The bowl was originally overflowing. The first photo is of it after about 4 hours. The second is after 24. There are currently three M&Ms left... we'll see how long those stragglers last.
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16 hours ago
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The case of the missing M&Ms
I like to keep a candy dish on my desk, if for no other reason than to be one of the "popular kids." We all have high-stress jobs and there are a lot of people in the room who really like chocolate. Here's what Star newsroom staffers did to a bowl of M&Ms... in less than 24 hours. I have a limit of six M&Ms a day, so it wasn't me!
The bowl was originally overflowing. The first photo is of it after about 4 hours. The second is after 24. There are currently three M&Ms left... we'll see how long those stragglers last.
The bowl was originally overflowing. The first photo is of it after about 4 hours. The second is after 24. There are currently three M&Ms left... we'll see how long those stragglers last.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Puppy-sitting
I puppy-sat over the weekend for Eddie, a lab-poodle mix with loads of energy.
The entire time he was awake, his little legs didn't stop moving... he'd even run during his sleep sometimes.
He didn't really slow down until we were on our way to drop him back off at home... at which point, he took up residence in the back window of my car.
So to the person driving the Jeep behind us, apologize for all the dog booty you saw between Hickory and Shelby.
Garden help needed
When Julie Young moved to Hickory last year, she asked me if I would take over her role to coordinate what goes on at the PSN Seeds of Hope Community Garden.
It's a really cool project - anyone can cultivate a plot and have fresh veggies all summer - and it's time to plant now!
With food prices rising and more and more people becoming obese, a little garden work and more veggies should help people on several levels!
With that said, we need lots of help, especially at this time of year.
Lastly, I need someone to step up and take over my part of the project. I have a lot of other community obligations and I can't keep up with everything at the same level as last year.
Anyone interested in any of these things should e-mail me at seedsofhopeshelby@gmail.com.
It's a really cool project - anyone can cultivate a plot and have fresh veggies all summer - and it's time to plant now!
With food prices rising and more and more people becoming obese, a little garden work and more veggies should help people on several levels!
With that said, we need lots of help, especially at this time of year.
Here are some of our needs:
- More people who want plots
- Plot markers
- Help tidying up
- People who would be willing to donate money to the project
- People willing to help do fundraising
- People to help with the cultivation of a community plot
- Equipment, including a storage building
- Signs for the garden
Lastly, I need someone to step up and take over my part of the project. I have a lot of other community obligations and I can't keep up with everything at the same level as last year.
Anyone interested in any of these things should e-mail me at seedsofhopeshelby@gmail.com.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Seen and heard in upper Cleveland
I go to upper Cleveland County on a fairly regular basis and today I stopped by a few of my favorite Fallston places, along with one new favorite!
I started at Ginger's Gardens, where I was looking for a Mother's Day present for my mom. She'd sold the thing I had in mind, but I saw a lot of other cool possibilities... plus it was a nice day to walk around outside past the flowers and ponds, etc. they have set up. Here are two pics I took on my Blackberry while I was there.
Then I went past the new mobile Dairy Queen that's been setting itself up near the pharmacy and jewelry store in town. I bypassed the DQ in favor of trying out the Sweezy House, the new restaurant that opened there earlier this year. I had meatloaf, potatoes and green beans, in addition to sweet tea (of course!). I also ordered dessert to-go. Although the meal was great, the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake (which I believe is homemade) was WONDERFUL! There aren't any photos of it, though. It was too good to last long enough for a photo.
From there I stopped by Ashe's outlet between Fallston and Shelby on N.C. 18 (Fallston Road) and found out that they'll probably be closing in about a month. While I was there, I got a great deal on a featherbed. King size originally from JC Penney... $13! That's what I call a shopping triumph.
That's all for now... hopefully I'll be able to do more of these over the summer... it's kind of fun to give out the dish...
Monday, May 5, 2008
Wedding rehearsal photos
Despite a few bad moments, my cousin's wedding on Saturday went off rather well. Here are a few pics from the rehearsal. I didn't take very many though, because it's hard to take photos and learn how to be the maid of honor at the same time...
