A Truck From The Past

Hello Friends,

Car Lovers Rejoice! After 50 Miserable Years, CAFE Standards Are Dead

This could be good news for car and truck buyers and the auto industry as well. Let's bring these back, shall we?

CAFE stands for corporate average fuel economy, and here is an excerpt from the article linked above.

"From the beginning, these standards were a disaster, forcing automakers to radically downsize their fleet, which research showed cost thousands of lives because, all things being equal, smaller, lighter cars are less safe than larger ones.

In fact, a 2002 National Academy of Sciences found that these fuel economy standards not only boosted the cost of cars, but may have caused as many as 2,600 more traffic fatalities just in 1993."

You know, safety first, except when it's not.

This whole thing began in order to force car manufacturers to increase fuel economy across the board. They had to meet a corporate standard or face stiff penalties.

That meant smaller cars and larger pickups. Why pickups you ask? Well as I understand it, pickups are generally less fuel efficient anyway, so to meet these new standards they had to provide the required gas mileage per cubic foot of vehicle. Thus, the super-large pickups were able to state the required gas mileage.

Have you seen the size of modern trucks? You practically need a ladder to get in or out, and the bed is as high as my head. I hope that with the demise of the CAFE standards, we can return to reasonably sized trucks.

A shout out to The Abode of McThag for sharing this article.

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

More About Herbs

Hello Friends,

Let's talk some more about herbs, shall we? My current read is The Herbal Apothecary by 

JJ Pursell. Although I am only part way through the book, I find it well written and easy to understand. It covers 100 medicinal herbs with helpful color photographs. She describes the attributes of each plant, including instructions on how to make teas, tinctures, salves, and syrups, plus dosing and recipes.

There are sections on the systems of the body: cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal and endocrine. These give detailed information on how our bodies work, and how herbal medicine can play a part in keeping us healthy.

At this point, my herb garden contains mostly culinary herbs, and even that got away from me and bloomed before I decided to harvest. Yesterday I picked some German thyme and Italian oregano. I had previously trimmed a new rosemary plant that had gotten leggy.

I'll continue to build my herb garden to hopefully include more medicinal herbs and have enough culinary herbs to harvest at the proper time and still have fresh when I want them.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that when using herbs in your dishes, one tablespoon dried herbs = three tablespoons fresh herbs. Just remember to triple the amount of fresh herbs if your recipe calls for dried, and always use fresh in salads and salsas and as garnish in finishing off your dish. When putting fresh herbs into a cooked dish, add near the end of cooking to retain color and flavor. I'll update on the rest of the garden later.

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

What's That On The Porch?

Hello friends,

Today we are getting back to nature in a weird way. I saw this strange thing on my porch. It that a leaf or some type of life form? I pick up a stick and poke it. It doesn't move. It looks a bit like a jellyfish in the first picture doesn't it? I can just imagine it floating lazily on the water going where the current takes it. 

Assuming that it is not a living creature, I flip it over to look at the underside. It looks like an image of a brain. I'd never seen anything like this, and wondered how it got on my porch.

So I did a bit of looking around, and found this site, Mushroom Appreciation. There is a lot of information here concerning a variety of similar mushrooms. What I gather is that they grow on dead or half dead trees (I assume dead branches in an otherwise live tree qualify as hosts). We have two large Pecan trees in the front yard which usually sport at least one or two dead branches. When those fall, we often find a slimy black fungus on them. Those are gross, but I think not the same. 

I believe this is the wood ear mushroom, also known as jelly ear, and possible jellyfish mushroom, which is an apt description.

This next picture was taken later that day when it had dried out a bit. It retained it's shape, but darkened somewhat. You can still see the "brain" lines. 

After a few days, it dried out to maybe 20% of its original size. You can still see some of the brain lines, but it is much darker and crispy like a chip.

I find different types of fungi very interesting. There is a fungus category on my side bar where you can see the rest of my unusual finds.

Maybe the occasional afternoon thundershowers will produce some lawn decorations to post about.

