we went to costco today.
where the good people in a rich industrial western nation buy everything by the many. a gallon of bleach! that sounds plenty to me. but as costco marketing wires your brain, when you have only a gallon of bleach left at home, you better go to costco. where you can get a convenient four pack. convenient if you have a cart. and of course you won't walk into the store without the cart, because packs of everything are ginormous and you can't carry them. so you bought the four gallons of bleach in case a patty from the 20 pound pack of beef falls on your kitchen floor.
check.
then you pick up a free sample. oh, what do they have today?



or
? 
and this all their life, until the truck comes.

would this chicken like to get out and live?
not that it could.


where the good people in a rich industrial western nation buy everything by the many. a gallon of bleach! that sounds plenty to me. but as costco marketing wires your brain, when you have only a gallon of bleach left at home, you better go to costco. where you can get a convenient four pack. convenient if you have a cart. and of course you won't walk into the store without the cart, because packs of everything are ginormous and you can't carry them. so you bought the four gallons of bleach in case a patty from the 20 pound pack of beef falls on your kitchen floor.
check.
then you pick up a free sample. oh, what do they have today?
chicken breast tenderloins!
chicken breast, we know that. we know where the breast is. oftentimes, there are two breasts.
loins. we know where the loins are. even i know that, although i didn't learn the word in school. where did i learn it then, my reader might ask? as so many words, i learned it in an episode of the golden girls. whenblanche tells a steamy story that includes her own loins.
rose: "i didn't even know people had loins!" now she knows. loins is what blanche rightfully calls the region of her sexual organs.
so, obviously, loins and breasts are not the same, not even in the same region, on any animal.
not only is there no such thing as 'breast tenderloins', but a chicken does not even have a "cut" called loin.
chicken breast, we know that. we know where the breast is. oftentimes, there are two breasts.
loins. we know where the loins are. even i know that, although i didn't learn the word in school. where did i learn it then, my reader might ask? as so many words, i learned it in an episode of the golden girls. whenblanche tells a steamy story that includes her own loins.
rose: "i didn't even know people had loins!" now she knows. loins is what blanche rightfully calls the region of her sexual organs.
so, obviously, loins and breasts are not the same, not even in the same region, on any animal.
not only is there no such thing as 'breast tenderloins', but a chicken does not even have a "cut" called loin.

please let's take a minute of silence for the chicken that was killed for this photo.
and for all the other chickens that are tortured, only to be killed and eaten, every day.
if anyone would like to do something for living animals, check out the farm sanctuary.
a compassionate world begins with you.
check.
i assume meat-"producing" corporate shitheads came up with the term 'breast tenderloin' to make more money. because tenderloin sounds fancy. and what do the masses want? fancy stuff for little money. tenderloin is a gourmet term. and now you can buy CHICKEN BREAST TENDERLOINS?! fan-tas-tic!
newsflash: the less you paid for your meat, the more the animal had to suffer.
does anyone think people who "produce" meat are in it for the good of the animals? for compassion? they raise and then kill animals because they like them?
NO!
they want money! and killing a cow because it can't walk into the slaughterhouse anymore doesn't bring money. on the contrary, all the hormones that were pumped into the cow/chicken, and were paid for, will have been wasted. so they drag and kill the animal, anyway.
because it's not really an animal, right?
does it have a soul?
no.
does it feel?
no.
it's just meat!
got a little carried away there. i'd like to post a photo of how animals are squished together, and hurt and killed for the culinary enjoyment of humans, but i'd start crying when i see it. so, coward that i am, i won't.
scratch that. you wanna eat meat, you can look at these photos. and then, enjoy your meat dish.
meet the cow that couldn't walk anymore:
and for all the other chickens that are tortured, only to be killed and eaten, every day.
if anyone would like to do something for living animals, check out the farm sanctuary.
a compassionate world begins with you.
check.
i assume meat-"producing" corporate shitheads came up with the term 'breast tenderloin' to make more money. because tenderloin sounds fancy. and what do the masses want? fancy stuff for little money. tenderloin is a gourmet term. and now you can buy CHICKEN BREAST TENDERLOINS?! fan-tas-tic!
newsflash: the less you paid for your meat, the more the animal had to suffer.
does anyone think people who "produce" meat are in it for the good of the animals? for compassion? they raise and then kill animals because they like them?
NO!
they want money! and killing a cow because it can't walk into the slaughterhouse anymore doesn't bring money. on the contrary, all the hormones that were pumped into the cow/chicken, and were paid for, will have been wasted. so they drag and kill the animal, anyway.
because it's not really an animal, right?
does it have a soul?
no.
does it feel?
no.
it's just meat!
got a little carried away there. i'd like to post a photo of how animals are squished together, and hurt and killed for the culinary enjoyment of humans, but i'd start crying when i see it. so, coward that i am, i won't.
scratch that. you wanna eat meat, you can look at these photos. and then, enjoy your meat dish.
meet the cow that couldn't walk anymore:

oh look, it happened to another cow. is such treatment possibly common?
and why can't they walk anymore? did they not have enough room in the truck that drove them to be killed?

how did they spend their life before the truck came?
or
?how about the chicken breast tenderloins? where do they come from?

and this all their life, until the truck comes.


would this chicken like to get out and live?
not that it could.


but since you want to eat chicken breast tenderloins, that's ok. who cares about the animals?
a compassionate world begins with you.
a compassionate world begins with you.
what's in a bloggy name?
well. monde intact is the french translation of the german 'heile welt'. which means a carefree, happy world, where everything is whole and nothing broken. i am a little more partial to the french translation than the german. maybe because it sounds fancier, since german is my first language.
i am trying to keep the intact world around me. i know the world is far from intact, homo homini lupus est. man is his own wolf. we're working on killing our own species, as i see it. so i just hope that the shit won't hit the fan [any more than it already has] before i die. meanwhile, i avoid the news and try to keep my little world, and where it intersects with the ones of people around me, happy.
of course, shit still happens in a happy little world, too. but precisely because it does, i don't have to keep my eyes and ears open to the stuff outside of my world, too.
there's only so much shit one can take, you know?
well. monde intact is the french translation of the german 'heile welt'. which means a carefree, happy world, where everything is whole and nothing broken. i am a little more partial to the french translation than the german. maybe because it sounds fancier, since german is my first language.
i am trying to keep the intact world around me. i know the world is far from intact, homo homini lupus est. man is his own wolf. we're working on killing our own species, as i see it. so i just hope that the shit won't hit the fan [any more than it already has] before i die. meanwhile, i avoid the news and try to keep my little world, and where it intersects with the ones of people around me, happy.
of course, shit still happens in a happy little world, too. but precisely because it does, i don't have to keep my eyes and ears open to the stuff outside of my world, too.
there's only so much shit one can take, you know?
just one quick post to show that i didn't dissolve into air. because actually, i have bigger plans for tonight. as if a post isn't a plan big enough to ignore ;)
i shall make mozzarella.
now, first photos of the obscure greens that have been growing. here's the green on the left.
and here's the green on the bowl, on the right [window sill alignment titles for my personal orientation. of course, if you're planning on breaking and entering at night to eat these delicious greens, now you know where they are, too.]
a few days passed between the second and third pictures. but all were taken since my last post. and now, on to the spinach.
i am quite aware that there isn't enough room on the sill for all the plants to grow as big as they want to, and as i'd like to encourage them to be. plant parent that i am, i won't say 'as i want them to be', because they may find their own way.
how-ever, dear caterpillar outside, being eaten alive by you is not the way they want to be. i simply know. they want to be eaten by my sweetheart and me.
bedouin tent update: the biggest lettuce plants were all eaten again today. i found lots of little poop balls, and then the sly bugger. a big caterpillar, the same color of the lettuce. no surprise, seeing as he ate all the lettuce! i let him crawl on a little stick and moved him, her, to the other side of the fence. eat something else.
so, it appears caterpillars are the culprits, not a possum or squirrel. but then, maybe some of the poop balls that looked like caviar were caterpillar eggs? do they lay eggs? do only butterflies lay eggs?
we can't put up small greenhouses, that would be much too hot for the plants. i think the spinach outside wilted because it couldn't take the hour of midday sun.
well. i will figure it out. how to not kill caterpillars and still eat the lettuce ourselves.
something funner: i made a top. loosely based on these instructions. i didn't have the elastic thread, and since i had, still have, plenty of elastic band, i didn't want to buy it. so i tried a different version. and it worked!
please tilt your head 90 degrees to the right. when i turn an image and then save it, it won't be turned, says the mac. and i can't be bothered to open photoshop just for this, because i have pizza to make. and cheese for the pizza.
