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| Tuesday, August 30, 2005 |
| Attack of the killer tomatos |
As mentioned before, I had a plethora of tomatos which I needed to "use up" as they were in their prime. I found a couple recipies for amazing salsa which I didn't follow, but used as an outline to create two kinds of salsa.
On the left is peach salsa created from dumpster tomatos, dumpster peaches, cilantro, garlic, dumpster limes, shallots, jalepenos, salt, sugar and vinegar. On the right is black bean and corn salsa with a southwestern twist created from dumpster tomatos, shallots, garlic, cilantro, canned organic black beans, canned corn, dumpster limes, shili powder and jalepenos. The flavors are blending so I won't really know what it tastes like until tomorrow.
I have lunch for weeks (I'll have to freeze some of this) with this pasta sauce. I made it from dumpster tomatos, fresh basil, mushrooms, vidalia onion, garlic, salt, sugar, corn starch and bay leaves. It's simmering as I type.
Total cost for this whole slew of goodies, probably about $3. Now if I can just get the onion and garlic smell off my hands. A soothing soak in some scented bath salts might help and also be a good end to my day. |
posted by Jen @ 10:42 PM   |
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| Bookity book book |
So following the lead of KP and Rachel here goes:
1. Number of books you have owned: many hundreds, current total a couple hundred
2. Last book I bought: The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook
3. Last book I completed: Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
4. Five (or so) books that mean a lot to me:
1 Sabbath Keeping by Lynne Babb
2 New Way to be Human by Charlie Peacock
3 Dangerous Wonder by Mike Yaconelli
4 Wisdom of the Enneagram
5 Best Things in Life by Peter Kreeft
6 Soul Survivor by Phillip Yancey
7 A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
4b. What are you currently reading?
Too much to do in the summer to read much, I just get distracted
4c. What do you wish you'd get around to reading?
What's So Amazing About Grace by Phillip Yancey
Unaborted Socrates by Peter Kreeft
oh, and I'm sure there's more since I worked at a bookstore and used to have a mental list of books that were in the que to read. |
| posted by Jen @ 6:40 PM |
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| There's Salsa on the Horizon |
Dumpstering tonight revealed that I will be spending some time tomorrow creating some homemade salsa as well as some tomato based pasta sauce. There were more tomatos than I could carry or know what to do with (many of the "vine-on" variety and a lot of them in perfect condition). I think that due to the "vine-on" nature, the good ones went out with the bad ones they were connected to with the idea that no one wanted to buy a vine with tomatos missing. Their folly is my gain. And likely the gain of those around me as I tend to make more food than I can eat myself.
Also rescued in this outing were a not yet quite ripe starfruit, a large unripened peach, a pluot with a slight wrinkling on a small portion of the top, some red potatos and two mesh bags of perfect banana fingerling potatos. I will be eating like a queen once I dig up a few recipies. Didn't feel so covert tonight as there were three young ladies much like myself already helping themselves to produce when I walked up.
Updates on how the salsa turns out to come, stay tuned. |
| posted by Jen @ 12:53 AM |
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| Friday, August 26, 2005 |
| Sick on my birthday |
Vertical, but still sick. It's a good thing blogging doesn't require speaking because my voice is good as gone. All this coughing has roughed up my voicebox something fierce. Hardly slept last night due to coughing and ended up having to sleep with a throat drop in my mouth (on my side so as not to choke) just to stop the hacking.
Got to eat lunch at IHOP with Steph. Had scrambled eggs, bacon and Swedish pancakes with lingonberry butter & jam as a special birthday treat to myself. And received a free birthday sundae (strawberry) from the nice IHOP lady. I put it in Steph's freezer for a snack later since I was quite full.
Dinner was Happy Hour appetizers at Chino Latino (slightly disappointing selection, but quite tasty vitles). And then a shopping trip to Ragstock. Spent some birthday money on a Kimono to wear as a warm weather bathrobe, an orange bandana, and a nice psuedo vintage necklace.
