Our kitchen nook table is clean
It has been clean for four days. Jackie and I, but mainly Jackie, made a point to pick up all the papers and put them someplace else.
Dishes get cleared. Cups get cleared. Books get put away. My stack of unfinished crossword puzzles gets moved off the table
(OK, I am nuts. I have at least 7 issues of the Sunday Tribune crossword puzzle section on a clip board. I plan to go back and correct the unfinished puzzles. It is a matter of curiosity....which we all know killed a cat. But I find myself wondering about words and phrases I am not familiar with. Today, for instance, I discovered a resident of Riga could be called a Lett. I googled that. Someday that may come in useful, and it is the kind of information I tend to oddly remember.)
I can't deal with paperwork. When I worked at the newspaper, I always had a stack of news releases to "go through" and "localize." About every six months I would toss the mess. At school, I always had two or three piles of papers.....paper to grade, reports to read, articles to read, ideas for the classroom. I always took care of the grading part....and usually in June tossed all the others, included the occasional report I was supposed to fill out.
So for me, keeping the table clean is a huge achievement.
OK, most of the stuff did end up on the computer desk or the ledge above the sink...but that is our next target.
I have a stack of magazines to read, a stack of magazines I have read but want to cut out pictures from, a stack of catalogs, my crosswords, and paper.....just odd notes, letters, ads.
Someday I will be clutter free.
I probably won't be breathing, but I will be clutter free.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Friday, March 6, 2015
I think I am feeling a little chili
I am making chili tomorrow
Our church in DeKalb has a chili cook off in the mid Lenten season. After sitting out of the cooking for years, I decided this year to make some chili.
It used to be called the men's chili cook off. But several hundred years ago, the men stopped producing plus it put it in a pretty sexist light. The idea was, the men were treating their wives to a day of chili and excess burping. You are welcome.
So for the last week I have had my mind set on a Wild Buffalo Bill Chili. It would be a little spicy, but not too hot. And the secret ingredient....buffalo!
Being an idiot, I gave no thought of how to procure ground buffalo meat, but I remember Woodman's in Rockford sells it. So I assumed the Woodman's on Orchard Road would sell it also. On my way home from the zoo, I made a detour at Orchard Road.
And sure enough, there is a little freezer with buffalo meat. Steaks, pre-formed burgers, roasts, ground buffalo.
That's when the trouble began.
Years ago friend Bethy and husband sold buffalo. It was good. I bought some steaks, some ground beef, and liked it. At Wrigley they have a buffalo burger in one of the grills. Good meat. Tasty meat.
Expensive meat.
Quiz time: How much does a pound of ground buffalo cost?
$5.99
$9.99
$11.99
$12.99
My character in the upcoming play is a handyman who is a little unbalanced. When he answers some questions, he buzzes in, like a game show.
Humor me.
buzzzzz
$11.99 a pound.
I about dropped a buffalo steak right there in the store.
I figured I needed 2 pounds, so I opted for white chicken chili instead.
It will be good, just not unique.
And Julie, if you are reading this, be prepared to be dethroned. I am bringing my highly disorgaznized A game this year. Just need to find those chili peppers.
Bon appetite!
Our church in DeKalb has a chili cook off in the mid Lenten season. After sitting out of the cooking for years, I decided this year to make some chili.
It used to be called the men's chili cook off. But several hundred years ago, the men stopped producing plus it put it in a pretty sexist light. The idea was, the men were treating their wives to a day of chili and excess burping. You are welcome.
So for the last week I have had my mind set on a Wild Buffalo Bill Chili. It would be a little spicy, but not too hot. And the secret ingredient....buffalo!
Being an idiot, I gave no thought of how to procure ground buffalo meat, but I remember Woodman's in Rockford sells it. So I assumed the Woodman's on Orchard Road would sell it also. On my way home from the zoo, I made a detour at Orchard Road.
And sure enough, there is a little freezer with buffalo meat. Steaks, pre-formed burgers, roasts, ground buffalo.
That's when the trouble began.
Years ago friend Bethy and husband sold buffalo. It was good. I bought some steaks, some ground beef, and liked it. At Wrigley they have a buffalo burger in one of the grills. Good meat. Tasty meat.
