Refried Rice via a carton of ready-to-pitch Chinese Take-Out white rice

Somebody asked me what sort of rice to buy to make refried rice.  I just sort of blankly looked at the guy and said you don't BUY rice to make refried rice -- you ONLY use the dried-out leftover rice from Chinese take-out. Like, duh...  I think of refried rice as one of those magical kitchen leftover-makeovers:  take something you'd never eat by itself and turn it into something pretty tasty and filling and even nutritious.  I saute an onion and some garlic then add any firm leftover vegetables till all getting soft.  Then add the rice and any soft leftover vegetables and soy sauce and ginger and maybe more garlic powder or green onion.  Maybe stir in some beaten eggs and/or chick peas for protein.  When everything's as cooked as you like it, adjust the flavorings and add any quick cooking vegetables like spinach or pea pods.  And that's it.  Use up everything in your fridge -- including that dried up carton of plain white rice.

Cedarwood Atlas

"Cedarwood Atlas" -  almost sounds like a Marvel Comics superhero.  But it's really (as it's day job) a big pine tree from the Atlas Mountains in Northern Africa.  They say both the ancient Egyptians and Greeks used the oil for embalming and perfumery (somehow putting those uses together seems...unsettling?).  It's supposed to be great for skin. The essentail oil has a subtle sweet, woody aroma and very slight artificial mothball smell and sure enough, the wood has been used for linen chests for eons -- but it is different from the red cedar tree we generally think of for cedar closets.  It blends well with rosemary, bergamot, clary sage, Eucalyptus and Citrus Oils.  One of those subtle aromas that's hard to put a finger on -- but you notice it when it's missing.

A Reason to Knit

Now this is cute:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/37090132/hand-knit-toddler-sweater-shades-of  It's almost reason enough to learn to knit.  Of course, you'd need an impossibly cute toddler to knit for...