What a difference a day (or two or three) can make with the weather, huh? Today it's already in the mid-40's, gloomy and grey, and on the verge of raining. The tv weather people say we might even have thunderstorms. Yesterday it was somewhere in the 30's, but sunshine, abundant sunshine, and it felt really warm. Like warm enough to go without your winter coat, without a long sleeved sweater too. Now if there was sunshine today, wow, folks would be out in short sleeves.
Tallulah, still wintering in the frozen tundra (her words) of Marquette, MI, left me a message yesterday on my answerring machine. She said it was in the 40's up there and hot! And those crazy Yoopers (what people who live in the upper peninsula of Michigan are called) were out in bermuda shorts even though there was tons of snow on the ground!
The weather people around here are calling for, maybe, significant snow for Friday. To my mind they're talking over 5 inches, Now that would be interesting, yet not totally unexpected, for January in Michigan. And by that I'm referring to the yoyo weather--cold, warm, freezing, melting, snow drifts (smile).
Want to hear something cute? Okay, here goes. I'm always talking about HSM (Home School Mom) and her brood, right? So her youngest, who is 9, was talking about Patrick this and Patrick that yesterday, trying to figure out why everybody was so mad at Patrick they wanted to kill him. Made no sense until HSM realized he was talking about the mayor Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick. Her chicklet thought his name was Patrick and everybody was saying 'kill Patrick' (smile)!
Well, this is going to be exceptionally short this morning. Why? I have to get to the grocery store before it starts pouring, and I want to get home so I can talk with you. What do I need at the grocery store? A bag of potatoes. I'm making hamburger hot dish/casserole/whatever you want to call it for dinner tonight. I have everything but the potatoes. Crazy thing is, I decided on it last night, then couldn't find the recipe. What to do. Hmmmmm. Remembered I'd put in the blog for you to try, then had to scroll through many many many monthes of this blog searching for the recipe. Like to ran me crazy (smile). On the up side, reading through this blog is kind of like reading through my diary and it was interesting to do the stroll down memory lane. But to save you the same stroll, if you want to make this for dinner too it's in January of 2007. It's really tasty and easy to make and inexpensive too.
Gots to go.
Be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Monday, January 28, 2008
I never expected to be able to make it to the library to talk with you today. Why? Well. There were so many things I had to do today, all of them outside of the house, I won't bore you with the tiresome details (was that you saying 'thank you'? smile), but I just thought for sure I'd run out of time before I got here. Thank goodness that wasn't the case.
This is a wierd question for you, but have you ever done something, reacted to something seemingly before you even gave it a thought? Maybe just reacted based totally on instinct? That was me last night. I went out to get some dinner around 7pm, to a place I go to fairly often, close to the house and the food is okay. Plus, they play continuous country music, the stuff recorded prior to 1980!, on the sound system.
My uncle went with me. Our waitress was a woman somewhere between the ages of 45 and 60 (I can't narrow it down any closer, sorry), with an accent, I'm thinking maybe Yugoslavian, some type of eastern european accent anyway. She came to take our drink order. I went first. I said I'd like a root beer and a big glass of water. We don't have root beer any more, she told me. Okay, then just a big glass of water. And then she turned and walked away from the table. She never asked my uncle what he wanted to drink.
I didn't even give it a thought, just reacted. I said hey, and then I whistled, whistled like you do when you're calling your dog. I thought my uncle was going to die right there on the spot, he was just that embarassed. You didn't ask my uncle what he wanted to drink, I said when she returned to our table. Oh, I thought you were orderring for the both of you, she lyingly said so easy.
Okay, I was disrespectful when I dog whistled for her. That's a no-brainer in the ettiquette department. Miss Manners would be oh so appalled. But she disrespected my uncle. And yeah yeah, you're not supposed to tit for tat, but I reacted before I thought.
See, the thing is, my uncle is black. He was the only black person in there. That's why she did it and you can't tell me any different.
My uncle says that's not how you handle things, and he's right, of course. But I guess subconciously I wanted to disrespect her like she'd just disrespected him. Doesn't make it right, two wrongs never make a right, but I did it.
I guess I'm going to have to work on my reactions to things. Teach myself to count to ten, take deep breathes, then proceed.
Okay, on another note, rumor has it that the woman Kwame Kilpatrick, the mayor of Detroit, has been having the extra marital affair with, Christine Beatty, has resigned her job. I don't know it for a fact, I haven't seen any tv news, but I overheard some people at the library talking about it.
Now I'm not about to take up for her, him either, they have behaved disgracefully. But. Have you ever noticed that when something like that happens, it's always the woman who loses her job?
The Detroit Free Press www.freep.com printed yesterday that city of Detroit money paid for Kwame and Christine's love tryst in Denver, Colorado a while back. Seems to me he should lose his job too. Lets' see, for felony perjury, misappropriation of city funds, etc.
And they should both go to jail/prison.
Stay tuned. I'm sure tonight's news will bring out more scandal.
Be good, be careful, take care, stay strong.
hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
This is a wierd question for you, but have you ever done something, reacted to something seemingly before you even gave it a thought? Maybe just reacted based totally on instinct? That was me last night. I went out to get some dinner around 7pm, to a place I go to fairly often, close to the house and the food is okay. Plus, they play continuous country music, the stuff recorded prior to 1980!, on the sound system.
My uncle went with me. Our waitress was a woman somewhere between the ages of 45 and 60 (I can't narrow it down any closer, sorry), with an accent, I'm thinking maybe Yugoslavian, some type of eastern european accent anyway. She came to take our drink order. I went first. I said I'd like a root beer and a big glass of water. We don't have root beer any more, she told me. Okay, then just a big glass of water. And then she turned and walked away from the table. She never asked my uncle what he wanted to drink.
I didn't even give it a thought, just reacted. I said hey, and then I whistled, whistled like you do when you're calling your dog. I thought my uncle was going to die right there on the spot, he was just that embarassed. You didn't ask my uncle what he wanted to drink, I said when she returned to our table. Oh, I thought you were orderring for the both of you, she lyingly said so easy.
Okay, I was disrespectful when I dog whistled for her. That's a no-brainer in the ettiquette department. Miss Manners would be oh so appalled. But she disrespected my uncle. And yeah yeah, you're not supposed to tit for tat, but I reacted before I thought.
See, the thing is, my uncle is black. He was the only black person in there. That's why she did it and you can't tell me any different.
My uncle says that's not how you handle things, and he's right, of course. But I guess subconciously I wanted to disrespect her like she'd just disrespected him. Doesn't make it right, two wrongs never make a right, but I did it.
I guess I'm going to have to work on my reactions to things. Teach myself to count to ten, take deep breathes, then proceed.
Okay, on another note, rumor has it that the woman Kwame Kilpatrick, the mayor of Detroit, has been having the extra marital affair with, Christine Beatty, has resigned her job. I don't know it for a fact, I haven't seen any tv news, but I overheard some people at the library talking about it.
Now I'm not about to take up for her, him either, they have behaved disgracefully. But. Have you ever noticed that when something like that happens, it's always the woman who loses her job?
The Detroit Free Press www.freep.com printed yesterday that city of Detroit money paid for Kwame and Christine's love tryst in Denver, Colorado a while back. Seems to me he should lose his job too. Lets' see, for felony perjury, misappropriation of city funds, etc.
And they should both go to jail/prison.
Stay tuned. I'm sure tonight's news will bring out more scandal.
Be good, be careful, take care, stay strong.
hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Here's keeping it short and sweet for a change. www.firejerryo.com This gives excellent background on what's going on regarding the mayor of Detroit.
Be good, be careful, take care, stay strong.
hugs,
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Be good, be careful, take care, stay strong.
hugs,
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Friday, January 25, 2008
Okay, so yesterday I was telling you about the woes of Detroit's mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, remember? Well, just when you think it can't get any uglier........
Yesterday nobody knew where Kwame or his family was. The media checked city hall, the Manoogian Mansion (the city owned residence of the mayor and his family), his mother's house (Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick) inDetroit and the one in Washington, DC, and Kwame's wife's mother's house and there was no sight of them. Kwame was supposed to be in DC at a mayor's conference but he pulled a no-show.
Then channel 7, the Detrot ABC affiliate, their special investigative reporter, Steve Wilson, who was working on another story about Kwame, stumbled up on him and his family.
Seems Wilson's original story had to do with an almost half million dollar home in Tallahassee, Florida that Kwame had purchased that no one knew about. While taking photos of the house, who should they spot? The missing Kwame! What a coup!
