Ooh, hungry

It is such a bad idea to read the food blogs before lunch break. Wednesday Chef is killing me with the ragu (and the link to the braised cabbage...are we doppelgangers?) and Everybody Likes Sandwiches, enough with the baked eggs in a bun and ham and cheese spoonbread! I'm dyin' over here.

Kima

Just did the home visit. She was totally comfortable with everything but the basement stairs (no big woop, and probably better for her anyway!). We signed all the stuff and changed her name in the microchip registration to Kima. She comes home next Monday when I'm back from Geneva!

Blik!

I got my pagne hemmed and backed and tacked it up above our Brand! New! Futon!

I taped up some of the Damien Hirst dots in the kitchen.

But then got distracted and Blik'd my own room while waiting for Edith to weigh in on the kitchen design. Taped up the Eames circles...

...scrape the backside with a credit card...

...peel off backing...

...stick it on the wall...mash it around...

...peel back the transfer side...

...et voila!

Lookin' good, finally.

We are also doing birds in the living room.


And here are the kitchen dots!

A Really Really Fantastic Day

We had a nice evening out in DC with PC Gabon peeps from near and far, dancing at Ghana Cafe with no punch-out incidents like last time, although Edith did have her ATM card stolen by a quickfingered Adams Morgan drug addict when she walked away from the machine a little too early. So Ghana Cafe's record is still one of fun with a cost.

But that's not even the good part. We went and met Faith Saturday morning, and she is FANTASTIC. Too skinny, very nudgy and loves people, knows how to pee outside and hang out in a crate and sit, and a big loveydovey. I'm gonna love her and feed her and socialize her, if she accepts our house during the 'home visit' tomorrow morning. Am not foreseeing many problems there as our fence is structurally sound and we don't have any tubs of antifreeze sitting out.

After meeting Faith (we will change her name) I drove over to Mt Airy to the bike shop. First thing I hear is "Hey, cool fixie!". Mt Airy is near Frederick and um not so many fixies out there so we are still cool. Larry looks at the bike and says "Can you come back in an hour?" and I'm stupified with happiness. I go to Target and get a few things and come back and THE BIKE IS GOOD AS NEW. The rear was 2 inches out of alignment, the worst he's ever seen, the fork was also messed up, and he replaced my classic seatpost with a new lighter one with a single bolt adjustment, and made a little collar for it. Then all the shop guys had to take a spin on the bike. "One foot no hands," that's the test, he said, riding it nice and straight. Amazing. So I got my baby back and a new one on the way and all is excellent in the world again. Sean and Marin came over for tacos and we watched the original 3:10 to Yuma, which I was not awake for and might watch again this evening with Hope.

I have pics also of the Blik decorating we have done but I think the cable is at work...will post tomorrow before I leave for Geneva!

Bongo to build $73m basilica

http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_2271175,00.html

15/02/2008 08:33 - (SA)

Libreville - Gabon's President Omar Bongo Ondimba plans to build a huge Roman Catholic basilica worth at least 50 million euros ($73m) overlooking the capital, church and other sources said on Thursday.

"The project isn't completely definitive," Libreville Archbishop Basile Mve Engome said, but the aim was to construct the new church, capable of holding 4 500 people, on the site of the Democracy City complex made for a 1977 summit of the Organisation of African Unity.

Czech firm Helika had won a building tender with its plan for a basilica crowned by a dove of peace and hands joined in prayer that would be 70 metres high.

The project would be financed by the Gabonese state with the help of the Swiss Export Bank, which specialised in funding foreign enterprises, the sources said.

"This is the project that most seduced the president," Engome explained. Between 40 and 45% of the central African country's 1.3 million people were Catholics.

Bongo, who came to power in 1967 and was the continent's longest serving ruler, converted to Islam in 1973.

The Helika plan was in competition with one by architect Pierre Fakhoury, who designed the basilica Ivory Coast's founding president, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, wanted in his home village, Yamoussoukro, today the west African country's capital.

