My Weblog

conformist?

I've been watching you tube videos. Everyone is showing off their holiday table or giving their tips for delicious turkey. Pumpkin everything........ Admonitions to be thankful. Well, I am thankful. I'm thankful that I live in the USA. I'm thankful I'm alive today. I'm thankful for the irritating health problem which with prayer has disappeared.  I am thankful for peace and quiet in a home inhabited by only myself, God, and the dog. I am thankful for the God who holds me in the palm of His hand, every day. 

I am thankful I didn't do the traditional Thanksgiving. I gave God a lot of thanks, but I didn't cook Him a turkey or even a pumpkin pie. But, last night, after all those you tube videos, I did make some turkey noodle soup. I had a pint jar of turkey, a quart jar of turkey broth, some noodles left over from my last batch of haluski, freeze dried onions, freeze dried carrots, some celery seed (because I didn't have any celery), so I made a big pot of turkey noodle soup. It was very tasty. I ate my fill and I have 3-4 servings in a plastic container in my fridge for the next couple of days. So, just like so many folks in our country, I have used turkey leftovers to feed myself. I've gotten with the program--conformed.

Don't get me wrong. I could have done the whole special meal thing. I have frozen turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, canned pumpkin, freeze dried green beans, cans of mushroom soup, frozen loaves of bread for stuffing. In fact, about the only thing I don't have in the house is celery. And I'll eat all those things, sooner or later, just not on the one day a year we have specified for thankfulness. Truth is, I try to express my gratitude to the good Lord everyday and, mentally, I object to the idea of one special day to be thankful. We should all be thankful and express our gratitude every day to the ONE who orders the days of our lives. 

she's lost

Truly lost. I can't find Roomie. I turned her loose a couple of days ago to vacuum according to her innate programming. I haven't seen her yet. What usually happens is that I go around, looking in all of her favorite hiding spots, and normally I will just spot her as I go along. No such luck. The really scary thing is when she goes under my king sized bed. I live in fear with regard to how I would rescue her from there. I went in there and looked under that bed the other day with a not too strong flashlight and looked. I didn't see her. I just went back in there with a stronger flashlight and I still don't see her under there. I just can't find her. Now what do I do? I guess I better ask the Lord to show up for duty. Of course, He knows where Roomie is hiding.

Try try again

Several days ago I wrote an update concerning something i cooked and a relevant story from my childhood. In essence I had written everything you needed to know about that topic. However, I held off publishing it incase it occurred to me to add something. Of course, it got late, I went to bed, and while I was sleeping, the computer rebooted overnight. Poof! all that effort vanished. I just don't have the heart to write that again.............

Anyway, it's gotten cold here. Of course if you live in upstate New York or Vermont, you'd laugh at me for saying that. But, you probably didn't endure many days of 110+ temps this past summer, unlike me. Like most of us, I suspect, I am trying to keep the thermostat lower than usual. I'm concerned about the gas bill and the electric bill............

I have decided I'm going to have to buy some more sweat pants. And I refuse to wear pants that don't have pockets. I have only a few pairs. I thought I had more. But I've searched the 2 places in my house where sweat pants might be hiding and struck out. I just don't do laundry often enough for 3 pairs to handle the situation.

My current plans, budget-wise, for clothing is zippo. I have promised myself new seat covers when my current stock wears out, but I had no plans for anything else. But, I just did some extra work for a client, so part of what he pays me, I'll use for sweat pants. I'd rather use it for something more exciting, but I have to behave myself.

I also have to buy some more canning jars. I'm filling them up faster than I'm emptying them which is okay with me. It's good to have a little bit of something ahead, right? What I bought at yesterday's prices, on sale, I don't have to pay for at today's inflated prices, so it's all good. Besides, one has to remember that canning jars are an investment. They can be reused over and over for years to come.......... But the price of canning jars has to come out of my food budget.........

I don't think I mentioned it, but I have 2 small turkeys in the freezer. Kroger had them for $.79 a pound. That, in my opinion, is not a great price for turkey, but what IS a great price these days? It's still a lot less than even a cheap pork roast. Besides, I'm quite sure I can get a lot of meals from a turkey. I'm not planning any kind of a "traditional" Thanksgiving. With just me to feed, how much cooking should I do? I do have instant mashed potatoes, home canned yams, stuffing mix, and so on. So, if the urge hits, I can do something. I'd rather have a low pressure day in which I can spend time thinking about how good the Lord is to me. That's what it's supposed to be all about anyway!

One of those days.........

When I woke up this morning, I had pain just below my waist on the left side of my back. As I sat on the heating pad and moved around some, the pain eased. But by bedtime, I had pain on the right side of my back, just below my waist. I went to bed and stayed there, trying to find a position that didn't hurt for an hour and a half. Finally, I came back out here. I've now taken a muscle relaxer, I'm back on the heating pad, and I've had some ibuprofen. If I get to where I don't hurt anymore, I will hustle into the bedroom and try going to bed again. I'll probably be blessed with sleep at that point. 

