gone fishin'

... dunno if/when i will be back...

'you and that stupid blanket'

It's getting colder.
Not that it's downright COLD just yet.
And where I live
though it does get cold.
It is still mild weather.
Relatively speaking
to a great many other places.

But
the temps are going down at night.
And in the morning.
And
I don't much like it.
My body feels the cold
way down deep inside.
Which is hard to shake off
and
ye olde body doesn't want to get up and go
like it oughta.

In the mornings I wrap myself in my fave softy blankie.
It's made from that ultra plush synthetic fabric.
You know the kind.

I sure do love the feel of this fabric.
And
am loath to remove said blanket from my bod in order to get properly dressed for the day.

I could be happy if I had clothes fashioned from said softy fleecy blanket fabric.
Hmmmmm...

Mebbe I should buy a couple more blankets like this.
And
fashion some simple jackets
and
scarves
and
shawls
from those blankies.

To wear as 'everyday clothes'
to keep myself
COZY
and
WARM
and
CUDDLED
from the cold.

Yes.
Yes.
Good idea.
I wonder if anyone would notice that I'm wearing blankets instead of clothes...?
Or would they even care?




'you and that stupid blanket' quote from 'Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown' by Charles M. Schultz

I sure do miss you, John Hartford

Growing up urban as urban can be in 1950's and 60's San Francisco, I had no exposure to bluegrass music. Nothing like it existed within the confines of the Chinatown neighborhood, anyway. Even the primitive 2-stringed Chinese erhu, though lovely the sound and 'down home' the instrument - simply could not cut the rustic swath that bluegrass did for me.

Back then my music appreciation did not extend too much beyond the teen pop sounds of Motown, The Beach Boys and The Beatles. Mom's love of singing American standards flavored my repertoire a bit, as did the andante movement from Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K.467 , which was featured in 'Elvira Madigan' (1967 Swedish 'art house' movie, popular with budding film buffs such as myself). I could not get enough of that andante, even as it repeated ad nauseam throughout the film.

I played no instruments, and our family owned few records. So my musical lust had to be satisfied by what was offered via AM radio and movie soundtracks. It was high time to broaden my musical outlook.

Well into my impressionable teens, Bluegrass just happened to jump out at that key moment to bite my 4/4 rock beat sensitivities.
My actual introduction came with the listening of a song penned by Missourian John Hartford.

It was Glen Campbell's popular 1967 version of 'Gentle On My Mind,
which eventually fell in place with  pop music history as an influence to the crossover of mountain music into the realm of folk-country-rock.

The tune and lyrics of Gentle On My Mind brought me to JH's music. I was 16 years young when that song topped the charts. I ran out to buy Campbell's album.

Here's a youtube of GC and JH singing on the song together. So nice.

Shortly after acquiring GC's hit album of the same name, I went on to buy 'Earthworks and Music' by Hartford, to hear the songwriter's rendition of his own piece. At the same time, I also purchased, on a lark, that they too would prove listen-worthy --- the  'John Hartford Looks at Life' AND 'Housing Project' records. Yep, I emptied the mad money change purse for those 4 albums.

No regrets.
Not a one.

For I immediately fell in love with the sound of a 5-string banjo and with fiddlin' as well - especially the manner in which JH pulled a bow across or picked at those strings. Hartford rolled notes off the banjo and sent them spinning round in mesmerizing melody. He plucked and pulled fiddle strings in such a way that I could feel it in my gut. And - that - my dears - was quite the depth of feeling when one is young and in need of something, anything - like music - to relate to for personal expression.

To be sure - what with his sad droopy hound dog eyes, long brown hair and slim form, you better believe I harbored a keen school girl crush on John Hartford. Yet it was the way he made the 5-string sing that made musical magic for this young teen.

After I married, HubbyDear and I were both avid John Hartford fans. Over the following decades, we acquired many more JH recordings.

I could wax John Hartford Poetic even further, but instead will leave you with this (not yet complete, but still representative) slide show about his life. It's at the official JH website, so do explore...

Life is short, so I'll get going now to dust off some old Hartford LPs and have another go 'round at listening to him draw his bow across the fiddle, pick n' strum at the 5-string, stomp in tune and play his mouth.