Then the house was put up for sale (?). And Kwame and family were supposedly headed back to Detroit. Oh, I forgot to mention, they had a rental car. I guess so nobody would be able to track them. Ooops.
So today the media discovers that there's a secret deal between the city of Detroit and the lawyer and plaintiffs in that whistle blower case I was telling you about that--the one with the two ex-Detroit policemen who were fired because they got too close to discoverring the affair(and other wrong doings) of the mayor and his chief aide, Christine Beatty.
What's the secret deal? Well, that's what another judge is going to find out on, I think, Monday when he deposes the plaintiffs lawyer. It is believed that the deal is that the city would not appeal the 9 million award that the 2 ex-policemen got if the lawyer and the 2 policemenwould not release to the media the 14,000 text messages that Kwame and Christine sent to each other.
If this is true, well, the shit is going to hit the fan again.
Also, Steve Wilson discoverred that just last weekend Kwame was in Norh Carolina (or South Carolina, now I can't remember which) to dliver a speech about Martin Luther King. Kwame stayed at a mountain hideaway. His wife and 3 kids did not go with him.
BUT records (credit card receipts) show that a woman did stay with him. And have massages in the same room at the same time he was having them. And joined him in a private hot tub. And shared chocolate dipped strawberries and champagne with him.
The identity of the woman is expected to be released shortly.
According to a statement released by Kwame when the original scandal broke over the text messages, when he had the affair with Christine Beatty (who was married at the time to a childhood friend of Kwame's) it was a difficult time in his life, he and his wife have worked through it, etc.
I wonder if Mrs. Kwame Kilpatrick knew he had a love tryst going on with a mystery woman last weekend?
I wonder if Kwame ever told his wife, whose name is Carlita, that when he was cheating on her with his chief aide, Christine, that they were also professing their love for each other? Or if she found out about it when it hit the newspapers the other day?
I'll tell you, I feel very, very sorry for Carlita Kilpatrick. Her husband is a whore.
If you want to read more abiut this sordid mess, go to:
www.wxyz.com
www.clickondetroit.com
www.freep.com
Be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
hugs,
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Yesterday nobody knew where Kwame or his family was. The media checked city hall, the Manoogian Mansion (the city owned residence of the mayor and his family), his mother's house (Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick) inDetroit and the one in Washington, DC, and Kwame's wife's mother's house and there was no sight of them. Kwame was supposed to be in DC at a mayor's conference but he pulled a no-show.
Then channel 7, the Detrot ABC affiliate, their special investigative reporter, Steve Wilson, who was working on another story about Kwame, stumbled up on him and his family.
Seems Wilson's original story had to do with an almost half million dollar home in Tallahassee, Florida that Kwame had purchased that no one knew about. While taking photos of the house, who should they spot? The missing Kwame! What a coup!
Then the house was put up for sale (?). And Kwame and family were supposedly headed back to Detroit. Oh, I forgot to mention, they had a rental car. I guess so nobody would be able to track them. Ooops.
So today the media discovers that there's a secret deal between the city of Detroit and the lawyer and plaintiffs in that whistle blower case I was telling you about that--the one with the two ex-Detroit policemen who were fired because they got too close to discoverring the affair(and other wrong doings) of the mayor and his chief aide, Christine Beatty.
What's the secret deal? Well, that's what another judge is going to find out on, I think, Monday when he deposes the plaintiffs lawyer. It is believed that the deal is that the city would not appeal the 9 million award that the 2 ex-policemen got if the lawyer and the 2 policemenwould not release to the media the 14,000 text messages that Kwame and Christine sent to each other.
If this is true, well, the shit is going to hit the fan again.
Also, Steve Wilson discoverred that just last weekend Kwame was in Norh Carolina (or South Carolina, now I can't remember which) to dliver a speech about Martin Luther King. Kwame stayed at a mountain hideaway. His wife and 3 kids did not go with him.
BUT records (credit card receipts) show that a woman did stay with him. And have massages in the same room at the same time he was having them. And joined him in a private hot tub. And shared chocolate dipped strawberries and champagne with him.
The identity of the woman is expected to be released shortly.
According to a statement released by Kwame when the original scandal broke over the text messages, when he had the affair with Christine Beatty (who was married at the time to a childhood friend of Kwame's) it was a difficult time in his life, he and his wife have worked through it, etc.
I wonder if Mrs. Kwame Kilpatrick knew he had a love tryst going on with a mystery woman last weekend?
I wonder if Kwame ever told his wife, whose name is Carlita, that when he was cheating on her with his chief aide, Christine, that they were also professing their love for each other? Or if she found out about it when it hit the newspapers the other day?
I'll tell you, I feel very, very sorry for Carlita Kilpatrick. Her husband is a whore.
If you want to read more abiut this sordid mess, go to:
www.wxyz.com
www.clickondetroit.com
www.freep.com
Be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
hugs,
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Thursday, January 24, 2008
It's funny sometimes how you plan to talk about one thing, I mean you have it all worked out in your head almost word for word and then you go to sit down at the computer and BAM! something else is pushing for space. That's how it is this morning. So I'll start with the 'new' and if there's time left (remember, I'm on a library computer with only so many minutes alloted) I'll get to the other.
Last night on the 10pm news on Detroit's channel 2, the local Fox affiliate, they broke for a big story. The 11 pm news on Detroit's channel 4, the local NBC affiliate, used up the first 12 minutes of their program for the same story. What was it? Well.......
I think I told you how two Detroit policemen, well, 2 ex-Detroit policemen because the city fired them, had a whistle blower lawsuit in the courts. Remember? I'm not going to go in to the whole case, but the short version is the city fired them because they were investigating wrong doings that the mayor didn't want investigated. Not only were they fired, but they were publically humiliated and called liars and feared for their lives. When it went to court the mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick (son of Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick, a powerful woman in Washington, DC), got up on the stand, placed his hand on the Holy Bible, swore to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, as did Christine Beatty (sp?), his chief aide. The two of them testified that they were not and did not ever have an affair. In fact, she got all indignant and checked the lawyer for even bringing it up. The mayor, he said shame on everybody for saying and thinking this.
The jury, bless their little hearts, didn't believe any of the testimony they heard, well, except for the two ex-police, the jury believed them, and awarded them some millions in damages. The mayor said the city was going to appeal the verdict, then changed his mind and wanted to put it all behind and get on.
The judgement cost the citizens of Detroit a whole lot of money, not to mention the costs incurred by the trial. I don't know if you read the news about Detroit or keep tabs on how the city is doing, but it's not doing well, I don't care what the mayor's press releases say. The schools are in shambles, there aren't enough textbooks to go around, how are the kids supposed to be able to compete in the world job market? The schools themselves are unsafe, metal detectors and police abound. The streets are unsafe. Young women getting raped on their way to school. While they won't admit to this, there's a drug war going on and not the one Reagan was talking about with the just say no campaign, but executions in the street. Thousands and thousands of abandoned houses that have turned into drug houses and worse. There's a whole lot of other stuff wrong too but who has the time or the space to go into it all.
Anyway, last night the big news stories were how Mayor Kilpatrick and Christine Beaty lied, perjured themselves to be exact about it, on the stand. The newspapers got ahold of the two extramarital affair sweethearts (Kilpatrick is still married, Beatty is now divorced) text messages to each other. Lo and behold!
Now the mayor wants the press and the public to give he and his family some privacy, he was going through a difficult time then, yadayadayada.
I hate to break it to him, but he lied under oath. That's a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. He and his (maybe ex, who knows) sweetie could be, should be loking at doing some hard time. Didn't Martha Stewart go to prison for lying about insider trading? If Martha, who has a whole lot of money, can go to prison, well, so can Kwame and his sweetie.
It's never right to gloat over someone elses misfortune. I'm not gloating, believe me. I feel sorry for all of them. But.......
Two Detroit policemen lost their jobs, were publicly humiliated, had their lives threatened. If it hadn't been for the Grace of God they would have lost their lawsuit.
There's something else that happened a few years ago that the mayor would like you to believe is an urban myth. He adamantly denies it ever happened. There was a big, wild party at the Manoogian Mansion, that's the city owned mansion used to house the mayor and his family. Shortly thereafter, the stripper who worked the party ended up shot to death on the city streets. The bullet(s) recovered from her body matched those used by the Detroit police. The 'urban myth' says that the mayor's wife came home early, walked in on the party, got into an altercation with the stripper. Next thing you know, the stripper (I don't remember her name) shows up dead. And the mayor says it never happened. Like how he and Beatty never had an affair???????