Expensive meat.
Quiz time: How much does a pound of ground buffalo cost?
$5.99
$9.99
$11.99
$12.99
My character in the upcoming play is a handyman who is a little unbalanced. When he answers some questions, he buzzes in, like a game show.
Humor me.
buzzzzz
$11.99 a pound.
I about dropped a buffalo steak right there in the store.
I figured I needed 2 pounds, so I opted for white chicken chili instead.
It will be good, just not unique.
And Julie, if you are reading this, be prepared to be dethroned. I am bringing my highly disorgaznized A game this year. Just need to find those chili peppers.
Bon appetite!
Thursday, March 5, 2015
8 is enough
No, I am not talking about tv shows
In a feeble attempt to organize myself, I have taken to using notebooks.
A notebook for Rotary. One for health issues. Another for a church committee.
You get the picture.
Problem is, when I need the notebook, I can't find it. So I grab another notebook and use that.
I have notebooks up the Wazoo, which is not a river in Florida.
So today I made a decision. From now on, I will use one notebook for everything. Rotary? Church? Museum? Zoo? All the notes and scribbles will go in one notebook.
Books to read? Movies to watch? Things to do?
All in one notebook.
We used to have a notebook for Exit 99 that Carrie referred to as "The Bible." Whenever we talked about a game, or a game idea, or a show, she would whip out the bible and look it up.
I can't call mine the same, because I have to be original.
So it will be TNCATIHTIE...or Cat for short.
That way all my information will be in one place. Sure, I may have to flip pages from time to time. to find the information. And if I use up the notebook for one topic, I'll have all the information for the other themes. .... still in the notebook. So I'll now have two notebooks again.
Now that I think more about it, it doesn't seen practical.
Guess I will just have to find all the notebooks and make sure I use the correct on.
Fat chance.
In a feeble attempt to organize myself, I have taken to using notebooks.
A notebook for Rotary. One for health issues. Another for a church committee.
You get the picture.
Problem is, when I need the notebook, I can't find it. So I grab another notebook and use that.
I have notebooks up the Wazoo, which is not a river in Florida.
So today I made a decision. From now on, I will use one notebook for everything. Rotary? Church? Museum? Zoo? All the notes and scribbles will go in one notebook.
Books to read? Movies to watch? Things to do?
All in one notebook.
We used to have a notebook for Exit 99 that Carrie referred to as "The Bible." Whenever we talked about a game, or a game idea, or a show, she would whip out the bible and look it up.
I can't call mine the same, because I have to be original.
So it will be TNCATIHTIE...or Cat for short.
That way all my information will be in one place. Sure, I may have to flip pages from time to time. to find the information. And if I use up the notebook for one topic, I'll have all the information for the other themes. .... still in the notebook. So I'll now have two notebooks again.
Now that I think more about it, it doesn't seen practical.
Guess I will just have to find all the notebooks and make sure I use the correct on.
Fat chance.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
read?? what's that??
I just realized I have stopped reading
In the past six months, I think I have read one book. One. And that took me forever.
I have a list of books to read, and I am sure I will start. Soon.
I have watched 61 episodes of Poirot on Masterpiece Theater. Some of these episodes were 1 hour, but about 25 were 90 minutes. That takes up a little time. Throw in Downton Abbe, some early Parks and Recreation, a couple of Sherlock Holmes and you can see what happened to reading.
Emily reminded me of that just a little while ago. rotary Club sponsors a reading challenge with middle school students and high school students. Last year we also recorded our pages read. I am embarrassed by my giving up the printed form.
I guess it's time to start reading real books.
Yes, I have a list...but sometimes my list is a little weird. And some titles may be just words I wrote down on a piece of paper that are totally unrelated to book titles....i do that.
Anyway, think I'll head to the library tomorrow and get a book. Or maybe two.
Any suggestions?
In the past six months, I think I have read one book. One. And that took me forever.
I have a list of books to read, and I am sure I will start. Soon.
I have watched 61 episodes of Poirot on Masterpiece Theater. Some of these episodes were 1 hour, but about 25 were 90 minutes. That takes up a little time. Throw in Downton Abbe, some early Parks and Recreation, a couple of Sherlock Holmes and you can see what happened to reading.
