saturday

i'm back... for now. two of my kinda-sorta big projects are behind me now (phew). so now i can start on my other sorta-kinda big projects in order to, at some point, study for finals. with this in mind, i know what i should be doing today. i do not need to be reminded that now, my life is to be composed solely of work and no play, but did you see the day we are having today? i can have a 1/2 day off right?

to plant in the first beatrice...

to catch a bit of the crazy-legs race, where, seemingly millions (okay, thousands) of people run through town...

to say hello to one of the cutest dogs out there... my friend's 7 week old masternard (i.e. saint bernard/mastiff) puppy, bowser...

needless to say... i am jealous. we had the opportunity to adopt this little fellow's brother, but missed our chance. something i will regret for at least another 5 months... (right around the time bowser reaches a stout 150 pounds)... oh, who am i fooling... i would actually love to have a giant bear of a dog living at our house... i am regretful. sigh.

a bit of the garden from the last few days... the potatoes we planted during that warm spell back in march just couldn't stand the snow and freezing nights that followed... so we will try again with new ones...

the garlics, however, did weather the weather and they are doing as well as we would ever expect...

what are you?

oh! our lettuces! we started them in the basement and transplanted them last weekend... someday this will be the main ingredient of a delicious caesar salad...

someday i will update this blog

last minute studying for 2 hr. standardized test on saturday morning. is it possible that having acquired physics- and chemistry-smart relatives is not enough for me to do well on the science part?

this is what they mean by springtime...

okay, this is spring-- officially. the opening day at the garden, 73 degrees, blue skies, sunny, slight breeze...

at least 100 people showed up to the first day... to register... to volunteer... to work on their plots...
greg was in charge of the 'workday' and i worked on opening day plot assignments. a very nice morning.

plot maps...

and now i am back inside, when it is still so sunny, so 70 degrees-like, because i must at least attempt to stay on task as this is one of my busier, busy weeks/weekends. grumble.

in other news... a crescent moon and... a planet? a couple of nights ago...

b&bbb

better and busy, busy, busy.

sometimes i wonder... would this blog haunt me if ran for president?

because, you know... i'm so quick to post the most unflattering photo of myself.

but this photo is to represent the fact that i'm sick. those cold winter days? i weather those with not a single sneeze. no excuses to stay in a warm bed... but... it turns sunny and warm... and i'm relegated to the couch.
but see that heating pad on the back of my neck? it's one of my favorite things about being sick... because it's probably been in my family longer than i have been... like an old loyal pet maybe, it's there for me. i don't know how i got lucky enough to inherit it. i can hear my mother saying... you are so weird!... actually, i can hear my sister saying that too, but i get nostalgic, what can i say?

in... better? less weird? no... i other news...
a wonderfully delicious salad.

and finally, in this disjointed post... you will all be disappointed when i tell you that my cat, not yours, is the cutest out there...

like a teddy bear cat.

from the side.

from overhead.

a good documentary

to watch, if you can catch it on pbs.

littles and recipes

the littles... symmetrically...
another recipe...

baked "gnocchi" from better homes and gardens new cookbook

ours didn't turn into dumplings... more like polenta... and there is no potato in this recipe... but really delicious anyhow.
we added more parmesan on top and pine nuts. made sauce by blending canned tomatoes, olive oil, fresh basil, pinch of salt, garlic cloves, and parmesan cheese. fresh spinach on the side.
note: you have to chill for an hour and bake for 25 mins+, so be prepared.

ingredients
1.5 c milk
2 T butter
3/4 c milk
1/2 c farina
1/4 t salt
1 beaten egg
1/3 c grated parmesan cheese
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese

the how to
1) bring the 1.5 cups milk and butter to boil. Mix the 3/4 c milk, farina, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; slowly add to boiling milk, stirring constantly. cook and stir 3 to 4 mins or until thick. remove from heat; gradually stir hot mixture into egg. stir in the 1/3 cup parmesan cheese. poor into a greased 2-quart square baking dish. chill 1 hr or until firm.

2) turn out of baking dish. cut into 4x1-inch rectangles (or whatever shape you want). sprinkle tops w/ the 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. place on a well-greased baking sheet. bake in a 425 degree oven about 25 minutes or until golden.
serve warm. makes 5 side-dish servings (or 2 meals).

spring snow

not the book by mishima. the real deal...

the snow came down starting sometime last night, and now, as described by the weather at the top of corner of the screen, it's a freezing drizzle. very pretty. and despite all my complaints of non-spring weather, it's actually quite nice.

tonight...

out to dinner... a good news dinner...

greg...

moi...

message cake...

photo of inside from outside...

blue world...

snow sculpture...

rescue mission

i'm not going to complain that we're going to get 6 to 12 inches of snow between now and tomorrow. after all, it's only april. and this is wisconsin.

unfortunately, the garlics, onions, and chives didn't know this when they started sprouting about a month ago... or did they? this is our first year with sprouts that have had to endure the return of winter. maybe they don't care about a heavy snowstorm. they seem to be doing OK with the nighttime freezes... but we decided to step in regardless...

we'll see if it works...

happy easter!

some weekend highlights...

a craft show.
this lovely flower arrangement had been on display at the coffee place down the road and i loved it... but it was very expensive (for two students, that is)... but when i went to the craft show down the road, it was there! and the artist was there, and i told her how much i liked it... she asked me how much i wanted for it and i... didnt know what to say... so i asked her how much she'd take for it... and she quoted me 1/4 the price it had been listed at... so it was an offer i could not resist...

rabbit likes it too.

this was the other piece i decided to get... i'd bought a vase from the same artist at this same craft show a year or two ago.

next: baking.

greg went to burn a prairie... not the prairie from the previous post. i found a muffin recipe in a kentucky cookbook. i had never heard of boiled frosting before, but it's quite good!


muffins.

next: raedar finds a new toy...

next: greg chops the winter squash for our not-so-spring-like easter dinner...

two of the dishes called for onions... so we thought we'd try to convince friend julie that onions are good... but these onions aren't doing a good job at being convincing...

the meal: artichokes, winter squash risotto, and stuffing...

i came to the realization that i really like cooking risotto. after the initial preparation, there's not much to it... stir... add broth... stir... add broth... stir... a stress reducer!

happy easter.

food and crickets and black earth and flowers

well, we missed the prairie burn because we were eating.

after the smoking ban took effect in madison, some of the smaller, 'towny' bars closed down. one of these bars, on the northside, turned into a little italian restaurant. at first we'd drive past it and joke... oh la la... cafe la bellitalia... so fancy... with the big pepsi sign out front... but everytime we did this, we noticed just how crowded it was inside... until finally we decided to try it... and we liked it. so much so, that we've been at least 4 times in the last couple of months. it's sort of your typical italian food... reliable when italian is what you crave. it's run by an italian family... from southern italy... so it's mostly pastas and tomato sauces... good tomato sauces!
and pepsi in cans.

once we got home we walked to the aftermath of the prairie burn...

scorched earth...

raedar and greg investigate for crickets. we've determined that raedar's ancestors were cricket hunters, and that this is the reason her nose is always to the ground on walks...

my billy goat's gruff and me...

what the cold weather did to the early bloomers... sad.

plants

just some pictures of the plants in our lives...

some of the sproutlings that will eventually head out to the garden...
today i repotted a few of our plants. i think they will be much happier in their new houses, and perhaps this peace lily will even bloom.

this is a maple tree in our plot... he's got a ways to go...

later... prairie burn?

chilly

30 degrees and it's been snowing.

in better news, i might be able to eat my way to fewer allergies!

raedar always has a smile on her face...

it's true!