You can read all about this nasty mess yourself at www.clickondetroit.com or www.freep.com (I think that's the addy for the Detroit Free Press).
There are a few morals to this story. One, you shouldn't cheat on your spouse. Two, commiting perjury is a bad thing. Three, text messages, even though you delete them, can be retrieved years and years later.
Okay, gots to go. The computer says my time is almost up.
So be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Last night on the 10pm news on Detroit's channel 2, the local Fox affiliate, they broke for a big story. The 11 pm news on Detroit's channel 4, the local NBC affiliate, used up the first 12 minutes of their program for the same story. What was it? Well.......
I think I told you how two Detroit policemen, well, 2 ex-Detroit policemen because the city fired them, had a whistle blower lawsuit in the courts. Remember? I'm not going to go in to the whole case, but the short version is the city fired them because they were investigating wrong doings that the mayor didn't want investigated. Not only were they fired, but they were publically humiliated and called liars and feared for their lives. When it went to court the mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick (son of Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick, a powerful woman in Washington, DC), got up on the stand, placed his hand on the Holy Bible, swore to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, as did Christine Beatty (sp?), his chief aide. The two of them testified that they were not and did not ever have an affair. In fact, she got all indignant and checked the lawyer for even bringing it up. The mayor, he said shame on everybody for saying and thinking this.
The jury, bless their little hearts, didn't believe any of the testimony they heard, well, except for the two ex-police, the jury believed them, and awarded them some millions in damages. The mayor said the city was going to appeal the verdict, then changed his mind and wanted to put it all behind and get on.
The judgement cost the citizens of Detroit a whole lot of money, not to mention the costs incurred by the trial. I don't know if you read the news about Detroit or keep tabs on how the city is doing, but it's not doing well, I don't care what the mayor's press releases say. The schools are in shambles, there aren't enough textbooks to go around, how are the kids supposed to be able to compete in the world job market? The schools themselves are unsafe, metal detectors and police abound. The streets are unsafe. Young women getting raped on their way to school. While they won't admit to this, there's a drug war going on and not the one Reagan was talking about with the just say no campaign, but executions in the street. Thousands and thousands of abandoned houses that have turned into drug houses and worse. There's a whole lot of other stuff wrong too but who has the time or the space to go into it all.
Anyway, last night the big news stories were how Mayor Kilpatrick and Christine Beaty lied, perjured themselves to be exact about it, on the stand. The newspapers got ahold of the two extramarital affair sweethearts (Kilpatrick is still married, Beatty is now divorced) text messages to each other. Lo and behold!
Now the mayor wants the press and the public to give he and his family some privacy, he was going through a difficult time then, yadayadayada.
I hate to break it to him, but he lied under oath. That's a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. He and his (maybe ex, who knows) sweetie could be, should be loking at doing some hard time. Didn't Martha Stewart go to prison for lying about insider trading? If Martha, who has a whole lot of money, can go to prison, well, so can Kwame and his sweetie.
It's never right to gloat over someone elses misfortune. I'm not gloating, believe me. I feel sorry for all of them. But.......
Two Detroit policemen lost their jobs, were publicly humiliated, had their lives threatened. If it hadn't been for the Grace of God they would have lost their lawsuit.
There's something else that happened a few years ago that the mayor would like you to believe is an urban myth. He adamantly denies it ever happened. There was a big, wild party at the Manoogian Mansion, that's the city owned mansion used to house the mayor and his family. Shortly thereafter, the stripper who worked the party ended up shot to death on the city streets. The bullet(s) recovered from her body matched those used by the Detroit police. The 'urban myth' says that the mayor's wife came home early, walked in on the party, got into an altercation with the stripper. Next thing you know, the stripper (I don't remember her name) shows up dead. And the mayor says it never happened. Like how he and Beatty never had an affair???????
You can read all about this nasty mess yourself at www.clickondetroit.com or www.freep.com (I think that's the addy for the Detroit Free Press).
There are a few morals to this story. One, you shouldn't cheat on your spouse. Two, commiting perjury is a bad thing. Three, text messages, even though you delete them, can be retrieved years and years later.
Okay, gots to go. The computer says my time is almost up.
So be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
It feels really good to be back chatting with you. While in reality it's only been what? less than a week? it feels like lots longer. That arctic cold spell we had got me to hibernating. Call me silly if you want to, but I don't think it's fun to be out and about when the temperatures are below zero! I know I could have had HSM daily post my writings for me, she always kindly offers to do it, and I did have her post the last entry (the one before this)--the tatoo photo--but, well, I didn't want to be a nuisance to her. And, almost equally as important, because it was so frightfully cold outside, the inside of my house was colder than usual. The living room, where my webtv is situated, was the coldest room during the day. So cold that when I tried sitting out there my fingers were almost too cold to successfully work the keyboard.
I never caved in and upped the furnace setting. I was tempted to, but the thought of receiving a monstrous heating bill kept me away from the thermostat. Instead, I spent my days--inbetween talking with you--curled up under a blanket in the family room working my way through a pile of books. Not a bad thing! And you know what? I spoke to a gentleman over the weekend (you know who you are!) who also keeps his thermostat set at 58 degrees! See, I'm not the only one (smile). And his reason was the same as mine, although he uses propane and I use natural gas, both are costing an arm and a leg this season.
When it's cold like it has been, and like how it's going to be in a day or so again, one of the most productive ways to warm up the house is to cook dinner in the oven. Not only does it make the house warmer, but it warms up your tummy too. I made meatloaf one day, pizza another, etc. And of course I baked cookies too! Last night because it wasn't nearly as cold, I fried a chicken instead of roasting it. And I fried up some sweet potato french fries. Have you ever had them? They are so good! I fry them twice. First time in the oil I get them maybe 80% cooked. I pull them out, drain them, let them cool completely. Then back into the hot grease to finish up. Some folks put cinnamon and sugar on them, me, I use salt. No ketchup needed. Yum!
It's a quiet day here at the library. Maybe 5 computers are in use. I think it's too bad when the library isn't busy, but I love the quiet and the peace. I'm not sure where everybody is, it's not snowing or sleeting, it's not wickedly cold, the sun is even shining. A good day to be out and about. Now tonight they're calling for more snow, maybe a couple of inches. We had two inches Monday night, so that'll make four on the ground. And they're threatening us with single digit temperatures this weekend, as well as -wind chills. Hope they're wrong.
Tallulah emails almost every day, giving me an update on life in the frozen tundra of Marquette, MI. They've been having consistent wind chills of -25 to -35 for more than a week. Snow too. I mailed a package out to her today, nothing too much in it, just magazines and catalogs. I was hoping they might brighten her spirits a little bit. She tells me she goes to the Super Walmart every single day, not to purchase anything, but just to walk the store twice. She says if she didn't get out of the house each day she'd go crazy. I know the feeling.
So have you been watching the latest season of The Wire? I have every Sunday. As much as I've loved this new season, I truly loved this past Sunday's episode. Talk about excitement, wow! If you haven't been watching The Wire since it began a few years ago, get thee to your local Blockbuster and rent the previous seasons. Then when this season repeats, HBO always repeats it, you can see what I'm watching now. You'll enjoy it, honest.
So if you are a Wire fan, who is your favorite character? Mine is Omar. Yeah, he's a homosexual and a killer, so what? He's my guy. I met a lot of men like him when I was in and out of the prisons, not homosexuals, killers with a good heart. And before you get all crazy on me, yes, being a killer doesn't mean you can't have a good heart. Don't be so judgemental.
What do you think of Bush's latest incentive to get the economy moving? I'm talking about the extra cash back, I guess as part of the income tax refund. Last time he did that, if I'm remembering correctly, people saved the money instead of putting it back in to circulation. I always thought war time was good for the economy. We have two wars going, Iraq and Afghanistan, and unemployment is off the charts. Really off the charts because the only ones they count are the folks collecting unemployment benefits. The folks whose benefits have run out, well, they're not counted as part of those statistics. Maybe since the wars aren't fueling the economy Bush should end them now, bring the troops home, put the money--OUR money--that he's spending to kill, maim and destroy back in to the US economy. Just might work wonders.
Gots to go. The little clock at the top of the screen says I'm living on borrowed computer time (smile).
