Find a Feeder

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Commnetary of Squirrel Proof Feeder


Review on Amazon.com by G. Rene "Frontman" (Seattle, WA, USA) on the Heritage Farms Absolute II Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder that just about sums up some people's attitude toward the varmints!

Not Squirrel Proof At All, But I Like Squirrels--Commentary on Feeder

"My wife has tried all kinds of different feeders to defeat the squirrels, but none have worked. She had high-hopes for this one, but it didn't take the squirrels long to figure out how to hang from the sides while working the lever up and down to release seeds. On the other hand, I LIKE squirrels, even had a tame one when I was a kid. So I keep rooting for the squirrels. They gotta eat too! And for those who think of squirrels as cute rats, they are not. Rats live about 3 to 4 years. Squirrels can live for 20 years. That means there are squirrels in the woods around our house who have been here longer than we have. And I figure they have a right to survive! Rats, on the other hand, I have an air rifle with a scope to take care of them.... "

I just have to say, I'm glad I'm not in his scope! He sounds serious about his method of rat control. What do you do to keep your squirrels under control? Or don't you care? Comments wanted.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Squirrel Nuts



If you can't beat them, join 'em! The squirrels that is! In this case, steal the nuts from the squirrels and buy that person who is hard to shop for this holiday season a box of these artisanal kettle-roasted nuts!

Squirrel Brand’s presentation is as memorable as the flavors, which makes these nuts great for gifting. They are packed in black and gold tins, and the larger quantities come in a beautiful wooden outer box. Give the gift that hits the spot, Squirrel Brand’s roasted nuts are classic crowd pleasers!

The Squirrel Brand Co. based in the U.S., has been kettle-roasting nuts since 1888. Squirrel Brand draws inspiration from around the world and creates unique and flavorful blends. From sweet California almonds seasoned with black truffles harvested in Northern Italy and ground into a sea salt to pecans laced with Squirrel Brand’s take on Herbes de Provence, the classic French blend of dried herbs, Squirrel Brand Nuts are a gourmet nut experience. Visit The Daily Grommet to find all the great flavors you can

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Black Friday Deals!


Finding great deals on Black Friday is akin to finding that feeder that defeats the squirrels! VICTORY! To help you in your search for the perfect gift try these links below. Maybe you can avoid the mall on Good Friday.


Black Friday 2011

Best Buy Black Friday Ad

Red Envelope Coupons 



Disclosure Policy:

*This policy is valid from 19 November 2011

 This blog is a collaborative blog written by more than one individual. This blog post represents a post where the blogger/s has accepted forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. The owner(s) of this blog was compensated for posting the above information(in this single blog post). Even though the owner(s) of this blog received compensation for the post or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Followup-Restaurant Review-Free Lunch & Mad Mex

Yesterday I got my 'Free Lunch' courtesy of the folks at Mad Mex in Willow Grove.  If you read my previous post, you know that Mad Mex is a Cal-Mex casual restaurant with locations in Columbus, Ohio, Philadelphia, State College and now Willow Grove PA. 

On arriving it was obvious that the construction wasn't quite finished but this didn't stop the hoards of diners who wanted their 'free lunch.'  Particularly pleasant was the open sided bar and dining areas.  The walls are 3/4 windows that open up so it looks like you're outdoors.  This makes the restaurant look more spacious and less crowded that if the walls were closed in.  The graphics and art around the restaurant are unique to say the least...fine as long as you're sober, but I sure wouldn't want to look at the back wall of the bar if I'd had one too many Big Azz Margaritas!  The sleek green cactus that is on the Mad Mex signage as well as on their glassware is appealing to the eye.  The one trick with all the metal artwork around this restaurant is going to be keeping all the cutouts in it dust free!  We were seated in a corner and the artwork there was already dusty. 

Food & Drinks--after all, this is why you really come to a restaurant right?  First of all, drinks.  The Dos Equis was served with a slice of lime that had been pre-squeezed into my husband's beer. Also the beer didn't have a head. I was the designated driver and was hoping to have a virgin Margarita--no such thing--so if you don't want alcohol to drink you have to rely on soda or iced tea.  I chose a simple iced tea--may I suggest you choose soda or plain water? The tea was served hot with four melting ice cubes.  Even an additional glass full of ice didn't cool it down sufficiently and the flavor was disappointing. Refills were slow or non-existent.

