Post Oscars, last week and future weather

So the Oscar party was a success. There were games. There were people cheating. (Me and a couple others.) I don't go to the movies often. The last time I went to the movies was to see 'Wild Hogs'. What was that, a couple years ago.



The food was wonderful. We had a cheese platter, bacon and sausage pinwheels, salad, mac and cheese, chicken cacciatore, another chicken dish, baked ziti. The best was dessert. Lemon squares, toffee, mini cheesecakes, my all time fav, chocolate covered double stuffed oreos.



I won the best supporting actor category, but I guess it was a given that Heath Ledger would win. Don't get me wrong, I thought he was a great actor. I feel sorry for the family to have lost someone at such a young age.



I must say that I personally hated Whoopi's dress. At ceramics they were saying that she was talking about it on 'The View'. Whoopi said that she liked it and it was comfortable. Got to respect her for that.



The Oscar's are over. So until next year, I'll be working on dipping some double stuffed.

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The week was uneventful. Well were I work, there is always some excitement, but I'm not going there. It's the weekend.

Monday was line dance. Oh, how I love that. Great way to get some exercise and to release tension. Monday is week 5. Only five more weeks to go. :o(

Tuesday was yoga. Another great way to exercise and to release tension. I have to say that Tuesday night is my best nights sleep. I would highly recommend yoga to anyone. You go at your own pace. Do what you can do.

Wednesday was ceramics. I finished a Christmas gift for this year and cleaned another piece. I enjoy going, but I am running out of stuff to make. I starting on stuff for outside, but my gardens are starting to look like villages. Pretty soon they will be all ceramics and no flowers. Ahh that won't happen. I enjoy my gardens.

Thursday and Friday were boring.

Today was kinda a lazy day. I did do some chores around the house. There was a yoga benefit for the SPCA's of New Jersey that I went too. Was total different then Tuesday night. Actually it was down right funny. After some stretches we did yoga dance. Which would have been fine, but it was more of a release then dance. I wish I could share with you, but it is really indescribable.

I visited some Camera Critter. Camera Critters is a fun meme that is really right up my alley. People post pictures of, what else. Critters. Whether it is there own critters or not. If you would like to see for yourself or if you would like to join in the fun, click here. Mine entry for this week is here .

Today was cloudy and damp. Tomorrow will probably be the same. They have us in a winter storm watch. They are saying that we could get up to six inches of snow Sunday night into Monday. Oh joy. It appears that March may come in like a lion.

Anyway, I have bored you enough. Hell I even bored myself with this one. Hopefully the next one will be a bit more exciting.

Oscar Party

My friend is hosting an Oscar Party tonight. She has held a couple over the years. Let me tell you she goes all out.

The year before last was my first. When I walked in her door, I couldn't help but laugh. Awaiting us was a red carpet of sorts. It actually was a red table cloth, but effective none the less. Mini Oscar's decorated the table and well as other Oscar related decorations.

Every guest is asked to bring a gift no more than $5.00. She makes up ballots for all the categories and we circle who we think will win. She also asked movie related questions throughout the night. If one or more is lucky enough to choose the winner, our names are put in a hat and the winner gets to choose a gift from the gift table. Also decorated with Oscar related decor.

We do make fun of how all out she goes, but she says this is her super bowl party. She loves going to the movies. I rarely go to the movies, however I did make out pretty good the year before. She would talk about the movies she went to see, so my choices were based on that. She was very low keyed this year. Not really talking about the movie in depth.

She is going all out this year. Inviting more people. We will bring something to eat. So it will probably be a Hodge-podge meal. My kind of meal. Being able to pick at food all night. My choice, not very Oscar like, is Buffalo Chicken Dip. Here's the recipe if anyone is interested.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

3 - 10oz cans Hormel chicken - drained

2 - 8oz packages of cream cheese

1 cup ranch dressing

1 5oz bottle of Franks red hot sauce

1 bag of mixed shredded cheese

Add chicken to pan and break up. Saute chicken with hot sauce.

