Being Green

Got this gem from Stacey Stewart…

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment.  The woman apologized and explained, “We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days.”
The young clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations.”
“Listen up you whipper snapper!  Our generation didn’t need a green movement in its day.  Back then, we returned glass milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over.  Plastic drinking containers were not invented by my generation.  So we truly recycled.  But we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.
Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, that we reused for numerous things.  Most memorable besides household garbage bags, was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our schoolbooks. This was to ensure that public property (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribblings.  Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags.  But too bad we didn’t do the green thing back then.
We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.  Back then, we washed the baby’s diapers because we didn’t have the throwaway kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts — wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. There was one car in the driveway that a whole family shared.  But that young lady is right; we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.
Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.  But she’s right; we didn’t have the green thing back then.
We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.  Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint.

But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then?

    Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart*ss young person.

McSoup! Ten Nugget Trick to a Full House

I’m a fan of cheater recipes ONLY if they deliver a gourmet taste, save lots of time, and only dirty up one pan.  Make this soup out of Chicken Nuggets from McDonald’s!  It cooks up in 10-15 minutes, feeds six hungry people, and doesn’t disappoint.

Mmmm… something smells good!

“If you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t winnin’.”   

Oh wait…that’s what I think when I try to steal the deal in Euchre. 

The first rule of cheater cooking is to get all your crap ready to go.  In this case, you’ll want to have your onion diced, your carrots sliced and blanched and your McNuggets cut down to size.

To a dutch oven melt and simmer until softened:

1/2 stick butter

1 small diced onion

Add in this order:

1/4 cup flour, stir to make roux and then add:

3/4 cup of white wine (a flavor booster)

3 cups of chicken broth

Bring to boil and add:

Two handfuls of Dumplings or Reames Frozen Noodles, let them boil and soften, then add:

1/2 cup of fresh chopped parsley (or 1 TBL dried)

10 McDonald’s McNuggets, cut in thirds.  Tyson Frozen Chicken Nuggets work too!

1 cup sliced carrots (I dump mine in a measure cup filled with water and nuke for 3 minutes, then drain)

1 cup of heavy cream

Salt and Pepper to taste

When I made this McSoup, I used some frozen dumplings that I had.  If you don’t have carrots, use peas.  If you don’t have chicken, use shrimp.  This is a very flexible soup base.  — I will post my dumpling recipe below.

The ONLY noodle that has a chance to trump my dumplings is Reames frozen noodles.

I can’t make fresh any better.

Use Reames Frozen Egg Noodles to really cheat your way through this recipe!

Dumplings are about the easiest (and cheapest) way to stretch any dish.  These little devils put the home in home cooking.  Here’s how I roll:

2-1/2  Cups King Arthur all purpose flour

1 large egg

3/4 cup milk

2 Tbl. softened butter (not margarine!)

Seasonings to taste…can add some salt or chopped parsley if you like.

Mix ‘em up in a bowl and pinch them into little balls. They don’t have to be pretty.  Roll ‘em in flour and keep flour on your hands so the dough doesn’t stick.  Don’t make a mess:  put some flour on a paper plate and roll them and stack them on it.  Remember, these dumplings grow bigger when they are cooked!  Use what you need, ziploc the rest, and freeze them.  To eat, just boil them in water, sauce, or soup bases.

The kids will eat their peas and carrots if you toss in some dumplings boiled in water or chicken broth.  Just drain, add nuked (frozen, never canned) veggies and butter…makes a side dish they will gobble right up.

So put on your game face and win some points with McSoup!

Gwamma Sandwich

Mistake Number 1:

Accepting a ride from the dynamic duo

Mistake Number 2:

Liking it

Mistake Number 3:

Morphing into the Three Musketeers

Shame on these two for offering sweet, little Gwamma a ride in Babe the Blue Ox, capitalizing on her trust and innocence.  A few fishtails and power slides later, she understood the consequences of her choices and cursed God for free will.  That’s when ‘ol Diablo kicked in– along with the turbo.  A switch was flipped and she liked it.  Gwamma has gone over to the dark side and reverse is not in her vernacular.

Now the woman who gave birth to me, nurtured me, and tucked me under my blankies every night wants to go mud slinging and doughnut spinning.  Hell, she wants to drive.

Next they will put a red nose on her, hitch her to a sleigh, and shove a carrot up her butt.

This Country Needs a Big Friggin’ Enema

10.  Idol Worship & Hollywood – It is not normal to wear a size 0, get everything you want, and sleep around.

9.  Political Correctness – Call ‘em Like You See ‘em.

8.  Abortion and Hooking Up – Bottom Line…teach kids to keep their pants zipped.

7.  Isolation – Social Media, TV, Blogging, Gaming has replaced family conversation, projects, and opportunities.   Everything in Moderation–including moderation!

6.  Education Systems that Indoctrinate Our Children into Thinking EVERYTHING is okay and parents are the ones who are behind the times and don’t understand.  NO, WE DO UNDERSTAND and we don’t like it…hence, HOMESCHOOLING.

