Login HereA little magic from a Yo-Yo Ma favorite of mine from his first Silk Road album. For a little more magic, try this clip from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and the fight scene in the bamboo with some Yo-Yo Ma playing in the background.
It has been a long couple of weeks, and I need a break this morning. Not just a break from the news, but an all out break. Which means I'll likely spend my day playing with The Peanut and Mr. ReddHedd, watching some movies or reading a great travel or fiction book and just escaping everything for a little while. Or maybe we'll have a marathon Mr. Potatohead session. Who knows -- but definitely something fun.
Sometimes, you need to just get away.
And if I'm feeling that way at the end of the week, odds are several of you are feeling it, too. Seems like every time we turn around another scandal or five has popped up out of the weeds. And I, for one, need a little downtime from it. So, I'm looking for some good movie recommendations for my netflix queue. Seen anything amazing lately? A good foreign film or maybe some great, scene-chewing science fiction? (We just bought the sequel to the SciFi channel Dune series because we hadn't seen it yet. Will let you know if it lives up to the first one in terms of effects and dialogue.) Or some funny, quirky, yet light romantic comedy that has had you quoting goofy lines with your friends?
How about books? I whizzed through the latest Harry Potter in a day and a half (with a high school reunion, a blog, and a four year old...so yes, I was a bit keen to know the ending), and now I'm trying to figure out what to pick up next from the to read pile. Any recommendations?
How about cooking -- what have you been nourishing yourself with lately? We've been eating lots of fresh veggies, since it is the season here with the market fresh bins bursting out with flavor ripe off the vine. Any new salad or side dish or soup? A good all-purpose bruschetta? A new favorite cookbook that you can't believe you ever cooked without?
What's new on your mp3 player?
Let's just kick back and practice a little weekend escape this morning. Coffee's fresh, and the birdfeeder is full. So pull up a chair...
PS -- One more bonus YouTube find this morning. Igor Stravinsky directing his own Lullaby and Final Hymn from the Firebird Suite in London. You have to love watching a composer conduct his own work, don't you? And Bob Geiger has the Saturday toons up and running...
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Spotlight
Good morning!
Good morning, Christy!
Good morning, Christy:
If anyone deserves time away, it’s you! Enjoy your family and the day!
Morning all — sitting here watching “Dinosaur” with The Peanut and drinking my coffee. How is everyone this morning?
Good morning Christy! All is well here.
Good morning!
Um, I know Mr. Potato Head from my childhood (way back!), but not sure what a “marathon” would consist of. Please enlighten!
‘Morning, Christy! Hope you do something with wonderfully restorative powers today.
We’re trying to take back the garden here; my fears that my spouse killed it with neglect while I was out of town for 2 weeks were unfounded. Or at least if he neglected it, the garden took advantage of the situation and went berserk.
My daughter has been grating football-sized zukes for chocolate zucchini bread, have already gone through 2 loaves of the stuff since we got back Thursday afternoon. Too funny, had to take a picture that I wish I could share — daughter armed with a Salad Shooter against zucchini, wearing safety glasses against the splashing and hearing protection against the noise of the Salad Shooter. Her grandmother will love it.
revmama at 6 — Let’s just say there are about a billion Mr. Potatohead configurations between the arm, hat, eye, mouth, and feet possibilities. And some days, we try to find them all. *g*
Christy Hardin Smith @ 8
How methodical—future scientist!
Ooooh, Rayne — you are going to share that recipe, right? I make a chocolate zucchini cake (will post the recipe in a sec when I dig it out of my recipe box…), but a quick bread sounds nummy.
g’morning!
Christy, that sounds like so much fun! I miss those little kid years!
I am home in Louisiana on a study leave and have rediscovered gumbo — warm, spicy, mysterious and dark. I have to learn how to make it so I can re-indulge when I get back to the hills of PA.
Good pleasure book that I have read this summer: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, a spiritual memoir.
