Tchotchkes

2012-01-19T07:02:00.004-05:00

I love writing online content. Recently I did some blog writing for a fabulous client --and by writing copy for him I ended up falling in love with Coach sneakers and beaded clutch handbags.

As soon as I can, I'm going to treat myself for my hard work slaving over the keyboard and find a nice pair of "Coach sneakers" -- they're all nice but I can't decide which style to get although I leaning towards the hightops with the buckles.

Doing research about beaded clutches got me intrigued and interested about the style and then it happened: that first flutter in the tummy area that indicated love or at least infatuation. Now I have even more reasons to rake in some cash as I am a closet fashionista and my closet confirms this title.

You can find my work -- (Tierney O'Hara is my pen name) on Helium at http://www.helium.com/users/417196. I have a large body of my work posted there for anyone to read and a bio that details some of my past work.

2012-01-18T11:43:00.002-05:00

Moo -- I'm currently a cow in two content farms: Helium and Textbroker, but I'm always looking for new jobs.

I actually love writing content, especially blog content because as you can see - I've been blogging for a while and that was back when I didn't get paid to spout my many (often controversial) opinions of life.

I write under a few names: MaryCT or Tierney O'Hara or plain old Mary Bishop but it's all me, my words and my work.

So look for me in one of the content farms or you can become one of my private clients I have outside of Helium or Textbroker-- both exceptional businesses for finding good content quickly and at a reasonable price - but by hiring me directly you also get to interact with me personally, discuss the project and have instant feedback from me as you can contact me through my email: Marybb1@gmail.com.

I love writing, marketing, advertising copy, anecdotal fiction - you name it I've probably done it in my career to date.

So moooooooooooooooo. I'm here if you need me, just trotting around the pasture and chewing my cud. :-)

2011-11-27T12:07:00.003-05:00

Online custom content --

Almost all my writing now is customizing content to suit a client's online presence. I must say I love the challenge of fast turnaround times and hitting the notes, SEO or otherwise, that please my various clients.

I still write for print but not as frequently as I once did. Online writing offers the most opportunities for me and the most varied assignments. Writing on demand gets my creative juices flowing and is often more fun and enjoyable than other work I've done.

Print or digital? I prefer the fast pace and eclectic work I've found writing online content.

Email me at Marybb1@gmail.com if you're looking for a professional who keeps deadlines; creates unique copy and gets the job done right and on time the first time.

2011-10-13T10:49:00.002-04:00

It's been over six years and I still have not had another manicure after this experience I wrote about back in June 2005.

Saturday, June 04, 2005

The Manicure

Yet again I had another problem with using a gift certificate. It’s fine and lovely when someone buys one – but don’t dare try to use it or you get second-class citizen treatment or worse.

I cashed in one free manicure at a nearby nail salon, and got looks as if I’d come in there with a Glock and a ski mask.

The Free Manicure Certificate was examined by a tiny Asian woman who must have had advanced degrees in forensic science. It was read, reread, and both the certificate and I were scrutinized from every angle.

It was not with a happy-face that she “okayed” my manicure by a quick head nod and finger-point to an empty chair.

I knew why this manicurist was available, after about two seconds. She was the salon sadist. Kee was her name but pain was her game.

There was a language barrier as Kee spoke very little English and I don’t know any Korean. This fact didn’t help matters.

First Kee, the diminutive dominatrix that she was, slammed down a box containing items that looked like they’d be more useful in the operating room than a nail salon: Big metal clippers, scalpel-like tweezers, and a metal nail file. When’s the last time anyone ever used a metal nail file? It looked more like a rasp than a nail file and I’m sure it could saw through jail bars like butter.

But these torturous tools were meant for me.

She asked me something – I could tell by her inflection and the OK? at the end of her sentence.

I replied OK. I mean I’m in a nail salon getting this relaxing treat of having my nails done for me...so whatever she was asking couldn’t have been too dangerous…one would think.

Without much ado she was taking these mammoth clippers with their mighty metal jaws and clipping my fingernails lower than they’d ever been or were meant to be. Ten snips and they were guillotined down to the quick, a millimeter away from drawing blood.

(What could she have asked me? I’m going to take your nails down so low you’ll look like a nail-biter, OK?) or (We don’t like honoring gift certificates here, so I’m going to give you the most painful manicure of your life so you won’t forget that, OK?)

After removing any hint of nail beyond the nail-bed, she pulled out the metal nail file and started filing away as if she had a bionic hand that was capable of speeds so high she could manually power an airplane. I swear I saw smoke coming up from my nails and felt heat burning through my fingertips.

I was ready to scream "uncle" when mercifully she stopped – but then Kee pulled out cuticle scissors sharp as razors and started plucking at bits of my cuticle -- then she moved on to bits of flesh near my nail that must have offended her. Snip, grab, pluck, snip, dig, snip...until I was polka-dotted with poppy-seed sized blood spots on each finger.

Once I was through this part I thought I was home free. Phew! I’d made it without crying. Hopefully without any permanent scarring too.

Then the hand massage came and she systematically attempted to dislocate each joint of each finger on each hand -- pulling so hard and for so long, I figured she wouldn’t stop till she had a whole finger ripped off , metacarpally speaking.

I was a yellow-bellied coward. I wanted to tell her military secrets; where the bombs were hidden; when the invasion was coming…anything to make her stop -- but I had no such knowledge... so all I could do was endure until I was back to the point of screaming out loud.

Again…she knew exactly when I could take no more without audibly crying out and causing a ruckus. And the pain stopped again.

After dabbing some alcohol-based solution (probably mixed with ground glass and Kosher salt) on each finger making sure to hit each miniature wound, she said something which again I couldn’t understand, and brought out a nail-polish bottle in a color I’d call stinky pink but I wasn’t going to complain. I nodded and smiled figuring soon I’d be out of there with my throbbing fingers and my stinky pink nails. (What was left of them.)

In approximately one minute she’d applied one base coat, three stinky pink coats and one top coat to my nail stubs.

Wow, I sure looked like something else, but it was over with…I thought.

Then she led me to a drying table where you stick your hands into a slot and air blows over them drying your polish. She stood behind my chair and said something that I ignored as I would never say OK to her again for love or money.

Once my hands were positioned flat in the narrow slot and the air was blowing, she delivered her first blows to my neck. Karate chops from neck to shoulder and back to the neck again. Then kneading hands grabbed me in the same way Steinbeck’s Lenny “hugged” the mice in the barn, and she started squeezing the living bejeezus out of my poor neck and shoulder muscles.

This folks was not fun.

This hurt like a sonofabitch.

This wasn’t a massage, it was a massacre!

I’d thought the nail drying time could be peaceful and relaxing but no – she kept squeezing and pounding until she had thoroughly beat the crap out of my upper back. I felt lucky I could still feel my legs, so I knew she hadn’t broken a vertebra and I’d soon be able to walk out of there.

I was waiting for her to haul off and smack me on my cheek if I made a peep, so I endured. I had already given her a generous tip, (30%) said thank you when I left, but I got the point.

Flush those two other Free Manicure certificates down the toilet, or give them to someone I hate.

So, never, ever, ever, ever use a gift certificate from Crystal Nail Emporium unless you want some of the same.

2011-10-08T12:01:00.002-04:00

(Originally published: Saturday, April 29, 2006) edited for clarity

The Housecoat and the Shoe

Hanging on a hook at the back of Grandma’s bedroom door was a multi-colored “housecoat” that no one ever saw Grandma wear.

It was hideous; a yellow, orange, green, red and purple flowered, short-sleeved snap coat.

Grandma wouldn’t have been caught dead in it…so we wondered why it was always hanging on that hook and why the large front pocket was always bulging with what appeared to be “used” tissues.

In my mind, I figured she must only wear it when she had a bad cold.

Grandma was no fashion maven, but this ugly housecoat always seemed out of place to us. Its position on the bedroom-door hook indicated it was something she wore frequently, but no one had ever seen her wear it – not even when we’d drop off a pineapple pastry and the New York Times newspaper to her, early Sunday morning, so she could do the puzzle -- which she loved to do as quickly as possible, especially while munching her beloved pineapple pastry.

We all knew every inch of that tiny house, every nook and cranny; every drawer and cupboard. We knew what was in the attic crawl space and what could be found in the “sideboard” or the small drawers in her nightstand.

We knew about the shoe in the bathroom too and what was inside the shoe.

If anyone had a field trip or was going to the movies or to the beach or on vacation; if we showed her a good report card or if we helped her paint her porch or rake her leaves, Grandma would tell us: Get the shoe.

The shoe was a reproduction of a Victorian woman’s lace-up boot made out of pottery and painted black. Inside the shoe was a wad of fives and ones and a few tens and twenties…maybe a hundred dollars, maybe less.

She would dip into the shoe and pull out some bills and say: Here, take this and buy yourself some … (popcorn, candy, souvenirs, whatever it was that was wanted at the time ). The bills were rolled and pushed down into the shoe and they stayed rolled until you folded them lengthwise to straighten them out.

Just thinking about that shoe puts a smile on my face.

If she had reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet to hand over some money, I doubt it would have held the excitement for her grandchildren that standing on the toilet, reaching up to the top shelf and hopping off with the shoe accomplished.

We were at Grandma’s house one day and after dipping into the shoe to hand out a “salary” for picking tomatoes and watering the garden, Grandma’s doorbell rang.

It was her neighbor Michele. Born in France and having lived in the states for less than five years, Michele’s accent delighted us as did her numerous mispronunciations and general misuse of the English language. But this day wasn’t one where we could enjoy Michele’s accent as she was crying, sobbing uncontrollably.

We were quiet as Michele attempted to tell Grandma what was wrong between loud hiccups of grief…her beloved younger sister Edvige had been hit by a car while crossing a Paris street, and was on her death bed. Edvige’s fiancé had called Michele to tell her that her sister was “on death’s door,” “hanging on by a thread” with “one foot in the grave.”

(Michele actually said her sister had one foot on death’s door and was hanging on to the grave by a thread, but this time no one had any desire to giggle.)

What was intolerable for Michele to bear was the fact that she couldn’t go to Paris to visit her sister; to see her one more time, or, if the worse happened, could she afford to travel to France to go to her funeral. She was forced to stay in Connecticut while her heart, soul and mind were focused on her dying sister thousands of miles away.

Grandma hugged Michele and spoke in soft, soothing tones. We couldn’t make out what Grandma was saying until her very last words to Michele before she went out the door: Go home and pack right now.

As Michele went out the door, Grandma called to us: Would one of you please get my housecoat hanging on the back of my bedroom door?

Sure. We wondered why she wanted it – but not for long.

She reached into the pocket of the hideous housecoat and pulled out a wad of tissues.

Then she reached in again and this time pulled out a wad of money…bills and more bills but unlike the shoe, these bills had $50 and $100 on them.

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,” Grandma said.

She continued counting. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, two thousand,” Grandma said.

Thousand! We were stunned.

From the pocket of that old housecoat Grandma fished out two thousand dollars in hundred dollar bills. And we could see there were many rolled up bills still inside the pocket before she shoved in the wrinkled up tissues till they spilled over the pocket’s top.

Which is how Michele ended up flying to France to see her dying sister. (Who never did die though she sported a pretty deep scar on her chin for the rest of her life.) Michele used the money from Grandma’s housecoat pocket to buy her ticket.

A few months later, Grandma told us that Edvige’s fiancé had repaid Michele for her traveling expenses as he owned a popular café in the heart of Paris and was quite wealthy. Michele returned the money to Grandma and the housecoat pocket once again bulged with rolled up bills.

When Grandma got cancer and moved into the nursing home, we were left to sell her house and belongings. She told us to be sure to look in the shoe and in that housecoat pocket where we did find money, but less than she had once squirreled away, as she called it.

She must have given money to other people at different times; dipping into the shoe for small treats and into the hideous housecoat’s pocket for big problems.

When we told her about the movers coming to clear out her house she said, “Don’t forget to go into my housecoat pocket and give them a good tip for their troubles. Then keep whatever money you find and for God's sake, throw that damned housecoat out."

Which I did.

2011-10-08T10:24:00.002-04:00

Slab bacon...that's the word.

Lately the bacon I've had is more like little ham strips...no fat to crisp or add grease to the frying pan. I've given up pork now for a long time due to having no access to what pork once was: a flavorful white meat with enough fat on the outside of the chops or roast to keep the pork tender and juicy.

Today you are in the unenviable position of buying "treated" meat like Always Tender (TM) pork or chops that come out stiff as cardboard and with a similar taste.

I am not the only person lamenting the loss of crispy flavorful bacon or tasty pork roast (love love with potatoes and onions browned and beautiful from cooking in the pan) but I know now that pork is just a memory but I did have hope for bacon and good thing.

You can buy slab bacon from the butcher that is marbled and tasty, will crisp up and yield wonderful fat (use with care) to pump up the flavors of other foods.

After eating a few pounds of slab bacon and finding it wonderful I recommend it highly.

I'd rather have one or two slices of real bacon once in a while than pounds of fake bacon any day.

Glad l can still pig out on something I thought was gone for good.

2011-10-07T16:42:00.002-04:00

It's pizza Friday but I'm opting for nice greasy fried fish and chips instead. First of all, how often do you get to call French Fries chips? Bet you never order a burger and chips, not if you're in the US anyhow. And if you do say that, you'll get a burger and some potato chips on the side.

I love calling fries chips just as much as I love calling potato chips crisps..wish we did that all the time, but for now my day is made tasting those words: fish and chips.

Looking for writing work..I'm in a lull right now and I want the lull to go bye bye...lullaby is what I think I hear all day long because when I don't have a project I'm working on -- my mind wanders, I think I'm tired all the time; I do extreme yawning -- so wide I worry I'll dislocate my jaw and I bloviate on any subject to strangers to help bleed the words out of me until I have a paying gig. Or even come her and throw up letters on my blog.

2011-10-05T08:56:00.004-04:00

Fat Cat

As this blog shows, I am not up to date on graphic arts - I can recognize a well laid out blog or even an attractive blog with beautiful borders, headers and twinkling lights, but I just haven't kept up with code and how to create the look of a blog that will scream: I'm so cool. But I love my big fat cat, so why not feature him on this entry even though so far I have no intentions of writing about cats.

I would love a gorgeously sculpted blog but don't want to put the time into learning how to achieve that secondary desire, on the other hand, as a writer I feel I'm top of the heap - lots of experience, love of the written word and an ear for turning words into a written song. I have always loved to write and love to read which is a true gift as I'm never bored (or at a loss for words.)

I do believe the pen is mightier than the sword -- it can cut deeper and more quickly than a well sharpened saber. I think there's amazing power in words -- they can make you laugh or cry alone at night, under the covers with a wobbly book-light clipped to your Kindle or keep you from going stark-raving mad at the Department of Motor Vehicles as you spend your lunch hour, your boss's lunch hour and my lunch hour on a metal folding chair waiting for your number to be announced.

I've been selling custom content to clients for a while now and love the diversity of the work and the quick turnaround...I love deadlines and to me, looking for the perfect word to describe something is a lot like Hucklebuckle Beanstalk only instead seeking a red thimble or a pink eraser, it's a word that's on the lam and the word is stuck somewhere in the crinkles of my brain.

So, contact me (Marybb1@gmail.com)if you need a word lover to create some content for your internet site...of course I also write for print publications but for the most part the ink is drying up on that fading venue for the written word.

2011-10-04T08:40:00.004-04:00

Fashion trends for women that have to go

Bare Legs

Enough with the oiled, legs stuck into heels and no matter the temperature, glistening down the road even if the hands are carrying a snow shovel.

Hair Tchotchkes

Not all of them, a mother of pearl hair comb or a tortoise shell barrette can shine with class, but no more tinsel please. When our heads start to look like Christmas past it's time to dump the trend.

True story: Was shopping in the poultry department of the local supermarket looking for a thanksgiving turkey and almost bought a 22 year old woman instead. She had so many turkey feathers attached to her hair she looked edible. (not true story I lied, but she did need to be plucked for sure)

Platform Spike Heels

Why anyone thinks wearing shoes that look like they were custom made for Frankenstein's monster is cool -- or worse thinking that am-bu-la-ting in these shoes with the same gait as a stilt walker is femine or sexy -- must be really sad we gave up foot binding in the last century.

