Tag Archives: Life is good.

Eating the Opponent and the Halloween Candy

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Chuck made Bog Rice with chicken and sausage for Eating the Opponent: Carolina Panthers. It’s a recipe we found that fits the region and incorporates ingredients we already have in the house. Oh, and it’s delicious, too. Go! Pack! Go!

I had a brief moment of panic thinking we’d have to devour all the Halloween candy ourselves. The front porch light and the doorbell both gave out tonight within minutes of each other. Is the front porch haunted? Well, Chuck found a suitable battery for the doorbell – not the exact size needed, but close enough that it worked. He replaced the light bulb on the porch and then announced that we were out, completely out, of light bulbs now. I sense a trip to Home Depot or Ace Hardware coming up soon.

On a more positive note, all three of us received our Covid19 boosters today at the pharmacy. The pharmacist was quick and she was good. We hardly felt a thing. We’re all up to date with flu and Covid vaccines. (Take that, conspiracy theorists. We’re vaccinated.)

So there you have it, folks. Bog Rice, Halloween candy, a new light bulb and doorbell battery. That’s all the news from the O.K. Chorale.

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Eating the Opponent: Dallas

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I looked through my binder for Eating the Opponent, and we had a few recipes that worked for the Dallas Cowboys. Cowboy beans, for example, the dish we call Calico Beans outside of the NFL season, is easy to cook. Amigo reminded us that Papa Murphy’s Take and Bake Pizza has a Cowboy Pizza, too. Then Chuck remembered that he had made Texas Chili in the crock pot, and it was delicious.

And then we went out to lunch for our Fun Day Friday and found this on the menu.

Cowboy Chicken Sandwich

We made cider that afternoon, so Texas Chili in the crock pot was the perfect solution. Go! Pack! Go!

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Herb Garden in a Cooler

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We have a local chapter of the Buy Nothing Project, and I love it. I’ve given things away, and I’ve gotten some awesome items as well. Here’s one of my favorites. Someone posted the cooler, explained that they could no longer use it, and I shared the picture with Chuck. “Wouldn’t this make a great planter? Maybe herbs on the deck, right outside the kitchen door?”

Long story short, we expressed interest, the donor said yes, and we picked it up on our way home from Fun Day Friday lunch. The donor apologized for not cleaning it out, and when I explained how we planned to use it, she was relieved.

The fun piece of trivia: the donor is a tennis coach at the small college downtown, my alma mater.

Cooler turned Herb Garden

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Foot, Feet, more foot, sore foot

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I opened up my dashboard to find that all of my recent posts have to do with my right foot and its healing status. Well, folks, I have some reasonably good news to share this time.

The joint fusion was successful! I can start wearing shoes again. I plan to ease into it by wearing shoes in the morning and the surgical shoe (not the Big Ugly Boot) in the afternoon. There is still swelling, so I’ll adjust to that by taking the transition slowly.

The second toe still has issued, but they’re fixable (#ToeTwoTendonTrouble). The tendon is pulling the toe under the Big Toe, so doc wants to loosen the tendon. It’s an in-office procedure, no major surgery this time, and I can wear shoe until that day. I’ll be in the surgical shoe or sandals for a little while after that.

With all of the above in mind, I wore a shoe on my right foot all morning. I’m currently in my surgical shoe, sitting on the couch, letting the Milwaukee Brewers entertain me. Go Brew Crew!!

Wish me luck and good vibes, folks. I hope to have more interesting posts in the future as my mobility improves.

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The Fairies are Back!

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Have you wondered what happened to the Fabled Fairies of Thanksgiving? They made an appearance several years ago, along with a Butterball turkey. Covid19 put a stop to family gatherings for a while, but now it’s time for the Fabled Fairies of Thanksgiving to come out of hiding and help us again!

 Thanksgiving Dinner? No problem! I’ll call in the fairies. They’ll do everything.

