This blog promises to fling itself against the world's screen door until its ideas stick.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Posted by missjunebug on October 30, 2010
SpBOOky! Photo by mjb2010
Things are getting spooky where missjunebug lives! (Actually things have been spooky pretty much this whole year!) She hopes you have a spBOOky Halloween!
Let the Holiday Juggernaut begin!
Posted by missjunebug on October 25, 2010
missjunebug's palm tree man ROCKS! Photo by mjb2010
missjunebug lives in a house that likes to think of itself as a Spanish Hacienda. In fact, the junebugs call their home The Hacienda just for fun. It’s not really a hacienda but more like a pretend hacienda. The history of the house is a weird but interesting one, the weirdest thing being that the house used to be located in a whole other town, was cut up into little pieces, and re-assembled on a little hilltop that is currently trying to fall down (but that’s another story for another day).
One of the truly authentic features of The Hacienda is that it is surrounded by palm trees of all kinds. And when missjunebug says surrounded, she means surrounded. At last count there were close to ninety. REE Diculous.
Yes, missjunebug loves the way they swish in the wind, creating a resort-like atmosphere around the courtyards and the gazebo and along the driveway. But that’s not all they create! Detritus X a kagillion: Branches, pods, husks, golden berries, feathery fronds, you name it! For goodness sake, it never ends!! There is always something falling off the tree or shooting out from the tree or swaying from the tree. Always.
Enter the palm tree guy. For mucho dinero, our palm tree guy will make everything right. Believe me when missjunebug says this agile man earns every dollar he charges. Mr.JB’s days of shinning up the skinny trunks of their trees are well over (missjunebug breathes a big sigh of relief). Just ask TinyJB why. He was at home from college one holiday when Mr.JB strapped himself to a tree to trim it and then managed to end up twirling around it about 20 feet in the air. Yikes! Thank goodness TinyJB and missjunebug were able to wrestle Mr.JB back down to the ground. They made Mr.JB turn in his ropes and ladder on. the. spot.
Yes, missjunebug will always enjoy sitting in the shade of a lovely palm tree murmuring in the breeze. But she will never enjoy all that stuff they shed!
Just a small part of the palm tree detritus! The rest is on the other side of the wall! Photo by mjb2010
Posted by missjunebug on October 21, 2010
Thanks for the help, Mr.JB! Photo by mjb2010
missjunebug with the help of her steadfast Mr.JB performed a culinary experiment recently that was a resounding success: Homemade Kettle Corn. Simple. Sweet. Savory. and Capital Dee Licious!
Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients
1/2 cup Orville Redenbacher ‘s Original Gourmet Popping Corn
1/4 cup peanut oil or canola oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
Directions
1. Place oil in stove-top style popcorn popper with hand crank (for best results) or use a heavy saucepan with a secure lid. Heat oil over medium high heat.
2. Add popcorn kernels. When the oil just starts to sizzle, pour in sugar on top of the popcorn, cover, and keep turning the hand crank or shaking the pan while the popcorn begins to pop.
3. Continue to crank or shake until the popping slows or stops, around 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Pour the popcorn into a large bowl and sprinkle on the salt to taste.
mjbTip: Use a wood spoon to remove the popcorn. It’s a little tricky to remove from the pan because it’s a little stuck together, but persevere! It’s worth it!
The kettle corn keeps well in a large glass container for easy, delicious, and low calorie snacking (35-40 calories per cup). Popcorn is a high fiber, whole grain that you just can’t go wrong snacking on!
Kettle Corn Up Close! See the Sugary Sheen? Photo by mjb2010
Posted by missjunebug on October 15, 2010
So missjunebug was minding her little bug business on the way to the dry cleaners to pick up Mr.JB’s clothes when she takes her usual ramp off the 101 and comes to a stop at the light. She sees something she’s never seen before. The scruffy guy sitting along side the curb with a sign–she’d seen that before. But this time instead of the usual Will Work For Food (Don’t we all do that?) or Vet in Need or Homeless & Need Your Help, this guy’s sign says ANYTHING. That’s it. Just ANYTHING.
Now missjunebug has a rule and the rule is she gives her money to her very trustworthy church who vets those who receive the help they need. In other words, she knows reliably where the money goes and it goes to help people in need. The same can’t really be said of giving money to hands-outers in front of the local Von’s or at the busy intersection where her CVS pharmacy (erstwhile methamphetamine enablers according to the news this week, but mjb digresses) or this scruffy guy on the off-ramp from the 101. But the sign really moved her. Â ANYTHING.
By the time she had thought through the implications of such a sign, she was well through the light. She looked in her rearview and saw that the car behind her had handed the scruffy guy something, but she wasn’t quite sure what. Not money. Whatever it was, it was wrapped up in a sack, so who knows? Certainly, not missjunebug. She does remember one of her students explained to her once that her dad always helped those asking for hand outs from the street by handing them a few cans of tunafish. Not an altogether bad idea. Such a gesture assuages the need to lend a hand and assures that the hand doing the lending won’t be bilked by a poser. So maybe that sack contained a few cans of tuna, but missjunebug will never know.
But the thing of it that missjunebug keeps coming back to is the ANYTHING. Like this guy wasn’t going to be picky because he was truly desperate. Desperate enough to ask for help in the most humble of ways. He would welcome ANYTHING, because apparently he had nothing but this sad little cardboard sign with the word ANYTHING scrawled on it.
Maybe missjunebug should have given this guy a twenty. She had a few in her wallet. But she can only say this with her perfect hindsight since she didn’t realize how that word ANYTHING would haunt her so much after the fact. In such situations, one fears a rip-off, or a volatile mind, maybe even a dangerous one, or a 20-dollar misinvestment in a liquor bill or drug habit.
