Short Bread Cookies

My late great mother-in-law would make these for Christmas, but whenever you want a nice simple tasty cookie, make these.

Mix together these ingredients:
1 pound butter
1 Cup light brown sugar
4 Cups white flour

• Roll into 4 rolls and roll them in red or green sugar (for Christmas).
• Chill overnight.
• Slice off cookies and bake at 350 degrees 15 to 20 minutes until golden.

Hey, use organic ingredients and you'll feel better about the pound of butter, but each cookie is small. FYI, my ex said don't use whole wheat flour. He tried it and "blech".

Run All Night - Queens shoot

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Originally uploaded by Kate Anne

FAKERY down the street. Movie shoot last several nights: Liam Neeson in Run All Night. Now I have to see the film.

Laughing Liberally @JimmysNo43

Had a great Friday night in the East Village at the Laughing Liberally comedy lab show. I so needed the laughter. I re-tweeted performer Abbi Crutchfield's tweet:

Fun time goofin' with @frankconniff @JuliannaForlano @scottblakeman @katiehalps @JohnFugelsang @LeeCamp Follow! #FF pic.twitter.com/1Uk3OhASsd
— Abbi Crutchfield (@curlycomedy) November 23, 2013

I am grateful to @NicoleSandler of RadioOrNow.com for introducing me (via her great show and podcast) to John Fugelsang and Julianna Forlano.

Make the TPP Public and DON'T Fast-Track it!

Sign the Letter to the Congress members and the President which FREE PRESS Action Fund is co-sponsoring with RootsAction.

 

These are MY comments:

 

As a constituent, I urge you to make the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership public and to block any proposal for fast-track authorization. If they Fast-Track it, please commit to voting NO, no matter how the corporate toadies whip you.

 

We need protections for our US citizens, for our internet and online activities AND we need to have our US jobs protected AND our environment protected AND our FOOD protected: NO GMOs.

 

Sounds like you should be SAY NO to the TPP and stick up for We the People and NOT just corporations.

 

BOTTOM LINE: We need FAIR trade, NOT "free" trade AND we NEED an economy that works for ALL of us. 

 

THANK YOU for keeping me apprised of your position on the TPP.

 

 

                                               ### 

End of my comments: ACT, too, NOW. PLEASE. THANKS

PUMPKIN PIE CAKE

I've had this recipe for a long time and it needs to be accessible and not lost. Try it once and you will bake it again.

Take one yellow cake mix, reserving one cup for the topping, mix the rest with 1/2 cup of melted butter and one beaten egg. Line the bottom and sides of a 13x9 inch pan with this mixture.

Mix together:
1 large can pumpkin (28 oz. size, approx.)
3 beaten eggs
3/4 cup of sugar
2/3 cup of evaporated milk
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ginger
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of salt

Pour into crust-lined pan.

Cut 1/2 cup of butter into the 1 cup reserved cake mix and 1/4 cup of sugar. Sprinkle this on top of pumpkin mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour and enjoy!! Reddi Whip or whipped cream is a nice addition.

Happy Halloween and/or Thanksgiving or TREAT Day to you and yours!

Tweet Congress

Thanks to #Uppers Lindy Rose a/k/a @LindyRose1 for passing along this link of twitter handles for 113th Congress members, blogged by Adi at the StuffThought blog. This is an awesome tool for activists.

Tweeting re the EVIL GOP

The Republicans PROVE they are evil by gutting Food Stamps and starving people. Outrageous! NO compassion!! #p2 #inners @SpeakerBoehner

— Kate Anne (@PeaceHugs) September 19, 2013

NOT a peace-full tweet, but how can Republicans starve people and claim (most of them) to be Christians. NOT my idea of Christianity, or spirituality. God forgive them -- I do not know if I can. Speaker John Boehner has a LOT to answer for.

Peace Please

The spirit and these challenging times have moved me into resurrecting PeaceHugs.org -- Do check out my other blog for a #NoWarWithSyria action and join me in contacting YOUR congressmember. Please and thank you for following suit. Blessings and Peace Hugs.

Peace Please
Originally uploaded by Kate Anne

Barney in Connecticut

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Originally uploaded by Kate Anne

Barney Bear, my god-dog, welcomed my company over my Connecticut vacation.

I am blessed.

