Tater Tots not a healthy food?

Our town paper has been disseminating falsehoods being told by the lunch ladies at the high school. According to the paper the head Lunch Lady has decided that baked tater tots are not a healthy food for high schoolers to eat. She has stopped serving the delicious delicacy and is now offering baby carrots.

No one asked her to explain what constitutes a healthy food, they meekly go along with her statement as if it is God's word and put in print so all the health fanatics can say "told ya so. It must be true The Post printed it" .

I am not against baby carrots, but they certainly are not a substitute for tater tots. Tater tots are made from potato, they are baked not deep fried, and do not have trans fat. How can they be unhealthy?


It's not like the kids will put salt, cheese whiz or gravy on the tots to make the tasty morsels unhealthy, because those items are not on the menu either. What will be next?

My seal

Thanks GKL and Skylar's Dad. This was fun.

Santa Dave

A friend of mine, who happens to be head of security at the mall I used to have my cookie store in, left a message on face book asking me if the death notice for a man known as a generous Santa was my Santa.

My Santa, HA! Funny, real F'ing funny.

No it was not my Santa. My Santa was nicknamed Creepy Santa, his real name is Dave. The death notice was for Ernest something. So Creepy Santa is still out there being creepy.

Creepy Santa was the Santa for the mall 2 years ago. He had a crush on me that was very abnormal and uncomfortable. The guy was double creepy when I found out that he lived at home with his mom, he was 52 years old. His only jobs were being Santa at holiday time and a pirate at the Renaissance Festival in the summer. If that is not a clue that something is not right I do not know what is.

The list of creepy behavior included, secretly taking pictures of me, ( I found out when another mall employee informed me that she saw him on several occasions take the pictures), sending me flowers, showing up at the mall after the Santa job was over just to say HI and always when Mark or my son Greg were not around. Sitting on a bench inside the mall for hours watching me, asking my employees what my schedule was, telling me how beautiful I was, and other little things that were not normal. Yuck!

I ignored the little things in the beginning , but when I had my hand on top of the display and bent over to pick a spatula off the floor, then felt someone put a hand on top of mine, which scared the beejeezs out of me because I wasn't expecting it, and saw that it was Creepy Santa, I knew my instincts were correct. This guy is not normal! I asked him what the hell he was doing, he said he liked my color of nail polish. What???? So you have to touch me???? And where did he come from?? Around the corner, he just happened to be in the mall looking for a piano for his mom. A piano?? Who the fuck sells pianos in the mall????

My husband said I was imagining some of the things I was telling him Creepy Santa was doing, security was a bit skeptical too,(thanks for the support guys) but the flowers put an end to the doubt. Eventually the off duty police guys told Creepy Santa not to come to the mall, if he did he would be arrested for tresspassing, and to leave me alone. Thankfully I haven't seen nor heard from Creepy Santa for a year now.

Still waiting

The cottage with a view will be perfect for us if we can get the current owner to be reasonable about the closing date. We have been haggling with her since Friday. Her real estate agent can not get the her to understand that when a house goes up for sale and an offer comes in you have to move the furniture out within a reasonable amount of time.

The current owner wants to close July 15, we want to close June 15. We are paying cash for the cottage so the closing should be able to take place as soon as we want it. However the owner claims she can not possibly move the furniture, a bed, a love seat, a bookcase, a dresser, 2 end tables and a window air conditioner before July 15. We offered to help her move, pay towards storage, put the items in the garage until July 15, or buy the items from her. So far she has turned down all offers except for us to buy the items. She said she will put together a price list before the end of today. That should be interesting.

The delay and haggling is not good. My husband is ready to explode and walk from the deal, which was conveyed to the owner. She compromised and said she could close June 29, but could not move the stuff till July 15, so what good is closing June 29????? We are not sure what the hold up is and neither is her real estate agent.

The woman claims that she wants to sell the property and hasn't used it in 2 years, but maybe she really doesn't want to sell. Who knows.

Waiting

We countered the counter offer for the cottage with the view. Waiting to find out if our countering the counter tactic will be accepted is making me crazy. I generally do not like to wait or like surprises. When I wait and have time to think I worry. Scenarios go thru my head about all that can go wrong, then I get cranky.

