tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2676777551834711542024-03-13T11:25:22.980-07:00Mostly FlummoxedMostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.comBlogger364125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-85701316370123281512012-07-18T09:01:00.000-07:002012-07-18T09:01:00.903-07:00New and Improved : Coming SoonComing soon. A new layout and vision. Brace yourselves!MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-57767304840005492432012-04-24T07:22:00.003-07:002012-04-24T07:22:35.690-07:00HewwoI'm still around. Just not so into blogging. Mainly focusing on writing for a local magazine and painting (and the kids, of course, and laundry and bathing, oh and I became a vegan and lost a lot of weight).<br />
You can see my paintings on my etsy page: storyofanartist<br />
If you see a Mom*tastic Magazine laying around, you can find me in there, too. <br />
<br />
Thanks for stopping by.MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-34925579753766317982011-09-28T12:39:00.000-07:002011-09-28T12:39:31.312-07:00Don Draper explains itWe are all mostly flummoxed by Facebook's ever-changing layout and rules. Let's let <a href="http://youtu.be/hJ5RVtWH2gE">Mr. Draper explain</a> what the new timeline will do.<br />
<br />
<br />
One of my favorite scenes from Mad Men made relevant for today. Genius.MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-68599828083262066892011-09-24T14:00:00.000-07:002011-09-24T14:00:00.799-07:00I Love HimDid i ever tell you about the crazy lady (actually more like a girl) that bought a puppy form me and kept saying in this twee voice, "I LOOOOVEEEEE HERRRR! I LOVVVVEEEE HERRRRR!" I eventually slapped her to the ground but now that phrase is stuck in my head.<br />
<br />
Anyways.<br />
<br />
Here are my latest painting. I love them both (I LOVVEEEE THEMMMMM), equally. Sold two other paintings this week on etsy and to a student in my art class, yay for me!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Qw7NKPIMxc/Tn5CAYnZWuI/AAAAAAAABPQ/4v2ER2ddZEU/s1600/robinsnowbranch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Qw7NKPIMxc/Tn5CAYnZWuI/AAAAAAAABPQ/4v2ER2ddZEU/s320/robinsnowbranch.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d2MX4P7WAow/Tn5B6nRTWWI/AAAAAAAABPM/jKkBT8rs9gk/s1600/robinsnowdetail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d2MX4P7WAow/Tn5B6nRTWWI/AAAAAAAABPM/jKkBT8rs9gk/s320/robinsnowdetail.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wlSoGVedjTY/Tn5CKalvCGI/AAAAAAAABPY/TtwS8Do_bKs/s1600/vulturinedetail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wlSoGVedjTY/Tn5CKalvCGI/AAAAAAAABPY/TtwS8Do_bKs/s320/vulturinedetail.jpg" width="293" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MZjZXV4fg0I/Tn5CG2SLAuI/AAAAAAAABPU/F7NHZfGR5y0/s1600/vulturine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MZjZXV4fg0I/Tn5CG2SLAuI/AAAAAAAABPU/F7NHZfGR5y0/s320/vulturine.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
Top is "European Robin on snowy branch" and beside is the close-up.<br />
Bottom is "Vulturine Guinea" and beside is close-up.<br />
<br />
I heart them equally. I will be sad to sell them.<br />
<br />
Also, did I mention my house is a complete mind-job?<br />
<br />
We moved everything out of the front of the house, and are currently using what was the coffee bar as the kitchen. Ya'll, the sink holds like 8 cups of water. Do you know how fucking hard it is to wash a glass in that size sink? How about a juicer (I am currently juicing several times a day)? Here is photographic evidence of my misery for when I completely lose it and kill someone at the grocery store with a carton of greek yogurt.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w4V04OP9PUU/Tn5DktvlzNI/AAAAAAAABPk/571UeuWwI_E/s1600/IMAG0902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w4V04OP9PUU/Tn5DktvlzNI/AAAAAAAABPk/571UeuWwI_E/s320/IMAG0902.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is me making bacon in my MoFo Kitchen</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e2_iFRvtx9w/Tn5DqRSuixI/AAAAAAAABPo/k-nv3rmVHEQ/s1600/mofokitchen2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e2_iFRvtx9w/Tn5DqRSuixI/AAAAAAAABPo/k-nv3rmVHEQ/s320/mofokitchen2.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6-fVKQHlblc/Tn5DU8htm1I/AAAAAAAABPg/wMpJfOqUMl0/s1600/mofokitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6-fVKQHlblc/Tn5DU8htm1I/AAAAAAAABPg/wMpJfOqUMl0/s320/mofokitchen.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice the juicer which is twice as large as the sink</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kd8VZeFV-VI/Tn5DwEvrtEI/AAAAAAAABPs/0DIQWsWeURo/s1600/mofokitchen3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kd8VZeFV-VI/Tn5DwEvrtEI/AAAAAAAABPs/0DIQWsWeURo/s320/mofokitchen3.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
I call this place My Mother Fucking Kitchen. Don't you feel better about your life?MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-8434335051388657732011-09-19T08:31:00.000-07:002011-09-19T08:31:44.627-07:00I Survived!After three days without a shower, covered in dirt and grime, muscles aching and refusing to cooperate we made it home from the Blue Ridge Mountains. We saw nary a bear or mountain lion (thank you Baby Jesus!). We hiked our asses off and were famished continuously and everything I ate tasted like the best thing I have ever eaten (ie: oodles of noodles, pancakes, trail mix, PB & J on smushed white bread).<br />
<br />
Here are a few photos to prove it from my cell phone camera (our point-and-shoot surprised us by having a dead battery even though I charged it fro two days).<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--oYDkfZxAMg/TnddzyXkXtI/AAAAAAAABOU/Y73mQMNY1PM/s1600/apptrailmap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--oYDkfZxAMg/TnddzyXkXtI/AAAAAAAABOU/Y73mQMNY1PM/s320/apptrailmap.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HEIozPO8sRY/Tndd08Gn0QI/AAAAAAAABOY/RtkWRyHjGs0/s1600/bellathepriest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HEIozPO8sRY/Tndd08Gn0QI/AAAAAAAABOY/RtkWRyHjGs0/s320/bellathepriest.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top of The Priest</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SZEz5FLv6jQ/Tndd2Lm_6aI/AAAAAAAABOc/NbWlWAEvkco/s1600/campbellsthepriest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SZEz5FLv6jQ/Tndd2Lm_6aI/AAAAAAAABOc/NbWlWAEvkco/s320/campbellsthepriest.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top of The Priest</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4RT2gSLtjo0/Tndd3FBXXaI/AAAAAAAABOg/xWvzAKLaLFI/s1600/crabtreefalls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4RT2gSLtjo0/Tndd3FBXXaI/AAAAAAAABOg/xWvzAKLaLFI/s320/crabtreefalls.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top of Crabtree Falls</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7nOJmrL-nXE/Tndd422dvTI/AAAAAAAABOk/O-SV5q3g8Og/s1600/fallsbella.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7nOJmrL-nXE/Tndd422dvTI/AAAAAAAABOk/O-SV5q3g8Og/s320/fallsbella.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top of Crabtree Falls</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-88ksF9YrDAU/Tndd7BtE23I/AAAAAAAABOo/f2qcf-Vfmr8/s1600/girlsapptrail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-88ksF9YrDAU/Tndd7BtE23I/AAAAAAAABOo/f2qcf-Vfmr8/s320/girlsapptrail.