Hola, Casimiro!

We've added another orange item to the compendium.

He's about 5, has some flame-point Siamese in him, and his name is Casimiro.
We didn't know it at the outset, but it's a colloquialism for cross-eyed, which he is, a bit.
He's also had a failed eyelid surgery, so his left lower lid rolls in a bit, and we'll have to get that fixed.
Perfect pet for an ophthalmic tech, but he isn't really mine.....

 

She chose him, and he chose her.

 As you can see, Spot is absolutely thrilled with this new addition. He's had cats before, and has been terrifically blase' about having a feline in the house. Good dog.

 In case you're wondering, he's missing a bit of ear because he was feral (yeah, right, he's a marshmallow) and was rounded up and neutered before someone got him into the system. We think it adds a certain je ne sais quois, gives him a bit of mystery.

He's really not orange, he's a peach.

Merry Christmas, all.

vegebles

Our girlie is a vegetarian. Not a militant one, and she has made exceptions over the years (beef jerky....). She's 17 (OMG) and prepping for her college career. She has a subscription to Vegetarian Times and we look over the recipes and sometimes make them.

Last night, she had a friend over. I made a riff on the Roasted Cauliflower Chilequiles -- made as a large casserole with pepper jack cheese. Her friend stayed to dinner--I have not fed teenage boys often, but they inhaled it. I liked it, too!

Mister Smartypants is not able to deal with cow cheese. I had pulled a recipe for Beef/Bean tacos from the recent Costco mag, and adapted it thusly for the three of us tonight: (no photos, sorry, we inhaled them)

1 shallot
2 tbsp olive oil
2 smallish yellow tomatoes (a bit larger than golf balls)
1 can Trader Joe's Fat-Free refried beans
1 can Trader Joe's black beans
1 roasted Hatch chile (peeled, seeded, chopped--a small can would work if you don't have any frozen from the summer bounty at Whole Foods)
1 pkg 12 Trader Joe's taco shells
Pepper jack/cheddar (shredded)
Goat cheese crumbles

Garnishes; salsas, lettuce, radishes, guacamole, whatever floats your boat.

Preheat oven to 350. Warm the oil and add the shallot and tomato. Add the refried and black beans and stir to mix. Add the green chile and let warm, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.

Place the taco shells in a 13 x 9 x 2 pan. I put them in a long line and then set 3 off to the side in order to keep the cheeses separate.
Spoon the bean mixture into the shells and top with cheese (whichever). Pop into oven for 10 minutes.

Prep desired garnish--we used leftover salad chopped fine, radishes (ditto) and guacamole (Costco's individual cups of Good Foods Tableside guac is superb). Grab from oven, and give everyone a bowl (in order to catch the good stuff that falls out). Allow folks to dress their tacos, then put on a Late Night with Craig Ferguson show that you've taped and dig in.

Voila! A quick, reasonably healthy veggie meal that we all enjoyed!

Orange ya glad to see me?

Everybody has these, don't they?

My favorite Christmas presents from my mom some years ago--I use the i-pod daily and the mug is my special "Saturday-lounge -around-drinking-lattes" container.

M's hat. Too small for me, but I love it anyway.

A well-used oven mitt made by Miss M many, many years ago.

My beloved riff on the Stormcloud shawlette.

My version of Nest.

Pants!!!

A gift from my girlie.

My phone.

My favorite spectacles....Dutz makes such desirable frames...

This is a long intro, but stay with me just a minute more. Our family car, purchased new and custom-built in 2002, has recently gone into decline. She began aging gracelessly about 6 months ago, and is picking up speed. There was the big issue with brake problems which resulted in our parking brake sticking "just a bit".  She conked out on the DH while he was waaaaay south working, and he took her to a shop, had some work done, and then had the same problems recur. Our shop checked and found that some of the fault was in the parts, some in the labor. GAH. Bizarre actions recently include all warning lights lit on our trip back from Vancouver; ABS, brakes, engine light, airbags--and all the electrics were out until we got home, shut it off, and turned it over again. Then it was fine.

