Cat Pictures

Birthday recap

My birthday weekend was pretty awesome this year.

I'm really not sure how that all came to be, but it was.

Friday night ....had drinks and appetizers with my sister at Red Dawgs and then saw Donnie Iris, which was cool, even thought it was only 2 songs.

Saturday I did some shopping, along with my usual laundry, got some cool clothes and discovered that our tiny Mexican taco stand type restaurant is awesome.

On my birthday, I went to the library's book sale and to Barnes and Noble and Trax. It really couldn't get much better than that.

Oh and pizza pretzels rock

I drooled over some pretty gorgeous flowers at Trax too.

It was really a nice few days

Its My Birthday and I'll Cry If I Want To

I want to talk about Doctor

I watched the finale of series 10 of Doctor Who and I'm absolutely gutted. I have a tendency to cry at the end of Doctor Who series, especially when a Doctor is departing.

I cried for the 10th Doctor..I cried at the Day of The Doctor for everyone, I cried for 11, though I wasn't fond of the episode, but for The Doctor falls, I started crying early on for 12.

See, I feel like 12 has got the short end of the stick in his brief tenure as The Doctor. Peter Capaldi was so brilliant in his curmudgeonly incarnation of the time lord, but he was saddled with the worst companion for 2 out of his 3 series.

Clara Oswald and Danny Pink ruined things for him, rather than making the episodes better. Sure Jenna Coleman is a beautiful girl and she was ok with The Eleventh Doctor, but saddled with a mature, not classically handsome timelord made her unbearable.

Twelve deserved a companion like Sarah Jane Smith, someone smart and inquisitive.  Bill Potts was a nice addition, but I still wanted more. Oh and I don't care what anyone says, I loved Nardole. (Matt Lucas is fab)

Deep down I think River Song or Missy would have made a fabulous companion for 12 for a complete series.

By the time the episode was ending, in a nasty cliffhanger way, I was really looking for tissue. I just don't want Capaldi to go and the ending....AH...just AH...I want to see the Christmas episode so badly, but I don't want 12 to regenerate.

I hate when tv shows leave me gutted like this.

Donnie Iris

Be proud of me.

I went.

He played 2 songs

Routines are Bad

I am a creature of habit.

Back in my 20s and even my early 30s I'd be able to get home from work, decide I wanted to go somewhere and go. I wouldn't feel like my day was screwed up if I did.

I'm going to be 43 on Saturday, if I go to the grocery store after 6 o'clock, I feel like my life is being shook up.

I don't know why this has happened to me, but I don't like it, and I don't know how to change it. I like things done at a certain time and when they aren't I get frustrated.

This weekend is community days in our town and there's a small concert downtown on Friday night. Donnie Iris, a kinda local one hit wonder from the 80s is playing. I mentioned that I wouldn't mind going down. (This is about 6 blocks down the hill) and then it was decided that I'd go with my sister, and yet something is not sitting right with me, going somewhere and doing something, that is likely going to be fun.

WTF is wrong with me?

Have I had to worry about too many other people that when I have a chance to do something now I feel guilty about doing it and therefore don't want to? Am I becoming that anti-social?


ARGH!

I need to break out of my boring routine that is turning me into a lump

Important albums in my life

It nearing my birthday and my birthday has always brought music to mind.  Today I found myself thinking about all the albums that really meant a lot to me in my   *GASP* 43 years.


There are artists that have to be on this list:

The Moody Blues, Elvis Costello, Gordon Lightfoot, Glass Tiger, Erasure to name but a few. Some artists that seemed important to me for a long time aren't anymore.

I seriously can not take much Duran Duran these days. I used to love them. I had dreams of Simon LeBon and Nick Rhodes, but these days I can barely listen to them.

Off the top of my head the albums that I can still listen to and love even now are


The Moody Blues - Long Distance Voyager
The Moody Blues  - Strange Times
Elvis Costello - Brutal Youth
Elvis Costello - Blood and Chocolate
Gordon Lightfoot - Sundown
Gordon Lightfoot - Summertime Dream
Erasure - I Say I Say I Say
Erasure - Wild
Keith Harkin - Keith Harkin
Justin Hayward - The View From A Hill
Celtic Thunder - Heritage
Byrne & Kelly - Acoustically Irish
The Monkees - Headquarters
The Monkees - Pisces Aquarius Capricorn & Jones
Diana Krall - The Girl In The Other Room
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
The Beatles - Revolver
George Harrison - Cloud 9
George Harrison - Somewhere In England
Paul McCartney - Press To Play
Paul McCartney - Tug Of War

Internet Free Days

Sunday my cable modem died. Comcast couldn't bring another one out until late Tuesday, so I was mostly internet free for nearly 3 days.

It was refreshing.

I didn't get overloaded on news about 45, which actually relaxed me for a bit.

I actually got some reading done too. That was amazing.

In those days I really came to understand what "Too Much Information" really means. News is out there in so many sources, real and fake. (BTW CNN isn't fake news...) And what does that news do? It helps foster the hatred that is so prevalent in our society today.

Maybe we all need to unplug a lot more.

Then we wouldn't be angry or jealous or just anxious of what is going on.

Watching the 6 o'clock news is enough to fill the void anymore.

Losing My Mind

OK, most of you probably know that I don't have much of a mind to start with, but I am losing what I have left of one now.

I get books from publishers to review and from authors that have tours scheduled for their books.

One book has gone missing, and I swear to god I had it.

I swear it had been on the mantle above my fireplace.

The only place it could have gone from there would be my reading room and it isn't freaking there.

I swear to god that the book has vanished into thin air!

This is the kind of stuff that happens to me all the dang time.

Join me in saying ARGH please.

Why I Don't Like Holidays

Holidays always bite me in the ass.

I try to make them nice.

I go out of my way to decorate...to make good food...whatever I can and yet nothing ever goes right.

Memorial Day had my kitty 'Mokey in a tizzy. I thought he had a UTI. Seems my cat is neurotic and has a horrible flea allergy.

Can  you say bye bye to money?

$173.00 later, 'Mokey had quite a shot and now has a fancy flea coller.

Hopefully that will help the little guy out.

