Entry for January 27, 2007 - Raining Cats and Dogs

Going thru Yahoo 360 this week and reading all of the blogs, I took particular note of the many dogs and cats that seem to be roaming about. Avatars of animals, photo sharing of pets, and blogs being written, it occurred to me what a huge part they play in a lot of people's lives. Anyone that owns a pet will most likely tell you that you don't own them, they own you. To a degree that is true. They require the same reponsibilities that you have towards raising a child. To feed, give shelter, to care for their well being, and a lot of people think of their pets as their children. Pets can be so much more, I know one of my dear chat friends lost his pet dog recently, and he has been blue. Pets can be a best friend.

I hadn't planned on doing a blog about pets. I came from Suzi's blog not long ago and she had blogged on boobs and had a pic of a guy in speedos,... and well a blog on pets pales in comparison. Oh sure I can lure you over here with suggestives lines ..."come see me purr"......"want to pet me?"..."I am a real animal in the bedroom".... but once here you would see that it was a ruse. Any hopes of nudey pics and cleavage and an adult rated blog would be dashed as soon as you saw just pics of cute puppies and kittens and stuff. I would be the only "Disney-type blog in a Hooter's -type 360 world".

.....sigh........I guess we all can't be sex kittens.

Most of you growing up I am sure had a pet, a particular favorite pet. I had both cats and dogs growing up, but the one pet that stood out far and above the others was a siamese cat that I had for over 20 years. If you have ever had a siamese cat you know that they have their own idiocincracies, and my cat was no different. He would bask in the sun for the majority of the day. But once we had settled down for the evening and were tucked snug in our beds, it would begin. Within a few moments of all the lights having been turned off, he would start to howl, a painfully deep howl. He would then run thru the house as if persued by the devil himself. You could hear the claws from his back feet digging into the carpet as he ran up and down the hall. My mom or my dad would then yell at the cat and he would give another howl or two and then slink off to sleep on a pillow next to my head. He grew up with me and it was hard when it was his time to leave this world.

I haven't really had a real pet since. Oh I have another cat but it's not the same. It's a stray cat that has adopted me. It lives outside and it's half wild and will come and rub up against my legs when it wants to be fed, but then that is about it. That is all the emotional involvement it wants. My next door neighbor and I joke about having joint custody of the cat. It will rush over when it sees me arriving home. Stand at the back door looking in till I go out to feed it. Then once satisfied it ambles off towards the neighbors to look for more attention, more gratification, more food. I should feel used. I know it's all a ploy to be fed, and perhaps that is why I am not so attached to the cat. Or it could be that secretively I don't think any other pet will measure up to that favorite pet of mine.

There are people on both sides of the fence on pets. Some are dog lovers and some are cat lovers and some people can't stand the thought of shedding, smelly, hacked up fur balls on their carpeted floors. I think you can tell a lot about someone on how they treat their pets or any other animals. I think it's a good indication on how they will treat people. Some guys can be dogs, some girls can be b*tches. Kindness to smaller creatures usually overlaps into kindness for smaller, weaker humans. At least I hope it does.

I am leaving you with a poll on pets....

Entry for January 24, 2007 - Burns Supper

The other day I was chatting with my favorite Scottish on-line friend, (okay he is really the only Scottish person I know on-line, but at the moment he is at the top of the list). He told me he was practicing for a Burns Supper to be held on the 25th of January. I have never heard of a "Burns Supper" and asked him what it was exactly. He was shocked, almost horrified...I did not know what a Burns Supper was? He then proceeded to tell me about Robert Burns.

Robert Burns is a famous poet from Scotland. His works number in the hundreds and the Burns Supper began by some of his friends as a tribute or memorium to him on the anniversary of his death. It was later changed to his date of birth which was January 25th. The suppers are celebrated mainly in Scotland but are also celebrated all over the world by legions of his admirers.

