[Caelum's Scrapbook] Use Your Words.

[Eida]

Sorry Katie, I had to! Hope you don't mind! :

Edit: Oh yeah it should "fulfill them" and not "fulfill it"! Pardon!

[Caelum]

The expected kitty cat post. Last night I returned home to discover my cat Portia bloody and trembling. It appeared as though she was suffering from some sort of allergic reaction and had scratched herself into that state. It was largely around her neck and her rear, but when I felt her torso it was clear that her skin was aggravated and dry everywhere. Not knowing what else to do at midnight, I gave her one third of a benadryl pill, put some antibiotic ointment on the worst scratches, and calmed her down with snuggles. This morning, suffering from sleep deprivation and a little too much gin while playing poker the night before, I called the vet and begged them to let me bring her in. Turns out, she had fleas. And by fleas I mean the vet found exactly two fleas on her. TWO, ya'll. She is apparently ridiculously allergic and two measly fleas managed to do that much damage to her in one day. He gave some high octane flea medication, a shot of antibiotics to help clear the wounds up, and a shot of steroids to counter her allergic reaction. When I got home and explained the source of the problem to my husband, he immediately set about pulling out our over the counter flea medication to administer to our other cat and our dog. We gave the dog a bath first too just to be on the safe side. Besides, she was still sort of smelly from having played all week with her bestie down the street. The vet said that I could continue to give our other pets the cheaper over the counter flea meds, but Portia was going to always need the big guns. Bottom line, my kitty is going to be fine, but an expensive vet bill and my Saturday morning spent trying to shove a cat into a carrier did not make for a happy Katie. After I brought Portia back home, I decided since I was up and dressed I would go check out the farmer's market that recently opened up on my home island. We have a farmer's market downtown that I've been to and enjoyed, but not one right here on my own little barrier island. It totally turned my day around. I bought so many gorgeous vegetables (including heirloom tomatoes, squash blossoms, assorted beans, and zucchini), pork, beef, chicken, fresh pasta, honey, and cheese that I tried to dance my way back to the car but was too loaded down to do much more than shuffle. There were some seriously good deals too, though I did splurge on some local andouille sausage for making jambalaya this week. It was a bit costly, and I don't even care. The guy told me that next Saturday he'd bring some of his boudin sausage for me to sample. I almost peed a little I was so excited. We're going to eat like kings this week. Speaking of food, in a little b it I'm going to make a batch of taco soup. I thought taco soup was one of those common things that everyone ate until a few months ago when I made way too much and brought a lot of it to work for my coworkers. They loved it, and had never heard of it. It's one of those simple recipes that you can do anytime and it always delicious. Usually I'm not a person who likes to eat canned goods a lot, but there are exceptions. Anyway, the recipe is below if anyone's interested. Taco Soup 1 or 2 lbs ground beef 1 big or 2 medium yellow onions (Vidalia if you've got 'em) 1 can stewed tomatoes 1 can original or spicy Rotel tomatoes 2 of the little cans of chopped green chilies 1 can of mexi-corn 1 can pinto beans 1 can kidney beans (or you can use all pinto or all kidney or use black beans if you prefer, whatever) 1 or 2 packets of taco seasoning 1 or 2 packets of dry ranch dressing mix Brown the beef with the onions in a big soup pot. Drain off the grease. Dump in everything else. No need to drain the corn or anything, but you might want to squish the stewed tomatoes with you clean (I'm hoping) hands before you drop them in. Careful, they'll squirt everywhere if you're not ready for it. Regarding the taco seasoning and dry ranch dressing, use at least one pack of each and the remainder of what you bought to taste. Stir everything up, bring it to a boil, turn it down to a high simmer and leave it alone for thirty or forty minutes save for the occasional stir. Serve with grated cheddar or jalapeno jack, sour cream, chopped green onions, corn chips or corn muffins or whatever your little heart desires. My personal favorite is corn muffin, sour cream, and jalapeno jack. You can also throw in some pickled jalapenos to kick it up if you want. My husband likes to pour on the hot sauce.

[Caelum]

I want someone to make me a shiny grading template. I am useless when it comes to boxcodes and so I am now sitting here debating whether I want, say, unicorns? Or if I want suns. Because, I mean, duh. Note to self – ask someone artistic and talented in the near future.

[Abstract]

Hm... do I get another favor? Would two favors get me a super epic quest? O.o

Jk... I'll try and make something with suns, for the fun of it! I think a sun would have a lot of stuff to work with...

[Caelum]

Wow. That would be awesome, Abstract. Suns are perfect. Thanks so much. It’s almost as though my scrapbook is turning into a wish granting factory. I’m strangely comfortable with that. (First person to name the movie reference wins.)

[Eida]

The world is not a wish granting factory. But Caelum is!

[Caelum]

Fair point, Eida. I didn’t think of it like that, Caelum himself being a sort of wish granting factory. By the way, excellent movie choice with “the world is not a wish granting factory”. The Fault In Our Stars is still in production! Ironically, that’s not even the movie I was referencing. Well, not on purpose. Regardless, I referenced another movie as well with the whole “strangely comfortable with that” – Boondock Saints. (Notably, Norman Reedus is in my town for the film festival. Stalker syndrome is in high gear.)

[Abstract]

Present! I could have done a lot more with this image, but I kept it simple. I used a mix of my simple grading template, but copied your format... including your font Enjoy!

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[Caelum]

On phone, so brief - but holy rising sun, batman! I lovelovelove it. The simplicity, the colors, everything. Thank you so much!

[Caelum]

A note on music. See what I did there? Anyway, I quoted “Sunny Days” by Danny Schmidt in a recent thread for Caelum. It happens to be one of my all time favorite songs. I met Danny years ago back when I was a lot more involved in the local music scene than I am now. He makes beautiful music. Beautiful, beautiful music. This is the best copy of the song I could find on the interwebs. Lyrics are below. Refrain: Sunny day, sunny days Don’t you trick me into stayin’ Don’t you lay me in the cornfield Just to take the corn away Sunny day, sunny days Don’t you trap me in your rays Either let me loose or promise not fade Quiet storm, quiet storm If the future holds to form From nowhere comes an island Where the winds are calm and warm Would you trade another day at sea For a gentle kiss right now? Well tomorrow’s just as soft as lips allow Sunny Days refrain Crystal clear, crystal clear I’ve been deaf about a year With wads of paper money in my head That plug my ears But last night the room was empty And the wooden walls were pure And the tunes so sweet I thought I’d found the cure Sunny Days refrain In the end, in the end It’s the fear to face your friends And you can only try your best And then just try and make amends But today I was bathed in kindness And wrapped in silk to dry And the sidewalks rubbed my feet as I walked by Sunny Day refrain Pack you bag, pack your bags With your footprints and your rags 'Til the weight of all your yesterdays They make your shoulders sag And be wary of the offers To carry off the weight And the sometimes lips of Sunny Days that brush across your face