Thoughts on Money

I know people who earn their money through legal means can do whatever they want with it.

When I see a news story that someone's child wears a nine thousand dollar dress to the MTV awards, I think what that money would mean to nine families wondering how they are going to buy school clothes and shoes for their children.

On a larger scale, the millions spent on political advertising is not only wrong; it is evil. People buying their way into the White House has been going on for a long time.

I don't think this is what the people who started this country had in mind.

A Touch of Fall

 

This morning I stepped on the porch to get the paper and saw the tiny amount of red in our maple tree.

Maybe fall is really  on the way (in late August?)

Hurts Donuts

It's not that we don't have a donut shop here in our town. And then there is the bakery at the local

Market Place. But a company from Wichita has been traveling to neighboring towns with a truck painted to look like an emergency vehicle (not the regular colors, however) and selling their wares by the dozen.

They advertised they would open at 7:00 a.m.

At 6:43 we hit the road to the parking lot location which happened to be just a few blocks from our house. Only five folks were ahead of me in line. Boxes of donuts were stacked up and a tray of giant long johns topped with crumbled bacon were on a table. Yum. We came home with a box and one bacon delight which we split with coffee for breakfast. I may have to freeze some to prevent them all disappearing by Sunday.

 

 

Bitty Bits

Lee saw an ad for crackers with cheese sandwiched in between. He couldn't remember the brand so at the store we saw this box of Ritz Bits. Somehow I had a little larger size in mind. Thirteen is the recommended serving size.

Stupor?

Yes, I am sleeping too much. When I add up the hours, they are about eight per day but they come at odd times. Naps and an early bed time make for early rising. Nobody cares except the dogs and Lee feeds them anyway.

Breakfast of Champions

Until this year I had never heard of the combination of waffles and fried chicken. It may be a Southern thing. I have visited the south; I even lived in the south for fifteen months. Never saw this idea. Now I understand there are entire restaurants serving this as their main offering.

 

So, this morning, having the necessary ingredients, (never mind that they are frozen) I decided to try this combo. It's ok. Might be better if everything had been made "from scratch." But how often does that happen in the present day? Not that often in this household.

"Grocery" Shopping

Yesterday I went to our mega-market for a few things we couldn't live without. Without too much detail, this included distilled water, Thermo wraps for the neck and prune juice. Just the necessities for the aged.
I also planned to buy some Swiss Miss dark chocolate delight to add to my afternoon coffee. Since I've sworn off Starbucks, I need to get that mocha flavor somewhere else.

I couldn't find the Swiss Miss - even after finding the aisle marked Powdered Drinks. Since Lee was waiting in the car I decided not to hunt my chocolate down. It was only about 85 which is cool with a north breeze here in August! But I was determined to get out in less than ten minutes.
At the check-out, for the first time in memory, the clerk did NOT ask me if I found everything. Amazing, because I was prepared, for the first time in memory, to say, "No."

But I did manage to spend less than $16.00.

Bean Soup

This recipe is from my mom's recipe box. It has to be about 1963 or 1964. The senator, Daniel B. Brewster, is named as the person whose kindness helped "us housewives cook Capitol Hill's famous Bean Soup" served in the senate from 1963 to 1969. Mom died in 1964 so that narrows the date.

 

What a simple recipe. Wonder if the House still has it on their menu?

Cops - Reality, But Not a Show

L. was watching the tv show, Cops. Suddenly he called me. The sirens weren't on television. We had police cars, firetrucks, an ambulance and highway patrol vehicles  in our neighborhood.

 

The gentleman in this photo was shaking what looked like a aerosol can of paint. Now that the area has been cleared, there is an orange mark on the street. Unless things change, our local station will have no news on this event. Maybe our neighbor will know something. He was in a conversation with two law enforcement officers. The action was around the corner near an apartment complex.

 

I prefer my "Cops" events on tv but we are so blessed to have a great department here.

This truck was not parked in front of our drive. It was screaming past and I managed to move the camera enough to not get a blur (!)

Straight Hair

I just saw an ad on tv for a device that straightens hair. Why couldn't that have been the acceptable style when I was growing up instead of the desire for curls on a perfectly straight head of hair?

Oh the smell of that solution and hooked up to curlers that were plugged into a huge machine

attached to the wall by an electrical cord. Torture for a fifth grader. (1941.)

Disappointment

Looking forward to the NEW Triple Double Cheese Wrap, we drove to Taco Bell.

 

 

It looked even worse than this - black tar paper and we thought it was in the process of being town down. Today we believe they have left the shell and will rebuld.

 

Plan two: Drive a few blocks to another Taco Bell. A few cars were ahead of us. I ordered two Triple Double etc. which I saw at the bottom of the menu with the word "NEW." The reply came from the speaker, "We don't have those now."  Thank you. And the ride back home with no south of the border type food.

Let It Ring

The answering machine is a wonderful thing. So far this afternoon we have heard from Mrs. H., a candidate's wife, Mr. H. himself and his opponent, Dr. M.

They all spoke at length. I'm not sure if they were all recordings but at least one of them may have been "live."  I'll never know because I did not care to speak to them.