Hot and humid
Aug. 29th, 2010 08:21 pm...but almost no mosquitoes. We seem to have crossed the critical length of time without significant rain so that the little buggers have all dried up. Of course, hot humid weather means flies and we have plenty of those. Fly spray on the horses works much better than mosquito repellent does, though.
Theoretically, tomorrow should start feeling like a vacation, since I'm not going to work. Car goes in for 36K service, though, and Gary wants me to go to Chicago with him to visit his mom, which I'll probably do.
I got inspired and made ratatouille crêpes for dinner. They turned out pretty well, except that the jalapeño I added was rather hotter than I expected. My ratatouille normally has some cayenne or a small hot pepper anyway, and I had the jalapeños on hand so I used one. It was so powerful that even after washing my hands twice with soap and water I could still feel the burn when I touched a finger to my lips. It diluted in the overall dish though and the result was quite acceptable.
Tess went out this morning and came in at noon, quite willingly as it was getting hot and stifling out there. She still fussed about being alone in the afternoon, though, and gave me a lecture every time I passed by, even if I stopped to pet and talk to her.
Apparently there are no black walnuts to be found around here this year. What few there may have been seem to have been taken by the squirrels already. I did find an empty shell this afternoon that was clearly the work of a squirrel. Most every natural dye source that is readily available now produces shades of yellow, and I need a contrast to yellow. Looks like either I take a chance on walnut bark, which is obtainable, or I go buy something like indigo. Need to decide pronto and get this done before the week ends.
Theoretically, tomorrow should start feeling like a vacation, since I'm not going to work. Car goes in for 36K service, though, and Gary wants me to go to Chicago with him to visit his mom, which I'll probably do.
I got inspired and made ratatouille crêpes for dinner. They turned out pretty well, except that the jalapeño I added was rather hotter than I expected. My ratatouille normally has some cayenne or a small hot pepper anyway, and I had the jalapeños on hand so I used one. It was so powerful that even after washing my hands twice with soap and water I could still feel the burn when I touched a finger to my lips. It diluted in the overall dish though and the result was quite acceptable.
Tess went out this morning and came in at noon, quite willingly as it was getting hot and stifling out there. She still fussed about being alone in the afternoon, though, and gave me a lecture every time I passed by, even if I stopped to pet and talk to her.
Apparently there are no black walnuts to be found around here this year. What few there may have been seem to have been taken by the squirrels already. I did find an empty shell this afternoon that was clearly the work of a squirrel. Most every natural dye source that is readily available now produces shades of yellow, and I need a contrast to yellow. Looks like either I take a chance on walnut bark, which is obtainable, or I go buy something like indigo. Need to decide pronto and get this done before the week ends.