Ruth~ Just for you, I’ve changed my avatar. Trilliums always remind me of soggy forest floors in the spring. I miss seeing them. This thread is just like Canada - we can’t revoke your passport, and we don’t ask you to give up your citizenship just because you have to live on other threads. I’m glad to hear you are still on the mend.

Hi Ceejay! I hope you are feeling slightly less overwhelmed. The chores will still be there later and don’t forget to take some time off for you.

Shad~ I think the food sounds great and you certainly won’t lack for variety. Now all you have to do is learn how to say “Are you actually using that machine?” in Japanese and you’ll be all set. I read your tribute to Bev and it is lovely. Those memories will never go and that I find to be a comforting thought.

Ups~ hope the wave passes soon. Hang in there. It’s good that the kids are so excited!

Michelle~ Just going back to your comment from a couple of days ago now (hey, I’m slow), I’ve always been partial to early 80s music for working out too. The combo of "Bizarre Love Triangle”, Art of Noise’s version of ”Kiss”, and “Goody Two Shoes” can take you through 2500 metres on a rowing machine with ease. Maybe try some funk or even 70s disco? It’s funny how we all hated disco in the 70s but now we seem to know all the words to all the songs.

Rennie~ You sound so upbeat. Good for you!

Mel~ I hope you are feeling better, wee friend. It is worrying that you are becoming more sensitive to things. Yeah, if you have a choice between hurting someone’s feeling and making you sick, please chose to hurt people’s feelings. They will understand and even if they don’t, it really isn’t worth it if the cost is going to be your health. Oh, the concrete story made me laugh, BTW. It was probably funnier because it wasn’t happening to me. But then what we can’t change we might as well see the humorous side of.

Happy~ how cool that you and the DH are going out walking together. I hear you on the rising prices of things and the lack of compensating cashflow. I think I heard somewhere that the rice crisis was partially due to people panicking, though apparently a lot of rice growing areas have switched over to growing corn for ethanol as a a result of the need for more non-fossil fuels. Not sure if that is true of not. I’m kind of hoping that this is one of those media hyped “crisis of the week” situations and that we are not headed into a real food problem.

1day~ Good for you for the decluttering. It makes one feel all virtuous, doesn’t it? Hope you are feeling better. Spring is great but the allergies are killer. Hang in there.

Annie~ I will try to restrain my use of the “P” word. I hear you on the nervous stomach. That is where stress gets me too. Geez man, he may deserve it but I hope your ex is feeling better. That’s nasty.

The party on the weekend went well, but the prep was exhausting. All that running around and cleaning. During the party, I remember looking at the clock and thinking it’s really late and it was only 9:47! LOL. But everyone seemed to have fun and they all went home safely in taxis. Luckily the gov’t passed legislature to force the transit guys back to work for Monday morning. It would have been a nightmare for the commute.

Ok, I better go and hit the showers. I’m taking the day off work today so that my sister and I can go see a matinee of Dirty Dancing. I think it will be fun. Everyone have a lovely day.

And Mel, I'm sure that trilliums grow somewhere in this city... I just haven't seen them. Maybe in the hidden forests of the city parks? I'll keep an eye out.

OH MADCAT....THESE FLOWERS ARE BEAUTIFUL!! GLAD THE PARTY WENT SO WELL AND THE STRIKE WAS AVERTED BEFORE MONDAY'S COMMUTE. I WAS TELKLING JEN ABOUT NYOUR PARTY AND SHE WENT OUT AND BOUGHT SOME SUSHI....SHE GOT A CRAVING! :rofl:

RUTH~ GARDEN AWAY MY FRIEND! ENJOY THE SUN AND WARMTH! HOPE YOU AND HERSH FIND ANOTHER "FRIEND" THAT WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY. SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT HARRY AND HOPE ALL GOES WELL. :hug:

ANNIE~ BEEN MEANING TO ASK IF YOUR DD HAS HAD ANY OTHER NEWS SINCE THE OP? HOPING THAT NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS.

I REALIZED I HAD FORGOTTEN SOME PEOPLE WHEN I READ MRS MADCAT'S POST! :lol3:
CIAO FOR NOW :scooter:

PS...SHAD IS RIGHT...IT'S ALMOST MAY!! TIME TO FIND US A NEW ROOST WHAT?

Happy Hump Day!!

Well today is the day, I HAVE TO GET MY LICENSE PLATES RENEWED as they expire on 4/30/08. Is that now or midnight? Anyway am leaving work at 2:30 to stand in line at the BMV. Money in, money out.....

Shad...do pass on the wallpaper paste on the buffet. It sounds horrid. Love the picture, I copied and saved it. Great tribute to your friend Bev, it made me a little weepy, and the fact I have been out of anti-depressants for a week.


