Sweet and Sour FN Pork!

I'd have taken a picture of this recipe to show you what it looks like, but it didn't last long enough...

D’s Sweet and Sour FN Pork


1 lb Pork shoulder, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 Bell Pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces (you pick the color)
1 Onion, yes, cut it into 1 inch pieces
2 Carrots sliced diagonallly
2 Celery stalks sliced diagonally
1 can Pineapple chunks (20 oz I think)
¼ cup Rice Vinegar
¼ cup Water
1 tsp Salt
¼ cup Light Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Sriracha hot sauce
2 tbsp Fish Sauce
1 tbsp Minced Gahlic
1 tbsp Minced Ginger (or Mary Ann if you got her)
3 tbsp Corn Starch


In a pot on medium heat, add the pork, bell pepper, onion, carrot, and celery. Drain the juice from the pineapple and put the pineapple in the frig for later.
In a bowl, add the juice from the can of pineapple, vinegar, water, salt, brown sugar, Sriracha, fish sauce, gahlic, ginger, and corn starch. Whisk well.
Add sauce mixture to the pot with the pork and veggies.
Mix well, and turn the heat down to between warm and low.
Cover and let cook, stirring occasionally, for a couple of hours until the meat is tender.
Add the pineapple and continue cooking for at least another half hour. If it’s too juicy, mix another tbsp to a couple tbsp of water, add a little bit at a time to the pot and stir until it’s boiling and thickens to your desire.Serve it over white rice. Or ummm, serve it over brown rice. Heck, serve it over pasta if you want. I really don’t care.

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Update on the greenhouse renovation... Before:

After Cleaning:

After cleaning and putting shtuff back in:

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Quote for the day:

"Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say and not giving a damn. " -- Gore Vidal

It seems I'm in Poetic Mode

Although I wrote this more than 12 months ago, it still rings true. Perhaps others can find some solace in its essence.


REDEMPTION
12-4-2007


The reality of growing old,
Is one that haunts our thoughts.
We change our age,
Ignore our ailments,
Sit back,
And watch,
As others pass on to grace.
Funerals,
Don’t get so hard to attend.
Distance forms,
Between ourselves,
And the ones we love.
We can blame it on our work,
Or our absentmindedness,
Or some addiction,
And continue the walk of our choosing.
Soon you find yourself,
In that place of dread.
Loneliness abounds,
Fear strikes us,
Reality lands upon our head.
How can I go back?
The answer is simplicity itself.
Me.
I had the mind to follow this path.
I have the mind to turn around,
To follow it back.
It may get ugly on the way,
But Redemption,
Is not for the light of heart.
My mind won’t be haunted for long.


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Quote for the Day:

"I'm thirty years old, but I read at the thirty-four-year-old level." -- Dana Carvey

Practical Joke Time, FN Style

Now is the PERFECT time for a practical joke of this type...
Go to the store and buy yourself one of those little envelopes of Corn seeds.
Go ahead...
Go buy some. I'll wait.
(whistle whistle)
Ok.
Do you have the seeds? Good!
Now, go for a walk, and be sure to take your little packet of seeds and a screw driver.
As you stroll about your neighborhood, look for those lawns that are neglected or not cut very often.
When you find one, stab said lawn with your screwdriver about an inch deep, insert a corn kernel into the hole, then step on it. If you're a ninja, you can do this in one fluid motion and no one will be the wiser. If you're not a ninja, drop a can or a bottle of water and act like you're picking it up or something.
If your neighbor is REALLY annoying, do this along the entire front of his/her lawn, depositing said kernels at a rate of 5 or so per day (about a foot apart) as you go for your leisurely stroll.
In about 60 days, the entire lawn (and house behind it) will be blocked by a nice row of corn stalks about 7 feet tall.
If you keep track of where you have deposited the kernels, you can watch and chuckle as you take your walks, and feed a family all at the same time.
Have fun with this! You could even use differing seeds. Any plant that is tall and hard to miss would be great. Sunflowers spring to mind...
Anyways, spread the laughter, and feel free to do this at my house. I LOVE corn.

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Quote for the day:

"Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh. " -- W. H. Auden

I know I live in Cowtown USA but C'MON!

Joni and I found this on our long walk today!

A sign for our times...




