Jess

Yay, snow!!

2009-12-29T00:31:57Z

Whee! Snow!!! (and a funny thing)

My front walk, about 8 inches deep.
Kharma loves the snow!

A failure of humanity, found at KFC (bear in mind that most likely no one who works in this location has the IQ to do something like this onpurpose for comic effect. Just saying...)

Dear Cereal Company,

2009-11-19T01:12:17Z

Fairly recently, I purchased a box of cereal that is recognizable by its varying shapes and vaguely leprechaun-themed sweet pieces. The reasons why do not matter, only the fact that it was an "in-date" purchase.

I will never again purchase a cereal made by your company. Here is why.

For several years, I have been a dog owner. During that time, I have discovered that dogs can be exceedingly indiscriminate eaters. Indeed, although I caution you that I have not ever deliberately fed them any of the really questionable items on this list, mine have been known to ingest at varying points in their lives (in addition to "approved" dog foods and meat) all of the following substances/items-
* squeaky toys
* toy stuffing-fluff
* beer/wine
* paper
* nuts, with the shell on
* plastic wrap
* ribbon
* Styrofoam
* aluminum foil
* cardboard
* Fruits, vegetables, garlic "paper", onion skins
* dead birds, with feathers
* various condiments
* soda bottles
* shoe soles and insoles
* coffee/tea and accompanying filter bags
* food coloring tablets
* vitamin pills and aspirin
* flour products made from any number/type/combination of grain
* stale crackers/sour milk/moldy yogurt
* rocks
* Scat (they are especially fond of the feline variety)

This is truly an incomplete list, although I have summarized as many items as possible into their larger categories.

That being said, my dogs managed to get a hold of a box of this cereal-- that is supposedly comprised of a variety of real food products (whole grain guaranteed!) in addition to a whole host of added vitamins and minerals designed to make it a stand-in for naturally nutritious food-- tore it open, and DID NOT EAT IT.

Seeing as they always believe that they are on the brink of starvation, despite visible evidence to the contrary, I can find no explanation for this irrational behavior on their parts, except that in the general scheme of dog-perceived nutritional value and taste, your cereal ranks somewhere far below cat shit and rocks.

No love,

Me

After much deliberation (because that's just how I am)

2009-11-14T14:19:56Z

The un-Thanksgiving menu is set, and here it is...

App.'s
Roasted chestnuts
Charred artichokes with lemon sauce
Spiced shrimp with heirloom tomato cocktail sauce

Sides
Cranberry-cherry chutney
Mixed salad with fennel, shaved beets, and pomegranate vinaigrette
Braised rainbow chard with pancetta
Smoky-sweet smashed potatoes
Farm-to-Market bread (with butter and jam)
Caramelized fall vegetables
Gravy

Main
Roast bird (have not picked on yet) with herbs
Pot roast

Dessert
Ginger pumpkin trifle (layers of gingerbread cake, pumpkin mousse, and whipped cream)
Salted caramel pecan pie (with fresh Missouri pecans!-- this is a recipe of my own devising as I really don't care for corn syrup but love the concept of pecan pie, here's hoping it turns out well!)
Mile-high apple pie

Pictures later :) Now I am off to run a few errands, get a cup of coffee, pick up my new sofa and a few grocery odds and ends that I could not get at the farmer's market (yes, that's right, farmer's market on a Friday night in November-- and it was packed-- warm fuzzies for me!)

Full of energy this morning, yay!

frustrations!

2009-08-14T01:58:53Z

So no furnitures, at least not the stuff I was hoping for. Long story. ::sigh::

Friends coming for dinner Sunday though, need to think of something yummy to cook. Probably something nice and summery. I may throw some meat on the grill, but we'll see. Maybe homemade ice cream/sorbet/gelato if i am feeling really motivated. Peach perhaps. Or pie.

Parents still coming this weekend.

I don't say this much because I really do enjoy my job most of the time, but I am so glad tomorrow is Friday.

Also. Am no longer the long-haired hippy.

It was time for a change.

Mother 3FF3r!

2009-06-15T01:48:48Z

So I came home from St. louis this weekend and found out that my lawnmower had been stolen. ::sigh::  I have been keeping it outside tucked away next to the house for almost a year. Fool me once.... won't happen again. We are now the proud owners (?) of an electric mower. It is small and cute and cuts through everything with no fuss or bother. It is nice. Messing with the cord is a pain in the @$$, but I figured out a very efficient way to handle it, so life is good. It is also light and compact enough that I can pick it up and carry it to the basement so I don't have to worry about hauling it in and out through the garage (I pay someone to mow the front because I hate to mow the hill and it needs to be mowed more frequently than the back).

My life is so fascinating sometimes... Oh well.

