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  My blog was filled up. I'm too lazy to clean it out. So I started a new one. |
| I've encountered a number of people who are afraid to experiment with spices and herbs. They like to cook, but no creative spirit. I'll pass on what I know from a gourmet meat shop. My dad worked there until he was 88. He left with a lot of hints and secrets. He passed on a lot to his customers through the years, but some things are only told to family. One of the men in the organic shop made his own mixture, and people loved it. It was the same for fish, chicken, beef, or pork. People couldn't tell the difference; they just liked it. You can make it, too. They never measure anything, so it's never exactly the same two times in a row. Salt and pepper are starters. (I've tried some of their marinaded meat. Occasionally, it's too salty.) Oregano is generously added, and almost as much basil. They coat the meat liberally. By the time the customer gets home with it, it has marinated sufficiently for immediate cooking. Now when I say generous, I don't mean a shake or two of the can. I'm talking pinches by very big fingers. I've tried it at home, using open containers or bags. I've heaped it on successfully. For fish, I prefer parsley the red peppers, and paprika. Or I go the ginger route for a totally different taste. For chicken or lamb, I use rosemary. In fact, lamb needs to be rubbed down with a coarse salt and allowed to sit at room temperature for one hour before cooking. The rosemary and a little black pepper can be added for this one hour wait. MMM. Good. I'm usually pretty liberal with fresh garlic. Wine is a good tenderizer. I knew someone who hunted game, like bear, and he said Coke is a great meat marinade. Let a roast soak overnight in it. I don't cook game, so I've never tried. But I will add wine to some dishes like beef stew. The alcohol steams off, but the cooked meat gets more tender. I went through a turmeric and cumin phase last year. No one complained. It's supposed to be good for you.I guess it's possible to overdo some things, like cayenne or tarragon--which I love to use sparingly. But it's hard to use the wrong spice. It will be just different or unexpected, that's all. |
| I want a spa day, a me day, or whatever. I want a day off when I don't have to take anyone to the doctor or run around town doing errands or taking someone shopping to places I'm not interested in seeing. I want a selfish day when I'm not going to work and I'm not sick. My hair is overdue for a trim. I haven't had a professional pedicure in three years. I can do it myself, but it's so nice to relax and let someone else rub your feet and see your cuticles up close. I have soft nails that break or split almost daily, so a manicure is a waste. I tried the gel things once, but I was too rough on them. They broke and the polish chipped. I'd like to go shopping for shoes and clothes more than once or twice a year, but I've always done that best by myself. I certainly can't do it with my father who needs more attention on a daily basis. Next week I'm going to see Kristofferson in concert. I can hardly wait. We're having a family outing to see Cheryl Crow in June on our downtown mall Pavilion. (The mall is bricked in, no street traffic in decades.) We're getting lawn seating because of the kids, so we have to carry our own chairs or blankets. Younger family members can help me with Dad and chairs. In September I'm taking Dad to see Garrison Keillor under the Pavilion; we have accessible seating, which costs a little more, but we'll be close. I realize now that I'll never be able to take another vacation unless I find someone I trust to stay overnight with my father. He can no longer travel more than an hour or so. If I let one of my brothers stay, the house will be a wreck when I get home. So I'll settle for a spa day. Just picking a day that's obligation free will be tough. |
| The school system has gone to the dogs. Yes, I've joined the complainers. Officials are so concerned about being politically correct that they treat victims of assault the same as the perpetrators. Kids who have done no wrong who get punched in the face are treated the same as the little criminal. An eight year old member of my family, a very docile child who won't defend herself against her monster cousins, was standing in line with her hands to herself. She's very organized with good social skills, and makes excellent grades. Another girl punched her in the nose. Both sets of parents were called in and both girls got the same lecture. The other girl gets to walk away feeling no shame or remorse. My gentle little one is now afraid and doesn't know how to defend herself in future confrontations. Her mother pointed out that it isn't fair for the assaulting child not to receive extra punishment over the victim's punishment. No one punched her or even yelled at her, plus she's not suspended or doing extra