For the month of April, Flashback Friday will feature selected music from the '80s.
80's Edition- Dance Songs
* In the distance, an early 80's era Chevy Camaro Z28 can be seen coming down the road. The t-tops are off and hands can periodically be seen thrusting up towards the sky. You can feel the bass of the music as the car approaches. Inside the car are two women with really big hair and Risky Business style sunglasses. The driver fishtails to a stop and asks if you'd like a ride to the next town. You accept and hop in the back while the passenger smiles at you and asks if you'd like to pick out some songs for the ride. The driver turns to you and tells you that her name is Hairball. Then she smiles mischievously and yells out Whoot! as she punches the accelerator.*
*Hairball stops in front of a convenience store and thanks you for selecting some fun 80's dance songs and says she hopes you have a nice weekend. She drives away off into the sunset with her friend.*
Happy Easter to all of my readers that celebrate it!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Beans and Cornbread, Y'all!!
I grew up eating pinto beans and cornbread. It's a cheap way to feed a whole crowd of people and it's just plain good! My Grandmother on my Father's side of the family was not very interested in cooking and because of this, she was not the best cook. One of the few meals she excelled at was beans and cornbread. Now, she always used salt pork in her beans, but today we will be using some smoked sausage.
First up, we will measure out three cups of dried pinto beans and put them in a colander. Give them a good wash and discard any cracked, broken, or shriveled looking beans and debris.
Next, put your beans, chopped garlic, chopped up smoked sausage, salt, and pepper into your crockpot or slow cooker. If you look closely, you'll see that my sausage is still frozen. When I buy smoked sausage, I divide most of it up into 1/2 lb portions, chop it up, and freeze it for later use. Next, pour in your water so that it is about 1 1/2 to two inches above the surface of the beans. Cover them and set on low and cook all day (8-10 hours or so) until soft. When they are ready, it's time to make some cornbread.
Cornbread
This was originally from a bag of Aunt Jemima Yellow Cornmeal but, it seems that the folks at Aunt Jemima no longer make the plain cornmeal, just the cornbread mix. *grumbles*
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, oil or drippings
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbs. sugar, (optional)
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt, (optional)
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
Preheat oven to 425°F. Place vegetable shortening in 10 inch ovenproof skillet, or 8 inch square baking pan. Heat in oven 3 minutes, tilting skillet to coat bottom evenly. Meanwhile, combine dry ingredients. Stir milk and egg until blended. Stir in melted shortening and mix thoroughly.
Pour batter into hot skillet.
Bake 20-25 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Homemade cornbread never lasts long with Mr. Hairball around. *grins*
Another Semi-Ho Enchilada Recipe...
A while back, I made some beans and threw in some leftover brisket and we ate it with homemade corn tortillas. There was some of the bean and brisket mixture leftover, so I froze the leftovers for another day. Recently, I pulled some of this out of the freezer, let it defrost, and made up some enchiladas. I know some people prefer to make a new dinner every night but, I like to make larger quantities of some things with the intention of freezing some for another day or purpose.
Preheat your oven to 350F and round up a 9x13 baking dish. Open up your can of enchilada sauce (28 oz) and pour some in the bottom of your baking dish. Open up your package of tortillas and put 12-15 on a plate. It would be best to heat them up to make it easier to roll. (I didn't because I was feeling lazy and they were going to be covered up with sauce and cheese anyway. LOL) Cover and heat them in the microwave or wrap them up in foil and heat in the oven till warm. Dish out about three tablespoons of the brisket/ bean mixture down the middle of a tortilla and roll it up and place in the bottom of your baking dish. If the tortilla tears just do your best to roll it up. Nobody will know after it is baked!
Repeat with your remaining tortillas until the dish is filled. Then pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the top.
Next, sprinkle as much cheese as desired on top.
Then, bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until everything is hot and the cheese is melted. Yes, that is a blend of Cheddar and Monterey Jack that was in that bag at the top. *hangs head in shame*
Sorry about this one. I wasn't thinking and dished these out with a spoon so it's not that pretty. They were very good! Mr. Hairball likes lots of light sour cream on top of his enchiladas. *grins*
Preheat your oven to 350F and round up a 9x13 baking dish. Open up your can of enchilada sauce (28 oz) and pour some in the bottom of your baking dish. Open up your package of tortillas and put 12-15 on a plate. It would be best to heat them up to make it easier to roll. (I didn't because I was feeling lazy and they were going to be covered up with sauce and cheese anyway. LOL) Cover and heat them in the microwave or wrap them up in foil and heat in the oven till warm. Dish out about three tablespoons of the brisket/ bean mixture down the middle of a tortilla and roll it up and place in the bottom of your baking dish. If the tortilla tears just do your best to roll it up. Nobody will know after it is baked!
