It's a Kitchen Day and the Final Friday Before Easter

So, it's the end of Lent - almost. It's been a joy having my salmon on Friday nights for the past weeks, but I will be happy to make the final piece of it tonight and then not make it again for a year. It's easy to make, it's very tasty, but eating any single thing weekly for such a long time (and on a required schedule) is a bit of a PITA to my freewheeling "I feel like cooking this" attitude towards my meals. I'm very conscious of how I cook - my ingredients, my recipes, and my WildFit guidelines - but with the exception of my Wednesday night chicken breasts, I don't like having the same meal on specific days every week. So, I will happily send my salmon recipe back into my stack of recipes, and watch the fish swim away, probably not to be used again until next year's Lent. 

I do love my broiled salmon recipe. It's easy and quick 
and tastes fabulous. But, enough is enough. By the time 
Lent ends, I'm quite ready to put the recipe back into 
the stack and not pull it out again until next Lent. 

Dad's been on my mind a lot over the past few days - probably because of that small royalty check I received from his publisher. I remember the days when we'd get monthly checks and they would actually amount to several thousand dollars every year. His royalty checks helped pay for Mom's care facility bills, and then helped me establish my brokerage account. They might be next-to-nothing in amounts now, but at that time they were substantial and very helpful. I imagine any best-selling author gets a lot more in royalties than Dad ever did - language books have a limited audience, after all. But those checks were very nice to receive. I'll get this one deposited either today or next Wednesday. I'm sure I can manage without the less than $13 in my account for a few more days if I get pinched for time today - LOL. 

This Spinoza Therapy Bear is the same coloring as the 
one I bought for Dad. The photo gives you a good idea 
of the bear's size - it's perfect for a good cuddle, and 
very soft. See the red button on his chest? That's the 
on/off and volume control. There's a cassette player 
accessible from the back. It's rather ingenious and was 
developed to help asthmatic kids with their breathing.  

I still remember the Spinoza Therapy Bear I purchased for Dad while he was in his final stay at the hospital suffering from kidney cancer. I was poor - and the bear was very expensive. It was (and still is) a bear that's large and cuddly and amazingly helpful to help with breath and pain management. At the time, it worked with a cassette player inside of it, which would allow the person hugging the bear to practice the breathing exercises on the included cassette tape for asthmatic children. I figured it was such a comfort to cuddle the bear that I was determined to get one for Dad, despite the $80 or so price tag and my total lack of funds. I did manage it (barely), and cuddled it on the flight to Denver later that week. 

Here is a photo from a production of "The Magic Flute" at 
the Metropolitan Opera, in Lincoln Square. It's quite an 
elaborate opera, and over-the-top as most of them are (which 
is part of their fun). I was surprised Dad didn't request 
Wagner - he was totally in love with the entire Ring 
Cycle. But I guess he wanted something a bit more 
light-hearted. For me? I'd go with the "Flying Dutchman". 
Love that music! 

Once in Denver, I gave it to Dad and explained how it would play whatever he would want to listen to. He requested Mozart's "Magic Flute", so I purchased a set of tapes for that - a good performance with well-known and respected voices and a solid orchestra. Dad was in a lot of pain, but the nurses told me later that he clutched that bear to him, listening to the music, and that it seemed to help him quite a bit with pain management. At that time, doctors were very stingy with narcotics, not wanting to create addictions, so Dad got morphine first thing in the morning. But it was already wearing off by early afternoon, and evening/night were agony. I hated his doctor for not increasing Dad's dosage - the man was dying, let him die with comfort! I got nowhere with the doctor, who despised me and referred to me as "pushy". Well yes ... I was. 

I'm pushy. When it comes to caring for my loved 
ones, I can be VERY pushy. Sometimes it's necessary 
to be that squeaky wheel. 

Mom was all flustered about trying to find a good care facility for Dad once he got released from the hospital. She knew she was incapable of caring for him, and that he would need much more intensive care from professionals. She and he had finally determined on one, and then Dad was visited by a palliative care specialist who suggested a hospice program - the first time hospice had been mentioned. She also told Dad that HE was in charge of his care. She told him everything was up to him - that he didn't need to accept the feeding tube if he didn't want it (he hated it), and that hospice would allow him to live with dignity for the time he had left. He was an immediate convert and had that feeding tube removed immediately. He was so relieved that there were possibilities out there for him. His current book-in-progress had been given to a fellow professor who said he would finish it for him. The loose ends were tied up. He died in the early hours of the morning within 12 hours of seeing the Palliative Care Specialist. I don't know if he was listening to Mozart, but I brought the Spinoza back home with me, and it's been one of my favorite stuffed bears ever since. 

