Thoughts from Alison that might at least entertain you!

Trader Joe's!

Alright, here's a little something to make you laugh - especially if you know Trader Joe's, and even if it's unfamiliar.  I "lifted" this from a link my friend Tom posted on Facebook.  As Tom said, "it's funny because it's true!"

Playing for Change: Peace Through Music

Alright, here you go!

After some searching on my own, I've learned that the video I shared a few days ago (Stand By Me, with all the musicians from around the world playing the same song together) appears to have absolutely nothing to do with the website/blog address that was with the version I posted and originally saw!

It is a video piece from the Playing For Change Foundation.  From their website, the PFCF's mission statement:  "The Playing for Change Foundation is dedicated to connecting the world through music by providing resources to musicians and their communities around the world.  PFCF supports projects inspired by the communities featured in the Playing for Change documentary film series."  Please see the website - I suspect most of my readers would like to know about the project!  For your listening pleasure, here's another of their videos as posted on YouTube.  The PFCF has a cd/dvd that is due for release at the end of April.  You can also search Playing for Change on YouTube and find a few more gems!

 

To Hair or Not To Hair?

So my husband has a super fancy MacBook computer...  with a built in camera, of course.  Mac would do no less than equip their super fancy computers with cool cameras and very silly camera effects.  I think there are a few pics of us in my family photo album here.  The first picture here is John after last night's shave and a haircut...  but I thought you should also get to see him with a little extra volume added to his various hairs, courtesy of the MacBook:

Spring and Frogs

Good Saturday, Friends!

John and I are settling in after, well, sleeping in this morning!  We did some running including delivery of the old futon to the ReUse Center, purchase of some new (desperately needed) walking shoes for me, and a little too much for lunch at Qdoba. 

We followed lunch with a nice walk near Prune Ridge.  I think Kermit would be pleased to know that the frogs are starting to come out for spring!  We heard a few as we passed the little marsh area closest to Prune Ridge on the way home.  Soon they'll be the most prominent reminder of our surroundings each evening.

(And no, the picture isn't one of ours!  I found it on the interwebs and laughed a little.  It's a National Geographic shot from the monsoon season in India - July 2006, I believe.  I guess when you live in  monsoon area and you're a mouse, you take whatever you can get to stay above water!)

Happy Weekend, All.  Be Well!

Testing!

This is a test. This is only a test. I'm posting from my newly-downloaded Typepad app. on my awesome fancy (green) phone! How'd I do?

Evening Sconces, Post Bake

Evening Sconces

So I find myself thinking - why can't I have scones (yes, the title says sconces) for dessert in the evening?  And so, let the scone making begin!

Itching to Grow

So spring is actually here in Michigan!  The rain expected tomorrow will remind me again that it's almost time for growing.

I've decided after our move to Prune Ridge last spring, and the relative success of my gardening bits in our little front flower beds last year, I need to branch out a bit more this year.  I want to do a little bit of produce growing again this year, even with our little bit of condo-ground space.  I'm leaning towards adding some container-grown veggies and herbs to our sort of boring front stoop.  Some of my longer-term readers may remember I did the same sort of thing in containers on our porch at the little lake house in Milan two years ago.  Next week I plan to pull out the planters, and possibly add a pot or two to the group.  I'll keep you posted!

If you'd like to look, I do have a favorite gardening advice site.  Visit You Grow Girl if you'd like to check it out.  This is a woman (Gayla Trail) in Toronto, and her site is wonderful.  It has quite a following, and if you poke around a bit you'll know why!  There's something for everyone.  I'm going to spend some time with this post of hers before I tackle my containers again.  It's a post of some of the details of creating a container garden with her brother last summer.  (The picture here is from Gayla's post about creating the container garden.)  It's good reading - check it out!

Happy, happy night, Friends!  Be Well!  

Boots?

Good evening, All!  It's really night by now, a bit beyond evening - but here I am sleepless.

In the last day or so, consensus of several friends on Facebook seems to be that I need to have cowboy boots.  (I took a quiz that said cowboy boots were the shoe that best defines my personality.)  So here you go - some candidates for boots!  If I consider going with actual cowboy boots, I have to say these pink ones are pretty darn cute.  I'm not sure I can do real cowboy-style boots with my "touchy" feet, but those sure are obnoxiously cute!

