A sign...

My neighbor has started buying me a gallon of milk whenever she is at the grocery store.  It is the absolute most helpful act I could think of for her to do and it was not even my idea.  Now, not only do I have a continuous supply of milk (translate that an absence of milk panic), I do not have to drag myself out to a store on a regular basis!

Tonight, when we met at the fence for her to give me the milk (yes, she very properly buys the gallons with the latest date on them), she look at my hand as I took a hold of the jug and said, "Uh, oh.  The ring.  A bad day?"

It was not until that moment did I realize that wearing the most wonderful FROG ring could be a great way of letting folk know that I am struggling.  I put it on during a particularly violent bout of nausea in the wee hours of the morning and have spun it absently about my finger throughout the day.

I have been thinking....

Anyway, I made some cheddar biscuits yesterday.  I had already put the first blob of batter on the medium bar pan when I realized it was not big enough to do row of eight biscuits.  So, I decided to simply make six large biscuits.

These are from a mix.  When it comes to biscuits, I have the decided opinion that if your name is "Myrtle," using a mix is a much more prudent course of action than trying to make them yourself.  What I found odd about these is that they are a "cheddar" biscuit mix, but you have to actually supply the cheddar cheese yourself.  So, really, does that not make them simply a regular biscuit mix???  It is the Red Lobster brand ... something that fell into my cart one day when I was not looking.

Today, I tried Pioneer Woman's Steak Bites (sirloin tips) recipe.  I still would like to find ways of making steak, especially since I still stink at grilling it.  This was a simple recipe (so I am not sure I will retype it on my recipe blog) that was easy to execute.  Having watched oodles and oodles of master chef steak-making videos, I did heed the advice I had garnered with them and rather liberally salted my bits of steak.  I hesitated half way through that process, but plowed ahead, thinking of all the admonishment about the need for salt when cooking steak.

The key to the recipe is to use a REALLY hot pan and to wait until the butter has already browned.  I was pleased that my bite bits turned out beautifully.

On her recipe, Pioneer Woman notes that you could use red wine to deglaze the pan and make a sauce.  Not having red wine, I used Miren (sweetened sake...rice wine).  Mmmmmmmm!

Amos was so enamored with the sauce that he carried around the dipping bowl for quite a while, even though he had licked it clean.  I don't blame him.  Honestly, I would have preferred that I were the one licking it clean.  Mmmmmmmmmm!

Becky blogged today!!  I like her post, in part because she read some more of the Living with Bob blog about life with dysautonomia (which warmed the cockles of my heart) and in part because she copied and wrote about one of my favorite recent passages that Michelle wrote.  I liked Becky's take-away from the passage.

After the record-shattering rainfall we had in the spring and early summer, it has become rather dry here, despite periodic rain and all that STINKING HOT STEAMY humidity.  Just looking at this makes my gardener's heart hurt.

Last night, at first, I was beneath my weighted blanket and Amos snored next to me curled up in his weighted blanket.

It is hard to tell, but here Amos had woken, crawled into my lap to give me some kisses, and then fell back asleep sitting up against me, as I was typing.  I covered him with his blanket and savored the heavy, snoring, warm lump of puppy dog and two weighted blankets in my lap.

I'm still wearing the ring.  I dare not sleep in in lest I loose it.  But I have wondered:  Would the FROG ring bolster the spirits of my sleeping self the way it does my wake self???