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hiking the Appalachian Trail to The Priest</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rIVbopiKXUo/Tndd9kic3mI/AAAAAAAABOw/DIYrZZ7L8Xc/s1600/mejoshfalls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rIVbopiKXUo/Tndd9kic3mI/AAAAAAAABOw/DIYrZZ7L8Xc/s320/mejoshfalls.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and him at top of Crabtree Falls</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IQ_M-DR5ywk/Tndd-dI-cmI/AAAAAAAABO0/Y0gOEt-263w/s1600/methepriest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IQ_M-DR5ywk/Tndd-dI-cmI/AAAAAAAABO0/Y0gOEt-263w/s320/methepriest.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top of The Priest (should not have allowed photos of myself)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wJoJKyMLFhw/TndeACQobPI/AAAAAAAABO4/15I_w_roQeU/s1600/sliderockzo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wJoJKyMLFhw/TndeACQobPI/AAAAAAAABO4/15I_w_roQeU/s320/sliderockzo.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Indian Sliding Board (Z trying to scare me to death)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1HkUTdy751U/TndeA8kfCUI/AAAAAAAABO8/G4miyqGfsPo/s1600/slidingrock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1HkUTdy751U/TndeA8kfCUI/AAAAAAAABO8/G4miyqGfsPo/s320/slidingrock.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Indian Sliding Board (we didn't slide, waaaayyy too cold)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hyYC2_JzFjE/TndeCjn6OnI/AAAAAAAABPA/lcB_E7j72Pw/s1600/themeadow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hyYC2_JzFjE/TndeCjn6OnI/AAAAAAAABPA/lcB_E7j72Pw/s320/themeadow.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Meadows (so beautiful, full of apple trees)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bK8uwXE6TOw/TndeGFBkWBI/AAAAAAAABPI/Tm97F-HLiLM/s1600/thepriestcrevice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bK8uwXE6TOw/TndeGFBkWBI/AAAAAAAABPI/Tm97F-HLiLM/s320/thepriestcrevice.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A crevice between the boulders at the top of the Priest</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nTKAq7HYp_c/TndeEIRMj9I/AAAAAAAABPE/V8VwKCjviEs/s1600/thepriestcampbells.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nTKAq7HYp_c/TndeEIRMj9I/AAAAAAAABPE/V8VwKCjviEs/s320/thepriestcampbells.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top of the world! Priest Mountain, VA</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
We did hear some type of animal, my FIL thought it was a coyote, after the dark. After hiking into the woods to pee when I first wake up (middle of the night or early morning) is a terrible ordeal. It was quite refreshing to sit on a toilet in a climate controlled bathroom without worrying about being attacked by animals or poison ivy.<br />
<br />
What was your weekend like?MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-65025897915313229592011-09-14T08:17:00.000-07:002011-09-14T13:21:31.710-07:00Ninja BearYesterday was my 14th wedding anniversary. My gift to my husband was saying “Happy Anniversary” first. Ha! Winning. <br />
<br />
Seriously, we have a lot of stuff going on right now. All of these things are fighting over the few waking hours we have. We are still preparing for the MAJOR house construction that starts next week. It is going to be…overwhelming to say the least. Also, I am teaching an art class once a week in September. This is stressing me out, so much pressure. And we are preparing for a family camping trip in the mountains. Doing a dinner or date for our anniversary was far from my mind.<br />
<br />
Speaking of this camping trip. I’m a wee bit scared. See there are bears. And while bears look all cuddly I know, as Dave Matthews so eloquently put it, would eat my head like a candy. I recently saw a “I Shouldn’t Be Alive” or maybe it was “I Survived” where a guy was stalked and partially eaten alive in his DRIVEWAY at his mountain home. So….(crickets)….<br />
<br />
So instead of devoting much time or energy to our anniversary I have been thinking about bears. A. Lot. <br />
<br />
I woke up last night from a dream about bears and then laid on my back thinking about how to fend off a bear. How could I protect my kids from being snacked upon by a bear? <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qw9QE1P_Cvg/TnEMKhD36EI/AAAAAAAABOI/peslhRzXvws/s1600/kapowBEAR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qw9QE1P_Cvg/TnEMKhD36EI/AAAAAAAABOI/peslhRzXvws/s320/kapowBEAR.jpg" width="278" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cartoon by me, don't steal it, dammit.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
We are primitive camping, no handy outlet or water spigot, surrounded by other campers in their similar square campsite. This is how I have mostly always camped, in a campground where our car is like 5 feet away. No, we will be in a beautiful wooded area or meadow thingy in the safety of our tissue thin tent sleeping with our girls who are notorious for having candy in their pockets and food spilled down their shirts (to a bear that smell like a dinner bell). Also, it’s that time of the month. You know what I mean? So basically, I’m dead. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F6oilAKzQ8U/TnEMIIjJDnI/AAAAAAAABOA/UagfgbyUEHw/s1600/boneBEAR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F6oilAKzQ8U/TnEMIIjJDnI/AAAAAAAABOA/UagfgbyUEHw/s320/boneBEAR.jpg" width="304" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cartoon by me, don't steal it, dammit.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
My husband tried to reassure me by saying his dad, who we are camping with, has camped there many times and has never seen a bear only bear scat. “Well, yes, it’s not the bears I <u>can see</u> that scare me as much as the bears I CAN’T SEE! The NINJA BEARS that come in the night to eat my head and claw at my innards. The RAVENOUS BEAR hiding behind the tree waiting for me to squat to poo and gulps be down whole leaving nary a trace of my former self. THOSE are the bears I worry about.” I said all in one breath.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TZf4mDjyH5Q/TnEMJbjlnvI/AAAAAAAABOE/l35HhhngXY0/s1600/juicyoneBEAR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TZf4mDjyH5Q/TnEMJbjlnvI/AAAAAAAABOE/l35HhhngXY0/s320/juicyoneBEAR.jpg" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">again, original cartoon by me</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
His response, “Oh……. but he (his dad) has heard lots of mountain lions in that area.”<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6XhDpm0CII0/TnEMLFdhjFI/AAAAAAAABOM/sz-PKNr7jOY/s1600/rawrBEAR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6XhDpm0CII0/TnEMLFdhjFI/AAAAAAAABOM/sz-PKNr7jOY/s320/rawrBEAR.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my cartoon, don't steal it or I'll send a hungry bear after you</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
(crickets)….Dammit, something else that can eat me.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<br />
