Chock-Full Of Fun

Hubby Tony and I made our last trip to visit our kids and their kids in mid-May. Several weeks ago I realized I needed to have more grandchild hugs before they started school. Tony booked a flight, we packed our bags, and we were on our way to California for a week, where we spent three days with each family.

At Son Tony's, when he was unexpectedly called into work we helped out when DIL Ie had errands to run. The other days we hung out, played games, assisted with errands, tagged along on a family field trip to a park/farmer's market, and went to the nearby elementary school to ride bikes.

At Son Brian's we played games, worked on a large communal jigsaw puzzle, and went to a movie with DIL Nicole and the kids. On each of our two weekdays Tony and I had the mornings free. One day we visited Saratoga, went hiking at Villa Montalvo, and picked Grandson Jay up from his summer program early for some Grandma/Grandpa time.The other day we walked around the Santana Row shopping area and had lunch, then went bowling with Son Brian and Grandsons Ell and Dee.

I couldn't believe how fast the time flew, but all of a sudden it was time to repack the suitcases and head home. As I was getting ready to head to the car Dee asked me when our next visit would be. That got me thinking.....

Five years ago today: Meramec Caverns

Enquiring Minds

The other day I happened to come upon an upscale, perfectly put together woman. Her face was toned and tanned, and I suspect the beautiful highlights in her long hair came straight from the salon. The tiny designer logo at the waistband of her jeans let me know they cost many times more than mine, and based on the little bit I know about fashion the rest of her clothes did too. 

Other than the large diamond on her wedding ring, the jewelry she had on was subtle but definitely meant to impress. There were six or seven thin bracelets on one wrist, and four or five on the other. Most of them were gold, and several were diamond. Her ears sported large diamond studs. There were several thin chains around her neck, some of them holding small charms.

The woman walked past me and turned the corner. Even after she was gone from sight I kept thinking about all that jewelry. Did she have 'people' to do all the work around her house so she didn't have to worry about getting her jewelry dirty? Did she leave it all on or take everything off and put it back on every day (which would take a very long time)? Did she change the pieces out everyday or keep the same ones like a jewelry uniform? 

Five years ago today: Thought You Could Hide?

Too Busy!

Some weekends are so jam-packed there's no time for anything other than a joke....

An elderly couple were killed in an accident and found themselves being given a tour of heaven by Saint Peter. “Here is your ocean-side condo, over there are the tennis courts, swimming pool, and two golf courses. If you need any refreshments, just stop by any of the many bars located throughout the area.” “Heck, Gloria,” the old man hissed when Saint Peter walked off, “we could have been here ten years ago if you hadn’t heard about all that stupid oat bran, wheat germ, and low-fat diets!”

(Images from Microsoft Bing)

Five years ago today: Recent Randomness From My Phone

Guess Where This Dish Is From

Son Donald introduced me to Foodguessr, an interesting virtual game that tests your knowledge of world cuisines. The goal is to identify the country of origin of dishes from around the globe based on a photo and clues.

The first screen has a photo of the dish, the ingredients, and the basic description. Based on the information you type in where you think the dish is from. If you get the country wrong, it tells you how close to the correct country you are (on a hot/warm/cold scale) and what direction to move.

In each round there are five chances to come up with the right answer. After two incorrect guesses, the name of the dish is revealed. After five incorrect guesses, the answer is revealed.

The dishes range from easy (it only took me a few seconds to look at the photo and read the description of a brain sandwich to know it was from the United States) to hard (who knew that a dish called Potjiekos, with ingredients listed as meat, onions, vegetables [such as pumpkin, corn, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes], spices, cooking oil, dessert wine, and Dutch-Malay spices came from South Africa?) 

