A Double Observance Day

Easter isn't the only event on my calendar today. It's also the third anniversary of Hubby Tony's retirement.

In honor of the second event yesterday I went to the bakery and bought a loaf of bread. (There were a lot of good choices, but I decided on Peach Cinnamon Swirl. I brought it home and added a label that said Now that you're retired you have plenty of time to 'Loaf around'.

Before breakfast this morning I gave Tony his loaf and suggested it would be a great accompaniment to a breakfast of Easter eggs and fruit. As it turns out, it was. Tony cut thick slices of the bread and toasted it. I had never had this type before and wasn't sure what to expect, but the large pieces of peaches mixed in with the cinnamon/sugar filling were a perfect combination.

Five years ago today: Perspective

Easter Treats For All

Years ago when there were three youngsters in the house the week before Easter was a flurry of candy and trinket buying for their baskets. Now that there's just Hubby Tony and me we've scaled back, but in my opinion you can't celebrate Easter without at least some candy.

Last weekend we bought two dark chocolate rabbits from a local chocolatier. They were nicely packaged in cellophane bags, so we decided that instead of waiting till the last minute to set them out we would let our purchases also serve as decoration. I placed the bunnies on a crystal plate with some plastic grass and a few plastic eggs.

A couple of days later we went to Walgreens to get more candy. We left with some miniature chocolate bars, a few Cadbury eggs, a bag of jelly beans, and some Peeps. However, Son Donald is coming for dinner . He's more of a savory than a sweet guy, so Tony wanted to make sure there was something he would enjoy. For some reason it's really hard to find small savory snacks, but at the grocery store we bought some individual beef snack sticks.

With everything we brought home the plate was now too small, so Tony arranged everything nicely on a large lime green plastic tray. The tray has been there for two days and so far I've impressed myself by walking by all the temptation. Until tomorrow.

Fun With Drains

Hubby Tony was cleaning up after dinner tonight. Somehow, a small glass ramekin got stuck in the drain on the garbage disposal side of the double sink and was so firmly implanted that water couldn't go down the drain.

He tried to wedge the ramekin out with his fingers and then an ice tongs. No luck. Plunging the drain lifted the ramekin just enough for the excess water to go down but didn't do anything else.

I tried using the plunger on the opposite sink, thinking that forcing air through the trap would loosen the ramekin. It moved a little bit but then settled right back into place. I tried again with Tony waiting to grab the ramekin, but it didn't raise up enough to give him something to hold onto. We tried putting some water into the opposite drain, but that didn't make much difference.

Finally, we scooped out all of the excess water in the sink and filled the ramekin with ice. A couple of minutes later I added water on the opposite side and plunged. The cold had contracted the glass enough that the ramekin popped up! Tony was caught off guard, but when we repeated the process a second time he was able to catch it with both hands.

Five years ago today: The Best Thing Since Sliced...Bagels?

Making An Informed Decision

Next Tuesday I get to go to the polls. There are elections for the city council, mayor, school board, and a couple of sewer district issues.

Earlier this week I received a sample ballot in the mail. Tonight I decided to figure out which of the candidates would receive my vote. I started by reading their biographies in the voters guide published by the local newspaper. I checked out their websites to get their positions on issues, and searched through a couple of non-partisan sources.

Next I read a couple of sources of information on the issues. The sewer district wants to issue bonds to pay for mandated improvements to the wastewater system and proposes a property tax increase to establish a stormwater improvement program.

As I made my choices I filled out the sample ballot so the voting process will be easy and quick.

Five years ago today: Detergent Diversification

I Wish I Could Think On My Feet This Quickly

It was the final examination for an introductory English course at the local university. With over 300 students in the class, it was designed to weed out freshmen that didn't belong.

The examination was two hours long, and exam booklets were provided. The professor was very strict and told the class that any exam that was not on her desk in exactly two hours would not be accepted and the student would fail.

A half hour into the exam, a student came rushing in and asked the professor for an exam booklet.

"You're not going to have time to finish this," the professor stated sarcastically as she handed the student a booklet.

"Yes I will," replied the student. He took a seat and began writing.

After two hours, the professor called for the exams, and the students filed up and handed them in. All except the late student, who continued writing.

A half hour later, the late student came up to the professor who was sitting at his desk. He attempted to put his exam on the stack of exam booklets already there.

"No you don't, I'm not going to accept that. It's late."

The student looked incredulous and angry. "Do you know WHO I am?"

"No, as a matter of fact I don't," replied the professor with an air of sarcasm in her voice.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" the student asked again.

"No, and I don't care." replied the professor with an air of superiority.

"Good," replied the student, who quickly lifted the stack of completed exams, stuffed his in the middle, and walked out of the room. 

Five years ago today: Boy-bys

A Delicious Duo

I received an email this morning from a fast casual chain Mexican restaurant that today was National Chip and Dip Day. Time to celebrate!

Tonight Hubby Tony and I had Guys and Dolls poker on the schedule. The men play cards, the women go out to dinner and gather at someone's house before meeting up with the men again at the end of the night. However, two of the women in the group are medically compromised so after explaining my residual cough issues we decided that I would pass this month and see them next time. All of a sudden my late afternoon and evening were free.