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

Patience My Friends

Hello Friends,

Hubby and I have been reading this lady's blog for several years, and it is time I highlight her here at Roses to Rainbows. Her name is Sarah, and her blog is According to Hoyt. She is originally from Portugal, and this is important because having been raised in a foreign country gives her a perspective that those of us born in the U.S. don't have.

Throughout the years, she has informed and enlightened us. She has encouraged and entertained us. She has forbidden us from swallowing the black pill on numerous occasions when things looked particularly gloomy, often reminding us to "Be not afraid, we win - they lose". Thank you Sarah!

Sarah is also a fantastic fiction writer, and you can find her books on Amazon. and you can also find her on my sidebar under Frequent Stops.

Now, please read her July 17th post entitled "A Decent Respect". This is for all my conservative friends who are a bit frustrated, or somewhat peeved, or just downright angry at the lack of progress made in bringing the perps to justice. 

From the Covid plandemic participants to the Epstein list debacle, we want answers that result in convictions. We've been through a lot over the past five years, and our patience wears thin. 

As humans, we tend to pivot from "it's been six months so what are they waiting for" (glass half empty) to "well, it's only been six months, give them time" (glass half full). Let's all be "glass half full" people. Things must be done right with all the i's dotted and t's crossed, allowing nothing to fall through the cracks. Sometimes the wheels of justice turn slowly. On the other hand, slow and steady wins the race.

In all honesty though, many changes for the good have already happened at amazing speeds.

Still we must stay vigilant because the liberal democrat socialists will continue to try and divide us and fracture MAGA. We the people need to remain united in the face of their lies and continue to share the truth.

So read, enjoy, be encouraged and share her post with friends, family, on social media, etc. 

Personally, I have my own list of offenders I would like to see in the above cartoon, although there would be many more inmates.

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

A Symbol of Peace

Hello Friends,

What we have here is an olive branch, or at least an olive twig. Nope, no olive trees growing in my yard. This was plucked not from a tree, but from a can of sliced black olives. It was well preserved and flexible, almost as if it was just picked instead of having gone through the canning process.

I placed it along side hubby's salad, explaining that it was an olive branch that was in the can. Now oftentimes you find bits of stem from green beans or other canned produce, but this was definitely a first. He wondered if perhaps it had been put in there intentionally. My thought is no, but it is a nice idea as the olive branch has long been a symbol of peace.

In the Genesis, Noah sent forth a dove to see if the waters had dried up upon the land. The second time the dove went out, she came back with an olive leaf. She was released a third time a week later and did not return. The olive leaf represented the peace of God sent out from the heavens.

Also, from the book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were often depicted in early Christian art with a dove and olive branch. These were the three men thrown into a fiery furnace, but they did not burn, saved by faith.

In relatively more modern times, the United States, after declaring independence in 1776, created the Great Seal. In addition to the bald eagle, stars and stripes, it shows the eagle clutching an olive branch in his left foot. On the branch there are 13 olives and 13 leaves.

U.S. Great Seal by By Andrew B. Graham

Other countries, including Cyprus, Israel, and Eritrea, as well as the United Nations, also have the olive branch on their flags or other national emblems.

Knowing some of the history of the olive branch makes finding that small twig in the olive can even more special. Peace to all of you.

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

They Have To Lie

Hello friends,

There is always something going on isn't there. As my mom would say, if it's not one thing, it's another, and that pretty much sums up the country and the world on the whole.

What isn't lacking is the hate and lies that are constantly spewing forth like an overactive volcano. For example, certain party members and, of course, the media, are jumping on the tragedy in Texas and railing about budget cuts and staffing shortages. Why? Because if the President hadn't cut so much money from the weather service budget, then the tragedy never would have happened. If he hadn't fired all the weather forecasters, then this horrific event never would have happened. It is all his fault! Blah, blah, blah.

Wrong! That is all lies and nonsense. In the first place, any budget cuts have not even gone into effect. Secondly, there were more than enough forecasters on duty for the weather event. They generally run with two, and bump that up to five for significant weather events, calling in extras or requiring overtime. 

So, no, that did not effect the forecasters' ability, but they have to lie...it's who they are.