Glitter Cleavage

If you need glitter to get someone to notice your cleavage you'd be better off spending your money on a good bra rather than sparkles. Crows get distracted by shiny objects but men wonder if after a date with you they'll still sparkle during their morning shave.

Fashion trends for women that must return

Scrunchies

They don't hurt your hair, they aren't hard to use, they should be allowed back into the hair adornment arena and not mocked and scorned.

Crocs

Croc-mocking has reached an all-time high but nothing is as waterproof or lightweight as the Croc -- its wide toe-box keeps hammer toes and bunions at bay and even allows for toe-wiggling which sometimes is as necessary as nose-blowing.

Pantyhose

Why buy expensive underthings like smoothers, slimmies, shapers and other types of industrial strength underwear when a good solid pair of pantyhose can do the trick for a lot less money plus, even yellow-white chicken legs or veined-like-a-road-map legs can look lovely without the sticky glow.

Glad I got that (and the glitter) off my chest!

2011-06-30T08:10:00.001-04:00

The Diaper Debacle

originally published

Friday, January 13, 2006

When Good Things Happen to Good People

It was Wednesday, June 6th, 1945 – exactly one year to the day after D-day. The war had ended and Grandma and Grandpa were expecting their third child.

Life was going to get back to normal soon, but for now, many items that had been easy to get before the war --were still scarce. Gasoline, tires, sugar, butter, meat, tea, and even diapers were often very hard to come by.

Grandpa and Grandma had saved enough money to buy a cute little house on Keaton Street, USA, and it was a happy time in their lives. The war was over and a baby was growing in Grandma’s belly.

Grandpa drove a black 1939 Chevy he named “Maria,” and this day, June 6, 1945, was just a regular day - and he and Mariah were driving to work like they always did.

He considered his ten minute “commute” -- his “thinking time.” And today he was taking stock of his life. Two more days of work till the weekend, all of his bills paid in full, (except the sideboard he had purchased from Nothnagle’s furniture store, the best furniture store in 60 miles.)

Four more payments and he’d own it outright.

He loved his new job as supervisor and was making good money, for the time. But even making “good money,” he still needed more than he brought in, that’s why he moonlighted as a chimney sweep so he could give his children a better life than he had.

“They have their own front and back door,” Grandpa thought as he smiled. For some reason, unbeknown to his children until their later years, this really put a smile on Grandpa's face.

He was excited about the birth of his third child and knew, at his age, this would be the last. Grandma had endured four miscarriages through the years, but this pregnancy had held. Grandma was due in September and they were prepared for their new little one.

He’d painted the downstairs bedroom a sunny shade of yellow, purchased a second-hand crib, and thoroughly cleaned and repaired the old carriage that had sat in the garage since the last baby seven years ago.

Yes, they were all set, except for one thing: He couldn’t find a single diaper to buy in the whole city – never mind a dozen!

He worried about where they’d ever find any diapers and wondered if they could use some soft, flannel fabric instead.

Diapers were on his mind when his thoughts were interrupted by a white paneled van, driving in front of Grandpa, which suddenly took a sharp left turn and when it did, two packages, wrapped in brown paper, fell out of the back doors which had swung open at the turn.

Grandpa laid on his horn, trying to get the attention of the driver but the driver just kept going.

Grandpa drove around the block and came back to where the packages had fallen. Maybe he could find some label or name on the packages so he could return them, he thought.

He pulled over to the side of the road and picked up the packages and placed them in the back seat of the car. There was nothing on the outside of the brown paper that would identify the owner.

When he returned home, after work, he brought the packages in the kitchen; Grandma was excited wondering what was inside. But the minute Grandpa slit open the brown paper and a familiar odor reached her nose, she knew very well what those packages contained.

Diapers!

Dirty diapers.

Dozens and dozens of dirty diapers had fallen out of a diaper service van right in front of Grandpa’s car!

Grandma says they worked all weekend soaking, washing, rinsing and ringing out diapers until the cotton fabric was as soft and as white as it could be.

When Grandma’s clothesline was filled, Grandpa started asking the neighbors if he could use their clotheslines to dry the diapers.

Grandma says it was a sight to see.

Every clothesline on Keaton Street was filled with clean, white rectangles-- flapping in the breeze.

The widow on the corner, the newly weds in the blue house, the creepy Adamchack family, the maiden lady who lived next door, the crabby German guy who seemed ashamed of being German yet wouldn't speak English -- they all had these white flags of hope, fertility, freedom, continuity and brotherly love...flying from high-tech umbrella clotheslines to pegs and twine, from sturdy rope to string as fine as embroidery floss.

Oh yes, every house on Keaton street, those owned by the barren, to those owned by the Bradey’s who had more kids than they could remember their names; they all came together that day, that moment to dry Grandma’s windfall diapers.

Grandma says it was a sight to see.

I see it.

Can you?

2011-03-09T11:29:00.002-05:00

Dieting is not fun.

I have found the answer on how to lose weight, however. It's so simple, easy, takes no time, is free and it consistently works. The secret is this: don't eat. Don't eat breakfast and don't eat lunch. Have nothing for dinner and no snacks. There you go.

Okay I do cheat a bit. I make one good cup of coffee with both sugar and cream and then I continue to drink coffee (minus those add ins) till the pot is empty.

I allow myself unlimited water hahahhahaha and chewing gum.

I must enjoy a cocktail from time to time so I drink a 55 or 64 calorie beer as a big treat. Cherry tomatoes are only a calorie a piece so I have a few of those and there's a 45 calorie cup of soup - garden vegetable soup and let me tell you the"garden" must be as big as a postage stamp for all the vegetables you get in this soup.

Sometimes I crush up a saltine in my soup...wow I'm full. Yum yum!

I eat a boiled egg from time to time and have had 3 mini peanut butter cups in the last 7 days.

The weight is leaving me and I hope to get to my goal weight in about 3 weeks when I can eat what I want for a few days before I get back to keeping myself in check again.

I love food too much to be tempted by eating small portions of healthy foods - nah...a stinking banana is 110 calories or more...fruits and vegetables should have no calories so I don't recommend healthy eating...that type of eating is how I ended up gaining weight.

3 weeks to go and counting!

2011-02-10T17:04:00.000-05:00

How to tell your spouse that he/she is getting on your nerves

Here's advice that works

http://www.helium.com/items/1875302-how-to-tell-your-spouse-that-theyre-getting-on-your-nerves

2011-01-29T08:37:00.002-05:00

Cheap birthday party idea for girls: Project Runway!

I hate the word cheap but sometimes it says something more than "inexpensive." For example, if renting a clown for a birthday party usually costs about 200 dollars an hour, then finding a clown who'll come to your house for 100 dollars an hour is a good bargain, or inexpensive...offering his or her services at a price less than the average.

I mean cheap. So here's a cheap way to have a fun party -- Project Runway for the little models and designers in your life!

2011-01-26T12:51:00.002-05:00

The history of the Murphy bed

You know about his law, but do you really know anything about his bed? Read here to find out how the Murphy bed was invented and why.....!

2011-01-26T07:42:00.003-05:00

I love my dentist.

You can go to his website: http://www.drkozinn.com and email him or call him at (203) 372-6640.

He's located at 961 Huntington Turnpike Bridgeport, CT 06610.

And, as we all know, our doctors or dentists may be fantastic, but half the time the "girl at the desk" makes our lives miserable. Not so with Doctor Kozinn. Each member of the practice is outstanding.

So don't wait, call him up and get your teeth looked at. He is used to scaredy cats and cowards because I have been going to him now for a few years, and I'm the worst patient when it comes to being afraid. I just wish I'd started going to him years ago...

2011-01-24T15:34:00.001-05:00

P U Brew

Maybe Pepe Le Pew would like "skunked" beer, but most beer lovers think it stinks.

"Oh that brand beer always has a skunky taste," says a woman to her boyfriend as she points to the Heineken beer he's selected to buy.

Wrong.... Here's the scoop on skunked beer. Cheers!!

2011-01-24T08:31:00.003-05:00

Red Poop from Birds at the Feeder

Connecticut bird watchers, are your birds leaving red droppings under the bird feeder? Why are my birds pooping red? With all the birds found dead or dying around the globe, I can't but feel worried about my faithful friends who visit my feeder daily. Red poop or purple poop is not strange when birds are eating berries saturated in color, but what about in the dead of winter? I'm concerned.

2011-01-24T08:01:00.002-05:00

Spend the cold winter days making "Faberge" eggs. Once you learn how to make Faberge eggs you can create works of art suitable for gifts or to decorate your home.

"Faberge did them best, but you can make your own and it's not only fun, it's inexpensive. Beautiful, jeweled and decorated eggs - faux Faberge - are not just for Easter, but look gorgeous on a Christmas tree or in a large glass bowl on a dining room table."

2011-01-23T12:56:00.003-05:00

You can market your small business without spending a fortune. Sometimes, little things can do a lot and mean a lot to your prospective customers.

Little things that make your small business stand out

Little things can make big impacts. The small business owner is usually functioning on a shoelace budget: overworked, overbooked and often understaffed. Don’t let the day to day stresses of running your own small business ruin your potential to grow your business. Here are ten ways to make an impact with your customers or community with little impact to your savings account.

2011-01-23T09:33:00.002-05:00

Keep your teeth white without special costly treatments.

You can make your teeth whiter or appear whiter if you try some of the age-old tricks to having white teeth on a budget. Best of all, none of the tips will cause gum sensitivity!

I must say though, one of the reasons I love old movies to see the women with fuller hips and the teeth that are teeth color and not toilet white.

2011-01-22T15:51:00.002-05:00

Get married -- Gain weight!

Who knew that a simple "I do" could lead to a fatter you? Extra extra read all about it!
-------------------

So far today, I've had a Northern Flicker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, a Downy Woodpecker and a Hairy Woodpecker munching on suet with a lovely fat brown wren, species unknown, fighting the woodpeckers for some his share of seed-spiced fat.

We indulge our birds in the finest of seeds and suets and they reward us with the constant pleasure of watching them up close through the dining room window.

More snow is coming on Wednesday so they say -- guess we'll have to fill up the birds' larder when we do our own.

2011-01-21T13:09:00.002-05:00

Snap, crackle pop!

Reasons why you shouldn't crack your knuckles

It won't cause arthritis, but it might lead to divorce: reasons why knuckle cracking should be left behind with your 6th grade math book.

2011-01-19T14:27:00.001-05:00

Tex-Mexican Chihuahua Cuisine?

Research proves early 'Texans' dined on dog

Americans love dogs with a passion. We buy them gourmet food, tailor-made clothing and collars studded with semi-precious jewels. Perhaps our indulgent, over-the-top love for our canine friends stems from the fact that throughout history, we have benefited from the loyalty, bravery and companionship of our “best friend” and, as researchers now believe, our one-time source of food....

http://www.helium.com/items/2069806-prehistoric-humans-ate-dog

Poor little doggies. I wonder if they were served with slaw?

2011-01-05T08:49:00.003-05:00

Enough with the dead birds already. Thousands of dead fish too. It's starting to creep me out.

When I was a kid I had a bird land in my hair and get stuck...must have been a bad kid hair day. I still can feel the utter terror of it all, until he was able to extricate himself from my crowning glory and fly away. But even after we parted company I had a mild case of the shakes and an over production of my lacrimal glands.

Birds give me the willies, but I do adore that at the same time...from afar, behind my dining room window where the feeders hang and my regular winged guests come for a snack.

So, this new report of birds falling from the sky in Sweden has me on edge. I hope this is it now. Avian flu is one thing but avian psychosis is another...

2010-12-27T10:27:00.002-05:00

Brrrrrrrr

Baby it's cold outside! But no worries here, our power is still on and our pantry is filled to the top with goodies.

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas ... of course I am speaking to those people who celebrate Christmas, either religiously or as a fun myth with Santa and reindeers. I say this because I was leaving a party on xmas eve and a woman and her daughter were leaving the party. Knowing she was Jewish, I said something like it was great seeing you again, hope you have a very happy New Year.

She turned to her child and said, "What do we say to our Christian friends?" And the child said, "Merry Christmas."

It was interesting that her assumption was if I was not Jewish then I must be Christian...Wrongo!

I'm Clausian... I like the big guy in the red suit; I love presents and stockings hung by the chimney with care; I love beautiful music no matter what the words are saying...that's the part I like...

2010-12-15T17:21:00.003-05:00

Harrumph to "Killer Tomatoes," throat-peeling peppers are the latest "garden variety" weapons invented -- and they make those tomatoes look like nothing more than runny catsup.

When it comes to vicious vegetables, you can't beat the sadistic, tongue-tearing heat of a Naga Viper. One bite might kill you; two bites and you might spontaneously combust!

2010-12-04T12:44:00.002-05:00

Everything looks so shabby in a snapshot. Why is everything being underlined.. Why do I feel like my own blog is some foreign site? Did I really use the eff word that frequently six years ago?

Did I know how to write a post once without an underline...man this is making me nutso. I got rid of the bold but still have the GD line...as you can see my internet etiquette is no better than before.

Here's Pooch...a rescue dog from Georgia who I didn't need but who does make life interesting. Hey, something has happened and now the line is gone...the bold is gone...hurray! But as you can see I'm not gone although most likely forgotten.

I've been writing for money instead of fun although my recent assignments have been enjoyable I must admit. But for some odd reason, almost like when you visit your old high school or college, or when you have that burning need to drive by your childhood house, or the first house you ever bought..that feeling has come over me in respect to my old blog.

I started it almost 8 years ago but dumped most of my 2003 entries that went like this:

"I am writing on a blog. This is fun. I like my blog. Hello anyone out there?" Had to delete that flotsam and jetsam.

I have wrapping to do. Bought nice gift bags and lots of tissue paper, wrapped gifts in the tissue paper and plunked them into a bag...quick! Then the guilt started. Doesn't matter what present you give if it looks like you didn't give a whit what the present looked like when wrapped...so I must now redo my wrapping philosophy and at least tape the tissue paper around the gifts before I plunk them back into the bag.

That's it folk, words and wisdom like you've never heard before...!

2010-11-16T13:25:00.002-05:00

Because I'm sure you've been losing sleep over it, I did get my FlyLady Rubba Sweeper replacement part and now I'm in business. I like the sweeper, especially as a cleaning brush for the bathroom tiles where it's hard for me to reach.

I really think there are too many Palins and too many Kardashians. I can't get away from those names no matter where I am. Remember the days Pre-Palin and Kardashian? Weren't those lovely times and we didn't even know it at the time.

Another thing, I don't think there's a boy in elementary school who hasn't gotten a diagnosis or is suspected of being ADHD. A long time ago, these were just called boys.

2010-10-30T10:32:00.002-04:00

Gripes update:

Kathy at FlyLady.net is just wonderful. She is sending me a new piece to my FlyLady Rubba Sweeper and offered to do so with grace and charm. I love FlyLady and their wonderful products, which as you can see, they stand behind!

LandsEnd refunded my money to me and I'm happy about that but wish it could have been done without two phone calls and with a bit more friendliness.

2010-10-29T08:08:00.002-04:00

I think this blog is going to turn into picks and pans.

FlyLady I need a replacement Rubba Sweeper!!

For example, I received a nice FlyLady Rubba Sweeper from a relative. I needed to put it together but it was simple as pie, until I came to the piece that did not have drilled holes where it was supposed to and now the sweeper is constantly falling apart. I'll see what FlyLady is willing to do for me, I hope I am sent a new one because the idea of the sweeper (made of rubber thus the name) is good, if it would stay in one piece that is.

LandsEnd, is this the end of our relationship?

Lands End...I've loved them, gotten angry with them, then loved them again.

Our love affair has been going on smoothly now for years except they have recently made me feel hesitant to buy from them again. Story is husband bought me a Lands End Pendleton Blanket for my birthday. With shipping this purchase hovered around $185. A day before I received the blanket in the mail, an email offer came in from Lands End that boasted 30 percent off selected items plus free shipping. I saved the email.

I let a day go by then checked to see if my new blanket was on sale --sure enough, the same blanket that husband had paid so much for was now much cheaper and no $11 shipping fee either (shipping price approx. but it was in double digits).

