A Walk in the Park

21 Mar

When I first “retired” in ’83, there wasn’t much traffic on this road, so every morning at 8:30 I’d take the dog and go for a walk.  Bogart and I would go about 3/4 of the way around the block and back, which was 2 miles. The last leg of the journey had NO shoulder, and I wasn’t keen on walking in the street. Over the years, traffic picked up considerably, and it just seemed a little risky to be out there. Now, with so many folks staying at home, there aren’t many cars, so I may give it another go.

The weather here has been simply beautiful – it was 77° F yesterday (25° C) so I drove over to the park to take a walk. The “loop” is a mile and a half, and it seems a bit silly to drive that far to walk so short a distance.  Still, it was fun watching the squirrels and the birds, but the place was mobbed. School aged kids, adult men and women, and a few dogs to pet.

It was disconcerting to see so many folks sporting masks.  I felt as if I’d wandered into downtown Beirut by mistake.

Nuts

17 Mar

I went to Costco yesterday to pick up peanuts for the squirrels and kitty litter – basic necessities at the Rice Paddy. A nice fellow helped me wrestle a case of “squirrel chow” into my cart, and then I headed off for the kitty litter.

The line stretched all the way back to the meat section.

I pushed my way back to the front, asked the same gentleman to help me put the peanuts back on the shelf, and came on home. The little buggers can eat sunflower seeds – and like it.

What’s Going On?

13 Mar

I went over to the grocery store this afternoon to pick up a prescription, and you’d have thought there was a blizzard on the way. People were lined up ten deep at every single register.  The Governor has closed all non-essential offices until the end of the month, including schools and libraries. Grocery stores are not in that category, folks.  I swung into the library and took out four books to tide me over the coming week.

Bishop Sutton has also ordered Episcopal churches in the Diocese closed for the duration, and I overheard several people in the library saying their churches – Catholic for sure and I think Methodist – are also shut down.  There is a traditional Episcopal parish (1928 Prayer Book) not too far from here, which is not closing so we will trot over there on Sunday morning. It will be good to be “home” and I won’t have to wonder if there are readers or ushers, or if I have to “suit up” and serve as chalice bearer. Bliss!

The high today was 71° F (21.6 C) and most people were out in shorts and sandals, but I crossed paths with one woman who was bundled up as if it was 10 below. Boots, snow coat, and a cap pulled down over her ears. I’d have melted into a puddle!

Basket Case

12 Mar

I need somebody to follow me around with a basket to pick up the things I misplace.

Yesterday morning I went to the dentist. Normally I just put my sunglasses on top of my head when I’m indoors, but that really doesn’t work too well under those circumstances. When I got ready to leave I couldn’t find them. I looked in my purse, and the technician looked around to see if I had left them on the counter.

Nada. I stopped at the Dollar Store and bought another pair.

I swung into Aldi’s on the way home. Grabbed two bags from the back seat, but only had one when I got into the store. Just as well, I think, as it kept me from buying too many goodies. I’ve found two ways to control impulse shopping. One is to take only what you think the item will cost; a five dollar bill will prevent you from buying a $30 gallon of milk. You know exactly what I mean! The other is to not get a cart; carry a shopping bag that you think will hold the things you need. That bag of chips will not fit in the bag, so they stay on the shelf.

Anyway, as I was saying before I wandered off, I found the bag later, still on the front seat of the car.

The sunglasses? I hadn’t even worn them! They were on the kitchen shelf. I really, really shouldn’t be allowed out alone.

Quote Without Comment

1 Mar

guns & abortion

This isn’t original, but I certainly wish I knew who did write it.

 

 

The Economical Cook Book

24 Feb

I come from a long line of women who might politely be called thrifty. Packrats, perhaps, maybe even hoarders, to be perfectly honest about it. And we all hoard cookbooks! In the midst of the game called “Let’s Pretend We’re Moving” I culled several pounds of cookbooks, inherited from my Mum, my grandmother and my great-grandmother. I sorted them by 1920s and before, 1930s, 40s, and then just more recent books.

The prize of this stash is a 350 page gem with the above name, published in 1905. My great-grandfather, Robert Lindenmeyer, owned a German restaurant in Baltimore until Prohibition put him, and a lot of other folks, out of business. I am of the firm opinion that this book came from the restaurant.  The first two recipes are for oyster stew. Both call for 100 oysters and three pints of “good milk”, plus butter and flour, “rubbed to a paste”. You could have stood a spoon in it!

White potatoes are pared thin, cooked in boiling water to hardly cover them. When they are tender, remove them with a slotted spoon, drop them immediately into ice water to force the heat to the center of the potato, and then return them to the boiling pot to reheat. This method assures them to be mealy and white. My grandmother put a bowl of ice water on the kitchen table and tossed hot potatoes back and forth. It was the only way I knew to cook them, until the Late and Unlamented made such fun of me that I stopped. (He wasn’t worth the trouble, anyway.)

