Sunday Easy Cooking and Plant ID

 Sunday slept over 8 hours.

Did nothing. 

Went looking for a food truck. 

I had a 9 gram carb lunch.

Made up for it when I made and ate chicken and dumplings and followed that by baked bread and butter. 

I boiled bought, frozen dumplings in broth and water, seasoned with salt, pepper, and rubbed sage. Since cooking the hen in the crockpot was done Friday and the dumplings were done. This was simple. 

The dumplings were thin and looked like pie crust. Mine are thicker, soft, and flour-y. So, I put these into flour. That way, the broth on the chicken and dumplings was white and thicker with flour. This dish tasted almost like my mother made.

I ate these by dipping cooked dumplings and broth into a bowl and then putting in the amount of chicken I wanted. So did Tommy. I suppose there is enough chicken left for 2 more meals for him. I have two more meals from the breasts. So, he had three meals, and I had four. That is 7 meals from one hen. I think he had another meal, really, so 8 meals. 

We also have a bit of meatloaf from what we thawed. It will be eaten tomorrow. That means I have to cook on Tuesday! Rats!

One of the blue pots of wildflowers is about two feet tall, maybe shorter. The flowers are tiny clusters. One day, a flower that looked like a red poppy bloomed, too, on the same stalk as the little purple clusters of flowers. Today, the wind blew off the red flower that looked like a poppy. Does anyone know what this flower can be?

The bachelor buttons should be blooming by tomorrow as they are opening and showing color. It should storm here in a bit. I just hope it blows none of my pots off the ramp or table.

How are your flowers? Hosta? Vegetables?

Saturday Curb Find, This and That

Last week, the np got wind of my difficulty sleeping. I did not mean to tell her, but it slipped. Sooo, she is going to solve that problem and gave me something to sleep. Since I did not want it, I did not take it. Friday night, I decided to try it out since I needed sleep for the next day. Well, I am still groggy, not feeling particularly swift or well. I hate this feeling. This is why I take nothing for pain of sleep. 

That means I did not feel like stopping for green bean stock up. Lynda wanted four cans, too. I did not feel like going to the farmer's market for my 40 pounds of sweet potatoes. I did get out of the car for one thing.

A block from my place, I saw pink flowers in the gutter. Tommy turned around and I rescued a pink geranium. Okay, I got out of the car three feet from the plant. I carried it straight to the porch here, and he dumped the dirt from one of my pots in the trash can and plopped it into the pot. I suppose he will water it when he waters all the flowers later today. Right now, he is watching an Auburn game. I absolutely never bother him when an Auburn game is on tv. 

Ordinarily, I would dump dirt into a place in the yard that needed more dirt. But, that is not ever on his radar, and I will not argue or do it myself today. I am just too tired. 

There is a red geranium in a hanging pot, and now there is a pink geranium on the porch. I don't know if they will survive winter or if they are annuals. I suppose not annuals since the one I found is very large. So, I will have to read up on that. 

Friday night, about 7 pm, I put some sort of pork roast into the crock pot. It was half-thawed so I put it on high in order to get it out of the pot and into the refrigerator before we went to bed. Ordinarily, I would have waited until later and put it on to cook on low or medium all night in order to take it out in the morning. But, I knew we were leaving by 8am, and I did not want to do it half asleep and in a rush. about 1 am, I slammed it into a glass storage dish and refrigerated it. Today, I will freeze some of it in bags holding two portions. It appears we have about 8 portions of pulled pork or 4 meals for two. This will be great with bbq sauce on it and eaten with slaw. 

Last night, we had a huge salad with a whole tomato each and other items we both love. Mine had shredded cheese and chopped chicken breast. His had crumbled hamburger cooked with onions. We both fix our own salads, getting what we want. Until about six months ago, I made a salad for Tommy after consulting him about his preferences. Now, my back hurts too much for that. 

Later today, I have about ten pounds of chicken that I will put into a turkey bag for more meals. Maybe I won't if I am still groggy from this pill to sleep. I am going to take a nap. We left within five minutes of 8 am and arrived home within five minutes of noon. I did not even want to stop at good yard sales. 

