I suppose I should give the update. I have swine flu. I am well aware of the irony of this fact. All those posts about the Four Pork Products of the Apocalypse. Well, I guess that was really SMJ's thang, not mine. I have been put in my place, it would seem.



Courtesy of Synthstuff.com

Micro Piglets!

BBC reports on the latest pet craze in Britain: teeny tiny itsy bitsy piglets!

Meat Fail

And remember boys and girls: don't go out in the hot, hot sun without your MEAT HAT! (thanks Annie!)

Mai Tai Happens

Last night, PMP, SMJ and I had ourselves a grand Mai Tai party, although the chilly damp rainy weather kept us inside instead of out on the patio. Still, we had the string of festive lights up, and a fire in the fireplace. I had one too many, though, and have woken this morning with a banger of a hangover. I'd forgotten what rum can do to a person. The good news is that the Mai Tais were yummy and now that I know how to do it (watching SMJ pour all night), I can have one pretty much any time I want (instead of going on a bender).

Here's the recipe we used, modified for missing ingredients:

1 oz light rum
1 oz dark rum
splash of orange curacao
(orgeat) or in our case, a splash of cheap almond liqueur (could not find orgeat anywhere so this provided the almond color)
(rock candy syrup) again, no dice, so we made due with confectioners sugar
juice of a lime (to taste)
garnish of orange and a sprig of lemon balm (no fresh mint was to be had)

Photos coming soon!

I have to eat my oatmeal now. PMP and I are going to Momazoo's this afternoon. Makin' a pork roast, I believe. I dunno about pork on a hangover, but we'll just find out, won't we?

Pork Cabin

I wish I could give credit where credit is due for these pix. Someone posted them on my brother's message board, and when I asked the source, he said he couldn't find it any more.

Gives a whole new meaning to The Three Little Pigs tale. "I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll eat your damned house!"

Now I've seen it all...

The Perfect Pork Martini

Pork. The beginning of the end.

SMJ has a running gag on her blog about "The Pork Products of the Apocalypse Tarot." Read all about it here and be prepared to fall over laughing.

Finally, Some Good News

After four phone calls this afternoon, I was able to confirm with two of my mom's doctors that her rib x-ray came back negative for a fracture, and the bones look healthy. This means that the multiple myeloma (bone cancer) scare was a false alarm. Although she does have some abnormal cells in her bone marrow, they are, as one doctor put it "clinically insignificant." Whatever she heard go "crack" two weekends ago and the subsequent pain in her rib must have been muscular or something else (the two doctors I spoke to had varying suggestions but no absolute causes in mind). If the docs aren't concerned, then neither are we.

So Hallelujia! Momazoo is only struggling with the same set of diseases, which are manageable with her current treatment program. The Big C. is not on the table, and I can't express what a relief this is for all of us. I've been on pins and needles, unable to focus and concentrate (hence the Four of Bacon Grease Incident).

Salty Miss Jill and I need to write up a treatment on the Evil Pork Tarot. So far we've identified the Four of Bacon, Three of Pork Chops, and the Two of Sausage. More investigation is necessary.

The plastic surgeon told me the same things the ER doc had said. Shouldn't be any scarring since the burns aren't deep, but there may be some discoloration, either light or dark or mottled, which should fade in time. So hopefully my usual pale skin will just look a little paler in those areas. I'm supposed to avoid sun on those areas for the next 6-8 months, which, being in Upstate New York in the winter, shouldn't be much of a problem.

Although the sun is out today and it's a good thing - lifting my mood. Higher and higher. Like I've never been lifted before. So keep it up.