It's funny, isn't it, how everything can be going peachy keen and then all of a sudden--pow! It's like that this morning. I sat down at "my" computer here at the library, did all the little things you have to do in order to use a computer at the luibrary, got to the blog site and google lost it's mind and didn't recognize me! And it took a prescious four minutes to jog their memory.

Do you shop at dollar stores? I never used to, I always turned my nose up at them like I'd gotten a whif of stinky something (smile). And then I discovered Dollar Castle, a local store, and they had all sorts of good merchandise, not that crappy chintzy stuff some/many/most dollar stores are noted for. You could get 24 oz. bottles of 100% juice for a dollar! Then, don't you know, just when I was a Dollar Castle junkie, they sold to someone else and before you could say boo the store not only was loaded up with junky junk, but everything that had been cool to buy there was now upwards of $2.00! That ended my love affair with them.

Then I discovered Dollar Tree (www.dollartree.com), the best dollar store around. Sure, there's a bit of that junky junk, but the bulk of the merchandise is good stuff like you'd find in 'regular' stores.

I was there yesterday and found cds, music cds, for $1.00. And the selection wasn't bad. Plus, for only a dollar, you can venture out there and try artists that you normally wouldn't because who wants to drop $10+ on someone they may have never heard of?

I also bought 50 pairs of mens insulated socks and 14 winter headbands. Why so many? Well, have I ever told you about the homeless project we have going? A group of us save our little dollars, then use them to purchase socks, gloves, hats, headbands, hygiene kits that we assemble ourselves (toothbrush, toothpaste, wash cloth, bar of soap, deodorant, sometimes a razor), food (bread, lunchmeat, cheese, candy, etc.) that gets made into a care package, etc. We collect previously worn winter coats and sweaters, anything that'll keep a person warm from anyone who'll give them to us, plus whatever we have ourselves at home that we aren't wearing anymore. Then we take all of these goods into the city of Detroit, set up near one of the shelters, and pass out until it's all gone.

We don't pass out goods in November and December. Why? Because that seems to be when the homeless are popular. When they have almost a celebrity status about them and everybody wants to do something for them. Like donate to a food bank, or go down and serve meals at the shelter. Thing is, come January and February and March it's cold out and there's still homeless people out there trying to survive and all of a sudden the world forgets they're even there. And that's when we step in to try and fill the void for the remaining monthes of the year.

We have lots of goods stored at several of our people's homes and we're always trying to stock pile more. Dollar Tree has been one of our best sources for purchasing what we need. Those insulated socks for $1.00 are a good buy, as are the rest of the things we get there.

I'm sure you're already giving money and goods to charitable organizations in your area. But if you have a couple extra dollars we sure could put it to good use. Don't want to send money? That's okay. You can either go to your local Dollar Tree (or any dollar store in your area) or go online to www.dollartree.com and have them ship to us what you picked out.

We'll definitely see that it gets in to the hands of those who need it most.

And yes, I'm sure it seems a little wierd to you to have the phone sex lady talking to you about helping the homeless, but hey! we are all much more than we what we do for a living.


Take care, be good, be careful, stay strong.

Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

ps The address to send donations or shipped goods is on my website. TMC, POBox 191, Farmington, MI 48332

It's kind of funny, not in a hahaha way, more in an ironic way, how some folks feel about the wars the USA is fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

From talking to people on the phone, those who are the most rabid and gung ho about these wars, and who cop attitudes and get pissy, nasty and irrational when I say anything at all about how wrong those two wars are, much less if I post anything in this blog disagreeing with Bush's policies, those are the folks who--almost 100%--have never been in the military and who have never gone off to war.

Folks on the phone who have served in the military and fought in wars (from WW2 to Vietnam), they are the ones, almost every single last one of them, who fervently wish and hope and pray that Bush and his cronies would end the war and bring the troops home now, this minute.

When I was with my family members on Thanksgiving I got to thinking about all of them who have either fought in Iraq or Afghanistan or who are waiting for deployment to one of those places. And the list was a long one.