Good morning Christy
et al
Your weekend escape sounds yummy. My weekend escape is the final push for the move. Movers show up monday morning—eek!— today I pack the kitchen and what’s left of my “art room” where I keep art/computer/makeup etc. All the things that don’t quite fit in an office or bathroom. Yeah, I know it makes no sense.
Monday morning I take off with the cats. I’ve got an air mattress, some basics, lamps, a fold up chair and Harry Potter waiting for me at the other end. I’ll bring along some movies to play on my laptop as I will have no cable or tv until Friday. In the collection is A Man for All Seasons, 1776, The Devil Wears Prada, Elmer Gantry, Groundhog Day . . .there is a theme developing here (except Prada, I think—haven’t seen it yet)
I’ve also made copies of the entire 2 seasons (25 episodes) of Showtime’s Dead Like Me when a marathon aired on SciFi a few weeks back. Odd, quirky, different from my usual fare. And if all else fails, King of Hearts.
Movers will take 2 days to load. Mr. Rev. has motel reservation on Tues night when he will be too tired to drive. He joins me Wed. Meanwhile on Tues at the new house the locksmith, electrician, plumber, carpet shampooers and house cleaners show up to get everything ready. sigh.
Fridge has bread, milk, butter, English muffins, frozen waffles and some Dove raspberry choc. chunk ice cream in the freezer awaiting my arrival. Bringing along Lillet and 2 bottles of french rosé to chill.
I think I’ve got it covered. But I will sorely miss being able to log on until Friday. Will try to escape to Panara or to the office just to check in during the week.
That’s the chapter for the day.
Wishing you a WONDERFUL play day Christy.
I have decided to start a Micro-Eco Farm next growing season. I read an amazing little book this week called Micro Eco Farming by Barbara Berst Adams. In it,there’s examples of teeny farms making a profit in a bunch of different markets with all kinds of resources the help you get started. The farms in the book start at less than a half acre and go up to about 20 acres,with the average being about 1-2 acres. I live on an acre,most of it just sitting there trying to be lawn. I’m inspired. AND I found out there’s a hidden little botanical garden right around the corner from my house. Seems an old MD died and left his land in a trust of some sort a couple of years ago. There’s an old historic house on the land,which most likely will help save it from developers.It’s only 13 acres,but it’s a hidden little gem in a sea of McMansions.
I’ve been making a cold marinated salad from tomatoes(yellow and red),cucumbers,feta cheese,olive oil,basil,oregano,black olives and a little chopped up salami(optional,go easy on it if you use it).Add a bit of fresh ground black pepper and a grind or two of sea salt. Pop it in the fridge for a couple hours and serve with a nice crusty bread and a cold glass of something. Yum.
I made bread and butter pickles last weekend,they turned out perfect.
With temps of 103 here,my veggie garden is getting cooked,literally. The only things really left thriving are a few tomato plants and a Moon and Stars watermelon plant(which has loads of blossoms but no melons yet).
CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE
1/2 c. butter
2 eggs
1/2 c. oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 c. sugar
4 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. each ground cloves and cinnamon
1/2 c. sour milk (or 1/2 c. milk mixed with tsp. lemon juice)
1 c. chocolate chips
2 c. zucchini, unpeeled and grated small
Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease 9×13 pan. In a bowl, cream butter and eggs. Add oil, vanilla, and sugar. Blend well. Sift together cocoa, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cloves and cinnamon. Add to the butter mixture alternately with the milk. Add zucchini and chocolate chips. Bake 40 to 50 minutes — time is a bit variable, depending on the water content in the zucchini, but knife should come out clean when inserted in center, other than some chocolate on it.
Hi Ya Rayne, egregious, Angry . . . Good meeting you all in Chicago. There’s something about blog friends that transcends the real world and the other civilian friends that we make along the way.
RevDeb, hope things go well on your upcoming move. Keep us posted and safe travel!