At any rate, here they are:
(CAPTIONS: Cousin Jeremy, my sister Erin, my cousin Molly and my sister Olivia and my uncle giving away my cousin Mandy to her fiance Stanley)
At any rate, here they are:
(CAPTIONS: Cousin Jeremy, my sister Erin, my cousin Molly and my sister Olivia and my uncle giving away my cousin Mandy to her fiance Stanley)
Doggie pics
I had to grill some food today for a photo shoot that will go with an upcoming Food page on grilling. While I was outside, I took a few photos of the food on the grill and also took a few of the dogs, who were being remarkably lazy today.
Despite the relatively comfortable temperatures now, here's a look ahead at what the dog days of summer will look like at my house.
Despite the relatively comfortable temperatures now, here's a look ahead at what the dog days of summer will look like at my house.
Washer woes
I had bold plans to wash about six loads of laundry on Sunday... I had a lot of clothes and sheets and stuff to catch up on, plus it's time to wash the dogs' beds.
Unfortunately, all that had to go undone.
The knob that turns my washer on broke off.
Laundry rebellion!
I tried using a wrench and pliers, but to no avail.
So I'm resorting to my college laundry solution. Take it to mom's house this weekend.
Happy Mother's Day, mom!
(I will not, however, have her do the clothes for me... but only because I'm the good daughter.)
Unfortunately, all that had to go undone.
The knob that turns my washer on broke off.
Laundry rebellion!
I tried using a wrench and pliers, but to no avail.
So I'm resorting to my college laundry solution. Take it to mom's house this weekend.
Happy Mother's Day, mom!
(I will not, however, have her do the clothes for me... but only because I'm the good daughter.)
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Snake crisis
OK readers, I need your brainpower here.
My neighbor came over this morning and told me that he saw a snake crawl up into a crevice at my house yesterday.
It evidently killed a bird and spent about 10 more minutes eating eggs out of its nest, I assume.
I'm concerned about the presence of the crevice, which is on my to-do list of things to fix.
I'm also concerned about how to safely remove the remaining bird from the pair.
But I'm even more concerned about the possibility of a snake getting into my house. I'd like to keep it away, but don't necessarily want to kill it.
Any thoughts or solutions?
I'm ssssseriousssssly creeped out.
My neighbor came over this morning and told me that he saw a snake crawl up into a crevice at my house yesterday.
It evidently killed a bird and spent about 10 more minutes eating eggs out of its nest, I assume.
I'm concerned about the presence of the crevice, which is on my to-do list of things to fix.
I'm also concerned about how to safely remove the remaining bird from the pair.
But I'm even more concerned about the possibility of a snake getting into my house. I'd like to keep it away, but don't necessarily want to kill it.
Any thoughts or solutions?
I'm ssssseriousssssly creeped out.
Monday, April 28, 2008
A day's work
Today was Drew Brooks' first day at his new paper. My friend who works there e-mailed me a photo of Mr. Brooks learning his new ropes.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Fat girl in the city
Here's my column for Wednesday's Food page:
NEW YORK — It’s a city with good tastes. In fashionable clothes, shoes and accessories. In arts, music and culture. And yes, even in food. New York City is known for its own unique style of pizza, cheesecake and has more varieties of ethnic cuisine than you can count on both hands (and both feet).I returned Tuesday from my trip to the Big Apple (see, there’s even food in its nickname) and decided to share a few of the things I tasted while I was there.
PRETZELS
My first culinary stop was at a pretzel and hot dog stand a few blocks from the southern edge of Central Park. The smell of the cart and the hot dogs cooking on it was incredible. The pretzel, however, was disappointingly hard and too salty. That wasn’t a good culinary start to my trip, but things quickly got better.
PIZZA
My second culinary experience was with New York-style pizza. Known for its wide, thin and foldable slices, it is usually hand tossed and light on sauce. Slices are often folded in half and eaten. The crust has a puffy, bread-like, outer edge that quickly tapers down to a very thin middle.Our pizza was that exact description. My recommendation is to try the pineapple kind.
DELIS
I chose to eat at a deli for lunch the next day and chose one of literally about 100 varieties of sandwiches. The deli had several homemade breads, rolls and bagels, among a variety of meats and other fillings. My choice of an Italian sub was a tasty one, although I could only finish half.
