Some things are so funny, they’re almost indescribable…

There is a product for dogs, made by Merrick Foods, and they’re called Texas Toothpicks.  That’s a more appealing name for what they really are, dried cow tails.

Both the girls adore them, but I haven’t had them in the house for months because they were animal protein, which was a nono for Mags when she had liver shunt, and I didn’t think it was fair to her to feed them to Mollie, who, by the way, has been a vegetarian for the last few months herself.

But now that she’s received the all clear to once again have animal protein, it was time to break out a new sack of Texas Toothpicks!

OMG, you should have seen her.  She chewed and she drooled, and she groaned and she moaned.  She was positively estatic, and chewed on hers all afternoon.

Mollie, a bit less enthusiastic than Maggie, but nontheless did a fair share of chewing hers, also.

I spotted Maggie, a bit ago, burying hers behind a cushion for later noshing.

One of these days I’ll get video of this.  The sound affects are too funny for words….

If you scroll down to their Trick Or Treat photo, that’s what’s dangling out of Maggie’s mouth, her big ole’ Texas Treat.  And no,  I didn’t resize it, that’s really how big it is!

The dogs are all decked out in their fall shirts this afternoon, greeting the kiddos, all four of them so far…

I’m thinking that ole’ Harvey is a jerk!!!!

We’ve come a long way, baby…

 

Does it get any better than this?

I’m tucked into bed with the fur kids and my laptop, just out of the whirlpool, freshly shampooed hair, cozy nightshirt, noshing on wedges of cheese and apples.  Is there anything more perfect than this? I can’t think of a single thing….

Jan, doin the happy dance….

Maggie’s test results came back, all of them perfectly NORMAL!!!!!!

She’s totally cured, and I’m so relieved. Now Maggie and I can grow old together. 

Thanks to all of you who were concerned about this sweet little soul.  Maggie has a lot of people out there that care about her…

I’m completely blessed tonight, life is so good…

~ jan

Memories…

You know how it is, you’re going thru your day, and a memory is triggered, and instantly you’re back in the past.

This morning I was looking thru my old battered cookbook with all the handwritten recipes.  I’ve had this since we were first married, and it’s much used and much treasured.

I was looking for my Texas Sheet Cake recipe, and stumbled upon a spaghetti and meatball recipe from Kathrine Cunnington, my neighbor when hubby and I were first married.

Katherine and her husband, Merle were in their late 60’s at the time, and I thought he  was such a special man.  They had been married since their twenties and every single month, on the anniversary of the day they were married,  he brought her a gift.  He had done that for 40+ years.  She said sometimes, when they didn’t have much money  it would be a simple thing, like a candy bar, and in the years I knew them, I saw a lot of flowers in her house,  he always remembered.  He also left a quarter tip on the table for every meal she cooked him.  I thought it was so touching, that he felt she was that special to him.

He drove this big old Buick Riveria, and I can just see him pulling into their drive.  John was a little boy, not even three years old, and I was pregnant with Ryan, and if we were outside when Merle got home, John would race over to their house as fast as his little legs would carry him, knowing that Mr. Cunnington would have a stick of Juicy Fruit gum for him.  I can see him now, that precious little red haired boy, those short little chubby legs flying thru the yard, often in his bib overalls and tennies.

Even though there was a huge age difference, Katherine and I were good friends and we talked daily.  I was always cooking, she gave me a lot of good recipes and we would discuss food.  She would know what I was baking and often, when I made a pie, there would be a knock at the back door and it would be Merle with a dessert plate and a fork.  He would just show up with a cute little boyish grin on his face, suckering me into giving him a piece of warm pie.

It was endearing and charming, and the memory of them is vivid this lovely fall day in Heavensville…

More on Bonnie Hunt…

I blogged about Bonnie Hunt when her show debuted and I just wanted to say once more, that if you’re not watching her, you’re missing out.

She’s on at 9am in Heavensville, every morning she cracks me up with her quit wit.

She’s adorable, wholesome  and folksy, but not nerdy.  I think that sums her up pretty well.

Her show reminds me of the way talk shows used to be, when they were entertaining instead of vulgar.

Bonnie Hunt, if you haven’t watched her yet, give her a try.  She’s a good thing…

~ jan

Maggie’s off to the vet…

It’s been three months since Maggie’s liver shunt surgery.  Today’s the day we’ve been waiting for, we dropped her off at the vet’s this morning for tests, blood panel, bile acid, poor Mags has to go thru this one more time.  I wish I could make her understand that this is it, we’re finished now, we’ve done all we can do.  She was shaking when I left her, my poor little fur child, it so hard to just hand her over and walk out the door…

I snapped this picture before we left, she’s all warm and cozy in her little gold hoodie sweatshirt, courtesy of her Auntie Trish…

We won’t know for a few days how her tests came back, I’m really hopeful that the surgery was a success, she’s such a fiesty little imp these days.

If you’re a new reader to my blog and don’t know Maggie’s story, you can read about her liver shunt surgery by CLICKING HERE…  She’s come a long way since July, her weight is up a pound, she has so much more energy now, she plays with her toys, scampers thru the yard,  and pesters Mollie.  In other word she acts… normal… Yes, that’s how she acts, like a normal little dog, and it’s a beautiful thing…

Frosty forecast…

We’re having a hard freeze in Heavensville tonight, and I cajoled hubby into bringing my two rosemary plants into his garage for the winter.  They are absolutely humongous, and they’re in these really big pots, they’re so big and heavy he had to truck them into the garage on a dolly.  You can imagine how he was lovin’ doing that!  They are so pretty, I just couldn’t bear for them to freeze!

Now that they are in there, they are, ummm, how do I say this, releasing their fragrance, yeah, that’s what they’re doing, releasing their fragrant aroma.

They’ve only been in there an hour, and already the garage  smells like a friggin’ pine forest…  I just don’t know how this will all play out, I never considered the smell!!!  Oh, the things that man does for me….

I’ll update you on the aroma later…  Do you think it will penetrate into the house??? Maybe the aroma will dissipate and won’t be noticable.  Uh huh, right Jan, sure it will…

Okay, worst case scenario, I can pretend they are living Christmas trees and decorate them for the holidays.  Ya think???

Ohhhh, Mary sent us a goodie….

