Strong Bonds and Good Memories

I like Strayer’s comment, that Jezebel and I are linked rather like an old married couple. Bathwater made a similar observation. Funny enough, dear departed kitty Luna was my soul mate. My husband, far from jealous, agrees one hundred percent. Among other adorable things, she would stand on me and stare into my face while I watched TV. He said she was worshipping me.

Vets and Techs always remarked on
her Angora rabbit soft fur...

Our Saturday mornings were awesome. I’d slip an undergarment on beneath my pajama top (protecting tender areas from wayward claws – lol) and we would snuggle on the couch together for a comedic skit show called “Mystery Science Theater Three Thousand”. My mother got to witness this.

In fact, Mom also noted how Luna, Tilly (rest her sweet soul), and Jezebel acted like my trio of satellites. This brings me back to “MST3K” because the setting where our human and robot protagonists were subject to bad movies was called The Satellite of Love. Those improv artists remain a group, riffing on bad movies in front of a live audience.

Do you appreciate improvisational comedy? Did you ever watch “Whose Line is it Anyway?” in either its British or American incarnation?

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I Did It Again

Yesterday I decided to use a up handful of frozen strawberries by covering them with a thin layer of semi-sweet chocolate. In past using Baker’s chocolate I would set the microwave for thirty seconds on high, stir, and repeat until getting the desired consistency.

Still foggy from my little respiratory infection, I decided to just set the oven for a minute. Just as the timer began beeping I turned around and saw smoke billowing out of the microwave.

Oh, no, I thought, not again. Opening windows fast as possible, I asked my husband for help with the smoke alarm. My handy stepstool didn’t give me high enough reach. But he just sat there, watching me scramble, saying he didn’t hear any alarm.

“Right!” I hollered. “And I don’t want to!”

He remained sitting on the couch, unconcerned. I’m thankful my measures proved adequate and we didn’t get another visit from the local fire department. I wish I’d photographed my chocolate hockey puck. Let’s hope I can get the burn marks out of the microwave.

It still stinks - baking soda should help.

Did you know chocolate could char? Do you ever wish you could hire a home cook?

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Aging Health Issues

I’ve (half) joked that Jezebel is my Voodoo doll. When my left shoulder hurt a few years ago I found her limping on her front left leg. As of today we both have kidney issues. ~sigh~ I had to cancel my MRI kidney scan last week due to an upper respiratory infection and, lo and behold, poor Jezzy developed a urinary tract infection (!) that requires twice daily antibiotics.

“Make no mistake, she is my Voodoo doll.”

My active imagination foresaw not bringing her home from Friday’s vet visit. ~shakes head~ My husband assured me as much, though he couldn’t accompany me due to his own medical appointment. Jezebel is officially on a kidney care diet now.

Playing ‘magical plates’ all morning is exhausting, especially since my lungs and sinuses are still phlegm filled. Jezebel’s health is worth the effort of denying her unhealthy foods. Her prescription stuff is safe for the other two kitties, a good thing since Polly seems to want whatever the old gal gets. Thank heaven, Terra is not as food centric.

Why are there no treats produced for pets with CKD? Any fellow cat caretakers have any suggestions?

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Losses and Wins

I almost titled this ‘French Onion Dupe’ but neither the recipe nor its creator was at fault for my French onion soup fail. It seems that adding a baking soda solution to the onions surpassed my sweetness palate. And while my lovingly toasted baguette slices got soggy on the bottom, the expensive Gruyère shreds turned to concrete. Oh, well. I blame my husband more because he showed me a great YouTube video that led me down this rabbit hole, then neither of us could find her again.

On the bright side, grinding meat with my stand mixer is a cool (newer) experience. There is still much for me to learn. I made a pork sauerkraut pinwheel (too lean/dry) and then meatballs, using the rest of the ground pork and some beef (with added fat) that I processed. I’m not a big fan of meatballs yet they turned out great despite my lacking ricotta cheese as suggested by Sam the Cooking Guy.

While his language can be a bit profane, filming with his sons makes watching their show a laugh fest. I suggest checking them out if you enjoy cooking shows.

Do you like watching cooking shows? If so, what type(s)?

Latest Lessons Learned

I need to start numbering these lessoned learned episodes. ~shakes head~ Anyway, back in 2019 our lovely Chevrolet Volt got scrapped due to a collision. If we’d known better, we’d have collected the cargo net since our gorgeous 2017 Volt (electric hybrid version 2.0) lacked this surprisingly expensive little luxury.

Hence when our last microwave oven died I knew enough to retain its glass turntable. It’s a nice item to switch out when our latest and greatest unit needs cleaning, which leads to another lesson.

I need to stop running the microwave oven without donning eyeglasses. ~sigh~ Jezebel wanted her morning arctic char, stomping on me with her shaky geriatric little kitty feet to the point I felt bad and scurried out to the kitchen (hence, no eyeglasses).

She doesn’t much care if her refrigerated food is warmed, yet I decided to do so. I still don’t know how it happened, but my intended four second runtime went on far past that. Opening the door I found an explosive stinky mess. I should have used our domed splatter guard. ~sigh~ On the bright side, our scrubbed microwave oven looks brand new.

