Kitchen Sink

Ooh! Tomcat's parents gave us iPods for Christmas! The first thing I downloaded? LIVE AT LEEDS, Deluxe Edition. Best live album ever. Definitive My Generation. Serious Magic Bus. Shakin' All Over. Young Man Blues. Raw, pure, back when Keith Moon and John "Thunderfingers" Entwhistle were still alive. Great banter between Pete and Keith. Deluxe edition includes the "new" rock opera, Tommy. Best ever "Sparks."

Check it out, here , also here (for a bit about the follow-up Live at Leeds II).

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A man ahead of his time: J. Edgar (Who needs habeas corpus?) Hoover, who wanted to round up 12,000 Americans shortly after the Korean War began.
Check it out, here.


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From the Fundies Say the Darndest Things department, we learn:

There are four main religions in this country that are engaged in a holy war against Christianity. The number one religion, The Abortion Charismatics.The abortion religion in truth has as its foundation the worshipping of anti-submission to men. These death Stalinists use accusations of oppression as their guardian while marching on, putting the sword to the enemy, the trespassing fetus. Conversly, The Bible advises us to choose life and states that those who side with death are with the devil.

Religion number two, The Orthodox Homosexuals. The homosexual hit squad, they worship immoral sex and preach its acceptance with a formidable vigor. The religion of orgasms, just as long as you partake with someone of the same gender.

Religion number three, The Pentecostal Environmentalists. They worship myths and have as their god mother nature. This includes the global warming cash cow. They worship animals, the same animals God instructed us to subdue in Genesis. They worship the earth, the same earth God advises us in the Bible not to love due to the fact that it is fallen and ruled by Satan.

And the forth religion, The United Church of Envy. The religion of envy has as its decree welfare, social programs of all kinds, and higher taxes. It wishes to crucify anyone who is successful. The wealth of others is condemned. They fiercely seek conversion, not conversion of souls...conversion of other people?s money - to themselves. This faction is represented by Poverty Pastors from all status levels in society.

The Mega Church of Liberalism houses all these religions. They are extremely tolerant of any religion so long as its not that of the true God. Their enemy is not Satan as in Christianity, but their common enemy is in fact Christ. Hence the unity among the various religions.Their strategy is to incrementally replace Christianity with their false gods and religions of idolatry. At the same time they are attempting to diminish the credibility of God of the Bible and of Christianity.

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And finally, here's "my" Cranberry Chutney recipe, from Cooking Light Magazine:

Cranberry Chutney

Ingredients

1 cup chopped Granny Smith apple
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup sugar
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 (12-ounce) bag fresh or frozen cranberries

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally. Serve with turkey, chicken, roast pork, or ham.

Note: Refrigerate remaining chutney.

Yield

4 cups (serving size: 1/4 cup)

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Making an impression

A friend sent me this joke:

Texas Happy Hour

A cowboy is driving down a back road in Texas and he sees a sign in front of a restaurant.......

Happy Hour Special

LOBSTER TAIL AND BEER

"Lord almighty," he says to himself, "my three favorite things!!"


This reminds me of the first dinner I had with my prospective in-laws...

We went to a restaurant called Dick's Last Resort. The waitress asked if we wanted "breasts, thighs, or crabs," while pointing to her own breasts, thighs, and genitalia. You know how in some books the author describes a character as having a smile frozen on their face? That actually happened to my mother-in-law. You know how people say they were so mortified that they nearly died? That actually happened to me! Tomcat and my father-in-law, however, thought it was hilarious.

Then there was the second dinner I ever had with my prospective in-laws...

We were at the Dixie House restaurant. Everyone ordered southern fried chicken. As I'm munching away, I look around the table and realize that Tomcat and his parents are eating fried chicken with a knife and fork, while I, the rube, am holding a chicken leg with my hands in front of my face. Did I mention that Tomcat and his folks are from Buffalo? Only Yankees would eat southern fried chicken with a knife and fork. Even if they knew that, it wouldn't matter, and I realized in that instant there was nothing I could ever do or say to dispel the impression that their son was marrying a barbarian.

Then there was the time I cooked the Thanksgiving turkey upside down...

