We've had warm, thawing weather, and then we had snow again and "cold". It DOES seem that spring is finally on it's way, though. Today it got up to 38 deg. F out of direct sunlight. Unfortunately it's getting cool enough at night to make the roads slick in the mornings till enough cars have passed to start the snow melting again.
So, let's see.... What's happened in the last week?
Tay met with the child psycologist and took the "Weschler Individual Scale for Children" test. It was apparently some sort of IQ assessement geared to judge how well a child follows orders; organizes thoughts and/or items; solves problems; comprehends ideas; etc. I go back in on Thursday of THIS week to find out how she comes out in that test. L. seems to think that the test should pretty well show that Tay has some learning disabilities, and should point in a specific direction as to the type of disabilities that Tay may be facing.
With Tay's therapy, we met Stephanie finally on Friday. She came over for a bit of "get to know you" time, Friday morning before Tay and I headed in for Tay's bi-weekly meeting with L. Then Stephanie is going to start coming out here to meet with Tay 4 to 5 days a week, in the mornings. Tomorrow morning she'll come out and hopefully we can get into working on school work with Tay. Stephanie said she'd be very willing to sit down and try to help us go through Tay's school work, and to help Tay with the learning process. *sigh* I hope _I_ can hold my temper when Tay starts getting nasty about doing the school work. I'd say that I hope Tay can hold hers, but at the same time Stephanie needs to get some idea of what kind of help Tay needs, and the only way that's going to happen is when Tay initially blows up in front of Stephanie. At the same time, of course, I'm hoping that simply having Stephanie here helps Tay calm the impulses to be mean when she's faced with something she doesn't want to do. And Stephanie DID say that she'll be taking Tay out and doing stuff as well, not just schoolwork here at the house. Which is FINE BY ME. *grin*
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Kinda ironic/funny (and yet, very very NOT funny at all), Thursday night, Scott and I were talking about the Recession/Depression we're in. He had noted how yet another TV commercial was promising some sort of aid plan for buying the cars they're all so desperate to sell, or the home improvement merchandise, or the vacation, or anything else you see on TV or hear on the radio. Seems like everybody's out to tell you how they can help you save money or get ahead with this recession. Anyway, I commented on the fact that just 5 short months ago, the government was still trying to tell us that there WASN'T a recession, that it was all a bunch of hooey, and that things would be all peachy keen. And now EVERYBODY sees that not only IS there a recession, but a lot of folks are expecting it to become worse and last longer than is being admitted to as yet by the government.
(There was a clip in a Time Mag. or maybe it was NewsWeek, not to long ago about Suze Ormond's predictions and advice for weathering the recession, and she claimed that she feels this could go on till 2015. That sounds LONG, but honestly more believeable than the other financial "experts" who are "expecting" a turn around by Dec. '09.)
Well anyway, Scott commented on how things around here still seem pretty good and his company (his INDIVIDUAL company, not the international group of companies as a whole, JUST the one here in town that Scott works for) actually made a 70+ million dollar profit last quarter. I reminded him that those profits will continue ONLY as long as the rest of the country and the rest of the world can afford to buy the goods that Scott's company makes. Admittedly, Scott's co. sells chemical blends to oil producers, and as long as the oil producers need these chemicals, Scott's company will continue to sell them. So it's NOT like it's based on the individual purchasing power of your every-day working stiff in Kentucky. BUT, when it gets to the point that the guy in Kentucky and 50 million countrymen just like him cannot afford to buy fuel for the house, then the oil companies will stop being able to buy the chemicals that Scott's company produces. THEN Scott's company will see some slack in their income. Scott was predicting that this would take a while.
Friday, they had a meeting that Scott said was almost funny, in that I'd "called it" accurately again. Turns out that the international group of companies has been directed that EVERY employee in their employ must take 2 weeks of leave-without-pay this year. The difference for Scott's company is that he and his coworkers are being given the choice as to HOW they want to take that leave. Thus far, the boss told Scott that he can take it all at once, or portion out one day at a time throughout the year, so long as it totals up to 10 days without pay in the course of the next year. Now mind you, that's gonna hurt, but not so bad as somebody else in a different branch of the company who is being forced to take 2 weeks without pay all at once. If Scott takes a day here, a day there, he can manage to keep his paychecks from getting so low that it hurts us. And for that matter, if he tries to take them this summer, we can have those slim paychecks during the time we'll hopefully need less electric and heat, resulting in smaller electric & fuel bills during the time when we've got less money. And that time can be used to do work around the house here, or gardening over at the inlaws, or even hunting and fishing. So, ultimately it's not a GREAT thing, but at least they've given Scott and coworkers the option to portion it out slowly. And Scott admits that as hard as that could his US, it's going to be a hell of a lot harder for some of his coworkers who're already having a hard time keeping their heads above water. (Thinking of Mike and Tasha who've got 4 kids and live in a tiny one-bedroom apartment because they cannot afford bigger. Tasha doesn't work, so that means 2 weeks of decreased pay for Mike will hit them harder than 2 weeks for Scott will hit us. Admittedly, that financial crush is a small part of the reason we stopped at 1 child, instead of having 4 of them. So part of it for us is luck, part of it is just good common sense in the use of birth control. *wry smile*)
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Here are a couple of recipes I tried this past week. DANG they were good!
Pork & Pinto Beans
1 pound dried pinto beans
1 boneless pork loin roast, 3 to 4 pounds (I think I used a shoulder instead.)
1 (14-1/2 oz) can stewed tomatoes (I used diced.)
5 medium carrots, chopped
4 celery ribs, chopped
1-1/2 c water
2 (4 oz) cans chopped green chilies
2 tsp chili powder (original recipe called for 2 TBSP, but I KNEW that'd be too hot for us, 2 teaspoons was perfect!)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano (just used italian seasoning instead)
dash pepper
2 pkg corn tortilla chips or 30 (9-inch) flour tortillas (I used lime-flavored tortilla chips. YUM!)
Toppings: chopped green onions, sliced ripe olives, chopped tomatoes, sour cream and/or shredded cheddar cheese.
Place beans in a saucepan; add water tocover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 1 hour. (Or, you could just soak them overnight without heating them first.)
Drain & rinse beans; discard liquid. Place roast in a 5 quart slow-cooker. In a bowl, combine beans, tomatoes, carrots, celery, water, chilies, and all the seasonings. Pour over roast. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours, reduce heat to low; cook 5 hours longer or until beans are tender.
Remove meat, remove as much fat as possible from meat and discard fat. Shred meat with two forks and return to slow cooker. Stir into bean & veggie mixture well and allow to heat through for about a half-hour again. With a slotted spoon, serve meat mixture over tortilla chips or rolled up in tortillas. Serve with toppings as desired. Makes 10 servings.