Bees don't go straight from one flower to the next, 
they meander, do a few loop-de-loops, change 
their minds, switch directions, and generally, straight 
lines are NOT in a bees' wheelhouse. 

So, that's the way my convoluted mind works. I started off talking about food, and ended up talking about mental food, memories and a very important bear. My pathway was as straight as a bee's path through a flower garden - LOL. Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

Happy Birthday to Dad - Long Gone But Never Forgotten

I always start out March by wishing my dear, long-dead Dad, a happy birthday. He was an amazing man, chased his dreams throughout his life to the best of his ability, and I think he was happy at the end, looking back on what he had accomplished. He and Mom worked as a great team - they rarely disagreed, and truly looked after one another. They were compatible, and companions and complimented each other's strengths and weaknesses so that united, they presented a force of nature against which, even Hitler had no chance. 

We tend to think of nature as an inconvenience, but 
when it comes down to facts, nature will always 
win. Sometimes there are people who are also 
forces of nature. My parents, united, were stronger 
than they would have ever imagined, and came 
through their trials stronger than ever before. 

My Dad became an expert in changing paths and starting over. He did it numerous times in his life, starting when he was young and fairly newly married. When Hitler was threatening, he sent Mom off to England to protect her from the Nazis, and then walked alone over the Alps to find passage to the USA from a totally different country than a European nation. Once here, he started to set up a life in New York, and sent for Mom as soon as the war was over. 

I know Dad escaped through the Alps. He never voluntarily 
talked about those days, touching on one quick point or 
another, and never in depth. He was lucky. He managed to 
escape Austria shortly after Hitler came to power there. 

How many of us these days would have the stamina to do what he did? To leave everything behind and walk off into a new and completely uncertain future isn't easy. I'm quite sure that without Hitler, their lives and my own would be completely different. But they had Hitler and we have Trump. Yeah - oh joy. They lived through Hitler, and we will live through whatever comes in our own futures, but again, there are no promises - life isn't easy, and we've been very lucky in this nation until now. 

Just in case you can't read it well, the caption 
of the photo says, "Life holds no promise to what 
will come our way ... it makes no guarantees as to 
what we will have ... it just gives us time to make 
choices and to make chances." 

So today is Friday, and it's Lent, so I'll be having my usual salmon for dinner - YUMMY. I'm not sure what DH is planning for his, but we'll work out the oven time if needed. It can be a bit of a dance when I need the broiler and he needs the oven, but it seems to work out despite our failings - LOL. Isn't that what life is, after all? Life is a dance - we move in circles, stumble and fall at times, but once again join with the music and rhythm of the Universe in our eternal Universal dance. Have an excellent Friday, enjoy the beginning of your new month. I'll be back tomorrow to wrap the week up. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

Winter Stopped By Very Quickly - Now It's Gone Again

Earlier this year I had discussed the "Name a Snowplow" vote that we hold in Minnesota each year - at least for the past few years. Well, yesterday, driving home from the gym on icy roads - because we finally got a real snow and had a total of 5"-6" (depending on location in the Cities) dumped onto us - the plows were out. I found myself driving behind a plow proudly displaying the name "Sweet Child of Brine", and had to laugh. Just seeing that name brightened my whole day. 

These were the "Name the Snowplow" winners in 2022 - 
"Betty Whiteout", "Ctrl, Salt, Delete", "The Big Leplowski", 
"Plowasaurus Rex", "Scoop Dogg", "Blizzard of Oz", 
"No More Mr. Ice Guy", and "Edward Blizzardhands". 
They all earned their names during our record snowfalls 
of 2023. I rarely see any of the named plows - we have a 
LOT of roadways in the state, and the names are used statewide 
(with some special Native names in tribal lands). So it 
was a real treat to be behind a named snowplow yesterday 
coming home from the pool. 

I have a sealed Priority Mail box sitting next to my garage entrance door and ready to take to the Post Office today. It's just as well I didn't get a chance to drop it off yet, because two other things I had ordered for Sharon arrived yesterday. So I'll be opening the box and adding them to the box, then resealing it, printing out a mailing label and dropping it at the Post Office today. You're on notice, Sharon. You have a package coming to you next week, so keep your eyes open and let me know that it's arrived safely. 