Maybe it's because I live in Nebraska, but I have never been invited to a Burn's Supper nor have I ever heard of such a thing until being so enlightened by my friend. My friend told me that there is a procedure to follow when having a Burns Supper. One of the main components is the "entrance of the haggis". Now, even here in the far reaches of the cornfields of Nebraska, I have heard of haggis. Haggis is a sheep's stomach that is stuffed with chopped up heart, liver, lungs, suet, oatmeal, onions and spices and then boiled. The haggis is served usually with "neeps and tatties" (turnips and potatoes). Scottish whisky, toastings, poems, speeches, are all part of the supper as well. I commented to my friend that I thought maybe the whisky should be brought out before the haggis to kill off any taste buds first....

I got to thinking that here in America we don't have any sort of holiday that even remotely compares to Scotland's Burns Suppers. There are a lot of people who might merit a day named for them with suppers given in their honor each year,... so I tried to narrow it down. Who in my state of Nebraska would deserve to have their own Burns type supper? Believe it or not, there are some famous people from Nebraska.... Henry Fonda, Willa Cather, William Jennings Bryan, Marlon Brando, but perhaps the most famous would have to be....Johnny Carson.

I can't really see presenting a haggis in memory of Johnny Carson though. I tried to come up with what a suitable counterpart would be for haggis in the U.S. Besides tripe, and headcheese, and a few other things that involve stomachs.... (or would turn my stomach), I settled on......Spam.

Instead of speeches and toasts, perhaps we could pop in a tape or DVD of Carson's classics and in lieu of presenting the haggis we could make Spam sandwiches served with mayo or Miracle Whip and park in our Lazyboys and Barcaloungers. Ed McMahon would yell "Heressssss Johnny!" and we could all silently toast him with our beer or diet coke instead of Scottish whisky.

Somehow I don't think it is going to catch on,... my Johnny Carson suppers... Just like I don't think haggis is going to catch on here in Nebraska.

But Scotland has brought to the world some good things,...some great things. Most noteably,... Robert Burns, Sean Connery, men in kilts,... and my cheeky devilish friend ....



...(just make sure to keep the haggis at home!)....

Entry for January 22, 2007 - Guilty of Too Much Fun...

Shhhhhhhhhh.........

Come a little closer.......

I have something to tell you.....just between you and I....

I did something bad..........

I sabotaged,.... I corrupted,.... I befuddled,.... and I did all that was humanly possible...... to win the Garden Circle Blog race of 2007.

It all started the evening before the race. I waited till everyone's blog was asleep and then I donned a black mask.....and tiptoed thru some blogs of fellow racers. I snuck over to Shandies blog first, (I can never figure out the time differences between us, but all that I knew was that she was ahead of me). I fed her Go-Kat bushels of catnip. On race day her Go- Kat bolted from the starting line, ever so fast, gaining speed with each blog lap, till the middle of the race when the Go-Kat started to falter......it coughed and coughed and sputtered...and came to a complete stop. When I raced past Shandie's GO-Kat it was hacking up fur balls and catnip and Shandie was spoon feeding it caster oil...

I snuck over to Farmer Jone's blog and stuffed his exhaust pipes full of potatoes. The day of the race as he fed more and more beans into his gas driven machine, there was a huge explosion. Mashed potatoes covered everything behind him... including SugarPi,... her headlights blinded. She swerved,... he swerved.... and they ended up colliding in a huge heap. When I passed them on the next race lap, SugarPi was waving her rolling pin at Farmer Jones and threatening to turn him into succotash...

I tiptoed over to Misty's blog in the dead of night and with a giant fork I poked holes into her Sausage mobile. The next day of the race, Misty shifted into second gear and sped past me. When I caught up with her on the third lap of the race, her sausages were smoked. She came to a rolling stop with her wheels burned down to nothing but the casings. I grinned wickedly and waved as I went by, I think she knew it was me but couldn't prove it.

When the day of the race came, I took my place in the starting line-up. We were off and I was behind Buffy. I zigzagged back and forth till I was able to over take her. I waited till she was directly behind me and then I had the gnome baby chuck eggs at Buffy till he made a direct hit and she careened into a ditch. I watched her crawl out of her go-cart and scratch her head and look under her rooster mounted on the hood of her cart. I threw back my head and laughed with glee and sped on....