Five years ago: 50 Life Lessons

Late July Collection Of Randomness From My Camera Roll

This tee shirt makes me feel thankful that our lawn service comes in the afternoon 😀

A sign at a restaurant host station

 The car from the Good Burger movie is on display at a local hamburger place

 I wonder if 'paws' was a typo, or if they're trying to rebrand chicken feet

Foster Cat Pimento didn't look too happy to be discovered under the bed

Five years ago: Inquiring Minds Sometimes Ask Preposterous Questions

Banana Ball

For the past two nights there's been a new baseball game in town. Banana Ball, as played by the Savannah Bananas barnstorming team is a fast-paced and entertaining game. Hubby Tony and I were lucky enough to attend last night's game.

The view from our seats

Because the team is so popular, just getting tickets was an adventure. Both Tony and I entered an online lottery for the opportunity to buy tickets. Tony's name was chosen. After navigating a verification process, he was assigned a time where he could log in and purchase tickets. St. Louis had more entries into the lottery to buy tickets than any other city on this year's tour.

Banana Ball is played in Major League stadiums when the home team is on the road. There are three potential opponents for the Savannah Bananas. In St. Louis they were facing the Party Animals. 

The games were originally scheduled for early April, but due to severe weather that weekend they were canceled and rescheduled for mid-July. I figured it would be hot and sticky. It was. The game started at 6:30, but the doors opened at 4:30 and for those so inclined there was a pregame event outside the stadium at 3:30. We chose to go out to dinner with some friends and arrive an hour before the event started.

The Savannah Bananas are often compared to the Harlem Globetrotters of basketball, who combine athleticism and theatrics. Banana Ball is fast paced, and has some unique rules. Last night's experience is almost impossible to describe, but some of the things I most enjoyed were:

• A DJ who played a continuous stream of popular and oldies music, encouraging people to sing and dance along when they felt like it. 
• Choreographed on the field dances between some of the innings (and sometimes even during play). 
• Trick plays, like a player bobbling a fly ball before catching it inside his shirt, or someone doing a flip before catching the ball.
• Crowd interaction events between every inning, some with babies, some with children, and some with adults. 
• The Dad Bod Cheer leading Squad, who lived up to their name. 
• Guest appearances by two retired Cardinal pitchers. (On Friday night there had been one, and in addition the Savannah Banana's starting pitcher was a local.) 
• The World's Tallest Baseball Player (10-feet 9-inches tall on stilts), who actually came up to bat.

The huge strike zone is between his knees and shoulders

The Savannah Bananas won the game in the ninth inning, and we joined the rest of the sold out stadium inching their way slowly to the turnstiles. The heat and humidity was even worse in the enclosed stairwell, and I was thrilled to see the exit. I was even more thrilled when I got home and jumped in the shower!

Fun. Funny?

Yesterday Hubby Tony and I were trying to beat the heat by coming up with inside plans for the afternoon. He remembered he had some money left on a movie gift certificate, so we decided to go see the latest Superman movie.

I'm not the biggest fan of superhero franchise cinema, but this one has gotten pretty decent reviews, and has the added benefit of being directed by James Gunn, a hometown boy.

I ended up enjoying the movie, which had all the requisite elements. Good guy battles bad guy, almost doesn't pull it off, but in the end wins. There was a lot of technology, a lot of CGI, and a little love interest between Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Krypto, the Superdog, provided some comic relief.

After dinner I was checking my computer, and I got an email with a timely joke.

A man walks into a bar and sees a weird guy sitting at the counter. He goes over, sits down and asks the guy what he is drinking.

"Magic Beer", the guy says.

The man thinks he's a little crazy, so he walks around the bar, but after that there is no one else worth talking to, goes back to the guy sitting at the bar and says, "That isn't really Magic Beer, is it?"

"Yes, I'll show you." The guy takes a drink of the beer, jumps out the window, flies around the building 3 times and comes back in the window.

The man can't believe it: "I bet you can't do that again."

The guy takes another drink of beer, jumps out the window, flies around the building three times, and comes back in the window.

The man is so amazed that he says he wants a Magic Beer, so the guy says to the bartender, "Give him one of what I'm having."