To be sure, my heart will soar and my feet will be a-tappin'.

xo to John Hartford.
Speaking for many more folks than myself, we really do miss you.

P.S. I credit JH's music for causing me to miss out on some of the ickier pop music trends from the mid-to late 1970's. Instead, I was listening to some pretty righteous old-timey bluegrass.



(image of bowler hat from http://1handsomehat.com/BOWLER.php)

here's a few more things that (older) middle-aged mamas do...

(8) carry more and more stuff in their purse make-up bags. for me, that would be one or two bronchial inhalers, additional face creams, eyeliner and eyebrow pencils (for when my eyebrows disappear and eyeliner smudges during the course of the day) (more often than not, this occurs just a few hours of being out and about).

(9) wear visors, baseball caps or big sun hats. somehow, this headgear doesn't look hip and cute on (older) middle-aged mamas as they do on Sweet Young Thangs who sport the same head coverings.

(10) forego sleeveless garments and opt instead for tops and dresses with 'cap' sleeves...

(11) sit in the shade rather than in the sun.

sun image from: http://www.thatorganicgirl.com/2012/05/sunscreens-to-avoid-this-summer.html

today i'm lovin' me some Oklahoma!

you nicked my name

nicknames.

Nicknames were a BIG DEAL in my fam-of-origin. Everyone in the family had them. Relatives and friends had them. And not just one. Two or three, and easily more.

Giving someone an affectionate (9 times out of 10 it is bestowed with love... on the rare occasion... it is not) moniker is something I've always done.

Once in a great while, someone might escape my giving them (an) additional name(s).

My DollinkHubby's fam-of-origin lack for fun nicknames, save for traditional shortened versions of their formal names.
How can?!?


I myself can own up to having at least a dozen nicknames. And I actually like the majority of those monikers.

Howzaboutyou?
Got a nickname - or twelve?


image from http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/friends/nicknames/index.html

summer breeze makes me feel fine

yes it do.
i luvs me some summer breeze
through the pine trees
in the forest
warm red dirt
plenty greenery
calm.
fine.
alive.
i am here
and taking notice.
very
thankful.

SUMMER BREEZE

See the curtains hangin' in the window, in the evenin' on a Friday night.
A little light a-shinin' through the window, lets me know everything is alright.

Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind.
Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind.

See the paper layin' in the sidewalk, a little music from the house next door.
So I walked on up to the doorstep, through the screen and across the floor.

Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind.
Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind.

Sweet days of summer, the jasmine's in bloom. July is dressed up and playing her tune.
And I come home from a hard day's work, and you're waiting there, not a care in the world.
 
See the smile a-waitin' in the kitchen, food cookin' and the plates for two.
See the arms that reach out to hold me, in the evening when the day is through.
 
Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind.
Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind.

Lyrics by James Seals; 
music by James Seals & Dash Crofts
1971

Photo-Play: Leg Up

 

a lesson in life & creativity

something i wish my 4 year old DollinkGranddaughter could teach me:

'a beautiful gold rainbow'

20" x 24"

acrylic on canvas

artist: DollinkGrandDaughter LB

* to paint with wild abandon.

wake me when it's over

i haven't done a movie review for some time now, so here goes ...

HubbyDear and i rented 'Feed the Fish' as a dvd from Netflix.
anyone who rents dvds knows how it can sometimes be with oft-used/quite abused dvds.

several things can happen during the viewing of the movie:
freeze mid-frame.
skipped scenes.
jump entire 'chapters' of the movie.
usually at the best part.

less than two-thirds of the way through viewing 'Feed the Fish', the movie jumped to the end.
we took the disc out, checked it for cracks or deep scratches and wiped it - hole to edge, not in a circular fashion (sometimes there is an obvious bit of PB&J residue, left by a previous viewer)...

inserted the disc back into the machine and still it jumped from where we left off to the end.
tried it once more.
and the same thing happened.

but that's ok.

no big loss.

because my one word movie review for 'Feed the Fish' is:

Yawner.

p.s. goldfish should be kept in adequate sized aquaria with at least some gravel, plant life and water, and not in small glass bowls with nothing but water (cute for a movie, perhaps, but deadly to the fish).

image from layoutsparks.com

a Chemex story

once upon a time
in the 1970's
i drank coffee.

