dn’s Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies (and Variations)

Easter is only a week away and for many that means finding a mouth watering chocolate treat! Today, I thought I would share one of my favourite cookie recipes and some variations to tempt all the chocolate lovers! I recently created a Black Forrest version of these and received rave reviews from those who tasted them!

The original recipe for these is from “The Search For The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie” by Gwen Steege. It can be found on page 6 and is called “The Orchards’ Chocolate – Chocolate Chip Cookie”. I pretty much followed the original except for two things. I use a combination of all purpose and whole wheat flour and of course added more chocolate chips! Over the years, I have also come up with a few variations on this recipe.

This recipe makes a huge amount of cookies and requires a good quality stand mixer such as Kitchen Aid to mix the dough thoroughly. If you do not have a stand mixer, I highly recommend that you use the half batch quantities that are listed at the bottom. Depending on your hand mixer, you may need to stop and rest the mixer motor if it starts to overheat.

dn’s Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies (and Variations)

2 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 ¾ cups whole wheat flour
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups block margarine, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
1 ¾ cups brown sugar, firmly packed
5 eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups chocolate chips

Combine the flours, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
In a stand mixer bowl, beat the margarine till light and creamy. Gradually add the sugars and mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time – beating well after each one. Add the vanilla and mix in. Gradually add the dry ingredients and combine. Do not overmix! Stir in the chocolate chips. Transfer the dough to a bowl that you can cover with saran and put in the fridge. Chill the dough for 2 hours or up to one day.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into small balls about 1 inch round and place about 1 ½ inches apart. Flatten slightly. Bake in preheated 350F oven for about 7 ½ to 8 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE! Let cookies sit on the pan on the cooling rack for a minute or so after removing from oven, then carefully slide the parchment paper and cookies off of the pan onto the cooling rack to finish cooling.
The full recipe makes about 13 ½ - 15 dozen depending on the size.

Once the cookies are completely cooled, they can be placed in freezer bags and frozen.

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dn’s Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies (Half Batch)

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons whole wheat flour
½ cup + 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cup block margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, firmly packed
3 eggs
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups chocolate chips

Follow directions as above. If using any of the variations, use the amounts in brackets. The half recipe makes about 6 ½ 7 ½ dozen depending on the size.

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Variations:

dn’s Chocolate Chip Combo: Try combining two or more different types of chocolate chips such as bittersweet, dark, semi sweet, milk, white or mint. Also try different size combos such as mini, regular and chunks. As long as the total quantity is 3 cups (1 ½ cup for half version), you can use whatever amounts of each you want.

dn’s Peanut Butter Chocolate – Chocolate Chip Cookies: Reduce the margarine to 2 cups (1 cup) and add 1 cup (½ cup) crunchy peanut butter. Also add 1 cup (½ cup) chopped blanched peanuts with 2 ¼ (1 cup + 2 Tablespoons) cups chocolate chips.

dn’s Nutty Chocolate – Chocolate Chip Cookies: Reduce chocolate chips to 2 ¼ cups (1 cup +2 Tablespoons) and add 1 ¼ cups (½ cup + 2 Tablespoons) finely chopped almonds, pecans or macadamia nuts. For added flavour, toast* the nuts beforehand and allow to cool completely before adding to the dough.

dn’s Black Forest Cookies: 2 cups (1 cup) mini dark chocolate chips, 1 cup (½ cup) toasted chopped almonds and 1 cup (½ cup) dried cherries**. The method listed below for the cherries, may seem tedious, but doing it this way, will ensure a more flavourful cookie with bits of cherry in every cookie.

* To toast nuts: Spread the nuts out on a shallow microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for about 5 minutes – stirring every minute or so. Your nose will tell you when they are done. I personally like them quite toasted – just to the hint of a burnt smell for the almonds in particular.

** Dried cherries: Place the cherries in a single layer in a shallow dish. Cover with hot tap water. Soak the cherries for about 20 minutes then drain and rinse. Cut each cherry in half or thirds depending on size. Spread cut cherries out on a paper towel and cover with another paper towel then pat dry. I start the cherries soaking before I even measure anything else as they take the longest to prepare.

Enjoy!

dn

THE PRINCESS’S BED – A Tale of Woe!

Today, I’m going to let my friend Judy share one of her experiences. Judy and I met on line a couple of years ago and became fast friends through emails and postings on a couple of web sites that we are both on. We’ve never actually met or even talked on the phone at this point, but we think of each other as sisters! I love reading her emails and posts as she has a way of telling a story – sometimes it is even one about herself! A few weeks ago, she sent an email to a few of us called “The Princess And The Pea”. It was hilarious but at the same time I had a feeling that it was just one of those things that seems to happen to her. So I asked her and sure enough – this is a true story about her! She was also willing to let me share the story here! So here’s Judy:

THE PRINCESS’S BED – A Tale of Woe!

Remember the story of the Princess and the Pea? It tells the story of a girl and the problems she has with her bed. That story could have been about me last night.

My living room recliner has been my bed of choice for the past 10 years. Night before last it took its last breathe and "died" lowering me unceremoniously to the floor. Oh! what will I do now? Where will I sleep? I then remembered the lonely hospital bed sitting forlornly in my back room and having no other options I made plans to spend my nights in that bed.

I have had this bed for a few years, but was very unhappy with the hard mattress encased with a plastic cover that sounded like breaking glass with every little move. In an attempt to remedy that problem, I covered it with a full, quilted cover and 2 sets of sheets. That didn't do much good at all. I next added a bedspread and finally gave up and made my way back to my beloved recliner. On hearing my sad story, a generous friend gave me a thick foam covering with egg crate "bumps" that gave it a really good cushion.

So, last night - feeling very tired, but comfortable after a soothing shower - I said my prayers, turned out the lights and made my way to THE BED I attempted to sit on the edge and found it was too high......even standing on tiptoe I still could not sit on IT. Turning around I tried to crawl in and .....

OUCH! ow.....ow......ow.... I think I've broken my toe! ow!..........
Breathe, Judy, Breathe!

......on the next try I reached across the bed and attempted to pull myself into IT.........and jammed my thumb into the wall......aayeeee more pain!... (I will not cry)

Now I was getting angry! I went in search of my step stool and finally found it. By now it was nearly 2 in the morning.

Wahoo! it worked - I won - I'm in THE BED! Now, to raise the head (since lying flat cuts off the air supply to my finicky lungs) ....I grope for the hand control.....I can't find it. It must have slipped down the back to the floor! Oh to heck with it.

I tried to lie down but couldn't breathe so after a valiant fight I retrieved the control and raised the head of the bed. I sighed with relief and closed my eyes and...... felt myself slipping down the bed....so I raise the foot of the bed. OK that helped - that is, if contorting yourself into a V helps! Now I am totally exhausted. I closed my eyes to finally go to sleep ..... I began to get drowsy, then moved ..... and almost fall out of this cursed tomb! I'm fully awake .... again, and really angry now. It's 3 AM and I can't get comfortable - my thumb and toe are throbbing! Finally I drift off to sleep and what seems like 10 minutes later awaken to a bright light - oh no the sun is focused on my eyes. I crawl out of my Bed of Misery and write this tale of woe.

Tonight I'm sleeping on the floor!

The Next Night:

THE BED may have won last night’s match but tonight, I am determined to find a comfortable spot and dream the night away.

I look longingly at my beloved recliner across the room and wonder if I can salvage it and sleep again in peace. With sorrow I look at the broken arm which is dislocated from its back and scold myself...........I really should have stuck to that diet!

Hoping I can salvage the recliner I put a short footstool under the broken back that was listing dangerously to the right. I gathered a variety of pillows to fill in and level the seat and back and since I can no longer lay the recliner back, I pull a hassock up to the chair......

Good heavens I'm beginning to look like Jabba the Hutt in Star Wars!

Gingerly, I lower myself to the little space that is left for me, slowly raise my feet to the hassock and......FREEZE...as the chair moans and creaks............shhh..... it has quieted down.........but I'm afraid to move......I realize that I am feeling faint and remember that I had stopped breathing - softly I begin to breathe. So far so good.....it hasn't bucked me out yet. Ah, it has accepted this new challenge and slowly I fall to sleep.

Good night Recliner, Good Night World.........Good night, John Boy.

A few weeks later:

Not too much has happened in the last few weeks since the collapse. I'm still in the recliner, which is on borrowed time, as the gap between arm and back has widened and I've added another pillow. I just hope when it gives up completely that my own arm and back are still connected! What happens then? Who knows – I’m living one night at a time!

