Nov 26, 2012

Molly Rielley: Beautiful Lady, Beautiful Soul and Beautiful Friend...remembered today by her friends at the Grape Street Dog Park in San Diego


Sunday morning, November 25, 2012---Grape Street Dog Park San Diego, California.

Molly Rielley: beautiful lady, beautiful soul and beautiful friend...remembered today by her friends at the Grape Street Dog Park in San Diego.

On a cloudy morning in San Diego at one of Molly's favorite places her friends were remembering her passionate and friendly spirit as they admired the memorial for her today at the Grape Street Dog Park in the South Park section of San Diego. 

Everyone remarked how well the pictures posted on one of the stately Eucalyptus tree in the park showed off Molly's friendly smile and spirit.  She was not just attractive to look at on the outside but her personality was magnificent, as well.  Her friends were sad and asking themselves what clues they missed as they spoke of her passing earlier this week.  She had given everyone she knew friendship and compassion and the friends admiring the memorial and her memory wanted to give the same back to her. 

All of the people spoke of her immense consideration for her friends and for everyone she knew.  "She was really very considerate, she never wanted to cause any problem or worry for anyone; she was just a great friend," everyone agreed.

Her friends wanted to have a memorial for her today at one of her favorite places as her family will be having a private remembrance later on this week.

Molly recently moved back to San Diego from Orange County and she always enjoyed going to the dog park with her dog, Daffy.  She was a regular fixture there, going almost every day.  Everyone knew her and her fabulous smile--everyone is sad. 

The pictures of her depicted her infectious smile.  I particularly liked the one of her holding her dog as if it was her baby and her pride and joy.  It is easy to see they were a regular couple and in the picture both of them were smiling ear to ear, the white feet posed perfectly for the camera.  One of her good friends will be looking after her beloved companion.  Daffy is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, also called a "toller."

The flowers in vases, the pictures on the tree--her radiant smiling face--it was easy to see she was well liked.  A perfect setting for a beautiful memorial for a beautiful lady.  My heart goes out to her, her family and her friends...and her doggy, Daffy.


Nov 24, 2012

Steve Pauling Shirt Class---I Want to Go!!!

stitching
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 I've copied this class information from the internet and pasted it in my blog.  I can see from my search stats many people are looking for it.  I would also like to take this class but I do not know if I am qualified.  As I have said many times I am getting pretty good at constructing a shirt but it is not even close to the "fine" category.

I am going to go and see this place.







WINTER CLASSES
for Adults

ADULT FALL CLASSES


Adult classes are open to people ages 13 and older while the minimum age for Sewing Labs and Open Sewing Labs is 8. By registering for a class it is assumed you have read and agree to the Lounge's Registration and Cancellation Policies.


Fine Shirt Making

A fine shirt is a classic dress shirt made by using the traditional methods of fine tailors around the world. Students will take a typical shirt pattern and elevate construction methods to the highest level, employing techniques used to assemble the most exquisite custom-made dress shirts rather than follow pattern instructions.The techniques you learn in this class can be applied to other types of clothing thus enhancing your garment construction skills. Please note the following:
•This is an intensive five-session class with additional work required outside of each class to complete a fine shirt.
•Students must use an appropriate instructor-approved pattern which they will alter for fine tailoring techniques.
•This is a class for intermediate to advanced sewers. Students MUST be familiar with reading a pattern, adjusting tension and, in particular, precision sewing.
Minimum Skill Level: Intermediate
Times: September 25 & October 2, 9, 16 and 23 from 6 - 9 (4 openings) or
October 10, 17, 24, 31 and November 7 from 10 - 1 (2 openings)
Cost: $180
Instructor: Steve Pauling

Nov 23, 2012

Showing sympathy for Palestinians is career suicide for western journalists

Showing sympathy for Palestinians is career suicide for western journalists

Events are sanitized so as not to be controversial and upset the wrong people by humanizing the conflict -- for fear that it will make you look sympathetic to the Palestinians.

