Lazy Day

I got forced over until 7 AM this morning so today was a short, lazy day  before going to work again. Kiku and I took our walk as soon as I got up (they let me sleep for the most part which is amazing) and she decided she wanted to walk down to the bay. It is/was a very nice day so I enjoyed it as much as she did

It's rather amazing some of the stuff that washes in, especially since this is the bay, not the lake.  I wonder where some of this comes from.

I wish you could touch some the items and have them tell you their history.

































































Near this part of the bay is a little structure that used to be in among the tall grass and trees but they've cleared the area recently.  It looks like this:

I've thought about writing stories about it, actually have in my head but need to put them in the computer.

I've got to get ready for work but I'll post more about the day later.

The Marvel Movie Universe

I'm a late comer to the Marvel Universe-the movie universe but I'm finally caught up. As I posted before, I never read the comics-I was more a DC gal because I read Wonder Woman and glanced at Superman occasionally.  I read Spiderman in the Sunday comics but no Marvel and no Avengers. I had never even heard of Iron Man until they were making the first movie. So that's where I'll start.

I didn't dislike Iron Man but I'm not sure I really liked it either.  I found myself bored during quite a bit of it.  I've liked Robert Downey Jr since Less than Zero and I liked him in the Sherlock Holmes movies but I had a hard time warming up to Tony Stark.  I liked Terrance Howard as Rhodey. I'm also not a Gwyneth Paltrow fan so Pepper did nothing for me.  I started enjoying the movie towards the end watching Tony master the suit and such.  I would say I liked it better than the first Captain America.

Now, Iron Man 2 I liked better than the first.  It might be because I liked this Tony Stark better,  there was a little more man than man-child in his character.  I did not like Don Cheadle as Rhodey, I felt Howard gave Rhodey more warmth and he and Tony truly seemed to be good buddies where Tony and Cheadle's Rhody just didn't click.  I realize there really wasn't as much plot in the second movie but I enjoyed the introduction of Black Widow-can't wait to see what we get in the second Avengers movie.

I got a little lost in Iron Man 3 but I really liked seeing Tony's PTSD from the Avenger's battle.  Made me like Tony more since he seemed more human.  Still didn't like Pepper and Rhodey still did nothing for me.  I really enjoyed seeing Tony as "the mechanic"-it made him seem much more grounded and relatable.  I haven't read any of the comics so I'm interested in where they're taking Iron Man next.

I was surprised by how much I liked Thor.  Chris Hemsworth is not bad to look at (and I'm not into blondes) and he does a credible job as the main character.  It's too bad he and Natalie Portman have zero chemistry.  I like Natalie's character and she does a good job but there's no chemistry.  I really like Darcy too. Now the chemistry between Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston is wonderful and I also love the interaction between Thor and his friends.  I also like Idris Elba. For some reason the movie felt "bigger" than the story really was. Maybe that was Branagh's influence and his Shakespearean background. 

 I liked Thor: The Dark World though I'm not completely sure why.  This one was lot more about the special effects and tons more action. Maybe it was the stuff with Jane and Darcy I liked best, especially Darcy.  I enjoyed the psuedo-science stuff alot (maybe it wasn't psuedo, I have no idea). Hemsworth broods well and Hiddleston is just fabulous.  Once again they have more chemistry than Hemsworth and Portman.

As I mentioned before, I watched Captain America: The first Avenger because Richard Armitage was in it and once his character was gone I became bored and really didn't pay attention to the rest of the movie.  I may go back and watch it again.

I really enjoyed Captain America: The Winter Soldier a lot. I enjoyed watching Steve Rogers still struggling to adapt to the modern world and Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff's attempts to help him.  I think both characters grew in this movie and I think a friendship is starting between the two that could be explored. Captain America felt much more human to me in this movie and I liked it. I also liked Sam Wilson/Falcon a lot and the chemistry between Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie is really good and believable.  

