Something Yummy for Saturday

:  CHEESY MUSTARD CAULIFLOWER CASSEROLE

1 medium-sized head of cauliflower

1/2 cup Mayonnaise (real, not fat free or anything)

2 tsp yellow mustard (do NOT use dijon or stone ground or any weird mustard)

3/4 cup (or more) grated, sharp cheddar cheese

Cut the cauliflower into small florets and cook until just tender– do not overcook or the dish will turn out mushy!  Butter up a casserole dish and spread the cauliflower inside.  Combine the mayo and mustard and mix until uniform.  Pour the mixture over the cauliflower.  Put the cheddar cheese on top.  Bake at 375 until the cheese melts.

Leonard's Spaghetti Casserole

Here is the recipe for the casserole.  

1 package 7 oz. ( 1 1/2 cups ) elbow SPAGHETTI. Cook according to package directions. 

Drain and rinse. 

Combine with 2 tablespoons butter. 

Add 1/3 cup ( or less ) grated Parmesan cheese and 2 well beaten eggs. Mix together and spoon into a 9 X 13 pan. 

Brown 1 lb. hamburger with small chopped onion. Drain and spoon on top of spaghetti mixture. 

Pour a 28 oz jar of spaghetti sauce (Prego ) on top. Sprinkle liberally with mozzarella cheese. Oregano and or garlic salt can be added also. 

Arrange pepperoni slices on top, cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then without foil for another 15 minutes. 

Let stand 5-10 minutes before cutting. 

Found For Friday

 From Madpriest - The Liverpool manager flies to Kabul to watch a young Afghani play football.  He is suitably impressed and arranges for the player to come over.

Two weeks later Liverpool are 2-0 down to Newcastle with only 20 minutes left. The manager gives the young Afghani striker the nod, and on he goes.

The lad is a sensation. He scores 3 goals in 20 minutes and wins the game for Liverpool . The fans are delighted, the players and the coach are delighted and the media love the new star.

When the player comes off the pitch he phones his mum to tell her about his first day in English football.

'Hello mum, guess what?' he says 'I played for 20 minutes today, we were 2 - 0 down but I scored 3, they call it a hat-trick, and we won. Everybody loves me, the fans, the press, they all love me.'

'Just wonderful,' says his mum, 'Let me tell you about my day …

Your father got shot in the street, your sister and I were ambushed and assaulted, she would have been raped but for a passing police vehicle. Your brother has joined a local gang of looters and set fire to some buildings and all while you tell me that you were having a great time!!'

The young lad is very upset. 'What can I say mum, but I'm really sorry.'

Sorry?!!! Sorry?!!!' says his mum.

'It's your bloody fault we came to Liverpool in the first place!'

 After a tiring day, a commuter settled down in his seat and closed his eyes.

As the train rolled out of the station, the young woman sitting next to him pulled out her cell phone and started talking in a loud voice:

"Hi sweetheart. It's Sue. I'm on the train."

"Yes, I know it's the six thirty and not the four thirty, but I had a long meeting."

"No, honey, not with that Kevin from the accounting office. It was with the boss."

"No sweetheart, you're the only one in my life."

"Yes, I'm sure, cross my heart!"

Fifteen minutes later, she was still talking loudly.

When the man sitting next to her had enough, he leaned over and said into the phone, "Sue, hang up the phone and come back to bed."

Sue doesn't use her cell phone in public any longer.

 A photon checks into a hotel and the porter asks him if he has any luggage. The photon replies: “No, I’m travelling light.”

 A PREACHER AND A LAWN MOWER

A preacher was making his rounds on a bicycle when he came upon a little boy trying to sell a lawn mower.

"How much do you want for the mower?" asked the preacher.

"I just want enough money to go out and buy me a bicycle," said the little boy. After a moment of consideration, the preacher asked, "Will you take my bike in trade for it?"

The little boy asked if he could try it out first, and, after riding the bike around a little while, said, "Mister, you've got yourself a deal."

The preacher took the mower and began to crank it. He pulled on the rope a few times with no response from the mower.