I sped past Dixe, it was easy, her computer kept freezing up. Cyn was ahead of her. Her frog go-cart hopping fast. I could see the sparkley pixie dust in her wake. I shifted again and put my pedal to the floor. I was neck and neck with her as we took the hairpin turns. I edged ahead and took advantage. I tossed dirty diapers from baby gnome Fuddy in front of her racing go-cart. Her frog go-cart skidded and tried to hop,.... It was a messy pile-up as she spun out of control and collided with Dixie. When the smoke cleared Dixie found a large frog licking the side of her cheek before it finally croaked.... I raced on.....

There was Angie and Victoria ahead of me...In their Flower Power go-cart. I sped faster, they sped faster. Angie took the lead and I frowned. I released a swarm of bees from my beehive hair do, and they quickly descended upon the go-cart of flowers. Angie swerved back and forth swatting at the bees. She careened into a pond and started to sink... I waved and mumbled under my breath,..."flowers like water Angie"., as she waved her fist in the air back at me ....

All that was left ahead of me was Gloggy and Wukky. They were evenly matched racing side by side. I sped faster creeping up the middle till I was between them. The three of us racing like daredevils. Wukky on my left and Gloggy on my right. I told Fudwocket to tighten his seatbelt. I opened the bubble hatch and yelled as loudly as I could over the screaming engines at Wukky. I yelled to him that Gloggy said that go-cart design made his butt look big.... He frowned and yelled "What?"...and I looked over at Gloggy and winked.

In a split second I stepped on my brakes and fell behind the two of them just in time to see Gloggy giving Wukky a wink that was intended for me. Wukky, outraged at the cheeky Kiwi, stood up in the seat of his go-cart and with one foot on the steering wheel, dropped his drawers and mooned Gloggy.

Gloggy choked on an olive from his martini and threw up his hands to shield his eyes from the blinding sight. He crashed into a hotdog stand on the side of the road, where Misty was trying to pick up a spare frankfurter or two. Wukky roared with laughter and then his foot slipped and hit the gearshift. He shot back into reverse and hit a tree and bounced forward taking out 30 feet of wooden fencing. When I sped past him he was yelling about someone or something being a pain in the butt. Nurses Suzi and Theresa rushed to his side and were seen checking him out for splinters.... and asking "where does it hurt'?

I hunkered down low in my Fudwocket Rocket Go-cart and sped on, the finish line was in my view. I could see up in the stands, Teddy, Bonnie and Sue trying to start a wave. Fuddy at my side in the passenger's seat, was gurgling and giggling and eating oreo cookies. As we got closer to the finish line, Fuddy spied the judges Vero, Judy, JD and the head judge Mac. In his excitement he tossed a cookie. It beaned Mac in the middle of his forhead and knocked him out cold.

I crossed the finish line.... wanting to win.....

I hugged the blog racing corners close....and at times.... only on one wheel.

I read the map wrong....got lost and confused...... (ate way too many sausages in the week preceding the race) ...and my team member beaned a judge with an oreo cookie.

They say confession is good for the soul......

So I will tell one and all I am guilty, guilty, guilty......and guilty!

Who knew being guilty could be so much fun?...


The only defense I can give is......



(Don't groan)......





I wasn't running on all cylinders!!!

Entry for January 12, 2007 - Go Cart Entry

Entry for the 2007 Blog Go Cart Race....

THE FUDWOCKET ROCKET

TEAM: Vic and Baby Gnome Fudwocket

GO CART STATISTICS:

WHEELS....two (2).....it weebles, it wobbles, but hasn't fallen over yet.

BODY: Recycled tinfoil chocolate wrappers, bubble gum, and paper mache'. Covered in a clear top coat of Aqua Net hairspray for that shiney spit and polish finish.

UPHOLESTRY: Genuine easy clean vinyl for baby gnome spit-up and diaper leakage.

ENGINE: I checked under the hood and there is something...

FUEL: Wind driven and spare hamster wheel in the trunk.

