Mycology

We're making breads in baking class and everything is very yeasty. We're even making sourdough starter from water, flour and squished grapes. Yum. My partner, sweet little thing that she is, named ours "Monostat". Other names in the class are "Mr. Bubbles", "Yeasty Boys", "Lucille DoughBall" ... you know. Cute names. Chef wouldn't let us call ours Monostat, so officially it's "The Vampire YeaStat". But we call it Monostat for short. Yup. Fun Times! Anyway. So with all of the rain, and yeast on my mind, I walked out with the compost this morning and saw a huge fungus growing next to the gas meter. I'm not a mycologist by any means (although I do likes me some fungus on my pizza -- mmmmm), but I think this might be Suillus Cavipes - which has "mediocre" edibility. Except it was growing under a gas meter, not a larch (and for some weird reason, I now have a Monty Python sketch running through my mind). Whatever it is, I'm still not eating it. But it is kind of cute, in a fungus-y sort of way.

Birthday dinner

Tomorrow I'll be in class, so Aaron and I celebrated my birthday dinner a day early. Went to Doña Emilia's - an argentinian casual dining place across the street from the Four Seasons - as Chez Nous (my fave) is closed on Mondays. Tasty chimichurri, but it was a little too oily for my stomach. Aaron loved the ribeye, and there were a couple of other things that looked intriguing. The mashed potatoes had -- bacon! and the green beans were incredible. However, the nice part - and I mean come-back-for-again nice - were the happy hour prices. Half priced appetizers and drinks from 5-7. Well worth going down just for that. We ended up spending a bit because, well, it's my birthday, but didn't order dessert as I made myself a tart. No, I didn't tart myself up. Silly. I was going to make a chicken cake (never mind), but decided I wanted a tart instead. Pretty! Too bad the only fruit at H.E.B. that looked good were the kiwis, strawberries and blackberries. A good start, though.

Garden in the works

Spring has brought surprise in the garden. Tulip petals taste like beans (or peas). The dogs will eat anything. The amaryllis bloomed and is gorgeous (testament in the picture). So did the lilac. The poppies came up in both places I planted, and some seeds remained in their original planting and also came up. Snapdragons are fun. Slugfest on the pansies. The petunias are going crazy. And my little bottle garden has inspired another neighbor to drink too much wine and put one in. Decadence for the sake of beauty. I also told her about the Orange Show. Everyone needs a little Orange Show.

Last post .... EVAH!

Intentionally going out of your way to hurt someone and their relationship with another person is not "high-schoolish". It's just hurtful.

Ashes

I never posted my Nuncle story. I just picked up their ashes. The ashes are in separate bags, in purple velvet pouches, in wooden boxes. Each comes with a certificate of cremation and a little plastic plaque embossed with their names.

I think it's the only time an animal person has spelled all three correctly.

My razr wasn't that dirty

So Sunday, after the horror of finding our cats dead, AC was nice and started washing the urine-and-blood covered laundry I had piled in the office, including the clothes I wore to carry the bodies to the emergency clinic.

Unfortunately, my phone was still in the pocket of my hoodie.

And he washed it.

I did everything I could, including taking the razr apart (I had to buy a T6 and T5 size screwdriver), but, even though I was able to get it to start, it wouldn't recognize the sim card. Not even ACs. So I'm getting a new one thanks to insurance. I don't think it's worth it (I have to pay $50 and the new phone is going to be reconditioned anyway), but this will be the last razr I own. I've had bad luck with them.

At least I'm not getting a replacement pink one. I asked the first time if I could get a silver, and the Cingular rep said "no" so I declined the replacement. I had AC call the second time, and the service rep said "sure". Sexist Cingular rep (the first one, not the second). She sounded like she was 12 anyway. I really wanted to tell her off, but I'm not really in the mood yet. I'll be getting a new phone on Wednesday. And it will be the silver one (again). Small, but it makes me smile a little.

Taki and Tsuki

Pillow
Originally uploaded by carabou.

Taki ("dragon") was a fierce kitten, and the biggest attention slut of all. He would meow in the kitchen. I would give him dry food. He would meow again. I would give him a can of wet food. He would meow again. I would give him fresh water. He would meow again. I would open the front door for him so he could go out. He would meow again. I would pick him up. He would snuggle up underneath my chin and purr.

Tsuki ("moon") was as big as the moon and just as unreachable. Small kitten from next door would come over and they would play the slo-mo version of chase. When Tsuki ran, though, he scurried. He once scurried around the corner to the kitchen, lost control, put his claws out for traction, but the mass of his body and the hardwood floors worked against him and he slammed into the wall. He left claw streaks etched into the wood across the length of his attempted stop. And he would give the most amazing purr-bys.

I miss them.

My cats are dead

We came home this morning from Brian's 35 birthday celebration to find the dogs had killed Taki (in the office), and Tsuki and Nuncle (in the living room). Esme is alive. She was in the kitchen, hiding behind the coffee maker. There were bloody paw prints all over the dishwasher, so she was next.

Cheese Board Lemon Shortbread Cookies

I learned a new lesson about sugar and spread in cookies today.

I wanted to make a treat for David and family to return with the cookbook he loaned me, but they spread too much and got too brown. They're tasty, but they don't look so fantastic, and they're a little on the crispy side, and not enough on the shortbread side. My first thought as to why was because I added too much sugar, even though I followed the recipe (even making my own candied lemon peel because I couldn't find it in the store. Candied lemon peel is deceptively easy to make. I've found a new treat).

So a little research (and some knowledge I already knew) pointed to the observation that sugar weakens the bond in the gluten, and this was a short cookie anyway (even though i used all-purpose flower, it was mostly butter and sugar -- very soft dough). So too much sugar will interfere with the structure of the cookie, but so will finer granulations. Because I inadvertently turned the sugar into powdered sugar when I was incorporating the candied lemon peel, I guaranteed ruin of the shape of the cookie. Next time, I'm going to add a little cornstarch, as that will theoretically prevent spread in a cookie, despite the finer grind.

Next time, better.

Cheese Board Lemon Shortbread Cookies

• 1 cup + 1 Tbs sugar
• 3/4 cup candied lemon peel
• 1 cup unsalted softened butter
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the sugar and candied lemon peel in a blender or food processor. Be brief! Or try adding a little cornstarch - how much? I don't know (yet). In your mixer, combine the butter, sugar-lemon peel mix, and salt for about four minutes (until fluffy). Don't forget to scrape down the sides when done. Then, on low speed, add 1 1/3 cup of the flour and combine for about two minutes. If the dough isn't soft enough, add the remaining 1/3 cup about a tablespoon at a time until it is. Not sure what that means? I took it as "it's raining, so I'll need the rest of the flour". The dough was battery before I added the remaining flour. After I added the flour, it glonked around the mixer paddle.

Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and shape into an oblong (yes, really). Then roll out with a floured rolling pin into a rectangular-ish shape 3/8 of an inch thick. Cut into 2 1/2" squares (huge) with a floured knife or ravioli cutter (I don't have a ravioli cutter, but the pizza roller was fun) and transfer to a a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper at least an inch apart using a spatula that has been lighlty floured first. They suggested that the recipe would fill three sheets. Not mine - I just got one. Not sure what when wrong there, but it may have affected the cooking temperature of my oven, too. Anyway. 15 minutes in the center, turn, and another 10 or until lightly browned. Cool a little by placing the sheet on an inverted cooling rack. The cookies are really soft and will burn you if you try to eat one. But they're really good with a cup of tea (try Republic of Tea's Botswana Blossom Red Tea. Yum!)

Happiness Lifehack

i love it when things just flow together, and I haven't had that happen in a while. I feel like I slogging through a mire of cellophane wrappers (real cellophane, not that cheap petroleum based polypropylene stuff). So I was doing one of my random "that seems interesting; I think I'll google it and see what it means" searches that comes out of editing pages from weird books, I found out about the Happiness Manifesto lifehack (the BBC has a whole lifestyle section on this, including an easy-to take test to discover happiness levels. And there's recipes, too. Because recipes make people happy). There's even a group following it informally on 43 things, and my new obsession is 43 things

And writing of 43 things, I love the idea of setting up self-imposed punishments for not meeting my publicly-declared challenge. I heard on NPR (I think) about a group of people who swore they were medically incapable of losing weight, but when threatened with having pictures of themselves posted naked on the internet (taken with their permission, and the study was started with their permission to post if they didn't lose weight - always read the fine print, people), these same study victims managed to drop some poundage. Crazy that. Although I did get chastised for suggesting that I might really want to eat a worm if I don't get the worm bin up and running. I don't really want to eat a worm, even with the recipes in the back of my worm book. I ate snails in Paris. I discovered they're just carriers for butter and garlic, and I much prefer bread or mushrooms for that. In fact, mushrooms have pretty much the same texture and consistency of snails without the creepy knowledge that they once had eye stalks. Eye stalks kind of freak me out.

yeah.

