Not Hockey, Hooky!

I'm fessing right up. Today is just too beautiful of a day to be home in the house. Therefore, I am officially playing hooky!

In honor of Hooky Day, here is another one of myfriendTallulah's lovely fall photos taken somewhere in the wilds of the upper peninsula of Michigan.


Yesterday when I was telling you that I'd been to Eastern Market to buy chicken feet, I don't know why I didn't include the website for Eastern Market so you could read all about it. But here it is: www.easternmarket.org

I also went in to the Rafal Spice Company yesterday
www.rafalspicecompany.com looking for cinnamon sticks, but, don't you know, they were all out. But it wasn't a wasted stop because the store smells amazing from all of the wonderful fresh spices they carry.

Okay, well that's it for today. I'm out of here (smile)!

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


Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Anyone???

This morning the answerring machine knew who it was and, without alot of anguish and tears and prayers on my part, I was able to leave a relatively normal and sane outgoing message. Well, at least as normal and sane as you can expect from me (smile).

In case you are ever searching for a 2-line stand alone answerring machine, not that I think you ever will, but just in case you ever do, let me tell you this: To the best of my ability to find one, I do not believe they make them any longer.

When I got through to the folks at www.hellodirect.com they told me that not only did they no longer carry them, but no one was, as far as they knew, manufacturing them. People, they told me, apparently not meaning me, no longer want an item like that. Huh? Everybody wants their answerring machine integrated with their phone system. Huh?

I googled through a gazillion entries looking for one, not that I didn't believe the nice lady at HelloDirect but, well, I was loathe to give up. I NEED a new 2-line stand alone answerring machine! The only thing I was able to find was a Panasonic, I think it was, for sale at www.amazon.com for something like $209.00. Please. And it wasn't even digital chipped. It used the old icky sounding cassette tapes.

So now I'm thinking that maybe I should purchase two 1-line stand alone answerring machines that have the announce-only feature, hook them up my phone lines, and work it like I used to before I found the 2-line one. What to do, what to do.

Thank you to everyone who emailed and phoned offering their condolences, as well as those who offerred suggestions on where to find a new one.

Okay, so yesterday and at least the day before it was really cold and blustery around here. Today, oh my goodness! today it is gorgeous! A perfect fall day. Sunshine, slight breeze, and in the 50's. What a difference a day makes (smile).

Early this morning I headed down to Eastern Market in Detroit. It's a for-real farmers market that's been around since, at the least, the early 1900's. My great grandfather on my father's side used to go there and buy produce wholesale, then resell it to hospitals and schools. He made a veritable fortune that way. He made so much money in fact that my father never realized there was a Great Depression, whereas my mother and her family almost starved to death, getting evicted from house after house because there was no money for rent.

Anyway. there are also wholesale food distributors ringing the Market. I was on the prowl for--don't you dare laugh!--chicken feet. I read somewhere on the internet that the collagen found in the chicken feet was good for degenertaive back problems. Not that I have degenerative issues with my back because I don't, but I do have my share of back pain and I got to thinking why not try the feet.

I am now the proud owner of twenty pounds of chicken feet! Blew me away though at how much they were---$1.49 a pound! I didn't see that coming. Oh well.

Next thing for me to do is find out how you cook those little rascals. I want to find a way to tenderize and them and make them taste wonderful. Barring that, I'm going to use them for stock for soup. There's got to be more than one way to get at the collagen. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

When I leave here--yes, I'm playing hooky for awhile, it's a nice day and I don't know how many more we'll have before winter and the snow--I'm going to get an ice cream. Something big and chocolatey! And then I'm going to the park to eat it in the sunshine while I look at the gorgeous red and orange leaves. Some days it's good to be me (smile).

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


hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

Dementia Is Not A Good Thing

Dementia is not a pretty thing. I am saddened to report that my faithful answerring machine, a 2-line AT&T stand alone digital answerring machine with the announcement only feature, has, after almost twelve years of service, become ill.

It began this past Sunday when I attempted to change the outgoing message. Fifteen tries later, I finally had it. The next day, Monday, unasked to by me, it altered it's pick-up from 4 rings to 2. Even in my youth I could never get to a ringing phone by the second ring. So to everyone I missed, please forgive me. Last night, well, last night, it was almost midnight by the time I had the go-to-bed message recorded.

Until I can acquire a new machine--which is not as easy as I thought it was going to be--if the machine will permit me to, I think my new all purpose outgoing message will be as follows:


Hello, this is Tawny! If it's between the hours of 9am and 1pm est, and I don't answer the phone, it's because I'm running errands. If it's after 1pm and I don't answer it, I'm on a call on the other line and would really appreciate it if you'd call back in about twenty minutes. If it's midnight or later, I've gone to bed. 9am starts it all over again.


Okay, it sounds crazy, I agree, but I'm running out of patience trying to reset a message and I'm having a devil of a time trying to buy a new one.

