Memorial Day Weekend, Day 3

I woke up at 5:00 a.m. on Memorial Day. I made a cup of coffee and filled in the Blog post.

I didn’t feel like eggs, so I took some bacon out of the freezer to thaw while I watched the news. It was supposed to be hot, with occasional rain today. It already felt muggy.

I finally shaved, showered and dressed at 7:30 a.m.

Now one of the things that remained undone yesterday was to put a new coat of stripper on all the doors. But since 24 hours is the maximum time its supposed to stay on (and 40 minutes the minimum), I thought I’d put some on this morning and scrap the doors late in the afternoon.

But, first I wanted to put the drawer face on the new drawer. I finally got off the foam insulation by using a wood chisel (neither a putty knife nor sanding worked). Then I sanded the area. I screwed the drawer face on. Then I filled the knob holes with wood putty on all three drawers (she wants pulls instead of knobs).

I got the two spare sawhorses out and started applying the stripper. The truck, needless to say, was already pulled outside.

Now, my hope was I could finish up and squeeze a bike ride in before the rain started and/or the traffic picked up. But, I was on the second to last door when it started raining. Damn!

So, I finished up the doors and left them to work in their bunk bed. It was just after 10:00 a.m.

I went inside and checked out Facebook. I have been trying to think of a way to use up my eggs when lo and behold, there was a recipe for mini-omelets made in muffin tins. And, it took eight eggs!

Sidebar: I think Betsy Knapp posted it.

So, I first made myself five strips of thick bacon in the 12-inch skillet. I toasted two slices of sourdough bread and had an excellent brunch.

Sidebar: It reminded me of a distant memory of my cousin Rachel. She was Anne’s age or younger and, at least when she was little and I knew her, she would only eat bacon and toast. Now that sounds ridiculous, I know, but her mother would make bacon at each meal for her to eat while we chowed down on the usual summertime fare at Waconda cottage. I assume she got over it, or else she died of clogged arteries.

I took the rest of the bacon and cut it into lardons. I cooked those along with a sliced onion and stopped just before they were crisp.

You were supposed to lightly grease the muffin tins. I used butter instead (which, if they stick, I will regret). I distributed the bacon and onion mixture evenly.

Note: The recipe said you could use either diced ham (which I didn’t have) or bacon (which I did). But, I don’t see any reason you couldn’t use, said, boiled broccoli, instead.

I topped that with some shredded sharp cheddar and that’s when I ran into a problem: I ran out! So, I used mozzarella in the last five cups.

I scrambled eight eggs and then added 1/4 cup of milk, “some” baking powder for lift (I used 1/8 teaspoon, having no clear direction from the recipe) “some” oil (I just did a splash and salt and pepper to taste (I skipped the salt because bacon and cheese are salty enough by themselves).

I distributed the liquid evenly among all the cups and then stuck them into a preheated 375 degree oven for 25 minutes. When the timer went off, I pulled them out and let them cool for five minutes (supposedly so they don’t stick).

After the five minutes were up, I took one out. It did stick a little (maybe butter was not a wise choice?) I took a final picture for you and then ate it.

Hmmm… Not bad, but a little salty – diced ham would have been better. I got a sharp cheddar, so I can’t speak for the mozzarella ones.

I went into the bedroom and raised the back of the bed. Many stations today are showing war movies for Memorial Day, but, when I checked it out yesterday, I’d seen most of them. I mean, I love “Saving Private Ryan” but, again?

So, I’m celebrating by watching American Sniper. I saw it on sale at Kroger’s on Saturday, but talked myself out of it. I changed my mind, which is why I had to go to Kroger’s on Sunday.

Sidebar: I am fascinated by snipers. I have many books about them, both fiction and/or non-fiction. But, they are all from the World War II, the Korean War or the Vietnam era. So, I am interested on similarities or differences with modern snipers.

So, I settled in to watch my movie. It was excellent, BTW.

When it ended, I went back in the garage and set up the saw horses (on the driveway, this time). I scraped all the doors (again!) and set them in there rack to dry out.

It was about 4:30 p.m. and had turned sunny. I figured the sun’s rays wouldn’t be that potent, so I grabbed a blanket. I laid it in the grass next to the patio and then sunbathed in my shorts for 20 minutes a side.

Sidebar:  I usually get a protective tan about mid-July just from working in the yard. But, I am afraid that this old white guy is going to get burnt to a crisp down in Puerto Rico. So, I think early exposure (and a lot of sun-block) may help.

Back inside, it was just after 6:00 p.m. I took a quick shower and then checked the TV menu. LMAO! The only thing that sounded interesting was “Saving Private Ryan!” So, I started watching that.

My buddy B___ called and we caught each other up on what was going on in each of our lives. That didn’t take long, so I went back to my movie.

About 7:30 p.m. I was hungry. So, I sliced off three ribs and warmed them up. I ate the with some Kroger deli coleslaw and potato salad.

Sidebar: Again, I knew I wouldn’t have time for sides.

The ribs were great! Turned out they didn’t burn (although they look like it), it was the rub that burned. The sides were so-so, but I didn’t expect gourmet.

The movie was over at 10:00 p.m. and I went to bed.