We Caved

That damn mouse has gotten us again.  The other night, I broke down and bought three DVDs for Nora: 101 Dalmatians (of course), the Aristocats (part of my cat ownership propaganda) and Robin Hood (my childhood favorite).  We decide to wait on Balto.  Well, I popped in The Aristocats tonight, and there was a preview that is almost making me regret my purchase.  This winter, we can look forward to Snow Buddies.  The offspring of Air Bud fall out of an airplane over Alaska and make a young boys dream of racing in the Iditarod come true.  Yes, a team of golden retriever puppies is going to beat out all those other teams of arctic dogs because they have spunk.   I had a sour taste in my mouth, but then Maurice Chevalier started singing the title song and I was drawn in to Disney of my childhood and these modern atrocities were forgotten.  

BTW, Aristocats also includes the voice work of Mel Blanc, Eva Gabor, and Thurl Ravenscroft in case you were sitting on fence about watching this one.  

The Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth Has Begun

Everyone, condolences are in order to Todd and Jason (and possibly Natascha, who seems to have fallen to this disease as well) who suffered a terrible loss today. Robbie Keane has gone to Liverpool and with him goes Tottenham's chance as the number 4 spot this year (number 4 is the new number 1). I thought Jason would be the hardest hit since Keane is the captain of the Irish national team and Jason wears his shirt, but Todd was last heard from down at the Tigin watching Southerland pre-season friendly, which can't be a good sign. It has been a long month of dire forecasts, and much hand wringing while rumours were bandied about, so while this was not unanticipated, the blow is still quite distressing. While Nora and I are unaffected, a dark cloud has fallen over our house and there is a sudden beer shortage. Please send your sympathy e-mails to the grieving parties, they are in need of the balm of friendship in these troubled times, but whatever you do, don't mention relegation.

Summer Menus

I've been cooking a lot this summer, partially to keep us from eating out so much and also because summer produce has been great and mostly because I tend to stockpile food, and I really need to turn over inventory. Last week I made sushi which I hadn't made in forever, but I don't know why because it's really easy and so delicious! Even Nora ate some. These were mostly carrot and avocado with soy cream cheese in a few.




Here's that lemon cake I made for Mom's church picnic:


And my favorite menu of the summer, sounds so perfectly summery, but actually was made entirely from inventory (it would have been great if I had gotten it all at the farmers market): tomatoes and okra, three bean salad, and fried potatoes -Nora and I had sausage too.

Shameless Request for Comments

Recent Comments is back, so um, leave some comments and see your name in lights to the right.

Nora and the Crow

Nora has been giving the crow at the zoo money. Here she's with her cousins Kylie and Logan (Mete was there too, but he wasn't leaving the stroller for a crow) and all three of them gave the crow a dollar (thanks Uncle Ted for the cash). Although this was her second encounter with the crow, Nora seemed unsure at the last moment whether she really wanted to let go, but eventually she let him have it. Oh yeah, I'm in the video too. The crow stuffs the dollars into a box and it all goes to the zoo's conservation work. I'm sure that Nora will be meeting the crow again, I just hope she doesn't think she needs to give all crows money. I'm still amazed that she's willing to go face to face with a crow (and his sharp beak) but smaller younger children (much less bigger older children) make her retreat in haste.

Nora Pictures!

I know, I know, finally....

I'm loving the ponytails here-

And Jason encouraged this one:

Tomato Update

Here's the latest on my tomato plants. One of them is not looking so good, but still has fruit on it. Below are the two better looking ones with their tomatoes prominently featured.
The tomatoes should be ready by next month, provided I can keep them alive until then!

New Home In Search Of Family

This weekend Mom and I cleaned out our old dollhouse for Nora. It was hers and Carol's first, and then it got a paint job and new furniture when I was about 4 or 5. We decided it was time for an update for Nora (imagine if your kitchen hadn't been repainted in over 55 years and no new appliances for 33 years). While I'm not sure what upgrades will be coming to the interior, we did remove several of the more worn and dated furnishings and now we are in the process of reviewing potential candidates for residency. Check out the below link and tell me if the house should go to the Mouse, Fox or Bunny Rabbit family. I really can't decide. (be sure to scroll down for options). Lili and JoJo (our two hampsters in love) and various fisher price people will be frequent visitors. Since I'm all about polls lately, I'll probably make this one too. I will eventually get back to posting pics!

