It seems to me that I've already posted about this topic, but I couldn't find it...maybe I should label the posts...but then I'm sure I would agonize over finding the perfect label.
Anywhoo, I have grown increasingly annoyed at phone calls on our land line. Phone calls from friends and family are not the problem, of course. And we have been free of telemarketers for years, for the most part. Now it's non-profits, marketing and farming surveys, and political calls. They come at all times of the day, although I find it most irritating when the phone rings between 8:30 and 9 PM and it's one of those unwanted calls. I've told Wayne not (now I remember when I wrote a similar post...it was the Tele-Surveyer post...I just didn't realize it was that long ago.) to answer the phone if he didn't recognize the caller and he has complied.
But, now I've had an epiphany...just unplug the damn phone! So, I've been trying to remember to unplug it around 6 PM. I leave it that way and then plug it back in much later (those callers have rules about how late they are allowed to call.) Today, a call came in at about 8:30 this morning while I was on the other side of the house from the base phone. I nearly broke my neck racing to the kitchen to unplug it. You see, if it's unplugged, the caller will hear it ring and ring and ring. It doesn't ring here and the answering machine doesn't come on. I know, I'm evil, but it feels great! It's been unplugged all day and I love it, love it, love it!
So, friends and family, if the phone rings and rings and rings and the answering machine never comes on, feel free to call either Wayne or I on our cell phones. I'm not posting the number here...if you need us badly enough, you'll know someone to call to get our numbers.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Wendel/Rioux Family Christmas-2009
The 2009 Wendel/Rioux Family Christmas was hosted by Tom and Anne at their home in Austin. The only little ones attending this year were one-year old Mallie Wendel, who came with her mom and dad, Natalie and A. J. and 7 month old Jax Bubela, who came with his mom Carolyn, Aunt Wendy, Cookie & Pop and Uncle Chris.
I've decided not to try to put the photos in any specific order. A reminder that clicking on a photo will open it larger in another window.
An 8-pt. buck in the neighbor's yard studies the group of us on the deck watching him. Or maybe he's looking at the doe. There were three does and the buck that spent some time in the yard.
Carolyn , Virgie & Janie looking at something while Jax studies the book.
Susan, Carolyn, Virgie, Jax, Janie & Hannah
Mallie and Robin
A. J., Natalie & Mallie
Wendy, Hannah, Robin, Susan
Wendy, Hannah, Robin, Chad
Scott, Wayne, Bo & Richard
Janie, Virgie, Patricia, Tom, Billy, Anne
Billy, Anne, Janie, Chris
I've decided not to try to put the photos in any specific order. A reminder that clicking on a photo will open it larger in another window.
An 8-pt. buck in the neighbor's yard studies the group of us on the deck watching him. Or maybe he's looking at the doe. There were three does and the buck that spent some time in the yard.
Carolyn , Virgie & Janie looking at something while Jax studies the book.
Susan, Carolyn, Virgie, Jax, Janie & Hannah
Mallie and Robin
A. J., Natalie & Mallie
Wendy, Hannah, Robin, Susan
Wendy, Hannah, Robin, Chad
Scott, Wayne, Bo & Richard
Janie, Virgie, Patricia, Tom, Billy, Anne
Billy, Anne, Janie, ChrisThe family songfest. That's Anne's son, Michael sitting on the floor. I think we sounded pretty darn good this year. Hardly screwed up at all.
And finally, below, Jax and Mallie are dancing to "Jingle Bells." Well, Mallie is. Jax isn't standing, but he does start kicking his feet as if he wants to dance.
And finally, below, Jax and Mallie are dancing to "Jingle Bells." Well, Mallie is. Jax isn't standing, but he does start kicking his feet as if he wants to dance.
Snow Day
Snow had been predicted all week, but being the cynic I am, I declared that I would "believe it when I see it!" I think my cynicism might be a defense mechanism...if I expect to be disappointed, I can't be disappointed...if you get my drift (pun not intended.)
So, it was lovely to get up Friday morning to snow falling in south Texas, again. Un-freaking-believable! It snowed all day long; much of the time quite hard! By mid-afternoon it had slowed quite a bit; I guess we had about an inch or two that covered most areas.
Early (well, 9 or so) in the morning
About 11 AM, looking out toward the road
Still 11 AM
The Garners' snowmen about 5 PM
5 PM in front of the Garner home
This standing water shows how much rain we have had recently
Kelly and Gage have a small fort built. You can barely see it at the left.
So, it was lovely to get up Friday morning to snow falling in south Texas, again. Un-freaking-believable! It snowed all day long; much of the time quite hard! By mid-afternoon it had slowed quite a bit; I guess we had about an inch or two that covered most areas.
Early (well, 9 or so) in the morning
About 11 AM, looking out toward the road
Still 11 AM
The Garners' snowmen about 5 PM
5 PM in front of the Garner home
This standing water shows how much rain we have had recently
Kelly and Gage have a small fort built. You can barely see it at the left. If you're into dull, you can listen to my lame commentary.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Our Family Thanksgiving
This is the second year that we have had our family Thanksgiving the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Scheduling it at that time means we don't have to share the girls and their families with anyone else. The little ones are still in school, so we can do our preparing and cooking uninterrupted.
The meal was outstanding, as usual. We never vary the menu, so there's no reason for it to disappoint anyone. This year I made the turkey, dressing, gravy and a dessert. Dee made a pecan pie and the girls made the rest. I think they had two items apiece, only one of which required much effort.
We have most of our gatherings at Carolyn & Brent's house now. They have plenty of room with stained concrete floors that make it easy to rearrange furniture and set up folding tables.
Dee joined us this year. Here she is getting the once over by Jax.
Carlee is strapped in and ready to be served.
Our three lovely daughters
Not exactly sure what look Carlee was going for...
Looks like a serious discussion here
Aunt Robin & Carlee
Jax and Kate
The meal was outstanding, as usual. We never vary the menu, so there's no reason for it to disappoint anyone. This year I made the turkey, dressing, gravy and a dessert. Dee made a pecan pie and the girls made the rest. I think they had two items apiece, only one of which required much effort.
Dee joined us this year. Here she is getting the once over by Jax.
Carlee is strapped in and ready to be served. 
Our three lovely daughters
Not exactly sure what look Carlee was going for...
Looks like a serious discussion here
Aunt Robin & Carlee
Jax and Kate
Friday, November 20, 2009
A thought or two about instructions
Yesterday, as I opened a box containing 4 sticks of butter, I noticed for the first time that there were instructions for opening the box printed on the bottom, in two languages. I was even more surprised to discover directions for closing the package, also in two languages, on an inner flap. This is a box of butter, people, not very complicated.
I was removing all the sticks of butter from the box and storing them in the special butter compartment of the fridge door. Perhaps if I were going to keep them in the box, I would need to know exactly how the box end worked in order to close it. But, being smarter than the average monkey, (pardon my reworking of your line, Yogi) I think I could have figured it out without the instructions.
It also occurred to me that if one actually did need the instructions, possibly reading wouldn't be in their skill set either.
Just an observance. Thank you.
One more observation...Spanish seems really hard!
I was removing all the sticks of butter from the box and storing them in the special butter compartment of the fridge door. Perhaps if I were going to keep them in the box, I would need to know exactly how the box end worked in order to close it. But, being smarter than the average monkey, (pardon my reworking of your line, Yogi) I think I could have figured it out without the instructions.
It also occurred to me that if one actually did need the instructions, possibly reading wouldn't be in their skill set either.
Just an observance. Thank you.
One more observation...Spanish seems really hard!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Injury report
A couple of posts ago I admitted to my addiction to StoneLoops! of Jurassica, a game app I have on my iphone. I noticed a week or so ago that my index finger was very sore and tried giving it a couple of yanks (using the chiropractic skills I have gained through osmosis.) That didn't help, though, but I never thought about it when I was at Carolyn's, where I could have gotten some actual therapy.
It took a few days before I realized my pain was from overuse of the digit during game play. It even hurts to type here. Look at me, suffering for you!
I'm still playing StoneLoops! Still addicted, rooting for commercials instead of fast forwarding through them. (I grab the phone and play during the commercial.) But now I'm using my middle finger instead of the index. I don't seem to be pressing as hard using that finger. Hopefully, I don't suffer an injury to that finger, too. I don't think I could play with my left hand, though maybe I should give it a try. Just in case.
It took a few days before I realized my pain was from overuse of the digit during game play. It even hurts to type here. Look at me, suffering for you!
I'm still playing StoneLoops! Still addicted, rooting for commercials instead of fast forwarding through them. (I grab the phone and play during the commercial.) But now I'm using my middle finger instead of the index. I don't seem to be pressing as hard using that finger. Hopefully, I don't suffer an injury to that finger, too. I don't think I could play with my left hand, though maybe I should give it a try. Just in case.
Thanksgiving preparations
Last year, for the first time, our family decided to have our Thanksgiving Dinner the Saturday before Thanksgiving. That way, they can spend Thanksgiving Day wherever they want.
We are doing the same thing this year. Earlier in the week I emailed the girls telling them I would make the turkey & dressing & gravy and gave them the list of other dishes that need to be prepared. They made their choices and all should go well. At dinner tonight, Pat mentioned a do-ahead gravy that she has personally tried and pronounces wonderful. I asked her to send it to me...hope she remembers...otherwise I have to make my usual gravy, which is fine, but not what I would call wonderful.
****************
A year or so ago I bought a Cuisinart food processor to replace the GE food processor that I had been using for about 30 years. That GE sounded like one of those machines that chews up branches. Or maybe it was more like a rock tumbler...or a combination of the two. It got the job done, but it was so noisy! The new one is very quiet and just feels so substantial. I've only used it a few times, so I'm not totally familiar with how the lid components fit together...or what they all do...or how to put the lid back on after washing.
After I used it to chop up the onions and celery for the dressing, I washed it. As I was rinsing it, I saw that soap was in parts of the lid that I wasn't positive I could get to. But, I kept rinsing, turning it this way and that until I didn't see any more soap. I wanted to dry it and get it put away, but now I couldn't get to the places that were soapy before...do you just let it evaporate? (Which reminds me of a story about an aquarium we used to have...after the last fish died, I just let the water evaporate. Took about a year, as far as I can remember.) As I was stuffing and twisting the dishtowel into a small opening, it suddenly came apart, releasing one of the components that I thought was stationary. Okay, but now there was another place that I couldn't get reach to dry. I was again stuffing and twisting the dishtowel when, lo and behold, another component came loose! It was like I had a personal genie reading my mind and taking this thing apart for me. I had no idea what had happened...but, I got it dry. My personal genie also helped me get it back together, but then deserted me when I tried to put the lid back onto the base. I had to work that out by myself. Eventually, I did figure it out.
Sadly, I know it will all be brand new to me the next time I use it. Maybe I should put a note inside it explaining to myself that the lid comes apart if you screw with it long enough. I came to the conclusion that I hadn't actually figured it out and a monkey could have done just as well, at least at taking it apart.
Tomorrow I'll make my dessert, a variation of Coconut Supreme. Mine is 1/2 Chocolate Supreme and 1/2 Banana Cream Supreme. Any flavor of pudding is good. My current favorite is Lemon Supreme and I'll be taking that to the Wendel/Rioux Family Christmas in Austin in December.
