Cat in a Box

Josie Kitty likes to sleep on our dining room table. I know that many people consider that disgusting, but I am just kind of resigned to it since I know she gets up there when we're gone and she's basically an indoor cat. I have a solution of sorts though. If I leave a box on the table, no matter what size it is, she will sleep in it; so that's what I do. Oh! And if you come over for dinner, don't worry I'll change the tablecloth!

Superfluous Sockblockers

I finally got blogger to upload my pictures from yesterday; I think that there was something wrong with my pictures actually because everything worked fine after I re-imported them. I've also added a pic of my sockblockers that I received in the mail today. I've been wanting a pair of sockblockers, not because I see any real need for them but because I like the way they look. I ordered them off of ebay, and I'm not overly happy with them I have to admit. I thought they'd be of a little higher quality. They're supposed to be made out of oak, but they're only oak laminate and part of the laminate is chipped off on the top of one of them. The heart cut-out is a little rinky-dink too. On the other hand, I'm not so unhappy that I would consider sending them back or consider even naming the person who sells them. I had just hoped for a little more, I guess.

I got such a nice email from Julie at Little Cotton Rabbits
yesterday. I'm pretty much in love with her knit stuffed rabbits. They're incredibly cute!! Her "store" is only open like once a month and then everything disappears as soon as it opens. This month I kept checking and checking trying to get myself one of those cute little rabbits, but I missed the change. I emailed her and asked if she ever planned on publishing a pattern book and she said possibly in the future. Don't go to her site unless you want to start obsessing about stuffed rabbits!

Here's a pic of our Mexican Shrimp Cocktail from Tuesday night. Mmmmm, that sounds good to have for supper again.

Wool Socks and 90 Degree Heat

Blogger won't upload my images, so here's a boring post. Actually, I'm not sure that it is 90 degrees outside, but it feels like it, plus I've been miserably hot at school much of the day. Our head of mintenance won't turn on the air conditioning yet because it "might get cold again." Are you crazy??? It won't be cold until next November!! It may get tolerable again, but it WILL NOT GET COLD! So I must find a project that doesn't "clash" with warm weather. Of course, I have every intention of finishing my second sock, but after that, I'm thinking cotton yarn.

I was going to start writing down some of my favorite recipes periodically, but I haven't followed through with that idea. Lat weekend, Paige made Mexican Shrimp Cocktail for us. It's one of my favorite items at a local Mexican restaurant, but it also costs over $10 for a bowl. We decided that we could make it ourselves far cheaper. Paige has further refined the recipe since our first attempt, and I think that she's pretty much perfected it.

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

Ingredients:

2 pounds cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 large cloves grlic, crushed
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup cucumber, chopped
1 tsp. jalapeno, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups Clamato juice
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
several drops hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup prepared horseradish
1 ripe avocado - peeled, pitted and chopped

In a large bowl, stir together garlic, red onion, cilantro, jalapeno, and cucumber. Mix in tomato and Clamato juice, ketchup, lime juice, hot pepper sauce, and horseradish. Season with salt. Gently stir in avocado and shrimp. Cover, and refrigerate several hours. Serve in one large bowl or ladle into individual bowls.

This and That

Where does the time go? I've been busy, and haven't done much exciting knitting lately, except for starting these mock cable socks. I'm not too excited about them. I'm spoiled after using merino wool for my last few projects. I'm using some sock yarn that I've had forever. It feels kind of scratchy.

I've been kind of distracted because I'm considering applying for an English job at our local community college, but I have to have my master's degree finished by August to consider teaching for them even if they do offer me the position. There are quite a few reasons that I'm not sure it''s the right choice for me right now. The first thing on the negative side is that it's a substantial pay cut, as in $15,000. My friend who teaches there now assures me that I'll quickly catch up though. I also enjoy all of the web page work that I'm doing at the high school now, and I wouldn't have much to do with computers there. Finally, I like being at the high school when Paige is there, and Kai will be there in a little over a year too. I can't quite imagine teaching high school when I'm fifty though, and this may be my chance to jump ship, but I'm not sure that the new ship is the one I want to sail on until I retire. We'll see, I guess.

Spring is here! It's been in the 60s and 70s this week, but it was really cold for Paige's first swim meet. Both of her coaches were my students not that long ago...it seems. John is a UCLA grad, and he must be getting close to thirty, but Ashley is only a year or two out of college. She was Paige and Ki's swim coach when they were little, so it's like they've come full circle. Don't they look cold? It was freezing. There was snow on the mountains near us for that meet, and the wind was blowing pretty good. Luckily there was a Starbucks nearby for Russ and me to warm up in for a while.



I was taking pictures of my flowers when our neighbor came over with her new puppy. It's one of those King Charles Cavalier Spaniels. Sooooooo cute! Why doesn't everyone plant daffodils? I only planted the bulbs in February. I had forgotten about them in a box in the garage, and I discovered that they were already sprouting. I think they're so cheerful looking.



Kai doesn't want to swim this year. He'd rather be a football star, but since I've interfered with that up to now, he's going out for track. He ran five miles at his first day of track practice, and didn't seem to mind. So, as you can see, we've had a lot going on.