Lunch

Olive oil, salt & pepper heated in a saute skillet. Add onions then tomatoes, then garlic, then eggplant, then squash and lastly rosemary sprigs. Slice a vine ripened tomato and spoon in your sauteed veggies. You cannot go wrong.

Playing Dice

(You have my permission to copy and paste the text only)

 

This is a dice game that my sister taught me to play three years ago. The name of the game is “Oh Shit”, and if you play long enough, you will most assuredly say these very words. If your dice grow cold, I imagine you’ll say the name of the game more often than not. It is a very good game and when we take breaks and want to relax, we call each other (3,000 miles away), and shake the dice into the receiver. We are very good about taking turns keeping score and we always play by the honor code. No cheating. Besides it isn’t fun if you do. Cheating is cheating yourself … remember that.

The first thing you must do is decide “Who gets to roll first”. The game consists of six dice. You roll one dice and whoever rolls a one, then a five, then six, four, three or a two, in this order, goes first. You do not “Get On The Board”, until you roll a minimum of 1,000 points or more in one turn. After that there is no minimum score to reach. The “Goal of the game” is to score 10,000 points for a win.

Scoring:

Ones = 100 points

Fives = 50 points

If you roll six of any kind it is an automatic win. I haven’t ever seen this done … yet.

3 ones = 1,000 // 4 one’s = 2,000 // 5 ones = 3,000 points

3  (twos, threes, fours, fives, sixes) = 200, = 300, = 400, = 500, = 600 points

4 (twos, threes, fours, fives, sixes) = 1,000 points

5 (twos, threes, fours, fives, sixes) = 2,000 points

Triple Doubles = 1,000 points

Double Triples = 1,500 points

Straight = 1,000 points (1-2-3-4-5-6)

Taking a turn:

Roll all six dice. See if you scored any points. Let’s use this example: You have rolled 2 threes, 1 five, 1 four, 2 sixes. You have scored 50 points. You must reach 1,000 points to get on the board, so put the five aside and roll the remaining five dice. This time you roll 3 ones and 1 two and 1 six. You’ve scored another 1,000 points making your score 1,050 points. You are on the board unless you decide to throw the last two dice … you could toss away your scoring points if you do not roll fives or ones.

Whenever you have a scoring throw and you end up with doubles you are required to throw the two dice again. If you are fortunate to throw doubles twice more, you then add 1,000 to your original score. Example: You throw 3 twos, 1 five, 2 fours. 200 + 50 = 250 points and double fours. The rules state you must throw again. If you throw either ones or fives as your second doubles, then you take the points and can stop. If however, you throw double fives or double ones on the last throw for doubles, you would then add the 1,000 points to your original scoring points (within this turn).

When a player reaches 8,000 or more points, that player may stop only one time in-between 8,000 and 10,000 points. It is best to get as close to 7,950 points before rolling for a higher score over 8,000 points. Were you to score and stop at 8,350 points, you must score a minimum of 1,650 points on your next roll(s) in order to cross the 10,000 goal. All opponents get one more chance to beat you.

… And all the dice

Whenever all of your dice score, you have the option to continue rolling until you decide to stop or you throw away your score. Good Luck!

The Invisibly Disabled

Slavery in America is still alive and a work in progress. The news has touched on this subject through the years. Even in some of the richest households, some people have no voice, they have no rights, they are in effect … slaves. My sister told me about a friend who came to the US from Jamaica, to work for a well-to-do family. This woman whom I shall refer to as Winnie, was offered a housekeeping position in this household. Her flight and travel accommodations would be covered in full and she would have a big beautiful home in which to live, in a very secluded and gated neighborhood.

Winnie thought she had hit the jackpot, that is until she realized she would be at this family’s beck and call seven days a week, all year long. Because she did not know how to drive she could not even take their car keys and get away. She only knew that she was somewhere outside the city of Baltimore. Day after day this woman felt the chains of slavery tighten about her and no matter that she requested time off, to go shopping or sightsee, she was told that it wasn’t a good time. No one was available to take her, there was always some excuse to keep her housebound.

