You Know Who You Are .

Hee Hee.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Happy Birthday Dude !

Raise a beverage or two for the Dude's Birthday !

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUDE !

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

I laughed My Ass Off ~ ALL DAY !

OMG..for Ukulele...

I'm dying here kids, I really am .

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Just Another Manic Monday...

Sheesh , I had to come to work to slow down.

I know....

Whiskey
Tango
Foxtrot

Saturday was really more interesting than I thought it would be , watching the crew pour and smooth the driveway. I guess I just like to watch the process ( aka ..beats housework though I am paying  for it now ...lol ) ..We suspected that there was in fact NO rebar on the original pour in 1976 and we were right. Once they had gotten all of the debris out of the way it went pretty quickly. It looks great but as always there is a problem. Years ago SU put slate over the concrete in the from entry way and we love it , such a pretty upgrade. SU noticed before I did that when they put the rebar in the area just below the slate they chipped the bottoms of the tiles. I am not happy and fully expect that they will replace it all or at least fix the broken parts ( SU...this is for you ..talk to S or W about this ) . Since SU was gone for most of the day , after all was said and done , as we sat on the deck, we realized that it was damn near illegal if not immoral to have wet Cee -Ment and not at the very least put our initials or something on it . At the end of the driveway by the garage on the passenger side I carved in what I wanted ..." Andy Panda Pants " and the girls signed their initials and the year on the edge /border on their side.....Voila ! ART !

The tree is up but only has 2 ornaments on uit because we couldn't find the thrice damned ornament hooks....do you know how hard they are to find at this point ? Trust me, I could find my ovaries easier . SU finally found some at Tar Jay.

Ah...holiday shopping.

We made the circuit yesterday , and found some neat stuff for the house..yawn I know but Lowes every weekend is my life. We got him a sport coat because he had ..err..."outgrown" the ones that he had and he wants to go to the office holiday party at the Rice hotel and he has to have a sport coat ..

Now for me , I could give a rodents rear end over the party, I guess because I grew up with the whole cocktail party thing and they bore the hell out of me and blah blah,.....except  for a few like Betty Crocker and Nee Nee and Scooter and Mindy ...but life at the casa is chaos till its not..and that is fine...and a free meal is after all a free meal and I have been here since the Jurrasic era and I think it's expected...and of COURSE I bought a new top and sweater for me...mwahahahahahahah...bazinga !


And my brain is about to implode....the usual Holiday cheer...

Time to Boogie

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Happy Friday~ Bruce Of The Day ~ !

Happy Friday y'all.
I am just about cross eyed from this week, but on the good side I did get the first dozen of the Christmas cards done..before the first of December even..I must be coming down with something .
The end of the year craziness has begun to rear it's ugly head at the office, same shit, different year. I suspect it is much the same  for most businesses at the end of the year . I am consoling myself with the prospect of taking a bit of time off in December ...............and floor tickets to Eric Clapton and the Wallflowers at the Toyota Center in March..it's all about perspective.

I'm gonna keep this short as the sinuses are kicking in so...

Have a great weekend,

Ciao,

Aunty Pol

Candied Lemon Peel

http://theshiksa.com/2012/11/16/how-to-make-candied-lemon-peels/

In the previous post , I mentioned Tori Avey and her PBS food blog " The History Kitchen."
I neglected to mention her other blog " The Shiksa In the Kitchen "

Both are wonderful and she has the easiest recipe to follow for candying citrus rind that I have ever seen...and I love candied orange peel.

Check it out ...you know the drill.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Who Knew PBS Had Food Blogs ??

http://thehistorykitchen.com/2012/09/19/what-the-union-soldiers-ate-civil-war-beef-stew/

I am a self confessed food freak ( call me a foodie and I might take issue ) and a proud member of the Nation of Geek...big surprise .
Anyhoo..I was noodling around on FaceBook and saw a post about Cary Grant's BBQ chicken recipe and I have to admit , I was curious about the recipe so I hit Mr. Linky .

The History Kitchen has all sorts of really cool parts to it.

I never imagined that Benjamin Franklin was a food freak.

Slap Mr. Linky and check out Tori Avey's blogs :

The History Kitchen
A Shiksa In The Kitchen.

Yes..another food blog for me to follow...lalalalalala.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

It's Always About The Shoes !

Since I am sending my GodGrandbaby her first Christmas card, I asked Sistah about clothing sizes etc because all y'all KNOW I am going to send her outfits from her fairy GodGrandmother . then I thought about shoes...of course.

