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 So playing the trombone wasn't getting me in enough trouble? |
| I need someplace to write down the often confusing thoughts that enter my mind, while my stories give voice to the characters that wander through periodically, this is the place for my voice. Join me if you wish, comment if you wish, all are welcomed and appreciated. |
| As promised, we are enduring the coldest temperatures of the season. Last night, the low was about 4 degrees at around 4 AM. Yeah, that's really Sunday morning, but anything involving Zero-Dark-Thirty is nighttime as far as I'm concerned. (I used experiencing, Grammarly decided to be far more dramatic, suggesting enduring, making it seem as if Lenore and I were trekking across a bleak tundra.) We also got the inch or so of snow they promised, which wasn't too bad. I blew most of it away with the leaf blower. I guess the sight of me doing it amused the neighbors; I even got a round of applause from Uncle Lennie next door. Uncle Lennie tends to watch everything I do through his bedroom window. He's in his 90s and doesn't get out much anymore. Last night we had soup and a sandwich for dinner. I had made the soup the day before. It was Escarole and White Bean Soup. The original recipe used chicken stock and spinach. I substituted vegetable broth and escarole. Lenore has issues digesting chicken stock and is also prone to kidney stones, hence the substitutions. I added some cubed ham to the soup to make it a little heartier. If I make it again, I might swap in cubed chicken. I am trying to post the recipe, but although I can find it in my Word document list, I can't locate it within WdC's Create template. Weird!! I'll figure it out and update later. |
| Come on now, is this really necessary? For the third weekend in a row, our weather forecasters are tromboning (that's like trumpeting, but much cooler) "the coldest weather yet this winter". It's so cold here that the penguins at our local aquarium in Riverhead had to be brought inside to get out of the cold! https://youtube.com/shorts/FC6FwxEL_kk?si=T5wswU_Ir77cAaPL (Sorry, YouTube, I messed up, and I can't embed the clip. I tried to embed a YouTube Short!}} On top of that, they added snow to the mix, a coating to three inches. The biggest weather problem is potentially gusty winds of 30 to 40 MPH, which, of course, brings the wind chill well into the below zero range. (Grammarly and the Squiggly RedLine are arguing over whether wind chill is one word or two words; Google likes it as two.) Yeah, I'm certain it's colder elsewhere, and that these were South African penguins. But I'm not built for -15 degrees! |
| According to this article on Thesaurus.com: 18 Love Idioms To Express Your Your Feelings with All Your Heart  There are a scant 18 ways to say I Love You. I'm not going to go all Robert Waltz over this, but I am going to disagree a bit on principal. Granted, these are written/verbal methods, but even then, I'm not buying that there are only eighteen ways to say it. No it doesn't specifically say there's only eighteen, but the implication is everything. "You are the Sunshine of My Life" There ya go, without even trying, I found another! And if I search my musical memory bank, besides giving myself a headache, I'd probably find even more. My main problem is that Talk is Cheap; merely telling someone a tired cliche isn't gonna cut it. Better to show your love with actions and thoughts. Lenore and I celebrate Valentine's Day, cards, yes, though paying upwards of $7 dollars for a decent card aggravates both of us. We may adopt the method of picking out a card at the local Hallmark, exchanging and reading it in the store, then putting it back in its slot. Not that we're cheap, but really, a piece of cardboard, with a poem that most likely would get a good review here on WdC? PLEASE!! We'll also go out for dinner, but not on Valentine's Day or the weekend. Let the hoopla die down, the crowds this, and the servers breathe. Then go enjoy a nice, relaxing meal. Do nice things for your partner, that's how you say I Love You!! |
| So, the bad news first: yesterday afternoon, I had a minor, very minor accident. I was doing a cloverleaf turn around to head in the opposite direction on a divided highway. The kids in the area use the hill there to sleigh down. As I approached, I took a look down the hill and did not see anyone. But as I came around the cloverleaf, a youngster hit the snow berm along the ramp and got tossed into the road. Now the good news: I managed to swerve and avoid the youngster (thank goodness). I didn't, however, miss the signposts. I did some damage to the Trailblazer. But!!!!! Nobody got hurt (my pride and record as a driver took a shot). The youngster took off like a flash, so I couldn't even talk to him. I've reported the accident; the insurance company is on it, and we're waiting for the tow to the body shop. Even Better News!! The day before yesterday, I made onion soup, and we ate it last night. It was yummy, so I'm sharing the recipe here: "French Onion Soup" Except for caramelizing, which is a slow process, it's pretty easy and well worth doing. |