The garden is growing, but very, very slowly. ::sigh: :  I really want some goodies!  All I have had so far is lettuces, two raspberries, and one baby bean, but it looks like my cukes are making little baby cukes right now and the raspberries are starting to ripen en masse so that is good. I also have some green tomatoes and tiny peppers coming on, which is fab.

More work on the kitchen this week as my planned activity for this afternoon/evening was to finish painting the trim and cabinets but ended up being a protracted trip to the hardware store to find a new mower. And then, since I had a new toy, I decided I may as well mow the back yard. Turk came over last week to help with the kitchen, but I am on my own this week so motivation will be harder to come by. Oh well.

It is my goal to finish 6 projects this month. I have 2 nearly completed and one that will be underway on Tuesday once the kitchen painting is complete. I don't know if the 6 projects will happen, but I am hopeful.

Still haven't had to turn on the A/C. That may change this week. Urgh.

In general, work is OK and life is OK, so I guess that about sums everything up.

One of my very bestest friends got engaged to his partner so I am totally stoked about that :) Squee :)

Memorial Day Weekend,Texas, 2009.

2009-05-27T01:24:59Z

The story of a long weekend:

So for Memorial Day weekend, we went for a long overdue visit to our family in the Galveston, TX area (my mom's sister, her husband, my cousins, step-second cousins, and step-cousins). I think everyone was really excited because the last time we saw them was before Hurricane Ike during Thanksgiving.

Wednesday night and Thursday I was feeling terribly and had antibiotics that did not agree with me. Friday we flew down, and though I was still not feeling great, I had painkillers, ibuprofen, and comfy clothes to make the trip in, so it was OK.

Friday afternoon was spent with beer and socialization on the patio by the pool. We also had a tour of the house and got to ooze green jealousy all over their new kitchen and the other rehab work that they did on their house. Additionally, we got to have the Best Oysters Ever, which I will be making at every available opportunity in the future:

Recipe:
Garlic butter (minced garlic, lots, and butter, lots)-- It takes about three tbsp of garlic and a stick of butter to do 30 large oysters
Breadcrumbs
Freshly grated parmiggiano-reggiano cheese (use a microplane or other very fine grater)
Slap Ya Mama or Tony's Cajun seasoning salt (or a mix of ground red, black and white pepper with salt to taste)
Freshly shucked oysters, completely separated from shell
Washed oyster shells

Put a thin bed of rock salt in a foil lined baking pan (or just take your chances-- up to you-- we skipped the salt and it was fine), and lay out the oyster shells, (cupped side up). Spoon some garlic butter (make sure to stir well!) into each shell. Place an oyster on the butter. Spoon more garlic butter on the oysters. Sprinkle with seasoning salt lightly. Top with a little bit of breadcrumb. Sprinkle generously with cheese, sprinkle more seasoning salt (or just mixed ground peppers depending on how salty your cheese is). Put oysters in a nice hot smoker directly on the rack for about 10 minutes (plenty of smoke!) with tongs until browning and bubbling. Remove oysters back to baking pan with tongs (they will be, and stay, VERY hot for a while). Serve immediately with freshly grilled garlic bread to sop up the juices after the oyster is eaten.

Friday evening I sat on the edge of the hot tub for a while visiting, then went to bed still feeling a little peaked, but not suspecting anything amiss.

Saturday morning I woke up with about 50 fire ant bites. Yay. They hurt now that I am no longer taking drugs, FYI.

Saturday was spent on a boat that belongs to my cousin's boyfriend's buddy (her boyfriend makes his living partially dealing in re-furb boats and real-estate, and currently lives in a boat, which I now think I can get behind as a lifestyle choice). We were testing it out. We loaded up massive quantities of snack food and alcohol and drove out to the dock after breakfast. When we got there, a shark had been murdered. I am totally not against hunting or fishing, or even taking trophies for what you kill, but for heaven's sake show a little damn respect for the creatures whose lives you take! The fisherman caught this very large (600-700 pounds if I recall correctly from the discussion) hammerhead shark and were industriously removing the jaws. Then they loaded the animal back into the boat and took it out to dump it at sea. I know that this will feed many happy sea creatures, but really. They did not even offer to let anyone take the meat (although as they had not gutted the fish and it was nearly 90* out by 10:00 there probably would not have been many takers).

