Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Recycling

It just dawned on me yesterday, that my mother was a woman before her time. She recycled long ago.
Pepsi bottles!
Every Saturday she would buy a six pack of Pepsi in bottles (that was the only way they came) and thru-out the week, she would have one in the afternoon....sometimes she'd share one with a friend (these were 12oz bottles)....we never got a Pepsi, because "they were not for kids".
Then the next Saturday, she would take the empty bottles back to the store and return them and buy her new bottles.

Whatever happened to that? I know, I know, they "used" to charge for the bottles AND they used to reuse the bottles (which they don't do anymore---they used to wash them and reuse them, but now they have to actually "be" recycled, which costs more )
We recycled our milk bottles too.... we went to Thomson's or Thomalson's dairy. It was a drive thru dairy, like a fast food joint. You drove up and handed them your used milk bottles (they were glass) and told them what you wanted; more milk, butter, cream, eggs, etc. and they handed it out the little "drive thru" window.
In Rich's family they recycled too, I think. They had a "milk man" who came to their house every morning early and picked up their used glass milk bottles and left new ones.

I didn't mean for this to get nostalgic, it's just that our mothers were women before their time!!
They were green when green was unheard of.
LOL
Thanks Moms.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

done with feet

okay, I think I'm done with being silly about the feet. (I think)

We started out our trip full of fun and laughter. We had a good drive...and since I had just went to the lecture on illustrated journaling, I decided to take pictures of "the road" as we went along. It's a long road and I took a lot of pictures. the good thing about digital cameras is that I can delete most of them. LOL

We got to my mom's at about 7:30 and went out to eat, stopped at my brothers and visited with he and Sylvia and my nephews for a bit.
Home, bed.....then the next morning to Rich's mom's. (and Phil's... LOL) We visited, went out to lunch, went to my favorite used book store (where I only got 7 books. Only 7. I think that is good.) Later we ordered Chinese Food and ate and talked and had a grand old time. Darleen's husband Marv can eat his whole dinner with his chop sticks!!!! I can only make it about 1/2 way thru the meal. Maybe 3/4.
anyway...WOO HOO for Marv!!
Rich's parents, Auntie Darleen and Marv, Scott and Leslie, me and Rich and Jeff and his new girlfriend came over.
Poor girl. We are quite an intimidating bunch. and that was just a few of us.....
On Saturday we had a great anniversary party!!! And all the family came, and some friends. It was nice............. a very nice afternoon.
In the evening there was more company at mom and Phil's....and we watched some old family movies and munched on leftovers (both Chinese and salmon and prime rib from the party).
We all went out to breakfast the next morning....12 of us anyway.
I just ate my way thru the weekend it seems.

OH....Marv loves "boiled" peanuts, so I told him the story about Lisa....not wanting to eat that boiled penis when they went down south. She thought that was GROSS, and no one was going to MAKE HER!! so there.
And then someone said...Peanuts Lisa...boiled peanuts.
It was a great dinner story!!
Marv is from the south were boiled peanuts are from.
I understand it's an acquired taste. LOL

oh...and PS: Marv said I never age.
another Woo Hoo for Marv!!!

I'll put my pictures up on my Ringo account, if anyone wants to travel the long and winding road.... and then the party. Probably party first, as it was more fun.

We stopped at my mom's after breakfast Sunday morning......then left town about noon. on the way home, we weren't as full of fun.
4 day trips are hard on us old people.

debbie

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

gas again

Gas again

from Traci in Los Banos:
Going home for lunch, I noticed Valero (cheapest place in town) is now up to $3.73. Up eight cents since this morning!!!

me/debbie:
wow. that was fast

and about driving 60 mph

from Georgann:
Not only does it seem slow but it does tend to really annoy other drivers...especially if one is in the fast lane!! Might need a sign stating driving slow to conserve gas...

me/debbie;
like "baby on board" right?

remember

(Shelly helped me out with this one...)

I'll see you tomorrow,
same bat time
same bat channel

Does that "wax nostalgic" for anyone but us growing up in the 70's?

Help

I've been searching for origins of "little pill" and Alanis Morisette keeps coming up (sigh)
I can't find it!!
Help..

here's another one... "Little Pitchers have big ears"

ahahahhahaahaha

another

here;s a good one.....

Whenever anyone ELSE would tell a joke, he'd retort, "That's as old as my grandma, and she farts dust!"

phrase origins

Stoved up. Have you ever been?

This isn't an origin, but a meaning from the Urban Dictionary

stove up:
stove up
Swollen and badly bruised. Phrase primarily in rural, folk or country use in the USA. Often used to refer to an eye that is so swollen and black (usually due to a fist punch), it appears closed over.

On COPS, they showed a woman who'd been beaten up by her boyfriend; her face was all stove up.




me/debbie
and I thought Lisa might enjoy this one...(as her husband Dennis is a chiropracter )this is more of what we all think when we think of being "Stoved up"

“Hey, Doc, I’m sore as a risin’ rat chear.” This comment was my introduction to the South nearly 25 years ago as a young chiropractor originally from California now practicing in the peach and pecan country of middle Georgia. One of my very first patients, a nice little ol’ Southern lady from Perry, pointing to her low back complained to me in a language I’d never heard before. I had to excuse myself to ask my receptionist, another Southerner, to tell me what she meant.

“Her back hurts,” she simply explained to me matter-of-factly with a queried look, as if any good Southerner should know. “A ‘risin’ is like a boil.”

“Okay,” I replied, a bit embarrassed, thinking to myself I’m in deep trouble if I can’t understand my patients. After all, the true language is that which is spoken, not what is taught in classrooms as I learned as an undergrad at UC Berkeley years ago.

I returned to the consultation room looking quite assured now that I knew what she meant. “So, how long has it been sore as a risin’?” I asked, posing as if I understood exactly her Southern dialect. Just when I thought we were talking the same language, she said, “I’ve been all stoved up over two weeks now.”

Bewildered once again, I excused myself and went back to my receptionist with this new term, “all stoved up.” She explained, “That means she’s stiff and sore too.” It’s nice having a good interpreter when you need one.

I went back into the room certain that I knew her problem, only to be asked, “Did I slip a disc, doctor? Or maybe I just pulled a leader, uh?” It was obvious she was very confused, but typical for many folks who don’t understand the real cause of most back pain problems. This was my first introduction to the South and the problems I faced as a chiropractor trying to explain spinal care to the uninformed, and it’s a challenge I’ve faced for over 25 years now.

In that time, I’ve found that most Southerners are confused about many aspects of health, especially the burgeoning natural health care issues like chiropractic, nutrition, exercise, and supplements.



me/debbie:

but then....there is this one too:

My partner and I have been trying to track down the etymology of the
> expression "all stove up" which her father used to describe someone who's very hurt,
> as in "he's all stove up." Her father was born on the stake plains of east
> Texas and his father took part in some of the last great cross-country cattle
> drives as a cowboy for one of the large ranches, possibly the King Ranch. Our
> best guess is that the expression was born when a cowboy was so injured he
> couldn't do any kind of work and had to just rest by the camp stove until he was
> hopefully better. It's logical, I suppose, but is it right?




me/debbie:

and another one .....

Dick Ahlborn: Well, I'd like to ask you one other question. Could you tell the difference between a buckaroo and a farmer, just by walking down the street?
Pedroli: Yeah, you could always tell the difference.
Ahlborn: How?
Pedroli: The way he walked. Buckaroo was generally stoved up from sittin' on a horse so damn long. The farmer, he was generally stoved up from goin' over the clods and the dirt followin' the plow.

geez louise

another "saying" for you....Geez Louise.

For the record, I don't believe in censorship, but

holy moly!!! GOOD GRAVY!
I just googled that song by Ice Tea....crappola, it is awful.
Truly.

and for the record again.
that is the 'ONLY' thing I don't stand on the fence about. Censorship. (I'm a Librarian at heart---we don't ban books.)

Don't get me wrong

Now I know I'll probably catch a lot of flack over this one....

(before I do tho, Jolina used the phrase "all stoved up" the other night. Meaning her muscles were all tense for awhile. All stoved up.
We need to check out that phrase too :~)

okay...back to what I was going to write about.
I'm not going to catch the flack, because I'm not going to put up my mitt, okay?
I'm just observing. It is what I do.

Charleton Heston.
Mr. NRA
one would have had to pry his gun out of his cold dead hands (his words not mine) before he'd give up his right to carry it.

He believed in the 2nd ammendment VERY STRONGLY.
He lobbied and spoke and lived his right to carry a gun.

He was a 2nd amendment advocate.

Fine.

When Ice Tea (or ice cube or some ice guy) wrote the song "Cop Killer" some years back, Time Warner wouldn't pull the song from production.

(don't get me wrong...IT'S A HORRIBLE SONG. I'm just stating some facts and then making an observation)

Charelton sat on the board of Time/Warner so he went to their annual dinner and shamed them---proceeded to read the lyrics (which are horrible!!!! My fear here is that no one will see that I've written they are despicable lyric, 2 times and get mad at me. )
to the Time/Warner execs. Horrible nasty awful lyrics and asked them to pull the production and distribution of the song.
They wouldn't. They said it was a 1st amendment right. He told them it wasn't about anyone's rights, it was about $$$$$$$ for them, and they were vultures.

okay...I'll say once again...Horrible song, but....

While Chareton Heston would have fought for his 2nd amendment rights with his last breath.... the right to bear arms
he didn't think the same of the 1st amendment... the right to free speech. Be it a rap song or not.

Just a little observation...that's all.

** again a disclaimer. I don't agree or disagree with Charleton or Ice Tea. I'm only an observer in this life. :~)
amendments are subjective. They obviously mean different things to different people.
I guess that's why we have a Supreme Court.

another one

Debbie Engstrom just called with this saying.....

