Tuesday Do List:

1. Go to dentist. Ugh!

I'm So Spicey!

I thought I'd start the week with a list, so I counted my spices. Lol - it took waaaay too long. This list does not count commercial spice mixes like Montreal Steak Seasoning, Caribbean Jerk, various Seasoned Peppers & spice rubs, or oils like Peppermint & Almond, and most refrigerated, fresh or preserved spices (like whole ginger root, tumeric root, fresh basil leaf, etc.) It does count standard mixes like Curry Powder & Chinese Five. I confess - I have never used the Arrowroot powder. I bought it for a recipe I never made. But everything else? In use.
Edited to replace duplicate Anise Seed with Cream of Tartar. It's more a chemical than a spice to me, and screws up the alphabetization - but it keeps my count at 87!

1. Allspice, Ground
2. Allspice, Whole
3. Cream of Tartar
4. Arrowroot Powder
5. Asafoetida Powder
6. Anise Seed
7. Basil Leaf
8. Bay Leaves, Ground
9. Bay Leaves, Whole Turkish
10. Caraway Seed, Whole
11. Cardamom, Ground Decorticated
12. Cardamom, Whole
13. Cayenne Pepper, Hot
14. Celery Seed, Ground
15. Celery Seed, Whole
16. Chile Pepper, Ancho Ground
17. Chinese Five Spice
18. Chive, Chopped, Dried
19. Chile Pepper, Flakes, Crushed Red Pepper
20. Cilantro Leaf, Dry Flakes
21. Cilantro Leaf, Whole Frozen
22. Cinnamon, Ground
23. Cinnamon, Whole 4 inch
24. Cloves, Ground
25. Cloves, Whole
26. Coriander Seed, Ground
27. Coriander Seed, Whole
28. Cream of Tartar
29. Cumin Seed, Ground
30. Cumin Seed, Whole
31. Curry Powder, hot
32. Curry Powder, mild
33. Dill Seed
34. Dill Weed
35. Fennel Seed, Whole
36. Fenugrek,Whole Seed
37. Fleur de Sel Salt
38. Garlic, Granulated
39. Garlic, Minced
40. Garlic, Powdered
41. Ginger, fresh root
42. Ginger, Ground
43. Garam Masala Powder
44. Horseradish Powder
45. Jalapeno Pepper, Ground
46. Lemon Peel, Granulated
47. Lemon Grass, Dried
48. Marjoram
49. Mustard Seed, Ground Yellow
50. Mustard Seed, Whole Brown
51. Mustard Seed, Whole Yellow
52. MSG
53. Nutmeg, Ground
54. Nutmeg, Whole
55. Onion, Granulated
56. Onion, Powdered
57. Orange Peel, Granulated
58. Oregano, Ground
59. Paprika, Hot
60. Paprika, Sweet
61. Parsley Leaf
62. Pepper, Malabar Standard, Ground Coarse
63. Pepper, Malabar Standard, Ground Fine
64. Pepper, Malabar Standard, Whole Malabar
65. Pepper, Szechuan
66. Pepper, Tellicherry Peppercorns
67. Peppercorns, Rainbow Blend
68. Pepper, White, Ground Fine
69. Pine Nuts
70. Poppy Seed
71. Rosemary Leaf, Ground
72. Safflower
73. Saffron, Whole Threads
74. Sage Leaf, Rubbed
75. Savory Leaf, Rubbed
76. Sea Salt, Crystals
77. Sea Salt, Granulated
78. Seasoned Salt
79. Seasoned Pepper
80. Sesame Seed, Hulled (White)
81. Spike
82. Tamarind Paste
83. Tandoori
84. Tarragon Leaf
85. Thyme Leaf, Ground
86. Turmeric, Ground
87. Vanilla Bean, Whole.

Tell me if you have a spice that is NOT on my list and I will re-check to see if I have it and just missed counting it because of temporary insanity.

thndrkttn?

I emailed you on Monday evening. Did you not receive any emails from me? Was I too late?

I'm a Pillow Fluffer.

I have insanely fluffy pillows because I fluff them every morning. Fluffy is good.
Then I feed the cats.
Then I sing the Birdy-birdy song to the birds.
Then I have my first cup of coffee.
It's a simple routine.

Last night neither Mr Swami nor I remembered to lock the birds in the downstairs half-bath to keep them safe from cat assault. Luckily they were fine. I don't think the cats can break into the bird cage but they double-team their attack and the poor birdies don't know which side of the cage to flee to.

I'm Drinking Butterscotch Schnaaps...

...and missing Nookie. Where oh where has our Nookie gone?

Tom and I saw a trio of short plays this weekend and had a very good time. We've been eating out non-stop too. I haven't cooked since Friday night!

Went to OmniTheater today and saw their giant screen Lewis & Clarke documentary. We wound up leaving kitty outside in 40 degree rain all day because she went out when Tom got the early morning paper and then just wouldn't come in. Boy - was she glad when we finally got home at about 4 pm. (Kitty has numerous places to get out of the rain. It appears she spent a lot of time running through mud and then walking up & down the windshield of Tom's garaged car. His poor car is trashed, lol.)

