kmkat and her kneedles

Ten Twelve on Tuesday, the to-do edition.

Spring in the Upper Midwest tends to occur one afternoon in May, after which we go directly into summer. The natal season seems to be lasting a bit longer this year but I don't want to take chances. I have altered the time frame a bit.

Ten Twelve Things On My 'Do By The Fourth Of July' List

1. Finish the Big Herringbone Cowl (I haven't blogged about his yet) for Alex.
2. Knit her cabled stockings as requested. I already have the yarn and the pattern.
3. Start DNA scarf for Elder Son. I have the yarn but may need to revamp the pattern a bit.
4. Clean porch so we can eat dinner there every night.
5. Knit another Moebius cowl before I forget how to do it. The first one (not blogged yet) took roughly a day; the second will take longer because I want to make it bigger.
6. Soak some yarn I bought several years ago to see if the dye runs; if not, cast on for the sweater that is in my head. (Also, write the pattern for said sweater. It is based on a scarf/shawl pattern but obviously needs some tweaking to become a sweater.) If the dye leaks, either figure out how to set the dye or figure out a different use for the yarn.
7. Finish Tappan Zee sweater.
8. Clean the entryway.
9. Clear at least half the crappe from my desk.
10. Finish the Noro striped scarf (also unblogged) I started for myself.
11. Do our 2011 taxes.
12. Cast on for another sweater in my head using the 20 balls of Noro Silk Garden I bought for it in, er, April, 2010.

 

 

Ten on Tuesday, the yuk-it-up edition.

Ten Favorite Comedy Movies.

1. Bedazzled (the original, with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore; part of the plot is the
   personification of the seven deadly sins -- Rachel Welch is Lust)
2. The Big Lebowski (well, duh -- y'all know this is my favorite movie of all time)
3. Annie Hall (this was my favorite movie until TBLeb came along)
4. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Smokey and I can recite the dialogue verbatim -- and often do, much to the disgust of Younger Son, who thinks we need some new jokes)
5. Love Actually (is there anything cuter than Hugh Grant or Colin Firth in love?)
6. any Marx Brothers movie ("Make that three hard boiled eggs!")
7. (see #6)
8. (see #6)
   
9. (see #6)
   
10. (see #6)
    

 

Ten on Tuesday, the pin-up edition.

Ten Things Pinned To My Bulletin Board.

1. Property tax bill for real estate taxes due in 2012. 
2. Large lapel button with photo of Elder Son in about tenth grade in his track uniform.
3. Gift certificate to a local furniture/home decor store. I really need to use that.
4. List of women's shelter needs clipped from their newsletter.
5. Spoke card from Younger Son's first No-Hater Rolling Dance Super Bike MegaParty, Friday, October 2, 2009.
6. (Until last Saturday) My Yarnover registration.
   
   My bulletin board has never been hung up; it sits propped against the wall between my computer desk and said wall so gets very little use. I shall continue with things attached to the front of the refrigerator.
    
7. An illustrated card showing the differences between a deer tick and a wood tick.
8. A photo of Younger Son when he was about 3.
9. A postcard from Yellowstone Park.
10. Grocery list, plus a bunch of strips for paper for the next 20 such lists.

 

 

Ten on Tuesday, the after-vacation edition.

Ten Good Things About Coming Home After A Vacation.

1. Sleeping in my own bed again. It may not be perfect (memory foam is not as great as it was proclaimed to be), but I love my bed. It is an adjustable one that we inherited from Smokey's parents and provides the only way I can comfortably read in bed. Given how much I like to read in bed, that is HUGE. I love my comforter, too, and my Very Own Special Down Pillows (although I now take those pillows with me on vacation).
    
2. Having my kittehs around again. This is HUGE as well. Hannibal The Fluffball of Doom is the best kitteh I have ever had, and I have had cats since before I can remember. He is awesome -- super friendly, completely pliable (how many kittehs will let you move them to where YOU want them to be, in the position YOU want them to be in, and not protest nor run away), a most excellent purr, and only sheds black hair, which is way less noticeable than orange or gray tabby fur. Even En Esch The Stoopid is preferable to no kitteh -- he is dependably snuggly and tends to scoot outside at bedtime far less than his brother and so is available for snuggling while I am reading in bed (see above).
   
