They have branched out from turkey/cheese or PBJ. Apparently, my lunches were "boring." Bad Grandma introduced them to the wonders of Peanut Butter and Pickle. I'm not sure which is better: the taste, or the girl-gross-out factor.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Obsolete Mother
The Hooligans have been making their own lunches every day. If I were getting paid, the next question would be "What for?"
They have branched out from turkey/cheese or PBJ. Apparently, my lunches were "boring." Bad Grandma introduced them to the wonders of Peanut Butter and Pickle. I'm not sure which is better: the taste, or the girl-gross-out factor.
They have branched out from turkey/cheese or PBJ. Apparently, my lunches were "boring." Bad Grandma introduced them to the wonders of Peanut Butter and Pickle. I'm not sure which is better: the taste, or the girl-gross-out factor.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Really? That good?
"Smiling Mighty Jesus...I have seen the second coming -- he came in a vision, a vision I had after the first bite of that heavenly enchilada! ..... oh lordy oh lordy.! sinfully good"
Wow. That's quite an email. And "Smiling Mighty Jesus" might become my new favorite exclamation. My neighbors are moving to a house around the corner (so they will still be my neighbors. Yay! Change is bad.) I made a double recipe of enchiladas yesterday so I could bring one over. Cooking is impossible in the kerfuffle of moving. I guess they liked them. And I know they were hungry.
I pretty much made this one up, but the real reason it's good is a jar of Sweet Creek mild enchilada sauce. ( sweetcreekfoods.com ) I've tried to make red sauces and moles from scratch many times. I've repressed my natural urge to deviate and followed directions carefully....with no success. Too sweet, too spicy, too salty...... This jar kind is so much better. And it's local (if you live in Oregon) and organic, no preservatives, blah blah (OK Michael Pollan? I'm trying. Stop guilt-tripping me. You too, Barbara Kingsolver. Go weed your garden or something. Get out of my brain.). So I feel ok about endorsing (for free) a product from a jar. Here is the (double) recipe:
2 big sweet potatoes, peeled, chopped, boiled until tender
2 cans black beans, drained
2 onions, chopped and sauted until translucent
3/4ths package Cotjia cheese, crumbled,
minced stems of one bunch cilantro
minced 1/4th of a red cabbage
Juice of one lime
big pinch of ground cumin
mix all this stuff up in a big bowl. If it seems dry, add a splash of beer (Corona or Pacifico are thematic), stock, or water. If you like your enchiladas gooey, add a cup or so of grated jack or cheddar.
meanwhile, soften 24 (or so) small corn tortillas by frying with butter or oil. If the torts are dry and brittle, add a couple of tablespoons of water, to steam them a little. I used the same pan as the onions.
Butter 2 baking dishes, I used 9x13 lasagne pans. Coat the bottom with 1/4th cup of the enchilada sauce. Fill each tort with handful of the bean/sweet potato stuffing. Squeeze the filled tort into a tube and lay them side by side until the pans are full. Drizzle with the rest of the sauce, the remaining cheese, and the cilantro leaves. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350. I used one jar of sauce between the two pans, but I think one whole jar for each would have been better. Serve with sour cream and avocado slices, plus additional Hot Sauce, for those who like it. The Man Who Lives in My House likes Cholula.
If you have a foolproof red sauce or mole sauce recipe, please send it my way!
Wow. That's quite an email. And "Smiling Mighty Jesus" might become my new favorite exclamation. My neighbors are moving to a house around the corner (so they will still be my neighbors. Yay! Change is bad.) I made a double recipe of enchiladas yesterday so I could bring one over. Cooking is impossible in the kerfuffle of moving. I guess they liked them. And I know they were hungry.
