Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and don’t forget to mention my blog to your friends and family — www.Prohomemaker.com!

Yours in cooking, cleaning and saving,
Harry

It’s been a hard couple of weeks for me, but I just laughed more than I had in weeks. And, that’s because of what I consider the funniest TV episode of all time — “Chuckles Bites the Dust” from the “Mary Tyler Moore” show.

The writer of that Emmy award-winning episode, David Lloyd, passed away this week, but if he left any legacy, it was this hilarious episode from more than three decades ago. As I said on Facebook, “Feel down? Nothing like a dead clown to make the world seem a little brighter.”

So I encourage you to take the time and watch this episode — nothing could have brightened my evening more. The link to the episode is at the end of this great blog, saluting the witty mind who made the tragic death of a clown one of the funniest TV shows of all time.

Take the time — you won’t be sorry. Click here and get ready to laugh.

I just had to share … my best pal, Steve Goldstein, was featured on “The Daily Show” last night in the Michael Jackson story. It will replay again this evening, but you can watch Steve — our “celebrity grave expert” — right here. Steve wrote a book that came out this year called “LA’s Graveside Companiion — Where the VIPs RIP” — great reading (and available on Amazon). He also has a great web site BeneathLosAngeles.com.

Yea to Steve for further publicizing our “unique” hobby.

You can see the segment by clicking here: Steve Goldstein on “The Daily Show”

OK, just had to share … I was scouting new free sample offers I could post, and came across this very ironic combination — one offer was for a free sample of Trojan condoms; the next offering was a free sample of a new magazine … it’s name?

Wood.

Let’s go back in time — way back — to May 13, 1955. You come home from grocery shopping. After unloading the bags from your yellow 1953 Ford Fairlane, and putting them away in the icebox, you finally grab a moment of your own, and sit down to read your favorite magazine, Housekeeping Monthly. As you flip through it, you come across this most interesting article, “The Good Wife’s Guide.”

“Hmmm,” you think, “I wonder if I am a good spouse?”

Well, let’s see, do you follow these rules when hubby comes home from a day at the office:

and — most importantly:

I think about this time you would decide that 4 o’clock is the perfect time to whip up a Manhattan (and here is the recipe).

Let’s move forward to present time. Yep, these tips are incredibly sexist - and I mean with a capital S! But when you cut through the crap, there are some others I consider good advice for any homemaker — and I consider that definition to mean anyone who has the primary responsibility of keeping the house running. That could be a stay-at-home dad, a working mom, one-half of a domestic partnership, or even the single person.

I agree that the homemaker in charge should:

I would like to revise the end of the article to read: Being a homemaker is an important job that sometimes requires sacrifice. But the rewards of a calm, well-run household benefit not only your partner, your children, but also you.

Let’s have a Manhattan and revel in our success of a job well-done.

Let’s take a break from saving money, coupon shopping, whipping up delicious meals, etc. to just enjoy some humor.

As you know, I have a thing for retro art, but even more so for snarky humor — and this site combines the best of both worlds!

This was my personal favorite post from Kitchen Retro, so I bring you (just click the link):

How to have more fun in bed (and it’s not what you think)

Happy weekend, folks!

I’ve got a toothache tonight (I think it’s an infection in my stupid gums), so I am going to keep it short today. (That, and I popped a Vicodin 30 minutes ago, so I will probably be heading off soon to la-la land.)

So I thought I would post a fun poll today:

What is your grocery store pet peeve?

I’ve got a lot, but when I thought about it, I would say my No. 1 is “oblivious people.”

You know, the ones who go down the center of the aisle, with nary a thought that someone else may want to go down the walkway. They block your way, and make you say, “Excuse me,” when what I feel like saying is “Move your ass.”

So tell us all your pet peeve in the grocery store. This should be fun.

I just came across this video of Rachael Ray on a great new blog called “FoodNetworkHumor.com” and I just had to share.

There are so many comments that come to mind, but I’ll let the video stand by itself.

Rachael Ray Corn Porn

I don’t know about you, but I want a cigarette now.

Ina Garten — better known as the Barefoot Contessa on Food Network — recently put up a new “barn” on her Hamptons estate in which to film her show (it previously had been shot in her kitchen).

The place is gorgeous, and I thought we deserved an “ahh” break just to “look at pretty,” as my Mom says.

So enjoy the tour by clicking this link.