Thankfully we should know tomorrow by noon. The worst part is going to be tonight at bedtime. I will have all the time needed to work myself up into a lather and not get sleep I require to make me beautiful and happy.

Maybe I will have to drink to excess to deaden the worry of countering.

It's Thursday

We will not be going out as usual tonight. I have a hair appointment and Mark is going to teach Jenny how to dock the boat. But there is always tomorrow night.

Monday of this week I did something that I have never done and do not feel bad about it. I stole a logo glass from Quimbeys. The new waitress put the glass on the table and I just said "hmmm that would be a nice addition to our collection at home". (Wednesday's are glass night at Quimbeys, get the beer of the night and you take home the glass, that is how we have a collection at home, thanks to Mark and his buddies.) So I am now a thief, and not feeling a bit of remorse. Whadda ya gonna do?

A new cottage

Skylar's Dad get ready to pack again. We are waiting to hear about a new cottage. This one is not on the lake but has a spectacular view of the lake, a fenced yard for the dogs, and more affordable than the cottage in the woods. Keep your fingers crossed we should hear by tonight if our offer is accepted, countered or completely denied.

Terri the Westie

My 16 year old dog Terri has dingle berries. I realized it this morning when I picked her up to carry her down to the kitchen. Thank god they were not mushy. But now I have to figure out a way to get them off her little butt. She panics every time I wash her in the utility sink in the garage. The vet said that the stress from bathing and grooming is not good for her because of her age, so I only bathe her once a quarter.

My preference for removing them would be to have her soak in the sink, so the dingle berries soften and fall off. But I am concerned about stressing her. I can't cut them because her fur is very short and I am afraid I will nick her tender skin back there.

I wonder if I could use the shaver back there? I'll give it a try.

Men and Doctors

So explain to me why it makes sense for a man not to go to the doctor or emergency room when



1. he is short of breath

2. has an elephant sitting on his chest

3. his arm goes numb

4. his meds make him a bleeder, and after hitting his knee he has a golf ball size lump on his knee that popped when he knelt on it

5. he vomits for unknown reasons a few days a week for weeks

6. he can only gasp for air

7. the top of his thumb is hanging by a vein

8. he has constant diarrhea for weeks

9. he has an immune deficiency and a fever of 103

10. he is dizzy after driving for hours

11. he coughs up nasty mucus for days, and is prone to bronchitis

12. his contact dermatitis is infected

13. his asthma is so severe he uses his inhaler every few hours

14. he gets migraine headaches after playing hours of video games



The above list is the recent experiences I have had with my husband, son, 2 bothers and 2 friends.

I hope that the men in my life will realize the anguish they cause by not going to the doctor. I hope they will come to understand that when they have serious symptoms and refuse to go to the doctor, that every phone call, every unanswered call to them gives me a panic attack because I think the worst has happened.

Men are stupid. Throw rocks at them, is my motto for today.

Reading

I am reading " The Dante Club" by Matthew Pearl and find it very entertaining. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russel Lowell, and J.T. Fields are on a quest to solve a series of murders in Boston, 1865. The book is intriguing not only because of the main characters but because of the social protocols and stigma attached to the sordid business of crime fight. These gentlemen are particularly concerned about their reputations, but also the need to fulfill an perceived obligation required by their social standing.

??

Is parred down redundant?

And why is incentivize a word? I argue over this one with my husband, but he showed me proof. The freaking dictionary he has has the word in it with a definition too!!!

Double Dipping mania and pettiness

Yesterday my husband's cousin's baby shower was at my house. I have been dreading the shower for 2 1/2 months. Partly because I am working more then full time hours, my house is a disgusting mess, and for the way I was drafted into hosting the shower. And I do not want to forget to mention that the other cousin Ellyn, the co-hostess, told me our shower was the 6th or 7th, which I thought was selfish and gluttony on the part of the mom to be. Plus I was told originally 25-30 women would be attending the shower, but that number was parred down to 22-25 at last count.


