snippets

With this crazy, swirly summer i have taken a few days to visit my mom in Ohio, which reminds me that i never posted a fun post that i teased months ago.

So let's re-tease this picture:

Hopefully i will actually get to that post before something else crazy happens.

Yesterday i had brunch with my mom and sister.

It was relaxed and wonderful

There are no pictures because there were mimosas instead.

I have seen my sister and brother both in the last two months and they both made me sausage and biscuits.

Their recipes were very different, but both were incredible.

I don't remember really having that for breakfast growing up so i find it funny that all three of  us love it.

Speaking of my brother, here is a picture of me at the shooting range we went to when i was visiting:

Why?

Why not.

I have updated the 101 List and added a day counter to the sidebar. 

We are 8 months into the 43 and i am mostly pleased with myself. 

There has been progress on 31 of the goals. Considering that i took the last few months off from, well, everything that is pretty good.

I think there is only one goal that i might not be able to make up in the remaining time: #64, give blood 16 times. 

The Red Cross has really strict rules about how often you can donate and my original goal was really ambitious.

To see the list you can click on the page below my header or click here.

Miss Miriam came over for dinner and i tried a new crockpot recipe, which helped 2 goals at once.

I made crockpot eggplant lasagna, adapted from here.

Next time i will add about 30 more minutes to the cooking time, but overall i would call dish a success. Plus it went really well with the watermelon daiquiris. 

This is the most cheerful pair of foo dogs i have ever seen.

I am not sure i would trust them to protect much.

Pikachu, i choose you! made of Peeps:

HI HI HI

HELLOOOOOOOO NIKIVERSE!
Oh my gosh, how much i have missed being here.
The last week has been all about NikCo: a card set update on Etsy, first show of the season, May/June class list.
Busy with work is ALWAYS good, but it doesn't leave much time for hanging out at the library to share completely random things,

like this tortoise yard art 

that for a moment, 

from a distance,

 i thought was real. 

Until i remembered i wasn't in the Galapagos. 

BTW, since i mentioned it, be sure to have a gander at the new card sets on Etsy here; they are an eclectic mish-mosh of useful, but interesting, much like me.

Happy May to you all! 

It is indeed my birthday month so every day is a reason to celebrate here in the Nikiverse.

Yesterday was Star Wars Day, today is Cinqo de Mayo and tomorrow is International No Diet Day. [no, i did not make that up] 

Enjoy every day of May, people.

And now for a random beauty break:

April tulips, with Great Gma Weber looking on

One wee bad thing about May is that it marks the end of National Grilled Cheese Month.

We all know that i love grilled cheese.

And that i love the Grilled Cheese & Co.

At the end of last year i was able to introduce my friend Suzanne to the wonders of the GCC:

capturing her first bite; can i tell you how PLEASED Suzanne is that this is her first photo in The Nikiverse?

Her first experience was my go-to fave, the Blue Ox, while i tried the holiday special, The Gobbler:

mmmmmmmm... roasted turkey, gouda, apple butter, potato pancakes, and arugula on pumpernickle...

Thanksgiving dinner in a sandwich, except hold the arugula because yuck.

Speaking of specials, the most recent special at GCC was the Mac Daddy.

I will give you a moment to just behold its majesty.

Yes friends, that is a grilled cheese filled with mac-n-cheese and pot roast.

A MONI CHEESE GRILLED CHEESE, PEOPLE.

Words can not capture even a portion of its awesomeness.

Unfortunately, the Mac Daddy's time has passed, but we are at least back to one of my favorites, the Santorini.

Last week i walked into the living room to the sight of my salt shaker on the floor, balanced perfectly on its top.

When did it fall?

How did it land exactly on its top?

What is it even doing in the living room?

Most importantly, how am i gonna pick it up without salt pouring out all over the floor?

Not only is it bad luck to knock over salt, it is impossible to sweep up.

After much strategizing, i went with flipping it over as fast as possible with the hope that centrifugal force [yes, i know it isn't really a force so much as an effect of inertia, but force is the common word used, so...] would push the salt against the walls of the shaker.

Nope.

Nope, it sure didn't work that way. 

Yes, salt went flying everywhere in a lovely arc.

So much for strategy.

Finally, a popNikiquiz:

What is Niki's favorite string instrument?

Go ahead and call it out!

Did someone just say dobro?

Wow,  that is a wild-a** guess; though points for originality.

Most of you, of course, said the cello.

Enjoy some cello.

late-century anthropomorphized dehydrated fruit

There are some things from your childhood that just make you smile.
Passing a house recently, i was stopped dead in my tracks:

Are those hand-cut wood California Raisins?!?

Why yes, yes they are.

How have i not noticed them before; i have been past that house before.
Maybe there are new owners who just put them out?
Why would they have just put them out?
Have they been around since 1986? Cause if so, they are in good condition (except the guy all the way on the end who is missing his face).
Anytime i see a California Raisin, A Claymation Christmas Celebration comes to mind.
I remember watching it with my parents.
It was certainly different from the other Christmas offerings at the time; i think it might have even won an Emmy.
It had the best version of We Three Kings ever.
There were jazzy singing camels.
In sneakers.
How can that not make you smile?

You know, i think i might have a VHS of that special taped off the tv in 1987 in my closet.
Gotta go look...

woohoooooo, i heard it through the grapevine...

random brain bits

I love visiting Florida.
Living there? Not so much.
But a nice week in the sunshine is just what is needed to relax, clear one's mind and start to shake off those winter doldrums.
There are record high temperatures this week.
The AC broke, so that's a bit unfortunate.
Still, i don't have to shovel heat.

