New Low Weight

 Not one child came to our door. Of course, we turned off skeleton and porch light. Several of the children on this street go to church functions. We ended up eating all the candy we bought "just in case." It was time for a nap, anyway.

This is the time of year I can lose weight easily. I finished all the candy and am at a new low weight. Since I want sweets, I quit eating other things. At any rate, I lose weight. 

I purchased a new microwave and new clock radio for Tommy. I thought he needed one! He thought I bought it for me. He is going to use it for one feature he likes. I have no idea why I thought he needed one. I think I have had the microwave for about twelve years. I had it at my house and we used it for a few years. 

Just now, I told Tommy I wanted him to bring in my skeleton tomorrow. 'Skeleton?" he says! 

Onward to Thanksgiving!

Sunday, The Day Before

 We did nothing except watch TV, some of it news. Meet the Press is my favorite Sunday show, but I missed half of it because I was sleeping. I only had four hours sleep, so I took a nap in the afternoon. 

We went nowhere, did nothing, not even dishes that needed to be washed or put in the dishwasher.  Tonight, I will gather my laundry so Tommy can wash that on Monday. The kitchen items need to go in another load. 

We used the last paper plate today. So, Tommy had to use a real plate for dinner. I suppose I can be really slow in buying more paper plates. Maybe he will become accustomed to not reaching for paper. If I just buy the little paper saucers, we can have convenience but use plates for meals. However, he has lots of saucers we could use. 

The eating and serving of dinner took about two hours or more tonight. I had put in a teriyaki seasoned pork loin about 7:30. Around 7:45, I finished cleaning, trimming and oiling sweet potatoes and asked Tommy to put them in the oven. I was sitting in the living room. At 8:30 he said isn't about time to put the sweet potatoes in the oven. I was aghast and we argued. He said I told him to put them on the counter, that I would put them in later. No, I asked him to put the sweet potatoes, already on a baking sheet in the oven and to put the tiny bowl of oil sitting on the sheet by the sink and I would put it in the sink later. 

At 8:45, he put the sweet potatoes in the oven. I got up, sliced the pork loin and drained green beans that were soaking in water to remove sodium. So, we had a delicious first course of pork loin and green beans and an equally delicious second course of sweet potatoes. 

Even though I had just taken the sweet potatoes from the oven, Tommy had to microwave his so the butter would melt. I could barely get the skin from the sweet potato without burning myself. I slit the skin and sort of roll the sweet potato out of the skin. 

The man has a thing about hot food and the microwave. He must have everything freshly microwaved so everything on the plate is the same piping-hot temperature. I am not sure how he manages to eat in restaurants and especially church dinners or potlucks anywhere. He even microwaved the pork loin that was hot from the oven! 

The leftover pork loin and two sweet potatoes will be dinner for Monday along with another vegetable or two. 

It is good that it will not rain here on Halloween night. Kids don't need to deal with the rain. They need to show off their costumes...lol. Plus, it will be safer and lighter. Around here, kids start making the rounds about 4 pm. 

Lynda wants to hand out candy, but she said the boys were big and rough looking. She said she knows one could knock her over easily. She is frail looking. 

So far, we have not bought any Halloween candy. I would have liked some Brach's Candy Corn, but there is too much candy in each bag. Maybe I will buy some on sale, get a little out and give away the rest. A bag of fun size or smaller of candy bars would have been delicious. Oh well.

Will the weather be pretty for Trick or Treating at your place? 

Do you know anyone who uses the microwave excessively? Is sort of warm good enough for you to eat? It is for me. 

Sewing, Reunion, Death, Garden, Microwave

Urspo sent me a package of fabric for masks. I have the interior, the filtering part. I decided against using any of the pads for under babies or incontinent people. Some of it tears easily, so i doubt it will hold up in the wash.

Since I don't have a sewing machine to use, I can use needle and thread. I bought new thread. The needles Tommy's mothers last used 57 years ago appear to be good. I hate I have no iron or ironing board. Tommy said he had never owned an iron or ironing board and has never ironed anything. I am amazed.