once upon a time i used a Chemex coffee maker to brew that coffee.

once upon a time my Chemex broke.
after all, it IS glass.

and truthfully, that hourglass shape is awkward to handwash.
every day.
and stack in the dish drying rack.

so i bought another Chemex.
and used that one for awhile.

another once upon a time, that Chemex also broke.

so i bought yet another Chemex.
and that one stayed intact.

one day i turned to Mr. Coffee.
[which was a wedding gift]
and donated that third Chemex to Goodwill.

i loved me some Chemex, but did not like the brokie bits.

it was also a challenge to keep the coffee hot in the pot.

to keep coffee from losing too much heat before the second cup,
i used the lid from my smallest RevereWare saucepan over top.
which wasn't cute but it kindasorta worked.

i had a Salton hot tray.
[another wedding gift]
which had an electric heating element.

and so i set the Chemex on the heating tray.
with the RevereWare lid on top.
that helped too for keeping the coffee warm.

but juxtaposing the smoooooooooth cool factor of the low-tech high-style of the Chemex
with
a stainless steel RevereWare saucepan lid
and
an electric food heating tray.

well.
it took away from the simple beauty of Chemex.

for quite some time after all the Chemex coffeemakers were gone, i kept the wood collars and leather ties with the wooden beads in my kitchen junk drawer.

just 'cause they were pretty.
and never got broken.

once upon a time, i had three Chemex coffeemakers.

and
that's all she wrote.

image from ourcoffeebarn.com

the Wrong Bento

you are about to read a true confession.

one that typifies the continued 'aging antics' of this OlderBroad Blogger.

what this confession represents best is the fact that in getting older becoming more mature, i no longer give that much of a rat's ass about the details. or achieving perfection. or feeling the need to backtrack and make right (certain) mini errors in judgment.

getting older becoming more mature means not sweating that small stuff.
especially when my mishaps make for Good Story.

this confession is about bento boxes.
the right ones.
and the wrong one.

first - a little history.
over the years, friends (from Japan, mostly) have gifted to me a number of plastic lacquerware serving dishes. most are of the black and reddish orange color variety. some are embellished with decorative gold accents. leaves and florals and swirls.
very pretty.

most of the bento serving dishes, however - are plain.

i love this serving ware and covet the pieces, both for their aesthetic beauty as well as the joy of using them to present meals and snacks.

recently, i've taken to purchasing, on my own - a few 'lacquerware type pieces'.
at stores like Daiso, one can buy very inexpensive covered soup bowls, sweet little snack trays and children's mini bentos in colorful plastic.

in addition to those, i've also purchased a few not-so-inexpensive 'better grade plastic lacquer-like-ware' from Sanko Cooking Supply in San Francisco's Japantown.

a few years ago, i bought five 'better quality' bento boxes
and have happily used them to serve full-on Japanese bento meals.
oh what fun! i always make sure to utilize each and every little compartment for fish, salad, rice, dipping sauce, pickled ginger, tempura, seaweed, somen, etc.
artfully arranged
and

YUM.

five is a special number that occurs in sets of Japanese dinnerware. five cups in a sake set, for example. this is related perhaps, to the Power of Five. and the fact that four is considered a bad luck number (in both Japanese and Chinese cultures).


but five makes for awkward serving when it comes to the style of special family meals we stage, where typically six adults are present to set the table for.

with six diners at our house, when it comes to obento, it's one odd man (or woman) out.
that bento-less person has to use - a plate.



for the sake of everyone being able to enjoy a bento-style meal in a special bento-style box - i really and truly felt the need for just ONE MORE bento box.


i happened back to the Sanko shop last week, with a bit of time to spare before indulging in a wonderful restaurant ramen dinner (yes, served in a bento). i hurried into the store to seek out one more box to buy that would match the five at home.



