A Different Life II

[Hittenstiehl]

I like that, sometimes doing nothing or not coming up with an immediate response or step is the answer for that moment. Need to put that into my memory bank.

[OTRA15]

"Primum non nocere."



https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/...m-201510138421

[tallytwo1994]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Here is the recipe I followed . . . from just before 9/11 . . .

http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m092501.htm#3

I actually found a printout of that page in an old box.

His archives are still active:

http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/archives.htm

. . . although the last copyright date I see is 2015. Lots of weird down-south and homey recipes IMO.

Have a good weekend.

Peter,

Thank you for the recipe. I may try pickles before the coming fall. I saw decent looking organic pickling cucumbers in a store the other day. If I can find what I need at my mothers house I’ll give them a try. I may actually be here long enough to grow some.

[Lily&Me]

When I need a night time reading change of pace, a Harlen Coben novel is one of my go-to’s.

He has a unique and rather driven writing style, IMO, with lots of storyline twists and turns, and I always find myself having to put the book down to get myself to bed...because, no matter what time my head hits the pillow, I am awake at 5am or so.

At any rate, there were four of his novels waiting in my Nook library, and I have just finished “No Second Chance”.

Very good, and cleared my head for awhile of stories of resistance movements during WWII and everything going on in this country.


Continuing my spell of puttering and tidying up, I have just painted both garage doors...one from the kitchen to the garage, the other from the garage to the back yard and patio.

Needed to be done, and no time like the present.

Maybe I’ll get my garage cleaned.


It has been hot as blue blazes here, with high humidity and temps in the 90’s.

No significant rain in weeks, and we could stand a couple day soaker.

Take care of any choring and walk Lily early in the mornings, then retreat to the comfort of AC for the rest of the day.

Yikes. Summer in the Midwest.


My son comes for lunch most Wednesdays when we are home, giving me a reason to cook and an opportunity for us to talk uninterrupted for awhile.

I am very proud of the adults my children have become, because of and in spite of my parental strengths and weaknesses.

They are good people, and the very best of me.

He has a rather adventurous palate, and today I’m trying a new recipe that uses quinoa I found stored in the back of my refrigerator.

If it’s good, I’ll post it.

[Lily&Me]

I have been consuming fruit pops at an alarming pace during this heat wave, and came across this recipe the other day that I haven’t made in years...

I’ve just mixed it up.

Frozen Whiskey Sour

6 ounces each of frozen orange juice concentrate, limeade concentrate and lemonade concentrate
4 1/3 cups water
2 cups of good bourbon

Freeze, scoop into glass of choice, pour club soda over and stir.

Yum!

Maggie

[Al and Missy]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

I have been consuming fruit pops at an alarming pace during this heat wave, and came across this recipe the other day that I haven’t made in years...

I’ve just mixed it up.

Frozen Whiskey Sour

6 ounces each of frozen orange juice concentrate, limeade concentrate and lemonade concentrate
4 1/3 cups water
2 cups of good bourbon

Freeze, scoop into glass of choice, pour club soda over and stir.

Yum!

Maggie

I used to make something similar years ago. I used a large can of Orange Juice concentrate, a small can of Lemonade concentrate. Put them in a blender. Fill the blender with crushed ice. Top off with your desired amount of bourbon. Blend. Presto - frozen whiskey sours. We had neighbors down the street who would walk a block to get some most weekends. I thought of that just the other day and said to myself I need to do this again. Thanks for the reminder.

[Lily&Me]

Hi Al!

I remember this as being really delicious, and I like that I can make a glass at a time.

It will keep very well in my chest freezer, so I don’t need to be in a hurry to drink it up, but I promise I’m going to have one late this afternoon.

Maggie

[Hittenstiehl]

Ooh, adult popsicles, we'll have to try some of those. have to decide how we're going to put those in different containers to keep them away from the little people popsicles :-)

[Lily&Me]

Yum, now there’s an idea.


The quinoa dish was quite tasty, and with both broccoli and fresh spinach quite nutritious in spite of sour cream and cheese.

You could substitute two cups of cooked rice or even barley for the quinoa, and it would be good.

My son recommended chopped broccoli rather than florets, which would also be easy to do.

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/foo...ecipe-ghk0115/

Good and good for you.

