Snow, Lord of the Rings Online, and Freezer Burn - Lots of Cold Stuff

Good morning, one and all. I'm hitting the ground running today after a rather lazy Sunday. We're getting snow - somewhere around six to eight inches total from yesterday through today. DH shoveled yesterday and was surprised at how much we had already gotten. It's my job to shovel today before I leave for the shop (and also at the shop), so I'll be making a shorter post today, so that I can catch up with all of you and still get to my work before work - LOL. 

I have quite a bit more snow than this cartoon girl 
has. I can't figure out why she has snow on the shovel, 
but is standing on dry ground with her boots. Hmmm ...

The City was requiring us (actually, requiring everyone) to check the metal of their water pipes inside their homes. For us, that required DH pulling a lot of things from an almost-unused corner of his workshop area to get to the pipes and do the scratch test required. He wasn't super happy about it, but it wasn't horrific, just a lot of pulling things out and then putting things back. The pipes, as we suspected, are copper, and he did take photos, but since they were optional, I didn't include them in my report back to the City. If they return with a request for photos, I'll be able to provide them. 

The City is trying to get rid of the last of the lead 
pipes, so requested all homeowners to test and 
submit the results of the test to them by the end of 
the month. We know ours are copper - we've had 
leaks in some of them over the years. But, copper 
is still a good component for water pipes. (The 
photo is NOT my pipes, but it's a good one for 
copper pipes in general.) 

I started two new characters on Lord of the Rings Online. I haven't played the game for a long time because it had lost its' fun for me. But, I might enjoy these two new girls. The one I was playing yesterday was a Elven Rune-keeper. She's still doing her intro stuff, but she's rather fun to play. It's been forever since I last bothered with LOTRO, but it didn't take long to get back into the groove. DH, of course, plays constantly, and he's been playing my girls as well as his own dwarves, keeping everyone up-to-date with periodic software downloads and weaponry changes. 

I should probably read this - I have never played a 
Rune Keeper character before, and she plays quite a 
bit differently than the character types I've known in 
the past. Still, I don't have a lot of "excess" time, so 
I doubt I'll be able to play a lot. 

The plan had originally been for me to head over to our local Chinese restaurant for dinner yesterday, but the snow kept on coming and the roads weren't that great, so we skipped it. I was just fine with that - I have a refrigerator full of stuffed peppers, roasted squash and roasted carnival carrots, not to mention a lot of lettuce and salad stuff. My meal was delightful. DH, on the other hand, made a microwave dinner that was 18 months past the "best by" date. It was pretty awful and he ended up tossing it out and eating a salad instead. Lesson learned - eat what's in your freezer before it gets freezer burn. LOL

In this case, the problem wouldn't have existed 
if he had eaten his meal before the due 
date of sometime in 2022! OY! 

So, I'm starting my day a bit early today since I need to shovel the driveway and walkway before I leave for the shop. Time to get moving. Have an excellent Monday,  Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל. I'll be back tomorrow.

It's Cold, I'm Slightly Overweight, and My Orthodontist is Happy - Two Out of Three Isn't Bad

My swimming friend Meg is off with her extended family for a "vacation" to a nice, warm spot today, so I won't be seeing her at the swimming pool for a bit. She's leaving just at the right time because we're about to dive into the deep freeze of a January up here in the Frozen Northlands. Still, I certainly can't complain, because I can always bundle up to be warmer, and so far (as of this morning's quick peek outside) the only snow is on the yards, not on the sidewalks. A total win'win. 

My driveway faces north, and I've always told DH that 
if we buy a different house, I want a south-facing driveway 
next time. I always have to check whether we've had 
snow and get it shoveled up ASAP because it will turn 
to ice on my driveway if I don't. We have an extra long 
and double-wide driveway, so it'a a chore to get it 
shoveled before I leave for the pool. So far, however, 
this winter has been a dream. 

I managed to get my stuffed peppers made yesterday, as well as our usual Wednesday night baked chicken. DH is starting to get on my case about his website again *sigh* so I'll have to try and build that back into my schedule. But it's very low priority for me and much higher priority for him. He's got the time, however, and I don't. Maybe I'll get a chance to deal with it tomorrow ... or not. 