Mr. Smartypants and I are not amused.

As a family of three drivers, we knew we needed a more reliable vehicle. We thought long and hard, looked at our options, and realized that we were going to have to return to the world of monthly car payments.

Since there was no avoiding the unpleasant part, we decided we'd make it as palatable as possible.

Meet our new car.

2012 Dodge Challenger, barely over 10K on the odometer.

a buncha pictures

 

A bad phone photo of a gorgeous patch of water. I want fabric made that looks like this.

Here's a scarf I made with wonderful yarn. Ravelry project page here.

 

M was supposed to take pictures of fractals. This was a backsplash at IKEA.

 

Recently the white car overheated when Mr. Smartypants was at a gig about an hour south of here. We went to get it last weekend and it wasn't ready. We consoled ourselves with another meal from here. Mmm.

Can you believe this was taken from a $5 seat? Way. 

I like the Mariner's stadium, even if they aren't my team.

 

M hates this picture. I love it. This is what's left after making some roasted tomatoes.

 

The cherry and plum trees are losing their flowers, but they sure were pretty.

 

And finally, we were absolutely crushed when we realized that we found this sign after the event had already passes us by.....

That's all!

It might as well be Spring...

I'm wondering if y'all know Emily? She's the bees knees. She's the official Dishcloth Diva in my humble estimation. With her encouragement, I've played a few rounds of Dishrag Tag. I've also marveled at her wonderful, whimsical animal patterns, and her adorable Ellie.

She's put together a Springtime Swap, and here's what the very kind Jennifer M sent my way!

Some zingy cotton yarn, a triptych of dishcloth patterns, and treats for me and my Spot-the-dog! Thanks so much, Jennifer! You are generous and thoughtful, and I wish you good knitting!

I'm a bit slower, my swap box heads out to NC today. My girlie is off to the theatre again today for her finale as Feste. It goes without saying that she's magnificent. She has the twinkly eyes and mischievous grin (with dimples) requisite for a fool...........so proud I am!

Enjoy the last bit of weekend!

A lovely day

Mr. Smartypants had a gig today. I got to come along. I love watching him run a sound board. That combined with the artist being as genuinely talented, kind and gentle as I'd ever imagined has me still in the clouds.

The delightful Dan Zanes.






Apres show nosh here

Started a hat for me with the thrice-frogged yet still delicious Noro I'd purchased many, many moons ago. It's going to be wicked cool.

Hope that your Saturday has been full of wonder.

MiddleMarch

Let's see. What's going on around here? Miss M is preparing for a college tour with her uncle--they'll use her spring break and get an idea about several far-flung (and a few not-so-far-flung) schools. I'm giddy and nervous and thrilled for her. I think it was a great idea to do this now so that she's really got some good groundwork for next year when it all becomes frighteningly REAL. She's also deep in rehearsals for a production of Twelfth Night in which she plays the fool for several performances. I'm nearly as proud as when she scored the role of A Drunkard in Tempest a few years back.

Mr. Fix-It has succumbed to the dreaded plague that is rolling around the Northwest. I think it's carried in the rain as most everyone has had one form or another. He's stoically working through it and trying hard to rest and recoup. He's recently turned his talents to the repair of a small RC helicopter, and we are waiting out the precipitation to give it a fair go.

Our 18th anniversary is tomorrow. Himself let me choose the date way back when, and I figured what the hell? Not that 18 years of marriage isn't enough reason to raise a glass, but hey, as a Murphy, I'm somewhat honor-bound to celebrate the day in as many ways as can be done!

The hound spaniel is all done with his long course of meds. He misses the steroids, but we are happy not to have him constantly begging underfoot in the now-slip-proof kitchen. His back legs are weaker, but he's getting around. Needs a haircut, but that is a large undertaking that I am not prepared to tackle on this day of rest.