Then next up in the blame game is "climate change". Ah, but we know better. Climate change is a man-made, bureaucratic hoax to manipulate the minds of the masses into believing that we are somehow responsible for global warming, cooling, etc. Don't get me started on geoengineering, and what that could be doing to the weather...trying to fix something we did that we really didn't do in the first place. Oy!

At any rate there are several factors that led to this tragic event. One, it happened in the middle of the night when everyone was sleeping. Likely no one even heard the warning since cell service is between spotty and non-existent in that area. Also, I doubt that anyone had a weather radio either. Sirens? Nope. 

To credit the forecasters, they put out watches and warnings and then an emergency flood warning to evacuate immediately which I think went out about 4 a.m. 

Since the camp was so close to the river, it would seem that an evacuation plan could have been in place in the event of an emergency. Perhaps someone could have been on watch monitoring the weather with a way to communicate quickly with other adults. This is just speculation on my part. Maybe it would have a difference, maybe not. I suspect plans and procedures will change now, though.

We all say that things like this shouldn't happen, but they do. That is the way nature works and given the wide shallow river, the amount of rain and the fact that it is in hill country, flooding can happen quickly. It has done this multiple times in the past. What made this more deadly is that it happened at night.

It is devastating for the families and the community, and our prayers are with them, as well as all the search and rescue personnel. They have seen things that they will never forget. 

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

Eyes On The Garden, Folks!

Hello Friends,

Garden news: Each of my pepper plants are producing and the cherry tomato is loaded. The Better Boy probably has a baker's dozen and the Celebrity is bringing up the rear.

Sadly, the squash are not squashing yet. Had a few small ones on the zucchini, but they never developed. Also, the cukes are not as tasty as I'd hoped. Here is a picture of the one I picked today. I spotted it Friday and said it would be ready to pick in a couple of days. It is now Monday and it has tripled in size since then. This is the Straight Eight variety. 

I had eagerly awaited the first ripe tomato and remarked to hubby that it would be ready soon. Today was the day. I reached in and plucked out a small but otherwise ripe and ready tomato. 

Alas, I turned it over and this is what I saw.

The cardinal rule of gardening is that you must keep eyes on everything every day. Sometimes multiple times a day. It is however hard to see what is happening on the bottom of every tomato. In my defense, they grow in clumps in the center of the plant inside a four-foot tall cage. I must reach inside a 2" by 4" opening the welded wire fence to harvest or prune away dead leaves, the latter involving getting scissors in as well. I may need to rethink some things next year. 

I have some organic fertilizer to put out and that might help. I think I also have some calcium spray I can use. Blossom end rot results in two things, both involving calcium. Either there is not enough in the soil, or there is insufficient uptake.

The storm that came up through SC dumping copious amounts of rain in some areas only gave us 0.4" of rain, so back to watering this evening. Sigh!

I had planned to do a roundup of all the good news on the national and political fronts back before the holiday, but that, as they say, is old news now. Maybe I'll do a post with my take on some of the highlights...we'll see.

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

Speaking of Herbs

Hello Friends,

In the continuing saga of gardening 2025, here is a rundown of what's growing in my herb garden.

New this year

English Thyme
Lemon Thyme
German Thyme

Garden Sage (wide leaves)

Italian Oregano

Sweet Basil

Parsley

From previous years

Sage

Chives

Greek Oregano

Lemon Balm

Rosemary

There is also a small pot of dill waiting to be transplanted.

I have an interesting recipe for you. Now please stay with me on this because it will surprise you.  

La Tagliata (Italian grilled flank steak)

2 lbs. beef flank steak

Freshly ground black pepper

4 TB extra virgin olive oil

4 anchovy fillets

2 Tsp. finely chopped garlic

3 TB finely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley

Salt.

Put the olive oil and anchovies in a small skillet and place it over medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon and cook until the anchovies begin to dissolve. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the parsley, stir for another 30 seconds, and remove from the heat. **After making this for many years, I don't measure anything.**

Slice your cooked steak against the grain, and serve with the hot sauce. 

The sauce is the focus of the recipe here, so my comments on the steak is to cook it to medium rare and slice it on an angle against the grain. This will make it more tender.

