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  My blog was filled up. I'm too lazy to clean it out. So I started a new one. |
| It's happening! My dad is in the other room playing Christmas music! I have to admit I'm singing along with the familiar, comfortable songs. They're nostalgic. They raise the hopes for a better world, for a peaceful family, for childhood wonder in the adult years. And the smoothness of Doris Day's or Johnny Mathis' voice doesn't hurt. It's soothing. Overall, the music is perky. They may have a few contemplative Christmas songs, but for the most part, they're happy and upbeat. We can use that once a year. Admittedly, I didn't want to start my Christmas season so early. The weather here has been very cold. Some plants died in the freeze, but my sage and chives are still thriving. I wish we had cut the elephant ears back in time, and put the bulbs away. They can be replanted next year, but one freeze kills the bulb as well as the plant. We had ice in some buckets filled from a recent rain. On the down side, I had a mishap with my pot roast. It was in a disposable pan, covered with fresh foil, not a wrinkle in it. The pan was full with vegetables all around. I placed the pan which was flimsy in a heavy cardboard box, but the box was too big. I entered my foyer to run it to the folks planning to serve it to homeless women, the pan slid in the box, toppling out of my hands. It fell to the floor against the wall, where I caught the foil against the meat. I lost almost half the vegetables and a lot of broth on the floor. Thank goodness, the meat stayed in the pan, The pan was bent from the clash with the wall and my hand, the foil was crumpled. The pan had some empty spots. Not too pretty, after all. i re-covered it, rushed out to drop it off. When I returned home, I had to clean my floor and throw out potatoes and carrots to feed about 2 to 4 people. The new potato salad recipe didn't work out. I liked it, but my dad didn't. Roasting two kinds of potatoes in olive oil and spring onions was okay. Tossing them with bacon crumbles and diced green onion tops and black pepper was okay. Serving at room temperature was okay with me (potato salads are usually cold). But the dressing calls for miso. I don't have any and did not want to buy fermented soybean paste just for one use. So instead of mixing that with vinegar, I just used lite Italian dressing sparsely sprinkled on. I have lots left over. Dad wants it hot --"Is it supposed to be served cold like that?" So, we won't be using that for Thanksgiving. It does look nice, tho'. The girls made brownies with me and decorated them with sprinkles-their idea. They had fun. One of them helped set the table, and did some other things. She took some credit, and patted herself on the back. She's five. Julie Andrews is singing now. I think I need to go read a book. |
| I was cooking when the power went out. I had three things going on at once. I was cooling off the pot roast with potatoes and carrots that I cooked for the homeless shelter for women for Sunday. When cool, I would transfer it to an aluminum pan with foil covering, refrigerate until tomorrow, and they'll reheat at the shelter. Others are bringing the rest of the meal. The second was that I had in the oven some roasting potatoes, sweet and regular, for a potato salad I found in a magazine. The trial run at home will be tomorrow; if they like it, I'll do it again for Thanksgiving. I'll be able to do most of the work the day before, then bring to room tempera the next day and toss with vinegar and green onions. A little less stress on the holiday. The third item I was just finishing up-boxed mac and cheese for supper with Dad. I had leftover Waldorf salad and tossed salad. I had to mix up the macaroni in the dark, but we weren't ready for dinner. We groped around in the dark until he found his little flashlight-imagine an old man shuffling in the dark-and then some matches. For about five hours my neighborhood had no power. I left the potatoes steaming in the hot oven and wouldn't open it, so they finished cooking anyway. It was cold, ice had formed on the back porch. The most light around was a solar windmill on the porch, a model T with lights on its wheels standing out of a large flower pot. I had already fed the neighbor's cat, so that was done. We sat with our candles to read and a transistor radio on the only station he could find, a gospel station in another town. To break up the boredom, we got up to eat lukewarm and cold food. I couldn't concentrate on my book, so I closed my eyes and listened to the music and the thoughts running through my head. Finally, when my dad had to get up and stretch his aching bones, the lights came back. That meant I had to deal with all the food and wash dishes. The cold air in the house had kept the food well. I have oil lamps in the window behind the washer. In other words, they're not accessible in emergency. I could have gotten on my exercise bike. It's not like I need to see where I'm going, and it would have warmed me up. But no. I sat. I could have written some notes on the book I was reading, but I had an excuse not to do that. I bent the frame of my glasses in the dark. The power outage is going to be my excuse for everything that doesn't go right this weekend. Very inconvenient. But convenient. |
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