President Bush's Interview on NPR

Check it out - I can't believe he had such an extended interview with Juan Williams:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7056082

This link will bring you to both the transcript and audio of the interview.

One of my favorite quotes: "I think that the vice president is a person reflecting a half-glass-full mentality." What?

Another Music List - This Time of My Own Making

Here's a mix I created since I wanted to send Innocent Bystander off with a CD - let's see what he thinks. I kinda like it.

1. Nicotine and Gravy - Beck
2. All We Have Is Now - The Flaming Lips
3. Waltz #2 (XO) - Elliot Smith
4. One by One - Wilco
5. Ball and Biscuit - The White Stripes
6. Stickshifts and Safety Belts - Cake
7. Wave of Mutilation - The Pixies
8. Judy and the Dream of Horses - Belle and Sebastian
9. The Sounds of Science - The Beastie Boys
10. All The Love In the World - Nine Inch Nails
11. Yesterday Threw Everything at Me - Athlete
12. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
13. Radar - Morphine
14. Honey Bear - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
15. Hard Way to Fall - Ryan Adams

AArF Gets Some New Duds!

AArF was subjected to much measuring and trying on of the following sweater. Doesn't he look thrilled? Here's a closer look too. I found the basic pattern online - a rib stitch for the neck and back, and a garter stitch for the body of the sweater - just follow the measurements that are given for your dog's back, belly, neck and stance, and you're on your way to a cool sweater. I used Paton's Wool - the basic worsted wool - with size 6 and 8 needles. The pattern called for one color but I decided to spice up the garter stitch with some stripes. You can use any type of stitch for the body - great way to get some fair isle in for your special dog. Enjoy!

In other news, yesterday was -15 degrees with the wind chill. Some flurries this morning, but we still haven't gotten any substantial snow.

Innocent Bystander is headed up to Canada tomorrow as his father is terminally ill and has taken a turn for the worse.

~GAC

AArF was Confused

AArF and I were on our late afternoon walk when he stopped to smell a tree on the sidewalk in front of someone's house (OK, like a good male dog, he stopped at EVERY tree in the neighborhood), and as he started to squat to mark, this cranky old lady flew out of the house and actually YELLED at me, saying, "you'd better pick up EVERYTHING that dog does there, do you hear me?" I told her not to worry, that he was only doing his usually marking and no number 2, to which she replied, "I don't care. Don't be smart with me - pick it up," and she stomped back in the house.

AArF proceeded to bark at her and I guess I was the one who was confused. Does anyone know how to pick dog pee up from the dirt surrounding a tree, or whether or not you are obligated to when a cranky old lady tells you to?

AArF and I will be walking on the other side of the street or we'll be putting a flaming paper bag on her doorstep - we're thinking it over.

In better news, it was snowing last night and we played "catch and kill the snowball" in the driveway. What fun!

~GAC

Five Minutes 'Til Doomsday

The Atomic Clock has been once again pushed up to five minutes before midnight (or doomsday) as the threat of nuclear annihilation is as close as it was during the Cold War. Check out an article here.

And I thought they moved the clock up b/c of the Marilyn Manson/Dita Von Teese split. If that doesn't signal the end of the world, what does?

Maybe Jack Bauer could help out here....

Obama

Coq au Vin from Martha

I made this last night for the second half of the 24 Premiere and it was amazing. I found it in the current issue of Everyday Food Magazine which Innocent Bystander sent me a subscription of. Make this ASAP:

Wine-Braised Chicken

Serves 6; Prep time: 55 minutes; Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Listed as Coq au Vin in cookbooks and on restaurant menus, the name of this hearty French dish may sound fancy, but its simply chicken cooked in red wine.