OK, i knew that the ones i had at home were SQUARE.
with certainty, i set my sights on the SQUARE shaped bento boxes.

it would be acceptable for the central compartment to have a slightly different configuration, but the actual box to make a matching set of six was definitely to be SQUARE.
yes. i bypassed the rectangular ones in the shop, and zero'd in on a single square shaped bento on the shelf. the helpful salesperson assured me it was the only square one left in stock, which i took to be fortuitous. as in 'meant to be'. exactly what i wanted. one left. and that one was for me.

this is what i bought:

WRONG.


this is what i had at home:

 

RECTANGLE.
five, count 'em, five of them.
which i'd been prepping food for these last couple of years, and happily serving/eating from.

doh!

do i return the square bento box in exchange for a rectangle?
think think think.
and
consider.

the store is 3 hours drive away. 6 hours round-trip.
the proprietors of the shop were already confused as to what i wanted > i wanted five boxes? or i already had five boxes? and needed only one? really - only one?
they discounted another 10% because it was part of a Cherry Blossom Days special sale. the rectangle bento boxes were considerably costlier. returning the box might only cause more confusion. who needs more confusion?

rather than bother with a return, i decided not to fret over my error.
i'm keeping the new box.
the Wrong Bento.

and when it comes time to bring all SIX out to serve the next lovely bento meal, the one square among the five rectangular will make for Good Story.

as i fast approach the muddle which defines older middle age/younger older age,
i'm finding that it's really not about making the most precise decisions anymore.
or about being correct.
or about accuracy.

it's more and more
about making Good Story.



p.s. the bento boxes above were photographed by me. they are actually closer in size than it appears in the pix and both hold the same amount of food...

not necessary

so stop it awreddy.

what's the peeve?

for a restaurant wait person to bring 'round the Giganto Pepper Grinder and ask if i wish to have freshly ground pepper on my food.

hello?!?
i like pepper, but honey, it is NOT worth its weight in gold to be portioned out in such minute quantity and with such ceremony. and anyway - aren't we all so 'over' the mongo pepper grinder thing?

just leave the damn grinder on the table so i can Grind My Own.

[bright light at the end of tunnel = recently, one (reasonable/thoughtful/hip) eatery i happened upon DID provide small pepper grinders AT THE TABLES, and alongside it, a small grinder for coarse salt. way to go!]

image of pepper mill from http://www.filgifts.com/view.asp?xitem=Gas001.73

Ooooooooooof!

Hardwood floors are just that.
Hard.

Yet everyone seems to like them.
Sure, hard woods can be pretty to look upon. All shiny and bright.
And hard.
And gorgeous.
But hard.

First thing folks do when they move into a place with hardwood floors is...
yes...
Cover those floors.
With area rugs.

I'm a 'floor sitter'. That is, I enjoy sitting on the floor. I even like to lie down on the floor on occasion. Quite often, matter of fact.
But not if the floor is bare, hard wood.

As a kid, I could sit on wood floors, and didn't mind it all that much. But back then, what did I know from area rugs or wall to wall carpeting? We had none. The floors in the flat where I grew up and lived for over 18 years weren't made of hard wood. We had aging soft-ish wood planks with old linoleum glued over top. Old worn lino. Dirty floors.

Give me a rug over top of a wood floor. Anytime. A nice soft cushy area rug. Oh heck - just bring a truckload of area rugs. Cover up that pretty floor with some softer, user friendly surfaces.

image from http://www.angelaadams.com

Oh yes.
The only reason I would ever want for hardwood floors in my home is so I could choose from an array of cool area rugs.
Uh-huh.
Because I needs me some comfort when walking or sitting or lying down upon the floor.

These aging bones and muscles just can't handle those hard surfaces anymore.
These days, each and every time I get up off a hardwood floor, it is accompanied by an audible groan. From me.


Oooooooooof.

no. po. lo.

i don't care much for stylin' with short-sleeved polo shirts or dresses for women.

i never wear 'em and don't like looking at other gals wear 'em.

there's nothin' really WRONG with a short-sleeve polo shirt or dress.
but
there's nothin' really RIGHT about a short-sleeve polo shirt or dress.

 image from 

http://www.ralph-lauren-mall.net/wholesale-ralph-lauren-big-pony-womens-short-sleeve-polo-shirts-p-1061.html

Today's Tofu

Once again, I'm here to sing praises to tofu.
(hmmmmm ---- have I yet spoken of tofu on this blog?)

Tofu (or 'dow-fu' as I've always called it - and still refer to it when not in mixed company*) ranks as one of my all-time favorite foods. I've been eating tofu all my life, and continue to buy and use it as a kitchen staple.