Am out in California for a week to visit egrDau and listen to the surf. Found a music store with piano/vocal music for Josh Groban music that I’m playing a lot recently. Just the day before was thinking, ya know, it would be great to knock out some of these harmonies on the piano, and then opportunity came by.
We have several Disney and the Transformer pieces for Mr. Potato Head…that could extend your day into a week, easily.
My favorite non-fiction book this summer was Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Also very inspiring.
angry at 14 — That sounds intriguing on the micro-eco farming. And it sounds like we are having the same “bake everything to a crisp” summer that you are — it’s been awful this year and nothing is thriving in my little garden. Just one of those years, I suppose, but if I’m going to can any tomatoes, I’m going to have to buy them this year.
Mmm. Sounds yummy, Christy, and really not too unlike the Chocolate Zucchini Bread we make.
Some of these more mature zucchinis are a bit dry after grating; I’m going to add a little plain yogurt when we mix them up, probably like adding the buttermilk.
Found where I’d posted the Chocolate Zucchini Bread in threads here before, code named 5-Megaton Russian Suitcase WMD. Will probably make a couple more loaves today to take to a party this evening.
RevDeb
Hope the move is as smooth as can be for you, don’t envy you one bit.
Good Morning, Christy and other early morning Firepups!
Our high heat and humidity broke yesterday, so I’m swaddled in my oversized Philadelphia Flower Show sweatshirt [my sibling unit and I go to PFS every year–always great garden ideas].
Mr. NJP’s parents are having serious health issues. He called me at 5:15 yesterday afternoon to tell me to take the train to where his parent live–his mom is back in the hospital with a high fever and some new infection. This has been going on for most of this year, and it does wear you down.
We’ll be taking this dinner to his dad on Sunday:
poached salmon with a caper herb vinaigrette [a tbs of dijon mustard, 1/4 c. lemon juice or white wine vinegar, lots of fresh herbs (parsley, basil, chives, tarragon), 1 small clove of garlic, 1 small shallot, 1 tbs drained capers; whirl that around in a food processor or blender, then slowly add 1/3 to 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil, continue blending until all the oil is incorporated; stir in another tbs of drainer capers before serving]
potato salad with cucumber-dill dressing [1 tsp dijon mustard, 2 tbs lemon juice, lots of fresh dill, some fresh parsley and chives, 1/2 small onion, 2 scallions, 1 peeled and seeded cucumber, about 1/4 c nonfat yogurt, 1/4 c reduced fat sour cream, 1 tbs cream cheese; whirl away in your food processor or blender]; add the dressing to cooked and cubed redskin potatoes, chopped celery, diced red onion
roasted vegetables with romesco sauce [a Catalan roasted pepper sauce with almonds, garlic, and olive oil—-mmmmmm]; whatever looks good at the farmer’s market today will be oven roasted tomorrow morning: skinny Japanese eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, peppers of various colors; just split the veggies, brush with olive oil, place cut side down on a baking sheet in a 450-degree oven, roast for 10 to 15 minutes, flip to skin side down, roast for another 10 minutes
I’m reading Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Paul Fussell’s The Great War and Modern Memory, and trying to keep up on line and with the NY Times.
And I knit a lot.
Cheers!
Rayne @ 7
Heehee. One year I decided to go all Martha Stewart and use a Dremmel tool to decorate pumpkins for Halloween. Oh,they turned out lovely,but Martha forgot to tell everyone that the Dremmel turns pumpkin skin and flesh into a fine mist that covers everything in a 10 ft circle around you and the pumpkin. Good thing I did it outside. It was hilarious though,I was orange when I got finished.
