HappyUP!!! Day 4057

HappyUP!!! - Giants heading home

Why it happened - the schedule

Why it makes me happy - they need to because they are tired and sucking on that road trip.  A little rest would do them good

HappyUP!!! - gardening

Why it happened - it's veggie time

Why it makes me happy - it's not my favorite thing to do...but it's a favorite thing to HAVE DONE. Got some handle on the weeds in the tomato bins today.

HappyUP!!! - kept communique on the low down

Why it happened - I do this sometimes

Why it makes me happy - I shut down all talking modes today.  I did see a text/e-mail or two but really kept things to myself today.  I like doing that a couple of times a month.

HappyUP!!! Day 679

HappyUP!!! - Ciopinno Feed
Why it happened - my bro and sis in law are good hosts
Why it makes me happy - what's better than ciopinno on a cold winter night....along with about 60 friends? A good time had by all!

HappyUP!!! - upcoming golf tournament
Why it happened - a guy at the feed told me about it
Why it makes me happy - I used to play in this tournament 25+ years ago. I can get my buddy who is really good and tee it up next weekend.

HappyUP!!! - having a golf match today
Why it happened - there was another twosome looking for a game
Why it makes me happy - we won money! I played like a dog....my partner held me up. I came on at the very end with the pressure on, however, and struck some of the best shots I have hit in a long time. That makes me feel good about my game.



JollyJottings

6 iron on 16
Drive on 17
8 iron on 17
Drive on 18
7 iron on 18
Ciopinno Feed
A golf match
Finding out about a tournament

"Come and Get It!"

After a down 500+ day in the markets - this is what dinner looks like...

....for a lot of people - I know I will be celebrating with this fine cuisine this evening to mark this Black Monday.

...and dang thankful - that I have the beans in the cabinet (along with a little homemade spaghetti sauce to mix in with them).

Hey....natural gas is clearly one of our solutions to the oil situation - hmmmmm....could more people eating beans due to the financial crisis somehow be harnassed to help us out of the dependency on foreign oil?

Just thinkin!

HappyUP!!! Day 545.....Spag Sauce

HappyUP!!! - Spag Sauce

Why it happened - I got ambitious?

Why it makes me happy - the tomatoes and basil were on the vine less than 1 hr before they were in the pot. This recipe is all about simplicity....and time. This is a full two hour simmer going on....tomatoes, basil, garlic, onions, and the Secret Ingredient all warmly comingling for nearly an eternity. Hey, two hours is a long time to simmer down. As I type, it has only gotten the wooden spoon test...and it is tasting good with an hour to go. When this little pot thickens up, it may be too good for me to eat. I may need to take it to friends! The big HappyUP!!! ? I have walked this orb for a long time.....and have never made spaghetti sauce from scratch. Another item to cross off the accomplishments list......is Everest next?

HappyUP!!! - the tomato visitor
Why it happened - this guy likes to make spag sauce
Why it makes me happy - I have more tomatoes than I can use....I really do. I love giving them away. A buddy called me and asked if he could stop by for some. I gave him some last week and he said, "I'm not sure if you know what you got going on there. Your tomatoes are very sweet...excellent for sauce." While I didn't get his particular recipe, he inspired me to get out the knife, start chopping, and get to simmering. If I was a drinker, I think watching the sauce simmer would be an excellent activity to wine taste to.

(NOTE TO SELF: must wear apron in kitchen)

HappyUP!!! - figsters
Why it happened - I gave them figs
Why it makes me happy - I saw my adopted parents today at brekko. I had dropped figs on their doorstep this week. They love them and want some more....and so does one of their sons. It's a good thing because I don't know that many fig lovers and I have the figs. Someone told me that figs are expensive. Mine turn brown and I am told that they are HUUUUUUGE! Anyway, I like giving people things.....especially when the things are expensive....and cost me nothing but a little effort, time, and thought.

JollyJottings

Fig receivers
Breakfast

What's Up With This?..... M&M Ice Cream Treats

M&M's have a special place here in the land of HappyUP!!!s - who doesn't get a rush of joyful anticipation right before those delicious delicious nuggets are about to "melt in your mouth and not in your hand"?

If you don't feel that - I don't think you'll get the HappyUP!!! thing at all.

Imagine my joy - when I heard M&M's had expanded to ice cream treats! Put ice cream with one of the best candies in the world and you are looking at pure happiness!

I rushed down to the store and obtained a box - and I couldn't believe it. A box comes with 5 treats. The box gurantees that you will get at least two different colors of ice cream treats. The only way to verify how many that you get is to open them all.

So, purely in the interest of objective journalism - I did so.....quickly. I think I got three colors. I don't remember because I was acutally checking out the trademark m.

