A Skull A Day

No, it's not about horror stories from Iraq, but with a little bit of autumnal (read the start of Halloween-season) chill in the air this morning, I did hit upon a fun, albeit ghoulish site: skulladay.com

Ass-What?

Maybe it's just me, but I saw a commercial for "Aciphex"...or maybe I should say I heard a commercial for Ass-Effects. Or was it Ass-FX? I thought it would be a great name for an anti-gas treatment. Turns out it's an anti-heartburn medicine. Do you think the marketing department at Eisai and Ortho-McNeil even considered the sound of the name? They really should have. It's funny, though, when you actuall SEE the name, the ~ass~ is less evident. It's completely just an aural reaction. I wonder if they'll do radio ads and if they do, do you think the ultra-conservative FCC will react harshly?

Money, Money, Money

Do you ever see the stories in the newspaper about billions of "unclaimed" dollars that the government, banks or other entities are holding for people who have gone missing? I check nearly every year and what do ya know? This year, I've got some cash coming to me! Go here if you want to find out if you're due some moola: http://www.missingmoney.com/ The money I'll be getting is from a class-action suit with Microsoft settled in 2003, I believe. I didn't get my check 'cuz I moved from my old address and changed my name. It's not a lot of money, but hey, it'll buy a dinner out on the town. Wahooo!

Busy, busy!

So much going on, so little time to blog.

I've been canning up a storm of goodness -- primiarly apricot and plum. The raspberry onslaught is just beginning. So far I've made apricot jams and butters; canned whole apricots; dried about 7 batches of dehydrated apricots and froze a bunch, too. Then there's the plum jam and plum conserve. The latter is usually super yummy. I couldn't find my original Ball Canning book recipe, but I think this one ought to be just as yummy -- It's primarily plums, oranges, walnuts and sugar. It's a very holiday-y taste.

We've been working at re-doing are front room/entry. It's been covered by ugly wallpaper for 80+ years. Way past time for a facelift! We peeled a good four layers off the wall and three off the ceiling. I've never, ever sweated enough to drip off the tip of my nose....well, until it was 100 degrees outside and I was steamin' my butt off. A good pore cleansing, to be sure. Here's the mid-strip look:



And finally, the post-paint look. We haven't installed the flooring yet nor completely refurbed the woodwork. All in good time! The green is called "Feldspar" It's basically a light Mountain Dew tone. It really makes the woodwork POP from the walls. I picked out the color and loved it, but when I started painting I was a bit....ummm..scared. Now that it's up, I'm diggin' it!

After the wood flooring is laid down, I plan on getting this rug (linky) 'cuz it's funky and even maybe a wee bit arts & crafts like the house. When the room is completely put back together, I'll post more pix.

Finally, we've got a wedding going on this Friday. Ivan's youngest daughter is getting married. Much to-do over this to-do. Luckily, I'm a relatively minor player although I think we're paying for the reception. Ahhh the beauty of a traditional "father of the bride pays for the reception" gig. The truly lucky portion -- it's a super low-key barbeque. Not by our design, but rather the bride's. Gotta love a girl with simple tastes! :-)

Oh, I almost forgot about my weather report. I'm sure most of you heard about the huge fires in Utah. While we've recently gotten rain and have broken our several week stretch of 100 degree weather, I was able to view a sweet fire right near downtown Salt Lake City. Got some cute photos of firemen, I did. Oooh, yes, I did. Ya gotta love the fireman's stance on the left. It was hot, hot and hot in many ways, that day. :-)