So I call Lands End and talk to Maria about a rebate -- she says fine of course I would not want to pay all that extra money for the blanket when an email promotion would yield the same product for about $63 less.

I'm told a refund will be issued to my Amex card...I wait and the next bill has no refund so I call again. This time I talk to Rachel who thinks I'm trying to scam her or is at least acting that way on the phone.

I explain the whole story but her response is not what I expect from Lands End. No "Sorry this refund wasn't honored as you were told, I'll take care of that right away." Instead she tells me I should have detailed my request in an email; that this time (big sigh) she would honor the refund but I should know that purchases must be done within 14 days of a promotion and that the promotion was only for certain items...and on she went...finger wagging.

I detest finger wagging.

I was 24 -48 hours from husband's purchase to email promotion. Before I called and talked to Maria I double checked to make sure the exact blanket was part of the promotional sale and it was.

Aha! I thought, I can prove to doubting, finger wagging Rachel I did nothing wrong, just trying to be a reasonable person and not throw $60 away because husband made a phone purchase rather than an email purchase.

Only thing is when I opened up the promotional email to see the list of items that were on sale in September...it opened up to current items on sale, which by the way still showed the Pendelton blanket! So you cannot go back and get the cached sale items so I can't prove to Rachel from my end that I deserved that rebate without rebuff, finger wagging, tongue clicking or tut-tutting.

Now I will buy from LLBean this Christmas as I'm afraid that LandsEnd isn't what it used to be.

And the best part is the blanket is really not worth all the time I've spent on the phone about it, thinking about how I was treated, or now writing about it... a lot of money for a scratchy feeling blanket that doesn't keep me as warm as I want to be, even now in the fall, so I have to use a down throw on top.

That's my grunts and gripes for now.

2010-10-26T14:12:00.003-04:00

No quivering lips, knocking knees or tension headaches for me, not now.

I can easily go to the dentist and get work done without fear or trepidation. Thanks to Ed Kozinn, dentist extraordinaire, I am now able to get my teeth cleaned frequently and have all work done without needing sedation.

I love my dentist and his wonderful staff of caring, kind assistants who make the experience of going to a dentist pleasurable...yes I said the word pleasurable. Thank you Dr. Kozinn again and again for being so gentle, kind, careful, up-to-date, reasonably priced and painfree!

Gotta say it again-- I love my dentist!

2010-08-03T09:35:00.002-04:00

The pen is mightier than the sword.

Online content writing and editing
writing on demand
product reviews
love letters in the sand
ransom notes (kidding)
poison pen letters (also kidding)

My pen's for hire and I'm the "WRITE" woman for the job. Contact Marybb1@Gmail.com

2010-01-25T10:47:00.001-05:00

The following essay was written by Tori London -- I am very impressed by her writing and her thoughts and I want to share it with others. Thanks Tori for remaining a true patriot in this time of befuddlement and inaction.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am a 60s child in the true sense of the word, having gone through high school and college all within that decade. Our motto was turn on and tune out. While my method today has changed the effect is very much the same... Now I turn on my Ipod touch with earbuds and tune out the insanity of the news. My tastes are eclectic ranging from Beethoven to Metallica to Peter Allen to . . .

Well, sadly as I have repeated all too often lately to friends, I am so disgusted with my country of late that I who have always loved being a citizen of it, now often find myself ashamed. Where are the ideals? Where is the caring for our fellow citizens? Where is our sense of real right and wrong?

This morning I was listening to Harry Chapin, who like Tom Lehrer were prescient in so much of what they wrote.

Hello my Country
I once came to tell everyone your story
Your passion was my poetry
And your past my most potent glory
Your promise was my prayer
Your hypocrisy my nightmare
And your problems fill my present
Are we both going somewhere?
----- Harry Chapin "There Only Was One Choice" 1976

The rest of the lyrics can be found at: http://www.lyrics007.com/Harry%20Chapin%20Lyrics/There%20Only%20Was%20One%20Choice%20Lyrics.html

Hearing those lyrics, in fact looking at them in print, and seeing the date when they were written is mind boggling! Have we learned nothing in 34 years??? I guess that answer is obvious. If anything things IMO are so much worse and more dangerous. Back then we didn't have groups wanting to attack us just because of who we are and successfully recruiting volunteers to do just that!

Do you remember a time when we could actually vote for the person running for office and not have to be concerned about the party in power? Not that I feel at this point either party is worth a $3 bill - one may have good intentions for the most part but lack leadership, balls, creativity, stamina, and maybe that little bit of meanness necessary to get their vision accomplished. The other party only wants power, money, and a society where they are the ruling class much like the robber barons with the rest of us playing serfs to their lords of the manor. They have learned how to play the system well . . . and now do with great finesse what they accused the other part of doing with much less effect. There is no Teddy Roosevelt to rise from their ranks to bust trust and try to set things back to what the founders intended - and there is obviously no Franklin Roosevelt who saw the needs and made them happen no matter what anyone thought of him!

What part of the concept of change do they not understand???

The current crop of elected officials, I cannot call them leaders since they are not leading, are more concerned with popularity and whether people want to have a beer with them than with governing. Our President wants bipartisanship, a laudable if impractical goal - doesn't recognize you can't have cooperation if only one side wants it. Why is that such an obscure concept? At what point does one stop turning the other cheek and just hit the bastards in the mouth?

At what point do legislators do what their constituents want rather than what the party bosses tell them? At what point do we have people who have the say in how this country is run take a look at the hand basket we are in and where hand baskets inevitably lead and do something about it? At what point do they stop worrying about their tanning bed appointment, their inamoratas, their own selfish needs, and focus on the job to which they were elected? At what point do they stop looking in everyone else's bedroom and think about the real issues concerning the United States and the world??

Ideas are wonderful if they can be implemented. The people who have vision need to recognize that brick walls are broken with sledge hammers and wrecking balls not with saying please and begging. I'm sorry to say threats work better in politics than carrots. Sometimes you need a blend of both - heavy on the threats with this mob! As a parent I would like to send them all to bed without dinner for the foreseeable future, take away all their toys, and make them stand in corners until they have no choice but to talk to each other in good faith.

Until that time... I'm turning on and tuning out... at least there is still some great music out there with which to tune out!

--
Some people need to own luggage, land, other people, makes them feel secure.
But all that can be taken away - and in the end all you have is your story.
I'm just trying to live a good one.
---The Drover

2009-12-14T10:14:00.002-05:00

I have to give a plug to Dennis and son for the wonderful birthday party they provided for a young relative in their Duckpin Bowling establishment. Devon Duckpin Bowling, 551 Naugatuck Avenue, Milford CT 06460 -- www.devonduckpinbowling.com -- has package birthday parties that offer a sparkly clean place to listen to music, bowl, and play arcade games too. The kids were thrilled with the pizza which is also provided by Dennis and son in their birthday package. The physical building has been around for quite a while but it looks "new" due to the TLC it has received from the new owners. 203-882-1867 is the number to call for any party you want to have with bowling as the main feature. You won't find a better host than Dennis or his son...thanks guys!

2009-12-08T12:58:00.002-05:00

Pen for hire, that's me. Inquire within or at marybb1@gmail.com. I write:
product reviews
book reviews
poison pen letters
love letters
online content
offline content
or anything else you can think of.

2009-12-02T11:32:00.002-05:00

I'm sorry for Tiger Woods and his problems but it sure has been nice to have Mrs. Palin in the background for a while. I do not understand how Palin keeps on keeping on and who on earth can listen to her without gagging. May more sports legends cheat on their wives so that she can continue to run in the background of the news like the malware she is.

Obama worries me; I feel he doesn't represent me now...he's too mainstream for my blood and now more soldiers in the middle east when does it end?

Now by saying I'm not happy with Obama, I in no way mean I would have prefered the old man and his toy or any other republican. I've made a sacred vow I shall not ever vote for a republican again for as long as I shall live.

2009-10-03T08:33:00.003-04:00

Excellence, perfection, our evening last night at The Capital Grille in Stamford, CT was the best dining experience I ever had. It's hard to pinpoint one moment in time where each morsel of food or drop of wine was so superior that you could actually point to this time and place and declare such an encompassing, sweeping statement. It's true though...not even my wonderful Bombay Cafe in Alabama can compare to The Capital Grille.

From the minute we pulled up to the front of the restaurant and 4 gentlemen in red jackets opened our doors helping us out of the car, to the walk out of the restaurant where a bowl of tiny, sour balls wrapped in sparkley multi-colored foil papers gave us a chance to sample one last treat, the evening was one I won't forget.

The champagne we had at our table was comped by the restaurant in honor of two major celebrations we were all celebrating. The table had two cards from the staff wishing us a special day and special it was.

Starting with the plump, pink-tinged shrimp, sitting on a mound of ice with a hot sauce that needed nothing other than a shrimp dipped into it, to the delicate creme brulee, and out-of-the box cheesecake and everything in between, we were heading for a food coma for sure.

The scallops we had as an appetizer (we were sharing..no one could eat as much food as was served) were phenomenal and I don't even love scallops. The mac and cheese, hate to sound so plebeian, but I must say nothing compares to it in it's buttery, cheesy, crispy crumbly goodness, except maybe the outrageous scalloped potatoes. (I brought some home with me to dissect and evaulate in hope of finding out what the chef did to make this dish so amazing.)

The chef, Richard Delgado is a master chef, iron chef and my personal celebrity chef because he was responsible for the incredible edibles we were served. Not only is he a super chef, he is super kind as he stopped by our table to wish us a good evening and allowed me the opportunity to thank him for making the best food I'd ever eaten.

Our personal servers, our captain who I didn't get his name unfortunately, made this evening one I can't say enough about as you can tell. The chopped salad, you must have this delicacy as it was such a cold crisp counterpoint to the warm, cheesy mac and cheese and scalloped potatoes; the asparagus were tender but with a crunch and the bread basket looked more like a art sculpture with soaring pieces of flat bread mixed in with small, crispy rolls.

Maybe you realize it by now, but I haven't even mentioned the filets we all had. They must have been taken from happy cows as I never had beef this good before. No need to order your steaks a step up in the rare to well ladder as you often have to do in steak houses just to get the amount of doneness you want. I said medium and got medium.

Thank you Richard Delgado for such a wonderful meal and thank you to everyone from the valet to the dish removers for your attention to detail and the TLC you gave us last night. If I could I'd be back tonight. One thing is for sure, I will be back!

2009-08-19T13:09:00.002-04:00

What on earth is going on with HPV and Colposcopies? Someone has lost their marbles in my estimation. Every single woman of child bearing age that I know who is sexually active and has had a pap smear gets the dreaded phone call.

Mrs. Brown? I'm sorry but your pap test came back showing cells and lesions I can't rule out from being precancerous, you have to come in and have a small procedure where we take a tissue sample or biopsy. It's no problem for the patient.

If everyone has a problem with their cervix, then no one has a problem. Just like when everyone is sick, no one is sick. So perhaps HPV or displasia that's so everywhere now I don't have a friend or relative that hasn't been told to have this procedure, well just maybe whatever is on the cervix will just go away or hang around and do no harm.

I could just see men having pieces of their penis removed constantly. Men also can harbor HPV but they're allowed to have it in peace.

Rebel, and don't be scared when they say you have precancerous cells. Of the two choices, wouldn't you rather have precancerous cells rather than cancerous cells? And, let's not forget every single one of us is predead too.

Some one needs to find out who is profting from this test and we'll find out why no woman is safe going to her obgyn anymore.

2009-08-14T07:10:00.003-04:00

Should Michael Vick once again be paid millions and millions of dollars and treated as a superstar, after murdering, maiming and making money off of dog fighting? If you've forgotten the sordid details to Vick's disgusting sadistic dog fighting ring, go back and reread how he treated his dogs. I can't bear to type out the details.

If you're repulsed by his actions, then tell the Philadelphia Eagles and their sponsors. If you watch one of their games, wear a t-shirt or put a bumper sticker on your car you are condoning the act of dog fighting, dog mutilation, dog torture and rewarding the true beast in the situation Michael Vick, man born without a heart or a soul.

Shame on the Eagles, one of my favorite teams, and now one I will refuse to watch. If I walk in a bar and the Eagles are on TV I will ask them to change the channel and explain why, if they won't I will walk out. If I walk into a friend's house, same thing. I won't tolerate the flutter of an Eagle wing around me and I'm calling for a complete and total boycott of all things that relate to the Philadelphia Eagles until they come to their senses and realize animal lovers don't forget people who torture animals. They never forget.

Eagles advertisers - let them know how you feel!

2009-08-03T15:18:00.002-04:00

On the subject of health care, did you ever notice that people who have insurance are strongly against reform, but those of us, like me, who don't have health insurance think that maybe there should be some reasonable way to insure all people, even me.

How many times has the president said in reference to health insurance; if you like what you have great -- keep it. Why are people so afraid of me getting some insurance?

Reform is for us poor souls who have zero insurance and every single day of the week we risk major health problems because we can't get help with little problems.

Husband and I have both worked - husband especially...worked his butt off, put himself through school with no parental help. Would be working today if anyone cared about the air quality.

In no way do I not deserve insurance...so please, let's stop being a third world country and live up to our potential here in America. Insure all of us, even me.

Thank you and good night.

2009-07-27T08:42:00.003-04:00

First I must release this statement, in response to recent news articles and ca ca do do journalism that insist Crocs are dead: That's a crock!

I still wear my Crocs; I love my Crocs; I shall not give up my Crocs, and I still am cool, very cool. In fact Crocs are cool, your feet never get hot and sweaty like they do in sneakers. Whoever decided to kneecap Crocs must have a hidden agenda. Crocs are good for what they are; lightweight, inexpensive, waterproof, colorful shoes. Long live Crocs!

Next up: Watermelon.

Watermelon farmers must go back to growing watermelons with shiny black seeds. Enough with these pale pink so called "seedless" watermelons that taste like nothing but water.

And they do have seeds, little flabby white seeds as opposed to the wonderfully spitable black seeds that could fly out of your mouth with ease.

These flabby white seeds stick to your chin or hide between two teeth. Kids still pick them out even though they are disguised to look like the same color as the watermelon is: off white.

Watermelons should have red flesh with a green rind and godddamn black seeds. Then they taste good.

Ok I feel better now.

2009-07-14T16:28:00.002-04:00

omigod! jesus h. christ! I think I might have found religion!!!!!

I realized that every night before I go to bed I say: Dear god would you please keep Sarah Palin and Michael Jackson off the news...I really can't take it anymore.

And...dum dum de dum, dum dum de dum.

Doc and Dejay are officially married and it was a beautiful wedding. I got to meet relatives of the grooms I'd never met and enjoyed everything about the wedding.

I especially loved the flowing champagne ;-)

The reverend Sara did a find job of marrying these two long-time-together men and making them into husbands. I had fun making the favors and doing the floral arrangements too. Most of all it was so nice to see two people I love very much just become normal everyday folks who live and love in the state of Ct without prejudice and with equality. Bravo Connecticut!!!

2009-07-01T08:39:00.001-04:00

Typos and Family Vocabulary

I love typos.

Through the years, as email has become the preferred way to contact people, I've been subject to, and propagated, more typos than I'd ever seen in the pre-email era. There was a pre-email era, right? (And if so it should be spelled premail.)

The quick and casual responses we all give to email usually spawn typos and some of them are unforgettable to me.

Goof Friday. For years now we've had a standing date at Doc and Deejay's house for prime rib on the Friday before Easter. One year as we firmed up our plans for dinner I typed: see you Goof Friday, and that was it -- a new holiday was born.

One of my all time favorite typos is lesbina. Love the sound of that word. Lesbina, as you might have guessed, is a typo for lesbian.

Apparently Doc has a great deal of trouble typing out the word lesbian and half the time it comes out "lesbina" so he started to prefer the word as in: gays and lesbinas are entitled to equal rights.

Lesbian...I don't know...not as euphonic as I'd like a word to be...sounds German.

But lesbina...it's a lovely word. It sounds Italian, sophisticated and better suits my dear lesbina friends. What do you think?

Another wonderful typo was when a friend wrote to me that her daughter had given up beast feeding. Oh I was so happy to hear that. I don't like beasts and don't think it's necessary for us to feed them at all.