Postscript: Our Anniversary consisted of a nice dinner. My hubs picked up huge, yummy steaks and prepared them. I made veggies and a chocolate silk pie that tasted good but was a mess. We talked with the kids about how we met and our wedding. I eve got out our wedding album and was shocked again but what babies we looked like. It was fun and sweet and enough in-light of everything else. Especially death-by-bear.MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-65210819054717314172011-09-10T15:28:00.000-07:002011-09-10T15:28:38.627-07:00Oh Dear God<div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Our house is falling in. Yep. That's right. I am not being factitious. We have been noticing the tile (which covers all of the the main living space) cracking for the last few years. It was ugly but whatev. Then we started noticing a more serious problem. We've had 6 guys look under the house and they have delivered all kinds of news from "I'll just replace three joints and spray some bleach and that'll git it done." to "Holy shit, ma'am, I...I don't...Jesus, there's so much...I think..." then that guy ran away crying.<br />
<br />
Finally we found someone who had half a brain and wasn't going to screw us over. So, we are moving all the stuff from the living room, kitchen, dining, laundry room and the huge built in bookcase so they can completely pull up all the floors and replace joists, beams, sub-floor, and tile. This will take two weeks to replace it all. We feel completely overwhelmed.<br />
<br />
On top of this, I have a scheduled art class for all the wednesdays of September, and we are going camping in the Appalachian mountains next weekend. We have two dogs that we don't know where to put when all this work is going on and a huge boat to get out of the way and school and living here for two weeks sans kitchen and our two main doors to enter/exit.<br />
<br />
Let the shit rain down.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ywvohM8QNgw/TmvjIDbh8JI/AAAAAAAABNY/n2GN-ppTiBM/s1600/IMAG0813.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ywvohM8QNgw/TmvjIDbh8JI/AAAAAAAABNY/n2GN-ppTiBM/s320/IMAG0813.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Our Great Room: we are moving all our stuff in here until the construction is over and we are using the coffee bar to make prepare and make our food. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CX-DMSA62xA/TmvjL0Nz_tI/AAAAAAAABNc/UJcQdvLx3iA/s1600/IMAG0812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CX-DMSA62xA/TmvjL0Nz_tI/AAAAAAAABNc/UJcQdvLx3iA/s320/IMAG0812.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Our Living room: after we moved all the stuff out. See that hallway, that goes to our bedrooms and we will have a plastic patchway to get to the great room for 2 weeks.MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-52644015736815873782011-09-09T06:52:00.000-07:002011-09-09T06:52:09.486-07:00Longbeards Restaurant review<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267"> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style> <![endif]--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://longbeardsgrill.com/">Longbeards Bar & Grill</a></div><div class="MsoNormal">After hearing from several people with reddish neck regions about this restaurant, I decided to let it slip completely from my mind. Then my husband heard about it from someone at work and he was all gung-ho about trying it out. His eyes twinkled as he told me about the buffalo, elk, alligator, etc. that filled the menu. Fine, I thought, I’ll go.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We looked at the menu online and read some reviews. They were mixed but that didn’t put us off because we sometime love what others hate and vice versa.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We headed out for our Sunday evening date. On the way to the restaurant we passed a pond where someone was fishing, we made a joke that maybe it was the chef catching dinner. After we were done eating, we wished that had been the case.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As we walked in we were greeted by country music (bleh) and apparently the guy who had been power washing the dumpster all day. He was dressed in a ratty, stained Longbeards’ tee and dirty khaki shorts and dirty sneakers. He sat us at on of the many rock-hard booths (I have a hip problem and I wanted to cry when I saw the plywood seat). We began perusing the menu. An equally grubby looking guy came to our table this time to act as our waiter. We ordered a sweet and unsweetened tea. And away he went.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Back to the menu. We saw alligator bites and decided on those for an appetizer. I went with the quail and grits with sausage and tasso gravy (a take on a Southern dish: shrimp and grits, which I make on of the best and am usually disappointed with others) $14.95. Hubby went with the Buffalo steak with blue cheese sauce AT Market Price which was around $30. I chose a salad and mixed vegetables for my side and hubby chose sweet potato fires and green beans. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Our drinks took awhile to be served. My tea was a bit rancid or fruity, as we like to call lettuce going bad or tea that was brewed 5 days ago. My husband couldn’t get any sweetener, the waiter disappeared and didn’t come back. We took in the décor, which was dead animals, bad paintings, and Pittsburgh Steeler signs. We surveyed the other staff and saw they were all men and all wore grubby, sloppy clothes. Finally the waiter came back to tell us that they were out of alligator. “What?” I laughed. He said, yea he was surprised too. I said, “What about that guy fishing out there, can’t you buy one off him?” The waiter looked like he didn’t get the joke. We decided not to get an appetizer. We asked for water and explained about the tea being rancid. He seemed clueless about how that coulda happened but apologized.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">30 minutes later, as my hips were crying in pain and my stomach was growling, our food arrived. We had to ask for silverware, you know, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to eat the food with</i>. My salad was served with my meal (it would have been nice to have a snack 15 minutes ago). My dish lacked the cornbread that was listed in the menu description and my husband’s lacked the blue cheese sauce. My quail dish looked pretty good. It was served in an oblong ramekin and for some reason someone had decided to dress it up with chopped, raw tomatoes. Why? A hot dish of fried quail and grits served with barely pink, chopped tomato? I scooted them off my dish in disgust. The first bite was rich (not flavorless), the texture was good. Someone had been heavy handed with the salt even though the sausage was salty already. The grits were creamy. The tasso gravy/sauce was more like chicken fried gravy, not the traditional light, creamy roux with tasso ham to season it. Not great, but okay. My husband was suspiciously eyeballing his steak. I asked what the matter was. He said didn’t have a steak knife and the waiter had disappeared again. Hubby got up, walked into the kitchen to ask for one. He said someone started yelling and freaking out on the waiter about why he didn’t put a knife with the dish. Now armed with a steak knife my husband dug in. He said it was a little “wild” tasting but good. I tried it and it tasted like a steak. Nothing special. He said his green beans were good but the sweet potato fries, which were drowned in honey, were cold. My mixed vegetables were surprising good, cooked well, seasoned lightly. The salad was okay. There was no cornbread. We had a hard time getting refills on our water.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The place was nearly empty when we came in. When we left it was maybe 1/8 full in the dining room. It was not a slammed night; there was no excuse for such bad service and mediocre food. Husband, in his very kind way, complained to the waiter about the poor service/food. The waiter apologized and used the old “I’m new” excuse. I give this place a 3 out of 10. We won’t go back even though we were excited about this being a really cool, new thing with exotic meats.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My conclusion is you need to be drunk to enjoy this place. It is a Northern Guy trying to do Southern, good-ole-boy food and doing it badly. The service is terrible, the décor unimaginative, and it’s not worth the price (over $50 for our dinner). </div>MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-41758723485238325242011-09-08T09:54:00.000-07:002011-09-08T09:54:56.550-07:00Just My Average ThursdayText Conversation with my husband from just moments ago.<br />