By Sherine Tadros
HuffPost
20 November 2012

The biggest problem for journalists is in fact that it is so obviously an unbalanced conflict -- there is no equating Israel with Gaza, Palestinian fighters with the Israeli Army and rockets with missile strikes.
IT'S INCREDIBLE to watch this war being covered on the inside, as it should have been during the previous war, by hundreds of foreign as well as local journalists. In 2008 Israel and Egypt sealed their borders confining the journalists to the outskirts of the war inside the Strip. Myself and Ayman Mohyeldin (now NBC Foreign Affairs Correspondent) were left to describe what was happening to the outside world.
We couldn't cover every strike, every tragedy, we couldn't be everywhere and we weren't awake 24 hours a day. Now, Gaza is under the microscope, whether via social media, print, radio, TV -- there is no ignoring what is raging within.
I have my own theories as to why Israel decided not to lock out the journalists this time around, but that is for another post.
Gaza is not a particularly hard story to cover; it's happening all around you. The biggest problem for journalists is in fact that it is so obviously an unbalanced conflict -- there is no equating Israel with Gaza, Palestinian fighters with the Israeli Army and rockets with missile strikes.
But it's precisely that which journalists struggle with. We are taught to be neutral, impartial, balanced. But this is not a balanced conflict and in the pursuit to even things out, some have ended up reporting the wrong story, emphasizing things they would normally not emphasize in the interest of looking balanced.
This week I heard a TV correspondent, who I very much respect and admire, throw back to the studio with the words "as Palestinians call it, the Israeli siege on Gaza." She was standing in Gaza City where Israeli ground forces were surrounding the perimeter of the Strip. Warships surrounded the sea and drones and F16s patrolled the skies above. If there was ever a time to call Gaza under siege with certainty, it was then.
Yet as she stood talking about the strikes and the people killed, her need to be balanced at the end made her unable to tell the cold bold truth.
There is a general problem with media when it comes to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The need to sanitize events so as not to be controversial and upset the wrong people, the lack of humanizing the conflict for fear that it will make you look sympathetic or worse empathetic to the Palestinians, which could be career suicide. But not being bold and telling it how it is ultimately is a disservice to the truth and to journalism.
There are some simple facts about this story that I challenge anyone to disagree with yet are so often missing from coverage:
Hamas is not Gaza. Gaza has over 1.5 million Palestinians living in it. There are mothers and fathers and brothers and babies. There are people that have no interest in politics. Gaza is a society, not an island of terrorists. You cannot use the words Gaza and Hamas interchangeably.
Similarly, Hamas is the ruling authority in Gaza -- there is no such thing as a Hamas school, or a Hamas police station or a Hamas ministry. These are adjectives are used by Israel to justify the targeting of these sites. Many if not most who work in these institutions are not members of the Hamas organization. There is also a difference between a member of Hamas and a Palestinian fighter. Again a distinction is so often lost.
But the thing journalists seem to be struggling most with right now is what constitutes a legitimate target. A house with 10 family members, including kids, women and old people is struck with a missile. They all die. There is initial outrage. But then the Israeli army says it was targeting a "Hamas official."
Suddenly the coverage is different. The line about the Hamas official is put into every script without question or context -- all is well now because initially the story seemed unbalanced, too risky to report because it sounded too bad to be true (even though in 2008 Israel shelled the Samouni house killing over 25 members of the same family).
Does anyone stop and ask: even if there was a Hamas official inside the house, is killing ten innocent civilians to take out one official who is obviously under Israeli surveillance justified? Isn't that exactly what the Goldstone report highlighted? Israel has a choice when it decides to hit whether this strike is worth the gain -- if the aim is to take the target out, can they achieve it another time when he is not with his entire family?
If the situation was reversed and Palestinian fighters struck a house of an Israeli Army commander, killing him, his mother, his wife and four children, would the media so blindly accept the justification of this being a legitimate target?
The missing context is key. Hamas rocket fire is not a response to the last missile; it's a reaction to six years of siege, bombardment, assassinations, entrapment. The missiles from Israel are not in response to today's rocket fire at Ashkelon; it's the years of rocket fire on communities in Southern Israel. The trigger to this war was an assassination, but the war has been coming for at least two and a half years.

NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION • SATURDAY 24 NOVEMBER
STOP ISRAEL'S WAR ON GAZA • END THE SIEGE NOW

Assemble 12 noon Downing St March to Israeli Embassy. Details here...

GAZA CAMPAIGN APPEAL

Please DONATE NOW whatever you can to Stop the War's Gaza Campaign Appeal. We need your help. DONATE HERE...

World's most expensive footballer Cristiano Ronaldo donates €1.5mn to children in Gaza

World's most expensive footballer Cristiano Ronaldo donates €1.5mn to children in Gaza

It's not the first time Ronaldo has given to Gaza. Last year he sold most of his sports shoes at a Real Madrid Foundation auction which was also dedicated to raising funds for schools in Gaza.


