Vyxxan's Virtual Venture

Author Archive

I know I haven’t been blogging as much lately.  Just too busy and/or tired out to even sit at the computer for more than a few minutes.

But I’ve got lots of random things to share, starting with Milo the cat.  He’s a boy cat, and disappeared a few months ago.  I didn’t realize at the time that the Momma cats had run him and Tonic off.  Figured it out when Tonic came home and got beat up for trying to come to the porch to eat food.  Tonic shows up every day at dinner time, but won’t come to the porch, he’s a wimp after being beat up by the girls.

So, when I had all the cats given rabies shots, Milo was the only one I couldn’t find.  Tonic got to go for a ride to the vet a week later, but while Milo was here later that day that the vet was here, I haven’t seen him since.

He turned up yesterday evening.  At first I thought he was his sister Lionel, but he wouldn’t come to the porch.  So I went out to see this stranger cat, and of course I recognized him.  He’s not skinny like he’s been living wild, he evidently found a place to live that gives him food.  Starved for affection, though.  So much that he was almost a pest.  Not shy at all today, came right up on the porch to claim his share of the kibble.

Tonight  he’s growling and hissing at all the strangers.  The strangers are kittens that he’s never met before.  It’s interesting to watch… his interactions with the adult cats is like, okay, I remember you.  No growling or hissing going on much, unless he starts it because he’s startled.   With the kittens he’s totally uncool, however.  I had to give him a little snick on the head a couple times and tell him NO!  It’s so odd… he is following little dog Rita around trying to love on her, but hissing and growling at little kittens who are just curious.  I hope he gets over it, otherwise the grown up cats will run him off again.  Hopefully I can get him neutered before he runs off again…

On to other stuff… Yesterday Ron took the cover off of the generator.  I posted pix of the nice cover I made and then dyed.  It fits pretty well, but some kitten thinks that it’s a good sub for a litter box to crap on the fabric they can pull down.  (if I knew which kitten that was…grrr!)  So, it needed cleaning, and Ron went and pulled it off.  He’s doing a bit more around here, as he can, still pretty weak but he tries to help me.

Well, underneath that nice fabric cover on the top of the generator was a HUGE snake!  Just a common black snake, about 5 ft long or so.  Took me a while to get a good look at it’s face and underside to identify it  In the meantime we are both freaking out…  I’m running out to the cellar for a rake and cultivator and shovel… and Ron is going in the house for his gun.  I don’t like to kill snakes, but I know how Ron feels about them.  I brought pronged long handled tools to try to grab the snake out and move it off the porch.  It doesn’t belong on the porch,  there is no food for snakes (unless they eat kittens).

So, I tried to snag the snake out, and it wasn’t going.  Hanging on, moving around, but not down to the porch just coiling up better underneath the gas tank of the generator.  Nice handy little shelf there for it.

Ron got brave.  He moved the generator around until he could unlock the chain holding it to the porch, then moved it out to where we could start it up.  He actually used the rake handle to push the start button… it was that close to the snake.

Still, the snake wasn’t going anywhere.  It can see us, and it doesn’t want to get out there where it’s vulnerable.  Especially after I’ve been poking and prodding at it, and one of the cats had a go at it, too.

Ron got a heater to plug in and put the generator under load.  I plugged it in, I’m not that afraid of snakes.  :)   The engine sound changes and makes a big racket and more vibration when under load, and that did the trick.  Within a minute the snake was looking for a way down and get outta there.  We watched it slither down and then almost come back towards us, but I got between it and hiding places.  It went out in the yard, first under Ron’s car and then towards the flower bed.  We actually watched it go in through a crawlspace vent to under the house.  Ron would have been happier if he was allowed to shoot it, but I won’t let him shoot harmless snakes.  This is the second snake we’ve seen go under the house… a king snake slithered under a few weeks ago while we were watching.  (cats were molesting it, and I scared them off with a broom)

More random stuff…  People in the area actually have tomatoes getting ripe.  Not us, though.  I planted at the right time, but then it rained and rained and rained.  I never got out and rototilled this year… I think the best weekend for that was back in February when I planted turnips and radishes.  So, I had grass and weeds around my tomatoes but was keeping them mowed down.  Not good enough.  I finally got out there and put the soaker hose down and the black plastic that I use to keep the weeds away.  It’s only been a week and I see a big improvement.  We probably won’t get a lot of tomatoes this year… it’s already too hot to set fruit… but if I can keep the plants alive it’s like a really late start and we’ll have tomatoes late into the fall.  Oh, I also put in 2 new plants last week.  I’m sure I can buy good tomatoes at the farmers market… but so far I’m not missing them.  I’ve had LOTS of turnips…  so many that I had to throw some away.  The turnip row is still chock full of turnips and I’ve actually mowed over them now.  You’d think they’d be soft from not enough water, or getting tough… but no, they are fine.  Dang strange… I thought they would have bolted by now like the radishes did.  I don’t know turnips that well, though… this is the first time I’ve grown them!  I love raw turnips like I do the first radishes in the spring.  Yummy!   Well, until you go out and pull a grocery sack full and don’t even make a dent.  LOL!  I don’t eat turnip greens, but I love a good crisp tender turnip raw or cooked.  I’m sorry I didn’t get more veggies in this year… but time has been limited for me.  It’s not too late for some things… I could plant squash.  But that means either digging or getting the tiller out, plus more plastic mulch down for weeds, another soaker hose… and I don’t seem to have the time or energy.

