I don't understand how people who live wayyyyy up north can live in darkness for months at a time. Just the inconvenience of not having the sunshine pouring in my window to help wake me up in the morning for a few months is annoying - the thought of NEVER having the sun get up for months at a time is ghastly.
Mental Note: Do Not Move To Norway.
Not that I have anything against Norwegians - just... I think I'd go berk without sunlight. (Shaddup, Manda, I am NOT already berk)
I am angry at the grocery stores. None of them seem to think it is a good idea to stock mint chocolate chips. However, I have fooled them! One of the stores had mint flavor chips. So I bought a package of those, will add a package of REGULAR chips - and voila! I will have mint-chocolate-chip-oatmeal-cookies to send to favorite daughter.
Take THAT, grocery markets!!!
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Thursday, December 03, 2009
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Checking into Vegie
My natural inclination is to be an omnivore. I LIKE the taste of meat, I ADORE cheese, and I'm fond of things like yogurt, eggs, etc.
Unfortunately of late I've been feeling less and less well after indulging, sometimes even after only mild indulgences - and I'm beginning to think maybe I need to consider meat/dairy to be a "treat" and to change my intake to primarily vegetarian. As a start, I've begun to cruise the Vege/Vegan areas of the supermarkets.
Today I found a couple things that tweaked my interest. One of them is a soy-based cheese substitue. I bought a package of the "cheddar" flavor, and have tried one slice - it's not bad. It really DOES taste just like cheese. I suspect I could easily substitute this and not miss the "real thing" too terribly. I think this will be my first change. (Oh, yes, I checked the label - no GMO ingredients.)
I know this will be more expensive - but I'm going to work at learning what I can and cannot tolerate, and what I can/cannot afford in replacement foods.
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Unfortunately of late I've been feeling less and less well after indulging, sometimes even after only mild indulgences - and I'm beginning to think maybe I need to consider meat/dairy to be a "treat" and to change my intake to primarily vegetarian. As a start, I've begun to cruise the Vege/Vegan areas of the supermarkets.
Today I found a couple things that tweaked my interest. One of them is a soy-based cheese substitue. I bought a package of the "cheddar" flavor, and have tried one slice - it's not bad. It really DOES taste just like cheese. I suspect I could easily substitute this and not miss the "real thing" too terribly. I think this will be my first change. (Oh, yes, I checked the label - no GMO ingredients.)
I know this will be more expensive - but I'm going to work at learning what I can and cannot tolerate, and what I can/cannot afford in replacement foods.
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Monday, November 23, 2009
Monday Blues
I woke up this morning thinking about "riches".
It really struck me that for almost as long as there have been people, there have been people willing to KILL one another - to get shiney stones. Rocks. Pieces of compressed carbon.
And chunks of metal to hold them in so they can be worn and shown off to others.
I know where the thought line came from - I'm reading a book on Amelia Earhart, and it talks a lot about the social status of her family, and that of her husband. Social status, to me, is much like "riches" - people seeking desperately for something that in the end really has no lasting value.
I am not a poor person. I am not wealthy, but I am not poor. I own (with the bank) my own house, I own a car, I have food and clothing enough, and sufficient fabric to fuel my quilting hobby. I am warm in the winter, and hot in the summer, although I have enough fans to make the hot bearable. I have more books than some libraries.
Sure, there are things I'd like, goals I want to meet, places I'd like to visit... but none of these include the purchase and hoarding of shineys. I guess maybe I'm strange, but shineys don't have the allure for me. I like to look at them, but I do not yearn to own them.
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It really struck me that for almost as long as there have been people, there have been people willing to KILL one another - to get shiney stones. Rocks. Pieces of compressed carbon.
And chunks of metal to hold them in so they can be worn and shown off to others.
I know where the thought line came from - I'm reading a book on Amelia Earhart, and it talks a lot about the social status of her family, and that of her husband. Social status, to me, is much like "riches" - people seeking desperately for something that in the end really has no lasting value.
I am not a poor person. I am not wealthy, but I am not poor. I own (with the bank) my own house, I own a car, I have food and clothing enough, and sufficient fabric to fuel my quilting hobby. I am warm in the winter, and hot in the summer, although I have enough fans to make the hot bearable. I have more books than some libraries.