I'm nearly done with a hat for M. Actually committed the cardinal sin of thinking I had enough yarn for a project and running out several rows short. Have been waiting for it to come in at the LYS and will check on it today. Also picked up a cool book at the library, Knitting for Warm Weather. Would have served me well in AZ, but it has a lovely little leafy scarf pattern that I've been noodling with anyhow. Hoping to sit at the sewing machine later and play.

We're kicking around ideas for our next destination. If the girl winds up in California, it will likely be northern, and although I have no objection there, himself says Nevada is as close as he'll go. We'll see. If she heads east, we may be moving to colder climes. I know that I've got the chops to find something at the Cleveland Clinic, but I'd really like the next move to result in a different line of work.  Don't know what yet, but I'll figure it out.

February, adieu.

Mr. Spot continues to improve. *huge sigh of relief*  Miss M even convinced a school chum who has an old, ailing pup to get a vet's help--turns out he had the same thing! Ye gods!


For Valentine's Day, my wonderful mister gave me a lovely little orange vase and some really beige carpet for the kitchen. The carpet prevents dogsliding on the faux-Pergo floor. I lurve my man.

The girlie and I had a splendid evening in town recently; shopping at thrift shops, dining, and seeing Spamalot!

I have finished her leg warmers (please, not more K1P1 for a while, thanks) and snapped photos, but the legs that should be in them are off at Twelfth Night rehearsal just now. Update soon on Ravelry page.

Himself and I enjoyed "The Monuments Men" very much last eve, and tonight have stuffed ourselves on dry-aged top sirloin and a tasty salad.

I spent the afternoon with my dear MIL, playing with my new Singer 6180 Brilliance sewing machine! She is a sewing goddess, and I got the machine in Canada at Christmas and just haven't had time to play with it until now! I forsee several pairs of neatly hemmed work slacks appearing this week, and a recurrence in my stuffed animal (softies) creation soon.....

January, get thee gone

O my people, what a week, what a week.

• Mr. Spot had a horrible sudden onset of  (and I kid you not with this name), "Old dog vestibular disease". Essentially, it's vertigo. He'd had a small attack a few weeks ago and I thought it was a seizure, but he bounced back in about 15 minutes. Then a week ago, he couldn't stand. Big shout out to Seattle Veterinary Specialists and their fantastic 24/7 crew. He's on motion sickness meds, steroids and antibiotics, and is rapidly improving. Still has a bit of the drunken sailor in his walk, but the tail is wagging again. This dog is amazing.
• Work has become quite schizophrenic. New boss is a winner, hands down, but has a big learning curve. Upper-upper management is leaning on us to get 6000 things done per day, all the while seeming to brush aside the fact that we have patients to care for while still short-staffed. I think Mark Knopfler sings it best. (Wait for the chorus)
• Miss M has her hands full with school (finals) and shows (Singin' in the Rain and 12th Night coming up) and teens behaving teen-ishly. She's fighting a cold and being a trouper.
• Mr. Smartypants has been trying to help me keep it together, working his two jobs and building a ramp for the dog (who won't use it) and postponing and postponing a lovely dinner out with his folks. That, fortunately, will be remedied this evening. He's also a trouper.
• I have fallen far behind in a knitalong that I'm still very excited about, despite the fact that my stitch count veered off-course just at the end of the first clue. Will begin to remedy that today and try to catch up with my dear Princess Caspian across the sea!

We made it through, and here's what M and I did this morning for therapy:

These are destined for our lovely neighbors. We have a back and forth baking exchange with them. A sweet young couple and their two adorable wee girlies (one is so wee that Miss M suggested a naked doughnut to be safe--clever, ain't she?). This Winnie-the-Pooh plate is ALWAYS used as the designated serving vessel--it was Miss M's when she was wee, and the lasses next door are muchly in lurve with it.

Thanks, Saturday, I really was counting the days till you got here.

It's not 2013 anymore!

I generally prefer odd numbers. Last year, however, had an inordinate amount of dumb stuff in it--enough to make me pleased to greet the even-numbered annum. I'm going to toss up a few things here since I haven't fed the blog much of late. Please feel free to ask if you have any questions, and enjoy the non-2013-ness, everyone!