I feel sure there was more stuff I was going to write about tonight, but I went and got some wasabi peas to snack on and I think my brain is clouded now with the distraction of that wonderful flavor.  Sometimes a bit hot, clean your sinuses out hot… but I’ve always liked that flavor.  I vote for wasabi over jalapenos or other hot peppers any day.  Probably why I love spicy turnips and radishes, too.

until next time…

Hugs,

Vyx

A couple of weeks ago I had a slice of cake.  I never eat cake, I don’t care for it… but I know other people love cake and that was pretty darn good cake, even for someone who isn’t a fan of cake.

So, I decided to hunt down the recipe for it, and make it for my BBQ party I had last weekend.   My sister Valerie ended up making the cake for me, and we modified the frosting recipe quite a bit.

This was in Family Circle, but it’s been modified and I’m too lazy tonight to look up the link.  The original recipe makes WAY too much frosting for the cake, so I’ve cut it back a bit.  I hope I’ve got the proportions right… (edit: no I did NOT!  Please see below!!!!)

 

Tiramisu Bundt Cake

1 box french vanilla cake mix

1 pint coffee ice cream, thawed and melted

3 eggs

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Coat bundt pan with shortening and flour, or use a baking spray (not a cooking spray).

With a mixer, beat the cake mix, eggs and melted ice cream on low until blended.  Beat  2 more minutes on medium.  Pour into prepared pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack for 20 min, then invert onto a plate to cool completely.  (put in fridge when cool enough)

Frosting:  MAJOR EDIT HERE! I messed up when typing this up, as the recipe made so much extra frosting. I was trying to even things out, and ended up totally messing up the proportions and measurements.

4 oz cream cheese, softened

4 oz sour cream    This is too much.  Halving the recipe would make this be 1 oz.  2 oz. would probably be okay, though.

4 oz butter, softened   I also messed up here. 3 tablespoons is what the original recipe called for.   Probably 2 tablespoons would work well.  I’d taste the mixture before adding anything else to it…

1.5 teaspoons instant coffee dissolved in 1.5 teaspoons of hot water and cooled

1.5 cups powdered sugar, maybe more, up to 2 cups.  Maybe less.  Start with 1 cup and work your way up.

In a large bowl beat cream cheese, sour cream and butter until light and creamy.  Add in the dissolved coffee and start adding powdered sugar.  Frosting should be fairly thick, but not lumpy.  Chill until ready to frost the cake.  The original recipe made twice as much frosting as needed, and this is a rich frosting for a rich cake.

When the frosting is chilled and thickened more, spread on the sides and top of cake.  If too thick, thin slightly with a teaspoon or more of water.  If you cook, you know how to do this.

Garnish the top of the frosting with cocoa powder.  Just a sprinkle through a small sieve.

Put the frosted cake into the fridge to chill, and store in the fridge after that.

Makes about 16 servings.  And probably extra frosting even if I’ve cut some ingredients back.

Ron said that this is the best cake he’s ever had.  We had 1/2 of the cake left after the BBQ party, and I was going to take it to work to share… until Ron had a slice.  We had a big lot of frosting left in the mixing bowl, and I was going to dump that out… he said NO, it’s wonderful frosting.  So, this cake and frosting definitely has his approval.  :)

My sister did a lovely job with the frosting, too… a bundt cake is hard to frost, but she managed to make the frosting dribble just right and look elegant.  I would have just slapped it on however.  Val also is the one who said the frosting needed more coffee flavor, so she changed the 2 tablespoons of coffee liqueur to adding the instant coffee.  I think it still had the coffee liqueur in it, but had almost no coffee flavor.  That’s why the frosting recipe at this point is iffy and may need tweaking.  I’ll have to make it again to define amounts… and I don’t usually eat cake.  :)

 

Enjoy…

hugs,

Vyx

Okay, so I’m lazy… shoot me. I’ve cleaned closets, and lot of other parts of the house, but I’ve never got around to cleaning under the bed. I was pretty sure I’d need a rake, and I was right. Still stuff under there I can’t reach.

