Happy Dad's Day to all (e:strip) dads, and of course, to all the dads of (e:strip)pers. :O)

For fathert's day, i baked my dad cookies. I did my cake mix cookies he loves so much. Used 3 cake mixes and made some black and white cookies (half white cake mix, half chocolate cookie mix, half a tablespoon of each, rolled together and baked), chocolate chip cookies (a white cake mix with some brown sugar and vanilla mixed into the batter), chocolate chocolate chip cookies and some chocolate cookies. Five dozen in all, 2 dozen of the chocolate ones, each dozen in a plastic baggie so he can freeze some for later if he wants to. I did all of these cookies last night... on a hot night and we have no a/c.

While baking (and sweating), i listened to cds... i thought of my favies -- Kate Bush or Morrissey, But since my dad hates both and i didn't want to get any Kate Bushyness or Morrisseyness baked into the cookies, i decided to listen to something else. Several something elses in fact. Some White Stripes. I doubt my dad knows who they are... And, what brought me to change my user sound. Some Elvis the C... (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.

Does anyone know a good place to eat anywhere in the city or 'burbs that would accomodate me, an ovo-lacto vegetarian as well as someone who wants to eat seafood? Our neighbour asked us if we wanted to hang with her tonight, and she wants to go to Red Lobster, but according to their website there is nothing i can eat there, including salads! Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

Wow... i had too many on my long suffering digital camera. I need to upload them to our comp more often.

Going back to the beginning of the month, there was my 2 day helping (e:Ladycroft) move adventure.

Sorry, (e:Jason) , if you make a face like that while i have my camera out, i may just publish it!




Full Aqua Mouse and phone calls still must be returned!




At the end of day 1, after the 3 hour bed is finally together, (e:Ladycroft) sooths herself with her Dr Pepper pillow.




Day 2 started with this box as a top priority. Gaming... and all it's bits.



The tears are not dry from the womp (e:Ladycroft) 's head took from that 2 x 4 i accidentally dislodged from the door it was proping up. I had no idea that thud it made behind me wasn't it hitting the floor. Once again, Dr Pepper sooths ills (along with some ibuprofen i had in my purse, thank goodness!).




Moving on to this weekend...

It started with a wonderful walk in Tifft Nature Preserve on Friday. (E:Uncutsaniflush) really should take credit for these pics, though. His hand was stead enough to take the camera out of my backpack and manage to not scare these deer away.





I love the silhouette of this one.



This lil baby was trying to hide.. but you can just barely make out one of his eyes peering at us through the grass.




And then, on Saturday... my mom did something she hasn't done... well, since as long as i can remember. She... oh, so hard to even mention it... she... took the bus!


We had a few problems with the schedule, though. What's the point of having one if the driver is early and we miss it? We were on time, even early, and there it goes, zipping by, more than 5 minutes before it is due. Worse on the way back... ah well... We had a nice time anyway. Saw (e:Metalpeter) at Music is Art festival. We even had some chips and salsa at Salsarita's.. and the hot garden salsa was too hot for my mom. Big wow factor there.

Sunday, i went to the Allentown Art Festival with our neighbor and her cute pug, Ava. That dog got so much attention. I swear, talk about a man magnet... she might just land a husband with that dog, yet!

In the car on the way there.


We decided to take a load off and we found a chunk of grass. Between the Holiday Inn and Walgreens on Delaware. I suspect i saw (e:Mike) and (e:Jill) walk by, with some others i think might have been (e:peeps) but i just couldn't yell loud enough, nor could i run fast enough to get to them before they folded back into the crowd. Got in a walking by hey is that you kinda hello to (e:Jenks) , however. :O)

Did, however, have fun with Ava and her human. Ava much prefered the powdered sugar all over the ground to the fancy shmancy dog biscuts that were purchased for her.



After the crowds, we went to Sahara Grill's patio for some eats. They make really good food and i know they have a sign saying they are hiring, but geeze, it is so obvious the people that own it are supremely disorganized. Even after asking for service, we got ignored... the wait staff was really good, once her boss told her that we were there. Not sure how long the place will last if they keep it up. I can't tell you how many people we saw go in, then come out a minute later, obviously grumbling... or people that sat down outside and gave up and left.

I got a nice shot of Ava wearing my hat, though. :O)

Now, i thought i was weird.... but this chick takes the cake.