  I did not watch the Incredible Hulk because I did not want to see anyone else other than Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner.  Ruffalo gives Banner so much heart and pathos that I actually feel for the Hulk too.  You can see how fond Ruffalo and RDJ are of each other in the Avengers movie in how they interact.  I also like to think that Banner developed a bit of a crush on Natasha, how's that for a love triangle-Banner, Romanoff, and Barton.

There's my short and shallow takes on the Marvel Movie Universe so far. I can't wait for the Avengers 2, I'll wear out my copy of the Avengers before it gets here!

MY COOKBOOK OBSESSION

I am a collector (okay, hoarder) of books of all kinds but I have really gone a little nuts lately in the cookbook area.  I just got three in the mail that I forgot I'd ordered!  I also found three a few weeks ago that I'd ordered and forgot I had. 

I enjoy many types of cuisine and have cookbooks for almost all of them.  It was funny, a friend asked me on Facebook which cookbook I use the most and, once I thought about it, I realized it was this one:

I've been cooking out of this one since I was teen because it's the version Mom had and is the same age as I am!  I have Mom's beat up old copy that I'm holding together with packing tape because I found her a new copy at the Northfield book sale.  I also found myself a slightly newer copy (1971 instead of 1969) at the book sale a few years earlier.  When Mom died I gave her newer copy to one of my cousins' wives since I still had the old one and my own.  I hope she finds as many good recipes in it as I did. (By the way, each of my cousins only has one wife-thought I'd clarify since that sentence made it sound like they were polygamists-at least to me.)

Another cookbook I've found some good recipes in is:

I really like the waffle recipe in it and one for quick breads.  I've used the quick bread one for making small loaves for gifts. It's from the head guy from the America's Test Kitchen and editor of all their magazines.  I have quite a few of their cookbooks but have started getting them used because they can be a bit expensive. I haven't come across too many of their recipes I've tried that I don't like, right now I can only think of one and that was very recent and in one of the magazines.  It was for beef tacos made with a chuck roast and it just tasted like stewed chuck roast to me.  I actually ended up throwing most of it away, even my aunt didn't like it. I love my sweet potato recipe from them and roasted potatoes.   

One of the largest amount of of cookbooks I have is Mediterranean/Middle East in nature. One I've made a few recipes from is:

 I made a coffee cake that had halvah in it and fell in love with halvah and the coffee cake.  Mom loved the coffee cake even more than I did.  I was lucky I had a mother who was adventurous when it came to food (same with my father).  She was willing to be my guinea pig when trying new recipes and we loved to try new restaurants of all different kinds.  She really like Japanese food and our whole family liked Chinese.  Mom wasn't as fond of Thai because she wasn't into spice-hot spice that is-but she did like helping me eat my leftovers from Indian restaurants and really liked Dal.    I've also read :

though I don't think I've made anything out of it yet.  I'm still making my way through 

I plan on making some stuff out of them when I have time.  

I'm not vegetarian but I do like many vegetarian recipes.  I've made stuff out of both of these

and I continue to find recipes on her blog 101Cookbooks that I really like.  She posted a recipe for olive oil brownies that I sometimes crave but only make so often because they are so rich and it makes a large pan. She has recipes for a lot of whole grain stuff too that are really good.  I love her Ten Minute Tasty Asparagus and Brown Rice recipe and make it quite often.  It only dirties one pan!

The last few years I've also gotten into food from my heritage-German but mostly Scandinavian (my other half is Swedish). My Mom got me this cookbook for Christmas a few years ago

and I loved reading it and making some of the recipes.  I love Gravlax! I also watch New Scandinavian Cooking when I can on PBS and have friended Andreas Viestad on Facebook. I have a Scandinavian cookbook I picked up at the Northfield book sale a few years ago that is fascinating.  It's from the 60s but has tons of pictures of everything from the recipes to the ingredients like the different types of fish, different veggies, etc. I am trying to change my dietary habits (slow painful process) and am really trying eat more Mediterranean/Nordic in style.  

