JanerBlog

Kale chips.

No, really. They're delicious. Looking for something crispy to snack on that doesn't have a ton of calories? Trying to trick yourself into eating more veggies? Try this:

Get a huge bouquet of curly kale. Get a big mixing bowl. Pour a couple tablespoons of oil into the bottom of the bowl and add a teaspoon of salt and something acidic: lemon or lime juice or balsamic vinegar. Tear the spines out of the kale leaves and pull the leaves into pieces two or three inches on a side. Heap the leaves in piles on dehydrator trays, stack and dehydrate for 3-4 hours until crispy.

They taste mild and green and lovely. They're sharply crispy, but are so brittle that they yield easily and don't lacerate your mouth. They're not exactly what I'd call filling, but if you're like me and just like to amuse your mouth while you're working, these are perfect. I've downed the equivalent of a half-pound of kale in an afternoon -- and this is coming from somebody who hates kale.

Next I'm going to try some with sesame oil, garlic and sesame seeds. Vegetable Win!

Dammit.

Just rode our bikes home from a wonderful evening of dancing to Fonn Mhor at Bells, hot and sweaty and happy. We pull into the driveway to find some dirtbag sitting in the front seat of my car.

Me: "Hey. What're you doing in my car?"

Her: "Uh, some guy told me to go sit in it and wait for him."

Me: "We'd like you to leave now."

Her: "Hey, I'm sorry. I wouldnadoneit if it weren't for that guy."

Me: "Yeah, well, this is our house, and that's my car, and we'd like you to leave now."

Her: "Yeah, okay. Sorry."

She left.

The car was open, and locking it manually proved ineffective; it seems that it now will only fully lock if I use the key fob. Lovely. Note to self.

Nothing was taken, in large part because I don't tend to leave anything important in my car. Moments like these make me wonder if this neighborhood is worth staying in, but then I think of all the times my grandfather had to chase thieves out of his toolshed, and remember that this kind of thing happens everywhere, and at least the cops don't take an hour to show up here. We're lucky in that there isn't much violent crime around her, but boy, anything not nailed down is fair game. Case in point, tonight.

Sigh. And it was such a good night up until five minutes ago.

Media Confusion...

So I watched exactly twenty minutes of television this evening, just to see if I were missing anything, and spent the time popping back and forth between America's Next Top Model, So You Think You Can Dance, Super Nanny, a horrific Lifetime Movie, and a gory episode of Nova where they were reattaching some guy's fingers. Nova's usually an out-of-the-park hit for me, but they've gone all reality teevee with jumping graphics and scrolling information that made me wince.

I never want to watch television again.

On the other hand, how come it took me four years to hear about The Decemberists? I'm sure that they're out of vogue by now, but man, what fun. I know for a fact that this is the first time I've heard the words "Bosphorous" and "pinioned" and "palanquin" used in songs by *anybody*. Yay for literate nerd folk-rock. If I like these guys, who else should I be listening to? Suggestions?

Plus, I'm finally getting around to reading The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, and though I'm only a little bit into it, it looks really really good, and totally like my kind of book.

Yeah, I think it's clear where I should be spending my time. Good music, good literature, and hopefully, good comics.

OMG I love biking.

I love riding my bike through traffic to work. It's only about a mile and a half, but it really wakes me up in the morning and I arrive feeling all bright and happy and excited to face the new day, having just risked my life against SUVs and semis. Due to the number of traffic lights and one-way streets, with a little creative biking I can also get to work about five minutes faster than I can by car, which is also great. On days when it's raining (Or like yesterday, where I skipped biking because it was supposed to thunderstorm and then it didn't, gorramit) I feel loagy and sad 'cause I can't bike.

This bodes not well for snowy weather.

Ow.

In trying to get my air-conditioner out of my studio window (on gorgeous days like today, I like to have the window open), I mashed my drawing hand so hard in between the sash and the window that I had to wail for Paul to come and extricate me. It hurt like hell, and I must've jumped up and down saying the f-word for about fifteen minutes. Three days later, my fingertips still smart.

Ow.

Blogging? I remember when I had time for that!

Ha ha, folks -- but seriously.

The verdict is in after just under a month: I love my new job. I feel strong and capable and competent and like I'm living up to the fast pace all right. There's other good news, too: there's so much work that my lagging work ethic is getting whipped into shape crazy fast. There's no time to be distracted; it's all got to be done quickly and with attention to detail. No dawdling or time for distraction. This is already translating into me getting my Turk pages done faster each week, which is good, because that brings me to the next big thing.

I'm involved in a new comics project. Pam and Layla, this is the thing I've wanted to tell you about for months now but couldn't -- still can't till later this week. It has the potential to be very high-profile, and I'm really giddy-excited about it. I've also spent the last two weekends (and I do mean the entire last two weekends) getting my end of the work together. I've done art tests and redactions and finally got my end of things looking how the de-facto art directors want them, which is exciting and wonderful in and of itself, since I really respect the taste and work of both these people. Keep an eye on this site -- or the ClockworkGame.com site -- for the big announcement later this week. I promise I'll tell as soon as the word's out.

So yeah, been working my buttinski off, but have had time for friends and family and husband and dog, which is good, because if I didn't have the occasional release I'd be craaaaazy by now. Not much time for anything else, though.

Whee! Ride'em, cowboy comics!

I be Jammin'

This Saturday I processed 25 pounds of fruit from the farmer's market. I made cherry, black raspberry and blueberry jam, then froze cherries and blueberries. I also finished up the banana jerky I made from the cheapo sale overripe bananas I got from the Co-op on Friday.

After I un-destroyed the kitchen, I made an enormous fresh-blueberry-lemon-cookie-whipped-cream trifle (with three cups of heavy whipping cream) which we took with us to the Westnedge Hill Block party, complete with thirty screaming kids and a full-blown pig-roast. It was full of awesome, and the weather was perfect. Thanks again, Ray and Nancy!

Then I spent the rest of the weekend getting caught up on art. Woo! That's a great weekend, in my book.

The new dayjob

So this morning, I met my cubemate for the first time; he'd been out of town visiting DC during my first week. We immediately launched into a discussion about which war memorial was the most effective (Winners: Vietnam and Lincoln, Loser: WW2), then drifted into a comparison of our favorite Pixar opening shorts (Winner: Presto, hands down), and discussed the "Dragon's Lair", the meeting-room-cum-D&D-den (decorated with first-through-third edition manuals) immediately opposite us. Later, my next-door cubemate informed me that they had an ongoing game of "Assassination", and that if I wanted in, I'd best arm myself with some Nerf ASAP. I also received an invitation to join both the Friday Donut Club and the Weekly Workout group, have sampled three fo the six flavors available on the third floor ice-cream bar, and have agreed to help support the "good coffee" pool for our immediate area.

Yeah, I'm gonna fit in here just fine.

And yes, I know exactly how lucky I am.

Steamy Photoshoot

Who wants to see me and Carla in a steampunk photoshoot? You know you do.

Huge thanks to Jennie Breeden for remembering her camera after I totally forgot mine. You rock, Jennie.