   
    
3. Using my own computer again. Admittedly, the new iPad may make this less important, but there is something to be said for the computer with the perfect keyboard (yay, Mac!) and good speakers and all my music and a largish monitor and the perfect chair. And not having to make it to a library somewhere when they are open. (We tend to start the day around 3 pm. Or later.)
    

Really, those first two are the main things. I cannot come up with anything else. I used to sort of welcome getting back to a more productive routine, but ever since that 4-week vacation a couple years ago I am perfectly happy to be on vacation.. forever. 

Ten on Tuesday, the happy music edition:

Ten Eleven Songs That Put Me In A Good Mood

1. Old Time Rock & Roll / Bob Seger -- I cannot sit still when this comes on :-)
    
2. Can't Find My Way Home / Blind Faith
   
   
3. Fields of Gold / Sting
    
4. Good Vibrations / Beach Boys
   
   
5. Five Years Time / Noah and the Whales
   
   
6. Shambala / anybody who wants to cover it
    
7. Anything by Queen
    
8. Love Lost / Temper Trap
   
   
9. School's Out / Alice Cooper
   
   
10. Bach Brandenburg Concerto #1 and #2
    
    
11. Big County  / Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
     
12. Don't Look Back / Boston

Lots of others, too many to remember...

Ten on Tuesday: the purse edition.

This week's topic is Ten Things In My Purse. Since I haven't carried a purse, exactly, for several years, I shall tell you Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Things I Carry In Whatever Container I Have Hanging From My Shoulder (backpack, tote bag, whatever).

1. Wallet. I looked long and hard to find a wallet-like thing that has a shoulder strap. That way I don't have to carry my huge tote bag into a store with me. Wallet contains money, credit cards, and receipts.
    
2. Health and beauty department. This is a small zipper bag, about 4"x6"x1" that is stuffed with every personal care item I could possibly need (I dumped it out to take inventory): small mirror, lip balm, tweezers, dental floss, flosspicks, folding hairbrush/comb, migraine meds, toothpaste (but no toothbrush -- what was I thinking? oh, yeah, the toothbrush is in the glove compartment of my car -- don't ask), hand lotion, hand sanitizer, diamond emery board, wet naps, tiny mirror, Tums, breath mints, Alli, bleach/stain remover pen, and a Winchester pocket tool that has a scissors, knife, file, 3 screwdriver blades, a saw, and a bottle/can opener. I am prepared for anything.
    
3. Bottle vitamin C tablets. I carry this with me in the winter just in case I feel the first tickle of a cold when I am away from home. It is vital to start the vitamin C treatment immediately; six hours later is Too Late.
    
4. Bottle of ibuprofen. I take 800mg in the morning and at night, but recently started taking another 800mg at 2 pm. It makes a big difference in my pain level. I even set up an alarm on my work computer to remind myself to take them.
    
5. Bottle of prescription antiacid tablets.
    
6. A set of five nylon shopping bags in their  own tote bag.
   
   
7. Tissues in a knitted tissue cozy.
   
   
8. Mini flashlight.
    
9. Key ring with keys for house and various cars, plus a spare set of keys.
    
10. Lock de-icer.
     
11. Tape measure.
     
12. Eyeglass cleaner kit.
     
13. Emergency knitting kit. I never go anywhere without it, especially since it saved my bacon that time I was stuck in the elevator.

 

 

Did you notice what was absent from my list? Any kind of makeup or perfume or anything remotely frilly-feminine. If I could fit a hammer, a couple full-sized screwdrivers, and a pair of pliers in there without adding any weight, I'd do it.

Ten on Tuesday, the chocolate edition.

Carole has asked us for our ten favorite chocolate treats. Hah! 

