Saturday, November 22, 2008
Thanksgiving Day
This year our Thanksgiving Day is going to be a little different. We will be driving in the car to get to Michael's house in Virginia. I really love Thanksgiving because I love to cook, and I also really know how to cook a nice Thanksgiving meal without using any recipes unless I want to. Turkey is .39 a pound, which is about as cheap as any kind of meat gets these days. George and I are going out today to buy a frozen turkey or two, and put them in the freezer. A good turkey meal is nice at any time.
Because I like to cook, I am making some road food for us to take on our trip. I'm not sure what this will be yet, but one idea is shrimp and vegetables and sushi. We'll also have gouda and swiss cheese with crackers, cut up vegetables and dip, cubes of cantaloupe, strawberries, and home-made oatmeal cookies. My goal is that we won't have to stop to eat any road food, but will be totally self-sufficient.
The road food on the way from Boston to Washington DC isn't anything to brag about. There are McDonalds on the Mass Pike, and not much at all through Connecticut, and the New Jersey Turnpike is the worst. Connecticut does have one nice deli not far off the highway, but for the most part the trip is all hamburgers, fried chicken and other stuff that's not good for you. The exception is the three or four Starbucks we pass and where we often stop for a break. My plan is that we won't be hungry enough to stop and eat the wrong things because we'll be happily munching on shrimp, fruit, and sushi.
I will keep the food cool in a cooler in the back seat, and since it is winter anyway, we don't have to worry that the food will get too warm. We will have juice and soda and plenty of bottled water on ice. Actually this is starting to sound delicious.
Both of us have to work on Wednesday, so we don't have much choice anyway. I will miss the big turkey dinner, I know, but we will have that again when we get home. In the meantime, it will be wonderful to see Mike and Michelle again, and there's lots of fun to be had at their house. We plan to go out for a big Korean dinner, and I'm really looking forward to that.
Happy Thanksgiving. How do you say "gobble gobble" in Korean?
Have a good day. Simba says hi. He is hanging over my shoulder right now.
Because I like to cook, I am making some road food for us to take on our trip. I'm not sure what this will be yet, but one idea is shrimp and vegetables and sushi. We'll also have gouda and swiss cheese with crackers, cut up vegetables and dip, cubes of cantaloupe, strawberries, and home-made oatmeal cookies. My goal is that we won't have to stop to eat any road food, but will be totally self-sufficient.
The road food on the way from Boston to Washington DC isn't anything to brag about. There are McDonalds on the Mass Pike, and not much at all through Connecticut, and the New Jersey Turnpike is the worst. Connecticut does have one nice deli not far off the highway, but for the most part the trip is all hamburgers, fried chicken and other stuff that's not good for you. The exception is the three or four Starbucks we pass and where we often stop for a break. My plan is that we won't be hungry enough to stop and eat the wrong things because we'll be happily munching on shrimp, fruit, and sushi.
I will keep the food cool in a cooler in the back seat, and since it is winter anyway, we don't have to worry that the food will get too warm. We will have juice and soda and plenty of bottled water on ice. Actually this is starting to sound delicious.
Both of us have to work on Wednesday, so we don't have much choice anyway. I will miss the big turkey dinner, I know, but we will have that again when we get home. In the meantime, it will be wonderful to see Mike and Michelle again, and there's lots of fun to be had at their house. We plan to go out for a big Korean dinner, and I'm really looking forward to that.
Happy Thanksgiving. How do you say "gobble gobble" in Korean?
Have a good day. Simba says hi. He is hanging over my shoulder right now.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Home from Oklahoma
I went to visit my mother in Oklahoma for seven days. We had a good time being together, but I am happy to be home and back to my routine. The kitties are doing great and I missed them a lot. I found myself doing a lot of knitting at my mom's house because she goes to bed very early. I made a pair of socks for her and two black hats. I gave one of the hats to a friend at work, and kept the other one for myself. I wish I had enough time to do all the crafts I want. I have jewelry to make, and hats to knit, and a ton of other things I'm interested in as well. I'm not sure how I got so crafty, but there it is.
The kitties are using George as a cat bed. All three of them slept together on the couch this afternoon while I worked on a scarf that will be a Christmas present for someone (it's a secret). I'm almost finished with that, and I bought the yarn for the next project, a hat for my mom.
It's a rainy day and perfect for knitting and I am enjoying being in my own home. Where, by the way, cats rule!
Have a great day.
The kitties are using George as a cat bed. All three of them slept together on the couch this afternoon while I worked on a scarf that will be a Christmas present for someone (it's a secret). I'm almost finished with that, and I bought the yarn for the next project, a hat for my mom.
