Toodle-oo

At the beginning of the month Hubby Tony and I heard that someone was interested in possibly adopting Foster Cat Smokey Joe. We set up a meet and greet, which went well. However, the adopter took her time completing the paperwork and it wasn't until today that the contract was signed and I received an email that the she would like to pick him up this evening.

It took about an hour for the adopter and her boyfriend to arrive. During that time I packed up a couple of Smokey Joe's favorite toys to send with him. Both Tony and I took turns playing with him. When his new 'parents' arrived they brought a cool-looking backpack cat carrier. We chatted for a little while about some of Smokey Joe's likes and dislikes, took a photo of them sitting on the couch with their new family member, then helped them get the cat in the carrier.

When Smokey Joe was gone I sent an email to the shelter telling them that we were ready for a new foster cat, then sent the same information to the family text group and posted it on Facebook. I can't wait to see what our new foster cat is like.

Bye! Good luck!

Five years ago today: Cup Of Joe

Peppery And Piquant

Hubby Tony and I attended a convention this weekend. After a heavy bar food meal on Friday night, on Saturday we were looking for something light and vegetable-forward for lunch. We ended up at a Chinese restaurant that had a nice variety of options on the menu.

When we walked in shortly after the restaurant opened there was only one other table occupied. It took a bit of time for us to be greeted by an smiling, older Chinese man. When he spoke his English was very broken (which I always take as a sign the food will be authentic). He indicated we could choose any table we wanted.

The menu had both English and Chinese names for the entrees. Tony and I each chose a dish to share. Mine was Hot and Sour Stir-Fried Cabbage (酸辣白菜). Tony ordered a plate of vegetarian dumplings (素馅水饺). The waiter was the same man who greeted us. He took the time to verify that I was sure I wanted a dish without any meat in it, which I considered very thoughtful.

As we waited for our food I could hear the sound of the metal spatula scraping against the side of the wok, a sure sign something was being stir fried. Eventually the waiter brought out both dishes, then made a second trip for smaller plates-two for eating and a third holding a scoop of rice.

My cabbage dish was just what I was craving-perfectly cooked greens in a salty, hot, sour sauce. Instead of tiny red spicy peppers I know to avoid in any dish, this one included rings of brown that I turned out to be slices of mildly-spicy peppers.

Tony and I managed to polish off both dishes. When the waiter came to ask us if we needed anything else I asked him what type of peppers had been in the dish. He seemed quite excited that I asked, but said he didn't know the English name and would check in the kitchen. A couple of minutes later he reappeared, holding a single pepper in one hand and an almost empty commercial sized bag in the other.

The waiter asked if I wanted to take a pepper home. I was honored, but I declined. He insisted I take a photo for reference, then went to get the bill. When he came back with it he also had two Ziploc bags, each holding a couple of tablespoons of the chili in flake form.

Back at home, I used the internet to find out the pepper was an Er Jing Tiao, considered the most common pepper in Sichuan cuisine, which has a low to medium heat combined with subtle sweetness, high fruitiness, and a robust fragrance.

Now all I have to do is come up with a recipe for the gifted flakes.

Be A Diamond In A Rhinestone World

This morning I got an email from one of the local grocery stores with the subject "It's National Dolly Day and We're Giving Back!" The body of the message said that for the next week they're donating a portion of the sales of Dolly Parton products to the Imagination Library.

Source

I had no idea what they were talking about, but the Internet told me that September 25 is celebrated as Dolly Day (or Dolly Parton Day), a day to remember her, honor her, and live by the motto: What Would Dolly Do? September 25 (written as 9/25 in the United States), was chosen as a nod to her movie and hit song "9 to 5".

Tennessee, Parton's home state, already recognizes her birthday on Jan. 19 as Dolly Parton Day, but as you might imagine, there's a big Dolly Day celebration in Nashville. California has officially established Sept. 25 as Dolly Parton Day.

I have a jam-packed day, so there's no time for me to fit in a big Dolly Day celebration, but I put on a pair of pink and rhinestone earrings, and will concentrate on being kind to everyone I meet.

Five years ago: Signs Of A Return To Normal

A Holy Event Experience

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Rochester from 1966 to 1969. He was known for his preaching, especially on television and radio. Wikipedia says:

For 20 years as "Father Sheen", later monsignor, he hosted the night-time radio program The Catholic Hour on NBC (1930–1950) before he moved to television and presented Life Is Worth Living (1952–1957). Sheen's final presenting role was on the syndicated The Fulton Sheen Program (1961–1968) with a format that was very similar to that of the earlier Life Is Worth Living show. For that work, Sheen won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality, and was featured on the cover of Time magazine. Starting in 2009, his shows were being re-broadcast on the EWTN and the Trinity Broadcasting Network's Church Channel cable networks. His contribution to televised preaching resulted in Sheen often being called one of the first televangelists.