One day Winnie wrote to a friend and she managed to sneak the letter to the postal worker. In the middle of the night, her friend came and managed to get her far from the family. This happened in the 1990′s. She is a free woman today and decided not to press charges, but rather to count herself a lucky woman that she escaped. She is now a citizen of our country.

There are so many instances of this type of indentured servitude or virtual slavery going on in this country, and around the globe. Children are sold as servants to wait hand-and-foot on the woman of the house, while she orders them about, gives them only enough food to keep them alive and totally dependent upon her and either she or her husband beat these children to maintain control over them. I have seen documentaries of these poor souls on “60 Minutes”, “20/20″, and some “HBO Specials”, too. These are people who are invisible and disabled because they are under the control of their captors.

In many countries because there are no other jobs available, people are forced to work in sweatshops, in horrible almost unendurable conditions for pennies per day, frequently without breaks. There are children there working side-by-side with the adults, too. There are large corporations that use people to mine in dark, dangerous places. They use child labor, too, these working positions that are all that stand between them and starvation. The invisible ones who toil and are abused and have no voice. I pray for these illegal practices to stop. For the corporations to be shut down, for the families who lure these innocent people to their homes, to be little better than prisoners, to be arrested. There are even embassies who cover-up for the so-called employers of these unfortunate ones.

If any of you know of any person who is being forced to live under these conditions, be their voice and tell authorities. Save them if you can. Let us pray for their release and for them to be uplifted. These invisibly disabled peoples of our world. Join BloggersUnite and raise your voice for others when they cannot speak for themselves.

Hell’s Kitchen & Master Chef

I am thrilled to remind you that from 8PM – 10 PM EST these shows will air consecutively.

WFD Chicken

WFD = What’s For Dinner? After the banana and avocado, baked chicken is juicy and full of protein. So yummy. First time I could bake in weeks, that is didn’t make the condo unbearable, temperature wise.

Avocados

I remember the very first time I ever tasted this fruit. I was at my friends home and we had been outside in her backyard sunning and sitting with her young daughters, in their swimming pool.  We went into her kitchen and she put together a green salad, tomatoes and scoops of this green food. I watched as she peeled, removed the skin and sliced even portions into the salad bowl. The colors complimented and I asked her what it was. When she told me I accepted the slice and tasted it slowly. It was a new food adventure for me, at that time, and I immediately loved its nutty, smooth, green flavor. Avocados is a rather apt name for this luscious green and pale yellow food. That began my love affair with avocados.

They grow on trees and come in a number of varieties. I like the California ones the best. They come with a dark deep greenish-black exterior and are ready to eat, when the can be pushed on the outside and the outer skin goes in just slightly. Never cut them when they are hard as they are not edible. They must be just ripe and too ripe is a mistake! Never too soft and mushy, ugh! Most of the time I split them in half, remove the pit and turn it face up. I pour in olive oil, sprinkle sea salt and ground pepper, grab my spoon and enjoy.

Chicken Cacciatore

I hadn’t made this dish in years. the chicken legs were so juicy and they had been slow cooked to absorb the sauce. Wow.

I fried the naked chicken in olive oil and half-way through, I added some Kosher salt. I heated the sauce I made Saturday night, and then poured it over the chicken. It cooked on medium for fifteen minutes and then another twenty-five on the lowest setting; turning the chicken every ten minutes and spooning the sauce over top.

Happy Birthday Minx!

This is the fourth birthday I have celebrated for my dear friend Claire. She used to write a blog called The Domestic Minx and then began her world travels again. She lives down under on the great continent of Australia, where she is a wonderful writer, wife, mother and lady. Everyone just loves her.

Find her on Facebook and wish her a Wonderful Birthday. She is A Bella Minx!

Making New Friends

I was told recently that I didn’t need anymore friends. Not so. Particularly when there are so many choices to find new cool people where I hang out. My primary and most important spot in cyberspace is BlogCatalog The Premiere Social Network.

