16 posts tagged “beer”
I have been an on-again off-again vegetarian at many times during my adult life. There are forces outside my control that keep steering me back to vegetarianism, and I am leaning toward it again very strongly.
Point: I love legumes. In fact, when I am asked the question of what one food I would choose if I were ever stranded on an island somewhere, my answer is always, a quick, BEANS!

Point: I rarely buy meat at home, anyway. I don't miss it.
Point: I recently re-read the book and watched the movie, "Fast Food Nation." Yikes! I thought the movie was handling certain things so delicately that I would not be forced to look away, but I would still get the message. Beware the last 5 minutes of this film! They saved all the look aways for the very last.
Point: Vegetarians are SEXY! ...and when I run away to another country (New Zealand) with Alec Baldwin, I will be able to whip up all his favorite dishes, sans cruelty. And he can cook for me, too, because I am sure I can rescue him from his bad habits... Hear that Alec? I can help! And just in case Alec isn't interested in this proposition (What!?!), there are several other sexy vegetarians on this list that would suit me just fine.
Point: Some of my favorite people (that I actually know) are vegetarians. There's cheekymonkey, meswells, most of my siblings, many of my extended family. Good company to be in, I am certain!
Point: Beer is vegetarian.
The semester is almost over.
I'm almost ready to start my summer classes.
It's almost tolerable in my makeshift office, into which I moved yesterday - the first of three moves by August.
It is almost possible to get through the day without eating some sort of chips.
It's almost June and I have two wearable art pieces to construct for my juried exhibition.
My BFA Advancement Review is in two weeks. I am almost ready.
I almost didn't wake up this morning (reference homework photos with Black Velveteens).
I think this weekend will be almost enough time to finish my final painting:
Weird, wild stuff.
I am happily slammed with work, schoolwork, artwork, kitty antic adjustments and general getting-up-in-the-morning responsibilities. Some notes on my week so far:
BARACK OBAMA continues to build my admiration for him. He also continues to cause fits of emotion I am still figuring out how to manage.
Yes, we can!
School is cool. After my spring break break, I am back at it and trying to coordinate my schedule with work (2 jobs now) and school, and getting homework and anything else that's necessary (including sleep) in the 24 hours I am alotted each day. Sleep isn't suffering at this point, but I am mostly going to bed early to be warm and to calm the critters down. When that happens, homework tends to suffer. We'll see... The news the other night said that lack of sleep makes you fat. THAT's the culprit! I knew it wasn't cheese and beer!
Blatant Begging. My etsy shop remains sparse, with the occasional order for a commissioned tiny painting. Yesterday, I found a fellow etsy vendor that really made my day. I am posting a link to her etsy shop here, and posting a picture of something I really, really want, but would probably not purchase for myself. That said, anyone want to get me an early birthday present??

Harold and Maude finger puppets! Are you kidding me!?! This gal's clearly a genius. She makes all sorts of finger puppet sets from her favorite movies, musicians, politicians, etc. I mean genius. I want to go to her house for puppet shows! Harold and Maude are currently on my imaginary wish list for any gift-giving occasion. Lloyd Dobler would be pretty nice, too (back off, Bossy!).
Late addition to my post: I want to see this movie as soon as it's released. The Visitor.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0857191/trailers-screenplay-E38170-314
That's all for now.
This 'survey' is interesting.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/
There appears to be no distinction between beer snobbery and those who would chug tasteless yellow fizzy water that I won't mention here, but it's commonly referred to by a cutesy three-letter nickname. There also appears to be no representation for the Female Beer Snob/Obama Supporter. I know I'm not alone.
This article includes a photograph of wine (I think) and Hacker Pschorr Weisse. Hardly fair. I'll drink a Hacker Pschorr any time, and I doubt a McCain supporter would go near one - let alone be able to pronounce it.
Amateurs.
Somebody either loves me or hates me. I can hardly believe my eyes, and I will most likely be travelling to the nearest SuperTarget for a pint of this tonight:
HAVE MERCY!! What a coincidence, by the way, that it comes in a pint.
Our local Irish Festival is this weekend, so my activities on Sunday afternoon are predetermined. Something tall, dark and handsome is in order:
This year, I am allowing myself to enjoy the festivities while my homework dries. It seems my tall, dark and handsome professor saw fit to see if anyone in the class would actually paint at home. I'll be doing my painting tonight and tomorrow so that I can play on Sunday.
The Irish Festival offers free admission on Sunday provided one donates to the local foodbank and arrives before the start of the outdoor mass. I'm not Catholic, nor do I appreciate dogma in any way, but I rather enjoy the outdoor mass, often with bagpipes! The foodbank donation is always a good thing, but especially necessary this year. Earlier in the summer, thieves stole the copper from the refrigeration units at the foodbank. I believe the copper was worth a bit more than $2,000, but the damage to the frozen and refrigerated foods was in the ballpark of $40,000. I am very fortunate to never had had to rely on a charity for a basic necessity like food, but the thought that someone even constructed a crime of this nature for what was likely money for weed infuriates me. I have no problem at all with marijuana, but I do have a problem with children going hungry so that some moron can buy his dope. Legalize marijuana already.
