I
woke up at 6:20 AM on Saturday. I turned on the news, made a cup of
coffee and then filled in the Blog entry. I remembered as I finished it that I
had a water mess to deal with in the bedroom, so that came next.
I
washed the glass top on both sides with Windex and then, after it dried, set it
on the couch for safety’s sake. Then I pulled out the nightstand (not easy as
its huge and full) and mopped the floor. While I was at it, I dusted the walls
and baseboards. I let everything sit to dry while I made breakfast.
I
am trying a recipe a woman at work told me about. Well, actually, she said she
wanted to try it, so why didn’t I make it, bring her a piece and then, if she
liked it she would make it, LOL!
So,
I started out by browning a roll of Jimmy Dean’s Original pork sausage (you
could, of course, use any brand, but that’s my favorite). Oddly enough, there
was a very similar recipe right on the sausage roll!
I crumbled and cooked the
sausage in a skillet over medium heat until browned. Then I drained it and set
it aside to cool. I preheated the oven to 425
degrees F.
I lined the bottom of a greased
8 x 8 inch baking dish with Pillsbury Grand buttermilk biscuit (8 count) dough,
firmly pressing so the spaces between the rounds would seal. I sprinkled that
with the sausage and two cups of
shredded cheese (one cup sharp cheddar and one cup of mozzarella).
I whisked together five beaten eggs plus two egg
whites, 3/4 cup of milk, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper
in a medium bowl until blended. Then I poured that over the sausage and cheese.
I stuck it in the oven and set
the timer for 30 minutes or until set (A knife should come out clean when
inserted in the center).
But, while it was baking, I got
back to the nightstand. I dug out the vacuum cleaner and, using the sucker
nozzle, cleaned all the dust from around the nightstand. Then I wiped it down
with furniture polish. Finally, I put the glass top back on and set the lamp, clock,
phone and weather station back on it. Geez, this was a LOT more
work than I wanted to do before I even shaved and showered!
I checked after 30 minutes and
the knife was still wet. So, I let it go for another five minutes. It was
definitely done on top, as it was starting to burn in spots. So, I pulled it out
and let it stand for five minutes before cutting it into squares. Note: this is
made to serve warm.
It tasted great! My corner piece
was done but the middle was still oozing dough. So, I put some aluminum foil on
tip of it and stuck it back in the oven. Although the recipe didn’t call for
it, I now believe I should have squished the biscuit dough thinner and up the
sides of the baking dish.
I finally shaved and showered. I
got dressed and headed out. I went to Office Depot for a metal compass and then
Home Depot for some stain and some more clamps.
I got back and left the car
outside. Inside, I fired up the propane heater and built a sanding jig on one
of the saw horses. Sidebar: I think I have spent more time figuring out how to
make jigs than I did on how to make the damn clock!
I went inside to let the heater
warm up the garage and the phone was ringing. It was Jake and we caught each other up. His
bike trip this weekend was a washout (if you remember, Melissa said it was
supposed to rain all weekend while they moved) and I shared some stories about
things going on around here.
When we hung up, I went out in
the garage, prepared to go to work. Imagine my surprise when I found it was
cold as hell and the heater was off! It
turned out I had run out of propane in that tank. So, I put on the other spare
tank (remembering it was a left-handed thread, thank God) and set the first
empty tank to the side to get exchanged.
I went back inside to wait for
the heat, watching a DIY show while I waited.
Then I went back in the garage
and started sanding. I used the Dremel tool on the inside curve, the palm
sander on the outside curve and this stupid Ryobi Detail Sander for the star. I say stupid as
it was cheap and amounted to merely adding a sanding pad to a vibrator. I’m sure its
fine for finish detail work, but I had saw cuts, etc., I needed to sand out.
I took a break at 3:30 PM and called Sadie. I just got her voicemail, but I wanted
to ask her what the name of the detail sander I bought Lu back when she was
stripping the wainscoting in Sadie’s living room. I remember it was about
$150.00 (compared to the Ryobi’s $30.00) but was supposed to be excellent. I
just can’t remember the name of it!
I did a little more sanding, but
quit at 4:00
PM. I blew my nose (to get rid
of the fine sawdust) and then pulled the car back inside. I blew off my clothes
to (hopefully) confine the sawdust to the garage.
I finally gave in and ordered an
indoor plant stand from Gardener’s Supply that I have been debating for three
months or so. I decided the living room definitely needed it.
I had thawed a four-cup
container of meatballs and marinara sauce I froze on January 28, 2013. So, I put that in a saucepan and turned the heat to
low. When it was warm, I filled up a large sauce pan with salted water and put
it on to boil, so I could make some thick spaghetti pasta. I dislike thin or
angel hair spaghetti, BTW.
When the pasta was done, I mixed
it with the sauce. I made a big plate of it, topped it with Parmesan cheese and
watched the last of the evening news.
When the news ended, my back
hurt and it seemed to be aggravated by lying down. So, I switched to reading in
the living room. I must admit, I was in
a bit of a carb coma and dozed off a little every now and then.
When the clock struck 11:00 PM, I went in to watch one of my favorite DIY shows: The
Bronson Pinchot Project. It’s a quirky show, (and that’s like describing
Bitchin’ Kitchen as “quirky”) but he does some beautiful restorations using
salvaged materials and antiques.
When it was over, I went to bed.