merry christmas

... you know that saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words ..." ?

greetings from the USPS

yum YUM! did it taste good ?!

you never know ...

... until after the fact.

call me scrooge

... i don't really care ....


is my mind on an island? perhaps on hispaniola?

regardless! this season always leaves me in a 'tizzy. and because of the timimg of my trip, and the holidays, i am SO unprepared!

but, it's okay. seriously. finally, i feel like i have an excuse for not being ready.

i am never ready. i am more of a go with the flow kind of girl.

and, if an inflatable snowman is dancing in my head, so be it .... !

all my pictures are over here.

the photos are on snapfish. if you can't connect to the link, please let me know and i will send you an invite.

trip

this is my favorite picture from my trip to the domenican republic. this photo was taken in batay 7, not too far from barahona. i was really hoping for just a landscape, but it's virtually impossible to take any photos without a child, or group of children, jumping into the photo. but, as luck has it, this photo wouldn't be my favorite without this little girl in her swinging dress in yellow.

the trip was fabulous. the only drawbacks were bug bites and bichos. aside from that, all was good.

i have not resettled though. this time of year feels a bit rushed and pressured. how do i deal with that? oh ... i stand like a dear in the headlights, "hit me baby !".

i have many more pictures ... all the rest are over here ... all untouched.

home cooked meal ...

even stuart appreciates the good stuff !


i went to jackie&thehippie's yesterday evening. we hadn't really seen much of each other in awhile, due to the holiday, travel, and visitors. it was great to catch up and hang out, watching episodes of grey's and private practice, and watching jackie cook a cracker barrel dinner! yum!

dinner was more than above pictured beans & pie (that was my plate of 'seconds'), but consisted of the lima beans with corn bread, apple sauce, and a pork chop. all made from scratch. all delicious. all in my memory bank so i can recreate in a fit of southern-hunger.

walking

... i went walking the other day at one of the nearby parks. though i was there for fitness, i kept pausing to enjoy the glorious weather and sites ....




the second photo is actually my favorite because i love the colors of the changing leaves with the dark bark lines in contrast. it gives me all kinds of knitting ideas ....

shots, shopping, stuff ....

at the end of this month, i fly out to the domenican republic. i will be there for 10 days doing ______ (something). part of the plan is that i will leave clothes that i take with me there .... but, i like my clothes.

i went shopping at my favorite thrift store today. i fretted over my selections, and then was thrilled that it was all 1/2 off when i got the the cash register. hey, $5 for a shirt is pretty darn good, but $2.50 is better !

i came home and washed them all in the sink ... just incase i feel the need to wear some new duds this week.

and shots ... i've had so many shots in the last 2 months i feel like a giant walking bacteria! and i still have some more pills to pop ... including typhoid and whatever for malaria.

and stuart! what to do with stuart?! he might stay with his auntie-scarlet ... that's the plan right now ... but, i want to take him with me too!

wow !

driving down oberlin road the other day i passed this tree, and immediately pulled over. it's just not fall here. well, barely .... but this tree had fall written all over it!

crazy

.... i am so tired & wired that i cannot even think straight, or knit (gasp ! ). and that's all i can say about that ... here ... look at this picture instead ....


... big spider seen in home on some other day ... other month.

sunday adventure

it sure seemed the perfect camping weekend, but don't let that gorgeous sky deceive you, because it was still hot as blazes. jackie dragged me off to the target for some shopping (her) and quality knitting time (me).

i think we seriously went up and down every single aisle. but stuart had some extra fun on the camping supplies aisle!








the mini gear is the best! while stuart was posing in the doorway of the first tent, a woman stopped at the end of the aisle and suggested that stuart would probably like to squeeze into a sleeping bag too. funny!

chicken pot pie

this is primarily a note to self as sometimes i forget how i "did" certain things and can't find that little scrap of paper.

but, this past weekend i made chicken pot pie ... with a rescue from my cooking goddess.

a couple of days before i roasted the chicken. i did that for the first time back in march. the skin was so good that i ate it straight out of the oven!


roasted chicken

1 chicken 3.5 lbs
1/2 lemon
kosher salt & ground pepper
thyme, rosemary, basil

preheat oven to 450*

1. rub inside of bird w/cut lemon.
2. season inside & out with s&p.
3. put herbs in bird, tie legs together.
4. place bird on a roasting rack in pan. roast until skin is golden and crackling crisp (35-40 min).
5. reduce oven temp to 350* and roast for 25 to 30 min. longer.
6. test doneness by piercing bird in the thickest part of thigh - juices should run clear.
7. transfer to cutting board and let rest 10 to 15 min.
8. try not to eat all the skin!