Welcome to my world

This is our new cat, Shadow, who curled up next to Scruffybutt yesterday (on a gorgeous afghan made by my mother-in-law) while Scruffybutt pretends that this is not happening.

Shadow was given to us by Grace, the artist, because we will keep him as an indoor-only cat. He started climbing up on her neighbors' roof. And staying there. Until her husband had to get the Really Long Ladder, climb up, and coax Shadow back down. Repeat. Repeat again. Then the neighbors started complaining. Grace, the artist's, husband pointed out that the hole in the neighbors' roof was attracting the cat. So, the neighbors had the hole patched. With Shadow inside. For three weeks, while everyone could hear him crying up there. The neighbors refused to do anything about it, saying they had "no access" to the attic. One day, Grace, the artist, found Shadow outside, evidently finally set free by the neighbors.

After his rehabilitation, Shadow needed a home where he could stay indoors. That's where we came in. This little guy is so affectionate! Have you ever heard of a lap cat before? I hadn't. I had no idea they existed. He wants to be in my lap Mostly All The Time. When I'm typing, his head pops up, attracted by the clicking noises from the keyboard. Then he starts trying to catch my fingers with his paws. It's adoramous.

Our other cat is Katy. We inherited her with the house. She used to have a roommate, so we thought she would get along with Shadow. We were wrong. She thinks Shadow is the AntiChrist.

This is Katy enjoying her morning saucer of Half 'n Half. (If she doesn't get her morning saucer of Half 'n Half, someone will have to deal with cat shit in their shoe when they least expect it.)



This is Scruffybutt again, helping her daddy get dressed this morning.



She's not so scruffy at the moment because she went to the groomer's recently. I took her picture through the glass. Her groomer's name is also Candace. (This was taken with a real camera instead of the camera phone, btw.)



Have a good day, everyone!

Reality check

I got a catalog from Mary Maxim Needlework and Crafts, touting Over 400 New Items! plus 21 Pages of Exciting Christmas Crafts! There was a time when this would have set my lil ole heart to pitt-a-patting, but today? Not so much. No, it isn't because I'm now an atheist and therefore the Christmas holiday hasn't the same meaning it once did. I still "do" the holidays. It's just that my interests are changing. No, no - that's not it, either. It's that ... I've had to narrow my interests down to what can actually be accomplished in Real Life. (Oh, and that reminds me of a great cartoon I recently StumbledUpon. This will only be funny if you've spent any time in VR... But I digress.)

I used to have a craft room full of stuff, with hundreds of projects tabbed and indexed in hanging files. I used to have boxes of patterns for clothes and drapes and Christmas projects. I used to have tons of fabric and yarn. I used to spend summers crafting everything from afghans to ornaments, from decoupaged footstools to clocks.

Then, several things happened. One, I started writing, and that took up a lot of my crafting time. Actually, now it's like everything takes up my writing time.

Another thing was a bit of arthritis in my hands, so I had to give up thread crochet - no more lacy bookmarks for friends at Christmas. Then I had to give up all but Q-hook crochet - that's the huge hook that can be held comfortably, but you can only make afghans with it, and after a while, meh.

Here's the thing. I'm getting older. Not old, mind you, because that doesn't happen to us Boomers. No, it doesn't. Stop laughing - it does not happen to us! See, I'm getting older ('course, not as old as Hoss), so I'm more aware of the fact that chances are, I'll never get around to doing those hundreds of craft projects. I didn't come to this realization just now - that was a year ago when we were going to sell Maxwell House and make our alleged move to North Carolina - hah!

It was back then when I realized that instead of packing all those nicely-indexed projects and craft supplies, I should face reality and only keep the things that I (1) enjoy doing the most (and can still do), and (2) that I might actually get around to finishing.

That left ... needlepoint.

And writing.

I and my creative muses will be perfectly happy concentrating on those two things. See, when you're young, you believe you really can do it all because you're not thinking about practical things like time. And maybe some of you overachievers (like my in-laws) out there actually do get it all done. I applaud you as I mutter under my breath.

So, the Mary Maxim catalog goes into the recycling pile, and until the day that I do the same, I'll be here happily writing and needlepointing (hmm, there might even be a way to do those at the same time...)