The bartender gets the man a drink and he takes a gulp of the beer, jumps out the window, plummets 30 stories and breaks every bone in his body.

The bartender looks up at the guy and says, "You know, Superman, you're a real jerk when you're drunk!"

Five years ago: Just Like That The Day Was Filled Up

A New Source For Recipes

After dinner last night I started thinking about tonight's meal. After digging around in the kitchen I found three inspiration ingredients: frozen polenta, a partial head of red cabbage, and a half container of ricotta cheese.

I fired up the computer and typed the three inspiration ingredients in the browser search bar. That usually leads to a list of website links, but this time there was an AI Overview recipe at the top with links below. As I read through the recipe I found a couple of strange things, but the basic recipe didn't seem half bad, and I decided that I would make it for dinner.

The dish was a winner! Here's the recipe; my additions, observations, and random thoughts are in pink 

Google AI Baked Polenta with Red Cabbage and Ricotta

For the Red Cabbage:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 white onion, thinly sliced
• I added 2 cloves of garlic, because why not? 
• 1 small head of red cabbage, chopped
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar (or to taste)
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the Polenta:

• 1 cup polenta (coarse or medium grind)
• 4 cups water (or chicken/vegetable broth for added flavor)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter

For the Ricotta Topping:

• 1 cup fresh ricotta cheese
• 2T lemon juice
• Lemon zest (from about 1/2 a lemon)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Scallions, chopped (for garnish, optional)
• Toasted sunflower seeds or pine nuts (for garnish, optional)
  

Instructions

Prepare the Cabbage:

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over high heat.
2. Add the onion - sauté for 2 minutes. (I also threw in the garlic, and sauteed both for 4-5 minutes).
3. Add the cabbage, stir, and cook for 5 minutes, allowing it to brown slightly.
4. Reduce heat to low, add 1 cup of water (which wasn't in  the ingredient list) and 1/2 tsp salt, cover, and cook for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally and checking polenta (cabbage!) for tenderness. (My thinly chopped cabbage was done after 30 minutes)
5. Halfway through cooking, add the cider vinegar and sugar.
6. Remove the lid and cook off any excess liquid before serving.

Make the Polenta: (I've never tried to make this in the oven, but will definitely think about it next time. However, I've cooked enough to know greasing the dish would definitely be a good idea.)

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).
2. Place polenta, 2 tsp salt, and 4 cups water (or broth) in a heavy-bottomed pot or ovenproof baking dish and stir.
3. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, allowing the polenta to simmer and absorb the water. No need to stir.
4. Bake, uncovered, for another 15 minutes, until the top is browned. Finish with a generous amount of pepper.

Prepare the Ricotta Topping:

1. While the cabbage roasts, combine ricotta, lemon juice, lemon zest, pepper, and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine.

Assemble and Serve:

1. Unwrap (strange choice of word?) the cabbage.
2. Spread polenta onto a plate. Add cabbage on top.
3. Top with scallions, sunflower seeds (or pine nuts), pepper, and additional butter if desired.

Image not AI generated!

Five years ago today: Just Me, Myself, And I

Do Good Intentions Count?

I recently learned that July 15th is National Give Something Away Day, a day dedicated to encouraging people to donate or give away items they no longer need. The yearly event was founded by Linda Eaton Hall-Fulcher in 2015.

After lunch today Hubby Tony left to meet some friends. While he was gone I made dinner, ate a snack, did a couple of crosswords, then decided in honor of Give Something Away Day I would take the bag of donation items next to my dresser to St. Vincent de Paul. (And then go into the thrift store in front and see if there was anything I needed to buy😼).

This morning when I took a walk after breakfast it was hot and humid, and I soon realized that since then the conditions had only gotten worse. Thank goodness for car air conditioning! Traffic was a bear, but I finally made it the parking lot. However, when I pulled up to the donation center I saw a sign that it was closed for the day. (BOO!)

