post the occasional recipe up here - they’ll be ones I’ve either made up myself or really enjoy. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Watson’s Chunky Keema

The Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (not olive, though!)
• 2 cups finely chopped onions (or 1 large onion)
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds (black or yellow)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1″ ginger, minced
• 1 chili, your favorite variety, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 lb ground meat (chicken, turkey, beef)
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika (smoked, hot, or normal)

The Method

1. Brown fry onions in oil (See here: htp://anthonyskitchen.blogspot.com/2006/10/fry-onions-till-golden-brown.html)
2. Add in mustard seeds, garlic, ginger, chili, bay leaves - stir constantly and fry until you hear the mustard seeds popping.
3. Add in coriander, cumin, and cinnamon powders, stir quickly for 15 seconds.
4. Add in tomatoes with juice. Cook for 10 - 15 mins to reduce.
5. Add in peas and meat. Stir until combined, then add in 2 cups water. Simmer uncovered until reduced by half.
6. Stir in garam masala and paprika and salt to taste. Enjoy!

Everyone except Claire has been afflicted with either an annoying cold or allergies. Bleah.

-j.

Potter, that is.

I’m a little more enthused in my liking it than Jonathan was. I really want to reread the entire series start to finish because I’ve forgotten the significance of a few things, but in general she really wrapped it up well.

Also, I totally bet there will be more to come from JK….

It seems like since Claire’s surgery in May she has really turned a corner not only in terms of behavior, but in terms of language and understanding. She amazes me daily with all the insightful and hilarious things that come out of her mouth.

Take yesterday morning for example….in our usual morning rush to get out of the door, I did something I really don’t like to do in the mornings…turned on kids TV to keep the two small ones occupied. Claire asked for Dora (of course), but Diego was first in the program list on our Tivo and I was feeling lazy, so I turned on Diego instead. It happened to be one of the Diego episodes where Dora is a guest star. I walked into the kitchen to put together Madeline’s food for the day and Claire was calling me. I popped my head back into the living room and said “yes Claire”…she said, very matter of factly “Mommy, this is Diego, not Dora.”. I said “Yes Claire, but Dora is on this episode of Diego”. She looked at me like I was a total idiot and said “Mommy, there is more Diego than Dora on this show”. I giggled, and said “tough”, and walked into the kitchen.

She’s a total crack up.

Mads on the other hand is still in the throes of teething. I though she had only cut two teeth, but upon further inspection, she has cut all 4 teeth on the top and two more are threatening on the bottom. No wonder she’s been a cranky mess for the last couple of days. Every little thing sets her off and she’s been VERY clingy. She’s also doing the classic ear tugging move, so just in case, we’re going to go see Dr. Quinn today. Madeline has been so very healthy in her short life…unlike her sister. I’m really hoping she does not have an ear infection, but she’s really been digging in that ear (evidenced by all the scratches on the inside). Hopefully I’ll have good news to blog about later.

Last night we had a really great night. I was outside pulling some weeds by the deck and Kevin, our new neighbor, yelled at me from across the street. (I say new…they’ve lived there since just after Christmas) I went over to say hello and he invited us over for beers on their deck with his wife and her sister. Obviously we both couldn’t go since the girls were already in bed, so I sent Jonathan over for a while because I totally stink at new social situations like that. He went over at about 8 and was there until 10:30. Hooray for making friends with the neighbors. We’ve lived in that neighborhood for nearly 2 years and it has really been the most unfriendly place ever, with the exception of Kent next door. I think it’s because everyone is older and has older children. Kevin & Melanie have 4 kids — ages 4-11, so hopefully we’ll get to spend time with them more. We really like Kevin — he’s a sheriff in the county jail, and is good protection for the neighborhood. He yells at the teenage girls that speed down our street and I’m sure will have a few words for the delinquents across the street if they ever start fighting in the street again at 3am.

While Jonathan was drinking Chris Day sized margaritas at the neighbors, I was working on Operation Clean House….starting with the kitchen. Keith is coming next Monday and if our house isn’t perfectly clean, he’ll clean for us…which is a tad embarrassing. Our kitchen is now shiny! One room at a time and I won’t be in total panic mode this weekend!

