Earlier today I went out to do the "buying" part of my Christmas. I'd say about 60% of the gift-giving I do at any given moment in time is all about home-made stuff: An afghan; an embroidered tablecloth; a needlepoint scene to be framed; jams, jellies, and preserves; candy, cakes, cookies; things like that. But there are certain people for whom I actually feel the need to go out and buy stuff for. This was my day to do that.

Amongst my destinations today was a [to be politically correct] "national retail outlet". Okay ... it was Toys R Us. Anyway, as I went toward their check-out lanes, having made my purchases quickly, I was drawn to the sounds of raised voices down one of the aisles. What I found at the end of the lane was two men ... two grown men ... literally fighting each other. I mean, really going at it tooth and nail while the security guards struggled to pull them apart.

And what was the cause of this battle? Divergent political beliefs? An insult, real or imagined, to some lady fair? Cruelty to a child? Did someone kick a dog? Nope. It was over a stupid, dumb-ass, floor-sample, video game system. Granted, it was the last one left. Granted, as the floor model it was 25% "off". Granted, I'm sure both these men loved the person for whom they wished to purchase this item. But to get into a physical fight over it? I mean who needs or wants something so bad that they'd get into a public scrap? And I have to wonder if it was even really about the video system in the end, or just two numb-nuts trying to prove who had the "bigger stick".

You should've seen the faces of some of the children standing around watching this scene unfold, their mouths hanging open and their eyes wide. And to make it all the more senseless, both of these morons were escorted out of the store by security and neither one of them got the item in question!! So all that for basically nothing!! Don't the holidays just bring out the "best"(?) in some folks?

But it got me to thinking. Is there something that I would want someone to get me, that I would expect them to fight someone for? I couldn't come up with a single thing I wanted that much. If I were sitting on "the big man's" lap right now, what would I tell him I want?

Well, Santa, a couple of new pairs of fuzzy socks would be nice. The ones I have, while comfy still, are getting a bit threadbare. I'd like a couple of books. I'll need some firewood if they get my chimney fixed on Wednesday. Maybe a gift certificate for a massage. I know it's a bit out of your "area", but some rain would be nice. We haven't had any in months and it's really, really dry. And I'd appreciate it if you could make sure my daughter is safe in her travels to Hawai'i to meet her father for the holidays. But just as important, Santa ... 

I'd like people to remember that this season is called "Christmas" ... or, in the ancient language "Christ's Mass", the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Now, while I myself don't believe in the divinity of this carpenter from Nazareth, I have read a lot about his life and the things he said. He made some good sense, and it would be nice if all those out there who profess to believe in Him as Lord and Savior, would start living their lives with "a little less talk and a lot more action", especially during this time of year.

Don't ignore the bell ringer by the store's front door. Go ahead and give your spare change to the guy on the corner holding a sign. Give an unwrapped new gift to the Marines for their Toys for Tots campaign. Buy a couple of extra cans of beans the next time you go to the market and toss 'em into the food collection bin every grocery store has. Heck ... just a simple "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" would brighten somebody's day. 

It may be a tight Christmas this year ... it is for lots of folks, and it is very true that charity begins at home. However, I think we all should remember that as bad as things may be for us, there are loads of people who are not even as fortunate as we are. Count your blessings and share what you can, even if it is just a smile.

I believe one of the reasons G-d gave us emotions is so we could feel happiness, compassion, and a sense of what is right. Not a single one of us is perfect, nor a suitable judge of others on much of anything. But we can improve our little corner of the universe. Show kindness to one another ... not because you think you're going to get some heavenly reward. Not because you fear some hellish retribution if you don't. Do it because it is the right thing to do.

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I awoke this morning to the disturbing news that a couple of my really good buddies have decided to move on. They are leaving MBP for a new site which, hopefully, will suit their needs more than this place. I wish them fair winds and following seas, although I will miss them terribly.

I look around and wonder when this migration will end. It seems that those of us who jumped ship when My[____] decided that we didn't matter so much any more, are like refugees: moving from country to country, looking for a home where we will be comfortable and be able to pick up "life like it was". I fear, though, that like most real-life refugees, we are looking for a Utopia that no longer exists, if it ever did in the first place.