Tonight while remaking the bed I asked Ron if he really needed the electric blanket to be still plugged in. I keep tripping over that damn cord that should be under the bed but keeps escaping.

Nope, he doesn’t need it plugged in any more… at least not for the summer. So I go to untangle it and pull it out and all I can see are shoes.

Shoes, piles of shoes, under the bed. If you’d seen the piles of shoes I’ve already cleaned out of this house… and the brand new clothing… sheesh… with what Ron’s ex left here you could have given away whole outfits and work/church wardrobes for weeks…including shoes… but I’ve already cleaned all that OUT. Multiple garbage bags full, car loads full. I’m not kidding. 3 or 4 big bags just out of the coat closet/wood room. Filled up cars full of bags of stuff. I didn’t realize how bad the situation under the bed was before or I would have done it sooner.

So I start hauling shoes out from under the bed. There were a couple pair that may or may not be Rons… a brand new pair of mens shoes in size 9. Ron has never worn that size. Tons of other pairs that at the best had been worn a time or two. Everything from athletic shoes to flip flops to fancy pumps.

Because I’m so flabbergasted that someone could have this many pairs of shoes… I mean, geez, was he married to Imelda Marcos?… I took a photo. This is just after me cleaning here for 5 years, of me finding more and more of her junk and getting around to getting rid of it. I’ve cleaned out under couches here… chock full of shoes. The closet had more pairs of shoes than I’ve owned in my life, I swear. Most of those shoes were worn ONCE if at all… some were brand new and never worn at all. Same with the ones in this photo… I can see no wear at all on some of these… but some looked like maybe they had been worn a bit. So, you lose your shoes under the bed and I guess you just go buy more? This isn’t even a woman who worked… she was a stay at home Mom, who evidently spent a lot of time and money shopping.

Now I know some women love shoes… I used to love shoes, too. I’ve found such cute shoes that I had to have them. I’ve even done that as recently as 5 years ago. Then I realized I’d never wear them and gave them away at work. Shoes I buy now are strictly for comfort at work and home. I’ve got a perfectly good pair of dressy flats if I need them. I never wear heels. I probably still own a pair of wood/leather heeled mules, but I bet the leather is getting mildewed. I do own a lot of athletic shoes, but that’s more me trying to find a comfort zone… older shoes hang around because they fit. Still, if I have 20 pair of shoes I’d be surprised. I certainly couldn’t move and leave my shoes here under every piece of furniture in the house.

Anyhow. That amount of shoes 1/2 fills a big 30 gallon garbage bag. It’s heavy, I can barely lift it. I’m not taking them to Linda. Thrift store can have them. I’ve sent a lot of her stuff to her via her kids… but I quit doing that a while back except if it was a car load. Then I send it with one of her kids, and let her deal with it. One bag it goes to the charity thrift store. If she wanted this stuff she would have taken it, right?

Still need to get a rake in here, just so I get all the mates to the shoes… sheesh. I can’t believe I missed that under the bed was so full of shoes. My little dog sleeps under there all the time, but I don’t know how… didn’t look like there was even room enough for another shoe. :)

All for now… :)

hugs,
Vyx

My husband Ron had an appointment with his (new) Neurosurgeon this week. New because his previous doctor no longer works at that clinic. He wanted another doctor anyhow, but didn’t have any luck finding another one… no one else would see him. He was lucky that another doctor at the same clinic would even see him. Sheesh.

The news wasn’t good. His neck is healing, but not fast enough to get the cervical collar off just yet. The collar is going to stay on until August now.

He had faxed the clinic new forms for FMLA last week so that those could be mostly filled out and ready to go after his appointment. Well, the clinic gave him the papers back and the most important bits were NOT filled out at all, thankfully we saw that and had it done before we left.

We drove from that appointment to his workplace. Human Resources guy wasn’t there, Ron had to go find a supervisor to take the forms and put them in the office. The few people I saw were wondering when Ron would be back… they really miss him, he’s a good worker. Quality and production are not the same without Ron working there.

Well, Ron got his answer about when he’ll be back the next day. He is no longer employed at EPC. You get 12 weeks of FMLA and that’s it, after that you will point out on attendance points and be fired. It’s not like he’s malingering… he WANTS to go back to work. They evidently can’t give him a medical leave of absence for any reason. You know he didn’t break his neck on purpose, it’s something beyond his control. But they are treating him like he’s staying home on purpose. Not like the good employee he’s been for 19 years in July. (he’s actually worked there for 20 years, but they have an anniversary date on July 1. If you start working there July 2, you have to work for nearly two years before you have an 1 year anniversary. Insane, eh?)

I’m ticked off. What a freaking lousy way to treat someone. Oh, sure, they’ll hire him back when he’s better, but as a new employee with no status and not even the same wages. But they let someone ELSE have medical leave for 2 years… right up to a retirement party for the guy. But for Ron it’s the sh** covered parachute.

