Category Archives: The Daily

Productive or Unproductive Weekend?

I don’t feel like I got a lot done this weekend. Here is the rundown:

Friday night is our standard television watching date with our friend. I am teaching her how to cook so I showed her how to make my GF/DF Fish Chowder, which was delicious (while I drank copious amounts of Frangelico in decaf coffee with tons of whipped cream). Then we settled in to watch five episodes of The New Girl, which made me hurt myself laughing, and two episodes of Supernatural, which was meh. I should note that I’m a terrible TV watcher. This Friday thing is about all I can take lately. I know I used to like to watch TV so I’m not sure what happened here.

Side note….

For some reason talking about watching TV is making me think about some of the the movies we have seen recently that we really liked:

The Guard
Super 8
Chronicle
Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil

Next up is the movie Local Hero which is sitting on my dining room table waiting for me to watch it.

Okay, back on topic…

Saturday I had lunch with a friend and her daughter in SW Portland, and then came home and sorted through all of my fine art paints. I threw out the dried up crap and made three lists: paint that is essential that I need to purchase; paint that I would like to have but isn’t essential; and paint I would love to have if money isn’t tight.  I went through all of the photographs that I took and went in and cropped several of them to turn into paintings. I also did some cooking. I made some homemade chicken stock to use in future recipes and to enhance the dogs’ dry food. And I made coq au van, which we had for dinner.

On Sunday, I was a bit of a slug. I Skyped with my friend in Italy and we decided on a time for Mike and I to go visit him (and make a side trip to Ireland). I managed, with Mike’s help, to print out all of the photographs that I had decided to use for paintings, which took longer than expected because some refinement in terms of cropping and framing needed to occur. I made a really delicious curried soup – with sweet potato, carrots, onion, celery, lime zest and juice, freshly grated ginger, madras curry powder, lemon grass, homemade chicken stock, and coconut milk – for lunch. Then I drank tea and spent a lot of the day lying down under a comforter and reading.

So, typing it up it looks like a bunch of stuff got done, but there was a whole lot of lying down so I’m feeling confused.

I must say I am really enjoying my newly redone studio. I mentioned the project briefly before but never followed up with pictures. I’m close enough to Done that I feel like I should take some pictures and call it “done” even though I will continue to tweak things.

It is Monday and sunny here in Portland. We will be back to rain tomorrow so I’m making note and appreciating the hell out of it. Mike told me today that Portland set a new record for the most amount of rainfall in one month (7.89 inches). My repsonse: Well, I feel better about all the whining I did about it.

Hey. I’m nothing if not self-aware.

All The Pretty Tea Towels

A friend and I got together for a little craft time this weekend. I really wanted to do a potato stamping project. I decided to create some tea towels, and with one exception (a high school project carving a linoleum tile and printing on fabric using an oil based paint) I really had no experience with either stamping, printing, or using fabric paint. I did a lot of internet research and I invested in a book. In the end just diving in was the way to go. The idea was to make simple and beautiful things using a very easy and inexpensive process. The notion of taking what essentially is a child’s project – potato stamping – and turning it into something beautiful for my home (and maybe other people’s homes if I get my act together) is very appealing to me.

Determined not to use any store bought stamps or stencils I went the simple route (the potato) and a more complicated route (a hand designed and carved stamp made out of a rubber block). Here are the results, which I am pretty pleased with.

These:







Turned into these:







And this:








And then this:








Started out looking like this:








And with the help of some paint pens, turned into this:

WW Comic Update

A short while ago I mentioned I was going to read Gail Simone’s take on Wonder Woman. I expressed my personal challenge of being able to immerse myself in comics in general (the picture/words – words/picture toggle is uncomfortable for me) but my love of Wonder Woman and the genre of comics is a lure too great to not try again.

Well. There is some good news and some bad news.