It's a rainy day and perfect for knitting and I am enjoying being in my own home. Where, by the way, cats rule!
Have a great day.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
My habanero peppers
Today I picked my habanero peppers I have been growing on the deck. I love to plant these little peppers in amongst my coleus plants. They are stubborn little devils. At 200,000 to 300,000 Scoville units each, a measure of their capsicum, or hotness, these really are devilishly hot! These peppers are among the hottest peppers on the planet. Handling them requires gloves unless you like pain. Eating them is almost out of the question. Last year I diced the peppers and put them in the freezer. I labeled them POISON. Then I used about four diced flakes in a large pot of chili. Those four little flakes heated up that whole pot!
This year I will also put my gloves on, dice these pretty peppers into pieces and use them in many pots of chili. I don't really know what else to do with them. I could make them into hot sauce, but it is probably too hot for anyone to enjoy.
They may not be that practical, but boy, are they pretty! I had a lot of fun watching these peppers grow in their pots all summer, and you can't put a price on that!
Have a great day.
This year I will also put my gloves on, dice these pretty peppers into pieces and use them in many pots of chili. I don't really know what else to do with them. I could make them into hot sauce, but it is probably too hot for anyone to enjoy.
They may not be that practical, but boy, are they pretty! I had a lot of fun watching these peppers grow in their pots all summer, and you can't put a price on that!
Have a great day.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Hunting Hummingbirds
Last May, George and I decided that we would try to attract hummingbirds to our backyard. We hung a red geranium with large luscious looking blooms and a red plastic feeder full of a sugar mixture that we boiled and cooled. Then we waited. And waited. One morning, I looked out and there was a nice big hummingbird, who took one sniff on our sugar water and went flying back from whence he came. I ran out, thinking that our sugar water must have been full of bees, or mold, or diluted by rain water. We boiled more water, added sugar, cooled it on an ice water bath, and ran out to the feeder with it. We didn't see another humming bird for a month!
Then, one day I looked out, and the feeder was on the ground. The red geranium was there, and a hummingbird came, took one sniff of that foul smelling plant, and flew back into the woods. I ran out, got the feeder off the ground, washed it, filled it with nice syrupy sugar water and hung it back out. I never saw another hummer for weeks.
The day before yesterday I looked out. The hummingbird feeder has been there, but rather neglected, with the old sugar water and the colony of bees that have found it a nice home away from home. A big FAT hummingbird came, sniffed at the flowers, ignored the feeder completely and flew away. Gah! I have given up. I think the first mistake we made was buying that big bunch of beautiful red geraniums. They look great, but hummingbirds hate 'em, and they probably smell bad and taste worse.
SO, next year I will buy a different bright red plant, something yummy and sugary, and hang that on the post with a sign; "Don't give up on us, please COME BACK!"
Have a great day.
Then, one day I looked out, and the feeder was on the ground. The red geranium was there, and a hummingbird came, took one sniff of that foul smelling plant, and flew back into the woods. I ran out, got the feeder off the ground, washed it, filled it with nice syrupy sugar water and hung it back out. I never saw another hummer for weeks.
The day before yesterday I looked out. The hummingbird feeder has been there, but rather neglected, with the old sugar water and the colony of bees that have found it a nice home away from home. A big FAT hummingbird came, sniffed at the flowers, ignored the feeder completely and flew away. Gah! I have given up. I think the first mistake we made was buying that big bunch of beautiful red geraniums. They look great, but hummingbirds hate 'em, and they probably smell bad and taste worse.
SO, next year I will buy a different bright red plant, something yummy and sugary, and hang that on the post with a sign; "Don't give up on us, please COME BACK!"
Have a great day.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Wish I were there
Michael and Michelle just returned from a vacation on the Outer Banks. They missed Hurricane Hanna by inches, and then were lucky that Hurricane Ike went the other way. We heard on the weather channel that for hurricane frequency the Outer Banks of North Caroline are 2nd. Florida is first, of course, sticking out there in the Gulf.
The Outer Banks are someplace I have always wanted to see. I am hoping that George and I can go there this year some time. Michael said there was plenty of room for all of us. Wouldn't that be fun??
When I was a little girl I lived in the hot dry plains of Oklahoma, and I would see pictures of light houses and thought they were so beautiful. To me they were beacons of light in a wild sea. I had no idea what the ocean was like. I thought that the ocean had huge waves crashing up onto the shore all the time. I didn't know that oceans can be quiet and flat and calm. I thought they were always angry and gray with big white capped waves. The truth of course is a little less exciting but there are enough crashing waves and storms for the coasts to need lighthouses, and I am fascinated by the painted stripes on these two. They have to be the most beautiful lighthouses in the world.
