Hey - who knew Paris Hilton could look so good! Gotta say she's got a look none of our Reference Librarians have managed to pull off (ok, I confess, she's really playing the role of a high school teacher - but it LOOKS like she could be a librarian!) Even though she sounds like she could be Hilary Duff or any other teen popstar (years younger than Paris is), it's not an AWFUL song. So, for your personal enjoyment (or pain), I bring you Paris Hilton singing "Nothing In This World" (it's such a DEEP song! ;-)
Friday, September 29, 2006
Go Paris!
Hey - who knew Paris Hilton could look so good! Gotta say she's got a look none of our Reference Librarians have managed to pull off (ok, I confess, she's really playing the role of a high school teacher - but it LOOKS like she could be a librarian!) Even though she sounds like she could be Hilary Duff or any other teen popstar (years younger than Paris is), it's not an AWFUL song. So, for your personal enjoyment (or pain), I bring you Paris Hilton singing "Nothing In This World" (it's such a DEEP song! ;-)
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Great nite!
Wow, we had one of those really nice evenings!
Tomorrow's Brett's 31st birthday and we were just going to veg at home and order Domino's so we could try out those new Brownie Bites. Tonite was supposed to be leftover pot roast and maybe catch up on some TV.
Instead he suggested we order the pizza tonite - sure, fine by me! Pizza showed up (cute delivery guy - stopped to chat about the cats with me), and then we settled in to watch last nite's Jericho. As Brett pointed out, there were some very predictable parts, but over all it was great! Definitely gets ya with the suspense. And that ending, with the thumbtacks being placed on the map... (Sorry Peter - you and Conrad didn't survive!)
After that (and devouring half of the pizza) we started up tonite's Smallville (watching it after it started airing so we can bust out the commercials), and began snacking on the brownie bites. Good stuff! Sure, I prefer your average boxed brownie a bit better, but these definitely made for a nice change. Still trying to figure out what they do to sort of "encase" them... Slice them into cubes while still under done and then rebake them? Deep fat fry them? No clue! But dip 'em in that chocolate sauce and YUM!
Now all this snacking of pizza and brownie bites means the bday cake I made for Brett to surprise him with when he got home has to wait til tomorrow, but since he gets the day off from work, I'm sure he won't mind waiting til tomorrow to devour it! It has to be one of the least-fancy cakes I've made in a long time...but should taste great! Brett's coworker Rose recently made a Texas chocolate sheet cake (with a boiled chocolate frosting) and a peanut butter sheet cake (with a boiled peanut butter frosting), and wow were they good.
I figure what better time to try making the peanut butter one for my bf than for his birthday - he loooooves peanut butter. But then I couldn't decide which way to go on the frosting - peanut butter, or chocolate!? Heck - why pick!? I just made a half recipe of each, and made sure to overlap a few inches across the middle so we could see if I should layer the two frostings next time! >;-) (I know, pure genius!)
I also found out that SOMETHING about our oven or the baking rack or something has become uneven - or maybe it always has been, but was more noticeable with the incredibly thin sheet cake? Whatever the cause - one side of the cake is probably only a 1/4 inch thick - and dry! Well, I guess we'll consider this portion control - a diet cake where it all looks good, but only 3/4 (or less?) is edible? :(
Anyhow - here's my super low-maintenance birthday cake for Brett! :) Happy birthday hon!
Tomorrow's Brett's 31st birthday and we were just going to veg at home and order Domino's so we could try out those new Brownie Bites. Tonite was supposed to be leftover pot roast and maybe catch up on some TV.
Instead he suggested we order the pizza tonite - sure, fine by me! Pizza showed up (cute delivery guy - stopped to chat about the cats with me), and then we settled in to watch last nite's Jericho. As Brett pointed out, there were some very predictable parts, but over all it was great! Definitely gets ya with the suspense. And that ending, with the thumbtacks being placed on the map... (Sorry Peter - you and Conrad didn't survive!)
After that (and devouring half of the pizza) we started up tonite's Smallville (watching it after it started airing so we can bust out the commercials), and began snacking on the brownie bites. Good stuff! Sure, I prefer your average boxed brownie a bit better, but these definitely made for a nice change. Still trying to figure out what they do to sort of "encase" them... Slice them into cubes while still under done and then rebake them? Deep fat fry them? No clue! But dip 'em in that chocolate sauce and YUM!
Now all this snacking of pizza and brownie bites means the bday cake I made for Brett to surprise him with when he got home has to wait til tomorrow, but since he gets the day off from work, I'm sure he won't mind waiting til tomorrow to devour it! It has to be one of the least-fancy cakes I've made in a long time...but should taste great! Brett's coworker Rose recently made a Texas chocolate sheet cake (with a boiled chocolate frosting) and a peanut butter sheet cake (with a boiled peanut butter frosting), and wow were they good.
I figure what better time to try making the peanut butter one for my bf than for his birthday - he loooooves peanut butter. But then I couldn't decide which way to go on the frosting - peanut butter, or chocolate!? Heck - why pick!? I just made a half recipe of each, and made sure to overlap a few inches across the middle so we could see if I should layer the two frostings next time! >;-) (I know, pure genius!)
I also found out that SOMETHING about our oven or the baking rack or something has become uneven - or maybe it always has been, but was more noticeable with the incredibly thin sheet cake? Whatever the cause - one side of the cake is probably only a 1/4 inch thick - and dry! Well, I guess we'll consider this portion control - a diet cake where it all looks good, but only 3/4 (or less?) is edible? :(
Anyhow - here's my super low-maintenance birthday cake for Brett! :) Happy birthday hon!
(PS - notice one candle is out of place? Upper right corner SHOULD have a candle, but the green one was moved! That's because Brett was about to start hacking into it when I wanted to take pictures!)
Kitty Vids
Julie's been requesting videos of the beasts, so here we go!
First we have a very indecisive video - do they want to love each other or wrestle. Moxie seems like she's not really interest in either!
And then we have what starts out in the ying-and-yang position, and turns into a stretchathon cutie-fest. I only wish I hadn't maxxed out the memory card - this could've gone on awhile!
First we have a very indecisive video - do they want to love each other or wrestle. Moxie seems like she's not really interest in either!
And then we have what starts out in the ying-and-yang position, and turns into a stretchathon cutie-fest. I only wish I hadn't maxxed out the memory card - this could've gone on awhile!
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Our little acrobat
Check out this balancing act!! Once we get little Moxie in the carnival we'll be able to quit our jobs and she can just mail checks back to her daddies...
Nap time's over!
Caught the beasts in various stages of waking up from their afternoon naps. Then they horsed around for awhile, and they've been sleeping while we ate dinner and watched TV. Now it's about time for us to go to bed - which means it's time for them to wake up and be all energized again!
Dinner Time
Look what just came out of the oven - and it should be cool enough to eat now. From this month's Cooking Light magazine (yeah, this is recipe #3 in one week from the magazine!) - beef pot pie, and there's a cheat - it uses one of those tubes of ready made bread sticks (first time I've ever bought 'em - we'll see how they turn out)
Oodles of noodles
The Yellow Dog's been raving about Oodles, which opened up near him down in Columbus.Wow, sounds great - I wish they'd open up one here in Kent. Heck, they just got a new BW3 down their way, so I think an exchange in eateries is TOTALLY fair! :) (Don't think too hard - it doesn't make the most sense, I know)
Maybe if some of us up here took up a collection, we could open up our own. They list the prices for what it takes to open a location.
Hm, maybe it's a little out of budget?
Bee swarm
Check this out - this is a picture from an old blog entry over at Hive Mind Backyard Beekeeping:
Hopefully he won't mind me redisplaying one of his photos here! Anyhow - this is from one of his adventures in beekeeping where one of his hives split and had a swarm travel a short ways across town, freaking people out along the way. If you check out the entry you can see more pics as they're following the swarm (or more appropriate would be "travelling IN the swarm"), and then once the bees settled, scooping many of them (including the queen) back up into a bucket (with a SPATULA!) and taking them back home again.
I love this stuff!
Sometime between, oh, '90-'92?...I was working at the Bookery Fantasy comic shop in Fairborn, Ohio when we noticed a swarm of bees outside. The queen decided to settle down in a hole in the brick wall of the firestation right next to us (there was just an alley drive between the two buildings). I think it was about midway up the second story of the building? Anyhow, while hundreds of the bees were covering the side of the building, there were still many swarming in a sort of "bee tornado" out in our front parking lot. So cool! So tempting!
So I went out and stood right there in the middle of the bee swarm - such an amazing experience. We're all so afraid of being stung by bees, and yet it turns out, when they're swarming, that's one of the last things on their minds. They're all bloated up with honey they're taking from the old hive to start their new home... Stinging you kills them. They just want to set up shop and starting building a new home. So you can stand right out in the middle of this swarming cloud of bees and feel totally safe.
Boy, I hope I get to do that again sometime!
Hopefully he won't mind me redisplaying one of his photos here! Anyhow - this is from one of his adventures in beekeeping where one of his hives split and had a swarm travel a short ways across town, freaking people out along the way. If you check out the entry you can see more pics as they're following the swarm (or more appropriate would be "travelling IN the swarm"), and then once the bees settled, scooping many of them (including the queen) back up into a bucket (with a SPATULA!) and taking them back home again.
I love this stuff!
Sometime between, oh, '90-'92?...I was working at the Bookery Fantasy comic shop in Fairborn, Ohio when we noticed a swarm of bees outside. The queen decided to settle down in a hole in the brick wall of the firestation right next to us (there was just an alley drive between the two buildings). I think it was about midway up the second story of the building? Anyhow, while hundreds of the bees were covering the side of the building, there were still many swarming in a sort of "bee tornado" out in our front parking lot. So cool! So tempting!
So I went out and stood right there in the middle of the bee swarm - such an amazing experience. We're all so afraid of being stung by bees, and yet it turns out, when they're swarming, that's one of the last things on their minds. They're all bloated up with honey they're taking from the old hive to start their new home... Stinging you kills them. They just want to set up shop and starting building a new home. So you can stand right out in the middle of this swarming cloud of bees and feel totally safe.
Boy, I hope I get to do that again sometime!
Dance!
Damn, this guy's crazy. I'm assuming he planned this all ahead and knew all the moves? Wonder if he dances professionally or what... Kinda cute too!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Go2Web20.net
http://www.go2web20.net/
I'm mostly posting this as a reminder MYSELF to come back and check out this site/service (or should I say list of services), but also thought it'd be cool to share.
Click on that link above and you'll find this self proclaimed "complete web 2.0 directory" instantly catches your attention with the logos of dozens of cool sites out there. Scroll up and down with the little white-on-purple arrows that appear at the top/bottom of the page (kind of oddly positioned though), or with your scroll wheel, and you'll find there's quite a few sites listed. Click on one to get the description over to the right side. From there you can access any of these sites you're curious about.
