Link Of The Week

I know I am not alone when I say that all of the drama, arguing and finger-pointing going on for the past few weeks over the national debt has absolutely worn me out.  In fact, anything that I hear from Capitol Hill wears me out.  If it wears us out just listening to what's going on, I can't imagine how much it wears out our Congressmen and Representatives.  A couple of weeks ago, I emailed my Reprensentative and voiced my opinions on a few topics, urging him to listen to us - the people that put him in office.  You can do the same.  Just visit https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml.  Just enter your state and zip code and you will find who represents you and where you can email or write to them.  Good luck, and voice your opinion.

GPS Update

I'm very happy to report that the GPS has been found.  Repeat: the GPS has been found. I'm going to hang it on a little hook on a bookcase in the family room where we will hopefully remember where it is located.

Flashback Friday Interruptus

We interrupt Flashback Friday to bring you news from The Compound. The 'Rents have me working in the kitchen preparing two bushels of homegrown corn to freeze, leaving me unable to type more than a few sentences right now.  They were out in the garden early this morning before the heat index reached 110 degrees and picked two bushels of corn.  They had some machinery/apparatus rigged up outside and boiled the corn, and now we're all in various stages of cutting it off of the cob, bagging it, and freezing it.  I'm hearing my name being summoned from the kitchen so I've got to go.  I'll keep you posted.

Real Farmtown Update

It's time for another real Farmtown update, faithful readers.  As of today, our totals are:

Green beans -- 57 quarts canned
Banana peppers - 4 pints canned
Collard greens - 6 quarts frozen
Yellow squash - 6 quarts frozen
Salsa - 12 pints canned
Tomatoes - 7 quarts canned

I Need A GPS To Find My GPS

If you know anything about me at all, then you know I lose things.  Frequently.  Actually, it happens to all three of us here at The Compound.  It's simply because we just have too much stuff. It's not like we're hoarders or anything like that - our home isn 't cluttered; it's just that we put something down and forget where we put it.

Case in point today, my Garmin GPS.  The last time I used it was the first of June.  After that trip, I have no idea where it it.  I wish I could activate something on it to send out a beam like the Bat signal to show me where it is, or to have it make a noise like you can do on cordless phones when you lose them.  But alas, I can't.  It's not in any of the family's fleet of vehicles (where it should be, I might add) so I can only guess that it's in the house somewhere.  I'm too tired to look anymore tonight so I'll continue the search tomorrow.  As always, I'll keep you posted.

Happy Life Day To Me

Another year has gone by, and I'm wishing myself another Happy Life Day.  In case you don't remember, or are a new faithful reader, on this day back in 1992, I was in a pretty bad car accident, and the surgeons thought that I might be able to have full use of my right foot again.  Well, me and the Lord proved them wrong.  So, every year on this day, I celebrate life - how the Lord protected me and healed me to keep me here to make a difference.  And today, I'm celebrating extra on Life Day. I'm declaring that I'm going to start working on my next phase in my life -- church security consulting. 

If you know anything about me at all, you already know that this is something that I am very passionate and excited about. And it's something I dedicated two and a half years of my life to in getting a Master's Degree in Security Management. So I'm going to put that degree and my knowledge to good use and make a difference.

Something You Don't Hear Every Day

I was at a local neighborhood gathering tonight (note: the event would take up a whole separate journal entry) and heard something from a little boy that appeared to be 6 or 7.  At first I laughed, but then I was disgusted and ashamed. But still, I feel compelled to report it.

Background: The little boy had a second thing of cotton candy this evening.  He was walking behind my chair and said, and I quote:

"At least that mother-F-er gave me more than on the first one." 

Hand to heaven, the little boy said that.

Link Of The Week

I know a lot of people have some type of personal music player - be it an iPod, an MP3 player, or a portable CD player or trusty old radio.  And people can listen to their favorite CD's on their computer. So music is never far away. 

This week, I came across another way to get your favorite music while on the computer - and best of all, it's free.  Visit http://slacker.com/ .  You can listen to whatever they play, or do a search for an artist, song, album or genre and pick what you want to hear.  Like I said, it's free, but if you really like it you can purchase a monthly subscription for more bells and whistles and for ad-free listening.  But for music to listen to while you're Facebook or Farmtowning or blogging, the free version suits me just fine.

