There was a terrible, tragic accident last week on an oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The platform was on fire, men died, and BP Oil is on the hook for repairs and lost revenues.

But even worse is that the oil is spewing from the ocean floor and they can’t find a way to stop it. It is an horrendous environmental accident. Millions of gallons of oil wasted and flowing freely across the Gul of Mexico. They expect the oil slick, already the size of the island of Jamaica, to reach landfall this weekend. God help the animals and birds and other wildlife on the Gulf coast. This is much worse than the Valdez accident, many years ago. And so very sad for America.

We were watching the Predators in their 5th playoff game against the Chicago Blackhawks last night. There was a very odd moment, when the officials could not find the puck. We called it, “Hide the puck on the Goalie.”

I loved Greensboro – it is a nice, friendly small town. Dian and her husband have a nice split foyer home and now that their family is growing again, they want to build onto the back of the house to make a new family room and two extra bedrooms with a shared bath.

Dian was telling me about their search for a good contractor to do the remodeling. Finding a good contractor is the secret to getting the work done right and within budget.

Dian asked her neighbors for suggestions on who to ask for estimates on the work they want done. One of her neighbors had used a home improvement contractor that she liked. The contractor, Tim, does all kinds of work -from kitchen remodeling, to adding a garage or deck, to foundation or roof repair. It helps a lot that her neighbors had used his company and were satisfied. Plus, Dian was able to go inside their home and see the quality of work for herself.

The best thing about Yahoo chat is that you never know who else will be online the same time that you are, and they might want to say hello when they see that you logged in. That happened tonight, when my girlfriend, Dian was online late and saw that I was on, too.

Dian and her husband have lived in Greensboro ever since they got married about 11 years ago. I met her a few months after she gave birth to their first baby, a little girl. Dian quit her job as a teacher to stay at home with the baby, and she spent a lot of time online during the day.

Dian was originally from Valdosta, Georgia, and her husband was from Charlotte. He found a good computer job in Greensboro, which was close enough for relatives to visit, but not so close as to be crowded by pushy in-laws. We’ve visited each other once or twice a year ever since we first met, even though Nashville is more than a half day’s drive away. I wish we lived closer, but since we can chat any time of day or night, that helps keep our friendship alive.

Friends, I like potato chips. I especially like real chips as opposed to Pringles. I like dip. I make my own dips and I like Dean’s dips.I don’t buy or eat chips very often, but sometimes potato chips and dip are a great snack or side item for a hot dog or sandwich.

Some people like the convenience of flavored chips, such as barbeque or green onion. But I had no idea that flavored chips were such a big business for Frito-Lay. And evidently, the popular flavors vary according to what part of the world they are furnishing their salted snack items. Here is a very popular flavored chip in the Asian markets:

For those of you who don’t speak or read that Asian language, look closely at the illustration on the bag. Yes, it really is turkey and gravy flavored potato chips. Turkey. Oh – and let’s not forget to garnish that turkey platter with some green beans and sushi rolls. And yes, they do have clam flavored chips, and other seafood based flavors, too. I had no idea. I’m not mocking them, I am just surprised at the variety flavors not on the market here in my local grocery!

I happened across an interesting recipe for an Italian dish and thought I would give it a try tonight. There were a lot of ingredients that I don’t normally keep on hand, so I made a shopping list and went to the grocery store on my lunch break. The main thing I needed was fresh Basil and Panko bread crumbs. The recipe called for fresh parsley, but the store did not have any and I have some dried parsley in my spice rack, so I used that.

The recipe called for chicken breasts and a fresh tomato basil sauce. It was a little bit more effort than I like for a week night dinner, but it turned out great! I was surprised at the intensity of some of the flavors from using fresh herbs and vegetables as opposed to canned or dried ingredients. It would be worth making again, with some nice side dishes and a glass of red wine.

A lot of my friends went to a surprise birthday party for Bobby Bare. They all got to his house about an hour before he was expected home and thank goodness it was dark before he did, as there were dozens of cars parked in the back yard. It was a huge surprise for Bobby when he walked in, and with all the musicians in the room, you would not believe the variety of wonderful songs that were played all night, well into the wee hours. Of course, musicians are used to be up until the wee hours, but regular folks like me start to droop after 1:00 or 2:00 am!

For a lot of people, April 1 means they can have fun pulling pranks all day. There will be all kinds of practical jokes played on everyone, from family members to co-workers and even neighbors or customers. I have to admit that I have had some fun pranks over the years, and I do stay vigilant all day on April Fool’s day.

But April 1 was also the date of my maternal grandmother’s birth. She was a wonderful, fun loving and energetic woman and a great influence on my life.She passed away many years ago from cancer, but I still think fondly of her, especially on April 1. Thinking of you, Grandma Bobbie, today and always!