Why Jon Stewart Give Me A Willy!

Mermen In The Sunroom!

I have recently undertaken the task to created a space to display my December Diamonds Mermen ornaments collection.  I have made for them beaded and sparkly tethers from which to hand in my little sunroom.  It's been a fun project with great results.

 And they each come with a name.

SPARK 

ALOHA and Salty 

HOODIE 

TATTOO and Clam Bake 

BICEPS and Aquarius 

PRIDE and Goalie 

 JAGGER

DIEGO

House Painting Time

It's getting close.  In the twenty years I've lived here, I have painted the place twice.  This time I will have to hire some help.  I've been perusing the town for inspiration.  I live in city where people love to use color on their homes.  Here are some examples.

And so here's the palate that I'm playing with.  More to come!

They are (clockwise from the upper left quadrant) Dark Teal, Golden Honey, Mauve Bauhaus, and Pumpkin Spice.  All are Benjamin Moore Paints.  

Read A Banned Book Week!

Read a banned book and you, too
Might just want to say, "Cock-a-doodle-DOO!"

Money = Morality

My snowfall/precip Prediction for the Winter of 2014-2015

I smooshed several forecasts together assigning points plus and minus where they over-lapped.

Harry Roscoe Ash (1897 - 1969)

Putzing around now that school is in session and taking care of my to do list created over the lean summer months, I can scratch another item off.  Getting a new frame for an old photo of my grandfather taken on his first birthday in 1898.  Dapper little cus, wasn't he?

Pride Birthdays and Memorials for the Week ~ September 28th to October 4th

This Winter

According to most forecasts, this winter will be a snowy cold one for us inhabitants of the nation's capital and environs.  And honestly?  I LOVE snow in winter.  I have a fireplace and a dog to keep me warm.  Not worried here.

Great Breakfast!

Savory and sweet: Sweet Italian Sausage and Potatoes with Green and Orange Peppers, and Scrambled Eggs!  So simple and flavorful.

More Mermen!

 As the holidays approach, I've added a couple of new mermen ornaments to my collection. "Hoodie" and "Pride" join the previous dozen, and I've decided to display them by hanging them in the sunroom. It's all about the "bling" is one of their slogans. But how to hang them in a way that does them justice? So I visited the local bead store with a notion. 

Yes, and, OF COURSE, Takoma Park has a bead store! I shared the idea percolating in my mind and the no-none-sense Samoan daughter of the owner was an awesome guide to the world of beads. It's very narcotic--and I'm not shitting you.

 My idea was to create tethers that have random pairings of beads reminiscent of bubbles rising--perfect right? So the nice young lady got me all set up with tools, and beads, and 'thread,' and clasps. I finished my first one and used it to hand "Diego" from my collection. I'm enjoying this project immensely.

What I'm Reading #70

Resting around most of the day, I read a book given to me by my friend, 

Julianna, by Velma Wallis called "Two Old Woman". Subtitled "An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival" it certainly is all of that AND a wonderful story. Of course, I cried at times. Betrayal, Courage and survival all have a way of doing that to me, and toss in a little redemption and even some mighty fine forgiveness--well, stick a fork in me, 'cause I'm done! 

The Breech of the White House by Omar Gonzalez

More often than not, people who do these sorts of things are mentally ill. They are not "Terrorists". They may be dangerous on some level, but they are not homicidal. When I learned that this man had made his way into the White House and was then tackled by the secret service, I was thankful that no harm was done. I was just as thankful that no harm was done to this man, and I was thankful that no harm was done to the President and his precious family. It's a cause to celebrate, damn it!

For a moment I thought, "Thank goodness that the White House Security isn't the Ferguson, Missouri Police Force!" The outcome would have been certainly more lethal had the amateurs in Ferguson been in charge. And now we are bombarded by the opinions of blow hard, know nothing, pundits, who make their living off of being cultural provocateurs.

At the arraignment of Omar Gonzalez, the government pointed out that in his car they found an outrageous amount of bullets (800 rounds!) and two hatchets. Where the fuck do I begin? Surely the government doesn't believe in transmoglefication of solid objects through time and space by the magical powers of the will of one person, say, one mentally ill person like Omar? Surely, the government understands how harmless bullets are without GUNS!? What was in Sergeant Gonzalez's vehicle is irrelevant to the incident. It has no bearing on his actions and is only used to hype the emotions of those who are being asked to judge him.

