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 ..............?

Another Blast from the Past

My two nieces have birthdays in October and November. This is an old picture of them, back when they were little - now they are both old, married ladies.

Winter is almost here.

Thanksgiving Prayer

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

Serve the Lord with gladness; come before his presence with singing.

Know ye that the Lord he is God; it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise;be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. The Bible, Psalm 100

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/8812/indexthanks.html

Batard, you say!

Earlier this week I bought a Rosemary Batard (a loaf of Italian bread made with Rosemary). It was very good, but went stale quickly, so this morning I used the end piece to make a casserole for brunch because I wanted to try a recipe from the on-line course I'm taking, Quick Meals. (This is a free, 6-lesson course from the Ohio State University Extension Office.)

It made a very tasty brunch dish with a tossed salad. As a matter of fact, it was so good I thought I'd share it. I made a half recipe, using bacon bits and about half the salt, and baked it in a 24 oz casserole. I probably had more than 2 slices of bread, but not much more, and the casserole was exacly the right size.

Egg and Cheese Casserole (Serves 4)

4 slices bread
4 ounces sharp American cheese, sliced or grated
2 Tablespoons minced onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups milk

Cut the bread into rectangles, squares, or triangles. In a well-greased 1-quart casserole dish, arrange the bread, then the cheese.
Beat eggs and milk together. Add onion, salt, and mustard.
Slowly pour the egg mixture over the casserole mixture. Let stand 1 hour or in the refrigerator overnight.
Bake 40 minutes at 350ºF or until puffy and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Idea: Optional ingredients: 1 cup cubed cooked ham, cooked bacon bits, or cooked sausage, crumbled, could be sprinkled over the bread and cheese mixture before baking.

To make two servings: Cut all ingredients in half and bake in a 3- x 5-inch loaf pan (or a 24 oz casserole).

Hint: If the edges turn brown, the casserole can be placed in a pan of hot water while baking.


Source: Adapted from a recipe developed by Harriet Kohn, former coordinator of Nebraska’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, University of Nebraska Extension.

Nutrients per Serving:
Calories 260 Total Fat 14g
Cholesterol 140 mg Total Carbohydrates 17g
Calories from fat 130 Saturated Fat 8g
Sodium 930 mg Protein 13 g

I'm an Investigator

I took a personality test today. Mainly to see if I still have one.

I found out I'm a Type Five, The Investigator.

Perceptive and cerebral.
Alert, insightful, and curious.
Able to concentrate and focus on developing complex ideas and skills.
Independent, innovative, and inventive,
Preoccupied with thoughts and imaginary constructs.
Detached, yet high-strung and intense.
Problems with eccentricity, nihilism, and isolation.

At their best, Type Fives are:
Visionary pioneers,
Often ahead of their time, and
Able to see the world in an entirely new way.

It's surprisingly accurate. At least to my imagination if not to my reality.

free enneagram test

Happy Birthday!

Somebody is 37 years old today. That's getting to be pretty darn close to 40.

This is a picture of the birthday boy and his grandpa, years and years and years ago.

Veterans Day 2007

Yesterday was Veterans Day. You may have thought it was today if you have the day off or if you missed getting the mail, but it was yesterday.

So thanks to the men and women who have served the United States of America, and the world, honorably and heroically for the last 230 some years.

What time is it anyway?

I keep hearing commericials with Christmas themes on TV and I wonder why, then I remember it's almost the middle of November and only a month till the Holidays.

I'm not sure why I lost track of time. I think I can blame it on (1) daylight saving time, (2) global warming, (3) stress, (4) maturity, or (5) old age.

1. Daylight saving time has thrown off my inner clock forever.
2. It used to snow in October, but this October the temperature in the mid-west soared and dipped around the 80's. How was I supposed to know it was fall when everybody was running around in shorts?
3. If all you can think about is how you're going to make it another year at work without walking off the jobs, you don't have time to pay attention to the changing months. It's better not to talk about time.
4. I'm mature now. Going back to school, halloween, Christmas vacation - they're all celebrations in the past.
5. Yeah, I'm old. But I'm not that old.

Would you believe ...

after changing all my clocks from the artificial time called Daylight Saving Time last weekend, I came home from work this evening to find the electricity had been off sometime during the day and all digital clocks had to be re-set?

Turos Csusza

This is an interesting dish that is suppose to be Hungary's national dish. Europe's cottage cheese and sour cream are slightly different than America's and I changed the recipe a little so it's now a Hoosier/Hungary dish (or a Hungry Hoosier dish, if you prefer). It was surprisingly, can't-get-enough good.

INGREDIENTS:

1 (16 ounce) package short egg noodles
3 - 4 heaping teaspoons Real Bacon Bits (or cook 3 - 4 strips smoky bacon, drain)
2 cups sour cream
1 (12 ounce) container dry cottage cheese
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

• Cook noodles according to package directions until al dente, 8 – 10 minutes; drain well.


• Place the drained noodles in a large baking dish. Stir the sour cream and bacon into the noodles.


• Spoon the cottage cheese evenly over the top; season with salt if you insist.


• Bake in preheated oven until the cottage cheese softens, about 15 minutes.

I added bread crumbs to the top of mine before baking. The recipe I used said to cook the bacon & set it aside, but it never actually used the bacon. If you use bacon, it should have a smoky flavor to be more authentic.

You can omit the bacon if you didn't have any, though the taste might be somewhat bland. I read that if you omit the bacon, you can sprinkle powdered sugar on top.

Serves 8 as a side dish.

Cutest little punkin in the pumpkin patch

I HATE DST

In Bed

That's an old game that adults play at restaurants that serve Fortune Cookies. If you're bored and the company's not congenial, you can play it by yourself, but try not to giggle.

It's a very simple game. As each person reads his/her fortune, you tack "in bed" to the end. For example, if the saying is "You are a lucky person" change it to say "You are a lucky person --- in bed."

Here are some actual fortunes to help you play at home. (If you had anything better to do, you wouldn't be reading this in the first place.) Just remember to say "in bed" after reading each saying.

Fortune Cookie Sayings

1. You were born with the skill to communicate with people easily.
2. It doesn't matter. Who is without a flaw?
3. Make two grins grow where there was only a grouch before.
4. Decide what you want and go for it.
5. You are talented in many ways.
6. You should be able to make money and hold on to it.
7. The skills you have gathered will one day come in handy.
8. Every excess becomes a vice.

Weird Fortune Cookie Collection (unusual fortunes from actual fortune cookies)

1. Life is not a struggle. It’s a wiggle.
2. An alien of some sort will be appearing to you shortly.
3. You are about to make a new friend.

Bad Cookie (spoof site)

1. You will not advance far with your meager abilities.
2. Your spirit of adventure will be deadly.
3. Your heart is impure, and your mind clouded, and your soul evil.

Did I just hear you giggle --- in bed?

Just a state of mind, my Aunt Fanny's hat!

