Daredevil

Well, the decision is made on the family room color: Daredevil. Red, that is, in case you can't tell from the picture there. I pondered several shades, but it was the daredevil that called to me. They all look much alike in the photograph, but daredevil is actually the color in the larger pamphlet that shows a bathroom wall with a sink in front of it, the same color in the large chip beneath it. Though I thought I would have to, Satan (heh...satan/daredevil...heh) says I will not have to prime, but should be able to accomplish the correct hue with two coats or so. I'm so excited about a vivid color. I'm hoping to paint on Sunday.

I'm becoming more and more educated in the camera dept. I have explored the Cannon Rebel, Panasonic Lumix FZ30, Nikon D70 and 50, some sort of Nikon/Minolta mix that I found inferior and a couple of fancy Olympuses (?). I think the Nikons are out of my league as is the Rebel. Oh, but the Rebel DO TAKE some nice quick pictures. I think the Panasonic Lumix FZ30 is looking like the most bang for the buck. It's almost alone in its class with a similar camera, the Sony Cybershot being as expensive as the high end Nikons. I'm leaning. Definitely leaning.

Otherwise, by request (of one!), I'm posting the recipe for my famous (all my recipes are "famous" in case you're wondering) spanish brown rice. Enjoy guilt-free as this is a WW points free food.

Suzanne’s Spanish Brown Rice

2 cups brown rice
2 cups water
1 beef (or chicken or vegetable) bullion cube
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
Salt or salt substitute
½ small or 1 medium onion (to taste)
1 cup salsa
Olive oil
Avocado
Fat Free Sour Cream

Rinse the brown rice in a sieve and set aside to drain. Chop onion and sauté in a deep skillet for one minute in the olive oil. Add cumin and coriander, and stir and sauté another minute or so. Add brown rice, and bullion cube and stir and brown for a bit (less than a minute). Add the water and salt or salt substitute and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Cover, reduce heat to minimum, and simmer for 40 minutes. Stir in salsa and re-cover, simmering for another five minutes.

Garnish with fat free sour cream and chopped (and salted) avocado.

Blowin' in the Wind

We watched the second and final half of "No Direction Home" tonight, a documentary about Bob Dylan directed by Martin Scorsese. The movie focuses on Bob's career from the beginning (he embarks upon his career immediately after graduating from high school) until about 1966 when he gets injured in a motorcycle crash and essentially steps out of the limelight for eight years. There are many amazing things about Bob, but to my mind nothing is as incredible as the fact that all this amazing poetry and lyrics pour out of the man beginning at about age 20 and ending at somewhere around 25, maybe 26. How is someone so young SO prolific? It's mind boggling.

Also interesting to watch is the incredible controversy surrounding his decision to, as they called it, "go electric". To my mind, the switch is simply a progression of his music. To the folk community, however, it was complete and utter betrayal. By the time Bob is touring with the guys who became "The Band" in 1966, the concert audiences were booing and calling him "Judas". Bob himself seems utterly bored with the whole scene. Which, I guess if you're Bob Dylan, you can either buy into all the incredible hype about yourself, or you can turn away all together. I think Bob made the right decision.

I did a little more camera research today. I'm now considering a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30, if that means anything! I'm getting anxious to be able to post some decent pictures.

I love to take a photograph

Satan has returned and we all know what that means: shopping.

I've decided to make a birthday present to myself of a new digital camera and, of course, the possibilities are endless. My Fuji, while better than nothing, is just a tad limiting. My natural inclination is to go mid-range while Satan's is to go for quality. Which is why I'm currently contemplating a Nikon D70. Probably more power than I need as a novice, but I can certainly grow into it. The camera itself is surprisingly light--one of my main requirements. I can't bear to lug the equivalent of a small brick with me wherever I go.

Perhaps the most important requirement--and I'm sure there is a fancy term for this--is that there be little or no lag time between my depressing the button and the picture snapping. This is especially critical of course when taking action photos. My Fugi is so far from adequate in this regard as to be laughable. I depress the button and...pause...pause...yawn...the action has left the building and I have a picture of a vast empty frame (or the dog's ass). VERY annoying.

And so, the search continues. I'm planning to visit some downtown camera shops this weekend and hopefully become a little more educated about my choices. I'm not particuarly patient in this way, but the camera may turn into too big an investment to make on impulse.

In other news, despite the hype and anticipation, I was fairly let down by the premiere of Commander in Chief. Great concept and Geena Davis is certainly capable of doing a more than adquate job, I don't feel the material was everything it should have been. For one, given the similarity to West Wing, the smart and snappy dialog I've grown used to in that show was sorely lacking in CIF which was much more plodding. Also, while who can blame the show for focusing on the fact the the VP is female, that was pretty much ALL the show seemed to be about. 'Cmon guys, let's move on, shall we?

Oh, and Tom DeLay? Don't let the door hit you in the ass.

Wheel! of! Fortune!

That's right, folks. The unmistakeable combination of FurGirl and Vanna can only mean one thing: Satan is Away! And it's a Girl's Night In of fun, fabulousness and and of course Wheel of Fortune! FurGirl looks understandably a little shifty here, she normally doesn't like there to be photographic evidence of her being "bad" lest the big man some how find her out, but a few dog biscuits later, she was seeing things my way.

Next up on the agenda: "The Biggest Loser" (reality shows are striclty VERBOTEN by Satan) and then the series premiere of "Commander in Chief" during which FurGirl and I will engage in a lively debate as to how many plastic surgery procedures Geena Davis may have submitted to. And...I must say...Geena is keeping it pretty real. Mostly.

Maiden Post

I'm not sure what I want to say in this space, but I'm sure I want to say SOMETHING. Hopefully, these things will come to me. I am a voracious reader of other blogs and feel it's time to step out there myself.

So...hello there. I am a fortysomething gal living in the south with my husband who will be referred to here (as in life) as Satan, and my beautiful and sensitive golden retriever named FurGirl (say hi to FurGirl over there. She'd like to know...do you have some chicken in your pocket?). We live in a gorgeous building we recently restored in a lovely historic neighborhood. We are both professionals and I don't expect to do much talking about our work in this forum.

What I do want to do is to share my pictures and my life and my feelings. I want to chronicle at least a portion my experiences and my thoughts. I want to hone my writing skills. It would be great if I can make some new friends and keep in touch with the old ones.