Fine Dining

With the busy-ness of the Christmas season we have done a bit of extra eating out.  Hardly fine dining, but good food.

Denny's...usually attached to a budget motel...breakfast all day.

On Rocky Neck...a fave breakfast and lunch spot only open weekends in the winter.

Inside Sailor Stan's...yes, we were the only patrons at that moment.

Four Hours on a Sunday

Chopping...

starting to work through the pile of veggies

and more chopping.

Lots of green tomatoes, red peppers, green peppers, and onions.

Pile is about half chopped

  All chopped with a new, nineteen fifty-ish 'blitz hacker'.

Colander number one - before more tomatoes and before onions - filled two colanders piled high

Cooking and stirring two large pots of relish

4 hours later - the yield

Today was Make Relish Day.

And Then...

I decided to try my hand at canning.  You must understand that, although I can cook, I'm not enamored with cooking.  But I do like a challenge and I hadn't tried canning before.  My mom had made relish years ago but she didn't remember what she did.  Honestly, I think my grandmother did most of it!

So, armed with some internet research, canning jars, ingredients, and a friend's large pot, I dove in.

I learned a lot.

1. The size of my kitchen (read teeny) is detrimental to the process.
2. The recipe that says it makes 9 pint sized jars of relish requiring a large bowl, large pot, and large colander, really means gigantic when describing those items.
3. Due to number 2 above, I threw away a lot of diced up green tomatoes.
4. A food processor would be handy.  All that hand chopping is tiresome.  But because of the aforementioned teeny kitchen there is no room for a processor worth buying.
5. However, despite the odds being heavily against me. It worked!  I made relish!

Batch 1 - green tomato relish 

This morning I went out to buy smaller canning jars.  Half pints this time.  This afternoon I'll be at it again.  It's fun in a masochistic sort of way.

Eats

I rarely write about food.  I don't get very enthused about the subject.  Honestly, I think of it somewhat as a waste of money...just flushed down the...well, kinda literally.  You could eliminate the middle man and just send those bills on their way.

Oh well.

This week has been a good week for food finds.  First we visited a British import store while walking around Newburyport the other day and I found Lyle's Golden Syrup!  It's been a few years since I've been able to locate this favorite.  My grandfather got me hooked on the sweet syrup when I was very young.  Having found a new supplier, I bought two cans leaving one on the shelf for someone equally as fortunate to find it.

The other food doings became finding a recipe for sweet and sour cucumbers.  I remember Rosa making them.  I worked for Rosa and her husband, Aage, many years ago.  Aage was a Danish Masterbaker (Yummmmmmmmmmmy stuff).  Rosa used to make a hot lunch for me every day that I was there.  I particularly enjoyed her Danish meatballs with sweet and sour cucumbers.  Anyway, we've got a lot of cucumbers growing in our veggie garden and it has become obvious that we need to find a variety of menu options for them.  Today was my first attempt at the recipe below.  I just tried them...a bit too sharp.  Maybe I should switch to a different vinegar type?  Or try more sugar?

Sweet and Sour Cucumber
300ml white vinegar
75g caster sugar
1 cucumber sliced paper thin (I used two of our small bush cucumbers)
Combine the sugar and vinegar in a saucepan and heat, gently stirring the mixture to make sure all the sugar dissolves.  Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Cool, then add cucumber and let sit for at least 1/2 hour.  Drain for serving and serve chilled.

Meet Vinnie and Lou

Last Sunday we traveled north to visit some jailed birds.  Raymond's Turkey Farm is located in Methuen, MA, about an hour and a quarter from Rockport.  When I was growing up, we always bought our Thanksgiving turkey there.  In later years they opened a Christmas tree farm and that's where we chose ours for many years.  Anyway, this year my mom wanted to buy a turkey pie.  Not for Thanksgiving...we're having ham...but an individual serving pie for just any day.

As if an over an hour drive wasn't enough, little did we know that Haverhill was having it's holiday parade.  It's evidently a big one and trying to get around it added an extra 15 - 20 minutes to our drive.

It's been years since we've been to Raymond's, but nothing has changed other than the large flocks of turkeys are now out of sight way behind the store.  In sight though were this year's birds that had been granted a stay of execution.

We had to walk right by Vinnie and Lou to get into the store where my mom discovered that the individual, all white meat turkey pies were sold out.

