Sizzling Peppers Sunday

Yes, the peppers I have under the broiler are sizzling ...

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Larry Kelley, proprietor of "Only in the Republic of Amherst" blog was nice enough to loan some  of his photographs so I can show you some of our fall splendor.

Larry is very proud of his photography, as he should be, but also is proud of the fact that he has become very skillful with a drone camera. So you will see views of Amherst and the area that you have never seen before!

Above: North End of Downtown Amherst, photo by L. Kelley
The cylindrical building on the upper right is the Amherst College observatory. The brick buildings are also part of "The College." The cranes in the rear are from new dorm construction for Amherst College.

Above: West Cemetery, photo by L. Kelley

West Cemetery is where Emily Dickinson was buried. She died in 1856.

Above: Amherst Town Hall on the R with Clock Tower, photo by Larry Kelley

I would tell you who designed the Town Hall but I sure couldn't get it with a simple Google search. (I did get Larry's blog!)

The steepled grey church on the right is Grace Episcopal Church. The orange trees are in the north section of the Town Common. 
Supposedly, residents of Boston can still graze their cows on the Boston Common. I haven't heard that about the Amherst Town Common, but it is where they hold the Farmers' Market in the summer and early fall.

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Finished up my cooking for lunches. I still have to work on breakfasts and snacks. Sigh.

I love the two-compartment containers that I got on a Groupon. Yes, I know there are more than 5 -- some are leftovers that will be for suppers. That way I can just heat up when I get home. (Or not. It depends on how tired I am. It takes a lot of energy to run a microwave!)

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In between laundry today, I finished up the yarn I had from work. No more knitting for me! We now have patches that cover about a desk-sized area. Someone has to attach them for our community blanket at work. I can't wait to see it!

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Last night, Emily and I went to the Calvin Theatre in Northampton to see/hear Mike Birbiglia (comedian). He was really funny and we laughed a lot. I had heard most of his act when Emily got tickets to see him in Boston. But that was fine -- the jokes were still funny. 

His warm up act was great too. He was a guy named Joe Fish and he said, "I'm 43 and still not married. I expected to be divorced by now." 

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I notice how none of you reacted when I posted the thing about Rh negative blood -- which insinuated that we come from alien stock. As in space aliens. I thought that was pretty funny, actually. It could explain a lot of things.

I often don't understand others. To me, they are the aliens!

I just picked up my cell phone and it said, "Finding location." Since the phone has been in this house for two days straight, it made me wonder. Was it noticing that it's in the kitchen and not the living room where I charged it last night? Or was it missing the bedroom because I had used it as an alarm this morning? And there's another message saying, "Voice mail: sorry we ran into a problem, please try later." There is no voice mail and I can't get rid of that foolish message. This is because I'm an alien, isn't it?

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I was gratified to see that CBS Sunday Morning ran an opinion piece saying people who swear are more intelligent than those who don't. The woman (I didn't get her name) had read reports on the subject so it wasn't solely her opinion. At one point we had a swear jar at work and put in a quarter every time one of us slipped.  After this piece on TV, I think they should pay me if I swear.

The jar has gone away -- we have learned to curb our tongues -- and save it up for when we are alone in the car. So if you see me driving by and the air is my car is blue, you'll know why.

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Speaking of car colors -- what is it with auto manufacturers? I was looking at a Honda Accord and it's called "obsidian blue." When you look at it in real life -- in full sunlight-- it looks black. I have a friend with an "eggplant" colored car. It looks black. I saw a blue that I liked on a Fit -- and that's the only model (a little coupe) that has that color. It looked like blue. You would recognize it as blue.

I looked at a Honda Accord that the saleswoman said was grey. Turns out, it was green. It looks like grey -- with green undertones. Way back in 2005 when I bought my current car, the color was listed as "desert mist." Yesterday a woman called it gold. A friend calls it beige.

Why can't they call the colors red, maroon, green, blue, etc. and you know right away what color it is? I don't want to buy a car that I have to continuously explain, 'It's really blue and it only looks like it's black.'

Yes, I'm searching for a new used car. I'll get either an Accord or a Camry with about 30,000 miles on it. Since my 2005 only has 78,000 miles, I think I'll be o.k. with some starter mileage. The prices are much better than new.