RT
21 November 2012

Real Madrid iconic forward Cristiano Ronaldo has donated €1.5 million to Palestinian children in Gaza, the Arabic version of the club’s Classico network reports.
The star forward gave his Golden Boot which he earned in 2011 to the Real Madrid foundation. The Spanish giants in their turn sold it at auction and will now donate the funds to schools in Gaza
According to various reports, the Real Madrid Foundation has helped to build 167 schools in 66 countries.
It’s not the first time Ronaldo has given to Gaza. Last year he sold most of his sports shoes at a Real Madrid Foundation auction which was also dedicated to raising funds for schools in Gaza.
Ronaldo became the most expensive footballer in history after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer worth €93.9 million. In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is paid €12 million per year, makes him one of the highest-paid footballers in the world.

from  chloe louise.......

the children of Palestine want to sing "Happy," too..........

Nov 14, 2012

police chase in south park San Diego today--right through the dog park

POLICE CHASE AT THE GRAPE STREET DOG PARK TODAY

The Grape Street Dog Park in the South Park area of San Diego, California, sees a police chase today, November 14, 2012

Right, I was sitting there, enjoying the sun, ready to read a page in my book but I had to look up as the police sirens kept getting closer and closer--dangerously loud and close.  It's time to get up and move!  Sitting at the south end, the next thing I knew here comes a white SUV turning towards the north end of the Grape Street Dog Park parking lot with 7 police black and whites in hot pursuit.  Really, there is no where to go, literally, except down the canyon---the road ends---its the Balboa Park Trails.

On one side I saw my friend walking towards me with his dog--I saw the SUV and the police heading towards me across the grass--it was surreal.  We got out of the way just in time--I curtailed my dog quickly by his collar as the white SUV plowed right through the fence and barely missed parked cars at he other end of the parking lot.  All of the police followed in a line, right through the park, sirens blaring, lights flashing.  One police car veered off towards the other end of the parking lot--also through parked cars--but the white SUV got  away.

Too bad the police did not block off the parking lot--the Grape Street is a dead end--Grape dead ends into 28th--about a 2 block length with perpendicular parking, then its the fence, the park, the golf course and the canyons.  But really, if the street had been blocked by cop cars would that have been even worse?  The out of control vehicle seemed to be driven by a desperate individual.

It was before rush hour...


That would be around three o'clock at the dog park when the after work crowd starts to come in.  As it was, I'm saying about 2:30--there park was sparsely populated--the dog walkers getting in their last digs before the evening gang and dogs come in.  I did feel so sad for one lady, one real good dog walker and regular--she was visibly shaken--her face showed an exhausted, traumatized, scared expression--so different from her usual calm and controlled composure. 

Gosh--when it was over everyone was pushed back up against the golf course fence just trying to regain their composure and figure out what happened.

It was too much excitement--sometimes that place is packed and there are families with little kids and babies and dogs and older people.  I hope people were not hurt anywhere.  Thank goodness for the SDPD

What a scary scene!

--
 this is basically where the guy came careening across the lawn of the park
chloelouise--I should have tried to take a picture or a movie with my phone but I literally did not have time--the people were terrorized--I felt sorry for them.

pony tailed women:  grey hair, over 50 with bangs.......why do men cheat

Blogger Blames Holly Petraeus' Hair for Sex Scandal: The Worst Take on Anything Ever

(Getty Images)There are so many questions that need to be answered in this whole Petraeus scandal. There's the hard news question: "Why didn't we know about this sooner? And the tabloid question: "Were the Whistleblower and the Biographer both in love with Petraeus?" And the human interest question: "Why do women love in men in power?" And the rhetorical question: "Wait, that guy is a womanizer?"

And then there's the question that nobody, save for one blogger, would ever think to ask: "Did General Petraeus stray because of his wife's hair?"

A writer called "Blonde Bombshell," who is smartly remaining anonymous, posted a "thinkpiece" about the scandal today. It required multiple readings to verify it wasn't satire, and still I'm still not 100 percent.

You have to go deep into the internet mines to find Blonde Bombshell's words of wisdom. I had entered in a search engine "Petraeus" and "Hair"--two terms I will never put together again--when I found on this story on page three of the search results. Blonde Bombshell's op-ed appears on a blog belonging to a guy named William Briggs, a self-titled "Statistician to the Stars." The blog's' readership, based on the comments, is decent and includes at least once person who's really paranoid about the KBG. The site itself appears to mix opinion, with news stories, and the occasional guest blogger. That's where Blonde Bombshell comes in, an anonymous "guest-blogger" (sure) with hot-tempered opinions on hair, and its marriage-ruining properties.
She begins:
"My heartfelt condolences extend to Mrs. Patraeus, who seems to be, judging from the pictures obtained by the press, a cheery, good-natured woman."
Snap. That's like calling a woman "handsome." You see where she's going here and it isn't nice.

