The Hobbit Hole III - Journey to the Cross-roads!

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to The Hobbit Hole!

Journey to the Cross-roads
The Two Towers Edition

Come on! Come in! -if you would like to have some seedcakes and a pint and relax a while. (If it is a special occasion, we still have a few bottles of the old wineyards left!)

Our first thread ( New Zealander builds Hobbit hole ) reached 4,100 posts, and we thought that was big. Our second thread (The New Hobbit Hole ) held us for over 48,000 posts, and we loved it dearly. We talked about moving to a new thread for the last 38,000 posts, but we are really slow to muster! Finally, the time has come. Tomorrow (at 12:01 am, to be precise!) The Two Towers comes out, and we start a new chapter.

[2Jedismom]

Not this kind, no. But I do have a big old bag of self-rising cornbread mix! This was just plain old yellow cornmeal though.

I got a letter in the mail from the chaplain too...I bet he's sent them out to everyone. I hope I got everyone's names in!

[Wneighbor]

Is the cat shaved yet?

The dog has found a yard that I suppose he belongs in. No one home. But he went there on his own. There's a place for the chain to attach. It's down the alley. will keep checking.

[Wneighbor]

We're planning on driving out here to see if we might want to stay there for a couple of days...

Well, that looks cool. I keep hearing aweful things about all the water moccasins hiding in Oklahoma's lakes. Then you told your story of the snake getting your fish. So, what gives? I like playing in the water ---- without that kind of company.

[Wneighbor]

got a letter in the mail from the chaplain too...I bet he's sent them out to everyone. I hope I got everyone's names in!

Forgot to tell you. We both got letters from the Chaplain yesterday.

[Wneighbor]

Smeagol would get used to him eventually.

The whole reason we have Smeagol is that a friend took her in from a really really bad home. Smeagol lived with her for over a year and did not ever learn to behave around the other 3 dogs. She would attack even though one was bigger. She will also bite anyone she knows who tries to pet another dog when she's around. It's not so bad with the cats she acts like they don't exist but then they don't come in the house either. She will also poop on your body if she is in your lap and you pet someone else. how do i know this? She's very old and my friend didn't get her to stop this so I doubt there's enough time left.

I thought the other dog was too skinny. But, he was clean, no fleas that I saw at all. Short-haired dog and white and still looked clean with no bugs. Didn't look at the nails. But, didn't come up drinking the water just eating the food still sitting out from earlier. We keep a lot of water out but there wasn't much of it gone this morning so he couldn't have been too thirsty. Anyway, I know he's there now. And I can watch. And I might have to do a 2J if he's the one crying.

[SuziQ]

We're praying hard for him, WN! The Lord is working for him too!

[Wneighbor]

Yeah, now I'm fixing to funkle.

This website is a lot better. It looks like it might be a place I could take my kayak and do some exploring. I like taking it to lakes and just seeing all the nooks and crannies but NOT with boats and jet skiS!!!

[Wneighbor]

We're praying hard for him, WN! The Lord is working for him too!

AMEN!!! Scott you got extra mama's and granny's praying for you bud.

[Wneighbor]

Was it on the south side of the lake by a marina? Can't think of the name of the spot I'm thinking of. Hmm. The one I went to was actually floating on a dock on the lake. But, like you said, not fancy, kind of white-trashy. They had the best fried any kind of fish and mimosas! Used to go there on weekend mornings for mimosas.

[SuziQ]

pontoon boats.

Oh I just LOVE party boats! We rented one a few years ago and cruised Squam Lake; the lake where the movie On Golden Pond was filmed. We were camping with our older two boys and another family with boys the same ages. We spent all day out on the lake, then tied up at a little island in the lake and explored for a while.

You can fish off of it, even swim off of it if you're sure of the makeup of the bottom of the lake where you are. But mainly you can just bring food and drinks and spend a whole day on the water. Some come with a canopy so you're protected from the sun when you want to be. The boys would just love it!

[Wneighbor]

Steve is from Northern Minnesota and I think I'm still a bit of a novelty to him!

wow, I knew lots of folks didn't eat cornbread but how can you do without meal???? I guess he didn't get cornmeal mush for breakfast either? Myranda thinks it's something special if I make her a little mush in the winter and put butter and syrup in it and we eat it hot. She thinks it's better'n pudding.

[Wneighbor]

Now that Hair's gone all over this kitty shaving etc. I really need to get outside and give Smeagol a trim. It's getting hot weather. And her hair is dragging. I'm not sure how this long-haired dachshund thing all came about but there is something wrong about breeding a dog with 2 inch legs who's hair grows 2 inches a month.

[SuziQ]

"What self-respecting southern woman would be without a bag of cornmeal!"

I heard that!!

[Wneighbor]

I had heard that gas stuff --- but that doesn't work. However, have you ever noticed that sometimes when you cook black beans there is a very bitter flavor? If I understood the Spanish explanation enough I think it's that if you boil them first without salt that will take away any of the bitterness. And if they are going to be bitter and you add salt it increases the bitter. So, you do it once first without salt to make sure they won't be bitter. Anyway, I have had them bitter before but it was only a couple of times. But both times they were bad enough that I had to throw them out. But, since Eunice showed me this, I've never had any bitterness.

[Wneighbor]

I just told Myranda that I think we ought to go to Hastings and rent The Long Kiss Goodbye (wasn't that it?) She didn't get excited. And I thought she liked Geena Davis a lot.

maybe she thinks since i'm wearing shorts i should follow Hair's example and shave my legs before she goes in public with me????

[Overtaxed]

Wow! It's amazing what you'll find when you clear out the clutter! I was going through that junky "bill stub" pile up that's on the lamp table and found the supplemental insurance policy information that I've been looking for. Now I can claim my deductible money!

[SuziQ]

I usually do the boiling water thing with beans because I can never remember to put them in water the night before to soak them. This goes for any kind of beans that need serious soaking before cooking. I rinse them, put them in a pot and cover them with water. I bring the water to a boil and let them boil for 2 mins., then take them off the heat and let them sit for an hour. At that point, I drain them, the start the cooking process.

I had heard not to put salt in the 'soaking' water at all, and not ever early on in cooking or they'll never really get soft enough. I do, however put onions in the early cooking water, and when they've cooked for awhile, put the salt and any tomatoes into the mix.

[SuziQ]

It's THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT. It stars Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson.

[Lil'freeper]

Re the bean soak. I've found that soaking in warm water to which 2-3 Tbs of lemon juice have been added over night really helps. The acidic environment breaks down the less digestable parts of the seed coat (don't ask for the mechanism, it is eluding me at the moment) and does not affect the flavor significantly.

[SuziQ]

The acidic environment breaks down the less digestable parts of the seed coat

Does that help with the more 'musical' problem that occurs with eating beans?