I started out reading Gail Simone’s Wonder Woman with some pretty big expectations. The foreword alone would ramp anyone up, but my partner Mike is also a very big fan of Simone. Then, of course, it is WONDER WOMAN, so who wouldn’t have big expectations. Certainly not this woman who used to twirl along with the 70’s Linda Carter version, who faithfully watched the Justice League cartoons every Saturday*, and who to this day is still pissed off at her sister for teasing her Wonder Woman doll’s hair into a snarled and unfixable mess well over 30 years ago.

I will first mention that reading through the collection I was inspired to read more. I’m actually interested in reading all the Wonder Woman comic books that are out there (daunting, I know) just for a comparison of stories. So something very positive came out of this in that respect (i.e. the good news). I had a little trouble in the middle, but once I got through that middle point the story really picked up speed and when I came to the end I was disappointed it was over .

The problems I had (here comes the bad news) were around the idea that an island of women were descending into madness because they could not bear children. I found that particularly depressing and didn’t feel like something any woman should write. I also was disappointed four trusted women who were supposedly loyal and devoted to the queen were so overcome with jealousy that they would plot to kill her child. I can’t help thinking that if you are going to attribute the male perception of how all women yearn to bear children and are jealous of each other, then why wouldn’t you also assume that a woman would never harm a child. To me the latter is actually more accurate than the former where women are concerned (with exceptions to the rule of course). It makes me wonder if the author had to write it this way or if this was her take? I know of a couple of other versions of how Wonder Woman came to be and I plan to do some investigating.I also have to say that having the art work change so dramatically through the issues was a big let down. At one point I think she looked a little too Jersey Girl for me and it was hard to try to mentally set that aside and concentrate on the story.

Having said all that… What I did like was her strength, her desire and talent for diplomacy and peace, a show of genuine admiration and respect for a female colleague, her display of humility and the ability to set aside pride to plead for assistance in a worthy cause, and the affirmation of not compromising on being the embodiment of her (The) ideals – even when vengeance would seem justified. I liked that we also got to see her interact with the Justice League however briefly – my inner nine-year old was squirming with excitement! And finally, I liked that Wonder Woman was drawn as a woman instead of a man with giant boobs (even the Jersey girl version); some versions I have seen looking over Mike’s shoulder over the years have really been frightening.

So I guess I am going to turn into a comic book reader after all. I will surely be at it for quite a while since she has been around for 70 years.

* I also used to watch the Saturday morning show Isis. Does anyone else remember that show? It was very Wonder-Woman-esque. That’s her in the pic.

Mini-Explosion of Ideas

A few months back when I flew out to California to visit my sister so we could make holiday cards together, we saw some cute needle felting projects in one of the stores. I mentioned I didn’t know anything about it and I was curious. My sister took note and got me a cute little needle felting kit for Christmas. This weekend I finally got around to using it. I made this funny little pig. I actually kind of love this funny little pig. When I first started the project I thought it was kind of boring and repetitive, but the more the little pig took shape the more delighted I was with the whole process. It started sparking ideas for what other things I could make, and suddenly I had a growing list of ideas. The fun part is that they are not all felting ideas. Creativity does indeed spark creativity. Nice.

New England Style Fish Chowdah’ – Gluten Free & Dairy Free

We had some frozen pieces of Atlantic Cod in the freezer and in the interest of not eating chicken three nights in a row (I made southwestern style chicken and black bean soup on Wednesday and will be making chicken cacciatore tonight) I decided to make some New England style fish chowdah’ (I’m a Masshole, remember). Some complications are that Mike is allergic to dairy proteins, he is celiac, and he doesn’t eat any meat other than chicken. So things like rendering bacon fat, adding flour to make a roux, and then adding milk isn’t possible. I’ve gotten quite good at making adjustments to the types of dishes we both like to eat so that Mike can enjoy them and I don’t feel like I’m missing out. I have to say this was one of my better adjustments.

Quickly, and from memory…

Scrub and cut up into medium size chunks some potatoes. I use the white ones so that I don’t have to bother with peeling them.

Chop up one small or half of a large onion into a medium dice.

Chop up 3-4 ribs of celery.