Show and tell

Tomcat's Mom just finished making these quilts - aren't they gorgeous?

The first one is a Baltimore Album quilt. It's pretty much her own design.




The second one is from a pattern, called Compass Rose (also known as Mariner's Compass).



She says they are "hand appliqued, hand quilted and pieced, and the reason quilters drink!"

Interview Meme

This one's from Lavender:

1. What is your biggest pet peeve and why does it bother you?

Tailgaters. Why do they assume they have the right to invade my space? I did a post about this here.

2. Why do you want to move away from Texas?

It's not so much wanting to leave Texas (except to get away from the blasted heat!), but wanting to go the same state where Tomcat's parents retired. We've been to North Carolina and it's gorgeous. It has two coasts, forests, and mountains, all in one easy-to-drive-to area, unlike Texas, where you have to drive forever to get to something. Oh, and did I mention the heat?

3. Name three things that you DO NOT believe in.

One: Magical beings like gods and goddesses, elves, and Santa Claus

Two: The so-called "nobility of man." Sure, there are exceptions, but that's the point. Noble people seem to be aberrations, because judging by the way most people on the planet are living, in abject poverty, and some under horrific conditions, the rest of the species sure doesn't have much going for it.

Three: Anything the Bush administration says.

4. When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer?

Somewhere in childhood, maybe around age 10 or 11. I started writing short stories. Sure wish I'd saved them!

5. What are you most afraid of?

Alzheimers.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEW MEME

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Who Dat?

This is Scruffybutt, in her Dallas Cowboys T-shirt, after the Saints' win on Sunday night.

The fabulous bowl in the foreground was made by my father-in-law, who took up ceramics only a couple of years ago!

And here's the artificial, prelit tree. We can't get over how real it looks, even up close.

Clutter Clearing

Pandora has a great post about clearing out the clutter in your life. She writes:

Let me define clutter - it's anything that makes you unhealthy, unhappy,
uncomfortable or just plain cranky. It usually comes into your life by
invitation, but sometimes it just seeps under the door like that pesky tree dust
and you don't know it's there until you are sweeping out the debris.

This is a great concept and one that we can personally apply to our physical environment, our minds, and our relationships.

Clutter in our physical environment: This is what we normally think of when we talk about clutter. It's when the whole house starts looking like the junk drawer. Think how energy-draining it is to spend hours looking for some important document. Talk about making you cranky!

Cluttered mind: If you apply Pandora's definition here, this kind of clutter includes unhealthy religious beliefs. We can all immediately think of the unhealthy belief that has people blowing themselves and others up to somehow glorify their god.

Radical Islamists are not alone in the unhealthy-belief department, however. A common Christian one goes something like this: suffering in silence earns you a crown in heaven. This prevents you from standing up for yourself, making you take on every project you're asked to do because you're too unhealthy to say "no," and generally being an over-burdened, martyred pain in the ass to everyone around you.

It also applies to harmful thought patterns - no one likes me, I never win, life's unfair, etc.

Relationship clutter: This could include anything from the truly harmful, like abusive spouses and toxic family members, to the merely annoying, like whiners and high-maintenance drama queens.

Clearing the clutter from one's personal life is healthy, but Pandora's post also got me to thinking about how her definition could be applied nationally (or better yet, globally.) Saaaay, we have just such an opportunity coming up in a couple of weeks, don't we?

Texas State Fair

Is it just me, or did the Fair this year have to do with cars, cars, and more cars?

We took the folks to the Fair last weekend - had a great time and the weather was fantastic - but ... good grief, unless you're a car fanatic, there wasn't much else to see.

Tell Us Tuesday #3

We just had a GREAT visit from Tom's parents over the weekend.

I'm going to borrow something my m-i-l suggested for TUT#3. She read somewhere that it would be a great idea for a person just starting adulthood to begin studying a subject they're interested in so that by the time they retire, they'd be an expert in that subject. She said she wished she had done that, but has no idea what subject she might have chosen.

This reminded me of the late Tony Randall, who became an expert on hummingbirds.

Tell us what subject you would choose to be an expert in.