My cousin, Prescious (her mother was very young and very thankful when she gave birth to her), was in Iraq. Now her husband is over there. More than two dozen other cousins have been or are waiting to go back again.

My aunt, Uncle Robert's wife, was telling me about her three sons, all in the service, who have been in Iraq more than twice each and are awaiting orders to return again.

And the thing is, all of my aunts and uncles and cousins, every single one of them say the wars are bull shit. Every single one of them who has been in Iraq and Afghanistan say that. And every single one of them who has ever been in the US military, during war time or peace time, say that.

I've got a bunch of links to share with you:

www.HollyNear.com (Yes, she's my favorite singer, you remembered! Check out the link on her page to Oppose the war(s)! It's interesting and informative.)

www.forusa.org (This is the oldest and largest interfaith peace group in the USA.)

www.donnellycolt.com
www.northernsun.com
www.syracuseculturalworkers.com
(These are places to purchase bumper stickers, buttons, tshirts, etc.)

I think it says something real profound about people who have never been to war and are blood thirsty for it. And it's not a profoundly good or complimentary thing either.

Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

I sure do wish I could have gotten to a computer sometime yesterday so I could have told you about this. Do you have cable or satellite tv or ?, whatever you need in order to watch the National Geographic channel? I ask because last night there was an excellent documentary, PrisonNation. It replays on Sunday, December 2nd so you still have anopportunity to watch it. Here's the website so you can check it out andfind the air time for your area:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/ET/popup/200711252300.html

Because I am as familiar with all things prison as one can be without ever having actually done any time (email me and I'll explain how I came to know so much about prison), I can say to you that this show is worth the watching.

In addition to the show. this is a good book to read:
Prison Nation ISBN 9780415935388
publisher: Routledge
7-17-2003 release date
$25.95 paperback

No, despite the title, it's not affiliated with the National Geographic show or channel. While I haven't had an opportunity to read the book, the contributors to it are all good sources and authorities on prisons.

I tried to order it through Amazon but it told me that the book cost $125 ??? so if you're interested in purchasing it I suggest you gothrough this place:

www.akpress.org

Either enter in the title of the book, or scroll down the website and click on Prisons/Prisoners and you'll easily find the book along with a review.

I ran across a book on that site, an old favorite of mine, Hauling UpThe Morning. A prisoner In New York sent me a copy some years ago and I loved that book, still do as a matter of fact.

Maybe you figure because you don't have a loved one or a friend locked up the show and the books aren't relevant to your life, or maybe you figure the hell with criminals, they did the crime, they can do the time. No matter what you figure you still ought to take the time to watch that documentary. For real.

Take care, be good, stay strong.

Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

Black Friday was yesterday, right? Did you go shopping?

I bought both papers on Thanksgiving, the Detroit Free Press and the Oakland Press (Oakland County, MI not California), and ended up with about 30 pounds of newspaper! It was nice reading the news, but I'd purposely picked them up so I could peruse the sale papers for BlackFriday. I wasn't planning on doing any shopping, I was just curious tosee what was being used as bait to lure folks to the malls at midnight.

Now maybe it's just me, I know I don't tend to think like everyone else, but I didn't see anything for sale that even remotely enticed me to get up out of my warm bed in the middle of the night, go stand in a long line out in the cold waiting for the store(s) to open, and then gladiate with ten thousand others to purchase said items.

I've done the Black Friday disaster once in my life and once was enough. It was 2000 and Walmart had some doggone tv on sale for $100. It was adeal, a good deal and I wanted to get it for three of my then very young cousins who didn't have too much of anything.

It was scarey. Mob mentality ruled and, scariest of all, I had the mob mentality devil running hot through my veins. I scared myself so bad that after I scored the tv I had to go home and go to sleep. I vowed never again.

