La Quinta Inn and Other Things

 Original Post Here

I finally got around to talking to Customer Care about the La Quinta Inn stay. I have tried for the whole two weeks to find the right number. One guy hung up on me. Another number had breathing and a feeble person saying, "I am the only person here." Not sure what that was, but I did have the number I intended to dial. I got three other people who could barely speak English. Finally, I talked to a woman who did not seem to listen, only intent on saying, "If that is the way the motel wants it, we cannot make them change."

She said: 

If only one bar is required in the shower, that is okay. They are not required to put in more than minimum.

If they want to put handicap rooms where dogs are allowed in the room, that is the prerogative of the motel. 

No one is required to keep dogs from barking because dogs cannot be stopped from barking. 

No one has to bring me anything to the room. 

The motel can put the microwave anywhere they want to place it, no matter how low. As she said,
Wherever they have room. The microwave was so low that even a person in a wheelchair would have a problem reaching it and not falling out of the chair. 

She made absolutely no comment on the hair on the ice bucket or rolled in a towel. No comment on wet floor being slick as ice. 

The information that she reacted to the strongest was the woman who checked us in saying she was the only person working in the motel at that time. 

I forgot to say there was only one chair in the room and barely room for that one. Plus, there was very little room for walking. 

There is no one room that will fit every disabled person, but room for walking and safety in the bathroom seem to be things that a severely disabled person, more so than either of us, might require. 

I will get an email once she reviews the information. 

The reason I did not report this sooner was that at first, I was tired; some days we were not here; some days I forgot until after 5 pm; some days I had better things to do. I had all sorts of excuses. I suppose the only thing to do now is to post this information online on some site.

There are a few things I learned: Never go to any Wyndham-related motel. There are many chains under their umbrella. Always make sure where the dogs are and not stay in that section. Always see the room first. The first two rooms for disabled that I stayed in were superb. Lately, not so much. I wish I knew the names of those motels. 

I think we need to cook meat again. It is thawed and we only have one helping left of ground beef cooked with onions. Well, there are a dozen meat meals frozen. But, we are not getting into those. Plus, I need to shop for fresh vegetables. Overnight, I cooked dried beans in the crockpot. I use Great Northern Beans I cook from dried for making hummus. I have had hummus on my mind. And, Tommy hates it. So, I will figure out how to make some for him that he will eat. Or, maybe not. It really does not matter since he like GNBs. 

Yesterday, I cooked a two-gallon bag of chopped collard greens. Beans go with greens. Maybe I will bake sweet potatoes to go with the beans and greens. This all sounds like fall, but when you have it, you cook it. I may freeze some of the greens for later. 

Slowly, but surely, with all the cleaner did by moving things, I am able to further declutter my bedroom. At last, I can hang things in the closet, so my clothes are not stacked different places. Also, the Rubbermaid storage crates can go into the closet. 

What are you cooking today? How does your garden grow? 

In the Middle of the Night and a Favorite Food from Childhood

 That is me, up in the middle of the night, typing. I went to bed early at 1 am. I was so exhausted but cannot sleep. 

On Saturday night I want to make a favorite dish--salmon and eggs. Mama made this for us and I loved it. The ingredients are simple--eggs and a can of salmon. You just scramble the eggs, cook until almost set, and add the canned salmon broken into chunks. It makes me hungry thinking about making it. We always had this with home fries and gravy. 

I don't like food slopped all over and on other foods. But, gravy on the eggs and salmon and potatoes did not bother me in the least. It seems we always had it with a bowl of beans, probably Great Northern beans. 

A bag of navy beans happened into my hand and made me want to cook some. I was rearranging things when I came upon the bag. I am rethinking cooking beans. The refrigerator is too full right now to add anything to it. 

There is a huge bowl of cooked savoy cabbage, and the leftovers of another head. We need to deal with those first before I cook beans. 

Dinner tonight--pork loin stuffed with asparagus and cheese, butternut squash. This is one of the meals for one that must be cooked. It was given to us. I find these work for both of us when we add more food. We had cabbage and potatoes, leftovers. Between the two of us, there might have been three small pieces of asparagus. 

Thursday night, I cooked four chicken thighs. Tommy ate one along with baked onion, potatoes, and radishes. Since I hate thighs, I had another meat along with the radishes, potatoes, and onion. I had left the kitchen needing attention. 

Tommy went into the kitchen and cleaned it all up and even put one thigh in a freezer bag in the freezer and put the other two smaller thighs in a sandwich bag, stuffed them both in and put them in the refrigerator. He has never done anything like this, storing food in freezer and refrigerator. I was shocked and felt guilty. 

On Saturday, we need to wash all the snap lock lids in the sink and load the dishwasher. I need to find the fireant bait and apply it. That ought to finish me off. 

The very first night I transplanted my Romaine into a pot, something started munching on it. I think maybe something was in the old soil and welcomed a dinner of Romaine. Maybe I need to put in new soil. And wash the pot. 

I have had Verizon less than a month and already it is a disappointment. It is just like AT&T! Annoying. 

Tommy seems to be on a mansplaining kick. When I complain, he says he just wants to make sure I understand. Just shoot me now! 

It is 3 am, and I am getting drowsy. So, off I go. 

Have you ever eaten salmon and eggs, just cooked in an iron skillet and served with home-fried potatoes and gravy? I won't be frying eggs and making gravy. 

My New Favorite Thing to Eat

No, not chocolate brownies...lol

I may have mentioned I was going to cook soup with Great Northern Beans. I did. I cooked the Great Northern Beans and added kale from my garden along with carrots and ham.

Great Northern Beans
carrots
kale
highly seasoned ham (or ham and spices)

I added no seasoning to this concoction. The ham that was given to me was very spicy and fatty. So, I thought the spice in the ham would be sufficient for the whole pot of soup. It was. But, heating the ham in a skillet and mashing it in a towel did not remove the fattiness, just some grease.

The carrots were two of the little single serving packages we got at the dinner handed through the car window. I cut them in 1/2 inch pieces.

The kale came from my garden. Even though I picked a whole grocery bag full, there could have been more for my liking.

I have always gagged at the thought of bean soup even though I like beans. Tommy loved the soup! So, even though it was technically too warm for soup, this was wonderful.

Now, I grew up eating beans because Daddy had to have them at meals. No matter what else we had that was delicious, hearty, and healthful, we had beans. Now, we kids ate them the first meal, but after that he was often the only one having them with the next meal. and the net Since he grew up poor and one of twelve kids during the Depression, I suppose beans were eaten every day if they could get them. I liked beans but not every day. However, only after about thirty years did I love beans.

Who would have guessed that Great Northern Beans, carrots, kale, and ham would be so delicious? Not I. Even though I have never read a recipe for bean soup, I think I guesses well.

From now on I will raise an abundance of kale and carrots, well, at least the kale.

While I was picking kale, I looked down at a familiar sight. Was that Romaine I saw? Well, yes it was. I did not remember or realize I had Romaine in my garden. So ditzy. Tommy laughed. I am so excited. Today I will go buy tomatoes and we will have salads with Romaine, red lettuce, and tomatoes. I have boiled eggs for mine and Tommy can have the ham.

This Auburn garden project is such a happy experience. I did get to pick out my vegetables to grow.

Do you make bean soup? What goes into yours?