That is a title of a children’s counting book, in case your literary tastes run in another direction and you don’t read those regularly.
Brett got off early and we headed to one of the larger towns in the area, about an hour away to search for a microwave. The kids chose to eat at Subway over McDonald’s in a two to one vote. Maybe there is hope for their tastes yet.
We went to Home Depot first and were surprised and disappointed at their lack of selection. We went there first because The Col. Panic had researched their inventory and determined that they would have what we wanted. Wrong. Shoulda called first. Sigh. They can order what we want with no shipping charges but we would have to go back to pick it up. One in white will not be available until after the 28th. Did I mention we went in the Suburban for various reasons- room being one of them- can you hear the diesel being sucked down?
Then we went to Sears, they did have one we were interested in but The Col. decided that the reviews were better for the other one so off we went to see if anyone else in town had one. They didn’t.
It seems to have gotten complicated somehow. All we want is a microwave, for goodness sakes! But we want a GOOD one- there is the rub.
So after loading and unloading the kids seven times and five bathroom visits, we still have no microwave.
As the salesman at Home Depot said- “you don’t realize how much you use it until it’s gone. ” How true.
But I am developing coping skills and the withdrawal symptoms are lessening. There is hope for me yet.
What does one do when one is planning on having chicken for dinner but doesn’t get it out of the freezer so it can thaw because one can thaw it in the microwave– forgetting that the microwave is a dead, lifeless hunk on the counter?
Think vegetarian.
Quickly, because it’s4:30.
A Companion of ours has passed.
A Faithful Companion, standing by us from the very beginning of our marriage. Moving with us to Kansas and sharing the small, 28 foot travel trailer bunkhouse, never complaining. Even when mistreated or under-appreciated this Companion faithfully worked with us. Back to Oregon in the back of the pickup, regulated to the small apartment when we first moved here. Then on to our first house, where operations were difficult but somehow we continued our relationship, ever watchful to not step on toes.
But those days are over now Our Friend was fine in the morning then making strange sounds and smelling at lunch, now standing silent after 16 plus years. Sigh.
Is it silly to cry over a Microwave?
I’m going through withdrawal and it hasn’t been twenty four hours yet.
We shopped for four (count them- 4!) hours yesterday. I didn’t whine, nor whimper. I was a trooper.
Trying on clothes is not for the faint of heart when you don’t have a perfect body. I do not and it was terrifying. I prefer baggy to cover the flaws but I am told that is just not how it is done these days. Of course, when it’s someone else’s body we tend to make allowances and I had to place my trust in my Friend- hoping she wasn’t making me look like a teen wanna-be but a sophisticated stylish 40 somethingish. What is it with these low cut pants? She says they are here to stay (for awhile at least). I wore some and it felt like my pants were falling down all day but they wouldn’t come up any farther when I yanked on them. Oh, the indignities of fashion.
I don’t have the prerequisite number of shoes but I am way over my money limit so that will mean I will have to go without. I have TONS of sandals/ heels that she is giving me anyway. It remains beyond me why one has to have so many but that is a subject for another post.
I made General Toa’s Tofu Stir Fry last night. It was yummy. I have not cooked with tofu before or, to my recollection, eaten it before. So it was a whole new experience. It was good so I may have to try more of it. A must with this recipe is to double the sauce. There simply would not be enough of it otherwise.
Today is the pedicure. I’m looking forward to it.
Pickles.
Yep, we tried peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches today. I told KJ that a character in a book I read likes them and today she decided that she would like to try it too. I made her and I a half sandwich that we split and also made a peanut butter and banana sandwich to split between everyone. KJ liked it! And so did I. The other two took bites and decided it wasn’t bad. KJ liked it so much she had more. Everyone liked the banana too.
Maybe one day we will try tomatoes and lettuce.
We had friends over for dinner last night. Mind you, I don’t do the Martha Stewart Style of entertaining! I try to get the house reasonably clean, good food (I hope) and conversation. I don’t garnish things but put them in serving dishes instead of leaving them in their pots. My main goal is to get together with people and enjoy them and try not to get caught up in how “perfect” things “should” be.