<br />
Him: Have you seen Kirk Douglas in "lust for life"?<br />
Me: Uh...I don't know. How are you feeling?<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> (He's been a little sicky.)</span><br />
Him: Ok for now<br />
Me: My love of you will heal your aches and pains.<br />
Him: I wish<br />
Me: (thinking of some Michael Scott comeback and failing) But it helps, right?<br />
Him: That movie is the story of Van Gogh.<br />
Me: What?<br />
Me: Speaking of being an incubus of plague let's see Contagion this weekend.<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(We have thought for the last 3 weekends that we would go see it only to be disappointed that it wasn't out yet, I am already sick of Contagion (get it?)).</span><br />
Him: Ok<br />
Him: I could sneeze a lot in the movie and make everyone freak out.<br />
Me: Perfect. It will be like a Project Mayhem thing!<br />
Him: Lust for Life<br />
It won some awards. I put it in our Q<br />
Disk only<br />
Me: Oh the Kirk Douglas one from the 70's. Yeah, I want to see that. Good job.<br />
<br />
If this convo was hard to follow then you don't belong in my life. Because this is the rambling thought process multiplied by text-speak-lag that <u>is</u> my life.MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-22023434989231347492011-09-06T05:30:00.000-07:002011-09-06T05:30:07.817-07:00Reading Update Ya'llSome of you read my post about summer reading a few weeks back (or a month, I can't remember). I have been a reading maniac this summer...found some great books.<br />
<br />
The Help was amazing, as most of you know. And the movie did not disappoint like some made-from-my-favorite-books-into-movies movies do (I'm not pointing finger Time Traveler's Wife). Which isn't easy to do. It is amazing!<br />
<br />
Room...holy shit. I read it in less than 24 hours. I read it while folding laundry, do you know how hard that is?<br />
<br />
The City of Ember, People of Sparks, Prophet of Yonwood...a young adult series that I really enjoyed, one left to read.<br />
<br />
Just read Rant by Palanuik...crazy, mind-vlowing!<br />
<br />
What are you reading?MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-25137006228891890372011-09-02T05:23:00.000-07:002011-09-02T05:23:23.291-07:00Laundry SoapBoo Yow!<br />
<br />
For $.71 I made two gallons of laundry soap. That's right, SEVENTY-ONE CENTS!!!<br />
<br />
Here's how I did it. It is easy. Takes about 20 minutes to make. <br />
<br />
1 c Washing Soda (Arm and Hammer, NOT baking soda, find it in the laundry supply aisle) $3.00 appx.<br />
1 c Borax $3.00 appx.<br />
1/2 bar of soap (I like Ivory, also can use Fels Naptha- use 1/3 of a bar for this one) $1.00 for three<br />
Lotsa water<br />
1 container with a lid that will hold 2 gallons(I use a square catfood bucket sans catfood)<br />
<br />
Add 6 cups water to a pot, grate your soap into the pot. Bring to a low boil, until soap is melted. Stir with a wooden spoon.<br />
<br />
Add borax and washing soda. Stir until dissolved. Turn off heat. Add 4 cups of hot water to the container. Pour your dissolved mixture into your container. Then add 1 gallon + 6 cups of cold water. Stir until combined.<br />
<br />
Put lid on and leave for 24 hours. The mixture is not solid but not liquid. A little weird. I use 1/2-1 cup per large load.<br />
<br />
To add a scent: use only essential oils. I haven't come up with the exact measurement for this. I have tried lavender and also eucalyptus. They both smell good in the container but don't seem to add any scent to the clothes out of the dryer.<br />
<br />
You can thank me by sending your savings to Funds-for-Mostly-Flummoxed-to-Quit-Her-Day-Job. <br />
<br />
MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-41328081842583512362011-08-31T08:48:00.000-07:002011-08-31T08:48:10.581-07:00WednesdayWearing a shirt as a scarf today. I think it works. I needed something to hide my tattoos, the tank top with a shrug wasn't cutting it. It is a see thru, blowsy shirt meant to be worn with a cami...but wearing it that way is kinda 2008.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n5Qmtwj8Pe8/Tl5Xb7cblPI/AAAAAAAABNU/z4fcY0fBx3A/s1600/IMAG0774.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n5Qmtwj8Pe8/Tl5Xb7cblPI/AAAAAAAABNU/z4fcY0fBx3A/s320/IMAG0774.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-52409495547690059072011-08-27T09:52:00.000-07:002011-08-27T09:52:31.031-07:00Painting by the light of my phoneJust kidding, we didn't lose power here, just a lot of wind and rain. But I did get a few paintings done in between storing water and canned foods.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ds6oVZ2GgcU/Tlkffqt_poI/AAAAAAAABNI/--KLiWDQ-E8/s1600/IMAG0765-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ds6oVZ2GgcU/Tlkffqt_poI/AAAAAAAABNI/--KLiWDQ-E8/s320/IMAG0765-1-1.jpg" width="254" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black-shouldered kite</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TIEBQFJHLiA/TlkfiMqJ9qI/AAAAAAAABNM/Gb6Py5qJbpI/s1600/IMAG0762-2-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="157" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TIEBQFJHLiA/TlkfiMqJ9qI/AAAAAAAABNM/Gb6Py5qJbpI/s320/IMAG0762-2-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crow eggs</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EnerBsV5HDg/Tlkfmc9ebtI/AAAAAAAABNQ/qN9qBEBpbQc/s1600/IMAG0754-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="319" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EnerBsV5HDg/Tlkfmc9ebtI/AAAAAAAABNQ/qN9qBEBpbQc/s320/IMAG0754-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robin's egg in nest</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
For more see my <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/storyofanartist">etsy</a> shop or my <a href="http://mostlyflumxdart.blogspot.com/">art blog</a> (the design in under construction, don't judge)<br />
<br />
Of course, these images are copyrighted by me and my team of Burly Lawyers.<br />
<br />
<br />
MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-86268702315686502122011-08-26T12:32:00.000-07:002011-08-26T12:34:30.552-07:00Hurricane's a comingWe, in SC, are lucky this time, seems like Irene will pass us by. My girls and I just filled our 10 gallon water jugs, the pantry is stocked, I don't think too much will happen here. But each time a hurricane brews in the Atlantic my mind flies back to the Hurricane that destroyed everything I knew. Here is the article I wrote for The Sun News on the 20th anniversary of Hugo.<br />
<br />
