More Bullets

*Cool website: Instructables


*I'm bored

*My Nurtisystem food isn't being delivered until the 3rd. Boo! I wanted to start on the 1st.

*I still haven't gotten anything for Barnaby's birthday tomorrow except a card. I suck.

*Every day more of the filling is crumbling out of my tooth. It's so sharp on jagged that it's rubbing against my tongue and inside of my cheek making it raw. I'm going to have to go to the dentist. Gah! Just kill me now.

*Barnaby is hosting a poker game tonight. I'll be dogsitting in my bedroom. I was invited to play, but I don't wanna. It's the social phobia thing again.

*This recipe sounds really good to me: Christmas Eggs I want some right now!

*I've got nothing else for you today. My house is being cleaned and she is nearly finished with my bedroom and moving on to the rest of the house. That's my queue to take the dogs into the clean bedroom and close the door so we don't get in the way. Otherwise Eli will be stealing all her rags and running away with them. She brought a friend today so she's going to be quick. I love it when she brings someone with her. I wish she'd do it every time.

*Gotta run. Have a good weekend.

Today

Ewwww! I hate THESE!

But nothing can fill me with horror more than THESE! When I was little my big sisters used to torture me with scary stories about men with them. And I'd never know when they'd jump out of a closet with a wire hanger sticking out of their shirt sleeve yelling, "Hook Arm! Hook Arm!" and chasing me around the house. God, it was horrifying! To this day, I cannot see one without my heart racing and nearly screaming and running.

This is me playing with my hair today:

My hair was wet, not dirty...just in case you're wondering. It turned out pretty good though, I think:

I didn't use the flash in this last picture. That's why my hair looks darker (better). It's growing really fast, isn't it? I hardly ever wear it down like this because it'll start bugging the crap out of me within an hour. I almost always wear it up. It looks much better when you roll it first before sticking it up in a clippy thingie though, and it stays put easier too.

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Okay, I'm hiding this little newsflash down deep into this entry because I'm not even sure I want to share it. But here goes...

I ordered Nutrisystem yesterday. It says it takes 4-10 days to receive your first shipment of food, so I have to wait until I receive it to begin. They sent an email this morning saying it had been shipped. So here I go on another diet. I had to do SOMETHING. My ass is exploding at an alarming rate. I figure if I start it August 1st, I'll be much much thinner come New Year's Day. I always get very depressed about my weight on that day. It just seems like every single New Year's Day, there I am vowing to lose weight yet again. Ugh.

So I'm all fired up and ready to go whenever it gets here. I will follow it to the letter and lose the weight AGAIN. I'm really so very good at that once I make up my mind. I'm just not so good at maintaining it once I get where I want to be.

I haven't decided if or how much I'm going to talk about it here. We'll see. I will at least be posting my weightloss each week.

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I'm ripping out what I've done so far on that red pineapple tablecloth and starting over. I found a pattern I like better. No commitment on when I'll start it yet. I still have a shawl to make that I haven't even started yet.

Random thought: I need to paint my toenails and spray a fake tan on my legs.

I'm about to go into the kitchen and fry up some hamburger meat with taco seasoning. I'm going to make some queso with meat in it. We had some at Cheddar's restaurant last weekend, and Barnaby asked me to make it. Guess I'd better do it now because I'm not going to be doing much cooking or baking while I'm on Nutrisystem. Barnaby says he's just going to eat sandwiches. He goes out for lunch nearly every day during the work week anyway. Don't be feeling too sorry for him!

Speaking of Barnaby, his birthday is Saturday. I've got to figure out what I'm going to get him. If y'all have any good ideas for man presents, let me know. It's so hard to buy for a man, isn't it?

The Placemats:

A Wednesday Tale

Sit down over here and let me tell you what happened this morning. Do you have your coffee? Okay, good.

So I'm sitting here working away and the doorbell rings. It's FedEx delivering a package. It's Barnaby's latest poker chips (he collects them). So I fight off the dogs and finally get the door open and bring the box inside.

I'm back working away at my computer and the doorbell rings AGAIN. It's another delivery, but this time it's our new remote. We had to order one from DirecTV because Eli chewed up the other one. (Damn dogs!) I fight off the dogs again, finally get the door open and retrieve the box and bring it inside.

