The terrifying wind DESTROYED my fake silver Christmas tree! Oh GOD! It's the END OF THE WORLD!
INTENSE WIND STORM BRINGS POWER OUTAGES!
AIRLINES GROUNDED!
It would seem today is going to quite difficult for anyone moving around outside on the roads with rain and snow blizzards and high winds predicted for this afternoon. Best just to stay put indoors until the storm blows over! There will probably be some photos here later of big rigs blown over by the strong winds that have started to buffet the area as I write this. The trees are swaying to their sides and the building shudders under the brunt force of the high velocity wind. Even though the windows are closed tight, I can actually feel currents of wind wafting through the apartment. It is predicted that rain and snow are coming this afternoon and evening, but the skies this morning are cloudless, clear and blue -- devoid of any hint of the approaching storm. Reno sure is a windy area. Guess it's because of the high elevation and being within a valley surrounded by a mountain range.
Below is one of those retarded high school educational films they used to show when I went to high school in the 1970s. This one was made in 1958. The movies were film, on reels, and shown on a projector in the classroom -- and they were always OLD, OLD, OLD -- nothing new or contemporary. This one's about how to be popular and the acting is so bad it's laughable. I remember the teachers used to show these in gym class on rainy days or when there were no class assignments. We all were relieved when we found out we were going to see a movie, but they always were a disappointment like this silly thing. The film used to break in the projector at times, and if the teacher couldn't fix it the movie experience was over and we had to listen to the teacher talk. If you were teacher's pet, you got to help set up the projector and everyone was jealous of you for it. There's another similar one on Ultra Swank, a fun "retro" site.
Look at the ridiculous picture of some dude below. WTF is wrong with people anymore? For Christ sake! It's Gotta be DRUGS.
~ WTF Picture of the Day ~
Stop Fucking Around With Your Asses!
The Ass is for SHITTING!
The Ass Stinks!
The Ass Has GERMS!
The Ass is NOT a Vagina!
Lubricate your cow udders, throw your legs in the air, and watch another one of my stupid domestic germ cleansing videos. (So as not to gross you out, I did not film the cleaning of the INSIDE of the microwave oven.)
I got these three beets with the tops at the market for $2.18 and will cook them today. Beets are a powerhouse of vitamins and nutrients, as well as a high source of fiber. Beets are loaded with vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and C. The greens have a higher content of iron compared to spinach. They are also an excellent source of calcium, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, sodium and iron.
Naturally, just like Brussel Sprouts (another nutritional powerhouse), most people ignorant of how to cook or appreciate the beet's nutritional value, so they are not popular on the din-din table. They are quite good cold on a salad. And the tops also contain nutrients as well as fiber. What I do is sever the tops and use them for a vegetable for another meal. A lot of people cut off the beet greens and toss them away! DON'T DO THIS.
"The beets belong to the same family as chard and spinach. Beet leaves have a bitter taste like chard, but is rich in chlorophyll. Although bitter, the greens have a higher nutritional value than its roots.
Both beet root and beet greens are very powerful cleansers and builders of the blood. Betacyanin is the phytochemical in beet that gives it its rich 'amethyst' color that significantly reduces homocysteine levels.
I slow boil or steam the beets in their skin (trimming off the ends) and let them cool. It's important to LEAVE THEIR SKINS ON when cooking to keep the vitamins in them. When cool, I take the outside skin off (like a potato it comes off easily just using your fingers after boiling or steaming). Then I cut the beats up sideways and marinate them in Kraft Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing, which is sold dry in packets that you put in a salad dressing cruet adding vinegar, oil and water to it. If you don't have Good Seasons (here's an untried copy cat recipe), just mix up a concoction of red wine vinegar with a dash of Extra Virgin Olive oil, minced garlic cloves, ground black pepper, onion powder, a dash of powdered oregano and parsley, and teaspoon of dry mustard power to use as the marinade (can also be salad dressing). I let them marinate overnight so that the beets absorb the taste of the dressing, then I slice them and eat them. It tastes real good. However, I'm the only one in my household who eats these, so all three of those lovely beets I will have to consume.
KRAFT Good Seasons sells their own salad dressing cruet. If you don't have one, it can be purchased at the supermarket found in the salad dressing section. You get a couple of packets of their dry dressing mix with it. Costs about $4.00, but worth the expense; it's a very useful item to have around, and I've had mine for years.
