Adventures in Juicing

I have one of those Jack Lalanne Juicers.

You've seen those wonderful juicing informercials while you were flipping channels in the middle of the night, looking for something to watch.

Yeah, that juicer.

I like to do oranges and carrots from time to time. I've also been known to juice apples.

That's some GOOD stuff there.

But the other day, I noticed a sack of grapes in the fridge that looked like they were a day or two shy of being quite scuzzy.

So I juiced the bag of grapes.



I don't know. It don't quite look like the grape juice from the grocery store.

Looks a bit like some thin mucus, or that stuff Linda Blair spewed in The Exorcist.

But I drank it anyway. Didn't look at it, though. And it was quite good.

Next time, I'll juice some bananas...

Wonder what that will look like?

Basketball. Henry County. Baby Bandit #42.

Well, well, well...

The College basketball season is finally over.

Go Tarheels! Go UConn Ladies!!

Whooo-hooo!

I am REALLY looking forward to the NBA playoffs. (Go ATL Hawks!)

Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to attend any Atlanta Hawks games.

But I did attend some little league basketball games:

Down in Henry County, a county about 25 minutes south of downtown Atlanta.

First things first:

I don't like Henry County. AT ALL.

My Internist relocated down there a few years ago. I raised an eyebrow when she told me of it during an examination. She was trying to guage how her patients felt about the drive.

I only shrugged. But I know she could see in my eyes that I just don't like Henry County.

Why?

Because of this:

You can't make that out?

Look a little closer.



The Confederate Flag.

Yeah, let's just say the rednecks white people down there tend to be proud of there "good southern heritage".

And they even have fake deer in the yard in the picture above. They must like to hunt or something. It says to me "I will shoot you, you nigra, if you come in my yard! Oh I wish I was in Dixxxxiiiiieee!!"

Let's just say, I refuse to make doctor's appointments on Mondays because that's when those proud people ALL decide to leave their trailer parks and get together and go to the doctor. (You will not BELIEVE some of the stuff I've seen and heard in the doctor's office from a people so proud of their heritage. UGH).

But, I have braved the Henry county madness because of my good friend, the Green-Eyed Bandit, who lives there. I attend my Financial Freedom Fighters (Triple F Possee) meetings at her house every month.

And I attended her son "Baby Bandit" Ced's basketball games at the local rec center.

I don't care to attend children's games. Let's just say, I've had my fill of hauling my brother around to little league games. (Our Ma didn't care to deal with this craziness). I have shivered in the cold on many a park bleacher.

But I attended Ced's games. He looks at me with the puppy dog eyes ("You have to come, Miss LadyLee!"), and well, I can't help make the 45 minute drive DEEP into Henry county to attend his games whenever time permitted.

I was way deeper into Henry County than I cared to be. Those flag pictures above? That house is right across the street from the rec center.

But anyway, Ced's team didn't make it to the state playoffs. His team came in second place.

Baby Bandit was MAD. The boy was HOT behind that.

He wouldn't even take a picture for me.

Baby Bandit: "Turn around so Lee can take your picture".
Lee: "Uh n'awl... Leave the boy alone. He mad."

He was HOT. I got a picture of him when he turned around a little, to listen to the "woo, woo, woos" of his Mama.



I would've been pissed off too. They wouldn't throw the boy the ball when he was open. He was playing some SERIOUS defense, and was at the free throw line a lot.



And he got a second place trophy. I told Green Eyed Bandit to hold it up to his back so I can get a picture of it.



I was very proud of him. He did a good job, hustled hard. Even though it was second place, that was a good thing. He should be proud of his accomplishment.

I thought he would be sad FOREVER, but he wasn't. I saw him a couple of weekends ago, standing in his kitchen washing dishes, laughing and joking as usual...

Back to normal.

You'll have more successes, #42!!

You surely will!

And I will be there to support you, any which way I can! I like to see young peoples doing positive thangs!

(And I will be snapping plenty more pictures. Uh, I can sell those when you make it into the NBA!)

LOL!!

Mean Muggin... Any Which Way You Can.

It is funny to me how, when you ask some of the young fellas these days to pose for a picture, they always have to be all hardcore...

I thought of this when LadyTee's 20-year-old son Nell was visiting the other day...

He posed for a picture. And he was mean-muggin'...

With that silly cat Kramer.

My brother Kari, aka "Milk and Cookies" did the same thing awhile back.

Mean Muggin' with none other than Oscar-Tyrone.

(Oscar appears to have the same hardcore expression).

Now, normally, if one is going to try to be all hardcore, one would have a more sinister animal at hand, say, a pit bull or a rottweiller. Something like that.

