Quickies

I got back on Sunday from a trip with my husband. He had to go to Texas on business and I decided to tag along. He thought I was crazy, but we stayed in Galveston and had a nice time. I've got tons of pictures to organize.

Homer's been on a diet, sort of, and has lost a pound. The diet kibble does things to his system...on the plus side his poop doesn't stink so much. On the minus side it's messier.

Frank's phone died just around the time we were talking about getting him a new one. How convenient for him. Or was it planned?

Ernest's classes start Monday, but he has some meetings over the next few days. He is making the vacation last as long as possible. I didn't see him until noon yesterday.

Why do all the cars need things at the same time? Tires, oil changes, you name it. Why couldn't they spread it out a little bit?

I am not a gardener, but I do have a few home-grown tomatoes for dinner tonight.

It's time for a House Season 7 Marathon! Three discs from Netflix arriving!

That's it for me.

What's new in your world?

Cousins, (Somewhat Sorta Semi) Identical Cousins

I just do not see enough of this boy! He is always delightful. (As is his brother, but that's another blog post.)

And he reminds me of someone else near and dear to me.

There's something about the eyes. Or the brains. They're both quite extraordinary. (Eyes, Brains, and just the Boys in general.)

(Pizza courtesy of FRANK!!!)

I know I have complete agreement from all the parents, grands, and greats involved.

Here's to cousins!

Fine Feathers

I can't even count the number of times I've been to the zoo since Ernest has been working/volunteering there.

But I always like to take my camera because, more often than not, I catch something new.

Look at this fine-feathered fellow!

And his iridescent friend.

I don't really have any fine feathers for myself this summer, although I did find some pretty sleeveless tops which are coming in handy right now.

No fine feathers for my sons, either. At their advanced ages (ha!) they don't outgrow clothes like they used to. Frank is always happy if I pick up something at Costco for him. Ernest needs a longer inseam which is hard to find, so I usually order on-line if he wears something out. He needed new running shoes for cross country and I also forced him into a new pair of Converse after ignoring his complaint: "The old ones aren't worn out yet! I don't want to break in a new pair." Well, the old ones have holes and look pretty grody.

Anyway, good luck with your back to school shopping and find something nice for yourself too! You deserve it.

Housekeeping

A while ago I inadvertently deleted my links list. I repopulated it with the people who had commented here recently.

If you're not on there and you'd like to be, please leave a comment.

Notice Anything Different?

How funny. This post was in my drafts for a while and then Mrs. G was talking about something and I wrote this in my comment, which was pretty close to what I'd drafted a few weeks ago.

I've been toying over some changes to my blog too...in a similar vein with children close to 21 and 15.5, I'm not really a mommy blogger. My cats took over for a while, but I can't write about all cats all the time. So what is my blog about? Little bits of my life that I want to share. I don't write for other people, it's for myself and I am delighted if anyone wants to stop by for a visit.

Maybe I'll become Smalltown Me.

So there I go...the URL and e-mail are still the same, but that's Me all Me up there in the title. Me me me. I-I-me-me-mine. Although the cats and kids are going to sneak in frequently, because they're sneaky like that. And they're mine.

Cool Summer Supper

I don't know if I can ever top the Ill-Tempered Mutated Sea Bass, but I made this a few days earlier and it was another winner!

Emeril's Shrimp and Corn Salad

Although I can never quite manage to follow a recipe exactly...my bag of shrimp was a little bigger and I had 4 ears of corn. Also, I wasn't going to go out to buy "crab boil" or Old Bay Seasoning which another version offered as an alternate. I just tossed in some seasoned salt (it was another Emeril recipe so at least I stayed in the family).

The dressing had a nice bite to it.

What's your favorite cool summer meal? I need ideas!!

