Monday, April 28, 2008

Bhumobile!

Look what I just ordered for Bhu! I can't wait 'til it comes. Who you callin' cwazy cat lady???

I've got lots of photos of the Adopt-A-Spot event Saturday and will put those up tomorrow. Friday night we dined at House of Chow (Chinese) and I had szechuan fish. I discovered black bean garlic sauce and my life will never be the same. I used it on catfish last night, baking the fish, sauce and chunky onion slices in an aluminum foil tent at 425 for 15 minutes. Served with chunks of oven steamed sweet potatoes, it was really a treat!! Next time I will make a cucumber salad to offset all the other flavors and it will be nirvana!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Lunch @ Desk

McDonald's fish sandwich. You know how you bite into this and the fish is all white and delicious and then, as you nibble along, suddenly you hit some of that dark meat that just doesn't look right and you just can't go on? IF you're lucky! If you're NOT lucky, you hit the dark meat first and then you just don't wanna put the thing back in your mouth and you starve. Ugh.
I took this last night because I was afraid the storms would knock all the gorgeous flowers off this pair of redbuds. Doncha think we should rename this tree "Cotton Candy Pink Tree?" Yes, who can I call about that?

New weight loss plan: McDonald's Dark Fish Fillet Sandwich Diet, recommended by Fatty Patty. Cotton Candy Kisses to ALL! xxoo P

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Happy Administrative Professionals Day!

They couldn't do it without you, so march right into your bosses' office and ask for a BIG RAISE!! Say I sent you. We had a lunch for support staff on Monday at the University Club and here is a photo of the salad buffet. I always get ill when I eat there, so I try to avoid the place. It's probably the only spot on campus where the median age of occupants is ABOVE 40!

Lovely weather, Heather! xxoo P

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

AC on TODAY!

Bhu has been complaining that we don't talk about him enough, nor do we post enough photos of him and that's why his fan base is not as large as Goma's. I see photos of cats in boxes all over the internet, but most don't have the same colorful, interesting options available to Bhu. If he desires, he can nap in the Roman Empire or the Battle of Waterloo even WWII! What a lucky cat, indeed! As you can see, he has all that a cat could desire: lots of boxes, lots of quilts and many, many furry mice (both with and without jingles inside) with which to play. Not to mention scads of colorful dice and lotsa little ships, soldiers and monsters of every ilk!

Kiss your kitteh today! xxoo p

Saturday, April 19, 2008

First BBQ Big Success!

We stoked up the grill today for the first time this season and here you can see a plate of sirloin tip burgers and brats. Making your mouth water?? Although these look dry, they were unbelievably juicy. Some say "use chuck" for the best burgers.
Guess it depends on whether you want them to taste good or squirt all over you! I like mine well done with only ice cold Claussen Kosher pickle slices. Mark adds the kitchen sink (catsup, mustard, mayo, pickles, cheese and sprouts if we have them).
Today was the first live Goma Show featuring Sachie. It was really fun! Bhu watched for a bit but then wondered why we weren't paying attention to him. Throughout it all, he maintained his dignity and tried not to show any jealousy.
Went to the eye doctor Thursday and my eyes are getting better. Huh?? Just checking, but are frames $300 to $800 where you live? Our insurance pays up to $130 for frames if they are purchased in network; only $47 if out of network. So I think the last time I saw a pair of frames for $130 was in the 20th century. Frames are WAAAAYYY ugly now, too. Think I'm gonna dig around and try to find my old '60's gold wire rims. Oh, BTW, red rims, ala Sally Jesse, are making a comeback.

Well, darlings, Earth Day is tomorrow! Also, Happy Birthday Scott!! Happy Birthday Dawtah Dearist! xxooo smootchy smootchy PSP

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

A Taxing Day!

This is Susan at Satin Stitches measuring the backing fabric for Kyle's quilt. The color's right and the print brings to mind "velocity." I also went to the post office today and was surprised that the line wasn't too long. The guy in front of me had his tax forms with him and he actually asked the postal worker for tax advice!! A little confused, I think.

Was having a difficult, tear-my-hair-right-outta-my-haid morning and the phone rang: Margaret wanted to give me $141.43 (I'll take whatever I can get). She said they had discussed it for 30 minutes and they kept changing their minds about who was gonna get it and she had to keep erasing her notes and all she had was her gum eraser that left eraser crumbles all over everything. She wished she had her red eraser (pictured), her special once-a-year-budget-time tool. I searched all over the building to find someone who had one of these, but none exist! I googled "red eraser" and found a cool blog about ERASERS! Apparently, the Ruby is a vintage office item (just like ME)! WHO KNEW?

http://eraserjoy.blogspot.com/2007_06_01_archive.html

Lovely day, have a stroll! xxoo P

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Spring Cleaning!

April 12 at 8:30 am and we SHOULD be drinking coffee and having breakfast but we have decided, instead, to join some of our neighbors for a City-wide Clean Up Day! Mark is modeling one of the nifty green t-shirts each of us got. Unfortunately, our neighborhood was pretty much free of garbage! Naturally, the weather cooperated with COLD temps and a hefty wind. Both Mark and I accidentally stepped in drainage ditches filled with sloppy, icky mud-like stuff; I ruined my Merrels.