Add cream cheese, stirring until melted.

Then add ranch dressing and 1/2 bag of cheese and stir.

When the cheese is melted, pour into baking dish and add the other half bag of cheese on top.

Bake for 35-40 minutes in a 350 degree oven until brown on top.

Serve with scoops or crackers.

That all for now. I must go to the store for my gift.

Have a good day.

Jake's Landing

Last night was another owl watch. There were more people then the last time. There was a lot of action. A Bald Eagle at a great distance. Several Meadowlarks. A black rough legged something or other and several short-eared owls. At one point two short-eared had a mid-air fight. That was interesting to see. No feathers lost.

We took a walk in the woods. They said that they found an area were long-eared owls were roosting. They were showing us areas of white wash and pellets. At one point I asked them if white wash and pellets was really shit. Yes it is. Why not say shit or poop. This I can understand better then white wash and pellets. We didn't see any long-eared owls.

Was a good night. Enjoyed myself.

Music

Sorry folks, but the music is back.

Deck

The picture below is the partially completed deck. The deck boards were on and we were able to walk on it. Again the pic makes the deck bigger than what it really is.


To the right, you can see a portion of the window.

The completed deck.

One of the windows.

Partially window and my deck.

Window.

I keep calling them windows. They really aren't windows per say. Meaning they are not made of glass. They are made of heavy duty plastic. This type window is used a lot in Florida.

My main reason for the windows was to keep the weather off my covered deck. Keeping me and the kittens dry when it rains. Well mainly the kittens. What we wouldn't do for our furry friends.

When my contractors had the windows in, they said that I would want doors to make the room bug proof. I didn't think I would. But when I was out there that night, the thought crossed my mind more than once. We'll see how the summer goes. I may, (probably will), be calling them back to install the doors.

I have to say that I enjoyed coming home from work and them being here. I enjoyed the company. I would help them clean up and load their van and then we would sit and talk for awhile.

My contractor's are the same that did my addition, so they understand my quirkiness. They just shake their head and smile. They are also animals lovers so they understood my reason for the windows. Even if it was a portion of the deck.

They would ask questions about work, that I would answer very carefully. They sensed that something wasn't right there. They wouldn't push, but still asked some questions. I finally came out and told them what was going on. There was some surprise, but for the most part, they knew something wasn't right. Contractor's talk with one another. They knew something was going on, but they just didn't know the whole story.

I told them that I was debating with myself whether to tell them that they would be given a hard time with the permit. Also whether to but them in a position that if someone came over, to not let them in my home. As it turned out, I didn't have to worry about the latter. The permit was a different story. They were asked lots of questions. Questions that they should have been asking me. Actually the contractor said they were going to ask me. They never did. I guess the office was also but in a position of wanting to give me a hard time, but not being able to give that much of a hard time to my contractors. My contractors are good. They have gotten many a permit for jobs larger then my little deck. Asking too many questions would have raise red flags.

Well anyway, my deck is done. The only thing I have to do now is seal it. They say that one is supposed to wait a year before sealing it. We'll see how long I can hold out.

Happy Valentine's Day

Tires, Ralphy & my deck

Thursday night I was telling my boss about the tire incident. He tried to play it off. Wasn't happening. The next morning he called me from his cell to tell me my friends tire was flat. I thought he was kidding. He wasn't. Her other tire was flat. She ended up with two new front tires herself.

Bobbie said that we both should file a police report. If nothing else it is on file. But if something else happens at least there is a record. When I was going next door this morning "C" car wasn't there. When I walked into the office she was standing there. I asked her if she parked in the other lot. Yes she had. I asked her if they found a nail or screw in the other flat. They did not. I told her what Bobbie said. She said, "Well you know my tires were old and it could have been a coincidence." I said, "Well you know my tires were only a year and a half - two years old. And is that why you parked in a different lot today." I am thinking about filing the report. I really don't think this was a coincidence.


