At Large 1249 days

50 days until we get Bush back.

How lucky can one state be? We will have two ex-presidents named Bush here. Think of the revenue all their secret service men will bring to the state! Heaven help TEXAS!

Yesterday I went out to admire my tomato crop. I gazed lovingly on each fruit and then my vision began to drift across the leaves. Horror of horrors! There were three big fat squishy evil looking horned worms chewing on some leaves. I picked the bastards off and gleefully squeezed each between my thumb and index finger until they burst. I heard myself cackle like Egor in a weird horror movie as each burst! This morning I again searched my plants stem by stem. I found 6 more worms still wrapped in leaves. Apparently they curl up in the leaves at night as protection from the cold. I squished each curled leaf and felt the worms burst. I am sure glad they don't eat the fruit.

At night my improvised hot house glows like a diamond in the dark. Tonight the temperature has already fallen to the 40s so after I finished taking the following pictures I put another piece of plastic across the door opening.

The plant with these 4 tomatoes is a beefsteak and I am hoping they get at least 4 inches in diameter before the ripen. I am considering adding another heat source in the house.

The picture shows one of the "worm leaf bed" inside of which is a squished worm. In the next linked picture you can see tomato blossoms. All four plants still have new unopened blossoms. I am going to extend the support stakes another 2 feet to keep the plants well supported.

If you look close you will see evidence of worm depredation on the stem in front of the bottom most tomato. When you click the picture you will see a larger picture with six Celebrity tomatoes in a cluster. These are about as big as they will ever be.

I counted 24 tomatoes tonight while taking these pictures.

I have been listening to the football game between the Houston Texans and the Jacksonville Jaguars. I am surprised! The Texans won easily and almost looked like a real pro football game.

I got my first trial fitting for my new bottom denture this morning. The dentist fiddled and fussed with a thing that fit on my bottom gums until she was satisfied with the appearance of my jaw. She was trying to adjust the appliance so that when my mouth was closed my jaw line looked like I had teeth. When she was happy she took what looked like a caulk gun filled with blue caulk and then stuck the tip between the appliance and my top denture and squirted the caulk from one side of my mouth to the other. I wish I had seen what the appliance looked like so I could describe the process better. My next appointment is December 22 and if that goes well I will get my new bottom denture January 12. I have been loosing weight while I don't have bottom teeth. I so not recommend this as a diet but I hope I get down to less than 200 pounds.



Junior grandson is so desperate to earn money for a cell phone that I promised him all money from sales of the wind chimes from now on belong to him. Please buy all you can. Not for me but for a future MLB shortstop. I get to keep all the money from sales of the Mesquite Candle Holders.

Click the picture for comic strips on-line.

Mary Jane's Chili

2 lbs. ground beef
1 medium size Vidalia onion
6 cans tomato soup
3 cans of kidney beans or chili beans
1 large can diced tomatoes with juice
2 TBS of chili powder, salt & pepper to taste
2-3 cups of water or 1 can of V-8 juice

Sautee the ground beef & onion, drain. Add all other ingredients and stir to mix well. Bring to boil & then simmer for three or four hours.

 

 

Webtvers email comments to Lyn1937 and I will paste into the comments. This Tripod comment form is not compatible with webtv.

At Large 1246 days



I hate shopping of all types. So my wife and I went to Gallery Furniture to buy an entertainment center to replace our current on in the living room. At least I thought that was why we were at Gallery! I had bought her a 32 inch Vizio VO32LHDTV10A Widescreen Flatscreen TV and it would not fit in the old entertainment center. STORY OF MY LIFE! I could not understand why she kept looking for the cheapest available. Finally she seemed to settle on a really cheap unit like a low long black table with a bottom shelf. Then I asked her why she was looking for such and learned the true agenda. She was in quest of a new recliner, she never liked the one I bought last year, that was broader and easier to get out of. Her knees are so bad that ease of setting and arising have become prime considerations. Finally we completed our shopping and I drove like a "bat outa hell" to get home before Gallery delivered. They are fast. We had a mild argument about the old recliner. Son did not want or need it so she wanted to just "push it to the curb" for the scavengers. I wanted to keep it until I find out the requirements of donating used furniture through a church program. We compromised and son carried the old recliner into the middle bedroom where it waits until I find a way to donate it. Wednesday was a staging and prep day for a massive reorganization of the living room TV viewing area and her office Thursday.

Our son and our Son-in-Law worked hard and disconnected the old 32" TV and cleared out the components from the entertainment center. Son and Shawn then connected the new 32 Visio to cable and VCR/DVD on the new entertainment center and moved the old center to her office. The big old 32" TV went into the middle bedroom, grandkids room, and their TV went into her office. I intend to put their smaller TV into the entertainment center and connect that directly to a cable branch in her office. Naturally that plan calls for a re4organization of her office. Which means I must carry some of my tools and painting supplies out to the "rubber shed". As soon as I completely lose this "pinched nerve" in my neck and again have freedom of movement I shall commence the moves and other changes. One of the JOYS of living in a tiny house is the constant need to maximize room usage. In 1100 square feet we have no room to waste.

