Summer Goals

Camping In Woodstock, IL

Clay and I finally got organized enough to take a brief vacation from Chicago! We’ve been wanting to go camping for a while, but with no car and little money our options have been limited. Woodstock is along the Metra and has one pretty small, but beautiful campground just a couple miles from the train.

We got a whole lot to ourselves, so no one was around to laugh at our clumsy camping skills. An hour or two after settling in, we managed to build a fairly decent campfire and make some seasoned potatoes and onions, with brown rice, and some coffee. Later, Clay somehow convinced me to jump in the pond and take a swim with him and the locals, which was amazing and terrifying at the same time for a number of reasons… After a rough nights sleep in a very tight sleeping bag.. we woke up super early only to miss the train back.. but! This afforded us the time to go the some little diner in town and learn all about Woodstock’s history.

Sparked by a MURAL of Bill Murray photos on the wall of the diner, we couldn’t help looking up Woodstock. Apparently they filmed Groundhog Day there nearly 20 years ago and the town just won’t let go.. We even overheard some group of fat old men recalling times past at the “Groundhog Day House”.

All in all, amazing vacation.

Stuffed Zucchini

I’ve been fairly negligent of my garden this summer, letting the lettuce get out of hand, not cutting back the flowers, etc. Though my biggest slight has been letting the zucchini grow well past harvest time. Now they’re mostly huge and full of seeds. I picked a couple of the largest and decided to try and make some good from them.

1) Hollow out sections of zucchini and rub inside and out with olive oil, then sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, and garlic.

2) Precook zucchini in oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

3) Meanwhile, lightly saute a chopped onion in some olive oil with salt and pepper. Add a chopped bell pepper, some chopped tomatoes, and minced basil.

4) Spoon vegetables into pre-cooked zucchini and bake for another 20 minutes, or until soft.

5) Next sprinkle some fresh mozzarella on top of each zucchini section and serve over bed of pasta.

The Killing Jar.

Started rewatching Star Trek The Next Generation from season 1…

so good.

Among things I’ve been researching for Mountain Wilds have been herbal tinctures. Tinctures are herbal extracts made using alcohol as a solvent. Basically, you fill a jar halfway with dried plant material and fill the rest with vodka. You keep this sealed jar in a cool, dark place and give it a shake every day or so for up to six weeks. Finally you strain the alcohol into a amber bottle and you got yourself a tincture. The alcohol would have absorbed any of the medicinal properties of the plant material and can be used for the next year or two, a dropper full at a time. You can also make a salve by using a light oil instead of alcohol, but I’ll save that one for later…

Tinctures I started today include, Marshmallow Root, Burdock Root, Bay Leaf, Bee Pollen, Catnip, Slippery Elm Root, Wormwood, Clove, Calendula Petal, Sassafras Root, Valerian Root, and Rubbed Sage Leaf all in 80 proof vodka. Oh, and Marshmallow Root in Hazelnut Oil.

Expect an update in six weeks! Yay

Goodbye Spring.

Mountain Wilds preview!

Nicholas Culpeper, Pharmacopoeia Londinensis 1653… on eBay

$9,480.82 or, best offer.

“Three kinds of people mainly disease the people — priests, physicians and lawyers — priests disease matters belonging to their souls, physicians disease matters belonging to their bodies, and lawyers disease matters belonging to their estate.”

I WANT IT

$450 Furnished room in creative [cat] house… Utilities included!! (Ukrainian Village) Chicago

$450, utilities included, you get your own nice sized furnished bedroom in a 2.5 bdrm in ukrainian village (near western and division). Free internet, laundromat across the street, lots of parking, lots of fun… Sharing a space with three cats and two roommates in a creative/ unusual apartment.

Jay likes to eat, draw, drink coffee, garden, make things, and ride/ fix his problematic bike. He works just as much as he has to and spends the rest of his time at home or his boyfriends house.

Randi: Long bathroom hours, hair, nails, etc. I like music especially when it’s loud, my bike is cool,yeah parties are fun but not all the time, i work too much, but am home when i’m home.

It’s a non-smoking house, but don’t fret, we have a comfy enclosed porch dedicated to this cause… and a backyard/ garden! Also, there’s usually music on in the house… ranging from alternative, 90’s jams, electro, to disco.

P.s. We’re [mostly] vegetarians.. but it’s cool if you’re not.

We’re flexible on the move-in date, but sooner is better than later…!

If you’re interested, be sure to tell us a bunch about yourself and when you’re most available to visit!
Thanks!

email me at thekittymix@gmail.com