I was up and on the internet at 7am this morning. The company I always do business with (for the past 13 years), HelloDirect, their website keeps saying I have encountered an error. Their phone doesn't get answerred. Maybe they've gone out of business (?).

Google and I have scoured numerous websites searching for what I am starting to believe may no longer exsist on this planet (smile). And I've been to OfficeMax and Office Depot, the actual physical stores, on my way to the library.

So, if you know where I can get a 2-line stand alone AT&T (preferably) answerring machine with the announce only feature, I surely would appreciate an email or a phone call because I'm running out of places to search. And no, I don't want the whole phone system, just an answerring machine. 248-615-1300 tawnyford@webtv.net Thank you.

I emailed my good friend Tallulah this morning asking her if she knows where I can find one. Tallulah knows where everything is, she's the consumate shopper (smile), but so far no word back.

Let's see, what else? Oh, it's sort of snowing here! It's coming down white pellets but melting on contact, thankfully. I saw on the news this morning where the folks back east are getting slammed with snow. Better than you than us (smile). I'm just not ready for it yet.

Local news yesterday had Kwame Kilpatrick, the former mayor of Detroit, being sentenced to jail, finally. What was supposed to be a simple sentencing turned into a 4-plus hour fiasco. Always drama with the Kwamster.

Kwame got 120 days in jail, had to surrender his law liscence, pay restitution of 1 million dollars, etc. I watched it on tv after Tallulah was kind enough to call from Marquette to let me know it was being televised and I have to say, Kwame is still an arrogant man.

This is the first of what could be numerous sentences for him. This covers the whistle blower suit and his perjury, as well as his obstruction of justice (assaulting two officers of the court). Still to come, potentially, are charges in the death of Tamara Greene, a stripper who danced at a party atthe mayor's mansion, corruption charges brought by an investigation by the feds, as well as other charges from the Wayne County prosecutors office for all sorts of things.

Okay, now please don't forget about the answerring machine. If you have any leads please call or email me.

Be good and be careful, take crae, stay strong.


hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

For The Record

This has been bothering me all night. For me, the best way to process (or deal with) something is to talk it out. This is your opportunity to be my sounding board!

Okay, last night I spoke with a friend. A good friend. One that I love dearly. And, as it often goes, the subject of the election came up. He brought it up, I didn't.

He said that he just couldn't bring himself to vote for a president with a Muslim name.

I have to assume he meant Obama, right. Barack Hussein Obama. And I have to assume he meant Hussein is the Muslim name.

For the record, there is NO such thing as a Muslim name. Honest. There is NO such thing as a Muslim name.

There are Arab names. Just like there are German names, Italian names, and Armenian names, etc. But there is NO such thing as a Muslim name. Honest.

All Arabs are not Muslim. All Muslims are not Arab.

All Muslims are not terrorists. Just like all Italians are not Mafioso. Like all Christians are not abortion clinic bombers. Like all Germans were not Nazis. Like all Catholic priests are not pedophiles, etc.

We have to be careful what we say. When we speak incorrectly, whether it's from ignorance or prejudice, and people hear us, well, they may walk away with a totally incorrect impression of who we are and how we are. And that would be a shame.

For anyone other than my friend, if I heard someone I didn't know say something like that, do you know what I'd think? I would think they were racially prejudiced. 'I won't vote for a Muslim' is code for 'I won't vote for a N.....' amongst the yahoo racists.

And while we're on the subject of Muslims, do you know what the word Muslim means? It means 'one who submits/surrenders themselves to the Will of God. That's what we are all supposed to do…Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, etc. Submit ourselves, surrender ourselves to God.

Anyway, I'll leave you with a pretty photo of a waterfall on a gorgeous fall day, compliments of Tallulah.


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


Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

Listen to Mom, "Take Your Vitamins!"

To everyone who was kind enough to email me when I wasn't feeling well, thank you very much. Words of encouragement when one isn't 'on their game' are wonderful.

I wasn't sick; I just wasn't feeling well, if that makes any sense. I didn't have a cold, no fever, and no congestion. Just an overall 'I don't feel good'. And no, I didn't go to the doctor to see what was wrong. You know me better than that (smile).

What I really and truly think happened is…I wasn't faithfully taking my vitamins. I was taking them one day, missing a day, taking them, missing three days, etc. and it caught up with me.

Do you take vitamins? I do. I pretty much always have my entire adult life. I take a good multi vitamin plus a vitamin c, 1 calcium, 1 magnesium, 1 potassium, 1 vitamin d, 1 fish oil, and 2 garlic.

Do I like taking them? No. I hate swallowing pills of any kind, even vitamins. My mother was addicted to prescription drugs and, because I so didn't ever want to be like that, I developed an aversion to anything pill-like or medicine-like.

But I found that I have less colds, less problems when I take vitamins so… And after being down for five days like I was, well, I am never going to neglect swallowing them every morning. Never.

This is your lucky day! Why? More Tallulah photos! These were taken in and around the Marquette, Michigan area. I hope you like them. I think they're beautiful.