(This was delicious with the lime chips the first day, then reheated and served in tortilla shells for days afterwards. DO be careful of how much chili powder you add. As I said, the original recipe called for 2 Tablespoons, but knowing our limits I only used 2 teaspoons instead. That was deliciously spicy without being overbearingly so. I cannot imagine what the original 2 Tbsp would have been like, I only know that I would not have been able to eat it. *wry smile*)
*****
Baked Rigatoni with Ham and Mushrooms
1/3 oz dried porcini or 6 oz fresh button mushrooms
2 Tbsp unlated butter, if using fresh mushrooms, plus 6 Tbsp
12 oz dry rigatoni
1/4 c all-purpose flour
2-1/2 c milk
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 oz Fontina or Swiss cheese, cut into julienne strips (I actually used over 8 oz!)
6 oz ham, roughly chopped (I used a full pound.)
If using porcini mushrooms, place in a bowl with lukewarm water and soak until softened. Drain, squeeze out excess water and chop finely; set aside. If using fresh mushrooms, cut off and discard the stems, wipe clean with towel and thinly slice. In a frying pan over medium heat, melt 2 Tbsp butter. Add the sliced fresh mushrooms and saute for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
In a large pot bring 5 quarts of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the rigatoni and cook for about 6 minutes; they should be very al dente. (I would cook actually about 2 minutes longer as we found them a little TOO al dente, even after baking with the cheese and the sauce and everything.) Drain the pasta and transfer it to a bowl (or right back into the cooking pot, off the heat). Add 2-1/2 Tbsp of the butter and toss well.
Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. (180 deg. C). In a large saucepan, melt 2-1/2 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir till smooth, about 2 minutes. (Again, I'd double this part as we would have liked the pasta a good bit more saucy.) Stirring constantly, gradually add the milk. Continue to stir until it thickens and is smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the mushrooms, sprinkle with nutmeg and stir well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Grease a 8x12 inch baking dish with the remaining butter. (I used my 13x9x2 inch dish.) Arrange half of the rigatoni in the dish. Sprinkle half of the cheese and the ham over the top, and spoon on 1/2 of the sauce. Repeat the layers in the same order, ending with sauce. Place in oven and bake until heated through and bubbly, about 20 minutes. (I covered with foil to retain some of the moisture while baking. So, I popped it back in for another 2 or 3 minutes under the broiler to brown up the cheese a bit, after removing the foil at the very end.) Serve at once! Serves 6.
(As I said, I used considerably more ham and cheese than was called for, simply to seemingly have a bit sprinkled over. I cannot imagine how 4 oz of cheese could be divided over all this pasta and actually seem to provide much cheesy-ness. Next time I make this, I will also double the sauce portion, as we could have used considerably more sauce to moisten the pasta more. And the pasta would have been better either with more sauce to moisten the noodles better in baking, or to boil them more in the first place, so they weren't quite so Al dente. Scott and I liked this recipe pretty well. Tay didn't care for it overly much, though she admitted that it may just have been because the noodles were still a little too firm for her taste.)
*****
It's funny, for dinner tonight we're having grilled steak, baked potatoes and sauteed mushrooms. I think I've finally come to the point where I officially kinda like mushrooms. This will be the third time this week that we've had mushrooms. If I'm not careful, Scott and Tay may get burnt out. *wry smile* Growing up, my sisters and I all hated mushrooms with a passion. I started, little over a year ago, trying them now and again, trying to learn to like them. I've succeeded for the most part. (Prefer them either raw, or really nicely browned up with some onion. Lightly sauteed like in the Rigatoni thing above isn't QUITE my favorite way to eat them.) My sister Shelli is starting on the same attempt, but has only just begun making mushrooms for herself in the effort to learn to like them. I DO think it's quite true that it takes about 15 tries before you really learn to like something. (And I'm sure there are some things that some people may never learn to like. I'm pretty well off on the idea of trying insect anything, myself.) And Kori, to the best of my knowledge, is still very very opposed to the thought of actually consuming anything that contains mushrooms of any sort. So, yet again...... I'm least picky! *grin*
(This was always something of a gloating point for me, growing up. That of the 3 of us I was the most willing to try something new and eat my veggies. Brussels-sprouts, spinach, zucchini, onions, raw tomato, asparagus, broccoli WITHOUT cheese sauce, now mushrooms...... I think Shelli likes all of the above except the mushrooms now, but it took her well into college before she'd eat them. Kori still won't eat them at all, as far as I know. But me..... I love them all! Ok, LIKE them all at least. *wink & grin*)
Those are the only 2 new recipes I tried this week. I actually don't have any new recipes lined up for this coming week. So y'all will have to wait a bit before I post something new. *wry smile*
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We got new name-tags at work. Apparently nametags boost a feeling of community in customer service jobs. Our library director (great guy! really!!) read a study that showed this and decided that it was time we all wore name-tags. In the past, we pages have been instructed to wear tags that simply indicated we were library staff. Ironic how few patrons actually paid attention to them. *wry smile* (I cannot tell you how many times somebody would ask "do you work here?" even though I had the staff-badge hanging around my neck.) The old staff-badges were ugly as well. (Simply our library card with "Staff" written in the section where a patron would sign their name.) And we all had to wear them on these horrible elastic-necklace things. UGH! For me, the card kept getting cracked as I'd lean against it while checking out materials to patrons out at the desk. It hung at just the right level across my chest that the card would crack over the course of a couple of weeks. By the time I broke 3 of them, I just stopped wearing them at all. I actually bought some t-shirts with our library emblem just so that I could cry off from wearing the staff-badge all the time. (Hell, if I'm wearing a library shirt, that should be indicator enough that I AM a library employee. Especially if I'm found out in the stacks putting books away. *smile*)
Anyway, the new name-tags are non-negotiable. However we were given the option of lanyard, magnetic pin-backing, or pincher clip. I opted for the magnetic pin back. And we were given the option of one of 6 different pictures alongside our name and rank. I picked a brightly colored stack of books. (Ahhhh, clip-art!) Then I brought it home and "prettied it up" a bit more with a couple of stickers of dragonflies and flowers. *grin* Hope the boss doesn't have any problem with that! And now, all the folks who come through my line can know my name. *sigh*
*****
In that same line, there's a guy who comes in regularly who used to work with my dad. This guy started hanging around Dad about the same time I had Tay. At one point he came over to the house very shortly after Tay was born (and I was still living at home) and caught me in my night-clothes and was rather creepy in how he looked at me and how he looked at Tay. Since then, he's said and done other things that just gave me the creeps. (Not the least of which was last Spring when he and Dad were at the Farmer's market, and as Tay and I gave my dad a hug, this guy asked if HE could have a hug too.)