I am included a wonderful picture of a wild horse, and a picture of the house where Michael and Michelle lived for a week without us.
Some day.
Have a great day.
The Outer Banks are someplace I have always wanted to see. I am hoping that George and I can go there this year some time. Michael said there was plenty of room for all of us. Wouldn't that be fun??
When I was a little girl I lived in the hot dry plains of Oklahoma, and I would see pictures of light houses and thought they were so beautiful. To me they were beacons of light in a wild sea. I had no idea what the ocean was like. I thought that the ocean had huge waves crashing up onto the shore all the time. I didn't know that oceans can be quiet and flat and calm. I thought they were always angry and gray with big white capped waves. The truth of course is a little less exciting but there are enough crashing waves and storms for the coasts to need lighthouses, and I am fascinated by the painted stripes on these two. They have to be the most beautiful lighthouses in the world.
I am included a wonderful picture of a wild horse, and a picture of the house where Michael and Michelle lived for a week without us.
Some day.
Have a great day.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Creative Spirits Renewal Day
Today is Sunday. I woke up and went downstairs, made coffee, and started revamping my beading work area. It is a tiny beading studio which used to be a breakfast nook in our kitchen. Since the nook was too small for both George and I and a round table, it was rather a useless area. We took out the round table and chairs and added a long table across the area. He added shelves on the left. Looking back, it would be nice to have shelves on the right as well, but always room for improvement later.
We added a small television hooked up to cable, a small air conditioner, two lamps and an Ott Light. There is a window, which is wonderful to have. I have put up some paintings and added all my beads which are organized in plastic boxes I buy when they are on sale at the craft stores. I have about 35 boxes of beads. It is amazing to me that some of these boxes have probably a hundred dollars or more of silver, a thousand dollars worth of lampwork, and all kinds of other beautiful Swarovski crystals in every color, antique lucite beads,an array of gold and silver clasps, buttons, wire, sterling silver wire in different guages, cord, fasteners, glue, silk thread; well you get the idea. I have an inventory to be proud of and I know where every single bead is. I can put my hands on what I want pretty easily. Sometimes it takes me more time to find the right elements than to put the piece of jewelry together, but that is not surprising. It is the vision first, the hunt second, the design third and then the craftsmanship needed to put it all together well now so it doesn't fall apart later.
George went to Belfast, Maine today to see an air show with the Blue Angels. I elected to stay home and spend the day renewing my creative energy. The beading table is all organized and the beautiful silver that I bought at the bead show yesterday is all put away.
All that feels really good. Now it is time for the creative part to start.
Have a great day.
We added a small television hooked up to cable, a small air conditioner, two lamps and an Ott Light. There is a window, which is wonderful to have. I have put up some paintings and added all my beads which are organized in plastic boxes I buy when they are on sale at the craft stores. I have about 35 boxes of beads. It is amazing to me that some of these boxes have probably a hundred dollars or more of silver, a thousand dollars worth of lampwork, and all kinds of other beautiful Swarovski crystals in every color, antique lucite beads,an array of gold and silver clasps, buttons, wire, sterling silver wire in different guages, cord, fasteners, glue, silk thread; well you get the idea. I have an inventory to be proud of and I know where every single bead is. I can put my hands on what I want pretty easily. Sometimes it takes me more time to find the right elements than to put the piece of jewelry together, but that is not surprising. It is the vision first, the hunt second, the design third and then the craftsmanship needed to put it all together well now so it doesn't fall apart later.
George went to Belfast, Maine today to see an air show with the Blue Angels. I elected to stay home and spend the day renewing my creative energy. The beading table is all organized and the beautiful silver that I bought at the bead show yesterday is all put away.
All that feels really good. Now it is time for the creative part to start.
Have a great day.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
More about the kittens
George and I continue to be crazy about our kittens. They are growing fast and we have noticed that their coats are really getting beautiful and thick. Safari is shy, but George is making great progress with her and she loves to be petted and brushed, but on her own terms. Sometimes she still runs under something when you want to pick her up. I guess that is a girl's prerogative.
They wait for us in the window when we come home. Simba stays in the window, and Safari always comes and stands by the door. When we open the door, we know she will be right there. They are lovely and polite kittens. They do their kitten thing, but they don't seem to get into trouble. They don't knock things off shelves or eat jewelry or do destructive things. They are charming and beautiful. How lucky we are.
Have a great day.
They wait for us in the window when we come home. Simba stays in the window, and Safari always comes and stands by the door. When we open the door, we know she will be right there. They are lovely and polite kittens. They do their kitten thing, but they don't seem to get into trouble. They don't knock things off shelves or eat jewelry or do destructive things. They are charming and beautiful. How lucky we are.
Have a great day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)