My Parents and Tomato Sandwiches

Looks like today will be the last day of summery weather for us. I celebrated by making a tomato sandwich for lunch the way my Dad liked them -- American cheese, thick slice of fresh tomato, mayonnaise, and some garlic salt -- and even having a buttermilk with it like he did, only I skipped adding pepper to the buttermilk. 

That has got to be one of the best sandwiches ever and quite possibly the only good use for American cheese. All the flavors get nice and gooey together without even heating it up. I remember a couple years when we had lots of tomatoes coming and my Dad would buy those huge blocks of sliced American and we would have cheese and tomato sandwiches many happy lunches in a row.

And my Mum and tomato sandwiches?

Well, she taught us to love silly little line drawings called Droodles. They always have an unexpected caption on them and it's great fun to make them up and try to guess the caption, or see if you can improve on the artist's label. My Mum taught me this one, which has been a favorite of mine since grade school:

Got it? "Tomato sandwich as made by an amateur tomato sandwich maker."

But my Dad was no amateur. :) 

C O F F E E

Our sixth grade songbook had a little ditty in it I liked (which I suspect had some stealth lesson I missed about scales), called Coffee. The lyrics were: 
C O F F E E
Coffee is no-ot fo-or me
It's a drink some people wa-ake u-up with
That it makes them nervous i-is no-o myth
Slaves to a coffee cup
They can't give coffee up.

Or maybe it was a lesson on slurs and staccato notes? 

Whatever. The point here is that I took the lesson to heart, and have never become a coffee drinker. And everywhere I go on the internet, I see references to caffeine being essential for academic success. e.g.:

I have begun to think it must have been a nearly miraculous occurrence for me to complete my education without coffee... some day, my stories to my grandchildren on my knee will start, not, "I walked two miles in the snow to school" but "I made it through college without even a sip of coffee. And that was back before power drinks had even been invented." 

Oh, the cleverness of me!

Because I Am So Caring

Just because I am such a kind, caring person, I shall not take advantage of an amazing offer that came my way and instead will pass it along to you, Dear Blog Reader. I received an email today which could make me a rich woman. But, instead, I will post it below and you may feel free to take advantage of the offer. No need to thank me.  :D

This is to notify you that you have won £500,000.00. Your email address was
among those chosen for this Coca.cola Online Grant
no.:09.11.23.27.49.33. {36} Bonus Ball Serial no. 5368/02 To claim send
address,age,phone no and country
to thompsonthompsonrichard@live.com 

Warm Regards,
Mr. Richard Thompson

Montreal Minis

This summer we were given a couple tiny tomato plants that grew the tiniest tomatoes ever. They are called Montreal Minis and they are so much fun that I hope to plant LOTS of them next year. Here they are, full grown and ready to slice onto your sandwich.  :)

The Game is Afoot

Happy Birthday to Devastatingly Handsome and congratulations on finding this post. That is the first part of the challenge.

Now, you need to keep your eyes open. When you find the red tag shown below and turn it in to me, you get an ice cream date, my treat. I will provide clues if and when I deem necessary. And, btw, do not bother trying to make your own tag. It is identified on the back as well.  :-P

Happy hunting!

Feeling Like the Anti-Vampira

Devastatingly Handsome and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary a few weeks back by donating at a Red Cross blood drive for the first time in a couple years. We are just that romantic.


And so, since it had Been Awhile, today we got snazzy new blood donor cards, and a letter along with them with some somewhat overstated points:
 * you really have done something amazing. ~ wow, thanks. I laid there and let you poke a hole in me. That took a lot of talent, didn't it?
 * has anything else you've done lately made you feel this good? ~ sounds like a question my dentist would ask after I enjoy a root canal.


And how is this: I am next eligible to donate on my birthday. Anniversary... birthday... will the next one be Reformation Day? then Thanksgiving and Christmas? and maybe even Groundhog Day? hmmm...


They also thanked us with awesome t-shirts. I am so glad we live somewhere rich enough we can admit this is just ugly and stupid and not much of an impetus to go give blood:

And is it just me... or do they maybe turn some squeamish potential donors off by continuous reminders of the reality of blood such as making even their cards bright red?