'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?