The Looky-Loos

Ears in the Turrets Hear ... Wonderdog

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

 

Okay ... so you all know what a TV junkie I am ... right? Well I have to say this no TV situation ... is sort of FREAKING me out. I'm heading online to check on my Library card, make sure it isn't expired. I may have to go check out some TV programs. Oh but I'd forgotten, I don't have the remote for my DVD player ... so I can only watch the first episode of each disk. There goes that brilliant idea.

Other than my TV withdrawl symptoms, things have been maddening around my apartment. The complex is laying new carpet in the hallways and on the stairs which has been making my doggy Kadee freak out ... literally she's been Barky McBarksalot ALL day long.

I'm thinking to myself (and if truth be told telling her at every waking moment) ~ Mama's working nights, mama needs to sleep during the day babycakes ... mama needs little miss Barksalot to shaddup already!!!

So this afternoon ... I finally just shut her out of the bedroom. Not in a mean way, I just shut my bedroom door while she was at the front door barking out her peace. I suppose I could have just left both dogs at home and gone to my mom's house to sleep. Hindsight, 20/20

I'll tell you what happened instead though. Kadee would go bark at the front door, then come scratch on the bedroom door ... then back to the front door; return to the bedroom door. Finally ... she figured out that if she barked she couldn't be in the bedroom ... but if she was in the bedroom, she couldn't bark ... I suspect it was a real conundrum for her. One of those 'things that make you go hmmm' moments. In the end, she decided quiet sleep was the best choice. Ahhh ... thank the gods for small miracles and two hour naps.

In the meantime ... Sookie the wonderdog (this dog can FLY man!) was pouncing on my head at every given opportunity.

Sookie also nearly scared 10 years off my life. I woke up from a stingy 1 1/2 hours of sleep (my last nap of the day) and made my way to the living room. Bear in mind here, Sookie is usually right at my heels whenever I move around. So I was surprised she wasn't following me.

Slightly alarmed -- thinking perhaps I'd left her shut out on the balcony or possibly that I had forgotten I'd duct taped her to the wall somewhere -- I started looking around for her. My apartment is not huge, there aren't that many hiding places. I looked in the pantry (more on that later), in the bathroom, in the bedroom closet, in the laundry room, on the balcony and under the bed. Sookie was NOWHERE to be found. I looked in all those places again ... calling her name. Still NOTHING.

Now I was fully alarmed! Then ... THEN I spotted a suspicious lump under the covers at the end of my bed, and lo and behold ... there's Sookie, so deep in sleep and downy comfort; with one of my socks tucked happily between her teeth, that apparently she couldn't or wouldn't hear me call. Funny dog, trix are for kids! Now, go make the bed!

Sooo ... back to TV ... because really it's my obsession. I've gone through all my Harry Potter movies. I've watched The Day After Tomorrow, Armageddon and Deep Impact. I'm thinking that on my three day weekend, I'll do the LOTR trilogy one day. Then I'll do Titanic and Gone with the Wind the second day. And on day three, The Dune Saga! Sounds good n'est pas? Needless to say ... I'm going to have a lot of tv catching up to do once it's all 'back on!'. Yup. I maybe off blogger for a while when that happens ... so you all better bloody well enjoy while you can!

You're all welcome though, bring your own popcorn, beer, soda, whatnot ... I have tea ... and rice puffs!

That's all folks ... beedah beedah beep beep!



ஜ~§Quote Of The Day§~ஜ


Ocean: A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man - who has no gills.
Ambrose Bierce


ஜ~§The Question Of The Day§~ஜ


Do you tend to forgive and forget or hold grudges? What is the longest you've ever stayed angry with someone? Is there anything the other person could say or do to win back your friendship and trust?

ஜ~§The Word Of The Day§~ஜ


Nihil Obstat

PRONUNCIATION:
(NY-hil OB-stat, NEE-)

MEANING:
noun:
1. Official approval.
2. In the Roman Catholic Church, a statement by a church censor that a book is not offensive to the Church.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin nihil obstat (nothing hinders), from nihil (nothing) + obstare (to hinder), from ob- (against) + stare (to stand). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sta- (to stand) that is also the source of stay, stage, stable, instant, establish, static, and system.

USAGE:
"The Army Corps of Engineers last week gave its nihil obstat to the Hudson River Park, New York City's scheme."


ஜ~§Poem Of The Day§~ஜ


Ears in the Turrets Hear

Ears in the turrets hear
Hands grumble on the door,
Eyes in the gables see
The fingers at the locks.
Shall I unbolt or stay
Alone till the day I die
Unseen by stranger-eyes
In this white house?
Hands, hold you poison or grapes?

Beyond this island bound
By a thin sea of flesh
And a bone coast,
The land lies out of sound
And the hills out of mind.
No birds or flying fish
Disturbs this island’s rest.

Ears in this island hear
The wind pass like a fire,
Eyes in this island see
Ships anchor off the bay.
Shall I run to the ships
With the wind in my hair,
Or stay till the day I die
And welcome no sailor?
Ships, hold you poison or grapes?

Hands grumble on the door,
Ships anchor off the bay,
Rain beats the sand and slates.
Shall I let in the stranger,
Shall I welcome the sailor,
Or stay till the day I die?

Hands of the stranger and holds of the ships,
Hold you poison or grapes?

Dylan Thomas



ஜ~§Recipe Of The Day§~ஜ


Cider-Glazed Turkey



Ingredients:
For turkey:
1 (12-to 14-pounds) turkey at room temperature 1 hour, neck and giblets (excluding liver) reserved for turkey stock
1 apple, cut into chunks
1 small onion, quartered
1 small bunch thyme
1 cup water

For cider glaze:
1 cup unfiltered apple cider
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

For gravy:
2 cups dry white wine
Melted unsalted butter if necessary
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
About 4 cups hot turkey giblet stock

Equipment: a 17- by 14-inch flameproof roasting pan with a flat rack; kitchen String; a 2-quart measuring cup or a fat separator

Preparation:
Prepare turkey:
Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in lower third.

Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Put turkey on rack in roasting pan and season inside and out with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Put apple, onion, and thyme in large cavity. Fold neck skin under body, then tuck wing tips under breast and tie drumsticks together with string.

Roast turkey and Make cider glaze: Add water to pan and roast, without basting, 1 hour.

3Meanwhile, boil cider and sugar in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved, until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in butter 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking until emulsified. Let glaze stand until ready to use.

After turkey has roasted 1 hour, rotate pan 180 degrees. Roast, without basting, 40 minutes more.

Make gravy while turkey rests:
Strain pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into 2-qt measure and skim off fat (or use a fat separator), reserving fat.

Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add wine and deglaze pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 2 minutes. Strain through sieve into measuring cup containing pan juices.

Put 1/2 cup reserved fat (if there is less, add melted butter) in a 4-qt heavy saucepan and whisk in flour.

Cook roux over medium heat, whisking, 3 minutes. Add pan juices and stock in a fast stream, whisking constantly, then bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Briskly simmer, whisking occasionally, until gravy is thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve turkey with gravy.


Brightest Blessings,
~Surry~

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