Abreva works!

For those of you who suffer the indignity of cold sores (herpes simplex) and their resulting disgusting looking scabs, try using Abreva. It really works. For years I had used after-shave lotion which made me smell nice but did nothing to allay the eventual (albeit temporary) disfigurement. Next I tried Blistex which worked marginally but always left a greasy splodge on my face. Then along came pricey, expensive Abreva in its dinky little tube! Worth every penny! At the first sign of a cold sore (funky feeling on lip), I start applying the Abreva every couple of hours, and especially after eating or drinking or snogging. It's not as magical as the television advertisements suggest but it stops the cold sore getting huge--and if you catch it quickly enough, the sore just kinda melts away (after a few days).
I cannot recommend this stuff highly enough! Brilliant!

Albertson's Culinary Circle Pizza

So I bought a Culinary Circle "Ultra Thin Crust Garlic Chicken Alfredo Pizza" from Albertson's.


Boy, did it look d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s ! I was drooling! Check out the pic from the box...


Doesn't it look great?

O.K. so here's what it really looks like!

Not too many chicken pieces, and a splodge of onion.

It tasted pretty much like how it looks (crappy)!

I contacted Culinary Circle and explained to them how disappointed I was with the product and also suggested a possible "untruth in advertising." And, no, they never responded to me!

J C Penney "Sale"

Went along to Home Depot to look at new window blinds for the family room. Total regular price (including tax) was $1,770. With sale and credit-card discounts the total came to $1,373. Not a bad price. However, JC Penney are advertising a whopping 65% off Levolor window blinds so we were quite excited to see what a bargain we'd get there. We found the exact same blind that we looked at in Home Depot. Total JC Penney price (including tax and with that humungous 65% discount...$2060.50. What a deal...NOT!!! We're going back to Home Depot.

Here's an example:
45 x 59 window: MRP (according to JCP) $905. JCP "sale price" $316.75.
Home Depot regular price: $272, HD sale price: $231.20.

Wah Lah, and there it was.

WAH LAH? What the heck is that supposed to be? For those poor souls who think they are writing French, the word (one word, not two) is "Voila."
Numpties.

Spat, not Spit.

Is anyone aware that the past tense of "Spit" (to eject saliva from one's cake-hole) is "Spat," not "Spit"? It appears that there are some who can conjugate this verb in the proper manner but they are hard to find.

A.D.

Many years ago my daughter came home from school one day and informed me that her teacher had told the class that A.D. (as in (e.g.) AD 2009) stood for "After Death."
A.D. is the abbreviation for "Anno Domini." It does not mean "After Death." It's latin and translates as "The year of our Lord" (which, I'm sure, does not sit well with non-believers). :-0
The thing is, this rubbish is still being propagated! Spread the word!

LAS Vegas, not LOS Vegas

Why do people pronounce Las Vegas as Los Vegas? LAS Vegas. Not bloody LOS Vegas!
LOS Angeles, LAS Vegas

Cigarettes an' Whisky an'....

School teachers should not be telling their impressionable pupils that alcohol is a drug (O.K. it is a drug but that's beside the point) and therefore implying that it is in the same category as marijuana, heroin or cocaine. When I have a drink of beer or wine with a meal, I don't want some little sprog telling me I'm a "druggie."

There's no "th" in height!

A box has 3 dimensions: lengTH, widTH and height. Note that there is not a "th" at the end of "height." This being so, I ask you--no beg you--not to pronounce it as such. There is no such word as "HEIGHTTH" unless of course you have a speech impediment in which case you may pronounce it as you wish.

First Day of Summer? Pah!!

How can anyone in their right mind even think that the Summer Solstice represents the "first day of summer"? It's the longest day of the year, for Pete's sake! It's MIDSUMMER'S DAY! "Midsummer's day" pretty much sums it up: IT'S THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER! It's heading for Autumn!

Costco Return Policy

Costco's return policy is T H E * B E S T !
A couple of weeks ago I bought a Wagner Paint Crew Plus paint sprayer ($189 + tax). I used it twice and before I'd finished the second job, it packed in (I finished the job with a roller).
So, expecting a rebuff, I told the guy what happened, told him all the pieces were there, told him it was mess, told him it was covered in paint. He said "That's O.K." He didn't open the box to look at it--just gave me a refund. That cannot be beat! Thank you, Costco!

Martha Stewart Chicken Pie from Costco.

Got a Martha Stewart chicken "slab" pie from Costco today. Had it tonight for dinner--along with Fresh & Easy's straight cut fries: Yummy! Wife says, "How many grams of fat"? "Not a lot," I said. I checked the box: 32 grams of fat/550 calories per serving! Holy moley! The fries only added 4 grams of fat/120 calories. However, wife not pleased. Doh!

Watering the Front Yard

So, this morning I decide to attack the clover that's invading the grass. I carefully measure out 2 fluid ounces of Weed-Be-Gone and then fill up the sprayer to 1 and 1/2 gallons. The next 15 minutes is spent spraying all of the clover--and there's a lot of it. I finish up, clean out the sprayer, come into the garage and find the carefully measured 2 oz of Weed-Be-Gone still in its little measuring jar: All I had done was water the weeds! This time I put the weed killer in the sprayer and repeated what I'd just done--except properly this time. Doh!

Chicken Pie--Yum!

After I was laid off from work, my wife was expecting better-than-usual dinners to be ready for her when she got home from a hard day. That didn't work out too well since I seem to be busier than I ever was before. However, I found a recipe for chicken pie that turned out to be super-delicious and we had that for dinner last night. Here's the recipe (with more than a nod to Dharm from Kuala Lumpur):

Pastry:
1 sheet frozen Puff Pastry
1 Egg

Filling
1 lb Boneless Chicken Breast
8 oz Fresh Button Mushrooms
2 or 3 Cloves Garlic
2 Large Carrots
3 decent-sized Potatoes
8 oz fresh Spinach (or frozen)
8 fl oz Cream
½ Teaspoon Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon (half of a fluid oz) Corn Flour
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Oregano
2 Bay Leaves
½ Teaspoon Rosemary
8 Rashers Bacon

Method
Cut the Chicken into small squares. Mix 1 tablespoon Corn Flour with Pepper and Salt. Add in the Chicken and mix well so that the Chicken pieces are coated. Let rest. Fry or grill the Bacon until well cooked then put it on a paper towel to cool.
Meanwhile, slice the Mushrooms thinly, cut Carrots and Potatoes into smallish squares. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add in chopped Garlic, Oregano, Bay leaves and Rosemary and fry lightly till fragrant. Add in Chicken and cook well. Cut the Bacon into small pieces (removing any undercooked fatty pieces, if you like) then add the Bacon to the pan.
Add in the mushrooms and cook till Mushrooms are tender. Add in Potatoes and Carrots and bring to a simmer. Add in the Cream. Mix well and again bring to simmer. Add in the chopped Spinach and mix well. Continue to simmer until mixture is thick and Potatoes, Carrots and Spinach are all cooked. If the mixture is too thin, add a little more Corn Starch mixed with Water then simmer for another 2 or three minutes.
Let the mixture cool then spoon it into a 9-inch pie dish—or a few small dishes to make individual pies. Cover with a sheet of Puff Pastry. Moisten the edges of the pastry with water and press down firmly. Use a knife to trim the sides.
Using left over pastry, decorate top of pie with pastry shapes. Beat the Egg lightly then brush the top and edges of the pie. Bake in a Pre-Heated 420 degrees F. oven on the middle tray for around 20 minutes or until the pastry has risen and is golden brown.

D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S