Anyway, so a couple of weeks ago he came in while I was at the desk and started getting on my case as to Dad's where-abouts. I told him that Dad was still in Spokane and advised him to get ahold of my dad himself, as he has Dad's email. He commented that my dad never returned his emails, and started to get nasty with ME while asking why that was, if he (this guy) had done something to tick off my Dad. Quite honestly, I've NEVER liked this guy. He's creepy and rude. And I only tolerated him for my dad's sake. Now that Dad's left state, I'd be just as well never seeing this guy again. But he won't leave me along, continually trying to strike up conversations that frequently result in him quizzing me as to my dad's every move. (As if I'm my dad's keeper?!?! I love my dad, but I'm NOT responsible for his whereabouts.)
So, finally I talked to Dad a couple of days back and told him that this guy had been getting rather disruptive at work and would Dad PLEASE email the guy and get him off MY case. Even if I happened to be friendly with this guy, for him to be taking up so much of my time at work, and causing a scene as well, is not something I need. Dad kinda grumbled about how he hasn't kept in touch with ANYBODY from here, except ONE other former coworker, and myself. Evidently Dad hates writing enough that he figures even emails to "friends" from "home" are too much. Anyway, I pressured Dad till he agreed that he'd get in touch with this one guy and hopefully get him to knock it off in harassing me. I also kinda let my dad know that this guy was NOT somebody I felt like keeping in touch with myself, so please either tell the guy to find other friends, or to keep in touch himself. Hopefully that will be the end of this creep getting in my face.
(Wow..... I cannot help looking at this from the point of somebody who doesn't know me in person and getting the impression that maybe I'm just being mean to this guy. But that really isn't it at all. There have been very occasional people throughout my life who've set off alarm-vibes in my gut. I don't mean to imply that they ARE predators of some sort, but that my gut tells me these are NOT people I want to be associating with. This guy is one of those few people. I try not to make rush judgements as to people based on their gender or color or religion, so please don't think that this is some snap-judgement based on his gender. But honestly, people have intuition for a reason, and I try to listen to mine when it tells me to avoid a person. As I said, this guy has set off all kinda intuitional alarms since I first met him. I've met other of my Dad's friends who are perfectly fine and whom I've got little problem with other than basic differences in opinion about political issues. So, it's not that at all either. I don't know..... I don't want to give anybody any impression that I'm a nasty judgemental type person. Just, this guy creeps me out in major ways. Anyway.....)
*****
Well, I'd better finish this up. Sounds like Scott just went out to start up the grill. Better go get my potatoes and mushrooms going.
Have a Blessed Day!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
What a Grumpy Brat!
And no, actually..... I'm not talking about my child this time. *chuckle*
There's a clerk at the grocery store, let's call her "Amy" shall we? Amy tends to have a VERY bad attitude. Now, to a degree, Amy reminds me quite a bit of myself. Short, pudgy, not blessed with a terribly pretty face by nature. (Hey, I know I'm not homely or dog ugly, but I'm also honest enough to know that I don't have a typically "pretty" face.) But..... It's amazing how a smile and a happy attitude can change the appearance of even one who's not naturally blessed with good looks. This girl, Amy, has a seemingly permanent sour expression and nasty attitude toward her customers.
For the longest time I've really attempted to give her the benefit of the doubt about the possibility that she's simply had a bad day. But, EVERY day? Every time I go into the grocery store (anywhere from 1 to 4 times a week, though I try to limit it to 1 trip a week), Amy is snarly, and scowling, and all in all considerably less than pleasant. Hell, I even know that a happy upbeat customer can help improve the day of a tired-on-their-feet clerk, and I try to be that customer just as I try to be that "happy, upbeat clerk" when _I'M_ on the job. It's not always possible, just as everybody else, I have my off days. But no matter how many times I've stepped into Amy's line, and smiled at her, and inquired as to how HER day is going, she looks at me, rolls her eyes, picks up her "phone" and calls for a bagging clerk to come help take care of my groceries. I ask as to her day, and she glares at me and DOES NOT ask me how my day has gone, much less respond to my initial question. She never wishes me a good day as I receive my receipt from her (as is protocall, from my understanding), much less calls me by my name. (Again, from what I've been told, it's pretty well required to address the customer along the lines of "Thank you Mr./Mrs. A. and have a good afternoon." when handing the customer their receipt.) Not ONCE in the couple of year's I've been using this grocery store weekly, has Amy addressed me by name, much less wished me a good afternoon.
And today, when I dared ask (because I didn't see it totalled up) if I'd received my bag-credits (for using cloth bags instead of plastic), she actually snarled at me and snapped that yeah, she'd given me the dang credit. *shaking head*
Enough is enough. Next time I go to the store, I'm going to corner Sue or Donna (the two Store Managers) and make a complaint about Amy's attitude. I try not to complain, because I don't want to be known as the griping customer. I go with the attitude that this is my neighbourhood and I want to enjoy the people I see regularly, and I want to enjoy seeing me when I come in. But, enough is enough. And, at the same time, I think I'm going to put in a good word on behalf of both Casey and Kathryn. Casey was terribly sweet today to keep an eye on my full cart while I ran to the restroom, and Kathryn always has a smile and spends a couple of minutes letting me enjoy the flowers (especially the hyacinths!) at the floral department. Most of the people at the store are dolls! I hate that it's come to the point where I feel I need to complain about one of them.
Would YOU complain? After years of being ignored and snarled at by this clerk, but giving her a good attitude in return, is it WORTH complaining after being snapped at, when you've let everything else slide over the past couple of years?
*****
Tay's going to see the Child Psychologist through the Raven school this next Thursday! Apparently 2 of the 3 categories on her IEP (individual education plan) test, taken last Friday, came back normal, but the Math category was low enough that it's requiring her to now see the Child Psychologist to be tested for learning disabilities.
YEAH!!!! I cannot tell you HOW happy it makes me that she actually tested LOW enough to qualify for the further testing. I was afraid she'd breeze through it all, and not qualify at all, and we'd be back to having to shell out the $$ to take her to a child psychologist on our own time and money. We don't have that kind of money, so it's a real blessing that her test scores, in even the one category, were low enough that she qualified for the testing through the school program!
This also means that she'll qualify for an IEP, which is basically special ed, even if she DOESN'T test positive for something along the lines of ADD or Dyslexia. And that need for Special Ed. almost guarantees her a spot in the YESS program next year. Combine the Special Ed. needs with the fact that she's seeing a therapist for behavioral/mood issues, and there's no reason why she shouldn't be in the YESS program next year.
