Perfect for Dinner or Breakfast

This is a recipe that evolved from something my daughter-in-law made the last time I was at their home in TX.


Cheesy-Corny Waffles

2 cups of Bisquick
2 eggs beaten
8 oz. cheddar cheese (grated)
1 microwave bag of white shoepeg corn
1 tablespoon chopped jalapenos (or more to taste)
Sweet milk or buttermilk (which ever you have on hand)

Cook corn in microwave per instructions on bag. Mix all ingredients in a big bowl. Add milk and mix until batter is a slightly thick consistency.

Heat waffle iron and cook until crispy.

This recipe makes about 6 waffles. I don't put any butter or syrup on these savory waffles. Just eat them hot from the griddle. Don't worry, the tablespoon of chopped peppers called for doesn't make the waffles hot, but rather tangy and savory.

Or cover in plastic wrap and store overnight in the refrigerator. They make a fast and easy breakfast on the go. Heat in a toaster oven until they sizzle. Wrap in a paper towel and dash out the door. Eat on the way to work, washing it down with a Diet Coke. Yummy.

**Disclaimer** If you try this recipe and you think you need more of one ingredient and less of another, feel free to add and subtract at will. I really don't have a recipe for this, I just dump and judge as I go. I always use the whole bag of corn. The rest is up for grabs.....sorry to those of you who only deal in absolutes : )

Randomness.....

Sometimes I am so bored at work....

that I amuse myself my doing this:

Yes, I took pictures of the dust on my keyboard.

Or I take yet another picture of my cup of highlighters and markers.

Sometimes I daydream about everything I wish I was doing instead.

(I was not cut of cloth made of equations and data entry)

And feel that my real life is on hold.

I tend to eat too much fast food.

And yes, the lunch hour is my happy hour.

Sometimes, I use my lunch to take pictures of Alabama's flowers in their natural habitat.

Banks of colorful flowers can be seen daily not far from my office....

at Chick-fil-a.

They not only cook good chicken, they grow some nice flowers along the drive-thru line.

But look, even amongst the most carefully tended flowers a weed grows.

There is a moral to this story.

But I haven't found it yet.

Help me out. How would you end this most randomest of random posts?

Tea Party

The bluebird of happiness fluttered to a stop outside my window this morning to hum a sweet song reminding me that today I'm invited to a tea party at Muse Swings.

I must rush to get ready. First my bath...


Eeeek! No photos yet, please! Let me slip into my party frock. Which shall I wear?

How about this one?
I'm bringing some decorations.

I hope it is okay, I invited two of my closest mates. They've been dieing to meet you.

Faerie cakes anyone? I'll be gobsmacked, but don't they look scrumptious.

Ready for a cuppa? Help yourself.

Fancy a bit of a sing-a-long? Tea for Two, anyone?

All photos courtesy of Flickr

It's been a gala event! Thanks for inviting me Muse.

It's been a lovely ride!

Air Update

Yahoo, the air man has come and gone and icy air is coursing through my house even as I type! The condenser on the fan had died. (think I have that right) The monetary damage wasn't too bad, so I'm relieved about that. I love the air man!!!

I've been using my time wisely by reconciling my check book....it has been 4 months since I did it properly. UGH! I'm almost finished though. I decided to take the rest of the day off and try to keep the momentum up by doing other chores I've been putting off too. Wish me luck. I must back away from the computer. It has a huge gravitational pull on me. (I must work..I must work...I must work....no browsing, surfing, or blogging allowed...)

So, I will leave you with a funny video I saw yesterday. This is in keeping with all the embarrassing music...In keeping how you ask? If you saw me doing these dances you would be embarrassed for me!

Not Too Happy Tonight

Apparently my air conditioner quit working sometime this afternoon. I awoke from a nap to find the fan blowing, but no cool air circulating. The unit outside wasn't doing anything. So I turned it off and turned on the ceiling fans.

It is 10:47 pm here. 81 degrees inside the house with all the windows closed. Outside it is 81 degrees, but weather.com says it feels like 86 degrees because the humidity is 75%. I opened the door to check the temp and closed it right away. It is actually cooler in here with the ceiling fans running than it is out there because it is so sticky.

Please, oh please, let the air conditioning man be able to come here tomorrow!

Time For A Short Geography Break

Vatican City, Monaco, Nauru, Tuvalu, San Marino and Liechtenstein are in this order the six smallest countries in the world.

Vatican City, a sovereign city-state surrounded by Rome, is about .02 square miles in size and has a population of about 800 people. It is governed by an non-hereditary elected monarchy - the Bishop of Rome otherwise known as the Pope. The Vatican has its own police force that is responsible for public order, traffic control, criminal investigation and border control.

Photos courtesy of Google Images

Monaco is .07 square miles is size and lies along the French Riviera on the Mediterranean sea. For its diminutive size, it has an astonishing population of 32,000 people. The Grimaldi family has ruled Monaco since 1297.

Photos courtesy of Google Images

Nauru is a tiny Pacific island of 13,000 residents who live on 8.5 square miles. The exact origins of the Nauruans are unclear, since their language does not resemble any other in the Pacific. Phosphate mining has virtually destroyed the tiny nation's ecology, turning its tropical vegetation into a barren, rocky wasteland.