but i have time for a closeup of the coral colored border. i found this fancy stitching pattern on my sewing machine. and it reminds me of the shirts my great-aunt lisbeth used to sew for my mom and her sisters. maybe also for us? they were red or blue, and a little folksy.
so i decided to make that border an "hommage-an-tante-lisbeth" border.
i shall make mozzarella.
now, first photos of the obscure greens that have been growing. here's the green on the left.
and here's the green on the bowl, on the right [window sill alignment titles for my personal orientation. of course, if you're planning on breaking and entering at night to eat these delicious greens, now you know where they are, too.]
a few days passed between the second and third pictures. but all were taken since my last post. and now, on to the spinach.
i am quite aware that there isn't enough room on the sill for all the plants to grow as big as they want to, and as i'd like to encourage them to be. plant parent that i am, i won't say 'as i want them to be', because they may find their own way.
how-ever, dear caterpillar outside, being eaten alive by you is not the way they want to be. i simply know. they want to be eaten by my sweetheart and me.
bedouin tent update: the biggest lettuce plants were all eaten again today. i found lots of little poop balls, and then the sly bugger. a big caterpillar, the same color of the lettuce. no surprise, seeing as he ate all the lettuce! i let him crawl on a little stick and moved him, her, to the other side of the fence. eat something else.
so, it appears caterpillars are the culprits, not a possum or squirrel. but then, maybe some of the poop balls that looked like caviar were caterpillar eggs? do they lay eggs? do only butterflies lay eggs?
we can't put up small greenhouses, that would be much too hot for the plants. i think the spinach outside wilted because it couldn't take the hour of midday sun.
well. i will figure it out. how to not kill caterpillars and still eat the lettuce ourselves.
something funner: i made a top. loosely based on these instructions. i didn't have the elastic thread, and since i had, still have, plenty of elastic band, i didn't want to buy it. so i tried a different version. and it worked!
please tilt your head 90 degrees to the right. when i turn an image and then save it, it won't be turned, says the mac. and i can't be bothered to open photoshop just for this, because i have pizza to make. and cheese for the pizza.
but i have time for a closeup of the coral colored border. i found this fancy stitching pattern on my sewing machine. and it reminds me of the shirts my great-aunt lisbeth used to sew for my mom and her sisters. maybe also for us? they were red or blue, and a little folksy.
so i decided to make that border an "hommage-an-tante-lisbeth" border.
and the greens continue to grow!
friday night..
and yet taller saturday night!
and for only seven dollars and some red paint i had, the kitchen got some pizzazz:
a few frames are from a fresno yard sale, most of them from an easter seals thrift store in reno. i found them before a retarded man found me, then followed me through the store and questioned me about my haircut. he had his own way of talking, so i didn't quite understand more than, did you cut it this morning? after he uninvitedly copped a feel [of the hair..] i put on my hat. i was not to be deterred from looking at each item on the pottery shelves. i am a serious thrifter, after all. someone working at the store then came and asked him if he didn't have an activity. and off he went.
what's that glass dome, one might ask?
more importantly, what's underneath?
let's take a closer look.
friday night..
and yet taller saturday night!
i thought i'd remember anyway what i sowed where, no need to mark. turns out, i have only a vague idea what the above pictured is. a green. haha! i thought it was the mixed stuff, renee's garden. but they all look the same, don't they?
this, i know for sure, is spinach:
this, i know for sure, is spinach:
and for only seven dollars and some red paint i had, the kitchen got some pizzazz:
a few frames are from a fresno yard sale, most of them from an easter seals thrift store in reno. i found them before a retarded man found me, then followed me through the store and questioned me about my haircut. he had his own way of talking, so i didn't quite understand more than, did you cut it this morning? after he uninvitedly copped a feel [of the hair..] i put on my hat. i was not to be deterred from looking at each item on the pottery shelves. i am a serious thrifter, after all. someone working at the store then came and asked him if he didn't have an activity. and off he went.
what's that glass dome, one might ask?
more importantly, what's underneath?
let's take a closer look.
mmm.. cocoa biscotti! dipped in white chocolate. underneath a $20 thrift store find. american cancer society thrift store. a material excess. for a thrift store.
"she thought material excesses were the height of sophistication."
"she thought material excesses were the height of sophistication."
and i return to the blogosphere!
no spectacular things have happened in my virtual absence. i am, and have been, living domestic bliss and enjoying it.
meanwhile, back in the veggie garden, unindentified beings have been eating the salad. not arugula, maybe it's too spicy. but the ruffled edge salad, the plain green one, and the earthbound farm salad. received the seed packet for free, was hoping to participate in the 'how did your garden grow?' contest, but is not likely to happen. actually, that's because i didn't sow the seeds until about a week or two ago. so, by june [now...], there's barely any growth.
but now said seeds ~and the above mentioned other varieties~ are growing under bedouin tents. the veggie garden is now a bedouin tent garden.
no spectacular things have happened in my virtual absence. i am, and have been, living domestic bliss and enjoying it.
meanwhile, back in the veggie garden, unindentified beings have been eating the salad. not arugula, maybe it's too spicy. but the ruffled edge salad, the plain green one, and the earthbound farm salad. received the seed packet for free, was hoping to participate in the 'how did your garden grow?' contest, but is not likely to happen. actually, that's because i didn't sow the seeds until about a week or two ago. so, by june [now...], there's barely any growth.
but now said seeds ~and the above mentioned other varieties~ are growing under bedouin tents. the veggie garden is now a bedouin tent garden.
this happened not carefully plotted out, so the fabric i used might not be the best for the job. it's translucent and very thin. i think the sun will get through well, and the watering is happening underground, anyway. since i had two cups of coffee today i found myself with a beep*load of energy. hence, when i looked out the bedroom window, i thought, "all that weed it really is time to pull it. now." so i went outside with the orange home depot bucket and ~since i had two cups of coffee today~ pulled all the weed thoroughly and rather quickly.
until today, i lived in the illusion that the salad would start growing faster than 'they' [birds? snails? one thing's for sure: they're the infamous 'they'] could eat it. but, they are many or very hungry. and seeing all the salad eaten by someone other than my sweet<3 and i [me? meep? would you like to enlighten me here?] was getting to me. after all, eating the salad myself had been the plan when i started the garden, and this plan was now being eaten right under my closed eyes. [at night, i imagine they eat at night.]
since i don't want to kill birds or snails [or bugs and hence find dead bugs in my salad and the poison, too], [and drowning them in beer is killing, too] i thought of the tents. the translucent fabric was the most suitable one i had, i think. we'll see how it goes. since i don't know who's eating my salad, i don't know if the tents will keep them from getting their meal. of course, if bedouins are eating my salad, they will feel right at home now. shucks.
before i was inspired by weeding, i decided to grow some salad indoors. there is one window that gets fabulous afternoon sun, and since the boxes are right behind the window, there might be a greenhouse effect. the good kind. yet the plants will be a/c'd, which plant wouldn't like not sweatingin 100 degrees?
until today, i lived in the illusion that the salad would start growing faster than 'they' [birds? snails? one thing's for sure: they're the infamous 'they'] could eat it. but, they are many or very hungry. and seeing all the salad eaten by someone other than my sweet<3 and i [me? meep? would you like to enlighten me here?] was getting to me. after all, eating the salad myself had been the plan when i started the garden, and this plan was now being eaten right under my closed eyes. [at night, i imagine they eat at night.]
since i don't want to kill birds or snails [or bugs and hence find dead bugs in my salad and the poison, too], [and drowning them in beer is killing, too] i thought of the tents. the translucent fabric was the most suitable one i had, i think. we'll see how it goes. since i don't know who's eating my salad, i don't know if the tents will keep them from getting their meal. of course, if bedouins are eating my salad, they will feel right at home now. shucks.
before i was inspired by weeding, i decided to grow some salad indoors. there is one window that gets fabulous afternoon sun, and since the boxes are right behind the window, there might be a greenhouse effect. the good kind. yet the plants will be a/c'd, which plant wouldn't like not sweatingin 100 degrees?
i sowed iceberg lettuce, spinach, and red n green salad. the latter in the round glas bowl, scored at a thrift store, for no more than two dollars. i know, i know. thrift stores are god's gift to me. so, i guess there must be a god after all. the thrift store god.
back to the garden. those seeds in the bowl are renee's garden seeds. and since today i believe that more expensive seeds indeed are better. the seeds package was about three dollars, and today, one day, less than 24 hours! after i sowed them, they're already sprouting.