You take care, be good, be careful, stay strong. And stay warm too.
hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
I never caved in and upped the furnace setting. I was tempted to, but the thought of receiving a monstrous heating bill kept me away from the thermostat. Instead, I spent my days--inbetween talking with you--curled up under a blanket in the family room working my way through a pile of books. Not a bad thing! And you know what? I spoke to a gentleman over the weekend (you know who you are!) who also keeps his thermostat set at 58 degrees! See, I'm not the only one (smile). And his reason was the same as mine, although he uses propane and I use natural gas, both are costing an arm and a leg this season.
When it's cold like it has been, and like how it's going to be in a day or so again, one of the most productive ways to warm up the house is to cook dinner in the oven. Not only does it make the house warmer, but it warms up your tummy too. I made meatloaf one day, pizza another, etc. And of course I baked cookies too! Last night because it wasn't nearly as cold, I fried a chicken instead of roasting it. And I fried up some sweet potato french fries. Have you ever had them? They are so good! I fry them twice. First time in the oil I get them maybe 80% cooked. I pull them out, drain them, let them cool completely. Then back into the hot grease to finish up. Some folks put cinnamon and sugar on them, me, I use salt. No ketchup needed. Yum!
It's a quiet day here at the library. Maybe 5 computers are in use. I think it's too bad when the library isn't busy, but I love the quiet and the peace. I'm not sure where everybody is, it's not snowing or sleeting, it's not wickedly cold, the sun is even shining. A good day to be out and about. Now tonight they're calling for more snow, maybe a couple of inches. We had two inches Monday night, so that'll make four on the ground. And they're threatening us with single digit temperatures this weekend, as well as -wind chills. Hope they're wrong.
Tallulah emails almost every day, giving me an update on life in the frozen tundra of Marquette, MI. They've been having consistent wind chills of -25 to -35 for more than a week. Snow too. I mailed a package out to her today, nothing too much in it, just magazines and catalogs. I was hoping they might brighten her spirits a little bit. She tells me she goes to the Super Walmart every single day, not to purchase anything, but just to walk the store twice. She says if she didn't get out of the house each day she'd go crazy. I know the feeling.
So have you been watching the latest season of The Wire? I have every Sunday. As much as I've loved this new season, I truly loved this past Sunday's episode. Talk about excitement, wow! If you haven't been watching The Wire since it began a few years ago, get thee to your local Blockbuster and rent the previous seasons. Then when this season repeats, HBO always repeats it, you can see what I'm watching now. You'll enjoy it, honest.
So if you are a Wire fan, who is your favorite character? Mine is Omar. Yeah, he's a homosexual and a killer, so what? He's my guy. I met a lot of men like him when I was in and out of the prisons, not homosexuals, killers with a good heart. And before you get all crazy on me, yes, being a killer doesn't mean you can't have a good heart. Don't be so judgemental.
What do you think of Bush's latest incentive to get the economy moving? I'm talking about the extra cash back, I guess as part of the income tax refund. Last time he did that, if I'm remembering correctly, people saved the money instead of putting it back in to circulation. I always thought war time was good for the economy. We have two wars going, Iraq and Afghanistan, and unemployment is off the charts. Really off the charts because the only ones they count are the folks collecting unemployment benefits. The folks whose benefits have run out, well, they're not counted as part of those statistics. Maybe since the wars aren't fueling the economy Bush should end them now, bring the troops home, put the money--OUR money--that he's spending to kill, maim and destroy back in to the US economy. Just might work wonders.
Gots to go. The little clock at the top of the screen says I'm living on borrowed computer time (smile).
You take care, be good, be careful, stay strong. And stay warm too.
hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Thursday, January 17, 2008
This fellow thought he had the perfect tattoo and then he went to prison!A friend sent this to me and I thought it might make you giggle too!
Be good, be careful, take care, stay strong.
hugs, Tawny
http://www.tawnyford.com/
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
So this morning, sort of, Tallulah headed home. I say sort of because she had some stops to make--stores--before she actually got on the interstate to take her back to her home in the upper peninsula. She called me at 8:15am from her cell phone, did I want to go to the Arab store with her? That was going to be her second stop, I think, the first being a fruit and veggie store so she could stock up on fruit and veggies. She says the prices of fresh fruit and veggies are so high that she doesn't buy them at home, she eats salads and fresh fruit at restaurants when she dines out. I'm not sure what all she intended to buy, but I'm guessing she was going to buy as much as she could fit in to her car. The Arab store, actually a Middle Eastern market, she was going to pick up some ingredients for an Armenian rice pilaf she cooks frequently. I wished I could have gone with her, she's fun to shop with, but I had my own set of errands to run this morning--Costco and Sam's Club, and of course, the library so I could chat with you! And I was afraid that we'd get to gabbing and having too much fun and she'd be hours late getting on her way.
She said she had to head home this morning because a BIG snow storm was coming and if she didn't get home today, well, it might be some time before she could get there. I don't know where exactly the BIG storm is going to hit, but I sure do hope it's on the UP side of the Mackinac Bridge so I don't have to deal with it (smile). I know a cold spell is coming, both here and in the UP, frigid arctic air they're calling it. If it gets too terribly frigid I'm going to have to impose on HSM to post for me because I hate being out in that kind of weather. It makes my skin hurt and really wears me out. You too?
Okay, before time gets away from me here, I want to share a really tasty recipe for chili with you. I made it the other day, along with a pan of corn bread, and it's good stuff.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Cincinnati Chili
2 cups chopped onions
2 cloves minced garlic
2 Tablespoons oil (or not, if your hamburger is greasy)
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound sausage (I use beef or chicken)
2 1lb. cans of tomatoes
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup water
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon EACH:
lemon juice
cumin
paprika
cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon EACH:
mustard seed
red pepper flakes
ground cloves
celery seed
nutmeg
1 bay leaf, crumbled
Okay, in a big pan cook the onion, ground beef and sliced sausage. Cook till brown and done.
Drain if there's too much grease.
Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour uncoverred.
Now here's what I do: I don't add the 1 cup of water, Why? Because I already had to open a can of tomato juice, right? I replace the water with tomato juice. And I don't use tomato juice, I use no-name V-8 juice because it adds extra flavor. And when the chili gets really thick (because I cook it longer than one hour), I thin it out with more juice. And I add a couple cans of beans--pinto or kidney or white.
I hope you like it, it's my favorite kind of chili. I like to put a piece of the corn bread in the bottom of my bowl, then add the chili on top. Sometimes even more onions and some shredded cheese on top of that.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If you have any questions, email me tawnyford@webtv.net .
Okay, gas prices have dropped here in town. By you too? This morning it's $2.83 a gallon. Still too much but better than last week's $3.something per gallon.
Are you paying any attention to the primary races? Here in Michigan Mitt Romney 'won' for the Republicans and Hilary Clinton for the Democrats. I'm so glad that's over. If I got 1 call, I got 50 calls from Romney and the governor from Arkansas (I must have blocked his anme from my memory banks!) asking me to vote for them.
Now the only thing taking up all of the local tv news is the auto show in Detroit. That should just be another 3 weeks and then it's back to normal. Whatever normal is.
Well, that's it for me for today. I know I crab a lot about the people on the other library computers, be they hummers or psychos, but today it's a mother with 3 little ones. She's emailing (?) and totally ignoring her children who are running around, screaming, doing acrobatics, etc. I really like little kids, but I detest parents who think that it's up to the rest of us to watch them while they get on with their life, you know? And it's not just the library where it happens either.
Okay, gots to go. You be good, be careful, take care.
hugs,
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
She said she had to head home this morning because a BIG snow storm was coming and if she didn't get home today, well, it might be some time before she could get there. I don't know where exactly the BIG storm is going to hit, but I sure do hope it's on the UP side of the Mackinac Bridge so I don't have to deal with it (smile). I know a cold spell is coming, both here and in the UP, frigid arctic air they're calling it. If it gets too terribly frigid I'm going to have to impose on HSM to post for me because I hate being out in that kind of weather. It makes my skin hurt and really wears me out. You too?
Okay, before time gets away from me here, I want to share a really tasty recipe for chili with you. I made it the other day, along with a pan of corn bread, and it's good stuff.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Cincinnati Chili
2 cups chopped onions
2 cloves minced garlic
2 Tablespoons oil (or not, if your hamburger is greasy)
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound sausage (I use beef or chicken)
2 1lb. cans of tomatoes
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup water
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon EACH:
lemon juice
cumin
paprika
cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon EACH:
mustard seed
red pepper flakes
ground cloves
celery seed
nutmeg
1 bay leaf, crumbled
Okay, in a big pan cook the onion, ground beef and sliced sausage. Cook till brown and done.
