I Just Could Not Help It

 Tommy knew I was joking. But, I hoped the doctor would appreciate my humor. I was in the dermatologist's exam room. I have complained about my left elbow that does not look too bad. However, it feels raw when I put it down on anything, especially the console in Tommy's car. The doctor has prescribed two things. Nothing has worked. I even keep a cloth to put on the console. That helps immensely. The point of my elbow looks a little scruffy, but not hardened or red or dark. However, it feels raw, like it might be bloody. 

This was the third time I had complained. And, no, this was an aside from my main reason for the appointment. He was looking on his laptop for a product he wished me to try for my elbow and another issue on my hand. As he was looking, he was talking and writing it down. He offhandedly mentioned it contained 'urea.'  My mind was turning as he was talking. I said with trepidation, worried he would think I was serious, "Can I just pee on my hand?" 

He replied with the fact that when he first heard of urea in med school, he was concerned about it. "It's not the same thing. But, I didn't know that." Well, I quickly told him I was joking. Tommy said he, too, knew I was not serious. It was just too good a line for me to pass up!

I joke like this with a straight face. People think I am funny or just dumb. I just had to share this with you. Have I embarrassed myself? 

Today, we had just enough gentle rain that Tommy only watered the plants on the porch. We had a chore and came home. I let him go in first so he could unlock the door. I got out of the car when he was inside. He went out to water a bit later, after I decided to take a nap. When I awoke, he told me I left the car running for 2.5 hours! Thankfully, I did not run all the gas out of the car.

The rain was just very local and light, no thunder or winds, so very nice for gardens. I think the blackberries are done for the year. Nothing seems to be happening on the blackberry plants. That will make maybe eight strawberries for the total harvest. I hope they do better next year. Five of the six canes look alive still. Maybe I will have seven blackberry plants next year. 

Dinner: Tommy had ham, corn, collards. I had a bit of Caprese Penne Pasta, couple of bites of roast beef, 1/4 cup mashed potatoes, 2 Tbsp gravy, and green beans and half a banana. There is enough of the roast beef and rest of that meal for Tommy. He won't eat the Caprese anything. It had pesto instead of whole basil leaves, so yummy. The grape tomatoes were delicious heated with the rest of the dish. I will have strawberries later.

I quit buying Red Delicious Apples at Publix. I bought a bag of Fuji, ate them without pleasure. I ate them for nutrients and fiber. Now, I have one large Granny Smith apple. It is tangy and tart! 

The list we made for Thursday, did not finish, added to for Friday, will now have additions for Saturday. It is all done eventually. 

Last night, when I could not sleep, I did a bit of decluttering and a bit of putting things in their place. I am the only one who can tell...lol. 

Tommy's favorite coffee mug says "I stole this cup from the desk of Matt Gentry."  There is a badge on the opposite side. Matt is the County Sheriff. He won this cup at a Christmas Party Dinner for seniors. I think it is cute he likes it. It helps me to convince him he does not need so many coffee cups. It's a decluttering tool. 

Do you ever say something so ridiculous in jest like peeing on your hand in lieu of urea? To your doctor? 

Food and Freezing

 Tonight, we froze four one-quart bags of rhubarb. Each bag had three cups of rhubarb and 1/4 cup of sugar. There is a container of cooked rhubarb with three cups cooked with 1/4 cup of sugar. Those five helpings were $25. That is expensive but we won't buy more until next year. 

We went to the guy in Bessemer who sells produce from the curb today. I know he goes to the big Farmers Market and buys stuff. We paid $2 for a huge tomato. I meant to eat it for dinner but forgot. The cereal was near the 'use by' date. I worry it might go rancid if it is not eaten. 

We delivered food to the two guys. Today, I had six boxes of cereal I bought cheaply. But, even though it is granola and sounds nutritious, it has 48 grams of carbs in one small serving. So, along with rotel with chilies, they can have it. 

Tommy picked two more blackberries for me and put them in the bowl in the freezer. It will be a long time until I have even a half cup.

Dinner--small piece of chicken, 1/2 small potato, carrots, onions, Brussels sprouts. 

I washed a couple of things cluttering the counter space between the microwave and sink. I put the items where they should have been all along. The area is becoming more useful every day!

Somewhere, on a blog I read where a woman proudly wrote how she made a recipe keto. She said flour has carbs, but she ground oats into flour and made a keto dessert. She was someone who commented, not the food blogger. 

Now, I need to look over ads online. Tomorrow, we will get the ads from stores and see if there are any deals..

Tonight, we have watched Christmas movies. Such fun. We are watching the 1938 A Christmas Carol. Are you faring well in this heat? 