Lou

Vinnie

 

 Then we had to get back home past the parade!

Nuttin' and Sumpin'

Nothing much to write about tonight.looking up our snow-laden Linden tree at night

Yes, the snow finally stopped, but the cold certainly hasn't. Tomorrow should be another doozie (is that how you spell doozie?) Anyway, tomorrow is the big library book event and I'll post about that. I've put a new book in the sidebar (not the music related one) and I'll have to comment about that at some point. I've had a little boost in the key work business this week and some more calls indicating more of the same. Promising. I haven't heard from the DTA. Gee a person could starve while waiting!

Speaking of food...'A' had the day off today and I had a lot of catching up in the shop, so since we were all to be home together at dinner time...I made English Pancakes for everyone. English Pancakes. That's what my dad called them because that's what his mom called them. He was always the one that would make them (for our family). When I was a kid, most of my friends wanted to be invited to our house for English Pancake Night. Imagine a crepe...but not with healthy vegetables or shrimp or anything good for you wrapped up inside. Instead imagine that crepe rolled up surrounding a lot of melting butter and a generous sprinkling of sugar.

Yummmmmmmm.

Happy Holidays

A Christmas gift for all of you.

A do it yourself baking project!

Tea Scones

Sift together 1.25 cups flour, 1.25 teaspoons baking powder, and a pinch of salt.
Combine .25 lb of margarine and 2 Tablespoons sugar, rub in to flour mixture.
Mix together 1 egg and .50 cups of milk. Add to flour mixture. Dough should be light and not sticky (lightly floured). Shape in to scone and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 375°F for 10 - 15 minutes.

Long Winter Moon

Somewhere, somehow, along the way I found out that the full December moon is called a long winter moon. Anyway, it was a super bonus that the full moon was Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve day was crisp and clear. Not too cold. Amanda had to work from late morning until late afternoon. I dropped her off and headed for my shipping place. Yep, two sets of keys to send out and then I was free for the holiday! I wasted the rest of the day with some wandering around town. As I walked past our town Christmas tree I took a photo of the sign that had been added that day. Rockport just must be a special town as after Santa has spent a long, long night flying around the world delivering all those presents in an amazing feat that defies time, he makes an extra stop in Rockport before heading home to the North Pole for a hot shower, hot chocolate (possibly with added chocolate liqueur), and his favorite recliner. Christmas morning, at precisely 10:30, Santa arrives at our tree and personally hands out bags of candies and fruit to the children of Rockport. I'm not sure, but I think that this has been a tradition for more than half a century.

(Rockport also presents an annual Christmas Pageant which is a live nativity. The Christmas Story complete with Mary, Joseph, wise men, shepherds, sheep, donkey, torch bearers, and more as a procession from Dock Square, stopping at 'the Inn' aka Rockport Art Assoc., and being refused there on to the 'barn' erected on the front lawn of the Congregational Church. Following The Story everyone participates singing "Silent Night". And...on Christmas morning, everyone over 79 years of age, or anyone who has had a tragedy during the year receives a large basket filled with fruits and candies delivered to their home.)

For the first time in several years Amanda actually got out of work early on Christmas Eve. This year 'the three girls' went to Christmas Eve service together. I must say that our choir was outstanding. If you closed your eyes so to just listen, they sounded as if there were at least triple the voices. It was the best part of the service. We didn't stay for goodies at the church, instead going home to eat a late dinner and then putting our gifts under the tree. By the time we finished it was well on to bed time.

Christmas morning was quiet with just the three of us taking turns opening our gifts. We missed my Dad being there. He was always so much fun shaking the boxes and trying to guess what was inside before opening them. At 11 a.m. it was time to start preparing Christmas dinner. This year, as in the last five years, A and his girlfriend G, and 'the other' S joined us for dinner. It always seems that so much preparation goes in to the meal and it disappears so quickly! This year I cooked a ham, mashed potatoes, carrots, whole green beans, carrots & turnips, and dinner rolls, along with cranberry sauce and apple sauce. Dessert was a choice of pumpkin pie or chocolate cake.

After our guests left we started the massive clean-up of the dishes and pans. Three dishwasher loads later we sat down to a quiet late dinner of leftovers. They always taste better. No rush, no fuss, and totally relaxed in front of a mindless TV show!
And then the day after rolls around. All goes back to normal. More work. Next the New Year.

