It looks shallow, but in parts it was knee deep–this, 6 days since the last rain–and that’s the height of the tip Bearbear’s ears. So, he was initially a bit resistant; as this was the last of multiple water crossings, he was clearly quite happy about it being over!

Here’s Bearbear and Kiwi:

Here’s Bearbear making sure Maya knows that he’s in charge; she is so patient and indulgent of his Napolean-complex:

Here’s Checkers; he’s quite the determined and curious  fellow:

Here’s Bearbear going after Maya; I know I’m anthropomorphizing, but, Bearbear really has the hots for Maya. He just finds her too exciting.

This is my favorite photo; what a great portrait of 2 great dogs! Maya is looking quite fondly at her human, who was also getting her photo. Kiwi, meanwhile, is about to launch into the weeds and have a salad snack:

Well done, dogs. Bearbear and I look forward to another romp soon. Once I’ve gotten rid of all the weeds and spread a few tons of gravel (not kidding; that is my latest project).

I started my rainy day by making some yummy chocolate chip/dried cherry/walnut scones:

Then I swam laps in the rain, something I don’t get to do too often; and as it was cold, no one was in the pool.

Then I learned a new fiddle tune. I wrote it down, not because I’m note-dependent, but because I’m making myself a tune-book of super tunes I’ve gotten from friends, it’s a tribute I suppose: I’m very lucky in that some great players have shared tunes with me over the years. Plus, some of these tunes I really don’t get to play with anyone around here. So, this helps me remember them. Maybe one day I’ll live in a place where I can play these tunes with someone, or play them at a session. How cool would that be?

Today’s tune is the Leitrim Lilter by Charlie Lennon. This blog is in the public domain, and while it’s unlikely Charlie would ever see it, I just want to apologize to him anyway for my transcription. There’s a tune-book of his that goes with his CD Musical Memories, in which he’s transcribed his tunes, and it’s a given he’d do a much much better job than me in writing down his own compositions! Now that I think about it, I’d like to get Charlie’s CD and book. I’d like to know the story behind the tune.

Then…the day just disappeared. Why does time go so fast? Suddenly it was dinner time. I cooked up some polenta; one part water to one part organic polenta. I brought the water to a boil, slowly poured in the polenta, and stirred at a boil for 3 minutes. Then, off the burner:

I added chopped scallions, garlic, salt and pepper, and 1 Tbsp olive oil and turned it into that pyrex dish above, which I’d brushed w/olive oil:

That baked for 30 minutes at 350. I then washed yesterday’s kale and beet greens from the River Gardens farm stand:

The greens in the colander got dumped into a pot of boiling water, and they cooked on medium-high for 5 minutes. I saved the water the greens were cooked in; I’ll use it for soup or just drink it–it’s not that disgusting sounding, it actually tastes pretty good with a dash of salt and it’s good for you, too! I’ve always done this, but then I heard Michael Pollan talking on CSPAN (yes, I am a dork) about his new food book and apparently this is one of his recommendations, too; so maybe more people are now doing what I’ve always done.

Anyway. The cooked greens I rinsed w/cool water, squeezed a bit, and then tossed them in the wok with a bit of bacon schmalz. Just a tablespoon. But even that was too rich; I think I’ll stick with plant-based fats next time. Here is my rainy day meal: polenta, beet greens and salmon:

I bought some beets and kale, they just fit in my bike bag:

Yum! I’m happy to be biking; like I said in earlier posts, my belly dancing seems to be reducing my back pain so I’m expanding my repertoire of physical activity, moving beyond long dog walks and swimming (which I don’t do with my dog).  Next week I hope to start a bike commute to work a couple times a week (it’s just 6.5 miles one-way) before the heat sets in. If it happens, there will be photos here.

In a move that has me flashing back to my kindergarten ballet recital, I agreed to participate in my belly dance class performance. At least I won’t need a tutu. But I will need a hip scarf; this is the one I’ve picked; it’s sparkly, but it doesn’t make my hips look smaller, and no, you don’t need to see how it looks on me. At least, not yet!

