Kind ride offers, murder and ghosts, Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

Hmm. A certain person noticed on the potluck Evite that I wasn't sure if I could get a ride to the event. (well, no... Jon may not be going, and Eric's definitely not!) So he said that he could give me a ride if I just tell him my address.... uh, he IS aware that I live in Richmond, right?! (luckily it's central Richmond and not boonie Richmond, but I digress) If I take him up on this, I'll be there early since he has to be there at 4:30 to help set up. (I just might, the crazy person...) He'd better not be referring to me as the "hot girl" he'd be bringing to counteract Alan's "hot girl" (Tracy?), haha. Intriguing discussion, as Phil said in his reply to say he wasn't coming.

Thank goodness a certain other person doesn't know about this, or else she'd have a field day! Eh, I do have a new bent Bathroom Reader for company... I'm not sure how it got wrinkled and beat-up by spending a few hours in my backpack. It's almost enough to make me return it and buy another one! I mean, the book's appearance isn't that bad, but it certainly isn't "store-bought" condition! Oh well, maybe I can get an early ride home from church with Eric... though I certainly won't be bringing anything to the potluck, heh. It's a kind offer, of course! :) (so why does it mean more than it should? who knows... :P) I forgot to tell him about the buzzer thing, but he can just call me from his cell phone, so it's no biggie. :P


Today's Frustrating Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

A Japanese office worker whose mother died from brain damage after he tied her up with a dog collar to stop her borrowing money from loan sharks walked free from court in December, 2004. Hidenori Mizukoshi, 36, was given a three-year jail term, but saw it suspended for five years after the court in Fukuoka, southern Japan, acknowledged his frustration over his 62-year-old mother's spending. Mizukoshi beat his mother in the head and legs on May 20 after she refused to stop borrowing to pay for her compulsive love of pachinko, the Japanese pinball game, and travel. Mizukoshi then put a dog collar with a chain leash around her neck and tied her to a propane gas cylinder in a storage room for some eight hours before she was admitted to hospital. He pulled the chain so tight that his mother died from brain damage one week later. Prosecutors had demanded five years in prison for him, but the court showed understanding for Mizukoshi. "It runs counter to morals and is violent and malicious," presiding judge Masayoshi Takahara said of the crime. "But his mother's debt problem over many years was so serious that there is room for sympathy for his struggle to repay the debt," he said.

Culled from: Source Uncredited
Generously submitted by: Katchaya

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So, I take it that money is more valuable than life? Now I finally understand modern society!

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Morbid Sightseeing!

Soox has a Canadian morbid sightseeing tip for us:

"I just got back from a trip to Victoria, BC, and was pleased to discover a wonderfully morbid treat while I was there: the nightly Ghostly Walk tour. Who would imagine that such a picturesque little town as Victoria is as amazingly haunted as it is? For an hour and a half, we trailed our guide through the streets. We learned tales of love gone wrong and horrible, horrible murders from Victoria's steamy past. You can get something of an idea of the tour at their website, and discover the past. For the most part, I was somewhat creeped out by the stories, but was skeptical about the presence of ghosts in the area, at least currently. However, at the end of the tour, we went into a building that even the guide was uncomfortable with entering. While we sat around the room listening to the stories of hauntings that had occurred there (no one knows why the place is so haunted), I began to feel a tingly, uneasy sensation on the side of my neck and my ear on the side of me facing the door into the room where most of the activity occurs. My girlfriend, sitting next to me, felt a similar sensation on her neck and shoulder on the side facing away from me. She thinks that something came up behind us and put its hands on our shoulders.

"Whether we actually had a brush with a ghost or not, the stories and places on the tour were fascinating and I certainly recommend the tours if you should find yourself on the west coast of Canada looking for something to do."

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Morbid Trinket Du Jour!

Here's the perfect gift for that obnoxious teddy bear collector in your life: Teddy Scares!

Thanks to Evonne for the link.


Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

Categories: Copycat, Salads, Dressings
Yield: 1 pint
Powder Mix
15 2" square saltines
2 cups Dry minced parsley flakes
1/2 cup Dry minced onions

2 tablespoons Dry dill weed
1/4 cups Onion salt
1/4 cups Garlic salt
1/4 cups Onion powder
1/4 cups Garlic powder

Salad dressing
1 tablespoon Mix
1 cup Mayo
1 cup Buttermilk

Put crackers through blender on high speed until powdered. Add parsley, minced onions, and dill weed. Blend again until powdered. Put into bowl. Stir in onion salt, garlic salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. Put into container with tight-fitting lid. Store at room temperature for 1 year. Makes 42 1-tablespoon servings.

TO USE MIX - Combine mix, mayo and buttermilk. Yields 1 pint.