Now Goof Friday, beast feeding and lesbina are all part of our family vocabulary and I include friends in the word family.

If you have any typo stories or odd family vocabulary stories I'd like to hear them.

2009-06-24T20:03:00.002-04:00

Another Republican hypocrite bites the dust. Mark Sanford, holier-than-thou gov of South Carolina has a girl friend in South America and instead of being home with his family on Fathers Day he was in Argentina doing the "tango" with his dear friend. Spare me any more talk of this.

While I'm at it, Jon and Kate and the 8 must vacate the news and the sooner the better. Who cares about these money grubbing, lazy, whatcha gonna gimme freeloaders? Even octomom has crawled back into the woodwork...smart enough to get it that people aren't all that enchanted with fake fertility and fake moral values.

And to the emergency vets who wanted to charge 2-4 thousand dollars to treat a cat with a urinary infection...I wish you a hundred rubies, a thousand emeralds and ten thousand diamonds, and...

May they all be in your bladder!

You killed a great cat rather than treat him for a treatable disease. Oh yes, and no matter how pretty your office is, how special you look in your "scrubs", you are superfluous in a society that can't give health care to people...keep that in mind.

(This is not my cat but I loved him a lot.) RIP Max.

2009-06-08T19:52:00.002-04:00

Hello.

Cripes, I've been blogging for a while now...check out the left side of this column. I can be one of two things: proud of my tenacity or embarrassed at how much time I've wasted. (Thanks Lauren!)

David Carradine's death is sad for me. I used to be nuts about the guy. And, best of all I have no idea why. He was my first irrational crush and then came James Spader and now the ultimate crush: Johnny Depp.

Above is the sum total of all my crushes to date.

I smell gray sole. I smell it because I just cooked it. Not sure if it's wafting up the stairs from the kitchen or the smell is on me...how to tell?

Anyhow, just wanted to say hi to the people who stop by. You stop here because you're looking for the phone number for Bumble Bee tuna or because of cat puking or because of erectile dysfunction ads or because um I don't know..I seem to get a lot of friends stopping by for a Lemon Drop Martini recipe -- cheers to those people...

maybe I should post the Prohibition Punch recipe that friend Joe made me recently...wildly good....I don't have the measurements with me, but if you're interested I'll look them up. Basically it's passion fruit juice, fresh squeezed lemon juice, Appleton Rum, hmmmmm, hmmmm, well I googled it and here it is the authentic recipe from the Campbell Apartment

Campbell Aparment is a beautiful bar in Grand Central that was formerly the private apartment of John W. Campbell. Beautifully restored, Campbell Apartment has an authentic feeling of "Old New York" and is a great place to have a cocktail and take in the ambiance. Prohibition Punch is Campbell Apartment's most popular cocktail, and it harkens back to the style of drinks served during Prohibition to mask the taste of alcohol for an audience used to drinking wine and beer.*

* from About.com by Heather Cross.

Ingredients:

1 ounce Appelton Estate Rum V/X
1/2 ounce Grand Marnier
2 ounces passion fruit juice
Splash of cranberry juice
Splash of fresh lemon juice
1 ounce Moet et Chandon Champagne

Preparation:

Combine the rum, Grand Marnier, and fruit juices with ice in a brandy snifter, and stir gently.
Top with Champagne.

Reprinted with permission from Cocktails in New York by Anthony Giglio.
---------

Very very very good...we didn't use Moet but I don't think that mattered....

Ok, I'm going downstairs to eat Rolos. ttfn

pee ess, have one glass of Prohibition Punch before you die!

2009-05-04T08:22:00.003-04:00

I'm happy to report that Doc and DeeJay are a few weeks away from legal and lawful MARRIAGE in my fine state of Connecticut! I'm so excited to see these two loving men united in marriage (in a church by the way) after 29 years of being together. What a wait they had!

I've got my dress and I'm ready to sip champagne at my best friends' wedding...I didn't think I'd see this in my lifetime. They had doubts too. I've never been more proud of my state and the thinking people who inhabit it.

So chef-husband makes a delicious chicken and potato recipe in our big black cast iron pot. It smells like heaven and the chef doesn't like to be questioned about ingredients but I see teeny tiny red potatoes, I see some bacon out on the counter; I see hot cherry peppers and fresh rosemary. I see a bottle of wine, but that might be just for the chef. I hear sizzling in the pot and the aromas in the kitchen are amazing. I hear growling coming from my stomach and cannot wait to eat, but wait I must as the chef browns and crisps ingredients then lets it simmer in its juices.

Finally it's time to eat and eat I do with gusto and abandon. Delicious beyond words. The bacon was rolled into tubes and fried to crisp flavorful surprises amongst the chicken and vegetables. Yummy beyond words.

Then the chef timidly says: You removed the toothpicks, right?

What toothpicks I ask?

The ones I used to keep the bacon rolled.

Huh?

Ah yes, the chef had broken the toothpicks off at the edge of the bacon roll so it would brown evenly. The toothpicks were not high quality, in fact they were so thin they must have disappeared inside the bacon roll. I found one toothpick on my plate...the rest I ate.

Cellulose, yummy!

I could have been put off by the ingesting of toothpicks, but I remembered the last Kraft (I think it was Kraft) grated cheese I bought had cellulose as an ingredient so no problem for me that I ate the toothpicks.

Time for more coffee! ttfn

2009-04-11T09:13:00.002-04:00

April 11th.

The date that causes my skin to crawl and my heart to beat madly.

The one day of the year I fear the most is only 24 hours away. Today I will worry and wonder what tomorrow will bring. Oh the bunny will stop by for sure, but it's not the bunny that causes my blood to run cold.

It's the ants.

For some reason, they like to come on April 12th -- an annual trek into my kitchen. They come up from behind the back splash and under the dishwasher and congregate to the right of my kitchen sink. They hide under the cutting board and make mad dashes back to their entry points if they see or hear me coming.

Then when it's quiet, out they come again, searching for food where none can be found.

Seriously, I do have areas that could tempt an ant. I have a bread box, the occasional cat food dish or dog food dish that's left a second too long on the floor, sending off food fumes into the atmosphere. My ants eschew these areas.

There is nothing to the right of the sink that should entice them. Still, year after year, no matter how much ant repellent is sprayed or how many ant buttons are secreted under the sink, they return like lemmings to the right of my sink causing me much distress and anguish.

Since I'm hosting a spring party tomorrow, I can imagine trying to make food while the little buggers are popping up on my counter top as if by magic. And would the wonderful smells from my kitchen be impacted by the toxic fumes of RAID? I would think so.

Of course, the devious, dancing ants are not always 100 percent accurate on their arrival date. Once or twice, they've come a day earlier or later. I'm hoping for an ETA of Monday when guests will be home in their ant-free kitchens and I can keep my dirty little secret all to myself.

Oh yes, there's another element of fear to inject into my party. My stove. I hate my stove and have since the day I got it. It works fine, that's not the problem. It's the taupe colored grates on my GE dual fuel range that are uncleanable, making the grates look as if I'd never attempted to clean them in my life. It wasn't until after the stove was set up and I'd taken possession of it that I read the paragraph in the booklet that said: no matter what you do, your grates are going to look ugly very soon. That's not verbatim, but close.

Okay, so I cook on the dirty looking stove, what's the problem? The problem is my stove has been "recalled" and I've been told I really shouldn't use the oven. Ha ha ha, GE is just a riot. The day before guests are arriving ready for a hot meal I'm supposed to serve them take out or throw a BYOF party...as in bring your own food.

Apparently these dual fuel stoves are catching on fire.

Hey shit happens, I'll take the risk of the fire, but god no ants please!

2009-03-25T15:18:00.002-04:00

Facing off with Facebook

Thank you to all who've invited me to join, and I might still join one day, but right now I see Facebook as yet another huge time waster and I already have my quota.

Plus, I have witnessed with my own eyes, people who within their list of "friends" are sporting the names of their enemies. How does this happen you ask? Well, Sue friends Joan, who friends all Sue's friends including Tanya who hates Joan. Just like that.

And, I hope I'm not breaking any hearts here, but no, you do not have 521 friends...even if that's the tally of your Facebook friend list. You still just have a handful of friends, like it or not.

Another reason Facebook bugs me is this: I really don't care if Sue is brushing her teeth then heading out the door or Joan's mood is elated or Tanya got up at 3 am to let her cat out. Silly.

Facebook, although "in" but fast fading, tops Blogs as the cool way to communicate...but what are you communicating? I'd like to think people put a bit of thought into the written word, even if they're only allowed a small amount of characters it doesn't mean one has to be small in their writing.

Consider the following poem:

You Fit Into Me
Margaret Atwood

you fit into me
like a hook into an eye

a fish hook
an open eye

----------------------

Not a lot of characters but a ton of character in that poem.

Right now that crystalizes my position on Facebook. Ouch!

I am not now, nor have I ever been on Facebook. Call me a Luddite if you must, but I must get back to Fish Tycoon right now and stop wasting my time. :-)

2009-03-10T15:48:00.002-04:00

I was pretty shocked to find out that we had a visit at 5 AM from Bob this morning. Apparently he was hungry and decided that we had the best leftovers on the block, so he chose us to visit at that hour.

I never got to see him myself, but my husband described him with enough detail that I knew instantly who he was.

A beautiful adult bobcat sauntered into our yard, into our garbage can and then left dragging a bag of garbage, good garbage: turkey innards, leftover mashed potatoes and stuffing, egg shells and stale bread plus, unfortunately for Bob, some coffee grounds, behind him.

While he was in the yard, so was Tripper our older cat and Finbar the big fat baby cat who is a total scaredy cat too. Finbar was actually following this grown bobcat out of the yard, but turned back when the bobcat left our yard.

Tripper had the good sense to head for the porch and the open door immediately as Bob was about 4 times his size. Finbar at 17 pounds wasn't as intimidated by Bob's size but prefers his Fancy Feast for breakfast and wouldn't think of eating anything from the garbage, so he reluctantly left his new best friend.

So Fairfield County, don't be surprised to find a huge cat in your yard one morning...I did in mine. You'll know Bob by his large head, tufted ears and bobbed tail. Don't be afraid of him, bobcats are gentle shy creatures. He'll run away once he sees you.

2009-02-07T12:01:00.002-05:00

I'd rather have a great burger than a fair steak any day. Some days I'd rather have a good burger than a good steak. Other days I just want a burger over any steak, even an excellent one.

Yesterday, I had the joy of eating an Angus Burger at Metric on 39 Cannon Street in Bridgeport.

It was my dream burger: meat that tasted like heaven, mushrooms caramelized with onions and mixed in with melting cheese, wonderfully smoked bacon and a fresh roll from the city.

Huge as it was, I managed to eat the whole thing and woke up this morning thinking it was time to have another.

I can never figure out how the same ingredients can be ho hum at one restaurant and magnificent at another. I have to give credit to Chef Pierre - he sure has a way of elevating even a simple hamburger to a state of perfection.

If you are in striking distance to the Metric, go have an Angus Burger and experience what a really fantastic burger tastes like!

2009-02-02T15:41:00.003-05:00

Fasta Pasta

You've seen it hawked on TV. A rectangular plastic box that comes with a top complete with vents to drain the pasta after cooking. This is the second " sold on TV" item that I've grown to love. The first is the Slanket...a blanket with sleeves - we all got one this Christmas and we all look like fools in them but boy are we warm and cozy.

The Fasta Pasta also gets an A plus. It works so easily - just remember to keep the top off until after the pasta is cooked. Easy peasy clean up --no long wait for the pot to boil...lightweight and quick - I love it and I'm going to experiment with veggies during garden time. Energy saving and minimal clean up makes this funky item fun and practical. Well fun is a stretch. That's probably an exaggeration.

TTFN

2009-01-20T13:05:00.002-05:00

Good-bye Bush.

I didn't think I'd live long enough to see you get the hell out of the White House. I'm totally thrilled I made it. These last eight years have been demoralizing, shameful, criminal, disgusting and lamentable.

But your ignorance, fears, and stupidity are gone now and there's finally some hope that people with brains, hearts and compassion will help raise up our county from the ashes you left us in to a better place...a better place for Americans and a better place for everyone on the planet.

Speaking of the planet, there's now hope for that too. I just hope we are in time to repair the damages done to our now very small world that will heal it and all of its people.

I feel like a hundred pounds of bricks have been lifted from my shoulders and today I feel like if I tried hard enough -- I could fly.

2009-01-08T08:20:00.002-05:00

Hormel "Always Tender" products...just what is it they do to the meat to "enhance tenderness"?

That's what I want to know.

Between Butterball turkeys, also enhanced, and now my recent introduction to cooking a Hormel pork roast that was altered in some nebulous fashion, I wonder why companies decide to muck around with food in such a way, and if they are so damn proud of their enhancements ( hmmm I really want to know the ingredients in the enhancement and don't care if it's a patented enhancement) why is it that I didn't even KNOW the pork had been previously attended to by enhancement experts. Answer: the type is so tiny in the Big Y ad, that you need a magnifying glass to go through the weekly circular to locate these special enhanced products.

Me? I like my pork and my turkeys to be unenhanced. I'll do all the enhancing thank you very much. One good thing about me doing the enhancing...I know what I'm putting on my turkey or pork -- with the Hormel line of Always Tender products, I have NO idea what they've done.

My mind reels with possibilities...hydrochloric acid maybe? formaldehyde? rubbed with hyena lungs?, soaked in fabric softener? egret urine? See why I don't want a secret enhancement to my meat???

Hormel should know that I don't want to eat anything that is touted as Always Tender...there's something other worldish about such a claim; reminds me of nuclear waste and half lives and stuff that shouldn't come into my mind when I'm prepraring a center cut pork roast someone else has also prepared making my herbs and spices and rubs and brines "pre"preparing which is too too much attention for one little -- but expensive -- piece of meat.

What happened to the Whole foods people, the greenies, the folks who demand natural products - is Hormel and Butterball giving them the bird?

I've never had a tough pork roast that I've made because I know how to cook them...covered in foil, long and slow, basted with wine, cooked with halves of big yellow onions, then uncovered to crisp the fat that once graced the top of the roasts of yore. Delicious I tell you.

I'd have to pour off a cup of fat before I could add in a roux and some nice starchy potato water to create a cordovan colored gravy to dribble over the beautiful, tender but TASTY white meat of a slow roasted yummy pork loin.

My Always Tender pork roast was soft but so is wallpaper paste. Taste apparently has been removed in favor of creating a quick cook cut of meat that doesn't even tickle the palate with flavor. A flop, in my estimation.

I guess I will avoid Hormel products in the future when once I thought of Hormel as a top name brand.

The only thing that should be always tender is our hearts.

2008-12-22T09:30:00.002-05:00

Let's see. I'm decking the halls, dreaming of a white Christmas, dashing through the snow, wishing all a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanuka -- but today I'm doing the mundane chores of cleaning up the house for the holiday.

The bottom third of the Christmas tree is naked. No ornaments are allowed under strict order from Finbar who's used all his extra toes to remove every single one I've put on. Then he carries the non bulb ornaments into our bed so I'm sleeping with elves and snowmen lately.

Yesterday we made codfish cakes. They don't sound good but the recipe we use is amazing and dear husband does all the hard work of making them while I am the official fryer. They are delicious with lots of garlic and creamy mashed potatoes and safely frozen (so we can't cheat and eat one) and will be consumed Christmas Eve as is our tradition.

Love to all and hope your holiday is a great one!

2008-12-05T12:09:00.002-05:00

Looking for Barbie from Brueggers? I found her!

Barbie the former manager of the Shelton Brueggers is now owner of Crossroads Cafe, located at 12 Main Street, Derby next to the train station!

Her new place is cozy and welcoming and you'll recognize big John and Terry too. If you're real lucky you will also see Natasha, Barbie's new baby girl.

Crossroads Cafe offers a breakfast and lunch menu with super low prices for high quality food. If you want the famous chicken salad sandwich, you'd better get there early as it was sold out when I arrived yesterday.

And don't forget to buy one of the super-sized cupcakes sold at Crossroads. I took mine home and had it last night...absolutely delicious.

Best wishes to Barbie on her new enterprise and I'll be back soon for more of your great sandwiches and desserts!

