everyone needs a flex-shaft!

and if you have to ask what that is, nevermind!


i was a good girl today and unpacked most of my boxes for my jewelry work. it was a trip down memory lane, unwrapping all the tools and some finished pieces ...


that's my little copper easter egg, which i made in '96. i made it to hide in penland's easter egg hunt. i finished the egg with enough time to submit it for hiding, but i couldn't part with it. yes, i kept the egg, and then went on the hunt and found two more!


the ceramic egg was made by jenny drum, and the glass egg was made by joe nielander. it's hard to believe that was 10 years ago. i don't think i want to think about that.

i want to start making jewelry again, in some capacity. i need a table to put next to my workbench, infront of the window, so i can solder. i will have to make some trips to the local thrift store and hope i find something that i can use. i also need some flux. i don't know if i can buy any locally though. otherwise, i have all the materials i need to pick up where i left off. oh, i also need some confidence. i haven't done this in a very long time.


what's on the nightstand this week ....

it was such a nice day yesterday, though hot. i had doors and windows open, taking advantage of the breeze. i'm anxious for warmer weather just because i want to grow some herbs and tomatoes on my back porch. i went to the nursery today, but only got parsley. i was told that parsley is hardy, and can take freezing temps. as the season warms up, i will get basil, sage, cilantro, and ... anything else i like to cook with. yes, the little pot is teetering over the edge of the porch, but the pot is larger than the opening it's leaning against. no worries.
i baked some more jalapeno cornbread muffins too. i was careful this time with the jalapeno, and did not touch the insides of the jalapenos. the last time i was careless, and my hands were burning for hours, not to mention my brow i rubbed.

i cleaned the fishes yesterday too. i didn't realize how green things were in the aquarium until i began to scrubb their rock under the faucet. it went from green to brown/gray. whoops! so, all their furniture was scrubbed clean, including some of the gravel, and they got a fresh filter.

when i went home to babysit, mom cut these daffodils from the yard for me to bring back to my home. they grow in a place in the yard that no one ever sees ... behind the house, down below the deck of the backyard. they still look as good as the day they were cut. i look forward to the warmer months, as i want to grow some herbs and cherry tomatoes. see my new pretty kitchen door rug? i target.

i also got something else for my kitchen ....


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those dinky grocery store S&P's were purchased when i first moved into my new place and i was desperate for minimum seasoning. i really wanted a salt and pepper mill set, but target doesn't sell anything like that, at least not a high quality set.
i'm still holding out on some other things for the kitchen from crate and barrel such as this!

i have a couple of other goodies to share, but i'm sleepy now, and will have to wait for another day ....

"friday night's alright for ..."

... resting. that's what i like to do on friday nights.
for the last (almost) 10 years, i've often worked weekends. so, friday night was just another day of the week to me. while the rest of the world was busy getting ready to go out for the evening, kick up their heels after a week of work, i was gearing up for my week of work all packed into a string of several days and nights. and now, i sometimes work on saturdays, thus, want to get a good night's sleep on friday.
so, tonight, i'm thinking about getting into bed early, with a good book to read, and just relaxing.
no movies, no dinner out, no talking, no music, no tv. just quiet. me and the fishes.

i started reading this a few nights ago. i guess it's my smut reading. it took me a very long time to get through _the blind assassin_, and i'm breezing through this book, as it's a bunch of short stories. but, there's something kinda disturbing about this book. i just started the fourth or fifth story, and two of the women characters have died as a result of their love. killed by the men they love. WTF?! i had issues with _the blind assassin_ because of the side story and how the woman allowed the man to mistreat her ... she kept going back for more! hmmm ....

anyhoo, i took the boys to the city park yesterday for a couple of hours. i was hoping it would wear them out a bit so i could have some time to myself. instead, i think it just gets them more wound up.

it pays to clean house

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i had a paperbag sitting on the floor, mostly filled with empty boxes from christmas. in the midst of housecleaning today, i decided the paperbag had been sitting on the floor long enough. it had a couple of christmas cards in the bag, including one with m-o-n-e-y!


the day started out somewhat wintery, with a few flakes and sleet, but then the clouds broke and it turned out to be a very pretty day.

what's cooking?

in celebration of the nearest thing to wintery weather this weekend, i decided to make some chicken chili. i've made this three times now, and it didn't take me as long this time because 1) i used less chicken, and 2) because i used less chicken, i could saute it in one batch and pretty much follow the recipe as written.

here's the recipe ....

chicken chili

2 lbs bonelss chicken, cut into 1/2" cubes
2 tbls oil
2 c. chopped onion
2 tsp minced garlic
1 can (4.5 oz.) chopped green chilis
1 can each of pintos and black beans
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne peepper
2/3 c. chopped cilantro (fresh)
1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes
2 tbls chili powder
1 tbls ground cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 c. chopped sundried tomatoes
1 c. grated cheddar cheese

in a large dutch oven saute chicken in oil for 5 minutes. add onion and garlic, and continue to cook until lightly browned. add remaining ingredients in the order given, except the cheese, and bring to a boil. reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 30 minutes. top with grated cheese.

the picture shows all the chili powder i dumped into it. that's a lot of chili powder, and ummmmm ummmm good!

oh, and i added a jalapeno, sliced, seeds and all. i like heat.

it must be prom time ....

i clipped the ad from yesterday's newpaper. it reminded me that i have this amazing book on tiaras. i don't remember which came first. did i see the book first, or had i read about the exhibit first? either way, the exhibit was in boston, and i found the book in chicago in september of 2001. some people go "wow" over all the jewels and precious metals. i go WOW over the semi-precious stones and all metal tiaras. i just love the rivets on the leaves of the haircomb in the left corner. if you click on the photo, you can see them better.

i could had made all my pictures line up like a pyramid, but, that would take too much effort. so, here's the run down .... starting in the top left corner and working your way down as if reading a paragraph .... acetylene tank. yes, i have an acetylene tank, and i finally moved it from my sewing room to near the workbench. maybe i'll get it fired up sometime soon too! outside plants. today's high was in the 60's, and tomorrow will be in the 70's. i think it's good for my desert plants to suck up some sunshine w/o a piece of glass between them and the source. outside bug. yes. that's where the bugs belong. chicken, that's what's for dinner. breaded and baked, with some kind of salad i've not fixed yet. i would like to do roasted carrots, but, who really wants to wait another 50 minutes? sink. i cleaned the sink. but, it's full of tonight's dinner happenings now. the ammonia. i checked my fishes ammonia levels, and, they're fine. i quickly scrubbed the algea off the walls of their aquarium, it was getting kinda filmy and i like to see them clearly. bicho ... say no more.

not much to say, just took some snapshots around home today, so mom doesn't get bored with looking at the same pictures all the time.



i'm still reading that book! it's very slow reading, or i'm just not very into it. sometimes it's interesting, and i turn page after page, sometimes, barely a paragraph. now, i just want to finish it so i can start something new. i may be able to knit on multiple projects, but i can only read one book at a time.

notice all the patterns, books, and magazines under the top read? well, sometimes i don't even read _the blind assassin_, but look at all my knitting stuff instead!

pss. and i don't like how the nameless man treats the nameless woman in the book. that story unto itself is intriguing. why does she keep going to him if she doesn't like how he acts towards her sometimes?! read between the lines ....