Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Purses, Surgeon, Gorongosa Park.

I received an email today offering various purses (handbags) for sale. One of them looked quite nice so I followed the link. I was somewhere in the $1,300 price range. There were even purses at over $2,000 although they did have a few cheap ones which were only priced in the hundreds. I'm sorry, but anyone who pays that kind of money for a handbag is nuts. I know some women consider them a fashion accessory, but when I think of all the things I could achieve for the same amount of money. I suppose if I were a very rich woman I might buy them, but are there really that many rich people out there who can afford to buy them? This picture shows the one which attracted my attention and I think it is the one at $1,300 odd.

Matt gets to see his surgeon this morning, I think he is hoping both to have his stitches removed and to be allowed to bowl. Sorry but I don't think either of his hopes will be realised. Much too soon to remove the stitches, especially the ones on his shin. I am afraid I have been neglecting my blog reading lately, sorry about that everyone and I will try and read as much as I can as soon as I can.

Tuesday we saw the last part of a programme we both thoroughly enjoyed. It was on PBS and was
about saving the park at Gorongosa in Mozambique. The country has been torn by war and the animals have suffered really badly. Conservationists have been trying to restore the park with sufficient numbers of animals to attract tourism. It was a fantastic series but on Tuesday night, we saw the film makers and naturalists get surrounded by elephants who were threatening to charge them. One actually did so and if it hadn't stopped, they were having trouble outrunning it. A very frightening situation. The series is available to purchase and is also available for download on iTunes. I don't know when this film was made, but from the look of the pictures tourism has been achieved and the park is doing well.

Here's another recipe for Brussels Sprouts. They sound good, but once again, too much sugar for my taste. Balsamic vinegar is sweet anyway.


Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic and Cranberries

    Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic and Cranberries
  • serves 10 - 12



Courtesy of: Ree Drummond



Ingredients

3 lb(s) Brussels sprouts
½ cup olive oil
1 cup sugar
¾ cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Trim/clean the Brussels sprouts, then cut them in half. Arrange on 2 baking sheets and toss with the olive oil. Roast until brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
2. Combine the balsamic vinegar and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and reduce until very thick. Drizzle the balsamic reduction over the roasted sprouts, then sprinkle on the dried cranberries.

Have a great day
 

28 comments:

  1. Funny about the purses. I was just thinking last night that if I was enormously wealthy I would have fresh sheets on my bed everyday, although I could do that now if I wasn't too lazy to be doing a lot of laundry. But spend a lot of money on a purse? Don't think so even then.

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    1. I can't imagine having to completely remake the bed every day Denise. The laundry part isn't bad these days with washers and dryers.

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    2. If I was enormously wealthy, I'd have a maid do it, lol.

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  2. A charging elephant would be scary.

    I did a book signing a few years ago in a very posh mall in Florida. There was a purse store that had maybe a dozen purses and all were behind glass. I bet those were all well over $1000. Those ladies would laugh at my colorful, over-sized $20 purse.

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    1. It was scary watching it, especially when there were several elephants surrounding them. They would probably laugh at my purse too Diane, but to pay that kind of money is ridiculous.

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  3. Hi Jo - hope Matt is given a good bill of health - but I too am sure he'll not be bowling and the stitches will come out anon ... good luck to him. In a week I'm post a fascinating post on Kenyan elephants and in other places ... as I went to a talk which was just wonderful. It's up next week ... a huge waste of money would be that purse .. much better to donate it elsewhere ... glad you didn't succumb. Cheers Hilary

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    1. He was Hilary thanks. They took the stitches out of his forehead but not from his leg. That will be next week. Will look forward to your elephantine post!! I don't have that kind of money anyway Hilary so no fear of succumbing.

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  4. Hope Matt gets to bowl. Sometimes stitches can come out after only a week. I would never pay that for purse or even close to that.

    Susan Says

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    1. He does Susan. The stitches on his forehead have gone but they decided to leave the leg another week. However, when he showed them just how he bowls, they said he can do so but take it easy.

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  5. Yeah...I have a hard time forking out $20 for backpack. I can't imagine spending that must on a fashion accessory. Wishing Matt a speedy recovery, and yay! Another Brussels Sprouts recipe. Crazy, I know, but I love those little things. :)

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    1. Me too Sir David. Didn't remember you liked Brussels Sprouts. I used to love them too but went off them recently. I figured the softened water ruined the taste. I bought some today for our Thanksgiving meal on Saturday.

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  6. Oh yum, and like you, I wouldn't add any sugar to them. The vinegar and cranberries are already sweet enough! Tell Matt good luck! They might take the stitches out, but doubt they'll let him bowl yet... I'm with you. I wouldn't pay that much for a handbag. I can think of quite a few places/charities I'd rather invest that money in, if I had it! Hope you're feeling more rested now...

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    1. Yup, quite sweet enough for me thanks. Thanks Lisa, actually they removed the stitches from his forehead but not from his leg. He is also allowed to bowl.

      Still tired unfortunately. Sore throat doesn't help. Have some antibiotics now.

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  7. That's more than the television set in my office cost! (And it's a super nice large flatscreen.)

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    1. You have a television set in your office Alex?

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  8. I love dried cranberries. And that's a lot of sugar! I hope it went well at the surgeon's today.

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    1. I agree JoJo, a heck of a lot. Matt got the stitches out of his forehead but not his leg. However, he has permission to bowl.

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  9. Hope it went well for him.

    That much for a clutch, I don't get. But then, to me a 100, or even 3 grand is a lot of money. To people in the really really rich lives, it probably is a drop in the bucket.

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    1. It did thanks Ivy.

      I suppose you are right, but it still seems stupid, to me, to pay that kind of money for a purse. However rich you are.

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    2. I totally agree. It's odd. But then, I've never known what it's felt like to have money be no object. Must be a whole different way of living.

      Back to chores. Hanging the bedding out. Lovely day for it, here.

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    3. Nor me Ivy. As you say, a whole different way of living.

      Not able to do that even if I wanted to. It's the dryer for me.

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  10. haha - I bought some Brussels Sprouts and for the life of me I had no clue how to cook these and your recipe is perfect. I just love it when things pop up when you least expect it.

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    1. Glad to be of help Trudessa. Just watch the sugar. Brussels Sprouts tend to be a little sweet in and of themselves and I, along with several others, consider there is too much sugar in the recipe. There was another recipe yesterday which also had too much syrup I thought.

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  11. It's a very nice bag but I would never pay that much for anything I wore. I'd feel too guilty. I think of it this way, rich people buy those things and the money eventually finds its way down the food chain so let them waste their money.

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    1. Nor me. That's trickle down economics which, according to a programme I saw recently, doesn't work. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

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  12. I am catching up on all the blog posts I have missed and I am reading these backwards I guess. I am glad your fears went unrealized and you are bowling again. This documentary sounds very interesting and reminds me of my dear friend who, when he was a teen, he lived in South Africa for 3 yrs. He went on some safari and an elephant charged them, he said the jeep barely made it out in time. He kept looking back and seeing this huge animal get closer and closer

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    1. It's incredible how fast such a big animal can move isn't it Birgit. You'd think a vehicle would outrun them easily.

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