As fast as you can type,  go to http://theradio.com – you just type the name of the artist you want to hear in the little box, it will immediately start playing one of the artist’s songs, and then it will keep playing songs of the same era.  This is cool.  I’m listening to Dean Martin right now…

Don’t bother typing the addy, just CLICK HERE!  And don’t forget to turn on your speakers.  ;0)

Thanks, Mary – this is a find….

Reed Diffusers…

OMG, I’m out of the loop, I really am.  I’m no longer on top of my game, on the cutting edge.  The torch has passed.  *sigh*

John just called to see if I knew if Yankee Candle sold Reed Diffusers?  “Huh, what are those I asked I’ve never heard of them.”

Apparently they are great, someone had given him one as a gift, and he said they make the house smell wonderful.  It’s a little bottle of essential oils with reeds sticking out of the top and it imparts a subtle fragrance.

I Googled it, sure enough Yankee makes them, I’m going to have to check these out.

Meanwhile, I found a make it yourself site, looks interesting.  Here’s the CLICK…

I just talked to Nisha, she knows all about the diffusers, has them in several rooms.  Now why didn’t she tell me about them?  Why didn’t SOMEBODY tell me?  I’ve gotta get a life, ya know, get out of the house, shop, get a handle on things like I used to….

Geezy Pete, I can’t believe nobody told me about these things…  I can’t believe I didn’t know this already.  It’s a sad, sad day in Heavensville…

Giveaway of the day….

Every day this site offers software that companies normally get paid for,  free.  Some days the offers are good, some not so good, like anything else.

  You have to download and install the day they are offered, or the offer will expire, and if it is something requiring registration, it can be a bit tricky to register, but I often find really good things here.  If you read the comments, people always give negative comments, probably a bunch of techkie snobs that make fun of other’s products, I usually just ignore them, but the comments can be helpful if you have problems figuring out how to register something, usually they tell you how to do it.

But anyway, today they have a halloween screensaver, it’s pretty cute, here’s the CLICK if you want to download it, but remember, you have to do it today to get it free.

~ jan

UPDATE:  I just installed this, oh my, it’s just about the cutest thing I’ve seen in a long time.  Here’s how to do this – After you download it, Click on the Activate.exe BEFORE you click on the Setup.exe – that registers it for you, or you can just click on the readme file and follow their instructions -  ;0)

Then go to Start/Run, All Programs, it will be the last one on the list, just open it, and see if you like it.  Great music, too! 

You can go to your compuer desktop, right click, choose properties, then at popup choose screensaver, and set it up the way you want it from that screen.  Ya, I realize most of you know this, but there are some that don’t.  This stuff can be tricky if you don’t do a lot on the computer…

Why do I fill out these quizzes???

1. Where is your cell phone? kitchen counter
2. Where is your significant other? in the shower, getting ready for work
3. Your hair color? scary, i'm sure, haven't seen it in years!
4. Your mother? gone, now, i'm old, remember?
5. Your father? same
6. Your favorite thing? other than the obvious of family and friends, of course, it's my M&M's
7. Your dream last night? i was moving and had like a hundred trash bags full of stuff. dunno where i was going...
8. Your dream/goal? to lose 20 lbs. and clean out my closet.... uh-huh, sure thing....
9. The room you're in? sunroom
10. Your hobby? duh, computers, specifically anything to do with computer graphics
11. Your fear? not fearful so much at this age
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? alive
13. Where were you last night? right here, working on those christmas recipes
14. What you're not? young
15. One of your wish list items? petite grandbebes
16. Where you grew up? in the country, southern illinois
17. The last thing you did? made coffee with that hot water, so good...
18. What you are wearing? yoga pants and a tee shirt
19. Your TV? FOX news, it's always on FOX news
20. Your pet? oh funny, like you don't know about the fur kids, margaret moolatte and molasses maybelline
21. Your computer? which one? we've got 5 going in different rooms of the house... maintenance nightmare, too...
22. Your mood? peaceful
23. Missing someone? not really
24. Favorite restaurant? Deerhead pizza sounds really good...
25. Something you're not wearing? long sleeves and i'm cold
26. Favorite store? marshall's and t.j. maxx
27. Your summer? hot, dry, lots of rides on the golf cart with trisher and the pooches
28. Love someone? lots of people
29. Your favorite color? yellow
30. Last time you laughed? this morning when maggie's scrungie fell out, oh she had bed head so bad!
31. Last time you cried? when hubby told me a friend of ours mother died last week, it's hard to lose anyone, especially your mother...

This quiz is all Stephani's fault, I read it on her blog this morning... I read these and feel compelled to fill one out for myself. Probably has something to do with those dying brain cells...

A new favorite thing today from Oprah

Kindle: Amazon's Wireless Reading Device

 

No, I don’t watch Oprah anymore, but I did today because I wanted to see what her favorite thing was.  It’s pretty spiffy, ladies, expensive, though.  It’s from Amazon, and it’s called The Kindle.

You can put up to 4,000 books in this thing, you can download all the bestsellers for $9.99 each,  you can ask it questions, a real person will answer you  and you can even download newspapers and magazines– you can look  up words with it – it’s pretty awesome.  BUT, the price is pretty awesome, too – I’ll pass on this one, it’s a super idea, but it’s pricey and then you still have to buy the books.  Maybe the library will integrate with this later and the price will come down.

But it is a good thing because you don’t have all the books to carry around, it’s wireless, too, you don’t have to download it from the computer… 

Click here for  the official site.  AND, if you order it in the next ten days, go to oprah.com, and there will be a discount code that you enter at checkout and you can save $50.00.

---

Price:
$359.00 & this item ships for FREE with Super Shipping

Here I go, bugging you again…

I started working on the Christmas Recipes. I need input, ladies, we have some great ones, but we're all greedy, we want more - yeah, I see you smiling - so dig out your faves, take a minute, send them to me. Don't worry about the typos, or the format, etc. I'll clean them all up before I publish them. Pinkie swear, I will...

Jean sent me this picture, just had to share....

Hey, it IS better coffee...

Okay, I made my morning coffee, using hot water instead of cold like Baby Boy told me, he was right as usual, much better coffee, more robust, fuller flavor. If you already know to brew coffee with hot water instead of cold, why didn't you tell me???