The laundry fairy washes, dries, and presses the table linens, including the cloth napkins. If she’s feeling generous, the sheets and towels might get folded, too.
The turkey fairy will practice her specialty and make sure the bird is cooked and carved just in time for dinner. White meat and dark, it’ll all be juicy and savory and leave just enough leftovers for sandwiches and a turkey noodle soup.
The baker fairy will take care of pies, pumpkin and otherwise. He’s an expert on flaky crust, selected spices, and the perfect portion of whipped cream. Don’t let that Simple Simon guy get in the way; the kitchen’s too small for anyone who begs to taste the wares.
The brownie — the cunning little house elf — will clean the home thoroughly, put the leaf in the big table, and get the extra chairs out of the basement.
I wouldn’t dream of neglecting the wine fairy: the sommelier so tiny she only recommends, never lifts, a bottle. Her taste is impeccable. Now if we could stop her before she over-imbibes and falls asleep on top of the piano…
Did I mention the decorator fairy? She’ll fix the fireplace mantel with something tasteful and seasonal before she makes sure the couch and rocker are properly arranged for the annual holiday gladiator contests known as NFL football.
The ambiance fairy keeps the wood fire crackling in the fireplace, the aromas wafting deliciously through the home, and the family discussions neutral and apolitical.
The kitchen fairies: really, there must be a whole crew of these talented sprites. One to do the shopping early and avoid the crowds, another to make sure the cranberries are perfect (and local, of course), and a magical maestro with the potato masher. Then we’ll need a feisty fairy, one with attitude — yes, you, Tinkerbell, you can make the coffees.

Mom, you can send the fairies over to my house now that we’re hosting the annual family Thanksgiving dinner. Let them know that I’ll have their room ready and their favorite cookies baked. If they arrive on Sunday there should be enough time to get everything done.

Wait. What do you mean…they’re…not….real?

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Guerrilla Gardening, Chipmunk Style

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Rogue Sunflowers

I planted cherry tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, and banana peppers in pots on the deck this gardening season. The chipmunks, however, had other ideas.

Indeed, that’s a sunflower – three sunflowers, actually, in with the cherry tomatoes. I didn’t pull them out because, well, sunflowers! I have no idea where the seeds came from. The closest sunflowers I know of are about half a block away. Those chippies sure get around.

Readers, did you get any interesting volunteer plants this year? Any rogue anything?

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Eating the Opponent – The Tradition Continues

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The New Orleans Saints were beating the Packers 17-0 when Chuck’s cousin in Texas posted “Did y’all forget to eat the opponent? What happened to the Packers?”

No, we didn’t forget. We had rice and beans with Andouille sausage (yum!) for supper, and we’d ordered Cajun specialties at a nearby pub for lunch on Friday. The Packers just weren’t showing up – yet.

Those of you who follow the NFL know the rest. Jordan Love led the Packers in a dramatic comeback win, 18-17.

This week, we’re working on Detroit. The Lions look good this year (wow), so I hope the Packers show up for all four quarters. We did our part with pasties (good Yooper main dish from the Upper Peninsula) followed by Coney Dogs the next day, with Vernor’s Ginger Ale (first served in Detroit) to drink.

Milwaukee Brewers are playoff bound. It’s early in the season for the Packers, but it’s never too early to start winning. Go! Pack! Go!

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Problem Solving – It’s What I Do.

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I ordered a number of books for my Kindle – nothing unusual here. When I’d finished reading one and went to download the next, I discovered something unfortunate: my Kindle did not play nice with the house wifi. Everything else in the house worked just fine with our network, so I knew I didn’t need to reboot the router, yada yada yada, or anything like that. I went for my backup: establish a mobile hotspot with my phone.

Nope. We made some adjustments in our plan recently to save a few bucks, and one of those changes meant that I needed to pay to set up a mobile hot spot. Damn. This would not work.