Suddenly I'm falling apart. I can't half see, I'm having blind spots, flashes, and floaters; there's a ringing in my ears, my joints are stiff, I wheeze in the morning, my ear hurts, I have no energy, no stamina, no "oomph" (if you know what I mean), my left arm hurts, I'm constipated, and I have a pimple in my nose. Not to mention I'm grumpy, irritable, frustrated, and just plain "sick and tired".

It's hell to grow old.

Music Lessons

It's hard to describe Phil and Sarah Tulga's web site Music Through the Curriculum, but if I could only use one word, I'd say "fun". This is an educational and entaining site that will help you (or your kids/grandkids) learn to listen to music.

1. It gives you directions for making simple homemade musical instruments (such as a glockenspiel) or you can pay to get instructions for making more complex ones.
2. It also teaches you such things as "How to hear fractions".
3. You can actually play musical instruments which include the glocenspiel, a xylophone, drums, and strings.

This is a great site for teachers, boy/girl scouts, youth group activity coordinators, or people (like me) that like to make music but can't play an instrument.

Try the Pickle Cucumber Machine - it's a dilly!

In a Jiffy

I went to Jiffy Lube and got the oil changed in my car this morning. It was due a few months ago, but I just couldn't bring myself to get 'er done.

I absolutely dread going anywhere that involves men and cars. I don't like to go to any garage, service facility, or car dealer. Why? Ask almost any woman my age. It comes from years of condescending treatment from know-it-all males. From years of feeling like you're getting ripped off while being mocked.

I'll admit that not all the garages, service facilities, or car dealers have treated me badly. But too many have. At one time I actually thought about going to school to learn to be a car mechanic so I could fix my own car, but that seemed an extreme solution.

Which brings me back to the Jiffy Lube. I know they charge more than other places might, but to me they're worth it. They treat me with respect, they open doors, they say thank you, they smile. They recommend products they think I need, but there's no hard sell, and they check everything that I know should be checked but don't want to, as well as a lot of stuff I never heard of.

And they wash the windows.

I just wish I could bring them home to try their hand at housecleaning.

People are weird

Have you heard about the dentist in California, accused of fondling patients, who's claiming that pectoral muscle (breast) massage is part of the treatment for certain jaw problems? msnbc

You think that's weird?

One of his accusers, a 31 year old woman, claims Anderson fondled her breasts at least six times over two years even though she starting wearing tight shirts with high necklines to protect herself from his roving hands. 6 times in two years?!? What were you thinking? Was he the only dentist in town? Did you stop to think that a good loud scream might have been more of a deterent than a tight blouse? Or maybe it would have been a good idea to find another dentist?

You know you just can't make up stuff this stupid.

I like dreamin'

I heard a song today that reminded me of the man of my dreams. Literally, the man of my dreams.

He's been haunting my bed for more years than I can remember, but I don't know who he is. Sometimes he just drops into my dreams and I demand, "Where have you been? I've missed you." and he laughs teasingly in reply, "Oh, I've been waiting for you." And I pout, "What were you doing?" and he kisses my forehead softly and whispers, "Loving you." And I melt into my pillow, deeper into sleep, deeper into dreams.

I must have seen his face a thousand times, but I don't know his name. I know how it feels when his hand caresses my cheek. I know the tilt of his head and the sorrow that goes deep in his eyes when he thinks I'm hurting. I know how he looks in blue jeans when he's walking out the door, and how his shoulders fill out the jacket of his favorite blue suit when he's holding a door for me. But I don't know his name.

Ladies, if you see him tonight, when you close your eyes and drift off to sleep, send him back to me. Because, make no mistake, he's mine.

Life - can't live without it

Life is perverse sometimes.

For example, despite growing up a Hoosier, I can't make good chicken and noodles. There's always too much broth. Last week I fixed homemade chicken noodle soup and there wasn't any broth.

For another example, the autumn temperature this year has been close to 90 degrees. Except for this week, when it plummeted 30 degrees. This week I got my birthday coupon for free ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. This week it's too cold for ice cream.

And another: I looked all summer for plastic glasses and found some on sale at Kroger's in August. They were about $2.00 apiece, but had been $6 so I thought "What a bargain!" and bought 2. A week later, I found other glasses on sale at the same store for a quarter. Yes, just one quarter, 25 cents, two bits. So I got two; I would have got four but I just bought the other two.

The $2 glasses are already showing signs of crazing, the quarter glasses - still looking good.

And another, well I can't think of another one that I want to share with you right now so think up your own.

Feelin' hot! hot! hot!

Did you hear about the Georgia man who claims the iPod in his pocket set his pants on fire? Thankfully, the man’s skin was only slightly singed and the manufacturer is replacing the iPod for free.

Since the man wasn’t hurt, this story is just begging for jokes. See how many you can come up with in 5 minutes.

Here are mine:

• Man, you got one hot butt.
• Money actually burned a hole in his pocket.
• If you saw a man with his pants on fire, would you point and yell “Liar! Liar!”
• Gives a new perspective to a radio DJ use of the phrase “hot tunes”.
• Are you excited to see me or is that a fire in your pocket?

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my nephew Mark. Hope you are having a great life!

Odd news

Yesterday was my birthday. I don't know how I got to be this old without learning how to live.

This is the 413th posting on this blog. I think it may be my last, but I would like to go to 500. I don't see my writing improving; actually, I think it's deteriorated. I started this blog as a way to write something every day, but you may have noticed that I'm lucky to write once or twice a week now.

Maybe I'll wait till the end of the year. Procrastination is my best trait so I might as well put off quitting.

Sarcasm is art - hang that on your walls

Today on the web, I saw an article title "19 ways to make a small space look bigger". Living in an apartment that is begining to feel cramped with a truckload of Goodwill wannabes, I thought "Ah, maybe this can help me." So I clicked on it. The real title of the subsequent slide show was "10 ideas to steal for your apartment".

Thanks, but no thanks. The ideas were stupid, ugly, impractical, and/or just plain strange. I don't think the author(s) ever lived in an apartment before. It reminded me of the book I have about small gardens. The first picture was of the upper garden and the next, the lower garden. Now if you have an upper and a lower garden, you don't really have a small garden, do you?