Yummers!

So dinner was from a new cookbook. Fish en papillote with fennel, thyme and olives (but not sea bass, because they had lasers on their forehead, were $24/lb, and the Central Market guy had a substitute that was just like seabass for half the price); crushed cauliflower with bear cheese, and asparagus with orgasm butter lemon sauce. Central Market must have had their artisan baker quit, because their bread suddenly sucks balls. The rustic bread had fine holes. Not rustic at all. Last week, we bought bread and the chef must have mistaken cup for teaspoon, because it was salty like a seadog. Enough Complaining!

Crushed cauliflower, modified for two:

6 cups water
Kosher salt
1/2 pound cauliflower, separated into medium sized florets
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 cup finely grated parmesan reggiano (or chunked extra sharp bear cheddar cheese
pepper (freshly ground, preferably white, although I don't keep white pepper around, so black works fine)
cayene pepper (my addition - if it's got cheese, it can stand a sprinkle of cayene)

Pour the water into a large, heavy bottomed pan, add 2 teaspoons salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the cauliflower and cook about 10 minutes. Drain.
Return cauliflower to pot and cook for 3 minutes more over medium-low heat to evaporate excess liquid. Why? Because he said so. Add butter, oil and cheese. Turn off heat. Break up the florets and mash with a potato masher, or if you're me, two wooden spoons, while you tell the story of not knowing what that thing was that your friend gave you because your mom never used a potato smasher, and your husband's mom used a pastry blender. Who uses potato smashers? Season with salt if you want, pepper, and if you're me, cayenne, and a dash of crushed thyme to meld with the fish. Yum!
Transfer to a bowl and serve hot. I transfered to a steel mixing bowl I got at IKEA and put on the back burner of the range so it got the heat of the oven as the fish cooked. The bowl was nice and hot and kept the food warm without drying it out.

The boy said, "Cheddar and cauliflower? OMG - thank you."

It's a keeper. And it helps if you consume an ENTIRE BOTTLE OF WINE!
gah.

Pan's Labyrinth

Don't read this if you haven't seen the film yet. And this is brief so don't read it as complete as I haven't fully formed all of my arguments, I just want to get it down. But yeah, she died.

It's a great film, but I've been thinking about the imagery, and the symbolism. Ofelia's first discovery of the dual identity with Princess Moanna left her with a sense of pride, and pride is the first of the seven deadly sins. At that point, she was already human. The image in the well was of the faun holding the girl with a baby. Didn't happen: the captain took the baby back. Ofelia failed her promise to trust the faun without asking questions and her promise to her brother that she would take him with her and make him a prince. And all of the other deaths were delusions - the captains desire to pass on the legacy left by his father - denied; the mother's desire to take care of her family - denied (especially with the hints that the captain was the one that caused the death of the tailor); the death of Ofelia was the death of an innocent past. I don't know much about the Spanish Civil war, except for the glorious propaganda of Hemingway and Gramsci, but she represented something other than an innocent child. Maybe the delusion of being able to maintain belief in a dream instead of facing the reality of utter failure. Dunno. Could be.

I will be watching this again. Imagery keeps coming back to me - the editing of the chase through the forest where trees are used to make the captain's troupes jump around in the frame. It was a brilliant way to disturb time and space. I also want to reexamine the train scene where the lights/screens were manipulated to give an otherworldly sense of dusk/dawn. The technical was nicely executed. And this was so much better than Hellboy (not that I didn't like Hellboy, but this was just better.)

Another Texas Charmer

I didn't expect, so soon after going to the Ann Richards memorial, that I'd wonder if I wanted to go to the Molly Ivins memorial (with a gathering at Scholz Garten afterwards - how fitting). I used to read the Texas Observer diligently, and have always loved Ivins' ability to turn the Texas legislature into the object of mockery that it deserves. Sad day. I remember when I was studying at Mojo's Daily Grind (I think it's Kasbah Coffee or something even more ridiculous now), I overheard a blonde scrawny thing complaining about a woman in her class: "She's like, a *feminist*". And she spat the word out like it was an insult. I wanted to slap the blonde scrawny thing, and remind her that unless she was there to get her M-R-S degree, the only reason she was at the university was because *feminists* made it acceptable for women to express their opinions and get educations. Ivins had that Texas charm that, like Richards, could have made that girl feel both shame for being so stupid, and for expressing it in public. I just piss people off.

You will be assimilated

Yesterday I went over to my neighbor's house to help out with Flea stuffing (our neighborhood newsletter is called "the Flea" in honor of a large cat colony that used to exist on one of the streets). I mentioned that I stumbled into the artisan baking class at TCA and he immediately loaned me a book from The Cheese Board Collective (he lived in Berkeley for a while). Yum!

I'm working my way through the history and the basics, and am looking forward to trying the recipes. I'll post my findings as they appear in the kitchen.

Outrage

Just hit one of the blogs I lurky-read. The first story made me want to post because I've downloaded enough to the boy. Having been raped at 16 by a total stranger (my first sexual experience), this causes bile to rise up in my throat and makes me want to scream. Seriously. WTF? A woman was raped, then thrown into jail? (It was a clerical error. She had no reason to be there.) And then she was denied a prescription to keep her from getting pregnant because the jail medical examiner had a personal problem with it? I spent time volunteering for NARAL and TARAL, but it seems more than a few men need a firm kick in the balls. And some women, too. Wouldn't it be great if there was a rape awareness day and every man and woman who had been raped or sexually assaulted wore a pin that said "Rape survivor". (Actually, I think I'm going to start a campaign because there IS a Sexual Assault Awareness Day!). And the first google link is for the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence. *snort* the woman's story above happened in Tampa. Seems they've got a bigger problem than they think.

Random Random Random Senseless Practice

(The second week of February is Random Act of Kindness week. I hate that bumper sticker, but really love it when people mutate it into other messages.)
One of the things I do that doesn't actually bring in any viable income but is still fun because of the randomness of it all, is proofreading OCRed documents for a company that contracts with major publishers for online document search retrieval. I'll edit a Christian marriage counseling page, a page from a children's book, and then a page of soft-core erotica, then a math book page. Great for keeping the brain non-linear, and I get to play with my weird ability to immediately spot the typo in written text. (I inherited this ability from my super-human mom, and until recently, just used this ability to constantly criticize myself. So this is a slightly lucrative use of a power for good, and not evil.)

For the most part, I don't get involved in the content, but I sometimes I'll proof a page that compels me to read the rest of the book. Rarely does the publisher omit the author or the title of the book from the layout of the individual page, but it does happen, and I'm left fumbling with half-finished novels in my head that will never be completed. So far there's a fictional biography of an icelandic punk band, a sci-fi series that I think I can track down, and an autobiography of a person who did a tibetan monk thing in England somewhere and has a funny writing style that I adore.

So yesterday afternoon I had a conversation with my fabulous neighbor about our ability to convince ourselves that we're worthless by listening to others trying to beat us down and turn us into something they think we should be, and not who we really are (a common enough occurrence in our media-inspired culture, I suppose). She went back to the gym and I sat back down in front of the computer and immediately ran into a great (para)quote in that tibetan monk book I happened to get to proof a few pages: I choose my own direction. And however much I may wobble in reaction to others, I keep my direction steady.

Half.com conflict

So I'm in the middle of a weird little conflict with someone that purchased a book from me on half.com. I didn't realize when I bought the book at Book People, that some ass had decided to rip a few pages out. So I, in my naiveté, listed it as a complete book. The buyer recognized this and sent me an email demanding a refund, thinking that I had ripped the pages out. This was a logical assumption, since that was the first thing I thought he did. But it cost 2.15 to mail the book media mail, and with the commission and packaging, the book I listed for $5.00 really only brought in about $2.50 in profit (the idea of commission and postage being separate from the value of the book is beyond the buyer). Since that's only about a fifteen cent difference from postage, I'm going to end up in a no-win-no-lose situation for no reason (I seriously doubt half.com will give me money for return postage - they're a business, not a charity. A concept that is also lost on the buyer). So I asked the buyer to neither waste his time nor mine, and get a faster refund, by not returning the book, destroying it and providing proof of that destruction. I even suggested he do it in creative ways. This is beyond him. I'm guessing this isn't a lesson in patience for me, but instead is The Ganzfeld desperately trying to tell me this guy is too repressed to own a copy of something that's an expression of creativity.

