Minor Disappointments – & – My (Spoiler Alert) “Renfield” Movie Review

Yesterday I tried a new recipe that seemed so promising and well… was not. A sauce containing honey, raisins, pine nuts, and smoked Spanish paprika took a fastidious effort as I carefully measured out each ingredient. Sad to say, my husband and I found it lacking, perhaps acidity from citrus or tomato. Nothing stood out except what I considered an overly smoky flavor.

However good or bad this looks to you,
my guy praised my presentation...

And while he thought his lightly fried cod fillet was fine, mine seemed half raw. I hate to admit that I tossed out the last few bites. At least the fish, if indeed undercooked, didn’t make me ill.

Oh, well. We like to remember that never having a failure would make the successes less celebratory.

Moving on, I was excited to watch the movie “Renfield” on Amazon Prime. The only high point was Nicolas Cage nailing his Dracula role. For him alone I am glad we watched but the remaining so-called humor fell flat, the comedic plot points forced.

The characterizations were fine. Renfield himself was rather endearing. And Iranian/American actress Shohreh Aghdashloo is always a joy; I adore her husky voice and powerful feminine presence. But while I don’t blame actress Nora Lum, Officer Rebecca grated on our nerves.

Its thin plot would have benefitted from better cohesion. More Nic Cage scenes would have definitely helped. On a final note, Renfield’s enjoyable exposition struck me as random. It’s as if the writers were being lazy.

Are you familiar with Ms. Lum’s musical and/or film performances? Doesn’t her stage name Awkwafina sound like bottled water marketed to gawky teenagers?

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Blue Skies

I saw the most astonishing cloud formation out my window yesterday. These shapes mimicked our neighbor’s tree aka the squirrel highway.

Its beauty distracted me from recognizing
the window screen marred this image.
~sigh~

It reminded me of the a cappella group Voiceplay covering an ELO song. They amaze me.

Are you familiar with Electric Light Orchestra’s music? If so, isn’t their range from upbeat (as above) to melancholy (video below) amazing?

My Latest Shopping Spree (Not)

Today I went shopping for pine nuts to make a Spanish glazed cod recipe. My husband asked me to also pick up some Bugle corn snacks. For some reason, that brand is never easy to find. This store stashed Bugles on a high shelf near bagged popcorn instead of in the chip aisle.

Photo from Walgreens convenience store/pharmacy website...

And it was a struggle for my short self to reach one of the two remaining bags. But I managed, and jokingly told my man that I knew he would have tossed me to the curb if I’d given up. I don’t understand why this General Mills product is so difficult to find here in the United States and no longer sold in Canada (something I just learned).

The whopping two other items in my cart were an unexpected discovery, chocolate covered cherries at fifty percent off. My husband looked at a box before Christmas and decided they weren’t worth the cost. Other folks must have felt the same because there must have been hundreds of the milk chocolate variety available.

The cherry cola flavor caught my interest...

In fact these proved a better deal than expected, the regular price being almost $4 (USD) while I paid under $1 (!) for each box of ten candies. I suppose the extraordinary excess inventory explains this. Maybe, if he likes these as much as his preferred dark chocolate cordials I should buy more. Why they were not advertised as such is another mystery.

Did you know Bugles were introduced in 1966 alongside two counterparts called Whistles and Daisy*s? Wouldn’t the flower shaped ones be fun, and even better than cones for dipping?

I found this on a fun website...

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More Food Fun

The last thing we need around here are desserts. Yet since the apple strudel is gone (ahem…) I couldn’t resist baking one of the boxed cakes my husband bought. ~shakes head~ Again, I enjoyed experimenting.

Do you see what looks like an angry doggie face?

This time I decided to make an orange flavored cream cheese frosting. Instead of following a direct recipe I used less than half the recommended sugar while doubling the fresh squeezed mandarin orange juice and zest. About a tablespoon of orange blossom water kept the thin concoction, more a glaze than frosting, still a bit sweeter than I like. But I had an idea.

Woof woof!

Since discovering how well a bit of peppery heat works in sweets, I added the last few tablespoonfuls of my peach Carolina reaper wing sauce. That sweet and spicy fruitiness really made the chocolate fudge confection shine.

Would you try a sweet baked good with a little zesty kick? Do you know that Bundt pans have a registered trademark?

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Concessions

Well, I’ve conceded to technical blogging issues and started signing off as “- Darla”. Fighting the comment failure rate has proven a ridiculous time waster. I’ve even begun this practice on my own blog.

At least most bloggers know I often use tildes. So far, bots and/or scammers do not.

~fingers crossed I didn’t give out ideas~

Then I wondered about the definition of concession stands. Here is the derivation: from the tiniest community sites to giant stadiums, owners grant vendors permission rights. In other words, these larger institutions concede.

Isn’t modern technology both a boon and burden? Have you ever or would you like to start up a small business?



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Holiday Cheer – & – Fun Experiments with Food

A block away from my usual turn toward the main road I kept noticing an adorable holiday display and finally drove past for a photo. The tiny gingerbread house (far left) in particular caught my attention.

As usual, my image does not do this justice...

Meanwhile, we continue shopping bargains and a huge bag of potatoes inspired me to try cooking potato pancakes. Well, it didn’t work as planned yesterday; the patties wouldn’t retain their shape despite my best efforts and strict adherence to ingredients/directions. That’s okay. The tasty potato shreds fried with mushrooms and scrambled eggs won’t go to waste.