Last night's freeze left ice on the truck, but will there be SNOW on it tomorrow morning as the weathermen are predicting (see Reno forecast: Snow or Rain Likely on Friday, Possible on Sunday)? In preparation, yesterday I replaced a bad windshield wiper on the driver's side. The rubber had come off the blade. Two trips to the store covered this fiasco. The first time, the clerk in the auto department looked up my truck and said the wiper blade for my vehicle was size 24, but when I got it home to change the blade, it was the wrong size -- way too big. So back to the store, this time taking the passenger side wiper blade which was OK still. Another clerk was there this time. And after looking up my truck make and model it was discovered the correct size for the wiper blade was size 20 -- not size 24. But before I left, I insisted the clerk open the package and compare it to my windshield wiper blade to be sure. It matched. Then I had to stand in a line to return/exchange stuff. All wiper blades must be in working order to help wipe off the snow and frost on the glass that will cover the truck in the coming days. I also got a gallon of stuff for the windshield wiper spray reservoir that is supposed to keep the windshield free of ice and snow when squirted on it. We'll see how that stuff fares. Last year the wiper fluid FROZE and wouldn't squirt out. This new stuff isn't supposed to freeze. Also there is a tire that needs to be replaced, but I ran out of cash. Will have to wait until December for that. Need as much traction as I can get to drive safely in the snow and ice. I also need to drain the radiator and put Winter anti-freeze coolant in it in preparation as well.
Gotcha!
Caught the Little Tiger Cat attempting to wreck
the pathetic silver Christmas tree, hee-hee.
* * * *
For weeks now I haven't eaten any red meat. Let's face it. I'm a carnivorous meat eater. The cravings for the BLOOD of medium-rare steak meat have been haunting my dreams, tormenting me with blood lust! This desire to EAT RED, BLOODY, FRESHLY-KILLED MEAT could be due to an iron deficiency:
But steak contains too much fat. The only kind of steak meat that is LEAN is Flank Steak (otherwise known as "London Broil") So when I saw a sale for London Broil for $2.59 per pound I had to act on it. But to prevent over-eating of it, when I got the London Broil home I took my sharp meat cleaver and cut it in half, and froze the other half, to reduce the temptation of eating too much.
LONDON BROIL (a.k.a. Flank Steak): All fat on the outside edges is trimmed off.
"London Broil" is just a fancy name given to lean flank steak. It's virtually fat-free -- all red meat -- without fatty veins running through it. It is the only meat I can eat on my cholesterol's reducing diet, and then only a small amount at that. Without the veins of fat (or "marbling" as mom told me) running through it Flank Steak (i.e., London Broil) is known to be TOUGH. It is because of its reputation for being tough is why it is usually marinated over night. In addition, it is sliced a particular way. The proper method of handling London Broil is that it is always sliced sideways against the grain into thin strips. The center of the strips should be pink (depending on how rare you like steak). Flank steak should be marinated overnight to tenderize the meat. My mom ALWAYS marinated her London Broil overnight. Her Italian boyfriend taught her how to properly cut it in strips against the grain, which she taught me. She used to smother it in mushrooms and never threw out the bloody juice that oozed out of it. She used to broil it (8-9 minutes per side). Flank Steak (London Broil) can also be pan-fried, using Olive Oil with a few garlic cloves smashed into the oil to season it. When you remove it from the hot skillet you then take RED WINE and splash some into the skillet to mix with the meat's juices and garlic flavor. This wine juice is then drizzled over the London Broil after it has been carved in strips against the grain and smothered in mushrooms on a elongated serving platter. It is a very delicious cut of meat -- if prepared right.
It would seem today is going to quite difficult for anyone moving around outside on the roads with rain and snow blizzards and high winds predicted for this afternoon. Best just to stay put indoors until the storm blows over! There will probably be some photos here later of big rigs blown over by the strong winds that have started to buffet the area as I write this. The trees are swaying to their sides and the building shudders under the brunt force of the high velocity wind. Even though the windows are closed tight, I can actually feel currents of wind wafting through the apartment. It is predicted that rain and snow are coming this afternoon and evening, but the skies this morning are cloudless, clear and blue -- devoid of any hint of the approaching storm. Reno sure is a windy area. Guess it's because of the high elevation and being within a valley surrounded by a mountain range.
I slow boil or steam the beets in their skin (trimming off the ends) and let them cool. It's important to LEAVE THEIR SKINS ON when cooking to keep the vitamins in them. When cool, I take the outside skin off (like a potato it comes off easily just using your fingers after boiling or steaming). Then I cut the beats up sideways and marinate them in Kraft Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing, which is sold dry in packets that you put in a salad dressing cruet adding vinegar, oil and water to it. If you don't have Good Seasons (here's an untried copy cat recipe), just mix up a concoction of red wine vinegar with a dash of Extra Virgin Olive oil, minced garlic cloves, ground black pepper, onion powder, a dash of powdered oregano and parsley, and teaspoon of dry mustard power to use as the marinade (can also be salad dressing). I let them marinate overnight so that the beets absorb the taste of the dressing, then I slice them and eat them. It tastes real good. However, I'm the only one in my household who eats these, so all three of those lovely beets I will have to consume.
