Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Random pictures

Because it's better than working and I have nothing to say.

Except that I'm so excited for my trip to UK and Amsterdam that I pee a little every time I think about it.



First up, some shots from a lovely canoe paddle HN, his dad and I went on. In Long Island of all places. This is the upside of living with the dude who looks at maps, finds green spots and says "let's go find this". The downside is that he does shit like that year round, like December. And doesn't take "no thanks, I don't really "do" cold" for an answer.

This is Star contemplating the fact the Murman (HN's dad) has broken off of the caravan. She was whining and debating a rescue attempt. She does not recognize that she is never actually able to rescue anyone, and more often tips boats over trying to do so.



This is dog giving me her best "whatchoo talking bout Willis?" If she knew swear words, I bet it would be more colorful.

Is this not lovely? and seriously. It's in Loongeyeland.

Birds on a wire. A lot of birds. It's like the Niagara Falls of crap.

I took this picture because I thought it was the home stretch. It was not. Now I use it to bring the pain back to life...
Peter Piper didn't have shit on my pickled peppers!



'Sup lady?

From the plane on my way back from Portland. oooh, mountains!



Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Right now

HN is sitting next to me watching video after video on bow action. Like bows that you kill things with. It's a new thing he's doing, planning to kill things. I'm a little excited, because if he kills things, I will cook them which surely justifies all manner of new kitchen tools. Homemade sausage, coming right up, I just need to buy this handy dandy sausage stuffer (once I decide whether I'm "real" enough to handle natural casing). Otherwise, I'm a bit neutral on it. I don't ever want to meet my food, and I sure as shit would be a vegetarian if I had to kill meat to eat it, but I respect the hell out of the fact that he's taking this on for the house. Go hunter-gatherer, go! So long as he never brings home the face or the guts I think we're good.

The production quality on the video is actually quite good, which frightens me (though it only frightens me slightly more than the fact that he's watching them) THREE POUNDS OF TRIGGER WEIGHT!!

Between videos he's playing with his new chop saw. I don't know what's happening here, he's like turning into Rambo or something.

HN is ALL MAN!

and I am all wimp. Pictures to follow but my neck is all jacked up (again) The dude today actually took 5 minutes to listen to my story instead of the usual "here's some Flexeril go away" He asked me what was wrong and I said "I feel like my muscles are so tight they're pulling my bones out of whack" which is what I always say when this happens, because that's always what it feels like. So he did some cervical spine x-rays and guess what? The muscles in my back and shoulders are so tight they are pulling my neck bones out of whack. Specifically I have "artificial compression of cervical vertebrae due to muscle spasms" or something like that. I pretty much stopped listening after he said "you were right". OMG, it's almost like it's my body and I'm aware of what's doing with it right? I don't feel as bitter as I think I sound. I'm psyched he listened. I'm more pysched he sent me home with a bag o pills, because I think I might finally get some sleep in this joint. Thank you Dr Hero, I will do my best to dream of you in flattering circumstances.
I will try to keep this separate from the killing things/bow dreams I'm also sure to have.

so much to say, so little sense with which to say it

We went to NY for the weekend/Mon/Tues to help HN's dad around the house and stuff. I drove the last leg home, since HN had done it on the way up. We rolled in around 1am, and I kicked around the house until 4:00 IN THE MORNING because I was all hopped up on iced coffee and Skittles. Mental note: you are too old to drink coffee at 9pm. and Skittles? Just no. I can't help it though, driving is like license to chill in the food dept. Potato chips and Skittles = POWAH!

I did get a ton of stuff done though, my unpacking and crap, and cleaned the kitchen (dishwasher notwithstanding. We have GOT to remember not to go away with dirty stuff in there. Seriously.)

On a more exciting -because it doesn't take much- note, this morning while reheating some carrot/sweet potato soup I found in the freezer I discovered that that gross textural thing that happens to potato soup when you freeze it and reheat can be undone with a quick blast of the immersion blender- I'm talking velvet soup where once there was weird chunky/watery stuff (that still tasted fine so I was going to eat it no matter what because there really are very few options available to me right now).

Praise be! Go forth and re-liquefy.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Yard sale treasure hunt score!!

Friday, August 6, 2010

This week's secret ingredient

It's spinach dude. As in, I am putting so much spinach in everything that I am about to scream maniacally like they do on PeeWee's playhouse when someone says the secret word. But overall it's a bit more nutritious.

When I came home last weekend after forever away, there was nothing to eat in the house that wasn't in a can or made of cheese. Bachelor Bob HN had been living almost exclusively off of corn, tomatoes and cheese. For reals, our cheese drawer is crazy right now. I think he bought a new one for every day I was gone.

