Tropical Storm Debby

Tropical storm Debby just made her way through Florida this weekend and pounded my neighborhood with rain and wind. I didn't watch the news so I didn't have any idea about Debby until Sunday night. Turns out that I had helped my sister move in the middle of a tropical storm. How's that for a nightmare move? :) We were fine though. It just meant lots of rain and wind. I did enjoy sleeping to the sound of the rain tapping on my roof. Plus all this rain means I don't have to water my garden!

Arnold and I

I found an old picture of my sister and I a couple of months ago and saw this old stuffed animal that I absolutely loved as a kid. It was this little stuffed monkey by Russ. My friend Tim helped me figure out what kind of stuffed animal it was and where I could buy one. I can't seem to find the exact "model" I owned but I found one on Ebay the other day that was such a deal that I just had to buy him. He's adorable! The one I owned before had a bottle in one hand but this new one has a banana. It still is a great replacement. Isn't Arnold so cute?!? (That's his name)

Today, while working, I managed to finish a Kirby keychain I was crocheting. These projects seem so easy, until you actually try to do them. Then they end up taking hours to finish. But they are worth every minute because 1st-they help me make it through the workweek, 2nd-they give me a sense of accomplishment, and 3rd-they're fun and unique.

I ended up making a jam out of the cactus pears. I just cleaned them, boiled them, blended them, strained them, and then added sugar, lemon juice, and liquid pectin and bam! I had jam. It is so delicious too. Especially on a toasted bagel with cream cheese.

The very first one...

I've had blogs before. They never really worked out. I published anonymously with a poetry blog that no one ever seemed to read but me. Now I don't blame them, who reads poetry blogs anymore. I had another blog that was about three posts long and it wasn't public. I suppose that's more of an online journal. :) Then lastly I had another that only lasted about six months. I usually forget about them.

I just bought my own place and have finally begun to feel settled. Yesterday I spent a large amount of the day unpacking the guest room, which I have filled with all my photography stuff. My office is full of my art stuff and work things, of course. But to me the most important room to have clean and organized is my living room. There's something about walking in your house and seeing a nice clean living room. If my living room is crazy, then you know I am little stressed. But if it's clean then I am one happy girl. I wonder if anyone else feels the same way?

Yesterday, I picked four prickly pears or cactus pears. Someone asked me if they were safe to pick. But I reasoned if they can sell them in the stores then surely anyone can pick them and eat them. Boy was I wrong! They aren't called prickly pears or cactus pears for no reason. My left hand was covered in the tiny hairy fibers that stuck to my skin. I tried to remove them but i still had some left. I had to sleep with my hand above my head. But, at least I had some good dreams. So today I found an article that explains how to pick these prickly pears and clean them without hurting yourself. Here it is...

http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/prickly-pear-zmaz76soztak.aspx

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Moriah Maddux's Photography