I can't remember the last time I had so many hours to myself with nothing to do. I ran some errands, added a little retail therapy, then decided to head to a branch of the restaurant that sent me the email.

I ordered a salad with chicken, a combination of black and pinto beans, fajita vegetables, cheese, and green salsa. At the cash register I added an order of chips and salsa. The restaurant was chilly, so after I paid for the food I decided to take it outside and eat in my car. The late afternoon sun was coming in the driver's side window and made the inside toasty.

Five years ago: A Parking Miracle

Efficient Air Expelling

I've now had a croupy cough for the better part of a week. As soon as I think it's getting better I'll get an itchy throat and spend five minutes hacking.

I've tried all the obvious suggestions (medicinal ones like decongestant tablets, cough drops, and Vicks VapoRub) and natural remedies (tea with honey and lemon, hot water straight up, gargling with salt water, steaming my sinuses with a pot of simmering water and a towel draped over my head). All provide just temporary solutions.

I know my symptoms are transient, but right now they're making me miserable. In an effort to come up with something else that might help I've learned that there are actually techniques for effective coughing. 

The first one is a “controlled deep cough”. You start by sitting up straight, with your feet on the floor. Take a deep breath through your nose, hold it for a few seconds, then lean forward slightly, cross your arms over your stomach and cough twice, using your abdominal muscles to expel the air out through your mouth.

The second one is "controlled huff coughing". Sit up straight with your feet on the floor and lift your chin. Exhale slowly, then take a deep breath through your nose. Hold it for several seconds then force the air out with three rapid huffs (like you're breathing to clean a pair of glasses).

The techniques are helping, but I really can't wait for the day when I'm not coughing any more!

Five years ago: First Day Of Spring Color

One Bowl, Three Meals

 This morning I decided to have steel cut oatmeal for breakfast. I added one serving of dry oatmeal and water to a six-cup Pyrex bowl and put it in the microwave. This bowl is tall enough that the oatmeal doesn't boil over (because the last thing I want to do before coffee is clean up a gunky mess from the turntable).

As I was eating I realized that the croupy cough I've had for a couple of days was much worse, my body felt like it had been run over by a big truck, and I should probably cancel my plans for the day and stay home.

I spent the morning napping on the couch, reading, and drinking hot tea with honey and lemon. At lunchtime I cut raw veggies and a mushroom into pieces, dumped them into the Pyrex bowl, then added a handful of spinach, water, and a spoonful of Tom Yum powder and microwaved . The spicy soup tasted great and as a bonus cleared up my nasal passages.

At this point I was feeling a little bit better, so I took the car to Sam's Club for gas and stopped by the grocery store for another jar of honey (masking up before I went in). I puttered away the rest of the afternoon with more reading and mindless social media scrolling.

Hubby Tony had a dinner meeting so I was on my own for dinner. I put together a dribs and drabs main dish salad with a serving of rice, leftover pork steak, red and yellow pepper pieces, caramelized onions, and chopped romaine lettuce. Everything went in the trusty Pyrex bowl, because why not?

Happy St. Paddy's

 

Five years ago: Incomparable

No Decimal Point

Most people know that March 14th, written as 3/14 in the United States, is also Pi Day. However, in the St. Louis metropolitan area the date has an additional meaning because the digits 314 happen to be the original area code for the metropolitan area. Around here March 14th is known as St. Louis Day. Hubby Tony and I decided to celebrate with some local activities and food.

There were a lot of organized options. One of the things that caught our attention were several self-guided 3.14 mile walks. It looked like today was going to be rainy, so yesterday after I got home from work Tony and I drove to the St. Vincent Greenway, a new to us trail.

After a great walk, we got back in the car and drove to Chuck-A-Burger, a local drive in that's been around since the 1950s.

The restaurant was close to Tony's teenage stomping grounds but I had never been there before. A friendly carhop took our order and brought it out to the car. (In a bag-no carhop tray.) I tried to take a photo with the food on my lap but couldn't properly capture the perfectly grilled double smashburger with crispy edges, crispy fries, and hand breaded onion rings. You'll have to take my word for how good it was. Tony took the scenic route home.

We went to bed thinking it was going to rain all day today and planned accordingly. However, this morning my phone app said that after an early morning storm the day would be dry until evening and we quickly modified our plans. We still went to the gym, but before my class stopped by Kaldi's Coffee for coffee to drink and a bag of their special 314 Day blend for later.

After the gym we walked to Mission Taco Joint, where as part of our lunch Tony and I each had a toasted ravioli taco-a crispy corn tortilla, Italian-seasoned meat filling, marinara sauce, and Provel and Parmesan cheeses.

After lunch we headed went home. Tony had a dinner meeting tonight, so later in the afternoon I headed to Schnucks, one of the areas two local grocery store chains, to pick up something "St. Louis" for my dinner. I ended up buying a pork steak from the prepared foods counter. Appropriate, as St. Louis is the home of the pork steak.