Anyway, Ralphy my boy was acting pretty funny this afternoon so I took a couple of pics to share.

He spotted his sister in the other yard and went into stalking mode.

Then crouching mode.

He did jump the fence and I have a couple of pics of that, but they aren't pretty.

Friday, my contractor left a message that he would be over Monday or Tuesday to start my deck and that the windows came in for my back deck.

They came and framed up the deck.

The picture makes it look bigger than it really is. When finished it will be 6' x 12'. Big enough for my grill, a swing and maybe a small table and chair set.

They started framing up the opening for the windows. Well they're not really windows. They are called Eze-Breeze sliding panels and they are plastic. I wanted something to keep the rain and wind off the back deck to give me and the kittens some protection. But I still wanted the clear opening for the nicer weather. I haven't seen them yet, but they say they are very nice. I'll post a picture once they're installed.

I felt bad for the kittens during all this today. I seen Yipper from a distance. She was afraid to come anywhere near. Ralphy my boy was easier getting back. I held him for awhile telling him everything was okay. Once he realized that it was, he had to inspect the contractor's workmanship.

Not sure if he approved or not, but it got a thorough inspection. Yipper has since relaxed and settle in. We'll see how she handles it tomorrow.

Coincidence????

I'm talking about the tire incident Monday night where my friends came to my rescue. The rescue that took 2 1/2 hours. Where the weather turned windy and cold during this time.

Because I felt soo bad about this, I had decided to get them a gift certificate to a restaurant. A girl we work with has a lovely restaurant that I know my friend's dine at and enjoy very much. She was out sick yesterday, but in today. I was talking to her about the amount of the gift certificate. She asked why I was getting them this. This kinda of surprised me. I thought she had already known about the Monday night saga. As I was telling her the story, she was getting a befuddled look on her face. She asked me what night this happened. I told her. She asked what tire. I told her driver's front. She said, "your not going to believe this, but I had a flat tire Monday night. Driver's side front." What are the chances? We looked at one another. I said, "Boy we're on someones hate list. Maybe it's time to look into getting cameras in the back parking lot." She said that wasn't a bad idea. She asked what the cause of my flat was. I told her I didn't know. I had asked if it was a nail, but they said they couldn't tell. She said that she was picking her tire up today and would find out if she had a nail in hers.

Now I'm kinda pissed off. I mean really. What are the chances that we both have a flat tire the same night and the same tire to boot. I said if someone was that malicious to do this, do it on the back tire. What if we're driving down the road and we had a blow-out. This could have hurt or killed someone. At least if it was a rear tire, we could better control our vehicle. Not to mention that she has young children.

I am really having a hard time with this 'coincidence.' I am trying not to think that someone did this deliberately. But!!! The only place we have in common is work.

This little episode cost me a small fortune. If this was done deliberately and I find out who did, to quote Mr. T, "I pity the fool."

Coincidence??? I wonder!!!!

And the bad luck continues

Went to line dance class last night. I was going to stay for the second class, but there was talk about bad weather starting. So I decided to leave after the first class.

As I was walking to my car, and noticed that it was listing. Got to the car and 'oh shit' flat tire. My compressor is broke so I called a friend. They came with compressor, but we could not get any air in it. He said that we would have to put the spare on and asked where the key for the lug nut was. We looked and couldn't find it. I called the dealership and they told me where to look. We had already looked in those places. He said that it would probably have to be cut off, but if I could get there, they have a universal key. How the hell was I supposed to get there. I have a flat tire that won't take air and a spare tire that I can't use because I don't have the key plus a flat tire on the car that needs the same key.

I called a closer Honda dealership. Of course the service department is closed, but they would look for the universal key and call me if they found it. He asked for my cellphone number. I don't know my cellphone number. He laughed. It is funny having a cellphone and not knowing the number. My friend rattled off his cellphone number. They called about five minutes later saying they would meet us.