I can't stand it ....BABY UGGS Y'ALL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As soon as Sweetpea can keep shoes on her ootties ( my word for baby feet..deal with it )....BAM !

A girl is NEVER too young to appreciate fine footwear !

Back to shopping.......mwahahaha .

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Did Someone Say Bacon ?

Originally found on the Land O'Lakes wesite:

I found this recipe for carmelized bacon and thought.." Oh Hell yeah..with SU's home made buttermilk pancakes...!

Yatzee !

Carmelized Bacon:

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 lb. ( 8 slices) bacon

Heat oven to 450 degrees.
Line a broiler pan with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray ( Pam)
Mix brown sugan and cinnamon in a bowl and coat the bacon.
Place coated bacon on prepared pan and bake 12 to 15 minutes until well browned .


Thoughts:
First..8 slices..mwahahaha.
Cook the whole pound, just double up on the sugar and cinnamon , you know you're gonna want more.
Secondly: Well browned ?
Really ?

What is it with people and bacon ?
You don't cook a ham until it's a charcoal briquette , do you ?
You don't fry a ham steak until it resembles shoe leather, do you ?

What is it with people who have to cook bacon until it's damn near burned ?

Cook the bacon till it's where you usually go " It's done, hands off , that piece is mine ! "

Rant over.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

I am Iron Cat !

Yep..still obsessing over the box set.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Grilled Nutella Goodness In A Sammich !

As threatened..mwahahahahahahahah !

http://www.chocolatechocolateandmore.com/2012/04/grilled-nutella-and-cream-cheese.html#more

I saw this and went WHOA..then WTF ?
Then I read the post and looked at all of Miss Joan's photos and realized that there were bazillions of options for a grilled cheese sammich.

Now don't get me wrong, there are some days that there is nothing I want more than a grilled cheese sammich..made with Velveeta.

I will wait until you recover from your case of the vapors.

Now lets be honest , if you like me are over the age of 50, you had plenty of iffy food as a kid. Swanson TV dinners in front of the TV on Sundays when you were really little and Disney was on. Pop Tarts , Blue box Mac and Cheese..you get the idea. In all fairness to our moms especially if there was more than 1 rug rat...this was pre nuker, pre Food Network , pre concept of foodies, sustainable or what ever .

Yes, as we get older our tastes change..evolution being what it is .

There is a bazillion things that you can do to make a grilled cheese sammich, you don't even really have to have the cheese...

But dayum..this version sounds good to my inner 3 year old.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

So What Are Your Plans For The Weekend ?

Yes..and so it begins.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

And So It Begins....

Well SU called a few hours ago.
It will begin on Thursday...as in the day after tomorrow.

One part of me has been challenged ( aka "Bat Shit Crazy ") because I feel that no progress is being made other than the financial aspect ..it's been slow going and I am partly at fault, I mean really....6 weeks to pick out a paint color for the guest bath ?

To be honest, I want to wake up and have it ALL done. I also want to have the house cleaned to my standards and all of the interiors painted and decorated /fluffed up.

I also want  world peace, a pony and cupcakes with sprinkles.

I know better.

I just know that on top of everything else, Gracie Marie will be pissed off at being restricted.

What a world, what a world.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol...who will console her self with food recipes for the next month or so, you have been warned..LOL.

I'm Feeling The Urge ~ Mwahaha !

http://www.chocolatechocolateandmore.com/2012/11/pecan-pie-bars.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ChocolateChocolateAndMore+%28Chocolate%2C+Chocolate+and+more...%29

Okay, first off , Lady Lisa will be conducting the graveside service after she kills me...I'm sure she knows a good bail bondsman and or attorney......LMAO !

I found this recipe on Miss Joan's blog the other day and it caught my eye since SU had just made two pecan pies . the pecan pir process reminds me of the annual stops at Stuckeys that my family made during vacations..back in the Jurassic era much like the Griswolds when folks traveled by car/station wagon. SU's pies were great by the way , but to be honest , I prefer the tartlettes that Mom used to make. Do not ask me how many I could stuff in my face at one time as  a kid..( hint...more than 1 ) .

I've even seen " Pecan Pie In A Jar " which can't be too bad since King Arthur carries it on line and in the catalog..but still...the concept is iffy to me. What's the fun in that if you can't slop Karo syrup all over hells half acre in the kitchen.

And then I saw Miss Joan's post.

Now, she had me at the Eagle Brand milk.