I still went into the store, but there was nothing that struck my fancy. On the way to the exit I asked a clerk if the donation center would be open tomorrow, and learned that at some point in the past its hours had changed; it is now closed on Tuesday and Thursday.

I could have driven ten minutes out of my way to take the donation items to Goodwill, but I wasn't in the mood to battle more traffic. Instead, the bag will drive around with me until the next time I'm in the area.

Five years ago today: Bifocal Blemish

(Inedible) Chip Bags

This month was Hubby Tony's turn to host his friend poker group. In preparation, he got out his special decks of cards and his stash of poker chips in Ziploc bags. Each member of the group only hosts a couple of times a year. With only occasional use, the chips always smell musty to Tony, which precipitates a process of washing, drying, and airing them out.  

To save him the work I told Tony I would try to come up with a better solution.

After some research I decided fabric drawstring bags would work. I looked through my stash of material, but I didn't have any pieces large enough. Just as I was headed to the fabric store I spotted a pair of blue khaki pants in the donation pile and the light bulb went off in head.

Making up the bags were an easy task. I cut the pant legs into appropriate lengths, sewed a bottom seam on each, then made a casing at the top and threaded a piece of ribbon through. I was able to match the colors of the chips (red, white, and blue) to the tie for each bag.

These bags are much sturdier than the former flimsy plastic bags, and the fabric is breathable so there should be no issue with smells. After Tony pronounced my work satisfactory I placed the chips into the proper receptacle, then found a box large enough to hold the bags so they would be easier to get to in the closet. Five years ago: Purposeful Road Trip

Cat Owies

In the past seven weeks Pimento the Foster Cat has been having some skin issues, which has led to several vet visits. Each was precipitated by the discovery of a lump under his fur, which turned out to be a scab, which fell off and left a nasty red spot. Like this:

When we find a lump, Hubby Tony or I contact the shelter to authorize an appointment to check it out. The clinic works the shelter cats in between scheduled visits, so we drop Pimento off and pick him up several hours later. He's not a fan of getting in his cage and going in the car. Tony and I are not fans of the schedule, but we all make it work.

At the first visit the vet said the spot was healing nicely and of no real concern.The second time Pimento got a long lasting antibiotic shot, and the vet opined that we might need to investigate food allergies. At the third appointment earlier this week, we came home with a liquid antibiotic, instructions to clean the area with a damp rag twice a day, and directions to have Pimento wear a soft donut cone to keep him from scratching the sore area.

We picked up a tiny colorful donut from the shelter. The eleven-inch wide circle of soft, fiber filled material had an interior tube that could be cinched with a Velcro strap to fit it to a cat's neck.

The internet is full of cats serenely wearing a donut. Some almost look happy to have it on. And then there's Pimento.

I have no idea what his life on the streets was like before he entered into shelter care, but even after more than a year of love and attention, standing over him or quickly putting two hands on his body to hold him freaks him out. Tony and I have tried daily to get Pimento's head through the hole, but eventually we figured that as long as there was no sign the sore had been disturbed we would let him be.

Five years ago today: Not So Traditionally Chinese

Ragged Is The Rage

For the past few years distressed clothes (like this skirt with a frayed hem that I saw last week when I walked at the mall) have been in fashion.

I could care less about fashion, but yesterday I put on an old pair of well-loved shorts and realized some people would pay good money for my raggedy hems and little holes 😀.

Five years ago: Working Up A Sweat, Literally And Figuratively

Pre-sliced And Packaged

Image by rawpixel.com

If you're a sliced bread lover, today is a big day. According to Wikipedia, on July 7, 1928 the first sliced bread was sold by the Chillicothe Baking Company in Chillicothe, Missouri (a town about an hour northeast of Kansas City).

The story actually starts in 1912, when Otto Frederick Rohwedder of Davenport, Iowa built a prototype of a single loaf bread slicing machine. All of the paperwork was destroyed in a fire, and it took another 16 years for the machine to make its debut.