As of today, Fulton Sheen is one step closer to being a Catholic saint. Today Hubby Tony and I went to his beatification Mass.

The Catholic church has a multi-step process for deciding who is declared a saint. It has four stages-Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed (Beatified), and Saint. If you are interested in the process, the article How Does Someone Become a Saint? has an easy-to-understand explanation. To be beatified the person has to have a verified miracle attributed to them. Fulton Sheen's miracle occurred in 2010, when a newborn named James Fulton Engstrom survived without a heartbeat for over an hour after birth.

Blessed Fulton Sheen grew up in Peoria, Illinois, and is interred there. St. Louis was chosen for the ceremonies because it is only two hours away from Peoria and we have a domed stadium that could hold a massive ceremony. Over 50,000 tickets were distributed. There were events going on all day, but the Mass started at 2 pm. We were advised to be in our seats by 1:30, when the entrance procession would start. 

We arrived at the Dome a little after noon. Tony had hoped to see some of the auxiliary events, but when we saw the long lines to get into everything we decided to find our seats. We enjoyed a short music concert and a couple of talks from stages on either side of the main altar. Tony left to see if he could find coffee. There were no concessions on our level, but he found a stand that was handing out tote bags containing books and a special World Mission rosary.

Our view of the altar from the other side of the stadium

The entrance procession took almost a half hour, because it included a couple thousand clergy-deacons, seminarians, priests, and bishops. Once everyone was settled in their places the celebrant began the Solemn Mass (afull, traditional, ceremonial form of the Catholic Eucharistic liturgy). The ceremony included official readings of the beatification decree in Latin by a representative of the Pope and English by the Bishop of Peoria.

When it was time for communion, sections of the arena were dismissed one at a time to process outside the arena, where there were multiple priests standing by every door. By this time it was 4:00; the mass had been going on for two hours. Tony and I looked at each other and decided that instead of heading back into the arena for the end of mass we would head towards the exit. We weren't the only ones; the escalators were full, and we saw a lot of people carrying tote bags as we walked back to our car.

Five years ago: Hunting For Cocktail Clues

I Don't Want It. Maybe You Do.

Several months ago I was given a small leather good from an exclusive, fancy-shmancy designer brand. The item was beautifully packaged in a box with the designer logo and tied with designer logo ribbon. Inside, the tissue paper was closed with a designer logo sticker.

I was thrilled that the giver thought enough of me to offer something so beautiful, and I tried to make it work. Ultimately the design of the piece didn't match what I was looking for. However, when I went to the company's website and looked at the item's retail price I couldn't bring myself to just put it in the Goodwill pile.

The item laid on my project inbox in my office (AKA the spare bed) until it was there so long I started looking past it. During an office straightening I rediscovered the item, did some research, and decided to take it to an upscale consignment store. There I was told that they couldn't accept it because they already had enough of that item.

I came home and put the item back on the bed while I figured out the next step. Time passed. One day I saw a Facebook ad for a local resale shop that has a couturier sale of "good stuff" every October. I decided to donate the item there.

When I walked into the donation center holding the box the volunteer didn't seem to be interested. But I opened it up and showed her what was inside. Her eyes got big, and she told me they could definitely add the item to their sale. The proceeds of the sale fund their outreach programs, and it felt good to know that my discard would be going to good use.

Five years ago: Walk From The Sun To Neptune In 2,880 Feet

And Just Like That, The Heat Wave Was Over

Forecast for yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

I went to bed last night so keyed up about the incoming change in temperature that I had trouble falling asleep. After several impressive rounds of storms the front came through. The first thing I did when I got out of bed was hustle to the thermostat, turn off the air conditioner, then open the condo windows.

Some residual humidity made the air feel sticky, and an early morning walk left me completely drenched. By lunch time the humidity had also started to roll out of the area, leaving nothing but fresh, cool air behind.

Five years ago: A Late Summer Adventure

Fabulous!

Yesterday Hubby Tony and I went on a walking tour of the Fox Theater. The "Fabulous Fox" started out as a movie palace that opened in 1929 and closed 1978. It was restored and reopened in 1982 as a performing arts center that hosts major touring Broadway musicals and plays.

Flickr

Our tour group gathered in the lobby, where a guide told us about some of the building's history. Originally there were five Fox Theaters built by William Fox to showcase the films of his Fox Film Corporation (which later merged with Twentieth Century Pictures to become 20th Century Fox). The theater cost $6 million to construct. In addition to the St. Louis Fox, three others have survived (in Atlanta, Detroit, and San Francisco).

The interior of the building is decorated in a style referred to as “Siamese Byzantine,” described as a conglomeration of Moorish, far Eastern, Egyptian, Babylonian and Indian themes of various periods. There are very few unadorned elements in the lobby, main halls, and theater. I learned on the tour is that everything is made from plaster.

