Nights Are Strange Sometimes, Always an Adventure

 When I went to Publix and expected to get green grapes cheaply, I was disappointed since they were not of a quality I wanted to buy. Then, I was given 8 pounds of prime quality, beautiful green grapes. Good deal. 

I am not sure why, but The Pig did not have broccoli or cauliflower even though it was on sale. I got a free jar of Wickles pickles with my purchase. Salmon was on sale. I bought a can of sale salmon and a can of my favorite salmon. Tomorrow, I will open it to see if the quality is what I prefer. Then, I might buy more while it is on sale. I bought four ears of corn for way too much. But, it is done. Dasani water helped to get the Wickles pickles. I like saying "wickles pickles." I bought two more gallons of cheap vinegar. I would have bought five total, but Tommy has enough water to carry into the house3 24-packs of Dasani. 

Today, we received two pounds of bacon, (Remember, I bought two pounds bacon bogo yesterday!) four tomatoes, two butternut squash, four small red potatoes, 4 sweet potatoes that I will give to Lynda, 4 Just Crack an Egg, four burger patties, 3 tiny, individual pies, one bagel that fell on the ground and was tossed, 

We will use the add-ins for the Just Add Egg and not use eggs at all. I now have the ham to put into the Mississippi Sin Dip since we received a frozen pack to make hoagies--ham, turkey, and cheeses. I will probably put the tiny packages of JAE cheese in the dip, also. There are tiny packages of vegetables, chopped finely that may be in the dip! 

I took apart the Just Crack an Egg bowls and have the cheeses in one sandwich bag and the vegetable packs in another. This will help to declutter the refrigerator.

Well, I mixed in free and bought items in this post. So, you may or may not understand...lol. 

For at least 4 months I have been asking Tommy if he is sure he cannot find a can of salmon. Finally, I have decided we ran out. So, I need to get at least a half-dozen cans of salmon on the shelves. Now that I have salmon, I can put salmon in my scrambled eggs. YAY! 

This afternoon, we took sweet potatoes and cajun peanuts to Lynda and she gave us tomatoes and a small bag of peas. Sharing fights waste!

Today has been a day of doing nothing much. Since Tommy washed the kitchen linens this morning, I need to fold them. We have neglected nothing, just done nothing much. 

Nights around here are strange sometimes, always an adventure, it seems. Last night, we went to bed at 3 am. Then, I read until 4 am. At 5:20, I awoke rested and looked at the clock, wondering how I slept until evening. I put on my glasses, went to bathroom, and took my phone to the living room. As I stood in the doorway, I saw Tommy was sound asleep, no lights were on. If he were snoozing at 5:20 pm, lamps would be on. It was really dark outside. Sheepishly, at 5:22 am I retreated to my room and went back to sleep. 

At least, I did not get up, frantic that something had happened to Tommy like Thursday night. We are still laughing about him being Niles in Frasier. 

Do things awake you at night, be it really happening or in a dream where your sleep is disturbed, even momentarily? Can you get back to sleep? 

Dream, Eggs, Friday Meals

 Tommy told me the parts of dream he could remember--being at his old job, chasing a rat outside the building, a truck crashed and it turned out to be a smuggler who had a small plane land on top of the truck, trying to show a customer to someone's office and being in a maze. That was a good laugh first thing in the morning. He said there was more dream but this was all he could remember. 

I decided. We will toss the eggs. However, I don't want them sitting in the garbage until it is picked up next Friday morning.  The smell would be gross by then and the garbage can sits by the front door and ramp. Flies!!!??? I will put the carton into two more plastic bags just in case there is anything that runs and leave them in the refrigerator. Once I recalled the odor of a green, rotten egg I opened at someone's house, I could not bear to crack even one of these eggs to check. At friend's I turned and threw up in the sink AND then had to clean the sink. I think that if I threw up over eggs the second time it would put me off eggs forever. 

We were both so tired on Thursday when the eggs did not make it inside. But, this is how it always goes. He is loud and adamant that he is right, that I said or did something or he did say or do the opposite. However, I showed great restraint and did not say "I told you so." 

Breakfast on Friday did not meet my expectations. I poured too much milk in my bowl, and then took it back to the Special K that was in the living room. I poured too little cereal since I did not want too much cereal, but it was too little cereal. Then, the tiny banana was half rotten and so I had not enough banana. None of the proportions were right for a satisfying bowl of cereal! It all left me discombobulated. 

Since I had no more Miracle Whip in the kitchen when I was making potato salad on Thursday, I just made up all the potato salad minus the Miracle Whip and mustard. Friday, I brought the MW from bedroom to kitchen and mixed the MW and mustard in. I ate sooo much potato salad for lunch. 