Again, I cannot begin to express how big a relief this is. I know it's not perfect, that Tay is being diagnosed with learning disorders and in need of Special Ed. and a therapist and all........ But, for how badly things had gotten around here (how bad they can be, on days), this is a MAJOR blessing! And a major load of stress off my shoulders!!!
I WILL update as I get more info.
*****
Things did NOT improve at work this past week. Though it was rather comical that at one point the Kiss Ass approached me to gripe about the "mixed signals" she's getting from the boss: "yelled at for NOT asking a question, then getting yelled at when I DID ask the question." Her comment to me was about how danged frustrating this is. It was all I could do not to get snarky with her, considering she is an almost daily source of frustration for me and several of my coworkers. (As it was, I kept my tongue and responded only that yes, I understand frustration on the job all too well!)
I got in on Monday to find that the Kiss Ass had put together a partial cart of cds to be put away by somebody else, and had found other 'projects' to work on instead of ACTUALLY shelving those cd's herself. (Should I refer to her simply as K.A? or would that be confusing considering those are MY initials. *grin* Actually, her REAL initials are L.G.) Anyway, this is a tactic she's taken for MONTHS, then she shoves the cart out of the way where it will go ignored (by her, and everybody else) for DAYS before I, or my coworker CM, or the new girl Em. or Helen (the previously mentioned "slow" coworker with mental & physical disabilities) take that same cart out to put away those cds. Inevitably, we find that the cart has been inappropriately put together, resulting in more work for the one actually putting it away, seeing as you wind up having to walk from one side of the CD section to the other to put away improperly organized cds. (Mind you, the CD section at my library consists of probably 20,000 cds and is a couple dozen feet long by several feet wide.)
Anyway, LG simply shoved this cart full of CDs out of the way, on Monday, and left it to be put away by somebody else. CM, CF, Em. and myself are all "wise" to LG's ways, and do our best to NOT shelve these cds unless there's really no other choice. (Helen will take the cart just to avoid putting her own cart of books or cds in order. But it takes her HOURS to do what one of us can do in a manner of minutes, and she invariably packs the CDs into their spots, not always accurately, and often without shifting to make room for the new arrivals among the CDs that were already in their spots. This means Helen makes a bigger mess that CM, CF, Em. or myself must later clean up, along with our regular work.) Anyway, Tuesday afternoon, LG arrived for her evening shift, found the cart STILL not put away, and proceeded to load it up with even MORE CDs that had come in during the day on Tuesday. Then, LG stuffed that same cart, now double full of CDs, back out of the way.
Wednesday, I got in and found that LG hadn't bothered to touch the cart overnight, so I approached KO (the Lead Page) and complained that LG was creating work for the rest of us by filling up this cart with CDs, but never taking them out herself to put away. I made the point that Boss Lady had told us we needed to be better about putting our own ordered carts away, rather than expecting somebody else to take them out for us, and yet 3 days had now passed since LG had "organized" that cart, and yet she hadn't touched it to put it away. *wry smile* KO actually realized what I said was true, and said she'd talk to LG about it. It'll be interesting this coming week, to see if anything WAS said to LG, and if she puts anymore CD carts together.
It's funny, typing it all out, this seems so petty. I can only guess how petty it must seem to you all, my friends. But, it really becomes a hassle when this is a constant issue at work, and never dealt with by the Leaders/Bosses who are paid to deal with such negligence. (And, the CD carts are only a small portion of the things LG does to avoid doing actual shelving, while pawning things off on the rest of us, either overtly or covertly.)
*****
Let's see..... Meals this week?
Didn't really try anything new that I can share. Everything else I made (quick & easy Macaroni salad, without the tuna or shrimp this time; French Dip Sandwiches; Beef-Stuffed Sopaipillas....) I have shared before.
This coming week, however, I should have some new recipes to share, including a baked Rotini casserole, and a slow-cooker Pork & Beans dish.
But, nothing to share of any worth today. Sorry.
*****
The hockey tournament is over, for Tay's "Other" team. *grin* This is the team she was playing with as "second Goalie". The "main" Goalie faked an injury on both this morning's and this afternoon's games, in order to give Tay a chance in the net. This morning, she spent almost half the second period, and all the 3rd period, in the goal net. In this afternoon's game, the "main" goalie "aggrivated" the "injury" he'd gotten this morning, and Tay played the third period only. *grin* During her 2 and a half periods in the net, not a single goal was scored. the goals scored on our team were done during the time the "main" goalie was in the net. I shouldn't feel happy about this, because it IS a team effort and NOT just dependent on the skill of the goalie, but it does make me smile a bit on behalf of Tay, that she didn't let a single goal through.
All in all, though, our team lost. 3 of our 4 games were losses, with only this last game a win. The last game was 8 to 1 on our behalf. We took second-to-last place in the tournament, but at least Tay got to take part in the tournament, unlike her other team (the all-girls team) which is considered a "developmental" team and wasn't even invited to participate.
Along with the fact that Tay's IceBreaker team is a "developmental team" and not a "comp" team, it's also a team consisting of girls from 11 to 14 years old, and as such has members both too young and too old to participate in either 12U or 14U categories. FWIW, "Comp" is short for "competition" and implies a traveling team that plays a majority of games. A "Developmental" team is a NON-traveling team that plays games mainly for improvement of skills, and whose ice-times consist mostly of practices. A "Developmental" team is usually made up of kids who've only just begun in the sport, and don't have the years of experience that Tay, Jackie, and Caitlyn all do.
Jackie & Caitlyn being two of Tay's teammates who've been skating -and playing- with Tay for nearly as long as Tay's been skating. But, Tay has MORE ice time than ANY of the other girls, as she started playing officially a week after her 5th birthday, the rest of the girls had to wait one more year to start on a team. (And, we started Tay skating when she was 2, where as I know that most of the other girls didn't start till at least 4 years old. In this aspect as well, Tay has more experience than most other kids her age.)
So, no win for our team in the State tournament, but Tay got to at least participate and play with a team that had a shot at winning (and DID win) a game! And, though she wasn't supposed to, the Coach let her keep her Fury team jersey, and at the end of today's game they all signed each other's season jerseys. Even a couple of the boys who were initially rather antagonistic toward Tay finished off the tournament regarding Tay as their teammate, and several of them expressed a hope that she's on THEIR team next year. *grin* (The goalie, included! Said he'd like a fellow goalie to switch off games with, so they could EACH play out as desired.) It's funny watching Tay interact with the boys, as well. She can physically keep up with most of them, and is more physically capable than a couple of them. She interacts more comfortably with the boys, more at home talking about sports & video games, than she was at interacting with most of the girls on the IceBreaker's team. Most of the girls are already (even at 11 years old!) thinking about make-up and clothes and boys and making out. Tay's still at a stage at which she really can't stand the thought of boys beyond a friend aspect. It actually makes her very angry when teased (by the unititiated, as the rest of us know better) about having a boyfriend. She blows a gasket. So to sit in the locker-room all season listening to her teammates go ga-ga over the boys they were "going out" (or making out) with made Tay rather pissy. But man...... These boys she was playing with..... She had a blast! (At least, once they got past viewing each other as opponents, and started viewing each other as teammates.)
