I Don't Want to Answer My Phone

until after the elections on Tuesday!

My answering machine is full of advertisements,

mud slinging, and oh yeah-messages from pollsters.

To all the people wasting my time,

you will get my answer in the polling booth

on Tuesday

and not before then!

Gave the Vet a Chuckle Today

Took Chloe to the vet today for her rabies shot.  Both the vet, his wife, the vet assistant and some customers just had to see Chloe's unfinished haircut.  So, the question is keep the mohawk or shave it and be less conspicuous?

The vet wanted to know if Chloe was a rastafarian.

The vet's wife thought she could pass for Rod Stewart's sister.

Product Fail

If it ain't broke, don't change it.

So, a while back I went to the store to buy a new bottle of hand cream.  I check the label and find that St. Ives has changed the formula.  Having allergies and sensitivities to lots of things, I check the label.  Oh, this should be "interesting".  In the big bottle, they have added what is called a "light, hypo-allergenic fragrance".  What is wrong with a product smelling like nothing!  Quite frankly, I don't care if the fragrance has been proven to be hypo-allergenic.  It doesn't matter, because it smells so bad, I would avoid using the hand cream to avoid the stench.  And hubby definitely would not want to use it when he goes hunting.  The smell just screams human presence!

So, I tried the little tube.  Note that the little tube (7.5 oz) of fragrance-free body cream was basically the same price as the big bottle (21 oz.) of stinky lotion.  It makes the new claim "clinically proven to provide targeted 24 hour relief".  I tried it.  I don't know exactly what they are using in the newer 24 hour creams to make them last that long, but my skin felt like it was suffocating.  (As a note, I am one of those people who cannot stand wearing finger nail polish either.)  Goodbye St. Ives; you are not getting any more of my money!

Then the hunt for an acceptable hand cream with fairly natural and mostly pronounceable ingredients began again.  The shelves of stores are loaded with so many choices; most of which stink of really horrible perfumes.  I came to the conclusion I might have to find something with a fragrance that I could tolerate with a price that would not break the bank.  I hit pay-dirt with the new Carmex Healing lotion, something special from Wisconsin. 

The fragrance smells like vanilla with Carmex undertones.  I really like the new lotion.  So does Chloe the dog; she tries to lick it off my fingers if I let my hands within reach of her tongue.  I should not be surprised, she likes their lip balm too.

This hand cream works great for me, but may not be for everyone who has allergies.  My aunt is allergic to grasses, which makes things containing aloe like poison to her.  Other folks who are allergic to wool might also have trouble with the lanolin.  That is the trouble with natural ingredients and folks with allergies to things in nature.

Firing Up the Grill

But NOT for the usual reasons.

At the moment it is parked out by the apple trees.

It is supposed to get down to freezing tonight.

Hopefully, a little heat from the grill

will keep the buds from getting too cold.

Time to go feed the fire.

Chocolate Tuesday

Chocolate Cake with Fluffy Chocolate Chip Icing

Deep Dark Chocolate Cake:

(recipe from the Hershey's Cocoa Tin)

2 C sugar

1 3/4 C all purpose flour

3/4 C Cocoa

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 C milk

1/2 C vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla

1 C boiling water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.  Grease and flour two 9" round pans or one 9"x13" pan.  In large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients (sift lumps out of the cocoa).  Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla.  Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Remove from mixer, add boiling water and stir.  (Batter will be very runny!)  Pour into pans.

Bake for 30-35 minutes for 9" round pans, or for 35-40 minutes for 9"x13" pan.  Cake is done when toothpick placed in center comes out clean.

Cool, well at least as long as it takes to make the frosting.

Boiled frosting with Chocolate Chips:

(Recipe from Aunt Ginny)

(7 minute frosting - works really well for impatient cooks because it is possible to frost a still warm cake with this frosting!

There is a slight caramel undertone to the frosting, probably from the brown sugar)

1 egg white

1 C brown sugar

3 Tbs. water

1 dash salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips (added at the very end)

(I use Ghiradelli double bittersweet chips, but pretty much any good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips will work well.)

