Posts from the Road

Things are going a little nutty here in squirrel land.  I'll have a post for everyone on Saturday if I'm back home.

Crash Pad Cooking - Gadzoodles!

Weekends have a good purpose, but sometimes it's eating too much.  Come Monday morning, there is that bathroom scale and a pot of coffee.

I'm not obsessive about it, weighing myself just if my pants feel tight.  But after I blew my knee out in a fall, I lost 20 some pounds and felt so much better after, I've worked to keep it off.

So when I feel like I've overindulged, I don't count calories, I don't do extra time at the gym.  I just cut back on carbs for a few days, more of a Paleo style diet with no processed/high sodium foods, including meats and cheeses (which even if low carb aren't all that great for you), no dairy, grains (except for chia seeds in smoothees) or bread.  Then I seriously up my low sugar fruits and veggies. For me, my downfall is carbs - waffles, pancakes and particularly cornbread, corn anything, which is a favorite.  So a couple of weeks ago, when I saw a 4 pound weight gain from time off with my Dad  I said NO to all carbs and bread going cold turkey (literally) with more Paleo style eating  for a whole week.  The result was the phone call that ensued, to a good gal friend of mine, retired Air Force, NRA instructor and squirrel in another squirrel division.  We all have those friends, that are more like sisters and you can tell ANYTHING to.

Me:  I tried to do the no bread/no processed food Paleo thing - it didn't go so well.

L.  - What happened?

Me:  I made it almost a week.

L: And?

Me:  I just ate an entire box of corn dogs. . . . .  With a beer chaser.

L.  (laughing)  I love you.

But cutting back on cheese, sugar processed food  and supersized portions IS a healthy way to cut back, but it's easier if you start by just replacing a few meals as you gradually adjust to healthier eating habits.

So for Monday - after  a reasonably healthy eating weekend with some whole grain bread (OK, and a package of SweetTarts). I started the work week with a coconut milk smoothie with fruit and some veggie protein powder,  I put together my lunch.  I love the stainless steel Lunchbots Box (from my favorite shopping place - Amazon).   It's a tad bigger than most Bento Boxes and I  like having an assortment of stuff to nibble on especially on those days I really don't have time for a formal sit down  "lunch".

 By using a measured container, I find I get a nice variety but I'm not stuffed and heading into a coma after lunch.  Herb Chicken, salad with candied pecans and blueberries, grapes, carrots and almond raisin mix. All I add is a splash of olive oil based salad dressing I keep in the fridge at work and a bottled water.  There's also extra apples in the fridge for an afternoon snack with my tea if I need one.

For dinner - something totally new.

ZOODLES.  That's right, noodles made out of zucchini  I bought the little julienne tool at Amazon and figured - worst case scenario I could eat the sauce.  I was just craving some pasta and thought it was worth a try.

Simply wash the zucchini's, cut off the ends and make a thin slice on the top and  bottom. so it stays in place on the cutting board and you have a level surface to julienne,  Then you simply  run the slicer over it to make long strands of zuchinni.

This was about 2 pretty good sized zucchinis, enough for two people.. This is what it looked light before cooking.  I did slightly peel the squash with the julienne tool so the noodles weren't too dark green.

Some onions were cooked up with garlic to add to some leftover meat sauce.

Cover the zoodles and nuke for two minutes when the sauce is heating.  (If you're doing a big batch you might want to  cook a bit longer). 

Top with sauce.  (Note:  Drain the zoodles after nuking - they had a bit more liquid than I expected after cooking so I had a bit of liquid on the plate.)  Still, they tasted surprisingly good - not a strong "veggie" taste at all, fairly neutral with a texture and bite quite similar to pasta. With the meat sauce, they totally took care of a "pasta" craving, without weighing me down. Whether you are doing "low carb", "low calorie", "gluten free" or are diabetic, I'd recommend giving these a try.  They'd not replace my beloved angelhair tossed with olive oil, fresh Parmesan and garlic, but they were good enough I'll enjoy making them again.

Friday Night Lab

There were two very bad accidents  in different locations on the route I drive home since midnight last night. Almost a dozen vehicles and 5 confirmed fiery deaths. including two children in construction zones.  It's a good night not to make the drive.  I let the housesitter know I'd not be up so soon.  Partner is on the road anyway, and Abby and I are safe, a night to be thankful for that.  So nothing deep here, just something to make you smile and appreciate those little things. - Brigid

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Abby travels back and forth from home to the little crash pad in the city where I work. It's a cozy little place with some of the furniture from the house I owned when I met my husband and little things that make me smile.