Sadly, for those who haven't been indoctrinated into the realm of soy curd aka soy cheese, tofu isn't considered a significant foodstuff. Rather, tofu is looked upon as a novel food and/or inconsequential to everyday diet.


Many who aren't familiar with eating tofu respond with 'what's the big deal?' after having their first taste of soy curd. To be sure, tofu doesn't taste like much. The flavor is subtle --- though I once ate soft tofu at a restaurant in Kyoto, Japan that specialized in tofu. This was a pricey but simple offering of tofu - which was made with sweet water from a local natural spring. The tofu was served cold, with a tiny bit of lite soy sauce and a few finely minced green onion over top. This tofu eating experience was otherworldly - and provided me with an even greater appreciation of the joy of having such a simple food in one's diet.


Delectable palate memory aside....

...back to those who 'don't care for tofu'. There are folks who react negatively to the smooth texture of tofu. No chew, no thrill for these folks. Soft tofu just about melts in your mouth. A delectable sensation on the palate to some, but not others. Melt in mouth but sans flavor - what's to like, right?

No taste.
Not much texture.

What tofu eating promises, other than being a healthy food choice, is that it can take on the flavor of whatever seasonings are added to it, whether the tofu is served cold or heated. It does adopt the taste of whatever sauce it is cooked in or served alongside.

But - I digress. This post was not meant to promote the culinary virtues of tofu to those who don't already love to eat it.
Rather, it is to offer a Helpful Household Hint about tofu to those who already like the stuff. This post is to introduce to those who haven't yet tried -
Frozen Reconstituted Tofu to Cook With.

First of all, buy a package of (firm) tofu and yes - go ahead - freeze it.
Once upon a time in my youth, when bacterial concerns were not paramount at my neighborhood corner mom n' pop grocery store -- Mom used to send me out to buy tofu by the pound, made fresh by the store owners - no containers!

The entire unopened package can be chucked into the freezer as is. I typically remove some - slice it or dice it into smaller chunks, put it into a freezer container and cover with fresh water before popping it into the freezer.

Freeze for at least 24 hours.
Then -
thaw out the block of frozen tofu. I use running water to knock off the larger chunks of ice surrounding the frozen block.
Once thawed, squeeze out excess water from the tofu. Use a little or a lot of pressure to squeeze, depending on how crumbly you want the tofu to be before using.
Slice or crumble the tofu.
Then proceed to cook with it.

When tofu has been frozen, then thawed - the texture changes dramatically.
It becomes ... almost ... meat-like.
Yup, you heard right.
Texture like meat, alright - but I won't go so far as to say it tastes like chicken.

True to the nature of tofu easily taking on seasonings put to it, the resulting post-freeze textural tofu still absorbs the flavor of whatever sauce is used on it or with it. More so, actually, as the sponge-like texture seems to readily take on even more seasoning flavor than pre-frozen tofu does.

I've added frozen/thawed/squooozed/crumbled tofu to pasta sauces, in lieu of ground meat. Sounds unorthodox and seems a bit weird - but the texture and flavor is quite good.

Better yet, previously frozen/thawed/squooozed/sliced, diced or crumbled tofu adds a delightful texture to stir-fry dishes. I sometimes combine it with meat, and am hard-pressed to notice the difference between the meat and tofu in the resulting dish. No foolin'.
Turns out that I actually prefer the tofu pieces. But then, I am crazy over tofu.

Reconstituted frozen tofu can even be sliced, breaded and lightly fried in a small amount of oil.

Here is one tasty recipe using frozen tofu.

There are plenty other recipes online to investigate. Just Google It.
 
Huzzah! Huzzah! for tofu that has been frozen and reconstituted for cooking!
A cheap eating thrill, indeedy. But a thrill nonetheless.

* mixed company = anyone who is does not speak/understand a few basic food items spoken in the Cantonese language. In Cantonese, 'tofu' is 'dow-fu'. Either way, it is YUM.

image of tofu package from http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/nutri/fruit/tofu-recipes2.asp

more things that (older) middle-aged ladies do...

back by popular demand ...
(yeah, right)

5) (older) middle-aged ladies ..... take longer to explain things than when they were in their 20's, 30's and 40's and had to explain things.


