T-13: Things to Do With Your Fingers
Featured post: http://www.thestraws.net/2009/03/12/thursday-thirteen-2/ and
http://www.thestraws.net/2009/03/05/thursday-thirteen/ These are the T13 posts I tried to feature last week but couldn’t find the links for.
Here are thirteen things you can do with your fingers, including some suggestions from my kids.
1. Poke people. This is The Girl’s suggestion. She greatly enjoys poking people, especially if it annoys them.
2. Turn off light switches. My son loves to do this, particularly when I need the light.
3. Type. I guess these days it’s called keyboarding. That’s what I do for most of the day.
4. Play video games, what The Boy prefers to do all day.
5. Homework. The kids disagree, but that’s just tough.
6. Test bread to see if it’s done.
7. Wave bye-bye. The kids tend to come and go a lot.
8. Press the keys on a cell phone. If only they were calling to tell me where they were and what they were doing.
9. Turn the pages of a book. I’m reading Three in Death by J.D. Robb. What are you reading?
10. Test the soil in the houseplants to see if they need to be watered.
11. Test the depth of the snow. Actually, it’s more like a pile of hailstones that built up this morning.
12. Break up the clumps in the brown sugar jar.
13. Plug my ears when the radio gets turned to full blast. It’s easier than yelling at the kids to turn it down.
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More Thursday Thirteen participants
Thursday Thirteen’s home page
Tamy ~ 3 Sides of Crazy
Susan Helene Gottfried
Angel
Mary
WriterCarmen
Paige Tyler
Mozi Esme
The Eclectic Witch
Thorne
By George! Princess Charlotte to Marry?
As Gereorge IV’s wife, Princess Caroline was so sure she knew her place that she took a bribe from him to quit her public life and leave England. Then she turned around and attended one of his parties without his invitation.
Princess Caroline finally left England in the first week of August, 1814. I say finally because there was a slight hitch before she could leave. Namely, her daughter had become convinced, with reason, that dad was trying to force her to marry Prince William of Orange. The Prince Regent was anxious that she marry, had told her repeatedly that he would never force her to marry someone she found unacceptable.
What the Prince could not understand is why a fellow he found perfectly acceptable would not be viewed in the same light by his daughter. Part of the problem was that no one found him strongly objectionable at first. Indeed, she sorta, kinda liked him after his second or third visit. He wasn’t as ugly as she first thought him to be, but he wasn’t at all handsome.
(more…)
Ick Factor
One of the things fiction writers hear from the publishing industry is that our stories should not have too great and “ick factor”. By that they mean scenes that are likely to turn readers off because of the emotional response to them.
This could mean anything from unsavory relationships in a love story to graphic details of the squicky kind. Mind you, some is allowed, provided it doesn’t go beyond odd and into ugh.
Unluckily for me, I tend to be an Earthy sort. I have a natural inclination towards ick factors. I have included everything from a heroine cutting her way out of a sea serpent to a serial killer dropping a body in someone’s front yard and calling it a lawn ornament.
Help me figure out what I can and can’t get away with.
Are you willing to read a book that features a tarantula? Are you willing to read about a girl who’s in love with her step brother? Can I describe a rotten watermelon in revolting detail? How about a dead body on a crime scene? What makes you go “ick”, and is it enough to make you give up on a book?
BTW, the comic strips are in reference to a display called Body Works. More on that later.
Table Setting: Various Styles
As I mentioned last week, what is placed at each seat will depend on which style of service is chosen. Here is a quick run-down of dinner styles.
Pretty Simple Smoothie
2 c frozen fruit
1 c yogurt
1/4 c fruit syrup
Blend frozen fruit and yogurt in a food processor or blender until smooth. Alternate layers of blended mixture and fruit syrup. Swirl the last of it on top.
Click the picture to go to the hub
If you did a recipe or posted a picture of food today, leave your link in the comments and I’ll link to you here.
