NaBloPoMo #14

roads less travelled, originally uploaded by jilly71.

NaBloPoMo #13

Bacon from the butcher- 7 or 8 slices
trim the white bit
chop up and fry in large soup pot with a bit of olive oil
chopped onion and garlic
s&p to taste
while frying, chop 2-3 carrots and add to soup pot
set heat on low and cover slightly
peel or scrub 4-5 small potatoes, 2-3 yams/ sweet potatoes
add a yellow beet for fun
1 red pepper chopped fine for color
add everything to pot and cover with water
add a teaspoon of 'better than bouillon'
bring to a boil
add 1/2 cup of cream
simmer
add dash of dried tarragon
enjoy

cool left overs overnight and skim off cooled oils
roast corn niblets in a dash of nutmeg and butter and add.


Creamed potato and bacon becomes bacon corn chowder.

NaBloPoMo #12

One of my favorite restaurants burned down this morning.

A fire is said to have started in the Sushi restaurant next door.

Slickety Jim's was not your everyday diner. It was special. It was decorated with bric-brac that looked like it was looted from the antique store, yard sale and your grandmother's attic. But the menu had the real decoration.

I liked to go there just so I could say, Society Made me What I am- and that meant I'd have the scrambled eggs, vegan sausage and cheese wrapped in a tortilla with salad on the side.

RIP Slick. I'll miss you.

NaBloPoMo #11

What I remember..

• We had shag carpet or some kind of texture-y carpet. I think it was beige..or off white.
  

• The cat was fat and a regular tabby kind of cat. Her name was Duchess. I have no memories of enjoying this cat, which I find odd.
  

• My parents were big fans of teak furniture, but you know it was the 70's. (on a side note: there a shop in my neighbourhood that sells vintage furniture and has a whole room dedicated to the Danish 70's groove. Once they had the couch from my childhood. I was mesmerized by it's incarnation in my life 30 yrs later and told them so. Every now and then I go in and remember the family living room.)

• I had a washed out acrylic/polyester nightgown with a faded floral pattern, elastic at the collar and sleeves that I suffered insufferable bouts of static cling in.
  

• I used to watch Sesame Street with my chin propped on my elbows- entranced. Somewhere nearby would likely be a bowl of corn flakes and milk or porridge.

• The kitchen had orange lino and the kitchen chairs were covered in vinyl that stuck to my legs on hot days. My mother would make me peanut butter and banana sandwiches and serve them on paper towel.
  

• My best friend lived next door. Her name was Tanya Barter and her parents were from Australia. Her father used to shovel the snow in his shorts. I remember sitting in their kitchen when Elvis died and not knowing who Elvis was. "Who shot JR" had a bigger impact in my life.
  

• Her younger brother was Trent and he once peed all over the front yard and sprayed the windows. It's my 1st known memory of seeing a penis.

• Once I bought "perfume" with my allowance from a kid who lived across the street. It was really rose petals and water in a jar. I think my mom found it in my closet and made me take it back.

• My father made fun of the decor of a house across the street. You could see in their house because they had a large front window. I think it was the wallpaper that pissed him off.
  

• The address was 77 Greystone Crescent and the phone number was 464-3182. I have no idea why I have retained that fact except I remembered it when I was a child when you needed to know how to dial 911 or tell someone you were in trouble and where you lived and how to get a hold of your parents.

• My bedroom had cold white/grey lino and I often ran from the light switch to the bed because there was something very very bad under the bed.
  

NaBloPoMo #10

It's the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street today.

Can you imagine that? Wow.

Everybody sing along...

Sunny Day
Sweepin' the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame Street

Come and play
Everything's A-OK
Friendly neighbors there
That's where we meet

Can you tell me how to get
How to get to Sesame Street

It's a magic carpet ride
Every door will open wide
To Happy people like you--
Happy people like
What a beautiful

Sunny Day
Sweepin' the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame street...
How to get to Sesame Street
How to get to...




This blog post has been brought to you by the letter J and and the number 1

NaBloPoMo #9

Whenever, I've been in Havana, the Prado on Saturdays is an absolute must. It's a "10-block-long, marble-balustraded, terrazzo-floored, shaded promenade with built in sit-walls that cascade down the central boulevard of Old Havana"* (I couldn't say it any better).

It has traffic on either side and a long boulevard for pedestrians. On Saturdays, local artists display their crafts or artwork. One of my last days in Havana, I met a young photographer named Brayan who really accomplished some amazing feats of photography- had a show in Havana that collaborated with a US photographer, was able to get large scale prints etc..

He continues to amaze me with his images and that he is able to get them online and email them to me. Today I got a link of a variety of images.. please go look. They're stunning, original and evoke the true beauty and grit of a city like Havana.

Here's the link to Brayan's images...

*quote from here (Check out the list of top 60 public spaces as well)

NaBloPoMo #8

10 places in Vancouver I really enjoy

1. Granville Island
2. Under my feather duvet
3. The SPCA
4. Water taxis in False Creek
5. Joe's Cafe on Commercial Drive
6. The Roundel on Hastings
7. Commercial Drive
8. Gastown
9. Trout Lake Park
10. West 4th in Kits

NaBloPoMo #7

For my special London friend...

Chipotle Mayo and Chips

Get some chipotle peppers. You can usually find these in most markets with a "latin food" section. Lucky for me, the peppers are in most markets in my neighborhood. They're most likely canned with adobe sauce which is generally tomatoes, spices and ancho peppers. They look like this..

