Queen of the sky

During WWII, my dad was a bombardier on a B-17 (I believe it was a B-17G), the Stars and Stripes. I don’t know much about what he did – he’s talked about it more with others than with me, but I know that he bombed Germany, and I know he and his whole crew completed their 30 missions successfully. While visiting last week, there was a B-17G at the local airport for 2 days, and the crew called my dad as asked if he would like to come out for a visit. At 94, my dad’s mind is still as sharp as a tack, but his knees aren’t so good, and 25 years of smoking when he was younger have caught up with his lungs. Unfortunately, he had to decline.

A couple of days later, we took Sweet Daughter to a park to do some kid stuff, instead of all that boring grown-up talking, and I heard a very distinctive growly rumbly hum. Once you’ve heard it, you can’t possibly mistake it for anything else. I looked up, and there she was, the Aluminum Overcast, the Queen of the Sky.

Bad taste?

While visiting in the mid-west last week, we took a side-trip to the Hormel Spam museum. It’s a really nice place. It was bright and shiny. It was kitschy. They spared no expense (which they apparently try to recoup soley through the gift shop.)

We checked out the Cyber Diner and played Spamalot.
We watched a movie about the Hormel Girls, and actually saw handful of them tucked away in a back room, apparently there for a reunion of sorts.

All was going well – Sweet Daughter was busy trying to stuff six empty cans with bean bags representing Spam, then putting on lids, “heat” processing them, and labeling them (all while being timed) when an older gentleman came through with a tray of “Spam with cheese” samples. I took one when offered, and when he asked SD if she wanted one, she replied “No, thank you.” as she continued to stuff cans with faux Spam.

His response? “That’s un-American!” he sputtered in a disapproving tone.

My response? “At least she’s got good manners!”, while giving him a modified version of my “eat flaming hot death” look.

And that left a bad taste in my mouth.

A different burger

I thought I’d try a new recipe I found for burgers tonight. Shorter Half prefers meat on his plate, and looks askance at most things in a vegetable state. He thinks anything with a root system would be be better utilized as bait for catching real food.

The burger itself was basically half sweet Italian sausage and half ground round with finely chopped apple mixed in as if you were making meat loaf. The recipe said to top the grilled burger with bacon, thin slices of apple and a dressing (sauce? topping? condiment?) made of mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and honey. I added sharp cheddar and some grilled onions to the list of extra toppings. Once Shorter Half’s brain adjusted to the new combination of flavors, he went back for more. (YAY! Something new to add to the dinner rotation.)

This was definitely “AOS” which means it didn’t suck, or as we say, has an “Absence Of Suck”. Remember folks, you heard it here first.

Oh, and that "Are you a hippe?" thing that's going around?

You are -0% hippie.

Ok, you conservative soul. Do you even believe in global warming? Loosen that necktie a little, and try some organic food. It actually does taste better. And go to a farmer's market--they're fun.

Are you a hippie?
Take More Quizzes

Had to share

A good friend of mine (and a loyal lurker) occasionally sends me stuff her brother says. I keep telling her she has to get him to start his own blog. Today’s comment was:

“I thought the asinine uselessness of this administration had reached ‘8’, but I was holding the report sideways.”

Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

It’s been a long 5 days with lots of mileage. No TSA scanners were involved at either end of the trip, and that made me happy. I’m pretty sure I lost my glasses (the ones I use to see to get from the bathroom when I take my contacts out to get wherever I’m going – like bed) at the first TSA checkpoint when I was removing my quart bag of liquids from my carry-on. That does not make me happy, but I figure I’m long overdue for (oh, I don’t want to type this out loud) bifocals. It’s cumbersome reading at night with reading glasses OVER the regular glasses. 

Sweet Daughter was an absolute joy to travel with. There was minimal complaining (“Can we go now??”) and no whining what-so-ever. Well that, and she decided she was going to try to thank each and every “Camouflage Guy” she saw in the airport.

More later when I’ve had some sleep, and food that hasn’t been scavenged from SD’s leftovers.

37

We average 37 days at or above 90 degrees each year. We hit that mark already today, and summer has been here less than a month.

Other randomness … Sweet Daughter has had a stuffy nose and sore throat for about 10 days now. The strep test came back negative, so the doctor suggested I try allergy medicine at bedtime. That sent her into orbit last night (you bet your sweet bippy it was “non-drowsy”) AND it didn’t work, and Tylenol Cold medicine has been recalled. Did I mention we’re getting on an airplane in less than 40 hours? Cold and/or allergy medicine comes in 4 oz. bottles. 18 mL more than allowed by the TSA. Tomorrow I go in search of something in a non-liquid form.

As I’m scurrying around packing, I notice that Shorter Half is watching something on TV involving plane crashes. After looking at the TV with a picture of an airplane in descent with its back half on fire, I looked pointedly at SH and said “That plane there – it landed safely and everyone lived, RIGHT?” He concurred without looking me in the eye, and I left the room and went back to packing.

The bag I used to use for my over-sized purse/diaper bag/etc. when flying got converted to my range bag. It’s great – it’s got lots of pockets and it’s doesn’t scream “GUNS! I’ve got GUNS!” Now I know that people have tried to get the attention of the TSA by taking just such a bag through security and have failed to raise so much as an eyebrow. I, on the other hand, do not wish to draw any untoward attention to myself, and so had to find a new bag.

I won’t be back until early next week, and will be without computer access (for the dozen of you that stop by) until then. Wish me luck and hope for clear skies. SD is looking forward to flying through the clouds so she can finally prove to me for once and for all that Care Bears really exist.

Sigh.

That smarts.

LawDog has and interesting link posted–


I Write Like

For grins, I plugged in my “Camouflage People” post and got:

Stephenie Meyer

Just. Shoot. Me. Now.

I'll have to work on that.