Young green peas should be boiled for half an hour. If full grown allow three quarters of an hour. Asparagus was cooked for 45 minutes to an hour! You didn’t necessarily need a knife and fork as much as a straw.

Here is a Springtime Bill of Fare for a family of five or six:

First course: Green-pea soup

Second course: Baked Shad

Third Course: Roast Lamb with mint sauce. Green Peas, Asparagus, Potatoes, Sliced   Tomatoes

Fourth course: Lobster Salad

Dessert: Rhubarb Tart and Boiled Custard.

And quietly roll away from the table.

 

Tags: , , ,

Lost and Found

21 Feb

It was 21º – F this morning, and even by my standards, that is darned cold. The Squire decided to wear a coat when he left for the gym, and when he put it on he discovered the pockets were full of “stuff”. Brown paper napkins from a restaurant and a fistful of candy.

When I reminded him that I  don’t wear his clothes, he muttered “Well, somebody has been”.  And then the light dawned.

“Oh, no! This isn’t my coat!”

We made a quick rundown of the places he’s been recently – a funeral and to church, and that’s about it, and he didn’t bother with a coat the day of the funeral. He’ll send out a shotgun email to the parish and see if he can return it to the proper person.  If not, it’s a really nice coat.

Tags: ,

No Good Deed . . .

9 Feb

The Squire has a Galaxy  S-4 that Eldest Daughter gave him several years ago to bring him into the Smart Phone age. Recently, she found a newer phone – an S-6 – and offered it to her dad. They spent an hour doing what she called a “Smart Swap”, automatically switching all of his info – pictures, contacts, apps, etc. – from the older model to the newer one.

When we got home he discovered the new phone wouldn’t work so he called Eldest Daughter to ask her advice. She checked on-line and discovered that the service did not show it had been changed from one phone to the other, and suggested he call Verizon to see what was up.  The upshot of this three hour marathon is that the S-6 is too old to be activated. And, because the tech at Verizon had deactivated the S-4 in the middle of this mess, it is even older and cannot be reactivated.  The Squire now has two Smart Phones, neither of which work.

Me? I’m sticking with my trusty, dusty flip phone from Target.

Tags: , ,

A Week’s Work . . .

7 Feb

. . .in one morning.

I had to take the cat to the vet yesterday, and Eddie wasn’t having any of it, thank you very much.

First off, it took me for-bloody-ever to get him into a carrier. Any carrier. He howled and clawed and carried on over the first two, so I had to find keys and boots to get the largest one out of the barn. That bad boy is big enough that our great-grandkids could set up a playhouse in there. While I am trying to wrestle with the cat, the dog is bouncing around, getting under my feet and “talking” up a storm. “What is she doing to you, Eddie? Are you OK?”

“Momma, watch out! Eddie’s mad!”

In the chaos Eddie jumped onto the dining room table and knocked over a glass of juice, so everything was on hold until I got that mopped up before it ran on to the carpet.  Once I managed to jam the cat into the carrier, I had to get out the door. Eddie weighs fifteen pounds and I’d wager the carrier is at least that heavy. And it is HUGE.  (I think it might be the one we had for Brinks, our beloved pit-boxer mix.)

It took me so long to get through the door that I set off the alarm, and then I discovered I’d left my keys on the counter. Dash around to get the house key – a two step job, as the actual key is located elsewhere – and of course, by the time I unlocked the door, the alarm company was on the phone, about ten seconds away from calling the cops.

And I still managed to get to the vet’s on time!

Tags: , , , , ,

That Reminds Me . . .

28 Jan

Over on GoComics we’ve been having a discussion about trump and all the jobs he claims he has created. And that reminded me of a certain nephew. . .

Long ago and far away –  one of The Squire’s nephews came to live with us. For the most part he was a good kid, but I had one sister, and we raised three daughters, so dealing with a teenaged boy was a shock to the system. He was a tremendous help to The Squire, helping tear out and replace the downstairs floor from the dining room window to the fireplace. He mowed the lawn and dried the dishes. What he did NOT do was go out and earn some money.

One day, I was mopping the kitchen floor and we got into a discussion about Ronald Reagan, whom Nephew considered one of the country’s greatest, an opinion I did not share. “Why. What has he done that’s so wonderful?”

Nephew stood there for a moment, and finally replied that Reagan had gotten the unemployment rate down.  “And do you know how? When you run out of benefits, you simply cease to exist! That’s why the rate is down!”

“Oh, there are jobs out there.”

I slammed my fist down on the counter so hard that the dishes danced. “Then why don’t you go get one?”

Nephew fled the room, but he tiptoed back a few moments later to ask if I’d like him to finish mopping the kitchen.

“Yes, please.”

 

Tags: , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →