What I am reading

Here is the cover of the book I am reading right now.
I have read several of Salman Rushdie's books and I still
think that Satanic Verses is one of the best books ever written. This one is shaping up nicely to be a real classic as well.

The other books on my nightstand waiting to be read are The Son of a Witch and A Lion Among Men the 2nd and 3rd sequels to Wicked. I left the Wicked series to read the other book he did about Cinderella and the Stepsisters. I love the background he gives us about the locale, the history of the people, etc.

Oh, and I wanted to say that when I was looking online for a picture of the book cover, it seems that the British version was released with a completely different cover. I wonder why that is?

I just didn't want you thinking all I do is watch trashy reality t.v. shows! I do read. I read a lot actually. Do any of you have any suggestions of things to put on my reading list? Do any of you want any suggestions from me for your lists? Let me hear from you!

And happy reading to all!

Honey Lime Dressing

I haven't posted a recipe in forever so I thought as long as I was looking this one up I would go ahead and type it in here.

This recipe is from the Dallas Jr. League Cookbook that I received as a shower gift waaaaaay back 1981 from Mozelle Reuter. Mozelle was one of the nicest people you could ever meet. Her husband George was my Mama's boss for many years. Anyhoo, this book Mozelle gave me is one of my very favorite cookbooks. I believe it is out of print but I find copies every so often in a used book store. Mine is all messy and spattered and falls open to the most used pages, just the way a cookbook ought to.

This recipe is for Honey Lime Dressing which is fabulous! Especially on fruit of any kind including melon balls. I promise you will love it. According to the book it was submitted by Mrs. E. Don Rott. This was back in the day when women went by Mrs. Husband's Name. Personally I am glad this particular little etiquette rule has gone by the way side. People also used to say "Didn't you used to be (insert your maiden name here)?" Yeah I did. And guess what? I am STILL that person! And the mean side of me wants to poke fun of Mr. E. Don Rott's name right now. I mean, really. Can you say Mr. E. Don Rott without doing it with an accent? First I said it with an Asian accent, then I went to British. Makes me wonder what the E. stood for. And what was Mrs. E. Don Rott's name?

Enough sidetracking: Without further ado . . . .

Honey Lime Dressing

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 Tbsp. dry mustard
1 Tbsp. dry ginger
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup lime juice
1/3 cup water
2 cups salad oil

Mix sugar, honey, mustard, ginger and salt in a blender on low speed. Add lime juice and water. Add oil very slowly with blender on high.

Makes about 1 quart.

See? Now isn't that easy? And please, for heaven's sake, use fresh lime juice! Don't get that pre-packaged bottled crap. And don't you love how they use "salad oil"? No one does that anymore. In case you are wondering, that means a really light oil with very little flavor. Don't be breaking out the big guns of EVOO!

Enjoy!

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BB Updates

O. M. freaking G.!!!!!

I leave town on Friday after watching the Thursday live show (AAAAAWWWWESOME by the way!) and watching the BB After Dark show as well. So I thought I had an idea of what would be going on over the weekend while I was gone.

Apparently NOT!

Chima has hopped the Insane Diva Freak Train and left the station bound for Heaven-Only-Knows-Where.

But first let's talk about Thursday's live show which I totally called! Just ask my friend Richard. I told him a week ago that I was voting like crazy for Jeff and that my perfect scenario would be Jeff taking off stupid Chima's nominees and putting up Jessie the Turtleboy and Natalie his psycho pitbull of a lying girlfriend. I am so thrilled that he had the stones to do it. So many times these people are given a chance to step out and take a huge risk and they blow it by not wanting to make waves. Make waves people! That's what you are there for! Yes!

Personally, I want Natalie gone but Lydia has fallen off the rails and may need to go to a de-briefing station for a couple of months before re-entering Real Life. It does not look good for her.

So right now my Top Three picks are:
1. Jeff, he has played this game exceptionally well. He made the right moves at the right times. he doesn't cause unnecessary drama. He has the funniest Chicago accent!
2. Kevin, this boy is so right on with all his assessments of his fellow hamsters. Very intuitive. I like Kevin.
3. Jordan, she is very likeable. Kinda like a really cute but stupid puppy dog. You really like it and think it is cute and precious, but you know there is nothing going on upstairs. that girl is about as dumb as a sack of hammers, a box of hair, a turnip, or whatever as dumb as analogy works for you. She is really sweet though. And she is sharing her HOH week with Michelle who got totally screwed and got an HOH Day and 1/2 instead.

