into the south beach diet. yes--it's healthy and yes--you can even eat this during the first phase of the diet. it's also awfully tasty and quick to make. and the big bonus is that this meal is all cooked in a single pan--just say yes to easy clean-up!
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
food prep first: cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces, slice the celery stalks into 1/2-inch slices, and sliver the onion. next drain the artichoke hearts, cut each in half, and set aside. pour 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil into a large skillet for which you have a lid. add the garlic through a press and heat on med-high heat until the oil is hot. add the chicken and quickly stir so that each piece is coated with olive oil. immediately add celery and onion and sautee until the chicken is slightly browned on all sides, about 2 minutes. add white wine and crush tomatoes into the pan with your hands. (note: you can also used diced tomatoes if you prefer--i did tonight because that is what i happened to have on hand.) stir and bring to a boil. add artichoke hearts (progresso is my preferred brand--again, not what i had on hand tonight), thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, and some fresh black pepper. reduce heat to low/medium, cover, and let simmer for about 13 minutes. meanwhile cut asparagus into bite sized pieces. after 13 minutes, add asparagus to the pan and continue cooking, covered, for about 5-6 more minutes. remove from heat and sqeeze the lemon into the stew. remove the herbs and add salt and pepper to taste.
when not south beaching, the hippie and i eat this with some hard crusty bread, preferably someting with rosemary in it, like the rosemary demi-batard we got from whole foods for tonight. it's also good with some fresh parmesan shredded on top. i recommend serving this stew with a light red wine such as sogno divino montepulciano d'abruzzo from italy, which is a mere $8.50 a bottle at our local wine store.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 whole boneless chicken breast (or two split breasts--same thing)
- 1 large clove of garlic
- 2 stalks of celery
- about 1/3 of a large yellow onion
- olive oil
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 small (14.5 oz.) can of peeled, whole tomatoes
- 1 can of artichoke hearts
- 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 1 fresh bay leaf or 3 dried ones
- 10-12 stalks of asparagus
- 1/2 a lemon
- salt and fresh black pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
food prep first: cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces, slice the celery stalks into 1/2-inch slices, and sliver the onion. next drain the artichoke hearts, cut each in half, and set aside. pour 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil into a large skillet for which you have a lid. add the garlic through a press and heat on med-high heat until the oil is hot. add the chicken and quickly stir so that each piece is coated with olive oil. immediately add celery and onion and sautee until the chicken is slightly browned on all sides, about 2 minutes. add white wine and crush tomatoes into the pan with your hands. (note: you can also used diced tomatoes if you prefer--i did tonight because that is what i happened to have on hand.) stir and bring to a boil. add artichoke hearts (progresso is my preferred brand--again, not what i had on hand tonight), thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, and some fresh black pepper. reduce heat to low/medium, cover, and let simmer for about 13 minutes. meanwhile cut asparagus into bite sized pieces. after 13 minutes, add asparagus to the pan and continue cooking, covered, for about 5-6 more minutes. remove from heat and sqeeze the lemon into the stew. remove the herbs and add salt and pepper to taste.
when not south beaching, the hippie and i eat this with some hard crusty bread, preferably someting with rosemary in it, like the rosemary demi-batard we got from whole foods for tonight. it's also good with some fresh parmesan shredded on top. i recommend serving this stew with a light red wine such as sogno divino montepulciano d'abruzzo from italy, which is a mere $8.50 a bottle at our local wine store.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
not dead yet...
man, i haven't posted in forever, and this post promises to be REALLY lame. i was planning to post from the beach, but that never quite came together. and since i got home, i have been going full throttle at work trying to catch up from being gone for a whole week. for now, suffice it to say that the beach was fabulous, that pictures are coming, and that i will be posting again very, very soon. right now, however, i have to go fold some laundry and roll up a bunch of change. can you hear the excitement in my voice? can you?!
Monday, May 16, 2005
newsflashes for today
flash the first: baby blanket #3 is DONE!!! whoo hoo!!! it's going in the mail tomorrow come hell or high water. it is a DRAG to mess up and have to redo a huge portion of that type of project. the end wasn't much fun, but since i finished it, i have really been enjoying getting back to some of the things i had put aside in order to work on that blanket! crumpets, i should be able to start within the week!
flash the second: only 5 more days till we leave for the beach!!! excellent. i am making lists of stuff to take as we speak. i admit, i take half my kitchen and a TON of beachy stuff to the beach. this year i will also be sporting a fabulous new pink straw hat, new flip flops, and new sunglasses. meredith has all that, and a new beach bag as well--i am so jealous. i may have to get one, too. after all--i didn't buy a new suit this year. or a towel. hmmmm...
flash the second: only 5 more days till we leave for the beach!!! excellent. i am making lists of stuff to take as we speak. i admit, i take half my kitchen and a TON of beachy stuff to the beach. this year i will also be sporting a fabulous new pink straw hat, new flip flops, and new sunglasses. meredith has all that, and a new beach bag as well--i am so jealous. i may have to get one, too. after all--i didn't buy a new suit this year. or a towel. hmmmm...
jackie's theory of life
sam reminded me today of my Theory of Life, which i shared with her and our friend steve a few years ago when things were kind of coming unglued for me. and really--i believe this is a sound theory, so i have decided to share.
i believe that life is basically divided into six categories: (please forgive the stream-of-consciousness-like nature of this list)
generally, i try to keep at least two of these on the great side and not let more than two get out of kilter at once. but i think the real key is to focus on the ones where you can effect some level of change, and throw the others onto the back burner until you can actually do something about them. this is the hardest part--not worrying about the ones over which you have no control. i sometimes get caught up in big-picturing myself to death when really i can only control the smaller pieces. that is when i do better if i can remember these 6 categories and say to myself--this is just one part of my life--look at how great these other 3 parts of my life are! you get the point.
a hokey theory, perhaps. but one that has helped me over the past few years none the less. maybe you will find it helpful, too.
i believe that life is basically divided into six categories: (please forgive the stream-of-consciousness-like nature of this list)
- career - your job or school, your working environment, the stability of your job, your relationship with your boss, your level or work and work-related stress, etc.
- money - your cash level, investments, debt, bills, savings, etc.
- home - your entire living environment--how much light you have, how clean it is, how good/bad your furniture is, whether or not you can be productive in it, whether or not you find it aesthetically pleasing, how stable it is, is there time for you do do personal projects, etc.
- love - by this i mean not just love and romance, but also the love you have for your friends and they have for you--basically, this has to do with how cared about you feel and how much effort you put forth making other people happy, too; and yes--i think pets count
- family - your relationships with your family, including children, parents, extended family, and informal family such as your S.O. and his/her parents and siblings; how accepted you feel you are as well as how well you accept them
- health - every aspect of your health--your weight, diseases, fertility/infertility, your psychological well-being, your spiritual health, your stress level, etc.
generally, i try to keep at least two of these on the great side and not let more than two get out of kilter at once. but i think the real key is to focus on the ones where you can effect some level of change, and throw the others onto the back burner until you can actually do something about them. this is the hardest part--not worrying about the ones over which you have no control. i sometimes get caught up in big-picturing myself to death when really i can only control the smaller pieces. that is when i do better if i can remember these 6 categories and say to myself--this is just one part of my life--look at how great these other 3 parts of my life are! you get the point.
a hokey theory, perhaps. but one that has helped me over the past few years none the less. maybe you will find it helpful, too.
Friday, May 13, 2005
30-minute dinner for two:
capellini with tomato and fresh basil sauce
i was talking to emily on my way home last night about what i was making for dinner, and she instructed me to blog these quick little dinners i am always making. so--here is 30-minute dinner #1: capellini with tomato and fresh basil sauce. the sauce recipe originally came from this great italian cookbook that meredith gave me for christmas a couple of years ago, but i have made it so many times now, i am not sure this even matches the original recipe anymore. this is simple, fast, yummy, and perfect for two people. leftover sauce makes great bruchetta, too!