New Product Review

As you already know,  I love to try new gadgets.  And I love it even more when the new gadget works great.  Well, the fine folks at Ziploc have brought us another awesome product - the Ziploc Vacuum. You simply fill up the special vacuum seal Ziploc bags with whatever you want to keep, seal the bag and let the gadget go to work. It's a little pump, and it looks like a huge plastic syringe, and you just put the end of the plunger thing over the designated spot on the special vacuum-seal Ziploc bags and then just start pumping and the gadget will take all of the air out of the bag.  Our good friend and neighbor PS got one earlier this week and when he showed it to Mom, well, she just had to have one. (Now you know where I get it from.) 


We tried the gadget out this morning and it was awesome.  We filled up a gallon bag with some zucchini muffins, and with just a few pumps from the gadget, all of the air was out of the bag and we just popped it in the freezer. I immediately went to the fridge and grabbed a couple hunks of cheese and fixed them in a bag, too.  Now when we want a slice of cheese, we just open the bag, get our cheese, and then get the little gadget and pump the air out of the bag and put it back in the freezer.  


You can't beat the price - I got the starter kit containing the handy gadget and 3 quart bags for $3.98, and got a box of 8 gallon-sized bags for only $2.98.  You can't beat the price when compared to the big Seal-A-Meal machines they sell for over $100. 


Ziploc Vacuum Seal contraption most definitely gets two thumbs up and the TWIT Seal Of Approval.

Flashback Friday

You can buy the most expensive, prettiest, most decorative drinking glasses today, but to me, the old school Bolero insulated tumblers will always be the best. 

I'm not ashamed to say that I've used a green Bolero tumber, like in the above picture, as my travel coffee mug, for the past 25 or so years. Needless to say we've got probably a dozen travel mugs, but I just love my green Bolero glass for my morning-commute-to-work-coffee. It keeps it very hot on my 15 minute trek to work, and even though it doesn't have a lid like the expensive travel mugs and glasses, I can honestly say that I've only spilled the glass twice in the 25+ years I've used the same glass on my way to work. Sure, I've tried other travel glasses and mugs, but none of them were as awesome as this old school Bolero glass.

We've got a set of glasses just like in this picture, and we use them for our iced tea and other drinks at The Compound.  But you can always know that my favorite green Bolero glass is always in the console of The Blazer, ready to be filled in the morning for the trip to work.

Heatwave 2011 Continues

This pretty much sums it all up this week. 



Heatwave 2011 Continues

The big heatwave of 2011 continues.  You know it's going to be stifling hot when the humidity is 85% at 6:30 in the morning.  Once again I'll say thank the Lord and Trane that our old a/c is still cranking out the cool air.

I'll stress again what the weatherazzi and everyone else has been saying for weeks - drink plenty of water. Even if you're not working outside, still drink plenty of water.

Terrible Tuesday

I hate to say but it's turned into another Terrible Tuesday.  Work was just crazy, and I even stayed over almost an hour to get caught up.  And as soon as I got home, things were chaotic and crazy here at The Compound.  All I can say is that it was in deed a Terrible Tuesday, and I hope that Wednesday is better, much better.

Real Farmtown Update

There's just no stopping the 'Rents here at The Compound.  When I got up this morning, they were already out in the garden picking beans.  They picked enough for two canners full, which comes to 14 quarts of beans.  With all that they've picked and canned over the past couple of days, when they go to bed tonight, we will have 49 quarts of green beans canned this summer.

Yep, I, too, shake my head in amazement at them.  At 77 years old, they are both going full force.  And not a day goes by that I don't thank the Lord for them and for their health.