Lastly, the book I use the most is one my Mom wrote for me when I left for college.  It's a green plastic folder and half of the recipes in it are in other spots because I've taken them out and have not put them back.  I love seeing her handwriting on them, especially now that she's gone. I also have a cookbook from camp in the folder that I reference from time to time.

Now that I have a smoker I might use the smoking cookbooks I bought a lot.  I made smoked salmon the other night and it was really good.  I'm going to have fun experimenting with it.  I also just got a new dehydrator so I will be having fun this summer with my gadgets!

More Randomness

I told myself I was going to type a new blog each night over my days off.  Ha!  This is my third night off and my first blog. I get too involved in playing games and the next thing I know it's time to go to bed.  It doesn't help get anything else done either, this place is still a pig sty.  I hope to remedy some of that tomorrow.

I wasn't going to complain about the heat after the winter we had but I admit it made me not want to do too much.  We had two beautiful days the last two days.  Unfortunately I didn't get to take Kiku for a walk today because I stepped in a hole on our walk yesterday and rolled my ankle a bit.  I didn't do enough to sprain it but I can feel it all the through the right side of my body so-no walk.  We did play in the yard and I blew bubbles for her a few times which she enjoyed.  She and Riley were running around for a while tonight too so I think she pooped herself out a bit.  She was sleeping earlier though how she can sleep with her head hanging over the side of the couch is beyond me:

How can this be comfortable?

She was snoring!

I did say it was warmer the last two days but there is still ice on the lake:

Someday it might actually completely melt but I'm not banking on it.

I finally watched Iron Man and Iron Man 2.  They were both okay but I wasn't thrilled by them-I still like The Avengers best.  It was interesting to see Black Widow in the second and see how her character has evolved through Capt. America:TWS.  She intrigues me.  Because of my interest in the movies I bought:

It gives me some of her background but not nearly enough.  I don't have the time or money to go back and read all her comics but I might try to find something.  I also get very confused by all the changes some of the heroes go through-Hawkeye was at least three different super heroes if I remember right.  You really do have to suspend belief to really like comics!

I'm trying to catch up to my 2014 Reading Challenge on Goodreads, I'm one behind right now on trying to get 60 books read this year. I used to have the little widget on my site but somehow screwed it up and haven't been able to get it back.  Maybe I'll figure it out again soon. That said, I'm glad I count cookbooks in my stats because I read a lot of them, just finished one tonight.  Some of them are fascinating.  Maybe I'll post about them soon.

Time to say goodnight!

RANDOMNESS

Okay, as you can see, I have not been blogging.  I've written blogs in my head but never get around to putting them in the computer.  I thought if a I did a post on random things I could get myself moving but it's taken me a while to do even that.  I decided I needed to accomplish something today so here I am.

I even bought myself a laptop computer, hoping it would encourage me to blog since it's portable. I like the laptop but I am having a time learning Windows 8.1 and I find it harder to type on the laptop than at my desk.  Maybe I'll have to get a wireless keyboard to use like my wireless mouse (which is pretty!).  

Things have been a little rough this spring, mostly because there really hasn't been a spring yet.  It's only starting to get a little warmer now and we've had lots of rain and grayness which adds to the grayness inside.  That grayness lifts a lot more than it did though the anxiousness is still there.  It hasn't helped that Kiku was attacked by another dog almost a month ago and I found out yesterday that Uncle Max passed away and my aunt didn't call me.  If she had I might have been able to go to the funeral.  But Kiku is almost completely healed and mostly back to normal (just a bit of nervousness around big dogs on walks) and Uncle Max was 93 so it wasn't that unexpected. I'm also waaaaaay behind on going through the stuff from Mom's house, cleaning my house, and doing a few small renovations.  I did get some stuff out for spring cleanup, including my old recliner, so I am a bit happy.

I wrote before about obsessions and I have a few new ones.  First-John Lynch and the television show "The Fall".

