High Gear - A Whirlwind of Cleaning Today and Tomorrow

I'm kicking into high gear now, cleaning, cleaning and cleaning. There's really not that much to do - the usual grocery shopping, laundry, etc, meshed with a thorough vacuum of the carpets and a continued scrub-down of the bathrooms. It's more that the clock is ticking loudly since Sharon arrives tomorrow afternoon. Fortunately, I won't have to work now until next week Tuesday. So I'm home to clean, at the shops to pick up necessities for the next week, and at the gym for the next two mornings before walking miles at the State Fair takes over swimming as my exercise. 

We'll be walking miles at the State Fair - unfortunately on concrete or
pavement. Our feet would probably appreciate softer materials to
walk on, but the Fairgrounds is actually part of the Twin Cities and, as
such, is paved for 365-day use by pedestrians and cars. 

Chickie, having already attended the State Fair twice along with her friends Mel and Dave, has now tried many of the new foods. We discussed what she liked and what she didn't while working yesterday. The three of them would get something and split it three-ways which allowed for a lot of food variety. I tend to get my own - I'm not fond of sharing food. It's a personal choice thing. Chickie's way definitely saves serious cash and allows for more variety because of smaller portions, but I just have a thing against sharing food from single containers. It's a sanitary thing - kinda squeaks me out. So my way is more expensive and less comprehensive. 

Sharing food from a central platform to individual plates doesn't
bother me. It's that lack of individual plates that makes me
shiver a bit while sharing in more informal situations. 

Of course, some foods just don't share well - ears of corn for example. Other items invite sharing - conglomeration things like deep fried mushrooms and cauliflower. Since each button or floret is completely self-contained, and there's no sauce poured over everything, it's easy to "sneak" a mushroom cap here and there. It's a lot harder to pick at foods with sauces or other embellishments. Those require passing the food dish around from person to person, each person eating some before passing it along to the next. Want to share food in my world? Pass the bowl around the table and let everyone take their own portions for their own plates. 

I had my usual favorite, Kung Pao chicken, from China
Restaurant last night. There's plenty left over for a
second dinner tonight. DH prefers General Tso's chicken,
so he also ended up with plenty for a second meal. 

Because our schedule would be so messed up for the rest of the week, DH suggested take-out for dinner last night. We indulged in a lovely dinner from our favorite Chinese restaurant - aptly named "China Restaurant". Their portions are generous and we'll have enough to carry over to tonight's dinner as well. DH will be on his own on Thursday night since he wants to watch the football game, but Sharon and I will do our annual treat - Red Lobster for seafood while discussing what we want to do at the State Fair the next day. 

We always enjoy Red Lobster restaurant. I usually choose
a bit more low-calorie or healthy, like salmon, but it's always
tempting to indulge in seafood and lots of melted butter. 

So, my blog will be on today and tomorrow, but then I'll fall away from posting until Tuesday, or maybe Wednesday, next week. Probably Tuesday, but as I recall, Sharon's plane is an early lift-off on Tuesday morning so time may be a factor. In any case, I'll still be posting tomorrow morning and  we'll deal with schedules then. 

Have a great Wednesday while I clean, scrub and shine. I will be back tomorrow, a bit bouncy because I'll be picking up my BFF in the afternoon. Enjoy your day!