A Great Dog Story....

Lindsay sent me this, oh my, does it ever tug at your heartstrings. 

Anyone who has pets will really like this. You'll like it even if you don't and you may even decide you need one!          

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named 'Lucky.' Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing.          

Mary or Jim would go to Lucky's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky's other favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box. 

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease....in fact ,she was just sure it was fatal.  She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her...what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary's dog through and through. If I die, Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won't understand that I didn't want to leave him.  The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.          

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining and miserable.     

   
Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom.  Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap. Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called.  It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.    When Mary woke for a second she couldn't understand what was wrong. She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned!  While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life.  He had covered her with his love.         

Mary forgot about dying.  Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every day. It's been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. 

Lucky?  He still steals treasures and  stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

        Remember....live every day to the fullest. Each minute is a blessing from God. And never forget....the people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care for us.   

    
If you see someone without a smile today give them one of yours! Live simply. Love seriously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God .

Boar's Head Bologna, you sometimes really can go home again...

I've written before about my childhood love of  Blue Bell Bologna.  How I used to buy it at Marlin's Department Store, wrapped in white butcher paper, tied with string, it cost 59 cents a pound, and the butcher, Noel Duckworth,  would scrawl the price on the paper with a pencil that he kept perched behind his ear.  The garlic smell was so strong you could smell it thru the  wrapper.  When you opened the fridge at home, the aroma of it would envelop your senses, it was totally intoxicating, the pungent, garlicky smell of that wonderful bologna....

The company is long gone now.  I have tried many other brands over the years, but none ever tasted as good as Blue Bell.  I had given up all hope, I was doomed to eat Fat Free Oscar Mayer Bologna for the rest of my life, totally bland, totally tasteless, but only 25 calories per slice.  *sigh*

I had read online about Boar's Head Bologna and how good it was, but I was never able to locate it until yesterday.

Hubby and I were out for a drive, we stopped at a butcher shop in a neighboring town, and there in the case, front row center,  was an unopened log of Boar's Head Garlic Bologna.

I snapped up a pound in a New Yawk minute, had it sliced thin, like the old days, they slipped it into a zip locked plastic bag, unlike the in butcher paper of my childhood, and when the cashier rang me up it was $5.19.  Oh, how the times have changed in the last fifty years.

I couldn't wait until I got home to try it, hubby bought me a package of Club Crackers, I slowly unzipped the bag, OMG, could it be, could it???  It smelled just like the Blue Bell of my childhood, when I reached in the bag and touched it,  it wasn't slimy, or wet like bologna is today - I took a bite, my eyes got big as saucers, and I fell instantly in love.  It tasted exactly the same, EXACTLY!!! Finally, after all these years, I'd come full circle.  Hands down, the best $5.19 I ever spent.

And today, when I opened the fridge, the smell assaulted my senses, just like it did in the old days.

Mary, if you're reading this, you need to look for it, also.  I'm sure you bought it at Marlin's Store as a child, too.

It's a gift, it really is, that Boar's Head Bologna.  I haven't even checked the calories on their website.  Sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind and go for it.  Know what I mean, Vern???

Jan here, doin' the fat and happy dance...

Poor hubby…

To say that LC has an emotional  attachment to his recliner is putting it mildly.  The man adores his recliner, he climbs into it, puts up the foot rest, his feet wriggling in anticipation of the relaxation to come, he flicks on the remote, oftentimes with a dog in his lap, sometimes both of them, and he’s a happy man. 

