Molly Goatwax

Garnish

Peering into the 'fridge next to the milk we see a quart of hot "ornamentals", parboiled and preserved in vodka, for a hot martini or to decorate a Bloody Mary!

Assessment

Like the earthquake's, the hurricane damage seems minor. We had a power outage for half an hour this morning. The basement took on a bit of water overnight, not as much though, as the last storm. The tape does make a difference. Another large limb fell off of the tree in front of the house. I have called the city about this tree a couple of times. They come out and put a notice on it and the notice vanishes shortly after. While the limb that fell last night did not land on anything, the last one took off a mirror from our neighbor's car. Tomorrow I will call again. I don't like the way it;s wagging about in the stiff wind still blowing.

Duct Tape

On the outside of the house, where the walls meet the pavement on the spots that leak. This should get interesting.

The Coming Storm

Oh, my. First the earthquake and soon, an impending hurricane. Hubby advises me that I should pull the potted plants inside. Where do I put them all?

Earthquake

I was in a large retail beverage store in Hamden thinking that it was a bit early to be trotting out Autumn festbiers, much like the retailers put out Christmas products around Halloween when I heard the jingling of thousands of glass bottles vibrating against each other, like bells. Then I felt a bit loose in the knees and had to steady myself. Everyone in the store rushed to the large open area in the center and started discussing what turned out to have been a 5.8 magnitude earthquake. Hubby rang me up to say that he and the teen rushed outside because our wood frame house had shaken pictures off the walls. Concerned about aftershocks, I hurried home but first paid for the six of Shiner Oktoberfest that had jumped into my basket during the confusion. Now I have to go find my scaredy-cat, Homer.

The King of Pepperland

Between the Hot Wax plants and the Holy Molies, keeping them safe from the Blue Meanies.

An unfortunate dessert

Last week in the western part of our state, a family birthday celebration was marred by some prankster switching the candles on the cake for firecrackers.  Everytime I tried that, my former husband always noticed the explosives and pulled them out before he lit the candles. Raising the bar on this concept, this video shows a young man presented with a cake wired to a hidden airbag from a car. Fortunately, no one was injured. While I love the idea of an exploding cake, I wouldn't recommend either method in the interest of safety. The proper way to make an exploding "cake" is with a balloon. Here are the directions-you might also consider matching the icing to the color of your walls or taking it to a picnic. Enjoy! (Watch no one invites me to a party anytime soon.)

Paring, winnowing, shedding

So just as the basement flooding drives me to toss things I haven't needed for years, so does the tightened budget (and growling tummy) inspire us to look in the pantry for stored comestibles. The freezer holds treasures overlooked and bypassed for earlier convenenience and I condider a bag of tortelinni. It boasts of delicious homestyle pasta recipes passed down through generations with the same, authentic great tasting product that their own grandmother made. Huh. I wonder where Grandma got the ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, monocalcium phosphate, sodium acid prosulfate, mono and diglycerides and partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils. While I must admit the noodles were tasty and a blessing, I'm not wondering why they landed at the bottom of the bin. 

Some More News

I have another interview set up for next week, this appointment is with a branch manager of a bank's mortgage division. I'm feeling rather upbeat. While some years are better than others,  people will always need mortgages. 

Some news

I will be meeting with a firm's talent manager next week to discuss a position processing mortgage loans...