Today I made Carlene’s Ginger Beer.  I made it just like her recipe, right down to the wheel of lime and the spearmint.  I filled my glass 1/4 full of the Ginger Beer, then topped it off with ice and Crystal Light Peach Tea.  And the result – to die for!!! OMG, is this ever good.

Yes, I put it in a Coke glass.  And yes, I have much cuter glasses than this, but I wasn’t trying to stage it, just drink it.  And I know the glass isn’t full, I drank some of it already.  And no, that’s not really vodka sitting next to it, that’s just a bottle I found on a shelf in the garage, I filled it with the Ginger Beer Concentrate.  However, C does love a jigger or two in her glass.  And yes, that’s The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder you see in the background, and yes, it’s a hysterically good read.  Geezy Pete, now that I have that all cleared up, the recipe is on Jan Can Cook – it’s a goodie, ladies.  Really refreshing on a hot day, too.

I also made her Tropical Banana bread, more about that later…

Jennifer Aniston ate a Cobb Salad every day for 10 years…

I just read  this week, that on the set of Friends, she, Lisa Kudrow and Courtney Cox would eat a healthy version of Cobb Salad every single day.

So today I made this version of one.  It was good, but no way I could eat it every day for a month, let alone ten years.  I could eat it every day for the rest of my life and still would bear no resemblance to Jennifer Aniston.

Holy Crap, I just realized that in ten years I’ll be seventy years old.  SEVENTY YEARS OLD!!!!!!  I might as well just hustle on over to the Dairy Queen for a Buster Bar, Blizzard or a Chocolate Dipped Cone every  single day for the next ten years and be done with it.  That makes a lot more sense. 
Don’t you just love the working of the the mature mind???

Yorkie baths…

This video is just so funny, especially so since the M&M’s had baths and haircuts this morning.  Unlike these two yorkies, mine actually enjoy the process.  And, my girls are much cuter than these two…  Well, they are!!!

 

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes from Big Red Kitchen

Does this fascinate you as much as it does me?  No, it’s not a cinnamon roll, it’s a pancake!  Our family is wild about both of these, so this is a must try at our house.

It’s from Robin, at Big Red Kitchen, and I’ve posted the recipe on Jan CAN Cook, click thru and take a look.

Wowza, what a great idea!

~ jan

Abby Sunderland

What kind of parents would let their sixteen year old daughter sail around the world by herself?  I’ve been watching coverage of this, and I’m just appalled.  I don’t care how “experienced” of a sailor this girl is, she’s sixteen years old.

These parents should be investigated.  Shame on them for encouraging their child to do such a dangerous thing…

Let’s get serious for a moment….

I’ve read the reports today about Shawn King’s apparent suicide attempt, and I feel really sorry for the lady.  Despite fame, talent, money, and beauty, she bleeds like everyone else.  I think sometimes we tend to think that celebrities lead a charmed life, but they don’t.

If, what we read is true, and she has been despondent for several years because of her husband’s alleged affair with her sister, what an awful price she is paying.  She has her own transgressions, but regardless, no man is worth ending your life over.  She has young boys to raise, how sad that this illness is depriving them of their mother.

I read recently that suicide is a permanent fix to a temporary problem.  Everything passes with time, I hope she gets the help she so desperately needs, it’s so sad.

Here she is with Willy Nelson, this is one of my very favorite videos, I love it at the end when she kisses him on the forehead…

 

A little nostalgia for you this morning….

Livin’ the country life…

Cuppycake….

I actually remembered to take my camera yesterday…

Maggie, Moo, she’s always got her nose in something…

What a class act…

Rediscovering soap…

These soaps bring back so many memories for me.  Mother’s sister, Mae, always had Dial soap in her bathroom, attached to her sink with one of those little rubber grippers.  I don’t know if I was more fascinated with the soap or the gripper. To this day I always think of her when I smell gold Dial soap. 

My Grandma Short always had Dove soap in her kitchen.   I remember distinctly how much I disliked the smell as a child, but now I love it.

I’ve blogged about Safeguard before, and how I remember when it first came on the market.  Egads, that was a long time ago.  Oh, the smell of it, one sniff and I’m right back to being a teenager again.  Well, not exactly, but you know what I mean.

Irish Spring reminds me of my twenties.  I loved that fresh, clean scent, it was the soap of choice in the 70’s for me.

In this day of body washes, soap, at least in our household, seems to have fallen by the wayside.  I picked up a couple of bars the other day, Dial and Irish Spring, just for old time’s sake.  Maybe you should, too.  I bet it would trigger a lot of memories for you, also.

There is nothing like a good chick flick…

Every movie can’t be academy award material.  Sometimes the critics are really harsh, especially when it comes to comedies/girl movies, and more so if the reviewer is a man.  But last night I saw Letters to Juliet, and it was a total delight.  A bit slow in the beginning, but it found it’s groove and it was so much fun.  A lot of it was filmed in Tuscany, the scenery was breathtaking, it was like going on a mini-vacation.  It reminded me of a good Harlequin Romance, just a movie instead of a read.

So if you’re bored this summer, and it’s still on, give it a watch.  Vanessa Redgrave is just lovely, there is an “older” man that is totally “hot” and Amanda Seyfried is one of my favorite young actresses. She’s so fresh faced, so wholesome looking, which is nice for a change, and she’s a great little actress, too.

It was a fun escape, give it a try.  ~ jan

How do you feel about wearing sleeveless shirts?

If you’re reading this today and you’re over fifty, I have a little poll for you.  It’s about wearing sleeveless tops this summer.

Do you dare?  Are you brave enough to let those bat wings flap in the breeze.  Or maybe you’re one of the rare ones who doesn’t have them. 

Personally, I just can’t do it.  Oh, I would love to, though, on a hot summer day, but I just can’t bring myself to expose all that Jello.  What about you?  There is a little poll in the right sidebar underneath the BlogHer ad.  Take a minute, tell us what you do.  It’s totally anonymous, of course…

~ Jan

Here comes Peter Cottontail…

Earlier this week, I went with a neighbor to take her dog to the vet.  We went to my vet, Dr. Wagner, who has her practice in a little red barn behind her house on a secluded wooded lot.  It’s all very Norman Rockwell, no computers in your face you when you walk in, no receptionist, just her assistant, in this quaint little barn, and it’s totally charming.

She’s the most accessible woman, she takes time for you, cuddles the dogs, she’s just a really nurturing person.

As we were getting ready to leave, I’m sitting on this bench in her waiting room, she had come out of the examining room with us and was chatting, and out of the corner of my eye I see this white cat.  Wait, it’s not a cat, it’s a rabbit!

This white bunny was hopping around her office.  It was just the cutest thing, ever.  Can’t you just picture going to visit the vet and seeing a rabbit peeking around the corner at you.  Animals are just the best, aren’t they?  They never fail to make me smile.  It’s good to share your life with one, or two.  They give you far more than they take from you, and always make you smile, every single day…

I snapped a few pictures of my summer garden for you…