7-30-09 Mc-24-hour-drive thru

I fully recognize the irony of this post since I was patronizing the establishment, but I hardly think that we need access to McFood 24-hours per day (even on the weekends, as advertised on the signs).

7-29-09 Long Day

Work travel began at 4:30 am, followed by a full day of work. Relaxation began around 6:45 when I reached Pizza Hut for dinner. Still beats spending two nights away from home instead of one.

7-28-09 Oozy Cheesey Burger

Jason made dinner tonight. He was inspired by Michael's burger from The Next Food Network Star in which Michael "stuffed" the burger with the mozzarella cheese. He also made mac and cheese and green beans for us to chow down when I got home a little late tonight. The burger was A-MAZING!

1/4 lb ground beef patty, split in two
shredded mozzarella cheese (formed into a small cheese ball or patty)
insert cheese into beef and grill
top with:
fresh basil
fresh tomato
red onion slices
toasted bun, spread with mayo

7-27-09 No Photo Today

Today I worked and made black beans and rice for dinner. I helped a friend by loving and caring for her kitties while she was out of town. I didn't snap a photo today.

Not every day has a photo-worthy moment or maybe I missed a few that were.

7-26-09 Retail Therapy

Jason and I did a little shopping yesterday. I found this amazing dress marked down from $70 to $17. The best part is - it looks great on me and makes me feel great too!

7-25-09 Rural Arkansas Churches

Visited the Arkansas Studies Institute to view the new exhibits:

Small Works on Paper (July 10 - August 15, 2009)

An annual juried art exhibition selected by Edwin Pinkston, professor emeritus from Louisiana Tech University School of Art, traveling to different venues across the state of Arkansas. On view in the ASI Main Gallery, 1st floor.

Rural Arkansas Churches (July 10 - September 26, 2009)

A collection of black and white photographs from more than twenty-five counties in Arkansas, illustrating the beauty and history of the churches and their connection to the local communities. On view in the Concordia Hall Museum, 1st floor.

I enjoyed the churches and the room in which this exhibit was housed. The building was built around the turn of the 20th century and has changed hands several times during that time. At one point it housed a coffee and spice distributor. There was still some surviving fixtures from that time. I think my favorite photo was the one with a broken old piano, three stadium type seats and a picture of Jesus hanging on the wall.

arkansas studies institute
butler center for arkansas studies
central arkansas library system
401 president clinton ave
little rock, ar 72201

These exhibits are free and open to the public.
Monday through Saturday, 9 am to 5 pm
Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm

7-24-09 Knit Night

A photo of two of my very dear friends when we attended knit night at The House. It's nice that all of us were in one place (for at least one evening) to spend some time together.

7-23-09 Vet Visit

Paulo and Kira braved a stressful vet visit today. The good news is that we have two feline leukemia negative kitties who have now been fully immunized. The bad news is the big kitties are in for a surprise when they meet the newest member of the household!

7-22-09 Garlic & Tomato Salad

One of the dishes that always reminds me of my mom and simultaneously summer time is a simple garlic and tomato salad my mom makes. It's so simple which is probably why it's so delicious. Simply chop up some (preferably freshly grown) tomatoes, mince some garlic, give it a healthy pour of olive oil and a dose of salt. Let it all sit together on the counter for 45 minutes to an hour and be sure you are well-stocked with fresh bread and butter for dipping. Thanks Mom!

(These were store-bought Tennessee grown tomatoes. They tasted pretty good but still do not have any tomatoes from my garden. ::is sad::)

7-21-09 Majesty

We got a lot of heavy rain through the morning. It was a pretty wet and dreary day. On my drive home, the clouds were breaking up and floating out of town, letting the sunshine peek through. (Figures I'd forget my real camera! Doh!)

7-20-09 Kira + Box = Fun (or who needs beer?)

This beer box was from a purchase last week, but it's been hanging around our kitchen because Kira seems to climb into it every day. She loves to be in enclosed spaces and crouch down inside of small places. I could see her eye peeking out through the side handle but couldn't get a good photo of it. Anyway, that's Kira.

7-19-09 Golf Course Rain

Jason has played golf for a while and even worked on a course when he was in high school. Since we moved, his clubs had pretty much been sitting where they were placed upon extraction from the moving vans. So I have been golfing twice. We decided to go to the range so I could practice my swing and decide if golf was "for me". As soon as we rented my clubs and got our buckets of balls, up popped a rainstorm. It blew through quickly but I now understand the use of a golf umbrella!

