Ever Had One Of Those Days

Where your eating habits are like this (AKA The Stress Diet)?

 

BREAKFAST

½ grapefruit

1 slice whole wheat toast

8 oz. low-fat or skim milk

 

LUNCH

4 oz chicken breast, no skin

1 cup steamed spinach

1 Oreo cookie

Herbal tea

 

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK

rest of the package of Oreos

1 quart rocky road ice cream

hot fudge, nuts, cherries, whipped cream

 

DINNER

loaf of cheese garlic bread 

large pepperoni and mushroom pizza

pitcher of Diet Pepsi

2 Milky Way candy bars

 

LATE EVENING NEWS

Entire Frozen Cheesecake eaten directly from the freezer 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five years ago today: What Am I? Not Chopped Liver

"Holidays"

The National Today website lists 26 holidays for February 2. Some are well known, like Groundhog Day. (Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, which predicts 6 more weeks of winter).  In addition, if you were so inclined you could celebrate people, animals, nature, food items, religious and cultural observances, and more. Out of all of them, I concentrated on three.

• When I went to church last night it turns out I observed one of them. In the Catholic church the Saturday evening vigil mass uses the Sunday readings, and this week was the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. Centuries ago the feast became associated with candles and in some countries is called Candlemas Day (As a bonus, after the final blessing there was also an opportunity to get my throat blessed with two crossed candles, something that is associated with Saint Blaise day on February 3.)

• After learning that it was California Kiwifruit Day I went to the kitchen and grabbed one out of the refrigerator. According to the label mine actually came from Greece, but even if it wasn't from California the sweet, tart, and juicy fruit is always appreciated.

• Because it was Self Renewal Day, I decided to concentrate on self-care. Mid-morning Hubby Tony and I took a nice walk. The weather was lovely, so when we got home I cracked open a couple of windows to air the house out and enjoy the outside sounds. After lunch I went and got my hair cut, then went to the store to buy the shoe insoles that make my fussy feet happy. Back at home I finalized my goals for the month, then decluttered my office and enjoyed looking at the nice clean space. I also took care of myself by not celebrating Tater Tot Day, Yorkshire Pudding Day, Crepe Day, or Heavenly Hash Day

Five years ago: Adventures In Diet Ruining

Only For Today

I was going through a pile of papers today and came across this gem written by Pope Saint John XXIII - a set of spiritual goals he called "Only for Today". The paper looked like it came from a church bulletin, but which church and when I got it I don't have a clue.

Only for today, I will seek to live the livelong day positively without wishing to solve the problems of my life all at once.

Only for today, I will take the greatest care of my appearance: I will dress modestly; I will not raise my voice; I will be courteous in my behaviour; I will not criticize anyone; I will not claim to improve or to discipline anyone except myself.

Only for today, I will be happy in the certainty that I was created to be happy, not only in the other world but also in this one.

Only for today, I will adapt to circumstances, without requiring all circumstances to be adapted to my own wishes.

Only for today, I will devote 10 minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul.

Only for today, I will do one good deed and not tell anyone about it.

Only for today, I will do at least one thing I do not like doing; and if my feelings are hurt, I will make sure that no one notices.

Only for today, I will make a plan for myself: I may not follow it to the letter, but I will make it. And I will be on guard against two evils: hastiness and indecision.

Only for today, I will firmly believe, despite appearances, that the good Providence of God cares for me as no one else who exists in this world.

Only for today, I will have no fears. In particular, I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful and to believe in goodness. Indeed, for 12 hours I can certainly do what might cause me consternation were I to believe I had to do it all my life.

What The Heck!?!

I had to take Foster Cat Pimento for one last set of blood work to close the door on his illness. The vet assigned by the cat shelter is a half-hour drive from our condo. The doctors fit the shelter cats in around other patients, so I was instructed to drop Pimento off between 7:75- 8:00 am. They would call me when it was time to pick him up.

I've gone to the clinic enough times that I don't need driving directions, but right before I left the house I pulled up the location on Google Maps to figure out how long it would take to get there. The time suggestion was perfect, and I pulled into the lot two minutes before the appointed time.

