"Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we've lived."
-Jean Luc Picard

Friday, May 22, 2009

Flashback Friday!

A few of the films from the 1940's that I enjoy watching.













Another one I enjoy is Since You Went Away, which I can't find a trailer for right now. I'll warn you that it is a real tearjerker!

On a personal note, this is going to be my last post for a while. I really do appreciate all of you who read and comment on my blog.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Flashback Friday!

Just a few of the comedies from the 1950's that I enjoy.

Hairballs On The Carpet Of Life
Fancy Pants-1950
www.vtubetools.com



Hairballs On The Carpet Of Life
The Long, Long Trailer-1954
www.vtubetools.com



Hairballs On The Carpet Of Life
The Trouble With Harry-1955
www.vtubetools.com



Hairballs On The Carpet Of Life
Auntie Mame-1958
www.vtubetools.com



Hairballs On The Carpet Of Life
Some Like It Hot-1959
www.vtubetools.com



Have a good weekend everyone!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Question about the Mustard and Black Pepper Brisket Recipe

Jim from Cool Stuff for Dads asks:

This looks very good. In terms of the potatoes and/or vegetables, could they be cooked as well in the crockpot?


The booklet that came with my my crockpot says to place your veggies on the bottom of the crock and put the meat on top to make sure the vegetables cook through.

I personally never do this when I make beef brisket in the crockpot, because I usually buy the whole untrimmed brisket and don't trim the fat before cooking. I do cut the raw brisket up into more manageable 2-4 pound portions before freezing. Because of this, I have a nice big pool of fat when I finish and any veggies would be little fat bombs!

I did break with tradition this time and bought a partially trimmed brisket, but I still had plenty of fat at the bottom of the crock.

I know they sell a super trimmed version but I have never bought one so I don't know anything about cooking those. Anybody ever cooked one of those ( or a heavily trimmed packer cut one) in a crockpot with veggies on the bottom? Were you happy with the results. I've always been afraid it would be too dry.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Mustard and Black Pepper Brisket

I was trying to figure out a new recipe for brisket cooked in the crockpot earlier this week.

I pulled some brisket out of the freezer and let it defrost overnight. Then I brushed it on both sides with some brown mustard, and mixed some kosher salt and cracked black pepper together and patted that mixture over the mustard.




Then I placed it in the crockpot and cooked it on high for four hours. I would have done it on low, but I didn't get it in the crockpot early enough.



Results:

I used too much salt, but the brisket was moist and the mustard and pepper flavor was very nice. I scraped off the remaining salt, pepper and mustard mixture, and that did help with the saltiness. I will try this again and cut back on the salt by about 50%.

The Potluck Dinner

Mr. Hairball's workplace is in the midst of a flurry of social activities. We attended a potluck dinner last weekend, will be having dinner with some of his colleagues at a restaurant tonight, and another potluck dinner is scheduled for Friday. I made a batch of brownies to take to the potluck dinner last weekend, and I will do the same on Friday.

Last weekend, his workplace was providing some of the food, and a group of us was instructed to bring a salad, side dish or dessert item. His employer would be providing the hamburgers, hot dogs, drinks, condiments, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, plates, and disposable flatware.

We showed up with a quadruple batch of brownies, placed them on the end of the table, and immediately started visiting with the people we knew. Some of his co-workers were unable to attend, some came alone or with their SO, and others brought their entire family along. There were a total of sixteen of us if you include the SOs and families in the "bring something" group.

After the line calmed down a bit, I grabbed a plate and got in line. As I was waiting, I scanned the table to see what was there so I could decide what to get. It was then that I realized that my brownies were the only item on the entire table that was homemade. I looked again as surely I must be missing something. I looked carefully between the hamburgers, hot dogs, condiments, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, tubs of potato salad, bags of chips, various prepackaged dips and salads, cartons of ice cream, and cans of soda. Nothing.

