I had a rather busy first day of Autumn, starting out with a lot of computer work, moving in laundry - an all-day project, grocery shopping (two stores, two trips) and some housecleaning, and more computer work. Between everything else, I got kitchen work done, dinner managed, the house cleaned (somewhat) and things wrapped up for the rest of the week, and read a bit because a day doesn't go by without a few chapters of whatever book I'm reading under my belt.
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I wasn't aware that the Ryder Cup had been around since the late 1920's. It is played every two years, and alternates between Europe and the US. This time it's in my neighboring state of Wisconsin (so you may see some of the trees starting to turn colors in the background). It's a team competition in a sports that is singularly individual competition at all other times. It's a bit confusing, but DH loves it. |
DH asked me to work for him on Friday. He wants to see the first day of the Ryder Cup, his favorite golf tournament. The Ryder Cup has always confused me a bit - it's not like the usual golf tournament I'm used to seeing, but he loves it - that whole team competition thing enthralls him. So, since he asked nicely, I agreed, and I'll be working for the next three days. That meant I needed to do what I had planned for Friday's tasks yesterday, which was part of my "rather busy day". LOL
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I'm very grateful that my doctor declared my skin issues to NOT be any food allergy. I still want to find out what things I'm allergic to now, just to be on the safe side, but I don't have to toss tomatoes out of my diet. I'm thrilled - my life without salsa or ripe tomatoes on my salads would be poorer. |
The Prednisone and prescription gunk for my skin are starting to work. I'm on Day 3 of 10, so there's still quite a long way to go, but I'm hopeful that this will, indeed, get my crazy skin back under control. I have my appointment with the allergy department on the 13th for my skin tests, and I'm curious about what I might be allergic to - whether things have changed since I was a child, or if I'm still sensitive to the same triggers. I am relieved, however, that the skin issues I'm dealing with are not food related. I don't have to watch tomatoes with the same baleful eye any more.
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I was desperate - I didn't want to throw away a perfectly good squash, but I'll have no oven until December. I found the perfect recipe on "CookTheStory" via a search on Google, tried it in the afternoon, and had a perfectly cooked squash from my microwave in less than 15 minutes! It takes me longer than that, with an interruption to turn the pieces over, in the regular oven. I'll be using the microwave for my squash from now on! |
OH!!! Something to share with all of you. I had purchased a Butternut squash shortly before my oven died. I normally roast my squash, and I love having it on my evening salads or with dinner. It sat around for a few weeks, but I was resigned to tossing it into the trash yesterday until I thought "Maybe there's another way to cook this, so that I won't have to waste it." I turned to my trusty ever-present seer named Google and asked about ways to cook Butternut squash and it had a lovely microwave solution that takes four minutes per pound in the microwave. The secret is to punch through the skin deeply with a paring knife, making lots of cuts up and down the entire squash. This allows the steam build-up to escape. I punched a lot of slits up and down on all sides, put it on a microwave-safe plate and set my timer for 14 minutes. I pulled it out at about 12 minutes done because it was actually dripping juices, and set it aside to cool. When it was cooler, I grabbed my trusty Y-slicer, sliced off the rind from most of the body, then cut it into cubes. It was PERFECT! Easy, peasy. My favorite way to cook. I'll be doing my squash this way in future.
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This tree is from last year's photos of my neighborhood. Taken on October 7th. I have this kind of beauty to look forward to over the next few weeks. It's what makes winter tolerable for me. I love living up here because it's a beautiful state, but winter isn't my favorite time of year. Fortunately it's heralded by the stunning beauty of Autumn. |
On that very domestic note, I'm out of here for the day. While driving around yesterday, I noticed the trees are turning into their beautiful colors - we're so fortunate up here in the Midwest US - we get glorious colors for our trees. The height of our colors is usually October 11th, and I'm hoping to get a bit of time between now and then to take some photos to share with all of you. It's the colors that make the greys of winter bearable to me. Winter is bracketed by the reds and oranges of Autumn and the brilliant yellow-greens of Spring. I can't go far without color - I could never have made it in a land of ice and snow, I would have gone crazy. Have a wonderful day and I'll be back tomorrow.
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