The Gaggle

Christmas Day at the In-Laws. I don't think these geese are aware of what day it is.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! Hopefully Santa Claus made it to your house before the thunderstorms and hail started.

Salmon Chowder

Made salmon chowder tonight for a pot luck at work tomorrow.  It's really good.  I put more dill in it than I meant to, but after tasting it I think it made for a better flavor.  Here's a picture of the finished pot:

Mmmm...

The recipe from allrecipes.com couldn't have been simpler.  Maybe that's why it's called Simple Salmon Chowder II.  I doubled the recipe to make the full pot in the picture.

Possum Surprise

Went to put the faucet covers on and found a couple of toothy new friends in the backyard:

I'll call this one Bitey...

...and this one A Series of Painful Shots In The Stomach, or Cuddles, for short. 

Feline Finds Peculiar Position

Dangerously comfortable

Dot must lay on the clean sheets

Norma's Cafe

Lunch today at Norma's Cafe. So hot, so homemade, so good. The portions were way too big, but thanks to the miracle of to-go containers, I have dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow taken care of.

Or, if I don't want to end my sentence in a preposition:  I have taken care of dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow.

I feel better now.

Norma's Cafe

Walking up to Norma's Cafe (accidental shot, but shows off my favorite sandals by Born)

Like the sign says...

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I don't know about you, but I'm content.

Lamp Cat

KT scheming to get under the covers because it's cold.

Chicago Trip 2012 - Day 7

Well, I never said I was Speedy Gonzbloges.  Here, finally, is the account of the end of our Chicago Trip from April.

Happy Birthday Mom

Happy Birthday Mom - you are loved!

Mom and my brother - chillaxin at Rock'n'Roller Coaster

Mom and I on the teacups - slightly overstimulated  :)

Blue Skies Smiling At Me

I'm amazed how much a good wind and rain will clean the air.  The sky this morning was beautiful.  It was almost like waking up in the mountains - bright blue and clear, even at the horizon line; not tinted the usual brownish-yellow.

That's right, the sky here in the DFW area is hazy and bruised around the edges.  It's like someone had rinsed a dirty window and let the residue settle at the bottom and dry.

Dream A Little Dream

Up at 2:47 this morning, then back to sleep at a little after 6am.  Up again at 9am.  Between 6am and 9am I had an excellent dream about Las Vegas, seduction, revenge, and a really confusing and much more difficult than it needed to be metro train ticket purchasing experience.  Not to mention starring in my own real-life video game and battling giant insects by shooting exploding boxes hiding behind styrofoam walls painted to look like iron-plated walls with my invisible motion-controlled bow and arrow.

A Sunday Afternoon At The State Fair Of Texas

Had a great time with our friends, despite the chilly weather. Started out by riding the giant slide with one of the kids.

Didn't go too hog wild on the food - just had a Fletcher's corn dog (so hot and fresh), fried green tomatoes, which I had never had before and were garlicky and delicious, and a Dole pineapple whip, without which no trip to the fair would be complete.

The two cars that stuck with me from the auto show this year were the Hyundai Veloster turbo and the Hyundai Genesis coupe. Hyundai has never really been on my radar before, but both of these cars had style that stood out, even if the gas mileage didn't. I can't mention the auto show without mentioning the Scion XB. It's not something I would ever drive, but it has my favorite body color - a unique metallic blue/purple.

Elusive Blue Metallic - you had me at hello

We ended the day by treating everyone to a ride on the Texas Star ferris wheel, where it was really, really cold at the top.

XAS RATS

Earthquake

Just had a tremor. Lasted about 2 seconds and felt like something had crashed into the house. Didn't know what was going on (didn't help that I had just finished watching the climatic end to The Avengers).

Strange to call 911 and get a busy signal. That's when you know something is wrong.

Frito Pie

Unhealthy, I know, but so good on a cool, rainy day.

Chili Cheese Fritos Potato at Baker Bros Deli

Enough for two

The view from inside

Chicago Trip 2012 - Day 6

Up at 5am on the 6th day, and not feeling well.  In addition to that, it was a cold, overcast day.  I lay in bed and fiddled around on the iPad until 7am, when I went down to the lobby for a decaf coffee, then went back to the room.  This was our last day in Chicago.

Donate To Public Radio

I did my duty today to support my local public radio station, KERA 90.1.  Have you done yours?

It....It's everywhere

While I was cleaning up the mess in the living room made by my sick cat today, the other cat was tearing around the house like cats sometimes do.  I didn't pay it any attention and bent to my task.  A short while later I could hear her in the laundry room using the litter box, then after that she was tearing around the house again - only this time it sounded different, sort of a shuffling sound.  Again, I didn't pay it any attention, thinking she was chasing one of her toys around or something.

Well, no, that's not what she was doing.  After finishing my cleaning in front of the couch in the living room I stood up and saw the horror she had wrought:  she had apparently had some issues in the litter box, and her solution was to drag her ass around the house, dog-like, leaving a smear of cat shit everywhere - in the laundry room, in the kitchen, in the dining room, by the front door, up the stairs, and somehow on the front of the washing machine.

WARNING:  Gross photo after the jump

Chicago Trip 2012 - Day 5, Part 3

We were going to the Hancock Tower that evening, so we rested at the hotel before heading back out.  I had a slice of leftover stuffed cheese pizza for dinner.

Hancock Tower street view from our hotel

Heart Walk 2012

Chicago Trip 2012 - Day 5, Part 2

After seeing Willis Tower we walked across the street and had lunch at Giordano's.  I had the chicken oregatano (excellent), a salad with bleu cheese and cheese garlic bread.

Pleather and Puppets - What's New at Krispy Kreme

I don't use the word vile very much, but it sums up the new temporary flavors Krispy Kreme is current promoting.  Touting them as "County Fair" fare, they are cotton candy and caramel apple flavored.

Looks like a ring of Naugahyde and something that fell off a Muppet

The cotton candy donut is coated with a crusty shell of grainy blue sugar that just barely tastes vaguely of cotton candy.  For the most part it's like eating a regular glazed donut that's been rolled in additional coarse sugar and left on the counter to harden.

The caramel apple donut is the worse offender of the two.  It's a cake donut covered in a brown "caramel" glaze.  The glaze doesn't really taste like caramel; it just tastes like more sugar.  The cake donut itself though...it tastes like eating one of those uber-scented apple candles you would find at Christmastime - overpoweringly cloying, sweet and tart artificial apple.  It's been almost an hour since I ate it and even after washing it down with a plain glazed donut and a glass of milk, I can't get the flavor out of my mouth.  Mouthwash here I come.

If you're looking for a donut fix, stick with the normal Krispy Kreme lineup or your regular local donut shop.

Cafe Lago

Lunch at Cafe Lago with our friends Sandi and Ryan. Peruvian chicken risotto with field greens. I think I could eat that every day and be happy.

Greetings

Up late - I blame the frappuccino (and by extension, myself). Just lying in bed in the dark with my iPad. And now with you.

Hello, you.

Marshmallow Boy

My order from Rotofugi arrive today.  Meet Marshall and his dog Gumball.

"I'm toasty!"

From the package:  "Marshall Mashumaro was a little boy who ate so many marshmallows he turned into one!  How scary is that?  But...he's just about the cutest little marshmallow boy ever!"

Thanks Rotofugi for the quick order and the hand-drawn receipt - neat stuff!