"The paramour of General Petraeus wears a low chignon which indicates that her hair has some length. The wife has a chin-length cut that is ubiquitous among professional women.
When she was younger, she had beautiful long straight locks typical of the time."

Never mind you that Blonde Bomshell writes like Buffallo Bill in Silence of the Lambs, she's also spent her Monday morning hunting down old pictures of Holly Petraeus with long hair. Somebody's hobby is sound-proofing dungeons. (Ahem, electric neon finger points to Blonde Bombshell.)

While BB admits that it's "crass and unfair" to suggest that General Petraeus was driven to long-haired mistresses because of his wife's bob, that is exactly what she's suggesting. In case you don't get that, she posts a picture of Paula Broadwell with the caption "Paula Broadwell with long hair."

Listen up people, she's only going to break it down once:

"
A young woman may cut and grow her hair experimentally, but she is often 'growing it out for the wedding' so she has more 'styling options' for the big day. After the wedding, and sometimes before the honeymoon, many women submit to the barber shears. After baby is born, many more go in for 'mom hair' (yes, it's a term, like 'mom jeans') that is wash-and-go. If a woman wears her hair incorrectly out of cycle, she will start hear people asking about when is she going to donate it to one of the organizations that collect hair to make wigs for cancer patients."
What is happening.

"
A few weeks ago I saw a woman on the street dressed in business clothes with thinning hair, but she kept it long. She was able to devise a flattering hairstyle that didn't make her look like a plucked mole...My advice to women is to go ahead and grow your hair if you'd like. Maintaining long hair is not difficult or expensive."
So to backpedal, with regards to that question in the headline, I think B.B. is saying, "Yes, Petraeus cheated on his wife because of her hair."
On the bottom of Blonde Bombshell's guest post is an editor's note that reads: "The well-married Bombshell has lovely long hair." Someone seems hell-bent on sticking it to Holly Petraeus, which is unnecessary, unkind, and most of all, really, really weird. 


speaking of the power of the hairdo:  does this philosophy also apply to donald trump and the Republican party ?

pony tailed women:  grey hair, over 50 with bangs.......why do men cheat

THE ONE HOT REPUBLICAN

THE ONE HOT REPUBLICAN

The one hot and more importantly, not  insane, republican, Jon Huntsman.

Really, I think if they would have run him they would have had a chance.  That seemed to me straight forward from the beginning, but apparently the others did not agree since he did not even come close to winning the nomination.

He said on the Sunday show, yes  I have 7 children and I have been married for a long time, but people can see that and you don.t have to rub it in every one's face.

Right, it seems as if he has respect for people that are a little bit different than himself.  His  family is magnificent but there are so many other  kinds of magnificent families,as well.


Isn't the great thing about America the wonderful mix of individuals and  the way things started in the first place.   I thought that was the premise of the whole place....freedom.  Freedom for everyone,not just sean hannity.

The dinosaurs are dead......

Perhaps there should be the new republican party...lead by Jon Huntsman....and the crazy republican party lead by Rush Limbaugh and all of the crazy moral preachers.

Sean Hannity likes to say on his show "taking back America."  What does that mean?  Who and what is American nowadays?  Does Sean think all of the other people stole America from the rich old white guys?

Can Sean Hannity count....

There are more of all of the other people, the one's who sean is taking America back from, as he always says on his radio show, than ROWGs.  The big money Texas fat cats just couldn't count correctly, as was evidenced by our wonderful election.  Maybe President Obama should include the one sane republican in his advisory committee to balance the insanity of all of the other repubs constantly trying to block him. 

Let the republican party purge those crazy people--they are giving their party a bad name--and the repubs and dems can come together and move the political conversation forward.

PS...I know there are other well qualified and well intentioned republicans...please comment and list them and their attributes..don't bother to include the limbaugh and hannityesque nuts...really...they are moving the political conversation backward, not forward.

--
chloelouise

Nov 13, 2012

Sten Martin: The Heart and Soul of a Tailor

My Sewing Obsession.....

Understanding hand sewing.....

Right--it has been so difficult for me to understand the concept of hand sewing and fine tailoring.  I want it, but I can't get it.  Everyone I know, or most of the tutorials I watch are about speed.

Speed and the collar stand  do not go together for me.

Here, we are so fortunate to hear the brilliant Sten Martin share his views about creativity--I want to get that and capture it!!!!

from you tube click this link to hear Sten talk about tailoring and creativity...


Thoughts of a tailor

Nov 8, 2012

The world has changed--The Hannity and Limbaugh dinosaur age has come to an end.

