A good idea about ice skating competition

I'll have to admit, I've watched very little of the Olympics this year.  Not sure why.  Maybe my fascination with Pawn Stars has taken me away from NBC, maybe the coverage is boring, maybe I've just found too much to do at home, or maybe I'm still wondering why the Olympic Committee would choose a non-winter city for the WINTER games...  (Sochi has been harvesting snow and storing it up for years now.  Who wants to ski on old snow?  Duh.  Go to a city that actually has snow.)

I happened to catch the action when the three Dutch guys won gold, silver and bronze in the 500m long track ice skating.  That was exciting because the gold and bronze winners are twins.  At one point it looked like they were going to get the gold and silver, but during the very next race another Dutch guy got a time that was in between the two brothers.  The twins' parents were in the stands- can you just imagine their excitement?

Anyway, I do check the medal standings from day to day, and I also occasionally read a bit about the games when the headline catches my fancy.  This article about how to improve the ice skating competition is one of my favorite articles.  Let me know what you think...

HB beats McD every morning!

The Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker is just about the most perfect small appliance you could park on your countertop.  Let me show you why...

It's small.

You use your own ingredients. See those English muffins? DOUBLE FIBER. Yeah, you heard me. Not just fiber... DOUBLE fiber.  That makes me twice as good as those of you who only eat single fiber.  Did I say good?  I meant holy.  Twice as holy because I am pretty sure Jesus ate double fiber muffins.

It tells you when it is ready.  Green light means go. 

It has a non-stick surface.  Do you see any oil or butter? Nada. 

It's easy.  Plop the bottom of the muffin in...

... top it with cheese of your choice, 

add some meat if you want.  Or not.

Lower the middle ring.

Crack an egg on the non-stick surface and break the yolk.  I then add pepper and some garlic powder.

Plop the top of the muffin right on top of the not-yet-quite-cooked egg, 

lower the lid and set your timer for 4:30 minutes.
There will be no buzzer or warning light on the machine, you need a separate timer. 

Lift the lid.  It's hot so I use a plastic knife.  No metal utensils allowed!

Here's the COOLEST feature- slide the surface out from under the cooked egg.
Who thought of this?  A genius.
The egg will settle itself down onto the meat and cheese of the bottom half of  the muffin.

Lift the middle ring and the bottom ring.

There it is. 

In all its eggy goodness and double fiber holiness.

Clean up is easy, too.  Just unplug and wipe off the surfaces with a paper towel. 

That egg residue will come right off.

See?

Eat your heart out Mickey D's.  I am not paying for your McMuffins any more.

Jabba the Snow Cowboy

And it is snowing again today...

UPDATE: 24 hours later, Jabba is covered in fresh snow and about 1/2 inch of ice.  You can't see his eyes, buttons, or smile.  You can see less than an inch of his nose and portions of his cowboy hat.
He is wondering whether we will go to school tomorrow...

And it's snowing again!

I slept in, lazed about, and then went out to take some pictures before it started snowing today.  Got some laundry and dishwashing done and by 2:00 it had started snowing again- little tiny flakes which means it's still pretty cold out.
About 4:00 I got kiddo and the dog and we walked down to our neighborhood Minut Mart for some fish and chips for dinner.  We all needed to get out of the house and it was fun to walk in the crunchy snow and get our blood pumping.

This is George, my boxwood from Mt. Vernon- the home of George Washington. 

The back courtyard of our development has a gazebo.
Perfect for re-enacting the Rolf and Liesl scene from Sound of Music.

Looking out my front door.

Some birdies came to visit me this morning and I didn't even see them!

My dog and the hydrant.  What a cliche'.

Who you callin' cliche'????

The fish and chips were pretty good for a little corner market.  They also have burgers and chicken and burritos, etc. 

I like this snow.  I really do.

Heading home!

I wonder what tomorrow will bring?  Some say more snow and others say rain and freezing rain. 

 

I think I will shovel the drive tomorrow and pile the snow up to make a snow man.  It's very powdery snow, so I am not sure how it will pack, but we will try.  

Maybe it will be more like a snow Jabba the Hut.

It's snowing

It's snowing like crazy, has been since about 11-ish this morning.  They predicted it, but then we went to school anyway and they let us out 2 hours early but it took me almost 2 hours to get home.  Usually takes about 12 minutes...
Stopping to put on chains might have cost me about 15 or 20 minutes.

GOD BLESS THE GUY WHO HELPED ME PUT ON THOSE TIRE CHAINS!!!!

Seriously- this guy helps semi-trucks get out of slidy ice and snow and he was RIGHT BESIDE me at the Shell station and he helped me with a smile on his face and pretty much did everything which made me feel like the helper instead of the main chain-person.  Sigh.  I love it when angels dress in winter coveralls...

Pictures tomorrow- cuz we just found out we don't have school.

Oh- and east coast people...?  I know our snow is lame compared to yours.  I totally get it.  But ours is so uncommon that it must be photographed and blogged about.  Thank you for understanding.

Now that was a SUPER bowl!

I didn't expect it to turn out like that.  I mean, the last game I saw Manning, he was flawless.  But then, he had never met Seattle's defense!
Way to go Seahawks- great season, and great game!

Voluntourism, part 6

This is a long-overdue continuation of posts of our travel during Thanksgiving week 2013.

Our main purpose in going to Boone, North Carolina was to work alongside my folks at the processing center of Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan's Purse.   They go to Boone every year and since kiddo was now 13, we could go, too, and have a hand in the works. It was fun to meet new people as we worked and great to see the inner workings of an organization that helps so many people- both here and around the world.  Being there has made me want to double the number of shoeboxes we prepare next year- and to be more thoughtful and deliberate with the things we include in our boxes.

Of course, no trip is complete without seeing some of the local places of interest, so we enjoyed scenery, shops, historic sites, and one of my favorite places, Mitford.

What?  You say there is no Mitford?  You say it is a fictional place made up by author Jan Karon?  Nonsense.  It is real- as real as the town that provided the inspiration for Karon- Blowing Rock, North Carolina (conveniently located right next to Boone...).

We managed to visit Blowing Rock more than once during that week, and each visit brought back memories of the Mitford books.  Did you know that Jan Karon used some of the names of the townsfolk in her stories?  And- some of her characters were based on actual people- past and present- who lived around Blowing Rock.

The house the Jan Karon rented while living in Blowing Rock.

Another angle of the yellow house where author Jan Karon lived.

This church was the inspiration for Lord's Chapel

I can just picture Father Tim walking to the church to minister to the people of Mitford.

Lots of trendy shops.

We were there for the tree lighting ceremony.  Funny thing is, the whole middle part of the tree didn't light up!  I guess they'll have to check every bulb on that strand...

In one of the shop windows.

The town has a Nativity scene.  

We bought popcorn at the fudge shop. 

.

The local theater group put on a Live Radio Play of It's a Wonderful Life

The play was at the high school auditorium.

Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings!

Kinda makes you want to re-read the Mitford books, doesn't it?  (I'm on book eight...)

Well, now you have seen our whole trip.  It was really a nice time and Boone is a special place. No wonder my folks like to go back time and time again.  

I would love to be able to do this type of volunteering more often, but my teaching schedule really only allows it in the summer.  It's too bad Samaritan's Purse doesn't do some shoebox processing in the summer.  It's not like anything in the boxes could spoil if they were processed that early.  It's also too bad there isn't a processing center in the Pacific Northwest.  Maybe I'll write them a letter and bug them about that.  You never know...