then, i bought 79 cents basil seeds, sowed them about a month ago, nothing happened. not to mention the dollartree seeds [i am a big fan of the dollar tree; there, i finally said it!]. but in all fairness to the dollar tree, i bought the seeds last year, they were for last year's season, so i'm not surprised that they didn't work so well. and, they came up after about 2 months, there are now tiny pepper plants in the first bed. meanwhile, thought, my sweet<3 bought 10 pepperplants. the first green pepper is growing now, and the red pepper plants are finally bringing on blooms, too. the first red blossoms were eaten. by them, i imagine. also bit some holes in the leaves, but not enough to bring down the plants. unfortunately, the broccoli is only stems with holes as leaves now. we'll see how the bedouin tactic works out.
first photo of the indoor garden: in the terracotta pot is a pepper plant grown from the seed of a storebought delicious red pepper. i am here experimenting to see how much better the plant grows inside than out. from a seed, that is. but then, this seed was fresh, the ones outside a year old... we'll see which scientific journal will publish my study.
back to the garden. those seeds in the bowl are renee's garden seeds. and since today i believe that more expensive seeds indeed are better. the seeds package was about three dollars, and today, one day, less than 24 hours! after i sowed them, they're already sprouting.
then, i bought 79 cents basil seeds, sowed them about a month ago, nothing happened. not to mention the dollartree seeds [i am a big fan of the dollar tree; there, i finally said it!]. but in all fairness to the dollar tree, i bought the seeds last year, they were for last year's season, so i'm not surprised that they didn't work so well. and, they came up after about 2 months, there are now tiny pepper plants in the first bed. meanwhile, thought, my sweet<3 bought 10 pepperplants. the first green pepper is growing now, and the red pepper plants are finally bringing on blooms, too. the first red blossoms were eaten. by them, i imagine. also bit some holes in the leaves, but not enough to bring down the plants. unfortunately, the broccoli is only stems with holes as leaves now. we'll see how the bedouin tactic works out.
first photo of the indoor garden: in the terracotta pot is a pepper plant grown from the seed of a storebought delicious red pepper. i am here experimenting to see how much better the plant grows inside than out. from a seed, that is. but then, this seed was fresh, the ones outside a year old... we'll see which scientific journal will publish my study.
and buns. wholewheat-oatmeal.
after this delicious recipe. the best bread i have made so far.
and an inspirational quote:
where the intellectual sun is low, even dwarfs cast large shadows.
lazy i have been online, but not in real life.
i did things. the secret birthday quilt is nearing completion, i am sewing on the binding right now. it's been so long since i busied my brain with quilting, i'm not even sure anymore if the edge is called binding. but the next quilt is already planned, especially since something else i did turned out so prettily:
books sorted by color = decorating with something that's already there. just changing it around, as easy as it gets! and makes me so happy to look at. the idea, however, is from the latest cover of my favorite magazine: readymade.
..to find out how the salad seeds are doing. the wait is over!
here they are, one week ago.
and here's the whole veggie garden, extended just recently.
***
people on tv seem to always have a gun hidden somewhere. wrapped in a towel. and when they 'need' it, the just pull it out. and they're apparently comfortable with it, not scared shitless beacuse it's a gun and they're normal people who don't normally shoot.
i am scared shitless of guns, i don't even want to touch one, and i'd like to add to my post one of the things on the above mentioned list:
fuck the nra.
when i googled just this, 'fuck the nra', i found a post in what a blog that seems very readworthy, sister novena's portapulpit. nice title, isn't it?
and in the post i found this map.
here they are, one week ago.
and here's the whole veggie garden, extended just recently.
i think the small tomatoes might be seemingly growing very slowly because they need to grow bigger roots first. and i hope that's what they're doing.
behind the tomatoes, i sowed green onion, arugula [soooorry, meep!], broccoli, more salad, zucchini, and transplanted the spinach and cucumber seedlings outside.
today i'm making brioche, by the way. i am very excited. i read the word yesterday and thought, some brioche would be nice. the dough is now rising for the second time and in about ten minutes already ready for the oven. hm. had i remembered that, i wouldn't be eating ice cream and oranges now.
here's a photo of the secret patio!
behind the tomatoes, i sowed green onion, arugula [soooorry, meep!], broccoli, more salad, zucchini, and transplanted the spinach and cucumber seedlings outside.
today i'm making brioche, by the way. i am very excited. i read the word yesterday and thought, some brioche would be nice. the dough is now rising for the second time and in about ten minutes already ready for the oven. hm. had i remembered that, i wouldn't be eating ice cream and oranges now.
here's a photo of the secret patio!
now please forget that you ever saw this photo because, as i mentioned, it is a secret patio.
on the bottom left you can see this here:
on the bottom left you can see this here:
i built this succulent box, from all free wood. makes me very happy! in the middle there is a succulent that looks like a stone. my latest favorite. i really like succulents.
and now something i made inside the house. a buckwheat pillow for my sweetheart.
and now something i made inside the house. a buckwheat pillow for my sweetheart.
that's just the cover. washable. of course :)
the pillow inside has three compartments, so the buckwheat stays evenly distributed.
the pillow inside has three compartments, so the buckwheat stays evenly distributed.
and now excuse me, there are more things on my list of 'how to make the world a happier place'.
***
people on tv seem to always have a gun hidden somewhere. wrapped in a towel. and when they 'need' it, the just pull it out. and they're apparently comfortable with it, not scared shitless beacuse it's a gun and they're normal people who don't normally shoot.
i am scared shitless of guns, i don't even want to touch one, and i'd like to add to my post one of the things on the above mentioned list:
fuck the nra.
when i googled just this, 'fuck the nra', i found a post in what a blog that seems very readworthy, sister novena's portapulpit. nice title, isn't it?
and in the post i found this map.
i'm sure upon zooming in, you could see a very green spot in the centre of california.
sigh.
sigh.
i live in paradise, as i see it. lucky me.
this is where i spent the hour or so after dinner today, reading and clandestinely watching the neighborhood from underneath the brim of my large black hat.
i did lots of grocery/garden shopping today. i saw lots of things, felt many things. the cool air in the home depot nursery which, in cooperation with the scent of plants, instantly made me slow down and think, 'i'm not in a hurry.' of course, maybe this is why home depot crafted the nursery as they did and i fell prey. to buying a succulent and a red foliage plant for a few bucks. i was also looking for wood to make more raised beds, but they didn't have what i was looking for. then i saw two big pieces in a cart full of scraps. i asked if i could buy them and got them for free. lucky me! beautiful wood,too.
i went into an unfinished wood work store where i had never been. such a happy, quiet, pretty atmosphere in there. i shall return. hrhr.
one headline i contemplated for today's entry was it's killed, not grown.
i was at costco. and saw that the label on a fosterfarms chicken package sported a seal: california grown.
the chicken were raised, then killed. i don't see how that's grown. you grow vegetables. you kill chicken.
grown, that sounds so emotionally separated. as if they weren't living beings. california grown. i think bigger animals [cows] are at least raised in california. but not chickens. no, they're grown.
[foster farms writes on their website that they were instrumental in helping to advance animal welfare in the industry. that's a fishy claim if i've ever heard one. no specifics to be proud of, besides growing chicken?]
i bought chicken not from costco but from the market close by our home, mary's free range chicken. unfortunately, mary, too, grows the chickens as i gather from the front page. luckily, in a humane, chicken*friendlier way, but i still didn't eat any. at the moment, eating meat comes with the strong notion of me eating a dead animal. i was never aware of that. don't know if it will go away again. likely. but it crept up on me slowly, that hasn't happened before.
whatever anyone says, i do maintain that chicken is not grown.
ha! another thought i contemplated opening this post with is 'the hole in my hand'.
this is where i spent the hour or so after dinner today, reading and clandestinely watching the neighborhood from underneath the brim of my large black hat.
i did lots of grocery/garden shopping today. i saw lots of things, felt many things. the cool air in the home depot nursery which, in cooperation with the scent of plants, instantly made me slow down and think, 'i'm not in a hurry.' of course, maybe this is why home depot crafted the nursery as they did and i fell prey. to buying a succulent and a red foliage plant for a few bucks. i was also looking for wood to make more raised beds, but they didn't have what i was looking for. then i saw two big pieces in a cart full of scraps. i asked if i could buy them and got them for free. lucky me! beautiful wood,too.
i went into an unfinished wood work store where i had never been. such a happy, quiet, pretty atmosphere in there. i shall return. hrhr.
one headline i contemplated for today's entry was it's killed, not grown.
i was at costco. and saw that the label on a fosterfarms chicken package sported a seal: california grown.
the chicken were raised, then killed. i don't see how that's grown. you grow vegetables. you kill chicken.
grown, that sounds so emotionally separated. as if they weren't living beings. california grown. i think bigger animals [cows] are at least raised in california. but not chickens. no, they're grown.