I'm used to being in the minority at potlucks because I'm one of the few people that brings something homemade. This time however, was the first time that I was the only one who brought something homemade. I've felt sad about this since it happened and see it as a sign of things to come. I guess Erma Bombeck's jokes about installing vending machines in her kitchen are not that far from reality for a lot of people.


I used to know someone who would talk about how they just loved dish X that relative Z made for their family. I asked them once if they had asked relative Z to show them how to prepare it for the inevitable day that relative Z passes on. I was told there's no point in trying to learn as it will never be like what relative Z makes. Relative Z is probably dead by now. I guess they just sit around and reminisce about the lovely holiday meals of the past since nobody alive can duplicate it. *rolls eyes*

Other families have recipes that were lovingly passed down for generations, but are now crumbling in a box unused and unloved because everybody that is physically able to cook is "just too busy" and the junk at the grocery store is "almost as good" if you pile on the Cool-Whip. *whimper*

Sometimes, I really do feel like a freak of nature.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Gagstastic emails part XI- Friends Day / Creepy!

We are having a two for one sale on gagtastic emails! Whoot!

If have you forwarded me a gagtastic email and are wondering why it hasn't shown up yet, please note that I have several unfinished ones in my draft folder. Sometimes I get stuck and have to wait for inspiration or perspiration to strike.



It's "friends Day" send this to all your good friends.

Shouldn't the word 'friends' be capitalized ?


Even me, if I am one of them.


You're not.


See how many you get back.


Zero, because I don't spam people with stupid crap.


If you get more than 3, you are really a lovable person


I'm really not interested in being popular with the sisterchicks but thanks anyway!


.................... I am waiting

I am sitting !




_________________________________________________
I had nothing to do with the random capitalization. It came that way.

Creepy!!

Ok guys, this truly is freaky, the Phone literally rang as soon as I read The last word of this email!!!!!



*screams* The calls are coming from inside the house!!!


I am taking the bait -
What do I have to lose right?


Um, your pride?


Hope it works!


Hope you get that brain transplant!


Supposedly The Phone Will Ring
Right After You Do This.
Just read the little stories and
Think of a wish as you scroll all
The way to the bottom. There is
A message there - then make your
Wish.

*rolls eyes*


No attachment on this one.


Your attachment to sanity snapped a long time ago.



Stories


Let's all gather by the fire and pretend it's dark and stormy night.


I'm 13 years old, and I wished
That my dad would come home from
The army, because he'd been having
Problems with his heart and right
Leg. It was 2:53 p .m.. When I made
My wish. At 3: 07 PM. (14 minutes
Later), the doorbell rang, and
There my Dad was, luggage and all!!


Shouldn't your Dad have appeared in a big puff of smoke seconds after you finished your wish? I've watched I Dream of Jeannie and that's how it's supposed to work!


I'm Katie and I'm 20 and I've been
Having trouble in my job and on the
Verge of quitting. I made a simple
Wish that my boss would get a new
Job. That was at 1:35 and at 2:55
There was an announcement that he
Was promoted and was leaving for
Another city. Believe me...this
Really works!!!

I've never heard of anybody getting a promotion and moving to another city! The magical wish granting email is true!!

Katie, I read about you in the Death Poem email. If someone invites you to a masquerade ball, just stay home, okay?


My name is Ann and I am 45 years
Of age. I had always been single
And had been hoping to get into a
Nice, loving relationship for many
Years. While kind of daydreaming(and right a after receiving this email) I wished that a quality person would Finally come into my life. That was at
9:10 AM on a Tuesday.. At 9:55 AM
A FedEx delivery man came into my
Office. He was cute, polite and
Could not stop smiling at me. He
Started coming back almost everyday(even without packages) and asked me Out a week later .
We married 6
Months later and now have been
Happily married for 2 years.

Ann, he does that to all the women on his route. You'll be starting in a movie soon on the crying women channel with all his other wives.


What a great email it was!!


It must not have had a bunch of flashy, sparkly crap!!


Just scroll down to the end, but
While you do, think of a wish.


Oh I wish you had a brain...


