The Day After Thanksgiving!

Posted on Saturday, November 26, 2022 by Paul

Fact: There are four towns in the United States named “Turkey.” They can be found in Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, and North Carolina.

We stayed home and attempted to get better, but Mary’s flu seemed to be getting worse. Tomorrow we will COVID test her. We had our coffee and then went for a stroll in the garden! We made it back inside before Scout!

Does da baby want in?

The cabbage is coming on strong, and we expect the head to begin to form in another week. They will be a foot in diameter by February and ready for corned beef and cabbage. I wonder if Mary would allow me to buy a calf to raise in the south forty?

Things are growing up nicely.

By March, everything on the plate except the beef (unless Mary allows me to get a cow) will be from our garden!

Yummmy!!!

The Savoy collage is delicious! Savoy cabbage is a winter vegetable and one of several cabbage varieties. It is thought to originate from England and the Netherlands. In the 18th century, it was introduced into Germany as “Savoyer Kohl.” It is named after the Savoy Region in France.

We are getting ready for St. Patrick’s Day dinner!

We heard the doorbell and expected the kids, but the daily visit from Mr. Amazon brought us an experiment! OK, Joe, you suggested it, where are you? We were tired of hanging lights every year and having to change them out for the holidays. If this works as advertised, we can change colors for every holiday, and they stay up year-round, invisible to the passersby!

Govee Outdoor LED Strip Lights, 32.8ft RGBIC Outdoor Lights with 64 Scene Modes and 16 Music Mode, IP65 Waterproof Smart Lights with App Control

We expected the kids to do a fly-by as they wanted to bring us apple sauce and two more VOCID test kits. They came by about 11:00 AM, and we went outside to the garden to visit where it would be safe.

We visited the backyard south forty and talked to the veggies.

We were visiting the farm!

On their way out, we gave Bob his birthday present; notice the tongs Mary was using to prevent the passing of germs.

The kids head to Disneyland.

After they departed, we selected a new TV series (by accident) and binge-watched all eight episodes of The Terminal List. Outstanding!

We got a call from the kids at about 8:00 PM, and they have arranged a Christmas get-together on the 26th with our favorite bartenders from Catal and their families at our home.

Meet Santiago; I have known him for many years!

Ready for a Santiago joke? “A chicken walks into a bar. The bartender says, “We don’t serve poultry!” The chicken says, “That’s OK, and I want a drink.”

At episode four, we stopped, and Mary made the most delicious turkey sandwich I ever had. I have no idea what she did, but it was better than turkey dinner; next year, we will bypass the turkey and go directly for the turkey sandwiches. We did a bottle and a half of wine over the seven hours of binge-watching activities.

The series follows Lieutenant Commander James Reece after his platoon of Navy SEALs is ambushed while on a covert mission. Reece returns home to his family with conflicting memories of the event and questions about his culpability. As new evidence emerges, Reece discovers dark forces working against him, endangering not only his life but also the lives of those he loves.

Great series!

We looked at the wall clock, and it was 10:00 PM. Time to hit the sack!

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Happy Thanksgiving To All

Posted on Thursday, November 24, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Thanksgiving is the busiest day for plumbers! Who do you think will be the busiest person on Black Friday? Nike Sales Manager? Walmart Staff? Or Your Plumber? You’re on the right track if your answer is the third option. Plumbers are the busiest people after Thanksgiving, all thanks to the food they ate during Thanksgiving dinner. Reports say that people call plumbers for various reasons, such as clogged-up toilets, kitchen drains, and garbage disposals.

We heard the pitty-pat of eight little turkeys above our office. What could it be, Turkey Claus, perhaps? Well, to our surprise, as soon as we got to the top of the stairs, the window flew open, and we saw eight little rein-turkeys attempting to get out the window at the same time! It was like a Chinese fire drill!

The left us a present!

Much to our delight, the little fellas left a Thanksgiving Tree for us to delight in since we were home alone today!

Decorations everywhere!

They must have worked all morning on this tree, but they did a wonderful jon and we just stood there in amazement and wondering a) which of us left the darned window open last night, and b) who is going to clean up the turkey poop!

The tree was worth the cleanup effort!

As you know, ee are alone today thanks to my getting COVID but alone is not bad when you share it with someone you deeply love! We got up a little late this morning, just letting those nasty germs get eaten by the good ones.