"little pill"
as in..."she's being a little pill"

does anyone use that phrase anymore? Howcome? and what does it mean exactly?

current events

current events for Friday Friends...

from Traci in California:
We're watching 'torch' running in S.F.... What a mess.

from Lisa in Nevada (formerly of Texas)
Good morning! I assume you all have seen in the news where they have
taken in to custody the children who were living in the compound in
Texas. Well, this is too weird - the town in Texas, San Angelo is
where all my family still lives. I bet they are just about to have a
fit! I have several aunts and uncles there along with their grown
children. My maternal grandparents, (not Biggy) Roy and Lela Click
lived there when I was a child and we would travel there quite often
to visit. In fact, I lived there as a baby. Anyway, thought you all
would find this interesting.......it is a small city and I am sure
they are all reeling with the media coverage, etc. I cannot picture
them there!

me/debbie:

I love current events. In school, do you remember when you had to cut out newspaper articles every week and turn them in?
Did we have to write a paragraph about them? Or just turn them in? We probably had to write something about the current event....otherwise what would be the point?

yep

yep it is waaaayyyy tooooo much.
but what are ya gonna do?

from my favorite mom, Bev in Kennewick, WA:
We are paying anywhere from $3.43 up to $3.49 cents a gallon! Waaaaaaaay, too much!

me/debbie

Quit it

okay you guys....stop talking about the airlines. LOL
(some FF's are trying to block it out )

from Theda:
I agree. (that the airlines are scaring me) Everyday it is something different.

from Shelly:
Lorin's flying to Toronto on Sunday...I'm blocking out all this bad news and trying NOT to listen to any airline reports on the news these day. Not too tough since during the week I rarely hear any news.

Speaking of late

Speaking of late...(answerers that is... but I still LOVE THEM for answering whenever they can), I am late too...for work that is. :~)

from Traci in Los Banos, CA:
Here in Los Banos regular is: cheapest is $3.65 and highest is $3.79. Supreme is $3.99 most places.

from Cindy in Gillette, WY:
Hi Debbie!

http://autos.msn.com/everyday/GasStations

check out this website for gas prices. You plug in your location & it
tells you high & low prices at different gas stations in town.
Gillette: $3.03

gas

No....I do not have it (gas) :~)

from Meghan in Livermore, CA:
we are circa 3.75ish, so I am surprised we are so close to your cost

from Cherrie in Auburn/Seattle, WA:
Gas Prices fluctuate daily here. I paid 3.29 a week or so ago with a discount at a place where it is now 3.39. I think most places are changing the price daily, I see on gas buddy prices at 3.32 to 3.56.

from Ashley in Boise/Meridian ID:
I paid $3.20 a gallon yesterday at the Boise Costco

from Georgann (who had a birthday yesterday....Happy Day a bit late :~) in San Leandro, CA:
Gas trivia:
We were in Piedmont, Calif. tonight and saw $4.01 per gallon at a Shell station, don't remember what grade of gas that was for. Just a note: as of 2005 we (in Calif.) paid 60 cents tax on each gallon of gas. Don't what it is now. Lowest gas here is $3.65 per gal. Read that if you don't drive over 60mph you save 54 cents per gal.


from Theda in Tualatin, OR:
About the same here in the Portland area. I have a Chevron that is $3.39 for regular.

from Tomi in Kaysville, UT:
It's 3.25 for premium at Costco here.


from Sadie in New Haven, CT:
According to Marcus last time he filled up it was $3.35 at the cheapest place he can find. The most expensive for the same type of Gas is $3.79 (that's quite the range but I'll take Marcus' word for it).


from Barbara B in Buckeye, AZ:
I paid $3.23 today. Doug is in Calif. and paid $4.09 this week. Eek!!

from Darleen in Pasco, WA:
Gas is around $3.45 a gal for low grade.


from me/debbie:
Remember when the speed limit was 55mph? It was to save fuel, right?
I could decide to do this myself...drive 60.... but it seems like you are going very slow.

New Names

Good Morning!
I have news from Traci (marques of Los Banos, CA).
It's exciting news.... they are changing their names!
YES! Who would have thought? At this mid-stage of their lives they'd be getting a name change?
Elvira? Leon? who knows......
let's find out! (read below, note from Traci)





Hi,



I’ve FINALLY been given permission to let you all know that Larry & I are going to have new names this fall. What am I talking about I’m sure you are all wondering………well how does ‘Grandma & Grandpa’ sound? J Lauren is due the end of September; we won’t know what she will be having until the end of May. She has just now let all her friends know, so I finally get to tell everyone too!!

Good Question

Good question!!

from Kevin....
she wants to know how much gas is where "you guys" live?

her note: (Kevin's)
My friend little Ashley and her family got stuck for an extra 3 days in Hawaii. They were told that their tickets with Aloha would be honored and a place to stay paid for, but noooo.... None of that happened and it pretty much ruined what had been a nice trip over spring break. Ash now has a week's worth of school to catch up with and that is hard when you are an 8th grader.
Something has to give, somewhere, whether it is the price of fuel or help for these airlines. Isn't it odd that we can hardly afford to fill up our cars, airlines are going bankrupt, but the major oil companies quarterly profits keep increasing.
Gas is up to $3.65 for regular in Winnemucca, altho I paid $3.45 yesterday at Wally World. What is it where other FF live? I am very curious.
Kevin

f

so sorry

So sorry. :~)

from Barbara B:
Not one word for 2 days, and then there is an e-mail! I'm all excited! Till I open it and find one crummy little sentence,,,,,,,,,
Are you planning on flying anytime soon?

from me/debbie:
nope, but my kids just made plane reservations for the big 50th wedding anniversary party.
(and.....It's so nice to know I am missed. :~)
Shelly also said:
So, what's happening at the Chamber??
I figure something must be happening since you have been so silent this week.

back to the scary airline situation!

from Sadie:
me too especially since we already bought our tickets for the summer. Our airline needs to stay in business for at least a few more months.


from Traci:
Why? What happened now?

from me/debbie:
I'll tell you why Traci says "now" in a minute.
they scare me because every day on the news flights are cancelled like crazy!!!

from Theresa M:
Because so many have just closed shop? We're very sad about Aloha. That was our fav way to get to Disneyland.


me/debbie:
And I had gotten an e-mail from Traci on Saturday. Her daughter Lauren is in a wedding in 9 weeks. In Hawaii. All of the bridal party and I think bride, family, etc, had booked their tickets on Aloha!
Which went belly up this weekend.
It was pretty hectic--scrambling trying to get another flight for the wedding--NOT TO MENTION THE MONEY. (Which they are supposed to get back---but who knows really if and when? )

from Shelly:
And we have no other alternatives for some destinations...you take the chance and go with them...or never go anywhere.

me/debbie:
yep, we have no other resource.

airlines

The airlines are scaring me.

Today on Sunday Morning (4/6)

Today on CBS "Sunday Morning", they showcased a "couple" of authors.

hahahaahaa these couple of authors are really a couple. Jonathan and Faye Kellerman. I mostly read Faye, but have read a few of Jonathan's.

I just thought I'd let you know this.
I'm not sure why....
have you read any of them?

lots of clothes

I have a lot of clothes.
Nothing that remotely resembles a fashion sense of any kind, but still, I have a lot of clothes.

The trouble is...I can't fit into any of them.

This is the problem. :~)

Trying to keep it all straight

Trying to keep it all staight!!!
(I found this on my computer....let's see if I find many more in between all my spam!! I hate spam...in more ways than one)

from my favorite cousin Linda:
In Enterprise, we didn't have words with our numbers. I remember that
your dad got Grandmother and Grandfather their first phone. Mike was in
high school and wanted to talk to your mom, so he paid to have the phone
installed at our house. Our first phone number was 2461. I wonder if
your mom our dad remember what the number was.

I also remember when your mom was a telephone operator. I lived in Walla
2 and I called a guy in Enterprise. Your mom got the call and told
Grandmother. I got in so much trouble. My choice in men. even way back
then, wasn't good. I shouldn't have had anything to do with him and your
mom knew it. I should have thanked her instead of throwing a fit. I
don't remember that part, but I was prone to fits when things didn't go my
way.

me/debbie:
and did Barb ever explain her trip thru Wyoming?
from Barb B:
What do you bet that I would win the prize (over Laurie) for
peeing the mosy often...............................??!!
Remind me to tell you about one time driving thru Wyoming.

I know

I know what one of my questions was....

1. Did you ever "moon" anyone?

I didn't tell (from 4/6)

I didn't tell you all, but I was gone Weds thru Friday for a conference in Elko.
That's why I've been quiet.

And at the awards dinner at this conference, there was a girl from Las Vegas, and every time someone won an award or presentation or was recognized, she would just be soooooo excited!
She didn't know these people.
But she turned to us once during the night, and said, "I'm just so excited when someone wins something. I'm so happy for them."
She was young and was the kind who would raise her fist in the air with a jabbing motion and well, WOO HOO, when someone won.
she was cute and just watching her made me laugh and get excited.

She was good for me, as I have been menopausing and everything either pisses me off or depresses the hell out of me.
EVERYTHING!!! (just ask Rich)

and while I know some of you think I should go to the doctor, I don't do medicines.
I truly believe in them for everyone else. TRULY!!
I just have a phobia. I won't take aspirin/Tylenol/pain reliever or Nyquil for more than two days for fear of becoming addicted.
okay, yeah, I'm an idiot, I know!!!!

But I made Rich go on a menopause diet with me. (don't tell him this is what it is) but like everything else...it's just healthy eating and exercise, so he'll never know. And he might be able to get in touch with his feminine side now. LOL
We started today. And it's mid-afternoon and I'm still at it. hoo ray!!
LOL LOL

oh...I got side tracked.
that girl, the excited one...was good for me to sit with. I need to not get so annoyed with people. I need to be more patient and nice.
and excited about things.
so..that is my goal.

oh...and my favorite father in law, Phil, sent me this e-mail that had a list with it.

This is the list...I'm going to keep them (and the girl from Las Vegas) in my mind from now on.

Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.

* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply be kind to others.

* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

* The second mouse gets the cheese.

* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

* We could learn a lot from crayons... Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today...I did.

so...do you....

So, when you get a BUNCH of e-mail/blogs from me, do you start at the beginning or the end?
first e-mail or last e-mail?
I figure this is of the utmost importance in how many of you answer the questions.

I can't think of any questions right now...
but I have a note to myself here on the desk.
do you remember the last governor of New York, who had dealings with a prostitute?
Well, you all know that prostitution is legal here in Nevada.
Rich says that if he had been the governor here, he would have just been "stimulating" the economy. :~)

(ya gotta love him.... I'm not sure why, but ya do)

Then other notes to myself....
do any of you remember the band women would wear around their chins at night? Like a head/hair band, but it was to hold the chin up. To help stop those awful double chins?
(damn, I wish I would have thought of this sooner, I'd be wearing one. LOL )

And then I came across these statistics which just fascinate me....

* if a couple is trying to adopt a child, it costs tens of thousands of dollars.
* if a person/couple are foster parents, they are paid funds to do so. And is some cases, they are just fostering for the funds, not for the sake of the child or children. They just want the money.
* a stupid idiot can get pregnant and go on welfare and get paid to keep her child and get caught up in the system of welfare, sometimes child abuse, poverty, undereducated, ignorance, etc.

okay...those are exactly statistics, but it's just interesting to me.
low life scum can have a baby and make money off the system
not so great people can foster children to make money
and then couples who can love a child, afford to give it a decent home and food and give it a great and loving homelife, have to suffer and scrape, go through heartbreak just to get a child.

It's just an interesting observation to me.

and I'm not saying there aren't great foster parents out there...
just observing life. :~)

gawd, I'd be a great professor of sociology!!!
(Jolina's making me finish my English credits this fall..... and an upper level history class. Woot!)

as you know

as you know, we have a "sub" group known as the "death pool" for the Friday Friends.
Anyone can join in!!

CHARLETON HESTON DIED!!!
Moses is dead!
the guy from beneath the planet of the Apes is dead.
Spartucus is dead.


Barb sent this e-mail:
Charleton Heston was not on anyone's list for the dead Pool.............................

and Theda suggested:
I think that for next year we should pick more than DP.

Divorced couple
Baby announcement
Marriage

Of course this would be for Hollywood couples.

Theda

from April 6

CHARLETON HESTON DIED!!!
Moses is dead!
the guy from beneath the planet of the Apes
Spartucus


Barb sent this e-mail:
Charleton Heston was not on anyone's list for the dead Pool.............................

I wonder

I wonder if I can pull one over on Rich.....

from Linda, my cousin, in Washington:
Last night I went to a meeting at church. It's supposed to
last for an hour, but usually runs over. In the first hour
they get all of the business done and the next 1/2 hour - 45
min. is spent visiting. At the end of the hour, last night,
I stood up and put on my coat. I said I have to leave
because I have my grandson tonight and he can only sit in
the car for about an hour. I thought the Pastor was going
to pass out. I said I was just kidding and he told me I
should have saved it for today. I didn't even realize it
was April Fool's Day. I haven't pranked anyone for years.


me/debbie:
ahahahahaha!!! Poor guy.
What's a good husband prank?

April Fools

one never knows for sure.....2 different explinations came to me today.
happy day!!
debbie


"April Fool's Day" was historically a day in the United States when students would play pranks on their teachers, the Library of Congress reports: April the 1st was dreaded by most rural school teachers. The pupils would get inside and bar the teacher out. The teacher who didn't act on the principle that discretion is the better part of valor generally got the worst of it. Mr. Douglass soon learned this, and, on April Fool's Day, he would walk to the school, perceive the situation, laughingly announce there would be no school until the morrow, and leave.

*********
Today is April Fools' Day, a holiday celebrating practical jokes of all kinds. Some people say that April Fools' Day began in France in 1582 when the Gregorian replaced the Julian calendar, making New Year's Day fall on January 1st instead of April 1st. At the time, news of such things traveled slowly, and it took many years for everyone to get up to speed. People who continued to celebrate New Year's on April 1st came to be known as April Fools.

The news media have been responsible for some of the greatest April Fools' Day pranks in history. In 1977, the London newspaper The Guardian published a seven-page supplement commemorating the anniversary of the independence of San Serriffe, a completely imaginary small island nation located in the Indian Ocean. The article described the geography of the nation — it consisted of two main islands, which together formed the shape of a semi-colon; the northern one was called "Upper Caisse" and the southern one, "Lower Caisse."

The island's natives were of "Flong" ethnicity, but there were also the descendents of Europeans settlers who had colonized the nation: "colons." The two groups had intermarried over the years; their offspring were "semi-colons."

The capital of the nation was Bodoni and the national bird, the "Kwote."

In the supplement, there were even advertisements from real companies. Texaco announced a contest whose winner would receive a two-week vacation to the island's Cocobanana Beach. Kodak placed an ad saying, "If you have a picture of San Serriffe, we'd like to see it."

The day it ran, The Guardian was flooded with calls for more information. Travel agents and airline companies complained to the editor because the news had been disruptive to their businesses — customers refused to believe that the islands were only imaginary.

The Guardian has reused the prank on a few other April Fools' Days — in 1978, 1980, and 1999 — and each time the island has changed location, moving from the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea to the North Atlantic.

As the saying goes...from 3/31

The Devil's in the details !!!

from Diana in Elko, NV:
I just spent the weekend in Reno with my mother and her cousin. They
were telling the great family stories and one was about all the kids
on Friday night would have to take a laxative. My Aunt Laura would say
that "If it works you needed it, if doesn't work then it wasn't
needed." My mother said that they were all usually lined up at the
bathroom on Saturday mornings. Guess they all "needed" it.

Phillips Milk of Magnesia was the laxative that my Aunt Vera gave her
kids. They all hated it.
I love Luden's cough drops. I eat them like candy.. yummmmm

When was the last time you had Biliousness or Bitiousness (SP)

me/debbie:
as seen on the advertisement for Carter's liver pills!

from Betty in Enterprise, OR:
Your grandmother didn't make it up----because I came from a different area of the country and I grew up hearing that phrase. Usually was used to describe things that were in large amounts -- "she had more shoes than Carter had Little Live pills".
Another saying used up here is -- "busier than a cranberry merchant". Can't explain it.

from Linda in Walla Walla, WA:
Rob says, " Hell's bells and sugar loaves", which make no
sense at all.

Let's make like chickens and get the flock out of here.

I like the one for people who want. I want a raise. The
pat response is "people in hell want ice water".

from me/debbie:
I like that one too!! LOL

from Jolina in Winnemucca. NV:
One day the girls were talking about bad behavior from
another child, and I said, "that would not fly in this house,"
and Jenna said, "just like a penguin!"

from Barb B in Buckeye, AZ:
In the "olden days". didn't they use cocaine in medicine?? That's what I think I need for this back.

from Lisa in Winnemucca, NV:
I remember people saying "Kickapoo Joy Juice"....must be it. Don't remember what it was supposed to do but apparently it made you happy! Probably had alcohol in it....

from Theda on Kickapoo Court in Tualatin, OR:
There have been many times that we are watching an old movie and hear "Kickapoo Indian Juice". I have even had a person ask me, once they saw my address if I have heard of it.

from Darleen in Pasco, WA:
My dad used to use this saying all the time..


from me/debbie:
(colder than a well-diggers ass)

from Thersa in Winnemucca, NV:
My father would say "colder than a well digger's a$$"

from Meghan in Livermore, CA:
I used Vicks as a kid, and still use it on the kids...it definitely helps when the have a congested chest!! One time when Devin was about 1 1/2 I left the jar on the bathroom sink after putting some on Nate and she got into it and put it in her eye!!!! I then put some in my eye to see the kind of pain we ere dealing with (no lie) then called Poison Control who had me stand in the shower with her to try to wash it off (think of the viscosity of vicks, not so easy to get out with water) ahhh... toddler days!
Also Ludens is the only cough drop my kids will take as it is not medicinal, but it does help when they have a dry cough tickle that wont stop, it gives them a bit of a break!


from me/debbie:
ME TOO. I loved Luden's. Still do.
and it's like you said....anything (butterscotch candies, lemon drops, Ludens) is going to make our throats feel a bit better.
AND I LOVE VICKS. I love the smell of it. I might go get some right now. But I won't put it in my eye. LOL

from Theda at Kickapoo Court.....
Hi Debbie, Here is one of the remarks from my asking for phone numbers. I thought of you and had to give her a Wikipedia answer that I have to share with you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From my Friend Mary
Hi Theda, So sorry about your phones. Not enough to do with the wedding that you need to invent new things to keep yourself occupied huh? Anyway, we are looking forward to seeing all of you at Sarah's wedding. I have not rsvped yet but let me assure you, we will all be there with bells on! (That would be an idiom right?) Shoot me now, but I agreed to take over a 6th grade class from now until the end of the year for a lady who is going out on maternity leave. I realized I need to brush up on a LOT of things. Pray for me!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reply to my Friend Mary
Wow I do need to pray for you, and not just on Sunday's The wedding plans are going well thanks to Sarah being a planner and keeping it all organized. We do look forward to seeing you at the wedding, which won't be long. Funny that you mention an idiom. I have a friend that this week has been thinking of sayings and where they come from and what they grew up with their parents using. I think that this is one I will have to send to her. An idiom for sure.

Here is something to brush up on:
"Be there with bells on. Arriving 'with bells on' -- meaning happy and delighted to attend -- goes back to the days before automobile, when it was the custom to deck out with the fanciest harness the horse that drew the carriage for special occasions. That, of course, was the harness 'with bells on.'" From the "Morris Dictionary of Word Phrase Origins" by William and Mary Morris (HarperCollins, Publishers, New York, 1977, 1988).