A better option seems like maybe this second pair - I think this is a "harness boot?"  Friend Marion suggested that style as a possible good option for me.  Also cute!

Then I remembered this knee-high pair from NAOT.  NAOT is the shoe maker I discovered last summer, with the most amazing pair of sandals I've ever owned!  I think this is the kind of boot that looks the most like I would like to wear in a great fashionable boot.  But pretty far from cowboy, eh?

Just Awesome

So here's another little video to share.  I don't know much about this project, but clearly a lot of work went into it.  I'll poke around a little bit and see if I can't find out who did it or where it came from, but in the meantime - Enjoy!

 

Stand By Me from aubreysanchez DOT com on Vimeo.

Success

And so we have Lefse!  Even though this was a full day project, it was fun and it worked!  I managed to make a complete mess of the kitchen 3 different times.  See the picture below - that's post rolling and grilling of the lefses.  It's hard to tell with our lovely light counters, but there a thick covering of flour on nearly every surface in the kitchen.

I've sampled the wares already and must say I did a good job!  If you don't yet know lefse, make sure I know.  If I have a chance someday I'll make you some.

Happy Potatoey Snacking!

How My Brain Works

Now that this lefse adventure has begun (potatoes are almost done boiling), I've discovered by accident that I already have a lefse recipe!

Umm, of course the Byerly's Cookbook sitting in our cookbook cabinet has a lefse recipe!  Byerly's is a gourmet Minnesota grocery store.  What self-respecting Minnesota grocery store/cookbook wouldn't have a lefse recipe?  Minnesota, of course, being the American homeland of my Norwegian heritage!  Am I allowed to call it that?

Anyway - I'm working off of a website recipe from "Lefse Time."  Update to come later on the success (or otherwise if I can't claim success).

Happy Day!

Here goes nothin...

I'm about to embark on my first ever solo lefse making endeavor!  I'll report back and let you know how it goes.

It's Saturday morning, 34 degrees outside (at least no snow, as was predicted for this morning), and the birds are singing.  I'm pretty sure we already have somebody working on a nest in the large bush outside the kitchen window.

Happy Weekend, All.  Be Well and Be Springy!

Lefse!

So here I am, searching for a Lefse recipe!  Mom - I know you have "the" lefse recipe, and I'll get it from you - but it's late and I'm up, and I've got lefse on the brain!

Some of you may be asking yourself "what the heck is lefse?"  According to Wikipedia:  "Lefse is a traditional Norwegian flatbread made out of potato, milk or cream, and flour, and cooked on a griddle."  That sums up lefse as I know it.  In my experience, lefse is eaten rolled up (it's a very thin flatbread), with butter and sugar on it.  What could be better?  I find myself tonight wishing I had a griddle exactly like yours, Mom!  This is a new quest for me to work on...

Imagine my surprise to search the Food Network site (a favorite of mine) and not find a single host or network show recipe for lefse!  There are a few user-submitted recipes, but I'm not sure I trust them.  The first hit of the search was a recipe that didn't include potatoes!

Imagine my even greater surprise to find this lefse site:  Lefse Time!  An entire site devoted to it!  "Lefse, Lefse Grills, Griddles, Gift Baskets, and information to help you make lefse."  The interwebs are an amazing place.  I think I may have a lefse-making adventure in my very near future.

Happy Thursday Evening, All.  Let me know if you'd like to try some lefse someday! 

Technology is Cool

I never knew before some random poking around on my blog platform site (read: "I just now actually read some instructions and sections I haven't yet read in 2.5 years of blogging") that I can use a super secret email address to email in blog posts!  The short post below was a test of this fun feature.  The downside to emailing posts is a lack of pretty formatting, but it's still a neat little trick.

I saved the email address so I can email in my brilliant and engaging thoughts from anywhere for your reading pleasure!  Of course, at this moment the super secret email address is saved in my Outlook, right here on this laptop, which is where I would normally be blogging from... so it's pointless!  Tomorrow, however, begins a whole new (a whole nother, if you prefer) technology adventure for me, SuperTechnoAlison!  Feel free to call me STA.

Yes, tomorrow, our new phones arrive!  Did I mention mine is an iPhone? Woohoo!  I should be up and running with super fantastic technology, gadgets, applications, and other impressive components of my new phone...  in no less than 6 years.  (Yes, I'm completely excited, but also a little intimidated.)

Have I mentioned how tech-savvy I am?