Link Of The Week

You know by now I'm not much of an activist.  But at the same time, I'm not much of a pacifist, either.  I guess I'm somewhere in the middle; it just depends on how strongly I believe in something.  One thing I firmly believe in is not getting ripped off, especially when it comes to buying tickets for concerts or sporting events. With all of the "brokers" in the game now, it's hard to get good seats for a concert.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I buy the majority of my tickets now through a "broker".  Sometimes I pay more than face value, sometimes it's the same, and sometimes it's been even less.  I don't mind paying it if I'm going to get an actual ticket either mailed or handed to me. Now sellers want to make things even harder.  Ticketmaster and other sellers want to go to a "restrictive paperless ticket" - you buy a ticket and it's tied into the credit card you used to purchase it.  Meaning, no more buying good seats from brokers.  While this could possibly help even the playing field when it comes to buying tickets, it could also make things worse.  You wouldn't be able to buy tickets for someone unless you would be there with your credit card and had a ticket, too.  Please check out http://www.fanfreedom.org/ and voice your opinion.  If you agree that ticket issuers should not use restrictive paperless tickets, you can sign a petition at the site.  If you agree or even disagree, there's links on the site for you to contact the fine folks up on Capitol Hill to voice your opinion.

Real Farmtown Update

This was taken this morning just before the 'Rents started picking green beans.  Dad wanted me to share a picture of his beloved garden with you, faithful readers, and I was only happy to oblige. It is in deed a pretty garden, and you'd have to use a magnifying glass to find any weeds in there. 

As of yesterday, we've (and yes, I can include myself by using "we" because I've helped, too) canned 28 quarts of green beans, 4 pints of banana peppers, frozen 8 quarts of collard greens and 6 quarts of yellow squash.  And it's not over yet.  As I type this, we've got a pot of collards on and will blanche them and freeze them later, and the 'Rents are breaking beans for probably 14 more quarts.





Flashback Friday

I'm not ashamed to admit that I listened to a supposedly oldies country music channel on the "I Heart Radio" phone app this afternoon at work when I was working on a mundane task.  I was expecting the radio channel to play Miss Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Merle Haggard and a host of other classic country stars.  When I tuned to the channel, the first song that played was Wynonna's "No One Else On Earth" that was on the radio charts this very month back in 1992.  I remember this because that was when I was sidelined from my big wreck.

I sat there at my desk and wondered when did songs from the 1990's become considered as classics?  I don't have an answer for this one; I hope my faithful readers will be able to shed some light on this.

Other than THAT, Mrs. Lincoln, How Did You Enjoy The Play?

I was supposed to meet an old friend for dinner tonight, but the friend was sick and we postponed until next week. But I'd already set aside this time, so I decided I'd still go out to eat by myself for some peace and quiet.  Boy was I wrong.  The restaurant I went to must have had "Kids Run Wild" night because that's what they did.  Kids were running all over the place like a tribe of wild Apache Indians.  I can tune out quite a bit but I wasn't able to tune out all of the drama and running around tonight.  At one point, one of the wild kids even grabbed my purse.  Yes, you read correctly - grabbed my beloved Prada purse. It was sitting in the chair next to me at my table and so help me, the little PAT-in-training grabbed it.  In a split second I grabbed it back from the kid, and was just about ready to smack his parents when one of the waitresses came up.  Talk about good timing on the parents' part, because there was no telling what I was going to do. I asked if I could speak to the manager. And the parents didn't even seem to care that their kid - just one of about half a dozen running wild in the restaurant - grabbed my purse.  The two punks just sat there in their booth, texting on their phones and probably updating their Facebook page.   

In about two minutes, a 30-something guy sauntered over to my table that had on a little name tage that said "manager" and I told him what had happened.  I also said that the assistant police chief of that area was a friend of mine, and I would not hesitate to call him to report my purse being grabbed by a juvenile.  He looked at me like I had three heads.  I told him "You need to do something about this crap going on in your restaurant or else get ready for a lot of phone calls."

I was livid as I left the place.  Here I had hoped to have a nice dinner by myself, with some peaceful Me Time but that most certainly did not happen.  I don't even need to tell you that I will never go back to this restaurant, and I will tell everyone I come in contact with about this incident in hopes that they, too, will not go back. This restaurant has already been on the local news and in the newspaper a couple of months ago for some identity and credit card theft;  this probably won't happen but I hope they go out of business.

Heatwave 2011

This pretty much sums it up. It was 85 degrees yesterday morning at 6:30 when I got up.  When that happens, you know it's going to be hotter than hell. 

Terrible Tuesday

Today was one hell of a day, faithful readers.  I didn't sleep all that well last night due tp the heat, but on the positive side our central a/c is still running and trying to keep us cool with the 115 degree heat index here at The Compound.  So even though I tossed and turned, I was able to toss and turn in air conditioned comfort. I'm sure there's a lot of people who are on the phone right now with various HVAC companies begging for them to send a repairman out to their houses. And even though I had a bad day at work, on the positive side I do still have a job, when one out of ten people in my state don't.

