BamaBlog.com - June 8-15, 2004

A study shows that blog readers are not what the stereotype portrays -- not necessarily kids with strong opinions and a lot of time on their hands. (Of course, you already knew that.)

Guess what! A frozen bratwurst and a frozen peeled banana look almost exactly alike, that is, when they are all crusty and covered with ice, having been in the freezer for some time.

At lunch yesterday, I decided to make a chocolate-banana protein shake. The problem was that I reached for a frozen bratwurst instead of a frozen banana. I could not figure out why the blender was taking so long to grind up my banana. Finally, it finished. I took one sip and thought the shake tasted burnt. Maybe my blender was on the fritz.

Suddenly, I remembered the frozen raw bratwurst sausages. I nearly lost my cookies right then and there. When my husband said he could smell it on my breath, I almost lost it again.

I used to go around saying everything was better with chocolate, but I will make an exception to serving it with finely blended raw bratwurst. Ugh -- I am getting sick again just writing about it.

Saw The Chronicles of Riddick yesterday -- a good action movie -- not a boring moment in the whole thing. It did not have a "fall-in-love-live-happily-ever-after" ending, alas. I still enjoyed seeing the very buff Vin Diesel. Whew - he was wonderful to watch, even when he was just sitting still.

The movie was pure fun with cool stunts, lots of shooting, fighting and tough, gritty people walking around who could continue the fight even with a large knife in their backs. It's not the kind of movie that critics will like, but I bet it does well at the box office -- so satisfying to see one tough good guy get the best of an overwhelming bunch of bad guys.

While the ending does not leave us hanging, it presents a peek into what the next sequel will be about. The last scene was almost funny.

This restaurant (located on University Drive near Olive Garden) was recently revamped with a new buffet (and dishes to order, as well). I did not like it much the first time. The food tasted good, but it was not outstanding, with nothing special about it.

After the changes, it improved greatly. They have more seafood offerings. The fried shrimp was no longer over-breaded. It has a new, crispy thin coating -- very good. The delicious hot and sour soup contained many mushrooms -- more than the same dish at other restaurants. Crab fingers were not over-cooked and tender -- better than any other restaurant does them around here, too.

I always go for the seafood. There are many more selections. I counted at least 4 long tables of food and a soft ice cream station off to the side. The other tables had chicken, beef, pork, fruits, salads, cookies, pudding, etc.

They offered a seafood mix baked with cheese on top, a little fishy but still pretty good. Additionally, Joy Luck has a Mongolian chef (grilling your selections to your order as part of the buffet), sushi and many more desserts than it used to have. We will definitely come here again.

My husband saw Schmedly go out of our front gate. We think he headed for open land near the creek and are pretty sure he was the baby bunny we saw this morning in a field behind a neighbor's house which is near a woods where other rabbits live. Looks like he has grown up and left us already.

Thanks to the reply of a member of our local newsgroup where I posted my experience, the snake I saw yesterday might have been a baby speckled kingsnake. The photo here looks fairly similar, even though the snake I saw rattled his tail.

This is a convenient way to search Google --> Soople. It presents a screen with many options already set up for various kinds of searches such a movie reviews, images, news, file types, etc.

Remember that baby bunny that my husband found? His mother comes through our front gate to visit him often and he is doing well ... so far. We can see him hopping in and out of the garden. He is a doll. My husband has been holding him every day. I warned him that this could soon become a pet. Apparently I was right. My husband has already named him "Schmedly."

The only problem is that Schmedly does not have much chance for long-term survival. He is too young to separate from his mother and transplant, just yet. Last evening, he crawled through our fence into the yard where a bull mastiff lives. We don't know if he made it back or not.

This morning, Maria L. and I saw a baby snake in a spot where I've seen garter snakes before. Neither of us are especially afraid of snakes so we stopped to take a closer look. At first, we could not tell what kind of snake it was because it was a baby -- just a little over a foot long.

The snake was in the middle of the greenway. I did not want it to get run over by a cyclist (which has happened before) so I stomped my foot and tried to herd it into the woods. When I got too close, the snake stopped, coiled up and acted like it was going to strike me. It also started shaking its tail. That decided it -- this was a rattlesnake! The little rattle was too small to notice until he started shaking his heart out. He was cute, but I wasn't stupid. I stopped taking pictures, backed off and we left. (Thus the photo here is not too clear - he was on the asphalt, but someone told me that it looked like an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake.)

It was surprising though. In the seven years I've been walking in this park, it was the first time I saw a poisonous snake there although folks have told me stories about copperheads in their yards nearby and water moccasins in the creek.

Maybe this was an Eastern Fox Snake or one of those breeds that mimic a rattlesnake. It was hard to tell -- and best to avoid anyway since we DO have plenty of rattlesnakes in this state.

J.C. sent this one to me. Being a cat-owner, I appreciated the chuckle. (I couldn't find the author, but I linked to a site that also published these.)

FELINE PERSONAL ADS

Gentle cat, conservationist, seeks refined home where manners count more than mousing.

Gourmet seeks position as chief food taster. Excellent taste in venison, salmon and other fine meats. Connoisseur of cream. Will indicate quality of all foods tasted with loud purring.

Young cat, suffering delusions of lion hood, requires easily scared family. Not yet able to dispatch wildebeest, will practice regularly on local wildlife.

