Eat Your Vegetables!

I learned from Holidays Calendar that today was National Eat Your Vegetables Day. Hubby Tony and I eat a lot of produce; who knew there was an opportunity to celebrate our achievement?

Actually, even before I found out about the observance I was working on tonight's dinner plans. I started by looking in the refrigerator, where I found a half head of red cabbage that needed to be used up. A quick Google search gave me the recipe for Curried Cashew and Red Cabbage Stir-Fry.

Website photo by Todd Porter & Diane Cu

However, I often change a recipe's ingredients around, and this one was no exception. I added extra garlic and a couple of stalks of chopped celery, sliced the carrots thin instead of shredding them, and used minced fresh parsley instead of cilantro. A dinner time I served the dish over brown rice. It tasted wonderful, even though the cabbage bled some color onto the other ingredients.

Five years ago today: Little Seed Of Squash

Describes Me To A T

Son Brian recently took a few days off work, and he asked if I would be interested in a daily Zoom meeting with him and Grandson Jay (to replace the ones Jay had with his preschool class before it ended for the year). Of course I jumped at the chance.

Each meeting lasted approximately 30 minutes. We would talk about our days, Jay would show me his latest bock/craft/drawing project, and would I read him a story or two. One day I had a matching activity, and a couple of days I carried my laptop into Hubby Tony's office so Jay could say hello to Grandpa.

Before our first meeting I went to the dollar store and bought a pack of crayons. I had hoped to also get an adult coloring book, but there were none available so I came home and printed some pages off the internet. One of them had this quote by Alain Schweitzer:

Just Color

I really enjoy listening to music, and if you've been reading here any time at all you know I'm a fanatic cat mom.

Five years ago today: Hoopla And Hoop Blah

Counting Customers

Remember how the other day I wrote about how one of the local grocery stores seemed to be lessening their social distancing policies? Dkzody mentioned in a comment how scary that was.

I am happy to inform her, and everyone else, that when Hubby Tony and I went back to the same grocery store tonight I saw an associate with a tablet at the entrance door accounting for customers when they walked in. (And his counterpart was at the exit door tabulating customers as they walked out.)

Five years ago today: First Place On The Right

No Problem

Today Hubby Tony celebrated another trip around the sun, and per tradition got to request what he wanted for dinner. Part of his request was a dessert of cake and ice cream. This morning I baked a tiny three-layer chocolate cake and frosted it with chocolate icing, but the day got away from me before I could get to the store to buy the ice cream. All of a sudden Tony was finished with work and asked if I wanted to take a walk with him. I wondered aloud if it would be possible to combine it with the ice cream trip, given that the temperature was in the low 80s. In the end I figured out that an insulated lunchbox with an ice block could keep the ice cream cold, and our trip was on.

There was only one problem. The store we were headed to still enforced a COVID ban on reusable grocery bags. Since the quarantine started back in March they've had an associate stationed at the entrance door to make sure all the rules are followed. While we walked toward the store I came up with an elaborate story and solution in case the associate took offense at my lunchbox. As we reached the door Tony and I put out masks on and I prepared to stand my ground.

I needn't have bothered. For the first time in weeks the door associate was missing.

Five years ago today: "Distractions", Indeed!

A Refreshing Change

Yesterday the remnants of Tropical Storm Cristobal came through our area. The predicted heavy rain veered away from us, but there was still gusty winds, and the humidity was high enough to make things feel miserable outside.

But after the storm a cool front came in overnight. When my alarm went off this morning I found out that Hubby Tony had turned off the air conditioner and opened up the windows, and I got to enjoy the outside sounds and the breeze coming in while I ate breakfast and read the newspaper.  During my trip to the grocery store I found out it was too cool for shorts, and that cut short my first attempt at a walk. I came home and switched to Capri pants, which made my after-lunchtime walk a joy.

Late in the day I looked at the weather app on my phone, which told me that things were supposed to heat up again tomorrow. However,  the forecast from one of our local stations was more acceptable to me, and I decided that this was the forecast I was going with:

Fox2Now

Depending on the level of humidity that goes along with these temperatures, we have the possibility of a whole week without the air conditioner. That's unheard of at this time of year!

Five years ago today: Please Pass The Mustard

The Importance Of Correct Punctuation

What a difference a couple of commas, periods, and capital letters makes. Which do you prefer:

Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I can be forever happy--will you let me be yours?

Gloria

Or:

Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?

Yours,

Gloria

Compare And Contrast Churches

Hubby Tony and I decided to attend Mass this afternoon, but when he pulled up the website of the parish close to our new house (which uses an online reservation system to control the number of people who attend) he found out they had already reached their limit. We modified our plans to drive to the church near our old house, where we attended for more than 30 years.

All parishes were mandated by the Archdiocese to make modifications before they can reopen. They had to limit the number of attendees to maintain social distance, remove hymnals and missalettes, and limit the music to a musician and cantor. There can be no collection basket passed and no sign of peace. Communion traffic patterns must be one-way, and offer the opportunity to leave the building immediately afterwards.

Based on my sample of two churches, each following the regulations to the letter, there was still room for individuality. Our first experience involved open seating in a socially-distant manner, but at today's mass they added a zone system for singles, couples, and families. At Communion time today each of the two priests stood behind a large plexiglass safety screen, reaching under it to place a host onto each person's hand.

No Controverting

I was talking with a holistic medical professional today who had some very interesting theories.

We began the conversation by talking about current medical events. He told me that he was waiting for a vaccine for COVID to come out-not because it would keep people from developing the disease, but only because it would make people feel safe and they'd get back into the real world. He went on to use the flu vaccine as an example, telling me that it is typically is only 40 to 60% effective and that he preferred to take his chances without one. As a matter of fact, he invited people who knew they were infected to stop by to see him so he could 'catch' the virus.

I made the mistake of saying I had heard about that shot's sometimes not great results, but that I was sure he didn't feel that way about all immunizations.  He stopped, looked me in the eye, and went into a dissertation about virus natural selection and mutation, how natural immunity is better than vaccine-acquired immunity, and how people's immunity can't keep up if they receive vaccines.

He stopped for a breath, then continued by telling me that years ago there used to be natural methods to treat polio and tuberculosis but the drug companies shut them down and those same companies have had a hand in requiring students and workers to be vaccinated no matter what their personal preference.

After he got everything off his chest I just looked at him and said "You may be right". I didn't believe anything he had said, but it wasn't worth trying to argue.

Five years ago today: Pepper On Purse

Be More Like Labs

I think this is very good advice.

Five years ago today: A Loyal Customer

New Word, Old Idea

One of the members of a forum I belong to recently posted that she was deciding what to cook for tomorrow's supper (which would include enough to have plan-overs for the next night). I had never heard of the phrase, but according to A Way with Words, it means "an excess of food cooked so as to have leftovers for future meals".

Something I do all the time. I bet you do, too.

Most recipes make four servings, and there are only two of us in the house. Hubby Tony prepares dinner on Sunday. He always makes enough so I can reheat it on Monday, giving me a second night off. Then if I plan well I only have to start from scratch on Tuesday (with leftovers on Wednesday) and Thursday (repeats on Friday). Saturday night is "go out date night", then the week starts over.

Even if the leftover plan doesn't execute perfectly I can still leverage the plan-over system to my advantage by using my freezer. It always has a selection of cooked beans and containers of brown rice ready to go, and sometimes servings of soup or stew, too. I bake two dozen muffins and two pounds of tofu at a time, because I have one or both of them for lunch most days. Add in a couple of bags of frozen vegetables and plan-overs are a breeze!