This comes one month after Dewey had eye/ear problems.

Seriously, I can go years with no health issues with my pets, but when they decide to get issues they do it all at one time.

And things like this always happen around holidays or birthdays or other days that are supposed to be calm and relaxing, but never ever are.

Scales, Exercise and I'd Rather Be Fat

OK, no I wouldn't rather be fat, but there is nothing more irksome than doing your best to become more active then stepping on the scale and finding that its gone up a few pounds.

Yeah.

Each day this week I've done over the 10,000 steps that Fitbit seems to think we should all do. I know that's not a lot, but I've actually been doing closer to 20,000 steps and one time I even went over 21,000.

When it hasn't been raining I've been taking at least a mile long walk after supper.

The scale could have been nice. It could have gone down a pound.

But no, that would bring me joy and I can't have that.

But I will plug on.

I am determined.

The 5 Kitchen Gadgets That Everyone Should Have

I watch a lot of shows on Food Network, much to my chagrin.

I have always said, I'd like to see some of these uppity cooks do their thing in a real kitchen

My kitchen is small and it has the added feature of having cabinets that are very low, which limits what I can have sitting on my counter space. Today Ree Drummond was making hashbrown waffles in the biggest waffle iron I have ever laid eyes on.

Uh I have a barely used Belgian waffle iron and a Nordicware cast iron, stove top iron.

I think there are about 5 gadgets that should be in every kitchen whether they are for cooking or prep.

1. A Crock Pot: The size depends on how many people you have in your household. I have a small 4 qt and a larger 5 qt. Because of space issues, I store mine in the basement when not in use, but it is definitely not a gadget that I could live without, even if I hate cleaning it.

2. A good mixer: Everyone should have at least a good quality hand mixer. (If you can find one with attachments the better) If you are a baker, having a Kitchenaid stand mixer is a must. They are pricey but well worth the investment. Plus there are so many attachments you can buy once you own one that you can do many many things from grounding your own meat to making pasta.

3. A Food Processor: This is a versatile gadget. I mean chopping nuts, making salsa, shredding cheese and veggies. I like this article on the Food Processor v/s The Blender. The blender is also an awesome gadget, but I've found that I've only used it a handful of times. I'm not a smoothie maker, but if you are, this is something you should add.

4. A toaster or toaster oven. No home should be without a toaster. (If you have a big enough kitchen, a toaster oven is so worth the investment. I wish I had the counter space for one, as they are great for brownies, open faced cheese sandwiches and small casseroles)

5. An egg slicer.  This is such a little gadget, but as I look at my huge collection of appliances and gadgets..its one that gets a lot of use. If you can find a really good one, it makes making egg salad so much easier, as you double slice the egg.

Some runner up things

1. A mandolin slicer, but for god sake use the guard. I love this for making scalloped potatoes, fried zucchini, or cucumber salad.

2. Pineapple peeler: If you like pineapple this is a great gadget and it really works like a charm.

New Mp3 Player Arrived!

Well my new device came today. Woo hoo! The Zen is still functioning but it isn't recognized on my computer or my nephew's.

So yeah, there is something wrong.

It is holding a charge though..so I'm going to keep it charged as long as I can.

I payed close to $200 for it 12 years ago..I don't want to toss it while it still has some juice left in it.

Ahh..all the Doctor Who and Torchwood I watched on that teeny tiny screen.

Tonight I will hook up my external hard drive and add some tunes to the new player. Woo hoo.

I'm hoping the new player has good or at least passable earbuds. (I could rant for days on how I hate earbuds)

This will be making my walking a little more tolerable. I've been walking about a mile each night at our walking path. So yay.

Any exercise is good exercise right?

And exercise with music is even better.

Walking Walking Walking

Well, after nearly two years at my new address, I finally started to utilize the walking path/dog park that is two blocks down from my house.

Can you say lazy?

I think you can.

Its a pain for me to go to the Y during the week, but I can sure as hell walk down the block. (Even though I live on a huge hill and those two blocks coming back up are pretty painful)

I've done at least a mile for the last two days, so that's a start.

Now if only my Zen Micro would stay alive.

Its partially charged again, after 2 days of usage.

I think it might be time for a new device.

My computer doesn't seem to recognize it when I plug it in to the USB port, but when I plug it into the wall, it does show that it is trying to charge.

Isn't it nice to know that things are built to last.

HA HA HA

I paid close to $200 bucks for the dang thing..I think it should last a good long time. (And walking sucks without music)

Lazarus Thy Name is Zen Micro

My ancient mp3 player, a Zen Micro that I bought...god, in 2005 maybe has come back from the dead.

I've been trying for months to get the battery to charge. If you look to youtube about changing the battery, you know that changing a $10.00 battery can actually kill the player because they didn't build this player to change the battery.

Yeah.

WTF would the company be that stupid.

I don't own, or ever even want an Iphone. My smartphone only has the bare minimum of apps on it. I even disabled Facebook, because Facebook is in fact, the devil.

Today I got to walk and listen to Keith Harkin, so all is good. Now I need to move some Justin Hayward to my player so I can have some more variety to my life.

Yay for my mp3 player being raised from the dead.

Trying new things

I've been making a lot of new recipes.

I found a recipe for overnight oats here  I've got that in a bowl in the fridge for breakfast tomorrow. I had to make a few changes to the recipe. I only had french vanilla creamer and vanilla yogurt, but from what I could tell when I sampled the mixture, it is going to be delish.

The other thing I'm planning on making is a coconut-peach crisp that I found in a cookbook I have to review.

The cookbook is called Signs & Seasons; An Astrology cookbook.

Most of the recipes are a bit more involved and with pricey ingredients, but this one looked delicious. I wouldn't mind trying the frittata caprese which has relatively easy to find ingredients.

I'll keep you posted as to how they turned out.

My Intentions Are Good

I've wanted to get back to blogging regularly. Lord knows I've tried.

Things keep happening and well..I just don't know.

I think the thing is...my life is so boring now I have nothing to say anymore.

I don't watch much new tv. I don't get out to the movies ever. I haven't been to a concert in 7 years.

7 years!

I'm lucky if I can get to a coffee shop to relax once a month.

