Monday, August 19, "What's Cookin'?"

[cfniervt]

Good morning friends.

I will be off to Keene NH today. A friend of mine and her mother asked me to join them for lunch at Longhorns.

Tomorrow I will be taking Brian for a second MRI ad then we hear when his surgery is scheduled for.

Had grilled salmon for supper last night and I made a small hash-brown casserole to go with it.

[annrms]

Good morning! Here I go again waking up later and needing to leave the house early! After exercise class there won't be much to do on this rainy Monday.
Hope everyone has a great morning! Waving!

[nybirder]

Good morning. Not much planned today except trying to get paperwork to the lawyer. We have been waiting a couple of weeks for information from Voya retirement. They sent them all in separate envelopes, 10 in all! Can you believe that? We need them today for a Medicaid application. Such bureaucracy.

Chris, thinking of Brian today. Hope he gets his date settled for surgery.

Tasty, we must have gotten your rain yesterday. We got about an inch an hour for several hours. There were parts of the valley under flood warnings. They think a possible small tornado hit south of us about 12 miles. Will this never end?

The poor trees are taking a beating this year. I watched a hummingbird on the feeder during some of the lighter rain. It was sip sip shake shake sip sip sip. The poor little ones need fuel pretty often to keep up with their metabolism.

Bet, good to hear from you. Hope you find a better potato recipe. I know you like to do something special when you are making those meals.

It is cold here today with a high barely getting over 60 and tomorrow we may not break fifties. Luckily it is supposed to warm up later in the week. But for now I am wearing sweatshirts and an extra light blanket at night. What a strange summer.

Have a good Monday.

Birdy

[weebill]

Good morning. Another sleepless night. I was scared I wouldn't here the alarm. I had wanted to walk Dori before the sun came up as it's a little cooler.lol ya sure it is. It was 86° , humidity 59% and dew point 68 .
Now, we are just sitting outside resting.
I have swim class at 9, so I have 2 hours to waste.

Chris- enjoy your lunch today. I'm glad things are moving right along for Brian.

Birdy-thats alot of paper work,is your jaw feeling any better?

This morning Judy is supposed to be calling Dr. To set up her lab so I can take her. The Dr. Switched her appointment.


I have cards this afternoon.

Elaine

[mamma482]

Good morning
Out and back in a quick minute. Not very nice and only getting worse as the day goes on. But such is the life in the desert, huh, can't do anything about it no matter where you live. hehehe It is what it is.

Some ironing, dusting and freezer reorg today. Not sure what, if any of it will get done. A surge of energy surely would be nice. This morning I at least got the outside cacti all watered. I"ll be making some sloppy joes for supper and hope to make enough for the freezer too. When I decide to cook I like to make enough for later. But it's not often I cook anymore. Mark liked to eat so it was fun cooking. Now I"m happy with popcorn or a bowl of cereal. hehehe

One more cup of coffee or start on the freezer? Decisions decisions. 

[wilderness]

Good morning.  Another cool damp dreary day ahead.  It was 64°this morning and will only get into the low 70's.  tomorrow we may see some but high will be low 60's.  Crazy weather for sure.  I kept busy yesterday and got quite a bit done.  However the main objective was to find the mouse trap and mouse.  No luck.  Not only did I   move the hutch and clean behind it and under it but also the sofa.  Only 2 things left to move in the main house and that is the dry sink in the living room area and the refrigerator in the kitchen.  I guess I have started Fall cleaning in August.  This isn't an ordinary spring trap.  It is 1 1/2" high, 1 1/2" wide and 3 1/2" long.  It only weighs about 1 1/4 oz. but certainly needs a pretty good size opening to be able to get out of sight.  I only got the things back in the bottom of the hutch yesterday.  Got the rest in this morning but still have to clean and get everything on the open shelf and what goes on top cleaned.

I did manage to get a menu for this week put together and most of the food from the basement freezers up to the kitchen one.  I know I did some other things but don't remember.  Alice and I did all the floors in the main house before dinner and then I cleaned up the kitchen, filled the dishwasher and mopped the kitchen floor before going to bed.  I got a good night's sleep and was up at 6:30.  Have been on the computer since.  Did a few things to get ready for work tomorrow and then paid all my bills until pay day again the middle of next month.  Also had a couple of Lions' reports to get done.

I may spend some time in the kitchen this afternoon.  I want to do some baking and have no French Fries in the freezer so make a big batch of them.  And of course continue the search for the mouse trap.