Dog fence span completed (almost)

Yesterday was an amazing combination of complete laziness and getting things done. AC made biscuits and we watched Veronica Mars for breakfast. Then he watched another Netflix movie while I did a bunch of random things, including attacking the growth on the fenceline. I got enough of it out to convince him to make a span of wooden dogfence, and when he finished it, it looked so good, I pizza&beer bribed him to do the last span to the cottonwood. I'm afraid of the cottonwood: this is the tree with the poison ivy trunk that's larger than my two hands fisted together. Avoidance! Avoidance!

So since I pulled the bribe out, I had to call for delivery. I hate papa johns - their sauce tastes like corn syrup - but besides Conan's (which is way too expensive for what you get) and Eastside Pies (which we weren't in the mood for -- the crust is too crusty), they're the only pizza that we know of that delivers to our house. I wouldn't have minded carryout Slices & Ices, but I wanted something different to remind myself why we like them. So I went on a pizza hunt, looking for a place that wasn't evil that might possibly deliver to our area. Austin's Pizza looked promising. They won a "best of austin" award for delivery from the auschron, so they might deliver eastside as most of the staff at the chronicle has lived over here at one time or another. I called. Nope. At least the guy was highly apologetic (we're about two miles away).

But I can't figure out why this myth of eastside Austin still prevails. It's quite cush now. I remember when cops would pull you over if you were white and driving east of IH35 after 8pm (mainly because it happened to a friend from the coop - and yes, he was actually trying to buy something illegal), but that's been decades. Seriously. AC and I were trying to figure out how we could best share our disdain for having to pick up our own pizza (which we really didn't mind, since he wanted to get beer, too), and he decided to write a letter. I suggested rather than pulling out the "I approve food orders for our events and I'll never shop there again!" whine (since it would be hard to really enforce - he has frequent lunch meetings there), that he instead do the "I would think Austin's Pizza was a little less racist than that" tactic. I doubt it will work, but I can still highly recommend the Bacon Pizzaburger with Fat Tire. Yum!

Friday mini-vacate

As planned, I drove to San Antonio Friday afternoon to pick up AC from his conference. Did I mention San Antonio drivers suck? We found the McNay (after taking a long and circuitous path. I *so* hate that city. Who plans a city around a friggin' circle? At least the mormons have it down - identify temple square and name the streets ordinal from there on a grid. Not a circle. Once you figure it out, you'll never get lost in Deseret - I mean, Utah. Oh, and never tell the story of the bulimic seagulls at an airport waiting for a plane going to Salt Lake City. Duh! Sure to be someone who doesn't find it as amusing as you).

At the recommendation of one of the docents at the McNay, we ate at a pretty tasty little sandwich shop called the Twin Sisters on New Braunfels - not as good as NeWorlDeli, but what is? Their parmesan bread was pretty amazing, the waitor was pretty funny (and obviously recognized his regulars). The soups left a little to be desired, but we're spoiled for soup. I should post my celery soup recipe - it's not for the faint of heart.

Once fortified, we were back at the mansion. I had been there when I was in high school (and saw pages from the first edition of Tom Phillip's A Humament - incredibly instrumental in who I am now. Art is best explored in its original form - not in a book, especially when it is a book) but AC had never been. So we walked around for a couple of hours, talked with the guards, and did a wonderful job not spending any money in the gift shop. It's a great museum, intimate without being overwhelming. It has representative pieces from artists, great for student field trips, but the exhibit that blew me away and left me with tears in my eyes was Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series (showing as part of Black Heritage month). Wow.

I did something right in a dog fight!

Maggie posing as a "good dog"
Originally uploaded by carabou.

Woo hoo! OK. Let me clarify. I'm not woo-hooing because Maggie jumped Pico. In fact, I feel kind of stupid because I figured something like that would happen, but I was really hungry and I was busy scarfing down half a can of kidney beans while dispersing cheers. My bad. Anyway.

It's a fantastic day, and I didn't want Pico digging up all of my worms and coming back in the house with a filthy nose, so I had her in the kennel for most of the day while I worked in the garage. Sorry A - it was driving me crazy. I wanted to take the trash out since the bin was full, and ended up doing more than I expected. Anyway. I decided to take some time and play with Pico and Hopus. I put Maggs and Chew in the back-back yard (we seem to have developed a complicated back yard system) and threw a toy for Hope. Pico ran around, peed twice (sniffed a lot first), and took a very large poop (which I cleaned up, thankyouverymuch mrC). It was fun, but I tired out Hope and she started to get a little grumpy toward Pico (I think she sprained her rear leg when I had her jumping and twisting in the air. She's amazing twirly dog!). Then Pico didn't want to run around any more because Hope was grumpy. So I thought I'd run in, grab a bite, and then do the doggy shuffle, but leave Hope and Pico in the main back, and Chuy and Maggie in the back back.

Bad idea. Kind of. I had the kitchen door open, and when person-walking-by triggered dog barking frenzy, I heard a dog run by the door and back again. "Huh? -- there shouldn't be any dogs there" so I peaked my head out the screen door and saw Chuy, but no Maggie. Crapola. Maggie probably jumped the fence and is now in the same enclosure with the dog that she has caused more than 5K worth of damage in at least three separate instances. Yay.

So I open the back door to the dogroom. And Pico runs in. A HUGE no-no, and Maggie, being the enforcer of all rules (she's very fascist that way), jumps Pico in the office, on the rug, next to the pile of books I'm trying to sell. I am sooooo happy Pico already did her bidness -- all that came out was a tiny little turdlet that I stepped on after the mess was over (I was wearing a sock. It's now in the trash and there's pee-eating enzymes on the floor where it got smushed).

So my long rambly story is now to the "I did something right!" part. What I didn't do: Panic. Yell. Scream. Pour water on the dogs. Rush around like a frantic person. What I did: I put down my bowl of food (I was eating a half a can of kidney beans, remember? Although, for a split second, I really did consider throwing it at Maggie, but how kidney beans would deter a fight is now beyond me. Glad I didn't - one less thing to clean up). After I put down my food, I put down my chopsticks (hehe). I grabbed Maggie by the tail. Still not screaming, I pulled. I didn't say anything, I just pulled Maggie away from Pico. Thankfully, she let go (I didn't get a chance to tether Pico to anything, so she was on her own).

Quick survey: no pee or crap everywhere and Pico is free. I'm still holding Maggie by the tail, and she's snarling like a mad dog (frothing at the mouth and grrr!) Pico, sweet little stupid thing that she is, is sitting there, wondering what the frack she should do. I am so glad we trained Pico to go to her kennel. "Pico! Kennel" (stupid dog, I'm thinking - but she's not alpha, and has no idea what to do, so it's actually good that she waited for me to tell her what to do. It's my job.) Pico heads out to her kennel in the living room and I reach behind me, open the door and very calmly shove Maggie outside. Go to the living room, check Pico over (she's slobbery, but no damage. Whew!). Walk back to check for a more thorough pee-poop check and step in some. Take off socks and throw away. Let in Chuy, let in Hope. Walk around with Maggie for a little bit to reaffirm my alpha (and she's really doing it all right - walking behind me, totally focusing on my face. I ignore her, but demand she come out with me while I'm taking out the recycling). Let her back inside with me (and yell at Hope for jumping over the couch and eating all the cat food).

Then I realize that I don't have a headache, nor despair, nor melancholy. Maggie just attacked Pico and I didn't lose it. I actually handled it in a way that didn't cause more damage to Pico (unlike the previous times when I yelled and screamed, which I realized afterwards caused more damage b/c Maggie thought I was encouraging her - she's such an obedient dog. If only she weren't so rule-bound). So I'm happy in a weird sort of way. And I'm proud of myself. So, yeah, I'm bragging. But in a weird sort of "my dogs aren't really well-behaved" way. Which is perfect, because it makes no sense. Just like me.

Snopes has a picture gallery!

