"Humor is just another defense against the universe."
Mel Brooks, American director, actor
Monday, July 30, 2012
Saturday, July 28, 2012
SSSHH! IT"S OUR ANNIVERSARY
Today marks ten years of fun, travel, life, new beginnings, laughter, and just being happy. I'm married to the best woman ever. I just wish we could have been married 20-some years ago. But, I'll settle for what we have now. I think we have made up some of that time by just being together now.
Life can throw you a curve or hard ball now and then. We have had a few of each. But, I must say, I'm loving every minute of it. I never ever thought that I would be lucky enough,to be able to have someone like Kathi in my life.
Yeah, I'm whupped. (She is also.) So, what? So, to my wife. . . I love you. It's been a BLAST. And I'm looking forward to the rest of our lives together.
Now, if I can just get you to go big wheeling with me. Brace yourself, Effie!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
DID YOU KNOW? Buttermilk
Did you know that if you have a recipe that calls for buttermilk, that you can make a substitute?
Take one cup of milk and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar. They used to call it "sour milk" in the olden days. It works real good when you don't have any buttermilk on hand, but need it for a recipe.
Grandmother used to do this now and then when she made buttermilk biscuits.
Now you know!
Take one cup of milk and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar. They used to call it "sour milk" in the olden days. It works real good when you don't have any buttermilk on hand, but need it for a recipe.
Grandmother used to do this now and then when she made buttermilk biscuits.
Now you know!
Monday, July 23, 2012
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: 7/23/12
"In the field of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind."
Louis Pasteur, French scientist
Louis Pasteur, French scientist
Friday, July 20, 2012
COLORADO IN THE NEWS
The sights and sounds of the cell phone videos will be played over and over again, as will the film footage of the theater and the suspect's apartment. All the witnesses will be interviewed. People will have seen things differently than other people. Some stories will bring tears to your eyes. Others may make you angry. The news people will put their own spin of things. There are victims and there are heroes. People will talk and guess about things. Others will never go to a theater again.
We all wonder why. What brought this on? Some will call for more gun laws. Others will still want the right to protect themselves and their loved ones. Some news people want to know how he got the weapons and gear that he used. It gives those of us who believe in our Second Amendment rights a lump in our throats. Those who don't believe in the Second Amendment will think it gives them the right to try to ban firearms.
All we can do right now is wait. See what transpires. We'll want to hear what his reason was for doing this.
I see no reason for the TSA or Homeland Security or more government agencies to be involved than the ones that are on scene now. We are a people of government and laws. We have enough laws and way too much government in our lives now. We know that this will be frontline news for a spell.
My condolences to those who were there or who are affected. You are in my prayers. For those who are in the hospitals. . . well wishes for them all. I also hope that those who need help with feelings and the trauma of what has happened get the help they need.
We should all take the time today to say a prayer. Then be thankful. Give your loved ones a hug. And while we are at it, say a prayer for our country also.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
GRANDMA WAS A PREPPER and didn't know it!
We all read now and then about people who are "preppers." You know, people who store food, water, and other things for when we have a disaster. 'Course, everyone should have extra things put aside for, "just in case" moments.
My grandmother was just that kind of person, as was her mother and father. Grandmother had a huge chest freezer. It was full of all kinds of frozen food. She rotated all of it once a month. We ate everything from a bin in the freezer. When the bin was empty, she would look at the dates, and pick out what she wanted to put in the bin.
We had all kinds of store-bought meat. Plus, we had elk, deer, grouse, duck, goose, and other types of game meat that my Dad had hunted. We had canned goods from the store, which grandmother also rotated. If we were low on green beans or whatever, she would replace what we had eaten. She also canned.
It seemed that she could can just about anything you can think of. She also made her own jellies and jams. Many is the day, that I can remember going out to pick chokecherries, wild plums, apples, and wild grapes (until we got our own grapevine). I can remember going out to some farm and all of us picking green beans. Another time we went and got potatoes off the ground at the same farm. Then, we'd set in the kitchen and help snap green beans or helping to wash potatoes.
She also had the stuff to make candles. The candles were given out to family members at Christmas. Pappy did his share. He kept all of Grandmother's knives sharp and in working order. Same with the garden tools. He helped in the kitchen as much as he could, even cooking some meals.
