BooksRule

I see what you did there.

I was just getting ready to post this question. I remember catching an airport shuttle early, early in the morning in cities like New York and San Francisco, and I never remember seeing that many cars in a downtown area (although, even in my mid-sized city area, I'm sometimes amazed at how many cars are on the interstate at 4 or 5 in the morning). And, there were no accidents caused by having all the traffic lights switch to green? All of those many, many cars had to be travelling at a really low rate of speed to avoid at least some fender-benders. I predicted the usual trite dialogue when Avery confronted the guy and it was a variation of what I had expected: 'Your son wouldn't have wanted you to do this', blah blah blah. One thing that didn't happen, was that when they ended up at the top of that parking garage, I thought he would jump over the railing (so that Avery could shout 'no!' and look horrified).

It's funny that Sawyer became one of my favorite characters. When I first saw him in the pilot, I thought he was just a good-looking snarky jerk. He was a jerk sometimes (I hated the way he hoarded supplies), but he was never one-dimensional. He could be a good guy, but he had also killed. I liked the way we saw that he was totally unapologetic about liking to read and wore glasses even though they made him look dorky. He could be defensive about things, but came through in the end.

'Person of Interest' is one of those shows that I've never watched, but will probably watch later if TNT, A&E, USA or some channel like that picks up the show in syndication. That's how I caught up on 'Bones' and 'Castle' before I started watching them 'live'.

I also enjoyed the 'no cliffhanger' ending, although I really wanted Kiki to show up before the end. When I read the episode description and it said that the victim had a 'double life', I assumed that he had another family somewhere. I should have realized that both wives were in on it, but I figured out that the Connecticut wife was the killer since she was the only guest star I recognized (from 'House'?). When there is a bigamist involved, it's usually the wives working together or a teenager in the family who did it. Speaking of Connecticut, that was an awfully dry-looking Connecticut as Jane drove up to the house!

Oh, goody. She's already odd, I don't need high on top of that! I read that the plastic eating can be a sign of a vitamin or mineral deficiency. I don't know. She's around 11 years old now, and since the vet hasn't been able to find anything wrong with her, I've just resigned myself to keeping bags out of her reach, as well as the plastic shower curtain and--when there's nothing else to nibble on--the hanging end of the toilet paper (I have to keep a washcloth draped over the roll so that she can't find the end and pull it down). Another funny story: Last night, I was talking with an older gentleman and we had just finished discussing my cat's love for plastic bags. We then moved on to his health issues with the circulation in his legs and feet. He remarked that one of his doctors thought that part of his problem might be a vitamin deficiency. I asked him if he had any urges to eat plastic grocery bags. He laughed.

I don't mind the guy at the car dealership too much, because he just asks for a few upgrades such as leather seats (I'm on his side until he goes one step too far and takes the guy's potted plant, that is), but I can't stand the woman in the bank. If she wants to insist on a lower interest rate or whatever because of her great credit score, then okay, but she is just plain rude when she puts her dirty shoes up on the guy's desk. Why would he even consider giving her a loan? I'm sure there are plenty of other people that will pay a higher interest rate.

Totally unrelated to anything we've been discussing, but I had to laugh at myself just now. I have two cats and when I suspect that one might be sick, I always have to keep them isolated in different parts of the house so that I know 'who did what' in the litter boxes (when the suspected sickness is 'gastro' related). My cat Maggie May has pica, which means she eats non-food things. She loves plastic bags, especially grocery bags. I try so hard to make sure that no bags are anywhere where she can get to them, but I forgot and left one on the kitchen table about a week ago. I discovered it the next day after she had eaten some of it. I watched her for days and figured out that as long as she was eating and wasn't throwing up, she was probably using the litter box okay. Well, yesterday morning she threw up all over the hall runner. Panic time! I immediately isolated her with a litter box, food and water. I would give her a day or so and if she didn't 'produce' I would call the vet. As of when I came home from work--nada. I just got home from a meeting and she had produced a nice specimen for me. Yay! Now here comes the funny part: I know that cats can't tell you what's wrong so you have to observe their habits and make decisions based on that, but since yesterday around lunchtime, I've been coddling her, checking the litter box about every hour and pleading with her that if she would 'please poop for mommy' and 'go on--just a little poop', I would let her out of the bedroom and she could play with her sister (Alice). And when I saw that she had left me a present in the litter box I cheered, praised her ('you're such a good little baby girl', 'that's a nice poop') and gave her a hug. Only cat (and dog) people will understand, but I feel much better (and I'm sure she does, too, since that's the first BM she's had in at least a day and a half. I probably made her nervous with my checking up). Now I think I can eat a little dinner, but I'll keep an eye on her for a couple more days, in case this is not the end of the story. On a food-related note, I took that Chocolate Raspberry Cobbler to work and it seemed to be a hit. I might make something else near the end of the week to take.

