Well, it is now confirmed. I have some very smart blog readers. Thanks to everyone for telling me about the swallows. Since they eat flying insects, I’m going to let them stay. Eggs have most likely already been laid, and I don’t want to disturb them. Once they leave, I’ll probably knock down the nests, because they are right above the door to our shed, and stuff is dropping, and by stuff, I think you know what I mean. That wouldn’t be a huge problem, after all, I dodge chicken poop all day long since our chickens are spoiled and get to free range around the entire yard, but this is over a door I walk through several times a day, and I don’t want to be pooped on. Also, it’s still kind of creepy when they come pouring out of their nests and circle around and around above me. Silly birds, I was here first, and if I bug you so much, maybe you shouldn’t have built you little swallow colony above a door I go through several times a day. Doh! Also, there is a lot more bird poop on my car, and I think we all know who to blame that on as well.

Let’s change the subject, shall we? Sheesh, it was hot this weekend, well over a hundred on Saturday, and today a much cooler 98 or so. One good thing about summer, at least, is all the delicious fruit. So I made a lovely, cool fruit salad. This is a great recipe, because it works with whatever fruit you have on hand. I’ve made it with all sorts of different combinations and it’s always delicious. The only things you really have to have are oranges and fresh mint.

Today’s version had strawberries, red grapes, nectarines, and a french-kiss melon that I got at Trader Joe’s. It looks like a small cantaloupe, and it was so sweet and delicious. So here’s my fruit salad secret: cut the peel off an orange, so there’s no white pith-y stuff left, and hold it over your fruit salad bowl while slicing out each section, again, leaving the white membrane in between the sections behind. Once all the sections are cut, squeeze all the juice out of what’s left of your orange. Then chop up some fresh mint and toss everything gently. It’s just perfect. I’ll be eating lot’s of variations on this theme all summer long.

I managed to get a couple more curtains done, but my sewing room is our little guest house, which has no air conditioning, so I didn’t make as much progress as I had hoped. Instead, I decided to start on something cool and cute to wear.

Inspired by this smock/dress from Noa Noa (and really everything on their site is so pretty and inspiring), I got some white cotton/linen on sale at JoAnn and this pattern (view D), and thought I’d add a little embroidery to the front band, and make it wider. So I sat in the cool, air conditioned house, and did a little stitching with red perle cotton.

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The next step in The Great Living Room Project ™ is underway, although
there were a few hiccups. Speaking of hiccups, Winston gets them all
the time. Should I be worried about this? They only last for a minute
or so, but I’ve never known a dog to have the hiccups so often.

Anyway,
back to the GLRP. I started on some curtains. I’ve had this green
fabric for quite a long time, and I wanted to pair it with some nice,
light, white to keep things bright and sunny. I picked up a pair of
sheers from Ikea for $9.99, thinking they would work well and be
economical to boot. I also originally thought that they would be cute
with long, skinny tied tabs and then I realized that for three windows,
with two panels each, I’d be making skinny ties for the rest of the
year. So, I made one curtain, minus ties, and my economical solution
was economical for a reason. The fabric from the Ikea curtains was too
light, and the grain was way off, so it was a big pain to cut out and
then it didn’t hang right. Back to the drawing board. I have some
natural linen, which I will be using to slip-cover the wing chair, so I
decided to try that. Unfortunately, it was slightly narrower than my
green fabric, of which I was using a full width for each panel, so I
had to piece it together, and I didn’t even have to sew it to the green
before realizing that it was way too heavy and where I had to seam it was just way too stiff. So, on to the next option.
I had a couple pieces of a nice linen-cotton blend. Again, I had to
piece it, but it’s light enough that it doesn’t affect the drape of the
fabric at all, and it’s heavy enough that it works well with the green.
So, I think we have a winner. Two panels are done, except for the
hemming, and the rest are all cut out, so I may try to get one done
each evening.