On the HP note…I’m about 500 pages through. Ugh. I wish I had the time to sit down and finish it. It’s really getting good. Anyone else think there was a lot of fluff in the first say, 300 pages??

Looks like a good program, and it’s free today:

Libellus Organizer

-j.

I finished the new HP - and the DH. It’s a reasonable book! I enjoyed it thoroughly.

-j.

Last night we rented Pan’s Labyrinth for our traditional Friday Night family movie night. It was Jonathan’s choice….to avoid conflict we take turns picking the movie each week. Otherwise we’d be at Blockbuster getting all mad at each other because both of us are so darn opinionated about movies. Anyway, it was excellent - one of the best Fantasy type movies that I’ve seen (aside from Lord of the Rings, of course!). It is definitly NOT for children though — there is quite a bit of violence in it, and it’s in Spanish with subtitles. Two enthusiastic thumbs up!

We’re going to spend this beautiful Saturday outside I think. Jonathan went into work for a little bit this morning and the girls and I are over at my parents house so they can play with their cousins and I can help the ‘rents with a little computer work. It is certainly a gorgeous day though — I’m sure the computer won’t keep us inside much longer!

For those of you who blog and those who read blogs, here are a couple tools I’ve found useful:

• Blog Desk - One of the best free blog editors / posting devices I’ve found. It’s easy, useful, etc., etc., etc.
• RSS Aggregators - Little programs that put all the blog feeds, etc., in one place. Those I’ve seen that are good (or used) are:
  • Google Reader (free)
  • RSS Popper (For Ms Outlook, etc., free)

Enjoy!

-j.

So as Jonathan blogged, last night he experienced his first tornado warning where we actually took shelter in the basement. Growing up in a place where tornadoes are somewhat common, it was not scary or alarming to me in the least. I am so well trained from my elementary school tornado drill days to know what to do. When I lived in Kansas, I sat on my apartment balcony with a margarita and watched a tornado that was miles and miles away (perhaps that wasn’t the smartest thing to do…) The contrast is amusing — when we lived in Arlington and Hurricane Isabel was somewhat close, I was glued to the TV set with amazement, wondering if we should do something about the entire wall of glass on the porch of our apartment. I was SHOCKED that the Watsons didn’t evacuate the Outer Banks after seeing the sunken cars on the Beach Road and the tide rising at Virginia Beach.

I do have to say that despite the storm, our evening in the basement was really peaceful and very cozy…Claire snoozing on the couch with Jonathan on the floor next to her in case she rolled off and Madeline asleep on my shoulder in the dim candlelight.

A friend’s photo reminds me how much I miss open water…and of this poem:

Sea-Fever

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea’s face, and a gray dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way, where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

John Masefield

Last night, I had my first experience with true “tornado weather.” Anne and I were watching the news (alerted to a tornado warning situation by Anne’s mother), and watching the storm outside.

It was quite eerie, really. For those who haven’t seen tornado conditions, the outside was incredibly still and the air was throbbing. Lightning flashed and thunder roared constantly, and some rain fell, but there was no wind - almost akin to being in the eye of a hurricane.

After a few minutes, and warnings from the TV to seek shelter, Anne and I grabbed the kids and headed to the basement. We lit some candles and had a flashlight. Claire looked at me and asked if we were going to play with her castle, to which I replied in the negative and told her to go to sleep, which she did, grabbing “kitty” and rolling over to snooze on the couch.

About an hour later, the worst was past, and we put the kids back in bed. Although it seemed very late at that point, it was only 10:40. Nonetheless, we were wiped out, and similarly went to bed.

-j.

Last night we discovered that Mads has cut two more teeth - her left front tooth is just peeking out of the gum and the incisor next to where here right front tooth should be is also coming down. The other front tooth and other incisor as well as two more on the bottom are bulging at the gums as well but haven’t shown any signs of appearance yet. She has been one cranky monster for the last couple days, so I hope that they all come down quickly! (Although it would be pretty cute to have a jack-o-lantern baby for a while with the gap in her front teeth)

Are really quite realistic and frightening.

-j.

Simpsonize your family. Everybody’s doing it…

The shirt says…If I’m not happy, nobody’s happy. Ain’t that the truth.