Zzzzz

Breaking in the stove

So what if it's 90 degrees out? I had some broccoli rabe that needed to be cooked, and some fancy orzo from the farmers market. Blanched the rabe, then sauteed it with shallots, some sun-dried tomato paste and a dash of red pepper flakes. I have no idea where my garlic is or I would've added that, too (I'll probably find it sprouting at the bottom of a box several months from now).

Served over orzo with shredded parmesan. Yummy.

Quit pointing that thing at me

Dogs on deck

Note the spray bottle on the table. Aka "The Silencer"

What is it?

This shrub or tree hangs over a neighbor's fence and has the most heavenly smell, especially when I walk by at night. The neighbor says, "I don't know what it is. It was here when I moved in." (A clear indicator of the difference between a gardener and non-gardener, eh?) It has multiple thin trunks growing from one spot, like a lilac.

Does anyone know what it is?

Cross your fingers!

I got an offer on the house! Maybe this calls for a drink?

(Someone handed me this sample the other day. Excuse me while I get PhotoBooth out of my system.)

What is it? No. 1

Click on the photo to see if you're right!

Stressed?

Last September we got these stress balloons at work. I put mine on top of the partition next to my desk and never touched it after that.

A co-worker put his in the back of a desk drawer.

Can you guess which one has been sitting out all this time, absorbing those wholesome workplace vibes?

There's a lesson in here somewhere. And a joke about latex.

Goofing off

I should be doing all sorts of things. Instead, I'm sitting on the front porch with Sophie, goofing around with PhotoBooth.

I did get an estimate on security doors this morning. I'll get another one tomorrow, then decide. I never saw them before I moved here, but I had them on the old house and loved them. You can leave your doors open all the time to get a cross-breeze and not worry about someone walking in.

Happiness is a full spice rack

(Posted from my cellphone.)

On the road

I spotted a trio of these on I-70 yesterday. Not going 65, that's for sure!

Sunday treats

Sunday's farmers market was better stocked this week, and included a pet fair, which meant there were a lot more tents with various rescue groups and retailers. Unfortunately, it was also 90 degrees by 10 a.m., which made me not inclined to linger with the camera. I was sorry for all the kittens in cages (they had fans on them, in the shade, but still).

The pasta people were there; I can never resist them. And the quesadilla and tamale people were there, similarly irresistible. The quesadilla lady was too fast for me to get a shot before she flipped over the tortilla. Next week!

Locked in!

Last night we discovered a "feature" of the new house in a rather unfortunate way. We decided to hang out on the back deck, which is accessible via the Safari Room, formerly a child's bedroom. Because we'd just gotten the air conditioner (thoughtfully left by the previous tenants) installed in the upstairs hallway window, we closed the Safari Room door to keep the cool air flowing into the master bedroom. When we wanted to go back downstairs, we discovered we'd been locked in!

The bedroom door, as it turns out, had a lock on the outside, presumably to keep Junior from wandering out in the middle of the night and falling down the stairs. But it's a very loose lock, activated by pushing a button in ... which is easy enough to do by accident when turning the knob.

Shit! What now? We had a phone, and thought about calling friends, but then I remember seeing the neighbors' lights go out just a little while before. Their bedroom is right next to the deck. "Katie! Sarah!" I yelled over. "Yes? What?" they responded. "We're locked in!" Much laughter ensued, and they agreed to come over and get the spare key out of the garage happily unlocked). But just then my handy companion managed to pick the lock from the inside (it has a safety feature ... a little hole you can push a wire into to open the lock).

Here you see the handle being changed so the lock is now on the inside of the room, and I may wrap some string around the locky thingy so it doesn't push in.

Dinner at BB's on Pearl

Dinner the other night at BB's on Pearl. My new place is just a few blocks away from a lovely little business district of restaurants and boutiques. Over the years I've seen this space go from being Hughes, to Greens, to Lola, to Micole, and now BB's. Each restaurant has been really good, but they just never seem to last there more than two or three years. (Though, Lola just moved to a bigger space and remains popular.)

I had dinner at Micole a month before it closed. The place was nearly empty and we almost walked out again, but it ended up being one of the best meals I've ever had in Denver. It was an economically difficult time after the dot-com bust that led to its demise, not the quality of the food or service.

BB's was OK; they have live music upstairs that sounded pretty good, and the food was good, if uninspired (I guess if I wanted inspired, I shouldn't have ordered chicken picatta).

Cotton candy

My favorite thing