We had our morning ration of pills and magic elixirs and potions. I feel like a pharmacy and that I am single-handily keeping CVS afloat!

We walked the garden and enjoyed the morning sun’s heat; sitting and getting warm was quite pleasant. I did ask Scout, The Wonder Dog if he wanted to go for a walk, and his response was priceless.

For most of the day, we sat and watched movies on TV.

Dr. Mary prepared a beautiful meal on our ready-ti-go-for-ten dinner table. The turkey was fantastic as well as the other goodies. Just sitting across the table from Mary made me give thanks for having a wonderful life, even with the ups and downs that come with it.

We missed everybody but better safe than sorry!

Colleen had the whole family over, which, I am sure, was a madhouse. Jon, our oldest grandson, has grown up to be a real man, and we await his decision to begin a family!

Colleen (setting a new style with one white and one black sock) and Jon (our grandson)

Three grandkids and four great-grandkids make for an excellent picture!

Great picture of Colleen’s family (Thanks to photoshop, Cassie)

We continued to watch TV but got up for some pumpkin pie. After Mary fell asleep on the couch, I put away everything and straightened up the kitchen before waking her up and putting her to sleep!

I wandered off to my new bedroom (called Robin’s Nest) and had a good night’s sleep. COVID shall disappear soon! It’s like the nasty flu.

As I lay down, I noticed a pain on my backside; could it be another COVID symptom? I asked Mary t check on it.

(I am in trouble for this one!)

Laying in bed, I thought a lot about today. While we missed everyone, we did enjoy the quiet of just being together and enjoying our own company. Mary is just a lovely person even when the flu makes her “grumpy.”

We were together in our thoughts!

Mary and I hope you had a magnificent Thanksgiving and shared the same love we share in our home with each other. I am truly blessed!

God Bless The United States Of America.

Posted in 2022 Vegetable Garden, Holidays, Just Us | Leave a comment

T-1; The Serious Work Begins And The It Happened!

Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2022 by Paul

Fact: TV dinners are a Thanksgiving-leftover invention. Well, sort of. In 1953, an overzealous Swanson employee overestimated the number of frozen turkeys the company should order for Thanksgiving—and the company was left with 260 tons of excess turkey after the holiday. But rather than eat the loss (financially, we mean), salesman Gerry Thomas came up with the brilliant idea to create pre-made turkey dinners served as re-heatable individual trays, just like airline meals. By the end of 1954, Swanson had sold 10 million frozen turkey meals, and the TV dinner industry was born.

Our colds are improving, but it sure puts a crimp in the giddy long! We got presentable about the time Domi came to clean the house. My job this morning is to visit our cook, Marie Calendar, and pick up the vittles for Thursday!

Juan, our car wash guy, came today and washed the cars, plus he took down Christmas from the attic.

By mid-afternoon, I was feeling pretty poorly. I took a COVID-19 test twice, and it tested positive! The kits were out of date, but about an hour later, I got the chills so bad I had to go under covers (lots of covers), and Mary called Urgent Care.

We went, and indeed, I have COVID. Where did I get it; I would like to know because I stay away from crowded places and people, so I am puzzled.

We called the gang, and Vicky will go to her sister’s house, Irene is going to stay away, Greg is going to stay home, and the Dudas are going, but I am staying in Robin’s Nest and not visiting anyone. Damn, we are going to have a lot of food to eat!!

This sign did NOT make me anxious to get the test!

Returning home, I hit the sack, and Dr. Mary ensured I was loaded with the proper meds; she is a fantastic lady!

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T-Day Minus Two

Posted on Tuesday, November 22, 2022 by Paul

Fact: “Jingle Bells” was originally a Thanksgiving Day song. Before becoming a Christmas anthem, “Jingle Bells” was an 1857 song titled “One Horse Open Sleigh,” and its composer, James Pierpont, intended it to be a Thanksgiving Day song. But it became so popular around December 25 that in 1859 the title was changed to “Jingle Bells” and the rest is history!

We both woke up not feeling our typical 110%; Mary’s tooth was giving her fits, and I had a sore throat. I went for the Alka-Selzer Cold Medicine, and within two hours I was back to normal. Mary was better today and was vertical most of the day.

I went to Ralph’s early, about 8:00 AM, and nobody was there. The store was so damned cold I could not feel my fingers after 30 minutes. At the checkout stand, I complained, and the nice lady put her heater up on the counter, and I utilized it so I could find my wallet.