Repeat with your remaining tortillas until the dish is filled. Then pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the top.
Next, sprinkle as much cheese as desired on top.
Then, bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until everything is hot and the cheese is melted. Yes, that is a blend of Cheddar and Monterey Jack that was in that bag at the top. *hangs head in shame*
Sorry about this one. I wasn't thinking and dished these out with a spoon so it's not that pretty. They were very good! Mr. Hairball likes lots of light sour cream on top of his enchiladas. *grins*
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Gagstastic emails part III
I stripped out all of the pictures after the trouble I had last time.
_________________________________________________________________
Who you are to me...
A true friend
And if I don't get this Back I'll take the hint.
Umm, I really don't think so since you send me one of these at least three times a month. You have grudgingly figured out though, that if you write me an actual email, I will reply with what is going on with me.
Tonight at midnight
Your true love will
Realize they like you
Uh, I've been happily married for over 13 years. I think it's a pretty safe bet that Mr. Hairball likes me.
Something good will Happen to you at 1:00-4:00 PM
Tomorrow.
There was a slip from the UPS guy on my door when I got from the library saying he had a package for Mr. Hairball. He will be coming back tomorrow and he usually comes by here in the afternoon. It's so spooky that you knew that!
It could be anywhere
-- at home, Yahoo, outside
Of work, anywhere.
You should go on the road with this whole predicting the future business!
Get ready for the Biggest shock of Your life.
The biggest shock of my life would be you not forwarding these stupid emails to me anymore.
Please send this to 5 People in 5 minutes.
Why? What have my friends done to you??
Remember:
'A good friend will Come bail you Out of jail....
But a true friend will Be sitting next to you Saying WE screwed Up, but we had fun!'
Ya know, I'm kinda past the whole "let's do things that have a good shot of getting me arrested" so you go ahead without me.
Proud To Be
Your Friend!
Make sure you read All the way down to The last sentence, And don't skip ahead..
What fresh Hell have you got for me today?
I've learned..
That life is like a
Roll of toilet paper.
The closer it gets
To the end, the
Faster it goes.
I've learned that it's unwise to eat yellow snow and stick metal objects in electrical outlets.
I've learned....
That we should be
Glad God doesn't
Give us everything
We ask for
I can't argue with you there.
I've learned....
That money doesn't Buy class.
Wrong. Money does buy you class. It buys you a seat in first class on the airline of your choice.
I've learned...that it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.
Yep, like getting an actual email instead of a stupid email forward.
I've learned...That under everyone's
Hard shell is someone Who wants to be Appreciated And loved.
Well, forwarding stupid emails isn't going to achieve that goal for anybody.
I've learned...
That the Lord didn't
Do it all in one day
What makes me
Think I can?
True. Letting go of perfectionism, learning to set realistic goals, and accepting yourself are laudable goals for everyone. It doesn't have a blessed thing to do with these idiotic emails though.
I've learned...
That to ignore the
Facts does not
Change the facts.
The fact is that these emails are annoying as Hell. When are you going to accept that fact?
I've learned....
That the less time
I have to work,
The more things
I get done.
Hey! Did you know that water is wet?
To all of you..... Make Sure you read all the Way down to the
Last sentence.
I have a pretty decent short term memory so you don't have to keep reminding me every five seconds to read the last line.
It's National
Friendship
Week.
Oh Hell, not again?!? You do know these idiotic things get forwarded around over and over until somebody like me pulls out a gun and puts it out of its misery, right?
Send this to everyone
You consider a FRIEND!
Nope, because they would write me back asking why I sent them this stupid BS and to expect a welcoming email from the kinkiest pr0n site they were able to find.I would deserve it too!
Even if it means sending
It back to the person
Who sent it to you.
Nope, I don't want to encourage you to keep sending out these emails.
If it comes back to you, Then you'll know you
Have a circle of friends.
