Reasoning for Baking Cookies – the Daisy Reality Show resumes

Readers, if you haven’t been around long enough to recognize the Daisy Reality Show, here’s a brief introduction.

Daisy (yours truly) hosts a reality show at the O.K. Chorale. The director and her bumbling assistant keep the show on track and provide a running commentary off-screen.

Daisy: I’m baking cookies this afternoon. We have no snack foods worth eating. Well, few snack foods in the house. Peanuts, cashews, the makings for trail mix – that’s it.

Assistant: I see chips. What’s wrong with potato chips?

He had to ask, didn’t he?

Daisy: It’s like Michael Pollan says in his Food Rules: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants. In this case, I’m following his advice that whole foods are better than processed foods and junk food is okay in moderation when I make it myself.

Assistant (pretending to understand): Oh.

Daisy’s cell phone chirps, indicating a text message. 

Daisy: Oh, it’s my daughter. She says:

So we were sitting at the fair eating ice cream and I spotted something terrifying — Paul Ryan.

 

Daisy (Laughing): That’s my daughter, a good progressive young woman! I’ll respond and tell her to run, run fast, run far in the other direction.

Director: Oh, I remember you were a volunteer for Obama last year. Was it really only a year ago?

Daisy (texting): It’s been a very full year. La Petite lives in Paul Ryan’s congressional district, and she took great pleasure in voting against him twice last November.

Assistant: She voted twice? Daisy’s phone chirps again. 

Daisy: Here’s the next one!

I was walking towards him to document this with my camera and Audreykins followed. Her mom was all like, “No, nooooo! Don’t get too close!”

And then, after Daisy responds with “He didn’t try to talk to her, did he? Scary.”

No, I didn’t want to talk to him either, so I stayed my distance. Took a photo of people in line to greet him.

Assistant: Twice? Is that legal?

Daisy: She voted for his opposition in two different races — Congress and Vice President.

Assistant: Oh. Um — never mind. Oh.

Daisy: Back to cookies! Real food for snacks at the O.K. Chorale.

Director: Camera One, zoom in on the cookbook.

Daisy: The recipe is on my blog.

Director: Camera One, zoom in on the laptop on the kitchen counter.

Readers, with the exception of the reality show, this post is entirely true. Cookies can be a good snack, I looked up the recipe on a previous post of Compost Happens, and La Petite really did text me the conversation above. She was mixing work with pleasure by photographing the county fair and spending time there with her adorable cousin and family.  

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Packer Nation goes On the Road

The setting: Chuck drove a television satellite truck to Kansas City for coverage of an NFL preseason game between the Packers and the Chiefs. Preseason, mind you. These games count for nothing.

Actual text message conversation:

Chuck:

  • Green Bay is freaking out the Arrowhead stadium folks.  Normal game would have two trailers and a satellite truck.
  • Playoff game they see three trailers with uplink.
  • Packers preseason game = 6 trailers and 3 satellite uplink trucks! This includes Telemundo which they’ve never seen before.
  • Heaven help them if there’s ever a GB playoff game.

Daisy responds:

  • It’s what we do! Green Bay loves its team. Do they anticipate a lot of cheeseheads attending?

Chuck replies:

  • Dunno. They seem to be more focused on baseball.

A little later Chuck adds to the truck tally

  • Couple more Wisconsin satellite trucks have arrived. We now outnumber local stations x2.

At kickoff, Daisy comes back:

  • Go! Pack! Go!

Chuck

  • Sent you email with pic of media compound.
  • Does it suit your bloggy needs?

Daisy (laughing):

  • Ha! You read my mind.

Chuck:

  • A little PJ  (a.k.a. Amigo) told me.

closer to halftime, Chuck comments on the game itself. 

  • Are Packers self-destructing?
  • Lunch in press box includes burgers with no cheese.

Daisy, aghast at the thought:

  • No cheese?!

Chuck reassures her:

  • They do have brats with kraut.

So, readers, you want to see the media compound, don’t you? Or do you? Well, here it is.

Media Compound for GB at KC

Media Compound for GB at KC

Chuck’s description:

Here’s the cluster of production trailers and sat trucks. 2 trailers and 1 sat truck at bottom right are norm. 2 little trucks on far left with masts up are local stations. All other trailers and sat trucks are GB. Oh, and a small one for Telemundo. Or as one guard put it, “They’ve even got Tele-effing-moon doh here!”