stewedsquash, it is 'Double Chocolate Chunk Chocolate' cookie mix from Betty Crocker. It was a pain to find. I checked the website to make sure they still made it, and found some in the third store I checked. It's a chocolate cookie with extra chocolate hunks in it. I've made lots of dump cakes over the years. Some are definitely better than others. Many of them can turn out to have too much cake 'crumbs' (powdery stuff) left when you take it out of the oven. This cobbler had a crust like thin brownies. I didn't find any of the 'raw' powder left, which was good. I think I still have one of those salad dressing bottles in the back of the pantry somewhere. I bought it along with some mix years ago and never used it, but it's something that I never really want to throw away, even if I'll never use it.

'Pet with the grain! Pet with the grain!' (Good advice. I know my cats appreciate it.) Loved Princess Little Piddles dancing during the end credits.

I decided on something really easy to bake to take to work. I made a pan of Chocolate Raspberry Cobbler. It uses mixes/cans so isn't 'from scratch', but it so easy and so tasty. It only calls for raspberry pie filling spread in a greased baking dish (although some of the reviews online used fresh/frozen berries with a little sugar), a pouch of double chocolate chunk chocolate cookie mix sprinkled on top, and 3/4 cup of melted butter poured on top and lightly spread around. Bake at 350 for approx. 30 minutes. It's sweet with a tiny tart taste in the background and is excellent warm with whipped cream on top. The only thing I did differently was that I had to bake it in a larger pan than it called for so it didn't have much height (my only other choice was too small and I was afraid that it would spill over).

I agree (although Sunkist brand is pretty good, too). Lemon bars are one of the few baked goods that I've never been able to do well from scratch. I can't seem to get the lemon flavor right. Either they'll permanently pucker up your mouth or they are bland, so I stick to mixes for those. (Although I'm still planning to make some Cranberry Curd Bars from scratch soon). Unless I run out of time (I'm doing my spring cleaning this weekend), I'm going to bake something fairly easy to take to work on Monday. I have a recipe for a blueberry coffee cake or some Neapolitan Cream Cheese Bars (chocolate cookie crust, vanilla cream cheese filling and fluffy strawberry frosting on top). I'll see what I'm in the mood to cook tomorrow afternoon!

I wondered if the kid in the barber shop would turn out to be a bad guy, but I didn't figure out how bad he would end up being. I agree with others that seven missing kids would raise all sorts of red flags all over the island, but I just told myself that this was an open case that was happening 'off screen' and the audience just hadn't seen an episode about it (ha, ha). At the law firm, Chin said that they were looking for a guy that weighed around 300 pounds and had long hair. This led the clerk to think of his cousin. The guy did have long hair, but he was a long way from weighing 300 pounds. I also thought it was the clerk who had worn a wig and was going to falsely accuse his cousin (the clerk definitely weighed more than his cousin).

I liked this episode. After my mom died, my dad and I went through their freezer so that we could sort out some of the items she had frozen. I remember being sad when I saw the labels on the bags and plastic containers with the item name and date written in black marker in her handwriting. I enjoyed fixing the veggies she had frozen straight from their garden and the other stuff though. It brought back memories for a long time. On the other hand, it's obvious that none of those people have ever lived in hurricane country (although earthquake aftermaths would count, I guess). If the power goes out, food in a freezer that's packed full will keep frozen for around 48 hours as long as you don't open the door. Once you open it and let the cold air out, forget it. You'll have to cook it or toss it. But that was a good way to 'get it over with', I guess. Otherwise, he might have parceled out that food for years (along with the ketchup packets).

Did he have blond hair? (I've already deleted it from my DVR.) I thought it was just really, really short (I only know him from 'Eureka', so I don't know what his hair 'usually' looks like). I agree that Maura was really casual about somebody spending her money. I guess that she is covered if the person was using her credit cards, but wouldn't she worry about her credit rating? One scene I thought was kind of sloppily written was at the boutique, when Maura asked if the saleswoman had that pink dress in her size. Maura bought the dress (since we saw her wearing it later at the lab--pretty dress, but totally inappropriate for work-wear, IMO), but how did she pay for it? I'm guessing she didn't pay cash, but if she used a credit card the saleswoman would have seen that there was a second 'Dr. Isles'.