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
crush the tomatoes with your hands into a medium saucepan. don't add the extra juice in the can, just the tomatoes and whatever juice they contain. coarsely chop the garlic and add to the tomatoes. add one tablespoon of olive oil for each clove of garlic. cook on medium to medium-high heat for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oil begins to separate. in the meantime, wash, pat dry, and tear the basil into small-ish pieces. prepare the water for the pasta, but do not cook the pasta until the sauce is done. when the sauce is done, remove from heat and immediately stir in the basil--it will wilt into the hot sauce. let the sauce rest while you cook the pasta, then toss pasta with the sauce until noodles are evenly coated. divide between two pasta dishes or plates, add fresh cheese if you want, and serve immediately.
my favorite version of this dinner includes a small caesar salad and a glass of fabulous red wine. mmmmm.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 large can of imported, peeled, whole italian plum tomatoes
- 5-ish cloves of garlic
- 5-ish tablespoons of olive oil
- a handful of fresh basil
- freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
- freshly grated parmigiano reggiano (if desired)
- 8 oz. capellini (angel hair pasta)
DIRECTIONS
crush the tomatoes with your hands into a medium saucepan. don't add the extra juice in the can, just the tomatoes and whatever juice they contain. coarsely chop the garlic and add to the tomatoes. add one tablespoon of olive oil for each clove of garlic. cook on medium to medium-high heat for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oil begins to separate. in the meantime, wash, pat dry, and tear the basil into small-ish pieces. prepare the water for the pasta, but do not cook the pasta until the sauce is done. when the sauce is done, remove from heat and immediately stir in the basil--it will wilt into the hot sauce. let the sauce rest while you cook the pasta, then toss pasta with the sauce until noodles are evenly coated. divide between two pasta dishes or plates, add fresh cheese if you want, and serve immediately.
my favorite version of this dinner includes a small caesar salad and a glass of fabulous red wine. mmmmm.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
fabulous new shoes sure to brighten any day
ok--i feel much better after doing some productive little work tidbits and ordering these fabulous new shoes, which i really can't afford but could not resist. i am such a copycat! tina, who works across the hall from me, already has these very shoes. she is who talked me into getting them, however, so i don't feel TOO bad! plus, i found some great little pink shoes for her, which she immediately ordered, so i feel like i sort of paid her back for the tip. yay for new shoes!!! lord, i am such a frivolous girl sometimes...
antsy, man
ugh! how i hate the slow work day when there are a million things i want and need to do at home! things like cleaning out the fridge, vacuuming every inch of the apartment, dusting--god how i need to dust!!! and really, i am SO antsy to be knitting today! i am so anxious to start crumpets, but i promised myself i would not touch that beautiful yarn i bought until baby blanket #3 is in the mail. i was cooking away on that baby blanket, but then i fucked it right up. i made one little, teeny, tiny mistake that threw the entire pattern off and then failed to notice this until i was about 23 rows past the mistake. so yeah--i pulled out pretty much a whole skein of yarn and started re-knitting. and now, i just want to be DONE with it! i'm SO close... i only have 2 or 3 more hours to go on it, but i can't seem to fit it in--it's driving me CRAZY today! i had grand plans last night, but then i got kind of sick, and those plans went right out the window. tonight i will try again. but then--who will clean my house while i knit??? *whine* *whine* *whine* listen to me WHINING today! i am just going to shut up and go try to find something constructive to do till 5 o'clock.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
ripped off!
ok, let's talk about restoration hardware for a minute. they are expensive, yes, but i generally feel like i get my money's worth when i buy something there. take, for example, the fabulous bell lights i bought there a couple of summers ago: the strand is about 25 feet long and i found them on sale for half price, which made them $20. they are long enough to go all the way around our little porch--perfect. and we LOVE them!
so yesterday, when we bought the mayfair lights i was all gaga for, i have to say, i expected something similar, if not better--the mayfair lights cost almost double the bell lights, even though they are nearly identical in style. imagine our unpleasant surprise (since we made stupid assumptions and failed to read the box--silly jackie and hippie!) when we opened them to hang them on the patio, only to discover that the strand was a mere 10 feet long. less than half the lights for more than twice the money. hmmmm. cute? yes!worth 40 bucks? no! just say no to the mayfair lights. we already took 'em back.
now, we will be picking these babies up from crate & barrel on the way home. 26 feet of lights for 20 bucks! that, my friends, is more like it. today, crate & barrel trumps restoration hardware.
so yesterday, when we bought the mayfair lights i was all gaga for, i have to say, i expected something similar, if not better--the mayfair lights cost almost double the bell lights, even though they are nearly identical in style. imagine our unpleasant surprise (since we made stupid assumptions and failed to read the box--silly jackie and hippie!) when we opened them to hang them on the patio, only to discover that the strand was a mere 10 feet long. less than half the lights for more than twice the money. hmmmm. cute? yes!worth 40 bucks? no! just say no to the mayfair lights. we already took 'em back.
now, we will be picking these babies up from crate & barrel on the way home. 26 feet of lights for 20 bucks! that, my friends, is more like it. today, crate & barrel trumps restoration hardware.
Monday, May 09, 2005
patio days and patio nights
this was a great weekend. i didn't get as much done IN the house as i wanted to, but man--outside, the weather was fabulous, and the hippie actually took the whole weekend off, so we managed to fit quite a lot in! (a first in MANY weekends!) friday night we went to our fave restaurant in raleigh, frazier's--excellent as always. saturday we took a trip to the farmer's market with emily and shane, where we got flowers, honey, fresh peas, tomatoes, and the best strawberries i have had in years. SO GOOD! then we went to lunch and a target run, then came home to chill and do some house-y things for a bit. the hippie even got in some ceegar time on the porch. our upstairs neighbor, alison, came for dinner, which was salmon, asparagus and red peppers, jasmine rice, and fresh strawberries with balsamic vinegar, black pepper, and sweetened mascarpone cheese--mmmmm. oh, and some wine. :)
the hippie and i spent some serious time on sunday working on cleaning up the patio outside our basement door to make it a cute and usable space rather than a scary one filled with the detritus of renters past. we threw some stuff out, swept it all up, did some creative garden hose routing to get that thing out of the way, trimmed back the jungle-like bushes that had been blocking access to the space, and made a few purchases and additions to spruce things up a bit. at lunch today we bought these bell lights you see here from restoration hardware, and i am DYING to get home and hang them up!
yesterday, we went and bought this fabulous grill, for which we have been saving change since last summer. we have been talking about grills forever, and i told the hippie yesterday--it's all you, baby. i am such a girl--i know NOTHING about grills, so i figured he better pick it out. this one certainly looks great to me--i can't wait to fire it up. maybe dinner tonight? we need jenn and harry to really christen it properly, but maybe we need a couple of trial runs first.
we also picked up a big clay pot and a hibiscus bush, along with a number of smaller plants. i am going to flesh these out some this coming weekend with some creeping herbs planted around the bottom of the hibiscus and maybe some more flowers as well. i need to go back to the farmer's market for a plant run--their plants are better and cheaper than the mess we saw at lowe's yesterday. did i mention that i LOVE the farmer's market? cause, man, i love it.
last night, when we were tired out from that working, we had a beer on the patio at the little bistro set we inherited from my grandmother's house, surveying the new domain as it were. for dinner, we walked up to the mellow mushroom for some pizza and beer and good outdoor seating. then we ended with a movie on the couch while we had ice cream and strawberries. i even got in a little knitting, although i am still way behind!
all in all, a damned fine weekend, if you ask me...
the hippie and i spent some serious time on sunday working on cleaning up the patio outside our basement door to make it a cute and usable space rather than a scary one filled with the detritus of renters past. we threw some stuff out, swept it all up, did some creative garden hose routing to get that thing out of the way, trimmed back the jungle-like bushes that had been blocking access to the space, and made a few purchases and additions to spruce things up a bit. at lunch today we bought these bell lights you see here from restoration hardware, and i am DYING to get home and hang them up!
last night, when we were tired out from that working, we had a beer on the patio at the little bistro set we inherited from my grandmother's house, surveying the new domain as it were. for dinner, we walked up to the mellow mushroom for some pizza and beer and good outdoor seating. then we ended with a movie on the couch while we had ice cream and strawberries. i even got in a little knitting, although i am still way behind!
all in all, a damned fine weekend, if you ask me...
reading: A Stroke of Midnight
A Stroke of Midnight, by Laurell K. Hamilton
ok, my expectations of laurell k. hamilton are really not all that high. she is a pulp fiction style writer who tells fantastic stories about vampires, were-animals, and faeries in modern times--this is somewhat cheesy but in general, works for me. i expect a certain amount of fluff from her, but also a quick escapist read that will be entertaining. lots of sex and bloodletting--a guilty pleasure the hippie and i (and his mother) share. it used to be that i thought if her like phillip k. dick--an author who makes up for so-so writing skills by being such a great plotter. lately, however, she has been disappointing me. she dwells so much on the details of every sex scene in her last few books that she is actually stalling in the story telling. they are degenerating into soft-core porn novels with no real plots--it's sad.
a stroke of midnight is one of her faerie books, continuing the story she (sort of) started in the last one, a caress of twilight, but in neither book is there ANY conclusion to anything at all. the end is just like the end to a chapter, with no loose ends tied up, no thing to think about till the next book comes out--no cliffhangers even. *sigh* this book ended just as it got going. overall a blah experience. she would have done better to have waited till the story was complete and then published one big fat book.
looking forward to better book experiences, i am planning to finish up jonathan strange and mr. norrell before we leave for the beach (in less than two weeks!), and i have my beach books all lined up:
ok, my expectations of laurell k. hamilton are really not all that high. she is a pulp fiction style writer who tells fantastic stories about vampires, were-animals, and faeries in modern times--this is somewhat cheesy but in general, works for me. i expect a certain amount of fluff from her, but also a quick escapist read that will be entertaining. lots of sex and bloodletting--a guilty pleasure the hippie and i (and his mother) share. it used to be that i thought if her like phillip k. dick--an author who makes up for so-so writing skills by being such a great plotter. lately, however, she has been disappointing me. she dwells so much on the details of every sex scene in her last few books that she is actually stalling in the story telling. they are degenerating into soft-core porn novels with no real plots--it's sad.
a stroke of midnight is one of her faerie books, continuing the story she (sort of) started in the last one, a caress of twilight, but in neither book is there ANY conclusion to anything at all. the end is just like the end to a chapter, with no loose ends tied up, no thing to think about till the next book comes out--no cliffhangers even. *sigh* this book ended just as it got going. overall a blah experience. she would have done better to have waited till the story was complete and then published one big fat book.