Epilogue:

Oh how said is the end of a love affair. I am forsaken and deserted by the side of the road. No longer will my arms enfold her, nor lie with her through the night and cradle her body. She is walking away but looks back with tear filled eyes as one little tear escapes.

Goodbye, my Princess.................sleep well tonight.

THE RECLINER.

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Alas, not all tales have a happily ever after. This may be the end of The Princess’s Bed but fear not - for this is not “the end” of Princess Judy! Is she going to replace her beloved recliner? Well, she probably would, but the Princess has some big plans in the coming months! You see, a few months ago ... wait ... on second thought, I’ll let her tell that tale further down the road!

Sweet dreams Princess!

dn (... and Judy!)

3,652

Three thousand, six hundred and fifty two! That is a lot isn’t it!

A lot of what you may ask. Well that number is actually 3,652 days and that is equal to 10 years – including two leap years!

Okay, so what is so important about 3,652 days or 10 years?

Ten years ago tomorrow, on March 15, 2000, I started a fitness routine. It started slowly. It had to start slowly, as I was very much overweight and really didn’t have the ability to move very quickly or with any agility. I started with five minutes on an exercise bike. Within a couple of weeks, I was up to 10 minutes and gradually added some resistance to the pedals to simulate rolling hills and other increments. I used that bike every day for the next year and lost 40 pounds.

In March 2001, I got my first Tony Little Gazelle. That gave me the freedom to simulate all the walking that I LOVED and used to do for exercise and relaxation prior to 1990. The combo of the bike and the gazelle really helped me to drop some serious pounds. I used both EVERY DAY for the next year. In March 2002, I mixed things up a bit. On one day, I would use the gazelle and then added some resistance training with the bike on the alternate days.

That has pretty much been my workout regime ever since. Of course, the amount of time I spend on the gazelle and the bike have changed over the years. I now do 3 miles on the gazelle which can take between 34 and 36 minutes on any given day. I do 15 minutes of a rolling hill ride on the bike on the opposite days. The bike ride is usually about 3.7 – 4 miles depending on my energy. The days that I do the bike, I also do about 15 – 20 minutes of resistance.

Over the years, the methods of resistance have varied. I have tried several pieces of fitness equipment. Some were better than others. Some wore out in a few months and some lasted for several years. They pretty much all kicked my butt and challenged me to increase my muscle strength.

One of the pieces that I really liked was the Easy Shaper Pro from Fitness Quest. It was a great challenge and I’d still be using it except for one major problem. It has developed a nasty squeak that I can’t seem to fix with lubrication. It needs to be completely taken apart, cleaned and lubricated. I just don’t have the physical and visual capability to attempt that type of a challenge – let alone the space required to keep track of all the nuts, bolts, screws, springs and other fittings. So for now, it stands - folded and covered - in a corner of my living room hoping to someday be of service to me again.

I used resistance bands for awhile, but they eventually wore out. I also used something called an AB GYM which was great, but the bungee like cords that came with it also lost their oomph after awhile which really takes any challenge and benefit out of the product.

A couple of months ago, I saw a new product from Tony Little that almost looked too good to be true. It was called The Easy Shaper Bar. Basically, it is a free form bar with two resistance bands connected to either end. At the end of the bands are loops to either slip over your feet or to grip with your hands. You can increase the amount of resistance just by turning the bar to wrap the bands around it. Each full wrap adds a few more pounds of resistance. Sounds pretty simple to really work right? Well, maybe – except that I had seen a similar and simplified version of this a few years ago and always regretted never trying it.



Fitness Quest is well known for having quality products and I also knew if Tony Little was behind this, then I was making a safe investment. The Easy Shaper Bar was only $49.95 CAN so I ordered it.

I’ve only been using it for a few weeks, but it is everything that Tony says it is! This simple little piece of equipment can really give you a great workout! You can increase or decrease resistance on the fly and switch between various positions and exercises quickly. I used the DVD the first few times to get the hang of the various positions and now do it while watching TV or listening to my own music.

Staying fit hasn’t been easy. To be honest, I have regained about 25-30 of the 100 pounds that I lost in those first 2 ½ years, but I have pretty much maintained my current weight for several years now. Aging and low metabolism makes things more challenging but I don’t give up.

Ten years ago, I made a conscious decision to do something about my weight. I did the research, checked out fitness equipment, bought what would work for my limitations then got off my couch and actually used it – EVERY DAY. It wasn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination, I hadn’t done any regular workouts in almost 10 years at that point. I had gained a lot of weight in the years following my retinal detachment in November 1990.

I detailed most of this story in a six part story called “The Journey” back in March 2008. But here are the basics: before 1990, I walked everywhere. I walked about 20 – 25 miles/week. I also had an old exercise bike that used every day. I had actually gone just over 500 days at the time of my retinal detachment. Having to give that up was heartbreaking and I basically gave up. I’d never done any fitness regime for 500 days before. I usually never made it past a couple of months!

So, when I finally got off my considerably large ass on March 15, 2000, I made a promise to myself that I wasn’t going to quit again. Sure there have been days I didn’t want to work out. There have been days that I honestly was sick or that I was restricted from workouts due to medical procedures and recovery times. BUT – and this is the important part here – I have made up every single one of those days that I didn’t work out! I have done double workouts for a couple of weeks ahead of procedures when I knew I’d be restricted. If I knew it was going to be a very hot or hectic day, I did a double workout the day before. I take occasional days off to rest my body, but I make those days up as well, so I can honestly say that I have done 3,652 workouts in the last 10 years!

Tomorrow is day 3,653 and the beginning of year 11.....

dn

The Night Shift

The night shift is the only job I’ve ever had. Those first few years were long hours and every move I made was strictly supervised by an external supervisor. The supervisor or relief staff were there 24/7 and watched me and the dayshift like a hawk while we learning our way around this new structure and what it would take to make it function. As I said, those first few years were long and hard. I never knew when I might be called in to do maintenance while the system was down.

Over time, the dayshift and I gradually took over full control of the structure and were given the freedom to run the system independently of external supervision. From what I hear, we were luckier than many others who do this job. Our structure was fairly cooperative and didn’t need a lot of extra supervision. Dayshift has the hard part though as they are on duty for about 16 hours/day and sometimes more depending on the circumstances. I get called in for occasional relief work for a system recharge but that is usually a day or so here or there or maybe an hour in mid afternoon when the system was running low.

I’ve been on this job over 50 years now. Am I going to retire? No way – that’s not what this job is all about. When you accept this assignment, you sign for the entire existence of the structure.

That may sound pretty extreme, but here is the good part. When this job was offered to me, I was told that if I could help run the system smoothly for the first forty some years, then I’d get more flexibility with how I did things. As the system ages, certain functions aren’t as reliable as they used to be so I get to step in and do things manually. Now that may not sound like fun, but my job could get pretty boring at times as the system was pretty much run on autopilot during the nightshift. It was basically a glorified desk job that even I could sleep through! Sure I was here, but all I had to do was scan the various controls and watch for errors. Yawn!

The overall physical structure has changed greatly over the years. Dayshift let things slide for a number of years back in the 1990’s but things improved greatly in the new millennium. By then though, the structure was starting to show its age. The windows have never been good but the nuts and bolts that hold the beams together are starting to wear out and make odd noises!

Even with better day maintenance, a few years ago this job started getting more interesting. The nightshift autopilot started having minor malfunctioning. These have increased with time. For a long time now, I’ve had to alert plumbing once or twice per night to come in and get the structure up to drain excess levels in the reservoir. We haven’t had any floods, but that could have happened without close supervision. There would be royal hell to pay if I ever let even a minor flood happen! The owner of this system really doesn’t like being disturbed in night mode but understands and reluctantly accepts the reality of the aging plumbing fixtures.

At this point, the biggest problem for the owner of this structure though are the issues with the heating system. The furnace is just not running properly and has to be manually stoked several times in any 24 hour period. Dayshift gets the brunt of this with at least 8 -10 bursts of heat that overwhelm the system for about 5 -15 minutes. Then comes the cool down and chills. I have to stoke the furnace at least 2 – 3 times/night and I try not to overlap that with the plumbing alerts so as not to overwhelm the system. The owner would prefer them to coincide, but that just isn’t the way these things are done. Besides, running them independently keeps me from getting bored!

