Jeff's kisses

No, not that one.
He's out of town on the East Coast somewhere.

Little Jeff.

His birthday party was on Sunday.
Jenny is a real party girl.
The theme was Sesame Street, complete with Cookie Monster cake


and Sponge Bob pinata.


Sponge Bob, you say?
Yes, well, Jenny dumpster dove at the local elementary school and came up with three damaged SBob pinatas. A little repair work later and, viola, one serviceable pinata.
My kind of girl.
Except the body was a cardboard box and took FOREVER to break.

Anyway, kisses from little Jeff are always multidimensional.
Think, slobbery lips and runny nose.
He gives them obediently when directed by his Mama.
Here are a few of us sharing the love.
And the germs.



After seeing this photo, I've decided it's time for a haircut.
Or something.


A good time was had by all.




Some more than others.

Boring but helpful?

I don't know about you, but sometimes my computer just gets bogged down in unidentified junk, and our supposed anti-virus software just isn't doing its job.
I was listening to Clark Howard yesterday as I drove from one music therapy client to another.

HE IS MY HERO.

If you don't know of him, go to his website and find out which station carries his talk show. I learn something useful from him every time I listen. He is, possibly, MORE FRUGAL THAN I.
I know, hard to believe, right?
Anyway, yesterday he was talking about scareware. Go look on his website if you want the whole story, but the short version is this. Pop-up boxes are coming up on people's computers, telling them that they have gotten a virus and to click on the box to get rid of it. It looks like an official anti-virus notification.

But DO NOT CLICK ON THE BOX.

It will download a virus and shut down your computer.
He also recommended Spybot, which I have used in the past but forgotten about. It is a free download that will Search and Destroy all those nasty little buggers that slow down your computer. I ran it last night and it completely fixed all the little freezing and slowing problems that I was having. One word of warning: it takes a long time to run the programme, like at least an hour. This page will lead you to several other "clean-up" programmes recommended by Clark.

Another handy hint from Clark was that you should have more than one search engine on your computer, so that if a virus shuts down one of them, you can still get on the net to fix it. No problem at our house, as I use Firefox and everybody else hates it!

There.
I posted.
Maybe it was even useful.

Lisa Hannigan

A few months ago I took my girls to see Jason Mraz.
I decided I could live without Jason.
A little too gleefully Obama-fied for me.
But I loved his opening act.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is Lisa Hannigan, an Irish colleen with a hauntingly beautiful voice and songs to match.



She has several songs on YouTube and her own website.

If I were you I would download her album.

Oh, that's right.

I already did.

The Search for Perfection

No, silly, I don't mean ME!
I am having too much fun to be anywhere close to perfection.
I have had, however, a long-standing search for two things:
The perfect pizza dough
and
the perfect chocolate chip cookie.


I think I have found the pizza dough, thanks to this blogger, who has a pretty fun blog for young moms or anyone interested in living frugally and fantastically.

Here it is:

Pizza Hut Style Pizza Dough

1 1/3 cups water
2 tsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp cornmeal
3 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp yeast

Add ingredients to bread machine, according to manufacturer's settings, and run dough setting. After the machine beeps, roll out the dough. You can roll the dough into two 9x13" pizzas (great for kid's lunches!) or into two medium pizzas or a large pizza and an order of breadsticks. Parbake the crust with a drizzle of olive oil on it at 450 degrees for ten minutes. Remove the crust and add sauce and toppings. If making breadsticks, add your breadsticks at this time. Place into the oven for another ten to fifteen minutes or until golden and bubbly. Enjoy!
Note: one variation of the recipe has you sprinkle the cornmeal on the pan, not mix it into the dough. I kind of liked it mixed in. Also, if you mix the dough in your bread machine, make sure you use bread flour.
Check out the blog for more hints on using this recipe.

Well, that covers pizza dough.

Enough excitement for one day.

Chocolate chip cookies hover on the horizon.

Chicks and the Marine

My friend Julie raises chickens for eggs and for fun. She generously shares her multi-coloured eggs with her friends. Of which, did I mention, I am one? We are chick-sitting for Julie this weekend. Seven adorable chicks of varied breeds. They are cheeping in their box in the family room. Charlie got all GOOEY when he saw them. And, of course, he couldn't help being GOOFY too. I told him I would post the photo if he pulled a funny face! Here are some chick pictures for your enjoyment. Someday, when I'm more motivated, I will tell you the story of Attila the Hen.

Zebras and Giraffes

I bought these a few months ago for my newly renovated spare room:




I got them from Zimbabwe Artists' Project, a non-profit in Portland.
Which has a VERY HARD TO FIND location by the river.
With NO PARKING SPACES AT ALL.
It is, however, run by a couple of very personable types who were happy to let me buy these two wall hangings, even though they were supposed to be for a show.

I LOVE THEM.

Add those babies to the list.
Of THINGS THAT I LOVE.

I love them because they are cheery and bright, depicting two of my favourite animals. They have a hand-written note from the artist on the back, telling the story of the art.

I also love them because they serve a greater purpose than just decorating the walls of the African-inspired room.

Here is the PR for ZAP:

ZAP celebrates the artistry and accomplishments of women from rural Weya in eastern Zimbabwe. Through education, sale of their art in the U.S., and special projects, ZAP helps women become economically self-sufficient. Women of Weya are subsistence farmers, mothers, and householders as well as artists. Most women live on their own, providing for families. Some are widowed, others are single heads of households, since throughout Zimbabwe men leave the rural areas to seek work in cities.
Women’s income from agriculture is unpredictable and limited. Sales of their art helps women afford food, clothing, school fees, medicines, transport, seeds and fertilizer. Since the market for Weya art in Zimbabwe is extremely limited, sales in the U.S. are critical. ZAP pays much more than any other buyer, delivering cash at the time of purchase, and we provide health care to the artists.

Add to this the fact that inflation in Zimbabwe is, I don't know, a million percent and rising, and you get an idea of the hopelessness that many of the people must feel. I like thinking that my happy walls have helped an artist to provide for their families a little better.

Go here to read more about ZAP and meet Dick and Heather. They are very nice.

Happy Day!

Charlie's coming home on leave tomorrow.

Nieces and nephews are happy.


Siblings are happy.


Even parents are happy.