Why do people have to make or take phone calls while on the toilet?
At home, I've had people call me while they were on the toilet and I've told them to call back when they weren't so busy. If they answer my call to them while on the toilet, I tell them I'll call back at a better time. In both cases, if they say something akin to "Oh no, it's ok!" I tell them it is not ok, it is disgusting.

I can't do that at work talking to customers.

Damn

How well do you know your next-door neighbors?

Pretty damn well.
To the right is a family of sisters who's parents own an import business in Brazil. They bring us home made delicasies and other goodies because Mom does their yardwork for them. They've got the most lovely flower garden because of it.
To the left is the daughter of the couple who originally owned that house. We grew up sort of together, she's a few years younger than I am. Their little girls love squeezing Brownie & Cookie.

This was in March.

XXOO,
Brownie & Cookie

Every morning, on my way to work, I pass by a popular drive-through coffee vendor of whom you have all heard. Mom and I used to comment on it to each other that they always had a line, regardless of the time of day; if they were open, there was a line. On commute days, the line is absurd.

It gets me to thinking about the cost in time, money and fossil fuel. How much earlier do these folks have to get up in order to get to work on time after sitting in their car waiting for some overpriced coffee? Why would they want to sit in their car waiting in line and then go sit in traffic waiting to get to work? Is it really easier, faster, better than making their own cup of coffee?

Ok, so let’s entertain the argument that at home, one cannot make the halfcafcuppafrappamochachockalatta whatever. It’s a treat. Ok, I’ll grant you that but, how much of a treat is it when it sits in your car’s cup holder getting cold or spilled over your nice work clothes when you have to slam on the brakes when the idiot in the next lane decides to exit right in front of you. What the hell kind of treat is that? If I were to spend that kind of money, I’d want to actually take the time to enjoy the drink, to savor the intricacies of flavor and the warm fuzzy feeling one gets when sipping a fancy caffeinated beverage. Why does a treat have to become a routine and if it’s routine, is it still a treat?

"The most radical thing you can do is take care of yourself."
-Becka

PREP TIME: 20 minutes (ready in 2 hours, 20 min) MAKES: 24 cookies

2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1- Heat oven to 200F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In small bowl with electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed until meringue is very stiff and glossy, and sugar is dissolved. Reduce speed to low; beat in vanilla just until well mixed.

2- Use disposable decorating bag or gallon-size resealable food-storage plastic bag with 1/2-inch hole cut in bottom corner. Spoon meringue into bag; twist top to partially close bag.

3- Squeeze bag to pipe meringue into 4-inch ghost shapes on cookie sheets. Place 3 chocolate chips on each ghost for eyes and mouth.

4- Place cookie sheets on center rack in oven; bake 2 hours. Remove from oven; place parchment paper and cookies on wire rack. Cool completely, about 10 minutes. Carefully remove cookies from parchment paper.

WORM COOKIES
makes about 3 dozen cookies

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tube white decorative frosting gel (or red for a demonic worm)

1) Combine flour; sugar; cocoa and salt; ste aside. Combine butter and vanilla in large bowl. Beat with electric mixer at medium-low speed until fluffy. Gradually beat in flour mixture until well combined. Cover and chill dough at least 30 minutes before rolling.

2) Preheat oven to 350F. Form dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll balls gently to form 5- 6- inch logs about 1/2 inch thick. Shape into waves to simulate worms 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3) Bake 12 minutes or until set. Let stand on cookie sheets until cooled completely. Make eyes and stripes with white frosting.

Foamy nails it again. This time, he wants the horror back in Halloween.

PREP: 10 minutes (Ready in 25 minutes) MAKES: 6 servings (2 tablespoons dip and 1 breadstick each)

1 can (7oz) refrigerated breadsticks (6 breadsticks)
1 egg white, beaten
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 can (8oz) pizza sauce, heated

1- Heat oven to 375F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Unroll dough; separate at perforations into 6 breadsticks. Roll each until 12 inches long. Loosely tie a knot in both ends of each breadstick; place on cookie sheet (do not twist)

2- Brush breadsticks with egg white. Sprinkle with cheese and basil.

3- Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm "bones" with warm pizza sauce for dipping.

(I don't see why you couldn't do this with pre-made, packaged pizza dough or pretzel dough with some coarse-ground sea salt)

CHOCOLATE GREMLINS
PREP TIME: 15 minutes (not including chill time) MAKES: 24 cookies

1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups Fiber One cereal (I'm thinking pretzel sticks would be good as well)
48 miniature candy-coated chocolate baking bits
optional: slivered almonds and black icing gel

1- In a 2-quart saucepan, heat butterscotch chips and chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth.

2- Gently stir in cereal until well coated. Drop mixture by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper to form 24 "gremlins". Press 2 baking bits onto each to resemble eyes. Refrigerate until set.

