Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Hot enough!...well, let it snow....

It's August, it's hot, it's humid, so take a trip down memory lane & remember what those
cold January days bring to some of us....


some deer foraging in the woods this past winter...









And during a snowstorm, my fur & feather
friends seek shelter in the tree branches
during the storm....


So while we swelter right now, just a reminder of
what may be coming soon enough....

And hopefully these scenes of winter will bring just a little relief to the summer blahs...







108 comments:

Coreen said...

Ok, we needed a new post...& since we are
all dealing with this never ending heatwave,
thought you might enjoy a lookback at what
Mother Nature gave much of us this past winter...& for my southern friends who rarely
get to experience snow....enjoy with none of
the hazards of living in the cold snowy northern U.S....

Carol said...

Ahhhhh, how refreshing Coreen. Thanks very much. This ought to keep the ice in my drink cold even longer.

I'm trying to decide which I prefer....the extreme cold or the extreme hot. With the extreme heat, I can at least look outside to the sunlight and the leaves on the trees. Still can't go outside to play in either.

Coreen said...

Well, since we can't seem to cool off this year, open any windows, get some fresh air & yes, go outside w/o running back inside as quickly as possible...thought I would try to let you imagine just a little....

Since it is rapidly getting to be pumpkin time...night all...

Anonymous said...

Excellent idea Coreen. Nice refreshing post!

Anonymous said...

Jan, Sounds like you're looking forward to getting home to beautiful New Mexico. I bet all the traveling has tired you out. Hope you enjoyed your visits with all the family members though.

Please let us know when you arrive home, and how you're doing.

Anonymous said...

"I'm trying to decide which I prefer"

One thing about the heat here Carol, is that once you take the humidity out of the air, it's easily cooled down. Luckily, ours does a quick, easy job of that, and doesn't have to run all the time. Plus, here in Houston and where you are, it usually stays in the 90s. The Ca. dessert goes up to 115 and above. They like to say 'yeah, but it's a dry heat', but I've felt it, and hot is hot! The air conditioners have a lot harder time cooling things down with the more extreme temperatures like that. I'm surprised that yours isn't doing a better job keeping you cool, than it is.

Then there's the temperature's Jan just went through - a humid 108. I'm pretty sure Louisiana has never reached that temperature on record. It hasn't here. I think the record here is 101, but that's rare too.

It's really weird how comfortable I've been this year. I think that I hate cold so much, that anything that's the opposite of cold has got to be a good thing (in 'my' mind). I really love living down here in the south. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

Anonymous said...

You haven't mentioned your cat at your other house - are your roomies taking car of Fiddler?

Anonymous said...

... I bet that pool of yours is always sparkling, huh?

jan said...

Coreen, beautiful pictures. I feel cooler already.

We are home. It is not nearly as hot here. Temp in the house was 84 degrees and we had turned the ac off. It is cooling down more as I write. It is good to be home.

The drive home today was great. Temps were in 70's & 80's for most of trip. Just got into 90's last 2-3 hours of trip.

Coreen, you inspired me to stop at Cadillac Ranch.

We stopped in Amarillo and found the road to the Cadallac ranch and took some pictures. One cannot just stop on I 40 and walk over. People take cans of spray paint and paint names and pictures on the cars. I will post these soon. It was fun. I can't believe we had not done this before.

jan said...

Our little tomato plants survived our absence. I had a big clear plastic bin that something came in so we put it out back on the ground and put the tom plants in it and I fixed a hose to just drip. We put the tom plants in it and the hose inside. John punched a couple of little holes in it to keep the water from getting too high. The tom plants look as if they have been watered all week. As my dad would have said -" a little yankee ingenuity"

Back later.

Coreen said...

Glad to hear you found everything at home in
great shape, Jan...& maybe just maybe the heat will finally break for everyone...

Looking forward to your exploraton of the Cadillac Ranch...there most be more adventures along that southern route you travel often...will have to see what other attractions are around...

