It had been several weeks since our lawn had met a mower. I'm fairly certain that several large mammals took up residence in the thickets of buffalo grass, but I somehow managed to chase them out long enough to mow the lawn.
Of course, on Saturday we went out and bought a mower, but it wasn't until yesterday that Mr. Pony and I were able to take her for a test drive. After battling with the mower for about 30 minutes, I had to admit defeat- my miniature length arms simply weren't up to the job of pulling the cord to get the engine primed {that needs to be done on mowers? Huh.} and so I waited for Mr. P to return from class, and with his entirely manly (or simply his taller-than-me aide), we got it running and off I went. The mowing... meh, not my favorite (and I look like a lobster because I thought it would be fabulous to do it in my sports bra), but the results finally remove us from the 'those people' list on our block and we can hold our heads high once more. But this time, our chins aren't up to see over the damn grass!
Gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm holding up until your back gets used to it. - Anonymous
While we are talking about painting, you should know that this is what my brain looks like right now. First color- living room. Second color- master bedroom and utility room. Third color- nothing really. We were going to use it in the kitchen, but it made Mr. P feel like he was in a jungle- not the relaxing vacation kind, but the kind where jaguars are hunting you. Not exactly what we were going for. We've since found a new color that produces are more calming effect, and that has been used in the kitchen. Unfortunately, my photo skills don't do justice, so we'll have to wait on sharing those pictures. But yes, this is my brain... on paint.
The fellow that owns his own home is always just coming out of a hardware store. - Kin Hubbard
Of course, my exuberance did not long outlive the initiation of taping. Have you ever painted a room? Not just painted, but really, carefully, painstakingly painted to perfection? Well, that is what we are doing, and can I tell you that it sucks?
Of course, Mr. Pony does the physically hard part (in his fashionable, just shorn denim cut-offs-*sigh*) - I do the taping and detail work, mostly because I am a wimp. But in the end, the finished product of the work was fantabulous! These pictures are of our master bedroom, and the color is Valspar Universal Umber. The paint worked went on really well using the Wagner TurboRoll. I highly recommend it for indoor painting needs. The cleanup takes a while, but if you are going to be using one color for a large area, then it definitely makes the painting go much faster!
Of course, after that we had to do the laundry room and the kitchen/dining room, which came out splendiferously. Now we are working on our living room/entry way... which has 10-12' ceilings... difficult? Yes. Can we do it? Yes! {probably}. I'll let you know how it goes!
Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in. - Robert Frost
Neighbors above us, You’re really quite rude Your manners in living Are impeccably crude.
We do live below you, We are not the ground, So think of your neighbors When on the floor you do pound.
On weekdays and Mondays, We must go to work. Thus your early morning parties Makes our tempers quite irked.
You water your flowers As surely you ought to, But must you dump water On my head as I walk through?
In parking your car, You resemble a blind man You take up 2 spaces Like you’re driving a freight van!
The stress and frustration of buying a home Has given to us another advantage Not only much nicer and cleaner and ours No longer to your brutish noise we’ll be hostage
So farewell churlish neighbors We don’t wish you poorly But far from your oblivious din Our newfound joy will rest securely.
A bad neighbor is as great a calamity as a good one is a great advantage. - Hesiod
The Pony family is on a summer drinks kick. Yesterday Mr. Pony said 'We have all the ingredients, but we've never made you bubble tea!'. You see, a few weeks {months} ago we visited a large Asian market near my in-laws and purchased whole lychees in syrup, tapioca balls (the bubbles in bubble tea) and lichee black tea. This trio has sat, twiddling their metaphoric thumbs , in our pantry since January. Finally, 7 months later, we have mended this travesty and *tadaaa*!!! Bubble tea!
If you haven't had bubble tea, you really are missing out! The version we made may not be totally 'traditional' (if there is such a thing), but it is really easy (3 ingredients easy) and super tasty for an at home treat on a hot summer day!
Lychee Bubble Tea (makes 2 large cups)
To make tapioca 'bubbles', you need:
6 tbsp tapioca balls (available at most Asian markets)
3.75 cups water
Bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, add the tapioca balls while stirring (this keeps them from clumping). Let the tapioca balls boil until they start to float to the top and look plumped up. Once this happens, lower the temp to medium and cover pot for 5 minutes. Double check the directions on your package of tapioca balls- a 1 cup tapioca to 10 cups water ratio is normal, but for home use, 1 cup tapioca is a LOT.
While the tapioca is cooking, brew up a strong batch of your favorite black or green tea (we used tea flavored like our ingredient, but you can use whatever kind you like).