In total honesty, the problems I had today weren't the usual problems; they were ones that challenged my integrity and ability.  But the day is over, and I handled it all the best I could. I can just pray for bettah dayz tomorrow.

File Under: WTF?

16-Pound Baby Born In Texas

The average weight of a newborn baby is about 7 1/2 pounds, which is why it's shocking -- even in Texas -- that a woman has given birth to a 16-pound baby boy.

Two feet tall at birth, JaMichael Brown is the biggest baby ever born in the state of Texas.

"A lot of the stuff we bought him is too little," mother Janet Johnson told The Today Show.

According to Babycenter.com, over 9 pounds and 15 ounces is considered "much larger than average."

Before Texas native Janet Johnson had a baby shower recently, she had been told by her doctors that her soon-to-arrive son would be big. So, she told her friends "to not get any newborn stuff," reports CBS affiliate KYTX-TV.

Little did she know how right she was. On Sunday, Janet gave birth to a 16-pound boy, named JaMichael Brown.

"When they pulled the baby out, they could tell that he was huge," Janet told KYTX. "And then they weighed him."

JaMichael is the biggest baby ever born in a state known for going big, and the average size of a newborn is around 7 and a half pounds. Not only did JaMichael weigh in at 16 pounds and one ounce, but he was two feet long.

Janet was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during her pregnancy, which may have contributed to JaMichael's size.

"It's a beautiful baby, but for health reasons we'd rather not see a baby this large. They can have a little harder time maintaining their blood sugar," said nurse Mary Beth Smith, who helped deliver the baby.

Doctors placed baby JaMichael in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where he is receiving breathing and eating assistance.

Still, Janet said she is optimistic about her newest child, her fourth.

"First thing I asked - was he okay," said Janet. "They said yes."

All I can say to that poor woman that popped out a 16 pound baby is you're way stronger than I could ever hope to be.  My Sweet Mother just said "If I'd delivered a 16 pound baby, they'd be visiting me while I was laid out at the funeral home."

Link Of The Week

Normally, I write a funny or cute little story as an introduction to the Link Of The Week.  Today, the Link requires no introduction or story; let's just get down to business.  With all that we spend on food, and with all that we end up throwing out, it's a crying shame that there are people, mainly kids, that go hungry in our country. Please take time to visit:  http://nokidhungry.org/ and take the pledge to help.  You can do as little or a lot as you want to do - you can do something very easy like donate money, or you can volunteer to do your own fundraisers or attend fundraisers sponsored by others.  But just do something.  This is one worthy cause where a few people can definitely make a difference.

Heat And Humidity Alert

 Rocky would like to tell everyone to be sure and wear a hat this weekend when you're outside.  We have Ozone Alerts going on today and tomorrow, and it's hot, hot summer out there.  So take Rocky's advice and wear a hat if you go outside. 

Flashback Friday

I know it's a few days past the Fourth of July, but I'm still in the Fourth of July mood today.  My mind drifts back to the Fourth of July in 1998.  My dear friend KD was visiting us from his home in Greenville, South Carolina, and we had one of the best Fourth of July's ever.  Earlier in the day, we made the trek across the Ohio River over into Southern Indiana where, at the time, was the closest place you could buy the real fireworks.  I don't want to say how much we spent that day buying fireworks but it was a lot.  And it was worth every penny. 

Before the sun went down, KD and I went out to the field at The Compound to get everything ready.  We got a sledge hammer and drove in a half dozen pieces of pipe into the ground to use for the bottle rockets and Roman candles, and we got a hammer and nails and got all of the spinning fireworks in place on the fence posts.  We placed all of the other fireworks strategically on the ground, so our guests would get a good view of them.  And just as the sun stared to go down, the masses started to assemble in their lawn chairs.  We had over twenty friends and relatives there for the big fireworks display.  KD and I wore ourselves out, running all over the field lighting all of the fireworks but our crowd sure loved it, and the fun was worth every dollar we spent.  The evening was not without refreshments;  we had coolers of beer, soft drinks, and water melons, and even had a couple of old school crank freezers with homemade ice cream. 

