Tuesday, July 31, 2018

July 31st

Today is the last day of July.
153 days till 2018 is no more.
Has it flown?
Definitely, it certainly has.
There's a line in the song "Do You Know The Way To San José",
it says ".... Weeks turn into years. How quick they pass."
Sums it up for me.
After all, "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?"
To kids it drags, unless it is summer time.
Then they complain that the time went way too fast!
To us older folks, it always seems to go lightening fast all the time.
Although, time as a concept is something hard to describe.
Especially if it refers to sometime in the distant past.
But, would I like to time travel?
You bet!
I'd go back to times in my life where the real possibility of changing an outcome could work.
I'd go back and try to convince my Dad to take better care of himself,
so I could've known him longer.
I read a recent book by Stephen King, it was a time travel book,
about changing the outcome of the Kennedy assassination.
It's called 11-22-63.
I highly recommend reading it.
But, as we know, time can't be altered,
and
 
********************************************************************
As a retired person, there are times that I yearn for that old camaraderie
of the teamwork with the other nurses on my unit.
It was, at best, a wonderful place with exceptionally talented nurses,
and, at worst, a drudge to place one foot in front of the other.
Sadly, the drudgery finally won out.
The newer computer driven charting took us away from the bedside.
The unrealistic expectations by some patients and family members.
Like, wanting service that's on par with a 7 star resort,
when the others are either in pain, hungry, sleep deprived or confused.
But, all in all, my years as a hospital nurse were, by far the most rewarding.
There's a saying, "Once a nurse, always a nurse".
That is so true.
No matter where you go or what you do, you'll never get out of nursing.
Its like the Mafia. You know too much!
This is unfortunately so true.
My stories of male stroke patients who can
no longer aim into the urinal
and consequently soak my shoes,
as I assist them to stand to pee,
Disimpacting a constipated patient,
Unclogging a feeding tube, only to wear the formula
complete with stomach contents the rest of the shift,
and the cleaning up of emesis after a patient chokes
on a pill, are legion.
I could go on and on........
All the while discussing the above patient issues
while snarfing down a less than 15 minute lunch.....
I found out quickly, that my work stories didn't
translate to acceptable family chatter at the dinner table.
Oh, well...
As they say,
Those days are over
But, I can reminisce about the funny and good times.
 
*********************************************
2 of our hens are still broody.
They've taken to pulling out their breast feathers
to "feather the nest".
This is Hen Solo, AKA Henny.
Poor baby. She thinks her eggs are really babies.
We remove them as soon as possible and
remove her from the coop often,
but as of yet, we haven't been able to break her of it.

This is Ethel.
Same problem, no change yet.
I've read that they sometimes copy cat
the other broody hens.
Hope this doesn't spread to the other girls.
 
*****************************************************
 
My grandson and I saw this recipe on Pinterest.
It's called a 3-2-1 mug cake.
The directions are simple.
A box mix of Angel Food cake
(it has dried egg whites in it that help it to rise)
and a box of any other cake flavor you like.


Then 1minute in the microwave,
and voilà!
A perfect mug cake.
My grandson can make this himself.
Neat!
 
and this......
When God was creating the world,
He crafted the dog.
God said "I've saved you for last".
"You will be a selfless companion to mankind"
"That is why I have named you from My name",
and with that
He touched the dog on its head.
The newly named animal wagged its tail.
God said,
"I am pleased"

Monday, July 23, 2018

July 23rd



Its full blown summer in Louisiana.
That means, its HOT!
Africa hot.
Walking on the sun, hot.
Melted tar stuck to shoes, hot.
But...
There's the ubiquitous late afternoon rain shower that cools us down,
somewhat.
When I was a kid, the summers didn't feel this bad.
All we had was an attic fan and an oscillating fan to move the air.
(I remember when I realized that fan wasn't called "isolating")
Granted, we kept the windows opened, but the screens remained tightly closed.
After all, Louisiana has its fair share of vampire bugs and some of them have wings!
But.....
The first chance we got, we were out of the door to play in the oppressive heat.
All kids were outside. The only time we went in was when Mama called,
or you were sick, or in my case, reading.
It was still hot, but I don't remember that stopping us.
Now, I don't venture out without my sunglasses and my car AC on full blast!
It is just too darn hot!