Rockport has it's own New Year's celebration. Would you expect anything different? I'll be a volunteer at the 6 performances hosted at our church. You can check out what will happen in Rockport for New Year's by visiting the official web site here.

Turkey Thursday

As far back as I can remember Thanksgiving Day was always filled with family. Ours alternated being celebrated either at home or at my Aunt E and Uncle N's house. Mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, in-laws, greats, cousins. Always a house full making the occasion special for me as an only child. Thanksgiving was celebrated as this one large family until we moved to Florida. There new traditions began. Pulling from the warm memories of Thanksgivings in New England, we alternated our gathering with a different aunt and uncle. No longer a large group, yet still family that grew to include new members over the years.

We have been back to New England for just over five years. A lot has changed since we left. Our extended family has grown to include more in-laws and children and grand children. The traditions have changed and we seem to travel further apart for our celebrations. We have started new traditions.

In five+ years encompassing six Thanksgivings we have shared our meal with two friends twice, had the joy of our traditional family with us, traveled to a restaurant, had a quiet meal with just mom, dad, Amanda, and me, and this year tried dining out once again.

This year was our smallest Thanksgiving as my dad died this past summer. Beyond needing a change, it just didn't seem worth the effort to prepare a large meal for only the three of us. Amanda was disappointed with the idea of eating out. Truth is, so was I.

As we drove to the restaurant our Thanksgiving Day was enclosed in fog. The quick change from cold night time temperatures to a day promising unseasonable warmth had shocked the air. But by the time we reached our destination a half hours drive from home, the sun was out and the sky was bright blue. Things were improving.

Temporarily.

The first hint of a memorable day occurred when I pulled in to the parking lot. It was a one way drive that I could not negotiate because of the large sedan coming towards me the wrong way. This forced me to head the wrong way around as well, irritating a small number of drivers I'm sure. As quickly as feasible I found a parking space in the large but overcrowded parking lot and we headed for the door. We had reservations for 1:30 p.m. and had arrived 10 minutes early. The waiting area was crammed with hungry patrons and Amanda and I stood against a wall while my mother gave our name to the reservation desk. Off to one side a lady and her friend were waiting with take out meals. They were in the path of the waitstaff and wouldn't budge. The reservationist turned and very politely asked that they move towards the front of the desk so that they weren't in the way of traffic flow. The "take-out lady" replied that she had change due from her payment and she was NOT going to move until she got it. Those of us lined up and close by rolled our eyes as she finally departed, bags and change in hand and friend in tow. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!

Quite remarkably on time, we were seated. We checked the Thanksgiving menu to find that the Traditional Turkey dinner included: choice of one - tomato juice, fruit salad, or turkey soup as an appetizer. The dinner included turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, yams, peas, creamed pearl onions, and gravy. Dessert was a choice of pumpkin pie, mince meat pie, apple pie, or ice cream. Now, this sounds marvelous doesn't it? Except to me. Of the above, I don't especially like fruit salad or turkey soup so I chose the tomato juice. I don't like squash, yams, creamed onions or gravy. Never mince meat either. So for $19.99 I dined on a small glass of tomato juice, two small slices of turkey, a spoonful of stuffing, a blob of mashed potatoes and I'd guess a couple dozen peas (all of which were mixing on the plate with the squash and creamed onions at an alarming rate). Pumpkin pie for dessert. I also ordered a cup of coffee with my pie.

The meal was eaten quickly. The downside of eating a major holiday meal out and about...there's nothing relaxing about it. The waiter was good but was racing around so much we were astounded. Before we knew it our bill had arrived. Talk about sticker shock when I read it! Over $71.00 for three! Hmmmm...$19.99 X 3 = $59.97 doesn't it? Oh, seems beverages were not included in the price so add in 2 coffees, 1 tea, and a soda. Then there's meal tax. And don't forget the tip! We left $84.00 poorer. Forget it for next year. Maybe a buffet?

We exited through swarms of customers. The restaurant had taken reservations up until 7 p.m. Back to the van for the drive home. Since the day had warmed up so beautifully and the sun was shining in the blue sky, I decided to take a longer scenic drive home. We left the highway and headed towards the coast and Rte. 127. There was not much traffic on the road and it made for a pleasant drive. About 5 minutes after leaving the highway, Amanda announced the need for a restroom. Seems the coffee had, well, gotten to her. Even on the best of non-holiday days, it is hard to find public restrooms on the side roads of New England. Fortunately my mother's van totes a chemical port-a-potty! But where to find a bit of privacy? I took a short detour to a church parking lot and found a secluded back corner. We just had to hope that there were no police patrols! Then onward to arrive home just before sunset.