Tasty, don't you just hate it when you cancel something because of the weather and the report was wrong.  We were suppose to have rain all day so decided not to work.  I could be close to half done and still no rain.

Chris, enjoy your lunch today.  Glad to read that things are moving right along for Brian to move forward with his surgery.

Birdy, nice to hear from you this morning.  Hope all goes well with you application for medicare.

Elaine, I sent you a message a bit ago.

Mamma, sometimes it is hard to find the little push to get started on things.  I love to cook so I could spent all my time doing just that.

Ann, sounds like you are getting the rain we were suppose to have.

Elza, good to read that you won't have to work full time.

Have a great day.

Bet

[cooktocook]

Good morning, friends! Today is National Potato Day, National Hot and Spicy Food Day and National Soft Serve Ice Cream Day.

On Saturday, I did have a harder time climbing the 3 flights of stairs, but none the less, I did and so happy I did! Lilith had just completed her 1st week of VPK and was so excited to see Grandma and Grandpa. Poor thing, she puts in long very long day with the hours both parents work, but she's not the first and won't be the last. DD ordered Chinese and had it delivered for our lunch---DH and I agree it is some of the best we've ever tasted. Weather people were calling for dry and cooler weather, but cooler it was not. My least favorite months in Florida are August-October; not sure if it is hotter or I'm just sick of the heat by then, but for the time being, locking myself indoors!

Made up a small pasta salad earlier this morning and just about ready to finish making egg salad. DH is not excited about what they are serving for lunch on both Tuesday and Wednesday (plus their 30-minute lunch break is from 9:30-10), so I suggested he take his own lunch both days. We'll see how that works out---tomorrow will be an egg salad sandwich, pretzels with hummus, pasta salad, and a few cookies for dessert. As of today, he will be at the same elem. school as last Friday, but they've changed his hours by thirty minutes, now going to be 8-1:30.

Not sure what dinner is going to be today. I have some leftovers in the refrigerator, but they'll depend on if we go grocery shopping when DH gets in. Gotta to go for now---waving to each of you and wishing you a lovely day.
Lori

[wilderness]

Lori, sorry the stairs were so hard for you but I am sure it was well worth it to spend the time with Lilith.

Bet

[annrms]

Morning, again! Class started right on time with me walking in just in time!!! I love the music the instructor plays...all of the oldies. Since we are using a space that has a carpet, I have to order some smoother sole sneakers. Amazon to the rescue!
It's warm and muggy...the AC is still on so it's comfortable in here. We got a notice that town water will be shut off for several hours today. The restaurant is closed, but the café has arranged a 'grab and go' selections.
The order-up App is fixed so I ordered dinner...coconut shrimp & fries for Bill and Cod and mashed cauliflower for me. I also ordered two garden salads and a pasta dish to use later this week to have with kielbasa.
Birdy - Hope you have the necessary paperwork for the Medicare coverage.
Bet - Gosh! Hope you find the mouse. Are you thinking it got partially stuck in the trap and moved around in it?
Mamma - I saw on Food Network's "The Kitchen" a different recipe for sloppy joes made by Alex Guarnaschelli. I'm not a fan of the sloppy in the Joes...would serve in a bowl with some crusty bread or Jacob's cream crackers. www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pork-sloppy-joes-with-pickled-onions-16718975
Elaine - What card games do you play? My mom loved to play cards. I'd play Gin Rummy with her, but she had other games that she played with her friends and my cousin using 2 packs of cards...can't remember the name of those.
Tasty - Sorry the rain was a bust along with the market. Plum jam sounds good!!!
Tammy - That pork chop dinner sounds delicious.
Elza - I've eaten many of the dishes you tried at the Indian restaurant. I make Tiki Masala with the help of Aldi!!
Waving to all! Enjoy the rest of the day.

[annrms]

Lori - We were posting at the same time. Sorry you had a hard time waking up the stairs. Brava on making it! Reading about your Chinese food makes me want to find a restaurant around here. What's VPK?

[cooktocook]

Bet, yes with every step/stair, I kept reminding myself what was waiting for me up on the 3rd floor! So worth it!!

Ann, VPK is Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten. It is offered by the state to 4-year-olds. In Lilith's case we felt it would do her good since she was a Covid baby and missed that early interaction with other children. Academic wise, she has much more going for her compared to the kindergarten students I taught---both DD and I have worked hard with her. Lilith can count and recognize her numbers to 100, can count in Spanish up to 15, knows all her colors and shapes, as well as recognizes 10-15 sight words. She knows left and right, up and down and other position words. Lilith just finish a year of daycare with a class of only 5 other students as she has no other opportunity to play with other children her age. It was a help, we saw the progress in her social skills, but she needs a little more now to be ready next year for kindergarten. Now she attends an elem. school and is in a class of 15. Hopefully, this will be another boost in her arm and make her that much more ready for next year. So far, so good---she appears to like it.