It’s made of brown distressed leather, and he takes really good care of it, cleaning it regularly with leather cleaner, and after years of daily use, it molds perfectly to his body now.  He was a late bloomer to the recliner, not discovering the joy of it until he was well into his 50’s.  I’ve never understood the fascination, it’s never been my thing.  No Mr. and Mrs. chairs in this household.  No Siree…

Well, let me tell you, today the man is totally traumatized, TOTALLY…  I was in the living room reading last night, and I heard this desperate animal moan from the den.  “Ohhhhh noooooooo,” he wailed, “my recliner broke.”  I finish my chapter, my book was far more interesting than investigating a broken chair, I saunter into the den to find him in the floor, the recliner on it’s side, no it didn’t fall over, he frantically turned it over to peer into the guts of the thing.  He had his trusty flashlight, his screwdriver, he was feverishly disassembling it, the M&M’s were beside him, lending moral doggie support.  “The lever is broken, it just twisted into and broke”  he declared, somber faced, his body sagging in defeat.

Well, it was Jan to the rescue, reminding him that his recliner had a lifetime guarantee on it’s parts, so, after spending a restless night, we were off to the furniture store this morning to tell them his sad tale of woe, and lo and behold, they were able to order him a new lever at no charge!  It will be here in 9-10 days.

I don’t know how he’s going to survive in the meantime.  He may have to take to his bed until he gets it fixed….

Geezy Pete, men are so silly about the strangest things…

It was one of those simple things that I talk about so often...

Maggie was running laps in the living room tonight, she was pouring on the steam, running as fast as her little Yorkie legs would take her,  round and round the sofa she went, fur fanning out at the sides of her face, blowing in the breeze.  Her breath was coming in short little puffs, she was starry eyed, having the time of her life…

And this is what I was saying to her -

"Run, run, fast as you can!
Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!

I kept repeating it, and she got so caught up in the excitement, I finally had to grab her and hold her to calm her down.

I was laughing as I held her close to me, she was licking my face, it was one of those unforgettable life moments….

The Gingerbread Man was always a childhood favorite of mine – here’s how the whole story goes…

Once upon a time there was a little old woman and a little old man. The little old woman thought she'd make a gingerbread man. She rolled out the dough, and cut out the shape, and she put raisins for his eyes, and peppermints for his teeth, and put icing on his head for the hair. Then she put him in the oven, and when it smelled good, she opened up the door to take a peek and
--- Yooop!---
out jumped the gingerbread man.
"Stop! Stop, little gingerbread man!" said the little old lady. "I want to eat you!"
"No!" said the little gingerbread man. "I can run away from you!"

"Run, run, fast as you can!
Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
And away he ran!
He ran till he got outside, where he saw the little old man. And the little old man said, "Stop! Stop little gingerbread man! I want to eat you!"
And the little gingerbread man said: "NO! I ran away from the little old woman, and I can run away from you too!
Run, run, fast as you can!
Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
and away he ran!
He ran till he came to the pigsty. And the pig said
"(Oink Oink)-- Stop! Stop little gingerbread man! I want to eat you!"
But the gingerbread man said, "NO! I ran away from the little old woman, I ran away from the little old man, and I can run away from you too!
Run, run, fast as you can!
Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
and away he ran!
He ran till he came to a house. And in front of the house was a dog. And the dog said, "STOP! Stop stop stop stop stoooooooooop! Little gingerbread man! I want to eat you!"
But the gingerbread man said, "NO! I ran away from the little old woman, and the little old man, and a pig, and I can run away from you too!"
Run, run, fast as you can!
Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
and away he ran!
He ran till he came to a field full of cows. And the cows said,
"Mooooo! Stoooooooop! Stoooooooop little gingerbread man. We want to eat you!"
But the gingerbread man said, "NO! I ran away from the little old woman, I ran away from the little old man, and a pig, and a dog, and I can run away from you too!
Run, run, fast as you can!
Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
and away he ran!
He ran till he came to a river. And next to the river was a fox. The fox said, "Hello little gingerbread man."
The gingerbread man said, "HELLO! I ran away from the little old woman, I ran away from the little old man, and a pig, and some cows, and I can run away from you too!
Run, run, fast as you can!
Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
"But," said the fox, "I never run. And I don't want to eat you!"
The gingerbread man said
Run, run, fast as you can!
Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
The fox said, "Run all you want, I'm not going to chase you. But-- I would like to ask you a question."
The gingerbread man said, "What?"
The fox said, "How do figure you're going to get across that stream without getting wet? I mean, if you get wet, you'll get soggy, right?"
The gingerbread man didn't say anything, but he looked very thoughtful.
The fox said, "I've got an idea."
The gingerbread man said, "What?"
The fox said, "I'm going to swim across, right now. If you want, you can hitch a ride on my tail."
The gingerbread man said, "OK," and grabbed the fox's tail. The fox started to wade into the water.
After a few steps, the fox said, "Oh, little gingerbread man. The water is getting kind of deep. I'm afraid you might get wet. Why don't you climb up onto my back?" The gingerbread man looked, and said, "Gee, the water is getting kind of deep, ok," and he climbed up onto the fox's back.
After a few more steps, the fox said, "Oh, little gingerbread man, the water is getting even deeper, I'm afraid you might get wet. Why don't you climb up onto my-- neck?" The gingerbread man looked, and said, "Gee the water is getting kind of deep, ok," and he climbed up onto the fox's neck.
After a few more steps, the fox said, "Oh, little gingerbread man, the water is getting even deeper, I'm afraid you might get wet. Why don't you climb up onto my-- head?" The gingerbread man looked, and said, "Gee the water is getting kind of deep, ok," and he climbed up onto the fox's head.
After a few more steps, the fox said, "Oh, little gingerbread man, the water is getting even deeper, I'm afraid you might get wet. Why don't you climb up onto my-- nose?" The gingerbread man looked, and said, "Gee the water is getting kind of deep, ok," and he climbed up onto the fox's nose.
And the fox went-- SHLLLURP!-- and that was the end of the gingerbread man.