I managed to get my stuffed peppers made and into the 
refrigerator, one pepper in each small container. I'm set 
for meals for the next week or so. Whoot! 

I need to purchase one more thing from the office supply store, and then I can start re-sending the missing holiday cards to several people. It seems my international cards have either gone missing or have arrived in shreds, so I think I'll make those my priority. I'll also make copies of this year's cards for those who got replacement cards, so you'll either get the "real thing" or a replacement sent within a week or so. It won't take me long to get the replacements put together, I just need some dimensions before I can move ahead. I should be able to get somewhere with that tomorrow. 

I think the only shot I'm going to have of getting my 
holiday cards to my international friends in one 
piece is to put them inside a different envelope that 
can (perhaps) survive the shipping process. This year's 
cards were most definitely a learning experience in 
many ways. It's a good thing - LOL. 

My Orthodontist is quite pleased with how my teeth are behaving and responded "Early Summer" to me when I asked when I would be finished with the program. I can live with that, DH will want things completed sooner. I'm pretty happy with my new mouth, and I would love to get rid of the hardware. I'll have a retainer to wear from that point on, every night without fail, but I can most definitely handle that. Getting my teeth done has been a dream come true - a dream I've had for more than 50 years. 

I'm comfortably in the green since I started WildFit years 
ago, I'll be starting my 4th year of WildFit in a month 
or so. When I started, I was solidly in the orange zone, 
so I've improved a lot, and I've kept an eye on things. Right 
now I'm about two pounds over where I'm comfortable, 
so I'll carefully watch what I eat today, and I'll have an 
alkagizer for my lunch, which always helps my weight 
and how I feel. They're SO important to my health. 

I'm off to the pool. I need to work off some of the weight I put on yesterday - working in the kitchen I ended up munching a bit more than I should have and put on a bit more weight. Still, it's never around for long, and swimming always helps. So, onward to chlorinated water - LOL. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

The Little Problems of Life - Sometimes You Just Have to Laugh

My freezer is stuffed. We have a combination refrigerator/freezer in the kitchen. Because of what was available when our last refrigerator died during COVID, and the fact that we couldn't wait six weeks or more for the refrigerator we really wanted, we ended up with a smaller version. It's fine, but it is quite full, and the freezer space is the worst. 

Although our refrigerator is crowded, but 
not overstuffed, the freezer is another 
matter. It's stuffed to the max, and DH 
insists on overcrowding his space because 
he'll over-buy when things are on sale. 

The freezer has two parts - a pull-out drawer that has 5-6 inches of drawer vertically, extending horizontally to the back of the unit, and a two-segment storage unit that is around 9 inches deep and divided into two segments. That's where most people would be keeping their half-gallons of iced cream and other sundries. I have the left-hand bottom section as my own. I let DH have the remainder of the freezer. He spills over into my section every now and again, and I get REALLY crabby when he does. 

I look at pictures like this and have to laugh. 
I don't think anyone (unless they're obsessive/
compulsive) would have a refrigerator this 
organized. Just NOT happening. 

As of last week, he had two sirloin steaks in my section. I didn't need the space right then, so I complained, but tolerated it. However ... he went shopping earlier this week and picked up our beast for our Christmas meal. It's a huge prime rib or standing rib roast. He took the steaks away and found room for them on "his" side, and my side now is dominated by a HUGE white-paper-wrapped chuck of cow. As usual, I'm stressing a bit about cooking it. I do it every year, and it always turns out spectacular, but there's something about cooking a piece of meat that costs that much money that makes me hesitant. Thank goodness for my digital thermometer. It's proven to be very trustworthy (when I use it properly) and I'm sure it will come through again for me. 

We have a refrigerator like this. I have 
the left section, DH has the right. I have 
the left side of the freezer, DH has 
the right, and the pull-out drawer. 
The entire refrigerator is stuffed, but 
it's a smaller appliance than what we 
previously had - we got what was 
available. It was AWFUL to have to 
be without a refrigerator for almost 
a week. 