[foster farms writes on their website that they were instrumental in helping to advance animal welfare in the industry. that's a fishy claim if i've ever heard one. no specifics to be proud of, besides growing chicken?]
i bought chicken not from costco but from the market close by our home, mary's free range chicken. unfortunately, mary, too, grows the chickens as i gather from the front page. luckily, in a humane, chicken*friendlier way, but i still didn't eat any. at the moment, eating meat comes with the strong notion of me eating a dead animal. i was never aware of that. don't know if it will go away again. likely. but it crept up on me slowly, that hasn't happened before.
whatever anyone says, i do maintain that chicken is not grown.
ha! another thought i contemplated opening this post with is 'the hole in my hand'.
i knew my valued readership was thirsting for a follow-up of the wound. and i certainly didn't want to keep this from you! the photo was taken a couple of days after i cut myself. now there's a good scab on it, one that doesn't honor the initial creepiness anymore. i am glad i took the photo right after i cut myself, it certainly looked the worst then.
now here's a photo someone did ask for. my brother, the wholewheat sourdough bread.
now here's a photo someone did ask for. my brother, the wholewheat sourdough bread.
the previous sentence fragment sounds like i want to introduce to you my brother, who is a wholewheat sourdough bread. let me clarify this: my brother asked to see a photo of the sourdough bread.
the bread dough was supposed to rise overnight. i only let it rise three hours, and in a bowl. before i let it rise the mandated four hours in loaf form. i think the overnight rising on a sheet is necessary so that it has ample time to expand into almost all directions. that would probably make it fluffier. i will make more bread tomorrow. that is, make the dough tomorrow and the bread the day after. got it now.
surprisingly, earl the dog is sleeping on the couch, next to me, at the moment. this is surprising because is suggests that my outfitting him with the latest in neckkerchief fashion did not upset him.
the bread dough was supposed to rise overnight. i only let it rise three hours, and in a bowl. before i let it rise the mandated four hours in loaf form. i think the overnight rising on a sheet is necessary so that it has ample time to expand into almost all directions. that would probably make it fluffier. i will make more bread tomorrow. that is, make the dough tomorrow and the bread the day after. got it now.
surprisingly, earl the dog is sleeping on the couch, next to me, at the moment. this is surprising because is suggests that my outfitting him with the latest in neckkerchief fashion did not upset him.
and why would it? this is a very nice gift grandma sent. [hehe. i do think my mom reads this.] and very thoughtful. and despite grandpa's concern [i hope my stepdad reads this, too?], earl the dog doesn't find his new kerchief ridiculous. and i am sure he knows that it says 'mommy's darling' on the heart.
kerchief is a wonderful word. not to be brought out of fashion. i shall use it henceforth.
also funny: calling someone a folding chair. in a funny, endearing way. my german humor.
also to be used again henceforth by me is the word saftladen. it is german for 'juice store'. i contemplated the word's origin as i drove out of the garage today. there was something i wanted to get a costco and contemplated saying 'what a saftladen!' at the register if they didn't have it. i could even say 'what a juice store', and no one might be offended.
i think juice stores were perceived to be little, unsophisticated enterprises, hence the use of the word. of course, this phrase likely stems from the pre-jambajuice era. come to think of it, germany is stil in that era.
one more thing before i retreat to bed.
i must boast about the vegetable garden. as of yet it is largely without vegetables, but i hope that will change. i took the photos on sunday so i aspire to, from now on, post new ones every sunday so you, my valued readers, can vicariously grow vegetables through me. if they will grow.
kerchief is a wonderful word. not to be brought out of fashion. i shall use it henceforth.
also funny: calling someone a folding chair. in a funny, endearing way. my german humor.
also to be used again henceforth by me is the word saftladen. it is german for 'juice store'. i contemplated the word's origin as i drove out of the garage today. there was something i wanted to get a costco and contemplated saying 'what a saftladen!' at the register if they didn't have it. i could even say 'what a juice store', and no one might be offended.
i think juice stores were perceived to be little, unsophisticated enterprises, hence the use of the word. of course, this phrase likely stems from the pre-jambajuice era. come to think of it, germany is stil in that era.
one more thing before i retreat to bed.
i must boast about the vegetable garden. as of yet it is largely without vegetables, but i hope that will change. i took the photos on sunday so i aspire to, from now on, post new ones every sunday so you, my valued readers, can vicariously grow vegetables through me. if they will grow.
the plants only get about an hour of sun a day. while this might not strike one as much or even enough, i hope the plants will appreciate it when it's 90 degrees or hotter and they will only have to stand direct sunlight for an hour a day. besides, there is lots of indirect sunlight [i tell myself, i don't know if the plants care; what am i saying, if the seeds care] and everywhere else things are already planted. i'm not one for tomato plants between rosebushes, i'm one for a neat vegetable garden.
that's why i built these raised beds.
that's why i built these raised beds.
this one from a long board of dubious origin that i found in the garage. it had velcro all along one side. my sweetheart didn't know what it was for. so, it was for a flower bed. i sawed it into two each 30" and 20" pieces. with a previously unused, sharp*as*shit saw i found in the garage. yes, a saw, see above, i know, i know. but i wore protective fabric gardening gloves. safe, i know. does anyone have a spare pair of
these?
and then there was no other board but i wanted to make another raised bed. so out came the bamboo sticks i found behind a trash can [no, i don't dumpster dive and yes, apparently it is important to me to mention this] a while ago.
these?
and then there was no other board but i wanted to make another raised bed. so out came the bamboo sticks i found behind a trash can [no, i don't dumpster dive and yes, apparently it is important to me to mention this] a while ago.
crafty, eh? my muscles are still sore from sawing. bamboo is a lot harder than other wood. who knew?
everyone but me, probably. the corner pillars are made from chopsticks. less because we had nothing else at home/in the garage but more because i was going for an asian themed raised bed.
[that's total baloney, of course.]
i better rest my brain now.
good night.
i cut myself yesterday. through fault of my own. but it looks very cool.
i have since much used the gloves and boots, and that pokey thing. it works very well to break up dry ground because the middle poker is longer than the rest, thus digs in first and opens the way for the other two.
i also painted the shelf in the backyard [spraypaint].

so, that's all.
i have a pillow to knit.
even though i'm injured.
i'm tough.
;)
so movielike, somewhat fake. now i walk around [i even contemplated limping], whining "i'm injured", to anyone near who will hear. in reality, that's my swweetheart. so far it has resulted in my being taken out to dinner tonight.
all right, that had been planned before. but i couldn't cook anyway because i'm injured.
:-D
i have been insufferably lazy on the blogfront recently. it's time to catch up. before i injured myself, i planted cucumbers and spinach.
all right, that had been planned before. but i couldn't cook anyway because i'm injured.
:-D
i have been insufferably lazy on the blogfront recently. it's time to catch up. before i injured myself, i planted cucumbers and spinach.
the tomatoes are already outside. i'm not sure if the little ones are really getting enough sun. but soon spring will come and then, i think. up here, in the front is the spinach and in the back the cucumber plants. we have yet to tell them that we will eat their children.
a little while ago i bought some rainboots [with a target gift card i scored free of charge] and other garden stuff.
a little while ago i bought some rainboots [with a target gift card i scored free of charge] and other garden stuff.
i have since much used the gloves and boots, and that pokey thing. it works very well to break up dry ground because the middle poker is longer than the rest, thus digs in first and opens the way for the other two.
i also painted the shelf in the backyard [spraypaint].
so, that's all.
i have a pillow to knit.
even though i'm injured.
i'm tough.
;)
today i the postwoman brought a package from amazon. i didn't remember ordering anything, though that's not necessarily unusual. yesterday i turned 26, and my brother was expecting the mailwoman to bring me something. so i thought, this must be it!
and sure enough, there was a surprise in it.