No, I would know that I have a circle of folks who constantly need reassurance from others because they have very low self-esteem. Healthy people don't seek constant reassurance from others because they know they have value as a person.They go do their own thing and if others like it that's great and if others don't like it that's okay too!
HAPPY
FRIENDSHIP
WEEK TO YOU!!!
I'm really tired of this.
YOU ARE MY FRIEND AND I AM HONORED.
If you would write me an actual email yourself, I might just believe you.
_________________________________________________________________
Who you are to me...
A true friend
And if I don't get this Back I'll take the hint.
Umm, I really don't think so since you send me one of these at least three times a month. You have grudgingly figured out though, that if you write me an actual email, I will reply with what is going on with me.
Tonight at midnight
Your true love will
Realize they like you
Uh, I've been happily married for over 13 years. I think it's a pretty safe bet that Mr. Hairball likes me.
Something good will Happen to you at 1:00-4:00 PM
Tomorrow.
There was a slip from the UPS guy on my door when I got from the library saying he had a package for Mr. Hairball. He will be coming back tomorrow and he usually comes by here in the afternoon. It's so spooky that you knew that!
It could be anywhere
-- at home, Yahoo, outside
Of work, anywhere.
You should go on the road with this whole predicting the future business!
Get ready for the Biggest shock of Your life.
The biggest shock of my life would be you not forwarding these stupid emails to me anymore.
Please send this to 5 People in 5 minutes.
Why? What have my friends done to you??
Remember:
'A good friend will Come bail you Out of jail....
But a true friend will Be sitting next to you Saying WE screwed Up, but we had fun!'
Ya know, I'm kinda past the whole "let's do things that have a good shot of getting me arrested" so you go ahead without me.
Proud To Be
Your Friend!
Make sure you read All the way down to The last sentence, And don't skip ahead..
What fresh Hell have you got for me today?
I've learned..
That life is like a
Roll of toilet paper.
The closer it gets
To the end, the
Faster it goes.
I've learned that it's unwise to eat yellow snow and stick metal objects in electrical outlets.
I've learned....
That we should be
Glad God doesn't
Give us everything
We ask for
I can't argue with you there.
I've learned....
That money doesn't Buy class.
Wrong. Money does buy you class. It buys you a seat in first class on the airline of your choice.
I've learned...that it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.
Yep, like getting an actual email instead of a stupid email forward.
I've learned...That under everyone's
Hard shell is someone Who wants to be Appreciated And loved.
Well, forwarding stupid emails isn't going to achieve that goal for anybody.
I've learned...
That the Lord didn't
Do it all in one day
What makes me
Think I can?
True. Letting go of perfectionism, learning to set realistic goals, and accepting yourself are laudable goals for everyone. It doesn't have a blessed thing to do with these idiotic emails though.
I've learned...
That to ignore the
Facts does not
Change the facts.
The fact is that these emails are annoying as Hell. When are you going to accept that fact?
I've learned....
That the less time
I have to work,
The more things
I get done.
Hey! Did you know that water is wet?
To all of you..... Make Sure you read all the Way down to the
Last sentence.
I have a pretty decent short term memory so you don't have to keep reminding me every five seconds to read the last line.
It's National
Friendship
Week.
Oh Hell, not again?!? You do know these idiotic things get forwarded around over and over until somebody like me pulls out a gun and puts it out of its misery, right?
Send this to everyone
You consider a FRIEND!
Nope, because they would write me back asking why I sent them this stupid BS and to expect a welcoming email from the kinkiest pr0n site they were able to find.I would deserve it too!
Even if it means sending
It back to the person
Who sent it to you.
Nope, I don't want to encourage you to keep sending out these emails.
If it comes back to you, Then you'll know you
Have a circle of friends.
No, I would know that I have a circle of folks who constantly need reassurance from others because they have very low self-esteem. Healthy people don't seek constant reassurance from others because they know they have value as a person.They go do their own thing and if others like it that's great and if others don't like it that's okay too!
HAPPY
FRIENDSHIP
WEEK TO YOU!!!
I'm really tired of this.
YOU ARE MY FRIEND AND I AM HONORED.
If you would write me an actual email yourself, I might just believe you.
Monday, April 6, 2009
If you'll look to your right....