I know what you're thinking - "geeky. I don't need this. what does it have to do with food?" Ok, well I haven't seen any FOOD sites there ;-) but I bet you find at least (AT LEAST!) one site there you're tempted to check out and possibly add in your day-to-day computer tools. On line chatting, web calendars, Writely (the free Google web-based word processor that I hope puts Word to shame), photo managers, things to help you shop (eh hm, Cindy), online music services, etc - TONS of stuff!! NEAT!
I'm mostly posting this as a reminder MYSELF to come back and check out this site/service (or should I say list of services), but also thought it'd be cool to share.
Click on that link above and you'll find this self proclaimed "complete web 2.0 directory" instantly catches your attention with the logos of dozens of cool sites out there. Scroll up and down with the little white-on-purple arrows that appear at the top/bottom of the page (kind of oddly positioned though), or with your scroll wheel, and you'll find there's quite a few sites listed. Click on one to get the description over to the right side. From there you can access any of these sites you're curious about.
I know what you're thinking - "geeky. I don't need this. what does it have to do with food?" Ok, well I haven't seen any FOOD sites there ;-) but I bet you find at least (AT LEAST!) one site there you're tempted to check out and possibly add in your day-to-day computer tools. On line chatting, web calendars, Writely (the free Google web-based word processor that I hope puts Word to shame), photo managers, things to help you shop (eh hm, Cindy), online music services, etc - TONS of stuff!! NEAT!
Monday, September 25, 2006
Jeph's Super Fantastic TV Review: Heroes
This is the new series I've been anticipating the most... Heroes started tonite, 9:00pm on NBC, and had very few commercial interruptions. Nice quick pace. LOVE the size of the cast - nice and big with lots of variety (the same good stuff I get from the Legion of Super-Heroes comic books!)
Who knows why these people have started developing powers. Or even how long for that matter - it's just been "fairly recently" I would guess. None of the people with powers new each other, and so far it seems all were in the US except for Hiro from Japan. The cast does a great job. The cast play a very diverse band of characters (likeable, hateable, those who would love for something like this, those who consider themselves freaks, etc). Loved tonite's episode, and am definitely looking forward to next week's!! Sure, it's up against How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men, but that's why we have DVR! :)
Jeph's Super Fantastic TV Review: Jericho
So there's this small town in Kansas (aren't all towns in Kansas small on the tv shows?) called Jericho, and a whole network of characters interacting, and as the pace quickens in their own personal stories, a mushroom cloud rises on the horizon. This, of course, sends the town into panic! We later find that while that mushroom cloud arose from Denver (most likely), Atlanta was also taken out by a nuclear bomb. The people of Jericho, KS don't know if they were accidents or if the US is under attack.Skeet Ulrich (have always loved his name) is the major player in the CBS show (Wednesday nites at 8:00). Brett and I looooved it. We kinda figured it wouldn't be something worth watching, but the pacing was great, character development seems good, and we were reeled right in. It's set on the DVR to record the entire series now...
The best part of Rick's bday party!??!
I risk being torn limb from limb for posting this, but how ELSE will the folks from the party see it?!?!
Can you guess what they were doing?
Brett had 4 beers.
Rick turned 50.
Carolyn had a fantasy (ok, I made that part up)
I had bumped the camera to the wrong setting, and my timing was SO off.
You fill in the gaps... I'll never be able to look at my boyfriend or my coworker the same way again!
Rick turned 50.
Carolyn had a fantasy (ok, I made that part up)
I had bumped the camera to the wrong setting, and my timing was SO off.
You fill in the gaps... I'll never be able to look at my boyfriend or my coworker the same way again!
The death and rebirth of a frog
Well - sorta - I mean, if the frog's got any brain activity and even the most infrequent of heartbeats, doesn't that mean it's technically alive?? Still - this is very cool! Always good to learn something new each day!
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Lotsa cooking tonite...
Three out of four isn't so bad, right? In addtion to pot roast (from the new Cooking Light), Mac and Cheese (a recipe from a cookbook I got Brett last Christmas
), and Date and Apple Bars (again, Cooking Light), I had ALSO planned to do up some of Aunt Nadine's salsa and can it. But considering I got started at 330 today, I had to accept my limits...no salsa. Still, everything else turned out quite good!
), and Date and Apple Bars (again, Cooking Light), I had ALSO planned to do up some of Aunt Nadine's salsa and can it. But considering I got started at 330 today, I had to accept my limits...no salsa. Still, everything else turned out quite good!
Beef Pot Roast with potatoes, carrots and celery
Mac N Cheese
Big bowl o noodles!
A few pics from a recent dinner out to Olive Garden for the All You Can Eat Pasta Bowl! Should have been called All You Can Eat Grated Cheese While The Server Stands There And Cranks Away With A Dwindling Block Of Parmesian! MMM MMM GOOD!
Michele and John
Justin and Sharon
Brett
Belly Girl!
I've been a bad boy...
Mmmm...Jubilee Donuts, just off the Tallmadge Circle (and on my way in to work every morning, with an ever so convenient and fast drive-thru!) has the BEST cinnamon sugar cake donuts. Two of these bad boys was my breakfast the other morning at work. Mmmm....soooo gooood! (Hey, I think they're more fitting and acceptable, because they're very fall-like in flavor, and the weather's turned chilly...I HAD to eat them! They were fresh and just a little warm still!)
Hanging with the boys
After meeting up with Dave and Jay for Jackass Number 2 yesterday afternoon, we hit Winking Lizard for diner (mmmmm wings!) Jay said he had the pics from Canada to bring over and wanted me to post them, so he and Dave both came back to our place to do that and hang out. After dealing with the Kodak CD autostart, Picasa and who knows what else fighting for control of the computer for awhile, and then figuring out the best way to display the pics, we got 'em all on line.
And then it happened... It's been talked about for months. Nay, years. Jay's needed a new computer in the worst way, and it finally happened! We pulled up the Dell site and got busy... With the tech support and strong opinions of his friends, Jay will be getting a brand spanking new computer in the next week or so - and then the rest of us will be envious and feel the need to buy new stuff!! :)
By that time it was after 11pm and we were all getting sugar cravings and a joke about there being a new 24/7 Baskin Robins/Dunkin Donuts real close to us turned into a sugar run... MMMM ice cream - Jay's treat! Thanks Jay!
And then it happened... It's been talked about for months. Nay, years. Jay's needed a new computer in the worst way, and it finally happened! We pulled up the Dell site and got busy... With the tech support and strong opinions of his friends, Jay will be getting a brand spanking new computer in the next week or so - and then the rest of us will be envious and feel the need to buy new stuff!! :)
By that time it was after 11pm and we were all getting sugar cravings and a joke about there being a new 24/7 Baskin Robins/Dunkin Donuts real close to us turned into a sugar run... MMMM ice cream - Jay's treat! Thanks Jay!
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Brett and Jay's Big Fat Canadian Wedding Adventure
Photo album for Brett and Jay's recent trip to Halifax for Michael and Nick's wedding
Friday, September 22, 2006
Autumnal Boyfriend
More blast-from-the-past pics as I play around with Picasa (and need to find out why there seems to be a 4 picture upload-to-blog-from-Picasa limit). Don't recall what year this pictures were from, but doesn't Brett look cute? These are for all of Brett's secret admirers!
Halloween of Yesteryear
Halloween's just over a month away, and we're already getting asked if we're having our annual party. I don't know - I really WANT to, but what if we end out having some real estate activity then!??! Plus Brett thinks he'd like a year off (I can work around that...) ;-)Anyhow - I think these are from our second year together? Weren't we cute together!!? I love doing the costumes that require a little too much of the makeup and props...altho all that faux chest fur made me look pudgey in the chest.
And finally the horns were falling off. I think I finally just superglued them to my forehead - worked great! :)
And finally the horns were falling off. I think I finally just superglued them to my forehead - worked great! :)
Fat Wonder Woman
I gotta say I LOOOOOOOVE the Fat Wonder Woman Blog - it makes me want to just skip and jump along all happy! (Ok, well maybe this one doesn't look all THAT happy!?)
This Wonder Woman's having a great time - feeling all happy and innocent and into herself...but not in a narcissitic way. Hm. Upon closer inspection she MIGHT actually be trying to lure someone in...like a young school girl flirting with the boys. Yup, that's WW right here - "Hiiiiiii Batman!!!! Hee hee!"
And if I remember ANYTHING from my Psychology classes in high school, she's pointing her [large, voluptuous] breasts outward as far as she can, and she's pointing out the palm of her hand towards the one she wants. DEFINITELY flirting!
Anyhow, the Fat Wonder Woman blogs takes submissions from artists to show their versions of a large-and-in-charge Wonder Woman - all in fun. Usually when you think of Wonder Woman (assuming you ever think of Wonder Woman), you think of her as a greek goddess on Earth - the perfect woman, someone most women would strive to be, an expert in many fields of study and physical prowess. Plus she's got that KICK ASS invisible jet (and you know you want one!)!
Granted, even a fat Wonder Woman would still be Wonder Woman. Sure she might have some back fat hanging out even more than the overflowing cups in the front. Yeah, she might be squeezed into those metal bracelets/armbands. And she might be so big that she's sporting a little muffin top over the blue and white shorty shorts.... But she's still Wonder Woman - a goddess on Earth just waiting to kick your ass, tie you up in her golden lasso, and make you spill every thought you've been keeping secret to yourself... No lying! C'mon - she's Wonder Woman!
This Wonder Woman's having a great time - feeling all happy and innocent and into herself...but not in a narcissitic way. Hm. Upon closer inspection she MIGHT actually be trying to lure someone in...like a young school girl flirting with the boys. Yup, that's WW right here - "Hiiiiiii Batman!!!! Hee hee!"
And if I remember ANYTHING from my Psychology classes in high school, she's pointing her [large, voluptuous] breasts outward as far as she can, and she's pointing out the palm of her hand towards the one she wants. DEFINITELY flirting!
Anyhow, the Fat Wonder Woman blogs takes submissions from artists to show their versions of a large-and-in-charge Wonder Woman - all in fun. Usually when you think of Wonder Woman (assuming you ever think of Wonder Woman), you think of her as a greek goddess on Earth - the perfect woman, someone most women would strive to be, an expert in many fields of study and physical prowess. Plus she's got that KICK ASS invisible jet (and you know you want one!)!
Granted, even a fat Wonder Woman would still be Wonder Woman. Sure she might have some back fat hanging out even more than the overflowing cups in the front. Yeah, she might be squeezed into those metal bracelets/armbands. And she might be so big that she's sporting a little muffin top over the blue and white shorty shorts.... But she's still Wonder Woman - a goddess on Earth just waiting to kick your ass, tie you up in her golden lasso, and make you spill every thought you've been keeping secret to yourself... No lying! C'mon - she's Wonder Woman!