The kids all have jobs or schoolwork, are staying with friends, and my and the boyfriend are gonna play naked horny recnecks on his secluded mountain acres. And cook out, turn off the media feeds and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist till monday morning….
egregious @ 17
After I’m all settled in I will definitely have an FDL BBQ for anyone who wants to drive to the Philly burbs. Got a nice backyard that will be very amenable for such a party and plenty of house if it rains. But a few things to do before then ;-)
Choc zucchini bread/cake
2.5 C AP flour
.5 C Ghiardelli cocoa
2.5 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
.5 tsp nutmeg
1.5 tsp cinnamon
.75 C unsalted butter
1 C brown sugar
1 C white sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp lemon zest OR 1 tsp lime zest
2.5 C zuchinni grated
.5 C milk
.5 C (or more) chopped crystalized ginger
Beat sugar and butter to creamy consistency add eggs one at a time. Fold zuchinni and crystalized ginger in add dry ingredients a bit at a time add milk at same time. Pour into well greases and floured tube pan.
Make in 10″ tube pan
350 degrees for 50 mins (check at 45 w/toothpick)
RevDeb @ 16
I wish you would have met me in Chicago,lol. Alas,I was here,trying not to die of heatstroke….
it’s well documented that I can’t cook. I do like watching Repub’s eating their own, however…
Bush’s Muse Stands Accused
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....newsletter
and with that, I’m sending my bike out for breakfast. Guess I’ll go with along with it.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 19
We’re leaving behind a good dozen tomato plants that are thriving and just now producing lots of fruit. That will be hard for Mr. Rev. to leave behind.
btw, we watched “Pan’s Labyrinth” last night — one of our netflix movie choices. It was visually stunning, and emotionally draining, extremely well done film, but a very difficult one to watch at times. The young girl who stars in it was superb. Has anyone else seen it? Am curious what others thought about the film. Mr. ReddHedd and I found it both profoundly disturbing but also at times, it was like watching visual mythology. This one is going to stick with me for a while, I think.
njprogressive at 22 — Love the Philly flower show. Went while I was at UPenn in grad school, and it was so wonderful. :)
oh yeah, before I go:
“Outsourced” by Dr. Hillhouse is a great read - great beachy fiction, laced with educational reality.
Outta here for now.
Angry . .
LOVE my Dremmel but would NEVER have thought to use it on a pumpkin! I’m just imagining the spray. LOL.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 31
If you want to come up next year, you have a place to stay! I’m not far from Longwood Gardens either. Looking forward to spending many many hours/days there.
RevDeb @ 33
It really does work,but man is it messy. You get a really professional looking design,like those fancy jack o lanterns you see in the magazines.
Beach reading: Geraldine Brooks’ March, a fictional account of the father from Little Women who follows his ideals to serve in the Union Army. Lot of surprises, an amazing story.
Christy: Put C.R.A.Z.Y. in your Netflix Queue. I really enjoyed that last night.
anangryoldbroad @ 23
Now that’s hysterical!! I will have to let the girl try that this fall when the pumpkins come in; now that she has successfully taken apart and fixed a Playstation2, she has been reaching for power tools all over the place, can’t hold her back. She finished assembling a new computer desk only 20 minutes ago.
RevDeb — glad to hear you are approaching the final stretch of the move. Lillet - now that’s what I forgot to lubricate my move, good on you!! Great meeting you in Chicago; one of these days after the dust settles I should pick your brains as a pastor, should have done that in Chicago but my head was firmly centered on politics at the time.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 19
Sorry to hear that. We are being over run by the peaches this year so it is peach cake, peach pie today and made peach chutney last night. Peach ideas anyone?
Respectfully, this site is becomming softer and softer all the time. During the Scooter days we had solid insight and analysis and now we are sharing recepies? In the old days you posted incredible art…now you post the fav videos/music of Christy Hardin Smith. It is all very disappointing. Your readers hunger for POLITICAL analysis. If you forget that much longer you will lose us.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 30
Christy, I still have mixed feelings about the ending and I saw the film months ago.
RevDeb @ 34
And then both of you come on over to see NoVa’s Meadowlark Gardens.
