My goodness, I can't believe I've allowed about 6 weeks to pass since my last blog update! In my defense, I've been spending much of my computer time researching and reading. Hopefully things will settle down now, and I can continue on with a more regular schedule of blogging, which I miss doing!
Check back later this week! I promise to have something new for you to read!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
I'll let you in on a little secret...
....nothing earth shattering, mind you. Perhaps you're unaware of why this happens, so I'm here to tell you why. Ever make deviled eggs (or even egg salad) and wonder why on earth an egg will occasionally peel really nicely and other times (usually when you want to make deviled eggs), the egg has left half of the whites attached to the shell? This is what I'm talking about:
Well I heard somewhere (TV cooking show maybe?) and filed that nugget of information away until today, when I had an opportunity to test their theory. Sure enough, it's true! Old eggs peel nicely and newer eggs look like the one on your right. When I say "old" eggs, I don't mean expired. The smooth eggs don't expire till May 31. However, the really ugly looking eggs were just bought this week and still have a couple weeks left till their expiration date.
So next time you want smoothly peeled eggs, make sure you buy some "older" eggs or buy a couple weeks ahead of when you plan on making them. And sure enough they'll be easy to peel.
Well I heard somewhere (TV cooking show maybe?) and filed that nugget of information away until today, when I had an opportunity to test their theory. Sure enough, it's true! Old eggs peel nicely and newer eggs look like the one on your right. When I say "old" eggs, I don't mean expired. The smooth eggs don't expire till May 31. However, the really ugly looking eggs were just bought this week and still have a couple weeks left till their expiration date.
So next time you want smoothly peeled eggs, make sure you buy some "older" eggs or buy a couple weeks ahead of when you plan on making them. And sure enough they'll be easy to peel.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Words You Don't Want To Be Greeted With When You Answer The Door
For example, "Hello, is Mike home?" Guy flips up his badge. "I'm from the Attorney General's office." Thud.
If you're on Facebook, you already know the situation about the ticket on the van. Let me rehash in case you didn't catch it. Mike parks his van in the driveway at night. It was over 30' off the street. A couple weeks ago the police left a ticket on his windshield at 2:55 a.m. for not having a village sticker displayed in the window. The following morning he went over to the police department to explain that he had bought the village sticker back in February, but just hadn't put it on the window. The police officer didn't care. Mike questioned why there were on private property at that hour, and the officer basically said that "in a court of law" it would stand up that policemen can see that far in the dark, and so that gave them reason to come onto our property. Nevermind that it was a 2" x 3" sticker this officer supposedly could see. In the dark. From 31' away. So Mike went to the Mayor to complain. The Mayor was quite sympathetic and helpful, actually, and within a couple of hours, someone from the Mayor's office called to say the ticket had been dismissed. Woohoo for the little guy!
So back to the guy from the Attorney General's office standing on my front porch. Mike did happen to be home that day and to make a long story short, it appears Mike unwittingly got caught up in some small town scandal, for crying out loud. The Mayor handled the dismissal of the ticket illegally, along with a slew of other things (nothing we're involved in, just want to make that clear.) The Mayor is in some serious hot water and under investigation. I suppose that would explain why he didn't run for office for more than one term. So the Attorney General guy came to our house three times to talk with Mike about this ticket, how it all went down, who said what, and it just seemed a bit ridiculous over a stupid ticket for a village sticker that we already owned. Doesn't it just seem wrong that on the one hand you have the police doing their job (albeit a bit shifty in my opinion) but they're legal about it. And then you have the Mayor who takes the time to listen to a problem and try to solve it, and it's illegal. I guess it's true what they say: No good deed goes unpunished.
If you're on Facebook, you already know the situation about the ticket on the van. Let me rehash in case you didn't catch it. Mike parks his van in the driveway at night. It was over 30' off the street. A couple weeks ago the police left a ticket on his windshield at 2:55 a.m. for not having a village sticker displayed in the window. The following morning he went over to the police department to explain that he had bought the village sticker back in February, but just hadn't put it on the window. The police officer didn't care. Mike questioned why there were on private property at that hour, and the officer basically said that "in a court of law" it would stand up that policemen can see that far in the dark, and so that gave them reason to come onto our property. Nevermind that it was a 2" x 3" sticker this officer supposedly could see. In the dark. From 31' away. So Mike went to the Mayor to complain. The Mayor was quite sympathetic and helpful, actually, and within a couple of hours, someone from the Mayor's office called to say the ticket had been dismissed. Woohoo for the little guy!