Blast from the past
I've just decided to test Google's Picasa to help me sort through all the pictures here on my work computer. I have such a hard time keeping SENSIBLY organized with all the different projects, screen shots, training screens, new site prototypes, etc. These days I'm much better with my filing/sorting methods, but in the past I SUCKED at it.
So I'm finding Picasa (it's FREE!) is amaaaaazing! Great at scanning through my computer and finding all the images, excellent preview and editing features, nifty ways to share (email, blog, burn to CD/DVD), etc... This thing ROCKS!! It's also fun to see what pics I've forgotten were unloaded on my computer waaaaaaaaaaaay back when! (and I mean WAY! check out these pics!) Here's apparently only four pictures from an afternoon hike with a friend/student worker from Circulation years ago. What's funny is we crossed paths just a couple months ago while out walking the local paths! Hadn't seen her in a few years. She's gotten married and had a cute little boy!
Anyhow - I THOUGHT Picasa was going to upload 15 pics, but apparently it only wants to do 4 - so I'll have to figure out what's up with that. In the meantime, enjoy - and see how YOUNG I was! Heh heh...
UPDATE!
Oh cool - THIS should now include a Picasa web album feature here...somehow...let's see what happens:
So I'm finding Picasa (it's FREE!) is amaaaaazing! Great at scanning through my computer and finding all the images, excellent preview and editing features, nifty ways to share (email, blog, burn to CD/DVD), etc... This thing ROCKS!! It's also fun to see what pics I've forgotten were unloaded on my computer waaaaaaaaaaaay back when! (and I mean WAY! check out these pics!) Here's apparently only four pictures from an afternoon hike with a friend/student worker from Circulation years ago. What's funny is we crossed paths just a couple months ago while out walking the local paths! Hadn't seen her in a few years. She's gotten married and had a cute little boy!
Anyhow - I THOUGHT Picasa was going to upload 15 pics, but apparently it only wants to do 4 - so I'll have to figure out what's up with that. In the meantime, enjoy - and see how YOUNG I was! Heh heh...
UPDATE!
Oh cool - THIS should now include a Picasa web album feature here...somehow...let's see what happens:
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Happy Birthday Allison!
Happy Birthday Allison!
PS - for the rest of you, Allison's the girl in this picture! :)
PS - for the rest of you, Allison's the girl in this picture! :)
I'm on the phone
Brett's been having some fun with taking cell phone pics... Here's a series that have yours truly! I figure I'll post some with the cats before too long (but am giving you guys a kitty break for awhile!)
Ok, I lied - you're going to have some cats in these shots...
Me and Simon on the stripped down bed...
Nuzzling Simon with my feet. This was shortly after having the cats out for the condo showing, and you can see it took no time at all to get kitty toys on the floor!
Me and Moxie watching tv...shirt by Dawn and Drew... (And yes, Moxie's tucked down under my legs - she's wierd - just crawls right in and makes herself comfy)
Brett making me look like I'm being naughty at Kriegers Market. I'm totally innocent! (Why does it look like my hat's flying off?)
Going on a walk...
Outside Handel's ice cream....hey, that's a halfway decent pic of me!
Linda (Brett's mom) and me outside of Handels. I don't think she approves of having her picture taken. I'm guessing she's even less likely to approve of seeing her picture on here!! ;-) Hi Linda! Get back to work!
Me on my phone...on Brett's phone.
Simon was really cranking out the heat while I was trying to work. This COULD come in handy over winter!! I should take him in to work where it's always freezing...and/or wrap him around my feet!
Damn, look at those sexy legs!
Me and the glowy eyed beasts, er, babes...
And there ya have it - can't get much more narcissistic than that, hunh!? :)
Ok, I lied - you're going to have some cats in these shots...
Me and Simon on the stripped down bed...
Nuzzling Simon with my feet. This was shortly after having the cats out for the condo showing, and you can see it took no time at all to get kitty toys on the floor!
Me and Moxie watching tv...shirt by Dawn and Drew... (And yes, Moxie's tucked down under my legs - she's wierd - just crawls right in and makes herself comfy)
Brett making me look like I'm being naughty at Kriegers Market. I'm totally innocent! (Why does it look like my hat's flying off?)
Going on a walk...
Outside Handel's ice cream....hey, that's a halfway decent pic of me!
Linda (Brett's mom) and me outside of Handels. I don't think she approves of having her picture taken. I'm guessing she's even less likely to approve of seeing her picture on here!! ;-) Hi Linda! Get back to work!
Me on my phone...on Brett's phone.
Simon was really cranking out the heat while I was trying to work. This COULD come in handy over winter!! I should take him in to work where it's always freezing...and/or wrap him around my feet!
Damn, look at those sexy legs!
Me and the glowy eyed beasts, er, babes...
And there ya have it - can't get much more narcissistic than that, hunh!? :)
White Castle Swenson's For Dinner
Jay was supposed to come over tonite with pics from his recent Canadian adventure with Brett...and then we were going to run out for a quick, cheap bite for dinner. Brett had suggested White Castle - which we hadn't done in ages.
Well, Jay had to cancel for work obligations, but that wasn't going to stop us! So we made the drive (10-15min?) out to scary Rolling Acres only to find our closest White Castle had CLOSED!!!! NOOOOOO! They had a sign up saying go to their Arlington restaurant, which is a White Castle/Popeyes combination. We stopped there once so I could get fried okra - yum!
However, the White Castle we were at was past the exit for the other one, and we weren't in the mood to head to Canton, so we decided to go to Swensons, which is really close to us and also has GREAT burgers! In case you've never heard, Swensons apparently has a little brown sugar in the burgers? And I get a Galley Boy, which is two beef patties and two kinds of special sauce, plus cheese and whatever else you want in two buns. Even their buns are different than your average fast food places (maybe because they're toasty crisp?)
And to top it off - their tater teezers ROCK! Imagine a tater tot, only bigger and shaped more like a fish stick (bigger on one end - triangular in shape). Now in with the potato pieces mix in cheese and jalapenos. MMMMMMMM! SO GOOD!
One of Nick's friends up in Canadia (hi Soo Lee! Not sure I spelled that right!) was talking to Brett while he was up there. She threatened to come down sometime and have us take her on a whirlwind fast food tour. Hell, if ANYONE could do it, it's US!!! So here ya go Soo Lee - these shots are for you... (Sadly, we took them with the cell phone cam, which doesn't perform great period, and even worse at twilight. Still you get the idea...)
Well, Jay had to cancel for work obligations, but that wasn't going to stop us! So we made the drive (10-15min?) out to scary Rolling Acres only to find our closest White Castle had CLOSED!!!! NOOOOOO! They had a sign up saying go to their Arlington restaurant, which is a White Castle/Popeyes combination. We stopped there once so I could get fried okra - yum!
However, the White Castle we were at was past the exit for the other one, and we weren't in the mood to head to Canton, so we decided to go to Swensons, which is really close to us and also has GREAT burgers! In case you've never heard, Swensons apparently has a little brown sugar in the burgers? And I get a Galley Boy, which is two beef patties and two kinds of special sauce, plus cheese and whatever else you want in two buns. Even their buns are different than your average fast food places (maybe because they're toasty crisp?)
And to top it off - their tater teezers ROCK! Imagine a tater tot, only bigger and shaped more like a fish stick (bigger on one end - triangular in shape). Now in with the potato pieces mix in cheese and jalapenos. MMMMMMMM! SO GOOD!
One of Nick's friends up in Canadia (hi Soo Lee! Not sure I spelled that right!) was talking to Brett while he was up there. She threatened to come down sometime and have us take her on a whirlwind fast food tour. Hell, if ANYONE could do it, it's US!!! So here ya go Soo Lee - these shots are for you... (Sadly, we took them with the cell phone cam, which doesn't perform great period, and even worse at twilight. Still you get the idea...)
Saturn News
In addition to finding a new ring around Saturn, the Cassini spacecraft has also found "wispy fingers of bright, icy material" reaching outward from Saturn's moon Enceladus. This is some amazing new stuff they're finding (click on the picture for a full size view) - I often forget to check in on the Cassini web site to see what amazing visuals are being posted.Scientists believe these "fingers" are probably particulate matter being ejected into orbit around Saturn from geysers on Enceladus. Whether the particles are ejected "into the wind" or behind the moon affects the shape of the buldges in the ring around the planet. Neat stuff, hunh!? (Yup, I'm a geek!) :)
International Mr Gay
Kenneth in the (212) pointed out these three guys from the International Mr Gay competition (Oct. 26-28 in Palm Springs) - and he's right, they're hot. Man, I have NO CHANCE of winning when up against these three - from left to right, Mr Gay United Kingdom, Mr Gay Venezuela and Mr Gay Colombia.
Also very nice is Mr Gay Israel!
So very not nice is Mr Gay Norway, 80's band reject in a Members Only jacket with the, uh, plastic baby? WTF!?
Also very nice is Mr Gay Israel!
So very not nice is Mr Gay Norway, 80's band reject in a Members Only jacket with the, uh, plastic baby? WTF!?
Green Arrow on Superman
Oh, don't get all excited from that subject heading (I didn't even realize it was going to sound naughty til after I typed it!)Here's another image of Green Arrow from his upcoming appearance on this season's second episode of Smallville (now on the CW - hate that name!), which is entitled "Whisper." The show title actually gives you a clue to a big new development with Clark's powers actually - he seems to have gotten a new power almost every season, and it's time for a new one!
While this GA is cute, he really should have some sort of funky goatee to match his comic book counterpart ('sides, I'm kinda partial to the facial hair!)
Colors of the woooorld!
Ok, don't laugh, but I have a confession about this morning's music being piped in through my headphones...
No, I'm not listening to the Victoria's Secrets models - those are the Spice Girls!
Colors of the world! Spice up your life! Every boy and every girl! Spice up your life!
Go on - you know you want to do it. Right there at work, or at home - where ever you're reading this....shake it to the right, shake it to the front! C'mon, do a little chair dance with me!
(I'm an idiot!)
And yes, I HAVE had people walk in on me while I'm doing a little wiggling in my office chair here at work. Real amusing, I'm sure!
LOL
No, I'm not listening to the Victoria's Secrets models - those are the Spice Girls!
Colors of the world! Spice up your life! Every boy and every girl! Spice up your life!
Go on - you know you want to do it. Right there at work, or at home - where ever you're reading this....shake it to the right, shake it to the front! C'mon, do a little chair dance with me!
(I'm an idiot!)
And yes, I HAVE had people walk in on me while I'm doing a little wiggling in my office chair here at work. Real amusing, I'm sure!
LOL
Weatherman vs The Bug
I have no new cooking entries for you guys...and there have been plenty of cat entries lately. Hopefully this will make up for it! ;-)
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Beer Whore
You know how it goes - every college party has one of those underage sorority girls who just wants to be the center of attention. She'll do WHATEVER tricks it takes to get the older kids to start giving her some beer, no matter how degrading it might be.
