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Ya gotta love sweet..........

I guess technically you also have to love sour, but not realistically. In any case it tastes pretty good for the amount of effort that goes into it. What is it? A dump and go version of sweet 'n' sour meatballs. Ingredients: 1 bag of frozen meatballs, 2 jars of La Choy or Kikkoman sweet 'n' sour sauce, 1 onion, 1 can of pineapple tidbits, and 3 chopped bell peppers. I used one of those multi packs of peppers--red, orange, and yellow. You need to chop the onion into reasonably large chunks. Drain pineapple juice, particularly if the pineapple is in syrup. Now, start dumping. Put everything into a slow cooker. Stir to help mix the flavors. Cover and turn slow cooker on low for 4 hours or so. prepare enough rice to feed your family. Top rice with sweet 'n' sour mixture and as much sauce as you can handle. Careful--the sauce is really very sweet. Enjoy. I'm pretty sure you could chunk up 3 or 4 chicken breasts in lieu of the meatballs, but I'd be tempted to brown those before putting them into the slow cooker. 

I made this recipe a few days ago, ate my fill, and packaged up the remainder for later. It's pretty tasty and goes a long way. It's not the cheapest meal I've ever made due to using pre-made ingredients, but once you figure out how many servings you'll get, it's not out of reach on a per serving basis.

I'm still sitting against the heating pad. I've done the up 3, down 3 thing today. Finally, after medication again today, I made some progress. There is a position I can use to help get whatever is out of place in my back to return to where it belongs. I managed to elicit 2 thunks as 2 somethings went into place. However, when this sort of thing happens, it usually means 4 to 5 whatevers are out of place. So, I have a ways to go. However, the pain is at least somewhat reduced. 

Of course, not much has been accomplished today. It was well past 4 PM before I got any relief. I will get something worthwhile done tonight, but it will be done slowly, deliberately, taking into account 3X years of past experience. About the most vigorous thing I will attempt is doing dishes and cleaning a toilet while supporting myself with one arm on the pony wall. Maybe I can fire up the Roomba, though that would require a deep bend.........I dunno about that......

 

Lookin' Up, Lookin' Down

Well, as to my last report, the pill I took stopped the cramping and the lower digestive track upset, more or less. I think, actually, what it did was to stop my body's natural action to clean itself out. So, I wandered around the house for several days with an occasional stab of pain and the feeling that somewhere along the way I'd eaten some concrete. But, eventually that righted itself. 

I am still having problems with digestion. It really seems as though the only thing I can eat without upsetting my stomach and leaving me nauseated is crackers. Don't know what that is all about but I do thank God and whoever it was that invented crackers. 

Nearly 5 weeks later I have received a piece of mail I've been waiting for. I found out via a friend that there is a service provided to the "disabled" to move trashcans to the curb and return them once they've been emptied. I originally called about this on August 18. They sent me an e-mail with a download file attached. I downloaded it just fine, but every time I tried to open it, it came up, postage-stamp sized, in Adobe Photoshop Elements. I couldn't read it and I couldn't print it, no matter what I did. I called them back and asked them to please just send me a hard copy via snail mail of the document. And that took 5 weeks. But. at least it finally came and it looks as though I will be entitled to claim this service. 

Sometime ago, they supplied everyone with these LARGE containers and reduced their pickups from twice a week to once a week. I've struggled with these things ever since. Empty, they are large and clunky and clumsy to handle. Add trash to them and they are just about more than I can manage. Believe me, you would not want to take my heart rate by the time I get those boogers moved to the curb and make it back into the house. And these containers are the root cause of my broken wrist 18 or so months ago. Someone, maybe the trash guys or maybe the postal carrier used to shove them down flat on the ground. On the day I fell, I bent over and was struggling to get them set upright when I lost my balance and broke my fall with my right wrist. Ugh! So I have good reason to act on filling out this request for service quickly.

It appears as though I am going to have to buy the Toyota a new tire. I've kind of been expecting this. It sits out in the scorching desert heat, and we've had a lot of that this summer. I was told, several months ago, that the rubber along the sides of the tires was cracking. And just yesterday, as I made my weekly run to the grocery store, the low pressure indicator came on. Sure enough, it's low on the driver's side front--the side that faces the intense afternoon sun. Of course, I'll just put air in it this time, but if it's low again the next time I drive it, I won't be surprised. And, at that point I'll do the new tire thing. 