Food-Our appetizer was nachos, they were well executed but if you're counting calories...choose a salad instead! Nachos had plenty of cheese, lots of meat and the serving was plenty for three or four.  The nachos arrived hot and ready to eat--lot of jalapenos, so if you're not a pepper fan ask for them on the side. But what are nachos without peppers?

Our main course was shrimp fajitas.  Plenty of onion and peppers under the skewers of  a dozen jumbo shrimp.  The shrimp were flavorful, well seasoned but a little tough. Maybe a little less grill time? Plenty of lettuce, tomato, cheese, guacamole and sour cream served on the side and four soft tortillas to wrap it all up.  Messy to eat...but they gave us plenty of extra napkins.  So a little less grill time on the shrimp and I'd order it again.

Desserts: Skip desserts at Mad Mex.  Our waiter forgot to tell us that desserts were sized for two--so we were overwhelmed with the amount of dessert.  I tried the brownie and ice cream--generic, an odd menu item for a Mexican restaurant.  My husband tried the fried ice cream.  I think they forgot to fry it.  It was rock hard and doughy.  If it's meant to be that way for sure avoid the desserts! By the time you get to dessert you will have fillled up on appetizers and your main course anyway.

Service: The hostess was pleasant and seated us promptly.  She was polite and gave us information about Mad Mex when we said we hadn't been to one of their restaurants before.  Our waiter was obviously new to waiting tables but working on it.  To be fair, waiting tables when you first start takes nerves of steel!  He's getting there.  He was well versed on menu items and remembered to tell us about the specials and made suggestions.  He brought food promptly but was slow or non-existent on drink delivery. He got confused and asked if we wanted dessert after our appetizer however he obviously meant well.  He'll get there.  The management stopped at our table to say hello and welcome us to the restaurant.  I'm always happy to see management on the floor in a restaurant, it makes it look like they care!

Costs: OK, so today's lunch was free other than our 20% tip.  But our check would have been around $60.  Would I pay $60 for lunch or for the food I had? Nope. It was okay but not outstanding. But since it's preview days I'll give it a chance another time and hope for improvement.  The food was plentiful but too much for lunch--we didn't eat dinner that night, we were still full.  But the price point was high for lunch.  If you're going for lunch my advice is to stick with lighter choices, skip appetizer and desserts or just have an appetizer to share for lunch. 

Pluses: Decor was interesting, graphics on menus/glassware/signage attractive.  Open air walls in the dining room and bar made the restaurant appear larger and since we had a 70 degree day outside, perfect for open air dining.  Would head back just to enjoy the quasi-outdoor dining experience.  The menu and the servers have potential, they need to grow into each other, but the potential is there.  Management was actively involved and the hostess professional. 

Recommendation: Mad Mex Willow Grove's preview day didn't show off the skills of their kitchen and waitstaff to the best advantage, but give them a month or two and I suspect the service will become seamless and the kitchen staff will have mastered every item on the menu. Meanwhile it's worth a visit to try out the Gobblerito--which the people at the table next to us were enthusiastically consuming. 

**This writer was compensated by the restaurant by receiving a 'free lunch' and beverage in exchange for writing about the restaurant and promoting it via social media sites.  The opinions are those of the author and not influenced by the restaurant or PR firm representing them. 

Monday, November 7, 2011

Momma Wants A New Set of Wheels! (Well Tires Anyway!)

I have to admit, I HATE replacing and changing my own tires. In fact it's probably been ten years since I had to do it last. It's not that I don't know how to do it (I taught my husband), or that I can't do it, it's that nothing is worse than getting down on the ground and trying to get a tire off that's been put on by someone at the gas station! Their equipment beats my upper body strength any day! So you can imagine my glee at discovering TireVan! A company that comes to your home or office and replaces your tires, no muss, no fuss, no grease on your clothes.  At my advanced age (LOL) I've learned one very important lesson - sometimes it's better to let the experts do the job, even if I do know how to do it.