.. with a card! :)
.. that read:
i was happy about the package,
and even happier about what was inside!
thank you, thomas. there is no book right now that i'm crazy about, or i just haven't been in a reading mood lately. i know that will change now :-D and my sweetheart and others around me [namely earl the dog] will soon be leading a much safer and comfortable life thanks to all the fancy new skills i am about to acquire. :-D
yeahoo!
thank you, thomas. there is no book right now that i'm crazy about, or i just haven't been in a reading mood lately. i know that will change now :-D and my sweetheart and others around me [namely earl the dog] will soon be leading a much safer and comfortable life thanks to all the fancy new skills i am about to acquire. :-Dyeahoo!
i'm currently word lazy but must clear my desktop of blog*inspiring photos, so here comes a photo*focused blog*entry.
the lamp! that's where i left off.
i bought a lamp a few weeks ago.
that's although i have a lamp:
maybe i should rather grow rice?
the lamp! that's where i left off.
i bought a lamp a few weeks ago.
that's although i have a lamp:
and according to my thrifty disposition, there's no need to buy a lamp when i already have one. but, i, too, fell prey to the fangs of consumerism. a more romantic wording: i fell in love with a lamp. a little more realistic wording: this lamp has the potential to continuously delight me, a criteria that must be fulfilled for any purchase, even more so if it is expensive. that's subjective, of course. and here's the lamp i paid 50 dollars for:
oh, the fabric of the shade. and the foot of the lamp, that looks so much like real wood. this lamp does continuously delight me.
a postlude [not the right word, is it?] to my last entry. every time i have since used the FREEMAN face mask i have had the time of my life peeling it off. it looks like i am peeling off a layer of my skin! and afterward, my skin looks clean and good. [not that it doesn't most of the time. i am lucky to have clear skin.]
a postlude [not the right word, is it?] to my last entry. every time i have since used the FREEMAN face mask i have had the time of my life peeling it off. it looks like i am peeling off a layer of my skin! and afterward, my skin looks clean and good. [not that it doesn't most of the time. i am lucky to have clear skin.]
i have made quite a few things that i haven't really posted about, actually. didn't post a photo of my apron yet, and not of the wire eiffel tower. but we will get there. i will. now i'll just post the recipe card pouch i sewed for chad. i hope he likes the recipes, too, of course. and maybe finds someone to cook them for him :-D
one day i cooked a deeelicious spinach marinara sauce in the slow cooker. this was after we went to olive garden, i inquired about the meat they served [were the animals happy?] and ate spaghetti marinara when even the manager couldn't give a fully informed answer. the marinara sauce was most tasty. then, that very same week, allrecipes.com sent me a recipe for a spinach marinara sauce. quite possibly the best i ever ate, better than olive garden's even.
that was the sauce before it was slow cooked. after, it tasted like it looked now.
i worked in the garden a bit. before i did this strip looked like what you can see far off [oh yeah, far off, about 10 yards far off] in the photo.
i worked in the garden a bit. before i did this strip looked like what you can see far off [oh yeah, far off, about 10 yards far off] in the photo.
i hope there will be vegetables growing between the stones and the schilfgrass some time this spring. but before i could sow them it rained a lot. glad i hadn''t sowed any yet.
maybe i should rather grow rice?
that company sucks big time.
just weeks ago i tried a new moisturizer. olay. spf 15. great price-product relationship.
and you know why?
because it was tested on animals!
emotionally stunted, cruel, fancy-face-image-but-ass-underneath company.
i found this out when we today received our drugstore.com order. on the FREEMAN Facial Mask I had ordered it said, "Not tested on animals."
interesting, I thought, I wonder if OLAY tests on animals. so i google and find this wonderful website. for caring consumers.
i'm really pissed that olay tests on animals. pissed also because i fell for the pretty-smooth-face and soft language image.
i could always go back to neutrogena, even though their lotion with spf burnt when it got into my eyes. i guess the animals didn't tell them that? because NEUTROGENA also tests on animals!
see above.
"emotionally stunted, cruel, fancy-face-image-but-ass-underneath company."
for some reason, i found neutrogena to be trustworthy. as i did ROC.
scratch that. they test on animals, too.
apparently, clinique doesn't.
but you can find out who doesn't by going to caringconsumer.com or browsing the 'green and natural' category at drugstore.com. any product labeled 'natural' has not been tested on animals, according to the website. i hope they don't lie. but you can always research once you find a product.
it's not that olay lied to me. they didn't. i simply assumed they didn't test on animals. the thought didn't even occur to me.
that's brand imaging for you.
yuck!
just weeks ago i tried a new moisturizer. olay. spf 15. great price-product relationship.
and you know why?
because it was tested on animals!
emotionally stunted, cruel, fancy-face-image-but-ass-underneath company.
i found this out when we today received our drugstore.com order. on the FREEMAN Facial Mask I had ordered it said, "Not tested on animals."
interesting, I thought, I wonder if OLAY tests on animals. so i google and find this wonderful website. for caring consumers.
i'm really pissed that olay tests on animals. pissed also because i fell for the pretty-smooth-face and soft language image.
i could always go back to neutrogena, even though their lotion with spf burnt when it got into my eyes. i guess the animals didn't tell them that? because NEUTROGENA also tests on animals!
see above.
"emotionally stunted, cruel, fancy-face-image-but-ass-underneath company."
for some reason, i found neutrogena to be trustworthy. as i did ROC.
scratch that. they test on animals, too.
apparently, clinique doesn't.
but you can find out who doesn't by going to caringconsumer.com or browsing the 'green and natural' category at drugstore.com. any product labeled 'natural' has not been tested on animals, according to the website. i hope they don't lie. but you can always research once you find a product.
it's not that olay lied to me. they didn't. i simply assumed they didn't test on animals. the thought didn't even occur to me.
that's brand imaging for you.
yuck!
i suppose i will tell things chronologically and keep the best till the end. the lamp.
remember the wind bags i baked last night?
well, my <3 and i have differences in our eating preferences. i like my food hot, he not so hot. he likes soup hot, i like my soup plenty warm. he likes cake and cookies hardened by sitting on the air, i like cake moist and fresh.
so i thought i'd divide up the profiteroles. keep mine in a tupperware and his on the plate in the kitchen.
now look at the situation an hour later.
remember the wind bags i baked last night?
well, my <3 and i have differences in our eating preferences. i like my food hot, he not so hot. he likes soup hot, i like my soup plenty warm. he likes cake and cookies hardened by sitting on the air, i like cake moist and fresh.
so i thought i'd divide up the profiteroles. keep mine in a tupperware and his on the plate in the kitchen.
now look at the situation an hour later.
i took the tupperware into my room with me. i think there are no inhibitions when my part of food is singled out. i wouldn't have eaten all the profiteroles there are, but since they were all mine?
i have been strong and did not eat one of his.
i hope he comes home soon.
else i cannot guarantee for their survival.
when my sweetheart left for school today, i went to search for earl the dog. he usually sits by the window. but today, he had staged a coup d'etat [likely long in the making] and taken over the throne. the seat of the boss in this household.
i have been strong and did not eat one of his.
i hope he comes home soon.
else i cannot guarantee for their survival.
when my sweetheart left for school today, i went to search for earl the dog. he usually sits by the window. but today, he had staged a coup d'etat [likely long in the making] and taken over the throne. the seat of the boss in this household.
mind that look! i think we have a new boss around here.
as for feeding the family, i made chicken soup today. two kinds, both delicious, both inexpensive.
as for feeding the family, i made chicken soup today. two kinds, both delicious, both inexpensive.
this one is a simple chicken soup.
chicken: $1.50 [TJ's, frozen]
carrot: $0.20
celery $0.20
potato $0.30
chicken broth $0.50
that's $2.70 for two meals for two people. dinner and lunch.
i also made the homiest soup known to me. my <3 doesn't so much like thick, stewy chicken soup. but since winter is waning, i decided to make the soup anyway, in addition to the one for him, for me. plenty to freeze for colder nights.
[note that this is my favorite spoon in the household. the biggest wooden spoon we have. i like wooden spoons.]
chicken: $1.50 [TJ's, frozen]
carrot: $0.20
celery $0.20
potato $0.30
chicken broth $0.50
that's $2.70 for two meals for two people. dinner and lunch.
i also made the homiest soup known to me. my <3 doesn't so much like thick, stewy chicken soup. but since winter is waning, i decided to make the soup anyway, in addition to the one for him, for me. plenty to freeze for colder nights.
[note that this is my favorite spoon in the household. the biggest wooden spoon we have. i like wooden spoons.]
i got the recipe for 'grandma's chicken dumpling soup' from our friend paula in minnesota. i don't know if the recipe is from paula's or mike's family, but i know that it will always remind me of a safe, cozy week in stacy, minnesota. at minus 18 degrees celsius outside and snow, snow, snow. i haven't seen that much snow since skiing in austria. very beautiful. i felt sick for a day there, spent it in bed dozing and sleeping until i came down into the kitchen. paula had just made this heavenly soup and i sat at the counter and ate a bowl, or two. oh, the dumplings. this is the soup of all soups.
i must eat another bowl before continuing this entry. excuse me.
sou. the soup was followed by bread with chocolate.
the soup, by the way, greatly satisfied the 1958 resourceful housewife within me. the chicken was actually turkey, left over from thanksgiving. i had frozen two wings and a leg. took it out this morning to thaw and the fumbled off all the meat there was. the meat was thus free, the turkey -bought last year- long amortized.
besides turkey, i used for the soup
chicken broth $0.30
carrot + celery $0.40
the potato was already cubed, frozen, i had cut too much a few weeks ago for another dish. also amortized. [yes, i am proud to know this fancy word.] same goes for potato in the chicken soup, actually.