All in all, a low-key birthday, but fun. I will now retire to my livingroom couch with a copy of the Audrey Hepburn classic "Breakfast at Tiffany's". |
| posted by Jen @ 11:04 PM |
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| Wednesday, August 24, 2005 |
| Good News, Bad News, Good News again |
| Good news, I went to the doctor and she gave me some antibiotics that will help me get better. Apparently my white blood cell count was 18 (6-10 is normal) which means bacteria. So antibiotics it is. And some dayquil to help with the fever and other symptoms so I can get back to life. Bad news, it cost me $45 just to see the doctor (boy I would have been mad if she'd said there was nothing she could do for me and I'd just have to ride it out after that much money) and another $10 for the pills. We'll see how much more when the bill comes for the lab tests. More good news, I'll likely be okay to go back to work tomorrow and should feel better in time for my birthday celebration with friends. |
| posted by Jen @ 2:22 PM |
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| Tuesday, August 23, 2005 |
| Grand Opening |
This past weekend was the "grand opening" of sorts for Kierrattaa Clothing, the business Steph and I have been working on. We had our first opportunity to vend at a festival, make some good contacts, get info on other festivals, see what kinds of products caught the eye of customers, see if our pricing was accurate, and develop a better business plan. We'll be putting up a website shortly to showcase our wares and vending at a few more festivals before the weather turns cold. |
| posted by Jen @ 5:37 PM |
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| Burning up |
| So I'm sick. And I almost never get sick. But this time it really hit me hard. My fever was so high last night I tossed and turned and was freezing and then sweating and nearly fell over getting a cool wash cloth to ease the heat so I might sleep (I didn't know where the thermometer was or I would have taken my temp). My throat is sore all the way up into my ears and I have this cough, but it' not productive, so it's just making my chest hurt. This morning I was so so glad I had the day off from work. I just laid around and drank juice. My high fever had broken, but it was still at about 100 (I found the thermometer). Finally got some sleep about noon on the couch until now. Looks like I might not be sicky sick for my birthday at this point. Probably be back to normal in a day or two. Now, if only I could figure out where I picked this up. |
| posted by Jen @ 5:16 PM |
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| Friday, August 19, 2005 |
| I don't wanna grow up..... |
| but apparently I am. I'm feeling my age this week. I used to be able to stay up late, get up early, burn the candle at both ends and somehow keep my A game on. I worked 7 days straight, spending my "free time" with friends, cleaning my apartment and working on some home business related stuff. I had to turn down plans to hang out with friends tonight cause I've just been to tired. Zonked out on the couch for a while, but did get a few things done tonight so I don't feel totally at a loss for productivity for this week. So, the business cards are designed and some of the jewelry is finished for the festival this weekend. And my financial papers are in order (not just in a huge pile next to the desk as per usual) and any outdated papers have been shredded. One load of dishes washed (thank you dishwasher inventors). Of course I've left myself things to do on other days :) But overall, I'm exhausted and feeling like a pre-midnight bedtime is in the forecast. Maybe it's cause I'm going to be in my late 20s next week. Back to sleep for me, only in my bed this time. |
| posted by Jen @ 1:36 AM |
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| How do you do your do? |
I have a new hairdo at least for now. I've just been sorta at a loss with what I'd like to do with my hair, contemplating all sorts of changes. Mostly I wanted something to keep the hair out of my face that wasn't your standard ponytail routine. Then I saw a cashier at the Wedge with her hair in braids in a way I thought might be doable with my hair. So I tried it. This is the result.
It took me about an hour to do including the time spent letting the blood flow back into my arms. I'm going to try to keep it for a couple weeks. I have some frizz serum I'm using to keep the baby hairs at bay and I've got more binders for if any of them break or come dislodged. It's finally past the stage of extreme pulling on the scalp (which I did have for nearly 2 days and it gave me headaches so much I almost just took them out). And I'm liking it. Debating having it done professionally in smaller braids in a way that will last longer. Perhaps, but that costs money and sitting in a chair for hours. We'll see how much I really like this first. |
| posted by Jen @ 12:23 AM |
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| Thursday, August 11, 2005 |
| A trip around the block |
I'm artistically blocked right now. I want to work on my website and add some of my most recent work for prospective clients as well as a page outlining my fees, but I just can't sit at the computer long enough to even start it. I tried sewing a piece for the upcoming festival where Steph and I are vending. I started a couple times, but didn't get very far. (Doesn't help that I don't have all the cool tools Steph does for cutting and no good place to put a sewing machine that doesn't make my back hurt to use it for long and it's her machine and it keeps trying to eat the bobbin thread and I don't understand how to adjust it and she's likely sleeping so I can't call to ask how). Just totally unmotivated and seriously dry in the creative ideas at the moment. Perhaps tomorrow will bring more juice. If only I could know what causes this and avoid it.
