The Collector of Lost Dogs

Posted on April 23, 2008 by Jen

Monika and Sophie, originally uploaded by Cracker and Cheese.

Meet Sophie. She and her sister wandered into our yard one night last week and Kuma was terribly excited to meet new playmates. Of course I have soft spot for lost dogs (since we’ve lost Kuma a few times) so I went out with treats in hand, hoping to catch both of them. I was only able to get Sophie. The owner was so grateful that he brought over a bottle of wine as a thank you. And he even called us to let us know that Daisy (the other cocker spaniel) was waiting at the garage when he pulled up. Another happy ending for a family and their beloved dogs.

New Look Blog

Posted on April 21, 2008 by Bob

So we’ve gone and shook things up again. This is based on a theme by Chris Pearson, which, despite a plethora of SEO content, can make a nice WordPress theme. So enjoy that link, Chris! The drawing of us is from Kate’s comic 1322 Knob Lick Lane. Both of those links are awesome, check them out. Thanks Kate!

So yeah, basically, I didn’t do much here except have good taste. Which is good for something at least. All you RSS users, click on through to see the new design. Weeeee!

The Mars Volta Are Very Loud, Awesome.

Posted on April 18, 2008 by Bob

Last night, I saw The Mars Volta at The Pageant here in St. Louis. When I heard that they were coming to town, I sent out an email to my friends, knowing that it was completely futile and that I would be going alone. Not everyone appreciates their particular brand of Latin-Prog-Funk-Hardcore-Free Jazz. That was just fine for me, as I knew I would enjoy the show and that if I was there with people who weren’t enjoying it, it would make me enjoy the show less.

Anyway. The show itself was completely awesome. The Mars Volta played for over three hours straight, with only one instance of show-patter. They broke up their crushing, pulse pounding numbers with extended jams that gave the thousands of seventeen-year-olds in attendance a moment to take a drag off of a joint. A non smoking show. Ha.

Probably the best part of the show for me was when they broke down Aberinkula, the opener of their latest album, into an extended solo competition. Drum solo: fantastic. Guitar solo: incredible. Saxophone solo: amazing. Dueling solos back and forth between lead guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and saxophonist Adrián Terrazas-González: absolutely mind melting. It was like dueling banjos for hipsters. Just amazing.

The show had pretty much everything you would come to expect from The Mars Volta: freakdancing, flailing about the stage, demolition of a mic stand (and tossing it into the crowd). Lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala actually ran into the crowd at one point to grab a trashcan to bring onto the stage, so he could throw it back into the crowd. Amazing.

All in all, an incredible show, and one that my ears will be ringing from for quite a while.

Earthquake!

Posted on April 18, 2008 by Bob

So, evidently, there was an earthquake here in St. Louis last night. Centered about 130 miles east of town and measuring 5.2 on the Richter Scale, the quake hit around 4:30 AM. No major damage was reported.

I’m thinking that it must not have been that big a deal though, since neither Jen, Kuma, nor myself woke up during the event. I guess you could say we were shaken, but did not stir.

Supper Club: April 16, 2008

Posted on April 17, 2008 by Jen

Since it was such a beautiful day and Monika made a special request for it, we decided to make kabobs on the grill for dinner. Now, who doesn’t love barbecue?

Appetizers: Bruschetta I LOVE bruschetta! Katie says that you can’t mess it up so you must make these. But she will give you the stink eye if you pronounce it wrong. Lesson of the day: Bruschetta is pronounced with a hard “k” sound, so phonetically it is “brus-ketta.”

Entrees: Kielbasa Apple Kabobs and Sizzling Beef and Vegetable Kabobs Kim wanted to be ambitious and decided to try two kabobs, one savory and one sweet. At first, I was a bit hesitant on the apple kabob but once I tried it, it was delicious. I would have never thought those would all work together. She actually used turkey smoked sausage because it was better for us. The beef and vegetable kabobs were also very good, big fan with the asparagus.

Side Dish: Rosemary Grilled Potatoes This dish complements any barbecue and so easy to put together. I don’t really follow the measurements on the recipe, I just kind of throw in the ingredients, shake it up and put them in the foil pouch.

Dessert: Raspberry-Mango Crisp This is such a light dessert and a great way to end the dinner. Monika used frozen cubed mangoes (so much easier) and you must invest in a pastry blender if you are inclined to make crisps. Definitely have to serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it brings down the tartness of raspberries. One suggestion is to double the crisp because that’s the best part.

And I must give props to my husband, who slaved over a hot fire to bring us these yummy kabobs. See, I didn’t forget about you, honey!