Again, I go back to my work. (It's amazing I get any work done at all, right?) And about 30 minutes later, something catches my eye outside the window and I look up. (I'm keeping a lookout for burglars since my neighbors got their house broken into, a la Gladys Kravitz.) (I just love these little parentheses, don't I?)

ANYWAY, I look out the window and see a boy across the street walking with his dog. I think to myself, "He's got a little Papillon! Cool!" And then I say out-loud, "Hey! That's MY Papillon!"

Unbeknownst to me, Eli had run out the door one of those times I opened it to retrieve a package. The little shit. Thank goodness he wasn't in Fort Worth by now. Evidently he had been gallivanting around the neighborhood having a grand old time, and when he got tired, he got confused and was scratching on my next-door neighbor's front door. The little neighbor boy (I can't believe I don't know his name) was trying to catch him, but Eli was having none of it.

So there you have it. That's my excitement for the day.

I just ate an entire bagel while writing this, and I don't even remember it! I hate that. I didn't even get to enjoy it, dammit.

Eli, aka "Little Shit"

White Trash Dinner

Weiners & Sauerkraut. And...

Ranch-Style Beans!

Am I a gourmet cook or what?? It hit the spot though. And the Lemon Meringue Pie for dessert was good too.

Out of pure bordom I started crocheting some placemats yesterday. We've started eating dinner at the dining room table instead of in front of the TV with TV trays. I didn't want to keep a tablecloth on the table, so I had placemats on the list of things to get at Wal-Mart. I decided I could whip some up pretty quickly instead using a rectangular granny afghan pattern.

Let's see...what else?

Oh, I somehow broke a tooth and/or lost a hunk of filling out of one of my back toofies. I refuse to go to the dentist until it hurts and I can't stand it any longer. Who wants to drop $1,000 on a dumb tooth? Not me! And that's what it'll end up costing (at least) once he tells me I need a root canal, all of that filling replaced, and a crown. Dental insurance sucks. Boo! I swear, I'm getting dentures some day so I don't have to deal with it anymore.

I'm sleepy. (I know you're surprised about that.) I swear I was semi-concious all night. Since I didn't do much work yesterday (okay, none), I worked from 6:00 pm until 11:00 pm. Then I had to wind down and read my Star magazine before I turned out the lights. It was after 12:30 before I went to semi-sleep. That's what I get for messing up my semi-schedule. Do you semi-understand? Heh.

Okay, bye.

Rainy Day Monday

It's very cozy at my house today. It's been very dark outside since I got up four hours ago, a gentle rain has been falling, and thunder has been gently rumbling. (Except for just now when I typed this and a giant lightening bolt struck somewhere very near...bam! It scared the crap out of me.)

So...I'd better not stay online for long. I don't want to blow up my computer, don't ya know.

Anyway, I've been drinking coffee and snuggling on the couch with my doggies. I just ate some leftover lazagna that my mom made and gave us. It's terrific. It's made with layered egg noodles instead of lazagna noodles, and it's better than any lasagna I've ever made. I'll have to get the recipe and share it with you. I talked to her last night and told her how good it was, and she told me it was a recipe that a fellow teacher had given her 30 years ago when she had surgery and they were all bringing over food for a week.

I'm not crocheting anything. I haven't found anything I really want to do right now. I'm waiting for a shawl pattern to arrive in the mail so I can start it with a friend. She's crocheting the same one, and we're going to do it at the same time. We've both got our yarn all ready to go, and now we're just waiting on the pattern. These merchants on the internet need to get with the program and provide all their patterns as downloads rather than having to wait for snail mail to send a printed copy. Come on people!

I'm going now to enjoy the rain and a lazy-feeling day. I see a nap in my near future. I hope your day is as pleasant and enjoyable as mine has been so far. Bye-bye now.

Lemon Pies

I made these two Lemon Meringue Pies last night...one for us and one for my Mom & Dad. They turned out really good. At least the one I kept did. Hopefully theirs is the same.

Now I'm just sitting here trying to think of something else to say and I can't think of anything. So...I guess I'll just leave it as it is and go.

Wish you were here for pie and coffee!