The preacher called the little boy over and said, "I can't get this mower to start." The little boy said, "That's because you have to cuss at it to get it started."

The preacher said, "I can't cuss. It's been so long since I became a Christian that I don't even remember how to cuss."

The little boy looked at him happily and said, "You just keep pulling on that rope. It'll come back to ya." h/t June Butler

 Undeniable Adult Truths

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap

when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

 5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5.

I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

 9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection, again.

 13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

 17. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

18. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

19. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

 21. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

22. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

 23. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1 .7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.

 24. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important.

Who needs oatmeal, kayaks provide better roughage!

Toad Tales

Thanks to my friend Sam for sending this remarkable link.

 Falcon Nesting In A Tree ~

I’ve seen many remarkable photographs over the years but this one of a nesting Falcon is perhaps the most remarkable. 
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Nature can be truly breath-taking ! ! !

Click Here

The picture above was posted on Facebook and is of Clear Lake, Iowa.  When I was a kid we used to go there for vacation.  And I spent many weeks at the Methodist Camp at the lake.  My mother always liked to tell the story of when I was little and went into a restroom to go to the bathroom.  I was just learning to read and I read something that I did not understand so of course, I asked her what it meant.  Some Wag had written on the bathroom wall "This must be a Police Station because it is where the Dicks hang out."  Do you suppose my love of puns came from that.  I do remember that she told the story for years.

We had a lot of fun at Clear lake.  The family trips up there were the best.  I know when we first started going there it would take most of the day to get the 90 miles up there or at least that is what it seemed like to me.  I can remember my Uncle Dave who loved to water ski going out skiing one chilly fall day in his long underwear.  And the best breakfast ever was over a camp stove in the rain.

Later we were able to go to Leech Lake in Minnesota for vacations.  The lake was bigger but I don't think the fun was bigger.  My Aunt Jo (mother's sister) has a cabin up there.  It is the Cabin on the Hill that my aunt Fran and Uncle Harold used to rent for the summer.  It has the best view of the lake, IMHO. (In My Humble Opinion)  My Cousin Randy and his wife Fay were just up there and posted these pictures from there.

 I miss the place. but I couldn't handle being up there with my leg problems.
Here are a couple of fun things to enjoy.

Hump Day Random thoughts

This was posted on a friends Facebook page. She made a comment about being grateful that she had learned how to drive on a stick shift.

It got me thinking about my own experience of learning to drive.  I went to a small High School north of Ames but they had an excellent Driver's Ed teacher.  I am very grateful for the experience of learning from him.  Not only did he teach the basics of how a car operates but he also gave us some driving experiences which made me a better driver.  One of the experiences was to take us down to Des Moines to drive in a larger city and it was in the evening.

I can remember the nervousness of first learning to drive and the experience of learning how to look ahead as I drove to keep the car steady.  Of course we learned on an automatic shift but then there was my uncle Dave who took it further.  He had an old red Dodge stick shift and he took me out in that and taught me how to use the clutch and to drive the stick.  My grandfather had an extremely old (painted green) pick-up truck which was also stick but the stick was on the floor so I had to drive that also.

Dave made sure I drove as many different cars as he could find for me to drive and because of Mr Peterson (teacher) and Dr. Peterson (Uncle) I have always been a pretty good driver.  It is almost second nature to me.

I have been in a couple of accidents.  Once when a woman backed out of her parking place without looking to see if anyone was coming and of course I was distracted by something (which I won't mention) and another time when we were coming back from vacation in Minnesota and there was a car driven by an older man who turned left in front of me.  I hit the side of his car and we had to have someone come to St. Cloud to pick us up and bring us back to Ames.  It was his fault and his insurance company paid for fixing my car but it never was the same again.

And I have gotten a couple of speeding tickets. I am being very careful these days and I get passed a lot on the road but I can't afford to get a ticket for a while and I find I get better mileage and I get there just as fast.