2008-12-04T09:09:00.004-05:00

A cat, a man and catnip.

Finbar looks like a complete horse's ass lounging with his father on the couch after eating some catnip and resting on his favorite blue blanket.

It takes a good dose of catnip to get him this mellow. Normally he'd be either hiding in some little out-of-the-way nook or cranny as he's basically antisocial, or running wildly around the house as if the big bad wolf is chasing him.

A few licks of some delcious catnip and he's chilled. Nothing like cat pot to make you loveable....and hungry too.

After these pictures were taken he got the munchies.

2008-11-26T14:40:00.002-05:00

May your turkey be tender
and your cider hard.

May your potatoes be mashed
with butter not lard.

May your table be bountiful
and your spirits high.

May you have fresh whipped cream
on your pumpkin pie!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

2008-11-10T13:43:00.003-05:00

Flossing and I have had a long history of mishaps. Once I pulled down too hard on the floss and sliced open my gum. I'm sure that's not proper flossing technique so I actually watched a video on youtube to see how most people flossed. I realized they didn't use the extreme force I did and they did not maniacally saw at their teeth as was my style -- so I've changed my way and am much more gentle.

Still, gentle or not, I managed to mangle a tooth that was tenuous at best after being filled and drilled numerous times since I was a child. A combination of teeth grinding ( you don't want to know the annoying things that have gotten me grinding my teeth at night again) and my simple desire to keep my teeth debris-free ended up with a large hunk of tooth plus filling sliding down my throat. I ate it. How lovely.

But, my wonderful dentist Dr Kozinn immediately came to my rescue and now I'm sporting a lovely temporary cap which fits just like a real tooth! Thank you Dr. K for your expertise with the needle and your quick and gentle ways.

There was a time prior to Dr. Kozinn that I would ruminate and worry for years before I would call for help from a dentist. Now I'm just about 99 percent phobia-free and that's because my dentist is the best! If you suffer from dental phobia don't give up looking for dentist who cares. They are out there and it was my lucky day when I found Dr. K.

Speaking of lucky days, I am finding myself without a dinner date tonight, and am so happy Doc and DJ have taken pity on me and are coming to keep me company. I don't mind eating alone, but I hate drinking alone and a bottle of wine is meant to be shared.

Cheers!

2008-11-05T09:50:00.002-05:00

America has spoken and hope has won over fear. Thank you America, thank you so very much.

2008-11-04T07:21:00.002-05:00

Going on record:

I was in line to vote at 5:30 AM this morning. By the time I left, a line snaked around the polling place. I can't imagine how everyone who wants to vote is going to be able to vote. People behind me were talking about having to leave to get to work and coming back later. I assume that later the line will extend to the next town at the rate it was growing.

The scanner system sucks and there is no privacy of the vote anymore.

I could see other people's ballots and who they voted for -- Obama! which made me happy, but I wasn't happy that both my ballot and my husband's were rejected by the scanner at least 2 times. We had even left the polling place when someone hollered to us in the parking lot that our ballot and popped out again. This is nuts. People were crowded around the scanner trying to get their ballot in the slot while our ballots were being handled and rehandled.

Back in we went and some stranger said he'd put it in again for us...great.

I don't get the feeling I voted and I don't like that feeling.

There is a counter somewhere on the scanner and I didn't realize that so I suggest you watch carefully to see the counter advance after you submit your ballot.

Let's find a better, safer, tamper-proof and PRIVATE way to vote for the next election.

These scanners suck. I should be thrilled now having cast a historic vote for the first black candidate for president. Instead I am not sure my vote counted.

Bring back the old and private machines -- anythings better than these scanners!!

2008-11-02T09:04:00.000-05:00

What an insipid campaign the Repubs put together this year. You could sum it up with the following:

maverick
my friends
winking
blowing kisses
nose wrinkling
Joe the Plumber though his name isn't Joe and he isn't a licensed plumber but he is McCain's hero according to McCain.
150 thousand dollar makeover for the Palins
lipstick on a pig
pitbulls with lipstick
red patent leather pumps
dropping the puck which turned out to be bad bad luck
future son in law chewing on gum in his very costly clothing
daughter covered in a huge blanket to hide a growing unwed belly
Palin's inability to speak without a script
"New Q ler" back in vogue
watching a 7 year old wrestle with a 6 month old special needs infant while mama campaigns
Palin praying with her witchcraft believing pastor
Smiling Todd, cute but vacuous
Palin refusing to answer questions in the debate, refusing to release her health records and lying almost every time she opened her mouth: bridge to nowhere; sold plane on ebay; fired the chef; etc. etc.
Cindy wearing Crayola colors from the box of eight, so someone would notice her.
air quotes, lots of them, from McCain
Putin rearing his head over Alaska
a photo of Palin and daughter by a bloody caribou corpse
Palin walking around on a stage in a bathing suit
McCain walking around a town hall meeting as if he'd forgotten to take his medication

All of the above pointing to a party that has permanently eschewed intelligence and class, poise and sophistication, education and understanding, moderation and most of all thinking.

A repugnant Republican campaign.

Ick

2008-10-27T22:24:00.003-04:00

I've ranted and I've raved, I've tried so hard to write what's deep within my heart but I've never quite captured the core of my feelings. Then I read this -- the best article I've found that says what I wish I could have said. Bravo Mr. Hitchins! Brilliantly done!

(If you don't have lots of time, scroll down to the last paragraph and read it. Fantastic!)

Sarah Palin's War on Science
The GOP ticket's appalling contempt for knowledge and learning.
By Christopher Hitchens Posted Monday, Oct. 27, 2008, at 11:43 AM ET

In an election that has been fought on an astoundingly low cultural and intellectual level, with both candidates pretending that tax cuts can go like peaches and cream with the staggering new levels of federal deficit, and paltry charges being traded in petty ways, and with Joe the Plumber becoming the emblematic stupidity of the campaign, it didn't seem possible that things could go any lower or get any dumber. But they did last Friday, when, at a speech in Pittsburgh, Gov. Sarah Palin denounced wasteful expenditure on fruit-fly research, adding for good xenophobic and anti-elitist measure that some of this research took place "in Paris, France" and winding up with a folksy "I kid you not."

It was in 1933 that Thomas Hunt Morgan won a Nobel Prize for showing that genes are passed on by way of chromosomes. The experimental creature that he employed in the making of this great discovery was the Drosophila melanogaster, or fruit fly. Scientists of various sorts continue to find it a very useful resource, since it can be easily and plentifully "cultured" in a laboratory, has a very short generation time, and displays a great variety of mutation. This makes it useful in studying disease, and since Gov. Palin was in Pittsburgh to talk about her signature "issue" of disability and special needs, she might even have had some researcher tell her that there is a Drosophila-based center for research into autism at the University of North Carolina. The fruit fly can also be a menace to American agriculture, so any financing of research into its habits and mutations is money well-spent. It's especially ridiculous and unfortunate that the governor chose to make such a fool of herself in Pittsburgh, a great city that remade itself after the decline of coal and steel into a center of high-tech medical research.

In this case, it could be argued, Palin was not just being a fool in her own right but was following a demagogic lead set by the man who appointed her as his running mate. Sen. John McCain has made repeated use of an anti-waste and anti-pork ad (several times repeated and elaborated in his increasingly witless speeches) in which the expenditure of $3 million to study the DNA of grizzly bears in Montana was derided as "unbelievable." As an excellent article in the Feb. 8, 2008, Scientific American pointed out, there is no way to enforce the Endangered Species Act without getting some sort of estimate of numbers, and the best way of tracking and tracing the elusive grizzly is by setting up barbed-wire hair-snagging stations that painlessly take samples from the bears as they lumber by and then running the DNA samples through a laboratory. The cost is almost trivial compared with the importance of understanding this species, and I dare say the project will yield results in the measurement of other animal populations as well, but all McCain could do was be flippant and say that he wondered whether it was a "paternity" or "criminal" issue that the Fish and Wildlife Service was investigating. (Perhaps those really are the only things that he associates in his mind with DNA.)

With Palin, however, the contempt for science may be something a little more sinister than the bluff, empty-headed plain-man's philistinism of McCain. We never get a chance to ask her in detail about these things, but she is known to favor the teaching of creationism in schools (smuggling this crazy idea through customs in the innocent disguise of "teaching the argument," as if there was an argument), and so it is at least probable that she believes all creatures from humans to fruit flies were created just as they are now. This would make DNA or any other kind of research pointless, whether conducted in Paris or not. Projects such as sequencing the DNA of the flu virus, the better to inoculate against it, would not need to be funded. We could all expire happily in the name of God. Gov. Palin also says that she doesn't think humans are responsible for global warming; again, one would like to ask her whether, like some of her co-religionists, she is a "premillenial dispensationalist"—in other words, someone who believes that there is no point in protecting and preserving the natural world, since the end of days will soon be upon us.

Videos taken in the Assembly of God church in Wasilla, Alaska, which she used to attend, show her nodding as a preacher says that Alaska will be "one of the refuge states in the Last Days." For the uninitiated, this is a reference to a crackpot belief, widely held among those who brood on the "End Times," that some parts of the world will end at different times from others, and Alaska will be a big draw as the heavens darken on account of its wide open spaces. An article by Laurie Goodstein in the New York Times gives further gruesome details of the extreme Pentecostalism with which Palin has been associated in the past (perhaps moderating herself, at least in public, as a political career became more attractive). High points, also available on YouTube, show her being "anointed" by an African bishop who claims to cast out witches. The term used in the trade for this hysterical superstitious nonsense is "spiritual warfare," in which true Christian soldiers are trained to fight demons. Palin has spoken at "spiritual warfare" events as recently as June. And only last week the chiller from Wasilla spoke of "prayer warriors" in a radio interview with James Dobson of Focus on the Family, who said that he and his lovely wife, Shirley, had convened a prayer meeting to beseech that "God's perfect will be done on Nov. 4."

This is what the Republican Party has done to us this year: It has placed within reach of the Oval Office a woman who is a religious fanatic and a proud, boastful ignoramus. Those who despise science and learning are not anti-elitist. They are morally and intellectually slothful people who are secretly envious of the educated and the cultured. And those who prate of spiritual warfare and demons are not just "people of faith" but theocratic bullies. On Nov. 4, anyone who cares for the Constitution has a clear duty to repudiate this wickedness and stupidity.

2008-10-27T10:48:00.002-04:00

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson used these words in the the Declaration of Independence as a rebuttal to the customary political theory of the day: the Divine Right of Kings.

In Wiki words: The Divine Right of Kings is a general term that refers to the philosophy and ideas used to justify the authority and legitimacy of monarchs in medieval and early modern Europe. The doctrine broadly holds that a monarch derives his or her right to rule from the will of God, and not from any temporal authority, including the will of his subjects, the aristocracy, or any other estate of the realm. Chosen by God, a monarch is accountable only to Him, and need answer only before God for his actions. The doctrine implies that the deposition of the king or the restriction of the prerogative power of the crown runs contrary to the will of God.

232 years later it kind of reminds you of the Republican base, evoking god at every turn and claiming god wants them to rule; deciding who's American and who isn't; who's a patriot and who isn't; who should have civil rights and who shouldn't; who should bear babies which translates to any female of any age who has a fertilized egg, whether that female is ten years old or raped by her uncle -- whether that female has serious health issues or not, she must carry that egg to fruition unless her death is immanent. And then only one breath before her last, the government will say ok, save her life if you can.

God talked to Bush and now talks to Palin according to those two pious pontificators. I ask: Just who is this god?

Funny --not the god I know. The god that talks to me says all human beings have the above rights set forth by the constitution and that includes gays and lesbians and women who choose control over their own bodies and people of color, and low income people and people who have no particular religion. The god I know believes that you don't stick your nose into your neighbor's bedroom or womb for that matter -- that one should love thy neighbor like thyself.

While the Republicans rock the cradle of the "pre-borns" they abandon the real, living children who are brought to this earth. They don't support "welfare" as they call it and I suppose think these infants should just get a job and pull themselves up by their booties. Health care for post borns? Nah, they don't need it. The death penalty for post borns? Yup, they're for it big time.

I always laugh when I hear Palin speak of being pro life when she hunts for sport, supports the death penalty and doesn't care much at all about the life of even a child who is raped and becomes pregnant. There's something to be said about quality of life. A forced pregnancy on a young girl would certainly affect her for the duration of her life, raped once by a male, raped twice by the government. Disgusting.

The Republican party no longer shares any of my values and specifically my family values.

They want to rule like the kings. Their way or the highway. The rich must get richer, you hear me?

And look how well it's worked for the economy. The poor slobs keep waiting for their "trickle" of cash from the last century's idea of sound economics: the foolish trickle down theory. Give all the money to the rich and they'll throw you some crumbs.

Only that theory doesn't work anymore. The rich just buy another house or another car; they hide their money off shore or in tricky schemes where they don't have to pay their fair share of taxes; they keep getting richer and richer and they covet every penny they can get their greedy hands on. Wall Street is a fine example of how the tricky, trickle down theory works.

We, the middle class soon to be plain old poor, shoulder the lion's share of the taxes, tin cup in hand, waiting for a Republican prince or princess to throw a few coins in our cup so we can feed our kids -- our 9 kids if they had their way.

Is the Republican anti-choice, forced childbirth their new plan on how to expand their ever dwindling ranks? If so they should remember families need a few pennies so we can feed our brood and clothe them and educate them and keep them healthy.

It is so overdue, so so imperative we have a change in philosophy and leadership in our beloved country and go back and remember what Jefferson wrote.

Oh...excuse me, god is whispering in my ear. What god? Okay I'll tell them.

God said to vote for Democrats that Republicans had 8 long years and it's pretty obvious what they did to the country. God also said that s/he's thinking about taking away free will and plans to eliminate it if we don't cherish it and exercise it!

2008-10-26T10:42:00.003-04:00

Sarah Palin is not a role model!

John McCain said it again on a TV interview and it makes me want to throw something at the TV.

***I repeat, she's not a role model Mr. McCain. Who the hell would want to be like her?

Mr. McCain, did you mean plain old model as in a living dress form upon which you drape $150,000 worth of textiles? $30,000 worth of make-up and hair do's?

As far as I can see there's nothing about her anyone would want to emulate: her bigotry? or vapidity? or duplicity? I don't think so.

Or how about all those "un's" she is expert at like: unconversant, uncultivated, uncultured, uneducated, unenlightened, uninformed, uninitiated, uncouth, unintellectual, unknowledgeable, unlearned, unlettered, unmindful, unread, unschooled, untaught, untrained, and unimaginable as either Vice President or President of the United States.****

You'd think by now, McCain would realize the American people by a majority have rejected Palin as able to hold the political office of Vice President.

But the type of infatuation McCain feels for Palin does not lend itself to reason. When he speaks of her, his pulse rate goes up, his insides flutter and he dreams of red patent leather pumps.

McCain's advisors have tried hard with Palin but you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

McCain made an egregious error in selecting his type of woman rather than a dignified, intelligent, well-spoken, qualified person to take his place if he couldn't fulfill the duties of the President. At his age with his previous cancers, you'd think he might have thrown the American public a bone and selected someone with credentials other than the cuteness factor.

The Palin pick was a total Puck YOU to America; it was John McCain's desire to get "his biscuit in the basket" and nothing more.

2008-10-22T10:24:00.003-04:00

What's wrong with this picture? Ha ha ha ha ha

Photo by Max Whittaker/Getty Images

2008-10-22T07:50:00.003-04:00

Sarah Palin: Nominee or Kept Woman?

I think the latter. McCain, from the minute he selected Palin for veep, seemed more in love with her than confident in her abilities, governing abilities that is. Remember how he hugged her and did googoo eyes at her?

Remember how he stated that in Palin he saw "a partner and a soul mate?" Soul mate? I remember thinking at the time: this selection is more about erection than election.

I had almost forgotten that creepy feeling I got when McCain cavorted on stage showing off Palin as if they'd just become engaged. I remember feeling sorry for Cindy who from that time on wore brighter and brighter Kool-aid colors, extremely bright colors, so bright that I wondered where you could buy a banana yellow dress or a electric lime green suit?