I pretty much made this one up, but the real reason it's good is a jar of Sweet Creek mild enchilada sauce. ( sweetcreekfoods.com ) I've tried to make red sauces and moles from scratch many times. I've repressed my natural urge to deviate and followed directions carefully....with no success. Too sweet, too spicy, too salty...... This jar kind is so much better. And it's local (if you live in Oregon) and organic, no preservatives, blah blah (OK Michael Pollan? I'm trying. Stop guilt-tripping me. You too, Barbara Kingsolver. Go weed your garden or something. Get out of my brain.). So I feel ok about endorsing (for free) a product from a jar. Here is the (double) recipe:
2 big sweet potatoes, peeled, chopped, boiled until tender
2 cans black beans, drained
2 onions, chopped and sauted until translucent
3/4ths package Cotjia cheese, crumbled,
minced stems of one bunch cilantro
minced 1/4th of a red cabbage
Juice of one lime
big pinch of ground cumin
mix all this stuff up in a big bowl. If it seems dry, add a splash of beer (Corona or Pacifico are thematic), stock, or water. If you like your enchiladas gooey, add a cup or so of grated jack or cheddar.
meanwhile, soften 24 (or so) small corn tortillas by frying with butter or oil. If the torts are dry and brittle, add a couple of tablespoons of water, to steam them a little. I used the same pan as the onions.
Butter 2 baking dishes, I used 9x13 lasagne pans. Coat the bottom with 1/4th cup of the enchilada sauce. Fill each tort with handful of the bean/sweet potato stuffing. Squeeze the filled tort into a tube and lay them side by side until the pans are full. Drizzle with the rest of the sauce, the remaining cheese, and the cilantro leaves. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350. I used one jar of sauce between the two pans, but I think one whole jar for each would have been better. Serve with sour cream and avocado slices, plus additional Hot Sauce, for those who like it. The Man Who Lives in My House likes Cholula.
If you have a foolproof red sauce or mole sauce recipe, please send it my way!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Mrs. Brady's Hi-Fi
$49
Appeared to be in working condition.
I had room in my van.
But not in my house.
And I don't have any LPs.
Or reel-to-reel thingys.
But what if you took out all the innards and installed a flat screen on the underside of that lid?
You could close the lid and serve cocktails.
You could open the lid and watch Pillow Talk with Rock Hudson & Doris Day.
Rock and Doris would approve.
The speakers are built in.
It belongs in a long low sputnick era 50s rancher.
I live in a 1920s stucco casa.
I restrained myself.
It's at the Value Village in Springfield, Oregon. If you buy it, send me a picture.
Archeology whilst groundskeeping
This weekend we were granted a tiny respite between downpours. In between soccer games I frantically mowed and edged and pruned and weeded and raked. It was more like hacking back the encroaching primeval forest than gardening. Gardening implies fun: planting things and picking flowers while wearing a sundress and straw hat. This was groundskeeping: I got blisters and splinters despite my burly new gloves. I got sweaty and filthy. I touched worms and slugs (eeuw). There may still be twigs and leaves in my hair. I filled up two yard debris bins. Boy do I hate blackberries and morning glory.
BUT! I made a discovery which may or may not influence our thinking about our hooligan predecessors. I may be touted as the famous groundskeeper/archeologist. Behold!
BUT! I made a discovery which may or may not influence our thinking about our hooligan predecessors. I may be touted as the famous groundskeeper/archeologist. Behold!
These artifacts indicate that my backyard has been home to hooligan barbarian tribes in the distant (last summer!) past.
WWMBD? That stands for What Would Mrs. Brady Do? Throw it all away? Make the Hooligans wash it off and put it away? Donate all their toys to charity? Perhaps I will impose sanctions. They are old enough to wrangle the push mower.
Mrs. Brady would have made Alice deal with it.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
More Civics: Taxes
My kids are lucky. They go to a "good" public school. This means only 26 or 27 kids in their classes and a whole hour where an assistant comes in to help the teacher each day. They even get PE and Music. Spoiled rotten, those Hooligans. We raise a lot of money (Auction=Tip of the iceberg.), although not enough to establish a foundation, which I hear is the way to go if you really want to get your school set for the long term. Year to year, we manage to scrape up enough for additional reading support staff and some specialist teacher time.