But I digress. To return to the topic at hand - which is making fun of the 19 apartment ideas in case you hadn't figured that out yet:

1. Why are there 19 ideas? Not 10, 15, or 20? Couldn't you think of one more?
2. You only put curtains over bookshelves when they are used to store junk instead of books, or when they hold pornographic books or bomb-making manuals. Otherwise, it just looks cheap or like you are hiding bomb-making/terrorists manuals. Now, if you're a college student or just starting out on your first job and everybody knows you can't afford nice furniture, this looks shabby chic and it's OK.
3. Make do with storage shelves but make them look as pretty as possible. a) There isn't any room in the average apartment for extra storage shelves, b) Storing clutter on them is not pretty no matter how you arrange it, c) They don't make small spaces look bigger unless you think "crammed in" is another word for spacious.
4. "Hide unattractive storage" by covering with cloth is not new - people have been throwing sheets over crap for decades.
5. Don't have room for seating? Get some large throw pillows to toss on the floor, stack them somewhere out of the way when they aren't being used. Uh, people, if I don't have room for a chair, I don't have room for overstuffed floor pillows. Actually, they showed cloth covered squares of foam rubber that were about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. Not my idea of a comfy seat.
6. The idea to stick a file cabinet under the sink in your kitchen to use for extra drawer space wasn't a bad idea - if you have empty space under your sink, which you probably won't, but they went one step too far. Number the drawers, then keep a list of the contents elsewhere. That way, if you change the contents you don't have to re-label the drawer, just change your list. Uh, wouldn't it be easier to just open the drawer to see what's inside than to hunt for the list?
7. Here's a good one - buy an armless couch and position it away from the wall so you can walk around it, then put one or two coffee tables in front of it. If you put your couch away from the wall far enough to comfortably walk behind it in most apartments, you wouldn't have room for a coffee cup in front of it, much less a couple of coffee tables.
8. Then they suggest, you put a glass topped console behind it to use for your home office. OK. Glass isn't the best material to use here, because people are going to have to walk over it to get from one side to the other and glass will really show those footprints.
9. Their best use of awkward corners was to buy two file cabinets and throw a sheet of melamine on top. I know you can't see the picture from where you are, but, trust me, that doesn't fit in a corner.
10. Throw out old papers and stick the ones you have to keep in a box. Duh, why didn't you think of that?
11. Can't hang art on the wall because you're afraid to put a nail there in case you can't get your deposit back? Stick a colorful surf board in a corner. Cowabunga, dude! If you surf, this is great, but it will look just plain silly if you live in the middle of the mid-west. And it's not going to make your apartment look one inch bigger, a couple of feet smaller maybe, but not any bigger. (And, just so you know, the odds are probably 1 to 10 that you'll get back that deposit anyway. Just saying.)
12. To sum up most of the suggestions, if all else fails, stick it in a box, stick the box in a book case, and cover it up with a sheet.

A Toast

Did you see the new show Carpoolers this week? I watched it off and on but the only thing I got out of it was that the wife bought a $400 toaster. I didn't know they made $400 toasters.

So today I Googled it and found that there is indeed a $400 toaster made by Dualit of Great Britian. Good news, serious toasters - Amazon has it on sale for $300. Be aware that if you need the "sandwich cage", you'll need to fork out another $20.

I really think they could throw in a $20 attachment if you're willing to spend $400 just to toast bread.

Tea for Two, Please.

Wink, wink.

Is it just me or did the number of reported drunk and disorderly episodes reported by the press for television and athletic personalities rise in the last few years?

I saw the headline for a couple of them on a web page this morning and I began to wonder if the media was reporting more because:

1. There are more recognized personalities drinking in excess, or
2. The press is just reporting more,

And if there are more recognized personalities drinking in excess is it because:

1. They want their name in the paper,
2. They think they're "special",
3. They are under more stress , or
4. They think they are "suppose to" because it's what celebrities do.

But if the press is just reporting more, is it because:

1. There are more episodes,
2. They think that's what the public wants to see, or
3. It's the press "thing to do" this decade.

I have heard that some celebrities have "pre-arrest" mug shots taken by actual photographers so they don't end up looking like Nick Nolte or Glen Campbell at their arrests. I don't know if that's true, but if it is, that's pitiful, just plain pitiful.

Two-faced

Where to start? Where to start?

October is only a week away but the temperature is still flirting with 90. Still ... I finally saw a streak of fall color. As I turned into a subdivision near my home earlier this week, I was startled to see bright red leaves on one side of a maple. It was the first hint I'd seen of fall color and a half block further I could glimpse bright yellow over the tree tops.

It was hard to drive straight while craning my neck to verify that it was indeed a tree and not the top of a house. I know one rarely sees a bright yellow roof, but it could happen.

Today, there was even more color along the route home. Despite the droughts and the heat of this past summer, I think we may have a beautiful (but short) autumn.

Now to the bitchy part. Let me set this up for you. In my department we have about 15 people (including the manager) in one state and 7 in my state. We did have one manager and two team leads, but because the Dumas company doesn't have leads they only had the responsibility for those positions, not an official title or salary. This week the lead in the other state sent an email to the team & in the signature it said "His Name, Manager, Our Unit". Nobody had informed us that he was a manager now so we didn't know if he was our manager or what. Being old, I sent an email to the guy that we knew as our manager & asked if he was still the manager or if the lead was now the manager or what. His reply was very curt and rather rude declaring that we were all one team, but it didn't say if that lead was our manager or not so we still don't know.

I've worked in over a dozen companies for over 30 years and have never ever heard of a company that refused to tell the staff who their manager was. Oh, occasionally they might not have revealed the name until other parties had been notified (etc, etc, lie, lie), but once a person started using the title, they weren't embarrassed to admit it.

Now I have to look for another job. I hate Dumas companies.

All Fall Down

Autumn started this morning. Not that you could tell it from going outside today. The weather here is 10 - 15 degress above normal.

I don't like winter so I shouldn't complain, but I really like fall. That little bite to the morning air on my way to work. The not-too-hot not too-cold afternoons. All the usual stuff. The geese honking, the leaves turning colors, Halloween candy on sale, hot apple cider, new TV shows, my birthday vacation, the end of allergy season, a new sweater.

This picture doesn't half do it justice, but don't you wish you lived in Southern Indiana?

Heebie Sheebie TeeVee

The new television season starts next week. What a bunch of stinkers! If the shows are as bad as they sound I may have to give up watching TV altogether. At my age, I'm too tired to turn the pages of a book most evenings so I don't know what I'm going to do to amuse myself from 8 to 12 every evening. I may have to start going to bed earlier.

Let's see now

Monday I can choose between Dancing with the Stars (unless we need to change the title to "Dancing with the Has-Beens), How I Met Your Mother, and Two and a Half Men (which I like when it's not too risque, but there was one season when it was too mediocre.)

Tuesday, we got NCIS across from Biggest Loser.

Wednesday, I got nothin'

Thursday, I got nothin'

Friday, Women's Murder Club is across from Vegas (this year with Tom Selleck!)

Saturday, there's football & "encores" (ie - repeats of shows you didn't want to watch during the week. Remember the "good old days" when they actually showed well written, well acted comedies on Saturday night?)

Hmmmmm, I wonder why people don't watch television anymore. Do you get the feeling that somebody doesn't want us to watch?

An exercise in imagery

I trudged uphill.

I tumbled downhill.

I meandered through the valley like a wilderness stream.

I frolicked in the meadow with the playfulness of a young lover in a personal product commercial.

I waltzed from blossom to blossom like a butterfly with gossamer wings.

I quenched my thirst by drinking nature's beauty like an alcoholic falling off the wagon in the neighborhood tavern.

Things to think about............

A dog always offers unconditional love. A cat has to think about it.

If you look up his family tree and you'll find he's the sap.