They have been working behind the scenes to improve their whole platform and just a few days ago, they came up with this brilliant way for everyone to Expose Themselves. Now before you think this is not a good thing to do, let me explain. There are a lot of people involved with blogging and very comfortable in the cyber world. However having said this, there are many newcomers, too. They want to meet people and not be left out in the cold (much like high school wallflowers), this isn’t the case on BlogCatalog. We members are always pleased to see new faces or avatars pop up. We welcome you and many of us get to know one another in the Discussions. This is a popular place to hang out. Many new bloggers or new members are sometimes shy and so by Exposing themselves, they can support the community and have a lot of people visit their site. After that the doors are open.

Just yesterday BiggJ wrote an in-depth article on the Home Page, BlogCatalog Community Blog. This is the link, so once you have finished here, you can go there for more important information “Getting Exposure For Your Blog In A Crowded Blogosphere” He did a nice write-up, too!

Plus, there are the BlogTalkRadio Shows on Thursdays, @ 4PM EST. See my side bar. Listen in and if you cannot be there then, you can always listen later on. The BlogCatalog Team is working around the clock to give us members first class treatment. They are programming with some very witty and talented people.

So in the past few days, I have made some lovely and exciting new friends. I cherish all of my friends because after a while they become more like family to me. Cheers! Sign-up today and expose yourself.

New Souffle Recipe

You can see it all here at Half Hour Meals!

FYI Good For You

Just to let you know I posted on BCCB and want you to read all about it.

You can scroll down and see lots of my posts. Some are quite yummy.  :D

Reminder BloggersUnite.Org

Just a reminder that Saturday, July 24, 2010 is the day when many bloggers will write and post on their websites a blog to bring about the Empowerment of People with Disabilities. It’s free to sign up and it only takes about an hour to give of yourself in this manner. Let us raise our voices together to reach those who need to hear, and to make changes that will indeed help those who need our support.

Won’t you, too, take a few minutes and join us so our voices will be as strong as possible. If you were in their place, would you not want others to be generous?

Sharing

National Geographic August 2010 edition is spectacular and I want you to visit their site or purchase this magazine for the awesome photography. Visit

Ravioli Mushroom & Brie

What’s for dinner? Mushroom Ravioli covered in my decadent and luscious Italian sauce and a slice of French cheese, Brie. I had a hard time making this last. I licked my lips and took another bite until … it was all gone. Yum.

What I’ve Learned Lately

Lately I have been poetically bumping into other like-minded people. Gentle ones who wear their hearts on their sleeves. It’s all because we are a part of BlogCatalog, Fried Eggs, Half Hour Meals and BrooWaha. Luckily we were drawn to these spots where we dock within its harbors and platforms.

From the photograph today, you can see I am working downstairs as the loft gets too hot and it triggers my asthma. It only took me ten days to figure this one out, but I digress. From this point of view, my dining room table, I am able to feel sheltered, much the way I feel within the parameters of BlogCatalog. I will never, ever be able to visit all of the sites there and it’s cool to know I have so many choices. It is also wonderful to know that it is attracting more creative persons, with whom I can hold conversations, see what they are creating, and form bonds of friendship.

The BC Administration do all they can to provide us with such a place where we are embraced, welcomed and appreciated. Everyone likes to feel appreciated and even the shyest bloggers are drawn out from their shells so they can roam cyberspace without fear of ridicule and sure they will find quality work, articles, stories, travels, food, architecture, history, facts, gadgets, games, poetry, music, reviews, novels, personal growth. It’s all here and we are very fortunate that the owners truly care about our happiness.

Another point I wish to make is that during my friendship making I can see a new trend of people, who have grown up and are rediscovering themselves. Some are testing the waters in that they are traveling in a totally different direction from their day-to-day lives. I see so many people waking up and finding life is not over, but just beginning … with a wealth of experience in our cupboards and a glint in our eyes, we venture out to enjoy one another again.