FamGuyToday by Aunty Fox

Was at Nate and Laura's condo last weekend, watching TV while Carol napped. In between golf and "Deadliest Catch", I saw an infomercial for "Flavorwave", a combination convection oven, broiler, infrared, and swirling heat. http://www.thane.com/products/housewares/flavorwavedeluxe_quick/fw-deluxe.php?Anyway , I decided I needed one, just in case I ever go on storm duty again, and need to cook in strange situations. Tried it out today, on a 1" thick frozen pork chop. From frozen to brown/sizzling in 18 minutes. Fantastic. Juicy, flavorful and healthy, 'cause it the fat drips away as it cooks. Can't wait to to try more recipes. Also, VERY easy clean up. Sound like a salesman, don't I? *******Am adding this the next day. Cooked elk burger, frozen hamburger patty, and 3 large chicken breasts, NOT at the same time, and they were all fantastic. Even won Carol over. This thing is GREAT!!!!

Ted and Kari had 8 lemons leftover from their reception, so I decided to make Limoncello, one of our favorite treats from the Amalfi area. I didn't realize, until I read several recipes, that you use only the outer rind. NOT the lemon itself, and you have to be careful not to get any of the white pulp right under the skin, as that makes it bitter, according to the experts. Anyway, I carefully peeled the lemons and soaked the yellow skin in a combination of vodka and Everclear, shaking it every day. After 2 weeks, you add sugar to water, boil it to make it dissolve, and mix together in the proper proportion. I saved the lemons to make homemade lemonade for the 4th of July party, where my limoncello will be available for tasting. Will see you there. Just got a call from Kit, and heard the honeymooners safely arrived arrived in London, after their cruise. Can't wait to see them and hear of their travels.....

Had to buy a new computer cause my old one has a real noisy hard drive. Not a good sign. Anyway, got a new Toshiba laptop, and am in the process of trying to transfer programs, files, etc. Reminds me of how little I know, BUT, the good news is that the old computer is still running. Need some help, but my main computer guy is on his honeymoon. Plus, I don't get hi-speed until July 3rd. Oh well, I'll try to muddle thru. Wish me luck, I need it....

Remember the open air dining? Good food in a beautiful setting. Have tried to get Carol to put out a buffet like that, but she has been real stubborn. Can't wait to go back. Even though I've been there/done that many times, I WILL go back again, someday soon, I hope.....

and I love this picture. This is Tor, lookin' good, and TALKING. That is Tor in a nutshell. Why/how some guy hasn't snapped her up, I'll never understand. The good news is, there is some guy out there who gonna get REAL lucky....

is one of our favorite "things", when we are lucky enough to spend time at the condo/in the mountains. Great trails along beautiful mountain stream to beautiful mountain lake, AND some amazing homes to drool over. Throw in a Reggae Festival, REALLY good food at Kickapoo's and you have the makings of a fantastic weekend. Thanks, Nate and Laura, really appreciated it.

taken with a telephoto lens, cause she was WAY up in the tree. As part of her 'Big Adventure", she climbed as high as she could. THEN figured out she didn't know how to come down. She finally figured it out, after meowing very pitifully, asking, or demanding, in kitty talk, to be rescued. Hopefully she learned her lesson,,,,,, but I doubt it.

a fantastic Reggae artist from, guess where? Right, Jamaica, mon. Ran into "World Music Festival", another name for "Reggae Festival" at Keystone Village this weekend while staying at the condo. REALLY nice surprise and hope to catch it every year. ( The first band was Achille Baldal, who was REALLY good.) Sponsored by Red Stripe, Jamaican beer, mon. Since I plan to rip some of his music from the web, instead of paying $$ for it, decided to take an idea from Nate, and buy a T-shirt. He thanked me from the stage, and then later, after the concert came up to me, cause he could tell I enjoyed the show. Bottom line, I couldn't understand a word he said. He was happy though. Guess Jamaican language is 'Patois'. Whatever, it sure ain't English...

to hide all the food. Bella's here. Can't leave out the ribs, she loves 'em. Can't leave out the Taco salad. Yum Yum. And you better put away the butter. How do you think she gets such a smoooooth coat? Buttery smooth. I remember most of the time, but when I forget, it's FEAST time. But we still love her, even though she thunders through the bedroom at 5:00, reminding us, "I'm Hungry".....

Foreclosures Jump 90% Over Last Year Figure pushed up by slowing real estate market Foreclosures: Hardest hit zip codes Mortgage applications slide Home builder index lowest since '91 NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Home foreclosures in May jumped 90 percent from a year earlier, reflecting a poor spring housing market and foreshadowing even higher levels later in 2007, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said Tuesday. ******************************************************************************* Just an update for those paying attention. Hate to say it, but this thing is gonna get ugly

has again vetoed stem cell research on 'moral grounds'. This clown has morals that allow him to wage premeditated war, then say, "Oops, bad information, but we ain't stopping, and by the way, torture is OK if I say it is", has again disregarded the views of the VAST majority of Americans, and chosen to dump the unused embryos in the trash, rather than use them to save lives. He is not only a very brave man, (Bring 'em on) but a true humanitarian, with high morals, also. Just ask him...

