Title Pending Until I Have More Energy

Another book review, since I did decide to call my blog "Books and Dirt" and all that. 

In Search of Cleo: How I Found My Pussy and Lost My Mind by Gina Gershon

2.5 Stars

My best friend got me this book for Christmas, with a card that said, “I have no idea what this is going to be about or how good it will be, but I know you like cats and thought the title was hilarious.”

I read this book in one afternoon since it’s very short, and I have to say I was not so impressed. I think this had at least a little more potential than what it actually lived up to, but it felt like a mess for most of it.

But here are my highlights:

My favorite line: “ ‘To be a meat eater, you have to be able to look at a cow or a chicken or even a fish for that matter. You have to be able to look them straight in the eye and be able to say ‘I just ate your daddy.’ If you can do that with a clear conscience, then you will have no problem defending your carnivorous ways. I’m just not that guy.’” ~Hell’s Angel (p. 65) This sums up my feelings about vegetarianism very well.

What I did like:

There were some really funny anecdotes. They were spread out, but there were parts that were laugh out loud funny. (My favorite was the Player Ball, which had nothing to do with the cat).

The ending was really sweet when she finally gets Cleo back (I feel like this is not a spoiler since she’s pictured with him on the cover and the title includes her saying she found him.).

You can tell that Gina Gershon genuinely loves animals, from her childhood pets to the cat she is currently looking for.

A portion of the proceeds from the sales of the book go to animal rescues. I think this made up for a  lot.

What I didn’t like:

There were several errors that should have been caught by an editor. Examples were sentences with subject verb disagreement and changing tense in the middle of a story, or even in the middle of a sentence. This was very distracting.

The first half jumped around to so much that was completely irrelevant to the book. As I mentioned before, some of these stories were funny, but they could have been put in order so that at least if they were irrelevant, they’d make sense.

Speaking of not making sense… I was aware that there was supposed to be a psychic and other strange ideas to find a cat in this book. Some points in the book make you question if she was drugged and her cat was there the entire time.

All in all, I don’t think I could recommend this book to anyone. I really wanted to like it and while I was able to finish it, and I was satisfied by the ending, it just wasn’t something I’d tell someone else to read. 

Why My GPS Is Terrible at Giving Directions

If you’re anything like me, you sometimes wonder what’s the matter with GPSes (is that how you pluralize that?). It’s supposed to be able to navigate at least to places that haven’t changed in a while. After all, that’s why you paid good money for this tiny box. Yesterday while attempting to go to the DMV, this situation arose again. Fortunately, Jeremy was able to shed some light on what is going on inside that box.

Me: If it’s going to take me to Walnut, I don’t understand why it took me down Waugh (I’m pretty sure I say this street name wrong every time) and then Thornton. This is way longer.

Me (5 minutes later): It didn’t even bring me out any further down. Ugh. Does it even know where I am??

Jeremy: She was probably busy when it was time for your turn.

Me: What?

Jeremy: You know, she was having a conversation with the radio when you booted the GPS up. She said “Hold on a minute, Radio.” And then turned to you and said, “Yeah, turn left here.” Then she went back to talking “I’m sorry for *that* rude interruption, did you hear the news about Left Blinker? He went out with Right Headlight! And Right Blinker found out and…” “Wait!!! Turn right, right here!” and then she thinks you don’t know where you’re going anyway so she goes back to not paying attention.

Me: *laughing instead of yelling at the gps at this point* Fair point. Maybe I’ll have to replace her with someone less chatty.

For anyone wondering, we did make it to the DMV, even though it was a long way around. I now have a ridiculous paper GA driver’s license for the next 2-4 weeks until I get a real one. 

No More Store Bought Kitty Litter

I have the world’s best kitty. She is basically a dog that doesn’t have to be let out to go to the bathroom. She greets me when I get home, cuddles at night, and follows me around the house. The only problem has been the litter box that I hate so much. She has been so patient when it comes to me switching out the litter, though. She’s almost 2 now and has been with me long enough to know that I have been searching for a better solution than clay litter.

I’ve been on a hunt for a while now looking for something other than the traditional litters. I used the “Mimi Crystals” litter which is fairly cheap $4.88/ 4 lbs, but it’s full of chemicals and doesn’t help the odor that much. I tried the all natural feline pine stuff, which is fine, except that the pellets get thrown everywhere and again, the smell is not taken care of.

I finally gave up on the smell issue when I moved into my current apartment because the cat has her own “room” which consists of the breaker box, the water heater, and the A.C. unit. I can shut the door if it gets really bad and I just put an air freshener in there.