Much like the old 7 layer bars ( oh come on..we all made those in college) , this recipe is simple to make, especially this time of year when more often than not , you need to make a goodie or three to take to the office or party of have ready when you are watching the holiday movie of your choice.

I haven't done any holiday baking in a number of years because my heart was not in it. The first few years after my fathers death in early January were pure anguish , and while it has gotten better, it has taken a very long time. I am not saying that I am going to go into full Betty Crocker mode....I have done that .

What the hell was I thinking ?

" Oh surely it will be less expensive to make homemade gifts. "

Oh lets see..home made Biscotti and Beef Jerky for the manly types..of course this was way the hell back when the price of beef was less than the cost of a car or hospital delivery of a child.The lessons learned there were as follows :

1. You need to double up on all of your baking ingredients because if you hit the " Oh let's do another double batch " zone and your spouse has the car..let's just say I was fortunate at the time that he had the ability to break away for a Kroger run.

2. Flour and dry ingredients = a very messy kitchen....mop the floor later.....if you can still move.


3. IT'S NEVER, EVER CHEAPER !  Have you priced decent , empty to be filled gift baskets ? I'm not talking Peterboro here, just your average Garden Ridge variety....


There are cute ways to do it, tins and such that can be filled. You just have to be realistic about it all or failing all of that , do as I am...remember the well intended disasters of previous years and figure out how to " NOT DO THAT STUFF AGAIN ! "

Now, I need to find that grilled cream cheese, Nutella and strawberry recipe sandwich ....

Have a great week.


Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Over The River And Through The Woods...

I'm ready to go to Grandma's for Chrissymouse..

This made me smile all day.

Enjoy !

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

I Knew I Wasn't The Only One....

I just saw the commercial this weekend for the new product from Jiff.
I had a real " WTF " moment.
Talk about reinventing the wheel..err....guys..it's called " Nutella."

LMAO ~ Morons !

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Happy Cyber Monday !

Happy Cyber Monday..whatever the hell that is supposed to mean .
We managed to avoid the malls at all costs , I for one cannot begin to fathom the concept of the crush and the crowds for what little it seems one would save. Sadly , after the horrible accident on Thanksgiving morning on I - 10 headed east just oitside Beaumont, I was in no mood to get in a car at all. Thankfully, no one that we know was involved but some reports listed at least 140 vehicles ( both big rigs and passenger cars ) were involved, I cannot imagine the scope of it all.

We had a lovely , quiet Thanksgiving  which is more than I can say for some of the family...my SIL broke her arm in an odd, bizarre home accident so after surgery including a couple of screws and a plate, she is on the mend . Her son and daughter in law went over to put up the tree because it was a case of " Get over here and put it up if you want the tree up " and the nephew is one of those curmudgeons in training who has a hissy of things are not as they have always been...I ignore it as he is a grown man and while I do not like change personally, the older I get the more I am able to not completely freak over change ..or at least I am actually trying which is more than I can say for a lot of people ...you co-workers know who you are so nuff said on that bit.Of course that last bit is delusional at best for me since we are in the renovation mode. Seems to be a lot of that going around..lol.....baby steps Pol....baby steps.

I think that I am finally really going to put up the tree again this year...I need a bit of shiney in my life right now and I am trying to be a bit more organized this year. I have the Christmas cards here at the office with me today and so that is on the list of things that I have to get done here if I am going to take the last half of the month off...things to create for binders and logs for 2013.

Gawd that sounds weird..2013.

I am saddened by the death of Larry Hagman because among other things I do remember the 2 years that he was on " The Edge Of Night ", ...my late mother was expect in the art of daytime soap operas..I kid you not..

And I am really pissed off that the Beeb cancelled season 5 of " Merlin." Good job there gentlemen, first " Robin Hood", and now " Merlin."

Am I pissed off ?

Did you read the "Caprica " rant ?

Le Sigh.

Have  a great week.....I'm off to get a bit of cyber shopping done before the day jumps into high gear.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Happy Friday ~ Bruce Of The Day ~ !

It's been an odd little week, not bad, merely odd.
For the most part , it's probably me.