*To create werewolf gremlins, add two slivered almonds to each cookie for fangs.
*Put a dot of the black icing gel in the middle of the candy eyes if you want them to look less like candy bits and more like eyes.

Hot Dog Mummies Prep time: 30 minutes (ready in 50 minutes) Makes:12 sandwiches

1 can (11oz) refrigerated breadsticks (12 breadsticks)
12 large hot dogs
cooking spray
mustard or ketchup

1- Heat oven to 375F. Unroll dough; separate at perforations into 12 breadsticks. With knife or kitchen scissors, cut each breadstick lengthwise and crosswise into 4 pieces, making a total of 48 pieces of dough.

2- Wrap 4 pieces of dough around each hot dog to resemble "bandages", stretching dough slightly to completely cover hot dog. About 1/2 inch from one end of each hot dog, separate "bandages" so hot dog shows through for face. Place wrapped hot dogs on ungreased large cookie sheet; spray dough lightly with cooking spray.

3- Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until dough is light golden brown and hot dogs are hot. With mustard, draw features on "face".

Here's a recipe with Spiders and what really bugs me about it is the spiders only have six legs each. I'd have to fix that when I make them.

CAULDRON OF CHILI WITH SPIDER BREADS

1 lb lean ground beef (or tofu)
3/4 C chopped onions
2 Cans (14.5 oz each) Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 can (11oz) spicy chili beans, undrained
1 can (11oz) whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, undrained
1 can (11oz) refrigerated breadsticks
1 egg white, beaten
3-4 small pimento-stuffed olives, sliced
1/2 C finely shredded Cheddar cheese (2oz)

1- In a 12-inch skillet, cook ground beef and onions over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain.

2- Stir in tomatoes, chili beans and corn. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3- Meanwhile, heat oven to 375F. Unroll dough; separate at perforations into 12 breadsticks. Cut 4 of the breadsticks in half lengthwise; shape into 8 coils on ungreased cookie sheets.

4- cut each remaining breadstick lengthwise into 3 strips, making 24 long strips. Cut each in half crosswise, making 48 short strips. Place 3 short strips on each side of each coil, placing ends under coil; pinch to attach. Bend strips in center to resemble spider legs or place crumbled small piece of foil (about 3x1/2 inch) under 3 "legs" to make them stand up in center.

5- Brush breads with beaten egg white. Place 2 olive slices on each to resemble eyes.

6- Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until "spider body" is light golden brown and "legs" are golden brown. Top individual servings of chili with cheese; serve with warm spider breads.

Ok, I suppose they have only six legs because that's how the math turned out for one tube of bread. I'll buy an extra tube to make it work.

Ganked from elionwyr, those of you with four legged furry feline friends might be interested in these! There's also a "freaky looking mutant octopus" option :o)

For wingedcorset and anyone else interested.
Ganked from the October issue of Better Homes & Gardens.

( Cooked fresh pumpkin puree for recipes... )

Saw Kirk Hammett, guitarist for Metallica, blow through the airport last night while I was waiting for Mom and Phyllis.

The news was talking about the diseases that the hurricane hit areas will have to contend with, except they didn't name any specifically so I asked my personal infectious diseases expert what was in store for them and off the top of her head she named: malaria, 'all kinds of hepatitis', typhoid, e coli and 'other flesh eating staph infections'.

Red Cross donations can be made here.
Or, if you have an aversion to Red Cross, this article has links to some other appropriate charities.

Bodie took an unexpected a sudden and drastic turn for the worse last night so we had him put down this evening.
He went exactly as I wanted him to, at home with me holding him in my lap, kissing his wonderful, soft forehead.

As a child, I used to love to go through my Mom's button box. There were buttons from outfits she'd made, mended and bought. There were buttons I'd never seen on any garment in the house and buttons that looked like they belonged on a fairy princess. Over the years, the button box came to be mine and I still love to go through it and reminisce. It's very much like looking at the quilts that my Grandma Mary made from the scraps of fabric Mom made our clothes from.

While I was working at Bolt's End, there were huge, sometimes overflowing, bins of buttons and I conjured up all sorts of projects and excuses to purchase the ones that caught my fancy. Metal buttons, ceramic buttons, antique buttons, plastic buttons in every shade of the rainbow. I look at these buttons and think of what may come to be.

This weekend, I was gifted a tin of buttons collected by someone I've never met. It was an unusual glimpse into a life unknown to me. There were memories that weren't mine, stories I'll never know.

And now, all of these buttons have been mixed together, sorted according to color and put into zip-lock sandwich bags. Ten pounds of buttons all waiting to become something. To have a use and purpose and then to become obsolete and placed into another box and, hopefully, cherished all over again.