To be there with bells on means 'eagerly, ready to enjoy oneself.' One source suggests that this phrase arose when horses and carriages were the primary mode of transportation. On special occasions, say on the way to a party, the horses would be fitted with bells for a festive sound, echoing the carriage passengers' plans to enjoy themselves.

Love Theda

me/debbie:
now I will look forward to meeting Mary.
and....Theda washed her cell phone (wasnt' it just last year it feel in the toilet????) so she had to get replacement numbers for us all...
Night!!

if you remember

If you recall, I said that Theda's daughter Sarah and really nice invitations and I wish I could show them to you.... (I wonder how....)

from Laura:
I wish you could show us too.it might help Tyler and Tamra
with theirs. They had known just exactly what they wanted,
until they priced it all out.then it has been a see saw of
emotions ever since. Then they went in the totally opposite
direction and were only looking at how little they could get
this one for or that one for. I think they settled on one
tonight that they found on the Internet. It is a good
compromise anyway.we'll see.


me/debbie:
Tyler is "my" son, if you remember the whole hospital switch.
so I am feeling bad that I didn't get this to them in time. ( LOL )
But, I am sure their invitations will be exactly perfect--for them.
Isn't that the way things turn out?

now I'm wondering, how he'll explain "me" as the "2nd" mother of the groom???
hmmmmm......

I better

I better watch my "p's" and "q's"!!!!


from Barb (about her back feeling better):
Not really, but the pain is making me "mean".............................

I forgot

I forgot to put this in my last e-mail...
(about the spelling nazi)

from Traci:
It's good to see that Barb is feeling better! :)

from Darleen:
Barb's back must be feeling better!!!


me/Debbie:
it seems she's on the mend..... ???

What's in a name

a rose by any other name...

from Cherrie Lou Who:
Sorry - I was thinking of our old Friend - Michael Taylor, who was a Lighting Director- not a Tailor.

me/debbie:
it's okay with me if you make spelling mistakes. :~)

I don't know about you

I don't know about you....
but I love Kathie Lee Gifford (or I used to anyway)


from Thersa M:
That's right... our old pal Kathie Lee Gifford returns to morning television as co-anchor of the 4th hour of the Today Show

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23871853/?GT1=43001


me/debbie:
darn it. I'll be working during that time slot.
(maybe I should get cable in here!)
LOL

from 3/31

Well....Cherrie said it first!!!
(LOL)

from Barb B:
It's "tailor"....not "taylor".
The Spelling Nazi returns!!!!!

Really....Quiditch

QUIDITCH

from Lisa:
ok, do how do they fly around on broomsticks and play? I want to see that!

from Diana;
Are they flying on broom sticks???

from me/debbie:
they put the brooms between their legs..but dont' quite get off the ground.
The "snitch" ....is that the thing they're looking to find? Well, it's a person and he takes off running around the campus....
i'm not sure of all the rules

from Sadie: Harry Potter is huge here. There's even a class this semester about theology and Harry potter. Tonight there's a harry potter theme party. The Quiditch match doesn't surprise me (Don't know if Yale has them though). Yale feels like Hogwarts. It's old and the undergrads are separated into colleges the same way they are at Hogwarts. Each resident community with it's own name and shield and color. Just like Harry Potter.

I pasted the event invitation so you could see.

You voted for it, and here it is. Your 2008 choice event is

Harry Potter: Muggles and Wizards Unite!

Come for a dance of epic proportions infused with all your favorite Harry Potter elements.

* Free Glowstick Wands for the First 200

* Free Harry Potter Glasses for the First 100

* House Sorting

* Polyjuice Potion

* Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans

* Avada Kedavra Laser Lights

* The Great Lake Fog

& more

Dressing up is strongly encouraged (but not necessary). Get those costumes now!

Yea, it's going to be awesome.

I forgot a Taylor

and not April's granddaughter...

from cherrie lou who:
I craft a lot, but when it comes to sewing, Michael is the taylor in our house.

classic movies

Theda has a good point...
she answered my Godfather question with this:
I have never watched this show. I did really love AMC - but now it seems that the classics they play and classics that I think that are classics are not the same. Some of their classics are movies that I grew up with. How can they be classics???? I want really old movies not Jaws and such. I had DVR'ed the movie Ned Devine the other day so I watched that movie today. I think that it is such a funny movie. Now watching Cold Case. Yeah, not a rerun.


me/debbie:
That is such a good point. AMC has more modern movies lately...not classics. (except these Godfather movies)
I love the really really old ones.

Yesterday I watched "Whatever happened to Baby Jane?"
with Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.
It was good...creepy in a good old creepy way.

You know how they have THE MUSIC when something creepy happens in an old black and white movie?
Like when Joan Crawford takes the lid off her dinner plate and there is her dead canary? the music goes.... da DUM, da DA dum!!! and there is a close up of Joan Crawfords face with the wide horrified eyes and the funny eyebrows.
Well, after watching this movie, I walked upstairs and right in front of Rich's closet, there was a bullet laying on the floor.... so my mind did a quick da dum, da DA dum!!!! (you should have seen my funny eyebrows!!)
Thinking...why is there a bullet laying there? Did Rich load his gun? Do I need to worry? Has he acted funny lately?
IS MY HUSBAND PLOTTING MY MURDER??

I tell him these concerns of mine and he just shakes his head.
LOL LOL

it was a good old "classic" movie. From Netflix.

good night,
Love, debbie

and...from March 30

And...I love the curtains Lisa made for me. :~)

sew sew


sew, sew, sew.....

from Darleen:
I have the new machine, but I still don't sew. I had to call Leslie to come over and help me with it as I can't even read the damn manual and know what it says!! (Leslie has a Brother sewing machine too). I used my old one (my Mom's - 1954 Singer A301 - blast from the past) and it needed servicing so badly it was cheaper to buy a new one. I can do small things and have actually made things from patterns, but I don't think that any big house of style is ready to hire me yet!!



from my cousin Linda:
My mom was the sewer in our family. I can crochet (a little). I can
embroider (and I like to). I'm a cross stitcher, but sadly not counted.
I can only do stamped. I do make some great wreathes, but that's the
extent of my craftiness.


from Jolina:
crafter, painter, sketcher (?)
I can't quite call myself an artist, just not good enough

oh, and beader, solderer (that sounds perverted)
maybe metal works is better word
love working with wood too, altho haven't had much time.

from Barbara Brown:
I can knit and embroider, in addition to quilting. I can also make clothes from a pattern. I actually made a lined coat with bound button holes once ( a million years ago.....).!!

from me/debbie:
okay....Jolina is WAY TOO crafty for me....and I don't even want to know what a "bound" button is.
LOL

from Lisa:
pretty nice machine - good for her! I wish I had a dime for every seam I sewed when my two girls were little! I sewed lots of their clothes for many years. I remember how I ( and they) loved sewing them something special to wear at Christmas each year. They loved having matching things too.....ah those were the days. I could make a pair of shorts for 50 cents!

from Teresa, my MIL:
I Knit, I crochet, I tat but not well, I do embroidery, and I craft.

me/debbie:
and very well...you do these things!

from Theda:
What is a "tatter"? Guess that is a no for me or I would know what it is.
Don't add me to the list. Upstairs I have two repairs and a hem. But I am thinking that I should just buy a new pair of shoes that fits the pants and then I win x2.

I am glad that Sadie owns a sewing machine. We gave Sarah one for a gift. She likes to sew and craft. We were at an estate sale and there it was, even in a table.

me/debbie:
just buy the new shoes!!! LOL no hemming for us!

from Sadie:
are you asking me if I've used it lately? Last time I used it was right after we moved into the apartment. I had a panel of fabric that I cut in half and then sewed a seam on so it wouldn't fray for curtains in our bedroom. Don't inspect it closely but from a distance it works


from Betty:
My grandmother gave up trying to teach me to knit or crochet, my mother had a bit of luck in teaching me to sew so can do some hemming and altering but don't have much lot in going farther than that.

from Diana:

I don't sew as in curtain, clothes, quilts but I do crosstitch, and I
know how to tat but I am really bad at it.
I am a crafter occasionally as in I paint village pieces for my nieces
and have done homemade gifts. I tat (not well), embroider, crosstitch.

from me/debbie:
I said this
I really envy, sewers.
but not enough to learn to sew.
It's good to have friends...... :~)

and Lisa said this:
yes, there are those friends who just sew up a pair of curtains out of sheets for your kitchen/dining room overnight, huh?

me/debbie:
LOL...she made these for me!!
I went to the fabric store with her (which in this town is Wal-mart) and she said...well, this is what I heard, "blah blah blah rick rack blah blah blah we could use blah blah... "
Poor Lisa! She didn't know what she was getting into with me.

from March 30

There is a "Godfather" marathon on AMC....and as anyone knows, those are the best movies EVER.

Is anyone watching but me?

more Richisms

more on the Richims....

from Barbara Brown:
I'm thinking he "can't tell his ass from a hole in the ground......".
not really--he's my partner!

from Theda:
I think that he just misses the boys.

from Traci:
I think he's just making them up now! :)

from Theda:
I think that Rich is having a good week working on these.

me/debbie:
I think so too!!
both that he's having fun, making sayings up AND missing the boys (who would appreciate brass toilet seats in Alaska, etc )

Meghan just wrote

Meghan said, of Rich .....

He's crazier than a monkeys Uncle

me/debbie:
could be true....could be. :~)

from 3/28

Hooray again!!!
I didn't want to be the only loser. :~)

from Tomi Pingree in Utah:
You can add me to your "loser" list. I do not sew, quilt, craft, crochet, knit etc. etc. In fact, the few times I have tried any of the above listed activites has ended in dismal results.

Cases in point: While working on a quilt with my mother and sister, I was told perhaps it would be better if I watched the kids instead of help with the quilt.