[Lily&Me]

I looooove Denzel Washington, and don’t think I have ever seen a movie of his that I didn’t like.

This one I hadn’t seen before, and it is really good.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_Man

We’re having a bit of a cool off here, but what we really need is some rain.

Maggie

[tallytwo1994]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

Yum, now there’s an idea.


The quinoa dish was quite tasty, and with both broccoli and fresh spinach quite nutritious in spite of sour cream and cheese.

You could substitute two cups of cooked rice or even barley for the quinoa, and it would be good.

My son recommended chopped broccoli rather than florets, which would also be easy to do.

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/foo...ecipe-ghk0115/

Good and good for you.

Maggie,

This recipe sounds like something I’d like but I wonder if cooking the quinoa in a pot by itself would be easier, mainly so you don’t have to drain it at all. I made some last week at my mothers house and don’t have a fine sieve here for draining it after washing, and lost quite a bit down the drain. Anyway draining it with the broccoli sounds like more trouble. Did you find it easy enough?

I’m taking note of this author you’re recommended, and will have to try your other receipt too!

Carol

[Lily&Me]

Hi Carol!

I drained it into a rather shallow strainer I have that had fairly small holes, and didn’t lose a lot down the drain.

I did find cooking the quinoa and broccoli together to be a bit large and bulky for draining, in general, and think that if I make this again I will a) use frozen chopped broccoli, and b) cook the broccoli separately.


Looking for a new book to read in my Nook library last evening, I discovered I had Book #1 of the Outlander series, so at 800+ pages I will be down the rabbit hole into reading that one for awhile.

If I like it, I may have to get the rest of them as this sounds like a series that has to be read in order.


Not much going on at the little house...continuing my cleaning foray into closets needing tidied and vacuumed, things being sorted for Goodwill, those kind of things I have put off for too long.

Cool-ish weather continues, and it’s about time to put in an order for firewood.

We have had a huge recent uptick in Covid cases in my county, due to the Universities being back in session and young people doing what young people do.

Our mayors have just laid out gathering restrictions, so the big parties will be over and things will hopefully settle down.

What a mess.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

We are fixin’ to have a thunderstorm here at the little house, and if we are lucky it will rain steady til at least this time tomorrow.

I emptied out, cleaned and sorted my refrigerator freezer this morning, and now know for certain what I suspected to be true...that there are enough cooked, single serving meals that I have vacuum sealed in there that if I wanted to I could not cook at all but eat one every day for a month.

Also chicken, pork chops, ham, and beef sirloin, frozen cranberries and blueberries...all vacuum sealed in recipe sized portions.

Now neatly organized, so that I know what I have.


And yesterday I went into Michaels and then TJMaxx for the first time I’ve been in anything but a grocery store in 6 months.

I needed yarn, as it’s time to start hats and scarves, and one item I hoped to find at TJMaxx which I actually did...they are also a good place to pick up small treats for one very grateful dog.

Both stores sparsely populated, masks required, hand sanitizer when you come in and at checkout, and carts being sanitized after each use.

So odd to see masks everywhere, and I’m not the only one who can’t hear as well when I can’t see lips moving.


I’m starting to itch a bit for a season finale road trip, and I’m going to do just that in a couple of weeks, before I have to go into glasses and start the appointments et al for cataract surgery.


It is pouring rain.

Maggie

[Hittenstiehl]

Me too!

Costco 2 days ago first time since March.

Home Goods (TJ Max) today first time since March. Not that I haven't wanted to go but I didn't need to. My excuse today was a family member moving into a new home so a housewarming gift was in order. Stock was down a little but lots of cute fall decor. Not as busy as usual but all masked and courteous.

[Lily&Me]

Yep, stock was down at our TJMaxx, as well, tho I kept myself out of the clothing aisles and just got what I was looking for...and some salmon jerky for Miss Lily.

Our Tuesday Morning here has permanently closed, and I fear there will be a long list of these closings by the end of the year.

And no end in sight.

Pandemic, tornadoes, hurricanes, civil unrest...2020 will be a year for the record books.

Maggie

[Gearheart]

Reataurants up here in Canada are going down like pins in a bowling alley. They don’t stand up and reset though. Lots of jobe in food service are done.

