Who'd a Thunk It?

I watched my dad eat a turkey burger tonight. He is a steak kind of guy. I was going to make him a regular burger but he said don't worry about it. My secret? 1. Dice some onions and saute in olive oil until soft. 2. Mix them in with your raw turkey. 3. Add a hefty pile of Harris Ranch barbecue seasoning (cheater!) 4. Grill. Feeds toddlers and meat-eaters alike.

Sorry for the light posting this week, I've been preparing mentally and house-ally for my sister to come stay with her two boys, ages 4 and 6. We did pretty well with sidewalk chalk and a movie, but I have to make it through two more days. With their cousin's birthday party. Thus, small kids and SUGAR.

What a Buzz

What a nice way to start a morning - I got buzzed. In my own yard. I walked out the back door and there is a bright magenta salvia that is in thoroughly full bloom, and there was a hummingbird checking it out. So I backed up around the corner to not scare it away. And who should come around the corner to check me out? No, not Matt. The hummingbird! So I back up, and it zooms all around REALLY CLOSE TO ME to the point that there is nothing else it could be doing other than checking me out. And then it zooms off to my other big fat blooming blue salvia to finish its meal, and takes off.

And that, in short, made my week.

A Conundrum

I have a plan for tonight: I got a nice piece of fish from Trader Joe's and I was going to saute it up with a little olive oil/garlic/herb action and pretend it's Indian and serve it with some nice dal and naan bread (I love you some days, Mister Joe). Then I was going to have a nice productive rehearsal with my band and, after that, catch the premiere of the new Project Runway (the ONLY reality show I will watch). When our cable people stopped letting us watch Bravo, I watched it on YouTube for nearly two whole seasons. When our cable company also dropped MTV, I laughed at Matt because he was the only one who watched MTV, and it turned into Lifetime, which neither of us watch. Until now. Tonight may be the first time I watch anything on Lifetime, as they somehow now own PR and I haven't been able to watch it from my couch for a couple of years now. So that sounds nice, right?



Whatever you may think of these books, cheesy, ripped off from superior source material, leading our children down a path to Hell, I have to say they do get pretty cliffhangery at the end. And I can always watch PR on YouTube, right?

Might have to find out some more about this guy.

I want these people to prove they can define words like Nazi and socialist before they are allowed to use them.

I also promise to post pictures of my bench this weekend. I ended up disassembling it so the slats now need one more coat of stain and maybe some Thompson's Water Seal, and the sides need a coat of black Rustoleum. But it is gonna look slick, let me tell you.

Back to Work

Aah, back to the old grind after a nice long weekend. Too bad I didn't take pictures of all my productivity, but I promise I will when I'm all done. To wit - the porch looks better but I probably need three more gallons of stripper before it's mostly not green. Also, Matt snagged me a really nice old bench for the backyard but although it has been sanded and stained now, it probably needs at least one more coat of stain and some Thompson's water seal or something as well as a coat of black Rustoleum for the metal sides. Getting stuff done is clearly not the same as finishing stuff. Sigh.

Furlough Friday Fun

Well, maybe not fun, per se. But mind-blowing productivity. I guess that's what happens when your time is free and your to-do list is reasonable:

I weeded the front yard. Not the entire front yard, but the ugly bit that really needed it. Very satisfying, esp. since I want to get planting out there in a couple of weeks!

I mowed the lawn - also desperately needed, because as we have a reel mower, it's not that quick to do, so I put it off. Incidentally, has anyone ever re-seeded a lawn? Ours is a little wimpy-looking right now. I know it's August so everything looks a bit parched, but it might get added to the future To Dos.

I built a path in the front yard. Some of the flagstones are still tippy but that is an easy fix. Point is, no more lugging flagstone around for me now. Mine isn't quite this fancy as we already have decomposed granite mulch out there so it's not edged and the gaps are filled with DG but it is still going to look great when I plant stuff around it.

I used up a gallon of stripper on the back porch. God that stuff is horrible. Sure works though. Looks like I'll be needing 2-3 more gallons at this rate. Yeesh.

I went to the local landscaping place and started pricing flagstone alternatives for the backyard - I found out how much it would cost to do it with flagstone to match the front path and decided I needed to look for some other options. So far, not much luck. Still, I tried. That's all that was on the list ;)

Tonight I get to go to a fancy salon and get a real haircut... I have always gotten respectable cuts at Cost Cutters and the ladies are nice, but Matt has a lady who he has gone to for years and he is convinced that I should see her too (to the point that he made me the appointment). I'd like to do better by my poor shaggy head as I am trying to grow it out, so that should be interesting We'll see if I go back.

