Unfinished Object
Quote of The Day
Navigation
Home |
Where I Play
Categories
Read
Lurk
Inspire
Green
Diversions
Photos
Monthly Archives
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
Site Credits
Powered by:
ExpressionEngine
Design by:
BlogMoxie
Today I’m off to Target to find a suitable receptacle for socks and underwear (after I go home and ‘drain’ the dog). The dresser going into the yard sale is our only one. I don’t want to make a snap decision on its replacement so the thought is maybe plastic Rubbermaid boxes to set on the closet shelves (one full wall of the closet is shelves). But, hey, any excuse to go to Target, right? Besides, D has class tonight, which means I can cruise Target as long as I want! Somebody take my credit card please! Heh.
I’ve got a real bug up my butt to decorate the house, and to replace our crap furniture. Unless I win the lottery this will not happen all at once, but rather one piece at a time. I would really like to go more modern (right now its Early American Crud), and am thinking of putting this (click on room views to see whole unit) in the bedroom as a dresser/tv stand - the cats, I’m sure will approve because it looks like a kitty jungle gym to me, but I’d like your opinions please.
The rain didn’t last very long Sunday, we had maybe 1/10 of an inch total, not nearly enough to make me happy. There was enough moisture to encourage one of the irises to bloom. Regardless I spent the day, following my ‘rain rules’, sewing and just generally being a bum. I churned out six bags! My goal for February was ten bags. I have make eleven to date, but have gifted three away. That means two more to make tonight or tomorrow to satisfy the yard sale goal. To be honest, I may not even try. Time is growing short to get things cleaned up, priced and organized. We are including three large pieces of furniture, a desk, my dresser, and the sideboard (Greenie just hopped a plane for that one - heh). The desk is simply not used and D would like a little more floor space in his office, especially since the rower now resides there too. As for the other two pieces, they just aren’t my thing - never were really - I moved out of my parent’s house with them and have been dragging them around ever since. Both are antiques, and I doubt we’ll have any trouble selling them. I’ve had them about 15 years now but they are technically my mom’s. My dad is putting a double oven and a cook top in the sale (man I wish I had room for them!). Really, it should be a large sale compared to ones in the past and hopefully very successful. The proceeds will be going for new lanai furniture or our vacation in July (D and I are at slight odds over this - I’ll let you know how it turns out). And I haven’t even mentioned all the other things that got ignored while I followed “rainy Sunday rules” - but my, it was a lovely weekend!
Saturday was busy, busy, busy. I mowed**, trimmed, edged, weeded and blew off the driveway (with a blower you doof - get your mind outta the gutter). Washed the lawn mower, took the dog to the vet and when I finally came inside D had done the dishes, the laundry and vacuumed. “Guy clean”, but hey, still cleaner than it was, so I got to sit on the lani with my book for an hour and watch the sun set.
There was one low point, at the vet, while Mackie and I were waiting a woman slipped from the sugery area, clutching a yellow towel and a tissue. The look on her face was perfectly readable - I smiled at her (I hope in a comforting way) and she returned it as she hurried out the door. She made it to her car before she broke down, sobbing with her forehead on the steering wheel. My heart broke for her, I ‘ve worn that look on my face before, and it sucks!
The highlight of the day came early. D had to work, so he was up when I was gathering things to go to the vet. Things that included a urine and fecal sample from the dog. As I was searching the kitchen for a tupperware container that I would be willing to trash, he appeared in the kitchen with a soup ladel, duct taped to a 4’ aluminum rod - and a big grin on his face. We took the dog to the back yard (becasue I didn’t really want the neighbors to see what we were up to - lol). And we followed her around the yard, she kept looking back over her shoulder like ‘What the f*** are you humans up to now?” I will never forget D, streaking across the yard as she squatted to slide the ladle beneath her. I was laughing so hard, its a good thing he was playing ‘catcher’ because Id have spilled it for sure! Honestly, it was the best laugh I’ve had in a long while!
