The Lone Ranger Remake, There will NEVER be another Lone Ranger

Year after year the movie industry churns out remakes of classic movies and yes, television shows.  They never work, they’re never good like the originals, but they continue to do it.  Is it because the baby boomers are dying off and they think the younger generation won’t remember how fabulous the originals were?

Well, I’m not dead yet, and it frosts my cake when they do this.  Now they’re remaking the The Lone Ranger.  I don’t care if it does star Johnny Depp, You just don’t mess around with The Lone Ranger!

Will I pay money to see it?  Oh hell no, I wouldn’t waste my time!  It’s desecration, people, DESECRATION and I am not happy about it either!!!

And yes, Linds, if you’re reading this, I did like the remake of Bewitched.  But it was for shallow reasons, I liked Nicole Kidman’s cottage.  The movie itself was lame.  But this isn’t the same thing, no siree, not the same thing at all!!!!!  At least Johnny Depp isn’t The Lone Ranger, he’s playing Tonto.  But do you know who’s playing The Lone Ranger?  Armie Hammer.  Armie Hammer??? Now what kind of name is that! He looks like he’s barely shaving in the promos.  And V, I know you are enamored of Mr. Depp, but we’ll take that conversation private.

Just look at this picture of Armie and Johnny.  I’m shaking my head and rolling my eyes!

Now you tell me, do these two bozo’s look The Lone Ranger and Tonto???? Of course they don’t!  Johnny Depp is a paleface with white makeup for crying out loud, and what’s the wings on his head?  Tonto wouldn’t be caught dead with a bird on his head, Jeez people!

But this, now this is the real deal, when men were men and injuns were injuns.  Surely this remake isn’t some kind of gay Lone Ranger!  Oh, puh-leez!

I’m all worked up here, this is just so wrong on so many levels!!!!!

Hi-Yo Silver, Awayyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Sometimes she just takes my breath away…

Oh Abby, you are the most precious little girl....

 

 

 

Happy Anniversary John & Deanna

It was a year ago today that John and Deanna stood on a beach in Hawaii and exchanged their wedding vows. It’s been a wonderful year for the two of them, and it’s a mother’s greatest joy to see her child so happy.  There are so many good things going on in my life right now, and I am grateful for every moment of it.

Happy Anniversary, Dear Hearts, what an amazing couple you are.

A bacon shortage is coming…

“Experts” say that pork production will drop to the lowest per capita since 1975.  And they say that if you get a sticker shock from pork, you’ll have a heart attack when you look at beef.

My friend V, bought a freezer to stock up, Hubby and I are thinking of doing the same thing.  The added bonus is that you can buy local pork and beef that’s grass fed.  Of course we could just eat chicken and fish, but have you flipped over those frozen fish packages, most of it is imported from China, and that’s scary as hell, too.

Something to think about, buying now and freezing.  I think I’ll check out those freezer prices right now…

Why does comfort food always evoke fond memories?

Yesterday was stormy, it was such a gloomy, dreary day, we had just gotten home from visiting dem grandbabies, the house was too quiet and we were  in much need of comfort food.  Well, not really, but it was a good excuse.  I had a pound of ground sirloin, so I was attempting to tell myself that this wasn’t really that many calories, umhmmm, sure it wasn’t!  But anyway, I made not only goulash, but corn and then I took it to a whole other level with mashed potatoes.  It was just the way mother made hers when I was a child.  LC thought it was amazing, or maybe it was just the night for it, who knows, all I can tell you is that it was so good that I’m posting the recipe on Jan CAN Cook.

Now this is simple, peasant food, with few ingredients, so if you’re looking for something more upscale, this isn’t the recipe for you.  However, if you want something that just satisfies you to the bone, then this is the recipe.  And whatever you do, don’t forget the mashed potatoes, that’s the key.  Trust me on this one.  It was so, so good!

Here’s the quick click.  Enjoy!

~ Jan

We’ve been to visit the grandkids…

Oh, where do I start.

