My Quest for Wheels

Ever need to buy a new car, or a replacement car?  It's easy, right?  Just go down to the nearest car lot, pick one out, haggle with the dealer and drive away $$$ poorer, but at least driving.  Wrong!  For me anyway.  There is so more to consider than just "oooh, pretty car".  Is it good on gas?  How many people will it seat?  Then there's size, and yes size matters.  If it's too large, I can't park it comfortably.  If it's too small, I can't pack enough stuff or haul enough people, etc.  So do I get a minivan, a small  SUV, a crossover, or stick with my comfort zone and get a regular full size 4-door car.  When I got my Cutlass Supreme in 1997 it was classed as a mid-size.  Now cars that size are considrered full size.  Growing or Shrinking?

The Test Drives
 I drove a 2002 Honda Odessey (red)  and a 2006 Chrysler Town & Country (blue).  Both nice minivans, but for comfort and drivability, I preferred the Town & Country.  The downside was the 119" wheelbase which would make parking between two cars in a 90 degree parking space at best a challenge or possibly a nightmare.  I've learned more than I ever wanted to know about the importance of wheelbase and  turning circle in everyday driving.  So even though a minivan can carry 7 people or lots of trip stuff, it doesn't seem practical for my every day use.

Next I drove a 2000 Honda Accord (gold).  Nice car with leather (a must for me).  It drove all right although the acceleration was more sensitive than I'm used to so I pulled away from the traffic lights a bit more aggressively than normal - unintentionally.  I felt rather low to the ground, and it also has visible body damage, so I left that one with the dealer, too.

Yesterday I tried out a 2002 Toyota Highlander 4WD (blue).  It was nice but the steering felt a bit mushy (that is compared to the pickup I've been driving since that fateful day in November).  It also made weird squealing sounds when you turned the steering wheel back and forth.  It also stalled out while my husband was parking it so he was leary of driving it too far.  When I did drive it, I was able to nail the parking in a 90-degree space, granted there were no cars to park between, but I hit the space on the first shot.  The reason being that the wheelbase and turning circle are similar, if not smaller, than my car.

On to the next vehicle - a Ford Escape (silver?).  This is a relatively small SUV as well, but unlike the Highlander, it drove more like a truck (built on a truck platform).  The Highlander was built on a Camry platform.  The Escape was comfortable enough and had good acceleration (bigger engine), but I really want something with a more car-like ride.  I'm spoiled - I've driven Oldsmobiles for 20 years! 

When we arrived at the dealership, a salesman asked if he could help us.  They always ask that.  We'd been working with Tim, so they paged him.  He came out, we told him what we came to look at, and he went back for a tag so we could take it out.  When he came back he said they'd asked him if he ran us off.  He said "no - they adopted me".  He's been nice and helpful and not pushy, and we (I) have been upfront that I'm trying out a lot of different types of vehicles and am not to the "buying" point yet.  With that understanding out in the open, I feel comfortable driving first one then another to see what fits. 

I have noted the color of the test cars for a reason.  Yet one more thing to consider when stepping into the car shopping arena - Color!  I don't want white, black, silver, or most reds.  White and black show dirt, and I just don't care for silver.  Red, eh...some are all right, but no fire engine red, please.

When you only have a few hours one day a week to get out there and look, and drive and then dissect the couple of cars you lined up, it tends to become a long, drawn out experience.  I'll be glad when I actually find something "acceptable". To make this saga more interesting, my hubby is also looking for a replacement car.  Stay tuned for the latest adventures in my Quest for Wheels.

Quote of the Week

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.  

- Dr. Seuss

Not to be taken extremely literally, because you could hurt someone's feelings.  That said, there is a measure of truth to this statement.  Those who truly matter, will accept you exactly as you are.

Quote of the Week

Pay attention to your dreams - God's angels often speak directly to our hearts when we are asleep.  

- Eileen Elias Freeman

Although I can't say that this has happened with me, I would suspect that it happens far more often than we realize.  We just don't know how to "listen" to our dreams.  Mine are often a reflection on what I've been focusing on that day.  I do know, though, that dreams can provide insight or give us a sign, but usually only if we understand and act on what we've been "told".

