Honoring our war dead

Remember the story of the partial remains of our troops being incinerated and dumped in a landfill?

On Sunday, September 23 at 4:00 in the afternoon, a plaque will be dedicated to honor the memory and sacrifice of at least 274 service members of all branches who died in combat. Sweet Daughter and I plan on being there. Let us know if we should look for you.

Officially Hoplorati

EDITED TO ADD: Buy your own here!

I know I am, because I have a hat that says so. I was not having the best day yesterday – at least not until I opened the mail and found a gift from Broken Andy. This is now my most favorite hat ever. It marks me as one of the Hoplorati without scaring the hoplophobes.  And I’m touched and honored that Andy thought enough of me to send me one.

 

There, MSgtB. Will this do?

Busy, busy, busy

I'm working on an insanely ambitious project. I don't want to give out too many details lest I jinx myself, but here is Part 1 (I've heard it called a neck stock, a roller, a cravat ... I just know it's about 5" 5 feet long and has a rolled hem all the way around.) and Part 4 - an 18th century riding habit shirt.

1/8" narrow hems? Check. Stroked gathers? Check. Flat felled seams? Check. Button links for the cuffs? Check. All hand-sewn except for the long seams under the arms and up the sides? Check. Skin missing from the middle of my needle-pushing finger? Check.

Parts 3 and 4 are in progress. Maybe I'll post pictures as I go along ...

Test fitting the patterns for Parts 5 and 6 have begun. Part 7 should be the easy one. (HAHAHAH.)

Oh, and it needs to be done by Columbus Day.

Regal Entertanment Group assures your safety!

Really! They said so!

It started last Friday when I e-mailed REG to ask about their firearms policy. The front doors of the local theater weren't posted, and there was nothing on their website prohibiting firearms (but their "no outside food or drink" rules were quite clear). However, after standing in line for tickets, I saw the old handgun silhouette with the circle/slash up on their ticket window. I emailed them asking what their policy was, and if it was a "no gun zone" to please make it a little more apparent by posting the main entrance doors and state their policy on their website.

This morning I received the following:

August 08, 2012

Dear Ms. R.:

Thank you for taking the time to communicate your concerns regarding our facility security policies. Please understand that Regal Entertainment Group, with the assistance of safety experts and law enforcement personnel, has developed policies and procedures designed to provide the safest environment for our guests and employees. Rest assured these policies and procedures are not designed with the intent to inconvenience or otherwise cause hardship to our guests. However, we believe these policies appropriate to assure the general safety of all guests and employees.

Please note all law enforcement officers, whether on or off duty, are exempt from our gun prohibition policy in the theatre, as long as they identify themselves as such either by display of a badge or other identification upon request.

Again, thank you for taking the time to advise us of your concerns.

Sincerely,
Customer Relations Department
Operational Services
Regal Entertainment Group

So after much deletion of sarcasm ( I didn't say I got it it all ...), I replied with:

So you are saying that Regal Entertainment Group can assure my safety under any conditions within your theaters? Boy, I bet that CineMark had thought of that! Think of all the lives that would have been saved.

I find it unlikely that a bad guy intent on causing damage will obey your "no guns" sign any more than people intent on sneaking in their own candy will follow your "no outside food or drink" rule. The difference being that somebody with a contraband box Skittles isn't likely to cause me any harm. But then, neither is a Concealed Handgun Permit Holder. Please understand that as a Virginia CHP Holder, I have no felony or domestic violence convictions, no mental defects or disabilities, I have passed a criminal background check, and I am trained in the safe and proper use of my pistol.

The bad guys you need to worry about are the ones that ignore rules. (That's probably why they're considered "bad guys".) Not just your paper sign, but the rules of society. Surely any reasonable person can understand that someone who is willing to break the law to harm others isn't going to be stopped by a piece of paper. Even my 6-year-old understands that concept.

Please reconsider your "no firearms" policy. Until then, I will be taking my business elsewhere and asking my friends to do the same. I understand that even using social media, that's not going to be a drop in the bucket to REG. But to those of us who like to keep ourselves and our families safe, it's important.

 

Sincerely,

Nancy R.

P.S. You never did address my original message which had little to do with your handgun policy, but rather with posting the front door and the corporate web site instead of hiding your "no guns" sign back on the ticket booth where it couldn't be seen until one had stood in line to buy their tickets.

 

 

 

Remember the "My First Car" Meme?

