1. If there is such a thing as perfect weather, this would be it: mid 70's, sunny, not humid. In a word gorgeous.
2. I read that my Curb Your Enthusiasm crush Larry David and his anti-global warming wife Laurie are getting a divorce after being married a decade or so. This is sad. Good luck to them both.
3. BP is away working, LP is away with his friends (playing pool I think) so I am making a pizza for dinner with one of those Bobolo crusts. Grape tomatoes, real mozzarella cheese, crushed red peppers and parsley and basil from my garden.
4. I bought a flat of different kinds of coleus today and planted them in pots (picture forthcoming.) There are LOTS of plants in a flat and I ran out of pots, so I just stuck the leftovers in the ground. Coleus need shade and lots of watering, so the ones in th eground will probably die.
5. My youngest sister and her family left for Disney World today. They're staying in the Grand Floridian, and my sis booked my four year old niece a "Minnie" manicure and pedicure. I don't know if Minnie Mouse herself does the work (ha ha). She and my B-i-L have three kids and the kids have known they were going to Disney since Febuary and have been packed and ready to go since March. My niece has taken to wearing lip gloss and she doens't get the fact that you have to reapply it, and so she puckers up her lips all day long. My sis sent my niece's softball picture and Claire is there in her uniform , lips pursed and trying to look fierce. I called her and said, "Claire I love your picture! Did you wear lip gloss for it?" And she said, "Aunt Emma, how did you know!!??" Aunties know these things.
6. I rented The Holiday to watch tonight. I don't know why I got it--I am not a Cameron Diaz fan, so I hope she doesn't hog the whole movie!
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Drunken Gnomes
Teri (of F and Teri fame) sent me a cool story about garage sales and this guy took a picture of these drunken gnomes he saw at a garage sale. Thanks, Teri!
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Monday, June 04, 2007
A Song I Wish I Wrote
From a Paul McCartney interview with Newsweek:
Q: You wrote the most-covered song ever: "Yesterday." Do you ever get sick of it?
A: Not really, no. If you'd have written "Yesterday," would you? [Laughs] It's one of those, man. Come on! It's one of the most mystical things that ever happened to me, waking up one morning with that tune in my head. I mean, that's pretty far out. Recently, though, I realized I'd hardly heard any of these 3,000 cover versions. [Laughs] So I had someone make me a CD of the 10 most amazing covers: you know, Frank Sinatra, Elvis [Presley], Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles. The funniest thing was, three or four of them changed the lyric very subtly. Fabulous! In the middle I go, [sings] "I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday." I own up: "I said something wrong." But they don't! They go, [sings] "I must've said something wrong." [Laughs] Like, "I doubt very much whether I did. I must've. 'Cause she's gone." Check 'em out. See if they do "I must've said something wrong." Certainly Elvis does. He's not admitting a thing.
If you could have written a classic song, which one would it have been?
Here's only one that I would love to claim:
Our Love is Here to Stay
By George Gershwin
It's very clear
Our love is here to stay ;
Not for a year
But ever and a day.
The radio and the telephone
And the movies that we know
May just be passing fancies,
And in time may go
But, oh my dear,
Our love is here to stay.
Together we're
Going a long, long way
In time the Rockies may crumble,
Gibralter may tumble,
They're only made of clay,
But our love is here to stay.
Q: You wrote the most-covered song ever: "Yesterday." Do you ever get sick of it?
A: Not really, no. If you'd have written "Yesterday," would you? [Laughs] It's one of those, man. Come on! It's one of the most mystical things that ever happened to me, waking up one morning with that tune in my head. I mean, that's pretty far out. Recently, though, I realized I'd hardly heard any of these 3,000 cover versions. [Laughs] So I had someone make me a CD of the 10 most amazing covers: you know, Frank Sinatra, Elvis [Presley], Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles. The funniest thing was, three or four of them changed the lyric very subtly. Fabulous! In the middle I go, [sings] "I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday." I own up: "I said something wrong." But they don't! They go, [sings] "I must've said something wrong." [Laughs] Like, "I doubt very much whether I did. I must've. 'Cause she's gone." Check 'em out. See if they do "I must've said something wrong." Certainly Elvis does. He's not admitting a thing.
If you could have written a classic song, which one would it have been?
Here's only one that I would love to claim:
Our Love is Here to Stay
By George Gershwin
It's very clear
Our love is here to stay ;
Not for a year
But ever and a day.