Coreen said...

Carol, are you just off on an adventure, hopefully nothing is wrong...not like you to miss both a.m. & p.m. here...

jan said...

Chloe, You and John would get along great. He hates cold too. He wears sweats even in the summer - although he took them off while in triple digits these past days LOL. We are always fighting over the thermostat.

jan said...

Carol, I too hope you are merely off on an adventure and will check in here soon.

jan said...

Chloe, despite the heat, this was a good trip. John was excited to see his family members. We got to spend time with his son, bro and sis, neices and their husbands and babies. I was happy to see my son and Grandkids too. So all in all - twas good. But happy to be home. We are getting much needed rain right now. I am going to fix me a cup of tea and go sit on the porch and let some raindrops fall on me.

Carol said...

Good evening folkes. I forgot to set my alarm last night so I didn't get up until it was time to hit the floor running. Usually I pop up, even without my alarm, at 5a or earlier. Not today. I bet I got the best sleep I've had in years.

Then I had a hair cut appointment after work. I got out late and had to rush home to put the Magster out and run to the appointment. I was only there for less than an hour and had four calls from work. How dare they disturb the sanctity of the beauty parlor.

Carol said...

But.....I'm off tomorrow. Well, at least I'm not going in to work. For me it's TGIF!

Chloe, the pool is sparkling and one day I will go for a swim. I'm waiting for a cool front. Yeah, sure.

It did rain this afternoon and the temp dropped to 77. That is definitely a cool front but it's raining so not a good swimming day.

Carol said...

Coreen, your post confused the hell outta Mary. She was having some computer problems and then the blog pops up with this Winter post with pics from the past. She thought for sure it was a gonner.

Carol said...

Jan, welcome home again, even though wherever you are, we are. And we are watching you! Can't run, can't hide.

Coreen said...

Well, glad to know that you were just off on
adventures...

And nice going, early start on the weekend...

Sorry, Mary, just wanted to let everyone chill
out from the summer sauna...

Carol said...

Chloe, I checked the heat index, which is how hot it feels, for both Little Rock and here, yesterday. It showed our heat index 10 degrees higher than Little Rock even though their temp was higher. It's all in how it feels and it has been feeling like hell's kitchen here. Not right now though. With it raining outside, I'm freezing in the house now.

I have windows across the entire front of the camp and not expensive double pane windows, they are camp grade. Nice but cheap. Cooling this place is like cooling the outdoors. My ACs are huffing and puffing.

Carol said...

Coreen, I'll have to admit your blog post took me by surprise for a moment but I did read the title that brought me back.

jan said...

Coreen, I was a little like Mary - when I pulled up the blog and saw the snow pics, I thought - what the heck is going on. It is nice to see snow pics - better than imagining them.

Wow! we have had quite a rain here. I think it has stopped for now. It is great though. We were predicted to have a drought this fall b/c of La Nina.

Carol, good to see ya back. How lovely that you slept late this morning. That is a good sign you were relaxed. You need more nights like that.

jan said...

Carol, good for you - taking the day off tomorrow.

I just got an e-mail that they are scheduling families for me to see in about 10 days. I have not signed a contract yet. I am going to have to watch that they don't over-schedule me.

Carol said...

I've been on the Iphone fighting with Att. I haven't been able to talk to my friend 20 miles down the phone without the call dropping. I can't even stay connect for a minute. Sometimes not even to say hello. My friend also has Att.

Carol said...

I think I'm in the market for a new phone. Anyone have any suggestions???

Carol said...

Well, after an hour on the phone with this Att geek, I called my friend again. Had her for 8 minutes then hang up. Called back and got another 2 minutes. I give up.

Carol said...

The guy had the nerve to try and sell me another land line. Huh. I guess he was trying to tell me there's no hope with their Att cell service. And it's not my location. I have 5 bars people. But is that the truth??

jan said...