We are doing the same thing this year. Earlier in the week I emailed the girls telling them I would make the turkey & dressing & gravy and gave them the list of other dishes that need to be prepared. They made their choices and all should go well. At dinner tonight, Pat mentioned a do-ahead gravy that she has personally tried and pronounces wonderful. I asked her to send it to me...hope she remembers...otherwise I have to make my usual gravy, which is fine, but not what I would call wonderful.
****************
A year or so ago I bought a Cuisinart food processor to replace the GE food processor that I had been using for about 30 years. That GE sounded like one of those machines that chews up branches. Or maybe it was more like a rock tumbler...or a combination of the two. It got the job done, but it was so noisy! The new one is very quiet and just feels so substantial. I've only used it a few times, so I'm not totally familiar with how the lid components fit together...or what they all do...or how to put the lid back on after washing.
After I used it to chop up the onions and celery for the dressing, I washed it. As I was rinsing it, I saw that soap was in parts of the lid that I wasn't positive I could get to. But, I kept rinsing, turning it this way and that until I didn't see any more soap. I wanted to dry it and get it put away, but now I couldn't get to the places that were soapy before...do you just let it evaporate? (Which reminds me of a story about an aquarium we used to have...after the last fish died, I just let the water evaporate. Took about a year, as far as I can remember.) As I was stuffing and twisting the dishtowel into a small opening, it suddenly came apart, releasing one of the components that I thought was stationary. Okay, but now there was another place that I couldn't get reach to dry. I was again stuffing and twisting the dishtowel when, lo and behold, another component came loose! It was like I had a personal genie reading my mind and taking this thing apart for me. I had no idea what had happened...but, I got it dry. My personal genie also helped me get it back together, but then deserted me when I tried to put the lid back onto the base. I had to work that out by myself. Eventually, I did figure it out.
Sadly, I know it will all be brand new to me the next time I use it. Maybe I should put a note inside it explaining to myself that the lid comes apart if you screw with it long enough. I came to the conclusion that I hadn't actually figured it out and a monkey could have done just as well, at least at taking it apart.
Tomorrow I'll make my dessert, a variation of Coconut Supreme. Mine is 1/2 Chocolate Supreme and 1/2 Banana Cream Supreme. Any flavor of pudding is good. My current favorite is Lemon Supreme and I'll be taking that to the Wendel/Rioux Family Christmas in Austin in December.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Pigs must be flying
I read a recipe for brussel sprouts recently that made them actually sound good. I've had them once or twice in my life but didn't like them enough to cook them more than that. Of course, it goes without saying that that isn't the sort of thing Wayne likes to eat. His saying is that "vegetables are for gardens." He'll eat salad, celery sticks and carrot sticks, but that's about it.
Anywhooo, having purchased brussel sprouts at the grocery store, I looked at Mommy, Hungry and found the recipe that I wanted:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Preheat oven to 400* F.
Remove the ends and brown or damaged leaves of the Brussel sprouts. Rinse well in cold water. Dry the sprouts well. Cut in half lengthwise. In a bowl, gently mix the sprouts with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast on foil-lined baking sheet for 30- 40 minutes, until crispy and on the outside and tender inside.
I was only cooking them for me, so I adjusted the ingredients accordingly, although I didn't actually measure anything. I think I only used 5 or 6 of the sprouts, halved...so 10-12 halfs.
Wayne came in for lunch about the time I got them out of the oven. It looked like they were really burnt on the outside, but I picked up one of the burnt outer leaves and took a nip, thinking "how stupid are you to eat this bit that looks like a burnt piece of paper?" But, it was actually still pretty good except that I had put too much salt in the olive oil. Wayne saw them and made a negative comment...which I totally expected and did not get mad about. I agreed that they were pretty crispy and too salty. So he said he might like them then and I gave him one to try. Surprisingly he actually tried it and got another one. I think he might have eaten more if he thought I was willing to share.
All in all, I enjoyed it and will cook the rest of them the same way. The oil & seasonings were about what you would want to dip some good bread in (at least it would have been if I hadn't added too much salt. From now on, I'll just make it like a bread dipping recipe.
It did stink up the house a bit, though. I'd rather smell cinnamon rolls baking!
Anywhooo, having purchased brussel sprouts at the grocery store, I looked at Mommy, Hungry and found the recipe that I wanted:
Roasted Brussel Sprouts
2 pounds Brussels sprouts4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Preheat oven to 400* F.
Remove the ends and brown or damaged leaves of the Brussel sprouts. Rinse well in cold water. Dry the sprouts well. Cut in half lengthwise. In a bowl, gently mix the sprouts with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast on foil-lined baking sheet for 30- 40 minutes, until crispy and on the outside and tender inside.
I was only cooking them for me, so I adjusted the ingredients accordingly, although I didn't actually measure anything. I think I only used 5 or 6 of the sprouts, halved...so 10-12 halfs.
Wayne came in for lunch about the time I got them out of the oven. It looked like they were really burnt on the outside, but I picked up one of the burnt outer leaves and took a nip, thinking "how stupid are you to eat this bit that looks like a burnt piece of paper?" But, it was actually still pretty good except that I had put too much salt in the olive oil. Wayne saw them and made a negative comment...which I totally expected and did not get mad about. I agreed that they were pretty crispy and too salty. So he said he might like them then and I gave him one to try. Surprisingly he actually tried it and got another one. I think he might have eaten more if he thought I was willing to share.
All in all, I enjoyed it and will cook the rest of them the same way. The oil & seasonings were about what you would want to dip some good bread in (at least it would have been if I hadn't added too much salt. From now on, I'll just make it like a bread dipping recipe.
It did stink up the house a bit, though. I'd rather smell cinnamon rolls baking!
Monday, November 9, 2009
StoneLoops! and more addictive games
Okay, I wouldn't be surprised if I were diagnosed as having a mild case of selective OCD. Once I find a game or puzzle I like, I play it ALL the time.
I used to go to jigzone.com every day without fail. Since you could choose any (or all) cuts of hundreds of puzzles...free...I would start with the daily puzzle and work those. Then I would go to the different categories and work those. I went through the entire list of puzzles several times before I forced myself to back off and just work the daily puzzle in about 3 or 4 cuts...always the same cuts. I liked the USA cut, the 87 piece crazy cut and the 91 piece lizard cut. I was always well under half the average time. I just went to the website and worked my favorite cuts on the daily puzzle. The USA puzzle took me about 2 minutes, almost twice as long as I usually took. The other puzzles took me about twice as long also. Just didn't quite remember where the different pieces went. It's been several months since I last visited the site because a new challenge presented itself and I spent more time there.
The new challenge was a freebie from Incredimail. It was called "Dream Wedding." I don't know what I did to deserve it, but they offered a free game, so I downloaded it and immediately got hooked. It is a "find the object" type puzzle. The first time I tried it, it took me over 2 hours in real time to get to the end. It took about an hour & a half in puzzle time. So, naturally I had to work to improve that time. Jigzone didn't get visited at all. Instead I looked for hidden objects. I have improved my real time to about 40 minutes. My best puzzle solve time is about 8 1/2 minutes. The objects I have to find might be different each time, but they're always in the same place, so it's just a matter of memory. I don't know how much faster I can get, but I keep doing it anyway.
Actually, Dream Wedding has fallen by the wayside because I downloaded an app I really like on my iphone and now I play THAT all the time. It's called StoneLoops! of Jurassica....similar in action to the very old Asteroids game. Except in StoneLoops you direct a colored rock at lines of colored rocks and when you match a minimum of three of them, they are smashed and that might cause other smashes of other rocks. There are 15 levels in each of 4 areas and you can retry each level...if at first you don't succeed. So far, I've completed the whole thing twice and have only 1 level to go to finish it a 3rd time. Obviously, it's addictive. I've been doing that instead of watching television...and I like television.
If only I could get addicted to housework!
I used to go to jigzone.com every day without fail. Since you could choose any (or all) cuts of hundreds of puzzles...free...I would start with the daily puzzle and work those. Then I would go to the different categories and work those. I went through the entire list of puzzles several times before I forced myself to back off and just work the daily puzzle in about 3 or 4 cuts...always the same cuts. I liked the USA cut, the 87 piece crazy cut and the 91 piece lizard cut. I was always well under half the average time. I just went to the website and worked my favorite cuts on the daily puzzle. The USA puzzle took me about 2 minutes, almost twice as long as I usually took. The other puzzles took me about twice as long also. Just didn't quite remember where the different pieces went. It's been several months since I last visited the site because a new challenge presented itself and I spent more time there.
The new challenge was a freebie from Incredimail. It was called "Dream Wedding." I don't know what I did to deserve it, but they offered a free game, so I downloaded it and immediately got hooked. It is a "find the object" type puzzle. The first time I tried it, it took me over 2 hours in real time to get to the end. It took about an hour & a half in puzzle time. So, naturally I had to work to improve that time. Jigzone didn't get visited at all. Instead I looked for hidden objects. I have improved my real time to about 40 minutes. My best puzzle solve time is about 8 1/2 minutes. The objects I have to find might be different each time, but they're always in the same place, so it's just a matter of memory. I don't know how much faster I can get, but I keep doing it anyway.
Actually, Dream Wedding has fallen by the wayside because I downloaded an app I really like on my iphone and now I play THAT all the time. It's called StoneLoops! of Jurassica....similar in action to the very old Asteroids game. Except in StoneLoops you direct a colored rock at lines of colored rocks and when you match a minimum of three of them, they are smashed and that might cause other smashes of other rocks. There are 15 levels in each of 4 areas and you can retry each level...if at first you don't succeed. So far, I've completed the whole thing twice and have only 1 level to go to finish it a 3rd time. Obviously, it's addictive. I've been doing that instead of watching television...and I like television.
If only I could get addicted to housework!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Hot tamales
Yum! Fresh tamales!
I got up really late this morning and has been my routine this week lately, I brewed a large coffee in my new Keurig single cup coffee maker and drank more than half of it before I made and ate my oatmeal. Love the coffee maker! I have been drinking instant coffee for several years and was perfectly fine with it. Then, when I got my last facial I had a cup of brewed coffee from a Keurig. I liked it so much that Carolyn (when I wasn't in the room) questioned them about it with the intent of buying one for me for Christmas...a gift from all three families.
Too bad! I didn't want to wait for it. The next time I went into a Bed, Bath & Beyond I bought the sucker and boxes of different types of coffee. I kept a list of the coffees and wrote what I did or did not like about them. The "pods" are about 50 cents each. You can also buy a reusable filter to fill with your own coffee. Numerous roasts are available in the store, but at my local supermarket and Walmart there are just a few. Of course, they're available online...but I haven't checked that out yet.
Enough about the coffee. Right after I finished my breakfast, I started a pot of quick chili. While I was doing that Wayne called to let me know that Raul (our tamale dealer) had been by and wanted to know if we wanted any. I told him sure, but we didn't have room for much in the freezer, so just get us 3 dozen. He said he was going to Edie & Glenn's to watch the Aggie football game, so we decided to get a couple dozen more for him to take over there...along with the chili and some rice that I would make.
