Tag Archives: food

The last day

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We try to take advantage of nice weather, longer days, and saving money at my work.  So for the past several years we have the option of working four ten-hour days from Memorial Day (May 30) to Labor Day (September 1 this year).  The work day goes from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm.  That’s an hour earlier in the morning and an hour later in the afternoon than my typical work day.

We can choose between taking off a Monday or a Friday.  I chose Mondays.

Instead of getting up an hour earlier than my usual time, I only get up about 20-30 minutes earlier.  Ergo I don’t have time for breakfast at home so I eat something at work while I check my email and get ready for the day.

Today is the last day of “summer hours”.

And it’s the last day of eating the same breakfast I’ve eaten Every. Single. Work. Day. This. Summer.

I’m tired of it and I can barely get the food to my mouth.

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Three Nekot cookies with peanut butter. A 16 ounce cup of peach green tea.  And one biotin tablet, one B-complex vitamin,  and two vitamin D caplets.

The apple is for lunch.

Quick.  Easy.  Non perishable.  No refrigeration required.

I almost stopped at McDonald’s for a breakfast sandwich but realized that it would not be as good as the ones my brother-in-law made for my sister and me last week.  He’s an excellent cook.  (Yeah I forgot to mention that I was at my sister’s house all last week and if I remember, I’ll post about what we did later.)

Oh, I’ll still drink the tea (at home) and eat the cookies (until they’re gone) and, well, take the vitamins (as always) but I can have more variety for breakfast starting next Tuesday.

Toast with peanut butter and honey or bananas.   Scrambled or fried eggs.  Warm toasted bagels with cream cheese.  Cereal.  Leftover cake or pie with ice cream – don’t judge.  I know you eat that, too.

Greenish thumb

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Last year we planted tomatoes in our front flower beds.  The front of our house gets more sun than the back and I wanted to grow some tomatoes.

And keep them close enough to the house that the deer wouldn’t get them.

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But a chipmunk decided to make himself at home and steal the tomatoes.

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By that time the plants were too large to do much of anything so we reluctantly shared.

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This year I decided to be a bit more proactive and make the plants less accessible.

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Half-inch hardware cloth (it is not soft like cloth) rolled into 18-inch high circles/columns.  I secured the circles/columns with wire and put some duct tape around the tops to keep from getting scratched when I had to pull weeds, pick ripe tomatoes, etc.

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I wedged the tomato tag from the seedlings in the back between the overlapping screening.

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Red Beefsteak

So far so good.

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L to R: Red pepper, German Queen, Red pepper

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L to R: Roma, Cherry, Better Boy, Red Beefsteak

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Roma

 

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Roma

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Husky Cherry Red

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Husky Cherry Red

 

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German Queen

I followed Martha Stewart’s suggestion for tying up the floppy plants using old panty hose.

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Better Boy

I even tried a couple of red pepper plants.

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Red pepper

From the top clockwise: Beefsteak, Beefsteak, German Queen, German Queen, Better Boy

From the top clockwise: Beefsteak, Beefsteak, German Queen, German Queen, Better Boy

Question:  Why do some tomatoes split or get those lines in them as in the beef steak above?

Those German Queen tomatoes are huge!  They aren’t the prettiest but measure at about 6 inches across the widest part.  Very meaty and makes a great tomato sandwich.  I had not heard of them before but decided to try one plant this year.  It’s an heirloom tomato so I will save some seeds and try to start my plants from seed next year.  Looking forward to eating more fresh veggies soon!

40 Fabulous Years

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Last month Mr. Aitch and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary.

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40 Fabulous Years!

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We had a party at our house with lots of delicious food and drink.

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My very talented sister made these beautiful cupcakes.  I made fans in case anyone got too warm.

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Of course we also had cake.

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And I got the piece with my name on it.

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Cheers to 40 more!

Off topic

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Mr. Aitch and I needed some sustenance while on our spontaneous weekend get-away to Gettysburg two weekends ago.  The complementary breakfast at the hotel was good.

Coffee, tea, milk, apple and orange juice.  Bread, bagels, muffins, Danish.  Butter, jams, peanut butter, honey.  Three kinds of cereal.  One flavor of yogurt – strawberry banana. Fresh apples and oranges.  “Scrambled” (aka powdered) or hard-boiled eggs.  Sausage patties and links.  And not one but two waffle makers with regular or blueberry waffle mix.

My only complaint about the waffle makers was that some parents allowed their children to operate them.  And in doing so tied them up for more time than necessary because the  children could not follow the directions.  Of course, some of the adults had a hard time following the directions, too.

Fill.  Close.  Turn.  The timer is activated when turned.

The waffle is done when the timer goes off.  Don’t keep opening it up.

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Sunday morning breakfast wasn’t as crowded as we thought it would be  as most of the bikers were still in bed after the BIG doings the night before so Mr. Aitch and I could each have waffles without having to wait.  Monday morning was a different story.

The kids were too short to fill, close, and turn the waffle makers.  But they tried.  And their parents allowed them to try.  There is a reason why the sign says you must be 16 years of to operate it.

Waffle rant over.

I opted for “scrambles” eggs,  sausage links, a Danish and some tea.  Mr. Aitch wanted a waffle so since I had a clear view of the waffle makers, I alerted him when one was free.  Waffles = happiness.

For dinner Sunday evening we decided to go to the Appalachian Brewing Company.  They carry their handcrafted beers and sodas.  Beer it was.  Our waiter was great and since we had not been to an ABC before, he asked what kinds of beer we usually drank and suggested an ABC beer that each of us would probably enjoy.  Mr. Aitch had a Maibock and I had a Hefe Weizen.  Both were very good.

The “Epic” Trail Burgers were hard to pass up.  Mr. Aitch had the Boo-Boo Burger with a side of sea salt fries.

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Boo-Boo Burger is topped with caramelized onions, white cheddar cheese, BBQ pulled pork and cole slaw on a toasted brioche bum.

I had the Sasquatch with a side of ABC’s seasoned homemade Brewhaus chips.

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Sasquatch Burger topped with brown sugar caramelized applewood smoked bacon, caramelized onions, apple slices, and Provolone (my choice) cheese also served on a toasted brioche bun.

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Zeppole for dessert: Deep-fried dough sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar and drizzled with raspberry vanilla sauce.  Yum!

Perfect ending for such a sobering day.