looking forward to better book experiences, i am planning to finish up jonathan strange and mr. norrell before we leave for the beach (in less than two weeks!), and i have my beach books all lined up:
- the time traveler's wife, by audrey niffenegger, about which i have heard great things
- assassination vacation, by sarah vowell, which looks FABULOUS (the dedication made me laugh), and was highly recommended by our friend, jason puryear
- the mermaid chair, by sue monk kidd, who wrote the secret life of bees, which i LOVED and highly recommend
Friday, May 06, 2005
wedding weekend
i can't believe it's taken me so long to write anything about last weekend--i have had too much actual work to do at work, and at home, i am just trying to catch up from not being home on the weekends for the last month! anyway--kimmie is all hitched up now, to her beloved scott. they are chillin' in st. lucia, and i am terribly jealous of their week in the tropics.
as for me, i came through my latest stint as a bridesmaid relatively unscathed. this is largely in part to the presense of the lovely people you see here: my fellow bridesmaids jenn and kristin, as well as kimmie's cousin ann-marie and her fabulous husband, bruce. we hung out with these guys more than anyone else last weekend, and they made things quite a lot of fun. so, let's see: the earrings were a hit, the dresses look shinier in the pictures than they really were, and were pretty OK except for their tendency to show every drop of water that came within ten feet of them (gotta love taffeta), my silver charles david shoes were as fabulous as i knew they would be, and my manicure and pedicure both survived the weekend. (a miracle for the manicure--i am hell on my hands!) ann-marie, that rebel, had some glitter on her manicure and some little purple flowers painted on her toes--i admit i coveted those flowers! also wonderful to see was how in love with each other ann-marie and bruce are--they have been together 20 years and married for 14, and they are still like teenagers--flirting and laughing together. so cute!
a highlight of the wedding reception was a song that we the bridesmaids wrote and sang for kimmie during the toasting. kimmie has SO many great stories, but unfortunately most of them are not really meant for public consumption, especially by people like HER MOTHER! so, while sitting at our table drinking, we started toying with this little song containing some rather cryptic versions of many of her "adventures"--it was actually pretty damned funny, and ALL the bridesmaids participated, and ALL the bridesmaids actually got up in front of the 250-ish guests and sang the thing to her. she laughed; she cried. so i am calling that a success.
in other wedding news, this was the first time in my life i have had an updo i actually LIKED. i usually feel like the updo looks like straightend and re-curled ass glued to my head with 4 cans of hairspray and 200+ bobby pins, but this time--no! it actually looked more kate-winslet-ish than i ever knew it could. i swear, if i lived in atlanta, i would make an appointment with this woman who did my hair in two seconds--she has curly hair herself, and i think it made ALL the difference. have to highly recommend the blowout salon on paces ferry road if you are are ever down that way and need some hair care.
and i can't say enough about the hippie at this wedding. it was not the most fun weekend for him, but he was just great. he kept me company and helped me get ready for all the events, and came to the rehearsal dinner, the wedding, and the reception and got his social on--he chatted with strangers, got to know the other bridesmaids, and was in general VERY supportive of me. plus he looked just HOT all weekend--he cleans up well. plus--as if that's not enough--i learned this last weekend that the boy can DANCE. he LIKES it and makes other people dance, too! he is so awesome--love my hippie.
i would say that the biggest downside to the weekend was the wedding photographer, who made us go outside before the wedding, where the ground was wet, and do things like RUN toward her in our formal wear, and play ring-around-the-rosie around kimmie, and kept saying, "can't you guys go any faster?!" i think she was unaware of the fact that we were, in fact, grown women in taffeta skirts and 3-inch heels sporting $50 updos that are easilly jarred loose by RUNNING! hello?! plus, she glared at ME when i took any pictures. grrrr.
all of that said--the woman really does take great pictures--i am forced to admit this after pursuing her website, Lori Suzanne Photography. she may have rubbed me the wrong way, but she really is a great photographer.
oh, and the flowers were moldy. ew.
as for me, i came through my latest stint as a bridesmaid relatively unscathed. this is largely in part to the presense of the lovely people you see here: my fellow bridesmaids jenn and kristin, as well as kimmie's cousin ann-marie and her fabulous husband, bruce. we hung out with these guys more than anyone else last weekend, and they made things quite a lot of fun. so, let's see: the earrings were a hit, the dresses look shinier in the pictures than they really were, and were pretty OK except for their tendency to show every drop of water that came within ten feet of them (gotta love taffeta), my silver charles david shoes were as fabulous as i knew they would be, and my manicure and pedicure both survived the weekend. (a miracle for the manicure--i am hell on my hands!) ann-marie, that rebel, had some glitter on her manicure and some little purple flowers painted on her toes--i admit i coveted those flowers! also wonderful to see was how in love with each other ann-marie and bruce are--they have been together 20 years and married for 14, and they are still like teenagers--flirting and laughing together. so cute!
a highlight of the wedding reception was a song that we the bridesmaids wrote and sang for kimmie during the toasting. kimmie has SO many great stories, but unfortunately most of them are not really meant for public consumption, especially by people like HER MOTHER! so, while sitting at our table drinking, we started toying with this little song containing some rather cryptic versions of many of her "adventures"--it was actually pretty damned funny, and ALL the bridesmaids participated, and ALL the bridesmaids actually got up in front of the 250-ish guests and sang the thing to her. she laughed; she cried. so i am calling that a success.
all of that said--the woman really does take great pictures--i am forced to admit this after pursuing her website, Lori Suzanne Photography. she may have rubbed me the wrong way, but she really is a great photographer.
oh, and the flowers were moldy. ew.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
the motherlode
apparently today is administrative professionals day. who knew? the bosspeople from my day job just came in here and gave me 6 bottles of FABULOUS-looking wine. oddly enough, i have never had any of these, which is something of a statistical improbability. the hippie and i, we drink us some wine, so it's cool to have all these new ones to try now--whoo hoo! the bosspeoples--they be cool.
i am a 50's housewife
it's funny how a cleaning product can actually change your life. last night i cleaned my bathroom with my brand new mr. clean magic reach scrubby thingy, and i think this might be the cleanest that room has been since the house was built in 1930-somehing. i have kylie to thank for this one--i was helping her clean the apartment she was moving out of last weekend, and she handed me one of these to use. it's a DREAM! it's like everything good about a swiffer and scrubbing bubbles and a scrub brush, all rolled into one thing. i bought one the next day. and as i was picking mine out, this other woman came into the grocery store and started looking at them, too. she goes--have you used one of these before? and yes, i sold her one. mr. clean should be sending me money for how much i have talked about this thing!
i know we are all liberated women here, and that we are glad to have the choices we have today and to be free to do what we want with our lives, yadda yadda yadda. but i swear, i think in my heart, i just want a clean house and a fabulous dinner on the table. oh, and to make stuff. i think most of the women i know feel this way too, at least some of the time.
and over the past several years, i have periodically had these bizarre, commercial-like conversations with so many of the women i know--we ALL seem to get off on a good cleaning product.
i have karen to thank for the scrubbing bubbles, sam for the mr. clean magic erasers and the oxy-clean, kimmie for the clorox wipes, jenn for the swiffer and the vanilla-lavender downy, and i just had a long conversation with emily about cold water tide (which sucks, by the way--stick with your plain old tide). in turn, i have sold many on these products as well as the dish soap from williams-sonoma, about which i am evangelical. i am also in love with my new lavender-rosemary dryer sheets from restoration hardware.
i also learned this past weekend from eric's vacuum that my vacuum cleaner sucks, and i now want a new one (a dirt devil one, bagless, with a hose long enough to reach the corners of my ceiling). heh--tina, who works across the hall from me is trying to win a free vacuum online as we speak--see? we are ALL 50's housewives is some ways...
i wish i was home cleaning.
i know we are all liberated women here, and that we are glad to have the choices we have today and to be free to do what we want with our lives, yadda yadda yadda. but i swear, i think in my heart, i just want a clean house and a fabulous dinner on the table. oh, and to make stuff. i think most of the women i know feel this way too, at least some of the time.
and over the past several years, i have periodically had these bizarre, commercial-like conversations with so many of the women i know--we ALL seem to get off on a good cleaning product.
i have karen to thank for the scrubbing bubbles, sam for the mr. clean magic erasers and the oxy-clean, kimmie for the clorox wipes, jenn for the swiffer and the vanilla-lavender downy, and i just had a long conversation with emily about cold water tide (which sucks, by the way--stick with your plain old tide). in turn, i have sold many on these products as well as the dish soap from williams-sonoma, about which i am evangelical. i am also in love with my new lavender-rosemary dryer sheets from restoration hardware.
i also learned this past weekend from eric's vacuum that my vacuum cleaner sucks, and i now want a new one (a dirt devil one, bagless, with a hose long enough to reach the corners of my ceiling). heh--tina, who works across the hall from me is trying to win a free vacuum online as we speak--see? we are ALL 50's housewives is some ways...
i wish i was home cleaning.
