LAUGHTER, HONEY BEES SURVIVAL IN THE WINTER, PORK CHOPS AND SCALLOPED POTATOES, TRIVIA, RIDDLE, HEART + ART
Wednesday greetings!
Phew — endured the little cold snap we had around here and didn’t lose power. Thankful. Hearing on the radio that today’s temps are gonna rise to 41 degrees. Gonna feel like a heat wave – ha! At least to my outside feral cats.
Another great line-up of Wednesday fun today!
Beginning with:
QUICK QUESTION
What do I do when pulling up at a stoplight next to someone jammin’ on the radio? Well, first of all it brings me joy and I smile and laugh! And should I catch the person’s eye – in the middle of the jammin’ – I wave and give a thumbs up. (I’ve been known to turn up the radio and belt out a favorite song while driving.) Just can’t help it.
THANKS MOM AND DAD FUN STORY COLLECTION
Is a laugh-blast for certain!
LITTLE WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE
Yes, raising my hand. I sure remember “the old days” when the house phone was mounted on our kitchen wall. Pretty sure the long curly cord was about 10′ long so we could move around and multi-task while talking on the phone. And, yep, it did have a tendency to get all twisted or caught around itself. And had to be untangled so it could be restored to reach its 10′ length again. Ahhhh – those were the days!
However, I’m in the fan club of wireless. Can move around anywhere without a curly cord measuring how far it will reach.
My grandma used to say, “The best thing about the old days – is that they’re gone.” HA!
SUNDAY PORK CHOPS AND SCALLOPED POTATOES RECIPE
Is tried-and-true and super-simple-comfort-food greatness. As I wrote in the opening of the recipe — from my grandma Miller. She could and did make the finest meals. And knew what to pair a particular dish with. Gotta try the lime Jello with canned pears. I’d be shocked if you didn’t fall in love at first bite. It’s retro alright – but retro can and is delish!
TRACY BECKERMAN’S – TOP OF THE POPS COLUMN
Is, once again, a hearty chuckle read! I love this writer – she speaks my language!
FASCINATING STUFF
Leslie Elman’s Trivia Bits is always a great, tiny read to inspire and “educate” us about little things we possibly never realized — but now we do! And totally pieces of “bits” that absolutely give us material to be the most interesting person in the room.
Gratitude, All, for sliding by today and giving us a few minutes or more of your valuable time + sharing + engaging.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
See ya Friday
Same time. Same place.
POP QUIZ
- IN A HIVE, FEMALE BEES OTHER THAN THE QUEEN ARE CALLED WHAT?
a) Cows
b) Drones
c) Soldiers
d) Workers - WHAT DO WHOOPI GOLDBERG, HELEN HAYES, AUDREY HEPBURN AND RITA MORENO HAVE IN COMMON?
a) Appeared in the “Star Trek” franchise
b) Born in Puerto Rico
c) EGOT winners
d) Patented inventions - THE TOQUE BLANCHE IS A HAT WORN MOST OFTEN BY WHAT PROFESSIONALS?
a) Athletes
b) Chefs
c) Firefighters
d) Ranchers - TO DATE, WHO IS THE ONLY JOCKEY TO HAVE WON HE THOROUGHBRED RACING TRIPLE CROWN TWICE?
a) Eddie Arcaro
b) Steve Cauthen
c) Angel Cordero Jr.
QUICK QUESTION
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU PULL UP NEXT TO A PERSON AT A STOPLIGHT AND SEE THEM JAMMIN’ OUT TO MUSIC?
POP QUIZ ANSWERS
- In a hive, female bees other than the queen are called worker bees.
- Whoopi Goldberg, Helen Hayes, Audrey Hepburn and Rita Moreno are EGOT — Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony — winners.
- The toque blanche is a traditional chef’s hat.
- Eddie Arcaro won the Thoroughbred horseracing Triple ‘Crown on Whirlaway in 1941 and on Citation in 1948.
~ COPYRIGHT 2024 LESLIE ELMAN, TRIVIA BITS
DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM
THANKS
MOM AND DAD
- My mother and father taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE
“If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.” - My mother and father taught me RELIGION
“You better pray that will come out of the carpet.” - My mother and father taught me about TIME TRAVEL
“If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!” - My mother and father taught me LOGIC
“Because I said so, that’s why.” - My mother and father taught me MORE LOGIC
“If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you’re not going to the store with me.” - My mother and father taught me FORESIGHT
“Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.” - My mother and father taught me IRONY
“Keep crying, and I’ll give you something to cry about.” - My mother and father taught me about CONTORTIONISM
“Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!” - My mother and father taught me about STAMINA
“You’ll sit there until all that spinach is gone.” - My mother and father taught me about WEATHER
“This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.” - My mother and father taught me about HYPOCRISY
“If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times. Don’t exaggerate!” - My mother and father taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE
“We brought you into this world, and we can take you out.” - My mother and father taught me about ANTICIPATION
“Just wait until we get home.” - My mother and father taught me about RECEIVING
“You are going to get it when you get home!” - My mother and father taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE
“If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.” - My mother and father taught me ESP
“Put your sweater on; don’t you think I know when you are cold?” - My mother and father taught me HUMOR
“When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.” - My mother and father taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT
“If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.” - My mother taught me WISDOM
“When you get to be my age, you’ll understand.” - And my mother taught me about JUSTICE
“One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!”
