Saturday, July 31, 2010

Saturday in Bandon and an incidental yard sale.



This what it looks outside the window of The Phoenix Grill...a strangely named eatery for Bandon as we were not consumed in fire and did not arise from ashes, well at least our meals did not.



Husband ordered Philly Steak sandwich, note the paucity of fries.



I ordered, of all things, an oyster po'boy sandwich. The oysters were local and fresh but the breading was so hard I was afraid I would crack a tooth, I also ordered soup of the day, which was far more tasty than the po'boy sammy.

There was a breakfast menu that I wouldn't mind returning to sample, however the service was very slow and the uni-sex bathroom earned a rating of 6 out of 10, there were no toilet seat covers.



Then on the way out of town, we stopped at a huge yard sale. I found this print of bunnies they are in pointillist style in a very soft watercolor effect. I purchased it to go over the Children's Book section in Bookity Boo. That's the plan so far.

Friday, July 30, 2010

MORE COOKING ADVENTURES FROM RETRO'S KITCHEN!!



The above picture is the fresh split pea soup I made this afternoon. Husband has been wishing for some, so we shopped the local farmer's market and dragged home onions, bunches of parsley and a two pound bag of split peas. Sure I could have purchase a can but....what's the fun of that? So I dimly remembered a Kosher recipe with which I took some liberties.

Chop and saute 1 largish white onion.
Add whole bunch of chopped parsley, about a cup or more.
Wilt in a dab of butter.
Add 8 ounces of chicken stock.
Cook until tender.
Throw in one pound of split peas.
Top with 1 quart of water.
Boil for 20 minutes, simmer for 40 minutes.
Don't forget salt, pepper, some red pepper flakes and some fresh grated nutmeg.

Yummy!


The above is a picture of the chicken pot pie also made earlier today.

Last week I baked a whole chicken on top of some sliced potatoes. After cooling I boned the chicken and sliced the potatoes. Husband allowed that he probably would not eat any more of it. How about I make a chicken pot pie? Um, yeah, he would eat that.

Approximately 4 pounds roasted and boned chicken and a couple of potatoes.
One medium sized bag frozen mixed veggies; green beans, lima beans, corn, etc.
One can mushroom soup.
One peel and stick pie crust.
Salt, pepper
350 oven, 1 hour.

Not bad.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

It's Saturday so I must be......



This is a banana slushy with chocolate yogurt with watermelon twizzlers. Spoon optional.

I also wished to comment on possible the cutest yet most repellent advertisement just viewed last evening. The commercial is selling one of the cable services; I am not exactly sure which one and that nicely contravenes the ad boys cleverness I must say.

At any rate, the scene opens in the very VERY expensive apartment of a very tough, unshaven ruthless extremely eastern European tycoon. He is followed by a phalanx of sycophants and a pair of beautiful women as he walks through the apartment choosing between two solid gold busts of someone famous and several other luxurious items for his delectation.

He selects a channel changer from a gold stand and clicks it on saying something like, "Although I am extremely wealthy I recognize the best deal offered by cable and I jump on it!". He sits on his Louis the Fourteen chaise, looks to his right and makes kissy noises at the miniature giraffe sitting on the pillow. The giraffe looks up and pecks him on the lips. The tycoon giggles manically and slaps himself on his knees in a very self satisfied reaction.

For some reason this commercial just completely cracked me up. Really.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

2010 RESULTS BULWER LYTTON CONTEST ENJOY

2010 CONTEST RESULTS



For the first month of Ricardo and Felicity's affair, they greeted one another at every stolen rendezvous with a kiss--a lengthy, ravenous kiss, Ricardo lapping and sucking at Felicity's mouth as if she were a giant cage-mounted water bottle and he were the world's thirstiest gerbil.