Directions:

Put all the ingredients (except the chocolate chips) in the top of a double boiler over water at a high simmer.  Using a hand-held mixer beat the ingredients continuously until egg white forms stiff peaks and starts becoming warm and sticky.  (The mixers with the thin wire whisks don't work very well.  Instead use one of the cheap hand held mixers with the thick blades that would stop dead and start smoking if you used it on a thick brownie batter.)  Remove the top of the double boiler from the heat, dump in the chocolate chips, let them sit for 5-10 seconds, then give the frosting another quick stir with the mixer. This will give you a nice swirl effect with the chocolate in the frosting.  Frost the cake, and serve.  Refrigerate any uneaten portions.

Sprouts in Jars

Because this time of year,

salad ingredients from the store are just a little scary

by the time they finally get here.

 Soak.  (Mung beans on left, alfalfa on right)

 Rinse 2-4 times/day, let them sprout out of direct sunlight.

Finish with some sunshine to make the leaves green.

Rinse out the seed casings and enjoy.

(Flush seed casings down toilet or throw on compost pile

to avoid clogging the kitchen sink.)

Fish Hanky Panky

The Sturgeon are spawning, a month early!

Here are a few youtube videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSsDZnF140E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jtjl_eqqAw

The sturgeon cam on the wolf river cam website is working now

(daylight hours only), but when I checked it there were no sturgeon within view of the camera.

Growing Things

Guess the mini-greenhouse experiment is working so far.

Still cannot get over how early this spring is.

We are supposed to get some near freezing lows this coming week.

Hopefully, the mini-greenhouse will keep the plants warm enough.

Oddly enough, the only things not popping

out of the ground so far are the spinach and lettuce. 

Some of the seeds were really old - oh well.

The carrots also seem a bit slow compared to the other plants.

Good news, the seeds from the Musquee de Provence pumpkins

are quite fertile;

those particular seeds were still inside a pumpkin

only a few weeks ago.

Bad news, I don't have enough dirt to plant all the seeds I have.

Does anybody need some pumpkin seeds,

and does anybody know if there are any laws against mailing seeds?

I have had mischievous thoughts about planting them on land that doesn't belong to me, but that might get me in trouble.

There is this field out in a public hunting area,

and I have heard that deer love to eat pumpkins.

Hubby Bearing Gifts

Hubby came home from work tonight.

Once Chloe had finished her dance of jubilation

"Daddy's Home, Daddy's Home....."

Hubby said,

"Darling I brought you a gift."

I asked,

"What is it?"

He showed me, and I replied.

"Thank you dear, they're marvelous!

But I don't think night crawlers eat jello.

(They were in one of his empty lunch containers.)

Better rinse them off before you put them

in the worm container in the fridge."

I see a fishing trip in the future!!!!

Rainy Day

It is raining,

and things are growing.

Plenty of water in the rain trough now.

 Hope we don't get a hard frost,

the apple trees are about to blossom.

The rhubarb has reappeared on the scene.

Rats, the lawn needs mowing, and it is only March 23rd!

Go figure.
Still not going to siphon the gas out of the snowblower.

Shake that Granite

According to the USGS,

Clintonville has been experiencing small earthquakes.

http://www.wbay.com/story/17232443/2012/03/22/usgs-confirms-an-earthquake-in-clintonville

Apparently they are quite common around the world and normally cannot be felt easily in broken soil, but since the ground around Clintonville is so dense and unbroken

the earthquake waves transmit very well.

Folks in California have to be laughing and saying

"What's the big deal about a 1.5 quake?"

Of course, the geologists still haven't explained

what is causing the quakes.

Geologists have to hate the comment

"Yeah, so you've told me what it is,

but haven't told me why it is."

So, is there a fault line nearby?

Why is it shaking now when it wasn't before?

What other causes exist for shallow quakes?

Suppose I have to stop asking "why" sometime,

or I'll start sounding like my nephew with asperger's.

His comment to almost every statement is "WHY".

Curiosity is a good thing, explaining is useful,

but eventually everybody hits the end of "why"

either from lack of interest or from

human limitations making it impossible to delve any deeper.

God knows, but He isn't telling.

Happy Spring!

The first day of spring and the temperatures have been above 70

for at least a week!

And to all Kurdish folks out there,

Happy 2712th New Year!

I don't know if there has already been

or will be a local celebration this year.

If it was last weekend, we were sick.

If it is this coming weekend, I haven't heard yet.

At least this year,

the ladies will not be shivering in their shiny dresses.

But most folks probably will not feel much like dancing around a bonfire either with today's temperatures pushing 80.