And speaking of Cindy's clothing it seques into Palin's clothing -- about $150,000 worth of make-up and clothing paid for by Republican political donations. (Hope the people who gave money to McCain's campaign are happy with where there money went -- on Palin's back!)

That's some Wal-mart, hockey mom! For someone supposedly so purely small town, she was able to select some pricey items. Of course, most people realize by now, that what Palin says and what she does are often in conflict with each other.

This news that so much money had been poured on one woman reminded me of McCain's love struck gaze when he introduced Palin to the world and I guess he's keeping her in the finer things of life just like any old man does when he wants to "keep" a young, pretty woman at his side.

Yes, it appears to me that Palin is a kept woman. And the part that bugs me the most, is how she's kept away from the media: not one single press conference since her selection. All we get of her is snippets here and there and lots of whining about how unfairly she's been treated.

Apparently the McCain campaign is playing keep away with Palin and they have no intentions of letting her speak unscripted before the election.

Certainly I understand why they don't want Palin to ever have to think on her feet for one second. When left to her own devices she says something so stupid that it reminds you why she was picked in the first place. She's McCain's trophy soulmate and selected for her retro looks which especially appeal to men of McCain's age. She's the woman he wanted to nail 25 years ago - frozen in Alaskan time.

2008-10-21T07:43:00.002-04:00

I'm trying to figure out just who would vote for the McCain Palin ticket. It's harder and harder to figure out just who these people are. Truly, not a soul I know is voting for them.

Well, they can't be animal lovers. No animal lover would give a vote to Palin. Never.

They can't be women who value choice when it comes to their reproductive rights.

Can't be teachers after McCain slighted the whole profession by stating soldiers could come back from Iraq and get teaching jobs without that pesky certification. Anyone can teach after all according to McCain.

Can't be people who remember 9/11 and want to "get" Bin Laden, because Iraq sops up all troops, money and resources leaving Bin Laden alive and well in his well-appointed cave.

Can't be 95% of the working people, because they'd get a tax break from Obama but the same old Bush trickle down theory (some day when you're old and gray and by the way I'm still waiting) theory of wealth distribution from McCain. (Also known as the rich get richer while the poor get poorer.)

They can't be people who know or love a gay or lesbian -- or people who have the intelligence to understand that same-sex marriage is not a threat to anyone and all people deserve equal rights.

They can't be people who've lost their 401Ks or their home or other financial losses due to the past eight years of "one of us" running the country. (One of us is a code phrase for dumb, by the way, witness how Palin uses Joe Six-pack as a synonym for herself and others like her.)

They can't be women in general due to the McCain/Palin's antediluvian ideas about forcing women to bear children even if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest.

They can't be men who would like their wives, sisters or daughters to have the choice to terminate a pregnancy that would harm them physically or mentally.

They can't belong to any religion other than born again, Pentecostal, witchcraft-believing Christians, and certainly must believe in the identical rules and rites that Palin believes as she promotes herself as God's little perky, winking soldier and she knows how to handle a gun. Scary.

They can't be scientists or people who know that dinosaurs and people never shared the earth and evolution and global warming are real and not "notions."

They can't come from large towns or cities as Palin seems to think those people aren't pro-American.

They can't value ethics -- or Palin's abuse of power and ethical lapses in Alaska would keep them from voting for the McCain Palin ticket.

They can't value truth as both McCain Palin are following one of Rove's rules: lie, lie and lie some more and eventually people will believe it.

They can't be librarians and by the way librarians are true heros of the world.

They can't be Catholics because Palin rejected Catholicism in favor of a Pentecostal church.

They must really love George Bush and his ilk to place the same type of person back into office.

They can't worry about McCain's age and how Palin could very well end up leading our country someday with her quaint and simplistic jargon as the only information we have about her depth of knowledge on anything other than stirring up hatred in crowds.

I could go on and on, but instead I'll just keep wondering who these people are.

I'm not into voter suppression but I am thinking that maybe an IQ test should be necessary before you are able to vote.

Oh, and I make this promise, this solemn vow, that I will never vote for another Republican on any level of government until the Republicans change their extreme right wing platform and join the 21st century. The middle ages are over now.

There was a time when I had a choice on whom to vote for, but not now. I hope the Republicans wake up and realize all this pandering to the Christian Crazies is destroying the two party system in America; that it's becoming okay to take American citizens and divvy them up into pro and anti Americans; that old pasty faced white men have the right to decide what women do with their bodies; that "gay" marriage will ruin society and that thinking people, intelligent people are somehow not qualified to be elected.

And Drill Baby Drill? That's as effective as giving blood transfusions to a hemorrhaging person; it works right up until you use the last drop of blood.

Rant over.

2008-10-17T07:57:00.005-04:00

So for a change, this post will not be about politics. This post is about finding a missing cat. Searching for a missing cat. Crying over a missing cat and eventually locating the missing cat.

Exhibit A: The Cat
Also, Exhibit B: the window. (Yes it needs a coat of paint.)

Last Saturday we opened the window about 4 inches to let in some cool Fall air. Not the window pictured, but another window that didn't have a screen. Then we went about our normal daily routines until we realized we hadn't seen Finbar in hours. He hadn't shown up for his lunch nor his afternoon snack. He wasn't in his favorite sleeping places. He wasn't anywhere that we could find him.

Slowly it dawned on us that we had the open window in the bedroom, was it possible he could have jumped out from such a small opening?

The search began in earnest and by 8 Pm Saturday night we were half crazed. We were frightened but hoped that by morning he would have returned home. Although Fin is an indoor cat, he goes out twice a day for about an hour. He doesn't go far, in fact most times he just sits on the porch, then scratches at the door to come in. We weren't sobbing uncontrollably yet, but Sunday morning there was no cat and tears started to flow. Monday no cat. Tuesday the cat was still missing. Wednesday still no cat.

We had scoured the neighborhood looking for him. Got up every hour on the hour to check the porch. We called his name, we banged the spoon against his dish, we notified Animal Control, neighbors, friends, family and signed up for online pet searching organizations and put an ad in the paper.

No cat. Gone.

By Thursday we were dealing with the realization that we might never see him again. He had been swallowed up by a big black hole. He had been run over by a car, stolen by some fool who wanted an aloof cat that could eat 10 can's of Fancy Feast a day, trapped by a neighbor who didn't like cats and was being slowly poisoned to death, up a tree so high we'd need binoculars to find him, down in a storm drain treading water with his lovely polydactyl paws. We tortured ourselves with the possibilities of how he died and were totally bereft.

At approximately one PM yesterday, I opened a closet in the spare room and placed some summer clothing onto the shelf. Then I went into the office to read my email. While typing away I saw something moving in my peripheral vision: it was the cat!

Apparently he got into the closet, which has a little crawl space way in the back behind a ton of bedding and pure junk and got into the attic. He stayed in the attic for five days without meowing or pawing at the door or making a single sound that we or the dog could hear.

I'm not sure what struck him dumb and mute or why or even how he could have his almost 17 pound body in there for five days without someone hearing him, but folks, that's what he did.

So if you are missing a cat, if you have given up hope, don't. Look in your own house, small spots, attics etc. and you, like me, might get the surprise of your life when out sashays your cat like nothing unusual has happened.

Other than eating 5 cans of food in 3 hours, he's back to his old self and old routines like sitting on his window shelf or on top of the armoir, curling up with the dog and playing noisily with his toys.

I thought I'd never see him again and still can't believe he was in the attic for 5 days without us knowing, but that's what happened.

By making the false assumption he'd jumped out the window, our search focused outdoors. I'm posting this rather lengthy essay on finding a cat because maybe it will help someone else locate their cat and then they can be as happy as we are now!

2008-10-16T15:51:00.002-04:00

2008-10-16T09:19:00.003-04:00

John McCain, here's where your ideas and mine part ways.

1) Sarah Palin is no role model for women. What an enormous insult to women!! She is unethical and abused her power as governor of Alaska. She is intellectually challenged and morally corrupt. She's a right wing dingbat who alternates between Bimbo and Rambo. She is your wet dream sir, but not mine. She's the type of woman who is not satisfied with controlling her own uterus, but wants a shot at all women's reproductive organs.

2) Mr. McCain, please read up on autism. Autism and Down Syndrome are not synonymous, ergo your statements in the past and last night, that Palin knows more about Autism because she has a Down Syndrome child make no sense. I would guess that a mother of an autistic child would know a great deal more about autism than Palin, wouldn't you John? Stop insulting the mothers of autistic children by holding up Palin as the expert on the subject. I'd bet she couldn't spell the word, never mind be well versed on the subject.

3) It's obvious now that you don't give a whit about issues that might confront a woman's health in pregnancy. You did air quotes twice during the debate to show how liberals are so nasty and evil that they do consider the "health" of a mother as important and would choose adult life, like the 32 year old mother of 4 who has an ectopic pregnancy, over an egg that implanted outside the womb. You and Palin would want to legislate that until the mother was half-dead she could not have an abortion. That's nothing but sheer insanity and disgusting. On this one issue alone, enforced childbirth, no one should vote for you or your winking whacko wombat.

4) You said this last night: "We need to encourage programs such as Teach for America and Troops to Teachers where people, after having served in the military, can go right to teaching and not have to take these examinations which -- or have the certification that some are required in some states."

Every teacher in America, every parent, every citizen who values education must vote for Obama if you truly believe the statement you said last night. How on earth did serving in the military prepare someone to be a professional teacher? What an insult to teachers!

Oh I have more to say about your uninformed, prejudiced old-man creepiness, but I haven't had my coffee yet.

You gave people a million reasons NOT to vote for you. Great job on the debate, and it seems by the way, that just like Palin's son-in-law to be, Levi Johnston, Joe the plumber isn't registered to vote. That's not confirmed yet from my research but his name isn't on any voter list that they can find.

2008-10-13T11:18:00.003-04:00

This message is for Sarah Palin's lesbian girlfriend who she states she's known for 30 years.

Where are you imaginary lesbian friend?

I know you've really enjoyed being a friend of Sarah who is "tolerant" of you and your "choice" as she's stated on TV.

(Nothing like being tolerated to give you that warm fuzzy feeling, right?)

Also, how is it that you could be a friend to someone who vehemently supports enforced childbirth - even for 12 year olds who have been raped? You must be one unique lesbian to be so tolerant of Palin and her anti woman views.

I'm dying to meet you. Stop by and say hi.

I haven't seen my own imaginary friend since I turned four.

2008-10-10T11:42:00.001-04:00

Gay Marriage in Connecticut -- the court says yes!

2008-10-08T12:48:00.002-04:00

Dear John McCain,

I watched you last night and boy you've gone way down hill. You looked physically ill or in pain or both. You doddered around the stage as if you couldn't find your way back to your stool. You look nothing like the man of two years ago and have aged dramatically recently.

I don't know a delicate way to say this, but, has Sarah Palin been preparing your meals?

If so, I'd refuse to eat any more of Palin's cooking. That one is up to no good.

John, she really really wants to be president and won't let anything get in her way...not even you.

Get some blood work done ASAP, Mary

2008-10-04T12:52:00.002-04:00

I keep getting angrier and angrier with McCain's choice of Sarah Palin for vice president so here comes another rant:

I have to laugh. Don't we all know someone exactly like Sarah Palin?

You know that type of woman who just isn't smart enough to realize she just isn't smart enough? Someone who's been blessed with extreme self-confidence and has no need to ever second guess herself or her views. An empty-headed, true-believer who's managed to fake her way though life whether it's a piss-poor flute solo or a piss-poor VP debate and still believes she did "awesome".

They are able to maintain this high level of self confidence by unplugging themselves from the real world which might offer challenges to their self view.

They often mispronounce words because they don't hear how others say the word or assume that all other people are saying the word incorrectly or just think: well, that's how *I* say it.

Why else would Palin still pronounce nuclear, "New Q ler"? No need to learn anything; no need to be accurate, no need to admit a flaw, even as minor as a mispronunciation. (George Bush falls into this category too.)

They don't look to improve themselves by learning something new, and are completely satisfied with their current knowledge or lack of it, on any given subject.

They do all this while playing to the stereotype of the woman they think men really want: a dimply, winking, coy, pink bubblegum for a tongue, hide behind the man's broad shoulders, celluloid, carnival Kewpie doll child/woman.

They teeter around on stilettos , distracting attention from the stiletto they are slipping into their victims all the while smiling smiling smiling.

Palin needs to be stopped and now, or she'll be "shouting out" to us again and again. Even if Obama wins in November, this "gal" is going to dog us, "doggone it," unless people let the Republicans know that Sarah Palin is the last dirty trick the American people will tolerate from them.

The Sarah Palins of the world are often found in our workplace, our neighborhood, or yes, even our kids' hockey games, but we don't have to put up with them in our government. May women's voices ring loud and clear at the voting booths: send that 1980's dinosaur back to Alaska, baked.

2008-10-03T09:06:00.002-04:00

Winkin' Blinkin' and Odd

How anyone could say Sarah Palin won last night's debate is beyond me. How anyone could say she "held her own with Biden," makes no sense. She didn't answer the questions that were presented to her. She ignored the moderator and the questions, and spit up some rhetoric that handlers had force fed for the past three days. But that's not all she did.

She alienated more women and charmed more men. She did this with a method women have used for years to attract, deflect and manipulate situations: she flirted shamelessly.

The winking and eyelash batting, the pouting and squinting, the kittenish cutesiness, the mugging for the camera and folksy talk would be barely tolerable in a much younger woman, and is foolish looking from a woman in her forties with five children. Extra foolish looking from a woman who might very well end up being President of the United States, never mind Vice President.

I suppose we should be thankful she didn't show up in a swimsuit or a pageant gown, although her banal bantering and non-answers would have been a better fit for a beauty contest than a Vice Presidential debate.

Just as Betty Boop was a symbol of the depression era, Palin seems to be fashioning her public persona after that large but empty-headed, cartoon character, and is vying for the role of the next Betty Boop in the next era of economic disaster: now.

So there you have it. Sarah Palin did not soil herself on national TV and that seems to be reason enough to declare her as a viable candidate for one of the most powerful positions in the world.

Luckily, women were not fooled as easily as men. And there's more of us than there is of them.

Wink, wink, blink, blink and boop boop a do!

2008-10-01T12:34:00.002-04:00

Who said be careful what you wish for, it might just come true?

I certainly wished for Hillary Clinton to win the primary and be the Democratic Presidential candidate. I respected and still respect her amazing intelligence and her "narrative" which has been working for the middle class and for women and children her whole life. I wanted a woman in charge, specifically Hillary.

I was heartily disappointed when she didn't win, not because I didn't like Barack Obama, but because I wanted Hillary; she was my girl all the way. I wanted a woman in a high position to truly change the direction our poor country was being dragged in by Bush et al.

Initially, I did not detest McCain, even found him to be the least horrid of the Republican primary candidates. But then I didn't know him as well as I do now. He wasn't the Johnny one note I see before me nor had he chosen his running mate at this point.

The choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate is a total fuck you to the country and especially to women. McCain's choice and Palin's hubris to accept the nomination have placed women, once again, back into the category of not good enough to lead, silly little fluffs, leakers of breast milk and amniotic fluid, lipstick wearing, high heel wearing, eyelash batters, but not much more.

Maybe there's some truth to the joke: all women look alike in the dark. Maybe to McCain any woman would do, but the choice of Palin is a huge insult.

Although I might not share the ideology of Condoleezza Rice or Kay Bailey Hutchison or Olympia Snowe, I'd sure feel a lot safer and better right now as we go into the last weeks before the election, if one of them were McCain's running mate.

Palin is just unacceptable. I'm not talking about experience or lack of it, I'm talking about intelligence. This woman is an incurious, true believer who doesn't think and hasn't had to think and uses faith as a replacement for brain cells. She's a Neanderthal in lipstick.

Her latest comment about global warming and that it doesn't matter if it's man made or just natural climate changes, shows her ignorance. If you don't know what is the cause of global warming, then how do you go about fixin' it?

(I didn't think it was possible to find someone who could speak worse than George Bush, but McCain found someone!)

Of all her sins, Palin's choice to be anti-woman is the most difficult to bear. Palin could respresent and promote the rights and concerns of all American women. Instead she is our worst enemy. She wants us to hand over our reproductive rights to the government even though women have been loud and clear on this issue: the majority of women want freedom to choose what they do or don't do with their own bodies.