Abby's walker L. invites her in for play time after romping in the yard with Andy their rescue lab.

She has a dog walker/sitter at both homes, someone to let her in and out, and stay overnight with her if need be or have her stay with them.  She's pretty laid back and minds really well, including having to block her into a specific room  at the crash pad when the landlord sends someone to change the furnace filter, check the smoke detector or replace a bulb in the high ceiling fixtures.

Barkley would have bounded over the chair.  Even a baby gate was no match for him. Abby just stays behind it, knowing she can see me as I pull in.  Then she goes to sleep.

Or so I thought.

There were two days in a row she was blocked in the living room with her toys and water bowl as a small repair was being made in the kitchen. When I came home the first day she was in her usual position - on the couch in the blocked living room,  half asleep and looking slightly bored.

If Mom really loved me she'd have one of those aerial baby toys that goes over the couch with music and dangling bacon.

She does occasionally change positions.  Last night when I went to take her out one last time before bed she was on sprawled out on her back with one leg straight UP in the air towards the ceiling  like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.  Low light kept me from getting a photo but I cracked up.

On day two, I came home, but it was Friday, so she was reading the tabloids, looking less than happy about the most recent celebrity divorce.

Today was slightly different though as when I got home I talked to the Indy dog walker to set up next weeks schedule.

She said "Abby was so cute, meeting me by the front door".

 I said "huh? No, she was blocked in the living room for the maintenance guy so she couldn't greet him at the door and escape".

 She said " No, she must have jumped over the chair when you left for work."

AND jumped back and pretended to be asleep when I got home.

I'm on to you Abby.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I better go count my beers there's no telling what ELSE she was up to.  :-)

Made in America (and you are cleared to land) - Taproot Farms

I'm a fan of natural, organic oil based skin care.  In my younger days, I'd spend hundreds of dollars on high end cosmetics and skin care, which frankly didn't do much more than Ivory Soap and Sunscreen.  As I got older and needed a little more care for my dry, fair skin, I looked into natural products specifically those made by small, family run farms/ companies.  It helped my wallet, my skin looked great, and I was getting carded into my late 40's, even better.

I LOVE  my Indiana's own Frangipani skin care cleansers and moisturizers (see sidebar for a link) and my bath and makeup products from Bee Naturals of St. Louis  but I also found a great little company that specializes in organic essential oil, perfumes and soaps and other assorted bath and body products from a little sustainable farm in Chickaloon, ALASKA, run by a former Air Traffic Controller (who I probably talked to at one time), I had to try some of their products.  OK guys, before you tune out, remember some beautiful lady that loves you that might like that you took the time to find a specialty product for her.  :-)

In the 90's Air Traffic Control Rick Wilder had a dream of forming a community of people driven to restore the fading concept of the multi-generational, family owned and operated small business.  Twenty years later, Taproot farms has achieved that as true- life farmers prizing the land and being good stewards of the resources they have, using what is available locally to provide heat, water and power for their community.

• Taproot Farms

Pure product  made with the best, organic ingredients, simply handcrafted, created with the nose, eyes and hand of an artist not some factory.  These are products they would use themselves, and I'm certainly glad I tried them.

In addition to essential oils, they have a number of  100% pure argon oils that are phenomenal to help with hair and hails - just a drop or two will make both sleek and strong.  They also have scented ones. I put a drop or two of the lavender argon oil in my hair at night.  I sleep like a baby and in the morning my hair is SO soft.

The perfumes are worth the visit alone, an easy to use and portable roller with fragrances that are not just earthy and floral but those that mirror some of the more expensive perfumes, such as Enchanted (Poppy by Coach Pure Elegance).  Alluring Amber (Victoria's Secret Amber Blend) and one that smells just like the very expensive Pink Sugar. And there's one that smells just like Crème Brule.  I gave one to a gal friend of mine with small children.  She said "next time you give me that, let me line up the kids going to grandmas for the night".

