Down on the Farm

This morning I was wandering through the farm; taking note of all of my lovely vegetables growing.  Granted, my farm looks something like this:

But it is my farm none the less.  And I refer to it as so.

Moving along....

I was speaking to Louis, trying to encourage him to make potty so that I could go to work.  I was about to go back in, and to just leave him out there in the middle of my farm, when something caught my eye!

(A cayenne pepper was ready to be picked!) 

It is amazing how much things change over night on the farm.  You go to bed and the peppers are green.  You wake up and one of them is red.  (what does one do with a cayenne pepper??  i know that you can dry them and then grind them up and use them as a spice.  but...what can one do with a pepper in its pepper form?  ideas?  will it burn my tongue off??)

After discovering the pepper (and picking it) I did a further inspection of the rest of the farm.  Look here at what I saw!

(My snow peas are present and accounted for!  There are quite a few pea pods, and I could just swear they weren't there the other day.)

(cherry tomatoes are growing like crazy!  they are a bit larger than the cherry tomatoes i buy at the grocery store, but i'm thinking they should start turning red any day?)

(i had a full sized cucumber.  i was just giving it a few more days on the vine.  AND THEN!!!!!  a freaking raccoon ate it.  oh yes!  stole my cucmber right off the vine and ate it.  can you believe?!??!!?  snarky little thing.  so, we're back to square one with this one.)

And that, folks, is what has been going on down on the farm.  A lot of growing, apparently.  I told Louis that next year we were going to turn the entire back yard into a farm.  I told him that we would be living off of the land.  Nothing to eat that wasn't from the back yard. 

He did inquire about the possibility of my continuing to purchase his fancy pants chicken treats.  I told him that would not be possible. 

He was not pleased. 

T

Water is Life! (unless you are a blackberry)

Ahh...bliss!  Gorgeous weather.  Sitting outside on the patio with friends.  Enjoying a hurricane:

And then...

DISASTER STRIKES!

I picked up my blackberry to check to see if I had a message, and it wasn't working.  At the same time I realized there was quite a bit of water dripping off of the back of my blackberry.  I took the back off, and BAM!  Water was coming out of the battery area.  EGADS!  What to do?

I read somewhere, once upon a time, that taking out the battery and putting both the phone and battery in a bag of rice over night would solve the problem.  The rice would absorb the water and your phone would work again. 

Was that possible? 

(disclaimer - NONE of these photos are mine.  looks like i'm not the only person who has had this problem!!)

The restaurant where we were enjoying cocktails has become a regular spot for us.  They know what we like to drink.  They know we are fine, upstanding citizens of Smalltown, VA.  They know that we are good patrons.  And therefore...they brought me a bag of rice :) 

Everyone laughed at me.  Most were quite skeptical.  All I know is that this morning when I cam downstairs to check on my blackberry I was able to send the following message to E & M:

"Good Morning Ladies!  Let me just say....wet blackberry + bag of rice = WINNING!!  Had a great time last night :)"

So, in a nutshell.....IT WORKS! 

Spread the word.

T

Lunch, Life Planners & Ghosts. Quite the Post!

Thank you to everyone who gave me advice on the "Shoe Conundrum", as I'm referring to it now. I plan to pack both pair of shoes, and to see what's what when we pull up to the church :) Isn't that silly of me?

I think that I will end up wearing the plain champagne colored strappy heels to the wedding, and perhaps the sparkles to the reception if I think they would fit in (after checking everyone else out). I don't have nude heels, and honestly I don't want a pair :( Something about them makes me think of a corpse. I realize that I'm probably the only person in the world that feels this way, but whatevs.

On another note.....Do you think it is rude when someone asks you to lunch, and then they tell you to pick where you want to eat? I find it terribly annoying, and when someone does that I feel compelled to cancel on them. Maybe I'm just overreacting, but I think that if you ask someone to lunch you should go to the trouble of selecting the location. I'm too busy to worry about it. Honestly, it's rare that I leave my office for lunch. I mean RARE. I simply don't have the time. So, if I'm going to stop working and step away from the office to join you for lunch, please go ahead and do me the favor of deciding on a time and a location. Okay? Thanks :)

On another note.....I've ordered a "life planner". No joke.  Things are getting bad friends. I mean B-A-D. I have tried on my own to take my life back. To schedule time for me. Time for TEN and I. And alas...somehow I'm booked 4 nights in a row, and going out of town every weekend :( I have a planner on my desk. I have "paperberry" in my purse. How could this happen?


-----> enter today's daily deal from Plum District

I've never heard of this thing before, but mrs.mfc comes into my office to share the good news. So, if you're interested, click on this link and give mrs.mfc the credits :)

On another note....do you believe in ghosts?  Because I'm pretty sure I do.  I mean, I think I always did.  To a degree. But.....Monday night I became convinced that TEN's Nissan Pathfinder was haunted.  We both became convinced, actually.

