Stretch Silicone Hot Cooking Bands

Silicone Stretch hot cooking bands.  Use in place of butcher's twine or toothpicks.  2" fits up to 20 lb. turkey.  Ideal for food identification: Well/Rare..Spicy/Med/Mild.  Disposable or Reusable.  25--2" bands; assorted colors.

• Food Safe
• Freezer Safe
• 'Dishwasher Safe
• Deep Fry Safe!

HELLO AGAIN

I haven't posted in a long time. This year I've been very busy. I'll leave that story to another post. I just arrived in Atlanta, Georgia for my eye surgery tomorrow morning at Emory University Eye Center. I'm having an eye lift on my right eye because it started to droop About a year ago. now it looks almost closed even when it's just relaxed. I'll post before and after pictures later.

COOKING MY BUTTERBALL TURKEY UNTIL DONENESS

I have to re-pete this post. It's the one most people look up. I good another turkey breast last night. The instruction on the bag doesn't tell you how long to cook it, they only say to 170 degrees. I have a talking thermometer but I couldn't find it. I tried the small one I found. The dial didn't move. Then I used the medium one, the dial didn't move, so I dug some more looking for my big talking thermometer. I couldn't turn it on. I unscrewed the battery cover. The batter is attached to the panel so you can't just replace the battery. I put it back in and all it did was make static noises. I cooked the turkey for a total on 75 minutes. My son came in to cut the turkey after i ate a small piece. It was pink inside. Back in the oven for 20 more miniatures. I wasn't taking chances. The turkey was very good but I felt like Goldie Locks looking for bowl of porridge. Now I guess I buy a new meat thermometer and throw the rest away.

 

I don't cook much at all but one thing I like to cook is Butterball turkey breast. I've served them to my family for about eight years. I remember buying the breast with bone in and it was more than I wanted to deal with. Most of the time I pull the netting off and cook it frozen. Yesterday I cooked it thawed with the netting which stuck to the skin. I thought this isn't good for us with low vision so I called Butterball and they were very helpful. The woman I talked to said she cooks this often. She suggested pulling the netting away from the thawed meat to it won't stick and putting oil and seasoning on it. I'm going to try that method next time. The way I roast it is with olive oil and Shapley's seasoning with is a local seasoning from Mississippi. This is an affordable meal at $10 for the turkey. I've listed their instructions below with their contact information. 

 Thaw in Refrigerator (not at room temperature)

• Place unopened roast on a tray in refrigerator for 1 1/2 to 2 days, or until thawed.
• To thaw more quickly, place unopened roast in cold tap water for 3 to 5 hours. Change water every 30 minutes to keep turkey cold.
• When thawed, keep in refrigerator until ready to cook.

Prepare Roast

• Remove clear plastic netting and package. Refrigerate gravy packet until ready to use. Leave string netting on roast. Drain juices and lightly pat with paper towels.
• Lift string netting and shift position on roast to make removal easier after cooking.
• Cover roast with no-stick cooking spray. Additional basting is not necessary.

Visit our How-to section to learn the best methods for cooking your turkey.

Slow-Cooker Instructions:

• Place THAWED roast, skin side up, flat in 8” diameter slow-cooker.
• Add 1/2 cup water.
• Cover, cook on low 7-1/2 hours to internal temperature of 170 degrees as measured with a meat thermometer.
• After 4 hours, check temperature at center, ends and near top for food safety. Turkey must reach 140 degrees within 4 hours.

Microwave:

• Place THAWED roast in microwave on a shallow microwave-safe tray.

• Microwave at 30% power for 30 minutes, turn roast over. Microwave an additional 20 – 30 minutes on 30% power.

• Remove from oven, wrap in foil, let stand 10 minutes.

• Check for doneness with a meat thermometer. Temperature in center of roast should be 165 – 170 degrees. If roast is not done, continue cooking on 30% power checking temperature every 5 minutes.

• Remove netting and slice.

NOTE: Microwave ovens can vary due to wattage, age and line voltage. Time can also vary due to initial temperature of product, size and shape of product, standing time. It is important to test for doneness using a meat thermometer.

1-800-BUTTERBALL (800-288-8372)
Weekdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. CST (Central Standard Time)

ATTITUDE

To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.

