Wonder Rice

This recipe is fantastic. It is the only way I make rice now and it makes enough for a family. I add chicken or turkey leftovers to it after it is cooked. I have stored it in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

What you will need to make this recipe

1/4 cup of oil

1/4 cup of soya sauce

1 package of onion soup mix

2 cups of converted rice a must, instant rice will not work

4 cups of water

1 can of drained mushrooms

1 or 2 peppers chopped, put in pot for the last half hour, any earlier and they might become bitter

I use an oven roaster to cook it in

Heat oven to 325 degrees

Cover pot and bake for one hour, but remove cover for last half hour, if it is watery after this time bake longer.

Mexican Squash

This is a side dish that will add a bit of spice to your meal.

What you need for this recipe.

1 squash cut up into small pieces

2 jalapeño peppers chopped fine

1 large onion chopped small and lightly fried until brown

Boil the squash and peppers until soft then mash and combine with the fried onions.

 

friday 12:42pm

It has been a busy couple of days for me moving a couple pieces of new to me heavy antique sets of drawyers and a large shelf unit. This has inspired me to go a bit farther and rearrange a couple of rooms to make use of these pieces or try to fit them into place. It has given me a bit of needed excitement, except for the cleaning part, . Even that part of the physical effort is slightly eased by the thought that what ever is moved into that cleaned part of my apartment is a newly decorated and rearranged room for me.
As you read this article, how bored are you with where you live? A few large classic pieces of furniture can make a huge difference in how someone feels about their boring place of residence. Look around, you will never find that best deal in your life if you don’t search. Everything we do to get ahead is like the argument for participating in a lottery, “you have to play to win”.

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Know How to Appreciate

There is no one who cannot teach somebody something, and there is no one so excellent that he cannot be excelled. To know how to make use of everyone is useful knowledge. Wise men appreciate everyone, for they see the good in each and know how hard it is to make anything good. Fools deprecate everyone, not recognizing the good and selecting the bad.

Maxim 195, page 168, The Art of Worldly Wisdom, B.Gracian, Shambhala, London, 1993 (originally written in 1637)

 

Gain Goodwill

For thus the first and highest cause foresees and furthers the greatest objects. By gaining the goodwill you gain people’s good opinion. Some trust so much to merit that they neglect grace, but wise men know that it is a long and stony road without a lift from favour. Goodwill facilitates and supplies everything. It supposes gifts or even supplies them, such as courage, zeal, knowledge, or even discretion; whereas it will not see defects because it does not search for them. It arises from some common interest, either material, as in disposition, nationality, family, race, occupation; or formal, which is of higher kind of communion, as in capacity, obligation, reputation, or merit. The whole difficulty is to gain goodwill-to keep it is easy. It has, however, to be sought for and when found to be  utilized. “

Maxim 112, page 95, The Art of Worldly Wisdom, B.Gracian, Shambhala, London, 1993 (originally written in 1637)

A PoemTo Those I Love

If I don’t wake tomorrow, Please don’t feel sad for me

I have gone to my own heaven, A place I want to be.

If I leave life too suddenly, Remember not of me

Remember just the living, And the pain they have to see.

If I don’t wake tomorrow, Please help the little ones

They look to you for guidance, So be their shining sun

Strive to be non-judgemental, Encourage more than blame

Give hope and cheer to everyone, We all have needs the same

If I don’t wake tomorrow, Please leave me in the past

For I don’t have a future, And memories fade real fast

See the dawn as the day is born, And the dreams you try to grasp

Life holds hope for the living, And will deliver all you ask

If I don’t wake tomorrow, I’ll be quietly at rest

No pain or disappointments, And never any stress

If I don’t wake tomorrow, Please don’t feel sad for me

I have gone to my own heaven, A place I want to be.

Originally written January 1, 2004

*

Do Not Be Censorious

Cover via Amazon

 

There are people of gloomy character who regard everything as faulty, not from any evil motive but because it is their nature to. They condemn all-these for what they have done, those for what they will do. This indicates a nature worse than cruel, vile indeed. They accuse with such exaggeration that they make out of motes beams with which to poke out eyes. They are always taskmasters who could turn a paradise into a prison-if passion intervenes they drive matters to the extreme. A noble nature, on the contrary, always knows how to find an excuse for failings saying the intention was good, or it was only an error of oversight.