Use a large soup pot and heat some olive oil up. Saute the onion and celery until they just start to wilt. Add the potatoes and stir again until they are coated in the oil and have begun to heat up. Add just enough chicken stock/broth to cover the potatoes. Add about 1 tablespoon of dried thyme and one large bay leaf (or two small ones). Cover the pot with a tight lid and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Add the cod and push them down until they are surrounded by liquid. Cover the pot again and simmer for 5-7 minutes more until the fish is tender. About a minute or two before the fish is done you can throw in a cup or so of frozen peas. It isn’t traditional, but I always like to have something green at dinner and in the interest of making a one pot dinner I decided to do so.

Remove the lid and pour in some coconut creamer or soy creamer (So Delicious brand is one we like); not flavored of course. Don’t confuse coconut creamer with canned coconut milk! There is a world of difference in flavor. We absolutely love the coconut one and prefer it over the soy, but its a matter of personal taste. I actually didn’t need to add too much – maybe somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 cup. It is mostly for color and to add a touch of richness.

Turn the heat off and then add some instant potato flakes to the pot and gently stir the chowder until it has reached the desired thickness. I like my chowder thick and I added at least one cup to mine – possibly more. I love having instant potato flakes on hand for thickening soups. There is a really wonderful and natural one that Bob’s Red Mill makes that I am very grateful for. It is simply dehydrated potatoes with no additives. Bob’s products are so widely carried these days you don’t need to go to their store here in Oregon, but it is actually fun to go there if you ever get the chance. He runs a great company and his employees are treated very well. A 16oz bag of potato flakes is $3.59; not too bad.

My Two Day Work Week

I spent the weekend in Northern California visiting my sister, brother in law, and their new puppy, Abbey. The weather was absolutely spectacular and we spent a lot of time outside. We even ate outside on sunny Saturday. My body didn’t know what the hell was going on and decided to protest by throwing a sick party and I’ve been down for the count since I got home. Today, Wednesday, I finally feel well enough to be grossed out by the sheets on my bed and want some nourishing food cooked by my own hand. So today is a kind of test run to see if I can make it through a workday (theoretically that will be tomorrow). I’m actually out of bed, threw the sheets in the washer, and there is homemade southwestern style chicken and black-bean soup simmering on the stove.

The old me would have pushed myself to go into work today, but the new me is putting my health first and I decided to take this extra day. I feel a little guilt, but I’m talking myself down from it.

Let me tell you that my dogs are wonderful little companions. I have one at my feet under my desk as I type this. The other is, I think, in the front room on patrol should anyone attempt to even consider approaching this house and harassing us; she’s on it.

Man, I can not wait until my bed is all changed up and fresh. What a blissful moment that will be. After all this activity I think some soup followed by a big nap is in order.

Superheroes and Comic Books

I have a few comic book t-shirts: Batman Evil Villians, a Spiderman one, and a Jayna from the Wonder Twins one. I’m on the hunt for the perfect Wonder Woman as she is the mac daddy of them all for me and so I am being extremely picky. I bought one I like that is too small so I’m going to cut it up and make a patch out of it to sew onto something else.

The thing is I sometimes feel like a fraud. I have to confess that as much as I like the comic world I have a hard time actually reading comic books. There is something about the stilted way of reading them – words to pictures, pictures back to words – that I have a hard time with. I have a hard time losing myself in the story.

I grew up watching Wonder Woman, Superman, and Justice League cartoons. I of course watched the Linda Carter Wonder Woman series (and I’d watch it all over again right now thank you very much). I was even into this show called The Secrets of Isis. As a kid I watched many episodes of the old Superman “Ka-Pow!” television show. I’ve seen all the Batman and Superman films and the films leading up to the Avengers. I hope they actually make a Hawkeye movie because that is one hell of a compelling story. I’ve seen all of the X-Men films including Wolverine and have even seen the tragically bad Green Lantern and epically bad League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (don’t judge!). I am genuinely excited when a new superhero film is scheduled to come out. I even have my top pick for who I would choose to play Wonder Woman if people ever get off their asses and make a damned Wonder Woman film. I’m also genuinely outraged that there aren’t better crafted/written/drawn female superheroes out there. And for some reason I’ve really taken a shine to Silver Surfer.

