Just like me, just like you

 

NBC News reported tonight that Washington is re-examining its 15-year-old policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the military.

 

It's about freakin' time.

 

I understand that not everyone agrees with the gay lifestyle, and that's your choice. But it's time to face reality. Gays are everywhere, folks. They're your relatives, they're your neighbors, they're your bosses, and they're your coworkers. They are the people you chat up at the coffee shop, they are the people you meet on the street, they are the people walking their dog as you pass along the way, and they are the people who you encounter every day in every aspect of your lives.

 

And they are also the people who are serving their country as part of our military.

 

It's high time we realized that sexual orientation, skin color, or religious affiliation have absolutely nothing to do with competence, integrity, and bravery. We need to stop being so narrow-minded and get past our personal notions of what is right and what is wrong. I can't say it often enough: it is a big world out there, and we are all part of it. Shame on us for ever implementing such a ridiculous policy, and it's time to figure out once and for all that it's not a choice, it's a LIFE. Just like yours, just like mine. A life filled with love, laughter, and sometimes sadness, just like ours.

 

Instead of the discriminatory and restrictive don't-ask-don't-tell policy, perhaps a little education, understanding, and sensitivity training might be in order.

 

 

Tags: Don't ask don't tell

Truth and lies at PetSmart

 

I forgot to mention an "incident" at PetSmart this morning.

 

As I went to check out with my EnchantaCat, they only had one lane open (not very busy on a weekday morning). There was a lady in front of me who had brought along these two pet beds she had, and there was some discussion going on. Apparently when she was washing the beds, one of them had ruptured, and the other got its filling all wadded up in a bundle.

 

One of the clerks said something like, "Well, you probably shouldn't put it in the washing machine. It says to handwash it." The customer said, "But it was on delicate! I mean look at this...there's no way to fix this." The clerk said, "I'm just saying. I wouldn't put it in the washing machine, because it says it should be handwashed."

 

The lady complained a little bit more, but the bottom line was that they were giving her a new pet bed.

 

How is that right? This broad does something to a product that the product says specifically NOT to do, then when the product doesn't behave as she expects it to, she goes to the store and says, "Give me a new one!" How does that work? Who is at fault here? The company who made the product and provided information on its care, or the stupid broad who can't follow directions, or if she can, chooses NOT to? At checkout, PetSmart asks if you want to donate a dollar to homeless pets. Since I had just looked at the cats and kittens from Pet Refuge, I was feeling all vulnerable and was happy to do so. I put it to you that this woman took money out of the mouths of hungry animals! In her idiocy and greed, she probably KILLED A PUPPY today.

 

I was disgusted. It's that kind of mentality that brings our entire country down and makes us look like a bunch of greedy ignoramuses. I don't always follow directions when it comes to laundry. For example, I will throw a silk shirt in the washing machine rather than wash it by hand, and then hang it to dry. But after several trips through the washer, if a seam starts to unravel, I do not go running back to the store where I bought it and say that it is an inferior product or that it is faulty! That would be wrong.

 

I guess that's a concept that the broad at PetSmart would be unable to grasp. Based on the look of those pet beds, she's got a little yappy dog. I hope the thing bites her right on her lying Pinocchio nose tonight.

 

 

Tags: PetSmart, integrity

EnchantaCat

 

I went to the store this morning, and my first stop was at PetSmart to get some kitty litter.

 

Cousin Shane has three cats, and whenever we take care of them, I'm always impressed with his kitty litter! It clumps like you wouldn't believe, and the one we've been using just doesn't clump well. (I'm sure this is fascinating for those who don't have cats.) I forgot to look and see what kind he uses, so I asked him when he was over here last. He said he gets it at PetSmart, and he told me the name, but I haven't been able to remember it. All I could remember was that it was a combined word that ended in -cat.

 

I had some weird ones running through my mind, like ClumpaCat, ExotiCat, but the one that stuck in my mind the most was EnchantaCat. As you can see, the name of the stuff is ExquisiCat, but here at Nutwood, I think it's going to remain EnchantaCat!

 

While I was there, I had to stop and look at the cats and kittens, of course. Pet Refuge (no kill!) keeps some cats there, available for adoption. There were three mid-size kittens, all snoozing solidly; there was a brother and sister cat, Ricky and Lucy (!!), who were almost identical and meant to be adopted together; there was a former barn cat whose jaw was broken, but they wired it and she's okay now; a kitten that was found abandoned on a road; and two more mid-size kittens, one a Siamese, who were fighting and playing. I watched them all for quite a while, and they were all so cute! The fighting kittens were making me laugh.