Carol, have you had this problem before at your house? If not, it may be just a glitch happening now. If not your location, I can't imagine what it could be. Not anyone in my family has an I-phone.

Carol said...

If y'all don't watch the Colbert Report, you are missing some really good laughs. I record it every night. This week was pretty good.

He does political satire, making fun of conservatives, which is not really hard to do. The material just about writes itself. I can't believe that some of them actually come on his program. I think that some conservatives actually watch his show and don't realize it's satire.

This week he made a monkey outta Laura Ingraham and I'm not sure she caught on. Ding, ding, ding.

Colbert did a bit about how Greta, on Fox News, can't tell the difference between the black women in the news. Greta was talking about Maxine Waters and showing a picture of Shirley Sherrod. That bit was killer.

I know that Fox News has the biggest viewing audience but how many people watch them for their comedic value?? I sometimes do.

I know some of you want to avoid politics but this is one way to get your news and bust a gut laughing at the same time.

You can see the reruns on Colbertnation.com

Carol said...

Some of the Dems provide a lot of comedy also but the outcome of all this comedy, from both parties, is not very funny. We sometime have to laugh to keep from crying.

jan said...

We watch Jon Stewart and Colbert Report. Two of our favorite shows.

jan said...

Carol, I know you watch Modern Family. Have you ever watched The Middle. My sister loves that show. It is not a fav of mine, but it is interesting. If you get a chance, watch it sometime.

jan said...

Phones:: I have a Verizon Envy. I like it. It does not do what the I phone and Droid do. But it does what I need.

Carol said...

Jan, the new Iphone, with it's problems still gets top rating for the smart phone. I even found that it has less dropped calls than the Iphone 3. It does have that antenna problem but they have that case they offer. Most of my dropped calls are with one of my friends. I don't understand that.

I've seen a couple episodes of the Middle and it is cute.

Carol said...

The husband on the Middle was the maintanence man on Scrubs. I use to like that show a lot also.

Carol said...

I noticed we had a New Zealand star on our map. We did mention that calcium study done there. I guess we think it, and they come.

Carol said...

I want to start off this morning with a big thank you to the Big Guy in the sky for steering those storms away from our shores. And for helping BP plug that well. Thank You!

Carol said...

Chloe, Fiddler is still at the house and roomie is feeding her. I buy the cat food and the level of food in the bucket keeps going down, pretty fast, so she must be getting fed. I told roomie that she has been keeping the mices, dillos and possums away. She's worth her weight in cat food.

Fiddler is one of those really vocal cats and I think roomie thinks that every time she meows, she's hungry. There is a second, red headed cat, that is also hanging out and taking advantage of Fiddler's noise induced bowl filling. I hope we don't end up with a herd out there.

I really don't know if Fiddler is fixed. It seems that if she wasn't, we would have already had a family going. I would like to bring her in to the Vet but she is a little skiddish. I think if I tried to pick her up, she'd leave some skid marks on me.

jan said...

Carol, I too am glad to hear about Fiddler. We don't have a cat but there are 2 or 3 in the neighborhood who keep us entertained. One cat across the street loves to climb trees. She/he is after birds. I have never seen a cat climb so fast and high too.

jan said...

Chloe, My elect pressure cooker arrived yesterday evening. I am going to cook something this weekend. My 2 cookbooks have not arrived yet, but the cooker came with some recipes. I hope it is not too complicated. John said "OH good, here is something else for you to take lessons on" I wish!

jan said...

Our tomato plants did very well while we were gone with my invention. We now have 12 tomatoes. I had placed them all in a plastic container and put the hose into the container at a drip rate. They thrived. I left one out - not watered. It was pretty dried up when we got home but had 4 new toms on it. The rain revived it - so none were lost.

Carol said...

Today, there was this Creole cook, John La Fleur, on our local morning show. He cooked some kind of eggplant recipe in an alfredo sauce. It looked divine. He has written a cookbook but it has sold out and they are waiting for another printing. That won't be for a couple of months. The program did not air the recipe so I called the station.

