New Math?

The person who calculated this bit of information is a professor at the University of West Virginia in Morgantown, where he's worked for the last 40+ years.

He says that:

• A clunker that travels 12,000 miles a year at 15 mpg uses 800 gallons of gas a year.

• A new vehicle that travels 12,000 miles a year at 25 mpg uses 480 gallons of gas a year.

• So, the average Cash for Clunkers transaction reduced gasoline consumption by 320 gallons per year.

• The government claims 700,000 clunkers have been replaced so that is 224 million gallons saved per year.

• That equates to a bit over 5 million barrels of oil.

• 5 million barrels is about 5 hours worth of US consumption.

• More importantly, 5 million barrels of oil at $70 per barrel costs about $350 million dollars.

• So, the government paid $3 billion of our tax dollars to save $350 million.

They spent $8.57 for every $1.00 they saved.

…I'm pretty sure they will do a much better job with our healthcare though.

Protecting reputations . . .

http://kirkcameron.com/2013/01/protecting-your-spouses-reputation/

This was a great reminder of how much power we all share in the words we use and the words we hold safely in our hearts. I used to have a friend that always made me feel uneasy. It wasn't because I didn't enjoy the friendship but the fact that her spouse was very seldom mentioned in a Christian manner. She considered her marriage rock solid but I literally recoiled every time she threw out a discouraging word at her husband or about her husband when he wasn't present.

The friend has wandered off into the past and after the initial hurt, I look back and should have seen this coming. My only question, now, is how my reputation is faring in her discussions with current acquaintances.

When we are dismayed by the antics of the world . . .

"Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

 Matt 14:27

Cheesy Popovers . . .

I made a vegetable soup for our Friday dinner but knew I'd need something to round out the meals and fill everyone up. I ran across many versions of this particular recipe but ended up doing it basically my way . . . and it was good!

Cheesy Popovers
3 cups tapioca flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup oil (I like grape seed oil)
3 large eggs
1 generous cut freshly grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Use vegetable oil spray to grease mini-muffin tin generously.

Put all the ingredients into a blender and mix until well combined. The batter will be pourable. Fill the prepared muffin tin 2/3rds full of batter. Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until almost golden brown. They should puff up nicely.

Turn out of the pan and serve hot. Immediately respray the muffin tin and use up the rest of the batter. Believe me, if your family is like mine, the second batch will be ready just as they finish off the first one.

The nice thing about the recipe? No wheat flour so it fits in with our gluten-free choice of diet right now.

You could also try your own favorite cheese or a combination. I'm going with cheddar/Romano next time with a touch of cayenne in the batter.

Ontario, California Quiting Convention - I was there!

After years of wanting to attend, I finally crossed the threshold of the Ontario Convention Center and was part of the crowds at the opening day of the annual quilting convention yesterday. My kindly husband insisted we go and he used his day off to make it happen.

Naturally, the normally dry California weather was wet and rainy and, naturally, we had to park across the  highway from the convention center but we dodged raindrops, got our tickets, and waited in line for the doors to open. A huge tent had been set up for a luncheon, later, so they had everyone line up in there to keep warm and dry. It was a friendly bunch and we were about 100th or so in line. By the time the doors opened, there were about 300 people behind us in line.

Almost immediately upon getting in line, a woman started chatting with us and shared stories, talked about quilting, etc. Turns out she has a sewing room, three renovated bedrooms, and a shed out back dedicated to her quilting. Oh, and she also has 35 sewing machines! I thought I was extravagant as I have two sewing machines. Since embroidery machines seem to be the talk of the day, she shared that her favorite machine, and she has 53 machines to compare them with, is one that is computerized, embroiders, quilts, and, oh, yeah, it sews, too! She said I should take a look at it if I get a chance. I thought it best to avoid such temptation!

The doors opened and the crowds streamed in to begin the day of looking, shopping, and admiring. We barely got into the door and found ourselves directly in front of the booth dedicated to the sewing machine our new-found friend had been telling us about. It was impressive. We were about to walk on when a sales lady offered to show us around this miraculous machine. I couldn't resist seeing if it was, indeed, the machine among machines. And it was! People are shopping to buy that early in the day so the sales lady happily spent an hour with us showing us the amazing attributes of the machine. And, the machine was amazing.

Meanwhile, my husband is standing behind me during the demonstration and keeps thumping me on the back and whispering, "Let's buy it!" I ignore him. We get to the end of the demonstration and my husband is back to stage whispers of "Let's buy it!" To show him that this was not going to be possible, I ask the deal breaking question of, "How much?" I gasped when I heard the price. We prepared to continue our browsing when the sales lady showed us the discounts being offered during the convention. There was a substantial reduction with a trade-in no matter what kind of machine you had on hand. No questions asked! An additional reductions in price as some of the machines had been used in classroom demonstrations. I was blessed to get one that was not! Interest-free financing. A software upgrade for free which cost more than I could have ever considered. and a $400 Visa Gift card. I let my husband win this one!

My current machine was over 25 years old and I certainly got my money's worth out of it over the years. If I put my new one to good use, I think I will have paid off the value we paid in a couple of years by the things I can made with it. Hey, and I've figured out how to turn the machine on . . . Now to the hard part of totally figuring it out but, from what I heard, you can always discover something new every time you use it.

Jeff Foxworthy at his best - The Fence Test!

THE FENCE TEST, THINK ABOUT THIS, IT IS TRUE. You can't get any more accurate than this! This is straight forward country thinking...by Jeff Foxworthy Which side of the fence? If you ever wondered which side of the fence you sit on, this is a great test! If a Republican doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one. If a Democrat doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed. If a Republican is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat. If a Democrat is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone. If a Republican is homosexual, he quietly leads his life. If a Democrat is homosexual, he demands legislated respect. If a Republican is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation. A Democrat wonders who is going to take care of him. If a Republican doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels. Democrats demand that those they don't like be shut down. If a Republican is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church. A Democrat non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced. If a Republican decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it. A Democrat demands that the rest of us pay for his. If a Republican reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh. A Democrat will delete it because he's "offended". Well, notice that I shared it!

Quilting Convention . . . Likely this year?

For years I've been aware of the annual quilting convention taking place at a convention center relatively nearby - about  a 20-minute drive depending on the traffic. I always mean to attend yet have never made it . . . yet! This year may be the closet I've come but time will tell after today!

My husband had an unexpected day off from work which happened to fall on the first day of the convention. We have the day finely tuned in order to finally bring my attendance into reality. First, I have to take my son over to the college for his classes and then get home as quickly as traffic and weather conditions allow. Naturally, it decided to rain today! Within 15 minutes of getting home, my husband and I head out to get in line for tickets to get into the event.  Depending on the line for this, parking, etc., we will have approximately three hours to browse. At noon, we have to head back to the college to pick up my son, buy him a quick lunch in transit home, let him race into the house to get dressed for work, and take him to his job.

No, three hours will probably not be enough to see everything. I imagine it will whet my appetite for allowing for more time next year. I'm just excited to even be there today and see what it is all about. At least I have a very good chance! Several times, over the years, people have contacted me about going with them. They call me in December to tell me that the convention will be in January. I get busy and before I know it, February has come around and more than once I've gotten a call from said 'friends' telling me how great the quilting convention had been.  I know my husband won't pull this on me, however. He knows which side his bread is buttered and he knows who bakes said bread. He'll keep his promise besides, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be caught at a quilting convention without me!