For the last 2 months I have been complaining to Mark, my mom, my sister in law and a few friends about how I really did not want to do the shower, and I bitched about the cousins and all their faults. Please understand I really like the cousins and we always have a good time together, but I was extremely annoyed about this shower. My annoyance was coming out in nasty comments so much that my husband pointed it out to me. This type of bitching is very uncommon for me. Most of the time I look forward to hosting parties, but this one really bothered me.


I dreaded a certain cousin making the punch because she always, always, always, double dips. It's disgusting. For those of you who may not know what double dipping is I will explain. Double dipping is when someone takes a bite of food and then uses the same utensil or piece of food that has been in their mouth and puts it back in the dip or food. Double dipping occurs when someone licks their finger(s) and picks up food from the shared platter and then puts the piece of food back because they change their mind. To me it's really gross when double dipping happens. More on this later.

As last week progressed I got into the spirit of the shower more. My husband hired a cleaning service to clean the house which was a huge load off my shoulders, and I decided to do the food my way, not cousin Ellyn's. I bought the dad to be a gift instead of the mom,(I love the dad to be). The dad generally gets nothing because most women think the mom does all the hard work and deserve the shower and gifts for the baby. Not so in my head. (maybe another post in the making). I worked on the food and presentation Friday and Saturday, when Sunday rolled around everything was set and looked beautiful.


The double dipping cousin arrived with the makings for punch and the punch bowl and proceeded to set up and make her famous punch. I quietly observed her removing the bowl from the box pick a piece of dirt out of the bowl flick it the floor, lick her finger to remove a smudge of something inside the bowl and pour in the soda. UUgghhh! She added the ice cubes she brought from her freezer in a plastic shopping bag, added the sherbert using a huge serving spoon, LICKED the front and back of the spoon, then stirred the punch with the same spoon. I wanted to vomit!!!!!!! The licking wasn't one lick either, it was a full on assault. Licking, licking, licking and licking more after she saw more sherbert that she missed with the first lick. (my stomach is turning as I write this). She is also the person that will eat over the buffet table, try something using her fingers and pick up food off of the platters etc., and not use the serving utensil. Yuck.

After the party I ranted to Mark about the punch and other intolerable transgressions of etiquette by this cousin. He just said "I told you so. Now do you understand why no one wants to eat at her house?" and let me continue my tirade until I could not say anything more on the subject.

One more thing. The number of party attendees was 15, which makes a big difference in the amount of food. Plus 3 of those party revelers were geriatric women that could not and did not eat.

Please do not think that I was able to get any of the leftovers. Oh no, that did not happen. The double dipping cousin that did not host the party made sure she took home plenty of left overs. I threw out what was left because the double dipper used her fucking hands to paw through the left overs and when she leaned over the table to grab something else she managed to drag her jacket through the icing on the cake and ruin the left over cake.

I thought writing about this would quell the intense irritation but it hasn't. Am I just being petty?

Am I the only one?

After taking the drug personality test, I decided to take as many of the other tests as time allowed. Some of them were very accurate, some were 50/50. I answered all the questions as honestly as possible, although I think some of the questions were skewed so that they could not be answered accurately. But the tests were fun, and some of the analysis were very funny too.

My favorite test was the What color car should you drive.

So am I the only one that took the other tests?? Come on fess up.

Can't figure it out

Please someone tell me how to link words, pictures etc. so that readers can click on the word picture, etc and get to that specific site. I have read the instructions, made attempts to figure it out from other blog pages, and have not been successful. Generally trial and error works for me, but this has me stumped.

The one who can help me be successful will win a toast of their own next Thursday at "The Pub." If you were in town I would buy you a drink(s).

Cheers!

Personality Test

GKL has the link for a drug personality test on her blog. Below is the result of my test.

Your Personality Is Like Cocaine
You're dynamic, brilliant, and alluring to those who don't know you. Hyper and full of energy, you're usually the last one to leave a party.Sometimes your sharp mind gets the better of you... you're a bit paranoid!

I want to take the test over to see if I can do better.

I took it changed some of my answers and got the same result. Cocaine. F'ing cocaine, I think some rigged the test, maybe someone is spying on me. Maybe one of you squealed on me.