While watching this show I fell head over heels in lust with John Lynch:

I've never been one to go for the conventionally handsome and his voice just makes me melt! I realized after watching him that I had seen him in "The Secret of Roan Inish" and loved his voice then.  He used to be really skinny but I find I like his looks more as he becomes older and craggier.

I really like him with a beard but he's lovely to look at without one too. He's one I'd love to talk to find out who and what is behind those eyes. His character in "The Fall" is Assitant Chief Constable Jim Burns.  To me Burns is a man who locks away all his emotion and shows the world  his "cop" face but if he ever lets it out-watch out!  Makes me think Jim Burns would be very passionate in bed! (Swoon!)

I've been watching a lot his filmography and found some true gems and a few dogs.  Some of the gems are: "The Fall", "Conspiracy of Silence", "The Secret of Roan Inish" and "Ghosted".  I can't recommend "Ghosted" enough. It was one of those movies that just left me stunned when it was over, kind of like my reaction to "Brokeback Mountain". Some of the dogs: "The Seventh Stream", "The Bridge of San Luis Rey", and "Night Wolf".  One comedy I found very amusing was "Hard Times", about a band of guys who steal a truck full of viagra and the funny aftermath. I'm also hoping to get to his second book sometime soon.

Another new obsession is:  The Avengers!

It's funny, I've never read the comics and I've not been one for comic book hero movies but I finally got around to watching this.  I watched the first Captain America because Richard Armitage was in it but got bored about half way through.  I saw "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" in April with a friend and really liked it so I decided to sit down and watch "The Avengers".  Now I'm hooked! Of course, true to form, I liked one of the more secondary characters-Hawkeye!

 I think Jeremy Renner is a good actor and he does alot with the little story line he's given in the movie (essentially he's a bad guy for about half the movie).







I have no idea what drew me to Hawkeye, but it might have been his interaction with Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson. I've always liked Scarlett since she was in "The Horse Whisperer" and found I really liked her as Black Widow.  I have not seen "Iron Man 2" yet but plan on changing that soon.

I really liked the chemistry between Black Widow and Hawkeye and their implied past. I watch their fight scene and the scene in the infirmary over and over again.

Hawkeye even had his leg on her chair when they were eating shwarma at the end!

Oh the fanfics I write in my head! (I really liked Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk too)

Another random thing is I'd like to get the house cleaned so I can start doing other things like sewing!  I found a bunch of cut out pieces my mom had for placemats she wanted to make.  She made me a set when I moved to my apartment: and it looked she intended to make a lot more but didn't get to them.  Here's some of her combos:

I remember some of the shirts these remnants came from!

 I thing she was making some mats for the strawberry festival at church.

I'm not normally fond of red but I like this combo.

 I remember some of the blouses these scraps came from =>

 Same with these
<=

The light blue striped material in this combo is  from one of my dad's old Hamm's workshirts =>











I really want to start using this :

Okay, so that's enough randomness for one blog.  I'll close with pictures of my "children"

Starting Again

Here We Go Again...


As you can see, I once again failed to blog like I had planned. I do have a bit of a legitimate excuse-my mother became ill and then died in September.  Being an only child I was busy for most of the year dealing with everything involved from the medical care to the disposal of property afterwards.  Now I am dealing with 1 1/2 households worth of stuff crammed into one household. But I've also decided it's time for me to get back to some stuff I used to love to do but don't do anymore-like writing.  I also have some friends who are starting to blog because they are at a cross road of their lives right now so I thought I should try to get into it properly too.  I've written blogs in my head all year, just never took the time to put them into the blog!

So, I'm going to start out with a book blog about my reading in 2013.  Here are a few stats:

Books read in 2013:  62
Number of cookbooks read:  4
Authors new to me: 14
Number of books reread: 16 (Harry Potter series, Percy Jackson series, one other)

Five Favorite Books (in no particular order):

1. Scoundrels-Timothy Zahn

I enjoyed getting back into the Star Wars universe, especially since this book focused on Han.   I also read the novella "Winner Loses All" by Zahn which had Lando in it and was a bit of a setup for this book and enjoyed it also.