The Long and Short of it.

I caught this really cute pose, and just couldn't resist posting yet another picture of my "babies".  Actually, Rosie is my baby, and Sophie is her "Daddy's Girl".  They both have their quirks.  Rosie is the old timer around here.  He will be 13 in June, whereas Sopie is truly the baby of the household at about 3 1/2.  We believe she'll be 4 sometime in May.

Sophie (back) and Rosie

This is a shot of Rosie with his other bud, Doodle (or Dood for short).  Not to be confused with Dude, although he is that sometimes, too.  The reason for the title of this post is that when Doodle was a baby, we think he had an accident involving the under-the-hood area of car (possibly one of ours), that injured his tail, and we had to have it amputated.  It is a cute little black stub about 2 inches long, and yes, the hair did grow back, thank goodness.  It was quite vulgar looking for a while.  He was born in the summer of 2000 and lived outside until Christmas of 2007, about a month after we got Sophie.  Now the three of them are friends, and Dood idolizes Rosie.  There are more kitty cat stories and pictures where these came from.

Doodle is the black and white one.

Recycle your Christmas Tree

Christmas has passed, the decorations are packed away, and the tree is bare.  Do you put your tree out by the curb for recycling, toss it in the woods, or take to a drop-off point, or does it get picked up by the trash collector and wind up decaying in the landfill?  The latter is of no benefit to anyone, and the tree is wasted.  Let's all put our trees to good use.  Recycled, they become mulch to beautify the landscape and enrich the soil.  Even those who recycle their trees in the woods are benefiting the environment by returning the tree to nature, and even creating a winter sanctuary for birds and animals.

The cats especially enjoy having a live tree of their very own (or so they think anyway).  Sophie and Dood like drinking the water from the stand.  I'd rather they didn't, but it hasn't seemed to do them any harm, and it's not like they don't have fresh water in their bowl every day.  I guess it's the Eau du Frasier Fir that's so appealing.

So now it is January 6th, the day of the Epiphany, and the day many people take down their Christmas trees and decorations.  The date varies for me, depending on how our tree is holding up.  This one is great, still takes up water and smells nice.  We had a tree one year that was so great we kept it up (lights only) until mid-January - I just couldn't throw it out.  They're not all like that, and some shed so bad that right after Christmas you want to get them out of the house. 

Anyway, I took all the ornaments off this morning, and all that remains are the lights.  It is still beautiful, but I need to let it go.  I'll be vacuuming up needles for weeks to come.  The cats carry them all over the house since they like to sleep under the tree.

So when do you take down your tree?  Are you motivated to get your house back to normal, or do you carry out the tradition of the 12 Days of Christmas, culminating in the Epiphany?  Whenever, I hope you remember to recycle.  It's good for all of us.

It's time to meet the family...

I think it's time I introduce you to our very good friends.  I've mentioned them anonymously many times, and we do hang out a lot.  Ashley has been my best friend since way back, and in today's speak she would be my "BFF".  She is the mother of two boys, Scott 10, and Michael 6.  She was a stay-at-home mom for a while, but is back teaching again, and it's second grade this year.  About 15 years ago she married Kevin.  He is an airline pilot, but due to economic times, is currently doing gardening and landscaping.  This is something he loves and for which he has a great talent.  Ashley's talent lies in painting, crafts and decorating.  Together they do amazing things with whatever they have at hand.

We shared New Year's Eve with them and Kevin's family, and I figured what better time to introduce them than with the beginning of the new year.  I am so glad they are back in town.  They had lived in Florida and Georgia since the late 90s, and when  life brought them back home a little less than two years ago I was thrilled.  They are wonderful friends, and an absolute joy in my life.  I am so happy for you to finally meet the "family I chose for myself".

Quote of the Week

"Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow." 
-   Robert Frost, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

This is a beautiful passage, and there is much beauty in the silence of snow falling in the woods. 

There are remnants of last's month's snow still clinging to banks too shaded from the sun to have melted away.

Welcome to 2010!

