Thrift Score!

So I was out thrifting per usual on a Saturday morning.
In my favorite store, the Volunteers of America store, they had a blue and gold sari! 18.95$.
How cool is that?
Here is a picture:














It IS true that I don't need a sari, I do like to have fabric lying about incase I need to build another wall or cover a window.
I called Pam while I was in the store and she said she'd like it and will pay for it. It will just be one of her solstice presents though. Don't tell her. I want it to be a surprise. Which is easy because she forgets even if you do tell her.

On the Hammy the Hamster front...it seems fine, though resistent to taming. We take him out to play and he just leaves. We had him in a big rubber tub with some stuff to play on (as recommended on hamster websites) and he manages to climb out and take off. If you let him run around on you, also recommended on the websites, he still leaves. He JUMPS. I did not know hamsters could jump but they can.

I'm pushing to get his new more interesting home constructed so he'll have a richer environment, though he seems pretty happy with the wheel, a bit of water and food, and somewhere to bury himself in bedding. A toilet paper tube and he's in heaven. I think he's into voluntary simplicity too.

Since there have been recipes on the Flood Blog I think I should put one here.
I made some killer buffalo soup the other day and it's getting better with age.
Here's the recipe:

1 lb ground buffalo
3 cups left over stir fried veggies (garlic, onion, broccoli, carrot, zucchini)
1 cup mixed corn and green beans from bags in the freezer that you don't remember buying
more chopped garlic
veggie broth (the brand in an asceptic box with that guy's face on it. Some chef. It was on sale months ago and still sitting on a shelf in my pantry/stairwell)
worcestershire sauce
pepper
salt
rosemary
thyme
bayleaf

Fry the buffalo in a dutch oven.
It was pretty lean so I didn't drain it.
Toss in the left over veggies and fry in the buffalo juice a bit
Corn/broccoli that you've heated up over another burner because you don't want to chill the soup
Add broth (it was like 4 cups)
Add w.sauce
Add spices
Stir.
Put the lid on and let it come to a boil then turn down and simmer.

While it's simmering, make some egg noodles that you've had sitting in the cupboard since April.
Put the egg noodles in individual soup bowls. Cover with buffalo soup.
Enjoy.

We had cheese toast on the side (mine was fake cheese made from almonds. It sucks the least of you non-dairy cheese options).

It was pretty good. We've been eating on it for 3 days and there is still some left.
Yesterday we had sweet potato oven fries on the side. Tonight...probably more sweet potato fries as well as normal potato fries. Because those are the vegetables going bad.

I also still have a giant zucchini but I'm freaking sick of zucchini.

Tonight I'll be making up some black bean chili from dry beans (soaking now), and dehydrated veg that I put up last year. I haven't dried much this year, but I apparently did plenty last year and need to eat it up.