You can also use flat iron steak or my favorite, skirt steak.

This recipe comes from Every Night Italian - Giuliano Hazan

Also, check out my post from a few years back: The Secret is in the Seasoning: Herbs and Spices.

Enjoy the recipe and until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

First Summer Garden Update

Hello friends,

I have a garden update for you today. The tomatoes (Better Boy and Celebrity) have nearly topped their cages and have little green maters on them. Everything is showing promise, even the zucchini, which up until a few days ago only had male flowers.

We had been getting regular thundershowers with enough rain to keep things going with out watering. Cue the arrival of a major heat wave with plenty of sunshine and temperatures in the mid to upper 90s. I had to put shade cloth over the poor cukes yesterday, and 15 minutes later they were in the shade. Don't worry, it's not climate change, just summer.

I'm not a real morning person, so watering happens later than I'd like, but I do try to keep most of it off the foliage. My straw was not what I normally get and it molded, so some of my plants do not have mulch yet. Lesson learned...don't get that again. Only got it because it was all they had and I needed straw. Argh, still need more straw or something. Never use the colored mulch in the garden. I haven't looked for data on that, but the dye stains clothing, so I can't think it is good for plants.

I have been enjoying my expanded herb garden, and hubby has been getting some in his nightly salad. Maybe I need to do a post on just herbs and include a favorite recipe. You will be surprised.

At this moment in time, the temperature in our neck of the woods is 94° with a heat index of 109 reported from a nearby weather station.

Wherever you are, I hope you are staying cool and hydrated. Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

Update, I noticed after putting this post together that I had gotten my finger in two of the pics. Too hot to do a retake!

Is Pride Month On The Wane?

Hello Friends,

Here we find ourselves once again in the month of June. It is a new year and a new era. Times they are a changing, and for the better in my humble opinion.

It seems that more people and more companies are turning away from "pride month" (intentionally not capitalized). If you have been reading here for any length of time, you know where I stand on this subject.

We'll start with Target as our first example. There are videos and articles saying that Target is pulling back from pride month, and their displays are patriotic, American themed and family oriented. You know, like a regular summer display. Okay, that's great, right? Well, I went to their corporate website and guess what I found? They DO have a pride collection, although they have largely scaled back since the major outrage from consumers in 2023 when they featured LGBT and trans clothing for children, not to mention the Satanist designs. Oh my word. Decent people will only take so much then look out. 

Mostly what I saw online was items with rainbow colors and "sayings". So it would seem that they not turned away as much as toned down. Perhaps this is only on their website. Maybe stores in more conservative areas have less, and the more liberal areas have more. I don't know. I haven't been in Target in years, and I used to shop there before the woke virus overtook them.

Here are some of the companies who are NOT sponsoring pride month this year.

19 Companies pulling back their support for pride

Among these are Anheuser-Busch, Disney, DoorDash, UPS, PepsiCo and Capital One. It seems a number of companies are doing a complete about face when it comes to pride. Maybe they figured out that when you go woke you go broke. 

Here we have another article on how just under six months have brought about big changes. Trump Era: Target Majorly Tones Down Children’s ‘Pride Month’ Apparel.

Now let's have a look at pride in the NFL and the MLB. I have no love for football to begin with, but even if I did, this would certainly change my viewing habits. They are obviously not listening to the fans.

This is so disgusting, but I had to include it to show the full scope of their wokeness.

Major League Baseball is right up there with the NFL, but there is one outstanding exception and that is the Texas Rangers. No Pride in Texas, Rangers Lone Team Without Pride Night.

I hope this post finds you well today, and gives you some hope that things are indeed changing for the better. Maybe someone will find a cure for the woke mind virus plaguing so many.

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

It's Official!

 HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE

I hope you take some time to step back from the craziness of the world to enjoy the summer and spend time getting back to nature. We can all benefit from fresh air, sunshine and connecting with the earth.

Picture is AI generated.

A Good Decision

Hello Friends,

Fitting right in with pride month (no I don't capitalize it), here is a bit of good news for the sane among us. It seems the Supreme Court has ruled against gender-affirming care, i.e. child mutilation, and upheld the ban in Tennessee. The vote was 6-3. 