6) more often than not ..... choose 'sensible shoes'.

i won't go so far as to say that all, most or even some (older) middle-aged ladies in westernized civilizations do this, but I, for one, as an older middle aged lady...
7) no longer feel the need to buy self-help books.



(to be continued...)

SPITui!

i like blackberries.
sweet ripe blackberries.

in pie.
in smoothies.
or

mixed in with plain non-fat yogurt (add a little honey).

but i don't like
the
blackberry
nubs.

aka
seeds.

they are the stuff of SPITui!

so there.

GO!!!

Happy New Year of the Water Dragon!
Gung Hay Fot Choy. Sun Nien Fai Lok!

get set

This year, Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) 4709 - begins on Monday, January 23, 2012.
The celebration begins that day and continues for two weeks.

When I was a kid growing up in San Francisco, CNY was BIG.
Bigger n' Christmas, it was.
Really.

That surprises a lot of people who know me but did not grow up in households that emphasized the importance of this holiday.


Where I live now is quite a bit of a stone's throw from where the bulk of Chinese New Year festivities take place. Every year, this fact always has me feeling a bit out of the celebratory loop.

However.
That doesn't stop me.
From getting excited.
And all geared up and ready
for
some good ol' fashioned ...

Gung Hay Fot Choy

image from:

http://www.foreigners-in-china.com/chinese-new-year-symbols.html

for all you list makers and letter writers out there

a website of lists.
so cool!

and here is a related, website of letters.
also lots of fun.

ooooooh. another!

thanks to Shaun Usher 
for all of the above.

another fave-o-right thing

the 'Bag Cinch' by OXO.

it's DollinkHubby's new fave-o-right thing.

fact of the matter is ...


... DH is the one who tossed a 3-pack of Bag Cinches into our cart whilst shopping at Tar-Zhay last week.

and boyohboy is that man gaga over how well these little cinchy wonders work on our cello bags o' bread. but then, he is easily amused.

actually, the Bag Cinch does work very well indeed.
it's also cute as all get out.
as far as kitchen gadgetry goes, anyways.

i dare say, OXO Bag Cinches are even niftier than Chip Clips.

on your mark

Christmas Tree Twinkle

It's the dreaded Twilight Zone Week between Christmas Cheer and New Year WhoKnowsWhat.

Yet my Christmas tree lights are still twinkling.
Ever bright.
During this (relatively) calm time - is when I enjoy the holidays most.
Even though
I do
inevitably
feel
a
little
post holiday
letdown.

Even so
I send an xo to all and to all a good night.

these are a few of my fave-o-right things

i have Sharpie Marker luv.

yes.
i do.

some time back, somewhere around 10 years (imagine that?!?) ago ??!!??, i bought two sets of Sharpie pens from Costco.

a set of 24 assorted colors of this size:

and another variety pack of 24 colors of this size:

these two sets o' markers have been used more than any other markers i've purchased over the many years of the many decades.
why?
the simple quiet colorful beauty of the line of a Sharpie Marker pen, that's why.
the lush, deep dark color.
and the permanence factor.

they've been used for various artsy as well as all those practical projects - from coloring on ATCs to inking a gourd to create a faux Zuni vase to labeling all the plastic storage containers in the garage to ...

... and this is the ultimate true confession - to color the occasional white hairs that dared to sprout on my otherwise black tresses. this was ages ago, of course, when my hair started to show the occasional white strand. wanting to hide the offensive white root but not yet ready to succumb to dye jobs, i colored the whiteness with a black Sharpie marker. nowadays, a truckload of black Sharpies won't do the trick, and it's a full L'Oreal treatment, every 6 weeks. still in denial about the graying that comes with aging, but not with the help of Sharpie.

(no worries)

so
yes
i do
i really really do.

the bottom line is

i luvs me

some Sharpie Markers.



OMG.
there is a Sharpie Markers Official blog!

helpful Sharpie Marker hint of the day =
use a Sharpie to address all your envelopes, be they thoughtful sentimental cards and letters or those damnable bills that need to be paid. the ink on Sharpie-addressed envelopes will not bleed out if the outside surface of your letter happens to get wet from lawn sprinklers, puddles, heavy fog, drooling babies or seasonal rain/snow storms.