It's that time, Christmas Favorite Things.....

It's time to start thinking about our Favorite Things for the holidays.  I love to ask all of you each year what your favorite new things are, and then publish your responses, usually the last week of November.

So put on your thinking caps, and send them to me in an email.

I'll give you a tease for one of my favorite things this year, and it's a great one, girlfriends...

Okay, I've been a fan of Susan Branch forever.  She has this whimsical, quirky style of writing and drawing that is often imitated, but never duplicated.  She's the best, in my opinion, when it comes to originality in illustrating books, all of her work is done by  hand, no fonts, ladies, it's all her handwriting. She has wonderful books, great pajamas, labels, tea towels, stickers, a plethoria of unusual items are sold in her shop online.  if you aren't familiar with her work, you really need to check her out.

A few years ago, she came out with a line of scrapbooking papers and stickers.  Our local Michael's had a whole kiosk full of her things, and I loved browsing thru them.  I got the idea to make both boys a Recipe Scrapbook, using her designs for Christmas.  It was quite an undertaking, as I had to make two original copies of everything, but they were a huge success, my guys have loved them, they have all of our family favorites in one book, and they use them constantly.

I'm on Susan's newsletter mailing list, and this year she introduced her Recipe Scrapbook  Binder.  It comes with pages, stickers, recipe cards, everything you need to start creating memories for your family.

The price of $19.00 is a huge savings, I had several hundred dollars in my guy's collection when I did theirs, as I had to buy everything individually, and then buy the binders.

So, if there is someone in your family that you would love to give a special memory to this Christmas, there is plenty of time to start your own scrapbook.  It doesn't have to be finished by Christmas, in fact, these things are never finished, you just keep adding to them year after year.

CLICK HERE to see her wonderful scrapbook, and if you want to be in for a real treat, CLICK HERE and browse her entire site.

She has given me permission to use her Pumpkin Cheesecake in my Christmas Recipe Collection.  I'll have this posted before Thanksgiving, some of you might enjoy making her cheesecake recipe for the holidays.  It sounds yummy, with a Gingersnap Crust, Rum, and a Bourbon Praline Topping.  It was featured in her Autumn Book that I had bought for V a couple of years ago, she copied the recipe and brought it to me last week, so I'll get it posted soon. 