Well, first an update on Ben, who is 8 weeks old tomorrow. 

He eats, he sleeps, he fusses, he’s a normal little guy.  He makes noises, lots and lots of sounds, he’s a noisy eater, a noisy sleeper, he’s a cutey patootie, and of course, snuggly and adorable.

And now Abby.  Oh my, she cracks us all up, you never know what she’s going to do or say next.  For instance, when they go through the drive-thru for her “hots” (french fries) she has to talk to the person at the window. 

And she has to go to Old McDonalds for her “hots”, and she’s just sure that Donald Duck lives there.  Why?  Who knows, it’s just Abby.  So we’re in the drive-thru at Old McDonald’s, she’s in the back behind her Daddy who’s driving, and here’s how the conversation goes.

Abby: “Roll down my window Daddy, roll down my window!!!” 

Daddy: “Okay, hang on a minute, Abby, I’m trying to order.”

Abby: “Hi lady, I’m Abby.”

Window Lady: “Well, hello Abby, how are you?”

Abby: I’m fine thank you, you got my hots?

Now the window lady was a bit perplexed but she quickly figured out that Abby wanted her french fries.

Window Lady:  “Here you go.”

Abby flashed her a huge smile as we’re driving away she was yelling, “T’anks for the hots, lady.”

This little scenerio is pretty much repeated wherever we go, she stops and talks to people, and if they aren’t too interested in her, she stares them down and smiles until they say something to her. 

She helped make pizza one night, didn’t want to eat it, but she had fun helping.

She sat beside me the other night playing on the iPad, I kid you not, for two and a half hours, she just sat there, playing all the little games, she doesn’t fidget, she doesn’t move around, she just sits there and concentrates on what she’s doing.  I took this picture of her below when we were watching The Lion King, she’s a huge fan, just as my friend Angi’s Sam was at this age. Oh, how can she be this old already.

I have more pictures, these were from my phone, I haven’t opened the memory card on the camera yet.

It’s always fun to visit the family, now time to regroup, but first maybe a nap.  Grammie is tired!

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Can it really be thirty-seven years ago today I gave birth to Ryan?  I have such wonderful memories of his baby/childhood.  Oh, what a little sweetheart he was and still is. Even though he’s thirty-seven, he’ll always be my baby.  We’re off to visit his family tomorrow, time to celebrate!

A great weekend ahead for us and I get to snuggle those grandkids!!!!!!  Life is good!!!

Vintage Comic Book Ad for Miniature Dog

As a child of the 50’s/60’s, I spent my days after school in the local drugstore, where mother worked.  As a result, I read every comic book, Hollywood magazine, etc. that was available.  There was a huge rack of comics and magazines, and I just sat in a booth, drinking mother’s hand shaved iced fountain cherry cokes, eating Fritos and reading.

I would see these ads for miniature “teacup” dogs in comic books and just drool.  Oh, I thought they were just wonderful.  As a result, I did have a 10 lb. “chihuahua” I named Speedy Gonzales, who wasn’t exactly teacup size, but it was the best mother could do.

And this morning, here I sit, with sweet Maggie sleeping in my lap.  She may not be teacup, but she’s only five pounds, and to me that’s just perfect.

I also wanted a horse badly when I was growing up, but I gave up on that dream a few years ago.  But there is a pasture in front of our condo with horses in it, and l, I can gaze at them out my window or walk over and give them an apple or a carrot,  I do enjoy that.  And so I’ve learned, life is about compromise, sometimes the childhood dreams we have aren’t a reality, but we can adjust them a bit and it’s good enough.

Now wasn’t that profound???

I’m on a rant this morning about consumer products, or lack thereof!

Why do manufacturers have to mess with products, quit making good products, alter products, why???  The newer generations doesn’t even know about the good stuff we’ve used all the years, they’re too busy buying into the hype of trying all kinds of new products. I’m old enough now that I’ve seen a lot of change, and I’m not happy about it either! 