Fast forward one week later....yesterday I had to head off the island on a job. As I rounded Grant Circle, traffic had slowed to a near stop. A large group of twenty or so wild turkeys were trying to cross the two lanes of rotary traffic. I'm convinced that I saw one thumbing his nose (would that be winging his beak?) at me as I passed.

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING......
Original drawing credit to Don Addis
Coloration credit to deb

Gala Event?

Ahem.............

If you remember a few weeks back I was invited to attend the 80th Gala of the Sandy Bay Historical Society. While being a specially invited guest saved me the $20 ticket, it cost me $91 for a suitable outfit! I guess I don't mind. Hopefully someday, before it goes out of style, I shall be able to wear it again. Seriously, it's not super dressy or anything. A nice pair of dressy black slacks and a pretty, lightweight, wrap sweater with a satin collar and side tie. And I got to wear my four inch heels. It feels strange to be tall! No, there will be no photos. I HATE having my picture taken. Besides, photos just remind me of how old I'm getting and I refuse to believe it.

The Gala was from 5:30 - 8:30 in the Grand Cafe of the Emerson Inn. Yep, we party to the wee hours here in Rockport. Since it is on street parking only, I got there a bit early to be sure I could find a close space. I can't walk very far in four inch heels. I sat in my truck watching some of the first arrivals. Two older ladies, an elderly man with a walker, a lady with a cane hanging on to a bent over man. Then came the lady with the pinkish hair and the ruby red pantsuit. She was followed by a couple that I know, the wife was also sporting a walker! And I was making an appearance with no accessories! Oh boy, this was going to be interesting. I got up my nerve and ventured from my truck to the entrance of the Emerson Inn. At least now I knew that there would be someone that I knew in attendance.

The Grand Cafe of the Emerson is a tastefully decorated period dining area on the first floor of the inn. For the $20 ticket, we were to expect fancy hors d'oeuvres. It was a cash bar. I picked up the professionally printed program of the evening and entered the main room. The curator, who had invited me, gave me a once up and down lookover. I smiled at her and said, "Yes, I can get dressed up you know!" There was a middle aged man playing "old favorites" on the Steinway grand, a table set up as the bar, and a small table with crackers, cheese, raw veggies and dip. Certainly this wasn't the fancy stuff? I grabbed a minute plate and loaded it with two cubes of cheese, two strawberries, a slice of cucumber, a sliver of red pepper and one cracker. It was full. I headed to an adjoining room where round tables invited my already tired, heeled feet. The couple I knew were already seated and I joined them. And to my relief, more food was brought around, on teeny tiny trays, by the waitstaff. The first tray had a dozen stuffed mushrooms. I HATE mushrooms. I just don't see the attraction of eating rubbery fungus, sorry. Still starving I anxiously awaited the next offering. As the little tray was presented to our table my heart sank. A dozen miniature open-faced sandwiches featuring some kind of ground up sausage. Nope, not for me. It's sausage-y and I don't do questionable cold meats.

Still starving at 6:30.

Another little tray was graciously brought to our table. This time it was microscopic quiche tartlets. By then I was desperate. How dangerous could a mini quiche be? I took one. Only one because, presented as they were, it would have looked hoggish to take more than that. My hungry stomach was nearly crawling up my throat for that quiche. With good etiquette in mind, I took just a small bite.

And nearly gagged.

Anchovy! Eeeeewwwwww, yuck.

And there I was with 2/3 a tartlet left in my hand, no plate, no napkin, and nowhere for it to go but in my mouth. I took a deep breath and held it, popped the rest in my mouth and hurriedly chewed and swallowed before exhaling. Gone.

But that flavor...

just lingered....

and lingered...

I had to get to the cash bar for something to wash the abhorrent taste down. A glass of wine sounded good, but I'd had next to nothing to eat since noontime so I didn't dare. I opted for my easy, non-alcoholic stand by, sparkling water with lime. It was served with lots of ice and an almond sized piece of lime in a small wine glass. It cost $2.75! When I returned to my table, the lady sitting next to me eyed my drink and inquired what it was. After I told her she asked, "Did you have to pay for that?" When I responded, yes, she told me her glass of white wine had cost her $6.00!