After years of reading here, I have to dip my toe in for this request. I just saw a terrific German movie, “Downfall”, about the last days in Hitler’s bunker. It’s based on the recollections of Hitler’s personal secretary. Very well done. Maybe not so much in the “fun” category, but definitely one to see. Oh, and since this is my inaugural post (or close to it), thanks for everyone’s efforts that make this such a great site!
Fresh tomatoes!
We have lots of tomatoes with lots more to come!
I used Epsom salt this year, when I planted and when they bloomed and what a difference and was diligent about taking the suckers off.
I have only heirlooms, bought from a friend that loves to grow unusual things.
It is sunny and cool this AM, I am off to paint my gutters so they look nice with my new siding!
Have a good weekend everybody!
Also will bake bread to eat my tomatoes with!!!
And maybe make pickles too!!!
Rayne,
Any time. You know how to find me. If you want my cell, send me an e-mail.
Discovered Lillet eons ago in Paris. Totally forgot about it until we were in Quebec last summer. White Lillet in a glass filled with ice and a lemon twist. The best way to get through a hot summer evening—that or a Mint Julep.
texasblue @ 40
texasblue,
We work 8 days a week here and risk burnout. This is our one morning to kick back and remember love and beauty, what makes it all worthwhile. Rest assured we will get back to some serious buttkicking shortly.
Morning everyone. Christie that cake looks awesome. The squash will keep it moist and far healthier. May I grab a piece for breakfast, it will go nicely with coffee!
It has been an awesome summer here weatherwise, generally quite cool with lots of breeze. I am rushing toward a Nov. manuscript deadline and putting in long hours everyday, mostly under an umbrella on my back porch. Thanks to wifi, I get to check in here during coffee breaks.
Thanks Christie for your posts, warmth, intellectual breadth, and political heat!
texasblue @ 40
I hate to disagree but long time readers of FDL know that Saturday morning is pull up a chair time. With so much going on in the world, I for one enjoy sharing recipes and movie ideas and look forward to lurking on Saturdays.
Reading wise, sometimes a children’s book provides just the right salve for an aching adult soul. One of my favorites is David Almond’s Skellig,which administers snippets of William Blake along the way.
I don’t often comment here, since most everything I can think to add is out on the board before I’ve gotten to the end of a thread. But Christy, do let me say that you and your compatriots are helping to keep me sane in a crazy world, and for that I thank you.
mh
texasblue at 40 — Do take a look at the large amount of analysis we did yesterday by scrolling down the page. This is our regular Saturday morning break from the news. We do it every week. It’s called “get a life” — and I’m not changing it. If you don’t like it, scroll down to a prior column — there is a LOT to choose from here.
And while I’m at it, how incredibly egotistical is it to come here to my column on my blog and tell me what I should be writing about? I don’t run around to other people’s blogs and tell them what they should do because…well, because it is really rude and they’d be right to call me out for it. “Hi, write what I think you should write. And only what i think you should write. Your thoughts and your preference do not matter, only mine.” Jeebus…
texasblue @ 40
Sorry you feel that way. We’ve been doing this on Sat. mornings for well over a year. This is called community building. If you don’t like it, you are free to tune out. But we who call this our blog home do so for this as well as for the political junkie stuff of which there is an abundance all over the toobz. Surely you can find other sites to get your fix.
I, for one, applaud Christy for her intentional care to bringing us together as people as well as brains.
I’m also just finishing a book I purchased in the airport coming home last week. Suite Francaise about the occupation of France by the Germans in 1940. The book was written by Irene Nemirovsky who was arrested in Paris in 1942, deported to Auschwitz where she died. The novel remained hidden and unknown until now.
Diane at 44 — Epsom salt is the best with tomato plants. It’s also pretty great for peppers and eggplants, too.
RevDeb @ 34
Longwood is just wonderful. Amazing landscape design.
I did get a kick out of them threatening to move if the local gov’t taxed them too much. Hard to imagine that, eh?
RevDeb, you do have to catch one of their fountain & fireworks show.