And, no thank you, I don't want any more advice. :)

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I assume you know I am very proud of both of my daughters. (I try to keep it in check!) Emily is an independent Jamberry representative and in the spirit of giving back to the community, she is filling bags with goodies for two organizations. One is the nurses at the Cooley Dickinson MGH Cancer Center in Northampton (a friend goes there for chemo), and the other organization is Dress for Success in Worcester. They provide suitable work clothes for women who are interviewing for jobs so they can be independent.

The gift bags will have useful and caring items (it's different for the two groups). But there will definitely be chocolate for the nurses!

If you would like to donate money to the cause, let me know and I'll put you in touch with Emily. 

It's time for supper. Ciao!

I Couldn't Resist Reprinting This Article

Studies conducted on rhesus negative blood types show that they are missing the Rhesus factor, a protein substance present in the red blood cells of other humans.

Theories suggest that people with Rhesus (RH) negative blood may be from outside this world.

Others suggest they are fallen angels from the heavens above or they belong to an alien race from somewhere in the vast darkness of space.

What is clear is that those who have with Rhesus (RH) negative blood are different and unique.

A person who has RH negative O blood is able to serve as a donor to any person regardless of their blood type. But if they need blood, only their own type will suffice.

They represent 15% of the human race and are mostly from northern Europe.

The four common blood types of today include A, B, AB and O. The differences between each blood type is dependent on the proteins in the blood, but when it comes to RH negative blood types, which make up about 10 to 15 percent of the population, they don’t have these proteins.

The question that is on the minds of scientists now, is where this group of RH negative blood type people originates from. Looking back about 35,000 years, scientists believe that the blood type is linked to specific tribes and groups. Europeans have the greatest incidence of this blood type, but only 3% of African-Americans have it, and only 1% of Asian people have it.

Some common characteristics of people with this blood type include having a higher IQ, having a lower body temperature, having more awareness (physically and emotionally), having red hair, being sensitive to heat, and having blue, green or hazel colored eyes.

This blood type is shrouded in even more mystery when we look at pregnant women. RH negative women who become pregnant have difficulty delivering a baby with an RH positive blood type, as their bodies naturally attack and try to kill the fetus. Thus, they are given a special sterilized solution. (Anti-D or  RHo (D) immunoglobulin)

But, why would the woman’s body attack the offspring it’s been helping give life to?

This is where a relatively new theory comes in and suggests that it’s possible alien life has influenced this blood type. What’s even stranger is that almost every person who has reported being abducted by (or interacted with) aliens has the RH negative blood type.

It’s certainly very possible that aliens visited our planet, as they’ve done for centuries, and somehow tooled around with the genetics of mankind. After all, history from all over the world has shown time and time again, through ancient texts and depictions, that we’ve been visited by beings not of this world.

What do you think about the blood type that is missing a key link to evolutionary humans? Could it be that some of us have alien blood running through our veins?

Source: YNW  http://www.theearthchild.co.za/people-rhesus-negative-blood-may-aliens/

Mom and I are Rh negative.  

It Has Begun

Fall, that is.

These colors are in my neighborhood, but it's raining today, so I don't think there are more colors. I'll keep you posted.

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There has to be something out of whack when someone pays $1.2 Million for a baseball playing card -- when we have people with no food.
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Above is Zachary's quilt. YaoYao said they like it! I designed it -- some of those squares are very little pieces. It's hand quilted. 

Here's the back of the quilt (polka dots).

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I don't know about you, but for me, time speeds by as if I'm on a bullet train in Japan. Consequently, I don't remember when this was (the week before last, I think). Sharon, my boss, pictured here took me with her for our version of postering at UMass. They have a wonderful Community Foundation where employees can designate an amount from every paycheck that is donated to the cause/charity of their choice. We do have some wonderful patrons who currently do this. Yes, that's Sammy the Owl with his construction hat on and the display shows our proposed renovation and expansion plans.

Almost everyone who said they use the Jones Library talked about how they like the staff. That was really gratifying -- particularly since they didn't have to say that! We had a good time although it is pretty tiring to be "on" for 4 hours.

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I went to pick up a friend's mail yesterday. Look at what was on her front lawn. I used the business sized envelope to show you how tall the 'shroom is. The neat pie shape was already out of the top -- I think it split on its own.

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We had had a long week at work, so on Friday morning, I brought Scotch Eggs for our coffee break. Sharon said "Yuck!" but Lisa and Roxanne seemed to like them. Personally, I think it's one of those things that looks better than they taste.

I liked the low carb blueberry muffins better! I had just baked them.

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I painted a new tote bag! 