Think the Internet Is Setting Us Free? Better Watch This Interview

Julianna Forlano of www.AbsurdityToday.com interviews author/professor Bob McChensey, co-founder of FreePress.net and one of my faves. This is well worth the 12:20 of your time. (I also thank Nicole Sandler of RadioOrNot.com for awakening me to Julianna's work. Juliana appears on Nicole's 10 - noon ET weekday show most Thursdays. I watch or listen to Nicole most days via her YouTube live stream and/or Stitcher podcast or via iTunes podcast+ and suggest you subscribe to both Nicole and Julianna.)

God in the 21st Century: Bishop John Shelby Spong at UO

When you have 53 minutes, this is well worth hearing. [I wonder what else the UOregon / University of Oregon has in its YouTube files.]

 

Pete Seeger - "Forever Young"

Legendary Pete Seeger recites Forever Young with a chorus of kids and great music backing him up. Such spirit and love emanating from him to the children and by extension to us. His banjo's quotation reads, "This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender": more peaceful than Woody Guthrie's guitar. This video is thanks to Amnesty International. From "Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International". http://amnestyusa.org/chimes

Aaron's Last Wish 43 - Bank 253 and Hillbilly Days in Pikeville

Great how the blue grass music/dancing begins this episode of Aaron's Last Wish then the closeup on the stressed out server and the remarkable change wrought, thanks to the spirit of the late Aaron Collins and his brother Seth Collins, closing with the music/dancing: very uplifting for anyone with a real heart. Watch and smile and spread Aaron's legacy. You don't need $500 for your generous tip or gesture, just do what you can to spread good will. For more information, see the Facebook Page and/or read Tina Rae Collin's Aaron Collins Did That and/or AaronCollins.org.

Fluffy Egg Dumplings

When in the mood for noodly carbs I will make a half batch of these on top of vegetable bouillon and deliberately undercook them. I will even re-heat the leftovers in the microwave. Cook them as directed and they are beautifully fluffy.

1-1/2 C flour
2 t baking powder
3/4 t salt

1 egg well beaten
2 T salad oil
1 C milk

Whisk or sift flour with baking powder and salt in medium bowl.

In small bowl, beat egg then add oil and milk. Pour all at once into flour mixture and mix only until moistened.

Drop batter by rounded tablespoons onto gently bowling stew or bouillon. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, then cover tightly for 10 minutes.

Possible additives to flour: 1/2 t curry OR 1/2 t sage, OR 2 T chopped parsley or chives, OR 1 t caraway seeds.

07/06/13 UPDATE: I added some fresh rosemary and some corn just off the cob. Yum.

(For recipes like these, I keep my old stained McCall's Cookbook.)

John Fugelsang: 'I stand with Rand — but not all of his plan'

The Seuss-ified gospel according to John Fugelsang re Rand Paul and his somewhat hypocritical filabuster.

Van Jones Reacts to Keystone XL Report

MUST WATCH -- "The Obama Tar Sands Pipeline should not be the legacy of a President who gave that speech," says Van Jones. Canadians have blocked the dirty corrosive tar sands route west. A Canadian company wants to threaten US environment offering a few temporary jobs so they can sell the oil to China. Meanwhile the State Dept. lies about the possible impact. This is so wrong!! ~ h/t to Toni DiPego of Proligarchy.com blog for link.

Ban Fracking NOW, Gov. Cuomo

Ban Fracking NOW, Gov. Cuomo
Originally uploaded by Kate Anne

A hundred people protested in sleety weather in front of Governor Andrew Cuomo's NYC office: Ban Fracking NOW! This was our activist lunch hour, Fri., Feb. 8, 2013. For more info, see Food and Water Watch.

Homemade Cocoa

Homemade cocoa goes down way too fast -- and I even doubled my recipe and moved from my usual small 8 oz mug: for that a heaping teaspoon of cocoa to a Tablespoon of sugar, dash of salt and mix together; add a T of milk and mix more, add a 1/4 t of real vanilla and 6 oz or so of milk. Heat in microwave a minute or so: delicious! Comforting.

The Soul of America

In America today, we have the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major country on earth, and more inequality than at any time period since 1928. The top 1 percent owns 42 percent of the financial wealth of the nation, while, incredibly, the bottom 60 percent own only 2.3 percent. One family, the Walton family of Wal-Mart, owns more wealth than the bottom 40 percent of Americans. In terms of income distribution in 2010, the last study done on this issue, the top 1 percent earned 93 percent of all new income while the bottom 99 percent shared the remaining 7 percent.
~ Senator Bernie Sanders

Bernie wants things to be more fair. So do I. Lets all talk to our Congressmembers and say this is NOT the American dream. We need an economy that works for all or at least most of us. Speak up. Please.
(For the whole article, see The Soul of America on CommonDreams.org.)