Turd Bird

BEST OF 2008....... ON TO 2009!

2008-12-31T16:55:00.011-05:00

So, I had a great 2008 and thought I would highlight my favorite things about the year..... in photos. I have a few goals and things I would like to do in 2009. These include: baking great bread, volunteering at old folks home (I just love old people!), running 3 times a week, building a new deck and eating less meat. Here are highlights of my 2008:

My brother getting married (no pictures yet!)

Phillies World Series Win! (see above fan photo)

My New Scooter (and being car-less!)

Nate Becoming a Home Brewer!

Obama!

HAPPY 2009!

Art Star Craft Bazaar

2008-06-01T18:27:00.003-05:00

Today I went to the Art Star Craft Bazaar with the Nate Dawg. It has grown so big! It is as big as the Renegade Craft Fair in NYC. There were quite a few lovely things. I got a bunch of hand printed stationary type products and a few gifts for various weddings/birthdays coming up. Someday maybe I will have a booth at one of these events.........I just need to be a bit more motivated to make enough stuff to sell.

There were lots of cute dogs and people in dressed in colonial garb at the craft sale. It was entertaining. After the sale we went to a Belgian bar where I had a Hoegarden topped off with Frambois and mussels while watching the Phillies game. We won and are now number one in the NLE. Take that bitches!

Gardening and Such

2008-05-27T17:01:00.004-05:00

My garden is starting to shape up okay. The front yard hit its springtime prime and the backyard is under construction. Nate and I worked on putting down a patio with some free brick we got from a neighbor. We got a bit over half done and ran out of brick..... so we are on the hunt for more free brick.

Regardless, the people and pets are enjoying the half finished brick patio.

2008-05-14T21:21:00.003-05:00

Just a little message if you're feeling down.

Sunday Dinner and Dessert

2008-05-11T20:04:00.005-05:00

I had a great day today......I wish I could have one like it per week. I worked in the garden a while, then made a delicious dinner. I will post about dinner now, maybe a garden post later in the week.

I went to the Reading Terminal Market yesterday to get groceries and noticed they had some good lookin' baby back ribs. I got a small rack of them as well as a bunch of other fresh stuff. In addition, my community garden plot is starting to produce a bunch of stuff, mostly radish and lettuce, but I should have a snap pea or two before you know it. I came home and looked through a cookbook I recently got called "Happy in the Kitchen". I formed my menu: Grits and Kernels with Yelow Tomato Water, Thyme-Glazed Baby Back Ribs and Grandma's Strawberry Shortcake. I made the ribs for myself and made Nate Tofu using the same glaze as used on the ribs. I was not disappointed with any of the recipes. Below are some pics followed by the Strawberry Shortcake recipe. Enjoy!

Radish from my Garden

Grits and Kernels with Yellow Tomato Water and Thyme-Glazed Baby Back Ribs

Strawberry Shortcake

Yellow Cake (Base for Strawberry Shortcake)

Cake

2 c. sifted cake flour

1-1/3 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter, room temperature

1 t. salt

2 t. baking powder

2 eggs, unbeaten

1 t. vanilla

1 c. milk

Preheat oven to 375°. Sift flour, sugar and salt over the shortening and add 2/3 c. milk; beat 2 minutes. Stir in baking powder. Add eggs, remaining milk and vanilla and beat 2 minutes more. Place batter in a lightly greased 9” x 9” cake pan. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, between 25 and 30 minutes. Serve with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

2008-05-06T13:58:00.004-05:00

I haven't blogged in ages! Here are some before and after pics of my kitchen....even though it was completed in Feb. Also some other photos of my house and pets. Hopefully I will be blogging with pics. from my garden soon!

Here is the Kitchen after we started work-boy was it nasty!

Willy Penn and Weekend Fun

2007-10-23T10:33:00.000-05:00

So, I had a very exciting weekend this past one. Friday at work I got to go on 2 unexpected tours- one to the top of City Hall to see the maintenance being completed on Willy Penn- It was a very windy day and I walked a small spiral scaffolding. It was quite dramatic. Here I am with a thumbs up to the City of Brotherly Love.