 The best part?  $12 and they smell as expensive as the department store brands that are $60-$80 as well as last longer as it takes just the smallest amount for a long lasting but subtle fragrance  (they will also sell you three samples of your choice for $5)

They also have soaps.  I do love my goats milk soap but my husband really liked Taproots sandalwood soap for the shower and it lasted forever, maintaining the wonderful, masculine scent til the last bit.

If you have a sustainable farm or homestead yourself they also carry one of the few Kelp Meals for chickens, pigs goats, cows, horses and pets, full of essential trace minerals, free of all of the arsenic normally found in plant based kelp meals.

They ship everywhere, and even coming from Alaska, I have my products within about a week  of order without paying extra for uber-fast shipping.

So if you want some wonderfully scented natural bath and both products for yourself or as a gift for a family member, (which may include Kelp Meal for Arnold the Pig) check them out

This is N109SJ on the missed.

Canon Fodder - Yes - We DO Own the Road

 Seen last month as I took a shortcut to my dentist's office.

 The juvenile males honked at traffic while Mom and Dad got the little ones across to the pond.

 I said STOP.

.

How Now Browned Cow

Apparently I missed  "National French Fry Day" yesterday.  Today's choice was "National Nude Day" but after "National French Fry Day" NO ONE wants to be caught in the nude after eating the bag of Five Guys Fries.

So I'm just going to be a day late on the fries for lack of time for anything else on my "Monday".

Loaded Potato wedges with Sciracha dipping sauce.  A nice little side dish for your "browned cow"..

makes 4 side dish servings

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Sriracha (thai chili sauce, also known as Rooster Sauce)
2 large potatoes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
pinch cayenne
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup cheddar (I used a mix of white and smoked cheddar)
2-3 Tablespoons diced bacon
1 green onion (green portion only) chopped.


Sriracha Dipping Sauce

1 cup sour cream
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons sriracha, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Cut potatoes into wedges (extra thick steak fry sized). Whisk olive oil and Sriracha together in a small bowl. Pour over potatoes in a bowl and toss to coat. Add spices and toss again. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Roast in oven for 15 minutes. Stir and flip potatoes with a spatula (they will be sizzling) and roast another 10-20 minutes (varies based on size of potato but remove from oven when tender when poked with a fork and golden brown, watching closely the last couple of minutes to avoid burning).

While potatoes are cooking, whisk dipping sauce ingredients together in a small bowl,

Remove potatoes from oven, sprinkle with smoked cheddar, bacon, and green onion and serve with Sriracha dipping sauce.

A Thought on Gun Free Zones

It was a quiet morning as I walked into the little restaurant and bakery, where most mornings I stopped for a coffee and sometimes a muffin.  I ate lunch there as well, it being not far from where I worked.  I quietly asked for the manager and handed her my customer card.  She looked surprised, not understanding, as I had no purchase in my hand.  I simply said. "since as a concealed carry customer, I'm not welcome here, I will take my business elsewhere." and just as quietly, left.

She probably was surprised, as I think people have an image of who carries a weapon for self defense, and it's not a fair skinned redheaded grandmother. Sure, I'm welcome in an official capacity, but that is not the point. The point is protection, off duty, as the criminally deranged aren't going to heed their request.

I remember this Far Side cartoon where two middle aged women in a car, are slowing to look at a hitchiker, one with a hook for a hand, I think and one says to the other something to the effect of "where's your sense of adventure".

It's not always that easy.  Evil often wears the face of an angel.

Our local theater is now "gun free", which simply means that in addition to paying too much for popcorn, I'm a fish in a barrel for anyone that wants to walk in and harm me. The mall is also a "gun free zone".

So I avoid it like the black plague  "gun free zones" and hit locally owned places, smaller stores that appreciate my business, concealed or not. Malls are scary enough as it is, sale racks of ugly ties, teenagers with credit cards wearing baggy pants a Kodiak bear could fit into, tacos at the food court.
Go there without a means to protect myself.? No thank you.

Gun free. Think about it. Think about some famous gun free places.

Columbine High School.
New York City pizza shop.
Pearl Mississippi High School.
Luby's Cafeteria.
The Amish school in Pennsylvania.

We can now add the horror that was an outing for friends and families in Aurora, Colorado  and a peaceful church in South Carolina to the list.  And the list goes on and on, especially if you add in the mass murders in other  "gun free" countries.