Know where I went yesterday morning? To this incredible farm stand, Blocks. For those of you in the metro Detroit area, Blocks is at the corner of Middlebelt and Eureka, out by the airport. They grow their own produce, and then sell it very economically. Because they are getting ready to close down for the year, prices were even lower, and they'll be lower yet by the end of this week, first part of next.

Do you eat greens…Collards? Mustard? Kale? They had the whole plant, like someone took a machete and whacked it off at ground level. The plants are enormous. They were selling them 2 for $1.00! 2 for $1.00! For $3 I got enough collards to last me for a couple of months, plus enough to share with a friend.


I had some frozen smoked turkey parts in my freezer and so, after sitting out in the garage for close to two hours cutting and trimming collard greens, I put them all in two humongous pots with water, onions, and chili peppers. A couple hours later I had dinner fit for a queen!

And because I had so many collards not only do I have dinner for tonight, but I'm going to put them in single serving size freezer bags and tuck them away in the freezer for when I get a craving.


It wasn't just collards that were cheap. Cooking onions, a dollar a basket. One fifty-pound bag of potatoes plus one 50-pound bag of onions for $20. Green peppers four for a dollar. Just to name a few of the bargains. And small pie pumpkins, two for $1.50. I'm going to stuff them with meat and rice and spices and bake them. It is so good.

Okay, now that I've got you hungry (smile)! I'm going to bake a pound cake today, just as soon as the butter softens up a bit. I've been wanting something sweet and, well, a citrus pound cake is good stuff.

Hope you have a good day.

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

Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

Breaking Out

I know you're waiting for the weather update, right (smile)? Okay, today it's chilly and not very sunny. I think it's maybe 55 degrees. They're talking rain for this evening and into tomorrow morning. Definitely a day for long sleeves and socks. Except I hate socks, I really do! and I'm not wearing them until I absolutely positively have to.


Do you read blogs? Other than mine, I mean (smile). Well, here are several that I follow:

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com Everey day there's a new recipe to use with your crockpot. Don't have a crockpot??? Well, you really should get up off your wallet and buy one. Get a big one, too. Like maybe a 6 quart. I think my 6 quart'er is a Rival and it's great. Using a crockpot is perfect--put your stuff in it in the morning, set it, forget it, come home to dinner ready to eat!

http://paulevagnoni.blogspot.com From The Booth is the title of this blog. The fellow who does it is an exceptionally good writer, something you don't always find in a blogger.

http://honestsb.blogspot.com This is written by a woman. Not only does she write well, but I tend to agree with almost everything she writes. And no, it's not me writing under a fake name.


I forgot to tell you yesterday--the library was crowded. I kept driving around the parking lot, circling, waiting for a parking space to open up. I must have done the go-around thing a dozen times over the course of maybe fifteen minutes. At one point, a police car pulled me over (which is not an easy thing to do when you're circling the library's teeny tiny parking lot). 'Miss? May I ask, what in the world are you doing?' 'Looking for a parking space,' I replied. And then the cop got to laughing. 'See that County prisoner transport bus over there?' 'Yes, it's in the way, how could I miss it?' I replied. 'Well, the sheriff driving it radiod in, said he thought you were fixing to liberate a prisoner! Is that your intention?' 'Not today,' I told him. 'Today I want a parking space. Tomorrow? Who can say?' All the way over to the County prisoner transport bus that cop was laughing, laughing and wiping tears. Glad I could make his day (smile).

Well, that's it for today. You be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.

hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

Aunt Shug is in the Hospital

As nice as the weather was the past few days, that's just how not so nice it is today. The high, I think, is going to be 72 and I know that sounds terrific, what's not to like about 72? But 72 was at 10am and now it's falling. Not only is the temperature falling, but so is some rain, and so are the pretty colored leaves off the trees. Oh well. That's how it's supposed to be in the fall. If the leaves didn't fall off the trees then we wouldn't have anything to rake up (smile).

That's the downside, I think, to fall. Not that raking is so labor intensive, although it can be, I guess, if you have lots of trees. And I have lots and lots of trees in my backyard. Lots of them. I love them in the summer when they shade the house from the sun, and I love them when the birds and squirrels build their houses in them and I can hear them chirp and chatter and sing, but I'm not so wild about them when I have to rake and fill dozens and dozens of those huge brown refuse bags and then lug them out to the curb.

But there's a whole lot of that love-hate stuff going on in life.

Like my Aunt Shug and her youngest son, Michael. I know somewhere in Michael's cracked out, alcohol rotted brain, somewhere in there he loves his Mama. But somewhere in there he hates her, too. The drugs, the alcohol have done terrible things to him. He loves his Mama but he loves crack. He loves his Mama but when her social security check comes he strong arms her for a piece of it so he can hit the corner and hook up with the crack man.

