I So Love BBC America!

Now I can watch them on my computer too-stunning footage of penguins

Free Ink Refills April 2 Only

Get your free ink refill coupon by clicking this link for Walgreen's. It was also in the Sunday Walgreen's ad and in Parade Magazine inserts.

And Hawaii-you have a day all to yourself! So check the above link for details.

Johnny's French Chickie

I have no idea what she is singing about but she has Johnny Depp-so nothing else matters. Sigh.

Bush Wants Money For New World Threat!

A Prayer Answered

A little boy wanted $100.00 very badly and prayed for weeks, but nothing happened. Then he decided to write God a letter requesting the $100.00.When The postal authorities received the letter to God , USA , they decided to send it to the President.

The president was so amused that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy a $5.00 bill.. The president thought this would appear to be a lot of money to a little boy.

The little boy was delighted with the $5.00 bill and sat down to write a thank-you note to God, which read:

Dear God: Thank you very much for sending the money. However, I noticed that for some reason you sent it through Washington, DC., and those a**holes deducted $95.00 in taxes

Survey Says..................

How long have I been a vegetarian: 30 + years,---find myself going more vegan every year.

Why did I become vegetarian?: always wanted to (since choking on a chicken bone in 2nd grade-I stopped eating solid foods for a long time)-was partly raised on a farm and hated that my "pets" were being used as food. also health issues-but my Betsy cow really did it for me.

Vegetable I like the most: rutabaga-well, most root veggies I love

Vegetable I like the least: mushrooms-

Favorite fruit: cantaloupe or melons in general-and watermelon in season

Fruit you like the least: bananas-they made me sick when I was pregnant and now can't stand the smell of them ever. I do like plantains tho.

Favorite nut: macadamia-so expensive!

Favorite vegetarian main entree: any kind of thick soup/stews served with crusty home made bread

Favorite vegetarian dessert: fresh fruit but it's nice to share a slice of carrot cake (no frosting)-I am not into sweets much

Favorite herb or spice: is garlic a spice or herb? other than that, paprika-all styles

Herb or spice you like the least: I wasn't big into sage until I grew it fresh-so now I would say none.

Vegetarian recipe that would astonish me?: a bread recipe I would not eat :)

Food allergies / Foods I abstain from: mushrooms make me sick, most dairy (makes me sick-hate melted cheese for the most part), if it has eyeballs, I wont eat it! But I will try most other plants at least once.

What A Difference A Century Makes!

Here are some of the U.S. Statistics for the Year 1907:

The average life expectancy in the U.S. Was 47 years old.

Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. Had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars. \

There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California.

With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.

The average wage in the U.S. Was 22 cents per hour.

The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year .

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year.

A dentist made $2,500 per year.

A veterinarian $1,500 per year.

And a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at home.

Ninety percent of all U.S. Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as "substandard."

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death in the U.S. Were: 1. Pneumonia and influenza 2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 U.S. Adults couldn't read or write.

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores.

Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian Of health."

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. !

Now I can post this for the whole world to see-from Iceland to Iraq to ships at sea and earthlings in space. Who'da thunk it?

Furry Happy Monsters

Just Because!

We Lost A Genius

Baked Stuffed Chicken

6-7 lb. chicken
1 cup melted butter
1 cup stuffing (Pepperidge Farm is good.)
1 cup uncooked popcorn (ORVILLE REDENBACHERS LOW FAT)
Salt/pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brush chicken well with melted butter, salt, and pepper.
Fill cavity with stuffing and popcorn.
Place in baking pan with the neck end toward the back of the oven.
Listen for the popping sounds.
When the chicken's ass blows the oven door open and the chicken flies across the room, it is done.


And, you thought I couldn't cook ........

ETA-I hope you all know this is a funny-I don't do anything with eyeballs in my kitchen-or anywhere else for that matter!

Some Thoughts About The Past In Black And White

Black & White

Under age 40?
You won't understand.

You could hardly see for all the snow,
Spread the rabbit ears as far as they go.
Pull a chair up to the TV set,
"Good Night, David. Good Night, Chet."

My Mom used to cut chicken, chop eggs and spread Mayo on the same cutting board with the same knife and no bleach, but we didn't seem to get food poisoning.

My Mom used to defrost hamburger on the counter AND my sister used to eat it raw sometimes, too.

Our school sandwiches were wrapped in wax paper in a brown paper bag, not in icepack coolers, but I can't remember getting e.coli.

Almost all of us would have rather gone swimming in the lake instead of a pristine pool (talk about boring), no beach closures then.

The term cell phone would have conjured up a phone in a jail cell, and a pager was the school PA system.

We all took gym, not PE, and risked permanent injury with a pair of high top Ked's (only worn in gym) instead of having cross-training athletic shoes with air cushion soles and built in light reflectors. I can't recall any injuries but they must have happened because they tell us how much safer we are now. Flunking gym was not an option...even for stupid kids! I guess PE must be much harder than gym.