I joined MySpace back in 2008 and I fell in love. It all just seemed so "right". We were a community. Oh we had our crazy "Uncle Eddies", and there were fueds that would rival the Hatfields and the McCoys, but like all families, we dealt with our problems within the family. There was a cohesiveness there that I have not been able to find on any other site, including this one.

So we jump. MySpace to FaceBook to FriendBurst to SiteModel to MyBoomerPlace ... all looking to find our family again. I feel like I've been set adrift on an open sea in a very leaky boat ... and I've never been a very good swimmer. So what's a "goil" to do?

Perhaps I'm just getting old, but I don't feel like moving again. This site, while it has its problems, is still pretty much in its infancy stage. So far, the administration seems to be receptive to our complaints, wants, and needs. I'm willing to give them the chance to keep on making improvements, as they already have just in the time since most of us have been here.

I have no intentions of getting rid of all my "summer cottages" over on the other sites, but you've got to make your HOME somewhere, and this is where I've decided to be. It's comfortable, and at my age, I'm built more for comfort than for "speed" or "flash".

If you've decided that this place is not for you, though, I would appreciate it if you would let me know. You are on my friend list for a reason: I don't want to lose any of you.

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*note: Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. Probably the most-associated food with this holiday is "latkes", or, potato pancakes. (There is always some sort of food associated with any Jewish holiday [well, except Yom Kippur] because of the basic Jewish reason for wanting to celebrate: "Someone tried to kill us. They failed. Let's eat." LOLOL)

The fact is, I never learned how to make this dish with a written recipe. I mean, I watched others and just did what they seemed to be doing. However, over the years folks have asked for the recipe time and again, and it seems that every time I sit down to write it, something's just a little different. So if you've seen another version of my recipe elsewhere, and things seem a bit "off", don't worry about it. It tastes the same!!

***************

LATKES

4-5 good-sized russet potatoes, shredded

1 large sweet onion, minced

2 eggs

3 tablespoons matzoh meal (more or less ... this is the "binder", so you kind of need to eyeball it)

1 stick of butter

some canola or other vegetable oil (not olive oil)

After shredding your potatoes, rinse them well in a collander using cold water. Then, put them in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit for awhile (about an hour). Then, rinse them again in cold water, and soak them again. Repeat this rinse/soak cycle at least 3 times (4 is better, but you may be pressed for time)

After the last rinse, put the potatoes and onions into a clean dish towel or into a big sheet of cheesecloth and wring as much of the moisture out of the mix as you possibly can. If the towel soaks through, get another one and repeat the process. Having as much moisture squeezed out as possible is very important.

Put the potato/onion mix into a large bowl. Add the eggs and the matzoh meal at this point. Stir until the mixture is completely combined. (I use my hands...works better) At this point, should you want to, you can add salt and pepper.

In a large (12") skillet, melt the stick of butter. Then, pour in enough vegetable oil to make about an inch of oil in the pan. Drop large spoonfuls of the potato/onion mixture into the hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides.

Drain on paper towels and serve as soon as possible. They should always be served warm and traditionally, they are garnished with chunky applesauce and/or sour cream.

Enjoy!!

Tags: holidays / food

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BETTY JANE'S BLACK WALNUT FUDGE

2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 cups regular granulated sugar

1-1/3 cups of half-n-half (no substitutes)

1/4 cup dark Karo syrup

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. black walnut extract

6 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate

1/2 cup butter (no substitute)

2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup coarsely chopped black walnuts

First, line a large cookie sheet with buttered wax paper. Set this aside.

Next, in a 4 quart saucepan, combine the sugars, the half-n-half, Karo, salt, cream of tartar, and chocolate and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the chocolate is melted and the sugar is completely dissolved.

Continue to cook mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it comes to the "soft ball" stage. (If you're using a candy thermometer, this should happen at about 230-235*F) Remove the pan from heat and then stir in the butter.