Love that heat!!!

I loaded the car and headed for home. The van is perfect for shopping as the bags go in and out so easily! Mary was a bit flabbergasted at the number of goodies I got from such a short list, but, hey, what do I know?

I brought home the store!

Mary put things away, and I went to the garden and ensured everything was watered. I also got the parts from yesterday’s visit to Home Depot and am ready to do the wiring if I get a chance tomorrow.

We had a nice dinner with leftovers from yesterday. We headed for bed early as neither of us was doing very well. On the video phone, we talked to Colleen, Robin, and Greg before crashing.

On my way to bed, I visited the garden to make sure the motion-sensitive lights were working, and they were.

The potential varmints will not like this!

I crashed first while Mary watched a movie. Then I selected “The Eat Wagon” with John Wayne, and we both watched that one. We were out like a light by 9:00 PM.

Posted in 2022 Vegetable Garden, Holidays | Leave a comment

T-Day Minus Three!

Posted on Monday, November 21, 2022 by Paul

Fact: As surprising as it may sound, there is no historical event of turkey being served in the three-day feast. The Thanksgiving menu of the modern world is entirely different from the first Thanksgiving. It is believed that the Pilgrims and Native Americans enjoyed other food items like lobster, seal, and swan.

Mary proclaimed “Decorations Done”

Mary was still out cold when I arose and faced the day. Scout, The Wonder Dog, and I braved the morning chill and went forward to water the lawn. We inspected the new garden, and then I saw Scout in his “pointing pose.” He was as rigid as steel, with his nose pointing at a strawberry plant and the tail at 90 degrees, slowly waving in the breeze. The first fruit had been spotted.

Mary did not see this little jewel this morning!

Mary came to life at about 7:30 AM, and we had our morning coffee. The coffee was terrific, but I sent Mary back to bed; another day of recovery was needed. I told her of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving menu. I should NOT have done that!

Swan? Seal? Lobster? Wow, we need to try that!

Later that morning, as we were preparing our action plan for Thanksgiving, Mary sent me to the store to get two pounds of Swan and four pounds of Seal. Needless to say, the butcher looked bewildered at my request. He sent me to the OC Zoo and yelled, “Good Luck!” as I exited the store.

Sorry, Mr. Swan!

At the Zoo, the Swan had a different idea about Thanksgiving. I quickly exited the Zoo leaving a trail of feathers and pieces of my jeans behind me; they are mean little buggers! Now they tell me: While geese are noisier aggressors, swans intimidate with their sheer size, and have a fearsome reputation for inflicting damage on anything they consider a threat to their mate or young.

Did You Know? Often served at feasts, the roast swan was a favored dish in the courts of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, particularly when skinned and redressed in its feathers and served with a yellow pepper sauce; others preferred to stuff the bird with a series of increasingly smaller birds, in the style of a turducken. Swans have been the property of the Crown since around the twelfth century, but Edward IV’s Act Concerning Swans in 1482 clearly defined that ownership. To this day, Queen Elizabeth II participates in the yearly Swan Upping, in which the royal Swan Master counts and marks swans on the Thames, and the kidnapping and eating of swans can be considered a treasonous crime. Great Britain’s royals are still allowed to eat swan, as are the fellows of St. John’s College of Cambridge, but to the best of our knowledge, they no longer do.

When I returned home, I went inside and changed from my embarrassing visit to the Zoo. I then went to the computer and somehow ended up on this image I remember from my childhood; we are talking 65+ years ago. Below is a picture of the original sheet music to Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer, and I remember the picture like it was yesterday. I played the piano and accordion, and this was a Christmastime favorite.

I just threw it away when I went through the piano bench about three years ago!

Did You Know? Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May in 1939. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus’s reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve. Though he initially receives ridicule for his nose as a fawn, the brightness of his nose is so powerful that it illuminates the team’s path through harsh winter weather. Ronald D. Lankford, Jr. described Rudolph’s story as “the fantasy story made to order for American children: each child has the need to express and receive approval for their individuality and/or unique qualities. Rudolph’s story embodies the American Dream for the child, written largely because of the cultural significance of Christmas.

I loved this picture of Mary taken when we were out to dinner a while back; she always has an infectious smile!