Stupid double post.

Other than the Easy Apple and Cranberry Cake (which I've made once and it was yummy), do any of you know what other cranberry-themed recipes Ina has made? I really need to use up some of the frozen cranberries I have, so I'm looking for some new ones (although I can always fall back on the usual 'cranberry and something-else' bread or muffins). I did find a recipe for cranberry curd that really looks good (there are several versions, including one from Martha Stewart). I balked at first, because I didn't know what to do with 2 cups (or more) of curd that doesn't keep for a long time. Then, I saw a recipe for 'Cranberry Curd Bars' that are like lemon bars, only with cranberry. I might try that this weekend (I have everything for it except for butter and I need more eggs). I'll let everyone know how it turns out.

I think you guys have covered most of my least favorite moments, but I just caught the end of the episode where Ross finds out that his first kiss with Rachel and Monica's first kiss ever were with each other. All I have to say is 'ewww' (and maybe an 'ick'). That was a storyline I could have done without. (And, for the 'Joey tries to speak French' haters--and I'm one--that episode is coming up in a few minutes).

That cake looks delish! Is it too late to have that instead of the baked chicken, green salad and broccoli/cauliflower medley I'm fixing for dinner? (See, I'm trying to be good and eat healthy, but it's hard with links like that!)

That pound cake recipe sounds good. I'm bookmarking the page for later. I love to make pound cakes and am always looking for new recipes to try. I decided against making the bread for several more days. I'm trying to stick to my diet, so having fresh-baked goods in the house is not a good idea. Even if I take most of it to work, I'll eat too many pieces before it gets there. Anyway, I need to sort out my huge pile of recipes and organize them by type before I do any more cooking. I tend to copy interesting recipes and then just stick them in a box. Then, when I have ingredients I need to use (in season or on sale), I can never find the recipe I know I have somewhere that uses fresh blackberries, cranberries (or asparagus, corn, etc.). I also tend to get interested in a recipe 'type' and try several versions before I move on to something else. A while back it was nuts--I made spicy nuts, citrus nuts, cinnamon-spiced nuts, etc. Then it was snack mix--I made hot 'n spicy mix, Asian-inspired mix, sweet mix, etc. I'm thinking about a muffin trend next. So far, people at work haven't gotten burned out on my recipe type fixation.

That cake sounds yummy. I love anything lemony and lemon-flavored cakes always remind me of spring or summer. Apparently I'm still stuck on fall recipes, because I'm thinking of making a loaf of pumpkin cranberry bread, mainly because I still have some pumpkin in the pantry and cranberries in the freezer leftover from the holidays. I don't think I've ever made that particular recipe, although I've made cranberry orange bread, cranberry banana bread and I think even cranberry blueberry bread (I have a lot of cranberries in the freezer that I need to use up!).

I wondered about that, too. I wonder if the issue of radiation damage will come up later (Amelia starts to have some type of weird symptoms, freaks out, etc.). I didn't want Hermann to die (I'm hoping she isn't gone for good, but hangs around still teaching Arizona more stuff), but I did hope that Amelia would screw up somehow (I'm not sure how to count the blindness. Would it have happened anyway, or did she mess up somehow? Maybe we'll know more later). Then I thought that if the surgery went well, Amelia could still get her come-uppance by being so overconfident and arrogant that she screws up a later perfectly routine surgery later. Maybe that'll still happen.

The episode was pretty funny, but the 'We're going to buy a turtle!' line would have been funnier if I hadn't already seen it about ten times in the promos. If the promos had just cut off before the announcement, it would been more effective, IMO. I did like the pie in the face, it was unexpected and funny. I expected Sheldon to say that the joke was that there was actual brittle in the can instead of fake snakes ('Bazinga!')

larapu2000, I keep forgetting that the Great British Bake Off is on, but I've caught several episodes. I agree, it's so refreshing to see a show without the drama and the yelling. Even when there is criticism, it's helpful and 'nice'. I don't think I've ever watched a show where I like ALL the contestants and ALL the judges.

It could have definitely been Alex's allure, but one of my cats will stay draped over my shoulder (or curled up in my lap) for as long as I'll let her. However, my other one will let me pick her up, but she tenses up and freezes, just waiting for my hold to relax so that she can run. Mr. Pickles looked like a nice relaxed cat and I loved that Steve was a cat person.