Sharpie Marker pen images from 

http://www.sharpie.com/enUS/Pages/Home.aspx

a plug

for Pandora internet radio.
There are other such online stations, but I'm doing very well by Pandora, thank you very much.

What's not to love about 'Creating your own stations' to listen to via computer/device/whatever.

One station I've been hooked on is my 'Cole Porter Radio' station.

Luv luv luv it.

some things that (older) middle aged ladies do...

1) hold their own hands (more often than not, massaging one hand with the other).

2) talk to salespeople whilst getting rung up at the register - in conversation - as if they and the clerk were sitting down together for a nice chitchat over a cuppa - instead of having a brief customer-to-salesperson encounter.

3) carry tissue (aka Kleenex) in their pockets.

4) touch the skin at the throat of their neck.

(to be continued...)

what's up

'Doc'.

The story of John Henry Holliday.
written by Mary Doria Russell.

Best read at least on my bedside table in a long long while.
More so if you favor, as I do - the western genre in non-fiction/ historical fiction and tv/film.

Bonus: if you're a fan of the 1993 film 'Tombstone', you'll be visualizing Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday whilst reading this book.

Sure as shootin'.
 
P.S. 'I'm your huckleberry'.

gal crush

i'm a gal with a Gal Crush on the character of Miriam Grant (played to perfection by Rosamund Pike) in this movie:



Barney's Version.

The 'F' Word

The 'F' Word is Frugal.

which is not to say Cheap aka Stingy or Miserly.

I don't go for Cheapness but I am a fan of Frugal.

Alas, I too often suffer the slings and arrows directed at the Frugal Minded. Though I am admittedly only Frugal at times. My personal lifestyle nod to being Frugal means doing stuff like the following, which irks some people no end:

(1) I re-wash and re-use plastic zip top closure food storage bags of all sizes.
I confess to doing so, but only once per potentially reusable bag.
Only those bags that have previously stored non-greasy, dry foodstuffs (slices of bread or raw produce) get re-washed with soapy water, allowed to dry, and then are used once more. After which, they are disposed of. BTW, truly frugal folks and/or rabidly 'green folk' don't use plastic food storage bags at all. I confess to being only Kinda Sorta Frugal.

(2) I sometimes use scissors to cut a superextralarge (dinner sized) paper napkin into two equal sized, slightly smaller napkins for use at meals. This is only done when it's just me and/or The Hubster eating here at home. When guests join us for a meal, each diner gets a WHOLE (party time!!!) napkin or we use cloth napkins (super party time!!!). Hubs doesn't even use a napkin, so when it comes to committing the frugal act of cutting large paper napkins in half, it's really only for my benefit. Half now and the other half at the next meal. Some of those paper napkins are so large/absorbent that to use a whole one for dabbing one's lips or greasy fingers once, maybe twice - during the course of a meal - seems - wasteful. Not so much with half a napkin. If only using a half, I have no problem tossing it afterwards.

(3) When a tube of lipstick gets used down to 'the nub' - that is - lipstick is no longer applicable from the tube alone without scraping one's lips on the Ouch! edges of the applicator)
--- guess what. There's still quite a bit of lipstick left inside that (hidden) last half inch of the tube. There is at least a half teaspoon. Really. Plenty enough to use for another few weeks or more, if dabbed at with a lip brush. As my fave lipstick brand is M-A-C, using a lip brush to get at what remains inside the tube allows for holding off a tad longer before purchasing a brand new M-A-C lipstick at $15-$30 (depending on where it is purchased) a pop. Totally worth the frugality.

To be sure, I LIKE and make use of The F Word.

Cereal Cocktail

Cold cereal + milk.
Kinda ho-hum.
Cold cereal + milk + slices of banana on top.
Less ho but still hum.

Two, three or four kinds of cereal, related in flavor but unrelated in texture and shape
+
milk
+
slices of banana

is
a
Cereal Cocktail.
a real taste treat.

=
YUM.

So, go ahead. Don't be affeared. Life is short.
Mix your cereals, but with thought and consideration as to the combination.
Heck.
Add berries along with those bananas. Get a little crazy with that ho-hum breakfast.
Go wild.

Enjoy.