And all the lillypads and lotus are beyond belief! and the orchids and the ferns and the bonsai and the…
*sigh*
Has anyone seen “The Lives of Others” yet?
RevDeb @ 51
Yep. All work and no play doesn’t just make a person dull either. More like cranky,mean,and maybe a little rude too.
texasblue @ 40
Frankly I am still suffering from the Richardson/gay shocker. He was my favorite until that moment. My spouse opines that it is his catholicism that over took his brain. I have no idea what he was thinking, how bloody stupid of him. Anyway cooking, cleaning, mowing, weeding and reading seem like fine occupations to allow the mind to drift and contemplate the next onslaught of idiocy from our putative candidates. Shoot we all need a break from politics once in a while.
PS forgot brush clearing
Christy, how are the caladiums? Still standing? Mine are.
Mack @ 43
Well, Mack, welcome to the lake! Hope you will chime in often.
Wondering if you would consider using a different nom de plume as there already is a frequent commenter named Mack. We are easily confused here :) Thanks!
And now,I gotta run to mail off some stuff and take the kiddo to martial arts school this morning. Have a wonderful Saturday everyone.
texasblue @ 40
Texasblue. This is Saturday wakeup and stretch. Did you miss the FISA heat? There was alot of hot discussion the last couple of days as well.
By the way the NYT has a front page very “soft” take on FISA (with little of the problematics, and without the complex analysis of the time line offered here by Powwow and Selise). I would be curious if anyone else has read the Times piece. The editorial page seems against FISA, and the paper itself seems a bit, well, things happen.
I mentioned last night that I think the Rethugs have really miscalculated on the new homeland security social security requirements. Farmers are really pissed, because it will play havoc with the harvest which is just around the corner. Once you piss of farmers (speaking of squash among other foods) it is over. They are an even stronger bunch than NRA. And that is in addition to the looming financial disaster with mortgage issues (and the proposed relief for banks but not home owners). The Rethug party is cooked. They are clearly desperate, as evinced in the rethug statement that we need a new 9/11 and lots of dead to save this country (now being give play on Fox and elsewhere). Thinkprogress has this latter item.
Books: Napolean’s Egypt, Juan Cole’s new one looks like fun. I only read the first few pages on the plane home, but reading history as a narrative is always more fun than in a textbook. My brain was too fuzzy to get far after a long weekend of political frenzy. Looks good.
AND he said he’d be glad to do the Sunday Book Salon. He thinks FDL is great.
For what it’s worth, I especially enjoy the diversity here. For instance, I’ve never heard of the Epsom salt trick for tomatoes. I’m definitely making a note of that. While we’re on the topic of gardening, any suggestions for keeping the bunnies away? Other than buying a fox, I mean.
Go Christy! I love this thread and read it and all of the comments every Saturday, even though it’s usually finished by the time I get up and get online out here in CA.
Only reason I’m up this early today is because my little peanut woke up extra early because he’s itchy. He’s got really bad eczema this summer…any suggestions beyond Cortaid, baking soda baths, and Cetaphil?
ccmask at 57 — The ones out back, in the shadier area of the yard are thriving. The ones that I planted in the sun are not so happy — but that’s because it has been so scorchingly hot with so little rain. We’re in the middle of a drought this summer, and everything is getting a little too crispy — although we have had a bit of rain the last couple of days which is helping a bit.
FWIW, some brain candy coming on one of the HBO channels even as I type - on HBO comedy west The Great Race is just starting (Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Jack Lemmon).