There are issues with the main frame memory. Things from dayshift weren’t always being saved in the correct files and some data was not transferred correctly to the hard drive memory for permanent storage so some things were fragmented. There was so much information there that some older data had to be purged. Dayshift wasn’t happy about losing backup data but there wasn’t much that either of us could do. This happens to all the structures eventually. Sometimes we get lucky though and an external sensor can trigger a recovery of some information. It’s when the system is trying to recall those lost bits of info that can be the most frustrating for all involved. It can even prevent dayshift from switching over to my nightshift.

Part of my duties now include sifting through files and trying to decide what to keep and what to toss. I’m finding odd little bits of info in the strangest places. I try to sort them out and put them into coherent summaries to present the owner for final decisions. Some nights though, there is just so much info that the system goes into default dayshift and neither the owner or dayshift is happy about being disturbed on their down time. It used to be quite easy to switch back to nightshift but the last year or so I’ve had one heck of a time trying to override default day and restart nightshift. It can take two or three hours sometimes to get back to my duties. I don’t like this much more than day or the owner but that is what happens with an aging structure.

Sorting through the tidbits has been kind of fun as I sometimes take the info and try to create a little mini movie to amuse myself. Sometimes I’ll flip a switch and let the owner watch what I’ve created. Unfortunately the owner isn’t always that pleased with my work. They’d prefer something that actually made sense. Well that is too bad as I kind of like art noir over logical plots.

It can get really enjoyable and interesting though as I do occasionally get the opportunity to create a more intimate scenario. I can’t really go into too much detail on those scenes but let’s just say that the owner is quite pleased when I deliver a – let’s see how can I phrase this - stimulating and satisfying plot that includes nocturnal interaction with the owner of a suitable and compatible structure! Ooh la la!! It’s a real “I’ll have what she’s having!” moment!

From what I’ve been able to gather, most structures of this nature eventually work out the heating/cooling system but the plumbing and memory formatting issues will continue and may get worse. I knew from the beginning that this wouldn’t always be a smooth ride but it is a kind and friendly atmosphere to work in most of the time. There have been some misunderstandings with memory and perception that have caused some tension and anger but it gets worked out. Dayshift gets the brunt of the situations and has even said that anger and frustration can bring on a flood of reactions that can cause the windows to leak something fierce! I’ve had a few experiences with the flooding windows as well but nothing like dayshift has dealt with.

I don’t know how long these malfunctions will last. Some structures only experience technical difficulties for a short time and others deal with it for years. I do know that the owner is not planning any major restructuring or any reformatting to overcome the issues I’ve described. I think for the most part, they have grudgingly accepted that this is a part of their natural evolution and that they should just go with the flow. I also don’t know how long this structure will be in existence. I’m not privy to that data so I just have to make the most of what I am given to work with while it is here.

So that is my story – a little longer than I intended but it’s an interesting and challenging job. And in case you haven’t figured it out by now, I live and work in the brain of a fifty-something woman!

dn

Winter View

Parts of Atlantic Canada and the north eastern USA have really been hammered by winter storms and record snowfalls this winter. Some areas of the USA are just starting to dig out from a storm that hit them a few days ago. For many, it was the third major storm in less than a month.

Kids are happy ‘cause many of them got a snow day on Friday. Most parents weren’t quite as thrilled with the day off, but the fresh snowfall can be enjoyable. Well at least until it has to be cleaned out of your driveway or sidewalk! Then it’s a chore and most would prefer being at work rather than cleaning up after one of Mother Nature’s flare ups.

Southern Manitoba has gotten about normal snowfall this year. For some reason though, Winnipeg hasn’t been getting the white dumpings that other nearby areas are. We seem to be just on the edge of the storms that have rolled through.

Now please understand, I’m not complaining here. I’m thrilled that the streets and sidewalks are reasonably accessible this winter. There were a few days about a month ago that weren’t much fun but that was about it – so far!

However, tomorrow is March 1 and you never know what March or even April will bring to this prairie burg! So far, the first few days of March are looking to be sunny and above normal temps. That may not be good – IF the old adage of March coming in like a lamb and going out like a lion is true! Many of us remember the blizzard of March 1966 that shut the city and much of the province down for several days. And, does anyone remember that wallop of a snowstorm in early April of 1997? You know, that was the one that lead to the flood of the century. Yup, late season storms can be a doozy!

Mother Nature can throw a mean punch when she chooses to. So far, the only thing she has really thrown at us is bone chilling temps. Now even those wouldn’t be so bad if it was a dry cold, but the humidity has been a bit up there so it makes it feel even colder. People who aren’t familiar with the cold think that cold is cold and they are right to a point. But, cold with humidity is as chilling as heat with humidity is stifling. It makes it hard to function in either extreme. I’ll still take the cold over the heat though! As my grandma always said; “You can always put more clothes on but there is only so much you can take off!”

I’ve heard a lot of people complaining about how cold it has been and I’ve done my share as well, but I’ll take cold temps over snowfall any day! I’ll also admit that I’ve been feeling the cold a lot more this winter, but I don’t blame Mother Nature for that. I blame an aging body, low metabolism and the need for new winter wear for the way the cold is affecting me!

Okay, it’s time to appease the most gracious Mother Nature and bow to her infinite wisdom and whims for what she thinks we need and or deserve weather wise. Knock on wood, cross the fingers, click your heels together three times and repeat after me “There’s no place like Winnipeg in winter! There’s no place like Winnipeg in winter! There’s no place like Winnipeg in winter!”

Phew! Now if we could just convince all those silly people who attempt to escape to warmer climates - even for a week – that doing that only antagonizes Mother Nature into prolonging the arrival of spring. She always likes to show the returning snowbirds a welcome home snowfall even though those of us who have stayed by choice or circumstance have already done our time!

Winter isn’t my favourite season but it can be beautiful . Unless of course, I have somewhere to be and the sidewalks and roads haven’t been plowed. Then, I am not a fan of winter at all!

Oops! I mean I like winter – I just don’t love it the way that some do. The winter sports enthusiasts are wanting more but what we have right now is just fine with me thank you very much.

Like I started to say, winter can be very beautiful even in the city. There is nothing quite like the pristine glistening of a fresh dusting of snow to make a picture perfect dreamland.

Here in Manitoba, we have had a few mornings this winter that were absolutely breath taking thanks to hoarfrost. Hoarfrost is formed when the dew freezes on an outdoor surface. It doesn’t happen a lot here in winter but when it does – it is time to grab the camera and capture Mother Nature and her winter artistry at its best!

That’s just what I did on January 11th and 19th this year. My view of the city on those particular mornings was absolutely gorgeous!

dn

What Did You Say?

Have you ever noticed how people tend to turn a phrase? Some are old phrases that stand the test of time. Phrases like; “A stitch in time saves nine” or “A penny saved is a penny earned” are still common amongst people of a certain age. The younger generations just shake their heads and wonder what the older ones are talking about. This has been going on for centuries. Of course, times and sayings change by region.

I grew up hearing a lot of these old adages and bits of wisdom. I too, shook my head at these old lines and thought they were rather odd, but time and age have changed my mind. There really is some good advice in some of those sayings! Depending on how it is said, it can also be rather witty!

About a year ago, The Winnipeg Free Press published an article called “You Don’t Say”. It talked about the relevance of the old phrases and how they aren’t always complimentary but do paint a rather vivid picture if you stop and think about what was actually said.

It got me thinking about the phrases and more specifically about the ones that were used in my family and circle of friends. I’ve been meaning to write a post about this for months. I made notes, listed some of my favourite phrases and asked family for some of theirs. Then I got busy with other things and forgot about it till a few days ago. Out of sight – out of mind?

Like so many others we used the standards:
• not the sharpest knife in the drawer
• not playing with a full deck
• one sandwich short of a picnic
• a village missing it's idiot
• elevator doesn't go to the top floor
• don’t cry over spilled milk
• a fool and his money are soon parted.
• Ignorance is bliss

However, after talking to several family members and friends, I have also realized that every family tends to have their own favourites or versions of the classics. Some are ones that are only used within their circle.

Now, my family may not be as colourful as some of the sayings that you hear from other regions such as parts of Europe, the Canadian Maritimes, some parts of the southern United States or within some cultural groups. Some meanings aren’t well understood outside of a region or tend to get lost in translation but there are a few from my family and friends that make you sit up and take notice!

Let me also say here that I don’t know where any of these originated – we just like the way these sound. More often than not they have more than one meaning – one obvious and one that you may have to think about. They also paint a rather interesting picture if you stop and think about them.