He would turn the car off, get out, walk away....AND THEN...both front windows would roll down.  This happened over and over.  And it even happened when he crawled out through the back door!

He read online that it could be a malfunction in the keyfob.  That one should place the keyfob far from the vehicle and try to turn it off with the manual key.  He tried that.  To no avail.  It just kept happening.  And, I imagined that I saw a little ghostie in that car of TEN's laughing at us!

That ghost ruined my dinner plans.  And had TEN in quite the foul mood.  Louis was not pleased either.  He doesn't like ghosts very much. 

The ghost returned last night, and I think he's still hanging around.  Hmph.

Who you gonna call?

The Nissan dealership, of course :)

I'm off for drinks with E here in a few.  I am so looking forward to it, and hope you all have a lovely evening.  Until tomorrow...

T

Westie Wednesday

Things have been a little hectic around here this week!  TEN's car is posessed, Louis has been exhausted (I suspect he is still recouping from his stay at Camp Daisy) and I'm packing to go out of town again this weekend.

I spoke to Louis while we were in Charleston, SC.  He asked me to please bring a little prezzie back for "the girls".  So....I did :)  I found some little bananna flavored treats at the Hairy Winston shop I told you about last week.  The girls were VERY pleased!

It's also been hot as Hades here in Smalltown, VA.  We're all flailing around like fish out of water, moaning about the heat.  Except for this guy......

He seems to really enjoy it!  What gives?

Stay cool.

Westie Licks,

T& Louis

I Need Some Advice

TEN has a friend getting married this weekend.  I was under the impression that the wedding was at 5pm, for some reason, and was planning to wear this:

(this is the best pic i can find.  boo hiss. no belt to be worn w/my dress)

(these are the shoes i bought, but they are much more "peach" in color IRL)

However, we've just discovered that the wedding is actually at 2pm.  Is this too much?  I almost feel like the sparkly peep toes put it over the top for a 2pm wedding?  Or no?  TEN says it will be just perfect.  It will be the first time I'm meeting many of his friends, and I don't want to make a bad impression.

Hmmmm....


Thoughts?

T

How Talking About Accents Can Lead to Hitler

A week ago TEN and I were driving back from Charleston.  I was driving, and TEN was trying to find interesting things to tell me on his iPhone.   I get bored easily, and I need to be entertained if I'm driving.  It's the downfall of asking me to drive.  Otherwise, I'd be reading my book and I'm a GREAT passenger :)

(i googled "couples driving in a car".  strangely enough, there were no women driving.  ever.  imagine that.  so here's the best i could do.  in our world it was TEN pushing all of the buttons on the dash board.  and i was the guy with grey hair snarking at him to stop.)

Anyway, TEN was trying to entertain me (bless his little heart) and somehow we began talking about accents.  How much of one I have.  How his family in Arizona think he sounds like a redneck.  Funny, because I don't think he's got an accent at all compared to me.  Lord only knows what they would have to say after meeting me :-o

But I digress.

Accents.

And the next thing I know, this goes down:

TEN:  The rain, in Spain, comes mostly from the plains!
T: Ummm, what?
TEN:  The rain, in Spain, comes mostly from the plains!
T: I heard you the first time.  Are you having a seizure or something?  What does that mean?
TEN:  From that movie.  You know.  The one where that trashy girl inherits some money and they have to help her sound proper.
T:  Ummmm.  No.  I have no idea what you are talking about.
TEN:  Yes you do.  I watched it in school.  And she says that over and over and then she sounds like this (said with his fancy pants British accent) "THE RAIN, IN SPAIN, COMES MOSTLY FROM THE PLAINS!"

**While searching for this saying, I discovered that it is actually "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!".  Close enough.


So, back to the iPhone he goes and discovers that it is from My Fair Lady. 
 

 
Which I have never seen.  How can I not have seen it?  I don't know.  I also haven't seen The Sound of Music.  Quel horreur!  I know, I know. 
 

So both movies are going into the Netflix queue.  Now that I have some understanding of what they are both about, I feel as if I should experience them.  After all, this whole time I just thought The Sound of Music was a dumb movie about a musical family who lived on a mountain and danced and sang all of the time.  Somewhat like The Partrdge Family?  How was I to know Hitler was involved?  And they were trying to sneak across the border?  Sheesh. That's good stuff.

 

Are there any movies you haven't seen? Movies that feel you SHOULD have seen at this point, but simply haven't? Do tell!

T

Prizes!

For me friends, not for you.  I'm sorry :(  I have been planning a giveaway for quite some time, because I love hosting giveaways, but then I just keep buying things for myself.  How selfish.

