Two Half Beef Patties part II

Remember that half beef patty incident? The one where the Big Mac came with two patties all right, but each one was cut in half? Yeah, that one.

Dave made some phone calls, and here is what he ended up with as recompense for the sorry burger of last week.

Two apology letters. Pretty nice.

One certificate for a free Big Mac. Ok.

Two certificates for free value meals. Getting better.

So, McDonalds did a pretty standard job of compensating us for sub-par service. Now we just need to go on a road trip so we can use our freebies!

The Elusive Christmas Spirit

Elusive: difficult to find, catch, or achieve.

The Christmas spirit comes and goes around here and there is nothing we can say or do to make it take off its shoes and “set a bit.” Sort of like Peter Pan, really, only with less dirt under its nails, and no pixie dust. But other than that, pretty much the same.

See this guy? He wasn’t smiling quite so wide when after 20 minutes the tree still wouldn’t stand up straight.

Nope, that ain’t smiling.

We persevered though. The tree is straight. Undecorated, but straight. I actually kind of like the tree plain. Next time old Christmas spirit comes around we’ll get that tree trimmed, never you fear.

The Best Kitchen Appliance

I’m in love with my KitchenAid stand mixer and I don’t care who knows it. Always have been, always will be.

Just look at that stud.  Mine’s not quite so glossy anymore – butter and flour will do that to a fella.

Oh, KitchenAid, you never let me down.

One day bread, the next meatloaf. You mix anything I ask of you.

Last week I made Pizza Dough, Pretzel Dough, Bread, Meatloaf,Mashed Potatoes, and…that’s all I can think of right now.

Let’s take a look at what we made in the kitchenaid today during our pre-thanksgiving-cooking-and baking-extravaganza.

Fudge. Peanut Butter

Sweet Potato Casserole

Cheese ball. Be still my heart.

Dinner Rolls

Thanksgiving.  KitchenAid, we couldn’t do it without you.

 

Thanksgiving Week Countdown

Man, I really thought I was on top of things this year.  I’ve had the Thanksgiving menu planned, for like, two whole weeks.  I was going to make a lot of dishes in advance, clean the house (for overnight guests), get some actual cloth napkins, that kind of thing.

Well, folks, here it is noon on Tuesday and all I’ve managed to do is get the Chex Mix started.  How did this happen?

Sunday: Clean and straighten house. Check. Minus the bathrooms. Oh, and we’ll need to vaccum again before the big day.  Do Laundry. Half -check. Leave dirty piles of it on bedroom floor and 1 load in dryer….so much for house looking straightened.

Monday: Go to work for 10.5 hours (11.5 counting commute). Make dinner. Collapse.

Tuesday: Groceries and errands. Check. Still haven’t bought those cloth napkins or a tablecloth yet.  Is it weird to ask a guest to bring a tablecloth? Must ponder. Make Chex Mix. Check. Worry that Turkey won’t defrost in time. Check.  Look at to do list and blog about having nothing done yet. Check. Try not to eat Chex Mix. Not check. Go to work and knitting group.

Here’s what Wednesday needs to look like.

Wednesday: Make dressing for apple salad, dough for rolls, 1 cheeseball, 2 kinds of fudge, stuffing (?), help Dave make sweet potato casserole, be grateful that guests are bringing an appetizer, cranberry sauce, and 3 pies.  Re-clean house, freshen up guest room, and make dinner. Seriously, make dinner? On Thanksgiving Eve? We might be ordering pizza. Just saying.

 

Two HALF beef patties??

Ok, before I even tell this story I have to back up a bit.

We love food. We don’t love fast food so much.  Usually it’s relegated to road trips. Tonight, for  a myriad of reasons that don’t make it any more ok, we opted for fast food.

Dave claimed he hadn’t had a Big Mac in 10 years (which is actually pretty likely) and he just HAD to have one to remember what it was like.

Poor Dave.  Oh, the disappointment.

Big Mac, what happened to you? Who stole one of your all beef patties?

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is a half patty. One little patty cut in half.  What? Let’s check the second one.

Yep, same thing.  Somebody done us wrong. Dave got a total of 1 (one!) patty on his big mac. Basically a cheeseburger with an extra bun. Come on, Mickey D’s.  Is this really what you are selling?

Is this a result of cutting corners, cutting cost, or just laziness? Maybe someone didn’t want to fry up another patty? Didn’t have the time? Didn’t have the initiative?

I’ll tell you who does have some initiative, though. Dave, that’s who. He’s about to be calling McDonalds and demanding some restitution.

And yes, those are our TV remotes next to the “Big” Mac. Don’t judge us.

