Not being a chef or real cook or anything of the sort, I never gave a thought about how to have the cilantro flavor without the icky leaves I rather detest. Several of the recipes that I wanted to try use cilantro. And, whilst I am not opposed to wholesale dumping of ingredients off a recipe (for example icky, disgusting, squeaky-against-teeth mushrooms), I do understand that in Mexican and Tex-Mex recipes, there are certain flavors that balance each other, enhance each other. I know it was a silly show, but ABC's "The Taste" taught me the importance of layering flavors.
Well, today I was reviewing and revising my Subscribe and Save order and suddenly wondered if I could get dried cilantro. That way, I could not have the icky texture and could practice getting enough of that weird citrusy flavor without giving me the heebie-jeebies. I found some!
I also found a more economical way to purchase the McCormick Peppercorn Medley that I use all the blooming time, which was a pleasant surprise. And I added ancho chili powder since I just cannot find the ancho chilies themselves. The icing on the cake is that the Colavita olive oil that I had been purchasing, but became unavailable, is now back. I just opened my last tin, so I added that new subscription as a later delivery.
I have been working to balance all my subscriptions so that I always have at least 5 items per delivery. That increases your discount from 5% to 15%. But I will say that the bestest part of the service is having Amos' (rather heavy) food delivered right to my door for a bloody fantastic price. All the rest is icing on the cake.
Yesterday (after midnight gardening and sleeping), I awoke to violent nausea and spent the day not actually resting because I was so wretchedly miserable. I have been trying to think of the saying for a while and finally remembered it: self-fulfilling prophecy. I don't want my thoughts about losing the efficacy of the erythromycin to become a self-fulfilling prophecy, but more and more and more I am convinced that the gastroparesis is creeping back. My stomach is clearly not always moving meals along. So, I had a good old-fashioned Southern Come-To-Jesus talk with myself about going back to tiny meals. I have taken the freedom of the erythromycin too far, eating like a normal person all too easily.
I am not going to run out and buy more of the 8 ounce mason jars, but I need to re-train myself to eat just half a meal jar at a time. I am not sure how that will work with the Thai Honey Peanut Chicken, but the rest shouldn't be a problem. Maybe I should get one more package of the 8 ounce jars and put that recipe in small ones. Anyway, yesterday I practiced having small, small servings when I ate. I think I need a support group for those who have inner gluttons but are not able to indulge them. The whole matter is discouraging ... especially because it meant that I only had a single pulled pork taco for brunch today.
This afternoon, I went to fetch the paint and supplies from Lowe's, so that I could use my $10 coupon (the last day it was valid) in the hopes that the sale would not go through until tomorrow (next budget cycle). I have been struggling with loneliness, so I took a chance and called Emily, to see if perhaps she had time to visit. She did. And she made the errand running lots better than it would have been!
First, I made a return to Target. One of the best parts about shopping at Target is that returns are incredibly easy and there is never a long wait to be served. Then, I went over to buy some more Puffs with lotion.
I am in complete denial about having acquired yet another medical condition. I refuse to be diagnosed with nasal allergies. After all, I spent nearly all my childhood and well into my 20s battling real allergies and had 4 shots a week. Moving north to places with actual seasons made my allergies go away and I stopped my shots. Now, ever since that cold last November (and the second one in December), I sneeze periodically, blow my nose several times a day, and am ever so slightly congested in my head every day, all day long.
The nasal spray prescription did finally stop the itching in my ears, and I do breathe easier at night (having exchanged the cost of BreatheRight strips for the prescription). However, every day, about twice, I blow these ... green, bloody plugs ... out of my nose that feel as if they are coming from my forehead. It is weird and discomfiting and a bit gross. Is that what nasal allergies are all about? Because I still think I have some sort of sinus infection. Couldn't being on antibiotics 24/7 mask a sinus infection in some fashion?
In any case, I have gone through more Puffs since November than I have in the four and a half years I've lived here. Emily happily walked with me through Target to fetch them. Then it was across the street to Lowe's, where she rode in the wheelchair cart with me.