But a cat?

Hmmm...

I guess it's okay to get your "mug on"... any which way you can.

Monday Ramblings

Good Morning, ya'll...

I got a really annoying text message from one of my favorite Chicken[heads], Serenity-30 screeching about how I needed to do a post.

Chicken, don't have a cow! Stop all that doggone squawking!

Retract your claws!

LOL

I have been busy doing other stuff... I don't have anything funny to post, mostly food for thought type stuff, and I don't feel like getting all mental.

(Although Serenity requires me to do such from time to time, so I probably will to shut her up.)

Anyway, I will post... I will ramble, like I always do on Mondays.

The current temperature in the ATL is 47 degrees.

Man, I am CONFUSED. It was in the 70s this weekend. Then yesterday, the weather peoples were saying we were going to be expecting heavy thunderstorms, softball sized hail, and 70 mile per hour winds.

What the heck is going on with the weather? Hot one day, cold the next!

I don't know whether to put on long johns or shorts. UGH!!

I know one thang... it's been raining cats and dogs lately. I can't STAND that!!!

I am looking forward to my favorite weather: 75 degrees, a 5 mile per hour wind, and not a cloud in the sky!!!

That's good weather.

My weekend. A LAZY, LAZY weekend. REAL LAZY. I got home on Friday night, and didn't leave the house until this morning for work.

That's what I call LAZY.

Every now and again, you need one of those weekends. I try to have one every 4 to 6 weeks.

I made headway on my current crochet project. Scheduled to finish it on about May 1st.


I have also been doing a lot of reading lately. This week I am reading Karin Slaughter's Triptych.

Karin Slaughter gave a speech at one of the Atlanta Writer's Club meetings last year. She is an Atlanta native, one of the top crime fiction writers. She gave a really good talk on using actual settings and social issues to drive your writing. And she tends to delve into really dark social issues (which peaked my interest, of course).

I know LBeezy always says that in my writing, somebody is always getting shot or thrown HARD into a wall. Yes this is true. I happen to like that type of stuff. I like really IMMEDIATE conflict, a bunch of straight up craziness.

This woman was the first I'd heard who writes the same type of stuff. I'd been meaning to look her books up and choose one to read. Triptych actually involves a serial killer and is set in some projects near my current residence and near my job.

I like stuff that is set on streets that I drive everyday. That makes the story even better. And I am almost finished with this book. I will probably finish it this week...

Now, I read REAL slow. But I am almost done with this 500 page book. That tells you how good it is!

Political Stuff. I tell you one thing. It feels GOOD to turn on the television, and see my President and First Lady representing the United States over in Europe!

Is it just me, or does it have all ya'll smiling hard like Miss Celie!??!

Right now, the peeps on the News channels are hemming and hawwing about this statement:

"In America, there is a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive. But in Europe, there is an anti-Americanism that is at once casual, but can also be insidious. Instead of recognizing the good that America so often does in the world, there have been times where Europeans choose to blame America for much of what is bad."

Man, they have been yipping something terrible about what I highlighted in red. As you can see, I had to go find the statement in context. You know how the right-wingers do: soundbite something to death.

"He called America arrogant!!! He is unpatriotic! Blah, blah, BLAAAAH!!!"

But isn't the statement true?

And ya'll know how much Europeans don't care for Americans. But the news folks aren't all up in arms about that... I didn't even hear a peep about Obama saying how much good America does around the world, but gets blamed for the bad...

But the part in red alone... isn't it true??

I think it is. We are some arrogant muthas indeed. You know it. Running around policing the earth... as broke as we are.

Heck, the uppercrust even looks down on it's own people. (Remember Katrina?)

I'm just saying... and that's my opinion. I am sure you got yours.

Ya'll have a fantastic week...

And yes, I will post EVERYDAY this week. (Yeah Serenity, pick your beak up off the ground, gal.)

Ya'll have a GREAT week... on purpose!

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

I walked past my laundry basket the other night.

And something move when I threw a towel in the basket.

I must've jump 100 feet in the air. Scared the heck out of me!

I moved the towel, turned on the light, and it was the "permanent houseguest", a sleeping Kramer.

That lil' joker was sleeping GOOD.

That's what I call a "sleepy face" for real!

I yelled for him to get out of there, but he just looked at me and went back to sleep.



"Oh, put that camera away Oldgirl. I am going back to sleep."

Humph. He needs a bath. If it wasn't a shame, I'd throw his butt right in the washer with the laundry.

Hmm... a passing thought. I don't need the PETA people burning my house down.

LOL