These guys apparently took that mantra to heart.

{Hat Tip: Cal Tech Girl}

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Sadie, in an effort to keep everyone confused, has switched blogs.

Again.

You can find her now at Agent Bedhead.

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part one, part deux

Take the jump for fun and interesting facts worth knowing like "how to keep out rats and mosquitoes" and helpful tips on how to prevent the creaking of bedsteads. more...

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HOOK 'EM HORNS!

UPDATE: Can you say "Squeaker," boys and girls?

What a great football game! That it was the national championship just made it even better. It's about time the BCS delivered what it promised years ago when it was established---an actual, undisputed National Championship game, wherein the football would be, you know, good. Good football for me has never been a seventy-point demolition of the opposing team; it's a squeaker that has you shouting at the tee vee set. Tonight's game definitely qualified as good football.

Congratulations to the Longhorns!

UPDATE DEUX:

"F@#$ You, Heisman Voters"

And because I can...

Mmmmm. Tasty.

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1 I'm with ya, but I fear there's a reason UT is ranked #2.

Posted by: Bob at January 04, 2006 01:44 PM (yMzz+)

2 From a strictly Machiavellian standpoint, I'm cheering for the 'horns as well. If Vince Young can lead Texas to a national championship, there's a pretty good chance he'll go pro and skip his senior season. Considering that ISU plays AT Texas this coming fall, I think that would be a good thing.

Posted by: Russ from Winterset at January 04, 2006 06:04 PM (6krEN)

3 Russ, I've got one nephew who graduated from UT last year, and his little brother is a student currently. I'm rooting for reasons other than those related to the ISU program. Besides, they're a Big XII school. You have to root for them. It would be a big boost to the conference if they won the National Championship!

Posted by: Kathy at January 04, 2006 07:59 PM (hbcMs)

4 Of course, that is a perfectly good reason to root for the 'Horns. Conference solidarity is a good thing in small doses. When I think about it, the best reason to root for the 'horns is the blind lovefest the national media is laying on USC. Anything that has the possibility to make guys like Skip Bayless, Jim Rome and Michael Wilbon look like schmucks is good in my book.

Posted by: Russ from Winterset at January 04, 2006 09:24 PM (6krEN)

5 Vince Young just claimed the title of "Dude who SHOULD have won the Heisman". 200 yards on the ground, 267 in the air, and three rushing touchdowns (including one ab-so-freakin-lutely wonderful scoring play where he bowled over a couple of Trojans on his way to the corner of the endzone)? Vince was a one man wrecking crew last night.

Posted by: Russ from Winterset at January 05, 2006 06:02 AM (6krEN)

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Margi tagged me with a "list out five weird things about you" meme, and I thought this one sounded familiar and, as usual, I was right...

...because I'd done it before. Hence the title "easy meme."

Heh!

I'm not going to tag anyone because, well, quite frankly, I haven't been paying attention to this one as it made its way round, so I don't know who's done it and who hasn't. Suffice it to say, if you're game, have at it.

Posted by: Kathy at 10:29 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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1 Story of my life: Day late, dollar short. /

Posted by: margi at January 04, 2006 11:14 AM (nwEQH)

2 That Ipana toothpaste is gettin hard to find, ain't it?

Posted by: Bob at January 04, 2006 01:49 PM (yMzz+)

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Part One is here.

Take the jump for such interesting factoids as how to "prevent oil from becoming rancid," how to deal with "troublesome ants" and---the one I'm sure you've been waiting for with bated breath---"how to cure hiccoughs." more...

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1 Sure-fire cure for "hiccoughs": One lime wedge Angostura Bitters Sprinkle bitters liberally over lime wedge. Soak it with the stuff. Have the affected party suck the entire slice of lime, bite and chew off the fruit to the rind. Chew and swallow. (You can't just suck the juice out and not chew the fruit. That is key.) Hiccoughs will be gone. Ask any bartender worth a damn.

Posted by: Margi at January 04, 2006 12:39 AM (nwEQH)

2 BTW, I am LOVING the excerpts from this cookbook. I have an old version of "The Legal Secretary's Complete Handbook" that's pretty funny but not nearly as good as this.

Posted by: Margi at January 04, 2006 12:52 AM (nwEQH)

3 I'm glad someone's liking them. Haven't received a great deal of feedback on these, except for your lovely statement.

Posted by: Kathy at January 04, 2006 10:34 AM (hbcMs)

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Is it just me or is cinnamon flavored toothpaste a sign that western civilization has gone to the dogs?