Are you a big user of a microwave oven? Do you own any sort of splatter guard for it?

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Oatmeal on a Snowy Morning

Snow in March isn’t unheard of in Ohio but recent spring-like weather led to my surprise upon waking. Hence, a nice bowl of warm cereal sounded perfect. I haven’t eaten it in years and decided to kick this up a notch.

I started with diced Gala apple and raisins. Adding a splash more milk, I felt it needed a little more sweetness. Then I remembered my ginger snap cookies.

They’re small and I used less butter baking them, so don’t judge. ~grin~ And what a delicious twist! My husband followed my suggestion.

Have you experienced fresh ginger root? Are you a fan of hot cereal?
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A Nice Update on Our Fire Department Encounter – & – My Latest Kitchen Gadget

I’ve been meaning to share for some time that I did send a message praising our town’s firefighters. The fire chief had an email address on the city website. Naming each individual, I told the story of my embarrassing little episode in the kitchen.

Chief Westendorf replied:

“Thank you so much for passing this message along. I have forwarded a copy of you message to each of our staff, and council. Additionally, a copy of this letter will be placed in each of their personnel files to document the good work they have done. Franklin is a wonderful community, and you have helped demonstrate that for all.”

He added “Enjoy your weekend!”, which his replay helped me do. ~grin~ Now onto my new toy gadget.

Having gained a sincere appreciation for cast iron pans I researched how best to clean them. My husband also liked what I found. Not only has it turned out to have multiple uses (scouring bamboo cutting boards and my Korean dolsot), owning what is essentially chainmail makes me feel like a true kitchen warrior. Heh…

It’s also dishwasher safe!

Wasn’t the fire chief’s reply nice? Do you like my chainmail?

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Polly’s Follies – 11

On Tuesday I decided to cook some rice in our pressure cooker. Terra must have been napping, so Deputy Inspector Polly supervised. lol Thank heaven for sanitizing wet wipes.

Don’t you agree that the moving lights caught her attention? Do you have a supervisor in your kitchen?

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Another Lesson Learned

Warning: the image at bottom is slightly gross. I made the mistake of trimming Terra’s front claws a few days before realizing her backside needed cleaning. ~rolls eyes~ If you want to visualize instead of seeing my healing boo boo, imagine cutting yourself with a ragged edged blade. lol As for why I scrubbed her rear end, she sometimes has loose stool and a bit got stuck.

If not for having to wash my sheets about a week ago, I might have let her clean herself. Now she has even more nicknames: Poopy Pants.

Did you know baby wipes are useful to clean kitties? Can you blame her for lashing out?

Scroll down if you want to see the image. For having been so tattered, the skin is healing well.

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Don’t you just love the rectangular bandage mark?

 

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Beans!

 

Terra curled up on the bed and I could
not resist this phot op.

Can you tell I trimmed her nails?

Overworked and Underpaid

I jest, of course, having retired years ago. And anyone who read about the yard work we had done knows I’m thankful for my husband. He wasn’t thrilled about spending so much yet agreed for my sake. Of course, he is also glad it got done.

At any rate, he developed a craving for Kentucky Fried Chicken yesterday. He planned on having it delivered but I offered to drive over upon learning about the fee (see above – lol) and even wait when he couldn’t get the order placed online.

Well, the deal he found was only available via the Internet. I parked the car and called him. It took a while for him to call back and I was really hungry, so I went through the adjacent Taco Bell drive-thru for a burrito.

I’d planned on eating it at home, though, until he told me the wait time of over fifteen minutes. Then he called again while I was eating. Already irritated, I couldn’t believe when he told me he’d accidentally placed the order with a KFC in Toledo, Ohio, hundreds of miles away. It took an effort to let him start over. First, he called the other restaurant to cancel.

~sigh~

Thank heaven I had my iPod with me. I listened to an old comedy routine by Mitch Hedberg. He was awesome and I find his shy unwillingness to make eye contact charming. I’m forever saddened that he succumbed to his heroin addiction.

Some time after I finished my burrito, he called yet again and the wait was now just four minutes. The real kicker is that I suggested that the order wouldn’t go through without the phone number field filled. He said it would have been highlighted on the screen. Wrong. I wanted to smack him when I got home.

Even worse, I like cold fried chicken as much as he but the piece I bit into today wasn’t fully cooked inside. Yuck. Looks like we’ll be microwaving those pieces remaining. And it was not too bad, so I will not complain to anyone at KFC. Meanwhile, for your viewing pleasure, here is a clip of Mr. Hedberg:

Isn’t it funny that my husband spent decades working in IT (Internet Technology, for crying out loud)? Aren’t you proud of me for not giving him a rap on the noggin?

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Eagles and Daffoldils

Reading Strayer’s latest adventures in cat rescue/neuter/release endeavors, I was happy to see her photographs of American bald eagles. I understand they do live in Ohio but seeing vast numbers in Alaska are the only sightings I can confirm. What a joyful memory.

Photo Credit: Chrissy Lou
on Pexels.com...