Of  course, the "Beast" isn't going to be cooked for another week, so today I'm dealing with "what do I make for the next week". I have several stuffed peppers remaining from last Friday's cook, but not a whole week's worth of food. We usually do chicken on Wednesdays, so that's Wednesday and Thursday. I do have a pound of ground beef defrosted ... now to figure out what I want to make with it. In the vast scheme of things, life is good if meals are all I have to worry about, right? I hope your problems are as minimal and that you have an excellent day. I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

A Bit of This and A Bit of That - Thoughts for a Monday Morning

I'm a bit crunched for time today because I took time to respond to all of the lovely comments and positive wishes sent my way on my anniversary. DH and I had a lovely dinner, although he wasn't super happy with his steak. I figure that's fine because he gave the other half of his leftover meat to me for meals this week, so I made out like a bandit. It did start a discussion between us of where we might like to try in future, and he might buy some steaks to make on the grill before it gets too cold. 

We haven't used the grill at all this summer. No real good 
reason why, it just hasn't been used. But, DH wants to 
do steaks at least once before the Fall season comes streaming 
in and it gets too cold and blustery. We don't have long before 
we have to return everything back into the storage shed for the 
Winter, so we'll probably get some steaks grilled within 
the next three weeks. 

Sunday we were out at Renaissance Festival. It was quite a bit colder, but I dressed appropriately and was actually quite comfortable for the day. That surprised me a bit, because I chill easily out there. We stayed until about 2:00 pm and then left. I noticed that the parking lot was quite a bit more crowded, as were the Festival grounds. My reasoning for this is that the State Fair is now over, so people are looking for the other Fall activities that they do. We'll probably skip Fest this coming Sunday to attend the MN Gem and Mineral Show, and then, the 1st of October will be the final day of Fest this year. We'll be there for that, without doubt. 

I generally use a 110 sunblock for my 
head, but I forgot to pack my tube. DH 
had some 45 that I used, and it seemed to 
be enough to keep me from burning. I also 
used my parasol, of course. It's why I carry one. 

I wasn't really packed well for yesterday. DH was in a bit of a hurry, and I forgot my sun block and then I left my driver's license in the car. DH had a lower level of sun block that he gave to me, and I just decided I would live without an alcoholic beverage, which worked out just fine. But still - I know better than to go to Fest without my sun block. I did use my parasol, of course, but sun block in an outdoor venue is just common sense, especially because I want to avoid degradation of my tattoo. 

It's the end of the summer, and moving firmly into the 
Autumn season (one of my favorite seasons because it's 
so very pretty up here). Winter still is distant, but it's 
approaching the door. Time to start preparing for it. 

Once we returned home, we sat in the garden for a while, relaxing in the shade. DH has been pulling up and transplanting a lot of the garden, preparing for next Spring. It looks quite desolate in places, but that's the way it has to be in Autumn. It's the latter half of September and Winter is coming closer and closer. We don't want to be trying to do this when the weather is cold and horrid. It's quite bad enough to rake the leaves in the cold. 

Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

So, I'm wrapping this up and moving along with my day. It was a lovely weekend all around, and hopefully our good moods will carry over into the work day. I can hope, at least - LOL. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Food, Exercise, Glasses and Tools - Life Can Be Boring Sometimes

So, back to the swimming pool today for a wonderful early morning swim. I need to work off the two pounds that DH's Sunday meal has cost me. Moo Shu pork is a lovely meal, but there's a lot of sweet in it, and sweet is automatically grabbed and stored by my body. Well, my body really doesn't need to store it. So, back to reasonable food choices and that two pounds will be off again by the end of the week. No problem. 

I enjoy Moo Shu pork or chicken (this photo is chicken), 
but the sauce is just too sweet and my body immediately 
puts on weight when I eat it. I really don't want that, so 
I'm calling it quite after my two meals. I could easily 
get another 1-2 meals from my leftovers (portions are 
huge), but I refuse to do that to myself. It was a nice 
treat, but enough is enough. 

