jimmy.

This is Jimmy.

Jimmy was the first feltster I ever made, I think. My kids were making felt creatures at work, and I decided to make Ryan a dino friend. So, Jimmy was born.

Jimmy is a busy guy with many interests. He enjoys watching episodes of The West Wing because he thinks it is one of the most intelligent shows he has ever seen.

He also likes playing wii, especially Mario Kart-- he has to work on his steering skills, however. 

Those turns get him every time.

He also loves to cook. Here he is looking at a delicious recipe from Curtis Stone's cookbook.

To cook, Jimmy needs to make sure he has all the right tools, and that they match. 

Check and check.

Of course, like everyone, lately Jimmy has also spent time mourning the loss of one of his heros. If only he could dance that well... 

Alas, yellow polka-dotted dinos are not known for their keen sense of rhythm.

He shares his feelings of loss, and frustration over his inability to dance, with Sumo-- who is not only a great guard of the house, but also a great listener.

Others in the house are not quite as good at listening (or, as it turns out, at brushing their teeth). Here, Jimmy discusses hygiene with the bathroom dinos. 

After a busy day, Jimmy likes to fall asleep in his very comfortable bed.

Unfortunately, he is prone to stealing all of the blankets in the middle of the night.

Oh, wait... I'm the one that does that...

up

I love this picture. 

I don't quite know why. It is calming to me-- the deep blue of the sky (which, in that exact shade, has always been my favorite color), the masts of the resting boats reaching upward, the colors, the lines. I look at it and feel at peace. 

So tonight, in the midst of what has been a hectic and confusing week for me, I am leaving this here, so that my mind can leave at peace.

"choup".

Ryan hates tomatoes. HATES them, in the way that I hate mushrooms and highwater pants. So I know a recipe is good if it contains not one, but two whole cans of diced tomatoes... and he still eats it. Two bowls even. 

One of the things I want to do on this blog is share recipes with you that we have had success with. I like blogs about cooking because I feel better about picking a recipe if someone else has made it first, providing that recipe with the "tried and true" status, instead of the "picked at random" one. I thought the dinner I made tonight would be a good one to start with-- and I even remembered to take pictures! Though, they aren't any good.

So, said tomato-filled dinner was supposed to be a sort of chili, but it turned out much more like a vegetable soup than a chili-- thus, I have dubbed it "Choup!"

Okay, so it doesn't look the prettiest. Basically, what we have here is a giant pot full of beans, veggies, spices, and tomatoes. What's not to like?

Here is my tomato-hating husband, demonstrating how much he liked it. It has chili powder in it, and I don't cook with chili powder often, but I really liked the subtle heat and flavor it added to the "chili". I am not going to spend all the time recopying the recipe for you, but here is a link so you can find it yourself, in its original home!

"Choup", or Black Bean and Chickpea Chili

I did do a few things differently than the recipe called for. To start with, I didn't have any cumin, but I did have lots of cilantro left in the fridge. I took a small handful, chopped it up, and added it in place of the cumin (okay, so Ryan chopped it up). We loved cilantro, so we were happy with the addition. I also skipped the whole food processor part. Had I done that, the consistency might have been more chili-like. All in all, I think this is a good, simple recipe that incorporates a lot of good stuff. You should try it sometime!

(Oh, and do you notice the half-eaten slice of homemade bread sitting next to Ryan's plate in the picture? If you're lucky, I'll blog about that bread sometime!)

last, but not least.

Yesterday, I left something important out of my blog about my new garden. Without him, my little plants would wither and die. Here he is: my faithful watering can-- er, watering elephant.

You can tell by the smile on his face that he really likes his job.

Thanks, Heather and Ashlee and Jenny, for the awesome engagement present! I'm glad I can finally put it to use!

green friends

ryan and I have a new addition to our family. we really wanted a dog, but our schedules are a little too hectic right now for that. so, we went a step down.

hamster? fish? bird?

I said "a" step down, not thirty.

we have a basil plant! she smells lovely, and adds a nice bit of green to our tiny little concrete patio. since our "deck" gets full-on sun from the time it rises until the early afternoon, I think it should have enough of the stuff to be nice and healthy. hellooooo, fresh basil!

but then, I became a little afraid that our sweet little plant would get lonely and sad out there all alone. so we welcomed two more green friends to the patiofarm.

this is our lovely cucumber. his name is Seabiscuit, because I am fairly certain that it will fail. I told my mom this, and her reply was, "well don't tell him that, and treat him like a champ anyway!" hopefully our champ wins out this time.

and this is our little oregano. notice my great recycling? 

awww. family photo!

Pictures?

Yay! I figured out how to put pictures in my blog! Oh how many doors this opens to blog greatness...

helpful hint

Tip:

When making bread, or more precisely, when cleaning bowls used to make said bread, do not use your really nice Oxo dish scrubby to do so. This will only result in your really nice Oxo dish scrubby becoming hopelessly clogged with bread dough.

Unless, of course, you also happen to own a second, octopus-shaped scrubby (octopus shape optional). The problem can then be remedied by letting the two scrubbies go at it, bristle to bristle, until they have had their fill. Dough-free, squeaky-clean scrubby!

Even if the process doesn't sound squeaky-clean...