I hope everyone had wonderful New Year's Eve and New Year's Day celebrations with friends and family.  I know we did.  We dined out with our best buds on NYE at Macaroni Grill.  This is a place we used to love and going there was a treat.  However, the last several time we went, we were disappointed in the food.  Things have changed, as they have in many restaurants, and the cutbacks are clearly visible.  The big round loaf of foccacia is not nearly as big as in years past, and not as flavorful.  It seems that herbs are in short supply.  However, we went and ordered things we'd not had before.  I had the mushroom ravioli and it was very good, as was the house chardonnay I chose to go with.  Hubby had the chicken and capellini pomodoro. The chicken was a little over done, but  the pomodoro sauce was fine, just not to his liking.  Our friends had chicken parmigiana and a cannelloni dish.  According to our dining companions, the cannelloni was good, but they seemed to have changed the recipe on the chicken parm, or at least it didn't taste like he remembered it.  All in all, it was a wonderful dinner, and the most important part was sharing the time with good friends.

After dinner, we regrouped and went to our friend's parents' house to participate in the NYE tradition of making lefses.  His Mom is of Swedish/English heritage.  In a nutshell, lefses are made from flour and potatoes, and look like tortillas when cooked.  It was an assembly line process:  Rolling, cooking, buttering and sugaring (brown sugar of course).  I was the sugarer.  This was my first experience both making and eating.  They asked what I thought, and I said they're fine, but I like mine with more butter and less sugar.  The others wanted the sugar piled on.  His Mom said "MORE SUGAR".  OK, I used MORE SUGAR!  The one I got had too much, so I made one my way for me, but after the first one, I could only eat a small part of the second one.  You can read about lefses and how to make them here. Before the lefses were made, however, we "opened" our Christmas Crackers (click to read about the crackers).

We had some fireworks on the deck.  It was cold, the smoke was thick and the bottle rockets were killer on the ears, but that's another family tradition.  Later there was a rousing game of "Round Robin" ping pong downstairs.  Yes, this is a real game with a number of players lined up around the table.  One person serves to the person opposite him, then places his paddle on the table and moves down the line while the other person returns his serve to the next person in line.  I found this video that shows better than I can explain.

Needless to say, this was a New Year's Eve of "firsts" for us, and It was an honor to be part of these traditions. 

Happy New Year to All!

Another year comes to a close, and we reflect on the days that have come and gone.  Did we use them well?  Did we make the most of every precious moment, or were we overwhelmed by how harried our daily lives have become?

We look to the future, wondering what each new day will bring.  It is a time for hope and renewal.  A time, not for resolutions which often fail, but to firm up our resolve to deal with and manage our own circumstances, whatever they may be.  Once again we have the opportunity to start over and cull out the old and withered and usher in the new and fresh. 

Here's to a great new beginning - to old friends and new faces - to 2010.  Happy New Year!

Quote of the Week

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.  

- Benjamin Franklin

Good words to live by not just for the new year, but all year through.

Quote of the Week

Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year to All!
 

May Peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through! 

- Author Unknown

Winter Weather, Winter Food

Hi.  Just more ramblings today.  I thought I would start with the local weather report.  We have the first Winter Storm Watch of the season for tomorrow and Saturday.  There is apparently a big blow coming up from the Gulf.  The moisture will come up and collide with the cold air here, and poof...Snow!  Like many of these forecasts, things change and we end up not getting anything, so as usual I'll believe it when I see it.

I'll be staying on top of the forecast and following the progress on the radar.  Now I really don't care for cold weather and the bitter windy days of winter.  However, I have always liked snow, especially long walks like I used to take with my Mom.  We had such fun walking in the woods with the snow clinging to the pine trees.  One time we even took my sled and went sledding down the path made by trail bikes.  It was hazardous to say the least, but thankfully we never crashed.  Alas, those days are gone, and so are those woods.  They are now a housing development with no sign of their former beauty.

Speaking of cold, snowy weather, it is time to break out the soup pots.  Playing in or shoveling snow builds up a big appetite, and soups and stews are a warming, filling antidote for the chilly-willies.  This is where the crockpot comes in handy.  Just toss in a chuck roast, some onions and carrots, flip the switch and you've got a hot satisfying dinner in the making.  What I did the other day was take some of the broth from the roast and made a gravy.  I whipped up some mashed potatoes and it was pure deliciousness on a plate.  A hearty, healthy, homemade dinner can be quick and easy when you let the slow cooker do the work for you.  Dig in, everyone.