And as we all know, it's all fun and games until that sorority girl goes and has just a liiiiittle too much (which is often not much at all, for someone so young and inexperienced), and then things turn ugly, and something terribly embarrassing happens, or things that will haunt her the rest of her life...or at least get her locked out of the higher echelon of cliques!
Man Moxie, you're SUCH a beer whore!
And as we all know, it's all fun and games until that sorority girl goes and has just a liiiiittle too much (which is often not much at all, for someone so young and inexperienced), and then things turn ugly, and something terribly embarrassing happens, or things that will haunt her the rest of her life...or at least get her locked out of the higher echelon of cliques!
Man Moxie, you're SUCH a beer whore!
Amazing video of sandstorm
Whooooa - this is cool!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1120793438507203379
(Sorry, can't figure out how to embed this Google Video into my blog...you'll have to click the link above to see for yourself!)
I confess - I'd TOTALLY have to stand out in that!! I stood in the middle of a beeswarm once - that really rocked!!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1120793438507203379
(Sorry, can't figure out how to embed this Google Video into my blog...you'll have to click the link above to see for yourself!)
I confess - I'd TOTALLY have to stand out in that!! I stood in the middle of a beeswarm once - that really rocked!!
CSSTux
I'm a web developing geek - I love looking at sites that collect the work of other web developers/designers. It's cool seeing their color combinations, how they handle layouts and the display of their content, see what new trends are developing, etc. I'm the first to admit I don't have any cutting edge skills here, nor am I the fanciest of designers! But hopefully with the inspiration gained by looking at many of these other cool sites I'll keep improving.And now I add CSSTux to the list of "design sites" I keep in my bookmarks/favorites. Some of those other cool sites include: CSS Mania, CSS Zen Garden, Design Melt Down, LogoPond, and Stylegala...just to name a handful! Check 'em out - from each of these you'll find some really cool sites!
Monday, September 18, 2006
BFF
Simon and Moxie - BFF!
Aren't they cute together!?
Here they look like they just got busted for doing something bad!
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Quick wrap up to the weekend
Busy weekend and feels like there's nothing to show for it! Got some cooking done, some tv watching done, we got in a hike, had Dave over for pizzas and Beauty Shop with Queen Latifa (GREAT movie!) before heading out to Adam's St (bar). Gah - forgot what smokey bars are like (yes, I know, I sound old for griping about it...) Oh, and Friday nite we hit Olive Garden with friends - and SOME of us pigged out on the All You Can Eat pasta bowl. MMMM good!
Here's a cute picture of Moxie taking a nap!
Would you have guessed she was wrapped up with my feet?!
The twins posing...
Twister kitty cat...
Busted! Boy did he look surprised!
And finally - tonite's dinner. Who doesn't love chicken and dumplings! This was made with the leftovers from a storebought rotisserie chicken - mmmm! Can you tell I'm getting all set for fall eating? Also made a big pot of great beef and vegetable soup today...
Back to work tomorrow! So far no more requests to look at the condo. :(
Here's a cute picture of Moxie taking a nap!
Would you have guessed she was wrapped up with my feet?!
The twins posing...
Twister kitty cat...
Busted! Boy did he look surprised!
And finally - tonite's dinner. Who doesn't love chicken and dumplings! This was made with the leftovers from a storebought rotisserie chicken - mmmm! Can you tell I'm getting all set for fall eating? Also made a big pot of great beef and vegetable soup today...
Back to work tomorrow! So far no more requests to look at the condo. :(
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Our Kittens At War
It's during times like these where everyone in the nation has to do their part... And so it was just three nights ago that I sent our cats off to war, to put themselves out there proudly and hopefully come back winners! I don't know if you'll actually see them in battles - that's just a random shot in the dark. But if you look closely, you can see the number of kills they're racking up!First we have Tucker, really not doing so bad!! You have to admit, he was quite fierce whether looking relaxed while hunting his prey from above, or if he was hiding in the shrubs, just waiting to pounce...
And then we have Simon, who peers off into the distance, looking for an enemy to conquer. Talk about impressive kill rates!
And finally Simon and Moxie teamed up together. Too bad they're not faring as well with the team attack of pure cuteness....MUCH lower ratings when working together. Perhaps it's Moxie's stealth tactics, hiding in the shadows and such...people just can't see how intimidating she really is!?
Even when they don't have the highest number of kills, they still make me proud... And if these three little warriors aren't enough for you, be sure to check out more kittens at war!
Kitten Simon Pics
Let's be honest - Simon's the easiest one to take pictures of around here....so here's a bunch of him, with the enigmatic Moxie guest-starring in some of them.
Whitney's prerogative: Leaving Bobby Brown
(Let's gay this place up a little bit with some current entertainment news!)
GASP! Say it isn't so! - Whitney leaves Bobby!
BEFORE:
"The tumultuous marriage of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown -- which withstood drug addiction, Brown's numerous arrests, the decline of Houston's once-sparkling image and domestic abuse allegations -- is coming to an end."
AFTER (heh heh):
And finally, to go along with today's story, I bring you a classic video clip from The Soup that Brett and I could easily watch over and over (and over and over) - enjoy!
GASP! Say it isn't so! - Whitney leaves Bobby!
BEFORE:
"The tumultuous marriage of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown -- which withstood drug addiction, Brown's numerous arrests, the decline of Houston's once-sparkling image and domestic abuse allegations -- is coming to an end."
AFTER (heh heh):
And finally, to go along with today's story, I bring you a classic video clip from The Soup that Brett and I could easily watch over and over (and over and over) - enjoy!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Not So Good, Pt 2
Some of the goodies from the garden...
The green one is a Rumbo squash - it fell of the vine early - probably because the cucumber trellis (also supporting the weight of several of these squash) blew over in a storm a month or so ago. Wouldn't even consider eating it. They're really hardy squash though!
The orange one is, I BELIEVE, a sunshine squash... First year I grew them. Supposed to be super good tasting - super sweet, award winning, etc.
Sadly, the bugs slaughtered all but this one. Rather than wait and see if it holds out til Halloween, and hopefully not have it rot in a heat wave or rain storm, I figured, heck, cook it up now and give it a try.
Hm, that's not very orange on the inside!! Pics in the catalogs made it seem like it'd be REALLY intense orange. This lack of color made me skeptical about the flavor. Oh well - baked it up anyhow - with some water in the dish, and a little salt and brown sugar on top near the end. Took a long time to soften up - not a problem. And the flavor?
Eh.
Kinda slimey in texture, and not really much flavor at all... Real bummer!! I need to learn to grow good winter squash that are packed with flavor sometime! Granted, it might've wanted to stay on the vine longer - except the vine died and it fell off (again, damn bugs!)
So my mantra this year? "Next year!" ;-)
And the green one will just be decorative. I've probably got another half dozen out there in the garden that are starting to turn colors now...
The green one is a Rumbo squash - it fell of the vine early - probably because the cucumber trellis (also supporting the weight of several of these squash) blew over in a storm a month or so ago. Wouldn't even consider eating it. They're really hardy squash though!
The orange one is, I BELIEVE, a sunshine squash... First year I grew them. Supposed to be super good tasting - super sweet, award winning, etc.
Sadly, the bugs slaughtered all but this one. Rather than wait and see if it holds out til Halloween, and hopefully not have it rot in a heat wave or rain storm, I figured, heck, cook it up now and give it a try.
Hm, that's not very orange on the inside!! Pics in the catalogs made it seem like it'd be REALLY intense orange. This lack of color made me skeptical about the flavor. Oh well - baked it up anyhow - with some water in the dish, and a little salt and brown sugar on top near the end. Took a long time to soften up - not a problem. And the flavor?
Eh.
Kinda slimey in texture, and not really much flavor at all... Real bummer!! I need to learn to grow good winter squash that are packed with flavor sometime! Granted, it might've wanted to stay on the vine longer - except the vine died and it fell off (again, damn bugs!)
So my mantra this year? "Next year!" ;-)
And the green one will just be decorative. I've probably got another half dozen out there in the garden that are starting to turn colors now...
Not So Good, Pt 1
As we were paying for our stuff in Wal-Mart on the weekend, I saw THIS in the refrigerator with all the sodas next to us:
What?! No way! I LOVE Cherry Garcia!! And I love (real) milk shakes. I'm not real fond of those artificially thickened (fake) milk shakes that come in glass bottles, but how could I pass this up!?!? They also had Chocolate Chunk Brownie and Bananas Foster "milkshakes" in the case! Just FYI - I just polished off a pint of the Chocolate Chunk Brownie ice cream here the other nite, and I ALMOST got bananas foster ice cream when we hit Handel's with Brett's folks on Saturday - so even though it seemed like a sign I should've gotten one of those other flavors, I opted for Cherry Garcia.
By the time we got home from all our shopping, the drink had warmed up a little. I mean, if we're talking a "milk shake" it's gotta be coooold, right?
So I gave it plenty of chilling time.
Came in to start some work on a new client's web site after grabbing my new drink, snapped the picture, got to work, took some sips and...
Eh.
Just...eh.
Whatever they do to make it seem thick kinda grosses me out. Sure, it had a chocolate cherry flavor to it, but I think it needs to be real ice cream.
This doesn't mean I won't try the bananas foster, but I'll probably hold off on the chocolate chunk brownie stuff....will probably just taste like slimey milk?
Anyone else tried these!?
What?! No way! I LOVE Cherry Garcia!! And I love (real) milk shakes. I'm not real fond of those artificially thickened (fake) milk shakes that come in glass bottles, but how could I pass this up!?!? They also had Chocolate Chunk Brownie and Bananas Foster "milkshakes" in the case! Just FYI - I just polished off a pint of the Chocolate Chunk Brownie ice cream here the other nite, and I ALMOST got bananas foster ice cream when we hit Handel's with Brett's folks on Saturday - so even though it seemed like a sign I should've gotten one of those other flavors, I opted for Cherry Garcia.By the time we got home from all our shopping, the drink had warmed up a little. I mean, if we're talking a "milk shake" it's gotta be coooold, right?
So I gave it plenty of chilling time.
Came in to start some work on a new client's web site after grabbing my new drink, snapped the picture, got to work, took some sips and...
Eh.
Just...eh.
Whatever they do to make it seem thick kinda grosses me out. Sure, it had a chocolate cherry flavor to it, but I think it needs to be real ice cream.
This doesn't mean I won't try the bananas foster, but I'll probably hold off on the chocolate chunk brownie stuff....will probably just taste like slimey milk?
Anyone else tried these!?
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Rug action
One of Tuck's favorite past times!
Can you blame him? It IS a very comfortable rug!
This pose usually means "you need to rub my belly. now."
Can you blame him? It IS a very comfortable rug!
This pose usually means "you need to rub my belly. now."