So, yeah, it’s quite green. I don’t care though, I like it. It’s a
Susan Sargent fabric, from the same line as the fabric on my sofa, so
it works. I’m violating my self-imposed blog rule of no photography of
wrinkled items, but I still have to take them down for hemming, so I’ll
press them all nicely then, and with the morning sun coming through, it’s too dark to see the wrinkles anyway. Eventually I also want to make white canvas
Roman shades for each window. I also need to figure out something for
the window on the front door. Probably something plain and white. I sure wish I could remember where I put my switch plate cover thingie. I’m sure it’s somewhere very safe.

I don’t know if any bird experts read my blog, but we have a bit of
an infestation of these little birds. They’ve built little mud nests
under the eaves of our shed, which isn’t a huge deal, but there seem to
be way more birds than nests. There are about 5 or 6 nests, with more underway:

We’ve also found three of them dead in
various places, and it doesn’t seem to be the work of the dogs. Bear
has caught a few little critters in his day, and he enjoys playing with
the corpses and then swallowing them whole (gross, I know, but he’s a
bird dog and an excellent rat catcher, so what can you do?), and we’ve
found the little bodies, completely undisturbed in the middle of the
driveway, where he surely would have found them. I don’t mind a nest or
two, but it’s getting a little creepy how many there are, just flying
around. I’m wondering if I should knock their nests down, so they’ll go
find somewhere else to live. We were thinking that maybe they used to
live in the tree that was cut down last fall. But there are lots of
other trees where we live, so it’s not like our shed is the only
option. Does anyone know what they are? I’m just not sure what, if
anything, we should do. I tried to get a picture of them all flying around when I get close to the shed, which is not easy, but here are a few of them:

They don’t look so creepy there, but trust me, it’s kind of creepy.

Okay, next topic. I did a little cooking this weekend, and have
perfected a wasabi cream sauce, which is so tasty over seared tuna.
Actually, perfected is perhaps a little too grand of a term, I just
took a little sour cream and added some stuff, mixed, tasted, adjusted,
and tasted again. Anyway, if you like sushi, you might enjoy this:

Seared Tuna Steaks with Wasabi Cream Sauce

2 4-5 ounce Tuna Steaks, very fresh!
1/4 c. sour cream
1/2 t. wasabi paste (you could probably use wasabi powder as well)
Juice of 1/2 a small lemon
1-2 t. soy sauce

Make the wasabi cream: mix together the sour cream, wasabi, lemon
juice and soy sauce. Taste and add more soy sauce or wasabi if
necessary. Add a teaspoon or two of water and stir. It should be just a
little runny.

Season the tuna steaks with a little salt and a lot of freshly
ground pepper. Sear for a minute or two on each side. They should be
quite pink in the middle still, although not cold. Slice and drizzle
with Wasabi Cream sauce to serve. If you’re squeamish about rare fish,
or you question the freshness of the fish, it would probably still be
quite delicious if you cook the fish through.

We had this last night with some steamed sugar snap peas and this cold noodle salad from hello yarn and it was all so very delicious.

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I promise this post isn’t going to be only about dogs, but Keri said I could post a picture of Winston every day, if I wanted to, and odd dotty wanted to know more about the animal photography lecture I went to, and I aim to please. So first, here is Winston pouting again, because I’m not paying attention to him. That dog works himself into a frenzy when I get home from work every night. Actually, he gets nearly as excited to see me when we’ve been apart for five minutes. I can’t even go to the bathroom in peace if he’s in the house. Tomorrow I have to leave from work to go to my mother-in-law’s house and won’t be back until Friday. I’m a little worried about how he’s going to handle that. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to bring him along, but I don’t think his hyper-activeness will be appreciated since I’m going to take her in for cataract surgery, and he’s never been there before. I’m sure he’ll survive for two days, right?

As for animal photography, let me just start by saying that this is how most of my pet photos turn out.

It has it’s own sort of charm, I guess.

Here are some things I learned (and some of these really apply to any kind of photography, and a lot of them are really just common sense):

1. Be patient! Don’t expect to have a 15 or 20 minute photo session with your pet. In fact, just shoot for a minute or two at a time.

