It's not work that makes it work.

"The Economy" has affected me.

The back of the room at work is dark. Three people I've worked with for the past three years are gone. The whole department I started in is gone.

I'm supposed to feel some kind of survivors' guilt or something.

I do not feel guilty that I am still there. I'm actually feeling pretty angry that now I have to do that department's work plus my own*. Or maybe the anger is just the second stage of greif.

*I feel very bad for the individuals, of course.

Why yes, these are my fat pants!

Chocolate covered bacon.



Trust me, I needed it.

U2 all week

U2 is going to be the musical guest on The Late Show for the next five nights.

I am experimenting with setting my DVR online. I hope they don't play Get on your Boots five nights in a row.

Their tour announcment is due out on March 9th. I hate the idea of paying the ticket prices, but they are on the list of bands I must see play live before they die. I will probably go if they come within driving distance this time around.

Vote for your favorited U2 cd - haha, nobody agrees with me.

Garden plans are complete. Mwhahahaha!

I'm especially proud of this one. I hope it works in real life.

Pappy's Smokehouse

After Chris watched Man vs. Food Wednesday night, he asked me to take him to Pappy's sometime.



I think he was impressed to be somewhere he'd seen on TV. The loooong line didn't phase him at all.

He ordered pulled pork, sweet potato fries and fried corn.



Dennis and I had previously been unimpressed with the pulled pork and slaw, and he was not fond of the baked beans, so we went other directions today.

He got brisket and hot links with potato salad.



I got a half slab of ribs.



With three drinks, our total was $42.

It was worth it because Chris enjoyed it. He did get some ends and edges in is pulled pork, which did make a big difference. Dennis thinks the brisket suffers from the same problem as our last batch of pulled pork; it is tender and good, but it doesn't have enough rubbed and burnt areas to flavor it deeply enough. The ribs are the best meat we've tried and must be where Pappy's really shines. Overall, I still like Lil' Mickey's better, because what I really like is a pulled pork sandwich with tangy red sauce and creamy slaw on a bun, and nobody does that better than Lil' Mickey's. Not even in Memphis.

Okra and tomatoes

We have a potluck at work at the end of every month for birthdays, etc. We don't have any February birthdays, but they needed to party. So they decided to do Black History Month food. Why not? We had a great lunch prepared for Chinese New Year!

I'm not sure if I know what "Black History food" is, but I brought okra and tomatoes.



4 sliced cooked bacon crumbled
2 T bacon grease
1 large onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
few celery ribs chopped
2 lb frozen okra thawed
28 oz can stewed tomatoes
red pepper flakes to taste

Brown about half of the onions, celery, and green pepper in bacon fat. Add the rest of the ingredients except bacon crumbles and heat through. Put in the slow cooker to finish cooking at work (high setting 3 - 4 hours before lunch is served) Add bacon crumbles and stir before serving. (You could absolutely leave the bacon out and go vegan with this.)

Other contributions include corn pudding, chicken salad sandwiches, crab dip, mixed greens with bacon, dirty rice, cornbread, potato salad, spaghetti, bbq short ribs and mac n' cheese. We also got a special treat of cheese grits for breakfast, which is something I find difficult to get made right this far north.

I'm slipping into a soul food coma now.

Yes, those are grow lights in my basement.

And yes, I checked. You can see them from the road.



I am expecting the DEA any minute now.

That white desk has been with me for a long time. I know Dad got it at an auction or traded for it or picked it up from some one's curb back when we were po'. It was in the house I grew up in on Montgomery Street. It was Chris's desk until we moved into this house. It did a brief stint as our computer desk. Now it lives in the basement, bathed in a soft fluorescent glow for 16 hours a day.