Just a quick note of something new on my blog. If you will look to your right you will see two music players from Imeem with music that I have selected from their website. The first one has various songs from the 30's, 40's and 50's while the second one has songs from the 60's,70's and 80's. I've been working on the second one longer so it has more songs on it than the first one. Go hit the play button if you want to listen to some music. If silence is more your thing or you have your own tunes playing, no biggie!
The first one is pretty heavy on Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, and the Andrews Sisters. The second one is well, a lot like me in that it's a truly insane compilation. I've got Petula Clark, Chubby Checker, Whitesnake, and ZZ Top in there along with many other artists. LOL
I tried to weed out all the songs that only show up as 30 second samplers but, I'm sure I missed a few. If you find one I missed, please leave me a comment so I can try to fix it.
Thanks!
Hairball T. Hairball
The first one is pretty heavy on Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, and the Andrews Sisters. The second one is well, a lot like me in that it's a truly insane compilation. I've got Petula Clark, Chubby Checker, Whitesnake, and ZZ Top in there along with many other artists. LOL
I tried to weed out all the songs that only show up as 30 second samplers but, I'm sure I missed a few. If you find one I missed, please leave me a comment so I can try to fix it.
Thanks!
Hairball T. Hairball
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Some light housekeeping...
I've posted some pictures and updated two old posts of mine.
Country Butter
Mama's Tacos and Tortilla Chips.
Country Butter
Mama's Tacos and Tortilla Chips.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Dear Feedjit....
First up, I really enjoy your free product and get a kick out of seeing where my visitors come from. Here's the thing, could you find some more places that have names that are amusing to English speakers? (Yes, I do know about that place in Austria that starts with an 'F'.)
Maybe you could somehow entice some places to change the name of their town? My late grandmother told me the story about how Truth or Consequences, New Mexico got its name. I'd happily throw in some baked goods to help a swing a deal or two myself.
It would be great to have some towns with names like:
Sincerely,
Hairball T. Hairball CN*
*Certified Nutcase
Maybe you could somehow entice some places to change the name of their town? My late grandmother told me the story about how Truth or Consequences, New Mexico got its name. I'd happily throw in some baked goods to help a swing a deal or two myself.
It would be great to have some towns with names like:
- Sandra Lee Desperately Needs a Bra
- I Love Vanella Vodka
- My Buddha, She's Faux
- I Just Can't Wait For That Watermelon Fizz
- No Plastic in the Microwave
- Avocado on a Cheeseburger
- Scary Crap I Bought at the Craft Store
- Shimmy Shimmy Whoot Whoot
Sincerely,
Hairball T. Hairball CN*
*Certified Nutcase
Flashback Friday!
For the month of April, Flashback Friday will feature selected music from the '80s.
80's Edition- Love Songs
I had David Coverdale's hairdo at one point in the 80's. *grins*
I can remember listening to the radio back then and hoping that the guy I had a terrible crush on would dedicate this song to me. *blushes*
RIP Dan, you are missed.
This song makes me think of Mr. Hairball as we were good friends before we fell in love with each other.
I've always loved this song and Steve Perry's voice.
Have a good weekend everyone!
80's Edition- Love Songs
I had David Coverdale's hairdo at one point in the 80's. *grins*
I can remember listening to the radio back then and hoping that the guy I had a terrible crush on would dedicate this song to me. *blushes*
RIP Dan, you are missed.
This song makes me think of Mr. Hairball as we were good friends before we fell in love with each other.
I've always loved this song and Steve Perry's voice.
Have a good weekend everyone!
Found a new blog this morning...
You know how you are reading someone's blog and you check out what blogs they read? Well, I was doing that this morning and ended up on The Good Old Days blog ( which has some cool retro recipes!) and found this funny clip.
*snorts* I have baking days like that too.
*snorts* I have baking days like that too.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Putting the word out
I'm a big believer in putting the word out when I need something or have a question. If you start to think about all of the people you know and all the people those people know, etc... you very soon have a large pool of knowledge/resources to draw from.