Lobby

The first stop on the tour was a balcony right above the lobby for a brief performance on the 'smaller' of the Wurlitzer organs, which is played to entertain people waiting for the theater doors to open. This one has two keyboards and 11 sets of pipes. The large one has four keyboards and 36 sets of pipes. Both are maintained and played by volunteers from the St. Louis Theatre Organ Society.

Unfortunately, the comedian Jerry Seinfeld was performing that night The orchestra pit was covered to allow for floor seating, so we couldn't see the big organ. We also couldn't go backstage. (Side note-There was a family on the tour that had children who looked to be tweens. Mom asked them if they had ever heard of Jerry Seinfeld. They had not. I felt old.)

This is the first time I had been in the theater and gotten an unobstructed view of the stage:

I can never figure out which I like better-the stage or the elaborate Moorish-style globe chandelier that's 13 feet in diameter, weighs more than two tons and holds more than 200 light bulbs. It's actually suspended from an ornate ceiling starburst, but I couldn't capture it from the angle of my seat).

The building's elegance even extends to the carpet. When the theater was renovated, the original 1929 carpet was duplicated. I learned that every elephant's tusk point toward the main stage.

I thoroughly enjoyed the theater tour, but I'm not crossing it off my to-do list until I can go back a second time to see the entire building. I bet on top of the big items there will be a lot of discovered little details, too.

Five years ago: Bentonville Or Bust

Crying Uncle!

I know that the St. Louis metropolitan area isn't the only one in the country caught underneath a heat dome. That doesn't make the hot weather we're experiencing any more pleasant.

Free SVG

According to Extreme Weather Watch, based on National Weather Service data the average high temperatures for the first half of September range between 85.8-81.1°F, and the lows 66.8-61.5°F. But according to Weather Underground those high and benchmarks each only happened once. In 2026 multiple high temperature records have been broken (including, according to the the National Weather Service, several that have stood for more than 150 years). All people around here can talk about is how miserable it is outside.

But relief may be in sight. The end of the heat wave has been pushed back a few times; currently it should be on Monday, when the forecast high is 76°F. I hope the forecasters are right!

Five years ago: Eureka!

Mushroom "Meat"

Last week the Asian market had King Oyster mushrooms on sale for 99 cents a pound. Although I had no idea exactly what I would do with them, for that price a large package jumped into my bag.

Britannica

However, it turned out that both Hubby Tony and I had a lot of evening commitments, which meant that I didn't do any cooking. A week later I was still looking at the package every time I opened the refrigerator. The internet told me that king oyster mushrooms had a lower moisture content than regular mushrooms and could be refrigerated for 7 to 14 days without any issues, but the internet also told me the mushrooms could be cooked and frozen for future use.

That's what I decided to do. After cutting off the hard bottoms I raked a fork down the sides of the mushrooms, which made it easy to break them into shreds. I baked those shreds at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, turning them a couple of times and pouring off the accumulated juices so all the pieces could brown. When I was done I had a large plateful of mushroom "meat" ready to use down the line and a small container of mushroom juice. Both went into the freezer.

Mushroom "meat"

Today, when it was time to cook dinner I thawed the pan juices and mushrooms. The juice went into polenta cooking liquid. The mushrooms, plus a can of black beans, went into an Italian-inspired tomato sauce. I decided I didn't want to put together a salad, so I added frozen corn to the entree. 

At dinner time Tony spooned half of the polenta into bowls, topped it with half of the mushroom mixture, and served it up. I added a dash of Frank's Red Hot sauce. Tony chose not to. Both of us agreed it was a healthy, filling meal. And even better, there was enough for a second night.

The finished result

Five years ago: Cream Of The Crop Coasters

September 2026 Random Photo Dump

There are a lot of random photos on my phone. Time to showcase, and then get rid of, some of them.

 A couple of weeks ago Hubby Tony and I were taking a walk on what happened to be the first day of school for the district, We passed this photo opp booth at a bus stop that was decorated with the colors of the district high school. Someone put a lot of work into it.

I was walking around in an older neighborhood. After I almost tripped on a fallen acorn I started to look where I was going, and saw this lovely mosaic someone had added to some sidewalk cracks.

I wonder who the target market is for this hang tag I saw in the chip aisle at the grocery store? Would you ever dip a chip straight into a jar of peanut butter?

On yet another walk I passed by a large boulder close to a sidewalk. I doubt the crack that went almost all the way through was there when it was initially installed. Given that there's a lot of freeze/thaw weathering in my area I wonder how long it will be before the rock completely snaps into pieces?

Does a suction beard apron sound like more of a practical item or a gag gift? Do you know anyone who would benefit from it?

Five years ago: (Don't) Keep The Change