Helen Keller

CHANGE IS ALL AROUND ME

I'm not sure why stores change their decor so often but they do quit often, too often for me. I went to several stores this week who changed their set up, floor plan or freezers. TJ Maxx changed the direction of the clothing racks in the center of the store. I suppose this was to see down the isles for shoplifters. Tuesday Morning changed the cashiers next to the front and added merchandise racks plus they now sale shoes. The most shocking change was Walmart who changed the freezer section. All the new freezers are black on the inside walls. Why am I so upset. I can't see anything inside. I know change is good and things always must change but marketers need to take into account a loyal customer will be loyal if they know where to find the merchandise and recognize the packaging. I've talked about this before. I can tell you what color my trash bag box is or my shampoo bottle is. when I working in  the building business caulk companies changed their label about every two years. I find things at home and at the stores by what color it is. This subject remind me of the book Who Moved My Cheese. The summary is below. Bottom line is adjust to change. 

 

Synopsis
Allegorically, Who Moved My Cheese? features four characters: two mice, "Sniff" and "Scurry," and two little people, miniature humans in essence, "Hem" and "Haw." They live in a maze, a representation of one's environment, and look for cheese, representative of happiness and success. Initially without cheese, each group, the mice and humans, paired off and traveled the lengthy corridors searching for cheese. One day both groups happen upon a cheese-filled corridor at "Cheese Station C". Content with their find, the humans establish routines around their daily intake of cheese, slowly becoming arrogant in the process.
One day Sniff and Scurry arrive at Cheese Station C to find no cheese left, but they are not surprised. Noticing the cheese supply dwindling, they have mentally prepared beforehand for the arduous but inevitable task of finding more cheese. Leaving Cheese Station C behind, they begin their hunt for new cheese together. Later that day, Hem and Haw arrive at Cheese Station C only to find the same thing, no cheese. Angered and annoyed, Hem demands, "Who moved my cheese?" The humans have counted on the cheese supply to be constant, and so are unprepared for this eventuality. After deciding that the cheese is indeed gone they get angry at the unfairness of the situation and both go home starved. Returning the next day, Hem and Haw find the same cheeseless place. Starting to realize the situation at hand, Haw thinks of a search for new cheese. But Hem is dead set in his victimized mindset and dismisses the proposal.
Meanwhile, Sniff and Scurry have found "Cheese Station N", new cheese. Back at Cheese Station C, Hem and Haw are affected by their lack of cheese and blame each other for their problem. Hoping to change, Haw again proposes a search for new cheese. However, Hem is comforted by his old routine and is frightened about the unknown. He knocks the idea again. After a while of being in denial, the humans remain without cheese. One day, having discovered his debilitating fears, Haw begins to chuckle at the situation and stops taking himself so seriously. Realizing he should simply move on, Haw enters the maze, but not before chiseling "If You Do Not Change, You Can Become Extinct" on the wall of Cheese Station C for his friend to ponder.
Still fearful of his trek, Haw jots "What Would You Do If You Weren't Afraid?" on the wall and, after thinking about that, he begins his venture. Still plagued with worry (perhaps he has waited too long to begin his search...), Haw finds some bits of cheese that nourishes him and he is able to continue his search. Haw realizes that the cheese has not suddenly vanished, but has dwindled from continual eating. After a stop at an empty cheese station, Haw begins worrying about the unknown again. Brushing aside his fears, Haw's new mindset allows him to again enjoy life. He has even begun to smile again! He is realizing that "When you move beyond your fear, you feel free." After another empty cheese station, Haw decides to go back for Hem with the few bits of new cheese he has managed to find.
Uncompromising, Hem refuses the new cheese, to his friend's disappointment. With knowledge learned along the way, Haw heads back into the maze. Getting deeper into the maze, inspired by bits of new cheese here and there, Haw leaves a trail of writings on the wall ("The Handwriting On the Wall"). These clarify his own thinking and give him hope that his friend will find aid in them during his search for new cheese. Still traveling, Haw one day comes across Cheese Station N, abundant with cheese, including some varieties that are strange to him, and he realizes he has found what he is looking for. After eating, Haw reflects on his experience. He ponders a return to see his old friend. But Haw decides to let Hem find his own way. Finding the largest wall in Cheese Station N, he writes:

Change Happens

They Keep Moving The Cheese

Anticipate Change

Get Ready For The Cheese To Move

Monitor Change

Smell The Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old

Adapt To Change Quickly

The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese

Change

Move With The Cheese

Enjoy Change!

Savor The Adventure And Enjoy The Taste Of New Cheese!

Be Ready To Change Quickly And Enjoy It Again

They Keep Moving The Cheese.

Cautious from past experience, Haw now inspects Cheese Station N daily and explores different parts of the maze regularly to prevent any complacency from setting in. After hearing movement in the maze one day, Haw realizes someone is approaching the station. Unsure, Haw hopes that it is his friend Hem who has found the way.