Nearly a pound of HOT HOT HOT!
This is what 14.5 oz of sliced jalapenos looks like!
As you can see, while the other peppers in the garden aren't too impressive yet, the jalapenos are doing GREAT! It's hard to judge just how much is here in the picture, but some of those bigger rings were from jalapenos quite a bit bigger/plumper than my thumb!! Had some real monsters in there...and there are more on the plants filling out now!
I figured I'd just start slicing and freezing them on a pan, then dump them individually frozen into a freezer bag. I'll be able to toss these guys into chili (and who knows what else!?) all winter long! Since I know I'll have quite a few more jalapenos, I might even look into canning some...great for nachos!?
All the other mixed peppers (a smallish green bell, some medium hot yellows, an orange one, etc) didn't even weigh as much combined as just the jalapenos. I diced them all up and gave them the same freezer treatment - again for chili!
Definitely looking forward to winter!
As you can see, while the other peppers in the garden aren't too impressive yet, the jalapenos are doing GREAT! It's hard to judge just how much is here in the picture, but some of those bigger rings were from jalapenos quite a bit bigger/plumper than my thumb!! Had some real monsters in there...and there are more on the plants filling out now!
I figured I'd just start slicing and freezing them on a pan, then dump them individually frozen into a freezer bag. I'll be able to toss these guys into chili (and who knows what else!?) all winter long! Since I know I'll have quite a few more jalapenos, I might even look into canning some...great for nachos!?
All the other mixed peppers (a smallish green bell, some medium hot yellows, an orange one, etc) didn't even weigh as much combined as just the jalapenos. I diced them all up and gave them the same freezer treatment - again for chili!
Definitely looking forward to winter!
The Megan Mullaly Show
Wow - I loved Karen on Will & Grace...and Megan Mullaly has always seemed cool... But another talk show? Can she do it? Can she be separated from "Karen"? I guess if she's going to do it, it's best to do it RIGHT NOW after the end of W&G so she can blow any type casting out of the water pronto!'Megan Mullaly Show'
Premieres: Sept. 18 in syndication
The Emmy-winning co-star of "Will & Grace," Megan Mullaly, takes her shot at the competitive daytime talk market with "The Megan Mullaly Show," which she said she got the bug for after sitting in for an ailing David Letterman. She says the show will be a mix of old-school variety programs such as the Mike Douglas Show and the Merv Griffin Show mixed with the sensibilities of a late night talk show.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Daddy's little helper goes solo
Moxie didn't seem to think she needed any help from Simon for this job.
Daddy's little helpers
Took these pictures shortly after the whole house cleaning and organizing, and after Leslie came by to take pictures for our listing. The cats were BAFFLED by all the cleaning activity, I'm sure.
"Hey Tucker - come check this out! Somehow he got ALL your hairs out of the bathroom! Wanna come restock the hairs in here?"
"Oooooh - freshly cut dahlias from the backyard! Nice touch!"
"What do you mean 'Get off the counter, I just cleaned that!'?? We're...helping! Aren't we cute!"
"Quick, let's wrestle - that's sure to knock some hairs loose on the countertop!"
"Hey Tucker - come check this out! Somehow he got ALL your hairs out of the bathroom! Wanna come restock the hairs in here?"
"Oooooh - freshly cut dahlias from the backyard! Nice touch!"
"What do you mean 'Get off the counter, I just cleaned that!'?? We're...helping! Aren't we cute!"
"Quick, let's wrestle - that's sure to knock some hairs loose on the countertop!"Note: We've actually noticed the kittens AREN'T shedding at this time! What's up with that?? Tucker sure sheds, but not "the twins"! Is it because they're kittens and their adult fur is still growing in? Is it because it's cooling off and so they're not going to lose that many hairs for awhile? I don't trust them!
Making Jelly Pt II
It was just a little over a week ago that I tried my hand at making jelly for the first time ever. Inspired by memories of Grandma Dorothy's and Grandma Catherine's plum jellies - something you're certainly not likely to find in a grocery store - I decided to give it a try and see what would happen.
Turns out the plum jelly was great, and I've given away some for others to try (must remember - all this preserving of foods is to sustain us through the winter!) ;-)
Anyhow, since it was so easy, and since peaches are all piled up in the farmer's markets, I decided to give it another try. Only problem - getting a bunch of ripe peaches all at once! Maybe I should go later in the afternoon, when they'll put out the ripe/slightly bruised stuff to get ripe of it at marked down prices? Oh well - I bought six pounds of not-really-ripe peaches, brought 'em home, and tied them up in a bag with 4 apples.
A few days later the peaches were ripening and I pulled the apples out. Just a day or two later, and there was white fuzz growing around some of the peaches. Dammit - I overshot my ripe window!
Still, there was plenty that I could rescue - it was mostly the peaches clustered together in one corner of the bags. The rest were fine, but I gave them a seriously good washing anyhow. Chopped 'em up, tossed 'em in the pot, added water, and this is what you get:
Bring 'em up to the boil, and keep 'em that way and ten minutes later they look like this:
Another ten minutes - not much difference:
Then they strained into a deep pot through cheesecloth all day. That afternoon (sorry, no pics) I made peach jelly! Took quite a bit longer to boil the peach juice (plus lemon juice, sugar and pectin) to get it to the jelling stage than the plum jelly did, but it seems to have turned out great. I won't know for certain til I open up a jar later...but the extra few spoonfuls I poured out into a bowl set up real nice!
Next I want to try getting one of those cases of strawberries they have, and see if I can make strawberry jam/preserves! They even had elderberries, which I'd never seen before - I think those are supposed to taste great. MIGHT want to try just a few and do some reading up before I start buying enough to make jelly, hunh?
OH - PS: We didn't even know Simon had learned how to get up on the kitchen counter til Sunday morning when Brett heard a crash, came running down stairs, and found Simon had pushed one of the little squat jelly jars on the floor. The peach jelly recipe made maybe 1/2 - 2/3 the amount that the plum jelly did, and he goes and breaks one!? :(
Turns out the plum jelly was great, and I've given away some for others to try (must remember - all this preserving of foods is to sustain us through the winter!) ;-)
Anyhow, since it was so easy, and since peaches are all piled up in the farmer's markets, I decided to give it another try. Only problem - getting a bunch of ripe peaches all at once! Maybe I should go later in the afternoon, when they'll put out the ripe/slightly bruised stuff to get ripe of it at marked down prices? Oh well - I bought six pounds of not-really-ripe peaches, brought 'em home, and tied them up in a bag with 4 apples.
A few days later the peaches were ripening and I pulled the apples out. Just a day or two later, and there was white fuzz growing around some of the peaches. Dammit - I overshot my ripe window!
Still, there was plenty that I could rescue - it was mostly the peaches clustered together in one corner of the bags. The rest were fine, but I gave them a seriously good washing anyhow. Chopped 'em up, tossed 'em in the pot, added water, and this is what you get:
Bring 'em up to the boil, and keep 'em that way and ten minutes later they look like this:
Another ten minutes - not much difference:
Then they strained into a deep pot through cheesecloth all day. That afternoon (sorry, no pics) I made peach jelly! Took quite a bit longer to boil the peach juice (plus lemon juice, sugar and pectin) to get it to the jelling stage than the plum jelly did, but it seems to have turned out great. I won't know for certain til I open up a jar later...but the extra few spoonfuls I poured out into a bowl set up real nice!
Next I want to try getting one of those cases of strawberries they have, and see if I can make strawberry jam/preserves! They even had elderberries, which I'd never seen before - I think those are supposed to taste great. MIGHT want to try just a few and do some reading up before I start buying enough to make jelly, hunh?
OH - PS: We didn't even know Simon had learned how to get up on the kitchen counter til Sunday morning when Brett heard a crash, came running down stairs, and found Simon had pushed one of the little squat jelly jars on the floor. The peach jelly recipe made maybe 1/2 - 2/3 the amount that the plum jelly did, and he goes and breaks one!? :(
You KNOW you want it!!!
BCI has announced a Nov. 7 release for She-Ra: Princess ofPower, Season One volume, a six-DVD collection from the 1980s animated series. It's a the first release in a three-volume set that will include all 93 episodes of the series, 33 of which will be on the first volume.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Shhhh...they're sleeping!
Brett's been feeling pretty crappy this week - probably run down from the Canada trip, stress with selling/buying homes, the finances involved with that, etc. He was diagnosed with "a miscellaneous infection" Thursday, went ahead and went to work yesterday (Friday) but came home early. Poor guy. He was feeling better this morning, but said he was feeling kinda sick to his stomach and just gross a little while ago. Been busy with freelance work, checking mom's real estate email while they're on the road, etc - just went out to check in on the bf and look what I found:
Poor baby... :(
Poor baby... :(
OK Go! The Treadmill Dance
Never heard of 'em before, but I really like the song. The video? That just makes me LOOOOOVE 'EM! This is way cool - had to be a lot of frustrating fun to get it just right. Imagine the rehersals!
Friday, September 08, 2006
Black Squirrel Festival
It's the Black Squirrel Festival here at Kent State University today. I practically have front row seats whenever there's an event outside the Student Center.
Here's the view from my window right now, as taken with my cell phone camera. Sure, the quality could be better, but you get the idea (the smudges between the window panes don't help). About fifteen minutes ago a band really started rocking out under the big tent in the left of the picture. This sort of stuff is great for the students - but not so great for all us web programmers along this side of the building...
Maybe I'll just head out after lunch. I think there's only two of us in the entire dept today!
Here's the view from my window right now, as taken with my cell phone camera. Sure, the quality could be better, but you get the idea (the smudges between the window panes don't help). About fifteen minutes ago a band really started rocking out under the big tent in the left of the picture. This sort of stuff is great for the students - but not so great for all us web programmers along this side of the building...
Maybe I'll just head out after lunch. I think there's only two of us in the entire dept today!
PC Magazine's Top 99 Undiscovered Web Sites
PC Magazine's Top 99 Undiscovered Web Sites - Now THIS looks interesting! I'm blogging this as much for myself as I am for any of you to benefit from! ;-P But seriously - more cool (and most likely FREE!) tools on the web - check 'em out! The topics include Apps - PC & Mobile; Business; Computing; Consumer Electronics & Photography; Health; Information, Search & Reference; Lifestyle, Entertainment & Fun; News; Oddities & Gaming; Shopping & Consumer Issues; and Travel.
The Best Web-Based Computer Applications For Small Business - Forbes.com
The Best Web-Based Computer Applications For Small Business - Forbes.com: Very cool article listing the best web-based applications for calendars (I use the winning Google Calendar), email (I JUST started dabbling with the winning GMail), Information Managers (not something I need), spreadsheets (we've dabbled with Google's Spreadsheets - VERY nice, and I love that they can be shared!), webtops (um, never even heard of these) and word processors (will have to check out the winning application, and am curious to try Writerly, which I think I'd have to register to try the beta version at this point?).
