Status: No longer amused

I am trying (really hard) to be a good gardener and homeowner. But, it's not easy. I just came in from weeding the garden. Not only is it exceedingly HOT out there, but I am COVERED in mosquito bites.

I was wearing mosquito repellent, but the suckers didn't seem to care. Some of the critters actually bit me THROUGH my clothing. And now, I am a sweaty, itchy mess.

I am no longer amused.

However, while we're on the topic of insects, I thought I'd share this interesting little tidbit with you from a fellow blogger, esprout (Sprouted in the Kitchen).

Slow Times on the Blog

As you've probably noticed, we've been a little slow around here on the blog. There are a number of reasons for that.

First off, Peef has had his head buried in accounting homework for the past 6 weeks. After spending hours and hours buried in homework, he FINALLY finished the course off yesterday! So, give him a big round of applause for that one. I, for one, am not really sure how he made it through. I would have been toast after the first week.

We've also been trying to keep up with tasks around the house (like scraping & painting the garage, and getting someone over here to give us an estimate on the garage roofing job). I'm not sure if we'll be able to paint the garage this weekend or not, since there seems to be a threat of rain showers. But, we're hoping to at least get some of the yard chores finished -- like mowing and weeding. Our vegetable gardens are doing great, but they've gotten completely overrun with weeds with all the rain we've been having!

And, of course, we've been cooking.
This week, our CSA brought us a great deal of bounty, including:

• broccoli
• golden beets
• broccoli greens (these are new to us, so we're excited to try them)
• eight ball zucchini squash
• lettuce
• spinach
• asparagus

We're particularly excited about the greens, since we eat so many of them around our house. But, I'm also looking forward to the first zucchini of the season. We haven't had zucchini since last summer (we try not to buy it out of season), so it's going to be a real treat.

It Always Gets Worse Before it Gets Better

We've been making excuses for our garage for years.
"Shabby Chic" we've called it. "Charming." "Quaint." "Well-used."

It's time to stop fooling ourselves. So, this weekend, we got to work scraping paint. And we were at it for at least 10 hours before we finished.

We were exceedingly pleased with our work. Now our garage looks twice as bad as it did before. And it's all our fault.

7 a.m.....................................7 p.m.


7 a.m. ...................................7 p.m.


Now, let's pray that the rain holds off for a while so that we can get it primed and painted.

Coffee Buzz

I had an exam this morning, and when I finished, I decided to drop by Lo's office for a bit o' joe. This resulted in the following:



Mmm.. this is Lo chiming in. At a slightly higher level.
But, then again, I have the rest of the pot of coffee right next to my desk.

Local Eating Resources for WI

As the weather warms up here in Wisconsin, we always get re-energized in our quest to find more local eats. No, you won't find a local source for avocadoes or pineapples here. But, we have access to some pretty good stuff. And here's proof.

This cool interactive map was created by students at UW-Madison. It shows food producers, restaurants, farmers' markets, and other food resources within a 100-mile radius of Madison, WI. Good stuff here, guys.

• Another great resource is the Farm Fresh Atlas, which includes nearly 100 local farms.
• Thanks to Amy over at Daily Diner, I also found a great listing of local sources for pasture-raised meats at Eat Wild (I've pointed you at the Wisconsin farms, though they provide information for farms throughout the states and Canada).

What great resources for people interested in trying to eating locally -- especially in these northern climes!

Wisconsin Foodie?

Has anyone caught this show airing on WISN (channel 12) in the Milwaukee area? Is it still running?

Wisconsin Foodie aired for the first time in May, 2008 -- and is set at the Milwaukee Public Market. We've not caught an episode yet, but it seems like something that would be right up our alley. Their focus is on local food attractions, and it could definitely have potential.

Cats Have Hobbies Too!

Can I just vent here for a moment?
I'm really tired of humans acting all surprised when they find out that us cats have hobbies. Just the other day, Lo took this picture of me (I'd just finished up submitting my latest article for Jewish Feline magazine when she came around)... and you should have heard the hooting and hollering that went on at our house as she described my (apparently) hilarious behavior to Peef.

Seriously, folks. You humans lock us up in your homes and expect that we're sitting around doing nothing? What do you think we do all day while you are off galavanting out in the world? Sleep?

Well, I'm here to let you know that it's simply not true. We spend our time doing any number of interesting things. I, for one, spend my time studying the Torah (and I have become quite the guru in my own circles). I also enjoy writing in my journal, mastering the human language, and teaching Izzie Cat not to act so neurotic. I'm not certain I'm being terribly successful with the latter, but I'm hoping for a breakthrough very soon.

Speaking of crazy little Izzie, she spends most of her time doing odd things that will eventually earn her a place of honor at I Can Has Cheezburger. But, she keeps a pretty good cover while Peef and Lo are around. Yesterday, they caught her balancing precariously on the edge of one of the wicker chairs in the turret, but I don't think they suspected anything.

Yoyo has a modeling contract, the terms of which are often somewhat difficult to manage since she can't work outside the house. But she manages quite well by posing in the front windows. For such a young one, she really does keep herself quite busy.

Believe it or not, even Zoe spends her free time productively. Her hobbies include knitting blankets for homeless outdoor cats, teaching herself Engrish, and (more expectedly) plotting Yoyo's demise.

For those of you who have been frustrated by the ignorance of humans, I'm here to tell you that you're not alone. I also have a few words of encouragement. Take heart, my feline friends. It's probably just as well that no one suspects that we are productive members of society. It's far easier to get things done when the humans leave us alone.
Signing out for now... elmo