Today’s test came from my husband discovering store bought apple pie on sale. I’d rather bake something myself. We already had canned fried apples bought on sale many months ago and newer frozen pastry sheets. A quick search fitted the two perfectly. You can find the easy recipe here including an amusing story.

To my surprise, mine turned out as pretty...

Do you enjoy fruity confections? Are you familiar with turbinado sugar and its difference from other varieties?

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Shameless

Pet shaming photos always make us laugh. Upon finding bits of Terra’s chenille worm toys downstairs I decided to try my hand at it.

She makes us laugh daily...

I bought a bagful but numbers are dwindling. lol They are designed for a string wand toy. For whatever reason, she prefers that I toss them for her to chase and carry around.

Is it a surprise I followed her all over the house in my attempts? Isn’t it awesome that our kitties don’t ingest things like these googly toy eyes?

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Missed & Matched

Today my husband treated me to lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant. After the delicious meal we received complimentary fortune cookies with our (very reasonable) bill.

His is the top slip and I couldn’t resist sharing because he is less athletic than I am; which is not saying much. Not that I believe in these little notes but it would fit if he betted on sporting events and won.

Mine, as you can guess, fits. Current events bring me down and nothing lifts my spirit more than art (and animals). On that note, my guy shared this story of a woman finding an opossum in her Christmas tree. The attached video is unrelated, by the way. Meanwhile, I found the following on Youtube.

What would you have done in her situation? Do you know the difference between possums and opossums?

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Beauty in Strange Days

Last week our convalescing friend Phoenix requested a ride to his prosthetic specialist. I’m sad to say that the 70-year-old buddy who’s been driving him around landed in hospital with decreasing heart function. I pray he recovers enough to return home. In this sad scenario I found gorgeous artwork adorning the office. Staffers told me this patient draws something new at every visit. What talent!

A stunning dragon rendition...

Do you agree that anyone this talented should be a paid art teacher? Should I ask if he would sell some of his incredible sketches?

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Trust

After a grocery shopping trip I came home to discover Terra posing like a speed bump. We have another route from the garage door to our kitchen and I took it the second time. She cracks us up.

Taking this blurry photo is better than none...

Can you tell at bottom right that my husband stood looking down? Is this not the definition of trust?

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Rice Pudding Revamped

I don’t even remember what recipe caused me to purchase instant rice. Its texture and taste make a terrible side dish compared to any other variety. We did choose a generic brand but I don’t think Minute Rice would be much better. At least the company’s website offered the simple pudding recipe my mother made on occasion.

This presentation is far prettier than mine...

As my title indicates, I changed things up. Instead of using processed sugar I doubled the raisins. And I replaced half the recommended amount of vanilla with orange blossom water. It’s excellent! In future I might not reduce the vanilla and maybe add an equal amount of the blossom water.

Is rice pudding something you’ve eaten and enjoy? Are you familiar with the fabulous Indian dessert kheer?

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Squirrel Highway – The View from My Desk

Did you spot the little creature? Can you believe our white squirrel population is growing?

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My “Peaceful” Walk in the Woods

This morning I decided to get some fresh air out in nature, and even found a new park to explore. Almost immediately I heard sirens wailing. This went on for over fifteen minutes.

I kept hoping they would stop. When rain began falling I headed back to my car. Normally I would have fetched my umbrella. Instead I left, half sick wondering what horrible thing was happening. Finally things quieted. And at this three way stop sign I had to wait as numerous emergency vehicles passed.

The trailer was covered in holiday lights. Now I understood the disturbingly loud Christmas music I’d heard blaring. ~sigh~ It must have been a nearby holiday parade.

What says Merry Christmas more than making it sound like an entire neighborhood’s burning down? At least I have lots more to explore, right?

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The Dumb, the Fun, and the Cute

Somehow I managed to post the title “Two Clarifications” after believing it deleted. Back-dated to November 1st it got buried in my timeline. ~sigh~ Twice addressing the same issue about my interaction with the lifeguard is embarrassing but I don’t really consider myself dumb, just technologically challenged. My subject tag stating the contrary is all in good fun.

In other news, my husband discovered wall plugs, a power strip, and even light bulbs that are controllable via smart phone. Now when I’ve been outside or away from home I can tell if his oxygen concentrator is on. If it’s on I know he’s napping and enter quiet as possible.

Electrical outlet controls are obviously limited to on/off but the bulbs are fun. They allow us to change intensity as well as color (!) which means we can set mood lighting for a creepy movie. Anyone who knows me in the slightest can probably guess that I sometimes enjoy messing with him from afar. Don’t judge; he does the same to me on occasion.

A Blurry Dandelion glows in the black light setting...

More cuteness comes in the form of Terra spending time near my desk on the newly purchased cat tree. She’s a bit tough to photograph being in near constant motion.

She is one of my best friends...

Precious Polly is more of a lounger. Seeing her toes dangle off a different piece of cat furniture inspired me to take photos.

She does not let me trim her claws but I do make sure her
ill-formed ‘Polly Wogs’ look healthy...

Isn’t it fortunate that Polly only uses her murder mittens for good? And had you seen a glow-in-the dark kitty before?

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Chilling at Home

I complained the other day about temperatures dropping from the fifties to mid thirty degrees Fahrenheit. As I type this on Tuesday the thermometer reads 26 at 12:55 and it’s expected to drop into the teens overnight.

Brrr…

Hence, my plan to go lift weights has been sidelined. I’m extremely fortunate that we don’t have to go anywhere right now.

I hope it will not need mowed again this year...

How long do you think it will take my lawn to realize it’s time to go dormant? Isn’t the vibrant green misleading?

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