President Obama in---ROWG's out!!!

The world has changed--The Hannity and Limbaugh dinosaur age has come to an end.  Rich old white guys not longer rule the world--or the US.  Romney forgot the wonderful mix of groups that make up the place.  It was a hard lesson learned for the repubs--they should get a clue that President Obama is the future for our country and the rest of the world. 

Perhaps rush and sean would like to get on the bus and join us.

Sean Hannity keeps saying he is taking back America.  Taking back America from what.  America is not the rich old white guy crowd.  Sean's vision of America is impaired and blurred.  That was the mistake of the whole republican party.  There were more people to vote for the President and a vision of a hopeful future to include everyone and have healthcare then there were rich old white men and 50's age hoots like Michelle Bachmann.  (I admire women speaking out but I disagree with her politics.)

The amount of people voting for our President and his idea to include everyone and have healthcare for everyone beat the amount of dollars spent by the blinded repubs.

Nov 2, 2012

Princess Diana Fountain, Hyde Park, London, England


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susand74  Pro User  says:

I tried to capture the look and feel and the sound of this fountain. Everyone was really having a good time. It is a tranquil setting and I think it has complete design balance.

The set slide show takes about 5 minutes.

The Gran with the kids was telling me how much she admired Diana and she felt Diana would be here in spirit for the wedding. She also loved William and Harry and Kate.

click on this link below to jump to my Flickr slideshow:

Princess Diana Fountain, Hyde Park, London, England

Hillary women will save Obama

Seriously--It makes my day to read this wonderful piece by Brent Budowsky from THE HILL.....



Hillary women will save Obama

By Brent Budowsky - 10/31/12 03:02 PM ET
President Obama will be reelected president by a narrow Electoral College margin for three reasons.

First, when autoworkers and auto companies faced a 1930s-style depression and Mitt Romney proposed a vulture bankruptcy that would have destroyed Ohio for a generation, Barack Obama was there for them, and next week I believe Ohio voters will be there for him. 

Second, words cannot fully express the power, clout and credibility of the passionate and determined support for President Obama by a man whom history will rank among the great presidents and a grateful nation now applauds as the prosperity president, who has gone by the name of the Comeback Kid, and called himself the man from a place called Hope, who barnstorms the nation on behalf of Barack to battle for a future that neither Bill nor Barack nor Hillary nor the men and women who support them will ever surrender.

And third, in the spirit that the last shall be first, the great X factor of this campaign, the secret advantage of Democrats next Tuesday, which is not today highlighted on RealClearPolitics, or discussed on Fox News, or bannered by Matt Drudge, or even acknowledged by the Obama White House, is that a giant rescue mission for the Obama campaign and the Democratic Party is being led beneath the radar of the commentariat class of American politics by …

The Hillary women!

I predict that the voter turnout among women who most admire Hillary Rodham Clinton is being underestimated in the turnout models of all major pollsters, and if I am right by even a small percent this will shake the foundation of a razor-thin election.

The Hillary women! By this I mean much more than Hillary Rodham Clinton herself, who has overcome in her life the most hostile slanders and defamations from her political opponents with dignity and grace and brilliance, who came within a fraction of becoming the first female president and may well shatter this iron ceiling four years and several days from today, who is a worldwide inspiration for women everywhere and a global champion of human rights for women and men and the poor and the hurting and the dispossessed and the hungry and the ill in nations everywhere.

When I use the phrase "the Hillary women" I mean more than the brilliant and powerful women from her inner circle, of whom there are many, and more than the many women she considers her friends, whether they are in the 1 percent or the 99 percent, of whom there are even more.

No. When I use the phrase "the Hillary women" I mean the female CEOs and construction workers, the female law professors and kindergarten teachers, the female basketball players and Rhodes scholars, the female waitresses and concert pianists, the housewives and female human-rights activists, the women who plow the fields and sweep the floors and serve in the Senate and compose the symphonies and are awarded Bronze Stars in the military and gold medals in the Olympics and proudly wear the badges of the Girl Scouts and the local police and, this is important, the men in their lives who love and respect and admire them and support their dreams coming true, as they return these sentiments to the men (and women) in their lives!

When I write about "the Hillary women" I mean women who believe they have a birthright as Americans to equal opportunity to advance and achieve, and equal rights to be paid based on their talents and ingenuity, and not their gender.

When I write about "the Hillary women," I mean older women who feel they have spent a lifetime earning the security and protection of Social Security and Medicare and do not want these things taken away by partisans or ideologues or extremists.