"It was September 1989, I had just started my junior year at Myrtle Beach High School. My life was full: I was on the dance squad, a member of various clubs, in the chorus, and excited about my new-to-me used car. My parents owned a little motel on the beach in Surfside, we lived in an apartment behind the office. On September 25th my family and I turned all eyes to the television to watch a tropical development in the Atlantic. We had been through storms before, we thought we knew what to expect and how to prepare for whatever the ocean brought our way. Everything about our lives would soon change.<br />
<br />
On September 28th we evacuated our beach front property in preparation from Hurricane Hugo. We knocked on the motel room doors to tell the few guests we had that we were leaving and they would need to as well. We began packing our belongings in our vehicles. I distinctly remember packing a bag with a few of my clothes, tucking in the dust ruffle on my bed and putting my beloved box of childhood mementos on top of my bed. I was sure the box would be safe there in case a little water came in. It was unsettling to leave our home running from a storm but we thought life would resume the next day.<br />
<br />
My family and I drove to 2nd Avenue in Myrtle Beach, my mom thought being a few miles north and inland would be safer. My parents, brother, grandfather, our pets, and I would be staying with my oldest sister in her little house. The same house that had weathered numerous hurricanes without a scratch, all the way back to Hurricane Hazel in 1954. <br />
<br />
At my sister’s house, we settled in with extra batteries, flashlights and candles and waited for landfall. We talked about the legend of my grandmother riding out Hazel in that house. She had watched through the windows, with her two young children, when Hazel hit during the day in 1954. When the eye of the hurricane passed over, she grabbed her children and raced to the beach. She stood at the dunes to watch the ocean violently roll and knead itself. She watched as 2nd Avenue pier broke apart. As the hurricane picked back up she returned to the safety of her home. <br />
<br />
My only knowledge of disaster was what I had heard or read in my short life. I had recently read ‘Alas, Babylon‘. As my family prepared the for the storm, remembering disaster preparations from the book, I filled up the tubs, sinks and all the containers I could find with water. As it happened, the water I saved ended up being worth it’s weight in gold. For days after Hugo it was all the water we had.<br />
<br />
As night began to fall around us and Hugo swirled closer to Charleston, we heard a knock on the door. It was the police, they were making sure people in the neighborhood had evacuated. My mom told the officer that we were staying. The policeman had her sign a form, listing everyone in the house and their ages. He also had her write down our next of kin’s contact information in the event of our deaths. I think that is when I broke down. The fear and stress of the afternoon came tumbling through an internal dam, I leaned over on my sister and cried.<br />
<br />
My sister at college in North Carolina, begged on the phone for us to leave, but it was too late to leave even if we wanted to.<br />
<br />
During the night the phones and lights went out. WKZQ stayed on the air giving us updates after law enforcement and emergency services left. I remember how eerie it was as the radio played “Riders on the Storm” by The Doors and the wind made the house whine and creak around us. My parents and older sister talked about what we would do if the house flooded. The attic, someone said, we could all get up there if the water rises. They worried about my grandfather, who couldn’t swim, as if anyone would be able to swim out of what was coming. <br />
<br />
We eventually blew out the candles and went to bed with Hugo growling around us. When we woke in the morning, the sun was out and birds were chirping. It was like waking from a bad dream. Did that really happen last night?<br />
<br />
My brother and dad had left at the crack of dawn to get down to the motel before law enforcement was out to stop them. When they came back hours later their faces were solemn as they prepared my mom for the bad news. The motel was indescribable. Destroyed. My mom wanted to leave then to see for herself but the roads were blocked by debris and the National Guard. We would have to wait to until tomorrow for them to take us all back down there. <br />
<br />
The next day we headed to Surfside. We rode along Business 17, looking absolute destruction. When we finally made it to Surfside, my parents went to city hall to get a permit to go see our ocean front property. We drove down Ocean Boulevard, around newly formed sand dunes and fallen Palmetto trees in the road. We stopped in the street in front of where the motel had stood. Our two story, L-shaped hotel was missing half of the first floor rooms. The ground beneath it was gone, only a huge hole, broken asphalt and concrete remained. The second story was dangling in midair as if waving goodbye to the storm that had destroyed it. <br />
<br />
Part of the motel, that had been our downstairs apartment, was filled with sand, broken furniture, dead fish, and trash. Only the furniture that was too big to wash out a door or window had stayed. Nearly everything we had was gone or destroyed and there wasn’t any flood insurance on the motel.<br />
<br />
The clean-up began. We salvaged what we could, taking it upstairs to a mostly undamaged part of the motel. All our tools, wheel barrow, ladders, everything we needed to clean and repair had been washed away. We did what we could that day and returned to our new home. We went to bed dirty and got up in the morning, put on dirty clothes and went back to work. We drank, bathed, and made food with the reserved water I had saved (in the tub).<br />
<br />
One long, hot day while we were working, thirsty and hungry (they hadn’t invented 20 oz. bottled water to take everywhere, yet), my brother and I dug the motel’s vending machine out of the dirt. He pried the door off and found several unbroken glass sodas bottles. We popped the top on one and passed around the hot, sticky, orange drink. My mother looks back in embarrassment because that happened to be the moment a journalist decided to interview her holding the dirty, hot drink, dug out of the sand. <br />
<br />
When the phones came back on we began hearing from motel guests, who had stayed at our motel since I was a little girl. They were calling to see if we were okay. My mom had a hard time breaking the news to the guests. Days later, these guests, some of them retirement-age, began showing up with hammers, saws, and tool belts. They asked what we needed, they were ready to work.<br />
<br />
They helped us rebuild our home and our livelihood. Friends of friends came unannounced and showed us how to frame doors and walls, how to build a new staircase. People helped us haul out hundreds of pounds of water soaked, sand weighted carpet. My sister’s service fraternity showed up en masse to haul away cinder blocks, trash and wood. My dance squad brought food and clothes and cleaned out the rotting food in our the buried kitchen. There was no end to the kindness, to the love we felt.<br />
<br />
I learned more about myself, my family, and humanity in those months of rebuilding than I have in my life since. I had never been challenged so much or for so long. Before that year, I had rarely held a hammer, never sanded or swept until I had blisters on my hands, never lost everything and had to rebuild it myself. <br />