After saying goodbye to Pimento I headed towards a nearby thrift store outlet (where you pay by the pound) for a thrifting adventure. This time I needed to rely on Google Maps, but after two blocks I discovered a problem. Google wanted me to go straight through an intersection, but across the intersection the street turned into one way!

I knew enough about the area that turning right seemed logical. Maps recalculated and gave me a new route, but when I arrived at the new suggested turn I saw that street was also one way. As was the next suggested one. Eventually I came to a street I was pretty sure would get me there. It did, although ultimately my trip took twice as long as Google said it would.

Five years ago today: SO True!

Long-Distance Birthday Greetings

I recently learned that Son Tony's MIL (wife Ie's mom) is celebrating a milestone birthday soon. She lives with one of her sons not too far from Tony and his family in California. I've met her several times, and she is a very nice person. However, there is a pretty big language barrier between us; she immigrated with her family to the US from Southeast Asia after the Vietnam War and her English is still broken.

Hubby Tony and I wanted to do something to celebrate the event, so we went to a local store and bought a card with the a representation of the Gateway Arch, the landmark synonymous with St. Louis. Inside I wrote Happy Birthday from St. Louis Missouri, and added our names.

I put the card into the envelope, but didn't seal it. Instead, I slid the envelope into a larger one and added a note to Ie, asking her if she could translate our words and add them to the card before giving it to her mom.

Semi-Snowy

Slowly but surely the snow and ice that have been making my life miserable for the past two and a half weeks is going away. Yesterday it got up to 50° F, which felt wonderful. Although today was forecast to be 15° lower than that Hubby Tony and I decided it was warm enough to walk up to the grocery store and get a couple of things for dinner.

Because this area only has a big snow event every few years, my collection of winter weather gear isn't particularly robust, but my heavy coat, gloves, and a scarf around my neck turned out to be enough to keep me mostly warm. The weak link was my footwear. My feet slip around in my snow boots (so they aren't good for extensive walking), but my hiking boots are just water resistant (not waterproof).

Although Tony and I have been driving today's walking route on a regular basis it it harder to see details when you're tooling by at 35 miles per hour. We quickly found out that some of the sidewalks were perfectly clean and dry, while others were still snow or ice covered. Each intersection had a hump where the plows had pushed the snow they removed from the road. 

After almost slipping on some ice I learned to move over to the grass or step onto the street whenever the sidewalk looked dangerous. At intersections I paused to figuree out the best way to navigate the snow humps, which sometimes meant over and sometimes around.

By the time we got to the store my feet were cold and damp. To distract myself from thinking about it I watched the scenery as I passed, and tried to figure out why the snow had melted from some yards but not others.

On the way home it had warmed up enough that some of the snow was starting to melt. The forecast calls for above-freezing weather the next ten days, so hopefully my next walk to the grocery store will be on concrete-colored sidewalks.

Five years ago today: Permanent Address Finder

Pretty Darn Good

On Christmas I made a tasty savory baklava. The casserole took about two thirds of a package of filo dough, and I froze the rest for a future use.

 Tuesday night I was having trouble figuring out what to have for dinner on Wednesday. There was a head of red cabbage in the refrigerator, and I wondered if I could somehow pair it with the filo. The internet was full of recipes for the two ingredients, but most of them were variations of the same recipe, which I decided was too much work for me. I decided to recreate the baklava with a different filling. The filo needed to thaw in the refrigerator for 12 hours, so I did that on the way to bed.

I chopped vegetables in the morning before I left for the gym, then waited until mid-afternoon to start cooking. The original recipe had two different mixtures but I chose to mix everything together. After sauteing the onion and garlic I added chopped cabbage, broth, and spices (cumin, chili powder, and salt/pepper) and simmered until the cabbage was soft. I drained the cabbage, then tossed in a can of black beans, some chopped walnuts, golden raisins, and breadcrumbs. When the mixture cooled I added some crumbled feta.

I figured out that half of a filo sheet was large enough to cover a 13x9 pan. The secret to wonderful layers of filo is melted butter in between each sheet. After the base was in pace I dumped half of the filling on top, then repeated the process of filo and filling, adding a top layer of filo sheets. The final step was to cut the baklava into pieces and sprinkle with sesame seed. After 45 minutes in the oven dinner was ready.