A funny little tidbit..... Mom, you remember JoBrett Trout, I'm sure? Well, his baby brother Jared was on this team Tay just competed with. Tay and Jared got along fairly well. I told Tay how JoBrett and I were friends back in First grade. I found it rather comical that now my daughter was playing hockey with (and, against, for most of the rest of the season) JB's baby-bro.
*****
Last little bit, the weather has been rather hit-or-miss lately. It's been sunny and warm, but so windy you can't stand to be out in the sun for very long. The temps have been dropping down to -20 and colder at night, then warming up to +20 or +25 during the day, with the sun out. Then come nightfall, it'll cool down again and the wind will pick up the pace a bit more. Climate shift???? I don't remember March being this windy when I was growing up around here. Then again, where I grew up, there were more trees than we've got in my current neighbourhood. But even so, it always seemed that August was the windy month, not March. It always struck me as funny as a child, that old verse "March Winds bring April Showers, April Showers bring May Flowers." It struck me as funny then, because it never seemed to me as if it were true. I wondered why it couldn't be, as it'd be great fun to be like the pictures and spend the month of March flying kites, then April wandering around in rain gear and galoshes, and get to enjoy flowers in May. Now it really has become that way. I can only assume that we are seeing some climate shift and that our climate has become slightly more temperate.
Might also account for the ability of some of my hill-dwelling "neighbours" to grow apples and pears and cherries which were NEVER local crops during my growing-up years. I cannot say that I find that aspect of Climate Shift regretable. Hell, if we have the ability to grow apples and pears and cherries around here, I would be thrilled! Central Alaska has the tendency only to produce berries with any regularity. Chokecherries and thumb-nail-sized crabapples are 2 exceptions to that "berries only" tendency, but even these are "transplants" and not native to Alaska. For long term ability to find locally grown fruit, I'll not be sorry at all if Global Warming/Climate shift allows us to grow more fruit around here. I know that sounds awful, and over all I don't want anybody to think that I REALLY mean I'd like to see the Polar Bears go extinct in exchange for apples, but you must understand that I CAN see some definite benefits to these fruits growing locally. (It makes me wonder if perhaps Maples, Oaks and other temperate-climate trees would also grow around here.)
As far as my own gardening efforts, I haven't made any except to receive my seeds. The FIL and I have talked about it a little, and he's going to see if he can't scrounge up some grow-lights this year, to help our seedlings along. But we haven't actually made any efforts toward starting any seeds yet. I also was mentioning to Scott that I'd really love to find a way to add a chokecherry or crabapple tree to our property, or perhaps some berry bushes. Ideally I'd love to put a British style hedge of mixed berry bushes and small trees along the bottom and back of our yard. (Or, perhaps a chain-link fence along the back border of our yard to grow beans and peas against.) But, I've often thought that having some hedge-type border for our yard would be nice. Now if only I could persuade Scott. *grin*
Oh, and did you see the news that Michelle Obama took part in breaking ground at the White House for a kitchen garden? She had a bunch of school kids come in for the ground-breaking, and they're going to be back in a couple of weeks to help with the first plantings, and later for picnics using some of the produce, if what I recall of the article is correct. This was from our local paper this morning. I found that rather happy news. If nothing else, this shows that the Obamas are willing to take the advice of some of their regular, every-day consistuents as I know myself and a great many other gardeners emailed President O. with the need to set a good example and put in a garden there at the White House. There has even been a few rather comical compilations of cartoon drawings and the tune "This Land is Your Land" in regards to persuading Pres. O. and family to re-start the Victory Garden efforts in our country. Along with fruit trees and veggies, they're also installing a couple of bee hives! What a fantastic example!
Anyway....... I guess that's enough meandering and musing for today.
Have a Blessed Day!
There's a clerk at the grocery store, let's call her "Amy" shall we? Amy tends to have a VERY bad attitude. Now, to a degree, Amy reminds me quite a bit of myself. Short, pudgy, not blessed with a terribly pretty face by nature. (Hey, I know I'm not homely or dog ugly, but I'm also honest enough to know that I don't have a typically "pretty" face.) But..... It's amazing how a smile and a happy attitude can change the appearance of even one who's not naturally blessed with good looks. This girl, Amy, has a seemingly permanent sour expression and nasty attitude toward her customers.
For the longest time I've really attempted to give her the benefit of the doubt about the possibility that she's simply had a bad day. But, EVERY day? Every time I go into the grocery store (anywhere from 1 to 4 times a week, though I try to limit it to 1 trip a week), Amy is snarly, and scowling, and all in all considerably less than pleasant. Hell, I even know that a happy upbeat customer can help improve the day of a tired-on-their-feet clerk, and I try to be that customer just as I try to be that "happy, upbeat clerk" when _I'M_ on the job. It's not always possible, just as everybody else, I have my off days. But no matter how many times I've stepped into Amy's line, and smiled at her, and inquired as to how HER day is going, she looks at me, rolls her eyes, picks up her "phone" and calls for a bagging clerk to come help take care of my groceries. I ask as to her day, and she glares at me and DOES NOT ask me how my day has gone, much less respond to my initial question. She never wishes me a good day as I receive my receipt from her (as is protocall, from my understanding), much less calls me by my name. (Again, from what I've been told, it's pretty well required to address the customer along the lines of "Thank you Mr./Mrs. A. and have a good afternoon." when handing the customer their receipt.) Not ONCE in the couple of year's I've been using this grocery store weekly, has Amy addressed me by name, much less wished me a good afternoon.
And today, when I dared ask (because I didn't see it totalled up) if I'd received my bag-credits (for using cloth bags instead of plastic), she actually snarled at me and snapped that yeah, she'd given me the dang credit. *shaking head*
Enough is enough. Next time I go to the store, I'm going to corner Sue or Donna (the two Store Managers) and make a complaint about Amy's attitude. I try not to complain, because I don't want to be known as the griping customer. I go with the attitude that this is my neighbourhood and I want to enjoy the people I see regularly, and I want to enjoy seeing me when I come in. But, enough is enough. And, at the same time, I think I'm going to put in a good word on behalf of both Casey and Kathryn. Casey was terribly sweet today to keep an eye on my full cart while I ran to the restroom, and Kathryn always has a smile and spends a couple of minutes letting me enjoy the flowers (especially the hyacinths!) at the floral department. Most of the people at the store are dolls! I hate that it's come to the point where I feel I need to complain about one of them.