<br />
Twenty-five years later it is still hard to believe all the destruction and sorrow that happened because of Hugo. My family, when asked about that time, remembers the pain and fear of the not knowing what would come next. But then a pride comes into our voices, we shift our shoulders back and talk about our strength and endurance through that disaster. We rebuilt our lives, with the help of friends, motel guests, neighbors, strangers. As hard as it was, it made our backbones stronger and our skin tougher. Hugo stands for more than a ravaging storm, for us it stands for Help Us Go On."<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
written by Neva Campbell and published in The Sun News September 2009MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-71439493114142148562011-08-26T08:45:00.000-07:002011-08-26T08:45:59.780-07:00Stay Golden SC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs200.ash2/46283_535138507342_136100120_31355213_751321_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs200.ash2/46283_535138507342_136100120_31355213_751321_n.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We (SC) have hit a new low....(face palm)<br />
<br />
Cocktane, a Gamecock energy drink. It is made from the neck sweat of a thousand Bubbas, and will Git Er Done.<br />
<br />
<br />
MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-84724703358596122652011-08-23T07:12:00.000-07:002011-08-23T07:12:38.246-07:00Homework, You Say?I have a newly minted 5th grader and 3rd grader.<br />
<br />
The 5th grader got a packet at Open House last week. We brought it home, perused it, she grabbed her one "Get to Know Me" thing to fill out and I sat down for a long-ass case of tennis wrist. Form after form with the exact same questions on them. In fact I think someone was screwing with me by taking the same questionnaire in Pulisher and just reconfiguring them and printing them out againa nd again.<br />
<br />
I filled out 14 forms with her name, my name, my numbers, a emergency contact (which I never know does this mean ME, won't they call me first, does this mean if they can't get a hold of me then what?) on and on and on the questions went. Then we got to the really difficult ones like "Tell us what your child's strengths are?" Uh...I mean I KNOW my kid, in and out. I wiped poop off her ass while she hung from my breast for years. But, I want to write something that will convey all her wonderousness (don't worry I didn't use that made-up word on the form) to the teacher. Then there was this doozy. "Tell us what your expecatations are for your child this year?"....Uh...to pass...the..um...5th...grade...for you to like...be kind...to her? Come one people!<br />
<br />
By this point my brain was oatmeal. I wrote, "We expect her to exceed all our expectations that we set too high for her and to kick every 5th graders ass in all areas of academics and sports. This is what we expect."<br />
<br />
Too much?<br />
<br />
<br />
I kidd.<br />
<br />
Oh, then the 3rd grader brought home the same shit. Damn my hand is tired!<br />
<br />
<br />
MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-48294916574026119642011-08-17T06:39:00.000-07:002011-08-21T15:10:04.474-07:00Paintings<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GcsNr5lVZTI/TkvDMqsSPaI/AAAAAAAABLQ/FmW78r6DMws/s1600/IMAG0715-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GcsNr5lVZTI/TkvDMqsSPaI/AAAAAAAABLQ/FmW78r6DMws/s320/IMAG0715-1-1.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First in the Birds series: Painted Bunting and Pear</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PHVx5Fm-B3U/TkvDQCZ6DEI/AAAAAAAABLU/9plW7nZCtPw/s1600/IMAG0725-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PHVx5Fm-B3U/TkvDQCZ6DEI/AAAAAAAABLU/9plW7nZCtPw/s320/IMAG0725-1-1.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Star Finch with barbed wire</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tOoEjt27HuE/TkvDSYuiJCI/AAAAAAAABLY/GpidP40tVeE/s1600/IMAG0729-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tOoEjt27HuE/TkvDSYuiJCI/AAAAAAAABLY/GpidP40tVeE/s320/IMAG0729-1-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dead Bluebird with skeleton key</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8z999YUVKMc/TkvDb0GmebI/AAAAAAAABLc/BjdLwm-Js5s/s1600/IMAG0734-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8z999YUVKMc/TkvDb0GmebI/AAAAAAAABLc/BjdLwm-Js5s/s320/IMAG0734-1.jpg" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love Owl in pink</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_kPa79LvjtE/TkvgdRZGmMI/AAAAAAAABLk/U5xiLaeCCmY/s1600/starling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_kPa79LvjtE/TkvgdRZGmMI/AAAAAAAABLk/U5xiLaeCCmY/s320/starling.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starling on a wire</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<br />
As you can see I am on a roll...did my first painting as an example for a class I am teaching in September then I couldn't stop! Each one if my "new" favorite.<br />
<br />
Of course, these images are copyrighted and cannot be used in anyway.<br />
<br />
Must go now...painting hours are awasting!<br />
<br />
Now for sale at my etsy shop <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/storyofanartis">Story of an Artist</a><br />
<br />
MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-24661417149070806462011-08-14T13:15:00.000-07:002011-08-14T13:15:59.925-07:00BusyI've been preparing for a few things and haven't had time to add photos to the posts I have written and saved. One thing I'm getting ready for: teaching an art class!<br />
And that led to me picking up my paintbrush again.<br />
And that led to starting a series of paintings....<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a0SU6vzFK44/Tkgs0nG9BKI/AAAAAAAABLM/2z8tu1AZWZ4/s1600/IMAG0715-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a0SU6vzFK44/Tkgs0nG9BKI/AAAAAAAABLM/2z8tu1AZWZ4/s320/IMAG0715-1-1.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painted Bunting (first in the series)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-19797457744150896932011-08-05T14:05:00.000-07:002011-08-05T14:05:26.561-07:00As I Sit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bbq0AkTgexE/TjxaQX9yuqI/AAAAAAAABLI/AcHTYnyPrSw/s1600/bellasprinklers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bbq0AkTgexE/TjxaQX9yuqI/AAAAAAAABLI/AcHTYnyPrSw/s320/bellasprinklers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
As I sit here, staring at this blasted screen my husband is playing the guitar and singing me a song. My girls, meanwhile, are running through the sprinklers and their joy is so effervescent that kids walking by stop and smile at them. Then moments later come back in their bathing suits to join them. The dogs are panting and one is repeatedly nudging my hand. It's a sweet yet digusting wet-nosed gesture. Also, it's a little hard to type while fending her off.<br />
<br />
In the other room sits a painting that I am working on. It's a good start but there's some trouble with it that I haven't quite figured out yet. I am taking a few days to ponder it, get some perspective. However, this makes me nervous because what if like some of my other paintings I don't finish it because I lost my momentum? Paintings are so much harder than writing. If I don't finish some writing, it hides quietly in my computer or my notebook. It isn't physically present for people to ask about.<br />