This past weekend Aunt Shug had a heart attack. The doctors told her a few monthes ago that if she didn't have that operation, a bypass I think it was, she was going to have problems. And she was all set to have it, remember me telling you about it? And then that devil Michael got himself to the hospital and talked her out of it. He knew Shug's social security check was going to be showing up and if she was in the hospital, well, how in the hell was he going to get a piece of it for the crack?

Shug is 83 and that's old. God knows she's had a long life. Any one of us should be thankful to have so many years on this earth. But the doctors said that Shug was strong and vibrant and if she had that operation they could pretty damn well guarantee that she would have more years of good health. Of course that was a few monthes ago, back before the heart attack.

As far as I know, at least as far as last night when I spoke with my cousin (not Michael, I don't deal with him), the doctors were going to operate on Shug sometime this week. They were afraid if they didn't she'd have another heart attack, or a stroke, and then she wouldn't be strong enough. Of course, they were also afraid that maybe she wasn't strong enough to survive the operation. That old six of one, half dozen of another.

I don't know that Michael is ever going to get his sorry self together. Probably it would be a true blessing for him if he never did. Why? Because if he ever gets clean he's going to realize just how much misery he put his Mama through all these years. He's going to remember the times he shoved her, twisted her arm, called her a bitch. He's going to remember the time Shug had enough and she pulled a butcher knife on him and threatened to gut him. He's going to remember that Shug loved him so much that she wouldn't let anyone touch him to try and knock some sense in to him. And that's all going to be some hellish memories to have to deal with.

I hope things are good at your end of the world. Remember to treat your loved ones with love. Life is short.

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

hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

Dancin' and the Cider Mill

This past Saturday and Sunday were beautiful examples of the best of fall weather. Sunshine, highs near 80 and the barest of breezes.

Tallulah has been taking advantage of the fall colors in the UP, shooting breathtaking photos and emailing them to me. I believe she said these were taken in Forrestville, Michigan. I meant to get up that way this fall and see the turning leaves for my own self but never did make it. Thanks to Tallulah, you and I, even though we never left home, can still see them.


With the high around 80 on Saturday I was able to open the windows in the house. Being as it's mid-October, well, odds are good there won't be too many more opportunities to do so. That made it doubly important that I fling them open and let the warm, fresh air in!

Speaking of Saturday. Saturday nights from 7pm to 10pm on WDET.FM, 101.9 on the radio dial, there is a great show---Jay's Place with Jay Butler. I believe you can listen to it on the computer at www.wdet.org. Jay plays 'old school' music. It's like being teleported to a juke joint! Me, I can't sit still while the show is on. I'm up dancing for three hours straight.

There are three songs that Jay plays nearly every Saturday that, over the years, have become my favorites:

'Hole in the Wall' by Mel Waiters (on his Material Things cd)

'I Like This Place' by Carl Sims (on his Can't Stop Me cd)

'Ain’t No Party Like A Grown Folks Party' by Carl Marshall (on his Songs People Love The Most Volume 1 cd)

It finally dawned on me this morning that I don't have to only hear those songs on Saturday night, I can buy the cds! And that's what I did before I left out of here this morning--I did some shopping at www.amazon.com! I opted for the free shipping (okay, I'm cheap! So what!) so in 5 to 9 days I will be in music heaven.

The other thing I did today was go to the cider mill. I met HSM and her brood over at Plymouth Orchards around 9:15 am. HSM's theory was that if we got there early we would be ahead of the crowds. Generally speaking that's the optimum plan. Unfortunately, everyone else must have had the same game plan because the place was jammed.


On the plus side, the ten thousand school aged kids (okay, maybe a slight exaggeration, but only slight) began their cider experience with a hayride, then a tour of the place. We began ours at the opposite end--in the 'store' buying cider, donuts and caramel apples, and then partaking of our goodies. By the time the throng was coming in the 'store' we were heading out. Too perfect!

The other perfect thing was the cider itself. It's dark, looks like liquid caramel, and tastes so, so good. I bought four gallons--1 to drink now, the other 3 to go in the freezer for when I'm craving cider in the middle of a winter snowstorm.

I hope today has been a good day for you. Any day I am able to talk with you is a good day for me.

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


Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

Too Horrified To Title This

Okay, so the other day I spoke about what I considered to be a delicate subject---the worst gas attack of my life. And, as my email box will attest, not everyone understood exactly what I was talking about. Some thought I was talking about heart burn. Some thought I meant I was expressing noxious odors. Some thought I was confined to the 'throne' for hours of elimination. And what that showed me was I need to be explicit when I say something because otherwise we all have a different idea of what I meant.

For the record, and that's what a blog is, sort of, my gas attack was none of the above. I felt like a wooden barrel, a wine cask maybe, that someone had hooked an air hose up to and was steadily pumping more air in than my barrel could hold. It felt like my chest, my heart, was going to explode. It felt like I was going to POP like a balloon someone has stuck a pin in.

But I'm saying all that to say that there's something I've been avoiding talking about like the plague. And it truly is a plague, I think. And, because I don't want any misunderstanding, I'm going to be painfully clear.