Minor Triumph (!)

As you may remember, I have been putting off dealing with my back patio. It is much more satisfying to look at my nice plants. My back patio is covered with a combination of green paint and the remainder of the adhesive that used to hold the Astroturf on before Matt ripped it off (go Matt!) many moons ago.



It is now slightly less green. I only bought a quart of nasty chemicals and I will clearly be needing at least a couple of gallons. But I have one nice little clean area now.



It's a horrid toxic gel but you paint it on thick and it makes the layers of paint and crap bubble up and then you can scrape them off fairly easily. The shiny parts are the ones I've finished - they are actual concrete color. The goal is to get it all cleaned up and then stain it a nice solid color, maybe just a darker gray or dark brown.



It sure is satisfying though. I only spent about an hour doing it before I ran out of goop but I have my "furlough day" on Friday (yes, the state of Nevada is also trying to cover its butt with employment numbers, yes I am on a grant and thus shouldn't be affected, yes I still get to take an unpaid vacation day Friday, and yes I am darn well going to get going on the rest of this green junk!) so I'll have some more time to spend on it.



Eew.

Of The Old School

The little kid from Third Rock From The Sun is all grown up.


I had a total crush on him when he was on that show, I was probably 14 (and so was he). He has aged darn well. He's also got the perfect build for dancing in a suit that is a little bit baggy. Some people need to dance in properly fitting clothes (i.e. Gene Kelly) but some people look better with a little movement in their clothing when they dance (i.e. Fred Astaire).

And that song is adorable. I am highly tempted to go see their movie now. Apparently I am exactly their target market.

Edit: for Alana - he was the kid with the long hair.

Firsts!

Tuesday night was my first time ever making chutney! I drove up to my mother-in-law's place with my jars and we hung out and peeled peaches for what seemed like hours (22 lbs. of peaches is A LOT, we made just under a quadruple batch), and then I argued with my father-in-law about religion and agreed with him about politics while it simmered(it's not hard to agree with people about Nevada politics, we've got a lot of running jokes that keep running for office). So if I am generous, some people might get chutney for Christmas...

And last night was my first time ever doing yoga! It was a little bit pricey but there were THREE PEOPLE in the class. So I got to get my positions fixed (or complimented) by the teacher directly. I really liked the teacher, she was really helpful (and not intimidating at all, which is a biggie). So hopefully this will stick, as I felt really good afterward, and so far am only a little bit sore. We are supposed to go again on Saturday. So I just need to find a shirt that won't fall over my head during downward dog.

Just another...

aah, Monday. When I'd rather blog than get anything real done. So... a recap.

Friday night I talked Matt into taking me to Harry Potter (I was supposed to go with my sister, but she was supposed to wait until I got back in town, so whatever). He later compared it to walking in in the middle of the second Lord of the Rings movie - he hasn't seen the others and they really skimp on the exposition in this one. I did enjoy it but I recall in this one and the one before some touching hospital scenes that got completely left out that make the bad guys a lot more clear-cut - in this one, Helena Bonham Carter does a lovely bat$#it crazy, but you never get the connection made that she tortured Neville's parents to death and enjoyed every minute. There's just a lack of depth that can't be helped. I did love the effects of the potions on Ron and Harry, they're really improving at the comic stuff, and Draco did some of his best acting in this one, as the snotty spoiled brat who finally starts realizing what he's gotten himself into. And I love whoever it was that played his mom.

Saturday I trekked down to Grass Valley for a baby shower. This was the third weekend of extended driving in a row now. And I have decided that next weekend I am not driving ANYWHERE. Also, my car needs an oil change, a new brake light and a bunch of other crap so that can be my excuse to make sure I get to actually stay home and work in my yard instead of traipsing off somewhere again (although, they have all been somewhere fun, so it's hard to argue). Also, I finally got to meet the clearly-not-apocryphal-at-all "kitties" of the stocked pond of a family friend. The shower was at his place and he has a pond with catfish that are ridiculously large and will come up and say hi when you toss out some food. Yes, we fed the kitties. And they are maybe 2.5-3 feet long. Big kitties.

And that was about it. The weather has alternated between sweltering heat and awesome summer thunderstorms. My yard is surviving but is currently chock-full of quail and mourning doves due to the fact that ALL of the weeds have now gone to seed. I am in big trouble. Thankfully, these areas in the future will be planted and hopefully covered with ground cover by this time next summer so it will not look quite so bad. The doves and quail are pretty cute though. Hopefully we can strike a balance so they will still hang out without my yard needing to look like a total mess.