Busiest band this summer

this is the only band that appears at summerfest more than Pat McCurdy.
Get your summer tour shirts here

An ode to Peoplesoft

An ode to Peoplesoft:

My process is queued,
and I'm rather afraid,
that replenishment won't be completed. 
The cart-count is wrong..
this is taking too long..
now all the steps must be repeated..

Teh other two

Herbie on Vimeo

Silly Kitty!

Peaches on Vimeo

New Recipe

Sometimes I throw a bunch of different things into a pan to see what comes out. Once in a while it's worth writing down so I can make it again.

Starting with a box of high protein penne noodles and a can of chickpeas, I came up with a red pepper pecan pesto to give the bland main bits a kick.

First boil a quarter pound of penne noodles

while that is going, saute an onion in some olive oil
add the rinsed chickpeas in the pan to roast a little

now make the sauce in a blender
1/2 of a 7 ounce jar of roasted red peppers, with some of the juice
1 or 2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. catsup
pinch of chipotle powder or smoked paprika
1/4 cup of pecans
salt and pepper

toss everything together and cook on low heat, just long enough to heat the sauce through
squeeze some lemon juice on top and serve

Blonde joke

This could be the best blonde joke ever!

Happy New Year!

My sweetie is sleeping in this a.m. I'm pretty sure she's beat from helping rip the carpet out of the den. That project took about 4 hours, cleaning out the room and putting everything back again. It only took 20 minutes to pull the rug, but an hour to get the sharp sticks up from the edges. The best part is that the floor underneath was almost pristine, a sweep and a buff and we called it good.

Thanks for small favors

We've been on vacation all week, not doing anything but laying low and going to the movies. Cat is out shopping at the mall, and I've got a kitten on my lap. All is well as one could hope for, particularly since we got lucky on what could have been irritating mistakes. I didn't get a parking ticket when I left the car out last night, and a credit showed up just in time to cover a 3 dollar shortage in the checking account. Life is good sometimes.

I saw Santa! Honest, he left these presents here for me! Abby guarded the homestead while we enjoyed christmas eve by my folks. It was pretty mellow, no one lost it this year, and I got to see my brother Jim. It had been since the funeral in september, and everyone there was a little overcharged. This time was better, and it made me happy to see him doing well.
Now I have the whole week off, and no plans to do anything beside what strikes my fancy at the moment. 

Chicken Vindaloo, Yum! 

Finally got the lights up, HA!
Merry Christmas to you and yours. I'm going to celebrate a bit early with my sweetie's side, Christmas cheer may be involved.

Before we left for the store, we left this note for those who had slept in this day. It must have worked, since there was no one sitting there awaiting our return. 

It's a ball-slappin' happy day!

That's what my sweetie called it, and clamped her hand over her mouth, partly to stifle some of the laugh welling up, and to pantomime the amazement she felt. "Did that just come out of my mouth?" She asked, and I agreed that those were the most unusual words she'd ever strung together. It is looking like a good day, Cathy is out shopping, and when she gets back I'll pound out some christmas cookies.

It was time to stock up at Penzey's
We were out of vanilla and ginger, and one of our favorite cookie recipes calls for a tablespoon of nutmeg! They are mound shaped cakelike cookies with a buttery brown sugar glaze, each one tastes like a small freshly cooked doughnut. I'd better fire up the oven and crank out some goodies, because there's only two weeks before the holidays, and I don't really get in the spirit until I've completely destroyed the kitchen. 

Sunday afternoon, nothing going on, time for a Bitburger. I've never been a big beer drinker, but a couple years back I had a Bit at the John Ernst Cafe. That had been the oldest restaurant in Milwaukee, and it so happened that we had dined there with my folks shortly before it closed. All of the menfolk had the house beer on tap, and we found it to be very tasty. 

Behaving for a change, Abby is satisfied after "helping" me make a big pot of turkey soup. She sure was excited about that, and produced meows the like of which I'd never heard before. 

none of my business I suppose, what is going on up the street, but one wonders... 

Evil Kitty! 

Sourdough Bread, and no cat in sight... 

I can't walk in these glasses

That's what Cathy said to me this morning, it seems that her favorite eyewear for reading is incompatable with locomotion. As it was, that didn't stop her from making me a wonderful sunday breakfast. Bacon, and french toast fried with shortening in a big cast iron pan. Topped with our semi homade apple-maple-cranberry syrup, it was a real treat!