This one works better in the large size.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Very Bad Dog
We are having Thanksgiving at my brother's this year. I made rolls on Sunday so I wouldn't have to on Wednesday night or have to get up very early on Thursday. While the first batch were rising, I divided the second batch into 12 pieces and left them on the counter to rest. When I came back to the kitchen, I discovered only 4 pieces of dough. And in the living room was a dog, with a belly ache. She had consumed 24 ounces of raw bread dough.
I made more and teased her for the rest of the night. I had plenty time, ingredients and the Kitchen-Aid does most of the work, so I wasn't particularly upset. And Lizzy's upset stomach was surely punishment enough.
Pre-dough incident.
I made more and teased her for the rest of the night. I had plenty time, ingredients and the Kitchen-Aid does most of the work, so I wasn't particularly upset. And Lizzy's upset stomach was surely punishment enough.
Pre-dough incident.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Geek out
Please excuse me while I geek out for a moment, because if you can't be a big geek on your own blog, where can you?
It seems that David Tennant is leaving Dr. Who. {sniffle} No, really, go see him in his kilt finery. Isn't he lovely? Today I read a rumor (which was really just a comment on a post on a pop culture site, so probably not true at all) that Chiwetel Ejiofor, who played the kick ass Operative in Serenity might take his place. Be still my heart.
Um. Yeah. Sorry about that. How about a picture of a cute kitty to make up for it:
Yes, Fred has pretty much taken over the dog bed.
It seems that David Tennant is leaving Dr. Who. {sniffle} No, really, go see him in his kilt finery. Isn't he lovely? Today I read a rumor (which was really just a comment on a post on a pop culture site, so probably not true at all) that Chiwetel Ejiofor, who played the kick ass Operative in Serenity might take his place. Be still my heart.
Um. Yeah. Sorry about that. How about a picture of a cute kitty to make up for it:
Yes, Fred has pretty much taken over the dog bed.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Personal Do-Not-Play List
It's been sad song days out there on the musical interwebs. These lists reminded me of one I've been thinking about posting for a couple of months.
A few years ago my mother mentioned that she hates the song "Cathy's Clown" by the Everly Brothers. It seems, when they were teenagers, my mom and dad broke up for some amount of time and he went on a date with a girl named Cathy (for the record, my dad does not remember this. Then again, he was a teenage-boy). She has hated that song ever since, even though they got back together, got married, had kids, and divorced. I found that kind of sweet, that so many years later, a fairly innocuous song could still feel that way. I have several songs I just can't listen to, which may make me extra sensitive.
1. I'm Sorry -- John Denver. This came out the year my parents got divorced. I'll leave it at that.
2. "Something So Right" -- Paul Simon. This is on "There Goes Rhymin' Simon" and reminds me way too much of the first boy I was in love with. He was not in love with me. You know how it goes. "They've got a wall in China/A thousand miles long/To keep out the foreigners they built it strong/I've got a wall around me you can't even see/It took a little time to get next to me."
3. "And So it Goes" -- Billy Joel. The way I remember it, my then best friend played this for me around the time he started dating his now wife and the cracks in our friendship were just beginning. But now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure it was a lot earlier (the song came out in 1990), but I associate it very strongly with him and since it is about the end of a relationship, the end of our's. Not to mention, he cried when he played it, which reminds me of why I loved him. Damn that Billy Joel anyway.
4. "Wildflowers" -- Tom Petty. Same friend as above played this one for me and said it reminded him of me. That was enough to get it on this list, but then it came on while I was riding with my friend Lynn, a month or so after our friend Sue died. Lynn said she always thinks of Sue whenever she hears it. That is a double whammy.
5. "Good Luck Fire Chief" -- Brian Lillie. So no link for this one, he is an Ann Arbor singer/songwriter. When I worked in Constantine, I became very close to the fire chief, Tom. He was in his mid-50's, very funny, and so alive. I loved him dearly. He had had a heart attack 20 years before, and those troubles started again. He died a couple of days after I started a new job in Ann Arbor and I was not able to go to his funeral (something I deeply regret). Around the time Tom's heart problems began, I saw Lillie perform this song and thought it was funny because Tommy was having no luck at all. It is a goofy little tune about a zany small town (and rings fairly true, in spirit anyway), but to me it is about Tommy. This is the only one of these songs that shows up on regular basis, since I have the album of the same name on my ipod; sometimes I can hear it and remember how funny he was, most of the time I just miss him. "So good luck Fire Chief, where ever you're going/I hope you have buildings to burn."