Drain if there's too much grease.
Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour uncoverred.
Now here's what I do: I don't add the 1 cup of water, Why? Because I already had to open a can of tomato juice, right? I replace the water with tomato juice. And I don't use tomato juice, I use no-name V-8 juice because it adds extra flavor. And when the chili gets really thick (because I cook it longer than one hour), I thin it out with more juice. And I add a couple cans of beans--pinto or kidney or white.
I hope you like it, it's my favorite kind of chili. I like to put a piece of the corn bread in the bottom of my bowl, then add the chili on top. Sometimes even more onions and some shredded cheese on top of that.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If you have any questions, email me tawnyford@webtv.net .
Okay, gas prices have dropped here in town. By you too? This morning it's $2.83 a gallon. Still too much but better than last week's $3.something per gallon.
Are you paying any attention to the primary races? Here in Michigan Mitt Romney 'won' for the Republicans and Hilary Clinton for the Democrats. I'm so glad that's over. If I got 1 call, I got 50 calls from Romney and the governor from Arkansas (I must have blocked his anme from my memory banks!) asking me to vote for them.
Now the only thing taking up all of the local tv news is the auto show in Detroit. That should just be another 3 weeks and then it's back to normal. Whatever normal is.
Well, that's it for me for today. I know I crab a lot about the people on the other library computers, be they hummers or psychos, but today it's a mother with 3 little ones. She's emailing (?) and totally ignoring her children who are running around, screaming, doing acrobatics, etc. I really like little kids, but I detest parents who think that it's up to the rest of us to watch them while they get on with their life, you know? And it's not just the library where it happens either.
Okay, gots to go. You be good, be careful, take care.
hugs,
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Sunday, January 13, 2008
The only way I can be sure I won't forget again to give you those websites I was telling you about yesterday is to write this at home, then get HSM to cut 'n paste and post it for me. Now if it ends up looking kind of funny, words running in to each other for example, no, I'm not drinking while I write (smile). What happens is this, my webtv screen isn't the same size as a computer screen so, unless HSM takes alot of time to check each and every word, well, some of them run together. I'm sure you can deal with it just fine (smile).
Have you registered your home phone number on the government's Do NotCall list? If not, you probably should, unless you like telemarketer calls, that is. Might be a good idea to register your cell phone number too so those pesky telemarketers don't eat up your minutes. Go to www.donotcall.gov and follow the site instructions.
Now I'm not familiar with these next sites, I've never used them before, just ran across them in a magzine. Maybe they'll be helpful to you.
www.carrentals.com
www.rentalcars.com
www.independenttraveler.com/bargainbox
Are you a Northern Exposure fan? If so, www.moosefest.org is for you. These folks are hosting a 2008 Moosefest. I've always wanted to go, it always sounds like fun. Maybe you can attend and then tell me all about it?!!
Not familiar with Northern Exposure? If you answerred yes to this, well, you sure have missed out on a wonderful tv series. Check out these links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Expsure
www.moosechick.com
Be good, be careful, take care, stay strong.
hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Have you registered your home phone number on the government's Do NotCall list? If not, you probably should, unless you like telemarketer calls, that is. Might be a good idea to register your cell phone number too so those pesky telemarketers don't eat up your minutes. Go to www.donotcall.gov and follow the site instructions.
Now I'm not familiar with these next sites, I've never used them before, just ran across them in a magzine. Maybe they'll be helpful to you.
www.carrentals.com
www.rentalcars.com
www.independenttraveler.com/bargainbox
Are you a Northern Exposure fan? If so, www.moosefest.org is for you. These folks are hosting a 2008 Moosefest. I've always wanted to go, it always sounds like fun. Maybe you can attend and then tell me all about it?!!
Not familiar with Northern Exposure? If you answerred yes to this, well, you sure have missed out on a wonderful tv series. Check out these links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Expsure
www.moosechick.com
Be good, be careful, take care, stay strong.
hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Saturday, January 12, 2008
It is a sunny Saturday here in beautiful Farmington Hills! And to make it an even nicer day, here I am with an opportunity to chat with you (smile).
So I told you Tallulah was coming to town, right? She made it! Did I tell you she was going to shop her way down from Marquette? Well, that's exactly what she did (smile). She says there's a great dollar store, the biggest one she's ever seen, somewhere in the small town of Pinconning, MI, exit 181, or maybe 161, off I-75. She brought me all sorts of wonderful spices and meat rubs and marinades. Then she stopped at Birch Run, the biggest outlet mall in Michigan, and bought some discounted Godiva chocolates to give her aunt for her birthday. She got to my house right around 11pm.
Thursday morning we hit the roads to do some shopping. Tallulah had a whole list of stores that she misses, ones that don't have locations in Marquette, and we made it to almost every single one on her list. Whew! And we made a trip to the adult bookstore, that was my request. I can never find anybody to go with me and I hesitate to go alone. I bought armfuls of magazines, so many that the woman behind the counter was looking at me wierd (smile). But hopefully, out of all of those, I'll find some really interesting places to advertise in. Plus pick up some new tricks to try out on you when we talk next (smile).
We had lunch at a Chinese buffet-style restaurant, one that we'd never been to before, and I have to tell you---looks can be deceiving. From the appearance of the building I thought ew! do I really want to go in there? But oh my goodness! There were hundreds of choices of food, from sushi to raw to 'American' to beaucoop Chinese dishes. And desserts? You would not believe all of the excellent choices. And everything was so good! We had to roll ourselves out of there (smile).
Do they have Sears outlet stores by you? We stopped at one and they had everything in the store--all major appliances--on sale. And I'm talking 65% off! I drooled over a refrigerator--a big one with a roll out drawer freezer on the bottom. Original price was something like $1100, on sale for $500-something. I didn't buy it, but I sure would have liked to. Mine at the house is a Sears, but it's so old I could probably gift it to the Smithsonian (smile). When my ship comes in, as my old aunt used to say, I'm buying one.
By the time Tallulah dropped me off from our shopping expedition I was all tired out. It's hard work having so much fun!
She's still in town, but visiting at her other friends houses. Tallulah has more friends than you can count. I don't think she's ever met anyone who hasn't gone on to become a friend.
I had some movies from Blockbuster that were pretty good. The Kingdom, Rush Hour 3. And I watched one last night, senior moment here, I can't recall the name of it but it's a new one, a 2-day rental at Blockbuster, with Clare Dane (don't know if I spelled her name right) and Robert DeNiro and Michelle Pfeiffer. It was a fanatsy movie and it was funny.
Other than all that, life is peaceful and that's a good thing. I'm crocheting again, a small blanket in dark orange. Orange is not one of my favorite colors, but it's yarn I bought for next-to-nothing at a garage sale last summer and the blanket is to haul with me when I'm riding with others so it doesn't have to be pretty, I don't have to love it, it just has to keep my legs warm. Maybe this is too much information for you, but I get cold sometimes, okay all of the time pretty much when I'm riding in other peoples cars. Just because I'm cold it doesn't mean they're cold and so, to be polite, they end up sweltering on my account. I finally, call me slow, realized that if I had a small lap blanket to put over my legs I'd be warm and they wouldn't have to roast. Eureka (smile). I know, I sound like an old lady (smile). So what (smile).
Well, that's it for this afternoon. As much as it pains me to say goodbye, I gotta go. Next time I'll have a list of cool websites to share with you, I forgot it on my desk at home. There are days if my head wasn't attached.......(smile).
Be good, be careful, take care, stay strong.
hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
So I told you Tallulah was coming to town, right? She made it! Did I tell you she was going to shop her way down from Marquette? Well, that's exactly what she did (smile). She says there's a great dollar store, the biggest one she's ever seen, somewhere in the small town of Pinconning, MI, exit 181, or maybe 161, off I-75. She brought me all sorts of wonderful spices and meat rubs and marinades. Then she stopped at Birch Run, the biggest outlet mall in Michigan, and bought some discounted Godiva chocolates to give her aunt for her birthday. She got to my house right around 11pm.
Thursday morning we hit the roads to do some shopping. Tallulah had a whole list of stores that she misses, ones that don't have locations in Marquette, and we made it to almost every single one on her list. Whew! And we made a trip to the adult bookstore, that was my request. I can never find anybody to go with me and I hesitate to go alone. I bought armfuls of magazines, so many that the woman behind the counter was looking at me wierd (smile). But hopefully, out of all of those, I'll find some really interesting places to advertise in. Plus pick up some new tricks to try out on you when we talk next (smile).