Tamy with Italian Sausage Bake
Kristen with Beef Vegetable Soup
Zriz with Pictures of La Serenata Restaurant
Metamor4Sis ate herself silly
angela with a recipe for Horseshoes
Sherrie with a great Apple Pie recipe
Wet Paint
Jill: What is this?
Jack: The sign for selling our house.
Jill: We can’t sell the house with a sign like this!
Jack: I know! Tonic walked all over it, and got yellow paint everywhere.
Jill: That is the least of the problems with this sign….
Tonic: *thinking to himself* Blah, blah, blah. Huh? Oh!
Today’s theme is yellow. Last week was four and next is hands. Yeah, I’m going somewhere with this.
Previously in Jack and Jill House For Sale
saturday photo scavenger hunt
The rules for Photohunt can be found here.
Be sure to visit the home page.
Suzie’s House 109: Realization
What? Case dismissed? Just like that? Rob gestured to his idiot lawyer, who hadn’t done a single useful thing in course of the entire hearing. So far as Rob was concerned, it was good money down the drain.
When he did that thing last night to make sure Suzie wouldn’t have a lawyer, he’d assumed that meant she would be defenseless and he would have the advantage. Instead, he had to pay this idiot and still hadn’t accomplished anything.
“I object!” Rob shouted, jumping to his feet. It sounded cool, almost noble, when Ben said it. Rob looked around expectantly.
T13: Thirteen Chunks of Meat
My favorite T13 post from last week is Argh! I can’t find my links. I wanted to feature the soldier who listed reason to be sad about returning home and reasons to be glad in two different weeks. Anyone seen that one?
Anyone remember the list my kids came up with a couple of weeks ago? I’m talking about the list of lists that I could use for my Thursday Thirteen posts. Some of you challenged me to come up with Thirteen Chunks of Meat. I naively thought, “sure. It’ll be easy.” Not! Turns out we don’t have thirteen kinds of meat in the house. I found myself grasping for straws.
Anyway, here’s my list:
1. Hamburger. This is actually special, irreplaceable hamburger. Seriously. I bought it from a former boss who no longer raises beef. There are only two packages of it left and when it’s gone, there won’t be any more.
2. This is grocery store hamburger that got put in a canning jar. It isn’t canned, it’s just here. Don’t ask.
3. Meatballs in spaghetti sauce. Don’t believe me? Tough. I’m eating them right now.
4. Corned Beef from St. Paddy’s Day.
5. Thick sliced ham.
6. Thin sliced ham. It’s from the same ham, but I told you I was desperate, right?
7. It’s over there in the bottom left corner – bratwurst. You can take the girl out of Wisconsin but Wisconsin will follow in delivery trucks. Now where did I put the beer?
8. Fish sticks – the thin kind. I don’t actually eat these.
9. I eat the catfish. As you can see, I’m running out. Gotta go get more.
10. Shrimp. That’s a chunk of meat, right?
11. Chicken
12. Egg. Hey, it counts.
13. Ok, this is where I really got desperate. If there’d been any cheese left I could have gone with it, but no. Instead, I used tofu. This is some I’m turning into Sesame Tofu. Yeah, I’m desperate.
So how many chunks of meat do you have in the house?
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More Thursday Thirteen participants can be found here
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On a limb with Claudia
Ann Bruce
Susan Helene Gottfried
WriterCarmen
Becky68
Tricia
Matthew James Didier
Thorne
Eaton Bennett
Carol @SheLives
By George! The Wrath of a Princess
I believe last week’s post about the newspapers during the Regency was a digression. Mr. Al takes up this week with another look at Princess Caroline and her relationship with George IV.
Things had not been going well for the Princess at all. She had been growing more and more concerned with the public aspects of her life as the Princess of Wales. I should say she had been growing more concerned with her husbands ability to thwart what she felt was her right to a public life.
Part of the problem was that there was very little in the way of law that guaranteed her certain liberties as Princess of Wales. There were traditions, to be sure, but the Prince only bowed to tradition when it suited his purpose. And the Princess was feeling decidedly ill-used by the Whig party. Why, “all that they did was for the gratification of the party, not for my gratification.” Imagine that!