I just read this, think about it...

The media cannot get enough of the "Saturday Night Live" impersonations of Palin as a bubblehead. News shows pick up the Tina Fey clips and run them and run them to the merriment of all.

Can one imagine "Saturday Night Live" doing weekly send-ups of Michelle Obama and her "I've never been proud" of my country, this "just downright mean" America, using a black comedienne to mimic and mock her voice and accent?

"Saturday Night Live" would be facing hate-crime charges.

Is there a media double standard? You betcha.

Thanks for the laugh, Carlene, jokes today seem to be all about boobs...

Roasting your own coffee beans....

My online friend, Seana, mentioned the other day that I should try roasting my own coffee beans, so I've been checking it out online. Apparently it's pretty simple, you buy green coffee beans, which by the way, stay fresh for a year, and you roast the beans in an air popcorn popper, it's simple and just takes a few minutes. There are a lot of online sources for green coffee beans, all inexpensive, too...

Apparently the beans smoke as they roast, so you need to do this in the garage or out on the patio, but it's something I might want to try. Here's the CLICK for an article about how to do this...

I keep reading that roasted beans lose a lot of their flavor after 15 days, so if you're like me, we never really have fresh coffee, because who knows how long those beans have been in the store before we buy them. And if you're buying already ground coffee, that's even worse!

And, I was talking to Lindsay this morning, Ryan has been researching brewing full bodied coffee at home, and he's been brewing her coffee starting with hot water instead of cold. The reason for this is if you start with cold water, the temperature never gets hot enough while brewing to develop the flavor fully. They use the Cuisinart Grind'n Brew, Linds says it really is better this way. This goes against everything I was ever taught, which was to start with cold water, but hey, I'll give it a try... Ry always researches the science behind the cooking process, so I'm sure he's on to something.

Just a few coffee ideas for you to ponder this cool fall morning...

Maxine, God love her... I so I identify with this woman, sad, huh?

Speed of eating, key to obesity....

Last week I discovered that keeping your mind active on the computer is like discovering the fountain of youth, well youthful brain anyway, now comes word from a Japanese researcher that wolfing down meals may be enough to double a person's risk of being overweight... so now I know how to cure obesity. Holy Schmoly, I never realized I was so smart!!!

So that's my problem with weight, because we all know that I totally inhale my food. I eat way too fast and devour all that healthy food like a rabid dog... That's why I'm not a skinnny minnie! It's because I eat too fast! I just knew there had to be a reason!!! Of course the researcher is Japanese, and Japanese people are always thin, so I'm thinking that key may not be in wolfing down the food, I think the answer lies in chopsticks.

Have you ever used chopsticks? I think that's the real key to obesity. You can't eat fast with chopsticks, that's probably how that Japanese guy came to that conclusion in the first place. Those chopsticks give the brain the signal that the stomach is swelling and it's time to quit eating because it takes so long to use them...

Well, now that I've solved that problem, maybe I can do something about that election? Is it too late for me to throw my hat into the ring????

Here's the CLICK to the article if you want to read it...

here i sit…..

typing with one hand, hunting and pecking because i have two little dogs that want to snuggle.  mollie is on my lap, i’m holding mags against my chest with my other hand, they are both sound asleep.  so why dont i just put them down, you would think i would,  but oh no, i’m a sucker, remember.  oh, they are just rotten…

Living a Healthy Lifestyle…

I eat natural food as close to the earth as I can, lots of whole grains, lean meat, olive oil, low fat dairy and veggies, and I try, for the most part to stay away from white flour and sugar.  Of course I get off track, after all a girl has to have chocolate sometimes, and what would life be if you didn’t occasionally have dessert, but I seem, in the last few years, to easily go back to eating the good for you stuff, and actually enjoy it.  I  I actually prefer whole wheat bread, brown rice and whole wheat pastas now.  I love plain yogurt, and never buy flavored ones anymore, and I’ve recently discovered Greek Yogurt and it’s amazing flavor.  I try to stay away from processed foods, I’m not always successful, but for the most part I do pretty well.  I think I actually live an 80/20 lifestyle with eating, and that’s pretty good.  So why can’t I lose weight eating this way???  Because I eat too much healthy food and don’t exercise enough. Grrrrrrr, that’s why…

I faithfully take my Centrum Silver with Lutine, as Mother had macular degeneration in her later years and the optometrists told her it could have been prevented if she would have just taken vitamins with Lutene.  I take calcium daily, something I used to struggle with in the past but in the last year I have really gotten my act together and take it regularly… And now to the whole purpose of this post…

I talked a couple of months ago about how Ryan told me to start taking mega vitamin B12 complex tablets daily.  He said it would take a couple of weeks for me to notice a difference, but it should help with my  fatigue as I would get the same effects as if I went to my doctor for Vitamin B12 shots.

I have never before taken any vitamins and been able to tell a difference in the way I felt, until I started the Mega Vitamin B’s.  It’s amazing how much more energy I have.  I don’t have that overwhelming fatigued that has plagued me for years.  We visited Ryan and Lindsay last week, and usually, after visiting with the kids for a few days, and being on the go and traveling, when I get home I am exhausted for a couple of days.  Not so this trip, I was tired the day we got home, but the next day I was back to normal.  It’s just amazing how much better I feel.

I told Veronica about them, she and Rich started taking them, and they, too, can tell a noticable difference in their energy level.  If you haven’t tried, these, buy yourself a bottle, I believe they have them in time release, which I don’t use, but I’m going to look for them the next time I’m at the drugstore.

I have lima bean soup in the pressure cooker this morning, lima beans, a bit of diced turkey smoked sausage, carrots, onions, garlic, thyme, and I’m going to make this great cornbread that’s made with stone ground cornmeal and yogurt, no fats or oils… and that’s our lunch.

Eating healthy, it’s a good thing….

Christmas is coming….

Now that I have your attention…

I’m going to start recreating the pages for my Jan and Friends Christmas Recipes next week. 

I have many new readers to The Daily Dish, and would love to add some of your favorite Christmas goodies to our pages.

Audience participation makes this site better for everyone.  I have many great recipes to post for all of you, but please, new readers, or old friends who have something new to share, please do so, and I’ll add them to my selections as I build my pages.