Everyone is gifted but some peoplenever open their package.

Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

Just remember -- if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.

A huntin' we will go

The boys went hunting last weekend and bagged a squirrel.

On the wing

I saw a hummingbird outside my front door yesterday. I can't remember the last time I saw one of these little birds. I'm not sure if this was a different species or a different gender than those I've seen before, but it wasn't very colorful.

I suppose it could have been a very large, very fat mosquito.

A Penny for Your Thoughts

I have an idea for a new book. I want to record the opinions that America's working people have about the American workplace.

I know this has been done before, but the data was gathered by or for companies, or by academics, or by anybody but me.

I don't want to just spout dry facts and figures. I want to know what America's "hoi polloi" have to say about the places where they spend about half of their waking hours.

For example, I want to know how the workers really feel about their bosses.

It often seems to me that when workers become managers they think the wisdom of the ages immediately falls upon them, and that they automatically become better than everyone else.

They lecture the staff on the importance of team work, but act as if they think that doesn't include them. They take whatever steps necessary to distance themselves from the rest of the staff. They get an office with a door, they "forget" to pass on key information, they block communication with people outside the team.


A man went into a pet shop to buy a parrot. The shop owner pointed to three identical looking parrots on a perch and said, "That parrot on the left costs 500 dollars".

"That's a little steep. Why does it cost so much?" asked the man.

The shop owner replied, "Well, he knows how to use a computer."

Intrigued, the man pointed to the second parrot and asked "How much is that one and what does it do?"

"That one costs 1,000 dollars because it can do everything the other parrot can do plus it knows how to use the UNIX operating system."

"And the third parrot?" the customer queried.

" $2,000."

"$2,000!" the startled man exclaimed, "What does it do?"

The shop owner shrugged his shoulders and said, "To be honest, I've never seen him do a damn thing, but the other two call him boss!"

Ahhhh, Root Beer

A couple of weeks ago I went to lunch at a local pizzaria with my co-workers. The place has decent pizza, but serves Coke products and I prefer Pepsi or iced tea. Their tea is atrocious.

I ordered a Root Beer. From the reaction of my co-workers, one might have thought I'd requested something exotic tropical concoction instead of a simple, old-fashioned Root Beer. "You ordered Root Beer!" "What? What did she order?" "A Root Beer!" "She ordered Root Beer?" "Who ordered a Root Beer?" "Martha did. Martha ordered a Root Beer."

So I like Root Beer.

Sometimes I order iced tea and sometimes Pepsi. Occassionally a Dr. Pepper. If there's nothing else, I'll even drink a Coke without complaining.

And sometimes I order a Root Beer. If I had my druthers, I'd add a big scoop of vanilla ice cream to an icy mug of Root Beer. We used to call those a "Black Cow".

Do you remember Root Beer Barrel candy? Root beer flavored candy shaped like a barrel. Cute, eh? Did you ever try root beer flavored Fizzies? They turn ordinary water into a bubbly drink which vaguely taste like Root Beer.

I have a recipe somewhere for making barbecued ribs with Root Beer. It sounds good, but I haven't tried it yet.

I try lots of things. I'm old, but I'm not stuck in my ways.

Wanta make your own root beer? Get organic flavoring at Nature's Flavors.

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Roulades

I recently tried this recipe and it is so good and convenient that I immediately wanted to share it with you. (Just because I waited a week or two does not mean I wasn’t thinking of you.)

This recipe is fancy enough for company, but simple enough for everyday meals. It will only take an hour to prepare and bake if you start from scratch, but you can fix these ahead of time and freeze them. Thaw as many as you need while you’re at work then throw them in the oven when you get home.

The choice of filling(s) is up to you – whatever you’ve got & think sounds good will probably do. (I think peanut butter sounds interesting.)


BACON-WRAPPED CHICKEN


Ingredients:

• Boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1/2 - 1 for each person, depending on size of person & chicken breast)


• 1 raw bacon strip for each chicken breast


• Suggested fillings (per chicken breast):
  * 1 - 3 tablespoons whipped cream cheese - flavored if desired, such as chives & onions, garden vegetable. (Use up to 3 tablespoons, but 1 will suffice.)
  * ½ - 1 teaspoon butter (real butter only)
  * 1 thin slice of cheese – Swiss, Munster, Provolone, Mozzarella, etc.
  * 1 thin slice ham
  * 1 – 3 tablespoons frozen spinach, chopped & thawed.
  * A few leaves of fresh spinach
  * Some chopped mushrooms
  * Sprinkle of herbs, garlic, fresh rosemary or thyme sprig, a couple of fresh basil leaves
  * Jalapeno pepper or chopped green chilies
  

Directions:

1. Flatten chicken to ¼ - ½ inch thickness.


2. “Spread” with one of the first three fillings, then add one or two of the others; roll up into a bundle.


3. Wrap each bundle with a bacon strip (or two).


4. Place, seam side down, in a greased pan.


5. Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 35-45 minutes or until juices run clear.


6. IF desired, broil 6 inches from the heat for 5 minutes or until bacon is crisp.

To freeze: Prepare chicken as above up to and including step 3. Wrap each chicken bundle individually in plastic wrap then place in a freezer bag or container. Freeze. (The plastic wrap helps them hold their shape.)

To bake: Take out as many as you need for each meal and thaw overnight in refrigerator. Remove plastic wrap and bake as above.

Drop by Drop

Did you hear that some experts are saying that pigeon poop may have been a contributing factor in that horrible Minneapolis bridge collapse?

Pigeon poop had been building up for years on the bridge despite efforts to curtail roosting on the steel support beams.

It seems that pigeons don't pee so their ammonium wastes are crystallized and come out as the white stuff in their fecal droppings. It's highly acidic and quite corrosive to steel.

I've always said "It's the little things that wear you down."

Just about up to here

As I got older my tolerance for crap got lower and lower. Actually, I think that there's only so much crap one person can take and I reached my tolerance level a long time ago.

I really don't know if I'm just too sensitive, too intelligent, too intolerant, too caring, too demanding, too logical, just too too.

Sometimes I can look at the crap that surrounds me and think of it as fertilizer and other times I'm just too tired to see the potential for flowers. All I know is that it reeks and if I plant flower seeds, I'll just reap thistles because some dumbass will come along and stomp all over the seedlings.

Yeah, it's been that kind of a week.

Stupid TV has reached a new low

I'm not a big fan of "reality" TV though there are some shows I like to watch (So You Think You Can Dance and The Amazing Race). On the other hand, there's one show of this genre, Kid Nation, that I already hate and it hasn't even aired yet. I intend to boycott Kid Nation and I urge you to do the same.