I have a large Priority Mail box ready to send to Sharon, 
but ended up with two more items I had ordered 
coming in yesterday. So I'll open the box up, add the 
two additional items to the box, and then reseal it, 
put a label onto it, and drop it at the Post Office today. 

I'll try to remember to discuss one of the items I bought for Sharon, Chickie and myself next week. I'd rather discuss it after Sharon's box has arrived, so as not to ruin the surprise of opening and exploring it. Then I'll go through the one "unusual" item I have in there, and how it can be used in many different ways to ... well, I'm not going into any details yet. LOL

The best gifts are the ones that are unexpected. So, 
Sharon, if all goes as planned, I'll be dropping a 
Priority Mail box at the Post Office for you today. 
If it doesn't get sent today, it'll for sure be 
tomorrow. So watch out for it! 

Today is the first Friday of Lent. I'm making salmon for my dinner, and DH said he'll drop by McDonald's on the way home for some "fishies and fries". I could have made his usual meal of baked crispy breaded fish from a box, but he felt like fast food. So, that's just fine, and I'll just deal with my own meal. I'm rather looking forward to my salmon, but Lent is always a fairly long time and by the end of it, I'm happy to put my recipe back into my recipe stash until next year. Have an excellent Friday, enjoy your first Friday of Lent, and I'll be back tomorrow with cleared roadways and just a couple of inches of snow left on the ground. Still, at least Winter hasn't forgotten us completely - Yippee! LOL Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

What A Nice Weekend - Hopefully Yours Was Equally Enjoyable

I hope all of you had a good weekend, celebrating your holiday of choice if that's your thing, or just relaxing with friends and/or family if not. DH and I don't celebrate "Easter" because he's Catholic by upbringing and I'm Jewish in the same stream. But he does keep Lent - no meat on Fridays. That, of course, is a pleasure for me because I love fish. He, on the other hand, enjoys his Lent with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch and McDonald's fish fillet sandwiches for dinner. It's what he wants, so that's fine with me. I, on the other hand, had several lovely baked salmon dinners, a baked tuna dinner, and one weekend I ate shrimp. It was a delightful Lent - LOL. 

I had my favorite baked salmon recipe again on 
Friday night. It was absolutely delightful. I 
love things that are easy to prepare and turn out 
wonderful. This recipe will be used again and 
again because it's a good one. 

Now we're back to "normal", or as normal as we can get. He had two frozen baked Chicken Kiev with extra cheese along with various side dishes for dinner last night, and I treated myself to a lovely beef tenderloin broiled perfectly, along with sauteed mushrooms and a mixture of baked butternut squash and heirloom carrots. It was yummy for both of us, and it was one more triumph of being able to eat what I want without him having hissy fits. Baby steps ... LOL. 

I love heirloom carrots. They have a sweet 
taste and they roast beautifully. It's become 
one of those go-to veggies for me. Yummy. 

The voting for stories is open once again, and if you enjoyed my dragon tale, and are on Dreamwidth (because LJ Idol has moved completely over to Dreamwidth now), I'd certainly appreciate your vote. I'm not sure if he has me listed as Engarian or Erulisse over there, and I'm also not sure if you can vote if you're not a member of the group, but if you can, please do if you're so inclined. 

My tenderloin wasn't this thick, but I had broiled it 
on Friday, so I cut it into pieces and after the mushrooms 
were sauteed, I added the meat and to let it warm slowly 
while DH's meal was baking. It was an easy transfer 
to the plate and perfectly cooked when his meal was 
ready. With my veggies on the side, it was an 
excellent meal. I'd absolutely do this one again. 

It turns out that one author I've been enjoying in the LJ Idol competition is actually from a nearby Minneapolis suburb. It's been quite fun chatting back and forth - I'm always delighted to meet people with similar interests through posting boards as far-flung as the internet can host. 

I've never paid too much attention to what "they" say. I've 
met some really awesome people through the internet. 
Some I'm still in touch with, others have dropped away 
into their own lives, and that's OK too because that 
happens whether a friend is nearby or across the world. 
I've always welcomed my internet friends - they're 
pretty amazing people. 