BTW, Peach Cobbler is the winner.

The Weighing Of the Manuscript

The Weighing of the Manuscript will occur at 5pm on August 23, 2008 in the downstairs bathroom of my parents house.

All entries must be received by 4:55 pm, August 23, 2008. You can enter your estimate here in the comments section or at the event site.

The winning prize will be your very own copy of the dissertation, autographed by Jason. There will be no runners up prizes, but there is beer for everyone.

Nora and the Doggies

I'm feeling a little guilty because I've just now turned on the most favorite video ever of my dear daughter. The one she calls "Doggies!". It is actually 101 Dalmatians, the animated version. And it is fabulous. And Nora loves it and will be transfixed by it from the opening credits to the end credits. This was not really a movie of my childhood (my childhood favorite was Robin Hood, so we both prefer animals to princesses), but as an adult, I have to admit that I also love it. I still get teared up when Perdi and Pongo lead the 99 puppies across the wintry English countryside, and we've watched it dozens of times now.

Earlier tonight I made a giant meal of two curries (one cauliflower/green bean & peas and the other chick pea and tomato), tofu tikki masala, samosas, and rice. We also had a smoothie that my Aunt Carol gave me the idea for by suggesting that watermelon and lime juice go great together. It does, but I added too much lime juice, so I ended up adding some shredded coconut and pineapple and it really was delicious. Nora really liked it and I used up all of the extra watermelon that really needed to be eaten. Watermelon is one of those things that I always buy with the greatest intentions of eating, but then half of it sort of languishes in the fridge.

We don't really have big plans for this weekend, but we might check out the Let Them Eat Art Festival in Maplewood, since the STL Craft Mafia will be there. Next weekend Nora and I are off with Laura to visit Southern Illinois and get peaches, which I am assured are in and it is supposed to be one of the best seasons in a long while. Then we'll see what we make with those. So send me your peach ideas (you can vote in the poll or leave me your idea in the comments).

Cake Update

Well, I didn't take any of your suggestions. That's not exactly true, I did make Jason and Nora a banana creme pie, but that doesn't really count since it was a pre-made crust (Mom told me pre-made crusts don't count) and instant pudding (I don't think instant pudding counts either) so the only cooking I really did was to add soymilk, cut bananas, pour into crust and stick it in the freezer. Nope, definitely not cooking. The penuche icing requires powdered soy milk so that's on hold until I find a source. So, I took another path and decided to deal with my surplus of coconut milk, so Jason and Nora (and Todd and Natascha) got the fabulous coconut lemon bundt cake from Vegenomicon. I loved it even if some of it stuck to the pan. Now, I think I'd better hold off on desserts for awhile!

New Clothes

I just wanted to give a shout out to my new favorite clothing designer, Beqi. You may have seen her stuff at the Tower Grove Farmers Market or the Rock And Roll Craft Show. I've been checking out her clothes at events for over a year and while I've bought jewelry, the clothing samples she brought were always too small for me, though I'd admired them none the less. I finally worked up the nerve to order a top from her from her website and I am absolutely in love with it. I just ordered two more today, and I'm thinking that might not be end of it. So friends, you may want to check out her stuff too, she has measurements on the site of most of her clothes, and she sizes generously (compared to most handmade clothing) so keep that in mind. Also, she makes everything from scratch once you make your order, so there's a couple of weeks turn around time (unless you order from her sample stock, which is mostly mediums). Check her out, and don't forget to support the St. Louis Craft Mafia.

Happy Birthday

Jason's another year older and wiser and I'm a lucky girl to have him in my life. Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

Since Jason won't commit to a cake, help me decide which cupcakes to bake him this weekend. Check out the poll at right.