homework. The school is unconcerned. It might make her parents mad. And it might offend some ethnic group since they are not of the same background. There is not equal justice for all. This alarms me because I had just read an article that claims assault by school age children on other children of the same or younger age is on the increase. The article further claims that policy changes from school district to district. Most tend to sweep it under the rug, and the offending child keeps on offending more children over the years at various schools within the district. Most of these assaults in that study were of a sexual nature. That makes me really sad because these children, as young as five, are learning these behaviors in other places, from adults or other children. Most offenses reported take place in the home. The second most likely place is at school or on a school bus. What is our nation coming to? You can't send your kid to school or preschool without being warned that no one should ever touch them "down there". You have to tell them that even if a child tells them he will kill them or beat them up, they have to tell Mom or Dad about it right away. And the parent may never receive any satisfaction from the school that other children will be spared, even if they sue, and the child will need counseling. Bullies have always been around, but never to this degree and so young. The second grade is not an age when when children should be so angry and ready to practice aggression. By the time kindergarten is complete, they should know how to properly interact with other children. A child who begins an aggressive action should be receiving remedial behavior counseling in the school. Maybe there is a problem at home of which the parents are not aware. At any rate, other children should not have to be afraid while they are at school. |
| I have a new TV favorite. Sometimes they go away, so this one might, too. Sometimes they linger on. For example, I was fascinated the first 2 or 3 years with America's Got Talent. Then I hated it, can't stand to watch it any more. The first few seasons of The Voice I was enchanted. I loved watching the singers being groomed and progressing on their journey. I would have my favorites. I even developed a little crush on Adam Levine, way too young for me. But then I started hating that. It's more about the judges now, not the contestants. Grimm, on the other hand, was one that I became more entranced with as time went by. Same with Desperate Housewives and House. I can still watch reruns of Andy Griffith, M*A*S*H*, Seinfield, and any old western. At the time they were made, I loved Designing Women, The Golden Girls, and Murphy Brown. Now I can't change the channel fast enough. Of the current shows, I like Man With A Plan, starring Matt LeBlanc. I also like American Housewife. The one thing I've noticed about all these is that all the characters are believable. The women are not beauty queens, but are attractive, very real, believable women. The characters are modern and reflect our current culture. Neither show delivers a long string of one-liners, like Two Broke Girls, which is just plain disgusting on occasion. There's no real dialog in that show. Kevin Can Wait is pretty much the same old character, vintage Kevin James, but with an English guy living in his garage. It's entertaining enough, but nothing we haven't seen before. I don't care for the shows with overriding political perspectives. I don't need their preaching or their dumbing down their liberal viewpoints to make them seem like the right way to live. My new fascination, the one show I really want to see, is one called First Dates. They match people up and send them to a redesigned romantic restaurant in Chicago and film everything on the blind dates. They interview them afterward to see if they want to go out again. So far, I have agreed with all the ones who said no. I've been surprised by some of the yes answers. If you haven't seen it, it might be worth a viewing. The couples are all races and ages. One cute young guy had a prosthetic leg, but still runs marathons. That wasn't the deal breaker, but the fact that he owned a cat turned the girl against him. They were getting along great until she found out about that. The show is kind of fresh, despite being another match making reality show. It's not as contrived as other shows. I've enjoyed it so far. Who knows how long that will last? |