I decided any fool can crochet a dishrag. (My grandmother used to crochet me dishrags all the time. I loved them!) So, I had my sister show me how to do it. Seemed like no big deal. Well-somehow I ended up with a triangle instead of a rectangle.

I did cross stitch for awhile. It was kind of tedious, so I quit. I won't even tell you about the times I attempted to sew with a machine. (I safety pinned some of Cody's Scout badges-then my mother saw and was horrified. From then on, I just took them to her to sew on.)


me/debbie:
I was sooo happy to get this e-mail.
Until I remembered my "cross stitch".
Given to me by....NONE OTHER than TOMI.

me thinks, perhaps....she fibs?
LOL
oh. I just re-read her note. She admitted to cross stitching. My project was probably the tedious one. I ruined her for future cross stitching.

Tomi gave me a very nice cross stitch when I moved from Elko in 1989.
It said that even tho we are far apart, we would always be neighbors.
but in a much nicer way...
very pretty.

The biggest--March 27

I am the biggest loser!!!!
Rich doesn't think I own a needle!!! He just "gufawed" at me when I asked him.
LOSER.... the people below are all in my "family" (I bet they are ashamed of me!!)

from Sadie:
well I own a sewing machine... does that qualify me as a wanna be or something?

me/debbie:
have you used it to whip something up lately?

from Teresa my MIL:
Eva sews and crafts. Cherrie crafts and maybe sews, I'm not sure about the sewing. Leslie sews. She and I are taking a monday afternoon sewing class right now.
Love, mom

from March 27

I can add to the questions as we go.... LOL

are you a

knitter?
crocheter?
tatter?
embrodierer?
crafter?

and the ones from a few days ago? I insist...again. (sigh)

1. Which other culture would you choose to be born into? What other culture has intrigued you over your lifetime and why?
(do not cringe at this time and INSIST you are proud to be an American. I'm not asking if you are patriotic or not. I'm asking a simple question---that requires an explanation--which other culture would you choose to be born into, or which one has interested you and intrigued you and why?)

2. In what era would you most like to have grown up?

3. (taken from my "Grandpa, tell me your life book" on March 23rd. )
What chore did you dislike the most growing up?

REally

Really, I was not making fun of the new sewing machine. I think it's really cool.

I was making fun of me... because it amazes me that one can actually sew.

At 6:00 a.m. coffee the other day, Debbie E. decided to move the tabs on her new curtains (for the bedroom she is painting and redoing) and she just ripped out the tabs and sewed them back on in nothing flat.
In the first place, I can't do more than one thing at a time, so I am amazed that she could concentrate and visit all at the same time.
Like knitting and visiting or watching TV... I could never do those things at the same time.
(sigh)

I really envy, sewers.
but not enough to learn to sew.
It's good to have friends...... :~)


I"m feeling HORRIBLE!!!

I thought this was a joke. But I think Darleen is excited about her new sewing machine!
(who would have thought?? )

While we do have sewers in our group....I am not one of them. I don't even own a needle and thread---except for the little pack that comes in motel things.

I am a sewing LOSER!!!

We have, in the FF group,

Quilters:
Barbara Brown
Kevin Kern

Sewers and Crafters:
Debbie Engstrom
Lisa Verner
Kevin Kern
Julie Street
Teresa Belcher
LeAnne Stone-Aardal

Please add your name to the list and send it back to me, so I can update your files. :~) (you think I'm kidding? LOL LOL )
I am such a loser, I actually stapled a "patch" to Luke's Cub Scout uniform once.
I am confessing....you are my priests!

but I am EXCITED for Darleen!!!
Getting something fun that we like is always nice!!

from Darleen, Richies Aunt, who is the same age as he/us:
Here is my new sewing machine, finally joined the 21st Century

Sunday, April 6, 2008

wedding invite

Yesterday in the mail, I received the wedding invitation to Sarah, Theda's daughter's wedding.
It was very cleverly made I thought.... and I also thought, how very Theda like, to be sooo organized

It's a very organized card/invite. I wish I could show it too you all.... but I did show my book group last night and everyone loved it!!

I thought it was very Theda-ish (she's very much more organized than I am), but this is what she said:
All hand made by Sarah. Note the postal stamp. Near Multnomah Falls is the very small town of Bridal Veil. The inside of the post office has been described to me as - if you have a large purse two people can't fit in the building.
It snowed here this am. Today I am off to recycle and run errands.

me/debbie: I must confess... I get any theme genes from Theda.
(postmarked Bridal Veil.... :~)

and organizational skills? Well, I have not picked those up from ANYONE. I'm still a work in progress.

from Theda:
I just got the new Grisham book from the library for John. He has not started it yet. He said that he read the pizza one but we never discussed it. As for me, I am still reading cook books to find new recipes for Sarah's gift opening brunch. I am marking them and them making a photo copy and then in a file folder for later review.

me/debbie:
And Theda will "try out" her brunch recipes before serving them to guests. Her lucky family!!!
what kind of recipes are you looking for? We'll all help.
Send Brunch recipes please!!

I am trying to be organized a bit in planning a double 50th wedding anniversary party for my parents an their best friends. (you know these FF's, my mom Bev and her best friend Betty )
I sent "save the date" flyers yesterday.....
in an earlier e-mail, I told Betty that I would be sure and put "no" gifts on the invite. (both my parents and Jim and Betty are adamant about this---fun, family and friends are great, gifts not so much )
but in my e-mail to Betty I accidentally wrote,
I'll be sure and put go gifts on the invitation.
ahhaahahahaha.... I meant "no" gifts not "go" gifts. Luckily I double checked my "save the date" flyer.

I think I gave Betty a heart attack!

GO-gifts!!

I'm gonna write a book

I'm going to write a FF book and put all these "sayings" in.

from April:
My Mom would always have a line when we kids would be asking for things...
"If wishes were fishes, we'd all have a fry"
or
" If wants were haunts, we'd all have a scare".
and then there was
"If wishes were horses then beggars would ride!"....
I hated those sayings so much that I used them regularly on MY KIDS!!!!

me/debbie:
If wishes were fishes...... we'd all have a fry.
I LOVE THOSE.

I don't think my kids would have known what I was talking about. LOL

Quick

ahhh...

from Meghan Stone in Livermore, CA:
I thought '....Carter has pills' (my grandma said this one) was in reference to Jimmy Carter? or was that Carter has peanuts??
I say (and again Nonie was a fan of this ) to the kids when I want them to haul ass 'Quick like a Bunny'


me/debbie:
oh...I like "Quick! Like a Bunny"

Rich also says "Let's make like (something... I can't remember) and get the hell out of here.
Is that something anyone can recall?

I'm not sure who the heck Carter is, but Carter and peanuts go together (like sugar and spice and everything nice).

Grand Central 2

Popular sayings...(send more of them please)
from Susie Lindblad in Rainier, WA:
No no no…its is “ more than Christopher has Columbus”. Come on now…doesn’t that make more sense? J

from me/debbie:
what'd I say? you have more sense than Carter's got pills?
Now NO ONE remembers that one, do they? My grandma used to say that. I guess Carter (whoever he was...) made pills. :~)

from Sadie Stone in New Haven, CT:
It's hotter than a blue bean.

I think my dad says (said) this a lot, never really thought about what it means.

from Theda Pansevicius in Tualatin, OR:
My mom had sayings but I don't think that I have them. I do think of her, just don't say them, when it is winter....
Slicker than snot - Hate that saying, it is gross!!!
Thicker than molasses

me/debbie;
Right after I sent that question this morning, Helen came in and said it was "colder than hell".
2 things wrong with that.
Hell is not cold.... so that saying bugs me.
and it wasn't really cold out.

Rich likes to say, when it's cold outside "it's colder than a witche's tit in a brass bra"
I do beleive that's "very cold"

It really has been busy in here today!!

I am in the mood to change stuff around. So, I'm going to make a "better" littlel gift-shop area.
We have a weird, weird shaped office---used to be a corner of a casino...... but this is not what you want to know.
you just wanted to know that I can't move stuff around today because I've had many customers and it's been busier than UNION STATION. hahaah

okay...you're right.....it doesn't sound as good.

from Traci in Los Banos, CA:
'Grand Central' just sounds busier than 'Union Station' and more famous?!?! Union Station sounds like the the corner gas station. :)


from Teresa B (without the "h"..... not to be confused with Theresa M) my fav mother in law in Pasco, WA:
They say "busier than Grand Central Station" and have been for at least 70 years that I personally know of.
The reason is because when that phrase came into being, the most used travel was by train.
Air travel was not a thing in those days to speak of. Grand Central was the biggest and busiest.
Yes it is in New York City. Union Station was not near as busy in those days.
Air travel was not affordable or common until after World War II.
Love you, Mom


from me/debbie:
ahhh...... the nostalic feel of Rail Travel!!! And the good old WWII days. (they had cool clothes and great singers back then!!)
Actually I took the train for the first time this last summer. From Richmond, Virginia to Union Station. It was quite busy that day.
Union Station is in Washington DC.

from Theda in Tualatin again:
I think Grand Central Station because of the first two words that we can imagine. You did not say where Union Station is from but I think that lots of towns have a Union Station.

from me/debbie:
you and Traci are right.... Union station sounds like the corner station....where Gomer and Guber pumped gas (before going into the Marine Corps---Gomer that is. Gomer Pyle)

I just thinks it funny that my grandma would say "it's busier than Grand Central around here" and she'd never been there. Funny what things people relate too.

from Theda:
Things you may already know or perhaps asking because you are so busy that you don't have the time to check this out.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grand Central Station" redirects here. For the adjacent subway station, see Grand Central–42nd Street (New York City Subway). For the former station in Chicago, see Grand Central Station (Chicago).

Grand Central Terminal (GCT, often popularly called Grand Central Station) is a Terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Built by and named for the New York Central Railroad in the heyday of American long-distance passenger trains, it is the largest train station in the world by number of platforms:[3] 44, with 67 tracks along them. They are on two levels, both below ground, with 41 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower.