[Lily&Me]

Hi Gerard!

Hugs to you and Laura. I’m ready for a visit when this mess settles down.


I believe I’ve posted about my “Home Book” before, but it’s been at least several years so after updating things this morning I thought I would share it again.

I don’t know where I got this idea for RV’ing, tho I am pretty sure it is not a Maggie Original , but I have carried this since 2007, when Doug and I retired and began traveling for extended periods in our Interstate.

I had one of these zippered binders for work, holding post it notes, a pad of paper, business cards, a weekly and a monthly calendar, a telephone/address section, lots & lots of little work-related lists and bits of information...and a 5”x8” lined index card for each of my open cases with case ID#’s, address and contact information and other relevant and oft needed information on it.

That binder went everywhere with me, and I have to admit I was a bit attached to it and the high level of organization within that was a critical element to my work, and upon which I prided myself.

So, in retirement travel I still keep a greatly reduced but hard copy of important phone numbers and addresses, VIN’s for the Interstate, Lily’s shot records, a copy of Doug’s death certificate, post it notes, stamps, a few envelopes, etc....and this sheet I began in the after, to help me stay on top of maintenance needs without having to dig thru service records to find out when something was last done.

I like having important information at my fingertips, and in one place. Call me a bit OCD, but there you have it, and there’s a place for we highly organized folks in this world.

Being organized I consider one of my superpowers, and was a survival skill learned in the hard labor years of impoverished young single mother.

One organizes to keep everyone fed, sheltered and clothed within very limited income and scarce resources, and this was immediately transferable to casework tasks when the ability to juggle many things successfully was a 24/7 requirement.


And so, this is one of the best travel things I do, in my opinion, and if it helps a few out there I have been happy to share it.

At home, this book is on the ledge between the kitchen and living room, by the home landline.

When I travel, it rides just to the right of the drivers seat, snuggled between the seat and the handbrake where it is readily accessed and will not slide around.

[Lily&Me]

It is pouring rain here this morning, and I’m betting that farmers across the area are doing little happy dances in their kitchens.

It will be an inside day, and that’s a good thing.


I am about 2/3 thru the first Outlander book, and have to say I have become engrossed enough in it that I am going to want to read the rest of them.

A time travel love story set in 18th century Scotland, well written and full of carefully researched historical information.

Looking at purchasing the rest of these so they can be read in order, that would be a bit pricey , and darling daughter this morning recommended this app which allows you to borrow from your local library, so I’m going to look into that.

https://help.libbyapp.com/en-us/6144.htm


I came across this very interesting article on one of my news pages the other day, and have sent it on to a few people for whom ADHD and/or PTSD are a part of their life...or that of someone close to them.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/b...-disorders-all

The sources propose that these disorders and others are in fact adaptive responses to adversity.

I believe particularly with PTSD that this is true.

It reminded me to lean in with kindness and compassion when interacting with others who are struggling.


Most things at the little house that need tending to have been tended to in these recent months of pandemic times, but for the last frontier...my garage.

The little house being on a slab, my garage is the repository for many things, the exact opposite of my ordered and tidy interior, and is overdue for a clean-out.

But, not today.

Going to pull some weeds before trash pickup tomorrow, settle down with some tea after awhile and call it good.

It is a rainy day, after all.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

Step 1 in cleaning out my garage...clearing out camping things from our many weekends over the years with the grands.

Cleaned up my rather large assortment of pie irons (6), and am taking them to my sons in a bit when I go for a cookout.

I still carry the double pie iron/panini maker and the similarly sized waffle iron in the Interstate, tho I haven’t used them in a few years I have been thinking ahead to Edisto and maybe some campfire cooking.

Doug used to ready 12 charcoal briquettes on a piece of heavy duty foil, and I would season up two salmon fillets, chicken breasts, pork chops, etc., and put them in the double pie iron.

He would arrange six briquettes underneath, the other six on top, and 10-12 minutes with hot coals on both sides of the cast iron would cook and brown them thoroughly.

More hot dogs, grilled cheese and sweet treats with the kids, and they loved it.

We did a LOT of camping with those kids when they were small, and it was time very well spent.

Now, time to pass the pie irons and the cookbook on...

[Hittenstiehl]

Nice pie irons, with cookbook and memories.