We are watching the kitties while Ted and Kari go on their 'Super Honeymoon'. 'Twas so funny to watch them outside today, as they tried (hopelessly) to sneak up on birds. A swallow mercilessly divebombed Bella, as Bailey hid from the blackbirds that knocked her off the upper deck. Cheap entertainment, and I love it. May be doing some rural insurance adjusting for a small insurance company. Pretty slow year for ins adj, so will see what happens. In the mean time, having fun with the kitties

this blog is temporarily/permanently cancelled. Later......

Couldn't figure out why ANY country would support Bush. After all, he has been greeted with riots in all the European capitals he visits, especially London, and most recently, Rome, where over a hundred police officers were injured. But what do the English, Italians, Germans, French, over 3/4 of the US population, as well as a HUGE majority of the world's people know? Seems Bush, (with our $$) has been supporting the Albanian interests in Kosovo, against Russia, in exchange for a token force of Albanian soldiers in Iraq, so our "coalition" doesn't totally collapse. Must be nice for him to visit someplace that doesn't hate him with a passion, although he had to be the first president "ever" to visit Albania, to make it happen. With the Italian electorate dumping the Bush-friendly regime, and Blair being dumped in Britain, the only other country left with more than 1000 troops is South Korea, a regime propped up by the US. The 'coalition of the w...

the wedding(s) that is. Can't quite believe it. Have been anticipating and enjoying this special time for SOO long, and now all of a sudden, it seems, it's over. Kari and Ted's life together, and honeymoon, are just beginning, but the festivities are behind us. Very successfully, I might add, but then, I am very biased/prejudiced. I would just say, however, that if you couldn't have a good time at the wedding/receptions, you weren't trying. I don't know what Carol (aka Martha Stewart 'on crack') is gonna do. No veils, centerpieces, floral arrangements to make, no wedding related shopping to do... Hope the ol' VISA /MASTERCARD hasn't had the numbers burned right off. Anyway, it hit me last night, kinda hard, that it's back to the real world, now, although my real world isn't as bad as some. My little girl is now a married woman, about to embark on a fantastic 3-week honeymoon, and life moves on. Looking forward to the next adventure, just ...

Scooter Libby was just convicted on several counts of lying to a grand jury. Bush is aTOTAL liar, and Scooter was just keeping with the party line. Lie, and if you get caught, lie some more. Crooks stick together. Anyone wanna bet that Bush pardons him? I will take all bets. We'll both put up cash, OK?

to dump on Bush anymore. It used to be, just the other party unloaded on him, but this week, Newt Gingrich, former Repub Speaker of the House, called him, "hopelessly incompetent." That was followed by Rich Galen, a GOP analyst, labeling him, "an embarrassment". I just want to know, "Who ARE those 28% who still support him?" Talk about uninformed, head in the sand, idiots......

as in, pain in the ass. Went to see 'Pirates' last night and did a lot of squirming and wiggling in my seat, cause it was a LONG, sometimes boring, movie, and my back was sore. Somehow, I dislodged my billfold from my pocket (99% sure), because it wasn't in my pocket this morning, and we didn't go anywhere else, and I've torn the car and house apart. The movie people swear they didn't find it, which is MAYBE true. Anyway, today, it's cancel credit cards, get new driver's license, (what a zoo), library card, insurance card, and cry about lost cash. Wish whoever found it would at least return some of it, but doesn't look like it. It's not like they don't know who it belonged to. Hope their Karma dumps all over them. If it hasn't happened to you, try to make sure it doesn't, cause it's a real sickening feeling...

Sgt Pepper taught the band to play. Don't know if you've noticed, but the 40 year anniversay of one of the most amazing albums of all time has been getting a lot of press lately. If you aren't of that age, you wouldn't understand. No way. But if you can remember "The Summer of Love", 1967, (the year I graduated), it is hard to believe it was 40 years ago. It must be true, 'cause my 4oth class reunion is this summer, and I am really looking forward to it. We had a great bunch of people, or maybe it was just a great time to "come of age". Along with the normal raging hormones of youth, there was a brash new music, a burgeoning war in Viet Nam, (along with the draft), long hair and pot, and a real "us vs. them" mentality. Nixon and the "America, Love It or Leave It" crowd, versus, "Peace and Love", and "America, Fix It or Fuck It". There was no middle ground. Sort of like Iraq today, only times 100. Is impossi...

For lack of anything better to blog about, I thought I would tell you how much I like my ride. Acura 4WD, 5-speed auto, w/V-Tech engine. Power, plus fuel economy, great handling, leather interior, with satellite navigation, and fantastic sound. Luv it....