Good morning! I watched Becoming Jane and Amazing Grace on Air New Zealand about two weeks ago (also a new version of Persuasion….I was thoroughly in 18th century England all the way across the Pacific). The first two were quite good, especially if you weren’t expecting historical fidelity to Jane Austen’s life in Becoming Jane. Amazing Grace is giving me incentive to look more carefully at the abolition movement in England then.
egregious @ 59
Is that better? :-)
RevDeb @ 29
But now Mr. Rev has a wonderful excuse for touring the surrounding region for farmers’ markets. They may be willing to tell him what grows best in the area for next year. ;-)
Christy Hardin Smith @ 30
Yes, stunning is the operative word, watched it several times over a weekend before we went on vacation. My nine-year-old insisted on watching it, and we had many lengthy conversations about what was happening and what the context meant, about the nature of children’s imagination and how impacts their perception of events around them, particularly stressful events. It wasn’t until the third viewing that I could watch all the way through without questions from him; the first two viewings took over 3 hours each because he had sooo many questions. Definitely not a film for children who are unable to grasp the complexity and politics of war. By contrast, the 13-year-old grokked the whole thing, and could also make the connections between the politics reflected in the movie and current events in America and abroad.
The most difficult issues we dealt with were torture and the death of a child — I had a harder time with these than my kids did, but they understood the gravity of the matters. Watching the movie also presented an opportunity to discuss the immorality of torture and killing, let alone political oppression.
The visual effects of the film are wonderful, seamless in their insertion into the film. In a way, this is exactly how the monsters around us now live, seamlessly intertwined with our reality. It is also difficult to pick out good from evil in our lives at first blush, just as it is in Pan’s Labyrinth, because of misperceptions and the seamless banality of evil in our culture. Most excellent movie.
Lea-no uh at 63 — Have you tried an oatmeal bath — either regular oatmeal or Aveeno? That can be wonderful, especially if it is a cooler one and a long soak. Really helps with the itchies. Aveeno lotion, especially the gentle baby version, also helps.
Morning Christy
The nice thing about Fridays is that there are only two more working days until Monday. Sigh.
A work day today to try to get all done before heading back to the antipodes.
A very late good morning, pups. I enjoyed sleeping late this morning! Today the NYT has the odious Ms. Collins getting snide about the Iowa straw poll, and Bob Herbert writes about horrific, senseless violence and says that parents are failing their children.
http://mgpaquin.wordpress.com/
In case anyone needs another cup, I’ve got coffee and tea ready, and there’s French toast made from challah so it’s particularly yummy. Have a great Saturday.
Mack @ 62
We plant one garden, ours, behind a fence we also plant an extra little garden, the bunny’s, with no fence. It is a happy arrangement and as we tend to have interesting conversations with the bunrab while he/she is dining.
Back to packing.
I’ll check back later.
Have a great day everyone.
Thanks, Christy. You’ve reminded me I need to get more Aveeno oatmeal. We were using the Aveeno lotion, but the pediatrician told us to switch to either Cetaphil or straight vaseline. The baking soda in the bath seems to help a lot, but I’m afraid that the only thing that will really help is fall and cooler temps.
The artist formerly known as Mack—
Ok if we call you Tafkam for short?
Just threw ingredients into the bread machine to test a recipe called “Spicy Cheese Loaf” including dry mustard, pepper and worcestershire sauce. What a great new toy! Actually, not new……belonged to my mother; passed to cousin; returned to me b/c I’ve really gotten into “scratch” cooking. Have been very pleased with the two pizza dough recipes tested thus far, also a nice ol’ plain white bread. Mistakenly opened the plain flour bag vs. bread flour so have no idea what will happen to this batch.
Anybody got a recipe they really love featuring crab meat? Have been freezing lots in 8 oz. packages but used mostly for crab cakes thus far.
CHS @ 5:58 -
Sic’um, sister! *g*
There’s a new Silk Road Project CD out, recordings from their recent concert series in Chicago. Good stuff.
I’m longing for some antipasto salad. Hot here, too.
Books: If you haven’t read any Ngaio Marsh, do. She’s great. I clump her in with Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham and so on.
Philip Pullman is great in a sort of Potter vein.
Chef!
is one of the funniest shows, BBC from the 90s so you may have seen it, but i love it;)
Have a great day!