Monday, April 25, 2005
countdown to the beach
time flies, man. hard to believe that there are only 26 days till we go to the beach. every year, my physics study group and i take a week and head to the beach together. we generally have between 5 and 12 people for this adventure--this year we have 9, including baby ella. we are renting half of this beach house you see here, called a tarheel east. (i think it's a stupid name, but then beach house names always seem to be...) i always really look forward to this trip--i get to cook all the time, walk on the beach with my hippie, hang out with old friends, go sailing, poke around in some shops, and eat a lot of really fresh seafood, so it's just about perfect for me. some of what i am anticipating this year:
sailing out to the cape lookout lighthouse with lookout cruises. these guys run a laid back cruise line with bunches of different options--twice we have gone on their sunset cruise, but i am hoping to do something a little different this year. they have a cruise out to the cape lookout national seashore, which includes a lunch catered by the beaufort grocery company--fabulous--and lots of shelling time. plus you sail by the lighthouse, which i have never seen.
eating at stardust in morehead city, easily my favorite restaurant in the state. i am hoping our favorite waitress, darla, is still there and that we can sit in the cubby area upstairs. they have the best food--it's sort of an upscale lowcountry dining experience with great attention to detail. the vegetables are more than half the show and are as fress as their daily catches. YUM!!!
mixing drinks with meredith. last year i didn't feel much like drinking, but i seem to be getting back into my groove. i have been drinking a lot of wine lately, but something about the beach makes me want the mai tai and well, anything with a bunch of fruit and umbrellas and flowers in it. hunks of pineapple and edible orchids and flamingo straws in my tiki glass. oh yes. maybe i will dig out those coconut cups we made a few years back--wonder where those are...
Thursday, April 21, 2005
unexpected riches
today i came home from work to find not one, but TWO packages waiting for me on the front porch. whoo hoo!
package #1 was from alyce and contained this fabulous beehouse teapot. i LOVE this company's teapots--they are designed for one person to use, and have a removable stainless steel infuser inside. the design is just beautiful, and as i am sure you know by now, i am SUCH a design whore! a totally unexpected and unnecessary gift, but i love it anyway! yay for a new teapot!
package #2 was from jo's puppy, vito, and contained an excellent new mix of music. i immediately threw it in the stereo and turned it up loud to listen to while doing some house-y stuff before the hippie got home from work. yay for new music! and now, to work on vito's secret surprise...
add to all this the new yarn i bought today to start my crumpets project, and this is indeed a day full of goodness.
package #1 was from alyce and contained this fabulous beehouse teapot. i LOVE this company's teapots--they are designed for one person to use, and have a removable stainless steel infuser inside. the design is just beautiful, and as i am sure you know by now, i am SUCH a design whore! a totally unexpected and unnecessary gift, but i love it anyway! yay for a new teapot!
package #2 was from jo's puppy, vito, and contained an excellent new mix of music. i immediately threw it in the stereo and turned it up loud to listen to while doing some house-y stuff before the hippie got home from work. yay for new music! and now, to work on vito's secret surprise...
add to all this the new yarn i bought today to start my crumpets project, and this is indeed a day full of goodness.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
tea and crumpets
i just joined my first knit-along online. i am going to (attempt to) make this little dress you see here, a pattern called crumpets, from libby baker (available over at chiagu.com). i think that, instead of an actual dress, i am going to make a top like the one wendy made--i like the idea of being able to pair this with some jeans for the active little girlfriend. now i just need to figure out what size to make, what yarn to use, where to get beads, and how to do that weird picot cast on. whew! i am a little scared of this thing, but also totally excited to try it! you guys think good thoughts for me and pray i don't totally snafu it. i probably won't get started on this till the weekend, but watch for updates (slow ones as this is going to take me a while!)
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
tales of woe and moments of dumbassery
let's just call yesterday a shitty day. it started with a nightmare (literally), and ended with a fight. not a good day. the evening was a VAST improvement, as i declared it a fuckit evening, and dragged the hippie out for some fried oysters and beer. you tell me what fried oysters and beer can't fix? especially when you can walk to them and especially when you have a fantastic and extremely Southern waiter. when the hippie was done, the waiter did not ask him if everything had been to his satisfaction--he said, and i quote, "hey brother, you get enough?" god how i love the South sometimes.
this morning, i had another nightmare about my friend kimmie's wedding. in this one, i forgot my shoes and my dress, and came to the church with nothing but a make-up bag. i went back home, grabbed everything, only to put it all on to realize that the skirt was about 5 inches too long and the top was too tight to zip up. imagine the panic. and then to add to my woe, my toes were sporting a blazing red rather than the sedate french pedicure kimmie has specified for this event. i literally woke up in a panic. so of course i got up immediately and put everything on to make sure it was all just a dream, and wonder of wonders, the whole thing fits better than it ever has before--the waistband on that skirt is actually kind of LOOSE! this, folks, is a miracle! i DO need some larger boobs for this top i will be wearing, but luckily i can fake that with a few pieces of well-placed underwear.
as for the dumbassery, that also took place this morning as we stopped for a muffin on the way to work. i locked the keys in the car. with the car running. moron. and the hippie was all pissed, and i was all feeling stupid, and it sucked. thank god for brian who bailed us out. the hippie now has the spare key in his pocket in case of future stupid tricks like this one. yes, it has happened before...
this morning, i had another nightmare about my friend kimmie's wedding. in this one, i forgot my shoes and my dress, and came to the church with nothing but a make-up bag. i went back home, grabbed everything, only to put it all on to realize that the skirt was about 5 inches too long and the top was too tight to zip up. imagine the panic. and then to add to my woe, my toes were sporting a blazing red rather than the sedate french pedicure kimmie has specified for this event. i literally woke up in a panic. so of course i got up immediately and put everything on to make sure it was all just a dream, and wonder of wonders, the whole thing fits better than it ever has before--the waistband on that skirt is actually kind of LOOSE! this, folks, is a miracle! i DO need some larger boobs for this top i will be wearing, but luckily i can fake that with a few pieces of well-placed underwear.
as for the dumbassery, that also took place this morning as we stopped for a muffin on the way to work. i locked the keys in the car. with the car running. moron. and the hippie was all pissed, and i was all feeling stupid, and it sucked. thank god for brian who bailed us out. the hippie now has the spare key in his pocket in case of future stupid tricks like this one. yes, it has happened before...
Friday, April 15, 2005
herbs for the cooking
yesterday, the hippie's mother asked me to write her a little list of the fresh herbs i use--i had no idea i actually used so many until i started writing. and in the end, i came up with a list i thought might be worth sharing. mind you, i don't know a ton about growing these bad boys, and in fact, killed a lot of them off last summer, but here are the herbs i regularly use in the kitchen, in order of how often i use them, with notes:
one good tip i got last summer--for fresh tasting herbs int he winter, take what you have left at the end of summer, chop it up, and then put them into ice cube trays. put a little water on them and freeze them into ice cubes. when you are making stew or spaghetti sauce in decempber, just throw in a few cubes, and voilá.
if you guys have any suggestions for stuff to do with herbs, please pass them along.
- thyme: english thyme is my favorite. i use this with everything from stews to eggs to herb stuffing for poultry to rubs for roasts to lima beans.
- rosemary: italian or tuscan blue are my favorite varieties. get the bushy kind, not the creepy kind. i use this much like thyme. it's also great with lamb and on baked salmon.
- basil: LOVES the sun! the more you clip it, the more it will leaf out. excellent on sandwiches as well as in anything italian of course. indispensible in thai food, too.
- garlic: grows well alongside roses, believe it or not. it will keep aphids off the roses and the rose roots give off gasses that benefit it.
- mint: spreads like wildfire and can't be killed. excellent for mint juleps, the hippie's favorite summer afternoon libation. also good in lemonade and tea. i sometimes use it to garnish desserts, too.
- oregano: obvious italian/greek food uses, but also good to make herbed mayo for sandwiches and for dipping artichoke leaves into. greek oregano is better than italian in my opinion.
- cilantro: a must-have for salsa and for black beans and many mexican and southwestern dishes.
- sage: EASY to kill! silver tastes better than purple. great in sweet soups like butternut squash and carrot.
- marjoram: somewhat delicate, but great with steamed or glazed carrots.
- chives: great with potatoes, cheesey things (like mac & cheese), and mixed into butter and spread onto fresh bread. YUM!
- sorrell: good in light summer soups and with eggs. very delicate flavor.
- dill: sour cream and dill potato salad is fabulous. many uses, but a little goes a long way.
- parsley: use this in just about anything for color and a mild flavoring. i like it in potato salads and in soups and in spaghetti sauce.
- fennel: IF you like licorice, which i do NOT, but this is a big, cool looking plant that will come back on its own every year. people like to eat the whole bulb, sliced longways and pan seared or grilled.