Anyway, first order of business Sunday morning I went to Whole Foods and had a breakdown in the produce aisle and bought like a metric ton of spinach. Don't ask why. I don't know why, I barely remember doing it. And now, because I'm back on my "food waste = death" movement, I am determined to eat it all. The thing is, I really don't like spinach cooked all that much. Again, I don't even know why I needed a ton of it. I love it raw, in salad or whatever but there's really only so much of that one can do right? Normally I would agree, but I'm just going to have to see what I'm really capable of... This is going to make me a better person right?

Yesterday I made a reasonably bomb ass tuna salad (added onions from our garden, local beets grated up, chopped up one of my way too salty to live birthday pickles from last year, and a grated carrot. A little mayo, some balsamic and Bobsyeruncle) and ate it on top of a mile high pile of spinach. It barely dented what I bought. The day before, I had shoved as much spinach as I could into a veggie sandwich with swiss. Delightful, but it wasn't enough. You wouldn't even have noticed I was in there.

Today, the spinach is looking like it will soon be sad, so I estimate I have until tomorrow to eat it all. It's a tall order, and it means spinach is now on 3 meals a day detail but I'm feeling strong. (Probably because I've eaten so much fucking spinach that I'm all Popeye-ing)

This morning I wilted a pile and hid it on top of a seriously buttered slice of toast, sprinkled some cayenne in there and then topped with a scrambled egg and more swiss cheese. If I can keep this up I think I can make it.

Last night I ate a pile of spinach in between rounds of canning, freezing and food processing. I really needed that though, because it was hot like AFRICA and I spent 4 hours standing over vats of boiling water.

I did the tomatoes, ALL the tomatoes in sight; We have tomatoes coming out our ass- I've canned them, dried them, frozen them, eaten them raw by the bucket loads just to get rid of them and given so many away that people now avert their eyes when I say Hi just in case it's a prelude to foisting more off on them. There's a new shit ton of those fuckers in the yard waiting to be picked.

I pickled 4 pints of Jalapenos. Taco night is about to get real everyone! Well, in 6 weeks.

I blended and froze half a watermelon for smoothies. Mental note: 2 people do not need a 20 lb watermelon, no matter how thirsty you are when you see it.

I made (more) blackberry jam, froze some blackberries and made sauce when I ran out of pectin.

I picked cleaned and dehydrated another bushel of cayennes. Ground cayenne for all my friends!

Waste = death! Spinach = life. or at least my life. until the zucchini come in, and then I fear things will change.



Thursday, August 5, 2010

Stakeout, pt 2. The lameness

So dude never came back around for his bits yesterday. However, last night while all the neighbors were gathered around out front watching the 4 car 8 patrolman's worth of police mayhem (crazy neighbor off her meds, whoooooooole other story) we talked to a few of our neighbors who gave us a name (George) and assured us he would be back. They figured he got what he needed to get his fix for the day and he'll be back looking for more stuff to sell when he's out.

I've left him a nice little note, using his name, which if he's any sort of a crackhead should have him shitting his dirty little pants and hopefully bringing back HN's pump (if it hasn't been sold)
Contents:

George,
The things on this porch are ours.
Taking them is stealing.
Bring back the bike pump or we will report you. Everyone around here knows you and knows where you live.

When we don't want something we will put it on the curb.

Stay off the porch.


I'm working in the living room today anyway "just in case"

Camera at the ready, big stick near the door. I feel like I'm about to be a character in Thursday, the less glamorous and more boring prequel to Friday.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

STAKEOUT - live blogging...

That's pretty much me right now. Also, this is also accurate:


One of our neighbors just informed us that some crazy people came and carted off a bunch of stuff we had on the front porch. HN is NOT HAVING this (even though most of it was in fact garbage) and so he's nonchalantly sitting on another neighbor's porch waiting for them to come back, and he has a giant beat your ass stick with him just in case. I'm "working" but also hidden right inside of our door so that when they show up I can take some pictures of them to help return them to the straight and narrow should they kick up a fuss.

This is going to be awesome.

1;17PM UPdate: HN has now switched porches. Not sure if he was feeling conspicuous or what but he's moved a house down. He's also now doing his dailies (pushups, situps, etc) It's all very prison yard "give me back my shit or else" We've also gotten word from another neighbor that it's an older junky couple. HN thinks this means he won't need the stick, I think it means they'll remember that much better.

2:20PM Ok the excitement has worn off. I am sure they will be back, but I'd be willing to bet in the meantime that they have either forgotten where we are, or sold the bike pump and gotten what they wanted and are now nodding off on some other lucky soul's porch. HN is ever vigilant though.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Tell me how you really feel...