DAVE WHAMOND EYESIGHT AND EXERCISE

I went to a college football game this weekend with 80,000 other fans. We parked our car, took a shutter bus and walk and walked and walked. This was my for of exercise for Saturday. I also talked to someone who has less vision than I. He said he loves to takes walks most days. You always here people what a beautiful day it is. I've taken that for granted for too long. Get out there and exercise. It.s great for you physical and mental health. - Frances

[RESREPORT]  People with impaired vision take 26% fewer steps per day than normal-sighted individuals and are about half as active physically, which could increase their risk of chronic illness, says a report by Maryland researchers in Archives of Ophthalmology. Loss of vision affects mobility and balance, but rehabilitation programs rarely stress physical exercise, they said.

Physical activity was assessed in 5,722 subjects from a 2003-2006 U.S. health survey, of whom 5,226 had normal vision, 351 needed glasses to see normally, and 145 had low vision that couldn't be corrected to normal. Normal eyesight was defined as 20/40 or better, which is the minimum driving requirement in most states. Activity levels were assessed with an accelerometer worn on the hip for approximately 14.3 hours a day over seven days. All subjects underwent eye examinations. Individuals with low vision took 5,992 steps per day compared with 9,964 for normal-sighted people and 9,742 for those with glasses. Average daily exercise was 9.3 minutes in low-vision subjects and 23.5 minutes in the other groups. The study is the first to report an association between visual impairment and objectively measured physical activity.

TEXAS BOY LEARNS TO MANEUVER WITH LIMITED VISION

DALLAS, TX -- Does anyone really like tiramisu? Why are there so many Chinatowns? These are the questions on the mind of an 8-year-old boy.

But early one June afternoon, a different puzzle was at hand as 8-year-old Zach Thibodeaux walked, blindfolded, down his suburban street, his white cane only partly guiding the way. Making intermittent clicks with his tongue, he traced the sidewalk, his instructor just behind.

He paused, unsure . then reached out with the cane and found one of the stout, stone mailboxes common in his Lewisville neighborhood.

"Good," said Daniel Kish, founder of World Access for the Blind, placing a hand on the arched structure. "We don't have mailboxes like these where I come from. These are brick bunkers."

Last fall, Zach -- who just finished second grade at Mary Immaculate Catholic School in Farmers Branch -- was diagnosed with cone-rod dystrophy, a degenerative eye disease that will ultimately render him blind. This month, he spent several days working with Kish, whose 10-year-old organization, based in Long Beach, Calif., aims to teach the blind not just to be functional but to feel able to pursue their dreams.

As part of his training, Kish and his crew teach a disciplined form of echolocation -- what bats use to "see" in the dark. By sending out sound waves in the form of carefully honed tongue clicks, Kish said, the blind can effectively sense what's around them, taking acoustic imprints of their surroundings as waves echo back.

"It's like putting clay into a mold," Kish said. "The sound is taking the shape of the environment."

Down the street, Zach -- whose task was to note nearby objects -- paused again.

"There's something to your right," Kish told him, guiding him back a few steps toward a rail-thin signpost. "You heard it after you passed it."

Kish himself is blind, though you'd hardly know it to see the confidence with which he moves around. He's hiked alone, mountain biked, gone solo-camping for days at a time. At 45, he travels the world, teaching and speaking about his craft.

We live in a visual society, where the idea of sound-oriented mobility is hard to envision. Kish's training, then, is about more than getting around obstacles; it's about overcoming them -- as well as societal attitudes that put limits on blind kids' potential.

"We see it a lot," said Juan Ruiz, one of two instructors who work with Kish. "Blind people have things handed to them. If I say, `Where's the trash can?' -- odds are somebody will say, `I'll do it for you.' That's the reality of the world these kids live in."

Kish also encourages risk -- the willingness to suffer bumps and bruises en route to independence, an attitude he said parents must foster in their blind children. He wants to give students the skills to move about as freely as he does.

Advocates for the blind caution that not everyone can be as uniquely talented as Daniel Kish. Echolocation should not take the place of a cane or guide dog, they say -- but used in tandem with those methods, it can be a valuable tool.

Austin software developer Nolan Darilek, blind since birth, said Kish's training is almost martial arts-like in its discipline, unlike any he's ever experienced. Until he began working with Kish, he'd consigned himself to striking objects with his cane, drawing attention as he gets around.

"I don't want to bludgeon my way through life," said Darilek, 30. "I want to move through it gracefully."