Heller is a step in the right direction but we still have a long ways to go, and we need to continue to educate and inform. Guns aren't the evil here, people are the evil.  Certainly the media didn't fault Ryder truck regulations or ammonia nitrate restrictions, or a "cult of agriculture fertilizer" following Timothy McVeigh's horrific crime in Oklahoma City. No one debated the essential dangers of hardware and kitchen appliances after Jeffery Dahmer mutilated and consumed his victims or metal bedposts when Ted Bundy brutally raped and murdered dozens of defenseless women. Ted Bundy never used a gun; unfortunately, neither did any of his victims.

I believe it was Albert Einstein who said- "The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

Nobel Economist Friedrich Hayek termed it a "fatal conceit" and some politicians have had a bad case of it, believing they can change the world with their God- like legal attestation as to what THEY think our rights are. But the fatal conceit is not metaphoric, it's literal. People die because social-control laws do not stop criminals but simply prevent law abiding citizens from protecting themselves and those under their care. 

The crime records in cities that outlaw handguns to law abiding citizen speaks clearly. When I have been in Europe, where controls are strong, I  heard on the news of more than one break in urban areas involving a criminal and a weapon, including an illegal gun, the residents raped, robbed or beaten, no chance to defend themselves. The criminals have guns, that is a given, for laws do not change behavior in those that disregard all law, they only provide consequences.

So "gun control" only "controls" law abiding adults who don’t need to be controlled. Arguments for gun control build their basis on a lie. The National Coalition to Ban Handguns claims, "most murders are committed by previously law abiding citizens," and there are other articles asserting such falsehoods without any supporting references other than going back to their own earlier articles. University of Colorado criminologist Desmond Elliott summarized violent crime studies dating back to the 1800s: "the vast majority of persons involved in life-threatening violence have a long criminal record". Professor Elliott’s summary was written in he 1990s.

More recent recent criminological studies from the Hastings Law Journal (University of California at San Francisco): "Only 15% of Americans have criminal records. But more than 90 percent of murderers do. Murderers’ crime careers average six or more years’ length and including four major adult felonies, not counting their often extensive juvenile records".

In summary, guns or no guns, those that commit the more serious violent crimes are not the ordinary law abiding responsible adults. This is so invariably found by homicide studies that is is considered a "criminological axiom" that almost all that commit violent crimes are long term criminals or the criminally insane.

But people still wish that many public retail, worship or gathering places be gun free, saying "it's a better place without guns". How is a place better where the weak have no chance against predators? There are places like that, I've visited them throughout the world, places without guns for self defense for survival, where women and children huddle in the back bedrooms in terror, surviving only by submission to their degradation.

When only the peaceable people obey the gun laws, the law's protection is futilely limited. Compare Chicago and Indianapolis, both cities in which  I  work and live. Chicago has 3 times the population of Indianapolis. But, so in the year before concealed carry was finally allowed  it had 5 times the murder rate.  Both are Midwest cities, both have unemployment and gangs.  The difference , as I see it? In Indianapolis you can carry a concealed weapon to defend yourself and the bad guys know it.  Compare that to Chicago, where concealed carry was only recently allowed. By every testament of the anti gun crowd, Chicago should have been the safest city on the planet. Tell that to the 62 year old grandfather who was beaten to death by three teens that year while he was out collecting cans to help buy his wife a new dress to wear to their son's wedding. Tell that to the young female restaurant worker who was beaten with a claw hammer and left for dead.  Their only crime was not having any sort of legal weapon of defense.

So until the next step is taken, I will not shop in gun free malls or gun free stores. I may be one lone woman, but I'm a lone consumer with a fair amount of discretionary income.  Add us all up, and that is some buying power.

Businesses may not care for my views, but they DO care about my buying power. They may not care if they lose the business of one, but I am one of many. I won't take my money any place that has the audacity to demand unarmed helplessness. I won't spend my money for businesses that support, even if indirectly, those that would take those rights from us. Guns themselves in the malls aren't going to cause my demise, any more than Ryder trucks cause terrorism, water causes drowning and forks cause obesity. Guns in the malls, guns in a store, only make me a victim when I'm the one that doesn't have one. They're not "gun free" they are "good-guy gun free" zones.

Academically and professionally, I've studied the insanity of fate and the methodology of greed and evil. It has a plan and a preferred environment where its prey can not fight back. Embrace the facts and spread the word, take your business elsewhere. And tell them why.