~ hat tip to the unattributed, brilliant writer who compiled these little nuggets most of us from childhood heard
more than once!
From a saved email thread received years ago.
BE LIKE A POSTAGE STAMP. STICK TO A THING UNTIL YOU GET THERE.
~ JOSH BILLINGS ~
A LITTLE WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE
DO YOU REMEMBER UNTANGLING THE LONG PHONE CORD FROM THE “HOUSE PHONE” ON THE WALL? IT WAS LONG AND CURLY AND GOT A LITTLE TWISTED AROUND ITSELF FROM TIME TO TIME.
RIDDLE ME THIS
WHAT GOES THROUGH CITIES AND FIELDS, BUT NEVER MOVES?
SUNDAY PORK CHOPS WITH SCALLOPED POTATOES
Old partners – pork chops and potatoes – meet up for this dish that practically prepares itself. Serve with slow cooked green beans and – just for a little retro kick – lime Jello jelled with a can of pears made to Jello’s back of the box instructions.
This recipe is from my grandma Miller. She made it on many, many occasions and we all super looked forward to it.
Serves 6
HERE’S HOW WE MAKE IT
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/4 pound of bacon strips
- 6 large baker (russet) potatoes, peeled and sliced fairly thin
- 1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced thin
- 1 – 12 ounce can of canned milk (not condensed)
- 6 pork chops, thick sliced
- 3 cans cream of mushroom soup
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 TBSP dried Tarragon (optional)
PREHEAT OVEN TO 350*
LAYER SLICED POTATOES EVENLY IN THE BOTTOM OF A VEGETABLE SPRAYED (think Pam) LARGE BAKING PAN (think the size of a cake pan – 13″ x 9″ x 2″)
NEXT
EVENLY SPREAD ON TOP OF POTATOES THE THIN SLICED ONIONS
POUR
12 OUNCE CAN OF CANNED MILK OVER POTATOES AND ONIONS
NOW
IN A HEAVY SKILLET OVER MEDIUM HEAT, COOK BACON UNTIL CRISPY
WITH A SLOTTED SPOON, REMOVE BACON AND RESERVE FOR ANOTHER USE
FRY
PORK CHOPS IN THE BACON OVER MEDIUM-HIGH HEAT FOR ABOUT 3 MINUTES/EACH SIDE
PLACE
PORK CHOPS ON TOP OF POTATO/ONIONS
SALT AND FRESH CRACKED PEPPER OVER CHOPS
NEXT
DUMP THE 3 CANS OF MUSHROOM SOUP OVER ALL AND SPREAD IT OUT WITH A SPATULA
HIT THE TOP OF THE SOUP WITH SOME MORE FRESH CRACKED PEPPER + TARRAGON
COVER TIGHTLY WITH ALUMINUM FOIL AND BAKE FOR 1 1/2 – 2 HOURS — BAKING TIME DEPENDS ON THE THICKNESS OF YOUR CHOPS AND POTATOES – GOOD WAY TO TEST IS TO UNCOVER AND PUT A FORK IN THE POTATOES TO TEST DONENESS.
REMOVE FROM OVEN AND LET REST ON COUNTER TOP – UNCOVERED – FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES.
PLACE A PORK CHOP ON INDIVIDUAL DINNER PLATES AND SCOOP SCALLOPED POTATOES RIGHT BESIDE THE CHOP.
SERVE WITH SLOW COOKED GREEN BEANS AND THE LIME/PEAR JELLO.
ENJOY!
((Leftovers heat up great ))
~ Hippie Cowboy recipe box
RIDDLE ANSWER
A ROAD
LOST IN SUBURBIA
TOP OF THE POPS
BY TRACY BECKERMAN
One of the treats my husband and I love is having popcorn when we watch a movie at home. But after reading some negative reviews about microwave popcorn, I thought hot air-popcorn would be a better alternative. Is it as yummy as microwave popcorn? Honestly, no. But I thought it would be healthier and tasty in a Styrofoam-packing-material kind of way.
Although there were plenty of hot air popcorn poppers to choose from on the internet, I decided to pick one up while I was out running my other errands so we would have it for our movie night that weekend, or at the very least, be able to pop some packing materials for some late Christmas gifts I still had to mail out.
Unfortunately, some other people must have read the same articles I did because the first two stores I went to were completely sold out of hot air popcorn poppers. The third store had a fancy version for several hundred dollars, which I assumed, must have popped gold bullions along with the popcorn. The fourth store had a couple of poppers left in one brand. There was one problem: It was, without a doubt, most definitely, the ugliest hot air popcorn popper on the face of the planet. Maybe in the whole hot-air popcorn-popping universe.
It was red-and-white-striped plastic and it looked like a box of popcorn you’d get at a circus. However, since there were no elephants dancing in my house, clowns getting out of cars in my garage, or people in tights swinging from my chandeliers, I just didn’t see the need to have a popcorn popper that was trying to recreate a circus atmosphere.
