Attention All Vegetable Chip, Crisp, and Cracker Makers:

Don't these look tastey? They're not!!!! 

I love almost every vegetable in pretty much any form ... raw, cooked, dehydrated, pureed into sauce or juice, etc. ... it makes little difference to me! When I saw these at the grocery, the vibrant color of these veggie chips made them irresistible. I could hardly wait to get home to taste them!

The packaging said they are "Lightly salted veggie crisps".  It should have said "A grain or two of salt on colored wood chips".

TO ALL VEGETABLE CHIP, CRISP, AND CRACKER MAKERS:

I have two words for you ... GARLIC POWDER! If there are any calories in garlic powder, they're negligible. And, garlic powder is made from yet another vegetable ... garlic! Garlic has numerous health benefits and adds amazing taste to nearly everything ... so, they could still be called "Veggie Crisps"!

They could come in two flavors ... the original flavor, "Cardboard" (pictured above), and "Garlic"!!

I Can't Decide Which Tastes Better

The crackers or the box.

I asked my daughter to taste one and tell me what she thought.

Sadly, we're both kinda leaning towards the box :(

Random Sweetness

I came downstairs one day to find this note from my little girl (who really isn't so little anymore!) ...

Butterfly Sandwiches

My oldest daughter came the other night with her future sister-in-law, who is only four years old ... and she's absolutely adorable!! She is one of the sweetest, most polite little kids I have ever had the pleasure to be around. I asked her if she wanted a grilled cheese sandwich, and she said yes.

When my kids were little, I would cut their sandwiches on the diagonal and lay the points together, and they were butterflies. While I was making the sandwich the other night, I told her I'd make her a butterfly sandwich, that my kids loved butterfly sandwiches when they were little. (Actually, they still ask me for them!)

She politely replied, "I just want cheese on it."

I could tell she was still nervous about eating butterflies, even after my assurances that the sandwich didn't really have butterflies in it, and she was delighted when I presented her with her Butterfly Sandwich and realized it truly did not contain actual butterflies!

Below is a Butterfly Sandwich I made my son years ago (we take lots of weird pictures at my house!). Click on the image to enlarge it ... there's a face on the pickle!

Current Conditions ... -2º, WInd Chill of -22º

We got less than 1" of snow, but the news said the roads are icy. Our roads were pre-treated before the storm, but the rain washed most, if not all, of it away.

My new furnace is running efficiently, and I have my fireplace and electric blanket on, so I'm quite toasty! I made a super-tasty meat and potatoes casserole last night, and have plenty of other comfort food I can make. I don't have to work today, so I should stay warm and cozy with a happy, full belly.

I feel for those in the north and those around here who have to get out in this today. I am soooo grateful work is closed!! Just walking to my car sounds painful!

I was watching the news about some big football game up north (I think in Wisconsin), where the wind chill was something like -40º, and people were lining up to get in. It is inconceivable to me that they would even have a game under those conditions ... and I simply cannot fathom wanting to watch complete strangers play a game so badly that I would put my life in danger.

The good news is that it's supposed to be in the 50's next weekend ... as if I need another reason to look forward to the weekends!!

Brrrrr!!

I ran some errands with my boyfriend this afternoon. It was rainy and chilly (but not freezing) when we left, but the temperature began to plummet and the rain turned to snow. We headed to my house about the time the snow started around (5:00 pm). There was only a dusting on the roads, but it was pretty slick, even in his big truck. It's currently 15º and snowing (lightly), but the wind is howling!! It's supposed to get -2º tonight, and a HIGH of only 0º tomorrow! Wind chill tomorrow is supposed to be -25º. I've never experienced -25º ... and I don't want to! (sob!!)

That is waaaaaaaaaay too cold!

Schools are closed here and I don't have to work, so I have no reason to leave the house ... and I can guarantee you, it would take a pretty extraordinary event to get me outside tomorrow!

We don't have much snow right now, and the original forecast of 5-8" was adjusted to be 1-3" ... and will probably be closer to 1" or less here ... but it is FRIGID! I hate to complain, though, because up north it's much, much, much colder! It's so cold, schools are closed in Minnesota! My poor little sister and her family live there up there. If I were her, I'd be tempted to give my husband an ultimatum ... it's Minnesota or me!!!

Squirrels and Raccoons ... My Arch-Enemies!

This is a picture of my patio chair cushion. I texted this picture to my boyfriend and told him that I was certain the villainous squirrels had something to do with this. I had no proof, but it certainly seemed like something those glorified rats would do ... just to irk me!

He thought I was crazy, and he's probably right, but I still blamed the squirrels.

One afternoon I was talking on the phone to the insurance company about repairing some damage a raccoon did to my house (read my first raccoon blog here). I was looking out the window as I spoke, and saw a squirrel run up onto my deck and grab a wad of chair stuffing!

The insurance agent must have thought I'd lost my mind because I raced outside screaming at the squirrel. It put the wad of stuffing in it's mouth and ran away!!

I knew it!!! It was squirrels!!! I was vindicated! I don't have it on video, but I saw it with my own two, squirrel-despising eyes! My gut instinct was correct ... it was the squirrels destroying my patio furniture!

Squirrels and raccoons have been my arch-enemies for years. Now, before you tell me how cute they are, save your breath ... it will do absolutely no good ... you'll be beating a dead horse. I know many squirrel lovers, and after hearing all the squirrels and raccoons have done to terrorize me, they all agree that if they were me, they'd hate them, too! I can even sympathize (to a degree) with squirrel lovers, as I was once (in my days of carefree innocence) entertained by their antics ... but it's all a trick, designed to lure us into complacency ... and then they make their move. If you think about it, they're really quite diabolical!!

A critter guy, who has made numerous trips to my house, says he gets quite a bit of business from the small area I live in ... because some senile old lady up the hill feeds the squirrels and raccoons ... and it draws them into the neighborhood like flies to honey. The critter guy, and several neighbors, have spoken to her, begging her to stop feeding them, detailing the expense those (filthy, disgusting) creatures have done to these century-old homes, but she doesn't care. She continues to feed them ... and so they continue damaging our homes and property. At this point, my only hope is that I outlive that decrepit old bat!!

I now understand know how Wile E. Coyote felt ... and I'm wondering if the Acme Corporation has an online storefront ... and how fast they deliver.

Speaking Of My Daughter's Cat

I walked into the family room one day and saw her laying like this ... sound asleep! We call this her "Steam Roller Position"! Have you ever seen anything so ridiculous?!!

I guess all the giggling woke her up. She looked at us, but didn't bother moving to cover her modesty!

I'm Not Sure

if my daughter's cat thinks she's a violin ... or a mobster's shotgun ...

Simple, Indulgent, Long-Forgotten Pleasures

I have rediscovered the joy of baths.

After many years of rocking babies and chasing after little kids, then rushing around from school to friends to some-kind-of-sports-practice ... they're all grown up now. And even though they haven't all left the nest, they no longer need guarding. Well, I would still guard them if I could, but they won't let me tag along on their dates anymore! Without children to hover over, I have my life back, and with that freedom comes simple, indulgent, long-forgotten pleasures  :)

In the evenings, when the house is quiet and bedtime nears, I turn on soft music, light some candles, pour a glass of wine  ... or sometimes Ski ... or milk (I'm kind of weird!) ... and soak in a deep, antique claw-foot tub full of scented bubbles or calming bath salts ... and ....

Bliss!