 

C'mon people, get your cats fixed! At least Pet Refuge doesn't kill, but there are so many places that still do, and it makes me ill to think of any of those sweet cats today having to be put down.

 

When I was at the grocery store, they had small bamboo plants for 99¢. Ken's Mom has one that has some amazing growth, and I thought I would see if I can do something with it besides kill it. The problem is, I'm not sure how to grow it! They had it in just water, so is that what I need to do? I might have to see what I can find online. Right now it's in the kitchen sink with a little water.

 

Hope you're all having a fabulous day!

 

 

Tags: ExquisiCat, PetSmart, Pet Refuge

Of Bourne and Batman

 

Last night we watched the third Bourne movie, "The Bourne Ultimatum." Wow, fabulous stuff!

 

I had no idea I would enjoy these movies so much, but they were just a blast (sometimes literally!). Some excellent car chases, plenty of intrigue and corruption, and awesome fight sequences with majorly cool Kung Fu-type stuff.

 

I've always liked Matt Damon, but thought of him as more of a thoughtful actor, taking on quiet, introspective roles. Screw that, this guy is super as an "action" hero! Who would have thought? He's got those boyish good looks, and a youthful charm, but I think that's one of the reasons this works so well. Bourne looks so mild-mannered, but in reality, he is a trained killer whose instincts at self-preservation are...finely honed, shall we say!

 

Ken said he remembers the books being excellent as well, and I think he might have some of them downstairs (I'll have to check), so it looks like I have more books to add to my list!

 

To continue on the movie theme, we're hearing amazing reviews of the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight." (My stepson wrote something to Ken about how he cannot begin to convey the epicness of this movie!) I hope we can get to the theater to see it, because we both love Batman, and we thought that the previous movie, "Batman Begins," was unbelievably good, in a very dark way. It's my favorite Batman movie, by far, and Christian Bale is wonderful as the pointy-eared one.

 

You know the old meme question, Batman or Superman? I'll take Batman every time, because he's an ordinary man with extraordinary toys, and he's so conflicted. He's got some major issues, and seems to struggle with them daily (and nightly). He's vulnerable, both physically and mentally. To me, he's the thinking man's (or woman's) superhero.

 

Which brings me to the next question. I can't remember where Ken heard this, at work or on the radio, but there was a discussion going on about whether or not Batman is a true superhero. If "superhero" is defined as someone with super powers, technically he isn't. But he uses his "toys" to fight crime in some awesome ways, so he's more than ordinary, isn't he? But he's capable of being killed in ordinary ways, and he really is just a man....

 

It's these kinds of burning questions that keep life interesting.

 

 

Tags: The Bourne Ultimatum, Jason Bourne, Matt Damon, The Dark Knight, Batman, Batman Begins, Christian Bale

Pecan Chicken and a stick

I tried a new recipe last night, and it turned out so well, I thought I would share it. I had thawed out some chicken, but wasn't quite sure which pathway I wanted to walk down with my chicken. Put some Italian dressing on it? Some Parmesan cheese? For some reason, I remembered seeing a recipe for Pecan Chicken, and I knew I had some pecans in the freezer, so I found this on AllRecipes. I changed it from serving four to serving two, so adjust accordingly. I'll also tell you what I did differently.

 

 

Pecan Chicken

 

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I flattened them to ½ inch with my meat mallet)

1 tablespoon real maple syrup (I probably used a couple...I didn't measure!)

½ cup chopped pecans

a couple of tablespoons of flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter (I used a couple--the coating really soaked it up)

a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil (I omitted this...butter tastes better!)

 

In a shallow bowl, combine pecans, flour, and salt. Brush chicken breasts all over with maple syrup, and coat completely in pecan mixture. In a large skillet, melt butter. Add chicken, and cook until browned on both sides and no longer pink. (I'd say this took 10 minutes, tops, and I covered them for a few of those minutes to get them cooked through.)