I inherited my grandmother's 1961 Singer sewing machine with a nice big cabinet that the machine folds down into. (It's the 503A model for those of you who are into vintage sewing machines.) A few moves ago, I had neglected to remove the machine from the cabinet before moving day so this task was accomplished about 30 seconds before the cabinet was loaded into the back of the U-Haul. I handed the screws off to Mr. Hairball who tucked them into his shirt pocket. Well, the screws got lost somewhere between state A and state B and were never found again. The machine is still usable but, without the screws to hold it into place, I can't fold it down into the cabinet so that the top of the cabinet can be used for another purpose. Currently, the machine is setting on the floor of our study/craft/kitty/whatever room so that I can use the top of the cabinet to store my beads.
Has anybody out there had to replace these screws and can I just get something from the hardware store or is there something rather unique about these screws that would make that difficult? I'm feeling kinda paranoid about just trying this on my own without knowing somebody else who successfully replaced the screws. I'm really scared that my machine will fall out of the cabinet and be damaged!
Here's some pictures to help illustrate what I am talking about.
I took all my beading stuff off of the top so you can see better. That's a cat bed underneath.LOL
Here's a closeup of the top. Sadly the cabinet has accumulated a little damage over the last 48 years!
If you remove the piece with the round circle in the middle, you will find these hinges folded down. There are holes on the back of the machine these hinges fit into and then a screw holds each one in place. If you look closely, you can see that they have a flat part on them where the back of the screw sits after being tightened down. Obviously, the screws need to be the kind that do not end in a point.Click to enlarge the picture if you find it hard to see what I'm talking about.
Now for a quick story.
I loved Barbie dolls back in the 70's and would frequently bring them with me when we would go visit someone. Because of this, my late grandmother discovered that Barbie dolls did not come with undergarments. She was most disturbed by this revelation. I guess she thought that playing with dolls that didn't wear underwear would be a bad influence on me or something. She decided that we really needed to make Barbie some undergarments. Somehow I convinced her that since Barbie was made of hard plastic it was okay that she went commando underneath her fancy dresses and pantsuits. She'd still bring it up every so often that we needed to get in the sewing room and make my dolls some undergarments. LOL Even though we were at odds over Barbie's lack of undies, she did teach me to sew some very simple outfits for my dolls. I have some very nice memories of making doll clothes with her. :)
I inherited my grandmother's 1961 Singer sewing machine with a nice big cabinet that the machine folds down into. (It's the 503A model for those of you who are into vintage sewing machines.) A few moves ago, I had neglected to remove the machine from the cabinet before moving day so this task was accomplished about 30 seconds before the cabinet was loaded into the back of the U-Haul. I handed the screws off to Mr. Hairball who tucked them into his shirt pocket. Well, the screws got lost somewhere between state A and state B and were never found again. The machine is still usable but, without the screws to hold it into place, I can't fold it down into the cabinet so that the top of the cabinet can be used for another purpose. Currently, the machine is setting on the floor of our study/craft/kitty/whatever room so that I can use the top of the cabinet to store my beads.
Has anybody out there had to replace these screws and can I just get something from the hardware store or is there something rather unique about these screws that would make that difficult? I'm feeling kinda paranoid about just trying this on my own without knowing somebody else who successfully replaced the screws. I'm really scared that my machine will fall out of the cabinet and be damaged!
Here's some pictures to help illustrate what I am talking about.
I took all my beading stuff off of the top so you can see better. That's a cat bed underneath.LOL
Here's a closeup of the top. Sadly the cabinet has accumulated a little damage over the last 48 years!
If you remove the piece with the round circle in the middle, you will find these hinges folded down. There are holes on the back of the machine these hinges fit into and then a screw holds each one in place. If you look closely, you can see that they have a flat part on them where the back of the screw sits after being tightened down. Obviously, the screws need to be the kind that do not end in a point.Click to enlarge the picture if you find it hard to see what I'm talking about.
Now for a quick story.
I loved Barbie dolls back in the 70's and would frequently bring them with me when we would go visit someone. Because of this, my late grandmother discovered that Barbie dolls did not come with undergarments. She was most disturbed by this revelation. I guess she thought that playing with dolls that didn't wear underwear would be a bad influence on me or something. She decided that we really needed to make Barbie some undergarments. Somehow I convinced her that since Barbie was made of hard plastic it was okay that she went commando underneath her fancy dresses and pantsuits. She'd still bring it up every so often that we needed to get in the sewing room and make my dolls some undergarments. LOL Even though we were at odds over Barbie's lack of undies, she did teach me to sew some very simple outfits for my dolls. I have some very nice memories of making doll clothes with her. :)
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