Today I had a work assignment about 15 miles away from my house. Since I was already going to be in the area, I scheduled a second one just a mile down the road from the first.
One of the requirements of the second assignment was to take a photo of the building. I did. then uploaded and submitted it to the company when I got home in the middle of the afternoon. Fifteen minutes later they sent me a message that said the photo didn't meet the standards. They wanted me to go back and re-take it within 24 hours.
At first I thought about telling them what they could do with their request, but then I reconsidered. It wouldn't be very professional to bail on a job requirement, so I decided to suck it up and make the second trip. The problem was that my schedule for tomorrow will take me in a different direction. I'd have to complete the photo re-shoot tonight. After dinner I waited for rush hour traffic to die down, then got back in the car for the second drive to the area in a day.
Thanks to the change back to standard time it was dark, which didn't make me any happier. I try to live my life by the motto 'everything happens for a reason', so as I drove along I tried to figure out why I was needing to make this trip. Would I talk to someone I wouldn't have encountered otherwise, see something interesting, or hear something new and different on the radio? However, I talked to no one (unless you could the choice words I sent towards an erratic driver-he couldn't hear me, so they probably didn't count). There were no outstanding sights at all. It was interesting, but not earth shattering, to hear the same song playing on two different radio preset stations at the same time.
After a 25-minute drive I got to the store, stood across the street, and took several photos. I'm no expert, but I think my daytime photos were better. However, I'm not the one setting the standards, so when I got home I sent the shots off through cyberspace to the company. As I did it I realized this time there was no deep meaning to the evening's adventure. The moral of the story is that I should have done it right the first time.
Five years ago today: Squishy Squash
Monday, November 2, 2015
Friday, October 30, 2015
Too Soon! Go Away!
The Major League Baseball post-season has been going on for almost a month. In that time we've had at least part of most of the games on. (Hubby Tony watches pretty intently. Me, not so much).
During these games they tend recycle the same set of commercials over and over. Since early October I've seen the commercials for prescription drugs, cars, car insurance, and online fantasy sports way too many times. Tonight was no exception. I was minding my own business, sitting on the couch in the family room playing with my laptop and halfway paying attention to the TV. Until a new commercial demanded my attention. It was a holiday ad!
In my perfect world retailers wouldn't promote Christmas until after Thanksgiving, but I'm not in charge and they don't listen to me. However, there was something particularly annoying about seeing references to a winter holiday during a summer sport.
Five years ago today: Corny
During these games they tend recycle the same set of commercials over and over. Since early October I've seen the commercials for prescription drugs, cars, car insurance, and online fantasy sports way too many times. Tonight was no exception. I was minding my own business, sitting on the couch in the family room playing with my laptop and halfway paying attention to the TV. Until a new commercial demanded my attention. It was a holiday ad!
In my perfect world retailers wouldn't promote Christmas until after Thanksgiving, but I'm not in charge and they don't listen to me. However, there was something particularly annoying about seeing references to a winter holiday during a summer sport.
Five years ago today: Corny
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Happy National Chocolate Day!
This morning the Internet told me that today (October 28th) was National Chocolate Day. NO WAY was I going to pass up celebrating this one!
After lunch I had some business in a mall that has a Godiva chocolate store. Because I'm a member of their Rewards Club I can get a free piece of chocolate every month. I hadn't gotten my October benefit yet.
Coincidence?
Five years ago: Trick or Treat!
After lunch I had some business in a mall that has a Godiva chocolate store. Because I'm a member of their Rewards Club I can get a free piece of chocolate every month. I hadn't gotten my October benefit yet.
Coincidence?
 |
| Cookie dough truffle |
Five years ago: Trick or Treat!
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Crazy Legs
Isn't this carrot cute? This afternoon I pulled it out of vegetable drawer of the refrigerator:
I think it looks like the lower half of a person from the waist down with a short torso and two legs. When I saw it I immediately thought of Betsy. She often sees faces in her food.
Five years ago today: Time Is Running Out...
Five years ago today: Time Is Running Out...
Monday, October 26, 2015
Nooch Me
A couple of interesting recipes I've seen lately have called for nutritional yeast, which was a new-to-me ingredient. A little research showed me that nutritional yeast (or 'nooch') is used in a lot of vegetarian and vegan recipes. It's a strain of yeast that's grown on a food source, then harvested, heated, dried, and crumbled into flakes or powder. I also learned that nutritional yeast is high in protein and has a mildly nutty and cheesy flavor. Two weeks ago when I was at my local Whole Foods I bought a small quantity from the bulk section to have on hand for when inspiration hit.