Here's why:

1. I'm sure you've seen the previews since CBS likes to run at least one every other commercial period. I have noticed that anytime a television network feels the need to bombard us with messages extolling the virtues of a new show, it's because it stinks. So based on the number of promos, this one is a dead skunk of a show.
2. 40 kids on one show. There's bound to be 37 kids that you just want to smack, then visit their parents & smack them for good measure.
3. This show sets a bad, bad precedent of treating kids like merchandise. It appears that CBS broke multiple rules, laws, and regulations to make money off kids. And if they didn't, then we need new laws to protect children of parents who are too stupid or too money grubbing to do it themselves.
4. The kids were each paid only $5,000 for participating 40 days in what CBS likes to call a "summer camp". (That's how they got around child labor laws.) That makes them liars as well as cheap skates.
5. It's a stupid, stupid show and will encourage other shows that exploit children and will be even more stupid.

Isn't it time TV viewers get real and put an end to "reality" shows?

I like to pretend that I don't watch TV, but of course I do. I've been watching TV for over half a century now and it's kind of become a habit.

However, ............

I'm seriously thinking of giving it up. It's that stupid time between seasons when the major networks like to show stupid re-runs. I know it's really hard to tell the difference because it seems like there is nothing on but re-runs all year long.

I've heard that "the major networks" are worried that cable TV is stealing all their customers. So what do they do to woo us back to them? They show us re-runs of shows we didn't want to watch in the first place.

I'm too cheap to pay for cable so I'm going to have to get new glasses and start reading all the books I've been collecting. The problem with that is I have to think to read and as I said last session, my job sucks the life right out of me. I don't want to think when I come home from work. I've spent all day thinking about how much I hate my job.

I can't tell you the name of the company I work for, but at JobVent.com they score -160. That's right, negative 160.

See, it's not just me!

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

I don't really mean it, you know. I don't want you to stop me. I want to bitch and I want you to pay attention and say, "There, there. Everything's going to be OK."

I hate my job. It sucks the life out of me. Literally. Right out of me.

I don't know why. It's not really that bad.

But then, again, it's not really that good.

The job just sucks.

"Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar." --Drew Carey

What's in a name?

Did you hear that somebody named a hurricane in the Pacific Flossie? Yes, Flossie!

I know, that's not an appropriate hurricane name. What were they thinking?

I need a little dream

... every now and then.

This is my horror-scope for next week.

You will get what you need very soon. The question is, will you recognise it. We can all identify what we want. That's obvious. If we don't feel a deep desire, a powerful passion, an undeniable urge, our level of 'want' is low. Our level of 'need', though, is another matter entirely. Often, we need things that we really don't think we want. And, of course, we want things that we absolutely don't need. So, just to be clear, it's a need, not a want, that's now about to be fulfilled. And, though you may or may not immediately feel like celebrating once this week's events unfold, it won't be long before you see how very blessed you have been.

It gives me a headache trying to decide if this is good or bad.

Whatever happened to "You'll meet a tall handsome stranger?"

Even though reality would be more like "You'll run into a short, stubby stranger. Hopefully, he won't sue you when you do." , I like to be given a little something to dream on from my fortune tellers.

Quiz shows

Did you watch the new quiz show The Power of 10 last night?

In case you missed it, the premise is that the contestant can win up to $10,000,000 by guessing what percentage of people answered silly questions in the given ways. The first time you guess correctly, you win $1,000. The next time they raise it by the power of 10 to $10,000, but the range in which you can be correct is lowered. For example, for $10,000, you have a range of 30%. Say you quess 12% - 42%. You win $10,000 if the correct answer is anywhere in that range.

With each question the range gets smaller and smaller while the amount of money you can win gets larger and larger. To win $1,000,000 you have a range of 10%, pretty narrow, but to win $10,000,000 you have to be exactly correct. (Do you think anybody would be fool enough to risk $1,000,000 with those odds?)

The contestant was a very pleasant, nice looking, likeable, 19 year old man who was trying to get enough money to go to med school. Everybody was rooting for him to win. And he did win - $1,000,000! (Contestant quote: "I didn't have enough money to buy gas, now I can buy a car!")

I swear the host, Drew Carey, seemed more excited than the contestant. (I think he was genuinely pleased for the contestant - I've seen Carey's sitcom so I'm pretty sure he's not that good an actor.)

I don't think the show will be a big hit. It doesn't have any catchy phrases like "Come on down!", "I'd like to buy a vowel.", "I want to use a lifeline." "Good answer!".

How will I know when I'm done?

I have finished my Advanced Fiction Writing course without advancing my novel one sentence.

The problem is, I can't do the beginning. When it was a movie, I knew what scene would play as the title and stars' names scolled by, but that scene doesn't seem to work in the novel.

In the middele of writing that last sentence, I got an image in my head of a man leaning on a counter talking to the receptionist at the used car lot. That wasn't what I had envisioned as the scene starting the movie, but maybe that's where Herb should be when the novel begins.

Blast this indecisiveness! I can't even decide if I'm writing a movie or a book, so how can I decide on a beginning?

This is a paragraph I used in the AFW lesson on settings. Do you think this would be a good beginning? Would it make you want to read more, or proclaim, "Bore-ring!"

As Herb approached the used car lot, he cringed, as usual, at the site of the garish turquoise paint peeling off the office wall. Faded plastic pennants fluttered halfheartedly over the dusty cars whose best days were miles behind them. He sidestepped around the broken curb as he bent to pick up some empty pop cans and candy wrappers. "Those young salesmen don't have any respect for this place," he thought to himself wearily. "And why should they?" he added as he surveyed the general shabbiness of the lot.

Goose, Goose, Duck, Duck

On my way home from work this evening, I saw a line of geese crossing the street single file from a grassy park to a small retention pond. There must have been two or three dozen of them and I thought I'd have to wait on all of them to waddle across before I could get home.

But these were street wise birds. I only had to wait a few seconds before the line stopped at the edge of the sidewalk and the last few geese in the street quickened their pace to clear the road.

I wish the drivers in this county were as polite.

OH, TOM..........

I just finished my Advanced Fiction Writing course. The instructor admonished us several times against the use of adverbs in our writing. Everytime he said that, I thought of Tom Swifties instead of taking him seriously.

Somewhere on this blog, is a whole list of Tom Swifties, but I just thought up this one yesterday: "That's a beautiful tree," she said woodenly."

Do you like, "There's no water in the well," Mike said dryly?
How about, "Let's light a candle," Wes suggested wickedly?
Or, "I'm going to swoon," Alice whispered faintly.

That's all. It was a short course.

News in Brief

I just read a news blurb on msn.com that said "Clinton cleavage ignites debate." I could look it up, but instead I'm going to sit here and wonder which of the 3 Clintons they're talking about.

I watched the obituaries on the news this evening. Ingmar Bergman died. I know, I thought he died 50 years ago too. I mean no disrepect; it's just that I was really surprised. Tom Snyder was also eulogized. My first thought was "Where have you been?" And former 49ers head coach Bill Walsh died. It's a tribute to him that I not only knew the name of a professional football coach, but I recognized his face.

Back to school sales have started. So have some schools around here, the rest will start in a week or two. It won't be long before kids have no summer at all. I'm glad I was young so long ago that I had long summers full of sunshine and wading in the creek and playing paperdolls and baseball and catching crawdads and reading books.

