Day 2, A new possibiity...

So we have just moved, and haven't got jobs yet, and I met a woman who wants to sell us her funky vintage shop today. It's affordable, it's neat, and she has been trying to kill it subconsciously for the last 3 yrs and hasn't yet. Right now she makes her rent by being open 11-3pm on Saturdays only. She was telling about how she hates running the shop but likes finding the merchandise which is kind of perfect.

I was probably already gonna get stuck with a retail job, how cool would it be to work for my self?

Plus, that would eliminate the need for any special thing to do with Miles, He can come chill after school if the other parent is busy.

The man and I must hash out some details and make some plans, I will share more when I know more.

Two posts in one day? Who am I and what have I done with my self?

I felt the urge to share that I made the most delicious vittles this evening, An au gratin type spaghetti squash. Ah man it was tasty. When my old man went back for thirds he was talking about how lucky he was to have an awesome cooking woman.

I don't measure out ingredients unless I'm baking, but these are the general parameters...

Chop a spaghetti squash in half. Either take the seeds out now, or wait until it's half cooked when its way easier. I use a melon baller. Place cut side down in baking dish with a 1/2 inch of water and bake at 425 for half an hour or so until its soft enough to scrape with a fork and make the strands. While its baking, make the sauce.

Melt a glob of butter in a big pan. Saute a small onion and 1/2 a bell pepper until soft.
Add salt, pepper, a good shaking of paprika, whatever herbs/spices you like. I used oregano, chili powder and chipolte Mrs Dash. Add 3-4 spoons of flour. mix well

Add 2.5 ish cups of milk. Stir. Stir until thickened.

(At this point I added leftovers from the night before last, we had stuffed shells and I had about a cup of ricotta mixture left over) It was so good, I'd add ricotta again. Well maybe, I only bought it cuz it was on sale, usually it's pushing 7 bucks.

Once the milk mix is thickened, add the scraped squash and about a cup of shredded Cheese (I used cheddar). stir until melty then pour into casserole dish. Smooth out and top with more cheese, I used maybe 2/3 C mozzarella . Bake at 350 for about half hour, until top is browned and bubbly. Let rest for 10 minutes before dishing up.

So damn tasty I felt the need to blog about it... Shoulda took pictures and did it up right, but oh well...

Hello again, this time from the insanely different town of Flagstaff. Different from Vegas I mean, It's probably a lot alike other towns in the mountains with 65,000 people and a temperature of 6. Yuppers, it's 6 right now as I type. Ha ha ha, us desert folk don't quite know what to do with this stuff... Though the dog has stopped shedding, since he needs those hairs to stay alive.



These blue sky pictures are of around our house after the first time it snowed. (2nd night here, 8-10 inches) The sky is so pretty here. The snow is too, I really like it, especially when I get to look out the window from the couch at it falling, snuggled in a blanket, basking in the glow of the wood stove.



These grayer pics are during that 1st storm (it has snowed good collectible amounts that needed to be shoveled 4 times in the 2 weeks we have been here). This above one is of the back yard. Yesterday,I thought it would be nice of me to shovel a path for the dog so he could keep his feet dry on his constitutionals. Ha Ha Ha, the snow pack is well over a foot deep and icy, I basically dug some holes and couldn't breathe anymore. (It's over 7000 feet here, something we neglected to think about, and 1/2 way thru unloading the U-Haul, we were dizzy and weak going uh, what is wrong with us? My brother kindly reminded us we were lacking oxygen.) That I failed in the dog path does not however mean I didn't cause muscle aches in my back though...



Extreme close up...



Look at that sky! Oh it's pretty here. Still 6 though.

We went downtown last night to watch the pine cone drop (Flagstaff tradition for over 10 yrs) and it was neat, so much easier to deal with than New Years in Vegas. I bet more people were on the strip last night than were in the entire town of Flagstaff total...

It's awesome to have my brother and his family over for dinner.

We bought a 1991 jeep with our insurance money from Asa's accident, and it has 4w drive, which we need to get up the driveway to our house, ha ha. He is much healed from that one, only a jagged scar on the under side of his chin really, to show for it. (That and the lingering guilt of destroying our car, but it wouldn't have been able to get out the driveway right now anyway. And they don't let you park on the street from November til May so the snow plows can roll thru).

Miles Loves the snow. LOVES it. We had to buy some boots and a few other bits of snow gear for him, but he is out there mucking about everyday. The other day, I'm making soup, he is in the backyard, playing. After a while I hear (I think I hear) Mama! MAAAAMMMAA! I ask Asa, Is that our kid? We go looking, can't find him, but he answers our call with an extra plaintitive MAMA! I'm sinking! Asa has shoes on so he rushes out, at the back of the yard there are juniper shrubs growing, but they are completely buried in snow, Miles thought they were solid and climbed the "hill" only to get stuck. After we calmed him down, oh it was funny.




Yeah, I just unloaded the camera, for the first time since, well, there were pics of my birthday on there, and that's in May... Here are Miles and I on Halloween, about to go trick or treating. I was Bunicula... I miss those rose bushes. I wonder if they grow here. There are irises planted here and there in the front yard, I'll have to learn about them.