My favorite Safeguard Soap is nowhere to be found, They quit carrying it in the mainstream stores, but I could still find it at Dollar Tree, but now even they have stopped stocking it.  It was the best, had the greatest smell, but of course something newer and better came along and it got left in the dust.

And then there is dishwashing detergent.  I’m a lemon girl, I don’t want to smell apples, or mountain breezes, or Dawn anything, when I use dishwashing detergent, I want a blast of fresh lemon smell.  Well, back in the day Joy was the big guy on the block.  Now the stores stock about five bottles of it, and it doesn’t smell like it used to.

But I did try Gain Lemon this past week, and I love it, finally a nice fresh, strong lemon smell.  Just thought I would tell you all about it.

I’m also upset about ketchup.  I grew up eating Brooks Ketchup.  Oh, it was so spicy, so wonderfully tangy, it had a little heat, it was amazing.  Same problem, you can’t find it and if you do, the taste is watered down.  Why???

Just look at this vintage picture of Brooks Catsup, isn’t it awesome, isn’t it wonderful?  Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a bottle of this again.  But of course, they’ve not only screwed up the recipe, but they’ve changed the bottle, if you do happen to find Brooks Catsup, it doesn’t look like it used to anymore, now it looks like this!

This looks wrong, people, wrong!  Gone is the neat looking bottle, replaced with this generic looking one, no wonder nobody buys the stuff anymore.  It just frosts my cake, seriously!

Even apples haven’t stayed the same.  A few years ago everybody jumped on the Granny Smith bandwagon.  They were so hyped, everybody was using Granny Smith apples to cook with.  I’ve never been a fan of the sour, tart Granny Smith’s, I don’t like cooking with them, I don’t even like the way they look, they’re unnatural!  And now, there are all of the designer varieties of apples, Honey Crisp, Gala, Fuji, JonaGold, JonaMac, so many choices it makes your head spin.

What’s wrong with the old ones? My very favorite are Golden Delicious, or Jonathan or Winesap or Rome.  I still like these best.  But Red Delicious, I hate!  They’re even worse than Granny Smith.  Sure they’re pretty, but they’re mealy and tasteless!  Why don’t they get rid of those, but oh no, every convenience store in America has Red Delicious apples by the checkout counter.  Why???

Wow, I sure have issues this morning, don’t I?  Well, it just honks me off!  I think I’m going to fire off some emails to companies.  But that’s useless, too!  I have, after all, been emailing Trader Joes monthly for years now begging them to come to Heavensville, and they haven’t!  They don’t even respond to my emails.  TRAITOR JOES!!!!!!!!!

Law-dee, just look at these temps!

 

 

 

 

 

I celebrated this weather forecast by making a big pot of chili.  And no, I didn't make a pie, but I wanted to!  And I might add, since the down comforter is back on the bed, I'm sleeping much better.

Aren't you all glad? 

Brrrr, it's downright chilly tonight, maybe I'll even pull out a long-sleeved sleep shirt.

Jan here, seizing the moment...

My computer screen turned pink!

Has yours ever done this?  Let's hope not, but in case it has, here's what worked for me.

Krista was here this morning, cleaning, so hubby and I left for breakfast, ran some errands, came home, I came into the sunroom, and the screen on my PC looked just like this!  (This isn't the actual picture, I grabbed this one from the web, but it was the same look).

I was in a panic, convinced that it was either my monitor going bad, or the video card on my computer.  I called Jean right away, I always call her when I have a technical issue, she had never had a pink screen before either.  So then I Googled it, and it said that maybe the VGA cord wasn't connected securely.  Well, I was sure that wasn't the problem, but LC unplugged it and plugged it back in, and sure enough that was it.   She probably was dusting behind the computer and jiggled the cord.

So, I'm just passing this along in case any of you have a similar issue.  I was just so glad that I didn't have to cough up $$$ for a new monitor or video card.

Whew, that was a close one...