Usually at this p;point of the year, the tee slant vee is making me batshit crazy with all of the holiday commercials...I mean seriously batshit.
This year, not so much. It is true that I spend a lot more time on the deck with the kindle than I do in front of the tee slant vee than before, Gaia bless the Lords of the DVR..but even so..not so much..and that alone freaks me out.
I have the gift list made and more than half of the gifts are taken care of.
Christmas cards have been bought and I will work on them next week when it slows down because every mothers son wants to get the hell out of Dodge for the holiday and this includes the staff...yes..that really is my standard salute as you skate your ass out of here and I am here till 6 pm..thanks for the reminder..go play in traffic .
The turkey is in the freezer, only a few groceries need to be gotten...it's only the usual three of us..me, SU and Southside Johnny since the girls will be out of town with their families. There will be Pecan Pie !` Since Southside is looking at more oral surgery and it's not a pretty scenario, the food will be soft and easy..thankfully he and I are fluffy potato and gravy FREAKS !

I guess the reality is that when you are in renovation mode, any moments that you can get ahead of the game or at least manage to keep your head above water are to be savored, sanity is after all highly over rated.

I say this now, we shall see how it will be between now and the end of the year...and that phrase alone makes me go " Wait..stop...wtf ? ..really ?"

Have a great weekend.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Must Possess !

Aunty Pol must possess.

http://social.entertainment.msn.com/music/blogs/headbang-blog.aspx?feat=4d299543-bea6-4537-b56f-80c13c6bb9f8

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

I Wonder..Hmmmmm..

I can never for the life of me figure out what to bring for the firms coma fest known as the Thanksgiving pot luck..and I do mean coma fest. The firm supplies the turkey , ham, stuffing and gravy and then the staff brings in a bunch of sides. This is great but not without problems.
One..we only have 3 microwaves..no oven.
Two..we only have one fridge in the main kitchen .
Therefore, space is at a premium.

Now, I am sorry here gang, but I am not going to schlep our big slow cooker up here for the hootenanny, it's too heavy for me to manage....so..

I bet if I asked nicely, the SU would zip over to Kroger to get all of the ingredients to make this and the Kings Hawaiian bread ( bowl style ) to serve it in, especially if I BUY ENOUGH TO MAKE A BATCH FOR US...

Please honey ?

I have all the ingredients listed and I will take care of feeding of the chillins.

Finally...I know that we have a recipe like this for the stuffed chicken thingy that you do with the spinach , but I wonder..

Would this work in a split chicken breast like that thingy you've made before ?

Yep...I'm starvin Marvin..when the hell is lunch ?

Oh and woo hoo..the new chair will be delivered tomorrow !
I guess I have to be home too sign for it.
Wheeee.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Happy Veterans Day !

Happy Veterans Day Sweetie !

The Wife Unit .

Happy Friday ~ Bruce Of The Day ~ !

Happy Friday !
The weather here is so pretty right now....weird but pretty. It's in the mid 80's and sunny until this coming Sunday , then it is supposed to drop down and be rainy...yeah ! It is so nice to be able to sit on the deck under the new cover and just watch the rain and the storm and keep fry..IT ROCKS ! I want to get out into the yard tomorrow so I am going to be a good girl and leave the kindle inside or nothing will get done..lol. The hardest part of this time of year is the fact with the time change that when we get home it is dark, and since the planters are all still in the yard and will remain so until the deck is stained, I will water tomorrow. I draw the damn line at trying to water via flashlight in the dark..nope..not happening. I am that much a klutz.

It seems odd though that the offices annual Thanksgiving hootenany is next Thursday..already ? Thanksgiving is 2 weeks away ? 

HOLY CRAP !

When the hell did this happen ?

This year has truly gone by in a blur.

I have made great headway in the Christmas shopping, some of which was started on the Oregon Coast, and I have the rest of the list in order. Remember the green tub I bought last year at target to put all of the Christmas stuff in ..well , it's still on the side of the hearth in the living room which is okay at this point since I think that I am finally going to put the tree up this year. I haven't had the tree up since my father passed away in early January 2004, I was too heartbroken for a very long time to even consider it. It just feels right now to do so.....yeah honey..I can see your face as you are reading this..just get the boxes down from the attic and I will give you beer money..lol.

Have a great weekend.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Giggle for The Day !

LMAO !

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Is It Over ?

Ok.
I don't care how anyone votes .
I just care that they do.
In 48 hours it will be over.
I can ignore the talking heads feeling the need to splain it all to me because evidently, I am only smart enough to commit the actual physical action of voting...and not much else as far as they re concerned.
I have not asked friends, much less my husband who he voted for.
I have not posted anything on facebook for any party or candidate.
I have tried to keep this blog free of political rhetoric.

Just vote people.

Wednesday TV goes all back to normal and Bravo will debut the LOL program at 10 pm central US time.

Let's all just try to be nice to each other..we after all are in this together .