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A 3 year old was shot by a stray bullet in broad day light today in North Minneapolis (he will be okay, it hit his hand). What kind of world is this? In the last 4 weeks, there have been 4 kids hit by stray bullets in that part of the Cities. I grew up thinking the city was scary, but not for any specific reason. It just always was a large formidable place with lots of people, cars, and tall buildings (and, in the eyes of whomever was responsible for my early perceptions of the city, also full of criminals).
I've lived in the city for a time now. I'm not scared, even though I definately don't live in the most pristine area (it's one of the less nice areas of St Paul), but I'm not scared of random violence. But in a way, I'm kinda scared of North Minneapolis. It's regaining the reputation it took on when I was in high school. |
| posted by Jen @ 1:13 AM |
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| Tuesday, August 09, 2005 |
| Up late after dumpster diving |
It's so hot tonight, that I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until it cooled a bit. So I made a trip to the dumpsters to get some produce for the next couple days. For the first time, I met fellow diver there. It's not that no one else goes, I just seem to miss running into them. Came away with some perfectly ripe strawberries (many of which were of a quality I would consider paying money for), a pile of sweet green grapes, some parsnips, a turnip (not sure what to do with it, but I'm sure there's something yummy I can learn to make), a golden beet, and a couple potatos. It wasn't a ton, but with this heat, I need to make smaller collections to keep spoiling to a minimum.
After the first full length gathering in our new space, I'm finding I really like some elements of meeting in a space with "classic" elements. If it were going to be a more permanent space, there would be some major changes to be made to make it really work (mostly gutting the floor to make room for a more casual, personal arrangement of seating). But the juxtaposition (and yes I'm using that word a lot to describe this for those of you whom I have discussed this with) of modern elements we use against the stained glass and vaulted ceilings really does something for me.
Part of what once drew me to the Catholic church were the elements of granduer I now see surrounding our Porch gatherings. I like a casual stateliness. It's an oxymoron of sorts. Simple, but beautiful surroundings paired with technology, couches and a totally different expression of faith than was originally paired with such a grandiose space. I want to be a hippie at home in a cathedral.
There's also a sense of connectedness with our roots in the American and European churches of old. Being lucky enough to have spent some time visiting some pre-WWII European cathedrals, I frequently wish for more of those elements in my meeting space. Being a very visual person, I find myself connecting to God in the beauty of art and a meeting space's aesthetics (not that where you meet should really matter, but having a variety of artistic expressions in my meeting space has been important to me). And in our new place, the height of the ceiling, the bounce of the acoustics, and glow of stained glass brings about an awe of God that has been somewhat missing in my faith as of late. This sense that He's really really big, but in a cozy, homey kind of way. I will enjoy every minute I am granted to worship in this space.
In other news, the newness of my digital camera "aka my new baby" has yet to wane, so there will likely be extra photos on the blog until then. It likely out performs my film SLR, but cannot ever fully replace it. I am in the market for a new telephoto lens though. Turns out the one I have has a different chip or something. All I know is the camera know-it-all I asked said it's not being compatible is why the camera said "err 99" when I tried to use that lens. Something else to save for I guess.
Also, my car may get a chance for a day at the "car spa" (aka Fraiser Automotive) soon. The noise is getting worse and the jittering also. And gas mileage is beginning to suffer. Hoorah for wedding gigs to pay for such automotive pampering. I feel I've spent a zillion dollars recently. I've been waiting on these things for so long that when the money finally rolled in, and the bills were caught up, I had money burning a hole. I've never been good at saving. In theory, it would be good to have a "rainy day fund" (which is more like a distaster aversion fund), but I always seem to find ways to enjoy the fruits of my labor in a more immediate sense. After all, you can't take it with you, might as well enjoy it while you can. |
| posted by Jen @ 4:02 AM |
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| Wednesday, August 03, 2005 |
| I'm not getting laid off!!!! |
That's the exciting news of my day. I found out today that my work "definately wants to invest in me" meaning I'm not getting laid off, but have been asked to learn about snowboards and work somewhat reduced hours over the winter months. As much as I was thinking I'd like to try something totally different, I'm quite happy with this news. Snowboards are different to me. I have only been once (though I do ski) and I fell so many times I was discouraged. I am now in the market for a suplimental job, just a few hours a week. I have a couple leads.
