2332 Days since retiring July 1, 2005!

"The Art of Peace is a form of prayer that generates light and heat. Forget about your little self, detach yourself from objects, and you will radiate light and warmth. Light is wisdom; warmth is compassion."
from Art of Peace

Read on and fall sound asleep

My wife made a huge pot of her famous “Eleventy-seven Bean” soup. That is an exaggeration of course since the mixture probably also contained peas and legumes. Her soups are generally known for legendary qualities. Usually the flavor component is the dominate note in her symphony of nutrition. Little did I know that this particular soup on this particular occasion contained a bean or two of such magnificence that they must have been germinated in the North Wind’s “Cave of Winds”. Within mere moments of my first swallow the in-house bottom bugle began to play. Long and low were the notes. Once the bugler delivered such a stirring trill that my legs went out from under me. The emanations from her soup provided the sound track for “Gold Rush, “Wild Alaska”, “Hairy Bikers”, “Big Shrimpin” and “IRT Deadliest Roads”. I am mighty glad I recorded those TV shows so I can replay them on the morn to hear the dialogue. After more than 4 hours of tootling, pootling, farting, pretending I was speaker of the house of Congress, and etc I reckoned the supply of gas was depleted so Rascal and I adjourned to our recliner.

After about an hour of peace and quiet, crack sax awoke and began to entertain. I, in my groggy state, imagined that Bill Clinton had dropped in for a serenade. The unexpected disturbance bounced the cat off my lap and under my desk where he yet cowers. For about a half hour my body whistled and wheezed and poured forth such a gaseous effluence that the ears of every environmentist in the western hemisphere must have pricked up at the increasing danger to the earth’s ozone layer. I began to conceive the notion that a person could really die from their own butt aether. Six hours after the first bowl of “Eleventy-seven Bean” soup I am sitting here writing of the experience both as a warning and as a rememberance. I am certain that every piece of furniture and etc that I have ingested since I was weaned has now been blown out of my body and into some other space/time continuum. I feel as deflated as the Goodyear Blimp fleet. I am considering another bowl of “Eleventy-seven Bean” soup. Now that I know the danger HOW BAD CAN IT BE?

Thursday the newspaper reported that the sale of the Houston Astros had been approved and the team was going to be moved to the American League in 2013. When I was a child in Oregon and Washington in the late 40s and early 50s Dad would patiently sit in front of our console radio and try to tune in any baseball games. Finally over the crackling and hisses and pop we could imagine we were hearing the broadcast of a baseball game. I can only remember hearing the American League New York Yankees and the National League St Louis Cardinals. Consequently I was a fan of those two teams.

Except for one abomination I would still be a fan of the Yankees. When we moved to Texas the only team within radio range was the Cardinals of the National League. Houston had a minor league team of the Cardinals. But in the 50s and 60s I was more nearly a fan of baseball than any one team. Then in 1973 baseball went mad and instituted the use of a “designated hitter” in the American League. Since that date I have not watched or listened to any baseball game where a DH was used. I do not watch any American League games at any time nor any National League team when they are playing the cursed “interleague series” in an AL park. The DH is an abomination upon a perfect game. It was instituted by the player’s union so the team would have space for one more old, fat, slow-footed ex-fielder. I loved the Houston Astros through thick and thin. I shall root for them and revel in their success and writhe under their failures in 2012. Then I will wish them well and never again watch or listen to another Houston Astros game.I will switch my loyalty to the Cardinals and the Cubs.

FOR SHAME MLB FOR EMBRACING THE BITCH-GODDESS OF THE DH!

Below is a recipe for a green bean casserole sent me by one of my grannie friends. I do, really, try to control my food intake but I seldom have information about the nutrition and fat content of the food I eat. I found a tool on caloriecount.com that calculates all pertinent parameters from the ingredients used in a recipe. You must enter the weight of the ingredients. I tried but it will not use measurements such as a can of this or that. The tool is HERE.

11/16: Loving God, thank you for your promise that you will be our light. Help us to focus on you in the quiet of our hearts and to return always to rest in you. Amen. 11/17: Lord, give us wisdom and a loving heart so that at every moment of our life we will be ready for a meeting with you. Amen. 11/18: God of our joy, we thank you for the joy we find when we walk with you in trust and obedience. Amen. 11/19: Dear Lord, please help us to let go of bitterness so that it does not rob us of love in our lives. Amen. The prayers are from the Upper Room. For your own free E-Mail Devotional visit : http://upperroom.org/devotional/email/ and click on the link “Other Ways to Receive the Daily Devotional”

Glenda's Green Bean Casserole

2 cans of french cut green beans, drained
1 can each of cream of mushroom and celery soup or cream of chicken and celery soup.
1 small pkg of velveeta cheese, cubed
1 cup sour cream
1 cup evaporated milk
1 small jar pimentoes, drained
6 slices of bacon, fried crisp, crumbled
1 small onion, diced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
1 small can of sliced mushrooms, drained
1 tsp of garlic powder or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups cooked rice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a retanged shaped casserole baking dish. Line the bottom and sides with the rice.

In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Pour into rice lined baking dish. Crumble buttered flavored crackers (about 1 cup of crumbs). Melt 1-2 tablespoons of butter or margarine in small pan and add cracker crumbs. Sprinkle on top of casserole.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly and cracker crumbs are golden brown.

”The rule is perfect: in all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane.”
Mark Twain

SGGP