Here is the article from PJ Media. Supreme Court Delivers a Crushing Blow to Trans Agenda

Now, I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to me like this could set a precedent for other states to follow. I certainly hope so! I have seen too many stories from both males and females who have DE-transitioned because they realized it didn't fix anything, and they regretted making the transition. 

Many of these individuals come from a background of abuse, neglect, addiction, autism and, mental health issues. Some began taking hormone treatments in their teens. If these young people had gotten the medical and mental health care and therapy they needed, instead of being told they can change their gender, likely they wouldn't have ended up transitioning in the first place. I've said it before and I'll say it again. You cannot change your gender. All the hormones, and surgeries will not make a man into a woman or a woman into a man, and once you have had those surgeries your life is changed forever, even after you detransition.

Those who are pushing this mutilation of children make it sound appealing as if it will magically make all their problems go away. You know what, problems and figuring things out are part of what it means to grow up. But first, they just need to be kids, to run and jump and play, to ride bikes and learn to fish, cook or do chores for an allowance. They don't need LGBT books in their schools, and pride displays in stores. They need love and discipline. They need guidance and to be taught critical thinking and reasoning skills as they navigate the path from child to teen to adult.

No matter what your political views are, the world's children are the future. We can ensure the future by doing our best to protect the children, not from bumps and scrapes, but from evil.

Your thoughts are welcome in the comments. Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

 Hello Friends,

It's been a few days so I thought I'd check in and give the first garden update of the year. Since it rained a lot during the time I would be putting the garden in, I had to wait. I only managed to get it tilled once and had to spread the amendments on the top and dig them in by hand as needed. Ugh! 

Finally I bought plants and slowly introduced them to the garden with all the usual things like fertilizer and for the three tomato plants, a bit of epsom salts in the hole and some baking soda sprinkled around. Straw was applied liberally.

Then came one zucchini, one sweet banana pepper, one jalapeno, and two cucumbers. All got their own bed of straw as well. Now we wait. Well we had some nice warm, sunny days, and then the rains and cool temps

came back. The garden appeared to be at a standstill for what seems like forever, but I am seeing runners on the cukes and buds on them and the squash. I even have blooms and one small pepper on the itty bitty jalapeno. Now I have heard people say that they pluck off the early fruit so the plant will put more energy into growth. I've never done that and still had success. 

The last time I planted jalapenos, they got eaten off and what grew back didn't produce well. So now we have our garden fenced in against at least the larger critters.

What a difference a couple weeks make. The first picture above was taken May 20 and the second was taken June 2.

Here is my jalapeno, up close and personal. 

My herb garden is doing nicely, too.

So there you have it. A sample of my 2025 garden.  

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

Junk Mail

Hello friends,

Raise your hand if you get buried in mail. I see that is about 99.9% of you. If you're like us, a portion of that gets shredded (for security purposes) and the rest goes into the recycle bins. Am I right so far?

So why am I writing a post on junk mail? I find that there are other uses for some of it. Take for example the envelopes, both what the item arrives in and the often-included return envelope. These make great grocery, to-do lists, sketching a design or just taking notes.

No more buying the fancy pads of paper just to scribble down bread, milk, eggs, cheese and hot dogs, only to crumple it into the trash bin after shopping. Just use the free stuff delivered daily to your mailbox.

Speaking of shopping, you can also use your envelopes to hold coupons for grocery shopping, receipts, etc.

Keeping closer to home, plain paper can be shredded and added to your compost bin. Worms love paper so you could add it directly to your garden or start your own worm farm. The worms will make great compost on a diet of unsolicited letters wishing to buy your property or offers for great rates on car insurance. Click here and here for more information on worm farms.

If you're not already shredding your sensitive information, please invest in a shredder if you can. Crosscut are best for security purposes. This is the shredder we have, and it works very well. We got ours some years back from Costco.

I hope you find some of these tips useful in dealing with the mountains of junk mail, or as we like to call it 'dead trees' that arrive in your mailbox six days a week. Let me know in the comments if you have other uses for your junk mail.

