cooking, watering, shopping

Because I only have to provide dinner twice a week it allows me to 'cook' as opposed to just put a meal on the table so I'm always trolling for new recipes. I don't do something new every time but I've tried several new recipes lately though I haven't always taken pictures. I've made garlic butter baked cod with a cherry tomato sauce (really good), improvised my own gumbo with instant roux powder, okra, onions, celery, catfish and shrimp, and rice (better than I thought it would be), and most recently blistered broccoli pasta with walnuts, parmesan, and mint (also really good).

Thursday I printed out a recipe for french onion galette but I have to find gruyere cheese which is not to be found in this little town nor any of the acceptable substitutions two of which I've never heard of so I guess I'll be making a trip into Shopping Mecca to the giant grocery store there which I need to do anyway because the grocery store here stopped carrying the organic mayonnaise and the orecchiette pasta that I like so much.

High 90s was bad enough. Now that we've hit day after day of triple digits with no relief in sight for the foreseeable future, shit is even worse. My toad lilies are dying no matter how much water I give them every day, same with the white butterfly ginger. Even the drought tolerant mistflower is wilty. The rock rose, members of the mallow/hibiscus family, don't seem to mind, getting along with the watering I do in that flower bed which is less than some of the others. The picture is off the internet because I can't seem to remember to take a picture of mine in the morning when they're open.

I've started walking the dog in the early mornings while the street is still mostly in shade. Finally got to visit my friends at the other end of the block. Leonard was sitting on his porch yesterday so I stopped to chat and Judy heard my voice and came out so that was nice. Haven't seen them, or anybody on the street, for weeks.

Made a run to the Evil Empire Friday to get a new hose for the little backyard and a new sprayer nozzle to replace the one that leaks more water than it sprays out. Also got a nicer soap dish to replace the crappy plastic one in the bathroom and a new pair of cheap sandals of which they had maybe half a dozen left but miracle of miracles, one pair in my size. And then to the new hardware store/lumber yard in town for 3 repair kits for the hose in front that I've already repaired twice. You'd think I'd have just replaced that one but the hose in the little backyard is ancient, stiff, cracked, and not worth the trouble to repair.

------------

I'd intended to publish this yesterday, yesterday being Friday, but instead of uploading the pictures I decided to repair the hose so I hauled it inside to work on it. Found the slit that I thought the geyser was shooting out from, cut the hose and put it back together with the repair kit, then found another slit about 6” away and another slit about 6” away in the other direction and then examined the hose and found not just the two bulging spots but two more that would soon be bulging and declared the hose a piece of shit and undid the repair I had just done and then removed the two repair/splice pieces already on the hose and in the process gouged a bit of flesh off one of my fingers that bled profusely. So back to Alamo H/L to return the three repair/splice things I had bought earlier and bought another new hose. After that I had to fix dinner which was no great shakes either.

And today, Saturday, I finally girded my loins for a trip to Shopping Mecca down the highway in Rosenberg but first stopped at the little market on the way for some okra, yellow squash and another little miracle, peaches. The owner of the market scoured the state and found one orchard that still had some but these are absolutely the last Texas peaches of the season. Then on to SM to the grocery store there to get the gruyere cheese and a few other things including stocking up on the organic mayonnaise and then to J C Penney's to get some shorts which I didn't expect them to have being the end of summer and stores are putting out their winter merchandise and another miracle of miracles they had two pair in my size of the style I like. Then to another grocery store at the other end to stock up on the orecchiette pasta and finally swinging by the Evil Empire to return the 16 gauge extension cord and get the 14 gauge that I should have bought.

Between yesterday and today I am shopped out and hope I don't have to go into another store for the foreseeable future.