Well, that was cheerful. How about you? Does anyone else out there have certain song that makes your heart seize up in pain?
To make it up to you, here a couple of pictures of our delightful not-so-little puppy:
A few years ago my mother mentioned that she hates the song "Cathy's Clown" by the Everly Brothers. It seems, when they were teenagers, my mom and dad broke up for some amount of time and he went on a date with a girl named Cathy (for the record, my dad does not remember this. Then again, he was a teenage-boy). She has hated that song ever since, even though they got back together, got married, had kids, and divorced. I found that kind of sweet, that so many years later, a fairly innocuous song could still feel that way. I have several songs I just can't listen to, which may make me extra sensitive.
1. I'm Sorry -- John Denver. This came out the year my parents got divorced. I'll leave it at that.
2. "Something So Right" -- Paul Simon. This is on "There Goes Rhymin' Simon" and reminds me way too much of the first boy I was in love with. He was not in love with me. You know how it goes. "They've got a wall in China/A thousand miles long/To keep out the foreigners they built it strong/I've got a wall around me you can't even see/It took a little time to get next to me."
3. "And So it Goes" -- Billy Joel. The way I remember it, my then best friend played this for me around the time he started dating his now wife and the cracks in our friendship were just beginning. But now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure it was a lot earlier (the song came out in 1990), but I associate it very strongly with him and since it is about the end of a relationship, the end of our's. Not to mention, he cried when he played it, which reminds me of why I loved him. Damn that Billy Joel anyway.
4. "Wildflowers" -- Tom Petty. Same friend as above played this one for me and said it reminded him of me. That was enough to get it on this list, but then it came on while I was riding with my friend Lynn, a month or so after our friend Sue died. Lynn said she always thinks of Sue whenever she hears it. That is a double whammy.
5. "Good Luck Fire Chief" -- Brian Lillie. So no link for this one, he is an Ann Arbor singer/songwriter. When I worked in Constantine, I became very close to the fire chief, Tom. He was in his mid-50's, very funny, and so alive. I loved him dearly. He had had a heart attack 20 years before, and those troubles started again. He died a couple of days after I started a new job in Ann Arbor and I was not able to go to his funeral (something I deeply regret). Around the time Tom's heart problems began, I saw Lillie perform this song and thought it was funny because Tommy was having no luck at all. It is a goofy little tune about a zany small town (and rings fairly true, in spirit anyway), but to me it is about Tommy. This is the only one of these songs that shows up on regular basis, since I have the album of the same name on my ipod; sometimes I can hear it and remember how funny he was, most of the time I just miss him. "So good luck Fire Chief, where ever you're going/I hope you have buildings to burn."
Well, that was cheerful. How about you? Does anyone else out there have certain song that makes your heart seize up in pain?
To make it up to you, here a couple of pictures of our delightful not-so-little puppy:
Monday, November 10, 2008
Clapotis or Lapping
It was still a little damp, and I was weaving in ends on the way, but I managed to get the shawl done in time for Friday's Euchre Tournament.
Here it is, folded in half (no, it did not dry that way!). Pretty and snuggly. Wet blocking really makes a difference with this yarn, a half hour soak with Eucalan made the yarn so soft and really gave the shawl a lovely drape.
I was hoping you'd get an idea from this picture, but not really. By the way, weaving in ends, in the dark in a car is not as much fun as you might imagine. Don't worry, I wasn't driving.
I ran out of time so the scarf wasn't has long as I had hoped, it could have done with another couple of repeats, and I steam blocked rather than wet blocked.
The hat came out rather nicely. All of these were knitted on size 8 needles, which produces a rather firm fabric.
But the best thing was that they have raised $10,000 for ALS of Michigan in the five years they have organized the tournament, which is a great tribute to Sue.
Here it is, folded in half (no, it did not dry that way!). Pretty and snuggly. Wet blocking really makes a difference with this yarn, a half hour soak with Eucalan made the yarn so soft and really gave the shawl a lovely drape.
I was hoping you'd get an idea from this picture, but not really. By the way, weaving in ends, in the dark in a car is not as much fun as you might imagine. Don't worry, I wasn't driving.
I ran out of time so the scarf wasn't has long as I had hoped, it could have done with another couple of repeats, and I steam blocked rather than wet blocked.
The hat came out rather nicely. All of these were knitted on size 8 needles, which produces a rather firm fabric.
