Labor Day

Working to make our place the best we can is a never-ending pursuit. On Saturday we did some running around for a few things to help out. At Bed, Bath, & Beyond we found this bedding set, which I love with the new bed and our wall color.


It came with a crazy amount all in one bag: comforter, two standard pillow shams and two euro shams, two complete sheet sets, bed skirt, three decorative pillows, four window valances, and a throw! All on sale for $199, minus 20% from one of the ubiquitous coupons that are always coming in the mail. What a deal!

We also picked up this giant wall clock to replace the little office-style one we had. I love that it shows the temperature and humidity as well.


And we bought this secretary desk at Ikea to set up a small office area in the back room, where we only had Gretel's cat tree for a while now. It closes up to hide all of the office stuff. I also think its funny that on top of the desk is a Halo Master Chief helmet (Chris') and a tote of yarn and knitting paraphernalia (mine). While Chris was assembling it, I went to the pool to hang out with some of my neighbors and drink mojitos. :)


I'm looking for a chair to go with the desk. I'm thinking an upholstered straight-back chair, not an office chair, maybe in a pattern similar to the bedding. We'll see what I find.

Speaking of knitting, I've made some progress on Anouk, which I'm now renaming Watermelon because of the colors. I'm making the 6-months size according to the pattern, but I think it might turn out quite a bit bigger.


In honor of the End of Summer, I grilled some burgers (veggie for me, of course) on the BBQ and whipped up some coleslaw. These, with a few cocktails, and Band of Brothers on TV, pretty much sums up the day for us.

Happy Labor Day!

Its my Veggie-Versary!

Tomato bud in our garden

Today marks one year since I made the decision to stop eating meat. I would quit all animal products, but I like cheese too much. :)

We've been keeping busy the past few weeks working on the condo some more. In our continual effort to organize and streamline our lives we put up new shelving. In the patio closet we installed two sets of Ikea's Aspvik wall shelves. We finally have a nicely organized closet out there and its easy to find things. And yes, that's a machete hanging on the door. Gotta be prepared and all.

An organized patio closet

In the kitchen and adjoining laundry area we installed Ikea's Grundtal wall shelves. I have one shelf over the sink for my cookbooks and a few other items.

The green book is my favorite, Bittman's
"How to Cook Everything Vegetarian"

There's a matching rail on one wall to keep my oven mitts handy. By the way, that picture above the rail is a print of a painting done by my third-grade teacher Mr. V. It always hangs in my kitchen, through all the apartments we've lived in. It makes me happy.


I have two sets of shelves above the dryer/cat feeding station, high enough so that I can hang some of my pots and pans (freeing up cabinet space for my nesting mixing bowls).


There are three sets of shelves above the washer for more storage too.

Ayla always hits the vertical blinds in the living room to notify us that she needs to go out. It gets annoying, especially when she only wants to go out and doesn't need to actually do anything. Its like a kid whining that he's bored. So I took them down and replaced them with Ikea's Kvartal (sensing a theme here?) panel curtain system. I love how low-profile it is, and we can use just one row of the three-panel-deep panels to let light in but still keep our living room private. And Ayla doesn't hit them! She just looks at us now, which is almost as annoying but not as loud. A definite upgrade.

Bonus Mac-booty shot, curly pig tail and all

Other than working furiously on the condo, organizing and sorting and all, we've had a little time for relaxation. I'm geeking out with the Firefly DVDs and loving the show. Too bad it was dropped after 14 episodes. I've been taking walks with a few neighbors on the golf course in the evenings which have been great. Between the three of us we have five dogs, so the pack runs around, plays in the sprinklers, and they wear themselves out while we chat. I also completed the Traveling Roses scarf.

Lace work close-up

It turned out too short due to my yarn substitution choice, but I don't think I've seen my intended recipient wear a scarf so she can use it as a runner or something. Even though the color doesn't photograph well, I think its pretty and I enjoyed the process.

