Donkey Kong County Returns Video

My son is doing some youtube videos. He's focusing on Donkey Kong County Returns. I'm being a good and supportive mom and posting one here. Enjoy!

Wasp Nest

As mentioned earlier on this blog, I grew up in the country. Bugs, mice, and snakes don't bother me at all. I never understood why some girls shrieked in fear when any of these "critters" were around. It seemed like pointless drama to me. So, when a wasp nest started showing up in an outbuilding I left it alone. Stinging insects aren't really a problem, unless you go messing with their hive or aggravate them. Wasps also help get rid of other annoying insects. If you leave them be they will typically do the same for you.
The white parts/larvae look like cotton. You can see the elder wasps taking care of them. They are less active in the morning, but are busy the rest of the day. It's not a good idea to remove it now, that would cause some stinging. I'll leave it alone until the winter, then I'll knock it down and keep an eye on the area next year so they don't rebuild.

Johnny Cash Musical Note on Beale Street

I've always been a fan of Johnny Cash, so it was a goal of mine to find his musical note on Beale Street. The Street itself last no traffic, and we arrived early, so parking wasn't a problem. The family walked up and down both sides on the main area, where the restaurants are, without much luck trying to find his note.

As you can see from the first picture, we found it. It's not along the more touristy areas, it's past the sign welcoming you to Beale Steet. If you're facing the sign, it's on the right side. He's what is across the street.

I was glad to find it, and enjoyed the exercise. I liked visiting Beale Street as well. I enjoy listening to the blues, but don't know much about it. I learned a little bit of history, as there is a lot of information along the steet.

Comic: DYS - Wine Not?

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The Misfits, Pizzazz, and Universal Appeal

I just love this outfit. The above image is cut from the original fashion package. Pizzazz wears it in the Universal Appeal video on the Jem cartoon (it's not an exact match, but close). Pizzazz was a stong leader, although looking back on the cartoons as an adult they should have been jailed The "leg scarf." I always prefered the Misfits over Jem and the Holograms, especially their music. If you've never heard Univeral Appeal you are in for a treat.

You Can Ride on Wolves on the Updated Fortnite Season 3 Chapter 3

So, you know those pesky wolves in Fortnite? Guess what, you can ride them now. It's a bit confusing how to do it-you jump on their backs. Sometimes multiple jumps are needed, if you're mediocre like me. The wolves are fun to ride on, thye speed along, jump, and you can pick up items while you're on the back. In fact, they show their love by the hearts that float in the air when you are on one. Just a word of warning, they travel in packs. so if one likes you the rest will still attack you. However, you can outrun the pack and go forth into battle on your new wolf-steed. You can also do the same with boars, but let's be honest, a wolf is much better.

Comic: DYS-The Marathon Continues

The Co-Worker that Thinks They are your Boss

We had a new responsibility at work, and I was shown two different ways to do it by two different people that I work with. My supervisor was going to double check my work, so I asked her for clarification on which the proper way to finish the work. She informed me, and I've been doing it this way ever since. However, the co-worker that showed me how to do it the incorrect way had been double checking my work, and told me it was done incorrectly. I informed her I was told by my superior the best was to do it, and I was going to continure to do it that way. She said she was going to keep double checking and fixing my perceived "error."
Keep in mind, this is a co-worker. I have to work with her again, and I'm sure she'll double check my work and "correct." it. I'll have to tell her again she's a co-worker, not a leader. She should really just focus on her own work and not worry what other people are doing, but she's not that type of person. She's told me how to do things in the past, but I just ignored it, because again, it doesn't matter. If you've had annoying experiences with co-worker please share, I'd love to hear about it and how you handled it.

Doing Vintage Research on New Items

Every vintage dealer has areas they are familiar with, and areas where they have no clue. I grew up in a rural environment, so I lean towards the rusty, metal, rustic items. Porcelain?-not a strength of mine. Growing up they were around, but I considered them "old lady" items and would play with my toys or in the outside environment. That's why I was stumped when I came across these items.

We recently had an auction of my mom's items, which I really should do a post about now that I'm thinking of it. This was the first time I was on the seller's end, and I was wishing there were no bargains, I ended up buy a box of figurines that no one wanted and these were included. At first glance, due to the jasperware center, I assumed they were Wedgewood. They weren't marked however, so I suspected they were older.
There was some information on the back written in pencil with a question mark. I assumed it came from my mom. When I did a search for Vater Porcelain the work was more whimsical and figural, so that was a dead end. I also did some general searching on the internet, another dead end
At some point, I had a list it, so I did. Sometimes you can't find everything about an item. If you underprice it oh well, so long as you make a profit you are fine, and the buyer is happy with a bargain. Whoever ends up with this item will enjoy it.