So, here are some of our favourites:
• “Time heals all wounds and wounds all heels.”
• “Two bats short of a belfry!”
• For someone who is a little slow on the uptake: “No bulb in the light house”
• “Stick a fork in me I’m done.” – this can have several meanings.
• “Like a fart in a wind storm.” – think about it!
• “As useless as a tit on a hen!” (Oh, doesn’t that sound helpful?)
• “Some fabric is so thin you could spit through it!”
• My grandmother always said this in regards to gossip; “Repeated stories tend to get embroidered.”
• An uncle said that some in our family drank “lighthouse tea”. When asked what that meant he said it was “blinking near water!”
• This one is also from the same uncle: “You buttered your bread now lay in it!”
• To someone who smelled nice: “You stink pretty.”
• One of my best friends favourite sayings is: “Suck it up buttercup!” In other words quit complaining and just do what needs to be done!
• In response to a loud belch: “That was well brought up. Why weren’t you?”
• In our family, when you say “Knock on wood.” You tap on your head or that of the person nearest you.
• I LOVE this bit of advice to a bride from an older, otherwise staid male family member – “Get a nightgown with fur on the bottom - it keeps your neck warm!”

Of all the sayings that are used in my family, there are three that I absolutely love and often use myself:
3) When someone is in a really crappy mood: “Who pissed in your porridge?” or “Who peed in your corn flakes?”
2) “I resemble that remark” I like this because it can be taken in so many different ways!

And the award for my favourite saying is: “Don't look at me in that tone of voice!” I absolutely love this phrase! It is the perfect line when people look at you in a certain way. You know exactly what they’d say and how they’d say it if they opened their mouth. It catches people off guard when they hear it. They will often rethink or even forget what it was they were thinking or going to say!

Ah, yes the power of the spoken word! We have to watch what and how we say things in so many aspects of life. Saying the wrong thing can get you in a heap of trouble and saying the right thing can really ease a situation. We can change things for better or worse with a simple phrase.

My own personal theory is this. "There is a little bit of a bitch or bastard in all of us. It is whether or not we choose to use that power for the good of other people!"

Hey, I saw that! Don’t look at me in that tone of voice!

dn

A Special Day!

This is a big day. Not because it is Valentine’s Day or the first day of the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese New Year – although those are important days in their own right if you celebrate them!

No, this is an important day for me, because two years ago today I uploaded my first post to blogger. This is also my 300th post! My how time flies!

As I mentioned in my first anniversary post, I have a couple of free hit counters on this site. I can’t identify individuals unless they tell me through other contact when they visited. The hit counters basically tell me the time of visit, OS, browser, entry/exit pages, country of origin and maybe a region or service provider.

I find it fascinating to see where the hits are coming from. I wish that I had had the foresight to keep a more detailed list from the start. I know I have had hits from every Canadian province and territory and pretty much every state in the U.S.A. I recently took a look at a list of all the countries of the world – over 200 are recognized. I tried to make a list of all the ones I recalled seeing in my stats. I was amazed and thrilled to see that well over 130 countries have been listed in my stats over the last couple of years! The only continent that I have not had a hit from is Antarctica!

It is also interesting to see what people are looking for! Again, I haven’t kept an exact list for each subject or post, but there are a few posts that are hit over and over again!

The most popular recipe has been Farmer’s Sausage Casserole – a delicious oven meal that is great on a winters’ night or when you want a simple but filling meal. Another kitchen related subject that gets a lot of hits is The Mixing Fork – a tool that EVERY kitchen should have!

My post on The Blizzard of 1986 has gotten a lot of hits since it went up in November 2008. It was a major blizzard that pretty much paralyzed the city of Winnipeg and parts of Manitoba for several days. Given the record snowfall in parts of North America in the last few weeks, this post is still getting a lot of hits!

The post I did last summer on Dating In The Dark was my take on a reality series that had strangers meeting in a darkened room to alleviate the rejection factor of first sight in the dating game. I live that every day in my real life as a visually impaired woman so why would I want to subject myself to something like that on a TV show?

By far the most popular posts have been Sylvester and Tweety, Thufferin' Thuccotash! and A "Tweet" Birthday. Anything to do with the loveable Warner Brother characters’ gets a big response – at least one hit/day and usually more - from ALL over the world!

In the two years of the blog, I have had over 3100 visitors and more than 4000 page views! There have been just over 3000 page views by 2350 visitors in the last year alone. That is amazing! Thank you so much!!

I am honoured that so many people have found their way to my little corner of the web and that some stop by on a regular basis to see what I have posted. My interests vary greatly and I can’t write about something if I haven’t lived it, tried it, like it, believe in it or have an opinion on it!

On a personal note, I think there are a couple of posts that really resonated for me this past year.

The first was My Parents Were Stoners, which was the story of the yard work my parents did and the first slideshow I made. I received a lot of wonderful comments and notes from friends and strangers for this. My mom doesn’t have a PC but I was able to show it to her when she was in the city last fall. She cried as she watched and recalled fond memories of her and dad doing all the work. I’m hoping to put together some more slideshows of old pics from the farm over the coming months.

The other post that was really close to my heart was Thanks George! I wrote about the impact that we unknowingly have on the people around us – the George Bailey factor.

It’s hard for me to believe that I have made 300 posts! The ideas come from so many sources. I can be listening to the radio, watching TV, reading the paper, surfing the web, opening emails, talking to people or just living my day to day life! My list of ideas for future blog posts continues to grow!

The biggest issue for me is finding the time and the energy to keep up the pace that I had set for myself. I made 200 posts in the first year and 100 this past year. However, I’ve come to realize that I need to make some changes – if only for the sake of what is left of my sanity! I love writing and find it a great way to think things out and to vent or share my thoughts. The problem for me is my limited vision and my horrific typing skills. Most of my posts are anywhere from 750 to 1100 words. An average post can take me over two hours to type and at least another hour to edit and upload the way I want it to publish.

That doesn’t even count the time I spend researching or thinking through what I want to say and how I want to say it! Depending on the subject, the research and thought process can take several hours over a few days or weeks. If I am writing or researching on the web, I have to take regular breaks to rest my eyes and that can be very frustrating when I am in that writer mode. The thought process beforehand can happen almost anywhere. I have thought out ideas while working out, showering, riding the bus, trying to fall asleep or when I’m awake in the middle of the night with insomnia or a hot flash!

All in all as much as I love the writing, I won’t be posting as often from here on out. I am going to try for once a week. Even so, I hope you will continue to stop by to see what is on my mind and if you see something you like, make a comment and feel free to invite your friends!

Thanks for reading!

dn

Winter Sport

This Friday, February 12, 2010 the Winter Olympics open in Vancouver, British Columbia. Thousands of athletes from all over the world will compete over 16 days in a wide range of wintertime sporting events.

Odds are, if you grew up in any type of winter climate, you participated in some form of winter sport activity and may even have had dreams of taking part in the Olympic Games and standing on the podium excepting your gold medal. There really are a lot of winter activities to choose from. There is figure skating, speed skating, hockey, curling, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, snowboarding and many more.

For the vast majority of us, those Olympic dreams are just that – dreams. It takes a lot of time, training and skill to make it beyond a fun way to get some exercise.

Living in a part of the world that experiences a rather lengthy winter climate – early November through late March or early April in these parts if we are lucky – means that you have to make some choices. You either hibernate and become a couch potato or you put on a few layers of clothing and get out into the elements.

Now I’ve never been much of an athlete. Oh let’s be honest here – I’ve never even been remotely close to being athletically inclined. When it comes to sports – I suck! My balance and coordination are severely lacking. It’s not just my lack of sight, although that does play a large role – it is more my overall ineptness when it comes to sports. As a kid, I did play some sports during phys. ed. class and on intramural teams during lunch hours, but I dreaded every moment of it. If by some miracle I actually did something that helped my team or didn’t come in last then no one was more shocked than me!

Curling was big in my hometown and also in my family. My parents curled every winter, both in leagues and in bonspiels. My maternal grandfather curled in a senior’s league and an aunt was on a senior ladies team that made it to the provincials. My siblings curled for awhile as well. I tried curling when I was in high school. Even then, I couldn’t see well enough to see the other end of the ice but I tried. I got down in the hack and got ready to throw the rock. As I lifted it off the ice, it slipped from my hand and I fell flat on my face. I didn’t do much better on my next attempt. The rock made it almost half way down the ice. Only my dignity was hurt, but I decided that curling wasn’t for me.

