More Dried Tomatoes

we'll see how long this takes...

Dried Tomatoes

What to do with tons of ripe tomatoes...?

I had planned to sun-dry them in my car (on a clean window screen), but the weather turned cloudy and cold. So here they are in the oven at the lowest setting (170ºF)

After 24-30 hours!

asian hair maintenance

a little review of two hair care products (in my search to find something good for 'asian hair')

+Dove Intensive Repair+

The shampoo gives great lather, feels good. Conditioner is very thick and leaves hair super silky and fluffy (and as firstofmany reports, this may cause difficulty in hair tie retention). I like the scent (fresh, not overpowering)

+Kracie Umi no Uruoiso Thalasso Therapy+

Japanese products! Much lighter than the Dove, the shampoo sud is good and the conditioner leaves my hair feeling conditioned softly and definitely not so fluffy. Smells fresh and not as strong as the Dove, reminds me of Suave "Refreshing Ocean Breeze" shower gel. Betty says my hair feels, "nice" and smells like "outside". (When she said "outside" Hendrix's ears perked up, as this is the verbal command for going out into the backyard.)

In summary, I like both products and that I have the option for intensely conditioned vs. a lighter feel. And both products feel acceptable for my hair (no nasty feel anyway, as soon as I apply them).

Here's more info on the Umi no Uruoiso*:

"As we age, our hair retains less and less moisture. Umino Uruoi So ("Gift from Ocean") series contains eleven kinds of seaweed essence to nourish your hair with moisture, leaving it beautiful, healthy, elastic and strong from the inside out.

Features:

Seaweed has a natural moisturizing effect, giving moisture from the core to the surface of the hair. Its moisturizing ingredients are more powerful than collagen or hyaluronic acid.

11 different kinds of seaweed are used to moisturize your hair from the inside out. They are Powell (Hibamata), Kelp, Hizikia, Wakame seaweed, Porphyra tenera (Asakusanori), Mafu seaweed, green string lettuce, Nemacystus decipiens (Mozuku), Tosaka seaweed, Ceylon moss, and Gracilaria vermiculophylla (Ogonori).

Also contains mineral-rich deep ocean sea water to repair, strengthen and nourish damaged hair.

Thalasso beauty essences repair the surface of the hair and lock moisture in.

Imported from Japan, comes with English ingredients and usage instructions.

What is Thalassotherapy?

Thalassotherapy (from the Greek word thalassa, meaning "sea") is the medical use of seawater as a form of therapy. The properties of seawater are believed to have beneficial effects upon the pores of the skin. Thalassotherapy was developed in mainly in France, and well known in Europe from a long time ago. Kracie Umino Uruoi So series contains various Thalasso beauty essences including Marine Collagen, Marine Squalene, Marine Herbal essence, Marine Plancenta, and others."

Use the powers of the sea to repair and manage

your hair from the inside out.

(*Reference: TrueRenu)

BREACH!

it's very windy here and we had two sections of fence break open. where's rick when we need him?!

liam and i were able to brace one section back into place with a steel rod and a 2x4, but the other blew out completely and we can't get it back in. so we made a makeshift fence with economy wire fencing, scrap wood, wire and twine. a few bags of sand and clamps to try and keep it in place. luckily the neighbors seem to be out of town, so we only have to watch out for bandit and hendrix for now.

Cibo Matto Knows Their Chicken

springy

when i stepped outside this morning the first word that came to mind was "glorious". super fresh and bright spring, birds singing and trees budding. these pictures don't really do it justice.

Doo, doo, doo, lookin' out my back door

(Bear River Mountains to the East and Forsythia in bloom)

The Wellsville Mountains across the valley (looking West)

f@%*ing fingerpicks

i've been intermittently playing around with the banjo. decided to try out the DGdg tuning as suggested by Mirek Patek (he's really good, and has some nice instruction at his website)

the fingerpicks are a challenge to get used to, awkward. here's a snippet of cripple creek, very slow...