~ jan

Check out Faith Hill…

Geezy Pete, look at Faith Hill’s tummy.  This is after three kids!  I don’t care how much air brushing they did, she still looks awesome.

I read this at People online  this morning.  And how did she get this body?  She does four miles on the eliptical every day, light weight lifting, crunches and push-ups.  Then she added Pilates classes three times a week.

She goes on to say that she sleeps better, NO WONDER, she’s probably exhausted!!!!!!!

But more power to her, the woman is 41 years old!!!

It was time for a fall index page…

I spent the day watching tivoed Martha Stewart and Bonnie Hunt and  building a new munchiebusiness.com page.   It’s pretty cluttered, as all my pages seem to be but I like the whimsical look of it…

Here’s the quick CLICK to access the real page…

Why I cook...

I cook because wholesome, flavorful food that you make at home tastes like nothing you eat in a restaurant. I cook because it not only fills your body, it nurtures your soul as well...

This morning I put a pork roast in the crock pot. I added fat cloves of garlic, onions and fresh cracked pepper, and let it cook all day. I once again roasted chunks of potatoes, onions and carrots sliced on the diagonal, infused with olive oil, seasoned with coarse kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper in mother's black iron skillet in the oven until the vegetables were golden brown and the onions carmelized.

I simmered flat italian green beans with ham and onions on the stove, and I made Martha Stewart's applesauce. Golden Delicious apples cut into wedges, the juice of a lemon, a healthy dash of ground ginger, fresh grated nutmeg, a cinnamon stick, and golden honey, all simmered until the apples were tender, then smashed with a potato masher to the consistency of chunky applesauce.

And this is why I cook. Because this simple homestyle food is so good. And because we deserve to eat well.

It's a good thing...

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

I was over at Baking with Dynamite’s blogsite, and she had posted a recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies that had gotten rave reviews.

Well, I had to snag it and post it for all of you.  It’s over on Jan Can Cook, along with her Peanut Butter Banana Bread.

Here’s the QUICK CLICK – these sound wonderful.  Pumpkin cheesecake and brownie together, what’s not to love…

And speaking of great recipes, Seana emailed me to tell me she made The Apple Dumplings with Mountain Dew that I posted a few days ago.  They were a huge hit. Her hubby gave them a thumbs up, she said they were so good they were restaurant quality! 

Your Daily Dose of Cuteness

Boogey Woogie Done Right - HOW DID YOU FIND ME??????

Okay, can somebody enlighten me. I've had a gadzillion hits on Jan's Daily Dish today, all from boogie-woogie-done-right. This happened a few months ago, then it gradually faded away.

Now again today, I've had several hundred hits all linking from Boogie Woogie Done Right. It's great that I'm getting all this traffic, but I'm really curious as to where my site was publicized for all these people to be linking to it.

Can some of you tell me. Either leave a comment or click on the munchiebusiness@gmail.com icon in the right sidebar and send me an email.

Welcome to the Dish, I hope you all enjoy my nonsense...

Curious George Jan, here...

Remember this game show...

If you're under 50, just skip this, but if you're not you will remember Peggy Cass and Kitty Carlisle on To Tell the Truth - watch Kitty spit the dog food out, too funny..... I was a huge fan in the day!

Coffee, the best part of waking up...

I was a late bloomer to the coffee club, started drinking it in my early 50's, after reading some nonsense that it curbed your appetite. I didn't care for it, but continued to drink it occasionally, and now I've evolved into a full-fledge pot a day girl...

I'm picky, though, no Folgers or Maxwell House for me. I've tried them several times, but they just don't do it. So, what does it? Starbucks Sumatra is my latest have to have. I drank Komodo Dragon for a couple of years, ever since my neighbor, Janet, brewed me a cup. I was browsing the beans at Starbucks last winter and asked the barista what their biggest seller was, and he told me it was Sumatra. Oh, it's wonderful coffee, full bodied, rich, but very smooth. I'm hooked.

I have one of those pain in the ass Cuisinart Grind 'n Brew coffee makers. It makes great coffee, and I love the fact that it grinds my beans for me before the brew, but oh is it ever hard to clean. Linds has one also, she complains, too, but we put up with the hard to clean part because of the fresh grind. I tried a couple of different types of podmakers, you know the one cup kind, no mess, no fuss, just wasn't my thing. It didn't make enough and the flavor wasn't there.

I've been hearing a lot lately about fresh roasted beans and how you need to use beans within something like fifteen days for peak flavor. Apparently there are several companies that ship roasted beans to you, I'm thinking about trying it the next time Hooterville visits. We spar about coffee constantly, we don't agree on brands, she poo-poo's Starbucks, telling me I just buy it because it's trendy, I tell her that the samo brands she likes are boring... It's all in fun, and no, I don't buy Starbucks because it's trendy, I buy it because I genuinely like it...

I'm a tea drinker, too, but that's another post...

I'm off to the kitchen to brew a pot...

I've apparently stumbled onto the fountain of youth....

I was watching Fox News this morning, they were talking about how scientific studies have shown that surfing the internet and using the computer keeps your brain from aging.

I figure as much as I'm on this thing, I should have the brain of an 18 year old... Now if they could just do something about the body...

Paula makes pie crust...

I watched this video this morning of Paula Dean making pie crust. She makes it looks so simple, and adds water one tablespoon at a time, using her hands.

She doesn't make it like Lindsay, who makes a killer crust with chilled bits of butter and shortening, but Paula makes it the way I've made it for years, except that I've never used my hands. 

I thought you might all enjoy watching this. And speaking of pie, I was just telling Linds last weekend that my birthday request is Lemon Meringue - mine and Hooterville's very favorite. The lemon meringue pie recipe she uses is from my Milly Scraps recipe section. I got it from Ann Lander's newspaper column, and I've made it for years. Here's the quick CLICK...

~ jan

Oh Maw Gawd.....

We were out and about with the kids Monday morning, going for Thai at lunchtime, and after visiting Keenland we were hungry, but didn't want a heavy breakfast, so Ryan wheeled into this place they had been telling us about. It was called DoughDaddy's, and it was in a gas station....... A GAS STATION??? C'mon, get real.

