Susan Boyle, N. Korea, Pay Day Loans

Good Morning America is delightedly reporting on the closure of Times Square to traffic. Great for them, not sure about the drivers. They do a lot of reporting outside anyway, now they have a bigger area for their audience. They are also thrilled with the latest performance by Susan Boyle. She started somewhat shakily, but ended up singing Memory absolutely beautifully. Susan Boyle in the semi-finals.

There is a lot of worry in North America at the moment because of North Korea's testing of nuclear weapons and missiles. They are totally ignoring calls from world leaders asking them to stand down. Where will this end I wonder. I naively thought the people of the world had realised the horrors of nuclear wars and stopped testing such things. Maybe I need to take off my rose tinted glasses.

This week at our apartment, not only did they turn off the water yesterday and several people got caught I gather, but they are also cleaning out the underground garage which means we have to go down early to remove the car and then put it back in the evening for three days running. We have found that parking spot to be a godsend, especially in the winter. After Matt slipped and ended up with a spinal injury, we prefer to pay for the garage rather than risk something similar happening again. Talking of paying for things, there was a segment on GMA about people having to borrow money when things like car repairs necessitated it. Apparently the companies who advance pay day loans (in the States anyway) charge 800% interest and its legal!!! There is an article and video at this site detailing how people can get on this vicious cycle and then how it is almost impossible for them to get off.

I mentioned that we are going in for a bowling tournament in New Hamburg next week. I think we may be wasting our money, we are both of us in a very bad bowling cycle at the moment. Matt is totally fed up with his bowling and I am not feeling much better. Very frustrating. Oh well, keep your fingers crossed for us next Wednesday. Maybe we will surprised ourselves. Mock Risotto Eating Well Makes 4 servings, 1 1/2 cups each 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 medium onion, diced ¼ teaspoon salt 2 cups instant brown rice 4 cloves garlic, chopped 2 ½ cups vegetable or reduced-sodium chicken broth 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into ¼-inch pieces 1 red bell pepper, finely diced 1 cup frozen peas, thawed 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel) ½ cup grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese, plus more for passing, if desired ¼ cup minced chives or scallion greens eating well Mock Risotto Ingredients Cont. 1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and salt and cook, stirring often, until soft and just beginning to brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Add rice and garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add broth and bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. 2. Remove cover and spread asparagus and bell pepper on top of the simmering rice do not stir into the rice mixture. Replace cover and continue simmering, adjusting the heat if necessary, until the liquid is almost absorbed and the asparagus is bright green but still crisp, about 5 minutes. 3. Add peas and cream cheese; stir until the mixture is creamy and the cheese is incorporated. Return to a simmer and continue cooking until the liquid has evaporated and the asparagus is tender, about 5 minutes more. Stir in 1/2 cup Asiago (or Parmesan). Serve topped with chives (or scallions) and additional grated cheese.

Have a great day.