Outside our building is a sorry little sidewalk tree. At the height of summer, it had about five leaves. A dead glowstick has been dangling from its branches for three months.

Tonight while I was out on a smoke break, I looked at the tree and thought, "Man, that is one sad tree. It looks cold and wet and pathetic. It needs a sweater!"

I went home and whipped one up, it only took an hour and a half to knit. Then another fifteen minutes or so, standing outside in the cold at half past midnight, stitching it up.

And here's the whole site... with updates and more pictures and even a pattern for the tree sweater!

(e:Uncutsaniflush) and i went for a walk last night to cool down. I'm so with other (e:peeps) who've posted kvetching about the heat. I have never been a fan of hot weather. Anything over 75F, and i'm melting...

We had a nice walk... the breeze was so nice. Saw all sorts of animal life out there. Humans parking... lots of those. Who knew Bird Island near a waste water treatment plant could be romantic? We also saw what we thought was a beaver. Can't imagine what else it could have been. Too big for a rat (i hope!!!) and had too short a nose for that. Lots of seagulls, of course. And this guy. We think he's a black-crowned night-heron...



Along with the breeze and the wildlife, we got to partake in some very nice views...



The fog rolling in made everything look mysterious...



I can only imagine what (e:Matthew) could have done with his eye, his camera and those views!

Today, we went to the Indian Diner on Sheridan for lunch. Not bad. They had an Egg Curry that was really good... worked way better than i thought it would. The pomadoms were spicy and good. And i would have taken pics, but the camera was at home, charging.

Also found some of my favorite tea at Lattina's, called Luzianne.. least my favorite kind for making ice tea. Good southern ice tea. Yum.

We also went and got some tomato plants. Poor (e:Uncutsaniflush) is out there digging right now. He found out that along with many others, there were paving stones underneath the grass where we wanted to have the veggie garden. Someone who used to live here loved those damn stones!

First, there was the anniversary of my cat, Diamond's birthday (e:Leetee,15) . She would have been 20 years old on the 21st (for some reason, in my previous jounal entry, i said it was the 23rd.. i dunno why... i reckon i could change it) of May. She was a fairly healthy kitty up 'til the beginning of the end, and whenever i would tell people how old she was, even when she was, i dunno, say 16, they would say she looked like a kitten. Every woman's dream, huh, girls?

Then, there's the anniversary of (e:Uncutsaniflush) 's Gran. Memorial day weekend, 2001. Sadly, she wasn't healthy until the beginning of the end. She was in skilled care. I remember meeting her and wishing i knew how to speak Polish... and that my presence wasn't confusing to her. When (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i were getting together, our choice for me to move to Knoxville rather than him to move to Hamilton had a lot to do with her health. Moving her across town would have been horrible, let alone half way across the country. A little over a month after i moved to Knoxville, she passed away.

On a more possitive note, it is also the anniversary of (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i moving into this house. We can't remember the exact date of the move for some reason (i guess i could look through our papers for the bill from the moving company... knowing me, it is filed away somewhere), but we both remember very distinctly that the closing was on the 23rd of May.

From (e:LeeTee,182) , (e:mrdt) wrote:

This comment has no relevance to your post but rather your user sound. I know you think U2 sucks for whatever reason but I have to say that I think a three year old could create a better avant gard musical composition.

Sorry Lee, I've wanted to get the off my chest for a while.

Are you actually asking why i think U2 suck, or is that just a dis on my taste? If you want to know why i think they suck, i am very willing to tell you. But if it's a dis, then i guess all i have to say about that is those that live in glass houses shouldn't throw rocks. From what you have directly told me about your own taste, you "like everything". I, unfortunately, can't say the same thing... since we have already noted i don't like U2.

As for my user sound -- they, The Shaggs, are not, never have been or will ever be an avant-garde musical group. Check out my journal, (e:LeeTee,159) and to find out about outsider music or the same journal and to find out about The Shaggs.

In case you aren't in the mood to, or are so inclinded to be able to click a link, this is part of my journal, (e:LeeTee,159) :

And now, as i type this, i am listening to Philosophy of the World by the Shaggs (thanks to (e:Uncutsaniflush) for downloading it!) and i am loving it so much. How could i not love the atonal enthusiasm!?! How could i not love a song called "My Pal Foot Foot"? I can't! Since the song was inspired by a pet cat, if i ever again have a pet cat, i now want to name him or her Foot Foot.