Thankfully, it is supposed to cool down a little by this weekend.

I am keeping the window insulator kits on most of the windows until the beginning of April.  For some strange reason, I have trust issues with warm weather coming so early in spring.

More Rumbling Ground

Still no definite answers on what is causing it.

One person thinks there is a giant sinkhole forming.

Questions remain,

"Is stuff going to fall into the ground?

Is stuff going to come out of the ground?

Or is the ground just going to boom and shake for a while?"

Rumbling Ground

Oh, I sincerely hope the volcano that made Rib Mountain is not waking up.

http://www.wbay.com/story/17202346/2012/03/20/clintonville-rules-out-water-mains-for-shaking-booming

Hopefully it is something benign, like teenagers setting off fireworks in the sewers.

Ok, so geologists say that rib mountain was not part of a volcano,

but they have yet to explain why there is so much granite (an igneous rock-hardened magma) in that part of the state.  It is difficult to say what this state looked like long-long ago, because geologists seem to worship at the altar of uniformitarianism.  Guess earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes are just figments of someone's imagination.

Sorry Folks

Although it is beautiful outside,

Hubby and I are stuck inside with the flu.

He came home early from work on Saturday,

and like all devoted husbands - he shared.

Be back in a few days, hopefully.

Tis a Weekend for

Haircuts?

Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Have some fun.

Be a bit mischievous.

 Punk rock puppy dog?

(Another squirrel that got away.)

Please don't drink too much.

After all, what use is having fun,

if you cannot remember all the fun you had the next day.

Needless to say, I have to finish Chloe's haircut,

then trim Hubby's hair when he gets home from work.

Other chores are waiting in the meantime.

Bye for now.

Garden Couture

"Building" a mini-greenhouse

Take one Eureka Ridgeline frame.

(The tent itself was falling to bits,

 and the zippers didn't work anymore.)

To keep it from flying away in a stiff breeze,

stake out the frame and run tie-downs from the ridge

to the hold-down stakes.

Take a cottage cheese container and cut it in half,

cut a small half round on the bottom of each half,

trim sharp edges from the top,

and electrical tape each half over the tent pole union at each corner to prevent punctures of the plastic sheeting.

Get some clear plastic, a roll of duct tape, a scissors,

and a bunch of clothes pins.

Allow enough plastic at the bottom,

so that it is possible to roll the excess around 2x2's

and hold the tent down with heavy objects.

(Over the top of this tent took a 25' x 10' piece of plastic.

The end pieces are leftover shrink-wrap covers from wood pellets.)

"Rocky" is being put to good use in the first picture.

Then the afternoon of "fitting" begins.

Using the clothes pins, clip the top piece of sheeting onto the tent poles, tug, pull and get the fit reasonably tight. 

Then clip the end pieces into place.

Trim the excess, allowing a few inches overlap.

Roll the pieces of plastic together

and tack the "seams" with strips of duct tape.

Run duct tape along the full length of the rolled seams,

getting as tight a fit as possible.

The seams in the vent area on the ends are a bit tricky.

I'll let you know if it manages to stay in one piece and doesn't fly away in the spring storms.

After putting this together, I have an inkling of what it might have been like to be Andre the Giant's tailor.

Aahh - What's that Glare?

Well it isn't snow; even though it is technically still winter.

It's the sight of lots of pale skin!

Temperatures here were in the 70's today.

Folks are walking around wearing SHORTS!

Had to remove a couple window insulator kits

and open some windows to cool the house today.

It is supposed to stay warm all this week.

The local orchard owners are worried that the fruit trees will start budding just in time for another hard freeze.

Last year at this time we were buying more gas for the snowblower.

Wonder what next week's weather will be?

Guess it is time to give the dog a bath and a shave again.

Smile

Sure ma, I'll smile for the camera,

if you give me some cheese.

Politics - Grr

I usually don't discuss politics.

But yesterday I checked out the recall Walker petition

(found on the Put Wisconsin First website)

for my zip code to make sure my name, hubby's name,

and the previous owners of our house (now deceased)

were not on the list.

(If we had not told the polling place about their deaths;

their names would still be listed as active registered voters!)

Thankfully, no one had forged our signatures.

Unfortunately, I did find the name of one of our church elders.

What was he thinking?!