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Kitten with a Whisk: Florentine Crusted Pork Chops

Kitten with a Whisk: Florentine Crusted Pork Chops: It’s starting to get dark earlier now. This means taking pictures indoors because it is impossible for me to have dinner ready before 7pm....


Every once and a while, I will find a recipe that intrigues me..that does NOT involve chocolate, cake, cupcakes, frosting or candy corn.

Who knew ?

SU made the Tex Mex meatloaf from Homesick Texans cookbook last night, because we are in one of those " bored with the usual modes.." and the gals are busy with football yada yada yada fishcakes so more often than not for the near future or Superbowl, it will be just the  2 of us for Sunday dinner. this will work out well since I have moved my nail appt also to Sundays ( I know ..who gives a rodents real end ?) and so with everything else bordering on chaos of worse in renovation land..we are questing again .

I don't know how SU will take to this recipe, since neither one of us is really fond of cooked spinach..except for the Artichoke dip thingy from Knorrs ..lmao..but I know that he reads this ..so..

Honey....??

Spank Mr. Linky for the recipe .


And of course I am an uber happy happy girl because I finally broke down and got a new set of pots and pans.

Yes...........pots and pans.

About 20 years ago, we were able to buy a nice set of Circulon..woo hoo.!
Matching even !
But like most things , there was a drawback or 2.
One...not dishwasher safe.
That shite got old really fast but they were paid for.
Two..now I don't know if they are still made like this but out non stick set had tiny, really tiny circular grooves on all of it , I assumed to enhance the non stickiness of it all......or some engineer in R/D thought that it looked cool.

Major, honking , friggan pain in the ass.

I never ever really felt like I was getting the pans clean enough ...scrub..scrub ...scrub.

Oh it all looked clean, I am OCD enough to let that shite bug me so finally I sand to the SU a whole back :

" I am OVER hand washing pans. I want stainless steel that I can throw in the dishwasher ! "

Voila !

Kohls has a set to triple ply stainless steel Food Network brand on sale  for $159.00.

Damn near the same set Cuisinart had and Bed Bath and Beyond on sale for nearly the same price but on sale no longer..and yes dear, Emerils set was nice with the copper sammiched in between the stainless but not for $300.00.

All of the old pans are still in good shape so they will be offered to the ladies at his job and the left over pieces will be donated to charity.

Mama's days of hand cleaning pots and pans are over..new pans/new dishwasher.

Life is good.

Have a great week !

Ciao,
Aunty Pol



Have a graest week

Happy Halloween Y'all !

Happy Halloween Everyone.
I hope that all your little ones if you have them are all prepared and zooming around counting the minutes until they can tear down the block.
Personally , I love the ages when it is their first or second Halloween because they are just so freakin cute and big eyed. For some reason it is not as scary as Santa..go fig..must be the promise of candy and most of them seem to love it. thankfully most parents  hopefully know if their child is to young or not. As the kids get older for the most part they are okay, until the dreaded age where they are " too hip " for trick or treating . Mind you , they are not too hip to " demand " candy ( and trust me , some of the lil shits are about that mannered.) At that point , I let them know that I am not adverse to turning the hose on them.

Yeah.

Now, if there was a Grinch version available for Halloween, that would be my spousal unit. Other than a bonafide reason for inhaling sugar, he sees no reason that he should have to interact with the little beggars. It's simply the way he is and while he is quite non threatening to children that we know..it is what it is and I am used to it.

Please , please, keep your pets in tonight, especially if you have black cats as we do. Thee noise in the neighborhood is enough to spook both Xena and Boshi so I don't have to worry about them being by the windows...they are Burmese therefore the Mama worries. If you are out and about, be aware of all legged folk out there..

Blessed Be .

Aunty Pol

Blessed Samhain

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain

For those who are interested in older traditions.

Blessed Be.

Aunty Pol

Guess What We're Gonna Do After Work !

http://news.yahoo.com/comics/9-chickweed-lane-slideshow/

Smack Mr. Linky for the larger size panel.

Early Voting Rocks !

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

It's National Candy Corn Day !!!!

Well, after that rant about Mr. Lucas, I had to go to my happy place..my blog reading list that is. As always, Miss Janet over at " Dying For Chocolate" cheered me right up.

Chocolate Candy Corn Truffles.

I love Candy Corn, I really, really , really , really do.
November first is my day to go see if I can scoop up some of that pure sugar destined for my ass marked down to half price after Halloween. Much like Peeps on sale after Easter, I know I thing or three about sales...mwahahahaha.

http://dyingforchocolate.blogspot.com/2012/10/chocolate-candy-corn-truffles.html

Gently tap Mr. Linky for Miss Janet's post .