Six servings equals three meals

This batch of baklava was a little crumbly, but it still tasted wonderful. We had leftovers tonight and I froze the last two pieces for an easy dinner down the line.

Five years ago: Digital Dactylogram

Oh, Ben!

 The other day I wrote about Ben Franklin and his thirteen self-improvement virtues. Several of the comments talked about how he didn't do such a good job of being chaste, and Strayer mentioned a new-to-me Franklin letter called Advice to a Young Man on the Choice of a Mistress. 

I read it and was shocked. Even with Ben's reputation I couldn't believe that something like this was ever accepted. Wikipedia said that scholars have been unable to determine if Franklin was serious, or if the letter was ever sent. It was subject to censorship and 19th century obscenity laws. By the mid-20th century, though, the letter was cited as a reason to overturn the laws.

What do you think?

Advice to a Friend on Choosing a Mistress 

 June 25, 1745 

My dear Friend, I know of no Medicine fit to diminish the violent natural Inclinations you mention; and if I did, I think I should not communicate it to you. Marriage is the proper Remedy. It is the most natural State of Man, and therefore the State in which you are most likely to find solid Happiness. Your Reasons against entring into it at present, appear to me not well-founded. The circumstantial Advantages you have in View by postponing it, are not only uncertain, but they are small in comparison with that of the Thing itself, the being married and settled. It is the Man and Woman united that make the compleat human Being. Separate, she wants his Force of Body and Strength of Reason; he, her Softness, Sensibility and acute Discernment. Together they are more likely to succeed in the World. A single Man has not nearly the Value he would have in that State of Union. He is an incomplete Animal. He resembles the odd Half of a Pair of Scissars. If you get a prudent healthy Wife, your Industry in your Profession, with her good Œconomy, will be a Fortune sufficient.

But if you will not take this Counsel, and persist in thinking a Commerce with the Sex inevitable, then I repeat my former Advice, that in all your Amours you should prefer old Women to young ones. You call this a Paradox, and demand my Reasons. They are these:

1. Because as they have more Knowledge of the World and their Minds are better stor’d with Observations, their Conversation is more improving and more lastingly agreable.
2. Because when Women cease to be handsome, they study to be good. To maintain their Influence over Men, they supply the Diminution of Beauty by an Augmentation of Utility. They learn to do a 1000 Services small and great, and are the most tender and useful of all Friends when you are sick. Thus they continue amiable. And hence there is hardly such a thing to be found as an old Woman who is not a good Woman.
3. Because there is no hazard of Children, which irregularly produc’d may be attended with much Inconvenience.
4. Because thro’ more Experience, they are more prudent and discreet in conducting an Intrigue to prevent Suspicion. The Commerce with them is therefore safer with regard to your Reputation. And with regard to theirs, if the Affair should happen to be known, considerate People might be rather inclin’d to excuse an old Woman who would kindly take care of a young Man, form his Manners by her good Counsels, and prevent his ruining his Health and Fortune among mercenary Prostitutes.
5. Because in every Animal that walks upright, the Deficiency of the Fluids that fill the Muscles appears first in the highest Part: The Face first grows lank and wrinkled; then the Neck; then the Breast and Arms; the lower Parts continuing to the last as plump as ever: So that covering all above with a Basket, and regarding only what is below the Girdle, it is impossible of two Women to know an old from a young one. And as in the dark all Cats are grey, the Pleasure of corporal Enjoyment with an old Woman is at least equal, and frequently superior, every Knack being by Practice capable of Improvement.
6. Because the Sin is less. The debauching a Virgin may be her Ruin, and make her for Life unhappy.
7. Because the Compunction is less. The having made a young Girl miserable may give you frequent bitter Reflections; none of which can attend the making an old Woman happy.
8. [thly and Lastly] They are so grateful!! 

Thus much for my Paradox. But still I advise you to marry directly; being sincerely Your affectionate Friend.

Old Ben Had It Right

In Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, he lists thirteen self-improvement virtues. Each week he would focus on a different one and try to become a better person. Today, although some of the wording on his list could be updated (there are certainly additional role models for humility than Jesus and Socrates, and as Debra pointed out Ben was notorious for not being able to keep his private parts in his pants) he was honest about his imperfection. I still think the list is still a great thing to strive towards.

1. TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

2.  SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

3. ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

4. RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

5. FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.

6. INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

7. SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

8. JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

9. MODERATION. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

10. CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.

11. TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

12.  CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.

13. HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

Five years ago today: What A Pain In The (Finger)!

First-World Winter Weather Issues

It's been years since my area has experienced a major winter storm like the one that came through ten days ago, which dropped thick layers of snow and sleet on the area. That was followed by a smaller storm five days later which left several additional inches of snow. Thanks to the layer of sleet and temperatures too cold for ice-melting chemicals to work things are still not up to snuff.

Depending on where you live, there are multiple entities responsible for clearing the roads-the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) for interstates and state routes, St. Louis City or County for large arterial and subdivision streets, Municipal street departments if the street happens to be inside a city's boundaries, or commercial companies for private streets.

The small sections I traverse on a regular basis are probably better than most, although there is one left turn lane on a major road that still has a thick layer of ice on it. The plows moved the snow off the main driving lanes, but pushed it off to the side such that on-street parking is impossible. And the sidewalks are also covered with that same pushed off snow so you have to take your chances walking along the reduced-width street. There has been some thawing and refreezing, which makes that walking quite dangerous.

Once the roads were clear potholes started popping up in the streets, some of them large enough to damage the car's wheels or alignment. All I can do is try to watch where I'm driving and hope there's not a car in the other lane if I have to swerve quickly.

A third issue is in parking lots, where the plows concentrated on removing snow off the driving lanes and pushing the snow into piles and around the perimeter. Now there are tall piles of snow partially blocking many of the parking spaces. Most lots have so many spaces unavailable people are getting aggressive trying to park their vehicle.

It's supposed to get substantially above freezing over the weekend, which should allow a lot of the snow to melt. I can't wait!

Not Earth Shattering, But Still Enjoyable

The Internet is an endless source of enlightenment.

Today I learned about Landsat, which is a joint program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Since 1972 the program has launched a series of satellites that continuously capture images of the Earth's surface.

The NASA Landsat Science website has a lot of important scientific material. And some not so significant, but an awful lot of fun. One of the pages is called Your Name In Landsat. When you type a name into the box and click the Enter button, the page returns a set of images that mirror the letters in the name.

'Kathy' - can you see it?

Five years ago today: Home Sweet (New) Home

I Help You. You Help Me.

When Hubby Tony and I moved into our condo five years ago, instead of signing up for traditional cable or satellite television we chose streaming service through an app. It has worked out well, but a couple of months ago the service provider sent an email that said the app would soon stop working with our television. They offered the use of a stream box for a year, but after that we'd have to rent it from them or buy our own. 

Neither Tony or I could remember exactly how old the television was. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, but Tony convinced me that television prices had come down enough that this would be a good excuse to upgrade. He did some Consumer Reports research, came up with a short list of models, compared those to the Costco/Sams Club/Best Buy websites, then presented me with his top picks. Shortly before the year ended he made the purchase, and the set was delivered several days later.

Creazilla

Now we had a unneeded television to get rid of. There was no reason to recycle it, and even if I had wanted to there would be a fee. I checked with the thrift stores, but learned they had a glut of sets and a temporary moratorium on donations. I decided to post the set on my local Buy Nothing group.

In the next 24 hours multiple people responded that they were interested. I asked Tony to choose a random number, counted that far down the list, and sent the person a message asking when they would like to pick up their gifted television.

The next day I carried the set downstairs to the building foyer. Less than an hour later I saw a car stop in front of the building. Someone got out, walked into the building, and walked out carrying the set. Later I received a message that read "Thank you so much for the TV. It’s such a blessing!" I didn't tell them that they helped me at least as much as I helped them. 

Five years ago today: I Get It Now

My Mind Works In Strange Ways

Several of the blogs I follow (Debby, Myra, A Joyful Chaos) sometimes participate in the Wednesday Hodgepodge, which provides a list of prompts to answer. I enjoy reading their answers to the questions.
This week one of the words prompts concerned the Lake Superior State University 2025 Banished Words list. One of the words was skibidi. I have no idea what the word means, but somehow it made me think of skidamarink, which made me think of the song that I sing to the grandchildren. (My mind works in strange ways.)