Though the trip began on a downer, it rapidly turned into a lovely afternoon spent sightseeing around Galveston Island via boat. The weather turned lovely after a short rain, and remained cooler and slightly cloudy most of the afternoon. We stopped at a semi-cajun tie-up restaurant and had a late afternoon snack, then returned to the water and headed for a swimming hole. I caught a little (heavily filtered) sunshine, while everyone else swam in the lovely shallow water. Meanwhile the tide went out, and as we were on a fairly large boat, the propeller became lodged in the sandy bottom. When it was time to go, a game of "everyone get on the bow" ensued, and a friend of the captain's helped tow us around to get the props unstuck. It was fun :)

After the boat ride, we had dinner at a totally decent Mexican restaurant, then Lizza, Brian, and I got an abbreviated tour of historic Galveston via car from my Aunt. We saw many unfortunately damaged (from Hurricane Ike) historic homes of great beauty and saw quite a bit of damage that still, nearly a year later, has not been repaired.

Sunday was family/friend barbecue day. Wally made smoked brisket (so tender!), sausage, and more oysters, and we met additional members of Wally's family that no one except my mom had met before since she was the only one who got to go to Deb and Wally's wedding 10 years ago. Everyone was lovely, the food was fantastic, liquor flowed freely, and the pool was once again open although it rained and stormed on and off most of the day (fortunately, that kept things fairly cool). Sunday evening after the bulk of the guests left, we spent several hours sitting on the patio with B&B, beer, and wine b-sing and unwinding.

Monday we had pancakes went to NASA , which was lots of fun despite the abbreviated nature of our visit (only a few hours), then came back to crab melt sandwiches and headed out to the airport

Pancakes of Awesomeness
1. Your favorite "from scratch" buttermilk pancake recipe
2. Accidentally add sugar in an equal amount to the flour (i.e. if your recipe calls for 2 cups of flour and 2 tbsp of sugar, use 2 cups of flour and 2 cups of sugar)
3. Grease your (preferably nonstick) cooking surface VERY WELL with butter
4. Be thrilled with the deliciously sweet pancakes that are softish with crispy carmel-like edges
5. Discover your recipe did not *actually* call for equal parts sugar and flour, and decide that's ok they were still completely awesome

Crab Melts of Spectacular Gooey Goodness
Sourdough bread (sliced sandwich style)
Avocados- 1 per two sandwiches
Fresh lump wild-caugh blue crab meat, picked over
Butter, lots of butter
Provolone cheese (enough to cover one slice of bread from each sandwich)
Minced garlic, cajun salt, minced green onion, ground coriander to taste

Butter one side of each bread slice and put it on the grill. Lay cheese on one slice of bread for each sandwich. Sautee garlic and green onion in melted butter. Add crab. Season with salt and ground coriander to taste and sautee a minute more. Put a generous helping of crab on top of the cheesey bread. Top with a generous amount of sliced avocado. Put more cheese on the avocado if you want. Assemble sandwiches and carefully flip over for a minute. They should be golden brown. Serve with tabasco sauce and lemon wedges. This also makes a delicious vegetarian sandwich with no crab (like a grilled cheese, but different- season the avocado with cajun salt, a little minced garlic, and green onion, and definitely top with more cheese!)
Then we all piled in the car and got on the highway to go back to the airport. About 10 minutes into the drive, a driver in the far left lane lost control of her car as she was swerving to avoid the idiot in front of her who slammed on his breaks. She swerved and spun across a lane and a half of bumper to bumper traffic and struck the rear driver's side door/wheel area mostly head-on (unfortunately where I was sitting in the car). Ouch. Everyone is fortunately OK (although not the cars-- so sad!!!!), and it looks like all the damage done to people was a beautiful bruise that I will totally be photographing when it finishes coloring up in another day. No loss of life, but unfortunate possible loss of property. ::sigh:: Luckily all flights were made (mine barely, as I made it to the gate just as boarding started), no one was really badly injured or killed and insurance is a good thing.

So that is the (very long) story of the a *really* good weekend that began badly and ended badly (or well, depending on your glass), but was super fun anyway :)

Photo update!

2009-05-05T03:03:23Z

My parents came up this weekend to help with the kitchen (and boy did they ever help!) We made a huge amount of progress, and I am so pleased with how the kitchen is shaping up. We were all very tired and cranky by Sunday, but it is so worth the pain and frustration to have a friendlier, more open, and more useful kitchen!

Pictures of the kitchen progress:

Kitchen before (when I moved in) back to front view (standing in mudroom)

Kitchen now (still in progress), same view, sorry about the yellow cast, it results from a combination of having an old camera and using indoor light at night-- what you do not see here are the fridge, which you can see above sticking out about 20 inches from the very end of the counters on the right. It has been moved, and it really opens up the space! Sorry about the clutter, the cabinets are currently all empty on the left side so that I can paint. Also, there are a lot of tools on the counter that is on the right. And there is now a garbage disposal under the sink, and an outlet on the sink side!!! YAY!!!!