How odd. I have a small wind chime attached to the curtain rod on my left. It's muffled by the drapery, but has a sweet sound when I allow it to ring freely. It's an owl of course - (my love for owls is deep and has been held for more than 60 years). I suddenly heard it chime when I was writing the prior paragraph, and when I looked up, one of the bottom chimes was swaying slightly. Ooooooh! Ghosts - LOL. Probably not, but it's as plausible as a sudden gust of air since I'm seated, my fingers are the only thing moving, and there's nothing around that could start it singing. So ... ghosts it is - LOL. 

My owl windchime near me is quite similar to this 
one. Not identical, but this is the closest I could 
find. But, mine hangs by the curtain rod next to 
my computer desk, and is muffled by the 
drapery material. Having it ring one clear tone 
while writing my blog today was quite unexpected. 

On that note, I'm out of here. Have a fabulous Monday, do kind things today - we need a lot of kindness to overcome the evil in the world. I have every intention of being back tomorrow for a quick post before I head to the swimming pool. Peace! Slava Ukraini. 

Happy Friday - BattleBots and the US Masters, Fish and Flowers

Happy Friday to all of you. It's a "day off" for me and I've already been busy planning out my day and printing out the paperwork I'll need. I'll get my grocery shopping done, then settle down and get some work done on my next Etsy group. I also need to proofread my 8mm crystal cubes one last time and set those to "active" on my Etsy pages. 

I love Tuna - I love fish in general, but Salmon and Tuna 
are my favorites. My co-op had some lovely Tuna when 
I was shopping there on Wednesday, so I picked up a 
beautiful steak for my dinner tonight. I have the perfect 
marinade recipe for it, and it'll broil up quickly. 

I have a fabulous tuna steak to cook for my dinner tonight, and an excellent marinade for it, so I'll put that together and bag it to soak in that deliciousness for a few hours. Yummy! I generally do fish on Fridays during Lent because DH prefers it (and I have no problem with that - I adore fish). He's a Catholic who never goes to church, but he keeps Lenten food guidelines. I'm a Jew who never goes to synagogue, but I acknowledge the various holidays (Passover is Easter weekend this year - that doesn't always happen). I don't actually keep them, but I at least acknowledge them. When push comes to shove, I'm quite happily pagan. 

I don't really follow any particular spiritual pathway, but 
I'm most certainly not a follower in the more traditional 
religious ways. I'm pagan only because there really isn't 
a good term for what I believe. But I don't really celebrate
the pagan holidays any more than the Christian or 
Jewish ones. I just feel that sometimes there is a 
larger something. But I'm not going to place it in a 
category or assign it a name. It's enough to 
acknowledge it. 

Tomorrow is the deadline for the latest group of stories to be posted to LJ Idol. I turned mine in days ago, and many of you have had the opportunity to read my dragon fairy tale. I've gotten a lot of very positive comments, and thank all of you for the good feelings and strokes. I even acquired a couple of new LJ friends through it, so this story was a total win. The voting will take place after submissions are ended, and then we'll get our next prompt. I suspect it will be released around the 18th of the month, give or take a couple of days. I can hardly wait - I'm having a lot of fun writing to prompts again. It's always been the best part of writing - catching that theme or moving events within a tale so that they all fall into line with the requirement of a specific word or idea. 

I love watching "BattleBots". Yesterday. starting at 
11:00 am, they went through the entire field of 
32 semi-final matches leading up to the final eight 
last night. I had it on the TV at work for most of 
the day (the TV is in the back room, I don't watch 
it, I listen to it). After 2:00 pm I switched over to 
golf because ... The Masters! Couldn't miss that. 

The finals of this season's "BattleBots" was last night. DH was so furious at the decision in the semi-final match, freeing "Witch Doctor" from entrapment under a piece of stage equipment, that he left the room and refused to watch the final match between "Witch Doctor" and "Tantrum". I, however, watched it all. I wasn't 100% in favor of the semi-final decision that "Witch Doctor" won their match, but the final bout between the two robots was awesome. "Tantrum" absolutely dominated the bout and totally earned the "Giant Nut" (think hexagonal nut such as would go over a screw, not nut such as would fall from a tree). It was great to have an audience again, after last year's restricted competition during Covid, and the show is back to being the awesome and fun show it can be. Call me happy, in general. I'm already looking forward to next season. 