But, if you’re a chicken, it’s a different story. I picked all my lettuce the other day, loaded it into 5 gallon buckets, and gave it all to an administrative assistant at the hospital where I work: she has chickens. Apparently, her chickens were very happy with the–to them–inexplicable bounty.

I picked most of my kale in the other bed, washed, chopped and froze it; it’s aphid-free at this point, and, I must say, extremely yummy steamed and eaten with nothing added.:

The tomato cage is in the bed for nights when there’s a freeze; I just throw an old bed sheet over the whole bed and the cage props it up. Some poppies have self-seeded in the bed, too. There are also scallions and pansy volunteers.

March 15th is about the last frost date in Tucson; then I’ll plant my summer plants: tomatoes, beans, cukes for pickles.

The other reason I haven’t posted much, though, is because last week I got new windows (made by Window Depot, a local business) installed in my house.  I am very home-oriented, and am willing to scrimp and drive an old car with no air-conditioning in order to save money for my house. Here’s a view of one of my old windows, made in the 50s:

Here’s another one. By the way, I can’t stand these windows; most of them don’t open and dust and dirt blew in through the casement cracks.

And, just to make it clear how ugly my windows were, here’s another window that got replaced:

One of the unit clerks where I work told me about a father-son team who’d installed her windows recently; she highly recommended them. Rob and Tom Saunders. They did a super job. Plus, they cleaned up after working, too. That was an unexpected bonus. I came home from work last Tuesday, and they’d popped in the bedroom windows:

The next day, the windows in my sewing room were replaced. The very yucky sills were taken out and replaced, too. You can see why I haven’t gotten any sewing done lately. The sticker on the window is for the 2009-2010 tax credit, which allows me to get 30% of my cost back from the government next year for installing energy efficient windows.

Here you can see my sadly very ignored art quilt reflected in the glass. And the gaping hole that will later in the day be a beautiful window sill.

Here’s the view from the front: 3 of my 8 new windows. Don’t they look great? Plus, they’re cleaner and way more energy-efficient. And they make my home quieter. I’m SO HAPPY. Anyone who wants windows installed, contact me and I’ll forward you Rob and Tom’s contact info. And, they do more than just windows.

Finally….the old windows. I can’t believe I put up with them for over 5 years. Yuck.

But once I get past that, I really enjoy the great competition and inherent ideals of the Winter Games.

It’s been a painful Olympics though, for me as a viewer because NBC’s coverage is AWFUL. At times like this I wish I lived in a more enlightened place with a live feed of all events, no commentary, just a straight feed: like, in Canada.

Instead, we in the States have….NBC….and endless McDonald’s and Walmart commercials.  And almost exclusive tape-delayed coverage of….mostly Americans. Well, Canadians, too. But any other nationality only gets covered if they’ve had a spectacular wipe-out. The commentary is largely patronizing, too. I wish they’d just leave it up to Bob Costas, who’s quite smart.

Enough will be said about one of the most stunning performances at the 2010 Winter Games:  Shaun White’s super-human half-pipe tour-de-force. What probably won’t get the credit it deserves is Shaun’s fun, spirited air-guitar riff at the end of the national anthem during his gold medal ceremony. It was absolutely hysterical. It was like a court jester had hopped up on the podium, doing what jesters do best: poke fun at everything folks in authority take seriously. Finally, for once, someone brought  something other than….traditional dull patriotism to the ceremony. It was really inspired.

NBC cut most of the original full-on air guitar out of their online replay: I guess they found it too embarrassing. Which is too bad because I’m certain Shaun White delivered their highest ratings. You can watch the air-guitar here, but you have to be quick to catch it; it’s at about 4:46 on the clock, during “the land of the free”.  You’ll also have to download a Microsoft video player (if you don’t already have it) and watch a commercial first. I hope someone posts something better on Youtube soon; but so far, there’s nothing worth linking to.

Thanks for the fun and irreverence, Shaun. I need all the laughs I can get.

During a recent Password Audit at the Bank of Ireland it was found that Paddy O’Toole was using the following password:

MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofyDublin.

When Paddy was asked why he had such a long password,  he replied:  ”Bejazus! are yez feckin’ stupid? Shore Oi was told me password had  to be at least 8 characters long and include one capital”