Boucle All Shawl

Here's another All-Shawl made with Bernat Boucle yarn in Carnival Shades. I just made up this edging myself because the one with that pattern just didn't look right in this yarn.

And here's a shot of it hanging. It doesn't hang nearly as prettily as the Caron Spa. I haven't found anything yet that does.

This is definitely not my favorite of the shawls I've made, but it was fun and will make a nice casual shawl for someone. I'm going to put it on etsy with the others I have for sale there.

It's hot and we have no plans for the weekend. We just went to lunch and took a trip to Plano to the fancy yarn shop for some yarn I've been wanting to try. I nearly went crazy in there looking at all the yarn and trying to make up my mind. There's just too much for my brain to absorb and organize. I did try not to leave my mouth hanging open this time. Hee-hee.

No news and nothing fun to share today. I think I'll take a nap. Bye.

Food!

I made this last night for dinner. It was quick and easy and really good. I used 2 of the larger cans (12.5 oz. each) of all-white chicken chunks instead of starting with raw chicken. Other than that, I followed the directions exactly. I thought it was a little salty, but I had already added soy sauce at that point, so maybe it was my fault. I'll definitely buy this again. There may be other varieties, but I really didn't pay attention.

I just put a meatloaf together and got it in the oven. Barnaby wants meatloaf sandwiches for dinner and he likes the meatloaf to be cold. It's kind of nice to have the dinner cooking done so early in the day!

Yesterday I made an Eclair Dessert. I don't know if I've posted this recipe before or not, but it's an easy dessert that always gets raves and recipe requests. Here it is:

Eclair Dessert

27 whole graham crackers, halved

3 cups cold milk

2 small pkgs Vanilla Instant Pudding

1 tub Cool Whip (the smaller size)

16 oz can chocolate fudge frosting

Arrange a layer of graham crackers on the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan to cover.

Mix vanilla pudding mix and milk together and whisk 2 minutes. Gently fold in the Cool Whip. Spread half of the pudding over the graham crackers. Add another layer of graham crackers and then the rest of the pudding. Add one more layer of graham crackers on top.

Microwave your frosting for 1 minute without the lid. Stir. If frosting has not melted into a smooth, pourable liquid, microwave 30 seconds more and stir. Pour frosting on top of the last layer of graham crackers. Cover and refrigerate 4-6 hours or overnight before serving. This gives the graham crackers time to soften properly. You don't want them the least bit crunchy!

I snagged this picture off of the Internet so you could see what it looks like. I didn't take a picture of mine. An by the way, I halved this recipe and made it in a 9" x 9" pan for us and it worked fine.

I am thwarted at every turn with this red pineapple tablecloth! Me thinks someone might be trying to tell me not to make it.

Since I finally got the thread in the mail to work on it again, I picked it up a few minutes ago and began crocheting. After about 15 minutes, I dropped the hook and it went between the cushions of the loveseat and down into its bowels. I got up and shewed (shued?) all the dogs off of it, turned it over on its back (which I'm an idiot for doing because of my neck/back/age/luck), jostled it around, turned it up again and around and upside down and sideways, but the hook never shook loose. I can't even see it or hear it rattling around in there. And, of course, it's the only hook I have in that size. Grrr!

So again I'll put it aside and wait and see if Barnaby can find the crochet hook when he gets home tonight. In the meantime, I guess I'll see what else I can do.

This tablecloth is starting to get on my nerves.

Shoop-Shoop!

I bet you thought that title was another one of my dorky ideas, but it's not! It's actually the name of this capelet by Doris Chan from Amazing Crochet Lace, "Shoop-Shoop Capelet."

This one is more casual than the others I've made. It's really soft! Made with Hobby Lobby's ILTY in Blue Camo Stripes. I think it would be perfect with blue jeans on a chilly day.

My red thread that I ordered from Joann's came in yesterday. Now I can work on that tablecloth again.

Talk at y'all later.

Yummy Rice Recipe

I'm not sure this picture looks very appetizing, but trust me, it was delicious. I had two servings and made my tummy hurt, but I couldn't help it. I'd been craving some cheesy rice since day before yesterday, so today I went onto Allrecipes.com and type that in the search box. Several recipes came up, but this one caught my eye. I halved this recipe when I made it for just Barnaby and me. It still made plenty for probably 6 people. So unless you're cooking for a crowd, I recommend you half it also. It's easy to do.