I'll work on that.  But in the meantime...back to me :) 

Look here at the lovely prizes I've acquired in the last week!

1.  Lilly Pulitzer Market Bag (mine is a different pattern, but TRHoC gave it to me as my B-day gift bag!)

2.  Lilly Pulitzer Croakies

3.  Lilly Pulitzer Koozie

4.  Fabulous Jumpsuit!

TRHoC also gave me the most fabulous Virginia Tech watch (can't find a picture) and took us to a nice dinner.  She spoiled me ROTTEN!  And I so appreciated it :)

The next few prizes are from TEN.  I was having a terrible day on Tuesday, and he had ordered some little prizes for me...just because.  He gave them to me Tuesday evening and it put the biggest smile on my face!

5.  Life: The Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton

Because we all know that I am completely obsessed with England.  And royalty.  And Princes & Princesses.  And royal weddings of course!  I mean seriously, I have THE royal engagement ring on my finger.  Or, well....a version of it anyway :)  hehehe....

6.  Dog Bike Planter

Smalltown, VA is having a Tweed Run in the Fall.  Are you familiar?  People get on their bikes, wearing head to toe tweed, and they take a little ride around town.  Very British :) 

Anyway, we are going to participate.  And I want a little basket on the front of my bike.  Like this one:

And I want to hook Louis in there with his little harness.  Wouldn't that be splendid!  Anyway, I've told TEN about this little idea of mine, and therefore when he saw the pup on the bike with a basket, AND it was planter for my herbs, he bought it for me :)

7.  Crab in Net Oven Mitts 

We all know how much I LOVE crabs, and after the fabulous oven mitt mrs.mfc purchased me for Christmas had a bit of an accident.....well, TEN wanted to redeem himself by purchasing me these.  I absolutely adore them!!


AND THEN.....as if I haven't been spoiled enough.... 
As if I could possibly NEED anything else.... 
Well, I bought myself....... 



Ummm.... 



Well.... 



These....


8.  Tory Burch Aviator Sunglasses

Have you purchased any prizes for yourself lately?  Saving for anything special? 

T

Looking For a Little Spice In Your Life?

I got an e-mail from Dee of Dee's Adventures last week.  She was telling me about these tasty enchilada's that she and her hubby made.  It's one of Gina's recipes, of course, because we all know that I'm a little bit obsessed.  Anyway, Dee said they were fantastic and I decided I needed to make them as well. 

With the trip to Charleston and such I didn't get around to making them until Tuesday evening.  And let me just tell you.  DELISH!  A little spiiiiiiicy, if you will, but there are options to tone that down a bit if you aren't looking to light yourself on fire :)  We, on the other hand, opted to fire it up!

Gina's Turkey & Black Bean Enchiladas

(this is where you have the option to go hotter, or not so much.)

(we opted to add TWO tbsp of this rather than just one. let me tell you what. it made a difference. WHEW!)

(this is the homemade enchilada sauce)

While down in Charleston, at Poe's Tavern as a matter of fact, I discovered a new beer.  TEN had this beer when he was in Amsterdam, and he ordered it.  I ordered a Miller Lite, because I'm not much of a craft beer person.  I don't like to taste pumpkin or hops or bitter things.  I just like to have a nice relaxing buzz.  Is that terrible?  Probably.  But it is what it is.

So TEN told me to taste this beer, and I did.  Because I'm sweet like that :)  And I smiled.  And then, I grabbed that pint back and had another taste.  And another.  And then I had to order one for myself.  YUMMMMMMMMMY!  It's a German Hefeweizen.  It's called Franziskaner Weissbier. 

I found it online when we got back and went right down to the Kroger to pick some up.  $8.97 a 6-pack, but totally worth it.  You MUST have a lemon wedge with it.  No orange.  Just lemon.  Squeeze that lemon into your glass, seeds and all, and then pour your beer over it.  Ahhhhh...heaven :)

(you will notice the words "pissed" and "London" on this glass.  i got it there while visiting.  currently i am not pleased with our London office.  i felt this glass was appropriate to use tuesday night :)

(i wanted to show you this fancy pants herb chopper that Daisy got me for my birthday, but of course it's sideways.  and you can' really see it.  but anyway....)

(enchilada filling...turkey, tomatoes, cilantro, onions, black beans, and more!)

(perfection!)

I will say that I used quite a bit of reduced fat sour cream on my enchilada.  I mean, it was hot & spicy!  So...if you opt for 2 tbsp of the chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, make sure you've got quite a bit of sour cream on hand.  And probably plenty of beer too :)

Thanks for the recommendation Dee!  I've brought leftovers for lunch today.  Mmmm....

T