Kitchen front to back (standing in breakfast nook where kitties are (in above picture) impatiently awaiting dinner. Notice counter ends about a foot past the edge of the sink

Kitchen front to back in progress view. Sink side of the counter has been lengthened to 10 feet (from approx. 6') by adding two cabinets to the breakfast nook end. Also a dishwasher was put in quite a while ago. The fridge is near the visible window. This is a much better place for it to live!

A picture of my new light fixture over the sink. Previously a fluorescent bar occupied the space behind the scary scalloped border. The border is going to be replaced with something a little smaller to let in more natural light, but I added the pendant because it is more interesting and way nicer looking than the nasty fluorescent. Yes that is a tiny Ganesha statue on the shelf.

Random newsishness + party invite!

2009-04-24T00:57:40Z

I don't do this often enough really....

So... let's see

Going to Europe in the fall to visit switzerland, austria, possibly slovenia. italy, and possibly france. It is mainly going to be a camping/driving trip, but we will be there during several lovely events, including the prosciutto festival in Parma and the largest balloon festival in the world in ferrara. Stops will include lots of historical goodness, wineries, restaurants, and hopefully friendly neighborhood purveyors of all things importable wine, vinegar, olive oil, mushrooms, meat and cheese. I am open to requests for goodness (food related or otherwise). *However* if you are requesting food, please request things that can be carried in a car for a long time, or be prepared to give me the information I need to ship it to you (i.e. a credit card, cash, or fedex account number, etc) by the safest available method. The approximate route of our trip is as described above, and we will be in Italy most of the second week, if that helps.

The vendor I buy mutton from for the dogs now has a creamery. I am currently doing research on new types of cheeses ::munch:: I have fresh cheese down pat, but now that spring (and thus my supply of raw milk) has come, I will be trying to branch out again. I have a cheese press and need stuff to make with it! Soft, unripened cheeses are lovely, but it is nice to have a little variety now and again.

Garden 3.0 is underway. I decided last year that while I got lots of tomatoes, lettuce, and green peppers, I really would be more happy trying the heirloom vegetable thing again (because they are sooooo good!), so I have planted a collection of tasty edibles. Many of these should (keeping my fingers crossed) have a few lovely, ripe things on them in time for fourth of july:
1. heirloom italian and brazilian eggplants
2. Striped scallop squash
3. heirloom italian lettuce, arugula, swiss chard, and mixed salad bar lettuce
4. Sugar snap peas
5. True baby carrots (about the size of a thumb, no lathe required)
6. Heirloom italian beets
7. Significant variety of heirloom tomatoes (red/yellow, red/orange, purple/gold, white, yellow, red, peach, brown, green)
8. assorted herbs, and garlic as usual
9. Blue Jade corn (a true miniature blue sweet corn)
10. Assorted melons (fond blanc, noir des carmes, early hanover, golden midget watermelon)
11. Cucumbers (white, green)
12. Long Island Cheese squash (like a pumpkin sized butternut but richer)
13. Beans (dragon tongue, chinese red noodle, green snaps)
14. Fruit (raspberries, blackberries, cherries, grapes)

It should be a very colorful garden this year :)

Speaking of 4th of july, Grue and Kat are coming for a long weekend. So excited!!! On that note, I would like to invite anyone who is interested to a fire+meat party on the 4th. Bring something to grill (for those who are not familiar with fire+meat, you might bring, for example, a package of bratwurst, although meat is really not required), and I will provide a large fire, BBQ sauce, side dishes, dessert, and enormous quantities of alcohol. Additional details to follow. Fireworks may also make an appearance. Please let me know if you plan to come and with how many people (more friends = better), so I know how large of a keg to buy. I would also suggest that you bring a folding chair. Please do not plan to bring anyone to my house who has a strong dislike of dogs, cats, alcohol or fire. Please do bring anyone who might be interested in taking Ninja home as a party favor :-D

General home improvement-ishness has been going on. Latest project is painting and cleaning up the kitchen in general. Pictures to follow in a couple weeks. I decided that since it will be a while until I can really do the kitchen up like I want, something had to be done. My mother came up with a semi-plan, and it has snowballed from there. Anyone who has not seen it in a while will be quite surprised after next weekend. Although still old, it will look completely different (I will start by saying, "YAY NO MORE PINK IN THE CABINETS!!!!"), and I am really glad for the change.

Then I will be moving back to the back room to finish up work in there.

Well, I am about tapped out I think.

Work= good
House = in progress
Cheese = tasty
Animals = good, but SHEDDING, AAAAAGH

Anyone interested in a fun thing to do next weekend should consider "Marvels" at Belton High School.

New Year's Resolutions

2009-01-13T00:26:30Z

Do not cut self with knife.