Sure, there are things I'd like, goals I want to meet, places I'd like to visit... but none of these include the purchase and hoarding of shineys. I guess maybe I'm strange, but shineys don't have the allure for me. I like to look at them, but I do not yearn to own them.
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Thursday, November 19, 2009
Is Our Country Ready...
Someone asked me 2 years ago if I thought the U.S. was ready for a woman as President. Obviously they were referring to Secretary of State Clinton, but although I did not think that SHE was the right woman at the right time, I said I do think the US is ready. The fact that President Obama was elected clinches the deal for me.
Black men were given the right to vote before white women or black women, or red, yellow, purple or green women. It was made constitutionally illegal to discriminate against people because of their race or national origin - but it is still NOT constitutionally guaranteed that people born without penises have equal rights.
I think the US has come far enough to realize (for the most part) that plumbing isn't the defining criteria for judging a person's ability to manage a large organization, whether a corporation, a NFP organization or a government body.
Sure, there are some neanderthal outposts that still believe the "barefoot and pregnant" mythology, but the majority of civilized men have learned that judging someone based only on excretory equipment is counter-productive.
I didn't think Secretary Clinton was the right woman, however. She was a polarizing force - one either hated her or loved her, there was no middle ground. There were enough "conservative" folks who would otherwise have not voted, who would have come out in DROVES to vote - against her. Limbaugh and his fellow liars had already had a decade to assemble as much ammuntion against her as possible, and whether it was truth, semi-truth or downright Swiftboating, they would have suffocated her campaign in rumor, innuendo and lies until she could barely speak.
I still think this country is ready for a woman President. I do not think that it is Sarah Palin, however.
Now, I'm going to stop being nasty for just a moment, and be as honest as I can. Sarah, you aren't strong enough to handle the job. If a cheesecake photo of you on the cover of Newsweek can send you into a froth, then what will you do when the photos get UGLY? And they will, Sarah. Nobody is going to serve you up softball interviews if you try for the #1 spot. The going gets rougher, the accusations and rumors more unpleasant, and if you thought Katie Couric gave you a "gotcha" interview, you are going to be in over your pretty little false eyelashes in a Presidential debate.
And as much as you shout "sexism" - you're just proving you can't handle the heat. What will you do when you encounter a world leader from a country that you NEED to keep friendly, but a culture that considers women somewhat less than human? Will you cause a scene? An international incident? Start a war over them leering at your clevage?
How are you going to legitimately defend yourself against the "Quitter from Wasilla" accusations that WILL come at you if you run for President? Frankly, I don't personally care what your reasoning was, but if you don't have something very, VERY strong to use against that accusation, there are many, many people who will consider you likely to bail on the Presidency if the going gets tough.
There are much better females out there who would make excellent candidates. Women who didn't use their physical attributes to gain political power. Women with quick enough wits and women who are intelligent enough to think CIRCLES around the questions from a pretty little talking-head newsreader. Women who understand our Government, the way it works, the text and INTENT of the Constitution and the separations of powers.
Just for the record - I don't think Rep. Michele Bachmann (Loony-toons R, Minn) is Presidental fodder either.
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Black men were given the right to vote before white women or black women, or red, yellow, purple or green women. It was made constitutionally illegal to discriminate against people because of their race or national origin - but it is still NOT constitutionally guaranteed that people born without penises have equal rights.
I think the US has come far enough to realize (for the most part) that plumbing isn't the defining criteria for judging a person's ability to manage a large organization, whether a corporation, a NFP organization or a government body.
Sure, there are some neanderthal outposts that still believe the "barefoot and pregnant" mythology, but the majority of civilized men have learned that judging someone based only on excretory equipment is counter-productive.
I didn't think Secretary Clinton was the right woman, however. She was a polarizing force - one either hated her or loved her, there was no middle ground. There were enough "conservative" folks who would otherwise have not voted, who would have come out in DROVES to vote - against her. Limbaugh and his fellow liars had already had a decade to assemble as much ammuntion against her as possible, and whether it was truth, semi-truth or downright Swiftboating, they would have suffocated her campaign in rumor, innuendo and lies until she could barely speak.
I still think this country is ready for a woman President. I do not think that it is Sarah Palin, however.