When my Dad would come back from elk hunting, Pappy was right there to help with the butchering and wrapping of the meat.
Grandmother stored all the non-perishables she could in cupboards. She used up all the space under the stairs, going to the basement. She had my Dad and Pappy build extra shelves so she could store more.
She baked some type of bread at least once every two weeks. She had handsoap, clothes washing soap, toilet paper, and all kinds of others things put away and ready. One year at Christmas time, a family down the street from us lost their Mom just a few days before. I went to school with the boy. When I got home from school and told grandmother, she took me by the hand and we got a bushel basket out of the garage. She then filled it with homemade bread, a couple of jars of jelly, home canned tomatoes, canned potatoes, and some of our frozen meat. She filled that basket to overflowing with food and such. We then went to their house.
We placed the basket on the front porch and left. Others in our neighborhood also brought over things for the family. She did it because she could and we had plenty. I found out later, after Christmas, that the Mom was the bread-winner in their family. The dad had a bad leg from an injury in the Korean war. He was having a hard time finding work. He ended up at our school as a janitor, and was still there when my Dad remarried and we moved away.
People today need to take a page from some of their relatives. We need to have some extra food and other things put aside. And, try to not be so standoffish. Get to know your neighbors. They might be able to give you a hand now and then. And it could also lead you to maybe do a little bartering for some of the things you can't get or maybe need.
My grandparents and great grandparents would probably get a chuckle out of us all trying to prep nowadays. They did it when they were growing up. It was just the sensible thing to do. Everyone did it.
Do you "prep?"
My grandmother was just that kind of person, as was her mother and father. Grandmother had a huge chest freezer. It was full of all kinds of frozen food. She rotated all of it once a month. We ate everything from a bin in the freezer. When the bin was empty, she would look at the dates, and pick out what she wanted to put in the bin.
We had all kinds of store-bought meat. Plus, we had elk, deer, grouse, duck, goose, and other types of game meat that my Dad had hunted. We had canned goods from the store, which grandmother also rotated. If we were low on green beans or whatever, she would replace what we had eaten. She also canned.
It seemed that she could can just about anything you can think of. She also made her own jellies and jams. Many is the day, that I can remember going out to pick chokecherries, wild plums, apples, and wild grapes (until we got our own grapevine). I can remember going out to some farm and all of us picking green beans. Another time we went and got potatoes off the ground at the same farm. Then, we'd set in the kitchen and help snap green beans or helping to wash potatoes.
She also had the stuff to make candles. The candles were given out to family members at Christmas. Pappy did his share. He kept all of Grandmother's knives sharp and in working order. Same with the garden tools. He helped in the kitchen as much as he could, even cooking some meals.
When my Dad would come back from elk hunting, Pappy was right there to help with the butchering and wrapping of the meat.
Grandmother stored all the non-perishables she could in cupboards. She used up all the space under the stairs, going to the basement. She had my Dad and Pappy build extra shelves so she could store more.
She baked some type of bread at least once every two weeks. She had handsoap, clothes washing soap, toilet paper, and all kinds of others things put away and ready. One year at Christmas time, a family down the street from us lost their Mom just a few days before. I went to school with the boy. When I got home from school and told grandmother, she took me by the hand and we got a bushel basket out of the garage. She then filled it with homemade bread, a couple of jars of jelly, home canned tomatoes, canned potatoes, and some of our frozen meat. She filled that basket to overflowing with food and such. We then went to their house.
We placed the basket on the front porch and left. Others in our neighborhood also brought over things for the family. She did it because she could and we had plenty. I found out later, after Christmas, that the Mom was the bread-winner in their family. The dad had a bad leg from an injury in the Korean war. He was having a hard time finding work. He ended up at our school as a janitor, and was still there when my Dad remarried and we moved away.
People today need to take a page from some of their relatives. We need to have some extra food and other things put aside. And, try to not be so standoffish. Get to know your neighbors. They might be able to give you a hand now and then. And it could also lead you to maybe do a little bartering for some of the things you can't get or maybe need.
My grandparents and great grandparents would probably get a chuckle out of us all trying to prep nowadays. They did it when they were growing up. It was just the sensible thing to do. Everyone did it.
