Friday, April 27, 2012

Happy Friday ~ Bruce Of The Day ~ !


Well it's Friday !
Woo Eff'ng Hoo !
And you thought I wasn't going to post a picture of The Bruce ?
Really ?
I have no  immediate plans for the weekend other than nails and hair and that is just fine. The flower beds look outstanding except for the fact that I am telling all y'all right now...If I catch the lil tree rat bastard who has taken it upon himself to dig holes in the beds......say your prayers and pay your insurance RODENT !
I WILL KILL YOUR ASS DEAD.!
DEAD , AS IN BIG DIRT NAP !

I mean it !

It all looks grand and I have high hopes for the star jasmine so we shall see.
Each year the yard gets a bit simpler as the heat continues and I am already having to water the Hydrangea every other night...I know , I said that I was going to get rid of them after last year but some friends gave me a massive one in Mary's memory and it was so sweet that these goober friends of mine actually remembered that I do love Hydrangeas ( I kid, I kid, I love all y'all...than k you notes to follow ) ..that I had to plant the huge ass white one in the front bed and then of course I had to go out and buy a second once because the bed was lopsided and that's how I roll...which reminds me that I am damn near out of bloom booster from Miracle Grow..our garden is large enough that one box is just one weeks application by the time I get to all of the beds and the pots....

Le Sigh....off to Chrome Depot.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Roasted Onion Gratin

http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/2012/04/roasted-onion-gratin-with-cheddar-and-bacon.html

Mwahahahah....here is the other reason I know Lady Lisa will be killing me.
Enjoy !

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Like Worf Says " Perhaps Today Is A Good Day To Die ".

http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/recipe-index?recipe_id=6003982

Yes Lady Lisa, I  am quite prepared to die.
It will be worth it for the chokes.

I found this recipe on Pinterest ( sort of ) of all places.
Yes, I am one of those , it's fun.
And pretty.
And it has pictures of Ozzy .
And food.
And cupcakes.
And shoes.
Yep.

Anyhoo , I found the picture among one other that I will post next, and me being me , decided to check it out .

Funny thing though, when I find a new blog, I check out the authors linkys and the " about me " part and something struck me.
I have been guilty of this too .
Blogs are like snowflakes.
Some I admire like PW or IBKC or Space Paws are beautifully set up, on the main topic more often that not and could in fact be categorized very easily.
Cinnamon Girl had a bit in her about that was a tiny bit sad almost.
She said that she started the blog to help her cope with a difficult situation at that moment in her life and that she was straight up embarrassed about some of the early posts.
I found myself saying out loud " Honey, it's your damn blog, you have nothing to feel embarrassed about."

I used to feel that way also.
I want this blog to make me and who ever is reading it feel like we are at the Ice House of location of our choice, having the beverage of choice, just shooting the breeze.
Sometimes it's the cats.
Or the husband.
Or food.
Or shoes.
Or science fiction.
Or Books.
Or Ozzy.
Or the rant of the day.
Or venting about whatever we need to vent about amongst friends and partners in crime.

So, beware...you never know what you will find here.

Have a great weekend.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Monday, April 23, 2012

Yep, It's That time Of Year !

Heh, yeppers..it's that time of year.
We planted Star Jasmine on the side of the arbor opposite Andy's plumbago..where the Mandavilla tried it's little heart out but couldn't tale the heat. I cheated this year, I bought a 5 gal. size in the hopes that the larger size will have a better chance of establishing itself before the heat again this year. I was entranced with the Star Jasmine in San Francisco and remembered that Mom and Daddy  had Star Jasmine on a huge trellis that Daddy built outside the master bedroom of the Claremont ( San Diego ) area house...if it can make it in San Diego, it should ( paws crossed ) be okay here.

Onward...I planted 6 new Geraniums and Rosemary and replaced the dead Esperanza which evidently pissed off the fire ants so we both got bit up a bit and fired back with toxic avenger style ( I AM kidding here ) fire ant crap. The local gardening guru Kathy Huber says that " Fire Ant's aren't without benefit" if you can get them to stay in one area..I am NOT making this up. I can see it now :

Dear Mr. and Mrs Fire Ant,
Please pick a spot..one spot and stay there. In return for eating all the other insects such as aphids etc,  we promise not to napalm your humble abode but be advised..one bitey and all bets are off.