Now a couple of my good friends love doing battle with the crowds. Joan, who has since passed away, couldn't hardly sleep the night before BF because she was so keyed up and excited. My other friend, the one who just recently moved to the upper peninsula of MI, to Marquette, is a dedicated shopper who scours ads, makes lists and knows how to get the best deal out there. Any time I'm looking to buy something and I want the best price, all I have to do is email her and she knows where to get it. A gift, truly a gift! she has.

I left the house yesterday, just once, in mid-morning, to go and dropoff the cable bill payment because I waited too long to mail it in time. And I stopped at the library so I could 'talk' at you. I wasn't even tempted to hit any of the stores.

So tell me, if you went shopping on BF, what did you buy? Enquiring minds want to know (smile).

Be good, be careful, take care, stay strong.

Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day yesterday! Did you eat too much? Watch the Lions + Packers game? Enjoy being with your friends, family and loved ones? Me too!

I should just slap myself for dreading yesterday's TDay dinner with my family, I really should. But I always get like that, every single time there's something family-like I have to make an appearance at I get the dreads and the regrets and my stomach gets to talking back to me....and then lo and behold! it all turns out okay-dokey. Part of it, I think, is because deep down I'm shy. Not the kind of painful shy where you can't even hardly look at people, much less talk to them, that was the old shy me when I was a child and a teenager. I'm the new and improved shy now, the kind that can function with others, make conversation, look them in the eye even, but deep down inside I'm screaming AAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH (smile)!

The to-do started, officially, at 5pm. Most of my relatives got there around 3, I rolled in at 5 on the dot. The dinner was held at the clubhouse of my aunt who lives in an apartment in the next city/suburb over, maybe 4 miles from here. The clubhouse was nice, but cramped, since there were so many of us.

Relatives came from across the country. Uncle Robert and his wife drove in from California. They left on a Friday, got here on a Tuesday, they don't ever drive at night so it took them a bit longer. Uncle Ricky drove in from Indiana alone, his wife works at the new casino on the Michigan-Indiana border and she couldn't get time off; Uncle Johnny from Kentucky alone because Aunt Betty wanted to spend the day with her kids and grandkids and Aunt Sister took the train from Indiana two weeks ago (she always takes the train, hates riding in a car and doesn't fly) and she's always alone since Uncle Gunk died in '04. Uncle Walter was supposed to come from Mississippi but his wife didn't want to and she wouldn't let Uncle Walter come on his own. Uncle George, I don't know why he didn't make it, he lives in Minnesota these days, maybe his money was funny.

Cousins, oh my goodness! There were hundreds of cousins, ranging from 3 monthes old on up to 50-something (it's a big family). And Aunt Shug, the oldest of our aunts, stopped in after she had dinner with her children and grandchildren at Gloria and Bob's home.

There was tons of food and yes, those disgusting chitlins and hog maws were right there on the buffet but down at the end where you could avoid thyem if you had a weak stomach or you were offended by them. There was collard greens cooked with smoked turkey parts, dressing, black eyed peas, macaroni and cheese, barbecued chicken, roast turkey, corn, shrimp alfredo and lots of other stuff that I can't remember. Desserts too, sweet potato pie, banana pudding, pound cake, apple walnut cranberry pie, etc. And rolls and muffins and cranberry sauce.

My Uncle David brought a home video of his father, our grand daddy, and qued it to the spot where granddaddy was saying blessing the food at a TDay dinner ten years ago. When he clicked it on you almost couldn't hear granddaddy because everybody was crying (he died in 2000, two monthes after grandmama).