I know better than to assume that I can successfully stash a bag until I have some time off in December to play with this recipe..unless.............insert ebil chuckle here.

Have a safe Halloween  and please be careful if you are in an area that got bitch slapped by Sandy.

Ciao,

Aunty Pol

How Much Money Is It Going To Take George ?

http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=771595

From  MSN:

Smack Mr. Linky for the information.

Oh George,

How very noble of you to give up your baby ,  so that you may give over the creative BONANZA   ( or not depending on how one feels about the continual clusterfuck of editing  )  to a new generation of film makers.

How gallant of you to recognize that fresher faces and younger non Viagra driven minds may have new insight into the epic saga that you have created.

It is interesting that no mention has been made of the publishing rights that Lucas Arts may or may not retain.

Exactly how many shares of Disney did this garner you and what pray tell is the stock classification ?

Gaia forbid that the proposed 2015 film actually be that which has been so long promised to the faithful...you remember...the one about the Old Republic ????

Ring any bells ?

Hard to be a pimp on the street , right Mr. Lucas ?




GGRRRRR .


Aunty Pol

It's National Cat Day !

I don't know why this bit of nonsense that I found on Pinterest has given me a fit of giggles off and on all day but it has....yeah..I'm wondering about it too .

Before I go off on my usual tangent...Lisa and all y'all on the East Coast...please , please be careful. I know that you are all smart people but really...this storm is nothing to mess with..please be careful. 
I do worry.

Onward.

Things are coming along at the house. SU built 2 shelf units for the patio that are stained ( first of two coats ) the same color that the deck will be so progress is being made . Some of the furniture is back on the deck but no plants yet and nothing that can't be easily moved yet again . I talked to Jere about moving one pot of jasmine and we decided that it would work,,one of those deals where if it doesn't work , you move it back....yeah real rocket science there ....anyhoo....derp de derp de derp....I trot over to pick up the pot and I guess I'd forgotten that the jasmine had been there for a couple of years since it had rooted out of the hole in the bottom of said clay pot..I guess it's gonna be there for a while...LOL !

New primer is up in the hallway so we can slap more paint test areas up..yeah....the hallway looks kind of quilty now......

Not much else is going on with us..Southside Johnny is facing some more oral surgery..poor dude..he's had a hell of a time with this lower denture /jaw issue. I doubt he has really grasped the fact that the surgery is going to be very painful but he has no choice in this ...I guess I am the exception and not the rule here. He and SU have both had some tremendous issues..me..not a one in 16 years .

He is off to play cards tonight and I have a patio and a kindle.

Life is good.

ALL Y'ALL BE CAREFUL ON THE COAST ...OK !!!

Don 't make me get after all ya'll.


Ciao,
Aunty Pol

OMG ~ Finally ! !

http://www.bravotv.com/lolwork

Anyone who know me at all knows that I LOVE I CAN HAS CHEEZEBURGER .

On a daily basis , this site makes me smile and often is the best part of my day ...which is an odd commentary on my life but there you go .

The genius's at BRAVO recognize the global need for moar I CAN HAS and so beginning this Wednesday at 10 pm central US time,....

TAH DAH !

Right after " Life After Top Chef" featuring my favorite Fabio .

HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY  !

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE !

Have a great week !

Ciao,

Aunty Pol

Best Comfort Food in Dah Known Universe.

Lord knows my favorite food is roast beef, fluffy taters and gravy .
Hands down..death row, last meal..yup.

This summer has been super busy, hells bells , the whole damn year has been super busy as is noted in the lack of posting here. As Lady Lisa says, " Blogging Without Obligation"..sometimes I just had nothing to say , or I had hit a wall or was out of town or couldn't move my fat ass off the deck ( formerly known as the patio slab) and put down the kindle.

Pick which ever one floats your boat.

I couldn't even find any real recipes that I was all giddy over.

Yeah .

Losing Munchkin in June did not help but life moves on and so there you are.

http://www.laurenslatest.com/slow-cooked-tri-tips-gravy-with-mashed-potatoes/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+laurenslatest%2FyMlk+%28Lauren%27s+Latest%29


I got back into the habit of checking blogs I used to be faithful to and found this over at Laurens. The recipe is super easy and crock potty ( lol) so it's perfect for the long lazy " Not dragging my ass out of the house today."