Kindest regards to all of the 87 billion family members.

The Management.

Yeah , right .
I did manage to throw out a bunch of crap that was back there on the patio such as the good ( over priced) solar lights that aren't worth a hummingbirds piss and much as I hate to say it , Walmart's 2 bucks a throw are just as good. I'm less likely to get pissed off when one of Mr. Trejo's crew messes one of those up than the pricey ones..yeah..been there, done that .

Other than that , it was all outdoors weekend at the Casa, the inside will get done, even the kitchen floor will be moped.

Tonight, I am hopeful that Mr. Trejo came buy and mulched/cleaned out the flower beds..paws crossed. I will hopefully be on the patio with the Kindle.

Have a great week.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Friday, April 20, 2012

If Liam Neeson Is In It, It Can't Be ALL Bad, Can It ?

Okay, call me crazy ..( I can hear you dear...)..but the synopsis doesn't sound that bad..even with the fact that I will suspend my disbelief at the thought of Rhianna being considered an actress.

Slap Le Linky and read the article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_(film)

Ciao,

Aunty Pol

Oh Honey........

Now that you aren't playing golf anymore , I can make fun of it...right ?

The Wife Unit

You Know I Couldn't Resist Posting This Today, Didn't You ?


Mwahahaha.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Happy Friday ~ Bruce Of the Day ~ !

Since it has been a few weeks since the weekly Bruce sighting, I thought I'd double down as it were to maintain the Bruce-iness.

I've had the oddest realization.
Yeah, odd even for Moi.
As I have mentioned, Gordon and I have both lost mothers on our birthdays.
Trust me, I couldn't make this up if I tried.
These two women were polar opposites of each other in  many ways.
In other ways not so much.
They were both very quiet women who gave new meaning to stubborn and no one dared to cross them.
On the other hand...
Gordons mother was devoutly Southern Baptist.
She neither smoked nor drank and was faithfull in her attendence and extremely active in church stuff.
My step-mother on the other hand was a wine drinking former smoker and lapsed Catholic.
See what I mean ?
And yet....
Cancer knocked on both their doors.

Gordon and I hadn't been married for too long when his mother was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
We are lucky to have one of the worlds best cancer treatment centers here in Houston so she had her treatments there.
And so for at least 10 years , she was lucky to be in remission.

Now, when your loved one is diagnosed with cancer, lets be honest , the first thing you do is flip out and then panic.
And then if you have any brains at all, you compose yourself, grow a set and carry on.
You educate yourself and try to be as involved in the three ring circus as you can be or are allowed to be, depending on the  circumstances.
And then things calm down a bit if you are lucky.
If you are lucky , you have a state of grace known as remission.
And you fool yourself into taking a breath and a moment , thinking " It's all gonna be okay .
And so it is...until it ain't.
Either you have to deal with heart damage and congestive heart failure from the radiation and chemotherapy or worse still, the reemergence of the cancer .
When cancer comes back, it is generally pretty pissed off.
And again you deal with it .
You are used to it by now, living with it in the back of your mind every day..the whats .
What if ?
What now ?
Every damn day its there, silently lurking.
Most days you put a brave face on because you know that you not only owe it to your loved one, you owe it to yourself to keep it together so you can carry on .
You owe it to your spouse , your child if you have one , your job and your friends.
You just get used to the voices in the back of your head and the panic that sets off the OMG's when the phone rings late at night without warning.
The stress and the fear and the occasional anger becomes a part of who you now are.

And then it's over.

And a part of you is changed forever.

I will never be anyones child again.
That alone is both sad and liberating.
While I will never have the  comfort of a parental figure in times of crisis, I also now know that I will never disappoint them again, whether in a real or imagined way.
I am the eldest now of my family.
It's a strange thing to grasp.
This is both liberating and a bit sad.

I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that a huge weight has been lifted , and yet in a way, I am a bit adrift..

Have a great weekend and hug those you love.

Ciao,

Aunty Pol

Thursday, April 19, 2012

This Is Pure Genius ~ Check It Out !

http://nerdapproved.com/misc-weirdness/cats-in-spaaaaace-video/
What's not to love, Tuxies and Science Fiction !
Pure Genius !
Pooky would have been beating down to door to sign up !