But the best thing was that they have raised $10,000 for ALS of Michigan in the five years they have organized the tournament, which is a great tribute to Sue.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Camping and Animals
Len's nephew, Connor, spent Saturday night with Len and Lizzy in a tent in our back yard. They did fine, but Lizzy threw up sometime in the night. I stayed in the house, because why would you sleep on the ground if you have a bed?
The wee dog in the background is Len's sister Amy's dog. Muffin.
We have a boy toy for the chickens now. He attacked Connor, but the hens seem to like him.
Lizzy in the wilds of our back yard.
Doesn't she look concerned? She probably just wants something. She's sweet that way.
The wee dog in the background is Len's sister Amy's dog. Muffin.
We have a boy toy for the chickens now. He attacked Connor, but the hens seem to like him.
Lizzy in the wilds of our back yard.
Doesn't she look concerned? She probably just wants something. She's sweet that way.
4 Things
My mom sent me this Four Things e-mail thing, which I have also seen as a blog meme, and I figured I'd just post it here rather than saying anything, you know, substantial. If you are looking for an easy blog post, consider yourself tagged.
Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Fast food slinger
2. Copy shop gal (great preparation for #4 and my current job, I have no fear of printer jams)
3. Movie theater ticket girl (The theater had two screens. My favorite night was the night we premiered Howard's End, Dracula had only been in the theater for a week so the Goths and the yuppies were out in droves. It was quite the culture clash.)
4. Small town secretary/receptionist/billing clerk.
Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Princess Bride. Like that's not obvious!
2. Anything with Cary Grant. Especially as directed by Hitchcock.
3. Casablanca. Sigh...
4. Lone Star and Passion Fish. Two movies by John Sayles. See how I break the rules?
Four places I have lived:
1. Plymouth, Michigan
2. Ann Arbor
3. Seattle
4. White Pigeon. Which is as small as you think it is.
Four TV shows that I watch
1. Heroes (which is finally getting good again)
2. Bones (which is finally back after being preempted by the stupid World Series)
3. Dr. Who (David Tennant....yum..)
4. The Daily Show
Four Places I have been:
1. France
2. Portland, Oregon
3. Missoula, Montana
4. San Diego
Four Favorite Foods
1. Thai Beef
2. Lemon anything
3. Garlic
4. Sourdough Bread
Four places I would rather be right now:
1. At home
2. Is is terrible that home is the only place I can think of that I'd rather be? Anywhere else would be too much work..
Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Fast food slinger
2. Copy shop gal (great preparation for #4 and my current job, I have no fear of printer jams)
3. Movie theater ticket girl (The theater had two screens. My favorite night was the night we premiered Howard's End, Dracula had only been in the theater for a week so the Goths and the yuppies were out in droves. It was quite the culture clash.)
4. Small town secretary/receptionist/billing clerk.
Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Princess Bride. Like that's not obvious!
2. Anything with Cary Grant. Especially as directed by Hitchcock.
3. Casablanca. Sigh...
4. Lone Star and Passion Fish. Two movies by John Sayles. See how I break the rules?
Four places I have lived:
1. Plymouth, Michigan
2. Ann Arbor
3. Seattle
4. White Pigeon. Which is as small as you think it is.
Four TV shows that I watch
1. Heroes (which is finally getting good again)
2. Bones (which is finally back after being preempted by the stupid World Series)
3. Dr. Who (David Tennant....yum..)
4. The Daily Show
Four Places I have been:
1. France
2. Portland, Oregon
3. Missoula, Montana
4. San Diego
Four Favorite Foods
1. Thai Beef
2. Lemon anything
3. Garlic
4. Sourdough Bread
Four places I would rather be right now:
1. At home
2. Is is terrible that home is the only place I can think of that I'd rather be? Anywhere else would be too much work..
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
An Open Letter to Governor Howard Dean
Governor Dean,
I read a New York Times Sunday Magazine article some years ago about your goal to build Democratic infrastructure in traditionally Republican states. While Barack Obama deserves a great deal of credit for running such a flawless campaign, this victory was YOUR vision and couldn't have been achieved without your very hard work. I want you to know that I am so very grateful and it has been a long time since I have had such pride in my country.
Thank you,
Lee Jeannette Ridley
I read a New York Times Sunday Magazine article some years ago about your goal to build Democratic infrastructure in traditionally Republican states. While Barack Obama deserves a great deal of credit for running such a flawless campaign, this victory was YOUR vision and couldn't have been achieved without your very hard work. I want you to know that I am so very grateful and it has been a long time since I have had such pride in my country.
Thank you,
Lee Jeannette Ridley
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