Yes, she has the Republican Viagra vote and the support of the extreme right wing conservatives, but this country has a lot more people than those two limited groups. This country also has me and my friends and associates who are embarassed by Palin and infuriated at McCain for his brain-fart choice.

I know there's more of "us" out there so please don't skip voting this year. Wouldn't it be nice to vote for someone who is intelligent, for a change?

We had 8 years of Bush doltishness and stubborness and we can't have four more of the same.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden will not embarass us; will not force extreme religious conservatism down our throats; will not lobby to control our bodies; have the capacity to understand complex issues; they will not jump into war to generate more war stories to tell on the stump; won't let our planet go to hell and won't let us down like George Bush did -- like McCain/ Palin will if elected.

2008-09-25T08:22:00.003-04:00

Which is witch??

Watching this video of Sarah Palin and her witch hunting friend Pastor Thomas Muthee, reminded me of the lyrics of Destroyer 666's song Witch Hunter.

Witch hunter - seeks a scapegoat
Witch hunter - words blow in the wind
Witch hunter - seeks a way out
Witch hunter - know all that is sin

Witch hunter - herald of plagues
Witch hunter - would kill to morality's name
Witch hunter - the virulent keep
The lies of pigs and their fuckin' disease

There are those who will come to watch you die
To stand around your funeral pyre
And they'll laugh as you're marched to your death
And they dance when the noose is put round your neck

The first to cry and the first to fall
The first to come to the witch hunter's call
The first to curse whatever is free
The first to fight and the first to flee
The first to do whatever is done
The first to sing the witch hunter's song...

-----------------------

Appropriate scary stuff to help us celebrate Halloween, right?

Well we haven't had a witch hanging, crushing or stoning in quite a long time, but it's fun to reach back into time and hold close to our bosoms the nutso stuff from the past.

Breaking News: The criteria Pastor Muthee uses to determine who is or who is not a witch. You must see. Remember you heard it here first.

2008-09-23T09:07:00.002-04:00

Here's an interesting response to my poll below.

"McCain/Palin. I understand the debate of Faith vs. Science, and because of that you see my choice. I truly believe that god does not give you what you can not handle. Sin is in this world to keep us looking to our faith. Without it we become numb. Science is the devils work as it is said he will do anything to lead you astray. I do not preach religion in fact this is first time that I have ever responded to something about this subject, but I felt compelled to show the other side of things. It is easy to fall back on science because we can not touch faith or see it. It is something we are all tested with. In fact, I tend to belive you were a christian at one time and have strayed for some reason. But that is irrelevant. You have your reasons and I don't question them. But it is unfair to point or mock a faith simply because you do not believe. There will always be differences and there will always be a winner and a loser. Regardless of the outcome, nothing will change my faith as I am sure nothing will change your belief in Science. BOTH candidates will be whom they are regardless. Fact is, the world will always be split and neither you or I can change that."
--------------------

First thanks for responding to the poll.

Second, you are using science to write on my blog so I wonder how you can call science the devil's work? Wouldn't that mean you are hanging out with the devil every time you use your computer? Look around yourself and you will see science in numerous forms everywhere you go in your home. Otherwise you'd be digging a hole outside and pooping in it. Science created your toilet and pretty much everything else in your house. Even the most ardent religious extremists would agree that god didn't make the toilet when he was busy creating the world.

I have faith - my faith tells me that there is no devil or angel or tooth fairy or santa claus or boogie man or monster under my bed. And, I do change my opinions because I always question authority and think for myself. I have to say you sound almost fatalistic in your beliefs, and sad too. I hope that isn't the case.

Anyhow, I am still confused as to why you would vote for McCain and use the above reasons for your vote as if McCain has nothing to do with science and would not use science as president.

Also, just to clarify. I am the least numb person you'd ever meet and have no religious faith at all. Those two things don't connect.

And one more question: do you believe dinosaurs and man were on the earth at the same time? Thanks again for responding. Although we don't think alike, I'd like to think we both think.

2008-09-16T21:17:00.002-04:00

Well, well, I am looking at polls I just do not believe they are true.

I have never in my whole life been tapped for a poll. I ask you to vote here - anonymously.

So, please let the world know what real people think...no names...just vote:

I'll start with my name:

Obama/Biden...

you next.

Real people; real poll, no names.

2008-09-10T08:12:00.002-04:00

I have started my quest to find myself a new country.

I am looking for a place that reminds me of the USA prior to the religious right taking over the Republican party and prior to the birth of Karl Rove who will do or say anything to get his extremist right-wingers elected.

I barely lived through the last eight years of Bush et al and the embarrassing lack of intelligence, class, morality and humanity one would expect from the highest leader of the land. He all but ruined our country financially and put into place many laws that have done nothing but remove freedoms and bring us to the state we find ourselves in now. The Patriot act and No Child Left Behind are Bush instituted programs that don't make us more safe and don't make our children smarter, but do the contrary.

I cannot take a McCain/Palin administration especially when I fear it would soon be a Palin administration. I've done two terms of the religious right ruling our fair land and two terms of faith over science and two terms of New Cue Ler and I cannot sign up for two terms of McCain and possibly 16 effing years of Palin.

My new country will have to have a large male population with few females. If females support Palin's sexist and paternalistic views of women then I have to abandon my sisters.

How a woman could vote for a team that believes that if a 12 year old girl is raped by her uncle, she should not have the option to have an abortion --is beyond me. How any woman could vote for Palin with the knowledge that even if your pregnancy would cause you great health problems -- even cause you to be infertile for life, Palin would not allow an abortion if she were king. (With the potential of her influence for 16 years, you could pretty much bet she'd have that supreme court right and ready to overturn Roe vs Wade.)

And, although she has the Viagra vote, I would hope that women made different choices about their own bodies than old white men would.

Her pentecostal church that thinks, just like the Islamic terrorists, that god is on their side; her belief in creationism, literal translation of the bible, anti gay positions; killing animals like the majestic and regal Alaskan wolf and posing with her child and a bloody caribou corpse is such a turn off to me.

Her sexist remark (the only real one I have heard during the campaign) what's the difference between a Hockey Mom and a pit bull? Lipstick! -- illuminates just how much this woman despises other women -- and insults all women, Hockey Moms or not. Actually it also insults Pit Bulls too.

And, Palin doesn't like cats. Now that really hurts.

2008-09-01T12:41:00.002-04:00

Aha!

Now that huge blanket covering 17 year old Bristol Palin makes some sense.

I guess all that abstinence education fell a little short.

2008-08-31T12:40:00.002-04:00

I wonder how this flies in Peoria.

I can't wait to see what else is dug up on the new GOP VP -- but certainly this radio show conversation is not what I'd expect from someone a heartbeat or half a heartbeat away from the presidency. Giggling about nasty ad hominem attacks from the shock jocks? Next thing you're going to tell me is she does up her hair in a plastic banana clip.

2008-08-29T11:55:00.002-04:00

Palin for Veep?

Oh my oh my, Sarah Palin for vice president of the US? I sure hope McCain wasn't betting on getting any of Hillary's 18 million votes -- women ( except the extreme right) don't vote for women who want to hand over their reproductive rights to the government.

Plus women also think a smidgeon of experience might be a nice touch too. Actually, we also like the idea of a political candidate who isn't under investigation on questionable practices.

I think McCain has sunk his ship and as a Democrat I'm thrilled with his poor choice.

Whether it's poor judgment, lack of judgment or plain old senility, I can't fathom why he'd choose Sarah Palin when he had so many other better choices, female and male.

2008-07-15T08:56:00.003-04:00

I'm remiss. I just don't seem to have a blogworthy thing to say anymore.

What's new...

A family member is getting a new puppy, a flat coated retriever and I cannot wait to hold and play with the little gal or guy. She won't know which pup is hers until next Sunday as the breeder calls the shots on what dog goes to what family. At first I didn't like that idea, but after meeting K. A. the breeder, and seeing how fantastic he is, I know he's right.

He's a good judge of people and a magnificent judge of animals and can match the pup with the proper owner as he knows the pups so well. I've been a Golden lover my whole life, but I do think if I get another dog (not now as I have the two old guys who deserve to be unbugged in their sunset years) I'm going for this breed.

Doc and DJ are in the islands, so without them around to pop in or offer to cook us dinner, it's pretty quiet socially. We actually don't have much social time as family members seem to take up our discretionary time. Which is good, I'm truly blessed to have so much family around me, and to be close to all these wonderful supportive people.

A bumper blueberry crop kept me on my toes for weeks now. It's a game as to who gets the most blueberries, me or the cat birds. I think I've won.

The garlic crop was not so hot...I know that we have to loosen up the soil big time before we plant again in the fall. What I did get is aromatic and lovely, but the bulbs are small.

The yard is looking good thanks to The Tree Man LLC who rid us of dangling limbs and sun blocking branches.

The inside of the house cries for help but summer only lasts so long in Connecticut and I believe in being outside if I can when the weather's nice. Speaking of which, it's time to water the plants!

Another boring contribution to Tchotchkes. hahahha

ps I did see a rose breasted grosbeak at the feeder a few weeks ago!

2008-06-26T10:00:00.002-04:00

Busy time of the year, isn't it? Nothing exciting going on here. A family member is getting a new puppy and I will get to play with him and maybe puppy sit. My two dogs are getting up there at 10 and 12 so I new puppy to pet and love sounds like a nice counterpoint to watching my babies slow down as they have.

My husband's so busy at work that he's averaging 11 hour days -- add in travel and during the week we have only the dinner table to talk. After that it's too late to do much more than clean up and go to bed as he gets up around 3 AM most days.

Weekends are filled with family stuff and friends. So, he doesn't have much time to do the home maintenance he did before. Which brings me to the follow up on the ants.

The ants, after being treated have gone away. Well more specifically they aren't in the house. But, we have found where they are in large numbers: ON the house. Yes, the gutters were overgrown with crapola from not being cleaned out and apparently provided a pest penthouse for the little buggers. Husband found a big hill of ants living in our gutters. Are they the tiny feet I heard scrambling across the roof? No, those are squirrels or maybe anteaters who've traveled from afar to witness the penthouse ant hill. I'm getting itchy just thinking about ants over my head -- glad they were removed and with luck I'll be antfree for a while; next year we'll check the gutters for sure.

I'm back to my migrant worker job of blueberry picking which is unfun. I hate the scratchy branches, the bird poop on the leaves as they always "pick" before I do and then eat and poop blue. Our bushes are more like trees now so I can't even reach the most succulent berries plus we have a homicidal Catbird that likes to swoop down at me as if he's going to remove my eyes with his open, flapping beak.

I hate bugs and berry picking but it must be done.

In fact, I'd better get going and start picking now as the bushes are filled with feathers that I can see from my upstairs window here in the office.

Bubba Burgers...try them they are so good. Get the ones with onions. xoxo

2008-06-10T12:04:00.002-04:00

The heat is oppressive but so is dealing with any institution, organization or even looking for a professional ant killer.

I'll start with finding an ant killer. Basically you can pay anywhere from $100 to $1000 -- nice range isn't it? One woman asked me how many ants I'd seen that day to which I replied: seven. She then had to put me on hold to create a personalized pest treatment plan for me...so I waited. She came back on the phone and told me I would need 7 treatments which would come to approximately $687.98 -- I paused, then said: Look, that's about a hundred dollars an ant - a little steep for me so I guess I'll just squish them with my fingernail.

The next person I talked to said he could come right away and put ant bait out...I said we didn't want ant bait, we didn't want to encourage them into the house for any reason, even to take back poison to the nest. I told him that this year we used ant buttons and had ants for two months. No bait.

He tells me that there are 30 thousand types of ants and my ant buttons must not have been effective on the types of ants I had. So I asked him if he had 30 thousand types of bait for each type of ant - which he found off putting - as much as I did at the thought of luring them into my house for one last doughnut eating orgy before going to that big ant hill in the sky.

Then the snip guy who was mad when I said his estimate was higher than two others I had but I thanked him for his time. He then says wait a minute: Is this how you pick an exterminator, based on price? I said yes. He says: How about cars do you buy cars based on price? I said as a matter of fact I do...He started to ask about how I chose my doctors when I realized this combative relationship wouldn't work for me...so I told him we weren't clicking so goodbye.

I have other ant stories - after spending 4 to 5 hours to get quotes, but the ones above stand out in my mind.

Now we get a notice that our or actually my husband's account info has been lost by another bank handling 401Ks. Ergo, they will give him 2 years of free credit monitoring. So, first I try to sign up under my own email and name forgetting the oh so private retirement account is protected from my prying eyes.

A number pops up that I should call - so I decide to call it thinking that they must need his SS number or that tried and true firewall of security: the old mother's maiden name which god knows only that individual person can possibly know...sure.

Anyhow the woman tells me my husband has to call - she can't talk to me.
I say: Oh are you familiar with my husband's voice or just any old male caller will do?
She's a bit flustered but then says: well we have to ask him questions that only he knows the answer to.
Like what I say...I know all his answers to any question you could ask.
I then tell her his SS number, his birth date, his mother's maiden name, his mother's mother's maiden name, his first dog's name, his first car's make, and his favorite flavor of ice cream.

Nope, he's got to call. So I say I'll have a male voice call you if that makes you happy.

Then I went into his email for which I have access and filled out the form via email as if I were him and bingo we have the credit monitoring working...how holy stupid is this?

Next stupid thing I had to deal with was CDs which husband has been getting as a form of keeping track of money he needs to put away for quarterly taxes. Anyhow, it's filled out in his name as he's the one going to the bank with a survivorship for me. Someone tells him this isn't good and that if he died, I'd have to wait to redeem this money and it would go into probate and could be taken from me...so he now is not renewing his CDs. I tell him I'll call the bank and that I'm sure we can work something out since you can get a joint CD online from banks for crissakes.

(He's getting these CDs from a bank that is near where he works but far away from where we live.)

I talk to the manager who will not budge. I would have to come in -- he tells me -- before my name could go onto a CD. I say, don't you just need my birth date, ss number, and maybe a license -- wouldn't that be enough? Nope, I must come in so he can see me. SEE ME? Why does he have to see me? I then say do you take a picture of me is that why? He is now pissed off too - so I've managed to piss about 6 people off in 6 hours of this crap phone work.

The final pissed off person was me when I got a letter from a collections agency for a walk-in urgent care visit from 15 months ago when my husband had a sore throat. At the time, I had trouble with the walk-in and had to make numerous phone calls to both my insurance company and the billing coordinator until finally we all agreed that I didn't owe them a cent. Never again did I receive a bill until I get this collections notice.

So I call the collection guy who was rude, mean, wouldn't give me any information and told me to cool my heels. (Sure, I'll cool my heels why my credit is attacked erroneously or maybe hacked into because of those documents that were lost by the bank for which I tried for hours to sign up for my free credit monitoring!!!!)

That one is still not resolved but I have to tell you -- people are nuts and the ants keep looking better all the time...at least I can squish them and be done with it!

2008-05-31T09:45:00.002-04:00

I had so much fun last weekend I'm still recovering from it. Doc and DJ had a big deck party with a mixture of sexual orientations, straight couples, gay couples, straight singles, gay singles and my favorite female couple in the world, W and L and a sprinkle of family members. Ages ranged from early 20s to mid 60s -- a more eclectic bunch you would never meet. Wonderful food and booze and conversations and I laughed more at that party than I have in 3 months.

I don't get to see W and L very often and that's a shame as I love these women so much!

We met them when we were vacationing in Provincetown a few years ago and were hoping to do a repeat vacation but the place we stayed at The Brass Key has changed ownership and the thrill is gone.

One of the gay guys who I'll call Mr. B is a handsome guy looking for a partner. Not just a sexual partner though my guess is that would be a nice bonus, but a life partner. I told him I'd find him a match so why not try here on my blog?

Mr. B is educated, slim, tall (everyone's tall to me but I think he's tall), kind, funny, well-groomed, artistic, a theater lover, very youthful in appearance and looking for a gentleman oh I'd say late 40s to 60 who's preferably a guy's guy type (what is a guy's guy actually?) -- you know, someone who can give a good bear hug, change a tire-- a work boot, jeans, flannel shirt guy that is looking for a true heart relationship with someone who will appreciate the blue of his collar and wants a real companion. Applicants must be sensitive and kind; hard working, and not just looking for an "encounter" but a person to love and to be loved by. Interested? contact me!