Meanwhile, check out her scrapbook, I wish you could see pages of the ones I did for the guys, they turned out really well!

~ jan

Betty White, just the BEST!!!!

I was watching a Tivoed episode of Bonnie Hunt today and Betty White was the guest.  She is absolutely, positively, precious!!!!  I found it on YouTube, there are several parts to it, but if you have some free time give this a watch.  She is just fantastic.  You will just want to hug her,  she’s so adorable!

I‘m the queen of justification…

 

Two packets of 25 calorie Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa Mix, 12 ounces of water in my favorite Starbucks mug – that’s only one Weight Watcher Point – 3/4 cup of miniature marshmallows, another point, hey that works, only two points, BUT it’s white, it’s sugar, and that those packets of hot chocolate mix are  full of unnatural things,  but it’s ONLY 2 points for the entire mug of hot chocolate with all that ooey-gooey marshmallow topping.

Sure, I drank it, and yep, it was as yummy as it looks.  80/20 theory, remember??? Works for me…

The times, they are a changin’

This Election Season marks the beginnings of a new era in this country.

We elected an African-American president.

And in the tiny city of Silverton, Oregan, voters pulled off what California could not: looked past differences to see the person underneath and treat him without discrimination.

Stu Rasmussen has become one of the first openly transgender mayors in the United States.

Rasmussen has served 2 terms as Mayor of Silverton, but it was only this time around that he campaigned in a skirt and heels.

Rasmussen identifies as a heterosexual male, and his girlfriend is happy for his landslide win. He has always been transgender, but "came out" only a couple of years ago. He jokingly says that his bosom was the result of a mid-life crisis, "Some guys' mid-life crisis is motorcycles or sports cars or climbing mountains or trophy wives or whatever. I always wanted cleavage, so I went out and acquired some."

A little entertainment for a Friday afternoon….

V sent me this a few days ago.  She said it should be required viewing for young children.  I so agree.

All the great old Disney characters - The Grasshopper and the Ants (1934)

Thanks for the memory, girlfriend.

You get him, Barney…

I find it highly amusing that Barney bit that nasty old reporter’s finger.  He didn’t really hurt him, well he did draw a bit of blood, but the guy should have just left him alone.

Poor Barney, he’ had enough of Washington.  He needs to lie in the sun, chew on a bone, chase a squirrel, it’s time to go home to the ranch in Texas.

I bet President Bush and his entire staff is praising him this morning, truth be known.  It’s something I’m sure they would have liked to have done for years, bite a reporter… *tehehehe*

Scene from another lifetime…

I’m really lucky that my friend, Jean, takes such wonderful photographs and shares them with me on a regular basis. 

This great picture is my current desktop wallpaper.  She shot it yesterday in Southern Illinois, not far from where I grew up.

It’s a visual reminder of the Novembers of my childhood.  There were many old barns like this that dotted the countryside, and I’ve always loved them.

I look at this, and I smile.  It’s good to remember where you came from…

It’s a typical November day…

I just took the girls out on the patio, it’s been raining this morning, the leaves are mostly down now and it’s  much cooler, there is  definitely a nip in the air.  It makes me think of simmering a pot of soup, baking bread, snuggling by the fire with a good book…

The dogs are much feistier with this cooler weather.  They’ve been romping and playing and have now settled down with their Texas Toothpicks, chewing, no doubt,  until their little jaws get exhausted.

I’m working on the Christmas recipes  and catching up on past episodes of The Young and The Restless. It’s that kind of day in Heavensville.  Easy….

Something new to try this fall…

With aromas of birch, maple leaves, pomegranate, juniper berry, and orange blossom, you'll be sure to create a Fall-y warm and fuzzy atmosphere with this Autumn Leaves Scented Candles from Yankee.  .

Hey, hey, hey, birthday girl...

Winter is coming….