I like snopes, but it's not one of those sites I look at every day. I usually only use it to refer people who send spam as they were one of the first, and are still pretty active, and -- they've got pictures! I'm not so keen on the gruesome bits, but the one that really cracked me up was a pic of urinal art. I though, "Oh, the stupid fly target again" (which is clever, btw, but since I'm female never really appealed to me). Not that. In fact, not that at all. I almost sent it via email to some people I know, but resisted -- oh ... so ... hard ... -- cuz if it's on snopes, it's already been emailed too much. So I put it here. (And the shopping bags are pretty cool, too.)

Quinoa recipe from my acupuncturist

lightly toast about a cup of quinoa in ghee until it starts to pop and smells really toasty. Add in about the same to double of broth and some peas and chopped red and yellow peppers. Cook like rice (bring to boil, then simmer low low low! with barely any flame for about 20 minutes). TaDa!

Argh, A Restaurant Drink, Limey!

I have mixed feelings about Saba Blue Water Cafe. We went when they first opened, when the warehouse district was just on the edge of being the urban scene it truly is now. OK - I lie. It was pretty hipster then, but I was better paid, better dressed, and much younger (but never a hipster - swear!). They were one of the few places in town that knew what a Mojito was, and theoretically, how to make it. I tried to make one at home, but couldn't really figure out the "muddling" bit, so I wanted to compare it to a "real" one. I'm still no expert, but I decided I like margaritas more.

Mojito

• 3-4 fresh lime quarters (like, take an organic lime? and wash it? and then cut it into quarters? Right?)
• 10-12 fresh sprigs of mint (and I used spearmint, which is what I had at the time. There are so many types of mint, I bet this could really change the drink. I bet lemon verbena would also make a killer replacement. Mmmm. I love verbena.)
• 1/2 ounce simple syrup (easy enough to make - but it takes an hour. Don't burn yourself, and you may want to consider adding flavoring to it if you think you want the extra kick
• 1 1/2 ounces white rum (I'm not a big rum drinker, and the boy likes spiced rum - I'd probably just use plain Bacardi, but if you know more about rum, get what you like. There's tons of rums - lemon infusions, raspberry flavored. I bet vodka would also work fine and I really like my Hanger One vodka)
• soda water (not coke, just the carbonated water stuff you get at the drink mixer section)
• Ice

Add limes, mint and simple syrup together in a 12-ounce glass. Pestle (really - that's what it says. Probably mean "muddle") together with 5-10 downward twisty motions (or muddle, if you know how to do that). Add the ice to the rim of the glass, and alternate adding rum and soda until the glass is full. Shake two or three times (the glass - in a shaker if you were smart and put the ingredients in a shaker glass) and serve. Don't forget to strain the mint leaves. No one thinks green stuff in your teeth is attractive.

It's in the eyes

So I was watching an episode of Dead Like Me on the sci-fi channel last night that I hadn't seen before (which is weird, because I rented the DVDs, but it's been a while and I'm easily distracted) and a new show is previewing that I thought I might want to watch - the Dresden Files. Looks dark, looks like a good carrier for some cool stuff. I ended up recording it to the DVR, but it was not necessary. (GAH! THE DOGS WON'T STOP BARKING AND WHEN I WENT OUTSIDE TO SEE WHAT THEY WERE BARKING AT - CONSTANTLY BTW - HOPE JUMPED ON MY KHAKI-COLored pants (yelling PICO really loud seems to have calmed me down a little bit) and now my pants have four dog-foot smears on them. Lovely).

Anyway. I started thinking about all of the webstreaming of tv shows and how they've got a directed target (I caught up on Vanished and was both annoyed and amused at how they require you to watch an ad before seeing content). So in my inbox this morning, I find a link in my Benton Foundation communication update to a Reuters article regarding an analysis of TV shows being watched on teh internets. The Benton synopsis made me laugh: [Nielsen stressed, however, that watching TV on your computer does not make you younger, smarter or more affluent.]

darn.

Another Door, another Drink

I haven't been to the Cedar Door in a while -- something about avoiding trying to find a place to park and the fear of the overpriced downtown crowd. But I found the recipe for their absolutely delish Mex Mart, so I may not have to worry about this anymore. Mmmm. Mex marts. If only they had Migas and Fajitas, I could avoid going to the frat-packed horribly loud Trudy's ever (but then, I actually like Trudy's, so I can deal).

CD's original mexican martini

• 1 ounce Sauza Gold tequila
• 1 ounce Hiram Walker Triple sec
• Freshly squozed lime juice (Central Market sells non-pasturized freshly squoze in convenient pint-size containers in the produce section)
• splash of both orange juice and sweet&sour mix

Combine the ingredients in a 16-ounce pint glass chock full o' ice. Shake well (the glass) and serve in a salted rim glass (they recommend one of those Marie Antoinette boobie champagne glasses, but any ol' glass'll do), and garnish with three green olives on a miniature pirate sword pick and a wedge o' fresh lime.

You'll recognize the template

I took this amazing workshop with Liz Belile when I was in grad school (although, because of the mess of teaching and learning, and the politics of accusations and money disbursement that was going on with the faculty at the department, I had to stop going to the workshop to save my sanity (although losing it happened anyway. My shrink totally sucked. I needed tools to cope with what was happening then, not to revisit the rape that happened in high school, or retell all of the "poor-little me" stories from my childhood while holding a human-kid-sized doll and sitting on battery cables - yeah). So I never performed my pieces but that's okay because it was still a cool workshop). Anyway. Liz has a new blog up for people who can't take the workshop because she's put a hiatus on offering it until she's got a kiddo. So go and take a look at it. Now!

(and san antonio drivers suck.)

Beautiful Day!

Yesterday I worked in the garden in a short-sleeved shirt. Amazing. 65 degrees, sunny, beautiful. We took Chuy, Hope and Maggie out for a short walk (just around the neighborhood) and enjoyed the beauty of the day. We thought about going to Town Lake, but decided not to waste gas (we could bike, but there's too much glass/debris on the road there for the dogs' paws). My new goal - walk all four dogs at the same time. Maggie hasn't had the opportunity to go for Pico's throat in a while, and I like to live dangerously. (Just kidding. I would never do that. I would like to be able to walk them all at the same time, just with Maggs and Pico on opposite sides of the two sets of legs holding the leashes.)

An update on the cats: Taki has taken to crawling under the cover with me when I get into bed. It's a little creepy and a little cute at the same time. He's gotten incredibly demanding when it comes to my attention/time/space. Right now he's in my lap (he demanded his way there). It's really cute, but poor Esme and Nuncle aren't getting any me-time. Eh - not true. Esme still sleeps on my head (which is great for my asthma - let me tell ya) and Nuncle hangs out on the desk when I'm working. He's there now, leaning on my stack of business papers I have to sort through. It's a good thing he's so cute, because it would be annoying if he weren't.

I had a dream last night that he had a tortoiseshell coat, with green on the head. And that all mathematicians had to run 4-minute miles. What an interesting combination. There was another long complicated movie dream, but I think it was just a recreation of Children of Men. The main thing I remember was a synchronized blackening with spraypaint of all of the security cameras in the world.

Turquoise Rita

Once, when I drank in public more because I had a horrid job working for people who's only mission in life was to be well-dressed, I asked for a "blue drink." The bartender, since it was slow, amused me and himself, and came up with a drink he called "Windex." I don't think I've ever been to Z'Tejas. Or, if I had, I don't remember it. But if I had, I'm sure I'd remember the Turquoise margarita.

• Rose's lime juice
• 2 ounces Patron Silver tequila
• 1 ounce blue curacao
• 2 ounces sweet and sour mix
• 1 fresh lime wedge
• Coarse salt
• Ice

Pour a little Rose's lime juice into a saucer or shallow dish, and coarse salt in second dish (about 1/8" deep). Dip the rim of a pint glass (the 14-ounce pilsner variety) in the juice, and then the salt. Set aside.

Fill a shaker with ice, and add tequila, curacao and the sweet and sour mix. Cover and shake vigorously. Pour the drink and the ice into the salt-rimmed glass. Squeeze lime wedge into the drink and plop it on in to drink.

I 'm warm.

I 'm warm.
Originally uploaded by mikapon.

I borrowed the picture from mikapon because I don't have any new pictures of anything vaguely normally. Aielli did a search on "cold" - so far we've got Muddy Waters "Cold Weather Blues", Guy Clark's "Expose", and Crosby, Stills and Nash "Cold Rain". Yep. It got turned off. Guess I need to charge the ipod battery.