Two weeks ago i couldn't close zip-top bags.
I use them every day in the studio.
I have never had any issue before, but suddenly, no matter how many times i slid my fingers down the top ridge, it wouldn't seal.
I tried different sizes and brands, but i was stymied.
What the what, people?
Then just as suddenly, last Tuesday i could close all of the bags again.
Sometimes i think my house must have been built over toxic waste and the fumes are making me hallucinate large parts of my life. It would explain a lot.

Going by someone's house yesterday on my constitutional, i saw small decorative piles of rocks placed as yard art and said, Oh look -  Inukshuks! to the no one riding along with me.
Then i paused to think, Why in the world do i even know that word? Inuit sculpture isn't something i encounter in my every day life.
It was from an episode of due South.
Betcha haven't thought about that show in a hot minute.
Who says tv isn't educational?
Upon closer investigation they were less traditional Arctic tribal art and more tiny little adorable  rock people.

i want them in my yard

Mental Morsel: the plural of inukshuk is not inukshuks as i thought, but rather inuksuit, which i have no idea have to pronounce.

Recently i heard some less than good news of a medical nature (not about me).
For the next 36 hours or so i had the Time For Your Checkup song from Doc McStuffins stuck in my head. A 43-year old woman with no children should not have to endure It's okay if you giggle; this will only tickle a little for that long.
Great. Now it is stuck in my head again.

Bonus Mental Morsel: despite sounding like most of the noble gasses (neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon) the coolant Freon is not really a single chemical, but the trade name of a bunch of different chloroflourocarbons used as refrigerants.
Generally, Freon is four times heavier than air.

I can't believe it took me the last 25 minutes searching the internet to find that this guy's name is Sir Scoopsalot.

You know i can't resist a costume character and this guy was in Hampden, hon, handing out coupons to The Charmery.

If you haven't been to The Charmery in Baltimore, you need to go now.
They make all the ice cream in-house from local milk, invent interesting flavors and try to capture the spirit of our charming, quirky city.
I highly recommend the salty caramel.
Every day is the right day for ice cream, even if it is only 30 degrees.
Or you can get hot chocolate with house-made marshmallow.

The fountain in the lake in front of my dad's house goes off at 11:47 pm or, as my dad informed me when i pointed it out, 10:47 pm before daylight saving's time.
Nice round number, yeah?
It gives me pause.

Recently -maybe the last two months-  i have been using "totes" instead of totally when speaking.
Hello 2010, what are you doing here?
I didn't use that term when it was popular.
Why in the world would i suddenly start now?
I didn't even realize i was doing it until i heard one of my charges -a kindergartner no less- use it in a sentence and realized she had to have picked it up from me.
Now i am hyper-aware of when it slips into conversation and am really annoyed with myself.
So to all of the people with whom i might have had a conversation of late, i am sorry about resurrecting this lame slang.
I think i need to go with the snapping-rubberband-around-the-wrist aversion therapy to stop myself.

And finally, to end this stream of consciousness, kittens:

Spring 2014 with Erin, Caleb, Cameron and Collin

the future Mr. Nikiverse

investing personality into yard art

I was in Florida visiting my dad recently. The weather was cold and overcast for Florida, but on the last two days the sun came out and i was able to take some golfcart constitutionals.
I love to figure out the new trends in yard art. One year it was ceramic snails; another year it was large Mexican-style painted pots. It was rather disappointing that this year there was no obvious new trend. I mean people had replaced or added new yard art certainly, but it was your standard animals, gnomes and super creepy kid statues (man, i really don't like those).
But then - HAZZAH!- i spotted what has become my favorite piece ever:

Look at that grin. He knows something.
What is with the hyper-casual Hey Baby pose?
This is a reptile that is completely at ease and mayhaps a bit cocky.
And the mug? I'm sure we are supposed to think it is coffee, but look at his sorta self-satisfied expression: if that is coffee, it's Irish coffee, but i'm guessing it is probably the first Black Russian of the day.
Are you wondering if his eyes are halogen bulbs that light up the night? I think we both know the answer to that question.
I have never seen this piece before, but he literally made me hit the brakes - and you never have to use the brakes on a golfcart. I had to turn around to go home and get my camera (i know, why was i out on a constitutional without my camera?  i just don't have an answer for that). In the time it took me to get the camera and get back i had figured out his entire life story:

Lyle is that one friend you have that has always been kinda smarmy, but you like him anyway; maybe it's his easy charm or infectious laugh.
Yes, he always hits on the waitress when you go out (he still calls them waitresses, not servers), but he's all talk.
Underneath his veneer of tooth veneers and body spray beats a heart of gold.
He retired to Florida from his job as a disc jockey. After being the morning guy for years in Paloma and then the drive time guy for years in Park City and then the 6-10 guy for even more years in San Diego, the bigwigs tried to move his show to overnight and Lyle knew it was time to hang up his headphones and get out of the game.
Years ago he was married to a great gal, but with his schedule and devotion to the airwaves, plus being so young when they got hitched right after junior college, they just couldn't make the relationship work. He gets a birthday and a Festivus card every year from Linda and her second husband, Smitty; they're happily retired in Palm Springs.
There might be up to 150 of his progeny in the world, but none of them ever call; he doesn't even know how many of them survived hatching. But that was just the way with his generation of males, you let the female lay the eggs in the grass while you went about your business.
Golf courses are his favorite hangout these days, basking in the sun and working on his short game. In the evenings you can often find Lyle with his friends enjoying cocktails and playing Mah Jong for low money stakes and bragging rights.
It's a good life; just look at his smile.
This is Croc-n-Lyle. Don't touch that dial, cause after a word from our sponsors we'll be back in style, rocking the Nile.