 

Introducing…..

Our Etsy shop!

www.asyoustitch.etsy.com

Mom and I have been talking about selling some of our creations on etsy.com for some time.  I finally had to kick myself in the pants and just set up the account. Just in time for the holidays. There’s no looking back now.

Here’s the bio from our online shop:

We are a Mother and Daughter team that designs and hand makes all of our products. Mother does the sewing and Daughter does the crocheting and knitting. Mother did her best to teach Daughter to sew, but it never took. The machine hates her. No one can jam a sewing machine faster than Daughter can. Mother finally realized that Daughter would never love sewing. Once she gave Daughter some knitting needles, she was relieved to find that the “needlework” gene wasn’t missing after all. Phew. The craft lives on. Now, Mother and Daughter spend their free time creating handmade items for you, their families and friends. No big conglomerates here, just two people doing their bit to keep small business in business.

We hope you’ll swing by and check out our products! Our little shop is still young, so new items are being added daily. Let us know what you think!

Restaurant Review: Wong’s Kitchen

 

Price: Ok

Food: Meh. What’s the opposite of stellar?

Quantity: Pretty good.

Let me break it down for you.  We ordered 3 pretty standard Chinese take out dishes: Mapo Tofu, Chicken with Black Bean Sauce, and Chicken Lo Mein (extra spicy).  Cost about $15. Not bad.

Unfortunately, the quality just wasn’t where it should be. The Mapo Tofu was very bland and sweet, same with the Chicken with Black Bean Sauce. I wouldn’t have been able to guess that there was black bean in it if I didn’t know what we ordered. The Lo Mein wasn’t bad, at least it was spicy (as we ordered) although the chicken was scarce and overall it was pretty bland and greasy.

I wish I had something better to say about the food at this new establishment, but……I don’t. Sorry.

Wong’s Kitchen

5541 Main St. Suite 8

Spring Hill, TN 37174

First Gifts of the Season

I have 2 people crossed off my Christmas list already.  I know you’re jealous.  You wish you could be super organized like me. It’s hard, I know.

And now a picture of a my first crocheted snowflake ornament. All my crochet hooks are too big, thus the large stitches, but I’m not allowed to go back to JoAnn’s til Friday

But at least I know I can do it! Just you wait, Henry Higgins, til I get that small hook.  Snowflakes will abound.

Fingerless Gloves – a pattern

A friend sent me a picture and pattern of some fingerless gloves and asked if I could knit them for her.

The picture was good, but the pattern….not so much.  So, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my very first knitting pattern.  Designed by moi.  Yes, it’s a beginner pattern, but we can’t make fancy things all the time now can we? Must indulge in some TV knitting sometimes.

Here is the very untechnical pattern:

Materials:

• worsted weight yarn (about 1/2 skein for two gloves)
• 4 double pointed needles (dpns) size 4
• stitch marker
• scrap yarn (about 12 inches)

Gauge – unknown.  Sorry folks, I just can’t be bothered.

Size – one size fits all

Instructions

• Cast on 40 stitches. Join to work in the round, being careful not to twist
• K1P1 rib for 8 rows
• Stockinette stitch for 40 rows (in the round, this means knit every row)
• Knit 7 stitches onto scrap yarn, slip these sts back onto needle and knit them again using working yarn. Knit as usual to end of round.
• Knit 15 more rounds in stockinette stitch
• K1P1 rib for 4 rows
• Bind off all 4o stitches
• To make thumb hole: carefully remove scrap yarn and place resulting live sts on 2 dpns; 7 sts below the opening and 6 sts above. Attach working yarn and knit the 7 sts on lower needle. Using 3rd dpn, pick up and knit 2 sts on the left side of the opening (between upper and lower needle), knit first 3 sts from upper needle. With 4th dpn, knit remaining 3 sts from upper needle and pick up and knit 2 stitches on right side of opening. This gives you 17 sts. Knit 2 rounds. Bind off loosely.
• Weave in ends

That’s it. Make 2 of these bad boys and give them to someone with cold hands for Christmas.  I dare you.

Healthy Smoothie

So what do you do with 1/2 gallon of yogurt?

Make Smoothies, of course.

My favorite is strawberry/banana, but Dave makes all kinds of crazy concoctions. Sometimes I like to put this chocolate syrup in my smoothies. Shhh, don’t tell anyone.

• 1.5 Cups Yogurt
• 2 Bananas
• 4-6 Large Strawberries (yes, these were frozen. Strawberries are out of season, ok?)
• Ice or Milk to thicken or thin the smoothie to desired consistency

Blend it all up, and pat yourself on the back for being healthy. Slainte!