That monument was consecrated by the late pope John Paul II.

One wonders if perhaps fighting malaria, HIV and other diseases, or even paving the frickin road, were not 'seductive' enough propositions.

How does Google know what I'm thinking, all the time?

Today's Word of the Day on my Google homepage:

ennui: a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction arising from lack of interest.

I suppose the other possibility is that dictionary.com chose this word for the special day right after Valentine's Day. :)

Names

NICO/NIKO
MISHA AIDEN LOLA CARVER
LAIKA KIMA STU SASHA
ADA NIKITA TASHA
GAIA FREYA GUS GRETA
LEELA KAYA

Meeting Faith on Saturday!

Going out to Finksburg (a good omen?) to meet Faith on Saturday!

Faith Update

"Faith is a sweetheart, crate-trained, house-trained, up to date on all vaccines and heartworm negative. She is ready to find her forever home!"

Trying to go see her this weekend. If all goes well, she'll be my doggie, and if not, then I go for Sterling!

The climbing crew are already calling me Cruella Deville.

Narrowed

Ok I think I'm narrowed down to Faith or Sterling.

omg. please doggies now please!

Cute Overload

http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/

AAahh the cuteness. I can feel my day getting brighter already!

Fayetteville

Just talked to Harley's ex-mom, who happens to be the euthanasia technician at the shelter where he's staying. Apparently her ex-husband just let all his dogs loose one day and they brought the poor guy in, but Harley used to go looking for kids to play with, and likes to play or lay under your desk, and actually prefers to go potty outside his kennel. Not exactly housetrained, but not averse to it. He hasn't had any obedience training and doesn't know any commands really. And he's located in Fayetteville, WV, which is not exactly Alexandria VA as I had thought. It's about 5 1/2 hours from Baltimore.

It's a long way to go for a slightly complicated doggie, even if he is totally adorable and sounds awesome. And - since Tara can't bear to put him to sleep herself, maybe he'll hang on long enough to find another home...?

Harley

This is Harley, a 3.5 yr old, 40 lb Cattle Dog mix, who is at a rural shelter with limited time. The previous owner says: He is GREAT with children. He will actually go looking for kids to play with. Good with other dogs and with cats.

Harley's got medium energy level, not very noisy, he's fairly outgoing.... sometimes he's a little shy with people he doesn't know at first. He does very well on a leash. Very loveable and LOVES attention.

He was kept outside, so he'll need some housetraining work, but he's smart and eager to please.

He really is a sweetheart. Can you give this boy a home?

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Cattle_Dog: ACDs are very organized animals. If the owner has established a "toy box", or some other type of holding area for the dog's possessions, it is not unlikely for an ACD to return whatever it has taken back to this area. Hence the numerous claims of the ACD "putting away its toys", or "picking up after itself". It is not unusual for an ACD to put away bones or items that have been taken out of the area by other dogs as well. Hence the many claims that the ACD "picks up after others".

Nigel

Who couldn't love a dog named Nigel!?

Nigel is about 6 years of age and is a beautiful petite male with gorgous markings. This little fellow was dumped by his owner at a VA shelter and was literally saved from being put to sleep within an hour. Why anyone would dump such a sweet guy that only wants to be loved is something we will never know.
Nigel is quiet, well behaved, crate- and house-trained, and easy to walk on a lead. He gets along with other dogs and cats. This boy is in super health and longs for a home where he can be a constant companion. Nigel is good with children and he would thrive in a loving environment.

1/30/08

Faith

Hi! I'm Faith. I really am a Dalmatian, even if folks think I'm a "negative" version of one. LOL I'm 4 years old, spayed, heartworm negative, and don't have any health problems, but I'm kind of tiny at just 40 pounds. I'll put on weight with the good food I'm getting now.
My previous family kept me outside all the time until the Animal Control guy took me, so now I have to get used to all the strange sounds in my new foster home. I love being inside where it is dry and warm and I have a nice fluffy bed to sleep on.