I tried cross country skiing in my early twenties. I borrowed my mom’s ski’s when she and dad were away south for a couple of weeks one winter. A friend did his best to teach me the basics, but let’s just say that it’s a really good job that video cameras weren’t too common in the 1970’s! I would have been a hit on Funniest Home Videos or YouTube! My skill with snow shoes was on about the same level as skiing! I felt like I was wearing giant clown shoes! With almost every step, I’d somehow manage to overlap my snowshoes and so kept tripping over myself. It wasn’t pretty but all that falling down and standing up was a good workout!

By far my biggest winter sports failure is skating. If I could choose one winter activity to be able to do just the basics with it would be skating. Many people see skating as the ultimate in being Canadian as skating leads to many winter activities.

It’s the one activity I really wish I could do. I’ve tried many times. When I was quite little, I got a pair of skates for Christmas one year. I don’t recall asking for them, but since we lived beside a creek and everyone else skated, I really wasn’t that surprised. Dad and my brothers would pile snow for a toboggan run and they cleared a patch of ice on the creek for skating. The whole family would have neighbours and friends over almost every weekend during the winter. I sat on a bench by the creek while mom helped me put on the skates and laced them up for me. Dad put an old kitchen chair in front of me so I could put my hands on it for balance and push it ahead of me. I spent most of the time using the chair to pull my butt up off the ice! There was no way I could get the hang of balancing on that narrow blade! My ankles just weren’t that strong. I tried several times that winter, but my feet and ankles hurt like crazy. I even managed to sprain my ankle a couple of times. I tried again in high school, but still couldn’t stand up by myself let alone move!

The last time I tried ice skating, I think I was about 20. There was a small outdoor rink that the students maintained at the post secondary school I was attending. A couple of the guys insisted that they could teach me how to skate. They grew up skating and played on the school hockey team. I had my doubts, but thought how bad could it be with a cute guy on each arm? We borrowed some skates and they took me out to the rink. They laced up my skates and helped me stand up. With one tall, strong guy on either arm, they attempted to glide me across the rink. Actually, I guess it was more that they were trying to hold me up as we stumbled across the ice. I even managed to take both of them down at one point! A third guy joined us to skate behind me with his hands on my back! They were all so sweet about trying to teach me. They insisted on taking me out a couple of more times, but even they eventually realized that I was not a skater. After that, I was pretty much content to watch from the sidelines and admire those who could stand on that narrow blade and glide with any degree of ease and gracefulness across the ice.

So, you see, it is not that I haven’t tried to be a winter sport person. I’ve tried several activities over the years. It’s just that this body wasn’t made for the sporting world. I know that to some, that may seem un-Canadian but, rest assured, I will be cheering on our Canadian athletes on from the relative safety of my couch!


dn

dn's Baked Pork Chops

I created this recipe a couple of months ago when I wanted to try something a little different with pork chops. This was one of those rare occasions when the first try turned out to be a real winner! I hope you enjoy this flavour combo as much as I do!

dn's Baked Pork Chops

2 boneless pork chops, about 115g/4 oz each (I used center loin cut)
1 small onion - about 1/2 cup chopped
1/3 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1 medium apple
1 teaspoon crushed garlic (bottled type)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
3 Tablespoons white cooking wine
1/4 cup fat free sour cream

Spray an 8X8 inch pan with cooking spray. Cut the onion and the pepper and add to pan. Core the apple and chop into small pieces - do not remove the skin. Add chopped apple to the onion and pepper. Add the garlic, basil, oregano and thyme then stir till well mixed and seasonings coat the produce. Trim any excess fat from the chops and lay them in the center of the dish, pushing aside the other ingredients so the meat can lay on the bottom. Sprinkle the lemon pepper on top of the chops.

Bake uncovered in preheated 375F oven for about 20 minutes. Stir the veggies and apple mixture and turn the chops over at that time. Return to the oven for another 20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and set on a hot pad or rack on the counter. Pour the cooking wine slowly over the veggies and apple stirring to lift the pan drippings from the bottom and sides of the pan as you go. Make a bit of a well in the center and slowly stir the sour cream into the wine. Mix the veggie/apple mixture thoroughly with the wine and sour cream. Spoon a little of the liquid over the chops and return the dish to the oven for 10 minutes or until sauce is bubbling.

Serve over brown rice and have a tossed salad or a side of steamed green vegetable such as broccoli or green beans to go along with it.

Serves 2

Notes:
- I start a brown rice casserole at the same time as the chops. Spray a 1 1/2 quart dish with cooking spray. Add 1 cup brown rice, 2 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a teaspoon of oil or margarine. Cover and bake for about 50 minutes at 375F Any leftover rice can be frozen in individual servings for later use.

- you could use a low sodium chicken broth rather than the cooking wine, however I really like the tang that is added to the sauce by using the wine.

Enjoy!

dn

The IPad? Seriously??

“It's so much more intimate than a laptop.”
- Steve Jobs said as he introduced the newest addition to the Apple product line - the IPad - on Wednesday January 27, 2010.

Intimate ain't the half of it Steve!!

It's debatable whether or not the male dominant execs at Apple even had an inkling as to the wealth of humour that would erupt with the announcement of the name of the new product.

After all, "I" is a standard part of the Apple branding and well, the word "pad" can mean any number of things. Steve Jobs and company obviously meant it to imply a reference to a tablet. However, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pad gives a wide variety of uses for the word pad, including: a cushion; slang for a dwelling place or bed; anatomy/zoological; botanical; electrical, carpentry, shipbuilding etc. More than 20 are listed.

Surprisingly, dictionary.com neglected to mention one of the most common slang references for pad - the kind used by pretty much all of womankind during their monthly menstruation cycle. Granted, most of the advertising world has been trying to rename it more politely as a "feminine hygiene product" or a "Napkin" due to its absorbent nature. That creates a whole other problem - but that is another story!

I read in one article that the name "ISlate" was considered quite seriously but ultimately ruled out as it reminded them to much of "The Flintstones" When you think about it, "ISlate" really isn't that bad a name after all the Flintstones were a modern stone age family! Apple could have worked out a deal with Hanna-Barbera (owners of the Flintstones) that would have been a gold mine for both companies!

Alas, Steve Jobs, introduced the "IPad" on Wednesday and unleashed a bit of a feeding frenzy on "IPad" humour! I'm not convinced that Apple was unaware of the similarity in name and were counting on at least a bit of free advertising just by people talking about the product and the ridiculous choice of name.

They got us talking alright! And if you've read a paper, watched TV, opened email or surfed the net in the last few days, well you know that there are a lot of jokes out there. Not all are related to the feminine use but since I am a female that is wear my search took me.

Here is just a sampling of what I found.

Now, I've never been a fan of Madtv but this skit actually introduced the first IPad in 2007! How is it possible that no one at Apple made this connection? Or is this where they actually got the idea??


Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The Wikipedia Entry for the iPad… Until Today, by Liz Colville
This article is about Apple's allegedly portable device iPad. For other uses, see iPad (disambiguation). For the handheld digital music device, see iPod. For the gadget that looks like something Jon King would flash during a CNN election broadcast, see iPad(2).

iPad was a prototype for a feminine hygiene product that purported to digitize a woman's menstruation cycle and store it on a password-protected Web server.[1] In the trademark application submitted by the inventor, Larry Bobson, the iPad was described as a "a light-weight, leak-proof device that, for the first time, will allow women to perform the acrobatics illustrated in television ads for tampons and sanitary napkins, rather than just aspire to them. No longer will women feel frustrated watching commercial actresses leap over fire hydrants, attempt gymnastics routines, and randomly flail their legs around to illustrate the point that their menstrual protection doesn't leak. With iPad, a woman's cycle continues as normal, it just doesn't happen down there."[2]

Bobson, who claims the iPad as his only invention, became embroiled in controversy over the device when early testers reported quitting their jobs, breaking up with their significant others and sending angry texts to friends in the days surrounding the "upload period."[3] Testers also reported finding Bobson creepy.[4] At an emotional press conference in 2001, Bobson responded to a growing chorus of skeptics, who were demanding more disclosure about the device, by saying he couldn't "be expected to invent something that would prevent women from being women."[5] Though the FDA was more than happy to approve the device without knowing anything about it except its name, which a spokesperson reportedly called "catchy,"[6] a Bush Administration official blocked the passage of the device in 2002, saying it was "1984-ish" and "sound[ed] a hell of a lot like pro-choice to me."[7]

Bobson retired in 2009 at the age of 27 when Apple Computer, Inc. bought the rights to the name iPad for an undisclosed six-figure sum.[8] See iPad(2).

Liz Colville is a history expert.

Liz Colville

~*~*~*~

From surfing the web:

“Apple iPad: Actually PULLS moisture away from you!”