As I suspected, he didn't leave the recipe. I think he was just pushing his book. The guy I called to ask, said for me to check back later to see if he can get the recipe.

Update. I just checked again and the recipe is up. This recipe can be done veggie or using different seafoods or meats.

Bre'mesCr'eoles

Bre'mesCr'eoles is Creole Eggplant

I had to look up that Quattro Formaggio sauce listed in ingredients. I'm not impressed with a recipe that doesn't include making your own sauce. When I looked it up that sauce, it was a pretty complicated recipe itself. If you have a week, with nothing to do you might want to try this recipe. Well, at least if you want to make that sauce also.

Anonymous said...

Welcome home Jan! That rain must have felt like a nice 'welcome home' gift. Good to have you back - hope you took some pics to share with us.

... and sounds like you're going to be back to working in the near future, huh? I think you're smart to check that they don't over-schedule you.

BTW, glad your tomato plants made it. Very good idea Jan!

Oh, and the best thing in a pressure cooker is pot roast, or stew type foods. I'm making a goulash in it this weekend.

Anonymous said...

Carol, That heat index number is them factoring in the humididy, but air conditioning is very good at removing that humidity from the air. The AC only worries about (detects) the actual temperature (regardless of the index), so it doesn't have to worry about what it feels like, just what it 'really' is (the drain removes the unwanted moisture - indoors and in cars too).

That AC we had out in the desert trying to bring the temperature down from 115 was almost impossible. Yeah, it was dry, but that didn't matter to the AC - it was all about how many degrees it had to bring the temp down, and it's a lot easier for it to bring it down from 90 something, than 115 (it just doesn't care about 'feels like').

Now if you're working outside in it, that's a different story. Then that heat index can really get to you. 'Feel like' outside matters - it takes it's toll.

You 'might' want to consider changing out those windows for double pane sometime in the distant future. (?)

Carol said...

Chloe, if I had to replace all the windows in this place, I would have to rebuild the place. I'll just have to learn to live a little warmer in the summer and colder in the winter.

I could crank the AC down more but I'd feel guilty. I also have 2 other ACs that I don't turn on because I don't want to leave too big a carbon footprint just for the Mag and me. In the evening it is much cooler with just the two ACs I use.

Carol said...

I went to 4 different grocery stores today and filled my freezer with, on sale, meat. I don't even eat that much meat but I like to get it when it' on sale. Maggie eats more meat than I do.

With my freezers full, I'm going out to eat tonight, to my favorite Mexican place.

jan said...

Chloe, I have not used my pressure cooker yet. I may wait until next week. I am just not in the mood to cook. I did get the 2 pressure cooker cookbooks I ordered today. Some great recipes. I am whipped though. I am going to cook something tried and true tonight - don't want to have to think and cook too LOL.

jan said...

Just read my message above - what I mean is I don't want to have to think.

Anonymous said...

"With my freezers full, I'm going out to eat tonight, to my favorite Mexican place. "

LOL Carol. Mexican food is my favorite meal to go out for. I know I won't make it through the weekend without a trip to my favorite Mexican restaurant either.

Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

.... and I'm like you on the air conditioning. I feel guilty if I keep it 'too' cool. What I like most about the warm weather months is the casual living and dressing it promotes. I haven't had on a pair of shoes (except flip flops) for months.

Oh Jan, I 'never' wear sweats in the summer. John must be more cold blooded than even me

Anonymous said...

"I am going to cook something tried and true tonight"

And good for you on this one, Jan. Just wait until you're in the mood, and have something to cook in it that you're really in the mood for. I only use mine every so often - they're especially handy in the winter when the cold weather makes stews and meats so much better.

I want to see what you guys think of this: Potato Peeling Video

.....I'm going to try it when I make mashed potatoes tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

I'm always looking for 'easy'.

I like your idea of buying your chicken already cooked Jan, and then just making the side dishes. I've been doing that lately, and it makes things so much easier.