We had everything picked up and vacuumed on Thursday. Friday became the challenge to keep everything looking decent. The Girls have become especially messy lately. They will have a picnic on a blanket in the living room, the books spread all over every place, and the stuffed animals all over the family room in no time flat. KJ is good about picking up but TG is still in avoidance. The mess was really threatening to get out of hand Friday afternoon. The Girls didn’t nap and were up with lots of time on their hands. KJ ended up getting sent to her room for sassing me when I told them to pick up the blankets that were being made into a fort. She stomped her little indignant foot and shouted “NO!”. She was to stay in her room until her Father got home, which did end up being longer than I thought. When we opened the door to let her out she was asleep on the floot. Which was not a bad thing.
We had Arroz con Pollo (it was left in it’s pan because there was so much of it),beans, salad, homemade salsa and guacamole. Turned out yummy, if I may say so. I made a “Gypsy’s Arm” for dessert. Very good. I used the strawberry jam instead of the guava.
Rachel, who wants to be a dental assistant, helped Hans get the last loose tooth to loosen up even more but didn’t get it out. She kept encouraging him to move it around. There was talk of pulling it but Hans wasn’t the one doing the talking. He did say that his Papa could pull it today. We’ll see.
Lots of talk. Thanks for listening Dawn!
Stayed up late, even the kids. TG went to bed at a reasonable time because she hadn’t napped but the other two stayed up very late. All the kids woke up at their normal time, why is that? So I am up trying to keep things quiet while Brett gets a little more sleep. Naps sound real good right now.
Icing on the cake? Phone call from Boo Boo. Good to hear your voice. Four more weeks!
I knew there was something more I wanted to say about making the Arroz con pollo but it was swallowed up in a black hole in my brain and wasn’t spit out until I had posted it. Old brains….
The recipe called for mincing garlic and then, using a rubber spatula, mash salt into it to make a paste. I have seen this done on TV before but the chefs used a mortar and pestle to mash the whole garlic with salt. I assume this recipe called for mincing first as a way to get around the use of the mortar and pestle as most home cooks don’t have that. I, unfortunately, choose to use a flimsy rubber spatula that would get caught on the side of the bowl and then flip back out sending salt-infused garlic all over the kitchen and me. Ah, eau d’garlic, what nice perfume!
Aren’t you glad you don’t have to clean my kitchen?
I have been looking for a good Arroz con Pollo recipe but it seems that most I see are just chicken on top of Mexican rice. They seemed bland. Then I got a free issue of Cooks Illustrated, which is a pretty neat (and expensive) magazine. They go through the process they take to make a recipe better. There was a mention in there about an Arroz con Pollo recipe they did last fall. Of course, the recipe is no longer available online (except for Premium members). So I searched the web to see if anyone had posted it. I found one but the lady had altered it some to suit her tastes but the methodology was there and she pointed out what she had changed. I also found another Cuban recipe that did similar things. Last night I took the plunge and made it. I gave myself plenty of time, the recipe said it would take just over an hour but I figured it would take longer being the first time for me. Also, the girls were asleep so at least I didn’t have a brown head between me and the counter. (Kirsten has taken a great interest in what I am doing in the kitchen.) It took about an hour and a half- which made it done before Brett got home but it kept fine. I also cooked up some pinto beans, a really big batch and will freeze some of it. Added some onions, green pepper, garlic, cilantro and green chiles to some of the beans. Yum.
I had to please Mr. “Put Tapatio on Everything.” He doesn’t like bland- but at least he will try something now before he puts the sauce on, as that tends to upset the cook. Don’t want to upset the cooks, ya know- they tend to get huffy. But even he thought the Arroz con Pollo was good even without sauce on it! It made a huge batch. Next time I would like to try it with the medium grain rice (or Mexican rice) that the recipe recommends. I think it’s a keeper, AND I even wrote down what changes I made to the recipe as I went along. Wow, may even be able to recreate it! Wouldn’t that be something!
I also made some of my “Not Quite World Famous” Salsa. Which is gone already. It was really good.
Of course that causes another dilemma as we’ve been trying to lose weight and if it tastes good then we tend to overeat…. sigh.