chicken pot pie

shredded chicken
1/2 onion chopped
2 or 3 stalks of celery chopped
1 can of sliced carrots
frozen peas
chicken broth
fresh made biscuit dough

1. saute onions and celery
2. toss in 9" square pyrex dish with shredded chicken
3. mix in carrots and peas
4. make a gravy with the chicken broth and mix in dish too.
5. season generously
6. top with fresh biscuit dough and cook at 425* until biscuit top is done.

jackie's perfect biscuits

2 c. sifted flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 T shortening chilled (or lard)
3 T butter chilled
3/4 c. cold whole milk
flour for working surface

1. preheat oven to 425*
2. sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together in mix bowl.
3. cut in cold fats.
   
4. dump in cold milk & stir quickly (10-12 strokes).
5. turn dough on floured surface. knead lightly (6-12 strokes) so not sticky.
6. pat out or roll out about 3/4" thick. use 2.25" cutter dipped in flour.
7. place biscuits close together w/out touching on ungreased bake sheet.
8. bake 12 to 15 min until risen and lightly browned.

but, for the pot pie, form to cover the dish. if making pot pie in a bigger rectangular pan, then make 1.5 x recipe.

for pot pie .... bake 15 min. check it. add 3 min. increments.

so, what i was going to say was i made chicken pot pie. i tried to cheat and use canned dough, but i had oven temp. problems and only cooked the dough on top and it was a mushy mess underneath. i called jackie in a distressed state and she had me stop by the store and pick up some milk so she could show me how to properly make the biscuit dough. it wasn't as difficult as i thought it might be :) and it's delicious!

speaking of cheating ... i also made cheater chili today. how do you do that?
well ... some ground turkey, a can of chili magic texas style, can of black beans, can of diced tomatoes, little can of diced green chilis, and an onion. easy and delicious !

'tis the FOOD season .....

when the weather begins to turn, and there's hope of not dying in the kitchen trying to create a yummy dish ... then it IS the season to heat things up once again.

sunday was spent in the typical way ... over with jackie & the hippie. i knitted. jackie read cookbooks. we both drooled ....

so many yummy dishes to look forward to ... soups, roasted chicken, seasonal vegetables, big hearty dishes.

and in this midst of food fantasy, jackie decided that we needed chicken pot pie for dinner! OMG ! DELICIOUS !!!


i paid extra close attention ... and i plan on making this myself sometime in the very near future. it took me back to sweet memories of chicken dumplings.

see how good it is ....


that's the hippie saying, " i'm not sharing !".

i did bring something home with me ... even if it wasn't leftovers .... i brought home "potential" !


i tried this recipe tonight for a cuban black bean soup. i mostly followed the recipe, but thought that 3 giant onions might be too much for the soup ... thus, it was altered. it's still very yummy, and kinda burns from the one jalapeno (seeds and all) (a very potent jalapeno).


... and now, i'm waiting for some rice to finish up so i can ladle the soup over it .... delicious ! and i have lots of leftovers !!!

how to bathe stuart ....

first ... find something to wash him with, so he doesn't have to go swimming solo. for example: your favorite dress that you forgot to wash earlier that day because it was hanging out of sight.


then, place him in a lingerie bag, where he will be safe from the terrors of the beating stick.


add detergent to washer ....


and then send stuart swimming !


if he floats he's a witch ;)


he didn't float ... but he did come out sparkley clean ....

anniversary

september 11th is a special day for me. and probably only for me, in my context ....

on the calendar, this year it's a new moon. how appropriate. last year, the calendar said patriot day. i'm not certain as to which historical events my calendar intended. but, the word patriot is not one to sweep under the rug.

... and i like very much that this year it's a new moon. new things ....

and the old things? the old thing(s) is(are) gone. absent. dormant? not around. not bothering me.

but still lingers in my mind ....

i thought i had posted this before, but i could not find it in either of my blogs ... but, just incase ... if you're ever in doubt ... just read this. seriously.

without it, there may never be a new moon ....

the good & bad

this part is the good. months ago, i switched from BCBS to UHC, after lots of research. well, within a month of the switch, uhc announced that it was dropping wake med. which meant, that i could not continue to use my gyn as all their lab work, etc, was via wake med.

months later, united has reunited. YAY !!! it's an incredible relief, as all us girls know what a pain it is to find a gyn that we like, or even *love*.

it's hard to find a good doctor, a good practice, etc ... i'm just happy to not have to find a new one!


the bad ... blockbuster SUCKS ! i have been a member of their online rentals for a year +. i've told my friends how much i like their service, and how convenient it is to take your envelope to the store and get another movie.