I will try to keep up the blog. Not that anyone reads it anymore.

How life changes.

In Case You Wondered

Mom spent the last 3.5 days in the hospital.

The reason?

Possibly mini-stroke.

They can't be sure, but they do know that she has blockages in her carotid arteries, but because of her age and heart condition, etc. nothing can be done.

So...I've essentially got a mother that is a ticking time bomb in my house.

I'm 42....I'm not ready to be an orphan

Bad Day At Badrock

Just saying...

6 hours of watching an online rail auction at work...

Mom is not feeling well

Nerves are shot.

Can this week get a do over?

Let's Talk About Music

The last two days I've had two very random songs stuck in my head. Songs that I haven't listened to in ages, Olivia Newton-John's Silvery Rain and The Beatles' Wait.

Can't get stranger than that.

I long for my music collection which for the most part is still packed away in boxes in my basement. My external hard drive is in my nephew's room because there's no place for it in my living room.

Grrr.

I totally need music back in my life on a more regular basis. It has been ages since I purchased a CD. I so need a few Home Free discs (probably a Christmas one) There's also a new Erasure CD I need to preorder as well as a new Diana Krall disc.

~sigh~

I remember when all I did was listen to music.

Am I getting old? What has happened to me?

How to make me feel better in one easy picture

Words are not needed, right?

What A Week

Let's see... Its been a few days and things as always are a bit crazy.

I spent the better part of Friday cleaning my house, because my brother was coming home. Thursday I had my kitty Dewey to the vet. She had an eye ulcer and ear mites.

Fun Fun.

Nearly $200 later, she has eye and ear drops and is quite on the mend.

Thank God.

I have many cats, but sometimes there are a few that are super special. Dewey is one of them. She's my special girl. She loves spaghetti, chipped ham, cheese and chicken. She likes to clean the dishes before they go into the sink.

I found out she was probably much older than we thought she was too, which fills me with terror, because she's my girl.

Some people have children. I have cats. Much less problems and I don't have to put them through college.

My daybed also arrived on Thursday and we have it assembled now. The mattress should come today and I can get my reading nook all ready for my enjoyment. (And probably for the cats to barf on)

Ah well...that's life!

Hump Day Hunks

Time for some pretty!

Scared Of The News

I know I can't be the only one that is totally nauseated by the current administration here in the US. It seems like every day something awful is coming out of Disneyland on the Potomac.

I understand everyone wants jobs.

Jobs are important.

I don't think there is a single person that would disagree with that.

But at what expense?

As we make corporations more powerful, the workers lose there rights.

We bust unions, and yes, the unions have been corrupt, but they have also done good as well.

Do we want to go back in time?

Granted if you really understand history, it has happened.

There was a time period called The Dark Ages...perhaps we are headed for another one of those.

Oh and if there is no planet left, because we've destroyed this one with pollution all for the almighty dollar, what then?

When you are dead, all the wealth in the world isn't going to help you.

Busy Busy Busy

I wanted to blog yesterday, but I really got busy with house stuff.

I cleaned my dining room buffet, mopped the floor, took a lot of stuff to the basement, where I cleaned off some shelving.

Got the bathroom looking pretty shiny too.

Made mom a meatloaf for her lunches this week.

Seriously folks, being on a low sodium diet makes meal planning a bitch. Mom is on a very low sodium diet, and besides veggies, I have no idea what to feed her that won't land her in the hospital with IV lasix.

Oh and I bought my Daybed. Found a great buy at Wayfair for $100.00 and a Serta mattress locally for $250!

Now I just need to get a nice cozy throw and my room will be a reading nook!

Woo hoo!

Hopefully by next week everything will be all situated.

Oh and ham bbq taquitos are absolutely delish!

Weekend Cooking : The Great Taquito Catastrophe

I have seen so many fabulous recipes for slow cooker taquitos and since I had a chuck roast in the freezer I thought I'd give it a go.

The recipe is easy.

1 can beef broth
1 can Rotel tomatoes (or similar brand)
McCormick Southwest seasoning for the beef
Shredded mexican or taco cheese
Soft taco torillas

Season the beef with the McCormick Southwest seasoning
pour soup and tomatoes over the beef
Cook on low 6-8 hours

Shred

Preheat oven 400 degrees

Spray cookie sheet liberally with butter spray. (Seriously...do it..I don't care what any other recipes say. Spray the hell out of that sheet!)


Place a few tablespoons of beef on tortilla then add cheese and roll.

Place seam side down on the sheet.

Bake 10-15 minutes

Now for my tale of woe.. Some time during the day my crockpot got unplugged and at 4 o'clock we had to put it on high for a few hours.

When I took the beef out...it was done but didn't want to shred.

After I finally got them in the oven they stuck to the pan.

Thankfully they were delicious.

5 Questions Friday

1. If you were free to just hop in the car and drive, where would you go? Or, if you could hop a plane and go anywhere, where?  

I think I'd want to go somewhere I haven't been before, so I would  start driving to New York until I ended up at Alexandria Bay and could get on a boat and head to Boldt Castle. This is on my bucket list of places to go at some point in my life.

2. What's your most recently read favorite book? 



The Roanoke Girls is absolutely fabulous.

I read it for a book tour a few weeks ago. If you were a fan of books like Flowers in the Attic, (Or anything by V.C. Andrews) this is an absolute must read.

It's dark, its creepy and its great.

Read my review here



3. What's your favorite Spring Break memory?

I never did the whole spring break thing. I was poor. I still am. Flying to Florida was never in my budget. The only spring break memory I really have is the one that involved 53 inches of snow in 1993. Yup. My first spring break in college and we got a blizzard!


4. What do you put in your child's Easter basket? Or, for those w/o kids, what was put in your childhood basket?

No kids here, but I still do Easter baskets. They are always full of candy. Hershey's kisses, M & M's and anything else that looks good. I like to fill plastic eggs with candy sot that they look like the basket is full of colored eggs

5. Do you get a summer haircut?

Nah, though if I'm lucky I get a trim in the summer to make my head feel lighter.