Ok, enough matchmaking...

I must check my counters for ants. I don't want to talk too soon, but I think the Softscrub with bleach that I've slathered all over the counters might have turned the little buggers off. I hope so.

TTFN

2008-05-30T11:35:00.002-04:00

Ants.

I hate them with a passion. This year for some reason they have created a whole colony in my wall...at least that's what I think because I've never had so many so often for so long.

Every April, on the first beautiful day, they'd appear. I'd take all the necessary steps to rid myself of them...pouring pepper by the counter back splash. Keeping all foods off the counter by the sink which is where they pop up their filthy nasty little heads. Making barriers of Soft Scrub with bleach...strewing bay leaves around and powdering the counter as supposedly they don't like talc.

Within a few days I with the big brain would win over their teeny weeny brains and they'd be gone for a whole year.

Then I could leave anything I wanted on the counter and they wouldn't go near it.

This year the new crop have higher IQs. So much so that they have hopped over to my safe counter under the microwave and jumped into my Entenmann's Pop Ems chocolate covered doughnut holes box where I found them feasting their ugly little heads off.

I don't like the looks of them dead or alive. I don't like being on alert at all times waiting to see one appear out of thin air -- but I really hate it that the little bastards ate my doughnut holes.

I am beginning to wonder if the ant buttons we placed under the sink was a mistake. We've never done that before. Usually my animal safe peppers and soaps and orange peels and herbs and spices have made them leave. These buttons are ant bait...so actually we are asking them in by the odor of the buttons, and they are supposed to eat the delicious poison and then bring it back to the nest. I think this new crop of ants has developed immunity to the poison, are enjoying the sweet treat under my sink and then exploring my counters looking for other sweet treats -- like my doughnut holes.

Other than ripping out my counter tops and cabinets, I can't imagine what else we can do to get rid of them. We've sprayed everywhere, starting off with an earth friendly spray and moving up to the most horrible poison we could buy. Still the little buggers are there, taunting me and eating my Pop 'Ems.

I wonder how they'd like it if they found me feasting on their ant buttons?

So as I write here upstairs in the office, my heart is hoping that downstairs, I've managed to shoo them all away with my witches brew of ant repellents.

Happy Sunny Day to all except the damn ants.

2008-05-17T10:54:00.002-04:00

Obviously I don't have much to say now, do I? Well I do have a lot to say, but I just don't feel like saying it. I'm trying to let my world worries, my political angst, my concerns over poverty and cyclones and drought ( and on and on) not permeate every second of my life and dwell on all the lovely things in this world.

One thing to be noted is how ridiculous it is in the North East to adopt a pet. A friend is looking for a dog and unless she turns in her SS number, her last tax return and a note from her mother and middle school principal, she can't adopt.

I went through holy hell trying to get a kitten and was treated like I was a serial cat killer, looking for new blood.

I'm not sure how these hoity toity rescue groups think they are helping animals. The woman who's looking for a dog will give that dog THE best life in the world. She lives on 4 fenced in acres in a lovely high end town and has plenty of time and money to devote to a dog.

So, instead of giving a homeless dog a park to play in and a warm, lovely home to live in -- she's going the breeder route. Good Job Rescue Fanatics!

I'm reading a fun book, La Cucina...lusty, humorous, lots of talk of food and the heroine isn't beautiful but middle-aged and over-weight - refreshing for a change. I read half of it last night and am taking it outside with me to finish and to get some rays.

I dream of Bush-free days and harmony and world peace. Ok, I'll settle for Bush-free days.

2008-05-05T09:32:00.002-04:00

When you wake up tired on Monday morning, it's not the best way to start the week. It seems like lately we are "booked" all weekend and some week days too. I need an inhouse vacation. I don't want to go anywhere, just get a vacation-like feeling right in my own home.

I suppose if I put the animals in a kennel, unplugged the phone, hired a maid and cook for a weekend I might get that vacation feeling. Oh well, that's not going to happen for sure.

I have nothing exciting to say. I've taken some volunteer work on which is taking my time and trying to help with the yard work as dear husband is quite busy lately.

Have you ever taken your car in for a recall and had them fix the recall problem and not find another problem for which they want to charge you? Just wondering. One of our cars had a recall and I just knew we'd get a phone call about another problem needing fixing. As predicted, they called and wanted to fix a coolant leak for $1000. No way. I'll take it to a local guy we use if necessary. For once it would be nice if a recall didn't come with a sad sounding guy telling me unfortunately when doing the recall work they found...fill in the blank. It has to be a scam is all I can think of.

I have to go hang my laundry out. Yes, I am such a good girl saving energy and money (dryers are big culprits in energy use) by drying clothes on a line. I like it; clothes smell good and I get that pioneer feeling. I do not have a clothespin bag, so right now the top of my overalls are covered with pinchy clothespins. I look like a porcupine.

Hope everyone's well and happy...a gorgeous day in CT so I hope you're having one too.

2008-04-29T08:08:00.002-04:00

Last night I decided, after listening to good old Pastor Wright and Obama's comments or lack of comments about Wright's latest diatribes, that Pastor Wright wants to run for President and Obama wants to be a pastor.

Wright has to be the single most toxic and obnoxious connection to Barack. He doesn't get it that Americans don't want a black president or a female president or even a senior citizen president - we want a president that will represent us all and any adjectives connected to our presidential candidates have to be in 8 pt type.

Wright shouts BLACK day in and out making me wonder if his light skin has caused him problems in this world. Maybe his connection to Obama is that Obama has also been accused of not being black enough - not skin color, in this case, but having lived an Ivy League/arugula/latte kind of life. Is this the link between these two men?

Wright is so taken with himself, his witticisms, his so-called erudition (I'm not seeing it if he's promoting ebonics...I thought we were through with that one?)

We all have to live in this world. We all have to learn to adjust and adapt every day to new ideas, technology, and we can't just excuse our difficulties and challenges to being different. Perhaps Pastor Wright has forgotten each and every one of us is different. We all have differences in spirituality, learning styles and differences in expression: this is not just in the black community.

It's amazing that Obama throws his grandmother under the bus for Wright, who then throws Obama under the bus for his own ego.

Talk about disloyalty!

2008-04-24T08:16:00.002-04:00

It is a glorious day in CT or at least in my part of CT. Sunshine, nice breeze, budding trees -- even my neighbor's radio that I can hear (always on FAN) reminds me of summer and fun. Kids are outside more now and I also love the sound of children playing: the basketball thumping, the skates screeching down the street. Oh yes, and there's been a new addition to the neighborhood - a meow.

Remember how much I wanted a Maine Coon cat? Well one just appeared in the neighborhood last week. My neighbor and I have been feeding, grooming and petting this poor little girl - so thin you could feel her back bone and every rib - but that was last week prior to her consuming tons of good food between the two houses. I think she has chosen her family, and alas, it is not us. I think my dogs bark too loud and too often for her refined taste so mostly she stays with my neighbor. On the good side, the neighbor is going to take her to and pay for a vet visit next week. I did get to name her and I named her Fiona as I thought if she chose me, I wanted her to have a name that went well with Finbar.

I just donated money to Hillary's campaign. She's fought so hard and did so well in the last primary where she was outspent 4 to 1, I wanted to help her out. Since in my own circle of family and friends we've had some people switching from Obama to Hillary, I wonder if it's nationwide - if so, I think the primary process should continue.

Carpe Diem!

2008-04-21T22:33:00.002-04:00

Dear women of the Texas crazy-ass, polygamist compound....ahem...how do I tell you this?

That pompadour thing on your head is atrocious. It must stem from one especially sexy wife who had overly fluffy bangs or maybe it was copied from the beloved Cockatiel of your husband's 97th sister's uncle's grandfather.

I am purposely not commenting on your dresses. Fine if you like them. If they were white, they'd look like you copied the pope's frock, but you tend to muted colors...cool. I won't pick on your clothes, but I warn you, stay inside if you see a van that is lettered, What Not To Wear -- they will capture you and unwash your face and cut your hair and dress you in primary colors. Horrors!!

Seriously though, that hair roll to heaven that you have suspended against all odds on the top of your collective pates um -- that silly skull sculpture, those twisted tresses, --they really must go.

Yours truly.
Pompadourless in Connecticut

2008-04-16T14:51:00.002-04:00

One of the greatest feelings in the world is when I have a pile of books and DVDs waiting for me to read or watch. A glut - I love it.

I also love super-sized jars of pickles or olives; large plastic containers filled with pretzel sticks or chocolate chip cookies. Love the large sizes of just about anything. It makes me feel rich. So does buying 10 pounds of potatoes rather than five -- how extravagant!

Not sure why I felt the need to share this, but probably because I want to stop by and say hello but I have nothing much to say.

What I do have is tons of housework so rather than bore you about my fetish for things large ;-) I will grab my handy dandy Ostrich-feather duster and earn my keep. TTFN

2008-04-12T08:46:00.002-04:00

I told you so. I told you so here.

Good old whiny Joe Lieberman accused the Ed Lamont campaign of crashing his website during the August 8th, 2006 primary election. The talking heads went crazy implying that the Lamont campaign had done some dirty tricks against immaculately clean and holy, Joe-Lie.

Well after an exhaustive and expensive investigation guess what?

It was Joe-Lie's campaign that screwed up the website. Now was this on purpose or not, we won't know. But the crash cast doubt on Lamont, and I'm sure, sent sympathy votes to Joe-Lie -- although not enough to win.

Life could have been a bit different in Connecticut but the dim-witted voters of my state decided to vote for Joe-Lie in the general election and that's why we have a Republican toady as our Democratic senator today.

Frustrating!!!!!

2008-04-10T21:27:00.002-04:00

Just finishing up Ian McEwan's book Atonement - only 20 pages to go and I need to pause and put the book down because in only a few minutes it will be over and I'll miss this book. Funny how some books are so good you must stay up all night to finish them, others are good in another way - you want them to last - to dissolve slowly on your mental tongue.

Today was glorious -- sunshine, sweet spring air, birds chittering and singing -- buds everywhere. I'm ready now for sun and fun - not that I don't have fun in the winter, but most of it is indoors. I'm ready for outside fun.

And hot dogs. I'm ready for hot dogs, the ultimate treat, crispy-skinned, grill lines, toasted rolls and a slathering of mustard and I'm in heaven. Hummels with natural casings is the way to go and please do not tell me what's in them or on them, I just want to eat them with my ignorance unsullied.

My only worries right now are when the ants will descend. They come every April and flock to the counter by my kitchen sink -- a counter that has no food on it or near it. I then have to wage war, attempting to use natural deanters like bay leaves and red pepper, but I'm not above using a can of Raid if need be.

Finbar's digging spring because a big fat khaki colored moth has kept him in ecstasy for hours. I never knew a moth could be so strong or Finbar to be so gentle - either way the moth has been the best play toy Finbar's ever had and last I looked the moth seemed fairly unfazed -- perhaps a limp and maybe not able to fly too high, but alive and kicking (one leg.)

Ok, I'm ready now to finish the book. Hope the weather's good tomorrow!

2008-04-07T08:55:00.002-04:00

Once upon a time there was a very large crock pot that got filled up with hand-cut cubes of top round (which had been browned to a mahogany color along with a slew of yellow onions), carrots, potatoes, beef broth, red wine, bay leaves, herbes provencal, Kosher salt and cracked pepper and left alone to simmer all day on the counter until voila! -- a superb French style stew was born. A small amount of thickening slurry and some frozen green peas in the last five minutes finished off the creation and then the multitudes came.

I couldn't believe how many people could be fed from that one pot. Sure I made a tossed salad and we had delicious old-fashioned salt sticks warmed up in the oven and ready for dipping into the dark brown gravy in which the vegetables floated happily bobbing up and down when I stirred the massive pot.

I felt like jesus and the loaves and the fishes. More and more people came, all hungry, all not planned on and yet the crock pot kept yielding huge bowls of steaming hot stew. Oh yes, and nary a person had a single bowl, all wanted seconds. I am guessing that there were 24 servings of stew in that pot.

Unfortunately, unlike jesus, I was unable to turn water into wine. So we did run out of wine! Thank heavens for beer is all I have to say.

2008-03-31T14:43:00.002-04:00

Rain Schmain

I'm sick of the rain. Just a little bit of sunshine yesterday did so much for my spirit and body. I walked around the yard and saw my garlic was up! I love garlic. I love onions too and I love condiments, mayo, ketchup, relish...love them all. I'm thinking about food because I haven't had lunch yet.

Whenever I do a lot of cooking I lose my appetite. After chopping and dicing and stirring and mixing and peeling and sauteeing I lose my interest in food for a while, except doughnut holes.

But tonight, when a big fat chicken comes out of the oven with stuffing and mashed potatoes and delightfully seasoned Brussel sprouts and a crispy baked yam and gravy I'll be hungry. Actually as I said before, I'm already hungry, and I'm not waiting that long to eat. Woman can not live on doughnut holes alone you know -- good as they are. (Spell check is telling me to type dough nut -- so don't depend upon spell check to do much more than pick up a few typos now and then.)

It's so damp in the house, I just want to sit by my fireplace. I love my new gas fireplace in the dining room/kitchen area. It's always toasty warm there and cozy and if I get too hot I can just shut it off.

My purist days are gone. There was a time I thought a gas fireplace was not authentic enough for my blood. But as time's gone by, I've become more flexible and ergo have lots more fires than I ever did. An instant fire is a good thing.

I've also shut off the cable news shows for now. I cannot bear one more political commentator nor one more warning about toys or drugs or cell phones. I don't want to know about any plane crashes nor melon recalls. I can't keep up with all that I'm not supposed to do, or eat or drink or hear one more frantic sounding news person tell me that I can keep from dying if I tune into the nightly news at eleven.

For now, a chicken in the oven, some classical music and a cup of coffee sounds like the very thing I should be focusing on...and maybe a few more doughnut holes for good luck.

2008-03-23T08:10:00.003-04:00

Sometimes people are so nice, go so far out of their way to please you that they just have to be commended.

The people at Rockne's Deli, 873 Post Rd, Fairfield, CT - are just such people.

We were picking up a slew of goodies from Rockne's yesterday and I instantly got a feeling that made my eyebrow raise and my pulse race: We were getting exemplary customer service - something that can be rare in my day to day life.

A special thanks to Janelle who is not only lovely on the outside but the same on the inside. With exquisite care, she made sure everything we bought was packaged perfectly and with its accompanying condiments.

Now, talk about the food. (And, I could go on and on.) We had a variety of delicious fresh rolls, salads that looked beautiful and tasted even better, cold cuts that were top quality and sliced to perfection...and the pickles! Oh my were they good.

Rockne's is the place to go if you want superb customer service combined with equally superb food. We all enjoyed our lunch so much I'd be happy having another sandwich today if I could.

Thanks again Janelle for all the special touches including the instructions on how to make "Dad's Favorite Italian Combo"!

2008-03-21T11:13:00.002-04:00

A Story of Race, Profiling and a Helping Hand

They were lost in Delaware, driving down a street in an area that was unfamiliar to them. They stopped at a stop sign, wondering which direction to drive in, when a woman pulled up beside them, rolled her window down and said, you must be lost, right?

Yes, they said. We're looking for the XYZ power plant.

Oh you are lost she replied. Follow me and I'll get you on the right road.

The men were white and the woman was black. It was obvious to her that these white faces were going deeper and deeper into an area that they most likely were not meaning to go.

She took the time to drive them through the neighborhood and up to the street they needed to take. They've waved good bye, tooted a thank you and mouthed thank you, too. She turned around and went back to where she had come from.

Obviously race was involved as they had done nothing to indicate they were lost and only their skin color indicated they might be going in the wrong direction. Obviously she profiled them when by skin color alone she assumed the were lost and certainly none of that profiling was wrong or bad as her big heart and helping hand got them to their destination.

I want to thank that woman because my husband was driving that day. She went out of her way to get them to the right road and she certainly had no obligation to do so. Thank you mystery lady, you went above and beyond what any stranger would do.