Now, I'm going to stop being nasty for just a moment, and be as honest as I can. Sarah, you aren't strong enough to handle the job. If a cheesecake photo of you on the cover of Newsweek can send you into a froth, then what will you do when the photos get UGLY? And they will, Sarah. Nobody is going to serve you up softball interviews if you try for the #1 spot. The going gets rougher, the accusations and rumors more unpleasant, and if you thought Katie Couric gave you a "gotcha" interview, you are going to be in over your pretty little false eyelashes in a Presidential debate.
And as much as you shout "sexism" - you're just proving you can't handle the heat. What will you do when you encounter a world leader from a country that you NEED to keep friendly, but a culture that considers women somewhat less than human? Will you cause a scene? An international incident? Start a war over them leering at your clevage?
How are you going to legitimately defend yourself against the "Quitter from Wasilla" accusations that WILL come at you if you run for President? Frankly, I don't personally care what your reasoning was, but if you don't have something very, VERY strong to use against that accusation, there are many, many people who will consider you likely to bail on the Presidency if the going gets tough.
There are much better females out there who would make excellent candidates. Women who didn't use their physical attributes to gain political power. Women with quick enough wits and women who are intelligent enough to think CIRCLES around the questions from a pretty little talking-head newsreader. Women who understand our Government, the way it works, the text and INTENT of the Constitution and the separations of powers.
Just for the record - I don't think Rep. Michele Bachmann (Loony-toons R, Minn) is Presidental fodder either.
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Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Oh it is dark...
It is "morning". It is dark. This is not morning, this is still "night". Morning has that "sun" thing.
Poor Poor Sarah Palin. Waaaaaaaahhhh - Mean old nasty old pookie old Newsweek put a "cheesecake" photo of her on their cover and WaaaaaahhhhSexistWaaaahhhhh. WHY is the media giving this attention whore any coverage? Seriously - she's not THAT good looking, she's getting saggy and baggy if you don't photo-retouch her pics. Why isn't she home, caring for her "Special Needs" kid?
I made some kind of beef/onion/barley stew thing yesterday. It tasted ok, except it needed salt. Rather a lot of salt. I am so accustomed to not adding salt to anything (cardiologist says "NO!!"), that it didn't occur to me.
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Poor Poor Sarah Palin. Waaaaaaaahhhh - Mean old nasty old pookie old Newsweek put a "cheesecake" photo of her on their cover and WaaaaaahhhhSexistWaaaahhhhh. WHY is the media giving this attention whore any coverage? Seriously - she's not THAT good looking, she's getting saggy and baggy if you don't photo-retouch her pics. Why isn't she home, caring for her "Special Needs" kid?
I made some kind of beef/onion/barley stew thing yesterday. It tasted ok, except it needed salt. Rather a lot of salt. I am so accustomed to not adding salt to anything (cardiologist says "NO!!"), that it didn't occur to me.
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Thursday, October 29, 2009
Success... sorta
I did, in fact, manage to make the clam soup without incident, however I will make it differently next time. It had too much strong onion and bacon flavor, and I want to tone that down quite a lot.
I also want to try cream of mushroom soup. This cool fall weather is making me feel all Betty Crocker.
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I also want to try cream of mushroom soup. This cool fall weather is making me feel all Betty Crocker.
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Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Eating Healthy
Or, Eating Healthily.
Either way, I realize I need to do more of this. As a result, I’m trying very hard to do more fresh cooking instead of prefab meals, and looking to fruits and veg instead of meat and cheese. Oh goddess, how I love cheese, however.
Part of me likes the idea of a raw, vegan diet. Or, at the least, a mostly vegetarian diet with a bit of cheese and eggs. Maybe a lot of cheese. And yogurt. Every time I read about this kind of eating regimen I start craving veg and fruits – especially salad fixin’s, mostly raw, and a good healthy salad will satisfy.
So with this in mind, I saw this bottle of stuff called “Superfood” in the produce section of the market and I thought it worth a try. All organic fruit juices, pureed fruit and selected veg and some pureed grain kind of stuffs. And something called “phytonutrients”. Not overly expensive, so I thought I’d give it a try.
The first sip wasn’t too bad. I’m not a big apple-juice fan, and it was a bit more apple-juicy than I liked, but I was determined to try and get past that to see if I could enjoy the healthy green-ish life.