2. Let the animals get used to you and your camera. Just have your camera out and press the shutter a few times to get them used to the noise. This is helpful with especially shy or nervous animals, or animals who aren’t used to cameras. If you want to shoot your pet in a particular area, hang out in that area with some treats or toys so that they become interested in that area on their own. Then, once they are comfortable there, start taking pictures!

3. Try to always work in natural light. Animals, even more so than people, get terrible red-eye when you use your flash. If you must use a flash, then an off-camera flash with a diffuser is the best option.

4. Get down at your pet’s level. Trying to see things from their perspective makes for much more interesting shots. Also, try to capture their personality by photographing them doing what they do most. I’ve noticed that most of my photos of Lucy are taken when she comes to check out what I’m doing. I know cats are curious in general, but she always has to know what’s going on. I don’t have as many pictures of Petey, because he’s either sleeping or zooming around, bouncing off the walls, which brings me to the next tip:

5. Learn how to shoot in ‘Action’ mode. Unless I want a bunch of pictures of a sleeping Petey, I’m going to have to learn how to do this.

6. Take lots and lots of pictures! You’re sure to end up with a few good ones.

Any other ideas/tips would definitely be welcome, or links to your favorite pet photos. Please share in the comments!

And for you non-dog people, I also like taking pictures of flowers:

I also have a healthy eating report! This picture is not super great, but this meal was pretty tasty:

It’s Thai-style Halibut with Coconut Curry Broth, and it’s from this book, which I mentioned before. It was super easy and delicious, and I will definitely be making it again. In fact, I think I’ll make it tonight, but with vegetables instead of fish. Another favorite from the same book is Greek Style Stuffed Peppers, which we’ve made quite a few times, but using ground turkey instead of ground beef. I’ve also been making a healthier version of Shepherd’s Pie, I’ll share that recipe next time, if anyone is interested.

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This picture has nothing to do with anything, I just walked out this weekend and saw this sight, and it cracked me up. Why were the chickens lined up on the steps? I have no idea. They were just hanging out.

I don’t know if anyone really wants to read about my healthy eating
quest, but there were a lot of comments on the vegetable post the other
day. I’m not sure what that means, however, as the comments, mostly by
my family members, quickly degenerated into talk of um, er, bodily
functions. I’m also not sure what that says about my family. Anyway,
I’m going to continue to talk about the healthy eating thing, because
it’s my blog and I want to.

I’ve found myself at that awkward stage, where I’ve lost a few
pounds, and my pants are getting too big, but I don’t quite fit in the
next size down. It’s a dilemma, a couple pair of my favorite pants fall
down a little too much for comfort, and I may be risking plumber’s
butt. I think I’ll put in some waist darts in the meantime. Sadly, I
haven’t lost enough that people have commented or asked if I’m losing
weight. That will be a happy day when that happens.

All that was to say that I’ve been trying to find ways to add more
vegetables to my diet. I actually like vegetables, but you can only eat
so much steamed broccoli. It’s nice to have a little variety. One of my
favorite vegetable inventions is this version of fried rice. It’s very
satisfying, and packed with vegetables, and doesn’t actually have a lot
of rice. It’s also really versatile, you can substitute whatever
vegetables you have in the fridge (or even in the freezer), the main
thing is to finely chop or shred whatever you decide to use.

Super Vegetable Fried Rice
This is about 3 servings
All measurements are approximate

One large carrot, shredded
One medium zucchini, shredded
One small onion, diced
4-5 mushrooms, thinly sliced
A couple baby sweet peppers, thinly sliced (I used yellow and red)
A handful of snow peas, sliced on the diagonal
A small broccoli floret, finely chopped
A handful of frozen peas
A couple handfuls of fresh baby spinach leaves
2 eggs
A cup of cooked brown rice
A drizzle of canola oil
A
few tablespoons of ponzu sauce (a kind of citrus-y soy sauce, found in
the Asian foods aisle), if you can’t find ponzu sauce, soy sauce will
do, maybe add a dash of rice vinegar and lemon juice
Chili Sauce to taste (I like a little spiciness, but you don’t have to add it if you are not spicy like me)

