Jitterbug Perfume

I picked up a copy of The Garden of Eden by Hemingway from a pile of books at a yard sale today.  I was grabbed by the cover art.  I opened to read the sleeve and decided to take it home.  There were some papers tucked inside the book.  One was a voters registration card and the others were some pieces of paper with notes scribbled on them.  I figured someone might be looking for this some day, so I handed the voters registration card to the lady running the sale.  ”It must be her mom” she said, referring to another girl with stuff in the sale.  Without thinking, I handed over the note as well.  She read the note and asked what year the book was published, and said she might have to rethink selling the item because the note suggested it might be worth some money.  ”1986,” I replied.  The lady selling the book had just walked down the street, but this one wanted to run it by her first.  Fine, I couldn’t say no so I went to the store and said I would come back to see what she said.  

Book no longer for sale.  Turns out it was a first edition. 

First editions of this book are going for $500.  This copy was probably worth about $200.  It would have been mine for $2 if I didn’t give over the note.

Antiques Roadshow junkie fail.

Turtle Burgers

Handmade ground beef patties, topped with sharp cheddar cheese, wrapped in a bacon weave, then add hot dogs as the heads, tails, and legs with slits for toes.

Finally, a good use for a bacon weave.

Walleye served with an apple cider and tarragon buerre blanc

Walleye fillet from Jake’s Country Meats via Logan Square Farmers’ Market, Strongbow Cider from Dorthy’s Liquor store, tarragon from our herb garden

Kale & Swiss Chard with Bratwurst

Garden-grown Kale and Swiss Chard, Jalepeno Bratwurst from Jake’s Country Meats via Logan Square Farmers’ Market

Roasted Potatoes

Logan Square Farmers’ Market

Spaghetti Squash paired with yellow Pear Tomatoes

Garden-grown

Enjoyed in the garden at twilight.

The pyramids of Egypt were said by the experts to be tombs.  The pyramids of Peru, Mexico, and Central America were said to have been temples.  As for the pyramids of China, Cambodia, and Collinsville, Illinois, archaeologists were reluctant to guess.  And as for the four pyramidal structures photographed by Mariner 9 on its fly-by of Mars, most scientists would just as soon forget them.  Pyramidologists thought that in addition to their functions as temples and/or tombs, the pyramids also served as solar and lunar observatories.  With the increasing evidence of “pyramid power,” that force that apparently accumulates inside the pyramidal cavity, a force that under the right conditions has the proven ability to regenerate both organic and inorganic matter, there was a modern trend to regard the pyramids as collectors or amplifiers of energy.

Pyramids in IL: http://cahokiamounds.org/explore/cahokia-mounds/name/monks-mound/

Pyramids on Mars: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cydonia_Mensae

Pyramid Power: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_power

This guy is clever with his signage.

This is why I love Sprout Home.  They have this photo and caption posted on their Facebook page.  It made me giggle.

I think it is cute the way you tell people your name is Lia, but I know you. We met a few years back, you told me your name was Polycias Balfouriana. I could never forget a name like that, and well… your leaves were so striking. You have been on my mind every since that rainy day in Berlin. Those were fun times. I saw you at Sprout Home yesterday, and you acted like you didn’t remember me, I was hurt for a minute, then I saw that you were sporting a $4.49 tag. and that you were living in a 3” container. I know… you felt cheap. Thats no reason to act that way though. I still think of you as high class, and I know that you can grow to be six feet tall. All you need is bright light, and to have your soil moderately moist. I can do that for you, more importantly, we can do it together. So there, I have let you know how I feel, and maybe later when I stop in, i’ll take you home.

I just found a random folder on my desk top and this was saved inside.  <3

It makes me cringe when I think about the mass amounts of paper products that are used every single day.  Tissues, toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, printing paper, paper bags, fast food bags, food containers, packaging for countless products.  I can’t even wrap my mind around how many trees had to be slaughtered to produce those items so humans can thoughtlessly devour and waste.