Emily reminded me of that just a little while ago. rotary Club sponsors a reading challenge with middle school students and high school students. Last year we also recorded our pages read. I am embarrassed by my giving up the printed form.
I guess it's time to start reading real books.
Yes, I have a list...but sometimes my list is a little weird. And some titles may be just words I wrote down on a piece of paper that are totally unrelated to book titles....i do that.
Anyway, think I'll head to the library tomorrow and get a book. Or maybe two.
Any suggestions?
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
making a list, checking it twice
I just did a to do list
It took me a while. I just sat and thought of things I have to do....hence, a to do list.
Some of the things I can do on my own, some will require specialists... like to install a light fixture or fix an outlet. I don't play with electricity.
Most of the items are easy, they just take time.
I have long range and short range items, inside and outside items, upstairs and downstairs items. I bet there are 40 things to do on my list.
I wrote it all down in a spiral notebook. I thought about it and thought about it. I am pretty sure I have every job I need to do on the list.
When Jackie reads this, she will undoubtedly say, "Where is this list?"
and I can honestly tell her: Right here, no I did not lose it.
And next week I will start that list. Yes, I will.
Unless I lose the notebook by then....which is always a possibility.
I realize how much time I waste and I need to prioritize my time. If I cut back on computer time, maybe I can do the boxes in the basement. That kind of thing.
And maybe, just maybe, I'll get some of the piddly little things done that I should have finished years ago.
Or not.
It took me a while. I just sat and thought of things I have to do....hence, a to do list.
Some of the things I can do on my own, some will require specialists... like to install a light fixture or fix an outlet. I don't play with electricity.
Most of the items are easy, they just take time.
I have long range and short range items, inside and outside items, upstairs and downstairs items. I bet there are 40 things to do on my list.
I wrote it all down in a spiral notebook. I thought about it and thought about it. I am pretty sure I have every job I need to do on the list.
When Jackie reads this, she will undoubtedly say, "Where is this list?"
and I can honestly tell her: Right here, no I did not lose it.
And next week I will start that list. Yes, I will.
Unless I lose the notebook by then....which is always a possibility.
I realize how much time I waste and I need to prioritize my time. If I cut back on computer time, maybe I can do the boxes in the basement. That kind of thing.
And maybe, just maybe, I'll get some of the piddly little things done that I should have finished years ago.
Or not.
Monday, March 2, 2015
Are you a Friends fan?
I like watching "Friends" reruns
Sometimes I think Joey is a little too stupid, but he also does some funny things.
Like when he auditions for a role that is in French, and he tries to learn French
Everything comes out "bluh bluh blah." That is exactly how my French sounds.
And the episode where he is working on a war film with a veteran actor, and the veteran tells him he needs to talk so he is literally spraying the veteran.
Well, tonight I became Joey.
I don't know why, I don't think it has happened before.
But when we hit a crucial part in the play, I was drooling like a dog gnawing on a bone.
I kept wiping my mouth with my sleeve, but each time I spoke, everybody else took a step back!
They were a good 10 feet from me by the end of my spiel.
I can't remember ever spraying when I spoke.
I do remember a high school teacher who sprayed. He was my algebra instructor and I sat in the front row. Luckily, I also worked at a grocery store stocking shelves and some mornings I would barely be awake and Mr. Hoff's spray would bring me too. (Side note: I believe his name was Jack. Seriously. A.J. Hoff.)
So now I have to figure out how to perform with a dry mouth, which I don't want because then I can't talk.
Until then, if you come to the play, (Wrong Window, March 20, 21, 22, 27, 28) I suggest you wear rain gear.
Sometimes I think Joey is a little too stupid, but he also does some funny things.
Like when he auditions for a role that is in French, and he tries to learn French
Everything comes out "bluh bluh blah." That is exactly how my French sounds.
And the episode where he is working on a war film with a veteran actor, and the veteran tells him he needs to talk so he is literally spraying the veteran.
Well, tonight I became Joey.
I don't know why, I don't think it has happened before.
But when we hit a crucial part in the play, I was drooling like a dog gnawing on a bone.
