Thursday, February 26, 2009

Scary Times!

I dreamt last night that I arrived at our bank to make a withdrawal only to discover all of our cash was gone, swept away by the government, to help pay for the Economic Stimulus package. The teller nonchalantly said, "Oh, didn't you watch the news? Yesterday was the last day to withdraw your funds before the government swept everyone's accounts." I woke up in a cold sweat.

Suddenly, the boat seems like a good investment. ;-)

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Sunday, February 08, 2009

Still Life With Cornflakes

Faced still with several boxes of uneaten cornflakes (all of which are open now! And by "open," I mean opened in the manner that you see here about which I shall not comment any further because of my already elevated blood pressure), I decided to make these, the World's Best Cookies (recipe copied years ago from the first cookbook of the San Francisco Junior League). These are really delicious with a very delicate buttery crumb. They are light and crispy crunchy, not chewy, but wonderful with a cup of hot coffee, or a glass of milk, or indulge in 3 or 4 all by themselves. ;-)

All the makings for the World's Best Cookies

Recipe:

Cream together:
1 C. butter (I use unsalted, but can be salted also...won't be too salty)
1 C. sugar
1 C. brown sugar

1 egg - stir into creamed mixture

Next, stir in:
1 C. salad oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Next, stir in:
1 C oats
1 C. crushed cornflakes
1/2 C. coconut
1/2 C. chopped walnuts

And finally, stir in:
3 1/2 C. flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt

Form balls and press with fork. Bake at 325 on ungreased cookie sheets for 12-15 minutes.

That's it...only one dirty bowl and very easy to make!

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Grandma's Glasses



As you know, babies like to pull things off of your face and ears, so I often feel the tug on my glasses. This time, I turned the tables on Sparky and snapped this photo...he actually seemed to enjoy wearing them. I wonder what his world looked like given that I'm nearly legally blind without them?

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Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Mac vs. PC

As one who has always used a PC (unless you count the original Apple and Apple II computers...no?), I know I would be frustrated like Janie if I tried to make the switch to the oh-so-cool Mac. Not that I don't drool when I go into the Apple store. It's just that it took me forever to learn how to navigate the "simple" ipod (mostly because I couldn't or wouldn't read the online manual). But this really is...hilarious must-read material.

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Monday, February 02, 2009

Facebook and Television Violence

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but apparently, I set up a Facebook account over a year ago and then never populated it except to upload a profile picture. Then I decided to accept and send a few (very few) "friend" invitations over the weekend and now, I'm up to 9 friends. Nine! This is rather paltry in the world of Facebook, I realize, but such is the story of my life. And as my husband says, you're lucky to have even one good friend in this day and age. I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the "garbage" on Facebook and am not likely to use it much because it's just so...much. And without a user's manual (or a 13-year-old), I can't figure it out. Certainly, I'll never be a Facebook addict, but I can see how it could become a great time consumer what with all the kidnapping, mafia hunting, egg gathering, flair sporting, quiz taking, bubble wrapping and gingerbread baking activities goin' on. Holy cow, Batman! Please, just give me a few good friends. To those who have accepted my request of friendship, thank you! :-)

Baby Spartacus watched the Super Bowl last night (following a long afternoon of cage fighting, "Grandpa, what are you watching with him, anyway? He is glued to the television!" "Cage fighting. He likes it." "CAGE FIGHTING?! What are you teaching the boy?! Oh, please, turn that crap off!"). The funny thing was, he really did seem to enjoy watching both the game and the cage fighting. Even if Grandpa wasn't holding him facing the tv, he laid on his blanket full of toys and ignored the toys, staring instead at the tv overhead. Later, there was much "unnecessary roughness" going on in our house. Little Sparky has already learned to hit! Everytime Grandpa tried to feed him, or wipe the drool off his mouth, or just hold him, there was much wild flailing of arms and smacking of Grandpa on the knuckles (especially painful if he happened to be holding a rattle). It was hilarious, really, because Grandpa asked for it. He doesn't do that at all when I hold him. It must be a boy thing. Finally, Grandpa had to throw down the yellow flag because seriously, who wants to get that call from the Kindergarten teacher?

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