The Sarah Pailin rallies, that's what has me concerned. I think it's okay dokey, sweller than swell that she can draw a crowd. Good for her. She's got charisma, she's attractive.

But.

At one of her rallies she spoke of Obama being an associate of a known homeland terrorist, Bill Ayres, one of the founders of the former 1960's radical group Weather Underground. Never you mind that Bill Ayres is is a professor at an accredited university, not in hiding, not on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. Never you mind anything that makes any sense.

What you have to mind, what you have to pay attention to is that when Ms. Sarah said (or maybe even still says that at her rallies) that, someone in the crowd hollered out 'traitor'. Okay, we all have a right to our own opinions. That was that persons opinion. Me, if I so chose, and I have so chose here in the blog to call McCain a traitor to his country because he caved in to the Viet Cong when he was a POW and made statements against the USA.

Worse, is that at some of Ms. Sarah's rallies people have hollered out 'kill him'.

Another worse, racial epithets have been hurled at non-white camera men at her rallies by members of the crowd.

But even worse than that, so worse in fact that I'm horrified by it and I don't horrify easily, is that Ms. Sarah, Senator McCain and the Republican Party have not come out denouncing that type of behavior by their supporters. President Bush hasn't said anything about it either.

I somewhat jokingly suggested that perhaps McCain was channelling the Jim Crow era at the first presidential debate. But it's not a joke any longer.

'Kill him', racial epithets---that's the kind of bull shit that lead to lynchings back in the day.

Is that where this country is going? Back to the day when it was okay to not only slur members of other ethnic groups, but call for their death? WTF???

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

hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

Sunny + Spaghetti

It's another beautiful fall day here. It's 70-something, sunny as can be, and just a teeny weeny breeze. Much to beautiful a day to spend inside and, don't you know, that's where I've been most of the day so far.

I started out at Costco. Do you have a membership there? I've had one for years. Ever since Costco first arrived in my area. I also have a membership at Sam's Club. In fact, Sam's was the first one I bought. Thing is, truth be told, while I really like both stores, Costco is my favorite. I like the quality of their merchandise the best. But with Sam's, because I have a business membership, I am able to gain entry to the store at 7am. I can't get in Costco until 10am. I know, big deal, right? But it is a big deal. See, if I go to Sam's early, like get there by 9am, the store isn't crowded. The only folks shopping are the business owners, primarily the men who own the party stores. You probably call them convenience stores. Here in Michigan, and I don't know why we do but we do, we call them party stores. Anyway, I can be out of Sam's and home by 10am.

Costco had coupons, that's why I was there this morning. I stocked up on vitamins and toothpaste. And I bought cookies, coffeecake, frozen pizza. All the essentials of life (smile).

It was when I came out of the store that I found what a gorgeous day it had turned out to be. And I found that I was over-dressed. I had on sweats, hey! it was chilly when I rolled out this morning! After I unloaded the truck and put everything away, I changed into summer-wear----shorts, tshirt, sandals. Any day you don't need socks is a good one in my book!

So now, obviously, I'm at the library. My plan when I finish here is to grab some lunch from maybe Burger King (it's right down the street), take it to the park and eat at a picnic table in the sun. Sounds good, doesn't it?

When I get home I'm going to start fixing dinner. It's a crockpot kind of meal. I defrosted some chicken thighs and legs overnight. I'm cutting up a couple onions and laying them on the bottom of the crockpot, the chicken parts on top of the onions, some herbs (oregano, thyme, garlic), then pouring 3/4 of a jar of spaghetti sauce over that. Crockpot on high for 4-6 hours and--voila! Dinner! I've got some spaghetti noodles to boil when I'm ready to eat. I'll take the chicken out, stir the sauce, add the rest of the jar of spaghetti sauce and then, if it's still too thin, I'll add some tomato paste, stir it in to thicken and I'll be good to go. Fast, easy and yummy!

Inbetween all of this I am hoping you'll call because I miss talking with you.

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

hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

A Pretty Picture and a Petty Politician

Remember I told you my friend Tallulah was downstate for a few days this week? Well, on her long (almost 500 miles) drive down she stopped to take a photo of a beautiful fall day in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. She shared it with me and I, in turn, want to share it with you.

Does it look like that where you live? I don't mean the water, but the leaves. Are they all gorgeous colored? Bright reds and oranges with a smattering of yellow?

They are here, sort of. Not all of the leaves have turned yet, but those that have are brilliantly beautiful.

To me, there is nothing like a clear, sunny, slightly crisp fall day. I love the way the sunlight bounces off the pretty colored leaves, and I love the way the air smells. Someone told me once that smell that I so love is actually the smell of decay. Hmm. Okay. Maybe so. But it still smells pretty on a nice fall day (smile)!

It's raining here today. The weather people say it's going to be on and off showers all day long. The really lovely weather, so they say, will be here Saturday, Sunday and Monday. 72 is supposed to be the high for Saturday, with 77 on both Sunday and Monday.