Go to Europe

Do not cut self with anything else

Get some house projects done

Drop off all the clothes that I pulled for donation

Learn something new

if i said "fillet a fish," what comes to mind?

2008-12-07T01:34:51Z

I had a shitty day today. 2 hours, a really nice doctor and 13 (green!) stitches later, my filleted (yes you read that right) finger is put back together... it was not pretty and it hurts like a mother-effing-SOB, and i now have a franken-finger, green stitches, and a navy blue ace wrap. Also good drugs and a soon a lot of ice cream.i wish i had a camera shot, because you know it is bad when the doc sees you take off the bandage and says "oh crap"

i has drugs and a bandage for my soon to be new scar and i am going to go curl up now.

I need a drink :(

History

2008-11-05T04:49:55Z

Awesomeness

Now i just wish everyone in my neighborhood would put away the fireworks and guns and let me sleep...

It is totally not that i disagree with their excitement...

The Tale of the Stinky Meat

2008-10-11T00:31:02Z

Yes, friends, the Stinky Meat.

Does anyone see where this is going yet? Five points....

This is a little old, but I keep meaning to post it. For anyone who has not encountered the neighbors that moved in about 7 months ago, they are quite odd. They have screaming matches periodically and are constantly doing odd things. The man also frequently approaches me (and David when he is here) for cash. Usually he is reeking of booze when he does.

So anyway... on with the Tale:

My parents came to help work on house projects over Labor Day weekend (see previous post). While they were here, we noticed an unusually large number of flies in the house. We could not find the source of the flies, but did notice a very bad smell in the back yard. For a little more than a week, every time I walked out the door to put the dogs out, I was nearly overcome by the stench of rotting meat. The dogs were not interested, and I could not locate the source of the smell although I looked diligently every day.

One day, after a little more than a week of the smell, upon returning home from work, eager for relaxation and rest, I noticed that the stench of rotted meat had dissipated to a tolerable odor. I was pleased, and thought that perhaps the endless rains had washed away the offending matter, or that the neighbors had perhaps taken their trash to the curb and thereby removed it. The next morning when I went, bleary-eyed and stumbling to turn out the dogs, I opened the door and was assaulted by yet another, less offensive, but still stinky, odor. I turned out the dogs for their morning constitutional and was concerned that the ground seemed to be swimming. I considered going to check my blood sugar to be sure that everything was alright, but the humid balm of the air caused my eyes to lose their dryness and allowed them to focus. The swimming ground was actually teeming with maggots. Yes, maggots. Thousands of them crawling on every surface, and thousands more attempting to flee the rapidly expanding puddles caused by the rain.

Still no sign of the meat, but I took pictures lest anyone doubt that my backyard was, in fact, crawling with those denizens of decay. Even the dogs were traumatized (though some of their trauma may have been due to the rain), as maggots freely jumped about.

I was not entirely convinced that my yard did not have a dead body buried in it somewhere because I just could not fathom what would generate that many larvae, though it may have been the neighbor's yard for all I know, because many were crawling back and forth under the fence

After a significant email exchange with my mother, I was persuaded to check the fence line to see if a small creature had died and become entangled in the vines where I could not easily see it. When I returned home from work that day, I walked the fence. To my horror, I discovered a pile of bones and goo about 10 feet away from the fence on the neighbors side. What were the bones and goo from, you may ask? Chickens. Whole chickens. Maybe three or four large ones. That had been left.

In the grocery sacks.

To rot.

I don't really like my neighbors anymore.....

Two cases of beer, six bottles of wine, 12 aspirins, and one sunburn later.....

2008-09-03T00:41:12Z

Porch before:

Porch After:

Porch Before:

Porch After:

Porch After:

A huge big thanks to my parents, David, and Turk for all the help putting this project together this weekend. It is obviously not completely finished, and more pictures will follow when it is, but this makes such a HUGE difference in the way the outside of the house looks!

Go see Hamlet 2

2008-08-24T13:40:36Z

It drags a bit, but the ending is sooooooo worth it.

Farmer's Market Mix Pot

2008-08-18T12:18:35Z

Recipe:

1 lb very meaty soup bones
1 lb carrots
handful of baby beets
3 medium onions
handful of fresh herb sprigs (i used thyme and tarragon)
3 tbsp olive oil

Peel and chop up carrots, onions, and beets. Combine with bones in a roasting pan, then drizzle with oil and sprinkle generously with salt. Roast until bones are nicely browned and veggies are slightly soft and carmelized

Scrape everything out of the roasting pan into a large soup pot. Add water to cover and 1 cup of wine (your choice, and optional). Add herbs. Bring to a slow simmer and allow to cook and reduce until meat is falling apart tender and stock has rich flavor. Strain into a new pot, and save the carrots (put them in the new pot).