Well, that's gist of it. Still looking for work, but that'll happen soon I'm sure.

On moving

This a random sketch Miles made of him on his scooter. Yeah, it's in the dust on the TV, cuz that's how we roll 'round here.

Whee. Well, it appears settled and in just a few more days we will be loading up and moving on out. Back (for me) to Flagstaff, (it's the first time Asa or Miles will be living there). I went to high school there and I think I have been gone long enough that the things that "encouraged" me to run the fuck out of town back in 1995 are changed. Or rather, I am.

I went back last week to see our place and sign the lease, and coincidentally it was my nieces 2nd birthday. My dad is known for his magical slackation (yeah I made that up) and hadn't got the babe a gift, and my brother wanted her to get snow boots since they are recent desert transplants too. So, we packed up and headed to the maul, on black Friday. And ha ha ha, I was worried, the parking lot was full, people parking in the dirt nearby etc... and inside, crickets. Seriously, it was like the maul here on a March Tuesday morning. We ate there and didn't have to wait in line for pizza. Small towns, hee hee. It sorta gives me insight to my old man's lack of desire to come visit here, it's quite a change. A change I feel like wrapping my head around. We will be living on the opposite side of town from my family, near the U and I haven't spent a lot of time over there so that's neat.

And they have good mexican food there, oh how I have missed that. Ketchup with chili powder in it is NOT salsa, vegas.

I started packing, and am reminded again just how much stuff we have. It's nice that it gets easier as I get older to let stuff go. I can remember the first time Dan (my brother) and I lived together as adults, I had huge quantities of toys/stuffed animals etc. I couldn't get rid of, oh grandma gave me this when I was 8 so obviously I need it forever. I was 21 or 22 for pete's sake.
I have huge donate bags already and I only have 12 boxes packed. (most of those are my books,)

Did I mention the floor to ceiling bookshelves on one wall the new house has? Did I mention the size of the kitchen? And cabinets that number more than 3? and the wood stove? And holy shit, this place has closets. And 2 bathrooms? well at least 2 toilets, Miles likes peeing in the yard, but he won't HAVE to anymore...

So it's looking dicey as to my staying with the same company when I move, they made it sound like transferring was easy and now that I am trying it's a whole new balla wax. So there is the good chance both Asa and I will be unemployed when we go. Hee hee, there's something to keep you awake at night, right? It's an adventure. And also? tonight in flag its supposed to be -4. as in 36 degrees below freezing. which is actually what it is supposed to be here tonight, so in perspective, it's not that biga deal, I guess. (said sullenly, -4, who? what? how will we live?)
All those hats and scarves I have knitted everyone will be in use. In the house. ha.

But, it's pretty and its alive there. And its not 24 hours. And its not run by idiots. The mayor here (mayor Goodman, google him for a laugh) got in the wax musuem with his signature martini in hand. The same gin beverage he got in "trouble" for for waxing melodically on to a class of fourth graders.

The few of you, one of you? in town, I'm gonna have tons of stuff to get rid of if you want anything. Kids stuff, clothes, whatever food won't travel well, etc. I'll let you know when I know more.

baskets of love and monkey hats for all.

Slacker, Large

It's that time again, random shit spewing from my fingers time, with no point and no real reason to share. The peas Miles and I planted (hey, thanks to my blog I know when we planted. This is good for something) are huge and starting to flower, and the carrots have needed to be thinned several times now. Also, a magic side benefit to planting in tubs on the porch is that some of the seeds from last season that I guess didn't grow are growing now and actually doing well so we have baby lettuce and more tomatoes coming up. YAY!

Miles and I made chocolate chip cookies with walnuts, and we buy the walnuts in the shells, and he gets to crack them open with a rubber mallet. I think that was the highlight. Nothing says love like a six year old chasing rolling walnuts around the kitchen telling them to stay still so they can get smashed. But damn the cookies are good.




Trying to move to Flagstaff. It's hard to find a place to live that we can afford and be near things, that is one expensive ass town. But I'm feeling the familial pull. and Asa hates vegas and is ready to leave oh, say 6 months ago. And my niece is there:



And I think I have missed too much of her growing up already. Hell this picture is from last x-mas. I don't think I have newer ones even. Lame. (Oh yes, that is a life size cut out of a nascar dude in the background. My dad's roommate is a fan. And they do live in a trailer, but we's double wide folk ya'll). ha ha.

Started catching the mice again, they were sitting there laughing at us while shitting freely, so we felt we ought to. Have you ever seen house mice? Could they get any fucking cuter? Oh lord. we live trap them, and then set them free in the way back of the back yard. It probably takes them 2 or 3 hours to get back in, right? That's 2 hours worth of turds I needn't clean. Yeah we are suckers, but the little eyes! and the little paws! holding crumbs, and scampering about. Just can't do it.

Asa and I watched Zombieland last night. I give it an A, but I love Woody Harrelson and give pretty much everything he is in an A. I'd like him to adopt us.


Kisses and ponies for everyone.

It's Thursday again

Well. Miles got a hair cut. I have pictures, but lack the knowledge to upload them, I ought to soon though. It's cute, short and sweet.

