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Please Feed My Hamster

Watercolour Magic

Catching Mr. Cornin doing his magic on YouTube, I knew I had to purchase his DVD. The moment the DVD started it's just not the same as watching his videos on YouTube. The features on the DVD such as Zoom, Slow Motion, and  Stop Action lend important tools for following Mr. Cronin's brushstrokes. Each time I view the DVD I learn something new. I would suggest perusing all six watercolour paintings at first. The magic is all in the brushstrokes.  It's easy to understand, and listening to the voice-over by this Englishman is a pure delight. In my opinion, the DVD has something to offer not only to the beginning watercolorist, but to the intermediate painter, and expert artisan as well. I rate this DVD 5 out of five stars.

A Meal For Two Not So Hunger People

Green Beans & A Potato w/Chicken Thigh

Ingredients:
Couple handfuls of frozen green beans.
A new potato, cut into chunks.
A couple pieces of smoked hog jowl or
a few chunks of ham.
One slice of bacon, diced.
Onion, cut up the way you like it.
Caned chicken broth.
Seasoning choices: Corse salt, Fresh
ground pepper, Old Bay Seasoning,
A few red pepper flakes, small amount of butter.
Boy! Are you going to have a coronary.

Directions:
Into a 3 qt. heated pot, keep the heat high.
Put in the onion and saute till transparent.
Put your pork product in, keep stirring rendering the fat out.
Put in the green beans.
Keep stirring until the green beans are coated in fat.
Add a small amount of chicken broth.
Don't drown the beans.
Put the lid on and set to a high simmer.
Add chicken broth as needed.
Cooking time varies. About 20 minutes.
You want to cook the liquid down, but not cook everything to pieces.
Enjoy!

Mmmm! That Was a Good Meal

Ladders: What You Need To Stay Safe.

By William T. Cox Jr.

    Good as your type 1a stepladder may be for interior work, it will run you ragged outdoors. Besides being built for light jobs, a typical 6' stepladder adds a maximum of about 3' to your reach, and you will spend more time moving the ladder than working. For painting or repairing the exterior of, say, a two-storey Victorian house, you'll want a variety of exterior ladders and accessories.

    Start your collection by buying a single well-built extension ladder rated Type 1A (300 pounds capacity) or Type 1 (250 pounds). Not only are these types better built than other ladders (see Next Ladder, Best Ladder Sept./Oct. '99), they're required by OSHA regulations if you plan to add accessories for a quick scaffold. Aluminum is the most popular exterior ladder material. Fiberglass is more expensive, but light, strong, and nonconductive if you will be around electricity. Buy a ladder long enough to extend 4' beyond the eave line of the house, not so much for climbing onto the roof, but to provide a hand-hold when climbing down. You may believe you'll never have to get up on that slate or ceramic tile roof (they last forever), but what about inspecting gutters and flashing, or repointing the chimney years from now?

Less we forget:

Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely!

I learned this phrase in 1971 watching the Watergate Hearings. The committee played a pivotal role in gathering evidence that would lead to the indictment of forty administration officials and the conviction of several of Nixon's aides for obstruction of justice and other crimes which led to Nixon's resignation. But the hearings made stars out of several members and lawyers. It was Sam Ervin, chairman, who said that phrase and at age 25 I thought he made it up. Wow! How much I have learned since then.

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