Purple Daylily and Fried Fish

 

Today, I finally took the cardinal wing pattern and one of the wings and delivered them to the guy who will cut them for me. The last place cut them wrong.

When I went to Lowe's for something I could not find, I went to the half-dead plant area and found a pot with daylilies--Purple D' Oro. There are several blossoms ready. Tommy watered it. Tomorrow, I will clean it up, riding it of dead matter.  The strawberry daylily I bought at the plant sale is read to bloom. 

Earlier in the afternoon, we went to see the church that burned here a few days ago. It was sad, appearing to be completely gutted. And Tommy showed me where he lived just before he bought this house. We were actually looking for a certain food truck. We knew where her commissary was, so went there. A cook was gathering the tables and chairs, taking them indoors. He told us where to find the food truck on FB, so we could find her. She lists her locations each day of the week. I asked the guy what kind of food they cook. He pointed to his food truck and said it was all soul food. In his restaurant I suppose it was different food. I asked him what he cooked today--fish and chicken. 

He obviously took a liking to me. I was talking to the older man, a cook, who said he was through cooking for the day. The owner came out with a styrofoam to go box and handed it to me. I was so surprised. He said it was fish. Well, I opened it and started eating with my hands, pinching off bites and devouring the fish. After I thanked him profusely, we drove off. Only then did I realize he had handed me a pack of utensils! I was sort of embarrassed. 

We will go back there to eat one day. I have not had hush puppies in years! Soul Food is notoriously unhealthy, but maybe this place is different.

I told Tommy we were eating purple cauliflower for dinner. He always turns up his nose. I handed him a small piece, about the size of the last joint in my little finger. He ate it without turning up his nose, making a face or spitting it out. We had plenty of protein today, so I am baking vegetables--purple cauliflower, carrots, and potatoes. I put them is a glass casserole with olive oil, garlic powder, and onion powder. They were delicious. He served his own plate. I noticed he had a generous helping of purple cauliflower. So, I suppose he has been converted. 

I have a whole chicken thawing. Tomorrow, I will bake it in the oven or put it in the crockpot. We have potatoes, purple cauliflower, and slaw. So, dinner will be easy. We did not have many carrots to have those leftover. NO! There is no more cauliflower for leftovers. Tommy ate it all! So, he really does like purple cauliflower...lol. 

For the last two or three days, he has been telling me about new flowers that grew from an empty container, asking me what they were. Finally, I stopped on the way to the car. I had bought a six-pack of pink Wave Petunias last summer. When I became ill, they burned up in the heat. Now, two of the tiny pots have a petunia each. I will put those in a hanging pot. 

I had a seed ball and a postcard with paper embedded with seed. Both went into identical pots. Both concepts were wildflowers. One of the pots has a plant with purple flowers. It is about 18 inches tall. I am quite sure these wildflowers would be labeled "weeds," We certainly are enjoying all the flowers even if they are weeds. 

I decided I will no longer buy Nature's Own Keto. It is too thick, hard to gnaw off a sandwich. From now on, I will buy Arnold's. It has three grams per slice, just one more gram than NO, but that is okay. 

The day went well, considering I only slept four hours! It was a good day with no frustrations or arguments with Tommy. No pushbacks, just cooperation. We enjoyed our impromptu ride, the flowers at home, and the birds flying around here. Of course, the fried fish was wonderful. 

Do you like fried fish? Not the Captain D kind. 

Are you surprised when flowers reseed so late? These pots of petunias have been out of the utility room for over two months. 

Has the smoke from Canada affected your skies? 

Reduced Produce, Free Wood, New Glasses

 Sunday, I went into The Pig for one thing and came out with reduced produce, both of which Tommy loves: 

4 Granny Smith apples $0.99

3 huge Bell peppers  $0.50

The apples look perfect to me. The peppers need to be used now as the ends of all three look wilty.  So, Monday night he will have a salad with Bell peppers, carrots and tomatoes. I forgot one shopping trip when I bought slaw mix for $1.99 but not reduced. 

Monday, we went to Cullman. I got my mail, picked out new frames and spent $305 for frames and lenses. I will get my free ones next week. I picked up free wood and dropped off free wood to be cut. Lowe's had a free cart, so I got to go inside and pick out paint for my wood project and choose the right size eye screws. And, one chore was a dead end. 

The friend who gave me the wood left over from his house building came to my storage unit and took the road-rescued table and put it in the storage unit. That table was in the car too long! 

I went by my lot,  and as we pulled into the driveway, I had to scream to get Tommy not to run over a piece of wood at the gutter, right in the end of the driveway. I saw nails in a piece of wood from my annoying neighbor's trash pile that had washed down to my yard. Tommy was screaming that it did not matter if he ran over nails. I do not know one man who would knowingly run over nails protruding from a board. Do you? 

When I got out, some of the nails were four inches long in one board. The other board had bolts in it that were at least the same length, four inches. Tommy sort of moaned when he saw them. That bolt would have meant a new tire. It could have been a carriage bolt. Maybe the nails would have been a catastrophe, too, if he had run over them. 

Later at the dead end chore, he managed to straddle a piece of concrete at the edge of the driveway. Then, he had to rip it off the concrete...sigh. 

Tonight, we are having cabbage, lots of it and leftover green beans, cole slaw, a bit of potatoes and  chicken. Okay, I cannot keep a plan alive for 15 minutes! There was no cabbage for dinner. I cannot find my large knife to cut it, so we had plenty of the other leftovers. 

Blue Skies, Attitude, Free Wood, Groceries, Stocking Up

 Does a beautiful day make you as happy as it does me? I feel very light and carefree. Any problem seems like it can be easily solved. At least, I feel like I have the will, stamina, desire to take on whatever I must do to accomplish my goals. The lack of sunshine adversely affects my attitude. 

