The Cyan Pepper

Play Doh

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:51:00 -0400

These are all over the web, but here’s my recipe:

2 cups flour

2 cups water

1 cup salt

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon cream of Tartar (optional for improved elasticity)

1-3 packets of unsweetened Kool-Aid

The Kool-Aid is what you’ll used to color your Play Doh. The more Kool-Aid you use, the darker the color will be.

Pour water into a medium sauce pan and heat over low-medium heat. Add salt and cream of Tartar and stir until both are completely dissolved in the water. Next add the Kool-Aid into the water. Then, add the vegetabl oil. Remove from heat and stir in the flour 1/2c at a time until it’s well mixed. Remove from pan and cover with plastic wrap until it cools enough to handle. Knead the Play Doh on a hard surface for about 2-3mins. Store in air-tight containers. Play Doh will keep longer if stored in the refrigerator.

The most important thing I’ve found is to make sure the salt is dissolved first. Most Play Doh recipes don’t mention anything about this and I’m not sure why, because if it’s not, you’ll have very grainy Play Doh. Dissolving the salt in the water first gives the finished Play Doh a very smooth consistency.

The end result is also non-toxic.

This is NOT how you print files.

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:55:25 -0400

So I have a thumb drive that I’ve been using to back up files on this computer I’m working on. I got done, waiting for the computer to finish reinstalling windows, and I put the thumb drive down on the paper feed for the printer….. and subsequently forgot about it.

Then I got to the point where I needed it, went to get it off the printer and it wasn’t there… Then I looked over at the stack of order confirmations that I’d printed a few minutes earlier.

Then I did surgery on the printer to get my thumb drive out of it.

Whoa - Lenovo builds the mother of all notebooks, with built-in WACOM!

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:10:39 -0400

Whoa - Lenovo builds the mother of all notebooks, with built-in WACOM!

We spent the day at Carter Caves state park. Here’s a link...

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:56:00 -0400

We spent the day at Carter Caves state park. Here’s a link to the full set of photos from one of the cave tours.

Photo

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:54:00 -0400

Hard at Work

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:35:59 -0400

“Mom, I need you to come into my office for a minute.”

She says, as she puts away the toy cell phone she’s been talking into for the past five minutes.

“I need to show you my new office.”

So I go in her room….

“This is my office… Here’s my computer. This is my printer, so I can print out stuff. Over here is where all of my papers go… I know.. it kind of looks like a bedroom, because, well, there’s my bed. It’s a home office.”

The computer and printer were cardboard boxes she’d painted. Never mind that she has a real computer out here, she’s got a whole office in there.

Me: What do you do in your office?
Kiera: Work.
Me: What kind of work?
Kiera: Hard work.
Me: Does it pay well?
Kiera: Not bad.

Plans

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:09:58 -0400

Tonight, I’m going out for a bit by myself. I know, you’re all going “so?” but when you can’t drive and don’t live in the middle of town, this is difficult to do because other people have to take you places.

I am looking forward to it.

I’m going to wander around and look at things I’d like to buy, then I will sit some place quiet and drink something while I people watch.

Then I will splurge and treat myself to one or two small things from the stuff I looked at earlier.

I will either spend next to no money or I will spend more than I intended to, but I will come back feeling relaxed and energized again.

Then I will put the kid to bed and I will write and enjoy an evening of not working.

Random Kiera Musings

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:18:58 -0400

Kiera quite often pulls things out of nowhere and will tell me something that has nothing to do with anything that may be going on around us. It makes me wonder what goes on inside that head of hers.

Today’s gem occured during the ride home:

Kiera: “Mom, did you know that [her SLP] has a giant head in his office?”

Me: “A giant head? Like… plastic?”

Kiera: “Actually, it’s stuffed.”

Me: “Oh, wow…”

Kiera: “Yeah, and it’s full of prizes. When you get one of your goals, you get to get a prize out of the big head.”

Me: “Oh, that sounds really cool.”

Kiera: “Yeah, but you have to pick its nose to get the prize out. It’s really gross!”

My little geek’s growing up sniff…(click the link...

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:54:00 -0400

My little geek’s growing up *sniff*…
(click the link for more pics)

Dalek Fred - quite possibly the most competent Dalek ever...

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:07:00 -0400

Dalek Fred - quite possibly the most competent Dalek ever created.

Two Dreams

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:02:00 -0400

So last night, I had not one, but two dreams with my friend Thea in them. We talk daily, but we haven’t visited each other in a couple years, so it was nice to “see” her again, even if it was just in my dream.

They’re both short, or at least, what I remember of them is short. It’s also further proof that I’m seriously messed up in the head.

Dream No. 1:

Thea and I are standing on the road in front of my house. I’ve got a can of spray paint, and I’m spray painting my name on the rode by my mailbox.

Thea: Kelli, why are you writing your name on the road?
Me: So people will know who it belongs to. What if it blows over into the next county? If there’s no name on it, whoever finds it won’t know where to return it to.
Thea: Uh… Kelli.. IT’S A ROAD!!!!!!

Dream No. 2

Thea and I are walking along in this palace-like place in the clouds, behind this bald figure in deep crimson robes who generally looks all holy. The walls of the place are open, the ceiling supported by high columns. Around us, these giant creatures, who were very large (10ft or so wingspan) birds with brown fur instead of feathers, were swooping around lazily on the air currents.