We had lunch at a Chinese buffet-style restaurant, one that we'd never been to before, and I have to tell you---looks can be deceiving. From the appearance of the building I thought ew! do I really want to go in there? But oh my goodness! There were hundreds of choices of food, from sushi to raw to 'American' to beaucoop Chinese dishes. And desserts? You would not believe all of the excellent choices. And everything was so good! We had to roll ourselves out of there (smile).
Do they have Sears outlet stores by you? We stopped at one and they had everything in the store--all major appliances--on sale. And I'm talking 65% off! I drooled over a refrigerator--a big one with a roll out drawer freezer on the bottom. Original price was something like $1100, on sale for $500-something. I didn't buy it, but I sure would have liked to. Mine at the house is a Sears, but it's so old I could probably gift it to the Smithsonian (smile). When my ship comes in, as my old aunt used to say, I'm buying one.
By the time Tallulah dropped me off from our shopping expedition I was all tired out. It's hard work having so much fun!
She's still in town, but visiting at her other friends houses. Tallulah has more friends than you can count. I don't think she's ever met anyone who hasn't gone on to become a friend.
I had some movies from Blockbuster that were pretty good. The Kingdom, Rush Hour 3. And I watched one last night, senior moment here, I can't recall the name of it but it's a new one, a 2-day rental at Blockbuster, with Clare Dane (don't know if I spelled her name right) and Robert DeNiro and Michelle Pfeiffer. It was a fanatsy movie and it was funny.
Other than all that, life is peaceful and that's a good thing. I'm crocheting again, a small blanket in dark orange. Orange is not one of my favorite colors, but it's yarn I bought for next-to-nothing at a garage sale last summer and the blanket is to haul with me when I'm riding with others so it doesn't have to be pretty, I don't have to love it, it just has to keep my legs warm. Maybe this is too much information for you, but I get cold sometimes, okay all of the time pretty much when I'm riding in other peoples cars. Just because I'm cold it doesn't mean they're cold and so, to be polite, they end up sweltering on my account. I finally, call me slow, realized that if I had a small lap blanket to put over my legs I'd be warm and they wouldn't have to roast. Eureka (smile). I know, I sound like an old lady (smile). So what (smile).
Well, that's it for this afternoon. As much as it pains me to say goodbye, I gotta go. Next time I'll have a list of cool websites to share with you, I forgot it on my desk at home. There are days if my head wasn't attached.......(smile).
Be good, be careful, take care, stay strong.
hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
I wanted to get in here at the library on Monday but I had errands to run, you know how that is. The most important errand was taking care of those pesky quarterly income taxes. I hate paying taxes, who doesn't, right (smile)? When I was employed by someone else other than myself, it used to irk me to see everything I wasn't getting each paycheck. You know, all those darn deductions for taxes and social security and whatever else they could think to take from me. Okay, I hated it, but in a way, well, I wonder if maybe I hated it less than the way I have to do it now. See the way it works now, as I'm assuming it does for every one who is self-employed, is you make x-number of dollars, it's in your business account, and then four times a year you have to dip into that money and write a check to the IRS. It's that physically removing it and giving it up that hurts me (smile). But they're paid and that's a good thing. Now the only thing left to do for 2007 is file my taxes and that'll be a few weeks yet as I'm still waiting for paperwork to roll in.
I wanted to get to the library yesterday, Tuesday, but the weather was crazy here. Monday it was around 60 (in January!), Tuesday it was still in the 60's but it was raining and windy, so windy you could hear the wind howling! It sounded like a hellacious snow storm was in progress, but it was 60+ degrees. So I stayed in all day. Too gloomy and too wild to venture out.
But today, sunshine! That's right, gloriously beautiful sunshine! It's cooler, on it's way back to normal January temperatures, and so here I am. I missed you (smile).
Tonight my friend Tallulah is coming to visit. She left Marquette, she refers to it as the Frozen Tundra!, this morning and is planning to shop her way down state, arriving at my house late evening. She's going to be down here for at least a week, but staying with me only one night, I think. She has beaucoop friends down here and every one wants her to visit so she does a night here, a night there, etc.
Tomorrow I'm going to be on the miss tip for half the day. Why? Because Tallulah and I are going shopping. One of our first stops is going to be the adult book store. I've been trying to get there for at least a year but could never find anyone to go with me. No, I'm not a baby, I can go places by myself, but I don't think the adult book store is a good place for a woman to go alone. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what I think. Anyway, I want to find some magazines to advertise in and the way that's always worked best for me is to physically peruse a magzine. I can't tell a whole lot by reading about them online, I'm old-fashioned I guess, I want to hold the magazine in my hands and draw my opinion that way.
That's the only place I want to go, I don't need anything else, so the rest of the time we'll be Tallulah shopping--going to all of the stores she misses (ones that are down here but not in Marquette). It should be fun. The last time she was this way was back in October and I'm due for another round of fun.
There isn't too much else going on around here. The weather was really the big thing. Monday night there were tornado warnings and thank God nothing came of it, at least not by my house. Tuesday it was high wind warnings and, while some lost their power because of it, my town was spared, thank God.
Gas! That's what I wanted to tell you. It's gone from $3.17 a gallon for unleaded to $3.09 a gallon. Still way too much. I had an article I wanted to share with you from the British newspapers about gas prices but I forgot to write down the url, sorry. If you're interested, email me tawnyford@webtv.net and I'll send it to you.
Well, I guess that's it for today. You be good and be careful, take care, stay strong. I'm looking forward to talking with you.
hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
I wanted to get to the library yesterday, Tuesday, but the weather was crazy here. Monday it was around 60 (in January!), Tuesday it was still in the 60's but it was raining and windy, so windy you could hear the wind howling! It sounded like a hellacious snow storm was in progress, but it was 60+ degrees. So I stayed in all day. Too gloomy and too wild to venture out.
But today, sunshine! That's right, gloriously beautiful sunshine! It's cooler, on it's way back to normal January temperatures, and so here I am. I missed you (smile).
Tonight my friend Tallulah is coming to visit. She left Marquette, she refers to it as the Frozen Tundra!, this morning and is planning to shop her way down state, arriving at my house late evening. She's going to be down here for at least a week, but staying with me only one night, I think. She has beaucoop friends down here and every one wants her to visit so she does a night here, a night there, etc.
Tomorrow I'm going to be on the miss tip for half the day. Why? Because Tallulah and I are going shopping. One of our first stops is going to be the adult book store. I've been trying to get there for at least a year but could never find anyone to go with me. No, I'm not a baby, I can go places by myself, but I don't think the adult book store is a good place for a woman to go alone. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what I think. Anyway, I want to find some magazines to advertise in and the way that's always worked best for me is to physically peruse a magzine. I can't tell a whole lot by reading about them online, I'm old-fashioned I guess, I want to hold the magazine in my hands and draw my opinion that way.
That's the only place I want to go, I don't need anything else, so the rest of the time we'll be Tallulah shopping--going to all of the stores she misses (ones that are down here but not in Marquette). It should be fun. The last time she was this way was back in October and I'm due for another round of fun.
There isn't too much else going on around here. The weather was really the big thing. Monday night there were tornado warnings and thank God nothing came of it, at least not by my house. Tuesday it was high wind warnings and, while some lost their power because of it, my town was spared, thank God.
Gas! That's what I wanted to tell you. It's gone from $3.17 a gallon for unleaded to $3.09 a gallon. Still way too much. I had an article I wanted to share with you from the British newspapers about gas prices but I forgot to write down the url, sorry. If you're interested, email me tawnyford@webtv.net and I'll send it to you.
Well, I guess that's it for today. You be good and be careful, take care, stay strong. I'm looking forward to talking with you.
hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Friday, January 04, 2008
I almost said 'good morning!' to you, then realized it's more like afternoon. Another late start for Tawny (smile). Okay, not really a late start. I've been up since 6:30-ish, dressed since 8AM and on the road since 9AM.
That soup I told you I was making? It came out good, real good. I made a humongous pot of it. I kept enough so I can eat it for 3 or 4 meals, then loaded some into a big Rubbermaid container and dropped it off at HSM's (home school mom) for her and her brood. I left the Rubbermaid and a big bag of magazines, and a brand new pair of long underwear, tops and bottoms, on her porch. Then I got back in my truck and called her from her driveway so she'd know it was on her porch. Why didn't I ring the bell like normal folks do? Well, HSM and her brood are sick, again. This time it's just your plain average head cold, but I still don't want it. So far this winter, praise God, I haven't been sick and I'm hoping to keep it that way for as long as I possibly can.
