Big Top by Rob Harrell for April 22, 2010

Good Morning, Yappy Nuts & Lewreader! Eggs, made to order or egg beaters Sausage, bacon and/or ham (pork & turkey) pan fried potatos, hash browns, grits and oatmeal! Bush’s baked beans toast (white bread or wheat), bagels & cream cheese, jams & jellies assorted kolaches fresh fruit pirate & nuclear coffee assorted juices & teas CocoMocha Selected ice creams! bloody Mary or Caesar selected premium beers PEPSI

Eat Hearty, Tribe!

HI, MARG!!!

Grog, I’ll take scrambled eggs, sausage & pirate coffee! Thanks!

Morning, JFri

Your wish is my command!

Enjoy!

Good Morning Tribe!

Woo-Hoo, Grog.

Excellent breakfast menu.

I’ll have scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns & a Bloody Mary, please.

Good Morning, Marg!

Good Morning Grog and JFri! Grog, may I please have some eggs over easy, hash browns, turkey bacon and a CocoMocha? Thank you!

Never say never, Dusty!!

Good morning TRIBE.

Oh no! The party’s been crashed.

Good Morning, ♠Lonewolf♠

Good Monring MARG!

Here you go, ♠Lonewolf♠. Carefull, it’s hot stuff.

Thank you, Grog.

Good morning, Carmy & LW18

Here you go, Carmy. Carefull it’s hot!

Great breakfast,Grog!! I’ll have oatmeal and Irish breakfast tea, please.

’######HI JFRI!!!

‘Morning Carmy and Terry!

GROG I like the idea of ice cream for breakfast. Every flavor you have please and nuc coffee.

Morning TRIBE.Whipped cream on ice cream. Mmmmm

Good Morning, Lewreader.

Here you go Marg

Well you’re not on a diet, are you Lewreader. Enjoy!

Thank you, Grog! Good Morning Marg and Lewreader!

Haha!

Smile Dusty.

Grog you make a great breakfast!

Good Morning Everyone!

Good Morning, Woodeye!

Good Morning, WoodEye

I aim to please.

Morning, Grog, Carmy, Lewreader & Woodeye!

ok, I’m going to try to get some sleep (again)

Good night and may the good news be yours!

Good Night, Grog!

Mornin Doc and everyone

Good Morning Tribe

Have an appt at the VA hosp this AM, so I’m also running short on time.

Hi, Doc & Rac0308.

Good Morning, Doctor Toon, Lonewolf & rac0308

Good Morning, Grog.

I’m running this morning.

Thanks for breakfast Fellow Baby! Good morning Woodeye, rac, Carmy, JFri, Marg, Lewreader and Doc!

I love my job….I love my job….I love my job….I love my job….I love my job….I love my job….I love my job….I love my job….I love my job….I love my job….I love my job….I love my job….

‘specially the 23000 line spreadsheet I have to edit, and oh did I mention COB today???

Easy does it, Rac0308. There’s a light at the end of the tomb!

Good Morning, FELLOW BABY!

Don’t forget to whistle while you work, rac0308 And keep saying that and one day you just might believe it….nah!

I need to head out to my appointment. I’ll catch you all when I get back. Have fun everyone. Rest well, Doc

P&L

Later, ♠Lonewolf♠

“There’s a light at the end of the tomb…” LOL!

I’m fixing my own breakfast today…starting, of course, with CocoMocha. To be kept severely away from Doc’s Nuclear Coffee, of course (combining them may create a microsingularity)…

320 and a wake up…

Good night, Doc

rac that’s too bad! I love my job!

Dry, When I was shopping this week end I saw the Ingelhoffer sweet & hot mustarg. I decided to try it, but I didn’t see any pure hot mustard.

Dry Used to…it’s just not fun anymore. It’s gotten old after 30 years. And so have I.

Good morning, tribeandall! Grog - What? No Pepsi? Okay, I’ll have some scrambled egg & pork bacon.

Good Morning, Rmom. You make a valid, point. I guess I was so concerned about pleasing everyone else, I forgot about pleasing myself. Consider it added to the menu!

