all along the shinscot

only shinier and much cleaner.

The man who collects Apples

okay, and multiples of the various models. but let’s see, we have the original 128, the plus (512), the SE, the Mac II, SE/30, IIx, the LC, IIsi, LC II and LC III+, a power 5500, and about 5 pre-1999 powerbooks. not to mention all the regular APple computers (II, II+, III, and GS? what was that one graphic and sound?)

of course, i’m assuming they are all still down there, but seeing as we throw nothing away, and i’ve seen several of them, yep, we got ‘em.

~.~.~.~

and this in on the latest entry in the Darwin awards entries, bears eat man at beer festival. article does not mention what beer the bears choose to pair with their meal.

tomatoes are finally starting to ripen around here, and after making this for dinner, i’m hoping for a bumper crop.

two heirloom tomatoes, sliced with basil, sea salt and garlic cooked on low with a lid on for a few minutes until the juices run out and are all bubbly. then two eggs cracked in, lid back on so they poach up in the tomato juice. serve up with a generous grating of fresh parmasean.

pure heaven!

(it is also keeping me from eating the whole casserole of the tomato-zucchini gratin which is to be for lunches this week. the pesto is calling me. . . . .)

still here, still trying to find balance with work, life, cooking and photos. the garden is finally starting to wake up in spots, and i have new seedlings to be planted. i also have wild dreams of herbs and tomatoes, but i’m trying not to get ahead of my actual abilities.

BPAL’s Panacea is “a selection of therapeutic blends to soothe the mind, renew the senses, and stimulate your spirit.” these oils are a bit pricier than the ones you wear for the ‘material’ aspect of the scent, and had not been an area i had delved into.

that was until they offered three new blends, that you could sample as an imp triptych:

ELIXIR X: GRR Headache relief. / ELIXIR XI: OOF Sinus pain relief. / ELIXIR XII: UGH Muscle ache relief.

talk about custom blends for my life.

and right on time, i’ve been fighting my sinuses this week, feeling another infection on the brink. of course it took until yesterday and the blinding sinus-induced migraine to remind me i had that imp of OOF to give a try.

upon first sniff, you do a double check and make sure you aren’t holding one of those teal-green jars of vick’s vapor rub. it is pure menthol. but it has a different warmth that you can detect even from smelling than the VVR. i put a couple spot on my temple and began to let the blend do it’s thing. it isn’t warm on application as you would expect, but rather the sent it wraps you in is now subtle, but i could feel it slowly peeling back the fingers of pain around my eye and cheek. i kept the imp with me all day, turning to it for a quick ‘hit’ whenever my check out flare up. amazingly, this morning i am sinus pressure and pain free.

i’ve used aromatherapy for years to help me combat sleep issues, but never thought of it for pain. this one little imp has pretty much convinced me to broaden my thinking, and get a full bottle of this.

i. love. anthony bourdain.

pure foodnetwork tv commentary gold

i only have to disagree on one point: i cannot watch, never mind even think of food touched by mario batali.

i’m sorry, but the skeeve factor of the pot-bellied, short-wearing, greasy beard and long ponytail combined with bare-foot in sandals is far too strong. shave, haircut, regular showers and drop about 50 pounds and i might reconsider and even be able to watch his show. but right now … ::shudder:: ew.

one up side of cleaning out one of the closets up under the eaves is getting to hang-out with my two juvenile delinquents who make the bonus room their prime chilling location.

if you ignore the dirty window from kitty noses pressed to it, behold the cuteness that is miss b.c. kitty, intently watching the wildlife outside. so much so she refused to turn around despite my hooting, hollering and tripping over things.

~.~.~.~

one bad side about being equally accomplished and over-zealous this vacation is that the guy is coming to measure the skylights in said bonus room tomorrow morning.

this would be the same bonus room currently under siege by the contents of that over-stuffed and unorganized closet i’m tackling.

::insert hysterical laughter here::

more goodness from Elizabeth Barbone’s Easy Gluten-Free Baking.

banana bread has always been a staple in my kitchen. bananas are a main part of my diet. but there are those weeks where a bunch will begin to ripen out of control. or perhaps some other fruit was too tempting, and here comes the weekend and there are bananas going brown on the counter. so i’d whip up a banana bread and make a glutton of myself the next week for breakfast. i’d tried all kinds of recipes, but it was always that ones that called for a stick and half of butter that were ever any good.

i though there was hope for my hips come the gluten free life. the bananas were freed into the wilds for the deer, and i had unappealing breakfasts facing me from here until eternity. until looking as two very brown bananas this weekend. i decided to check the new bible to see what there was in way of banana bread.

lo and behold, it involves a whole stick of butter, so we know it’s going to be good! it’s also dead simple, with about 1/2 the ingredients i’m used to . but i did have to add raisins, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg, otherwise it just isn’t banana bread for me. honestly, who can the author leave those out of the recipe?

the most wonderful thing about this bread it is really did give a good rise, but remains very rich. and it is in no way crumbly. i’ve been going all out an spreading it with a mix of peanut butter and honey, and there is barely a crumb on the plate. the texture and flavor is such that no would even know that’s actually rice flour in there.

yet another winner!

latest in the season i can remember the first inch falling.