Monday, November 30, 2009
Winter Again!.
Bobcat was sitting by the patio door to the screen porch, asking to go out there. But when I opened the door she just turned around to sit by a radiator, then curled up in a laundry basket.
Ray and I fixed the switch on our favorite shop vac. Well, actually we don’t know what fixed it, we took it all apart, and found some factory wire nuts in there, unscrewed then, sprayed them with contact cleaner, and then it worked! It took quite a while to get it all back together. Then we fixed the cord on another shop vac, that we don’t like, so it could go in the yard sale.
I spent a lot more time looking into the health care programs. Even on the Medicare.gov site, which lists the ones available in my area. The Medicare Help Line had a very helpful lady. The benefits seem to vary so much from company to company. I am sure it is a case of “what you gain on the round-abouts, (merry-go-rounds), you loose on the see-saws”, they are all trying to make a profit.
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“A wide screen just makes a bad film twice as bad.” - Samuel Goldwyn
“So, where's the Cannes Film Festival being held this year?” - Christina Aguilera
“The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder.” - Alfred Hitchcock
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At least they are trying to stop the raptors from getting killed by the wind turbines:
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=7116531
It’s going to be cold for the next few days.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Tanks & Shorts Again!
It was so oppressive that I had to turn on the AC, and it is supposed to start storming at about 9.00 PM.
As there was a 30% chance of rain forecast for during the day, I had scheduled inside jobs. It had been kinda chilly getting into bed when it was 40 deg., so I waited until Ray was here to get my electric mattress pad down from the top of the linen cupboard, as I don’t climb up there when I am alone. We had already agreed that when we did that, we would turn my mattress and repaint my headboard. I do have a regular mattress, mostly because I have nowhere else to keep it, but memory foam one on top of it. (Mindi is storing the box springs for it.)
We stood the mattress up and Ray painted the headboard. Unfortunately, the previous paint and this paint didn’t mix, and started to bubble, so we unscrewed the headboard and took it outside to a work table. Ray had to scrape off all the new paint, then sand it, and this time we used primer and spray paint. It was getting overcast, and the wind had kicked up, so we had to move it into the workshop to finish it. Here it is all put back together.
While we were waiting for different layers of paint to dry we solved another problem in the living room. A cat had got behind my corner cupboard, and thrown up a hairball back there. So we fixed that by putting wooden barriers on each side!
This is from Bob2K:
I checked this out on Snopes and it's true, please do it, thanks, Bob and Jerry
Greetings,
Click the following link to view your e-card:
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/ve/3/2371304/monaco2k@aol.com
(You can also copy and paste this link into your Web Browser's address window and hit enter.)
You'll be able to view your e-card for the next 14 days. We hope you enjoy it!
Sincerely,
The Animal Rescue Site Customer Service customerservice@theanimalrescuesite.com
http://theanimalrescuesite.com/
P.S. Send your own e-card to friends and family and help spread the word even further:
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/se/3
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This is Bob and Southwest Judy's new black and white dog: http://www.mytripjournal.com/travel-486465 I really commend them for getting a rescued dog.
Thank you, and please click on all the sites on the Rescue site, every day.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Black Friday Pie on Saturday. Ins.
Ray wouldn’t be here, so I thought that I had better go through a bunch of different prospectuses from different insurance companies. My plan won’t be available next year, so I have to study on this. I spent all morning researching, seeing which doctors were in each plan, and I am no more ready to decide!
I knew I had to do something with the Food Pantry chopped up turkey, so I brought it up to temperature in some broth, and was going to make soup, until I came across:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Black-Friday-Pie/Detail.aspx
Black Friday Pie
"This is a tasty and exciting way to use all of your Thanksgiving leftovers, and you can modify it to fit whatever leftovers you have.”
Ingredients
1 cup mashed potatoes
1/2 cup cubed cooked turkey
1/2 cup cooked cut green beans
1/2 cup turkey gravy
1 cup prepared stuffing
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Directions
- Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Thoroughly grease a 9-inch glass pie plate.