 

no success on the one hand but the box is coming along

My great niece is getting married the end of September. It's in the afternoon and dress is not casual but not dressy either. So Pam, the grandmother, and I went to a mall yesterday to try and find some nice dresses, something above shapeless wear around the house but below cocktail, plus we didn't want to spend a lot of money for dresses that would probably only get worn once. OMG. Needless to say we came away empty handed. The selection was dismal and everything was that stretchy synthetic slinky jersey which does our 70+ year old bodies no favors and the majority of everything was black or navy or orange large print and/or ruffled. If we wanted cocktail or formal, lots to choose from but a nice day dress, not so much. Pam found one dress that she liked enough on the hanger to bother trying on and, um, no. 

We passed one shop, several actually, that had some questionable garments. Like this.

I hate to call it a dress, well, actually I called it a 'fuck me' dress. If it was an inch shorter there would be no secrets, baby come on in, the door's open. How do you sit in something like that or bend over or even squat without showing off everything that's not already exposed? Or this one, the front of which had the entire midriff exposed.

Or the one I didn't take a picture of which was a top and long pants both of which were completely sheer. And, you know, I'm not a prude, if you want to go around nearly naked, I'm OK with that and I wore my share of mini-skirts in my youth. It's just that the clothes weren't even all that attractive. And then there were the short short Daisy Dukes with frayed hems and tears for $50. My advice is go to the thrift store, buy a faded pair of too small jeans, cut the legs off at the crotch, take a razor to what's left, throw them in the wash and you'll have the same thing for about $2.

Alrighty then.

Here's the body of the box de-molded.

And after being washed with vinegar. I think it came out a little darker than the sample but that seems to be how it goes these days.

And with the top and corals (nothing is permanently attached) so we can see how it's shaping up.

Tomorrow I'll start grinding the excess off the bottom of the box and the rest of the excess off the inlay. Then it's polishing all the pieces that need it, fitting the inlay, fitting the feet, and glueing it all together. Fortunately starting tomorrow high temps will only be in the low 90s for the next week.

That little bit of rain we got last week caused the yellow rain lilies to pop out yesterday. This is the most I've ever had.

 

getting stuff done, or trying anyway

Friday I made the drive through the Gauntlet (though it's not nearly as bad and all the roadwork is nearly completed) to Rosenberg to Lowe's for a 2' x 2' piece of 1/4” finished pine plywood I wanted for mounting the trumpet flower pieces and some trim to go around the edges so of course they didn't have it. They did have a nice piece of red oak in 1/2” so I bought that. Also bought the chrome curved shower curtain rod I've been wanting for the big bathroom which I haven't been able to find locally. Next was Home Depot to see if they had the plywood I wanted and yes, not quite as finished as the red oak but also only in 1/2” so I bought that too then to Target to see if I could find a tension pole shower caddy in Chrome (can find satin or bronze tone locally but that's not the finish in that bathroom and forgot to look at Home Depot) and also a flannel shirt. Found a shower caddy but didn't like the shape of the baskets but I bought it anyway (and it's going back as the baskets are way too big) but no flannel shirt and OMG, I don't know what happened to Target but the clothes they were displaying were just downright UGLY. And stupid like midriff length long sleeve sweaters, cover your arms but expose your belly...in winter. On the drive back home they had three lanes closed down to one but it only took an extra 10 0r 15 minutes to get through.

Saturday I went over to the feed store and got 3 6-packs of pansies and spent the afternoon getting all the weeds out and turning the dirt in the little bed that I plant them in every fall. I got them in the ground today but I'm four or five plants shy so I'll be getting some more.

The other thing I did yesterday was test out the two pieces of plywood with the trumpet flower pieces and decided to use the pine for the first which is all yellow and the red oak of the second to bring out the pinkish orange of the small flower. The trim will have to be painted and I'm thinking maybe just white. Once I determine the size I want the plywood to be Rocky's going to cut them for me on his table saw.

These pictures are just a quick approximation of what I have in mind. About 5/8” - 3/4” exposed wood which I'll seal with the trim on the right going all the way around making a sort of shallow shadow box. I need the trim on the edges to hide the edges of the plywood.

I also converted the two photos of the comet moth that I had been considering to line drawings yesterday but decided to find a picture with the two long 'tails' without a gap and there's also a version with shorter 'tails' though I do like the long ones better. So I did that today and got the picture converted to a line drawing and decided on size and shape. Now to add the larval food plant leaves and caterpillar.