Well, the best I can say is that I have a livable (I think the sheen/texture is slightly off) house red matching paint to use on the steps (and a photo of the formula so I do not lose it). Actually, the best thing I can say is that I am so very thankful Emily hung out on the phone with me for eons through my Lowe's visit because at the end there I very nearly melted down in the store.
There was this man driving what looked like a mini-zamboni machine cleaning and polishing the concrete floor. Lights were flashing, sirens were beeping, brushes were swirling, an engine was roaring and all that input was just too much for me.
I was at the customer service counter because I needed to spent a bit more money to get my $10 (the stain and disposable brushes were more economical than I thought they'd be) and set out to buy Osmocote. But the 3-lb container was not on the shelf and it is more economical than the 2-lb container. After asking if it was in stock, I learned that I could order it and pay for everything together to use my coupon. Only ... only the poor gal at the customer service desk was juggling several overhead pages and four calls on hold. The longer she took to help me and the more passes of that machine, the more and more I wanted to drop everything and run screaming out of the store.
I did not like that feeling.
I kept asking Emily if she could hear the machine just for the distraction.
I am not sure how cogent my conversation was at that point.
The upside is that the transaction was completed without a meltdown and Emily was in full agreement that the paint matching success and the meltdown avoidance was enough to justify going to Taco Bell on the way home since I still have (now) 1 and 1/5 gift cards. I did not, however, downsize my decades old order (a taco and a bean burrito). Yes, I am overly full at the moment.
Tomorrow is a new day to do this whole back-to-micro-meals thing.
What I did not realize, when I targeted today for the Lowe's trip, is that the paint was on sale, too. So, I am getting an additional $10 back on a rebate check. Then, after hanging up with Emily, I discovered a message from Lowe's. Although the 3-lb container is available for order, they cannot get it, so the manager approved exchanging the 3-lb order for 2 of the 2-lb containers at the same price I paid. More savings! Of course, I have to go fetch them, but I realized that I did not want to buy the replacement bush until I get the house red paint on the side of the steps because the bush is going on one side of the steps ... right where I stand to paint!
Before taking a bite of taco or even hanging up with Emily, I tested the stain I chose after starring at the selection for about 20 minutes (talking all the time) on a scrap of deck board (what we used for the stair treads). It is much lighter than I hoped it would be and not enough of the red undertone I was aiming for, but I did not want something dark to try to match the 95-year-old wood and end up missing a color match altogether. Unless I pulled up one of the boards, I am not going to be able to match the old floor. This way, at least, the steps will not look like raw wood. Eventually, they will darken even more with age.
I let it set and then actually swiped it lightly with the darker stain that was used in the house on the thresholds to the kitchen. I am not sure I would do that to the steps themselves. But I set the sample outside to see how it looks in different lights. I wanted to slap on some sealer, too, just to see what it looks like, but I am not interested in washing out a brush today.
Tomorrow is going to be STINKING HOT, but it is also supposed to be full sunshine. I might just go ahead and stain and seal the steps, even though the logical move would be to paint the final coat of house red and wait on dealing with the stair treads until the stair railing is done. It is just that I am getting anxious with all the painting/staining/sealing supplies tucked into the corner of the kitchen and the landing of the basement stairs. It is not logical for me to be carrying them all up and down the stairs each time I need them, but I am beginning to sink into despair over being unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel that is the completion of the back porch restoration. SIGH.
Of course, I wouldn't mind resting until the next cool day to paint, which will be Sunday.....
Here are the new-to-me-but-old hummingbird wind chimes that someone sent to me. This is not where I want to hang them, since I cannot actually see them when I sit in my GREEN rocking chair waiting upon Amos.
What are the odds, do you think, that I could survive an attempt to tack up the power line and the coil of Internet cable that are hanging down below the edge of the bottom of the porch roof?? Because, you see, with all the wind blowing across the back porch (remember that the grill was knocked over one day) THIS is where I would like to hang the hummingbird wind chimes.
Firewood Man keeps forgetting to throw his ladder on the truck when he comes to mow.
I am growing impatient to see just how MAGNIFICENT the wind chimes can be in a stiff wind.
I do own 5 ladders..............