I just took the M&M’s out for their evening potty run.  The moon was filtering thru the trees on the cliff behind our patio,  the leaves are falling, many branches are bare now, and in the distance I could hear barking dogs.

That’s always a lonely sound,  the sound of barking dogs on an evening that signals winter’s approach.  It’s a country sound, a reminder of my childhood, those dogs barking in the distance.  Everything was so still and quiet, it was just the moon, the trees and the dogs…

Gleaning corn….

 

I love driving thru the country in the fall, seeing the newly harvested fields, the rolling countryside, and the woods showing their glorious fall colors before dropping their browned and withered leaves for winter. 

As I was looking at the cornfields today , reduced to stubbles by the pickers, I remembered gleaning corn in the fields as a child.

It was something I did with my family, after the corn had been harvested, because in those days the two row corn pickers weren’t efficient like the sixteen row corn pickers they have today, the air-conditioned enormous contraptions that suck up every single ear of corn and reduce the stalks to nubbins.  When I was a child, the stalks were left in the field, bent over, but intact, and the pickers left a lot of corn behind.  My Grandfather picked his corn with two work horses, Bill and Joe, tethered to a picker that they pulled behind them.

Mother worked at the local drugstore through the week, but on Saturday mornings  we would drive to my Grandmother’s house in the country, and I, along with Mother and usually my Aunt Idalene, would walk thru the fields, especially the popcorn fields, as popcorn was a lucrative crop  in the bottom farmland of Southern Illinois in the fifties, and glean the leftover corn.

We would trudge along between the cornrows, me listening to the older women talk,  dragging gunny sacks that we filled with corn, it would often be cold, usually muddy, and it was hard work as the wet ears of corn became increasingly heavy as we filled the sacks.

Later, we would shell some of the corn, leaving the rest on the ears to dry, sitting around my Aunt’s pot bellied stove, and then she would pop bowls of the still damp corn.  The undried kernels wouldn’t pop open, but they would swell, sometimes partially bursting,  and become very chewy.  Oh, they were wonderful, a taste that is hard to describe, and something that most of you have probably never had the opportunity to eat.

It was hard work,  a fall ritual that farm women in our family had done for generations, glean the corn.  We just accepted the labor and enjoyed the reward.  It was a simple time…

Meet Isabella…

My friend, Kate, has a new pup, a Shorkie (Shih Tzu-Yorkie).  Isn’t she just the cutest little thing?  Can’t wait to introduce her to the girls….. 

My gratitude journal…

Today I’m grateful that…

This morning when I dropped my glasses into the commode, I didn’f flush them.  Yep, somehow I did manage to do that, oh well Baby Boy dropped his cellphone in the commode once, that was much worse. hehehe, bet he loves me telling you that...

When hubby and I went to lunch at our favorite chinese restaurant, that the same hostess who every week tries to seat us in the wrong section, was again unable to do so, hubby is really good about telling her where to put us,  and as a result she throws down our menus and huffs off.  Oh well, c'est la vie…

The Quik Mart that we stopped by on our afternoon drive in the country was fresh out of Cheetos Puffs…

I got to observe Miss Larkin Ava Overton this morning, all of two years old now, standing on a chair stirring scrambled eggs at the stove, carefully watched by her Grandma Trish, I might add…

FOX News and The Drudge Report exist.  Without them, we wouldn’t get the truth about what’s really happening with this election.

And I’m really grateful for good health, good friends and family, cuddly fur kids, and a beautiful sunny November day… 

And I’m also really grateful that I stood in line for only one hour to vote last week.

Gotta count your blessings and smile, girlfriends…  Can’t let those politicians get you down!!!

And your candidate is???

I thought it would be interesting to see who you, dear readers, are casting your vote for this election.

The poll is on the left, totally anonymous, as usual…

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy…

Don’t you love a man who can laugh at himself?

Al Roker, you make a rockin’ gingerbread man.

What a good sport he is.  Cutest guy costume of the year….

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?