The fall back to sun time had the dog wanting to eat her dinner at 4 and my body thinking it's an hour later than it is by the clock. I prefer DST because I'm not an early riser and I like that it gets dark later but I hate the fucking transitions.

a rant, more doctor shit, and attempted sedition

Well, dammitall. My new jeans arrived yesterday and they are, as I suspected they would be, the stretchy 505s. After I posted about ordering the jeans I looked at the label in my stretchy pair and it's the same in the pair that arrived yesterday...

this is the label from my older non-stretchy pair...

so once again a perfectly fine product has been changed into a not fine product. Why the fuck do women's clothes makers think that all women want stretchy pants and stretchy shirts for that matter. Couldn't they have just left 505s alone and introduced a new product? And now I'm glad I didn't buy two pairs. So now the hunt for decent jeans is on again. Am I going to have to go back to wearing men's jeans which I did for decades because I could not find a pair of women's jeans that weren't 4” too long (no, not every woman wears 4” heels all the time), weren't cinched in at the waist or so low riding they barely covered my pubic bone, weren't covered with spangly shit, or stretchy. I want my jeans the right length, the waist just above my hip bones, and not stretchy or spangly or pre-torn. Why is that so fucking impossible?

This is my month for doctor appointments I guess, get them all over with at once, so Wednesday was my follow-up with the electrophysiologist. Since the afib has settled down, especially since the election, he is content to keep the status quo so I don't see him for another six months unless it starts acting up again. Don't wait til the next appointment and to call if I start having problems, he tells me, we are partners here you and I, he says.

Next Tuesday is my dermatologist appointment but January 21^st is the soonest I could get the bone density scan scheduled. What I'm not getting this year is the boob smushing as my PCP says I only need one every other year so yay for that.

I'm not even going to address the unbelievable and unthinkable, as it was pre-Trump, lawsuit petition to the Supreme Court by Texas' AG Paxton to overturn the election results in Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Michigan and the AGs from 17 other red states and 126 House Republicans as well as Trump himself that have submitted amicus briefs in support of the petition to overturn a legal and secure election to appoint Trump as the winner after over 50 lawsuits have been thrown out of court for lack of one iota of evidence or proof of fraud. Even Barr has said there was no fraud. So many republicans willing and ready to commit sedition because their guy lost. It remains to be seen if the Supreme Court is just as willing to commit sedition and throw our democracy and constitution to the wolves.

edit: the Supreme Court turned them down.

And you know, they aren't contesting every vote on a ballot that went for Biden for president since they are perfectly happy with the votes that got them elected or re-elected to the House and Senate. Apparently only votes for Biden are fraudulent but the down ballot votes for republicans are all on the up and up. And where does Texas get off contesting how other states ran their elections?  yes, I'm a Texan but not all of us are crazy or stupid   No place, there is no train or bus stop for that destination. Paxton is being investigated for criminal activity and the FBI subpoenaed records from his office the day before he filed his petition so the conventional wisdom is that he's angling for a pardon from Trump by showing his loyalty with this ridiculous lawsuit.

And Melania apparently had a member of her staff check to see if there was a government budget dedicated to paying the expense of their move out of the White House (there isn't). OK, that's enough of something I wasn't going to write about.

So ending up with a few critter pictures piling up...this little rat snake was sheltering under one of the cookie sheets I use to put the pots on inside,

I have many bird houses that mostly the birds don't use but the frogs like them,

wasps are pollinators too,

and Big Mama coming to see if I had food (I did not).

stocking up

We went shopping yesterday. We both needed some new winter clothes and so even though it was still not winter; nice warm day yesterday, south wind being sucked in by the approaching northern wave of cold; now is the only time you can find your size if you are average. Even so, there was a definite lack of size M. I tried on 2 shirts; one, a size small, the shoulders hung way down and the sleeves hung past my fingertips, the other a medium which had a very weird boat neck that stood out. Held up a couple pair of pants and had a few inches of leg still laying on the floor and I'm not short, still stand 5'4", not tall but not short and the pants lay on the ground. Who do they make these for?