The radio and the telephone
And the movies that we know
May just be passing fancies,
And in time may go
But, oh my dear,
Our love is here to stay.
Together we're
Going a long, long way
In time the Rockies may crumble,
Gibralter may tumble,
They're only made of clay,
But our love is here to stay.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Accent wall/Grocery
My Saturday was not relaxing. I finally painted the living room “accent wall.” It’s sort of the color of Moroccan leather mixed with a deep taupe. Now I have to get BP to rehang the pictures and such.
CAT HATER ALERT: CUTE CAT STORY COMING! I was up and down on this small four-foot ladder a lot. I took a break to go to the toilet/potty/loo and when I returned Miss Kiki Marie aka Nesta aka Sis was running up and down the ladder and having a good old time. I’ll bet in another life she was a circus cat. If I could train her to hold a paint brush I could be a wealthy woman. I’d pimp her out as a painter with posters like
NESTA THE PAINTING CAT
Too old to climb up and down ladders,
but still want a freshly painted room?
Cat Painter for hire
$2000/hour of painting and amusement
After the painting, I had to drag LP to the grocery store with me. What’s up with that? Should I, as his mother, simply have to say, “LP, I need your help at the grocery and I’d enjoy the pleasure of your company—hop in the car.”
But noooooooo it has to be a production. It’s not like I ask him to go every time.
He starts summer school and driver’s education tomorrow. If you are a pray-er, say one for me
CAT HATER ALERT: CUTE CAT STORY COMING! I was up and down on this small four-foot ladder a lot. I took a break to go to the toilet/potty/loo and when I returned Miss Kiki Marie aka Nesta aka Sis was running up and down the ladder and having a good old time. I’ll bet in another life she was a circus cat. If I could train her to hold a paint brush I could be a wealthy woman. I’d pimp her out as a painter with posters like
NESTA THE PAINTING CAT
Too old to climb up and down ladders,
but still want a freshly painted room?
Cat Painter for hire
$2000/hour of painting and amusement
After the painting, I had to drag LP to the grocery store with me. What’s up with that? Should I, as his mother, simply have to say, “LP, I need your help at the grocery and I’d enjoy the pleasure of your company—hop in the car.”
But noooooooo it has to be a production. It’s not like I ask him to go every time.
He starts summer school and driver’s education tomorrow. If you are a pray-er, say one for me
Thursday, May 31, 2007
"SON OF A BITCH!"
I just washed my hair and am waiting for it to dry before I go to bed to read, so I’ll try not to be drab, but sometimes I just can’t help it.
Did I tell you that on the way to Arkansas, my sister, Mom and I stopped at Lambert’s Café “Home of Throwed Rolls” in Sikeston Missouri? Evidently this place was featured on some Food TV show and BP suggested we stop there.
We got there around 2 pm and inside it looked like a big Cracker Barrel with rows and rows of wooden tables and lots of blue-haired folks, and some lady playing the piano (or pi-anny as Granny Clampett would call it.)
Anyway, this place’s claim to fame is that they throw rolls to/at you. A cute young guy wanders around the place saying “Hot rolls! Hot rolls here!”and you hold up your hand if you want a throwed roll. Well, my sister held up her hand and caught a roll—it was hot. I held up my hand and caught a roll—it was hot. We asked, “Ma, do you want a roll? Hold up your hand.” So she held up her hand and caught a hot roll. Well, it must have been a little too hot for her because she said (quite loudly) “SON OF A BITCH!” Those Missourians acted like they’d never heard an 82 year-old Hoosier lady say “SON OF A BITCH” before and some looked aghast.
This place served too much FOOD! Jeez! I ordered meatloaf and got two huge slabs of the stuff. They ordered chicken salad and each got two huge scoops of it, plus potatoes and rolls and these servers come by your table with “freebies” of black-eyed peas and macaroni and tomatoes and fried okra (blech)
The food wasted in that place is a sin. Those blue-haired old people probably take home leftovers and eat on them for a week. Plus, the food really wasn’t that great. It’s the gimmick of the throwed rolls that brings people in. So if you ever go to a Lambert’s Café Home of Throwed Rolls, and you catch a hot roll, say “SON OF A BITCH!” and think of my Mother.