Thursday

It's Thursday. I will be at the Pub and then on to Quimbeys. Yep that's right I will be drinking my Coors lite by 6pm tonight. I have been selective with my choice of foods all week and think that tonight I am going to have deep fried tater tots with the Coors lite. Way to balance the calories.

I will toast all my blogger pals, and eat a tot just for JY. I know he is a fan of Napoleon Dynamite and tots have a starring role in the movie. Although the movie tots are not deep fried and the tots at Quimbeys do not have pocket lint attached to them. Not that the movie tots do, but that is how I imagine them in Napoleon's pant pocket.

Anyway, Happy Thursday Happy Hour to all!

Liars

Skylar's Dad gave me the idea for this blog. Thanks.

My daughter dated for a very short period of time a guy I will call Matt. Super nice, rugged looks, worked for the security company at the mall where we had our cookie store, and UFC fighter. Very cool.

When he came over to our house, Matt shook hands with Mark and Greg.(my husband and son) very polite, didn't really like to talk about his UFC fights, but when encouraged he would tell bits and pieces. He said he lived with his mom, and his grandparents he was very close with. His dad lived out of state, and was a very successful businessman.

Matt said his mom was a manager of a department at Macy's, drove a BMW that he helped buy with the money he received for winning fights. His grandfather a former auto worker was using his discount to help Matt buy a Hummer. All this information was not given at one time, but over the weeks this is what we learned of him from him.

Matt generally came over to our house, he never took Jen to his house or introduced her to his mom. Which was irritating to my daughter. Matt would make plans with Jen and call at the last minute to say his mom had to work or was to tired to meet her. But Jen was patient. He did take her to his dojo to watch him spar, and Jen met the grandfather.

Matt told us he would get tickets to a sparring match between him and Randy Couture. At this point in time we knew nothing about the UFC, but the family was interested and thought that this could be something to watch, after all we like boxing. As the weeks went on, we did watch the UFC show on TV and became addicted to it. Matt in the meantime kept forgetting to get the tickets for the sparring match, and we did not go. It was sold out. He kept working out at his dojo, training for a fight, not eating anything but what his trainer allowed, etc.

The fight Matt was training for was in Atlantic City at the Trump Taj Mahal, it was a title fight, and that Randy Couture was the opponent. My daughter became suspicious that something was quite right with Matt. She tried to find the Atlantic City fight online, nothing. She questioned him and he said so what a lot of fights are not online, but his fight would be on pay per view. Whooo Hoooo. Party time. I put together a party, invited all the security guys, our friends, and my son invited his friends.

As the day for the fight got closer my daughter confided in me she thought Matt made up the whole thing. I couldn't believe it, why would he make it up? Every one was coming to watch it on Pay per view. She gave me a list of reasons of why she was suspicious

1. she has not met the mom
2. he never got the hummer ( no disgusting jokes here, it's my daughter I talking about)
3. he did not get the tickets to the sparring match
4. nothing online about this fight, other fights yes, this one nothing
5. Randy Couture is retired!!!!!! Hello the bells are going off!
6.He is only an amateur fighter according to the IFC website (not UFC, IFC.)
7.He has not won 19 "pro" fights as he said he did she could only find two amateur fights for him and he lost both
8.The hotel does not know anything about the fight
9. the cable company does not have fight scheduled for pay per view the night Matt claimed the fight would be on or any other night or day
10. the announcement regarding the fight he gave her ( after she questioned Matt only like an Inquisitor from the Spanish Inquisition can. A skill she learned from me), was printed on a blank piece of paper, and the signature of the promoter looked like Matt's handwriting


Ok Ok I got the idea. So I did a little digging myself. I called the so called promoter, he said Matt was an amateur fighter and was suppose to be at an exhibition fight the same night Matt told us he was going to be on pay per view, the fight was taking place in a high school in RawWay NJ, but Matt cancelled.

Jen confronted Matt, but he stuck to his story. The night before the supposed fight Matt called Jen from his RV. He claimed his coach, second man, and grandfather were all in the RV and they were going to Atlantic City. Ok whatever.