Are you facing the demoralizing task of sitting around while you replace the tires on your car? Or have a flat in your driveway, realize you need your tire replaced and REALLY don't want to change it yourself. Who wants to have to put that 'donut' tire on and then schlep down to the gas station or local tire store to get the work done? And that's if they can make time for you.  And waiting all day for your roadside assistance to show up isn't any bargain either. (The last time I called mine it took them 5 hours to show up, and then they'd left a tool they needed back at the station! Arrggh! Never again!) Never waste time sitting around twiddling your thumbs while you wait for it to 'BE YOUR TURN'.  No more sitting in smokey waiting rooms with televisions blaring soap operas and stocked with out of date magazines.  Instead call TireVan.  TireVan's customer service experts help you choose your tire/or tires and schedule a time for them to come to YOU with everything they need to install the tires on your car.  Best of all, you don't have to be there for them to do the work. 

WOW! No more wasting PTO time (personal/vacation/sick time) to take off from work or ruining a weekend while you get your tires replaced.  Face it, we ALL have something better to do! TireVan can come to your office, your home or almost anywhere you designate. Expert technicians arrive in a TireVan with everything needed to professionally install tires on the spot. They'll come to your workplace, your home or even the mall!  A small amount of level, paved space around your car is needed to complete the installation. It takes under an hour to mount, balance, and install four tires. TireVans technicians are highly trained and use only the best equipment. Installation and tires are fully guaranteed. 

TireVan serves the Washington DC metro & Philadelphia metro areas. They guarantee their prices are the lowest around. 



               

Is This You?


Is this you? Do you want it to be? I've always vacillated back and forth between would I rather be that hell on wheels woman 'the devil' fears or do I want to be the woman everyone says nice things about.  After all, sometimes NICE is sooo boring... but then again... 

Of course my husband who loves nothing better than to sleep in on a weekend probably says 'oh no, she's up!' all the time!  I admit, I'm a neurotic early bird.  If it's 5AM and I'm not up it's an unusual day.  And it throws the rest of my day off if I sleep in.  Not only that, much to my husband's dismay I am HAPPY early in the morning! BEFORE coffee!  Are you a day person or night person? Slug a bed or up and moving early? And does the devil say "OH NO SHE'S UP" when YOUR feet hit the floor?

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Willow Grove Goes Mad for Mad Mex!


Yes, Willow Grove and the surrounding towns are all about to go mad for Mad Mex! Opening a new location in Willow Grove, the Cal-Mex restaurant, Mad Mex is offering a free lunch or dinner for up to four people to their facebook fans! Head over to their facebook page and check out their wall for info on how to score a free pass to check out Mad Mex Willow Grove on its very first day of service, Tuesday, November 8, 2011.  Reservation are available for both lunch (11am - 2pm) or dinner (5pm-10pm). 


If you've never been to Mad Mex before be sure to try one of their Bad Azz Margaritas!  So so good!  I love the mango but there are lots to choose from.  Mad Mex serves Cal Mex food --they're known for it being funky and fresh (but alas, they didn't want any of the squirrel meat I wanted to give them, I figured squirrel enchiladas would have been REALLY MAD).  But after a few margaritas you'll have the confidence to defeat ANY BAD AZZ Squirrel!  But they DO have a special November treat known as the Gobblerito. 

What is a Gobblerito? You guessed it...a turkey burrito.  But not just ANY turkey burrito, no, this one has turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and corn with spices and some obligatory black beans! (Oh yes, and a side of cranberry sauce! What else?)

But whether you're looking for an unusual burrito or a spicy delicious and fresh traditional burrito Max Mex is the place to go! For other locations see their web page.  So far Mad Mex is only in Ohio and Pennsylvania, so if you live in another state it's either time for a road trip or a raft of letters to Mad Mex corporate about why they should open a Mad Mex in your hometown.  Oh yes, and if you're writing letters would you ask them why they don't have a Squirrelito? Someone must want all these squirrels in my backyard!

**The author will be compensated for writing about their opinion of Mad Mex by receiving the aforementioned 'free lunch/and or dinner'. All opinions are the authors' own and are an honest appraisal of the product or location or deal available. And the author doesn't REALLY hunt squirrels, kill them or do them any harm so no letters from PETA please! The squirrel portion of this post is meant to be tongue in cheek just in case you missed the point!