On ice

I'm not suggesting that it is my doing, but all of my wishes put out there for a lovely snow day came true! No reporting to work, a chance to sleep in on a week day, coffee, cooking, eating, overeating, watching television, cuddling with critters, catching up on projects around the house & listening to oldies. Bonus: no loss of power. Winter perfection. I am 100% content.

Because of the weather, we couldn't go to Delta Exhibition Friday evening to visit with Kat & see our Habitat photo. Perhaps I can talk ATM into driving me tomorrow to look at it? We also couldn't go to Ft. Smith to pay our dad a visit. DARN!

Ghost town. JFK Blvd., yesterday @ 5:15 p.m.:



We weren't the only lurkers about:

Camelias are in bloom! I love the bursts of color that are hidden away in the garden:



Animal prints:

Convoluted chicken dance:




We finally got around to hanging up Lauren's art piece in the dining room. It is where it is supposed to be:



Naturally, we aren't anywhere near done with how we want our home to be, but it is definitely feeling more cozy & filled out around here. I've really been enjoying our house during this snowy, cold weather.

Latest photo of our living room:

Needs drapes! And art! And bookshelves! At the moment, we're holding out for antique barrister bookshelves for our ever-growing book collection. We've got books stacked throughout the house and behind the couch. I am eager to put them in their place.

Pretty neat lamp:

There are, seemingly, a billion projects that are contingent on other projects being complete before we can start, so that really slows things down to a near grinding halt. It took me a minute after moving in to figure that, ha!, it takes TIME & MONEY to get things done. Imagine that! Whenever we do complete a project, though, I appreciate it that much more. I sit here and wonder what we'll do next. I really have no idea! Probably more painting? It would be ideal to get drapes because it's been cold out & I feel it'll help keep the heat in.

Sometimes I skip (a lot of) steps & think about future projects. Like stenciling a whole wall. The living room is most definitely deserving of this treatment because the walls are big & blank. But, I think I would like it in our bedroom, too. Speaking of which, our poor bedroom. doesn't get very much attention. It is very lucky if we get around to making the bed (Ahem, ATM!), but I guess since it's not the public space of the house, it gets neglected. But, I would very much like to make it a nice little spot for ourselves. I was just telling ATM that whenever we finally get our Kushmaul painting, we should hang it in our bedroom. We'd have to have a lovely boudoir if we wanted company in there to view the painting, yes?

From Ed Roth's Stencil 101 Decor, which I currently have in my possession. This photo, which I may very well rip off, exemplifies the type of stenciling I would appreciate in my home. Subtle, but gives texture:


I read in the current issue Cook's Illustrated that mushrooms past their prime lend a heartier flavor to whatever dish you're making. This is useful knowledge because sometimes I can forget about those white buttons in the back of the fridge there. Obviously don't use them if they smell fermented or are slimy. Otherwise, do it to it! I made a terrific Hungarian mushroom soup for lunch today:




Time for cats! This photo is hilarious because Hot Dog is touching SOLO. He so desperately wants to be liked by her, but it just ain't gonna happen.

Window licker:

Close-eyed!

Does not care, wants to be left alone. Frankly, it's heartbreaking because she used to sleep with us every night. Now she sleeps in the guest room by a drafty window. This new independent streak, no doubt, is because of Hot Dog, but surely she'll come around? No? Don't know what to do about jealous older cat.:

The offending SOB:


We've got a lot coming up: Tet is next weekend. So is Super Bowl. I am 80% certain we are hosting and I have every intention of setting up a grilled cheese sandwich bar. Oh, yes. Several kinds of cheese, a few types of bread, butter, garlic butter. I may have to make a pot of tomato soup for dipping, too. I hope that maybe just maybe the Peeks will be able to venture out? It would be nice to have company over here!

Valentine's Day is approaching & I really don't care, but this year is special because it is a three-day weekend for me! Thank you, President's Day! I really hope ATM is off. Maybe we can go to Hot Springs & wager on some ponies? Friends reading this: let's go!

Also, the winter Olympics are nigh upon us, too. I'm a fan! I'm NOT a fan of the Olympic bosses not allowing women to ski jump. Ridiculous! They say they are just looking after our ovaries. Puh-lease! STFU! I think it's because, like soccer, women would rule the sport if we just had the freaking chance!

Introductions

Last night, I got to meet the newest member of our ever-growing extended family, Miss LP:

I felt a delightful fuzziness when I first laid eyes on her. All that we visitors could do was give each other huge grins.

With mom:


With dad:


The adoring lot of us:


Long legs!


No more pictures, please!



I think it's pretty safe to say that we are all in love with her & her parents.

Action!

A perfect lighting scheme achieved.