Thursday Blackberries

 When I boiled the 7 or 8 chicken breasts, I decided to season them with many seasonings. Tommy was going to bring me the little jars and a bowl for me to make a concoction of spices to dump into the pot. 

I used in varying amounts:

salt, pepper, basil, dry mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, celery seed, parsley, ground sage. I love sage-y chicken or turkey. But, that is a taste for Thanksgiving. 

Wednesday night, I had chicken and more than half a can of green beans and raw purple cauliflower. After I ate some chicken, I took the rest, shredded it and had an onion roll chicken sandwich. I put just a bit MW in it. Tommy had tomato, chicken and something else.

The chicken was not just boiled chicken. All the seasonings made it delicious, but subtle. I can add it to anything I cook. 

By the way, I love purple cauliflower. It lasts longer and stays pretty longer, both a plus. I am turned off by brown cauliflower or even bits of brown that I know is just oxidation. Since it was only $2 for a huge, fresh head, I will be looking for purple cauliflower again. 

Tonight, I am boiling potatoes for potato salad that will not be ready for dinner. Of course, I mix the onion and boiled potatoes while potatoes are hot to infuse the potatoes with onion. I still have Vidalia onions to use. 

Dinner Thursday night: bought meatballs, green beans, raw cauliflower florets. Tommy will have potatoes with onion in them. He likes this simple meal. Of course, it is just the beginning of potato salad. Dinner for me: boiled potatoes, 3 meatballs, more than half a can of green beans that were drained, soaked in fresh water, and then drained again.

Speaking of green beans, Tommy opened a can of French Cut Green Beans. I hate the French Cut. I eat them anyway. I did discover they are best in green bean casserole. Now, I have to eat the rest of these nasty beans!

Tommy picked four blackberries and brought me three. Maybe I need to freeze these until I have a cup or so to make something. Some are very bitter and some are sweet. I am not sure why the difference. They are very black and ripe. We will have five more plants for next year since five of the six cane pieces took when stuck in a pot. They still survive. He may have gotten the sixth one upside down. 

Today, Tommy saw a huge yellow butterfly visiting the flowers, especially the wildflowers and the one hummingbird feeder. Then, a hummingbird visited all the flowers and the feeder. He said he stood very still so as not to disrupt their feeding and so he could enjoy them. I enjoy seeing the bees in the clover.

Do you ever get just a couple of blackberries and save them for a larger portion for jelly, or tiny cobbler? 

Do you have a preference for cut green beans or French cut? Or, does it vary with how you eat them or in a recipe? 

Susie and Blackberries

 First of all, does anyone know anything about susie@persimmonmooncottage? The last thing she said anywhere that I read was that she was having trouble with a place infected on her leg that is swollen. Or, something like that. Susie, are you here? How are you? 

Of course, it is raining with thunder and lightning again. Tommy is pleased he will not have to water...again. The weather is so muggy. The guy from Lowe's came by between rains and showed me how to start the grill. It seems the left side must be fired up first. There is nothing in the directions stating this, however. I was doing it right, just need to start with left burner, it seems. 

As it happens, we have two packages of ground beef thawing along with two packages of bscb. I have heard of people boiling the chicken before grilling. I think I will do that. I may make burgers from the ground beef, not sure, but I would like some for the freezer, cooked and chopped for spaghetti. 

I have another apple that is rotten in the middle. I am tired of this. I do take them back since they are too numerous and expensive. Maybe I will switch from Red Delicious to Granny Smith apples. 

After we got the ad on Tuesday and we both looked at it, Tommy told me about the carrot bar cake and key lime pie. He went in and got both? 

The Double Q salmon did not come to the store, so we had to get a raincheck. We are on our last gallon of vinegar, so we need to determine the lowest price and buy another ten gallons. 

What good deals have you found this week?

Do you know all about black raspberries and blackberries? 

Does anyone know anything about how Susie is doing?

Tonight, my head does not have much brainpower. I finally fell asleep at 8 am this morning and only slept four hours. Between the lack of sleep and asthma symptoms, I feel braindead and miserable. 

I have been having the hardest time finding blackberries without the hard center. I hate that center. I knew I had bought blackberries that are hollow in the center. So, of course, I went to the internet to solve my confusion. As it turns out, blackberries always have the hard center. However, black raspberries are hollow, just like raspberries. So, all this time, I have been eating black raspberries! Has this confused you? It appears a foley mill would solve my problems with the centers/core. 

Well, that is what I found on the internet. Is there a variety of blackberries that do not have the core? 

Not Much, Happy Day But Nothing Exciting

 Sunday has been very quiet. Tommy was putting on his shoes when I asked him where he was going. "Out to water the flowers." As he completed the utterance, there was a crack of thunder. "Not anymore." So, rained, not a lot. We closed the door since we don't want lightning inside. After that brief rain and blustery winds, nothing else happened here all day. 