The guard didn’t know that certain cable subscribers in Wisconsin are getting their preseason games from Telemundo because the regular station hasn’t settled its deal with the cable company. Cheesehead Nation, ever creative, has taken to watching their Packers in Spanish. Those who do not speak the language mute their TVs and listen to the radio broadcast instead. Telemundo’s ratings must be skyrocketing.

Call us Packer Nation, Cheesehead Nation, or a little bit crazy, we love our team. The score was disappointing, but due to the overwhelming media coverage, we didn’t miss a single green and gold moment.

 

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Wandering Thoughts and Smoothies

The theme ingredient was “Wet”. All those who walked or biked to our school-year-opening assembly were wet with sweat. The temperature and humidity did not feel like a Wisconsin day. Not even close.

So we dragged our sweaty selves into the auditorium that usually has its A/C pumping. It didn’t. We kept dripping.

So as my mind wandered away from the, ahem, important speakers on the stage, I was thinking, I am craving a smoothie. A cold, refreshing, smoothie from the place downtown, a few blocks from our office. I need fluids.

The presentation picked up with a video from high school students in the arts – a video that featured students and adults talking about the impact of the arts in their lives. I didn’t get distracted this time; two former classmates from my college days were interviewed and featured!  But I was still thirsty. I was envisioning a Pomegranate Plunge. 

Teaching awards, community awards, and the 30 Year Pin awards flew by. So few educators stay in the field for thirty years. Since the current state government began treating us like Thugs…. well, that’s another post. No smoothie for you, gov’nuh.

One of the few 30 year people was another college classmate. Thirty years? I was distracted by doing the math in my head because he’s my age, but has taught longer. He dove in immediately after graduation and never stopped. Maybe he knew of a smoothie place closer to the high school. 

But my wandering thoughts got me through what is normally an okay, but not great, presentation. Watching the Teacher of the Year awardees — we should nominate one of our virtual people. There are some awesome teachers on our staff. Watching the younger of two doctors handing the awards to the winners – hey, I knew that guy! We went to high school together! Right here! I wonder if he’s still married to the one who shared a locker with me our sophomore year? I bet she’d go for a smoothie with me.

Back to the theme ingredient: Wet. We left the auditorium and found rain pouring down! I caught a ride with another teacher so I didn’t get too wet. At that point, I welcomed the shower. Ha. Ha. 

It might sound like I was a little ADD during the whole event. In reality, I heard and remembered enough to start the school year with a positive attitude.

And if you’re wondering, I did get that smoothie for lunch.

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When the going gets tough —

When the going gets tough, the tough

  • go shopping
  • get going
  • take naps
  • get frugal
  • get on Pinterest

Lately, I feel like when the going gets tough, I get cooking. Or baking. Or preserving, canning, freezing, drying.

My minivan threw us another curve this week. After a second estimate, a compromise on the paint job, and a little readjusting of schedules, we had a plan.

And I went outside, cut a big batch of chives, and put them in the oven on low heat to dry.

Coping skills vary from one person to the next, one family to the next, even from one region to the next. If I’m preserving some of what I’ve grown, it means cooking from scratch will be easy and inexpensive come winter. Chives may not seem like a big deal, but putting them up for the winter makes me feel like I’m making a contribution.

Next up: oregano.

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Curb Pickers in Minivans

Topped with a basket ($1) at a rummage sale and a hanging pot from a previous year, you see my garden table. We, and by we I mean me and my dear darling husband “Chuck”, found the table at curbside after someone moved out. Yep: a curb picked gem.

Handy Dandy planting table

Handy Dandy planting table

Sometimes I resist. I left a stool that almost matched one in our basement and didn’t pick it up. I did stop, I admit it. The stool stood on the curb with a pile of scrap wood. On one piece of wood was a sign saying, “FREE: Measured once, cut twice.”

Right now, the only things turning up curbside are branches. I think I’ll stay home.

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Neighbors

The Living Room

The Living Room

They called it their temporary living room.

Chairs, table, phone

Chairs, table, phone

Really, what more did they need?

Ye Olde Rotary Phone

Ye Olde Rotary Phone

Someone discovered that a rotary phone worked while the up to date touch tones didn’t. Without Internet access, the old fashioned phone book came in handy.