Elderly tabby seeks employment as bed warmer. Will keep bed warm throughout day in return for daily salary of Whiskas and water. Gets along well with similarly inclined felines of all colors and willing to work as a team or will cover additional beds on shift rotation basis.

Mother's help seeks post, will undertake dish-licking and general purring. Willing to supervise well-behaved children. No tail-pullers need apply.

Retired supervisor, skilled in entertaining children seeks position as nanny/child minder. Has experience of working in large unruly household. Very tolerant, has trained large family now living overseas.

Daredevil, enjoys living dangerously, seeks untamed wilderness to explore/subdue between breakfast and evening dinner. Will keep territory free of children, dogs, rabbits and other cats. Will contribute towards own meals.

Adagio dancer and operatic singer prepared to give exhibitions any time, need board and lodging together. Midnight performances a specialty.

Small conscientious cat willing to work hard in return for good home; will tackle and destroy any creature up to a fair-sized moth; will scare away flies; not afraid of spiders.

Sweet-natured, well-behaved cat, handicapped by enormous size, needs large country estate. Would make ideal companion/chaperone for single person with strong lap, good income and excellent taste in food.

Reformed juvenile delinquent seeks position with understanding family. No longer bites unless meals are late. Suitable replacement for guard dog.

Retired rodent-control operative seeks position controlling slow or disabled rats, maintaining physical presence or willing to supervise younger cats.

Tortoiseshell sisters seek large cat basket, sleeps 2, in well appointed location with en-suite gas-fire. Fully qualified lap-warmers/purrers, willing to occupy laps on job-share basis. No mousing.

Trouble getting up in the morning? Enthusiastic feline alarm clock, preset to 5 am seeks position after previous job fell through. Punctual, seven days/week.

Black and white cat seeks neck to warm. Suitable replacement for hot water bottle, does not cool down during night.

Far From Perfect and MedicMom did this, so I jumped into it. My afflication is not as exciting but I have to say it: "Got milk?"

Since I have to be out more this week, I stopped by Taco Bell for lunch. I like Taco Bell (or, as my friend Chuck Bobo calls it, "The Mexican Telephone Company.") My husband and daughter do not like their food. When I go, I have to go without them.

The lunch line was long, but it moved surprisingly quickly. A regular fiesta Taco is only 150 calories and has a fair amount of fiber. I wish all restaurants listed nutritional information.

My favorite Mexican place in town is right behind this Taco Bell on South Parkway-- Guadalajara Jalisco which has the best "quesadilla deluxe" in the world. Further north on the Parkway is Pepitos, having the best salsa and chips to be found here - so fresh and with cilantro. Pepitos serves a wonderful trio fajita for two -- made with shrimp, chicken and steak.

Then, once in a while, we do a Mexican lunch buffet at Camino Real (located on University and another on Bailey Cove at Weatherly Road). They have a small buffet, but it is delightful and their chips and salsa are good, too.

Finally, a trip to Bandito Burrito on Governor's Drive is fun. I love their deluxe nachos. I feel cool for just being inside the place. The one here attracts a tough crowd. It's best to arrive on motorcycle wearing a leather jacket and showing off your tattoos.

There you have it - my favorite Mexican places in Huntsville. Other places are more popular like Rosie's (the most popular Mexican place in town) and I like their taco salad, but they don't rank in my list of favorites. Another place worth mentioning is El Palacio even further north on the Parkway, too. They definitely have the best refried beans on the planet. I think their beans are still made the old-fashioned way and they taste heavenly. I don't like anyone else's refried beans - only theirs.

The secret to eating Mexican around here is to know what to order at which restaurant. None of them are perfect in everything.

Last night, my husband brought in a baby bunny from the backyard garden. He showed it to our cats who all found it fascinating, although our youngest cat, Muddy, decided it was better observed from a distance away. (I took a movie of Muddy meeting the bunny.) Being a kind-hearted soul, my husband put the bunny back into the garden.

Speaking of bunnies, a friend told me about her experience at the neighborhood swimming pool a few days ago. She was with her grandkids when a baby bunny jumped into the water. A cat was chasing him. Of course, the cat stopped short of the water, the kids adopted the bunny and took him home to raise - nice strategy on the bunny's part.

With the low-carb craze going around, I guess high-carb food companies have to work harder to catch a consumer's eye. While out grocery shopping yesterday, my daughter and I saw Pringles Potato Chips with jokes printed right on the chip. They had another variety with trivia facts. We loved it. We bought a can - might as well laugh while eating all this fattening stuff.

(By the way, the joke chips were outselling the trivia chips by a large margin.)

What a morning! After the first mile, we come across this old toilet set up by the path, obviously an overnight job, with a magazine on top and crumpled toilet tissue inside. It gave everyone a chuckle.

Next, I came across a guy who was standing and pointing to the bushes, swearing he had just seen a badger. (That is the second person who swears they've just seen a badger.)

Then, a mile or so further down, city workers are out early working on the drainage pipes and sewage renovation project. I had my headphones on and could not hear anything else. Suddenly, the ground started to rumble. I turned around to find, coming out of nowhere, one of those big-tractor things with a shovel right behind me. I quickly jumped off to the side so it could pass. The driver grins, waves at me and then, just when I thought it was safe to get back on the path, he points behind him. I turn again and look -- to find a Mack truck coming up. Suddenly, this seemed like a good morning to stay off the main trail and walk on the grass -- even if there are badgers around.