Anyway, Marc got a flannel shirt and we both got some new winter lounge pants. My choices by weight and feel were limited to Hello Kitty, Princess Elsa, Disney characters, and superheroes, specifically BatWoman and SuperGirl. Those are the ones I got.

On to another store for new long underwear. I have always preferred silk and will pay the extra for the lightweight warmth. They wear out fast though so I usually need to buy new ones every other year. Academy sports used to carry them but apparently not anymore so I had to settle for modern synthetics. But I did find a decent work-day long sleeve shirt.

Then the liquor warehouse and then a Costco run, where Marc scored another flannel shirt, and it was time to double back and hit Home Depot for a shop vac on the way home. Since, on the way in, right before our first exit off the highway, we passed an 18 wheeler that was being consumed by fire on the outbound side (fire trucks and police already on the scene) and traffic was backed up as far as our farthest exit and still at a standstill, we took some country roads and circled around til we could get past the truck.

I'm headed back to Costco today for a heater we saw for the shop, mused over, and then didn't get. A little butt kicking going on here since the first really cold front is early and imminent and we are working in the shop this week making molds and casting.

More on that next post.

it's a freakin' miracle

I bought a pair of women's jeans last Friday that fit...everywhere. Straight leg but not toothpick, off the waist (but not at my flippin' pubic bone), and, the most miraculous part of all, the exact right length! Perhaps someone has finally figured out that not all women wear 6” spike heels with their bluejeans.

I haven't been able to buy a pair of women's jeans that fit since I outgrew skin tight size 7 junior. Size 7 junior is now size 3 junior I think. Gotta love the fashion industry.  Don't like that size 9 tag? No problem. Voila, 9 is now 5!

Anyway, after I snagged my man and quit going to bars and clubs I decided comfort was the highest criteria. No more skin tight skinny jeans for me.

Actually, what happened was that I had kids.

That'll kick you out of the junior department faster than you can blink.

It also kicked me out of the women's department as far as jeans went. Or pants of any kind.

Cause I have certain requirements. Like not cinched at my waist. I hate things at my waist cause my waist has never been as small as the fashion industry thinks it should be. And not tight. I want to be able to breathe and move and bend over and sit...comfortably. And I want them the right fucking length! Is that too much to ask for?

Apparently, it is.

So for the past 30+ years I've been buying Levis 501s in the men's department. They hit me at the hip and I can buy them by waist and length, (hear that women's fashion designers...by waist size and length). The only problem is that they are a bit baggy in the front and thigh.

I have, over the years, made forays into the ladies department looking for jeans and have always come away empty handed.

My last purchase of women's jeans which I bought several years ago were a compromise. They were only about 2” too long, being a 'short' (I am not a midget, at 5'4” I'm actually rather average); they hit below my hip bone, which was a little too low, but at least they weren't at my pubic bone; and they were a little stretchy for the comfort factor.

I couldn't keep them up.

I finally had to sew two strips of elastic onto the back inside waistband because after wearing them, with the legs turned up into cuffs, for an hour or so, I was constantly pulling them back up in place. Every time I stood up or walked more than half a dozen steps, they would have slipped down an inch or so.

I have high hopes for these. Granted, I haven't worn them beyond just trying them on and the denim is not as heavy weight as the Levis, but they should be fine for spring and fall.

I doubt I'll abandon my men's jeans altogether but it's nice to have a more feminine alternative for a change.

our small effort at improving the economy

We went on a little shopping spree today but only came back with about half the things on our list.

things we didn't get:

pavers so I can work on my back patio some more

place mats and napkins

shower curtain

men's lounge pants

women's shorts

things we did get:

towels

men's and women's pants

men's shorts

sunglasses

unfinished 5' cabinet and counter top

Here's my future cold work station:

It's going to be on wheels so I can move it outside when needed.