In 2019 Missouri state statute 9.240 designated July seventh of each year as "Missouri Sliced Bread Day", indicating that the citizens of this state are encouraged to participate in appropriate activities and events to commemorate the first sale of sliced bread on July 7, 1928, in Chillicothe, Missouri.

There's also a St. Louis sliced bread connection. Gustav Papendick, a St. Louis baker, bought the second bread slicing machine. He knew that sliced bread got stale faster than an uncut loaf, so he developed a way to keep a newly-sliced loaf aligned so it could easily be wrapped in wax paper.

Five years ago: [Not] Great Customer Service

Who Does Something Like This?

I've almost reached the end of the get rid of old paint project. Several of the cans were picked up by people from my Buy Nothing group. The ones that didn't were dried out and tossed into the trash.

Eventually I was down to one five-gallon bucket, which felt to be about half full.

It took several weeks of looking at it, but eventually I was inspired to tackle the project of getting it out of the condo. When I opened the bucket I was shocked to see that the last painter had forgotten to take out their paint roller frame/cover and bucket grid.

Who does this?!?

Our trash people strictly follow the rules about discarded paint, which means the liquid has to be turned into a solid before it goes into the bin. In order to do that, I had to get the equipment out. 

The bucket didn't have a date on it, but it's not been opened in the five years I've lived here. When I tried to pick up the grid it fell apart, and the metal on the roller frame disintegrated in my hands. I used a paint stirrer to fish the pieces out and get as much of the paint off the roller as I could before putting both in a plastic container pulled from the recycling bin to dry.

Later in the day I went to Walmart and bought the cheapest bag of cat litter they had. It took the whole thing, but in the end the paint was successfully dried up and the bucket went into the trash bin. I'm enjoying a little extra space in the laundry room.

Five years ago: A Song For The Fourth Of July

A Fun Opportunity To Do Good

Hubby Tony found a two hour volunteer opportunity for today in the area affected by the May tornado. He asked if I was interested in signing up. I was.

This one took place at a church not too far from our last shift. When we arrived, I knew we were in the right place when I saw the banner indicating the church was a location for FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) assistance. After figuring out which door to go in, we found the church office, where we were greeted by an assistant pastor and escorted to the food pantry area. 

The food pantry was a large room lined with rows of donated perishables (fruits, vegetables, bread, and pastries) and a few large displays of processed snack foods. Looking at the packaging, I could tell by the price tags or brands where they had come from.

We had to wait for about ten minutes for the manager of the food pantry to show up. She told us they were normally open on Thursday, but closed today for the Fourth of July holiday. However, several people showed up looking for food and no one was turned away.

There were four one-time volunteers, and several people who knew what they were doing. Since there would be no official food pantry until next week our first task was to bag up the bakery products to move to another location where they could be frozen. By the time we were done, a minivan and two sedans were crammed with boxes and bags of bread, rolls, bagels, and buns.

Unfortunately, some of the fruit and produce was past its prime, so the next step was to separate the good from the not so good. Eventually the discarded stuff filled a huge cardboard watermelon box, which was moved to a pallet outside so the janitorial department could deal with it.

Close to the end of my shift I was able to help a lady get her food. I pointed out the different items, and she told me if she wanted them or not. After she made her selections, one of the permanent volunteers got her a bag of meat from a chest freezer in the back area. I walked with her to her car and put her things in the back. When we were done she thanked and blessed me, which made me feel good.

Rawpixel

I couldn't believe how fast the two hour shift went. After we signed out, the food pantry manager invited us to come back again. As we were walking out the door, a driver from the food bank arrived, saying he had pallets of donations to drop off. There was a big panel truck with the food bank logo in the parking lot.  It would have been interesting to see what it held.

Five years ago: Financial Freedom

Six Means Coffee

But since it's after dinner I better make it decaf.🤣

You Dot This

What about you? What do you need today?