Is it me or does this just seem wrong? We have to hustle to get some extra help to teach the kids to READ?!? I know Lane County's unemployment is around 12%, taxable income is way down, etc. but it seems like reading instruction would be at the top of the list. School in general should be at the top of the list. And I don't mean this grade-D-crap-for-lunch, four-day-week-kindergarten, half-day-on-Wednesday-because there-isn't-funding-to pay-the-faculty-to-meet-after-school-hours, no-art, no-foreign-language, no-gifted-resources, no-on-site-nurse, no-counselor, bullshit that is passing for school today. I want old school school. Like when I was a kid. Homemade bread from the lunch ladies and seconds if you ate fast. I had no idea how good it was at the time.
This drives me crazy (The Man Who Lives In My House would chime in here, "Don't you mean crazIER?). Crazier. Yes, because I'm posting about political stuff on my blog. Those I''m about to offend, forgive me. You're probably surprised I haven't gone off sooner.
If you live here in Oregon, you may be aware that we (barely) passed tax measures 66 / 67 in January. Any income above $250,000 (per household) is now taxed at an additional 2%. If you make $249,999.99, your taxes are the same. If you make $250,001.00, you pay an addtional $.02 a year for the next five years, and .$.01 per year after that. The idea is that the weatlthiest Oregonians (98th%tile and above) will help get us through the recession and into recovery. This is an inexact explanation. Here's a link if you want more: http://www.leg.state.or.us/comm/lro/11-19-09%20RR%207-09%20Revenue%20Package%20FAQ.pdf
I bet you've already guessed that I voted yes. I campaigned for it, actually, and donated a little money to support a grassroots organization (Stand For Children) that was working to get it passed.
Tax time has come and gone and damn! if I haven't heard a lot of moaning about having to write additional checks. I'm surprised anyone is complaining. Remember what I said about our very high unemployment? Maybe you are (a) lucky enough to have a job, and (b) lucky enough that that job puts you in the top 2% of wage earners in the state. Also (if you're complaining out loud...), do you really want everyone to know what tax bracket you're in? There are better than 1/10 odds that your neighbor just got downsized. He/she might harbor a tiny bit of resentment.
Quick, someone! Shut me up! Kick me under the table! Too late.
OK fellow citizens, comrades, if you will, IT'S RANT TIME! Here I go:
Who is not in favor of educating the next generation(s)?
Who doesn't think it's important to learn to read?
Who hates libraries?
Who thinks homeless people don't need help?
Why pay police? Teachers? Public health workers? Social workers?
No show of hands. I thought not.
Here's the deal, comrades--those who's heads are well above water--maybe you're even higher and dryer because you've benefitted from the spend-less save-more sociological mood. You are smart, sensible, HARDWORKING folk, and you know this: A FUNCTIONING SOCIETY IS NOT FREE.
ALL kids (hooligans AND regular) need to be educated. ALL people need access to healthcare--and not just via the ER. ALL our railroads need to be brought into the modern era (I want a high-speed from LA to Seattle!) ALL of us need incentives to go solar. NAME A SOCIAL ILL! Let's solve it.
It's going to take two things: Ingenuity and MONEY. If you're out there and have some money, please don't be a whiney pee-pants about paying more taxes--if you must protest, lobby for more allocation of available funds to schools, or whatever part of the public sphere matters to you.
Tomorrow we return to our usual antics and hijincks.
Thank you for your attention.
Is it me or does this just seem wrong? We have to hustle to get some extra help to teach the kids to READ?!? I know Lane County's unemployment is around 12%, taxable income is way down, etc. but it seems like reading instruction would be at the top of the list. School in general should be at the top of the list. And I don't mean this grade-D-crap-for-lunch, four-day-week-kindergarten, half-day-on-Wednesday-because there-isn't-funding-to pay-the-faculty-to-meet-after-school-hours, no-art, no-foreign-language, no-gifted-resources, no-on-site-nurse, no-counselor, bullshit that is passing for school today. I want old school school. Like when I was a kid. Homemade bread from the lunch ladies and seconds if you ate fast. I had no idea how good it was at the time.
