Equality in Massachusetts

Today the Massachusetts politicians repealed an old law that forbade anyone not living in Massachusetts from getting married here.

To quote HRC:

"In repealing this law we've sent the message loud and clear that in Massachusetts, we respect and honor all families. No matter where you live or if you're gay or straight, if you'd like to marry you can do it in our state."


I consider this a victory.

I always wanted to do one of these...

It's a meme. Rules are:

1. List these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. Well, I don't want to tag anyone, but I will share 7 things about myself.

1. I am 55 and back in school.
2. When I get out of school and get a job, I want to start one of those sustainable gardens instead of having a lawn.
3. I am a blog hog. I love reading blogs and am constantly on the lookout for new and exciting blogs about nature, animals, recycling, and an occasional off the wall person. (Melissa Lion, this would be where you come in.)
4. I have just started listening to classical music on a serious scale. I want to be able to distinguish between the famous composers without having to look on a CD cover.
5. My cat and I will be traveling to Florida in August for the whole month.(August in Florida? Are you crazy?) My significant other is living there, so off I go.
6. I am always trying to divest myself of things that I don't need. You would think that I would have relatively few things by now, but I am afraid they multiply at night.
7. I am a Unitarian Universalist. It is a nondenominational congregation. We begin each service with this:
"Love is the spirit of this congregation,
and service is its law.
This is our covenant:
to dwell together in peace,
to seek truth in love,
and to help one another."

I owe this blog meme to Robbyn of The Back Forty.
Thank you Robbyn

p.s. I am full of myself because I figured out how to embed someone's blog spot on my post.

My famous scone recipe

Well, actually it's not mine. It came from a cookbook. I have made it with fresh red currants and it is to die for yummie!
When I make them, I don't bother cutting them (the scones) out, but place them by the rounded tablespoonful on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and let them sit while the oven is heating up.

This recipe came from the Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors. It is attributed to the Welsh.

Makes 12 scones, depending on the size of the cutter.
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 c all purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
5 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/3 c milk

Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour and salt. Mix until the mixture resembles coarse corn meal. Add the sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Mix well.

Beat the eggs with the milk and add to the flour, using a wooden spoon, to make a spongy mixture. Place the dough on a well floured plastic countertop or board and pat it out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut the dough into rounds with a biscuit cutter. Flour your hands and place the rounds on a nonstick cookie sheet and leave for 10 minutes to settle.

Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 8 minutes.

These should be served with butter and/or jam, or with cream and jam for special occasions.

Variations

Cheese scones: Add 1/4 c grated Cheddar cheese.
Fruit scones: Add currants or raisins.

Hooray, Yippee!

I just finished my summer internship today by getting my 8th competency exam done.
When I started this summer, I could not imagine doing all 8 in ten weeks, but I did it! Yay me!
Now I get to completely veg out, I mean, clean my house for when I leave it for a month. I deserve all the rest I will get.
And, I get an A- for the 5 credit course (grin).
Yay! Go Pat!

Carlton is so excited, he is laying on the floor. Well, his tail is moving...that must mean yay Mom!

A little heat for the brain

telephone popcorn

ps

I only post to this blog in order to have a blog address with which to comment on 'real' bloggers' pages.

Carlton the overweight cat

I keep trying to tell people that Carlton is not fat, that he is just a big cat. No one believes me. We are going to fly to Florida in August, Carlton and I. He and his soft sided carrier cannot weigh more that 20 pounds. Good grief. He weighs 19 pounds in the carrier, and what if my scale is off?
The problem is that we used to live in a house that had stairs, a sun room with 'cat' tv, and plenty of windows all over the place that he could run from window to window after the bird, mouse, neighbor cat, turkey, deer etc etc.
Now we live in a small apartment that has a driveway in the front and the brick facade of a pharmacy side wall in the back. I used to let him out in the stairwell, but now there is a dog living downstairs and I am not willing to risk it. Carlton has become sluggish.
I have toys up the ying yang, catnip, and even a laser pointer. He plays with them for maybe 5 minutes and them flops down and only reaches out his paw if the thing is near. He doesn't even lift a paw to the laser pointer. He has figured out that he cannot 'catch' it so he stopped trying. The big poopie.
He is only getting 1/3 of a can of wet food in the morning and 1/2 scoop of dry food at night. He gets maybe 15 pieces of a dental dry food as treats(his Dr. thought it might help). I think that I cannot take away any more food. He is on a prescription diet, but I am close to getting him a senior food. It has less calories and more fiber. The prescription diet was for a problem with crystal formation in his urine. The doctor told me that the prescription has less magnesium in it.
He is whining at me right now wanting food. The PITA.