My camera is here, my camera is here. When it arrived, I had to be given a break at work because I couldn't concentrate for about 10 minutes. I couldn't test it out having an uncharged battery, no memory card, or lens at work. The battery is charging and first thing tomorrow, I assure you I'll be glued to my viewfinder.
More later once the humidity has cleared and I can stop leaving butt sweat on the desk chair. |
| posted by Jen @ 10:56 PM |
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| What's that puddle under the desk? |
No worries, it's just where I melted today trying to edit photos and work on my website until I was too hot and sweaty to bear it anymore. I went to a couple stores today not to buy anything at all, just to soak up a little free AC. I'd really be happy if it turned autumn right now and gave the rest of summer a miss. (to steal part of a line from Monty Python). My body doesn't function well at any temp much over 80 and even less well in humidity. Not to mention that I hate sweating. It's not sweating so much, it's when I sweat without moving, especially the kind that you can feel running down your legs or back in a steady stream. It's days like today I wonder if having and AC unit and the extra yearly expense of it (added to my already increasing in Sept by $40 rent) would be worth it. And in 2 days it'll all be over again.
Did you know there are now bigger M&Ms? I found them today while cooling off. Chocolate is something I am always jonesing for so I bought a bag. They are also melting and will need to spend the night in the fridge. And they're not all that much bigger, so only rush out to get some if you thought they needed more chocolate per M. I got the peanut kind and the chocolate to peanut ratio seems to be an improvement. I wonder why bother with the plain kind....couldn't you just put more than one in your mouth at a time?
All is not lost in my patio garden (which for those of you I haven't vented to about has been tortured by both pidgeons and scorching all day sun while I'm at work). One small pepper is starting to form on a plant not yet nibbled down by the birds. I'm hoping it will be of the jalepeno variety and not the bell variety. Sweet potatos look on top of the dirt to be thriving as well. The rest, well, will be mostly a loss again. I think the roots get scorched cause the sides of the planters heat up during the day and fry the roots. So perhaps I will have sweet potatos with chives and jalepeno. If the pidgeons were less hungry I might have had pea pods by now.
I've been having thoughts lately about how it might be okay if I got laid off (a real possibility) later this fall. In fact, I might kinda like it. Working in the bike shop is fun, don't get me wrong, but I am getting antsy again. Maybe want to try something different for a few months. Or maybe I can stay part time and try something else part time (then I'd get to keep my health insurance). Might also work with the child of some friends as a sort of mentor/personal care assistant. That would be more along the lines of what I'd like to do with life/career in the long run.
Oh yeah, and Happy Birthday baby Micah....you're 2 already. Your mommy and daddy must be awfully proud of the little man you've become.
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| posted by Jen @ 2:10 AM |
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| Monday, August 01, 2005 |
| You get what you pay for |
And I guess what I was paying for didn't include customer service or timely shipping. So I've cancelled my order with the seemingly "fly-by-night" scammers and placed one (spending more than I wanted, but getting a guaranteed 2 day delivery, with same day shipping, and a product that is in stock with a full warantee). Whew. It will still be here in time to save me a lot of money, but it was a lot more work than it should have been.
Baptism night for the Porch. Started off with a great picnic at the top of Minnehaha Falls. Mass chaos at the grill (including a whole chicken and a pork loin), guacamole without tortilla chips, dogs without buns or ketchup, and getting stuffed to the gills with some amazing salads. So much fun.
Some days I wish we could do our summer gatherings outside whenever the weather is nice. There's just something about the sun glimmering through the trees, and the sounds of nature (even in the city) and the feel of the breeze on your skin that makes you feel alive.
It's been nearly 2 years since I began regularily attending the Porch. After tonight's gathering, many went for ice cream. This was remenicent of the very first time I met anyone from the Porch. To our recollection, all of the people who had been there the original meeting were there tonight, sitting around a similar green table and playing chess as we had before. Strange to think back to that night and the first impressions I have of people who have come to be good friends. Also strange to think how important this community has become to me. I'm very blessed to have my Porch family. |
| posted by Jen @ 12:02 AM |
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