If you're under fifty, you might as well skip this post...

It's Saturday night, and if you were like me, growing up in the 50's, you watched Lawrence Welk.  It was wunnerful, just wunnerful.  Norma Zimmer, Myron Floren, and my very favorites, The Lennon Sisters.  I absolutely idolized Janet Lennon, I loved her look, her hair, her clothes, I thought she was just amazing.  I've been looking at their website tonight - lennonsisters.com - and you know what, she still looks great.  She's the only one of the four original sisters that's still performing in Branson, the rest have retired.  DeeDee is seventy years old now.  Oh my, it doesn't seem possible.

I went to YouTube, found a couple of clips, "The Lennon Sisters Reminisce - hope you enjoy them.  Nothing like a trip down memory lane on a Saturday night.

And a one-and-a two-ah...

Does anybody remember this?

I was feeding the M&M’s tonight…  Remembering pets of my childhood, and how we fed our cats Puss ‘n Boots.  It was a large 15 oz. can, and Mother paid ten cents for it at Marlin’s Department Store or Oscar’s Food Shoppe.

Maggie is on Prescription Dog Food, Hill’s LD, only available thru my vet, and it costs $28.00 a case.  Maggie eats dry vegetarian food mixed with yogurt, it costs $15.00 for a little bag…

Is something wrong here?  I know it was fifty years ago that we paid so little for pet food, but Geezy Pete, this stuff is expensive!

Hopefully, Mags will be off the Prescription Diet in a few weeks, and I will no doubt, feed her something like Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance, or California Naturals no grain food…  Mollie will eat it, also.

A bag of it will be a little under $15.00, that’s not a very big bag either…  It’s either that or Ole’ Roy, which hubby keeps threatening them with…  Somehow I don’t think that will happen, but ya know, our kitties thrived on Puss ‘n Boots, but OMG, did it ever smell!!!!

Have we come along way baby??? Sometimes I wonder…

Isn’t this a great old ad?  I didn’t want to shrink down the size. I thought you would all enjoy reading it…

How about a little comfort food on a Saturday afternoon...

7 things x 7....

7 Things I plan to do before I die:

1. Visit the New England states in the fall and spend a few days in NYC.
2. Go sailing, preferably at sunset.
3. Learn French, I've always wanted to.
4. Lose 20 lbs. and keep it off.
5. Go camping, just once, me, hubby and the dogs, to some beautiful, woodsy secluded spot, when the air is crisp and clean, build a campfire, roast wieners, make s'mores, listen to classical music on my ipod, experience nature at sunrise, breakfast and hot coffee in the fresh air... Actually, hubby would hate this, I'll do it with Hooterville...
6. Spend a weekend on a houseboat with the family.
7. Hold grandchildren in my arms, spoil them terribly, and love them endlessly.

7 Things I do now:

1. I get to spend my days doing what I enjoy, family, friends, dogs, nature, just being home...
2. I spend a lot of my spare time on the computer. ummmm, not a lot, more like all..
3. I read when I go to bed at night.
4. I feel like I'm evolving into a much more informed woman as I age, the body has gone to hell, but I'm a lot smarter.
5. I can crochet, embroider, cross stitch, sew, but I don't enjoy doing any of this anymore...
6. I love to go on long country rides. Nature is so important to me and I get a real buzz out of communing with it . . . listening to birdsong, looking at different plants and flowers, watching the bunnies and squirrels in the garden, the butterflies and the hummies, soothes my soul.
7. I really do take time and smell the roses, I live in the moment...

7 Things I can't do:

1. Stay organized, I'm afraid it's not in my nature, grrr . . .
2. Wiggle both of my eyebrows independently. I can wiggle my left one, but not my right! I can also wiggle them both together.
3. Deny the M&M's anything, I'm such a sucker for puppy dog eyes...
4. Sleep the whole night through without waking up at least once to look at the clock or pee. Another grrr . . .
5. Get offered a piece of chocolate cake and say no thank you. Why would I even want to???
6. Put two fingers in my mouth and whistle shrilly! I've always wanted to be able to do that.
7. Discipline myself on a consistent basis.

7 Things that attract me to the Opposite Sex:

1. Honesty and Loyalty.
2. A Nice Smile and kind eyes.
3. A hearty laugh.
4. Strong shoulders.
5. Masculine hands.
6. Good sense of humour.
7. A kind heart.

7 Things that I say most often:

1. Jeez Louise!
2. Maggie, Mollie, where are you?
3. Oh shit!
4. Jesus Christ on a bicycle, favorite saying for years and years!
5. Love you!
6. I've gotta get a life...
7. Has anybody seen my glasses . . .

