What’s Eating Aunt Debbie?

Joe Biden is too old? Give me a break. We have a Vice President who can take over if anything should happen to him. That’s why we have a Vice President. Why is Biden too old and Donald Trump is not? There’s only 3 years difference! 

Some say we don’t have a gun problem. I call bullshit. No one wants to take away your damn guns, so give it a rest. I’m all for the right to own a gun to protect your home, family, and possessions. I get it. There’s nothing wrong with that. Everyone in this country has the right to own a firearm BUT not everyone is responsible enough to own one. Lock your guns up. Keep them away from your children. Don’t allow anyone to have access to your guns. Be responsible. Don’t solve your problems with violence! We need to do something about the mass shootings we have nearly every day in this country. Do you know how many mass shootings there have been this month in the US? Do you know how many shootings there have been since January 1st? Take a look here! 

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick to death of this Trump bullshit. Lock him up for God’s sake and throw away the key! If you don’t want to do the time then don’t do the crime! And yes, he DID do the crime(s)…we all know it. Why should he get away with it? You might be on the warpath now about Hunter Biden, blah blah blah. Well, if he broke the law then he should be held accountable, too. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW! Trump seems to think he can do anything he wants regardless of the Constitution, regardless of the LAW. Why the hell would you want him as President AGAIN?? Mark my words, if he’s elected again, we will never get rid of him. He wants to be a dictator! He will turn this country inside out and our lives as we know it, will never be the same.

Do you use Walmart’s curbside service? I do, because I’m disabled and it’s easier for me to have someone else do the shopping. The hard part is unloading it when I get home. My biggest complaint is that some of the shoppers don’t know how to shop. For example, last week I ordered a head of iceberg lettuce. What I got was a flimsy, airy head of lettuce that was so void of substance that I was lucky to get 2 single-serve salads out of it. One time I got a bell pepper with rotten spots all over it. Another time, when I went to unload my groceries, I found the bread crammed into the trunk organizer with a huge bag of canned goods. Grrr…. I just wish they’d take more care when shopping and loading. I know it’s just a job to them and not a career, but it’s important to many of us who can’t go inside the store. I need this service!

I was working on a jigsaw puzzle last week, and I was shocked to find that the outside pieces weren’t very distinguishable from the others. I mean, some I could tell were outside pieces without a doubt but there were too many that had flat edges that weren’t outside pieces! I love a hard puzzle but geez, I like to be able to tell the difference between the inside pieces and the outside pieces! Oh, and then when I finally got the outside put together, there were several pieces that didn’t interlock because they had flat sides so the border wouldn’t stay together! 

I finally got to meet my youngest grandbaby! He doesn’t travel well, not even the 15 miles to come visit us, so we stopped by to see him. I hadn’t done this before because my son’s house has steps, front and back. I really can’t do steps, but it was too hot to stay outside so I put my big girl panties on and hoisted my fat ass up the steps. They aren’t little steps either. They are deeeeep! If there hadn’t been something to hang onto, I’d have never attempted it. I suffered afterward for it, that’s for sure! Anyway, Elias was in a happy mood so I got him to smile. His big brother, Hudson, who turns 5 on September 1st, is very proud of his baby brother! He was also proud to have a broken arm – yep, not even 5 yet and he broke his arm doing flips or some shit in the house!! But it wasn’t a serious break I guess, because the cast came off after just a couple of weeks. 

Jack’s Pack, is now only a pack of 3. As you may know, we lost Honey Bear in July. It’s been extremely quiet around the house. Honey was very vocal and the others aren’t – except for BobCat when he’s playing with his toy snake. He walks around the house with it in his mouth, meowing as if he’s calling the others to come play. But it’s still quiet. If I were able-bodied and younger I’d consider getting a kitten. Kittens are so much fun to play with and to watch! When they get older they don’t play much. BobCat is still pretty young; around 3 years old I think. He was a stray and outside for a long time so he didn’t have toys nor did he know the joy of playing. He’s making up for lost time now! 