There was a little program presented by an ancestor of the founder of the historical society (twas founded 80 years ago, thus the gala) and a short talk by the curator (my host). We chatted at the table for a bit more and then called it an evening. As I was making my exit, I ran into another acquaintance. She was having a good time standing next to the piano singing. She grabbed me by the arm and pulled me over. I was trapped. She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and indicated that I should sing along with her. I made good fun of it without actually participating! Then I grabbed my free candy sampler donated by Tuck's Candy and made my escape.

And so went the 80th Gala! In all honesty, I did have fun. Out for a bit socializing is nearly always fun. But, am I ever glad that I was a guest and didn't have to pay the $20! The historical society did a spectacular job with the invitations, printed programs, speakers and the exhibit (forgot to mention that they had a mini history of the historical society table). Even the piano player was good. I was less than impressed with the Emerson Inn's catering.

postscript - The candy was given to my mom. I'm not a big fan of candy. You may call me weird.

Amazing A Maize Maze

Wednesday morning we headed out at around 9:30. Our first stop was Building 19 so that Mom could be sure that there wasn't an oriental rug there that she preferred to the one from Pelletier. We flipped stacks of rugs for about 45 minutes and then headed for Skip's for lunch. Since we had some time I decided to drive the less used (by us) side of the river. So instead of crossing from Haverhill to Groveland, we stayed on the Haverhill side. I had the camera with me and I wanted to stop and take pictures of the llamas at a local farm.

Just before we got to the llama hang out we came across a corn field maze. Guess there's more money in amusing folks than feeding them! It's a small maze but the first that I have seen in person. Since it was 90°F we didn't get "amazed". Maybe another day.

The llamas didn't cooperate for photo shooting but here are a couple that were the closest. There were half a dozen roaming around outside and a couple in the barn. Just managed to catch this one peeking around the corner. Too hot for them, too!

From the maze and the llamas, it was only a 10 minute drive to Skip's. Lori Matthews is in charge. Her mom and dad, Dot and Dave, the owners have semi retired. Lori was working the window and we told her how much we would miss our cheeseburger specials until Spring. I posted a photo of the Skip's sign on my post"Nummmba Foewha" when they opened for the season, so here's a picture of the front of the building. In the days I worked there, the front was "open air" and everyone ate in their car or at picnic tables. Now there is a dining room where people can eat in air conditioned comfort. We don't.

We decided that we needed to head directly home. Amanda had to be to work for 3 p.m. so there would be no stopping along the way.

We thought.

Some things you just have no control over.

Like bridges opening.
This is the Rocks Village bridge across the Merrimack River between the Rocks Village section of Haverhill and West Newbury. Since the river has been cleaned up there is a lot more boat traffic. This time of year people are moving their boats up river to be hauled for the winter. The Rocks Village bridge is a center swing, manpowered turnstile. Four men, two on each arm of the capstan. In the picture you can see the opening. When I took this they had just started to crank it closed.

And here we are waiting for the "stop arm" to be swung back and traffic to move. I took the picture from the driver's seat. Amanda did make it to work on time.

Off, Running, and I Must Be Nuts

Is it still Wednesday? Yikes. Well, today was supposed to be sort of a day off. Amanda didn't work, of course Mom is retired, and that leaves me. I'll work any day. I like to work. this morning, shocker of shockers, Amanda decided to walk with me down to the Whistlestop Mall for the newspaper. After that I went to work frantically on a set of keys, to get them to a drying time so that I didn't feel so bad about taking the rest of the day off. Once I reached that point, I got changed and got the gang headed for the car.

Our first stop was at the "big" Home Depot. My Mom has decided to remove all the wall-to-wall carpeting in the den and the hallway and replace it with Pergo flooring to match the rest of the house. The "little" Home Depot near the mall didn't have any in stock (we had checked on the weekend). "Big" HD had it but we had to wait for the forklift guy to get back from lunch to get a new pallet-full down from the top rack. We needed 17 cases. And underlayment. My time off just created more work for me. Installing flooring for my Mom. This stuff is heavy by the case. Fortunately, my Mom's van has an automatic load weight compensator! Really! I loaded 13 cases in the back of the van and another 4 at Amanda's feet, mid van. On my way back from returning the big, flat cart, I took a look at the van. Sorta low in the back and we had a pile more miles and errands to do. I started up the engine to leave and heard the compensator purring away.