5.  Designer Crap – In the 60′s if something had holes in it, we gave it away.

4.  Honey Boo-Boo, Kim Kardashian, Joy Behar  (It’s a 3-way tie)

3.  Bicycle Helmets and Growing up Without Playing Outside

2.  Apathy – The General Public’s Acceptance of Media Information as Gospel

1.  Godlessness in our Society.  The farther away we go from our roots, the more bad things happen.

Add them all up and much of this country can see its reflection in a mirror.   The Waltons are on the brink of extinction.

We need to DISCIPLINE ourselves. 

Start thinking about the consequences of our choices.  We have all the power within us to bring American life back to a simpler, more loving time.

Start with stopping yourself. 

Start with thinking, “Is this the best thing I can be doing right now?”  “Am I alone?”  If you catch yourself alone most of the day, hidden in a Farmville world or watching a roster of YOUR shows, that is a problem and a waste of LIFE.”  “How is what I am doing helping my family?”

Stop accepting all the crap that is visually thrown our way by TV and in print.

Start thinking for yourself and working to make yourself a better person.  Engage in the positives:  read the classics, talk about ideals or ideas and enjoy an artful conversation.  Surround yourself with people whom you respect and whose goodness and smarts you aspire to.  Visit a museum, help a neighbor with yard work, open a door, shock someone with a random act of kindness, and smile at each person you pass.  In the end, the gift is yours.

Hold children accountable to be respectful and productive.

Respect starts in the home.  Parents need to know the difference between discipline and punishment.  Discipline is corrective and employs a moral; punishment hurts (feelings or physically).  When we correct little ones with respect, we build a foundation.   Let them skin their knees and play outside until the streetlights come on.  We may not live on the prairie, but there are jobs within each home that children should be expected to complete.  In this way, they develop a sense of duty, teamwork, and success.  They belong.  Let them have adventures sweetened with a good amount of joy and  a salty bit of disappointment.  Most things that are good have both sugar and salt.  

Keep your middle finger to yourself.

You didn’t see the California wave prior to 1970.  Back then folks would virtually flip someone off  with elevated English –which was much more amusing and creative than an extended digit coupled with a skunk eye.  You could burn someone with your wit and get your point across while maintaining superiority over the situation and keeping your dignity.    Oh how I miss sarcasm and the turn of a good phrase.

Dare to dream.

Start building your own “Ville” where 2013 is filled with family discussion and visiting grandparents to learn about your history.  Trump somebody’s Ace.  Go camping or take handheld walks with someone you love, slow down–meditate and pray, listen to classical music, play a practical joke, build a potato gun, reminisce,  plant a family garden, play board games, bake from scratch, rub a dog’s belly, paint something, sit face to face and really engage each other, tell jokes and LAUGH!

Take this thoughtful way of life, these disciplined measures, out into the world.  Speak up, show up, and help others.  Always do good.

The restoration of our country as a whole begins one decision at a time.

Keep Momma Happy

These days it is rare that all three of our adult children are under one roof.    The smell of a juicy turkey baking and my famous sweet potato pie usually reels ‘em in each fall.   Next to cooking, my favorite thing is taking pictures–taking pictures of them.  Collectively, they are my finest moment and the loves of my life.  I cherish the holidays with them and hope to capture just the right smiles for our family photo Christmas card.  Do they care?  You decide.

Family portrait 2012…

Achieved  after  an  appropriate  amount  of  begging,  bribing,  and pretty-pleases with sugar on top.  This is what my little cherubs offered up.  I’m not alone.  My sister-in-law, Auntie Karen, solved the lack of enthusiasm in her family this way:

Toby, the Pomeranian, was the only one with any “cheese” so she hung up her son and daughter’s empty sweatshirts where their beautiful smiles should be.  Mission accomplished.

We laughed about it on the phone and wondered where we went wrong.

Was it the cupcakes we baked for all their birthday parties at school?  Was it when we made their beds and washed their clothes?  Was it all the worrying we did when they got their driver’s licenses?  We decided it had to be all those bedtime stories and fairy tales that turned our sweet little ones into unrelenting, nonconforming monsters.

Sometimers

The Michigan Secretary of State gave me a gift on my 40th birthday…a restricted driver’s license because for the first time in my life, I couldn’t read the eye chart.  Wasn’t that a real kick in the pants?

Fast forward a decade and along with my reluctant acceptance, I now own several pairs of eyeglasses.  Why do they call “them” “pairs”?  Anywho…on any given day I might sport the schmancy designer sunglasses with the big Liz Taylor 60′s lenses or the Vera Bradley night shades for night driving.  My backups are a couple of buy one, get one free deals.  They are stashed in coat pockets, consoles, and purses.  Sometimes they are laying out on the kitchen counter or left behind at a restaurant by mistake. 

Wouldn’t you just know it…Jennifer called and asked me to go to the movies with her.  Something about a vampire and a wolf.  Nearsightedness means never going to the movies without your specs.  We were meeting in a little bit and I searched high and low for my Vera Bradley’s.   Without them, I can’t read any of the movie credits or see the distinct lines in an actor’s face.  Heck, I can barely tell a boy from a girl on screen these days (with or without the eye wear.) 

After 20 minutes of running up the stairs to look, back down the stairs to retrace my steps, and searching every cubby hole in my car twelve times, I found them!  They were on top of my head.