I tried adding oil to the water when I made hard-boiled eggs (for egg salad) this past weekend, and it worked like a charm. And look – I put up a step-by-step guide to egg salad! Not that you really need it, but it amused me to do it, so there you go.
Another recipe added – Jean’s Black Beans and Rice, sent to me by local reader Jean (thus the name. I named it myself. I know, I’m so creative!). We tried it last week and it was REALLY good. Like Fred says, you can’t have a recipe that includes black beans, sour cream, and cheese, and have it be BAD. Two thumbs up – it’s an instant favorite!
Every day, at what seems like some random point during the day, Fred’s computer dings and bellows “VIRUS DATABASE HAS BEEN UPDATED!” at me, and it always scares the shit out of me.
Sometimes it’s in the morning, sometimes the afternoon, I don’t know why it’s so completely random but I AM DEALING WITH PREMENSTRUAL RAGE RIGHT NOW SO IT BETTER KNOCK IT THE FUCK OFF.
Did I mention I’m premenstrual? I see that I did. I am annoyed and prickly and my eye is goopy and areas of me are sore and tender, so I’m going to offer to you a picture essay and a paragraph about the foster babies, and calling it a day. And tomorrow will probably be an entry filled with pictures of sight around Crooked Acres so CONSIDER YOURSELVES WARNED.
Let Me Out? No, Wait. Let Me In. IN, I MEANT.
Starring Miss Momma, aka Maxi.
(Special appearance by Newtles.)
“I…. would like out, please.”
“I think I want in.”
“Newtles can sleep his life away. I’ve got places to go, rodents to kill. Out, please.”
“Um, hi. If it wouldn’t be too much TROUBLE…?”
“I know you have SUCH A BUSY LIFE but I’ve been sitting here for a really long time. You want to move it?!”
“I am but a poor sad kitty who wants nothing but to come inside. Please? Oh, please? LET ME IN, WOMAN.”
::seething::
::sigh::
“I don’t think she’s going to let us out, Momma. She said ‘YOU GODDAMN CATS ALL YOU EVER WANT IS TO BE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR FROM WHERE YOU ARE YOU’RE DRIVING ME CRAZY!’ and now she’s in the bathroom. I think she has a book in there.”
“Hush up, sonny.”
“If SHE can figure out how to open that door, surely I can, too. It can’t be that complicated. I just need some opposable thumbs…”
The kittens, oh lord. I don’t know how on earth I am resisting picking them up and squeezing them to death, but so far they are completely alive. I walk into the room, I sit on the floor, and one by one they (and by “they” I mean Delmar, Lem and Marion. Claudette still doesn’t want much to do with me.) approach me, they purr loudly, they sit against me, and sometimes if I’m not quick enough with the petting, they meow sadly up at me. And for at least ten minutes, I pet. And I pet. And I pet. And I rub bellies. And I kiss fuzzy little heads. Eventually their love banks are topped up, and they move away from me to play with toys or each other, or just roll around in the sun.
But they always come back for love.
These kittens = exactly what a cranky woman needs.
More pictures over at Love & Hisses.
Anita, your wish is my command:
Happiest! Cat! Ever!
Previously
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: This is the month that makes the hell of summer in Alabama more than worth it.
2004: I need to win the lottery so I can hire someone to come to my house every day and style my hair while I read.
2003: Which is when Stanley thought “Hey! I shouldn’t just skulk back! I should run and leap! Into the air! Like a big mexican jumping Stanley-bean!”
2002: As if he was going to say to himself “By god, she’s RIGHT! I do not, in fact, reside here. What on earth was I thinking?” and run off.
2001: No entry.
2000: No entry.
1999: “Well, she took that well,” I commented.
I eat something similar for lunch almost every day! I take a can of black beans (rinsed thoroughly because black bean sludge = disgusting) split it into two containers (because I need one for tomorrow, right?). Then at work, I’ll add a little bit of 2% cheddar cheese and some salsa and microwave it for a couple of minutes. Then I add my sour cream (fat free Breakstones) and stir. Looks like a hot mess when it’s finished but it is sooooo delicious!
Coincidentally, since 2 cans of black beans only makes 4 meals (see, I can do math) on Fridays I go to the cafeteria at lunch and get an egg salad sandwich (with pickles and hots) on 12 grain toast.