So to keep my streaks going, I think I'm gonna have to cheat a bit. I'm planning to do two reviews on Saturday: one on the review page and another that I keep in Notepad to copy and paste on Sunday. I will do the same for a blog post, create one in the can to send up on Sunday. Those two items take the most time, and it looks like time will be at a premium. Hopefully, we don't lose power, and this plan works. We're making lentil soup tonight, so we'll have some nice warm stuff waiting for us. Actually, I'm watching Lennie make the soup while I type this. We finished off most of the leftovers tonight. So I may cook tomorrow night, trying to get ahead for the week. I bought a new small cast-iron pan that can go from the stove to the toaster oven, so there are steaks in our future. We have plenty of baking potatoes, with a salad that's a quick meal. Speaking of potatoes, I have just been summoned for KP duty ... |
| I'm not sure if I'm correct, but I feel like we've already had more snow in January here on Long Island than we had all last year. And now we're getting ready for yet another one, over the weekend. This one is going to hammer Texas and the South first. I wonder how those folks prepare for snow? Here on the Island, people will wishfully ignore the prediction at first, after all, the local weather people are calling for a coating to a possible 12+ inches, which translates to, "Your guess is as good as ours". Then they'll rush out on Saturday and clear off the grocery store shelves. As far as my personal preparation, today Lenore and I are checking pantry and freezer stocks, and later I'll go shopping before the crazies buy everything in sight before Snow-mageddon hits. We also checked in with Lennie's sister; she needs white onions, not sure why. I have to check one of the snow melting mats we use on the steps; it has stopped working. The mats work great. I will take a picture if I remember. The mats are pricey, but well worth it. We haven't had to shovel steps in three years. I already topped off the snowblower's fuel; we couldn't use it in the last storm, but if this one shapes up to be its worst, the blower will get a workout. I'll do the usual rounds, the driveway aprons across the street, the two elderly neighbors, and the front of the guy next door to me, so he doesn't park in the spot I cleared. I also might have to walk the blower a few blocks away, to Lennie's sister's house, her hubby is traveling on business, if his flight makes it out of NY. The night before the storm, I'll turn the cars around to face out of the driveway and put them on one side of the drive. Less snow to blow/shovel, and if we need to get out, going forward is easier than backing out. No matter what, with our Arctic Front in place, the snow will be of the light and fluffy variety, so even if it's less than blowable we'll have that going for us. Good Luck out there. Stay warm, make sure your phones are charged and with you if you go out to shovel, take breaks, and stay hydrated. |
| So right now, a mumbling idiot has preempted the airwaves, touting accomplishments that would generally embarrass other people. I generally try to keep politics and my opinions about off WdC, but this is really over the top. Just for the record, I have no interest in acquiring Greenland by any means, nor in conquering Canada; let's just leave those nice people alone. Venezuelan oil is dirty and hard to obtain, and extremely costly. There are better things we could do with that money. I don't want to take healthcare advice from a former heroin addict, who's stupid enough to take his grandkids wading in a polluted creek. I don't want people who are too stupid to know who the people on their group chats are in charge of national security. I don't want to destroy an alliance that has effectively kept the peace since WWII I don't want an armed, under-trained, secret police force patrolling America's streets. I hope an army of lawyers steps forward to litigate the multiple violations of fundamental rights being committed. I don't want a government full of crooks, grifters, insurrectionists, and criminals. I don't want an argument; I want civility, statesmanship, compromise when needed, and a return to the values that built America. |
