How to Make a Turkey Out of Rice Crispy Treats

     Damn you Pinterest for giving me ideas that are awfully difficult to execute.  Someone pinned a picture of a turkey made out of Rice Crispy treats.  Mike loves Rice Crispy treats.  I was betting he would get a kick out of a Thanksgiving bird made from these special goodies.
     I made a pan of Rice Crispy treats only once before, and I declared them too messy to ever make again.  Mike had to resort to buying huge boxes of the factory made treats at Costco.  With this being the Thanksgiving holiday, and with me feeling thankful for getting such a good husband, I decided to give the oooey, gooey sweets another try.  It wasn't all smooth sailing, but it turned out okay in the end.
     The ingredients are simple enough (I doubled this recipe for my turkey):
         
          3 Tbs. of butter
          One 10 oz. bag of marshmallows
          6 cups of Rice Crispies

     Melt the butter in a big pot using low heat.  Add the bag of marshmallows to the melted butter and heat until the marshmallows are melted.  Stir the butter and marshmallows until they are well mixed.  Remove from the heat.  Add the Rice Crispies and mix until the white fluff is evenly distributed throughout the cereal.  Normally, at this point, you would dump the gummy mass into a pan and press it down.  However, for our project, this is the time to begin sculpting a form that resembles roasted poultry.
     I divided the mixture into five parts - two small piles for the two drum sticks, two even smaller piles for the wings, and one large pile for the body of the turkey.  I wasn't successful at forming bird body parts at first because the warm mixture wouldn't hold together.  As it cooled, it acquired its adhesive properties.  I had to work pretty fast once the mixture "set up" because the limbs wouldn't stick to the body if the mixture cooled enough to start forming a hard shell.  The secret to sculpting with this glue is to coat your hands with melted butter.

The breast looks more human than avian.  I didn't get the stuffing cavity right.  The mixture was too cold to start over.   

Boo hoo.  The wings were a little warm and not compressed enough so the tip fell off.  Repairs were executed.

I made the fringe-y things out of card stock (what are they called?) and added them to the drum sticks.  Since I didn't make a proper body cavity, I dumped M&M "stuffing" on top.  I garnished with green Easter grass. 

  
        I'm thankful for this project because I got to lick my fingers and I realized that making standard Crispy treats will be a snap after this.  That's a Thanksgiving blessing for Mike.  Happy holiday, everyone.          
      

One Thing Leads to Another

     One thing leads to another.  That was one of Mom's warnings.  However, she was always referring to physical intimacies or alcohol consumption.  I think the old saw applies just as aptly to home repairs.  Get into one fix, and more issues reveal themselves.  That's what happened when Mike and I observed that the soap dispenser at the kitchen sink was leaking.
     The little green puddles in the sink bothered Mike more than they bothered me, so he did some research.  The solution to the dripping problem is to remove the pump and soak it in hot water. When the dish detergent in the pump softens, pump hot water through the pump and rinse everything thoroughly. Next, water down the liquid soap in the dispenser.  Reinstall the pump.  If you solved the problem, the reason it developed in the first place is that your detergent is too thick and heavy for your dispenser.  You are probably using Palmolive or Dawn.  You'll have to water it down.  If the fix didn't work, you probably have a crack in the pump.  You'll have to buy another dispenser.
     So, we successfully cleaned out the dispenser and got it pumping again.  In the process I found a puddle of water under the sink.  Before I call in the pros I like to see if I can fix things on my own.  What that really means is I like to see if I can fix things on the cheap.  Hey, it worked this time.  Here's how:

The leak didn't damage the inside of the cabinet because I keep a plastic pan under the sink.  The water stayed inside the pan.  I cleared all this stuff out and checked every connection for dampness.  I found the leaks at the top of each white slip joint nut.  

One side disconnected.  One side to go.  The waste pipes had black slime on the inside.  The P-trap on the left is the lesser used sink.  The water in this trap was really stinky.

This is the original slip nut.  My videos lead me to believe an O-ring goes in the groove.  However, when I got to Lowe's I couldn't find any such part.  I took the trap and the original slip nut with me.  I found a man in the plumbing aisle who looked knowledgeable, and I asked for his help. 

My new friend told me that I would have to discard the old slip nut and purchase a new nut/washer combination.

