Tuesday, September 25, 2012

wow! can't believe it's been a week since i posted!

it really has been a week since i last posted! that's just crazy! but understandable given the circumstances! a week ago the cord for my camera went belly-up and i have a really hard time writing posts without at least 9,746 pics to add - bahahahahah! but then came the equinox...and my female monthly stuff....and for the last few days i haven't even been able to get off the couch. sorry if that is TMI, Duke, my dear buddy!

so here is a beautiful sky pic for my sis Helga...i think she may be in withdrawals - bahahahahah! sorry sis!



so when you are feeling like crap and have a migraine for days - you eat. at least that's what i do. and this is what i eat - peanut butter toast - oh yer darn tootins' baby!



and of course, savoury home-made croutons. i love croutons with garlic, parsley, olive oil, a ton of sage, rosemary and thyme - comfort snacks baby!



i ate this whole container of croutons, by myself, in one evening. i should be ashamed but i am not! while i lay on the couch moaning and groaning, with jambaloney constantly running to refill my water glass (that man is a saint. and a gorgeous one at that!), i snacked and watched my favourite show:



i looooooove Hell's Kitchen. when we left the city, we had only seen up to season 4. then we were here on the island for over a year without tv. then we got netflix. netflix only had seasons 1 -3. no matter. we re-watched them all (much to the chagrin of poor, bored jambaloney). but then he ordered me seasons 5, 6,  and 7. we have already watched 6 and 7. hopefully today, because he went to town, we will get season 5. i don't care if i have to watch them out of order. i just love watching that show!

even though i haven't been feeling well, we still eat some good and proper meals. again, i can't stress enough - make sure to include raw food, fermented food and cooked food in every meal! here is some delicious kafta-like hamburger patties (filled with herbs and grilled on the bbq), pita, hummus, couscous, rice, fermented beets and daikon radish.




not the breakfast of champions (which is fresh trouts and sprouts), but close to it - grandma's fluffy pancakes with fresh blackberries and jambaloney's step-dad's awesome maple syrup - yummeh!



how about some delicious caesar salad with real bacon, parmesan, shrimp, and home-made dressing and croutons? oh this salad was to die for. we split it into 2 plates and both of us ate every last bit! and had some more for snack later - deevine!

 

here's a beautiful sunset for my sis Helga...hope you like it sis. i also hope my other friends like it - you know who you are!



and then there's comfort food when you are feeling a little under the weather. how about some good 'ol british bangers and mash?
 
 

sausages, mashed potatoes and gravy (my absolute favourite food in the world!), some turmeric stir-fried cabbage, some fermented beets and daikon radish...and some kimchi. i loves me some kimchi!

 here's a little maniac hawk who's been hanging around for over a week now...he thinks our yard is a buffet! jambaloney chases him off whenever he shows up and we have been wondering about his particular "catching" skills as hawks kill other birds in the air to feed. this guy seemed pretty dumb as he kind of swooped around the yard but really wasn't catching anything (not in the yard - thank goodness. i know that he needs to eat - i just don't want him eating a fresh kill in front of me!). but apparently, small hawks like merlins and kestrals like to sometimes just play around, swooping in on birds with no intent to kill, just practicing and/or working out. hmmm....oh well. as long as he doesn't eat any of the birds that come here regularly, i am fine with him using our yard as a treadmill.



next up....some fermented food that we like to eat. beets and garlic, beets and ginger, carrots and ginger, radishes, and cucumbers with dill and garlic.



wild fermented food is incredibly good for you...do a search on google to learn more. we have been incorporating more and more fermented food in our diets. and it's a great way to preserve food if your garden isn't harvesting enough to can. we love fermented food.

lastly...and this is a bit of an ick. every now and again when it rains alot, we get an oily residue in our small trenches in the back yard. here is where it always starts:

 

 it starts at a trench that is kind of in the middle of our backyard. it is filmy and floats on top, it doesn't smell like anything though.

here's another pic further down the small trench:



does anyone have any idea what this could be? we are terrified to do any searches on the internet...simply because we are terrified that the previous owner might have buried an oil drum or something? does that make sense? would anyone do that? and for what reason?

as i said, it doesn't smell like anything but it is a definite oily film....any ideas?

anyway - sorry to have been offline for so long. i hope that all of you are well...and give me a day or two to catch up on all of your most recent posts!


