Tag Archives: food

four things | twenty-seven

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Oops! I missed posting anything last week. I forgot what day it was (it happens when one is retired) and when I did remember, I was too tired to think.

It’s been soooo hot and humid. One of the Book Club women asked me if Mr. Aitch and I use our deck much. We have in the past but not this year. In fact we have not dined al fresco all year! It’s just too uncomfortable to be outside. How’s your weather been this summer?

what I’m reading

Well, our Book Club met at my house last Monday. We discussed Nita Prose’s The Maid. The main character, Molly, is a maid in a boutique hotel. She takes her job very seriously. She stumbles across a murder scene and you can find out what happens next if you read the book.

One of the Book Club members offers refreshments based on foods mentioned in the book we review, which helps me figure out a menu. Olive Garden and Mexican foods are both mentioned in this book so since it’s been HOT here, heavy, Italian pasta dishes were not going to happen. I could have gone with the never-ending OG salad but decided to go Mexican with a taco salad, nachos, salsa, sour cream, and a lime infused non-alcoholic beverage. I also made a Mexican Lime Icebox Cake for dessert. Light and refreshing.

Book Club meetings also help me keep up with the housecleaning, like washing the windows both inside and out, dusting everything, scrubbing (not just damp mopping) the floors, you know, all those things no one notices unless they aren’t spotless. And just in case anyone needed to use the restroom I even did the upstairs since the first floor powder room had plumbing issues!

what I’m watching

We’re growing tomatoes in the front flower bed. Actually the two plants are in pots but they are still sitting in the front of the house. The pots were the largest I had and have blown over a couple of times with the unusually strong winds we’ve had. Mr. Aitch and I pounded a long bamboo stake down through the bottom on the pots and into the ground beneath the pots to keep them upright. I’ve trimmed the dead branches and leaves off the bottoms of the plants so they are a bit top-heavy. That certainly helped.

The plants are the Sweet 100 variety and they have produced at least 50 or more sweet, little tomatoes for us so far. There are lots of almost ripe ones on the vines that we will enjoy for the next couple of weeks.

I want to get larger and heavier pots next year so we won’t have to worry about the plants blowing over.

One other tidbit is that the deer don’t bother the tomatoes. Our paver sidewalk runs in front of this flower bed and they don’t like to walk on it.

what I’m loving

Our power went off during one of the hottest afternoons last week. We weren’t sure how long it would be off so we just sat around the house trying to stay cool. I thought about going to the basement to declutter but with no electricity, it would be too dark.

This is truly a First World problem and I will be the first to admit that I do live a comfortable life with so many conveniences.

Fortunately, after an hour, we were greeted with a cool, breeze coming from our AC vents.

I am loving air conditioning.

what I’m working on

I’ve been reading about the Swedish Death Clean method to declutter and downsize so those I leave behind don’t have as much to deal with. I’m not planning on leaving this Earth any time soon and Mr. Aitch and I are not planning on moving/downsizing to a smaller house. I do want to downsize all the crap stuff we have accumulated in this house. I did a lot of getting rid of stuff last year when we got new carpeting on the second floor. I also joined my neighbor in holding a huge three family yard sale and got rid of things we no longer wanted or used. In fact Mr. Aitch and I loaded up the back of my car with most of the leftover stuff and dropped it off at Goodwill. Outta sight, outta mind, and outta the house!

I/we still have a lot more to do but our house didn’t get this way overnight. And it’s not going to get decluttered that way either. Slow and steady wins the race.

Sending you positive vibes for the week ahead!

Patti nona

four things | thirteen

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We had every season of weather this week. Warmth, sun, rain, flurries, wind and clouds. I hope you had sunshine and seasonably appropriate days where you live. My lilac bush has buds and the sub-freezing temperature might have damaged them. Only time will tell.

I love lilacs. They smell so sweet and remind me of my mother. She had light purple and a white lilac bushes in her back yard. The light purple one that I have was a freebie from a neighbor at least 20-some years ago. It needs pruned and some suckers removed. Maybe I’ll get to that this year…

what I’m reading

Mr. Aitch got me hooked on the Babylon Bee satire site many years ago. They take no prisoners and are an equal opportunity offender of world, national and local news stories, religion, entertainment, sports, and the list goes on. Check it out…unless you are easily offended. Just remember it’s satire. Most of the time it’s funny but it usually brings a lot of truth to a situation.

I will be the first to admit that I don’t know the Bible. I’ve never read it cover-to-cover. I get most of my Bible lessons and history during Mass. A Babylon Bee story about Moses had referenced a person named Dathan. We know a person by that name so Mr. Aitch looked up Dathan to see what he was all about. Apparently he was a real bad-ass who kept agitating Moses and got what was due eventually.

Mr. Aitch asked me why anyone would name their baby after such a bad person. Maybe they didn’t know?

what I’m watching

Tombstone with Val Kilmer, Kurt Russel, Sam Elliot, and Bill Paxton.

what I’m eating

I made these sausage cheese rolls to try for the Book Club snack on Monday. I used a sweet Italian sausage instead of ground pork for more flavor. I loved them but Mr. Aitch thought they were just okay. Granted he wasn’t feeling the best when he tried them so that might have contributed to his not-so-positive opinion.

So I’ll serve something else…

what I saw on my walk

Since the weather was questionable this week Pepper and I only walked twice but I did see a cute bird house. Maybe a feathered family will move in.