We all think our grandchildren are gifted, and they ARE!

Ryan sent me this yesterday.  He wasn’t paying attention to what Abby was doing, looked down and she had drawn this on her Doodler by herself.

Now the child isn’t quite three yet, Grammie think’s she’s amazing.  Especially since Grammie still draws stick figures and she’s not quite sixty-three yet.

My mother was always so proud of what my boys accomplished at an early age, I don’t think I really appreciated it at the time, but now I get it...

Sometimes you just gotta have your way…

I’m always tweaking the setup in my sunroom.  Why???  Because it’s where I spend my days, with Maggie on my lap, working playing on my computers, looking out the window at the birds, contemplating life.  So I’m always driving poor hubby crr-azy with ideas that I want to implement to make it even better.

For years now I’ve had a media card in my PC that allowed me to watch tv on the computer.  But it was a pain, I had to make the screen really, really small, and it interfered with whatever I was doing, and the quality was not good, so I decided that what I really needed was a television behind my computer desk.

This has been going on for several months, trying to figure out how to accomplish this.  At first I was going to put this great big honkin’ screen on the wall where I put my bulletin board.  But then I decided I really wanted that bulletin board, so then I was going to put a small television inside the bulletin board, but that was kind of stupid, so then I came up with the idea to suspend a television from the ceiling, which would entail John, who always does my tv hookups, crawling thru the attic, and dropping a line, and I didn’t know how that would look anyway, that tv dangling from the ceiling.

So LC and I were brainstorming one day, and he said, “ya know, I have a tripod in the attic, I wonder if we could mount a tv on it?”  So he had this small 15” television in the garage, he hooked it up to the tripod, put it behind the computer, and voila, it worked perfectly and looked kinda cool sitting on that tripod.  But…

It was too small!  (The above photo isn’t the original 15” television, I just wanted you to see how he mounted it on the tripod.)  I didn’t like that small screen, so he trekked over to Sam’s and bought me a 24” television.  I wanted it Internet ready, so I could watch Netflix, but that wasn’t an option, they don’t make 24” televisions Internet ready.  So he brought it home, hooked it up, easy setup, we already had a cable on the floor, nobody had to crawl thru the attic, it was perfect, right?  Wrong!  I didn’t like it, it was too small.  So we brought everybody we knew and their brother thru the sunroom, getting their opinions, and every . single . person said that it looked fine.  LC thought it looked fine too, mostly, I think because he was tired of messing with it. 

So I watched it and fretted and stewed, because it just wasn’t right.  It was wide and short, and I was not a happy camper.  I wanted to look up and see this big screen, and I wanted to be able to watch Netflix while I worked!  Then John and Deanna came home, I sat John at my computer desk, explained my dilemma, and sweet boy, he actually understood what I meant.  So we were off to Sams once again to get a 32” tv that was Internet ready.  But they were sold out, then we went to Best Buy, where they tried to sell us one with a Roku Box, well we already use Roku boxes on the living room and bedroom tv’s, I didn’t want another Roku box, I wanted that 32” Internet ready television!

So it’s now Labor Day morning, and John said, “You know, WalMart might have that tv, why don’t you call them.”  I did, and they had it, the guys drove over to buy it for me, and after a lot of adjustments in the garage to the back of the television refabricating something or other, they were once again able to mount it on the tripod, and this is the result!

I know, I know, it’s HUGE!  You’re probably thinking, why does she need that big tv, the other one looked fine!  But I didn’t like it and this one is  wonderful and it has Netflix!  Exactly what I wanted, finally!!!  And the best part?  It sits behind my desk, angled in the corner, so yours truly won’t be able to trip over it and crash the whole thing to the ground.  I can’t get to it, thank gawd, because we all know that I would somehow fall over or into the thing, ‘cause that’s just the way I roll.