32 comments:

  1. Looks like drainage from a washing machine/dishwasher drain line that may have busted underground.

    I've seen this before and it was the above...

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  2. Matt - thanks so much for your comment. i know that you went offline and i was so worried not to hear from you (remember our friend?)! thank you for staying around. i will keep my eye on your blog like that hawk that sits in our yard - if you start posting again i will be there.

    oh crap about the washing machine/dishwasher drain. all of our pipes lead out the other way. do you think that the previous owner put in a buried line to the backyard?

    thanks so much buddy!

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    1. You could skim a very small amount of the white stuff and take it away from the trench and see if it burns.

      It's really anyone's guess as to what previous owner did.

      I'd get a shovel and start digging.

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  3. Kymber, I am so sorry you have not been feeling well. I hope you are right as rain soon. We have indeed missed you and Jam !

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  4. Sorry you've been ill, but it looks like you've been taking good care of yourself.

    Would the Hawk kill at cat?

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  5. I know what it's like to be down, AND hurting. Maybe we got the same thing? lol

    I am going to investigate fermented food. Because crohns is a "fermenting" type of disease itself, I need to do more research.

    Do you live on the very TOPMOST of your hill? If you don't, then anything could run DOWN the hill.

    Personally, I'd take a babyfood jar of it to the health department, especially if you use well water. It is obviously leeching through the earth.

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  6. Sweet Kymber,
    I'm sorry to hear you've not been feeling well. Darn migraines and monthly things are a royal pain. I hope you've been getting plenty of sleep. Have you used any ice packs on or around your head and heating pads on you belly? I know it's not something major to help but it's a little something that may give you some relief.
    I take it from reading your post that Jambaloney has been taking good care of you.
    All the food pictures look delicious. As Lotta Joy mentioned take a sample of the water/foam/oily base stuff to the Environmental Health Agency in Canda for testing.
    When you have an opportunity, check your mail and let me know if you received the package. All records on this side shows it was or went through customs.
    Your Friend,
    Sandy

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  7. Hope you get to feeling better soon. ALL that food looks delicious! And love your bird feeding area, minus the hawk of course.

    I agree with everyone else, have that oily stuff tested!

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  8. Feel better soon sweet kymber and tell jambaloney thanks for taking good care of you! I've missed you and thought about emailing but of course I got side tracked and did not follow through but happy to hear nothing major is wrong. Don't know what to tell you about your icky stuff.

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  9. Hey sis - You are forgiven for the no sky pics, as I know you've been under the weather for a bit. And I'm glad you did stay off the box to rest. I do love and appreciate your sky when I can get it though. Thanks for that hon !

    Sausages, smashed potatoes, stir- fried cabbage and gravy ... my fav too ! I could eat that supper every night and I do eat it a lot. The caesar salad is another fav around here - we sure do like us the same food ! I'm just not eating as much fermented food as you - but I should I know. I love fermented red cabbage and do pickles count !?!? I'll have to try me some of your Kimchi when I come.

    I see the teacup bird feeders are still upright - how great to see them ! Now that oil film is weird. Could it be from toxic rain caused from the coal tars in Sydney - I read something about that on Wikipedia a while back. Just guessing ...

    Hell's Kitchen and Hotel Hell - his new show are great to watch. If you can't get Hotel Hell - I could send you the episodes when they come out.

    Email coming later tonight. Keep resting, watch your show and eat toast.

    I love you sis ! Always, forever and a day ! xoxoxoxoxo

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  10. Hi, Kymber. I hope you are feeling better and are just perfect(!) soon. I'm glad to see you. . . from afar anyway. xxoo Kathi

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  11. Glad to have you back. Maybe you have an oil well in your back yard!

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  12. It's most likely algae. I can't remember what kind. And I can't remember if it's the algae you see that looks like oil, or something it sloughs off. Not a lot of help, but if you were inside my head you'd think it was genius :-)

    I'll let you know more details if I ever stumble upon the information again.

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  13. Me again. How you kept your wits about you when you weren't feeling well and took pictures boggles my mind.

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  14. As usual, those sky pictures are beautiful, especially the first one. Hey, now I need gravy. I have link sausages, scrambled eggs, milk and oj for dinner tonight. Vegetable come later on tonight.

    I think I would have that oil tested, just in case. Then, the governement would probably demand you evacuate. But, it is gross looking!