Comic Strip: DYS

Tater Tot Casserole with Leftover Hamburger Helper

This is a great money saving recipes. You make Hamburger Helper the night before, and you use the leftovers to make a tater tot casserole. Casseroles aren't eveyone's favotire, but I love them. My kids and husband, not as much, but as a mom I figure we can have what I would like.
Line the bottom of the pan with tater tots. I use a 9 x 7, but it depends on the amount of your leftovers.

I then put the Hamburger Helper on top. Notice the added peas and tomato, the peas were leftovers and I used a tomato that was becoming soft, using it instead of wasting it.

I then sprinkle cheese on top. It does make it better.

I then bake it in the over for 1 hour at 350°. The tater tots aren't crispy, but this isn't a problem for me. You can try cooking them before it you prefer, but to each their own. I can tell it's done when the sides and cheese are golden brown.

You're either a casserole lover or you're not. This is an easy to cook meal that takes me back to my childhood.

Fortnite No Build Mode

I enjoy playing Fortnite, but I didn't like the building aspect of the game. I started playing during this time, and it makes the game for difficult for beginners. I would improve on the shooting, but not the building. I also got frustrated, because people that were much better than I was would build around me. I would be trapped in by four walls bulit by the enemy player, including part of my body, and I would loss. Of course I couldn't out-build these people, so I put the game down.

When the no build mode came out, it was perfect for me. I would focus on shooting, and got better. I could shoot from far away. Of course, like most players, I have my favorite gun (the ranger). I beat bots, but I also beat real players. Every once in a great whilte, I actually win. I have several favorite places to land, but one of them is the Butter Barn. I love the music that plays in background. For those not familiar, I've posted the hoedown. It's a greast country song that takes me back.

Happy Mother's Day, or Take Time for You Day

I just read a post about a son's complicated relationship with his mom. They reach an understanding at the end of her life, but not everyone is so lucky. Some people have "complicated" moms who never take any ownership for the difficulity of the relationship. They did nother wrong. There is no "sitcom moment" or happy ending. If this is you and Mother's Day is painful, please take time for yourself today. You have value, even if you didn't feel it growing up.

The Importance of Follow Through with Children

I was eating at a restaurant, and a young child was running around. The mother told he her to stop, or she would be in trouble, but it didn't stop the child from doing what she wanted. She got up multiple times, while the mom continued to eat. I spent a lot of years in education, so I learned if you told a child if she makes a choice, and there will be consquences, you best be ready to act.

1. Define the Problem

In the case above, it's simply, if you get up and leave. You need to tell the child what the behaiour is that you want then to correct, or stop doing.

2. State the Consequence

If the child doesn't stop the behaviour, what will you as a parent do? In the above example, it could be leave the restaurant. Pick something that is important to the child.

3. Follow Through

If you say you're going to do something, do it. Otherwise, the child has no reason to listen to you, like the child above. Mom could threaten her all she wanted, but the child knew mom wouldn't act.

This is not to sound critical, it's hard to be a parent. It's given in the spirit of help. You're not able to do all steps on certain occasions, because sometime behaviours come out of nowhere and a warning isn't possible. Also, you have to figure out what is worth it. In my example above, some parents are okay if their child runs around a family restaurant, other parents want everyone to sit together. Not everything needs a consquence, it's up to a parent and the rules of their household to figure out what works for them.

Bob's Burgers "A-Sprout a Boy" and a Comment about Louise

I get it, everyone loves Louise. However, I don't. She basically gets away and does whatever she likes and Bob and Linda do not discpline her at all. Poor Tina falls into the responsible older sister roll, and Louise gets to run around and her "goblin mode: thing, which other viewers enjoy. We see this a in the episode "A Sprout a Boy." They siblings are the subject of the side plot.
After going to store Louise gets to keep the change, and so she asks for all the returned money in change. Bob and Linda do nothing about this, don't check the receipt, nothing. Linda even mentions the amount of money being returned isn't the right amount, but there's no follow-up. Bob and Linda aren't in best financial position, but they don't seem to care about missing money when it's Louise. This is one thing I appreciate about the show, most tv families have no money issues, but the Belchers do.
Then, Louise wants to use the change to ride a little kids rocket ship ride. I loved these things as a kid, so we all can relate. Tina's roll as Louise has all the fun is she holds the jellybean while Louise rides the ride and grabs the candy with a sticky hand toy. Poor older responisble sister Tina-she had no fun while Louise does. Bob even see's the kids later, and doesn't tell Louise to get off the ride, he just lets it go.
At the end of the episode, Louise is told by a store manager to get off the ride. She throws a hissy fit like a toddler. The ride was made for kids, but Louise doesn't care. This is whay I tend to avoid episodes where Louise is the main character. The plot is she is mean, cries, says some words like she's grown as a character, but never gets punished. There are exceptions of course, I did enjoy "Three girls and little Wharfy." She took other peoples feelings into considertation. That episode was a nice change of pace.

