if anybody's keeping track,

I made it through the 5th repeat and a couple rows into the 6th with the first ball of cotlin, yesterday. I'd probably be content with 11 repeats instead of 12.. but don't believe I'm going to get there, either. I believe this towel is going to be.. coral colored, with one natural end. :)

the kids got home last night from their trip to boston. they hated being in boston, it was a really hot week. they didn't hate boston in general though. still no firm decision whether the move will take place. they stayed for dinner and some yacking and then headed home, taking daphne with them. we'll sort of miss daphne, and she'll sort of miss being here, there's more to keep her busy. harpo won't get around to missing her until tomorrow, though.. he's got a week of sleep to catch up on. :) he was so worn out he put himself straight to bed once she left last night. one of the reasons we'll miss daphne most is that she keeps harpo so busy keepin' an eye on what she's up to that he forgets to come wake us up at 5freakinthirty, looking for his breakfast. she was not here long enough to break him of that impulse.

made soup for dinner since it's the easiest thing to make when you don't know what time dinner is going to be and I've made dinner enough times lately that nobody showed up to eat that I'm kinda touchy about that. :) is good soup..

turkey and black bean..

you need 1lb of turkey italian sausage.. the kind from walmart comes in a nice plastic log so you don't have to squeeze it out of the skin link by link.. and 3 cans of black beans, and about a cup each of chopped celery, carrots, and onions.. more onions is always good.. a can of petite diced tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, a bit of cumin, some chopped garlic, 1/3 cup or so fresh cilantro, chopped, a box of chicken broth (or a couple cans), and... some lime juice. you brown the sausage and garlic a bit then add the onions and carrots and celery and cook that some, then the tomato paste (measure the rest of the can out in 1 tablespoon blobs on some waxed paper and pop 'em in the freezer for a bit, put 'em in a ziplock when they're solid and next time you can just grab two blobs from the freezer to toss in the soup :) ) and tomatoes and chicken broth and cumin ('bout a teaspoon) oh.. and some red pepper flakes.. (I usually add a few packets of red pepper flakes to my papa john's order.. don't want it on my pizza but it's free and handily pre-measured for soup :)) and 2 cans of black beans and the cilantro and cook it a while.. pour the other can of beans in a bowl and mash them and add them in a bit later to thicken it some.. you can add the lime juice then, about a tablespoon.. cook it a bit more and taste it, it might want a little more lime juice, or maybe some salt. for serving, you can garnish it with some crumbled tortilla chips, a sprinkle of cheese, a blob of sour cream, some chopped avocado and/or green onions and/or tomato.. or all of 'em, if you really want a feast in a bowl. :)