We mostly watched tv today, doing not much else, no projects. Then, we went to Publix for a couple of items. 

The Wave Petunia that sat in the laundry room all winter has many baby plants from reseeding and several flowers. The blackberries are shriveling. I think water runs off the tulle instead of going through. I must repot the lemon tree. It blows off the porch all the time because it is still in the black pot that is so light. I have plenty of pots and dirt, so we need to do it. 

Dinner was chicken, slaw and tomatoes. Not sure what Tommy ate. We ate the last of the slaw that I bought mix to make, so hopefully we will get more for coming weeks. 

Now, we are watching the Bourne movies, 1,2,4. Not sure why they skipped 3. I usually hate action movies. But, I love these. 

Fireworks started around 7 pm Sunday night, but so far at midnight, nothing. On Monday night I am sure there will be more in anticipation of Tuesday fireworks. 

We will eat what we eat, but there are no grand plans here. Hopefully, I will bake the chicken and maybe grill the steak. Maybe I will make baked beans for Tommy. If I am too tired, things won't happen. I will make pimiento and cheese and jello with fruit, one for both of us, minus bananas for Tommy. 

Have the fireworks started at your house? 

Are you going away for the 4th holiday? 

Are you cooking/grilling?

50 Cent Bargains

 I really did not feel like going into a store, so Tommy did. I needed tulle since Lowe's did not have the cover I needed to protect the blackberries. 

I bought Sweet Petite Little Finger Carrots seeds. I know it is late to start. But, I cannot find the carrot seeds here. I need to grow two pounds of carrots to break even on the Ferry-Morse $1.99 package of seeds from Lowe's. 

He found a ten-yard bolt of white tulle for $10. While I have not priced white tulle lately, this seems like a good price, reasonable price. Libby's canned pumpkin, the kind I use for holidays--$.50. It was dated Oct 2024. Stove Top Stuffing was also $.50 and dated 11-2023. Heinz Family Size jar of gravy is dated 2024 and was $.50. Tommy always calls to see if it is a good deal. I called my friend who buys for a food bank and told her. Maybe your WM will have the same bargain. 

All food in packaging for the shelf must stop at my chair. All the new cans/jars/boxes are labeled and moved to the bedroom. This is an ongoing task it seems, but necessary to keep eating the older foods and keep us eating the things with a near date. Since I label top and front of the can, it is easier to see what I am looking at and eating. 

Today started off brilliantly sunny. Now, it is overcast. But, it is still warm--84F. 

I need to go and move my snake near the one blackberry ripening fast. The tulle covering can wait until tomorrow. 

I need to go into the kitchen and cook already sliced yellow squash, zucchini, and onion. Tommy is having the squash/onions, salad, and chicken thigh. I will have the last bit of ground beef and onion, salad, squash/onions. 

Two things I must do tomorrow:

1--find a bird wing and deliver it and pattern to man who will cut the wings. Buying a 2x8 is part of this task.

2--find a video on what to buy to water pots and not a soaker hose like the guy showed me today! I do want a timer for it. Or, maybe not.

3--Maybe we could plant carrots. 

There were calls I needed to make today. But, nothing was accomplished on that front! Those are on the list of things to do, too.

Have you ever watered plants in hanging pots with tubes for water from the faucet?

Do you grow carrots? 

Plans That May Change

 I bought four containers of blackberries at Publix, of course, small containers. The plan is to make blackberry jam or something resembling blackberry jam. Since I don't want to add 2 cups of sugar and don't want to add artificial sweetener, I think I will crush the blackberries, add about 1/4 the sugar required, cook with or without no sugar Sure Jell and call it jam. 

Strawberry shortcake was in the works, but Tommy prefers the little shortcakes sold for dessert. I hate those and love my biscuits that have a bit of sugar and butter. Do I please him or please me and have less sweet stuff? 

After visiting two more stores as I shopped, no special trips, I found that the vinegar was cheapest where I bought the first two gallons. So, I will go there for another 8 gallons. 

The terrific wind brought down a large limb that will need a saw taken to it. So, we need to get that taken care of this next week. It fell on the neighbor's fence but did no damage. Just the end leafy parts are on the fence. But, since the wooden fence is inside the chain link fence, there could be damage not evident from my view from the car as we passed the house. 

I told Tommy he should go over and tell them he will get the tree off the fence. Tommy said he will do nothing, not even talk to them and ignore the limb unless they say something. He is a terrible neighbor. 

Produce is lasting forever here since I convinced Tommy it should go into a storage bag with the air pressed out. One week, at the food giveaway we were given 7 clamshells and bags of salad greens. We bagged them all in separate storage bags and not one was lost. Tommy ate out of them for over a month. So, he is a believer. These are Christmas designs and cost very little. We reused the bags for other uses, not food storage, before they are thrown out. 