<br />
As I write, as my husband sings, are house is slowly sinking around us. The result of years of moisture eating away at the joists and girders and floor. Too many men have crawled under there and come out shaking their heads at me as I stare wide eyed with fear about what they are about to tell me. This house, what a mess this house has been, one thing after another. But it's our home, it's where my children will remember playing in the sprinklers. It is going to kill our pocketbooks. Oh well, at least it can be fixed. At least we have a shelter.<br />
<br />
Looking outside through the windows it looks deceptively green and cool, like spring. I know that if I open my front door it will feel like stepping into a hearty, beef stew. It's muggy and hot but thank God it's so beautiful, safe, and peaceful.<br />
<br />
There's a pan of vegetable lasgna in the oven, The work of my husband and I, we made the noodle, chopped and cooked the veggies and put it all together. It was nice to cook with him, we don't do it often enough.<br />
<br />
What's going on with you right at this moment? Send me a link or put it in the comments.MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-75550083762856794432011-08-01T15:21:00.000-07:002011-08-01T15:21:44.427-07:00ReadingI heart reading. I read a lot. I feel lost without a book near me. I know, bla bla bla, who cares?<br />
<br />
But what's a blog without me running on at the mouth? I just wanted to give you a run down of some great books I have read this summer.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Girl-She-Used-Be/dp/B0046LUJIW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312236678&sr=8-1">The Girl She Used to Be</a><br />
Great story, wish it ended differently. <br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1134221575"><br />
</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Garden-Novel-Kate-Morton/dp/1416550550/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312236706&sr=1-1">The Forgotten Garden</a><br />
A new favorite. A very fast read! <br />
<br />
Riverton House<br />
Another Kate Morton, was a little slow, not like Forgotten Garden but I still liked it. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&field-author=Z.A.%20Recht">Plague of the Dead and Thunder and Ashes</a><br />
I love post-apocalyptic fiction. These were great but I wish he had gotten to write the thrid because it leaves you hanging.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://search.avg.com/route/?d=4ccf6537&v=7.005.030.004&i=26&tp=ab&iy=&ychte=us&lng=en-US&q=same+K"> Same Kind of Different As Me</a><br />
Good, a little hoakie or syrupy. <br />
<br />
Now reading:<br />
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks<br />
An amazing non-fiction book about ethics in light of scientific discovery when cells are taken from a biopsy of a malignant tumor of an African American mother in the 1950's without her knowledge or permission.<br />
<br />
The Help<br />
You know, you've heard about it...<br />
<br />
Just got:<br />
Room<br />
Just got it today from Amazon...can't even remember what it's about. <br />
<br />
The Gurensey Literary and Potatoe Peel Society<br />
The lady who checked at the checkout said I would love it. What does she know about me? I hate when <strike>people</strike> strangers tell me something like that.MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-1905426732074413032011-07-29T14:02:00.000-07:002011-07-29T14:02:56.918-07:00AmazingCan't stop watching these...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/XvCyjUD7GkY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Can't take my eyes off Ivan.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vzap7Q7ziOY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Can't take my eyes off either of them!</div><br />
And that leap at the end is incredible. She jumps from like 5 feet away and he cacthes her with one arm. ONE ARM! ONE ARM!!! Are you shitting me? I adore Melonie, she is as cute as a button and dances like a beast.<br />
<br />
I love this show and my husband hates it. He doesn't get why I want to watch it. Well, I don't get how he can watch those fishing shows. And dancing is a hell of a lot more entertaining. Especially when it involved Ivan.<br />
<br />
What are you guilty pleasure tv shows?MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-19034043856762682652011-07-27T06:55:00.000-07:002011-07-27T06:55:03.015-07:00It's the WorstFound a list of <a href="http://www.foodmatters.tv/_webapp_486425/Top_30_Worst_Foods_in_America_%28Beware%29">Top 30 Worst Food in America</a> and I can honestly say that <strike>everything</strike> almost everything on that list that is not appealing to me (exception #16 and #19 and maybe #29). I like burgers and fries and fajitas and dessert but I wouldn't order these particular things in a restaurant, especially a chain, fast food restaurant. Sorry, don't mean to sound uppity. Well, maybe I do.<br />
<br />
Got me thinking about other Worst lists...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/chart/bottom">Bottom 100 on IMDb</a>...I might have seen one of these. I like the title to #59 and #79.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://rateyourmusic.com/list/djlanda/the_100_worst_album_covers_ever">Worst Album Covers</a>...Yes, oh yes to #77 and Wow to #54 and Aaawwww, Poor Tori #30 and I had #22 and #1.<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_838151282"><br />
</a><br />
<a href="http://www.babble.com/celebrity/celebrity-style/33-worst-celebrity-baby-names/">Worst Celeb Baby Names</a>....I like #5 because I could say to my husband, "You got Moxie?" And apparently Paula Yates is off her flipping rocker and really into Rock Stars. And I never minded Apple, it sure as hell isn't inthe same galaxy as Jermajesty!<br />
<br />
Okay, go out into the virtual world and enjoy.MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-79460724113022352192011-07-26T08:04:00.000-07:002011-07-26T08:05:08.052-07:00Making Pasta: Take TwoMy hubby gave me the pasta attachments for my KitchenAid for my birthday. I made pasta once (ravioli's no less) that sucked because I was...well, a dummy about one or two instructions for the pasta roller. Also, I didn't have 00 flour that time, and made do with the AP flour I had. I read a lot about making good pasta and started to look for 00 (zero, zero) flour in stores. No luck. Finally I had to order it from an Amazon store. There was not one place around here that had this kind of flour (not even Whole Foods). If I was going to make pasta (again) I would do it right, dammit.<br />
<br />
So here goes...<br />
<br />
3 cups of 00 Flour<br />