Today was that day. I was busy with work projects and activities, and forgot to think about dinner until mid-afternoon. When I opened the refrigerator to see what it held I realized I forgot to make a grocery and produce run yesterday. The shelves were pretty bare other than a package of raw broccoli (about a pound's worth), a small handful of blanched cauliflower, a half of a red onion, and a couple of cups of leftover brown rice. I suspected I could meld them together with some kind of sauce incorporating the nutritional yeast. A Google search with those ingredients gave me my inspiration recipe for Broccoli and Cauliflower with Vegan 'Cheese' Sauce. With the addition of the rice I was able to turn the side dish into a main dish casserole
I cut the broccoli (both florets and stems) into bite-sized pieces and cooked it in the microwave until crisp-tender, then threw in the cauliflower. While the vegetables cooked I chopped the onion and a couple of cloves of garlic and sauteed them for five minutes, then added water, nutritional yeast, and spices and heated to boiling. (At the last minute I decided there wasn't enough sauce, so I doubled the water and nutritional yeast.) The last step was to make a slurry of olive oil and flour and stir it into the pot to thicken the mixture. I dumped the rice on top of the vegetables, added the sauce, and stirred it up until it was well mixed. Put it into a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes until everything was hot, and put it on the table.
There was no leftovers. I think the nutritional yeast was a hit.
Today was that day. I was busy with work projects and activities, and forgot to think about dinner until mid-afternoon. When I opened the refrigerator to see what it held I realized I forgot to make a grocery and produce run yesterday. The shelves were pretty bare other than a package of raw broccoli (about a pound's worth), a small handful of blanched cauliflower, a half of a red onion, and a couple of cups of leftover brown rice. I suspected I could meld them together with some kind of sauce incorporating the nutritional yeast. A Google search with those ingredients gave me my inspiration recipe for Broccoli and Cauliflower with Vegan 'Cheese' Sauce. With the addition of the rice I was able to turn the side dish into a main dish casserole
I cut the broccoli (both florets and stems) into bite-sized pieces and cooked it in the microwave until crisp-tender, then threw in the cauliflower. While the vegetables cooked I chopped the onion and a couple of cloves of garlic and sauteed them for five minutes, then added water, nutritional yeast, and spices and heated to boiling. (At the last minute I decided there wasn't enough sauce, so I doubled the water and nutritional yeast.) The last step was to make a slurry of olive oil and flour and stir it into the pot to thicken the mixture. I dumped the rice on top of the vegetables, added the sauce, and stirred it up until it was well mixed. Put it into a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes until everything was hot, and put it on the table.
There was no leftovers. I think the nutritional yeast was a hit.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Totally Random
Did you know that the sidebar on the main page of Wikipedia has a link that will take you to one of their 4,995,452 random articles? Tonight I wasted part of an evening spent some quality time learning facts about things that for the most part I didn't know existed. Some of the highlights:
- High Mowing School is the oldest Waldorf high school in Canada or the United States, and the only Waldorf boarding school in the United States.
- The Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science is based in the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and has an international reputation in theoretical computer science, mathematical logic and category theory.
- Chenaran, Nishapur is a village in Zeberkhan Rural District, Zeberkhan District, Nishapur County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. which had a population of 1,660 in 2006.
- IchirÅ Terao served as the Chairman of the National Board of Governors of the Boy Scouts of Japan. He was was awarded the 174th Bronze Wolf for exceptional services to world Scouting in 1985.
- Encelia virginensis a North American species of flowering plants in the daisy family known by the common name Virgin River brittlebush which is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico,
Friday, October 23, 2015
A Taste Of Fall
For the past two weeks I've had two nice-sized Halloween pumpkins on the kitchen island. They look nice there, but this location is just temporary. Because the front door faces west I can't put them on the porch yet. If I do the afternoon sun will make them rot before Halloween.
Yesterday the high temperature was 84° and it still felt like summer. Overnight a cold front came through and the weather turned fall-like. The blustery winds that blew dead leaves through a cloud-filled sky got me in the mood for pumpkin-cooked something, and I decided to sacrifice one of the pumpkins to the cause. After cutting, seed scooping, roasting, rind removing, pulp processing, draining, and packaging the freezer now holds four full bags of pumpkin puree (plus another partial bag) as well as a container of pumpkin liquid. There's also a plastic container of roasted pumpkin seeds in the pantry.
After all that work the pumpkin-cooked something will have to wait until later.
Five years ago today: Feature Attraction
Yesterday the high temperature was 84° and it still felt like summer. Overnight a cold front came through and the weather turned fall-like. The blustery winds that blew dead leaves through a cloud-filled sky got me in the mood for pumpkin-cooked something, and I decided to sacrifice one of the pumpkins to the cause. After cutting, seed scooping, roasting, rind removing, pulp processing, draining, and packaging the freezer now holds four full bags of pumpkin puree (plus another partial bag) as well as a container of pumpkin liquid. There's also a plastic container of roasted pumpkin seeds in the pantry.
After all that work the pumpkin-cooked something will have to wait until later.
 |
| pumpkin puree |
Thursday, October 22, 2015
A Way To Show You Care
Yesterday I got an email from a member of a church group which said that a young pregnant woman in the parish was having some problems and had been put on bed rest. The author of the message indicated she'd set up a calendar through CareCalendar to coordinate meals and other help for the family.