It is the end of a bad day. I am sitting here, leaning up against the heating pad and a little out of it. My back has been progressively more painful throughout the day until, at this point, it's a real booger. It's not a full-scale muscle spasm yet, but there's a definite "twang" along my right hip. I can feel the tightness in one muscle if I run my fingertips across that part of my body. I've taken muscle relaxers all day and they've done absolutely nothing to help. It really makes me angry that I am treated like an addict when I ask for the medication that actually works. I've taken that particular drug on an as-needed basis for 35 years. I am NOT addicted nor do I ever intend to be. But the long and short of it is that if I have SOMA on hand, I'm likely to be on the mend with one day's rest and medication. This other stuff--well, I'll probably still be dealing with the pain 3 days from now. What a waste of my time and what needless suffering! 

Well, anyway, I've typed about all I intend to for today. See you on the flip side.

 

Sick

Oh my Good Lord! I have had the worst night. I was sitting here around 10 o'clock when I got hit with a really rough stomach cramp and a sense of urgency. I took off for the bathroom at the far end of the house. Momentarily, the pain was overwhelming. Shortly I was completely sweat soaked. My face, my neck, under my arms, under my boobs, and all down across my lower abdomen. Just soaked, soaking my clothes and all. And the cramps kept coming. I kept mopping at the perspiration. i did it so much the Kleenex I was using began to disintegrate. And yet when I touched my forehead, it was cold and clammy to the touch as one often reads about. That's the first time I've ever experienced that. Finally, I was able to move to the bed where I lay shivering under the covers. I finally dozed off. I'm up now about an hour, making one return trip to the bathroom. I've managed a few sips of water, a gas-x pill, and I took an extra potassium. I guess if this could become a regular occurrence, I'd better lay in a small supply of Gatorade or something of that nature.

Anyway, thank goodness, the worst of it has passed and it looks like I will survive. If I never go through that again, it will be too soon.

THE BAD NEWS

Well, I suppose we must mark the bad news: It is the day the world lost a great lady. Queen Elizabeth II passed today. I am sure she had her faults--we all do. But she was an example of duty, service, steadiness, and much more. I admired her. She was rock solid. She has gone through many tests, tragedies, losses, etc., and, she did so always in the public eye. And, it seems every tragic event had to be marked by a speech. I am of the belief that she would have felt she HAD to retain her composure while the public watched. I could not have done that. Thank heavens, I did not have to do that. I would have embarrassed myself and everyone around me. I am sure many in Great Britain feel, today, as if the entire fabric of life has changed. Seventy years as a symbol of British life has gone on to her reward.

Very early this morning, before sun up, I completed another canning run. I had some yams that were about to go south. Something had to be done with them or it would have been like throwing money away. So, I have another 15 jars of yams canned for future use. So, my current inventory stands at 40 jars. I filled out the canner load with 3 more jars of canned beans. My stash of jars is going down fast...........I shall have to carve out the funds for more jars from of my grocery budget somehow. Not sure how..........

I'm trying to work out how I'm going to keep myself fed, prices being what they are. I know I have to use what I have carefully and wisely. Every little packet of meat is going to have to make multiple meals. For example, I recently made a batch of unstuffed cabbage soup. I ate some for my dinner and put away 5 single-serve packages for "tomorrow"--all from 1 pound of meat, 1 head of cabbage and a couple of cans of tomatoes. The meat was canned months ago, at lower prices, so I am estimating that cost me less than $5.00 for 6 meals. I like those numbers! That's something less than $.80 per meal. Yesterday I opened a frozen packet of veggie soup. It made dinner last night and will give me lunch today and I still have 4 more packets in the freezer. That was made from 2 cans (15 oz) of store brand tomatoes, a 2# bag of mixed vegetables (store brand again), and a couple of small-dice potatoes, and some dehydrated onions. Very simple and cheap and yet really tasty with lots of vitamins and minerals. Next up, I think, will be some bean and bacon soup. Fortunately, bacon is on sale this week..........That recipe calls for an entire pound of bacon, but I am not planning to use more than half that much. Plenty of protein in the beans. The bacon will just be for flavor.

I tried my hand at making some homemade dog food yesterday. I used some scrap meat, some yams that wouldn't fit in my jars, some sliced broccoli stems, some leftover chicken "juice" from a jar of home canned chicken, some rice, and I broke an egg over the whole conglomeration. Funny thing: the dog licked it all up but seems to have spit out the yams. I find that a bit mystifying in that sweet potatoes are supposed to be wonderful doggy treats. My silly dog won't even eat them..........Of course, all of this took time and I was surprised that what looked like a lot of food ended up gone in minutes. Anyway, I'm going to start a container for bits of this and that in my freezer for future use as dog food.

We seem to finally have broken out of the 3 digit temperatures around here. Two digits only in the forecast from now on. There ARE always things for which to be thankful!