My Little Mary!

At 11:00 AM, Irene popped by and picked me up. She brought the Silver Streak back that she had been driving since her car was in the shop. We turned around, and I went back to Long Beach to get her car back. Then I drove back home; all the vehicles were in their proper location. I was the freeway flier!

On the way home, I stopped in Downtown Orange at Renata’s Italian Restaurant and picked up veal piccata for Mary, and I got the angel-hair seafood plate. I could NOT pass up the bruschetta! The chef was on duty and offered me a glass of wine while I waited; it’s nice to be known! I only drink wine on days that end with a “y.”

The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later, you’re hungry again.

I like to chat with others while waiting for my Italian food-to-go order, but I was the only one there! It helps to pasta time.

Mary got up, had her lunch, and returned to being horizontal. She wants this gone by Thursday! I worked in the He-Shed and went to Home Depot to get the hardware I needed for the gazebo lighting. When I returned, Mary was sitting up, folding the laundry. You can’t keep a tough person down!

The sunset was looking good when I returned from Home Depot.

It was dark at 5:30 PM.

We had some news! Vicky and Jim are joining us for Thanksgiving; it will be an excellent addition to the soiree! Now we will have pierogis for Bob, enchiladas for Vicky, and I will get ham for myself! Tomorrow, I will go shopping as soon as I wake up!

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Work Work Work

Posted on Sunday, November 20, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Over a lifetime, the average person spends about 90,000 hours at work. Before the age of 40, Americans hold between seven to eight different jobs. Every year, the average American spends over 100 hours commuting. The average office chair with wheels travels about eight miles per year.

I got up early, and Mary was still sawing logs. When she did get up, around 7:00 AM, she was feeling poorly. The periodontist released a mess of “germs” on Friday, and she is feeling the results today.

At 10:00 AM, I did a Walgreens run and got some meds for MAry. A quick stop at Starbucks gave Mary a latte and three eggs; breakfast was served.

I spent the day working in the yard with our handyman. We installed a motion-sensitive light over the new garden and ran electricity to the gazebo in conduit buried in the ground; the extension cords just bothered me.

I move a mess of tools from the He-Shed to the new Rubbermaid locker adjacent to the garden; now, they are pretty convenient.

The garden tools are now next to the garden!!

The grass is coming along fine! In another month, we may be able to mow it and begin getting rid of the weeds.

We have grass; it sure looks better than a month ago!

The 2,000-lumen LED lights do an excellent job lighting the garden and are pretty sensitive. These lights are the equivalent of 130W incandescent lights.

I don’t usually tell people about my light puns. I like to keep people in the dark.

I went to a Chinese restaurant, and the lights were too bright. So I requested if they could dim sum.

The motion-sensitive lights are working well!

I called Bob Z. and told him we would not make the dance tonight as Mary was still reeling from Friday’s ordeal.

Dianne made her version of chicken noodle soup and brought it over to Mary. Dianne also brought bread and chocolate cake! I will undoubtedly feel better.

Dianne got the executive tour.

After she departed, we had a quick dinner and went back to bed for Mary. I continued working the yard until 6:00 PM when it was too dark to see. I tested the security light, and it worked. Most people are shocked when they discover how incompetent I am as an electrician.

I took a quick shower and headed for bed; it’s been a long and busy day. I quickly looked at my phone and logged 6,000 + steps, mainly from the garage to the backyard.

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Off And Running

Posted on Saturday, November 19, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Wind Turbine Towers Are As Tall As the Statue of Liberty. A notable feature of wind energy generation is the scale of wind turbines – an average turbine blade is about 200 ft long, while turbine towers reach up to 295 ft tall on average. But wind turbines are expected to be built with longer and more prominent blades, and with taller towers too, to help generate even more power and improve the performance of power generation. In 2020, the average capacity of utility-scale wind turbines installed was 2.75 megawatts, 8% higher than the previous year.

It was 8:00 AM we got up to tour the backyard. The weather was quite cool, and the wind was picking up. My gardener talked to me about edible herbs I can grow, and it was sage advice.

So my neighbor sees me kneeling, busy in my garden, and asks what I’m doing.
“I’m putting all my plants in alphabetical order”
“Really?! I don’t know how you find the time!”
“It’s right next to the sage.”

It was crisp outside.