             ******************************************
The garden has been kinda droopy as of late.
The only real produce has been the tomatoes.
Even the onions are giving up the ghost.
Oh, and the eggs.
The hens are still churning out eggs on a daily basis.
Poor babies.
They take refuge from the sun on the patio.
Next month we'll plant the late summer crop.
That should lead into fall with a steady stream of veggies.

          ******************************************
Hazel.
She's not pleased that she didn't get enough apple pieces.

Hazel, Sandy and Pepper hanging out in the Herbs

Nugget trying to tell me something.
She's clucking away and eyeballing me.
The girls have been nicer to me lately.
Partly because I come out with tasty morsels
and
partly because they are just dang curious.
 
******************************************
 
 
CHICKEN SCHOOL 101
 
Thought I'd begin with a picture of chicken anatomy.
 
Eggs:
This picture helps to know where those eggs come from.
Our girls are considered "heavier breeds",
meaning that they are usually bigger than
a white Leghorn breed.
The average weight of a free range hen is 4 to 8lbs.
The Leghorn's lay white eggs.
The usual ones that the groceries sell.
Our girls lay colored eggs.
Sometimes colored eggs can have spots on the shell.
In the wild, the spots aid in camouflage,
but for domesticated hens this trait is simply
a holdover from when they were wild.
It is similar to the melanin spots on humans.
Inside the egg there can also be tiny blood spots
near the yolk.
These spots are harmless and can be scrambled with the egg.
It is simply a result of a small rupture in a blood
vessel in the reproductive tract.
It happens before the calcium hardens in the shell.
 
Flight:
Chickens can't get totally airborne.
They usually only get a few feet and have to make
an ugly landing.
The reason?
Their wings are too small and their bodies are too heavy.
They do maintain the hollow bones of winged fowl, but
they can't get any uplift.
That's our fault.
We bred them as food.
We are more concerned with the meat and eggs than
the fact that Pepper can't fly into the wild blue yonder.
I, for one, am thankful for that.
I wouldn't want to be chasing my flock in
the neighbors yards!
 
Intelligence:
The Scientific American published an article about
chicken/fowl intelligence.
It was shown that they have a similar intelligence to
a 4 year old child.
This was done by several universities.
It was based upon several principles.
Object permanence, problem solving and situational awareness,
were a few.
 
Chickens as food:
There are approximately 9 billion chickens raised
in the U.S. for consumption.
That's male and female.
The figure for Worldwide consumption is around
50 billion!
Those numbers are staggering.
Industrially, chicken slaughter is down to a science.
These slaughter houses average 140 birds per minute.
It is done on an automated line
that "humanely" slits the chickens
throat after it has been electrically stunned.
They then bleed out and the butchering begins.
That's if all goes as planned.
There is always a catch.
As I've said,
 chickens are smart.
They routinely try to escape the slaughter.
That means there are always the ones missed by the stunner and some of the blades.
This is a scenario I'd prefer to not go into.
There is something called HMSA.
The Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.
It ages back to 1958.
It was enacted for cows, pigs, horses, sheep and mules.
But.....
Fowl were never on the list, even though they are
significantly slaughtered for food more frequently.
Why is this?
At the time the Act was voted on,
most fowl was on farms for personal use or sold to butchers.
The USDA has regulations in place for fowl and other food animals
that is supposed to surpass the HMSA.
According to the horrific videos I viewed,
they need to do better.
 
The conundrum is,
I like chicken.
I like eggs.
No, I would NEVER use my hens as food.
So, do I as an informed individual,
choose to stop eating chicken now that I know
these facts.
Probably not.
My head remains entrenched in the sand.
I stand as a chicken hypocrite.
Although, I will write to the USDA asking
about their humane slaughter of food animals.
That's my plan....
At least for now.....
 