 

Maxim 109, page 92, The Art of Worldly Wisdom, B.Gracian, Shambhala, London, 1993 (originally written in 1637)

 

Canadian Wish List

     

English: Flag of Canada over country contour Français : Drapeau du Canada délimité par les frontières du pays Русский: Флаг-карта Канады (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

                              
Borders: Closed to illegal immigrants!

Illegal boats: Stopped.

Parliament: Obey its own laws.
Make politicians keep their promises or have them disqualified from further election.
No programs scheduled to start past the next election.

Dual Citizenship: Abolished (you’re either Canadian or something else. If you’re something else, be a visitor then leave)

 

Language: English and/or French

Culture: Respect the Canadian culture and stop trying to change it to the mess that you left back home. Stop trying to change us!

Drug Free: Mandatory Drug Screening before Welfare!

NO Freebies to Non-Citizens! : Look after Canadians BEFORE donating to other countries.
No Canadian welfare for any country that is developing nukes or spending more than a reasonable amount on arms.

 

Sunday Lite

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7E5tAzRBU4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

If You Can Keep Your Head

If you can keep your head when all about you
    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
    But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
    And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
    And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
    To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
    If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

-Rudyard Kipling

 

The Shortest Path to Greatness is Along With Others.

Intercourse with the right people works well; manners and taste are shared, good sense and even talent grow insensibly. Let the impatient person then make a comrade of the sluggish, and so with the other temperaments, so that without forcing it the golden mean is obtained. It is a great art to agree with others. The alteration of contraries beautifies and sustains the world, and if it can cause harmony in the physical world, still more it can do so in the moral. Adopt this policy in the choice of friends and defendants-by joining extremes the more effective middle way is found.

Maxim 108, page91, The Art of Worldly Wisdom, B.Gracian, Shambhala, London, 1993 (originally written in 1637)

On The Island Today

Hi How are you feeling today?

Weather is overcast on the island, not expecting any overhead clearance today. Warm but a damp, wet feeling if you are out walking.

Humidity when the sky is low is unbeatable here because the outside air is usually slightly misty as well.

Waterproof, wind proof, breathable clothing is a necessity in this type of climate. If you wear other types of clothing as outerwear then your bundled inner self, will steam up, and become as wet as the outside protective cover of the overcoat.

It is not actually cold here.

It is the windchill and the heat evaporating chill of wetness that you need protection from. Waterproof boots because there has not been enough  bright sunshine to draw all the moisture out of the ground and the grass is wet and water is in pools on roads and walkways, but you can sidestep these puddles and not walk on grass surfaces. So the waterproof boots are not an essential article of clothing. Jackets and pants and headgear are what is needed to remain comfortable while walking about in this wet  weather.

 

There is not much traffic up and down my road and if properly dressed it is quit pleasant to walkabout. Only the occasional person will be noticed and usually at a distance and walking in a different direction. A private time with little traffic of any kind to take away from the solitude of the walk. No distractions with the phone notifications turned off and only the occasional card driving within your viewing range. But you have to wear waterproof and windproof and breathable clothing.

Contrarianism

 

“A touch of craziness…Crazy people see and feel things that others don’t. An entrepreneur’s dream is often a kind of madness.” Anita Roddick, co-founder Body Shop International

 

Cover via Amazon

 

“No one can possibly achieve any real and lasting success or get rich in business by being a conformist.” J. P. Getty, U.S oilman

 

Page 53, The Quotable Tycoon, David Olive, Viking Canada,Toronto, 2002

 

Show no self-satisfaction.

Cover of The Art of Worldly Wisdom

 

You must neither be discontented with yourself, which is weak spirited, nor self-satisfied, which is folly. Self-satisfaction arises mostly from ignorance, and it would be a happy ignorance not without its advantages if it did not ruin reputation. Because a person cannot achieve the superlative perfections of others, he contents himself with any mediocre talent of his own. Distrust is wise, and even useful, either to evade mishaps or to afford consolation when they come, for a misfortune cannot surprise a man who has already feared it. Even Homer nods at times, and Alexander fell from his lofty state due to his illusions. Things depend on many circumstances-what constitutes triumph in one set may cause defeat in another. In the midst of all, incorrigible folly remains the same with empty self-satisfaction, blossoming flowering, and running all to seed.