The pool skimmer was not functioning, and it appeared as if it disconnected from the side of the pool. Mary opened up the top of the skimmer for me to find it chocked full of stuff, leaves with small branches, and even some perlite.

Being fearless, Mary cleaned out the area and reconnected the vacuum line. She is brave because the water had to be 50°.

Mary clears the pool filter.

We examined the new sink and even tried the water faucets, and all is working well. We are going to cover it with a special order cover from Amazon.

The sink is in, and it works well.

Yesterday we talked to Joe, and my idea about him and the boys building a potting bench was discontinued. Joe priced the wood for the job at close to $700. I went to my trusty Amazon account and ordered a potty bench for $250, and it will be here on December 1st.

The feedback on this product was very positive; we will do our job even if it only lasts a couple of years.

It will be helpful when it is potting time or cutting up veggies.

We could hear the flag flapping in the breeze as we went back into the house. If you look carefully, you can see that the top of the flag pole is slightly bending towards the left with each of the heavy gusts of wind.

Do you know Mary’s Law? Wind velocity increases directly with the cost of the hairdo.

The top of the flag pole was leaning a little bit.

Mary and I sponsored two of our neighbors to become Elks, and today was the “orientation day.” They had to be at the Elks Lodge at noon, and then they would get a “free lunch.” Mary and I went at noon, but we went into the bar and had an excellent breakfast and a glass of orange juice; it wasn’t 5 o’clock.

Jeff lives catty-corner from us, and he’s a fascinating man. He and I share a lot of things in common, including, unfortunately so, our sense of humor.

Jeff, our neighbor, is about to become an Elk.

Jim and his wife, Vito, live next door to Jeff, and we know them reasonably well. They were looking for some social activity, and I suggested the Elks, and I think they will enjoy it.

Jim is joining the Elks.

Jim is quite funny, and he and Mary get along very well.

Jim and Mary are funny!

We returned home and again took a yard tour to ensure the wind didn’t do any severe damage. The whirligigs were spinning almost 90 miles an hour, and I just happened to catch this one with the fast camera setting.

How do you stop your newspaper from flying away in the wind? Use a news anchor, duh!

The whirligigs were going fast this morning.

We got ready to depart for Long Beach as we were going to the 80th surprise birthday party of a good friend Wally. The flags made a lot of noise as they were flapping in the breeze thank goodness the American flag is brand new.

I asked Mary if she had heard about the cow lifted into the air by a tornado. It was an udder disaster!

The wind was already gearing up for a busy day!

Thanks to the wind, we got our first fruit from our two trees in the front yard. One of the avocados we’d been watching for several months was lying on the ground, so we picked it up and brought it inside and hoped it would soften up so we could celebrate the fruit of our labor.

The little orange tree was bending slightly.

We arrived at the Cerritos Bay yacht club at about 5:30 PM and found our friends had already staked out a table. Of course, we went to get our glass of wine and waited for the arrival of Wally, the guest of honor.

The lights were dimmed for the surprise party!

The evening was very delightful and especially being with our good friends.

We are ready to sing.

Ghislaine said that Wally was indeed surprised, which was a good thing.

Ghislain pulled it off!

Jim joined Vicky this evening, and he seems to be getting well-adjusted to the nonsense of our little group. Mary and I are so happy that Vicky has found a good friend to be with who is also quite witty and can dance.

Jim and Vicky are fun!

On my way back from the “gentleman’s lounge,” I took a quick picture of the bay adjacent to the yacht club. You could see stars in the sky tonight because there were no clouds due to the high wind.

It was a clear night!

We sang happy birthday again, and just Lana sang it in French. Of course, I could not let that go, so I asked Vicky to come up and sing it in Spanish. And, of course, I had to finish it by singing it in English backward.

Wow! What a cake.

Wally’s son was there this evening; it was fun meeting up with him again.

Wally and his son.

Mary’s tooth was bothering her this evening, but after one glass of wine and a nice chicken dinner, it began to feel better. Food for the fact that we got up to dance?

Guess who!

It is enjoyable to be out with this lady as she is so capable of joining any conversation and sharing thoughts plus, she’s not bad to look at, either!!

She makes me very, very happy.

Our table made several comments about why and I know I said something about Wally and his tuxedo and how he looks like a penguin; everybody got a good laugh out of that one.

We got up and told stories; ask about the penguin!