And now, its Sunday and its raining. I have a rule that if its raining on Sunday morning I don’t even have to get dressed. It’s exactly like Friday night - but the whole day. I doesn’t happen often, but when it does - JOY! So right now I’m watching a movie I’ve seen 100 times, and working on bags. But its what I choose to do and not what I have to do. And if that wasn’t nice enough—its raining! After all that dusty yardwork yesterday, maybe this will green things up a bit - I hope it rains like this all day!!!
**For all you guys north of me, that are jealous of our weather, this is the price you pay for warm winters—yard work all year long. Choose carefully-heh.
Ah Friday! My official night off. No cooking, no laundry, no yard work. In fact, my only errands tonight are to stop at the fabric shop to pick up some interfacing and the Chinese restaurant to pick up dinner. Neither of which are tough chores. D will bury himself in the SciFi Channel starting at 7 and will not re-emerge again till about 11. Me...who knows? Being a list maker, and planner and organizer I force myself to let Friday night happen as it happens. Maybe sewing, or TV or a book. It is my night to have real Coke with my rum (instead of diet), eat what ever sounds good without one moments consideration of its calorie content, and occupy my time strictly as I see fit. Why? Because the rest of the weekend is another kind of work - house work, yard work, busy work with chores stuffed in between. And this weekend will be a doozie. Bags to make, the master closet to clean out, a yard sale to put together for next Saturday and on, an on, and on. But not yet, not now - tomorrow. ‘Cause its Friday night ... and I’m off.
We have a sign in front of our building that says “Now Hiring Techs”, its just a metal ‘realty’ sign, but it brings us a wide assortment of people. Our building is in a business park and there is a great deal of vehicle traffic. But my little sign (yes I made it) is mostly invisible to the speeding cars. The foot traffic however has time to stand around it, and consider its implications before pointing themselves to our front door. Most of this sort of applicant is walking past on their way to or from ‘Bagel Bites’. Yep, the factory that makes those nasty little things is straight out our back door and across the lake. And as icky as they are, on bread baking day the whole park is rife with the heady scent and you briefly find yourself considering that they may not be so bad. Anyway, back to the sign. The factory employees go past all day long, usually in little knots of five or so. And each day at least one group will stop and discuss my sign and then move to the business sign (which is right outside my window) and point and discuss and sometimes argue over it, all the while casting wary glances at our front door (as if no one could possibly be looking out of that big sheet of glass they are standing in front of). And then one poor guy will draw the short straw and wander into the lobby to inquire about the job. He’ll gather applications for himself and his friends and return to the huddle. If we see these pieces of paper again, and we usually don’t, the front and back form will contain little more than a name and address, seldom a phone number, and almost never school and work history.
Occasionally, an individual will stop and actually fill an application out while sitting at the kitchen table. Sadly, these too, will have little more than a name and address when they are turned in. We suspect that sometimes it is just an excuse to sit in the comfortable a/c for a half hour and cool off.
And then, there are the individuals like the gentleman who came in yesterday. I did not notice his vehicle pulling up and he surprised me a bit when he came in. He was dressed in ragged shorts, slid half down his ass, a dirty white t-shirt with the sleeves torn off and one of the sleeves firmly planted on his head as a ‘do-rag’. He had a wide smile and a booming voice, and he answered most of his own questions before I could. We keep the applications in the lobby on the copier table, but someone had used the last one so I had to leave him in the lobby and go find an original. When I returned he had a fist full of brochures from the brochure racks and happily claimed “I used to work on these”, and showed me the one for freezers. A few more moments of unstoppable talking and he disclosed that he actually had delivered them - not repaired them. The copier is in the lobby, so he continued to talk as I ran the application through, and as he talked he edged closer and closer to me. So close in fact I could feel his breath on my ear as he spoke, and his mass effectively blocked me into the corner between the copier and the wall. I was prepared to sink my elbow into his mid-section, had he touched ... no way I could have taken him, but I planned on making the first hit count. I turned away from the copier quick enough that he had to step back (sorta like tapping the brakes when someone is following too close) and handed him his application. There were several more moments of idle conversation, and three trips to the stapler to staple his application together, his brochures together and then his brochures to his application. And with each trip he followed me to my office, close enough that he’d have to back up when I turned around. And then, as suddenly as he had appeared, he exited, climbed into his beat up van and left.