The other weepy part was when the music was on. I think someone must have had a Sirius radio because it was continuous music. Anyway, a song by the Temptations came on, Just My Imagination, and Uncle David told everyone to tip their drink (whether it was booze, water, pop) in memory of Uncle Mack (he was murdered in 2004) who would have loved to be at this big family party. Uncle Mack was also a major Temptations fan so everybody sang along with them just like he would have done if he'd been here. Uncle Junior (I forgot to say he was there, sorry for leaving him out) grabbed the microphone and sort of led us and it waas fun,

All of my uncles can sing. Back in the day (Detroit in the Motown heydays) they had a little group they put together and they wanted to audition for Berry Gordy. My granddad said no, he didn't want his boys singing devil music (rock 'n roll) and that was the end of that. It's kind of too bad because Uncle Junior and Uncle Mack, they are/were amazing singers. Maybe all of their lives would have been different for the better if granddad hadn't been so adamant. Oh well.

One of Uncle Junior's sons is a rapper, a Christian rapper, and famous. I'm not going to mention his name because he just may not want it known that he has a cousin who owns a phone sex business (smile). If he was a gangsta rapper it would be a feather in his cap (smile).

I had an opportunity to reconnect with cousins I haven't seen in years, not all of them make the family events for a myriad of reasons. One of them, Angie, I hadn't seen in so long I didn't recognize her. She's cleaned up and on her feet and that's a good thing. For years she was a prostitute supporting her crack habit. She's had a really hard life. Crack is nasty and evil. I've seen up close and personal in my family just how wicked the crap is. So many of them have been addicted to crack it would take more than two hands to list them all. Such a shame.

Well, the clock on the library computer says it's almost time to give up the machine. It's been really good talking with you. I always enjoy it. Give a call when you get a minute, I like that too, then it's not so one-sided (smile).

Be good, be careful, take care, stay strong.

Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

I'm having a serious bout of regret. Don't you hate when that happens to you?

Remember me saying how my friends and I had an early TDay dinner a couple of weeks ago because my favorite uncle laid a guilt trip me on me about family and Thanksgiving?

Well, I stopped by my aunt's place this afternoon, the one who is doing the bulk of the TDay cooking, and found her in the midst of cleaning chitlins. Yuck. Talk about something nasty, that's chitlins. You know what they are, right? Pig intestines. No, I'm not joking, wish I were but I'm not. She was also cleaning hog maws. That's pig stomach.Disgusting to even talk about.

I hadn't realized she was cooking up that nasty pig crap as part of the dinner. If I had, I never would have agreed to do dinner with the family. Never.

Okay, no one's going to make me eat any of that, that's not the issue. It's the fact that it's going to be served that's got me upset. That stuff is disgusting to look at and it stinks to high heaven. And it's going to be on the buffet table along side everything else.

I don't eat pig, not as ham or bacon or anything else. Religous reasons. While I knew there would be ham (the family is big on pig), it never occurred to me about the chitlins and hog maws.

Silly as this may sound to you. I honestly don't think I'll be able to eat anything after seeing them on the table and watching people devour them. I have a strong stomach but that's too much even for me.That stuff is so disgusting.

I wish I hadn't said I'd go

Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

So tell me, how do you feel about pomegranates? Do you like them? Have you ever had one?

When I was at Costco on Friday I bought a box of them, six to a box, for just shy of $13. These are the big ones, like softballs. You cut into one and that red juice squirts and runs all over the place. So so good.

And you know, if you're going to bother with a pomegranate, you have to buy a softball sized one. Don't waste your time with those small ones. Nine times out of ten those little ones are dried up and sour and a total waste of your money.

But the big pomegranates, oh my! They are so good. I sat at the kitchen table and ate a whole one all by myself. Red sticky juice running all down my arms, my fingers picking out the seeds and eating them one by one, enjoying the luscious taste of them.

Truth be told, weather permitting, the best way to eat one is out in the back yard naked as the day you were born. That's right, I mean it too.That way when the seeds get away from you, and there's always a few that do, they won't stain your table or your carpet. And when the juice runs down your arms it won't stain your clothes.

An even better way to eat a pomegranate is with someone else (smile).

Wish you were here.........

Be good, be careful, stay strong.
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

Good morning! No more Mr. Nice Guy weather here! Today it's just barely above freezing. But it's sunny and any day with sunshine is a good day, right?