Would YOU complain? After years of being ignored and snarled at by this clerk, but giving her a good attitude in return, is it WORTH complaining after being snapped at, when you've let everything else slide over the past couple of years?
*****
Tay's going to see the Child Psychologist through the Raven school this next Thursday! Apparently 2 of the 3 categories on her IEP (individual education plan) test, taken last Friday, came back normal, but the Math category was low enough that it's requiring her to now see the Child Psychologist to be tested for learning disabilities.
YEAH!!!! I cannot tell you HOW happy it makes me that she actually tested LOW enough to qualify for the further testing. I was afraid she'd breeze through it all, and not qualify at all, and we'd be back to having to shell out the $$ to take her to a child psychologist on our own time and money. We don't have that kind of money, so it's a real blessing that her test scores, in even the one category, were low enough that she qualified for the testing through the school program!
This also means that she'll qualify for an IEP, which is basically special ed, even if she DOESN'T test positive for something along the lines of ADD or Dyslexia. And that need for Special Ed. almost guarantees her a spot in the YESS program next year. Combine the Special Ed. needs with the fact that she's seeing a therapist for behavioral/mood issues, and there's no reason why she shouldn't be in the YESS program next year.
Again, I cannot begin to express how big a relief this is. I know it's not perfect, that Tay is being diagnosed with learning disorders and in need of Special Ed. and a therapist and all........ But, for how badly things had gotten around here (how bad they can be, on days), this is a MAJOR blessing! And a major load of stress off my shoulders!!!
I WILL update as I get more info.
*****
Things did NOT improve at work this past week. Though it was rather comical that at one point the Kiss Ass approached me to gripe about the "mixed signals" she's getting from the boss: "yelled at for NOT asking a question, then getting yelled at when I DID ask the question." Her comment to me was about how danged frustrating this is. It was all I could do not to get snarky with her, considering she is an almost daily source of frustration for me and several of my coworkers. (As it was, I kept my tongue and responded only that yes, I understand frustration on the job all too well!)
I got in on Monday to find that the Kiss Ass had put together a partial cart of cds to be put away by somebody else, and had found other 'projects' to work on instead of ACTUALLY shelving those cd's herself. (Should I refer to her simply as K.A? or would that be confusing considering those are MY initials. *grin* Actually, her REAL initials are L.G.) Anyway, this is a tactic she's taken for MONTHS, then she shoves the cart out of the way where it will go ignored (by her, and everybody else) for DAYS before I, or my coworker CM, or the new girl Em. or Helen (the previously mentioned "slow" coworker with mental & physical disabilities) take that same cart out to put away those cds. Inevitably, we find that the cart has been inappropriately put together, resulting in more work for the one actually putting it away, seeing as you wind up having to walk from one side of the CD section to the other to put away improperly organized cds. (Mind you, the CD section at my library consists of probably 20,000 cds and is a couple dozen feet long by several feet wide.)
Anyway, LG simply shoved this cart full of CDs out of the way, on Monday, and left it to be put away by somebody else. CM, CF, Em. and myself are all "wise" to LG's ways, and do our best to NOT shelve these cds unless there's really no other choice. (Helen will take the cart just to avoid putting her own cart of books or cds in order. But it takes her HOURS to do what one of us can do in a manner of minutes, and she invariably packs the CDs into their spots, not always accurately, and often without shifting to make room for the new arrivals among the CDs that were already in their spots. This means Helen makes a bigger mess that CM, CF, Em. or myself must later clean up, along with our regular work.) Anyway, Tuesday afternoon, LG arrived for her evening shift, found the cart STILL not put away, and proceeded to load it up with even MORE CDs that had come in during the day on Tuesday. Then, LG stuffed that same cart, now double full of CDs, back out of the way.
Wednesday, I got in and found that LG hadn't bothered to touch the cart overnight, so I approached KO (the Lead Page) and complained that LG was creating work for the rest of us by filling up this cart with CDs, but never taking them out herself to put away. I made the point that Boss Lady had told us we needed to be better about putting our own ordered carts away, rather than expecting somebody else to take them out for us, and yet 3 days had now passed since LG had "organized" that cart, and yet she hadn't touched it to put it away. *wry smile* KO actually realized what I said was true, and said she'd talk to LG about it. It'll be interesting this coming week, to see if anything WAS said to LG, and if she puts anymore CD carts together.
It's funny, typing it all out, this seems so petty. I can only guess how petty it must seem to you all, my friends. But, it really becomes a hassle when this is a constant issue at work, and never dealt with by the Leaders/Bosses who are paid to deal with such negligence. (And, the CD carts are only a small portion of the things LG does to avoid doing actual shelving, while pawning things off on the rest of us, either overtly or covertly.)
*****
Let's see..... Meals this week?
Didn't really try anything new that I can share. Everything else I made (quick & easy Macaroni salad, without the tuna or shrimp this time; French Dip Sandwiches; Beef-Stuffed Sopaipillas....) I have shared before.
This coming week, however, I should have some new recipes to share, including a baked Rotini casserole, and a slow-cooker Pork & Beans dish.
But, nothing to share of any worth today. Sorry.
*****
The hockey tournament is over, for Tay's "Other" team. *grin* This is the team she was playing with as "second Goalie". The "main" Goalie faked an injury on both this morning's and this afternoon's games, in order to give Tay a chance in the net. This morning, she spent almost half the second period, and all the 3rd period, in the goal net. In this afternoon's game, the "main" goalie "aggrivated" the "injury" he'd gotten this morning, and Tay played the third period only. *grin* During her 2 and a half periods in the net, not a single goal was scored. the goals scored on our team were done during the time the "main" goalie was in the net. I shouldn't feel happy about this, because it IS a team effort and NOT just dependent on the skill of the goalie, but it does make me smile a bit on behalf of Tay, that she didn't let a single goal through.
All in all, though, our team lost. 3 of our 4 games were losses, with only this last game a win. The last game was 8 to 1 on our behalf. We took second-to-last place in the tournament, but at least Tay got to take part in the tournament, unlike her other team (the all-girls team) which is considered a "developmental" team and wasn't even invited to participate.
