My New Housemate
Late with a post to gillian16 this is my news. ;)

I'm traveling this weekend, probably without web access. So, an early Happy Birthday to zaratyst Hope it's an awesome one.

There is no reciprocity. Men love women, women love children, children love hamsters.
- Alice Thomas Ellis

Happy Birthday to lexica510 and dianthus. Hope it's an awesome day for you.

I have to admit to a guilty fondness for Gilbert and Sullivan, but I also must admit, I never expected this.

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I've just finished reading Spark and now I understand why spiritualmonkey was so hot on recommending it. I think it has been an awesome read, and well worth the cost of the book. I'll add in my own biased recommendation. If you only read one book this year (which would be sad), "Spark" would be a great choice to read.

I went with the dual function crockpot looking cooker. It's smaller than I initially thought, and my opinion now is that it's perfect for a single or couple. I took the recommendation I read in many places, throw away the cooking directions that came with the cooker and used the rice package directions instead. It makes great sticky rice. I've been making a cup of rice at a time, which is actually a bit much for me. I need to either find a girlfriend, or cut down on the rice I use so I don't over stuff myself.

Making rice and veggies, as mentioned, I've been using one cup of rice, and filling the top basket with a frozen vegetable blend. A sad fact of life here is that frozen veggies are much better quality than the fresh ones at the market. I haven't timed the cooking process, but it doesn't seem to take long. I put in rice, water, and the frozen veggies, turn it on, and then go do something else until I hear it "click" - oh, and it does have an automatic warmer in case I don't happen to hear it "click". The timing is great on the veggies too. They're warm all the way through, without cold spots, and not cooked for so long they've turned mushy.

All in all, I wish I'd have bought something similar years ago. For a one pot meal, it's awesome. Now, if only I had some Thai peanut sauce...

I emailed this to a few friends before I noticed the embed codes... catchy tune, and I appreciate the humor, you might too.



Here's a link in case the embed gets stripped out.

Kind of an interesting article in the LA Times. The story focuses mostly on Utah and Colorado - not much on California. I suppose the most amazing part of the whole story is the apparent lack of bias in reporting, and that it was reported in a Southern California newspaper. Wowzers!

PROVO, UTAH -- For years, Kevin Jensen carried a pistol everywhere he went, tucked in a shoulder holster beneath his clothes.

In hot weather the holster was almost unbearable. Pressed against Jensen's skin, the firearm was heavy and uncomfortable. Hiding the weapon made him feel like a criminal.

Article here

I asked a friend to pick me up a bag of rice when they went by Costco. I was thinking maybe 20 pounds or so. They got back from their cross-country trip, and I now have a 50 pound bag of Calrose rice. I have two questions; how to store it, and how to cook it.

I think that I can find the storage answer without too much problem. I expect it will either be 'cool and dry', or 'freezer'.

The cooking is a bit more challenging. I've been vacillating between these two cookers, and I still can't decide. (You'd think I was a libra or something...) So in one corner is the Zojirushi NS-PC10 which looks something like a bread machine. In the other corner is the Zojirushi NHS-10 which resembles a crock pot. Both look good, but I can't decide if one would be better than the other, and there is NO chance of seeing either of them in person.

So Universe, can you give me any clues?

Media (TV) Room
Shot though the doorway. I still had some of the dining room red left in the can, so I made the tv room a little cozier. The forward and west walls are the deeper red, the back and east walls are the lighter pink. Framed prints by Mucha, unicorn done in crayon by The Bug. I think this should finish off the room for a while. There is another photo of the forward wall in the gallery. I really need to get a short, wide angle lens for the Nikon.

Tried out doing a few kettlebell swings after yoga class. Holy Crap! I sure am glad I went with the 26 pound bell instead of the recommended 35 pound bell. Yikes!

On the plus side, I'm thinking the dvd is interesting enough that I'll be able to pursue this, and actually do it. Stronger core, here I come... I'm looking forward to being able to do the 40 minute set in 40 minutes.

Sears apparently doesn't ship lawn mowers to Glasgow, so montanamary was kind enough to haul one over when she and The Bug came to visit. Today I got to try it out, and was pleasantly surprised. While it's not totally quiet, it is a lot quieter than a gas mower, and there is no gas tank to fill, no oil to change, all in all very pleasant to use, and light enough, there is no need for a power drive on it.

Part of me wonders why I waited so long to buy it. On the other hand, I think this mower is quite a bit better than the early models. Sears Bagging/Mulching 120v AC mower, 19 inch cut. Perhaps not the best for Seattle, but if you're somewhere with less rainfall, so you're able to mow a dry (not just rained on) lawn, I highly recommend it.

New Paint
This view covers the dining area, the middle room, the future library, and the living room. My goal has been "not beige", and I think I've pretty well succeeded at that. There are better photos of the living room in the gallery. The base of the walls are the same red from the dining room, with the upper portions in the orange. There is also oak trim bordering and defining the red.

Candle holder
My Mom gave be this wall mounted candle holder somewhere around 10 years ago, but I've never really had a place for it that seemed to fit. I think I finally have a place for it that seems to fit. The green curtains are from the canopy bed I no longer have room for. I originally put them up just because I had them available, but I like the color contrast. When it was time to get tapers for the wall mount, green became the perfect color. The green also seems to tone down the ~PINK~ walls, and make them a bit calmer. Oh, the weird marks on the right wall are flash reflections from the mirror behind the angel's wings.

Dining Area
Part of this is I haven't gotten much use out of my "breasts" tag. I was thinking that perhaps the middle room is painted "Redhead's Nipples" and the dining room as "Brunette's Nipples", but they aren't really the right color, so I guess I can't do that.

I wanted to get away from beige, to something more vibrant and alive. My bedroom is still beige, and there's a joke there, but I'll let it slide. The red in the dining room I really like. It brings out the cherry furniture, and echoes some of the color in the Mucha print hanging on the far wall. As for the pink in the middle room, still not sure on that. It does brighten the room. Some days I quite like it. Other days, I'm still not sure. The nice thing about paint is that if it doesn't work out, it's easy enough to change to something else.

The dining area I painted this weekend, the middle room was last weekend. I haven't planned next weekend yet. Perhaps the yard...

Testing the functionality of using Blog It from within Facebook to post to LiveJournal.

Currently sunny and 13F degrees. Had a record low last night, but not the record Great Falls had. Their low was well below 0F last night, along with quite a blanket of new snow.

So what happened to Spring?