I’m still chugging along on my cookbook. I’m now trying to find some of the recipes I missed so I can include them and last week I was working on my Granny’s recipes. Oh boy, what a mess. One of her bread recipes is incomplete! There’s only a list of ingredients – and she left out how much flour to use! There’s no oven temp or instructions so I have to figure that out if I want to include it in my cookbook! Back in her younger days, she worked in a bar/restaurant and she made some salad dressings in large quantities; her recipes call for #10 cans, gallons, and such. These recipes I will have to break down because most of us don’t want gallons of dressings sitting in the fridge taking up room or going bad! Unless you have a super large crowd to serve, it would take a long time to use it all up! Anyway, I’m hoping to get organized to the point that I’ll be calling on my volunteers to test recipes! If you’d like to volunteer, be sure to let me know in the comments! 

Well, that’s what’s on my mind this morning.

BobCat’s Favorite Position

img_20230725_1533117091590492670937969110BobCat is a trip! He walks through the house with one of his favorite toys in his mouth. Usually, it’s his snake. He carries it in his mouth and meows, as if to call someone to play with him! I have been trying to get him to bring me the damn snake and he finally did it this morning! Now, if I can keep doing this with him so that I can teach him to fetch! I’ve had 3 cats who played fetch. Alice is the third one but doesn’t do it anymore. She’s too fat and lazy, plus she’s getting older.

BobCat sleeps a lot, as do all cats, but this guy seems to sleep in just one position! Take a look:

img_20230603_003854443_hdr3645541535749970673img_20230713_1813125917717156939968337938img_20230627_0030255698080095540433327453img_20230804_230535984914362786289361651img_20230812_1221506608511183118801422486img_20230826_2324145328618487816765687979img_20230713_1812537026082003279945872790img_20230826_1318399038039118507210589841img_20230824_1510108062667976214078427476

The other night, BobCat was in his favorite position yet again…but this time he lay there staring at me upside down for 20 minutes. He didn’t move a muscle… He didn’t even blink!

img_20230827_2238486358764314014276220442

What am I going to do with such a silly cat? My little 14-pound meatball! Gotta love him!

Friday’s Funnies – My Faves This Week – August 25, 2023

This week has gone by so fast! I haven’t even had a chance to find as many funnies to share with you this week! I hope you like the few that I did manage to find. There’s one, maybe two, that really made me LMAO! Enjoy!

~~~

fb_img_16907830378192337016610383758137

.

fb_img_16929118265802655025497777977485

.

dffgjgykdghkhgkf

.

369017482_682315993923656_241858753500246289_n

.

368798417_859712738843707_3889217123570318528_n

.

368255546_786815863447509_1186470169543968631_n

.

367478526_600907158877793_8800236353868809041_n

.

366372316_815014373412354_3131388540912300680_n

.

362296606_649960350434311_1368043652477893069_n

.

362051215_718856210047997_5551537208701683010_n

~~~

So, which ones made you laugh the most? I favor Don’t Beam Me Up Yet, Scotty as it made me laugh the most and the loudest! I think Psychic Numbers would be my second fave this week. I just wish I had time for more but maybe next time. 

I hope you have a great weekend and that you are staying cool this summer. This week has been especially hot and humid here in SW MO. I’m ready for Winter! 

Until next time, 

aunt-debbie

Friday’s Funnies – My Faves This Week – August 18, 2023

Happy Friday! 

I’ve been busting my butt the last couple of weeks working on my cookbook. I will be taking a couple days off because my eyes are tired and my brain is numb! This morning I realized it was Friday and that I hadn’t even known what day of the week it’s been all week! Wait…did that make sense? Stupid brain. 