- lavender: i have not cooked with this yet, but i have plans; i have a recipe for a beautiful chocolate and lavender cake I want to try. and even if you don't cook with it, you can dry it for yummy smelling sachets.
one good tip i got last summer--for fresh tasting herbs int he winter, take what you have left at the end of summer, chop it up, and then put them into ice cube trays. put a little water on them and freeze them into ice cubes. when you are making stew or spaghetti sauce in decempber, just throw in a few cubes, and voilá.
if you guys have any suggestions for stuff to do with herbs, please pass them along.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
bee bottle
i have this little antique glass honey bottle i bought at the flea market for two dollars one saturday long ago--it originally held a copious 4 oz. of honey, and it has a little beehive embossed on the front. i keep it on the sill of the window that separates my kitchen from the sunroom/cat room/work room/back porch that's off the kitchen, along with other various small bottles and vases and my sad african violet that will obviously never bloom again. every spring and summer and fall, i walk through my yard and pick tiny bouquets for the bee bottle from the myriad of blooming and growing things that were planted and shown the love by the original owner of the house. this is this year's first bee bottle, and i was so happy with how pretty it is that i decided to share it. yay for spring! :)
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
visiting alyce
as you know, i was in boston this past weekend with alyce and her little family. adam, her new little baby, is a beauty. this picture is how i found him when i arrived--sleeping peacefully under baby blanket #2, HIS baby blanket. i admit i was unbelievably pleased with this--i didn't realize how happy i would be to find something i knitted in use this way, but man is it satisfying!
the visit was just awesome--i have not spent that much time with alyce since we lived in new york together years ago. you forget just how much you love a person. and i feel like i helped her and rick and the baby somewhat. they are of course going through the adjustments every new set of parents faces. the first months seem both fabulous and oh so hard. anyway--it was just great to hang out, help out, and get a baby fix all at the same time. plus, while at alyce's, i finished up a scarf, whipped up a baby hat for adam, and made quite a bit of progress on baby blanket #3.
i also ended up with an afternoon free to spend with the sam, which was a HUGE and unexpected treat. it was a GORGEOUS day. we got to have brunch outside, shop a little (i bought a new pink raffia hat for the beach and ALMOST bought a fabulous lamp, but talked myself out of it, which may mean i am growing up at last...), and even stop for tea before heading back to alyce's.
all in all, a great long weekend.
i have to leave you with one more picture of the baby--i took this one with my treo sunday morning while messaging the hippie as adam was napping on my lap in a rocking chair. did i mention that i love my treo? oh, and don't think that this baby is always so sedate and quiet as these pictures here indicate--he is sometimes more like a wild animal even though there is usually a calm after the storm. :)
the visit was just awesome--i have not spent that much time with alyce since we lived in new york together years ago. you forget just how much you love a person. and i feel like i helped her and rick and the baby somewhat. they are of course going through the adjustments every new set of parents faces. the first months seem both fabulous and oh so hard. anyway--it was just great to hang out, help out, and get a baby fix all at the same time. plus, while at alyce's, i finished up a scarf, whipped up a baby hat for adam, and made quite a bit of progress on baby blanket #3.
i also ended up with an afternoon free to spend with the sam, which was a HUGE and unexpected treat. it was a GORGEOUS day. we got to have brunch outside, shop a little (i bought a new pink raffia hat for the beach and ALMOST bought a fabulous lamp, but talked myself out of it, which may mean i am growing up at last...), and even stop for tea before heading back to alyce's.
all in all, a great long weekend.
i have to leave you with one more picture of the baby--i took this one with my treo sunday morning while messaging the hippie as adam was napping on my lap in a rocking chair. did i mention that i love my treo? oh, and don't think that this baby is always so sedate and quiet as these pictures here indicate--he is sometimes more like a wild animal even though there is usually a calm after the storm. :)
Thursday, April 07, 2005
thoughts on new york
when you fly from points South to boston at night, if you sit on the left side of the plane, you get an amazing view of new york. i used to do this nearly every other week for work, but i had almost forgotten about it.
last night i looked up from knitting on the plane just in time to see it--beautiful as always in spite of the dark places where the world trade center used to be... the street grid so clear from the sky that i could easily count up to the blocks where i once lived and worked. remembering the pasta maker and the cheese guy and the movie theater and the fabulous thai restaurant in my old 'hood. remembering my day to day life with alyce and my shopping excursions with rita. remembering when i was paid to paint and create all day... a part of me will always miss new york.
then again, sitting in the airport last night waiting for my own flight, i found myself surrounded by a group of new york businessmen with big expanse account and even bigger senses of entitlement. they were all screaming at the airline personnel, as though that would cause their plane to arrive more quickly--wasted energy. and after the plane was past the city, i remembered that i was blocking out how lonely it often was and how my boss was so frustrating and the time my apartment was robbed... these things make me glad to be gone.
that is the nature of new york--love and hate in equal measure.
and no--no desire to move back, but yes--think about it almost every single day.
note: the above post brought to you courtesy of my new treo. :)
last night i looked up from knitting on the plane just in time to see it--beautiful as always in spite of the dark places where the world trade center used to be... the street grid so clear from the sky that i could easily count up to the blocks where i once lived and worked. remembering the pasta maker and the cheese guy and the movie theater and the fabulous thai restaurant in my old 'hood. remembering my day to day life with alyce and my shopping excursions with rita. remembering when i was paid to paint and create all day... a part of me will always miss new york.
then again, sitting in the airport last night waiting for my own flight, i found myself surrounded by a group of new york businessmen with big expanse account and even bigger senses of entitlement. they were all screaming at the airline personnel, as though that would cause their plane to arrive more quickly--wasted energy. and after the plane was past the city, i remembered that i was blocking out how lonely it often was and how my boss was so frustrating and the time my apartment was robbed... these things make me glad to be gone.
that is the nature of new york--love and hate in equal measure.
and no--no desire to move back, but yes--think about it almost every single day.
note: the above post brought to you courtesy of my new treo. :)
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
boston calling
tomorrow i go to boston to see alyce and rick and baby adam. i am so excited i just can't stand it! it has been years and years since i have had whole days to spend with alyce. my plan is to clean her bathroom and make lots of dinners and hang out and knit and talk to alyce while she snuggles with her baby and i fold all the laundry. i hate it when people go see a new mother and just hold the baby the whole time and don't do any of the work!!! but i digress...
i decided that since i was going to see alyce tomorrow, this was a perfect time to share some pictures of the baby blankets i have been working on. this one is baby blanket #2, which alyce already has. (the baby has, in fact, already had his way with it, and it has been washed multiple times.) i am about 1/2 way through another one just like it. as soon as i finish (hopefully this weekend), it will get stuffed into a box and mailed away with the balrog t-shirt and hat. :)
and for kicks (and becasue i love the color), i am including a detail of baby blanket #1, the first one i made, and in fact, the second project i started after the knitting class jenn and i took last fall. this one is in custody of ella, the baby of jeff and carrie, and it, too, is taking a baby beating. this is as it should be. fyi to my fellow knitters, this blanket is a simple 4 x 5 basket weave with a 6 stitch garter edging. at 72 sts wide, it takes 5 balls of paton's melody, which i recommend ordering online from the yarn exchange. i have had some GREAT experiences with this company, and they priority mail everything for just 5 bucks. whoo hoo!
i decided that since i was going to see alyce tomorrow, this was a perfect time to share some pictures of the baby blankets i have been working on. this one is baby blanket #2, which alyce already has. (the baby has, in fact, already had his way with it, and it has been washed multiple times.) i am about 1/2 way through another one just like it. as soon as i finish (hopefully this weekend), it will get stuffed into a box and mailed away with the balrog t-shirt and hat. :)
and for kicks (and becasue i love the color), i am including a detail of baby blanket #1, the first one i made, and in fact, the second project i started after the knitting class jenn and i took last fall. this one is in custody of ella, the baby of jeff and carrie, and it, too, is taking a baby beating. this is as it should be. fyi to my fellow knitters, this blanket is a simple 4 x 5 basket weave with a 6 stitch garter edging. at 72 sts wide, it takes 5 balls of paton's melody, which i recommend ordering online from the yarn exchange. i have had some GREAT experiences with this company, and they priority mail everything for just 5 bucks. whoo hoo!
Sunday, April 03, 2005
makin' some sparkly stuff
my friend kimmie is getting married at the end of this month, and i am in the wedding. like most brides, kimmie wanted to get some nice little earrings for her bridemaids for the wedding, and she came to me for a consultation. the dresses are purple with silver and clear crystal embroidery around the neckline, and the earrings are the only jewelry we will be wearing. most of us will have out hair up or blown out straight, so we decided that something dangly but small involving clear crystals was the way to go--not necessarily easy to find. further, one bridesmaid doesn't have pierced ears, so that was presenting a whole other challenge.
anyway--after many emails back and forth about this, i ended up volunteering to whip up something for her this weekend, and here it is. (apologies for the blinding bright spot on the wooden ruler i stupidly chose to put next to the earrings.) these are sterling silver with austrian crystals from swarovski. you can't tell from this picture, but the smaller crystal is the exact color of the dresses, which was just good luck. i am pretty happy with how these came out, so i thought i would share. all in all--this was pretty cool to do. it's been about 10 years since i made any jewelry to speak of, so i had forgotten how much fun it is! i whipped out 8 pairs of these yesterday, and managed to only break one crystal. i went and got a replacement today, so i just have one more earring to go. and then i will get back to kntting. whoo hoo!
anyway--after many emails back and forth about this, i ended up volunteering to whip up something for her this weekend, and here it is. (apologies for the blinding bright spot on the wooden ruler i stupidly chose to put next to the earrings.) these are sterling silver with austrian crystals from swarovski. you can't tell from this picture, but the smaller crystal is the exact color of the dresses, which was just good luck. i am pretty happy with how these came out, so i thought i would share. all in all--this was pretty cool to do. it's been about 10 years since i made any jewelry to speak of, so i had forgotten how much fun it is! i whipped out 8 pairs of these yesterday, and managed to only break one crystal. i went and got a replacement today, so i just have one more earring to go. and then i will get back to kntting. whoo hoo!
