I'm going to take the weekend off and putter around the homestead. Please hit the blog roll. There are so many great folks there to visit. I hope you all have a good weekend and I'll be back on Monday!
Have a Super Weekend!
~~~~~~ Hey ... I'm Just Sayin' ... ~~~~~~
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Friday Wrap Up
Today I present to you just some of the news that apparently wasn't fit to print in the Main Stream Media this week. You know, even if I tried I could not make this stuff up.
This first story actually really really didn't surprise me much ....What DID surprise me is that I am not alone in thinking this!
These traits, Kouri points out in his analysis, are common to psychopathic serial killers.
But — and here’s the part that may spark some controversy and defensive discussion — these traits are also common to American politicians. (Maybe you already suspected.)" Read more here.
And speaking of politicians, it seems our illustrious leader doesn't seem to think that "We, the people" can possibly be able to understand the intricacies of the treasury and our debt crisis as well as "professional politicians" nor should we be expected to. We are too wrapped up in our own lives to have a clue I guess. His words, not mine. Have a listen to this.
Ok, I suppose that's enough politics to last for awhile. Unless you are this Oak Park Mi woman who has been cited and faces possible jail time of 93 days for growing vegetables in her front yard. Apparently the city manager has a thing against vegetables. What I want to know is what did a vegetable ever do to him?
Alright, since we are on the topic of food, I'm willing to bet that most of you haven't heard this alarming tidbit about the radioactive contamination of meat that has made its way into Japanese Markets.
"If we were to eat the meat everyday, then it would probably be dangerous," Hosono said at a news conference Tuesday. "But if it is consumed only in small portions, I don't think it would have any long-lasting effects on the human body."
Excuse me??????
Alrighty then....... On a lighter note... well it's not really lighter, actually it's kinda heavy, but I'm gonna leave you with this one. In North Texas this week a woman gave birth to a 16 lb baby boy. Can you say Holy Roly Poly!!! This could be a state record. They always say things are bigger in Texas!! And now I can prove it!
~~~~~~ Hey ... I'm Just Sayin' ... ~~~~~~
This first story actually really really didn't surprise me much ....What DID surprise me is that I am not alone in thinking this!
" Using his law enforcement experience and data drawn from the FBI’s behavioral analysis unit, Jim Kouri has collected a series of personality traits common to a couple of professions.
Kouri, who’s a vice president of the National Assn. of Chiefs of Police, has assembled traits such as superficial charm, an exaggerated sense of self-worth, glibness, lying, lack of remorse and manipulation of others.These traits, Kouri points out in his analysis, are common to psychopathic serial killers.
But — and here’s the part that may spark some controversy and defensive discussion — these traits are also common to American politicians. (Maybe you already suspected.)" Read more here.
And speaking of politicians, it seems our illustrious leader doesn't seem to think that "We, the people" can possibly be able to understand the intricacies of the treasury and our debt crisis as well as "professional politicians" nor should we be expected to. We are too wrapped up in our own lives to have a clue I guess. His words, not mine. Have a listen to this.
Of course, being the "Paid Political Professional" that he is, Thursday it seems he got his panties in a bit of a wad and stormed out of the debt ceiling meeting stating that all the progress made so far had been "erased. Now I ask you... How professional is that? Acting like a kid that doesn't get his way he threw himself a little hissy fit. Geesh....
Ok, I suppose that's enough politics to last for awhile. Unless you are this Oak Park Mi woman who has been cited and faces possible jail time of 93 days for growing vegetables in her front yard. Apparently the city manager has a thing against vegetables. What I want to know is what did a vegetable ever do to him?
Alright, since we are on the topic of food, I'm willing to bet that most of you haven't heard this alarming tidbit about the radioactive contamination of meat that has made its way into Japanese Markets.
"If we were to eat the meat everyday, then it would probably be dangerous," Hosono said at a news conference Tuesday. "But if it is consumed only in small portions, I don't think it would have any long-lasting effects on the human body."
Excuse me??????
Alrighty then....... On a lighter note... well it's not really lighter, actually it's kinda heavy, but I'm gonna leave you with this one. In North Texas this week a woman gave birth to a 16 lb baby boy. Can you say Holy Roly Poly!!! This could be a state record. They always say things are bigger in Texas!! And now I can prove it!
~~~~~~ Hey ... I'm Just Sayin' ... ~~~~~~
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Tomato's and Heat
Well the tomato's look like they are done for the summer. It's just getting too hot for them to set fruit. Not to mention that it seems no amount of water seems to keep the leaves from curling up. I'm hoping I can keep them watered and alive for the next couple of months. If so, they should start setting fruit again once it cools back off. I know I got a late start putting them in the ground this spring and so really, I'm happy to have gotten a few nice fresh and tasty tomato's from them. It sure would have been nice to have been able to put some up though. The hope now is to have a good fall crop. Get some canned. We use a
lot of tomato's and tomato products around here and having them on hand would sure cut the grocery costs. I'm happy to say that I've been able to put up several jars of pickles, both sweet and dills this year. We should be good to go on them for the coming year. As for the tomato's, maybe it's all for the best. If we have a good fall crop I can do some canning while it's not 100+ degrees outside!