 

I flattened the chicken because I love it  that way--it makes it really tender. (And as I always mention, I love using a meat mallet! I get to use it again tonight for some Pork Tenderloin Diane.) This was really yummy. The maple syrup and pecans add just a touch of sweetness to it, but it's not overpowering. The coating had a little crunch to it. It was a tiny bit rich, and cooking it in butter added to that, so I couldn't eat all of mine, plus the sides--Ken can eat the rest for lunch tomorrow. I served it with green beans and some Parmesan rice. Ken liked it, and when I said I thought it's one I would make again, he agreed.

 

If you try it, let me know what you think.

 

What do you think of my stick?

 

You can stop laughing at any point.

 

Really.

 

Okay, Ken laughed, too, when I showed him my stick. I was walking back from getting the mail one day, and glanced down and saw this stick half-buried in the driveway. Something about the pattern on it where the bark had worn off just struck me. It looks so intriguing!

 

So I picked it out of the driveway, and I've been working on it for a couple of weeks: leaving it out in the sun and rain, and picking off the rest of the bark, so that you can see the pattern all over. It seems to be nicely bleached now, especially on the side shown here.

 

I don't know why I like my stick so much...but I'm saving it. I'm going to put it in the curio cabinet. I think it looks kind of neat, and I love the strange pattern. I don't know what kind of tree it's from, but if I had to guess, I would guess cottonwood. We have a bunch of them, and they drop branches like crazy.

 

I think my stick rocks, and I don't care if no one else likes it. I think it's unusual. Like I said yesterday, joy is where you find it!

 

 

Tags: Pecan Chicken

How much wood....

 

This morning, I was watching our resident groundhog, Groundy, out back. (I took this picture last year. I'm sorry it's not very bright or sharp, but I was taking it through the basement window.)

 

I know they're pests. I know they're destructive. Groundy has a burrow under the front deck walkway.

 

I also find them so dang cute! Those little ears, and that dark little nose, and when they go running, they're so fat they look hilarious!

 

As I was sitting here, Sheeba hopped up on his perch and was looking intently out the front window. I went over and looked out, too, and heard a little noise. Next thing I knew, Groundy came trotting across the front deck and onto the walkway. He really was trotting, too, making a thump thump thump on the boards, and I swear I thought he was going to start singing, "La de da de dah...." He looked so funny!

 

He stopped in a little patch of sun, and Sheeba and I watched him for a while. He didn't do anything, just looked around. (Surveying his domain, I guess.) He finally crept under the deck.

 

I wonder if we'll have groundhog babies this year? A couple of years ago, we had three, and named them Moe, Larry, and Curly. If I think an adult groundhog is cute, their babies are just adorable!

 

Most of you probably know that a groundhog is also called a woodchuck. However, this has nothing to do with wood, and is instead from the Algonquin Indian name for the critter, wuchak.

 

They are sometimes called land beavers, and I don't know why. But it reminds me of the "Saturday Night Live" skit, Landshark!

 

My favorite name for them, though, is whistlepig. Have you ever seen a groundhog standing straight up, on his hind legs, completely motionless? If they sense danger, they'll make a whistling sound to warn others in their colony. I have yet to hear a whistlepig whistle, but a gal can dream, can't she?

 

 

Tags: Groundhog, woodchuck, whistlepig

Is it live or is it Memorex?

 

Neither of us felt much like watching a DVD movie tonight, and we didn't eat until late, so we turned on Chiller TV when we saw that tonight's movie was "Graveyard Shift," which is VERY loosely based on the Stephen King short story by the same name. It is a seriously lame movie, and I wouldn't recommend it at all--and I'm a big fan of all kinds of horror movies! But this is really just...bad.

 

The focus is on rats. A mean, nasty foreman hires a group of guys to clean out the basement of the textile mill, which is infested with rats.

 

As we were watching the movie, I asked Ken, "Do you hear the rats?" We have surround sound, and it really sounded real. He said he was hearing it, too.

 

A little bit later, I said, "Man, can you hear that?! It sounds like they're right in the room!"

 

Ken looked over and saw Sheeba all agitated and messing around with an empty box, and he said, "I think Sheeba has a mouse!" Sure enough, Sheeba had caught a mouse in the basement, and he brought him upstairs and deposited him in the box. We were hearing this mouse as Sheeba messed around with him. What an awesome kitty and what a great little hunter!

 

We took the box outside and dumped Mousie out into the yard. Sheeba got much praise and some treats for being such a great cat.

 

So the next time you think about how great your surround sound is, it might be a little more realistic than you think!

Tags: Chiller TV, Graveyard Shift, surround sound