Now for the moral of this story, always, always, trust your gut, it never lets you down…

Jeez, I sound like a brat, but hey, I’m an only child, remember, I like to have my way, this was really important to me, and besides, I’m old now, you gotta humor old ladies.  Thanks Johnno, for understanding, you made Yo Mama a happy lady ;o)

Oh, and hubby?  Well he does tend to sit in here and watch it, and he hasn’t said a word about it being too big, so I’m thinking Mikey might actually like it. 

I’ve got to figure out my down comforter dilemma

A lot of times I use this blog to just work through things in my mind.  It’s cheaper than a therapist, and probably bores the beejus out of most of you, but it’s what I do.

Enter JAN’S DOWN COMFORTER DILEMMA!  Now I’ve blogged in the past about my love for my fluffy comforter, cool in the summer, warm in the winter, light as a feather, ”fluffy,” well, it is if you keep flipping it from end to end, which you have to do because those feathers shift.  It’s the “traditional” comforter, the one that has no channel quilting, even though quilted comforters are really popular these days, probably because people don’t want to deal with the lumps of the old-fashioned ones, but I’m wondering if I’ll get the same lofty experience with a quilted one, looks to me like it flattens out the feathers. And no, this isn’t a picture of my bed, mine is actually puffier than this one in the picture, well it is when I flip it.  Correction, it is when hubby helps me flip it. 

And since I have an iron bed, the one I blogged about back in 2008, the one where you all did a poll and chose not the one I bought, you all liked the Contessa and the Hamden, but I bought the Interlude.  The others were a little too much “Little Whorehouse in Texas” for me, I think that the old fashioned style comforter just looks better on my bed, it’s so inviting.  You can read the old entry here, but it’s not entirely accurate, because the painted armoire didn’t go to Lexington after all, because once I got the big sleigh bed out of the room, I had plenty of room for it.  So poor Linds and Ryan will have to wait until they cart me off to Happy Acres Retirement Home to get the armoire, and by that time they probably won’t even want it because they bought a lovely one.

So maybe, when the time comes, I can put it in my room down at Happy Acres, open it up and put my computer in it, and all of my fleece stretch clothing in the drawers.  Holy crap, I’m not looking forward to old age!!!!   And egads, I’m off track, but here’s the click again if you want to see the bed post.  Haaaaa, “Bed Post” good one Jan, good one!

But back to my dilemma, now hubby is not a fan of the down, not because of how it sleeps but because of how it looks.  He says the bed looks terrible, with that lumpy comforter folded on top of it,  so this summer, he convinced me to put it away, and instead I used a really pretty quilt.  Pretty, but hard and stiff and heavy! I hate that quilt!!!!  I spent my entire summer not being able to snuggle into soft downy feathers.  So I overruled him this week and the down is back on the bed, and did I mention that he is not a fan?

So what do I do, do I “try” the quilted kind, or do I we just keep flipping my fluffy one.  I might add that Maggie is a huge fan of the down, she sinks her little Yorkie body deep into it, sighs, snuggles in a ball and she’s out.

I think I may just have answered my question.  Lumpy, fluffy it is.  See, that wasn’t so bad was it, and I saved myself a bundle.  Therapy must be really spendy these days!

LC will adjust to it, he’s gotten used to every other wackadoo thing I’ve done for the past forty-one years.  I’ll just buy yet another duvet, freshen it up a bit for the fall.  Mags will love it, me, too…

Soft Surroundings Clothes, oh so pretty….

You know how I’m always lamenting the fact that I never see pretty clothes.  Well, my friend, V, told me about this site earlier in the spring, it’s called Soft Surroundings, and they have a gorgeous collection of fall clothes.  Everything I love, bohemian chic, soft flowy skirts, boots, oh my.  Did I mention that the models are stick thin?  *sigh*

Take a look for yourself.  Here’s the click….

Just in case you missed Puppy Love…

 

They’re airing it again on The Hallmark Channel, Saturday, September 15th at 4 central time.  Record it people, it’s an awesome “feel good” movie.

