[Yes, you are going to have to endure this, as I am quite fond of puns!]
Broken pencils are pointless.
Friday, January 31, 2014
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.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Truck Pictures (Finally!)
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Running Boards |
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Tail Gate Extender |
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Rear Camera and Backup Sensors Display |
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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.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
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...
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