While searching for other options to save money, though, I ran across “recipes” for using paper as litter. Because I work in a bookstore, and because we throw out a ton of paper (this kills me!), I started a “recyling box” per se that I had managers throw paper in and I took it home when it got full. Some of the recipes called for soaking the paper for an hour with baking soda and meshing it and letting it dry for 2-3 days. I do not have that much time or patience so I found out that you can just use paper! This does not eliminate the smell at all and the paper kind of disintegrates, but really, it’s free so I just said whatever.

I tried this out but the biggest issue I noticed was that Miss Kitty is so staticky that she picks up paper so that it ends up everywhere. I looked at a few more options and finally found one that is perfect. I still use half paper, but I add have cedar chips now too. This takes care of a few issues. 1. No staticky kitty tracking paper. 2. Adds more volume to the litter so that there aren’t issues cleaning it out at the end of the week. 3. Smells fantastic. 4. It’s super cheap. A huge bag was $7 and I only need a small amount. I’m waiting to see just how long this lasts, but it looks like it should be quite a while. So I still get to reuse that paper instead of throwing it all away, and now the other issues are fixed. Win-Win.

And here is a picture of her just because she's adorable :) 

A Cookbook Review Just in Time for the Day After Valentine's Day

I hadn't done a review in a while (okay, so I haven't posted much of anything really), but I put this one up on Amazon tonight so I figured, hey why not also put it up for the lovely readers of this blog! So here ya go, just think of it as a belated Valentine's Day present :) (Maybe I could have done something more related to romance... Maybe next year.)

Meatless

I've been a vegetarian for a few years now so I have a few other books on the subject, but most of the cookbooks I have are healthy cooking books that I just take the meat out of recipes for. I wish this had been out a couple years ago when I made the switch; it could have saved me time, money, and some frustration. In an age when I can look up most recipes that I want on Google, I still feel like this would still be a good investment. For now, I have it checked out from work. Because I can do that.

What I like:
There are pictures for every recipe! This really isn't a huge deal usually, but it is a really nice bonus.
The layout is easy to navigate and recipes are categorized/cross-referenced well. Plus, there's an index with recipes listed by ingredient.
I'm a pretty picky eater, but these recipes are (for the most part) not so adventurous that I won't try them. There are a few that I'm hesitant about, but they still look so good, maybe one day, I'll attempt them. The vegetables aren't limited to just a few selections, they span a wide variety. Some books tend to focus on just a few vegetables and it's nice that this one is so diverse.
There are a lot of "extras," including some basic skills needed (the different ways to cook an egg, how to prepare some of the most essential staples of vegetarian cooking - tofu, nuts, legumes, etc), stock recipes for soups and sauces, and combinations of recipes to make more complex menus. Each recipe also has a few extra tips and suggestions.
Nutrition facts are included! And not just calories and carbs, but also protein and fiber. Protein is something I struggle with at times because I don't have the patience to cook tofu, and it's more difficult for me to track in just raw vegetables, but this lets me know how much is in it right off the bat.

Things that I didn't mind, but may be important for people to know:
**This is not a vegan book.** The recipes include cheese, milk, and eggs. Invariably, there is always someone who will comment at some point that the recipes aren't vegan friendly. Take the cheese out, make it with egg substitute and soy milk. Or skip those recipes.
This isn't a raw diet book and does include tofu. I believe there are only 10-15 of these recipes though, out of 200.
It's paperback. This isn't a huge deal for me, but I know it is for a lot of people. My suggestion though, is to get some clear plastic and put it on the counter anyway. Or, if you're going to be using it for a long time, just be ready for it to get a little messy.
The words are a little small. This is probably so that they could fit the recipes and the pictures into a book this size.

Overall, this is one of the most complete, but still simple enough vegetarian books I've found thus far.

Really Basic Craftiness

Something I've been looking for lately is a good recipe book. Every day at work, I look through a few during my break, and whenever we've gone to sell back books to the used bookstore in Chattanooga, I look through their journals with no luck. 

I finally found one that was the size I want, has conversion charts, splash pages, dividers, and was cheap (plus it was at work so I got that discount as well). The only problem with this one was it was honestly, pretty ugly.

Ok, so I realize it's not that bad, but it just looks like something someone older would have... But because I could get it for $6.50 and it was perfect otherwise, I went ahead and got it, knowing that I could make it pretty later. (The pages are pretty plain so that wasn't an issue, fortunately.)

Today, J and I went looking for a hot knife so he could do his own crafty projects with vinyl. It's Sunday so Hobby Lobby was closed, but we found a Michaels on their website that was a little closer than Chattanooga. We headed up there to find out that this was their grand opening weekend! I can't handle crowds very well, but we navigated effectively, got some great deals and I went home with some scrapbooking paper (for this project and others), ribbon, a HUGE reusable shopping bag, and a few of their $1 little things. (We did not find the hot knife, but later found a soldering tool at Home Depot.)