*********************************************
Talk about feeling insignificant,
listen to
Dust in the Wind
by Kansas.
 
And remember,
be nice!

Thursday, July 12, 2018

July 12th

Today, believe it or not, is
"National Eat Your Jello Day!"
Had no idea?
Me neither.
But
I did a little research.....
Powdered gelatin, was trademarked in New York back in 1897.
In Victorian times the upper classes were enamored with jelly molds
and meats in aspic. Pretty much, the only class with the time and
capability to refrigerate a fancy gelatin mold was the rich.
Gelatin was sold in sheets and had to be purified because of the "inert" ingredients.
Yuck!
You see, gelatin is a protein produced from collagen extracted
from boiled bones, connective tissues and other animal products.
Its actually been around since the 15th century.
Think - Hogs Head Cheese.
Back to Jello......
So, this guy Peter Cooper, obtained his patent for powdered gelatin.
By trade, he was an industrialist but, he was not actually looking for
a gelatin substitute, it was simply a happy accident.
Then, in 1897, a cough syrup manufacturer trade marked a fruit
flavored gelatin dessert that his wife named, Jell-o.
He eventually sold his dessert to Genesee Pure Foods.
Then, in a genius advertising blitz, they distributed free cookbooks.
The rest is baby boomer childhood history!
No household was complete without packages of J - E - L - L - O!
(you sang that, right?)
Me too.
My favorite flavor, you ask?
Any but lime.
I'm not a lime connoisseur.
Maybe sliced or in a margarita,
but no,
Don't like jello flavored lime.
My Mom used to float fruit cocktail inside Jello.
We loved that.
So, in honor of, National Eat Your Jello Day,
I'm opting for a Jello cup with mandarin oranges.
Win, win.
A.I don't have to make it and
B. I'm celebrating!
Yay!
###################################################



Speaking of Baby Boomer childhood....
This was what my first Barbie and Ken looked like.
Sadly,
1)I don't have them anymore
2)I dyed my Barbie's hair black with shoe polish
in some sort of half assed, creative,Vidal Sassoon type, attempt and
consequently dyed her entire HEAD purplish black!
Hey, I just realized, I made the first Monster High doll!
 I coulda been a millionaire!
I coulda been a contender!
3) My Ken had unfortunately developed premature male pattern baldness.
Don't know why.
The peach fuzz, buzz cut was ubiquitous on the Ken doll.
Why,I didn't take a Marks-A-Lot to his head I'll never know.
His fuzzy "hair" could have been a weird blackish blue too.
I would have been ahead of the '80's Goth looks.
But, in a thoughtless attempt to make my sister's Ken bald too,
(classic misery loves company, I guess)
I scraped his head on the cement of our front porch.
She caught me,
my Mom punished me,
and I felt all around, bad.
10 year old remorse only sticks to you as long
as your 8 year old sister can remember the incident.
P.S. Its for the rest of her LIFE!
😆
4)Those bathing suits were the only manufactured clothes
the dolls owned, everything else was
homemade lovingly by my Mom,
even a wedding dress.
 
 
I wasn't much for baby dolls,
or any doll really,
but I loved this one.
Her name was Patti Play Pal
She also is long gone.
She was relegated to the attic
and during Katrina,
she was part of the detritus
we had to throw out.
 
My bike!
A Schwinn Tornado!
God! I thought I was invincible on this simple piece
of bicycle artistry.
Wind in my hair, accidentally consuming several bugs.....
No frills, just pure freedom in a kids mind.
 
######################################
Chickens.
Gotta love 'em
Ever since I've been back from California,
they seem to be ignoring me.
Odd behavior.
 Before I left,
they'd always run up to me as soon as I went out the door.
I figured it was simply that they were
mad that I was gone for a bit.
I was no longer a member of their flock.
The hen mafia considered me dead to them.
So, in the tried and true method of the mafia,
I tried a little bribery.
I made them a offer they couldn't refuse.
(no, I didn't go to the mattresses,
and no chicken head was in my bed)
They love watermelon rind.
I cut most of the watermelon off the rind and
walked outside with it a bowl.
I started whistling for them and
lo and behold,
they came running
At least tonight, I won't sleep with the fishes.
A pariah no more,
I now go out and they
welcome me as before.
I'm the Godmother!
(little witches!)
 
munching on dried grubs

waiting to be petted

Ethel patiently waiting her turn
for a pat.
 
