Thursday Thirteen

Mom loves Black-and-White stuff. I thought we'd show you 13 black-and-white things in our house.

1. The clock in the litterbox room.2. The awesome cat vase (and terrific decoy) given to us for Christymas last year by Daisy Mae Maus.3. Mom loves this African mask.4. The "Op-Art" chessboard Mom made.
5. the checkerboard edge of the painted floorcloth that protects our dining room table.
6. this new little bag Mom made.
7. Mom's favorite mug.8. A photograph by Mom's friend Anne Alt.
9. A drawing by Mim-may.
10. An example of Mom's painted furniture.
11. A drawing Mom did of Mr Karate when he was 10.
12. A wood engraving by Herbert Waters.
13. Me!

Thursday Thirteen - 13 Happy Endings

Mom is hijacking my blog to show 13 of her favorite movies. They all have happy endings. As do most of the movies she buys.

Here they are, in alphabetical order:

1. A Room with a View
2. Bull Durham
3. How To Steal a Million (with Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole. Mom says you GOTTA watch this one!)
4. The Illusionist
5. Monsoon Wedding
6. Mostly Martha
7. The Natural (actually, Mom is NOT a baseball fan)
8. Persuasion
9. Pride & Prejudice (she LOVES Jane Austen)
10. Sliding Doors
11. Shakespeare in Love (well, OK, maybe this one isn't quite a happy ending)
12. The Shawshank Redemption
13. Strictly Ballroom
Of course, there are others, but this is a Thursday 13.


And DMM... perhaps a wager on The Game this weekend? Between my Guys Named Pat and your Bolts?

Thursday 13 - More Damn Snow

We are gonna have MORE SNOW! Mom is sick of it. This is like the third snowstorm in a week. Here are 13 reasons why she doesn't like the snow:

1. It's cold.
2. She has to clear it off the silver macheen.
3. She has to shovel the driveway.
4. It occupies space. The more of it there is, the higher the snowbanks get, and the harder it is to pile up.
5. It makes driving dangerous.
6. It can make stopping impossible.
7. The snowbanks make the street narrower, so it's harder to drive.
8. Lots of beans walk in the street instead of on the sidewalk because it's easier. This makes it even harder to drive safely down the street.
9. The height of the snowbanks make it hard to see little sticky people or even adult beans, and sometimes other cars.
10. The snowbanks make parking lots smaller.
11. The snow covers up the lines in the streets and in parking lots, so people drive where they think the road should be, and park any which way they want.
12. Some sticky people and even teenager beans think it is funny to throw snowballs at macheens driving by.
13. It's cold.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At least the Christymas tree is no longer naked. It is very pretty, and I have set my decoy under the tree.


OK, looking at the Christymas tree, Mom feels "the spirit," so here are 13 reasons she LIKES the snow:

1. It's pretty.
2. It muffles the sound while it's falling, so it makes everything quiet.
3. It covers up the yukky stuff to make everything look clean.
4. It sparkles.
5. Sometimes, when the snow gets packed down by the wind, and the weather is really cold, the snow crunches when she walks on it.
6. Did we say it's pretty?
7. You can go sledding.
8. Mr Karate likes snowboarding.
9. Pip-pay and the Boy like to go skiing.
10. When the snow covers things, it makes pretty snow sculptures.
11. It's fun to watch the snow fall.
12. It really feels like Christmas when there is snow.
13. It's cold.

What can I say? Beans are weird.

Thursday Thirteen plus One

Now for something a little different. Five years ago, Mr Karate came home from college and asked Mom if she could make him a chessboard, because he was learning how to play Chess. She said, "Sure!"

Since Mom goes off the deep end (sorry Mom), she did some research and found out that the size of the squares on the chessboard was supposed to be related to the size of the Chess pieces. Turns out that 2-1/4" was the "regulation" size. So these chessboards are made that way.

She made him a chessboard, didn't like it, and made another. And another. And another. Then she got really hooked. All together she made about 40.

Here are 13 of Mom's favorites. You can click the pictures to biggify.

1.

2.

3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12. (you know how Mom loves Black and White)
13.