Here’s your order, Rmom. Carefull, it’s hot!

Morning All!

Morning, DFrog!

Morning - Dfrog,Grog,Rmom, etal

Hi, Grog & Rac! Bye, everyone - Got to head out - lots of errands today.

Oops! Forgot to say thanks for breakfast, Grog!

Your welcome. Have a good day, Rmom!

rac been in this job for 25 years. It’s something new on many days, work with good people, most of us have been together 15-20 years. our clients, farmers, engineers, for the most part are good people too. You occasionally get a “pisser” but not often.

Hi Digital!

Dry - I really am glad that you have that. Most of the military I work with are here for a couple of years, then move on, so I won’t allow myself to get close to most of them. The biggest thing is most of the decision making has been contracted out of the local hands and has to be run through “channels”. What I used to be able to fix in 5 minutes takes up to a week now. Kinda discouraging. 320 days to retirement.

Good Morning all. I’ll take a Bloody Caesar, might just as well start the day off with a jolt.

Hey Cleo!

Good Morning Dry.

rac I work with government on a different level, but yes, it can certainly slow things down. State government is no different. And you have people sitting in the capitol that have no “freakin” idea what it’s like in the field making the policies!

Morning, cleo

I think you just gave me a jolt :-)

Let me know if you need more tobasco. I know Dry likes heat, but I gave you the normal few shakes of the bottle.

Good Morning Grog. Yes, like Dry, I like ‘em hot.

I guess I’ll take one too.

Grog I can’t remember if you told me or not, did you like that marinated cauliflower?

cleo, I’ll give you the bottle to spice to your taste.

Dry, yes and I’m nearly finished the batch. I plan on making the new one this week-end, adding some bell pepper , adding some more tabasco and lowering the vegetable oil. I lok forward to seeing how that comes out. I still want it to be predominantly cauliflower though. Just a little additional flavors added.

Did you try adding bell pepper to it?

Here’s your Caesar, Dry SPICY!

@Grog, are there any poppy-seed kolaches left? I’ll have a couple with my Nuclear Coffee.

Here’s my Official DToon (T) unobtanium coffee mug.

Good Morning, bmonk

I most certainly do. Enjoy.

By the way, I like the mug!

Grog no I never have, but I am out as well. I’m getting another head of cauliflower tonight at the store. I think I will try it, with the red pepper. Heck, I wonder how it would be with jalapenos? You’re giving me some more ideas here!

@LuvH8, maybe you need to use hammerspace to knock some sense into those who refuse to accept you as a woman…

(And, BTW, no need to worry about me–I have updated my mental profile of you, and even see your avatar as the skull of a woman in a black hoodie, or maybe one of those death-robes as on the credits of Dead Like Me…

Dry, I think you’d like it with the jalapenos, too. It’ll probably spice things up a little more in addition to that 1/2 cup of tobasco you put in.

Roflmao!! Yes Grog, it would! I think I will try that actually!

Good morning all.

Now I have a vision of that 3’s company episode, where there is a ton of pepper in the linguine that Jack prepares for a mob boss if I remember correctly. The guy takes a bite and his eyes are bulging out of their sockets and he’s slamming his fist on the table. He turns to Tripper and says, “Just like mama used to make.”

By the way Dry, do let me know how it turns out, but I don’t think I’m giving you a bum steer here.

Good Morning, MisngNOLA!

Good Morning Rmom, Cleo, Grog, Bmonk, Rac0308, DFrog, MisngNOLA and Everyone else

I’m back.

Rac0308 “and a wake up”—Where have I heard that before? LOL (twice for me actually)

Grog, I stopped on the way back and picked up 3 cases of Pepsi. It was on sale!

Aha, someone else has heard of poppy seed kolaches! Thanks, Bmonk!

Grog That is funny! My kids won’t eat my stuff that has the heat in it. LOL!

Dry, I would say it’s an acquired taste. I grew up eating bland food. When I went out into the working world, I was subject to a whole world of wonderful things I didn’t get at home with my fussy Mom.

I’ve had to tone down the heat some in the past few years, but I still enjoy it.

Lonewolf, they taste that much better when they’re on sale, but I haven’t seen one in a while.