Grand Central Station

When one says, "it's busier than Grand Central Station around here".
why do they chose "Grand Central"? And not, say "Union Station", which I'm sure is just as busy?

I'm going to begin a movement (I won't even tell ya where my mind just went with that statement ).....
I'm going to change things up...

It's been busier than Union Station in here this morning!!

(it just doesn't sound right, does it?)

where did "Grand Central" come from? I know it's in New York City, but why do we say that?

What other "sayings" do you remember? Or use?

Susie (new Harley, 5 grandkids, my kids Godmother ), used to say something her grandmother said.... it went something like this: he's got more Columbus than Christopher.
(or something along those lines)

Feeling out of the loop

I'm feeling REALLY out of sorts here. Out of touch, with everyone.

I have a long story to tell about my computer and "men" having "Pissing Contests" (as Rich calls them). A test of wills between the computer fixer and a man on my board of directors.
LOL
Hopefully....well, I WILL get my computer back tomorrow. Just in time to get the newsletter done and in the mail, etc.

so....for now.....

how was your Easter?

do you call butter... that 1/2 cup thing..
a stick? or a cube?

and......I insist...
1. Which other culture would you choose to be born into? What other culture has intrigued you over your lifetime and why?
(do not cringe at this time and INSIST you are proud to be an American. I'm not asking if you are patriotic or not. I'm asking a simple question---that requires an explanation--which other culture would you choose to be born into, or which one has interested you and intrigued you and why?)

2. In what era would you most like to have grown up?

3. (taken from my "Grandpa, tell me your life book" on March 23rd. )
What chore did you dislike the most growing up?


me/debbie:
I guess I shouldn't have said "born into" because (as I knew I would) I am getting "oh I love my culture, etc etc"
So how about....what other culture intrigues you? Interests you? YOU CANNOT SAY NONE TO THAT ONE. Can you? I mean, really...seriously, some other culture somewhere along the line has had to peak your interest.

LOL LOL

from Traci:
Good Morning,

I hope you had a great Easter and nice weekend.

When, WHEN, do you get your computer back? If you don't know I INSIST you call and demand it back today! :)


me/debbie:
LOL LOL LOL ....good use of "insist". LOL
I still don't have it. I think one of my Board Members and the computer guy are having a "pissing" contest (Rich says stuff like that and I don't get it.... but I think they are. It's a long story)

so....I "insist" you tell me how your Easter was. :~)
(really I'm interested in how your day was)

Love, Debbie

I insist you answer

okay, I insist you answer these questions!!
I INSIST. I "forbid" you to do anything before you answer these questions.

(what kind of weight does that hold?)

from Barbara B in Buckeye, AZ:
I forbid you to order me around like that......................

me/debbie:

1. Which other culture would you choose to be born into? What other culture has intrigued you over your lifetime and why?
(do not cringe at this time and INSIST you are proud to be an American. I'm not asking if you are patriotic or not. I'm asking a simple question---that requires an explanation--which other culture would you choose to be born into, or which one has interested you and intrigued you and why?)

2. In what era would you most like to have grown up?

3. (taken from my "Grandpa, tell me your life book" on March 23rd. )
What chore did you dislike the most growing up?

one more thing

One more thing...

I don't think I'd be good in the military, or any kind of situation where I'd have to be quiet.
It's the hand signals..... when I watch a movie and they (police, vigilantes, soldiers, good guys) are after the bad guys, they hide behind things and then give weird hand signals to their comrades.
you know....the slicing, waving, pointing movements.
HOW DO THEY KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?

they never talk. They just run and come up behind the bad guy and slit their throats.

I would have to say
WHAT??? WHAT DO YOU MEAN? WHO? WHERE? WHEN?
Don't you point at me that way!!! etc etc.

So don't count me in on your next recon mission or whatever. :~) K?

insist again

So...the words, "Insist" and "forbid", are interesting.
In this day and age.... how "strong" are those words?
Do they hold any credence in today's world?

Like if I "insist" that you all write me lengthy answers to questions in a timely manner..... it doesn't always happen.
LOL

that might not be a good example, but.... Insist and forbid. Interesting.

what do you think of those words?

I must insist

Lenny Kravitz has a huge portrait of his mother on the wall of his New York City apartment.

Now.... I must insist, that my sons paint me on their wall!!
If it's good enough for Lenny, it's surely good enough for Luke, Dustin and Mark, right?

REno

We're off to Reno.
We get to pick up hangers. woo hoo!!!

still no computer at work. :~(

from Barbara B:
I suggest a wireless laptop.............................

from Theda:
I want to be in Reno with you. Monday starts spring break. Instead I will work on my house. Too much to work on to list it out. Hope that you stopped for a special treat!

March 21st revisited

"A little Madness in the Spring / Is wholesome even for the King."

still none

I still dont' have my computer back... :~)

from Lisa:
hurry and get your computer back - we miss you and your "quick" responses!!

from Diana:
Good luck on finding some one to steal your van. Not hip enough even
for the kids in Wmca. Your children are a different story. How many
people have Mark and Sadie had in there?

from Gina:
By the way, Devil in the White City is excellent!!

from me/debbie:
we have it. Rich read it, but I didn't. It's in my stack.


from Georgann:
After reading your email about Laura Lippman, I looked for her books at the library. I enjoy reading mystery novels. Barbara Cleverly mysteries are a good read. I think she lives in Huntington Beach.

We were very fortunate that Matt and DanVy didn't arrive home at the same time the car was stolen. That could have been ugly. Oh, a friend's comment when hearing that my car was stolen, "You and Bob are the unluckiest people I know." She was referring to the break-in at Bob's home last year and Bob's car being hit when he and I were stopped by a flagman during road construction . The driver must off nodded off while coming down the hill and just drove right into the front bumper of our car. We weren't injured and neither was the other driver. I have never thought that we are unlucky...life just happens and some of it is very good and some of it is not. Besides, no one was hurt in any of these events. I like to think that we are very lucky.
I see the "glass half full not half empty".

Wed

Just reminding you all, that I don't have a computer at work right now. (in case I don't answer you right away... as was the case yesterday when my cousin Linda asked for my breakfast casserole recipe because she couldn't find hers.....and I didn't see the note until later in the evening. she had probably already gone to the store. :~)

Linda said this:
Deb,
I'm sending this email to your home and office, as I'm kind of in a hurry and don't know where you are, for sure.

I need your recipe for breakfast casserole. I can't find mine and I'm trying to get to the store and a hundred other things are happening all at once.

Thanks. I owe you one.

and I had to say....."darn it, I'm sorry" and "darn it, now she doesn't owe me one".

cars.....

from Barb in Arizona:
My car was stolen when I worked at Stockton JCP. Left work one night around 11 p.m. and.................................no car! Long story, but they found it eventually and also the guy who took it. He was a sr. in hi school and had gotten so comfortable driving it, he left school papers with his name on them in the visor.............

from Lisa in Nevada:
egads that is so not fun!! The only thing worse was when it happened TWICE to my daughter Stephani - and the same car.....L

from Theda in Oregon:
A co-worker had her car stolen. The police called to tell her that it was found. Stolen in the day and they called in the evening. She said that she would come and get it. Not too far from her home on the freeway but was told that she can't come and get it from there. It has to be towed and she can get it tomorrow. Of course she had to pay for "storage". She was so grumpy also!

from Gina in Nevada:
Why is it that the law abiding citizen always has to pay for the criminals activities? I would be grumpy also.

from Diana in Nevada:
Lucky that she got it back in one piece and no one was hurt during
that time. BUT, I would be really GRUMPY....

from Georgann:
To be honest I wasn't sure I wanted it back!! It is a 1991 Honda with lots of mileage. Interesting, the police report stated that the officer, after taking my report, drove around the block and found an unreported stolen car. He had said that car thieves often drop off one stolen car and steal another car. Car tag? Pain in the ....but I am going to give my car a thorough cleaning (disinfecting) inside and out.

I have a new stack of books to read...By a Spider's Thread by Laura Lippman also No Good Deeds. Then I found The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra, Dancing to 'Almendra' by Mayra Montero, The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson and Prairie Nocturne by Ivan Doig. See what you started! LOL

from me/debbie:
ah...Laura Lippman. I love her "Tess Mongahan" character. LOL Isn't it funny how we have threads that connect us?
PS I too wish someone would steal my van. Same one I bought in Los Banos!!!! so, it's old too.

Venting

I wish someone would steal "my" car. But that's another story. LOL

from Georgann:
Woke up Sunday morning to discover my car missing...taken....used for transportation from San Leandro to Oakland. Luckily it was found by the CHP in Oakland. It had been parked illegally and towed. Probably if they had parked it in a legal spot it would have taken longer to recover the car. Just a cost of $225 to get it out of storage. Now I have to clear up the parking ticket by sending copies of documents to the Oakland police. Copy of storage fees to State Farm for reimbursement. This is just such a pain..... and I am soooo grumpy. Just had to vent.

georgie

me/debbie:
dang!!! and then....YOUR car is STOLEN and you still have to pay to get it out of storage. Makes no sense to me!!!
I would be grumpy too!!!!

bookstores

So....it looks like Theda will not make it to see Laura Lippman tonight. :~(

I love Tess Monaghan books. :~)
They are a dumb series mystery character book.... Tess Monaghan is from Baltimore, and the books take place there. Her aunt owns a bookstore. And Tess "rows" for exercise. And she has a healthy appetite but stays .... where women think she is 10 lbs overweight, but men thinks she's just fine. LOL LOL

from Theda:
I have never read these. As much fun as that would be, sorry I will not
be there. You need to find a great author time and come here and we can
go together. They have lots of events and I am sure that it will be
packed with people that know where to go. I know where the store is and
have been there several times. Bought some Christmas items there this
last year. But I get lost in the store. Each area has a color, orange,
red, green and perhaps others. I have to practically drop crumbs so I can
find my way back out. If it was in the summer I think that I would
though. For now it is rainy and dark. Really I have a MUST do. Sarah
gave me her address list that I am to review and give back to her.
Wedding invitations go out on Saturday. Be sure to check the post mark
when your's arrive. She gave me this about 10 days ago, so I am in
trouble. I told her that it would be back to her tonight. Happy St.
Patrick's Day!! Theda

the Rolling Stone 500

ahhh..... do you guys remember when I wrote about (and sent the list) of the 500 greatest songs EVER, put out by Rolling Stone magazine?