Here's the website: Lambert's
Did I tell you that on the way to Arkansas, my sister, Mom and I stopped at Lambert’s Café “Home of Throwed Rolls” in Sikeston Missouri? Evidently this place was featured on some Food TV show and BP suggested we stop there.
We got there around 2 pm and inside it looked like a big Cracker Barrel with rows and rows of wooden tables and lots of blue-haired folks, and some lady playing the piano (or pi-anny as Granny Clampett would call it.)
Anyway, this place’s claim to fame is that they throw rolls to/at you. A cute young guy wanders around the place saying “Hot rolls! Hot rolls here!”and you hold up your hand if you want a throwed roll. Well, my sister held up her hand and caught a roll—it was hot. I held up my hand and caught a roll—it was hot. We asked, “Ma, do you want a roll? Hold up your hand.” So she held up her hand and caught a hot roll. Well, it must have been a little too hot for her because she said (quite loudly) “SON OF A BITCH!” Those Missourians acted like they’d never heard an 82 year-old Hoosier lady say “SON OF A BITCH” before and some looked aghast.
This place served too much FOOD! Jeez! I ordered meatloaf and got two huge slabs of the stuff. They ordered chicken salad and each got two huge scoops of it, plus potatoes and rolls and these servers come by your table with “freebies” of black-eyed peas and macaroni and tomatoes and fried okra (blech)
The food wasted in that place is a sin. Those blue-haired old people probably take home leftovers and eat on them for a week. Plus, the food really wasn’t that great. It’s the gimmick of the throwed rolls that brings people in. So if you ever go to a Lambert’s Café Home of Throwed Rolls, and you catch a hot roll, say “SON OF A BITCH!” and think of my Mother.
Here's the website: Lambert's
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Books for summer reading
New books I bought for one dollar each:
Oxford Book of American Poetry
French Women for All Seasons: Mireille Guiliano
The View From Castle Rock: Alice Munro
HP & The Order of the Phoenix (for a gift)
HP & The Half-Blood Prince (for a gift)
Ansel Adams The National Park Service Photographs w/ CD by Tim Janis
The Low Maintenance Garden: Susan Berry & Steve Bradley
Heritage of Ireland: History of Ireland & Its People: Nathaniel Harris
Irish Traditions: Kathleen Jo Ryan
The Enchanted Garden: Claire O’Rush
Books I bought because I want to reread:
Walden & Resistance to Civil Government: Henry D. Thoreau
Steinbeck, centennial editions:
Travels with Charley
The Pearl
The Grapes of Wrath
Of Mice and Men
I think that will be a good start to my summer reading
Oxford Book of American Poetry
French Women for All Seasons: Mireille Guiliano
The View From Castle Rock: Alice Munro
HP & The Order of the Phoenix (for a gift)
HP & The Half-Blood Prince (for a gift)
Ansel Adams The National Park Service Photographs w/ CD by Tim Janis
The Low Maintenance Garden: Susan Berry & Steve Bradley
Heritage of Ireland: History of Ireland & Its People: Nathaniel Harris
Irish Traditions: Kathleen Jo Ryan
The Enchanted Garden: Claire O’Rush
Books I bought because I want to reread:
Walden & Resistance to Civil Government: Henry D. Thoreau
Steinbeck, centennial editions:
Travels with Charley
The Pearl
The Grapes of Wrath
Of Mice and Men
I think that will be a good start to my summer reading
Monday, May 28, 2007
Memorial Day
I fried some bacon, toasted an English muffin and poured myself some orange juice for breakfast. Then I'm going to sit on the porch and finish my Spanish Dagger book, and might watch some TV and pet the cat--other than that I'm not doing a damned thing all day.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
My Hands hurt
My hands hurt. I sifted compost and planted five new plants I bought at Menard’s I had told myself that under no circumstances would I buy another plant this season but I saw these giant blue scabiosas and white salvias and so I just did it.
I made an enchilada-type lasagna dish today and it was wonderful!
Sauce:
2 T olive oil 2 T flour and make a roux
add one small can of chicken stock
about 1 T chili powder
1 t cumin
½ cup water
and whisk it together and cook it for 10-15 minutes and set aside
Filling:
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T red pepper flakes
1 small can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large package of corn tortillas
1 packaged shredded Mexican/Taco cheese
Spray glass baking dish with non stick spray. Layer of corn tortillas (put them in the microwave for about 30 seconds before layering)—I cut mine in half to make them fit the pan.