The bag of magazines? Got those at Bargain Books for one dollar each. I stop in at BB once a week, buy a dozen magazines, read them and then pass them to HSM. Being as they're only a buck apiece I am able to sample magazines I'd never consider spending the big bucks on at the drugstore. Then I pass them on to her, she and her kids like magazines, and it's a shame to pitch out something someone else may enjoy.
The long underwear? I am, as any long time caller or blog reader will know, am a serious long underwear wearer. I believe in the stuff. I may not always have the bottoms on, but pretty much all winter long I wear the tops under my tshirts. I hate being cold. And I hate turning the furnace up, so LU keeps me cozy and keeps the heating bill down. Okay, not down, those doggone utility companies have lost their damn minds with the way they charge, but at least my bill isn't as high as it could be, or as high as some other folks. Anyway, the LU I dropped off is for her oldest son so when he goes out and shovels he won't freeze.
Next stop was a restaurant for breakfast. That's something I don't hardly ever do and it was one of my best ideas so far today (smile). I had a cheese omelette, hash browns, whole wheat toast and a root beer. Yeah, okay, so maybe it should have been orange juice, but I have orange juice at home that I drink everyday, what I don't have is any root beer and I was treating myself. See how easy it is to justify one's actions (smile).
They're still talking that serious warm-up stuff for tomorrow, that and rain for a week if the weather forecasters can be believed. I'm going to miss the pretty snow. It looks like a Christmas card outside. On my way home from the library I think I'll drive through the neighborhoods and savor the beauty just in case it does rain and melt everything.
Gas is $3.17 for regular unleaded here in town. I'm not going to gripe. I know you know I am not pleased by that price. Bet you're not pleased by whatever they're charging for it in your town either.
This morning the tv let me know the outcome of the Iowa primary. I am so sick of this stuff I could scream. The election is still almost a year away.........Michigan is going to have a primary too, I don't remember when but I'm sure the local tv will remind me at least a hundred more times before the actual day. I'm not going to ask who you're rooting for, I don't care. I've come to the realization that it doesn't really matter who the president is. Why? Because they're all the same. Only the face changes. The Democrats and the Republicans are like the Crips and the Bloods. All gangsters. Only looking out for themselves.
I think I'm going to make muffins when I get home, maybe cheese muffins. They'll go well with the soup for my dinner tonight. It's going to be just the thing for another cold winters night. Hey, it's been awhile since I added another recipe to Tawny's Cooking Class! Here, this is how you make great soup:
_____________________________________
Turkey (or Chicken) Vegetable Soup ala Tawny Ford
_____________________________________
You need at least 1 turkey carcass, or 1 chicken cut in parts, or a bunch of chicken leg + thigh pieces. Rinse them off, put them in a big pan (like a dutch oven or soup pan), and fill the pan with cold water from the tap. Bring it to a boil, then turn it down so it'll simmer. As that funny looking stuff (I call it scum, I don't know the proper name for it) floats to the top, skim it off and throw it away. Let simmer for 3 or 4 hours.
Remove the carcass/parts from the pan. I strain the liquid so there's no little bones or gristle in there. After the bones have cooled some, pick them clean of meat. Make sure you just have the meat and no bones, especially no little bones because you don't want to bust a tooth or choke. Put the meat back in to the pot. Throw out the bones.
Peel some sweet potatoes and cut them into chunks. Peel some carrots and chunk them. Slice an onion. If you have fresh corn on the cob, cut it off the cob. Or toss in some frozen corn, or a can of corn. Whatever you have. Same goes for green beans. Slice up some celery, maybe half a package of it. Whatever kind of veggies you like, use them. Put all of the veggies in the pot. Turn the heat up just a tad. You still want it to simmer, but......
In another pot, boil some rice or noodles. Your choice. When they're done, drain them and add them to the soup pot.
Seasonings. I put in some dill, celery seed, salt and pepper. It's all to taste and you know your taste better than I do.
When it's maybe a half hour away from being done, I juice a fresh lemon or two and add the juice to the soup pot. I like the fresh taste it gives. It's up to you about the lemon.
I think it takes about 5 or 6 hours to make a pot of soup. You'll know when it's done, trust me.
Sorry the amounts aren't more specific, but that's how I make soup. It always comes out really good. Hope you like it.
__________________________________________
Okay, that's it for today. The computer tells me I am almost out of time, oh no (smile)! You be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
That soup I told you I was making? It came out good, real good. I made a humongous pot of it. I kept enough so I can eat it for 3 or 4 meals, then loaded some into a big Rubbermaid container and dropped it off at HSM's (home school mom) for her and her brood. I left the Rubbermaid and a big bag of magazines, and a brand new pair of long underwear, tops and bottoms, on her porch. Then I got back in my truck and called her from her driveway so she'd know it was on her porch. Why didn't I ring the bell like normal folks do? Well, HSM and her brood are sick, again. This time it's just your plain average head cold, but I still don't want it. So far this winter, praise God, I haven't been sick and I'm hoping to keep it that way for as long as I possibly can.
The bag of magazines? Got those at Bargain Books for one dollar each. I stop in at BB once a week, buy a dozen magazines, read them and then pass them to HSM. Being as they're only a buck apiece I am able to sample magazines I'd never consider spending the big bucks on at the drugstore. Then I pass them on to her, she and her kids like magazines, and it's a shame to pitch out something someone else may enjoy.
The long underwear? I am, as any long time caller or blog reader will know, am a serious long underwear wearer. I believe in the stuff. I may not always have the bottoms on, but pretty much all winter long I wear the tops under my tshirts. I hate being cold. And I hate turning the furnace up, so LU keeps me cozy and keeps the heating bill down. Okay, not down, those doggone utility companies have lost their damn minds with the way they charge, but at least my bill isn't as high as it could be, or as high as some other folks. Anyway, the LU I dropped off is for her oldest son so when he goes out and shovels he won't freeze.
Next stop was a restaurant for breakfast. That's something I don't hardly ever do and it was one of my best ideas so far today (smile). I had a cheese omelette, hash browns, whole wheat toast and a root beer. Yeah, okay, so maybe it should have been orange juice, but I have orange juice at home that I drink everyday, what I don't have is any root beer and I was treating myself. See how easy it is to justify one's actions (smile).
They're still talking that serious warm-up stuff for tomorrow, that and rain for a week if the weather forecasters can be believed. I'm going to miss the pretty snow. It looks like a Christmas card outside. On my way home from the library I think I'll drive through the neighborhoods and savor the beauty just in case it does rain and melt everything.
Gas is $3.17 for regular unleaded here in town. I'm not going to gripe. I know you know I am not pleased by that price. Bet you're not pleased by whatever they're charging for it in your town either.
This morning the tv let me know the outcome of the Iowa primary. I am so sick of this stuff I could scream. The election is still almost a year away.........Michigan is going to have a primary too, I don't remember when but I'm sure the local tv will remind me at least a hundred more times before the actual day. I'm not going to ask who you're rooting for, I don't care. I've come to the realization that it doesn't really matter who the president is. Why? Because they're all the same. Only the face changes. The Democrats and the Republicans are like the Crips and the Bloods. All gangsters. Only looking out for themselves.
I think I'm going to make muffins when I get home, maybe cheese muffins. They'll go well with the soup for my dinner tonight. It's going to be just the thing for another cold winters night. Hey, it's been awhile since I added another recipe to Tawny's Cooking Class! Here, this is how you make great soup:
_____________________________________
Turkey (or Chicken) Vegetable Soup ala Tawny Ford
_____________________________________
You need at least 1 turkey carcass, or 1 chicken cut in parts, or a bunch of chicken leg + thigh pieces. Rinse them off, put them in a big pan (like a dutch oven or soup pan), and fill the pan with cold water from the tap. Bring it to a boil, then turn it down so it'll simmer. As that funny looking stuff (I call it scum, I don't know the proper name for it) floats to the top, skim it off and throw it away. Let simmer for 3 or 4 hours.
Remove the carcass/parts from the pan. I strain the liquid so there's no little bones or gristle in there. After the bones have cooled some, pick them clean of meat. Make sure you just have the meat and no bones, especially no little bones because you don't want to bust a tooth or choke. Put the meat back in to the pot. Throw out the bones.