American Idol auditions have started again. More than 10,000 people showed up in San Diego. Aren't you glad you don't have the job of weeding out the bad from the truly awful from the actually talented?

And that's the way it was.
Good night, Chet. Good night, David.

Yes/No, Up/Down, East/West

.... it's all the same direction.

"What shall I do?" she asked.

"Do? Do what?"

"Exactly!" she said emphatically, "What shall I do with the rest of my life?"

"Why, do what ever you like."

She scrunched up her face in that thinking way. "But what if I don't know what I like?"

"Then just do the opposite of what you don't like."

"Will that make me happy?" she asked wistfully.

"Happy? Perhaps. Content? Maybe. Does it matter? Isn't it enough just to be?"

"Just to be?" She thought about that for a moment. "Nothing more, nothing less? Just be me?"

"No. Just be."




Francesca Rauchi's Confusion courtesy of the artist.

And sometimes I cry

Yesterday, my baby brother would have been 50 years old. I don't know why this birthday bothered me so much more than last year. I have been crying all week. At what we missed for so many years, at what we lost, and what we'll never have.

This is a picture of his first grandchild, the granddaughter he never knew.

Montage of Entertainment News

... mixed with my judgemental comments.

Did you hear that Drew Carey is going to be the new host for the Price is Right? I don't think Drew will make it 1/10 as long as Bob Barker. Don't get me wrong. I like Drew Carey; I just don't think he'll make a good host for this particular show.

Did you hear that Tammy Faye Baker died? I think there's a special place in hell for television evangelists who steal from their parishoners.

Did you happen to catch the quartet of marshal arts hotties on America's Got Talent? Whoa, mama! Those guys have got abs like you wouldn't believe. I really would like to touch them to make sure they're real. Wink, Wink. (Hey, I'm old, not dead!)

They are down to the last 5 contestants on Hell's Kitchen. Have you noticed that the contestants on that show don't always appear, shall we say, hygenic?

I really miss the old days when I could turn on the TV and watch the Rockford Files, Mannix, Simon and Simon, Magnum PI, The Golden Girls. I could keep going, but I won't. Do you suppose that in 10 years we'll remember the names of any of the shows that are on now? Most of the time, I can't remember the names of the characters while I'm watching the show. But quiz me on the 1980's show Magnum PI - Thomas Magnus, Rick, TC, Higgins, Apollo and Zeus, Agatha.

Or quiz almost anybody in America on The Andy Griffith Show and they'll name Andy, Barnie, Opie, and Aunt Bee without hesitation.

Big sigh.

They just don't make 'em like they used to.

Bang Bang

I got home from work today to find a couple of dozen men re-roofing the carports in my area of the apartment complex.

Normally, I enjoy watching men work. It's kind of like bird watching, but birds are easy to spot. (Smile, that was a joke.)

But enough's enough. It's almost 8 o'clock and they're still pounding. And pounding. And pounding.

And so is my head.

I had a dream

I had a dream last night that I was driving up a steep hill on a gravel road that seemed to get steeper as I was driving till I was afraid I was going to fall off backwards. I pushed the pedal all the way to the floor to speed over the hill before it was too late, but just before I went over the crest I thought, without slowing down, "$*&%! I don't know what's on the other side!"

The other side was bumpy and narrow and seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, but it was there. And I survived. I didn't even wake up in a cold sweat.

I haven't had that dream about driving up a steep hill for a long time.

I googled "steep hill" and "dream interpretation". It means that there is tension in my life, things are difficult, but leading to higher things.

And by the way, I do have a difficult decision to make right now and I don't know what course I'm going to take. I feel like I'm climbing that gravel road up that hill barefoot. But life could be worse, so I'm not complaining. At least not to you.

On another note, even though I had to abandon the car, travel through a tunnel, and go down a strange slide while sitting on a gunny sack, the road eventually led to a hotel. I unexpectedly met a man there that I was suppose to go on a blind date with later that week. To my surprise, he got more "friendly" than most strangers get on first meeting (if you know what I mean). When I got him backed up, I got an even bigger surprise. It was Mark Derwin from the old Bonnie Hunt show, Life with Bonnie. When the show was on, I always thought he was sexy in a husbandly sort of way, but I had to look up his name as well as the name of the show right now because I had no idea what either was.


Aren't dreams crazy?

Or is it just us?

And what then?

And what do I do when the music stops?



Can I sit down then and rest my weary soul
or must I keep moving
from place to place
to no place
and not come home again?

Can I sing my song then
or must I stay mute till your song is done?

And what do I do then when my song is sung?

Tell me,
And what will I do then?

Happy 4th of July!

Happy birthday, America. You don't look a day over 200.

No, seriously, how old are you now? 229? 230?

Want to know more about the birth of America? Look here for the birth announcement and even articles about the conception.

The Eagle Soars

Have you heard the good news?

The bald eagle was taken off the endangered species list in June! It was considered near extinction in the 1960's with less than 500 known nesting pairs in the United States. Now there are over 20,000 eagles in the lower 48 states and over 35,000 in Alaska.

It's good to know we can do something right!

Did you ever wonder? "Bald" used to mean white, not hairless and that's why we call them bald eagles.

Eulogy

I survived the night without a heart attack. Mouse wasn't so lucky. He succumbed to a broken neck. He was a fat-assed little thing.

At least that was my impression from what I saw of him. Even when dead, I can't stand to look at them, but I couldn't very well leave the body lying around waiting for the guys from CSI to take over so I scooped him up in a dustpan, dumped him in a plastic bag, trap and all, then threw that bag into a bigger bag. All without looking at him any more than absolutely necessary.

I still shudder at the thought of it. Of how close I had to come to the creep. My house is no longer my castle.

Nobody invited you

I have a mouse in the house. At least I think it's a mouse. I really didn't get that good of a look at him. One glimpse and my scream sent him diving under the stove and me running in the opposite direction.

It's been at least 15 years since I've had a rodent in the house (not counting the time the dog chased a chipmunk into the living room), but I knew just what to do. I hopped in my car and went to the nearest store to buy mouse traps and a jar of peanut butter. Yes, I bought the old fashioned, break their necks mouse traps. I also bought two plastic tubs to store anything the little vermin might consider to be on his menu.

I cleaned out the closet and moved cereal, rice, and crackers to the tubs. I learned he was a fast worker and a picky little thing as I threw out several packages and boxes of assorted foods that bore his mark. He had nibbled on brown sugar, marshmallows, and crackers. He hadn't eaten any of the crackers, just the box, he made a pile of mini-marshmallows in a corner but none looked as if he had taken a bite out of them, and he chewed a tiny hole in the sugar. I don't rememer what else. Except it didn't look as if he had touched the stale crackers in the packet next to the marshmallows.

I baited the traps with peanut butter and put one near where I'd seen him, one near where he had been eating, and one in between. I hope that's enough.