We also stocked up at the liquor store and the grocery store (for items our local store doesn't carry).

Got back in time to see this:

Before we left to go to the closest shopping plaza we made a quick trip to the library. I'm reading The Book Thief and I've had it for over three weeks I'm pretty sure and I'm only about 3/4 of the way through but I want to renew it and pay my fines. So when she scanned the book she told me that she couldn't renew it because there was a wait list for it.

I scooped it back up. “I'm not going to turn it back in then,” I told her.

Uh oh. Too late. She had already scanned it in and the computer knew it was back but she did something and gave me til Tuesday (an extra day since they're closed Monday) since I assured her I would finish it this weekend.

In my eternal optimism, the same optimism that makes me continuously tell people they will have their work sooner than they ever get it, I convinced myself that I will finish it sooner rather than later and I should pick out another book as long as I was there.

Here's me trying to pick out another book:

I ended up with Bel Canto by Ann Patchet. My main criteria was that it not be 550 pages which seems to be a length I've been stuck on.

next post: it's a freakin' miracle

the changeling

We’ve been planning to buy a new sofa since we bought the country house.  Well, maybe not ever since we bought the country house, but at least since I started looking around and pointing at things and saying...that’s staying; that’s staying; nope, not taking that.  The love seat was on the top of the list.  It is so old, has broken springs and a tear in the back where they poked through.  Um, maybe I shouldn’t be revealing how tacky we are.

We also thought, as long as we were at it, we’d get another recliner.  I got it in my mind that I wanted a leather sofa and/or recliner.  I’d been to people’s homes that had leather furniture and it was always so dreamy to sit in.  Unfortunately I have leather tastes on a polyester budget.  We did actually find several leather sofas that we could afford but either the cushions were hard or the seat was so high my feet didn’t touch the ground.  Call me silly, but I want my feet to touch the ground when I sit on a sofa.

Last December we had a little extra money.  What that means is that we got paid for a job and hadn’t paid any of our bills yet, so we decided to go sofa shopping.  We like to support the businesses in the country but we quickly determined that we couldn’t afford anything we liked at the furniture store here in Wharton (pop. under 10,000) so we drove to El Campo (pop. about 20,000) which is about 20 miles down the road.  Sofa shopping with me means sitting on every sofa we like the looks of to determine comfort.  Some are too high, some are too deep, some are too hard, some, the cushions are shaped weird.  We winnowed it down to a couple of sofas, one of which was a sage green micro-fiber double recliner but weren’t ready to commit ourselves.  After all, we had just started looking and planned to head toward Houston the next day to look some more.  Only we didn’t and our window of opportunity slammed shut with the plummeting economy.

Nine months later I’m ready to start unpacking some of our stuff but I don’t want to until I know where the furniture is going to go and that means getting the sofa.  So last week we went to a pretty cool quality resale shop and looked to see what they had.  They had a couple of nice leather sofas which we still could not afford so yesterday we went back to El Campo and tried out all the sofas and lo and behold, there was the same sage green micro-fiber double recliner that we had considered last year and it was $100 less.  We took this for a sign and bought it.  They put it in the truck and off we went.

I hate buying big ticket items.  I always suffer buyer’s remorse because the grass is always greener...right?  I always get over it, I remind myself of all the things I like about it, I get used to the new thing but it takes me awhile to convince myself that this was right.  And that’s because, it takes me a long time to make up my mind.  I want to see and consider every possible alternative first which is fine if there is a finite number of choices.  But with things like houses and sofas, there is always something new being offered a few months later.  Not Husband.  He is more of an impulse buyer...I like it, let’s get it...and he never again thinks about how much it cost.

So we get the sofa home.  I actually prefer a more tailored look but this one was just so comfortable and apparently, comfort is higher on my list than looks.  

This is the color it was in the store.

This is the color it is in our house.

This is not the same color.  

“It’s the curse”, he says.

“It’s not the curse!” I exclaim.  

Although, after all these years, I’m beginning to think he may be right.