“Attention Early Adopters! Hold out for Apple iPad 2.0 ... it comes with ‘wings’ ”

“Apple iPad: Sounds like a sanitary napkin, looks like Andre the Giant's iPhone. Just sayin' ...”

"Apple should have seen the iPad humor coming...at least 28 days ago."

"Does Jobs' iPad have a vaginal firewall? I think not."

"Will I have to get an iPap smear every year?"

"Uncomfortable cramping and bloating? There's an app for that."

"A friend tweeted that "all this talk about iPad is giving me iCramps," and I suggested iBuprofen."

"Microsoft's answer to the I-Pad is a Technical Automatic Material Peripheral Onboard Notebook. or TAMPON. Should be coming out soon."

"If Steve Jobs wants to get in my pants once a month, he's gonna need an app for that."

"Whatever. Wake me up when Steve Jobs announces the iPeen."

~*~*~*~

From Twitter:
LizB: iPad. was there a woman on this naming team? will there be different sizes? Mini iPad, maxi iPad?
elahater: Apple obviously needs some women on staff. Just so the words, "um are you sure about that, Steve?" could have been uttered.
Gelatobaby: And you can use the giant QWERTY keyboard to get your period on the #iPad !
herbadmother: Seriously, 'iPad?' There are too many of us for whom the phrase 'my pad just failed' evokes horror that should never be linked to technology
TimDillon: iPad sounds like a guy with a Boston accent trying to say iPod.
TwittsMcGee: I haven't heard this many period jokes since I was forced to watch The View last month.
kathycacace: Okay, just one more. The iPad: protecting your data from embarrassing incidents.
lady_justice: Did the prototype come with a belt?
Lymed: Does the Period Tracker app come free?
fauxfruit: If I order this, will my boyfriend and I have to worry if it comes late?
andBegorrah: If you and your friends all buy one, will they sync up?
vlvtjones: So will iffy Wifi coverage be called iSpotting?
babyruthless: Mac made an iPad. It's Mac's iPad. Say it with me. Mac's iPad. Seriously? No one said the name out loud?
morninggloria: Can I get a scented iPad for when my data feels not-so-fresh?
Cinnamoncanuck: @NellMood: Aunt Flo will be so happy!
LilSpitfire: Later in the year they will be releasing the companion tablet pen, the Ipon.

This Twitter post sums it all up better than I could:
Mary McCarthyite: Everyone, just try to Stay(free) calm and Poise(d). It's Always nice to see a new product on the market. I Depend on Apple to come up with great ideas. Maybe we're taking this out of Kotex.

dn

When PC’s get sick – Part Two

So, last time I told you about the lead up to my PC recovery. I was ready for the actual system recovery by Wednesday, January 13, 2010. I called HP early in the afternoon and gave them the ticket number that I’d gotten the week before.

The recovery process itself was not that complicated. The process for me was not as easy. As the PC was resetting itself to factory and erasing everything that I had so carefully added and installed, my brain was in overdrive. What if this doesn’t work? What if the recovery fails and I have to replace my hard drive? What if the CD’s, DVD’s and external drive don’t work and I really do end up losing everything? You hear about PC crashes all the time, you just never think about them happening to you.

The recovery itself didn’t take that long – maybe an hour. After it was done I had to reset my personal settings in the control panel before I did anything else. Good job I made notes ahead of time!

I called my service provider to help me reconnect to the internet and reset my mailboxes in Windows Mail. They also helped me download a Norton Removal tool to remove the trial program that had come with my PC. (Note: If Norton (or other security systems AREN’T removed with the right tools, it can really mess up your new security system!) Then, we downloaded my new security suite and reinstalled it. Just those few minutes of being on line without security were enough to make me nervous even though I was on safe sites!

It was Wednesday evening by that time and I was tired, but there was too much to do to sleep. I checked for updates and installed about 80 that night. I also checked my mail and a couple of web sites I visit every day. So far - so good - but too soon to start adding my stuff again.

Thursday morning, I checked for more updates and realized that the service pack 2 STILL wasn’t installed! Oh great! The whole reason I had done the restore was because it wouldn’t install!

I called HP and explained what was going on. Another great tech helped me download the service pack 2 and install it. It took quite awhile to download 475mb and install but this time it actually worked!!!

The tech asked if there were any other problems I needed his help with. I told him that just before New Year’s; I had bought and installed Microsoft Home and Student 2007. I’d gotten a ridiculously good post-Christmas sale deal, but was frustrated that I had to uninstall it so quickly and therefore loose one of the three keys that came with it. I had tried to contact Microsoft to restore the key but kept getting error messages and told that I would have to pay for any assistance. The tech helped me to reinstall Office and get a replacement key!

How much do I LOVE HP!? I could never have done all this without them! They were with me through every step and patiently talking me through it and answering all my questions. Actually, the tech I had talked to in Mumbai had even called me back a couple of days later to see how the PC was working and to ask how I was going to do the recovery!

Late Thursday morning, I started transferring my files from the external drive back to the PC. The process was as simple as connecting the drive, opening “F drive” then dragging all of my files/folders back into “C drive”. I imported my contacts and emails back to Windows mail. I randomly checked various folders and types of files to see if everything was back – and it was!

I felt like I could finally breathe again!

I’ve lost track of how many hours I have spent on the phone with various techs over those couple of weeks! My guess is that is probably about six with HP alone, never mind the other wonderful people in tech departments I’ve called for assistance, advice and price quotes! Then there are all the hours that I spent preparing the PC for the recovery and reinstalling and customizing all my settings again!

Over the last week or so, I have slowly started reinstalling my freeware and some of my games. I’ve even managed to find a couple of new pieces of freeware to replace some of the ones I lost. I had saved my list of favourite web sites and was able to reset it, but had to re-enter all my passwords and/or customizations. That was yet another time my copious notes came in very handy! So far, I’ve only discovered one web site that I had neglected to note which email address and password I signed in with! Quite minor in the grand scheme of things.

My PC is running beautifully at the moment. Knock wood, it will for a long time to come.

This wasn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination! It isn’t an experience that I ever want to repeat, but I have learned a lot more about my PC and how it works in the process, I’ve even figured out a few more customizations to make it even easier for me to see what I am doing.

As one of my friends so aptly put it, “It’s a brand new year and a fresh new start!”

dn

When PC’s get sick – Part One

I got this PC in November 2008 and for the most part, it has been very good. I wasn’t thrilled about having to get Vista, but I’ve gotten more or less used to it in the last while. I’m pretty careful with my PC. I do weekly disk cleanup, weekly virus and spyware scans and defrag once a month. I scan everything that I download – even music files and programs from sites I trust. I do regular updates and try to keep things running smoothly.

About three months ago, I tried to install the Vista service pack 2 but got an error message. That sometimes happens but an update doesn’t always install successfully on the first try so I wasn’t that concerned. I’d try again later. Well, time went on and it was offered to me again. It still didn’t install. I probably should have called HP then, but I was busy with Christmas baking by then and just didn’t have the time to sit on the phone to get help with the installation.

I actually forgot about it until New Years, when the update showed up again as an important and recommended installation. I tried again and it didn’t work. Damn. Time to call for help.

On Monday, January 4, 2010, I called HP about 7:00PM local time. I ended up speaking with a very nice tech in Mumbai India! I told him that I was legally blind and a poor typist. “No worries! I am here to help!” He tried downloading and installing the update manually and it wouldn’t work. He ran several diagnostic tests and eventually discovered that somehow something in my OS had corrupted and this was preventing service pack 2 form installing. The only real way around it was to do a system recovery.

In other words, remove ALL of my files and reset the PC to factory condition. He assured me that this was not necessarily anything I had done wrong – that this can happen to the most cautious users. He also informed me that the longer I went without installing the upgrades, the more at risk I became for a complete crash. I could either have HP talk me through it, or pay a company to do the entire backup and recovery for me – which I really couldn’t afford. Out of curiosity, I did call a couple of places for quotes and got $120 if I brought in the hard drive and all went well in recovery or $250 for a tech to come here and stay till it was all in working order! OUCH!!

Double damn! I was not a happy camper. I needed a little time to figure out how I was going to do all this myself. This was not going to be easy – or fun. Over the last 14 months, I had downloaded a lot of music, videos and pics. These could be backed up and reinstalled. So could most of my games and some freeware programs. I had also installed about 25 pieces of software from GOTD. The GOTD items were only available in full program for the day they were given away, so I did not have a key to reinstall once they were removed. Some of the software, I had barely used but other pieces were used frequently and I wasn’t sure where I could get suitable replacements in freeware.

