Sunday, February 9, 2020

Happiness is BelGioioso pre-sliced fresh mozzarella for pizza night

It's more expensive than shredded part-skim mozzarella by about $1.23/lb, but tastes far better.

It's worth it.

We can still make five pizzas with a pound of it as before, and just as conveniently because it is pre-sliced.

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Happy is he who is kind to the poor

-- Proverbs 14:21

It is more blessed to give than to receive. -- Acts 20:35

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Monday, January 13, 2020

Happiness is 36-year-old Aaron Rodgers leading the Packers to San Fran for the NFC Championship game on Jan 19th

Cheeky sports girl announcer called him "old man" after last night's victory over Seattle.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Happiness is visiting the junkyard on a 47 degree day in January and saving big bucks on tires and wheels

It was like winning the lotto. 

There she was, a 2003 Pontiac Bonneville with black steel wheels and tires, not in the yard yet two weeks. Junked probably for a failed tranny. The tires were just over two years old and still had a tread depth of 8. Wheels and tires fit my 1997 Oldsmobile with ten year old rubber needing replacement. Extra set of wheels will get my snow tires.

Who could have predicted? Out the door for $108 plus tax.

Total savings over retail: At least $675. 




Friday, December 20, 2019

Happiness is November 1982's TV movie The Scarlet Pimpernel starring Jane Seymour and Anthony Andrews

They seek him here.
They seek him there.
Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.
Is he in Heaven?
Or is he in Hell?
That damned, elusive, pimpernel.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Happiness is Eight O'Clock Coffee

Eight O'Clock Coffee,
     Five O'Clock Gin,
Start the day early,
     End it with a grin.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Happiness is stents, which save lives if your widowmaker is blocked, and improve quality of life, despite recent study

The findings do not apply to all heart patients, including those with blockages in the left main coronary artery, Hochman said. And, she added, “if you’re having a heart attack, stents save lives.”


Today is the second anniversary of my stent procedure, and I'm happy to tell you I'm happy to be here, because I did it.

If you have pain in your chest or arms on exertion, or quickly reduced function due to fatigue on exertion, see your doctor. A simple stress test and echo-cardiogram can save your life, and improve it.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Happiness is white teeth

We simple toasters take delight
To see our women's teeth look white;
And ev'ry saucy ill-bred fellow
Sneers at a mouth profoundly yellow.

-- Matthew Prior

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Happiness is the Victor Tin Cat mouse trap: Holds up to 30!

It works as advertised. We put in some sunflower seeds as bait and set it in the garage overnight and caught four, after which they went for a nice little swim.

Next!

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Happiness is replacing the traditional charcoal grate with the Old Smokey charcoal grate

Traditional charcoal grates burn hotter than the Old Smokey type grate because the coals are exposed to air both top and bottom.







But with the Old Smokey the bottoms are not directly exposed to air, and consequently you get a longer, less intense burn.

For me the Old Smokey type, meant for smoking obviously, just works better for things like hamburgers and pork chops because you can grill directly over the coals but the heat is just less intense and you get a more tender, flavorful outcome.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Happiness is a used Karcher G2000QT gas engine pressure washer for ten bucks

For an additional six or seven bucks in parts, my very talented son had this model up and running in a couple of days after taking it apart and regreasing it.

So far we've cleaned some long overdue dirty house siding, the driveway, an old lawnmower, all the first floor cottage blinds (out on the clean driveway), and the Generac, all in the first week, and I'm probably forgetting something!

Works with a garden hose, and we didn't even use any soap, just plain water. Worked like a charm. It takes up very little space in the garage, too.

What a money saver this thing has been already.

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Happiness is the 1870 counting rhyme "Over in the Meadow"




















Over in the meadow,
In the sand, in the sun,
Lived an old mother toad
And her little toadie, one;
"Wink!" said the mother,
"I wink," said the one,
So she winked and she blinked
In the sand, in the sun.

Over in the meadow
Where the stream runs blue,
Lived an old mother fish
And her little fishes, two;
"Swim!" said the mother,
"We swim," said the two,
So they swam and they leapt
Where the stream runs blue.

Over in the meadow
In a hole in a tree,
Lived a mother bluebird
And her little birdies, three;
"Sing!" said the mother,
"We sing," said the three,
So they sang and were glad
In the hole in the tree.

Over in the meadow
In the reeds on the shore,
Lived a mother muskrat
And her little ratties, four;
"Dive!" said the mother,
"We dive," said the four,
So they dived and they burrowed
In the reeds on the shore.

Over in the meadow
In a snug bee-hive,
Lived a mother honey-bee
And her little honeys, five;
"Buzz!" said the mother,
"We buzz," said the five,
So they buzzed and they hummed
In the snug bee-hive.

Over in the meadow
In a nest built of sticks,
Lived a black mother crow
And her little crows, six;
"Caw!" said the mother,
"We caw," said the six,
So they cawed and they called
In their nest built of sticks.

Over in the meadow
Where the grass is so even,
Lived a gay mother cricket
And her little crickets, seven;
"Chirp!" said the mother,
"We chirp," said the seven,
So they chirped cheery notes
In the grass green and even.

Over in the meadow
By the old mossy gate,
Lived a brown mother lizard
And her little lizards, eight;
"Bask!" said the mother
"We bask," said the eight,
So they basked in the sun
On the old mossy gate.

Over in the meadow
Where the clear pools shine,
Lived a green mother frog
And her little froggies, nine;
"Croak!" said the mother,
"We croak," said the nine,
So they croaked and they splashed
Where the clear pools shine.

Over in the meadow
In a sly little den,
Lived a gray mother spider
And her little spiders, ten;
"Spin!" said the mother,
"We spin," said the ten,
So they spun lace webs
In their sly little den.

Over in the meadow
In the soft summer even,
Lived a mother fire-fly
And her little flies, eleven;
"Shine!" said the mother,
"We shine," said th' eleven,
So they shone like stars
In the soft summer even.

Over in the meadow
Where the men dig and delve,
Lived a wise mother ant,
And her little anties, twelve;
"Toil!" said the mother,
"We toil," said the twelve,
So they toiled and were wise,
Where the men dig and delve.

-- Katherine Floyd-Dana, aka Olive A. Wadsworth (1835-1886)

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Happiness is the Lodge 12 inch, 6 quart camp oven, for when the shtf or anytime

There's your regular one, and your deep one. I bought the regular one on deep discount this summer, heh heh, for when the shtf, since I plan to shelter in place. The thing comes ready to go right out of the box, pre-seasoned in the factory. I'm breaking it in inside first, with a few recipes for breads, beans, and roasts before I use it outside on charcoal. For a hoot give a look at the Backwoods Gourmet YouTube Channel to see what using this type of equipment is all about. That Florida boy knows his stuff.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Happiness is homegrown organic San Marzano tomatoes

We are recently harvesting these organic San Marzano tomatoes grown from seeds we bought in March from Johnny's Selected Seeds. These are perfect sliced on the Saturday night pizza, on the BLTs at lunch, and of course for sauce. Wonderfully petite and sweet.