I don’t know about you, but even for people I like my ‘personal space’ is somewhere around 2-3 feet if we’re having a conversation (closer of course for hugs and kisses) and anything nearer than that makes me damn uncomfortable. I still have no idea if the guy was ‘up to something’ - my gut says he was, and cocktail waitresses grow pretty smart guts in my experience. Even if he just has no concept of personal space, I was very, very happy not to be working late last night and leaving my myself.
I just haven’t much to say that anyone would be interested in hearing. Yesterday’s killer headache and the week’s rebellious gut aren’t the best of blog topics. So instead, why not pop over to the Chucklehut and wish Dan ‘welcome back to work’ on his first day back from paternity leave (lucky dog!), or maybe wish La Muerta a ‘happy new kitty day’, or offer condolences to Greenie, who recently lost her kitty (not to mention one of her dogs about a month ago - tough year for her). These folks would be delighted to hear from you ... and I promise they will each have something more interesting to say than I do!
For everyone who’s encountered problems subscribing to this blog ... please try again (RSS feed error). My brilliant friend Pea has fixed it ... I just love the internet, the kindness of strangers still floors me!!! 
This has been bugging me for a few days now, and I just can’t hold my comments any longer. La Muerta, reported this week that she has become a foster mother to darling kitty, Abby. And while I am thrilled for La Muerta, I am also more that a little sorry for Abby’s real, two legged, mommy. Evidently the poor woman will be going through chemo, and her oncologist recommended she get rid of her pet during that time. Now, I know all you non-pet people out there are grumbling and muttering that between their life and an animal’s, their own will get top billing every time. I do understand that attitude, but for me, if you announced that (a) I had cancer and (b) get rid of your pets, well (c) shoot me now and get it over with! Certainly there are many factors that I am not aware of, she may be allergic to Abby and taking medication that she will not be able to take while on chemo. She may be single and have no help to care for Abby and herself through this ordeal, or a hundred other scenarios, or her oncologist could be cracked. But if it was me, you can be sure I’d be getting a second opinion because giving up my animals might prove harder than chemo, as I’m sure giving up Abby was for her momma, and will be for La Muerta, when the time comes.
See what a little time, a few marbles, and more patience on my part can do…
D and I have been together for seven years. He has given me flowers in the past, usually white roses (his favorite), but today, for the first time he sent me flowers for Valentines. Can I get a collective awwwwww… 
I am, admittedly, a little worried about D’s reaction to them. I dont think he realized that by ordering them from a ‘direct from field’ vendor that it was a do it yourself kinda thing. They are supposed to look like this and I’m not a very good arranger so even when they open they’ll be a far cry from the photo. But, as far as I’m concerned, they’re still beautiful!
This entry should really be titled “Six, totally and completely unrelated things...” heh
Thing 1: This morning in the shower I felt the familiar onset of a capillary seizure in a very unfamiliar place. It is normal to have brief ones in my hands and feet when I get into the shower, the sudden temperature change sets them off. Sometimes even ears and nose get into the act, but this morning the seizure was in my butt. I panicked, which always makes these events worse, but then realized that if a large portion of my butt got gangrene and fell off that would be something of a miracle, and promptly calmed down.*
Thing 2: My mom discovered origami box making about two months ago, and she is totally consumed by it. Dinner last night was strictly ‘box talk’. She has sold some to gift shops and is talking to wedding and party planners about producing even more. She gave me one for Valentine’s Day (a dud - she says, because it does not quite sit flat) with an enameled heart box inside. Cute, no?