We went somewhere that was closed and Tommy decided to turn it into a drive. We passed a big park in Bessemer where there were a couple of dozen food trucks. We asked a passerby who told us there were just food trucks today, but on Saturday some sort of event was happening. 

I had Tommy drive by the church where we bought apple cobbler and were given honey butter. YES! Somone was cooking. It turns out they were cooking and selling food to pay the mortgage on the church. We ordered a meal to share with three pork bbq sliders and fries. 

Hands down, this is the best bbq I have ever eaten. It is better than Dreamland or Jim 'n Nicks in Birmingham or Little Pigs in Memphis. The meat had been smoked for three days, and the sauce was not hot or too sweet, not white. They served chicken, beef, shrimp. The woman said they want to make enough money to buy a food truck. I am going to help her find that information. Tommy bought the $10 meal (3 sliders and fries) which we shared. I gave her an extra $5 as a donation. We drank water.

So, we are thoroughly stuffed. Tommy can have the baked potato wedges, carrots, and the rest of the turkey wings for dinner. 

About 7 pm, I called the woman with bbq like I said I would. I had told her about grants and how someone could help her if she could not figure it out. I told her I would call her and tell her more. So, I suggested starting a  blog and going to Kickstarter. She was happy with that information. And, she will call me to let me look it over before launching either. I did not ask her to do that; she asked. She has cash App and Venmo, so not sure that Paypal is better or not. 

This is something I have done before, helping people get started or going farther and being more successful. No, I don't meddle in everyone's business affairs, trying to fix them. If a person is receptive, I continue. If not, I shake the dust off my feet. I have gotten thanks years later for help. It is gratifying.   

I didn't appear to have any tuna in the kitchen. That bothered me since it is over $1 at every store where I look. I only like StarKist tuna, the cheapest can...lol. I found this tuna for $0.79 cents last year or the year before. I was sure I had some left. When I ventured in the bedroom to find Miracle Whip, I found tuna, 14 cans. These will last this year, giving me a chance to buy it cheap again, I hope. Now, I need to go back in and find deodorant. 

Okay, I just placed an order of 48 cans for $0.88/can. Now, I just hope the cans have good dates. The tax was less than in a store, too. So, the total cost, including tax: $0.95/can. That will be two meals for me. Tommy hates tuna so won't eat it. 

Do you know the comparison of cash app, venmo, and PayPal? 

Saturday Recipe and Dreams

 Around 3 pm on Saturday, we left for a drive, a ramble about through Hueytown and Bessemer. About ten miles from the house, I remembered I had not taken a med, so we went home while I did so. 

We gawked once again at the shotgun houses, marveled at the old two- and three-story homes, some perfectly preserved and others in various states of decay and disrepair. Tommy knows the history of the municipal buildings. 

About 4 pm, I saw tables on the sidewalk with colorful tablecloths, obviously some sort of sale rounding up for the day. I had Tommy got around the block. After the first corner we stopped and talked to a young girl and two children who were dancing as girls this age do. We asked if there was food and they ran to get someone as we drove on around to go back to what we saw. 

A very nice young woman had a booth with food--cobblers, and cookies left. We talked with her and she brought us two apple cobblers and a pack of cookies, $9 worth and Tommy gave her $10 to keep. We left, drove to the train depot, the ancient one, parked in the shade of a tiny tree and ate the cobblers. They were so delicious. I wanted to go back and talk with her. Stella

Stella did the imitation of Brando. We both laughed. I told we came back to tell her how delicious the cobbler was, the best I ever had, very different. She said she had some left and wanted us to have it. Since she had packed her vehicle, she went to get it somewhere. She brought two! She also handed me a small container wrapped in clear, red cellophane and tied with a yellow curling ribbon. It was honey butter she had made. SHE MADE THE BUTTER! I was impressed. Of course, we have no bread to toast. And, I am not making biscuits. 

She said she would give me the recipe:

Take a Betty Crocker pouch of Snickerdoodle cookie mix, make it according to the recipe, press the whole recipe into a casserole or whatever pan you will use. Pour in a can of apple pie filling. Make another recipe but don't use the sugar packets in the recipe. Drop the cookie mixture in lumps onto the pie filling and put the sugar in lumps around the topping. Bake. 

She did not say temp or how long. She said she was going to use peach pie filling but the store had none. She also said it was delicious warm and with ice cream on top.

Then, I checked on the internet and found this RECIPE. I will try the way to make the cobbler like she told me first.