Do you "prep?"
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Funny or embarrassing moments
Kathi here. Jim asked me to post today. I didn't have anything in mind, so I told him that. He told me to think back to something funny that happened to me in the past and write about that. Well, pretty much anything that fits that description is also very embarrassing. I know that a few people from church read this, so that let's out another category of funny or embarrassing things that I just can't mention.
So, I'm going with mild. Then I want to hear YOURS!
In 5th grade, we had a talent show at school. I was a pretty decent piano player for a 5th-grader, so that was my talent. It was about 1970 or 1971 (yes, I am that old) and the movie Love Story was popular, so I chose to play the theme from the movie.
I wore my cutest dress. It was a short navy blue sailor dress with a drop waist, and it had a little white collar and a red tie. I still love that dress!
As each of us had our turn, we were to walk onstage, go to the microphone, announce our name and what we were going to do, then go do it! Simple enough.
I walked onstage, went to the microphone, announced my name, and that I was going to play the theme from Love Story, then turned to go do it and tripped right over the microphone cord and fell flat on my face with my butt to the audience.
I wasn't hurt, and as I scrambled up and over to the piano, the audience clapped and yelled. My mom said they were clapping and cheering because I got up. Of course, I know that they were clapping and cheering because they got to see my underwear.
Now, aren't you glad I didn't tell you the story that involves ben-wa balls?!!
Your turn. Tell me YOUR funny or embarrassing story, please!
So, I'm going with mild. Then I want to hear YOURS!
In 5th grade, we had a talent show at school. I was a pretty decent piano player for a 5th-grader, so that was my talent. It was about 1970 or 1971 (yes, I am that old) and the movie Love Story was popular, so I chose to play the theme from the movie.
I wore my cutest dress. It was a short navy blue sailor dress with a drop waist, and it had a little white collar and a red tie. I still love that dress!
As each of us had our turn, we were to walk onstage, go to the microphone, announce our name and what we were going to do, then go do it! Simple enough.
I walked onstage, went to the microphone, announced my name, and that I was going to play the theme from Love Story, then turned to go do it and tripped right over the microphone cord and fell flat on my face with my butt to the audience.
I wasn't hurt, and as I scrambled up and over to the piano, the audience clapped and yelled. My mom said they were clapping and cheering because I got up. Of course, I know that they were clapping and cheering because they got to see my underwear.
Now, aren't you glad I didn't tell you the story that involves ben-wa balls?!!
Your turn. Tell me YOUR funny or embarrassing story, please!
Monday, July 16, 2012
Quote of the Week: 07/16/2012
Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.
--Langston Hughes
Hoping for some rain here in Colorado!
--Langston Hughes
Hoping for some rain here in Colorado!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
WATCHES
Who's got the time? What time is it? And whatever happened to manual wind-up watches?
I'm on the hunt. I want to get a wind-up watch. Watches with batteries are okay as long as you have extra batteries. Some of the solar watches are good -- as long as you have sunlight.
A wind-up watch will need to be wound almost every day. As I was going through some of the stuff that belonged to my dad, I came across a Timex watch. It's old. The crystal is yellowed and scratched. And it has a Twist-o-Flex band. (Remember those?) It is hard to read the face. I did wind it some. It kept time for the day and was not off by a minute.
'Course, we know that after wearing a wind-up watch it will lose a few minutes a month. But still, it has its place. I learned how to tell time on a wind-up watch. I'll bet you dollars to bullets that a lot of kids nowadays couldn't tell you the time without having a digital watch. Also, for those of us who have sight issues, a digital is easier to see. Plus, it has a nifty back light so you can see what time it is in the dark when you go to raid the fridge.
My Dad wore a wind-up watch for years until one day I showed up with my new Casio dive watch, back in 1982. He just HAD to have one like it. He gave up his wind-up and put it away. He had various watches over the years. But when one of them would quit on him, he went right back to his old wind-up. It worked. It kept decent time. And it was tough. The watch out lasted I don't know how many bands. I can remember this watch being on his wrist the year I got my very first elk. That was in 1972.