Saving Money and the Joy of Leftovers

I grew up in a rural environment, my husand grew up in the suburbs. We differ on a few things, including leftovers. He doesn't like them and doesn't eat them, and won't re-use them for lunch. I however, love leftovers. My mom always cooked way too much, and my dad had a healthy appetite. He would come home during lunch from work and eat them. If there was enough, we would have it again for dinner. Some foods, such as chili or spagetti, taste better the second time around.

I cooked some chicken thighs last night, and we ate them for dinner with a couple of sides. I cooked too much chicken, and today I'll warm up and shred the leftovers. We will have taco night. This can work with any type of meat, or beans, rice, etc. if you are a vegetarian. Making extra and re-using leftovers is always a good idea.

Emil Cahoy Pottery Horse Head Bookends

Emil Cahoy lived in South Dakota and made pottery from clay found on his farm. If you've never come across his pieces, they are beautiful, with lovely swirls. He had skill, and his pieces reflect this in looks and quality. I'm fortunate to have two rare items done by him, they are horse head bookends. There was a rural auctioneer the worked in the northern part of Nebraska. I loved attending his auctions, as I found some great deals. Unfortunately, he passed away, but after his estate was settled he had an auction that includes pieces from his collection. That's when I came across these two items, being an auctioneer, he did have first "dibs."

If you look on the internet for horse head bookends done by Cahoy, there is only one listing available on a WorthPoint page. It provides more information on Emil Cahooy, so it's worth a look. I'm glad to have these two rare pieces in my collection.

DeWitty Nebraska

I grew up in the Sandhills, and Dewitty was an hour away from where I lived. It was a settlement of black homesteaders, that I had no idea existed, until I came acorss this historic marker. It is along Highway 83 in Cherry County, Nebraska.

If you're interested and would like to learn more, there's a great article from the National Park Service. There is other information as well if you do a quick Google search. This is why history is important, I lived in the area, and didn't know about DeWitty. I walked around a bit to try to find the base of a house, but it's all prairie now, and covered by the long grass.

The Truth about Generic

With the high prices and inflations, many money saving blogs are talking about buying generic grocery items to save some money instead of buying the name brand products. When I was younger, my mother never bought generic items. She perveiced them as "lesser quality." My sister was trying to get her to buy a generic can of corn, and my mom was against it. My sister insisted that we had it before (it must of accidently been purchased) and that it tasted better than the canned corn we usually got. My mom acquiesced, and bought the corn. That night at dinner, I asked dad what he thought of the corn. He said, "it tastes good, just like fresh picked corn."

Now that I'm older, my husband and I buy generic. Hubs. worked in a bean factory, and guess what, they put the exact same product in the generic can as they did the name brand can. It's the exact same product! Ask someone that works with food, they will tell you the same thing. It's the same, one charges more. Good for the company if they can charge more, but I want to pay the lesser cost for the same product. There are some products that you can't scrimp on, and that depends on you. Me, I need the name brand toilet paper, no generic there. Are there some products that you only buy name brand?

Simpsons Review: My Octupus and a Teacher. A Recent Simpson's Episode that Didn't Suck

It's no secret that the Simpson's aren't what they used to be. To be fair, after 31 years it would be hard to maintain the quality, especially when the Simpson's stay the same and never age The plots rotate around Homer being incredibly stupid (the same problem that befell Peter/Family Guy). You wonder why Marge would stay with him, so it makes her look stupid. Also, how does she afford those dinner where they all sit around the table? A one working parent household without a college education would have Mac N Cheese nights, but I digress. That's why I was pleasantly surprised by the episode, "My Octupus and a Teacher." After a quick search on the internet, it looks like I'm in the minority on this, but let me explain. In the episode, Bart gets a new teacher. She saved him from drowning, but it's further complicated by him having a crush on her.

The suprising part, Homer actually gives good advice. He doesn't act like an idiot, he tries. Chaos of course ensues, but he talks to his teacher, and it ends with a nice chalkboard gag. It had emotions, and it had some stupidity, but wasn't filled with stupidity. Lisa also has a pet octupus, which was very interactive and could live in a jar. Not sure how it stayed alive, but with any cartoon show you have to suspend some disbelief. The octups' name was Molly, and it was cute. It was a nice side plot, especially talking about how documentarians shouldn't interfere. I would be like Lisa, I love animals and would infere. When that elephant was dying of dehydration in the Africa documentary I would have gotten it water somehow. Ricky Gervais says this better than I could.

My point it, it was a nice subplot and a nice episode. Is it a all time great?-no, but it was a nice break from stupid Homer and Marge getting her feelings hurt because pf something her kids say.