Me and Gregg Allman

What do I have in common with Gregg Allman?  Well, first off neither of us are angels.  And secondly, we both ramble.  He's a ramblin' man, and I have a ramblin' mind.  Ha!

Let's enjoy looking at the Gregg Allman of my youth, shall we?

I absolutely adored him when I was in 8th and 9th grade.  The very first t- shirt I ever bought that sported a picture of someone was Gregg Allman.  It was black.  Nowadays, the black has faded to a funky brown/purple/olive color.  How would I know this about a shirt made back in 1973?  Because I STILL have it!  It lived in my cedar chest with my favorite pair of torn-up, paint-spattered, worn-in, cool-patch wearin' Levis for many many years.  Then my teen-aged Rachel Pie person spied them and heisted them for her very own use.  So the Gregg Allman t-shirt is still in use.  All these years later.  One of these days I will dig out the shirt and the jeans and take pics for you.  Then you can say "Hey Lisa Pie, your ass used to fit in THOSE jeans?"  And I will say what every other person on the planet says, "Yes, it did.  And I will have you know that I thought I was fat and went on every flipping fad diet that came down the pike".  What the hell is wrong with girls that we all think we are fat when we are perfectly made and beautiful?

Anyhoo, the reason I woke up thinking about Ramblin' Man is because my mind was seriously all over the place.  So I will just start listing things as they occur to me.

1. You all know how much I adore Matt who dances badly around the world.  I have signed up to be notified if and when he shows up in my neck of the woods so I can gather people and go dance with him at some fabulous local sight.  And he is out right now filming for the next video!  And he is in this hemisphere!  The chances are good that this might be the year we get in!!

2. It's almost Thanksgiving.  Today is actually Nov. 12 and no one loves to decorate for Christmas more than I do, but I restrain myself until after Thanksgiving.  And last night I was driving home from Childbirth Ed class and what did my wandering eye spy?  One of the other homes in my neighborhood already had lights up.  And I thought "well maybe they aren't really Christmas lights.  Maybe they are just generic decorative lights."  I slowed down and looked and guess what?  There were not only lights on the house, but in the trees, bushes and . . . . .  

AND they also had 3 of those fake trees with lights and decorations in a cute little grouping in the yard!  Holy Way-to-jump-the-gun Batman!!!  Talk about early!

The good thing is, no matter what I do now, I wasn't the idiot who put my lights up first.  : )  Love that.

3. Thanksgiving Menu is made!  Shopping list is made and the to-do lists are being worked on.  This is all good.  And . . . .  I was able to get the group to agree to try some new recipes. I love it when that happens.  So I am here to share with you the cranberry recipe I am going to try.  Now, be forewarned that I have never made this.  But if I am willing to try this out on my family without test-driving it first, you should to.  : )

From the 2008 Bon Appetit Thanksgiving issue:

Cranberry Relish with Grapefruit and Mint

2 large pink grapefruits
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups cranberries (about 10 oz.)
2 Tbsp. fresh mint, chopped

Using vegetable peeler, remove peel (pink and yellow outer layer only) from 1 grapefruit in strips. Cut peel into 2-inch-long, 1/8-inch wide strips (about 1/2 cup). Squeeze grapefruits to get 1 cup juice.

Stir 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add grapefruit peel; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until peel is soft, about 15 minutes. Add grapefruit juice and cranberries; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until berries burst, about 10 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl. Stir in mint. Cover; chill until cold. Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.

***My notes:  First off, I am completely irked by the title.  I have read enough cookbooks and recipes to know that a cranberry RELISH is one where you use them raw and grind them in the food processor with other ingredients.  Cranberry SAUCE is when you cook them and let them burst and thicken the mixture.  So if this is good and I deem this a keeper, I will change the name.  Other than that, how fabulous does this sound?  I swear I can smell it already just from the written word!  No pics necessary.


4. I sent off for Ernest T. Bass to have his DNA done and find out what mixture of breeds caused this particular dog.  He is such a handsome fellow, but everyone swears they see something different in him. So I thought I would spring for the test and find out.  And while I am patiently waiting, and patiently clicking on the website hourly to see if they have the results yet, I was perusing a dog breed website. In addition to pure breeds they also have a category of the new "Hybrid breeds".  These are like those purposely made Labradoodles, not just your average mutt dog.  And I came across the cutest picture of puppies ever.  Check this out:

Awwww.  Have you ever seen such cuteness?  Squishy, squishy, you must want to smoosh them!  These are called BaShar pups.  Half Basset hound, half Shar Pei.  Hilarious is what those are.  Absolutely precious.

Enjoy your weekend!