spatchulas and miss sun•maid

so…at some point last year I managed to break my ice-scraper.
now- that’s not entirely tragic when you’re living in northwest Arkansas (where ice and snow is usually minimal)…and you live within walking distance of pretty much all of your life-activities.

however. the tragedy really sets in when you no longer live in northwest Arkansas, and instead- are living in a somewhat more frigid climate (where it snows, and ices... in October.)

so, for the past few days I have spent some extra quality time with the Volvo in the morning…and my trusty little spatula has done an acceptable job of substituting for an ice-scraper. (but, trust me: there is a reason that they sell ice-scrapers instead of spatulas. they work MUCH better.)

anyways- this morning (once again) I was out in front off my house, with my trusty spatula, de-icing the windshield…when I realized that the trashman (across the street) was definitely watching me.

now- (as an avid people-watcher) I really have no problem when people decide to return the favor, and I am the “watchee” instead of the “watcher”….BUT, trash-man was very obviously watching me. (we may want to use the term “stare” here.)

of course. I really can’t blame the guy…because (as it is Halloween today) I am not in normal-people-go-to-work-clothes. let’s just say that today I look a little bit more like the Sun•Maid Raisin Lady than I normally would on an average work day….

and really. who wouldn’t stare at the raisin-lady, using a large silver spatula, to get the ice off of her car.

(so, I said hello to the not-so-descreet-people-watching-trashman. and explained that yes, in fact, I was using a spatula on my car.) he wished me the best of luck, and then hopped on a large trash truck that miraculously appeared about that same time… and I’m pretty sure he told the truckdriver about the Sun•Maid Raisin Lady with the spatula…because there was definitely some goose-necking from the driver’s seat.

so, anyways.
happy Halloween everyone.

why i love wednesdays...

I know that for most people, Wednesdays are usually regarded as the nasty-hump-day...that drags on...in the middle of the week....(and, admittedly- i used to be one of those people.) But, since my recent relocation to Pittsburgh (well, Bellevue to be more exact)...Wednesdays have become my little nugget of joy in the middle of the week.
(*did i really just say "nugget of joy"?....well. it's true. and i'm not really sure how else to describe it...)

So, on Wednesday mornings- my street gets swept. (which, i realize, does not sound exciting. at all.) But- this means that the little volvo must be removed by 8:00 am....or else it will be towed. (by who, or where, i don't know---but, i figure that is the kind of thing i don't ever want to find out) So, since i have this awkward 1/2 hour on wednesday mornings, when i don't have to leave for work yet- but i can't have my car parked in front of my apartment, i decided i needed to develop an alternate morning plan...

And that is why Wednesday is my muffin and coffee morning. I drive down the street to my favorite little pittsburgh-coffee-shop (which specializes in coffee/tea/art/old books/*and waffles on sunday.) <--seriously, could this place get much better? They make the best muffins i've ever had...and every Wednesday morning i try whatever new flavor they've made that day. So far i've had fresh-peach (with lots of cinnamon and nutmeg), fresh-rasberry, toasted coconut/pinapple, and today's new flavor: pumpkin and applesauce. There really is not a more perfect way to start a Wednesday than with a steaming mug of really good coffee, a hot, fresh, muffin, and a few chapters out of a good book. And today--(and finishing my pumpkin-applesauce muffin....which tasted like the perfect holiday kind of breakfast...)--i drove to work in SNOW. yep. can you believe it? giant flakes of white, fluffy, goodness. this is going to be a great day....

my little herb.

i know...this is sortof the epitome of nerdy-ness, but- i made soup (from scratch, without a recipe) and at this moment I am just beaming with soup-making-pride. I really have no clue what i added to my masterpiece.... (*but, i do know that there was definitely some fresh rosemary involved.)

i have always had great aspirations of adulthood coinciding with herb-gardening. and now i've graduated college, have a "real-job" (and my herb-garden only consists of the small yellow-pot you see here. with my semi-struggling-rosemary-mini-bush). but, we all have to start somewhere...


anyways. soup= success.

and it's a good thing that i'm working on my soup-skills...because i feel like i'm going to be eating as much hot food as possible pretty soon. (it was 30 degrees outside when i woke up this morning.)
yep.
30.

life-lessons i've learned this weekend:

