We always have projects going on around our house… and I look to finish a few up this year so stay tuned for pics… One project is my front yard.  We started with cutting out some old bushes near the house and were trying to decide what to replace them with.  We had a beautiful wheeping willow tree in the front yard… the grass needed some work, we had some clover and crabgrass.  The worse part (and sometimes best part) about where we live is that it is on a busy street… so sometimes we get people to haul our big trash and old furniture… but we get TONS of solicitation.

One day, Green Envy stopped by… it was their second attempt because I ignored the doorbell when I saw their truck… sometimes you just aren’t in the mood to be sold something.  You see, when I had my shop over on Jungermann I had more solicitors than customers every day… I can’t stand them now lol.  This time they were here talking to my wife already when I got home.  So I listened to them and it sounded like a good deal.  They explained that they all used to work for TruGreen but didn’t like the path the company was taking so they started their own company.  I thought it would be nice to get the lawn taken care of and scratch one thing off my to-do list.  Each time they came, they told me to water the lawn and that it would take 14-21 days to notice anything.  The clover died quick but that was all we noticed…. at first.  Then there were these brown patches in the yard… at first we thought maybe it was dog pee or something because it was near the street and it looked like something was dripped into the grass (like their spray gun when they get out of the van?).  The brown patches were spreading and then all the leaves fell off our weeping willow tree…  People (more solicitors) started stopping by asking us if we wanted them to cut down our tree because it was dead… “looks like somebody poisoned your yard”… I called with concerns about the service and they explained that the brown was just the dead weeds but they never heard of a tree dying before.  At the time I had completely tore up  my backyard, shifted some dirt around, we just got a new swimming pool installed.  I told Green Envy not to spray in the back because it was new grass… the next time out they sprayed… and killed it.

I called again and canceled the service with them… With all my work in the backyard down the drain, I shifted my attention to the front yard.  I killed off the rest of the yard, cut down the tree, and put down new seed.  Here is what my yard eventually looked like after about 6 months:

They called me again (like today) to see if I wanted to renew services for the upcoming year… I said hell no and told my story to the girl on the phone.  She said okay and that was it.  Then they kept stopping by my house and calling to see if I wanted service.  Then their owner called me after hearing about it and wanted to “make it right” by me and offered to do it for free (which meant like 2 months of free spraying cause they quickly started billing me again).  So being the patient guy I am and knowing that shit happens, I gave them a second chance.  Here is what my green lawn turned to:

So I canceled it again, they sent my bill to collections…. so I emailed them complaining about it…. they took care of the bill but said they wanted to come look at the yard…. I said you can look at it but dont fucking spray anything in it. lol

Chicken Fried Pork Chops

6 center loin pork chops, well trimmed 

Sift together:

1 cup flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground thyme
1 tsp ground sage
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 

Make an egg wash by whisking together:

2 eggs
4 tbsp water

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper, then dip the chops in the flour and spice mixture. Dip the chop into the eggwash and then a final time into the flour and spice mix, pressing the mix into the chop to get good contact.

Heat a skillet on the stove with about a half inch of canola oil covering the bottom. You will want to carefully regulate the temperature here so that the chops do not brown too quickly on the outside before they are fully cooked on the inside. I find just below medium heat works well. I use a burner setting of about 4 1/2 out of 10 on the dial and fry them gently for about 4 or 5 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy.

Drain on a wire rack for a couple of minutes before dipping the cooked chops into the Honey Garlic Sauce. Serve with noodles or rice.

Honey Garlic Sauce

In a medium saucepan add

2 tbsp olive oil
3 – 4 cloves minced garlic

Cook over medium heat to soften the garlic but do not let it brown. Add:

1 cup honey
¼ cup soya sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper

Simmer together for 5-10 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Watch this carefully as it simmers because it can foam up over the pot very easily.

This is Papa John’s way of saying thank you to all of their loyal customers.
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*Offer valid today – Saturday 2/18 & ONLINE ONLY. Use the promotion code FREEDAY

Reblogged from derrickgoold:

JUPITER, Fla. — This afternoon, on the eve of report day for St. Louis Cardinals pitchers and catchers, the clubbies continued setting up the clubhouse by hanging jerseys at each locker … with, um, care. I snapped a picture of the corner awaiting position players when they arrive: The unopened bags, the anticipation of spring training’s opening, the jerseys hung ever so carefully — why that phrase kept clinking around in my skull all afternoon and the obvious result was — what else? — a poem, …