If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

I just got off the phone with Tina, herself. I'm now an official Sock Summit volunteer, and am seriously excited. :o)

Maybe missing the classes I wanted to attend so much was a good thing, after all . . . lol

Wahoo!!!

Turn of Phrase

"The doctor is a worthy individual, Jim, but he knows
even less of the art of dressing than you do.
He does not understand the soul-agony of a man
who makes his first appearance in puce."

--The Black Moth, p 121.

Some of Chicago's Opinions

*~*~*~*~*~* Still working on the technical details of getting these photos to show. Ever since Gmail's right-click context menus quit on me, this has been a tricky business. Thanks for your patience! *~*~*~*~*~*

Here's another one of those emails . . . those who have visited will recognize the downtown area. Some of these posters are funny, some downright incendiary, others are fighting words. It's a clear indicator of how some of the people in Chicago feel about the new President's policy thusfar, especially as Chicago is fairly hard hit by all of the economic madness.




















































Voter's remorse. I wonder how many who voted for him now wish they hadn't. My dad was right . . . when my younger brother asked him what he thought of Obama, dad said: "If you ever want to make any money, you don't want to vote for him." I didn't vote for him, either . . . but am still stuck with him.

Most of the damage, economically speaking, has already been done. It now remains for us to watch and see how long it takes for the first few stones to bring down the whole snowy mountainside.

And thus we see, democracy can indeed be a tyranny of the majority.

The Fellowship of the Unashamed (Take 2)

Please Note: This was mistakenly attributed to Elder Henry B. Eyring, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The proper author has been found, a Dr Bob Moorhead, and is taken from his book Words Aptly Spoken. Please accept my apologies for mis-attribution, and for not catching the glaring grammatical errors. (As a writer, I can only plead sleep deprivation. ;o) Many thanks to Doug & Jess, for finding the proper source of this great piece.

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I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made--I am a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, worldly-talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean in His presence, walk by patience, am uplifted by prayer and I labor with power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, hired away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the enemy, pander at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, give up till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes my banner will be clear!

I must go 'til he comes. Give 'til I drop. Preach 'til all know. And work 'til he stops me and when he returns for his own he will have no problem recognizing me. My
banner will be clear.

--Dr Bob Moorhead, in Words Aptly Spoken

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Good for a Monday

From the depths of email forwarding pops this gem . . .

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With all the new technology regarding fertility recently, a 65-year-old acquaintance was able to give birth. When she was discharged from the hospital and went home, we went to visit.

"May I see the new baby?" I asked

"Not yet," She said "I'll make coffee and we can
talk for a while first."

Thirty minutes had passed, and I asked, "May I see the new baby now?"

"No, not yet," She said.

After another few minutes had elapsed, I asked again, "May I see the baby now?"

"No, not yet," replied my friend.

Growing very impatient, I asked, "Well, when can I see the baby?"

"When he cries," she told me.

"WHEN HE CRIES?" I demanded. "Why do I have to wait until he CRIES?"

"Because I forgot where I put him, Okay?!!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When I feel like I'm losing my mind, I can be glad I'm not this bad yet! lol

Happy Birthday To Me

Frozen Yogurt

5 c. whole milk plain yogurt
2 c. pureed blueberries (frozen is fine--it's just more work to puree them)
30 drops Sweet Leaf stevia
1 1/2 t. lemon juice

Mix all ingredients well in a bowl. Put it in the ice cream maker, and let'er rip.

Yum.

Corn-Pancake-ucopia

Just thought I'd share my research for dinner tonight.

Pretty basic Cornmeal Pancakes from Many Veggie Recipes.

Deluxe Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes from Erin at You-Name-It-Free. (She's a girl after my own heart, what with that corn blip at the end. Love it!)

Whole Foods Market brings us a Whole Gran Pancake Mix. I'm so mixing this up (minus the dry milk). Talk about quick and easy!

And, for the very most serious of cornmeal fans, here's a flourless Cornmeal Pancake recipe from AllRecipes.com.

And now, decisions, decisions . . .

(Btw . . . does anyone know of a good stainless steel griddle big enough to cook pancakes for seven without keeping me in the kitchen for three hours?)

Future Furniture

Just watch . . . these will be all the rage . . .

Locally sourced, locally produced, repurposed, low-waste, low-consumption (you only need six bolts/nuts & six drywall screws!), comfy chairs.

This would have been a perfect Earth Day post, don't'cha think?

Silly Little Things

I get to do one of my favorite things in a few days: install cabinet hardware in my kitchen.

I have no idea why actual handles on cabinets and drawers have fallen out of vogue, but the last four houses we've moved into haven't had them. (Full disclosure: the first of those four was the house we built, and I just hadn't chosen them yet.) This will be hardware install #3 for me, and after conquering the gut-wrenching fear of destroying the beautiful cherry cabinets in our custom home, (which I didn't do--I installed them beautifully), I have enjoyed the whole process.

The first time, for our shaker cherry cabinets I chose these beauties:

(Satin nickel was the finish for all kitchen/bath fixtures in the arts & crafts-inspired House on the Mountain.)

The second time, for cordovan-finished beech cabinets, I chose these:

(I went eclectic in the Little Grey House, and I loved these. ;o)

And now, I'm not quite back to matchy-matchy, but rather loosely coordinating with the silvery tones in the rest of the house:

(The rest of this house has silvery-tones, in varying finishes.)

I highly recommend Cabinet Hardware Designs. This is my fourth order from them (I also ordered Schlage door levers for the House on the Mountain*), and not only are their prices exceptional, their customer service is top notch and their products are high quality. The knobs and pulls above are all priced like other sellers' budget line (and less than the "cheap-o" packages at big box stores), and are just as high quality as those sold for heinously more. Shopping at Home Depot last Saturday, I saw the very same hardware on their custom display . . . and get this: while the polished chrome pulls were the same prices I paid, ($2.37 ea) the oil-rubbed bronze & other finishes were $14-something. Someone is making a killing on those, and possibly trying to take advantage of customers' naivete. To which I take exception.

(I need to do a post sometime on the House on the Mountain, which we built. Beautiful, I tell you. And a tremendous learning experience.)

So, go check out Cabinet Hardware Designs. (Both their web store and their eBay store are linked above.) I've ordered through the eBay store, as I prefer the extra level of market forces to help make sure all transactions go well (eBay's feedback feature has proven a valuable ally in the past). And have a wonderful day!

Sock Summit Slowdown

Trying to register . . . but the page has been loading for two minutes now.

The tech guys just didn't get it.

They totally needed a scalable, hosted solution at a monstrous data center. Maybe next time, eh?