Did you watch the Democratic Debate last night from Las Vegas? Doesn't it seem more and more like the debates, both the democrat and republican, are nothing but travelling side shows? Still a year to go before the actual election, the 'real' candidates haven't even been chosen, yet every time you turn around these folks are on tv debating each other. I'm as tired of them as I am of the ever earlier Christmas displays. Was a time Santa Claus didn't come to town until the end of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, remember? Yesterday he arrived at an outlet mall north of Detroit, Michigan. Last night they turned on the Chistmas lights in the park the next county over. Tonight they turn on the huge Christmas tree in downtown Detroit. Thanksgiving is still a week away. And the Christmas merchandise, everything from decorations to presents, were in the stores around here before the Halloween stuff.

Saw on tv the other day that Walmart is pretty convinced that they'll do better this holiday season profitwise because they have the right mix of discount and upscale goods on their shelves to entice shoppers with. Saw that Home Depot's last quarter sales were down and they attributed it to the economy and the mortgage mess. Can't remember the other companies that were down profitwise, way too many of them to keep track of.

Gas prices are up. Here in Farmington/Farmington Hills regular unleaded is running anywhere from $3.19 to $3.26 a gallon. Heating costs for this winter will be higher than last year because of the rising price of a barrel of oil. Milk is somewhere around $4 a gallon.

I don't know if I'm expressing this right or not, but there's something horribly wrong going on.

I understand profits being down. I understand companies being dismayed at lower profits. Hell, my profits are down. And they've been down since, believe it if you want to, I don't much care, since they announced that Bush had won the election the first time. And while they've gone up a little bit, then back down, kind of yoyoing, my money still isn't right, still isn't where it was seven years ago.

But, and even though I know the American way, the democratic way, is for companies to keep making higher profits each year after year after year, how much damn money do they need to make? If profits for x-company were $240 million last year, isn't that good enogh? Do they have to raise prices so the next year's profits are $320 million? When is enough enough?

Do the heads of these companies really and truly deserve to earn 10, 20, 30 million a year?

I know I'm not saying any of this right, and I apologize for that, but I'm frustrated. So many people are getting their guts sqwoze right out of them. We all only have so many dollars at our disposal. When gas goes upupupupup, when food prices soar, when utilities skyrocket--what are we supposed to do? We all only have so many dollars and sometimes they just run right out of stretchability.

All those folks who are losing or who have lost their homes. All the folks who are losing or have lost their jobs because either the company decided to move out of the US (thereby increasing their profits by lowering their 3rd world employees pay scale), or they majorly cut back on their work force in order to take a bigger piece of the profit pie.

Yet every time I turn around that darn travelling side show of debates is in my face. All that talkety talk they're doing and you know it's not changing anything for any of us.

Too frustrated to write any more today.

Be good and be careful, stay strong.

Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

You're probably not going to believe this, what with all of your preconceived ideas about Michigan's weather, but it was an absolutely phenomenal day here yesterday. Sunshine, abundant sunshine in weather-speak, bright blue skies, and temperatures in the 60's!

It was such a nice day that I just couldn't bring myslf to stay coopedup in the house. This time of year, mid-November, it's usually damp, grey and chilly here. To have a day so outside of the norm, well, it only seemed fitting to do something outside the norm.

First thing, I gathered up Kathleen, my beloved cat, and we went out in the backyard. I dragged her cage out of winter hibernation mode, spread out some soft comfy towels for her to lay on, and set her up in the middle of the yard in the warm sunshine. I dragged out a lawn chair for me, grabbed the 5 pound bag of peanuts from the kitchen and we fed the squirrels while we worked on our fall/winter tans (smile).

The squirrels, oh my! They are so fat! I almost couldn't recognize one from the other. They are definitely on their job, getting themselves super ready for the upcoming snarly winter.