Today is "catch up on everything I haven't done yet" day. A five day vacation was nice, I suppose, but I didn't really get much done. I could have been editing, but then I would have felt even more snow/ice bound than I did, as I would have been in front of the computer all the time.

The N&D is off to work. The dogs are outside, the cats are asleep on the bed. It's all back to normal.

Another Wintery day

cold seat
Originally uploaded by carabou.

Either we're getting bored of the cold, or it's warming up. No half inch of snow like weatherman predicted, but it's still cold and slushy outside. The dogs are going crazy in the house, so I turned on the electric heater in the dog room and put them out. They've got fur coats, and when we take them out for a run later, they'll already be acclimated to the cold. We're loving the names the news stations are giving the weather. "Ice Storm 2007!" If it freezes again, I wonder if it will be "Return of Ice Storm!"

I turned the thermostat (turned? No, actually, I punched a button) down to 68. I can breath easier with the cold, and it makes the cats more affectionate and snuggly. Nuncle and Esme were growly toward Tsuki this morning, so maybe I need to punch it down a little lower.

I have an acupuncture appointment today, but I'm hoping it's canceled (even though I walk there. I don't want my acupuncturist to drive on the ice. He's got kids). I'll call later to see. Got emails from most of the family. They're all doing okay (for the most part). The N&D needs to call his family to see how they're doing and to wish the MIL a happy birthday.

Snow day!

Snow!
Originally uploaded by carabou.

It's snowing! It's actually snowing! We're inside being lazy. I really want to see Children of Men, but don't feel like taking off my pajamas. hehehe. There's lots of people walking by our street, more than I've seen in a long time. I even emailed my dad to let him know it was snowing, and uploaded a silly video (with no sound) to youtube. I've seen snow before (drifts and mounds), but it's fun to see it in Austin.

Worms!

It's actually freezing outside. Wow.

Yesterday I spread some pea gravel on the side yard because the rain that is happening all at once rather than taking several months to descend turned it into a muddy mess. It looks good, but eight bags didn't make it all the way to the Pico fence (we have to lock her out of the side yard, otherwise she digs up all of my plants to sleep as close to the back door as possible. Plus, I got a little tired of troweling in pansies and finding large turds. Fun fun fun). So I'm braving the sleet and rain and writing "get more pebbles" on my list of things to do. I'm debating whether I want to visit the large home supply store just for pebbles. I might, but it's still under consideration.

I also added two bags of mulch to an unfinished project because I realized I've been deflocculating (I think that's the word) a spot of clay next to the dog room. I'll admit I'm too lazy to finish the greywater tank, but I really need to get on it. I've got the design, I've just got to get the motivation. Freezing weather is not motivating. (update from near&dear - "The ice is building up on the Subaru.")

I've started a new goal for the year. I'm going to eat vegetables from the garden (instead of being fascinated by the eggplant and tomato, I'm going to eat it).

And I'm going to grow worms. I've got the plans set out, and made of list of things I'm going to need to make it work. I've grown them before, but there was a die-off when our house-sitter firmly placed the lid on the interior worm bin while we were away, thus suffocating them. Poor things. We came home to dead, dessicated worms all over our kitchen floor. It was rather depressing.

So -- worms, veggie garden, and side yard. It's freezing outside, and I'm doing what I should be doing: making plans.

Lemon Bars and the chance for snow

I made lemon bars last night. They were almost perfect. The shortbread was a little off, and I learned a lesson on parchment paper use and lemon bar making. I didn't take a picture of them before I cut them (and these are intense lemon bars, so an 8" x 8" square became over 16 lemon bars 1" x 1.5-2" in size, with some "pieces" left over for breakfast). So my quest for the perfect lemon bar will hopefully end soon (when I find the perfect shortbread crust).

And! We're going to see a movie tonight. Possible Arthur and the Invisibles, or maybe the Curse of the Golden Shower, or possibly Children of Men. I like living in a city with more than one movie theater.

43 Things!

So I've joined 43 things and have six things that I'm working on. I just posted a listing for my progress on going through the bookshelves and removing all of the clutter (also known as cheap insulation, but they get dusty and books emit odors). I've listed three books that I've read on half.com (and if they don't sell in a week, they're going to the free shelf at cafe caffeine). Listed to sell: The Light Ages, Silverlock, and Sextopia. To read: The Wellness Book (bought as a hint to the N&D), Politics of Women's Biology (left by roommate and migrated to my bookshelf), and In Memoriam to Identity (bought at the local anarchist bookstore, but it's Kathy Acker and she's not exactly airport literature).

Oh, and the litterbox cat training thing isn't going so well. The cat keeps drinking out of the toilet, so it's lid-stays-closed time for us. Must ... remember ... in ... middle ... of ... night ...

sweet, sweet sushi

sweet, sweet sushi Originally uploaded by carabou.

I'm not as annoyed as I was a few days ago. I guess I was just going through anger issues related to the lack of oxygen in my brain from all of my asthma and cedar issues. But yay to TCM and NAP! I can breathe!

But now I'm all depressed and wigged out so I got up last night at crazy early (it wasn't even today yet) and made petit fours. I don't know why I had to make petit fours, but I did. Even more important, I had to make sushi petit fours. Yes. I had to make sushi petit fours. But I really goofed up the petit four icing (I've never made petit fours before) so it ended up looking a lot more like rice cake (mmmm) than I had originally expected (at least on some of them).

I still had (and have) fondant in my pantry, so next was the shrimp, but I learned my lesson about the important of taste and in the future I will be attempting molded and baked merengue shrimp with something else as the wasabi (almond paste?). The fondant is too dense and gross. It needs to be lighter and crisp or at least just tasty. Maybe an almond cookie cookie would work. I'll have to think about that.

Knife Skills

So my gift to myself from N&D (I know) was a really nice Santoku knife (shen). And we were going to take a knife basics class at CM to learn how to use and sharpen our lovely new knives. But they're sold out. And the corresponding knife basics class at Whole Foods is this Saturday, when we're going to be in Houston. Not so great. It's like the universe wants us to cut ourselves or something. Agh. (And I made a little spiteful post I had up go away because I don't feel so spiteful anymore. But in honesty, if you want to see it, let me know.)

Huh? Manners went where?

So I get this email from an acquaintance (a coworker of my N&D):

Do you remember last night when I said that you were looking attractive & stylish, to which you replied with an insulting comment about how I must be stoned and shouldn't be allowed to drive? This is not the first time you've needlessly shot down acclaims from me, though this time I've taken note.
I should no longer bother to pay you compliments. You can make all the self-depricating declarations you want, but when you attack a real friend for thinking well of you. Well, you fucked up and hurt some feelings.
I apologize for having to express this in email, but I felt too uncomfortable last night to explain my feelings in person.

So the thing is, he really was stoned and my comment was regarding a different conversation about who should drive. And if he truly was my friend, he would know that I generally ignore any comments regarding my appearance as I find them to be rude, shallow, or often both. So where does white privileged boy get off thinking he has the right to describe his opinion but I don't have the right to state a more immediate reality? He pulls an attitude that doesn't even border on pretension -- it is -- and he thinks I've "hurt some feelings"? I don't get it. So I email back in veiled jokey-sarcasm just how white and privileged he's acting, but he's so there (and it's email) that it slides right over him. And when we finally do actually see each other, his first comment is so disgustingly snobbish, it sets me off. I know he's smart, and no one could be raised to be this obtusely annoying, so he's doing it on purpose.
Whatever happened to the idea that if you don't want to hang out with someone, you just stop hanging out with them?

Training Cats

I've decided to train the cats to use the litterbox. From this morning's statesman:

• Move the litter box to a designated bathroom. Find a litter pan (a roasting pan will do) that will fit under the toilet seat. Put the pan on the floor beside the toilet, fill it with kitty litter and let the cat use it for at least three weeks.
• Begin placing newspapers underneath the litter pan, gradually piling up the stack of papers until the height of the pan is level with the toilet seat. Allow sufficient time for the cat to form the habit of jumping up and going in the pan.
• Place the pan securely under the toilet seat.
• Next, cut a small hole in the center of the pan. Gradually enlarge the hole. At the same time, decrease the amount of litter in the pan. This step forces the cat to use the toilet seat to steady himself, first with two paws and finally with all four. At first, the cat will attempt to cover its deposits with litter but will eventually stop as the hole gets bigger.
• When your cat is perching on the seat to relieve himself, you are ready to remove what remains of the pan. You now have a cat with a "potty habit."