 

Skidamarink a dink a dink,

Skidamarink a doo.

I love you!

 

Skidamarink a dink a dink,

Skidamarink a doo.

I love you!

 

I love you in the morning,

And in the afternoon.

I love you in the evening,

And underneath the moon. 

 

Oh, skidamarink a dink a dink a dink,

Skidamarink a doo.

I love you!

Good Enough

The winter storm came and left. However, it left a mess behind.

Image by rawpixel.com

Sunday everything was closed, and based on my social media Monday ended up being about the same. The volunteer money counting Hubby Tony and I do at church the first Monday of the month got cancelled. His standing Monday night meeting moved to Zoom. Some stores never opened; some opened and closed early. From my seat on the couch I watched as the snowplow made several passes down the street. Eventually the street was clear, but no one shoveled the driveway to the underground building garage or the front steps and walkway. 

I called the management company and inquired about the driveway and steps, and learned they would be done that day. Didn't happen.

I was excited when the storm shut everything down, but it only took two days for me to get antsy from enforced confinement. Although Tony and I had plans to go out to eat tonight after breakfast I pulled some ham broth out of the freezer and made a pot of beans. When they were finished it felt good to know that dinner for Wednesday and Thursday night were taken care of.

This morning I received a text from the management company, which indicated they were aware of the lack of shoveling issue and the contractor would be "working diligently" to get driveways and walkways cleared. That didn't happen, but when I saw evidence that one of our neighbors had left the building in his full-sized SUV I wondered if my small SUV's tires could drive through his tracks.

It turns out they could. Tony and I ran a couple of errands, then ended up at the mall to walk. It felt so good to be out of the house. Back at the condo I could go back to concentrating on doing nothing.

Shortly before it was time to think about dinner I thought about calling the restaurant to make sure they were open. Their phone rang and rang. Tony did some research, and on the restaurant's Facebook page  a post said that due to the weather and some planned renovations they were going to be closed until Thursday.

Tony and I talked it over, and decided that beans and cornbread would be good enough.

Five years ago: Late, But Still Right On

Winter Weather Watchfulness

My area, along with a large swath of the middle of the country, is in the middle of a large winter storm. In the St. Louis area that's a mixture of snow and sleet that started last night about bedtime and will finish up by the time I wake up tomorrow.

It's been several years since significant snow has fallen here. The meteorologists have been excitedly hyping this one up for almost a week...what type of precipitation would the area get? How much? When would it start? Social media was full of memes

Hubby Tony and I went to church last night. The streets department was asking people to stay off the roads I had absolutely no reason to leave the house so I did what they said. I slept in, lingered over the newspaper after breakfast, and spent a lot of time reading. Pimento the Foster Cat was annoyed that he got breakfast late, but later in the day was thrilled to have two people around the house to cuddle with.

Mid-afternoon the precipitation temporarily stopped. Although I didn't go outside to verify, it looked like there was about four inches on the ground. The forecasters say that things will start up again, dump a couple more inches, then leave the area. A plow went down our street a couple of times, but so far the condo sidewalks haven't been shoveled. I have nowhere to go, and as all of tomorrow's commitments have been cancelled I plan on enjoying another snow day. 

Five years ago: THERE'S A Chunk Of My Life I Won't Get Back

If It's Good Enough For The Pope....

For the past few days I've contemplated what my word or phrase for 2025 would be. Quite a few positive expressions came to mind, but when I read an article about Pope Francis' Christmas Eve opening of the Holy Door of Saint Peter's Basilica to start a Jubilee Year with the theme of Hope I decided that word epitomized what I wanted for the next year to include. 

 Dictionary.com says that hope is "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best". So I will try to find the positive in things, look on the bright side, and practice gratitude. 

A year is a long time to focus on something, so as a reminder to myself, when I put the Christmas decorations away the ornament we brought home in 2020 will continue to be displayed.

Five years ago today: Anyone Else Have The Same Problem?