To the new pot, add:

1 large very ripe tomato, chopped
1 half-pound summer squash, peeled and chopped
1 pound new potatoes, coarsely chopped
2 large green onions, chopped (white and green parts)
1/2 pound of green beans, snapped into bite sized pieces
Any other soup-like veggies you found at the farmers market
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
Salt and pepper to taste

If there is not enough stock to veggie ratio, add a little water or wine to top it off. Bring to a gentle simmer. In the meantime, shred some of the meat from the soup bones. Add it back into the pot. Add in

1 small handful elbow macaroni (optional)-- if you plan to have leftovers, i suggest cooking this al dente ahead of time oiling it slightly and bagging it separately until ready to serve.

Allow macaroni to cook, then serve with bread and maybe salad.

Enjoy!

TEH YUMMIES!

2008-08-16T16:58:43Z

I went farmer's marketing today.

This is the first time in almost a month, since as many of you know a lot of my time this last month and a half has been taken up with getting David ready to move to Columbus, IN to start his new job (le sigh).

Anyway, I grabbed a gorgeous haul of produce for less than I could have gotten it even at the cheapest grocery store in town.

Included in this pile are all of the following:
First apples of the season
Nectarines
Blackberries
Eggplant
Chinese long beans (purple and green)
Baby Yukon Gold potatoes
Farm eggs
Summer Squash
Green onions
Skirt steak (grass fed beef)
Whole hog sausage (pastured hogs)
Sweet oniones
Hard neck garlic
Edamame
Purple-podded pole beans
Meaty soup bones (also from grass fed cows)
Farm to Market bread

What is not on here because it didn't fit in the picture (and didn't come from the farmer's market)
Local milk
Tofu (made in Lawrence, KS)
Free range chicken (truly)

So my menu for the next two weeks(all items supplemented with things from my garden/pantry):
Beef and vegetable stew (homemade from scratch)
Tofu and green bean stir fry
Baba ghanouj with bread
Roasted chicken
Chicken noodle soup (from scratch)
eggs in a hole with sausage and sliced tomatoes
Fajitas
Miso soup and edamame
Gazpacho

Deeeelicious!

Going to go plant my short season fall harvest stuff now-- yay for having fresh lettuce, spinach, radishes, and peas again!

Pictures!

2008-06-29T21:45:05Z

YAY GARDEN!

New pictures of the garden are up.

Life is kinda boring lately, but will possibly get a little more lively soon.

We have been in st.l for the last several weekends for opera and this is the first one we get to ourselves in a while. On the bright side, we got to see Grue and Kat (yay!), whom we do not see nearly enough. Silly scattering of people.

The new job has been going very well, and I am reminded daily when I get to leave at 4:30 and see people who really seem to love what they do, that I made the right decision.

The garden is on that fine line between producing a few things here and there and giving us so much produce we are going to have to give some away in order to not waste any. The following items will more than likely be up for grabs fairly soon:

dill pickles
bread and butter pickles
pickled green tomatoes
fresh tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers if you live near kansas city and can pick them up
fresh brussel sprouts
butternut squash
lemon-mint herbal tea

I might even be persuaded to stick a few things here and there in the mail.

Saw Shakespeare in the Park (Othello) recently, which was quite good. The costumes were gorgeous and the acting (especially by Othello and Iago) was fantastic.

We took a picnic with Turk and a couple we have met previously and would really like to see more of-- we had pan-fried chicken, Tall Dan's Pasta Salad, roasted green beans and onions, homemade bread, and lemon-buttermilk cake with lemon mousse and blackberry filling. And beer. Lots of beer.

We got some nice Roman shades at bed bath and beyond yesterday and hung them in the upstairs bedroom. Yay lowered utility bills.

Projects for this week include cleaning, finishing the guest bedroom ceiling, and smoking meat (mmmm smoked meat!). David's brother and mom are hopefully coming over on Saturday and I am hoping to get the house in really good shape since Eric has never seen the place before.

Tonight is pad thai night, so it is about time to go prep some tofu and veggies for that. Talk to you all again soonish!

I am a bad, bad blogger!

2008-05-18T07:49:32Z

Wow! So much news since the last time I wrote.

Too much to go into a lot of detail, but there are so many congratulations I have to pass out, that I will start off with that(in no particular order):

1. Dave and Kat-- it was so great to see you guys and celebrate with you!
2. Eric-- Law school is hard. I'm glad you made it (and knew you would)
3. Turk-- teaching is hard. I'm excited you are staying in KC for a while because you got a contract.