So, for $10 we had four (2 each) helpings of apple cobbler, three of the largest oatmeal-raisin cookies I have ever seen, about 1/3 cup homemade honey butter. That will leave us with four plastic containers with lids for leftover food, a little pot from the butter, and a huge sheet of red cellophane I am saving. 

Saturday night, I went to bed at 2 am and went to sleep immediately. I awoke at 4 am to go to the bathroom. I slept and dreamed on and off until 5 am. Then, until 8 am I was half in and half out of a dreamy sleep. It was the same dream continuing each time. And, I forgot the dream. 

Around 8 am, I came into the living room, sat in my recliner, read a bit, and leaned way back to relax. Then, I dreamed about Tommy. He was sitting on some porch outside our house. He was fully dressed in puffy clothes for the Arctic. It was a big Michelin Man type snowsuit, that large but without the ridges. He had on a diving helmet with a front like a WWII gas mask. He was quite a sight, so surprising that he awoke me. He laughed when I told him. 

Sunday has mostly been me trying to recuperate. I am not getting worse, but not better. The day is dry, cloudless from where I sit, and 66F. We are going for a ride now. 

Do you enjoy a ramble around and stopping to get unexpected treats?

A Dream

 

Probably fuzzy! 

better image of a Chesterfield chair

This dream seemed like it lasted a long time, like all night. I had a new, large-ish room on the back of the house. It had lots of windows and this chair. I have wanted a Chesterfield chair for a long time. This chair is plum, velvet, I think. 

We could see out the windows and see hummingbirds from all the windows and knock out roses. It was a beautiful dream of a well-lighted room, no carpet, beautiful mill work, pale pink walls, curtains like a dreamy breeze, furniture with character and not new. 

This is a better PICTURE OF THE CHAIR. While I love this chair, I actually found one with a seat cushion, not this kind. 

I went to the doctor and had some shocking news. I am too tired to write more. 

Bad Dream--where do I get these things?

 I had a bad dream and it scared me. It was not scary, but someone might die.

I was in my house and heard a big noise. I looked out the window and saw a wrecked car. Well, it looked like it had been dropped from the heavens because it was banged up. There was another car and a man standing up. So, for whatever reason in my dream, I just ignored it. 

Later, I thought I heard Tommy calling me. I went to the side door and could no longer hear him. Thinking he was having a problem, I went outdoors and could not see him or his car. Oddly, my car was not in its usual place. So, I walked from backyard to front yard. 

Over at the corner where the black truck was still sitting, all wrecked, were two black mannequins. Not only were they a shiny black, the were black people. It appeared they were part of some sort of art installation. I went over quickly because it appeared there was a man lying in the road with these two broken black statues. 

Well, it was a black man who was sharply dressed and badly hurt. When I started talking to him, he held up his cell phone. It looked smashed with no more glass, a flip phone like mine. I dialed 911, I stood and waited for it to ring, like holding it for three minutes would help! 

After this, it was all jumbled with me thinking about going back to my house to get my phone. I think someone else came by and I think the poor man got help. He was all beat up and bleeding all over. 

I woke up and knew no more about what happened to him or where the figures came from. 

The night before, I heard nothing, but Tommy said there was a crash, and he came to see if I were okay. Later in the morning, he discovered a box with about 50 cans of food fell from their perch on a 60-year-old tv tray. Why did you put that can of food on the TV tray??? I am giving away at least half of the food. I think I got up about 5:30, went to the bathroom, and came and sat on the bed trying to figure out something. I don't know what. Now, I think I knew something happened but not what I needed to figure out. However, I did fall asleep quickly. 

My nights are busy!

Monday, I have done nothing. I need to put that hen back into the oven. We ate some last night, but I think it needs a bit more cooking so it won't be so tough. We will have turkey, kale, and carrots tonight. 

I realized the poinsettia ornaments I put on the wreath are for indoor only, so I will remove them. I may put them on the tiny tree. What was I thinking? The wreath will only have the red bells and ribbon on the greenery. I think that is a beautiful look, just red and green.

So, mostly, I have made Christmas decisions. I have a gingerbread house for Tommy to put together and decorate. And, I must get the construction paper for the paper rings to make a chain or many chains to hang around the doors. I haven't told him about that yet. ...lol. Tonight or tomorrow, I will get the tree out.

How are your Christmas plans going?

Moody Nap and Ugly Vegetables

 I finished A Painted House. If you liked To Kill a Mockingbird, you will probably like this book. If you try it, let me know. I have no idea where I put Hillbilly Elegy. 

