Pun of the Day

[Yes, you are going to have to endure this, as I am quite fond of puns!]

Broken pencils are pointless.

NOW it’s Thursday. LOL!

It was slightly warmer on Thursday, but still windy, dammit!

But, it was supposed to get up to a whopping 28 degrees F., so I went to lunch at the Newburgh Grille. I had a bowl of beef vegetable soup and then went across the street to the car wash. I wanted to clean the crud off the truck so I could take some pictures for you.

Now, years ago, the antenna on the Volvo quit retracting. I was afraid to take it through a car wash after that, thinking it might break off. As a result, I always washed it in the quarter car wash.

So, this was the first time in probably seven years I went through a real car wash. I found it to be a very scary experience! All that whirling and twirling and slapping freaked me out. Then the blower at the end came on, but the door was still down. Was this damn mechanical monster going to shove me right through the closed door? But, at the last minute, the door went up and I was outside (whew). Two guys wiped down the truck and I drove across Joy Road to the Walgreens Drugstore parking lot.

I took a bunch of photos and then drove back to work. I remembered the rail system at work, so I pulled back the cover of the one in the truck bed floor off a little and took another few shots.

Sidebar: It wasn’t until I was home, processing the photos when I realized I wish I had straightened up the steering wheel. It would have looked better!

Back home after work, I downloaded the photos and reduced their sizes for the Blog. Then I posted them.

I watched the end of the Nightly news and then started making supper.

I didn’t feel like leftovers, so I decided to make what should have been Brunch last Sunday: Cheese Blintz Hot Cakes. Please note: This is a recipe from “Every Day with Rachel Ray” the magazine my daughter Amy gave me for my birthday/Christmas present.

So, I got out my blender and put into it two eggs, 1/2 cup of AP flour, 1/4 cup of milk, 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder. I pulsed that for about 10 seconds. Then I added a cup of cottage cheese. I blended that until it was just incorporated. It didn’t mention it in the recipe, but I had to stop and scrape down the sides of the blender a few times. Then I poured the batter into a bowl (so I could get it out easier).

I got out my electric griddle, put it on 300 degrees F. and melted two tablespoons of butter on it. When it was hot, I put 1/4 cup of batter per cake on it. Note: the recipe says it makes eight cakes, but I could only get seven out of it.

Unlike pancakes, there are no bubbles to let you know when to flip them. So, I just kept lifting one edge and checking. They are supposed to be golden, BTW, not brown. All in all, it took about five minutes cook time for them from start to finish.

When they were ready, I plated four of them. I topped them with some blackberry jam and then dusted them with some confectioners’ sugar. I put it in my small sieve and then tapped the side of the sieve over top of them. I took a photo for you and then dug in.

Outstanding! I went back and ate the other three, LOL! I left the blender and bowl soaking overnight.

I had a little time, so I thought I would look at the Netflix problem, since I tried it again and got the same error message. So, I disconnected the cable modem (taking out the battery as well), the wireless router, and the power to the Roku. I waited a while and hooked it all back together. Same error message!

So, I got online with Netflix. I chatted with Amber, who basically told me to do what I already did as the first step. Since that didn’t work, she sent me instructions for disconnecting Netflix from the Roku and then reconnecting it.

But when I tried that, the error message was that I was not connected to the Internet. Huh? So, I got my new cell phone and checked the signal from the wireless router. The phone said it was “poor.” Now what?

But it was already after 9:30 p.m. and I was late. I wanted to watch a tribute special on PBS for Pete Seeger. So, I’ll get back to why the router is working so poorly another time.

This special originally aired in 2008 and I missed it back then. But, they brought it back as a tribute after his death this week. It was excellent! He was a fascinating person and so influential in so many issues in my life and times.

I went to bed after it finished at 11:00p.m.

Truck Pictures (Finally!)

Running Boards

Tail Gate Extender

Rear Camera and Backup Sensors Display

Rail system on sides and bottom of bed for moveable tie down anchors

Then it was Wednesday…

It was a little warmer on Wednesday, but still windy. I went to Time Out for lunch and had a bowl of chicken noodle soup and what they called a turkey Rueben. It was turkey, of course, and Thousand Island dressing on grilled bread. But it had coleslaw instead of sauerkraut which, in my mind anyway, technically makes it a turkey Dinty Moore.

Okay, I suppose its nit-picking…

After I ate, I drove up Plymouth Road to the Foodland (open 24 hours) at Farmington. I bought the few things on my grocery list, but what I really needed was more Hefty Zip Lock Gallon baggies.

I stopped at the Goodwill on the way back and dropped off yet another box of books and an old (but warm) overcoat.

I went home after work and took in the groceries. I treated the cats and then went into the bedroom to change my clothes. That’s when I found somebody had barfed, both on the bedspread and the little rug next to the bed. Gee, thanks!

So, instead of the usual Wednesday night wash, I had to do two loads.

I put away the groceries. When I went to put the baggies in the drawer, the drawer face pulled loose! Damn!

I emptied the drawer contents onto the counter. Then, I turned on the air compressor and hooked up the nail gun. I glued the face and, after tapping it back together, put a few extra nails in it to secure it tightly. I put it 3/4 of the way back into the cabinet and left it to dry overnight.

So much for all the things I had “planned” on doing tonight…

When the dryer stopped, I remade the bed and put the other load in it. I warmed up another healthy (sic) serving of Shrimp and Grits and ate that watched the tail end of the Nightly News.

I couldn’t find anything al that interesting on cable, so I decided to check out Roku. I got the dreaded message that the Roku couldn’t my Wi-Fi! So, I went in the office, climbed under the desk and disconnected the router. I waited a bit and reconnected it. I tried it and, “bingo,” it connected!

I chose Netflix and, after a long wait, I got a message there was an “internal error at Netflix and I should try again later.”

I picked the wrong week to give up heroin…

I watched a couple of taped shows and then switched to reading until I went to bed at 10:30 p.m.

From Amy

Weather Words

You know, my daughter Melissa, when they lived up near Traverse City, told me once she hated the weather phrase "lake effect snow." And, for good reason: They got a ton of it. Dave used to even have to climb up and shovel off their roof, so it wouldn't collapse!

But I am rapidly learning to hate the phrase "wind chill factor!" I can't remember that last time the wind wasn't blowing!

Oh, and I ain't that thrilled with "Polar Vortex," either...