Along with the fact that Tay's IceBreaker team is a "developmental team" and not a "comp" team, it's also a team consisting of girls from 11 to 14 years old, and as such has members both too young and too old to participate in either 12U or 14U categories. FWIW, "Comp" is short for "competition" and implies a traveling team that plays a majority of games. A "Developmental" team is a NON-traveling team that plays games mainly for improvement of skills, and whose ice-times consist mostly of practices. A "Developmental" team is usually made up of kids who've only just begun in the sport, and don't have the years of experience that Tay, Jackie, and Caitlyn all do.
Jackie & Caitlyn being two of Tay's teammates who've been skating -and playing- with Tay for nearly as long as Tay's been skating. But, Tay has MORE ice time than ANY of the other girls, as she started playing officially a week after her 5th birthday, the rest of the girls had to wait one more year to start on a team. (And, we started Tay skating when she was 2, where as I know that most of the other girls didn't start till at least 4 years old. In this aspect as well, Tay has more experience than most other kids her age.)
So, no win for our team in the State tournament, but Tay got to at least participate and play with a team that had a shot at winning (and DID win) a game! And, though she wasn't supposed to, the Coach let her keep her Fury team jersey, and at the end of today's game they all signed each other's season jerseys. Even a couple of the boys who were initially rather antagonistic toward Tay finished off the tournament regarding Tay as their teammate, and several of them expressed a hope that she's on THEIR team next year. *grin* (The goalie, included! Said he'd like a fellow goalie to switch off games with, so they could EACH play out as desired.) It's funny watching Tay interact with the boys, as well. She can physically keep up with most of them, and is more physically capable than a couple of them. She interacts more comfortably with the boys, more at home talking about sports & video games, than she was at interacting with most of the girls on the IceBreaker's team. Most of the girls are already (even at 11 years old!) thinking about make-up and clothes and boys and making out. Tay's still at a stage at which she really can't stand the thought of boys beyond a friend aspect. It actually makes her very angry when teased (by the unititiated, as the rest of us know better) about having a boyfriend. She blows a gasket. So to sit in the locker-room all season listening to her teammates go ga-ga over the boys they were "going out" (or making out) with made Tay rather pissy. But man...... These boys she was playing with..... She had a blast! (At least, once they got past viewing each other as opponents, and started viewing each other as teammates.)
A funny little tidbit..... Mom, you remember JoBrett Trout, I'm sure? Well, his baby brother Jared was on this team Tay just competed with. Tay and Jared got along fairly well. I told Tay how JoBrett and I were friends back in First grade. I found it rather comical that now my daughter was playing hockey with (and, against, for most of the rest of the season) JB's baby-bro.
*****
Last little bit, the weather has been rather hit-or-miss lately. It's been sunny and warm, but so windy you can't stand to be out in the sun for very long. The temps have been dropping down to -20 and colder at night, then warming up to +20 or +25 during the day, with the sun out. Then come nightfall, it'll cool down again and the wind will pick up the pace a bit more. Climate shift???? I don't remember March being this windy when I was growing up around here. Then again, where I grew up, there were more trees than we've got in my current neighbourhood. But even so, it always seemed that August was the windy month, not March. It always struck me as funny as a child, that old verse "March Winds bring April Showers, April Showers bring May Flowers." It struck me as funny then, because it never seemed to me as if it were true. I wondered why it couldn't be, as it'd be great fun to be like the pictures and spend the month of March flying kites, then April wandering around in rain gear and galoshes, and get to enjoy flowers in May. Now it really has become that way. I can only assume that we are seeing some climate shift and that our climate has become slightly more temperate.
Might also account for the ability of some of my hill-dwelling "neighbours" to grow apples and pears and cherries which were NEVER local crops during my growing-up years. I cannot say that I find that aspect of Climate Shift regretable. Hell, if we have the ability to grow apples and pears and cherries around here, I would be thrilled! Central Alaska has the tendency only to produce berries with any regularity. Chokecherries and thumb-nail-sized crabapples are 2 exceptions to that "berries only" tendency, but even these are "transplants" and not native to Alaska. For long term ability to find locally grown fruit, I'll not be sorry at all if Global Warming/Climate shift allows us to grow more fruit around here. I know that sounds awful, and over all I don't want anybody to think that I REALLY mean I'd like to see the Polar Bears go extinct in exchange for apples, but you must understand that I CAN see some definite benefits to these fruits growing locally. (It makes me wonder if perhaps Maples, Oaks and other temperate-climate trees would also grow around here.)
As far as my own gardening efforts, I haven't made any except to receive my seeds. The FIL and I have talked about it a little, and he's going to see if he can't scrounge up some grow-lights this year, to help our seedlings along. But we haven't actually made any efforts toward starting any seeds yet. I also was mentioning to Scott that I'd really love to find a way to add a chokecherry or crabapple tree to our property, or perhaps some berry bushes. Ideally I'd love to put a British style hedge of mixed berry bushes and small trees along the bottom and back of our yard. (Or, perhaps a chain-link fence along the back border of our yard to grow beans and peas against.) But, I've often thought that having some hedge-type border for our yard would be nice. Now if only I could persuade Scott. *grin*
Oh, and did you see the news that Michelle Obama took part in breaking ground at the White House for a kitchen garden? She had a bunch of school kids come in for the ground-breaking, and they're going to be back in a couple of weeks to help with the first plantings, and later for picnics using some of the produce, if what I recall of the article is correct. This was from our local paper this morning. I found that rather happy news. If nothing else, this shows that the Obamas are willing to take the advice of some of their regular, every-day consistuents as I know myself and a great many other gardeners emailed President O. with the need to set a good example and put in a garden there at the White House. There has even been a few rather comical compilations of cartoon drawings and the tune "This Land is Your Land" in regards to persuading Pres. O. and family to re-start the Victory Garden efforts in our country. Along with fruit trees and veggies, they're also installing a couple of bee hives! What a fantastic example!
Anyway....... I guess that's enough meandering and musing for today.
Have a Blessed Day!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Just more "This and That"
Well, as usual, not a whole lot of really interesting stuff from this past week.
I didn't get Tay's grades turned in Monday because I didn't have them finished yet, but that's ok because I found out that our teacher was going to be gone till THIS coming Wednesday for Spring Break. Eh, whatever. Suffice it to say, Tay's grades are still going very poorly. Her geography worksheets were well done (most of them), but it's not going to raise her 51% in history enough to be a passing grade. (Geography counts for less points over all than History, so it may raise it to about a 61 or 62%, but that won't be high enough for me to consider her "passing". I'm sorry, a low D is NOT a passing grade, as far as I'm concerned.) As it stands now, she's repeating 5th grade. And _I'M_ turning out to be the "MEAN" parent because of it, again. Scott continues to tell her that maybe if we bust our rears for the final two quarters, she'll still pass. Maybe if she does summer school. Maybe this, maybe that, maybe the other....... And yet, I continue to tell him that failing the first two quarters (primarily because of poor grades on tests, or not being willing to spend the time really thinking through the answers on her notes) means that even GOOD grades on Third and Fourth Quarters works will not be ENOUGH to make up for her failing the first two quarters. NOT to mention that we're SO far behind on school work right now that I don't think it's possible to even fit the 4th quarter work into the school year.