Speaking of hot weather some of you may recall that our air conditioner is out. A hail storm last year took out the fan blade and we haven't been able to locate another one. It seems they stopped manufacturing the part. Thanks to a good friend, I've been able to locate another one on Ebay after months of searching. Of course ordering it isn't in the budget at the moment but it's good to know where I can find it. The only reason I bring it up is because being without a/c will make you re-think the way you do some things. Like firing up the oven. Lately I have been waiting till after dark and it's cooling down to bake my bread. It means I stay up a bit later to get it done but I'm not trying to bake when the outside temps and the oven temps seem to be about the same! I've also been doing what little canning as well as other baking I've been able to do this year at night. As a matter of fact I've got one last batch of pickles that needs processing and a cake that I've been dying to try on the agenda for tonight.
Even though the temperatures are staying around 100 degrees here it is time to start thinking about Fall garden. I am getting ready to pull out my seeds from the freezer and see what all I can get started. I'm counting on the fact that if I get them started Mars will till us up a place to put them. Yeah, I know, it's a little "sneaky" but I know he just won't be able stand to see those cute little plants going "homeless". LOL Besides, with the cost of everything going up so dramatically this past year, how can we afford not to grow as much of our own foods as possible. It's not like food prices are going to be going down and we all need to eat.
So have you started planning or planting anything yet? I've said it before and I'll continue to say it... If you do not have some sort of food growing , you should be. No excuses. I don't want to hear that you don't have any room for growing food. I will call you out on that one! If nothing else, you can grow a little herb garden in your kitchen window. Make a salad garden and grow it on your patio. Anything is better than nothing. You can't eat "nothing". We are coming on some hard times as individuals and as a nation and it is our DUTY to take care of ourselves and our loved ones. No one is "coming to help". We have to be responsible for ourselves. You must look out for you and yours and do the very best you can.
The deal we were supposed to be getting on the internet connection is still on a holding pattern. They showed up to do the install after a 3 week wait and things went great for all of a day and a half. Then it just stopped working. Apparently the modem is bad. So after calling WildBlue about the problem, they set up a date for a tech to come out and fix the problem. The earliest time we could get them out here.... TWO WEEKS. Well since there was nothing we could do about that I set up the appointment for them to come out. They should have been here yesterday. No one called and no one came out. After spending several hours on the phone throughout the day demanding some sort of explanation they rescheduled. For next week. Of course, when they charged me for the service they took it out even before it was ever even installed. Do they care that it will now be SIX weeks and still no service? Yeah, well... of course not! OK, rant over. So for now I'm still using the aircard. Not the greatest way to be online but certainly better than none.
~~~~~~ Hey ... I'm Just Sayin' ... ~~~~~~
lot of tomato's and tomato products around here and having them on hand would sure cut the grocery costs. I'm happy to say that I've been able to put up several jars of pickles, both sweet and dills this year. We should be good to go on them for the coming year. As for the tomato's, maybe it's all for the best. If we have a good fall crop I can do some canning while it's not 100+ degrees outside!
Speaking of hot weather some of you may recall that our air conditioner is out. A hail storm last year took out the fan blade and we haven't been able to locate another one. It seems they stopped manufacturing the part. Thanks to a good friend, I've been able to locate another one on Ebay after months of searching. Of course ordering it isn't in the budget at the moment but it's good to know where I can find it. The only reason I bring it up is because being without a/c will make you re-think the way you do some things. Like firing up the oven. Lately I have been waiting till after dark and it's cooling down to bake my bread. It means I stay up a bit later to get it done but I'm not trying to bake when the outside temps and the oven temps seem to be about the same! I've also been doing what little canning as well as other baking I've been able to do this year at night. As a matter of fact I've got one last batch of pickles that needs processing and a cake that I've been dying to try on the agenda for tonight.
Even though the temperatures are staying around 100 degrees here it is time to start thinking about Fall garden. I am getting ready to pull out my seeds from the freezer and see what all I can get started. I'm counting on the fact that if I get them started Mars will till us up a place to put them. Yeah, I know, it's a little "sneaky" but I know he just won't be able stand to see those cute little plants going "homeless". LOL Besides, with the cost of everything going up so dramatically this past year, how can we afford not to grow as much of our own foods as possible. It's not like food prices are going to be going down and we all need to eat.
So have you started planning or planting anything yet? I've said it before and I'll continue to say it... If you do not have some sort of food growing , you should be. No excuses. I don't want to hear that you don't have any room for growing food. I will call you out on that one! If nothing else, you can grow a little herb garden in your kitchen window. Make a salad garden and grow it on your patio. Anything is better than nothing. You can't eat "nothing". We are coming on some hard times as individuals and as a nation and it is our DUTY to take care of ourselves and our loved ones. No one is "coming to help". We have to be responsible for ourselves. You must look out for you and yours and do the very best you can.