Thing 3: Sunday I made a trip into town after hearing “Black Horse and Cherry Tree” by KT Tunstall on VH1, and picked up the CD. Normally I won’t buy a CD till I’ve heard (and liked) two or three songs, but like my mom and her boxes, I was consumed by that song. I did try to read the reviews on Amazon, but was thwarted by critique of the CD’s performance rather than KT’s. Evidently the CD is protected and does not allow any files to be copied to a computer hard drive, which made most reviewers want a refund. I am not going to toss my hat into the ongoing music argument of ‘who owns the music’ because I think both sides have a point. I will, though, say that I think it is sad that the consumers and the music companies alike have become more concerned with this argument, than with the artists and the music they produce. Both parties seem so caught up arguing that they have forgotten how to enjoy the music.
So, I’ll offer a review of KT’s CD “Eye to the Telescope”. Her style is a very interesting blend of blues, folk and pop that manages to be laid back and upbeat simultaneously. The lyrics are poetic, think Jewel, and the vocal’s an impressive range of full bodied mellow to harsh edged rock. Very strong shades of Joan Osborne, Fiona Apple and even Joan Biaz. The CD is very well produced, with lots of little touches that keep the sound be well rounded, without being overly busy. Only two songs really rock (‘Black Horse...’ being one), the rest feel more like blues-jazz, without being ‘sleepy’. For me a big thumbs up!
Thing 4: D and I have never really celebrated Valentines Day. We do cards and that’s about it. I tried, early in our relationship to make a nice dinner or arrange for us to go out on a ‘date’ a day or two before of after. These events pretty much left me a little hollow, because it was clear that he wasn’t enjoying himself. So, I quit, jumped on the card band wagon and just didn’t worry too much about it. This year though, I bought him a gift, a stainless steel bracelet with black rubber accents. You see, he’s been wearing one lately that a friend (female) sent him at Christmas time. Nothing fancy, mind you, just something she made, but I figure if he’s going to be wearing jewelry it should be something I gave him - yeah I’m being weird. I gave it to him this morning, he responded with his usual “cool - thanks” and went back to reading the news on the computer - heh. Some things never change. Interestingly enough, I did not hint about it at all, but it seems that he too is gifting this year ... I’ve been told to expect something via FedEx this afternoon. It’s sappy, but I’m excited. I keep trying to remind myself that he is not terribly romantic, and his gift purchases are more the thoughtful / useful kind ... but a girl can hope, right?
Thing 5:Cute alert ... Libby in the weedy garden.
Thing 6: You have a cold, you are obviously miserable and should be home. You insist on being at work - fine. But if you stand in my office, coughing and sputtering or - pick up my phone and talk on it, one more time, I am so going to smack your bald head!!!
That is all....
*Just so no one gets too concerned, the reason I had a seizure in my butt was because I ‘rowed’ this morning. D purchased a rowing machine about a week ago and we have both been trying to put some time on it every day. The seat is not proportionate to my butt, and that not so cute bit that hangs out of short shorts, also hangs over the seat (among other things - but I’m not talking about them). What I was probably feeling was the muscle that I’m sure is in there somewhere, having its own little version of a heart attack, after having been asked to preform for thirty minutes, in the freezing cold at 5:30 am.
Starting with Friday night the weekend was a whirlwind. There was cleaning, and cooking, shopping at my favorite grocery, sewing, game play, cold grey weather and rain, a trip to the bookstore for books and music, laundry, a failed nap and a massive headache. D and I got on each others nerves Sunday, so I took myself out for lunch and a little shopping. We were both in better moods when I got home. He spent much of Sunday on his homework (he is finishing up a drafting degree) which was a design for Valentines Day. About four o’clock he decided that it wasn’t working as planned, tossed the idea (as well as a lot of paper) and sat down at his computer to draw something in Rhino (a 3-D drawing program). When he went to print the finished project he found the color printer was out of ink. He solved that problem by taking the file to work and printing it there, but he also e-mailed it to me because he says he made it for me. What did he make? Why, wallpaper for my desktop .... see....
