My Wheeler Dealer

He went to Ireland.
He returned.
He bought an exotic vehicle.

I Know This Ain't No Hurricane Katrina, But Monsoons Deserve Some Street Cred, Yo

Intimations on the Much-Anticipate Monsoon 2006 as it carves its lengthy swath through the valley yet manages to touch two families united forever through the bonds of holy matrimony and now also united through the strangehold of Monsoon 2006

Rock-a-bye, Baby,
In the treetop
When the wind blows
Our roof will come off

When the bough breaks
The lightening will strike
And burn down the Muller's garage
Foundation and all

Bloggability: 100%

I am sitting in my kitchen. I have a vantage point into my living room where I can see my love seat drenched with water, covered in insulation and cruched beneath sheet rock. Yes, People, I have long disrespected the monsoons, almost taunting them with my doubt of their power. They have repaid my derision with concise action. Specifically, they have rained my roof down upon my living room thereby ruining my beautiful paint job but enabling me to get new furniture and rip out the carpet that I didn't want. Yes, They have caused the timeline for a new look in the living room to be sped up. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You in advance for my new couch and my stained concrete floors.

When Stella and I walked into the living room this morning she looked at the wreckage and then looked at me something like this:



I kid you not. It was so funny to me because SHE KNEW something was not right. I'm sure she knew. That look on her face I will never forget.

Now, tell me whose couch isn't a little cozier with some roofing insulation piled on top?



I'll tell you whose. Mine, that's whose. Mine and anybody's that has a HUGE GAPING HOLE RIGHT ABOVE TO LET RAIN FALL DOWN UPON MY GUESTS' HEADS.



Here's the sunroof Jamie's always 'pined' for. Get it? Pined? Exposed wood?



And last but not least, this is what my house looks like tonight while I sit here watching The Colbert Report. I tell you what. I might get cable just for Mr. Colbert.



I'm just thankful that no one was hurt and I can sit here and celebrate the "kick assedness" of the United States with Mr. Colbert. I'm also thankful Stella still made it to her gym class with GoGo because that means she got good n' worn out. She also got her hair pulled.

Oh, This Girl, I Love This Girl

Look at those chubby little drumstricks.

A Welcome Rain Falls Not Softly

A heat wave swallows a majority of the continental US, but here in Arizona high heat is expected. This time of the year we are waiting for our monsoons to bring some relief. It can be 118 degrees and suddendly drop thirty degrees in a matter of thirty minutes. The drastic drop is due to the thunder clouds that linger in the horizon most days only to dissipate like our hope for relief. Yesterday, however, those lingering clouds followed through with their flirtations. This is what Phoenicians wait for all summer. Once these clouds deliver, we emerge from out homes and gawk. We don't see rain that often.

I took Stella out to experience the monsoon. She approached the falling rain gingerly but made a beeline for all the pebbles to shove them in her mouth.

It smelled like desert rain and creosote--it smelled like much-anticipated relief.

A Visit to FAC's House

FAC stands for Favorite Aunt Cindy. Stella participated in pool festivities on a much maligned cloudy day. I loves me some clouds in the summer. Makes me feel like I'm living in Seattle again (sigh).

We thought that the juxtaposition of Stella next to this pole was funny.

Right now she's watching Sesame Street and bouncing around in her little crib thing. I love it. Thank you, Muppets!

I've been thinking about content lately. That doesn't mean I'll be adding a lot of content, just that I've been thinking about it and how there are other things I would like to write about such as:

the best roast chicken I've ever made. I followed one of Julia's recipes and while it had many steps the ingredients were not difficult. It just requires repetitious basting of the chicken in the oven. And I love to cook. There is something so relaxing about it. I can't describe it. I think I want to start a French coooking club. Any takers? Even cyber takers? We could cook recipes on the same day and share results. I mean, there are craft blogs out there thay display people's craft results...why not a cooking blog that posts people's attempts at cooking a meal, perhaps even setting the table pretty AND cooking a meal? OH MY GOSH, I think I've had and epiphany in the middle of the day instead of the middle of the night when I neglect to write it down and then forget about it!