Photo courtesy of Lonely Planet

Tuvalu is composed of 9 coral atolls which stretch out for 360 miles in Polynesia. These islands are home to 12,000 inhabitants. Its people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by those abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors)

Photo courtesy of Google Images

San Marino, located on Mt. Titano in central Italy is home to 29,000 residents. This country claims to be the oldest country in Europe having been established in 301 AD. San Marino's constitution, dating back to 1600, is the world's oldest written constitution still in effect. More than 50% of the per capita income of the country comes from tourism.

Google Images

Liechtenstein, home to 34,000 people, is located on the Rhine River between Switzerland and Austria in the alps. Its land mass covers 62 square miles. While it is the smallest German speaking country in the world, it is known for its winter sports and as a tax haven. Liechtenstein is one of the few countries with fewer citizens than registered companies. Its government is a constitutional monarchy ruled by the reigning prince of the Princely House of Liechtenstein. The Prince of Liechtenstein is one of the few monarchs in the world to live in a castle. Parts of this building date from the 12th century although it was rebuilt at the beginning of the 16th century.

The Princely House

Klezmer Music

I forgot to say last night that I adore Klezmer music.

This photo has nothing to do with the subject, but aren't they cute?

Klezmer, translated from Hebrew means "klei zemer" (musical instruments). Wikipedia says "Klezmer is easily identifiable by its characteristic expressive melodies, reminiscent of the human voice, complete with laughing and weeping." Ari Davidow describes Klezmer music by saying it "refers to the conglomeration of Greek and Central/Eastern European music played at Jewish celebrations. A pure klezmer band has no vocalist--it just turns up the volume and swings the music faster. Unlike rock, or African-influenced music, klez is made for dancing while holding hands, or dancing with a partner. It doesn't bounce, it flows. It swings, it cries. Traditionally, there wouldn't even be a drummer (and, in fact, the difference between a modern "Bar Mitzvah band" and a good band of klezmorim often relies on just that distinction. Bar Mitzvah bands have drummers. Klezmorim create a motion and feel that doesn't fit easily into 4/4, and certainly aren't comfortable with "a one and uh two". It's no accident that when Jewish musicians abandoned the "old world" music and moved into the American idiom, many of them (most notably Benny Goodman) moved into jazz."

Try listening to this one from the Budapest Klezmer Band. Its fantastic.

Or this one featuring Itzhak Perlman.

What about the North Strand Klezmer Band?

This music form makes me happy, probably one of the reasons I am crazy about Fiddler On The Roof. What do you think?

Most Embarrassing Music

Willow from Life at Willow Manor challenged me to name 5 songs that I am embarrassed to admit that I like. The problem is that I'm not really ashamed to own up to my attraction to these tunes. I've never marched to the same drummer as most of my peers when it comes to my taste in music. So I guess I'm used to the shame. Anyway, let's play!

The rules:
1. Post the link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 5 songs you are embarrassed to admit to others that you like and tell why.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post.

Click on songs for a listen on YouTube.

Poke Salad Annie by Tony Joe White always inspires me to sing along. "Gators got your granny" is a lyric that has no equal.

Starlight Express by Andrew Lord Webber-weird but wonderful. It is the story of a toy train come to life. The actors perform the play on roller skates. I admit it, I love the music.

I Got You Babe by Sonny and Cher is classic. How could I not love this one? It may be sappy, but that's okay. Love is forever baby...at least until Cher gets tired of Sonny's overbearing control over her every move.

Grandma's Feather Bed by John Denver is good ole toe-tapping fun. Why, there's forty-leven reasons to love this song.

If I Were A Rich Man from Fiddler on the Roof. I unabashedly admit that I love every line, every note, every cluck and chuckle in this song. Make fun of me all you want but I will never, never turn my back on my love for this tune.

Mark Chagall, The Violinist 1911

I tag Museswings, Nanatrish, DeeDee, Pat and Julie King. Now its your turn to humiliate yourselves and be sure to share the love when you finish!

Do Clothes Really Make The Woman?

I confess, I can't stop buying children's books, even though I no longer have any small children. But then, I'm not buying them for the kids...they're for me. These two are 50 years apart in age, but the theme of each is the same....the story of clothes.

The Story Book of Clothes 1933: The illustrations in this volume are beautiful, colorful and illustrate countries and customs as well as the clothes of the regions.

And this charmer from 1971 goes into detail about all aspects of costume from head to toe, underwear to outerwear.

It is the prospect of finding prizes like these that keep me shuffling through the shelves in thrift and antique stores.

In a similiar vein, I will happily be watching another episode of Project Runway tonight at 8 pm central time. I am completely taken with this show. The thing that really fascinates me about it is the thought of being given a challenge, limited time to plan and shop for materials and still being able to produce fabulous garments. How do they do it? I've taken a 3-dimensional art class. Believe me when I say....it is not easy to be creative on demand, to make something gorgeous out of electrical wire or rubber gloves or garbage or solo cups!

I mean if you were taken to a grocery store, given some money and 20 minutes to buy everything you would need to make a garment, could you do it?

Check this dress out...it is made entirely of solo cups!

This is the winning garment from this particular challenge. It is made using vacuum cleaner bags which are dyed with RIT dye and Clorax. The bodice is coffee filters. The waistband is decorated with thumb tacks.

In last week's challenge the contestants had to make cocktail dresses from whatever their models brought back from a trip to the fabric store. No time to plan ahead or give tips to the models before they were wisked off to shop.

This is the winning dress.

I think people are becoming interested in sewing again partly due to shows like these. Like all reality shows, it is full of drama, but the creative challenges are what keep me coming back.