Sydney has discovered a new toy.
The toilet paper.
Yup. She managed to shut herself in the bathroom this morning & when I opened the door, most of the new roll was in a pile on the ground.
She, of course, looked completely innocent. Uh-huh, like I'm really gonna buy that.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Dahling...
I do believe I need to brush on my courtly protocol.
 | My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Duchess Ladygunn the Weary of Goosnargh Leering Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title |
As my friends, you may refer to me informally as Your Grace. That will be all.
(How did they know I'm always tired? Freaky.)
From the Viscountess Caltechgirl...
Saturday, December 30, 2006
The Kitty Rules
Cat Physics
Sleepy Syd on the sofa
Sleepy Syd on the sofa
All bags and boxes in a given room must contain a cat within the earliest possible nanosecond.
A cat will accelerate at a constant rate, until he gets good and ready to stop.
A cat is composed of Matter + Anti-Matter + It Doesn't Matter.
A cat's interest level will vary in inverse proportion to the amount of effort a human expends in trying to interest him.
A cat can make her body long enough to reach just about any counter top that has anything remotely interesting on it.
A cat's irritation rises in direct proportion to her embarrassment times the amount of human laughter.
A cat's gravitational pull (i.e. weight) will vary upward in direct proportion to the desire of the human to move the cat.
A cat at rest will tend to remain at rest, unless acted upon by some outside force - such as the opening of cat food, or a nearby scurrying mouse.
Cave- kitty Sydney
Cats think that if they can't see you, then you can't see them.
A cat will always land in the softest place possible.
All blue blazers and black sweaters attract cat hair in direct proportion to the darkness of the fabric.
The mass of a cat is inversely proportional to its desire to be picked up.
A cat will move in a straight line, unless there is a really good reason to change direction.
As yet undiscovered.
It is not possible to predict where a cat actually is, only the probability of where she might be.
All cats must sleep with people whenever possible, in a position as uncomfortable for the people involved as is possible for the cat.
A cat will stretch to a distance proportional to the length of the nap just taken.
Streeeeetch after a nap
Heat flows from a warmer to a cooler body, except in the case of a cat, in which case all heat flows to the cat.
A cat will wash itself at any time which is appropiate, which includes especially the moment after something has been jumped and escaped.
A cat's mass increases in direct proportion to the comfort of the lap she occupies.
Cats must attend all meals when anything good is served.
Turn on an electric blanket and a cat will jump into bed at the speed of light.
Cats know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed and will, therefore, use as little energy as possible.
My catalog, momma
My catalog, mommaAll cats in a given room will locate at points equidistant from each other, and equidistant from the center of the room.
A cat immersed in milk will displace her own volume, minus the amount of milk consumed.
A cat's desire to scratch furniture is directly proportional to the cost of the furniture.
A cat will drink his weight in milk, squared, just to show you he can.
A cat's resistance varies in proportion to a human's desire for her to do something.
Any pill given to a cat has the potential energy to reach escape velocity.
A cat will always seek, and usually take over, the most comfortable spot in any given room.
If a cat watches a refrigerator long enough, someone will come along and take out something good to eat.
No rug may remain in its naturally flat state for very long.
Although a cat can hear a can of tuna being opened a mile away, she can't hear a simple command three feet away.
Given enough time, a cat will land in just about any space.
Syd on the curio cabinet
Found at Flippy's Cat Page
Thursday, December 28, 2006
I'm Still Here...
I got caught using the internet at work to stay awake, so no can surf or post at night anymore. *sob* Soooo, I'll have to do all that stuff from either the Mothership's place or the library.
Let me see - what else is going on... the car.
Oh yes, the car. Lucy has now had the spark plugs & wires replaced, the water pump & timing belt replaced & now needs some EGR valve-something-or-other replaced. That last thing is the reason she quits whenever she even starts thinking about warming up. I have to drive with both feet & have gotten rather good at sliding between neutral & drive. Most of the time. Sometimes she still just up & quits when I'm trying to take a turn or at a stoplight. Unfortunately, payday isn't until next Friday, so I can't get that fixed until then.
Sheesh. Over a $1000 in the last few weeks & she still ain't running right... I work at a non-profit - I cain't afford this.
Peanut went into the ER on Tuesday for severe pain & flu symptoms & ended up having an emergency appendectomy. She had lots of nurses stopping in to say hi, especially since she missed her shift there. ;) She's doing okay now & went home today.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not exactly a result you'd expect from a blogger, as we're supposed to be exhibitionists. Ah, well... it is pretty much accurate.
| You Are 10% Extrovert, 90% Introvert |
 You avoid people at all costs You aren't one for social interaction And you limit your interaction to a select few Thank God for self checkout! |
Snitched from Leslie's new & improved page...
I almost forgot - before all the car troubles, I ordered a few little fun things for my brothers & me. On sale of course.
The FGX Push Blade II from Cold Steel
Sweeet...
Monday, December 25, 2006
There's Only One...
I found this on a friend of a friend's myspace page.
| HowManyOfMe.com | ||
|
There are 38,996 people in the U.S. with the first name M----.