Anonymous said...

We also get our Mexican food to go sometimes, and bring it home to eat. They seem to always give us more food when we do that, than we are served when we're there. They even give us two big bags of chips and salsa.

I am getting so hungry talking about Mexican food. I've gotta stop!

.... see you guys tomorrow.
Have a great evening everyone!

jan said...

We have a favorite mexican place too. We all do have more in common than we realize

Carol said...

Well Chloe, I have a half dozen different potato peelers, my favorite is my Rada peeler. It's sharp and fast. I love those Rada knives/peelers.

I also don't have lots of ice and need all of it to keep my drinks cold so I'll stick with the old fashioned way of doing my peeling. I will have to say that the Gilligan girl's method is pretty cool and would be fun to show off at a party.

I had trouble getting that U-tube video to play. It took longer to play that video than it took for her to peel that potato.

Carol said...

Oh, and Chloe, I usually like to have my potatoes cut up so they cook faster, especially for mashed potatoes. I wouldn't ever cook an Idaho potato whole. I don't think my potato, cook whole, would be done enough in 20 minutes either.

Carol said...

And I bet if the potato had lots of eyes, it wouldn't work as well as the one she had. If anyone tries it, let me know how well it works.

Carol said...

The young waitress who waited on me tonight is pregnant and due in Septembre. She has waited on me before and she remembered me. Her husband also works at the restaurant. She doesn't speak much English and I try to talk to her in Spanish, using the little I know. She seems to appreciate my effort. I got to eat a good meal and do a little learning at the same time.

Carol said...

And Chloe, I think Ms Gilligan's Island is promoting Idaho potatoes and it worked cuz I'm still thinking and talking about them. It's almost something you want to try even if it wouldn't be practical to waste all that ice trying to cool down very hot large potatoes. I'm sure you would be changing ice frequently. You would need one of those automatic ice makers and a lot of freezer room for ice.

I kinda have my freezer a little stuffed so I have a little trouble getting two ice trays and a baggy full of ice in one.

But come to think about it Chloe, when I cook little new potatoes, I cook them in their little skins and peel them afterwards, and burn the hell outta my hands. Throw a few around the room. I don't ice them because they go directly into a frying pan with melted butter and parsley, to brown.

And thanks for sharing that video Chloe. It's been fun pondering it. So much more fun than some of the crap I get suck pondering on....

Carol said...

OK Jan, what did you cook tried and true last night? Was it a grocery store rotisserie chicken? (Smiley face here)

We'll make a Julia Child outta you before it's over. At least you have the potential for a large audience to appreciate your efforts. All I usually get to impress is Maggie and that doesn't take much. Well, I do have my RR friends, but that doesn't take much either. After drinking a case of beer, anything tastes good.

Carol said...

And re: this immigration problem...why is it that the Mexican economy is so crappy?? What are they doing wrong Solar?? Are we helping to keep it that way so we have a nice, cheap place to vacation?? Why don't we just add Mexico to the US and problem solved. With so many people outta work here, seems like we are starting to look more like Mexico anyway.

Carol said...

And have y'all seen the sport's news about Tiger?? He's bombing big time, at the bottom of the pack. I'm sure he's as talented as always but golf requires confidence and he seems to have lost his. It's that karma I'm telling ya.

Carol said...

And the fact that all his bad press has caused Tiger to lose confidence, means that deep down inside Tiger is a good man. He knows he screwed up and it bothers him. If he was still on the top of his game after all that happened, we'd know that there was no hope for him.

Carol said...

I think we often do create our own punishment when we veer off our path. That's why truely evil people don't seem to have any.

Carol said...

Interesting point of view even though I don't agree with it...

Should athletes be allowed to use legal PEDs? Sure, why not?

Anonymous said...

"I think we often do create our own punishment when we veer off our path"

Carol, I couldn't agree more with you. Cause and effect. I, too, think punishment and reward is built into our actions.