Speaking of school, we all said prayers and sang the national anthem, and staying in detention after school caught all sorts of negative attention. We must have had horribly damaged psyches.

What an archaic health system we had then. Remember school nurses? Ours wore a hat and everything.

I thought that I was supposed to accomplish something before I was allowed to be proud of myself.

I just can't recall how bored we were without computers, Play Station, Nintendo, X-box or 270 digital TV cable stations.

Oh yeah...and where was the Benadryl and sterilization kit when I got that bee sting? I could have been killed!

We played 'king of the hill' on piles of gravel left on vacant construction sites, and when we got hurt, Mom pulled out the 48-cent bottle of Mercurochrome (kids liked it better because it didn't sting like iodine did) and then we got our butt spanked. Now it's a trip to the emergency room, followed by a 10-day dose of a $49 bottle of antibiotics, and then Mom calls the attorney to sue the contractor for leaving a horribly vicious pile of gravel where it was such a threat.

We didn't act up at the neighbor's house either because if we did, we got our butt spanked there and then we got butt spanked again when we got home.

I recall Joey Reynolds from next door coming over and doing his tricks on the front stoop, just before he fell off. Little did his Mom know that she could have owned our house. Instead, she picked him up and swatted him for being such a goof. It was a neighborhood run amuck.

To top it off, not a single person I knew had ever been told that they were from a dysfunctional family. How could we possibly have known that? We needed to get into group therapy and anger management classes? We were obviously so duped by so many societal ills, that we didn't even notice that the entire country wasn't taking Prozac!

How did we ever survive?

TO ALL OF US WHO SHARED THIS ERA-WOO HOO!

AND TO ALL WHO DIDN'T- SORRY FOR WHAT YOU MISSED. I WOULDN'T TRADE IT FOR ANYTHING

Remember that life's most simple pleasures are very often the best.

Enter For A Chance At A Handmade Quilt

A Handmade Quilt Giveaway!

Spices, Teas and Rubs

If you are into unique spice blends, please visit this site and poke around. I picked up the Oaxaca BBQ rub a while back and just the aroma is worth the price. The tin was big enough that I could share too.

Some specialty stores also carry the products. Or you can visit yourself if you are in the wine country area up near Sleeping Bear Dunes, a bit west of Traverse City. Or just order from the site! And be sure to take home some wines from Michigan. First class!

Tainted Government-Hypocrites in Action

Dialog from the Jon Stewart Show----------

STEWART: The crazy thing is, this guy, Governor Spitzer, apparently visiting prostitutes for years, as he was prosecuting prostitution.

OLIVER: Yeah, but Jon, this is what politicians do. They rail against the thing they desire the most. Look at Congressman Mark Foley. Headed the committee to protect children from sex predators while trying to pick up underage interns on line.

STEWART: Larry Craig…

OLIVER: There you go.

STEWART: Senator Larry Craig voted repeatedly against gay rights, caught soliciting gay sex in a bathroom.

OLIVER: Very good. Or um, President Bush. How’s that? Promotes democracy abroad, withholds as much information as possible at home.

STEWART: That’s exactly right. He criticizes human rights abuses…

OLIVER: Exactly. Yet, runs his own floating S&M dungeon just south of Key West.

They Stole My "Have To Pee" Dance!

This Blog's Reading Level

This Thing Makes Me Wanna Pee

Red Skinny Garlic Mash

No special recipe for these really. Just clean up some small red skins, and trim off any bad spots. But do leave some red skin on them. Add some sliced raw garlic to the pot and boil until the potatoes are pierceable. Drain. Add a tablespoon or so of butter or margarine, a dollop of soy milk and some salt and pepper to taste. Mash it up but leave sorta chunky too. Top with a little rubbed sage. This is my serving-a comfortable late night snack on a cold winter day.

The Foot Race

Two gas company servicemen, a senior training supervisor and a young trainee, were out checking meters in a suburban neighborhood. They parked their truck at the end of the alley and worked their way to the other end. At the last house, a woman looking out her kitchen window watched the two men as they checked her gas meter.

Finishing the meter check, the senior supervisor challenged his younger coworker to a foot race down the alley back to the truck to prove that an older guy could outrun a younger one.

As they came running up to the truck, they realized the lady from that last house was huffing and puffing right behind them. They stopped and asked her what was wrong.

Gasping for breath, she replied, "When I see two men from the gas company running as hard as you two were, I figured, HOLY MOLY!! I'M OUTTA HERE!!!"

Vampire Inhibitor Garlic Soup

This is my entry for the soup challenge for March-it has to be spicy!

read more here

So I had to give this a goofy name. If you love garlic as much as I do, you will be making pots of this to have on the ready when you are too tired to move. And even better, it is so low in fat that you might eat the whole pot in one sitting!