Ten Favorite Chocolate Treats

1. Chocolate.
2. Chocolate.
3. Chocolate.
4. Chocolate.
5. Chocolate.
6. Chocolate.
7. Chocolate.
8. Chocolate.
9. Chocolate.
10. Chocolate.

Can you tell I am not particular about my chocolate, as long as it is chocolate?

Ten on Tuesday, the view edition.

Ten Things I Can See From My Favorite Knitting Spot (in order from most favorite to least).

1. Smokey.
2. Smokey's chair.
3. The lake.
4. My iPod dock that plays my audiobooks while I knit.
5. The collection of knitting tools and random bits of yarn and patterns on the table next to my chair.
6. The deck, where the dogs bounce around outside the windows when they want to come back into the house.
7. An assortment of hand-knit and -crocheted afghans on the couch.
8. The television.
9. The fireplace.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
10. Piles of clutter.

 

Ten on Tuesday, the soup edition.

Ten Favorite Soups.

1. Al Quie's Lentil Soup. Al Quie was a congressional representative from Minnesota, 1958 - 1979, and governor, 1978 - 1982. The recipe was included in his campaign literature. I blogged it here.
   
   
2. Cream of broccoli. Whenever I buy fresh broccoli, I use just the tops of the bunch as a vegetable and make soup from the stems. Slice thinly or chop in a food processor; cook slowly in butter with chopped onion until soft. Puree in the blender with some chicken stock. Return to pan, add additional stock and/or milk and/or cream until it reaches the desired consistency; season with salt and pepper to taste. Add a splash of sherry or white wine if desired, ditto a dash of nutmeg. Heat to serving temperature. I cook the broccoli and onion while we eat dinner and finish the soup afterwards. It generally makes one generous or two modest servings.
   
   
3. Cream of asparagus. Same as the broccoli, above, except that I garnish it with some reserved cooked asparagus tips.
   
   
4. Campbell's chicken noodle. Is there anyone in America who didn't grow up with this?
   
   
5. Campbell's cream of chicken. My mother always served me this after a dentist's appointment when I wasn't supposed to chew for a day. (I had terrible teeth and lots of fillings, the result of non-fluoridated well water and an aversion to brushing.)
   
   
6. Split pea with ham. I made up my own recipe years ago,
   starting from the recipe on the bag of dried peas but using pretty much every herb and spice I had in my spice rack (except maybe cinnamon). It's pretty darned good, if I do say so myself. You can duplicate it -- just make regular split pea soup and raid your spice cupboard.
   
   
7. Creamy wild rice. My recipe came from (what is now) here, but it is not on the new site. This recipe at Cook's is the closest I could find; mine also includes 1/2 cup grated carrots, 1 cup of cooked chicken or turkey breast of ham, and is seasoned with ground sage, thyme, and sherry. And mine only has 2/3 cup of Half-and-Half, not 2 (two!) cups. You can find my recipe here.
   
   
8. Corn, zucchini, and tomato chowder. This is a good late summer recipe, when the corn, zuccini, and tomatoes are fresh. Sometimes I add minced clams and substitute some fish stock for the chicken broth and season it with thyme instead of rosemary. (Typepad refuses to let me link to my uploaded recipe. Shout out in the comments and I will email it to you.)
   
   
9. Tomato-fish chowder. The recipe for this one is in the cookbook that came with my first microwave, and that is packed away somewhere. It uses canned tomatoes and chicken broth and chunks of cod. Mmmm.
   
   
10. Vegetable beef with barley. This was the first soup I learned how to make after I moved away from home. When I eventually used a recipe that called for some tomato paste I knew I had found the secret ingredient; up until then the soup always had tallow-y taste from the beef, but the acid from the tomatoes took that away.
    
    
11. Roasted vegetable. This one is soooo easy. Make roasted root vegetables using carrots, onions, and potatoes (and any others you like). When they are done, puree in the blender or food processor. Add broth if needed. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

That's just the winter soups. There are gazpacho and cold cucumber soups for summer. Was there ever a food as versatile as soup? 

Ten on Tuesday, the traditional edition.