Michelle & Russell, devious and devious-er! Oh Lord, what will those 2 pull next.

So, I am really looking forward to this Thursday's live eviction and new HOH comp. It is make or break time people! It's do or die! It's sink or swim!

Yeah whatever, you get the picture. :)

Who are you current faves? What did you think of this past week's whirlwind of adventures?

Truth in advertising

My sister saw this and sent it to me. Hmmm? Any guess as to why she would think of me?

I just thought it was funny as hell! Feel free to reproduce these for your own personal use. :)

Fenceline update

That's little Ernest T. Bass sitting there looking all cute and handsome. Notice that he is being quiet and not barking like a barkaholic idiot.

I know, you have all been sitting by your computers on the edge of your seats just waiting for the next installment in the Saga of the Fence. So here goes!!

The new (and not improved) chain link fence, is chain link two words or chainlink one word? I don't really know, so I am using chain link here. Anyhoo, the chain link fence has caused Mr. Ernest T. Bass to go ballistic and act like a damn fool every. single. flipping. time The Colonel goes outside. What a maroon! That's Ernest T. that is the maroon, not T.C. Just wanted to be clear on that. I was not disparaging The Colonel.

We thought it would get better with time. You know, after a few weeks of seeing T.C. out there it would just become part of the routine. But guess what? Nope, not so much. I spend an inordinate amount of time going outside and yelling "Ernest T. Bass! STFU!! Quit being an idiot!" and then squirting him in the face with a water bottle. The water bottle is the thing I learned from the dog trainer to do when we say "No". Said water bottle has a bit of either lemon juice or vinegar in it and dogs (and cats) don't like it and will most anything to NOT get squirted. Even to the extreme of doing, gasp, what you tell them!! Shocking, I know.

But since we implemented the squirt bottle all I have to do is pick it up and whichever of the critters is doing offensive behavior stops immediately and heads for the hills so that the evil lemon water doesn't hit them. It's really pretty funny. Back to the fence saga . . . . . .

Today was exceptionally bad with all the barking, tail wagging, fence line running and general carrying-on. So I trotted out there for the 4th time with squirt bottle in hand and yelled at Ernest T, "Ernest T. quit carrying on and being a moron!" And what did I spy? What did I spy moving there in the deep, thick bamboo forest?

The Colonel! He was creeping around in the bamboo trying to snake a soaker hose in and out and all around it. He is actually worried that his water-hogging forest of bamboo might die off in this drought! Personally, I think after the apocolypse all the bamboo will be right there along with the cockroaches, dog pecker gnats, styrofoam, disposable diapers and pushy Amway salesmen.

Here's the deal: the grass is dead. The shrubs are dead. The garden has been dead for months now. Our gorgeous 100 year old oak trees are stressed and not doing well. But the bamboo, it's green and tall and still creeping into my property. Note that I said property. I didn't say yard, or lawn because there IS NO LAWN!! No grass.

Tonight is the once weekly time that he can water his lawn. So I guess he was preparing to water and save his bamboo forest. Oh, but I almost forgot to tell you the best part of this!

He told me that every day he when he is out in the back yard Ernest T. runs over and barks at him and then he gives him a treat!!! Every time he barks at him he gives him a treat? Does anyone else think this is exactly the opposite of what you want to do IF you are trying to get a dog to quit doing something? Or a child. Or a husband. Or whomever. I don't reward bad behavior. So poor little Ernest T. Bass is getting mixed messages. He barks, I yell at him and squirt him in the face and The Colonel gives him treats. Not a good situation, wouldn't you agree? Aaaarrrrggghh!!!

Random t.v. updates & nonsense

Let's start with BB. What gives with the most BOOOOORRRRRING cast in history? Gaaawd, these people are so tiresome. Right now I hope Jeff takes over and kicks some ass. I am seriously voting for him to win the coup d'tat or however one spells that Frenchy word. Even more annoying than Chima's horrendous laugh (that never ends, please make it stopppp!!!) is Lydia doing her whiney little girl baby doll impersonation when she is alone with Jessie. OMG! Wtf is wrong with her? Can none of those girls see that he is so not interested? I don't think Jessie is gay either. He seems to be pretty asexual, just totally bored with the whole process. Nothing interests that boy other than looking at himself in the mirror. Makes me wonder if he can see how teeny, tiny his head is. What a complete douchebag.