- Spread mashed potatoes onto the bottom and up the sides of the greased pie plate. Fill potato crust with the turkey, green beans, and gravy. Smooth stuffing on top of the turkey and gravy to create a top crust.
- Brush top of pie with melted butter. Bake pie until stuffing is golden and crispy, about 40 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 240 Total Fat: 12.4g Cholesterol: 30mg
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It says a glass pie pan, and after the problems others have had with them shattering, I looked to see if mine were made in China. Mine all say USA, but I don’t think that is the criteria, I think you just have to be careful not to put them on a cold counter straight out of the oven.
The reviews on the pie are pretty good, and I used up some cooked broccoli in it too. I didn’t have any mashed potatoes, and that would have been a lot of starch with the dressing, too, so I used the stuffing for the crust.
It was OK, but I am not crazy about dark turkey meat, and it was too difficult to pick out the breast. I expect they chopped it all up, so they could mix it up, then everyone would get a share of the breast.
Just a quiet day.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Really Black Friday. More Cat Quotes.
I regret to inform you that Southwest Judy's little black dog, Rahma, went to Rainbow Bridge: http://www.indigo.org/rainbowbridge_ver2.html New version.
My little dog could not be replaced, I tried, by fostering many dogs for the SPCA, but it couldn't be done, so now I just foster cats.
It has been too cold for the cats to go out on to the porch early these last couple of days. Bobcat wanted out there, but after a short while, wanted back in, and sat by a radiator.
My hair was getting so long that I lopped about 6" off it this morning, but it still comes down past my armpits!!
Ray and I are still preparing for winter. Mostly aimed at leaks, right now. We caulked a place on the outside of my screen porch, which now has the clear vinyl stapled up inside, so that rain couldn't get in from the window still, so we hope that leak is fixed.
Then we got out the extension ladder and I held it, while Ray caulked way up on the outside of second storey porch's Plexiglas panels. There is a sitting area up there, and it is a lovely place to see northward for miles. We often see cows grazing, and several times we have even seen deer from there. In a hard rain, it has leaked down into their utility room, so we hope we got that leak fixed. Then Ray caulked the windows downstairs on the north side, mostly for draft proofing, and I raked up the leaves and pine needles.
More feline quotes:
Cats can work out mathematically the exact place to sit that will cause most inconvenience. - Pam Brown
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In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this. - Terry Pratchett
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In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him.
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It's really the cat's house - we just pay the mortgage. - Anonymous
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There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast. - Anonymous
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To err is human, to purr is feline. - Robert Byrne
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I hope you all found lots of bargains on this Black Friday.
Thanksgiving Day. Prairie Dogs.
It was just the kitties and me for T-day. I could have driven down to my daughter’s house. It is 108 miles there, and 108 miles back, through downtown Houston. But she knows that I won't get on the holiday roads with all the drunks, and for me it a long, weary, tiring drive down 288, when I am alone.
When I go down there, on a non-holiday, I take the motor home so that I can stay at least one night. Yes, I could sleep in her spare bedroom, but like most RVers, I prefer my own little familiar nook, and also her husband is allergic to cats.
Anyway, "Every day is a feast day in the eyes of the Lord".
I listened to the HEB Thanksgiving Parade on TV, while I was checking my mail, but some of the singers were so off key, that I had to switch. So I watched the show about Thanksgiving on the History Channel: http://www.history.com/content/thanksgiving Very interesting how customs start.
Then I got a phone call, would I help ferry disabled folks from the subdivision to the Food Pantry to pick up their Thanksgiving Dinners?
So that is what I did. I was even given a dinner for myself. In the lid of the box was this sign. That is nice!White bread rolls are not really my thing, so I made them into Cheese Rusks in my convection oven, to go with my lunch. Then saved the chopped up turkey meat, corn bread dressing, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce and cookies for dinner.