I wish there was an App that I could use to censor news stories that I don't want to see.  I refuse to read stories about Sarah Palin (it hurts just to type her name) or these assholes (and yes I meant to use that word) who are constantly preaching against gays and women and especially the racist *&*^%%^&*( (and I won't type that word) who constantly fight the President and his family.  I do not know how he keeps his temper but he is a gentleman and he is so much better than they are.  I do not like everything he is doing or has done but I admire him and his demeanor and he will have my respect and I wish him well.  I wonder what he could have accomplished if the crazy Tea Party had not decided that they could do anything disrespectful that they want to do.

Cedar Ridge makes a wonderful Iowa Bourbon and now they make a smooth Single Malt Whiskey.  I scored a bottle of it today and am enjoying a nightcap as I write this post.  It is nice to have such a quality product made right here in Iowa.  

This is my grandfather and me when I was little. He was my father substitute and I am so grateful for his influence on my life. The goodness that came from my grandparents and my mother is something I am grateful for to this day.

Found this on-line and enjoyed it so I thought I would share.



Thanks for stopping by ARTYAL.  Hugz  j

Morning Walk at Ada Hayden Park, Ames, Iowa - Photos by Bob Kelly

Monday morning, August 26 started out tolerably warm and by noon got unbearably hot.  From about 9:00 to 10:20 I was strolling along the walk path on the south shore of Ada Hayden Lake, and found lots of interesting things to photograph.

I first noticed a limestone bench that I later sat on to rest, and its swirling pattern looked like an aerial photo of sand formations so that was the first exposure.  Others that followed were various kind of yellow flowers including some Goldenrod, Black Eyed Susans, Compass Plant, and some others that I did not recognize, but still caught my eye!

There was a lovely view of lake home high on a hilltop that I enjoyed, along with bees busy gathering nectar, a Kildeer protecting its territory as it waded along the lake, a turtle sunning itself on a log, and what looked like a snow bank in August, turned out to be feathers that were shed by geese or ducks and washed ashore and stayed there.  It made me laugh when I realized what they were.  There were delicate Dragonflies of various descriptions fluttering about, and three different kinds of butterflies, including a Black Swallowtails in two forms, and a Tiger Swallowtail, all of which were colorful, graceful, and a joy to watch.

I came back home hot and sweaty and spent a good deal of time in the coolness of my office downloading and processing the images that are shown below.  It was MY idea of a very good time!   I will go back to other areas of the park and shoot some more (when it cools down!!).  For now enjoy these, and if you get a chance for an early morning or early evening stroll there, take advantage of it!
(Note - the best way to view the photos is to click on one and then click through and enjoy the slide show of all the pictures.)

Molly on Monday

Molly here,

B G took some pictures of me doing my weekly post.

It tales me a long time because I generally only use one paw.

And sometimes it is hard to see the keys on the black keyboard.

B G says I should have taken touch typing from Mrs. Campbell in High School and I would be better. Sheesh he knows I didn't go to High School.

I am "self-taught" and I think I do a pretty good job.

 Speaking of good jobs.  Jon was here last week ( we only saw him about four times when he picked up the car and dropped it off- most of the time he was out running around with his buddies) but he was here one day with some clippers and he trimmed all the "volunteer" trees that had grown up in his Prairie Plot.. We don't want them there.  I, of course, had to supervise to see that he did the job properly.  B G took some pictures through the screen so they have a weird effect but we like them.  You can always click on a picture to go to the slide show and see them all larger if you want.

Then he came inside and sat and petted me (yeah!) and we had a nice chat.

I hope he brings Miles back with him sometime.  If he had a car he could.  Anybody out there have a car to give him?  He is a poor College (University) student and will probably be paying Student Loans back until he is 90.. or at least that is what B G says.  

Yes Mr. DeMille I am ready for my close-ups.  I was on B G's lap (I get up there a lot) when he took these.

This is my "being patient" look.

I am getting tired of this. It is almost nap time.

OK, I had to look up because B G let a fly in the house and I had to watch it.  I try to catch it.  So does B G but he is no faster than I am.

I just have to re-read through the post one last time and then schedule it to go up - Then it is nap time.. I had to work hard this week.

WOOF!