There are no published policies for =anything= at that company any longer. They used to have an employee handbook that explained stuff like attendance points, vacations, bereavement leave, etc., etc. You know, like a normal company has. Heck, the previous HR person even tried to change the vacation stuff on Ron, and there was a notice that had been posted on their bulletin board for years with evidence to back him up. “With 16 years service you get 4 weeks paid vacation.” She tried to change it to 18 years. The Plant Manager was worried about that, as he was up for the 4 weeks, but Ron was the only person who spoke up and had it clarified by headquarters in Indiana. Can you imagine? The plant manager won’t even ask or get it fixed?

So I’m thinking that Ron ought to call or write to the headquarters in Indiana about this. That oughta be fun. Locally, the company is non-union. At headquarters they are union. If there was ever a time to have a union, this is probably one of them. Ron always wanted one here, but most of the other people where he works are too wimpy. They let some new HR person change vacation rules and never speak up. That ain’t Ron.

Of course it might not do any good, him calling. He’s now a Former employee. I’m so mad at EPC that I could spit. This is how you treat your employees? Hell, they aren’t even an American company any more… they are owned by some outfit out of Europe… and European companies tend to treat their employees better, or so I’ve heard. The plant here must be the red headed step child or something. Sheesh.

Today we went there and he turned in his key fob (opens the door), got his lock off his locker and cleaned that out. His key fob had already been deactivated. He’s got hundreds of dollars worth of tools in his two toolboxes, but we can’t get those yet. Would take a forklift to get em into the truck, and I’d get them home and not be able to get them back out of the truck. They did promise to watch over the toolboxes (which are locked) until we could come get them. We will see if that actually happens.

Shame on you EPC, for not having some kind of leave of absence policy, hell, for not having any policies at all except those you make up on a case to case basis. You really think Ron is coming back? Hell no! He only stayed with you as long as he did because of the vacation benefits. If he has to start over, he’s going to take a better paying job. Forklift drivers make more money than Ron was making. Ron has been a lead man at EPC, not just a machine operator… he knows machines, and if he doesn’t know them he learns them better than anyone else. Proof… he was running new machines. He could out produce anyone on any other shift, even if they worked more hours and had more experience than he did. Quality? Best. Other operators would keep running even if the machine was running junk. Ron wouldn’t… he’d get it fixed. Even with down time, he’d still out produce everyone else. Week after week after week… Running 3 shifts? Ron would produce more on his shift than the other 2 shifts combined. But he is temporarily disabled… so you fire him. Great idea. Idiots.

And that’s all I’m going to say about that. For now.

hugs,
Vyx

I walk the dogs around the pond every day… it’s part of the dog walking path that has evolved. Some days I feed the fish… stale bread and a handful or two of dry dog or cat food. We have LOTS of bluegills… and some bass, too. The bluegills eat the bread… it’s crazy to watch… they are almost swimming over each other and out of the water to get to it. Then, while they are busy having a feeding frenzy… the bass charge in and go after the bluegills.

Well, we of course also have frogs in the pond. Smaller ones that yelp when they get startled and leap into the pond. And then… the bullfrogs. Bullfrogs won’t do the kerplunk into the pond unless someone gets too close… and too close is pretty close indeed. The dogs practically trip over them before the frogs get out of the way.

All this week I’ve seen 3 big huge bullfrogs lined up OUT of the water and on the bank. All within a foot or so of each other, too, which is pretty unusual. They were on the side where I can actually get pretty close without being in danger of falling into the water. Hard to see, even for my human eyes looking for them… they’ve got good camouflage!

(sorry about the blurry… same camera, still acting up now and then)

I was sure the camera had focused better on that, sheesh. But then I saw the other one…

The third frog was a bit further away, and the dogs startled him into the pond before I could get a photo.

Then we continued on…. and the wild roses are in full bloom right now. This bush used to be a lovely giant mound, but it got blown over sideways by a storm last year. It’s filled back out… it’s a sort of rambler, but growing more like a bush. They smell very lovely, tiny little single white flowers and gazillions of them!

We of course have more of the bushes… mostly in the fence row. I’ve noticed more of them along the roads this year than I have before. Must be a good blooming year for them, although the ones here usually are pretty lovely. These aren’t as invasive as the wild pink ramblers, nor as thorny.

Anyhow… spring has sprung here, and I’m in the midst of the hummingbird migration. 30 to 50 birds at my 4 feeders in the evening (probably the morning, too, but I’m mostly not here) It’ll calm down in a few weeks and I won’t be going through so much sugar keeping them fed. Good timing for them, as the red clover has been blooming in the field.

Speaking of feeders… I know I need to fill at least one tonight….

hugs,
Vyx