Thursday, March 31, 2005
not just living in sin
heh. apparently the hippie and i are not only living in sin, but we are also BREAKING THE LAW! who knew??? yet another old law that the uber-conservative north carolina politicians are afraid to take off the books for fear of being seen as anti-family. gotta love the bible belt...
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
um...no. just no.
horror the first: this article is just appalling--how is this legal? in about HALF of the states in the US?!? EW. i am generally pretty damned open-minded about social issues, but i swear--this makes my skin crawl. yuck.
horror the second: tell me what these people are thinking. i mean, really--i don't even know what to say. are they serious?
horror the second: tell me what these people are thinking. i mean, really--i don't even know what to say. are they serious?
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
balrog
behold the balrog t-shirt for the little tyke. yes--there is a story here--i am getting to it. as well you know, i am working on various knitting projects, including, but not limited to baby blanket #3. this one is to be part of a gift for dylan, the new baby of my hippie's dear friend grutos. thus, the hippie has been after me to knit a balrog into the blanket, or make a stuffed balrog, or something of the sort. things which, i fear, are still well beyond my knitting capabilities. BUT... with the help of another friend, clay, i found and purchased the t-shirt you see before you now. excellent. and could a balrog look less threatening? i think it's perfect for a baby. hurrah!
and now you see before you what i have created as an addition to the fabulous balrog t-shirt: a hat to match.* why is it that there are so few cute things for baby boys??? that always irks me--all this cute stuff for girls, but almost nothing for boys. boys need cuteness to!!! but i digress... anyway, this little hat is from the knit knack kit and is called a li'l critter hat--when you put it on the baby's head, it makes little ears/horns. tell me what could possibly be cuter that that? the yarn is julia from kristin nicholas, a fabulous soft worsted weight lambswool, alpaca, and kid mohair blend--so soft and smooth--it's a dream to knit with, and the colors are awesome.
in addition to these riches, we got some little baby jeans and little black socks, and i am on a mission to find a little plain black or grey or red hoodie somewhere in the universe--simple baby clothes are HARD to find! and don't worry, i am still going to finish the baby blanket too. plus another one that is quilted. :)
*photograph of hat brought to you by my brand new treo650. excellent.
and now you see before you what i have created as an addition to the fabulous balrog t-shirt: a hat to match.* why is it that there are so few cute things for baby boys??? that always irks me--all this cute stuff for girls, but almost nothing for boys. boys need cuteness to!!! but i digress... anyway, this little hat is from the knit knack kit and is called a li'l critter hat--when you put it on the baby's head, it makes little ears/horns. tell me what could possibly be cuter that that? the yarn is julia from kristin nicholas, a fabulous soft worsted weight lambswool, alpaca, and kid mohair blend--so soft and smooth--it's a dream to knit with, and the colors are awesome.
in addition to these riches, we got some little baby jeans and little black socks, and i am on a mission to find a little plain black or grey or red hoodie somewhere in the universe--simple baby clothes are HARD to find! and don't worry, i am still going to finish the baby blanket too. plus another one that is quilted. :)
*photograph of hat brought to you by my brand new treo650. excellent.
new toy
in case you are wondering why i am awake and blogging in the middle of the night, it's becasue i am overcome by an OCD moment. see...i have this new toy, and all i want to do is get it completely set up and perfectly operational IMMEDIATELY! i have already started...how do i stop before ALL the birthdays and events and adresses are in there? how do i stop until the whole christmas card list is in and the thing is all backed up on one of the many computers we have around here? how do i stop??! i know i have to go to bed, but i know that once i get there, i will just be thinking about downloading new ringtones and wallpapers for the background of my brand new treo650. the hippie was able to put HIS down and walk away--he is already sleeping--WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME??? i think it's just been too long since i had a new gadget to play with. maybe if i can just get the list of wines we like in there, i will be able to sleep...
Thursday, March 24, 2005
the farmer's market
my friend emily sent me email tellimg me to blog about the farmer's market. (or should that be farmers' market? i am never sure. anyway...) i am guessing this is because i was going on and on and on and on about it to her on the phone earlier today. but here is the thing--i LOVE the farmer's market (or farmers'...whatever.) and i wait in the spring for the flowers to start to bloom because that means it's time to start going again--time to add it to my weeked food shopping ritual. so now, it is ALMOST time! yay!
i have been going to the farmer's market (farmers'?) since i moved back South in 1997. i love to support the local people and get the yummy fresh in-season things for CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP. i have a peach orchard to whom i am loyal, as well as a guy who grows elephant garlic, the old man who comes with a whole truckload of sweet peppers, a young and inexperienced, but very passionate herb seller, a crazy but very cool honey lady with the BEST honey in the world (her label says little flying cows, and her creamed honey has won the blue ribbon at the state fair for the last several years), and the best--the flower lady.
the flower lady is a wholesaler who brings her leftovers to the market every friday and saturday during the spring and summer. for christmas, she makes beautiful wreaths of dried flowers and herbs and boxwoods, too. (we pick up the wreath when we go to buy our christmas tree and some firewood for the coziness.) she knows me as i know her: we are always happy to see each other; we give each other updates on our lives; i don't know her name, but i have watched her children grow up. the flower lady has seen me through multiple phases in my life, and has declared the hippie her favorite of all the guys i have dated since i have been buying flowers from her. i don't know what it is about having fresh flowers in the house, but there are few things that make me happier. i have been known to take my last three dollars and go get the flower lady to make me a $3 boquet. her flowers are fresh and last forever, and she taught me a trick of putting a teaspoon of sugar and a few drops of bleach in the water to keep them fresh longer. she's awesome.
the other thing i love is just walking through the place. there are about 5000 people there on the weekend in the summer, everyone from old ex-fighter pilots who strike up tattoo conversations with the hippie, to migrant workers, to crunchie granola-ish families, to suburbanites lost in the rural culture they are suddenly immersed in, to gourmet hobbyists looking for the freshest and best ingredients they can find. there are dogs and kids and people and piles and piles and piles of fresh fruits and vegetables. there are plants and flowers and fresh herbs. there are fresh baked breads and ten-layer cakes and old fashioned buttermilk pies. there is a ton of laughter and mingling, and it smells warm and fabulous.
you guys should go.
i have been going to the farmer's market (farmers'?) since i moved back South in 1997. i love to support the local people and get the yummy fresh in-season things for CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP. i have a peach orchard to whom i am loyal, as well as a guy who grows elephant garlic, the old man who comes with a whole truckload of sweet peppers, a young and inexperienced, but very passionate herb seller, a crazy but very cool honey lady with the BEST honey in the world (her label says little flying cows, and her creamed honey has won the blue ribbon at the state fair for the last several years), and the best--the flower lady.
the flower lady is a wholesaler who brings her leftovers to the market every friday and saturday during the spring and summer. for christmas, she makes beautiful wreaths of dried flowers and herbs and boxwoods, too. (we pick up the wreath when we go to buy our christmas tree and some firewood for the coziness.) she knows me as i know her: we are always happy to see each other; we give each other updates on our lives; i don't know her name, but i have watched her children grow up. the flower lady has seen me through multiple phases in my life, and has declared the hippie her favorite of all the guys i have dated since i have been buying flowers from her. i don't know what it is about having fresh flowers in the house, but there are few things that make me happier. i have been known to take my last three dollars and go get the flower lady to make me a $3 boquet. her flowers are fresh and last forever, and she taught me a trick of putting a teaspoon of sugar and a few drops of bleach in the water to keep them fresh longer. she's awesome.
the other thing i love is just walking through the place. there are about 5000 people there on the weekend in the summer, everyone from old ex-fighter pilots who strike up tattoo conversations with the hippie, to migrant workers, to crunchie granola-ish families, to suburbanites lost in the rural culture they are suddenly immersed in, to gourmet hobbyists looking for the freshest and best ingredients they can find. there are dogs and kids and people and piles and piles and piles of fresh fruits and vegetables. there are plants and flowers and fresh herbs. there are fresh baked breads and ten-layer cakes and old fashioned buttermilk pies. there is a ton of laughter and mingling, and it smells warm and fabulous.
you guys should go.
Monday, March 21, 2005
reading: The Bitch in the House
The Bitch in the House: 26 Women Tell the Truth About Sex, Solitude, Work, Motherhood, and Marriage, edited by Cathi Hanauer
while this book has a lot of insights into women's daily lives, and while i related to many of the views presented in its essays, i have to say, it kind of depressed me. so many women are so angry at their "plight" and seem not to appreciate the choices they have. it is a good book, but for me, not a fun one. i would like, actually, to read a counterpoint to it in which the women are just as honest, but about the things that they enjoy about being women and living the lives they choose to live. this one is hard for me to recommend, as it left me feeling somewhat blah at the end of it all...
as a side note, i have heard that the rebuttal to this, the bastard on the couch, which is edited by cathi hanauer's husband, daniel jones, is a bit less insightful. even so, i feel like i should at least check it out.
while this book has a lot of insights into women's daily lives, and while i related to many of the views presented in its essays, i have to say, it kind of depressed me. so many women are so angry at their "plight" and seem not to appreciate the choices they have. it is a good book, but for me, not a fun one. i would like, actually, to read a counterpoint to it in which the women are just as honest, but about the things that they enjoy about being women and living the lives they choose to live. this one is hard for me to recommend, as it left me feeling somewhat blah at the end of it all...
as a side note, i have heard that the rebuttal to this, the bastard on the couch, which is edited by cathi hanauer's husband, daniel jones, is a bit less insightful. even so, i feel like i should at least check it out.