I'm not kidding, it looked like an ordinary convenience store in a gas station, except there were people EVERYWHERE and when we went in, they had this huge counter of pastries, little old women were scurrying around behind the counter, they had an area with local food, cheese, meats, etc., I was fascinated.

I didn't really want a doughnut, so I had a Glorious Muffin, I've had Morning Glory Muffins before, so I knew what I was getting, or so I thought, but this one happened to be made with bran, and pineapple, and apples, and it was studded with carrots, and nuts, and raisins, and it was warm. OMG, one bite and I was a goner. Fresh french roast coffee laced with cream, that divine warm muffin, which tasted like no other I had eaten before, all consumed whilst sitting on a barstool in a gas station window. It was a life altering experience. I've never eaten breakfast while watching people pump gas... I'm hooked. DoughDaddy's will be a required stop when we visit Ry and Linds from now on...

Don't knock it 'til you try it. Remember, baby boy is a food snob... this place achieved rock star status in my book...

Did I mention that muffin was warm, just out of the oven???? Yeah, I know I did, but you just have no idea how good it was....

Hey, with a name like DoughDaddy's you just can't go wrong.... DoughDaddy, DoughDaddy, DoughDaddy Dough!!!

Apple Dumplings and Ice Cream, oh my......

We were on our way home from Lexington this morning, I was listening to Martha Stewart's Everyday Food on Sirius Radio, this lady called in and she's absolutely raving about Apple Dumplings made with a can of Mountain Dew. Well, naturally I perked right up because Apple Dumplings are an amazing thing, these were made with cresent rolls, so they were really easy.

When we got home, I Googled the recipe, it came up immediately, and sure enough, rave reviews. Pioneer Woman's Site is the best link for this recipe, not only does she tell you how to make them, she gives you a pictorial for doing so.

Here's the CLICK - go check it out for yourself, see if you don't think it looks awesome, too. And, if you happen to make these in the near future, drop me an email and tell me what you think, as Marti wants to make them for her Bunko group later in the month, and we need to know if the recipe needs to be tweaked at all.

UPDATE: I just found the recipe on another site, I was a bit confused about Pioneer Woman just using 1/2 can of Mountain Dew instead of 12 oz., but apparently she made a smaller batch. Here is more pictures, another
description, using the whole can - same recipe, great pictures here, also. Here's the CLICK!

Sources: Pioneer Woman & Yum Sugar

It’s fall, think pumpkin, specifically pumpkin bread…

My friend, Barb, gave me a wonderful pumpkin bread a few years ago.  I posted it in my Thanksgiving recipes, and many of you have written to tell me how good it is.

Lindsay loves it, she makes it often, gives it for gifts, she made it for us this weekend.  If you haven’t tried it, you’re missing out on a great recipe, ladies – it’s made with instant Jello Coconut Pudding, it’s really moist and just wonderful.

CLICK here if you want to check it out.

~jan

Should they or shouldn’t they?

I just read an article in the Drudge Report that Barack Obama favors women being required to register for the draft.  John McCain does not. 

Also, Mr. Obama would consider officially opening combat positions to women. Mr. McCain would not.

How do you feel about this?  In the event, that the draft is reinstated, do you think that women should have to register and fight alongside men?  The poll is on the left, anonymous, as always – the responses to this should be interesting, please take a moment and vote…

~ jan

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…

In Versailles neighborhood, that is.  We’re visiting Linds and Ryan today, it’s a beautiful fall day, the red maples are a blaze of color. We visited Keenland this morning, walked down by the stables, took lots of pictures of them exercising the thoroughbreds, I have wonderful pictures to share – later…

I need to add something about Lawrence Welk…

In yesterday’s post I referred to Lawrence Welk as wunnerful, wunnerful.  That’s not exactly true.  I really thought the whole show was pretty nerdy, except for The Lennon Sisters and JoAnn Castle playing honky tonk on the piano.  The rest of it, not so much…  Just wanted to clear that up…

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?

Is this cute or what????

 

This is John, my firstborn…. He’s home for the weekend from Nashville.  We’ve been out and about all day  with the top down.  The weather is just perfect.

Oh, there is nothing like driving down the road in a convertible with the wind blowing in your face.  I’m so much more laid back in my old age.  A few years ago,  I would be fretting about my hair getting messed up, at this age, I could care less…

We’re having such a great time, life is good, this gawjus Saturday in Heavensville…

Mother and Child…

The debate hasn’t yet started tonight, this picture isn’t meant to be political, but Sarah Palin, walking off  the plane, holding her baby, tugs at my heartstrings.

I suspect I’m not alone…

Madonna – Jaclyn Smith….

Do you find this attractive?  Hmmmmmm, didn’t think so.

Even with the best personal trainers,  the finest plastic surgery and all the botox that money can buy, this is living proof that it doesn’t always work to mess with Mother Nature.

Even Madonna can’t stop the clock.

For gawds sake, woman, eat a few good meals and cut way back on the weight training…

 

 

Now look at Jaclyn Smith, pictured here with her daughter, Spencer.

Soft, feminine, lovely  for her age…. Madonna is 50 – Jackie Smith was born October 26, 1947 – omg, she is going to be 61 years old.  What an amazing woman she is….  And yes, this is a recent picture, it’s from April ‘08.  

Instead of trying to recapture her youth, she is moving gracefully forward into her golden years…  Has she had a little work done? Probably, but it’s subtly well done…. 

She’s absolutely beautiful, still….

V and I have been brainstorming this morning….

We were talking about food, as usual, and were laughing about how this generation thinks they’ve invented the crockpot.

I used to think that you had to cook something all day in the thing, and back in the 80’s, I had a lot of dried out meals.  I’ve since discovered that you don’t necessarily have to cook food all day, you can put things like frozen chicken breasts in it, sprinkle them with a little Tony Chichiare’s Creole Seasoning, turn the crock on high and in two hours, voila, your chicken is moist, tender, perfect. 

Then we were talking about soup.  I was telling her that last night I baked a chicken for dinner, hubby and I ate the breast, that’s all we like, we don’t care for dark meat, then I took the chicken carcass, skin, bones, leftover chicken, the broth that was in the pan after baking the chicken, added a quart of water, put it all in the crockpot, with a whole unpeeled onion and 3-4 unpeeled carrots, and a sprinkling of coarse salt,  some fresh ground pepper,  and let it cook on low all night.

