librarygrrrl.net

If you never hear from me again, it’s because the upgrade to WindowsXP SP2 didn’t go well. Well, that and I’m attempting to upgrade to Thingamablog 1.something-or-other and it’s having some difficulty importing my blog. *grumble* I love me some technology.

In other news, the school year begins on Monday, and I’m really looking forward to it. The freshmen have been oriented, the upperclass students return today, and the work insanity doesn’t look to be too insane this fall. Actually, one thing I noticed this year during the library portion of freshmen orientation was that this year’s group of new student seemed a lot more subdued than the past couple of years. In general, the noise level and energy level were both lower. I was talking with my mom about that, and her gut reaction was, “It’s the election.” I’m not sure I totally agree, but it’s an interesting theory to ponder.

Okay, off to upgrade the living daylights out of this machine. But first, time to back up the digital images and my financial data. Can’t have that in any harm’s way!

Last night I made eggplant parmesan with a twist - a Tex-Mex sort of twist, since I didn’t have all the right ingredients on-hand. It turned out really well, and with some more Tex-Mex-modifications, I bet it would be even MORE fabulous!

Cut a large eggplant into 1/2″ slices. In a shallow dish, beat a slosh (2T) of half and half, an egg, and a larger slosh (1/4 C) of water. In another shallow dish, mixed up 1/2 C of wheat germ, 1/2 C of bread crumbs (just whir up a slice in the blender), and 1/4 C parm cheese. Coat slices with egg stuff, then dip in bready stuff, then put on baking sheets. Bake 15 minutes at 350 F, flip, and bake 15 more minutes.

While that’s baking, dump a can of stewed tomotoes with onions and selery (or whatever kind of canned tomato product you have around), a can of tomato paste, and some salsa (that’s what I had on hand). Put in spices - I threw in a bunch of fresh basil, a bunch of oregano, and a bay leaf. Let that bad boy simmer until the eggplant is done baking.

Send someone to the store to get some cheese since the (unopened) shredded cheese in the fridge had an expiration date of July 2003 and seems sketchy. You can use mozzerella, but I used jack. Shred it till you have about 2 cups.

In a baking dish (9 by 13 or so) make layers like this: eggplant, sauce, cheese, eggplant, sauce, cheese. Bake 25 minutes covered at 350 F. Bake 15 minutes uncovered at 350 F. Eat! Enjoy!

Had I really thought about this, I’d have played up the Tex-Mex part of this more, and used cumin and chili powder rather than basil, bay, and oregano. Regardless, it was highly tasty.

Last night, Maggie hunted a cricket in Amy’s living room. The cricket was huge, loud, and fascinating to Maggie. Eventually, she flushed it out from behind the television stand, only to poke at it with her right paw (she’s definitely right-pawed) and snuffle around it a lot. Eventually, she poked it to death, and in the process, got a leg off. She ate part of that, but I stopped her from eating any more.

At any rate, catlike behavior notwithstanding, she was 100% dog this morning. When she ran outside to pee and sniff, she stopped, sat down with her back to me (hmmm… that’s actually very catlike…), heaved for a while, and then threw up cricket leg and other dog-stomach stuff. Too bad that she’ll never learn that it was the cricket that made her sick (she always throws up exoskeletons like that), since the amount of time between eating the cricket and getting sick took so long. Silly beast.

Here she is on a better day, back in July, when we were in Minnesota. This picture is taken on the south side of Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis, on one of the docks by the canoe-corralling area.

So my wonderful friends Tammy and John had a little girl last Thursday morning. She came into the world a bit earlier than anyone expected, but is doing well. If you’re a fotolog fan like I am, then you’ll want to go welcome her at her flog. While you’re there, you may as well say hello to my friends Nan and David’s little guy, Alexander. I’m so excited to meet Alex in September… what a cutie patoot!

Babies everywhere! It’s wonderful! Welcome to the world, little ones!

So today was the Stitch-n-Bitch where all the Phillyknitters revealed who their secret pals were, and gave them handmade gifts. I’ve been fretting about my gift for my secret pal for a while. I started several projects, only to frog them because they didn’t feel quite right. Then I found some black chenille, some Berroco Mosaic FX (the ladder ribbon stuff) in greens and blues, and the scarf/shawl pattern in the spring 2004 Knitters. It’s actually a pretty simple pattern of YOs and p2togs, with some tassles on the ends. And that was it. I finished it on Saturday afternoon.

This is it:

And a detail of it:

My secret pal, Voirdire, made me a beautiful long skinny scarf out of a grey alpaca yarn. It’s got a very subtle basketweave pattern to it. Here is the scar and the detail of the basketweave pattern:

Aren’t we all lucky? There were so many wonderful gifts given. I’ve got lots of great new ideas for gifts for people now. After I finish the scarf for my dad for Christmas, the 3 baby gifts for little girls born this summer (or to be born in early fall), and the Weekend Warrior sweater that I have only to piece together! No sweat to finish all that and still be able to make people gifts for the holidays, right? Ha! Wish me (the slow and easily-distracted knitter) good luck with all that!