But what if this scruffy guy was truly as desperate as the sign suggested? In this economic recovery totally bereft of jobs or even a modicum of reassurance for the average guy on the street (literally in this case), what’s a little well-meaning bug to do for the man holding up a sign that says ANYTHING? Â missjunebug keeps thinking she should have done something.
Posted by missjunebug on October 13, 2010
What a beautiful morning! Waves of fog as far as the little bug eye could see!
Sea of Fog! Photo by mjb2010
Posted by missjunebug on October 10, 2010
What Happens When Fruit Goes Bad. Photo by mjb2010
missjunebug drives by this not-so-fresh-fruit sign everyday. It points to a fruit stand long since closed. Fitting signage for a defunct roadside attraction. These too-happy three strike missjunebug as slightly off, a little creepy, and more than a modicum manic. Who painted this thing and what were they thinking? missjunebug can only imagine. But the result is Bad Fruit.
Posted by missjunebug on October 6, 2010
Pencil in Some Not-So-Fun Events, missjunebug! Photo by mjb2010
missjunebug is happy to report that she is glowing with good news: Rad Treatments are Complete! She once had high hopes for 2010 when she bid a not-so-fond farewell to 2009. Alas, a sweet 2010 was not to be. Surgeries, a super-sad funeral, more surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation have comprised and compromised the year so far. But has that discouraged this little glowing bug? Not at all.
Because in between the medical interventions, missjunebug and her bug fam have had some fun. A trip to Africa to see ElderJB, the graduation of TinyJB from university, a solar eclipse in lovely Tahiti, a football weekend extraordinaire where the JBs bonded with ND Nation, and an upcoming Thanksgiving Reunion in Wisconsin with MrJB’s clan. Can it get better than that? Well, yes it can: ElderJB will return from Africa to the states at Christmas time and TinyJB will make the trip from his digs in South Bend. missjunebug is excited BIG TIME for the second junebug family reunion of the year.
All these wonderful family times are perfectly complemented by the fab fun missjunebug has had with super-supportive friends. Yall know who you are! missjunebug wants to make a BIG SHOUT OUT to her friends for being with her through a 2010 that’s been a little thin on good news.
Except to say the good news that she’s officially saying to her heinous cancer: Good-bye to All That!
Posted by missjunebug on October 4, 2010
Chocolate + Peanut Butter = Delicious x 10!
One of the great benefits of closet clean-out is finding cool stuff long since forgotten. missjunebug had that very thing happen recently. What she found was a notebook of Pleistocene-era recipes she used to make on a pretty regular basis. If you ever need a sweet treat that’s easy to make and fun to eat, missjunebug encourages you to try this recipe.
missjunebug’s Not Quite Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Candy
Ingredients
12 oz. Nestle’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 cup Jif Peanut Butter (smooth or chunky, your choice)
1 cup butter softened to room temperature
4 cups C & H Powdered Sugar
9 whole Honey Maid Graham Crackers (rolled into crumbs in a Zip-Loc bag)
Directions
1. Melt the chocolate chips in mixing bowl over a saucepan of water on medium heat. Set aside.
2. Mix together the peanut butter and butter in a large mixing bowl. Add the powdered sugar and the graham cracker crumbs.
3. Combine until no dry ingredients remain. Press by hand into a 13″ x 9″ x 2″ glass pan.
4. Spread the melted chocolate chips over the pressed mixture using an off-set spatula.
5. Before refrigerating, cut into small squares. These are good to go when the chocolate is completely set.
missjunebug finds these so rich you’ll only need one small square to satisfy! Unless you are Mr.JB, of course.
Posted by missjunebug on October 2, 2010
missjunebug wonders if she and her fellow bugs are getting closer through technology or farther apart. She had the good fortune (and excellent planning, thanks, r.h.) of seeing that terrific (and slightly terrifying) gem of a film The Social Network on opening day. She was antennae deep in good buzz about the film and made the effort to catch it early instead of 3 months down the road on Netflix. She’s glad she did. Superb acting, directing, writing based on that little gem of a book The Accidental Billionaires which is worth the quick read. Enjoyment x 10. 4 out of 4 stars. Oscar worthy.
That said, missjunebug worries a bunch about too much online time for all of us, digitizing our lives instead of participating in them, texting instead of talking, facebooking ourselves into feeling lonelier and less connected (or making others feel that way), and speaking of Facebook, she worries about the “socially autistic” genius of Mark Zuckerberg. To say he is one with the glowing screen of his laptop as depicted in the film by actor Jesse Eisenberg is a substantial understatement. To say he exhibits a misguided (thanks partly to Justin Timerlake’s Sean Parker) disloyalty to his one true friend is at the center of his anti-heroic non choices. He sets himself to act in a technologically distanced default mode and leaves the rest to the lawyers.
Zuckerberg as played by Eisenberg (ZuckerEisenberg?) shares much in common with the tragic Shakespearean hero: the hubris (of genius in Mark’s case) and the ambition (for something to substitute for the Harvard Final Club he never gets into, but as he points out near the end of the film could buy and turn into whatever he wanted). The fatal error? That part is pretty easy to figure out: the cold and distanced betrayal of his one and only true friend Eduardo Saverin.
To his credit, for ZuckerEisenberg it’s never about the money. As Mr.JB has pointed out to missjunebug numerous times, money is a very short term motivator. True dat. But what may motivate ZuckerEisenberg is much, much darker than that. Or maybe he just wanted to get laid.