Next on my adventure I got to take a hardhat tour of the restoration of Memorial Hall. Also very interesting- again I got to climb scaffolding but this time to the top of the dome. Fun Fun.

Then came a phone call from family friends that they were going to be in town and wanted to take me out for lunch at Le Bec Fin- the best restaurant in the world! How special! It was delicious. I got celariac and pear soup, mahi mahi encrusted with almonds with all kind of sauce and side food and finally strawberry sorbet with sauce etc. I also tried the escargot, the boulubaise and a bunch of other delicious treats. Thanks Hadens!

After lunch I hopped in the car and drove to the Delaware Water Gap to meet up with Nate who rode his bicycle there (crazy!). I camped with him and his bike gang. It was cold but the foliage was beautiful. Next time I am up there I plan on doing a little antiquing and staying in a warm place with a real bed.

Ludovica B.

2007-03-20T17:02:00.000-05:00

Grandma as we knew her best.

My grandma passed away last week. She was a really neat lady- the best cook, gardener, seamstress and general neat lady I ever knew. Here are some pictures of her and the farm. She was baptized, married and had her funeral at the same church just a mile north of the farm. I found the above picture at her house last week.

2007-02-24T18:21:00.000-05:00

I got new glasses today. I like them but it is quite an adjustment. Right after I picked them up I went to the very busy Redding Terminal Market. Even though I knew no one there, I was very self conscious about my new spectacles. I wanted to get used to them on my own before the whole world saw them........so I put my poopy old glasses on. Here is a comparison of the new and the old. What do you think?

Old

New

Kitchen Redux Phase 1

2007-02-19T18:14:00.000-05:00

My Kitchen, Ten Minutes Ago

For those of you who don't know I bought a house in October. The house is very victorian and for the most part I love it but THE KITCHEN! It is very drab and needs major funking up! (when I say funky I mean it in a Cyndi Lauper kind of way, not a toe cheese kind of way). We started painting the kitchen cabinets this weekend and I have a bid on some bakelite drawer pulls on ebay. We have a lot of work to do but I finally feel inspired! Here are some images that have inspired the look I am going for.

Also, my friend Emily started a new blog called Emily Eats. Check it out!

Lady of the Lake

2007-02-16T18:57:00.000-05:00

The Lady of the Lake

So, I have been very depressed about the lack of comments on my blog....low and behold- I logged in today and had two comments! Thanks Sue....and Anonymous. I like a mystery.

Today at work I removed a bunch of paint from one of the earliest decorative plaster rooms in the country. The dudely contractors and I have been calling her the Lady of the Lake. It is tedious work but I am excited to see what she looks like. In addition I like to work at the site with all of the contractors. They remind me a little bit of visiting my electrician father for lunch when I was a kid.

Nigel and the Pink Blanket

Emily and Nigel are forming a new bond this week. Emily bought Nigel flowers for Valentines Day. Here is a picture of Nigel.... he looks like a girl because of the pink blanket but he is actually a very manly grumpy old man cat.

Delicious Dip and Laundry

2007-02-09T22:01:00.000-05:00

Tonight we did laundry. It has been so cold around here that our pipes to the washer/dryer are frozen....so to the laundrymat we went! We did seven loads including both dog beds that the Turd Bird peed on this week. I am now watching a 20/20 episode about Anna Nicole Smiths mysterious death. Intriguing. This is my kind of Friday night!

I made a delicious dip this week from Leite's Culinaria, one of my favorite food websites. The dip was a red pepper, pomagranite, Molasses and walnut dip and you can find the recipe here. Sue really liked the dip so I thought I would link to it. By the way, check out Sue's Blog . It is a good one (and I am featured prominently).

Turd Birds

2007-02-04T15:43:00.000-05:00

So, this is my new blog which I named Turd Bird (obviously). I named the blog after my pet Cyndi. She looks like a dog but is actually a rare animal called a Turd Bird. Characteristics of Turd Birds:
1. EXTRA cute
2. Many people are scared/intrigued by them
3. Misunderstood
4. Don't like to follow the rules
5. 1/3 Chicken, 1/3 Turkey, 1/3 Monkey

I would like my new blog to have many of the characteristics of Turd Birds. We'll see.