On Thursday this week I see the eye doctor for my second two-week followup. I think this is when I actually get an exam that will give me a prescription for new eyeglasses. That's what I need. Then I can send out one of my two pairs for re-lensing, and when I get that set back, I'll send the second set in. Then I'll have two sets of eyeglasses that have the correct prescription for my revised eyesight, and I'll finally be able to see clearly for the first time in years. I know it won't be forever - bodies change constantly and aging is a never-ending journey through new pathways on familiar slopes. It's not for the timid. 

If I had a pile of all the old eyeglasses I've worn over the many 
years I've used them, it would be a pretty large pile. 
I do, however, have several sets that I have re-lensed several 
times because I've loved the frames so much. I'll get those 
re-lensed again, with my current prescription, and I'll 
have new/old glasses once again. 

The shop was somewhat busy yesterday, so I was kept occupied with customers for much f the day. DH was working on more photographs in the basement area. He's taking photos of the various equipment items he wants to sell, using his phone. It's not the BEST camera in the world, but it's a Samsung, and their phone cameras aren't bad. I'm sure it will be sufficient for his needs, and that's what's important. He'll spend today in the garden, however. He just got a new set of  nippers and a long moisture meter, so he's happy. 

DH wanted me to order one of these for him - 
an extra-long moisture meter for the garden. 
It arrived early last week and he's happily 
using it to keep from over-watering the 
plants. 

On that note, pictures and heading out to the gym. Have a glorious Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Sunday, PDF's and Chickie Scheduling - Dancing Through the Hoops

Our "weekend" (aka Sunday) was actually very pleasant. We spent several hours outside on the patio, I changed the hummingbird feeder food and DH thought about the major changes he wants to make for his flower garden next year. We also had a couple of drinks, and ordered Moo Shu Port from our local Chinese restaurant (called ... wait for it ... "China Restaurant"! Not much imagination there, but nice people). 

We both love the Moo Shu Pork from China Restaurant. I 
never can eat a lot of it - the plum sauce is too sweet - but 
it's a lovely rare treat. 

DH needed to do a dry run-through on making his AFS stuff into a PDF, something that I have the software for on my laptop. I trained him into putting his stuff into a folder on Dropbox a long time ago, and he's been very good about doing that, so I powered up the laptop and took the one document we were using for a test, made it into a PDF and saved it back to the Dropbox folder. Although it took a little bit to show up, the experiment was a success and he's breathing a bit easier now. He needs to send parts lists and photos to several different clearance houses who might be interested in purchasing from him, and sending them in PDF is the most reasonable way to go. 

Sometimes getting a PDF together for larger 
documents is essential. I purchased the program 
when I needed to send almost 50 pages of 
documentation to the MN Attorney General when 
I was having my conflict with AT&T earlier this 
year. That's all it took. They called AT&T, I 
got two calls from the Office of the President of 
AT&T, and I have two refund checks sitting 
at the store waiting to be deposited. Voila! 

He worked through setting up two separate email accounts for this activity last week with Chickie. That particular crises happened on one of my days off, and I couldn't be of help, so I tossed Chickie into the lion's den and she did very well. So the new email addresses are all set up and working, the parts list and photos are almost ready to go, and by the end of the week, we should have the first batch of items emailed out to Vendor #1. 

EEEEK! Just looking at a drawing makes me shiver. 
There's NO WAY anyone is getting near my spine 
with a needle - no way at all! 

Chickie is scheduled for a pain-management injection in her lower spine on Friday at 7:30 am. She needs me to work for her, so I'll be working on Friday instead of doing my usual "day off" stuff. I'm not super happy about it, and she may feel well enough to be in the shop during part of the day, but I'm certainly not going to hang her out to dry. She needs this, so I'll be there for her the way she's often been there for me. It's what we do for family - blood or not. Chickie is family, so I'll work her shift for her. 

On that note, I'm plugging in photos and heading upstairs for breakfast. Have an excellent Monday and Slava Ukraini. I'll be back tomorrow. 