Have you been to the cider mill yet this season? I still haven't made it to the cider mill yet so maybe Monday, with it's predicted warm weather, will be the day, .

My cider mill of choice is www.plymouthorchards.com It's not the glitziest or the coolest, it's not where the see and be seen people buy their cider, but this place makes and sells unpasteurized cider and that's my cider of choice. That pasteurized stuff tastes like glorified apple juice. And while apple juice is good stuff, no way in the world is it apple cider.

They also sell yummy jams and jellies, pies, donuts, even cider slushies! But what I really like are the bags of apple chips. I can't think of the name brand, sorry, but they are so good! Last year I ended up contacting the apple chip manufacturer, purchasing a case of assorted flavors and had them shipped to my house.

Before you ask, yes, I watched the debate last night between Obama and McCain.

To tell you the truth, I ended up feeling really sorry for McCain. Why? Because every time he tried to be funny, instead of funny he came off really lame and petty.

He also came off half a quart low. You know, like your favorite cousin, the one who had to wear the football helmet to school and who rode on the special bus.

"That one" he said, referring to Obama as he pointed at him. "That one"? The first debate, McCain refused to look at Obama. This time he called him "that one". Since when is it cool to be disrespectful?

Also, did you notice how McCain made a point, once the debate was over, to have Obama shake hands with his wife? But McCain never shook hands with Obama's wife, and she was standing right there. Is McCain ignorant of social pleasantries?

And what was up with McCain and his wife almost immediately leaving the debate site once it was over? Obama and his wife went around talking to the crowd, shaking hands, having their pictures taken with the attendees.

Oh well.

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

Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

The Repercussions of a Fried Dinner

My first thought, as I sat down here at the computer, was that the subject on my mind to write about was, perhaps, an indelicate one. You know, something that is better left unsaid in polite company. But the more I thought about it, well, we talk about lots of different stuff here on the blog, and heaven knows we talk about everything--and I do mean everything--else on the phone, so why get all shy and hold back now (smile).

Last night for my dinner I lightly breaded some chicken wings and then fried them, along with some sweet potatoes that I cut up in to french fries. Talk about good!

Thing was, three hours later I had the biggest, the baddest, the worst gas attack I have ever had in my life!

Eight Rolaids and one agonizing hour later I was able to finally go lay down in the bed and try to go to sleep. I fell asleep talking out loud to God--There is no God but God--over and over and over until I was sound asleep. Each time I woke up to use the bathroom, I came up out of my sleep still repeating my prayer to God out loud.

Today the gas attack is but a nasty memory, except for the fact that my stomach hurts. You know, like when you cough too much your stomach muscles hurt? That's sort of like how I hurt. And I feel tired and sluggish even though I slept for at least nine hours last night. And I'm not hungry or thirsty even though it's going on 2pm. In fact, the thought of eating or drinking something sort of makes me nauseous. And scared, like the gas attack might return.

So have you ever had a bad awful gas attack? And if so, what did you take or do to get rid of it?

Please feel free to shoot me an email.

That's it for today. I just want to go home and lay down.

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

hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
tawnyford@webtv.net

Yoo Hoo! Calling Homeland Security!

For what it's worth, my blood is still boiling over that stupid shit Pailin is spreading about how Obama hangs out with terrorists. I always say you can say anything you like, good or bad, about a person as long as it's the truth. But it has to be the truth.

So if this gentleman--I can't remember his name, I'm lousy on names, I even wrote it down on a piece of paper to bring to the library with me and then I lost it somewhere between there and here--but you know who I mean, right? The fellow who used to be a part of Weather Underground back in the 1960's--when Obama was a little boy--and is now a professor at a university in Illinois--is such a terrorist, a homeland terrorist as Pailin says it, then where oh where is Homeland Security? Why haven't they rounded him up and put him in an internment camp somewhere? There must be some room left at Gitmo, right?

If we were to dig back through fairly recent history, and I'm talking about the 1960's in the USA, we would find, I am fairly certain, that many of the youngsters who were out protesting the Viet Nam war, who were getting shot up at Kent State, who were members of radical groups, etc. are now the folks, men and women alike, who have prestigous jobs on Wall Street, are ceos of big name companies, are professors at universities, etc.

Tom Hayden, founder (or at least one time member) of SDS, Students For A Democratic Society, a group founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan by students at the University of Michigan, went on to be an elected legislator from California. The men and women who marched with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., look at all of them who have gone on to become reverends, professors, heads of organizations doing good works in this country of ours.

Bobby Seal, one of the Chicago Seven, has gone on to write cookbooks and produce bbq sauce. Angela Davis went on to be an author and a professor. Jerry Rubin, also of the Chicago Seven, didn't he go on to big business?

All those folks, once members of the 'counter culture' (as the media addressed them back in the day), were 'redeemed', but not this gentleman that Pailin says is a homeland terrorist. Aint that something.