I spent the next several days reorganizing my files. I sorted through folders to see what could be moved, renamed, uninstalled, backed up or deleted, I burnt CD’s and DVD’s of music, video and programs. It was time consuming, exhausting and annoying that I was in this situation but I was also glad that I had the opportunity to actually back everything up before a crash caused me to lose everything. I also made several notes on what I was saving, deleting and what my various settings were that made the PC easier for me to see.

I do have a backup drive and I use it at least once or twice a month, but it can’t save applications. I have a 2 gig flash drive for apps, but couldn’t get it to work so I burnt all the apps I could and hoped for the best.

By Tuesday, January 12, I was ready to do the final backup. I connected my backup drive and let it start scanning for new files to copy. After awhile it told me that there was not enough room to add new files! HUH? It was a 160 gig drive and I knew I only had about 50 gig of stuff to save after programs were uninstalled. I tried deleting files from the backup, but it kept shutting down, I called the tech service for the device and after several more attempts, the tech said it wasn’t going to work and that they would replace it. Unfortunately, that was going to take 7-10 business days. ARGH! He suggested that I buy an external hard drive anyways as they can save app files and also use a drag and drop system so I can more easily select what to save.

I phoned several stores and finally ended up going to a local electronics store and getting a 500 gig external drive on sale for $89.99. The sale actually ended Tuesday night, but the sales clerk hadn’t removed the sale price from the shelf by the time I got there Wednesday morning so I was given the sale price!

When I got home, I read the instructions and started to transfer stuff from my “C drive” to my “F drive”. As I was doing it, I realized that I hadn’t exported my email files/folders or my contacts list from Windows Mail. My other backup drive could have gotten those directly. A couple of quick clicks to export and I was on my way again.

The “drag and drop” process took only a few minutes. The actual transfer and backup took about an hour.

It was noon by this time and I was about as ready as I’d ever be. I’d call HP after lunch and start the recovery.

(to be continued January 28, 2010)

dn

Weedless Wednesday

Today, January 20, 2010 is Weedless Wednesday which is part of National Non-Smoking Week (January 17 - 23, 2010).

The third Wednesday of every January is designated as Weedless Wednesday. It is part of National Non-Smoking Week. NNSW was first established in 1977, by the Canadian Council For Tobacco Control (formerly the Canadian Council On Smoking and Health).

The goals of this organization are to:
- educate Canadians about the dangers of smoking
- to prevent people who do not smoke from beginning to smoke and becoming addicted to tobacco
- to help people quit smoking
- to promote the right of individuals to breathe air unpolluted by tobacco smoke
- to denormalize the tobacco industry, tobacco industry marketing practices and tobacco use - to assist in the attainment of a smoke-free society in Canada
http://www.nnsw.ca/

I have never been a smoker. I was never the least bit tempted to smoke. I grew up in a home with smokers, but was always nauseated by the smell. Not just while the tobacco was being used but the lingering after effects that stayed and permeated everything in the vicinity. My throat hurt, my eyes watered and my nose would get stuffed up - which made it hard to breathe.

My symptoms got worse as I grew older. As an adult, I learned through allergy tests that I was actually allergic to tobacco products. I really wasn't that surprised to learn of the allergy as I'd suspected it for years. By the time I did learn of it, many of my family had already quit smoking.

Whenever I could, I tried to avoid people who smoked or places where people had smoked. It wasn't always easy. Most people I knew were pretty respectful, but you can't control every situation. There have been countless times that I have had to leave when someone who reeks of tobacco is near.

Before it was illegal to smoke in public places here in Manitoba, I often had to leave restaurants. I remember one time that my mom and I had just gotten our lunch when a smoker lit up at the next table. I could barely breathe so I went out to the car while mom explained to the waitress and asked for our meal to go. We certainly weren't the first - or last - to complain at that establishment, but a few months later they did set up a non-smoking section. The problem was that you had to walk through the smoking section to get to the non-smoking section. The manager explained that he would have liked to do it differently but the non-smoker section was a larger section and in a different room with better ventilation. I just held my nose as I hurried through.

In more recent years, there have been more bans added to restrict the use of nicotine in public places. The bans include smoking in any enclosed public places such as restaurants, bars, clubs and malls. Many apartment blocks (including mine) have prohibited smoking in hallways or common areas. Stores are no longer permitted to display tobacco products, adds or sell to minors. Tobacco companies are not allowed to advertise over the airwaves or sponsor public events. Some areas also prohibit smoking in any vehicles where a minor is present.

All these bans do help, but it doesn't alleviate the after smell that surrounds the smoker and effects the health of us non-smokers. I have still had to leave elevators and buses when smokers are too near me. I've also had to stand downwind of smokers at bus stops. Even though smoking isn't allowed in common areas in my building, I can still smell it in areas near apartments with smokers or occasionally through the ventilation system.

If it were up to me, smoking would be illegal - PERIOD!


Not just because of my allergies, but because of the long lasting health effects to both smokers and non-smokers alike. The health care costs alone for smoking related illnesses is staggering. Just think of the good that all that money could be used for! Things like; irradiating poverty, hunger, AIDS, cancer, Alzheimer's just to name a few.

Regardless of what anyone tries to tell you, smoking is anything but attractive or cool. A friend once described kissing his smoker girlfriend as "like licking an ashtray!" My, how romantic! Smoking is severely addictive, will prematurely age you and send you to an early grave.

Most people make several attempts to quit before finally succeeding. My mom tried a few times, but finally quit when the price went up to 75 cents/package around 1970 or so! She just couldn't bear the thought of paying such an outrageous price! At least a couple of my friends tried at least 10 times over the years to kick the habit before succeeding. They are now avid non-smokers promoting the benefits of quitting and living a smoke free life.

Quitting is anything but easy. You have to be mentally ready and physically prepared to tackle the withdrawal symptoms.

There are numerous on line sites that can help you find the best way for you to tackle quitting. They can help you find local support and provide you with tips to get you through.

A few years ago, a couple of my friends were trying to quit and I wrote out a few suggestions for them.

INCENTIVES TO QUIT SMOKING
Medical/Physical:
- increased energy; healthier lungs and heart; reduced stains on fingers and teeth; lower risk of cancer; smoking possibly linked to Alzheimer's and Macular Degeneration (and others)
- non-smokers and especially those who quit are a positive roll model to children, family, friends, customers and clients who are trying to quit or are tempted to start.
- non-smokers have a far greater chance of living longer, healthier more productive lives.

Financial:
- depriving the government of tobacco taxes!
- the money you save from not buying tobacco products can be used for any number of things, such as: kids education (or your own); pension/retirement plans; vacations; home improvements; etc.
- devise a financial penalty for smoking such as for every dollar you spend on tobacco, you must spend at least an additional dollar on a charitable donation (perhaps the cancer society or the lung association?). One friend told me that they knew someone who made a deal with their friends that for every dollar they spent on tobacco they would give a dollar to an organization that they were politically/morally opposed to!

Still tempted to smoke?
- visit or volunteer at a cancer care program or palliative care project and observe first hand the effects of smoking related cancers and emphysema. That could be you in a few short years.
- your second hand smoke could be killing someone you love.
- every time you smoke you are decreasing the length of your life and the amount of time you will have to watch your children and grandchildren grow.
- Smokers are directly responsible for the profits of Tobacco companies. Despite employment standard practices in some parts of the world, many tobacco workers such as the people who pick, are often poorly paid migrant workers. These people endure backbreaking work to support your habit. As human beings, they deserve better.

HEALTHIER SNACKS AND EATING HABITS
- learn to savour the flavour of your food by eating slowly and enjoying each morsel.
- finger foods are a great distraction to occupy the hand that held the cigarette.
- healthy snacks such as raw vegetables, fresh or dried fruits, nuts in the shell, unsalted nuts, trail mixes, unbuttered popcorn, baked pretzels, dry cereals such as cheerios or multi grain cereals.
- try eating snacks one piece at a time rather than by the handful.

HOW TO OCCUPY YOUR HANDS
- learn a musical instrument such as piano or guitar
- take up a hobby or craft. The things you make could be used as Christmas or Birthday gifts or donated to a charity for raffles or gifts for underprivileged.
- craft hobby suggestions include: knitting; crochet; needlepoint; wood working; carving; engraving; calligraphy; sculpting; painting; sketching; model building; glass etching; origami; and leather tooling just to name a few, Visit a local crafts store for ideas, inspiration and supplies!
- you could also learn Braille or sign language!