It's My WildFit Anniversary - Starting Year 3 on a Snowy Day

Today is the second anniversary of my joining WildFit, and what a two years it's been! I had the date set as a reminder date in my "Calendar" app on my phone, I checked my daily calendar for that date, and I was at 141 for my weight, and really not getting anywhere with losing any. Last year my weight was 117, and today it's 118. I've maintained my weight for an entire year, and that's an accomplishment I'm quite pleased with. I've learned how to live a WildFit life and I'm comfortable with it. My body is happy ... I'm happy. I can't wait to see what Year Three brings to me. 

Joining WildFit was one of the best things I've 
ever done for myself. Like most food programs, it's 
not going to work or click for everyone. But it 
definitely clicked for me, and I've been on the 
program for two years now, and am now starting 
Year Three. My body loves WildFit. 

I did some early grocery shopping yesterday because today is a total storm day - lots of snow and wind and basically a totally icky day. I don't think we're getting enough snow to close the shop, although the signs are ready in case we do. I think today will be the worst of it, and of course, here I am at home, having to go out every hour or two to shovel the driveway and walkways. I guess I'll get my exercise in today - LOL. 

I'll definitely get my exercise in today. I'll have to go out 
every hour or two to shovel the driveway. We'll be getting 
snow through tomorrow night, and today we should get 
anywhere from 8-16 inches. So yeah - shoveling is necessary. 

But I'm also going to make one of my favorite soups - my Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato soup. I picked up three lovely organic red peppers from Whole Foods yesterday, along with three beautiful tomatoes. I'll get the soup going later this morning after DH has left for the shop. I do still have to go to my local grocer - I need chicken for tonight's dinner, and I should pick up some fish for Friday's meal. Today is Ash Wednesday, so DH and I (because I love fish) will be having fish on Friday until Easter. I usually foil bake some salmon, but I found a good recipe for "Easy Fried Fish" the other day, and I could easily use some Almond Flour for my coating, so stay gluten free. 

My "Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup" has 
become one of my favorite 'from scratch' soups 
that I make. It's pretty easy, and my blender is 
up to the task easily. It's the perfect meal for a 
snowy winter day. 

So, I'm cutting this short and heading outside. I've already heard the plows go by at least three times while I was doing my morning meditation, and I know I have some shoveling to do before I can leave for the gym. I might wait to do the plow scree until I leave for the grocery store. Today is a trash day and I need to have that scree out of the way to put the bin at the curb. I suspect I'll be getting lots of exercise today - LOL. Have an excellent Wednesday and Slava Ukraini! 

WildFit, Plants and Tacos - All In All, A Good Sunday

Yesterday was an important anniversary in my life - exactly one year since I graduated from WildFit. I looked over the past year's accomplishments and truly couldn't be much happier. When I started the 90-day Challenge in February 2021, I weighed 152 pounds and had been at that 150-160 level for several years. I had never been below 140 for more than a decade, or below 130 for more than 30 years. Having nothing to lose by trying, I decided to stick with WildFit after the two weeks preliminary introduction, and I "graduated" on May 22, 2021. It wasn't inexpensive, but it was worth every penny. 

I joined WildFit through MindValley. I had joined MindValley 
earlier in the year and enjoyed what I was learning, and 
looked carefully at the WildFit program. At first I turned 
it down, but then I reassessed, wanting to understand 
nutrition and what my body would require to be healthy. 

In that 90-day challenge time, I hadn't lost a lot of weight, I was down 11 pounds, at 141.0, but I had gained a lot of understanding what my body wanted and needed in terms of food and nutrition. By July 4th I was at 133.5, by the time of my wedding anniversary in September I was at 123.4, and I finally managed to get to a steady 115-118 in February this year, one year after starting the program. Now I'm comfortably maintaining right where I want to be and have found an entirely new relationship with food. 

WildFit had a great logo. They recently changed 
their logo to something incredibly boring and 
yawn. I loved the old logo - it was distinctive 
and pictorially descriptive - the evolution of 
mankind and the evolution of our relationship 
with food and our bodies. 

Was it easy? Those of you who have been reading my posts forever know it was anything BUT easy, and it almost broke my marriage apart. Was it worth it? Oh yeah. Absolutely worth every bit of it. I have no idea why WildFit worked for me when other things didn't, but I'm happily Living Wildfit every day and hope I'm doing this for the rest of my life. I've never understood food the way that I do now, and that understanding has allowed me food freedom, knowing that I can easily recover if or when I stumble. I also have great support in the Living WildFit program/group. I have coaching, live Zoom sessions, even cook-along sessions and recipes from professional chefs who are WildFit graduates. The after-program support offered is part of why it's successful. 