So if it's okay dokey to say stuff that isn't true in a campaign, then surely it must be doggone all right to say stuff that, while not pretty or flattering, is true, huh?

Okay then. Pailin has a teenage daughter that's pregnant, right? Some say this is her second pregnancy (the special needs baby that Ms. Sarah claims as her own child), who knows. But the thing is, somebody dropped the ball with this teenager. If her parents, Sarah or Todd, were doing their job right this wouldn't have been able to happen. With all their Christian blahblahblah morals they put out there on front street and rub our noses in, if they were watching over their children like good parents, like good shepherds if you will, their little lamb wouldn't have had an opportunity to be fornicating.

Okay, Pailin has a special needs child. We see that sweet baby hauled out in front of the media whenever it suits them. And, for the most part, as I've said before in this blog, the baby seems to be an accessory. You know, like an in-style purse, or a swell pair of suede boots. I never see Sarah or Todd, the parents, holding baby. I see a teenage daughter holding him or I see the second youngest daughter lugging him around like a sack of potatoes. Nobody kisses or talks to baby, nobody cootchie coos him. And should he be in crowds where there's yelling and screaming and enough loud noise to make a grown up's ears hurt? Is that good for a baby? Is that responsible parenting?

Okay, McCain. The war hero. The hero who, during his time in captivity, made a statement denouncing the USA. Sure, it had to be rough lodged in the Hanoi Hilton. Okay, torture is not fun or pleasant. But. Other military who were captured did not rat their country out. But McCain did. Do we want a rat for president?

I think the powers-that-be are so scared that a Black man will get to live in the White House, and not as a servant, that if Obama gets elected it would not surprise me if said powers-that-be didn't assasinate him. It would grieve me, but unfortunately it wouldn't surprise me.

Whenever you want to reach around and pat yourself on the back and tell yourself that race relations are so good in the USA, that we've come a long baby since the days of segregation, you'd better take a deep breath and sniff up some reality because the only difference between then and now is now people use double-speak. Back in the day they called a n..... a n...... Now they call him an elitist. Or say he hangs out with terrorists.

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

hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

What's Next, The "N-Word"?

I know, I rarely if ever write anything in the blog on the weekends. It's impossible for me to get to the library on Saturdays or Sundays. I am also loath to bother anyone to do my posting for me. I mean, geez, my friends have lives, too, but today, well, today I have something to say that just doesn't want to wait until tomorrow morning.

HSM sent me an article from the BBC. You've probably already heard about it on the cable news. My guess is the executives and anchors on FOX Cable News have been sporting woodies ever since they heard about it.

Sarah Pailin has announced that Barack Obama hangs out with terrorists. Yep, and you know that gosh darn, folksy, doggone it but she's just an average Sarah Six Pack wouldn't try to snooker us.

Apparently, Obama once served on the board of a charitable organization. And one of the other members was--hope you're sitting down--the founder of the 1960's radical group Weather Underground. This gentleman, whose name I can't recall, is a professor at a university in Illinois.

Now never you mind that Obama was a kidlet during the time that the Weather Underground was operating in the USA. And therefore, I would say obviously, he could not have been a member or a supporter of the group.

And, just as obviously to me, this fellow who is now a professor at a university, well, he must not be on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list, huh? He must be considered an okey-dokey upright citizen these days.

Pailin has also stated that it's time to take the gloves off in this campaign. What a hoot! If Obama or Biden or, hell, most of the media, takes their gloves off on her or McCain the Republicans will be in trouble.

I am sick to death of hearing how the Democrats have to go easy on Pailin because, what? She’s a woman. Nobody went easy on Hillary Clinton. Hillary gave as well as she got.

Ms. Sarah has stated she is a feminist. Well, hot damn, then she ought to know that if you talk that equal rights stuff for men and women talk, then you have to be prepared to walk it, too.

And McCain. I'm tired of hearing because he served in Vietnam that means he would make a superb commander in chief. McCain was taken prisoner, he didn't try to escape from his Viet Cong captors and, during his time in the prison camp, he made statements denouncing the US government.

Where's the hero in that?

I think the Republicans are so scared that Obama, a BLACK man, is going to win the election and become the next president of the USA that they will stop at nothing to smear him.

They insist he's a Muslim. They fussed about his Christian pastor, Rev. Wright. They say he pals around with terrorists.

So far they haven't come right out and said he's the N-Word but they did get Lady Rothschild (sp?) to say Obama was an 'elitist' which, in hater terminology, when you want to call him the N-Word but you know it wouldn't sound nice, you say elitist because everybody knows you really mean uppity N-Word. You know, the blackie who doesn't know his place.

That's it for me for today.

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

Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

Gosh Darnit Turkey Wings

I had intended to get to the library yesterday so I could 'talk' with you and then I got caught up. Caught up with what, you ask? Cooking. Yes, cooking! I haven't done much cooking lately. I'm not exactly sure why, although lazy does come to mind. I've relied on microwaveable meals and sandwiches, with a smattering of carry-outs thrown in for good measure.