Cute ‘eh? I love that the ‘I’m Yours’ heart is front and center, and yes, I have it up at work as my wallpaper.
I, too, was creative this weekend, churning out three and a half bags and a somewhat failed gourmet dinner (see previous post). It looks like I’m well on my way to my self imposed goal of ten, but nope, not really. Two of these bags are already winging their way to new homes, which means that I have seven err...six and a half to go. I was hoping to get three more cut out tonight - I hate cutting- but I am having dinner with my mom instead, while D is at class. I will probably finish the ‘half’ bag though and that at least will be something.
There is information up at Dragonfly Designs if you want to make a bag of your own.
I had hoped that the first “What’s Cookin?” entry would be an awesome recipe for a cold winter night. While cooking and photographing my progress last night I also constructed witty cometary in my head. And even took pictures like this to share.
And the finished product looked awesome all plated and dressed.
Sadly though I was pretty disappointed. I just didn’t think it had enough flavor to justify $20 for less than two pounds of meat. It is possible that I did something wrong ... or that I had a bad cut of meat (it happens), but I don’t think I’ll make it again. If your are curious the recipe can be found here, I’d love to hear from you if you try it, perhaps you will have more success.
On the other hand, the potatoes were stellar. And since I ‘invented’ the recipe last night that’s saying something. D and I usually make up names for the recipes I invent, but this one is so basic its just ‘New Potatoes’.
10-12 small new potatoes
1 can beef broth
2 Tbs butter
1 Tbs dried shallot (you can use fresh - but the dried toast up nicely)
Salt and pepper to taste
Parsley, fresh or dried
Wash potatoes, remove any eyes or bad spots. Peel around the middle of each potato, leaving peel at ends. Place broth in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Using a steamer insert, add potatoes and cover. Size plays a big part in cooking time, so check for doneness at 10 minutes. Potatoes should be just fork tender, center may still be a little firm and that’s fine. Heat butter over medium / high heat in a skillet large enough for potatoes to fill in one layer. Add shallots and cook for 1 minute. Add potatoes and allow to cook undisturbed until golden brown, turn and repeat. Salt and pepper to taste, garnish with parsley and serve. Serves two.
First let me say that I am not known for my taste in music, but second, have you heard this? ‘Cause I think she rocks!!!
Thanks everyone, for your kind comments and concern. And you are right, most Florida folk don’t need winter wear. D, for example has a fine suede jacket I gave him for Christmas last year. He has worn it maybe four times, and at least one of those was because he wanted to show off his new jacket - heh. I do have jackets and lots of foundation pieces (love my Cuddl Duds!). And of course the mitts that Rox and Anne have kindly sent me (in case I haven’t said it enough - I LOVE ‘EM!). I did very well last night, in fact the thing that made me go inside (after a couple of hours) was my ears - I wussed out on wearing the pom-pom hat. D was a genius and brought a small padded mat that he uses for camping, and he covered my chair with it - toasty! And the best trick I found was the ‘hot toddy’ recipe I found on line yesterday and made a gallon of. It was so yummy I’m going to share it (and yeah I changed it a bit - the original can be found here).
1 three liter bottle of cranberry juice cocktail
four tangerines
1/2 cup of whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
Sugar (to taste, I used about 2 Tbs)
3 cups (or to taste) spiced rum (optional)
There are two ways to do this. If you are going for show, slice the tangerines into 1/2 inch wheels and stud the outside of each wheel with cloves, about every 1/2 inch. Quarter the wheels. Add all ingredients, except rum, to a large stock pot and bring to a simmer. Add rum and dip into heat proof glasses, making sure each gets a cloved, quarter of tangerine.
If, however, you are going for, quick and easy (like I was last night) simply slice the tangerines and toss everything, except rum in the pot and simmer. I let it cool a little and poured it back into the juice bottle, through a fine mess strainer. We took the rum with us and let everyone add it as desired. Though I didn’t try it, I do think this would be yummy cold, over ice. It was very, very tasty!