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Take the jump if you're interested in things like "how to clean marble busts" or "a paint for wood or stone that resists all moisture." more...

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Yep. Within the "Sauces and Dressings" section there is a subsection of catsup recipies.

Not "ketchup."

Catsup

In a variety of flavors beside tomato!

Take the jump if you're interested and have mad canning skillz. more...

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After the jump. Replete with commentary from moi.

Just a quick note: I can't scan these pages, at least not until the binding is repaired, so I will try and get as close to how it looks by manuevering fonts, etc. more...

Posted by: Kathy at 11:42 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I received an interesting Christmas present this year.

Now, as you can see this cookbook isn't in the greatest shape.

I have to make an effort in the next couple of days to have it rebound. Miraculously, other than a bit of wear and tear on the title page, the pages are in great shape; it's just the binding that needs more than a wee bit of tender loving care. But it's not surprising that the binding is in such sad shape---after all it's nearly a hundred-years-old.

And, as it turns out, was my grandmother's.

I've mentioned before that I'm a late-in-life child. Well, not really. My parents were forty and thirty-eight when they had me---not so very old nowadays for reproduction purposes---it's just that since they already had seven kids it seemed unlikely at the time they'd keep going for it. I'm glad they did, but because my parents were also late-in-life children, the generation spans are wide in my family---my paternal grandmother was born in 1889, if that gives you a clue. As a result of this span, I never got to know any of my grandparents. I heard stories about them, of course, and I vaguely remember my paternal grandmother---commonly referred to as "Granny" in our household---but as she died when I was four, there's no specific memory I have attached to her. My grandfathers are long gone, and then there was my mother's mother, who seemed even further removed from the rest: she died in 1938, when my mother was six-years-old.

This is her cookbook.

I don't know much about Grandmother Kamloth. Mom doesn't talk about her. I know that I have her nose because there's an old photograph of her hanging on the wall at my parents' house. I know she was born in this country, the daughter of a florist who emigrated from Switzerland. Apparently, she came from a well-to-do family because when my Dad was researching our family tree, he went looking through old Omaha phone books and found that their residence had two lines, rather than just one---apparently one was for the servant's quarters. At some point in time, she married my Grandfather and had three daughters, the youngest of whom was my mother.

I also know that her name was Helen. Helen Haas Kamloth. A nice German girl from Omaha.

But that's about all I know.

That's why I titled this post "artifacts" because this cookbook feels like an artifact to me; something to be studied to learn more about the person who owned and used it. It's not a personal. It's just something that belonged to her. I have no emotional attachment to this cookbook because it was my gradmother's. I don't know that I will learn more about my grandmother by actually owning it, but it's quite cool nonetheless. My family is not big on handing things down. Not only do I not have any memories of my grandparents, I don't have any of their belongings, either, and neither do any of my siblings. Now, while I'm sure some of you, my devoted Cake Eater readers, are gasping at the loss of family history and are about to chastise the Cake Eater parents for not keeping better track of things, please realize that, well, there weren't a lot of things for us to inherit. Remember, I'm only one generation removed from the boat in some instances: it takes time to build up a legacy. My folks were busy looking forward and dealing with what they had on their plates; looking back and living in the past is a luxury they didn't have time for.

Anyway, I digress, as usual, but this cookbook, it turns out, is chock-a-block full of interesting things that I'm choosing to share with you, my devoted Cake Eater Readers. Yes, that's right. In a very Lileks-ish Gallery of Regrettable Food fashion, I shall be sharing excerpts from this fab cookbook, which is not only a cookbook, but rather:

"A Comprehensive Cyclopedia of Information for the Home"

Containing

COOKING, TOILET AND HOUSEHOLD RECIPES, MENUS, DINNER-GIVING, TABLE ETIQUETTE, CARE OF THE SICK, HEALTH SUGGESTIONS, FACTS WORTH KNOWING, ETC.

By

HUGO ZEIMAN AND MRS. F.L. GILLETTE
STEWARD OF THE WHITE HOUSE

So you see, my devoted Cake Eater readers, this shall be good fun.

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Happy New Year to you, my devoted Cake Eater readers!

I hope the hangover was worth it!

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From the 2006 Worst Case Scenario Daily Survival Calendar:

{Clicket on the image for larger.}

It's such a dangerous calendar it requires a liability waiver.

Now that's a calendar!

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