I put the slip nut on the upper pipe.  Then I slid the washer up the pipe.

Next, I replaced the P-trap.  The upper pipe goes down inside P-trap.  I moved the washer down to just above the threads on the trap.  Then I tightened the slip nut.  I made it as tight as I could with my hands.  The videos warned against using tools and tightening too much.  There's a black slip nut on the other end of the trap that I tightened next.  Finally, I repeated the routine on the other side.  

I filled up the sinks.  Then I pulled out the stoppers.  I continued running the water while the sinks drained and I flipped on the garbage disposal.  Yea!!  No more leaks.  The price of this repair - $5.33.  

        

The Day the Tape Deck Died

     I decided I needed some music while I sewed the other day.  I switched on the IPod and began listening to LeAnn Rimes album "Twisted Angel."  Wow, I said to Mike.  She sure did change her style between "Blue" and this album  I mean, where did the country go?  I started looking for "Blue" on CD and discovered I had it on a cassette tape.  When was the last time I played a tape?
     I popped the tape into the tape deck and there was nothing except some feeble clicking.  The end of an era passed with click, click, click, click, click.  Gone was one third of the Phillips Magnavox mini system bought in the 1990's.  Gone was the little tape player/radio that was once housed in the garage.  I sold it at a yard sale.  Gone was the 1997 van that had a tape player in the dash.  It was replaced by another vehicle a couple of years ago.  Long gone was the Walkman that I never really used anyway.
     The day the tape deck died might usher in the day some of my music dies.  I have about 100 cassette tapes, some homemade, containing music by Willy Nelson, Squeeze, Robert Cray, Lionel Ritchie, and Huey Lewis.  There's lots of Springstein and Billy Joel.  There's the sound track from Eddie and the Cruisers.  Years ago I transferred all my vinyl to tape.  Will I lose the Beatles and the Monkeys?
     Is it possible to buy a cassette player these days?  Well, you can't get one in an automobile. The last car to have a factory equipped, in dash cassette player was a 2010 Lexus.  By 2011, no car manufacturer installed cassette players.  Fortunately, you can still buy a tape player at Walmart, Target, or Best Buy.  They cost less than $50.
     So, the question then arises, "Will I ever play those old cassettes again?"  How long had "Blue" been gathering dust?  I'll bet the last time that tape went from reel to reel was around Y2K.  Should I put those 100 tapes out on the curb?  Nope.  Some day I might want to hear Leann Rimes and Eddie Arnold yodeling "Cattle Call."  For that I'll need to have a $24.99 tape player.  I'm off to Walmart to pick one up before they stop making them.

    

Leaves, Then and Now

     Mike and I spent the weekend raking, blowing, and mowing leaves.  When the township posts the signs, the residents scurry to get the leaves to the curb.
     We didn't move our leaves to the street when I was a kid.  In fact, we hardly even raked them. My father chopped them up with the lawn mower, so they would decompose and feed the lawn. When we did rake, we threw the leaves on the garden.  Then Dad fired up the rototiller and plowed them into the soil.  Sometimes though, he threw a match into that leaf pile and stood by to watch it burn.  He said ashes were good for gardens.
     Methods change, but I doubt things have gotten better.  Some people say burning produces no more pollutants than the engine on your lawn mower or the engines on the trucks that suck up the spent foliage.  Some people say piling leaves up at the curb and composting big heaps of them produces mold spores that are just as irritating as engine emissions.  Some people say the cleaning up of autumn's droppings is best left to homeowners.  They'll do it for free.  The salaries and equipment needed for municipal pick up is a budget buster.  This person says same problem, different day.  I'm for keeping things tidy and taking advantage of the services for which my tax dollars paid.  I'm against people starting fires in my vicinity.
     I'm also against jumping into big piles of leaves.  I tried it as a kid.  The crispy things crumble, go down your collar, and scratch all the way to the waistband of your pants.  Once, when I was about twelve years old (probably the most modest time of life), wallowing in leaves lead to a yellow jacket going up my pants leg.  Multiple bee stings ensued.  I hopped around yelling, and my mother commanded, "Take your pants off."  I chose to suffer a few more stings while I beat at my leg.
     Do kids still play in leaves?  I have my doubts since most of them are out playing soccer or puffing on asthma inhalers.  These days the leaf pile belongs to the family dog.  Check it out.