The m&m is all about the M - otherwise, it's not an m&m....right? If there was ever something that was all about the brand, this would be it.

Look at the picture - every one of those ice cream treats had the same shoddy "m" printed on it. I had also been hoping that the outside coating would be thin and hard....kind of like the candy.

Nope - it was pretty much the same as any "vanilla covered in chocolate" ice cream confection that you can get anywhere.

Don't get me wrong - it was good. Come on.....vanilla ice cream with chocolate is hard to mess up...

....but so is an "m" - well, at least I thought it was.

Such a fine brand - but no pride in it. Maybe I got a bad box. I'll never know. If the "m" would have been right or the candy shell had been different, I might be tempted to pay the premium and buy another one.

It was a HappyUP!!! - because I had the treat (yes, eating all 5 of them counts as ONE treat...they're small.....plus, I had to thoroughly investigate). Yet, I was bummed by the blurry "m."

Who Wants To Be My Friend...I Know Who...YOU!

So....I grew a whole bunch of this. "What to do?...what to do?...
What in the world do I do?"









I get a few friends together....
...and a lot......I mean A LOT....
(did I mention LOTS)....
of HAND Chopping








......and I will be having PESTO eggs in the morning.

(Stop on by....what does that one chick say? "Yumm-OH!")

SalmonUP!!!.....OK, Kids....Secrets Divulged

Who wouldn't serve this to ANY guest in the world? - you all know that salmon is good for you.

Everything about this little piece of fish - is as healthy as the salmon itself. Well, the sprinkling of mozzarella over the top may be cheating a little bit.

First step - get yourself a WILD salmon filet with the skin on one side. WILD...WILD...WILD....I don't want to mess with that farmed stuff.

Then, chop together - lots of fresh basil, onions, and garlic. I use a Magic Bullet chopper/processor for this. You will also want a dash...just a dash of olive oil into the chopped mix.

Take your mix - and fork it into your salmon. Just poke it on in there. Sure, you are making the top of the fish look like a track meet was just held on it but who cares. First, it will even out during the grilling. Second, people would see the herbs as bumps and not the bumpy skin. Third, you are going to cover it up anyway.

Grill - I like to put skin side down for a short amount of time. It is just enough to get your ingredients to set a bit. Then, carefully, flip your salmon with the ingredients/non-skin side down. You'll lose a little ingredient but that's OK. After you grill that way for a few minutes, turn it back over with the skin down.

Put a couple thin slices of tomato over the top - and seal the deal with some mozzarella cheese. Finish grilling until the fish starts to flake.

Guaranteed - you won't get much better eating on this planet and it's practically all pure health!

Throw a nice glass of chardonnay on the side - and your dining experience will be downright scary!

HappyUP!!! Day 154 "Hey, nice melons!"

HappyUP!!! - melons!
Why it happened - I planted them....and they grew!
Why it made me happy - this is my first foray into cantaloupe. Well, these are actually ambrosia melons. Is that the same thing as cantaloupe? Honestly? I don't know. All I can tell you is that this isn't the only one of these puppies growing out there in the garden. It is the first one. It was getting bigger and bigger. I really couldn't tell when I should pick it because I didn't know how to tell if it was ripe. Guess what? IT told me. It dislodged itself from the vine. Maybe that is what they do. As said, I don't know. I am not even a big melon eater.....until now. This baby was suuuuuhhhhhweeeeet!

HappyUP!!! - another part of my project at work came together
Why it happened - luck?
Why it made me happy - I thought this piece of the project was going to be a real pain. It just came together effortlessly.....at least, for me. One of my partners really did the job and came through. The project is getting exciting!

HappyUP!!! - breakfast with my co-worker
Why it happened - we do it every so often
Why it made me happy - we got quite a bit done.....and had fun doing so!...plus, I got my short stack and side of sausage!

Special HappyUP!!! - top down on the way home from work! It was so nice, I hated to get home. I may need to head out for a drive tonight!

HappyUP!....Nuts!!!

The "whaddawegetdaboss" dilemma - continues for my staff.....and, once again, the case has been cracked...

....with NUTS!!!

"Nutster, it's nuts...it ain't that big a deal" - well, you are so wrong. My admin lives up in the farming country. Her husband is a prune farmer. These much needed staples come from a farm near theirs.

Hey...she could have given me PRUNES - for Christmas! (which, actually, I would have been just as appreciative....hey, I want to ON THE GO in 2007!)

Trust me - all of the above will be put to good use this season.

The HappyUP!- I got NUTS....and am NUTS

Why the HappyUP! happened - someone gave of themselves

Why the HappyUP! made me happy - I was thought of to be given something. It was something that had thought in it. It came from the ground near someone's home....and...I will use it