Although (and not to be confused with), there are those things outside our control that happen and may cause us, and others, great pain too. It's important we know that we didn't cause those things to happen. Things don't always make sense.

Anonymous said...

Oooh, but with Tiger - the media didn't cause him to lose his confidence. He did that all by himself. When he 'chose' to do the things he did, it should have been fairly predictable for him to think it through to it's end, and realize exactly what would happen if, and when, he were caught.

Doesn't make him a bad person. Just a person that's experiencing the consequences of his actions.

Anonymous said...

I really hate peeling potatoes Carol. Maybe that's because of the cheap ... potato peeler I have. I've always been too cheap to buy a good one - maybe that's my problem.

I'm going to look up 'Rada peeler' to see what that is. But I'm still going to try the boil method this weekend. I have an ice maker, and it gets so full that I have to dump it sometimes. (good thing I have it too, 'cause Em just loves chopped ice - always begging for more).

I thought about the 20 minutes too, and figured I'd put them back in and cook them some more when I finished (the water would still be boiling).

I'll probably do my cooking tomorrow, so I can go for Mexican food today. All that talk about Mexican food last night did it. I can't wait until tomorrow for it, and we normally eat an early lunch, so in a few hours I'll be pigging out over that basket of chips and hot sauce. Yummmmm.

Carol said...

Chloe, even when we have those times where horrible things happen and we did nothing to deserve them....there are things that are learned. I had that experience when I went thru that time with my job crisis and my mother dying at the same time. Hey, if anything, I did more than anyone else would have done to prevent problems with that job.

Every single minute of every day I questioned why I was having that experience.
I studied the experience and wrote about it. Because of that, I saw many little miracles that were occuring at the same time. I saw that people I had put out a lot of effort with in the past, were there to help me. I might have missed all those little miracles if I wouldn't have taken the time and effort to ponder it all. It would have been just a terrible waste if I would have just thought...poor, poor pitiful me. But I did some of that anyway.

Anonymous said...

I can't even begin to tell you how much I hate war. I cannot, for the life of me, understand how we're making things 'better' by going to these places. Instead, I think we're feeding the violence.

KABUL, Afghanistan – Ten members of a medical team, including six Americans, were shot and killed by militants as they were returning from providing eye treatment and other health care in remote villages in northern Afghanistan, a spokesman for the team said Saturday.

Dirk Frans, director of the International Assistance Mission, said one German, one Briton and two Afghans also were part of the team that made the two-week trip to Nuristan province. They drove to the province, left their vehicles and hiked for hours over mountainous terrain to reach the Parun valley in the province's northwest.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in Pakistan that they killed the foreigners because they were "spying for the Americans" and "preaching Christianity."

Frans said the International Assistance Mission is registered as a nonprofit Christian organization but does not proselytize.

"This tragedy negatively impacts our ability to continue serving the Afghan people as IAM has been doing since 1966," the charity said in a statement. "We hope it will not stop our work that benefits over a quarter of a million Afghans each year." 6 Americans on medical team killed in Afghanistan

Anonymous said...

... forgot my quote marks.

Carol said...

Chloe, do you find that after you pig out on the chips and salsa that you're almost too full to eat the main course?? I am but I still manage to stuff a good bit of it in anyway.

Anonymous said...

"I might have missed all those little miracles if I wouldn't have taken the time and effort to ponder it all." http://ct-carolssouthernspice.blogspot.com/2010/08/hot-enoughwell-let-it-snow.html?showComment=1281184452352#c4735127363718075399

Carol, I almost missed that wonderful comment of yours.
So beautifully said Carol.

Anonymous said...

... I always have write things down when I'm going through painful situations too. That's my way of coping. I'm going to read what you said a couple of more times. I was (am) very touched by it.

Isn't if weird, how much writing our thoughts on paper (or the internet) helps us work things out in our head.

Anonymous said...