Wednesday at lunch I went to a "rehab" residence to meet with the residents. We intend to visit each Wednesday to just talk to the residents and possibly witness for out church. Next Wednesday I am going to take a sack of paperback books of all types to pass out and talk about. Tammy is familiar with this kind of contact so she launched right in. I sat back and tried to determine any natural groupings. I saw many who seemed to be loners' Next Wednesday I will seek them out and talk about whatever they desire. Their lunch was abysmal looking. I need to learn why and see what I can do.

I checked this evening and found I now have 20 tomatoes on the vines. Some are 3 inches in diameter. None, however, have begun to ripen. The water in the pool has warmed to 73 degrees so I took a short wade in the shallow end. As a result I have had the heater under my desk on all afternoon. Rascal is lying on my feet as I type this. He and I had boiled shrimp, Costco, for dinner. He also had half a lettuce leaf. He is snoring and reeks of scorched fur so I guess he is happy.



Junior grandson is so desperate to earn money for a cell phone that I promised him all money from sales of the wind chimes from now on belong to him. Please buy all you can. Not for me but for a future MLB shortstop. I get to keep all the money from sales of the Mesquite Candle Holders.

Click the picture for comic strips on-line.

Sammy's Chili

1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
1 large onion chopped
1/2 large bell pepper chopped
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 can light red kidney beans
1 tsp.cumin
1 tsp.garlic powder
I tsp.cinnamon
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
grated cheddar cheese(optional)
chile powder to your taste, I use a lot.

Brown meat onions and bell pepper. Add tomatoes and beans, and spices. Let simmer for 45 minutes adding water if necessary. Serve with grated cheese over top (optional) Serve with hot corn bread.

 

 

Webtvers email comments to Lyn1937 and I will paste into the comments. This Tripod comment form is not compatible with webtv.

At Large 1235 days



Where does the time go? I would have bet I wrote one of these last night. I have spent the last several days searching for part time jobs or at least something less than 40 hours each week. The stock market decline coupled with our propensity to leak money like a Republican Congressman has me deeply worried about the very real possibility of outliving our money. We are drawing down faster than even a miraculous stock market bull market can recover and build. I have done all the searching so far on the internet. And just today I filed electronically with the Texas Employment Commission. Wish me luck.

I went to the doctor last week and got a cortisone shot for the pinched nerve in my neck. I felt wonderful for 6 days but last night my right arm began to hurt and my hand began to tingle. Now I cannot raise my head to watch TV without pain. So I will be going back to the doctor. I need full feeling in my hands to complete a fancy bowl I am making.

This afternoon I spent about an hour on the bowling pin with bible verse citations engraved. I put too many citations. I should have used fewer citations and made each bigger, deeper, and broader. I also should have made the pin larger in diameter. Live and learn.

I turned off the heaters in my tomato hot house because the leaves looked wilted. But maybe they just needed watering. I gave each plant 2 liters of fertilizer solution. I will check their status before I go to bed. I pumped up my courage this afternoon and took a short dip in the pool so that I could get to the vacuum to empty its bag. Just before I froze solid I checked the temperature. The water was 69 degrees Fahrenheit. Now I can understand why shipwreck victims in the north Atlantic had such a short life expectancy.

I am going to shut down to watch "Boston Legal". I hate that this is it's last season.



Junior grandson is so desperate to earn money for a cell phone that I promised him all money from sales of the wind chimes from now on belong to him. Please buy all you can. Not for me but for a future MLB shortstop. I get to keep all the money from sales of the Mesquite Candle Holders.

Click the picture for comic strips on-line.

b>Microwave Fudge Pie

1/2 cup melted butter
3 TBSP cocoa
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tspn vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans (opt.)

Stir cocoa into butter. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into glass 9-inch pie plate. Microwave on high for 6 minutes. Top with vanilla ice cream, if desired. Rich and easy.

 

 

Webtvers email comments to Lyn1937 and I will paste into the comments. This Tripod comment form is not compatible with webtv.

At Large 1237 days

Only 62 days until the Inauguration of the new President

We had lunch today with my brother and his wife today at a place named "Potato Patch". I took a dose of my new cough medicine before we left for lunch. By the time we got there I was very dizzy and forgot to get my camera out of the van. So, once again, I have not pictures of the event. They feature just plain good Southern cooking plus blueberry muffins that make you hate having such a small mouth. Yesterday was my wife's birthday so Martha, SIL, brought her a birthday gift of butterflies with magnet backs. The waitress arranged an impromptu birthday celebration for Caro. That embarrassed her. Her parents did a great job raising a daughter with low self esteem or sense of worth. If I had a time machine I would go back and slap shit out of her parents. She has been an exemplary wife, mother, grandmother, and companion. We are going through a hard patch right now because of my inability to cope with various facts from the past.

While we were eating I discovered that my brother hated his name when he was young. I never knew that. In fact, I was envious of his 2 syllable name. Here we are in our 60s and still learning about each other.