Dentist

I'm home, two fillings richer, 80 bucks poorer and half of my face numb and drooly. Fun times. He uses a dental dam. It was kind of weird. And very constricting for someone with claustrophobia. But I made it through without choking. So floss. And don't get cavities. Cuz trust me, they're no fun to get filled. Blagggggggh. I feel like half my face is melting. No food, no coffee, no mud tea for at least another three hours. And then in six months I get another cleaning. I love clean teeth.

Months and Months!

So much has happened. Shame on me for not posting. Lets see.

• Got acupuncture
• Still teaching animation
• Saw Bill Plimpton
• Helped friend with wedding (including cooking huge batches of paella for shower)
• Broke and fixed many windows
• Went to Grand Opening of Round Rock IKEA
• Started agility with Maggie and Hope. Maggie graduated. Hope -- not so much
• Leased (kind of) a Kharman Ghia - electric, of course
• Shot skeet at my sister's ranch
• ... It goes on. It's been busy.

And The Other wants me to post to his blog, but his blog is not my blog even though I'm hardly posting. Yeah. I should write more, eh?

I am not a fourth grade teacher

Friday was depressing after the dog attack on Thursday. The kids I teach animation as part of an after school thing decided to start calling each other names with vaguely racist undertones. Ok. Not so vague. They were racist. It got so bad that I told them that if I heard "that word" again, I'd send whomever said it to the after school program director. It was said. Unfortunately, it was said by one of the kids with a poor reputation for disruption already. There was crying. There was finger pointing. It was horrid.

I don't remember ever having such a discipline problem. But then, I went to six schools by the fifth grade, so I never really got to be anything else than "new girl."

I don't want to confine these kids, but I'm doing a horrid job getting across what they need to do to make animations because they're so used to being told exactly what to do. I hate that limitation, but I'm going to have to do it. Sad.

At least UT won the OU game. Stoops. hehehe

Agh! The dogs!

Yesterday evening, while A. was drinking sparkling shiraz with friends, Pico started barking with the neighbordogs who are totally ignored and bark all the time. I got annoyed and brought her in. Miss Maggs decided that because I was annoyed, she should attack Pico.

So she did.

I'm lucky I was able to get them apart. I've since done a little research on how to effectively break up a dog fight with just one person. It's not easy, but one way involves tying one dog by its hauches to a fixed object (fence, door) and grabbing the other dog by the rear legs (carefully) and tail, and pulling. I pulled Miss Maggs by the tail, but she wouldn't let go, so the three of us (with Hope in tow) walked around the house, crapping and pissing in fear. Okay. so it was only Pico. But still.

Yay.

I should have realized that Miss Maggs was getting a little cocky when I'd walk in the living room and find her on the settee. Not enough exercise, not enough socialization. Not enough. Never enough.

I mopped everything up with dawn dishsoap (lavendar), then orange oil. And I smudged the house with cedar. It still feels bad. I really wish dogs had never come into our life, and now there's no going back.

Lesson learned about an open freezer

Desk-fly
Originally uploaded by orangeacid.

(Image borrowed from orangeacid's Flickr account b/c I don't have a macro.)

Two days. That's all it took for the freezer door to be slightly ajar in 97 degree weather. Two days, and enough of the dog food melted to cause a convocation of flies. I've killed at least 500 of them. (no, really.) They're there to drive me crazy.

I hate flies.

Sneaky Water Theivery?

So, if the city opens up a fire hydrant to reduce pressure on the lines, and the water is being ejected so fast that it's projected across the street and down the gutter on our side, is it sneaky to walk out with a plastic pitcher and start dumping water on the very dry plants in the side yard?

I was being observed by both the dogs and two city employees. Since my pants are tight (I'm wearing my painting jeans) I came back inside.

Gah, I've got to lose weight.

Outside the Erwin Center after the Ann Richards Memorial

Outside the Erwin Center after the Ann Richards Memorial
Originally uploaded by carabou.

And we got 1.5" of rain on Saturday and Sunday. Some may have thought it was because it hadn't rained at ACL in the past couple of years. I think it was because a dear governor of texas passed on last friday and mother nature mourned one of her most unpredictable storms. The memorial service was today. We weren't there to see President Clinton cry on Saturday, but we saw Senator Clinton share her own recollection of the powerhouse that was Ann Richards. We'll miss you. And we're not giving up the fight.

olla (Oh-Yeah!)

olla (Oh-Yeah!)
Originally uploaded by carabou.

Went out rowing today in the "Raymond Yin" (what a fine little boat - and a much better way of doing crunches). And I got soaked. Not from sweat this time, but from the sprinkling of some form of sky moisture. I think it was angels crying. Or maybe one of Neptune's dolphins decided to land with a huge belly flop. Or maybe it's just the sky falling. It's been so long since I've seen stuff other than pollen and dust (and cottonwood tree leaves) coming from the sky -- I'm not really sure what's going on. Whatever it is, it's almost 1/4". Wow. Nice and light sprinkling. And it's only 80 degrees instead of a bazillion

Also made some ollas for the yard. Hopefully I'll figure out how they work and get them in the ground and make the plants even happier than they already are (not).

We braved the outside world yesterday (after we did some work on the counter in the kitchen) and went to see Idiocracy. One of those films that requires multiple viewings to get all of the visual comedy. The plot is simple, and not unique, but still fun. Eugenics and commercialization ... We also watched Good Night and Good Luck. What a contrast. But both good in their own special way. I cared who's butts they were, and why they were farting. The main difference I see between Idiocracy and the Ballad of Ricky Bobby is the love ... Will Farrell may be mocking NASCAR, but he's doing it with love. And maybe, just maybe, a little tongue. Costco love was a little ... scary. But undeniably funny, nonetheless.

--
Some people dance to the beat of a different drummer,
And some people POLKA!

the bow of the Chile Pequin

the bow of the Chile Pequin
Originally uploaded by carabou.

We're back from Maine, glorious cool weather and misty days. I was glad it rained half the time we were there. Sad to go on vacation to get rained on and enjoy it. We went two months without any rain, and finally got a measly half inch. I've broken out the sprinker and am keeping a patch of grass alive. The rest ... what a great excuse to replace it with something else.

I'm also experimenting with ollas in the side garden. I've glued two terra cotta pots together, but I didn't seal them well, so I'm going to have to pull them out and reglue them. Bah.

Cat fur

If I were the type of person who thought about these things, I might take the observation that my cats' fur seems to change over time a little more seriously. My cats are getting older, and it seems that their fur is sticking around longer (they're now more DMH's than DSH's). How long does cat fur stick around before it's shed, anyway? A year? Seven years (eyelash fur)? And is there some weird enzyme that the skin produces after a while that makes the fur longer as the bones get thinner (and the cat hunts less since it's no longer "hungry" all the time)? (My cats are *always* hungry. Even when they've just eaten.) If I had the background, I might try to figure this out. As it is, I'll just wonder. And watch the near&dear's bald spot grow.

Monkeys

So the problem with the monkeys and Shakespeare is that right now there really are thousands of monkeys writing and publishing. But only a few of them are brilliant works. And when Shakespeare finally gets around to writing, one of the monkeys jumps up and yells "copyright infringement!" And this has nothing to do with Ann Coulter trying to justify her way out of a plagiarism accusation. I hate the ignorant-- what was it? -- "harpie" and I've never even met her.

Balmy day

Rained .2 inches last night. The weather on the first dog walk of the day was amazing. 70 degrees outside, slight breeze, gentle filtering light through partly cloudy skies ...

And I learned you can wash down comforters without destroying them. But I was still upset he didn't read the label.