When I write about "the Hillary women," I mean younger women whose dream is not only that Hillary can become president, but that THEY can become president, or CEOs, or world-champion athletes, or homemakers, or whatever choices they exercise their right to make.

When I write about "the Hillary women" I mean women (and men) who dream of an America where no candidate and no party ever argues that any woman can ever be raped in any way that is called "legitimate,” and that no man who is ever a candidate for any office from any party can ever claim that our Lord and Savior wishes any woman to be pregnant after she was raped, and then try to force that view upon her using as their weapon the Supreme Court of the United States.

Yes indeed, I believe that these women will vote in larger numbers than the polling models now suggest. They have the power to decide by their turnout the future of the nation. If I am half-right, enough of them will exercise that power by voting to reelect President Obama because whatever his imperfections, on every matter described in this column, he has been there for them and they will be there for him, and others like him, until every barrier is broken and every ceiling is shattered and America becomes everything that America can be for all men and all women.



 Brent, really, that is one of the most beautifully written things I have read anywhere in a long time. 

Oh my gosh, so well, said--my thoughts exactly--and I will also include healthcare, which Romney was so ridiculous about in in the debate.  Right, I will wait until I have a heart attack and then go to the hospital and call that healthcare--and then try to claim we have the best health care in the world and why would I try to change that?

If I could write one-tenth of the way you write I would be so happy.  I am putting this on my blog right now. 

I do think Obama will win because I think many repubs will secretly vote for him because what person, repub or dem,  wants their kid removed from their plan, especially if they have a disease and no other care is available....





Also President Obama spoke against Rush Limbaugh...

Hillary girl forever.....Chloelouise

Nov 1, 2012

JAMBAYLAYA

 
Jambalaya
(jum-buh-LIE-uh)
Jambalaya is a rice dish where the rice is cooked with a meat or seafood and vegetable mixture.  Jambalaya is prepared with just about any meat, including chicken, sausage, pork, giblets, rabbit, beef, or seafood.  Often several different meats are used in the same jambalaya.  You can also use left over meat and gravy from a roast or rice and gravy.  The meat is browned, the vegetables are sautéed, then rice, water and stock are added and cooked until the rice is done.  I cooked a patch of shrimp jambalaya for a graduate student get together, and one of my graduate students from Mexico commented that it was a lot like paella, which is a spanish dish made with rice and meat or seafood.  Jambalaya may have had its origin in paella.  I make two kinds of jambalaya, chicken/sausage jambalaya and shrimp jambalaya.  My wife makes a ground beef/cabbage jambalaya using a recipe she obtained from her sister in Ville Platte.  You really should try the Ground Beef and Cabbage Jambalaya; it is easy to make and has a very good taste.  My wife and I always cook our jambalaya in an automatic rice cooker.   The rice cooker automatically cuts off when the rice is done, so you never burn the rice and the jambalaya is always cooked just right.  I guess you could consider using a rice cooker cheating, but gosh rice is hard to cook!
Recipes
Shrimp Jambalaya
Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya
Ground Beef and Cabbage Jambalaya
*************************************************************************************
Shrimp Jambalaya Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 lb shrimp
  • 1/2 stick  butter (not margarine)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 2-3 stalks celery, chopped 
  • 3-5 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/4-1/2 cup parsley, chopped
  • 1/4-1/2 cup green onion tops, chopped
  • 1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp. roux
  • 1 14-oz can diced stewed  tomatoes, or

  • 1 10-oz can Rotel tomatoes/green chilies 
  • 1 cup uncooked white rice
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tsp. cajun seasoning mix (homemade, Chachere's or Zatarain's)
Sauté shrimp
  • Peel the shrimp and remove the vein.  Cut the shrimp in halves or thirds.  Buy the smaller shrimp; they're cheaper and I cut them up any way.
  • Sauté the shrimp in the butter just long enough until they are firm.  Use a heavy walled aluminum pot.  Shrimp have a delicate flavor, hence I prefer to use butter and not margarine.
  • Remove the shrimp from the pot and set aside.
Sauté vegetables
  • Sauté all the vegetables together until the onions are clear.
  • Add the diced tomatoes or Rotel.  Use Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies if the want the dish to have a hot flavor. 
  • Add the Worcestershire sauce, roux and seasoning.  The small amount of roux adds a bit of body to the flavor. 
  • Simmer for 5-10 minutes or so.
Mix and cook the jambalaya
  • Mix the shrimp, uncooked rice and water into the vegetable mixture.
  • Make sure there is enough liquid to cover the mixture.  If necessary add water.
  • Add the mixture to the rice cooker and cook until the rice is done.
  • If you do not have a rice cooker, then cook the dish on the stove until the rice is soft, but not mushy.  If you decide to cook the jambalaya on the stove make sure you do it in a heavy walled aluminum or cast iron pot, or else you are sure to burn the rice at the bottom.  Keep the lid on the pot, especially once the mixture comes to a boil, and do not stir the pot.  If you burn the rice on the bottom of the pot, then you're not any better than I am at cooking rice.
Serving
  • Jambalaya is moist and best served and eaten right after it is finished cooking.  Upon sitting, the rice absorbs the moisture and jambalaya becomes more dry. 