I really have great admiration for the folks who spend time away from their families to do this. That is really the true spirit of giving.
Then I found out about this urgent petition, they need as many signatures by the 7th. Dec:
“Defenders of Wildlife is taking the EPA to court over its reckless decision to approve the deadly poison Rozol for use to kill prairie dogs in 10 states across the U.S., but we need your help to demonstrate just how many people are watching and how many people care.
The deadline for action HAS BEEN EXTENDED to Monday, December 7th, so please take action now. Fill out the form below to ask the EPA to do its job and start protecting American wildlife and people from toxic poisons like Rozol.
In addition to killing black-tailed prairie dogs -- themselves a candidate for federal protection -- these poisons will put other imperiled species at unacceptable risk in violation of the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Act and other federal laws.
Prairie dogs have declined by more than 95% from their historic numbers due to habitat loss, poisoning, shooting and non-native disease. And as a keystone species, their decline has had a negative effect on other prairie animals -- including black-footed ferrets, one of the rarest animals in the world.
Rozol and Kaput-D cause prairie dogs to slowly bleed to death -- a cruel and excruciating way to die. These chemicals also set off a chain reaction of secondary poisoning that can kill imperiled animals that are tied to prairie dogs on the food chain -- including black-footed ferrets, swift foxes, badgers, golden and bald eagles, burrowing owls and ferruginous hawks.”
Please sign the petition to stop this cruelty: http://www.thehungersite.com/clickToGive/campaign.faces?siteId=4&campaign=saveprairiedogs
Mother Nature will keep the right species alive or weaned out, if everyone would stop interfering.
Jay called about 4.15 pm and asked me if I had eaten yet. Well, I hadn’t, so he said that he and his mother were coming back from a family dinner, and that he was bringing me a plate. I must say it looked a lot more appetizing than the Food Pantry one, so ate that one.
Please pray for Rahma, Southwest Judy’s little black dog, who is in hospital with pancreatitis.
PS. Friday: Rahma went to Rainbow Bridge: http://www.indigo.org/rainbowbridge_ver2.html
So that was my Thanksgiving Day.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thanksgiving
Go buy a turkey
Take a drink of whisky
Put turkey in the oven
Take another 2 drinks of whisky
Set the degree at 375 ovens
Take 3 more whiskys of drink
Turk the bastey
Whisky another bottle of get
Ponder the meat thermometer
Glass yourself a pour of whisky
Bake the whisky for 4 hours
Take the oven out of the turkey
Floor the turkey up off of the pick
Turk the carvey
Get yourself another scottle of botch
Tet the sable and pour yourself a glass of turkey
Bless the dinner and pass out.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
I Thought I Had All the Bugs Out! Opt-Out
Turned on the PC, went to Live Writer, and my draft wasn't there. So, OK, it is like My Pictures, it is only in the computer that you put it in. I didn't realize that, as I am computer illiterate. Then the laptop wouldn't connect to the wireless, it said it was, but it wouldn't connect, I reconfigured this and that, but finally had to hook the phone line back into it, to copy and paste this draft.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_computer_science ). Since then the evaluation of computer Bugs take exponential function."
"Two idiots stand on a cliff with their arms outstretched. One has some budgies lined up on each arm, the other has parrots lined up on his arms.
After a couple of minutes, they both leap off the cliff and fall to the ground.
Laying next to each other in intensive care at the hospital, one idiot says to the other, "I don't think much of this budgie jumping."
The other moron replies, "Yeah, I'm not too keen on this para-gliding either."
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
The Rest of The Story: Nat. Parks.
Here is someone’s explanation of Cafe Au Lait:
“I swear, I despair of ever finding a decent cup of coffee in Los Angeles. The scenario inevitably goes like this:
Chuck (to the coffeehouse waiter): "I'd like a cafe au lait, please."
Waiter (puzzled, scanning the menu): "Oh okay, a latte."
