HIGH ROAD TO JERSEY......

It's that time again....another trip up to Jersey to visit with the daughter and Miss S.....daughter is taking a refresher law class all next week and we have been summoned to babysit......no, not the cat, the actual granddaughter. She's walking now so she should give us a run for our money. Ofcourse the Boo is not happy with the prospect of spending another couple of weeks with the Ropers. He will be celebrating his 10th. birthday on August 23rd. so the big guy is getting up there in age, he likes to spend his days holed up in the bathroom where the air conditioning vent blows on his fur and the floor is cold.......On a smart note.....I have finally figured out a way for the husband not to complain that I pack too much stuff when I travel....If it was up to him I would wear the same thing for the entire 2 weeks....Hey, isn't that what a washing machine is for? I packed up his things tonight and we will not check through any bags. We always do just carry ons. Won't he be surprised when the pilots case doesn't feel like it has rocks inside and that his little carry-on is empty, all just for him. Ladies wise up, don't all husbands complain that we travel with too much stuff..........So to avoid the grumbling I was at Fedex first thing Monday morning and all my clothes arrived in Jersey this morning....A big thanks to the son-in-law for bringing them in off the porch when he came home for lunch. Surely this will please the Boss...now he has a whole bag going up empty that he can bring home all his birthday goodies.....Boss' birthday is Saturday.....On a more serious note.....at 11:00p.m. this evening J.K. our charming next door neighbor (he's from Jersey too) called to ask if we were alright....Except for the fact that we're getting old and fat, yes, we were fine....why? It seems he was out in his driveway and heard a gun shot coming from right past our house...perhaps from Jerry our other wacky next door neighbor? He said is was not fireworks, it was a definate gun shot.....Shortly after his call the husband let me go outside to take the dog for a walk...do you think he's trying to tell me something.....

THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR WINNER......THE BIG FIX.

Okay, I will never again waste weeks of my time watching "The Next Food Network Star"......If ever a contest was fixed this is the one...I have been rooting for Lisa Garza since the beginning and knew she would go far. The husband thought for sure she would win. She is as classy as Ina Garten and just a pleasure to watch. As soon as I saw last weeks episode I knew the fix was in. When the last three contestants had the Las Vegas challenge Lisa shined and wacky Adam did pretty well also. In fact Adams food was the favorite with the L.V. performers. On the other hand Aaron's little act was an embarrassment and his food was something that all of America would serve up at a backyard BBQ.......I mean come on, three pasta dish's on a buffet bar..But as soon as they announced that no one would be eliminated I knew he was the winner....I also thought something was up when the viewing audience did not get to vote. Oh, they made it seem like you were voting but it was for a contest not for the actual winner of the show. How lame. I still didn't give up hope as we tuned in tonight. Lisa's pilot video was great, she comes across really well and is someone you would certainly tune in to watch. Not only to see what she's cooking but to see what she's wearing! Adam, I thought, did terrific. He's funny and was excellent playing to the camera. I was even interested in the beer can chicken he made. I thought maybe he had a chance. I would certainly tune in to watch him again.......But, when it came down to it I was right....first, when they didn't eliminate Aaron after last weeks horrible performance. And second, when I saw the viewers couldn't vote.....I just have to say that I hope Bob and Susie are happy with their choice. They have two hurdles to get over if they expect this show to fly....First, they are going to have to have sub-titles on the screen or perhaps dub in his voice with James Earl Jones and second they are going to have to find an audience that would actually be interested in cooking up collard greens.....

Like Mother....Like Daughter

When Miss Baby was born and for the past year we have been wondering who she looks like. Depending on her mood she can look like different people. When she has on a backwards baseball cap she looks just like her father. In certain pictures she looks just like her Grandmother Paula and in other pictures where she clearly is pissed off about something she looks just like the Boss' side of the family......the question was finally answered last night when I dragged out the old photo albums that Great-Grandfather put together when daughter was a baby....she is her mother's daughter.................

SEEDED RYE BREAD.....THE BEST YET!