Grog–Here, they are almost always on sale at different stores. We check the sale papers every week.

Ain’t technology grand?

Dry was the Ingelhoffer mustard that you like hot or sweet & hot? I didn’t see hot in my store, but I did see sweet & hot.

Lonewolf usually the best buy in my area is at Wal-Mart for the cubes. Even if other stores have sales, they still don’t match the price.

Grog–That’s pretty much the same story here in Chicago, but we have one or two other stores that are like WalMart in the way of pricing.

Yes it is Johnny!

*Grog it was sweet and hot. Very sweet, not so hot, but tastes good on sandwiches.

Thanks, Dry. I DID pick some up. Looking forward to trying it.

Lonewolf Was that a really sale on Pepsi or a virtual one for Grog?

I’m running low at home and Dominick’s buy2 get 3 free is over.

Rac0308–One of the local food stores out here by me.

Meijers out here just had a sale on Pepsi last week too!

Be back in about an hour. Going to pick up another repair job!

I may have to leave at a moment’s notice. We’re expecting some visitors shortly and when they get here I’ll be in a meeting for the afternoon.

Dry & Grog - the marinated cauliflower is sounding good. I’m always looking for new ways to do veggies. Mind sharing the recipe?

Hello Everyone!

Bmonk ~ I’m sorry I should have remembered that most of the times I had talked about my daughter’s father to you I had not specified who he is. So it probably wasn’t obvious that I was a mother and not a father. I will quit picking on you for thinking I was a guy. (I’ll find something else!)

I like it when the 12pks are on sale (more flavor variety). I like the Wild Cherry Pepsi, and they don’t have it in the 24pks here.

I am a spicy / hot food wimp. I tend to think if I can no longer taste anything after the second bite the food is too spicy. Though I have considered using this method as a diet program. Once I can’t taste anything, then it will not matter what the diet food tastes like!

WARNING ~ Long Joke Ahead!

A young blonde was on vacation in the depths of Louisiana. She wanted a pair of genuine alligator shoes in the worst way, but was very reluctant to pay the high prices the local vendors were asking. After becoming very frustrated with the “no haggle” attitude of one of the shopkeepers, the blonde shouted, “Maybe I’ll just go out and catch my own alligator so I can get a pair of shoes at a reasonable price!”

The shopkeeper said, “By all means, be my guest. Maybe you’ll luck out and catch yourself a big one!”

Determined, the blonde turned and headed for the swamps, set on catching herself an alligator.

Later in the day, the shopkeeper was driving home, when he spotted the young woman standing waist deep in the water, shotgun in hand. Just then, he saw a huge 9-foot alligator swimming quickly toward her. She took aim, killed the creature, and with a great deal of effort hauled it on to the swamp bank. Lying nearby were several more of the dead creatures.

The shopkeeper watched in amazement. Just then, the blonde flipped the alligator on its back, and frustrated, shouts out, “Durnit, this one isn’t wearing any shoes either!”

Idyhwkd

Dry’s cauliflower recipe

I medium head cauliflower, microwave or steam until just tender. I microwave about 1 1/2 minutes.

1/2 cup or a little less of vegetable oil, I use Smart Balance. Don’t like it with olive oil, though I like Olive oil, not just with this recipe. 1/2 cup white vinegar Salt to taste, but I don’t use the salt 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon hot sauce or Tabasco, but I use a 1/2 cup Mix the ingredients, all but the cauliflower, when the cauliflower has cooled add it. I put mine in a 1 gallon zip lock bag and shake it around a few times over the course of the day. Ready to eat the next day. ————————- Idyhwkw, consider also the improvisations Dry & I talked about today.

Hope you like it.

Hi LUVH8!!!

Can’t stay long, I’ll be in an afternoon-long meeting in about 15 minutes,

Hi Grog!!!!!!

Um, your menu is really nice and all but it needs:

CHOCOLATE!!!!

milkshakes, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, cake, candy, just something chocolate

That was well worth reading through it all.

Do you have to pay attention during your meetings? Or do you sit around making up stories about people? Do you think that your coworkers wear matching ties and underclothing? (Check their socks.)