| No matter how good his intentions when he started, the name Dr. Oz has come to be associated with scams and false advertising, Be very careful about opening things on Facebook with his name. More than likely it's an ad for a product which he has not endorsed, but might have mentioned on his show one time. Some he has claimed that he has never endorsed or recommended but there are a lot more out there claiming his approval. I've seen his show; he is skeptical about miracle cures, He presents the ideas if they are not dangerous, but, if you watch carefully he is not endorsing the products. He does not point to scientific research outside the manufacturer. He's merely a news reporter when this happens, not a doctor recommending something to you. But even beyond that, his own company has books and a magazine. One day, I checked out an article and somehow started getting a magazine I didn't want. Every month I'd get two or three bills. I would send one back with a response that I did not subscribe and did not want the magazine; please stop sending me anything. I received two, maybe three magazines all together and many bills. No one ever responded. I refused to pay on principle. Maybe I clicked on the wrong thing; I don't know. i didn't want it, and I didn't want to pay. I notified them immediately, and they didn't fix it. (I never opened the magazines. I tried sending one back. One I gave to a nursing home.) It's been over a year now. I still get mail that looks like bills. But they're advertisements. I'll never subscribe to it. I'll never read it. They got my dander up. |
| Without thinking it through, I bought a blueberry bush. I have a big yard. However, I don't really have the right place to put it. Deer Park is not just a brand name of bottled water. It is a description of my subdivision. Wherever I plant the bush, the deer will eat it. But finding a place where it's not in the way of the lawn mower or under a tree or near a gas line will be difficult. The yard is chopped up with trees and shrubs and flower beds as it is. And parts of it are very shady. My dad has planted some cacti in one good area. If I even go near a cactus, I'm like a magnet that sucks out the long spikes that are hard to get out, especially if they go in your clothes first. I'd never pick blueberries next to one of those. In desperation, I may put it in a deep pot just to keep it alive until I can recruit a deep hole digger. That is, once I decide where to put the hole. At the time of purchase, it seemed like a good idea. I'd go out and pick blueberries to eat fresh off the branch. One bush wouldn't be enough to "harvest", but it would be good for snacking. I did pull some weeds today. I'm very good at growing things I don't want. |
| I've been thinking a lot about retiring lately. I want to be my own boss, not jumping up to the alarm every day, and all the other perks of not going to a job. You still work, of course, but for yourself, for your welfare. I tell myself that my house will be tidier, the projects I've been putting off will be completed, the writing I've been dreaming up will actually go on paper, and I'll pursue all those postponed adventures that take time. (I still can't do the things that cost money.) I will be a happier, more fulfilled person. But all these other things keep creeping into my conversation with myself. My days seem to fill up pretty quickly already when I have a day off. I'll miss the people with whom I work. I'll let TV or other distractions get in the way of sewing or other handcrafts. My eyesight will fade and I won't be able to do detailed things. Money will become a bigger issue in a year or two. Maybe the perfect poem or a great novel just aren't in me. Maybe I never really had any talent, so work and obligations just became excuses. Maybe I'll be too lazy to go out to see friends or meet new people; I can be very complacent and self-entertaining. Maybe this really is as good as it gets. On one level that's depressing. If it doesn't get better, if we never really grow up or "arrive" or achieve our goals, we've just been spinning our wheels. On another level, it could be exciting to know that a major attitude adjustment could find us bliss right now. No, that's not sinking in. If we buy into the theory that the journey is the important part, not the arrival, then all the sacrifice and the hardship we endured for the sake of the ending was a waste. We didn't live it up in the here and now because of what we wanted "some" day. "Now" might be wonderful for some people, a nightmare for some others. For most of us, "here and now" is somewhere in between, mostly not so satisfying. I certainly want more, and I'm sure most people do. I've had major life upheavals, not completely of my own choosing. Illness, loss of job (several companies I worked for closed up for good), husband's problems, divorce, moving; these were thrust upon me for the most part. Deliberately choosing a major change is more intimidating than I expected. I'm surrounded by people, but I have to face this one on my own. I'm old, but not grown up. And maybe things will be different, but not better. You don't get to write a review of your life when it's over. |