Let the pan cool down for about an hour (the sides should feel sort of leukwarm) Then, add the vanilla and the black walnut extract. Beat the mixture with a wooden spoon until it no longer looks "glossy" ... about 5 minutes or so. Quickly stir in the nuts until thoroughly combined.

Drop generous spoonfuls of the fudge onto the wax papered cookie sheet you prepped earlier. Put the sheet into a cool, dark place for a couple of hours to let the fudge finish firming up. Store in an air-tight container with a sheet of wax paper between each layer of fudge.

As an alternative, if you prefer "square" fudge, you can pour the mixture into a prepared square cake pan and then after it sets, just cut it into squares. That always seemed like an extra step to my mother (whose recipe this is). She said it might not "look" as good, but tasted just fine the way she did it. LOLOL

Enjoy!!

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Since some of your feelings may get hurt by this, please let me say at the outset that I really love those pictures you send. Some of the visuals are beautiful, some are funny, some tear at my heart, and each and every one of them is truly appreciated. I know that you work hard to find just the right thing to send, and you make some remarkable selections. However ...

There really is such a thing as "too much of a good thing".

Please know that I don't want to be "dissing" you, but I just don't keep pictoral comments. They take up way too much space and tend to distort my pages, as they (the pages) try to stretch to receive the pictures.

I see them. I appreciate them. I enjoy them. But then I let them go, and I really don't want you to feel insulted or anything.

Okay? Okay!!

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Tonight, for those of you without cloud cover, there will be a full moon in the night sky. Well, it'll be there with or without the cloud cover, but, y'know. The full moon is full of myth and magic ... and a good many different names.

Years and years and years ago The Old Farmer's Almanac gave names to each of the monthly full moons, and they are as follows:

• January -- The Wolf Moon
• February -- The Snow Moon
• March -- The Worm Moon
• April -- The Pink Moon
• May -- The Flower Moon
• June -- The Strawberry Moon
• July -- The Buck Moon
• August -- The Sturgeon Moon
• September -- The Harvest Moon
• October -- The Hunter's Moon
• November -- The Beaver Moon
• December -- The Cold Moon

North American Native tribes had a variety of names for the various moons:

• January -- Snow, Winter, Frost in the Lodge
• February -- Starving, Storm, Elder, Trapper's
• March -- Maple Sugar, Strong Wind, Big Famine
• April -- Frog, Sprouting Grass, Deep Water, Egg
• May -- Planting, Hare, Flower
• June -- Honey, Berry Ripening, Rose, Turning
• July -- Raspberry, Hay, Corn Tassel, Red Salmon
• August -- Dog Day, Woodcutter's, Chokeberry
• September -- Barley, Spiderweb, Big Feast
• October -- Falling Leaves, Blood, Basket
• November -- Frosty, Snow, Corn, Initiate
• December -- Oak, Popping Trees, Long Night

These are all so pretty, and so expressive. Most have to do with things that commonly went on in people's lives at various times of the year...seasonal happening. It started me wondering what I would name the full moons in my life:

• January --  The Oh Crap My Taxes Are Due Moon
• February -- The Over-Priced Love Holiday Moon
• March -- The Get Drunk On Green Beer Moon
• April -- The Government Screws Me Moon
• May -- The Springtime Sneezy Moon
• June -- The Over-The-Top Wedding Moon
• July -- The Hot Dogs And Firecracker Moon
• August -- The Birthday Moon
• September -- The Back-To-School Moon
• October -- The Too Much Candy Moon
• November -- The Thankful Moon
• December -- The Break The Bank Moon

So my friends ... what would you call your year of moons? [BTW ... just a bit of trivia here: You've heard of a "blue moon"? Well, that's what it's called when there are two full moons in one calendar month!!]

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Let me get one thing clear from the get-go: I do not watch "Dancing With The Stars". I've glanced at it a few times, but I don't think I've ever seen an entire episode, and I certainly haven't ever called in and voted for anyone.