Chocolate ice cream? There is ice cream on the menu. Lewreader had one of everything ice cream.

LuvH, people at the plants don’t wear ties. Most all wear jeans.

Depends on the meeting. I wouldn’t mind catching up on some zzzzzzz.

The guy who is always rubbing his hands on his pants? He has a night job as a janitor to help with his compulsive need to clean.

Gotta go. Catcha later.

Oh, then maybe it is the other business people who match!

Have you tried getting chocolate icecream from Lewreader, once he starts eating he does not share! It is dangerous to even look at what he has.

Have fun Grog!

Rmom told this joke:

How did the blonde die ice fishing? She was run over by the Zamboni machine.

Um, would someone mind telling me what a Zamboni machine, was doing in the freezer?

WARNING ~ Humorous Story Ahead!

I was signing the receipt for my credit card purchase when the clerk noticed that I had never signed my name on the back of the credit card. She informed me that she could not complete the transaction unless the card was signed. When I asked why, she explained that it was necessary to compare the signature on the credit card with the signature I just signed on the receipt. So I signed the credit card in front of her. She carefully compared that signature to the one I signed on the receipt. As luck would have it, they matched.

Warning – Joke ahead – Warning

@LuvH8, around here the blondes don’t go ice fishing very often, because

They don’t know how to cook the ice once they’ve caught it, It’s too hard to cut that big hole in the ice, and Once you get the boat in the hole, it’s too hard to get into it.

Edit: to correct formatting infelicities.

WARNING ~ Frazzled Father-To-Be Ahead!

A man spoke frantically into the phone, “My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart!”

“Is this her first child?” the doctor asked.

“No, you idiot!” the man shouted. “This is her husband!”

Thanks Grog. Sounds yummy - including some of your adjustments mentioned earlier. Think I’ll try steaming it just a little, marinating it, and then grilling it. We do lots of grilling in the summer to keep the house cool. I’ll leave out the jalapeno’s for the kids - but once mine begin to produce I will try those for me and the hubby.

Hi Bmonk

That does sound complicated.

I tried to bake some ice with lemon juice & dill once, when I opened the oven 15 minutes later the ice was GONE!

Warning – Joke ahead – Warning

@LuvH8, that reminds me of the pregnant blonde who comes into the hospital for her birth.

The admitting nurse, in the course of her interview, asks, “And how far apart are your contractions?”

“What do you mean?”

“The labor pains. How long between them?”

“Oh, I don’t have anything like that. This is just the due date.”

Idyhawkd yes Grog gave you the correct recipe. I really like it and apparently he does as well! :-D

Grog ~ that recipe sounds like it could easily be adjusted to make a great marinade for chicken.

My grandfather apparently used jalepenos when making his pickles. It was really good, but I understood how he could drink straight whiskey after eating one.

@LuvH8, maybe you cooked it too long. If you only had a few pieces of ice, they cook really fast.

But don’t cook them until they are limp. Ice should be served al dente at the softest.

Bmonk - I will pick up some more ice at the store, and try again. What temperature and time do you suggest?

Bmonk, did you notice that you are elected (by Rmom) to choose next week’s joke theme? Please let us know what the theme is before Monday afternoon.

I think about 5 minutes in a 60F oven would not burn the ice.

I’m not so good at setting direction for jokes–I prefer to reply. Hmm… how about professional jokes–lawyers, doctors, teachers, (absent minded) professors, and so on?

WARNING ~ Blond Logic Ahead!

Two blondes living in Oklahoma were sitting on a bench talking…….. and one blonde says to the other, “Which do you think is farther away……….Florida or the moon?”

The other blonde turns and says “Helloooooooooo, can you see Florida…?????”

BTW, I really liked that joke about the blonde’s alligator shoes. Only one problem: with a big alligator like that, wouldn’t the shoes be too big too?

Hmm…. I had not thought of that, they could indeed have been too big.

So edgamicated professionals?

Good afternoon everyone!

I’m back for a few minutes.

Hi, LuvH8 & Bmonk!

Hello, ldyhwkd.