Or did someone perhaps forge his signature without his knowledge?

Also found the name of a woman from church

who had adopted some boys from the foster system.

Figured her for a democrat;

she's the misguided, sensitive, nanny-state loving type.

Oh, and the boys she adopted were real brats,

because she spoiled them rotten.

True, they had a better childhood than they might have had in the foster system, but they would have turned out so much better if she actually had a backbone.  Then they might not have gone around kicking girls in grade school.

There were a lot of really weird names on the recall list.

If the names were actually real,

it makes me wonder why the people have not had them changed.

Elvis was there.

Either it was a fake signature,

or some idiot actually named their child Elvis!

Oh, and some judge has put out an injunction blocking the enforcement of the new voter ID law.

Convenient for the cheat-o-crats that he did this

just in time for the spring presidential primary.

Guess lots of dead and imaginary people will be voting again.

Milwaukee and Madison have such large voter turnout percentages compared to their total populations.

Does that mean they care more or that they really-really cheat?

Should be interesting if one year the voter turnout accidentally exceeds the populations of those cities.

All I can do is cast my one vote and hope and pray that the person who was planning to vote more than once

catches the flu, mono, the plague 

or is perhaps struck by lightning for being very very naughty.

Naked Trees

Before pruning

Have they been pruned enough?

Or should I keep cutting?

Nothing quite like pruning a crooked tree

so that it cantilevers itself to a balanced center of gravity.

Hope it works.

 The rabbits are really hungry.

They have been eating the bark from the pruned branches.

They are piled in the garden, because if we have another big snowstorm they would get in the way of shoveling in the driveway.

Some of the longer, heavier branches will make good tomato cages this coming summer.

Guess there is one upside to barely spraying the trees last summer.

Between the rain and the wind, the weather did not cooperate with a regular spraying schedule.

Now there will be lots of apple wood for the grill!

Welcome!

Welcome new followers Wendy and Kymber.

I hope you will enjoy your visits here.

Keep warm up there in the north.

Creative Reading

Ever get a little tired of signs listing all sorts of rules?

True, the rules are intended to keep people from becoming

drunk and disorderly in a public park,

or to keep dog crap and pee off the grass in the park,

or to keep children from attempting stupid stunts and getting hurt.

But there is a limit!

My city seems to have passed it long ago.

And after a while,

you find creative ways of reading signs,

merely for the purpose of rediscovering a sense of humor.

I figured photo-editor would get me in less trouble

than using spray paint.

Another Thing for the Round-Tuit List

Picking all those asparagus seeds.

Now if I can only find a place to plant them all.

But I really should pick them

so they don't start growing in the lawn.

It would be such a shame to have to mow asparagus.

Time for Pizza!

When doctors came up with heart healthy diets,

they forgot to take into account hubby's metabolism.

Hubby has been getting a bit skinny,

so it was time to supplement his diet with a little more fat.

Homemade pizza

Crust: Start a day ahead.  This recipe will make three pizza crusts the size of the one shown above.  The original crust recipe found online did not use enough water; can't remember where I found it.

1 generous cup of warm water

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

3 1/2 cups bread flour

 (If you want a more relaxed dough, use part all purpose flour)

Mix until a stiff dough ball forms, chill for at least 24 hours.  Remove from fridge, divide dough into portions, cover, and allow to come to room temperature before rolling.  Roll out very thin, add desired toppings, and bake in a 450-500 degree F. oven until crust is brown on the edges and cheese is brown and bubbly in places.  The toppings of choice for the pizza above were canned tomatoes (strained, smushed, and distributed evenly over the crust), crumbled oregano, precooked bacon bits, reduced fat mozzarella slices, and very thinly sliced mushrooms on top.  Putting the mushrooms on top allows all the moisture in them to evaporate rather than being trapped under the cheese making the crust soggy.

Winter Came Back for a Visit

 

Alternate Location

Water supply only lasts while snow melts from the roof.

Maple Syrup Season

Tis that time of year again.

Next door neighbor Joe's one tree is a very small maple sap "farm".

He is quite pleased

that he does not have to buy syrup from the store.

He also said the maple tree is not exactly the same kind

that commercial syrup farms typically tap for sap,

but it still works.

His kitchen probably smells wonderful,

and he also probably does not need to run the humidifier

in the house while he is cooking down the sap to syrup.