Chuck (annoyed): "No, I didn't ask for a latte, I asked for cafe au lait."
Waiter (standoffish): "Well, they're the same thing."
Chuck (seriously annoyed): "No no no, they're NOT the same thing. Cafe au lait is brewed coffee, preferably dark French roast with chicory, with half scalded -- NOT steamed -- milk, poured together from two pots. Cafe latte is a shot of nasty espresso dumped into a glass of steamed milk that's all froth."
Waiter (thinking): "Gee, what's her problem ..."
The sound still wasn’t working on my PC, and I was just going to take back to the geeks, when I clicked on the right button, and got it going. Of course it had been turned up so many times that it blared.
It hasn’t worked for a while now, so I caught up on different videos that folks had sent me. One was: http://www.bornagainamerican.org/index.html It really is profound. Enjoy.
As for the National Parks:
Finishing the Story. In September, millions watched Ken Burns' film, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, which told the story of how our national parks came to be. Burns' film chronicled the changing American land ethic that gave rise to our national parks.
The film spans the years 1851-1980, ending with passage of the sweeping Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. NPCA asked renowned national park expert Kim Heacox to help finish the story.
In his series, Finishing the Story, Heacox picks up where the film leaves off, carrying the baton into the last three decades. Read: "Finishing the Story" by Alaska writer and photographer Kim Heacox.
More sayings:
"Destination Unknown, Life is a Highway! It is the journey, not the destination!"
A wise man once said, "If you do not know where you are going, any path will take you there."
“I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.”
"Life is like a dog sled race. If you're not the lead dog, the scenery never changes!"
"Have you ever seen a hearse pulling a Uhaul trailer?"
"Never look back unless you intend to go that direction!"
"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us."
"I didn't climb to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian!"
"I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure if you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
“This website was made from 100% recycled electrons!”
It was nearly 60 deg. early this morning, so the cats have been able to have a great time outside on the screen porch today.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Picasa Fixed! Bargains.
But when WalMart changed the outside of the can from purple to white, on their regular Great Value Colombian coffee, (not decaf for first thing in the morning), they also changed the coffee, so I changed to Maxwell House Colombian, which I can get anywhere, but it is better than the new WalMart's.
The few times that I am in HEB I buy their shrimp, and all this talk about shimp on Howard's journal (http://www.rv-dreams.com/) made me want some. So I bought very large Gulf shrimp for $3.99 a lb, and they packed it in ice for me as I didn't know how long I would be in Conroe before I could drive back to our town. I had to run the heat on the way there, but now that the sun was high in the sky it was getting quite warm, so I had to run the AC.
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Heard on Southwest Airlines just after a very hard landing in Salt Lake City. The flight attendant came on the intercom and said, "That was quite a bump, and I know what y'all are thinking. I'm here to tell you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault...it was the asphalt!"
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Overheard on an American Airlines flight into Amarillo, Texas, on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain was really having to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Amarillo. Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxies what's left of our airplane to the gate!"
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More thoughts on flying:
Airspeed, altitude, and brains. Two are always needed to successfully complete the flight.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
JFK. Fridge and Wolves.
No rain today, so Ray and I started on some of the jobs to be done to the motor home, while the cats lounged around on the screen porch. The MH isn't in the RVport right now, because all the yard sale stuff has invaded it's territory. So paddling back and forth, tracking in when the ground is wet, isn't really an option.
The fridge door is always left in the 'air out' position, so I couldn't understand why it was dirty. Then I found out that the last person who had stayed in it, had left marg and cheese hidden in the dairy keeper. We cleaned the fridge, and soaked the shelves in the utility sink in the work shop. Now it is all clean again.
Ray had to leave early, but I stayed in there going through things. When you have had a MH as long as I have had this one, items seem to breed in there. Now why would there be 5 raincoats, 2 shower curtains, 4 sugar bowls, 3 canning funnels, and umpteen towels? It was a case of "Oh, it will be handy in the MH" thoughts, and it gets put in there. I went through the tools, and it was the same way with them.