Thursday Thirteen

Thursday 13 is an easy meme with no topic except for the one you choose. Simply make a list of 13 things and post it on Thursday. Topics folks use include books, photos, runaway thoughts, collections, lists of whatever you are interested in.

Thirteen things I need to do to this weekend. Most of them deal with spring cleaning.

1. Get to the YMCA Saturday and Sunday. (I really need to try to get back there on a more regular basis)

2. Finish reading the 3 library books I have on my TBR pile.

3. Try to get my dining room floor to look clean. (I have a floor that is super porous. If I use stuff like Swifter wet jet cleaner on it or any normal cleaner, I get a horrid white residue, and I can't find the Pledge finishing coat for it anywhere lately)

4. Organize my basement pantry. (My canned goods are getting out of hand)

5. Come up with a menu list for next week.

6. Listen to music. (I haven't really enjoyed music in such a long time. I need it back in my life)

7. Decorate the living room for spring. (It looks very bleh in there)

8. Give the bathroom a good clean.

9. Go through my closet for items to donate to goodwill. (I need to give up my skinny girl clothes that I've been dreaming I'll fit into again. It ain't happening)

10. Put up the new curtains in the upstairs rooms. (Not ready for the cats to kill them in the dining room and living room)

11. Make a new recipe for dinner.

12. Do some online browsing for a daybed for my room.

13. Take a few minutes and relax.

What is the world coming to.

Seriously, we live in a very fucked up world.

The incident in London is heartbreaking.

Washington D.C.....or as Bilbo likes to call it Disneyland on the Potomac is just fucking nuts. Yes, I'm a bleeding heart liberal. I care about people and I care about the planet.

So to make the world a better place, I'm giving you the Hump Day Hunks (That's one list you'll never find Cheeto Hitler on)

I Give Up

Every time I think I'm going to be a good blogger. I screw up and I don't blog.

I really need to find some motivation

or I'm going to have to start posting pictures of my cats.

Except that my phone hasn't done a sync of my photos on Google since Thanksgiving!!! Yeah, even my phone is lazy.

So for shits and giggles, here are two photos of Naughty Dottie, taking care of my books.

Whine Whine Wine?

I am not a happy human.

3 reasons:

Keith Harkin Pittsburgh March 17
Elvis Costello Pittsburgh June 13
The Moody Blues Northfield Ohio Rocksino July 2

Can't go to any of them.

No money

No mom sitter

Can't go to the opening of the new Cider place at Trax Farms this month either.

Can't buy my new bed..

Why?

Got a cavity....that's going to cost a couple hundred to fill..plus I just went for a cleaning.

So much for that nice refund I got this year.

All I got were new curtains for the house.

And yes, my friends, I do want some cheese with my WHINE

I Just Can't Win

I really want to get back to blogging on a more consistent basis, but things happen in my life and I just can't seem to sit down and write as much as I'd like.

Mom hasn't been feeling good this past week, which always puts me on edge.

I'm always doing my best to try to keep her out of the hospital.

It costs so much for all involved when she ends up at Mon Valley.

It's $4.00 a day to have tv on in a room, which raises her monthly phone bill. Then it costs me $2.00 a trip to park in the garage there. This is a huge bone of contention for me, because the only people that use that lot are patients and guests of patients. So they are making money off of people that are using their services or visiting sick loved ones.

Oh and just an aside, Mon Valley Hospital is not a city hospital that would have people other than patients/visitors/employees working there.

Which is why I'm glad I haven't had to be there lately

5 Things

5 artists that could sing me to sleep and the song they would sing

At some point I know I've answered this question, but I think the answer may have changed just a little bit.

Gordon Lightfoot: Pony Man. This song is actually a children's song and there was even a book to go along with it.

Keith Harkin: Daisy Fields or Orange Moon. OK, Keith Harkin could probably sing anything to me and I'd happily go off into the land of nod. I've done it before. That's what Amazon Music is for.

Justin Hayward: Did you think Justiny poo wouldn't make the list? He's another one that could sing the NYC phone book and I'd be happy. For him, though I'd pick New Horizons

Micky Dolenz: Please come and sing Sometime In The Morning...which is one of my favorite Monkee ballads.

Ryan Kelly: Yes another Celtic Thunder boy, and he can bring his dog too. I want to here him sing Hallelujah

I need to be prompted

I found an awesome site with 119 journal prompts

In an effort to get myself back to more regularly blogging....I'm going to go through some of these or maybe all of these.

I'm picking on from the "If" section....

• If you could meet any fictional character, who would it be?

This is actually a hard question to answer because there several fictional characters that I would like to meet.

My first choice would be Erik from The Phantom of the Opera. I think I might try to talk some sense into him, maybe get him to consider therapy. and remind him that kidnapping singers is not a good thing. Oh and I'd play the musical for him to see how he liked it.

But lets go on to more interesting TV fictional characters..

I want to meet THE DOCTOR.

This is one character that is probably more intriguing than a lot of characters that are just in novels and stories, because of his wibbley wobbley timey whimey-ness. There are parts of this character that will always be left open for the imagination.

That's probably part of the reason why this show can continue on the way it has. Faces can changes, companions change..and if we are unfortunate enough, even gender can change.

However..I'd prefer to meet the Doctor as 11 or 12....if I met 10..I'd drool on him too much, because no matter what, 10 was pretty darn easy on the eyes.

Who would you chose?

Songs Everyone Over 50 Should Own

This is my response to Bilbo's post which was inspired by an AARP article of the same name.

Here are the songs from the AARP list

Once Upon a Time, by Frank Sinatra
Harvest Moon, by Neil Young
Lately, by Stevie Wonder
A House Is Not a Home, by Dionne Warwick
Little Green, by Joni Mitchell
Gangsta's Paradise, by Coolio
Landslide, by Stevie Nicks
Hotel California, by The Eagles
You Shook Me All Night Long, by AC/DC
C'est La Vie, by Emmylou Harris
He Stopped Loving Her Today, by George Jones
For What It's Worth, by Buffalo Springfield
Crazy, by Patsy Cline
God Only Knows, by The Beach Boys
Jailhouse Rock, by Elvis Presley
In My Life, by The Beatles

I do like some of these songs, but for the most part it says if you are over 50 you stop listening to new music sometime in the 80s...And because you want to be a cool old codger they tossed a rap song in there..that is better when Weird Al did a parody.