3 fresh thyme sprigs 5 flat-leaf parsley sprigs 1 bay leaf 3 slices bacon, cut into pieces 12 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs (about 4 pounds total) coarse salt and ground pepper 1 large onion, chopped 6 medium carrots, sliced crosswise on the diagonal into 1/2-inch pieces 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons tomato paste 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups dry red wine, such as a Pinot Noir or French Burgundy 1 can (14.5 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth 1. Using cotton kitchen twine, tie thyme, parsley, and bay leaf into a bundle; set aside. 2. Heat a Dutch oven or 5-quart heavy pot with a lid over medium-low. Add bacon; cook until browned, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain (leave bacon fat in pot). 3. Raise heat to medium-high. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper. Working in three batches to avoid crowding, brown chicken about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; set aside. 4. Add onion, carrots, and garlic to pot. Cook until onion softens, about 4 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and flour; cook 1 minute. 5. Add wine, broth, chicken, and herb bundle. Bring to a boil; cover, and reduce to a simmer. Cook 10 minutes; uncover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove and discard herb bundle; stir in bacon. Note: To bundle herbs, tie thyme, parsley, and bay leafoften used in soups and stewsinto whats called a bouquet garni. Add the bunch for layers of flavor, then remove it before serving.

The New Semester Is Here and I've Finally Posted my Project Pictures

My first day of classes was yesterday. I'm enrolled in Corporations, Criminal Procedure/Constitutional Law, Family Trial Practice, Trusts, and Professional Responsibility. The first three classes I had yesterday and I think Crim/Con is going to be a doozy. Family Law Trial Practice will be very interactive as it is being taught in a mock courtroom, and Corporations, well who knows? All I do know is that there is a master outline that everyone studies from and does very well on the exam. I'll post anything exciting.

Ok, I've finally downloaded pictures of crochet/knit projects and thought I'd post them here for posterity.

Starting with my first crochet project ever - a baby blanket that I gave to friends that told Innocent Bystander that they were going to have a baby the day I started the blanket. It was destiny for the little one. I started it after Christmas 2006 and finished it by mid-January. It's made with a baby soft acrylic so that mom and dad could wash it several times. Simple but satisfying:

And a close-up of the pattern:

Next up is an Amigurumi bunny - although the face is a little simple - hey it was a first try. These are really fun to make and my favorite amigurumi designer is Ana Paula. Check out her stuff after checking out this bunny:

I crocheted a bunch of cool scalloped scarves, but unfortunately I don't have any pictures of them. I'll have to make another and post one online - it's a pattern that uses one full skein of paton's wool from the Happy Hooker crochet book (not to be confused with the other Happy Hooker, Xaviera Hollander). I modified the pattern so that it isn't as long and it's much wider. I also add embelishments to the corners of the scarves, like buttons or jingle bells.

Onto the next pattern, a simple garter stitch scarf that I made with handspun and dyed wool I picked up on Newbury Street. I call it my subway scarf as I made it to and from the library during finals this december. One of my first knitting projects (that I've completed).

Next is a hat that my poor dad was given for Christmas this year. You can find the pattern here. I think it came out quite good as I learned fair isle knitting and knitting in the round on this very hat. No practice runs, I just dove right in. I completed the hat in about 6-8 hours.

Last but not least is a pillow that I made for Innocent Bystander from this book. The C stands for curmudgeon, no, cute - ok not really either of them. The pattern was actually quite easy - reversing knit and purl stitches for the outline around the pillow (hard to see here) and for the letter C. The yarn was from Knitpicks.com and it was 75% cotton/25% wool. The funny part was when I gave IB the gift, I had just packaged up the book, yarn, and needles. The book was a baby book - and I made sure to tell him it wasn't what he was thinking! I think he was rather glad. The pattern is too nice not to make up for big babies as well!

That's it for the projects right now. I just received the new Lion Brand catalog in the mail and there's a really cute felted purse I might try to make. Only two skeins of wool so it fits in with a student's budget.

President Bush will be speaking in less than two hours about the 20,000 troop "surge." WTF is up with that word? It's like, heh heh, the American people are already pissed off at me, so what sort of word could I use to piss them off even more? Oh, yes. Surge. I'll be watching.

AArF is BACK!

After over a month long "holiday" in the country with his "grandparents," AArF is back home and is already readjusting to his city dog life. I'm so glad he's able to stay for such an extended time with my family, as my extremely long days in the library would be less than fair to him.

AArF has been struggling to keep weight on for the past year now and has times when he looks quite ribby. He's started a regimen of prednisone recently and it seems to be helping. We are all keeping our fingers crossed.

More on my holiday knitting projects soon!

~GAC