2. Jane Casey's Maeve Kerrigan series

I read about Jane Casey's first Maeve Kerrigan book on the website Criminal Elements and was intrigued enough to get the first book on my Kindle.  I quickly bought the rest of the books in the series, even getting one in hardcover. Maeve is a Detective Constable in London and it's interesting watching her work with new people and trying to impress her boss.  I am anxiously waiting for the next book in the series.

3. The Hobbit ( and many movie tie ins)

I waited to read the Hobbit until  after seeing the first movie. I had heard the book on record (yes, I'm old) when I was in elementary school but didn't remember much of it.  I was glad I waited since the movie does deviate but I was able to enjoy the movie as a separate entity and enjoy the book too.  I also read many tie-in books to the movie and will be reading more for the second movie (which I'm not sure how I feel about still).

4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I had read Mansfield Park and Sense and Sensibility previously and decided to read more and really liked this one.  I also read Persuasion and thoroughly enjoyed it too (and the tv movie version starring Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds).

5. Casino Royale-Ian Fleming

I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.  I was never a big James Bond fan until Daniel Craig became the newest incarnation and I decided to read the first book. I may read more if I find the time :).

Five Least Favorite Books:

1. The Wicked Game by Michelle Zink

I was highly disappointed in the is book. It's a young adult novel set in New Orleans with a descendant of Marie  Laveau as the main character-and she's white. There really wasn't a lot of voodoo in the story and it could have been set anywhere since the author really didn't use much of New Orleans for atmosphere.

2. City of Dark Magic-Magnus Flyte

Magnus Flyte is a pseudonym for two authors writing as one and it shows at times in the book.  I understand having twists but it was like one author headed one way in a chapter and then the other author totally went the other way for the next.  I'm able to suspend disbelief fairly well but this book pushed my limits.

3. Mr. Churchill's Secretary-Susan Elia MacNeal

I don't even know where to start with this one.  It showed promise in the beginning but steadily went down hill. Too many characters with few fleshed out and things solved way too easily.

4. Mr. Darcy's Letter-Abigail Reynolds

This started out as fanfiction and it shows around the edges.  The author is talented but this retelling of Pride and Prejudice had many faults, many being modern ideals set in a historical setting. Much of the characters actions were incorrect for the time period which made me enjoy it much less.  Jane Austen this author isn't.

5. Death by a Honey Bee-Abigail 

This book wasn't bad but the ending left me a little cold. I found the set up intriguing and may try the author's next book.

Books I'm still not sure about:

The Cuckoo's Calling-Robert Galbraith (AKA J.K. Rowling)

Wasn't a bad book, I rather liked to the protagonist, but I found some of the ending a bit confusing I guess, for lack of better words.

Torn Water-John Lynch

I read this because I became obsessed with John Lynch the Irish actor last year after seeing him in the television show "The Fall".  It was good though I wasn't sure about some of the elements in the story. I have gotten Lynch's other book and hope to read it soon.

The House of Hades-Rick Riordan

I liked parts of the story, other parts not so much.  The revelation about Nico surprised me in a way but not completely. I still struggle with not caring about some of the main characters so when it's their chapters I get a little bored.  Leo really grew on me and he's become one of my favorites but I still have really no use for Piper, Jason, and Frank. I hear Riordan may be doing a series with Nordic gods which I hope is true, I would read it.

So, that was my year in books. I made my goal of 50 books on Goodreads (for some reason I can't get the widget to work on here) so I upped my goal this year to 60 books and have already read nine.  I am floundering a bit on what to read ( I sometimes think having too many books to read is overwhelming so I don't know what to read next) but I hope to solve that problem soon (same with my motivational problem-maybe another blog post).

Here's to good reading in 2014...