It's Almost Christmas Again

It's amazing how fast time goes by, and once again Christmas is just around the corner.  Yep, just 9 days away.  Is your tree sparkling from top to bottom with a zillion lights, and ornaments of silver and gold, red and green, and all the trimmings?  Do you have all your shopping done?  Presents all around the tree?  I finally started wrapping/bagging yesterday.

My list is short these days, and on-line shopping makes is so much easier.  No driving all over town, waiting in long lines of traffic and longer lines in the stores.  Just click here, click there and you're done.  Simple.  So far, I've had 3 orders from Amazon, one from Penzeys, cashed in green points for a gift card, and ordered ink for my printer to print more money-saving coupons.  The more you save, the more you can give.

I still have a few gifts to get for the "hard to shop for" folks.  My guess is gift cards for them.  I know that sounds like a cop-out, but personally I never mind getting gift cards.  Being the frugal shopper that I am, I make the most of them.  

So, my thoughts in a nutshell...Shop on-line, use coupon codes and seek out free shipping deals.  When you do have to go to the stores, the same principles apply.  Use coupons, especially combined with sales to get the best deals.

Quote of the Week

The only person who never makes mistakes is the person who never does anything.

-  Denis Waitley

We almost didn't have a quote this week.  I hadn't found the right one until now.  This one fits the everyday life of all of us.  It is apparent in many daily acts, at work, with family, even cooking.  I use a variation of this when one of my culinary experiments doesn't live up to my expectations.

Why I Don't Like Shopping at the Mall

Are you a mall shopper?  Do you favor the specialty shops or the high-end department stores?  What trips your trigger about mall shopping?  Is it having all those stores under one roof even though you have to walk at least two miles to see them all?  Not me.  During my teenage years, and through much of my working life, I would shop the mall regularly.  It was a mecca of activity during the holidays, and the huge poinsettia tree was a thing of beauty.  Ah, those were the good 'ol days. 

Now it's a horse of a different color.  You can't walk from point A to point B without being accosted by someone selling something, offering to "lotion" or "perfume" you or wanting to see your nails.  They approach you from their kiosk, "Hey lady, can I ask you a question?"  "NO", keeps walking.  Reminds me of Tiajuana.  Really, I just want to get what I came after and leave as quickly and peacefully as possible.  I don't like being rude, but gee people give it a rest.  If we want to see what you're selling, we'll stop and ask.  Otherwise, just leave us alone! 

After 33 years, I would expect things to have changed.  In some cases not all changes are for the better. 

There are some good sales and deals to be had, though, if you can bear the harassement, the parking, the  traffic and the crowded stores especially around Christmas.  I try to limit it to one visit over the holiday, and that was today, probably the coldest day of the year thus far.  What a joy.  I treated myself to lunch at McD when I was done.

Target "Manufacturer" Coupons...Not Really

Target has issued "manufacturer" coupons with their logo on them, so which are they?  Coupons issued by the manufacturer to be used anywhere or store coupons useable only at Target?  Didn't they used to say "Target" at the top and not "manufacturer", and you could use them with  manufacturer coupons on the same item.  I printed some the other day and one said Target Web Coupon (which I understand to be used only at Target) and the other two said "manufacturer" which I assumed I could use anywhere. 

I used the one for Purina Cat Chow at PetSmart, and the cashier didn't even blink.  Today I tried to use the $5 off 4 Kellogg's cereal at Wal-Mart, and argued up and down with two cashiers that it was a manufacturer's coupon and not Target-specific even though it had the Target logo on it.  That was all they could see, and said they were told not to take coupons with other store names or logos.  They wouldn't even scan it to see if it would work.  I gave up and told her if I wasn't able to use the coupon, I wasn't buying the cereal.

The point is that a store-specific coupon should not say "manufacturer" on it if you can only use it at that store, and that a true manufacturer coupon should be valid any place that accepts coupons.

Anyone care to share their experiences?

Quote of the Week

I'm a little late getting this one out today.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.  

- Martin Luther King Jr.

