At the FReeper Canteen!
C'mon and take a break ! Walk on over to the water cooler and lets chat. Post your thoughts, opinions, news of the day, rantings, ravings, pontificates, hypothesis, hyperboles, your soap box cause, your mantra, your baggage, your garbage, your blogging, your secrets, whatever you feel would make talk around the water cooler real interesting!
Please remember that The Canteen is here to support and entertain our troops and veterans and their families, and is family friendly.
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It's A Trap!
A large group of Taliban soldiers are moving down a road when they hear a voice call from behind a sand dune: "One Texas soldier is better than ten Taliban."
The Taliban commander quickly sends 10 of his best soldiers over the dune.... whereupon a gun-battle breaks out and continues for a few minutes............ then silence.
The voice then calls out: "One Texan is better than a hundred Taliban soldiers."
Furious, the Taliban commander sends his next best 100 troops over the dune.... and instantly a huge gunfight commences. After 10 minutes of battle............ again silence.
The Texan voice calls out: "One Texan is better than one thousand Taliban."
The enraged Taliban Commander musters a thousand fighters and sends them over the dune. Cannon, rocket and machine gun fire rings out as a huge battle is fought.............. Then silence.
Finally, one wounded Taliban fighter crawls back over the dune and with his dying words gasps to his commander, "Don't send any more men; its a trap; ....... There are two of them."
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Weather means more when you have a garden. There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans. ~Marcelene Cox
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"Many things are written about The Wall, but never anything of being on the other side. I was inspired by the famous painting, Lee Teter's: "Reflections", and Don Poss' recent: "Autumn's Wall" story. For me, and I hope for you: "Reflections", and: "Autumn's Wall", reveal the Wall's emotion and healing power. Now, remember that walk we all began in Vietnam, and know that it will be completed . . . Patrick Camunes"
~From The Other Side~
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It happens every Friday evening, almost without fail, when the sun resembles a giant orange and is starting to dip into the blue ocean. Old Ed comes strolling along the beach to his favorite pier. Clutched in his bony hand is a bucket of shrimp.
Ed walks out to the end of the pier, where it seems he almost has the world to himself. The glow of the sun is a golden bronze now. Everybody's gone, except for a few joggers on the beach. Standing out on the end of the pier, Ed is alone with his thoughts....and his bucket of shrimp . Before long, however, he is no longer alone. Up in the sky a thousand white dots come screeching and squawking, winging their way toward that lanky frame standing there on the end of the pier Before long, dozens of seagulls have enveloped him, their wings fluttering and flapping wildly. Ed stands there tossing shrimp to the hungry birds. As he does, if you listen closely, you can hear him say with a smile, "Thank you. Thank you." The rest of the story.....
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*Oxtail Stew*
Ingredients: 2 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 cup white flour ½ teaspoon sea salt ½ teaspoon black pepper 2 to 3 pounds oxtails cut into 2 ½-inch pieces 2 tablespoons tomato paste 4 cups chicken or beef broth 2 bay leaves 1 tablespoon dried thyme 1 tablespoon dried rosemary 1 cup chopped onion 1 cup chopped celery 1 clove garlic, minced 6 carrots cut into 1 ½ inch pieces 6 potatoes, cut in half lengthwise
Pour the vegetable oil into a large kettle, and place on the stove. Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a plastic bag. Place the oxtails into the bag and shake, making sure all are evenly coated before removal. Pour the oxtails into the heated oil, and cook on medium-low heat until evenly browned, turning as often as needed.
When the oxtails are browned, pour in the tomato paste, broth, spices, onions, celery and garlic and cover. Simmer for about two hours, stirring occasionally. When the meat is tender, add the carrots and stir. Then carefully place the potatoes into the stew, shoving them down into the liquid so that they are well immersed. Cook for a half hour to an hour, checking often. If, at any point, the broth has cooked down too much, add more as needed. Skim fat and serve
Optional.....you may also add 2 tsp of allspice to taste & a can of butter beans for a more Jamaican flair mon.
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