Go check out her blog , it is still a favorite.
As we progress towards the end of the year and the looming insanity , I am sure that there will be less gee dunk postings ( baked goodies/Scooby snacks etc..gee dunk was my late fathers term for it ) and more real meal postings.

We haven't had a meal with the girls in a while , they are both huge sports fans , me not so much so Footyball jacks with the Sunday dinners .....and I kinda miss that ..

Onward.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

The Renovation Adventure Continues....

I had to throw this up here because since I have been obviously living under a rock, I had no idea what " Gangnam" style was ..so I googled it.

All I can say is " WTF ?"

SU , bless his heart threw up some patches of the sample paints to look at ..lol..yes that was a headache in the making but well worth i t. One color we immediately knew was just way too light in the bathroom so it was out. He did the same thing in the two hallways and the guest room and we noticed that there was a huge difference between the way the paint looked in the guest bath and the way that it looked in the hallways ...be we would look at them...discuss....look again etc.

I started to make a remark about the difference and then the light bulb moment hit. He and I have watched enough design shows on HG to know that when folks have a designer come in for a consultation that they show their presentation on a huge WHITE board.

Well duh.

The reason that the  colors in the hallway look so bloody different than the bathroom is blindingly obvious.
The bathroom walls have primer on them,...white primer.

The hallways do not , the test colors are over that wretched taupe.

DUH !

So ,  we will get some primer up on other walls in the hallway for a truer test , and we will also get the light fixtures up in the hallway that we want so that we can get an accurate feeling.

Sounds pretty stupid to not get that but what the hell.

I have to see how I actually feel about a color for a bit before I decide, feelings are a very real part of this process to me  . We have both on our own decided that there is no real time line in any on this in a realistic manner.

These things take time as we have learned the hard way and if you rush it , you won't be happy...ie taupe hallway walls.

I know what I want and I am not going to settle.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Proceed To The Nearest Exit !

Now , some might think it mean spirited of me , but this made me LMAO ALL DAMN DAY !
Obviously, the person that photoshoped this had no clue whatsoever what a cat means when it's ears are flat.
It means " Run like hell..".
If at the same time the tail is bushed , it means :
" Too late, you will never make it to the door in time ."

Good times, good times.

This is the time of the year that makes me crazy.
It's been in the mid 80's during the day here which is nearly perfect ..but then at the same time it's still hurricane season so there is that bit to be watched in the gulf and it's also supposed to get down to the 40's over night this weekend...YES.............THE FORTIES !

Which means that SU and or I  will decide to turn the furnace on for the first time this year and I will have the epic furnace heater on headache.

In other news .............

The deck is up and for the most part the lights are replaced ( clear rope lights that edge the underside of the patio cover ...except for the part that decided not to work.)...and so we are waiting for the deck to dry out so SU can buff some of the labels off the planks because someone forgot to turn them all the right way but in the Morons ( the contractor , not SU... and Moron is a name given in genuine affection ) defense, he probably thought this was a non issue since we are going to stain the deck. I made the initial mistake of not thinking it through and opting for solid paint for the deck and then realizing that solid was NOT what I wanted ..after SU had tried his very best to get ahead of the game and buy the paint.Fear not, at some point we are going to have a decent ( ie. non metal trailer trash rusted out metal one ) garden shed and ...VOILA...we already have the paint to paint that bad boy....WHEEEEE !

And I finally got smart and got some paint samples....

More to follow....

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

OK...This Should Be On My Fridge !

This made me laugh all damn day, until I saw the news about Big Tex ( previous post) .

I had to laugh about the hub bub about the settlement between Amazon and various publishers. Anyone who has an e reader knows that you are buying the e reader at cost and the profit margin is set in the purchase of the books. Hell , Bezos admitted as much recently.

I read tons of blogs and  one in particular is called " Good Reads ".
Many of my favorite authors are there such as Terry Goodkind and so on. Many of those authors are now self published in order to retain  some control over their product for lack of a better term. It is no longer unusual to see young authors self publishing...( is it me or does that phrase sound vaguely risque ? LMAO !) and I think that it is in many ways , more of a trend than a fluke.