Tax Season
Tax Season actually started a while ago. I’m a book keeper, not a tax accountant, but I still end up doing some fairly hairy taxes. I’m in the thick of it now. I probably wont be done with all of them until April.
By now you should have received all the 1099s you are going to. There might still be a few K1s floating out there, but if you’re doing a Schedule C you should have all your records lined up. So there’s really no excuse for waiting.
So where are you in the process?
How to Set a Table
This is going to be about as basic as you get. I’ll get a little more elaborate next week.
The first step in setting a table is to plan the menu. What you will serve will determine which items need to be set. For example, if you will be serving soup, then your guests will need a soup spoon. Otherwise it does not need to be on the table. If you are serving steak, you may wish to include a steak knife. I will discuss the various possibilities in much greater detail next Monday.
The second step is to decide which style you wish to use. When serving European style, the place settings may become quite elaborate with multiple plates and an array of silverware in front of each seat. When serving Compromise of Family style the plates will all be at the head of the table, waiting for the food to be placed on them before being handed around to their respective places. Again, I will discuss this in more detail later.
In most setting the fork(s) should go on the left of the plate. The knife(s) and spoon(s) should go on the right. The knife should always be closest to the plate with the blade facing inward where it can do the least amount of harm to the clumsy. Spoons and forks should be placed so that the diner can take up whatever is on the outermost edge and be ready to eat whatever will be served next. For instance, if a salad comes first and the salad fork is place on the table rather than on the salad plate, it should be on the outside of the array of forks, furthest from the plate.
Napkins may be place in a variety of places. Placing them under the silverware may create a problem, however, as the silverware must then be removed and may become jumbled at the very beginning of the meal when the napkin in placed in the lap. Optimally, it will go to the left of the forks.
Stop laughing, Anastasia. You know I’m talking about a handkerchief type thing, not a diaper.
The water glass should go to the right, toward the middle of the table. Other glasses, such as wine glasses, juice glasses, etc. should be placed in the same general vicinity.
I will admit that my own table settings have occasionally been rather sparse. I’ve been known to put down nothing more than a plate and a pair of chopsticks.
Drop by next week when I attempt to get fancy with this.
Basic Drop Cookies
Kind of look like Sandies don’t they? But no, these are what my old copy of Better Homes and Gardens “New Cook Book” (new about 30 years ago) calls Basic Drop Cookies. They call them basic because the rest of the page is taken up with interesting things you can do to them, like adding lemon and yogurt, or chocolate and peanuts. They are tasty even without all the hoopla.
1 1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c butter
1/4 c shortening
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Combine flour. baking soda, and salt. Beat butter and shortening. Add sugars and beat until fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, then add dry ingredients. Drop from a teaspoon 2 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 F for 8 to 10 minutes. Makes 30 to 36.
Click the picture to go to the hub
If you did a recipe today, leave your link in the comments and I’ll link to you here.
Genebei with a picture of broccoli
Tamy with Broccoli Tomato Salad
Rosidah with a picture of oxtail soup and fried noodles
Emily with Orange Raisin Coffee Cake
Tess with a picture of a veggie platter
House For Sale
Jack: Dmn it, Tonic! Keep your dirty feet off my sign!!!
Yeah, this is set up for next week. 🙂
Today’s theme is four. Next week is yellow.
Previously in Jack and Jill Nostalgia
saturday photo scavenger hunt
The rules for Photohunt can be found here.
Be sure to visit the home page.
Suzie’s House 108: Based on the Evidence
“She doesn’t deserve Ben,” Mr. Hammacker shouted over and over again.
“Mr. Hammacker,” Judge Jennifer applied her iciest voice. “It is not a question of who deserves what so much as what is best for the child.”
“Well… well…” Mr. Hammacker’s gaze jerked around the room sightlessly. Once he settled on what he wanted to say, he looked quite smug. “It isn’t safe there for Ben.”
Check it out
If you enjoyed traveling cheese, and like Romance, you might enjoy today’s post over at Romance Roundtable. It has it’s moments.