The deal we were supposed to be getting on the internet connection is still on a holding pattern. They showed up to do the install after a 3 week wait and things went great for all of a day and a half. Then it just stopped working. Apparently the modem is bad. So after calling WildBlue about the problem, they set up a date for a tech to come out and fix the problem. The earliest time we could get them out here.... TWO WEEKS. Well since there was nothing we could do about that I set up the appointment for them to come out. They should have been here yesterday. No one called and no one came out. After spending several hours on the phone throughout the day demanding some sort of explanation they rescheduled. For next week. Of course, when they charged me for the service they took it out even before it was ever even installed. Do they care that it will now be SIX weeks and still no service? Yeah, well... of course not! OK, rant over. So for now I'm still using the aircard. Not the greatest way to be online but certainly better than none.
~~~~~~ Hey ... I'm Just Sayin' ... ~~~~~~
Monday, July 11, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Hasty Chocolate Pudding
It has been SO HOT here. The temperature today is forecast for 107, right now it's 105 and I'm positive it's going to hit the mark. It wouldn't be so bad if our main ac was working. Trouble is the fan blades on it were broken during a hailstorm last year and we haven't been able to find anyone who carries it. It seems they don't manufacture the part anymore. So far we've had no luck online finding one. And no luck finding anyone around here who might have a used one either. Anyway... I'll stop whining now!
One thing that we don't do much of in the summer (air conditioner or not) is much cooking in the house. The only real exception to that is when I make bread. I'll stay up late in the evenings after it cools down and then bake enough for the week and freeze it for later on. Most of the time though we cook on the BBQ pit, or on the propane burner I use for my canning. We did fire up the wood stove we found this spring. Mars cooked us a big pot of beans and made tortilla's to go with it. He cooked those on the wood stove too.
Oh and of course there is the microwave. We tend to use that alot in the summer as well. I'm always on the lookout for new things to do. Especially when it comes to desserts. I love to bake but other than bread (which is a necessity) I'm not going to fire up the oven in the summer time. We also love desserts around here. The problem is that there aren't a whole lot of desserts I've found to make during the heat of summer. So when I saw this recipe on All Recipes (I just love that site!)I just HAD to try it. Boy oh boy am I glad I did! This is super easy and only takes a few minutes to prepare. The only problem is.... it doesn't last long around here. So I thought it would only be fair to share it with you here.
Hasty Chocolate Pudding
Ingredients
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups milk (sub 3/4 c powdered milk + 2 cups water)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa and cornstarch. Whisk in milk a little at a time so the mixture does not have any dry lumps.
Place in the microwave, and cook for 3 minutes on high. Stir, then cook at 1 minute intervals, stirring between cooking times for 2 to 4 minutes, or until shiny and thick. Stir in vanilla.
Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming, and chill in the refrigerator. Serve cold.
Really simple to make and it doesn't heat up the house. Oh, it doesn't hurt that it's really good too! I've made it a couple of times and have had to double the recipe just to see if it will last two days. Does it? Sometimes!
~~~~~~ Hey ... I'm Just Sayin' ... ~~~~~~
One thing that we don't do much of in the summer (air conditioner or not) is much cooking in the house. The only real exception to that is when I make bread. I'll stay up late in the evenings after it cools down and then bake enough for the week and freeze it for later on. Most of the time though we cook on the BBQ pit, or on the propane burner I use for my canning. We did fire up the wood stove we found this spring. Mars cooked us a big pot of beans and made tortilla's to go with it. He cooked those on the wood stove too.
Oh and of course there is the microwave. We tend to use that alot in the summer as well. I'm always on the lookout for new things to do. Especially when it comes to desserts. I love to bake but other than bread (which is a necessity) I'm not going to fire up the oven in the summer time. We also love desserts around here. The problem is that there aren't a whole lot of desserts I've found to make during the heat of summer. So when I saw this recipe on All Recipes (I just love that site!)I just HAD to try it. Boy oh boy am I glad I did! This is super easy and only takes a few minutes to prepare. The only problem is.... it doesn't last long around here. So I thought it would only be fair to share it with you here.
Hasty Chocolate Pudding
Ingredients
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups milk (sub 3/4 c powdered milk + 2 cups water)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa and cornstarch. Whisk in milk a little at a time so the mixture does not have any dry lumps.
Place in the microwave, and cook for 3 minutes on high. Stir, then cook at 1 minute intervals, stirring between cooking times for 2 to 4 minutes, or until shiny and thick. Stir in vanilla.
Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming, and chill in the refrigerator. Serve cold.
Really simple to make and it doesn't heat up the house. Oh, it doesn't hurt that it's really good too! I've made it a couple of times and have had to double the recipe just to see if it will last two days. Does it? Sometimes!
~~~~~~ Hey ... I'm Just Sayin' ... ~~~~~~
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