This one goes out to our best friends.  This is how they live their lives, and through them I have seen how faith works.

Yogurt...Good and Good For You?

OK, today we're going on a little trip, a health trip that is.  Are you a fan of yogurt?  The regular stuff that has been around for years or the new, supposedly more healthy versions such as Activia or Dan Active yogurt drink?  I don't always jump on any new bandwagon that happens along, but lately, I thought what the heck, let's give it a try, since we eat yogurt anyway.   So now what to choose?

Activia is supposed to be good for your digestive health.  They even have a money-back guarantee of up to about $12, if it doesn't work for you.  Yoplait has their own version called Yo-Plus, and they are offering free Yo-plus for switching from Activia (receipt, completed form and UPC required).  Activia comes in a variety of flavors, a light version and a drinkable yogurt.

Dan Active claims to help support your immune system.  This product is a drinkable yogurt that comes in a variety of flavors (some in light).  Do any of these do all that they claim?  Check out their websites, do your research and come to your own conclusions.

I read about both products, and regularly purchase both.  Will it make a difference in our overall health, I don't know, but I figure they won't do any harm, and I still get calcium and the good bacteria that we've know for years are good for us.  These fancy new products are more expensive, but with sales and coupons you can still get a reasonably good deal.  Also, Costco has Activia and Dan Active in bulk packaging.  There is yet another way to score a deal on all things Dannon.  They have a program called Dannonomics where you buy products, mail in receipts and completed form and receive dollars off coupons.  The coupons you get are based on the quantity and variety of items purchased.  The program continues through December 31, 2009, so save your receipts, download the form and get up to $15 in coupons.

Garlic Green Beans (a first for me)

Piling on to my previous post, I thought I'd elaborate about one of my side dishes, the garlic green beans.  I wanted something green to balance out turkey, stuffing and mac & cheese.  I had thought about bacon-wrapped asparagus, but the asparagus was all huge and dried out looking.  Yuck!  The Brussels sprouts and loose green beans were in much the same condition.  Zucchini was out since we had that all summer.  I was at a loss until I found a bag of green beans, already trimmed and ready to go.  Well almost ready.  You always have to look over your produce - even the bagged stuff.

Now, I'd had garlic green beans in a restaurant that I thought were good, so I pondered how one would make those.  I came up with cooking them until almost done then sauteing them with garlic.  I googled up some recipes and found one from Morton's Steakhouse in Atlanta that sounded like what I was after.  I minced 2 cloves of garlic and about half a shallot, and sauteed them in a mix of butter and olive oil.  When the garlic and shallots were softened and beginning to brown, I added the beans and tossed until the were done to my liking - tender but not mushy.  I'm not one for the crisp-tender vegetables.  I'm from the South ya know [grin] .  Anyway, the beans were a hit.  So pretty on the plate, and they held their green color very well.  

Here's the official recipe.

Next Up...Christmas!

Thanksgiving has now come and gone, and we are stuffed like the turkey himself.  We had two Thanksgivings and an "eat out" meal right in the middle of it all.  Not to mention the post-Thanksgiving pizza I made.  

Thanksgiving meal #1 was the traditional turkey with all the trimmings:  mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, curried onions (I think I referenced those in an earlier post), cranberry sauce, bread, and pumpkin pie.  That was all washed down with Deinhard Green Label Riesling.  Pretty tasty stuff, not as sweet as most German Rieslings, and without that dreadful petrol aroma/taste.  

Our second dinner was last night with friends.  They brought a turkey, and I did the sides and dessert:  Mac & cheese, stuffing, garlic green beans and pecan pie served with a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau.  It was an all-around success, and a wonderful time as usual when we get together.  They also brought cranberry sauce and eggnog.  Now I have never tried eggnog, and was a skeptical participant in this holiday ritual.  I decided it was OK and tasted somewhat like melted vanilla ice cream.  Why not.  It's made with the same ingredients.  I added a bit of Captain Morgan to mine after I had sampled it straight up.  Either is fine, but the rum does give it an added something-something.

Now, Christmas is just 3 weeks away, and we get to turn around and do it all over again.  The cooking, the eating, the visiting, and the groaning after we've done too much of the eating.