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.

home again, home again

the move is (mostly) over. i am now a hugonian. again.

spent the night on the airbed in st. paul, after that experience, i will be sleeping here in hugo from now on.

spent the AM with my gram, came down to hugo for lunch, then my mom and i ran into 'town' to stop in at Truly, one of the stores where i sell my fine wares. i picked up some old favorites that they had tried to sell, for whatever reason they were still there! so i re-listed three animals today on etsy.


since we got back, my mom and dad and i have been talking about jobs, etc. i applied for a few promising ones. keep your fingers crossed for me!

first summer morning

i stayed out in hugo instead of driving home last night. what a gorgeous site to wake up to. the birds chattering, the dragonflies waking up....magical.

my back is killin' from the garden work yesterday. should be fun when i show up to work tomorrow hobbling. they will be tearing down 'a midsummer night's dream', which i didn't get to see this time, but it's the same designers and director as when i worked on the show in 2000 in chicago. i hope to snap up some crazy piece of mirror-covered scenery to use in the labyrinth!

going out to walk it with my coffee, then off to the farmer's market and back to my messy, messy apartment. got to finish up and list some jewelry.

Labyrinth 2.0 is finished!

my mom and dad and i tackled the redesign and it worked out just duckie!


we also took a quick canoe ride that ended with me getting completely soaked due to a malfunctioning motor and a quickly executed turn that sent a cascade of water over the edge of the boat. nothing like a canoe full of pond water at 8 PM in the evening!