Now I'm not putting this list down, because there are some really lovely tunes here..I'm partial to the Landslide which should be labeled as a Fleetwood Mac song and For What Its Worth by Buffalo Springfield


I'm going to do this a bit different

5 songs from the 50s
The Everly Brothers - All I Have To Do Is Dream
Frank Sinatra - Fly Me To The Moon
Buddy Holly - Peggy Sue
Bobby Darrin - Mack The Knife
Elvis Presley - Hound Dog


5 songs from the 60s
The Monkees - Pleasant Valley Sunday
The Beatles - All You Need Is Love
Chad and Jeremy - Yesterday's Gone
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap - Lady Willpower
Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade Of Pale


5 songs from the 70s
Gordon Lightfoot - Sundown
The Moody Blues - Question
James Taylor - Mexico
Jimmy Buffett - Volcano
Carly Simon - Your So Vain

5 Songs from the 80s
Elvis Costello - Man Out Of Time
Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me
Duran Duran - Union Of The Snake
Whitney Houston - The Greatest Love Of All
Michael Jackson - Man In The Mirror

5 Songs from the 90s
The Gin Blossoms - Allison Road
Madonna - Frozen
Matchbox Twenty - 3 am
Semisonic - Closing Time
Alanis Morrissette - You  Oughta Know

5 Things On Sunday

5 Things I Need a Lifetime Supply of

I never thought I'd have a hard time answering this question.

1. Money: I mean really this should be on everyone's list. How else could you have lifetime supplies of anything else without this one?

2. Canada Dry Blackberry Ginger Ale: OK Canada Dry peeps this was a limited edition flavor.  I don't drink much soda anymore, but when I do its always ginger ale or Sprite.

3. Cozy mystery novels. Those are my genre of choice these days

4. Dove Dark Chocolate: I don't think I need to explain myself here.

5. Lambic Beer: The Belgium champagne of beers and its delicious

Booking Through Thursday

What kind of book do you like to curl up with on a snowy day?

Snow days, like today are the hardest days for me to really read. I tend to catch up on stuff that I may not usually get around to. The house gets an extra good cleaning. I clean out the fridge. That's the sort of stuff that I do on snow days.

Oh and baking....especially if its a planned snow day. You know when you know that a foot of snow is coming. That's when I try to bake bread or something I wouldn't normally be able to do otherwise.

So I'd say the first type of book that I'd curl up with on a snowy day would be one of my many cookbooks.

The next type of book I like to curl up with on a snowy day is a good historical novel. I like anything historical, mysteries, romances or books revolving around royalty.

The question now is, what book am I going read on this snow day!

Remembering My Daddy

I miss my dad.

I like to remember the little things about him...that made him who he was.

He was a hard worker. Even after he retired from Corning Glass, he worked as a custodian at the high school to keep busy.

He was good at fixing cars and he always gave our old Malibu a tune up before we'd go on vacation. The level of difficulty in the job always coincided with how many "sonfabitchinbastards" that came out of his mouth.

He loved to eat out, especially Mexican and Chinese food. I took him to Rock Bottom and he had pot pie, and I thought he was going to lick the plate. We always ate out on Sundays. When mom couldn't go with us any longer, I always took him, even if he had to lug around his oxygen tank to go to La Fiesta.

He was fond of a good beer. (Especially at Rock Bottom)

Dessert was his favorite part of any meal. He loved his sweets. Even in his last months...he wanted cookies and candy more than any other food.

He was stubborn. (With a touch of dementia from his blood and lung disorders he could be frustrating with this trait and it often caused us to scream at him, but never to stop loving him)

He was a great dishwasher. No one else could clean up like him.

He liked to break our Coke glasses. (He was good at breaking things that the rest of us liked, especially if he was doing something he didn't want to do)

He was generous. When I wanted to get my first CD player, he left quarters on the floor of my room to help me with my savings.

He was a savior. I can't begin to count the times he had to come and rescue either my sister or me where stuck somewhere with a broken down car or stuck in the snow.

He was a wonderful man, and not a day goes by that I don't miss me.

Reading Slump

I am totally in a reading slump. I have so many books that sit half finished, some are good, others aren't holding my attention and are just frustrating the hell out of me.

I very seldom leave books unfinished. That's just not how I am. I slog through most everything. (Except Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned. I tried that one 3 times and never could get through it)

I'm not even sure how to break out of this slump, since I've been trying books of all my favorite genres, and nothing is making me happy.

I can't remember when I last had a book that I didn't want to put down. Maybe it is because I have to many and I have such high standards when it comes to my books.

Whatever it is, its making me very sad. (especially since tv and politics suck too)

Sheet Pan Suppers Rock

OK, I have to admit. I'm lazy. I love to cook but I hate cleaning up, so I'm a huge fan of anything that can be cooked in one pot, pan or in this case sheet pan.

Yesterday I made a fabulous dinner of cubed potatoes, smoked sausage and brussel spouts all on a sheet pan.

The potatoes where done with olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika mixture...the sprouts had olive oil and natures seasonings on them

Today was a sheet pan chicken parm, which was delicious except the chicken breasts obviously came from a chicken the size of a turkey.

My Favorite Authors

Bilbo  has a fabulous post on his blog about his favorite authors. These are authors whose books you buy, just because you know they are going to be winners every time.

I have very odd taste in books. I run the gamut from romance to mystery to sci-fi and many spots in between.

Here are a few of my favorite authors.

Sarah Morgan: Sarah is romance writer. A lot of her early books were for the Presents line, which I was never a huge fan of, but in recent years, she's stepped out of the shadows of the sheikh's and is writing longer series books and they are all so wonderful. The O'Neill Brothers trilogy is one of my favorites. (And Sarah writes the best Christmas stories EVER)

Heather Wardell: Heather is one of the only authors I have ever met. She writes women's fiction that makes you think. There's always a touch of romance there, but it isn't the gushy kind. My favorite book is Planning to Live. You can't finish this one without shedding a tear or two or twenty.