15-20 garlic cloves-peeled

2 cups of water

6 medium Roma tomatoes (blanched and skins removed) cut into quarters (don't drain-you want that tomato juice too)

two large handfuls of fresh spinach-big handfuls if you like more

2 teaspoons of smoky paprika

1 teaspoon oregano or basil

1/4 cup of chopped cilantro

2-3 cups of veggie broth (homemade is best but you can use store bought-use salt free if you do)

1 teaspoon olive oil

pepper flakes (to taste)

sea salt-freshly ground-to taste

black pepper-freshly ground-to taste

Place water and fresh garlic in a pot and bring to boil-then simmer with lid off for half hour. DO NOT DRAIN!

While that is going on, boil a pot of water and blanch your tomatoes for about 1 minute. Quickly dip tomatoes into cold water and gently peel off skins (put skins in compost or mix with your dog food). Cut into large chunks. Set aside.

Remove garlic with a slotted spoon and add to a pan with the olive oil and gently sear the garlic. Cut into large chunks and add back into the garlic water, add the tomatoes and all the other ingredients and simmer for a bit with the lid off. It lets the flavors blend.

If you like spicy, add a drop of hot sauce. If you have another spice you like, add a bit and taste. There is an ease with this soup. Serve with chunks of crusty French bread or cheesy crackers for dipping.

For a more filling soup, add some leftover cooked rice or small size cooked pasta-about a cup will do.

Are You With Or Against Us?

Humming Fill Up

You do the math. How many miles per gallon does a Hummer get? This is a full fill up. And the guy drives 120 miles round trip to work. 5 days a week. I so love my little Aveo. :)

How To Eat Like A Child

Peas: Mash into thin sheet on a plate. Press back of fork into peas, hold fork vertically, prongs up, and lick off peas.

Mashed Potatoes: Pat mashed potatoes flat on top. Dig several little depressions. Think of them as ponds or pools. Fill pools with gravy. With fork, sculpt rivers between them. Decorate with peas. Do not eat. Alternate method: Make a large hole in center of mashed potatoes. Pour in ketchup. Stir until potatoes turn pink. Eat as you would peas.

Sandwich: Leave the crusts. If your mother says you have to eat them because that's the best part, stuff them into your pocket or between the cushions of the couch.

Spaghetti: Wind too many strands on fork and make sure at least two strands dangle down. Open mouth wide and stuff in spaghetti; suck noisily to inhale dangling strands. Clean plate, ask for seconds, and eat only half. When carrying plate to kitchen, hold tilted so that remaining spaghetti slides onto the floor.

Ice Cream Cone: Ask for double scoop. Knock the top scoop off while walking out the door of the ice cream parlor. Cry. Lick remaining scoop slowly so that ice cream melts down outside of the cone and over your hand. Stop licking when ice cream is even with top of cone. Eat a hole in bottom of cone and suck the rest of ice cream out of the bottom. When only cone remains with ice cream coating inside, leave cone on car dashboard.

Spinach: Divide into little piles. Rearrange into new piles. After five or six maneuvers, sit back and say you are full.

Chocolate Chip Cookies: Half-sit, half-lie on bed, propped up by pillow. Read a book. Place cookies next to you on sheet so that crumbs get in bed. As you eat the cookies, remove each chocolate chip and place it on your stomach. When all cookies are consumed, eat chips one by one, allowing two per page.

Milkshake: Bite off end of paper covering straw. Blow through straw to shoot paper across the table. Place straw in shake and suck. When shake just reaches your mouth, place a finger over top of straw - the pressure will keep the shake in straw. Lift straw out of shake, put bottom end in mouth, release finger, and swallow. Do this until straw is squashed so you can't suck through it. Ask for another straw. This time shoot paper at the waitress or waiter when they aren't looking. Sip your shake casually until there is about an inch of shake remaining. Then blow through straw until bubbles rise to top of glass. When your father says he's had just about enough, get a stomach ache.

ETA-my kids are all grown up now but I do have a young niece and nephew that I get out of control with sometimes. Just depends on what we are doing and where we are at.

Want a Laugh? My First Attempt At Tortillas.

For some odd reason , there seems to be a shortage of corn tortillas in the stores lately. So I decided to make my own. I had the correct ingredients, just not the correct technique. Hubby said they tasted okay-but this is a man who could live on boxed mac and cheese-made with water instead of milk.

Rolling them out between plastic as instructed
They don't look too bad at this point.
Cooking in the cast iron pan
After I flipped them
Cooling on the rack

I have since purchased a tortilla press and will make use of it this weekend. Even the press was hard to find so I ordered from Amazon. If they turn out better with the press, I will update here.