Layer of meat mixture
Layer of cheese
Layer of tortillas
Layer of meat
A final layer of tortillas and then top with the remaining cheese
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for thirty minutes
I served it with a salad, but you can do whatever you want.
I made an enchilada-type lasagna dish today and it was wonderful!
Sauce:
2 T olive oil 2 T flour and make a roux
add one small can of chicken stock
about 1 T chili powder
1 t cumin
½ cup water
and whisk it together and cook it for 10-15 minutes and set aside
Filling:
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T red pepper flakes
1 small can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large package of corn tortillas
1 packaged shredded Mexican/Taco cheese
Spray glass baking dish with non stick spray. Layer of corn tortillas (put them in the microwave for about 30 seconds before layering)—I cut mine in half to make them fit the pan.
Layer of meat mixture
Layer of cheese
Layer of tortillas
Layer of meat
A final layer of tortillas and then top with the remaining cheese
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for thirty minutes
I served it with a salad, but you can do whatever you want.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Hardware Cloth
Happy Friday.
I’m going to work today. I was “sick” on Wednesday and Thursday---an upset stomach passes for sick—right? Anyway, I took LP to the dentist yesterday and he had a cavity and she filled it that same day, which was good.
The guys went to see Spider-man 3 last evening. I didn’t want to go—I didn’t really enjoy S-M #2. They both enjoyed it and ate popcorn and those little non-pariel (sp?) chocolates.
We worked on the yard a lot, including clearing away some dead branches which I wouldn’t have minded keeping the area “wild” but I was over ruled. That’s okay though because there was some kick ass compost at the bottom of the pile of stuff.
Know what Hardware Cloth is? That’s okay, I didn’t either until two days ago. It’s a screen type thing that’s a cross between chicken wire and a screen for a door. Anyway BP built me this great compost sifter from hardware cloth and old 2 x 4’s. It was just like Design Remix!! Making good stuff from the crappy stuff you have lying around the house and yard. Now, I can put this sifter over the wheelbarrow and sift out the big chucks from my compost, use the small stuff and return the big chucks to my composter. Does that make sense?
I’m going back to work today and then it’s a 3-day weekend, which I love.
I’ll post a picture of my sifter soon.
I’m going to work today. I was “sick” on Wednesday and Thursday---an upset stomach passes for sick—right? Anyway, I took LP to the dentist yesterday and he had a cavity and she filled it that same day, which was good.
The guys went to see Spider-man 3 last evening. I didn’t want to go—I didn’t really enjoy S-M #2. They both enjoyed it and ate popcorn and those little non-pariel (sp?) chocolates.
We worked on the yard a lot, including clearing away some dead branches which I wouldn’t have minded keeping the area “wild” but I was over ruled. That’s okay though because there was some kick ass compost at the bottom of the pile of stuff.
Know what Hardware Cloth is? That’s okay, I didn’t either until two days ago. It’s a screen type thing that’s a cross between chicken wire and a screen for a door. Anyway BP built me this great compost sifter from hardware cloth and old 2 x 4’s. It was just like Design Remix!! Making good stuff from the crappy stuff you have lying around the house and yard. Now, I can put this sifter over the wheelbarrow and sift out the big chucks from my compost, use the small stuff and return the big chucks to my composter. Does that make sense?
I’m going back to work today and then it’s a 3-day weekend, which I love.
I’ll post a picture of my sifter soon.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Clinton Library
We loved the Library. It was uncrowded, the workers and volunteers were wonderful (even if this sweet, kinda withered old man chastised me for taking flash pictures--he suggested holding my finger over the flash and that worked just fine.)
My favorite part was the Oval Office replica (pictures to come soon.) The Museum Store--housed down the street--was a disappointment. A lot of cheesy cheap crap, but I did buy a William J Clinton Presidential Library checkbook cover and an "I MISS BILL" bumpersticker.
I also liked the letters on display and the gifts they received from the American people and world leaders.
The Cafe 42 is in the basement of the building and we had a good lunch there--crab salad and chocolate torte for me, and my mother and Sis had the chicken salad and the Hillary cookies.
Speaking of my Mother. Sigh. Y'all haven't lived until you've taken a 9 hour road trip with an 80+ year old woman.
But it was a good time, and now I want to visit the Harry S Truman Presidential Library in Missouri.
--more photos to come--
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