Our big fireworks show and refreshments lasted until close to midnight, when everybody left to make their way home.  But the night will be one of my most favorite Fourth of July's ever.

Happy Birthday, Sliced Bread

TWIT would like to wish a very happy 83rd birthday to sliced bread. Yep, I know it might be hard to believe but sliced bread was first sold way back in 1928. When it was first sold, it was advertised as “the greatest step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped.” This led to the popular phrase “the greatest thing since sliced bread.”

We owe a big thank you to inventor Otto Frederick Rohwedder for developing the first loaf-at-a-time bread-slicing machine. Actually, he built a prototype of the machine in 1912, but it was destroyed in a fire and it wasn’t until 16 years later that Rohwedder had a full working maching ready.
Our family seldom uses the phrase “sliced bread”; instead, we refer to it as “light bread.” I remember my grandparents, and and my favorite great-aunt and great-uncle calling it "light bread", so naturally I grew up thinking that everybody should call it that.  This originated in the South a few generations ago. Back in the day, the only bread that people had was loaf bread that you baked at home or got from the bakery or biscuits. Then came sliced bread. People started calling it “light bread” not because of the light, white color of the bread, but because it was made with yeast and was lighter in weight than other breads. To this day, my family and I still use the phrase “light bread” when referring to sliced bread.

Joke Of The Week

A heavy set man is working out at the gym when he sees an attractive 18 year old come in and begin her workout. He asks the nearby trainer which machine should he use if he wants to impress her. Looking him up and down real carefully the trainer finally answers "I think your best bet would be the ATM in the lobby."

Fruits Of Our Labor

Here is the collected fruits of our labor yesterday afternoon when the 'Rents and I pickled and canned our banana peppers.  I beg you to find any jars that are prettier than ours. We'll let them set a while before we eat them, but as always, I will give you a full report.

Non-Decisions

For the past week or so, I've entertained you, my faithful readers, with posts of how I was going to only make one decision a day while I've been on vacation.  I think I did pretty good.  I relax and didn't much do of anything.  I didn't run around or rip and tear all over; I stayed home.  I only went to my beloved WalMart twice since I've been on vacation. This was without a doubt the most relaxing vacation that I've ever had. So while I purposely took it easy and didn't make many decisions, I did have one major non-decision.  To me, a non-decision is something that, well, you don't decide if you want to do it or not; you just do it.  Going to work, paying bills, and breathing all fall in that category. And after a year lapse, riding the bicycle every day now is back in the non-decision category. 

I've ridden the bike for the past four days, and it's only been today that I've realized why I enjoyed it so much before.  For that hour, I don't have to think about anything except not falling off of the bike or hitting something.  But for me, riding the bike every became a non-decision yesterday afternoon when I was riding in the heat and humidity, and wanted to just call Dad and have him come and pick me up.  I kept on riding and made it home and decided that from now on, riding is something that I will once again do every day.

Vacation Day Eight - Decision Of The Day

So far, all of the Decisions of the Day have been made by me.  Today's decision will be made by Dad. But it's a crucial decision nonetheless.  I bought some banana pepper plants and the 'Rents set them out in the garden and have been meticulously taking care of them for me along with all of the other awesome stuff in their garden.  This morning, Dad picked a basket (sorry - it wasn't a peck) of the banana peppers and we are getting ready to can them.  The decision of the day is do we slice the peppers into rings, or do we just slice them in half length-wise to put in the jars?  As I said, it's Dad's decision since he volunteered to de-seed the peppers.

Vacation Day Seven - Decision Of The Day

I was so worn out from riding the bike out in the heat and humidity yesterday that I completely forgot to post the Decision Of The Day.  On Sunday, I was faced with quite a big decision:  after riding in the heat and wearing myself out, my decision was do I collapse in the family room or bedroom? 

Vacation Day Six - Decision Of The Day

I was faced with today's Decision of the Day as I was getting on my trusty old Schwinn to do some riding:

What playlist to play on my iPod:  Lady Gaga or Black Eyed Peas?  The Peas won today. 

Vacation Day Five - Decision Of The Day

Today's Decision of the Day might be the hardest one so far:  Do I go to the American Legion or to the Masonic Lodge for our Friday fish?