But the best lie came when I told Jen to get his room number at the hotel so I could send a fruit basket. She did, he said room number 4110. I called the hotel and was told there was no room 4110. Jen called Matt back and he said whomever I spoke with was mistaken. The rest of the conversation got a little heated and Matt finally told Jen that he had a fight in the morning and that he did not want to talk to her until after it was over.

Here are more lies he told

1. Matt said Randy Couture came out of retirement just to fight him
2. At the weigh in Matt told Randy Couture he was going to kick his ass
3. Matt was 1 lb over wight and had to sweat it out.
4. Matt lost to Randy Couture because Matt had to sweat out the one pound.
5. Matt forgot to bring home a fight card, something Jen asked for as proof of the fight
6. Matt said he was driving the RV home and Jen could not talk to his grandfather because he was sleeping
7. Matt said there was a rematch in Feb 2007 in Vegas all ready scheduled

Well the party was a bust, there was no fight on pay per view, and the guys Matt worked with were really pissed off. Jen decided not to date Matt, which he said was ok because he all ready was dating some one else.

My daughter felt bad for Matt, the guys at the mall were giving him a bad time, and he appeared to be very lonely. The saddest part of this story though came a few months after the non existent fight. A house burned to the ground in the town Matt was from. He claimed it was his house, no one, I mean no one believed him . His boss made him come to work the morning after the fire and refused to give him requested time off to meet with insurance people, the fire department etc. It turned out his house really did burn to the ground. He and his mom lost everything except for the clothes they were wearing. Matt was most upset about losing the trophies he won from his wrestling days in high school.

Smells

I just finished my walk and even added an extra ten minutes tonight because the weather is balmy. The best part of the walk was the different smells. As I walked past flowering trees, dogwoods and crab apple I think, the perfume was wonderful. The pine trees were sending out a Christmas tree smell. A few hyacinths were left in someones garden that gave off a pleasant scent. My favorite though is the Lily of the Valley. Someone had 4 large gardens filled with it. It smelled so wonderful that I stopped and took in a few deep breathes, just so the smell would linger in my nose a little bit. This has been the best part of my day so far.

My husband is on his way home from a food show. He will add to the smells tonight. Although his scent will not be pleasant. He will stink like fried fish. At the food shows the vendors have samples of their foods and always have deep fryers going. The fryers cause everything to stink like fried fish. Yuck.

Before he arrives I will light my Lily of the Valley scented candles to counter his fish stink. He will shower and then smell like dove soap. I wonder if he would object to Lily of the Valley scented soap?

Running from the Cottage in the woods

Mark and Jenny took another look at the cottage in the woods over the weekend. They met the owner of the property and were given information that made us decide to run, not walk, from the cottage in the woods.

As my husband likes to say, owners can give information that Realtors would never disclose. This owner provided information without knowing the affect the it would have. The guy was just being chatting and honest. Mark and Jen said he was nice and we would probably have bought the property had he not told them one piece of disturbing information.

The information has nothing to do with the condition of the property or the neighbors the current owner refers to as the groundhogs. Apparently these neighbors, the groundhogs, live in a RV roadside and use the path and stairs to the water edge as their own. The current owner has caught the groundhogs numerous times trespassing and has had to report them to the town for living in the RV, which the groundhogs have been forced to move, recently, and this has taken care of the groundhog problem.

The disturbing information has to do with the previous owner that the current owner bought the property from. The cottage in the woods was in foreclosure and had 2 parcels of land attached to it. One parcel the cottage occupies went with the cottage when it was sold at the foreclosure auction. The other parcel, which is next door to the cottage property, the previous owner managed to keep. Which may not appear to be alarming, disturbing, and many people may so so what.

The problem is the previous owner is a convicted felon. Again some may say so what, he did his jail time and should be given a second chance. Normally I would be one of those liberal bleeding heart do gooders. But not this time, not with this guy. This guy should have been killed when was convicted. Not an easy killing either, torturous and as painful as possible would have been best. This type of criminal I will not give a second chance. There is no other solution to this guy's problem other than death.

He was convicted of child pornography. Hundreds of photos. Just because he was not convicted of molestation does not mean he has not, and will not do it. My view and belief is if he has child porn on his computer he has molested but has not been caught. Death is the only answer.

