7 Quick Takes (Vol 130)

Here we are again. Another Friday upon us all. Remember the routine. Read all my blither/blather. Then click on the pic above to be whisked, at the speed of Hurricane Irene’s approach, over to Conversion Diary for the rest of the Quick Takers.

And now on with the show!

1.
The Tomato Peach Salsa came out fabulously. I am actually going to make a second batch next week I think. Below is the link for the recipe I used. I have to say that I deviated a bit from the written recipe in that I didn’t add the crushed red pepper flakes or the cayenne. I didn’t want those flavors to overpower the peaches. And I also added a bit more honey.

So. Good.

Tomato Peach Salsa

Next week, besides another batch of the salsa, I am going to try my hand at pickle relish. I will keep you posted.

2.
I have been so busy this week I have gotten very little knitting done.

Very little.

I am in fiber withdrawal and that is never good.

But I did get to help someone else with her fiber dilemmas so that is good. And knit night is fast approaching. Yeah!

And Hope, that hat is just the cutest thing. I need to borrow the pattern.

3.
Evidently there was a small (F1) tornado that touched down yesterday morning (1a) just a few miles north of us! A grocery store took a direct hit. HHBL and I woke up about that time because the rain was pouring down and the lightening was amazingly bright and I had to close windows and turn off the whole house fan. Just as I got back into bed, snick, the power went off.

I really hate when the power goes off. I immediately think I need to go to the bathroom and when we lose power we also lose water because we are on a well so no flushing of toilets. Thankfully the power wasn’t off all that long. There are still some areas that won’t be getting power back until tomorrow I hear.

And I am always amazed at how quiet the house is without the power on. You just aren’t aware of the low level “hum” of a house that is powered on. And we live in the woods that are quiet at night anyways. Well, mostly quiet. You occasionally here the owls hooting or the coyotes singing as they kill something.

4.
OK, we had an earthquake on Wednesday. Everyone knows that now. I was sitting at my desk just cranking out work, jamming to my “Cleaning Yuck” play list, when I heard a rumbling sound and felt my chair swaying back and forth.

My first thought was, “Who the HECK is driving a huge truck at high speed down my street?”

And then I remembered that I lived on a cul de sac where if someone was driving a big truck at high speed they would end up in the woods and most likely down the ravine and into the river.

And then I realized that my house REALLY WAS swaying and that the bird feeders outside my window were swaying and that Max the Wonder Dog was totally freakazoid.

EARTHQUAKE.

It felt like it went on forever even though I know that it didn’t. And this is actually the 3rd or 4th earthquake that I remember feeling since moving to The Frozen Northeast Ohio 26 years ago.

And on a final note on this topic, lest you think that the eastern part of the country doesn’t generally have earthquakes and isn’t in danger of a “big one”, you need to know that the largest earthquake experienced in the US happened not in California but in the area that is now Missouri. The New Madrid Earthquakes in 1811-1812.

A great book to read on the topic is, When the Mississippi Ran Backwards by Jay Feldman.

Of course you had to know that I had read book about it.

5.
My life is so boring these days that I spend time just watching the hummingbirds fight for dominance outside my office window.

They are aggressive little buggers! And now they are fighting with the bees that seem to have found the front feeder. Sometimes it looks like O’Hare airport on a Friday afternoon with hummingbirds and bees all hovering and trying to assert their right to “own” the feeder.

But what I love most is that sometimes (like now) one of the hummingbirds will just plunk themselves down on the top of the shepherd’s crook and survey their world. And when another hummingbird zooms up then they chirp and trash talk and zoom.

Man I love those birds.

6.
Cartoon Girl is gearing up for Hurricane Irene. She doesn’t live in one of the evac areas (thank goodness!) but is close by and will surely be impacted nonetheless. She is working tomorrow but will be done by 5p and then on her way home. Hopefully MTA will not have shut down the E train by then or it will be a long walk for her. Thankfully the hurricane isn’t expected until Sunday.

I trained the girl right. She tells me that if she does have to walk home from work on Saturday she has her camera with her to document the event.

That’s right! When disaster strikes go for the camera first to document the event.

I am so proud.

Sniff.

I wonder if she can work this whole earthquake/hurricane theme into Space Case Sally?

7.
And finally. Just because it makes me smile and sing along.

If you are a certain age or older you will remember the TV show “The Monkees”. They were just a bit before my time but my Aunt Sue was MAD for them. Totally mad. (Dana, ask your MiL about this). But I can tell you that even though the original show was airing when I was very young that doesn’t mean that I haven’t seen every episode. Thank goodness for re-runs and WGN when I was little.

And this was, and remains, my favorite Monkee’s song. It figures in many of my playlists. It sits in my “favorites” in YouTube so that I can watch it whenever I feel the need. I loved it from the moment I first heard it. We are bonded.

I will tell you that you may have to follow the link that pops up and watch it on YouTube rather than here. They are stinky that way. But go and watch it. I have already done it about 10 times since embedding the video.