One note...I mixed all of the green chilies and about 2/3 of the cheese into the rice and then sprinkled the rest of the cheese on top rather than layering it.

Cheesy Green Chili Rice

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 4 cups hot cooked long-grain rice
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1 cup small curd cottage cheese
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chilies, drained
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, cook onion in butter until tender. Remove from the heat. Stir in the rice, sour cream, cottage cheese, salt and pepper. Spoon half of the mixture into a greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Top with half of the chilies and cheese. Repeat layers. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until heated through and bubbly.

Just My Opinion...

I just have to say this. I cannot stand that people put music that automatically starts playing on their blog when you go there to read. Their page comes up and you're happy to see that they've got a new picture up, which means a new entry, and then all of the sudden some God-awful music comes blaring through your speakers and scares the shit out of you.

I know it's your blog and you can do what you want, blah, blah, blah, but seriously. Not everybody likes what you do, and even if they did, they may not want to hear it every single time they come to your site. It's annoying and makes me want to hang myself right then and there.

At least give people the option of pressing "Play" if they want to hear your damn music from hell every single time they come to read your blog.

Note: There are many people I love dearly with music on their blog. Don't take it personally or think I'm speaking to any one person in particular. I'm not. If you have any response at all, please make it be to just shut that crap off.

*Sigh*

We're getting a break from the 103 & 104 temps the next few days. It's only supposed to be 92 today! We were supposed to have rain too, but it's sunshiney and there's hardly a cloud in the sky.

I've been bored to death this week. I've just been wandering the house sighing heavily. I've crocheted a few cup cozies the last two days but nothing else. I haven't cooked or baked anything worth noting either. It's too hot to eat. We had watermelon for dinner a couple of nights this week.

Yes, I said watermelon. After vowing to never waste money on another lousy watermelon, I decided to take my son and sister's advice and buy one of those long ones with seeds. Low and behold it was delicious. Y'all were right! No more seedless watermelons at my house.

I'm not sure what the weekend plans are, if any. There's no NASCAR big-boy race this weekend so there's probably a whole lot more heavy sighing in store for me. B-O-R-I-N-G.

Waldorf Salad

I made a Waldorf salad yesterday and it's absolutely delicious! You've got to make some NOW. It's so cool and refreshing on a hot day. Here's how I made mine:

Waldorf Salad

1 Red Delicious apple, cored & cubed

Squeeze of lemon juice (bottled is fine)

1/2 cup red grapes, halved

1 stalk celery, sliced

1/4 cup roughly-chopped pecans

2-3 Tbsp Miracle Whip (I used light)

Cut up apple and place in a medium-sized bowl. Toss with lemon juice to prevent browning. Add grapes, celery, and pecans, and stir in the Miracle Whip. Refrigerate.

Correction: Mr. & Mrs. Marty Mockingbird

Marty has a wife...and kids. Except at least one of them is dead now. Another one fell out of the nest yesterday evening not long after I made that post. He was still alive last time Barnaby looked. I refuse to check. I don't want to know. Marty must have a low IQ because he built his nest in the yard where five dogs live. Idiot. Life is hard, but it's even harder when you're dumb as a stump.

I finally just gave up and ordered my red thread for the pineapple tablecloth from JoAnn's online. Nobody around here had any. Now that I've done that, I'll see it everywhere! It was on sale though, and I got it for $1.49 instead of $1.99 per ball. I ordered six so I hope that'll be enough.

I dragged out my sister's afghan that I started around October of last year and got quite a bit done yesterday. I only have a tiny bit left to do before I can start the edging, which I haven't completely decided on yet. I can't tell you too much about it since she'll probably be reading this. You'll get to see it after she gets it.

I've had some nectarines on my kitchen counter for days now. They are finally ripe and man are they delicious. I'm doing to go eat some for breakfast right now. See ya.

Marty the Mockingbird

This is Marty the Mockingbird. He hangs out in our backyard. His only purpose in life is to terrorize Fletcher. He looks harmless, doesn't he?