Wally and Ghislaine make a lovely couple, and it’s nice to see them so happy.

Awe, Love is indeed in the air.

We had thought about going by Patty’s place for a nightcap, but it was close to 9:30 PM when we departed, so we went VFR home and hit the sack. Mary was anxious to return to her Yellowstone series, and we watched Yellowstone until midnight.

Posted in 2022 Vegetable Garden, Dancing, Food and Wine, Friends | Leave a comment

I Thought I Was Retired!

Posted on Friday, November 18, 2022 by Paul

Fact: A single strand of Spaghetti is called a “Spaghetto.”

I walked 5,000 steps today and never left the property! There is ALWAYS work to be done around the house. First thing, we made bread again! This time I took care of the yeast and made sure the temperature was in the neighborhood of 105-110 degrees. The yeast bubbled and indicated it was ready.

Mary was tired of needing the dough so I brought out the big gun with the dough hook; we had the dough ready in a few minutes. It rose nicely as we sat it in the sun with a towel over it.

Around and around you go!

We took the legs off the raisins first

Inspecting her new sink!

Now our tools are right by the garden!

“My toofie hurts”

Meanwhile, Mary and I worked in the front yard.

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Girls Night Out, Yeah!

Posted on Thursday, November 17, 2022 by Paul

Fact: November’s name has remained unchanged since the ancient Roman calendar, which was used until 45 BC. This first Roman calendar was only made up of ten months, with November being the ninth month. November actually translates rather appropriately into “ninth month” in Latin. When the Julian calendar was adopted in 45 BC, two new months were added, which pushed November back to the 9th Despite its change in position, November was never renamed.

We were on worm patrol this morning to ensure they dug into the new soil and were not blown away by the terrific winds! We went for a morning stroll, lifted the straw we put over them yesterday, and, low and behold; their landing site was empty. Goodbye, little critters, did yourself a new home!! We are good worm parents!

On the way back inside, where it was warm, I asked Mary, “What do you call it when worms take over the world?” I got one of those “mommy looks,” but I was brave and responded with “Global Worming” as I raced toward to bathroom to lock myself inside.

Mary actually named each one!

We got ourselves ready as we had errands to do. We departed Casa Valencia at 9:45 AM and went to the UPS Store, where Mary sent her daughter a package for the new puppy, and I returned two boxes of straw to Amazon! Scout was with us and enjoyed all the starts and stops.

Then it was off to the gas station. Before filling up, I took out a loan. I remember gas at nineteen cents/gallon in the 1950s, “gas wars.” My parents would roll over in their graves to see gas at $5/gallon!

From the gas station, we went to CVS to pick up some meds that were awaiting our arrival. It was almost that magical hour when Scout, The Wonder Dog, went for his beauty shop appointment! We dropped him off, and he did not mind it!

Now, we got to serious activities, zooming to the Elks Lodge for Girls’ Night Out.

Iris nearly knocked Bill Capps over to sit next to me; I am a chick magnet!

Sydney came today for the first time in two months; she was in Idaho and spent time catching up with everyone.

Beverly and Sydney visit as it has been a couple of months.

The first had a great lunch, and we made plans for upcoming events.

Ladies! You look amazing.

We departed the Elks and got Mr. Scout. He pranced out of the beauty salon with his freshly groomed plumes waving in the wind. He smelled so good we had to take him for a visit to Jan’s.

We brought Jan some Elks Salmon and dessert. Scout scampered into the backyard and took up his observation post, ensuring all was safe for us. We shared a boggle of vino with Jan and told and retold stories of yesteryear.

Oh dear!!

One more stop! We left Scout in the car and went into Ralph’s to pick up some essentials, namely, raisins, for our next attempt at raisin bread! He didn’t mind waiting in the car, but he changed the radio channel to classical music and turned up the volume so we could hear it inside the store.

Arriving home, we took out the trashcans, put away the groceries, and then hit the sack at 7:00 PM and watched Yellowstone until almost 11:00 PM.

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The Wind Is Blowing Today!

Posted on Wednesday, November 16, 2022 by Paul

Fact: Depending on their strength, winds can be known as a breeze, gale, storm, or hurricane.

The wind was howling so bad that Scout, The Wonder Dog, thought his fan club was outside waiting for his arrival. Our brand-new American Flag was getting a real workout this morning.

Standing at attention!!!