___________________-

So.... we are in Tuscon right now (see item #2 above). We decided to make it a mini vacation and tacked on some extra days besides those needed just for graduation. Have been traipsing about since we got here. It is so nice.

I am updating my Flickr site as I fill my camera's tiny memory card, so if you visit the link below, you can see a bit of what we have been up to. More pictures will be available tomorrow when I pull all the graduation pictures off the camera. Fun stuff. It has been unusually cool and rainy here, right up until today, so many things are still blooming and beautiful. SQUEE.

http://flickr.com/photos/40629692@N00/

More laterish?Perhaps.....

And away we go!

2007-09-23T13:42:18Z

So... Last night was tower of beer night at Paddy O'Quigley's-- 4 people, 3-110 oz towers, 6 long island iced teas and we are good to go :) Unfortunately the hotwings I had for dinner didn't survive my tower, but who really wants pickled chicken anyway. The worst part is that I wasn't really *really* drunk until  we got dropped off by the art museum so we could walk it off. Getting my blood moving didn't turn out to be as good of an idea as it sounded like when I first vocalized the desire to "walk it off" because it was more like "walking it on." Halfway up the hill I was talking like a fool. Anyway, for anyone who hasn't tried it, tower of beer is highly recommended. It is like a tiny keg on your table, and very much an entertainment draw. I say this because we had a couple of drunk people stop by the table at varying times during the night, one of whom danced around the bar like a crazy man and decided Turk was his new best friend.

Today, I am getting on a plane and going to california to help lizza move. YAY california. BOO lizza moving to california before me :( Oh well, I will just have to get my shit together and get out there soon :) She is moving to Santa Barbara, which as Jim says is "paradise." We are hitting IKEA and the LaBrea tar pits today and then moving lizza in tomorrow (I hope) and spending the rest of the time playing around santa barbara.

Yay beach.

I think it is time for me to stop wasting time and finish my packing, so off I go. I hope everyone has a nice couple of days :)

::sigh:: Another one....

2007-03-29T02:02:56Z

So after my recent bout with flesh eating bacteria (I won! YAY!), I am a little loathe to go outside behind the garden area. But progress was made, and poison ivy was slaughtered. Yippee!

(yes, you read the flesh eating bacteria part correctly-- I had a wicked case of poison ivy that got infected and caused me to have massive doses of antibiotics and steroids-- pictures are available for anyone who wants to see what that nasty shit looks like).

Pictures are avaible of the progress made on the back yard here:

Also, on Monday night, we rescued a dog. I let the dogs out to do their business and they immediately ran to the back fence and started going nuts and throwing themselves at it. Thinking of the recent opossum mishap that resulted in Shadow going under the fence into the neighbors yard and a dead Urban Assault Possum, I immediately ran to pull them off the fence. What I found was not a possum, but a dog. A very cute dog that was incredibly filthy and distraught, dehydrated, and hungry looking. He seemed friendly, so David hopped over the fence (braving the poison ivy he is not allergic to, my hero). Dog immediately ran away, so we spent the better part of half an hour coaxing him back to the fence and then coaxing him to allow David to pick him up.

We introduced him to the girls (Shadow and Kharma) since he seemed friendly. Shadow decided that he is her new special friend, and Kharma seems to be relieved to not have that title temporarily. Into the bath he went, and we removed about a pound of matted hair, gum, window screen, and twigs/leaves from his hair.

We are now trying to locate his owners, who unfortunately did not microchip him (note to self: do this, seriously), and apparently don't know he's gone because there are no lost dog signs up anywhere in the neighborhood.

His name for the time being is Ninja. Anyone who might want a dog, give me a shout in case I can't locate his family. I really can't keep a third dog, and I want him to go to a good home, as he is incredibly, incredibly sweet and good natured (very smart, also). I will bring him to you if someone wants him. He needs to be fixed, and needs shots (almost certainly), but I would be willing to help out with that.

Friends, meet Ninja:

More Pictures!

2007-02-05T04:23:15Z

Progress is coming along on the house! We are having to drag it every inch, but thus far things are going swimmingly.

More pictures available here :)

Let it snow... tralala

2007-01-21T19:58:26Z

OK... So because of a nasty ice storm followed by a less nasty but still heavy snowstorm, my housewarming party was called off temporarily.

I would love to have a few more people actually commit to coming, so I am taking votes on the next dates. Anytime in February or March is totally open as of right now.

Not much going on in the world of Jess... my life pretty much revolves around the work, the house, the dogs, the David, and the cats with some time thrown in there to chat on the phone with my folks and very little time to do anything else, even on my days off.