 
#########################################
 
Now for some (probably bad) chicken jokes/puns
 
1)Did you hear that the chicken farmer died under
mysterious circumstances?
The police suspect fowl play!
 
2)Have you heard about the chicken thief
who ran afowl of the law?
 
I'll only do 2 because I really can't tell jokes.
I'm very bad at it.
In fact, I'm so bad that
I think I inspired a song.....
"I started a joke which started the whole world
crying...."
Yeah, that bad,
thanks for nothing, Barry Gibb!
 
####################################
 
And
in the immortal words of my Mother,
"Everything happens for a reason"
 
💋
 
oh, and remember,
tomorrow's
Friday the 13th!
 
 




Wednesday, July 4, 2018

July 4th

Happy 4th of July!
Happy 242nd birthday America!
Barbeques,
Fireworks,
Day off from work.....
Yes, to all of those,
but there's more, there's
Patriotism.
I stand
with my hand over my heart during the
rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.
I sing,
usually off key, but I sing,
and I'm proud to say I know every word.
I get choked up.
Yep, unabashedly,
I'm a patriot.
Having seen Ft McHenry and looked out over
the harbor in Baltimore,
that those brave men defended from the British,
and saw where that lonely, famous flag flew in 1814,
choked me up.
Then, having seen that actual flag in the Smithsonian,
replete with cannon holes,
and pieces missing from
souvenir hunters after the War of 1812,
being taken care of in this century,
choked me up.
This song sums it up pretty well.
And yes,
it chokes me up too.
****************************************
I also want to see my country.
I love to see different places in the US.
It's a bucket list of mine to see all 50 states before I die.
So far,
I've made it to 33.
But,
I've got 17 yet to go.
That's the reason for vacations!
Yay!
Some of my favorite places are national parks.
The forests, waterfalls, mountains and waterways
are my absolute favorites.
Iconic structures and historic areas are favorites also.
 
Having just returned from the San Francisco area,
I saw some things again,
as well as some new and beautiful things
that my son shared with me.
We waded in cold tide pools in Carmel
with anemones and starfish.
.

Looked out to sea, where whales spout and breach in the distance,
and low clouds hung on the horizon.
 

The beautiful beach at Pacific Grove.
 
 
Lake Tahoe with the sun sparkling off its crystal clear water.

A favorite quiet picnic spot on Lake Tahoe's shore
called Secline Beach.

A gnarled redwood root makes a beautiful
frame for a waterfall pool
in the mountains above Lake Tahoe.
At one point we were at almost 10,000ft!
 

Old growth redwoods in a neighborhood
playground in picturesque Mill Valley,
complete with a cool mountain stream.
No need to fight the crowds of Muir Woods,
this area is equally amazing!
Then in historic Sutter's Mill where the
whole state got its start with the discovery of gold.
Virginia City, and the Comstock Lode of
silver and gold
Carson City, Nevada's capitol
and
Reno,
with its understated glitz
and beautiful Riverdale area.
 
But, the main reason for this visit was
to spend time with my oldest son.
A few bittersweet moments shared, knowing I have
to leave him.
Sometimes its hard to let go.
But,
the shared moments of seeing new and exciting things
makes up for the distance.
###########################################
 
 The hens were ambivalent about my home coming.
When I got home, the dog was happy, as always,
so I naïvely thought the girls would come running too.
Nope.
Just Lucy came.
Curious Lucy.
Oh, well.
Now I've taken a backseat to the CEO.
I've even started calling them
Daddy's Girls.
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Remember, life is short,
so in the immortal words of
the Isle Brothers
"Its your thing, do what you wanna do......."
and
as always