Raul delivered the tamales to Wayne and when he brought them, piping hot, to the house I couldn't wait to tear into the package. Omigod! They were so good...the masa was soft and moist and the meat was medium spicy...just right. I probably ate half a dozen right then (even though I had just finished my oatmeal) and pronounced them fit to take to Edie & Glenn's. Just talking about them makes me want to go finish off that dozen. Think I will!
The quick chili recipe...in case anyone is interested, is below. It's what Carolyn makes for chili and fritos. Personally, I prefer Wolf Brand chili for that...
Quick Chili
Brown 1 lb hamburger
Add 3 or 4 tablespoons taco seasoning (to taste)
Add 1 can Ranch Style beans
Optional: Add 1/2 can chili-style tomatoes (I use the HEB brand...I also use an immersion blender to make it more like tomato sauce...Wayne pushes tomato dices to the side)
I add a can of water (we like it soupy.) Let it simmer as long as you like. I like the hamburger meat to get tender, so I cook it at least an hour. Carolyn would probably serve it as soon as all ingredients are in and it's heated good. She's usually in more of a rush with hungry kids banging on the table.
I got up really late this morning and has been my routine this week lately, I brewed a large coffee in my new Keurig single cup coffee maker and drank more than half of it before I made and ate my oatmeal. Love the coffee maker! I have been drinking instant coffee for several years and was perfectly fine with it. Then, when I got my last facial I had a cup of brewed coffee from a Keurig. I liked it so much that Carolyn (when I wasn't in the room) questioned them about it with the intent of buying one for me for Christmas...a gift from all three families.
Too bad! I didn't want to wait for it. The next time I went into a Bed, Bath & Beyond I bought the sucker and boxes of different types of coffee. I kept a list of the coffees and wrote what I did or did not like about them. The "pods" are about 50 cents each. You can also buy a reusable filter to fill with your own coffee. Numerous roasts are available in the store, but at my local supermarket and Walmart there are just a few. Of course, they're available online...but I haven't checked that out yet.
Enough about the coffee. Right after I finished my breakfast, I started a pot of quick chili. While I was doing that Wayne called to let me know that Raul (our tamale dealer) had been by and wanted to know if we wanted any. I told him sure, but we didn't have room for much in the freezer, so just get us 3 dozen. He said he was going to Edie & Glenn's to watch the Aggie football game, so we decided to get a couple dozen more for him to take over there...along with the chili and some rice that I would make.
Raul delivered the tamales to Wayne and when he brought them, piping hot, to the house I couldn't wait to tear into the package. Omigod! They were so good...the masa was soft and moist and the meat was medium spicy...just right. I probably ate half a dozen right then (even though I had just finished my oatmeal) and pronounced them fit to take to Edie & Glenn's. Just talking about them makes me want to go finish off that dozen. Think I will!
The quick chili recipe...in case anyone is interested, is below. It's what Carolyn makes for chili and fritos. Personally, I prefer Wolf Brand chili for that...
Quick Chili
Brown 1 lb hamburger
Add 3 or 4 tablespoons taco seasoning (to taste)
Add 1 can Ranch Style beans
Optional: Add 1/2 can chili-style tomatoes (I use the HEB brand...I also use an immersion blender to make it more like tomato sauce...Wayne pushes tomato dices to the side)
I add a can of water (we like it soupy.) Let it simmer as long as you like. I like the hamburger meat to get tender, so I cook it at least an hour. Carolyn would probably serve it as soon as all ingredients are in and it's heated good. She's usually in more of a rush with hungry kids banging on the table.
Friday, October 30, 2009
The Freeman Family
Christy and Billy's babies were delivered on October 29, 2009. I don't have the exact weights, but I think Joey weighed about 4 lbs. 8 oz. and Molly weighed in at about 4 lbs. 5 oz. I think that Molly was about 17 inches long and Joey just a little shorter.
Both babies and their mom are doing well. I know Christy is at St. Luke's in Houston, and I think the babies might be there as well. If they were very early and very small, they would have been moved to Texas Children's Hospital, but I don't think that was the case. I think you can figure out who is who. Joey is wearing a blue cap and Molly is wearing a pink one.
The new parents (and grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends) are ecstatic that everything went so well and they look forward to taking the little ones home in a little over a week.
Both babies and their mom are doing well. I know Christy is at St. Luke's in Houston, and I think the babies might be there as well. If they were very early and very small, they would have been moved to Texas Children's Hospital, but I don't think that was the case. I think you can figure out who is who. Joey is wearing a blue cap and Molly is wearing a pink one.
The new parents (and grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends) are ecstatic that everything went so well and they look forward to taking the little ones home in a little over a week.
I'm sure Christy will have much more to post (when she has the time and the energy), but I hope these pictures make you smile.
The photo below is of the Freeman barndominium, taken this afternoon. Since it's covered now, framing has begun on the house. I think this is about day 3 of the framing.
Clicking on a picture will open it in a new screen...larger.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Dusty
Our horse, Dusty, is ancient. He was about 5 or 6 years old when we bought him for $500 for Wendy. I think I remember being told he was foaled in 1977. Wayne and I always disagree on his age by about a year or two, but in any case, he's old. He's been a good horse for the kids and we've taken good care of him. He's starting to look his age now, but he was a pretty fellow for many years.
Lately, I've heard him make his neighing sound quite a bit. It always got my attention because it was unusual. It seemed like I was hearing him more and more. A couple of times lately I've even gone outside to look in the pasture to see if something was bothering him. I heard dogs barking constantly and then heard him, so I was worried that they were barking at him...but they were in the neighboring pasture barking at something else. I couldn't see any reason for him to be upset.
I mentioned it to Wayne a few nights ago. We talked about it, wondering if maybe there was a snake or a rat in his stall. He was surprised that I could hear Dusty from inside the house...but that doesn't mean anything...we already know he can't hear.
So, a morning or two ago I heard Dusty neigh. Then less than a minute later I heard him again...then again. I opened the door to the playroom (formerly the porch) and walked to the window to see if I could spot him. But, the shrubs are high and trees block most of the view of the pasture and the barn. Suddenly, I heard a neigh that sounded like it was coming from the right, just outside the playroom. My first thought was that Dusty was in the yard. Then I looked down and heard and saw the reason for all the neighing.
You have to pinch his ear to make the sound effect. And a dang good sound effect it is! It fooled me for a couple of weeks. I don't know what was making it play the sound without being pinched. Maybe the battery is getting weak.
Lately, I've heard him make his neighing sound quite a bit. It always got my attention because it was unusual. It seemed like I was hearing him more and more. A couple of times lately I've even gone outside to look in the pasture to see if something was bothering him. I heard dogs barking constantly and then heard him, so I was worried that they were barking at him...but they were in the neighboring pasture barking at something else. I couldn't see any reason for him to be upset.
I mentioned it to Wayne a few nights ago. We talked about it, wondering if maybe there was a snake or a rat in his stall. He was surprised that I could hear Dusty from inside the house...but that doesn't mean anything...we already know he can't hear.
So, a morning or two ago I heard Dusty neigh. Then less than a minute later I heard him again...then again. I opened the door to the playroom (formerly the porch) and walked to the window to see if I could spot him. But, the shrubs are high and trees block most of the view of the pasture and the barn. Suddenly, I heard a neigh that sounded like it was coming from the right, just outside the playroom. My first thought was that Dusty was in the yard. Then I looked down and heard and saw the reason for all the neighing.
You have to pinch his ear to make the sound effect. And a dang good sound effect it is! It fooled me for a couple of weeks. I don't know what was making it play the sound without being pinched. Maybe the battery is getting weak.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Tele-surveyer
I have been pretty successful in training Wayne not to answer the house phone unless the caller ID is someone he wants to talk to. Let me rephrase that...he should let it go to the answering machine if its an "Unknown Number", a "Private Number" (screw em!), an 800 number or any other area code that isn't right around here. It only rings 4 times then goes to the answering machine. If they leave a message and it's not from Palais Royal or something similar, then we can decide whether or not to call back.
We have been on the Do Not Call list for years and I have updated that periodically. So, we shouldn't get any telemarketers...and really, we don't. Now, it's non-profits and surveys. And he gets calls from Doane Marketing and other ag-related surveys. Arghhh! The most maddening thing about the ag surveys are when they call in the middle of the morning, during harvest, say, to talk to Wayne. I don't know how many more ways I can tell them how it works! HE'S NOT HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MORNING...EVER! HE'S ALMOST NEVER HERE DURING HARVEST! But, enough about that.
Last night, just before 9, the phone starts ringing. Caller ID gives me the caller...Shillington PA, and the phone number. I know it's not someone we need to talk to, but I decide to answer and give them what for. Here's the conversation, as best I can remember:
Me: Hello
Wayne: Hello
Survey: This is................, may I talk with the oldest male in the house 18 years of age or older?
Wayne: I can barely hear you. (I can hear his television blaring in the background...plus I know he was probably asleep before the phone rang)
Survey: This is................, may I speak with the oldest male in the house 18 years of age or older?
Wayne: Really, I can barely hear you, can you speak up?
Survey: This is................, may I speak with the oldest male in the house?
Wayne: Do what?
Survey: Is there a male resident over 18 years of age that I can speak to?
Wayne: I'm only hearing about every other word.
I've left out a few lines here, because I can't remember them, but I can tell you that I was quietly giggling at his "answers" to questions that he couldn't quite hear. Not answers to survey questions...they never got that far. They were still trying to establish a connection with "the oldest male in the house 18 years of age or older."
Survey: Is there a better time to call?
Wayne: How about 9 in the morning? (Suddenly he can hear!)
Survey: Thank you
So, I went downstairs and asked him why he answered the phone in the first place. He replied that he didn't like to hear it ring. I know it was just a reflex since he had been sleeping. I then asked him why he told them to call back at 9 in the morning, when he knew he wouldn't be here then. He just grinned.
They haven't called yet. Probably deleted our number from the list.
We have been on the Do Not Call list for years and I have updated that periodically. So, we shouldn't get any telemarketers...and really, we don't. Now, it's non-profits and surveys. And he gets calls from Doane Marketing and other ag-related surveys. Arghhh! The most maddening thing about the ag surveys are when they call in the middle of the morning, during harvest, say, to talk to Wayne. I don't know how many more ways I can tell them how it works! HE'S NOT HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MORNING...EVER! HE'S ALMOST NEVER HERE DURING HARVEST! But, enough about that.
Last night, just before 9, the phone starts ringing. Caller ID gives me the caller...Shillington PA, and the phone number. I know it's not someone we need to talk to, but I decide to answer and give them what for. Here's the conversation, as best I can remember:
Me: Hello
Wayne: Hello
Survey: This is................, may I talk with the oldest male in the house 18 years of age or older?
Wayne: I can barely hear you. (I can hear his television blaring in the background...plus I know he was probably asleep before the phone rang)
Survey: This is................, may I speak with the oldest male in the house 18 years of age or older?
Wayne: Really, I can barely hear you, can you speak up?
Survey: This is................, may I speak with the oldest male in the house?
Wayne: Do what?
Survey: Is there a male resident over 18 years of age that I can speak to?
Wayne: I'm only hearing about every other word.
I've left out a few lines here, because I can't remember them, but I can tell you that I was quietly giggling at his "answers" to questions that he couldn't quite hear. Not answers to survey questions...they never got that far. They were still trying to establish a connection with "the oldest male in the house 18 years of age or older."
Survey: Is there a better time to call?