By now the wind had picked up and got very cold. None of us are dressed for this as the night started out warm. Well the guys came with two boxes of keys. As my luck would have it, none worked. What the fuck.

I'm about ready to cry at this point. My friends are now frozen and I feel bad for putting them through this. We can't get the tires changed. My friend had the idea to jack the car up alittle bit to get some weight off the front end. This worked. We were able to get air in the tire and made it to the store for a can of fix-a-flat. Not having any money with me, they had to buy the can. Now I am feeling even worse. As he is putting the fix-a-flat in, he said he thinks it's coming out the back because he can hear something. I said it was the wind. He said no. I looked under the car to the inside of the tire. Nothing was coming out. After he put it in, you could hear the air coming out of the tire. They followed me home with no problems.

I called my boss at home and told him I wasn't going to work tomorrow. I had to get this fixed. Slept shitty. The cat got sick and wanted to be cuddled. I finally got up and went to check the tire. It was half filled. During the night, sleet and snow started, but I had a mission. Nothing would stop me. I came in and checked the website. They open at 7:30 A.M. I was out the door by 7:00 A.M. Added a bit more air for good measure. Watching the clock, I called them alittle after 7:30 A.M. You see the dealership is 45 minutes to an hour away. Approximately 45 miles. I told them I was heading their way and I would need an new tire and a key to get the lug nuts off. I explained what had happened last night. He said that it wouldn't be a problem. That they would fix everything when I got there. Now it is snowing pretty heavy. Asking my angels to get me there safely, I continued on. I got there alittle after 8:00 A.M. Walked out about three hours later with two new tires, wheel alignment, oil change, but most importantly a lug nut key.

I figured that I was in the neighborhood, I would stop by the camera shop. And the luck, yeah right, continued. They were closed. So I decided to stop at K-Mart for a compressor. At least they were open and had the compressor.

So last nights drama started at 7:30 and lasted until 10:00. Today, 5:30 to 12:30. I'm tired.

Let my experience be a lesson to everyone, especially the ladies. Check your tires regularly. Have a working air compressor in your car. If you have tire locks, make sure you have a key and know where it is located (I put mine with the jack.) Always carry a charged cellphone. If you go somewhere and don't take your purse, make sure you have emergency money in the glove compartment. Think about getting AAA. Most of all. Make sure you have wonderful friends that are willing to help at any time.

All the way there, I was fearing the tire would go flat again. Or worse a blow-out. But I made it to the dealership and back with no problems. I believe that my angels were with me.

It's still snowing and I got a call from the recreation department that yoga had been cancelled tonight. So tonight I spend a quiet night at home. Hopefully without any drama. Tomorrow's another day.

Camera, dinner, dog show, Ralphy, My Baby and a recipe

I was talking to my friend and he told me about a camera shop in Vineland. Family owned and this is where he purchased his camera. He gave me the website and saw one I liked.

I'm in the market for a new camera, so I decide on Thursday to take a ride and stop and see what they have. I park in front of the door and what am I greeted with? A sign on the front door saying 'We're moving. See you in a week.' I don't think so. I didn't drive 40 minutes for this. So I go in. Yep. They're moving. Hardly anything in the place. The guy looks at me and I say, 'So. I guess you don't have any camera for me to look at huh?' He asked what I was looking for. I told him and of course they didn't have any in stock. He said probably in a week. I say two. He did give me a pamphlet and I think I have found my new camera. It is an Olympus SP-565 UZ. 10.0 mega pixels - 20x optical zoom - 2.5' LCD monitor. The only thing I don't like is it takes regular batteries. I prefer lithium batteries. I just feel they hold the charge longer. So in a couple of weeks, I will take another ride to their new store and maybe walking out with a new camera.