1 can cream of mushroom soup $0.80
1 can cream of chicken soup $1 [these prices are estimated]
i threw in the pepper and bay leaf for free. [hehe. i did actually throw those into the soup kettle, got it?]
as for the dumplings, i used two egg whites [instead of one whole egg] left over from yday's baking. also amortized. (..) half whole wheat flour, half regular flour. $0.60 for the flours. $0.05 for the baking powder, $0.05 for the butter and $0.20 for milk.
that's $3.40 for a lot of chicken dumpling soup. the dumblings [i just caught this spelling mistake in the proof reading. it cracks me up so much i have to leave it in.] are quite big and filling. swell. bring on the recession.
[just kidding, of course. in case the universe is watching and -behold- acting upon curses and wishes i mumble.
now, the lamp! i think i will blog about the lamp tomorrow. it deserves its own blog entry and this one was taken over by chicken soups. they deserve it, too, though. and i deserve to sleep under my down comforter tonight. cozy goodness.
i must eat another bowl before continuing this entry. excuse me.
sou. the soup was followed by bread with chocolate.
the soup, by the way, greatly satisfied the 1958 resourceful housewife within me. the chicken was actually turkey, left over from thanksgiving. i had frozen two wings and a leg. took it out this morning to thaw and the fumbled off all the meat there was. the meat was thus free, the turkey -bought last year- long amortized.
besides turkey, i used for the soup
chicken broth $0.30
carrot + celery $0.40
the potato was already cubed, frozen, i had cut too much a few weeks ago for another dish. also amortized. [yes, i am proud to know this fancy word.] same goes for potato in the chicken soup, actually.
1 can cream of mushroom soup $0.80
1 can cream of chicken soup $1 [these prices are estimated]
i threw in the pepper and bay leaf for free. [hehe. i did actually throw those into the soup kettle, got it?]
as for the dumplings, i used two egg whites [instead of one whole egg] left over from yday's baking. also amortized. (..) half whole wheat flour, half regular flour. $0.60 for the flours. $0.05 for the baking powder, $0.05 for the butter and $0.20 for milk.
that's $3.40 for a lot of chicken dumpling soup. the dumblings [i just caught this spelling mistake in the proof reading. it cracks me up so much i have to leave it in.] are quite big and filling. swell. bring on the recession.
[just kidding, of course. in case the universe is watching and -behold- acting upon curses and wishes i mumble.
now, the lamp! i think i will blog about the lamp tomorrow. it deserves its own blog entry and this one was taken over by chicken soups. they deserve it, too, though. and i deserve to sleep under my down comforter tonight. cozy goodness.
no kidding! she titles another post 'around here'? is that all she does, hang 'around there', wherever that is?
yes, and she loves it.
i took photos again and shall follow their lead.
two days ago, i think it was, we woke up to a foggy, early morning. my <3 woke me up upon my repeated demand. he says he doesn't like waking me [for various reasons; i am at my crankiest in the morning being one of them] [ha, just kidding], but when he feels like not getting up after waking, he makes coffee and shares a cup with me. that is, we both have our own cups due to different coffee modification preferences and an abundance [2+] of coffee cups in the house. anyway, i don't like to move much, or quickly, in the morning, but had to get the camera to take a photo of the trees in the fog. i heart fog.
yes, and she loves it.
i took photos again and shall follow their lead.
two days ago, i think it was, we woke up to a foggy, early morning. my <3 woke me up upon my repeated demand. he says he doesn't like waking me [for various reasons; i am at my crankiest in the morning being one of them] [ha, just kidding], but when he feels like not getting up after waking, he makes coffee and shares a cup with me. that is, we both have our own cups due to different coffee modification preferences and an abundance [2+] of coffee cups in the house. anyway, i don't like to move much, or quickly, in the morning, but had to get the camera to take a photo of the trees in the fog. i heart fog.
does it not look like we live in a countryish area? beautiful deception, no? the phallic chimney in the bottom left corner of the photo tells the truth. but the neighborhood is safe, quiet, and tree*laden, obviously. nicely so.
when i moved in, i brought two birds of paradise with me. either has yet to blossom [is that grammatically correct for 'neither blossomed yet'?] but since we moved here, one quickly grew a new leaf. relatively quickly, seems like it only took three weeks. the other one is growing much more slowly despite same age, same size pot. it stands in a colder corner of the house, as my darling noticed, so i moved it to a warmer area and we'll see if it grows faster there.
the new leaf of the early bloomer [is there such a thing?] unrolled last night or this morning [had to help it along, it ripped in the middle] and is sporting three different greens. pretty, isn't it?
when i moved in, i brought two birds of paradise with me. either has yet to blossom [is that grammatically correct for 'neither blossomed yet'?] but since we moved here, one quickly grew a new leaf. relatively quickly, seems like it only took three weeks. the other one is growing much more slowly despite same age, same size pot. it stands in a colder corner of the house, as my darling noticed, so i moved it to a warmer area and we'll see if it grows faster there.
the new leaf of the early bloomer [is there such a thing?] unrolled last night or this morning [had to help it along, it ripped in the middle] and is sporting three different greens. pretty, isn't it?
since the last blog, i also painted afresh three kitchen cabinet doors, one drawer, and surroundings. unfortunately i didn't take before pictures. but they look anew now. of course, i unscrewed handles and hinges, then washed and sanded the parts before painting. i learned that from my dad, do it right if you're doing it. actually, that lesson also came from my stepdad. i remember him taking off layers of old wallpaper in a room before putting new wallpaper on. that might have been a room in our house, or the room next to the bathroom in my grandma's house, second floor. it looked like a sh*tload of work, but he said the new wallpaper would just come off later if it wasn't put up correctly, directly onto the wall.
i only washed but didn't sand the little table i sprayed blue a couple of days ago. there was no paint coming off and one clean coat on it, except for the top which i did sand. and i even took before pictures!
i only washed but didn't sand the little table i sprayed blue a couple of days ago. there was no paint coming off and one clean coat on it, except for the top which i did sand. and i even took before pictures!
and here is the after picture. makes me rather happy.
and, while my sweetheart spent his evening at the college teaching, i spent some time on baking something that just made him [and - who am i kidding - me] rather happy:
the dessert book that i took the recipe from [thanks denise, superb christmas gift! :)] calls these pieces profiteroles. apparently, that seems to be their name, at least if they also have a chocolate glaze. in german, they're called wind bags. i'm still searching for the meaning of the word 'profiterole'. i'd like to find it before they're all eaten ;)
so, am not finding anything. does anyone know where the word derives from? i want to know what it means. not just choux pastry. i want to knooooow. ich will ich will ich will!
maybe it will come to me while i eat a few more.
nope, it came from an ink*and*paper dictionary. the oxford american dictionary and thesaurus. MY oxford american dictionary and thesaurus. with dedication on the first page. by me. to me. anywho, profiterole is a diminuitive of the noun 'profit' which means -surprise, surprise- 'profit'. still not sure how that happened. maybe i am supposed to sell them?
this goes to show that books are much trustier than the world wide web. probably just a fad, anyway, this internet thing.
so, am not finding anything. does anyone know where the word derives from? i want to know what it means. not just choux pastry. i want to knooooow. ich will ich will ich will!
maybe it will come to me while i eat a few more.
nope, it came from an ink*and*paper dictionary. the oxford american dictionary and thesaurus. MY oxford american dictionary and thesaurus. with dedication on the first page. by me. to me. anywho, profiterole is a diminuitive of the noun 'profit' which means -surprise, surprise- 'profit'. still not sure how that happened. maybe i am supposed to sell them?
this goes to show that books are much trustier than the world wide web. probably just a fad, anyway, this internet thing.
you could also call them 'ununderstandable things', or rather, "unfigureoutable things".
i am watching a german movie right now, in the style of rosamunde pilcher films. i am not sure if anyone but women over forty in england or germany know those movies.