Christy - sorry for making you an “ie” person. I need another tank or 2 of coffie ;-{nomolos @ 72
Put out a basket of multi-colored eggs and the bunnies will think it is Easter and will be too busy to eat lettuce. Alternatively, put a stuffed fox in your garden (it works to keep Canadian geese away). Or, maybe you could hang some plastic owls from the tree branches near by-that works for pigeons.
Nomolos @ 73, I only half jokingly suggested we get some rabbit food and spread it around the perimeter of the yard. They seem to be leaving the tomatoes and peppers alone, but they love my lamium, echinachea and black eyed susans! I think the bunnies around here are already inviting all their bunny friends to party all night at Mack’s cafe.
btw, just a reminder that we have Rick Noriega who is running for the Senate in Texas as today’s Blue America guest at 2 pm ET/11 am PT. I think you guys are going to really enjoy the chat!
egregious @ 76
Perfect! It suits me. I hope it doesn’t me anything dreadful in Armenian or anything though.
heart you Christy and everyone here always, good morning and weekend
ccmask 52….picked up Suite Francaise at the bookstore the other day myself, dammit is there ever an end to normal people being f*cked over by f*cking invading warmongers….
off to hug my cat, get taken out to breakfast by my lover, then chores and guitar-playing
life could be worse
and Cheney’s of course working on it
My other new activity is the college hunt with my 17 year old, who will be a senior next week. Yesterday, I tucked myself in the backseat of the Corolla and let myself be driven up to DesMoines to Drake University by my son and his friend (their long legs gave them the front and besides, they could pretend they were on their first road trip if I kept quiet). The two boys are a total delight and give hope for the future.
The trappings and cameras from last Sunday’s debate are still up at Drake, as the Dem debate will be there in two weeks. Since my son is interested in political sci and journalism, he got a real kick out of that.
Any advice about the college hunt from others will be gratefully read.
Tafkam @ 82
Look it up in the Urban Dictionary!!! :)
Uh-oh. Just looked up Tafkam. And what do you know, it’s in the urban dictionary. I think I’ll stay away from that one.
How’s Calzee?
Wonderful recipes for zucchini - Has anyone ever fried zucchini slices that were dipped in egg and coated with Ritz crackers? It is wonderful - and the texture is somewhat reminiscent of tempura.
I’m missing my garden a lot with your stories - I used to plant carrots for the horses and goats, bunnies got carrot tops and lettuces, and the goats got tiny fingerling carrots. Chickens loved the greens, too. Nothing went to waste, that’s for sure. And when the apple and pear tress produced, it was a frenzy of feeding by everyone.
The artist formerly known as Mack @ 81
Heh. I used to be a building administrator for a corporation with some decent assets; the building sat on a lot that was partially wooded, adjoining neighboring woods. Meaning, lots of wildlife including deer. I’d even had to chase away snakes from the doorstep…
When planning the flowerbeds around the building each spring, I had to ask the landscapers for plants that were rabbit- and deer-proof. They suggested Dutchman’s Breeches (early spring blooms), daylilies (mid-summer blooms), and echinacea (mid-late summer blooms).
What a joke. They ate them all, leaving only enough behind to suggest how pretty they might all have been had there been no wildlife.
Worse, they seemed to prefer the ones closer to the building, right under the security cameras. Go figure.
NZ Expat, now in KS @ 85
Might I suggest you go a little (okay a lot) further to Galesburg, IL and look at Knox College if he’s interested in PoliSci? Their last three commencement speakers in reverse order were: Bill Clinton, Stephen Colbert and Barack Obama. John Podesta is an alumni and snags some good speakers. Plus I think the choice of speakers says a lot about the school.
Ooooops. nomolos @ 86 totally screwed up editing. Sorry egregious.
On reading, I’ve just started Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains about Dr. Paul Farmer, who is working on infectious diseases in Haiti as far as I am in the book. I heard that he is also working in Africa.
Anyone else read it?
NZ Expat, now in KS @ 85