Ten Favorite Holiday Traditions.

1. Listening to Alice's Restaurant on Thanksgiving Day. Somehow we missed that one this year. Maybe we will do it on Christmas instead. One year #1 Son spent T'day with a friend and her family who had never heard Alice's Restaurant. He introduced them to the tradition.
    
2. Not having turkey on Thanksgiving or Christmas. I am the only one who likes turkey, so we go non-traditional these days. In the years when #1 Son came home for Thanksgiving we had ribs and sauerkraut. Last year it was enchiladas. One year only #2 Son and I were home, so we volunteered at local church that serves a free will turkey feast. This year it was a beef roast in the crock pot (the meat is nothing special, having given up all its flavor to the gravy, but the gravy is to die for) and roasted root vegies, cheesecake (purchased) with blueberry sauce (homemade).
    
3. Addressing the Christmas cards on the evening before Thanksgiving while the pies are baking. This one was just me and was relatively short-lived, only for a few years in the early 1990s. Then we started writing a Christmas letter instead, and that takes weeks.
    
4. Smokey writes the first draft of the Christmas letter and I edit, add, and insert photos. He is so much more verbal than I, and I am an excellent editor if I do say so myself.
    
5. Taking turns opening Christmas gifts one at a time so everyone can see and admire. I love watching everyone open their gifts.
    
6. Christmas dinner sponsored by a local civic group at a beautiful lodge in the next village over. The boys and I have done that several years. (I used to love to cook, but big holiday meals are too much work for my lazy a$$ these days.)
    
7. Spending Christmas with both sons here together. Who knows how many years we will able to do that? Now we have added BGFE to the mix, and it is better than ever.
    
8. Watching Love Actually. Such a sweet movie that happens to be set at Christmas.
    
9. Not decorating for Christmas. I used to do the whole enchilada -- a lighted wreath on the door, one year a lighted swag around the entrance, the tree, a Christmas village on the mantel, a couple of framed needlepoint nutcrackers (made when I was in my needlepoint phase) on the wall where the clock usually hung, mistletoe in the doorway, electric candles in the all the windows. Now all that work makes me tired just to think about. I hang a wreath on the door and Smokey brings home a poinsettia or two in late November. Some years we have a tree, some years we do not. The tree is still up from last year (obviously an artifial one; prelit and still decorated); I need to blow the dust off it.
    
10. Not traveling far, far away for the holidays. From the mid-80s to the mid-90s we went to Florida for two weeks every year to spend the holidays with Smokey's parents. Some years we also spent part of those two weeks camping in the Keys. Imagine doing all the usual getting-ready-for-Christmas stuff, plus packing for a two-week trip with two small children, plus sometimes also packing for a camping trip. I know it may be difficult for you to feel sorry for anyone who gets two weeks in Florida in the winter, but the whole thing was a lot of work. I loved being there and being with my in-laws and having my children spend lots of time with their grandparents; it was the weeks beforehand that were annoying.

Ten on Tuesday, the colds edition.

10 Things I Do To Care For Myself When I Have a Cold.

1. The most important thing I do happens before I am sick with a cold. At the very first tiny hint -- a scratch in the throat, a tickle in the sinuses -- I start taking vitamin C. 100mg every hour, 500mg or 1000mg whenever I think of it -- dosage depends on what strength of vitamin C I have on hand. This works for me and has worked for nearly 15 years. I know that double-blind studies have debunked it; don't care. It works for me.
   
   These next two are from my nurse husband. 
2. Force fluids. This will help flush toxins from the body. It won't make the cold go away -- nothing will do that -- but it relieves the general malaise.
3. Take aspirin or acetominophen. Same effect as #2, above.
   
   Now it gets difficult. Given #1, I have had very few colds in the  past 15 years, only the ones that snuck up on me when I didn't have vitamin C available. 
4. Go to bed and stay there until I feel good enough to be up. Go back to bed as soon as I feel tired.
5. Have a large box of tissues and wastebasket handy at all times. Puffs are easier on the nose than Kleenex; tissues with lotion are best of all.
6. Eat ice cream. That makes anything better.
7. Drink lots of hot tea. Ditto.
8. Okay, I'm outta here...

