(no subject)

i'm finally caught up. i had over 600 friends posts (NOT including newsfeeds and communities, if i include those, 600 only reaches back a couple days).

phew.

boy and i took a leisurely drive into town today... got some stuff at whole foods, then stopped at giant for shaving gel and ALL. got the ALL, but giant stocks all the Edge varieties but the one boy uses--fragrance free. *sigh*

we stopped at Carter Mountain Orchard on the way home... got some tomatoes and pears. YUM.

and we did lots of dishes and hosed out some moldy dishes from the fridge. boy would like to ALWAYS do dishes in the yard, he says. he likes aiming the hose from 20' away.

silly boy.

(no subject)

it's very dry here. the periodic storms don't dump much rain... most of the time, the thunder and lightning roll over and the rain skips us.

i water my basil, because it's a food plant. and i water my spider plants just enough to keep them alive, because they keep me happy through the winter. the sanseveria is thriving, i water it every other week and it's happier than ever. the aloe got pissed off at me when we moved and might actually be deader than dead.

the white ash i'm so fond of is dying in parts. only some of the branches leafed out this year, with most of the branches off the upper third trunk offshoot (there are three main trunk branches) bare. i noticed some kind of bored wood holes near the base--i hope it survives whatever infestation has taken advantage of it, but i suspect the infestation is a symptom, not a cause. :/ i'm sure the drought isn't helping the tree any.

our water pressure is getting worse... this doesn't bode well for our well. fortunately, the landlord should address that if it becomes a problem. i feel for the owners--they've already had a few wells drilled and dug on the property this summer. i'm not sure why (the wells aren't *near* existing structures), but perhaps they're thinking about expanding irrigation for the crop fields.

dry dry dry. i'd give anything for a week of rain.

(no subject)

Happy Birthday, kellydamnit! i hope your first birthday as a married woman is wonderful and fun!;

(no subject)

there's something magical about watching john lurie and tom waits canoe down a creek in jamaica while tom sings "along the river of men", which may or may not be an actual folk song. waits rocks my world.

∞

food updates

yesterday, i made an orzo salad...

i put water on to boil...

then i crumbled a block of feta (probably 8oz) into a large bowl. i poured olive oil and balsamic over it, sprinkled it with salt, ground some black pepper over it, then set it aside.

in my food processor, i chopped some green onions, some parsley, and some fresh basil. i tossed these into the feta mixture and added some minced garlic and some dried oregano. i then shredded some baby spinach leaves in the food processor.

when the water came to a boil, i poured in a box of orzo pasta (16oz). when it was al dente, i drained it, ran cold water over it, then dumped the spinach into the bowl of feta and tossed the orzo on top. i mixed thoroughly and stuck it in the fridge.

it's quite good, but needs more garlic and balsamic and salt. since these are really individual tastes, i just season my own bowl. boy told me he's adding garlic (powder) and balsamic to his servings, so i guess i can season the big bowl. this is quite yummy. next time, i'll add cucumber and halve the recipe.

i also made a pasta casserole yesterday. i boiled some gemelli pasta. the sauce was started with leeks, butter, and carrots. i mixed a white cheese sauce to go over (cabot organic sharp white), mixed the leeks and carrots with the sauce, then poured it over the pasta, topped with parmesan, more cheddar, and bread crumbs. baked at 375 for half an hour.

tonight, boy steamed some red chard. we added salt, pepper, brewer's yeast, onion and garlic powders, and butter. YUM. we wanted something quick and easy.

afterward, we were still hungry (we each had two helpings of the feta-orzo salad, too), so i mixed up a bbq sauce and sauteed some field roast (tomato flavor) in it... we ate it on the bread i made in the bread machine yesterday (deluxe white, made with milk). YUM

aren't you hungry now?

( more stuff, mostly health, ignore at will )