Have a great weekend.

Patti nona

four things | nine

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It’s been a busy week but nothing Earth-shattering.

We (Pepper, me, and sometimes Mr. Aitch) walked four mornings this week. I hope to get another walk in today. The route is about a mile and a half. Once we get used to that, we’ll go farther.

Thursday was a spa day for Pepper (haircut, bath, nails clipped, and whatever else needs to be done) so Mr. Aitch and I got to enjoy breakfast out and do some shopping. We also dropped off a bag of clothes at Goodwill. It felt good to get rid of stuff.

Since we turned the clocks ahead last weekend and lost an hour of sleep, I wanted to nap every afternoon. I didn’t except for yesterday. Our wine, cheese, and cracker lunch helped me nod off for about half an hour.

what I’m watching

We watched the series “Cross” on Amazon Prime. I have not read any James Patterson books so I’m not sure if the series was true to the story lines. We both like mystery, suspense, and action shows/movies but this was dark. Very dark. If they produce another series, we’ll pass.

what I’m loving

Fridays during Lent. I don’t have to think about what we’re having for dinner. It will be fish of some sort. Last night we had batter-dipped cod, boiled potatoes, and peas. Easy. I just peeled a couple of potatoes to boil, then drained, and buttered them. The fish was baked in the oven and the peas heated on the stovetop.

what I’m celebrating

Yesterday was Pi Day and what better way to celebrate than with P-I-E! In fact, we had turkey pot pie earlier in the week.

I couldn’t decide whether to bake an apple pie or a graham cracker pie for Pi Day. I didn’t want to peel the apples and I didn’t have enough milk for the graham cracker pie. So I did the next best thing…I cheated!

We needed milk and a few other things from the market so…I bought this. Mrs. Smith’s crusts aren’t as good as mine but this was easier. And really good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

what’s got me chuckling

A sign on a neighbor’s tree.

Enjoy your week and don’t go too overboard with the green beer!

four things | seven

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Today is the beginning of a new month. A transition month where we (hopefully) say goodbye to winter and welcome spring. We had cloudy, overcast, cold days and sunshine and warmer days this week. One little clump of snow hung around in a shady part of our yard till midweek but it’s now melted into the ground.

In trying to find something uplifting I’ve got four things that I’m loving.

what I’m loving – one

Apricots. When I was little my grandmother got me (and perhaps my sister and brother) hooked on apricots. It was a real treat to have sweet-leathery dried apricots as a snack. I think she only bought them when she made her special apricot spread. We used to slather it on her homemade toasted bread so thick that it dripped off the sides. We, of course, slurped up whatever fell onto our plates. I’ve never found anything quite like hers and the recipe is long gone. I’m pretty sure it did not contain pectin but thickened with cornstarch.

I recently discovered these Mariani dried apricots* at my local grocery store. They remind me of the sweet-leathery dried apricots my grandmother had. I’ve tried other brands but I like this the best. A bonus is that they contain added probiotics. At my age I need all the help I can get.

what I’m loving – two

I used to use a fountain pen all the time. I liked the flow of the ink. I didn’t have to scribble on anything to get it to work. I could customize the ink color by mixing two or three colors together. I had two different fountain pens: one used ink cartridge refills and the other was a lever-fill type. Click here for more info on the types.

When duplicate checks became readily available, I had to switch to ballpoint pens. With a fountain pen, nothing would appear on the duplicate as I didn’t have to press hard at all to write with it. I would often have to rewrite everything on the duplicate which was not very efficient.

A few weeks ago I bought an inexpensive cartridge fountain pen* to see if I still liked writing with one. I do. When I write a check, I go with the other kind. I’m writing with it in my paper planner and book club notebook. (Yes, I still use a paper planner AND appointments on my phone.) I’m going to go with the refills for now. They don’t seem to be any more expensive than a good ballpoint or gel pen but I’ll save the empty cartridges and refill them with my own custom color.

what I’m loving – three

Our new-to-us veterinarian is outstanding. Our previous vet was okay but we didn’t feel all the comfortable with his office procedures. He had his patients call the office when they arrived and wait in their vehicles until he or someone came out to bring them in. He had just one examining room right inside the door. It was small and cramped. His son, also a vet, assisted but we usually “helped” if Pepper got antsy. If Pepper needed medicine, we had to go to his office to get it. That was a 40-mile round trip. Everything just seemed inconvenient for us.

Our new vet is one of several doctors in an animal hospital. They have several vet techs to assist, a lobby with a receptionist, and a pharmacy. We can order routine meds from online businesses, if needed, instead of going to the office for pickup. The vet tech asked us questions and listened to our questions and concerns before the vet came into the examining room. It was a fantastic experience for all of us. Even Pepper…except for the annual shots. Another plus is this place is only eight miles away.

You’re probably wondering why we didn’t change before now. Yeah, we should have. Pepper was treated quickly around last Christmas for an ear issue. Having to drive so far in the cold, dreary, winter and waiting in the car before being called inside helped us decide on a different vet, and we are very glad we did.

what I’m loving – four

Green toes for St. Patrick’s Day this month! I really needed a boost this week so I made a pedicure appointment. The icy blue toenails in January/February were fun for a time until the February Funk set in and I was ready for a brighter outlook.

I’m also loving how the sun comes through the arched window framing my feet.

Have a happy weekend!

*This is not a sponsored post. All reviews and opinions expressed are based on my personal views and experiences.