When you do quit, you will want to start a more healthy lifestyle and that should most definitely include physical activity. Something such as Thai Chi, Yoga or Pilates will help to relax both the mind and the body. Even taking a walk is a great way to relax and get some fresh clean air.


Quitting any habit is not easy by any stretch of the imagination, but you have to be ready emotionally and physically to make the changes. If you aren't emotionally ready for change it is easy to backslide, but don't give up. Just pick yourself up and try again. You can and will succeed!

This is a pic of a ceiling mural in a smokers room that speaks volumes:

Good Luck!!

dn

"No thanks, None for me."

Let me begin by apologizing to anyone of eastern European descent and pretty much the population of Canada - especially the prairie provinces. This post is not meant to offend, hurt or belittle a much loved cuisine and comfort food of the masses. It is simply my opinion.

That being said, please, let me continue. I recently got into an on line discussion about perogies. Some loved them. Some could take them or leave them. A few only liked them prepared in certain ways with certain fillings and toppings. Others, well they weren't the least bit tempted to eat them or just plain didn't like them.

Me? Well, I have NEVER liked them in any way, shape or form. Yes, I realize that this may well be considered blasphemy - especially from a Southern Manitoba born gal living in Winnipeg, but I can't stand them!

I've never understood what the attraction is to a stuffed dumpling like concoction that is boiled and then lathered with melted butter, oil or creamy gravy.

So, "What are perogies?", the uninitiated may ask.

Basically, they are made with an unleavened dough that is thinly rolled out and cut into pieces, which are then filled with a variety of mixtures. They are then boiled or steamed and served with a drizzle of melted butter or oil. They are also often accompanied by bacon, farmers sausage, fried onions, sour cream or a cooked fruit such as apple sauce. Any left overs are usually fried and served with a cream gravy over top.

In Mennonite circles there is a similar version called Wareniki. Wareniki or "Varenyky are square- or crescent-shaped dumplings of unleavened dough, stuffed with sauerkraut, cheese, mashed potatoes, cabbage, meat, hard-boiled eggs (a Mennonite tradition) or a combination of these, or with a fruit filling. Varenyky are very popular in Ukraine. ... The name varenyk, in fact, simply means "boiled thing," from the adjective varenyy."

Hmmm, "Boiled thing"? Sounds pretty accurate to me!

I can't and won't speak for anyone else, but I have to wonder what the attraction is. What is so appealing about a starch laden, artery clogging, plate of a days worth of calories with next to no nutritional value?

Now I am no health food guru and I do have my own guilty pleasures, but some people thrive on these and have it on a very regular basis. They salivate at the mere thought of a plate of these doughy things. Everybody seems to have their own favourite version or recipe. Claims such as; "Well you'd like MY recipe" or "You should taste my grandma's version then you'd know why they are so good" are rampant.

Well that may be true for some, but I wouldn't bet the farm on me becoming a fan or even finding one version that doesn't make me have chest pains just looking at the plate.

I have tried several over the years, but it just doesn't do it for me. They can have some decent ingredients such as potato, cheddar cheese and onion but then they go and ruin it by wrapping it in dough and boiling it or steaming it. To me it just tastes like something that is undercooked. The fried versions just taste greasy on the outside, but still soggy inside. Frankly, it is a waste of good filling and the ingredients for the dough could be used in much more appetizing ways.

Here in Canada, you can find many restaurants that serve various varieties and even specialize in perogy making. You can also buy perogies frozen in any major grocery store.

Maybe it really is a cultural thing or something that you have to be raised on. We never had them when I was a kid, although my mom did sometimes make dumplings when she made a pot of stew. I never liked those either. I always had her take out a portion of the stew for me before she added the lumps of dough as little bits always seemed to find their way into the pot and that ruined the taste for me. Nothing like thinking you are biting into a piece of potato or onion only to have your taste buds heart broken and your tongue touch a piece of soggy dough.

In the 1970's there was a very popular item available in stores and through Television commercials called "Hunky Bill's Perogy Maker". It simplified the process for making perogies and claimed it could be used for countless other items as well.



Well, like I said, we didn't eat perogies or wareniki at home, but my mom bought one anyway. I think it was mostly because it was on sale for about half price at a variety store we often shopped at. We tried several recipes that required fillings wrapped in dough. It actually worked fairly well, but our favourite use for it was for mom's homemade pizza snacks.

Mom would make her basic bun dough and let it rise. Meanwhile she would cook up some lean ground beef and chopped bacon. She'd sauté in onions, mushrooms and peppers then pour in a can of pizza sauce, add some spices and let is simmer till it was really thick. When it was just about ready to be used for the filling, she'd stir in grated mozzarella cheese. Then she'd roll out the dough really thin and place it over the perogy maker. She'd put some filling on top of each section then put another layer of dough on top and press the pizza snacks out. She let them rise for awhile on the baking sheets then bake them.

OH, now those were good!!! We'd eat those like crazy! Mom always tried to keep a few dozen on hand in the freezer so she'd have something to serve for lunch, snacks, to unexpected company or as an hors d'oeuvre. They were a huge hit!

I guess that perogies, wareniki and dumplings are all acquired tastes. Sometimes we find foods that we just love and other times we just say;

"No thanks, None for me."

dn

January Food Blahs!

In my last post, I gave you a recipe for Mocha Muffins – a rather delicious taste to brighten your breakfast or a coffee break.

I don’t know about you, but I find January a tough month to cook, bake and even enjoy food. I think my taste buds get over stimulated in December. There is so much food that is specifically eaten around the holidays that is hard to enjoy the everyday fare that we consume the rest of the year. We have spent the previous month – or more – sampling appetizers, dips, salads, sauces, side dishes, main courses, countless desserts and other sweet treats. Oh and let’s not forget all those festive beverages!

After all that, it is no wonder our taste buds are feeling overwhelmed. They need a break to recover. The problem is that after all that stimulation, everything from our normal diet seems bland. To complicate matters is the fact that there is a lack of local fresh produce in our winter climate. Well, okay there is still fresh produce available but except for root vegetables and produce that stores well such as apples, the rest is all imported from thousands of miles away and we pay a hefty premium for those items.

That hefty premium isn’t always worth the money though as some southern climates also face extreme weather at this time of year and the quality of what is shipped just isn't the same. Add to that our pinched pocketbooks from holiday spending and our choices are rather limited.

I don’t tend to buy a lot of salad fixings this time of year. One of the grocery stores I usually go to, does have Romaine on sale this week for $.96 which is an incredibly good price for this time of year - even if it is small! I cringe at paying more than a dollar for Romaine or Leaf lettuce at the best of times. I occasionally see head lettuce on sale, but frankly all it has going for it is the crunch – not much nutritional value. I did buy Romaine to serve in a salad for a dinner in December and paid $1.49 – OUCH! Even the tomatoes on the vine are well over $2/lb at the moment. No, if I am having a salad this time of year, it is apt to be a cole slaw. Better yet just some raw veggies such as carrots, celery, red pepper and mushrooms with a light or fat free dip.

For me, January usually means a lot of oven meals. Turning on the oven to cook your dinner is also a great way to cut your heating costs. It is amazing how much a room can heat up while a delicious meal is cooking in the oven – not to mention how good it smells! That is assuming that I actually feel like cooking. I spent a LOT of time in the kitchen in November and December doing Christmas and Holiday baking and frankly I’m pretty tired of cooking around this time of year.

I generally enjoy cooking and baking. I like trying new recipes, but this time of year? Forget it! If it isn’t simple, fast and tasty without being fattening – odds are I won’t be trying it. I just can’t get enthused about being in the kitchen right now. I did try a couple of recipes in the last couple of weeks - recipes that had been on my “try” radar for quite a while. They were okay i guess, but just didn’t have that yum quality that I was hoping for. Mind you, they both tasted better warned up the next day so I’m not throwing them out, I’m just setting them aside until I have more patience and energy to play with them.

I went through my deep freeze a few days ago to do a post Christmas inventory. My supply of frozen meats and vegetables is doing well and my breakfast muffins are good through spring. Even my supply of baked goods for snacks and company isn’t too bad at the moment. I don’t really have to start baking till sometime in February.

It’s not that I won’t bake or cook in the next while; it’s just nice to know that I don’t HAVE to!

So at least for now, I’ll be relying on my old standbys. The meals and treats that I can make without a lot of effort or planning. The things that satisfy my taste buds without overwhelming them. The things that are easy to prepare and don’t cost a fortune. The comfort foods that make me feel good without the guilt of too many calories.

Of course there will be a few chocolate treats in there. After all, I am human!

dn