It's What's For Dinner

Mutated Sea Bass with a Frickin' Laser Beam

Dr. Evil: You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads! Now evidently my cycloptic colleague informs me that that that can't be done. Ah, can you remind me what I pay you people for? Honestly, throw me a bone here! What do we have?
Number Two: Sea bass.
Dr. Evil: Riiiight.
Number Two: They are mutated sea bass.
Dr. Evil: Really? Are they ill tempered?
Number Two: Absolutely.
Dr. Evil: That's a start.

My start is the mutated sea bass and the laser beam. I think I'll include some fruit salsa, sauteed spinach and rice.

What's for dinner at your place?

Mileage

My car hit an interesting mileage the other day...

Me? My personal mileage is a lot higher.

Over the past few years, I used to start each summer out with high expectations of what I would accomplish. And at the end of the summer nothing would be done. Except for putting a lot of mileage on the car while Driving Mr. Ernest back and forth to the zoo.

This year I did not make any plans to accomplish anything. Or to rephrase it, I planned to accomplish nothing. Hence, no disappointments. I have seen many movies, read stacks of books, and eaten delicious lunches. That is a good life and I am grateful.

But while my summer of lowered expectations was successful, I can't keep that up forever.

Ernest goes back to school on Labor Day*** and things must change. I must make some plans and have a schedule.

***Yes, ON Labor Day. You heard me correctly. His "Hogwarts," being primarily a boarding school, does not observe the Monday holidays. Ernest is just happy that his school does not start till September. He is "old school" like me and does not like the August starting dates! If I had not been laid off (and chosen to stay that way) I would be going back to work on Monday. This Monday! My sympathies to everyone who has to show up there on Monday.

One of the many reasons I decided to stay laid off was to take advantage of the opportunity to tag along on my husband's business trips. We had such a fantastic time in Ireland. So when he mentioned he had a trip coming up, I started making plans. Nowhere as exotic as Dublin, but still...

Plans and mileage...

What's going on in your world?

Thanksgiving in August

Well, just the turkey part. Handy was craving turkey so we did a modified shebang earlier in the week...turkey, stuffing, gravy, plus some leftovers to round out the meal. I put a hunk of turkey in the freezer, but we still had a lot in the fridge ...

The solution was Handy's brilliant idea: TURKEY ENCHILADAS.

Enchiladas de pavo son muy deliciosos.

Of course I have no real recipe.

It's just a "throw it together" kind of thing.

Chop up the turkey. Add some sliced black olives and diced green chiles.

Crumble up some queso fresco.

Lightly fry the tortillas...about 5 seconds per side.

(I used to cheat and not do this step but it makes a huge difference.)

Open up a can of green enchilada sauce and let your handy husband assemble them.

Bake at 350 for a half hour or so.

Muy bueno.

Ernest's going back for seconds. He has to carb load...he estimates he burned 1000 calories on the bike today. The giant burger, fries and chocolate shake afterwards probably replenished most of it.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

The Only Thing Cuter...

I don't think there's anything cuter than one swimming capybara

Unless it's two

or three

or even four!

Spread the capy love.

Video of Garibaldi Rous.

Please visit Gari at www.gianthamster.com

2, 3 and 4 capys from the Santa Barbara Zoo, photos by me.

Looking Up: Courthouse

A long time while ago, I did some posts on looking up...but then I forgot about the subject until the other day.

While touristing walking around the Santa Barbara courthouse last week, I remembered to look up. I saw...

a giant Fiesta flag.

a balcony to nowhere. Why is it there? Another visitor thought an opera singer should just appear up there and burst out into song.

many staircases. I love staircases. Just not climbing them.

So I was very happy that the elevator to the clock tower was working. The last time I was there, on a field trip with Ernest, we had to use the stairs.

There, I had to look out.

And down.

What a gorgeous day.

Painted Cave

Ernest and I took a detour on the way home Saturday, to check out a twisty windy uphill road for a potential bike ride.

And we happened upon a place I had driven by once or twice, but never stopped to look at.

Painted Cave.

(Photos by Ernest)