So what does Mom do with all the leftover pieces? She makes a quilt, of course:

TT in the Kitchen

Mom watched the Red Sox destroy the Rockies in the first game of the World Series last night. She was no help in my TT blog, so I decided to list 13 Random ingredients she has in the kitchen all the time. I should tell you that I have no interest in any of these. Then again, I have no interest in most of what she's got in her kitchen. Except Beef.

1. Sea salt (she has fine and coarse)
2. Bulghur
3. Panko Bread Crumbs
4. Garbanzo Beans (Canned)
5. Orzo pasta
6. Lemon Curd
7. Wasabi
8. Hoisin Sauce
9. Fresh Limes
10. Popcorn (kernels)
11. Maple Syrup (this is NH, after all)
12. Steel Cut Oatmeal
13. Sweet Gherkin pickles

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things That Are Different Now

1. The big one: Jasmine is gone. I am the Only Cat.
2. That means I am the Alpha Cat.
3. I demand Mom's attention quite a bit.
4. I demand she pet me for much longer periods than she ever used to. It makes her feel better.
5. I demand she pet me more often. Again, it makes her feel better.
6. I purr quite loudly now.
7. I can sit, lie, nap, play, wherever I want; even under the bed!
8. There are no Millie-free zones.
9. There is only one food bowl.
10. All the treats, all the Temp-ta-shuns, are Mine!
11. I jump on the bed in the morning after the squawk box wakes up.
12. I help Mom wake up by demanding to be petted. It makes her feel better.
13. Sometimes in the morning I lie down next to her on the bed while she pets me. You know, it makes her feel better.

Thursday Thirteen & a Recipe

Mom's very distracted with Jasmine and all, so I have decided to lighten things up a bit with a post about her silliness. You all know she likes to cook. Mr Karate calls her kitchen "the kitchen of endless possibilities," because she can make practically anything you want with stuff that's already in it. But she says she can't do anything unless these 13 things are in her kitchen.

Thirteen things Mom -must- have in her kitchen

1. Fresh Lemons
2. Fresh Garlic
3. Fresh Parsley
4. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5. Balsamic Vinegar
6. Dijon Mustard
7. Whole Black Peppercorns
8. Kosher Salt
9. Imported Canned Tuna in Olive Oil
10. Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
11. Capers
12. Fresh Parmagiano Reggiano Cheese (that's Parmesan)
13. Eggs

Personally, I think she's crazy, because there is no BEEF on this list, but what can I say? I'm just a cat.

10:24 PM: Mom wanted to post this recipe, which uses 9 of her 13 favorite ingredients.

Tuna, Lemon and Caper Sauce

1 6 oz can tuna (chunk or solid in olive oil), drained

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

Grated zest of 1 lemon

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

¼ cup fruity olive oil

½ Teaspoon salt (but Mom doesn’t think it needs it)

Freshly ground black pepper

2 Tablespoons capers, drained

¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

1. Place tuna in pasta serving bowl and break it into large bite-sized pieces. Add garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and capers and stir gently to combine. Set aside to warm to room temperature.

2. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain pasta well and immediately add to sauce in bowl. Sprinkle with parsley and toss. Serve at once with Parmesan cheese. Pass the pepper mill. Serves 2

Recommended pasta: 4 - 6 ounces penne rigate, medium shells, rigatoni or linguine

From Joie Warner's No-Cook Pasta Sauces

(Mom says you can add some halved cherry tomatoes, and some olives, and some red pepper flakes. She says you can also add some sun-dried tomato pesto. This is the version she made when she visited the Karate Lady last weekend. She says you could add some canned white beans to any leftovers for a nice pasta salad with beans. Mr Karate makes sure there are never any leftovers.)

Tardy Thursday Thirteen

It's still Thursday, and I am not too late to post a Thursday Thirteen.

13 Things I Am Thinking About Lately

1. Jasmine is still missing the litterbox. What's with that?

2. Mom is not gonna work on Friday, but she will be working on Saturday. I thought it was supposed to be the other way around.

3. It was really hot last night - and September is almost over. I thought the weather was supposed to get cooler, not hotter.

4. Mom is reading two books at the same time. Well, not at the exact same time. She is reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets here at home, and a Dick Francis book on her lunch break at work. I know she likes to multitask, but this might be stretching it, as far as I am concerned.