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Quote for the Day:

"To my embarrassment I was born in bed with a lady." -- Wilson Mizner

The Moment May Be Fleeting

I saw her in the bookstore today.
It was if I had stepped back,
A score of years or more.
Those same big blues,
Examining me,
Through my walls,
To the center of my still heart.
I found myself looking,
At a book of Blacksmithing,
How befuddled was my mind.
The urge to call her,
Struck me like a wrecking ball.
Not drinking and smoking,
Are easy in contrast,
To the stark reality,
That I could very well destroy,
What she may already have,
Her Happiness,
If I choose to please myself,
In a moment of weakness,
To upset her life so.
I take comfort in,
Her thoughts of me every day,
I hope the smile that parts her lips,
Lingers there during those moments.
If one day,
When again I've proven to myself my worth,
We should cross our paths,
The moment may be fleeting,
But the memories and Love,
Will last a lifetime.



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Quote for the day:

"Wrestling with memories is more exhausting than it really should be." --- D-Bob the Wise

Do Something Positive

Sometimes I get depressed.
So!
Everyone gets depressed.
I think.
Well, anyways, when I get depressed, I just try to take my mind off of things by doing something positive.
Not necessarily something positive for myself, but something that helps me to feel better about myself or my situation.
It may be something as simple as giving a friend or family member a hug, helping someone to laugh when they're down, cleaning up a room or the yard, well....you get the idea.
I do something to keep me going. At times this can be the most difficult thing to accomplish!
Like, what if no one's around to hug, or everything is clean, or it's raining outside?
What to do?
Since I don't drink or smoke anymore, I can't do those things.
oooh...I know! FOOD!
Wait. If I eat whatever makes me feel comfy, I'll blow up like a sumo wrestler on steroids and then I'll be more depressed cause I'd have to wear one of those sumo underwear thingy's.
(YIKES what a visual!)
But, I CAN have a comfort DRINK! WOOP WOOP!
Yes, I can have tea.
Tea reminds me of several things actually. Things that remind me of good times when I was a teenager and with my friends making sweet tea as we played games. It reminds me of when I was young and used to drink the "spiced tea" we had in our cupboard. (I'll have to find that recipe. I believe it involves instant tea, tang, cinnamon, and sugar...)
Tea reminds me of the Boston Tea Party.
Ok. Not so much that. I mean, what a waste of good tea.
I'm sure the mackerels loved it though.
Speaking of mackerels, I made some HUSHPuppies last night that were superiorally sexcellent.
Yea, those were effin fattening. SO WHAT. I ain't depressed right now, and they went well with my left overs.

Tangent.

Going back to school has so far been an interesting experience.
It was a HUGE reminder that my long arse legs make it sextremely difficult to become comfortable in those tiny itty bitty effin desks. I think they make the backs of those things out of titanium alloy just so they'll make my back become dented.
However, The accounting class is interesting, and I'm sure I'll get an A in it. The professor almost makes it impossible to fail. He gives a 10% extra credit possibility from all the points possible, which, if you have any smarts whatsoever, makes you raise your grade by at the minimum one letter. If you're stupid and you don't do the extra credit, I have no sympathy for you.
*whispers* Sometimes, I see stupid people.

End Tangent.

So, the moral of todays FN blog entry is this:
When you're feeling down, Give someone a hug. Share your energy and you'd be suprised just how much energy you get back in return. Someone told me if you give of yourself freely, you'll get back 30, 60, or 100 times what you've given. Of course, that's not why you give, it's just your reward for bein FN cool. Go do something positive. It'll make me feel better.

and check this out...I WANT one of these: Clickity Click Clickaroo Right Here

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Quotes for the day: (yea there's quite a few today)

"Throw out an alarming alarm clock. If the ring is loud and strident, you're waking up to instant stress. You shouldn't be bullied out of bed, just reminded that it's time to start your day." -- Sharon Gold


"It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him." -- Abraham Lincoln


"Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look there." -- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus


"Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. " -- Henry David Thoreau

The Effin Tree

So....
Umm....
The effin tree is finally all cut back!
Only took me 4 months.
Ok, wait. I took a month and a half off cause it was too cold and my digits don't work in the cold.
Before yesterday, here's what it looked like after most of the leaves had finally fallen off of it.

Cut most of it off and took a break...and took a pic. lol

There was a LOT of wood on that effin tree!

And the final product after trimming all the nubs off like we wanted them.

DANG that was a big project.

But, look at all the wood I have for staves, canes, and walking sticks!

WOOP WOOP!

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Quote for the Day:

"Don't worry if you're a kleptomaniac, you can always take something for it. " -- Unknown