Molly Ringle
Seattle, WA

The winner of the 2010 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest is Molly Ringle of Seattle, Washington. The author of one published and two soon-to-be-published novels, Molly Ringle only writes bad fiction when she fails at good fiction. She'd rather not say how often this happens. She lives in Seattle with her family, and her vices include uncalled-for moments of sarcasm, excessive consumption of Nutella, and an unladylike avidity for the raunchy films of Mel Brooks
Molly Ringle is the 28th grand prize winner of the contest that that began at San Jose State University in 1982. She is also the second consecutive Washingtonian in a row to win the contest, last year’s being David McKenzie.

Runner-Up:

Through the verdant plains of North Umbria walked Waylon Ogglethorpe and, as he walked, the clouds whispered his name, the birds of the air sang his praises, and the beasts of the fields from smallest to greatest said, "There goes the most noble among men" -- in other words, a typical stroll for a schizophrenic ventriloquist with delusions of grandeur.
Tom Wallace
Columbia, SC

Winner: Adventure

The blazing equatorial sun beat down on Simon’s head and shoulders as he dug feverishly in the hot sand with the ivory shoe-horn his mother had given him before the homecoming game with Taft, when the field was so wet that he’d lost his low-tops seven times in the cold sucking mud.
Adam McDonough
Reedsburgh, Wi

Runner-Up:
When Hru-Kar, the alpha-ranking male of the silver-backed gorilla tribe finished unleashing simian hell on Lt. Cavendish, the once handsome young soldier from Her Majesty’s 47th Regiment resembled nothing so much as a crumpled up piece of khaki-colored construction paper that had been dipped in La Victoria chunky salsa.
Greg Homer
Placerville, CA

Winner: Children’s Literature

“Please Mr. Fox, don’t take your magic back to the forest, it is needed here in Twigsville!” pleaded little Isabel, but Mr. Fox was unconcerned as he smugly loped back into the woods without answering a word knowing well that his magic was only going to be used to make sure his forest would be annexed into the neighboring community of Leaftown where the property values were much higher.
Pete Watkins
Broken Arrow, OK

Winner: Detective

She walked into my office wearing a body that would make a man write bad checks, but in this paperless age you would first have to obtain her ABA Routing Transit Number and Account Number and then disable your own Overdraft Protection in order to do so.
Steve Lynch
San Marcos, CA

Runner-Up:
As Holmes, who had a nose for danger, quietly fingered the bloody knife and eyed the various body parts strewn along the dark, deserted highway, he placed his ear to the ground and, with his heart in his throat, silently mouthed to his companion, “Arm yourself, Watson, there is an evil hand afoot ahead.
Dennis Pearce
Lexington, KY

Winner: Fantasy Fiction

The wood nymph fairies blissfully pranced in the morning light past the glistening dewdrops on the meadow thistles by the Old Mill, ignorant of the daily slaughter that occurred just behind its lichen-encrusted walls, twin 20-ton mill stones savagely ripping apart the husks of wheat seed, gleefully smearing the starchy entrails across their dour granite faces in unspeakable botanical horror and carnage – but that’s not our story; ours is about fairies!
Rick Cheeseman
Waconia, MN

Winner: Historical Fiction
In Southwestern Germany just east of the Luxemburg border and north of France where history pitted various related Hapsburg Royals against each other and the Archbishops of Trier, the Abbots of St. Maximin, various members of the nobility, and mobs of axe-bearing villagers, there stands a ruin whose building stones mostly were carted off to build other buildings.
Mary Ann R Unger
Ewing, NJ

Runner-Up:
The band of pre-humans departed the cave in search of solace from the omnipresent dangers found there knowing that it meant survival of their kind, though they probably didn't understand it intellectually since their brains were so small and undeveloped but fundamentally they understood that they didn't like big animals that ate them.
Mike Mayfield
Austin, TX

Winner: Purple Prose

The dark, drafty old house was lopsided and decrepit, leaning in on itself, the way an aging possum carrying a very heavy, overcooked drumstick in his mouth might list to one side if he were also favoring a torn Achilles tendon, assuming possums have them.
Scott Davis Jones
Valley Village, CA