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We ceramic girls went to dinner Friday night. We got there at 6:30 PM and didn't get seated until 8:15 PM. We found out that a dog show was happening in Wildwood and they were telling them to go to the Lobster House for dinner. Of course I must complain. Not only did it take almost two hours to be seated, but they put us on an outside wall. There were five of us sitting on the window side. We froze. Our feet were so numb from the cold we had a hard time walking. And dinner wasn't all that great. I had fillet Mignon and it hardly had any flavor. The french fries were half cooked. The best part was the salad and bread. Needless to say, I will not be going there again. I don't think I'm alone on that.

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So dog show. Can you guess where I went yesterday? I had a fun time. I came across two black lab puppies. They were crated so I could really play with them, but we made do.

Some of the dogs were just to funny. Other's I felt sorry for. Some were just oh so cute.

I noticed that the owners/handlers with the little yipper's were kinda of snobbish. They were primping these little dogs with blow dryers, straighteners and bows. If you got to close to the dog, they would give you a dirty look or say something to you. I felt sorry for these dogs. They looked miserable.

The owners/handlers of the big dogs were more gracious. If you asked, they would let you pet their dog in the head area. They would answer any questions you had.

I have included some pictures here. I am going to post some on my other blog throughout the week. Probably into next week.

The poodle's I felt sorry for.

How would you like a do like this.

I have to say that I love the color of this one.

And don't miss the black one behind snoozing on his pillow.

One of my favorites.

I called this one 'Golden Lane'

This little one was taking it all in.

Ahh. This little one was all tuckered out.

I was there almost three hours. It was a fun time and I hope they come back again next year.

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Ralphy a/k/a Mr. Handsome and I had a photo shoot this morning. He was playing around and actually let me get some good pics of him.

He's handsome and he knows it.

Yes he is a fat cat,

but he is something else.

He is a good cat.

My baby (Lovey) could have cared less that Ralphy was in. She preferred the sun and fresh air.

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For those of you who are going to watch the Super Bowl, enjoy. As for me, I don't watch football, so I will be watching the puppy bowl with kitty half time on animal planet.

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I am leaving you will what I'm having for dinner tonight. Quiche. A friend gave me this recipe several years ago. And let me tell you, it is very-very good. So here's the recipe if your interested. Just a warning. If you are planning on have blood work the week you make this, don't have the blood work done.

1 pie crust

1 Tbsp. softened butter

12 slices of bacon (cooked crisped and crumbled)

1 box of frozen chopped broccoli (cooked and drained. Get as much liquid as possible out of the broccoli as it will make the quiche soggy.)

8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

4 eggs

2 cups heavy cream

Line quiche plate with pie crust. Spread with softened butter and chill well.

Spread crumbled bacon in prepared pie crust.

Spread broccoli over bacon.

Mix cheeses and spread over bacon.

In a bowl with a wire whisk, beat eggs and cream together. Pour egg mixture into crust.

Bake 15 minutes in a 425 degree oven. Then reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for 35 minutes. Quiche is done when knife inserted comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I will add photo later.

What has this world come to? :o)

I just read this article in the newspaper and had to share.

Here lies John: Beloved toilet, friend

Centerville, Utah - John, a porcelain commode gunned down in an accidental shooting at a fast food restaurant's bathroom, has died. His age was not immediately known.

The toilet was shattered by a bullet Jan. 12 when a man's gun fell from its holster as he was pulling up his pants, police said. Police do not plan to file criminal charges in connection with the incident.

Christian Martinez, manager of the Carl's Jr., where John was gunned down, held a memorial service Friday at the restaurant. He gave away bottles of John's favorite toilet cleaner, Kaboom Bowl Blaster, to the eatery's first 50 patrons.

A Bountiful flower shop provided a large floral arrangement.

"In all my years, I can say without a doubt that I have never delivered for a toilet," said deliveryman Doug Graham, "but I thought it was the funniest thing I've ever heard. I got a kick out of it."

Remnants of John hit and cut the gun owner's arm, but he was not seriously injured.

Police blamed John's death on the gun and style of holster the man was using.

"He was survived by the men's urinal and wash sink," said Martinez. "He left us way too soon."

This is what we (me) here in Jersey find amusing.