Yes Carol, I always eat too many chips while I'm waiting for the meal. I think sometimes that's why I love Mexican food so much. It give's me an excuse to pig out on fried chips. I love 'em. Those, and the beans and rice are my favorite.

Anonymous said...

I think I might have fajita's today.

Carol said...

Thanks Chloe. I don't know exactly what we can learn from these horrible war experiences and the people who need to be doing the serious pondering, aren't. It is such a terrible waste.

Obama won an election by touting his anti-war stance and it is a terrible shame that he's changed his tune. His pod took over.

Carol said...

I hope at least those youngster, who came out of the woodwork, to vote for him are watching and listening but I really doubt it. They have already returned to their Play Stations and beer. Lost interest!

jan said...

Chloe, love that potato peeler video. I am going to try it. We love potato salad in the summer so I plan to use it. Thanks. That is magic.

jan said...

I too believe war is horrible and does not solve anything. It just creates more problems. Of course, as in WWII it was necessary to defend ourselves. Hitler was an evil person and had to be stopped. Did you know yesterday - or was it the day before- was the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. Was that necessary?

jan said...

Interesting, I too journal when I am going through painful experiences. Like both of you, Carol and Chloe, it helps me get through it and hopefully learn from the experience too.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan. I wonder if it will work as easily as the video pictured it working. I 'have to' try it, because I'm so curious.

Anonymous said...

"it helps me get through it and hopefully learn from the experience too."

... it's a good coping mechanism. Once you write it down, it's almost like having a conversation with someone else.

jan said...

Carol, you asked what I cooked that was "tried and true" last night. I had some frozen talapia cutlets and put them in my elec skillet in some olive oil still frozen and seared them good and then steamed them a few minutes. I had some leftover little pasta filled with spinach and cheese that I had cooked with onions, artichoke hearts and diced tomatoes. I threw these in the skillet too with the fish and voila in a few minutes we had a tasty supper. I fix this pretty often. I get the frozen talipia and the spinich and cheese pasta at Costco.

jan said...

Ha! you will not make a "julia Child" out of me. I just want something to eat that is healthy and quick. Then I can get on with doing something I enjoy LOL.

jan said...

I don't know if my potatoes will cook here in 15 minutes at this high altitude. Like you Chloe, I will have to experiment. It is worth a try though.

Carol said...

And Chloe, I want a report as soon as you try it. Hey, how about a video??? Might even qualify for one of those America's Funniest Home Video's. You can always use $10,000 can't you?

jan said...

Our fav little mex restaurant is open only on week days so we have to wait until Monday to get our fix of Mexican - or New Mexican food.

Carol said...

Chloe, you'll like thodr Rada peelers/knives. I've cut quite a few body part with them, once even my lip when I used my sharp knife to gig a small piece of food to sample. Don't try that at home!

Some organizations sell those knives to earn money. I love them all. Those are my favorite knives and cheap. They are sharp and sharpen up well.

Carol said...

I just checked out the Rada website and I paid less buying them from someone who was fund raising than I can buy them online direct. What gives?? And I just bought some news ones a couple of months ago. They really are my favorite knives.

Coreen said...

Today's NYT front page story....Is there a secret recipe for making Thomas' English muffins?...& if there is, a guy who was one of the few with the 'secret' recipe can't work
for a competitor...

and more surprising if you thought that Thomas'
was an english company, guess again apparently
it is owned by a Mexican bakery giant Grupo Bimbo as of 2009...& the controversy surrounds the American division Bimbo USA in CA....

Thomas English Muffin Secrets

Carol said...

"Grupo Bimbo", are you serious??

Carol said...

Camden NJ is closing their three libraries because they don't have the money to keep them open??? I wonder what they are spending their money on. Probably something that IS NOT more important.

Carol said...

Do you think the critcism directed toward Ms. Obama for going on a lavish European vacation, while so many are suffering, is fair?? Especially when she has to take 70 secret service people and 5 airplanes with you...that the taxpayers are paying for.

