Saturday, May 31, 2008

VW Extremes . . .

Just got back from the VW show, lots of nice entries this year. Hubby picked up a few parts, we watched some drag races. . . had a great time! . . . some pretty fancy rigs and some pretty strange ones too .
Like our bug, kinda . . .but nicer
YES, that's real grass and flowers! Only in hippy green Oregon!

One of Dale's fav's

Sweet Tow Truck!

Chad and Lucas chillin' in the camper bus

I'm in love!

Friday, May 30, 2008

Thursday, May 29, 2008

2 Buck Chuck . . .


I'm not a big wine drinker, but I like knowing that if I want a bottle I don't have to spend and arm and a leg for some good wine. You can browse any Safeway wine department and find a number of Oregon wines or others that are really good for under $10 bottle. I'm not a red wine fan, although a number of my girlfriends love the Merlot and Shiraz. I always buy it for them when they come for Bunco, I think it is rancid . . I take one sip and if I could spit it out I would, but I don't because I'm ladylike :). A wine I do enjoy is Pinot Grigio, it's light, not strong tasting and I can sip on it without wrinkling up my nose. Since I'm not a big wine expert by any means, I have no idea about kinds of wine or years of wines that are considered the best. So I select based on who has the coolest name and fancy label, so here is this weeks selection, not a bad choice I might say. At $7.25 a bottle it's a bargain and delicious, plus if you buy 6 bottles of wine at Safeway you get 10% off the total purchase, so hey!! today I will drink wine! Tomorrow it's back to beer! Salu!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Sammy the prize fighter . . .

Our cat likes to fight. If by mistake we don't put him in the garage at night, he will battle with the neighbor cat. The screaming sounds like some kind of Siamese cat war at usually around 2AM. So there are times when he gets battle wounds that cause a visit to the Vet. Many times I'm coming home with some kind of wound ointment and antibiotics. When I received this email, it was like someone had witnessed our ritual of pill dispensing.

How To Give A Cat A Pill

1. Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow...
2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process...
3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away...
4.Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand, force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten...
5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe.Call spouse from garden...
6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously...
7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later...
8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw...
9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap...
10. Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door on to neck, to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band...
11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of scotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw Tee shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom...
12. Call fire department to retrieve the damn cat from across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil wrap.
13. Tie the little bugger's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bindtightly to leg of dining table, find heavy-duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of filet steak. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.
14. Consume remainder of scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.
15. Arrange for SPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

How To Give A Dog A Pill
1. Wrap the pill in a slice of bacon.
2. Toss the bacon into the air. Done.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Monday, May 26, 2008

It's pie time . . .

The strawberries are ripe! Enjoy . . . .
Fresh Strawberry Pie
1 - 8oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1t. vanilla
1 c. Cool Whip
Whole Strawberries, enough for one pie
Glaze - 1 c. sliced strawberries
1 1/2 c. water
1/2 c. sugar
1/8t. salt
1T. water
1T. cornstarch
1t. lemon juice
1/2t. almond extract
Prepare a pie crust. Set aside to cool.
Cream together cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Fold in Cool Whip. Turn mixture into prepared pie shell. Top mixture with whole fresh strawberries.
Glaze - In saucepan, combine sliced strawberries, water, sugar & salt, bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring to mash berries, drain off juice, discard pulp. Return juice to saucepan. Combine 1T. cornstarch to 1T. water, stir. Add to juice and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and almond extract. Chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Remembering on Memorial Day . . .

A number of years ago I was able to travel to Washington D.C on business. It was for a healthcare conference but during the middle of the week I was able to break away for some sight seeing. Since this was my first trip to DC, some specific places came to mind that I really wanted to visit. The White House, Lincoln Memorial, Arlington National Cemetary, Smithsonian Institute, Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall and the Washington Monument. Alot of places to see in one day, my goals were big. First place I dashed to was the Smithsonian, took the elevator to the 5th floor, went directly to the room displaying the Hope diamond, stared at it (amazing), then took the elevator back down. Finished at the Smithsonian! Onto the National Archives building which houses the Declaration of Independance (this was before Nicholas Cage stole it in National Treasure!) and the Constitution. Waited in long lines, unbelievable to actually look at the original documents, goosebumps actually. Couldn't get into the White House had to have a prescheduled tour, grounds were beautiful though. Lincoln Memorial was OK...I guess it's more impresssive on TV, it's not as big as I expected, but I did touch President Lincoln's pant leg so that was cool. Walking from the White House to the Lincoln Memorial you pass by the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall. I strolled by in the flow with many others when it hit me. Oh my gosh, there are so many names. The further I walked the more names, and more names, it was overwhelming. I had a huge lump in my throat and I didn't expect that. I didn't really know any people who died in Vietnam (Dale's brother served there but never talks about it) but to see all of those names it absolutely caught me off guard with emotions I didn't really expect to feel. The last place I had time to visit that day was Arlington National Cemetary. The bus dropped us off just in time to witness the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, very moving ceremony, so quiet even with hundreds of people watching. Following the guards ceremony I walked over to the Kennedy gravesites where the eternal flame burns, again . . not sure what happened to me but was completely taken over by huge lump in my throat, tears in my eyes and flashbacks to my 1st grade teacher crying when President Kennedy's assasination occurred. I came back from that trip with a strong belief that every American should travel to Washington D.C. at some time in their life to see these places in our history. I didn't really think I was much of a history buff, but there is just so much to see and I just couldn't fit it all in my 9 hour visit. It will definately be a future destination for hubby (who loves history) and myself again. Lot's of people have sacrificed for us, and done so proudly, let's not ever forget them.