Finally! One thing that has always bothered me about bugs is how dirty they are... all that crawling out of the ground, and scurrying under things. Well, look no more! Your dreams have been answered by your friends at Prestone. Bug Wash. Last night I collected every bug in my house and bathed them one by one. A little sudsy bubble bath, a few candles lit for atmosphere, some mood music... and VOILA! So, a round of applause to Prestone for coming up with bubble bath for bugs. Damn. There's a marketing niche for everything.

New vs. Old

Just when you were tired of Old Boston Globs.....

I plan on making a big statement when I finally go out. I'm just saying because this is the coolest set of headstones I've ever seen. From the right there are two identical stones, then there's a tiny offset regular headstone for a baby, followed by the giant family stone. This must have been way weird in 1901.

Dress to Impress

Now, I'm not saying that I don't sometimes venture out in less than GLAMOUR attire. I am saying that one needs to be careful and plan for the unexpected. For instance, when posing for your mugshot, after allegations of child neglect, I think you may want to consider something other than your "I HEART WEED" shirt.

Cheap Ass Soda

A little trip to my local Stop and Shop revealed some very bad choices in the carbonated beverage aisle. Along with all the high fructose corn syrup and sodium benzoate laden brightly colored fizzy water were some very poorly marketed 2 liter disasters. Who is buying this stuff?

First... Dr. Bob. Bob. Really. Well, my first thought is that I'm glad Bob followed through with his doctorate. Really impressive Bob. But, why go to all that trouble securing a degree to just throw it all away in a carbonated heap? You've really let your Mom down, Bob.

Second... QUIST. It strikes me as a compound word, but I am baffled by it's monosyllabic nature. Quist is comprised of...

• QUiz
• QUirky
• QUick
• QUench
• QUart
• QUeen
• QUestion

And the IST.... hmmmm. (Insert long pause for pondering here).... That's it! Quist = Quirky Chemist! Some quirky chemist whipped up this laboratory delight and left it here for us to enjoy. Go on, you drink it first!

Concern.....

On Saturday we spent a lovely day checking out the local atmosphere and exploring. In addition to a great antique store in East Hampton, we found a lovely old covered bridge in Colchester. Who knew that I had my very own "Bridges of Madison County" so close by? Anyway, it's one of the oldest covered bridges, and dates to 1791. Yes, it makes you wonder how many people walked across it, stopping to linger and gaze out the window. History. Mystery. Whatever. The real question to me is.... Kev and Rose. They were there in 1988, 1992 and 1994. It's been 16 years since we've seen them. I just hope to God that they're OK. And their giant yellow marker.... did they lose it or did it dry up? I hope someone out there can solve this.....

Coconut Curry Crusted Pork Roast

COCONUT CURRY CRUSTED PORK ROAST

8 oz. Plain Greek yogurt
Garlic cloves peeled
Fresh ginger, peeled
Whole onion, peeled
Fresh seeded chili or jalapeno pepper
lemon zest
1/3 cup coconut oil
Curry powder

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In a blender or food processor add 1 cup of yogurt, a few cloves of garlic to taste, a one inch cube of fresh ginger, a whole sweet onion, cut into chunks, chili pepper, the zest of one lemon, coconut oil, and 3 tablespoons of curry powder and process until smooth. Rub the paste onto a pork roast or whole chicken or chicken pieces and roast until cooked. The coconut oil keeps the meat from drying out, leaving a fragrant and spicy coating that goes well with plain rice and fruit chutney.

Another COCONUT OIL miracle!

My son was in a horrific car accident last week. He was airlifted to the hospital on a LifeStar helicopter. It was pretty scary. I won't go into the broken bones and collapsed lungs here... that would be a different blog! But, I will say that he was so taped back together and the super powerful adhesive was painful to remove and left GOO all over his arms and legs. I happened to have a small container of NUTIVA Coconut oil with me and decided to rub it onto the tape and let it sit for a few minutes. To his total relief, the tape lifted without tearing out all his hair and a second coating removed all the sticky residue from his skin. My son begrudgingly admitted that his Mom's unorthodox, organic method did work and he commented on how good it smelled......

Coconut Oil TIPS!

I am a coconut oil snob. I use it by the quart every day. Mostly on my skin. It's so soft and silky and the aroma is spectacular. It's pretty expensive if you buy it in the grocery store, but really affordable at Amazon. Look carefully at the brands and make sure you buy through Amazon so you qualify for their free shipping. The best coconut oil I have ever used is put out by a company called Nutiva. Their all natural, Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil has a superior taste, and aroma. I have read that theirs is cold pressed and that's why it retains it fresh coconut flavor. It's not bleached or refined in any way. I buy it in 54 ounce containers, usually 2-3 at a time! It makes the best body moisturizer and is a great hot oil treatment for your hair.

Coconut Oil Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Coconut Oil Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Use 2-3 sweet potatoes or as many as your family will eat. Peel the raw potatoes and cut them into irregular size chunks. Put the cut potatoes in a bowl. Take a chunk of coconut oil (about 1/4 cup) and microwave it until it liquifies. Toss the coconut oil with the potatoes and toss quickly as the oil will harden up quickly. At this point I even use my fingers to "smoosh" all the oil and hardened bits of oil onto the potatoes. Put the chunks on a cookie sheet and roast at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Sprinkle with salt and serve. I use a special Hawaiian black salt that I buy at Whole Foods because it's super yummy and looks so cool on the orange potatoes. My kids love these served with a small dish of maple syrup for dipping.