Here's my rundown on these wieners:

Jordan - I honestly can't imagine how she makes it through each day without picture instructions. Dumb as a sack of doorknobs. And if she doesn't quit playing with her hair someone should just straight up bitchslap her. aarrrrggghhh!!!

Michelle - uuhhh? Where to go with this? Is she a nerdy scientist? Is she a freaky bisexual? Is she just weird and boring? Will the real Michelle please stand up?

Ronnie - Kick that boy to the curb. Weird as batshit.

Russell - Cute, sort of smart, and I love the way he is always sneaking around and listening in on everyone. Ha! Now, that's funny t.v.!

Lydia - Oh Lydia, I had such high hopes for Lydia the tattooed Lady. But she is proving to be a big disappointment. Mostly in her stupid crush on Jessie the turtle boy. And the way she throws all her friends and allies under the bus at the drop of a hat. No loyalty at all.

Kevin - Is Kevin still there? Is he? Has Kevin done anything?

Natalie - My least favorite hamster. She rubs me the wrong way. I can't stand it every time she opens her mouth. Casey had it right when he called her Jessie's pitbull. That girl needs to go home. It would be way funnier for Jessie to go first and then see what she can do without her boy.

Jeff - He seems to be the most honest one there. A little too honest sometimes. He could use a filter for what leaves his brain and goes out his mouth. But I really like him, in the same way I loved me some Evel Dick!

Chima - omg!!! Can she just STFU??? I can't stand her constant laugh. I can't stand her being so full of herself. Seriously, she thinks she hung the moon! Get over yourself, girl.

And just a quick rundown on some shows Sparky and I have been watching:

Hung - too frigging funny! What a bunch of strange characters. They are so strange you tend to think this is a real group of people!

Sons of Anarchy - Wow. Just wow! We just started this and now have to get all caught up before the new season starts up in Sept. Do yourself a favor and sit through a few episodes.

Hell's Kitchen - What was up with that weird guy who got sent packing for getting all up in GR's face and insisting "he ain't no bitch"?? There's a bunch of weirdos in that kitchen . . . . .

Saving Grace - This season has been different. It's almost like the weekly crime plot is incidental. We all know the true stars of that show are Earl, Gus and Retta. :)

The Closer - Brenda Lee Johnson is not near as nice this season. Maybe marriage isn't agreeing with her? I don't know what it is, but everyone on her team seem seriously grumpy this year. Is someone going postal before the season ends? It's not pretty.

Weeds - Kevin Nealon deserves a pile of awards for playing Doug. He is hysterically funny! He and Andy make that show as good as it can be. Love it!

Anyone watching anything? Any BB opinions? I have been hearing about a show called The Kings, but I haven't seen it yet. Let me hear about your summer t.v. watching!

7 Months in & the Tea Hoarding Challenge is going strong

I am still using up all my stash of hoarded teas. Since Jan. 1 I have not purchased any tea for my own pleasure. I have bought tea for Mr. Big Ed since he drinks one kind of tea and isn't involved in this, and I bought tea to take to my sister's house when I visited her. But I left it there for her, it's what we do when we visit each other's homes.

So it has been 7 complete months of using up the plethera of tea in my pantry and I am still going strong. And I have a suggestion to the tea companies out there. How about you consider making small 5 or 10 serving size boxes, tins or whatever you sell your tea in so that we can try multiple types of tea without buying 50 servings of each one? Hmmm???? I know that is why I have so damn many containers.

I promised new pics but since there doesn't seem to be much in the way of changes, I thought I would wait till it looked a bit more dramatic. So, no photos for now. I am trying to use up the tea in bags so that when I break the seal on the loose teas I have the tins available to pour the loose tea in and still keep it fresh.

Sorry to be boring but I am holding myself accountable by posting, just feel free to skip right over the posts about the stupid tea hoarding challenge until you see some new and pretty pictures.