Definitely an interesting article if you do any of the above - and especially if you don't want to have to PAY to do any of those things!
Definitely an interesting article if you do any of the above - and especially if you don't want to have to PAY to do any of those things!
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Sharon and Jeph do sushi!
I have to become more like Peter and remember to take pictures of the cool food BEFORE I've almost completely demolished it!
Since Sharon came over and helped me clean and organized for several HOURS, I felt I really owed her. In addition to some other goodies (er, ah, things we wanted to get rid of anyway), I took her out to the new House Gourmet place that opened up about two minutes from here. I'd gotten carry out from there before, but never had anyone go with me, never ate in, etc... And since Sharon just moved back from La Jolla, where all anyone ever eats is sushi, who better to go with me!??! Plus we like going out and getting experimental once in awhile! Nevermind the fact we were both super grubby and gross and way underdressed since we'd been cleaning all morning.
I put Sharon in charge of ordering the sushi appetizers - if I remember correctly, we got salmon roll (back left), yellowfin tuna (back right), and my all time favorite (and thanks to my brother for introducing me to it a few years back) - California roll (front pieces on white plate).
Oh, and I think Sharon thinks I'm a freak, but I LOOOOOOOOOVE eating the pickled ginger!
Work that fish, Sharon!
We also got General Tsao's Chicken and the BEST shrimp with lobster sauce I've EVER had!! Sure, the place might be a little pricey, and they don't offer smaller carry out sizes (no pints, only quarts), but daaaaamn the food is good!
Oh, and I don't recommend flaking out and grabbing the little pot of SOY SAUCE to top off your cup of GREEN TEA. Not adviseable! 'Sides, it's really embarrassing when you have to ask for a new tea cup because of what you just did. Sure get's a giggle out of the cute little hostess/server girl though...she's sweet.
Thanks Sharona! Let's do it again sometime real soon!
Since Sharon came over and helped me clean and organized for several HOURS, I felt I really owed her. In addition to some other goodies (er, ah, things we wanted to get rid of anyway), I took her out to the new House Gourmet place that opened up about two minutes from here. I'd gotten carry out from there before, but never had anyone go with me, never ate in, etc... And since Sharon just moved back from La Jolla, where all anyone ever eats is sushi, who better to go with me!??! Plus we like going out and getting experimental once in awhile! Nevermind the fact we were both super grubby and gross and way underdressed since we'd been cleaning all morning.
I put Sharon in charge of ordering the sushi appetizers - if I remember correctly, we got salmon roll (back left), yellowfin tuna (back right), and my all time favorite (and thanks to my brother for introducing me to it a few years back) - California roll (front pieces on white plate).
Oh, and I think Sharon thinks I'm a freak, but I LOOOOOOOOOVE eating the pickled ginger!
Work that fish, Sharon!We also got General Tsao's Chicken and the BEST shrimp with lobster sauce I've EVER had!! Sure, the place might be a little pricey, and they don't offer smaller carry out sizes (no pints, only quarts), but daaaaamn the food is good!
Oh, and I don't recommend flaking out and grabbing the little pot of SOY SAUCE to top off your cup of GREEN TEA. Not adviseable! 'Sides, it's really embarrassing when you have to ask for a new tea cup because of what you just did. Sure get's a giggle out of the cute little hostess/server girl though...she's sweet.
Thanks Sharona! Let's do it again sometime real soon!
BF in Detroit
Here's a pic of Brett (foreground) and our buddy Jay in the Detroit airport. Brett sent me this while playing with the new phones en route to Halifax last week. Isn't he cute!
Critters!
I wish these cell phone pictures turned out better so you could see the dozens (hundreds?) of squash bug young that are ALL OVER the plants out at the garden. I actually have to shoo them off the tomatoes before I pick them! Here they're on one of the mutant squash (yellow acorn? cross bred patty pan?), and one of the leaves from the squash plants that are just shrivelled up and brown. What a mess!
Ice cream!
Farewell to Mary!
Mary (in the last photo) had her last day at work yesterday, and there was a nice big pot luck lunch to help say goodbye. A couple weeks ago (just after I got the new cell phone), Cindy, Michele and Mary invited me to join them for lunch off campus. After lunch, Mary insisted we all go for ice cream. And since none of the rest of us had any cash on us - SHE treated!! (Hey, considering her great new job and all it's perks, she could afford it!) ;-)
I'm sure I'll get in trouble for at least two of these photos! I didn't post the worst one, showing Michele's amazing ability to unhinge her jaw and engulf an entire giant scoop of ice cream. (I might be over-exagerating just a little bit)
Bye Mary!! Keep in touch!
Mary (in the last photo) had her last day at work yesterday, and there was a nice big pot luck lunch to help say goodbye. A couple weeks ago (just after I got the new cell phone), Cindy, Michele and Mary invited me to join them for lunch off campus. After lunch, Mary insisted we all go for ice cream. And since none of the rest of us had any cash on us - SHE treated!! (Hey, considering her great new job and all it's perks, she could afford it!) ;-)
I'm sure I'll get in trouble for at least two of these photos! I didn't post the worst one, showing Michele's amazing ability to unhinge her jaw and engulf an entire giant scoop of ice cream. (I might be over-exagerating just a little bit)
Bye Mary!! Keep in touch!
"Where are the kitties!??"
Apparently I've been shirking my duties as the proud father of three furballs...people have started asking why there are no cat pics on the blog. So for those of you who reeeeeally wanna see 'em, this should take care of you for awhile (and, sorry Julie, but I still don't have any good videos to post...)
As you can see from these pics, Moxie and Simon LOVE sleeping together now. I'll have to get some new pics of them fighting as well, just so you don't think they're perfect angels all the time.
Big yawn!
Twisting and turning but still touching!
Tucker just chillin'...
I swear, sometimes he has the most human-like facial expressions.
NOT a flattering picture of me!
DEFINITELY a flattering picture of Simon!
What's that!? A camera strap!? MUST ATTACK!
After long hours of working on web pages with me, he konks out.
Big stretch! Sleeping is hard work!
Simon's spending more time here! In fact, I took this picture three days ago - and he's in the same spot right now, leaning against the back of my neck. Mmmmm....toasty warm!
One of the rare pictures where you can see Moxie's eyes! And look at her freakishly long tail!
Tucker's just realized the kitchen rug was vacuumed - he's getting ready to roll all over it on his back to make sure it's got plenty of hairs on it for whoever would like to come consider buying our condo!
Annnnnd that's it for cat pictures - FOR NOW!
As you can see from these pics, Moxie and Simon LOVE sleeping together now. I'll have to get some new pics of them fighting as well, just so you don't think they're perfect angels all the time.
Big yawn!
Twisting and turning but still touching!
Tucker just chillin'...
I swear, sometimes he has the most human-like facial expressions.
NOT a flattering picture of me!
DEFINITELY a flattering picture of Simon!
What's that!? A camera strap!? MUST ATTACK!
After long hours of working on web pages with me, he konks out.
Big stretch! Sleeping is hard work!
Simon's spending more time here! In fact, I took this picture three days ago - and he's in the same spot right now, leaning against the back of my neck. Mmmmm....toasty warm!
One of the rare pictures where you can see Moxie's eyes! And look at her freakishly long tail!
Tucker's just realized the kitchen rug was vacuumed - he's getting ready to roll all over it on his back to make sure it's got plenty of hairs on it for whoever would like to come consider buying our condo!
Annnnnd that's it for cat pictures - FOR NOW!
Frozen pizza for dinner...
Sorry - more pizza talk!
Once nite while Brett was gone I decided I'd be trying out some of the homemade pizza dough that I'd been keeping in the freezer. This was the first time I was going to try one of the spare loaves of dough that I'd frozen, and had no idea what the end result would be like. I put one from the freezer to the fridge the day before, knowing I'd want to try this sometime soon. The dough had thawed nicely in the fridge, and almost seemed like it was trying to rise more, even though I had it tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and in a zip lock bag.
Unpeeled it from it's wrapping, dusted it with flour (was sticky from thawing), and set it on the stove, which was warm from pre-heating the oven at 500F for the pizza stone. Not much later I could tell the dough was definitely rising more - yay!
Patted it out, and decided to go really light with the toppings - didn't make it very big, and just put a slice homegrown Roma tomato and the last of the fresh mozz on top. Sprinkled on salt and pepper, and drizzled with olive oil. After baking (and after taking this picture), I tore up some basil to sprinkle over it.
The picture might be a little misleading - I don't think the pizza was even six inches across. The dough was small to start with, and I didn't pat it out very big. Granted, it got TALL - perhaps because it was still a little cool, and that affected the interior vs exterior cooking/rising? Not sure. It sure was a cute round-but-tall pizza! I really liked the added kosher salt - made it almost pretzel like. Turned out to be a great pizza - this is one of those cases where less is more - no sauce, no pepperoni, very light on the toppings. Good stuff!
Once nite while Brett was gone I decided I'd be trying out some of the homemade pizza dough that I'd been keeping in the freezer. This was the first time I was going to try one of the spare loaves of dough that I'd frozen, and had no idea what the end result would be like. I put one from the freezer to the fridge the day before, knowing I'd want to try this sometime soon. The dough had thawed nicely in the fridge, and almost seemed like it was trying to rise more, even though I had it tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and in a zip lock bag.
Unpeeled it from it's wrapping, dusted it with flour (was sticky from thawing), and set it on the stove, which was warm from pre-heating the oven at 500F for the pizza stone. Not much later I could tell the dough was definitely rising more - yay!
Patted it out, and decided to go really light with the toppings - didn't make it very big, and just put a slice homegrown Roma tomato and the last of the fresh mozz on top. Sprinkled on salt and pepper, and drizzled with olive oil. After baking (and after taking this picture), I tore up some basil to sprinkle over it.
The picture might be a little misleading - I don't think the pizza was even six inches across. The dough was small to start with, and I didn't pat it out very big. Granted, it got TALL - perhaps because it was still a little cool, and that affected the interior vs exterior cooking/rising? Not sure. It sure was a cute round-but-tall pizza! I really liked the added kosher salt - made it almost pretzel like. Turned out to be a great pizza - this is one of those cases where less is more - no sauce, no pepperoni, very light on the toppings. Good stuff!
The best pizza ever!
What's the best pizza ever!?
Sorry, there's no simple answer to this one...(like there ever is in my stories?!)
First off - remember, Brett was out of town four days this past week...so in playing bachelor my eating habits changed a little. I also knew I needed to pick up some cereal and bananas to get my breakfasts at work back on track. Too many of the really good, really big, really streusel covered blueberry muffins from Einstein on campus will make Jephie a really big bellied boy! So, off to the grocery store to pick up some healthier breakfast eats...
