Christmas, MonkeyTron, and Madness

I will be driving up there pretty soon!!!  Less than 2 week!  (I can't even believe it.)

The plan in my head right now is to bring Dean, his dog Mindia, and Fenway in the car to MA.  I am aware that that's insane, especially since neither pet is big on traveling. 

To complicate matters, Dean has decided he wants a kitten.  This kitten, to be exact:

Her name is Artemis, but according to the website she's featured on, she also goes by the nickname "Wide Open MonkeyTron".  So I am totally going to call her MonkeyTron if he adopts her.

So maybe it will be me, Fenway, Mindia, MonkeyTron, Dean and I in a little Chevy Prizm for 12 hours or so.  Madness, no?

We all miss Cruiser, but we know it was his time to go.

Fenway is so much healthier and cuter than his pathetic frankenkitty photos.  Just wait til you see him.  He is so fat and fluffy and cuddly.  He's my miracle cat.

I love you guys.

xoxo
Sarah

Remind you of anything?

Hint: "'Ello." "Did you say Hello?" "Noooo, I said 'Ello, but that's close enough!"

This is the bike path Chels and I use for our long jogs on the weekend, taken with my super crappy new camera that I bought to take to Vegas with us. This is an action shot so the trees are blurry, but I thought the way it focused was interesting :)

Followers...

We have two.

That's weird.

How's it going sisters? It's time to update your wishlists for xmas!! I want to start buyin some presents up in here ;)

As always, if you get any ideas from mom, please update her list too.

Love you girls!

-jill

Cats are minions of the devil

Fenway just pulled out his effing feeding tube. And now he's laying around looking all pleased with himself.

I am considering just putting him in a sack and drowning him in the creek in my backyard.

He is such a jerk.

S

Emmett, Fenway, Autumn

First and foremost, dear sisters, thank you SO MUCH for the Queer as Folk dvds. It is one of my favorite shows of all time and sometimes I just need some Emmett Honeycutt in my life. The following is a dramatization of how I feel about it:




In other news, Fenway (aka. FrankenKitty) is doing better everyday. I have included some of his "before" shots. When he stops looking so pathetic and gains some weight I will post "after" shots. Currently, he is interested in food, cuddling, and trying to get the bandages off. The tube attached to his neck makes feeding and medications much easier, but I think it itches.

However, I have hope that he will be back to his old self in no time. Cruiser, on the other hand, is doing just fine and enjoying all the wet food in the house. He's getting a little pushy for attention, but I think that's because he's jealous of Fenway's matching wristband.

And finally, Dean and I have been getting excited about the idea of autumn coming up, as you can see by this little display:We are discussing the possibility of flying up at Halloween, but I have gone online and found out that we will miss all the foliage if we do that (Peak Foliage Forecasts - Yankee Foliage). So now we are looking at calendars to see if there's a weekend we can both get off that's earlier than that. Don't tell mom, yet. I will let you guys know as soon as I do, but I would love for you guys to come out to Northampton to meet him if we make it up there.

Also, I would love some good autumn-type recipes. Here are two from the vaults:

DownEast Maine Pumpkin Bread (I don't remember where I got this, but I remember it was good.)

Mix
15oz pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 c vegetable oil
2/3 c water
3 c sugar

In a separate bowl, whisk
3 1/2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ginger.

Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, mix until just blended.
Makes 3 7x3" loaves
Bake at 350 for approx 50 min.




Aunt Hazel's Apple Bread (This was one of dad's recipes. Not sure who Aunt Hazel is, or if her apple bread were any good, but I thought you might like to try it.)

Mix:
3 eggs, well beaten
1 c applesauce
1/2 c oil

Whisk together separately, then add to wet ingredients:
2c sugar
3c flour
1 tsp bs
1 tsp salt

Fold in:
2 cups chopped apples
1 c white raisins
1/2 c. nuts

Bake at 350 for 45min.

Love,
Sarah

Bean salad

this is where i found the recipe:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/04/tabula-beana/

Black Bean Confetti Salad

This works equally well as a small salad–even tossed with salad greens for more bulk–or alongside salsa fresca for scooping up with a tortilla chip.

2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and well-rinsed
4 bell peppers, a mix of colors, chopped into a small dice
1/2 super-large or 1 medium white onion, chopped into a small dice
Juice of one lime
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
Optional: If you’re the kind of person who loves cilantro, it’s a great match for this salad.

Mix beans, bell peppers and white onion in a large bowl. In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk remaining ingredients into a vinaigrette. Ideally, you’ll have a 1/2 cup of dressing. Pour it over the bean mixture, toss it well and adjust seasonings to taste.

(i added a little more honey, some chili powder and garlic powder to the vinaigrette too.)

Plants!

so i had to move the plants i have in the bedroom to try to figure out how the a/c is gonna go into the window. i moved the giant spider plant i have... (sidenote: how cute is roland eyeing the plant from under the bedskirt? haha)



it seriously seems to be exploding with babies...



and i found this in my aloe plant. yeah thats right... the aloe plant that i thought wasnt doing well because it didnt seem to be getting bigger seems to have like 4 baby aloes in there with it. maybe theyre choking it out and thats why its stopped progressing. so crazy.

Spring has sprung.... all over my face!

So spring in NC is second only in beauty to autumn in new england. Here, during April, everything is in bloom, the weather is devastatingly beautiful, the birds are signing, the sun is shining....

And tree sperm covers every imaginable surface. I never had allergies in New England, but you can't help but have them here.

Exhibit A: The brick patio. Please note that the bricks are actually red, and not the yellow brick road you see in this photo. That's all pollen. After one good pollen-y day.




Exhibit B: My car. This is just too gross for words. My car is supposed to be black. And it was in a covered carport.




Howeverm just in case you guys think that my life is one big ball of sneezing with no justifiable reward, let me show you my backyard:




So spring has sprung and the world is lovely, but coated in yellow tree sperm.

xoxoxo

Sarah






And just for good measure, a crazy cat lady photo:

its stuck in my head for no reason...

cajones

woooooooooohoooooooooooooooo

Opening in late May.

http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/

$110 for entrance fee for two days.

Or $285 for housing and three days of admission, plus one breakfast and Three Broomsticks.
http://www.universalorlando.com/Florida_Vacation_Packages/bf/harrypotter.aspx

Chelsea, for reals. Jill, any interest

oops

roland accidentally got locked in the bathroom this morning... which turned into all day long. left for work at 745, got home at 6. luckily, the bath mats are poop and pee free. however, this happened:

Normal

Not Normal

Nothing was broken, but everything (especially all the qtips) is now covered with cat hair. Awesome.

A note Dad sent many years ago

Dear Papa,

We love you. Happy Birthday. I will always light a candle for you.

xoxo

Your Girls