He hasn't set them off yet, of course. In all my years of keeping house, I've had only a few rodents in my house, maybe 3 or 4, but I think all of them waited till I was almost asleep, or sound asleep, before tripping the guillotine, SNAP! Then I lie there in bed, my heart nearly beating out of my chest, trying not to have a heart attack, hoping that it's dead and trying not to feel quilty that I don't feel quilty about it.

Do you think it would be extreme if I just spent the night in a hotel and let the little bugger have the run of my place?

Fictional Friends

I'm dragging Herb Smiley out of the closet for my Advanced Fiction Writing course. I stuffed him in there shortly after I started my new job about 15 months ago.

I like ol' Herb. I really missed him and his crazy mother. He's a nice guy and I'd like to see him make something of himself. Or to be more accurate: I'd like to see me make something of himself.

I thought I'd have time and energy with the new job to hang out more with my fictional friends, but, about 14 months ago, this job started sucking the life out of me. I like working. Why do I hate jobs?

Fictional friends are better than no friends at all.

Alice

Did I tell you that I'm learning to program Alice? "What's Alice?" you reply, answering a question with a question.

Alice is a free software program from Carnegie-Mellon University that was created to introduce object oriented programming to beginners. Especially girls. I'm a girl. An old girl, but, nonetheless, a girl.

After the first class, I thought "I'm too old for this."

After the second class, I thought "Hey, I can do this and it's fun!" That was after I accidently beheaded my cow. The cow's body sunk into the ground and the head just stayed in space staring at me. I am so easily amused.

My second attempt was more successful - I built a barnyard with a cow, a horse, and some chickens. I had one of the chickens run around, clucking.

Can you believe an old lady made an animated short after only two lessons? That's how easy it is.

(Click on Alice's nose if you want to know more.)

On the road again

I ordered some items on-line the other day from a mid-west retailer. I tracked my package this morning to see why it hadn't arrived. Well, all I can say is that I hope it isn't wore out by the time it gets here. It's had quite a journey and a few long nights.

It left the Indianapolis warehouse (which is in the county next to my home), went to a "sortation center" in Ohio for three days, then back to Indianapolis to another "sortation center" for three days, then to my town. The last entry said it was accepted "in house" at 2:43 AM this morning. Now I know that wasn't my house.

That package has been taken more places than I have this week.

One Thousand and Counting

When I looked at my blog today, I saw that I have had exactly 1,000 visitors since last July. Half of those hits were probably mine, but for the other 500 visits ----- THANKS!

When you're eating your pizza Saturday night, pretend we're having a celebration party and I'm buying.

No recess for the elderly

I'm running behind this week. Well, not so much running as just lagging. Faithful readers know I rarely run.

I had two on-line courses start Wednesday and I'm already behind. I was so excited to be taking the classes I could hardly stand it, then at the last minute something came up and I couldn't get to them yesterday. Luckily, reports were running slow today so I managed to do the reading for the writing class, and there was no assignment for the first night.

I should be working on the programming course, but I'm savoring the anticipation. I'm afraid that I'll find it too simple or too hard, but I'm expecting it to be just right. So I savor the anticipation in case my expectations are shattered.

You got to take your good moments and make 'em last.

Broccoli - Cauliflower Salad

Here's a quick salad to throw together from left overs, which is how I created it so the measurements are all approximate - use what you got and to taste.

• 1 1/2 - 2 cups cold steamed broccoli and cauliflower (bite size pieces, not too done - still crisp)


• 1/4 cup shredded carrots (raw)


• 1/8 - 1/4 cup shredded or cubed cheddar cheese (or whatever you have)


• 1 - 2 tablespoons chopped green pepper (or red or yellow or a mixture of all three)


• 2 tablespoons bacon pieces


• 2 - 3 tablespoons vinaigrette-type salad dressing (like Italian dressing, raspberry vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette; I don't like a lot of dressing on my salad - you might like more or you might even prefer a mayonaise based dressing)

Mix all ingredients together, chill several hours for best flavor, but you can eat it immediately.

Some good add-ins: chopped fresh tomatoes, sliced radishes, chopped cucumber, left over pasta (without sauce), sliced mushrooms.

You here what I'm saying here? If it's your kitchen, you don't have to follow the recipe. Think about it.



If you need a "real" recipe because you're not ready to fly solo, try one of these:
Kraft Broccoli-CauliflowerSalad
Kraft Broccoli-Cauliflower Chicken Salad
MSN Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
Waitrose Zesty Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad
Easy Salad Recipes - Broccoli (No Cauliflower) Salad

Wacky, Weird, and Wonderful World News

This is why I spend too much time on the internet ----

I just read a story about a 5 year old girl who walked out of a forest two days after she was presumed to have drowned in an Illinois river.

That led to a story about a rabid fox that chased two kids in a New Hampshire back yard. It was eventually captured by the children's mother who pinned it to the ground till police arrived.

From there I went to Germany and a story about a "wild and crazy" squirrel that ran from house to house attacking people until a 72 year old man beat it to death with his crutch.

On to Georgia, where a German shepherd stopped to help a stranger who had been injuried in a car wreck. This four legged hero found dragged the victim by her shirt collar about 50 yards up an embankment to the highway, then stood by her till she was able to flag down a motorist.

Next stop: Jerusalem. A wild leopard jumped in bed with a man, his young daughter, and the family cat. The man wrestled the lepard to the floor and pinned it for twenty minutes. The daughter was in her father's bed because a mosquito had frightened her out of her own room. Ummm, the leopard was old and in ill health but there was no description of the mosquito.

Back to the Northeast, charges were dropped against a Vermont woman who stared at and made faces at a police dog.

Nada, zip, zilch.

It's Friday morning and I don't have to go to work today. I can do whatever I want. Lounge around in my pajamas all morning. Go out for a leisurely lunch and shopping in the afternoon.

I know I have the next two days off work too, but having Friday off is just a little sweeter than Saturday when you always get Saturday.

I worked in hospitals off and on for about 20 years so I didn't automatically get every weekend off like I do now. I used to cram so much activity into a weekend. Now I just take them for granted and before I know it they're over and I haven't done a thing.

Nothing fun, nothing productive, nothing at all. Nada, zip, zilch.

I don't think it's due to lack of motivation. I blame it on the energy crisis. Before that, gas was cheap and I had energy.

Crayons

Here'a tutorial on drawing Winnie the Pooh in case you're interested. They start with his eyes, which is an interesting technique, don't you think?

So little time, so much procrastination

It's Sunday morning, almost Sunday afternoon. Just in case you were wondering.

I got up early this morning, and worked for two or three hours on the on-line course I'm taking on statistics. Then I found a course on SQL that I want to take and one on VBA for Access. I don't have time to do all those and go to work and if I don't work, I can't use them.

I only meant to be at the computer for a couple of hours this morning, but after the lessons I remembered something else I needed to do on-line, and then something else and one thing led to another and here I am still sitting here because I remembered it had been a few days since I blogged.