Here’s this week’s collection of funnies. I hope you enjoy them! 

~~~

361903963_718855990048019_6564015124760274680_n

.

363360721_256343777179326_2171301292332931379_n

.

363852641_835276427957838_3149165531012481349_n

.

364026660_840763687414373_5002986222113133721_n

.

364029594_824452842413775_4552600505035446806_n

.

364056300_626196592985263_443447741983371048_n

.

364109324_673063201515602_3310195790166377223_n

.

364667981_824858629039863_2140569270873512537_n

.

364707895_6700963876633012_7078219118798494380_n

.

364740778_635323268735833_2618800964238235812_n

.

364748454_681656517338757_747898878795225987_n

.

364799220_286026404017728_9186075261469559497_n

.

365066750_24348268778105529_1495238435916245773_n

.

365387445_250265837951373_2313966280295893961_n

.

365425852_861845335509827_8758393277385612348_n

.

365540933_674577884713650_3274723763450963943_n

.

365735054_674484834722955_7962755236905874156_n

.

366068835_833498301482545_4120657098909907249_n

.

366311996_794021736059694_779303425633284387_n

.

366526322_6504058256349369_7544937419901141431_n

.

367073098_780084977456970_5706063952526269112_n

.

kdj;osihgdknfb

~~~ 

I think The Little Boy & The Dead Cat, and David Bowie’s Advice are my two favorites this week! What do you think? I hope you enjoyed these funnies! 

I don’t know how you feel about this Summer weather (if you’re experiencing Summer right now, that is) but I am fed up with the heat and humidity! I am ready for Winter! No, not Fall. It’s still too dang hot for me in the Fall. I want Winter. I want to snuggle up in my electric blanket and binge-watch Netflix and Hulu shows and movies. I know what you’re thinking. I’ll probably moan and bitch about being cold come Winter. You’re probably right. The thing is, at least in the Winter you can wear more clothing and coats, and cover with as many blankets as you need to stay warm BUT in the Summer, to stay cool you can only take off so many clothes before they call the cops. Snort!

Have a great weekend, friends! Stay comfy, whatever the season in your neck of the woods.

Until next time,

aunt-debbie

A Freebie For You!

Some of you may remember that I have been working on a cookbook…for several years now. Ugh. Actually, it’s been in the back of my mind for 30 years or so! I’ve been collecting recipes, making notes, and saving the best since I was around 17 years old!

Over the years I have tried and tried to make a homemade sweet and sour sauce and I have a stack of recipes with notes all over them! None of them were ever quite right. One was too sweet, or one was too tangy. One might have had too much ketchup (for color) and one might have had too much onion and not enough bell pepper. You get the idea.

Today, I decided to give it another shot. I took all the notes I wrote on all the other recipes and put them all together in my feeble mind. I wrote my own recipe and made Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Meatballs. I even made a batch of sauce to save for later! The sauce was the best I’ve ever made!

It may be a bit too sweet for you, or it may have too much onion or too many chunks of pineapple. But the thing about recipes is that you can tweak them to your own taste!

Here’s my recipe and I hope you like it. Call it a freebie before my cookbook is finished!

~~~

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 (20 oz) can pineapple chunks, undrained
1 green red or green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
4 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch in 2 tbsp water, to make slurry

Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Let simmer until the vegetables are tender.

Add cornstarch slurry and stir constantly, until thickened to desired consistency. Let the sauce cool before storing it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Use it as a dipping sauce or with your favorite sweet-and-sour recipe.

If you want to make Sweet and Sour Meatballs, just add frozen meatballs during cooking but in the end, you may need a bit more cornstarch slurry. If you want to make this in the Instant Pot, add everything to the pot except for the cornstarch slurry. Cook on manual or high pressure for 7 minutes. Manually release pressure when the timer goes off. Add the slurry to thicken. Serve over rice.

If you like Sweet and Sour Chicken, add cooked (and still hot) breaded chicken bites at the very end and stir until coated, then serve over rice.

~~~

Well, I hope you like this recipe! Let me know what you think if you try it!

aunt-debbie