An easy couple of miles down Rte. 114 and we made our next stop. Lowes. A Home Depot competitor. Mom had purchased an area rug for the den a couple days ago. She really liked it. It did look nice. Only problem was it was too big. So back it went to exchange it for a smaller size. She had bought a 5 X 8 and needed something along the size of 4 X 6.

They don't make it that size.

Looked once again at the van as we headed out of the store. Gotta love that compensator. Didn't look like there was anything weighty at all in the van. On to the next stop.

Target. For Amanda. As I was looking down to put the keys in my purse, I noticed a dark spot on my gray shirt. Hmmm, not too noticeable. I mentioned it to Amanda and then she said, "You've got a lot more down near the bottom in the middle." I looked. Oh crap. Grease marks all over my shirt. Must of come off of the handle of the big, flat cart. While Amanda was looking at CD's I went and bought a new shirt. A reasonable purchase at $7.99! I headed for the restroom to change. Off to the next stop, skipping the store I needed to go to, sort of, maybe. And that's why we didn't make the stop.

On Saturday I had gone to Sears and ordered a new bench sander. 2 X 42 belt and 8 inch disk combo. The one that I use for keytop work still runs fine, but this is the only machine that I do not have at least one duplicate of. Since keytop work is the major income generating part of my business, I like to be prepared and equipped with a secondary machine if the primary should fail for any reason. Anyway, the new sander was supposed to be in today. They would call and let me know. We left the house around 11:30 and I had not heard anything, so I decided not to waste time waiting in line only to find out that it was not there yet.

So we hauled our lightweight selves with our packed heavy van up the highway from Danvers to the Newburyport exit and then hit the back roads to Merrimac and Skip's for a late lunch. I kidded my Mom about going across the Rock's Village bridge with such a heavy load. It's a steel, swing bridge but the "pavement" is wood covered with macadam. Every here and there the macadam is missing and you get to bump down on to the wood planking.

It truly is safe. I think.

The cheeseburger specials were as good as always, but the news was disappointing at Skip's. They are closing for the season on September 30th. Two weeks earlier than usual. Drat. I was planning on taking a friend there when he visits in October. Maybe we'll have to just do a drive-by. I am NOT happy they are closing early. NOT. Screws up my plans.

Well, headed home the non-highway way. I'll be doing enough highway driving again this Saturday. Got home and had the not so pleasant chore of carrying the 17 cases of Pergo up the front walk, up the front steps, and making three piles of them in the house. Amanda helped with the hauling which was great.

Tired as I was, I still had to go work on the keys. Got the new tops glued on and quit for the evening at 7 p.m. Returned a couple phone calls to customers and crashed in front of the TV. Oh yeah, there was a message waiting form Sears. The sander is in! The phone rang three more times and the people left messages but they'll wait until morning. All job stuff. Even one from a lady in Montana wanting to know if I could refer her to someone to rebuild their reed organ!

Back to Sears tomorrow.

Now I just have to survive Saturday's excursion.

Back to Intervale!

For the day!

To play household mover.

Remember A's house had sold? Well, the new folks said that if he didn't want to bother moving his stuff out, that he could leave it. NO WAY. There are things that he shouldn't just give to them. To strangers. Family paintings and such. They were (are) all artists. Anyway, A isn't feeling well and can't get up there so we volunteered to haul as much of his stuff as we can fit in the van back to Rockport for him. The paintings, some small furniture, linens and clothing, some dishes, and few odds and ends.

3 hours driving there, pack the van, quick lunch, pack some more, leave by 4 p.m. or so, 3 hours driving back and home before dark.

I'll take the camera!

If I'm not nuts now, I'll be crazy by Saturday night.


And one final update. Ronnie's mascot finally fell. I got the word a few days ago.

Morning, Noon and Night

When I woke up this morning I really felt as if I was coming down with something serious. I felt lousy. As tired as when I went to bed last night, headache-y, run down, yucky, cold sweat, shaky, you name it. BLAH. I kept it to myself. What's the worst that could have happened? I could have felt even worse, in which case I'd have had to 'fess-up and gone to take a nap, or I'd eventually feel better.