Because the weather has been so different from past typical falls, there are still leaves on the trees. See, generally by Halloween, with all ofthe rain and wind, the pretty colored leaves are on the sidewalks and the grass. When you want to look at the fall colors you look down, not up. This year half of them are still on the branches. I haven't even raked once yet, what's the point? makes more sense (to me, at least) to let them all fall off, then rake them all up one time.

Anyway, Kathleen had a wonderful time in the yard. The fresh air wore her little furry butt out and when we got back in the house she went and passed out on her recliner in the family room (smile).

I got in my truck, rolled down the windows, cranked up the radio and went for a ride. My first stop was the big park here in town, Heritage Park. It's 211 acres of forest, wetlands, meadows and hills, with 4 anda half miles of walking and hiking trails. I walked around a bit, then grabbed a seat by the pond and watched about 100 geese land and look for lunch. I even caught a glimpse of a deer!

Next stop was the smaller park right in town, locals call it city park, I wandered over to the little off shoot of the Rouge River, the ducks were hanging out along the banks sunning themselves. The parks and rec guys have already removed all of the picnic tables for winter, ggrrrrrr, so I didn't stay long. Sitting on the grass amid the duck doodoo was not an option (smile).

Last stop was the dairy queen, they're still open, and treated mysef to a soft serve chocolate cone. One of life's little pleasures (smile).

By the time I made it home I was ready for a nap too. Fresh air and exercise will do it every time (smile).

I hope it was pretty where you were and I hope you had an opportunity to get outside and enjoy it! Before you know it, it'll be winter.

hugs, Tawny
http://www.tawnyford.com/

Thanksgiving at my house this past Sunday (two days ago) was wonderful! I know that to some this was one of the craziest things I've ever said, but if you give it some thought, not a little, just a tiny bit, you'll see that it really isn't so far out there after all. Every single day of our lives should be a day that we are thankful for our blessings, right? I declared this past Sunday Thanksgiving At My House, and I celebrated likewise with friends.

The turkey, all almost 22 pounds of it, came out perfect. Used to be a time I cringed at the thought of turkey. Not because I didn't like it, but because unless you scored a piece of dark meat it was so dry and unappetizing. But, thanks to the magic of tv cooking shows, I have perfected a way to insure that the turkey, the whole turkey, even the white meat, comes out moist and succulent to the last bite. Here's the secret:

Carefully, veryveryvery carefully slide your fingers up under the skin on the front of the turkey. You know, under the breast part. Don't tear the skin. Take pats of butter--REAL BUTTER, not margarine or oleo or any other wierd concoction--and gently slide them up under the skin. As many as you can get under the skin, thin pats of butter. Even in the area under the leg skin, and in the cavity of the bird.

Melt a stick of butter, add some dry white wine (doesn't have to be expensive wine, but not rotgut either), and use that as your basting sauce. Baste every so often.

Your turkey will come out bronze like it spent a week at the beach basking in the sun!

Now if you're making gravy, here's what I do. Okay, obviously the drippings are going to be tasty but kind of greasy (all that butter, remember?). The day before TDay I simmer a couple of legs, a few wings, etc. turkey parts that I bought seperately at the grocery store. You've seen them, this time of year all grocery stores have them in the turkey/meat section (NOT smoked turkey parts, uncooked/raw ones). When it's done simmering, when you've gotten every bit of flavor you can from those parts, fish them out, refrigerate the stock, and the next day you can skim the top fat off of it. Use that for the base of your gravy.

The actual turkey drippings, I strain those as best I can to get the bulk of the buttery grease out of it, then add it to my stock, Season with salt + pepper, thicken with cornstarch. Lovely gravy.

Okay, in addition to the turkey we had cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes + gravy, whipped sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, corn, yeast rolls, cole slaw, cranberries, olives and pumpkin pie and pecan pie, and two pounds of Godiva chocolates. Burp (smile).

If you want to know how to make killer cornbread dressing, email me. I make it from scratch (no Pepperidge Farm for me!), but it's easy and tasty.