Well, today in the mail, there is an envelope from my father in law, Phil... HE MADE ME A CD!!!
No, it doesn't have all 500 songs on it...only 17 I think. But he chose most for me and a few that he liked!!

I LOVE IT. It's on right now. the funny thing is, the 2nd song is a song by Nirvana. I didn't know it... but Rich did. :~) he said "You think you're so smart...." LOL

It's a great CD!!
Woo hoo!!!

Thanks Phil, from YOUR MOST FAVORITE AND GRATEFUL AND LOVING DAUGHTER IN LAW EVER!!!!!

(I'll call you tomorrow)

Monday Night

THEDA!!!
and anyone in the surrounding area....

go to Powell's Bookstore
15 W. Burnside
Portland, Oregon
7:30 p.m.

tomorrow night. :~)

Laura Lippman, the author of the "Tess Monaghan" mystery series will be giving a book talk.

check it out for me.

Love ya!!
Debbie

so...this morning

I just "feel" like cooking is all....

this morning I made some cinnamon pull aparts and bacon and scrambled eggs.
I wonder if I will "smell" at church?

from Kevin K:
I had apparently fallen off Debbie's list again or something, as I haven't heard from her in over 3 weeks, other than book club and now today there are maybe 53 emails (I may be exaggerating). I find out Barb had a back episode and it is obvious that I missed some other stuff. but... it has happened before.
Yes, breakfast smells linger and really permeate your clothes. Every time I go help at the community breakfast, even my hair stinks. I do not why, but thanks for the hint about the vinegar, altho fish smells don't bother me. But I guess I either do it on the BBQ or bake it.
Anyway, I am glad cyberspace has given me back Debbie's crazy emails. Oh & I hear she was made the Executive Director of the Chamber, so Congratulations are in order.
Bye, Kevin

me/debbie:
what's in a name? same stuff, different day. LOL LOL

Meghan's potatoes

In regards to the subject line...

from Jolina:
yumm
I did that for my family not too long ago, and they loved them. Makes me wonder why I buy those Or-Ida frozen french fries. It wasn't hard and it didn't take much longer than opening the bag!


from Traci:
I make mine like Meghan does now, I used to fry them like everyone else. I love fried potatoes, but they are not the healthiest thing for you (since when do I eat healthy?). But I have discovered that baking the red ones are just as good as frying them. Finger them, coat with a little Olive oil, S&P and sometimes depending on what I'm serving them with a little Italian seasoning also.

and about my corned beef.....

from Meghan herself (LOL ):
I think boiled potatoes are the proper way to round out that meal.... yuck. I am so not a fan of Corned Beef and cabbage!! altho, you know...I have never tried it in my adult life! isn't that funny? Shepherds Pie for us.... Mike has been drinking Guinness all month (well he drinks it all year, really hahah)
TGIF!! only 4 days of school next week then it is Spring BREAK!!! wahhooooooooo

me/debbie:
okay... I made the Shepherds Pie tonight, Saturday. I have enough for an army!! It was good tho. I kind of made it how Meghan made it for us last year.
(on Friday night I had pork chops, fried potatoes and...... creamed corn. LOL )
Rich brought some Guinness home this afternoon...
and tomorrow, I will be making corned beef and cabbage. Anyone is invited to come over to eat tomorrow.
(it amazes me that Meghan "O'Keefe" doesn't like the quintessential Irish meal of corned beef and cabbage. LOL Of course, neither does Rich, so that is why the Shepherd's pie tonight.)

okay SERIOUSLY....come eat corned beef and cabbage, with carrots and "boiled" red potatoes, and I bought spicy brown mustard for the corned beef. And I have real butter for the veggies and .......I'll make Irish Creme Brownies.
at 5:00.

Love, Debbie

mmmmmm again

I'm supposed to be having Corned Beef and Cabbage this weekend.
Can one have 5 different versions of "fried" and "oven roasted" potatoes with that?

from Meghan:
my Nonie made fried poatatoes, they did stink up the house w/onions!! I never make them! I make oven roasted red, which are tossed with olive oil and garlic and come out crispy outside and soft inside....but not the same thing.

another disclaimer

just so you know..... Diana isn't actually really a biker "bitch". Yes, they have a motorcylce and go to motorcycle events sometimes, but she was writing all that "bitch" stuff because I asked about the "lingo".
after I sent that I thougth "wow that's harsh"

Then Diana said (about Susie's bike)
Great Picture.....
Our bike is on the front on the 2008 Jamboree flyer. I recgonized my
sweatshirt before I recgonized the bike. Jeff knew it was our bike the
minute he picked up the flyer. He was stoked that his bike was on the
front.

mmmm.....

Guess what we're having for dinner sometime in the next few days? Or breakfast.

from Theda:
They would be fried potatoes at my house. Gosh I have not had them for soooooooo long. Yummy, yummo, whatever language or cook expression you want can be inserted here. I like mine with creamed corn. Heat the cream corn, add some butter, season with S & P and then spoon next to and slightly over the edge of my fried potatoes. Now you know why I have not had them for a loooooong time. Theda - oh the fried potatoes would have onion slices cooked with them


from Diana:
I love fried potatoes, but don't make them.

Biker Babe



She's pretty pretty.....

Susie's new toy!! Now she can come down to Winnemucca for Runnamucca.

But since she is new at this "Biker Babe" stuff, I thought a few words of wisdom from Diana were appropriate.
( LOL )

(I think she is doing the talk for our benefit.. LOL )
from Diana;
Jeff has a shirt that says "If you can read this the bitch fell off".
The other shirt that goes with that is "if you can read this the dick
won't let me drive." I don't have a problem with riding bitch. I just
say that I " Bitch up". I told Jeff to get me a shirt that said bitch
up. Haven't seen it yet.

We do ride more than 1 or 2 times a year. And I do have a tattoo to go
with like lots of other biker bitches. Just not on my boob.

last night--funny hosts

Last night, we were flipping thru the channels and Rachel Ray (30 minute meals) had a littel kid on her show and his name was "Beecham".

from Jolina:
yeah, what kind of name is Wink?

name that host 3

from Tomi:
There was also Tom Kennedy and Jim Lange.

my own disclaimer

well, there had to be something seriously wrong with these people.
they had some problems.
So....I feel a bit bad about joking around.
a bit....

but you know, I don't think I've actually sat in the bathroom long enough for Rich to worry about me, and if I did, well, I hope he'd get me some "help", before letting my butt grow onto the seat.

you all have good points below:

from Barb B:
I think they BOTH are wackos!! And.......where did he go to the bathroom the past 2 years????

from Sadie:
what about. Who would want a boyfriend that allowed you to sit on the toilet for two years before calling for help. I would think after a few hours (or a few days) it would be time for concern.

from Shelly:
And why would any "news" agency pick this story up and broadcast it???

from Traci:
LOL

#1 A guy could never meet a girlfriend if all she did was sit on the toliet. Not unless he visited the bathroom to find her.

#2 YOu could add a little bleach to the tank and flush a few times, the strong smell of the bleach could knock her out and then she'd fall off the toliet and get hurt.

#3 I guess she'd be a fairly skinny girl when the two years was up.

Tying it all together...I hope

observations from yesterday's blogs. (I'll leave it to you to attach each statement to whichever blog it came from..... compressor and or men, peeing and/or sex offending, breakfast cooking smells.

from Barbara in Arizona:
What do you bet that I would win the prize (over Laurie) for peeing the mosy often...............................??!!
Remind me to tell you about one time driving thru Wyoming.


from me/debbie:
LOL... I know she means "most" and not "mosy" but I couldn't help leave it in there.
YES... Barb has to go often. I'm not sure if I have heard of driving thru Wyoming, but Barb....can I tell them about the plane trip?
Rich would stop for Barb to go when they had meetings and drove together, but me? heck no. I had to wait until he was ready to stop.

Laurie and the "goal posts"
from Gina:
The goal posts......the first time that she didn't make it to a potty, we were taking her son to Reno to have his knee looked at as he blew it out in a football game.
She was nervous and needed to go and WANTED me to pull over outside of Lovelock on the side of the road.
I wouldn't and made her wait until coal canyon exit (everyone on the freeway would have seen her as you know, there is no cover).
I found a huge dirt mound and pulled over to that.
She was running to get to it when she threw her hands up in the air like refs do when a touchdown occurs.
Anyway, she did that cause she didn't make it to the dirt mound. My Aunt lived in Lovelock and we had to take her there to clean up and change clothes. So we tease her now about the goal posts.

me/debbie:
oh yeah.....ahahahahahahahaaaa. I had forgotten that. Laurie not making it and peeing....and she throwing up her hands like a ref does. ahahahahahah
well, it was your fault Gina, you didn't stop in time. LOL LOL
Poor Laurie.

from Theda:
On Sunday I went to Target. As I get out of the car I notice a cart with a small girl in the basket. Just sitting there at the truck of the car. I get a rather bad feeling and stand there for a moment. Then I see at the passenger door a Mother with her small son. He is facing the car and the car door is open. His cute little hinny is bare for us to see. He had to go and I guess he could not make it to the store.

from Jolina:
does it count if it's in our own yard?
peeing on Mr. Hooft's trees?

from Diana:
In Elko there is a public urinal at the Train Park. It is a concrete
structure that people use. Then when I see people crawling on it, I
would think of that commercial "not as clean as you think you are". In
the summer we would see 3 or 4 people a week using it.