This past weekend, we went to IKEA in Frisco, TX. It wasn't a well-documented trip, but I do love the three photos I took:

Right, this isn't our classiest moment, but here are our feelings on Texas, our motel room, and Texas, mentioned again for good measure:

ATM said he found this thing in the "as is" section. Huh huh:

Sometimes I wonder about my priorities because my favorite purchase is this kitty cat tent. It was the first thing assembled, natch:

The helper got stuck:

So, we bought a total of five lamps. We quite accidentally achieved a perfect lighting scheme. I don't think anyone can understand the beauty & importance of this until they have it. Also, we have the most beautiful, magical lights in the land! Orbs! I adore this floor lamp:

New chair is SOLO approved. That's all I ever want, really:

I need to take better photos of our new goods for posting. Oh, and if you find yourself in Plano & you do not want to eat the usual Tex-Mex or anything Texan, we know a quality Indian restaurant to recommend.

Oh! I've to brag on both SOLO & Hot Dog! 1. SOLO has been going out of doors UNACCOMPANIED for a few weeks now! There is only one bad thing about this: she knows how to pull on the screen door just right where it sounds like someone is banging on the front door, which is terrifying at 1:30 a.m. 2. We've weaned the two off the litter box. We've not had a single problem. It is so great!

Cats! Kitties! Felines!

Happy Birthday, ZSR!

21 Jan 2010

Leggo!

Sat., Jan. 16 - Mon., Jan. 18, 2010 -- we got results this weekend!

Do we all feel this way? Whenever we cook something and it turns out to be the best you ever had? That's how I feel about these waffles. We ran out and bought a waffle iron just to fulfill this craving and I'm so glad we did. That's what Saturday is for! The waffles were so light in weight and crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Thank you, St. Martha, for the recipe:



After that hearty breakfast, I finished more light switch plates for the laundry room. I'm getting better at making them, so I may have to go back and redo first edition plates. The key to perfection is a hot glue gun:

I installed, all by myself, one of the smoke alarms. No help! I did bungle the other one, though. Not only is ATM going to have to install it, he has to patch the lovely hole I made, too! Stop helping!

ATM finished painting the laundry room. The yellow hue was cheerful & sunshiney, but with all of the doggie paw prints and smudges, it looked awful dingy. Now it's fresh and clean clean. We have a very grown up laundry room, I think:

At the Tree of Knowledge's annual Breakfast, Books & Booze sale (Locals, you must attend this next time around!), I finally scored Swallow Me Whole by native North Little Rocker (& friend!) Nate Powell. I read it in one sitting & it haunts me still, days later. It is a fantastic graphic novel & comes highly recommended!


ATM made biscuits! I think this is the first time I've documented his cooking ability. I like mine with strawberry preserves, he prefers his with blackstrap molasses:

For this year's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we volunteered with City Year @ the Rose City Boys & Girls Club. While we got to work with very sweet & motivated people, we were all a little put off by CY's organizational skills, our team leader, and the project we were assigned to. We were to build a cubby shelf for the Boys & Girls Club of Jacksonville. I was really excited because this would be my introduction to woodworking. We were led to a stack of pre-cut lumber; all of the boards were poorly measured & cut. They would not work for the dimensions they asked for, unfortunately. There were no saws of any kind to correct the mistakes, so we just did the best we could. I believe we did a damn fine job. I just really hate that we're giving sweet little things such a poorly built shelf that will give them splinters.

ATM, master hammerer. And, yes, the appropriate footwear for such a project is flip flops.

See? Not the worst thing ever! And this is A LOT of work, by the way. It inspired me to want to build our own shelves. A lot of it has to do with good measurements!

I don't know, I think we will take our volunteerism elsewhere next year. I don't know with whom or what, but that experience was less than satisfying. I don't want to just log in a few hours and call it a day, I want to do a project through completion AND it be a job well done. I feel that CY just wants the quantity, not the quality. You know, "another job done by City Year!". So not my style. Ugh, thinking back on it irritates me.

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I have so much going on around me, it's hard to keep up with & to document. I think I need to take a staycation, for lack of a better word, but in the realest sense. No obligations, just do as I please, even if it includes not blogging. Which I feel I haven't been doing anyway. Full circle, I have so much going on around me, it's hard to keep up with & to document.

Tomorrow I am meeting Luca. Who? Keiko & Rett's newest family member! She was born on January 16, 2010. I cannot tell you how delighted I am to finally meet her & to visit with her parents and her sister, Negi. I'm a crazy good (self-appointed) Auntie! I'm sorry that I haven't written about our newest family member sooner, but I wanted to give the new parents space in every sense, including the interwebs.

On Friday, we'll get to see our Habitat photo IN A MUSEUM. Thrilling!

This is not the official Habitat photo, but Kat sent me this yesterday:

We will see the 'official' photograph later this month. I *think* we might be a part of Kat's exhibit @ the Arts Center. I'll know more eventually.

RIP Jay Jay

I hate this so much.