Daylight Saving Time Reset
It’s time again this upcoming weekend to set your clocks back one hour to reset back to Standard Time.
Never Forget
The complete list of 2996. 
Paul Pansini:
From a profile published in the New York Times on 8/11/2002
Paul Pansini
World Trade Center
His Presence Is Everywhere
- Paul Pansini
Paul Pansini loved the excitement of being a firefighter in downtown Manhattan, but his days off meant a great deal, too. Firefighter Pansini, 36, took his son, Paul Jack, now 7, and his twin daughters, Anna and Claire, now 3, everywhere when he was not working. “He was brave enough to even take them to the store,” his wife, Janice, recalled.
Since Sept. 11, the family has, in turn, felt his presence everywhere. “I feel him definitely in my house,” Mrs. Pansini said. The family lives in his childhood home in Tottenville in Staten Island. When they moved there in November 1994, the couple almost tore the century-old house down.
Now she is glad they did not. In Tottenville, they are surrounded by family members who keep his presence strong, including his sister, Loretta Halpert.
Lake George was Firefighter Pansini’s favorite spot in the world. This summer, as Mrs. Pansini packed for their annual vacation to the lake, Claire asked if they were going to meet Daddy there. “I’m blown away by how much they remember him,” Mrs. Pansini said. “I don’t think he knew how much he meant to so many people. He was a very comical person. The love of my life. People keep coming up to me and saying, `I miss him so much.’ ”
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Our thoughts and prayers go out every day to Paul’s friends, family, and coworkers at Ten House. Six men were lost that day from that Firehouse.
Click either picture to embiggen.
Girl Power Without Boy Bashing
We went and saw Disney’s Beauty and the Beast on the weekend. We were very pleased with it. It was well done all around. Luke Evans’ Gaston was brilliant. He played the narcissist to a T. And, while Emma Watson’s vocals might have been a bit weak, her performance otherwise was not. She played a girl who could do what she needed to do. Empowered by her father, an inventor, a reader.
While at the movie, we saw a trailer for Transformers: The Last Knight. It’s one of the best “Girl Power” type things I’ve seen in a long, long time. And I think it’s best because it’s Girl Power without being Anti-Boy in any way.
She says to us: “I was — just a normal kid. Before my world fell apart. Some kids used to tease me. They’d say, ‘You run like a girl. You throw like a girl. You fight like a girl.’ Fight like a girl? Yeah. I fight like a girl.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abr2LOR3pBU
Daylight Saving Time Again
It’s coming up Daylight Saving Time again on Sunday. Time again to set the clocks ahead with the spring and mess with our internal clocks once again. Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Arizona don’t mess with this and neither should the rest of the country. Livestock doesn’t go by clocks. Pets don’t go by clocks. And their feeding times will get all discombobulated. We should just stick with regular time and leave it that way.
52 Photos – Week 21
52 Photos – Week 12
Spring has sprung, this last day of winter.
52 Photos – Week 7
52 Photos – Week 3
Snow on the tree in the front yard. 
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving!
Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Print recipe| Dietary | Gluten Free |
| Meal type | Main Dish, Soup |
| Misc | Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Hot |
Ingredients
- 6 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 Medium Onion (diced)
- 3lb Yukon Gold Potatoes (peeled and diced)
- 1/2lb bacon (cut into lardons)
- 8oz sour cream
- 8oz cheddar cheese (shredded)
- 1 bunch chives (chopped)
- 2-3 green onions (sliced green parts)
- Salt and Pepper (to taste)
Note
This recipe uses the potatoes themselves to thicken the soup. You can add a bit milk if the soup is too thick, or add a bit of Wondra flour, cornstarch, or instant mashed potatoes if it's not thick enough.
Use the chives or green onions or both!
This recipe uses Yukon Gold potatoes because they are both starchy and can hold their shape for the chunky bits. You can also use Russet or baking potatoes.
Directions
| Step 1 | |
| Cook diced potatoes until cooked, but still firm. Set aside. | |
| Step 2 | |
| Cook bacon in the soup pan until most of the fat has rendered out. Set bacon aside. | |
| Step 3 | |
| Put onions in pan with bacon fat. Cook until translucent. | |
| Step 4 | |
| Deglaze with 2/3 of the chicken broth/stock | |
| Step 5 | |
| If you don't have a stick blender, take 2/3 of the potatoes and 1/3 of the chicken broth and puree in a regular blender or food processor and then add to the pan. | |
| Step 6 | |
| If you do have a stick blender, add the rest of the broth and 2/3 of the potatoes to the pan and puree with the stick blender. | |
| Step 7 | |
| Add the sour cream and 2/3 of the cheese, stirring until incorporated. | |
| Step 8 | |
| Add 2/3 of the chives or green onions (or both!), 2/3 of the reserved bacon, and the reserved potatoes to the soup. | |
| Step 9 | |
| Divide into bowls for serving using reserved bacon, cheese, and chives/onions for garnish. | |