Can you see him in the above picture sitting on the lamp post on our porch? His mouth is hanging open, I'm guessing because it's 104 degrees and he's hot. He's extra hot because he's been repeatedly dive-bombing poor little Fletcher and tagging him in the ass. He doesn't do this to any other of our dogs except Fletch. It's the weirdest thing that Fletch just totally ignores him like it's not happening. You'd think he'd at least flinch or snap at Marty, but no.

I tried my best to get an action picture of it happening, but I failed and then I gave up because it's too hot outside to stand there waiting for the perfect shot.

A potholder I made yesterday. This is not how it's supposed to look. I ended up having to make it up towards the outer edges because I couldn't figure it out. Those lines are suppose to taper back down in making the petals of a flower. Now it's just a ...uh, it's a um, it's a pizza? Wheel of cheese? Whirly-bird doo-dad thingy? Crop circle?

Whatevah.

He's Afraid of Nothing!

Fletch is all wet because...

The sprinkler must be killed!

It must die!

He can't hold his breath any longer so he has to retreat.

Look at that face! Ha-Ha-Ha!

Hi Everybody!

Is that an enthusiastic title or what?

I spent the morning printing out some new crochet hotpad and potholder patterns from the Internet. I think I'm going to make some over the next few days. I started crocheting on my pineapple tablecloth yesterday and used up the last of my red thread. When I attached the other ball of thread I had, I discovered that it wasn't the same size. Barnaby made a run up to Hobby Lobby last night to get me four more balls, but they didn't have any red in that size. DAMMIT! Now I'll have to make a trip up the freeway to Michaels or JoAnn's, and I don't want to leave the house. You know how I am.

Have I mentioned lately that I'm FAT? Ugh. I refuse to weigh anymore. I'm serious, y'all. I'd tell you how much weight I've gained over the last year, but you wouldn't believe me. It's probably more than 5 sacks of potatoes! Okay, 6! I'm not telling you what size sacks though. You can just guess. Then you'll be wrong and have to go up a size. That's right! I told you I'm FAT!

Being overweight like this makes it even more difficult for me to leave the house or socialize. In fact, I refuse to socialize with anyone other than family. It's just too hard for me and I'd freak out.

Speaking of freaking out...have y'all been watching that new show on A&E called Obsessed? It's an hour-long show that comes on Monday nights at 9pm Central Time. Each week two different people are featured that have some form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and/or phobia. I love it! Check it out. Maybe I'll be featured on there some day. (Like that's something to be proud of...NOT)

We are keeping Mojo (our neighbor's boxer that looks just like Abbey) at our house until next Monday. Barnaby told me to ask our neighbor if he could go stay at their house while they're gone and we have SIX dogs over here. Hee-hee. He looked around last night at all of them standing in a group and said, "This is absolutely ridiculous!" Crazy Dog Lady (that would be me) thinks it's kind of fun though.

THIS is too funny.

Ugly, Ugly, Ugly

Yuck! I'm ripping this out and making something else. I hate it. I also screwed up somehow because some of the points have more stitches than others and it's wonky. What good is a star afghan anyway? Seems to me you'd have a hard time covering yourself up with it. Stupid star.

Now I have to go find something else to waste my time on. I'm just not into the pineapple tablecloth at the moment. I think I'll go look at other people's pineapple tableclothes and see if that will motivate me. Maybe I'll find a pattern I like better than the one I'll have to alter. It's still going to be RED though.

A Vietnamese Coffee Tutorial

You will need:

Chickory Coffee (Sometimes called Lousiana Style)

Sweetened Condensed Milk (Not Evaporated Milk)

Vietnamese Coffee Press (We got ours at World Market for around $5)

1 coffee cup for brewing the coffee

1 glass of ice (packed)

Boiling Water

Add two teaspoonsful of sweetened condensed milk into an empty coffee cup. We don't like ours very sweet, and this seems to be the perfect amount. Add more or less to your liking.

Set up your Vietnamese coffee press on top of the coffee cup with the sweetened condensed milk in it.

Add four teaspoons of chickory coffee grounds. It's supposed to be strong.

Place the "press" on top of the grounds...

Pour in the boiling water filling the coffee press to the top. Allow water to drip through.

Fill the pot again and allow the water to drip through once again.