While I eat asparagus, I have never cooked any. Tonight, I will figure out how to cook it and have that for dinner with whatever we decide.  (I have a vague idea.) Tommy said he would eat asparagus if he had to eat it, but he does not care for it. Oh well! I love asparagus, so more for me. 

He peeled the sweet potatoes we microwaved. I  puta tiny bit of brown sugar and cinnamon on them and stirred them well. He will eat these as they are not my favorite sweet potato and taste nasty. I am waiting on Beauregard. Georgia Jet would be better, but they do not store well. 

This morning, I was not too cold as I went to the car in a short sleeve. However, the car air was chilly and the arm rest and seat were frigid. I grabbed a fleece blanket to cover my arms. As soon as I got the car turned on, I turned on the heat. When we both finally were too warm, I cut the ac back on. I suppose this is the beginning of cool weather. I will carry a sweater or light jacket in the car for the few moments I need one each time I am in the car. I just hate this new development. But, the temperature is now 82F. 

Okay, I am headed off for a nap when Tommy gets back in from getting the mail. 

Do you eat asparagus? Do you grow it?  Is your weekend beautiful with a cloudless sky like it is here? Anything exciting, boring, or mundane happening in your life?

Cypress Vine--Pretty Flower for Hummingbirds

 

A friend/neighbor down the street has unusual greenery growing on her fence. It looks like a vine that is a fern with tiny red flowers. For a year, I have told Tommy I was going to look it up. I did. This is only one vine in the picture. Her chain link fence is covered thickly in these vines. She says her hummingbirds love them.

I don't think I have ever seen this vine/flower. When we see the flowers on the nearest end of the fence, they are trumpet-shaped. The other end of the fence always has flowers open more. I am not sure what the difference is. Location? Sun? 

This blogger features it in a post. Click Here 

Have you ever seen Cypress Vine? Have you grown it? 

Memorial Day 2022

 This is going to be a good day, a beautiful Memorial Day. The sun is shining and it will be be 90F, maybe warmer. Although I only slept 3.5 hours, I still feel great. I know that will pass and have penciled in a nap...lol. 

The pork butt is roasted and I will add bbq sauce to it and call it delicious. In a few moments, I will make slaw. Tommy can take the silk off the corn. You can see the day will be easy for us. I forgot, one egg made into two deviled eggs for me. 

Seriously, if the food is ready, isn't it a good day already?

Sunday, I made Cherry Crush. a delicious recipe from Cheryl's Frugal Corner. It is a Jello and fruit concoction. After making it and eating some, I realize that cottage cheese might work rather than the cream cheese. I used pineapple tidbits because I did not have crushed pineapple like I thought I did. I think the difference made it softer than I thought the Cherry Crush would be. But, it was definitely worth making. 

Cherry Crush ingredients:

6 oz package of cherry jello

3/4 cup boiling water

8 oz. cream cheese

can of cherry pie filling

can of crushed pineapple

Check her blog for directions. But, you can probably guess those. 

Since Tommy did not water yesterday, he watered at 7:30 this morning. The little bird nest was on the porch, so the two dead baby birds were the only two. That's sad since I enjoyed the birds. Very slowly we are moving all the plants to the corner of the ramp where the ramp turns. Nothing is on the ground but on the ramp so the mowing can be easier. This is the same place where three shepherd's hooks are located with the bird feeders. 

This is quite pretty, but the petunias are hanging where I can see them from my chair and so are three of the four hummingbird feeders. I had some flowers on the porch, but now I put them all together so Tommy won't have to drag the hose so far. He appreciates it. Imagine pulling a heavy hose and using a walker in grass! 

Friday night, as I said before, I sort of twisted my knee in the kitchen trying not to fall. Well, I could barely put weight on my knee all day Saturday and Sunday. Monday morning I woke and could bend my knee for the first time since Friday. I stood at the sink and he handed me everything I needed to stir or whatever. 

Memorial Day travel is not in our plans, not even out of the driveway. People were driving crazy on Saturday and Sunday, on the interstate and in town. We took a drive on Sunday, so that will do for us. People are very impatient! 

We do remember all who died so we can sit here and feel free from fear. We have been talking about relatives who fought in wars and came back home and some who did not. 

A nap is dragging me to bed. When I get up, I will cut Tommy's hair and we will eat. 

How is your Memorial Day?