I had ordered a flat screen HD TV for her birthday and it did not arrive in time for her BD. Damn! When we got back from lunch there was a big box on the front porch. Yah! Her TV was here. But I was too dizzy to muscle it into place and had to go to a meeting at "Turning Point". We, TUMC, are looking for a way to extend God's love to the residents without being preachy. The residents have been beat down by life so much that I suspect they almost believe that God has rejected them.

When I got back from the meeting I discovered that the TV is too huge to fit in the present entertainment center. Wife is going to look for a new center tomorrow. I got a great deal on the TV $179 but there are conditions of no refund and no return. She made sounds like she did not want it but I think she is secretly looking forward to high definition. I also know the two grandsons are coveting the old front room TV for the middle bedroom. I am planning on moving the middle bedroom TV into my office for my Webtv monitor so I don't have to switch my flat screen back and forth.

My tomatoes continue to mature. Next spring I am going to outline that vegetable bed with treated 2 by 12s and fill it with top soil and compost. That will require just a little less than 3 cubic yards of fill.

I stepped into the pool this afternoon up to my knees and spent the next hour shivering and huddled in front of my under-desk heater.



Junior grandson is so desperate to earn money for a cell phone that I promised him all money from sales of the wind chimes from now on belong to him. Please buy all you can. Not for me but for a future MLB shortstop. I get to keep all the money from sales of the Mesquite Candle Holders.

Click the picture for comic strips on-line.

Sven and Olaf worked together in a Minnesota factory....and both were laid off. So...dey went to the Unemployment Office together.

Asked his occupation, Olaf said, 'Panty stitcher. I sew da elastic onto da ladies cotton panties.' The clerk looked up panty stitcher. Finding it classified as unskilled labor, she gave Olaf $300 a week in unemployment compensation.

Sven, when asked his occupation replied, 'Diesel fitter.' The clerk looked up diesel fitter...and it was classified as a skilled job. So, the clerk gave Sven $600 a week in unemployment compensation.

When Olaf found this out, he was furious. He stormed back into the office to find out why his friend and co-worker was collecting double his benefits.

The clerk explained, 'Panty stitchers are unskilled labor and diesel fitters are skilled labor.'

'Vat skill?' yelled Olaf. 'I sew da elastic on da panties. Olaf puts dem over his head and says,

'Yah ------------- DIESEL FITTER.

 

 

Webtvers email comments to Lyn1937 and I will paste into the comments. This Tripod comment form is not compatible with webtv.

At Large 1235 days



We have had a spell of weather so awesome that we in Houston are under oath to not reveal to others. However, as a life-long resister of authority I must tell. The skies have been that rare blue that causes one's heart to skip with joy. The day time temperatures have been just cool enough to require slightly more layering when in the wind. The nights are bracingly cool with that lovely hint of weed smoke from fireplaces in the neighborhood. Or maybe of bonfires as some set outside and try to recapture early man's enchantment and fear of the dark. I think I hear the wild call of geese in the distant sky. Just before I married and left the wandering years behind me this type of weather would find me with a crude fly fishing rod and hand tied flies on the little, cold Blanco river outside Wimberly, Texas. Now whenever this weather pattern settles I long for the olden days.

My collymobuss continues to the point that I am dizzy from coughing up phlegm. Plus I detect a deep diminution in my audio acuity and a distinct haziness in vision. My optimistic side rakes that as I have reached bottom and am now on the rode to recovery. The other side just laughs derisively.

A friend sent me an email with pictures of cats and dogs in various funny poses. One looks so much like my $11 cat and depicts his look just before chowing down on a flower.

The strange thing is that we have had Rascal for years and I could not remember the color of his eyes. And of course, being a cat, he would not look at me when I tried to see his eyes. Click the picture to see Rascal's eyes

I spent the whole day in semiconscious in my recliner with the heating pad behind my neck/shoulder on HIGH. And I am headed back to the recliner. I have to be well enough to take my wife to lunch with my brother and his wife Wednesday. Her birthday is tomorrow. I also must be well enough to install the 32 inch HD LCD flat screen TV. I must!



Junior grandson is so desperate to earn money for a cell phone that I promised him all money from sales of the wind chimes from now on belong to him. Please buy all you can. Not for me but for a future MLB shortstop. I get to keep all the money from sales of the Mesquite Candle Holders.

Click the picture for comic strips on-line.

Quick & Simple Chicken & Noodles

1 lb boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 - 10 3/4 oz. cans of Cream of Chicken Soup
1 - 14 1/2 oz can Chicken Broth
16 oz. package Wide Egg Noodles, cooked as directed on package.

Place the chicken in a greased crockpot, salt & pepper to taste. Top with the 2 cans of soup, cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Remove chicken & shred or cut up. Return the chicken to the crockpot, add the broth and the cooked noodles, mix well. Cover and cook on low for 30 more minutes.

Serves 6

 

 

Webtvers email comments to Lyn1937 and I will paste into the comments. This Tripod comment form is not compatible with webtv.