Full-length shot

The last thing I have for now is this:

Lasagna and salad topped with grilled tofu

Lasagna doesn't photograph well either, but this one was made with eggroll wrappers rather than noodles. I have seen a recipe on the wrapper package for lasagna and was intrigued. It was good: I layered it with half marinara and half pesto sauce, as well as ricotta, mozarella, and a little cheddar on top. I made the pesto from our bountiful basil harvesting - its growing like crazy on the patio and in the Aerogarden! The lasagna was a bit doughy for my taste, but I liked the thinner "noodles". I'll have to try fresh noodles next.

Never Wake a Sleeping Dog

... because you probably did a lot of work to get it sleeping in the first place. But more on that later.

You dare interrupt my nap on your clean blanket?

Our 4th of July was low key. Chris worked for about half the day, then we BBQ'd and watched the fireworks from our patio. It was actually a cool night so we didn't hang out on the patio long, but the show was good and its nice not having to go anywhere and deal with crowds.

We took Ayla and Mac to Point Isabel today. It was Mac's first time at the Bay and he walked the entire time with us without slowing down, the little trooper. Ayla kept looking for a way down to the water but the tide was out and everything was mud. We finally got to a small beach area and Mac got his first taste of waves and salt water. He followed one out a little way and then took off running back up the beach when the wave came in again. He finally got the hang of it and while he wouldn't go out far - I can't imagine its easy for him to swim - he seemed to like it. We'd throw a stick out for Ayla and Mac would wait to ambush her when she brought it back in so he could take it. Ayla had a blast though. I had forgotten how much she loves fetching in the Bay.

And here's my latest obsession:


I picked up Rock Bank for our XBox 360 before the holiday and am loving it. I'm on the drums and Chris is on guitar in our little band, and the game fills in bass and vocals. It is definitely challenging, but the band-geek in me isn't going to give up easily. I'm a little more than half way through a solo tour on drums (70 songs at the medium difficulty), and started a vocal solo tour too, though I think me singing Black Sabbath music is amusing. I did download the three Jimmy Buffet songs for my dad, so next time we all get together we can have some fun. I find myself listening to drum lines on songs now and imagining how to play them. I wonder how I'd be on an actual drum set?

I'm about half way through the Travelling Roses Scarf, but its just more of the same so I'll save a picture for when I have it finished. We did run across a tasty recipe over the weekend for a Cheesy Guacamole Dip: blend together 1 cup guacamole, 8 ounces cream cheese, and 1 cup grated cheddar. We like it hot, so I throw in some Frank's Red Hot Sauce as well. Its good with tortilla chips and I threw some on our salad with dinner tonight.

Rock on!

TGIF

I really enjoy my Fridays. I get off from work a little early and usually grab Ayla to go have fun somewhere. Most of this past summer we went to Shadow Cliffs, part of the East Bay Regional Parks system. The main lake has a swimming beach, fishing docks, boat rentals, grassy picnic grounds, and probably a ton of other stuff. But I haven't really been there, because if you go over the hill on the other side of the parking lot there's a bunch of little lakes and dogs are allowed to be off-leash. That's such a rarity, the grail search of dog owners out here, a place where your dog can run unfettered by nylon or leather leads.

So today we headed out to Shadow Cliffs for what will probably be one of the last trips till next season. Ayla loves going here. She really likes swimming, or her approximation of it. She often makes friends with the other dogs we see and I've met some interesting and mostly nice people. They're not always nice though.

A couple of weeks ago we went, and there's one beach area that Ayla can use to get in the water. All the other areas have drop offs and she's a bit wonky and can't handle them. So we're playing fetch in the water, she's splashing about and having fun, when two fishermen come up behind us. One sets his tackle on a table a ways back while the other continues on. I nod my hello and continue playing with my dog. A few minutes later the remaining fisherman comes up behind us, rod in line. In disbelief, I ask is he's planning on fishing here, to which he responds, "Yes, its the only clear space [its not the only one, he didn't want to walk farther]." I say, "Yes I know its a clear space and the only one where my disabled dog can get in the water." "Hmmph," he says, readying his cast. "Well, I guess we'll leave," I say. "Oh you don't have to," he responds. "But I don't want my dog getting hooked on your line," I say. "Hmmph." "We have to go now, Ayla," I say and lead her away while she's looking behind her.