Oh yeah! I knew I was going to be making a Home Depot run for some mulch and mums to redo the back flowerbeds since we're putting the condo on the market. And mom recently sent us a check to put towards us saving up for a nice big new TV.
Now Giant Eagle has this thing where every $50 you spend gets you .10 off per gallon of gas you buy at their gas stations. And up til today, they were running their promotion that DOUBLED the deal - so you got .20 cents off per gallon! AND they sell gift cards for other stores - so so far this purchase of a box of cereal, some bananas, and the gift cards has saved me .40 per gallon of gas! (And, yes, I'm still getting to the best pizza ever!)
Hm. Y'know, with all that salsa I made and canned recently, I should pick up some tortilla chips. I confess - these were an impulse buy on a trip I told myself I needed to behave on (remember - buying a house!)
Ok - grocery trip's done. On my way out the door I grabbed the flyer Brett had pointed out a few days before for the new Marco's Pizza that opened up just off the Tallmadge Circle (a "roundabout" I believe, for any brits reading this) Y'know what - I'd cooked the couple nights before, and I was flying solo - so I was gonna treat myself! 'Sides, it was only $5.99 for a 12x12 inch one topping pizza - NOT a bad deal! I noted some small print about getting the pizza in 10 min or less - yeah yeah, not a biggie.
Called in the order from the parking lot of Giant Eagle. It took me TWO minutes to get to Marco's from Giant Eagle. Sat in the car a few min contemplating the new cells phones we got recently. Got out and grabbed a carry out menu from the new Chinese place next to Marcos - they were getting lots of carry out business, and people were all smiling going in and coming out, chatting with the owner lady, etc...definitely gotta try 'em! Went on in to Marco's, where she billed me for my not-yet-ready order (hey, it's only been about 6 minutes at this time!)
And theeeeen the waiting started. Turns out the big guy sitting there looking impatient put in a $100 order, including tons of wings and pizzas! Once his stuff was finally done and gone I was still waiting. I went back out to the car, checked the time I placed the order on my cell phone, added on an extra minute grace period, and we were still at 13 minutes with no pizza in hand!
So I went back in, told the girl I didn't want to seem like a jerk but was curious about the "less than 10 minutes or it's free" guarantee with this deal, and she said sure enough, she'd refund my money - that I was the only person who'd gotten the freebie since the deal started.
WOO HOO!
Now this pizza was more like 14 x 16" - so that's bonus. NICE crispy yet bubbly crust. But waaaay too much sprinkle on seasoning (paprika?? Not sure what else...) Still - definitely a good pizza - I confess I ate half while watching House of Flying Daggers (GREAT movie!).
So there you have it - the best pizza ever is a bigger than advertised and free'er than you'd planned to pay pretty good tasting pizza! With LOTS of bubbles in the crust! (Hey, I have a weakness for those bubbles in the crust - what can I say!??!)
Sorry for the orangeness of these photos - I think it's our lighting? The flash seems to wash everything out, so I went "natural".
Sorry, there's no simple answer to this one...(like there ever is in my stories?!)
First off - remember, Brett was out of town four days this past week...so in playing bachelor my eating habits changed a little. I also knew I needed to pick up some cereal and bananas to get my breakfasts at work back on track. Too many of the really good, really big, really streusel covered blueberry muffins from Einstein on campus will make Jephie a really big bellied boy! So, off to the grocery store to pick up some healthier breakfast eats...
Oh yeah! I knew I was going to be making a Home Depot run for some mulch and mums to redo the back flowerbeds since we're putting the condo on the market. And mom recently sent us a check to put towards us saving up for a nice big new TV.
Now Giant Eagle has this thing where every $50 you spend gets you .10 off per gallon of gas you buy at their gas stations. And up til today, they were running their promotion that DOUBLED the deal - so you got .20 cents off per gallon! AND they sell gift cards for other stores - so so far this purchase of a box of cereal, some bananas, and the gift cards has saved me .40 per gallon of gas! (And, yes, I'm still getting to the best pizza ever!)
Hm. Y'know, with all that salsa I made and canned recently, I should pick up some tortilla chips. I confess - these were an impulse buy on a trip I told myself I needed to behave on (remember - buying a house!)
Ok - grocery trip's done. On my way out the door I grabbed the flyer Brett had pointed out a few days before for the new Marco's Pizza that opened up just off the Tallmadge Circle (a "roundabout" I believe, for any brits reading this) Y'know what - I'd cooked the couple nights before, and I was flying solo - so I was gonna treat myself! 'Sides, it was only $5.99 for a 12x12 inch one topping pizza - NOT a bad deal! I noted some small print about getting the pizza in 10 min or less - yeah yeah, not a biggie.Called in the order from the parking lot of Giant Eagle. It took me TWO minutes to get to Marco's from Giant Eagle. Sat in the car a few min contemplating the new cells phones we got recently. Got out and grabbed a carry out menu from the new Chinese place next to Marcos - they were getting lots of carry out business, and people were all smiling going in and coming out, chatting with the owner lady, etc...definitely gotta try 'em! Went on in to Marco's, where she billed me for my not-yet-ready order (hey, it's only been about 6 minutes at this time!)
And theeeeen the waiting started. Turns out the big guy sitting there looking impatient put in a $100 order, including tons of wings and pizzas! Once his stuff was finally done and gone I was still waiting. I went back out to the car, checked the time I placed the order on my cell phone, added on an extra minute grace period, and we were still at 13 minutes with no pizza in hand!
So I went back in, told the girl I didn't want to seem like a jerk but was curious about the "less than 10 minutes or it's free" guarantee with this deal, and she said sure enough, she'd refund my money - that I was the only person who'd gotten the freebie since the deal started.
WOO HOO!
Now this pizza was more like 14 x 16" - so that's bonus. NICE crispy yet bubbly crust. But waaaay too much sprinkle on seasoning (paprika?? Not sure what else...) Still - definitely a good pizza - I confess I ate half while watching House of Flying Daggers (GREAT movie!).
So there you have it - the best pizza ever is a bigger than advertised and free'er than you'd planned to pay pretty good tasting pizza! With LOTS of bubbles in the crust! (Hey, I have a weakness for those bubbles in the crust - what can I say!??!)Sorry for the orangeness of these photos - I think it's our lighting? The flash seems to wash everything out, so I went "natural".
Something new to worry about!
Uh oh - Warming worry: Potent gas bubbling up faster - Methane 'coming out a lot, and there's a lot more to come out,' expert saysMethane, a gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere, appears to be bubbling up from thawing permafrost at a rate five times faster than originally measured, scientists reported Wednesday.
For more on the story...
For the gardener who has everything
VegiformsOh man - Anna here at work just sent me this... Isn't this taking gardening to a bit of an extreme!? LOL!!
Man, I can think of all sorts of fun molds they could come up with!
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
The super duper pure-text quickie!
Ok folks, I feel like I'm ignoring a significant other in a relationship here or something...Bad Jeph! Things are just really crazy busy stressful expensive here, and I'm not making the time to blog that I should - for one thing, it's quite cathartic!
Trying to get caught up on the backlog of freelance web work this week. Also trying to KEEP the place clean since we'll hopefully start having people want to come look at our home so they can buy it! Now - "trying to keep the place clean" goes totally against my stir frying chicken and peppers last nite, and then tonite sauteeing chicken and mushroom, adding chicken broth, marsala and cream, oh, and also boiling corn. This stuff all tends to make messes. So does making three loaves of zucchini bread tonite. (Haven't tasted yet, but they look pretty good since I didn't really do a good job of measuring half the ingredients, and multiplied the recipe by 1.5 - just sort of winged it!)
Remember, I was ALSO getting caught up on web work. ANNNNND Brett had a major stack of papers he brought home from work for me to sign for our pre-qual with the bank. At least we've confirmed we've got pretty darn good credit ratings!! :)
Every day we're happier with our choice in picking up Simon to be a playmate for Moxie. They get along so well, sleep tangled up in each others embrace, have some major knock down drag out play fights, and are just super duper cute together! Oh, and Tucker's grateful since Moxie's not always ripping at him again! I've started referring to them as "the twins" even though they don't look anything alike. They're much closer in size than we originally though. They're also starting to get nicknames - I often call Moxie "Scrapper" because she's such a total fighter chick, and looks pretty rough with her funky fur and exposed toe nail on the back foot. Meanwhile, super laid back Simon is really cute when he jumps off a bed or chair and kinda makes this little "Meep!" noise (the wind getting knocked out of him?) - so I call him Beeper. I promise - more pictures real soon!
Checked the 6 pounds of peaches ripening on the kitchen counter - STILL not ripe enough for jelly etc making. That's good - like I have the time yet!?
Set up a gmail account today finally! I think I might filter my regular email through there and see if it helps with all the spam I get. I don't suppose anyone else here has gmail and, if so, how you get that feature to work where it'll scan your email and highlight what it thinks are suggestions for a date and time event, and offer to set up an event in Google Calendar? I kept emailing myself offers to go to the movies or dinner (I'm pathetic that way!), but it didn't give me the option to make it a Calendar entry. Maybe it knew I would just reject myself.
OH! And before I forget - hi to my Aunt Phyllis' sister-in-law who lives on a farm out in Wellington KS! I'm probably totally envious of your farm life! The house we're hoping to get only has .395 acres, and I'm sad to say it's not very likely I'll get to have a few chickens and a couple bee hives there. Oh well - I DO hope to set up a little vermiculture (composting with worms) once we get settled in. And of course do the gardening, maybe grow some raspberries and blueberries, and maaaaaaaaybe get daring enough to put in a few fruit trees!??!
My folks are out in Kansas as of today. Grandma Dorothy turns NIGHTY FIVE next week! Wowza!! Sometime tells me she'll make it to at least 105!!! Too bad we couldn't make it out for her birthday extravaganza that Phylls and Nadine are putting together - just don't have the time or funds right now with everything else going on.
Well, I guess this wasn't the quickie I expected it to be. If ya know me at all, you know I'll babble!
Hopefully I'll have more fun entries real soon, with pictures of jelly and homemade pizzas and the kittens and the walk Brett and I went on yesterday and me and Sharon eating sushi this weekend... But for tonite I'm going to try to just go to bed earlier. OMG - and I think I need to leave the room. Hugging Simon often results in stinky kitten farts - oh god! BYE!
Trying to get caught up on the backlog of freelance web work this week. Also trying to KEEP the place clean since we'll hopefully start having people want to come look at our home so they can buy it! Now - "trying to keep the place clean" goes totally against my stir frying chicken and peppers last nite, and then tonite sauteeing chicken and mushroom, adding chicken broth, marsala and cream, oh, and also boiling corn. This stuff all tends to make messes. So does making three loaves of zucchini bread tonite. (Haven't tasted yet, but they look pretty good since I didn't really do a good job of measuring half the ingredients, and multiplied the recipe by 1.5 - just sort of winged it!)
