Old Geezers

My New Diet Plan

This is GENIUS!  I'm doing it from now on.

The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

Obama T-Shirts

Olympic Medals

If I were an athlete competing in the Vancouver Olympics and won the gold,  I'd be ticked off when I saw the ugly thing I had worked 8 hours a day for ten years training for.  This is it???  I'm supposed to hang this on a wall for all to see?  Ugh.  It even looks worse on TV.  (My favorites would be the Beijing Summer Olympics - now those were medals to be shown off:)

Easter Cupcakes

Get these cute Easter cupcake baskets at Sur la Table.  You get 12 for $3.95 ! (Easter is April 4th)

Happy Valentine's Day!

From Lincoln (3-1/2 ) and Emerson (2)

My Favorite Olympic Commercial

I Hope to Live Long Enough to Embarrass my Kids

This ought to do it!

Jennifer at the Blue Bird Cafe

Here's a sample of what we enjoyed in Nashville. This is my daughter Jennifer's first performance at the Blue Bird. Enjoy.

Kitchen Fires

Sooner or later you will have a "flare up" on your stove.  A pan of something you are frying will catch fire. Do you know what to do?

Do NOT try to throw water on it!!!! (that is the WORST thing you can do)

You can pour baking soda on it - but your dinner will be inedible.
You could stick a towel under the faucet, wring it out and cover the pan - but that takes too much time.

The BEST thing to do is have a large lid that will cover even your largest frying pans close to your stove where you can reach it in a hurry if necessary.  The lid will put the fire out - then turn off the heat.  Yes, the outside of the meat will probably be blackened, but the dinner can still usually be served. (if you have a pot rack hanging over your stove, be sure that lid isn't directly over the stove, you don't want to have to reach across the flames to reach the lid!)

I've only had two of these fires in 40 years.  What prompted this post is that I just had one last week and by the time my ex-cop son-in-law got the baking soda, I had put the fire out with my handy lid.  Go me.

Cooking Oils - what to use when

It depends what you are cooking. 

If you are cooking at temperatures over 500 degrees, use Safflower oil. If you are using low temperature cooking, less than 300 degrees, use butter (come on, you know you want to - it just tastes better.  Not as healthy as other choices though). These are the oils I keep on my shelf:

Olive Oil - Is a healthy oil - reduces risk of heart disease.  But: don't cook over 320 degrees.  DON'T use in baking sweets or frying sweets because it is one of the strongest flavored oils and will ruin the taste and smell of your cakes, donuts, etc.  Olive oil is my go to oil for salads, marinades  and any meditteranean cooking. (Don't buy in large quantities, it goes rancid faster than other oils). Note:  Extra virgin oils have a lower cooking temp than virgin oils. Don't use Extra virgin over 320 degrees (it will smoke and burn)

Corn Oil - is a healthy oil.  Lowest in saturated fat (only 13%).  Good for baking, frying, salads, you name it.  It is your best all around oil.

Peanut Oil  (use refined, not filtered) - is a healthy oil.  It lowers bad cholesterol levels - 18% saturated fat.  Good for deep frying (use up to 448 degrees).

Canola Oil - is the healthiest choice of all for your heart - only 6% saturated fat.  Good for stir frying and baking. (I don't like the flavor so I don't use in salads or marinades)

Emerson's Winnie the Pooh Birthday Party

Emerson's birthday is February 7th, but since that falls on a Sunday, we had the party on the 6th.  Emme's TWO!

The only competing we need to do is with ourselves.

I gave up comparing myself to others a long time ago. My "a ha" moment came when I found out that the person I was admiring and thought was so perfect in every way turned out to be a train wreck. When I got to know her I wouldn't have traded places with her for anything. Suddenly I was okay - actually, better than okay.

When we stop comparing ourselves with others, we can actually increase our progress. We won’t be so discouraged—and we will be able to be more productive. We can try to be better than we were yesterday, last week, last month, or last year.

I guess that's why I've always liked golf better than tennis. With tennis, everyone is either better than you are and they don't want to play with you - or they are worse than you are and you don't want to play with them. With golf, you have a "handicap" to level the playing field. You can play with anyone and have a good time.

The photo above is me - thirty years ago (age 34). I had a picture perfect swing and everyone I played with said, "you're going to be a really good golfer." They were wrong. Yes, I could hit my drive (actually a three wood) 220 yards and could be in front of the green in regulation - but then it would take me five strokes to get the ball in the cup! I've only broken a hundred about ten times in my life. But you know what? I don't care. I just always played the best I could, and I had a good time. I was capable of paring any hole on the course, and I even had a few birdies.  I won lots of tournaments (I had a really high handicap, so when I had a good round, nobody could beat me ). I always looked like a good golfer having a bad round and I was happy with that.

So, if I find myself becoming overly impressed by someone else's talents, I just remind myself that I am just as talented and important in my own sphere of influence...and then I eat a cookie.

Where Do You Draw the Line?

Don't abandon your morals for anyone, anytime!

When I was a teenager, I joined the YWCA so I could go on a camping trip the the Seattle World's Fair. As we sat around the campfire one evening, someone read this poem by Edgar A. Guest, and it has been a favorite of mine ever since. I wish ALL teenagers could read it:

"I have to live with myself, and so
I want to be fit for myself to know;
I want to be able, as days go by,
Always to look myself straight in the eye.
I don't want to stand with the setting sun
And hate myself for the things I've done."