I found this pattern, which I love, love, love for the recipe book.

I've never been big on butterflies, but they have really been growing on me lately, and I love that they're "made" out of pages of books. So, a short while and some Mod Podge (which I made the other day) later, I have a much prettier recipe book :)

I decided to keep the spine as it was because I already liked it and the red on the cover is still a pretty close match.

Just in case anyone else is planning to use Mod Podge for something like this with paper, I want to share that I did tear the edge in the corner. I fixed it with another piece, but it was frustrating. The glue just made it a little too wet. It's a little wrinkly as well, but I'm okay with it!

I swear I have a few more projects to post pretty soon too! I didn't think this needed directions, but if you really want them, let me know :)

Gardening Adventure #1

I made a compost bin! I wanted to get something started with my garden, but it's still too cold at night to have any plants outdoors so I started here. I’m not sure how well it’ll work, and it’s already almost full so I’m a little nervous, but I finally got it made! Unfortunately, I think it’s too cold to safely keep worms right now so I will have to wait to do that after I get this figured out a little better and when it’s a little warmer.

So here’s a breakdown of what this experience was really like (compared to other people’s instructions/advice). (I round all costs up so if they are lower, you can be pleasantly surprised rather than being shocked. Also, because I keep losing the receipts before doing anything on the computer.)

Materials/Tools Required:

5 Gallon Bucket ($3 – the cheapest I could find that had a lid I could get for it)

Lid ($2 – Apparently this is purchased separately)

Drill (I’m pretty sure mine was between $10 and $15, but it was a real cheap battery operated one from 5 years ago so this is not accurate at all.)

Drill bit (this came with the drill. I don’t know how to tell what size it is so go for a smallish one)

About 1 ½ hours

Step by Step Directions

1. Take your bucket outside. Seriously. I thought to myself, I’m sure it won’t be that much of a mess. I am still finding little orange curlies all over the porch (personally I went outside to avoid having assistance provided courtesy of the kitty and puppy).

(Not a great picture, but my porch is still orange.)

2. Start with the lid so you feel like you’re making progress more quickly (especially if you have ADD and feel like the project is taking five-ever). You’re going to drill holes all over the place on the lid. One for about every 2 inches.

3. Do this across the bottom and then the sides of the bucket as well. (Because my drill is not very powerful, it took a lot of patience. So if you have a nice, powerful drill, choose that one over the cheap one.)

4. Put the compost materials inside. Materials include old fruits and veggies, bread, coffee grounds, tea bags, paper. You want an even (or roughly even) amount of wet (greens) and dry (browns) so that the chemicals work properly. Cut up the old food (don’t use meat or dairy in this! You’ll get pets – like mice and also an awful smell) and layer it followed by the paper (shredded), or pinestraw, or cedar chips.

(This is what mine looks like after 2 weeks. It has gone down a little and there is liquid coming out of the bottom, which I think is supposed to happen. Also, the black stuff is coffee, not soil. Too bad.)

5. This should be turned every couple days. I’m choosing to roll my bucket across the porch.

Added benefits: I think I made my neighbor crazy with the sound of the drill. And she’s kind of a pain so I felt better after my passive – aggressive behavior. Also, I will get to roll my bucket in front of her door every day and drive her dogs crazy. I can’t wait!

I’m not sure how long it takes to make compost so I guess I’ll find out. I’m planning to start planting as soon as I can, which may be in the next two weeks or so for some herbs inside so I'll be posting about that adventure as soon as it happens. 

New Name... Again.

So I had this great plan to write something up for New Year's, but then after the retail holiday mess that is my job, my body crashed and I spent my days off (plus one I shouldn't have been off) sick in bed, not reading, not writing. I did, however, manage to watch the entire first season of Once Upon a Time (thank you Netflix!). Turns out the holidays being over does not mean super high stress levels are over at work, though, so I am just now managing to get back on here.
Over the course of the past couple months, I have been looking into gardening. Because space is limited (to maybe 10 square feet on my balcony), I have been trying to find all the information I can about gardening in a reallllllly tiny area. I would love to be able to just grow vegetables and herbs so I don't have to buy those anymore. While there is some information out there, it's hard to find the "I have no money, no time, no patience, and no knowledge" books. So I figured while I'm at it with reviewing books, I'll fill in some of the other space with my adventures of gardening. I also want to start taking the puppy (and maybe the Boyfriend) hiking on small adventures. So be prepared for that possibility as well.
The final thing that may be added is crafty time! I've been trying to find new ways to up-cycle so we are not throwing so much out so I want to include that.
I wish I had written something better for this, but just beware that changes are coming! And you should be excited!