Remember, I was ALSO getting caught up on web work. ANNNNND Brett had a major stack of papers he brought home from work for me to sign for our pre-qual with the bank. At least we've confirmed we've got pretty darn good credit ratings!! :)
Every day we're happier with our choice in picking up Simon to be a playmate for Moxie. They get along so well, sleep tangled up in each others embrace, have some major knock down drag out play fights, and are just super duper cute together! Oh, and Tucker's grateful since Moxie's not always ripping at him again! I've started referring to them as "the twins" even though they don't look anything alike. They're much closer in size than we originally though. They're also starting to get nicknames - I often call Moxie "Scrapper" because she's such a total fighter chick, and looks pretty rough with her funky fur and exposed toe nail on the back foot. Meanwhile, super laid back Simon is really cute when he jumps off a bed or chair and kinda makes this little "Meep!" noise (the wind getting knocked out of him?) - so I call him Beeper. I promise - more pictures real soon!
Checked the 6 pounds of peaches ripening on the kitchen counter - STILL not ripe enough for jelly etc making. That's good - like I have the time yet!?
Set up a gmail account today finally! I think I might filter my regular email through there and see if it helps with all the spam I get. I don't suppose anyone else here has gmail and, if so, how you get that feature to work where it'll scan your email and highlight what it thinks are suggestions for a date and time event, and offer to set up an event in Google Calendar? I kept emailing myself offers to go to the movies or dinner (I'm pathetic that way!), but it didn't give me the option to make it a Calendar entry. Maybe it knew I would just reject myself.
OH! And before I forget - hi to my Aunt Phyllis' sister-in-law who lives on a farm out in Wellington KS! I'm probably totally envious of your farm life! The house we're hoping to get only has .395 acres, and I'm sad to say it's not very likely I'll get to have a few chickens and a couple bee hives there. Oh well - I DO hope to set up a little vermiculture (composting with worms) once we get settled in. And of course do the gardening, maybe grow some raspberries and blueberries, and maaaaaaaaybe get daring enough to put in a few fruit trees!??!
My folks are out in Kansas as of today. Grandma Dorothy turns NIGHTY FIVE next week! Wowza!! Sometime tells me she'll make it to at least 105!!! Too bad we couldn't make it out for her birthday extravaganza that Phylls and Nadine are putting together - just don't have the time or funds right now with everything else going on.
Well, I guess this wasn't the quickie I expected it to be. If ya know me at all, you know I'll babble!
Hopefully I'll have more fun entries real soon, with pictures of jelly and homemade pizzas and the kittens and the walk Brett and I went on yesterday and me and Sharon eating sushi this weekend... But for tonite I'm going to try to just go to bed earlier. OMG - and I think I need to leave the room. Hugging Simon often results in stinky kitten farts - oh god! BYE!
Monday, September 04, 2006
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Plum Jelly
I'm slacking off. I've still got some tidying/prep for home-selling-photos to do, but it's mostly outside work, and I still need to run to Home Depot for some mulch and mums. But first...
The plum jelly!
Sadly, I've been running around so much I forgot to take pictures after the canning. I'm not going to take the time to do that right now - maybe later this evening? Anyhow, I started with 6 1/2 pounds of plums - a mix of prune plums and standard sized purple plums. Chopped 'em into halves and quarters, dumped them in the pot with water, and started boiling them down. I didn't think to take this picture until after I was already a few minutes into the process. You can see between the high heat and the potato masher, they were starting to break down and give off their juices nicely!
Twenty minutes later and they're REALLY mushy - lots of pieces floating around, and MUCH juicier! (Kinda looks like tomatoes, eh?)
Then the fun part - I was using the deep pot that would've been ideal for the straining part - it's just the right diameter for me to prop a colander over. So I dug out the HUGE pot I bought for making the salsa recently, and found my colander would sit on the edges just fine UNTIL any weight was put in it - then it'd fall in (plastic colanders are a bit flimsy - more so with hot stuff in them!).
Ah ha! I took four metal kabob skewer and put them through the colander on four sides, giving the whole thing some extra "edge". Add several layer of moistened cheesecloth, and dump in the mush!
I then covered it with a lid and let it sit in the sink over nite. By the next morning it had drained 6 cups of juice out - very intense purpley/cranberry colored juice. I was worried it was too thick, since all plums jellies I'd seen before were more transluscent.
I called Grandma Dorothy out in Kansas, asking for her advice on my first ever jelly making. She gave me some good tips to supplement the book - stuff you can only get from experience. The next process was to basically boil the juice with pectin and sugar, and then can the stuff. If I'd only gone for a minute of boiling, I don't think the jelly would've set. I DO think I boiled it a little too long - the remaining jelly that wouldn't fill a canning jar got dumped in a bowl for me to taste test, and it's a bit firm. Still, breaks up nicely for spreading on toast! I don't know if the stuff in the jars will set more or less - since it's not really exposed to air, was heated longer in the canning process, etc. Will find out when I open one up!
Hey Simon - time to wake up and have some toast with plum jelly! (I love that his pink tongue sticks out when he's sleeping...)
The plum jelly!
Sadly, I've been running around so much I forgot to take pictures after the canning. I'm not going to take the time to do that right now - maybe later this evening? Anyhow, I started with 6 1/2 pounds of plums - a mix of prune plums and standard sized purple plums. Chopped 'em into halves and quarters, dumped them in the pot with water, and started boiling them down. I didn't think to take this picture until after I was already a few minutes into the process. You can see between the high heat and the potato masher, they were starting to break down and give off their juices nicely!
Twenty minutes later and they're REALLY mushy - lots of pieces floating around, and MUCH juicier! (Kinda looks like tomatoes, eh?)
Then the fun part - I was using the deep pot that would've been ideal for the straining part - it's just the right diameter for me to prop a colander over. So I dug out the HUGE pot I bought for making the salsa recently, and found my colander would sit on the edges just fine UNTIL any weight was put in it - then it'd fall in (plastic colanders are a bit flimsy - more so with hot stuff in them!).Ah ha! I took four metal kabob skewer and put them through the colander on four sides, giving the whole thing some extra "edge". Add several layer of moistened cheesecloth, and dump in the mush!
I then covered it with a lid and let it sit in the sink over nite. By the next morning it had drained 6 cups of juice out - very intense purpley/cranberry colored juice. I was worried it was too thick, since all plums jellies I'd seen before were more transluscent.
I called Grandma Dorothy out in Kansas, asking for her advice on my first ever jelly making. She gave me some good tips to supplement the book - stuff you can only get from experience. The next process was to basically boil the juice with pectin and sugar, and then can the stuff. If I'd only gone for a minute of boiling, I don't think the jelly would've set. I DO think I boiled it a little too long - the remaining jelly that wouldn't fill a canning jar got dumped in a bowl for me to taste test, and it's a bit firm. Still, breaks up nicely for spreading on toast! I don't know if the stuff in the jars will set more or less - since it's not really exposed to air, was heated longer in the canning process, etc. Will find out when I open one up!
Hey Simon - time to wake up and have some toast with plum jelly! (I love that his pink tongue sticks out when he's sleeping...)
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Building the better boyfriend?
So much for the blog entries that I INTENDED to post today. Got up (at 4am thanks to Tucker, at 8am thanks to Tucker, and finally at 930), ate breakfast, and then started tidying. Sharon came over and we really hit the place hard for a few hours - focusing mostly on my office. While the office really needed it BAD, it was also great to have an outsider's point of view for the rest of the place.
Still have work to do tomorrow before Leslie shows up at 5 for some pics, but I'm not too worried. Well, maybe a little worried - now that today's rain is over I get to revisit the backyard and front porch flowerbeds, finish tidying them, lay down fresh mulch, and put in some mums I think.
Sharon and I went out for GREAT Chinese/Japanese lunch. Started with three very good types of sushi, and then we had General Tso's Chicken and Shrimp with Lobster Sauce. MMMM good! And considering how much food we got, I don't think $25 was bad at all - it was a ton of really good food! Biggest, most tender shrimp either of us had ever had!
Came back, cleaned more. (That's starting to sound like a scratched record!) Anyhow, after she left I did more of the same, and later made a pizza with some of the dough I thawed out (just sliced roma tomato, fresh mozz, olive oil, salt and pepper, and then torn basil after it came out - SO good!) Made a small enough one I could eat the whole thing by myself!
And then I decided to just play on the computer. Reactivated the old City of Heroes account and played around with creating a new character and then recreating one of my earlier characters - The Pink Flame - who was originally modelled after Brett. I started having a little fun with him this time around:
Buuuuut finally went back to basically the same old look (actually, I think I got the boots/legs wrong?) Still, was fun to play for a few hours. Wish I knew others on line playing the game so I wasn't just adventuring by myself. Didn't feel like teaming up with anyone I don't know - just not much longterm value to that?
(I'm sure Brett'll love to see the costume possibilities!) ;-)
More tomorrow!
Still have work to do tomorrow before Leslie shows up at 5 for some pics, but I'm not too worried. Well, maybe a little worried - now that today's rain is over I get to revisit the backyard and front porch flowerbeds, finish tidying them, lay down fresh mulch, and put in some mums I think.
Sharon and I went out for GREAT Chinese/Japanese lunch. Started with three very good types of sushi, and then we had General Tso's Chicken and Shrimp with Lobster Sauce. MMMM good! And considering how much food we got, I don't think $25 was bad at all - it was a ton of really good food! Biggest, most tender shrimp either of us had ever had!
Came back, cleaned more. (That's starting to sound like a scratched record!) Anyhow, after she left I did more of the same, and later made a pizza with some of the dough I thawed out (just sliced roma tomato, fresh mozz, olive oil, salt and pepper, and then torn basil after it came out - SO good!) Made a small enough one I could eat the whole thing by myself!
And then I decided to just play on the computer. Reactivated the old City of Heroes account and played around with creating a new character and then recreating one of my earlier characters - The Pink Flame - who was originally modelled after Brett. I started having a little fun with him this time around:
Buuuuut finally went back to basically the same old look (actually, I think I got the boots/legs wrong?) Still, was fun to play for a few hours. Wish I knew others on line playing the game so I wasn't just adventuring by myself. Didn't feel like teaming up with anyone I don't know - just not much longterm value to that?
(I'm sure Brett'll love to see the costume possibilities!) ;-)
More tomorrow!
Friday, September 01, 2006
Long day
Internet's all better. Vegged out with pizza, TV and kittens this evening. Tired after long day - gonna go to bed at 1130pm on a Friday nite - how old am I!?!?? Got a couple interests posts to write up tomorrow, although Sharon's also coming over to help make the condo look presentable...
Internet problems?
Hm...can't seem to send/receive email right now. CAN get to some web sites (Google and it's related sites, our bank to transfer money for Brett, BMB, Blogger), but not others (Amazon, Comics Continuum), Time Warner. Anyone else out there having similar problems?
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