Scoop some mayo into a bowl

Chop those Chipotle peppers up finely and blend with Mayo. Add some of that adobe sauce for good measure. Blend well or whiz with a hand blender until smooth.

Chippies...

Slice peeled potatoes really thinly on a mandoline. Fry in a bit of oil and drain on paper towels. Toss with a bit of salt to taste.

For a plateful of chips, you need 1 large baking potato, scrubbed clean. A bit of salt and pepper to taste and some oil. Using the wavy (crinkle) side of a mandoline, slice the potato once, then turn the potato 90 degrees horizontally and cut again. This criss-cross way of cutting results in hatched or meshed slices- so fun and fancy but go straight and easy too. Place the slices in a wee bit of oil and fry till brown or toss them in a bit of oil and bake till crispy. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Turn on the telly, cozy up under a blanket with something to drink.. chipotle peppers are smoky and spicy and dip your chippies.

sonicyouth

sonicyouth, originally uploaded by jilly71.

NaBloPoMo #6

Current state:

tattoo sore
laundry taking over
bathroom floor growing a mysterious substance
chips and chipotle mayo for dinner
dishes need doing
nothing in the fridge
raining
couch comfort overriding the bed
feeling sicky sicky

NaBloPoMo #5

birds of fancy, originally uploaded by jilly71.

Here's my fancy dancy little bird all colored in.

NaBloPoMo #4

There's a little bird that I've become kind of fond of. So fond, that I'll be looking at the lilac throated roller for a very long time.

Tomorrow, my little tattooed birds will be colored. I've never been one for colored tattoos but this little bird has won me over to the other side. My birds just wouldn't be the same without their little lilac breasts and tufts of turquoise and honey brown and brilliant prairie sky blues.



I'll post pictures later this week.

NaBloPoMo #3

10 non people things I don't like. Again, I'll try not to deviate to food.

1. snow
2. mushrooms
3. broken fingernails
4. mold in any form any where
5. angry dogs
6. the color orange
7. garbage strikes
8. red roses
9. Guinness
10. pens that don't work

NaBloPoMo #2

10 non people things I like. I'll try not to focus on food:

1. kittens
2. fresh baked bread
3. photography
4. gravy on mashed potatoes
5. fresh laundry
6. the smell of geraniums
7. sunny mornings
8. songs that sound like trains
9. feather duvets
10. ordering in

NaBloPoMo means I'm crazy

Otherwise stands for National Blog Posting Month. I think this will be my 3rd year in a row of this nonsense.

9 down. 91 to go.

It's been a year and a bit and I kind of forgot about my list of 100 things to do before I die. Reading over it again, it seems a bit wacky. There are some things that I'm all like wha?? Like for example:

# 3- ride a giraffe. Not likely, Jill.

#27- Bungee Jump- it looks good on a list of 100 things to do before you die but truth be told, I'm more likely to have my fingernails pulled out than jump off a bridge with a giant elastic band tied to my ankles.

How bout #52- dig up a time capsule- unless someone tells me where one's hidden or I plant my own, this kind of seems a bit unobtainable. Do you know where there's a time capsule I could dig up?

#79- Stop getting tattooed? Why would I put that on the list? It seems so unlikely to say no never again.

And #91- "This Bud's for You"? I think I may have managed to complete #58 without knowing it- make my own cheese.

But some things have, surprisingly, been completed.

#6- have a public exhibit of my photos. Not exactly what I had in mind when I wrote that, but I did rig up a laundry line and hang my photos on day on the street. I sold $30 worth of cards I'd made.

#16- Pay Someones rent for the month- I have paid my boyfriend's rent at least once. He's paid mine too. Works out well.

#17- Give someone a job- I hired a lovely girl named Jill. Seriously.

#24- Spend the night in the Chelsea Hotel- Spent 2 nights. Dreams don't come cheap at $300 US/night but it was glorious and magnificent and I don't regret one second of it. It was magical. I had a balcony apartment. I pretended I "lived" there for 48 hrs.

#30- Swim with Sharks- I'll change this to dolphins- so much gentler and less scary and check- done. (why do I want to scare myself needlessly to make my list more interesting??)

#45- Inspire someone- rumor has it this has happened.

#54- Visit Cuba before its too late- meaning before they announce Fidel is dead and open the floodgates of US travelers. It's never too late to visit Cuba. I've been there twice now for a total of 4 weeks. Amazing.

#57- See a ghost- well not exactly but I have seen something fly off a shelf unprovoked.

#80- Find the perfect pair of jeans- Levi 501, W33 L32, European cut- found the pair- and they're perfect. Will I find them again? Maybe not.

So.. one of these weekends I'll attempt #37 and not say a word and I better get crackin on #74- make all my Christmas Gifts.

a key to unlock the door

I especially like the new Tiffany Keys.

I'm saving all my quarters for a sparkly platinum one, but in the meantime my darling boyfriend whom I don't nearly appreciate enough sometimes bought me one just because it was a Saturday in October.

Now you know what's on my Christmas wishlist. Let's go in on one together.

mennonite dishes and wimpy burgers

Mennonite dishes, originally uploaded by jilly71.

speechless

"This was allegedly voted unanimously by staff at Maroochydore High School in Queensland for use on their telephone answering system. Very possibly fake, but very funny, Also has a serious point that perhaps parents and students should be more accountable and take more responsibility themselves instead of blaming the school for their failings."

they stayed at the drive in till everyone else had gone

they never left the drive in, originally uploaded by jilly71.