And Candace Cameron is rockin’ the greatest haircut, ever!  Such a cute movie, try it, you’ll like it.

  ~ Pinky swear you will ~

Nordstrom’s iPhone 5 Case

  Oh my, the new iPhone just came out today and Nordstrom’s is already selling cases for it.  Heart be still, this is calling my name!  And it matches Tootie!!!!!  Yes, I realize it’s Kate Spade and it’s $40, but somethings are just worth it!  And I am having a birthday after all, well, in November I am.  But I do have my BlogHer stash, thanks to all of you clicking on the BlogHer link in my sidebar, and it’s my mad money.  Well it is, and Mikey really, really likes this!  Oh my, I just clicked on the link and the “expected” ship date is 12/6/12.  That’s fine, some things are just worth the wait.

One of life’s “foolish” pleasures.

You like it, too?  There are lots more to choose from, here’s the click, enjoy!  ~ Jan

10 things I need to do…

1.  Brush Maggie’s teeth, so much fun, you can’t imagine!

2.  Order Ryan’s birthday present, I have a plan, Stan!

3.  Order Abby’s birthday present, same order as Ry’s free shipping ;o)

4.  Eat healthy for the rest of my natural born life.  This weekend was not pretty!

5.  Spend more time in the sunshine, less on the computer.

6.  Get up at 5am 4am 3am so I can finish what I need to do on the computer to go outside.

7.  Cut back on Diet Cokes, easier now that I’ve discovered my love for Mr. Pibb Zero

8.  Post that great bread recipe that contributed to my weekend binge.

9.  Make soup, cooler weather equals soup chili. 

10.  Don’t even think about making a raisin pie to go with that soup chili!

I could go on and on, so much I need to do, but I really don’t want to, know what I mean, Vern???

I actually am on the wait list for NetTalk Duo this morning, I’m caller number 75 and my estimated wait time right now is 1 hour, twenty minutes, and did I mention they have bad music.  Why am I doing this???

Because hubby is cheap and he got us phone service that costs $30 per year.  But it wasn’t working so well, so NetTalk Duo sent us a new unit  and now our telephone number is gone and they are routing us thru Albania or some such country.  So, if you have had no luck calling me on the landline for the past month, that’s why, or if you see an incoming call to your phone from some obscure number you’ve never heard of, pick it up, it’s probably me!  So that’s why I’m now caller number 75, trying to get my old number back again.  I hope they speak English!

And I might add, that V’s hubby Rich is about as cheap as LC, so he got them NetTalk Duo, too and theirs isn’t working so great either.  When we talk using it, we get these screeching sounds and have to hang up and redial.  Jeez…

But who calls me on the landline anyway?  Nobody, except friends that don’t have Verizon because I’m always about to go over my minutes on my cellphone usage, and if that happens, I’m in deep doodoo because it’s like $.45 per minute.

So why do we even bother with NetTalk Duo?  Because it’s $30 a year, that’s why.  AND, I might add, you get what you pay for, thus the telephone number from Albania.

Oh-oh, I’m now I’m hearing no music, which probably means they have cut me off, and I’ll have to dial back in and probably be caller number 135.  Oh phooey on this, Scarlett is going to worry about this tomorrow, too!!!! ROARRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!

It’s okay to recycle…

I liked my header so much last fall, that I dusted it off, spruced it up a bit and put it on again.  What’s not to love, it’s just the best cartoon characters of all time.   In fact, I like it so much that I may use it next fall, too, and the fall after that, it just might become an annual thing.

And anyway, I’m not particularly industrious this weekend.  Okay, I’m lazy this weekend, I admit it, I’m not coming up with anything I like better than this cute little header.  Scarlett will worry about a new one next month and trot out something for halloween, but for now, it’s too pretty of a day to sit here and work anyway, so I’m not! 

I know, you’re trying to figure out what this picture of a bridge and autumn trees has to do with anything.  Nothing, really, I just stuck it in here.  It’s that kind of day…