T-boy's with Sean!

Bad Boyz 2 is on TV.

Idea: Tidy Tea

I have an idea that could help people with two growing problems: the tedium of household chores, and the lack of time to spend with friends/family. I call it the Tidy Tea.

One day a week, a small group of friends plans a traveling tidy-up get-together. They start at one house, tidy up, pause for a short break, then move to the next. During the cleaning the friends get the chance to reconnect, to talk, to enjoy each other's company. For the break they could have a small healthful snack and a nice cup of tea and just sit back and relish their handiwork.

At the last house, everyone could pitch in and cook dinner, and then more friends/family and spouses could arrive and everyone could eat together. The dinner might only happen once a month rather than every week, but it would be a lot of fun.

The cleaning would need to be limited to certain things: dusting, washing windows, etc. No house should get more effort than another--at least, not consistently. We know emergencies or bad weeks happen, and that would be taken into account, but it wouldn't be cool for someone to leave their house a horrific mess for their friends to clean up.

Ultimately, having a tidy crew come through each week should inspire each participant to keep everything put in its place instead of lying all over the house, so that the cleaning work would simply be routine maintenance, and not cleaning up someone's messes.

Twitter is becoming Facebook!

And Facebook is becoming Twitter. Dogs and cats living together...mass hysteria!

Ahem.

Just thought this new tweet message was interesting. Don't know if I like it or not.

Brandon with Turtle Cheesecake

Turkey and Swiss with potato soup

Boll Weevil!

A perfect day at Riverwalk

I wonder how many pictures I've taken of this bridge.

Beef chuck roast, Yorkshire pudding, potato, and peas

Sushi!

Feels like it's been forever!

Herb crusted fish, broccoli, and rice pilaf

From Ruby Tuesday. REALLY good. But it made me want to order a
blondie. I was good though!

North Augusta boat launch and dock

I haven't been out here in forever! And this is the PERFECT day for
it. So beautiful :)

Cajun chicken and shrimp

Rhinehart's FTW!

Dinner

Pork chops with creamy apple-gorganzola sauce, green beans, and mashed
potatoes.

Product placement

The Cross Game manga is seriously cracking me up with all these fourth wall-breaking gags. For example (read right to left):

Witches' Fingers

I slightly modified this recipe, using tips from the comments and my own decorating flair. Here's what I did:

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Green food coloring
3/4 cup whole almonds
1 (.75 ounce) tube red decorating gel

Directions

1. Beat the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract together with an electric mixer; gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt, continually beating. Fold in the green food coloring, adding enough that the dough turns pale green. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

2. While the dough is chilling, blanch almonds: Heat a pan of water to boiling, then boil the almonds for one minute. Drain. Once the almonds have cooled enough to touch, squeeze them out of their skins.

3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.

4. Remove dough from refrigerator in small amounts, allowing the rest to stay chilled. Pinch off enough dough for a ball an inch to an inch and a half wide. Roll the dough between your hands to form a finger shape. The spaces between your fingers will cause ridges to appear on the cookie. Lay the cookie on the baking sheet and mold it slightly to play up the look of a finger--slightly wider and taller at the knuckles.

5. Press one almond into one end of each cookie for the fingernail. Adjust the "knuckles" so that they are proportional with the nail. Use a sharp knife to cut tiny lines on top of the knuckles to give the appearance of skin.

6. Bake in the preheated oven until the cookies are browned slightly, 20 to 25 minutes.

7. Paint around the almond "nail" with red gel while the cookies are still warm for a bloody effect. Then dab the "blood" with your finger, smearing it around and trailing it down the length of the cookie.

Augusta Canal headgates