too short of a night

Well, last night I intended to put together a couple of little posts. One about a book I just finished reading and wanted to recommend. The other about some music I'm groovin' to these days. However, I ended up wrestling with our check book most of the evening. The unfortunate part? I still didn't find where my error is...argh!

On the other hand, I did have a respite of a movie with Rob and Tiika (big surprise, eh?). We watched "Harvey", a Jimmy Stewart movie from 1950. A very sweet, zany movie. It was adapted from a play and in some parts it was almost like watching a play. Something about how the actors presented themselves. Especially the women. One of the women won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her role. I recommend it.

Time to dash off to the showers. Happy Friday! It's a three day weekend. Yippee! What are you doing with your Labor Day weekend?

awesome

I wish I had pictures to post. Tiika and I walked out on an amazing site this morning: a lunar eclipse. I vaguely recall seeing a headline about the upcoming event last week some time but didn't put two and two together to realize that we would have the opportunity to witness it.

And witness, wow. It was so cool to watch the last sliver of the full moon become a crescent of brightness then a smoldering circle in the sky. I wonder what the ancient people thought when they saw such a sight. I was awestruck just thinking about how the glow I saw was the sun reflecting off the surface of the moon but from an unusual angle. An angle that was giving me this unique experience. So wonderful.

it was a hit

It appears the cole slaw was a hit. There were only a few bites left at the bottom of the bowl by the end of the luncheon. A few people directly told me they thought it was good. Even more important in my book is that Rob liked it. He's big into coleslaw and will usually order it when it appears as a "side" at a restaurant. This recipe seemed to pair well with the ribs and corn on the cob yesterday, too. Sweet success.

tonight's project: cole slaw

I'm not a real big cole slaw fan but when I saw that our upcoming (tomorrow) all staff potluck luncheon was being supplied with corn on the cob and ribs, it seemed a fitting dish. At the time I signed up it was 90+ degrees out and the thought of cooking even potatoes or pasta for a salad seemed too much. I opted to try something new.

Since I've barely eaten cole slaw let alone made it, I turned to the internet for a recipe. The fewer ingredients, the better. I came up with this recipe that swears it's a fool proof classic.

Cole Slaw
1 large cabbage, shredded or chopped as you like
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 1/2 cups mayo
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground black pepper
salt to taste

Mix everything together and let sit for 2 hours to overnight, chilling. Taste for salt and pepper before serving. Keeps 2 days in the fridge then it goes watery and isn't as nice.

As you can probably tell from the picture, I couldn't resist messing with the recipe just a little bit. I grated a couple of carrots and some red cabbage to add for color. I'll let you know what the verdict is after the luncheon. Looks and smells pretty good to me.

movie: FairyTale A True Story

On Monday night we watched a sweet little movie, FairyTale: A True Story. We both enjoyed it. It's about two little girls in the English countryside toward the end of WWI. They lived on a beautiful property that was simply enchanting for them. In fact, it was so magical they were able to take pictures of themselves with fairies! Somehow Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ("Precisely, Holmes!") came across the photos and ... well, you'll have to watch the movie to find out the rest. There is a better description here if you're interested. It stars Harvey Keitel and Peter O'Toole and was made in 1997. We both thought the two little girls were outstanding in their roles.

Mandy M - I think your kids would like it. Caitlyn might be a little young but perhaps not with big brother or mommy by her side.

Bob & Valerie - Rob thinks you two would especially enjoy it.

Let us know if you check it out.

PS I ran as planned this morning. It went better than Monday even though about half way through it started to smell smoky. My lungs hurt for a bit this morning either from that or the cold air. Depending on the smoke levels, I'm shooting for a third run on Friday.

rain!

Yippee! I woke up this morning to a delicious downpour of rain bouncing off our metal roof. What a lovely sound. By the time Tiika finished her breakfast, it had abated enough that we ventured out into a lighter shower. Ahh, I like walking in rain like that...and to know that it must be helping all those firefighters out there to douse the flames, even better.

PS I did get in a short run yesterday. Man, oh, man is it hard after not running for a while. I walked more than I wished. At least I was out there. I intend to go at it again tomorrow.

home again, home again

We arrived home last night at the beginning of some rain showers that lasted for a couple of hours or so. What a relief.

We had escaped our smoky town by heading east on Friday afternoon and not returning until 7:30 last night. It was great to breathe clean air for a couple of days. It was an additional treat to arrive here and have the rain begin. It seems to have cleared the air, at least out at our place. Hopefully town is cleared, too, as I'd really like to get in a run. It would be the first in what feels like forever.

(I suppose I could have run over the weekend since we were camping in National Forest and the road was right there. Somehow, sleeping in seemed a higher priority.)

Regardless of the smoke status, the temperature is supposed to stay cool for a day or two. Very much a good thing in my book.

Time to hit the showers. Have a good week.

couple of brief rants

In my morning walk with Tiika this morning, we encountered a dead cat. Rob came across one in our yard on Tuesday evening. I'm not sure what is going on but if someone is poisoning them, I'm p*ssed. The one this morning might have been hit by a car, it was hard for me to tell.

We have had a growing population of feral cats in the neighborhood so it's not far fetched to think that poison has been put out. While I don't like the idea, if it is the management company's doing and they haven't warned anyone, I'm even more p*ssed. There are a lot of children who live and play here not to mention dogs. It's time for a call.