Beam me up Sgt Panda Pants !

Ciao
Aunty Pol

RIP Johnathon Frid .



I loved " Dark Shadows " .
My oldest friend and I would race home after school to catch it , no excuses.
I loved the two movies that followed and I have the remake with Ben Cross on DVD which was quite good.
I loved Johnathan Frid to the point that his cameo was the ONLY thing that would induce me to see the latest remake...maybe.
Barnabas Collins as Beetlejuice ?
Really Mr. Tim Burton ?
Shame on you Mr. Burton  !!!

" Dark Shadows " deserves better than that crap you are abolut to foist on an unsuspecting audience .

RIP Mr. Frid.
You will be missed sir.
Aaunty Pol

I'm Going To Have To Hide From Lady Lisa ! ~ LOL



I'm going to duck under my desk after I post this because a certain sistah on the East Coast will murder me.
Lady Lisa , you know I cannot resist anything resembling a Bundt cake...and this one has cream cheese in it.
Of course , me being me wonders if a good size dollop of the Philly chocolate and chream cheese yummy goodness that Philly has just come out with would also work....oh hella yeah it would.

Go over to " Cookies and Cups " for todays post.

http://cookiesandcups.com/cream-cheese-filled-cinnamon-roll-monkey-bread/

The only problem is that neither SU nor the girls are all that fond of Monkey Bread, and I honestly can't eat it all by myself...not that I wouldn't try..it's just way the hell to much of a blood sugar drop for me , I don't need that headache.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Peeps Y'all....PEEPS !


I had to go back out of curiosity to see what Janet posted on my birthday on April 4'th since..yeah..and so viola !
Peeps.
Chocolate covered peeps y'all.
This is right up there with Cadbury Cream Filled Eggs!
I didn't have a chance to score any of the Peeps or Cadburys on sale after Easter....yeah I admit to doing that so I decided to worship at the altar of " Dying For Chocolate " and share it here.
Trust me, I have a plan for next year...look out Target and Walgreens !!!!!!

You know what to do.
http://dyingforchocolate.blogspot.com/2012/04/peeps-chocolate.html

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

What Passes For Normal In My Life ....LOL

I'm back.
This is the longest break that I have taken from this blog in 5 years.....!
It's not been intentional , it's just trying to get a routine back after 2 weeks of OMG " Run Like Hell, Going Bat Shit Crazy !"
Live at the Casa is falling back into place, the children have graced us with prezzies on the carpet that I spent 2 full days cleaning ...yeah  I love the irony too.
And as usual , I find a food related post so......say it with me....
" Spank Le Linky "  to learn more about one of my favorite food groups....JELLY BEANS !
Oh and for the record, my favorite are the black ones....I LUBS Black Licorice. !
http://www.delish.com/food/recalls-reviews/jelly-bean-history

Enjoy !
Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Home Once More.

Wow.
Talk about a mixed bag of emotions.

Beloved Evil Stepmother ( she loved for me to call her that..yeah, we were that close.) passed away on April 4'th.
My birthday, just like Gordy's mom passed on his.
I woke up with one of "those " feelings that I have learned to trust and went on about my business cleaning carpets and the house.
The minute my brother called , I just knew.
And my brain just shut down.
A luck would have it , we had all looked at flight information and hotels..and clothes were still in the dry cleaners bags sooooo let the mayhem begin.

Why do people save every thing...and I mean everything ?
The folks saved every single baggage chit, ticket stub and so on from every mother loving trip they took.
Mary had saved his uniform jackets and caps  for Chrissake and he retired in 1976.
Sorting through Daddy's Navy memorabilia was unbelievably difficult for me, it was as if he had just passed away and I felt all those emotions all over again .
I suspect it was much the same for Gordy because he and Daddy were very close.
And my poor step sibs, especially Laura.

Laura was there the entire time with her mother and she is amazing.
Her kindness and generosity go far beyond anything I have ever seen.
She really gives meaning to the term grace.

I have tons of my fathers Navy gear that will go somewhere...and another set of china....thanks Mom.

I am just numb.

To be continued..................


Ciao,
A very tired Aunty Pol