Bailey Bundle

White Eggplant and So Much More

I liked the way this eggplant looked like it was dripping, so that's why I chose it when I picked up my CSA produce today. That's Bailey in the background. As soon as I put it down to take a photo she snuggled up to it. We got a baker's dozen ears of corn (which I can't eat), potatoes, peaches, bell peppers, green beans, huge tomatoes, and plums. I'm so glad that I split this with someone. Tonight I put some corn, zucchini, and green beans into the freezer.

This week I used some squash to make koosa ablama (Lebanese stuffed squash.) It wasn't nearly as good as it is at Byblos, but Ross liked it. I think I'm going to use some of the potatoes in carne roja this weekend. And maybe we'll have some hash browns. Ross makes really good hash browns since he learned the most important ingredient is patience.

When searching the web for the Byblos website I found out that there is a Byblos in Baltimore! I think Ross and I are going to try it tomorrow. Man I miss Byblos.

The Belly of the Beast, The Bowels of the Building, The Basement

This is a photo of the big hallway/tunnel in the basement. The photo makes it look a lot brighter and cleaner than it really is. The blue carts on the right are clean linen carts, ready to be taken to the floors of the hospital. On the left are cage carts that I've seen people transport packages in. Overhead are all sorts of pipes--water pipes, steam pipes, wires and who knows what else. I really like this hallway. It is always warm. When I walk through and all the carts are lining the sides it feels really cozy. The far end of the hall smells like oil. For some reason I kinda like that too. This hall is very close to my office. I use it as a major shortcut to radiology. It also leads to an underground tunnel that connects with the outpatient building--so I don't have to walk outside if the weather is nasty. I like being in the bowels of the building.

We're Done

Since we cut the hole in the toilet bowl litter pan Bailey has not pooped in it. She has pooped on the floor, carpet, bed, and Ross's clothes instead. We have become totally paranoid about it. We are constantly looking for her to see what she's doing. We are constantly picking her up and putting her on the toilet. She now cowers and shrinks away from us when we walk up to her. We don't like that. I don't like her holding her pee and poop. I'm concerned about her physical and mental health. It was an adventure, and we are declaring it at an end. I'm sad, but--nothing gained and nothing lost. I know Bailey will be very happy to get her litter box back.

My Nose

I find it hard to believe I haven't written a post about my nose yet. Sometimes my nose is on. I feel like I can smell everything. This week my nose has been on. Ross hates it. I walk around wrinkling up my nose and sniffing the air (kind of like a dog). One morning this week the hospital smelled like the dog food factory. The bathroom closest to my office has odd smells. This week it smelled like an Italian restaurant. Luckily patients aren't normally transported on the elevator that I use. I can't stand getting on an elevator that smells like infection.

Yoga was icky yesterday. It smelled so bad in the room--like a wet sweaty shirt. I sprayed (nice) smelly stuff on my towel and kept sniffing it. The worst part of tubing for me was the smell while waiting for the bus.

I don't think much about my nose. Sometimes it is on, and sometimes it isn't. I don't know why, but it sure keeps things interesting.

Movie Night

Last night we finally made it to the Drive In Theater. The triple play line up was Despicable Me, Inception, and Adults. Despite the heat and very high humidity I really had fun. I didn't make it through all three movies. After Inception, which ended around 1:30, we came home. I wasn't really impressed by Despicable Me. Inception, on the other hand, was really good. I really, really liked it. There were some things that just didn't make sense, but I guess that happens in every movie. At least it wasn't totally predictable. We will definitely be going back to the drive in. I hope next time the weather is a little cooler and the movies are just as good.

Tubin' on the 'Lupe

Back to Yoga

I have been going to yoga again lately. I need to use up my 5 class pass before it expires (they are good for like 4 months, so I've been lazy for that long!) I've managed to survive the last 3 classes. A few of us were talking about the different yoga teachers after class last week. One lady said that she didn't like one teacher because she was "too sanskrit." What does that mean? The lady bragged about doing yoga for 14 years, but she's never bothered to learn the sanskrit asana names. Then she complained that one of the male teachers is "too flexible." What? She made it very clear that she uses yoga as a work out. She is into power yoga. She'd be a Joseph fanatic if he taught here.