I love watching The Masters golf tournament every year. I 
associate it with Spring, and there are many years when 
looking at the greens of Augusta are a reminder that Spring 
is coming when I'm looking out of my own windows and 
only seeing the snow of winter. Fortunately, it seems like 
we're having an early Spring ourselves this year, and even 
though our grass isn't green, it's also not white - LOL. 
We're far away from having flowers, though, and Augusta 
has wonderful hollyhocks and other flowers to delight me. 

So, on that rather silly note, I'm out of here. I have a lot to do today, and I want to get my Shire Conqueror module loaded so that I am walking from the Shire to Bree ASAP. I'm still walking the Great Wall in China, but Conqueror allows you to work on more than one quest at a time (except the LOTR quests have to be done in order). I hope all of you have a wonderful Friday and I'll be back tomorrow. Peace! 

Minor Frustrations and Positive Thoughts - Real Idol, Etsy and Cooking

This week's story for my writing challenge group (Live Journal Real Idol) was limited to votes from contestants only. But, we had to read all of the stories submitted and comment, if we felt like it. We also had to rate each story and send the rating we had given to the moderator. It was a LOT of reading - almost 75 stories - and originally Gary gave us 2 days in which to accomplish this. I was one of several who said "No way". So he extended the review/vote time but will cut down on the amount of time we have to write our next story. That was fine with me. I finally finished reading and reviewing yesterday morning and sent off my results. Now I'm waiting for the new prompt. I'll have to push a story through quickly, but I rarely have a problem writing to a deadline. 

There's nothing quite like having a dead mouse for a 
computer. They've become so essential in our lives over 
the past decades. Fortunately Voodoo has a touch screen 
and a built-in pen, so I was able to finish and submit 
what I needed. But it was more stumbly than it would 
have been if my mouse had been working. I'll buy 
a new mouse today! 

Of course, as I opened Voodoo up yesterday, ready to finish reading and submit my votes, my mouse was suddenly malfunctioning. I changed the battery, and it was still a no-go. Fortunately, it's a touch-screen and it also has a built-in pen, so between those two, I was able to get my list completed and sent off. I'll be buying a new mouse today, though. I use a mouse most frequently and really can't do without it for long. 

I found this lovely recipe for baked salmon 
in foil. My piece is smaller than this, about 
half the size, but it should work just fine. 

We're in Lent, of course, so Hubby prefers fish on Fridays. He'll probably ask for McDonald's fish tonight, but if not, he has some frozen fillets. I'll try to ask him his preference before I head to the store today. I bought a lovely piece of salmon for myself which I will oven bake in foil with fresh herbs and sliced lemon. Maybe some Brussels sprouts in the oven on a sheet pan as well. I'm already looking forward to it. LOL. 

I've been a part of Eric Edmeades's "The 
Abundance Challenge" over this week, running 
one day behind since the Zoom calls are during 
my work hours. It's been a fascinating 
class, very eye-opening. I know I'm a very 
fortunate person in general, and I embraced 
a lot of what he proposes long ago, but I'm 
still learning new things, so that's great. 

I suspect today will be a very busy day. I need to catch up on my latest Master Class - I haven't been able to attend the live Zoom classes, they have been while I've been at work. But I've been catching the replays the next day. It's a class in Abundance and it's been fascinating and educational. I'd also love to get to Half Price Books when they open at 10:00 am today. I have two boxes of books that I'd like out of my house and into their recycling system. So, as usual, it's going to be a busy day. 

I'm a bit frustrated with Etsy right now. I'm ready to 
go live, but something is stopping me from doing that. 
I did what I could yesterday without results, so I sent 
an Email off to their Customer Service department 
which promises 2-3 day response. I guess it'll be next 
week before I can be operational. Oh well, one more 
delay isn't horrible. 

Oh, and Etsy is NOT live yet. I'm having some issues with them and sent an email off to their customer support yesterday. I'm not expecting an answer for 24-48 hours, so it'll be next week before I'm up and running (or growling at a long email exchange between a customer service agent and myself). I'll be sure to let you know when I'm live, though. Hopefully sooner rather than later. 

Think positive thoughts and do positive actions today. The 
actions you do will influence those around you, and their 
actions will spread to others as well. Positive thoughts and 
actions can cause positive reactions in turn. Let's spread 
peace and love today. 

Have an excellent Friday. Try to stay calm, think positive thoughts because that positivity can be contagious, and focus on peace in your life. Be that stone that starts the ripple that brings peace to one small part of our world. I'll be back tomorrow.