PROGRESSIVE DINNER
Upon the suggestion of someone who used to live in New York City, my friends and I decided to do a progressive dinner one night, and started with appetizers in Chinatown on the lower part of Manhattan. We chose Nyonya, a Malaysian restaurant that served an amazing chicken satay and peanut sauce and roti canai with a red curry dipping sauce (see descriptions above). This was by far my favorite part of the culinary trip and I could talk for an hour about it (but I’ll spare you the details for brevity’s sake). We followed it with gnocchi in an Italian restaurant in nearby Little Italy and ended our meal with frozen yogurt and fresh fruit from the Red Mango in Greenwich Village.
Although I had a few more food experiences, these are my highlights (and, in case you were wondering, all the calories were offset with all the walking!).
I hope you enjoyed the food tour of New York City.
THE DISH
Roti canai (pronounced “chanai”) is a type of flatbread found in Malaysia. Roti means bread in Hindi, Urdu, most other North Indian languages, and Malay.The dish is composed of dough containing ghee (clarified butter), egg, flour and water. The dough is kneaded, flattened, oiled and folded repeatedly. The dough is finally flattened and coated with oil and cooked on a skillet. The ideal roti is flat, but fluffy on the inside and crispy and flaky on the outside.
Real frozen yogurt should taste like yogurt — sour and tart and totally unlike soft-serve ice cream.
ON THE WEB
Red Mango: http://www.redmangousa.com/
Restaurant review for Nyonya: http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/nyonya03/
I'll have actual thoughts and observations on the trip in an upcoming blog.
NEW YORK — It’s a city with good tastes. In fashionable clothes, shoes and accessories. In arts, music and culture. And yes, even in food. New York City is known for its own unique style of pizza, cheesecake and has more varieties of ethnic cuisine than you can count on both hands (and both feet).I returned Tuesday from my trip to the Big Apple (see, there’s even food in its nickname) and decided to share a few of the things I tasted while I was there.
PRETZELS
My first culinary stop was at a pretzel and hot dog stand a few blocks from the southern edge of Central Park. The smell of the cart and the hot dogs cooking on it was incredible. The pretzel, however, was disappointingly hard and too salty. That wasn’t a good culinary start to my trip, but things quickly got better.
PIZZA
My second culinary experience was with New York-style pizza. Known for its wide, thin and foldable slices, it is usually hand tossed and light on sauce. Slices are often folded in half and eaten. The crust has a puffy, bread-like, outer edge that quickly tapers down to a very thin middle.Our pizza was that exact description. My recommendation is to try the pineapple kind.
DELIS
I chose to eat at a deli for lunch the next day and chose one of literally about 100 varieties of sandwiches. The deli had several homemade breads, rolls and bagels, among a variety of meats and other fillings. My choice of an Italian sub was a tasty one, although I could only finish half.
PROGRESSIVE DINNER
Upon the suggestion of someone who used to live in New York City, my friends and I decided to do a progressive dinner one night, and started with appetizers in Chinatown on the lower part of Manhattan. We chose Nyonya, a Malaysian restaurant that served an amazing chicken satay and peanut sauce and roti canai with a red curry dipping sauce (see descriptions above). This was by far my favorite part of the culinary trip and I could talk for an hour about it (but I’ll spare you the details for brevity’s sake). We followed it with gnocchi in an Italian restaurant in nearby Little Italy and ended our meal with frozen yogurt and fresh fruit from the Red Mango in Greenwich Village.
Although I had a few more food experiences, these are my highlights (and, in case you were wondering, all the calories were offset with all the walking!).
I hope you enjoyed the food tour of New York City.
THE DISH
Roti canai (pronounced “chanai”) is a type of flatbread found in Malaysia. Roti means bread in Hindi, Urdu, most other North Indian languages, and Malay.The dish is composed of dough containing ghee (clarified butter), egg, flour and water. The dough is kneaded, flattened, oiled and folded repeatedly. The dough is finally flattened and coated with oil and cooked on a skillet. The ideal roti is flat, but fluffy on the inside and crispy and flaky on the outside.
Real frozen yogurt should taste like yogurt — sour and tart and totally unlike soft-serve ice cream.
ON THE WEB
Red Mango: http://www.redmangousa.com/
Restaurant review for Nyonya: http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/nyonya03/
I'll have actual thoughts and observations on the trip in an upcoming blog.
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