My annual kiltmaking ground to a halt this year with my academic committments. The past two years I have made kilts for some of the tall, [not so] dark and handsome menfolk in the family. Two years ago, my Dad and my nephew wore my grey kilts (lined in Protestant orange, of course), with t-shirts I made just for them, to run in the Kilted Mile. I am pretty sure they were the only Grandfather-Grandson Team in the run:
Poor Seth was terribly sick, but he wanted to do it. He looked adorable, but I know he felt less-than-fantastic.
Last year, my younger brother wanted to run with his son, so he wore the grey kilt and I made a new camouflage kilt for Dad (once again lined in Protestant orange).
That was a great-looking team! Dad's schoolbus-yellow sneakers were solely for the Mile, and the rest of the time he wore his motorcycle boots. The same boots he wore when he raced flat track scrambles back in the 70s!
I'm anxious to see what this year entails.
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
I am listening to Pink Floyd's "Echoes" this morning and I am reminded of something that came up in class last week. Referring to the now infamous picture of Phil Spector at his murder trial, the professor said, "Shine on you crazy diamond."
To me, that was an extremely unfair thing to say. I have respect for Phil Spector's musical accomplishments, but Syd! Syd, you were a diamond. It hasn't escaped me that I tend to gush over men (and Amy Poehler) here, but Syd, you are sorely missed. I hope you're hanging out with Joe Strummer in some alternate universe, and riding your bike.
Block 'Til You Drop
It's pretty hot these days. And dry. These conditions don't keep me from knitting for winter (see photos). I'm making sure to take time to block pieces appropriately, and I am using quality yarns. Oh, accessories, why do I love you so??
Be the Bicycle
Not wanting to go through another weekend without my beloved pink grocery-getter. Sadly, I drove to the village bike shop for a chain on Saturday. I took the broken chain with me, but was surprised that even doing that did not prevent them from selling me the wrong chain. It was also surprising that I didn't inspect it before I left, but that's on me, for sure. So, I got home and discovered it was the wrong chain. I put the dogs (yes, dogs, Olive has a houseguest this week) in the house and walked my bicycle back to the village with the wrong chain. The mechanic was less than helpful, as she just grabbed the other chain and traded me. I convinced her to loan me her chain tool (she wasn't about to put it on for me), I put it on and pedalled home. Oh, glorious pink bicycle, we are back in business!!
Get Thee to a Yard Sale!
Actually, it was a Garage Sale. This guy had some pretty decent stuff. What I wanted was the teak (-looking) chaise lounge and cafe umbrella. With these two additions to my little deck, I never want to go anywhere on weekend mornings. Once my basil and tomatoes are harvestable, I may not want to go anywhere ever.
Will Pedal for Frothy Refreshments
Finally, I biked over to a friend's house yesterday afternoon to enjoy some beer and company. It was a great way to spend a couple of hours, and I was home in time to watch the Tony Awards with the canine contingent.
Congratulations to Christine Ebersole (Little Edie Beale)!
Olive did not appreciate the weather this weekend.
I got up Saturday and pedaled to the farmer's market as planned. There isn't a great deal of produce yet, I guess it's too early, but I did get some asparagus. As I prepared to leave, my bicycle chain broke. I walked home, in the rain. It wasn't too bad, actually. I just tend to feel guilty walking that far without Olive - she would have been great company.
I met a friend at the art museum in the afternoon and we had a great time. While I am not crazy about the recent renovations they made aesthetically (it looks like a convention center), I do appreciate the lovely collection of art practically in my back yard.
I spent Saturday evening and Sunday in something like Spring Cleaning mode. I was actually just looking for a spare chain that I know I have. I am just frustrated that I cannot find it. It might turn out that once I find it, it's the wrong size anyway, so I am happy that I at least went on a cleaning spree. It's not like me at all. I listened to music mostly, but had the race on the radio Sunday as much as possible.
When things settled down yesterday afternoon I started a knitting project and completed exactly half of it. It's a pair of fingerless gloves that I have made before, but I am using a different yarn this time and have ended up with a result between The Grinch and Oscar the Grouch.
I'll do the other one. I will. Sometimes I procrastinate, but this time I want to finish them and put them away for Fall. They'll be a great surprise for me when I dig out cool weather stuff.
Thanks to my friends who met me for dinner on Friday. Thanks to another friend for dragging me out at 10:30 for beer. Thanks to my friends who met me at the farmer's market before my long walk home and to my other friend for our nice time at the art museum. Thanks to everyone with whom I was able to catch up to varying degrees on the telephone. Thanks, Dad, for encouraging me to get ready for a hiking and camping trip. I'll make it happen. I will. It's much better to look back on a long weekend and be amazed at everything you did. It flew by, but I had a really nice one.