Ruth...sorry to say your are stuck with us no matter how often you may have time to visit with us.

Happy..glad the party went well, enjoy the movie. I love Dirty Dancing movie.

UPS...glad you are having a "good" day....


Hello to everyone.

Love and Hugs

Oh and tomorrow is May...where on earth or otherwise are we going?

Happy Wednesday ladies -

I went to the gym and did a quick but intense 30 minutes of cardio last night. I'd gotten home late from work and had to rush so that I could get back home from the gym in time for a quick bite of supper. But I definitely worked up a sweat and burned some calories. No gym tonight....DH and I are going to see Spamalot - the musical of Monty Python & the Holy Grail! We're going with DH's cousin and her daughter and we're really looking forward to it. I carpooled today with a woman who lives not too far from me. We're going to try and carpool at least 3 days a week, and next month we'll have 1 or 2 more people to add to our carpool, which will help a lot with saving $ on gas.

Where are we going in May? Madascar? Monaco? Madrid? Mumbai? Marquette, Michigan? (not too warm up there yet - not in Milwaukee either) Milan? (oooh, that's nice) Miami?


Rennie - Wow, you sure know how to find bargains! YGG! I should do follow your example and find out what days our goodwills/thrift stores have 1/2 price day or whatever. Sorry to hear about your daughter's accidents. I hope her foot gets better so she can enjoy tennis.

Annie - you are too funny! I cracked up at your leaning on the scales in such a way that they tell you good news! :rofl: I'll have to try that! :lol:

Ruth - there are no passport revocations here. Just check in when you can! I hope your knee feels better and that Harry's blood sugar gets stabilized. I'm sure Hersh would love another dog. Our three have such a great time together! They love playing and wrestling with each other...and then they love curling up together and sleeping. So cute.

Joy - Your tribute to Bev is so touching; such a loving letter from a good friend to a remarkable woman. I can almost hear you laughing together. I'm so sorry that you were unable to go to her funeral, but I'm glad that you were able to spend time with her while she was alive and you shared the Memphis photos.

Ellen - I'm glad you have some moments when the MS isn't too bad. Hang in there. :hug:

Mel - It's getting chilly here too. And we're going to have a rainy weekend (I hope the forecast is wrong about that - would much rather have sun and temps in the 50s or 60s at least).

Madcat - Thanks for the music suggestions. I actually do listen to Goody Two Shoes when I'm working out. It's got a great beat! I hope you enjoy your day off. I love the movie Dirty Dancing. I can watch it again and again. Shame about hunky Patrick Swayze battling cancer.

Happy - I hope you have a good (and not overly hectic or stressful) day at work.

Hi to everyone I have missed.

Big hugs,

Diyana....My DD and I ride together every day. She doesn't have a car, however it works out as she buys the gas every other week. I try to fill up at half a tank, it doesn't seem quite so bad. Was just under a half tank this morning and it cost me 43.00. That is scarey....$3.75 a gallon this morning. Killer....

Made it back from the BMV. License plates were $183.65 instead of the 170.00 I thought it was going to be. Nothing like the knife going in then they twist it. Ouch...

Have a marvy evening everyone.

Love and Hugs

A Refreshing 55-Calorie Snack from AOL


With warm weather just around the corner, it's the perfect time to freshen up your ideas about soup. Either as a light lunch or a prelude to dinner, cold soup is great for cooling down and filling up your tummy—especially after a workout. How does ripe, juicy vegetables, rich olive oil and a kick of garlic sound? Exactly. For an itty-bitty number of calories, gazpacho delivers big, big, big on the yum factor.

Ingredients:

3 cups tomatoes, red ripe, seeded and diced
2 cups red bell pepper, diced medium
2 cups red onions, diced medium
1/2 cup celery, diced medium
2 cups cucumber, diced medium
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 cups organic vegetable juice
pinch cayenne
1 teaspoon cumin
Directions:

1. Mix diced tomato, peppers, red onions, celery and cucumber together in a medium bowl. Divide the mixture in half and separate in two bowls.

2. Add garlic to one of the bowls and empty into blender. Add vinegar to the blender and puree until smooth.

3. Add the vegetable juice, cayenne and cumin to the blender. Blend. Add the puree to the bowl of diced vegetables.

4. Refrigerate overnight. Garnish with lemon and cilantro.

Makes 8 servings.