So back to the guy from the Attorney General's office standing on my front porch. Mike did happen to be home that day and to make a long story short, it appears Mike unwittingly got caught up in some small town scandal, for crying out loud. The Mayor handled the dismissal of the ticket illegally, along with a slew of other things (nothing we're involved in, just want to make that clear.) The Mayor is in some serious hot water and under investigation. I suppose that would explain why he didn't run for office for more than one term. So the Attorney General guy came to our house three times to talk with Mike about this ticket, how it all went down, who said what, and it just seemed a bit ridiculous over a stupid ticket for a village sticker that we already owned. Doesn't it just seem wrong that on the one hand you have the police doing their job (albeit a bit shifty in my opinion) but they're legal about it. And then you have the Mayor who takes the time to listen to a problem and try to solve it, and it's illegal. I guess it's true what they say: No good deed goes unpunished.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Just A Drop In The Bucket
Before President Obama took office, he said, "We're going to have to bring significant reform not just to our recovery and reinvestment plan, but to the overall budget process, to address both the deficit of dollars and the deficit of trust. We'll have to make tough choices, and we're going to have to break old habits."
To that end, he has requested that his Cabinet make $100 million in cuts in agency operations. When asked if the efficiency saving isn't just a drop in the bucket, Obama replied, "It is. None of these things alone are going to make a difference. But cumulatively, they make an extraordinary difference because they start setting a tone ... $100 million there, $100 million here -- pretty soon, even here in Washington, it adds up to real money."
What do you think?
To that end, he has requested that his Cabinet make $100 million in cuts in agency operations. When asked if the efficiency saving isn't just a drop in the bucket, Obama replied, "It is. None of these things alone are going to make a difference. But cumulatively, they make an extraordinary difference because they start setting a tone ... $100 million there, $100 million here -- pretty soon, even here in Washington, it adds up to real money."
What do you think?
Monday, April 27, 2009
A Sight For Sore Eyes
The older I get the longer winter seems. I'm sure it's about the same length as it was when I was a child, but for some reason I get less tolerant of snow, cold, bitter winds, and the lack of anything pretty to look at out the window. Sure, I'll grant you that snow is pretty while it's falling down. But give it a couple hours and it'll be brown from the dirt it hits.
About 11 years ago in the cold winter of January we moved into our current home. I looked forward to spring to see what might come out of the earth....to see what the former owners may have planted. Boy, was I disappointed. Not one tulip nor daffidil. Nuthin'. So that fall I bought 4 tulip bulbs and a handful of crocus bulbs from a local nursery, stuck them in the ground near our entry way out the front, and hoped for the best. I was very pleased the following spring with what came out of the ground....and every spring since. The crocus are the first to burst out of the ground, but unfortunately this year they flopped over after the single digit evening temps and being pummeled with a couple of snow falls. So I turned my attention to the tulips.
I was a little worried they might not make it. Last year we pretty much ripped out almost all the bushes from the front of our house, including the boxwood (which were half dead) near the entry way. I had planted those tulips and crocus in between the bushes, so I lifted them out last summer before Mike dug out the stumps and moved the bulbs to my garden out back. I was hoping they would survive. What a pleasant surprise to see that they did.
I'm not sure what it is about these tulips in particular that I really like. Maybe their vibrant color, their unique shape.....or maybe it's just they were the first thing I ever planted after we moved into our home. All I know is that I was very happy to see them bloom again.
About 11 years ago in the cold winter of January we moved into our current home. I looked forward to spring to see what might come out of the earth....to see what the former owners may have planted. Boy, was I disappointed. Not one tulip nor daffidil. Nuthin'. So that fall I bought 4 tulip bulbs and a handful of crocus bulbs from a local nursery, stuck them in the ground near our entry way out the front, and hoped for the best. I was very pleased the following spring with what came out of the ground....and every spring since. The crocus are the first to burst out of the ground, but unfortunately this year they flopped over after the single digit evening temps and being pummeled with a couple of snow falls. So I turned my attention to the tulips.
I was a little worried they might not make it. Last year we pretty much ripped out almost all the bushes from the front of our house, including the boxwood (which were half dead) near the entry way. I had planted those tulips and crocus in between the bushes, so I lifted them out last summer before Mike dug out the stumps and moved the bulbs to my garden out back. I was hoping they would survive. What a pleasant surprise to see that they did.
I'm not sure what it is about these tulips in particular that I really like. Maybe their vibrant color, their unique shape.....or maybe it's just they were the first thing I ever planted after we moved into our home. All I know is that I was very happy to see them bloom again.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
That's Not Very Reassuring
Today the school sent home a "Dear Parents" note to let us know how in-tune they are with parental concern over all the school violence going on over the past several years. They wanted to make sure parents know that they're on top of things, that they "continually review and revise safety and emergency procedures carefully. [They] have developed lockdown procedures in conjunction with the [local] Police Department......" The note goes on to say they'll have a drill later this week prior to the children coming to school and to not be alarmed by police cars in the parking lot.
I know they want to reassure me as a parent that the school where I send my child for most of his day is a safe place. But I think they missed the point. I don't find the need for lockdown drill's in my child's elementary school very reassuring at all.
I know they want to reassure me as a parent that the school where I send my child for most of his day is a safe place. But I think they missed the point. I don't find the need for lockdown drill's in my child's elementary school very reassuring at all.
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