On another ranting note, the fire that is west of here, the Black Cat Fire, has burned "structures" and continues to threaten more. Many of those "structures" as far as I know are usually called homes. It bothers me that the media don't just say homes but what ticks me off even more are the gawkers who come to get their picture of history:

"Sheriff’s officials say people are stopping to look and take pictures and by doing so hampering the firefighting effort, while impeding those trying to evacuate. In additon, Giffin told KPAX that heavy air tankers and two helicopters were unable to refill for water drops because onlookers were parking too close to the dipping site." (from New West Missoula)

Don't people EVER think outside of themselves? How would they feel if it were their "structures" being threatened by this blaze? Grr. The situation is large enough they have even pulled city cops off the streets to help control the crowds and road closures.

Enough of the crankiness. It is Friday (yeah!) and we are planning to head out of town this afternoon to escape the smoke and ash that is currently the air we are breathing. I am thankful the fires aren't close enough to us to be a threat to our home, humble though it is.

Happy Weekend everyone.

couple of doodles

Just a couple of small pieces of art work. The first is from my journal that I carry with me pretty much all the time. You never know when a thought or idea will need immediate expressing. It's almost full so I have to take a look at my stash soon and pick a new one. It's done in pencil so not all of it came through in the scan.

The second is a piece I've been playing with for a while now, off and on. I haven't been very happy with it so decided I would just doodle on it and see if it got any better. I think it did. You can't tell in the scan, but a few layers back I used some of that really cool iridescent paint that is one color (green) until you angle it a little and then it becomes another (lavender). (Thanks Elisabeth!) My favorite part is the whirly-gig that I ended up sewing on because the medium wasn't holding it well enough.

It was a nice way to spend some time last night. It was dang hot again so I wasn't sure I was going to follow through on the ideas from my air conditioned office. I'm glad I made the effort.

This morning the wind seems to have shifted and the smoke it pretty thick. I think I saw ash in the air as I walked Tiika. Yuck!

a couple of images to whet your appetite

Yo, anyone want to party?
Both of those images were taken at Brad and Mandy's rehearsal dinner last Friday. Can you tell which one of us is sober? My oh my, did I have a good time. McMenamin's (sp?) makes an excellent porter. Thankfully I didn't pay too heavily the next day and I remembered MOST of what I did and said. It was a good party. =) [It's a lizard behind Rob's ear and a sea anemone on my head, both table decorations gone awry.]

I've got more pictures from that night and the wedding the next day but they will have to wait a bit. Firstly, I'm at home and it takes too dang long to upload a bunch of pictures and secondly, I accidentally brought home Mom's camera instead of ours. [We have the same model and same camera bag. Somehow the camera's got switched.] I want to put together a complete album before posting a link. (Also, the pictures from the pre-Oregon visit hike are on my camera and also deserve to be posted.)

Ok, I can't resist, I'll post one wedding picture. Not of the bride or groom but of my sweet, sleeping nephew, Will. In that moment, I was one contented auntie.

got some sleep

We got mostly unpacked last night and hit the hay early. Not early enough to completely offset the deficit but enough to function somewhere near normal today. Tonight is laundry and another goal of getting to bed early. I also intend to work on the photos from the week so I can post a few of them and tell a story or two. =)

I am very close to having my ArtFest classes chosen, too. Yipee!! I'm starting to feel anxious about getting back to creating and am looking forward to the cool hours of Saturday morning to play in my art space.

home

We're home. We're exhausted. Three hours of sleep simply isn't enough.

Tonight's agenda? Grocery shopping and to bed as soon as possible.

More tomorrow.

leavin' in a Honda

Doesn't quite work the same as "leavin' on a jet plane..." but it'll have to do. We're heading out after work this afternoon, should be arriving at Teals place in Seattle later tonight. I'm a little bit tired just thinking about it. It will be so lovely to drive out of the valley of smoke. I'm guessing it could be a couple of hours of driving before we're entirely out of it.

Not much else to write since last night was spent packing and arranging some last minute details with the bride for the wedding programs. It is doubtful that I will be writing again until after we return but it might happen. Who knows?

Looking forward to seeing family and celebrating.

.ttfn.

colorful, smiling Will

This is the picture I was thinking of earlier this morning. Mom printed it out for me while I was in town so I have it on my desk, too. Since I saw him last (about 10 days ago) he has gotten in his first tooth and a second one seems to be on its way out. I can't wait to see him again next week!

super smoky

Dang, it's super smoky out there this morning. I can almost taste it. Yuck! Here's a recent article from the Missoulian newspaper: Mile Marker 124 Fire.

I checked out the ArtFest listings yesterday. Hoo boy, some days are going to be really hard to choose. I've printed out the descriptions for the classes that jumped out at me first so I can read them on the drive over to Seattle tomorrow. Yipes, we leave tomorrow! Guess I should get around to packing now then, eh?

I wanted to post a new favorite picture of Will but realized I don't have one here at home. They are on my computer at work. Time to get them home!

.ttfn.

cooler

I woke up this morning at 2 to the smell of smoke and feeling chilled. The first was a drag but the second was very welcome indeed. Apparently the winds have shifted overnight and the smoke from the Mile Marker 124 fire was coming in through the blower/fan we had running. The good news is that when I took Tiika out this morning it was a chilly 63 degrees F rather than the balmy 76 degrees F we've been having. Yippee!

Today is August 1st, the day the ArtFest 2008 class list is revealed. Oooo, I can't wait to check it out. I've already got a couple of teachers in mind that I'd like to take a class from and a new (better, I hope) strategy for getting the classes I want.

.ttfn.