Cleaning up the 'hood is worthwhile. Try it! xxoo PSP

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Soggy, Soggy

Hello, up there! I think we have ENOUGH RAIN NOW, thank you very much! I'm tired of ugly umbrellas. I especially dislike the folding type: they're so wimpy (although I do have two lovely Laura Ashley fold-ups, one pale blue with fuschia hydrangeas and the other tan with the same floral print). My favorite umbrella has a wooden handle and when you open it up it looks like a sunflower! My second favorite is a vintage treasure with a bakelite handle and a raspberry top. Does anyone know where I can buy umbrella innards? I'd love to make a few out of my personal stash fabrics. Time for a trip to Goodwill, I guess.

Ducky floats by. XXOO PSP

Monday, April 7, 2008

Skypants Service Champ

So I'm gnawing my fingers to the knuckles over the "budget meeting" this morning and get to Bart's office to sit down and he says let's go into the conference room and this bouquet is on the table! Lorie nominated me for the "Service Champion Award," usually given to someone who "best epitomizes the four core values of the University: Respect, Responsibility, Discovery, and Excellence". I'm not sure how I slipped in there, but I get a $25 gift certificate to the bookstore, lunch for two at one of the dining halls and a plaque identifying me FOREVER as an SC. Most spectacular of all, however, are the wonderful little cards -- can you see them? They are on shish-kebob skewers and each contains a little note like "You'll always be my favorite Patty Skypants," etc. So I have a dozen yellow roses and a dozen rose cards -- two dozen roses.

Ironically, I bought a spring bouquet yesterday and brought them to work this morning, so now I have TWO bouquets and I am FLOWER RICH!! The best part? NO BUDGET MEETING!!! YAY! Big squeezy hugs to all! xxoo P

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Parsley, kale, spinach and Mitzi

We be gardeners! Hope we not be gourmet buffet for rabbits! Thank you, Farmer Mark, for your excellent tilling and planting skills. The parsley is in a pot of it's own and the arugula gets planted this afternoon.
In our 'hood, there's always someone walking a dog or riding a bike or just walking about, so if you spend any amount of time in the yard, you will be waving to the mayor as he strolls by with his new black lab puppy or stopping to chat with Sara and Mitzi, who live up the road that heads north.

Hafta do laundry, iron, make more blocks for Kyle's quilt and prepare for 'nutha work week. Buh Bye Bunnies! xxoo P

Friday, April 4, 2008

Zappa's Crappa

Wednesday morning I took off and went to have my taxes done at the library, where a crew of AARP volunteers does them for free if you are poor or a "senior." I am happy to be whatever you want as long as you give it to me free and apparently that's how 40 other people felt who got there before me. Knowing I was in the for the long-haul, I went out into the stax looking for a "read" -- actually trying to find a Stieglitz biography. If one exists, it isn't at the public library. So moving along, alphabetically, I am not impressed with much (what? Streisand??? CMON!) but I spy Zappa, a creep I've always wondered about. As I sat there waiting for two hours until my name was called, I learned and almost began to feel some sympathy for the guy. I finished the book tonight and I can say this: (1) the author should go to tech school and study plumbing or HVAC; (2) I apparently have not heard the "best" of Zappa, although I do remember several parties at Dave & Bibal Mars' house that featured all the latest Zappa Crappa and it amused me, though it was horribly LOUD and hearing it did not prompt me to purchase any of it; (3) he was a mistanthrope, just like me, and his mantra was "People Suck" and who can argue with that; and finally (4) people aren't really sure, but they think he might have been a "genius" (which is what they always say when they can't figure you out [even if you give them blatant clues]). He mighta been a pioneer, but he was no genius.

I got a small refund and owe State tax. I'm sorry to get a refund (which means I've given the USA a 0% interest loan for the past twelve months). Wish I could figure it out exactly, but my talents are limited, not being a "genius." I hope they use the taxes I paid to provide health care for a soldier who has been wounded in Iraq, amen. Love you all!!! xxoo P

Thursday, April 3, 2008

What the HAIL?????

Okay, this is what my daffodils looked like this morning. There are similar clusters of daffodils all over the yard and they are so pretty. Something told me to take photos this morning before I went to work. These guys need to be dug up and separated this summer so the blooms will be bigger next summer. BUT, here's what happened five minutes ago:

Looks like snow, but it's pea-sized hail! About an inch of it! Can't imagine what the daffodils must look like now. It's ALWAYS SOMTHIN' around here!!! Yikes!
But I did get a couple of packages yesterday! Midwest Modern fat quarters (18 are still on back-order) and half-yards of Posh. WHEEEEEEE! Betty Dippi sent me an Amy Butler quilt pattern she found in a magazine and I think it's very timely! I'm going to start working on that this weekend while I'm finishing up Kyle's quilt. I really need a break from black & blue, so I'll do the Amy blocks as thread-savers. I'm not a big the-person Amy fan, but I do like the fabrics and I think I'm really lucky to have so many of the original Charm prints -- stuff that is now out of print.

Don't tell Bhu, but Goma now has GomaCam! Also, you've GOT to watch Goma eat his birthday cake!! TOO CUTE! Love you GOMA!