Here's to tomorrow

May the New Year bring health and prosperity to your home, and peace to the world.

HAPPY 2008!

A National Shortage

Christmas is over for 2007, and New Years for 2008 is just a few days away. I just mention that as a way to introduce today's topic: The Shortage of Peppermint.

I eat Peppermint Ice Cream in December. It's a treat I look forward to every year, but this year I couldn't find any. I thought it was just me, but a co-worker told me her sister had told her that there actually was a city wide shortage of Peppermint Ice Cream. (She also said the Peppemint Blizzard at Dairy Queen is a more than adequate substitute.)

And there's a shortage of peppermint candy cane. You can get chocolate flavored, jelly bean flavored, strawberry flavored, even watermelon flavor, but the only peppermint flavored canes I've found have been made by manufacturers that I've never heard of, and they don't always taste like true candy canes. I'm not that desparate yet.

I can't find Candy Cane Lifesavers either. Now, that's not the same thing as Lifesaver Candy Canes, nor is it the same as peppermint Lifesavers. I'm talking about candy cane-flavored Lifesavers. I found a company on-line that sold Candy Cane Lifesavers, but they were out of stock.

I'll keep looking, but if I haven't found them by New Year's I'll give up and console myself with chocolate Santa's.

The Light of the World

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

and Merry Christmas to the rest of the world!

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:13-14 (King James Version)

A Natural Expression of Love

One good thing

Good news, fellow old ladies.

The shortest day of 2007 is over and we'll be getting more and more sunlight every day. This is important to old ladies who can't see to drive after dark and kids who have to be home by dark.

More good news for old ladies. The shortest day coincides with the first day of winter so now we can start counting the days till spring. Old ladies like to avoid the cold weather and slippery sidewalks of winter and bask in the gentle warmth of spring breezes.

Just a hint of what lies ahead ---- in less than 3 months!

You say Polenta, I say Mush

I made Fried Polenta for supper tonight. I haven't had any for at least 15 years, but for some reason I have been thinking about it lately.

When I was growing up in Southern Indiana my father would make it for breakfast occassionally, but back then it was called plain ol' Fried Cornmeal Mush.

Back in the 80's when I was going to college, I once lived on Fried Mush for several days when I didn't have many groceries in the kitchen. That was the last time I had mush until tonight.

Maybe calling it Polenta made it more palatable.

This picture and recipe are from an author, Elisa Carbone, who considered fried mush a real treat when it was made by her grandfather when she was a child.


Corn Meal Mush/Polenta

2 cups coarsely ground corn meal
2 cups cold water
6 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon salt

Stir the cornmeal into the 2 cups cold water. Bring the 6 cups of water to a boil, add the salt, then add the corn meal/water mixture, stirring constantly. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes over low-medium heat, stirring frequently.

For fried corn meal mush, pour the cooked mush into a bread pan and cool in refridgerator overnight. Cut into 3/4 inch thick slices. Fry in well buttered skillet until golden brown. Serve hot, either plain or with maple syrup.

Frosty the Snowman

He came to visit Indiana this weekend. He's still a little flaky, if you know what I mean.

The snow is up to here and the thermometer is down to there. It's enough to make anyone go nuts.

Something's wrong with me

I have ennui. It's a anual malady that comes around about this time every year. Kind of like robins in the spring.

An Ode to Old Man Winter

It snowed twice this week so I'm ready for winter to be over. And it's still autumn by the calendar.

It's cold, it's slushy, it's dirty, it's icy.

My nose is stopped up. My feet are cold. My bones are cold.

Today consisted of 10 hours of daylight and 14 of darkness. And the sunlight is getting shyer and shyer every day.

I want to hibernate like a grouchy old bear. I just want to go to bed and sleep till it's over.

My sentiments exactly.

The Name of the Game

This is a short quiz for all you TV watchers. Name the game show associated with each saying. If you can't get any of them right, you must be living in a cave (because the name of the game is the same in at least one answer).

If you want something more challenging, name the year/decade, host, and celebrity guest stars (if any.)

1. Good answer!
2. Come on down!
3. I want to buy a vowel.
4. Deal, or no deal?
5. I want to phone a friend.
6. You are the weakest link. Good-by!
7. You're fired!
8. Philiminated
9. We'll be back with more stuff right after this message.
10. Are you smarter than ..............?