John over at My First Car has been bugging me for pictures ever since he asked if he could share the story of "Mr. Valiant". Well, I found some. They're over here (scroll to the bottom) if you want to see nerdy Nancy at age 18. And if the link to the portable TV isn't working, try this one.

Loose Woman Brownies

Slutty Brownies - or, as Alan calls them, Floozy Brownies. These are currently making the rounds on the interwebz, and the recipe I saw consisted of chocolate cookie mix spread in the bottom of a 9” x 13” pan topped with a layer of Oreos and those topped by a brownie mix and baked.

They looked interesting, but it just made SO MANY. I thought they’d be better made from scratch as did everyone else and their brother. I also thought they might work baked in muffin tins. Today while I was at a Big Box Store I saw “snack size” mixes and thought I could give a small batch a try.

I used Betty Crocker snack Chocolate Chip Cooke Mix and Duncan Hines Snack Size Chewy Fudge Brownie Mix because those were my only snack size choices.

I got out 12 cupcake liners and lined some muffin tins. I made the cookie mix according to directions and added a little extra water so the dough wasn’t so stiff. I added about a tablespoon of dough to each liner (it made 10) and then pressed it down with an Oreo and left the Oreo on top. Then I mixed up the brownie mix and added another tablespoon to the top of each cookie. This left a little brownie mix left over, so the last two muffin cups were filled with a tablespoon of brownie mix, then an Oreo, and then another tablespoon of brownie mix.

These were baked for about 15 minutes. Make sure you DO NOT over-bake them. The brownie should be gooey, and the cookie on the bottom will still be soft.

I thought they were good. Not ZOMG AWESOME TO DIE FOR BEST THING EVAR! Personally, I found them to be neither fish, nor fowl, nor good red meat (metaphorically speaking). I’d rather have Toll House Cookies (made from the 1930’s recipe, thank-you-very-much) or chewy gooey brownies on their own. I don’t see that the Oreo adds much … but the snack-sized mixes make a reasonable amount, the cupcake liners are good portion control, and they will take care of that craving for sweets you’ve got.

I know, I know.

I am LONG overdue for a post. But it’s not like I’ve been sitting around all this time. Well, not much.

This spring, I decided I needed a new camp bed. My prototype had a couple of issues, and I thought I could improve upon my design.  So I sat down with a pencil and an index card and played around with some numbers, taught Sweet Daughter how to select lumber, and then went and cut it all according to the number while visiting my sister with the table saw. I also cut down my original camp bed for SD to use. And managed to leave the headboard behind. Sigh.

I got a good start on it in April, hoping to have it done in time for the Petersburg event, but that didn’t happen.  With SD’s help, I got it put together.

And painted.

And it worked. By having three support panels instead of two, it’s easier to pack and transport. The prototype needed one simple adjustment – one of the side boards had warped, and I needed to adjust some of the hardware to account for that. It made me cringe to not have it all square and plumb and stuff, but it works. As my brother-in-law said, “Working code trumps all theory.”

Having two bedsteads in the tent makes for a narrow aisle up the middle, but there is a ton of storage under them. And if it rains, I don’t have to worry about drying out wet bedding. No, they are not accurate, but if you happen to seem from outside the tent, they pass. And they’re a heck of a lot better that a cot from a Dead-Animal-Head-on-the-Wall store.

The Barracks

Then there was a trip to Ft. Frederick at the end of June for the 50^th Anniversary of the Brigade of the American Revolution. There weren’t as many participants as I was expecting, but it was a lovely relaxing weekend. Well, except for having to haul our gear into and out of the fort. And for where my leather shoes slipped on the dew-slicked wooden steps and I slid down a few on my shins (yes, I was holding on to the railing), but I got ice on the shins, and ingested some rum punch and felt better.

Breakfast

Salmungundi for lunch with fresh raspberries, beef, chicken, oranges, hardboiled eggs, mixed greens, oranges, fried chicken skin and I've forgotten the rest.

The view from the top of the fort shortly before slipping on the stairs.

The view from camp after slipping on the stairs.

I finished another gown for SD.

Tired girls.

Gate

Then it was off to the beach for a week with my sisters, which is another post. And I am starting on an insanely ambitious sewing project that is already overcome by mission creep that I refuse to jinx by typing it all out. Maybe I'll post pictures as bits get finished. I need it done by Columbus Day weekend.

More as I come up for air ...