1. cheesy
2. figureoutable
3. happy ending
i can only take such a movie once a month, or less often. the joy lies in my making fun of what i find funny, out aloud, since i am home alone.
for example, the general manager of a fancy hotel in kapstadt, south africa [of course, we are exotic..], charming all women yet a bachelor, and usually wearing a slightly crumpled linen jacket. understands the culture there [of course] and is always very helpful in showing female, single tourists around. of course. yet he isn't a sleezeball, he is a really good guy. lone wolf.
anywho, what inspired this entry is the following: thirty years ago, there were two brothers. jonathan and the other brother. their dad died, they inherit the winery. jonathan has an offer to go to australia and work for a winery there. he wants to see the world, so he leaves and won't have any of his inheritance. jonathan has a girlfriend, though. they split when he leaves and the girlfriend marries the other brother and works the winery with him.
now, thirty years later, jonathan comes back. to make up with his brother. but his brother has died, there remain the brother's wife [jonathan's ex] and her son, trying to keep the winery afloat.
turns out that the son is really jonathan's son [of course!]. and here comes the unfigureoutable:
when the ex found out that she was pregnant 30 years ago, jonathan had just gotten the offer to go to australia. and because he was "so full of life" and excited to go, THE EX DID NOT TELL JONATHAN THAT SHE WAS PREGNANT.
pah!
pah!
because she knew he would have stayed.
samma, such bullshit! such pseudo-heroic altruism.
a martyr, for thirty years, because naturally, the ex never stopped loving jonathan. [and guess who will get back together in about twenty minutes?] not to mention that she didn't even give jonathan the choice to be in his son's life. i'm no man but i imagine that would piss me off.
what else do people do in movies, things that are unfigureoutable?
they don't speak up. imagine the following situation: person b finds out that person a cheated on her/him. that's what it seems like, at least. person b is infuriated to have been cheated on and quits her job, books a flight to an undisclosed location and packs her bags, leaving only a sour note to person a.
person a comes home, reads the note and rushes to the airport in hopes of stopping person b. person a finds person b standing in line to board the plane [nevermind security checks now, i'm going for the dramatic, last-minute moment].
person a: what the fuck is going on?
person b: you know what's going on. you cheated on me. you broke my heart. i will never talk to you again.
person a: but, but...
person b hands the stewardess her boarding pass. she passes the desk and turns around one last time.
person a: i.. i... i can explain..
person b boards the plane, never to be seen again.
why did person a not say, "what are you talking about? i didn't cheat on you! i didn't do anything of that sort! we have to talk about this!"
because it's a movie and there has to be drama. sigh. some people always have to have drama in their lives, too. luckily not around me. which is, i must say, partly thanks to me. thank you, christine, for saving yourself from these people.
now back to the general manager of the hotel. he and a pretty young female vet are trapped in the wilderness, in a little hut. she sprained her ankle. he just came back from looking for the wilderers/trappers? and brought an aloe plant. yes, an aloe plant, which he broke open and smeared onto her ankle to take away the pain. ah, beautiful clichee.
i am watching a german movie right now, in the style of rosamunde pilcher films. i am not sure if anyone but women over forty in england or germany know those movies.
1. cheesy
2. figureoutable
3. happy ending
i can only take such a movie once a month, or less often. the joy lies in my making fun of what i find funny, out aloud, since i am home alone.
for example, the general manager of a fancy hotel in kapstadt, south africa [of course, we are exotic..], charming all women yet a bachelor, and usually wearing a slightly crumpled linen jacket. understands the culture there [of course] and is always very helpful in showing female, single tourists around. of course. yet he isn't a sleezeball, he is a really good guy. lone wolf.
anywho, what inspired this entry is the following: thirty years ago, there were two brothers. jonathan and the other brother. their dad died, they inherit the winery. jonathan has an offer to go to australia and work for a winery there. he wants to see the world, so he leaves and won't have any of his inheritance. jonathan has a girlfriend, though. they split when he leaves and the girlfriend marries the other brother and works the winery with him.
now, thirty years later, jonathan comes back. to make up with his brother. but his brother has died, there remain the brother's wife [jonathan's ex] and her son, trying to keep the winery afloat.
turns out that the son is really jonathan's son [of course!]. and here comes the unfigureoutable:
when the ex found out that she was pregnant 30 years ago, jonathan had just gotten the offer to go to australia. and because he was "so full of life" and excited to go, THE EX DID NOT TELL JONATHAN THAT SHE WAS PREGNANT.
pah!
pah!
because she knew he would have stayed.
samma, such bullshit! such pseudo-heroic altruism.
a martyr, for thirty years, because naturally, the ex never stopped loving jonathan. [and guess who will get back together in about twenty minutes?] not to mention that she didn't even give jonathan the choice to be in his son's life. i'm no man but i imagine that would piss me off.
what else do people do in movies, things that are unfigureoutable?
they don't speak up. imagine the following situation: person b finds out that person a cheated on her/him. that's what it seems like, at least. person b is infuriated to have been cheated on and quits her job, books a flight to an undisclosed location and packs her bags, leaving only a sour note to person a.
person a comes home, reads the note and rushes to the airport in hopes of stopping person b. person a finds person b standing in line to board the plane [nevermind security checks now, i'm going for the dramatic, last-minute moment].
person a: what the fuck is going on?
person b: you know what's going on. you cheated on me. you broke my heart. i will never talk to you again.
person a: but, but...
person b hands the stewardess her boarding pass. she passes the desk and turns around one last time.
person a: i.. i... i can explain..
person b boards the plane, never to be seen again.
why did person a not say, "what are you talking about? i didn't cheat on you! i didn't do anything of that sort! we have to talk about this!"
because it's a movie and there has to be drama. sigh. some people always have to have drama in their lives, too. luckily not around me. which is, i must say, partly thanks to me. thank you, christine, for saving yourself from these people.
now back to the general manager of the hotel. he and a pretty young female vet are trapped in the wilderness, in a little hut. she sprained her ankle. he just came back from looking for the wilderers/trappers? and brought an aloe plant. yes, an aloe plant, which he broke open and smeared onto her ankle to take away the pain. ah, beautiful clichee.
a pattern has evolved. i take photos of what i want to blog about, and then remember those things when i pull the photo onto my trusty mac.
today i want to finish the world's prettiest apron [the act is on, show me your pretty aprons!] and then cook in the evening. possibly go grocery shopping in between. the meal plan for next week stands.
today: kaesespaetzle. mmmmh! german favorite.
monday: veggie burgers [recipe from the g foreman grill book]
tuesday: lasagna mmmmh! christine favorite
wednesday: grilled vegetable sandwich [also g foreman]
thursday: spaghetti with a new recipe for bolognese sauce
friday: chicken soup [to oil the voice because my swweetheart is singing again in the evening]
saturday: pizza [wholewheat, of course]
later today [once i wear my apron..] i will put together the recipes and compile the master shopping list that will result in my returning from the grocery store with everything we need for the week. excluding must-be-very-fresh [as opposed to somewhat fresh?] ingredients.
so, the photos. a few days ago i made a red wine cake. recipe from chefkoch.de.
no special glaze, just powdered sugar and water. same as the glaze for yesterday's petits fours, also called 'today's breakfast'.
of course, bree vanDeKamp would raise her eyebrows at my not using dessert cups but muffin cups. unfortunately, that was all we had at home. appropriate petits four clothing is already on the shopping list.
yesterday, i believe it was, i went to look for something in the garage [a clamp, is that what it's called?], didn't find it, but sorted a great chaos of screws. oh, the neatness. beautiful. of course, i also cleaned the toolboxes in the process and sorted wrenches and pliers. now, here are the screws.
i especially like the imperfection on the left. when i bought the wood at home depot, i purposely took the piece with this part in it. individuality!
today i want to finish the world's prettiest apron [the act is on, show me your pretty aprons!] and then cook in the evening. possibly go grocery shopping in between. the meal plan for next week stands.
today: kaesespaetzle. mmmmh! german favorite.
monday: veggie burgers [recipe from the g foreman grill book]
tuesday: lasagna mmmmh! christine favorite
wednesday: grilled vegetable sandwich [also g foreman]
thursday: spaghetti with a new recipe for bolognese sauce
friday: chicken soup [to oil the voice because my swweetheart is singing again in the evening]
saturday: pizza [wholewheat, of course]
later today [once i wear my apron..] i will put together the recipes and compile the master shopping list that will result in my returning from the grocery store with everything we need for the week. excluding must-be-very-fresh [as opposed to somewhat fresh?] ingredients.
so, the photos. a few days ago i made a red wine cake. recipe from chefkoch.de.
no special glaze, just powdered sugar and water. same as the glaze for yesterday's petits fours, also called 'today's breakfast'.
of course, bree vanDeKamp would raise her eyebrows at my not using dessert cups but muffin cups. unfortunately, that was all we had at home. appropriate petits four clothing is already on the shopping list.
yesterday, i believe it was, i went to look for something in the garage [a clamp, is that what it's called?], didn't find it, but sorted a great chaos of screws. oh, the neatness. beautiful. of course, i also cleaned the toolboxes in the process and sorted wrenches and pliers. now, here are the screws.
i went to look for the clamp because i gorillaglued together four left over [from building the partition] pieces of wood to create a spice rack. shelf rather. i even found hanging thingies in a drawer and thus i introduce to you, and our kitchen, the little containers for baking stuff-shelf.