Remove the coffee press from the coffee cup and set aside. Be careful as it will be hot. Stir the coffee well to fully incorporate the sweetened condensed milk and pour the coffee over your cup of ice. A lot of the ice will melt so add more to your liking and stir.

Add a straw and serve. Drink it up and then do the dishes, wash the sheets, vacuum & mop the house, scrub the baseboards, make two kinds of home-made cookies, wash the dishes again, and then wash the car.

Funny dog toy with pretty white teeth just like Fletcher.

A new batch of Barbara's banana bread. It's amazing what you get when you follow the directions. I made one with pecans and one without. Surprisingly, I liked the one without the best, and I love pecans. Hmm.

Tip of the Day: Buy a magnetic paperclip dispenser at Walmart for $1.49 and keep your bobby pins in it instead! Fantastic idea that I saw in a magazine recently.

Who knows what this is? Whatever you said, it's wrong, wrong, wrong! This is Fletcher and Eli's favorite toy! It's an old sundress that I cut the straps off of and cut the back out of to use as a pillow cover. After I cut it up, Eli stole it and ran off with it so I just let him have it. They absolutely love it and drag it around everywhere. It's weird that they don't tear it up because they tear everything else up they play with. How long ago was it that I made that pillow? Maybe five or six months? Remember this?

The back of it has the sundress material with the crochet edges and little buttons.

This picture of Little Boy is on my refrigerator. I always stop and stare at it. He was so cute. Those gorgeous lilacs were in my mom's backyard in Oklahoma.

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Barnaby is grilling hamburgers outside as I type this. He's bugging me to cut up some onion and tomatoes so I guess I'd better run.

We're having a fun weekend. Hope yours is good too. Bye.

Mmm Good!

Yep, it was good. My dumplings kind of disintegrated so that's why you see all the basil in it. I found the dumplings were much much better after it sat awhile. We ate it almost immediately after it was done, and the dumplings just kind of disappeared in your mouth instead of being more solid. So if you make it, let it sit 15 minutes or so after you make it before serving. But it's a keeper. I'll definitely make it again. (See previous entry for link to recipe.)

My neighbor has somebody over there working on their alarm system. It just went off and it was REALLY LOUD music! I've never heard an alarm that was music before. It sounded like music from Harry Potter or something...like witches and goblins should be flying around the house. That would really freak those burglars out, wouldn't it? It was weird but kind of cool too. I want one!

Crochet stuff:

Well, I started two different projects. Why do I do that? I must have CADD or something. That's Crochet Attention Deficit Disorder, in case you were wondering.

I started a star afghan yesterday that Carol sent me the pattern for. Thanks, Carol! I only got through the first color (it's a dark purple). If I told you what the other colors were going to be you'd say, "Yuck!" So I'm not going to tell you. I think they'll look good together, but you'll just have to wait and see.

And then last weekend...

I started the pineapple tablecloth. I got really far, didn't I? I decided to go ahead and use thread because it's just prettier. I also decided to go with red because I just like it. I just hope I'm able to figure out how to add more pineapple rows to make it bigger. If not, I guess I'll just have a giant 17-inch doily on my table. That would be okay too.

Maybe Rita will help me if I get stuck? (Hi, Rita!) Rita actually knows what she's doing.

Okay, I'm off to start my weekend early. My partner is handling the business today! Yay! Y'all have a great weekend.

Product Review & Some Squares

I made these two squares yesterday evening. I still couldn't decide what big project I wanted to do next, so I just did some squares. I do a couple of squares every now and then and throw them in a box. Some day I'll have enough for a scrappy blanket. I hated the colors I chose, but I just wanted to use up some of the yarn I had. Now that I've made them, I kinda like them! I can probably get at least four more with this color combination. Both patterns came out of a Leisure Arts book, "99 Granny Squares," square #12 and #14.

I had to go pick up a prescription at CVS yesterday, so I did some shopping while I was there. The main thing I wanted to show you was the make-up, but that's the one thing that doesn't show up well in the picture. But here's my product review anyway:

It's Neutrogena Healthy Skin cream powder make-up. I have very fair skin and got the next-to-the-lightest color, Blushing Ivory, and it's perfect. I was afraid the lightest one would look too chalky. I used it this morning and like it a lot. It goes on like a cream with a sponge that comes with it, and then it turns powdery. It was $11.99 at CVS. It's probably cheaper at Wal-Mart.

Then you can see a couple of hair clip thingies, a make-up bag, and some Deluxe Mixed Nuts. I love Deluxe Mixed Nuts. Yum. I just can't buy them all the time because I have no self-control when eating them.

Boon Pappy sent me THIS LINK yesterday. I'm making the chicken for Noni's Chicken & Dumplings as we speak. I know it's more cold weather food, but it sounds so good to me right now. I can't wait for supper tonight. I'll get pictures of the finished dish and let you know how it was. It looks like it's going to make a bunch so come on over. I'll set a place for you. Dinner is at 5:45. Come early and we'll chat while I make the dumplings.

Actually, you can chat and I'll just mostly listen. My voice isn't happy right now. As the Botox is wearing off and I'm getting my voice back more and more, I'm starting to get the spasms again. They're not as bad or painful because the muscle just isn't that strong yet, but they're there and make it uncomfortable, if not impossible, to have a conversation for longer than five minutes. I keep getting choked on my own saliva (sorry), and that makes me cough, and that inflames my vocal cords & those now itty-bitty granulomas. I'll probably end up going to get another round of Botox to give my cords a longer rest. I'm going to wait a few more days and see if it gets any worse or any better before I call the doc and see what he says.

If it was free, I wouldn't hesitate to run get it done pronto. But it costs me a pretty penny, even after the insurance, for the surgery center costs, procedure costs, anesthesia, etc. Do you know that every time he uses that scope to see my vocal cords it costs $925? My insurance pays most of that cost, but still. It takes less than one minute! That's outrageous! No wonder we have a healthcare crisis in this country. it's not the healthcare coverage that they should be focusing on; it's the outrageous medical costs. Don't get me started.

Y'all have a good one. Bye.

Gasp!

I am so sorry that I discovered this because it it TOO GOOD.

Coconut Ice Cream TO DIE FOR!

Open wide!

That picture makes me dizzy to look at. It's blurry isn't it? Or is it that I'm just delirious with the yummy, creamy, coconutty, goodness of it all?

It only comes in quart size, and it was all by itself in a weird side section of the ice cream aisle. I think there was another flavor, but I don't remember what it was because my eyes bugged out and I nearly fainted when I saw the coconut. Yes, I'm that much of an idiot over certain foods. Maybe I didn't nearly faint, but my mouth was definitely stuck open for too long...."Oooo, look! COCONUT ICE CREAM!" How embarrassing. I'm glad no one else was standing there or I would have knocked them out of the way clammoring for it.

Did y'all know that I love coconut? Now you do.

My little boy, Eli, is at the vet all of today, tonight, and half of tomorrow. He's being neutered and micro-chipped. I just called and they said he is very groggy but is awake and doing well. It sure is quiet around here!

Fiddle-Dee-Dee

Here's the potholder I made today. If you can't see the colors, it's sage green & brown. I used I Love This Cotton yarn in Camo Print. I love those colors together. It's a really thick potholder/hotpad because you make two and crochet them together. I got the pattern HERE in the kitchen section.

I've been eyeballing a large round pineapple doily today. I want to make it in cotton yarn as a tablecloth for my dining table. My dining table is round without the leaf in it, which is the way it stays most of the time unless I need a big space to work or block something or we're having company for dinner. I don't have a tablecloth I like for it, so I think I'll just make me one. It'll probably take me longer than I think, but whatever. I just love the way crocheted pineapple stuff looks, and it'll be a treasure when I'm finished. The pattern is 17 inches when crocheted in #10 thread, so I'm hoping it'll be perfect for my 48-inch dining table when crocheted with yarn instead. If not, I'm sure I can improvise if I need another row of pineapples.

Here's a picture of it:

Ain't it purdy? The pattern is HERE and that's where I got the picture too.

What color do y'all think I should make it? I really like the off-white color, but if I spilled something or somebody else spilled something, I'm afraid I might come unglued and make an ass of myself. We can't have that. Maybe black or red? I bet red would be beautiful and wouldn't clash with my brown dining room. Or I could just go ahead and make it off-white or white and get a piece of glass cut to fit exactly over my table? I wonder how much that would cost? It would probably be so heavy it would smash the design, huh? I don't really want to do that. I guess I need to think about it before I start.

I ended up either listening or watching Michael Jackson's funeral today totally by accident. It wasn't something I'd planned on doing, but when it came on and Maria Carey started singing, I just left it on. It ended up being pretty good overall.

I'm gonna go heat up some leftover penne pasta for my supper (so much for avoiding carbs!). Barnaby is golfing and won't be home until around 8:00-ish. I think Tori & Dean comes on tonight at 9:00. Other than that, I'm not sure what I'll do.

Ho-hum and fiddle-dee-dee. I have no idea what that means or why I said that, but "fiddle-dee-dee" always reminds me of Scarlet O'Hara. And green velvet always reminds me of that dress she made herself out of curtains.

I think I'm starting to ramble so I'd better go. Bye.

Banana Concrete & My Aching Head

I should have kept my mouth shut about not having a no-caffeine headache. The front of my head is about to blow off as I type this.

I made some banana bread a little while ago and it didn't rise. Grrrr. It's like a big block of banana concrete. Mmm!

Good news? The air conditioner man came and added a little coolant and cleaned stuff out a bit, and it was only $70. Yea!

Decaffeinated

Well, whether I want to be or not, I'm off the coffee. It just tastes terrible to me all of the sudden. Weird! I even cleaned my coffee machine inside and out, but it didn't make a difference. Hubby says it doesn't taste any different to him, so i guess it's just me. I never did get a no-caffeine headache either. Double-weird! I have been drinking iced tea, but not enough to make up for all the caffeine in the amount of coffee I was drinking.


For about the last two weeks I've noticed that smell of smoke a lot more often. (I explained all of that in an entry many moons ago HERE.) I've always had it occasionally since that first year, but it's been noticeably more prevalent lately. I wonder if that has anything to do with my taste buds? It would make sense, but it's never happened before. Or maybe the Botox injections in my vocal cord muscles had some weird effect on my taste buds?

I'm not crocheting anything at the moment. I keep changing my mind about what I want to do. It'll come to me eventually. In the meantime, I've organized my yarn stash (again) and have just been sitting here not doing anything. It's been a whole ONE DAY. Ha-ha. I guess it's not a crisis yet.

I haven't cooked or baked anything of note lately. Barnaby cooked a pork loin on the grill yesterday, and oh my lordie was it good. I made some 90-second Uncle Ben's rice in the microwave and heated up a can of seasoned French-style green beans to go with it. I know. Don't put yourself out, Pam. But it was a good Sunday dinner even though it took absolutely no effort on my part. And Saturday I just threw together some penne pasta and store-bought sauce, mixed with some Italian diced tomatoes and some herbs and spices.

We did absolutely nothing out of the ordinary over the holiday weekend. We didn't even make it to the mall to people-watch like I'd planned. I think we made one trip to Wal-mart, mostly for groceries.

An air conditioning man is supposed to come today to give our unit the once-over and make sure everything is okay with it. It's been working its ass off in this 104-degree heat, and we just want to make sure everything is as it should be. After he leaves, I need to runs some errands and pick up a few things at Target.

Are you green with envy at my exciting life yet? Didn't think so. But do you see how I made those words green to keep it interesting for you? I'm just a giver like that.

Tootles.

Cocobay Shawl

Cocobay Shawl

Pattern by Doris Chan

I finally finished this shawl tonight! I had to rip out two rows earlier today because I screwed it up. This one seemed to take longer than the cream colored one for some reason. It is a little bigger, but not much.

For this one I used Caron Spa yarn in Ocean Spray and Rose Blush for the contrasting colors. The main color is taupe, but I couldn't find the Caron Spa in that color, so I had to use a substitute. I chose to use Hobby Lobby's I love This Cotton in Taupe. Because of the change in yarn, this one doesn't hang as beautifully as the other one, but it's still really pretty. The cotton yarn is heavier and thicker than the Caron Spa.

Changes I made to the pattern: I made it shorter than the pattern because I really liked the length of the All Shawl that I made previously. I added another panel making it wider, and I also changed the last row of the edging the same as I did for the All Shawl.