Peel some sweet potatoes and cut them into chunks. Peel some carrots and chunk them. Slice an onion. If you have fresh corn on the cob, cut it off the cob. Or toss in some frozen corn, or a can of corn. Whatever you have. Same goes for green beans. Slice up some celery, maybe half a package of it. Whatever kind of veggies you like, use them. Put all of the veggies in the pot. Turn the heat up just a tad. You still want it to simmer, but......
In another pot, boil some rice or noodles. Your choice. When they're done, drain them and add them to the soup pot.
Seasonings. I put in some dill, celery seed, salt and pepper. It's all to taste and you know your taste better than I do.
When it's maybe a half hour away from being done, I juice a fresh lemon or two and add the juice to the soup pot. I like the fresh taste it gives. It's up to you about the lemon.
I think it takes about 5 or 6 hours to make a pot of soup. You'll know when it's done, trust me.
Sorry the amounts aren't more specific, but that's how I make soup. It always comes out really good. Hope you like it.
__________________________________________
Okay, that's it for today. The computer tells me I am almost out of time, oh no (smile)! You be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Thursday, January 03, 2008
This is the first post for the new year. So much pressure to get it right (smile)!
Okay, what's the weather like where you are? Always a safe bet to start with the weather (smile). Here, it's cold, maybe 6 degrees with a windchill of minus something or other, and snow. We had a big storm come through the night of New Years Eve, early New Years Day, and it left us with six or so inches, depending on which part of town you lived in. I'm talking Farmington Hills. The weather, because the town is so big, okay, maybe not big, but it sprawls out into several distinct weather areas, so that while I might have light snow where I live, at the far western/northern edge of town they may have a foot. Or there may be an ice storm two miles up the road, but nothing where I am.
Now the city of Detroit barely got an inch of snow, but in Redford they got two inches. Novi got eleven inches. If you google up a map of the metro Detroit area you'll see that these areas are only a few miles apart, yet our snow totals are widely different.
I'll say one thing for this kind of weather, snow is beautiful! The tree branches look like someone took a big box of confectioners sugar and heavily dusted them. There's sunshine today and it's almost blindingly, breath takingly beautiful to drive around looking at everything.
Thing is, we have to look quick. Why? Because the weather people are calling for almost 50 this weekend. Nope, I didn't typo (this time!), near 50 for the high. That means that all this pretty white stuff will be gone by Sunday night, Monday morning. All except for the huge piles of bull dozed snow in the parking lots. Those take a loooong time to melt.
Now up in Marquette where my friend Tallulah lives, she says she's only using her side door these days because there's been so much snow that she's running out of places to blow it to, and she's started piling it on her front lawn. I believe, if I remember what she told me correctly, as winter progresses up there the snow plow drivers end up hauling the plowed snow from the parking lots (where they're running out of room to stack it) and dumping it in Lake Superior.
I was really pleased to find an empty computer here at the library today. It's almost noon, I am running so late today. But I had to move some snow from my driveway again because the city sent the plow down our road and, well, the plow is a blessing, don't get me wrong, keeps ruts from forming, but every time the plow goes down the street it piles snow at the end of the driveways. And because it's so darn cold the plowed snow is icy and you can't, or at least I can't, get my snow blower through it. And speaking of snow blowers, I have to get a new one. Mine is good for maybe 2 more snows if I'm so blessed. I was wrenching on it in the garage the other day and trying to 'will' it to live (smile).
When I leave here it's the grocery store next. I made some really nice turkey stock yesterday from two carcasses I had in my freezer. I made soup out of some of it--turkey, rice, mushrooms, and it was good, but what I really want is a big bowl of turkey veggie soup. I have the sweet potatoes and green beans, the carrots and the onions, but I need some corn and parsley, a couple of lemons too. That makes for such a nice thick, rich soup. Maybe some celery if they don't want an arm and a leg for it, maybe some thin noodles. Mmmmmmmm (smile).
And then it's off to the post office to see if there's mail from you.
I lead an exciting life, don't I (smile)! I know, you're envious (smile).
Have you been keeping up with all of the Bowl games this week? I'm not a football fan, not a sports fan at all, but I see the games when I'm flipping channels and I know you're probably in heaven, so delighted with all the choices. I'll tell you though, I did watch some golf stuff the other day. Not actual tournaments, but a few shows about Tiger Woods and his career. I'm not a golf fan, I think it's dumb to hit a little ball and then go look for it, but I get a kick out of Tiger. He makes me smile. I truly hope he is as delightful in 'real life' as he appears on tv. If so, his wife and child are truly blessed to have him.
Well, I'm thinking that's it folks (smile). Time to sign off from the computer, put all my winter gear back on and head out into the cold. If it's cold where you are, dress warm. If it's not cold, wow, are you ever missing out (smile).
Take care, be good, be careful, stay strong.
hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Okay, what's the weather like where you are? Always a safe bet to start with the weather (smile). Here, it's cold, maybe 6 degrees with a windchill of minus something or other, and snow. We had a big storm come through the night of New Years Eve, early New Years Day, and it left us with six or so inches, depending on which part of town you lived in. I'm talking Farmington Hills. The weather, because the town is so big, okay, maybe not big, but it sprawls out into several distinct weather areas, so that while I might have light snow where I live, at the far western/northern edge of town they may have a foot. Or there may be an ice storm two miles up the road, but nothing where I am.
Now the city of Detroit barely got an inch of snow, but in Redford they got two inches. Novi got eleven inches. If you google up a map of the metro Detroit area you'll see that these areas are only a few miles apart, yet our snow totals are widely different.
I'll say one thing for this kind of weather, snow is beautiful! The tree branches look like someone took a big box of confectioners sugar and heavily dusted them. There's sunshine today and it's almost blindingly, breath takingly beautiful to drive around looking at everything.
Thing is, we have to look quick. Why? Because the weather people are calling for almost 50 this weekend. Nope, I didn't typo (this time!), near 50 for the high. That means that all this pretty white stuff will be gone by Sunday night, Monday morning. All except for the huge piles of bull dozed snow in the parking lots. Those take a loooong time to melt.
Now up in Marquette where my friend Tallulah lives, she says she's only using her side door these days because there's been so much snow that she's running out of places to blow it to, and she's started piling it on her front lawn. I believe, if I remember what she told me correctly, as winter progresses up there the snow plow drivers end up hauling the plowed snow from the parking lots (where they're running out of room to stack it) and dumping it in Lake Superior.
I was really pleased to find an empty computer here at the library today. It's almost noon, I am running so late today. But I had to move some snow from my driveway again because the city sent the plow down our road and, well, the plow is a blessing, don't get me wrong, keeps ruts from forming, but every time the plow goes down the street it piles snow at the end of the driveways. And because it's so darn cold the plowed snow is icy and you can't, or at least I can't, get my snow blower through it. And speaking of snow blowers, I have to get a new one. Mine is good for maybe 2 more snows if I'm so blessed. I was wrenching on it in the garage the other day and trying to 'will' it to live (smile).
When I leave here it's the grocery store next. I made some really nice turkey stock yesterday from two carcasses I had in my freezer. I made soup out of some of it--turkey, rice, mushrooms, and it was good, but what I really want is a big bowl of turkey veggie soup. I have the sweet potatoes and green beans, the carrots and the onions, but I need some corn and parsley, a couple of lemons too. That makes for such a nice thick, rich soup. Maybe some celery if they don't want an arm and a leg for it, maybe some thin noodles. Mmmmmmmm (smile).
And then it's off to the post office to see if there's mail from you.
I lead an exciting life, don't I (smile)! I know, you're envious (smile).
Have you been keeping up with all of the Bowl games this week? I'm not a football fan, not a sports fan at all, but I see the games when I'm flipping channels and I know you're probably in heaven, so delighted with all the choices. I'll tell you though, I did watch some golf stuff the other day. Not actual tournaments, but a few shows about Tiger Woods and his career. I'm not a golf fan, I think it's dumb to hit a little ball and then go look for it, but I get a kick out of Tiger. He makes me smile. I truly hope he is as delightful in 'real life' as he appears on tv. If so, his wife and child are truly blessed to have him.
Well, I'm thinking that's it folks (smile). Time to sign off from the computer, put all my winter gear back on and head out into the cold. If it's cold where you are, dress warm. If it's not cold, wow, are you ever missing out (smile).
Take care, be good, be careful, stay strong.
hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
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