clean sweep

i finished cleaning my apartment and set the keys inside a cupboard, shut off the lights, and left. closing a door on living in st. paul, for now, and i'm getting more settled in hugo. the drive doesn't seem so bad anymore, but i have been gassing up a whole lot more than i used to. i am going to try to use a bike for short runs to town and to white bear, at least when i can.

my sister and her new hubby are in town, they rented a truck up in forest lake to take back a lot of her memorabilia, and some furniture. however....

apparently folks have been stealing catalytic converters to sell for drug money. seriously. so the first truck they tried to rent, they had to REPLACE THE CONVERTER while they waited. and when david drove it, the transmission was wonkified. a guy came out to look at it, and said, you're gonna need a new truck. so we are still waiting, (after being on hold for what seemed like days) to find out if they can get another truck on the busiest moving weekend of the year, or if they're going to have to delay their trip back.


raja is going with them. i'm so happy she's going to be getting the love and attention of my sister again, raj has gotten used to the other cats but she's always trying to escape!

betsy and i have been going through all these boxes in the garage, divvying up ancient family linens, dishes, etc. we poured through 3-4 boxes of our childhood clothes and had some great laughs. discarded a lot of things. and i got some great fabric for use in upcoming projects. betsy is 7 years older than me, and my cousins are another 2-3 years older than her, so some of the hand-me-downs were first worn in the late 60's/early 70's so you can imagine the fantastic patterns (including many rainbows, accurate and not so much), styles, and materials we're coming across. my sister's favorite phrase was 'that's horrifying'.

dinner last night was salmon my brother caught in alaska (not so local, but better than farmed salmon!) , and potatoes, tomatoes (with basil and mozzarella), corn, and salad from my parents' own garden. everyone was so impressed by the delish grub, and i am SO happy they've been reading animal, vegetable, miracle! if you haven't read it, it will change your life.

mornin'

it's 7:20 AM. the rooster next door wants to make sure to welcome the newest resident of hugo, at least that's what i'm choosing to believe. he got up around 5 and started to shout his welcome.

i should bring over some of the mole' sauce i made last night and see how he likes that. i made it up after reading 2-3 versions on the internet. it was loved by all, including my not very adventurous food wise parents!!!*

becca's easy mole': (serves 4-6 as an appetizer, 2 as a meal)
two small garlic butter chicken breasts (or regular ones, see note)
one small white onion, chopped
2 T olive oil
2 T creamy PB
1/4 c. dark or semi sweet chocolate chips or bits
1 cup (roasted poblano) salsa (i used medium but would have preferred hot)
spices to taste (cinnamon, cumin, bay leaves, etc.)

to make:
boil the chicken breast in 1 cup water with a covered pan. when finished, pour out the water but reserve the shmaltz (chicken fat) if you can. mix with the olive oil over low heat.
add chopped onion. shred the chicken as it's cooling, using two forks.
once onion begins to brown, return chicken to the pan (and garlic if needed). stir until the chicken picks up the color from the onions and all oil is absorbed, about 3-5 minutes. TURN OFF HEAT AND REMOVE ONION/CHICKEN mixture from the pan.
in the warm pan, mix the PB, chocolate, and salsa together, stirring constantly. once the chocolate has melted, return the onions and chicken to the pan and stir to coat. put on LOWEST HEAT possible on stove for another 10-15 minutes, testing spice levels. you may want to add more salsa or more cinnamon, etc.

we ate it with blue corn chips, but you could also spoon over rice. it was suuuuuper good. the PB added a lot to the mouth feel. no cheese or sour cream required to enjoy this dish. you could also add some peppers or other root veggies for more body.

*my parents do eat some things i would NEVER consider, like pickled herring. ISH! but they don't usually venture south of the border.

A month? Really?

Wow. I have been really busy with Seussical. A whole month has passed since I last blogged, and there's some exciting new developements in my artistic journey!

But first, I'm having an absolutely lovely day. I finished up Eat, Pray, Love this Am, which I started on Friday night. A very interesting book about food, forgiving yourself, and learning to be one with God and the universe. Then I took a walk around my neighborhood and discovered a community garden and a park I had never known about, both within about a 10 minute walk from my house. The garden still had so many vegetables and fruits growing in it, even though we've had several nights of frost. I watched a fat little bumblebee looking in vain for a flower, though he must have missed the last of the roses that were growing just outside the fence.

It's what we call 'Indian Summer' here in MN, which is the last hurrah of good weather before the cold, rainy, sleety, then snowy weather commences. I'm going to soak up as much of it, as I possibly can. A family of little birds has nested immediately above my door though so I can't just prop open the door and let the good air in, as I'm worried I'll have a feathered roommate in no time.

On the art front, I won a mosaic mural commission, co-planning a massive craft sale in early December, and building a website for a friend of mine in exchange for life coaching. All in all, I think it's a good deal for me! Slowly I've been making more and more stuffed animals, they all have their own fun personalities and expressions, it's hard to part with them sometimes!

And, for my birthday in 3 days, I'm getting my very own laptop. YAYY!! I'm so excited to have my own computer, I think it's going to do wonders for my writing, art, and marketing of said art.