Gertens is HUGE. The map above is the retail 
section - where we are hunting down out 
plants. There's also a separate section in a 
different part of their lands for wholesale and 
professionals. They raise all of their plants 
themselves, so there are also lots of greenhouses 
in a totally different part. They own a LOT of 
land in their southern suburb. 

DH and I spent Sunday morning back at the garden center. He had several more things on his list to get for the garden. It was COLD - in the 40's, so I wore appropriate clothing. DH, fool that he is, dressed lighter and was freezing. We managed to find everything on the list including the Lenten Roses (aka Moss Roses) and even the Jack in the Pulpit and the Datura plants. We ran into Chickie on our way out. She was heading it to get some succulents to add to her own garden. 

Here's a photo of the trellis DH put 
together for my snap peas. It's rough 
and quick, but it should do the trick. 
We planted bush beans off to the 
right, as well as in two containers on 
the patio. We'll see what comes up. 
We have moles (a serious problem), 
and I may have just planted a nice 
meal for them. *sigh* 

Once home, we started planting, but first, DH built a quick trellis for my snap peas. We got it strung up and pot firmly into the ground, and I planted the peas while he started work mixing a bunch of better quality soil up for the side garden. We got that planted, and added some additional plants to the main garden. We worked out there until 3:30 pm or so, got everything in and watered, then headed inside for tacos. I had mine soft-shell in my Siete Almond Flour Tortillas, with lettuce, guacamole and El Jefe salsa - soooo good! Although there was corn starch in the taco seasoning DH used for the meat, I figured it would be such a small amount that I would be fine having it. My body didn't disagree with me, so it was a successful meal. We both crashed early - it was an exhausting day. 

I love my Siete Almond Flour Tortillas. I always 
have a package in my refrigerator ready to use, 
and several in my freezer ready to defrost. It's 
a rare week when I'm not eating several. 

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and that your Monday is starting out well. Voting for the latest round of LJIdol should be starting today and I hope my possum in Sesame Street story garners some votes, even though I probably should have proofread it one last time to catch some first person v third person errors. Still, it's a fun story and I'm proud of it, despite the POV issue in the middle. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow before I hit the pool for one of my final swims in the indoor pool until Fall. 

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. 

"Don't Just Do Something, Stand There" - Is That Our New Motto?

Monday night's dinner, the final portion of my chickpea pasta with seasoned ground beef, lay on my stomach like a brick. I found it hard to get to sleep because I was so uncomfortable. I don't think I'll be repeating that recipe. I don't like feeling like that at the end of the day. Lesson learned. 

I enjoyed the flavor of my chickpea pasta and ground 
beef meal, but last night, it was like I had 
swallowed a brick, lying in my intestines very 
uncomfortably. I think I'll skip a repeat of that meal 
and see what else I can make instead. I'm sure I 
can figure something else out. 

It seems that Mariupol, Ukraine is now 90% bombed out and overtaken by Russian forces. At this point, if those sheltering in the basements and other hiding spots haven't left, they will likely be rounded up and taken elsewhere, away from Ukraine and into Russian territory. I'm not sure that will be worse, frankly. To live elsewhere, but have food and water and maybe some heat, to not be in the way of bombs all the time, and maybe to take a deep breath for a change, might be an improvement. That's actually saying a lot because I think the population should be allowed to leave the city and move more into Ukraine voluntarily. Unfortunately, I doubt they will be given that option. 

More than 90% of this bustling city of half-a-million 
people has been destroyed. Less than 100,000 people 
remain here, sheltering in basements to hide from the 
bombardment. Yesterday Mariupol declared it was 
"occupied" by the enemy. Those poor people! 

The TV-feed we were seeing last night had DH and I both in tears. Those poor people. How long can the West sit on their hands and let this happen? Diplomacy is all good and fine, but it's quite obvious that diplomacy isn't going anywhere in this war. The misery keeps escalating, people keep being displaced and killed, and families keep being torn apart. How can this be condoned by any of the powers striving to help Ukraine? 