 

Maxim 107, page 90, The Art of Worldly Wisdom, B.Gracian, Shambhala, London, 1993 (originally written in 1637)

 

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The Story, Chapter One

The darkness dropped like a black cloth over the city. The day’s dark grey sky caused by heavy cloud cover might have been a contributing factor. I am not a meteorologist so I cannot say with any certainty why it happened. All I know is it became dark as quickly as a room at midnight when the lights are switched off.
Sitting on my balcony above the neighbouring houses I had noticed the effect of a bad economy and the high costs of electricity. Many people refrained from having lights turned on inside and outside. Only one or two lights could be seen illuminating the inside of many of the large Victorian era houses that lined the streets of my neighbourhood. In a few houses no lights were on at all, but the blueish light of televisions could be seen flickering. This is how my night started.
I lay in my bed in the darkened room listening to a heavy wind blowing. Occasionally I can hear something being blown along the road and I imagine the possibilities and probabilities of what it could be by the sounds as it moves along the asphalt.
The wind sounds like a distant train then gets louder and the bedroom window rattles from its force. Laying in bed staring at the line of light showing under my bedroom door I wonder if the giant tree out back will lose a branch or two and damage the vehicles parked below it.
A siren sounds in the distance as an ambulance races up the hill to the hospital.

In another section of the city.

“You don’t know me,” he spoke, then he raised his hand in the air and pointed one finger skyward. “Now asshole look down at your chest,” and the man looked down and saw the red pinpoint of light. Then the other slowly raised another finger and another pinpoint of red light appeared and another finger and another red dot.

“Those guys are highly trained and motivated killers able to stay out of sight and kill you easily at 800 meters,” he continued, “so now I want you to fuck off and don’t come around here again or you will die. Do you hear me? Do you understand what I am saying?”

Then he turned to the man next to him,
“This life ain’t so simple because no matter how hard I work it seems half-wits like this jerk off and people who talk too much always fuck up and make problems for me. What about you?”

The man replied, “ I know what you mean. These people are so dumb they probably need instructions on how to open a door.”
Then he continued speaking in a very confident voice,” By listening to people around here I have determined your strengths and weaknesses. I have also determined from these remarks that you are a smart man. Now considering that we are two smart men how can we make things easier for ourselves?”

My Adventure Story

It began on a dark and cold Sunday morning, I remember it very well. It seems such a short time ago and I remember it clearly.
I awoke to the sudden sound of the door downstairs being opened slowly. The dog was alert at the bedroom door, looking through the gap between the wall and slightly open door, watching out toward the stairway landing. I got out of the bed as silently as I could quickly do it, my hearing attuned to the noise coming from downstairs. I rapidly pulled on the clothing  I had dropped to the floor before I had crawled into bed the night before. My senses sharpened I approached the bedroom doorway to also look out toward the entrance to my apartment. I signalled the dog to stay alert, quiet, and not move. We became a silent team waiting to see if the intruder continued to come up the stairs.

We heard a bit of heavy breathing, it sounded like someone trying to be silent but lifting something heavy. Was it only one person, did I hear more? What was it that was being lifted?

Red Door (Photo credit: Knilram)

Did the intruder use a heavy device to gain entrance and was now moving it away from the open entranceway? I was more than a bit nervous, and quickly looked for the phone.  My pulse was up and the fog of sleep from mere seconds ago was gone. I saw the phone on the dresser, only a short distance, but could I reach it and dial a number in time?

The dog became very alert and growled. She ran towards the doorway and I moved after it in the same direction forgetting about dialling the emergency number, chasing the dog. We raced to confront the intruder.

Continued next week

Christmas Buying

THINK ABOUT THIS:

If 200 million North Americans refuse to buy just $20 each of Chinese
goods, that’s a billion dollar trade imbalance resolved in our
favour… fast!! The downside? Some Canadian/American businesses will feel a
temporary pinch from having foreign stockpiles of inventory.

Just one month of trading losses, will hit the Chinese for 8% of their
North American exports. Then they will at least have to ask themselves if
the benefits of their arrogance and lawlessness were worth it.

START NOW and don’t stop.

Send this to everybody you know. Let’s unite and show them that we are
intelligent Canadians /Americans, and NOBODY can take us for granted. If we can’t live without cheap Chinese goods for one month out of our lives… WE  DESERVE WHAT WE GET!

 

Never Give Up

To all those that said I could not do it.

Your vote counts. Use it.

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• Governor Christie On Voting: ‘There’s No Reason To Wait’ (philadelphia.cbslocal.com)
• To Vote or Not to Vote (tamu.uloop.com)
• Vote however you want to vote (dailypaul.com)

 

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