My sort of Ghost story

Before I begin my ghost story I must let you know I am a firm believer in the after life, karma, supernatural, kindred spirits, spirit guides, etc. Now that you know this about me you can continue to read my story or switch to another bloggers page. The story is not scary, maybe it will make you wonder or give you the opportunity to laugh and say she's a nutcase.

My father died almost 4 years ago. After another stay in the hospital and going home to sleep in a hospital bed he decided he had had enough and died in his sleep. The night he died my daughter and I were over at my parents house. We were there because the doctors said my dad had maybe 2 weeks, at most 6 months before his lungs would give out and that would be the end. I wanted to spend as much time with him as possible and give my mom some one to talk to.

That night my daughter cooked her grandfather dinner and sat with him in his computer room while he ate. After awhile he began to talk quietly so that my daughter said "papa who are you talking too?" His reply was "my mother". She died in 1976.

My dad died sometime during the night, hopefully it was peaceful. My mom did not know until she got up at 7am and realized the coffee was not made and checked on my dad. No matter how sick he was, my dad always got up early to make a pot of coffee. She called 911 for an ambulance, but when the crew arrived they knew my dad had died in the night and nothing could be done for him. She called me, and my husband called my brothers. After we all arrived at the house and said our final goodbyes, the funeral guys came and quietly took my dad away.

The funeral could not take place for 5 days, I don't know why, but that is the way it was. In the mean time my brothers families and mine were together at my parent's house. My nieces and nephews were 4,5,6,and 7, my kids were 16 and 17 at the time.

Sammy my youngest niece while sitting on my lap watching TV with me, just simply stated that papa told her he loved her, and gave her a hug. I asked her when and she said "last night while I was sleeping." I believed her. Separately and quietly I asked all of my nieces and nephews if they had dreams and what they were about. Each one said basically the same thing, that papa said he loved them and gave them a hug while they were sleeping.

Later in the day I was telling my kids what their cousins said and to my astonishment both my kids said they had dreamt about their grandfather too. Their dreams were a little more detailed. In one dream my dad was smoking, wearing a white shirt and black pants and looked very young. In the other dream my dad was sitting in a tree, smoking, with brown rubber boots on. Both times he said "I love you". My dad always wore white shirts and black pants to work when he was in his late 20's and early 30's. He also had brown rubber boots that he wore whenever he went fishing or camping. He smoked for 25+ years, but was forced to quit when he was 40.

But the most surprising dream came from my husband. He, a nonbeliever in the after life, a when you die there is nothing after, when you are dead, you are dead and that's it, kind of person, said he dreamt about my dad. My dad hugged him and told him not to worry that every thing was ok, shook his hand and walked away. He was wearing a white shirt and black pants, smoking and looked very young.

I haven't had a dream from him yet. But I go to the cemetery often and bring my father something that made him happy, something that no one can guess, it's really something that I bust my dad chops with, but still something that he enjoys. I have asked my dad to go to my husband and tell my husband what it is that I bring to the cemetery. What I bring no one knows about and the only way they will, is if my dad tells someone. So far my dad has remained quite.

So there you have, sort of a ghost story. I will let you know if my dad every tells anyone what it is I bring to the cemetery.

Silly Me

One would think that after knowing someone for 33 years, and being married to that someone for 24 of the 33 years, that that someone would not be able to surprise me with his thinking, reasoning, or viewpoint.

Well I am here to say that I was surprised. The cottage in the woods is still a go. Why you may ask is that a surprise to me? I will tell you. My husband is generally not prone to frivolous spending, especially when that spending can be tens of thousands of dollars. However he has all ready analyzed the cost of repairs to the cottage in the woods and determined that with those repairs the cottage may still be a cost efficient buy. That is if we can buy it right.

My doubts about his ability to spend that kind of money without me having to fight for it will not be swayed until the checks are written and the money is removed from the checking account. I am going to have him sign a written statement detailed with the cost of all the repairs and a schedule for those repairs so that I will be able remind him of our conversation and his commitment to the cottage in the woods.

The signing of a document may appear to be a drastic measure, but I assure you it is necessary. My husband likes to change the rules of spending in the middle of the game. He has no qualms about telling me to forget about spending money if he gets panicky when he sees the checking account dwindle. The past has taught me well.