I'll go one further: I don't watch "American Idol", or "Big Brother", or "The Biggest Loser", or "Survivor", or any of the others in the seemingly endless stream of so-called "reality shows". If I want reality, all I have to do is look into the face of a hungry child, pictures of an abused animal, or into the emptiness that is my checkbook. [but that's a whole 'nother blog]

Further, let me say that I am no big fan of Bristol Palin. Or any of the other Palins, for that matter. I mean, I don't hate any of them, not even close to it, but I also don't think they're "all that" either, know what I mean? So why am I taking up Bristol Palin's "banner". Most likely because anyone the media seems to hate as much as they do her can't be all bad.

Anytime this girl gets up to dance, the judges [and who are these people anyway] have some kind of a crow fit. They continually give her low scores no matter what she does, and then express almost pathologic shock and dismay that she keeps getting voted back on week after week. All of this is, of course, dutifully reported by mainstream media as "big news".

Now, I've seen the clips of her dancing, and while she's certainly no Irene Castle or Ginger Rogers, she's not all that bad. She's certainly better than I'm sure any of the judges are, and I know for a fact she's better than me. And as for her being voted back week after week, well rather than showing ignorance, I think the audience is showing that they actually "get" the concept of this silly show (and other call-in, vote-for-me shows)

It's the audience, "the people" that are supposed to decide who's the best. Who gave it their "most". Who displayed the most "moxie" ... whatever. To give some unknown shlub, or has-been personality a shot at the spotlight. One more chance to be a come-back kid.

So why do the judges and the media seem to hate Bristol Palin? I mean, what is she but the slightly chunky, less-than-beautiful daughter of a former vice-presidential candidate? And there's your answer. Why do you think she was invited to begin with? If her mother wasn't Sarah Palin she wouldn't have had a chance in hell of being there. And if the truth be told, I think the reason she was invited was because the folks in charge WANTED her to fail ... wanted her to fall flat on her ass. Wanted to be able to point a finger at her and say "see ... see". It was their chance to take a back-handed swipe at Sarah Palin and use one of her own children to do it. Now they're just pissed off that the viewing public didn't read [or go along with] "the script".

And people in this country wonder why "better people" don't run for public office. Maybe it's because if they truly are "better people" they don't want to subject their families to all of the garbage that inevitably gets piled upon them.

So to all the "haters" out there here's some advice from me to you:  If you don't like the show, don't watch it. If you like the show but don't like Bristol Palin, vote for somebody else. Quit trying to hurt the mother through the daughter. In other words, sit down, shut up, and let the little girl dance...

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A week from tomorrow is the day in the year set aside for us all to reflect on those things for which we are thankful. Of course, it can be said that we should always recognize the "gifts" in our lives on a daily basis, and always give thanks. But still ...

I am thankful, as always, for being alive. There are times when this has been (is) in no way a "sure thing". I cling to my life as my most precious jewel. Without my life, all the other things I cherish would have no meaning at all.

I am thankful for my daughter ... the most important person in my life. My greatest achievement. The best "thing" I have ever done. My "karma reward" for all the really stupid things I've done in my life.

I am thankful for my family: my sister, my niece and nephew, my aunts, uncles, and cousins ... all those in my bloodline who have contributed to who I am ... and who seem to continue to care about me in spite of all my warts.

I am thankful for my friends, who sustain me and make my life so interesting. Some I can reach out and put my hands on. Others who have allowed me into their lives through this impossible medium of the computer. I don't think I tell any of you often enough how very much you mean to me.

I am thankful that I live in a country where I can still breathe the sweet, beautiful, delicious aroma of freedom and words cannot express how grateful I am that so many continue to make sacrifices on my behalf to allow me that freedom.

When she was young, my daughter once asked me if we were rich or if we were poor. This was my answer: "We have a roof over our heads. We have food in our bellies. We have clothes on our back. We have money enough for all of our needs and sometimes enough for a few of our wants. Most importantly, we have so many people in our lives who love us and care what happens to us. All in all, I'd say we are rich ... very rich indeed."

Like George Bailey in "It's A Wonderful Life", I feel today that I am the richest "man" in Bedford Falls.

Take that, Mr. Potter!!

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