What made you smile today?

The newly installed car lift in my workshop.
No more crawling under cars.

a couple of good swims lately

a mile doesn't seem like a goal, it's just what I do

Hussein gave me great tips for improving my back stroke

one of my length-swimming buddies commented that my biceps and triceps were noticeable today as I was backstroking up and down the pool

huuuuge smile

5th of 5 dance classes for the week done
final rehearsals for both choreos I'm in during our school's show on the weekend
I had moments of big happy ... til they turned us around
it'll come back
feel honoured to be dancing Heather's choreo. both she and Audra are such talented and generous dancers and humans

Heather having happy tears after our final practice was just wow

we did it! the show was brilliant

so amazed these brilliant ladies create the choreographies for us that they do

separately, my hair smells so good

I smiled when I got that Google featured Jane Jacobs, an olden hero of mine: her 100th birthday.

Oops. She passed away in 2006.

Today it was a Guardian column by Felicity Cloake about how to make fig rolls. She annotates recipes by others and develops her own, her modus operandi in her columns.

I was never a mad for Fig Newtons person, but I didn't completely hate them if I was hungry. Well, these recipes all sound better to me, and, in the comments section, there are people who give links to how to make jam, how to make wine, and so on. Makes me miss my little fig tree.

-- beware, there are many Ficus trees out there and most can raise sidewalks with ease. The edible fig tree is Ficus carica, and I still wouldn't put it in a small parkway space -- Ficus being part of why Los Angeles is finally forced to fix sidewalks, not charging home owners, is the city's poor planting choices in ridiculously small spaces for the trees they were putting in, some decades ago. I am guessing there have been lawsuits re people tripping on uplifted sidewalks, not only from Ficus trees.) Let's say it was a big learning process for the city, which I have some sympathy with, re how much they were clueless about, but.. still. Also, the trees, given space, can be glorious.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2016/may/05/how-to-make-the-perfect-fig-rolls#comment-73664832

1. Kentucky Derby day, hopeful re no problems for the horses
2. Going to lunch with Diane
3. Finished making a new batch of burritos, now in freezer (lots of good stuff in them - pinto beans, farro, spicy sausage or left over pork, sauteed greens, garlic, sweet red pepper, balsamic roasted red onions, sauteed white bok choi diced stalks, some roasted broccoli - different stuff in different burritos.)

Can I mention another thing or two, on the same day?

Diane and I went to Sadie's, a famous to us New Mexican restaurant. We went there because it was near the grocery store we are testing out re both distance from our places and quality to us, Smiths. Both places passed with flying colors, with one qualm re the restaurant, but despite that the restaurant gets raves.

First of all, that is the only good tamale I've eaten here since I moved to Albuquerque. ten years. I'm biased of course. I've been to cities/areas in Mexico and am used to California. I haven't been to every place in Abq that makes tamales, but I tend to test restaurants by what I think are signature dishes. Let's say the best got a C, thus my ordering one today.


The tamale on the menu came in three sizes in three different prices, none of them exorbitant. I picked the middle on. Thus I faced a giant plate, with the above salad slivers and other stuff playing a game of "hide the tamale". The tamale itself turned out to be large and delicious to the max, surrounded by also delicious vegetables; it can be unusual to find the vegies as great as the main, both just right. After checking out all that I found the beans, and they were also exceptionally good.

This leaves me with a take home container - one more meal, and much left for good soup making.

The grocery store was also fun.

edit - my gripe:
The restaurant had one of those noise machines going fairly loudly. If I worked there, I couldn't promise mental health. I would much prefer lowish level Mexican/New Mexican music tapes. Silence is not bad either.
I take it as a faux crowd scene maneuver recommended by restaurant advisors.

I recognize that as a salacious post. Not my point, but hovering there.

census completed

so glad that the Liberals reinstated it

Having the winning bid on Ebay for a cherry 23 T-Bucket C-coupe.

Bucket list item 17 - Cha-Ching!

Finally cool enough to put on the thermals.

The never-ending southern Summer is slowly fading.

My horse won the Derby.

The roasted balsamic red onions are about to come out of the oven.

I watched a couple feeding corn to a pair of Canada geese. Pretty soon about a half dozen goslings emerged from the weeds. I walked by after the couple left, and the biggest goose opened his mouth, stuck out his tongue, and hissed at me. I guess I was too close, or maybe he just didn't see any corn coming their way.

Canada geese have much stronger family values than our slutty Mallards.

I had a confrontation with a hefty goose on the Venice Canals on one of my walks, something of a face to face. I jogged on around. I figure the goose might or might not have been a recent regular there, flying in, though at that time, I used to walk/jog the canals fairly often. Let's say I enjoyed the confrontation, handsome goose, quite straightforward.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/05/03/canadas-census-is-back-an_n_9829320.html





we're a buncha freaks and we like it

New visitor.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Indigo_Bunting/sounds

..blue buntings, creeping phlox, white cherry blossoms, these are a few of my favorite things,..

fantastic!

Good to see Alex..

I just finished the last part of making Chocolate Sicilian Gelato (no eggs, instead cornstarch) with some pine nuts thrown in - the last part taking the ice cream maker out of the freezer and adding the refrigerated milks/ingredients to it. Now I face cleanup, always fun, the little left frozen bits, sort of like grabbing a bite of cookie dough.

setting up a meet and greet for a possible addition to our pack

Norbu is a recent arrival from Cuba looking for a furever family

he is the guy in the middle

Norbu is Tibetan for precious jewel. Set is suggesting a name change.

I vote for Clyde.