Make your wish when you have completed
Scrolling.


Scrollin', scrollin', scrollin'
Scrollin', scrollin', scrollin'
Scrollin', scrollin', scrollin'
Rawhide!


Whatever age you are, is the
Number of minutes it will take for your
Wish to come true. Ex.you are 25 years
Old, it will take 25 minutes for your wish
To come true).

I'm 40 so I have to wait 40 minutes. Gee, thanks magical wish granting email for helping me out there! As Barbie once said, math is hard!!


However, if you don't send this to

People in 5 minutes, you will have bad
Luck for years!!


Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me



Go for it!!!


Bite me!


SCROLL DOWN!!!!

Scroll on down, scroll on down the road
Come on, scroll on down, scroll on down the road
Don't you carry nothing that might be a load
Come on, scroll on down, scroll on down down the road

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STOP!!!
Congratulations!!! Your wish will
Now come true in your age minutes.

Age minutes? That sounds like something they would say on those commercials for beauty products where they tell you how awful you look and how their product can solve all your problems.

Your age minutes will be eliminated if you use Expen$ive Crap morning and night while eating a sensible dinner and singing the The Star Spangled Banner. Please ask your doctor if it's safe for you to take the maroon and aqua pill and consume five gallons of water recommended daily by the Expen$ive Crap scientists in the beautiful Swiss Alps.

If Expen$ive Crap can make a troll living under a bridge look good, there's still hope for you!


Now follow this carefully....it
Can be very rewarding!!!!


I seriously doubt that.


If you send this to 10 more
People, other than the 5 that you
Already have to send to, something
Major that you've been wanting
Will happen.


You mean UPS will bring my package today? Whoot!


Message: This is scary!


Should I hide behind the couch?


The phone will ring right after
You do this

*ring ring* This is your magical wish granting email. Your wish was just stupid, so I won't be granting it. Now send this onto to every single person in the universe or else!



I think the most disturbing thing about this email was the signature at the bottom was from an elementary school teacher.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Have you called her?

Sorry about the condition of the first two pictures. The pamphlet is part of the stuff that belonged to my late grandmother and none of her old cookbooks and papers were stored properly.


Do you think we should tell him that she's right behind him? Perhaps he knows that already since the two phone receivers are connected by the same cord.




So you haven't bought a gift yet for your mother? How about a snazzy new phone? ( Click to enlarge to read about phone technology in 1975!)



Here's a great gift to go along with her new "telephone answering set". *laughs* You're going to have the rap song stuck in your head like I do!



These "reach out" commercials always got to me. I can remember watching TV with Mama Hairball and we'd look at each other and both be crying when these came on. *sniff*

Happy Mother's Day to all of my readers who are mothers!
Whoot Shimmy Shimmy Whoot!

The Lunch Mom

Please click on each scan to enlarge.




Friday, May 8, 2009

Flashback Friday!-Night Gallery

One of my favorite shows from the 70's is Night Gallery. I currently own the first two seasons and I am looking forward to buying the third when it is released. Seeing these shows on DVD is real a treat after watching some of the episodes that were altered for syndication.

Below are a few of my favorite episodes. I apologize for the length of these. If you are interested in watching these, you might bookmark this page of my blog so that you can watch at your own convenience.








I'm also a big fan of the pilot movie, and my favorite segment from that is The Cemetery. Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate a video of this online that doesn't have some kind of audio problem. Hulu doesn't have the pilot in their collection of Night Gallery episodes.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Food posts, weather, etc...

I just looked over my recent posts and realized that I have not done any food posts this week. I haven't really cooked all that much lately. I've kinda been in a funk. Maybe it's the heat. The local weatherdude is predicting that Friday's high will be 102F/39C. I am going to try and get my grocery shopping and errands done before noon tomorrow to escape the worst of it.