I wish I knew what to do about this. It's been going on on one side or the other for a solid 3-4 weeks. I'm at the point where I am just sick of hurting. I'm having a hard time not sinking into depression over it. I could use some prayers, please. It's really getting in the way of me getting done what needs done............

COOKIN' UP A MONSTROUS PAN OF GOODNESS

The pan is about 13 x 9 x 2. It's filled to the brim. I am making "Lazy Man's Lasagne". It was still a good bit of work, but far less than traditional lasagne with all the layers. I've got a few other little cheats thrown in there as well For example, I am using bottled spaghetti sauce instead of cooking my own sauce all day. And, I bought pre-shredded mozzarella. The trick to this stuff is that you don't use the fussy lasagne noodles. Instead, you use rigatoni. And you don't do the layers--you just mix everything together in your biggest mixing bowl and when it's all mixed together, you transfer it to the baking dish. It should feed me tonight, and make many frozen entrees for the future. If you're curious about this recipe just google it. I'm using the version from She's In Her Apron youtube channel. 

I still ended up having to sit down 3-4 times during the process, but that's at least partly because my back is misbehaving again. Or, is it yet? Seems like I've been sitting on the heating pad for days on end. I am waking up with pain just below the waist on one side or the other, day after day. Generally, something (or 4-5 somethings) is out of place between my waist and my tailbone. Some times I can get all the somethings to go back where they belong. Sometimes I can get 2-3 somethings to go back in place. And, sometimes, despite my best efforts, I can't get a single thunk to show that something has moved. Today it's a "not a single thunk" day. I found myself on Amazon looking at big ice pads and at shiatsu massage guns this afternoon. I mentioned that I am expecting a large check, and I am thinking of ordering both of those things "when my ship comes in............."

I will be so happy when January rolls around. I am getting so much "junk" mail. The Republican candidates are spending a lot on direct mail. I'd say I'm getting at least 3 pieces of mail a week from both Becker and Laxalt. One was more than enough. In addition I'm getting election e-mail from those who favor us keeping our 2nd amendment rights, and from those who want us to vote one way or the other on Right to Work stuff. On top of that, I am getting, daily, mailers for this health plan or that one because it's the season when we get to change our coverage as seniors. I'm having a heckuva time keeping the trash can under my desk that I use for recycling emptied. I feel like I'm wearing a path in the carpet inside and in the concrete outside...........

THE NEXT DAY

I just finished putting the extra lasagne into single serving ziploc freezer bags and putting them into the freezer. I ate til I was full last night, and I have 10 additional servings in the fridge.

I went back and checked prices. I was able to get all the ingredients on sale except the rigatoni. I did buy the house brand on that. I spent $11.29, total for 11 servings. So, right at $1.02 a serving. And, for me, that will fill me up, so $1.02 a meal. That's how I go about trying to beat inflation.........

BABY GOT SOME BRAND NEW SHOES

Yup, I had to buy brand new shoes for my Toyota baby. I left home to go 1.5 miles to the grocery store (and return). On the way I got a low pressure warning on the tires. I took a look when I got to the store and nearly tossed my cookies. My passenger side rear tire was looking bad. I left the grocery store and headed for Discount Tire. If you buy your tires there, they'll actually check your tire pressure and fill 'em up for you for free. I used to have a tire pressure gauge in my van, but it is now MIA, so this is a valuable service for me.

Anyway, I felt a bit like they were holding me hostage. I was told that the sidewall was busted through and there was no point to adding air because it would immediately leak out. In other words, the tire could not be filled up. So, I asked if they would put the donut on for me. Nope. The donut is more than 7 years old and they won't mount a tire that old. So, I had no way outta there unless I called an Uber. I ended up putting 2 new tires on my baby van. I was told the front driver's side tire was about as bad as the back one! I waited about an hour and a half for them to work me in. I also had to dig deep to come up with $230 to pay for them. 

I knew I needed tires. I have some money that's supposed to come in. My plan was once I got my hands on that to put on 4 new tires. Now I have to think about figuring out what to do about the donut. I talked to them about that and was told that probably my best route is to buy an actual spare that I would just keep in the back of the van. According to them that would be about another $160. Phew! I need to find one of those trees that money grows on!

But, at least, when that check finally does arrive, I don't need to devote quite as much to new shoes for baby............

 

Win or lose?

There's a recipe floating in youtubeland that everyone raves about. I decided to try it--again. I must have done something wrong last time as I really did not like the flavor. I'm still not sure I got it "right". I had ordered a loss leader el cheapo roast the other week (marked down to $3.47 a pound). I expected back something like $10 worth of meat. What I got was this little tiny 1.28 pound chuck roast. I had planned to can the beef, but I don't pull out that big ole canner for what would have been about 1 pint jar. No way. So, I wondered what to do with that cute little thing.