*************************************************************************************
Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya Ingredients
  • 2  lb chicken on bone, or

  • 1  lb boneless chicken
  • 1 lb smoked sausage, sliced
  • 1/4-1/2 stick butter or margarine, or oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 2-3 stalks celery, chopped 
  • 3-5 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/4-1/2 cup parsley, chopped
  • 1/4-1/2 cup green onion tops, chopped
  • 1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tsp. roux
  • 1 cup uncooked white rice
  • 1 cup broth made with bones/skin, or

  • 1 14-oz can chicken broth, or
    1 cup water with 2 chicken bouillon cubes
  • 2 tsp. cajun seasoning mix (homemade, Chachere's or Zatarain's)
Brown the chicken and sausage
  • Brown the chicken and sliced sausage in oil in a heavy walled aluminum or cast iron pot.
  • Remove chicken/sausage from the pot, and set aside.
  • Remove the chicken from the bone and skin, if you are using chicken with bones.
  • Dice or tear the deboned chicken into small pieces.
Make chicken broth
  • Either, lightly boil the chicken bones and skin in water for a half hour or so.  You need about 1 cup of broth.
  • Or, use a can of chicken broth.
  • Or, dissolve 2 cubes of chicken bouillon in a cup of warm water.
Sauté vegetables
  • Add a bit more butter, margarine or oil to the pot, and sauté all the vegetables together until the onions are clear.
  • Scrape the browning from the bottom of the pot as the water comes out of the vegetables and the brownings become loose. 
  • Add the broth, Worcestershire sauce, roux and seasoning.  The small amount of roux adds a bit of body to the flavor. 
  • Simmer for 5-10 minutes or so.
Mix and cook the jambalaya
  • Mix the chicken, sausage and uncooked white rice into the vegetable mixture.
  • Make sure there is enough liquid to cover the mixture.  If necessary add water.
  • Add the mixture to the rice cooker and cook until the rice is done.
  • If you do not have a rice cooker, then cook the dish on the stove until the rice is soft, but not mushy.  If you decide to cook the jambalaya on the stove make sure you do it in a heavy walled aluminum or cast iron pot, or else you are sure to burn the rice at the bottom.  Keep the lid on the pot, especially once the mixture comes to a boil, and do not stir the pot.  If you burn the rice on the bottom of the pot, then you're not any better than I am at cooking rice.
Serving
  • Jambalaya is moist and best served and eaten right after it is finished cooking.  Upon sitting, the rice absorbs the moisture and jambalaya becomes more dry. 
Variations
  • You can substitute just about any any meat in the above recipe.  I've had it with pork, gizzards, sausage, rabbit, and left over roast or meat from rice and gravy, and various mixtures of meat.  Jambalaya is just a really good way to take any meat and make a meal out of it. 
  • The secret is in the browning of the meat - that is what creates the richer flavor.
  • One can use beef bouillon cubes in place of chicken bouillon if you want a more hearty flavor.  Sometimes I even use beef bouillon in chicken jambalaya.
*************************************************************************************
Ground Beef and Cabbage Jambalaya
(from Lynn Ledoux Reed via Marianne Fontenot)
Ingredients
  • 1 1/3  lb ground beef
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped 
  • 1 head cabbage, chopped
  • 1 10-oz can Rotel tomatoes/green chilies, drained
  • 1 cup uncooked white rice
  • 1 cup water 
  • salt and pepper to taste
Brown the ground meat
  • Brown ground meat in oil in a heavy walled aluminum or cast iron pot.
  • Drain fat
Sauté vegetables
  • Sauté all the vegetables together with the browned ground meat..
Mix and cook the jambalaya
  • Mix the meat and vegetable mixture with drained Rotel, 1 cup uncooked white rice, 1 cup water, and seasoning.
  • Add the mixture to the rice cooker.  Press the mixture; it may seem like a lot of cabbage, but don't worry it will cook down.  Cook until the rice is done. Stir a few times during cooking.
Serving
  • This jambalaya is moist and stays moist due to the cabbage.
  • ©David Wm. Reed