And at my elbow is a Penny's catalog to remind me that I need to search their web site for some clothes that were on sale in the catalog. The catalog is older and the pants may not be available now, since they were on clearance.

And in the mean time, there are dishes to wash and toilets to scrub, and I just don't have enough time today to get everything done. Besides, the weather is beautiful outside and I want to go out and enjoy at least 15 minutes of sunshine without heat, rain, and/or humidity. And I need to re-pot my poor Ming Aralia because it's looks like it's already too late (if you know what I mean) and there's those papers I need to search for (a search that I've been putting off since the first week in May) and there's a pile of papers here by my desk that is getting so high I can barely step over it. And ...........

What to do? What to do?

Nobody Pays Any Attention to Me

Last night while waiting to go to sleep I ran a scene through my head that I'm working on.

They stood an the pier staring out into the ocean. She leaned against the railing and wondered about the man at her side. She was more than a little agrieved that he had insisted on accompanying her tonight and tried to ignore him without being rude.

"The breeze off the ocean is chilly tonight," he said.

"I told you to bring a jacket," she retorted. "If you're cold, go back."

"I'm not cold," he sighed, then added shyly, "I just thought you might need me to keep you warm."

She blinked hard. Was he hitting on her? Did she want him to hit on her?
She was too old to play games like this.

"You're right. The breeze is chilly tonight and your arms around me would feel good."

As I drifted off to sleep, his arms were indeed around her and they were locked in an empassionate kiss. "Really!" I thought, "That wasn't supposed to happen."

Later in the night, I woke briefly and saw the scene again. They were still kissing. In my dream, I whispered, "Excuse me," and tiptoed away, but you know I was thinking, "For Pete's sake, get a room."

I hate it when my characters refuse to take direction and start re-writing the script. Especially when they have more fun then me.

WARNING

I was listening to TV while I was writing that last post. I finally got up to see what was on because I could not believe how stupid it was. It was that new show Creature Comforts.

I really, really, REALLY hope this is the last week it is on. I know it's just the first week, but it's so bad it's makes me not want to watch TV at all because it's polluting the airwaves.

If you haven't seen it or the previews, Creature Comforts is an animated show with cute little animal characters. The critters will probably appeal to children, but it's not a kid's show despite being on at 8 PM. Here's an example of one of their jokes: I'm bi-sexual. I like to buy sex. Believe it or not, that's not the worst thing I heard before I changed channels. But even worse are the voices. I'm still cringing.

Make Your Bed

Does anybody know why pillow cases cost so much? They are made of the same material as the matching sheets, use about half the material as one flat sheet, yet cost twice as much as both the top and bottom twin size sheets. It's not that hard to sew one - there aren't any curves or darts or hand sewing. Sometimes there's some lace along the hem, but that's not difficult.

I mention this because I recently bought a pair of "hotel quality" pillowcases from Amazon.com for $8.00. That's not a bad price for even cheap cases, but for "hotel quality" that's great. I really don't know what "hotel quality" linens are. I never noticed that the hotels I've stayed in had especially high quality linens. It is a very high thread count, 1000 + something, so they should last forever.

Of course, at my age, forever isn't what it used to be.

Sunday Morning Chatter

I haven't bought my spring flowers yet. I only have one or two pots so it's not a major undertaking, but I haven't done it yet. I've looked several times, but just looking didn't put petunias in my pot.

I almost bought plants once, at that tent by Marsh's, but the clerk ticked me off by waiting on other people even though I was at her table first so I put the plants back and left. I'm not going to beg store staff to wait on me.

While I'm on the subject, have I mentioned how nice the young people are that work at Marsh's? For the most part, they are polite, well groomed, friendly, and helpful. I even made a point to tell the manager so on at least one occasion.

For some reason, I can never spell occasion right on the first try. I usually have two many s's and/or not enought c's so I have to type it several times and by then I'm so confused I don't know what I'm writing. Thank goodness for Spell Check!

A lot of the features in MS Word don't work to my satisfaction, but Spell Check is usually very helpful, much more so than the Grammar Check function. Sometimes it is just weird. Have you noticed that occasionaly you can change a phrase at Grammar Check's suggestion only to have it suggest you use the phrase you used in the first place?


Speaking of "in the first place", I'd like to tell you that this is a picture of my petunia pot, but I'd be lying and I'm not going to lie on Sunday morning.

Searching, always searching

I learned some new things today and thought I'd pass them along.

You can use the term "safesearch:" in Google to exclude adult content. For example, safesearch: sex education won't return sites with adult contents.

The word "date:" lets you search with a range of months (3, 6, or 12 months). For example, Olympics date: 3 searches for Olympics references within the past 3 months.

Do you believe this? I didn't. I had to see for myself.


So I googled "safesearch: sex education" (the phrase used as an example by Google). Most of the sites were about safesearch, some even listed the sites that you didn't get because you used safesearch.

The fourth site on the list had pictures of a nude female torso, a young man watching a woman disrobe, and a woman suggestively eating a banana. Not quite X rated, but not PG-13 either, by my reckoning.

I tried safesearch: spankings. This should have returned numerous sites about the use and misuse of physical violence as part of parental discipline, but actually returned more "naughty" adult sites than just searching for spankings alone.

Olympic date: 3 didn't work any better than safesearch. It gave me any web site with a 3 in a date, or that contained a 3 and the word "date".

As a control, I ran the sample experiment using the Advanced Search feature Return web pages updated in the past 3 months. It appeared to work well, at least on the first page.

The safesearch option under Advanced Search worked much better than putting safesearch in the google search box, but it wasn't foolproof. I didn't see any sites with dirty pictures in the first two pages when I googled sex education.


So what did we really learn here? Well, you may not have learned much, but the experiments were kind of educational for me.

Announcement

My great niece, Olivia Kaytlynn, was born May 29,2007. News is that mother and baby are doing fine.

May the future be kind to you, Olivia, and may you always know love.

This is for you, Grandma

and for all my relatives and friends who have passed before us.

May God hold your loved ones close to His heart
Until they're by your side once more.

In Remembrance

Tomorrow is the Memorial Day holiday and this is my annual Memorial Day posting. Memorial Day began as a way to honor the fallen Civil War soldiers and evolved as a day of remembrance for all of our loved ones who have passed before us.

My cousin Jeanne sent me this in an email message today. It's about love as seen through the eyes of children and I decided to share this with you because Memorial Day is about duty, honor, respect, and love.

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?"

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." Rebecca- age 8

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." Karl - age 5

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy - age 6

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." Terri - age 4

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." Danny - age 7

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss" Emily - age 8

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen." Bobby - age 7

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate," Nikka - age 6

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday." Noelle - age 7

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." Tommy - age 6

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." Cindy - age 8

"My mommy loves me more than anybody You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." Clare - age 6

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." Elaine-age 5

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." Chris - age 7

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." Mary Ann - age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." Lauren - age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." Karen - age 7

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross." Mark - age 6

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." Jessica - age 8

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy replied, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

Well, I'll be

Is it just me or do you see an uncanny resemblence too?