I finally decided to give that recipe another try. It's called Mississipi pot roast. Essentially you dump some french onion soup mix and some ranch dressing mix on top, add some butter and add some jarred pepperoncini and cook it up in the crockpot. I was doing a mini-roast so I adjusted amounts, but if you had a "real" roast, it would be one envelope of onion soup and ranch dressing, half a stick of butter and 4-5 pepperoncini (though some folks use a lot more than 4-5). It's then roasted on low for 6-8 hours. Anyway, I decided it tastes pretty darned good this time. But what puzzles me is that it didn't get tender enough to shred. I realize it was a cheap (tough) cut of meat, but, isn't that a specialty of the crockpot? 

Anyway I don't know that I'll try it again. Maybe two disappointments is enough.........

I decided I want to make some butternut soup. I've made it before and enjoyed it. Went looking for my recipe and it's going to turn out to be pretty darned pricey for a meatless soup. The recipe calls for 2 leeks (they're $3.99 each!!!!!!!!!!), It also calls for 2 granny smith apples (they're on sale for $.90 each). And it calls for 6 cups of butternut squash. Butternut is $1.29 a pound. I own the other ingredients called for so no cost for them at the moment, but just what I'd have to buy is about $11, That would work out to about $1 a pint jar which is pretty stiff for a meatless soup, in my opinion. That's also about 20% of my week's food budget. However, I know it's delicious and I know I'll eat it with a smile on my face, so maybe worth it afterall. 

I'm still here...........

I don't have much going on in my life these days. The highlight of my week is a trip to the grocery pickup, buying stuff that's on sale that will in some meritorious way add to my stash. I don't think there's much about that that you'd find interesting. It seems I feel less than stellar most of the times these days, but I figure you're getting older too and probably know about those aches and pains and other afflictions we senior folks experience. So, you probably aren't holding your breath to read about mine. So, it seems as though there's not a lot going on in my life that I need to share with you. But, I'll see what I can dredge up.............

I've found that the entire series (I think) of The Waltons is available on Amazon Prime. That's a big time thriller for me. i watched some episodes along the way years ago, but I never actually got to follow the show to get a true sense of what the show was all about. So, in my spare time I'm watching that on Amazon. I'm enjoying it and I think it's good to come at it with a different perspective than I had many years ago. Then, I was mostly interested in how this show about a family trying to make it through the depression lined up with what little I'd heard from my parents. Now, I can look on the show with a broader background and experience than before. And, who knows, perhaps I'll learn some skills, recipes, attitudes that will serve me well in the times ahead, in that the times ahead are reputed to be times of a deep economic depression.

In one episode I watched last night, Olivia, the mama, told the children "What Daddy says in this house is rule". I'm sure my father would have said that about his own home if he was talking to anyone who didn't know him well. However, I don't think that was true. My mother had her ways--she would fret, whine, needle, take potshots, lecture, pout, sulk and so on til he managed to make her thoughts come out of his mouth. Having lived in their home for 18 years, I can say that frequently my father would have compromised. My mother, never. 

As far as the world was concerned, my mother was inexperienced. She was basically at home most of her life. She had no interest in the news or what was going on outside those doors. And, if there was a negative motive, attitude, or meaning that could be inferred from anything, she'd find it. My father, on the other hand was raised in town, not out in the country on a farm. He left home and went to college, then into the Navy. Then he did substantial graduate work. He, of course, worked outside the home. He had a much broader range of experience. Perhaps that had something to do with his slightly less judgmental approach to other people. 

Next morning: It's "cold" here this morning. Depending on where you live, you may think I'm crazy. We're headed for a high in the 60's, and if you live up north somewhere, that might sound mighty fine to you. However, until yesterday, it's been highs in the 80's around here. That, highs in the 80's, was comfortable. But, yesterday, amid a high wind warning, it was blowing pretty good, and a brief "cold" spell has snuck in behind those winds. So, 60's today and tomorrow then back to the 70's for a couple of days and Thursday and Friday will be back down in the 60's, So, anyway, I had to break out a sweat shirt and some sweat pants to face the temperatures today.

I don't spend money on clothes. The exception to that statement might involve new underwear and my continual search for a comfortable bra. Truth is, I have enough clothes. But, I may go looking for some sweatpants. I am no longer buying or wearing sweat pants unless they have pockets. I have a small wallet with my ID and debit card and it lives in my left pant pocket. The keys and the cell phone live in my right pant pocket and I have given up on purses or totes. I find, these days, I can get by with what I can carry in my pockets. But maybe another pair of sweat pants would be in order........... I think I only have 3 pairs that fit the requirements..........

Okay, enough rambling for now. I'm gonna to get going on my LONG to do list. YOU be BLESSED today!

 

 

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.