How about you?

Today, the sky was almost clear of clouds and the clear blue sky gave way to clear and darker blue skies. We went to Cullman where I had  a good day. I picked up some woodwork from my carpenter. My friend, James, gave me wood for chair bottoms. I have nice cedar boards for bird houses and more 2x6 boards for another project that the carpenter will hew for me. James is building a house and I am welcome to any scraps of wood that I want. 

At a store I found a sale of Suddenly Salad--5 for $5. I bought 6. Last year, I bought enough for one box each month.  But, I have not been eating it that often. Cheese has not been on sale forever! Today, I felt lucky to find Kraft Chunk Medium Cheddar for $2.99. I only bought one, hoping for a better sale later on. 

I spent $9. 

I think I broke a record today--5 hours in the car and in and out for chores, and I did not have to go to the bathroom! I hope this is not a bad thing right now. My feet are not as swollen as they usually are when we spend any time in the car.  Could the exercise be paying off?

Dinner tonight--meatballs, Suddenly Salad, green beans, and carrots. Tommy said that since we were having SS, we only needed one other vegetable. HUH? He said he thinks of pasta salad as a vegetable, so we only need either carrots or green beans. Suddenly Salad is  "bread" to me. We had a bit of lettuce and tomato on our Whopper Jr. at lunch. Suddenly Salad does not have enough vegetables to make even one helping for one person, and we leave the peas out since I cannot eat them. 

Okay, I need to get Tommy at least one of the 4 pounds of carrots in the refrigerator and a carrot peeler. I need to get 128 meatballs on one tray and into the oven. 

Burned Eggs

Continuing from Monday...

Monday, I had a coupon for a free Mayfield Product.  I chose Extreme Moosetracks at $6.29. If you don't know, this is ice cream with chunks of gooey chocolate throughout. In order to make it a more healthy treat, I sliced a banana over it in the bowl.  I try!

Tommy hasn't cleaned the sink in last two weeks or so. I tried to get him to clean it last week, but he had excuses...lol. You know how it should and could gleam. Well, he did not wash off the Barkeeper's Friend and the faucet and handle looked gross. I showed him so he can do it right next time. Plus, he denies he did whatever. 

Tuesday, as soon as I posted, Tommy went in and did a magnificent job scouring the stainless steel sink. The faucet and handle are mirrors. He went in and showed me how he lifted up the coffeepot and another thing and cleaned under them. He explained that he used a dishcloth to get the powder off the sink and faucet. Great! He is so funny like this. 

He also took my a load to the washing machine. That means I have things to hang and things to fold. ugh!

After we went on Tuesday to pick up his meds at the pharmacy window, I got the ice cream and wanted to look for wood. I found some where a guy is adding a room or porch to his house. I only got four very short pieces, enough to make three birds since it is 2x6 instead of 2x4. I will go back another day since it is only about 4 blocks from here. 

I have four heads of cabbage that were a good price. I really need to use them up. I think I might make cabbage soup. That means I need to get the carrots in the crockpot since they take the longest to cook. I may take a nap and put the potatoes in later, then the chopped cabbage.  But, I took a nap.

When I awoke four hours later, I smelled something. I had left six eggs in a pot to boil. Well, those are in the trash. Tommy did not notice eggs boiling for four whole hours! I have more eggs, but I sure hate to lose food!

Wednesday

Today, I am going to show him how to polish silver...lol. His parents used silverplate for everyday. I found a silverchest he didn't know was there. The silverplate needs polishing. lolol

Okay, it is Wednesday, and I have five more eggs boiling. Januuary 6, I bought four dozen jumbo eggs for fifty cents each dozen. I five in a pot boiling and another three in the carton. I wish I had bought more. These stand up in a bowl of water, so they need to be eaten. After breakfast of two eggs, I will use the other two eggs for egg salad or just to eat. 

So, I ate 5.5 dozen eggs in eleven weeks.  I think I dropped some, burned those on Tuesday and lost a boiled one for so long I threw it out.  That probably makes 4.5 dozen in eleven weeks. 

Since I sent back the elliptical machine and the pedal machine, I have no way of getting exercise. Walking the hall and kitchen is good, but I can only last three minutes. Today, I decided to try something new. My friend was prescribed and exercise before her knee surgery. I decided to try it. It is a killer. I sit on Tommy's walker and "march." I didn't last long and my thighs were burning. But, I will try to do a bit more each day. 

It is not yet 10 am and I am exhausted and want a freshly boiled egg. For the last four days, I have lost one pound each day. The main thing I have done is not to eat much after dinner. Okay, that egg was delicious with a smidgen of butter melting on top.

Finally, just now, I got an appointment for Tommy and I to get a covid vaccine. I think. Then, I had to cancel eye doctor. I have an appointment to check eyes and another at the same time for a medical eye exam because of something on edge of eye. This is the thing the doctor said was a sty, but who knows? It just became very hard. So, I will solve this mystery.

It is another beautiful day and warm...70F. 

One time, I put eggs on to boil in a Corningware pot. I lay down to watch TV and woke about 2 am. I went to bed and awoke the next morning to eggs on the ceiling and all over the walls! When I replace the vent hood years later, there were still bits of eggs in it even though I cleaned it. 

Have you ever boiled eggs so long they exploded? 

Community Wood Banks

 The idea of a WOOD BANK is a wonderful idea. This article talks about the formation of wood banks in Maine and other states near there. 

Do you know people who need wood to keep their homes warm? I don't, but that may say more about me than the people around me who do need wood.