One more thing: if you take care of the cold it will last a week. If not, you are stuck with it for seven days.

Ten Five on Tuesday, the Halloween costume inspiration edition.

Ten Five Best Halloween Costumes I Have Seen.

1. A couple costumed as each other, naked. Each wore a beige jumpsuit-y thing. His was adorned with large boobs and fur *down there*. Hers was, ahem, well-hung. They wore trench coats so they could flash others at the party. The best part was when someone commented that her/his, ahem, *package* was not realistically sized. She replied something that implied it was, if anything, undersized. 
   
   
2. My own favorite costume was being Morticia of The Addams Family. It was inspired by a slinky long black dress that I found at Goodwill. I put a temporary black rinse in my hair (which was quite long) and glued on fake fingernails. I went to an inner city K-Mart for the darkest red lipstick and nail polish I could find. The final touch was using some of the lipstick to paint on a dribble of blood from the corner of my mouth. I wore the costume to work downtown; all of us in that office, about 20, dressed up that day.
   
   
3. My boss, a six-foot blond German male, dressed as Peter Pan... complete with tights and pointed cap. 
   
   
4. When I wore the Morticia costume to a Halloween party that year, Smokey went as Castro. He wore his own olive military shirt and jeans, sprayed black dye on his hair and beard, and wore a full face mask. It was hilarious when he would take off the mask... and STILL look like Fidel.
   
   
5. When #2 son was in middle school he had me make him a hooded black robe like the Nasgûl wore in the Lord of the Rings movies (although I read somewhere that the movie robes each had something like 35 yards of fabric; I told him his would NOT have $120 worth of fabric). A sapling he cut in the woods was his staff. The best part was that he had found a deer skeleton in the woods; he strung the rib bones on a necklace of twine and hung a few more from the end of his staff.

I am so lame at this ten thing. Can never come up with ten anything...

Ten on Tuesday Wednesday, the pumpkin edition.

Ten Ways To Eat Pumpkin.

1. Pumpkin pie. Duh. The recipe in the old, old Betty Crocker cookbook with the orange cover; imnsho, THAT is how a pumpkin pie should taste. #1 Son loved pumpkin pie so much that he requested it every year instead of a birthday cake. He savored each bite so thoroughly it might take him half an hour to eat a slice.
   
   
2. Pumpkin cheesecake. Yum. #2 Son and BGFE* are coming up this weekend; maybe I should make one of these... 
   
   
3. Pumpkin bread or muffins.
   
   
4. Pumpkin yogurt. Gaymont used to make a pumpkin yogurt and a lime yogurt; they were my very favorite. I made up my own recipe for the pumpkin one; something like equal parts vanilla yogurt and canned pumpkin, spiced with the same spice combination I would have used for a pie.
   
   
5. Pumpkin seeds. I haven't made these for years, but I remember them as being darned tasty.
   
   
6. As usual, I am running out of ideas long before I hit 10...

I seem to remember, maybe from the Alexander McCall Smith"s Precious Ramotswe books, that pumpkin is a staple food in sub-Saharan Africa. Why not? It is delicious and nutritious and easy to grow. 

* This originally meant Best Girlfriend Ever, but now it means Best Fiancé Ever.

Ten on Tuesday, the weekend edition.

Ten Things I Did This Weekend.

1. Went to Knit Night Orphans at Starbucks on Grand and brought along a knitting friend from work. She loved it.
2. Drove back to Wisconsin afterward. Managed not to get sleepy.
3. Slept in until 10:30 Saturday morning.
4. Picked up two books and an audiobook at the library.
5. Did a spot of grocery shopping (ice cream and brat buns).
6. Cooked brats for dinner, served with deli potato salad and fresh asparagus.
7. Sent Smokey off to work Saturday night.
8. Had a lovely Sunday brunch with friends here. The outdoor furniture is put away for the season so we sat inside. That was actually better; it was uncomfortably warm and muggy outside (Wisconsinites = wimps when it comes to any kind of heat).
9. Did a load of laundry.
10. Knitting all Sunday evening instead of driving back to Minneapolis. I slept in my own bed with my own cat and dog and husband and drove in on Monday morning.