Phillipa Gregory: I have always loved historical fiction that involved the royals. My first favorite author, who is sadly no longer with us was Jean Plaidy. Phillipa's Tudor novels are some of my very favorites, after all, how can you not be fascinated with Henry VIII.

Janet Evanovich: I'm a huge fan of the Stephanie Plum series, though I do think it has gone on a little to long. We're up to book 23 now. I'm not as apt to buy her books these days as to take them out of the library, but they still are good fun, for what its worth.

Meg Cabot: Most people know her for her Princess Diaries series, but I love her Heather Wells Mysteries which are really funny and just plain fun reads.

Richard Paul Evans:  Yes, his books are sappy, but they warm my heart. I've read so many of them and if you handed me his latest, I would read it without question.

C.W. Gortner: C.W. Gortner writes some fabulous historical fiction. I've recently read his book, Marlene that was about Dietrich and it was fabulous.

There really are too many authors that I love...Amanda Stevens who writes the Graveyard Queen books which are beyond fabulous. Holly Jacobs, a PA author who writes the best romances and of course Terry Pratchett, who has gone on..as well as Joyce and Jim Lavene

Oh My Country

I have strong political beliefs.

Since November I've kept quiet. My heart hurts for my country. I thought, I hoped that perhaps things wouldn't be as bad as they seemed they would be since "he who shall not be named" was elected

Last weekend I had my eyes on the Women's march on Washington.

This weekend the ban on Muslims has just left me horrified. I understand the need for secure borders, but what is happening is not right and not what America is about.

I have never wanted to get involved in a protest so much before this.

We can't let this country change this way quietly.

Getting Back To Music

Ah music...there's good, there's bad and there's WTF.

I had one of our "plays everything" station..and then this song came on...

I'm not exactly sure what to say about it, except it probably will end up an ear worm, which is very seldom a good thing.

The old lady in me says..god...I miss when songs had meaning...or something....that definitely isn't this.

Steak Night

Oh how I love it when Giant Eagle puts strip steaks on sale.

Yum!

Some butter spray in the pan.

Some Montreal seasoning on the steaks

Baked potatoes in the oven...

And a pot of cheesy broccoli and wild rice soup in a pot.

It really can't get better than this.

My house smells divine and everything was thrown together pretty easily.

I found the soup recipe in a Taste Of Home Fast Fixes With Mixes Cookbook. Super easy and very tasty.

Life is good when the food is good

I've vanished again

Mom's heart has been acting up again.

She's been having a lot of issues on Saturday mornings which is making getting the laundry done a bit of a challenge.

Why?

Yes, I own a home.

No I don't have a washer dryer, because I don't have the money to rewire my basement and then buy two new machines.

So yeah, once a week, I trek down to the local laundromat and wash my clothes.  I'm actually kind of thankful for it, because washing and drying the four loads would probably take longer to do at home than the 2 hours it takes me when I go to the laundromat.

The only problem is there are certain times of the day when you just don't want to be there.

You know when the people that only do the laundry once a month are there and you can't get a washer or a dryer.

And today she had another spell...

Oye..

Not one that landed her in the ER...but one that kept me house bound until this afternoon.

Doing the laundry at 3:30 PM is not fun, especially when there is a greedy woman hogging all the high capacity washers.

Grrr

Happy New Year

2017 is here. Let's hope it is better than 2016 but I can't for the life of me figure out how that can happen.

There are things to look forward to this year though.

~ Doctor Who sometimes this spring.

~ Sherlock (NOW!)

Hmmmm

I can't seem to think of anything else right now.

Ending The Year With A Bang

Mom is back in the hospital.

She's getting to be like dad now. Every few months she has a spell.

She's got 1 functioning kidney which is only going at 25%

We've got her on restricted fluids.

I don't even know what I can feed her. Everything seems to work against her and yet we still want her to get nourishment.

It is beyond frustrating.

I'm not ready to be an orphan, because I need her too much. I know that I'm 42 years old and I should have things together, but I don't.

Mom is my rock.

I don't know what I'll do without her, and frankly right now I'm terrified, for my own selfish reasons. I'm just glad she's stable and dialysis hasn't been brought up yet.

Getting Organized

I'm doing my best to get my life sorted out in the new year.

I'm also going to make my life less stressful in the new year.

I plan to limit my time on Facebook, because that site has caused my nerves to spiral out of control with all the political hatred.

I can't take it.

I really want to hide under a rock for the year and just bask in all the books I've acquired in the last year.

My reading has declined in the years since my father got sick and passed. I want to change that. I want to embrace all the books in my life as they are far more important than facebook games and making my blood pressure go through the roof.

I also hope to go back to enjoying music again, which I haven't really done in ages. I probably stopped loving music, when I started writing reviews for stuff that I didn't want to listen to.

I want to get my book collection cleaned up and my TBR pile shrunk.

Are these resolutions?

Maybe.

To me they are just goals that I may or may not accomplish in the coming year.

In A Year Of Sadness...Things That Make Me Happy

OK, Debbie Reynolds dies one day after her daughter....a few hours after telling her son that she missed her daughter so much, she wanted to be with her.

So if that doesn't make you cry, you are inhuman.

So to keep myself from getting too depressed about all the death...

Things that make me happy

~ My furbabies

~ My family (though not all the time)

~ Good tv shows like Sherlock, Doctor Who and even People Of Earth for a bit of mindless fun.

~ Good books...heck at this point even bad books that can transport you somewhere else.

~ Chocolate

~ Starbucks coffee

~ Cookbooks

~ Baking

The Year Of The Reaper

My friend, Jennifer shared this on her facebook today.

How true this is.

It seems like the amount of celebrity deaths was truly astronomical this year.

It probably isn't but the ones that passed were ones that were really beloved and influential in many lives

David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Prince, 2/3 of Emerson Lake and Palmer, Leonard Cohen, Pete Burns and George Michael to name but a few of the musical deaths...

Alan Thicke, Florence Henderson, Doris Roberts, Alan Young are a few from the TV front...

And today, Carrie Fisher.

Hey, Reaper! Don't you need some crappy politicians? Washington is full of them?

Can we pull a Torchwood, Miracle Day please?