Statistically the 897th most popular first name. (tied with 17 other first names)
More than 99.9 percent of people with the first name M---- are female.
There are 8,909 people in the U.S. with the last name Will.
Statistically the 4079th most popular last name. (tied with 23 other last names)
Merry Christ-mas
I hope that you all are having a lovely Christmas and are surrounded by family & friends. May we all remember the reason for season.
Luke 2:1-20
The Birth of Jesus
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them,
"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Text obtained from BibleGateway.
I think this one was in kindergarten. I'm the one with the braids, staring the camera down.
Luke 2:1-20
The Birth of Jesus
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them,
"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Text obtained from BibleGateway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And now for a trip back into the annals of history...
A grade school Christmas program. I'm the one with the 'toy' banner.
I think this one was in kindergarten. I'm the one with the braids, staring the camera down.Don't ask me what in the world I was thinking there, 'cause I haven't a clue.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Cranberry Cream Scones
I'm finally posting the two recipes I used for the Christmas Tea at church some time ago.
Cranberry Cream Scones
(These are absolutely awesome!)
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/3 c. cold butter, cut into pieces
1 c. whipping cream
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 T. whipping cream or 1 egg white
1 t. orange zest (I didn't have this & they came out just fine ~ LG)
1/2 c. dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder & salt with a pastry blender until coarse & crumbly. Add 1 c. whipping cream, stirring until just moistened. Add dried cranberries as you stir in the cream. With hands, work in the cream cheese (might I suggest that you use vinyl gloves for this part - otherwise it's very, very messy.)
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead 5 or 6 times. Roll until 1/2-inch thick. Cut with a small biscuit or cookie cutter and place each scone about 2 inches apart on a non-stick baking sheet.
Brush the tops of the scones with the remaining whipping cream or egg white. Sprinkle the tops with sugar. (I used cream & quite a lot of sugar. They came out with a lovely crunchy sugar crust on top.)
Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes 2 dozen. Serve warm with Devonshire cream, jam &/or lemon curd.
(Devonshire cream is also wonderful in tea - we had a toffee tea with cream in it - oh, baby, was it ever good.)
Cranberry Cream Scones
(These are absolutely awesome!)
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/3 c. cold butter, cut into pieces
1 c. whipping cream
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 T. whipping cream or 1 egg white
1 t. orange zest (I didn't have this & they came out just fine ~ LG)
1/2 c. dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder & salt with a pastry blender until coarse & crumbly. Add 1 c. whipping cream, stirring until just moistened. Add dried cranberries as you stir in the cream. With hands, work in the cream cheese (might I suggest that you use vinyl gloves for this part - otherwise it's very, very messy.)
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead 5 or 6 times. Roll until 1/2-inch thick. Cut with a small biscuit or cookie cutter and place each scone about 2 inches apart on a non-stick baking sheet.
Brush the tops of the scones with the remaining whipping cream or egg white. Sprinkle the tops with sugar. (I used cream & quite a lot of sugar. They came out with a lovely crunchy sugar crust on top.)
Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes 2 dozen. Serve warm with Devonshire cream, jam &/or lemon curd.
(Devonshire cream is also wonderful in tea - we had a toffee tea with cream in it - oh, baby, was it ever good.)
Classic Shortbread
I'm finally posting the two recipes I used for the Christmas Tea at church some time ago.
Classic Shortbread
(I'm usually not a fan of shortbread but this stuff is pretty stinkin' good.)
1 c. butter, softened
2/3 c. powdered sugar, unsifted
1/2 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
Cream butter until light. Cream in powdered sugar, then vanilla. Work in flour.
Knead dough on unfloured board until nice & smooth.
Spray 9X13 pan very lightly and firmly press dough into pan. Prick entire surface with a fork.
Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned.
Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then cut into 20 squares. Carefully remove from pan to cool on cooling rack.
(I let one batch cool too long in the pan & they didn't come out very well at all, so make sure you take them out after the 10 minutes are up.)
Classic Shortbread
(I'm usually not a fan of shortbread but this stuff is pretty stinkin' good.)
1 c. butter, softened
2/3 c. powdered sugar, unsifted
1/2 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
Cream butter until light. Cream in powdered sugar, then vanilla. Work in flour.
Knead dough on unfloured board until nice & smooth.
Spray 9X13 pan very lightly and firmly press dough into pan. Prick entire surface with a fork.
Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned.
Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then cut into 20 squares. Carefully remove from pan to cool on cooling rack.
(I let one batch cool too long in the pan & they didn't come out very well at all, so make sure you take them out after the 10 minutes are up.)
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Well, Thar She Blows...
Lucy is on the way out. Soon she'll be moved to either ICU or the morgue. We got her put back together after replacing the spark plugs, wires & three of the plug tube gaskets. She runs beautifully...
When she keeps running, that is.
She's fine at first, but as she warms up, she doesn't want to keep going. I've been learning the joys of driving with both feet - one to stop her & the other to keep the engine running.