I am so jealous of those who can have beans for lunch (quick, easy, tasty, inexpensive)…. I lurve me some beans, but my tummy/intestines do NOT. I could fill a goodyear blimp with the gas that appears after I eat beans. Le sigh.
Kittens are all very well but they’re not Spanky 😉
Don’t you just love happy cats?!! Thanks for the egg salad recipe. Mine never turns out right – nasty in fact. I’m going to try yours this weekend….
I cannot resist zee alluring photos. They compel me to write comments stating my undying devotion. Spanky is my Pepe Le Pew.
“::seething::”
Snorted out loud at that one!!!
What is it with all these inanimate objects yelling at you! The computer, the roomba, I hope you’ve joined HUAR because it seems they’ve targeted you.
Pic of Spank – Cute! This may sound weird, but I like it when animals sleep with their back feet right next to their face.
Bwah! I feel like I spend my waking hours at home letting the cat out. Letting the cat in. Letting the cat out. Letting the cat in. The other day the damn cat came in the back door, walked through the house and went out the front door. God forbid he should walk his (lazy) furry ass AROUND the house. Sheesh. And yes I’m well aware of who is in charge of whom, here!
Possibly asked and answered: Are you watching True Blood (HBO)?
Hi Robyn,
The link to the black beans goes to the egg salad. I’m very interested in the beans – not so much the eggs.
Whoops! Thanks for the heads up, Hannah – it’s fixed! 🙂
We don’t have the door thing going on here but we have the sit in the sink and drink from the tap thing. Sometimes all you will see is the tips of the ears of Miss Thang. She will lock laser eyes on you until you turn the faucet on thank you very much.
Awwwww I just wanna curl up and take a nap with the beautiful boy Spanky. My cat is now an indoor cat (5+ years now) and he still sits by the back door and begs to go out. When I don’t let him out he bites me in the back of the leg – damn cats.
GAH! Scott’s computer says that stupid “Virus database has been UPdated” Too.. Makes me crazy, scares the crap out of me every single time. I usually check to make sure his speakers are off when I’m in the computer room but I forget sometimes. Now to read the rest of the entry, I had to share LOL
I work at home and whenever a client comes into my “office” my computer makes a doorbell ringing sound. I usually have this turned up pretty high so I can do stuff around the house while working and it never fails…when it goes off all 3 cats in the house run in panic as if someone were actually at the door! It’s absolutely hilarious and I enjoy it every single time 🙂
spanky!!! =D
also, the sad meows KILL KILL KILL me. sometimes when i’m not paying enough attention to ramey, she’ll end up staring at me and when i finally look up she’ll give me this pathetic little half of a meow, kinda comes out like “raow” with her little mouth hanging open and i just DIE DIE DIE everytime before i scoop her up and snuggle till she don’t wanna snuggle no more! 🙂
I think you need to hold a basics class on using the cat door with Newt and Maxi. Maybe when they whined to come in, you go out the door with the cat door and lead them to the door and push them in – really hard. OK, maybe very gently. Maybe they’ll get it. ;-P
Oh wait – nevermind. Newt and Maxi are the Outdoor King and Queen of Crooked Acres and they demand proper door opening. Sorry – you are stuck!
I have that same software and for a long time didn’t notice it proclaiming that it had updated its database because my speakers are hardly ever on. The first time I ever heard it (probably a couple of months after installing the software) it scared the shit out of me. I’ve checked the “disable sounds” box in the software settings probably two or three times now but somehow it keeps getting turned back on. (I think the little man who updates the database feels that he is too important to be silenced.)
Cat door? We’ve got a doggie door and love it, or rather the doggies do, easy to install as well.
Um, nevermind the kittehs (who are completely adorable, BTW) how do you not squeeze the crap out of Spanky? He’s just heartbreakingly gorgeous.
Fred must have Avast. Mine does it, too. That and the sound at the end of an ad-aware scan always make me jump.
And Maxi’s door thing reminds me of the kittens. Seems like every 10 minutes (especially when I’m working at home) the girl wants into the bathroom (their room) to have a few bites. The not 2 minutes later, she’s yelling to be let out. All. damn. day.