Runner-Up:
The wind whispering through the pine trees and the sun reflecting off the surface of Lake Tahoe like a scattering of diamonds was an idyllic setting, while to the south the same sun struggled to penetrate a sky choked with farm dust and car exhaust over Bakersfield, a town spread over the lower San Joaquin Valley like a brown stain on a wino’s trousers, which is where, unfortunately, this story takes place.
Dennis Doberneck
Paso Robles, CA

Dishonorable Mentions:
Elaine was a big woman, and in her tiny Smart car, stakeouts were always hard for her, especially in the August sun where the humidity made her massive thighs, under her lightweight cotton dress, stick together like two walruses in heat.
Derek Renfro
Ringgold, GA
The Zinfandel poured pinkly from the bottle, like a stream of urine seven hours after eating a bowl of borscht.
Alf Seegert
Salt Lake City, UT

Winner: Romance
"Trent, I love you," Fiona murmered, and her nostrils flared at the faint trace of her lover's masculine scent, sending her heart racing and her mind dreaming of the life they would live together, alternating sumptuous world cruises with long, romantic interludes in the mansion on his private island, alone together except for the maids, the cook, the butler, and Dirk and Rafael, the hard-bodied pool boys.
Paul Chafe
Toronto, ON

Runner-Up:
She purred sensually, oozing allure that was resisted only by his realization as an entomologist that the protein dust on the couch from the filing of her crimson nails was now being devoured by dust mites in a clicking, ferocious, ecstatic frenzy.
Jonathan Blay
Bedford, Canada

Dishonorable Mention:
Cynthia had washed her hands of Philip McIntyre - not like you wash your hands in a public restroom when everyone is watching you to see if you washed your hands but like washing your hands after you have been working in the garden and there is dirt under your fingernails -- dirt like Philip McIntyre.
Linda Boatright
Omaha, NE

Winner: Science Fiction
t'Bleen and Golxxm squelched their way romantically along the slough beach beneath the three Sommodian moons, their eye-stalks occasionally touching, and tenderly belched sweet nothings like, "I don't think I've ever had such a charming evening," and, "Say, would you like to gnaw that hunk of suppurating tissue off my dorsal appendage—it really itches."
Bryan Olive
Tustin, CA

Winner: Vile Puns
It was a risky production unlike any mounted prior on the Met stage, the orchestra first imitating the perpetually beating heart of a man walled-in while in pursuit of wine , and then a soprano singing the plaintive aria of a barely alive woman stuffed up a chimney as her ancestral home was destroyed; however, it certainly was Opera Poe.
Amy Torchinsky
Greensboro NC

Runner-Up:
As Jeffrey Hicks, the event safety coordinator for the Renaissance Festival finished posting the revised standards for weaponry, he thought of the day an unleashed dog wandered onto the jousting field, causing the rider from Indianapolis to stop short, impaling himself on the butt of his spear, and the following day’s newspaper headline which read: “Stray Injures Indy Knight, Hicks Changing Lances.”
Brad Taylor
Iowa City, IA

Dishonorable Mention:
Wearing his new slacks from L.L. Bean, and entering the pen to feed his three big dogs their usual three cans of dog food, some of which ended up on his new pants, Kevin then left the house to attend a revival screening of ‘Serpico’ with Alpo chinos.
Greg Homer
Placerville, CA

Winner: Western
He walked into the bar and bristled when all eyes fell upon him -- perhaps because his build was so short and so wide, or maybe it was the odor that lingered about him from so many days and nights spent in the wilds, but it may just have been because no one had ever seen a porcupine in a bar before.
Linda Boatright
Omaha, NE

Miscellaneous Dishonorable Mentions:
His chest glistened like a pumpkin seed, either one fresh out of the pumpkin but with all the orange strands of pumpkin flesh removed, or one straight out of the oven after being coated in just the right amount of oil and then baked; the point is that it was smooth, fairly shiny, and that color.
Jesse Kolman
Phoenix, AZ

The life-saving salve had not arrived to help Dr. Sybil Carter dress the mutant killer bee wounds because landslides blocked roads, the rivers were jammed by earthquake debris, and even the jungle foot paths were clogged with dead bees and their victims, yet without the medicinal unguent, many more would die, so reluctantly giving in to her promise never again to speak to her aviator ex-boyfriend, she picked up the radio and begged him to fly in the ointment.
David K. Lynch
Topanga, CA

