7. Night with the windows open.

7. Night with the windows open.

6. The smell and texture of fresh mint.

I must say I am a bit of a Heidi Fleiss eater so I loved this comment:

I must say I am a bit of a Heidi Fleiss eater so I loved this comment:

"Do you really want to limit the enjoyment of your fine dining years so
you can extend the duration of your baby food years? Let's hope not."

Wimpy eaters are a serious pet peeve of mine. It's just food, it's
not going to kill you. Thank you Amateur Gourmet

things I love

Inspired by Nothing to Declare's list of 50 things she loves, I also will post 50 things I adore, but not all at once. Actually it will be more like Keri's list of new things she's learned, numbered and returned to periodically. Here are a few on my mind today:

1. Any opportunity for anyone to sing "Livin on a Prayer" out loud. I
got to last weekend.

2. The first day the tomatoes turn from green to kind of yellow and
orange flames.

3. Singing Air Supply and playing air guitar while driving the Bay
Bridge. (This is actually the only good reason to ever drive into San
Francisco.)

4. Washing my hands in cold water when it's hot.

5. Pedicures.

Can you believe just this morning this was a healthy happy plant? One day in Sacramento's early summer out of the ground but in it's appointed spot. And I just watered it yesterday! Time to get serious.

Check out my friend Charr's new blog. She's a fabypoo photographer and artist extraordinaire.

Here is a section of email correspondence between me and my bestfriend who just got her PhD in Chemistry.

J: Would you like to hear a passage from my thesis?
"The signal reaches a constant level, shown in hot pink... that's right, hot pink!" It's actually magenta but if I have the chance to put "hot pink" in my thesis, I'm not passing that up! I had to add the last part because Janette just challenged our whole lab to put hot pink in their thesis and
I decided it wouldn't be rebellious enough to just put hot pink anymore.

K: You are crazy! Yesterday one of our brokers dropped by unexpectedly to talk to me and I was wearing so much pink, inlcuding my new pink birkenstocks and my hair was in braided pig tails. I sort of wished I had worn something more businessy, but then I thought, "I underwrite in pink all the time, he'll just have to deal with it."

J: I really like this line, I think I'll use it:
"I do science in lipstick all the time, they'll just have to deal with it." Yeah!


And now you know what big dorks we are!

This morning I made the wonderfully simple yogurt cake created by Chocolate and Zucchini and further popularized by Super Eggplant. It was very tasty and seasonal since I picked up the raspberries at the farmer's market yesterday. Of course I didn't do any of the foo foo things the girls did since I was a bit hungover today but it turned out quite nice. In the future I will put in more raspberries (how much is 300 grams?) and keep powdered sugar on hand for Mariko's topping.

Look how big my little baby got! Here's a picture from one year ago. Lori's recent posts of her tabby have made me realize that I don't post about my cats nearly enough. It is my blog after all, why should I have to go elsewhere to see tasty tabby pictures.

Look how cool these projects are!

Look how cool these projects are!

Some are a little crazy (see Raising Catfish in a Barrel) but the Make your own Garden Bench and Build a Pond for under $4 ones are really cool. This is the type of stuff I'm into lately and I think there are probably a lot of people out there like me who want to do different stuff and are way beyond the glue gun stage.

This is my favorite:

Make a Ferro Cement Garden Bench

I took this picture to show off how cool my room looks with my new lamp from Urban Outfitters. But looking at the picture all I can think is how noticeable it is that I don't have a bedskirt. Which is so crazy because when I had that photo shoot last year with the photographer from the Bee, the only problem he mentioned (because he was super nice and understanding) was that I didn't have a bedskirt. Apparently bedskirts are more important than I thought.

This morning I enjoyed what may have been the best donut of my life. It at least deserved top 5 sta

This morning I enjoyed what may have been the best donut of my life. It
at least deserved top 5 status: a plain old fashioned with so much
chocolate icing on top it looked like it had been double-dipped, still
slightly warm inside. What a way to celebrate National Carb Awareness
Day even if it was technically yesterday.

I'm getting ready for a party at my house tomorrow! My best friend is
getting her PhD in Chemistry. Oh, I just realized the theme of the
party should've been "Smarty had a Party!" I've been looking up mojito
recipes and methods for making simple sugar. Yum yum!

Save the Carbs!

Save the Carbs!

He said: "if you have a website, please spread the word."
Today is National Carb Awareness Day!


What should we eat?

Thank You Tomato Man!

Thank You Tomato Man!

There's a guy in my old neighborhood who grows tomatoes, peppers, and
some herbs from seed and sells them from a stand set up on the road in
front of his house. The plants are sold in little red plastic cups and
cost $.50 each. The tomato man is very knowledgeable but I think better
at talking to plants than humans. I have been buying from him for years
now and have yet to get a straight answer from him. If you ask what
heirlooms he would reccomend he will explain the differing degrees of
newness and efficiency of the hybrids. I spent $7 and got 6 tomato
plants, some cucumbers, basil and a French Thyme. Check him out if you
are in Orangevale on Walnut about halfway between Orangevale Avenue and
Elm.

Predictably, my favorite part of Bel Canto is the Gen/Carmen scenario.

My little tomato plants are growing up so big! I bought 25 bags of steer manure for the back bed this week so I am hoping to get the tomatoes and herbs in this week. Next year I won't have to deal with the patio so I'll be a lot more on the ball. What's this Permaculture I keep hearing about? I think it may be for me, I'll have to do a bit of research.

In my ongoing ego-rant about how I'm so cute and why can't I get a date (because I know you want to hear it and I know how attractive men find women who whine about not getting dates), here's me prior to going on my blind date with the 40 year old.

I think I looked damned fine if I do say so myself.

That's right, he was 40! Unfortunately I will be continueing this line of blogging for the forseeable. You've been warned.

perhaps this stanza from May Swenson's poem will go on my coffee table one day:

perhaps this stanza from May Swenson's poem will go on my coffee table
one day:

"Take earth for your own large room
and the floor of earth
carpeted with sunlight
and hung round with silver wind
for your dancing place"

Published today on the Writer's Almanac:
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/

If I could have just one alternate reality in which I am not a homeowner in Roseville, CA. I would

If I could have just one alternate reality in which I am not a homeowner
in Roseville, CA. I would pick to live in New York City. In this
alternate reality I would be some type of computer designer or
programmer and would listen to an iPod on the subway. I would have to
visit the office weekly for creative meetings but otherwise I would work
from home with a mug of tea next to the computer. I would silk screen
my own indie t-shirts and have a balcony or rooftop garden stuffed with
tons of geraniums.

Apartment Therapy for the homeowner/hippy/farmer

Apartment Therapy for the homeowner/hippy/farmer

I've been reading this blog for a few weeks or maybe a month now.
While it is written to a NYC audience, I am finding that a lot of the
themes speak to me practically directly. I am interested in home as an
extension of self, a place where you can be calmed and thrilled and
rejuvenated. I am not interested in "matching" or doing anything the
subscribed way. The place where I live should be harmonious with the
earth and art should be a focus. Now I am struggling with killing my
lawn (the old fashioned way via hot Sacramento sun and no water). I
feel horrible that the neighbors must think I am a blight on their
neighborhood, but I don't believe in water sucking lawns in this climate
or in maintaining them for show.

alright I'm done with my meandering rant, go look at:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/index.html