Madness Takes Its Toll, Chili and Cornbread, and Lawnmower Girl

Madness Takes Its Toll - Lyrics of "The Time Warp" echo in my mind as I read news stories this morning:

Riff Raff:
     It's astounding
     Time is fleeting
     Madness takes its toll
     But listen closely
Magenta:
     Not for very much longer
Riff Raff:
     I've got to keep control

How, prithee, does one "...keep control"?

Following a particularly pleasant weekend—replete with warmth and well-deserved rest and relaxation, I find the news filled yet again with undeniable signs that the world is, indeed, on the Eve of Destruction.

Always the poster boy for psychoses, Gory Al has outdone himself: He stated that "...spiders are difficult to farm, yet their silk is extremely valuable." He then says that genetic engineers have taken the genes from orb-weaving spiders and spliced them into the DNA of goats—thereby creating goats that produce silk from their udders along with milk. Gore proposes that the silk can be filtered from the milk more easily than silk can be collected from spiders.

Beneath the intrinsic bizarre objective of Gore's proposal lies the absolute flaw: Silk is not produced by spiders; silk is produced by silk worms!

I am wholly uncomfortable with the notion of Al Gore unrestrained and free to spew such idiocy. I am all the more distressed that somehow his rantings are enabled by tax dollars!

Chili and Cornbread - Laura issued the desire to produce a pot of chili Saturday. I thought this an excellent idea and fully endorsed her proposal. I sliced, diced, minced, and chopped several varieties of chiles—including some hot Jalapeños and a very hot habanero—, three heads of garlic, a large red onion, and four large tomatoes. Laura added my offering to ground turkey in a Calphalon(r) pot, added two hot chili seasoning packets, a can of tomato paste, and a can of diced tomatoes. She simmered this throughout the day, and the house smelled wonderful.




While the chili was simmering, Laura produced a delightful batch of cheddar cornbread.


We enjoyed a delicious meal, placed a large quantity of chili in the freezer, and we both left for work this morning with the balance of the chili and cornbread in tow for our luncheons.

Lawnmower Girl - Last week, Laura espoused her desire for a new lawnmower and professed her desire that this lawnmower be hers and hers alone and that lawn mowing should be her sole responsibility.

I found it impossible to disagree with this proposal and immediately ordered the lawnmower of her choice!

Laura assembled her new lawnmower and is eagerly awaiting pressing it into service!