Faintly silhouetted against the shadowy murk of a nameless Devonian sea, the Megalodont shark was unaware of trilobites foraging in the primordial ooze not far below, trilobites that unlike the shark’s cartilaginous being would become part of the fossil record of an ancient seabed that would in time heave up, dry out and go through the crusher at the Marulan Cement Works somewhere north of Sydney, Australia.
John Mackesy
Victoria, Australia

Leaning back comfortably in a plush old chair, feet up, fingers laced behind his head, Tom Chambers inventoried his life and with a satisfied grin mused, “Ah, marlin fishing off the coast of Majorca, a bronze star for that rescue mission in Jamir, the unmatched fragrance of pastries fresh out of the oven at CafĂ© Legrande, two sons who would make any father proud . . . I’ve never done any of that.”
Ernie Santilli
Drexel Hill PA

Living next door to the Lesters for nearly twelve years now, Mrs. Nestor, fully aware of her husband’s fondness for pulchritudinous posteriors, was unable to deter Chester Nestor’s constant quest for Mr. Lester’s sister Hester’s monster keister.
Jeff Flegel
Racine, WI

As Ethel arranged the list of company phone numbers under her clear plastic desk cover, perfectly aligning the lower right corner of the list with the lower right corner of the plastic, then swiveled her chair to file one more inter-office memorandum on trimming the budget, she considered how different her life might have been if her parents had named her Tiffany.
Judy Fischer
Prospect, KY

As the under-appreciated autumn evening faded into yet another soft black velvet fall night, all creatures large and small had settled in except for one, Loupy, the Schipperke, whose job was to keep Anatoly, the night watchman, informed of all things pertaining to the property with her signature uninterrupted warning barks which at this very moment would not subside until her master explained, "We don't know anyone named Timmy and we don't have a well."
Karen Arutunoff
Tulsa, Oklahoma

"You ask me, ‘Why did you do it, Charlie, I could've been a contender?’ -- I'll tell you why: you worked your fights in too close, taking blow after unnecessary blow; I knew you were going to end up punchdrunk and need money for a nurse, and you were never a contender, you were only a referee."
Charles Alworth
Port Aransas, TX

After launching the last brown lump of chewing tobacco from his bulbous and stained lower lip to its new landing on the Main Street pavement below, Billy Bob couldn’t believe that what lay before him, was a spitting image of George Washington.

Heidi Vazquez
Bellevue, NE

Oneida Revere picked at her meal and stared dully across the table at the charismatic charlatan who had seduced her with the illusion of love and tarnished her family's sterling reputation; she was wise to his bent mind games and though it felt like a knife through her heart, she knew it was time to stick a fork in it and call it done - her days of spooning with Uri Geller were over.
Terri Daniel (Seattle, WA) and Craig Rieger (Concord, CA)
Seattle, WA

And lastly my submission all about sour dough hotcakes was rejected...too long.

I felt like making blackberry cobbler...



Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup shortening

cut these ingredients together until pea sized mixture.

beat one egg in 1/2 cup milk

add to dry ingredients until wet, you may wish to add a bit more milk if
the dough is too stiff.

3 cups berries
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour.
Sprinkle together.

Top berries with dough mixture, bake in 425 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

The evaporated milk is optional but a favorite in the family.

I like mine plain.

Monday, July 19, 2010

More art work....




We have more pictues up at work, artist and price not posted yet. This one just cracked me up! All I could think of was the beginnings of a joke..

"Two Seagulls walk into a bar..."

See? They are yucking it up already.

So go ahead finish the joke for me, I haven't got a clue.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Mashed pennies and Look , Ma, No Fog!!



Hey Gale! I smashed a penny for you at Shore Acres. I need your mailing address, I have a P.O. Box listed in my address book, please confirm in an email okey dokey?