2 large whole eggs<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aOT98Lfn0M4/Ti6iBb0RuNI/AAAAAAAABKs/M3QefrL7P_Q/s1600/floureggs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aOT98Lfn0M4/Ti6iBb0RuNI/AAAAAAAABKs/M3QefrL7P_Q/s320/floureggs.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Scoop flour into a pile on your work surface, make a well in the center. Crack eggs in well. Begin combining eggs with flour by gently pulling flour from the sides of the well and incorporating with a fork (see below). Go slowly so you don't "bring down the walls" of the well and your egg escapes. (This was really easy and surprisingly more so than mixing it in the KitchenAid mixer like I did last time.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tq6opXlqd3s/Ti6h_2U9pvI/AAAAAAAABKo/bO11vS9dDaE/s1600/flourbowl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tq6opXlqd3s/Ti6h_2U9pvI/AAAAAAAABKo/bO11vS9dDaE/s320/flourbowl.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Soon this mess will begin to form a dough. Combine/knead to pick up more flour. (see below)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uO_KGnGzoH8/Ti6iC85iVtI/AAAAAAAABKw/iccmTXGRL6c/s1600/kneaddough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uO_KGnGzoH8/Ti6iC85iVtI/AAAAAAAABKw/iccmTXGRL6c/s320/kneaddough.jpg" width="179" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Let your dough rest under a bowl for 10-15 minutes.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6_boeLSrbnI/Ti6h8UG8lpI/AAAAAAAABKg/taw0PgtT-bo/s1600/afterrest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6_boeLSrbnI/Ti6h8UG8lpI/AAAAAAAABKg/taw0PgtT-bo/s320/afterrest.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Using my hand dandy Kitchen Aid with my new pasta roller/cutter attachments (scary knives in the background give this scene a sense of foreboding).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fh0eumzbRCA/Ti6h-j2k8ZI/AAAAAAAABKk/3ArzFt-o5TA/s1600/doughmachine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fh0eumzbRCA/Ti6h-j2k8ZI/AAAAAAAABKk/3ArzFt-o5TA/s320/doughmachine.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I flatten my dough ball and stretch it a little by hand and then cut it into thirds. Begin with the largest dial setting for the pasta roller and begin to feed through. I like to feed each piece through twice. Then move down to the next setting and repeat with all the pieces. At some point when the strips are getting too long to handle I cut them in half. Continue until you have a sheet so thin you could read a newspaper through it (I was making angel hair, you may be making something else and wouldn't need them so thin).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DLQ_vPNfs3s/Ti6h6nbH6nI/AAAAAAAABKc/Oqx5EE0i1q8/s1600/thinning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DLQ_vPNfs3s/Ti6h6nbH6nI/AAAAAAAABKc/Oqx5EE0i1q8/s320/thinning.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Super thin sheets. (see below)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6kpxhdExfdQ/Ti6iERkflpI/AAAAAAAABK0/V70iQWc2OH8/s1600/longthinstrips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6kpxhdExfdQ/Ti6iERkflpI/AAAAAAAABK0/V70iQWc2OH8/s320/longthinstrips.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Change the attachment from rolling/thinning to cutting. Begin feeding in. In hindsight I wish I had had a bowl or plate underneath because I caught the noodles with my hand but a lot of little pieces fell. Also, I didn't want all the extra flour from the work surface on them.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R3aNCxoQpI4/Ti6iJbi3rWI/AAAAAAAABK8/nF7un-9AaBQ/s1600/noodles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R3aNCxoQpI4/Ti6iJbi3rWI/AAAAAAAABK8/nF7un-9AaBQ/s320/noodles.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I made nests after each handful before feeding the next strip in. I had salted water boiling and ready for them.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SEFgNFj4XlQ/Ti6iGcOYlbI/AAAAAAAABK4/21CkxMRLNEk/s1600/noodlenests.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SEFgNFj4XlQ/Ti6iGcOYlbI/AAAAAAAABK4/21CkxMRLNEk/s320/noodlenests.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
You could also dry these and store them for later.<br />
<br />
Boil for 2-3 minutes. This pasta was super tender and delicate. Didn't need any butter only a sprinkle of Parmesan and some roasted garlic. Really yummy. So yummy that I didn't get a photo of the dish before gobbling it up. Sorry.<br />
<br />
Served with <a href="http://geeneva.blogspot.com/2009/07/40-gloves-of-garlic.html">40 Cloves of Garlic Chicken</a>, sourdough bread, and steamed veggies (the garlic cloves were perfect for mashing and adding to the noodles and spreading on bread with olive oil). <br />
<br />
Postscript: Later as I cleaned my attachments (you clean them after the pasta has dried on them), I must have been a little delusional and got the cleaning brush caught in the spinning noodle cutter. It ate it up fast. I turned it off and then worked on cutting the brush out with scissors and a sharp knife. Grrrrr....I still haven't gotten all the bristles out and am afraid I have ruined this attachment. Note: Do not clean when you are tired.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-64695662214037624632011-07-23T14:55:00.000-07:002011-07-23T14:55:18.935-07:00Facebook Saves LivesJust read an article about how a few FB posts from a mom with a sick child got responses from friends that told her to get her child to the ER immediately. Her friends suspected Kawasaki disease and they were right.<br />
<br />
I to have experienced the wonder of FB.<br />
<br />
Whilst on my trip to NYC in the fall I checked in to my FB and saw my neighbor had messaged me that she thought my dogs were out. I called my husband who was sleeping and didn't answer. I messaged her back, she messaged me and said she had caught them. I then called my MIL who woke my hubby who went to get the dogs. Thanks FB!<br />
<br />
Then a few weeks ago, as I was reading friends' posts I saw my friend Wendy's husband left a post about being unable to find Wendy at some huge complex. I posted a reply and he replied, "Please call W, I think her iPad died and I can't find her." I don't know why he couldn't call her but I did and was able to reunite the lost couple who were on vacation in another state.<br />
<br />
Funny how small the world is becoming.MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267677755183471154.post-90460367974754090812011-07-18T04:39:00.000-07:002011-07-18T04:39:43.631-07:00Three Words<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g1O1dMSfjBc/TiDEqe4X9MI/AAAAAAAABKI/WOZsd8jmYqM/s1600/zturns8touch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g1O1dMSfjBc/TiDEqe4X9MI/AAAAAAAABKI/WOZsd8jmYqM/s320/zturns8touch.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Counting her Booty</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WhOek-beF50/TiDErpk3MSI/AAAAAAAABKM/3rSHvRUODF8/s1600/zoeturns8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WhOek-beF50/TiDErpk3MSI/AAAAAAAABKM/3rSHvRUODF8/s320/zoeturns8.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She turns 8</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aNpRvrwMNq4/TiDEsmnZz_I/AAAAAAAABKQ/91Vjfq_Vx6I/s1600/zturns8candle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aNpRvrwMNq4/TiDEsmnZz_I/AAAAAAAABKQ/91Vjfq_Vx6I/s320/zturns8candle.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy B Day</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pQRRnG_GtAE/TiDExuKzs8I/AAAAAAAABKU/m287IAo6mss/s1600/firworks7_4_11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pQRRnG_GtAE/TiDExuKzs8I/AAAAAAAABKU/m287IAo6mss/s320/firworks7_4_11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fireworks over M.I.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b6eVmPH-7EQ/TiDEym0yYSI/AAAAAAAABKY/Wb1bWqirAqc/s1600/fireworks7_11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b6eVmPH-7EQ/TiDEym0yYSI/AAAAAAAABKY/Wb1bWqirAqc/s320/fireworks7_11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ka Boom</td></tr>
</tbody></table>MostlyFlumxdArthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09195616799663696509noreply@blogger.com0