Friday, March 18, 2005
two years
my, how time does fly. the hippie and i have been living together for two years today. seems like it has FLOWN by in some ways, and in others, it seems like we have just always been together. funny how time does that kind of double whammie on you. two years. kind of hard to believe. i still love him just as much as ever, and he is still my favorite man. i still love waking up with him every morning and falling asleep with him every night. i still love how he smells. i think i will keep him. happy two years, hippie!
tonight we are going to dinner at second empire and then to the ballet with harry and jenn to see coppelia, about which i know little--it's jenn's favorite ballet. maybe some drinks after, although i can't drink much what with all my medication. here's to not falling asleep from the stupid cough medicine. further, here's to not having a coughing fit at the ballet! sometimes my body, it does not cooperate with my plans for celebration.
tonight we are going to dinner at second empire and then to the ballet with harry and jenn to see coppelia, about which i know little--it's jenn's favorite ballet. maybe some drinks after, although i can't drink much what with all my medication. here's to not falling asleep from the stupid cough medicine. further, here's to not having a coughing fit at the ballet! sometimes my body, it does not cooperate with my plans for celebration.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
reading: Fast Food Nation
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
whew! this book was not an easy read. it was GREAT, don't get me wrong--it was just difficult to stomach many of the facts reported in it. i am glad i have already sworn off fast food, and i am more convinced than ever that if i ever DO have a baby, it is not allowed into a fast food establishment until it is at least sixteen years old and driving its own car. i figure at that point, i can't stop it from doing watever it wants to anyway. but i digress...
the most interesting/horrifying part of this book is the information on the working conditions and food safety regulation enforcement (or lack therof) in the meatpacking industry. it is astounding how greedy and profit-driven people are, to the detriment of both their own morality and also the health of the general populace. it was also fascinating to learn how tied into politics these issues are, when politics should have NOTHING to do with protecting the health and well-being of our nation's children.
the other sticking point to me is the fact that 9 times out of 10, i don't know where my food is coming from. you eat out, and you just trust the people in the restaurant to take care of you--perhaps stupid when you really think about it. and even in the grocery store--the last time i bought beef from a big chain, it was red on top, but grey and weird on the bottom--i just threw it away. let's hear it for whole foods and their ready information about the farms where they get their meat and produce. free range meats taste better, and i feel better about eating them, too.
can you tell this book makes me want to stand up and rant!? i would recommend this book to anyone who has ever eaten out. it's fascinating and scary and a real eye-opener.
two other books about food, fat, and health i highly recommend:and while i am at it, super size me was awesome, too.
whew! this book was not an easy read. it was GREAT, don't get me wrong--it was just difficult to stomach many of the facts reported in it. i am glad i have already sworn off fast food, and i am more convinced than ever that if i ever DO have a baby, it is not allowed into a fast food establishment until it is at least sixteen years old and driving its own car. i figure at that point, i can't stop it from doing watever it wants to anyway. but i digress...
the most interesting/horrifying part of this book is the information on the working conditions and food safety regulation enforcement (or lack therof) in the meatpacking industry. it is astounding how greedy and profit-driven people are, to the detriment of both their own morality and also the health of the general populace. it was also fascinating to learn how tied into politics these issues are, when politics should have NOTHING to do with protecting the health and well-being of our nation's children.
the other sticking point to me is the fact that 9 times out of 10, i don't know where my food is coming from. you eat out, and you just trust the people in the restaurant to take care of you--perhaps stupid when you really think about it. and even in the grocery store--the last time i bought beef from a big chain, it was red on top, but grey and weird on the bottom--i just threw it away. let's hear it for whole foods and their ready information about the farms where they get their meat and produce. free range meats taste better, and i feel better about eating them, too.
can you tell this book makes me want to stand up and rant!? i would recommend this book to anyone who has ever eaten out. it's fascinating and scary and a real eye-opener.
two other books about food, fat, and health i highly recommend:and while i am at it, super size me was awesome, too.
the kindness of strangers
i decided to make a fabulous baby sweater and cute leggings to match from my knitting book, simple knits for cherished babies. i thought--challenging, but do-able--now to find the yarn. so i called my local yarn places and no one had it. so i looked online and could find nothing. i did a big generic search for jaeger cashmere, the yarn in question, and finally came across a person making something (a beautiful shawl, to be specific) out of this yarn, so i asked her on her blog to email me. and lo and behold--this woman knew everything i needed to know. the yarn is discontinued, but she was kind enough to send me all the information from the yarn label so that i can at least find a suitable substitute. this, people, is when the internet rocks. so--a special thanks to my new friend erica over at e's knitting blog.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
my best friend's baby
my friend alyce had a little baby boy this morning at 4:10am. she's healthy, he's healthy, and i am so excited and relieved and happy for them i can't even begin to describe it! the baby's name is adam richard dinjian. adam for alyce's brother, who is a fabulous person, and richard for his father, who is, i am SURE, doting on the baby as we speak. baby adam weighs 7 pounds and 8 ounces, and he is 20 inches long. i cannot WAIT to get up there and see them!!! today i will be making some travel plans...
much love and good thoughts to to alyce and rick and baby adam. welcome to the world, little baby boy!
much love and good thoughts to to alyce and rick and baby adam. welcome to the world, little baby boy!
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
morning cocktail
this morning i took so many drugs i actually put them in their own little bowl on the table beside my oatmeal. i took my standard blood pressure pill, multi-vitamin, and baby aspirin, along with an enormous antibiotic, two cough supressants, and a pair of advil. i skipped out on the cough syrup, as the codeine makes me too sleepy to work. did i mention i am sick? the bad news: i have an upper respiratory infection. the good news: it IS getting better--my coughing fits are down to about 10 minutes at a stretch from the 3 hour ones i was having this weekend. so yay for progress! i can't seem to catch any breaks on the health front lately. and it's hard to go to the gym when you are hacking up a lung, so i am getting nowhere with the weight issues either. i have even been too tired to knit the past couple of weeks! think good thoughts for me people--i obviously need them.
Saturday, March 12, 2005
geek moment: these are the geeks i know
today i checked the astronomy picture of the day, as i always do, and behold: i actually recognized the work! one of my favorite teachers from nc state, john blondin, works with 3-D hydrodynamics code of his own (and his grad students') design. this image was produced by one of his grad students, mike owen, with whom i used to teach astronomy labs back in the day. this stuff almost makes me miss school...
*click on the pic for the whole apod article.
*click on the pic for the whole apod article.
Friday, March 11, 2005
rant: loud ass cat
when you are sick as a dog and barely able to breathe, and sleep is not coming easily, the LAST thing you need to hear through the darkness is a cat licking itself at about 75k decibels! scout is the LOUDEST ANIMAL ON THE PLANET!!! first, she meows. she meows the minute she can see the bottom of her food bowl and does not stop till you fill that bitch back up to the brim. this can start at 1 am, 7 am, 2 in the afternoon--just whenever that ceramic shows through. she meows for attention, she meows to call the other cats, she meows when she can't find you. and worse than that--she LICKS HERSELF CONSANTLY! i mean ALL-THE-TIME. if i could spell the sound of the licking, i would describe it for you in greater detail. suffice it to say that it is LOUD, and PERSISTENT, and involves a lot of wet, squishy sounds, repeated over and over and over and over again. and at 4 am, this elicits thoughts like, "i will KILL that cat! i will. one more lick and she's toast." last night i threw four pillows at her--i admit it. if anyone needs a new cat, just let me know. she's real sweet when she's quiet. really.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
my first flickr post...testing...testing...
since gabriella's birthday was just this week, i thought it was a good idea to use a picture of her to test out this nifty new flickr account i just set up. please forgive me if the layout of this post is not fabulous--consider it a work in progress... if this works out, i may use flickr for all my photo albums, which i desperately need to get online! this picture is from the wonderful day we spent picnicking and sailing and hanging out at lake jordan last september.
reading: Fluke
if you notice, i have added a section on what i am reading to the sidebar. i am generally reading a few books at once--some educational, some instructional, and some for pure brain candy style enjoyment. and i have decided that when i finish a book, i will give an opinion or two on it. so, withouth further ado, here is the first one:
Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings, by Christopher Moore
i adore christopher moore's books in general, and fluke was pretty great. there is quite a bit of interesting whale science in it, but it was also just damned funny. moore has a very irreverent sense of humor, and is really good at juxtaposing characters that seem unlikely combinations, but then actually turn out to work really well together. he reminds me of authors like tom robbins and matt ruff in that respect. he also doesn't hesitate to make fun of anything, but still seems to respect the things he is satirizing, and for that i love him. while this book from him does not replace my favorite of his efforts to date, lamb, it is definitely a fun ride. highly recommended...
Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings, by Christopher Moore
i adore christopher moore's books in general, and fluke was pretty great. there is quite a bit of interesting whale science in it, but it was also just damned funny. moore has a very irreverent sense of humor, and is really good at juxtaposing characters that seem unlikely combinations, but then actually turn out to work really well together. he reminds me of authors like tom robbins and matt ruff in that respect. he also doesn't hesitate to make fun of anything, but still seems to respect the things he is satirizing, and for that i love him. while this book from him does not replace my favorite of his efforts to date, lamb, it is definitely a fun ride. highly recommended...
four hundred dollars later...
my car is fixed--we picked it up yesterday with its brand new starter and newly welded heat shield and its fresh oil. whoo hoo! i LOVE when i get to spend an unexpecetd $400 on my stupid car! oh yeah, and let's not forget the $30 i had to give the tow truck guy when he came to get the car (becasue it would not start) monday morning and the damed thing started right up!!! AGAIN!
and i know i should not complain--this car was a gift on which i paid not a dime. but i don't care! unexpected expenditures SUCK! oh well. i will stop whining now, and just be glad that a) it wasn't more money, b) it was something simple to fix that they fixed in one day, and c) that the little bitch is back to running again!
and i know i should not complain--this car was a gift on which i paid not a dime. but i don't care! unexpected expenditures SUCK! oh well. i will stop whining now, and just be glad that a) it wasn't more money, b) it was something simple to fix that they fixed in one day, and c) that the little bitch is back to running again!
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
mary and gabriella
yesterday mary came to town. she is one of my favorite people, and she has not been to town in FOREVER. although she is here for work, she has chosen to stay with us! yay! she will be here till wednesday. having her around just makes me happy. :)
of course, while she is here is when my body decided to give me a whole new cold. i don't know what in the hell is going on with my body, but i jsut keep getting sick over and over and over! UGH! but i digress...
so last night we took mary with us and headed over to jenn and harry's to celebrate gabriella's second birthday! i can't believe that she is already TWO YEARS OLD!!! it really seems like yesterday that i was holding jenn's hands while gabriella made her way into the world--that remains one of the greatest experiences of my life to date. i love that little girl so much, it's like she's part mine. i told the hippie the other day that i was glad we are such a big part of gabriella's village.
and while i am on this topic, let me say that she is just a beautiful child, and that she is no longer a baby at all--she is definitely moving on up. walking and running and talking a mile a minute. she has started to pretend, and she is SO MUCH FUN! she loves to be thrown into the air, to play with the kitties, to sing, to paint and draw, to dress up her baby dolls, to dig in the dirt and plant things. everythign she does is funny it seems--last night i could not stop laughing at her antics. even when she is tired and being a pill--she is still a joy to be around. i feel like jenn does--i just wish she would SLOW DOWN!!! she is growing and changing so fast! i guess that is what kids do...
of course, while she is here is when my body decided to give me a whole new cold. i don't know what in the hell is going on with my body, but i jsut keep getting sick over and over and over! UGH! but i digress...
so last night we took mary with us and headed over to jenn and harry's to celebrate gabriella's second birthday! i can't believe that she is already TWO YEARS OLD!!! it really seems like yesterday that i was holding jenn's hands while gabriella made her way into the world--that remains one of the greatest experiences of my life to date. i love that little girl so much, it's like she's part mine. i told the hippie the other day that i was glad we are such a big part of gabriella's village.
and while i am on this topic, let me say that she is just a beautiful child, and that she is no longer a baby at all--she is definitely moving on up. walking and running and talking a mile a minute. she has started to pretend, and she is SO MUCH FUN! she loves to be thrown into the air, to play with the kitties, to sing, to paint and draw, to dress up her baby dolls, to dig in the dirt and plant things. everythign she does is funny it seems--last night i could not stop laughing at her antics. even when she is tired and being a pill--she is still a joy to be around. i feel like jenn does--i just wish she would SLOW DOWN!!! she is growing and changing so fast! i guess that is what kids do...
Saturday, March 05, 2005
tea, biscotti, and a clean bathroom. oh, and some art, too.
few things make me happier than having a clean bathroom. perhaps that is somewhat ridiculous, but there it is. my bathroom is sparkly. and i even put up a chrome hook so that i can FINALLY hand a hand towel in there. i am in serious house cleaning mode, but have stopped to have some tea and biscotti and to revel in the open windows before i continue.
i am feeling rambly--i will just warn you right now...
last night the hippie and i had a pleasant foray to first friday in downtown raleigh. this is a raleigh event, held the first friday of each month, when the art galleries and many little downtown shops stay open late. our friend eric had an animated piece opening at a little gallery called DesignBox, so we wanted to go check it out and offer our support. my favorite thing at this show was actually artwork by eric's friend angi--she had this series of 4 paintings based on jaberwocky, one of my favorite poems of all time, which i have known by heart since i had to memorize it for a school thing in the third grade. it was just beautiful and very fey, and as soon as i can afford it, i will buy a set of these prints from her. :)
and it would not be a first friday without a walk through artspace, which is this enormous old warehouse building full of artists who all work together to promote, show, and sell artwork. the two people we have to hit when we go there are kathy ammon, from whom the hippie bought a painting to give to me our first christmas together, and from whom i am betting we eventually buy more, and ann harwell, who we call the quilt lady. she has definitely elevated a traditional craft to an amazing art form. my favorite piece from her is called church in the wildwood, which sadly i will never be able to afford. but damn, it's awesome. this picture really doesn't do it justice, but at least it gives you an idea.
art makes me happy, too. every time i walk int artspace, and i smell that linseed oil and turpentine, i want to go drag out the paint and the canvases and have at it. i really wish i had more room to paint, but there is just not enough space here. someday, however, i will definitely get back to it. for now, i will content myself with knitting and wire things and drawng and the occasional piece of stained glass.
this morning we got up and went to a big country breakfast at big ed's, which i can thank emily for introducing me to. we ate our body weight in eggs, bacon, grits with red eye gravy, biscuits, and the biggest, best pancake i have ever had. we split one and could not finish it--the thing was at least an inch thick in the middle! so--no lunch--i am having biscotti for lunch. and tonight we are staying in for dinner--i am making lobster ravioli and a caesar salad. it's just going to be a decadent day all around.
except for all the cleaning. which i am now going back to, as i have run out of biscotti and tea. here i go--later y'all.
i am feeling rambly--i will just warn you right now...
last night the hippie and i had a pleasant foray to first friday in downtown raleigh. this is a raleigh event, held the first friday of each month, when the art galleries and many little downtown shops stay open late. our friend eric had an animated piece opening at a little gallery called DesignBox, so we wanted to go check it out and offer our support. my favorite thing at this show was actually artwork by eric's friend angi--she had this series of 4 paintings based on jaberwocky, one of my favorite poems of all time, which i have known by heart since i had to memorize it for a school thing in the third grade. it was just beautiful and very fey, and as soon as i can afford it, i will buy a set of these prints from her. :)
and it would not be a first friday without a walk through artspace, which is this enormous old warehouse building full of artists who all work together to promote, show, and sell artwork. the two people we have to hit when we go there are kathy ammon, from whom the hippie bought a painting to give to me our first christmas together, and from whom i am betting we eventually buy more, and ann harwell, who we call the quilt lady. she has definitely elevated a traditional craft to an amazing art form. my favorite piece from her is called church in the wildwood, which sadly i will never be able to afford. but damn, it's awesome. this picture really doesn't do it justice, but at least it gives you an idea.
art makes me happy, too. every time i walk int artspace, and i smell that linseed oil and turpentine, i want to go drag out the paint and the canvases and have at it. i really wish i had more room to paint, but there is just not enough space here. someday, however, i will definitely get back to it. for now, i will content myself with knitting and wire things and drawng and the occasional piece of stained glass.
this morning we got up and went to a big country breakfast at big ed's, which i can thank emily for introducing me to. we ate our body weight in eggs, bacon, grits with red eye gravy, biscuits, and the biggest, best pancake i have ever had. we split one and could not finish it--the thing was at least an inch thick in the middle! so--no lunch--i am having biscotti for lunch. and tonight we are staying in for dinner--i am making lobster ravioli and a caesar salad. it's just going to be a decadent day all around.
except for all the cleaning. which i am now going back to, as i have run out of biscotti and tea. here i go--later y'all.
Friday, March 04, 2005
filled with depression
there is no worse feeling than when your dream house goes on the market before you are ready to buy it. from the minute we moved into this neighborhood, we have been lusting after this house, wishing it would go on the market, although we were sure it never would. even a year from now, and i think we would be jumping on this house, but we are just not ready yet. i am filled with sadness at missing out on this beautiful stone cottage--both of us have always wanted a stone house. and this one is right here in our fabulous neighborhood, just down the street from where we live now. it is perfect, with its curved stone walkway, its arched red door, its side porch with the swing on it, its high peaked roof, it's granite counter tops, its butler's pantry, its walk in closet, its tudor-style dormer windows, its giant basement, and its old azeleas just getting ready to bloom. it is just a perfect house. i want to weep.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
stupid fucking car!
harry and the hippie went to go look at the car, and the damned thing started right up! nothing is worse than a car you can't trust, even to be consistently broken! the good news is that the car place i go to and love had some good suggestions and the thing that is wrong is most likely not TOO hard to fix. *sigh* but now i will be afraid to drive it till this gets fixed, which won't be till monday.
what a pain in the ass.
bleh.
what a pain in the ass.
bleh.
friends are the best
right now the hippie and harry are off trying to fix my car. they just came and got my keys and took off with them. i am a lucky girl to have such great people in my life. now, just cross your fingers with me that they can get it fixed!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)