Hey Desiree, remember where we ate lunch at the Portside and it was so foggy we could barely see the beach part? Here is what it looks like in full sunshine. Again the halibut was Delish!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

OOOH! ARTSY FARTSY!




Some new art work went up today on the hallways, very colorful. I should have taken a straighter picture and there is glare from the over head. The picture is much more orange and blue in person. It almost looks like fabric from a distance. There is no price tag up yet but I bet it will be a doozy! Three of us were considering bidding on it. However, I would have to hang the picture somewhere appropriate, like a New York penthouse or sumpin' sumpin'.

Sue and I went out to lunch today and walked over to the old bank building and went upstairs to a new shop that specialized in vintage fabric, jewelry, beads, buttons, trim. It is in two rooms that have very large windows. I purchased some dark purple upholstery fabric for pillow covers. Now I just need to hire someone to hold a gun on me to actually do the sewing.

I would love to have a space like that for books. However, there is an incredible stair case that winds four times before you get on on the mezzanine floor, puff puff. Lots of cardio just schlepping books up. ....gasp...I better think it over or get an elevator.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

SIGHT SEEING SATURDAY



This is a picture of my friend from Alaska,Desiree and her daughter Emily. They are taking a leisurely train/car trip around the Northwest. I met them in Coos Bay and we drove to Shore Acres where it was FOGGY. We walked around, toured the gardens, smelled the lovely roses and walked some more.



This is a picture of a rather large sea lion fogging himself on the rocks. He yawned a few times, waved at the tourists, rested his head on a rock and slept some more.



We had lunch at Portside in Charleston. The grilled halibut was delicious! As we drove back towards Coos Bay the sky suddenly turned blue, so I headed for Horsfals Beach....which was FOGGY. Deliciously cool but foggy. We staggered up over a dune and I elected to watch from a nice warm sand patch while the ladies dipped their toes into the surf. But it was still FOGGY.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Ooh Ooh, tree made of books




This looks like some one used a whole collection of reference books and stacked them carefully into the shape of a Christmas Tree. Pocket books would be too slippery and one of the cats would knock it over immediately.

However I am tempted to use it for a rather elaborate coffee cup holder or drag out my ornaments and put them on display. At least it is colored green.

BOOKS, FURNITURE AND LIBRARIES. uh Huh...



Carlah Dee Dah sent me this picture of a table whose legs are made of books. Picture is from one of her favorite local book stores. I did notice that my book store might have to sell things besides book.





Then I decided to Google "Beautiful Libraries" And found this beauty with a spiral staircase to end spiral stair cases. I would be a little dizzy.




This gorgeous room is from the Astronomical Library at Utrecht....sigh....




Then I decided to Google "Furniture made of books" I like this one very much, it looks comfy, I would only add a couple plump pillows, a good lamp and a foot stool and the books are so....handy!

Monday, July 5, 2010

GOOD GAWD IT'S ANOTHER GOLDEN, BROWN AND DELICIOUS CASSEROLE!



Click to enlarge, my friends, there are elbow macaroni sticking out of the crust.

I decided to make Mac and Cheese and um...mushrooms. There must be a jello recipe in there somewhere.

So 3 cups elbow macaroni, in 4 quarts water, bring to boil, insert pasta, boil 8 minutes. Drain.

Largish bag of shredded cheese, cheddar and mozzarella.

While pasta is cooking quarter 10 medium button mushrooms and saute in butter and olive oil until you see brown bits. Turn off heat.

Chop spring onions.

1/2 cup sour cream, 1 cup milk. Stir everything together, pour into casserole dish, top with a mixture of bread crumbs and butter. Bake in 350 oven for 30 minutes.

Yum! Needs salt, but husband likes it that way. Yes he has sampled and gone back more more. So......

Coincidentally I watched "The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Cheesy" on Food Network.
They got around to mac and cheese and I think I will try cooking the penne pasta in the milk mixture and adding a dash of fresh nutmeg and I may try Gruyere cheese, it is swiss cheese without the holes. Apparently the cheese is made from cow's milk that is obtained from cows way high up in the summer alps, something about the altitude makes for great flavor. uh huh.