Many blind people develop some system of auditory navigation, but few have perfected and contemplated it as much as Kish, who lost his sight to retinal cancer as an infant. His prosthetic eyeballs are as lifeless as a wax figure's.

Still, he said, "my mom's biggest goals were that I get out of the house and pay taxes. . In order for me to be like everyone else, I had to be treated like everyone else."

The clicking came as naturally as blinking, he said, and he recalls a childhood free of limitations. He ran around with other kids and rode a bicycle, even joining other kids in a sort of bike destruction derby.

"I was fearless, and I had the best bike -- a BMX," Kish said. "We'd go to an open space and all crash into each other and see who was the last one standing. These days, there'd be some old biddy coming out and telling us to stop because someone was going to get hurt."

Get hurt he did. Occasional run-ins with slides or poles required medical attention. But he was a regular kid, and he would go on to do his thesis on echolocation for a master's program at California State University, Los Angeles.

He'd planned on being a psychologist, but frustration over how few blind people moved as freely as he did drove him to want to do more. In 2001, he launched World Access for the Blind.

Kish's goal is to rewire the brain to rely on sound and touch, rather than sight, to construct images. More than 500 blind or low-vision students in 18 countries have gone through his program, which urges families to be active supporters.

"There are people who want echolocation as a miracle cure, relieving them of responsibility," Kish said. "In some ways it is magical. You're freeing the brain -- but it has to be supported."

Zach's sight has worsened since his diagnosis: By early last month, he'd lost 80 percent of his sight; now he can see just two feet in front of him. But he's excelled at Braille, and his mastery of the abacus has revived his math prowess.

After his mother, Johanna Uek, read about Kish in Men's Journal, she arranged to bring Kish to Dallas to work with Zach and to conduct a soccer clinic for local blind and low-vision children.

"This is going to help Zach be more social," Uek said. "I want him to know -- you gotta deal with what you got."

Zach's training included outdoor exercises in which Kish positioned objects -- a cutting board, a Styrofoam plate -- near, or away from, Zach's blindfolded face to develop his perception of them as he clicked.

Now Kish held the plate about a foot to Zach's left. "Tell me which side it's on," he said.

Zach clicked in either direction, then reached to his left and found it there. Before long, he was getting the hang of it.

"He wasn't able to hear the plate at all yesterday," Kish said, after they were done. "That's how quickly this can develop."

But using it to get around is something that will take time. Along with their neighborhood walk, Kish had Zach practice getting around a roller rink, a car-filled superstore parking lot, the labyrinth of a college campus building.

Darilek, the Austin software engineer, said Kish's methods have inspired him to consider activities thought to be limited to sighted people, even as some find it hard to imagine.

"That's one thing I'm encountering with my friends. I tell them I want to ride a bike, and they're freaking out about that. . Maybe it's a horrible idea. I hope not. But to live your life a slave to fear and horrible things that might happen to you is not the way I want to live."

Zach and 14 other blind and low-vision kids attended Kish and Ruiz's soccer clinic at a Farmers Branch park on a hot afternoon. The balls were filled with rattling beads that allowed players to track them as long as they kept rolling.

Afterward, as worn-out kids and families gathered for hot dogs in the shade, Zach described what he knew about echolocation and the technique behind a good click. "The brain lights up when it gets all that information," he said.

And a smile as you click produces one that is higher-pitched, he explained, reaching greater distances. Still, he knew he had a long way to go. "I can't bike yet," he said. "I'd freak out."

Kish had already made a mental picture of the park on this, his first visit, using barely audible clicks and his cane to get around, occasionally walking off to take calls on his cellphone. Now, sitting nearby, he asked where the ice chest was, because he could use another bottle of water.

He got up to go get it, but as he did, he found someone had already gotten one for him.

FONT SIZE

Google emailed again in reply. Not sure if this will work. Let's see if I can see it. Not sure how I like it or what I did. Thank you Google for your help.

Letter below.

Hi Frances,

It works this way. If you leave the font-size in its default setting while composing a post, it'll be bound to the size that you define under Dashboard - Template - Customize - Advanced - Page. Otherwise, if you've changed the font-size while composing a post, it will follow the specific size that you have selected for that particular post instead. I usually won't temper with the font-size in the post editor, as I prefer to apply a uniform rule using the 'Advanced' tab.

Cheers,
Yoga.

WE NEED LARGER FONT

Well 200 percent wasn't large enough so let's try 300 percent.

DID IT WORK TO CHANGE FONT SIZE

This is 200 persent. Let's see if this works.