This drives me crazy (The Man Who Lives In My House would chime in here, "Don't you mean crazIER?). Crazier. Yes, because I'm posting about political stuff on my blog. Those I''m about to offend, forgive me. You're probably surprised I haven't gone off sooner.
If you live here in Oregon, you may be aware that we (barely) passed tax measures 66 / 67 in January. Any income above $250,000 (per household) is now taxed at an additional 2%. If you make $249,999.99, your taxes are the same. If you make $250,001.00, you pay an addtional $.02 a year for the next five years, and .$.01 per year after that. The idea is that the weatlthiest Oregonians (98th%tile and above) will help get us through the recession and into recovery. This is an inexact explanation. Here's a link if you want more: http://www.leg.state.or.us/comm/lro/11-19-09%20RR%207-09%20Revenue%20Package%20FAQ.pdf
I bet you've already guessed that I voted yes. I campaigned for it, actually, and donated a little money to support a grassroots organization (Stand For Children) that was working to get it passed.
Tax time has come and gone and damn! if I haven't heard a lot of moaning about having to write additional checks. I'm surprised anyone is complaining. Remember what I said about our very high unemployment? Maybe you are (a) lucky enough to have a job, and (b) lucky enough that that job puts you in the top 2% of wage earners in the state. Also (if you're complaining out loud...), do you really want everyone to know what tax bracket you're in? There are better than 1/10 odds that your neighbor just got downsized. He/she might harbor a tiny bit of resentment.
Quick, someone! Shut me up! Kick me under the table! Too late.
OK fellow citizens, comrades, if you will, IT'S RANT TIME! Here I go:
Who is not in favor of educating the next generation(s)?
Who doesn't think it's important to learn to read?
Who hates libraries?
Who thinks homeless people don't need help?
Why pay police? Teachers? Public health workers? Social workers?
No show of hands. I thought not.
Here's the deal, comrades--those who's heads are well above water--maybe you're even higher and dryer because you've benefitted from the spend-less save-more sociological mood. You are smart, sensible, HARDWORKING folk, and you know this: A FUNCTIONING SOCIETY IS NOT FREE.
ALL kids (hooligans AND regular) need to be educated. ALL people need access to healthcare--and not just via the ER. ALL our railroads need to be brought into the modern era (I want a high-speed from LA to Seattle!) ALL of us need incentives to go solar. NAME A SOCIAL ILL! Let's solve it.
It's going to take two things: Ingenuity and MONEY. If you're out there and have some money, please don't be a whiney pee-pants about paying more taxes--if you must protest, lobby for more allocation of available funds to schools, or whatever part of the public sphere matters to you.
Tomorrow we return to our usual antics and hijincks.
Thank you for your attention.
Monday, April 19, 2010
It's good that he won the hot tub battle, mostly.
The Man Who Lives in My House, emerging from the hot tub,
"God I love that thing. It's like a bowl of Heaven. And I get to sit in it."
Wow. I guess it's worth it, even though it's still ugly.
"God I love that thing. It's like a bowl of Heaven. And I get to sit in it."
Wow. I guess it's worth it, even though it's still ugly.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Reptilian Cool Godfather
Crazy Uncle Nick is everything a hooligan could want in a godfather. He got tired of regular graduate school and switched his major:
The man has been to clown school. We used to refer to his various apartments and rooms (he moved a lot) as "Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe." He has the best garage sale karma in the world. And he shares. Witness my pachenko machine:
Nick found it at a Seattle garage sale for $10. Many many years ago I drooled all over it (ok, I begged). He gave it to me for my 30th birthday. Isn't it great?