You know..a day when no one dies.

RIP George Michael

2016 proves that its not yet done making the world a dimmer place.

On Christmas the world lost George Michael, who started his career as one half of the pop duo Wham!

I remember absolutely loving songs like Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go), Freedom and Careless Whisper and I'm Your Man.

His solo career was filled with controversy starting with the single I Want Your Sex and Faith. (with the video that definitely featured George's good side) If you don't know what I speak, look up the video and you'll see.

Then there's his coming out and a sex scandal or two.

That's where I must stop and pause...because so many of the posts I've seen today have had rude comments about this man's sexuality.

I don't care who he slept with.

The world lost a talented man. If you have nothing nice to say, keep your trap shut.

2016 the year the music died.

A Semi Homemade Christmas

I always enjoyed Sandra Lee's Food Network show, back before she was the first lady of New York and had to deal with breast cancer.

This year, I decided I wanted a fairly stress free holiday, so I did a lot of semi-homemade baking.

What is that you ask?

I made quite a few wonderful cake mix cookies.

Each cookie made about 3 dozen depending on the recipe and they were really delicious.

I made the Andes Candies cookie which I found a few years back from Six Sister's Stuff. Then I did a strawberry coconut and pineapple coconut pecan cookie..and then an orange cookie...all from mixes and all delicious.

Everything wasn't all semi homemade though. I did make my mother's fudge nuggets and the cathedral candy..palmiers and my favorite cookie, Oreo cream cheese .

All in all everything worked out pretty nicely and was still fabulously yummy.

A Cool Purchase

I had to stop at my local library to pick up a Douglas Adams book that I wanted to read. There I found groups of books tied together with a little string and a bow.

Book bundles for $2.00.

They had 4 or 5 books of similar genres together.

How great of an idea was that?

I had to buy one.

Would you have expected any less.

A great way to sell used books at the library and make things cute while helping the library.

Remembering Misty

Its been 10 years and 1 day since my Misty kitty passed away in my arms. I wasn't really thinking about it, though she is a cat that I talk about often (along with my two baby Muckers that I loved so dearly)

This morning my Dewey (who is a girl...but the name suits her) crawled on my lap and I just started crying, because Dewey and Misty are two peas in a pod.

This is Misty with her buddy Oogie

This is by Dewey Doo eating ...which is her favorite activity. Its right up there with sleeping and walking across my laptop.

Two sweet girls that I love so much.

Sadness, I Has It

I think I've used this blog title before.

Its Christmastime and its time for holiday baking, only I don't know what to make and I'm always sad that there's not enough people to eat all the cookies that I bake.

My dad was the one with the sweet tooth. He devoured cookies like they were going out of style.

There's no one that eats cookies like he did and there's not that many people I can gift cookies too either.

It makes me sad.

There are so many things I want to make. Brownie Truffles....Peppermint Fudge...

~sigh~


I miss my Daddy.

Christmas Shopping

I used to love shopping. It used to be the thing I enjoyed the most in life

At some time I became a responsible adult and now it is probably my most hated thing I have to do.

Christmas shopping is something I do mostly online, though I have to say, I found a lot of nifty gifts at KMart.

Why does the holiday have to be so much about gimmie gimmie gimmie?

I'm sick of going broke and working myself to death for people that don't care. I'm broke enough as it is!

I'll be cooking for people that don't give a crap..and now I'm buying presents for them?

This isn't right.

Grrrrr

And this is why so many people hate the holiday season.

Waiting For Good TV

I think Christmas is the only day when I might find a show that's enjoyable to watch. (Well besides The Librarians on Sunday night)

I've given up on Big Bang Theory, which jumped that proverbial shark a few seasons ago. Its getting less and less funny with each episode.

I'm not a huge cop drama fan or a med show fan either, so there's just nothing on for me anymore.

I'm waiting on Doctor Who and Sherlock.

On a plus there is the Hairspray live special on tomorrow. That may be worth watching, because I love that musical, and there's actually a pretty good cast for this one. (Heck even Ariana Grande is pretty good..and Martin Short is downright awesome)

But I miss having a show or two that I really MUST WATCH and right now, there's just nothing. I can take or leave just about everything that's on.

There's just nothing quirky enough for me anymore. Everything I loved in the last few years got the ax in the first season or less, Forever, Selfie, Super Fun Night.

I'm left watching reruns of The Jeffersons, All In The Family and Barney Miller.

~sigh~

Comfort Food

These days after Thanksgiving I've been enjoying the left over turkey. Since I've been in charge of Thanksgiving dinner for the last few years, I've come up with some recipes that help get rid of all that extra bird.

This year..I just stuck with my stuffed shells..and there still was a gallon freezer bag full.

I did remember one thing that I enjoyed when I was younger.

Turkey sandwiches.

Nothing fancy...none of that stuff you see on food network or the morning talk shows.

My perfect sandwich is a slice of white bread, turkey with a touch of salt and Miracle Whip folded in half.

That is pure turkey perfection in my book.

I haven't had Miracle Whip in ages. I'm used to using mayo in the shells recipe and that's the main ingredient in all my favorite dips, so there was no reason to buy it lately.

I'm glad I did.

Good food memories and good food.

I still have a YUGE amount of turkey leftover.

Random Photo Post

I'm quite surprised at the quality of photos my cell phone takes some time. These shots were taken a few weeks ago, when I was stuck doing my laundry in Monongahela. While I waited for everything to dry, I took a short walk. It was early morning and I was really awestruck by the steeple at the Methodist church.

The early morning light really made it look beautiful.

The Joys of Thanksgiving

This is what a stress free Thanksgiving looks like.

Happy Thanksgiving

I wish all my blogging friends in the US a wonderful holiday.

May your day be filled with good food, fun and very few political arguments.

The hardest thing I've ever done

A little over 2 months ago, I gave up soda.

I quit cold turkey.

I thought by now the cravings would have gone away.

I've actually had dreams about drinking a coke? How sad is that?

Of course, I've also had a dream where I hugged Hillary Clinton too...so my dreams are a little odd. (I'd rather hug President Obama and Vice President Biden)

I don't know how much longer I can go without a can of soda...it is hurting....even my flavored sparkling water isn't helping.

