What I Heard This Week 12-23-2021
As you make your way down the grocery aisles, you may notice that the word Diet is being used less, having been replaced by the words Zero Sugar, especially for carbonated soft drinks. The word diet is out of style for Millennials and Gen Z-ers, who just do not like to use that word. It is now all about the branding because companies must sell those sodas. Later, I found an article about salt. Yep. It said we eat too much salt. The FDA says 70% of excess salt actually comes from packaged, pre-prepared, or restaurant food, so they are asking manufacturers to use less, hoping it will help reduce customer intake over the next few years. I enjoyed reading their suggestions on how we can improve our diet with alternate seasoning of foods using spices, pepper, plus lemon, lime, and orange zest. They suggested replacing sandwich meat and cold cuts with fresh chicken or turkey. Be sure to drain and rinse your canned beans or veggies, and eat less bread… well, I never thought about bread. That will be a tough one for me. I just love bread. The Seedelicious and the Asiago Cheese bread from HEB is absolutely delicious and since the kids have been in school, I take the leftover bread and make croutons… with butter, olive oil and spices that are not on their list of alternate seasonings. They’re delicious.
“Well, I don’t know what to say except it’s Christmas, and we’re all in misery.” Ellen Griswold from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
If you do not want to hear about Covid, then move right along to the next paragraph. The past two weeks have been fast-paced and interesting, but scary. Globally, there have been more than 5.3 million deaths from Covid. The U.S. hit 803,000 for numbers of American deaths. Yep, 803,000, but hold on for Omicron, which sure doesn’t want to be left behind. It has had almost two years to study, educate, take notes, and now fully understands how to make much wiser, and more deadly epidemic decisions. Omicron now appears to spread at twice the rate as the Delta variant, due to a combination of contagiousness (70% more contagious) along with an expert ability to dodge our body’s immune defenses, especially on the unvaccinated. I told you about the poop sleuths last week. You know, a mere seven days ago. Omicron has surpassed the Delta variant in collections taken from wastewater sampling sites in California. A sampling this week showed Omicron now represents almost 100% of the strains found. In one week. Seven days. It is moving fast.
Like plants too much? You may be a hoarder culturalist. (My friend Marcie sent this! I am still smiling.)
“The” recent tornado wrecked 122 new Chevy Corvettes, damaged beyond repair at their Kentucky production facility. The mayor of Anchorage admitted he turned off the fluoridation of the city’s water supply for around five hours before discovering that he was not actually allowed to do that because it is required by city code. Elon Musk says he will pay more than $11 billion in taxes this year, also stating he will pay more taxes than any American in history this year. Yikes. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk is the richest person in the world with a net worth of $251 billion. Well, thank you, sir. It looks like we could really use that money right now. An Idaho man was charged with cannibalism in addition to being charged with the murder of his 70-year-old neighbor. He told police that he believed he could cure his brain by cutting off portions of flesh and consuming them.
The Grass is Always Greener Where You Water It. Shop Local.
BMW is being sued because the cupholders on the X7 SUV can leak through the center console and cause electrical problems… like airbag control modules inadvertently deploying, wet wiring related to the shifter, and restrain system failures. So, you can still look really good while you are sitting behind the wheel, just do not expect there to be a place to set your 32 oz. Big Gulp while you eat your burger. 😊
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Singer “Duke” Fakir of The Four Tops is 86. America’s Most Wanted host John Walsh is 76. Keyboardist Bob Carpenter with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is 75. Actor John Amos of Roots and Good Times is 82. Guitarist Mick Jones of Foreigner is 77. Actor Eva LaRue of CSI: Miami is 55. Actor, singer, and voice artist Nichelle Nichols is 89. Best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in Star Trek. Actor Anthony Hopkins is 84. Actor Tim Considine of My Three Sons is 81. Singer Patti Smith is 75.
Actor Barbara Carrera is 80. James Bond: Never Say Never Again. Actor Ben Kingsley is 78. Actor Tim Matheson is 74. Singer Burton Cummings of The Guess Who is 74. Actor Bebe Neuwirth of Cheers is 63. Actor Val Kilmer is 62. Singer-actor Joe McIntyre of New Kids on the Block is 49. Actor Frank Langella is 84. Singer-guitarist Country Joe McDonald of Country Joe and the Fish is 80. Comedian Don Novello is 79. Father Guido Sarducci. Actor Patricia Clarkson is 62. Country singer Suzy Bogguss is 65.
Singer Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary is 84. Actor Rick Hurst of The Dukes of Hazzard is 76. Deputy Cletus Hogg, Boss Hogg’s cousin. Actor Maggie Smith is 87. Harry Potter. Downton Abbey. Singer-keyboardist Edgar Winter is 75. Born in Beaumont. Actor Denzel Washington is 67. TV personality Gayle King of CBS This Morning is 67. Country singer-guitarist Marty Roe of Diamond Rio is 61. Actor Jon Voight is 83. Actor Ted Danson is 74. TV host Meredith Vieira of Today & The View is 68.
Mexico’s musical legend and king of ranchera music, also known as El Rey (the King), Vicente Fernández, died at 81. For over 40 years, he was considered the greatest living singer of Mexico, with an operatic vocal range, and a love of ranchera music.