What? Why would a fisherman want to fish where a dog has been swimming? There's not going to be any fish there! And why would someone push their way in where someone else already is? What happened to first-come first-served? I was just flabbergasted and left, though I wish now I had said something and stood my ground. Anyway, we walked a loop around and came back, by which time he had left, and resumed playing in the water.

That rant aside, it really is a wonderful place. Here's a little slideshow of pictures I took today:

Its been a nice relaxing day and a good start to the weekend. After Shadow Cliffs we came home and rested, then I did some grocery shopping. For dinner I made Giada De Laurentiis' Veggie Meatloaf with Checca Sauce, which I watched her make last weekend and have wanted to do since. It was tasty but turned out more like a casserole. I think there's probably twice as much rice and lentils in the recipe than there needs to be. Two measly eggs and some mozarella isn't enough to bind it all together, like Giada's was on the show. Chris liked it and the checca sauce, so I'll play around with the recipe and get it to work right. Oh, and don't serve it with mashed potatoes. Can you say carb overload?

Nothing like fresh BBQ pizza!

These were seriously easy and quick to make. Mix 1-1/4 cups flour, a packet of yeast, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Gradually stir in 1/2 cup warm water until a soft dough forms. Form into 4 balls, spray with cooking spray, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 45 minutes. Then heat your grill to high, roll out the balls between wax paper to about 4-inch circles. Gently lay them on the grill and then flip after 30 seconds (they'll puff up a little). Top with your desired toppings, close cover, and let cook for about 5 minutes until done.

I love it. I can have pizza all summer and not heat the entire condo up with my oven. The rise time for the dough is about the same as my traditional pizza dough, but the cook time is much faster. And cooking outdoors is wonderful. Oh, and you can see that since I'm grilling again I've successfully gotten my propane tank refilled. Wohoo!

We had a nice weekend. I took Ayla swimming twice. She seemed excited to be splashing around in the water with the other dogs, and excited to be out of the house and having fun again. Here she is post-swimming yesterday. Am I the only crazy person out there that covers my dog with her own blanket while she sleeps?
Otherwise it was a very restful weekend. I enjoyed the nice weather on the patio; got some knitting done and then had to rip it all out since I messed up and my attempts at a fix only made it worse, then started over; made good food, and generally took it easy.

Here's Gretel in a normal sleep position. You can kinda see her naked belly. It hasn't changed since the vet visit. Oh well, I'll continue keeping my eye on her.

Ayla and I are going for a jog today after work. The biggest thing I'll need to do the rest of the evening is decide what to make for dinner. I guess it could be worse! :)

How I've spent my summer vacation...

... or just my Memorial vacation so far.

Chris and I packed up the car early Saturday morning and headed to visit our friends and help with their kitchen renovations. We got a lot of demo done and a start on the cabinets. I'm sure it will look great when its finished. Ayla had a blast playing with their dog and their 2-year-old son too.

Sunday afternoon we headed back home. Driving through Gilroy, the garlic capital, was mouth-watering. I guess all the garlic had been heating up in the sun and I could virtually taste the garlic bread in my mouth. Heavenly! Once we got home Gretel gave us a stern talking too for leaving her on her own for 36 hours. Sorry kitty, it won't happen again! She was appeased with food, per usual.

Today has been chores and relaxing. Chris had to buy a new router for our internet connection. On his way he dropped me off at the local Art & Wine Festival where I wandered around a bit. I saw the requisite tie-dye baby jumpers, jewelry made from antique spoons, and photographs of Mediterranean villas.

We just had a tasty dinner of ribs, grilled marinated portobella mushroom, macaroni salad, and corn on the cob. Its funny, my parents and grandparents are having ribs and corn tonight too. In honor of Liz's cooking ability and Memorial Day, here's my recipe for my special

Jack Daniel's BBQ Sauce:1 c. ktechup
1/4 c. Jack Daniel's whiskey
1/4 c. molasses
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1 Tb. lemon juice
1 Tb. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tb. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.

I like to add more garlic since we love garlic. And I've been adding Frank's Red Hot Sauce lately after the sauce is finished to up the heat. I love this BBQ sauce. I haven't used store-bought in years. Its great served over beef ribs cooked with a dry rub. I am looking forward to topping this all off with lemon meringue pie later tonight!