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

A Draft From The Past

He who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions. - Confucius

I wrote the following back in 2020 just as the plandemic was unfolding, and an evil like we hadn't thought possible from our own people was about to strike like a meteorite. I tweaked this ever so slightly for today's post, but it's essence it is still relevant today. Hopefully things will improve going forward...but only time will tell.

Here are a few thoughts for today. Some say we are living in troubled times. Maybe. Probably, but you know what? Throughout the ages, there have always been troubled times. There has always been violence, discrimination, prejudice, and unfounded hate.

This has been going on ever since the beginning of mankind and will likely continue as long as humans inhabit the earth. Some things are just a fact of life. We shall call it the human factor.

There is also unimaginable beauty, tranquility, friendship and love which will also continue as long as humans inhabit the earth, another part of the human factor.

None of this is new or news. Nevertheless, it seems we must have something to talk about, complain about or use as an excuse for otherwise unacceptable behavior. Here's a concept. Unacceptable behavior is always just that...unacceptable.

You know people, as a whole, are good and decent, but there are those who are not and they are the people (or groups) who are using violence, abuse, vulgar rhetoric and just plain misinformation (lies) to further their agendas. 

So what do we want in life? Freedom, security, health and happiness are high on my list, and I would think that would be true for most people. In years past I have not shared my political and world views with others. However, there comes a time when it just frosts my cookies to see otherwise good and decent people so caught up in the media frenzy of the day, that they blindly accept whatever is spewed forth in the name of news, reporting, or journalism, as the undisputed truth.

It seems there is no such thing as truth and honesty, or reporting the actual news. That has been replaced by instant news, 24/7 cable news channels and the internet. They're even giving us the "facts" before they happen. You saw it on TV or read it on the internet so it's got to be true, right?

NOT...I would much prefer we get the REAL facts and use our own common sense and intelligence to draw our own conclusions.

Now before you get your unmentionables in a twist, I am not saying all journalists and reporters are so biased that all you get for news is what supports the official narrative. 

Still, take everything with a grain (or shaker) of salt, do your own fact-checking - you may have to dig deep, and think for yourselves. We do not need more of the blind leading the blind, and the pots and kettles calling each other names.

Now, if you have read this far without slamming the door in my face, you have figured out that, for the purpose of this post, there are essentially two groups: the thinkers and the followers. 

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

Can We Talk About It?

Barney Fife: Yes, sir, that's one subject you just can't talk enough about... SIN.

I've seen a number of articles about "Progressive Christianity" and touched on it briefly here. This seems to be an epidemic not only in our country, but around the world. I'm not a theologian, but it is my opinion that this has little to do with real Christianity, and is more a religion of modern culture.

The more progressive churches seem leave out anything regarding salvation and, dare we even say it, sin. I would say that sin is alive and flourishing in the world and more importantly, in the church. Here is a link to a recent article in PJ Media, entitled Progressive Christianity Watch: Preaching Anything but the Gospel.

Here are a few quotes:

"I'm a pastor. Of course I believe in healing brokenness, but you will never hear about shame, judgment, or even sin at this church."

"I'm a pastor. Of course I believe we should be exactly as God designed us to be, which means that queer lives are worthy, divine, beloved, and acceptable exactly as they are. No exceptions." 

Here is the video so you can watch for yourself.

So what do you make of a Christian church that refuses to talk about sin?

According to research, the word "sin" appears in the Bible approximately 427 times in the King James Version (KJV), based on data from Bible concordances and word studies available on the web. 

To me that indicates that it is pretty important that sin is discussed and preached on in church. Apparently for progressive pastors that is just too uncomfortable a topic, and who wants to make their congregation uncomfortable?

Let me know if this is happening in your church and how you plan to handle it. Stay and stand up or leave for a more Bible-based church? Feel free to chime in with your thoughts in the comments. 

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

When Your Stainless Steel Isn't Shiny

Hello Friends,

We're still in the kitchen today, and I have a cleaning tip for you. 

Many of us cook with stainless steel everyday, and we all thought this is supposed to be stainless, right? 

