Red-Handed Jill

How could he call Animal Control on cats that remain inside? Shouldn't the inside of one's home be immune to that sort of thing? And you might want to contact Child Protective Services if his fence and dog are as you say. If his dog and fence are that much of a danger, they'll do what they can to protect the neighborhood's children.

A fire in the store?? Do folks try stuff out before they buy? As in things that can set other things on fire? And that sounds like a heck of a lot of misfortunes for just one day! Glad you made it home in one piece!

QA'ing user interface changes I proposed to our software.

First it rained, then it got REALLY windy (as in 45 knot winds - made my commute over the Dumbarton Bridge pretty darn exciting...) and now it's sunny and warm and should be for the next few days. Light winds and temps in the 70's - perfect!

Benghan bharta, raita and chaat masala at a stellar new Indian restaurant. I work in Fremont, California, an area with the largest Indian population outside of India. So this means lots of restaurants with my favourite kind of food! But this place is really, REALLY good.

Wow - glad to hear you're unharmed (although definitely monitor your back and neck and such. I can tell you from personal experience that this stuff does creep up on you. Good on ya for seeing a chiropractor so soon!)

What a ridiculous concept! Unless one person is standing far away and pointing a gun at the other person, it's whoever is faster, regardless of fighting style. Anything else is staged nonsense.

There has lately been more cats around our neighborhood. In particular, a new neighbor has a cat that spends half of her life outside and she is quite friendly. And there are a couple of other kitties who hang around. Apparently, Captain Morgan has sensed this and has lately been positioning himself in front of the door like a wee "watchcat" - making sure no other kitties invade HIS domain. I took a couple of photos last night; if they aren't too blurry I'll post one.

Sending good thoughts your way. I hope this turns out the best for all involved.

Cool - thanks for the tips!

^ Yes! It seems like stores are stocking less and less variety. Last year, every dress was a variation on one of four designs. I ranted about it at length on my blog (okay, perhaps "rant" is a bit strong...) < The grass is always greener - I've always wanted wider shoulders. V If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Heh. We picked up a "backup singer" when we did a weekend gig at the Queen Bess and the Pyrates Faire - three sets a day. A young lad named Adam (who was about five) attached himself to us and came up on stage for every performance; he quickly picked up the words and sang and danced on the stage. At one point, a bunch of other kids came up on stage as well and were jumping and dancing around like mad. On the afternoon of the second day, Adam's father thanked us profusely for allowing him to sing with us. At that point, he hadn't yet heard Adam singing his new favourite song - The Old Black Rum. As in "The old black rum has a hold on me like a dog wrapped 'round my leg..."

^ I wish I could find a perfect size. Vanity sizing is making clothing too big for me and I'm not exactly an average shape (38" bust, 27" waist, 37" hips - and most clothing is made for pear-shaped or apple-bodied women. This is why I sew...) < Don't even get me started on what they are doing with women's pants. Waistlines larger than the hips - what's up with that?? I've gotta go to the men's department to find pants with waists smaller than the hips. V Pass the question.

It's that time again...

I can totally see that happening. "Ohh look - breasts." POW!

I'm going to be cooking outdoors over a brazier. Any additional things I need to know? (And yep - eggs are part of my menu and that issue about vegetarians having a problem with iron deficiency - that's a myth.)

I have Matuselem's book - I'll just do the usual and send it out the end of the month, then.

I'm looking for ideas about meals to cook in Dutch ovens - that are vegetarian (and by vegetarian I mean truly vegetarian - no chicken or fish.) I have a Dutch oven but as of yet haven't cooked anything in it yet and would really appreciate any ideas and advice you could give me.

Sounds like you're already on your way to a great birthday. Take it easy on those Chrispy bars, though...

My secret for really good hot buttered rum is vanilla. The rest is just the usual: hot water, butter, brown sugar, RUM.

A few years ago, I participated in a Make-a-Wish event for a young boy named William. He and his family sailed with Jack and me on the Aldebaran and fought a pirate battle with other boats (with real cannons and pistols) and then sailed over to the Bay Area Discovery Museum, which is on the coast just north of San Francisco. We were joined by several other pirates and set up a camp in Lookout Cove. Jack and I gave Will and his sister Hannah some swordfighting lessons and Jack gave Will the gift of a real sword (which Will never let out of his sight from then on.) Later that evening we had a treasure hunt, which culminated in a large chest of toys for William and Hannah. Then we sang some sea chanteys, drank cocoa and went to our respective tents to sleep. The next morning, the other pirates saw us off on the Aldebaran for a sail back to reality. We fired our cannons some more, much to the delight of some hikers on Angel Island. When we got back, Will thanked us profusely and Hannah gave both of us big hugs and said we were her most favourite pirates EVER.

Sadly, I make a really good bread pudding - and Jack asks for it periodically. So there will inevitably be bread pudding in my future...

Bread pudding! Sigh... (Must resist. Must resist. MUST RESIST.)

Heh - thanks everybody! Yeah, there is another Red Handed Jill but she was only here briefly years ago. Her birthday is about a week or so before mine if memory serves. And Jack does have some things planned - we're actually going to a black powder rendezvous so I get to make things go bang and boom for my birthday! Woo hoo!! And yes - we get the "Jack and Jill - really??" all the time...

Wow - good on ya! You look a lot more comfortable in the "after" pics.