I remember 'cause, he took it off and put it in his coat pocket while we field dressed my elk. The next day, I grabbed the wrong jacket and found his watch in the pocket. I wore his watch that day. Back in camp at the end of the hunt that day someone asked him what time it was. He about messed his drawers when he didn't have his watch. I gave it back after he about tore up camp looking for it.
Yeah, I think that a wind-up watch is in my future. Maybe even a pocket watch. If everything ever goes to crap at least I can still keep time. Who knows? It might just be the ticket!
I'm on the hunt. I want to get a wind-up watch. Watches with batteries are okay as long as you have extra batteries. Some of the solar watches are good -- as long as you have sunlight.
A wind-up watch will need to be wound almost every day. As I was going through some of the stuff that belonged to my dad, I came across a Timex watch. It's old. The crystal is yellowed and scratched. And it has a Twist-o-Flex band. (Remember those?) It is hard to read the face. I did wind it some. It kept time for the day and was not off by a minute.
'Course, we know that after wearing a wind-up watch it will lose a few minutes a month. But still, it has its place. I learned how to tell time on a wind-up watch. I'll bet you dollars to bullets that a lot of kids nowadays couldn't tell you the time without having a digital watch. Also, for those of us who have sight issues, a digital is easier to see. Plus, it has a nifty back light so you can see what time it is in the dark when you go to raid the fridge.
My Dad wore a wind-up watch for years until one day I showed up with my new Casio dive watch, back in 1982. He just HAD to have one like it. He gave up his wind-up and put it away. He had various watches over the years. But when one of them would quit on him, he went right back to his old wind-up. It worked. It kept decent time. And it was tough. The watch out lasted I don't know how many bands. I can remember this watch being on his wrist the year I got my very first elk. That was in 1972.
I remember 'cause, he took it off and put it in his coat pocket while we field dressed my elk. The next day, I grabbed the wrong jacket and found his watch in the pocket. I wore his watch that day. Back in camp at the end of the hunt that day someone asked him what time it was. He about messed his drawers when he didn't have his watch. I gave it back after he about tore up camp looking for it.
Yeah, I think that a wind-up watch is in my future. Maybe even a pocket watch. If everything ever goes to crap at least I can still keep time. Who knows? It might just be the ticket!
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Purex Giveaway - Win Purex laundry soap!
Hi. Kathi here. I love free things. Do you?
Purex sent Granddad's Corner three coupons for FREE Purex Triple Action Laundry Detergent for us to giveaway! Squee!
So, here's the scoop -- for a chance to win one of these free bottles of detergent, do this:
Watch the "Let's Be Honest" videos at http://www.purex.com/lets-be-honest
In the comments section here on this blog, just let us know which one is your favorite OR if you'd rather email it, that's okay, too.
On July 18, three comments will be selected by the randomizer from randomizer.org, and each of those three commenters will receive one of the coupons for free detergent. I'll mail the coupon right to ya.
That's it! It's that easy!
Won't Jim be surprised that we're doing this, hmmm?
Purex sent Granddad's Corner three coupons for FREE Purex Triple Action Laundry Detergent for us to giveaway! Squee!
So, here's the scoop -- for a chance to win one of these free bottles of detergent, do this:
Watch the "Let's Be Honest" videos at http://www.purex.com/lets-be-honest
In the comments section here on this blog, just let us know which one is your favorite OR if you'd rather email it, that's okay, too.
On July 18, three comments will be selected by the randomizer from randomizer.org, and each of those three commenters will receive one of the coupons for free detergent. I'll mail the coupon right to ya.
That's it! It's that easy!Won't Jim be surprised that we're doing this, hmmm?
Monday, July 9, 2012
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: 7/9/12
"Beware of political parties, as they will put their interests before the interests of the whole country."
--Paraphrase from George Washington's Departing Address
--Paraphrase from George Washington's Departing Address
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
INDEPENDENCE DAY: 2012
I pledge allegiance to the flag,
of the United States of America,
and to the republic,
for which it stands,
one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, under go the fatigue of supporting it." Thomas Paine
of the United States of America,
and to the republic,
for which it stands,
one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, under go the fatigue of supporting it." Thomas Paine
Monday, July 2, 2012
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: 7/2/12
"I was taught that the way of progress is neither swift, nor easy."
--Marie Curie, Physicist
--Marie Curie, Physicist
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