BUT. but. again, they've changed the conditions of my plan with them. and this time, i'm not going for it. they want to cut out about 1/2 my rentals and keep the rate the same. NO. no thanks. we've exchanged a couple of emails regarding this issue, but in the end, it's a large corporation that doesn't care. numbers are their bottom line. and the bottom line for me is i won't remain one of their numbers. my billing cycle is about to end, as will my membership. netflix, here i come !

seriously.

beasties

i say beasties because i like that word so much. and i think it perfectly describes jackie & the hippie's beasties ... sampson, fergus, and scout.

whenever i think about this picture, i just start to laugh. i mean, they're just house cats ! but, look how they form a hungry pack. it's like they're saying "hand over the herbed turkey or we'll eat you !" they're not petite kitties (well, scout is). i think they could take someone down if they wanted!

though i'm not a cat person (allergies), i can appreciate them fully. jackie loves her kitties so much that she has an entire flickr set dedicated to them.






this is the hippie. his birthday was last week, and i knitted him a little hat to wear when he goes boating. i have another (incomplete) treat for him as well ... as soon as i get around to finishing it. and jackie's birthday is this week! oh my!

so, though it's hard to see in the picture, he is wearing his new hat, in his own gangsta way.


clearly we were having too much fun ! see what i mean ....


poor stuart was flung into the freezer with all the vodka's !!! brrrr ....

he had too much fun too and had to go to bed.

tidbits from home ....

i went knitting at rrrrrrrita's the other night, and noticed as i walked up the walkway, something fragrant. i didn't know from what, until i was leaving , and i spotted the little white flowers by moon and street light, and she said they were creeping gardenias. she snapped one off for me to take home.

that was thursday night. and the flower is still white. and it still smells delicious!



last week i stopped into the local sam's club. i usually just go in and get what's on my list, but i decided to browse a bit. when i saw this tent, i thought, "how cute!" and in the next breath, realized that the boxes were for a full sized tent and the the model was just a model. oops.

i think it would be much better in wee size.


stuart would love a wee tent for camping in yosemite!

SMASH! boom ! BAM !

... this has been my misfortune lately. while i was gone to shelby, i had a shelf fall and i lost the pitcher of my blender, the lid of my crockpot, and a teapot. and now ... a cheapie wine glass. hmmm ....

and a time to travel ...

as soon as the airline ticket is purchased, it's official ... i am indeed going to the dominican republic between thanksgiving and christmas. i don't know yet in what capacity, i don't even care, ... because i get to GO somewhere !

i always have a really hard time trying to take fish pictures. it's kinda hard to get little nemo to hold still. yes! her name really is nemo ... 'cause her fin on the other side is orange, and her body is all white. it looks unbalanced, and cute.

i was away for a couple of weeks, but my dear friend rrrrrita kept my fishes alive for me! i hate coming home to a dead fish. my platty's are fine too, and they're even harder to capture with my camera because they spend a good amount of time hiding behind the plants, bubble wand, or rock. they're timid, except for at mealtime.



stuart is being a good pal and letting his little friend wear his sombrero (little does stuart realize that he looks like one of the village people !) .

that's my clover plant between them. it tried to die while i was away. i gave it a good soak when i returned, and it already has lots of new growth. i really need to put it in a bigger pot though.

homicide ?!

... yes ... that is the kind of notice i get stuffed into my door in my neighborhood. some people get food drive stuff, some get neighborhood gathering notices, i get notices of gang activity and homicides !

but ... i rest easily, because my neighborhood is between the mental hospital, downtown, and the state prison. so (this is logic speaking) ... if anything bad happens, won't the bad person want to get as far way from this triangle of law enforcement as soon as possible?!

inspite of the barking dogs, loud music, and killings, i've been doing some stuff around the house ....

... installing shelves ....







some have things on them. some do not ... but they will, ... eventually. the thing is, to access the shelves, i must use a 3-step ladder.

... and, see how the brackets are different?

randomness ...

... such is life. random. so, here's some photos, not in any particular order, since the last time i posted.

first up, me being a goof ball infront of the mirror in my bedroom, "hi me!".


stuart riding the train home last weekend. he had a blast, minus a minor mishap (thanks mom!!!).


this postcard was on post secret some time ago. i saved the image. i liked it.

all is well. i have no complaints. that's a very very good thing !