Thea: Where are we?
Priest Dude: We’re in the temple of the Swoosh.
Thea: What’s the Swoosh?
Priest: These are the Swoosh *he gestures to the birds*
Me: What do you do here?
Priest: We celebrate and preserve the sanctity of the Swosh.
Me: Then why are there Swoosh-skin rugs all over the place? (because, indeed, at that moment, there were)
Priest: Ahh, we only create rugs from the Swooshes who have died of natural causes. We could never harm a Swoosh, but when one dies, we celebrate its life.
Thea: *dryly* By turning it into a rug.
Priest: Yes, or possibly a throw pillow.

Can you hear me now?

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:20:00 -0400

Kiera and I were cleaning her room earlier. This is normally a task she undertakes by herself, but every now and then I like to go through it with her, give it a thorough cleaning, check for contraban items, throw away all the little pieces of paper she’s shoved into every little nook and cranny, any broken toys, etc.

The whole time I was cleaning, I kept finding toy cell phones.

Me: Kiera, is this your cell phone, or is it one the boys left here?
Kiera: It’s mine.
Me: Wow, I didn’t realize you had so many cell phones.
Kiera: I really do have a lot, don’t I?
Me: You must have eight different calling plans. How do you pay for them all?
Kiera: I manage.
Me: I hope you’re not putting it on your credit card and running up a huge bill.
Kiera: No…. Oh, hey…. you found my white phone! I like that one the best.
Me: Better than the red flip phone? Why?
Kiera: It has roll-over minutes.

rainbow.jpg

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 20:06:21 -0400

rainbow.jpg

Anger Management

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 21:58:13 -0400

So last night, after dinner, I went outside to shoot some hoops and clear my head. After 20 minutes, it dawned on me that I hadn’t made a single shot and instead had simply been slamming the basketball off the backboard with much more force than was at all necessary.

It was then that I realized that perhaps I still had a touch of repressed anger over this whole Glaucoma thing and not being able to see the book I was trying to read earlier that day, the paperwork I was trying to fill out, the code I was trying to edit….

Granted, not every day is that, neither in terms of how well I can see nor how frustrated I get over it, but yesterday evidently was.

Today was nice and cloudy, and everything I needed to read was on a screen, in text that I could enlarge to do so. I’m getting used to that part. It’s when I pick up a sheet of paper, a book or a magazine that this all still gets to me.

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Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:45:37 -0400

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Duct Tape: Is there anything it can't do?

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 13:53:29 -0400

Came across this on the Mayo Clinic web site earlier.

In a well-publicized 2002 study, duct tape wiped out more warts than freezing (cryotherapy) did. Study participants who used “duct tape therapy” covered their warts in duct tape for six days, then soaked their warts in water, and gently rubbed warts with an emery board or pumice stone. They repeated this process for up to two months or until their warts went away. Researchers hypothesize that this unconventional therapy may work by irritating warts and the surrounding skin, prompting the body’s immune system to attack. Today, duct tape is commonly used to treat warts, especially for children who may find freezing painful or scary. It’s often combined with salicylic acid.

She's such a sad and mopey child...

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:51:04 -0400

Kiera: My computer’s hooked back up?
Rich: Yep.
Kiera: I can use it now?
Rich: Yeah, you’re good to go.
Kiera: Woo-hoo! Mission Control is mine!
Me: Mission Control?
Kiera: Mission Control! I love my computer. It’s my favorite computer!
Rich: Kiera, you say everything’s your favorite….
Kiera: I know! I love everything! Everything in the whole wide world! This is the BEST LIFE EVER!

CRW_9118.jpg

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:19:16 -0400

CRW_9118.jpg

CRW_9115.jpg

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:19:15 -0400

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Ear Tubes - I'm certain we're headed for a second set.

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:13:34 -0400

Kiera’s ear tubes came out a month or so ago, after being in there for just over a year. Her doctor told us when they were put in that she probably wouldn’t need any more after these and he checked her hearing right after they came out and it was good, no fluid, Eustachian tubes looked good and open.

It’s been a slow but steady decline since then. Her hearing right now is pretty awful.

I’m sure we’re headed for more surgery and while it’s minor, extremely minor, I’m still kind of bummed. I’m bummed that the need is still there.

Now I’m just waiting to see when the ENT, who is only here one day a week, can squeeze us in.

The Cyan Pepper

Play Doh

This is NOT how you print files.

Whoa - Lenovo builds the mother of all notebooks, with built-in WACOM!

We spent the day at Carter Caves state park. Here’s a link...

Photo

Hard at Work

Plans

Random Kiera Musings

My little geek’s growing up *sniff*…(click the link...

Dalek Fred - quite possibly the most competent Dalek ever...

Two Dreams

Can you hear me now?

rainbow.jpg

Anger Management

CRW_9135.jpg

Duct Tape: Is there anything it can't do?

She's such a sad and mopey child...

CRW_9118.jpg

CRW_9115.jpg

Ear Tubes - I'm certain we're headed for a second set.

My little geek’s growing up sniff…(click the link...