Month: March 2009

Cool replies

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 16/03/2009

A couple things I have written (privately) have generated cool replies lately. First, I wrote to The Names Brand tshirt website to point out that they were missing a Howard Stern shirt. I sent the email on February 26th. They wrote me back on the 5th of March to say that my shirt idea had been added!

Then yesterday I was thinking about this tv show that I enjoyed a few times a long time ago. It was hosted by Ahmet Zappa and had bands on it. I had one episode taped that had the Red Hot Chilli Peppers on it that I watched over and over…So I sent Ahmet a message on Facebook to ask what the name of the show was (it didn’t seem to turn up on imdb) and he replied!

cool!

Not a very wordy reply, but still. The son of Frank Zappa! WOW!

(Not nearly as cool as an old friend of mine who’d called the Muffin Utility Research Kitchen a million years ago to ask about a specific album and realized he was talking to Frank himself, but still cool in my small world).

POO!

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 14/03/2009

I started a new crochet project without really thinking too hard about the fact that I didn’t own enough of the yarn required. It’s Bernat Satin (or perhaps Satin Sport-I don’t keep the wrappers, that would be too logical) and it’s available at Zeller’s for really cheap. Of course, when I went to Zeller’s today they didn’t have the colour I need. Of course not. Then when I checked online, on the Bernat website, it’s not there. The fucking colour’s been cancelled. OH GOD.

I’ve also looked on Ravelry. No dice.

Not only that, I don’t know the exact name of the colour, which makes it way harder to find.

If you have this colour yarn in your stash and you don’t need it, please contact me.  I will happily pay for it-and shipping.

green yarn

I feel like I ask you guys for help all the time. So, in advance, thanks to anyone that can come up with this yarn.

Edit-No luck on this yarn. I will be frogging what I’ve made so far and going to a real yarn store to find something decent. It’s a sad day for me.

Super supper time!

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 11/03/2009

Have you ever made something from scratch (well, more or less) and it came out pretty much perfectly? I experienced that tonight. At work, I made us tomato sauce and it was so good. I could have had a bowl of that with no pasta and I would have been happy.

Sauce:

1/2 zucchini, small dice

4 medium mushrooms, small dice

1 clove garlic, minced

3 red peppers, roasted at 425 for 1/2 hour until the skin is black, peeled, seeds, stem and ribs removed

1 450mL can Aylmer Accents spicy red pepper diced tomatoes

Saute zucchini, mushrooms and garlic in a little olive oil until softened, season with salt and a tablespoon Italian seasoning.

Puree roasted red peppers and tomatoes together, add to cooked veggies, bring to a simmer, cook until thickened, about 15 minutes.

Sauce is good.

Trust me. It was great. The only thing I would do differently if I was at home is add a knob of butter at the very last second while it’s still simmering.

The olden days

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 07/03/2009

I went to see my parents today in St.Catharines.  We all went to see Madama Butterfly at the movie theatre, part of the Live At The Met series. Butterfly is a pretty huge show, popularity wise, but I am not sold on it’s story. Very sappy and kind of embarassing. I know, she’s 15 and incredibly naive…Well, the singing was great and most of the costumes were very nice. The use of puppetry was very cool and interesting. That said, I think everyone should go to at least one opera in their lifetime, and if it means seeing it broadcast live from the Met at your local movie theatre, so be it. And while I would never claim to be an expert or a snob, I have seen lots of opera in my life and I know what I like.  Next season’s lineup is non stop fantastic shows, not a single dud.

Anyway, on the way to the bus I walked past what used to be my favourite Chinese restaurant in Toronto, The Garden. I ate here regularly in the early 90′s when last call was 1am and no one was ready for bed yet. Not only did they have amazing food, they also served ‘cold tea’, aka beer in a tea pot. We brought Flea there twice and he had the hot’n'sour soup that had him sweating so much he took off his shirt. Anyway, the restaurant’s moved down the street and it’s very swanky looking, no more orange meat dripping on hooks in the front window. I haven’t been, but I am sure some people would think it’s nicer now. Call me nostalgic, but I loved the older version.

chinese food!

Further updates

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 03/03/2009

1. My ring

As anyone could guess, it weighs a ton and took me a while to get used to. Typing was the hardest adjustment-I worried for a while that my s and w keys would be broken, but they’re fine. It’s been well received by everyone-literally everyone-who sees it in real life (and not so much online, but that’s ok. To the person who called it “hellaciously ugly”, what you say is what you are, anyone who read that comment was thinking the same of you, I promise) other than my boss’s mom who can not wrap her head around a skull ring as engagement ring. The dark acid wash has faded quite a bit, especially on the side that rubs against my pinky ring (another piece of jewelry from Shannon, made in our Stainless days). That side is bright, shiny silver. There are also a couple dings on the head from it being bashed occasionally. Like I said, it’s heavy.

ring

2. My hair.

It’s great! We’re still going the no ‘poo method and I’ve never been less stressed about my hair. I used to battle it every day but now I just let it be. Every Saturday morning I brush it out before I get in the shower (which, I know, goes against the rules, but if I tried to comb it in the shower I’d be there for days) then I get in, wet it and lather up with conditioner (we found Suave which is cheap and smells great). I let it sit for a few minutes then rinse with cool water. I squeeze as much water out as possible, bent over the tub and sometimes I even give it one quick pat (but not a rub) with my towel. Then I plop, or, wrap my head in a clean t shirt. I hang out like this for no more than half an hour, then let it down and put some curl defining gel or cream in it. Done.  I think in warmer weather I will do it twice a week, but for now, I can not leave my apartment with wet hair (it freezes). It might sound funny, but I haven’t used shampoo in almost 3 months! Yay!

Cough. COUGH. Splutter.

Posted by Caitlin Jane – 01/03/2009

For the second time this year, I am officially sick. And I am officially sick of being sick. There’s nothing more boring or miserable in the world. This time ’round I have a terrible throat, sore and full of gunk that needs barking up. And the coughing is awful, it hurts and it seems to make things worse: an hour ago I wound up in the bathroom bent over the toilet tears streaming down my face and completely unable to catch my breath. It was very scary. Yesterday I coughed up something the size and colour of an acorn. Ew.

So I wound up calling Telehealth Ontario-which is a great service, the nurses that work the hotline are SO kind-and I was basically told I am doing everything right but if I felt worse tomorrow to go to the dr, which was my plan anyway. I guess it’s just nice  to hear someone else say what I was already thinking. Makes me feel clever.

We’ve been playing with Lego all weekend, so that’s also nice, although I suspect that the other people that live here will wind up terribly sick too. Sorry guys!