I did make a pork roast earlier in the week, but I think the recipe needs more work before I do a post about it. Mr. Hairball for the third week in a row, asked me to make him some brownies. I think he's in a rut or something! Anyway, I used some of that Hershey's special dark cocoa that Kelly of Evil Shenanigans recommends, and I was very pleased with the results. I also made some baked mac and cheese, but I've already blogged about that too. Perhaps next week will be better in terms of food posts!

Flashback Friday is already set up in the queue for a trip back to the 70's.

See you then!

Gagstastic emails part X- The Dirty Dozen

I am supposed to pick 12 women (who have touched my life) and whom I think would want to participate.


I don't really want to participate but thanks for asking!


I think that if this group of women were ever to be in a room together, there is nothing that would be impossible. I hope I chose the right twelve.


*Hairball ducks so the big ball of guilt thrown her way will not stick* Trust me, some things would still be impossible. You really shouldn't have included me in your twelve as I'm a lousy sisterchick disciple.


My hugs, love, gestures and communications hopefully remind you how special that you are. Please send this back to me.


If I am so very special, then you already know that and don't need a stupid email sent back to you as proof of my friendship.


Remember to make a wish before you read the prayer.


Huh? Generally people who strongly believe in the power of prayer are not so big on wishes.


That's all you have to do. There is nothing attached.


That's a relief!


Just send this to twelve people and let me know what happens on the fourth day.


It seems I spoke too soon!


Sorry you have to forward the message, but try not to break this, please.


Too late!


Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. Did you make a wish yet?



I'm confused. Are we praying or wishing for something to happen?



If you don't make a wish, it won't come true. This is your last chance to make a wish!


Okay, so we are wishing now?


May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.'


That's very nice but, I'm still not spamming others with it.


Now, send this to 12 women within the next 5 minutes.


It took me longer than that to write this up. I'm living dangerously!


And remember to send this back. I count as 1...you'll see why.


You're going to email me soon about teaching you how to "forward things properly" when nothing happens, right? Look, the joke is that some people keep falling for this.


Suggestion: copy and paste rather than forwarding it.


But that's no fun! If you cut and paste this, future recipients won't be able to see all the email addresses of past recipients since you refuse to use Bcc when doing group emails! Oh, and the insightful comments! Reading inane things like " I sure hope this works" or "What do I have to lose?" is the best part of getting these emails!

Have a wonderful day!!!


I am. It's a real nice sisterchick-free kinda day in the neighborhood!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Gagstastic emails part IX- The Eye Test

I found them all and have to admit that they weren't all that easy.

I can't believe you are stupid enough to admit in public that you wasted time obeying the dictates of a forwarded email!


I also made my wishes - can't wait to see if they come true.



Uh, you might want to sit down for this one. If your wish comes true, it is merely a coincidence. Magical wish granting emails don't exist. What you need is this.


you are going to need glasses after this..............

How sweet! You send me something that you believe will negatively affect my vision for the rest of my life. Now that's what true friendship is all about!



The Eye Test
Can you find the B
(there are 2 B's) DON'T skip or your wish won't come True...


*rolls eyes*



RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR


I had a car that sounded like that years ago! You'd turn the key and it would go RRRRRRRR and you'd pump the gas and hope it would start. It was burgundy except for the drivers side door which was white. It was kinda beat-up and everybody on the road gave me a wide berth for some reason. *shrugs*



Once you've found the B


If the B stands for buffoon, I know exactly where you are.


Find the 1


The one who won't send me these stupid emails?


IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII1III
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII


Once you found the 1..................

I've already found the one who annoys the hell outta me and that person is you.


Find the 6


Is it lost?


9999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999
9999699999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999


Once you've found the 6...


Are you that naive? You hid a six in a group of nines? Were you one of those women who were talking about "teabagging" the White House last month and didn't understand why all the younger people were snickering?


Find the N (it's hard!!)

I'm not going there after the last one.


MMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMNMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMM


Find the six in the gaggle of nines and now a plethora of M's.
*falls over laughing*


Once you've found the N..


Okay, I'm going there. N is for Nooner.


Find the Q....