The mix of friends at the dinner table was wonderful too. It was fun to sit down and share a good meal, but it was also wonderful to have the time to really talk with them, to find out what was happening in their lives. After the meal there were rousing games of spades (the card game). And of course, the doggone football games were playing in the background.

By the time everyone left around 11pm I was ready for bed. It's hard work having so much fun (smile). But I'd do it all again in a minute, that's how much fun it was.

Since we're talking about being thankful, here's something else. I saw this address in a magazine:

A Recoverring Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Ave NW
Washington, DC 20307-5001

The article was asking that you take a moment to send a Christmas card to the above address to brighten up the day for a recoverring soldier. Now me, I don't do Christmas, it's not a part of my belief system. And no, I do not support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I support the troops, the men and women who have been sent over there to fight, to die and to get wounded--I want them to come now, right now.

And as part of my support for them, in addition to asking God to please stop those asinine and unjust wars, I'm going to send get well type cards to the above address. I think it's a nice thing to do. Perhaps you'll take a moment to send one yourself.

Well, that's it for today. It's a bit chilly, a tad damp, but there's sunshine! Any day with sunshine is a good day!

You be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.

hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

It dawned on me yesterday as I was eating my lunch that it's been awhile since I've shared another one of Tawny's Fabulous Recipes with you (smile)! Okay, now this is really easy, tastes good and is perfect for summer barbecues. Obviously it's also good in the winter because I was eating it yesterday (smile).
---
Take 1 can of baked beans. I use Buschs Vegetarian, but that's because I don't eat pork and just about all of the other brands, at least the ones available around here, are laced with pork.

Take maybe 1/2 pound of hamburger, more if you like super meaty, less if you're ambivalent (smile). Fry up the hamburger like you were making tacos or spaghetti. You know, break it up good, cook it all the way, then drain the fat/grease.

Cut up an onion. I love onions so I use several, but this is about your taste so however you feel about onions use the appropriate amount. Dump them into the pan with the cooked hamburger. Saute until the onions are soft(er).

Pour the can of beans into the pan with the onions and hamburger. Add about a half a cup of brown sugar. Stir well. Cook until bubbly and thick. You'll know it's done, don't worry, bubbly and thick.

This is good, at least I think it is. It's hearty, sticks with you and reheats well. You can even cut up a couple of hot dogs and add them in.
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Have you seen the movie Transformers? I watched it last night and it was pretty good. Talk about action packed, wow! Amazing what computers can do. In the 'olden days' they'd have had to make it a cartoon movie because there's no way they could have pulled it off otherwise.

It's chilly here again, still not as cold as it's going to get before spring arrives, but chilly enough to have me hauling out my winter coat and sweatpants. I like cold weather, I just don't like how much longer it takes to get ready before I can leave the house, and having to warm up the truck. Having to scrape the windshield is also on my do not like list, but that hasn't been an issue yet, leastwise not here.

My friend lives up in Marquette, that's along Lake Superior in the upper peninusla of Michigan. This is her first real winter up there. She moved from a suburb of Detroit to God's Country, that's what folks who live up north call it (?). Sure, she's spent bits and pieces of winters there before, but she's in for the long haul this year. She tells me she won't get cabin fever, she has cases of yarn so she can knit things, lots of dvd's to watch, enough supplies to bake breads and cookies, etc. I hope she's right. It gets veryveryvery cold up there. They've already had snow.
I've been telling her she ought to start a blog so her friends, who are probably never going to live in the UP, can live the experience through her. So far she's been ignoring my suggestion (smile).

My turkey is thawing okay. I have it in the refrigerator, still in its wrapper, just like how they say you're supposed to do it so you don't get sick. Now my Mom, maybe yours too, used to thaw the frozen bird on the kitchen counter and we never got sick. I mean, you cook the turkey, right? so if it gets a germ, well, you're going to cook it out. Tomorrow afternoon I'm going to unwrap it and, if it's still got icicles, plunge it into a bath or two or three of cold water to finish the process.