Blasts From the Past - Blinding You With Science

This is a Micro crack in steel as seen through an electron microscope.I've vacationed at places that looked like this! (click to enlarge)

Of course the folks on NCIS wouldn't need an electron microscope. Gibbs would just squint and go "ahh yup - micro-crack", before Abby could even consider micro-cracks at the surface of metals detected and imaged by near-field microwave techniques from the crack-induced variations of the resonance frequency and of the resonant circuit quality factor. I mean really, you have to get this thing solved in an hour WITH commercials.

Fire up the welder Festus, we're off to Ferrous Canyon! You all be safe out there, I may be busy the next few days

Girl's Day Out - Woofs, Wheels, and a Crock

I headed back to work from vacation earlier than planned, but with the bat phone quiet, I was able to get out for "Girl's Day Out", if just a short outing in the morning.  Except it was not just we gals, as Partner in Grime was in town for the 4th and to catch a flight out of Indy on business while a friend house-sit the Range during all the local fireworks (illegal of course, like that stops anyone) and parties going on.

Bustling around the crash pad, I came out of the bathroom, hair in big curlers to give it volume, no makeup and wearing a too big t-shirt.

Partner was already dressed, in crisp khakis and a new dress shirt.  I said

"Gee - you look really good" to which he replied with a grin

"You will too - in a couple more minutes".

I couldn't argue with the man :-)

The streets were quiet after all the festivities but getting on to the freeway there was a huge light pole down.  You REALLY have to have talent to take out a light pole on the INSIDE of the curve.

That wasn't the only errant driver - someone took out a good portion of a backyard fence near College and 56th. I'm glad we stayed in last night to watch Phineous and Ferb's Star Wars special from last year.

There were almost hardly any cars, just a Broad Ripple SUV or two.

Broad Ripple was really quiet, only a couple of places serving breakfast.

La Petite Chou was our destination.

These people know how to make an omelette - with lots of cheese, bacon and roasted potatoes inside with salad in a tangy vinaigrette and thick sliced sourdough toast. The pomme frites cooked in duck fat were tempting instead of toast but I do have a pair of tight jeans to fit into.

Tam had the Crock of Onion soup - a meal in itself.

Best onion soup in Indianapolis. This location, on the canal in Broad Ripple has some of the friendliest staff as well.

Dogs were welcome on the patio.  If you work the eyes just right, Mom will sneak you a piece of food when Dad isn't looking.

We got caught up on where we'd all been this summer - firearm training, parents and the like, as well as current events.  Yes, climate change is responsible for everything now and I'm probably the last to know. ISIS was caused by climate change. Mass murder - climate change. Muffin top in tight jeans - climate change. Glad I'm finally straight on THAT!

Following that was engineering adventures of Partner and the trials and tribulations of trimming a pet's toenails which for Huck the cat I think involves, small clippers, a towel and this outfit

We decided to take the scenic route back to parking.

Fire Station 32.

 Do you have bread for us?

No Bread - It's Climate Change!

Just some local color.

As we headed back to the village from the canal, there were a lot more people out, walking biking, taking their pets for a stroll. It's a good way to keep in shape for both of you.

Then it was time to say goodbye to Tam and drop Abby Normal the Labrador off at PetSmart before Partner had a flight out for a business trip. There was one near the airport which was real handy and she likes Andrea her groomer there a lot, as she understands Abby is scared of both the nail trim and the dryer.

 The tail started going hypersonic as we approached the doors. We're going to see Andrea!

 Look at all the stuffed toys!

I will be so soft and pretty when you pick me up.  Hopefully right after I can find a dead critter to roll in.  I'm a Lab.  It's my job

While Abby gets cleaned up I ran some errands to the hardware store and a couple other place.

There were some hot wheels out and about.

One of my all time favorites - the classic Camaro. 1968? Anyone?

And the not so Hot Wheels.

Sure glad you were able to take up not just 2 but 4 parking sports. Keeps your beautiful side panels in their continued pristine condition no doubt

Oh look - the local firemen are eating at Firehouse Subs.

If you'e not tried Firehouse - they make a REALLY good sub sandwich. Too bad I was still full from brunch.

Finally a stop to pick up Abby who was VERY happy to go home to play.  Friends, both the furry kind and others, and good food.  A wonderful way to end a holiday weekend.