With the cost of bread climbing every day I have kicked up my bread baking. Usually making a loaf every other day I needed to expand my selection. Today I tried seeded rye....It was fabulous....Hard and crusty on the outside and super flaky on the inside, it was a hit matched up with tuna/salmon salad. By adding caraway seeds to the dough and replacing a 1/2 cup of bread flour with a 1/2 cup of rye flour I got actual New York deli style Jewish Rye.......where's the liverwurst!! I have to thank Zoe Francois at http://www.zoebakes.com/ for all her expert advise and always being on the other end of my frantic e-mails.....Thanks Zoe!! My next project......pumpernickel.

COBB COUNTY DOES IT AGAIN.....

I received a very funny e-mail the other day from a wacky friend in Jersey. It was about Houston Congresswomen Sheila Jackson Lee complaining that there are no hurricanes with African-American names. It also said how New Orleans would have faired better during the hurricane if the news people had reported the oncoming storm in jive talk so the residents of the area could have understood the warnings better. I wanted to find out who Miss Lee is and why someone would make her a U.S. Congress person so I Googled her.....To my surprise Cobb County Georgia popped up in an article. Actually I wasn't that surprised considering all the dumb things that the residents of Cobb County do from time to time....This is what I read........

The racist nature of the message quoted above has cost the job of atleast one person who passed it along via e-mail. In 2005 a contract employee for Cobb County Georgia was fired for sending it through the county's computer system. Cobb spokesman Robert Quigley said of the incident

"Cobb County has been embarrassed by the actions of (name of employee) and apologizes for any offense."

I found this on http://www.snopes.com/ and the e-mail message that the employee got fired for was the aforementioned e-mail that I received........Lighten up people...

Me and Melissa C. Morris.........

Who is Melissa C. Morris? That's the question I asked when the daughter sent me a link to her blog....but my first comment was "She's got great hair". On the blog were pictures of a seaside town in New Jersey which hooked me right in because everyone knows I love the Jersey shore. Plus, I love anyone who's hair is cut in a bob...This includes Ina Garten and Lisa from the Next Food Network Star....So I spent last night reading Mrs. Morris' blog from front to back, all 2 1/2 years worth. It was mostly pictures and it was a real delight. Melissa is a "socialite" from Manhattan who writes about her daily comings and goings living the high life in New York and Connecticut. Why would I want to read about such a privileged person. She's hoot that's why. And upon reading all her entries I realized I had alot in common with her.....Yes, hard to believe that I have things in common with a socialite from New York...this is what I discovered.........
1.) We have the same hair. This is important because everyone hates my hair but I love my hair..It's nice to see other people jump on the "bob" bandwagon.
2.) We have both had multiple shoulder surgeries on both shoulders....Although she got injured from years of competitive swimming...I got injured from competitive blow drying....
3.) Number 2 might explain item 1.......this hair style is extremely easy to maintain and when you've got 2 bad arms it makes things alot easier.
4.) She's married to 58 year old Chappy.....I'm married to 58 year old Chubby.
5.) She grew up in New Jersey, I grew up in New Jersey.
6.) She loves to cook and serves her creations on diner china....I do the same.
7.) She and I both own fancy European dogs....she has an Italian Greyhound...... I have a French Pyrenees..
8.) she went to Paris with her mother.....I went to Paris with my daughter.
9.) she loves madras shorts.....I will never be too old to wear madras shorts.
and coming in at number 10.)
We have both been to the Parthenon.....no, not in Greece....in Nashville. How many people can say that?

read more about Melissa and her dog Monty at http://www.melissacmorris.blogspot.com/

America's Next Top Model....

BAN ON PRESIDENTIAL BUNTING.....

It seems the ban on displaying presidential bunting has been lifted. Some time ago me and the daughter discussed the fact that hanging bunting from anything other then a government building was against the law....We found this to be a very wacky law and found ourselves talking about this whenever we saw it, usually around the holidays. It appears the ban is no longer.....I was out watering the "dead" grass this morning, trying to bring it back to life, when across the cul de sac was our neighbors home proudly displaying the red white and blue. I remember seeing a flag waving on Memorial Day but today, the 4th. of July, brought out the big guns.....I'm happy to see the neighbors are patriotic, now we just have to figure out how many people are living in the house (there has to be 3 families) and why everyone drives unmarked white mini-vans.....We're leaning towards them being Mormons......

"BOO" BERRY WAFFLES...