Last time I had this problem, I stuck my Kindle in my purse when I went to Petunia’s apartment. Her wifi and my Kindle were fast friends. Success! But I can’t impose on Petunia every time I need to download a book. Think. Think. Think. Where can I find free wifi for a few minutes to update my Kindle library?  Coffeehouse, maybe. Local fast food joint. Doc’s office? Convenience store?

We ended up in the parking lot at our credit union. Logged in easily, and then watched the downloads commence. Chatted a little, planned our evening, and when all the books I needed (five – don’t judge me, I read a lot) had finished, we headed home.

Thanks, credit union. If you notice me in the parking lot and I don’t come in, I’ll be downloading Kindle books. Nothing to see here, folks, just a reader who needed a creative solution.

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Rhubarb galore!

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Rhubarb thrives in a cool spring. A snowstorm on the first of May qualifies as cool, if not cold, right? My rhubarb sure thinks so. It’s sending out shoots right and left and center, and going to seed, too. I keep pulling the stalks that are flowering, and the next day I ask myself, “Self, did I miss that one yesterday?” Truth is, the plant wants to reproduce, and it keeps trying.

Yesterday I spent much of the day picking, cleaning, and chopping  rhubarb. I filled the sink with stalks, topped the compost heap with those huge leaves, and ran two batches through the food processor. Eventually, I dumped all the chopped rhubarb into a big bowl and covered it up for the night.

Today I tried three new recipes: Rhubarb Slush, Rhubarb-Ginger Jam, and Rhubarb Pie Filling. The slush was pretty easy. It’s in the freezer now, and I take it out and stir it about once an hour to prevent it turning into a block of rhubarb-flavored ice.

The Jam and the Pie Filling should have been easy. After all, I’ve made jams and jellies for years, and pie filling is just like a chunky applesauce, right? Right – sort of. I managed to print both recipes with metric measurements. Our stubborn United States insists on using the old fashioned “customary” measurement system, so I had to work to interpret the amounts on these two British style recipes. Fortunately, I have a scale that can measure in grams, and my glass measuring cups have metric measures on the side opposite the customary.

The end results were excellent. I’ll definitely make these again. In fact, I may need to do it again in a few weeks if the weather continues and the rhubarb continues to grow like a bush. The metric recipes, in fact, were for small batches. I will probably double them – or more, if the rhubarb plants keep thriving.

Readers, I wouldn’t mind hearing your rhubarb stories. The plant (a vegetable, not a fruit, I’m told) can be legendary.

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The Garden Begins!

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My knees hurt.

Why do my knees hurt? We had a couple of really nice days – warm, dry, sunny days – and I knew there would be rain and cold on the weekend. I pushed myself to work outside as much as possible, and now I’m really achy and sore. It’s a good kind of achy, though. It’s the kind that makes me say to myself, “Hey, self, you’ve really accomplished a lot. You’ve earned a rest.” A rest, and a little ibuprofen, and coffee, and peanut m&ms. Right? Right.

During those two nice days I got outside and dumped compost on several sections of garden. I pulled up a lot of creeping ivy (Jenny or Charlie? Don’t know, don’t care), and spread the compost where the ivy had been.

The barrel near the garden edge is planted with spinach now. This barrel, scavenged from my old office before it could hit the dumpster, has grown kale, parsley, and more. This year it’s spinach. Lettuce is ready to grow in a long and thin planter that hangs off the deck railing. That’s an easy location; we can step outside and gather a little for a salad or sandwich any time we want it. Fresh lettuce: yum!

I have some larger pots ready to host peppers (jalapeno, mainly) and cherry tomatoes. The weather isn’t consistent enough to put them out yet, but when it warms up mid-May, I’ll be ready.

Meanwhile, I’ve left Earth Month recommendations behind, but I’m practicing what I preach by preparing to be a little more sustainable every day. Hey, readers, have you started playing in the dirt yet? What are you doing outside?

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