Out-of-Office Reply

Here's a good one you can try!

"I will be out of touch and three sheets to the wind on (insert date). If you need something, try me on (insert date)."

The National Weather Report

The national news is always talking about the weather hardships out east. They only notice in passing that other places have more extreme weather.



Click here for the CuTRis version of how the national weather reports are delivered on the network news.

OK Weather—I'll Stop Will You?

The past few mornings I've been commenting on the wintry weather here in mid April. So today the temperature is about freezing outside with snow just to the north and a "wintry mix" of rain and snow expected in the Twin Cities today. I give up now. I won't make fun of the weather anymore (this week).

19 Degrees F and Spring!

This morning the birds are chirping! The Sun is coming up and it is 19 degrees Fahrenheit (-7 Celsius)! It is a fine Sprinter morning!

27 Degrees F

Winter refuses to let go...

Yesterday in Nature

Yesterday was a sunny and pleasant day. I was amazed that the frogs are calling so loudly already—when the ice just thawed and the water is still so cold.

 

I also saw a couple of deer—who were as curious about me as I was about them.

Make A Stir Fry

Prep Ingredients

I made a stir fry yesterday for dinner and I decided to share the process for anyone who might like to; but doesn't cook a lot. Stir fry is all about the preparation. Dice up all of your ingredients ahead of time so you can add it as you progress. The order that you add the items should be determined by how long they take to cook—which is sometimes counterintuitive to what you might think. For instance, I always start with my fresh (green) beans if I use them because they will take the longest to cook. Most people want the meat to go first—which makes sense because you not only want it to get done, but you don't want to put it in too late because you want any possible harmful bacteria to be cooked dead.

Carrots first— then the meat

For this stir fry, I used steak. I cut it up first and coated it with dry spices and then sprinkled (cheap) vodka on it and mixed it together and let it sit. Then I thoroughly cleaned all my utensils and surfaces before cutting up all my vegetables. After heating the wok, I added the ingredients in this order—with the time between each addition varying from several minutes to a few seconds depending on cook time.

1. Carrots
2. Steak
3. Potatoes
4. Snow Pea Pods


Keep going!

5. Onions
6. Asparagus
7. Celery
8. Lawry's
9. Dried Italian Herbs
10. Broccoli
11. (Green) Pepper
12. Garlic/Ginger Combination
13. (Portabella) Mushrooms
14. Tomato
15. Cilantro
16. Soy Sauce

All Done! I hope you remembered to make rice! 

Bus Irony

There I was waiting behind that bus. I was waiting and waiting as the bus was stopped at the stop sign.

 

And then I noticed the sign that said "Buses do not stop here."
Yet there it was... stopped. And there I was stuck behind it...

Duck Sauce

With the weather warming, I've seen more ducks flying up from the south. I can tell they were down there because they all have Southern Accents. I figured they would be hungry after the long flight, so I tried feeding them some Duck Sauce. It turns out they don't even like the stuff!

Note* If you think this is dumb, so is feeding ducks bread. Bread is not good for them. Buy some whole corn if you must feed them.
—KJC

Sick & Tired

My son has been sick and I'm tired...