Had it been just a little bit more over the top, it might have been fun and kitschy and retro. But since it was trying so hard to look like a real box of circus popcorn, it was neither fun nor kitschy. It was just really kind of tacky. However, there were no other options and I was out of time, so I bought it. I figured we could all have a good laugh about it whenever we made popcorn, and if we had company, it was compact enough that I could hide it under the sink so no one would know we were desperate enough to buy such an ugly appliance.
Of course, I was less concerned with what our company might think than what my husband would say. He is not a big fan of retro and definitely less of a fan of ugly appliances. I was pretty sure he would veto the popcorn popper and insist that I bring it back to whichever clown sold it to me.
I managed to keep the popper hidden from him until the weekend, and then when movie night rolled around, I announced that I had gotten a hot air popcorn popper and would make some for us.
I plunked the machine on the counter and fired it up. I waited for my husband to notice the circus elephant in the room, but he seemed oblivious. Finally, I brought the popcorn over to him. As he grabbed a couple of handfuls and chowed down, I said, “You didn’t say anything about the popcorn popper. What do you think?”
He looked over at the red-and-white-striped appliance and shrugged.
“It’s OK,” he said. “But the popcorn tastes like styrofoam.”
~ Tracy Beckerman is the author of the Amazon Bestseller, “Barking at the Moon: A Story of Life, Love, and Kibble.
COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM
Fascinating Stuff
FASCINATING STUFF
- Dorothy Levitt once was known as the “fastest girl on Earth” and “premier woman motorist and botorist of the world.” In 1903, she set a world water speed record and won the first Gaston-Menier Challenge motorboat race in Trouville, France. Then she pursued auto racing, setting speed, endurance and performance records through the 1900s. She flew planes, wrote a book of driving advice for women and taught Britain’s Queen Alexandra and her three daughters to drive.
- Honeybees stay warm in winter by huddling in hives, consuming honey they’ve stored and vibrating their wings to create heat. Layers and layers of bees pack together to form what’s called a winter cluster, with the queen bee — the most important member of the hive community — at its center. The cluster keeps the queen protected at a comfortable 90 degrees or so through the winter so she can lay eggs to repopulate the hive in the spring.
- Contrary to popular belief, John F. Kennedy did not go hatless to his presidential inauguration in 1961. He arrived wearing a black cutaway morning coat, a gray vest, striped trousers and a silk top hat. Outgoing president Dwight D. Eisenhower wore a top hat as well, after catching grief for wearing a Homburg hat to his own inauguration in 1957. Lyndon Baines Johnson wore a gray fedora when he was inaugurated in 1957. Richard Nixon was the last president to wear a top hat to his inauguration.
- The first men’s “briefs” were sold at Marshall Field & Company department store in Chicago in January 1935. Inspired by French men’s bathing suits, the supportive undergarments made by the Cooper Underwear Company of Kenosha, Wisconsin, sold out immediately and became even more popular when a distinctive Y-front design was introduced. Because the briefs mimicked the fit of athletic supporters, they became known as jockey shorts. Babe Ruth was among the first group of celebrities chosen to endorse them.
- By the time President Franklin Pierce and Vice President William Rufus King were elected in November 1852, King had contracted tuberculosis. He traveled to Cuba to convalesce in the warm climate, but his condition continued to decline. When it was clear that he wouldn’t be able to attend his March 1853 inauguration in Washington, D.C., King was permitted to take his oath of office in Cuba. He returned to his home in Alabama on April 17 and died the next day, making him the vice president with the shortest tenure in U.S. history and the only one to be sworn in outside the country.
~ COPYRIGH 2024 LESLIE ELMAN, TRIVIA BITS
DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM
Thanks Mom and Dad lol
Right? Super LOL
Thanks, Stacy!
Enjoy your day – appreciate ya!
Not only do I remember wall phones with long cords, but I remember party lines. In fact we had one when we first moved here from Dallas. Smart phones definitely are better!
Superb artwork!
Hi Carol –
OMG, your comment regarding the old party lines prompted me to find a couple stories that my grandma wrote in her family book to us, titled, My Life.
It’ll be a 2 part share beginning Friday and then on Monday. Stay tuned. It’s super cool.
Thanks for reading + sharing + engaging.
I (we) sure appreciate ya!
Started thawing out around here today!
Catch ya Friday!
Can’t wait!
Two Points in Daymaker today:
1) WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU PULL UP NEXT TO A PERSON AT A STOPLIGHT AND SEE THEM JAMMIN’ OUT TO MUSIC? I close the window as quickly as possible and turn up the volume on my own stuff.
2) Daymaker’s January 16, 2024 recipe: “King Ranch Chicken Casserole” was delicious and, yes, I added the suggestion of a portion of finely chopped jalapeno peppers.
Easy to make. I froze the leftovers in sandwich bags to place in taco/burritos shells for 3-4 more quick meals.
Hi Marty –
King Ranch Chicken is soooooo good! Delighted that you made and liked.
YUM