But when I was talking about Ramadan meals and comfort food the other day, well, it got me to hankering for some turkey. And yes, I said hankering, so what? If Sarah Pailin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, can use use words like doggone, shucks, etc. then surely I can. I'm born and raised and still living in the midwest, the heartland of America, where it's part of our verbal heritage, if you will, to use homey words like that.

So anyway, I had some turkey wings in the freezer and---wait one gosh darn minute here!---you've never cooked turkey wings? Oh my goodness gracsious! I can feel another cooking lesson coming on!

I had two packs of turkey wings, four wings total. After washing them off and, you know, pulling off anything that I didn't want to see on my dinner plate, I put them in an oven safe baking pan, atop a bed of celery stalks and cut up onions. I poured a small can, maybe what? 10-12 ounces, of Swanson Chicken broth, mixed with almost 3 cups of water, on top. Oh, and I peppered them, too.

Into a 350 oven they went, totally coverred with tinfoil, totally! for an hour. Then the tinfoil came off, the oven went to 375 and I began basting them every 20 minutes. After I don't know, maybe almost 3 hours, they were done. They were brown and when I cut into them by the bone there was no 'red'.

I took the turkey wings out of the pan, fished out the celery and onion and pitched them into the garbage, then poured the broth/drippings into a saucepan, and got the heat going on the burner to a boil. I added some water, maybe 2 cups. I put two tablespoons of corn starch in a cup, slowly adding some cold water as I constantly stirred so it wouldn't lump up, then poured it into the saucepan that was now vigorously boiling, all the while whisking so I wouldn't have lumpy gravy.

Okay. Next I put the turkey wings back into the oven proof pan and poured most of the gravy over them. Put the tinfoil back on the pan, tightly, tightly! and back into the oven--at 200 degrees--for another hour or two.

When it was time for dinner, oh my goodness! They were succulent and tasty!

I also made mashed potatoes, dressing, green bean casserole and candied yams. And I had a can of cranberry sauce, too.

You talk about a nice dinner, wow, it was great and it got me to thinking that maybe I should declare my moratorium on not cooking to be over.

Tallulah, my UP friend, sent me a recipe for an apple cake that she swears is so good it'll make you want to slap your Mama (smile). She even sent me a container of cardamon because she says that's an essential ingredient. I'm thinking that maybe, by golly, I'll bake one up this afternoon.

And speaking of Tallulah, I got an email this morning from her. She says she's heading downstate, leaving Marquette sometime Saturday, to spend a week down here. Her birthday is October 6th and she wants to spend it down this a way. Actually her first wish was to spend it in Las Vegas, but, well, you know how that goes. Downstate was her fall back wish and that's the one she's going with.

So I reckon that's it for me for today. You be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.

hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com

Be Good To Yourself

Before I go and forget, are you following the news on tv about the financial crisis on Wall Street and the remedy our legislators are working on? Well, for another whole take on it, go to www.MichaelMoore.com and click on Mike's Letters. He wrote an outstandingly interesting piece on this yesterday.

So yesterday was the final day of the month of Ramadan. And, like I had mentioned a few days ago, I went to dinner with friends to celebrate. We, okay the adults, the parents if I'm going to be completely honest here, agreed that the meal would be at an Italian restaurant.

I mentioned this to several folks over the past few days and they were stunned that we weren't either dining at a Middle Eastern restaurant or cooking up some Arab foods of our own. Some of you reading this might have wonderred the same thing, so I'm here to explain (smile). First and foremost, all Muslims are not Arabs, and all Arabs are not Muslims.

Being as we, the group of friends I was dining with, even though we all observed Ramadan, we are not of Arab descent, so when it came time to celebrate we opted for a meal that encompassed our ethnic foods. Okay, none of us are Italian but you get my drift, right?

Had the meal been at one of our group members home, they likely would have served up collard greens, sweet potatoes, corn bread, fried corn, chicken. At another's home it likely would have been meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls. My house, I probably would have roasted a turkey with all the trimmings. Whatever is comfort food, that's the meal.

So at the Italian restaurant, I orderred chicken piccata. I love chicken piccatta! It came with a side of spaghetti, a nice salad and all the hot, freshly baked, garlicky bread sticks you could eat (smile). A few had chicken portabello, one had a seafood pasta medly, one had a combo plate of chicken parmesan and lasagne, I don't recall everyone's order, but I do know that many shared pizzas. There were salads, soups, some even had room for dessert. And one of the kids, the youngest present at 11, ate himself into a mild coma (just kidding, but he did pack the pizza away!).

It was a nice time. Having dinner, spending time with people that you care about is always a good thing, as Martha would say (smile).

Hope you're taking the time to have good things in your life. These days, with the intensely fearful climate being shoved on us via the media, we need to remember to be kind to ourselves.

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

hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
248-615-1300