This product makes me sick.  Kleenex is introducing an entirely new way to increase your net waste and impact on the planet!  When you wash your hands, why not use a brand new paper towel to immediately toss in the trash!?!?  Oh goody!  What happened to a hand towel or a good old fashioned pant wipe?

http://www.kleenex.com/handtowels/

I’ve really been missing Apollo this week.  It’s been almost a month since I last saw his adorable little face and held him close in a big hug.  I can’t believe it’s already been that long.  I had one tough day after we put him down which was spent crying, cleaning up the cat stuff, and packing for my work trip.  Then I was gone for three weeks.  The trip helped me deal with the sadness and kept my mind off of it, but now that I’m home I’m reminded that he is gone every day by the feeling and sound of the empty house. 

I never had to deal with the loss of a pet since I only had carnival-won-goldfish and a hampster growing up.  Obviously you can’t form a relationship with those types of animals on any level close to what you form with a cat or dog. 

The day I moved out of my mom’s house I brought Apollo home.  What a joy to have the little guy around.  I loved watching him play with toys, chase the lazer, gaze off the balcony, curiously sniff something new, go up to say hi to anyone who came over.  Even the times that he would climb up my bare legs with his claws after I got out of the shower were wonderful.  The batting at the bedroom door throughout the night, kneeding my full bladder during the night, and biting of my nose at 4am were not as fun, but still cute and I miss those things too.  I still look for him when I come home, snoozing on the couch or sitting by the front door with a sleepy look on his face.  Sometimes I find myself thinking that he is just outside watching the birds.

I would love to get another cat, adopt one that is in need of a good home.  I love having one around and figured it would help me move on by filling the apartment with meows and snuggles.  Sadly I don’t think we’re going to get another one because Adam is allergic.  He agreed to have Apollo live with us because he was my cat and he came with the package, but he suffered from sore throat, itchy eyes, and other allergies the entire time.  I feel bad bringing another cat into the house knowing that he is so allergic.  Which sucks.  So, now I wait until we move to a larger place with a yard so we can get a puppy.  That will be a whole new experience!

I decided that I’m going to start blogging about dishes that Adam and I create, especially since the gardening season is happily upon us! 

Last night we made a lovely piece of salmon with couscous and swiss chard.  The photo is not actually a photo of our dish (ours looked better!) but I’ll start to take some real shots of our culinary adventures soon.

We started by slicing the bright colored ends of the swiss chard and a onion.  We pan fried these in olive oil on the stove top with salt and pepper.  Later we added a healthy dose of chopped garlic and a squirt of lemon.  Five minutes before chow time we added the beautiful leafy ends of the chard to the heat to coat them with the oniony-garlicy goodness and to warm them to a nice tender texture.

Couscous is rapidly becoming one of my favorite side dishes.  It only takes 5 minutes to make and is virtually dummy proof - which is good for me since I have major issues with cooking rice.  We used a boullion cube and water as the liquid (the boullion adds more flavor) and also chopped up 2 green onions to include.  Just add the liquid to the couscous, along with the green onion, cover, let sit for 5 minutes, and gently fluff with a fork before serving.  Simple and delicious!

Now for the salmon.  YUM I love fish.  I really want to eat fish everyday.  We started by sprinkling fresh ground pepper, salt, and corriander on the filet and let that sit while we prepared the veggies and the couscous.  We warmed a skillet and added olive oil while the seasonings had time to work into the salmon.  Once the pan was hot I dropped in the salmon, pink side down, skin side up, which was followed with a beautiful sizzle.  After a few minutes the bottom of the filet turned a nice light brown color and it was time to flip the fish and put the entire pan in the over (set at 500) to finish baking all the way through.  Five minutes later we had the perfect salmon filet.

This is one of my dream meals.  A well rounded meal of fish, a grain, and veggies is really the way to go.  Delicious and healthy meals are easy and fun to make!

Peep sushi!