Hello Lonewolf!

Did I miss you?

Hello all. Our weather has cleared up and warmed up and I find myself doing gardening projects again. I should organize a big party of you all from the Big Top. Free food and drinks in exchange for garden work. Any takers? snerk.

WARNING ~ Really Dumb Joke Ahead!

A policeman pulls a man over for speeding and asks him to get out of the car. After looking the man over he says, “Sir, I couldn’t help but notice your eyes are bloodshot. Have you been drinking?”

The man gets really indignant and says, “Officer, I couldn’t help but notice your eyes are glazed. Have you been eating doughnuts?”

Hello Cleo ~ Have fun gardening, no thank you people with sharp objects and snakes scare me.

I missed Lonewolf, (Blows Raspberry).

Gone For Now, Have Fun!

Hi, Cleo.

Sorry I missed you, LuvH8

WARNING ~ Really Dumb Joke Ahead!

LuvH8, was that the cop that pulled another fellow over for speeding, and when examining the driver’s license responded, “Your license requires you to drive with corrective lenses. Where are your glasses?”

“But, officer, I have contacts.”

“I don’t care who you know! You still need to wear glasses!”

Well, trying to snag a gardener turned out to be a bust.

If I could get out there at the present I’d help you in a heartbeat, Cleo.

Wolfangil just got home and is complaining about a noise in her car. Going out to scope it.

BBS (I hope).

Just got out of my meeting. Now to fight the 5PM traffic home. Oh joy!

Hi Tribeanall!

I am gratefull for the joke warnings. gives me time to duck!

Since I’ve finished classes, I’ve had nothing to do but run errands and visit people. so I’m too busy to come here!

go figure.

Howdy Shika. How are you?

I have to go out tonight to visit a parishioner I’ve been threatening, I mean, promising to visit for weeks.

I hope that she is still there.

Okay, which is it, threatening or promising, there is a difference in how you are received?

Good cleo Just eating some roast lamb from a Greek restaurant I went to last night. With rice and Greek salad.

Promising! But she thought I was coming on Tuesday, and stayed in all day waiting for me…

So who knows what mood she will be in tonight!

I love lamb. My wife found a lamb meat loaf in the freezer that she assumes that I made. If so, I do not remember, we will see if it is still possibly etible for lunch.

So Shika, you are like God’s repair person. You promise a time, yet show up when you wish. I knew that delivery people learned bad practices for someone higher up. But who’d have thought…

I love lamb too. My friend had the lamb shank, and I had roast leg of lamb. I had enough left over for today.

She had a big bone!

We had something I think is called Saganaki. It is breaded cheese set on fire at the table with a loud “OOPAH!” Delicious! I’ll go back there for sure.

Hey, I worked in the repair dept. at my last job. It was called the Service Department though. From one kind of service to another….

Lamb shanks are wonderful because they are reasonable, but so good after a long roasting. The only thing that I like better, but not by much, is osso bucco.

Lamb meat loaf sounds good. Is it labled? How does she know what it is?

Our waiter drew a cat on the container of food. Looks just like Mua. Mua had a nibble, but it is full of garlic, and I know what that does to him. lol

What is osso bucco?

No wonder my lamb is garlicky. A whole clove was stuffed in the peice I am eating. Yum.

Oh dear, now that parishioner will really think I stink! Hee-hee. Better gargle before I see her.

Hello, Shika & Cleo

Not interrupting y’all, just sayin’ “Hi”.

I’ve got to get ready to go to pool soon anyhow.

Hi Terry

ByeTerry!

Bye cleo I’ve got to get ready to go now. Wish me luck!

Bye, Shika. I don’t know what it is, but “good luck”!

Goodbye Shikaand hello Terry.

Shika Osso Bucco is the same thing as lamb shanks only using veal, but you can easily substitute the lamb for the veal.

See, Cleo, just like you are with tools, so am I when it comes to cooking. I can survive with cooking always, but I can not make my cooking adventures “sing” like you do!

Hi Shika, bye Shika!