7 Favorite Foods:
(Only Seven???)

1. Chocolate Candy, always with Nuts, Caramels, too...
2. Chicken and Dumplings, flat slicker dumplings, not drop ones
3. Pork Chops, preferably with Mashed potatoes and Gravy
4. German Chocolate Cake, Butterscotch Brownies - CLICK for my recipe - they're amazing
5. Lemon Ice Cream, also Pistachio, Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey and G.D. Ritzy's Butter Pecan Cashew
6. Lemon Meringue Pie, Coconut Cream Pie, Banana Cream Pie
7. Bananas, Pineapple, Peaches and Nectarines, oh and Bing Cherries, I adore Bing Cherries

7 Regrets, I've had a few:

1. That it took me too many years to realize that I had a voice, I could say no, I didn't always have to do what was expected of me.
2. People in my life that were there for a season, not a lifetime.
3. I'm not gifted artistically or musically, I admire people who are so much, they are so lucky to be born with that ability.
4. I never got that horse when I was younger, yeah, I know you've heard this before.
5. I never learned to tap dance. Impossible now, I should have done it in my 30's.
6. I never attended Yoga classes, either - but Dilly does! Another shoulda when I coulda...
7. My biggest regret of all is that I didn't discover Yorkies at an earlier age, oh, I would have bred them and had petite bebe dogs everywhere...

When pumpkins drink...

I know, it's really bad. But you have to admit, it's funny. Thanks for the giggle, Dilly...

I've got a goodie for you tonight, just in time for the weekend...

I found a new site that streams movies and television shows, all free. I've found sites similar to this one in the past, but the difference with this one is that you can enlarge the screen to full size so that the movie fills your monitor, and the quality is good, not choppy unlike ones from the past when the quality was pretty bad.

The quality is so much better than it was even just a year ago, technology just keeps improving, and we all benefit. You will really enjoy Hulu, there is a ton of stuff to choose from. I was watching a great movie, Sense and Sensibility earlier, it was enlarged to full screen on a 24" monitor and the quality was excellent.

The site is hulu.com

Just hover over the channel menu, there is something for everybody.

I'm sitting here, watching this clip from their site, just cracking up. This is SO me in a few years. Hell, this is me NOW!!! Right, Hooterville?? Oh this is so funny, take a minute and give it a watch, ladies...

Enjoy, it's a good thing...

~ jan

Are you ready for this….

Meet Clara Meadmore, she’s a 105 year old virgin from Cornwall who says that celibacy is the key to a long life.

And this is the lovely Clara in her mid 30’s, quite a foxy lady, wasn’t she?

And that’s her secret for longetivity, huh?  Well, girlfriends, looks like we are all doomed to an early grave!!!!

More power to Ms. Clara, though, who will receive a card from the Queen and have a ‘drop’ of wine when she turns 105 on Saturday…  Here’s lookin’ at you, kid…

Geezy Pete, what a dinner!!!!

Hubby called me on his way home from work. I had showered, put on the war paint, the jeans, the warm sweater, I was all set to go to the fall festival. The traffic was horrendous, the crowds were awful, he decided it wasn't such a great idea to go to the festival, but we could go somewhere else.

I vetoed going out, told him I would just fix something healthy at home. Fixing dinner at home entails cooking two separate meals, because his idea of healthy doesn't exactly jive with mine....

I needed to something fast, so I made him turkey smoked sausage, creamy pasta from a box sans the butter, and nuked him some frozen peas, he's not picky, he'll eat anything... meanwhile, I'm thinking, egads, what am I going fix for me.

I decided on my old standby when I'm too lazy to cook, a can of black beans sprinkled with taco seasoning, served over couscous. Couscous is fast, you bring the water to a boil, dump in the grains, put on a lid, take it off the stove, and in five minutes, voila, you have couscous! I had bought it at the bulk food store, so it was in a plastic bag, alongside all the other bags of healthy brown things, I measure it out, boil the water, dump it in, fix the beans, stir his pasta, saute his sausage, oh I was a whirlwind in the kitchen.

His meal is ready, he's good to go, I take my beans out of the microwave, get a bowl from the cupboard, lift the lid on the couscous, and holy shit, it was swimming in water. It didn't swell. I take a closer look, realizing with a sinking feeling that I had not used couscous at all, but sesame seeds.

Oh, what the hell, I love sesame seeds, I drain some with a slotted spoon, pour some beans over and that was my dinner. It's over now, I'm still picking those friggin' seeds out of my teeth.... and how did it taste, you might ask? It was HORRID!!!! Absolutely, positively, HORRID!!!

Is this my punishment for eating that handful of candy corn, when I have avoided sugar like the plague for weeks now? Is this what my life has come to??? Eating black beans over sesame seeds. I didn't even have any salsa, or ffree sour cream, or scallions.... Poor pitiful me...

What a crock!!!!! WHAT A C-R-O-C-K-!-!-!

This is all V's fault..

So last week, Veronica is telling me how obsessed her hubby is with black jewel microwave popcorn doused with popcorn cheese seasoning.  So naturally, moi here has to try it.  I'm not a fan of black jewel popcorn, i prefer Orville's big kernals, but now I'm hooked on the friggin' shake cheese on it, oh and of course I tweaked it with a handful of candy corn.

