P.S. to my Broadcast Blues

Andrew and I both felt the sting from our abrupt separation with the beautiful world of extended cable and he was certain that if we looked in the attic we could try to rectify whatever the fire marshal did to disrupt out service. I reluctantly agreed, reasoning that the digital cable conversion happened around the same time and somehow could have affected this, but I hesitantly went up those stairs.

I had no idea what to expect from an 1814 attic, but I was certain that getting attacked by a mutant, 20-lb rat was part of the deal. Wrong. We didn't see any rats or mice (thankfully!!!) but we did see a creepy dusty attic, some paintings from my RISD neighbor, some nudy paintings of elderly women my RISD neighbor hides so people don't see how creepy he really is, a megaphone, and some other goodies. I demanded that we went back with a camera...so enjoy!

Andrew ready to defend us against the rodents.



















Andrew holding up a 1989 Newsweek Magazine Hot Cities: America's Best Places to Live and Work Providence, St. Paul, Orlando, Ft. Worth, Columbus, Sacramento
And "Last Days in Kabul: The Soviets Pull Out Under Fire"
Wow, 1989 Russia was still U.S.S.R.!



















Me and the old women!











Andrew and the megaphone.

Broadcast Blues

So, this is pretty sad and pathetic, but I'm coming clean. So, I think I previously mentioned that I had broken down and subscribed for the basic cable package in November--the $12.99 a month gig that gives you 25 channels or so. Well, amazingly I actually received all 96 channels. I have basked in this glorious oversight for the past few months, hence my Monday night TV Trash routine. Well, unfortunately, the age old adage, "nothing in life is free" came true all too soon. Sometime around the digital broadcast conversion or the fire marshal spending two hours in my attic, my fancy free TV watching escapade came to an end. I am officially getting what I pay for, 25 channels:( Sad.

Oh well. To put things in perspective...
a) Maybe I'll have more time to dedicate to you, my blog, now.
b) If this is the worst thing that happens to me all week, life is pretty good.
c) I've got 4 PBS channels to watch, they're starting to really grow on me:D
d) The Today Show and the NBC Nightly News are part of the 25 channels I do get. What more does a woman need?

Homemade, Homegrown

Andrew and I had dinner last night with a couple from church, Deb and Stephen. Deb is a super chef and makes all sorts of food from scratch. But not typical "scratch," this is scratch like Adam and Eve or the ancient Egyptians would make it. She grinds her own wheat berries to make flour, buys raw milk and butter from the Amish, she bakes all of her own bread, and makes her own cheese (just to name a few). She's posted a few blogs about the ingredients so I thought I would pass on the info to you!

Her Philosophy:
"Food is basically the only thing I buy that becomes a part of me. My bones, organs, muscles, skin, hair, blood - everything - started out on my plate. If I were building a house, I wouldn't use poor-quality materials or cut corners to save time and money. The raw materials that go into the animals I eat are just as important."

Andrew and I had homemade lasagna comprised of ground beef from a grass fed cow purchased at a local farm (intense-she bought a cow, not a pound or two of chuck, a cow) and homemade mozzarella and ricotta!

Also, my sweet, unemployed, boyfriend has been visiting me. He applies for jobs, cleans my apartment, or makes dinner while I work. As I unpacked my lunch bag this evening, Andrew made a statement worthy of a quote of the day: "Sorry, I ate a lot of the peanuts today when I was watching Oprah." Ha! I love it. He claims he only watched the last 8 mins.

Rubbish

I am so sorry for being MIA for so long! I have no good excuse either. I just work, grocery shop, sleep, and hang out with friends. Lately, I've been lacking in good stories to share. Also, I believe I have subconsciously boycotted technology. I'm not sure why, but I've been entirely uninterested in the computer and all its techie ways--blogs, email, Facebook, etc. As a result, you've been neglected. I hope to conjure up some more entertaining stories and start pumping out blogs once again. In the mean time, just sit back, smile, and sigh as I try to make the world a better place, one trash dump at a time.

My studio apartment is not huge, so it started off as a space-saving necessity and has grown into a convenience and way of life. This is my recycle bin (left) and my "landfill" bin (right). I thought I would be irritated by having to take the trash out often, but I've come to realize much of the stuff I throw away is actually recyclable!

Tranquility

How calm was he?!

For those of you who don't rush home to watch Brian Williams and the Nightly news, here's what you may have missed in the news:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

1. I am amazed by the calmness in the dialogue.
2. I find it a tad bit humorous as the air traffic controller keeps suggesting different runways as though the pilot doesn't like the choices offered.
3. I love the picture of the passengers standing on the wings. It looks as though they are standing on water relishing in the miracle they just experienced.

PS Sorry that I have been so absent lately. Life has been busy, yet dull so there hasn't really been anything blog-worthy to speak of lately. Sorry to my loyal readers!!

Pesticides, please!

Okay, don't get me wrong, I love, appreciate, and value the goodness/purpose/benefits of organic, but I could do without the bugs.

I decided that since I'll be eating lots of junk food tonight at a Superbowl party, I would make a salad for lunch. As I started to pull the leaves off the head of Romaine lettuce I noticed bugs. And not just a bug or two, but a few families of bugs. A "big" bug and a bunch of little baby bugs around it. Not being sure if they're dead or alive I decide to wash them down the sink. Well they didn't move so I turned the water temperature up. As mentioned in a previous post, my water comes in two temperatures: ice cold from the underground pipes and scorching hot from the boiler. When those little jerks didn't let go I decided I would burn them off. Sick, isn't it? So I turned up the temp and they eventually let go. I went to switch my laundry over and walked back to an overwhelmingly foul smell. It smelled like cooked cabbage....close, cooked Romaine. In my attempt to eradicate the bugs I got carried away and ruined the entire head of lettuce! How sad. How terrible. How pathetic. I even knew better. It's basically the same way you cook spinach. Oh well, lesson learned: don't panic over the bugs.