1. Hang out at sporting events.
2. Carry small bills.

it may seem like these are some random life-lessons for me to be learning, but- let me explain:

"hang out at sporting events"
I spent my saturday morning enjoying the streets of bellevue (after dropping off my car to get state-inspection stickers) YES- can you believe it? i am now a fully-legit/legalized-pennsylvania resident. (*complete with a PA license plate)
Anyways, I walked into this cute little thrift/antique store downtown and immediately the owner pounced on me- (in a very friendly old-man sort of way?) anyways, i kid you not- the FIRST words out of his mouth: "Too bad all my sons are already spoken for- they're all over 6' 5" (very thoughtful of him. but- do i just scream "tall-single-girl"?) Well- we kept talking, for about half an hour (and when i say "we talked" i really mean "he talked"...) And he was insistent that i needed to attend as many sporting events as possible (because "that's where all the tall boys hang out"). He supposedly met his tall-wife at a volleyball game. and i believe his three "over 6'5" sons met their wives as sporting events as well?
However, I can't help but believe that I will only be a beacon of awkwardness at any sort of sporting event, and not really attractive-potential-wife-material... (thanks for the tips though)

"carry small bills"
So- i had my first adventure at a (non-college) laundromat yesterday. It was a bit frightening. I walked in with fake confidence, and pretended like i knew which machines were the washers and which ones were the dryers (and was only examining them all closely because...um...that's what everyone does.) well- in all of my laundromat preparation, i kindof forgot about the necessity of quarters. (seriously...who am i?) So, of course they have a change-machine (i mean- it's a laundromat...) BUT, i only have one $20 bill. So, i am left with little choice, except to insert my poor little $20 into the change machine...where it is immediately converted into 80 quarters.
I've never gambled before....but the feeling I got as all those quarters game spilling out of that change machine must be a taste of what it is like to hit the jackpot.
The rest of the laundromat experience was pretty uneventful. But, i did discovered that the bathroom door is locked, and you can only pee if you insert a quarter. I feel like laundromats are ruled entirely by quarters. (and, in that case- i am queen of the laundromat, because i have 80 of them)

hello world.

so, I’ve finally caved, and joined the elite masses in blog-world. (ok. so, maybe they’re not elite. but, people choose to read about their life…so, that has to count for something?)
anyways, I’ve discovered that when you live by yourself, there’s really no one to tell all of your funny and awkward stories to (and I happen to have quite a few) so, now (*even if no one ever really reads this) I’ll at least feel like I’m sharing them…

so, with all of that being said, here it is: Post #1!
(and what else could I possibly write about?)

AUTUMN

I LOVE autumn, the crunchy leaves…scarves & sweaters…crisp mornings…being able to drink hot drinks ALL the time…and of course---autumn pancakes!

I’m not exactly sure when or how autumn pancakes entered my life, but they are absolutely wonderful. (I think the recipe was somewhat inspired by miss wyman’s incredible cookies…(which still have no official name…except “linda’s cookies”)
but, for those of you who are fellow autumn-lovers, I’m letting you in on the secret of “autumn pancakes.”


Autumn Pancakes

• 1st- make a batch of regular pancake batter. (any recipe or instant mix will work, although I like adding a bit of whole wheat flower to mine…it makes it a little more…well…autumn-ish.)
• 2nd- add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract to the batter. (if you’re a “no-name-brand” kind of grocery-shopper, you may have to add a little more since imitation vanilla really doesn’t really have that much flavor…I would compare it to smelly brown water…)
• 3rd- mix in ¾ cup of chopped pecans. (depending on your desired “crunchy-ness,” these can be as small or big as you want them to be.)
• 4th- add ¾ cup of butterscotch chips. (this ingredient is definitely credited to Linda, who always had a supply of these in our freezer…)
• 5th- add as much nutmeg and cinnamon as you possibly can!
• Finally- Grill the batter just like you would for normal pancakes, and then serve them warm…(with butter, hot syrup, and a little bit of powdered-sugar-lovin’ on top)

alright. now don't shoot me, but i had to include this:

AUTUMN.

The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.

The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on.

-Emily Dickenson

(*I’m not a poet…and I really don’t know how the heck to interpret poetry, but- I sure hope miss Dickenson was referring to scarves when she was talking about those “trinkets.”)

gosh. I love scarves.

but mostly, I love autumn.