Um. No.
Maybe it is because this stuff is bottled. Maybe it is because of the oversaturation of stickysweet applejuice. Maybe it was the combination of veg/grains with fruit. Maybe phytonutrients taste yucky. I don’t know – all I can say is that I won’t be purchasing that again. It had a rather high “UCK” factor. I finished it, but….. no. not again. And it causes belches. Bleuch.
Now I wonder if maybe my vegetarian dreams are misguided and not workable. *le sigh*
I am currently simmering a pot of clam chowder in my crockpot at home. I’ve never made home-made chowder, so this is a big learning experience. I suspect it will also be like the Chinese Water Torture for Kili, as she is at home with the simmering clam soup. Maybe I will cool off a bit and give it to her as a treat.
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Either way, I realize I need to do more of this. As a result, I’m trying very hard to do more fresh cooking instead of prefab meals, and looking to fruits and veg instead of meat and cheese. Oh goddess, how I love cheese, however.
Part of me likes the idea of a raw, vegan diet. Or, at the least, a mostly vegetarian diet with a bit of cheese and eggs. Maybe a lot of cheese. And yogurt. Every time I read about this kind of eating regimen I start craving veg and fruits – especially salad fixin’s, mostly raw, and a good healthy salad will satisfy.
So with this in mind, I saw this bottle of stuff called “Superfood” in the produce section of the market and I thought it worth a try. All organic fruit juices, pureed fruit and selected veg and some pureed grain kind of stuffs. And something called “phytonutrients”. Not overly expensive, so I thought I’d give it a try.
The first sip wasn’t too bad. I’m not a big apple-juice fan, and it was a bit more apple-juicy than I liked, but I was determined to try and get past that to see if I could enjoy the healthy green-ish life.
Um. No.
Maybe it is because this stuff is bottled. Maybe it is because of the oversaturation of stickysweet applejuice. Maybe it was the combination of veg/grains with fruit. Maybe phytonutrients taste yucky. I don’t know – all I can say is that I won’t be purchasing that again. It had a rather high “UCK” factor. I finished it, but….. no. not again. And it causes belches. Bleuch.
Now I wonder if maybe my vegetarian dreams are misguided and not workable. *le sigh*
I am currently simmering a pot of clam chowder in my crockpot at home. I’ve never made home-made chowder, so this is a big learning experience. I suspect it will also be like the Chinese Water Torture for Kili, as she is at home with the simmering clam soup. Maybe I will cool off a bit and give it to her as a treat.
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Monday, October 12, 2009
Been a long time
Been a very long time - since I spent hours and hours sitting at the quilting frame. Which explains quite adequately why the fish quilt has yet to be finished.
This weekend, however, I made a committment to myself to really stretch out and do a measurable quantity of quilting so I can get the Charming Young Man's quilt off the frame and into a box and off to Scotland so I can put the fish quilt back on, finish it up and then (hopefully) have Amanda's ready to go and Pirate's in the works.
So I did work harder at it, and I have calloused fingertips to prove it - and managed to get a goodly chunk done. I'm fair certain that given a bit of habit-forming, I should be able to complete a goodly chunk every day and have it finished sometime this decade.
Spent part of the time with The Lion King movie running in the background (set up my laptop on the ironing board and used it as a DVD player), a movie I for some reason remember as being longer and cuter than what played. I also started to watch the Blues Brothers twice, but never did manage to get to Aretha's song.
This weekend, however, I made a committment to myself to really stretch out and do a measurable quantity of quilting so I can get the Charming Young Man's quilt off the frame and into a box and off to Scotland so I can put the fish quilt back on, finish it up and then (hopefully) have Amanda's ready to go and Pirate's in the works.
So I did work harder at it, and I have calloused fingertips to prove it - and managed to get a goodly chunk done. I'm fair certain that given a bit of habit-forming, I should be able to complete a goodly chunk every day and have it finished sometime this decade.