Q is for Quickie.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOQOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


Let's recap. You hid a six in a group of nines, then an N in a sea of M's, and now a Q in a group of O's. You must be the quiet type, huh?


Make 2 wishes!


I hope you grow chin hairs that you can't see well enough to pluck and your computer catches on fire if you ever send another one of these emails.


OK, NOW THAT U MADE A WISH, IT WILL COME TRUE.....
ALL U HAVE 2 DO IS FORWARD TO 3 PEOPLE BUT IF YOU FORWARD TO MORE IT WILL HAPPEN SOONER!!!


As badly as I would like to believe that a magical email could set your computer on fire and leave you with a hairy chin, I believe there's a special section of Hell reserved just for those who spam others with chain emails.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Thoughts on Sandra Lee's new show and old show

Quick explanation for my non-Shrike readers who don't watch Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee. First up, here's a link to some explanations of terms I'll be using. Shrikes are like Joel/Mike and the 'bots, and SHCWSL is the movie.




Snads new program, Money Saving Meals (or Money Sucking Meals as I refer to it) will be premiering this Sunday. Right now, it seems that no new episodes of Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee are planned. I feel kinda sad about this development. After I discovered the folks at TWoP, SHCWSL brought much laughter INto my life. Thanks to all of my Shrike buddies for the years of laughter you have given me.

I have high hopes that Money Sucking Meals will be just as unintentionally hilarious as SHCWSL. Don't let us down Snads. Shrikes everywhere are counting on you to deliver!

Let's look back at some of my favorite SHCWSL clips.









Sunday, May 3, 2009

New crap that you may find amusing...

In case you haven't noticed, I have added LinkWithin to my blog. If you look at the end of each post you will now see: "You might like these stories" with links and sometimes pictures that correlate to three earlier posts. LinkWithin tries to pull out content that it believes is relevant to the post you are reading.

Let's have a little fun and see what results pop up if I write something crazy and don't assign any labels to this post for the time being.

Sandra Lee's monkey ate my crockpot, stole my wallet, drank all my vanella vodka, and tablescaped my cats.

Edited to add: Now I'm going to add some labels that don't correlate to this post to see what happens.


Edited to add: From my brief experiment, it seems that LinkWithin bases its results on the post and not on any labels you may assign to that post. I'm now going to fix the labels I've assigned so that they correlate to this post.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Feedjit hates me!

Dear Feedjit,

How come the words I used in my Google search are not showing up on another blog's Feedjit? Do you know how long it took me to come up with:

Sandra Lee got my monkey pregnant.
Sandra Lee's monkey makes f'ntastic tablescapes.
My monkey cooks better than Sandra Lee.
My dog cooks better than Sandra Lee.

etc, etc, etc...

In order to get a certain blog to come up in the search results?!?

Sincerely,

Hairball T. Hairball
Big Beaver, PA

Friday, May 1, 2009

Flashback Friday!

I had heard of The Thin Man before, but until a couple of years ago, I had never seen any of the movies. Mr. Hairball and I thoroughly enjoyed these movies! I'd be very surprised if Sandra Lee is not a fan as Nick and Nora just love their cocktail time. Whoot!

Hairballs on the Carpet of Life
The Thin Man-1934
www.vtubetools.com
Part 1 of The Thin Man

Hairballs on the Carpet of Life
After The Thin Man-1936
www.vtubetools.com
Part 1 of After The Thin Man

Hairballs on the Carpet of Life
Another Thin Man-1939
www.vtubetools.com

Sorry, I couldn't find anything but the trailer for this one.

Hairballs on the Carpet of Life
Shadow of the Thin Man-1941
www.vtubetools.com

Part 1 of Shadow of the Thin Man.

Hairballs on the Carpet of Life
The Thin Man Goes Home-1944
www.vtubetools.com

Part 1 of The Thin Man Goes Home

Hairballs on the Carpet of Life
The Song of the Thin Man-1947
www.vtubetools.com

Part 1 of The Song of the Thin Man


Have a good weekend everybody!!