There you have it -- the super-exciting and fun-filled weekend of The Kat™.

Ten on Tuesday, the daily edition.

Ten A Bunch of Things I Do Every Day

1. Brush my teeth.
2. Take my meds.
3. Have a grande-sized latte.
4. Check my email.
5. Read a few blogs.
6. Think about knitting. Sadly, I do not get to knit every day.
7. Play some word games on my iPod.
8. Laugh.
9. Admire my nails. Every summer my soft, weak nails grow longer because the summer humidity keeps them from breaking. Right now they are amazingly long (for me), longer than I have ever been able to grow them.
10. Have a glass of wine and read before I go to sleep.
    
    When I am home at the lake there are a few more things:
     
11. Snuggle the dog.
12. Snuggle the cat(s).
13. Pluck loose tufts of fur from the dog. She has been blowing her coat since July. It is truly amazing that she has any fur left, let alone the thick coat she still has.
    
    And when Smokey and I are both at home the list is even longer:
     
14. Snuggle Smokey.
15. Play online Boggle on my iPod with Smokey. We are killer in that game, although when speldrong (sic; that is her/his screen name) is playing we never come in higher than second.
16. Eat ice cream before we go to sleep.
    
    
     

For your reading amusement, things I do NOT do every day:

1. Shower. Daily showering is highly overrated, especially for those of us with dry skin.
2. Wash my hair. Not necessary to wash it more than every five or six days. We live in the country; it just doesn't get dirty very fast.
3. Comb my hair. If I am not going anywhere that day -- and sometimes even if I am -- my hair may remain uncombed. Lazy = me. 

 

 

 

Ten on Tuesday: the headline edition.

Ten Twenty-One* Headlines From The Year I Was Born.
I couldn't help it; I was having too much fun to quit 

1. South Africa institutionalizes apartheid.
    
2. For the first year ever, no African-Americans are reportedly lynched in the US.
   
   
3. Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind, dies; also Solomon Guggenheim (art collector), Wallace Beery (actor), José Clemente Orozco (painter), Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (tap dancer), and Leadbelly (blues singer)
    
4. Britain recognizes the independence of the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland remains a part of the United Kingdom
    
5. Casey Stengal manages the New York Yankees to a World Series championship over the Brooklyn Dodgers
   
   
6. All the King's Men wins Oscar for Best Picture
   
   
7. Joseph Stalin orders minting of a 100 korin coin to commemorate his 70th birthday
    
8. German Federal Republic (West Germany) established
    
9. Hurricane with 150 mph winds hits West Palm Beach, FL
    
10. The World Cup, scheduled to be held in Brazil, is postponed until the following year
     
11. The Soviet Union vetoes United Nations membership for Ceylon, Finalnd, Iceland, Italy, Jordan, and Portugal
     
12. Newfoundlanders vote for the first time in a Canadian federal election
     
13. Los Angeles receives its first recorded snowfall
     
14. English astronomer Fred Hoyle coins the term Big Bang during a BBC broadcast
     
15. Chinese communist troops take Nanjing
     
16. Helen Keller is named as a communist in an FBI report
     
17. The Institute of Chartered Accountants is established in India I had to include this one.
     
18. A World War II veteran kills thirteen neighbors in Camden, New Jersey with a souvenir Luger to become America's first single-episode mass murderer
     
19. Civil war ends in Greece when the communists surrender
     
20. Squaw Valley ski resort opens
     
21. The Vatican announces that bones uncovered in its subterranean catacombs could be the apostle Peter; 19 years later this is confirmed

Ten on Tuesday: the weekly buying edition.

Carole asked us to list ten non-grocery things we buy every week. I have searched my brain and there is NOTHING I buy every week except parking when I work. In fact, there are weeks when I buy NOTHING except perhaps for something online, and those are never regular, repeating purchases.

