Cassie-b

What Snow???

The snow was a complete bust. We got somewhere between 1 and 2 inches.  So I went to work.  Bummer! 

Actually, the unplowed roads were easier to drive on than the ones that had been plowed and sanded. 

My car has all-wheel drive, which I’ve never had before (it’s very nice), and I felt it kind of stop with funny little noises (a technical term) a couple of times.  I’m guessing I would have slid with a rear-wheel drive car.

Well, I can still take a vacation day or comp time next time it snows.

Have a great evening!!!

Snow again

It has just started to snow here.  They’ve promised us an accumulation of 3-5 inches by tomorrow morning.  I like snow - it’s pretty, but I hate driving in the snow.  If there’s lots of the stuff in the morning, I’m not going to work.  I’ll either just not go in (already arranged) or go in later.  I have lots of vacation days and lots of comp time, which my boss honors.  Can you believe.

Boy did I get a lot of different comments about my Panhandler post (yesterday).  Lots of people think about those things differently.  I mentioned it at work, and got just as many varying opinions as from you bloggers.

THE PANHANDLER

So here I am, walking along the sidewalk at a strip mall in a rather affluent neighborhood, and this quite attractive, twenty-something woman approached the man just ahead of me and asked him for $5.00.  Said she was going to take a bus home, but didn’t have any money. 

This very nice man reached into his wallet and gave her a 5 dollar bill.  After she thanked him and went on her way, I asked him if he would give me money if I asked for it, to which he said, “sure, if you need it”. 

After a giggle, I assured him that I wasn’t serious and didn’t want his money. 

His answer surprised me.  I expected a laugh.  I guess he was a serious do-gooder

I never saw or heard anything like that before – except on tv

What do you collect?

Don and I collect Diners – not the actual diners, just pictures of them.  It’s one of those unintentional accidental collections.

When we travel, we always check on the available diners in the area.  Our preference is the old timey silver kind, which seem to be getting rarer and rarer.  There’s quite a few in New England, but not too many anywhere else. 

I have a whole album of Diner pictures that we’ve collected over the last several years.

BTW, you can really get a good breakfast at almost any diner and almost any time of day.

Only One More Day

I have only worked 2 days this week, and there’s 1 left to go before the weekend.  And I can’t wait.

Do you think I’ll be able to work 5 whole days next week?  I’m hoping. 

Have a great weekend!!!
Thanks, Mandarin Design, for the new text look.

Vacation Time’s Over

Well, it was back to work today after 7 days off.  And I even remembered all my passwords.  I did, however, forget my badge - and my office cannot be entered without either a badge or a guard accompanying me.  I’m going to try very hard to remember it tomorrow.

We went to New Hampshire to visit the cousins, and take Don’s Dad there for a visit.  He’ll be travelling home to California from an airport in that area.

We had just a great time, and a terrific visit with Don’s Dad.  The cousins have built a new house (and is it beautiful) since our last visit.  It’s on top of a mountain, and we had some snow every day.  So pretty.

I want to thank Empress for holding down the fort for me.  And thanks especially for that meat loaf recipe.  I’ve sampled that meat loafhad, and am thrilled to have the recipe. I hope you and Buzz are feeling better.

It’s nice to be back.  I missed the blogging, if not the work. And I feel like I’ll never catch up - with the blogging, not the work.

Grab your woolies!

I just took a peek at the forecast for this vicinity for the next week.  Old Man Winter has finally decided to stop on by!

I guess it’s time to drag out the gloves and scarves and hats and parkas!  I was kind of hoping that we’d get by with a really mild one this year.  Last year was quite enough, thank you!

Oh, well.  I guess we were lucky to avoid it for this long.

Decisions, decisions!

I’ve spent much of today thinking about where to go on vacation.  This is especially relevent since Cassie is away, so it’s on my mind. 

I want to go away somewhere but I don’t know where.  So far, in the running, we have a little lodge place in northern central Pennsylvania (inexpensive but relaxing and nice) and Newport, Rhode Island (VERY expensive but, hopefully, also very nice).  We’re also hoping to get back to North Carolina on the good graces of a friend who owns a house on the ocean in Nags Head, but it seems that he will be working elsewhere, for a while at least, so we may have lost touch with him.

This is a very important decision as it will be our only “away” trip this year (unless we score the NC house).  Just don’t know what to do!

Guest Recipe Poster

Hello, everyone!  Empress here.  I’m keeping an eye on things while Cas is away from her computer.  Unfortunately, I’m feeling quite under the weather right now so I think I’ll just post a recipe.  This is for my world-famous meatloaf and/or meatballs.  Enjoy!

Pat’s Meatloaf

1½ lbs. lean ground beef (or meatloaf mixture, whichever you prefer)
1 egg
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup oatmeal (I use breadcrumbs instead if I’m making meatballs)
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients together well.  Place in a loaf pan and bake at 350° for 1½ hours or until cooked through.

This is best served with a baked potato and your most favorite vegetable.  Also makes excellent fried meatloaf sandwiches the next day.  Just slice and heat up in a fry pan (no oil or anything) and serve on two pieces of bread.  Add whatever condiments you like (I usually just put a little ketchup on it).  You can even melt a slice of cheese over it before putting it on the bread.  Yummy!

Oh - and try those pork chops (in the prior post).  They are ridiculously good!

Don’s Stuffed Pork Chops

We had our New Year’s eve dinner last night.  There were only 11 of us instead of the 13 we expected.  The flu got 2 of our guests.  I had a good time, and hope everyone else did.

This is the recipe I mentioned a couple of posts ago.  Don created the stuffing variation and grilling method.  And is it good. 

Don’s Stuffed Pork Chops
1 box Stove Top pork flavored stuffing, or your own stuffing
2/3 cup maple syrup (real maple syrup)
½ cup mushrooms, finely chopped
¼ cup raisins, finely chopped
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
Prepare stuffing. Add maple syrup, raisins and walnuts to the prepared stuffing

4 or 5 1 inch thick boneless pork chops, well trimmed

Cut a deep pocket in each chop, and stuff with prepared stuffing.  Don stuffed them very full

Grill: Prepare grill by coating with olive oil.
Grill about 6 minutes on each side, baste with mixture of maple syrup and olive oil.I served with a caesar salad (another great recipe), applesauce and rice pilaf.

We finished dinner at about 11:40, and toasted in the New Year with champagne (Sparkling cider for the younger ones) The neighbors put on their annual fireworks display, and the 3 youngest stood at the street and watched.