When I peeked in this morning, I had the most wonderful stock,  I just strained it, threw the chicken remains in the trash, put the stock in the fridge for the fat to congeal,  I’ll skim the fat off, divide and freeze the stock in my trusty Glad containers for soup this winter.  You can’t buy anything in the store that even resembles this, if you don’t do this yourself, it’s a no brainer, girlfriends, and it’s AWESOME, rich, golden, just delicious…

Anyhoo, as we were talking about this, V said “wouldn’t it be great if you had a recipe section with crockpot recipes in it?”  And I said, “oh, and another one with soup!”

It’s fall, women adore soup, sooooooo, back to the audience participation thingie… In order for me to do this, you have to send me recipes.

Send me soup recipes and crockpot recipes, and Ill get these worked up and publish them.  Great idea, huh?

So I will be badgering all of you, like I’ve done before – but I really think this is a winner.  I’ll be looking in my inbox.

Thanks for the help, gang, you always come thru for me.

~ jan

A blast from the past….

V emailed me earlier and was talking about her local Michigan potato chips when she was a child, Be-Mo’s.  I’ve never heard of Be-Mo’s, and told her that when I was a little girl that we had Chesty Potato Chips. They came in big tins, you would open the lid and that greasy smell would just attack your senses!  Oh that pungent smell, I remember it to this day.  They were always layered in the tins in perfection, too,  huge big chips, some of them dark brown around the edges, oh my….

Oh, they were wonderful.  Coupled with that little green bottle of Coca-Cola, or even better, a Pepsi-Cola, taken out of the vending machine, and you had a snack that was AWESOME.

Now Hooterville would say, and I have to agree, that to take it to the next level, you would dip those greasy chips in Prairie Farms Bacon Horseradish Chip Dip.

OMG, nectar of the gods.  Hoot and I still buy bacon horseradish dip, not Prairie Farms anymore, the brand is Helluva.

Helluva?? Yep, that’s the brand.  Helluva name, huh?

And you can teach an old dog new tricks, Jean told me that she loves this dip mixed into her scrambled eggs.  I had never tried it, but oh my, it’s vunderbar…

More Williams Sonoma….

Yeah, yeah, I know I’m always talking about WS, but they do have such fantastic things.  I love this idea, originally sent this  to V, it looks like something she would like, I thought Dilly might like it for her sideboard, as well, but then thought the rest of you might enjoy seeing it, also.  They sell this glass hurricane, and now they sell this glass sleeve that goes inside, so that you can safely surround the candle with leaves and burn it without catching the table on fire.

Great, idea don’t you think?  Actually, all I need is the sleeve, I have the hurricane already.  It’s in Jan’s vast warehouse of things I just had to have but are now in the attic.  Sound familiar, I’m sure it does, the rest of you have your own warehouses, too…

Here’s the link to the hurricane and the sleeve…

 

Skipping ahead to the holidays…..

I got a Williams Sonoma catalog in the mail, and they showed this recipe for Smoky Bacon Biscuit Dressing made with sweet cream biscuits.  It looks awesome.  I posted it over on Jan Can Cook – check it out.  But who wants to make biscuits, I’m sure they would be wonderful, but Pillsbury makes wonderful frozen ones.  They work for me…

 

Here’s the quick CLICK for the recipe…

It’s just absolutely, positively….. perfect!

Hooterville came thru for us again…

Oh wow, did she ever send me a site today.  It’s called FoodTube – yep, you guessed it, it’s like YouTube, but all the videos are FOOD!!!!

Carlene, you are just gonna love this one -

Here’s the CLICK – you are going to want to bookmark this, girlfriends….

Here’s a great example – pumpkin cheesecake!

More to come????

If you’ve accessed the Thanksgiving recipes, you might be thinking, “oh, I have one that she would love to have”…. Well, bring it on…

We may end up with an additional page of Thanksgiving recipes, as I’m getting feedback from some of you about recipes you would like to include.  There is plenty of time, ladies, it’s only the end of September, so if any of you have holiday recipes you would like to share, please do so.

I’ll be working on the Christmas recipes next, so include those as well.  I’ll look forward to getting your emails.

Audience participation is always appreciated.

~ jan

They’re BACCCKKKKKKKK…..

Just when you thought I would never get the Thanksgiving recipes back on the site, SURPRISE!!!!  I’ve been working really hard this weekend, all your faves are back.  If you’re new to the site, you’re in for a treat, if you’re an oldie, you know how good this collection is. Click on the turkey in the right sidebar – it’s Jan and Friends finest.  All tried and true, all simply wonderful holiday recipes.

Enjoy…

~ jan

More on Paul Newman…

I’ve been watching a lot of coverage of  his life on television the last twenty-four hours, the more I hear about him, the more I respect him.

My favorite movie?  Nope, not Hud or Cool Hand Luke, or Long Hot Summer, not even everybody’s favorite, Butch Cassidy,  even though I thought it was great.  My favorite movie, hands down was,  Cat on a Hot Tin Roof…. Oh, that was a classic…

And my favorite line…

Elizabeth Taylor, saying with great passion, “MAGGIE THE CAT IS ALIVE!!!!”

Still gives me goosebumps.

What chemistry they had. They were really something, weren’t they???

Your daily dose of cuteness, you can have this on your desktop, too with your own favorite picture inserted…

 

I got the following wallpaper for my computer desktop from Shabby Miss Jenn.  It’s a freebie – you download the wallpaper, and using a photo editing program, put your picture of choice behind the blank frame,  save it to your desktop as wallpaper, and you have the cutest fall monitor paper EV-ER….

This pix of Maggie is temporary, I’m going to take the M&M’s photo surrounded by pumpkins and insert it in the frame.

I’m sending you the download site,  so that you can have this, also.  If you can’t figure out how to get your picture inserted, just email me your picture and I’ll do it for you.  You have no idea of how cute this is in a large resolution.

It’s a good thing.

XOXO ~ jan

Here’s the CLICK to the download site -

Paul Newman, dead of cancer at age 83

We lost a great one today.  What a fine man he was…. 

My favorite Paul Newman Quotes, especially the first one, I heard the hamburger/steak quote years ago, and I’ve always remembered it…

About infidelity: "Why fool around with hamburger when you have steak at home?"