I think I will make Kool Aid with Swerve. About once a year, I want Kool Aid. I wonder if Swerve will freeze so I can make popsicles, too.  ???

Tommy is not a father, but he was a good chickydaddy the ten years I had chickens. I always wish him Happy Father's Day. He did object but I point out his job as chickydaddy and he smiles. We are doing nothing spectacular or celebrating. So, it will just be another day. Both our fathers are dead, taken by cancer. 

We celebrate having air conditioning! The temps are high here. So, what are you doing on Father's Day?

Food Talk Today

 Last night, Tommy ate all the leftover cole slaw. I sort of questioned him since I thought he would share it. He insisted there was only a tablespoon, not enough to divide. Well, I thought I remembered more slaw, enough for two good helpings. I mulled this over, wondering how I could forget us mostly finishing if off. There was plenty other food for me to eat, but I was concerned about how I could forget it since I emptied it into a container for the refrigerator. So, I got no slaw.

This morning he came rolling in and showed me a container identical to the one he emptied last night. "Look, there is more slaw. I ate old slaw. I thought it was a bit mushy." I assured him the slaw was not old enough to harm him. Thankfully, he told me. My memory was true! Does anyone ever tell you something you are sure is not true, but the person manages to make you doubt yourself?

If there were the least bit of malice, it would be gaslighting. But, he just dug around and pulled out older slaw and thought it was the slaw I told him would be for our dinner.  

This afternoon, I bought $2 of blackberries, just a tiny container. I put them into a small cereal bowl, mashed them with a tiny bit of sugar, poured a little milk over them and devoured them.  They are bogo at Publix--$2. I may go back, get two boxes and make blackberry jam. Tommy will say he does not like it, then eat it all...lol. He told me he hated orange marmalade and is eating all of it, not that I care. He always does that--reject food and then eat it. I am amused. Okay, I asked. He does like blackberry jam. 

I waste lots of banana, pounds each week. Most bananas are larger than I should have. I do try to buy smaller ones. When they are just right, yellow or spotted but not too soft, I can cut one in half, put Glad Wrap over the end and eat the other half the next day. However, once it gets to a certain ripeness and I cut it in half, it is all downhill for the banana. For a year, I froze the extra banana. However, two years later I threw out almost all the banana because I am not baking banana bread and was storing too much banana in the freezer. 

Tommy hates bananas with a passion, so no sharing with him. He is not even fond of banana bread. The best I can do is put the mashed banana in brownies. But, I am not making brownies, either. I just have to have my banana every day.  Any other ideas besides feeding to the birds? But, then the pigeons will come! 

I talked just now to my friend who has a dog, offering her the bananas. Are bananas poisonous for dogs to eat? She hates bananas as much as Tommy, so she has never thought about feeding the dog banana. 

The sweet potato sprouts are still here. I must plant them before they die. I did put them back in water tonight, so they will survive, hopefully.

Tonight, we had chicken, hot dog, slaw, and zucchini. Tommy had a baked thigh, slaw, and zucchini. I  had the last hotdog, a bit of breast, slaw, and zucchini. Today, I had about a cup or less of blackberries and half a banana, not together. He had grapes. 

Blackberries and Plums and Muscadine Jam

 While in Publix, I think, there were blackberries for $0.99. It was a very small container, worth a taste of summer for so little. 

Then, I got plums, fresh Brussels Sprouts, and cauliflower. I never did get the carrots washed for Tommy to scrape, but will Saturday. 

There are guys with little produce stands all over Hueytown and Bessemer on corners, usually where there is a gas station. Today, I saw a sign saying "muscadines" at one corner produce stand. So, on the way back from the bread store, I had to stop. I paid $4 for a small container of big, fat fruits. I have only eaten one, but it was delicious. If Tommy does not want them, I may make a bit of muscadine preserves. 

I was given a bag of red/purple plums. Those are for eating, so delicious.

My Aunt Willie in Mississippi always had muscadine preserves at her house. I remember they had skins and the occasional seed in the jar and I grew to love them that way. I make mine the same way. Some people may remove skins and all the seeds. Those are the only muscadine preserves I remember eating.  Her kitchen table was full of food and covered with a tablecloth. I never saw her table bare. We were not supposed to ask for food. But, I could always depend on my younger siblings not minding her and saying they were hungry. I wanted cold biscuits and muscadine jam. 

 Aunt Willie was my great-aunt, the sister of my grandmother. And, she was more like a grandmother.  The memories of her are strong and sweet. 

Have you ever made muscadine jam or jelly? Anyone grow muscadine?

Do you have memories of an older relative and the foods they fed you when you were young?