Monthly Archives: July 2009

Klamath River: river pump and dogs (there’s a little one in the distance, too)

Clarion West Write-A-Thon Week 3 Progress Report

Info about the Write-a-Thon here and Clarion West Writeathon Page.

My goal is 3000 words a week and 2 story submissions during the six weeks as in sending something finished to a market.

Word count this week: 3570
Stories submitted so far: 0 (I know, I know. I’m working on it.)

Still not too late to contribute. Even a buck or two is great. My donation page is here or there’s an address to send checks at the URL above or you can contact me for more info.

This weekend hasn’t been super productive but also not a complete waste of time. I’m hoping for a big breakthrough tomorrow.

I planted these last year and they didn’t bloom until after I left for Seattle and they were gone by the time I got home. I’ve been loving them this year.

I made the last hamburger bun into a Nutella and sunflower seed butter sandwich for lunch this week. Yeah, it was pretty good. I also ate lentil salad every single day for 7 days and just tossed the last couple of scoops into the disposal. No one should have to eat the same lentil salad 8 days in a row.

After fondling the box in Target during every visit for the last three months I finally bought the first two seasons of Angel on DVD. My note here says “Angle” and I had to scratch my head for a minute before I figured out what I meant. I watched the series premiere last night and you know who’s in it?

Sawyer. I know. I couldn’t believe it either. I had to check the internet to make sure it was real. I don’t want to give too much away but he gets staked in the first 10 minutes.

I went to Trader Joe’s this morning. I’ve cut way back on my wine drinking purely as a waistline thing so my trips to TJ’s have become less regular. I can’t believe they haven’t called and asked if I was okay. This morning I couldn’t find any Glee Gum. I asked and my checkout person shook her head with some genuine distress. “I don’t know what happened,” she said. So now I’m going to order giant bags of it from the internet and try different flavors and keep bowls in every room.

I feel like I’ve been busting ass the last couple of days with nothing really to show for it. I’ve got high hopes for tomorrow.

Klamath River Photo from Father’s Day Weekend

Post vacation weekend grumpiness.

Here’s just a general reminder: people – you are all doing it wrong.

Homemade Buns

You’re probably wondering why anyone would go through the trouble of making homemade hamburger buns. I’m telling you this recipe is worth it. If you are an experienced yeasted bread maker, this is really easy. Sure, the star of a burger is the meat. But with these buns, instead of soggy bleargh holding your condiments onto your burger, you’ve got one more delicious flavor.

Try it. I took pictures of the entire meal but the rest came out terrible.

The lemon buttermilk ice cream turned out fantastic, too. Well, that’s partly a lie. It tasted fantastic. It didn’t get quite frozeny enough. I served with fresh raspberries.

In another amazing announcement, my magazine drawer is empty. Yes, you read that correctly: empty. I have read every periodical in the pile including all the newsletters, the Port of Vancouver Report and the annual Vancouver Water Quality Report. I know I enjoy this only briefly and that tomorrow the mailman will bring me a new pile to read. But for at least 24 hours, I was able to sit back and prop my feet on the open drawer and revel in my accomplishments.

Last note of the day: This is my favorite story I read last year: 26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss By Kij Johnson. I listened to it again yesterday while I was cooking. That’s an audio form. Reading form here.

More Party Book.

Because I love all things pumpkin:

Computer gets turned off at Noon and I’m going to spend my afternoon making fun food (sadly, not this treat although I might try it this Fall) and grilling in the backyard.

Update: Oops.

I forgot to do my Clarion West Beg-a-thon Week #2 pdate.

Words written this week: 3658
Items submitted this week: 0 (relax, I still have plenty of time.)

Party Book with Ideas for This Weekend

Bob and I don’t have any big plans for the weekend. Well, that’s not true. Bob plans to enjoy some Waterfront Blues Festival. I will enjoy staying home. I’ve gone before and it was super fun but my tolerance for crowds is dwindling by the second and with the excellent weather I’m sure it will be packed-o-rama down there.

We’re kicking off the weekend with a Portland Timbers game tomorrow.