We assessed the damage, which was minor, but our gazebo furniture cover was in the pool, two of the hibiscus plants were blown over, and we lost one of our whirligigs as it spun so hard, some of the pieces came off and were propelled into the sky landing in places unknown.

We were careful so as not to get hit by flying debris

We made our morning coffee and strolled the backyard, ensuring the little plants were all doing OK. The stroll was quick because the temperature was cool! The wind blew right up my bathrobe and got my attention quickly. I made a bee-line for the back door and stood next to the fire for a few minutes.

63 is not cold until the wind is 20 MPH!

Our trusty cleaning folks were right on time this morning, and while they dusted/cleaned, we got ready to go; yes, more doctors, only this time, it was a little different.

I had a dentist’s appointment to get my teeth cleaned. Next time I plan to mail them in; it is much easier.

Mary had to go to the doctor with Scout, who needed his shots.

Both doctors’ offices were shocked by seeing us separated. Mary took the Silver Fox, so Scout had a place to ride, and I took Precious, meaning I was scared the entire time.

She keeps saying, “Paul, step on my gas, big boy, and watch what I do!”

We arrived back home just before noon and met with Tom, our handyman. It feels odd to have to use a handyman around my house, but at seventy-eight, there are things I can’t do easily anymore. If I get on a ladder, Mary knows it and finds me with catastrophic results to my behind. OUCH!! I am now trained; no more ladders.

Tom moved Thanksgiving from the garage attic to the kitchen, put up the Stained Glass Rainbow Window Privacy Film on the kitchen window facing the neighbors, installed the outdoor sink faucets, gathered the empty propane tanks for refilling, and several other things I decided to have done.

The UV protection alone was worth the investment. The rainbows are pretty lovely, also!

Here it is installed in our home.

In real life!

The Casa Valencia Gardens outside sink now has faucets; we need the connecting pieces to the awaiting water lines.

It’s almost too pretty to have outside!!

On Tom’s way out, he brought in several Amazon packages! We opened then, and I got a new T-Shirt to add to my collection.

Most people will get it!

Finally, we got worms! One thousand red wigglers were delivered, and Mary and I immediately went to the backyard, watered them, and gave them a new home. Tomorrow we shall see how they did digging into the new soil!

They were all alive and well after their 3,000 mile plane ride from home in North Carolina!

We started a glass of wine, and then Mary decided to make bread (or a hockey puck, we shall see)!

Raisins are embedded and not chopped up!

The Dutch oven was ready to make bread. I asked Mary, “Why did the loaf of bread break up with his girlfriend?” I told her, ” The relationship was crumbling.”

Did You Know? A Dutch oven (not to be confused with a masonry oven) is a thick-walled cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid. Dutch ovens are usually made of seasoned cast iron; however, some Dutch ovens are instead made of cast aluminum or ceramic. Some metal varieties are enameled rather than being seasoned, and these are sometimes called French ovens. Dutch ovens have been used as cooking vessels for hundreds of years. They are often called casserole dishes in some English-speaking countries other than the United States (casserole means “cooking pot” in French) and cocottes in French. They are similar to the Japanese tetsunabe and the sa? a traditional Balkan cast-iron oven. They are related to the South African potjie, the Australian Bedourie oven, and Spanish cazuela.

 

Ready to go!

Tucked away in parchment paper, it was oven-ready!

Ready for the oven!

Did You know? The most common yeast, S. cerevisiae, is used in baking as a leavening agent. It converts dough’s food/fermentable sugars into the gas carbon dioxide. This causes the dough to expand or rise as gas forms pockets or bubbles. When the dough is baked, the yeast dies and the air pockets “set,” giving the baked product a soft and spongy texture. Using potatoes, water from potato boiling, eggs, or sugar in a bread dough accelerates the growth of yeasts. Most yeasts used in baking are of the same species common in alcoholic fermentation.

The bread did come out, and 1) we overcooked it, and 2) we used water that was too hot, so the yeast croaked! We had a hockey puck, but on the bright side, if you dig inside the hard shell, it was good. We had several pieces slathered with butter!

We called Dianne and David and slathered with them for a while. David is in good spirits, even facing a round of chemo beginning tomorrow. His worst news was “no more rare meat.” Only well done, says the doctor.

Goodnight David!

We did the sack at about 8:00 PM. Here is something to think about!

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