And that's not the least of her problems - the water pump is going out. She's leaking coolant like there's no tomorrow. I talked to Joe at the local Dodge dealership & he figured it'll cost about $900 to replace that & the timing belt. He suggested that I find someone who'll take her off my hands. Dad's going to call a buddy of his to see if he has any ideas on how to do this cheaper. Did I mention that the entire front of the engine will have to be ripped out?
Yeah, this sucks...
Update: Viking Dad found several places that will replace the water pump & all for $550-600. And I gotta figure out how I'm going to get to the sleep specialist in Wichita tomorrow...
When she keeps running, that is.
She's fine at first, but as she warms up, she doesn't want to keep going. I've been learning the joys of driving with both feet - one to stop her & the other to keep the engine running.
And that's not the least of her problems - the water pump is going out. She's leaking coolant like there's no tomorrow. I talked to Joe at the local Dodge dealership & he figured it'll cost about $900 to replace that & the timing belt. He suggested that I find someone who'll take her off my hands. Dad's going to call a buddy of his to see if he has any ideas on how to do this cheaper. Did I mention that the entire front of the engine will have to be ripped out?
Yeah, this sucks...
Update: Viking Dad found several places that will replace the water pump & all for $550-600. And I gotta figure out how I'm going to get to the sleep specialist in Wichita tomorrow...
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
The Food of Champions
I HAVE CHOCOLATE! YAY!
Scot from work brought over some homemade fudge. Yum yum & thanks so very, very much.
Scot from work brought over some homemade fudge. Yum yum & thanks so very, very much.
I Vant To Suck Your Blood...
I just watched Nosferatu, a silent German film made in 1922. It was the first ever adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula. The little blurb on Netflix said "Many horror freaks call F.W. Murnau's silent German classic the scariest Dracula adaptation ever." I didn't think it was scary at all. (Dracula movies don't get me - however, psychotic murderer movies do. Ick.) There were some very cool shots, though. My favourite part was when he hinged up out of the coffin & was stalking the two sailors on the ship. The music in that part is so awesome! I watched it several times just for the music.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
For Sale - Queen Anne II Dollhouse Kit
After I got my work comp settlement from Cessna, I splurged & got my dream dollhouse. (Yes, I know it's a kids' toy - shut up) The Queen Anne II by Real Good Toys. Three floors, thirteen rooms, one a hidden tower room. I have all the rooms planned out & some of the furniture & other stuff stored.
Only problem is, my car is likely officially dead & I have some other unexpected expenses, so the dollhouse is going to have to go. It's a kit, un-assembled (I was scared to try the assembly & wiring for electricity on something this expensive. And no, I didn't pay full price.), so it'll be fairly easy to ship in the two boxes I got it in.It's a sturdy kit, 3/8 inch plywood, 50"W x 24"D x 49"H and in 1-inch scale. (1 inch equals 1 foot.)
If anyone is interested, drop me an email. The original MSRP is $1075.00, but I could let it go for probably $700. Or just make me an offer & I'll see what we can work out.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Grrr...
Drat.
Stoopid Blogger won't let me see my little bloggy page.
Push-Button Publishing, my foot. I've got a button for you to push. See that big red one ever there, that says "Don't push this button or you will self-destruct in 5 seconds"? You, go push it.
(Blogger's been behaving rather nicely lately, but sometimes... I need a few of Jayne's grenades.)
Mal: Jayne, how many weapons you plan on bringing? You only got the two arms.
Jayne: I just get excitable as to choice- like to have my options open.
Mal: I don't plan on any shooting taking place during this job.
Jayne: Well, what you plan and what takes place ain't ever exactly been similar.
Mal: No grenades.
[Jayne groans]
Mal: No grenades!
Stoopid Blogger won't let me see my little bloggy page.
Push-Button Publishing
We're sorry, but we were unable to complete your request.
Push-Button Publishing, my foot. I've got a button for you to push. See that big red one ever there, that says "Don't push this button or you will self-destruct in 5 seconds"? You, go push it.
(Blogger's been behaving rather nicely lately, but sometimes... I need a few of Jayne's grenades.)
Mal: Jayne, how many weapons you plan on bringing? You only got the two arms.
Jayne: I just get excitable as to choice- like to have my options open.
Mal: I don't plan on any shooting taking place during this job.
Jayne: Well, what you plan and what takes place ain't ever exactly been similar.
Mal: No grenades.
[Jayne groans]
Mal: No grenades!
Fixing Lucy
Dad & I have been working on fixing Lucy, my '98 Dodge Avenger. We're replacing the spark plugs & plug wires (& we have also discovered more stuff that needs a-fixin') & to do that on a 'Venge, the intake manifold has to be taken off. Dad was not amused. (That's my new axe I just got.)
For some reason, he won't let me just drop a Hemi in her while we've got her (slightly) torn up.
By the way, if ever you need help with your Dodge, go talk to the fellas at DodgeForum.com. They have been awesome.
For some reason, he won't let me just drop a Hemi in her while we've got her (slightly) torn up.
By the way, if ever you need help with your Dodge, go talk to the fellas at DodgeForum.com. They have been awesome.
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