So my husband is going to have the people in the know come and inspect the cottage in the woods and the 2.5 acres it is nestled in. If their estimates are more then what my husband will spend then we will walk away. If the estimates are on target or less we will buy the cottage in the woods.

I must go now and prepare my document.

1970's educational movies

Johnny Yen posted today about educational movies from the 1970's. The one he mentions I am not familiar with, as he saw it in shop class, which I never took in high school. The movie that I remember was played in health class, and in detention at the high school I attended, and was a very interesting choice of movies. To this day I am not sure if the administrators chose the movie for the educational aspect or the comedy.

This particular movie was a favorite of almost all the cliques. How could it not be, it was after all the mid 70's. A decade of "F" it all, new math, getting in touch with one's self, wife swapping, and casual sex. It was a time of polyester, lounge lizards, wide lapels, and Disco. It was a time when suburbanites dappled in drugs, and doctors prescribed magic pills for bored housewives.

This particular movie was from the 1930's (?) and was suppose to deter the youth of that day from the evils of pot, marijuana, wacky tabaccy, reefer, smoke, Panama Red, bud, doobies, roach, I know I am forgetting some of the names. But I think you get the idea.

Reefer Madness! As a deterrent it was a failure, as an encouragement the movie succeeded. The kids would get stoned before class and enjoy the movie only in a way that a few hits from a roll of gold could. Not that I ever did that, and I most certainly did not inhale!

A possible money pit in the woods

After looking the property over, reviewing the sellers disclosure notice, not being able to speak with the listing real estate agent, looking at the surveyor map and making a written list regarding concerns I have, Mark and I thought it would be prudent to speak with the people in the know.

This morning I spoke with the town code enforcement officer about the cottage in the woods. She was very funny and if she has a blog somewhere I would love to read it. Her stories about landowners and their dilemmas must be many and hysterical. But I am getting off the path to my cottage in the woods. Anyway, Dawn the code enforcement lady could not find the final inspection report for the stairs installed in 2004 that lead from the edge of the 300 foot cliff to the water edge, she could not find a report about the septic system, the falling apart parking platform, or the propane tank ( possibly buried because no one could find it on the property). She also told me that because of where the property is located we would have to contact the watershed authority regarding drainage and erosion. She promised to do more investigating and get back to me by tomorrow night. The last tidbit of information she provided was that the septic system most likely would have to be upgraded and the cost could be anywhere between 10k-40k.

We probably will walk away from this cottage in the woods and continue to look for something that is more of what we want. Mainly not a money pit.

A cottage in the woods

My husband Mark has been toying with the idea of purchasing a cottage on the lake that is "the lake" to own property on for about 5 years. We never could find the right one. Until yesterday.

The cottage sits above the lake and has over 100 stairs to climb to get down to lake side. And of coarse 100 stairs to climb to get back to the cottage. But the stairs are not a deterrent, every cottage has it's draw backs, so I am told.

Because I do not do boats, sun or water the cottage is actually ideal for me. The building is situated on 2.5 acres of wooded land and will provide running room for our 5 dogs. I will not have to worry about them jumping from the car out into the road and becoming immediate roadkill. The cottage has 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, 2 decks that look out over the lake, a 2 car garage, and all modern appliances including a washer and dryer. It is only 7 miles from the center of the town that has all the conveniences we require, and is only 4 miles from our friend's cottages.

Hopefully we will put an offer in tomorrow night, Mark is out of town until then, and by the end of Wednesday we will know if the offer is accepted.

Dining Tag

AB tagged me for the Dining Tag,

The rules:1. Add a direct link to your post below the name of the person who tagged you.Include the city/state and country you’re in.
Nicole (Sydney, Australia)
velverse (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
LB (San Giovanni in Marignano, Italy)
Selba (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Olivia (London, England)
ML (Utah, USA)
Lotus (Toronto, Canada)
tanabata (Saitama, Japan)
Andi (Dallas [ish], Texas, United States)
Lulu (Chicago, Illinois, United States)
Chris (Boyne City, Michigan, United States)
AB (Cave Creek, Arizona, United States)
cheer34 (Rochester, New York, United States)

2. List out your top 5 favorite places to eat at your location.

3. Tag 5 other people (preferably from other countries/states) and let them know they’ve been tagged.

Unfortunately I do not know that many people that blog except the same people AB tagged. So I can not tag anyone. But I will be happy to list my favorite place to eat and drink.