I have some friends that have converted their entire library to e  format.
Personally, I think they are idiots for doing so.
Why ?
Anne McCaffrey, Lillian Jackson Braun, Marion Zimmer Bradley , Robert Jordan and David Eddings  to name a few.
The world lost these wonderful authors within the last  few years and I still mourn their passing.
I have ALL of their books in hardbound first editions.
ALL OF THEM.
Many are no longer available and won't be available until their publishers contractual rights expire.
The world  will be a sad place if the written word does a " Newsweek".
There is a place for all formats.
Would I buy an e version of a cookbook  ?
Oh Hell No !
I tend to make notes where needed regarding a recipe.
I will still buy books for SU ..( Yes dear , I know that you read this and we both know that I am going to buy you the new Cusslers...so calm down dude) who does not have an e reader because we both know that he will leave it in the car and that is a big no no .
Oh and for the record..the big kerfuffle about settlement..it won't be much more than store credits.
Do the research.
If you opt for a paper check, you must remove yourself from this  and ANY FUTURE settlements in this suit.
And if the publishing industry has no fear of taking on Jeff Bezos, they won't hesitate to do the same to Barnes and Noble.

Have a great weekend.
Aunty Pol

Oh Noes ~ !

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Tex http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Fire-destroys-State-Fair-of-Texas-icon-Big-Tex-3964333.php



Big Tex has burned almost to the ground.
I hope they plan on replacing it, he  is such an iconic figure to everyone that I can't think of the state fair with out it .

Slap Mr. Linky above for details and a backround on Big Tex.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Happy Friday ~ Bruce Of The Day ~ !

Happy Friday everyone !
Since SU, the Crazy Cajuns and I are heading to Ren Fes this weekend, I thought the two photos above were appropriately theme related..yeah ..I do stuff like that .

Control freak...Moi ?

We have been busy lil beavers this week after work, policing the joint ..oops...cleaning up the house a bit since we won't be home all day tomorrow, and frankly , I have no energy to do much beyond laundry the last few weeks after fighting sinus/allergies. And as always, I am grateful to have a spouse who pitches in, it really makes a huge difference.

So after leaving the house at OMG WTF thirty on a Saturday am, we will forage for breakfast and head up there. The Cajun said when asked that for his birthday, he/they wanted to go to the Kings wine tasting..which is at 1 friggan pm.

1 PM.

OMG...

I did some research and it is a true wine tasting so there won't be any of the usual drink your ass off behavior that has become rampant some years ( not us honest to Gaia....but you know how festivals can be,,and frankly I am really over a lot of that shite ) ...and lets face it ..folks our age are the ones that will be more than likely the majority of the limited number of people group .

Hippsters don't do wine tastings.

Hippsters , come to think of it don't really do Ren Fes anyway and the Festival itself does a very good job of policing stuff..so just because you don't see them doesn't mean that the Po Po aren't there.

I do know that I want to get some more incense and do a bit of Christmas shopping if I can , but we shall see....I am spending enough on the renovations as it is ..LMAO !

Have a great weekend !

Slainte

Aunty POL

WOOT !!!

Lookey who's coming to the Arena !

WOOT  !

Yes, I am a HUGE fan.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol

Just Another Manic Monday ~ !

No...I didn't fall off the face of the Earth.
Finally after almost 3 weeks of allergy suffering , I can make a passing attempt at breathing..if I pace myself.

It's that time once again guys and gals..where Aunty and SU lose their friggan minds as we renovate La Casa.
And I am hearing Freddy Mercury singing " I want it all" in my head right now..which of course I do .
Oh Lordy , it just occurred to me that there is a distinct possibility that my contractor " The Moron " ( said with love sweetie ) and Mr. Trejo, the lawn dude may cross paths on Wednesday...awwww crap monkeys.
I am sure they will work it out...the back yard being cut can wait a week..my deck won't.
Luckily for me, SU and I have the same ideas about the next project.
We are gutting the guest bathroom...or I should say the Moron is.
SU took his new phone ( Samsung III , which he loves ) up to Lowes and got some basic photo's of the style vanity , hardware and so on to show me that was pretty much along the line of what he and I have been discussing for well over a year. I already had the shower curtain that is the basis of this scheme and he stripped all of the old wallpaper of the walls while I was out of town.
And I have paint chips coming out of my ears.
Seriously.
I had to walk away from it all for a day or so..they began to resemble a drunks delirium .
EEK !

It will all work out, we just have to focus on one project at a time, it's literally all I can handle.
Other than that , life is all good..Southside Johnny's recovery from the lower half of the denture surgery is coming along nicely , Xena is doing pretty well and we are traipsing up this Saturday to the Ren Fest for the Crazy Cajuns birthday celebration....the wine tasting....quick...get me a turkey leg pronto..this shebang starts at 1 pm....OMG.

Have a great week.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol