Lest anyone think that Harriet was the only one who enjoyed the package from Canadia, Pandora would like to demonstrate just one of the ways in which a cat can show her appreciation of boxes.
Month: April 2007
“It’s people!”
While I was watching The Amazing Race[1] last night, I noticed something amusing during one of the commercials. Thanks to the magic of DVR, I was able to rewind it and get the exact wording:
…Patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers.
So if you are eating elderly people, lay off the Celebrex!
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[1] I was sad to see Uchenna and Joyce go. They have been favorites of mine since the first time they were on the show. Why, oh why, couldn’t it have been Charla and Mirna? They make my ears bleed. I cringe when they start talking to anyone they think isn’t fluent in English–their pidgin English and exaggerated accents are painful and embarrassing.
Doodle
5 5/8 x 7 1/2 inches
gel pen on 90lb Stonehenge paper
Miss Brown’s Easter Basket
Miss Brown received a care package from her Auntie Darla in Canadia. I was a meanypants and didn’t let her open it until Easter. I could have made her wait until her birthday next week, but I’m not that mean.
And, so, I give you The Devil and Miss Brown, a play in one act.
It’s Here!
What’s in the boxxxxxxx?!
Cannot blink my glowy eyes of dqqm. Cannot take glowy eyes of dqqm off rawhide.
Chewing…
Still chewing…
Meanwhile, Bad Cuz has a date with the camera. His little devil horns are seriously cute.
Bad Cuz is joined by Mr. Hockey Ball.
Bad Cuz and Mr. Hockey Ball are joined by Cookies.
Miss Brown spies Bad Cuz on the dining room table.
Miss Brown approaches for a closer look.
Miss Brown seizes the moment and absconds with Bad Cuz.
Miss Brown repairs to her boudoir with the dashing Bad Cuz.
Spring Cleaning
Vines Engulfing Fence Post 22 April 2006
I think I’m just about finished with spring cleaning. I stumbled across this template (apologies for the periodic ugliness a few days ago), and I really like it. The last one wasn’t exactly what I was looking for aesthetically, and it was missing some important functionality (like a calendar). I had to do some very minor rearranging of the current template, but it was actually pretty close to perfect straight out of the box. All I did was add my StatCounter button, drop in the header links, and swap around the sidebar content into more logical groupings.
And, miracle of miracles, it appears to work properly in IE, and it looks fine at both 1024 x 768 and 1280 x 1024 screen resolutions. The real test will be whether or not it will properly handle wrapping short amounts of text around tall, vertical images. The last, ill-fated template did not like the float tag.
Alas, neither does this one. Damn! Using it runs the current post into the previous post, with all sorts of wacky-wrapping and whatnot. So, I’ll replace it with a photo from last spring. It’s amazing how early everything bloomed this spring, and comparing last spring’s photos, I see it’s not just my imagination. We’re a full month ahead of where we were at this time last year. Scary!
Breadmaking
I love homemade bread, but I don’t often have the patience to make it entirely by hand. I’m also not in love with the stuff that comes out of bread machines. It’s too dense and too dry, and it’s often crumbly. But, I’m on an extra tight budget this month, so I got out the bread machine in lieu of buying bread.
Tip 1: I experimented a bit, and discovered that adding a little extra water (or a little less flour), omitting the powdered milk that most recipes seem to call for, substituting olive oil for butter, and upping the salt a bit, results in an airy, moist bred with a crisp crust. Very nearly delightful.
The only problem–and it’s a minor one–is that the initial blending needs a little bit of assistance. Because of the increased ratio of water:flour, the paddle won’t be able to gather everything together into a ball on its own. A couple of minutes with a wooden spoon, pushing flour from the corners toward the moving paddle, is all it takes to get things on track. After the dough comes together, the paddle should be able to knead it on its own.
Tip 2: When making whole wheat bread in the bread machine, stop the machine after the first knead/rest period, then restart the cycle from the beginning. The extra kneading will help develop the gluten, and will result in a softer, less crumbly bread.
Mr. Grill
Sometime after the Bumpases moved in, early last winter, a sad little pod-shaped grill popped up under one of the trees in front of my building. Coincidence? Unlikely. There he’s sat, all winter, forlorn and rusting. I’m surprised that the grounds folks haven’t thrown him away, since he’s in the common area in front of the building, and not where a grill ought to be.
Imagine my surprise, when coming home, to find that not only had they mowed the grass (at 30F!), but that poor Mr. Grill had been evicted from his cozy spot under the cedar tree and left sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. I wonder how long he’ll stay there?
Cheap Entertainment
If you are looking for an amusing way to waste time, check out Conservapedia‘s random page generator. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, it’s simultaneously better and worse than Cats.
Who else could distill Athenian democracy down to five sentences?
Tangent Alert!
I think I mentioned recently that, while in the shower, I couldn’t remember whether or not I’d already just washed my hair? Well, I had a similar experience this morning. As I was putting shampoo on my hair, I suddenly realized that I’d already washed it. Twice. Third time’s a charm, right?
April Showers
Storm Clouds over Business/SPEA 3 April 2007 3:30pm
Until today, all the good spring storms had happened overnight. This was the view from where I work at about 3:30. There was a ton of lightning, too, but not of the sort you can photograph. It’s still rumbly outside, and I noticed, as I was driving home, that there were washy sections across the road, where there’d been some minor flash flooding. I have to say that it’s very nice to be living in town, away from overhanging trees, and where I don’t have to drive very far to get home from work. My storm anxiety is almost non-existent now, which is very, very cool.
Department of Complaints Department
It’s supposed to get up to 78F today, with storms late in the afternoon. Tonight, the low is supposed to be 28F. It was a little chilly last night (I’m guessing it was about 50F when I got up). Too cool for a fan, but too warm not to have it on. Unfortunate, because the fan provides white noise, which masks some of the weird, random sounds that come from upstairs during the night.
Which brings me to my complaint o’ the day. Why, oh why, is it necessary for Mr. Upstairs to practice scales at 4am? Up-up-up-up-up, down-down-down-down-down. I usually get up at 4:30, so I didn’t appreciate being waked up a half hour early by him plunking on the keyboard. And stomping in time with the, um, “music.” That went on until I left at 5:45.
He’s also added an early evening session of step aerobics to his routine, of which I approve in theory (exercise is good!) but cannot abide in practice (step aerobics is noisy!).
I’m going to have to complain to the management folks. I don’t want to. Really, really, really, I don’t. I have a feeling that the guy has bigger issues than just being an asshole, and it’s probably not fair to expect him to have any concept of what constitutes socially acceptable behavior. But, damnit, he’s driving me to tears!
In other crazy neighbor news, a new tenant moved into the apartment above the Bumpases. He’s got a cute little white Pit Bull, but she’s an obnoxious pain in the ass. He left her out on the balcony most of the day on Sunday, and she bark-bark-barked at every little thing. And when I took Harriet out for her afternoon potty break, she snarled and growled and flung herself at the balcony railing, trying to get to Harriet. Not good. She’s up on the third floor, and I’d hate to see her fall. I also think she’s awfully young to be exhibiting that level of dog aggression, even for a Pit Bull. They usually don’t get snarky until they’re a year or two old, and this girl is maybe 4-5 months old.
red paper boat 