i especially like the imperfection on the left. when i bought the wood at home depot, i purposely took the piece with this part in it. individuality!
and now, the knife. ever since i first thought of it today, i am looking forward to chopping onions with it tonight. oh, they will be in rings for the spaetzle. ah, never you mind, still need to be cut. chopping things, my new hobby.
does anyone need anything chopped? german steel, glass hardened [whatever that means...], made in china. bought at bed bath & beyond for 12.99, discounted from 19.99. preferred that to the rachael ray chopping knife [which i originally wanted to get there] because it was 17.99 and because i have read this one rachael ray everyday magazine issue and cannot live with a knife that might call me 'girlfriend'. i need a serious knife. because chopping is serious business! ask the mob.
now, the hemmer foot. i accidentally found it, a week or so ago. i was searching through the sewing machine stuff i have, and there is was. an odd looking foot with a curl in the front. i looked through the manual and learned it was a hemmer foot.
a hemmer foot! you feed the edge of the fabric into the front and this marvelous gadget rolls it so that when the needle comes, it is neatly [have i meantioned i love neat things?] folded and can be sewn into a grade a hem.
now, the hemmer foot. i accidentally found it, a week or so ago. i was searching through the sewing machine stuff i have, and there is was. an odd looking foot with a curl in the front. i looked through the manual and learned it was a hemmer foot.
a hemmer foot! you feed the edge of the fabric into the front and this marvelous gadget rolls it so that when the needle comes, it is neatly [have i meantioned i love neat things?] folded and can be sewn into a grade a hem.
and now, off to sew i go.
gardening is keeping me away from the blog.
for ones who know me, or have known me in the past [most specifically people who have asked me to do yardwork], this might sounds like a lame*brained excuse.
'tisn't!
i have been doing yard work, and thoroughly enjoying it. garden work, that is. i believe i wanted to call it garden instead of yard because it sounds a little more european and castle*ish. so, i have been doing garden work.roses are all pruned now. as in: i cut off branches growing through the middle of the plant and too far out of line; not as in: i dug out the rosebush and put it back in its spot upside down. my brother thomas suggested that's what it looked like. so, to clarify, i haven't done that.
today i, ahem, groomed, a tree that gave me more scratches than all the rosebushes combined. it has a round crown and there was much dead wood inside. my sense of order required that i pull that out. also, i am convinced new sprouting will be fostered by room for air and sun. anyway, i held some topiary scissors for the first time today. i am a bloody beginner. not literally, mind you.
the green trash can is already full fuller fullest and won't be emptied until tuesday. oh well.
today, i went to lowe's and bought cucumber and bell pepper seeds. furthermore a camelia [the one plant whose name i just might be able to remember now] and ten bags of top soil to even out the rosebush beds. of course, i will first have to loosen the existing top soil a bit before i mix the new top soil in there.
long story short [as if], i have no crafty pictures to show. [go visit madeitmyself.com - you can click on the link to the left. speaking of left, obama is president! yeahoooooo!]
so as to not leave you without any photo, here is the window in the paris room, where the craft happens.
curtain: 50 cents, goodwill
green shelf: 3 dollars, goodwill
turtle pot: 2 dollars, yard sale
green pot: 1.50, estate sale
pink pot: a dollar, thrift store
e: 25 cents, thrift store
yellow pot: free, at school
black pots and cacti: 99 cents each at the 99cents*only*store
for ones who know me, or have known me in the past [most specifically people who have asked me to do yardwork], this might sounds like a lame*brained excuse.
'tisn't!
i have been doing yard work, and thoroughly enjoying it. garden work, that is. i believe i wanted to call it garden instead of yard because it sounds a little more european and castle*ish. so, i have been doing garden work.roses are all pruned now. as in: i cut off branches growing through the middle of the plant and too far out of line; not as in: i dug out the rosebush and put it back in its spot upside down. my brother thomas suggested that's what it looked like. so, to clarify, i haven't done that.
today i, ahem, groomed, a tree that gave me more scratches than all the rosebushes combined. it has a round crown and there was much dead wood inside. my sense of order required that i pull that out. also, i am convinced new sprouting will be fostered by room for air and sun. anyway, i held some topiary scissors for the first time today. i am a bloody beginner. not literally, mind you.
the green trash can is already full fuller fullest and won't be emptied until tuesday. oh well.
today, i went to lowe's and bought cucumber and bell pepper seeds. furthermore a camelia [the one plant whose name i just might be able to remember now] and ten bags of top soil to even out the rosebush beds. of course, i will first have to loosen the existing top soil a bit before i mix the new top soil in there.
long story short [as if], i have no crafty pictures to show. [go visit madeitmyself.com - you can click on the link to the left. speaking of left, obama is president! yeahoooooo!]
so as to not leave you without any photo, here is the window in the paris room, where the craft happens.
curtain: 50 cents, goodwill
green shelf: 3 dollars, goodwill
turtle pot: 2 dollars, yard sale
green pot: 1.50, estate sale
pink pot: a dollar, thrift store
e: 25 cents, thrift store
yellow pot: free, at school
black pots and cacti: 99 cents each at the 99cents*only*store
things are peachy around here.
my stomach is filled with vanilla black tea and i have another hour before company arrives. so, a blog entry is in order. i started composing it today while pruning roses, but of course don't remember what i wrote. haha.
here is the rosebush before christine scissorhands..
so darling. our garden is a safe haven for earthworms. they will not be eaten by daring little children or sold to fishing men who spear and then drown them. i think a sign to that effect is in order, so that worms know. they will, anyway, after they read this blog. then migrate to our garden and keep the soil loose and themselves safe and happy.
yesterday, i finished my third quilt. even though it will be a to date undisclosed gift, i shall post photos. i don't assume anyone reads my musing because no one ever leaves a comment! [crystal, thomas, you're not no one. if you're reading this at all and are offended ;)]
so, here it is.
and a pretty singer spool. i am fascinated by its simpleness. looks so promising, comforting, and confident, full of blue thread.
the thread is now part of the quilt.
the cookies are now in my swweetheart's stomach.
actually, not all of them. some are also in my stomach. if earl the dog had had his way, a piece would be in his stomach now, too. but not so if christine is around. i think now earl is eyeing the rest of the cookies on the windowsill, trying to concoct a masterplan to get to them.
because it is in my stomach! moooohahaharr!
[no. it's in the oven.]
[this always brings down a criminal. the urge to confess.]
my stomach is filled with vanilla black tea and i have another hour before company arrives. so, a blog entry is in order. i started composing it today while pruning roses, but of course don't remember what i wrote. haha.
here is the rosebush before christine scissorhands..
and after.. don't worry, we anticipate it looking bloomy and happy soon.
when i raked the bed after pruning the rosebush [in my defense, much of what you can see in the before picture was already dead; note: dead rose thorns still poke], i saw two earthworms. the discovery of each was proclaimed by me with an "ohmygod, ihopeididn'thurtyou!" luckily, i hadn't, as closer inspection showed. the worms reminded me of this german commercial:
so darling. our garden is a safe haven for earthworms. they will not be eaten by daring little children or sold to fishing men who spear and then drown them. i think a sign to that effect is in order, so that worms know. they will, anyway, after they read this blog. then migrate to our garden and keep the soil loose and themselves safe and happy.
yesterday, i finished my third quilt. even though it will be a to date undisclosed gift, i shall post photos. i don't assume anyone reads my musing because no one ever leaves a comment! [crystal, thomas, you're not no one. if you're reading this at all and are offended ;)]
so, here it is.
and a pretty singer spool. i am fascinated by its simpleness. looks so promising, comforting, and confident, full of blue thread.
the thread is now part of the quilt.
the cookies are now in my swweetheart's stomach.
actually, not all of them. some are also in my stomach. if earl the dog had had his way, a piece would be in his stomach now, too. but not so if christine is around. i think now earl is eyeing the rest of the cookies on the windowsill, trying to concoct a masterplan to get to them.
it is possible that this plan involves bribing ants to carry the cookies out in pieces, lay them out for earl to put back together and eat. or eat without putting them together. but
1. the ants can't get into the jar because of a rubbery thing around the lid, and
2. i don't know what earl would bribe the ants with.
also safe from ants [and earl] is the zebra cake for tonight's dinner desert.
1. the ants can't get into the jar because of a rubbery thing around the lid, and
2. i don't know what earl would bribe the ants with.
also safe from ants [and earl] is the zebra cake for tonight's dinner desert.
because it is in my stomach! moooohahaharr!
[no. it's in the oven.]
[this always brings down a criminal. the urge to confess.]

