Amish Friendship Bread

Someone gave me a bag of goop the other day with a set of instructions. “Um, thanks?” I thought at the time. But I was willing to give it a shot.

The bag was the starter mixture for a fermented bread called Amish Friendship Bread, something akin to sourdough.

The instructions indicated mushing up the bag each day for 10 days and then adding the rest of the ingredients before baking. Alrighty then — I’ll give it a go. I faithfully mushed my bag each day and added ingredients to quadruple the mixture half way through as indicated. Later research confirmed that you can skip this step if you don’t want to end up with three more bags of starter at the end of the process. read more »

My phone is better than your phone

The ol’ Razr finally died. A death that might have looked something like this. :) Anyway, on going to my online Cingular account to cash in on my insurance, I see I qualify for an upgrade. I just have to sell my soul to Cingular for another year.

After much deliberation and web hunting, I decided that the coolest of cool phones is the new AT&T Tilt 8925, otherwise known as the HTC Kaiser. read more »

Clone Party!

As you can see, I’ve got the genetic duplicating machine in the basement laboratory in working order. Now I’ll never have enough beer!

Sid's top 11 most favorite dog toys

Well — actually this is a list of all of Sid’s toys. Nicely cataloged here in case an insurance claim is needed or burglers thieve away what Sid considers valuable in the middle of the night. (Every noise heard outside is presumed to be these burglers and Sid barks loudly to scare them away.)

The important qualities Sid looks for in his toys are durability and chew-ability. And bonus points if it has a squeaker! They must taste good after multiple chewings and hold up to constant tug of wars without loosing parts. So far the following have stood the test of time.

1.Purple Lizard
Sid won this at Pug-O-Ween with his Yoda costume.

2.Tennis Ball
Fun to chase and squeaks when bitten. It gets hidden often though, due to incessant squeaking whilst chomping.

3.Mr. Hopkins Greenfrog
Definitely one of Sid’s favorites. Mr. Greenfrog is the victim of many attempts to rip is limbs off in tug of war.

4.Purple Chomper
A favorite for fetch. Like a football, it bounces in random directions when it lands and is easy to grab on the run.
read more »

SMDC New Year's Eve Party at the DECC in Duluth

Each year, the Saint Mary’s Duluth Clinic (SMDC) sponsors a large New Year’s Eve Party at the Duluth Entertainment & Convention Center (DECC). This year, Event Labs decorated the space for 4 separate parties. My friend Toni works for Event Labs and so many of us often get recruited to help. The Rabbit and I jumped at our chance for free hotel, included meals, and some quick cash. Not to mention free attendance to one of the biggest New Year’s Eve parties around.

We arrived in Duluth bright and early Friday morning after a 2 1/2 hour drive. After breakfast we headed to the DECC to start setting things up. Much of the work was in the hockey arena where the ice had been melted and the stage for Boogie Wonderland was being set up. 54 feet above the arena floor, some of us tiptoed around the catwalk hanging 6 foot diameter lanterns from the ceiling and tying up about 150 red balloons. No one left work that day without Nena’s “99 Red Balloons” in their head. That is if their ears had stopped ringing from the cannon boom that resulted from random balloons popping.

Saturday, we spent 4 hours blowing up 1500 little red balloons for the midnight drop. The local paper was there to snap a few photos and take notes (see inserts). There were many tired and raw fingers after that. read more »

I Can Has Sweet Potato?

Here’s another bit of found internet gold. It’s only too easy to imagine this is a conversation between Sid and I. Go ahead, have a chuckle:

You know, a lot of times I write up random posts and then don’t post them. But Best Beloved just called me, and I could not really explain why I was inarticulate about sweet potatoes, so I said I’d go ahead and post this. That way, she can read it at work and know just what kind of day it has been. (Short version, for those who do not feel like reading the whole post: ARRRRRRG. Fucking sweet potatoes.)

The longer version, summarized in conversation form:

Dog: I am starving.
Me: Actually, no. You aren’t starving. You get two very good meals a day. And treats. And Best Beloved fed you extra food while I was gone.
Dog: STARVING.
Me: I saw you get fed not four hours ago! You are not starving.
Dog: Pity me, a sad and tragic creature, for I can barely walk, I am so starving. WOE.
Me: I am now ignoring you.
Dog: STARVING.
Dog: Did you hear me? I am starving.
Dog: Are you seriously ignoring me? Fine.

[There is a pause, during which the dog exits the room in a pointed manner.]

[From the kitchen, there comes a noise like someone is eating a baseball bat.] read more »

The Commission is Complete!

As I wrote earlier, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the completion of Angelo’s latest work. He stopped by to deliver it last week. The result is fantastic and it now proudly hangs on my wall. :)

See the rest of my collection here.

Zojirushi makes happy rice and more!

I’m lovin’ my new rice maker. I eat a lot of it, so it’s more than handy to have a little machine in the corner that does all the work for me while I prepare other edibles.

The first job I gave it didn’t even involve rice — instead couscous was on the menu and I thought I’d see how it would fair with the wee pasta. While stew was brewing in the crockpot, I set up the new cooker with the following: read more »

The Real Reason the Queen Hated Snow

by Annette Marie Hyder

I’ve only met Annette via myspace a while ago, but I quickly became enamored with her word-smithing abilities. I’ve always been a fan of people skilled in writing (not being all that stellar myself) and Annette does not disappoint. Her website and blog are full of little poem tidbits that have blossomed from a mature and driven seed. Wonderful stuff.

Annette’s new book is no exception. It’s a collection of poems, stories, recipes, and other bits of goodness with a central theme of home-spun fairy tales and mythology. I especially enjoy the explanations accompanying most of the entries explaining some of the creative insight and thought behind the pieces. It’s a real look into the author’s mind and I’m pleased that she’s so open to share such intimate details with us.

The book also has a central theme focusing on feminism and the beauty that is woman in general. I like to think that we live in a modern world by now, but you’ll certainly agree that we still have a long way to go. Gender inequality and the extra struggle it entails bring out a strong voice of opinion in this collection, but not in an overpowering way. It’s subtle and secondary to the child-like charm each story and poem deliver.

I’m certainly glad to have my copy. Hurry up and buy yours today. Amazon currently only has 5 copies left while the publisher prints more.

The Minneapolis Towing Minions Attack Again

The asshole brigade was out in force last night. I could hear the plow going down the street and then Sid started barking at the perceived threat.

I poked my head out the front door to snap this pic and watch while they proceeded to tow 12 vehicles away — just in my block! No tickets. No warnings. These dick-heads were simply waiting like wolves for 9:00 PM sharp to roll around and then swooped in for the kill. By 9:11, all 12 cars were missing and they were on to the next block.

Sucks to be the unlucky neighbors who now have to find rides downtown and shell out over $238 to get their car back. Not only does the asshole brigade use the “heavy duty” haulers so they can charge more, they force you to pay a minimum of one night’s storage fee — regardless of whether or not you pick you vehicle up that night or the next morning. And of course these people are even less friendly than your typical DMV worker. Clearly deriving a sort of sick pleasure out of maximizing all the victims’ misfortunes and confusion. It’s a complete racket.