It seems as if this is what's happening to the rest of 
the world while Ukraine defends itself against the 
Russian aggression. There's something so very 
wrong about this! 

I'm grateful I've got swimming ahead of me today. I'll be able to work some of my frustration out in the water, and listening to the adventures of Drizzt Do'Urden seems a much better option than turning on the television to see human misery in real time. I think my psyche needs a bit of a break. I only watched the war for a half-hour or so last night, I can't take it 24/7. DH is semi-attentive to it during the hours when he's awake - so he's much more immersed in this than I am. I guess he can tolerate it better, but I can't. I fully admit it. I need some rainbows and lollipops. Have an excellent Tuesday, I'm heading over to the pool. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Thanksgiving Day Was Lovely and Today We'll Be Busy (Fingers Crossed)

I hope all of you had a lovely Thanksgiving (if you're in the USA). Today is Day 1 of our Two-Day After-Thanksgiving Day Sale and I hope we're really busy. We concentrate on different types of products for each of the two days. Today is a seed bead day, and with luck, we'll be able to keep up with a nice steady group of customers. It's "All hands on deck" for these next two days - nobody gets a day off. It's also a good way to lose the one pound I put on from yesterday's Thanksgiving Day meal. 

My salad is at the bottom, his soup at the top. 
The salad had a crumbled blue cheese and a 
dressing with cranberry. My tea was a lovely 
herbal tea with honey and lemon. I don't normally 
eat cheese, and I know there was sugar in the 
dressing, but I was treating the day as a 
vacation day. So I ate it and enjoyed it. 
No guilt. 

It was a lovely meal. I decided to treat the day as if it was a day when I was on a vacation and be a bit more flexible with my food choices. We started out with either a spinach salad or a chicken soup. I chose the salad, DH chose the soup. He explained that he "Wasn't Popeye", meaning that he really doesn't like a spinach salad. But the salad was absolutely delicious. 

Here's my main plate. The green beans were outstanding 
and the turkey was perfectly roasted. I ate a tiny bit 
of the mashed potatoes and the corn-based stuffing. 
The cranberry compote in the little dish was also lovely. 
It probably had sugar in it, but I ate all of that and all 
of the turkey. 

Past the bowl holding my gravy, you can see DH's plate. 
He had the gravy on top of his stuff, and he ended up 
eating everything. He wasn't as fond of the green beans 
as I was, but he declared the meal good, so that was 
a win. LOL

Then we had the main meal. Three thick and generous slices of roasted turkey, a corn-based stuffing, mashed potatoes, fresh green beans that were beautifully seasoned, and a cranberry compote. I asked for my gravy on the side, and used the bare minimum of it to dip a few pieces of my turkey into. DH had his gravy on his plate. The cranberry compote was a surprise - really tasty! 

We each also ordered the Prime Rib (for an extra charge, 
of course). I like mine medium-well, and it was 
perfect. There was an au-juis dipping sauce as well 
as a horseradish sauce. I brought most of this home with 
me. It'll make a nice dinner or two. 

We also ordered prime rib for an additional charge. Although we brought most of the beef home with us for another meal, again, it was lovely. My meat was perfectly cooked and so tender it almost melted in my mouth. It was served with containers of au juis (spelling?) and horseradish sauce. I brought my au juis home with me along with most of the beef. I'll get another two dinners from this. 

DH ordered his prime rib Medium-Rare and they came 
through with that. It was WAY too rare for my taste, 
but he was happy. He also brought quite a bit of 
that home with him for another meal or sandwich. 

After we returned home, we relaxed. PBS was showing four hours of the Great British Bake Off show's Master Classes with Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood. They were from a few years ago, but were delightful to watch. We watched football when we weren't watching the bakes. We relaxed and enjoyed the day. Today we won't be relaxing - at least not if we're lucky. We need some good sales for these next two days. Now I'm off to the swimming pool to start the day out right. Have a lovely Friday and I'll be back tomorrow.