Wash day dilemma

So do I thank him for doing the laundry (and spending three hours at the laundromat) or do I get really frustrated because he washed the very large and expensive down comforter that says (in large letters) DRY CLEAN ONLY?

plants for adult butterflies

swallowtail
Originally uploaded by carabou.

annuals, biennials, perennials

• Achillea (Yarrow)
  
• Agapanthus (Lily-of-the-nile)
  
• Agastache (Giant Hyssop)
  
• Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon)
  
• Aquilegia (Columbine)
  
• Armeria (Thrift, Sea Pink)
  
• Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly weed)
  
• Aster
  
• Astilbe (False Spiraea)
  
• Borago officinalis (Borage)
  
• Bouvardia
  
• Catananche caerulea (Cupid's Dart)
  
• Centranthus ruber (red valerian)
  
• Ceratostigma plumbaginoldes (dwarf plumbago
  
• Chelone (turtlehead)
  
• Chrysanthemum maximum (shasta daisy)
  
• Coreopsis
  
• Cosmos
  
• cynoglossum amabile
  
• Delphinium
  
• Dianthus (pink)
  
• Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower)
  
• Echinops (globe thistle)
  
• Erigeron (fleabane)
  
• Eryngium amethystinum (sea holly)
  
• Erysimum cheiri (english wallflwoer)
  
• Eupatorium
  
• Gaillardia grandiflora (blanket flower)
  
• Heliotropium arborescens (common heleiotrope)
  
• Hesperis matronalis (dame's rocket)
  
• Iberis (candytuft)
  
• Lathyrus odoratus (sweet pea)
  
• Liatris
• Lobelia
  
• Lobularia maritima (sweet alyssum)
  
• Monarda (bee balm)
  
• Nepeta
  
• Origanum vulgara (oregano)
  
• Penstemon (beard tongue)
  
• pentas lanceolata (star clusters)
  
• Phlox
  
• Primula vialii
  
• Prunelia vulgaris (self-heal)
  
• Ranunculus
  
• Rudbeckia hirta (gloriosa daisy)
  
• Salvia (sage)
  
• Scabiosa (pincushion flower)
  
• Sedum (tall) Stonecrop)
  
• Solidago (Goldenrod)
  
• Tagetes (Marigold)
  
• Tithonia rotundifolia (Mexican sunflower)
  
• Verbena bonariensis
  
• Zauschneria (California Fuchsia)
  

Shrubs

• Abelia
  
• Aralia spinosa (Hercules' club)
  
• Buddleia
  
• Calluna vulgaris (Scotch Heather)
  
• Caryopteris (Bluebeard)
  
• Ceanothus
  
• Clethra alnifolia (summersweet)
  
• Eriogonum (some) (Wild Buckwheat)
  
• Hebe
  
• Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
  
• Lantana
  
• Lavandula
  
• Lonicera (Honeysuckle)
  
• Mahonia
  
• Philadelphus (single flowered mock orange)
  
• Potentilla (Cinquefoil)
  
• Rhododendron
  
• Rhus trilobata (squawbush)
  
• Ribes
  
• Rosmarinus officinails
  
• Sambucus (elderberry)
  
• Spiraea
  
• Syringa (Lilac)
  
• Vaccinium
  
• Vitex agnus-castus (chaste tree)
  

Trees

• Acer (Maple)
  
• Aesculus (Horsechestnut)
  
• Apple
  
• Citrus
  
• Salix (Willow)
  
• Vitex (Chaste Tree)
  

Plants that attract butterfly larvae

second swallowtail
Originally uploaded by carabou.

From some book that needs to be credited, but all I have are printouts and they didn't put the information on the header/footer.

annuals, biennials, perennials

• Alcea rosea
  
• Antirrhinum majus
  
• Artichoke
  
• asclepias
  
• aster
  
• cleome hasslerana
  
• dicentra
  
• digitalis purpurea
  
• eriogonum
  
• foeniculum vulgare
  
• geum
  
• helianthus
  
• heliotropium arborescens
  
• linaria purpurea
  
• lupinus
  
• penstmon
  
• sidalcea
  
• tropaeolum majus
  
• veronica
  

Ground covers, vines

• passiflora
  
• strawberry
  
• wisteria
  
• Cassia
  
• Ceanothus
  
• Hibiscus
  
• lavatera
  
• Malva
  
• Plumbago suriculate
  
• ribes
  
• rose
  
• spiraea
  
• viburnum
  

trees

• aesculus
  
• betula
  
• celtis
  
• citrus
  
• cornus
  
• crataegus
  
• malus
  
• pinus
  
• platanus
  
• populus
  
• prunus
  
• Pseudotsuga menziesli
  
• quercus
  
• salix
  

You are about to blow food or drink out of your nose

And we've already got our tickets

• Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
• Van Morrison
• Willie Nelson
• Massive Attack
• String Cheese Incident
• Ben Harper
• The Flaming Lips
• it goes on!

The Renewable Energy Roundup folk learned their lesson last year and scheduled this year's festivities for the next weekend.

(and yesterday I killed 23 flies)

Eighteen Flies!

Okay. The fly and flea killing is getting obsessive. I know. And I'm coming to terms with the need to get rid of things and the problem of having things that no-one wants (not clutter), so I have to absolutely throw them away. Even the perpetual listing on half.com doesn't work.

It's hard to throw away books. Maybe I should just burn them instead.

Open Tables

Yesterday I killed 23 flies and N&D ate dinner at the Headliners Club (and wore a jacket. He really does clean up well). He said the food was adequate, but the view was fantastic. In explaining the food, he said that I was an amazing cook (when I did actually cook), so he had high expectations (isn't he sweet?). He had some sort of stuffed chicken dish on risotto, giant stringy asparagus and an overly dry strawberry shortcake.

We then started talking about Wink and how the food is exceptional (for the most part -- I haven't yet had an adequate meal, but we don't eat there often), but the atmosphere is crowded and loud. Granted, we usually get a little tipsy and are part of the reason it's so loud, but there's too many tables for the space.

Food? Yum. Since Clee and I (and TAH and Topher) are such amazing cooks, and we get together frequently anyway, I'm initiating a grub club and I'm spending the day working on a logo (on top of applying for jobs and patching and painting the drywall in the bathroom). This Thursday I want to try some tapas recipes so the theme is going to be "Little Victuals". I like the rhyming factor.

Mothers Day

Love your mother!

Actually, Kill FLIES! So far, 18. There will be more.

UPDATE: Nine more flies and I discovered why the bedroom smells bad. Nuncle pissed on my yoga mat. So far, in the last three days, that's: The Technology Review magazine (not even opened as it had come in the mail that day); the cardboard cat scratches (all three at the same time because I was vacuuming); just outside the litterbox; the watering fountain; and now my yoga mat. I would think this was a sign of sickness, except I know it's all him being a little pisser. Literally.

Why, why did I spend so much saving this cat's life? Sometimes I think liver failure was nature's way of sparing me this pain and I should have paid attention to nature rather than paid to save his life. Now I'm paying with stinky house and Nature's Miracle. It's good, but the cat has got to stop!

UPDATE: THIRTY ONE MORE FLIES!!!!!! And windows in the bedroom that I can actually see through.

UPDATE: THREE more flies (that makes 61 flies. All because of the rotting loquat, fermenting chinaberry, and the dog poop. I hate flies. Clarification -- flies are okay. I hate BZZZZZZ ZZZZZ ZZHBAHZZZZZZ). Also, spread out the mulch, including around the pear tree (again) and moved the small Senecio mandraliscae to the front. The full sun and no water it was getting with the other succulents was leaving it rather sad looking. So less sun and more water and hopefully it will improve.

Instant bog!

Instant bog!
Originally uploaded by carabou.

Today sucks. Just in general. I never really viewed myself as depicting the "victim" -- but I'm really get tired of being yelled at. I'm not a scapegoat for others frustrations. Quit killin' the messenger. Really. Obtuse? Yes. But I really can't say much more other than I feel like crap and I don't know how much longer I can handle this. At all.

Birthday!

Birthday!
Originally uploaded by carabou.

Trudy's for a birthday cake in a glass. I had a frustrating day, especially since all I really wanted to do was go to Pedernales and sit with my feet in the water, eat some chocolate cake and think about life. *sigh*

Carolee and Christopher are ver' cool though. Two amazing books (one fun, one supercool), christmas lights, mints, a fabulous butterfly dish (not a butter dish, but the butterfly named "Figure 1"), night blooming jasmine and a rather cool pot. They're so cool. *sigh*

THIS WILL NOT BE A FEEL SORRY FOR ME POST!

Eventful Easter

Weeding 15 April
Originally uploaded by carabou.

N&D's been amazing these past few days. He's watered all the plants that needed watering, built a Chuy fence, helped me build a new door to the crawlspace under the house so we can get rid of the pile of bricks and rather large plant keeping the dogs out, and he created an extension to our side fence to keep people from jumping over it.

The Story with Caveat: I have no concrete evidence; this is based on impressions of the event and it could have actually been something completely innocent.

Thursday night at about 1:30am N&D and I were jolted out of bed by the dogs barking furiously, a loud thunk and a
weird metal sound, and then the 70# dog squealing horribly (she squeals
anyway when she's nervous -- she's a diva -- but this was more of a
pain squeal). After five minutes of "time out" to calm her down, she
didn't jump up to greet me, was breathing irregularly and licking her
side as if it hurt. No obvious broken ribs, but she was acting as if
they were bruised.