Camp stove and tea kettle

Camp stove and tea kettle

Camp stove plus tea kettle for boiling water equals coffee and social time!

It wasn’t the most beautiful day in the neighborhood, though. At the other end of the driveway, the next door neighbors’ house looked like this. They were still gracious and friendly shared their hot water with me every morning. Thank heavens for good neighbors.

'Nuff said.

‘Nuff said.

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Coping and Cooking

One of the challenges of living without power was cooking. We stayed fed without visiting any restaurants outside the storm zone. Thanks to Chuck’s creativity and a charcoal grill, we could have scored well on Master Chef – Storm Aftermath, if there were such a contest. “Shrimp is expensive, and it thaws quickly. Let’s make shrimp tonight before the freezer quits.” – Chuck, Grillmaster of the O.K. Chorale.

He didn’t stop there. I’d bought carrots at the farmers’ market, the market that went on despite the damage to the store in whose parking lot the market took place. Most vendors were there and well stocked with fresh produce. Chuck sliced the carrots thin, gave the leafy tops to Buttercup Bunny, and grilled the vegetables with the shrimp.

Points for Presentation!

Points for Presentation!

The next night, he was running a little later. I started the chicken in the oven, thanks to a late afternoon power restoration, and then he finished the job on the already hot grill. I created a lovely salad and boiled three ears of sweet corn. The salad was almost as nice as this one, the chef’s salad with chicken that I had for lunch. chef salad lunch In a way, it was the ultimate pantry raid. Use up as much as possible before it goes bad! But don’t cook on the stove or expect to use the microwave.

Thank goodness for the charcoal grill. And thank goodness for cooks who can take the creativity outside of the kitchen.

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A Woman’s Car

Was it Erma Bombeck? I think she was the one who proclaimed that a woman’s car is an extension of her purse. I was driving La Petite’s car for a few days, and it was definitely Her Car, not mine.

Sunglasses in the Saturn!

Sunglasses in the Saturn!

It seems a photographer in her twenties must have available at all times a suitable selection of sunglasses. So – will it work for me?

One!

One!

Two!

Two!

Three!

Three!

And one more —

Last pair, maybe

Last pair, maybe

I asked if she needed any of these. Her response was classic. “No, it’s okay, I have spares.”

Saturn sunglasses mine

Ah, yes. My very own sunglasses are still the best for me.

But I do kind of like the bobblehead bunny in the back.

Bunny!

Bunny!

Maybe my minivan needs a bunny. What do you think?

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Gratitude – or – A Port in the Post-Storm Mayhem

In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, lightning flashed and thunder boomed and winds blew and blew and blew – for about twenty minutes.

Twenty minutes. Mother Nature is a powerful force when she so chooses.

With electricity out and trees and wires down all over, we coped. We did what Wisconsinites do when bad weather hits. We don’t go it alone, either.

During this power outage I am grateful for:

  • Neighbors.
  • Friends.
  • Family.
  • A charcoal grill & a husband who is a Master Chef.
  • Garden lettuce & spinach for a makeshift salad
  • A borrowed generator.
  • Cell phone charger in the minivan.
  • A mini reading light.
  • A farmers’ market that went on as scheduled.
  • A breeze.
  • Ice in big bags
  • Running water.
  • Hot running water.

As power returned to some areas in our fair city, there were examples of generosity.

The corner gas station gave away free coffee all day.

The Red Cross set up shelters in schools, and set up their own building (near my neighborhood) as a way station with sandwiches, bags of ice, bottles of water, cell phone chargers, and moral support.

What have I forgotten? Please add to the list. What do you value most in a crisis?

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We’re Back On Grid!

Were you worried about me, readers? That’s sweet of you. I planned to be back online Sunday or Monday, but life took over. Here’s a quick summary.

  • Weekend – we were out of town with Amigo
  • Monday – recovering, hardly any time to go online.
  • Tuesday – drove to and from Lake Geneva to deliver bunnies to La Petite
  • Wednesday – no power. Major storm overnight knocked out much of the city and more. Bad craziness. Expect pictures and posts later. 
  • Thursday – no power until 2 PM
  • Friday (that’s tomorrow) – picking up Amigo from camp in Janesville, will be on the road all day. 
I think I’ve accumulated enough pictures and stories for at least a week of posts!
We have power now. I hope it lasts.

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