Now Cleo you know you always have Carmy, Tabby, JFri and me to help you in household chores!!!* :-D

Hi, Terry, Dry, Cleo, Shika! I’m back! Cleo - I was wondering why you’d let Dry, Carmy, Tabby & JFri on your property again. They might find (or bring) some paint! If you had one of those nifty zero-turning-radius riding mowers, I would mow. But other than that, you don’t really want me doing yardwork. Except for grass, I’m not too good at distinguishing weeds from wanted plants. I could probably handle watering, as long as people didn’t mind getting sprayed occasionally.

Warning ~ Joke Ahead A blonde went to a flight school insisting she wanted to learn to fly. As all the planes were currently in use, the owner agreed to instruct her by radio on how to pilot the solo helicopter. He took her out, showed her how to start it and gave her the basics, and sent her on her way. After she climbed 1000 feet, she radioed in. “I’m doing great! I love it! The view is so beautiful, and I’m starting to get the hang of this.” After 2000 feet, she radioed again, saying how easy it was to fly. The instructor watched her climb over 3000 feet, and was beginning to worry that she hadn’t radioed in. A few minutes later, he watched in horror as she crashed about half a mile away. He ran over and pulled her from the wreckage. When he asked what happened, she said, “I don’t know! Everything was going fine, but as I got higher, I was starting to get cold. I can barely remember anything after I turned off the big fan!”

Cute, Rmom Hi, cleo, Shika & Dry.

Rmom, any of the help that I have gotten from JFri, Dry, Carmy & Tabby, if you can call it help, has been unsolicited and usually requires more work after their departure then before they arrived.

You are correct though in reformulating my requests. I should be careful in whom I ask for help.

Cleo - I’ve got one brother whom we are very careful to not mention in his hearing, that we are in need of help, or even work on a project while he is nearby. He is more hindrance than help.

Cleo hmmph! :-P POOEY ON YOU DUDE! (Got any Bookers about?)

Hello Doc. Dry Booker’s is on it’s way.

So how is everything in your world Doc?

Hi Doc!

Thank you Cleo! My fuzzy wuzzy, but not as fuzzy wuzzy as my Wink! LOL!

Good to see you, Doc! How’s the weather your way? Get any of the torrential rains we’ve been having today? (Also some tornadoes, but quite aways from me.)

They have tornado warnings out, just heard the Weather Channel say some of these are pretty severe, but missed where. It was somewhere in the midwest/south.

Dry - This is the easiest place I know of to find weather watches & warnings anywhere in the US. http://www.wunderground.com/severe.asp

Just click on a county with a watch or warning, and it will bring up the statement from the Weather Service with the details.

To the TRIBE

HAPPY EARTH DAY EVERYONE!

Thank you Mother Earth for the air that I breathe, for the water that I drink and for the food that nourishes me.

Thank you Mother Earth for the beauty that you bestow upon us daily, and for such wonderful friends to share it with.

Thank you Mother Earth for giving me life.

RMom I like NOAA. I find it most reliable. I checked your link, we have something similar here, it is good too, but NOAA is most accurate I find.

I’m pretty sure that the Weather Service and NOAA are the same thing, so the statements posted would be too. NOAA has its own website, but I don’t think it is as easy to use as this one.

I have no problem with NOAA. It is easy to navigate, actually they all are. i just prefer NOAA because it gives the best info.

Since GOD made Mother Earth, GOD is who we should thank!

Well I know that Dry, but since there is no discussions allowed about anything that deals with religion here, I had to change it. I am after all trying to follow the rules here.

LilG swears by Weather Underground as well.

Howdy Cleo How was your dinner?

Delicious Dry and I am now off to watch a movie.

I want you all to know that I do think of you all as friends, and I do enjoy hanging out here with you all. Big Top is a truly great and wonderful place.

I hope that you win ♠Lonewolf♠, at the pool game. ;-)

Good evening everyone.

Hi Dry! Long time no see. We must work different shifts, LOL

And for Earth Day I am thankful that we are starting to appreciate the gift that our Father gave us. When we stop exploiting the earth, we acknowledge it is not ours to do as we please.

Thank you for life as well!

Sweet Dreams all!

cleo! I survived the visit! And I used the mouthwash, lol.