Now it seems that they are killing wolves again. First they don't want them, and they became almost extinct. Then they re-introduce them to certain areas, now they are shooting them again.
Wolves hunt out the weak, the sick, the old, and the injured. They help the population of prey animals like the elk, deer, moose, and caribou, by taking away the weak and letting the strong survive. This is important part in the ecological system. By enhancing the strength into the herds. Without animals like the wolf to eliminate the weak, old , sick and injured, the herd of deer would swelter. They would become so numerous that they would starve to death. The wolf helps keep them healthy by insuring the breeding of the strong.
Wolves also help feed other animals. When a wolf kills and eats, he sometimes can't eat it all. This leftover feeds animals such as the buzzard, the possum,fox, coyotes and eagles. They help keep the forest clean by removing the sick before it can spread.
From 1997:: Rebirth of Yellowstone's Wolves By Mark Wexler.
The saga of the first wolf pups born in the region in seven decades.
When these eight newborn wolf pups were found two summers ago huddled together in a den in Yellowstone, biologists were elated. The pups were the first gray wolves born in the region since the 1920s--the last time wild wolves roamed the national park.
In 1995, as part of a plan to help restore all of the pieces of Yellowstone's original ecosystem, scientists began reintroducing wolves from Canada into the park. Two of those wolves, a female known as Number 9 and a male called Number 10, paired up and produced these offspring.
The pups' lives got off to a rocky start, however. Soon after they were born, their father was killed by a poacher, who later was convicted under provisions of the Endangered Species Act. Their mother remained close to the den site and by chance, researchers in the area heard the plaintiff cry of a pup. Moments later, they found the infant wolves nestled together in a rocky crevice. Scientists put the eight pups and their mother in a Yellowstone holding pen for rehabilitation." http://www.nwf.org/NationalWildlife/article.cfm?issueID=13&articleID=588
"Today, Yellowstone visitors can hope for the opportunity to see a wild wolf or at least hear one howling. Although wolf sightings are relatively uncommon in the park, all visitors can enjoy the feeling that comes with knowing that the wolf is once again part of the Yellowstone wilderness that is so precious to us all."
http://www.yellowstone.net/wildlife/wolf2.htm
"The Idaho Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife have announced a “derby” hunt -- a contest to kill as many animals as possible, including wolves. Nearly 180 wolf mothers, fathers and pups have already been killed in Idaho and Montana’s deadly hunting season. Now, Idaho’s wolves face a contest to gun them down as fast as possible.
I was there when the first wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park, and I have personally guided Defenders members to watch the Cottonwood pack -- including its matriarch, wolf 527, her mate and her daughter. Sadly, these wolves were mercilessly gunned down in a hail of bullets. Wolf 527 was an extraordinary wolf. She left Yellowstone’s famous Druid pack and later went on to found and lead the Cottonwoods -- one of the most beloved packs in the park. She was a master strategist, a leader and a mother. Her pack thrived where others struggled. But she and other key members of her pack couldn’t escape the bullets that struck them down. Now, the Cottonwood pack is unlikely to survive without 527, her mate and the other family members that were killed."
https://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr003=6wlq6kxak1.app224a&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1537
"Dear Friend,
Yellowstone National Park’s famous Cottonwood Pack has just been destroyed -- all the adult wolves have been killed and the surviving pups will likely die without their wolf family. These are just some of the latest victims of the federal government’s likely illegal decision to eliminate vital protections for our wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the northern Rockies.Please sign Defenders of Wildlife's petition and urge Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to immediately take action to restore protections for these amazing animals. The next few weeks will be crucial for our wolves in the Greater Yellowstone region. The future of wolves in the northern Rockies is at a crossroads -- and it will take the voices of caring wildlife supporters like you and me to make a difference."
I just don't understand people today.