Wayne: How about 9 in the morning? (Suddenly he can hear!)
Survey: Thank you
So, I went downstairs and asked him why he answered the phone in the first place. He replied that he didn't like to hear it ring. I know it was just a reflex since he had been sleeping. I then asked him why he told them to call back at 9 in the morning, when he knew he wouldn't be here then. He just grinned.
They haven't called yet. Probably deleted our number from the list.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
The parade
I can't remember why, but Carolyn and Jax didn't go to church with Brent, Kate & Carlee on Sunday. Might have had something to do with the Game Night on Saturday which didn't end until past midnight...but, I can't say for sure.
Anyhooo, at church, Carlee managed to slip past the woman who was also in their pew. Kate alerted Brent with a "Daddy, Carlee..." and off they go making a circuit of the church. Carlee was in the lead, I don't know if she was running or strolling, with Brent trying to catch up with her and Kate bringing up the rear (well, she didn't want to sit there by herself, now, did she?) It must have been amusing to those who witnessed the whole episode. But some people there would only have seen Brent (since Carlee is so little) and probably wondered what he was doing. Poor Brent! All those boyhood shenanigans at St. Philips are coming back to bite him in the heinie. (I really couldn't say "ass" in a post about church.) Oops...
Anyhooo, at church, Carlee managed to slip past the woman who was also in their pew. Kate alerted Brent with a "Daddy, Carlee..." and off they go making a circuit of the church. Carlee was in the lead, I don't know if she was running or strolling, with Brent trying to catch up with her and Kate bringing up the rear (well, she didn't want to sit there by herself, now, did she?) It must have been amusing to those who witnessed the whole episode. But some people there would only have seen Brent (since Carlee is so little) and probably wondered what he was doing. Poor Brent! All those boyhood shenanigans at St. Philips are coming back to bite him in the heinie. (I really couldn't say "ass" in a post about church.) Oops...
Monday, October 12, 2009
Game night with the girls
The girls decided it was time for a game night, so after the kiddos were down for the count on Saturday night, they came to my house. We asked Dee to come, too, but she had been away from home during the day and needed to seriously get her stuff together for going to the Quilt Festival in Houston.
We played 2 or 3 games of Mexican Train dominoes and then decided to switch to another game. Everyone except Wendy wanted to play Pictionary. In playing past games of Pictionary, Wendy has kept us in stitches. She would typically either draw a very detailed picture or a series of clues that meant nothing to anyone except herself. An example of her detailed picture: the thing she was supposed to draw was "boil." She drew a stove, complete with the burners and controls, drew a pot on one of the burners and at last some bubbles which indicated boiling water.
Robin and I are usually the players you want to team with. Carolyn can't draw...period. She just moves the pencil around, laughing, and saying, "I can't draw!"
Carolyn and Robin happened to be sitting on the same side of the table, so they were a team and Wendy and I were a team. We started slowly, but all of a sudden we were on fire. Wendy's drawings were good! And quick! And to the point! Mine weren't that good, but Wendy guessed the answer anyway. Sometimes she would guess the answer before I got started good. She would say the answer and since there was no real reason for her to have guessed it from what I had drawn, I would say, "Huh? What did you say?" She brought her A-game, that's for sure!
We decided that it's way more fun to be doing the drawing and guessing than to watch someone else do that, so we made our own rule that both teams would participate at the same time. The winning part was fun, but not as much fun as the drawing and guessing. And laughing at our drawings.
It was after midnight before we ended our game night. Lots of fun!
We played 2 or 3 games of Mexican Train dominoes and then decided to switch to another game. Everyone except Wendy wanted to play Pictionary. In playing past games of Pictionary, Wendy has kept us in stitches. She would typically either draw a very detailed picture or a series of clues that meant nothing to anyone except herself. An example of her detailed picture: the thing she was supposed to draw was "boil." She drew a stove, complete with the burners and controls, drew a pot on one of the burners and at last some bubbles which indicated boiling water.
Robin and I are usually the players you want to team with. Carolyn can't draw...period. She just moves the pencil around, laughing, and saying, "I can't draw!"
Carolyn and Robin happened to be sitting on the same side of the table, so they were a team and Wendy and I were a team. We started slowly, but all of a sudden we were on fire. Wendy's drawings were good! And quick! And to the point! Mine weren't that good, but Wendy guessed the answer anyway. Sometimes she would guess the answer before I got started good. She would say the answer and since there was no real reason for her to have guessed it from what I had drawn, I would say, "Huh? What did you say?" She brought her A-game, that's for sure!
We decided that it's way more fun to be doing the drawing and guessing than to watch someone else do that, so we made our own rule that both teams would participate at the same time. The winning part was fun, but not as much fun as the drawing and guessing. And laughing at our drawings.
It was after midnight before we ended our game night. Lots of fun!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Garlic Cheese Grits
You may remember the souffle fiasco from a few days ago. What I didn't say (at least I don't think I said it) was that while I was eating it I was realizing that Garlic Cheese Grits was probably what I meant to cook.
So I made Garlic Cheese Grits this evening. What it loses in fanciness it makes up for in taste and, unfortunately, calories. Of course, you don't have to eat the whole thing at one sitting. In fact, I probably couldn't even if I wanted to. The recipe fills a 2 1/2 quart casserole to within an inch of the top. When I say I probably couldn't, I really mean I couldn't possibly.
It has some of the same ingredients as the souffle...just much more. Instead of a tablespoon of butter, try a stick of butter! Instead of a cup of cheese, try 4 cups. Plus you cook 1 1/2 cups of grits...that's the amount of dry grits you pour into the six cups of boiling water. It's a buttload of cooked grits. And it takes an hour and 20 minutes to cook. The recipe, not the grits. The grits only take 5-7 minutes once they come to the boil.
The nice thing about it is that it's so good reheated. Put some in a skillet in the morning to go along with your omelet & bacon. YUM! Wayne wouldn't like it as it's flavored with garlic. So, it's all mine.
I made a note on a post-it and stuck it to the souffle recipe. It said, "You like Garlic Cheese Grits a lot more than this and it's a lot easier to make." That ought to take care of that. At least I will have warned myself. Sort of like "Back to the Future."
So I made Garlic Cheese Grits this evening. What it loses in fanciness it makes up for in taste and, unfortunately, calories. Of course, you don't have to eat the whole thing at one sitting. In fact, I probably couldn't even if I wanted to. The recipe fills a 2 1/2 quart casserole to within an inch of the top. When I say I probably couldn't, I really mean I couldn't possibly.
It has some of the same ingredients as the souffle...just much more. Instead of a tablespoon of butter, try a stick of butter! Instead of a cup of cheese, try 4 cups. Plus you cook 1 1/2 cups of grits...that's the amount of dry grits you pour into the six cups of boiling water. It's a buttload of cooked grits. And it takes an hour and 20 minutes to cook. The recipe, not the grits. The grits only take 5-7 minutes once they come to the boil.
The nice thing about it is that it's so good reheated. Put some in a skillet in the morning to go along with your omelet & bacon. YUM! Wayne wouldn't like it as it's flavored with garlic. So, it's all mine.
I made a note on a post-it and stuck it to the souffle recipe. It said, "You like Garlic Cheese Grits a lot more than this and it's a lot easier to make." That ought to take care of that. At least I will have warned myself. Sort of like "Back to the Future."
Finally...a cool front
The front finally blew in a little while ago. I was sitting in the kitchen, finishing up Friday's crossword puzzle, when I heard the wind and saw leaves flying past the windows. I walked out to see if it felt as cool as it looked like it would. No, not then, it didn't.
So, I've come upstairs to pay bills. Of course, I have to check email first and then blogs I follow...Happy Anniversary, J & G!
The bills will wait for a little bit. I'm going to play a game first. Karen, the mail carrier won't be her for several hours.
It started raining, so I thought I'd go check that out. I remembered how good my car looked a few weeks ago after being thoroughly soaked and then wiped down in the garage, so I grabbed the keys and moved it out onto the driveway. I should have turned it around so that the back (which NEVER gets cleaned good, even in the car wash) could really get pounded. But that would have meant getting out of the car with the rain in my face (which doesn't bother me, but I just did my hair yesterday and it's still looking really good!)...or climbing to the other side, so I didn't do that.
Going back through the house, I listened for any water dripping in the house. The front windows often leak, and we used to have a problem in the attic when the rain and rain was coming from just the right direction. The draft created between the two attic vents on opposite sides of the house would pull the rain right into the attic. Wayne opened the attic stairway one time and rain was pelting his face. The stairway is probably a good 20 feet from the vent! So, we keep that vent covered, which defeats its purpose.
Last weekend, during that big (several inches) rain, I heard water dripping and saw it was coming from the ceiling by the fireplace. I guess the flashing needs tending to on the roof. I had to take everything off the mantle and put a towel up there until it stopped dripping.
We've had so many water issues over the last decade:
So, I've come upstairs to pay bills. Of course, I have to check email first and then blogs I follow...Happy Anniversary, J & G!
The bills will wait for a little bit. I'm going to play a game first. Karen, the mail carrier won't be her for several hours.
It started raining, so I thought I'd go check that out. I remembered how good my car looked a few weeks ago after being thoroughly soaked and then wiped down in the garage, so I grabbed the keys and moved it out onto the driveway. I should have turned it around so that the back (which NEVER gets cleaned good, even in the car wash) could really get pounded. But that would have meant getting out of the car with the rain in my face (which doesn't bother me, but I just did my hair yesterday and it's still looking really good!)...or climbing to the other side, so I didn't do that.
Going back through the house, I listened for any water dripping in the house. The front windows often leak, and we used to have a problem in the attic when the rain and rain was coming from just the right direction. The draft created between the two attic vents on opposite sides of the house would pull the rain right into the attic. Wayne opened the attic stairway one time and rain was pelting his face. The stairway is probably a good 20 feet from the vent! So, we keep that vent covered, which defeats its purpose.
Last weekend, during that big (several inches) rain, I heard water dripping and saw it was coming from the ceiling by the fireplace. I guess the flashing needs tending to on the roof. I had to take everything off the mantle and put a towel up there until it stopped dripping.
We've had so many water issues over the last decade:
- Wayne flooded the downstairs when he fell asleep while the tub was filling
- The front windows leak when the rain is from the south
- Rain comes in the attic if the rain is from the north
- We had a water pipe leak in the garage which required jackhammering and rerouting water to a faucet outside
- We recently had a leak inside the wall between the kitchen and the former back porch. If we had gone the whole route, it would have required some $$$, so we just capped it there and lost an outside faucet in the back
- The AC drain clogged this summer and water dripped into an upstairs bathroom and then ran down to the master bathroom and ruined that ceiling...again
- Now we apparently have a leak at the fireplace
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Cheese Souffle
Cheese souffle is one of those recipes that once I get it in my mind, I can't get it out until I actually make it. I've been reading The Julie/Julia Project, a blog that started in 2002 and was the beginning of the idea for the movie about Julie spending a year cooking her way through Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." In one of the posts, she talked about making a souffle, which made me start thinking about it, until I decided to do it. I've made souffles a number of times...I even have a recipe in my personal recipe notebook for a smallish one which only calls for 3 eggs...not a monster 8 egg souffle. So, I decided to make it last Sunday.