The opposite of power yoga is floppy yoga. Skinny girls do floppy yoga. I saw a lot of it in class today. They cant hold their arms up straight. It annoys me and makes me chuckle at the same time. Yoga class brings out my OCD tendencies. I want to correct my fellow students.

In today's class there was a girl with a head covering on. It was hot yoga. I think it was her first time. I don't think she had any idea what she was in for. She left 20 minutes into the class--I think partly because her friend was feeling ill. She didn't come back until almost the very end of class. Lately I've just been completely fascinated with head coverings. My version of the head covering was to always wear my hair in a bun. With my hair so short I can't put it in a bun. I'm suddenly having the urge to cover my hair. We'll see.

Tail or Very Long Schlong

When I dumped out the carrots that we got from the farm I found this little gem. A little three legged carrot. I'm not sure if the third leg is a tail or a really long, wrapping around schlong. You decide.

Potty Training: Hole Number One

Bailey has only had one accident since we started potty training, and that was over a week ago, so Ross decided today would be the day to move on to the next step. Just a little while ago Bailey was crying and I thought it might be because her litter pan was dirty. Yep. I dumped everything in the toilet and flushed it, and then washed out the litter pan. I cut out the first hole, and put in fresh litter. I'm excited to see how she does. This is a big step.
Update: Bailey crying because the litter pan was dirty was half true. I think she was crying cause she'd had an accident. Oops. Since the litter pan was dirty she pooped in Ross's shorts (which were on the floor). He was not happy. Ross has vacuumed and steam cleaned the carpets. Now if only the back room was clean.

On With the Epic Novel

Not long after our vacation I finished the fifth novel in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. I think it was 700 pages. I didn't like the cover of the book. The hand looks like a claw. The book had some illustrations. I thought they were terrible. I couldn't have done better, but I know someone could have. So I was reading about wolves and vampires, and I was a little baffled, cause I thought Val was the one reading the Twilight novel. I was into it, but it got dumb. Star Wars and Harry Potter and Stephen King? I thought that was really, really lame. He mentions himself and one of his other novels in the book, I think one of the characters is a cross-over. I was disappointed. Two books left. Two very long books. I hope the next one doesn't have the same crappy crossover stuff.

Garden Progress

My little minigardens are growing very well. Yesterday after work I brought them in the house because the 100+ degree weather had really taken a toll on them. After some water and a few minutes in cooler air they perked right up.

Some of my many jalapenos. I think we'll be having some guac soon.

Here are the cayenne peppers.
One of the Anaheim peppers.
The Thai basil is really taking off. I need to start cooking with it. Ignore the two dead plants in the background...my begonias decided very early on that they didn't like Maryland. My sweet basil is also doing okay. I don't put it outside at all. I don't think it could take the sun or the heat. My success with this year's garden has almost given me the confidence to buy an orchid. Almost.

On Netflix

I've become a complete Netflix (instant watch) junkie over the last week. I've been immersing myself in lots of BBC period pieces. North and South was good. I watched The Way We Live Now, but part of episode 3 was missing so I was totally bewildered when I started watching episode 4 (I'm going to complain to Netflix.) I also watched Our Mutual Friend. That was good. None of them were as good as Bleak House.

As far as movies go Ross and I watched Guess Who's Coming to Dinner last week. What a superbly written movie! I watched Onegin, another period piece, it was just okay. Revanche was tortuously slow. I wouldn't recommend it. Tonight I watched Arranged. It was really good. Two beautiful women brought together as friends partly because they are both going through the marriage arrangement process. A nice uplifting movie, I highly recommend it.

The Recession

I knew the recession was real when I received a letter explaining that my student loan company would no longer be giving bonus payments. I'm not sure how the bonus payments work, but I was getting extra money each month toward both my principal and interest. I realized the recession was real and affecting me personally. I started to worry. I tried to spend less. I shopped at Wally World instead of Target.

Lately I've been hearing that the recession is over. Like a lot of things I hear on the radio, I didn't give it much thought. Totally on a whim I decided to check my student loan balance today. It's still overwhelming, but I did notice that I received TWO bonus payments in June!

Ross and I both have jobs. We both have cars. We do more than make ends meet. Really, I want for nothing. I still shop at Wally World, but we don't have a Super Target here. Hummingbirds visit my feeder. My plants are thriving. Bailey peed and pooped in her potty this morning. The sun is shining. And my personal marker says the recession is over.