This is my rendition of Cezanne's Pears on a Chair. No, I wasn't drinking. But I did have a good time!

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On Tuesday night, I went to a Church Council meeting. On Wednesday night, I painted the tote bag above. On Thursday night, Lisa and I hosted Trivia (the last one) at the Library. Add a Trustees' meeting which included a mean-spirited argumentative person, and my energies flagged.

Additionally on Wednesday, I had drilling and the beginning of a new crown. The dentist put a temporary crown on. It fell off yesterday (Saturday). I don't know if they are open tomorrow on Columbus Day. Excuse me, the Amherst Select Board declared it "Indigenous Peoples Day."  It sure makes the closed sign bigger.

So by Friday we were pretty tired and ready for a weekend. Just before I left, someone had a medical emergency and the ambulance had to be called. Consequently, I really enjoyed supper out with Nancy. It was nice to relax and just chat.

Today, Sunday, I have just been hanging around. I don't want to go out, but I'm out of cream for my coffee. I was going to use milk from a little Parmalat box but I looked at the carbs and it's 12 carbs! Heavy cream is 0! (I'm trying to do 25 carbohydrates per day.)

Thank goodness for the crock pot!! I threw in some beef with some sugarless bbq sauce and onions and it's fantastic! Woo hoo! I haven't shopped for groceries ... maybe I'll just eat tuna fish for the week, ha ha.

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Here's the latest baby quilt I'm working on. I don't know why there are just two stars, that's what I designed.

As you can see, the back is the same polka dots as on Zachary's quilt. On this quilt, I have been outlining some (not all) of the dots -- that's the quilting. I hope to put the (homemade) binding on tonight. The binding takes a long time mainly because I get bored and put it aside.

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Monday -- Glad I put the trash out last night! Anyway, it has been a lazy day. I have machine added the binding to the other baby quilt (that you don't see here) because that was the binding I had cut. I had forgotten that. Now I just have to hand sew it to the front. I can do that at class tonight.

I am really enjoying my Bible as Literature class. It's taught by Bruce Penniman and he's a great discussion leader. I really appreciate that he sends us the passages because it's easier if we are all discussing the same version/translation.

It's a good thing we don't take the Bible literally -- last time it was o.k. to sleep with the maid to get a kid (a la Swartzenegger), o.k. to pretend your wife was your sister so the Pharoh wouldn't kill you, but he would "marry" her, and it was o.k. to sacrifice your only son because that's what God wanted. I can hardly wait to read tonight's fare. I peeked and there's at least one rape. Yick. I guess they are telling us what's not o.k., but some of these are sure roundabout stories!

My crustless quiche is even yummier with fresh tomato slices (and feshly cooked bacon bits). I've got a daisy ham and cabbage in the slow cooker.  I've got two lunches and three morning snacks packed up ready to go. I expect to have ham and cabbage for lunches too. 

A wash is merrily in so after class I can veg out and watch Netflix. Thanks to Cyndi for suggesting Death in Paradise. It's popcorn style cosy mysteries -- but I get to see palm trees and warm beaches. 

Ciao, have a great week!

Tuesday Thrills Addition

Tonight I got to hear Chris Lee and Colleen O'Brien from the Seattle area. They played jazz and Colleen sang the words to many poems. They added some of Emily Dickinson's poems to their typical repetoire of Wadsworth, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Shakespeare and others. Each poem had an appropriate picture with the words projected on a screen behind them. Colleen played her cello as if it were a bass, mostly plucking the strings with a minimal amount of bowing. It was very relaxing and unusual.

Chris played the vibraphone and percussion. At one point, he played a slit box which was most unusual in that it was a wooden box with slits in the top!

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But the very best and most exciting news is that YaoYao had her baby Zachary! He was 9 pounds 2 ounces! Happy birthday, Zachary!

Sunday Second Post of this Weekend

I feel that I have spent far too much time on the weekends doing nothing (such as a whole day in pajamas) and Sunday night I say, "What have I done today?" So while what is about to come, may be exceedingly boring to you, this is my free therapy (and a push to keep going).

I was very proud of myself to have finished laundry by Friday night (having started on Thursday), and as you know, I was pretty busy yesterday. That left preparing food for the week.

Did I every tell you that eating healthy is quite a chore? (Yeah, yeah, I know that should be eating "healthfully," but it has been a long time since Mrs. Burns' grammar lessons in the sixth grade and I speak more in vernacular now.) Since I'm usually too tired after work to cook, I cook on the weekends for lunches and suppers. [A good part of healthy eating is not eating in restaurants.]

