Dog On A Root

- jim Young “I love the smell of lawn mower gasoline in the morning!” - adapted from a quote by Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore as played by Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now  We are cutting our own lawn this year for the first time since we purchased our home in Loring. Al and Diena of the now defunct “Cottage Crew” have retired from the lawn cutting business and we wish them well in their retirement. The first time I cut our lawn however, I pondered if in fact, I had been paying them enough for this chore all these years? However, as some of you may know I often like to turn “chores” into “adventures” . So with my 60s Che Guevara bandana proudly displayed on my head, I like to pretend I’m a biker on my way to Mardi Gras. In my mind, our Ariens riding lawn mower is an Indian motorcycle and although it may not be “The World’s Fastest Indian” it flies across our lawn like a “Bat Out Of Hell” . As I speed across a sea of long grass I stir up the mosquitoes who are quick to attack. B...

- jim Young "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." - Benjamin Disraeli Almost everyone has an agenda. Whether their agenda is hidden or not will depend on the individual. Don’t get me wrong. As a senior, I would welcome any increase to my retirement income that is offered. I just find misleading or misrepresented facts and outright lies to be very vulgar. Sadly, Facebook has become a cesspool for this type of behaviour, so whenever I see material posted on Facebook such as this, presented as “facts” I get very suspicious whether I am in agreement or opposed to its bottom line message. Sometimes I am surprised to find there is more truth in the post than I might have thought; sometimes my suspicions are confirmed that it’s just a pack of lies; and sometimes, like this post, while it seems to be a little “exaggerated” at best, the worst part is it is incomplete and doesn’t tell the whole story. Who Is This Post Directed At? To begin with, Social S...

Whether ordering Mexican Fries as a side dish, an appetizer to split with My Shirley or as a meal in itself, nobody makes them better than Jake's Place Restaurant or Roxie's Diner in Port Loring . I can't say one is better than the other, so you'll just have to drop into both Jake's and Roxie's sometime to decide for yourself. I'll be honest with you though. This recipe isn't quite as good as either, but sometimes when I want some Mexican Fries at home and just don't feel like ordering take-out, they are a close second and worth the effort. The recipe may seem long and a bit complicated when you first look at it, but when you tackle it just one step at a time, it's really pretty simple. Try it. Then visit Jake's or Roxie's and see how well you did. Prep Time: 20 min. Cook Time: 45 min. Total Time: 1 hour Serves: 2 Note: Preparation and cook times in all of my recipes are estimates at best and may vary depending on how fast you are i...

Whether you're making nachos, a taco dip or just spicing up some ground beef for a hamburger, you can make Taco Seasoning yourself. No need to run to the store to buy a pack of El Paso. Y ou likely already have these spices on hand in your cupboard. You can also use it to "spice" up some of your favourite recipes by adding it to chili, pizza, lasagna, stuffed peppers, soup and more. Stuff You’ll Need: 2 tbsp chili powder 1 ½ tsp kosher salt 1 tsp granulated garlic 1 tsp granulated onion 1 tsp ground cumin ½ tsp oregano ¼ tsp pepper Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional) Do This: Mix all ingredients together. Tip: Make larger quantities and store it in a small jar for future use. Make sure you shake the jar well each time before using.

 As we headed toward the cash during our regular Beer run at the LCBO in Port Loring, I paused to make sure that I wasn't forgetting any liquor we needed to keep our bar stocked. "Have you tried our Butter Tart Liquor?" I heard Julia ask from the next aisle. I cringed as I turned to My Shirley. "We were this close," I said holding my finger and thumb apart to indicate the approximate size of Donald Trumps, uh, "thumb" size. "We were this close to getting out of here without being tempted to try something new." I like to kid Julia about her suggestions but I hope she never stops sharing them as Julia's suggestions are almost always winners.  There was that one  time that Julia suggested Cherry Vanilla Rum that I won't let her forget. But hey, you can't hit it out of the park every time. There's nothing inherently wrong with Cherry Vanilla Rum. I just find the typically Caribbean liquor mixed with Cherry as opposed to coconu...