Instead I will try to come up with ten non-grocery things I buy every month.

1. Ibuprofen. 800 mg 2X/day for 2 people uses it up pretty fast.
   
   
2. Benadryl. We both take it to sleep.
   
   
3. Wine. I'm gonna count that as non-grocery just so I can get close to ten.
   
   
4. Cat food. Ditto.
   
   
5. Dog food. Ditto.
   
   Okay, now I'm gonna really have to cheat and list things that get charged to my credit card every month.
   
   
6. My TypePad subscription.
   
   
7. Several charitable donations.
   
   Okay, now I am officially out. 

Clearly, I need to shop more ;-)

Ten on Tuesday: the produce edition.

Ten Things To Do With An Overabundance Of Produce

1. Grate the zucchini and freeze it. Zucchini bread will always be welcome in February.
2. Can the tomatoes, either as whole tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, salsa, whatever. 
3. Make jam.
4. Take excess to work and share. Co-workers, at least those without gardens, will be grateful. Unless they have other co-workers/friends/relatives/neighbors who are also sharing the excess with them.
5. Offer it to your local food shelf. Sharing is caring.
6. Feed it to the cat. Of course you have a cat, right? 
7. Feed it to the dog. Ditto.
8. Feed it to the chickens. You do have chickens, don't you?
9. Feed it to the compost pile. If you have a garden, you definitely have a compost pile. If you don't, why not? Compost is black gold.
10. Send it to me. I don't have a garden.

Ten on Tuesday, the bumper edition.

My Ten Favorite Bumper Stickers.

 

 

 

 

I have a friend who has this one on her accordian case:

 

 

For Matthew:

 

 

 

This one works equally well for everyone, whether you are a gun-toting conservative or a tree-hugging liberal:

 

 

I have a coffee mug that says this.

 

 

Particularly appropriate for in Wisconsin these days.

 

 

This has been the signature line on my personal emails for a number of years. I heard it from the assistant librarian in Oshkosh, WI.

 

 

I have this on a t-shirt.

 

 

And now, my two favorites.

Ten on Tuesday, the reading edition.

Oh, boy, books and reading! This will be fun.

Ten Books I Would Recommend To A Friend

1. Winterdance: The Fine Magic of Running the Iditarod / Gary Paulsen. This is my favorite book EVAH! It is funny, spiritual, and amazing.
   
   
2. The Prey series / John Sandford. Best, most intelligent police procedurals I have ever read. Characters and dialog are so real you can see and hear them in your mind. Set in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and regions within driving distance. Start with the first one and read them in sequence because there is real character development.
   
   
3. Emperor of All Maladies : A Biography of Cancer / Siddhartha Mukherjee. I read this recently and found it fascinating. It reads like a suspense novel -- I didn't want to put it down when I got sleepy because I wanted to know what happens next.
   
   
4.  Ripped : How the Wired Generation Changed Music /  Greg Kot. Another fascinating read for anyone who occasionally -- or frequently -- downloads music or obtains it in some non-DRM manner.
   
   
5. The Tortilla Curtain / T. C. Boyle. We read this in my book group several years ago, and it still haunts me.
   
   
6. Five Quarters of the Orange / Joanne Harris. Same author wrote Chocolat. I loved this book, set in rural France during WWII. Have listened to it twice and read it once.
   
   
7. The Song of Fire and Ice series / George R.R. Martin. A Game of Thrones, the first book, is now an HBO series. I have listened to the audiobook -- four of them, very long -- twice. Book five is due out... soon. Medieval fantasy, but with richly developed characters. I adore this series, will probably listen to it again later this year.
   
   
8. The Exception / Christian Jungersen. I wrote a post about it. Have read it twice. Disturbing.
   
   
9. Infidel / Ayaan Hirsi Ali. An Ethiopian woman's story of how she ran away from her homeland and a forced marriage. Author is now a member of the Dutch Parliament.
   
   
10. The Stand / Stephen King. My favorite of all his books.