An 'online care calendar' was new to me, but it sounded like a good idea. Years ago, the system was different. If someone needed help one person was in charge of coordinating things. She assigned the days, let everyone know who was bringing what (to make sure there was a variety of dishes), and followed up with a reminder to make sure the meal was going to be delivered. It was a lot of work for the organizer
When I logged in with the ID number and password. the calendar showed the days meals were needed and the days that had already been taken (along with what that person was bringing). All of the needed information was there-the family's address, phone number, dietary preferences, and what time they'd like the food delivered. I noticed that no one had volunteered for today or tomorrow, so I called to see what the family's plans were. The woman said she had a casserole in reserve her husband was going to reheat. I told her I was making a pot of chili for my own dinner tonight; would she like me to bring some to her? She said she would.
Since my food wasn't being eaten tonight.I could drop it off on my schedule. While the chili was cooking I microwaved apple wedges with lemon juice and cinnamon. When everything was ready I scooped some chili into an empty yogurt container, poured the apples into a plastic to-go container, then set both in a bag. The family didn't live too far away from my house, so it only took seven minutes to make the delivery.
Five years ago today: Shine On
An 'online care calendar' was new to me, but it sounded like a good idea. Years ago, the system was different. If someone needed help one person was in charge of coordinating things. She assigned the days, let everyone know who was bringing what (to make sure there was a variety of dishes), and followed up with a reminder to make sure the meal was going to be delivered. It was a lot of work for the organizer
When I logged in with the ID number and password. the calendar showed the days meals were needed and the days that had already been taken (along with what that person was bringing). All of the needed information was there-the family's address, phone number, dietary preferences, and what time they'd like the food delivered. I noticed that no one had volunteered for today or tomorrow, so I called to see what the family's plans were. The woman said she had a casserole in reserve her husband was going to reheat. I told her I was making a pot of chili for my own dinner tonight; would she like me to bring some to her? She said she would.
Since my food wasn't being eaten tonight.I could drop it off on my schedule. While the chili was cooking I microwaved apple wedges with lemon juice and cinnamon. When everything was ready I scooped some chili into an empty yogurt container, poured the apples into a plastic to-go container, then set both in a bag. The family didn't live too far away from my house, so it only took seven minutes to make the delivery.
Five years ago today: Shine On
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Fixing A Hole
Yesterday I started watering our newly-sowed grass seed and discovered the hose had sprung a leak. I was on a tight time frame and didn't have time to stop everything and go to the store for a replacement (besides, it's a quality hose and.didn't just want to throw it away). However, the problem didn't go away by itself; as I moved the sprinkler around the yard I noticed there was more and more water coming from the leak. After I finished the job and put everything away I changed my clothes and headed towards my local big box hardware location to see if they had anything that would fix the problem.
In the hose department they had several options, ranging in price from just under two dollars to just over ten. As I stood there pondering the array, a store associate came up and asked if I needed help. He was very helpful, telling me the cheapest plastic mender had been working in one of his hoses for four years. Based on his recommendation I made my purchase.
The mending kit had three pieces-a black plastic tube that slid into the hose pieces and two clamps (one for either end of the tube) that held it in place. The repair steps sounded simple enough: cut out the damaged section, slide a clamp on each piece, shove the tube into the pieces as far as it would go, slide the clamps up until they were over the tube, and tighten them securely.
After lunch it was time for Operation Hose Repair. I gathered my equipment--a pair of kitchen shears to cut the hose and a Phillips screwdriver. Before I went outside I loosened the screws on both of the couplers, then put everything in a custard cup so it wouldn't get lost. When I got outside I turned the hose on to find the exact spot it was leaking, then marked it by setting the kitchen shears next to it while I turned the water back off. The scariest part of the whole job was cutting into the hose, knowing that if I made a mistake I'd ruin it. However, once that was done the rest was easy. Son Donald was in the garage, and I pressed him into service to maneuver the hose on the tube the last little bit and hold it there until I tightened the clamps
Once the job was finished I attached the hose to the sprinkler, crossed my fingers, and turned on the water. My repair worked! There were no leaks.
Five years ago today: I'm So Excited
In the hose department they had several options, ranging in price from just under two dollars to just over ten. As I stood there pondering the array, a store associate came up and asked if I needed help. He was very helpful, telling me the cheapest plastic mender had been working in one of his hoses for four years. Based on his recommendation I made my purchase.
The mending kit had three pieces-a black plastic tube that slid into the hose pieces and two clamps (one for either end of the tube) that held it in place. The repair steps sounded simple enough: cut out the damaged section, slide a clamp on each piece, shove the tube into the pieces as far as it would go, slide the clamps up until they were over the tube, and tighten them securely.
After lunch it was time for Operation Hose Repair. I gathered my equipment--a pair of kitchen shears to cut the hose and a Phillips screwdriver. Before I went outside I loosened the screws on both of the couplers, then put everything in a custard cup so it wouldn't get lost. When I got outside I turned the hose on to find the exact spot it was leaking, then marked it by setting the kitchen shears next to it while I turned the water back off. The scariest part of the whole job was cutting into the hose, knowing that if I made a mistake I'd ruin it. However, once that was done the rest was easy. Son Donald was in the garage, and I pressed him into service to maneuver the hose on the tube the last little bit and hold it there until I tightened the clamps
Once the job was finished I attached the hose to the sprinkler, crossed my fingers, and turned on the water. My repair worked! There were no leaks.
 | |
| finished product |
Monday, October 19, 2015
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