By the way, Emily added her vote to keeping the posts white. While that was the decision I had reached, hearing her say so was a welcome vote of confidence of my choice. Plus, she has an awesome laugh. For a while, Nebraska and Indiana were right next door. Really, Emily showered me with mercy in more ways than I can count today!
Well, today I was reviewing and revising my Subscribe and Save order and suddenly wondered if I could get dried cilantro. That way, I could not have the icky texture and could practice getting enough of that weird citrusy flavor without giving me the heebie-jeebies. I found some!
I also found a more economical way to purchase the McCormick Peppercorn Medley that I use all the blooming time, which was a pleasant surprise. And I added ancho chili powder since I just cannot find the ancho chilies themselves. The icing on the cake is that the Colavita olive oil that I had been purchasing, but became unavailable, is now back. I just opened my last tin, so I added that new subscription as a later delivery.
I have been working to balance all my subscriptions so that I always have at least 5 items per delivery. That increases your discount from 5% to 15%. But I will say that the bestest part of the service is having Amos' (rather heavy) food delivered right to my door for a bloody fantastic price. All the rest is icing on the cake.
Yesterday (after midnight gardening and sleeping), I awoke to violent nausea and spent the day not actually resting because I was so wretchedly miserable. I have been trying to think of the saying for a while and finally remembered it: self-fulfilling prophecy. I don't want my thoughts about losing the efficacy of the erythromycin to become a self-fulfilling prophecy, but more and more and more I am convinced that the gastroparesis is creeping back. My stomach is clearly not always moving meals along. So, I had a good old-fashioned Southern Come-To-Jesus talk with myself about going back to tiny meals. I have taken the freedom of the erythromycin too far, eating like a normal person all too easily.
I am not going to run out and buy more of the 8 ounce mason jars, but I need to re-train myself to eat just half a meal jar at a time. I am not sure how that will work with the Thai Honey Peanut Chicken, but the rest shouldn't be a problem. Maybe I should get one more package of the 8 ounce jars and put that recipe in small ones. Anyway, yesterday I practiced having small, small servings when I ate. I think I need a support group for those who have inner gluttons but are not able to indulge them. The whole matter is discouraging ... especially because it meant that I only had a single pulled pork taco for brunch today.
This afternoon, I went to fetch the paint and supplies from Lowe's, so that I could use my $10 coupon (the last day it was valid) in the hopes that the sale would not go through until tomorrow (next budget cycle). I have been struggling with loneliness, so I took a chance and called Emily, to see if perhaps she had time to visit. She did. And she made the errand running lots better than it would have been!
First, I made a return to Target. One of the best parts about shopping at Target is that returns are incredibly easy and there is never a long wait to be served. Then, I went over to buy some more Puffs with lotion.
I am in complete denial about having acquired yet another medical condition. I refuse to be diagnosed with nasal allergies. After all, I spent nearly all my childhood and well into my 20s battling real allergies and had 4 shots a week. Moving north to places with actual seasons made my allergies go away and I stopped my shots. Now, ever since that cold last November (and the second one in December), I sneeze periodically, blow my nose several times a day, and am ever so slightly congested in my head every day, all day long.
The nasal spray prescription did finally stop the itching in my ears, and I do breathe easier at night (having exchanged the cost of BreatheRight strips for the prescription). However, every day, about twice, I blow these ... green, bloody plugs ... out of my nose that feel as if they are coming from my forehead. It is weird and discomfiting and a bit gross. Is that what nasal allergies are all about? Because I still think I have some sort of sinus infection. Couldn't being on antibiotics 24/7 mask a sinus infection in some fashion?
In any case, I have gone through more Puffs since November than I have in the four and a half years I've lived here. Emily happily walked with me through Target to fetch them. Then it was across the street to Lowe's, where she rode in the wheelchair cart with me.
Well, the best I can say is that I have a livable (I think the sheen/texture is slightly off) house red matching paint to use on the steps (and a photo of the formula so I do not lose it). Actually, the best thing I can say is that I am so very thankful Emily hung out on the phone with me for eons through my Lowe's visit because at the end there I very nearly melted down in the store.