Just got back from the doctor's office; I had to go pick up paperwork for more lab tests to be done sometime this week. Still fighting with that lower iron count.

Would like to address everyone, but unable to at the moment. If I can, I'll be back later. 
Lori

[helen]

I've made my Comfort Casserole (sort of like Johnny Marzetti but no meat). I'll put it in the fridge til suppertime. With that out of the way I should be sorting laundry but a nap may overtake those good intentions. Just got a phone call that the housecleaner will be here tomorrow instead of Wed. Guess I should get to some of the laundry sooner rather than later. Now I'll have to change my schedule. What schedule you may ask? Indeed! Enjoy the rest of the day and then a nice supper with all your good sounding food.

[tamaralynn]

Hi !
Sounds like everyone is staying busy.

I slept in a little, got myself ready and headed to town. They were serving meatloaf today so DH signed us up and brought home 2 dinners. Supper will be a new to me recipe for chicken spaghetti. One of my volunteers, Bobby brought it to me. He said he normally does not care for chicken spaghetti but his wife made this and he loved it. It has 4 cups of cheese and 2 cups of cream, so what's not to like-lol?

I am doing laundry today and hope to get all the floors swept. I will also be putting 4 pans of lasagna together. I got the sauce all done yesterday. I am planning on making a small size, maybe a loaf pan (ala Ann) for us later in the week.

I figured out the PK but was not sure what the V stood for. Our great grandson just started PK last week also.

Elza, glad the bank hired a new teller.

Chris, hope you enjoyed lunch today.

Waving to everyone. Enjoy the day!

[mamma482]

Finally got the upright freezer organized. When did I buy chicken breasts and what for? Yuck. Oh well, they aren't outdated so I'll keep them for soup. Mandy will eat the meat I pick out of the soup. hehehe The 5 pieces of ironing are done, garbage out, sloppy joes made, some in the freezer and some eaten for lunch. Now to tackle a pile of dishes and clean the kitchen counters well. It was a good thing I checked the softener too. The salt had gotten hard packed so I had to really work to loosen it up and while in the bright sun too yet. But it should be good when it softens tonight now. I had put too much salt in and that can cause problems.

I'm really having issues with power surges and night sweats lately. I just want to crawl out of my body and land in the freezer. Sitting and doing nothing and I will bead like there is no tomorrow. Menopause so late in my life? It was never this bad when I was younger, it was not good but OMG, it's really bad now. I'll run out of clothes in three days. Soon I'll need to lock the doors close the window blinds and get down to "basics". LOL 

Okay, the dishes aren't washing themselves and Mandy can't reach the sink so I better get back to work. 

[wilderness]

Ann, sounds like to really getting into the groove with getting into the exercise class.  I think life is starting to become a normal for you.  There is no question the mouse was some how in the trap.  Probably just a leg but usually they don't go to far and by morning they are dead.

Lori, that is wonderful that Lilith is having the opportunity for more socializing with her peers.  Sometimes that is more important that the learning to count etc. in a child's overall growth and development.  Sorry you iron level hasn't improved.

Helen, comfort casserole sounds like something I would like.  I do like some gourmet food once in a while but the old standby comfort food is what I eat most of the time.  Lots of my Mom's old simple recipes.

Tammy, lots of work to make lasagna for that many.  I admire you for all of the volunteer work you provide with your cooking.

Mamma, sounds like that spurt of energy did hit you today.  I have been having the night sweats again.  My Dr. once told me there could go on for ever.  Not what I wanted to here.  Who is going to invent something like Annie for taking care of the dirty dishes?

Well I haven't accomplished as much as I hoped for but there is a pound of french fried made and in the freezer and new new desert made for this evening.  I is a Apple Pie bar with salted caramel sauce.  I did just find a mouse trap that had been sprung a little bit ago.  There is no reason I would have put it there that I can think of and I can understand a mouse with just a leg caught could have managed to end up there.  No more looking.  If I start smelling some then I will go looking again.  I will reset the traps tonight.  I wish I could find out where they are getting in.  There are underground wires etc. that come through the basement wall and I am sure there are little spots where they could squeeze through.

About time to get some dinner.  Leftover creamy kielbasa with penne.

Enjoy your evening.

Bet