I had just run and emptied the dishwasher, which was a good thing, as you will soon understand. I got out my recipe and also the Joy of Cooking cookbook. I wanted to see whether the eggs needed to be cold or slightly warmer for optimal results...70 degrees is what Joy of Cooking says. So I got the eggs out and put them in a bowl of lukewarm water to take the chill off. Got the butter out and the smallish straight-sided casserole dish I thought I usually used for souffle. I buttered the dish and then had my choice of grated parmesan or flour to dust the inside of the dish. My parmesan (in the green can) was shredded...so flour, it was.
Now that the dish was ready, I could start on the white sauce. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter, add 1 tablespoon of flour, cook and stir for a minute or two over medium heat. I used a whisk for stirring. Remove from heat, add 1 cup of milk, some salt and cook and stir until it's a white sauce. Joy of Cooking suggests a firm white sauce. I didn't stir continually, so on breaks from stirring I tended to separating the eggs.
So far, I have used one casserole dish, 1 pot, 1 tablespoon and 2 measuring cups (one for dry and one for wet) and a whisk. Not that bad. The butter is put away, the flour container is put away...I have the hand mixer out and the bowls for the eggs; a small one to let the white drop into, a medium one to drop the yolk into, and a slightly larger one to whip the whites in when I get them all separated. I needed two bowls for the whites, because you have to be sure none of the yolk gets into them, otherwise they'll never whip up right.
Okay...the white sauce is ready...I've beaten the yolks and slowly added the white sauce to them while continuing to beat (so as not to cook the eggs upon contact with the hot sauce.) Put it back on the heat and add 1 cup of grated cheese and stir until it melts. Put that aside until the whites are ready to fold into the mix.
Things are going great! The oven is heated to 475 (I know...it seems high, but you turn it down after 10 minutes) and I'm being super efficient. I beat the egg whites till stiff, but not dry and then dump it into the sauce. I carefully fold the whites into the sauce until it's combined. Now you're supposed to spoon it into the prepared souffle dish. Uh-oh! I have way more mixture than is going to fit in the dish that's prepared. Crap!
First I try making the dish taller by pulling two lengths of foil and folding them to fit around the dish. Thinking it would help it stick to the inside of the buttered, floured dish, I grab the stick of butter out of the fridge, unwrap it and spread it on one side of the foil. Then, I realize I need the side that's facing the inside buttered and floured, too. I'm going faster now...buttering and planning how I'm going to make this work. It doesn't work. Okay...open up the bottom of the foil and place it over the rim. No...that's not working. Nothing is going to help except a dish that's the right size. Now I rush to find a bigger casserole dish and butter it. Hands dripping with butter, I open a cabinet and get the flour container out. Still dripping with butter, I grab the sifter inside, get some flour inside it and take the dish and the sifter to the sink to dust the inside of the dish. I shake the flour around and get it distributed and finally pour the souffle mixture into the dish, then place it in the oven and set it for 10 minutes.
I'm looking around the kitchen at what started out as an organized and efficient exercise in making a souffle. There's the stick of butter that looks like I've tried to strangle it. There's the now greasy flour container, a powdery coating of flour on the countertop around it. The sink is decorated with clumps of flour. There are dirty dishes all over, including the nicely prepared, but too small, original dish. It looks pretty horrible. Once I started cleaning it up, however, it went pretty quickly. I had almost enough dishes to run another load in the dishwasher.
When the timer went off, I turned the oven down to 400 and set the timer for 22 minutes, breathed a sigh of relief and went upstairs until it was time to take the souffle out of the oven. When I opened the oven, the first words out of my mouth were, "You mother!" The damn thing was lower than it had been when I spooned it into the dish and was way too brown. It hadn't fallen, it had just shrunk! Son of a....
I ate it anyway, peeling back the top and bottom and eating the inside, which was okay, but not wonderful. Then I ate the top and bottom, too...I'm a glutton for punishment.
I had just run and emptied the dishwasher, which was a good thing, as you will soon understand. I got out my recipe and also the Joy of Cooking cookbook. I wanted to see whether the eggs needed to be cold or slightly warmer for optimal results...70 degrees is what Joy of Cooking says. So I got the eggs out and put them in a bowl of lukewarm water to take the chill off. Got the butter out and the smallish straight-sided casserole dish I thought I usually used for souffle. I buttered the dish and then had my choice of grated parmesan or flour to dust the inside of the dish. My parmesan (in the green can) was shredded...so flour, it was.
Now that the dish was ready, I could start on the white sauce. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter, add 1 tablespoon of flour, cook and stir for a minute or two over medium heat. I used a whisk for stirring. Remove from heat, add 1 cup of milk, some salt and cook and stir until it's a white sauce. Joy of Cooking suggests a firm white sauce. I didn't stir continually, so on breaks from stirring I tended to separating the eggs.
So far, I have used one casserole dish, 1 pot, 1 tablespoon and 2 measuring cups (one for dry and one for wet) and a whisk. Not that bad. The butter is put away, the flour container is put away...I have the hand mixer out and the bowls for the eggs; a small one to let the white drop into, a medium one to drop the yolk into, and a slightly larger one to whip the whites in when I get them all separated. I needed two bowls for the whites, because you have to be sure none of the yolk gets into them, otherwise they'll never whip up right.
Okay...the white sauce is ready...I've beaten the yolks and slowly added the white sauce to them while continuing to beat (so as not to cook the eggs upon contact with the hot sauce.) Put it back on the heat and add 1 cup of grated cheese and stir until it melts. Put that aside until the whites are ready to fold into the mix.
Things are going great! The oven is heated to 475 (I know...it seems high, but you turn it down after 10 minutes) and I'm being super efficient. I beat the egg whites till stiff, but not dry and then dump it into the sauce. I carefully fold the whites into the sauce until it's combined. Now you're supposed to spoon it into the prepared souffle dish. Uh-oh! I have way more mixture than is going to fit in the dish that's prepared. Crap!
First I try making the dish taller by pulling two lengths of foil and folding them to fit around the dish. Thinking it would help it stick to the inside of the buttered, floured dish, I grab the stick of butter out of the fridge, unwrap it and spread it on one side of the foil. Then, I realize I need the side that's facing the inside buttered and floured, too. I'm going faster now...buttering and planning how I'm going to make this work. It doesn't work. Okay...open up the bottom of the foil and place it over the rim. No...that's not working. Nothing is going to help except a dish that's the right size. Now I rush to find a bigger casserole dish and butter it. Hands dripping with butter, I open a cabinet and get the flour container out. Still dripping with butter, I grab the sifter inside, get some flour inside it and take the dish and the sifter to the sink to dust the inside of the dish. I shake the flour around and get it distributed and finally pour the souffle mixture into the dish, then place it in the oven and set it for 10 minutes.
I'm looking around the kitchen at what started out as an organized and efficient exercise in making a souffle. There's the stick of butter that looks like I've tried to strangle it. There's the now greasy flour container, a powdery coating of flour on the countertop around it. The sink is decorated with clumps of flour. There are dirty dishes all over, including the nicely prepared, but too small, original dish. It looks pretty horrible. Once I started cleaning it up, however, it went pretty quickly. I had almost enough dishes to run another load in the dishwasher.
When the timer went off, I turned the oven down to 400 and set the timer for 22 minutes, breathed a sigh of relief and went upstairs until it was time to take the souffle out of the oven. When I opened the oven, the first words out of my mouth were, "You mother!" The damn thing was lower than it had been when I spooned it into the dish and was way too brown. It hadn't fallen, it had just shrunk! Son of a....
I ate it anyway, peeling back the top and bottom and eating the inside, which was okay, but not wonderful. Then I ate the top and bottom, too...I'm a glutton for punishment.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
The bug man
The guy who sprays my house was here this morning. He's been coming here for probably 25 years or so. I'm going to hate it when he retires. He also sprays Wendy's house and Carolyn's house and Robin's, when she lived in the little house close by.
Anyhoo, I was in the kitchen working the Chronicle daily puzzles when he was finishing up and he told me about a scare he had last week. He suddenly had double vision. One second everything was normal, the next he was seeing double. So, his wife hurried him into the car and they went to see the doctor. He had a cat scan, an MRI, probably a doppler something (from how he described it,) in other words, a very thorough examination. Finally, the doctor said he must have one of those GOK's. "What's a GOK", Israel asked? The doctor's reply..."God Only Knows!"
In order to remember to tell you about this, I wrote GOK on a small post-it and stuck it to my forehead. It was on my shirt first, but wouldn't stay on. I'm just glad it finally fell off my head before I went somewhere wearing it!
Anyhoo, I was in the kitchen working the Chronicle daily puzzles when he was finishing up and he told me about a scare he had last week. He suddenly had double vision. One second everything was normal, the next he was seeing double. So, his wife hurried him into the car and they went to see the doctor. He had a cat scan, an MRI, probably a doppler something (from how he described it,) in other words, a very thorough examination. Finally, the doctor said he must have one of those GOK's. "What's a GOK", Israel asked? The doctor's reply..."God Only Knows!"
In order to remember to tell you about this, I wrote GOK on a small post-it and stuck it to my forehead. It was on my shirt first, but wouldn't stay on. I'm just glad it finally fell off my head before I went somewhere wearing it!
How lazy must I be?
I'll tell you how lazy...too lazy to even have someone here to clean my house!
I haven't had anyone here to clean in a number of years, since the last housekeeper died.
Well, you know...I take that back. I did have someone here to clean a few times a year or two ago. She didn't speak much English, but seemed to know what she was doing. It got to where she didn't come when she was supposed to, however. She would show up a day or two later, not to work but to explain why she hadn't come...then she would say she would be back the next day to work, but she wouldn't show up. Finally, after a few cycles of that, she just never showed up again. Pity...she made some pretty good tamales that her husband would sell. He would bring them by, piping hot, straight out of the steamer. I could eat half a dozen without even pausing or even sitting down.
Recently, someone else was going to start cleaning. She actually supervises (at night) others who clean at hospitals. But, she has a few houses she cleans during the day. She came and looked at my house and estimated how long it would take to clean it. I thought everything was set, but then she said that she couldn't find anyone who wanted to clean with her on a Saturday...I didn't like the idea of someone coming on Saturday, but her weekdays were full. Anyway, she said that she had a cousin who would be willing to come on a weekday, (the old bait and switch!) so I agreed to that and to $10 an hour.
N.G. (new girl) worked at Carolyn's house first. At Carolyn's house, N.G. worked for about 7 hours and never made it to the master bathroom. N.G. did, however, go into Jax's room and spent who knows how much time tying the bumper pad (which Carolyn had removed, washed, folded, and stored under the changing table) back into the crib. N.G. also went into Carolyn's home office (which Carolyn had told her not to worry about) and proceeded to "straighten" the piles of bills, mail, papers, receipts, etc. that were on the desks in there. Not only did she straighten them, she moved them and other items in the office into drawers and under the desk. She took the box of computer checks and TAPED it shut and then stowed it away in the drawer of a secretary in there. Who knows how long all that took! Carolyn was busy with patients, so she couldn't be checking on her constantly. Oddly, Carolyn wasn't freaked out much about the office invasion...she said it motivated her to go through all the newly straightened piles...first, searching for things that needed attention (such as the tuition check she had written for Kate's school that was in one of the piles) and bills that needed to be paid and others that needed to be filed.
It became clear that N.G. had probably not cleaned house for anyone else before. Although young, she has 6 children and her mother lives with her (and probably does all the cleaning.) Anyway, after hearing about all this, I was prepared to spend my morning with N.G. when she came to my house, working alongside her and showing/explaining what I expected her to do. N.G. apparently doesn't have a complete grasp on English, although I felt like she understood what I was saying.
So, the first time she came here, we worked together in the master bathroom and on through a few more rooms downstairs and I was pretty satisfied. She was here for 4 hours, which is about as long as I can stand having someone here.
The next time she came, she went right to work and cleaned the master bath, the powder room, she vacuumed/swept/dustmopped/wet mopped the appropriate surfaces. And I asked her to dust the dining room table and chairs. It took her just under 3 hours, working steadily. I handed her $30 and she said I should pay her $40. I explained that she had worked for 3 hours at $10 an hour, so I was paying her $30. Reluctantly, she took the money, but told me that next time it would be $70 for 4 hours. Huh? I repeated what she said and she agreed that I heard it right. So, I said, "Well, I guess this will be the last time then." So, she left...never to return.
I did arrange for someone else to come...someone else who is new at cleaning for other people. But, it just hasn't worked out for her to be here yet. I was out of town or had something else going on a couple of the days she was scheduled to come, so had to cancel. Then, she was supposed to come today. But, yesterday, I decided that I just didn't want to have to do the preliminary straightening before she came and I also didn't want to go through training someone new, again. I called her yesterday to cancel permanently. That's how lazy I am!
I haven't had anyone here to clean in a number of years, since the last housekeeper died.
Well, you know...I take that back. I did have someone here to clean a few times a year or two ago. She didn't speak much English, but seemed to know what she was doing. It got to where she didn't come when she was supposed to, however. She would show up a day or two later, not to work but to explain why she hadn't come...then she would say she would be back the next day to work, but she wouldn't show up. Finally, after a few cycles of that, she just never showed up again. Pity...she made some pretty good tamales that her husband would sell. He would bring them by, piping hot, straight out of the steamer. I could eat half a dozen without even pausing or even sitting down.
Recently, someone else was going to start cleaning. She actually supervises (at night) others who clean at hospitals. But, she has a few houses she cleans during the day. She came and looked at my house and estimated how long it would take to clean it. I thought everything was set, but then she said that she couldn't find anyone who wanted to clean with her on a Saturday...I didn't like the idea of someone coming on Saturday, but her weekdays were full. Anyway, she said that she had a cousin who would be willing to come on a weekday, (the old bait and switch!) so I agreed to that and to $10 an hour.
N.G. (new girl) worked at Carolyn's house first. At Carolyn's house, N.G. worked for about 7 hours and never made it to the master bathroom. N.G. did, however, go into Jax's room and spent who knows how much time tying the bumper pad (which Carolyn had removed, washed, folded, and stored under the changing table) back into the crib. N.G. also went into Carolyn's home office (which Carolyn had told her not to worry about) and proceeded to "straighten" the piles of bills, mail, papers, receipts, etc. that were on the desks in there. Not only did she straighten them, she moved them and other items in the office into drawers and under the desk. She took the box of computer checks and TAPED it shut and then stowed it away in the drawer of a secretary in there. Who knows how long all that took! Carolyn was busy with patients, so she couldn't be checking on her constantly. Oddly, Carolyn wasn't freaked out much about the office invasion...she said it motivated her to go through all the newly straightened piles...first, searching for things that needed attention (such as the tuition check she had written for Kate's school that was in one of the piles) and bills that needed to be paid and others that needed to be filed.
It became clear that N.G. had probably not cleaned house for anyone else before. Although young, she has 6 children and her mother lives with her (and probably does all the cleaning.) Anyway, after hearing about all this, I was prepared to spend my morning with N.G. when she came to my house, working alongside her and showing/explaining what I expected her to do. N.G. apparently doesn't have a complete grasp on English, although I felt like she understood what I was saying.
So, the first time she came here, we worked together in the master bathroom and on through a few more rooms downstairs and I was pretty satisfied. She was here for 4 hours, which is about as long as I can stand having someone here.
The next time she came, she went right to work and cleaned the master bath, the powder room, she vacuumed/swept/dustmopped/wet mopped the appropriate surfaces. And I asked her to dust the dining room table and chairs. It took her just under 3 hours, working steadily. I handed her $30 and she said I should pay her $40. I explained that she had worked for 3 hours at $10 an hour, so I was paying her $30. Reluctantly, she took the money, but told me that next time it would be $70 for 4 hours. Huh? I repeated what she said and she agreed that I heard it right. So, I said, "Well, I guess this will be the last time then." So, she left...never to return.
I did arrange for someone else to come...someone else who is new at cleaning for other people. But, it just hasn't worked out for her to be here yet. I was out of town or had something else going on a couple of the days she was scheduled to come, so had to cancel. Then, she was supposed to come today. But, yesterday, I decided that I just didn't want to have to do the preliminary straightening before she came and I also didn't want to go through training someone new, again. I called her yesterday to cancel permanently. That's how lazy I am!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Big D
This is a long one...sorry!
Dee and I flew out of Hobby at noon on Monday and arrived at Love Field before 1. Smooth trip...so far. We deplaned and made our way to the baggage claim area, where we discovered that one of my bags, the one in which I had packed my make-up, tennis shoes, thyroid medication and swimsuit. We waited around a while as they checked in different areas and asked the baggage handlers, then filled out paperwork and left my phone number.
Wanda was already there, having taken an earlier flight out of Austin. Dee's brother, William, and their mother, Gladys, were there to pick us up. William took us to Gladys' home in Oak Cliff, where we took our luggage inside and then got into her Volvo to head toward Plano to visit Dee's sister, Sally & husband as well as Sally's daughters and their husbands/families.
None of us had eaten lunch, but Wanda and Dee both needed to get to a Walgreen's to get prescriptions filled and I wanted to buy make-up in case my bag wasn't found. Wanda's prescription got filled pretty quickly, but Dee's needed to be transferred from an independent pharmacy in El Campo, so that took longer...in fact, we finally left without it, and went back about 5 or 6 hours later to pick it up.
I ended up buying about $150 worth of stuff...replacing almost everything that had gone missing. Well...it's makeup and it would get used even if they found my bag. But, there were other things, such as the cursed 10X (worst invention ever) mirror, eyelash curler, makeup brushes, etc...things that I would return if my bag was found before I opened them.
We ate at an On the Border somewhere in Plano...3 of us had fish tacos, which were very good (and very big) for about $6.99 each. And then we went on to Sally's house where we visited with her for a while. From there we went to Cara's house in Allen and visited with Cara, Phil and their two little boys and then on to Jana & Matt's new house, just a few blocks away. We returned to Cara's to have pizza, salad & beer.
Then, back in the car to Walgreen's, where Dee's prescription was finally ready and on to Glady's house, where everyone except me was able to get comfortable...my scrubs were also in the missing bag.
By the way, I had been talking with the airport throughout the afternoon, updating them on where I would be if/when the bag was found. Before we left Allen, I had heard from them that the bag was found and would be delivered by midnight...which it was, or at least very close to midnight. So, I will be taking a few of the items back to Walgreen's when I get home. Wanda takes the same dosage of Synthroid as I do, it turns out, so I could have taken one of her pills, if necessary.
Tuesday, we lazed around Gladys' home for most of the morning and then finally left about noon or so. We headed down to the temporary quarters of the Office Equipment Company, the family business. The temporary quarters are just a few blocks from Fair Park. From there, we went to the old location of the Office Equipment Company...right in downtown Dallas, a few blocks from Dealey Plaza, the school depository building, the grassy knoll, the triple overpass...you get the picture. It is a 5 story building that has been home to the family business for many years, though not when the Kennedy assassination occurred. They are renovating the building, changing it from 5 stories and a basement of new and used office equipment and furniture, to 5 stories and basement space to be leased to other companies. They will retain part of the first floor for their own business.
Dee's nephew, Brad, took us through the building, explaining what was being done. It is a historical building so they are taking care to restore, rather than replace, wherever possible. The top floor is well on it's way to completion, with much restoration done. However, there is still plenty of work to be done on that floor as well as the others. I can't wait to go back next year and see the completed building.
Brad explained that when the building was constructed, back in the early 1900's, I believe, it was allowed to build onto an adjoining building. The Coca Cola Company was next door and one of it's outer walls became an inner wall for this building. The Coca Cola building was torn down long ago, but you can see part of "Coca Cola" on a couple of floors inside this building. In another area, part of the slogan "fresh and delicious" is visible on a couple of floors.
We then went to Bolsa for a late lunch. The weather was very pleasant, so we sat outside and enjoyed wonderful sandwiches. The waiter treated us to a fabulous dessert, called "White chocolate rum tile with bruleed bananas." After that we headed to Cedar Hill to a new shopping area called Uptown and then on to William and Glynda's home nearby. Their daughter, Stacy and her two sons were visiting from Spring, so it was great to see them, too. Glynda, just 6 weeks out from a knee replacement, actually stood in her kitchen making manicotti for us. She did warn us not to use a ziplock bag to stuff the cheese in the pasta. A little unexpected mishap led to cheese everywhere during the process. It was delicious and we certainly appreciated the trouble she went to.
Wednesday was Fair Day! We got underway much earlier and got to the temporary Office Equipment quarters by about 10 AM. William drove us the few blocks and let us out at the front gate. We had decided that we were going to get a scooter for Gladys this year. We had quite a hike to get to the scooter rental tent. Once she got on, it didn't take long for her to get the hang of it. We didn't go into as many buildings as we have in the past. Just a couple, really and then the crafts tent. We didn't want to buy anything this year since we're flying, so basically all we were worrying about was getting our Fletcher's Corny Dog and beer. Oh...and we hunted down the fried butter and had that. We figured out that they probably froze small balls of butter, dipped them in batter and deep fried them...the result was like a roll that had been buttered on the inside. Very good!
Here's Gladys enjoying "San Antone Rose"
And here we are with our corn dogs! We're like Blanche Dubois...we have to depend on the kindness of strangers.
When we were ready to go, we had Gladys ride the scooter to the front gate where she and Wanda waited while Dee and I took it back to the tent. We got to the front just in time for William to pick us up. We rested at home for a few hours and then got dressed once again to have a drink at the Belmont Hotel and then dinner at Smoke next door to the hotel. I think Smoke might actually be the hotel's restaurant, but I'm not sure. Don't get me to lying! A gentleman at the next table at the Belmont offered to take our photo for us. And here we are...
Poor William had to chauffeur us one more time the next morning when Gladys' neck was stiff. She could barely turn it from side to side, so he gathered us up and dropped us off at Love Field. It was a lot of fun...Gladys always tries to make sure we have interesting things to do. We were seriously busy this trip...never a dull moment. I won't even mention the water leak problem that was discovered in her guest bathroom or the hazardous material problem at the airport which caused much waiting in line as we were leaving!
But I will mention that as we deplaned in Houston, just as we stepped onto the jetway we see Will Manske waiting to board our plane. He wasn't going to pilot the next leg...but he was flying to Harlingen where he would be piloting a plane from there...to San Diego, maybe...I don't remember.
Here are a few photos of the building in the process of being restored.
This is a view of Old Red Courthouse from the sidewalk outside the downtown Office Equipment Company building.
You can make out part of "Coca Cola" painted on the wall in this photo. It was originally the outer wall of the Coca Cola Company building.
This is one of the middle floors, not as far along in the restoration process.
This is probably the top floor, which is closest to being complete. The floors are hardwood and have been revealed on all floors.
You might be able to make out the man who is sitting on the window sill while working on the window. If you click on any picture, it will open in a new window, much larger. Use your browser back arrow to get back to the blog.
Dee and I flew out of Hobby at noon on Monday and arrived at Love Field before 1. Smooth trip...so far. We deplaned and made our way to the baggage claim area, where we discovered that one of my bags, the one in which I had packed my make-up, tennis shoes, thyroid medication and swimsuit. We waited around a while as they checked in different areas and asked the baggage handlers, then filled out paperwork and left my phone number.
Wanda was already there, having taken an earlier flight out of Austin. Dee's brother, William, and their mother, Gladys, were there to pick us up. William took us to Gladys' home in Oak Cliff, where we took our luggage inside and then got into her Volvo to head toward Plano to visit Dee's sister, Sally & husband as well as Sally's daughters and their husbands/families.
None of us had eaten lunch, but Wanda and Dee both needed to get to a Walgreen's to get prescriptions filled and I wanted to buy make-up in case my bag wasn't found. Wanda's prescription got filled pretty quickly, but Dee's needed to be transferred from an independent pharmacy in El Campo, so that took longer...in fact, we finally left without it, and went back about 5 or 6 hours later to pick it up.
I ended up buying about $150 worth of stuff...replacing almost everything that had gone missing. Well...it's makeup and it would get used even if they found my bag. But, there were other things, such as the cursed 10X (worst invention ever) mirror, eyelash curler, makeup brushes, etc...things that I would return if my bag was found before I opened them.
We ate at an On the Border somewhere in Plano...3 of us had fish tacos, which were very good (and very big) for about $6.99 each. And then we went on to Sally's house where we visited with her for a while. From there we went to Cara's house in Allen and visited with Cara, Phil and their two little boys and then on to Jana & Matt's new house, just a few blocks away. We returned to Cara's to have pizza, salad & beer.
Then, back in the car to Walgreen's, where Dee's prescription was finally ready and on to Glady's house, where everyone except me was able to get comfortable...my scrubs were also in the missing bag.
By the way, I had been talking with the airport throughout the afternoon, updating them on where I would be if/when the bag was found. Before we left Allen, I had heard from them that the bag was found and would be delivered by midnight...which it was, or at least very close to midnight. So, I will be taking a few of the items back to Walgreen's when I get home. Wanda takes the same dosage of Synthroid as I do, it turns out, so I could have taken one of her pills, if necessary.
Tuesday, we lazed around Gladys' home for most of the morning and then finally left about noon or so. We headed down to the temporary quarters of the Office Equipment Company, the family business. The temporary quarters are just a few blocks from Fair Park. From there, we went to the old location of the Office Equipment Company...right in downtown Dallas, a few blocks from Dealey Plaza, the school depository building, the grassy knoll, the triple overpass...you get the picture. It is a 5 story building that has been home to the family business for many years, though not when the Kennedy assassination occurred. They are renovating the building, changing it from 5 stories and a basement of new and used office equipment and furniture, to 5 stories and basement space to be leased to other companies. They will retain part of the first floor for their own business.
Dee's nephew, Brad, took us through the building, explaining what was being done. It is a historical building so they are taking care to restore, rather than replace, wherever possible. The top floor is well on it's way to completion, with much restoration done. However, there is still plenty of work to be done on that floor as well as the others. I can't wait to go back next year and see the completed building.
Brad explained that when the building was constructed, back in the early 1900's, I believe, it was allowed to build onto an adjoining building. The Coca Cola Company was next door and one of it's outer walls became an inner wall for this building. The Coca Cola building was torn down long ago, but you can see part of "Coca Cola" on a couple of floors inside this building. In another area, part of the slogan "fresh and delicious" is visible on a couple of floors.
We then went to Bolsa for a late lunch. The weather was very pleasant, so we sat outside and enjoyed wonderful sandwiches. The waiter treated us to a fabulous dessert, called "White chocolate rum tile with bruleed bananas." After that we headed to Cedar Hill to a new shopping area called Uptown and then on to William and Glynda's home nearby. Their daughter, Stacy and her two sons were visiting from Spring, so it was great to see them, too. Glynda, just 6 weeks out from a knee replacement, actually stood in her kitchen making manicotti for us. She did warn us not to use a ziplock bag to stuff the cheese in the pasta. A little unexpected mishap led to cheese everywhere during the process. It was delicious and we certainly appreciated the trouble she went to.
Wednesday was Fair Day! We got underway much earlier and got to the temporary Office Equipment quarters by about 10 AM. William drove us the few blocks and let us out at the front gate. We had decided that we were going to get a scooter for Gladys this year. We had quite a hike to get to the scooter rental tent. Once she got on, it didn't take long for her to get the hang of it. We didn't go into as many buildings as we have in the past. Just a couple, really and then the crafts tent. We didn't want to buy anything this year since we're flying, so basically all we were worrying about was getting our Fletcher's Corny Dog and beer. Oh...and we hunted down the fried butter and had that. We figured out that they probably froze small balls of butter, dipped them in batter and deep fried them...the result was like a roll that had been buttered on the inside. Very good!
Here's Gladys enjoying "San Antone Rose"
And here we are with our corn dogs! We're like Blanche Dubois...we have to depend on the kindness of strangers.
When we were ready to go, we had Gladys ride the scooter to the front gate where she and Wanda waited while Dee and I took it back to the tent. We got to the front just in time for William to pick us up. We rested at home for a few hours and then got dressed once again to have a drink at the Belmont Hotel and then dinner at Smoke next door to the hotel. I think Smoke might actually be the hotel's restaurant, but I'm not sure. Don't get me to lying! A gentleman at the next table at the Belmont offered to take our photo for us. And here we are...
Poor William had to chauffeur us one more time the next morning when Gladys' neck was stiff. She could barely turn it from side to side, so he gathered us up and dropped us off at Love Field. It was a lot of fun...Gladys always tries to make sure we have interesting things to do. We were seriously busy this trip...never a dull moment. I won't even mention the water leak problem that was discovered in her guest bathroom or the hazardous material problem at the airport which caused much waiting in line as we were leaving!But I will mention that as we deplaned in Houston, just as we stepped onto the jetway we see Will Manske waiting to board our plane. He wasn't going to pilot the next leg...but he was flying to Harlingen where he would be piloting a plane from there...to San Diego, maybe...I don't remember.
Here are a few photos of the building in the process of being restored.
This is a view of Old Red Courthouse from the sidewalk outside the downtown Office Equipment Company building.
You can make out part of "Coca Cola" painted on the wall in this photo. It was originally the outer wall of the Coca Cola Company building.
This is one of the middle floors, not as far along in the restoration process.
This is probably the top floor, which is closest to being complete. The floors are hardwood and have been revealed on all floors.
You might be able to make out the man who is sitting on the window sill while working on the window. If you click on any picture, it will open in a new window, much larger. Use your browser back arrow to get back to the blog.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Big Tex, here we come...yippee!
Dee and I are flying to Dallas tomorrow for our annual trip to the State Fair. Wanda is flying there from Austin and will arrive about 40 minutes before we do. Dee's mother, Gladys will probably pick us up. If not Gladys, maybe Dee's brother, William or her nephew, Brad. At any rate, someone will fetch us from Love Field.
My problem is always what piece or pieces of luggage to take. When we drive there, I'm able to throw my bag containing my pillows (body, arm, wrist) in the back with the rest of the stuff we take. I have a ginormous bag that would hold everything...well, not the body pillow, probably, but everything else. But, it's so huge! It would look ridiculous for basically a 2 day trip. We fly on Monday morning and Thursday morning, so I only need different clothes for Tuesday and Wednesday.
So, my ginormous bag would potentially contain:
**Lots of underwear...you can never go wrong bringing lots more than you think you'll need. (You never know when an unplanned sneeze or a fit of laughter will cause a problem!)
**one pair of pj's that would easily fit in a quart size ziplock
**a couple of pairs of ankle socks to wear instead of house shoes
**a couple of pairs of capris/pants and several choices of tops
**shoes...hopefully, only one pair other than what I wear on the plane
**one set of scrubs (this is my go-to clothing when I get home...light weight, no need for a bra, handy pockets for my phone)
That's about it for clothes. I could easily put that in a carry-on. Here's what will take up the rest of the room in my luggage:
**my makeup storage box...it's pretty small
**my travel makeup mirror...it's lighted, adjustable, has a regular side and about a 10X side (worst thing ever invented!)
**my travel blow dryer, just in case I need to wash & dry my hair
**a couple of novels
**a crossword puzzle book, a sudoku puzzle book, my special fat pencils and an eraser
**my travel kit that holds shampoo, conditioner, soap (in case I'm staying somewhere that doesn't have soap, for heaven's sake!) mousse, hairspray, brush & comb, makeup remover and cotton balls, night cream, moisturizer, ear plugs, shower cap, thyroid medication
**my camera
**chargers for my camera and my phone
Hmmm...maybe I'm forgetting something, because that doesn't look like so much. I've already pulled 3 possible pants and 3 possible tops from the closet. Crap! I'm going to have to try them on to decide which I'll take. And then I'll have to press them.
I didn't mention earlier that Gladys doesn't have an SUV, so not as much room for luggage as we're used to. And she's picking up 3 of us at the airport. Maybe I should take 2 smaller pieces...at least it would make it easier to transport.
But, I'm way ahead of my usual packing schedule. Normally, I mess around for the entire day and then decide to pack at about midnight. I'm so far ahead I think I'll post this and play a computer game.
See ya!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Shredding the lawn and other items
I always have my best ideas for a post while I'm mowing. Sadly, I don't remember any of my thoughts once I get off the mower. Possibly that's because most of my thoughts (at that moment in time) are mower influenced.
For instance, I saw what appeared to be a couple of newspaper flyers in the front yard the last time I mowed. My habit is to mow over anything that doesn't look like I could be hurt by it. That is, a mow over twigs, reasonably sized anthills, styrofoam cups...things like that. I don't mow over large limbs, large rocks, bricks or bottles. So, I mowed over the flyers, which turned out to be the Chronicle. The whole thing. It looked like someone had dumped a barrel of confetti out there. Evidently, the paper had not arrived when Wayne left this morning. He then went to Robin's house (well, her old house...she's married now, you know) and opened the gate and let Gracie out. Gracie hasn't moved yet. That's another story I might get to later. Gracie came to our house after the paper arrived and must have torn it up a little bit, and deposited it to where I found it and shredded it. When I realized there was so much paper there, I slowed down on my next pass and was able to read a headline on one of the larger pieces. Then I just went over it a few more times to help the biodegrading along. It was way too late to salvage anything. So then, as I have often mentioned here, I just laughed and went on mowing and starting composing a post in my head. I'm sure it was better than this one.
I have also mowed over a flip flop that somehow ended up in my front ditch. It has taken about a year to get that sucker all cut up, but I guess I finally did it. At least I didn't notice any pieces of it when I mowed last time. Maybe Gracie ate it.
