Yesterday I was at Aldi and noticed they had bagged peaches on sale. I thought that was kind of weird, because I associate peaches with summer, but the price was right and a bag came home with me. This morning I added one of them to my lunch bag. When I ate it hours later I realized that a peach was the perfect fruit for the summer-like day.
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Today Tilapia came out from her hidey hole for several short visits, but always skedaddled as soon as she perceived she was noticed. Tonight I was sitting on the couch when I heard a commotion behind me. Soon I saw the cat coming around the corner. I sat very quietly while she walked over the fireplace hearth and jumped up on the cedar chest to look out the open window.
Once again, as soon as she saw I was looking at her Tilapia left the room. This time, though, she staged herself in the entrance to the living room, where she could see what was going on and still have an easy exit to her safe place.
Five years ago: No Nuking NowI try to do window washing twice a year-in the spring after the furnace gets turned off and in the fall when the air conditioner is no longer needed. No matter what the season, after months of being exposed to the elements the outside of the glass is a mess of rain spots, caked-on dirt, and the random bird dropping. The interior surface collects fingerprints, condensation, and dust.
On Sunday, instead of recycling the newspaper I put it aside to use for drying the glass panes. The condo windows face west and southwest, so cleaning them a good job for the morning before the sun hits the glass. After breakfast I assembled my supplies and got to work.
The windows in the condo tilt in for cleaning, which makes it way easier than at the previous house where I had to hang out of the upper-story ones to clean the outside, but I could tell I was still getting a good core workout stretching across the pane to get the crud from the corners and edges. Usually I use my right hand to apply the vinegar solution and my left hand to dry it off, but today my left shoulder wasn't having all the extra work and I was forced to swap back and forth between hands. When the job was done my hands were covered in newspaper ink, and after washing the ink off I had to use a rag to get black smudges off the white window frames.
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| Ewwww! |
All the work was worth it, though. This afternoon, it was a joy to see the sun streaming through shiny panes.
Five years ago today: Always Something Interesting Online
Our route ended up being a large square. After parking the car at a municipal rec center we headed east until the street ended, then turned south until that road dumped into a major one. We headed west until turning north on the road that would return us to the car. Most of the route had sidewalks except for the last road, but that had a barely used parking lane that felt safe to walk in. I saw some interesting things along the way.
The first one was a house adorned with giant inflatable octopus tentacles bursting out of the windows.
Not too much farther down the road I saw a sign with an inspirational quote from Pope Francis. I hope a lot of people slow down enough to read and ponder on it.
The next thing was a mail box and pole that was completely covered with tiles. (Out of courtesy, I covered up the address).
Back at the community rec center this giant rabbit statue was sitting outside of the aquatic center. I was hot and tired, or I would have taken the opportunity to get a photo taken peeking out of the hole in the center.
On the way back home I noticed small starter trees planted in front of ones that had been there for decades. Some day a long time from now the area will be lush and shady.
Five years ago: Microwave Woes
The shelter gave us several options for cats they were looking to place. The first was a young female. Tony and I have had cats for more than 40 years, and by coincidence they've all been male, so I thought a change would be perfect! I didn't realize we were getting another small panther until I saw a photo on the shelter's volunteer Facebook page.
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| Our new friend |
The shelter likes to give special names to family groups. Young mama Tilapia was pregnant when she arrived in mid-June and went to a foster parent who specializes in newborn kittens. At the end of the month she delivered Perch, Catfish, Trout and Carp. After the kittens were weaned Tilapia was spayed, and after recovering moved to the adoption lounge. However, she did not enjoy the noise and hubbub there, and the staff thought she needed a place of her own.
Foster Cat Tilapia was very vocal on the ride home, and curious when we brought her into the condo. Although we had my office set up as a safe room with everything she needed, it didn't take her long to start exploring. I found her hunkered down behind the toilet in the hall bathroom. She didn't like that her hiding place was discovered, so later Tony found her behind the dryer taking a nap.There's a rule of thumb for bringing cats into a new place--three days to decompress, three weeks to learn the house routines, and three months to feel fully at home. We will let Foster Cat Tilapia move at her own pace and let us know when she feels like a real member of the family.
Five years ago: Destination UnknownIt 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! |
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.
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.
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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
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.
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.
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| 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
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