We went to The Pig for 50 cent bell peppers so I could make stuffed peppers. The  peppers were fresh-looking. However, they were so knotty and twisted that there was no way one could be stuffed with any amount of filling! They were ugly but okay for use in cooking. I only bought two since I still have frozen chopped and sliced packages in the freezer. I bought three bananas. The ones at Publix, while having perfect skins with no black spots and still green a bit sometimes, are rotten in the core. The ones at The Pig, so far, have been good bananas. 

Then, I went into Publix and got three samples like they had before Covid...,cantaloupe, smoked gouda macncheese, carrot cake. When I went to the car, Tommy tried the mcn chee and spit it out the door. It was not bad but he hated it. The cantaloupe was all his. I ate half the carrot cake. I had gone there to get the raisins that were bogo and got salad and, maybe something else. I did refuse to take my mask down in the store to sample.

The raisins are the kind in a cardboard box/canister with a plastic lid, 22.58 ounces, two of them for $7. Tommy demanded a box of his own. I wanted to put some in a container for him. He wanted the whole thing. We had an argument about this. He wants them to continually eat, even with diabetes. He was pouting and whining when I gave him a portion of a box. I told him we had so many kinds of fresh grapes that he should eat fresh and save most of these for when fresh was gone. He does not see it that way! 

One container is for winter cooking. He considers it mine and I can do as I wish with it, but he intends to eat the other by himself, snacking three or four times a day. He said no one saves dried fruit for eating when fresh in not in the house. Well, historically, that is correct even though we can get fresh most of the time. But, the principle holds. Fresh may not be in the house or money may be tight. I have done it myself with dried apples and dried bananas, and cranberries. 

When I took a nap this afternoon, I was dragging as I got into bed. Then, it was breezy on my feet, so I fidgeted until I got the breeze off my feet (45 minutes). Actually, I moved until the feet were in a different place. I had three blankets over me and still had wind on my feet!

I was busy in my dream. I was lying on a twin bed with my sister and lying head to feet. We were talking about something. I have no idea where this dream came from or which sister was there. Then, I awoke to pee and told Tommy to wake me an hour later than I had told him. I forgot what I dreamed about last. But, I do remember it was a busy dream and neither pleasant nor unpleasant. When I awoke mid-nap, I was surprised not to be sleeping with my head at the foot of the bed. I was tired.

Dinner was some sort of Southwest Chopped Salad with cilantro dressing and chicken. I could not eat it. Tommy had chicken thigh he had picked off a chicken I baked. I thawed a baked breast and ate a bit of that plus the leftover vegetables from last night. I should not have, but I ate banana chopped over ice cream. He had just ice cream. 

Is there anything in your house that gets eaten too soon that could be stored? Then, does a fresh item get pushed aside in danger of spoiling? He will not eat frozen grapes. 

Frugal Dreams

 As I have said, I slept not a wink on Monday night.  I did have a few things to do before I went to bed for a long nap. 

First, I called the doctor. So, I had to tell her all about what I wanted/needed. I told about the three inhalers, the guaifenesin, present temp, and coughing, wheezing, pain in chest...on and on. She said she would get the assistant to call me. I was so upset at not having this message given to the doctor...PhD nurse. 

SO, I COULD NOT GET SLEEP.

Then, hours later, I received a call from the nurse. I asked her if she did not get the message with all I said. Well, it appears not so I had to repeat myself. I was not in a good mood! AND, I forgot some of the items she needed to know, like the inhalers. I did not need a prescription for another inhaler is the reason I thought this was important. Hopefully, all this got to the doctor. 

Sooo, finally I slept. My dreams were all frugal. I dreamed about cooking the whole time I dreamed. 

I had found roasts on sale so bought several. Then, I had the butcher cut them smaller. Then, I was cutting them myself. You know how dreams go. I tore pieces of foil to cook many of these "dinners" of roast, carrots, and onion, and a stalk of celery.  I busily loaded the foil and folded the foil just so. I was reveling in how many meals I cooked/prepared at one time. Each "meal" was good for two or three meals when thawed. 

I was so busy as I slept and rested. I slept over four hours and awoke feeling like someone beat me. Now, we are going to get my prescription. 

Okay, at 7 pm, I have two prescriptions. Tommy went into Publix and got me a chicken breast, Cheerios for him, and chocolate ice cream. Now, at home, I don't feel like eating anything. But, I must and I must drink lots of water.  He is eating the rest of the breast and will have two boneless thighs, green beans, and tomatoes. 

I wish I had some of the roasts and vegetables I prepared and cooked in my sleep.