Still, if you don’t read comic books…sigh.

I live with a total comic book nerd. He is in a constant state of reading comics. Constant. Always. There are a 100+ comic books on his bookshelves and they rotate in and out from various sources. There are huge filing cabinets in storage that are filled to bursting with more comic books. He also writes reviews on Goodreads. As I type this he is currently at 386 reviews. My word, I do love this man. Uh…what was I talking about again?

Right! Reading comic books.

Mike knows how much I love the whole superhero genre and I know he is a bit disappointed in not being able to share comic books with me. He is always on the the hunt for that One Book that might be the tipping point that makes me fall in love with reading them. He recently brought home Wonder Woman – from the beginning – written by Gail Simone. If ever I was going to read a comic from beginning to end it would be this one. I’ve read the foreword and got even more excited. I’ve read the first five pages. I’ll keep you posted.

I Take My Job Perks Where I Can Get ‘Em

Wearing this type of attire to work is definitely a big perk. Again, what a cool boss I have. Hey, I dressed it up with a jacket, right? Honestly, no one has even noticed. It does feel good to not have to dress the way I used to have to when working in the corporate world.

Last night we had one of those blissful day in the life moments where Mike and I were just cuddled up next to each other on the couch. I was playing a game on my iPad and Mike was reading through some of his blogs on his iPhone and our dogs were cuddled up with us too. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to – or take for granted – the peaceful and wonderful little moments in life. I make a point of noticing them. When we moved off the couch to make and eat dinner we got into some fun discussions about this funny idea I had once for a comic book with a female protagonist. Then we got to talking about some fiction I was reading and then joked around about collaborating on writing something together. It was a fun idea and one I am giving some serious thought to. There hasn’t been a lot of  opus going on lately to post about. Well, that might be slightly unfair…

Some projects I have been working on mentally and physically…

Making Hats – Each year Mike and I go out to the Oregon Country Fair in Veneta, Oregon (just outside Eugene). Mike has been a volunteer for close to ten years and so I now tag along with him. It’s a wild time filled with costumery, good friends, and fun. I’m not much into wearing costumes and crazy clothes, but it turns out I am into making them. Mike is great because he will wear stuff so I don’t have to. Last year I made him a kilt out of Superman fabric (don’t have a good picture handy). It was a challenging project that took a lot of time but was totally worth it. This year I’m thinking about making hats. Fanciful, wonderful, crazy hats. Hats with horns, glass beads, feathers, lights…all these ideas are percolating. I’ll begin working on them hopefully this weekend.

Cooking – man I’ve been cooking up a storm lately. Maybe my favorite thing so far has been the coconut curry soup with basil lime chicken. So good!

And now I have the writing stuff to think about.

So many ideas, so little time. Which is so much better than no ideas and tons of time. What a nightmare that is!

New Baby in the Family!

Meet Abbey, the new puppy my sister and brother in-law adopted. She is a boxer-pitbull-lab mix and is 13 weeks old. I have booked a trip to go and meet my adorable new niece at the very beginning of February. I can’t wait to meet her!

Two Tons of Awesome

I am going to start by telling you that this past week has really sucked. I think though, it is because the first week back to work from a holiday break that was TWO TONS OF AWESOME always sucks.

We had two glorious weeks off together. We spent the first week in Toronto, Canada – one of my all time favorite cities – and then the second week at home. We also rang in the new year helping dear friends of ours clean and paint their new super-duper-fixer home. It was grueling work but helping friends is a damned fine way to start the year.

Two of my favorite places – this artist and creative design building that Mike once worked in, and of course Chinatown. Other places I loved that I have no pictures of were the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and Kensington. So fun!

And we spent a few days in Warkworth at his parents house too. Check out the soldier ornament Mike made out of a toilet paper tube when he was a little boy. So funny.