Carlos Marin of Il Divo died at 53 from complications of Covid, after being placed in an induced coma. Simon Cowell discovered Il Divo in 2003. Marin was born in Germany and raised in Madrid. As a Spanish baritone, he sang opera, Broadway, pop, you name it, and all in Spanish, English, Italian and French. If you have ever been to one of their concerts, the four hunks that look like they came straight from the cover of a cheap romance novel, would walk out in their shiny designer suits with Marin’s shirt always very carefully opened at the neck. They would patiently wait for all of us fools to quit clapping, then Marin would ask in his heavy accent, “Ded you mees me, or eezs et jus mey curl?” referring to his beautifully well-coiffed, slicked-back, dark hair that always had a perfectly placed, fallen curl that had somehow fought its way out and jumped on to his beautiful forehead. Sigh. I will just tell you that it was everything… plus the curl, and I don’t really care how the curl got there. They just sounded so beautiful together.
Small businesses are the heartbeat of our neighborhoods, the spine of our local economy, & spirit of our small towns. Please shop local and help keep us in business. Use local restaurants, coffee shops, gift shops, stores, and yes… newspapers. Thanking you in advance.
A Colorado man that was recorded assaulting two officers during the January 6 insurrection has been arrested on a number of charges. Of all things, he was identified after he was seen wearing the same clothes he wore in Washington, DC. Now you say to yourself, “How could they know from his clothing?” Well, the guy was wearing a faded red baseball cap, a dark scarf or neck warmer, a blue jacket with a distinctive logo, white athletic shorts with wide black stripes, and some kind of leg warmers. There’s really no mistaking the outfit. It was not pretty. Wait, this gets better. An Illinois man was arrested for taking part in the siege on the U.S. Capitol after his own mother and a middle school classmate identified him as the originator of his own incriminating social media posts depicting himself inside the Capitol building. Bet his momma was proud.
Peppermint candy is hard to find this year. Yes, global supply chain disruptions, congestion at ports, shortages of truck drivers and service workers, along with raw material and ingredient shortages… like cream cheese. Poor bagels, cheesecakes, bakeries, and restaurants. Actually, the shortage was due partly to a cyberattack on Schreiber Foods in Wisconsin, a major cream cheese producer. Hackers compromised its plants and distribution centers at the height of cream cheese demand. Kraft Heinz, owner of Philadelphia cream cheese, are calling their customer offer “Spread the Feeling,” and are giving $20 vouchers to 18,000 holiday bakers who have had trouble finding cream cheese, so customers can feel good about purchasing another dessert instead. Sigh. Let’s face it. If it wasn’t this, it would be something else.
“All of my colleagues, all of them knew that what happened on January 6th was an assault on the constitution. They knew it at the time, yet now they are defending the indefensible… How we address January 6th is moral test of our generation.” Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY)
In Denmark, 64 of 150 guests tested positive for Omicron after a high school lunch. In Sydney, an event held by fans in celebration of Taylor Swift’s recent album release had almost 100 attendees test positive afterwards. In southern Spain, nearly 70 nurses and doctors working in the hospital ICU have tested positive for Covid-19 after 173 of them attended a Christmas party. Brian May (guitarist for Queen) tested positive for covid. He posted on Instagram, “Yep. The shocking day finally came for me. The dreaded double red line. And yes – definitely NO sympathy please – it has been a truly horrible few days, but I’m OK. And I will tell the tale. PLEASE take extra care out there, good folks. This thing is incredibly transmissible. You really do NOT want it messing up YOUR Christmas. With love – Bri”
Remember that a canceled event is better than a canceled life.
Since Gage is home from Boston, I zeroed in on his space one morning and asked him what he was doing. The reply was, “Watching a video about a pet lobster named Leon, purchased at the grocery store.” The owner had un-taped Leon’s claws and was feeding him earthworms, nursing the starving lobster back to health, and exercising him to help get back the use of his claws. It was happy and sad. I just love my kids.
Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life. Jackie Chan
Most years, on Christmas morning, I make Homemade Cinnamon Rolls. Tina was telling me about this recipe which would make it a much simpler and easy clean-up morning, so I could get back to my toys.
Preheat oven to 350.
Two cans of cinnamon rolls (separated), each cut into 8 pizza shaped pieces.
Place the cut cinnamon rolls in a 9×13 pan after spraying with cooking spray or 4 tablespoons of melted butter. Butter Better.
In a bowl, mix WELL 2/3 cups heavy cream, 4-5 large eggs, 2 teaspoons each, cinnamon and vanilla extract.
Pour the mixture over the cinnamon rolls, then pour a ¼ cup of real maple syrup over the egg mixture. Don’t use Aunt Jemima. You will thank me for this suggestion later. At this point, Tina and I both agree that you could add some chopped pecans or walnuts.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is golden brown and puffy.
Heat your canned icing for 5-10 seconds, then drizzle over the top. Or you could smother it in homemade cream cheese icing, if you can find any cream cheese. Yum.
Tina and I both agree that a little maple syrup could be added to the icing before you pour it over the casserole and it might taste even better, but only if at this point, you garnish it with a big old handful of cooked, chopped, bacon. Yep. Bacon.
Merry Christmas to you all and thank you for hanging in there with us this year. Please be safe. Wear a good mask and DON’T WORRY, it’s just a mask, not a bumper sticker. 😊
LISA