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  15. now you can work towards your second anniversay

    hopefully soon be able to send you something

    got to catch and sedate it first

    Wildflower

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  16. I just made cupcakes for a gathering after work and managed not to eat one and now I'm drooling over your food.

    Have you ever done a grilled peanut butter sandwich? Make a sandwich but put just a dab of honey on the peanut butter inside. Lightly butter it and grill until the outside is toasty and the PB and honey is all caramlized and melty and starting to get crunchy around the edges. My Mom made them when I was a little girl as a treat and I seem to be the only person who ever had them.

    I will try the fermented stuff. I make a Thai chili sauced marinated chicken breast sandwich that has slivers of carrot briefly pickled in some rice vinegar as a sprinkled topping with some cilantro on hot and crispy french bread that's been brushed with olive oil before grilling.

    OK, Now I'm REALLY hungry. After fair food weekend, I had a low calorie fruit smoothie for dinner.

    Big hug!

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  17. Sigh...I want to come have dinner with you and Jambaloney! Oh, and breakfast and lunch and a snack or two...

    Glad to see you back, missed you as always.

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  18. Glad you'e feeling better :) How about peanut butter croutons?

    For some reason your oily pic isn't showing for me, but agree with Barlow Brownstone - try scoping some up and seeing if it burns?

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  19. Glad to see you back, I was telling Stephen how you were slacking off. I'm sorry.

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  20. I know what its like when Dear Aunt Rosie shows up to visit...she puts me on the couch for a few days as well. We eat lots of peanut butter toast too...good stuff.
    Glad to see you up and out and feeling chipper again... : )

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  21. We see hawks buzzing around here all the time..proabably dining on mice or squirrels.. Or not. Yeah, that film looks odd but it might just be a small spill that surfaces when the water table gets high during wet weather...hopefully something small. Hope you are felling better!

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  22. I am glad your better. my wife and daughters had the same illness as you.

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  23. Are you on septic? Looks like grey water runoff to me

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  24. Peanut butter toast is a good general curative. Especially if sprinkled with chocolate chips or bacon. Or both if you really have a jones for salty and sweet, which I often get during certain weeks.
    I'm glad to see that you're feeling better :)

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  25. Now I have to go and eat breakfast after seeing all that yummy food!

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  26. I found this web-site you may be interested in since you have been "under the weather".

    http://photobucket.com/images/sunflower%20cupcakes/

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  27. film in water may be from decaying plant matter oils finally seeping into said stream

    yes, natural hydrocarbon water contamination can show up on waters not freely moving

    Wildflower

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  28. Often the ground will seep gasses and oily residue from natural deposits. Unless you see dark crude I wouldn't worry too much, just keep an eye on it. It is fairly common here in WV.

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  29. aw, I hope that you are feeling better!! I don't usually get headaches, other than when I'm pregnant, but I've been getting them for the last couple of months (due to the wrong thyroid med dose) and they really suck. I can't even imagine a migraine - you poor thing:( I love Hell's Kitchen too, and the raw & uncensored version must be awesome - I can't imagine Chef Ramsey in the raw!!! I hate how on tv half of what you are hearing is bleeping for all the curse words - I'd rather LIKE hearing him go off in all of his glory...lol. Anyway, I am so glad that you have such a good man to be taking care of you:) and I miss you. I did (finally) email you back, but I never know if you get them or not, that little {SPAM} thing in the header makes me wonder if your computer thinks I'm a spammer? I hope that you are getting lots of sunshine before winter sets in - it is raining here today, as it will for the next few days - so glad we can spread out into a bigger house now, it makes rainy days so much better:) Take care, kymber:)

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  30. I can't find your email on here, so I'll just leave a comment -

    Last night I was standing at the stove cooking dinner when two four year olds went walking by. One said to the other "but don't tell HER" - that's a red flag if I ever heard one....lol. So, I said "what are you two up to??" The one doing the talking said "playing" all sweet and innocent. "playing what?" is asked knowing there was more than sweetness going on. He said "with toys in your room, but we will pick them ALL up when we are done" he was carrying a box of lego's, so I believed him. A minute later I went in my room to see what they were doing, and sure enough there they say playing with their lego's. Then I wondered and asked outload - "hey, why aren't you playing in your room??" the one replied "because it's a big mess!!"....lol. I thought it was pretty funny, and I know you know which four year old was doing the talking:)

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