SPEED: Able to obtain warp speed of 2.5 miles per hour without a headwind. Can overtake turtles, snails, and a little old lady with a walker in the crosswalk.



Be forwarned! Beware! I feel the need for speed....and a nap.

GOOD LUCK GO CART CONTESTANTS!...

....(but not that much luck...I want to win!)

Entry for January 09, 2007 - Odds and Ends...

Wow, here it is the 9th of January and I am finally getting around to writing a blog entry. I had good intentions of starting the year off with a blog and seeing if I could write a little something each day. I know a few people who manage to write a blog for each day AND still manage to make it interesting and humorous. That is the part that worries me most. Trying to say or post something that won't have the rest of the blogworld glassy-eyed or suffering from narcolepsy- (making mental note to look up that word for correct spelling).

We all have that one drawer in our house that seems to collect everything. Mine usually contains rubberbands, a clothes pin or two, a pair of pliers, sometimes a screwdriver, and twist ties. Those little bits of paper covered metal used for closing up bags... or whatever. I think if I were to count them all up I would have enough to line one wall in my kitchen with them. Well maybe not, but my kitchen is small and I do have a mountain of them. Why I keep them I don't know. I guess it's a sense of,... I might need them later....

I do that a lot. Hold onto stuff I don't really need or want. I have been reading in some blogs about people who spend the winter cleaning and getting ready for spring. If it's cold out or snowing, I don't get that urge. It's only when the days warm up and I can throw open the windows that I get that urge to toss and do some deep cleaning.

I sat here for awhile this morning, wondering and thinking what to write for my blog entry. I haven't got much of a clue yet as I type here at the keyboard. Yesterday I was going to post a recipe for bread pudding...the idea, curtesy of Suzi and her blog on the evils of bread. I will post it at the end of this blog.... The bread momentum thing may have passed but I will tie up one loose end with it's posting.

Odds and ends....

They never seem to go away. I skimmed thru my e-mail and it took awhile. I have a few people I owe an e-mail back to, and two people I need to e-mail to check up on since I haven't heard from them in awhile. I have one old time chatter who out of the blue IM'd me and I need to send her a few bits of info....by the way...WitsEnd says hi to all of you that remember her from the old days of chat.

Do we ever get caught up?

I got to thinking that I really need to simplify things. I think life is easier and more orderly when things are simplified. I am thinking that maybe I should move into a smaller house and have less stuff. But then I wonder will I have less stuff, less junk, or will I just have bigger piles in a smaller space? It's hard to let go of stuff.... We need stuff, we want stuff, or at least we think we do. I was looking for a pic for this blog and I searched thru all my bookmarks for a site on free photos. I have so many bookmarks. They started out orderly. Search engines...garden sites...computer sites..graphic sites...and then, things got a bit messy. I have bookmarks outdated, websites no longer listed, stuff I needed info on at the time but I don't now. It's hard to go thru bookmarks. They were flagged at one time because they were of importance. Hmmmm, to purge them or not? I never know when I might need that website on Dr.Suess books, the url on Boyd Perry collectibles, or the site bookmarked on albino squirrels again.

So much junk and loose ends. I guess the new year 2007 should be a year for cleaning up loose ends for me. To categorize and prioritize what is of most importance. I didn't make any new year's resolutions, but that is not to say I won't change or at least try to change things a little. Everything can use a little improvement, myself and my blog as well.

So I leave you with one loose end tied up.... my recipe for bread pudding....just for you Suzi.. (wink)



Vic's Bread Pudding

3 slightly beaten eggs
3 cups of milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups of day old raisin bread that has been cut into cubes
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup raisins

Combine eggs,milk,vanilla,cinnamon, and salt. Stir in bread cubes. Stir in brown sugar and raisins. Pour into a greased 8 x 8 x 3 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until top is golden brown and center is cooked.

Caramel Sauce

1 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup evaporated milk (or cream)
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine brown sugar and cornstarch together until well blended in a sauce pan. Add milk, butter, and vanilla. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened. Serve spooned over warm bread pudding with a dollop of whipped cream.

* caramel sauce is also good served on raw apple cake or ice cream.