An Engineer's Guide to Cats

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My Life in a slideshow

I have a neat slideshow over on my "Going Green Go!" network page, and just found that I could put the code in over here and have that available on this page as well. So, if you need some pictures of a sunny day, a MINI Cooper (I haven't driven mine in a week and almost have forgotten what it looks like), or us and a cute dog, you've come to the right place!

There also are some nice pictures of our neighborhood and you will get a sense of our community (High Point) that we love so much here in West Seattle.


Find more photos like this on Going Green

"Snow storm of the new century"

Reporting from the "Snow storm of the new century" in Seattle, WA (West Seattle to be exact).

After days of ice and a little bit of snow that mostly dehydrated itself and then actually melted yesterday, we finally got hit with all the snow they have been forecasting. Again, I am very grateful I have nowhere to be. It is beautiful to see when all you have to worry about is taking the dog for a walk. Steve is ensconced in the library upstairs telecommuting for work and sits with a laptop on his lap and a mug of something hot next to him.

Keeping the house warm by using the oven and the stove together
I made an amazing soup this morning - for today's lunch - filled with tons of vegetables from my friend Katie, who has arrived in Mnpls by now. Katie, you are completely guilt-free because every single thing you brought me went into that soup. And I added a ton of stuff that was in my refrigerator, too. This will make your tummy rumble...

• Onions and carrots - basically pureed (super minced) since I don't know how to use my food processor very well.
• Celery - sliced since I didn't want to puree it, also.
• Roasted baby turnips and carrots - roasted these in the oven first and then added them to the finished soup
• Kale, chopped
• Spinach, chopped
• Left-over cooked ham steak, chopped
• Leftover top sirloin roast, chopped
• Chicken that was part of a leftover "Chicken, ham and tomato casserole" that also had rice and small pieces of tomato in it. So the meat was chopped up into bite size pieces and then the filling of the casserole went into the soup as well.
• The stock was a mix of organic homemade poultry stock and part of a box of organic stock left in the fridge.
• Lots of water
• Fresh ground salt and black pepper, smoked paprika, and Montreal Steak Seasoning.

It is almost a stew since the pot was so full, but there will be room to add water when re-heating which will stretch it further. I will be freezing some for Katie to enjoy when she gets back, and also taking some over to our friend Penny's house, who is making dinner for us tonight.

Imp is exhausted from a day of bird watching.
For much of the time all three cats were on the windowsill watching the very busy birdfeeder. It's mostly been taken over by Oregon juncos, which will also eat on the ground, so we have scattered seed on the deck to try to free up the feeder so the chickadees can get something to eat. The hummingbird feeder was busy this morning, but then was brought in to clear the snow from the feed portals. Imp has exhausted herself from watching birds ALL DAY (found her on the window sill when first opening the curtain) and unfortunately was not recording when she jumped at a bird in the bamboo on the other side of the glass at about 5 feet in the air and then ended up on the floor behind the couch, looking sheepish. "Instinct overrode common sense."

Please enjoy this video I took with our camera.

Winter Birdland on our Deck

Steve's borrowed some great camera equipment from his dad while he is back in Mnpls, so he has been able to get some great shots of the guests we have visit our deck-bound wildlife habitat. We've seen my favorite black-capped chickadees, junkos, flickers (a type of bug-eating woodpecker, does not damage houses or trees), and an Anna's hummingbird (maybe more than one). Here are some of his best shots.

Yes, happiness is contagious!!

I am happy to say I have a lot of happy neighbors that I see every day. Of course, most of them are out walking their dogs. So I have an additional theory that living with a best 4-legged buddy also increases your happiness! It certainly lets you get to know more of your neighbors! Otherwise who in their right mind would be out walking in freezing temperatures??

Enjoy this video from this morning's Today Show.

Yes! I left the "Light On "

I am enjoying David Cook's new ablum. This last season was the first time I have ever watched American Idol, and he consistently my favorite so it was only right that he won. Steve managed to get his hands on Cook's first album, called "Analog Heart", so I have been enjoying his music for months on my iPod. I am really impressed by people who can create this stuff! Enjoy!