5. The moon was full last night. I could see stars. Sometimes Mom points out Orion the pin-head. I do not understand. The pins are in the sewing room.

6. There is a planter box full of orange flowers Mom calls Nasty-shams on the porch. They are very pretty.

7. Roxy can be a very naughty dog sometimes.

8. Monty Q has been hiding out behind the couch after he said his mom looked like a beached whale. I wonder if he's got a doghouse back there?

9. I thought TV shows were on one night a week. This week Dancing with the Stars was on THREE nights. More than just a bit of overkill, I think.

10. Then again, Marie's namesake did quite well.

11. Mom has been waiting all summer to see if Sara Sidle got out from under that red car. Now she knows, but I won't spill the beans.

12. Mr Karate and Mom went to see 3:10 to Yuma and she said the crow was awesome. Big whoop. A crow is a big black bird. Who cares?

13. Mr Bellycheck's foolishness notwithstanding, we are still big fans of the guys named Pat.

Thirteen Favorite Pictures

Here are 13 of my favorite pictures. (Well, maybe 12, but Mom made me add one. You'll know which one she made me add.) They're in no particular order.

1. Mom took this picture of Gizzy, without quite realizing she was in it. Gizzy was about 11 or 12 when this was taken, but he looks like a sprightly, young cat.2. Mr Karate and Gizzy. You can tell these two loved each other a lot.
3. The silly picture of Mom and Mr Karate.

4. Gizzy and me.5. Washing my tail.6. Mr Karate tried to take a picture of himself with the little camera on a tripod. He didn't know his face would get cut off. Mom (off camera) thought it would be funny to sprinkle a little flour on him.
7. Gizzy always had to be in the middle of everything. Here he is on top of the quilt Mom was making for Mr Karate.
8. One weekend, Mom and Mr Karate cobbled together one working laptop from two broken ones, then installed Linux on it. They had a lot of fun, as you can see here. Mr Karate has a great smile!
9. Mom caught me drinking from the measuring cup of water in the sewing room.
10. Mr Karate and Gizzy loved to play together.
11. This is the fambly, taken at Mim-may's birthday celebration dinner last month.
12. This is Jasmine, doing an upside down Full Monty with a twist.13. And this is the picture of Gizzy Mom likes so much. She's had it hanging on the wall of her office at her day hunting gig since she took it when Gizzy was about 1 year old.

You can click any of the pictures to biggify.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things Mom Has To Do (for Me)

1. She has to get my website back up. (It expired.) Now she has to UPDATE it! It is here: DarlingMillie.com.
   
2. She has to renew my domain registration (darlingmillie.com)
   
3. When she gets the website back up, she has to set up a Paypal shopping cart so the Babybean Raffle can get going. (She wants to get that set up A.S.A.P.)
4. She has to make the Babybean Raffle Quilt.
5. She has a bunch of other Gizzy Quilts to make. (I hope those cats will not mind if Mom makes Babybean's Raffle Quilt first)
6. She has to get the shopping cart set up for the Holiday Gizzy Quilt Sale, which will happen on Sunday September 2 at Noon Eastern time.
7. She has to help me post my Proverb. (I finally figured one out)
8. She has to help me with my NOMSS friend post.
   
9. She has to help me with my Schmooze blog. (I never thought of myself as a schmoozer)
10. She has to do the dishes. (It has been so hot she has been ignoring them. But it really makes it hard for me to jump onto the counter...)
11. She has to bring me to the v-e-t for my annual Rabies shot. (she has to catch me first!)
12. She has received an order for the 100th Gizzy Quilt! Do you remember what that means?
13. It means that Sammy and Miles Meezer will be getting their Gizzy Quilt for Free!
    

Thursday Thirteen

It's so hot, everybody is trying to spend as much time as possible in rooms that are as cold as the icebox. Since everybody's in the icebox already...

Here are 13 Full Monty Variations. One of them will probably be the one I submit to Monty Q's Do the Q contest, but I still haven't figured out which one. Maybe you can help me choose.

1. Cooling off
2. Showing my stiches
3. A little bit risky
4. This is wacky

5. Who, me?6. Curled up Q
7. Stayin' Alive
8. Hangin Out
9. I got my eye on you
10. You lookin' at me?
11. I am quite comfortable, really.
12. Sideways
13. Beauty Pose