Work sucks, it's slow and people ain't tippin'. If you are going out to eat, part of the price of not being at taco bell is the tip. If it isn't awesome service, than I get it, but I am awesome. People tell me all the damn time how awesome I am (at work anyway) but still, no ducats.

on to the 13 part...
B

1. Baking. One of my favorite things to do, and I am sharing that love with Miles. He is an awesome help, knows the difference between baking soda and baking powder, and can crack a mean egg. He finds recipes for us to make now.

2. Books. Another love of mine.

3. Bears. Yay! They don't live near me though, so I can afford to be magnanimous. I do find them awesome in general though.

4. Butter. Very favorite. Wouldn't touch it for years though, only liked cheap plastic margarine. Thanks Asa for showing me the error of my ways.

5. Bats. There is an underpass in Tucson, with a jogging/bike pass under it, and if you are there at the right time of day (duskish) you will see oh, 700 million billion bats come out to hunt. Like it literally takes 20 minutes for them all to leave. It's super fabulous.

6. Baskets, gift. I make up mean ones, its my favorite thing to give as a gift, there is bound to be a few things the recipient will like, and I think I make neat ones with unique items.

7. Butterflies. Who doesn't like them?

8. Breastfeeding. Yay! I think everyone who does it should feel proud of the hard work and if anyone while you are out in public gives you any guff, kick 'em in the balls.

9. Basking in the sun. Every morning when my dog gets up he saunters out into the back yard to lay in the sun. If he was a cat, I think he'd purr. When he comes back in he smells like hot wet dog, but I do love looking out the kitchen window and seeing him looking so content.

10. Britches. Miles and I went shopping today for some new ones, his legs are longer than his waist is wide. Meaning that he can wear 3t pants but needs 7s for length. I do love that you can get jeans with those elastic button dealies in the waist bands, whomever invented that wins.

11. Bees. Asa taught me how to pet them when we first started hanging out. It kinda made me love him.

12. Boondocks. Awesome cartoon. Awesome comic. Viva Huey!

13. Beastie Boys. Nothing says love like "So Watch ya Want"

I did much better this time, faster. Toodles, and kisses.

Thursday13 and other things...

Oh happiest of happy things, it seems the weather has broken, finally. Tuesday, 96; Wednesday, 76. I spent all yesterday afternoon cleaning the back yard, all the things I've been avoiding cuz I just can't handle the heat, and then when it was too dark to see, I organized my bedroom, dusted, washed curtains, went thru my clothes and made a bag up to donate, & threw out a ton of things. Like spring cleaning but in reverse...

Today after work, Miles and I planted peas and carrots since they do well in pots on the patio in the winter. My lone tomato plant is doing awesome and my first butternut squash is ready to pick.

I believe this Thursday13 is alphabetical and whatnot, so today I start with A. Let's see how many I can think of before I resort to the dictionary. Or a google image search.

1. Asparagus. Yuck. I like to look at them though.

2. Apples. Yum. But only organic. Apples, stone fruit, and bell peppers all absorb and are sprayed with the most nasty of pesticides.

3. Aardvarks. It would be cool if we had a few that just lived in the back yard, occasionally coming out to entertain us with their aardvarkian antics.

4. Anarchists, Knitting for. By Anna Zilboorg. I just scored it off Amazon, (it's a book) and it's pretty neat so far. It's knitting theory, with the premise that as an Anarchist, you'll not want to be following rules, so being able to know inside and out what you are doing while you knit frees you to design your own things and take patterns and make them your own. It's well written, and I like it so far.

5. Angel hair pasta, my favorite kind. Much nicer to eat than spaghetti. (Miles still calls it spig-detti)

6. Allergies. Glad I don't have any. I did one year when I was a kid, the Juniper trees at the canyon were so full of pollen, when it would rain the puddles were yellow. I had this funky nasal inhaler and everything.

7. Abstract art. I like it ok. My favorite is

8. Art Nouveau. I like the swirls and the way things flow together. And the flowers. (so cheating already)

9. Angst at blog pics. Why do they not go where I want them? Or hmmm. Do I have to post them first and then type around them? Have to try that next time.

10. Area 51. I sorta live near there now. OOO creepy. Or something. What's more creepy is the Nevada test sites for the A-bomb. I guess you used to be able to get hotel rooms with balconies for bomb watching parties, folks would sit and drink Martinis with their uber protective sun glasses on and watch nuclear explosions not that far off. In the Tropicana hotel, in a hallway, there is an old pic of one of the Fremont St. hotels and off in the distance behind it is a mushroom cloud.

11. Apache St. The first named street I lived on. Which would make my porn name be Bill Apache, if you follow the 1st pet, 1st st. law. Yeah...

12. Afro. I have always wanted one. Too bad for me my thin, super f'ing straight, limp, takes no curl, hair doesn't agree. It always make me smile when I see one though.

13. Avocado. I hate them and their slimy green-ness. But I eat them sometimes because they are SO damn good for you. My son eats them often and would eat them daily, and has since he was about 8 months old. Such a good baby food, high in all those fats they need for good brain growth etc...

Finally. That was way harder than I thought.