I honk at the people I see peeing on the side of the road. Use a porta
potty, if not use as soda bottle and throw it at the next road worker
you see. WTF!!!to quote Debbie

from Diana:
Jeff won't let me cook maple flavored bacon because the house smells
like it for days. Regular bacon does not bother him.


from Diana:
I love Auntie Darleen to. she has it nailed on the head...

from Sadie:
I got a good laugh out of Darleen's rant. I even read it out loud with the emphasis' as noted to Marcus. His only response was, "my dad has a hernia?"


from Jolina:
OK
I'm the one lifting, sawing, and saying "we can do this." So, I don't really think it's a MAN thing exclusively. I own all the tools, I am the one pushing to do all those MAN things you guys are talking about. I am the one who wants to build "MANLAND" and pour concrete. Mike could care less.

Auntie Darleen and Uncle Jackass Marv-- wooweee

from Theda:
I did it! Got on the treadmill. It took 10 minutes for me to get the tape player to work. I then was on the treadmill for 15 minutes when I somehow pulled the headphones off and the player went on the floor. John yelled up to be sure that I was okay. I decided that was practically 30 minutes of the treadmill. It was a start anyway.

from Diana:
when I worked at American Staffing in Wmca, the phone in the building
would call 911 by itself. Then the poor cop would have to come and
check to make sure that no one in the building was in trouble. The
phone was finally removed and no more crank calls to 911

No Sadie, you do not sound like an old women. You sound like a
reasonable person.


from Mark:
It sounds like something I would do
We don't need any help. Dad got the compressor down just fine


from Theda:
A story such as this could be etched on all men's tombstones.

from Diana:
Been there done that......

me/debbie:
I talked to Doug C last night and he calmly told me that Rich didn't "need" his help either. It was handled fine. LOL

from Theresa:
Oh Lord, Macie will have went into drama mode if they delayed lunch - lol.

from Jolina:
the tuna, not the vinegar

Name that host 2

Interesting....

from Sadie:
I don't know but I googled it and there was more than one. This is one link that I found listing at least three different ones.

"The first hosts were Red Benson and later Bill Cullen, but George DeWitt became most identified with the show."

name that host

from Shelly:
Wasn't it Wink Martindale?
What kind of name is "Wink"?

me/debbie:
ahahahahaaa.... Wink.

Quick

from Jolina:
Debbie - who was the host for Name that Tune?

Three things

1) why would any guy want a girlfriend who does nothing but sit on the toilet?

2) do you all realize that this toilet couldn't be cleaned for TWO YEARS???

3) eating when you are on the toilet is just....really gross.

A different world

I must live in a different world than these people...
but...how does one sit on the toilet seat long enough to have your skin "grow" around it?

Really. This was just on the news.

FOXNews.com - Kansas Police: Woman Pried From Boyfriend's Toilet ... ... the 35-year-old Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat. ... "We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the ...
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,337232,00.html - Similar pages

Woman sits on boyfriend's toilet for 2 years - More health news ... Deputies said a woman in western Kansas sat on her boyfriend's toilet for two ... Girlfriend was physically stuck to the seat — her skin had grown around it ...
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23595533/ - Similar pages

Remember That Woman Whose Skin Grafted to Her Couch? | Slog | The ... Who the fuck sits on a toilet seat long enough for skin to graft to it? ... Like, did the skin grow AROUND the seat? Or did it simply "Hug" the seat? ...
slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/remember_that_woman_whose_skin_grafted_t - Similar pages

Rich has the answers

Rich explains the whole "skittle" and "crime to fit the punishment" thing.

He says "Adults have our heads up our asses a lot of times, don't ya think?"

I think so!!!!

LOL

Home fries too

Rich came home for lunch while I was writing that potato blog.....
he said, "what's up with that? fried potatoes are fried potatoes...
I said "not necessarily. I leave the skin on, you don't like mine."
He said, "No. I don't like that."
(he's not a big fan of my everyday cooking......I don't think)

from Sadie:
I don't make home fries, but I will tell you how ever my Senora made them in
Spain they were the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. I tried to get
her to make them everyday but she wouldn't go for that.


from Jolina:
I haven't made fried potatoes in forever. My mom used to grate raw potatoes and do
hashbrowns. They were always grey when she got done, kinda slimy, not the least bit
crunchy. yuck

I like them very crispy. I used partially boiled potatoes, skin on, cut into small
cubes. No onions - roasted garlic. sometimes bacon. fry on each side till dark
brown, almost burnt. In lots of oil. See now why I don't make them anymore. I
noticed last weekend that I never make biscuits and gravy anymore. I used to make
breakfast on Sunday before we all went golfing. And a lot of the time it was B&G.
Those days are long over, and Mike probably misses it. It'll have to be one of those
treat days when I am feeling generous.

from Linda:
I peel and cube my potatoes. Then add onion and bell pepper (if I have
it). Put them into a frying pan with hot oil and salt and pepper them.
Then turn down the pan and leave uncovered. Watch them, turn them, and
decide if I want cheddar cheese on them or not. Depends on what I'm
serving them with. If I decide on the cheese, I wait until they're done,
sprinkle with grated cheddar, cover, remove from heat and serve.

from Gina:
I use russet potatoes cause they are good and starchy and I slice them very thin. I add onion and when I feel like having a real coronary delight, I fry them in bacon grease! I like them brown and crispy!!! The potatoes in the picture below look just the way I like them!!!

from Barb B:
I, too, peel the potatoes. And I always add onion.
Lately, I have been using olive oil instead of the Wesson oil. It takes a lot less
oil when olive oil is used.

from Betty B:
I do them both ways. Jim prefers them made from raw potatoes and sliced thin on a grater but it is faster with precooked cut in chunks. Always peel the potatoes either way. The guys always use ketchup.


another picture of Devin....
and I guess I shouldn't take credit for her! I always say "my" niece. Not "Meghan's" daughter. LOL

from Meghan:
ok, now that I CAN send pics...here are some of Devin doing her Kindergarten presentation last week. disregard her chubby assistant

me/debbie:
Meghan----WHAT chubby assistant? I only see her beautiful mother!!

from Diana:
Look out cooking channel....

from Barb B:
Like mother, like daughter!!


me/debbie:
(sigh) I think when I win the lottery, I will buy a lodge and have a family b&b and fancy restaurant and catering business, and soup lunch/cafe, and ...... a BBQ joint. all in one!!!! We have many cooks in our family, Linda, Meghan, and now Devin!!

home fries

As you might have guessed, I get different blogs, newletters, mailings that come to my "in-box" everyday, or weekly, or whenever they are published.
One is called Simply Recipes.

Here is what she wrote today:

Simply Recipes

Here is the Simply Recipes update for dlstone@winnemucca.net

Home Fries

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

There is 1 new post in "Simply Recipes"

Home Fries


We had dueling home fries here the other day, a veritable home-fry cook-off between my mother and father. Mom makes her fried potatoes sliced, using raw potatoes, and usually serves them as a side when we have fish for dinner. Dad makes his home fries for breakfast using leftover boiled potatoes from the night before. Both are great. The raw potatoes tend to brown up better. The cooked potatoes can get a little mushy if you stir them too much. You can easily dress up them up with bell peppers, ham, or bacon. And if you add some egg, you get German farmer's breakfast.




me/debbie:
now...how do you make your own "home-fries"?
We usally say "fried" potatoes here.
I made them just the other night. Rich likes them, so instead of baked potatoes with our chicken, I made fried potatoes.

I like to leave the skin on. Wash them real good and slice them in pretty big chunks.
When Rich does it, he peels them (with a knife, never a peeler) and cuts them into much smaller chunks.
And, yes, both are good. But why is it I like Rich's version better than he likes mine? I like mine, I like his. He likes his.
We both USUALLY add onions. He more often than me. (and then my house will smell like onions for days.... LOL )
The adding of the egg to make "German farmer's breakfast", I had never seen until I married Rich. He does it all the time. It's good.
When we were young and poor, we used to have German Farmers Breakfast, all the time for dinner. At least once a week. The boys would drown it in ketchup (or catsup).
Now we have it because we like it. :~)

So...how do you make "Home Fries" ?

reading blogs

Last night, as I was adding a few more books to "LibraryThing", I was also clicking on links to people's blogs. Random people, whom I don't know....just checking out their lives. And I clicked on someone an then clicked on one of their friends, and then clicked again (these people all had listed their website/page/blog on "GoodReads", so they are fellow book lovers ) and I ended up reading a blog of a young woman in Pennsylvania. She has a "List of the Day" on her blog.

I'm jealous!! That she thought of this first!! Like maybe I should have a month of lists.......

today's list......What I did last night (this is an easy one, since I just told Traci )

1. Went home and watched the last episode on the DVD I have from Netflix of Battlestar Galactica. (I have to catch up before the season 4 premier next month. It's my dirty little secret--sci fi fan)

2. Rich came home in the middle and asked me questions. (not as big a fan as me)

3. Made dinner (grilled ham and cheese for Rich, leftover Chinese Food for me)

4. ate
5. sorta cleaned up
6. added some books to "LibraryThing" while searching random blogs on the computer.

7. talked to Luke on the phone
8. talked to Mark on the phone
9. went to bed and read


S0, that's my list of what I did last night.
So, if any random person just came across my blog...do you think that list would make me seem interesting?
I doubt it. :~(
I so much want to be interesting. LOL

so that's my blog for today, because Jolina informed me....
Debbie - just wanted to share with you that I was cleaning out my e-mail files, and I deleted 159 from you alone yesterday. Just since January. Those are the ones I responded to, so I'm sure there were plenty more than that!


PS--but what am I to do about your witty and funny comments from yesterday? They're all waiting in my in-box.

Friday Friend recipe #352

  Making my way thru my  Friday Friend Cookbook , one recipe at a time. What is the Friday Friend cookbook?  I once had about 50 of my close...