1.Cafe Du Monde 1039 Decatur Street New Orleans, LA 70116

This is my all time favorite coffee shop. I love to sit, sip my black hot chickory coffee, munch on beignets, and listen to the sax player play his sad songs.

2. Antonettas 60 Jay Street Rochester, NY 14611

Grandpa Petrillo and his sister still make all the homemade pasta, sauce, and greens and beans the way thier mother did. The greens and beans are to die for. The restaurant is an icon in Rochester, and if there is a an hour wait to get in, no one cares, becasue the food is that delicious.

3. Central Grocery 923 Decatur StNew Orleans, LA

This is a dive and not much of a grocery store. But people in the know will line up and wait for their opportunity to order a half or a whole. The Muffalto sandwich is fabulous. Made on a round bread that is both soft and crusty, the sandwich portion consists of an olive salad, havarati cheese, and 2 kinds of salami. It doesn't sound like much, but it is the best sandwich ever.

4. The Carnegie Deli 854 7th AveNew York, NY 10019

This is not just a great place to eat but a fun place too. The tables are long and can seat 8-10 people so you never know who will be your lunch partner. The sandwichs are 6" high and the pickles are the best. MMMMMM! Cornbeef please!

5. Lou Mitchell's 565 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago

Patience is a virtue at this quintessential Chicago breakfast-all-day joint, where lines out the door are pretty much a given. Complimentary Milk Duds and piping hot doughnut holes sweeten the wait, which turns out to be more than worth it once you're indulging in a stack of banana pancakes or an order of grilled thicker-than-thick French toast.
Egg dishes are served up in skillets with hash browns and Greek toast, while the legendary omelets come big and fluffy, filled with all of the essential ingredients and some unexpected ones (cottage cheese, sweet apples...), too. Other too-good-to-be-true treats include homemade pastries, fresh squeezed OJ and strawberry shakes. What's more, the feast tastes even better against Mitchell's old-school diner backdrop. ( can you tell I copied this)


I am so hungry now I have to order lunch

Not much going on

Not much has been happening in my part of the world. Life has been quite.

Last Friday we went to the Pub as usual. I tried to get a picture of Larry the Bartender but it was to dark. Vodka was my drink of choice because I was not the designated driver.

A guy and his girlfriend showed up at the bar and tried to weasel their way into the one person slot at the bar next me, but I managed to secure the boundary with a scooch of my chair and tactical placement of my very fashionable handbag on the bar. They did not realize they were dealing with a "need my space" personality. I would not have objected if the guy had the decency to realize that other people were in the bar trying to enjoy the Sabres game as much as he. Plus they had the nerve to order food and think that maneuver would get them more space. HA! not with me. My husband lets me have my fun and I really do not think the guy knew I was playing a game with him. The poor guy kept trying to swivel in his chair but I had it locked up with mine so movement was minimal. Sometimes I am such an ass!!

Normally Mark and I do not mind touching elbows or backsides with other patrons of the bar. It happens. Usually everyone is friendly. For some reason this guy annoyed me. Maybe it was because he didn't ask if the chair next to me was open. I hate that. Use some bar etiquette please. Ask if the chair is open, just to make sure my girlfriend is not in the ladies room or something. God! And why did he not let his girlfriend sit in the chair? Selfish! Uncouth jersey wearing lout!

The girlfriend finally squeezed in enough to sit on the guy's lap so she could see the game. They were obviously Sabre's fans. The guy was wearing a Drury jersey. Not sure who Drury is, I haven't really watched a game in a few years. To continue my assness I started to cheer for the Rangers, which I know annoyed the guy and the girlfriend. The blond finally turned to me and said "that wasn't the Sabres that just scored you know" My comeback was "I know". Wow, I amaze myself sometimes with my wit. I think it was the vodka talking.