Usually, but have you ever cooked starchy foods such as pasta, rice or potatoes, then tossed your pot into the dishwasher only to have it come out with a white film on the bottom? You can't wipe it off, and you wash it again only to have the bloom, as I call it, come back as soon as it's dry.

I accidentally stumbled upon the solution, and it is very simple indeed. You have a jug of white vinegar don't you? Pour in just enough to barely cover the bottom of your pot and let it sit for a few minutes. Rinse or wash to get rid of the vinegar smell and dry. Your pot will sparkle like new.

How did I discover this? I was tired of washing and rewashing trying to get rid of the bloom, so I sprayed it with my counter cleaner, which consists mainly of vinegar. Voila! I have also noted that cooking something with tomato sauce will result in sparkling pots, so I expect it is the acid that does the trick.

Let me know if you have tried this and if it worked for you.

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

Instant Pot Eggs

 Hello Friends,

We're switching things up today, and I'm going to share with you my new best way to boil eggs. For years, I did it this way, and it worked great. 

But now I use my Instant Pot and make the best "boiled" eggs ever, at least in my opinion.

Plug in your Instant Pot and insert a steamer basket if you have one. If you don't, there should be a rack that came with the pot. Add your eggs and one cup of water. Then set the pressure to high (I always use high for everything) and set the timer for 5 minutes. When the pot beeps to signal they are done, then set a timer for 5 more minutes.

After that, release the remaining pressure - there shouldn't be much. Remove the eggs and place them into a pot with a lid. Add cold water and let them sit for about 5 minutes. Drain the water, replace the lid and shake vigorously for a few seconds. Unless you started with really fresh eggs, which naturally are more difficult to peel, these should just about slide out of their shells.

If you note the picture above, one did actually shell itself.

I hope today's post finds you well, and gives you an alternative for boiling eggs.

For Mom's on Mother's Day

Whenever I see a lost person and think, "There but for the grace of God, go I," I realize that the grace of God was my mom. - Robert Brault

Moms do so much more for us that we realize, way beyond fixing our meals and patching up our boo-boos. They put us on the right path with their advice, wisdom and prayers.  I truly appreciate this.

Happy Mothers Day, Mom!

If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Ever Heard Of Atrazine?

Subtitled: What's in your water?

Atrazine is a pesticide that can be found in your drinking water. Typically this occurs from run-off where the contaminated water works it's way into the ground water. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was interviewed on Joe Rogan's podcast and it was reported in a video clip that Atrazine was found in Texas drinking water in 2018.

Here is a quote from Kennedy's interview about an experiment that was done, I am assuming, as a test for "safety".

“Probably the most disturbing endocrine disruptor, and this is something we should all be looking at, is atrazine. What is atrazine? It's in the water. It's a it's a pesticide.

They took atrazine, and they put it in a tank with 40 frogs. They put it BELOW the exposure levels that EPA considers acceptable to humans. 

They were all male frogs 

- 30 of those frogs were chemically castrated 

- 4 of them TURNED INTO FEMALES and produced fertile eggs 

Toxic herbicide found in drinking water — we're subjecting our children to exposure to that every day.”

You know, what does this do to sexual development in children?

 Nobody knows but we know what it does to frogs.”

Now, I don't know how long this experiment took, but for a chemical found in drinking water to turn a male frog into a female frog is some serious stuff. It sounds like something from a science fiction novel, but it has been well documented...for years.

Alex Jones brought this to light back in 2015 on his show, and was labeled a quack, which is interesting because there have been studies done at least as far back as 2011.

So why is this still in drinking water? If you are interested in this, please click the link above and read through the comments. This is REAL.

Here is a more scientific look at the frog study.

More about where you might find Atrazine in the water supply.

"Several states have reported atrazine contamination in their water supplies, exceeding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) legal limit of 3 parts per billion (ppb). Texas, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Illinois are among the states where water utilities have reported atrazine spikes higher than the federal legal limit." Full article here.

If you want to know what's in your water, click this link.

Note: If you research Atrazine, you will find that is an herbicide. Herbicides are a subcategory of pesticides.

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.