OMG, if you've never added candy corn and dried cheese to popcorn, you're in for a treat!  So here I sit, eating it, and hubby and I are headed to the fall festival tonight.  I'll be waddling my way home for sure!!!

Boo!

Maggie update…..

We’re now almost three months post-op with Mags, we’ll be testing her late October to see if her liver shunt surgery was successful.  Both LC and I will be really surprised if it isn’t – Maggie  continues to be an active, mischievous little imp, so unlike the dog we had a few months ago, who was totally lethargic and listless.

I awoke this morning to her lying on my chest, licking me on the nose.  Naturally, I was besieged with a fit of the giggles, which. I might add,  is a wonderful thing for a lady of a certain age.

The more I giggled, the more she showered me with kisses, and then she turned to Mollie and woke her up by licking her in the face.

She is racing thru the house right now, fetching a fuzzy donut, jumping in the air, pouncing on it, and trying to entice Mollie to play with her.

So charming, my little dogs.  And such simple pleasures they bring to my life…

More on Jaclyn Smith

She was a guest this morning on Bonnie Hunt.  What a treat to watch two wholesome, beautiful women, compared to what we’re usually subjected to.

Jackie was talking about girlfriends, at one point actually tearing up over Farrah Fawcett.  And I thought, what a lesson for all of us.  This woman, who is grounded and graceful, and who has managed to live a dignified life, despite all the problems along the way, has stayed friends all these years with Farrah, who has always had such a shaky foundation, who has battled very public problems with men and drugs, often in a graceless and undignified manner.  Two women who couldn’t be more opposite, yet they have this lasting  friendship despite their differences.

We can all learn from this.  To embrace our friends and accept their differences, as we hope they do in turn…  Wouldn’t it be a boring world if we only had friends that were mirror images of ourselves.  We can learn so much from women, girl power is the greatest power on earth….

Debate….

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I thought the debate last night was a snooze.

Compared to Palin and Biden, where the air was sizzling with energy, this round was a huge yawn…

Oh, won’t you all be glad when this is over?  I’m so sick of hearing all the bickering and finger pointing.  It won’t be long now, though – thank goodness!!!!

Do you know what this is?

This is what hubby missed out on at the Fall Festival today.

Does it look familiar?  Well, it should, you eat part of this for breakfast.  It’s, are you ready for this… chocolate covered bacon.  Yep, bacon… 

I think it sounds horrid, his arteries don’t  need it, maybe it was a good thing it rained….

This makes perfect sense…..

Multi-tasking.  It’s quite the buzzword, everybody talks about how they multi-task, well everybody, but moi…

I’ve always said that I’m not coordinated, my right brain isn’t integrated with my left brain, so I never professed to be a multi-tasker.

I was watching some news show on FOX the other day, and this guy came on and he said there was no such thing as multi-tasking.  Can’t be done.  When you “think” you are multi-tasking, SURPRISE, you’re not!  You may be working on something, but you must quit in order to do something else, so you are doing one thing at a time.

Think about it, the next time you think you are accomplishing a lot at once.

Now that I’ve totally ruined your day, let me tell you that hubby was off today, we headed down to the Fall Festival, with our munchie map in hand, everything that we wanted to eat highlighted, got a mile from home, and the skies opened up and it absolutely poured!  We haven’t had significant rainfall since July, until lunchtime today.

So much for greasy, bad food, instead we went to Yen Ching for some non-greasy good food.  Worked for us….

It’s fall festival time in Heavensville…

The first week in October is always fall festival time in Heavensville.  I’m such a sucker for street fairs, I love the food, love to people watch, love the food, enjoy the new fall clothes, did I mention that I love the food….

It’s billed as one of the largest street fairs in the USA, with 125+ food booths, chocked full of grease laden, deep fried morsels of inferior food, sold to masses of fat people….

Just had to throw that in, it’s the devil perching on my shoulder…. So, what are my MUST HAVES this week?  Well, I’m a corn dog fanatic, this year they are touting baked pronto pups, not really healthy, of course, but at least not deep fried.  I love the baked sweet potatoes, the black beans, and want to try the chile cornbread.  That’s about it, well, except for the peanut butter fudge.  And no, I’m not going to consume all of this in ONE trip, maybe I won’t eat all of the above, and then again, maybe I will.

There is no hope….

Your Sunday dose of cuteness….

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

So much for one of my weekly staples.  Grrrrr….

The small cocktail (baby) carrots you buy in small plastic bags are made using the larger crooked or deformed carrots which are put through a machine which cuts and shapes them into cocktail carrots.   Most  people probably know this already.  What you may not know and should  know is the following: 

Once the carrots are c ut and shaped into cocktail carrots they are dipped in a solution of water and chlorine in order to  preserve them (this is the same chlorine used your pool).  Since they do not have their skin or natural protective covering, they give them a  higher dose of chlorine.

You will notice that once you keep these carrots in your refrigerator for a few days, a white covering will form on the carrots, this is the Chlorine which resurfaces. At what cost do we put our health at risk to have esthetically pleasing vegetables which are practically plastic?