    Oct 31, 2012

    Chris Christie and President Obama Help Citizens of New Jersey

    Obama gets first-hand look at storm devastation

    BRIGANTINE, N.J. (AP) — President Barack Obama inspected the devastation from Sandy on Wednesday, flying high over flooded neighborhoods, sand-strewn streets and a burning fire that charred homes along the New Jersey coastline.
    With Election Day less than a week away, Obama's visit to view the aftermath of the rare autumn storm was layered with political implications. The president's tour guide was New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican and top supporter of GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney who joined Obama on a Marine One helicopter ride over the region.
    To the chagrin of some Republicans, Christie has lavished praise on Obama for his efforts in helping states deal with the storm.
    Even though politics infuse every moment in the final week before Election Day, the White House sought to focus attention on the storm, an event that has given Obama an opportunity to project presidential leadership in the final days of the tightly contested White House race.
    White House spokesman Jay Carney said there were no political motivations behind Obama's decision to join his supporter's rival Wednesday.
    "This is not a time for politics," Carney said. "The president appreciates the efforts of governors, state and local officials across the various states that were affected by the storm, regardless of political party."
    During the helicopter tour, Obama and Christie saw a carnival and a large pier that had been damaged, along with flattened houses and fragments of wood scattered throughout neighborhoods. Parts of the New Jersey shore's famed boardwalk was missing in sections and in one area, a fire was still burning and appeared to have taken out about eight homes.
     
    As Obama and Christie flew over Point Pleasant Beach, sand and water could be seen covering several blocks of the community. But the president got a reminder of next week's election: someone had written "ROMNEY" in large letters in the sand at the north end of the beach.
    Wednesday marked Obama's third straight day off the campaign trail. He canceled rallies across four battleground states and retreated to the White House to oversee the government's storm response. Obama stopped by FEMA headquarters in Washington before heading to New Jersey.
    Obama planned to return to the campaign trail Thursday, with stops planned in Green Bay, Wis., Las Vegas and Boulder, Colo. He planned to be on the road campaigning every day through the Nov. 6 election.

    Frankly, Chris Christie's Words Gave Me Courage

    Frankly, Chris Christie's words gave me courage--wonderfully chosen and inspirational--I felt like he was really talking from his heart.

    Christie:  "President Obama is Outstanding"

     Well, what can I say?  I thought Chris Christie's words of encouragement were beautiful--talking about President Obama and talking about the people of New Jersey.  The way he spoke about taking care of the children and the citizens of his state. 

    Very nice and very commendable to hear those words from a politician.

    Saying a prayer for all of those people hit so hard by the storm.  We are living here in San Diego.  My heart goes out to them.


    here is a link to hear Gov. Christie on CNN:


    http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2012/10/30/pmt-chris-christie-barack-obama.cnn.html

    Oct 27, 2012

    Rolling Stones Announce a Club Show in Paris--I want to go!

    Rolling Stones Announce a Club Show in Paris


    The Rolling Stones are to do a surprise show at a small music club in Paris on Thursday night to warm up for a series of four arena concerts that will mark the band’s 50th anniversary.
    Early Thursday, the band announced on Twitter that 350 tickets to the show would go on sale at a Virgin Megastore in Paris at noon and would cost 15 euros, or about $20. Fans started lining up outside the store, on the Champs-Élysées, before dawn and flooded in when the doors opened, with some coming from as far away as Hamburg, Germany, Reuters reported. The gig is to be held at the Trabendo, a venue in northern Paris that holds 700.
    Earlier this month, the Stones announced they would play four concerts in November and December: two at the O2 Arena in London and two at the Prudential Center in Newark. They also plan to release a greatest hits album, “GRRR!,” next month, which includes two new tracks, and the film “Crossfire Hurricane,” a documentary about their rise to fame in the 1960s and 1970s.
    Though Mick Jagger, the lead singer, has hinted that the four concerts might be a prelude to a bigger tour, no plans have been confirmed for concerts beyond the dates already announced. The Stones’ last tour was “A Bigger Bang,” which went on for two years, finishing at the 02 Arena in August 2007, grossed more than $558 million.
    A version of this article appeared in print on 10/26/2012, on page C2 of the NewYork edition with the headline: Rolling Stones Play A Club Show in Paris.

    Oct 24, 2012

    Ronnie

    I went for a walk with Ronnie around the Golden Hills park this morning--it was very beautiful--  I love Ronnie to bits, but really, he is the slowest dog in the United States--we were gone for 2 hours.  Then he kept trying to stop to sneak and eat a bite of pizza and  on the ground.