Act 1: Meat Salad Days

Long long ago, in what now seems like a more innocent time, The King of Burgers rose to local power in his small Kingdom in the cold, Northern desolation that is the land of Children's' television programming.

In those early days,… Read full post »

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Cinco de Mayo has come and gone. Thanks to the promotional efforts of beer distributors everywhere, Cinco de Mayo has become a holiday for anyone who likes beer or Mexican food. That includes almost everyone in America.

Syttende Mai (Norwegian Constitution/Independence Day, May 17) is the next… Read full post »

Yes, there was a time when spring turned my thoughts toward girls. Long before I even owned a grill, my group of mangy guys would declare Spring’s official first day when we saw a young woman  wearing a halter top outside.  We celebrated the occasion with an immediate… Read full post »

This is an update to a previous post about the Abbey of New Clairveaux in Northern California. The previous post has more information about the abbey.

The monastery has completed the vaulted ceiling for its reconstruction of the Avila chapter house. It is beyond belief. The acoustics are ve… Read full post »

Walter Blevin’s oven roasted salt & vinegar potatoes  made me think of this recipe.

 Pommes de Terre au Dijon 

Chop around 2 pounds of potatoes into fork-sized chunks. Peel them or don’t peel them, it’s up to you.

Whisk together this dressing in a bo… Read full post »

I admit it, I am sick of winter. Even the wussy winters we have in Sacramento that feel more like long, rainy springs seasons. It's spring on the calendar, so where's the balmy weather? There's not much I can do about this, or is there?

I can't think of any better… Read full post »

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People say “Be green”,

but what does it mean?

Green is the rage

in our commercial age.

Even big business

claims it's with us.

The flacks they pay

are on TV to say

we must love their fracking

and give it our backing

because natural gas

gets a… Read full post »

The first spring vegetables are starting to appear in our local farmers markets here in the Sacramento/ San Joaquin valley. That means fresh vegetables form California will start appearing at groceries all across the country over the next few weeks.

Fresh vegetables mean it's time to stark making Sa… Read full post »

I heard this conversation (among other freely spoken words that were too strange to share here) this morning at a local health club where I work out.

“I gotta tell you, I don't get much out of this. She doesn't really think about my needs at all. She does whatever she… Read full post »

The media is aflame as OS's very own Tinkertink69 announces his Senate campaign in Virginia. He is running under the assumed name of Hank the Cat.

Sorry Mr. Lauerman, but the AP and UPI got this scoop. Better luck next time. 

Tinkertink69: Nice campaign ad!  

Tink (I mean Hank) is the… Read full post »

Little do they realize what we cats get up to at night. Those rescue volunteers who feed me and clean this place think they're the only ones who ever get out. Those kindhearted folks never wonder why we cats sleep all day high in our cat trees, only coming down for… Read full post »

I was a twenty nine year old corporate fast tracker, by far the youngest officer at a mutual insurance company that was merged out of existence about fifteen or twenty years ago.

The touchy-feely consultants arrived. Like vampires, consultants can only enter if they are invited. That provides little… Read full post »

 Another OS blogger requested I post my renouned naughty tomato photo.

      The tomato that scandalized Toronto 

There you go.

On the GNS vein, a flock of bluebirds stopped by my house this morning. This is when spring comes to this part of California.

%IMAG… Read full post »

Alysa's recent post about vegetables shook my very being to its core.

I am at last not alone as an OS blogger who can't resist posting vegetable-and-head self portraits.

 La petite chou-fleur d'Open Salon avec un navet.

I made this photo in solidarity and suppo… Read full post »

The courageous Trappist monks at Tibhirine, Algeria had a remarkably strong connection to their adopted place. They gave their lives to stay in a land which would not grant them them citizenship.

Photo credit: mediapart.fr

As Trappist monks, these men had made a solemn promise to remain true… Read full post »

Justice Hansen: “Ole, the police found you naked walking across the courthouse grounds 12:30 AM Sunday morning. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Ole: “Well, it started dis way. Sven and Inga invited Lena and me over to a little party dey were having at their house. It was… Read full post »

I have recently come to realize I am twice blessed. 

The First Blessing; The Satsuma Virgin

We are nearing the end of the satsuma mandarin season in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Sacramento. I have perfected my peeling skills and usually remove the peel in one piece. I realized… Read full post »

So, a couple or three nights back, Lena said,  "Ole, take a couple of dem little blue pills.

Ole said, "But on da bottle it sais ya take just one pill." Lena sighed, "I can tell ya, if da normal guys out dere need one, you need two."

So Ole grunted… Read full post »

I had a cold and was I trying to rest. I decided to take a short walk to the drugstore. Something seemed wrong, the driveway seemed more spacious than usual. My car wasn't there. A disturbance in The Force. It took me a couple of minutes to get my low-grade… Read full post »

Curry - It isn't much to look at, but heavens it's tasty!

Here in California the next months are not the most exciting when it comes to the fresh vegetables available at our local farmers markets. We get every variety of cabbage and root vegetables. That's about it. The upside… Read full post »