I have my lists with me, things I still have to get for the dinner. Sam's Club and the produce store are next after I leave here. Sam's sells produce but unless you need a ton of it, and unless you're going to use it the same day you buy it, well, the stuff never holds up for me. Mushrooms and asparagus do, but not lettuce or tomatoes or.....

So I guess that's it for today. I look forward to chatting with you this evening. In the meantime be good and be careful, stay strong.

hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

Don't pay the ransom, I'm free (smile)! Whew, can you believe it's been so doggone many days since I last talked with you? This whole week has one been one busy thing to do every morning, all things that had to be taken care of first thing, all at the very same time that I need to be at the library if I want to snag a computer and not wait 'in line'.

Yesterday it was a trip to Sam's Club. I can get in there early, any time after 7am, because I have a business membership. While I wasn't there right at 7am, not because my heart wasn't in it but because by the time I take a shower and dry my hair (it's cold here now, although nowheres near as cold as it's going to get before winter is finished)and get the truck warmed up, well, it's getting close to 8:30am. So anyway, I was looking to buy a new mattress for my bed. I figured odds were good I could get a fair price for a good mattress at one of the warehouse stores, Sam's or Costco, with Sam's being my first choice since I can get in there early before the masses arrive.

There were four different grades of mattresses in queen size. I sort of felt like the princess and the pea, remember that fairy tale? as I streteched out on each one. Thing was, the 2 grade, the least expensive, was too flimsy. It didn't strike confidence in me that it would last more than a year, at best. Grades 3 and 4, moderately priced, they were too soft. I don't want a mattress I sink into. Now grade 5, ooooh that was a comfy one! But it was in the mid-$500 range, plus another hundred for a new box spring, and I just wasn't looking to spend that kind of money,

When I get a chance I'm going to Costco, yes, I have a membership there too, and check out their mattresses. And if nothing suites me there then it's off to a mattress store. But I seriously need a new mattress. Mine is over 10 years old, sort of saggy, and it's no wonder I don't get a good nights sleep and I wake up sore and achy.

Tuesday I never left the house. Why? It was cold and windy and I just didn't have it in me to deal with it. I spent the day on the phone, on the internet, and just generally putzing around the house. Monday, I don't remember what it was that kept me from the library, oh, a doctor appointment, that was it.

Thanksgiving, I know, isn't for a couple of weeks. But, at least to my way of thinking, any day, every day really, can and should be a day to be thankful. This Sunday I'm not going to be able to talk with you all day because that's when a goodly number of my friends are gathering at my house to have our own Thanksgiving. I bought an almost 22 lb. turkey, it's defrosting (I hope!) as we speak. Side dishes will be the usual--dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, cranberries, rolls. Dessert is two pies, pumpkin and pecan, and my friend is bringing them.

I'm really looking forward to this dinner. I am thankful to have such close friends and it's going to be fun to celebrate with them. This is the crew I always have Thanksgiving with.

On the state sanctioned official Thanksgiving Day I will be with family, well a faction of them, at the clubhouse of my one aunt's apartment building. Family members are coming in from all over the US--California, Mississippi, Indiana, etc.--so that makes it like a mini family reunion. I wasn't going to go, I'd rather hang with my other family, my friends, but, as my favorite uncle pointed out, I didn't go to the big reunion in Mississippi this past summer (who in their right mind goes to Mississippi in July????), nor did I go to the other big reunion in Michigan City this past summer. How many opportunities does one have to get with their whole family, he said, better take advantage of it.....so I'm going. On the plus side, this aunt lives nearby, in the suburbs, not in the hood, and for that I am truly grateful. I am not a big fan of the inner city of Detroit, and even less a fan when I have to venture there. Call me a scaredy cat if you want to, sticks and stones and names don't bother me, safety is a big concern to me.

Well, I guess that's it for todays ramblings (smile). I still have a few more places to get to before I head home. Sure hope you call today, I love talking with you!

Be good and be careful, stay strong,
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com