How will I ever survive?

Christmas Cookie?

A friend shared this recipe on Facebook..and really...I didn't want to lose it because I may make them for Christmas if I have a working stove.

Cos right now my oven is tripping the breaker and I don't know whether to call an electrician or someone to come and look at the oven.

BUCKEYE BROWNIE COOKIES

Print
makes 24 cookies
INGREDIENTS
• 1 box (18-19 oz) Brownie mix
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• ½ cup cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 egg
• ¾ cup peanut butter
• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• ¾ cup chocolate frosting
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a medium bowl combine brownie mix, butter, cream cheese and egg. Stir until dough comes together, it will be very thick and sticky. I used my hands.
4. Form rounded tablespoons sized portions of dough into balls, placing on baking sheet about 2 inches apart, making an indentation with your thumb in the center of each.
5. In another bowl stir together peanut butter and powdered sugar. Form peanut butter into teaspoon sized balls and press into the indentations in the brownie cookies.
6. Press peanut butter down slightly because the peanut butter won't spread and you don't want the cookies to be too tall.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are set.
8. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
9. When cooled top each cookie with about a tablespoon of chocolate frosting.
NOTES
Use a fudge frosting....or a can of frosting also works......

Adapted from Pillsbury

Let's Talk About Climate Change

OK, some of you don't believe that climate change is real.

I feel sorry for you.

The climate of the earth has been changing...

Dinosaurs are gone...we've had an ice age.

Sure with some there was an meteor or something that caused the changes to the planet, but what about what's going on now.

Why are the ice caps melting?

I think what people really don't understand is that in the last 200 years we've had more developments that caused us to use our natural resources. Coal and other fossil fuels send gases into our environment. Not to mention what we do when we drill.

I wasn't the best student when it comes to science, but I understand that there have been changes in the weather where I live in the 42 years that I've been alive.

I remember there would be days at a time when it would rain. I can't really remember when we had all day rains for any amount of time.

Our changing weather patterns alone should make people wonder.

How much of this is man made?

Heck if its even a small percentage, why don't we want to do something so that we don't speed it along. After all, this is the planet we hope our children and grandchildren etc will make their home.

Why do we want to waste money on coal when we could be researching clean energy. Why aren't there more wind farms?
\
Seriously, why would you want your husband, father, brother, child working in a coal mine?

Yes, we need more blue collar jobs, because not everyone is suited for college, but couldn't they be in industries that aren't sending our planet to hell.

Granted if you are like me and keep a tin foil hat in the closet you might think, "Hey, Mars might have had life and look at it now."

Maybe I'll just wait for the aliens to come and take us somewhere else.

Coping With The Election Results

Once again...I just feel like we've been screwed.

I can't feel any amount of optimism in this election, only sadness.

I want to do something, but I don't know what.

Our country is broken.

When an election is literally split down the middle and one candidate wins the popular vote and another wins the electoral college (bullshit). This is something that happened only 5 times in our nation's history and one of those times was 16 years ago.

I don't know which of Trump's possible policies scare me the most. His total lack of belief in climate change?

His treatment of women and care for their issues?

His disregard for LGBT rights?

All of this because people think he's going to bring back the Steel Industry?

I just don't see how that can happen.

Why can't we create jobs in renewable energy?

Oh and that wall? Yeah there's no way that is going to happen.

My poor country

I Feel No Better Today

I'm sorry, I can't feel any better about what's going to happen to our country.

Our environment is going to be forgotten...so screw the planet.

I want to feel good about my country.

I realize we need jobs, but why can't they be in industries that make the world better, and possibly inhabitable for thousands of more years.

When we have a leader whose children are into big game hunting, I'm not only saddened, I'm sickened.

I hate killing animals for sport.

I'm totally disgusted by everything that involves this man.

Someone posted this poem in a facebook group I'm in...

First They Came - By Pastor Martin Niemoller
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

What Has Become Of My Country

I will always be liberal.

Why?

I care what happens to people. Not all poor people are lazy. Not all people were meant for college.

I care what happens to the environment. Yes, the earth is changing...call it what you will, but remember we've made so many advances in the last 200 years, that it is really likely our intelligence is hurting the planet. I find it hard to believe people can't see past their own lifespan.

I believe in a woman's right to choose. I don't believe abortion should be a form of birth control. I actually believe condoms should be passed out like candy. I think our children need to be better educated about their bodies and how difficult it is to raise a child in this world.

I believe that everyone should be able to have health care. (Mind you I don't agree with the part of the law that penalizes you if you don't)

I do believe in the 2nd Amendment but I also believe their are people (That may in fact be law abiding citizens most of the time) that shouldn't own a gun. I also don't believe that more guns is the answer to everything.

However, the country has spoken.

I am sad for our country, but I pray that the candidate elected is different than what we've seen in 2 years of campaigning.

I pray to whatever higher power might be listening that we get through this and maybe he won't be as bad as he seems.

Happy Election Day

I will be so glad when today is over.

I'm sick of all the Hillary bashing. she may not be the most perfect candidate but she has a brain. I'm also sick of people berating President Obama.

How the hell could he have accomplished much when Congress won't do their job.

It must be nice to have a job that pays in many instances 6 figures and assholes like Marco Rubio who doesn't even show up, keep running...and if he wins..so help me God, we have proof that their is something in the water in Florida that affects the brain cells.

We want change but when we have someone that might bring it about without causing WWIII we pick on him.

Let's hope when we wake up tomorrow there's a new president and its one we can live with

Book Recommendation

I usually only recommend books on my book blog, but this book definitely is worth mentioning.

It is the story of Victoria Woodhull, who was the first woman to run for President of the United States.

Its a work of historical fiction, but its really a well researched novel and one I had a hard time putting down.

I don't usually read 400 page novels in a day, but that is pretty much what happened with this book.

Victoria's life is a rags to riches story, Her father was an abusive drunk who used his daughters to make money.  Yes, in that way too. Victoria and her sister Tenny are also spiritualists.

So there's a lot of crazy stuff involving this family.

If you like novels involving history, this is a great one to try.

My review will be up at my book blog tomorrow