Now I'm getting ready to turn on DWTS. I have no real fave yet.

It Was Such A Little Bump

... barely even noticeable.

A couple of days ago as I was driving my son around and while stopped at a light I decided to dig a breathmint out of my purse. I dropped the packet, of course, and in the process of fishing it up off the floor I guess I took my foot partly off the brake. So I bumped the car in front of me with a most gentle little 'pop'.

I jumped up from my fishing position, and looked at the (single male) driver to see what he was going to do. Guy was looking at me in his rearview mirror and obviously mouthing some kind of words. I backed up a few inches & looked back at him. Now he was still talking. but rocking his head back and forth slowly with his chin kind of thrust forward. Obviously, he was describing me & what he wanted to do with me in loving detail.

I was hopeful that he would NOT get out of his car at all because I had my son with autism with me - and he doesn't do well with unexpected interruptions to his routine, plus some people just don't get autism at all and take it as a personal affront to themself. This guy did not look promising.

Guy kept talking to the mirror. Now his incessant head rocking was really starting to freak me out. I felt like I had ticked off an unstable person! I decided if he got out and walked back I would just roll my window down 2" and not get out of the car. Thankfully, when the light changed he just drove forward. I dropped back and put a couple of cars between us - but the first 2 turns he made were the same two turns I made! OMG what if we are going to the same place!

Thankfully, at my next turn he went staight ahead. I think he was still talking to the mirror too.

I blame the breathmints.

Attention Pool People!

What do I do with my wet suit? Do I have to wash it in the washing machine every time, or can I just hang it to dry? Will residual chlorine ruin the fabric if I don't wash it out?

I am ignorant of these fine points of pooling since I have done most of my swimming in lakes and rivers. I've been in the ocean in CA and HI too but salt water is creepy. I don't like swimming in salt water.

Signs of Springtime!

Approximately 1/3 of MN is currently underwater. When snow melts but the ground is still frozen every low area becomes a lake. Whole corn fields have 2-3 inches of standing water in them! I saw a very forlorn horse standing in fetlock deep water in his paddock - which must have melted while his owners were at work. Poor wet horsey.

My little creek is foaming and at the top of its banks. This is when the evil part of me always hopes for a really good rain. It creates such havoc! All that water, and no soil to absorb it!

Mostly naked running guy is back to jogging on Hwy 61. He wears low-slung short shorts and nothing else. I only look at him to assess the level of his tan. Also? He is not Jewish, lol.

My cat has gone utterly mad. It's warm outside but everything is so nasty & wet! What to do? In or out?

I had the best Chicken Scampi at Olive Garden yesterday! Now I am jonesing to make shrimp scampi, one of my favorite dishes, only I am always unhappy with the freshness of shrimp available in MN.

Tomorrow is St Paddy's Day. I am 1/2 Irish but I don't go all nutty about wearin' o the green and stuff like that. I don't even cook special food anymore. Well, maybe I'll make some soda bisquits to go with dinner.

This Just In...

I am going to wimp out on swimming today. It is -5 freaking degrees out, with a fresh coat of slickery snice (snow & ice combo). I could fall and break something, right?

I have noticed that Mr Swami pees about once for every 4 times I go. This doesn't seem fair.

I am a twit. I have wandered into the strange world of Twitter.com. Do you tweet?

Contract Bridge is complicated to learn. Easy on paper, but then they deal you an actual hand and everything changes. I still don't get the Jacoby Transfer in IRL - only on paper. Anita the cheat-ah quit. In fact, about 1/3 of the class has dropped out. I think the teacher is good, but the learning curve is steep. Or we're all stupid - who knows?

My cat Tippy Toes always comes running when I sing the Birdie Birdie song. Gracie comes for the Meow Mix, Meow-meow jingle. I really hope that I don't absent-mindedly sing one of these ditties on a day when Mr Swami is around. I'm not sure how I would explain them, lol.

My parakeets are molting. Lolo looks like the cat chewed on her head.

If I don't number stuff then it's not a list and I can end whenever I want to end.

Update

My last post topic must have been bad karma. I am currently chugging cranberry juice and drinking baking soda since I don't have any alka seltzer in the house and Mr Swami lost his cell phone so I can't call him and have him stop to pick some up on his way home. So much for moist flow topics. Sheesh.

A Moist Flow Up The Backside

This is what I need. According to the channel 5 weatherman a moist flow up the backside is how Spring arrives in MN. See, weather systems always have fronts - so it goes without saying that they must also have backsides. In the winter we get our worst weather from cold Canadian air flowing down the backside - a phenomenon we call the "Alberta Clipper". What we need is a strong flow up the backside, which will bring in that warm, southern air.

Weather forcasting is a complicated business. People have to go to special schools to learn how to say things like "we need a moist flow up the backside" on the air. Then there's all the hair and make-up specialists to make you look good while saying it...

Where does your weather come from?