The last time he moved was about 5 or 6 years ago, to a house he and his lovely wife bought. I believe the U haul went back and forth about 9 times. He is a lucky man: to find such a plethora of treasures, to have friends who help him move them, and to have a spouse who appreciates and even shares his enthusiasm (within reason).
The house has many good features, including a view of Puget Sound and pink tile with turquoise seahorses in the bathroom. The best part (for Nick, anyway), is the basement: Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe has a permanent home.
Their basement was a one bedroom apartment, complete with kitchen and bathroom. You might think that means a tenant contributing extra cash to the mortgage. Maybe space for houseguests? WRONG. What that means is running water. That's come in handy for Crazy Uncle Nick's latest collection: turtles. (This could be so much worse! There used to be a tarantula, but it died.) It started very casually, when a friend had to re-home her classroom turtles. Would Nick take them? Sure! Then he found a few more on craigslist. Pretty soon, people were bringing him turtles. It's sort of an informal turtle rescue.
Before you adopt a turtle, know that they live up to forty years--and that's the little box tortoises. The big ones live even longer. I didn't know this 3 years ago when Nick asked me if the Hooligans would like a couple of box turtles (he was trying to thin his herd of 30+). "Sure!" I said. "That would be cool!" And so we acquired Madge and Tortuga. They will accompany the hooligans to college.
For spring break we road tripped up to Seattle to visit Uncle Nick, Madam Nick, and their little Hooligan--let's just call him MiniNick:
We ate amazing ramen and dim sum, wandered through Pike Place Market, and climbed the giant wall at the mothership REI. Best of all, we came home with 4 more turtles. I told you, Uncle Nick likes to share. They will go to friends in the neighborhood, who understand the commitment they are making.
Meanwhile though, the basement that was clean? No more. But it's fun down there! For the Hooligans, anyway....
The man has been to clown school. We used to refer to his various apartments and rooms (he moved a lot) as "Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe." He has the best garage sale karma in the world. And he shares. Witness my pachenko machine:
Nick found it at a Seattle garage sale for $10. Many many years ago I drooled all over it (ok, I begged). He gave it to me for my 30th birthday. Isn't it great?
The last time he moved was about 5 or 6 years ago, to a house he and his lovely wife bought. I believe the U haul went back and forth about 9 times. He is a lucky man: to find such a plethora of treasures, to have friends who help him move them, and to have a spouse who appreciates and even shares his enthusiasm (within reason).
The house has many good features, including a view of Puget Sound and pink tile with turquoise seahorses in the bathroom. The best part (for Nick, anyway), is the basement: Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe has a permanent home.
Their basement was a one bedroom apartment, complete with kitchen and bathroom. You might think that means a tenant contributing extra cash to the mortgage. Maybe space for houseguests? WRONG. What that means is running water. That's come in handy for Crazy Uncle Nick's latest collection: turtles. (This could be so much worse! There used to be a tarantula, but it died.) It started very casually, when a friend had to re-home her classroom turtles. Would Nick take them? Sure! Then he found a few more on craigslist. Pretty soon, people were bringing him turtles. It's sort of an informal turtle rescue.
Before you adopt a turtle, know that they live up to forty years--and that's the little box tortoises. The big ones live even longer. I didn't know this 3 years ago when Nick asked me if the Hooligans would like a couple of box turtles (he was trying to thin his herd of 30+). "Sure!" I said. "That would be cool!" And so we acquired Madge and Tortuga. They will accompany the hooligans to college.
For spring break we road tripped up to Seattle to visit Uncle Nick, Madam Nick, and their little Hooligan--let's just call him MiniNick:
We ate amazing ramen and dim sum, wandered through Pike Place Market, and climbed the giant wall at the mothership REI. Best of all, we came home with 4 more turtles. I told you, Uncle Nick likes to share. They will go to friends in the neighborhood, who understand the commitment they are making.
Meanwhile though, the basement that was clean? No more. But it's fun down there! For the Hooligans, anyway....
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