On Friday I received a call from a second cousin from Indiana. He is coming here Sunday morning from Montgomery. They are traveling and pulling a 25 foot motor home, or whatever you call them, a fifth wheel. So, I called his uncle who is my cousin and talked a bit and received family pictures in email.

I called my step-sister who does not sound well at all. She told me one of her brothers, my step-brother had died last week. I have seen none of them in over 50 years. He lives on the West coast, so since she lives in the South and is in poor health, she did not attend the funeral. I was sad for her. 

Saturday, we went to back yard and watered 3 of the four boxes. Last week, I planted two Better Boy tomato plants. They were leggy, about a foot tall. So, I pinched off all leaves except the top three. I left sad little leaves above the ground and the long stem stretched out and buried. Saturday, they were over a foot tall and looked happy. 

In another box I transplanted two red bell pepper plants and two plants that I do not recognize. I suppose I will have to do a little research on those. In the third box I planted a green Bell pepper plant. Since  was exhausted after that, we came in. I always wait until the sun is behind the house. The one week I worked about 3 pm in the sun, it took a few days to recover. 

Tommy loves red or green bell peppers. I have some in the freezer because even though I won't eat them, they are a good seasoning, along with onions and celery--Holy Trinity. 

The neighbor came and removed the microwave. When he left, I frantically cleaned underneath. It was so filthy. I commented to Tommy that fact. He said he had never cleaned under it since he set it there in 1980 and he was not surprised. Gross. Finally, I squirted Dawn on the counter I had made wet but could not get clean. Well, I was trying to get the layer off. After lots of Dawn, it was clean as a whistle in about one minute. 

Tommy commented that he could take the item from the microwave and set it on the counter. His was so deep it covered the counter front to back. His microwave had no light inside. Mine does, so I won't have to get a flashlight to see the food to judge if it is done or bubbly or whatever. 

My microwave is tiny. There is a foot of extra counter toward the sink and in front of the microwave. Tommy is glad to have the smaller one and the room on the counter. 

Reunion

My cousin said he would call when he was almost here. I saw a pickup slowing down and saw it was towing a huge domicile. So, he was here. 

He came to the door and immediately told me I looked just like his Aunt Linda. After he took his dog for a walk and scoped out where he could turn around, we visited for about and hour. 

This cousin, really a second cousin, looks identical to my grandfather! He said he looked just like his father, also. His wife commented it was all in the eyes. That is what everyone in our family says. 

Once, I went to a funeral and saw a young woman with three children. I could tell she was my relative because of her eyes. I could be in a strange town and see a relative from my father's side and recognize the person by the eyes. 

He showed me pictures on his phone of his aunts and uncles, all my cousins. I have never met any of them. Well, when I was a young child, I may have seen them.  And, I showed him one relative, a cousin, who has his own FB entry. 

I had brownies, watermelon, Diet Pepsi, Coke, and water but they wanted none of it. They are visiting a friend of his near my town north of here. I think they are going for lunch. 

We all wore masks. Tommy and I were not going to eat so we could keep our masks own. David and I took our masks off outdoors so we could take pictures of each other. All in all, it was a good little family reunion. 

Bits I left Out and a Question

I love Lindt Lindor "irresistibly smooth" milk chocolate truffles. The ones I buy are two to a tiny shiny bag and cost $1. Inside are two truffles, a hard chocolate outside and a soft chocolate center. Sometimes, I share this with Tommy, one truffle for each of us.

The tiny empty bag was sitting here, ready to toss. As I picked it up, I noticed there was more heft to it than was normal for the empty bag. Sure enough, there was a third truffle. The two empty wrappers were proof that I did eat two and did get a third one. I counted myself lucky. By the way, these tiny bags are now $0.50...yes, fifty-cents. I felt so lucky.

When I told Tommy about the Kraft Parmesan cheese on sale and a coupon, too, he said, "Don't you have one of those?" I told him it would run out. "No, don't you have one on the table, an extra one?" I keep having to remind him I stock up on this stuff. I do not just eat it on spaghetti.