So now, at Noon time, after a breakfast of sausage and eggs, I have accomplished this:

Watched CBS Sunday Morning *
Baked boneless pork ribs with tomato and onion, baked hot Italian sausage with sweet red peppers, made pesto with mushrooms and Miracle Noodles ziti, baked an eggplant casserole, baked many chicken thighs with different dry rubs, cooked green beans, cooked broccoli. 

A while ago, I had bought reusable plastic containers (from Groupon) with two separate compartments. So far, I have filled five of them for lunches. I have to wait for the food to cool before I cover and refrigerate them.

I have cleaned out the fridge, which has let me know that I should either make meatballs or hamburgers. Part of this exercise is to get the packaging into the trash for tomorrow's pick up. 

I have knit (and purled) a couple of inches of knitting on an 8" x 8" square for the afghan at work. Several of us are knitting squares of different colors and the blanket will 'live' in the staff break room. This knitting is quite an accomplishment for me because I have never before been successful with knitting. :)  More later.

* CBS Sunday Morning was a farewell to Charles Osgood who had the position of host for 22 years. At first I thought I didn't want to watch it, but it was pretty interesting to see some of his old clips. I am especially envious of his vacation home in the south of France -- with grapes in the back yard. He and his wife have the blue and yellow French dishes that match my kitchen curtains. I never thought about their being French when I bought the fabric many years ago and I just happened to put a lace valence over the cafe style curtains. It's weird the things one does unconsciously.

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Well, ya, it's Monday. But I did vacuum, wash a zillion dishes and pots and pans. I knit a few more inches, recycled and shredded papers, played some video games and ended up with Poldark on PBS. So while I did stay in my jammies all day, I was fairly productive!

Of course, after all of that cooking and washing up, I see a winter squash (the size of a small child) uncooked on the counter. It will become squash soup, probably on Tuesday. Tonight (Monday) is my Bible as Literature class and I have no time for soup! :)

Sublime Saturday

We couldn't have asked for better weather! It was sunny and breezy and in the high 70's -- fabulous for going to the North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival in Orange, Massachusetts.

Ann and I were eager for our next "Ann and Tina Excellent Adventure" as I carefully put in the location on my GPS. I knew vaguely that we would be heading up Pelham Hill to Route 202 (near Route 2). So I was very surprised when the GPS lady said, "Turn left here" about a half mile before I was expecting it. I made one of those on two wheels lefts and Ann didn't wet her pants, but I think she came close.

We chugged merrily along for awhile and both of us had thought bubbles over our heads which read, "Is this really the right way?" I looked at the GPS and it said only 4 and a half miles to go.

I remarked, "I hope it's not 4 miles of bad road!" Blam! It became a dirt road. I kid you not. Ann says, "This reminds me of when you were in Vermont, on the hill, in the snow, sliding backwards because of your GPS. I hope you have a lot of gas!" 

At this point, I'm hearing my mother's voice in my head, saying, "I've got plenty of gas and I speak English."  Besides, I wasn't hearing any dueling banjos yet. 

At this point, the road a wide single lane. Two cars can pass each other, but it's a bit tight due to overgrowth on each side. There are no houses to be seen. We round a corner and there is a car stopped smack in the middle of the road. I couldn't go around on either side. So I use my light horn. You know, you flip your headlights on and off. That didn't work. (I don't think it has ever worked now that I think about it.) So I'm wondering if they have the same GPS as I do and they are just sitting there flummoxed, or are they dead?

Eventually, the car moved. And in another 4 miles we came out at the Garlic Festival! The parking attendants were a trip, but I'll just leave it with: the woman said, "Good going!" to me because I managed to turn the car around when I realized they were directing me to the wrong spot. Apparently, it's a great feat for her to turn her car around ...

Dancing Lasses

You got to vote where you wanted the community compost to become a garden.

Gorgeous soft scarves with shiny bits

Garlic

More garlic -- decorative

 Ann, deciding on a glass bauble.

Electric cars, including a Tesla

They were really interested in solar power

Munch, munch, munch

He tried to eat our purses.

In case you want to grow your own (mushrooms).

Baby bull

I apologize for the quality (or lack thereof) of the pictures -- I still can't get them out of the camera into Irfanview (which I use for editing such as color corrections and cropping). My friend, Al, sent me a link, but I have just been too busy to pursue it.