Reader Participation

There's only one thing she does with such intense concentration. Can you guess?

My Little Person

There is a direct correlation between the bigger and more active that Stella gets and the number of:
a) hours I sleep
b) words I write
c) magazines I read

Primus Zoous

That's layman's Latin for first zoo. We went to the zoo yesterday courtesy of AAA and Grandpa Jerry. We arrived as early as we could to try to avoid the heat. Regardless, it was hot around nine and we'd only been there just over an hour. I could not take any more! There's a cool spider monkey exhibit where you get to walk in amongst the monkeys. They are literally inches in front of you. It's so funny to see these little tiny monkey faces. I loved it because I've always wanted to have a pet monkey. Then I remembered that Jamie's godfather, John McCarthy, had a monkey. If only I'd known him then...

Anyway, we got up close and personal with a peacock that was showing off for his woman. I was amazed, but Stella was more amazed with the other children that were there. That is why her head is craning in the opposite direction of the beautiful feather display.



And here are the two of them at the Phoenix Zoo Star Wars Memorial entry railing. If you live in Phoenix, or grew up in Phoenix, then you should know what I'm talking about.

Stella's Big Trucking Accident

Stella has a big fire truck to play with at Grandpa Jerry's house. She loves her a fire truck. She uses it to stand up and take inventory of her toys. However, today she barely survived a rollover accident. Ahhh, Providence, You must have a plan for her.

The First Victim of Stella's Mobility

A terracotta pot in my father's living room. Her only saving grace is that she looks cute on the prowl.

Her President is Charlton Heston

Roasted Tiny Hoof

Julia Child might've introduced America to the pleasures of French bourgeois cooking, however neither of her voluminous collaborations included the preparation of Tiny Aspic. Stella is taking haute cuisine and the introduction of solids to a new level. With such derring-do she might end up on the professional wrestling circuit someday. Here she is getting ready to make contact with the delicate little copper-colored foot of our very own Miniature Pinscher, Tiny. Having just lost his "boys" to the vet, he was surprisingly docile and submissive.

Dad and Grandpa

Which is which?

Hiccup

Stella's first Father's Day sans father. Do you detect a Summer 2006 trend? No hard feelings here. Really. There aren't. Her father's not happy about this either. He's drowning his sorrows in Guiness on the other side of the world. So, this is not vindication, just reality. Reality blogging, if you will.



Riveting video:

In a Flash

Stella has flourished in her father's absence. I am not saying these two things are connected or dependant upon each other, merely that she has learned to pull herself up to standing.















Later...

All Julia All the Time

Well, my trusty iBook is on a trip to Memphis. Perhaps Lil' Betty will get to see Graceland and do an impersonation that rivals that of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. If not, I'll just be happy to have her home so I can post pictures so I don't lose my two readers--my mom and my sister. I might've lost around 500 photos. This made Kathy gasp. She doesn't know that 500 photos represents only about two to three days in the life of the Hanson family. I am nothing if not a prolific photographer.

Anyway, in my laptop's absence I've been sallying forth in my knowledge of Julia Child. She was a fascinating character--and very tall. She had a dream kitchen made to fit her height. This is my eventual goal. You can visit her kitchen at the Smithsonian Institute.

Anyway, I've been reading the biography of her life in France. I've also been reading Julie Powell's book about her great Project. Such fun.

I've also been watching Julia on some DVDs from the library. And I have another Julia Child biography that I'm going to start and then it's on to the Mastering the ARt of French Cooking. I think I'll try me a recipe--but I won't be cooking all 524 of them like Mrs. Powell.

I highly suggest Julie and Julia and My Life in France. I think the thing I like most about Julia is not just the cooking as much as her zest for life. She didn't start cooking until her thirties after she had a great lunch of sole mariner in France. She maintained that the lunch changed her life. She lived with gusto and found her passion and I can't get enough of her.

Perhaps someday we'll make some crepes together in the Big Kitchen in the sky!

"I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate." Julia Child