Lettuce is In, Mayo is Maddening

Our buttercrunch lettuce is ready for picking and we are making a fantastic salad using it today when we get together with family in the area for a little reunion. My 7-layer salad is a favorite: a bottom layer of lettuce, three chopped green onions, 3 stalks of celery, chopped, a smooth layer of frozen green peas (thawed), 2 cups of mayo smoothed over that, 1 packet of Splenda or 1 tsp. sugar, 1 can of bacon bits, 4 boiled eggs, chopped, and 3 tomatoes, chopped, then 8 ounces of grated cheese. It is very good and needs no additional salad dressing - always a hit at get-togethers.

I was unhappy to see that a "pint" jar of mayonnaise is no longer 16 ounces, but 15 ounces. It has gone the way of pumpkin pie filling and many other things that used to be an even pound or two cups. I feel cheated by the industry that does this. Recipes are not quite the same. I would rather they raise prices than try to fool us this way.

(Pictured is the only brand of mayonnaise my husband likes. He says the others have an off flavor.)

SecondLife.com

I heard SecondLife.com mentioned on various tech podcasts so I thought I would check it out. It's a free world like IMVU but the avatars and scenery are not as pretty as in IMVU, although you can go more places, be in crowded rooms better and even build your own place. Exploring is much fun.

SecondLife is a big place, but from what I have seen, there are a lot of casinos and stores. Maybe I just haven't explored enough. I have only been a member less than a day and I am already getting tired of the casinos and stores.

Here I am at the beginner's university, sitting on a bench with others. I am wearing a white skirt and newbie purple (I think it labels me as a beginner). You can zoom in and read the signs. Our names and titles (if any) float above our heads. Background music (like a radio) can be turn on or off. Private IMs can be started with anyone around. Group IMs also run -- so I can "hear" what people are saying in designated public conversations.

Black Velvet Cake

I saw this cake and frosting mix in Wal-Mart, displayed to appeal to impulse shoppers at the end of the isle. It was in a pretty box, so I decided to grab one for myself. I had no idea what Black Velvet Cake is, but after making the cake and thinking it tasted different than anything I had and not being able to figure it out, I finally examined the ingredients list. (Yes, I was in full impulse shopping mode when I bought this.)

It's a combination of food color to darken, light cocoa, almond and cinnamon - an unusual flavor mix, too. The taste might not appeal to everyone. I was not thrilled, but it was edible.

Hash Brown Casserole

My daughter made a hash brown casserole that was much-appreciated and quickly eaten for Easter. Here is the recipe. I think sour cream makes it extra special.

SnapShirts.com

Make a shirt with words from your favorite book, blog or website. You can type in an url and this site will scan it, take the most popular words from it and make a t-shirt or mousepad witih a word cloud on it. The results are very good with high-quality shirts. I did my own blog and enjoyed seeing the word cloud that came up. (The largest words are the ones used most often.)

Anniversary Today

Today is our anniversary. I feel blessed for having met and married my soulmate - and being able to enjoy a long life with him. We think alike in many things -- and differently enough in other things to keep life interesting.

Happy Anniversary, Richard! We ate lunch at the main Mexican restaurant in town, Rosie's. Rosie's is a local Mexican restaurant that has risen to become the most popular in town. I adore Mexican seafood. Richard proposed after we ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant in our college town.

And, on an almost unrelated matter, here's some music hits that have been changed to better fit the baby boomer generation (from Chuck Bobo.).

Cat Saves Baby's Life

Yay for cats! From Digg.com, came a link to this article. Here's an excerpt.

Have a Happy Easter

I was going to post a link to a cute flash file for Easter, but the site has been overwhelmed. Earlier, I got a message that it was down due to bandwidth and now, I get no message at all, just a blank screen. I saw this little animation much earlier --maybe it will be available later --> http://scratch.amishhosting.com/egg.swf is the link. In the meantime, I hope today has been good for all of you.

Our family is celebrating next week when it will be easier to get everyone together. In the meantime, my daugther described the "meal from heaven" that she had with her in-laws today. It included filet mignon. She brought a side dish which was a success, too. She's a great cook.