Saturday, when I came out of Lowe's, I wondered what was happening to the right of the door. Lo and Behold! There were Girl Scout Cookies. I purchased Thin Mints for me and Shortbread for Tommy. I was afraid I was going to miss GSC this year like I did last year. What is your favorite GSC?

Saturday, At Publix I found on sale Godiva Chocolate Raspberry pudding. YUM!

My yard has had daffodils since January. Now, it has even more. Tulips have not blossomed yet. The Redbuds are blooming.

I keep "finding" my microwave in the trunk of my car. I am surprised every time I open the trunk which I rarely open since I rarely drive it. I suppose it will live there. Today, I also found a small bag of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, bar soap, and skin lotion, two of each. This will be given to someone else since it might cause allergies. I did keep the lotion to use on my hands. If it causes a reaction, at least I can wash it off easily and buy something different without wasting money to find something that will not make me itch. Okay, it makes my hands itch.

Today, I brought in my walker to use to hang laundry on in the bedroom. I really need a bona fide clothes dryer since it would hold much more for the same space. This is the walker that only has two wheels and no seat..

Saturday night dinner--hamburger patties cooked in the oven and a large portion of steamed broccoli and a halo. Sunday--leftover patties from Saturday night and broccoli soup.  The bought patties that I did not buy were too heavily seasoned, so the ones for Sunday are being washed before cooking

Dessert--halos. Tommy finished the strawberries for lunch. I mostly have to hand him fruit so he will eat it. Then again, sometimes he gets halos and apples every day. ??? I have a banana each and every day. I get grumpy if I do not have one.

At the permanent yard sale, I bought the concrete planter. It is beautiful, but there is no drain hole. I will probably put a potted plant inside instead of putting dirt and plant in it. Still, I picture drowning a plant. What can I plant in it?  Rain will get into it even if I put it on the porch.  So, that is my question. I want to plant food in it, like an herb, but a flower is fine. ???

Odds and Ends

Tommy and I were talking on the phone when the conversation turned to times to microwaving food. He said he microwaved everything for three minutes, no matter what the food! I was and am shocked. It is no wonder he complains that some foods don't do well when microwaved. Also, he covers nothing, wraps nothing. He proclaimed he had done it this way for thirty years. And, that makes it right???  So, there is no hope.

A couple of weeks ago, I gave him two bare hotdogs for lunch--no bread of any kind in the house. He did have vegetables and fruit and cheese.  Then, the last time I saw him he began describing in ecstatic terms and voice how those were the best hotdogs he had eaten in a year. Well, I found a good brand last year on a great sale, and I hated them. But, we ate them anyway.  So, now we have no more of those nasty things.

He did not know it, but I had bought my favorite brand--Zeigler's-- on sale and had served him those. These are the best hotdogs. Well, I prefer King Cotton, but those are not sold here. They are a brand from Memphis that came here for about a year and then disappeared. It made me sad to see them go.

Moving my trash can to a different location had kept the animals out. However, three nights ago, they discovered it. So, I am back to picking up garbage from the ground. Next week, I will see what a trash can with a lid will do for the situation. I give up.  AND, I forgot to ask my friend to take the trash to the road tonight, so I have to live with this one for another week. ugh

Tuesday night, I slept wrong and woke up with an aching shoulder. When I tried to move my arm, it did not respond, just sort of hanging there. It hurt all day. A nap made it better. Don't ask me how since I was lying on that side during the nap. I got little done today because I felt crummy otherwise.

I could not find a local class for any languages and put aside that goal for right now. Actually, only Spanish is taught around here.  I did decide to do classes for other things. Some are free. Some have a small fee. The hypertufa class was $15 which I will recover by making enough hypertufa items to cover the class and materials costs.

I think my cat might be a Maine Coon Cat. She is huge. And, she does have tufts of hair sticking from her ears. I have always wanted a Maine Coon Cat.  I will ask the vet. Does anyone own one of these?

Does anyone ever microwave everything on the same setting?