Nutritional Information: PER SERVING - 55 Calories, 1g fat, 2g protein, 13 g carbohydrate, 237 mg sodium

ANNIE....OMG THAT'S $227!!!! AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A GOOD TIME!! :yikes: I HAD NO IDEA CARS WERE SO EXPENSIVE. WHEN I HAD PLATES....I THOUGHT $50 WAS A LOT OF MONEY THEN!!! :faint: THANK GOD MY VEHICLES DON'T NEED ANYTHING....INCLUDING SNOW TIRES ! :rofl: SORRY TO HEAR THAT NEWS THOUGH :hug:

MICHELLE~ HOPE YOU AND HUBBY HAVE A GREAT TIME AT SPAMALOT!! GOOD TO HAVE A NIGHT OUT AND SKIP THE GYM ONCE!! LOL ENJOY!!

SHAD~ READ THE TRIBUTE AND IT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN NICER :hug:

CALLED THE EYE DR. I GUESS I DID SOMETHING WRONG. THEY ARE BEING NA BIG OL' PITA FOR 2 DAYS NOW. BACK ON THE MEDS AND DROPS.
SEE YA MANANA!

Spicy Penne with Turkey Sausage, Asparagus & Feta


This contest winning recipe is healthy, satisfying and makes a quick summer meal. The ingredients can easily be doubled or tripled for a crowd, served at room temperature, and prepared well in advance.

Serving: 6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes





1 pound penne (substitute corkscrew or other pasta)
1 pound turkey sausage, sweet or hot
1 pound asparagus spears
1 red bell pepper
1 package sliced mushrooms
1 8-ounce package crumbled feta
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
kosher salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
lemon wedges for serving




1. Boil water for pasta with 1 tbsp. kosher salt. Trim woody ends off asparagus spears (leaving about 3/4) and chop remaining into 2-inch pieces. Seed bell pepper and cut into small strips.

2. Take sausage meat out of casing and fry in olive oil in wok or other large fry pan. Break sausage into small pieces, and add crushed red pepper flakes (to suit desired spiciness, using less for hot turkey sausage.)

3. Begin to boil the pasta (6-8 minutes for al dente). While this is cooking, add asparagus, mushrooms, and red pepper strips to same pan with sausage. Stir fry over medium-high heat for about five minutes until vegetables are crisp-tender. Turn off heat, and drain pasta.

4. Toss drained pasta with vegetable-turkey mixture, adding a small amount of extra virgin olive oil if desired. Add salt & pepper to taste. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. (Dish is served warm, not piping hot. May also be served room temperature or cold on hot days.)

5. After cooling slightly, toss lightly with feta and chopped parsley. Serve with lemon wedges, crusty bread and white wine for easy summer entertaining.




Based on individual serving.
Calories: 582
Total Fat: 23 g
Carbohydrates: 66 g
Protein: 31 g

Annie - I paid $3.85/gallon for mid-range gas today. $3.75 for unleaded regular and $3.95 for supreme. It's crazy. Our plates here aren't as much as yours but car insurance costs a bundle.

Mel - Thanks for the yummy sounding recipes!

Our gas is the equivalent of US$5 a gallon up here and it's much worse in Europe.
And today we got snow! Grrrr!

Hello Ladies,

Our gas is around $ 3.57 for unleaded. Expected to go up to $4.50 by mid summer.

Michelle - have fun at the musical. I think that musical is coming here this summer, let me know..

Annie - your plates are expensive... Is that for new plates or for registration? My registration for a 99 SUV is around $75 dollars... I think they charge more if I get new license plates.

Ups - Hope your feeling better. Hopefully this phase will pass..

Mel - thanks for the recipes.

Ruth - good to hear from you.

Shad - What a wonderful tribute to your friend. I pray that the wonderful memories of her, replace the tears..

Hi to everyone I missed.

Just listening to the news, dropped interest rates again... talking about the stimulas plan... They need to do something about these gas companies who are making billions of dollars...

Morning all,
Last morning in JK for a while - apparently they don't think they need me back until August, but I am angling for July because I really don't think they have thought the pros and cons through. I don't mind not being here in May June and can happily work from home and in Melbourne for those times. I have 2 weeks to do at Gemco anyway so not being here clears the way for that. Pity I haven't seen more of Jakarta but hey it happens and anyway, I'm not sure whether there is much more to see than the hazy skyline and haphazard Art Deco style buildings going up everywhere.

Thanks for the kind words on my effort to remember Bev. I haven't heard anything back from Townsville, but I will ring Pam once I get in tomorrow to see how things went.

Todays smilie from the animal world is entitled - What part of quiet did you not understand. This one is for Ruth because she wants another doggie.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...artofquiet.jpg

Something is going weird here and I can't get to the advanced stage without losing all the posts. Not mine - the ones you have put in. Maybe that is the clue to move out of Greece and into somewhere more mmmmmmmmmm...........