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I got back in time to gulp some pre-cooked chicken and then go to the Jones Library to hear the East Haddam Rep Company (from CT) do a radio play of Sherlock Holmes and the Speckled Band. It was great fun. Here they are:

Kandie Carle (on the right) is the founding genius of the troup. She also did "The Victorian Lady" and her other performance showed us Victorian clothing. She researches all of her performances.

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After that, it was off to the supermarket and to the ATM and finally home. Longmire and I have been having a good time, thanks to Netflix! Ciao!

Impressionist Impressions

The phone rang at 8:10 a.m.
"Are you up for an adventure?"

An hour later, Cyndi and I were motoring to the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Connecticut. It was their last weekend of The Artist's Garden and exhibit of American impressionist paintings and gardens. 

This image is from the Florence Griswold web site.

I have a whole bunch of pictures, but my camera is refusing to connect to the computer. It says it is, but it's not. I'll check it out at work during lunch.

After touring the museum and before going to the boarding house that Ms. Griswold ran, we had a lovely time sitting in Adirondack chairs just watching the river. The weather on Saturday was fantastic and much cooler than today.

Below is an enlargement of the center of the picture above. I wanted you to see the family of swans.

Not bad for a camera phone, huh? Now, if my phone would only make phone calls, I'd be happy. 

[Here are some of the Griswold boarding house pics -- more after work. I had to eat lunch, ya know!]

 The dining room. The artists painted the panels on the doors and when they ran out of doors, they painted panels in the dining room.

 Above is Ms. Griswold's bedroom. The ship in the picture over the fireplace is the one her father captained.

Above is the door to Ms. G's bedroom -- painted by the only female artist in the bunch!

More dining room art above.

After the Griswold boarding house, it was time for a late lunch and we had a seafood feast at Abbots.

 We ate outside at a picnic table.

What could be better? Eating yummy seafood dreaming about being on one of those sailboats was just lovely. Thanks, Cyndi! (By the way, you forgot to get your money from me for lunch!)

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Did I tell you I went to the Amherst Block Party last Thursday? It was fun to stroll down a closed-to-cars street. There were lots of circus performers from the circus school in Easthampton. 

 This woman did a long routine high above the street with a purple scarf.


As we left work to go to the block party, there was a driveway full of electric cars presented by the Pioneer Valley Electric Auto Club. I posed with the Tesla, which is Lisa's favorite. Its sticker price is around $142,000.

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And ...

Last weekend I took a Senior Center bus trip to the NY Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. It was a wonderful trip, but beastly hot. Consequently, what pictures I got are mostly from the open air tram. Their impressionist exhibit of New York painters was very small and no photos were allowed. (The tram pictures are in my camera which won't connect to the pc ...) I was surprised to see a couple of John Singer Sargent paintings -- he's one of my favorites. But his paintings didn't impress me -- they were of a fountain on the grounds.

We had a very lovely luncheon in the restaurant on the grounds. Of course, I'm a sucker for cloth napkins! They had huge photos of gardens and a stream on the wall so you felt as if you were outdoors, but it was mercifully air conditioned.


On the way home, the bus stopped at a diner in CT that also had great food and the biggest pastries I've even seen in my life. I brought Lisa an apple turnover (triangular shaped) and the long side must have been over 8 inches! The form that we use to give the fine money to the Town is called a "turnover" and I always joke, asking Lisa if she wants and apple or cherry turnover. That Monday, she got apple!

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Today, Sunday, was my day to "get things done." It was nothing spectacular -- cooking, wash, etc. And the weather has gone from pleasantly cool and dry to hotter and very very humid. I could hardly breathe when I went to the store.

I did manage to make a tasty vegetarian soup with pre-made veggie broth, zucchini, onions, mushrooms and some seasonings.The mini crustless quiche are for breakfast and I haven't tried the veggie (no cheese) eggplant casserole yet. Lisa is bringing me more eggplant from her garden so I figured I should make a casserole she can eat -- no cheese for her!

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I was happy that Netflix sent me an email telling me that there is more Luther to watch. I had, however, forgotten how brutal the murders are. 

Previously, I have been watching 30 in February which is a Swedish series. That's when I found out that I can't knit and read subtitles at the same time. It's about the adventures of some Swedes in Thailand. As with most things Swedish, it has some dark sides to the drama, but I'm enjoying it. You have to get to about the third episode for it to lighten up consistently.