After approving of and paying for yesterday’s landscape work, I stopped to smell some flowers. Yellow joyfully shouts ‘Spring!’ to me and was the color of my mother’s most fondly remembered sundress.

Did you know that Benjamin Franklin was not a fan of this choice for the United States’ national bird? Do you enjoy live nature camera feeds?

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My Saturday Surprise

Yesterday I ran a couple of errands and decided to go through the car wash. I took the Cruze days before while the Volt remained encased in road dirt. The relative warm temperature and sunshine changed my mind; I drove home and hooked up the garden hose. It would save money, I thought, as well as give me exercise.

I couldn’t have been more wrong on that first point.

Before I even got started, a man approached. Solicitors annoy me, but what he said got my attention. We went around to the back yard where he’d noticed overgrowth from his company truck. The full scope shocked him so much he went to get his boss while I spoke to my husband. We agreed to the price as long as I received documentation.

I signed our agreement and, to my delighted amazement, the owner said they would immediately get started (!) and likely finish the same day (!!).

Sorry, but I can’t help sharing yet another horror movie quote. ~shakes head~ In “Evil Dead II”, the character Sarah meets two locals on her way to her parents’ (evil possessed) cabin and they make a deal. The fellow offers to carry her bags for “a hundred buck” before seeing Sarah’s huge travel trunk.

Ugly, yes; but I have a clean(er) slate...

You see, these groundskeepers had no clue the tangle of vines awaiting them. Even the boss joined in, which isn’t normally the case. They worked for at least five hours, taking turns to rest as exhaustion set in. Exorbitant as the fee might seem (a staggering $2,000 USD), I don’t regret it. Thank heaven we will not end up strangled by this debt.

The Virginia creeper was killing every one of my trees and shrubs, including a honeysuckle I forgot existed, bent beneath the other vine’s massive trunk. Now it won’t be such an uphill battle cleaning up surrounding areas because (unfortunately) Virginia creeper sets roots wherever it touches. So I still have my work cut out for me, as they say. In fact, I should work a little each day now.

This is what they hauled up...

To reiterate the difficulty level, I saw one fellow all but collapse against their truck when I peeked out front and later learned about their numerous falls on the steep slope. Bringing the guys some bottled water, I asked how they manage such heavy labor. “We all have kids, and kids are expensive,” said one of them. I had to laugh.

Can you believe they went on to another job after that? Isn’t it heartening to find ambitious young people?

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M3GAN – A Movie Review

Finally, I’m going to do as promised. For anyone interested in science fiction/horror flicks, I absolutely recommend M3GAN. Its self awareness as a spoof on the genres tropes seemed (surprisingly) lost on my husband. He didn’t laugh like I did. Then again, I regularly watch horror movies after his bedtime. Heh…

The striking, formal clothing
blew my mind...

I agree with him that the uncanny valley of the robotic doll and its transformation added terrifying tension. There are reasons some of us fear the direction artificial intelligence is heading.

Amazingly, neither of us noticed any flaws I can recall. Every event I predicted always took an ultimately imaginative and frightening twist.

From the color palate, costumes, actors’ performances, and realistic (and limited) CGI, it riveted me. Even the runtime proved reasonable. Nods to other films added so much fun.

I’ll stop here. And if you’re still reading, I appreciate it. ~grin~ And for those interested, here is a clip that has become popular on Youtube:

If you watched the creepy video, can you believe a young gymnast (!) performed the dance? How did creators match the CGI face so wll to the action? And how on earth do people move like that?

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Mellow Yellow – & – A Question: Why?

A few houses across the street from us is apparently owned by the folks who run Statik Autobody here in Franklin, Ohio. It took me a while to decipher the fancy script spelling out the name. lol The business is downtown but they occasionally have vehicles at the house. This latest caught my eye. Some might consider it gawdy but the color reminds me of sunrise over the Atlantic ocean. As if I don’t miss The Outer Banks everyday as it is. ~sigh~ Anyway, I grabbed a photograph while out walking.

I really like this golden glow...

Sorry about the window glare but
this angle shows it better.

I also stopped to capture an image of my crocuses. Sad to say, they’re too short to really show past my retaining bricks but I enjoy them. 

I should have tried a more
interesting angle...

Then I was visiting Ellen’s blog at 15andmeowing and found myself reading about her 2015 visit to New York City. Since the city’s decline, I couldn’t help thinking of a quote. In ‘The Stand’ teleplay, Nadine said to Larry, “The Big Apple is baked.” How sadly prophetic. ~sigh~ But again, I’d rather go to Nags Head, North Carolina.

All that said, I stumbled across a listing on IMDB (Internet Movie Database) that “The Stand” was remade in 2020 as another mini-series. It left me shaking my head. I’m sorry, but actor Gary Sinise is Stu Redman. And I adored Alexander Skarsgård in the television series “True Blood”. Yet I cannot imagine anyone else but Jamey Sheridan as Randall Flagg. I could go on and on.

Needless to say, I’ll pass on watching this newer release. Seeing 2019’s “Pet Semetary” left a tiny psychic scar. Spoiler alert: they changed which of the Creed children perished and it did NOT work for me.

Are you a film buff? Does Hollywood need the reboot instead of movies and TV programs? -