Next prepare your fruity ingredient. We had lychee's in syrup sitting around which we blended to make 3/4 cup of liquid. I'd recommend using a canned fruit with syrup because then you get a lot of flavorful liquid to add to the bubble tea, but I'm sure using real fruit would be tasty (just make sure its juicy!). Once your fruit ingredient is ready and the tapioca balls have rested, strain out the tapioca and put them in the fruity ingredient. This will help them gain a bit more flavor. If you just want them to be sweet, you can soak them in a simple syrup or coconut milk and it will add a nice flavor as well.
Now for the hard part- you have to wait. I know, it sucks, but trust me- warm bubble tea is not such a great treat as cool bubble tea. My suggestion is to pour 1.5 cups of tea into a container with a lot of surface area (for faster cooling) and put the tea and the fruit ingredient in the fridge for a while so it gets cool quickly. You are nearly done!
Once cool, blend together:
1.5 cups of tea
3/4 cup of blended fruit ingredient (lychee in our case)
6 oz. vanilla ice cream (this adds a pleasant creaminess to the beverage)
Pour into 2 glasses, plop in an extra fat straw (so you can actually suck up the tapioca bubbles as you drink) and enjoy!
Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world. - T'ien Yiheng *all photos by me
Goodnight room. Goodnight moon. Goodnight cow jumping over the moon. Goodnight light, and the red balloon... - Margaret Wise Brown {from the children's book 'Goodnight Moon'}
The 4th of July marks the epitome of summer- a celebration of color and joy that makes me feel a bit warm and fuzzy {even as I inwardly curse the fools setting off bottle rockets in the parking lot at 2am}. After all, summer is the time for catching fireflies in Mason jars, grilling hotdogs by the armful and sipping fruity drinks on the porch swing. Fresh cut grass on a summer evening is still one of my favorite scents, and I can still feel the grass between my toes as my childhood friends and I ran through a sprinkler giggling uncontrollably. Of course, the high point of summer also tends to go hand in hand with the highest temperatures, so to combat the heat, Mr. Pony proposed a solution.
Sound good? I thought so too! So without further ado-
Mr. Pony's Strawberry-Lemon Smoothie
1lb. fresh strawberries, de-stemmed and sliced up 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 4-5 good sized lemons) 1/2 cup simple syrup*
De-stem and cut up the strawberries and combine them with the lemon juice in the blender of your choice (we used a stick blender in a tall, narrow container and had great results). Blend until smooth. At this point you can choose to strain the mixture to remove the strawberry seeds- we left them in because I like the authenticity they add, but you might not like them! Add simple syrup to taste- we used 1/2 cup, but depending on your preference and the sweetness of your strawberries {because we can't all be this lucky}, more or less may be needed for maximum taste-bud relaxation. Chill and serve.
*Quick note- please make your own simple syrup- combine equal parts water and sugar, bring to a boil, and you're done. Really. Let it cool before mixing into a drink to speed up your drinking enjoyment.
This recipe makes about 22 ounces, which is good for 2 servings if you are greedy, or 4 if you are being reasonable.
We were greedy.Mature persons only- this would be great in a mimosa, or add a splash of vodka, and you have a delicious adult beverage.
I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade... And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party. - Ron White * all photos by me
Mr. P and I made a big purchase today.In purchasing our new home, we are moving waaayyyy off any bus route, and since we are sharing a car (a trusty Honda Civic that gets wonderful mpgs), we decided that we'd become bike commuters. In the next week or 2 I'll be riding to work every day to get myself ready for the 7 mile (each way) hike to and from work that I'll have after the big move. Con- its really hot where we live. Pro- who needs to work out again after you've biked 14 miles? Con- people here appear to see targets on the backs of bikers. Pro- we are now even more environmentally friendly! We'll see how it goes- don't worry, you'll get updates! The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine. - John Howard
Reasons #978-1000 as to why we need to move into our house post haste?Bikes in the dining room/kitchen.
The extra bedroom- who knows what lurks in the corners! My desk, hidden behind 150lbs. of grain (for homebrewing) and various boxes. I haven't used her in months, and I really hope nothing important has been lost on the desktop!
So as you can see, we are at critical mass- our belongings are beginning to take on a life of their own, and soon we'll be beyond help! But there is hope at the end of the tunnel! As if they heard our plea for salvation, the current owners of our new home let our realtor know they'd be amenable to closing a week earlier on our house! *fanfare sounds* So not only does this give us a house a week earlier, it also gives us time to paint (Mr. P is less than thrilled, but it will be gorgeous) and we can move in earlier. Huzzah!
My roommate got a pet elephant. Then it got lost. It's in the apartment somewhere. - Stephen Wright