My foster mom doesn't know me too well yet, but she took me to the vet today and I was very good. My tail kept wagging and I rode quietly in the car. I've been wormed and gotten my Rabies shot and I'm on heartworm preventative...pretty soon I'll put on some weight and be a beautiful dog on the outside to go along with my wonderful personality.

1/30/08

Sterling

Sterling is about 7 years old and ended up in a VA pound when his owner died. This poor guy must have lived a life full of hardships. When he was pulled from the shelter, he was scared but oh so friendly! His first expression was: "thank you for getting me out of this jail". Sterling has one of the most beautiful, gentle faces. He has a crystal blue eye and the other is brown. He is very underweight from his stay at the pound, but with love, good food, and attention, this guy will fill out and look great. Enough cannot be said about his fabulous temperment - he is now living in a foster home with 9 other Dals and he is the mellow one! He seldom barks except to go out, he is not destructive, and he is crate/house trained. Sterling is a dog that has the potential to be a pet therapy dog because he seems to sense that small children, physically challenged people, etc., need his special gentle touch.
Sterling carries with him a scar. On the back of his rump there is an area where all the fur is gone and just scar tissue remains. After being examined by the vets, the theory is that this wonderful dog was burned very badly. No one knows if this was intentional, but one thing is for sure, Sterling suffered a horrible situation. Yet, no one would know from his kind manner. If there was only one word to describe Sterling it would be that he is an Angel.
1/30/08

Mm Pea Soup

I will try to recreate this recipe that I made over the weekend:

Get a big cast iron or ceramic pot. Put 7-8 strips of bacon in and turn on to medium. Fry the bacon until crisp. Try not to burn it!

Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Drain off the fat, reserving 1/4 cup in the pot. Add half an onion and some diced carrot (2 carrots) and sauté until soft.

Add 1 lb split peas. I fried them a little in the bacon fat before adding 2 1/2 quarts (that's 10 cups!) of liquid. I used half chicken stock and half water. Add a tsp of salt and a bay leaf. Add a ham hock if you have one lying around, which I didn't.

Simmer for ~2 hours. Blend some of it, and/or add some cream or half & half if you want. Serve with pepper and some of the crumbled bacon you fried earlier. Good with bread too!

Totally yum, especially when it's 15 degrees and gale force winds outside.

Cleaning up my computer

http://cache.valleywag.com/assets/resources/screenclean.swf

Damn you petfinder

"Do you like my picture?"




Pamela Patti - (Female)
Breed: Coonhound Mix

Age: 5 Years
History:

Description: I'm Pamela Patti. I was named for 2 special ladies, so you know that I'm doubly special. I am not at all pushy or aggressive. If you just want to sit with me and pet me, that is quite enough. I'm not too excited about doing all that running around that so many puppies like. I'm just a nice young lady. I could probably be fully house-trained in short order. I still do puppy things, like drag my blankets all over. There are no cats that I've seen, but I am not the chasing kind of girl, I don't think. I live with Rosemary (her picture is here too), and we have fun together. It is quiet here, and so I don't know about cars and traffic, but I'm willing to learn. Almost every day I get a cooked soup bone that keeps me busy for a while. If I lived with you, would you have soup bones there? Do you like my picture? I could be some kind of coon hound, or maybe some beagle, but no matter what, I am just soooooo cute! Will you come visit?

Breathe new life or spend time searching?

Circle A cycles repairs and repaints bikes; they also handbuild some really great custom frames. I sent them a bad picture of the bike and some details and they estimate around $100 for the repair and $300 for a complete repaint (one color only).

There seem to be no available good Peugeots on Ebay or any of the craigslists right now and I imagine the Mt. Airy Bike Shop will tell me their PX-10's will run me around $600-$750. So I can wait and see how long it takes to find another cheap Peugeot frame with geometry I like (could be never) or send the frame up to Providence for some work and a new lease on life.

Of course the best part would be picking the new color scheme....check out Circle A's Gallery for some ideas. I welcome suggestions in the comments section!