| This morning we woke up to more snow, but it didn't accumulate on the north-facing front surfaces. We had warm, above-freezing temperatures once the sun came up. There wasn't much to shovel, even in the backyard, which faces south. I did have to clean the slushy snow back there, since temps are predicted to plunge tonight. We're getting another Arctic blast blowing in from Canada. These Arctic blasts are about the only thing I wish Canada would keep to itself. And on top of that, there's a forecast for more snow this evening, with a rock solid prediction of a coating to fifty feet. For whatever reason, I feel the need to bake a loaf of bread! I'm thinking either a Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread, a Rustic Pepperoni Pecorino Bread, or a Sweet Onion Foccaccia. Of course, to do that, I need to prep the proofing oven thing that I bought and never used. And to get my act moving early so that the process has a chance of completing before midnight. Another detail is that I need to visit the grocery for some ingredients. So I think bread-making is off the table for today, at least. I have a couple of reviews to do, one for "Rach's Reading Club" and another for "Anniversary Reviews" , I reread one of my favorite authors, Patrick O'Brian, and now I'm a bit hooked again, and may have to reread the whole series of Aubrey/Maturin adventures. I was trying to listen to another favorite of mine, Isaac Asimov, on Audible, but it wasn't working out well. Either I got wrapped up in listening and forgot to complete the manual task, or I focused too hard on the task and lost the story's context. Audible might work better for me in the Spring and Summer, when I'm doing repetitive work in the garden. Come to think of it, it might work while I'm bread-making. Oh, a warning: Audible isn't good when you're tenderizing meat. Getting distracted while using that thing with multiple sharp, pointy blades is detrimental to your fingers. |
| A nasty weather day here on Long Island, overcast, snowy, and windy. Fortunately, it stayed above freezing all day, so there was no accumulation. I worked on my to-do lists, set up a garden calendar, and looked forward to Spring. Lenore was working on taking down the Christmas tree, we still had it up for Kid's Christmas. When I wasn't planning and plotting, or helping Lenore, I was making soup. I made "Grandma's Corn Chowder" , for a meal in the future. We never got to eat the quesadillas last night; we didn't get hungry until late, so we ended up with a bowl of cereal. The quesadillas were great tonight, and we still have leftovers. |
| Habits are hard to break, but it's even harder to establish new, healthy, and beneficial habits. I've gotten over the bad habit of flipping off aggressive drivers; in the present craziness climate, it's better to just let'em go. I'll still slow down on a highway if someone drives up my tailpipe. But there is a sound reason behind that, since the tailgating driver is tight on my rear, I need to allow time for a longer stopping distance, which means more room in front of me. Now we aren't talking about me doing 45 in a 60 MPH zone. I'd more likely be hitting somewhere around 65 - 70. (unless Lennie's in the car, then we're locked in at 65). A good habit I share freely: Knife handles should never be submerged in the dishwater. Two reasons for that: first, on many quality knives, the handles are wood; submerge them in water, and the wooden handle soaks up water. The second, more important reason? If the entire knife is submerged in suds, you can't see it. Reach into the soapy water to pick something up, and you might get a handful of blades! Ouch!! Better, if you use a dishpan, put the knives in the sink, alongside, and dip them in the pan. Or, put them in a small pot of soapy water, with the handles sticking up. Yeah, this one is based on experience. One habit I'm trying to establish is completing the streaks, not so much for the badges, as it might help with the discipline of time management. Specific tasks, every day, just like my time at work. Thinking up blogging topics every day is weird. I blog when the spirit moves me, but now I have to think about it. I'm doing okay with the Cook Once, Eat Twice plan. I made Quick and Easy Chicken Quesadillas, which will get us through two suppers. All that's left to do is make the actual Quesadillas on the George Forman Quesadilla Maker. You can find this fast recipe here "Quick and Easy Quesadillas" |
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