7-18-09 Ant Parade

We have been battling ants since we moved into our house. Jason has gone medieval on them by taking out the simple syrup and borax and mixing up a sweet death potion.

Picture will be posted at a later date as soon as it's downloaded from my (old school) camera.

7-17-09 Jalapeno Flowers

When I say the word "jalapeno", the traditional pronunciation in Spanish isn't fun enough so I have to verbally change the word to "gell-a-pen-o". The newest news in our garden is that we have some flowers on our jalapeno plants.

7-16-09 Good Hair Day

7-15-09 Gasoline Shortage?

When I pumped gas, I noticed this sign taped to the gasoline pump. I pump 87 octane so it didn't directly affect my life, but I wondered if this is a sign of things to come (pardon the pun) or if Wednesday is just gasoline delivery day.

7-14-09 Cat Crazies

Kira, our girl kitty, goes mad for the plastic milk rings that we get off the milk jugs. She can smell them out. If we open a new container and place the ring on the counter, she is ON THAT RING IN A SECOND. (The preccciiouuuussss???)

Saw these for 47 cents at Petsmart the other day and wondered if they would work as well as the milk rings...

7-13-09 Crowded Kroger

We typically try to avoid grocery shopping on the weekend, which tends to make for a hectic week night, but the crowds are usually no where to be seen. This Monday Night shopping trip was an exception. At least our friendly checkout lady was there. She always greets us with a big smile and helps us out a lot!

7-12-09 Stare Down

Had a pretty lazy weekend. Spent a lot of time at home relaxing and playing with kittens.

7-11-09 Peach Pie

It's common knowledge that my favorite fruit in the entire world is a peach. I especially love locally-grown peaches. Arkansas is no Georgia, I guess, but our peaches are really quite tasty. On my way back from a work trip I stopped at Hardin Farms and picked up two quarts of fresh Arkansas peaches (for only $4!). Seeing as they were already really ripe when I bought them, I had only one thing in mind: PIE! Few things in the world are as wonderful as peach pie (in my humble opinion). Anyway, I sliced off a hunk this afternoon while it was still warm from the oven. I paired it with a few scoops of Blue Bell Ice cream and I was about as close to heaven as I can imagine being in the middle of July in Arkansas.

7-10-09 Book + Coffee

I think there are few better ways to start a day than with a cup of coffee and a good book. Thanks to David Sedaris for his Me Talk Pretty One Day for contributing to a successful morning.

07-09-09 Cypress Trees

Cypress Trees growing in streams were all around. Here's just one example.

07-08-09 Delta Farmland

I had to travel on a work trip to part of the Mississippi Delta. On the way there, there was plenty of farmland, farm machinery and flat land to look out at the window.


I ate some sonic for dinner when I got to my destination and the sign at sonic suggested that larger portions offered better value. Just what we all need: larger portions of fast food meals.

7-7-09 Penny Saved

I went to Hallmark to pick up a birthday card for my niece, whose birthday is next week. Usually when I am there I will poke around to see what other nice gifts they are selling and see if I can buy anything on clearance for a later purpose. I found this neat platter which looked like a mini-football field and the tag said it was one of two. Piece two of two was missing and the "haggled" price she offered me was too high so I just walked away. I will get out of my consumer debt, oh yes!

7-6-09 The Pen Dance

If you have never witnessed a kitty in the presence of a pen, it is truly something to witness within your lifetime. They do an elaborate dance to get the pen to submit to their kitty ways. I happened to bring my sharpie pen along with me during this visit to LB's room. Cuteness ensued.

7-5-09 Clean Door

Spent a lot of today doing random stuff around the house, not least of which was washing off the front door. It was really dirty.

7-4-09 Flag of Capitalizm

When we awoke on the morning of the fourth, we noticed that someone had placed a small American flag down by our mailbox near the road. When I went down there to see who had left it, I discovered that it had been placed in our yard by a local realtor hoping to garner some business. You can be assured that s/he will not be getting ours if/when we need a realtor.

7-2-09 Paulo and Kira Go to the Vet

Paulo and Kira went to the vet to get immunized against Feline Leukemia.

7-1-09 The House

Drank a beer (or two) and ate some homemade herbed fries at The House. It's great! Glad the place has opened back up and I'm exited to try out some of the delicious-sounding items from the menu!