Heat the oil in a wok or skillet, and start adding the vegetables,
the hardest ones first (carrots, onions, peppers). Stir occasionally.
Keep adding until all the vegetables, except the spinach are in there.
Meanwhile, beat the eggs and scramble them in a separate pan. Once the
vegetables are cooked and softened, but not soggy, add the rice,
spinach, and then some ponzu sauce and chili sauce. Heat through (I
prefer my spinach just barely wilted, which is why I add it last). Once
it’s seasoned to your liking, add the eggs. Stir it all up one more
time, and eat. You can also garnish it with some thinly sliced green
onions and/or fresh cilantro. I sometimes make it with sauteed chicken
or shrimp, but you can add whatever kind of protein you have at the
moment. It’s also pretty filling just the way it is. I like this
because the ratio of vegetables to rice is really high, probably about
3 to 1, but shredding and chopping everything makes it all very similar
in texture, so you still feel like you’re eating lots of rice, even
though you’re not really.

I’ve been looking around for food blogs that focus on healthy foods,
but I haven’t had a lot of luck. I really like Noshtopia, which I found
the other day. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

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I don’t mean for this to turn into a health food blog, but I was at my local Jimbo’s Natural Foods store, and I found myself in the produce section. I don’t hang out in this part of the store very often, because their produce is typically outrageously expensive, even for organic. I usually stop in on my lunch hour for a good bowl of soup, or something from their deli. Somehow, however, the other day I wandered over, and I just started drooling over everything they had. Produce gets a little boring in the Winter, even in Southern California, which I guess contributed to my gleeful reaction. Also, some things were just so pretty, I knew I had to photograph them (and then eat them, of course!).

This alien-looking vegetable is called Broccoli Romanesco, and supposedly it tastes more like cauliflower than broccoli:


I love the chartreuse color. I plan on cooking it up tonight, so I’ll give you my verdict then.

Mr. Heylucy loves radishes, and I think these French Breakfast radishes are the  prettiest I’ve ever seen. Of course I had to get him some. They are supposed to be good eaten with butter and salt. That sounds good to me!

The radishes were also to make up for the fact that I also brought home these golden beets. Mr. Heylucy hates beets. He hates them as much as he hates liver, which I also hate, so I can understand his degree of hatred. Maybe I won’t tell him that these are beets and see if he likes them.


I think I’ll roast these with some other root vegetables, and a little olive oil and salt.
It’s like I have a rainbow in my refrigerator.

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I think I’ve figured out part of my lack of creativity problem. It’s all this healthy eating. It takes a lot of time and imagination. I’m not sure how to photograph healthy food so that it looks good, but these two meals really were delicious:
 

I made some vegetable sushi for lunch one day, and then the other night, for dinner I had some mashed yams, sauteed bok choi and spinach, and stir-fried chicken and mushrooms with a little ponzu sauce. I totally made the recipe up based on the contents of the refrigerator, but it was a pretty good combination. I will say, however, that it is not possible to eat mashed yams with chopsticks. I know your day will be much better now that you know what I’m eating. Actually, I have two sources of healthy eating inspiration to share. First, is this book. I just got it, and haven’t made anything yet, but every recipe in there looks really delicious. Second, is this show. I admit, I try to avoid train-wreck realty TV, but an episode of this keeps me from wanting to eat french fries ever again. Caution: there is a lot of talk about poo in every single episode. You have been warned.

I found a knitting project I know I will actually finish in a reasonable amount of time:

I know this, because I made one before. I loved knitting it and I loved the finished product. My mom loved it too, so I gave it to her. Now I want one for myself. The first one was knit in Noro Silk Garden color 87, and this one is color 233. I’m not sure if I’m liking this colorway, but I remember thinking the same thing last time, but by the time it was done I loved the colors, so I’m hopeful. So now I am keeping busy while watching stupid TV. The apron still has no pocket, however.

I should have taken pictures of my molting chickens, but I guess it’s better that I didn’t embarrass them. A few of them looked quite pitiful for awhile there, but I’m happy to report that they have all seemed to grow in healthy new feathers, and look quite plump and healthy again.

The General was looking particularly dapper this morning:

I gave him a glamourous 1940’s screen star glow.   

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