In the morning, over on the only side of the house without a motion
sensor light, where I cleared out the hedge so we can fix the metal on
the chain link fence that is bent and loose, I saw the mulch
underneath the tree on the non-dog side completely mushed up in about
a four foot-long swatch. Just large enough for a person jumping a
fence rather quickly to land.

N&D's been leaving the dogs access to the backyard at night as he's been feeling as if someone's been scoping the house. The last time he felt this way, we found out someone had actually been using our yard to dump stolen wallets.

We didn't actually see anyone ... The dogs bark at cats ... and dogs
... and squirrels ... and people walking by ...

... but we're pretty sure someone tried to break in to our house

Happy Easter/Mid-Pesach/Seasonal Holiday of your Denomination!

smack down cat

poppy
Originally uploaded by carabou.

So yesterday I joined my first Flickr group. I uploaded this image this morning.

On my walk this morning, a little black cat was trying to get the smack-down with Maggs and Hope. It followed us for almost a full block, tail puffy, intent in its eyes. I couldn't stop laughing as I was almost pulled off balance. Plus two of my neighbors brightened my day a little more as a minute after that, they told me that they loved the side garden (this one -- the domino garden, where more pictures are posted on flickr than here, the blog that is dedicated to it. Agh!)

Anyway. What a funny way to start the day.

Happy News / Sad News

This weekend was beautiful. Literally. Gorgeous Saturday, and N&D and I spent the morning and early afternoon at the mosaic-jam. Two mosaic-people, two mosaic-flowers, and only one more mosaic-person to go. Yay! And then Aaron and I worked on the brochure, and I cooked really nasty carrot cake that was way to healthy (ew).

Sunday, up early. Aaron washed clothes while I spent the entire morning looking for my keys. Nowhere in the house. I don't know where they are. Watered the plants in the island. Sad to be missing such another beautiful day that I could spend with puppies in the park but the brochure is mostly done (there are some image issues, and it really needs to be printed ... but whatever). And then found out that Lily was PTS. Sweet, sweet, majestic loving girl. 108 in human-equivalent of dog years. She was tired, I bet. Sweet, gentle, grey furred girl.

My heart aches for Sonja. It really does. I hope her spirit flies with Lily tonight in her dreams and she feels that soft warm body next to hers when she's curled up in bed.

Sometimes I love our neighborhood

poppy mosaic #3 Originally uploaded by carabou.

Sonja neighbor is so cool. I've been chatting with her more -- getting to know the neighbors, as it were. She was just about to loan me a book by Hafiz (The Gift) when I realized I have a pretty poor return-book ability right now. I'm just a fuzz-head. So I told her I'd head down to half or bookpeople and just buy one for myself. Maybe I'll just put it on my amazon wish list. Ooooh. Amazon has a new plog thing and it linked me to yougrowgirl.com. How cool is that?

Stasis

shy poppy?
Originally uploaded by carabou.

I'm in a point of stagnation with the garden. The spring growth spurt has stopped, and all of the summer stuff is slowly creeping open. Do I pull the weeds? Do I wait and see what they are? I already know the henbit and the bedstraw, and today I figured out I have a Carolina anemone prairie wildflower (why did I buy big ones?).

The mess from the hackberry fiasco is still sitting, waiting for me to figure out what I want to do with it. I definitely want a plank bench

And I'm making concrete balls so I can get enough feel for the medium to make something a little larger and nicer.

I'm also freaking out a little because I'm just now getting my tax stuff in order to file. AGGGGGH! Okay. A lot.

Mosaic flower planted

Flower
Originally uploaded by carabou.

Finally. A day of not feel sorry for me. We finally got a mosaic in the ground on the Grayson side of the traffic calming islands. They look nice. I thought we would get the Half-penny island all finished before concentrating on the Grayson one, mainly because the half-penny island will have more watering and attention paid to it, but I was wrong. Pascal still needs to weather proof them, and who knows how long it will take for someone to either try to steal them or just run over them in spite and/or malice. People are odd. But for now, they look nice. And I took a picture of them, along with the plants that are doing okay for the time being.

Monarch Butterflies

Playing around with flickr.

www.flickr.com

This is a Flickr badge showing photos in a set called butterfly garden. Make your own badge here.

Another feel sorry for me post

Again, please feel sorry for me. The garden really is looking much nicer, with very happy poppies, but the dogs tried to kill one of their own last week, and I'm two thousand dollars poorer because of it.

That's a lot of sudden debt. But I've gotten a little joy from the happy flowers in our sideyard, and the rain. Even with all of the mud, the rain is quite nice.

So now we have a permanently inside dog (christened "Cat") and three muddy monsters that insist on laying on top of my tomato plants. But life ... yeah.

I need someone to feel sorry for me today

Sorry for the graphic disgusting thing that follows (don't read it if you're eating, or plan to ever eat again). I just need a little sympathy thrown my way.

Every thirty minutes or so I've been going into the dog porch and cleaning up gobs of diarrhea. I can't let any of the dogs out into the yard because tree guys are here (gate wide open=dogs on walkabout), and although they're tolerant of dogs, falling tree branches aren't the safest environment for sniffy, nosey, barky beasts.

So. Four contained dogs. One with diarrhea. Who keeps licking his nasty sticky butt. And then throwing up.

I feel soooo sorry for him. Vet is closed today, and I wouldn't take him anyway without waiting for at least 24 hours to see if it goes away on its own. But still.

He's spread diarrhea over EVERYTHING! The couch cover, the ottoman cover, the floor (and the floor again - and again - and again (repeat several more times) - the floor hasn't been cleaned this much since we moved in).

I gave him a bath. He spread diarrhea all over our bathtub (ew!)

In short, IT STINKS!

And I can't clean thoroughly or disinfect anything until tree guys go away (b/c there's no place to put the dogs other than the dog room. The cats are freaking out enough as it is without having to share their space with dogs that smell like diarrhea)

So. I'm sick dog mom today. At least the trees are getting trimmed.

I'm almost glad I decided to stay home today, but it sucks because it's -- shitty. He's in the kennel right now. It means an even nastier bath later, but at least I can remove the cover from the couch so two Black dogs have a place to chill. Brown dog hasn't left her kennel all morning.

Poor Red dog. And yet, I doubt he'll learn to avoid whatever he ate to cause this.

FEEL SORRY FOR ME!!!!!

*sigh*

At least I have black pansy sorbet (unless N&D ate the last of it last night). Once I shower (again), I'm having me a pansy margarita.

Mmm. margaritas are such a wonderful panacea.

Some Recipes for Herb/Flower Sorbets which would explain the beautiful picture up top.

Posting!

Ok. There's still some weirdness with posting that I still don't understand, but it seems to be working.

Anyway. Lots going on in the yard. The irises are up. The anemones are up. The bulbine is blooming. The daisy is still kickin'. And everything is just, well, moving along. Planted some clumping shallots, a different type of buddleia (purple!), a couple of bronze fennels (the bulbing fennel that I bought by accident is HUGE!).

I took a whole bunch of free pansies and snapdragons home from Marbridge Garden Center in Manchaca (they were free because they were free. Not because I stole them). What a cool place. Also bought a Sky Pencil: the Ilex crenata of Tomorrow! but I haven't planted it yet.

Also have visited the Sunshine Gardens plant sale, the austin organic plant society's plant sale (at Zilker), Natural Gardener (of course!), it's about thyme, howards nursery ... can't wait until Wheatsville! And the Wildflower center is having their sale in april. I like to visit and ogle more than anything as I know most of what I'm planting is pretty and ornamental for the most part, but darn it, the yard is all grass and I hate grass. Grassy grass grass.

Monkey Man came to our house and told me all of our trees are Old and Sad. Termite Lady came and told me to not freak out about the termites in my pear tree. (And a termite mound in a pear tree ... ) I'm taking action requested by Termite Lady, and Monkey Men will be out on Wednesday trimming back all of the dead stuff way high up in the air. Too bad I have to work; I'd love to watch them.

TAH took some pictures. That's a double blossom purple poppy anemone. All of the other anemone's are just single headed. I'm going to try to let it go to seed (hard to resist cutting!) so I can plant some next year.

The Domino Garden

Spring Fever!

Hopefully this will post. It's been a while since blogger's worked with me. So this may just be fruitless effort.