For instance, I saw what appeared to be a couple of newspaper flyers in the front yard the last time I mowed. My habit is to mow over anything that doesn't look like I could be hurt by it. That is, a mow over twigs, reasonably sized anthills, styrofoam cups...things like that. I don't mow over large limbs, large rocks, bricks or bottles. So, I mowed over the flyers, which turned out to be the Chronicle. The whole thing. It looked like someone had dumped a barrel of confetti out there. Evidently, the paper had not arrived when Wayne left this morning. He then went to Robin's house (well, her old house...she's married now, you know) and opened the gate and let Gracie out. Gracie hasn't moved yet. That's another story I might get to later. Gracie came to our house after the paper arrived and must have torn it up a little bit, and deposited it to where I found it and shredded it. When I realized there was so much paper there, I slowed down on my next pass and was able to read a headline on one of the larger pieces. Then I just went over it a few more times to help the biodegrading along. It was way too late to salvage anything. So then, as I have often mentioned here, I just laughed and went on mowing and starting composing a post in my head. I'm sure it was better than this one.
I have also mowed over a flip flop that somehow ended up in my front ditch. It has taken about a year to get that sucker all cut up, but I guess I finally did it. At least I didn't notice any pieces of it when I mowed last time. Maybe Gracie ate it.
Monday, August 3, 2009
It's always in the last place you look
Okay, just one more thing. As is common, with me anyway, as soon as I don't need the thing I was looking for, I find it. I decided to take the shower mats outside and scrub them and rinse them with the hose. As I was looking for the sprayer to put on the end of the hose (found it!), I found the long handled scrub brush. Of course, I didn't need it inside any more, but I thought it might be helpful for the mats, so I took it out to the yard.
As soon as I started scrubbing with it, the bristles started falling out. Glad I was outside and not in the shower! Anyway, I cleaned the mats and rinsed them off and let them dry a while in the garage. They're back in the shower now and the bathroom looks fairly decent. At least I did something worthwhile today!
I'm happy!
As soon as I started scrubbing with it, the bristles started falling out. Glad I was outside and not in the shower! Anyway, I cleaned the mats and rinsed them off and let them dry a while in the garage. They're back in the shower now and the bathroom looks fairly decent. At least I did something worthwhile today!
I'm happy!
My busy day
I've been fairly productive today...staying on task, for the most part. Okay, except for now. I've dealt with sprinklers twice today, so far. I exercised this morning. I washed and actually put away a load of laundry.
I paid bills and took them to the mailbox. Naturally, I've checked emails and answered when I needed to. I've also checked blogs I follow, just to see what's going on. I didn't intend to post to my blog, but something struck me funny...so, here I am.
And, okay, the load of laundry was 4 towels and 8 washcloths...but, I did it and that's what counts!
It was while I was putting the towels away that I noticed how filthy Wayne's shower was. I've noticed it before, but the urge to clean wasn't as compelling as it was today. There are two teak shower mats in his shower...low wooden platforms. I have two of them in my shower, also. I like the way they feel, how they sort of give, and they seem more secure than just standing on the shower floor. When I finish showering, I tilt each of the mats to let the water drain off, top and bottom. My mats look almost as good as new. Wayne doesn't do that, however, and his mats are scary. Plus, there was so much dirt collected on the floor beneath the mats that it looked like we had painted a brown rectangle there. So, I decided to clean the shower.
I located the Scrubbing Bubbles and sprayed all it over the floor and part way up the walls of the shower, set the timer on my phone for 10 minutes and then went back to work on Quicken upstairs. Good thing I set the timer, because when it went off, I had already forgotten about the shower. I started spraying it off with a hose attachment that is really nifty, but the grime had been there too long and was hanging on for dear life. I knew I had a stiff scrub brush that had a long handle on it, so I went to get it. I looked everywhere, but never found it. I looked again, and still didn't find it. I looked out in the storage room in the garage. When I opened the door out there, the picture below is what I saw and what made me laugh.
It looked like we had decorated the water pressure tank for Christmas! The wreath goes to one grave at the cemetary and the tree goes to Wade's grave. Wayne takes them every year and then brings them back home a few days after Christmas. I guess that's where he decided to store them. Looks pretty festive, don't you think?
Anyway, that's basically the only reason I'm posting this ridiculous story about nothing. I never did find the scrub brush I was looking for, so I used a small one, which worked fine after another round of Scrubbing Bubbles. I should take the mats outside and clean them good, but it's too blinking hot. Maybe I could get Wayne to take them to the barn and pressure wash them. Now I just need to vacuum out the bathtub in that bathroom and it'll look pretty good in there!
I paid bills and took them to the mailbox. Naturally, I've checked emails and answered when I needed to. I've also checked blogs I follow, just to see what's going on. I didn't intend to post to my blog, but something struck me funny...so, here I am.
And, okay, the load of laundry was 4 towels and 8 washcloths...but, I did it and that's what counts!
It was while I was putting the towels away that I noticed how filthy Wayne's shower was. I've noticed it before, but the urge to clean wasn't as compelling as it was today. There are two teak shower mats in his shower...low wooden platforms. I have two of them in my shower, also. I like the way they feel, how they sort of give, and they seem more secure than just standing on the shower floor. When I finish showering, I tilt each of the mats to let the water drain off, top and bottom. My mats look almost as good as new. Wayne doesn't do that, however, and his mats are scary. Plus, there was so much dirt collected on the floor beneath the mats that it looked like we had painted a brown rectangle there. So, I decided to clean the shower.
I located the Scrubbing Bubbles and sprayed all it over the floor and part way up the walls of the shower, set the timer on my phone for 10 minutes and then went back to work on Quicken upstairs. Good thing I set the timer, because when it went off, I had already forgotten about the shower. I started spraying it off with a hose attachment that is really nifty, but the grime had been there too long and was hanging on for dear life. I knew I had a stiff scrub brush that had a long handle on it, so I went to get it. I looked everywhere, but never found it. I looked again, and still didn't find it. I looked out in the storage room in the garage. When I opened the door out there, the picture below is what I saw and what made me laugh.
It looked like we had decorated the water pressure tank for Christmas! The wreath goes to one grave at the cemetary and the tree goes to Wade's grave. Wayne takes them every year and then brings them back home a few days after Christmas. I guess that's where he decided to store them. Looks pretty festive, don't you think?
Anyway, that's basically the only reason I'm posting this ridiculous story about nothing. I never did find the scrub brush I was looking for, so I used a small one, which worked fine after another round of Scrubbing Bubbles. I should take the mats outside and clean them good, but it's too blinking hot. Maybe I could get Wayne to take them to the barn and pressure wash them. Now I just need to vacuum out the bathtub in that bathroom and it'll look pretty good in there!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Eating my words and more
Well, I've already had to eat my words...the ones about it being a long time before I fried anything for Wayne again.
It's Dee's fault! Or, to be more exact, Annie Mae's fault. Annie Mae ( I don't think I know her, although it's possible I have met her) is 96 years old. If that isn't enough to marvel at, she also has a garden. That she apparently prepares, plants, tends, and harvests...herself. And if that isn't enough, she also shares them with friends. And if that isn't enough, when she drives herself to the friend's house, the vegetables are washed and ready to cook! In the case of the okra that she took to Dee, not only were they washed, but also sliced...as precisely as if she had some kind of magical okra slicing machine. They were not in angled, uneven, haphazard shapes...they were all about 3/8 inch thick. No pointy ends or stem ends to be found. In short, they were beautiful!
Dee wanted to share with me, so she brought a large ziploc bag of the little gems over. One look at them propelled me into action and the ban on frying was suspended.
While the harvest is going on Wayne often has a later lunch, so when 1 PM rolled around I decided to get started on cooking that beautiful okra. I thought that the Louisiana Fish Fry product would really be good on it, but wanting to make it crispy enough to satisfy him, I poured a small amount of Egg Beaters into a pan and added a little cold water to thin it out. I dropped about 1/2 the okra in and stirred it all up so that each slice was moistened. Then I dropped the whole batch into a large plastic container along with the Fish Fry coating and shook it up good. I heated oil in a large stainless skillet and then added about half of the coated okra, prying clumps apart so that each slice had it's own space. After a few minutes, I turned them all over and let them cook a few minutes longer. I fished that batch out to drain and put the remainder of the coated okra into the oil and repeated the process.
Wow! I want to tell you that okra was absolutely delicious! If Wayne had walked in at that moment, he would have been in hog heaven. Instead, he showed up about an hour later. It was still good, but not nearly as good as when it first came out of the skillet.
I didn't season the okra at all...the Fish Fry coating has plenty of seasoning in it. There are several variations of the product at the grocery store. This one has a lot of yellow on the little package and it is "New Orleans Style." The photo of the okra is only half the batch that I fried, the rest was still in the skillet.
Can't wait to cook up the remainder of the okra that Dee brought over. This time I'll wait until Wayne's is in the house to get it started. They've finished shelling corn, so meal time might be a little more predictable.
Thanks, Dee! Thanks, Annie Mae!
It's Dee's fault! Or, to be more exact, Annie Mae's fault. Annie Mae ( I don't think I know her, although it's possible I have met her) is 96 years old. If that isn't enough to marvel at, she also has a garden. That she apparently prepares, plants, tends, and harvests...herself. And if that isn't enough, she also shares them with friends. And if that isn't enough, when she drives herself to the friend's house, the vegetables are washed and ready to cook! In the case of the okra that she took to Dee, not only were they washed, but also sliced...as precisely as if she had some kind of magical okra slicing machine. They were not in angled, uneven, haphazard shapes...they were all about 3/8 inch thick. No pointy ends or stem ends to be found. In short, they were beautiful!
Dee wanted to share with me, so she brought a large ziploc bag of the little gems over. One look at them propelled me into action and the ban on frying was suspended.
While the harvest is going on Wayne often has a later lunch, so when 1 PM rolled around I decided to get started on cooking that beautiful okra. I thought that the Louisiana Fish Fry product would really be good on it, but wanting to make it crispy enough to satisfy him, I poured a small amount of Egg Beaters into a pan and added a little cold water to thin it out. I dropped about 1/2 the okra in and stirred it all up so that each slice was moistened. Then I dropped the whole batch into a large plastic container along with the Fish Fry coating and shook it up good. I heated oil in a large stainless skillet and then added about half of the coated okra, prying clumps apart so that each slice had it's own space. After a few minutes, I turned them all over and let them cook a few minutes longer. I fished that batch out to drain and put the remainder of the coated okra into the oil and repeated the process.
Wow! I want to tell you that okra was absolutely delicious! If Wayne had walked in at that moment, he would have been in hog heaven. Instead, he showed up about an hour later. It was still good, but not nearly as good as when it first came out of the skillet.
I didn't season the okra at all...the Fish Fry coating has plenty of seasoning in it. There are several variations of the product at the grocery store. This one has a lot of yellow on the little package and it is "New Orleans Style." The photo of the okra is only half the batch that I fried, the rest was still in the skillet.
Can't wait to cook up the remainder of the okra that Dee brought over. This time I'll wait until Wayne's is in the house to get it started. They've finished shelling corn, so meal time might be a little more predictable.
Thanks, Dee! Thanks, Annie Mae!
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