There was this man driving what looked like a mini-zamboni machine cleaning and polishing the concrete floor. Lights were flashing, sirens were beeping, brushes were swirling, an engine was roaring and all that input was just too much for me.
I was at the customer service counter because I needed to spent a bit more money to get my $10 (the stain and disposable brushes were more economical than I thought they'd be) and set out to buy Osmocote. But the 3-lb container was not on the shelf and it is more economical than the 2-lb container. After asking if it was in stock, I learned that I could order it and pay for everything together to use my coupon. Only ... only the poor gal at the customer service desk was juggling several overhead pages and four calls on hold. The longer she took to help me and the more passes of that machine, the more and more I wanted to drop everything and run screaming out of the store.
I did not like that feeling.
I kept asking Emily if she could hear the machine just for the distraction.
I am not sure how cogent my conversation was at that point.
The upside is that the transaction was completed without a meltdown and Emily was in full agreement that the paint matching success and the meltdown avoidance was enough to justify going to Taco Bell on the way home since I still have (now) 1 and 1/5 gift cards. I did not, however, downsize my decades old order (a taco and a bean burrito). Yes, I am overly full at the moment.
Tomorrow is a new day to do this whole back-to-micro-meals thing.
What I did not realize, when I targeted today for the Lowe's trip, is that the paint was on sale, too. So, I am getting an additional $10 back on a rebate check. Then, after hanging up with Emily, I discovered a message from Lowe's. Although the 3-lb container is available for order, they cannot get it, so the manager approved exchanging the 3-lb order for 2 of the 2-lb containers at the same price I paid. More savings! Of course, I have to go fetch them, but I realized that I did not want to buy the replacement bush until I get the house red paint on the side of the steps because the bush is going on one side of the steps ... right where I stand to paint!
Before taking a bite of taco or even hanging up with Emily, I tested the stain I chose after starring at the selection for about 20 minutes (talking all the time) on a scrap of deck board (what we used for the stair treads). It is much lighter than I hoped it would be and not enough of the red undertone I was aiming for, but I did not want something dark to try to match the 95-year-old wood and end up missing a color match altogether. Unless I pulled up one of the boards, I am not going to be able to match the old floor. This way, at least, the steps will not look like raw wood. Eventually, they will darken even more with age.
I let it set and then actually swiped it lightly with the darker stain that was used in the house on the thresholds to the kitchen. I am not sure I would do that to the steps themselves. But I set the sample outside to see how it looks in different lights. I wanted to slap on some sealer, too, just to see what it looks like, but I am not interested in washing out a brush today.
Tomorrow is going to be STINKING HOT, but it is also supposed to be full sunshine. I might just go ahead and stain and seal the steps, even though the logical move would be to paint the final coat of house red and wait on dealing with the stair treads until the stair railing is done. It is just that I am getting anxious with all the painting/staining/sealing supplies tucked into the corner of the kitchen and the landing of the basement stairs. It is not logical for me to be carrying them all up and down the stairs each time I need them, but I am beginning to sink into despair over being unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel that is the completion of the back porch restoration. SIGH.
Of course, I wouldn't mind resting until the next cool day to paint, which will be Sunday.....
Here are the new-to-me-but-old hummingbird wind chimes that someone sent to me. This is not where I want to hang them, since I cannot actually see them when I sit in my GREEN rocking chair waiting upon Amos.
What are the odds, do you think, that I could survive an attempt to tack up the power line and the coil of Internet cable that are hanging down below the edge of the bottom of the porch roof?? Because, you see, with all the wind blowing across the back porch (remember that the grill was knocked over one day) THIS is where I would like to hang the hummingbird wind chimes.
Firewood Man keeps forgetting to throw his ladder on the truck when he comes to mow.
I am growing impatient to see just how MAGNIFICENT the wind chimes can be in a stiff wind.
I do own 5 ladders..............
By the way, Emily added her vote to keeping the posts white. While that was the decision I had reached, hearing her say so was a welcome vote of confidence of my choice. Plus, she has an awesome laugh. For a while, Nebraska and Indiana were right next door. Really, Emily showered me with mercy in more ways than I can count today!
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