| I watched The Kennedy's After Camelot. First, I was amazed to see Matthew Perry as Teddy Kennedy. He didn't look a lot like him, but he managed to pull it off. The whole thing was riveting. I even enjoyed the accents. They portrayed Jackie as a very strong member of the family, long after JFK's death. The story ended with the death of John John, the end of the dynasty. Running American politics was their thing. They talked about it like it was their destiny, their purpose as a family, even the women. They were committed to it, even to the point of personal sacrifice and heartbreak. I think it was partly so mesmerizing because I have lived with news of the Kennedy's all my life. My grandmother was fascinated by Jackie, and had many books about her. I've read lots of articles about her. We've all heard about Eunice, Ros, Ethel, etc., for the last 50 plus years. This history was something out of the newspaper while I was alive.That makes it a little different from other history lessons. But the news media didn't tell the whole story. It's always been slanted and biased. And they could only tell what they knew. If the truth was held back, then we all have to wait until someone feels it is safe to reveal it. I wouldn't mind watching it again. I'm certainly going to look for the book.It revealed new things and fed a life long curiosity. |
| My niece's husband wanted to burn some brush on his 25 acres, so he planned a bonfire for the family. It was just one field, but it was more than brush. He had logs that don't make good indoor fire wood, shrubs, vines, etc. It was huge. The wind was blowing. We were covered in smoke and choked before the hot dogs were ever started. It was under control by the time I got there, down the narrow twisty country roads. But I could see the scorch marks on the tall trees at the edge of the wood. They were burnt about 30 feet off the ground! He had to run for the water hose and spray the trees. The wind was worse than he had expected. We kept moving around the fire trying to find the best spot, but the smoke followed us. It was a good walk to the house. I had to drive my dad down there, since he can't walk on the uneven ground. There was an old trailer with two flat tires. They had planned to use the end of it as a table, but the kids loved it. They climbed up on it and stretched out their chairs. All they had to do was reach down to their feet for chips and popcorn or raw veggies. There were some new chickens in the barn. The kids had to climb the gate and go over, bare toes grasping the wire. There was another smaller cage inside for the chicks but the kids went in there, too. The three year old climbed the gate with a chick in hand gave it to me. I had to take it to prevent escape, but it was unhappy, so back into the cage it went. These children were filthy dirty, full of mud and smoke, dip, and way after dark, roasted marshmallows. We had two fireworks set off. Big booms and lots of color. Even the one year old liked it and asked PopPop for more with hand gestures and a little "boom". Today, all of us have irritated red eyes, runny noses, and coughs. The young folks with PopPop sat by the fire another hour after we left. They put blankets on the kids who fell asleep before ending the party. It was homemade fun for family, three sets of children, divorced grandparents, a great-grand-father, etc. Nature and food and games and dirt. The kind of gathering they'll remember decades from now. And a nice change of pace for me, too. And we all slept pretty soundly last night. |
| In the financial news, Lowe's is on the downswing. But they certainly were the hot place to be this morning. I needed a cart and had to go back to the parking lot to find one. It was exciting looking at all the plants and seeds. The hustle and bustle was like that at a fair or theme park as people of all ages sorted through tomatoes and hydrangeas, pulling bags of potting soil, and bottles of fish fertilizer out. The smells were there. The wind carried the pollen from the surrounding area into the open patio sales yard. I sneezed like crazy and now my eyes won't stop watering here at home away from that wind. I indulged in a blueberry plant. I was chauffeuring my dad, an experienced gardener who can't work at it like he once did. I will have to do more outdoor duty this year. I'm stocked up on mosquito repellent and have a UV straw hat. We've had the knee pad for years, but I'll have to use it more. He's in charge of vegetables, elephant ears and marigolds. I'm going to have to do the rest. In the last few years, he's destroyed a lot of plants and shrubs by accident. I'm going to plant white speckled caladium along the patio. I don't know where the blueberry bush is going. Herbs go in pots on the deck. My sage and chives are thriving from last year. Dad picked out a fern to replace the ones that died over the winter. He also picked some flowers to go in cement pots. Nothing ever survives in those pots. I have to figure that out. The fun part was the shopping. Now the hard part waits! |
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. Isn't it funny how we take things like electricity and plumbing for granted... until we don't have them. Happy for you!
