Civic Duty - Done

As I was passing by the county building today, I decided that the parking lot didn't look too congested, so I pulled on in and did my civic duty. It took about 25 minutes, but I figure that's an improvement over what the wait would probably be next Tuesday.

This is the second time I've early voted. The first time was just a wee bit more involved. I had to go into the country clerk's office, get an application form, fill it out with proof that I would be traveling (plane ticket copies) and take it back in with picture ID, then wait a couple of weeks for approval.

Times have changed. This year in Utah, they're begging people to come one in -- Vote Early, Vote Often. Hmmm... Maybe I added that second bit myself, not that I'm the originator of it, just a copy cat.

Somehow it seems rather poetic that I voted on Halloween, when nothing is as it appears...

Oh, by the way, BOO!

Shortest Blog Poste Ever

It's 3:30 a.m.

I just finished reading the bulk of a 754 page novel.

I have to take the Engineer to the airport at 7:45 a.m.

I'm going to bed.

Goodnight!

Passion

Over the last few months, I've read several teen vampire romance novels. I'm rather embarrassed to admit it, but I've enjoyed them. Stephanie Meyers is an excellent writer, she pulls her reader right into the story. I've also read her science fiction novel, The Host. The common thread in all of the books is passion. Or, perhaps, obsession would be more accurate. Her protagonists fall in love, completely, truly, deeply. Both the man and the woman feel that they are incomplete without their partner and will do anything to be with them.

.

Am I weird? I don't get it.

I love the Engineer. The usual proof that I offer up is that I've never hit him with a baseball bat, but it's more than that and maybe simpler than that. I'd rather have him in my world than not.

I don't feel that he and I are extensions of each other. We are discrete individuals who happen to get along pretty well -- not perfectly, but pretty well. I don't want to be an extension of him or vice versa. Sometimes he acts like he would like me to be, but I suspect he wouldn't care for it if I tried. I don't miss him when he's gone on his business trips; I know he'll be back. If he was to go away forever, I would miss him and be very sad, but life would go on.

Am I cheating him by not feeling swept into a whirlwind every time I look at him? For not wanting to feel swept up every time I look at him? Am I cheating myself?

I've never felt the world would be well lost for love.

I would hate it if there wasn't love in the world.

Day 3, or is it 4, Excuses Already

On October 24th I resolved to try to make a post every day if I had access to my computer. Made a post to the Clueless Crafter on the 25th. Missed Sunday the 26th. That didn't take long, did it?

So here's the excuse: I didn't have access to my computer.

True, the computer lives in the basement, but I was upstairs baking pies, yummilicious pumpkin pies. Then I made miniature pumpkin tarts with gingersnap crust from the left over pumpkin filling, then with the left over piecrust, I made custard tarts. Then I had to go to my very first Mormon church service because ChosenSister and her spouse were speaking because they're leaving on an 18 month mission. (I miss her already.) We picked up a mutual friend on the way to the church. After the ward service, it was on to ChosenSister's house for the buffet, for which the pies were baked. After the buffet, we dropped off our passenger and came home, where I started finishing cleaning up the cooking mess. Then the Engineer decided that he needed a light dinner, so I cooked and cleaned up after that, then sat down in my chair to watch the news and finish sewing up baby elf hat number two and fell asleep sitting in my chair with both cats holding me down. By the time I woke up, I decided, that since I had to get up at 7:30 Monday morning, it was too late to go downstairs and turn on the computer.

I think that's a pretty good excuse. Don't you?

Resolved

True, it isn't the New Year, but I don't think resolutions should have a season. Especially resolutions that one is re-resolving.

Here are the first two paragraphs from my very first blog entry almost two years ago:

2007, a time to practice consistency, one of those traits I've never been strong on. Thus a blog entry to write every day -- every day I have access to my computer anyway. It should build character, or so my mother would have me believe. Setting goals and whacking away at them, consistently, is good for a person's character. I'll bet all the mothers tell their children that.

We'll see if it works.

So, how has it worked? Erratically. Some months, June, July and September of 2007, I hit the mark. Some months. most notably May 2008 with only 4 entries, were abysmal. True I did start a second blog, The Clueless Crafter, to segregate my knitting ramblings, but still, I've not been hitting goal. This past summer and fall especially have been nonproductive. Much of that can be explained by how tumultuous life has been, but even the tumultuous life needs a little discipline, so...

Resolved: I shall endeavor to make a blog post each day to either The Witless Wanderer or The Clueless Crafter. If I make posts to both on a single day, it's a bonus, not a free ticket for a day off.

This offer is void where prohibited by law and not applicable on days I don't have access to my computer.

Now to hold to it.

Katydidn't

Cats are bloody little predators, or, at the very least, like to believe they are.

I walked out to get the mail this afternoon and saw immediately that Sachi was tormenting something.

It was a big, fat katydid. She'd already bitten off most of his antennae. The fragile parts are always the first to go.

Didn't look like he had long to live in any case. I think there was something growing in his abdomen and with winter just around the corner...

Glad I'm not a bug.

Particularly glad I'm not a bug looking up at a cat.

The Proper Usage of Pumpkins

First you catch and kill a pumpkin.

Not just any pumpkin will do, it has to be an eating pumpkin, not a jack-o-lantern pumpkin. Small Sugar, Triple Treat or Winter Luxury (if you can find them) are good bets. If you want to be a cheap and sleazy cheat, you can use squash instead, just make sure it has nice orange flesh.

To cook a small pumpkin, I get out my BIG knife and whack that puppy in half. Scoop out all the seeds and stringy stuff. (If you got a Triple Treat, save the seeds, they don't have shells, so they're great to toast and eat.) Give a jellyroll pan, or a cookie sheet with deep sides, a good spraying with Pam, then put the pumpkin, cut side down, on it. Bake it in the oven just like a potato, 400 degrees for about an hour. It's done when a paring knife slides in easily.

Some pumpkins put out a lot of juice when they cook, some almost none. Don't worry about it, it doesn't make a bit of difference, though if there's lots of juice be careful to not spill it when taking it out of the oven. It's sticky. I learned that little tidbit from personal experience.

Pour any liquid down the drain, then go to work on the pumpkin. Usually, the outer skin will peal off easily. Toss the skin and remove any stringy stuff that may have been missed in the initial cleaning. Cut the meat into chunks and puree it in batches in a food processor.

Now it's ready for whatever use you want to put it to: pie, bread, cookies, cheesecake, bisque. It is also easy to freeze in zipper top plastic bags and will keep for a good long time.

Here's a quick and easy pumpkin bread recipe. You can use one large can of pumpkin if you want, but it just ain't the same.

Pumpkin Bread

(2 Loaves)

4 Eggs

1 cup Oil

2 cups Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla

3½ cups Pumpkin

4 cups Flour

2 tsp Salt

2 tsp Baking Soda

4 tsp (altogether - in whatever proportions you like) Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg & Cloves

5 oz Cinnamon Chips

Beat first four ingredient together until light & fluffy. Stir in pumpkin. Sift together dry ingredients and add to batter. Mix until all dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in chips. Divide batter into two greased and floured bread pans. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

My personal favorite is pumpkin bisque. If properly bribed, I may be enticed to share it...