Spent part of the time with The Lion King movie running in the background (set up my laptop on the ironing board and used it as a DVD player), a movie I for some reason remember as being longer and cuter than what played. I also started to watch the Blues Brothers twice, but never did manage to get to Aretha's song.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Little Blue Boxes
Having now finished 1/2 a row of the first-part of the quilting, I can say with some confidence that this is all coming out OK. Took a peek at the back and it will be fine. Nice marching row of little blue boxes. Considering how well the light gets through the unquilted part to show the color of the patchwork above, I'm totally certain the weight will be perfect for a summer quilt.
I've been looking at getting a new vacuum cleaner. I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate the bagless one I have. The little cup gets full of cat hair so fast I am constantly stopping to empty it, and for all it says it is HEPA filtered and all, there is still a mass of icky dust and pet hair all over. There is one at Sears that looked interesting - an actual Hoover - WITH A REPLACEABLE BAG - that has a "dirt sensor" - if the area you are vacuuming is still picking up stuff, a light stays on to tell you to keep going over it until it is actually clean. I like this idea. Kili is much the same color as my carpet for the most part, so it is hard to tell if you've gotten most of the shed cat hair up intil you lay down and it fluffs into your nose.
Got a flu shot yesterday (work provides them free). It didn't burn during the injection, which it normally does for me, so that's all good - but the nurse/technician/whatever who gave the shots not only did not provide lollypops - HE DIDN'T HAVE SMURF BANDAGES!! Only plain yucky tan ones. I was bummed.
The note they gave along with it states a number of possible side-effects, including.... "malaise". Malaise. Yes, I can just see me calling in to work "Hi, Boss? I can't come in today. I got that flu shot yesterday, and I have malaise." Yes, I can see that going over very well, indeed.
*LAUGH* It's funny - now without my "countdown" - I find it harder to end posts. Seems something is always missing.
I suppose I'll have to find something else to look forward to.
I've been looking at getting a new vacuum cleaner. I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate the bagless one I have. The little cup gets full of cat hair so fast I am constantly stopping to empty it, and for all it says it is HEPA filtered and all, there is still a mass of icky dust and pet hair all over. There is one at Sears that looked interesting - an actual Hoover - WITH A REPLACEABLE BAG - that has a "dirt sensor" - if the area you are vacuuming is still picking up stuff, a light stays on to tell you to keep going over it until it is actually clean. I like this idea. Kili is much the same color as my carpet for the most part, so it is hard to tell if you've gotten most of the shed cat hair up intil you lay down and it fluffs into your nose.
Got a flu shot yesterday (work provides them free). It didn't burn during the injection, which it normally does for me, so that's all good - but the nurse/technician/whatever who gave the shots not only did not provide lollypops - HE DIDN'T HAVE SMURF BANDAGES!! Only plain yucky tan ones. I was bummed.
The note they gave along with it states a number of possible side-effects, including.... "malaise". Malaise. Yes, I can just see me calling in to work "Hi, Boss? I can't come in today. I got that flu shot yesterday, and I have malaise." Yes, I can see that going over very well, indeed.
*LAUGH* It's funny - now without my "countdown" - I find it harder to end posts. Seems something is always missing.
I suppose I'll have to find something else to look forward to.
Monday, October 05, 2009
Progression
So. This weekend I wrestled the International Quilt onto the quilting frame. This morning I started quilting it. The quilt seems loose - floopy - and it's ploofier than I thought it should be - but perhaps that is because I only have large squares done and not the cross-lines that will fill in and make it (hopefully) less ploofy.
It feels good to be working on it. The top, thus far, looks quite a great deal like what I pictured, and I do like the colors. I've run it past 3 of my male friends and they all say they like the colors and pattern - so I'm sure it will go over well with the recipient.
Got a squishy package at work this morning. Juan came over with a silly grin and handed it to me. The last of the fabrics for the quilt for Pirate. (Remember Pirate, Amanda?) Now I have to dig out my drawing for the boat quilt.
Yes, Amanda - yours will be first!
It feels good to be working on it. The top, thus far, looks quite a great deal like what I pictured, and I do like the colors. I've run it past 3 of my male friends and they all say they like the colors and pattern - so I'm sure it will go over well with the recipient.
Got a squishy package at work this morning. Juan came over with a silly grin and handed it to me. The last of the fabrics for the quilt for Pirate. (Remember Pirate, Amanda?) Now I have to dig out my drawing for the boat quilt.
Yes, Amanda - yours will be first!
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