About successful marriage to Joanne: "I never ask my wife about my flaws. Instead I try to get her to ignore them and concentrate on my sense of humor. You don't want any woman to look under the carpet, guys, because there's lots of flaws underneath.

Joanne believes my character in a film we did together, 'Mr. and Mrs. Bridge' comes closest to who I really am. I personally don't think there's one character who comes close . . . but I learned a long time ago not to disagree on things that I don't have a solid opinion about." Later, Newman answered the same question yet again by saying, "I don't know what she puts in my food".

About his Newman's Own: "Once you've seen your face on a bottle of salad dressing, it's hard to take yourself seriously." "The embarrassing thing is that my salad dressing is out-grossing my films." "You can only put away so much stuff in your closet."

About that Turtle Trifle dessert…

I was telling Peggy tonight about the ‘Turtle Trifle Dessert’ recipe that I posted earlier today on this page.

I told her that it sounds even better than the ‘Better Than Sex Dessert’ that I’ve made forever, the one with the butter pecan crust, the lemon filling, and the cream cheese and Cool Whip.

So, sitting in the theater, before the show started, we both decided that if the ‘Turtle Trifle Dessert’  tops the ‘Better Than Sex Dessert’, it shall, from this day forward, be known as  ‘The Multiple Orgasm Dessert’. 

We were laughing so hard, oh nothing like two old women with a bawdy sense of humor.  You have to admit, though, after you read the ingredients in this recipe, that the new name we gave it is very appropriate…

Nights in Rodanthe Review…

I’m just back from seeing Nights in Rodanthe with Peg.
First of all, I read the book a few weeks ago, and this afternoon when I mentioned it to Lindsay, she said “oh-oh, never read the book first, the movie never  measures up.”  And of course she was right, because you can never get all of the details of the book into a 90 minute movie.
But, because I had read the book, it wasn’t as much of a tear jerker for me, as for others in the theater.  I knew what was coming, so there were no surprises. A group of women sitting next to Peg and I were sobbing openly, I was a bit teary eyed, Peg made it thru without crying.
The acting, really good, Diane Lane is wonderful, the chemistry between her and Richard Gere is awesome.  They still have the magic.  Both Peg and I agreed that  Gere is still yummy, he still has it, ladies.  Middle age looks really well on him…
The setting is fantastic.  The beach house is mesmerizing.  For me, the movie lacked depth, because I had read the book, I’m sure.  But it’s a goodie, ladies,  a middle-aged couple who finds love again.  It’s a beautiful thing…
Okay, now for the superficial.  Diane Lane has a great body, a super haircut, and throughout the whole movie she was wearing the same necklace that I bought at T. J. Maxx last year.  Only difference is mine is white gold, hers is yellow.  So naturally I thought that was just fantastic.  Bet you can’t get that necklace now at T. J. Maxx, they will be sold out everywhere.  If you go, check out her earrings, little gold daisies in her ears, I still don’t know if there were diamonds in the middle or not, if they were they were small ones.  Oh, cute earrings, though.  I WANT THEM!!!!
And that’s it for me tonight, I’m going to finish watching the debate with hubby, the M&M’s tucked in beside me, and go to bed.  Go see the movie, you will enjoy it…

Guiltless Pleasure…

I made hubby a batch of healthy chocolate chip cookies today, using Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Chips, and only 4 tablespoons of butter in the entire recipe.  I started making these cookies last March, and they have been a huge hit at our house.  I blogged about them on my Eating Right site – they are from a cookbook called Perfect Light Desserts: Fabulous Cakes, Cookies, Pies, and More, by David Malgeri and David Joachim.  There are a lot of great recipes in that book,  everything I’ve made has been exceptionally good.  Imagine that, 4 tablespoons of butter instead the 1/2 cup that most chocolate chip recipes call for.  It’s a good thing.

Here’s a quick CLICK  to my archived recipe.  You might enjoy making them, also.

And check out the glass container, it’s from the 50’s, it’s really a refrigerator container, see the veggies on the lid, but it works great for cookies.  It’s one of my favorite things…

Mid afternoon in Heavensville…

This is my attempt to cure a rockin’ sinus headache.   It’s 2pm, I’m at the computer, working on the Thanksgiving pages, and I’m going to see Nights in Rodanthe with Peg tonight. I have to make this headache go away!  I’m all tanked up on caffeine and sinus pills.  I’ll either be so hyper I won’t be able to sit in my seat, or I’ll sleep thru the movie.

It’s gonna be a sob story, too, just what I need to do, cry with a sinus headache.

Geezy Pete, of all the luck!!!

Counting my blessings…

I was in the garden this morning, touching this pot of rosemary, and as I sit here typing, the smell of it  on my fingers is intoxicating.

I was out and about this cool, breezy morning, and I was thinking about my recent post about sags and bags and wrinkles, and how superficial that was.  In the overall scheme of things, I’m content and at peace with where I’m at in this fifty-eighth year of my life. 

I’m so lucky that I can stay home and spend my days doing what I enjoy, instead of what is expected of me.  I’m grateful that I don’t have to worry about losing my home, that I have a pantry and freezer filled with food, and that every time I turn on the faucet there is hot water.

I was putting a load of clothes in the dryer just now.  How handy it is, just to walk a few steps and do my laundry. 

Hubby and I are healthy, the family is doing well, my fur kids bring me so much joy and I have wonderful friends.  I’m surrounded by nature,  what more do I want. 

I’m sure that all of you have a lot to be thankful for, also.   So, today, right now,  live in the moment, step outside and sit  in the sunshine, feel the breeze on your face, surround yourself with nature and fill your soul with the harmony and the beauty of your surroundings, instead of the bad news from Washington, which we have no control over anyway, and you can find peace.

Life is good, today.  The rest shall pass.

~ jan

Turtle Trifle

Oh, do I have a recipe for you.

It’s from Southern Living Magazine, and chocked full of chunks of pecan pie and caramel and chocolate ie cream toppings. Looks amazing, doesn’t it?  Calories out the wazoo, naturally, but what a great finish to a special holiday meal.

I posted it over on Jan Can Cook – here’s the quick CLICK to check it out…

~ jan

Play date….

