First Chili Of The Season

Combine the following ingredients in a crock pot: 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and basil, 1 small can corn, 3 cans beans (I used northern white, light red, and garbanzo beans), 1 can black bean soup, 1 can vegetarian baked beans, 1 large onion (diced), 10 sun-dried tomato slices, 1/2 cup diced bok choy (or celery), and sliced mushrooms. Cook on low 6 hours. Add a packet of chili seasoning. Stir and enjoy.

Swift

Tonight after work I met some knitting friends in Anoka and we traveled the icy roads to a yarn store in Osseo. The store is called Yarn Appeal. We oohed and aahed over all the beautiful skeins of yarn. They had yarns in every color. Many yarns were imported and some were hand dyed. I saw one skein alone for $38. I was good and didn't buy anything. I have to discipline myself to one knitting project at a time so I don't go overboard. It doesn't hurt to look and get inspired though. A friend was looking for some 100% yarn so she could felt (knit first then wash in hot water to shrink)some flowers onto a baby sweater. The walls and shelves of the store display items already knitted for ideas - felt bags, felt slippers, felt mittens and hats, even felt clogs. Knitted scarves, shawls, sweaters, jackets, hats, purses, mittens and socks. They had knitting needles in all shapes and sizes. Some needles were made of metal, others wood, others glass, and some needles had jeweled tips. They had awesome buttons in all shapes and sizes and colors. What caught me eye though, is when when they used the swift. A yarn swift is a wooden mechanism designed to hold the skein of yarn while it is unrolled and made into a ball. The arms of the swift go up and down as the swift is cranked around and around by pulling the yarn off of it. The faster you crank the higher the arms go up. You can collapse the swift inward to put the yarn on it and then pull it outward to hold the yarn steady. I watched enthralled as they wound up four skeins of white wool yarn. I can picture a swift like this being used in a yarn shop back in the 1700's by women wearing bonnets and bustles.

Wah Wah

I started out my day at a meeting in another city so by the time I got to work, all the premium parking places were gone. I had to park in what I call Egypt but is actually just the eastern side of the parking lot. Wah, wah, I'm whining. As I left the sun was shining but snow was coming down. Given the fact that we were having a snow shower, we should have been given a rainbow to go with it. But no such luck. The cold air hit me like a punch in the nose. Why did I wear a skirt today? My shoulders automatically hike up and my back goes tense. Wind swirled the snow around my feet across the pavement. It wasn't that long ago that I had to worry about my motorcycle kickstand sinking into this hard pavement. I just don't like winter. I shouldn't worry. My car was tuned up this week. I had my furnace turned up and cleaned last month. I'm all set but I just don't like it. Wah. And wah.

A Conversation

Me (out loud): Hi, I have a question. How much would it cost to buy a card for swimming laps?
She: Not to make an assumption,
Me (not out loud): But I bet you will. Much like people who say, "I don't mean to be rude" and then are rude. Or people who say, "Not to be argumentative" and then are argumentative.
She: Because I don't make assumptions about people, but you are a senior?
Me (out loud): No.
Me (not out loud): Listen girlie, I'm more than a decade away from being a senior, thank you very much.
She: Because you can save money on a card if you are a senior. You get a discount.
Me (out loud): No.
Me (not out loud): So, not only do you think I'm a senior, you think I'm a vain senior who is too proud to take the discount! Someday wrinkles will happen to you too.

Migwe's Singing

Anyone who has been to my house lately knows that Migwe has been in a singing mood. Fall is the time of love in a canary's life. And Migwe is singing his love songs loud and sometimes ear pierceingly clear. But no matter how he sings his lusty little heart out, no female canaries have appeared in his life. We've recently started playing some Christmas albums and he sings along. Sometimes when the song changes keys, he changes keys right along with it. And as the song goes along and comes to a climax with the tempo and the melody, his singing matches the climax. How does he know? Prior to living in Ramsey, my little Russian canary lived at the Robbinsdale Farm and Garden Store. I can imagine they play Christmas songs there too. Does he remember Christmas songs from last year? I was reading a publication called Birdscope - a periodical put out by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. In an article titled, "Birds Change Their Minds-Literally" the author cites research on small, long-lived birds like the chickadee and the canary. In a process called neuronal replacement, the birds erase old useless facts to make room for what they need to remember now. By doing this, the little birds can adapt to changes in their environments and social flocks. Chickadees from Colorado were compared with chickadees from Alaska. In harsher environments, the bird brain hippocampus is larger. Alaskan chickadees have to store more food and remember their hiding places to survive. So, if Migwe's little bird brain material is replaceable, how is it he remembers Christmas songs? Perhaps because he doesn't have to remember much, he remembers more. He doesn't have to hide his food. He gets fresh food in a dish every day. He doesn't have to remember where to get fresh water because that is provided as well. The article says the love songs the canary sings in the fall will not be the same love songs he sings next fall. He'll forget the old songs and create new ones. Personally, I don't mind his singing. I feel comforted to hear him sing. Next Thanksgiving I might put him in a bedroom for the day because I saw some guests cringing when he hit the high notes.

Project Feeder Watch Update

Saturday - 2 black capped chickadees

Sunday - 2 slate colored juncos, 2 black capped chickadees

Woot! Woot!

Not to brag, but . . . no wait, yes to brag - I got the second "bingo" in scrabble in my entire life yesterday. The word was "astound." Yes! 50 bonus points and a high five for me!!!!