Do you know why Omar risk his life to get into the White House? He was desperate to tell the President that our atmosphere is failing. Hell, he might actually be on to something!

In the end lots of people will use this incident to demand from us things that are actually designed to make us more fearful and suspicious of one another. I say to them, Fuck off you evil doers! I will tell you how proud I am that this man was NOT murdered by the Secret Service. How much I HOPE he gets the medical support that this nation OWES him for his service in the military. How much I admire the President for refusing to climb into the cesspool of blame and condemnation. Some one needs to stuff socks in the mouths of the nay sayers. I am so over their negative rhetoric.

Monday Funny

Dinner, No Recipe

Country Fried Cube Steak, Portobello Mushrooms and Broccoli.  Perfection.

Roméo's Perch

Brought out the big ladder on Saturday, the 24 footer, to climb the side of my home and trim the back the virile trumpeter vine.  I love it because it attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.  I fall out of love with it, because it damages the side of (and even roof of) my home left unchecked...and the checking is more and more arduous each season.  I AM SORE!

On the positive side, I was even more aggressive this time and really opened up the shrouded view from my bedroom window.  This is a particular boon for Roméo who loves to watch the world between naps from our bed there.

 From middle of the afternoon.

From a little earlier this evening.  Same window different naps!

Little Free Library

Ready for Autumn.

 More new titles: "The Shipping News," "The Beekeeper's Daughter," and "The Children Act."

And a shiny little fall owl wind chime.

My Paradise

Got home from work to find a gift of some more books and trilogy set off the New England coast and written by Katherine Towler.  They were sent as entrants from my Little Free LIbrary by a friend who I think is a colleague of the author up at Southern New Hampshire University.  It was a long day and so relaxing with the books, a tall glass of ice water and Roméo was just the perfect antidote.

Gum I Love!

 Not much of a gum chewer in the past.  But I do LOVE these layers fruit gums by Trident.  I even have some new flavor combinations to suggest:
1) Kiwi and Pear
2) Pomegranate and Plum
3) Pink Grapefruit and Lychee
and 4) Coconut and Banana

And then today what do I discover?  Fucking Pumpkin Spice!  You're killing me Trident.

Cheesy Tortellini Veggie Bake

 Tonight's inspiration came from the Batter Homes and Gardens FB page, with my own twist on it, of course! I give you Cheesy Veggie Tortellini. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a hard copy recipe, it's a video presentation. I'm sure you can google find it. It uses chicken and mushrooms and then the reduction from those to make the sauce. I did not. I used a little chicken stock, butter, flour and milk with grated muenster cheese (BHG used softened cream cheese instead of the muenster, too). I also used the vegetables that I had remnants of in the chiller in the fridge: broccoli, red pepper, celery, carrot and green bean. What I found helpful in the BHG recipe was the adding in phases of some of the veggies into the boiling water with the tortellini as it cooked. For example, with 5 minutes left I added the carrots, with 4 the green beans, and with 2 the broccoli, no need to pre-cook the pepper or celery. This I would make again in a heart beat!

Peach Frittata

 I bumped across this recipe today. You know I gotta try it!

PEACH FRITATTA

INGREDIENTS

• 1 clove minced garlic

• 1 small onion, very thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 ounce fresh spinach, cooked (about 3/4 cup), drained and chopped (10 oz. pkg of frozen spinach can be substituted--it's what I used)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
• 2 large fresh peaches, pitted and sliced
• 6 eggs
• 2 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) shredded Muenster cheese

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Total Time: 50 minutes

Prep Time: 10 minutes 

Cook Time: 40 minutes

PREPARATION

In heavy, ovenproof 10-inch fry pan, sauté garlic and onion in olive oil just until wilted. Press spinach to remove all water; chop and add to pan. Heat through, blending with the garlic and onion. Stir in salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove from heat.

Arrange peach slices on top of spinach mixture. In mixing bowl, beat eggs lightly with water and pour over all. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake at 325° F for 30 to 45 minutes or until set. Cut into wedges to serve.

Looks awesome!  Now, how do I adequately describe the actual taste of the results? It is good, I wouldn't say it is great...and I think one reason is that a tarter peach might have been a better counter to the savory spinach and onion. Am I disappointed in it? No. If I had order this in a restaurant, I would have finished it and thought of it as a unique experience, but not necessarily one that would repeat often. Also I am thinking about ways to take it to the next level.

Pride Birthdays and Memorials for the Week ~ September 21st to September 27th