I would love to hear the 3 year old that you think could create a better avant-garde musical composition. That would so rock!

Hmm... should i have some Wesley Willis as my next user sound?

Oh, and for the record, folks, i still can't hear usersounds (ok, i could if (e:Uncutsaniflush) did his geek thing on this 'puter too), and i thank each and every one of you for mentioning what and who your usersound is when you change it, or just 'cause you want to! :O)

Now, smokers no longer have to go outside for a quick drag. Forget about freezing your arse off when you are drinking and need to leave and go out on the patio for a smoke!

A Frosty Brew to Help Smokers Quit?
July 13, 2005

STUTTGART, GERMANY -- How about the taste of combining beer with nicotine?
A new beer has been launched by German company Nautilus that claims to help smokers kick the habit by infusing nicotine into the brew.

Here's the whole story...

We hate out bank. I would like to say that the time some dude on the phone called me a fucking bitch was the last staw, but no, it was just the beginning. There was also the monthly call for about 6 months that i had to make because they took out 14 bucks too much for service charges. The manager also had the balls to ask my husband why he called when they didn't follow up on a timely issue. So, no more M&T Bank on Elmwood for us...

Anyone have an horror stories for a bank or branch we should stay away from? Or somewhere they are decent?

Last time we were in Toronto, i picked up a brochure for the Toronto Vegetarian Assoctiation. Thought it would come in handy next time we are in the city and looking for new or different places to eat. It had a section saying their website had a fast food report. It was interesting to see how veggie friendly some of the fast food places are... or aren't. I saw the section on Subway and thought i would email Subway and ask about the ingredients in the veggie patties they sell here and in some regions. They don't carry them in Canada at all, as far as i can tell. I ended up emailing the Toronto Vegetarian Association and they changed the report slight to read

Subway
Updated May 2006. Leette emailed us to say: "Here in the US, in some random locations ... there are veggie patties."
I called their toll line, (800) 888-4848, and was told that they are testing these new products in rotating locations. Some Toronto locations are carrying them. The two new additions are the Gardenburger that contains cheese and egg white and the VegiMax that contains egg white. Subway emailed us the ingredients. There is no mention yet of the new veggie products on their website.
They have a vegan Veggie Delite described as: "a crunchy combination of garden fresh lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, onions, olives and pickles and your choice of condiments served on freshly baked bread. It's like a salad sandwich." All of Subway's breads are egg and diary-free except three cheese breads that contain rennet of unknown origin. Their special sauces all contain egg yolk and/or milk ingredients except for the fat-free Sweet Onion Sauce. Their cookies all contain egg and milk products but are otherwise vegetarian.
See the AllergenChart.pdf (Canadian version at AllergenChartCAN.pdf) and ingredient list (Canada | US) for more information. See their website for more regions. You can call them at (800) 888-4848 to request more veggie options in your home town.

I also have another phood photo essay for ya'll. Yesterday, i tackled another one of my food fears. I have always wanted to try to make homemade lasagna. I know, some of you might think it's not that challenging to make. Well, for some reason, i was scared of trying and we always ate frozen ones. Not anymore. I must say, i am rather proud of the fact that, wihtout a recipe and just some basic ieads, i made a very yummy vegetarian 3 cheese lasagna.

And emptay pan, some dry noodles and a jar of sauce (well, you didn't think i was going to do the whole thing from scratch, did ya?)


The vegetables...


And the chopping begins...



Boiling noodles... i thought about a no boil recipe, but i just wasn't brave enough my first go round.


Oh, how clever; i just thawed the frozen spinach using a measuring cup and some of the boiling water from the pasta...


Noodles done.


Let the sauteing begin...



The 3 cheeses -- Low Moisture Mozzarella, Aged Provalone and Pecorino Ramano from Guercio's.


Ready to assemble. Cooled noodles, cooling veggies, cheeses and tomato sauce.


Assembled lasagna and messy kitchen (thank you again, (e:Uncutsaniflush) for being my chief bottle washer!)


Gotta let it rest for at least 5 minutes, more like 10 before cutting into it...


Finally. After about 3 hours, we can eat my creation.