Just eat it people!

Carol said...

Well, I'm going to get ready to go on my lavish SF, partial day, vacation. We will go to the Diary Barn for a burger and SF will have a fried shrimp dinner with fried onion rings.

I brought SF to Picadilly, a cafeteria here, last week so he could get something healthier to eat. What did he get? Crawfish ettoufee and fried okra and fried squash. I tried. At 81, if he wants to clog an artery....ehh.

Carol said...

And let me share something with you that you can take or leave......there is an unwritten rule in life.....and that is...if you don't ponder your misery.....it never leaves you!

Some may chose to be angry, depressed, etc. That is easy to understand because it is a normal part of the grief process. But you must stop, take a long, close, hard, look at it, study it, see what part you might play in it. May not be any part except in how you deal with it. If this isn't done.....it doesn't ever go away, or if it does, it comes right back, real fast.

jan said...

"Some may chose to be angry, depressed, etc"

Carol, I was just watching a public TV program with a Doc ???who was talking about ADD and anxiety and depression. His recommendation was to use fewer chemical meds and use more natural products like green tea and fish oil. He also said people with A & D tend to have "automatic negative thoughts" and these can be eliminated by using reason. Sounds good but some people with depression definitely need medications.

He did make some good arguments for not letting ones blood sugar get low, regular exercise, and some other stuff. He did not say much about talking to others and journaling. But I would add those.

I was interested in his discussion about ADD. He said there are several different types and some meds work for some and other meds for others.

ADD runs in my family. People with ADD tend to be impulsive, have trouble with relationships and be unreliable, not finish projects. Some of those things fit me well. Of my 3 sons, my oldest is the only one who I believe does not have ADD. I have several grandchildren who have these characteristics.

jan said...

Carol, as to your SF, I would not worry about what he eats. Simply that he eats is a good thing. Again, he needs to not let his blood sugar get low.

jan said...

Grupo Bimbo -LOL sounds like John's spanglish ie. Mucho Goodo.

Carol said...

Did anyone get their Mexican fix today?? I guess you couldn't Jan, have to wait until Monday.

SF and I had our Dairy Barn fix and another one of their cashiers tried to screw us again. This is getting ridiculous. Again, I ordered a small shrimp dinner for SF and the girl checked Large. I'm not sure if it is because they hire the handicapped or if this is the owner's business plan. He has opened two new locations.

I also asked for a small soda and SF wanted a large one. They got the sizes right but then charged me for two large ones. SF's bookkeeper brought him one day and she said something similar happened. I'd give up on the place but SF likes their shrimp dinner.

jan said...

We had leftovers for an early supper and went to a movie. Saw The Other Guys. It was pretty funny. More of a guy movie - lots of younger folks there. When the movie is over, the young crowd are out of their seats and down the aisle fast. When it is an older crowd, people tend to sit in their seats longer and watch the credits. This was a younger crowd. If you don't move, you might get stampeded.

jan said...

Anyone else get their mexican food fix?

jan said...

I want to see the movie, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I have been hearing about it. Anyone else heard about it?

jan said...

Carol, I think it is just that people do not hear well lately. We have this happen all the time - getting an order wrong.

I bet your SF does not even notice.

jan said...

Well, guess I will have a snack. I bought some weight watchers ice cream things. They are little ice cream bars shaped like a popsickle. John calls them tampons

Carol said...

Hope you enjoy your tampons tonight Jan. You didn't think you would need those again, did you?

Just saw this story on the local news about this new therapy in Europe somewhere. They use these little carp, minnow size, to remove dead skin. A lady was sitting with her legs in a large bath filled with these little carp. They were feeding on her dead skin. I bet that tickles.

I have heard of using leeches to remove small hematomas and maggots to debride wounds but using the little carp to remove dead skin is a new one.

Carol said...

That's actually why I don't swim in the river. I can't see what's down below and I'm afraid something may remove something and it may be something I want to keep.