The girls had a play date this afternoon.  And what do fur kids do at a play date? 
Well there was a lot of butt sniffing going on, and some barking and growling.  They snacked on a apple, drank iced water and were adorable, naturally…  Diane was here with Emme, Trish brought London over, it was quite a crew we had….

 

Our afternoon drive…

Magggie was shakin’ in her boots…

Hubby and I took the fur kids out for a ride on Milly last night.  We passed a field where a neighbor girl was exercising her horse, trying to make him turn in circles, apparently he did not want to do that, so he started bucking, she started screaming, it was quite the show.

We continue on our way, but on the way home we meet the girl and the horse on the road.  Maggie was absolutely, positively terrified of that horse!  Poor little dog, she growled and woofed all the way home, and then the fun really began.  She was so skittish, she was barking and shaking and growling, and this went on for two, yes TWO hours.  We didn’t get her calmed down until bedtime.

Dancing With the Stars spooked her, any noise, and she was up like a shot, just barking her little head off.  Of course, Mollie took it all in stride.  Ho-hum, apparently this wasn’t her first rodeo.

This is totally not like Maggie to be afraid.  But just think about it, if you weighed less than four pounds, that bucking jumping huge horse would scare the beejus out of you, too.

All is well this morning, though – we’ve been cleaning the patio, readying it for fall.  I envision a lot of mums and cabbage plants sprinkled everywhere, but that’s all it is, a vision, I’m tired of watering, just don’t wanna mess with it anymore this year.  Know what I mean, Vern?

Vice-President, Mary sent this today, interesting…

I am under 45 years old,
I love the outdoors,
I hunt,
I am a Republican reformer,
I have taken on the Republican Party establishment,
I have many children,
I have a spot on the national ticket as vice president with less than two years in the governor's office.

Who am I?   

I am Teddy Roosevelt in 1900

Your daily dose of cuteness…

It was playtime tonight in Heavensville.  Mags is still going strong, Mollie is now asleep on that Sugar Daddy toy, she was just drifting off when I snapped her picture…

I’m working on it…

I haven’t been totally worthless lately, I’ve been revamping the Thanksgiving recipes for all of you, and hope to have them up in a few days.  Here is a sneak peak, I have another one to add to the index page, but this is what I’ll be posting.

Click on this picture, it will enlarge and you can check out the index.

There are some goodies in here, ladies.  If you’ve been around for awhile, you’ve seen them before, published in another format, but if you’re new to the Dish, you are in for a treat. tried and true family favorites for the Holidays.  Christmas recipes will follow these…

~ jan

Have you looked in the mirror lately?

I mean really looked into one, the 5X magnifying kind?  Geezy Pete, I took a long hard look this morning, while plucking a chin hair, and first of all, why do we have to have chin hairs in our post-menopausal age?  Is it not bad enough that everything else has gone to hell, and then these stray hairs stare at you in the mirror, and it’s totally horrifying.  We all have them, all of us do, but  nobody  ever talks about them.  It’s kind of like peeing when you sneeze.  Well, except my friends and I all talk about that.  Actually, we talk about chin hairs, too – we’re liberated women in our old(er) age…

I just clicked on my library account, and now they have my file picture right on my online account.  Holy crap, I saw it and it scared the beejus right out of me…  Now why did they have to go and put that picture on there. I know what I look like, I don’t need a visual reminder every time I check my account.  Well that does it, I just won’t check the damn thing anymore. 

And back to that mirror, not only do I  have to look at sags, bags, and wrinkles, now I have to cope with that hair I’m trying to grow out.  So for the next six months it’s gonna look just hideous, while its' growing, and then I will probably hate it and cut it anyway.  I just bought some Pantene Restoratives at WallyWorld, it’s supposed to repair hair damage from the past two years.  Imagine that, all the damage that’s been done in two years.  Do you believe everything advertisers tell you?  Well, usually I’m not a sucker, but that two year thing intrigued me…  Maybe I’ll luck out and have semi-damaged growing out hair…

I was watching the Emmy’s last night, and Candance Bergen was giving an award.  Now I saw a lot of older women, who were skinny, skinny, but Candance has put on the pounds.  I remember both of her parents had weight issues, so I’m sure genetics is rearing it’s ugly head with her, also.  She looked uncomfortable in her jacket and pants, and when she put her hands behind her back, she looked just like the rest of us.  Did she look pretty, of course not, she looked  godawful matronly, just like Moi, here..

Fuller figured women  can do all the makeovers they want,  Spanx it, play up the eyes, the hair, the jewelry, but fat is fat.  And let’s face it, old bodies aren’t pretty, fat or skinny.  Mary Tyler Moore was on the Emmy’s also, nobody cuter, in my book than MTM, who has never weighed much more than a hundred pounds soaking wet.  Well she had on a sleeveless bare dress, and her upper arms were scary.  Now why does she want to expose that jiggling skin?  Is it denial?  I just don’t get it.  She had a great hairdo, her face looked great, the body was wonderful, but she should have covered up those scrawny droopy arms.  So, skinny has problems, too, but she looked fantastic  anyway. Hey I would take skinny and droopy anytime over fat and plumped out wrinkles.  But then Iwas never thin like MTM, not even when I was in grammer school!  It’s all Mother’s fault, too, all those mashed potatoes and gravy and biscuits.  And desserts, we always had dessert in the house, always.   Oh, it was wonderful food, though.  Eeeeeks, just can’t win….

And speaking of fat, well you all know that I’ve banned Oprah this year, but I was clicking thru channels last week, and got a glimpse of her.  Oh my, the Big “O” has exploded.  She has blown up like a balloon at a birthday party.  She’s easy 250+.  I don’t get it, a lot of us, including yours truly, yo-yo diets, but she does it to the extreme.  And she has nutritionists, cooks, trainers,  all the best of the best, and she looks like she’s been hittin’ those mashed potatoes like there is no tomorrow.  She’s just enormous, I was shocked – wow, she really threw caution to the wind this summer and ate whatever she wanted…

Holy schmoly, I’m on a rant.  And it’s all because of that disgusting chin hair!!!  Well, that and eating those darned carrots and cheese at Kuntsfest Saturday, while lucky Vwas scarfing down a pit barbecue sandwich, German potato salad and apple dumplings…  Grrrrrrrrr