I am looking for a new job actively due to some developments at work. Let's just say I have my own CKW (but it's more like CWW). Anyone who gets this reference gets brownie points :)

I am also sick with the creeping crud that saps one's will to move about. Currently running a low fever, with swollen glands and the kind of drainage that makes it hard to swallow but doesn't create the sniffles. In the past this has led to a wicked case of Bronchitis... those of you who knew me in high school probably remember those weeks at a time--about this time in fact--when I had no voice. It was probably a relief, and somewhere there will be cheering behind my back, but it is quite unpleasant to squeak without intent. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the tylenol and zinc I am eating like candy will keep the fever and swelling at bay long enough for everything to heal up. Bring on the guilt though for me sitting in bed almost all day on my most recent day off while David tiled the shower. Apparently I am not OCD enough to do it myself anyway, but I still felt guilty about not having energy for anything but channel flipping and not even much of that. Darn my employees and their willingness to share things with each other.

I also, finally, have internet back at my house. After several mishaps with ATT (whom I chose because they boasted better service and prices than Time Warner, silly me), we finally got the service installed.

The saga of DSL is as follows:

Day 1
a. Place order for phone service and DSL online.
b. Receive phone number and confirmation.
c. Deposit is taken on credit card
d. Installation dates are all full. I receive an email telling me that I will be contacted within 1-3 working days to set-up my installation.

Day 5
a. Contact ATT because I have not received a return phone call or email.
b. Am told they have no record of my order, confirmation #, or deposit.
c. Tell me they can set up new service over the phone, but the discount I received for doing it online will not apply.
d. Hang up when CSR I transfers me to New Accounts and do order online again
e. Receive new phone #, confirmation #, and set up installation dates.
f. Have deposit taken on credit card **again**

Day 12
a. Installation date comes and goes

Day 14
a. Receive email from ATT saying I did not pay deposit and that was part of the terms of my installation so they cannot install my service (two days after scheduled installation).

Day 15
a. Receive email from ATT saying thanks for the deposit with new installation date.

Day 18
a. Phone service installed. Technician tells David that DSL modem should arrive via UPS that afternoon or the next morning at the latest.

Day 19
a. No modem.
b. Receive email from ATT saying installation is complete.

Day 20
a. Call ATT and raise holy hell regarding lack of modem.
b. Am informed by ATT that I did not actually place order for DSL service.
c. Inform ATT that they are full of shit because I DID order it
d. Am informed by ATT that they can set up the new order right now and I can have service at earliest, in 4 days.
e. Tell them this is bullshit and I switched from TWC to them for better service and more accurate billing, and I REFUSE to pay another deposit.
f. Get service set up.

Day 24
a. Receive modem
b. Modem does not work
c. David spends 1.5 hours on phone with tech support and they cannot get modem to work either.
d. Modem spontaneously works for about 10 minutes two hours later

Day 25
a. I fiddle with modem and bring phone over from house to make sure phone line is working
b. Phone works
c. Modem still does not work except for maybe 5 or 6 minutes at a time

Day 26
a. Pick up phone to call tech support and someone else is having a conversation on my line
b. Piss that person off by asking them questions about how they are using my number
c. Call tech support and tell them we solved the problem
d. Tech support promises that someone will be out the next morning to fix the phone

Day 27
a. Technician comes out to fix phone
b. Blah blah blah technical stuff
c. MODEM WORKS!!! YAY!!!!

So when I get my first bill, the billing department and I will be having a lovely discussion about pro-rating. Wheeeeee.

That's about all I have to say for now.

Oh. One of the things I have decided to serve at my housewarming party is Seared Beef Carpaccio with Fennel vinaigrette and Lavosh bread.

This and other tasty tidbits courtesy of the numbers 5, 1, 3, and 2 and the letters KTY.

Housewarming!!!!

2006-12-27T01:10:05Z

The house isn't quite finished as of yet, but I am scheduling a housewarming party goodness to happen on January 20th--weather permitting. There is plenty of space at the house for anyone willing to sleep on either a prison mattress (not kidding, but not used in a prison either) or futon. The bathroom and downstairs (Except for the kitchen) should all be complete by then. Lots of food and of course lots of libations. Not a whole lot going on in KC, but I'm sure interesting things can be found to do.

So: Party to see the new KTY house and kibbutz
Where? please email me @ meowycat214@yahoo.com for my address and/or directions if you would like to come
When? January 20th, 6pm-????
Why? Why not?

New photos!

2006-11-23T00:23:58Z

Photos of the first roughly completed room are up!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

Happy thanksgiving everyone :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40629692@N00/

More Pictures!

2006-11-15T13:34:38Z

These are from last weekend when my parents rode to the rescue to help with carpet and such. I would type more, but I hammered the end of a prybar into my thumb and fractured it slightly, so the wrap and splint make it very difficult.

Morelater :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40629692@N00/