A Day in the Life of President Bush (photos): 12.19.06

yahoo.com, whitehouse.gov ^ | Tuesday December 19, 2006 | GretchenM

[GretchenM]

Sometimes I just get a craving for green lima beans and tonight was one of them. The one vegetable I absolutely cannot be trusted to cook is frozen lima beans. I almost always overcook (turn them to mush) or undercook them.

And the rice is brown rice from Trader Joe's. It is very, very good. Not like white rice at all. I add butter, salt, and pepper to it even if I'm going to serve it under a sauce.

[GretchenM]

Bye for now Jewels.

[DollyCali]

Thank you dear Gretchen for the great Dose tonight.. interesting .. could there be any WORSE pix of our Condi? she is gorgeous, energetic etc.. the pix the media chose.. well, let's just say are NOT flattering nor the trend of pix on her/activities etc.

[snugs]

Here it is - it was called just Monroe obviously a copy of the real thing :o) - but I liked it, next to it is the perfume I normally wear Lily of the Valley - I like fruit or flower perfume mainly.

[onyx]

Monro with no e. Let me have a look at the Internet. :)

[DollyCali]

I LOVE green Lima's.. I made a recipe (years ago :& I WILL do it again soon).. with the frozen.. add a mixture of sauteed onions, (butter), almonds, swiss cheese & cream (or sour cream?.. wonderful.

I used to serve it w/ steak.. now as a boring vegetarian I dont.. but it was good. The beans are rather dry/tasteless BUT healthy & this recipe gave them some PIZZAZ

[snugs]

Yes you are correct but we have no such ban in Britain

[GretchenM]

Evening, Dolly. Nice to know there's a fellow lima bean lover out there. The canned baby beans I had tonight were moist, tender, and delish.

[onyx]

Looks like e-bay "might" have it.

[DollyCali]

I have never had "Fresh".. just frozen. I am sure they are delightful.

there are a few vegetables I dont eat..Mushrooms (alergic), asparagus(DO NOT LIKE).. well, guess that is it. A few I am not CRAZY about, but do eat/enjoy

[StarFan]

So glad I missed the unbelievable press briefing today.

Q May we ask, just so that you don't say, you never asked so that's why we haven't told you -- is the Vice President well these days? Has there been any medical incident that would be of interest to the American public?

Just who was the smart ass (David Gregory?) who wasted time trying to be cute? Also curious as to whether the idiotic back and forth questions were from a variety of reporters or just one, named Paula.

yaya after reading #9 and #13 is there any wonder newspaper circulation is hitting rock bottom?

[GretchenM]

I can't stand canned asparagus but I LOVE the fresh stuff, sauteed in butter and garlic salt for a few minutes till it turns bright green. Yum!

[DollyCali]

Lily of valley is such a gentle, sweet scent.

I have a lot of plants in yard.. it is considered a ground cover that can be "offensively overbearing" but NOT to me.

I love to pick the flower spikes & put them in a small vase & enjoy the delightful fragrance. It is not one (yet) that Ihave used for bath soaks.. I LOVE fresh plants for this & my baths are often a hoot with various herbs floating around with me & the oils/salts along the way.

LONG day.. glad I am not spending night at hospital as I originally planned. Ah, the uncertainty of life & our vain human "plans"

[onyx]

Fresh asparagus: Place on cookie sheet -- drizzle with EVOO and garlic salt. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. You will forever love asparagus.

[GretchenM]

Sorry, StarFan, I didn't listen to the presser, just read the text, which doesn't list reporters' names, so I don't know which ones asked these inane questions.

[DollyCali]

maybe I have just never had it cooked "right"..

people always told me that about liver. I said I & any child in womb would die before I would eat liver. PERIOD

I think I can at my OLDER N DIRT age dance circles around most liver enthusiasts/eaters.

the challenge is extended..

lol

[GretchenM]

onyx writes:

Fresh asparagus: Place on cookie sheet -- drizzle with EVOO and garlic salt. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. You will forever love asparagus.

[DollyCali]

what is evoo onyx? can it be used with other veggies?

I LOVE the crux veggies.. have not found any way I dislike them

[onyx]

Asparagus is now my favorite veggie.

[GretchenM]

Too bad I didn't see this in time to include it in the Dose's front page.

Bush to Expand Size of Military
\http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1755986/posts
Washington Post ^ | 19-Dec-06 | Peter Baker

President Bush said today that he plans to expand the size of the U.S. military to meet the challenges of a long-term global war against terrorists, a response to warnings that sustained deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan have stretched the armed forces to near the breaking point.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Bush said he has instructed newly sworn-in Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to report back to him with a plan to increase ground forces. The president gave no estimates about how many troops may be added but indicated that he agreed with suggestions in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill that the current military is stretched too thin to cope with the demands placed on it.

"I'm inclined to believe that we do need to increase our troops -- the Army, the Marines," Bush said in the Oval Office session. "And I talked about this to Secretary Gates and he is going to spend some time talking to the folks in the building, come back with a recommendation to me about how to proceed forward on this idea."

The president's decision comes at a time when he is rethinking his strategy in Iraq and considering, among other options, a short-term surge in troop levels to try to secure violence-torn Baghdad. The Joint Chiefs of Staff are resisting the idea during internal debates in part out of the conviction that it will further strain already-pressed forces.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...