Ate my usual two slices of toast, but without the apple jelly. I was saving my sweet intake for later. Downed a cup of coffee, black. Squirt showed up for walnuts so I fed him. He takes the half shells up on to a lounger to eat. Squirt is not nearly as pushy as Squeaky. He just looks in the window pleadingly. Yah, I know.

I walked to Rite-Aid (formerly Brooks - formerly Sandy Bay Apothecary, anybody else remember those days?) and bought the morning paper. A waste of 50 cents.

Got home and took the recyclables to the dump. Amanda went with me for the ride. We checked out the Swap Shop but there weren't any good finds. Rummaging in the scrap metal pile is no longer allowed. NOT FAIR. What if I see something that I can use? Ran into a former newspaper customer of Amanda's and he asked "how's my sweetheart?" I think he and his wife would adopt her! Where were they 10 years ago when that would have sounded ideal?

After the dump Amanda had to tackle a massive bedroom cleanup. It's amazing how she can accumulate so much crud. Oh sorry, I guess the stuff is valuable to her. I went downstairs to the workshop to pick up and clean there. I was interrupted only three times by my Mom who wanted to stain the front of the house. She has "her" projects but they require the assistance of others, namely me. So got the ladder up for her, found the gallon of stain she bought, trimmed the shrub that was in the way of the ladder (it has died and needs to be dug out....another day.....sigh).

The workshop is looking really good. I should get around to posting some pictures of it!

Oh yeah, while I was hauling stuff up the bulkhead stairs for my Mom, I decided I might as well get some other heavy work done, just to make myself feel really rotten. I carried up the pump unit to the Smith American reed organ and got it installed. Phew.

By then it was lunchtime. Amanda had decided to sit out on the deck in the sun. The end of summer comes around and she panics about looking too pale. I made a peanut butter sandwich and grabbed a handful of potato chips (crisps far east) and joined her on the deck. I sat under the umbrella. Sunshine and peanut butter aren't a favorite combo. After finishing lunch, it sounded soothing to have the hot sun on my aching back and shoulders so I sprawled on the lounger for about 15 minutes. Break time was over too soon. Back to work.

I was hoping to get Amanda's room primed and painted before putting up all the stained trimwork. No such luck. I've been storing all the finished trimwork down in the workshop and worrying that extended storage in the work area would result in it getting damaged. I made a goal of each time that I went upstairs, I would measure for at least one section of trim in Amanda's room. This afternoon I made a huge dent in the job and have cut and installed about half the trim. When it comes to time to prime and paint I'll have to mask all the woodwork, but, oh well.

So there I was at 3 p.m. feeling much better. I don't know why. Maybe it was the peanut butter LOL. It's a good thing I felt better as I had made a big promise to my Mom and Amanda about what I'd cook for dinner.

When I was growing up, my Dad always called them English Pancakes. Now that they are popular, most of the world refers to them as Crepes. Sometimes my Dad called them Crepes Suzettes, but I think he was just trying to be fancy. When I was a kid, all my friends wanted to have dinner at our house if my Dad was making English Pancakes. What kid wouldn't want paper-thin pancakes rolled up with butter and sugar inside for dinner??

This was Dad's specialty and he had learned to make them from his mother. He said that they never rolled them up when he was a kid. His mother would layer them on a plate, with butter and sugar, and keep the stack warm in the oven until she had made enough. Then she would cut the stack into servings like you would a cake. Anyway, my Mom NEVER tried to make them. It was only my Dad at the skillet.

But I watched. And every once in a while I'd ask a question. My Dad asked if I wanted him to teach me how to do it. I declined his offer. As an adult, the only time my Dad would make them is if I asked. And later, as he got older and less patient, he'd only make them for my birthday.

Little did he know.....

I had learned.

About 10 years ago I started trying to make them. There is a definite knack to it. It took me a few tries before I had a method down. First the batter has to be just right. It has to flow through fork tines at the correct rate and with the correct look. Then there's the skillet temperature - fairly hot. And finally the quick swirl of the batter in the skillet and the "pour-off" to achieve the perfect round shape and the exact thinness.

So, tonight, after a 5 year lapse in practice, I made English Pancakes. Yummy.

But after 3 or 4 you feel like you've swallowed a cannonball.