I kept wiping my mouth with my sleeve, but each time I spoke, everybody else took a step back!
They were a good 10 feet from me by the end of my spiel.
I can't remember ever spraying when I spoke.
I do remember a high school teacher who sprayed. He was my algebra instructor and I sat in the front row. Luckily, I also worked at a grocery store stocking shelves and some mornings I would barely be awake and Mr. Hoff's spray would bring me too. (Side note: I believe his name was Jack. Seriously. A.J. Hoff.)
So now I have to figure out how to perform with a dry mouth, which I don't want because then I can't talk.
Until then, if you come to the play, (Wrong Window, March 20, 21, 22, 27, 28) I suggest you wear rain gear.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
ahhhh.... a delicious dinner
Emily and John came for dinner tonight
I have had an ongoing debate with spouse about the IKEA frozen meatballs I bought at Christmas.
Christmas 2013. They have been frozen and the package is stamped, "For best results, use by November 2014."
There are a lot of meatballs in a bag. So I suggested we invite Emily and John for dinner, with the understanding if the meat balls don't taste right, we'll order pizza.
Jackie also volunteered to make 37 calorie brownies from a recipe she found on line.
Dinner was great! The meatballs were wonderful, the lingenberries were tasty, the special sauce just right, a freshly baked loaf of bread and some broccoli rounded out the meal. A nice, full bodied red was presented and consumed.
All in all it was a good meal.
I got the 37 calorie brownies and brought them out.
This was an innovative recipe: Splenda instead of sugar, rolled oats, apple sauce along with cocoa and an egg produced a yummy looking platter of brownies.
I took one, John took one, Jackie took one.
John took a bike, I took a bite, Jackie took a bite.
We sat chewing and Emily rejoined us and took her brownie.
She took a bite....and promptly spit it out,
"My god, what is this?" she managed to croak out at Jackie.
Wife was very calmly chewing her little bit of brownie. "I don't think they are bad," she said, her taste buds obviously on some sort of acid high.
Up until his point, John and I were being polite. We were also washing the brownies down with the red, which slightly improved the taste.
Then Jackie took a larger bite.
"Holy cow, these are terrible!" she said, her taste buds now reawakened.
And friends, they were.
How bad were they?
Even I, the king of trash eaters, could not bear to eat more than one. I was the only one of the four to actually finish an entire brownie.
The rest went into the trash.
Lesson for the day: 37 calorie brownies are not worth the effort.
But IKEA meatballs are.
I have had an ongoing debate with spouse about the IKEA frozen meatballs I bought at Christmas.
Christmas 2013. They have been frozen and the package is stamped, "For best results, use by November 2014."
There are a lot of meatballs in a bag. So I suggested we invite Emily and John for dinner, with the understanding if the meat balls don't taste right, we'll order pizza.
Jackie also volunteered to make 37 calorie brownies from a recipe she found on line.
Dinner was great! The meatballs were wonderful, the lingenberries were tasty, the special sauce just right, a freshly baked loaf of bread and some broccoli rounded out the meal. A nice, full bodied red was presented and consumed.
All in all it was a good meal.
I got the 37 calorie brownies and brought them out.
This was an innovative recipe: Splenda instead of sugar, rolled oats, apple sauce along with cocoa and an egg produced a yummy looking platter of brownies.
I took one, John took one, Jackie took one.
John took a bike, I took a bite, Jackie took a bite.
We sat chewing and Emily rejoined us and took her brownie.
She took a bite....and promptly spit it out,
"My god, what is this?" she managed to croak out at Jackie.
Wife was very calmly chewing her little bit of brownie. "I don't think they are bad," she said, her taste buds obviously on some sort of acid high.
Up until his point, John and I were being polite. We were also washing the brownies down with the red, which slightly improved the taste.
Then Jackie took a larger bite.
"Holy cow, these are terrible!" she said, her taste buds now reawakened.
And friends, they were.
How bad were they?
Even I, the king of trash eaters, could not bear to eat more than one. I was the only one of the four to actually finish an entire brownie.
The rest went into the trash.
Lesson for the day: 37 calorie brownies are not worth the effort.
But IKEA meatballs are.
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