We've got Tay lined up to start into the group therapy and activity program at FCSA. She'll start having interactions with a "Group Coordinator" (who's also a therapist/councelor) and a Youth Councelor. The Group Coordinator leads the group therapy sessions, and takes the kids on their activity outtings. It sounds like the groups are limited to 5 or 6 kids, altogether. So there are multiple Group Coordinators. Tay was assigned to this nice, athletic guy named George. And each of the Coordinator has a couple of Student Councilors who work in conjunction with them and each Student Councilor has a couple of children that they are "responsible" for and really interact with on a day-to-day basis. Tay's Councelor is named Stephanie, though we haven't met her yet. (She was on training this past Thursday when we saw L. and met George.) It sounds like, when Tay gets really frustrated here at home, or I get really frustrated with Tay and need somebody to help "talk her down", one or the other of us can call this Stephanie, and she'll help manage Tay and almost be like a "big sister/mentor" to Tay. I'm really interested to learn more of how this works, though. I look forward to having a chance to ask Stephanie, George and L. more questions.
(I realize I'm using only one initial for L., but am calling Stephanie and George by their given names. I figure that as both Stephanie and George are relatively common names, but L's name ISN'T very common, I'll use her first initial but their first names.)
I have Tay's therapist's support AND the Special Ed. Teacher's support on holding her back, and yet that doesn't count for a lot when Scott keeps telling Tay otherwise, and makes ME out to be the "mean" one. I get really sick and tired of always being the one who is put in a position of making her follow the rules.
Scott's pissed me off a few times lately, as well. Like last night. On our drive home from the inlaws, Scott said that he'd like for us to go to the Ice Park this year. I asked him "When?" He kept saying "I don't know, one of these days" and I kept asking "well, WHEN?" I finally told him that he needs to stop being so abstract in his plans, and tell me a definite time, because the Ice Park would only be around for another week or so. (In fact, the last day it will be open this year is March 24th.) He told me to stop using such big words, he didn't understand what I meant. What does "abstract in his plans" mean???? Excuse me? "Abstract?" What the hell do you think "abstract" means?!?!? It means the opposite of "definite, defined". It means "vague", it means "loosely organized". I told him that I WAS NOT using big words, and he SHOULD know what "abstract plans" means, and he got all snippy with me again for using words HE doesn't understand. AND he gets mad at me when I tell Tay to look up a word in the dictionary, instead of giving her some watered down definition. He undermines me and tells Tay that she doesn't have to know what the word means. GIVE ME A FREAKING BREAK! So, I snapped at him and told him I'm not going to DUMB DOWN my vocabulary just because he doesn't feel the need to learn what words mean or look them up in a dictionary, and that goes for the kiddo as well. I've ALWAYS had a reasonably sized vocabulary with the ability to use "big" words, and I'm NOT going to quit just because he decides it makes him feel dumb.
Case in point, I used the word "Emulate" last year, and he thought I was talking about "masturbate". That was very funny. The neighbour couldn't understand why Scott got so up in arms after I mentioned that the little neighbour boy liked to try to "emulate" Tay. But, it ticked me off, as well. I told him "emulate" doesn't mean anything bad, it simply means "to copy", and Scott started going off on how I should have just said "so-and-so tries to COPY Tay", instead of using the word "emulate" in the first place. Why the hell should I have to dumb myself down for him or anybody else?!?! That's one of the many aspects of what is wrong with our society, those who don't want to spend the time looking up new words (or facts) and therefore learn something new, expect those of us who DO spend that time learning, to dumb ourselves down for them. That's not how I work, that's not how I plan to START working. If he didn't like the fact that I tend toward trying to be smart, instead of enjoying being a complete idiot, then he shouldn't have married me. And I'm not going to change and try to be dumb just for him, 12 years into our marriage. *grumble* I'm just so tired of this kind of attitude.
And now Tay's picking up on it as well. "Why didn't you just say that in the first place?!?!" I DID, you just don't have the desire to brush up on YOUR vocabulary a bit to understand that the word I used means the same as another, smaller word, that's not MY problem. You don't wanna be dumb, then DON'T be dumb! Look it up! Explore, be curious. But don't expect me to "dumb down" for you.
*****
In a similar vein, we had a "Page Meeting" this past week. That is, Boss Lady scheduled for we Pages to sit down in a 2 hour meeting together and go over some new details we needed instruction on, as well as covering details on items that were being dropped. A week prior to the meeting, Boss Lady put a request out that if we had ANY points that needed to be discussed during our meeting (or, for the Circulation Lib. Assistants in their meeting this coming week), we needed to PUT THEM IN WRITING and give them to her in advance of OUR meeting.
Ok, at least 3 of us (I'm guessing it was 4 or 5 of us, really) did this. I know I did, and my coworkers CM and CF did. The three of us also made copious mention of the patronizing attitude and lazy behavior of "the Kiss Ass". We tried NOT to name names, but we made it VERY clear as to whom we were talking about in our concerns that this person was A) spending WAY too much time doing her "special projects" to the exclusion of any regular page duties such as shelving or shelf-reading; B) failing to get to the desk or to her back-up shift on time, resulting in time lost by the person who she was supposed to be replacing; C) her attitude toward the rest of us Pages (including our Lead Page, who's been at the library for over 30 years) has become incredibly bossy and patronizing.
The Boss Lady started addressing these "issues" (and there were a couple that dealt with the "Lead Page" as well as another Page that has been on the library staff for 30 years, both of whom have stopped pulling their weight even to the fullest of THEIR abilities in the past couple years) by saying how sorry she was to find out that "so many of you are so sad at this job, that I LOVE my job, and I'd assumed that the rest of you did as well." In answer to the request that 3 of us made for more follow-up on accountability in regards to shelving, shelf-reading, and organizing carts, Boss Lady told us that "you're only accountable to yourself, at the end of the day. There are 11 different personalities, levels of capability, work ethics at work here, and to expect ONE of you to be as accountable as the next is NOT possible. At the end of the day, if you can look in the mirror and think that YOU did a good job at work, then THAT is what matters!"
*shaking head* As my coworker, CM, emailed me later, it was like reading an expanded version of the quote from _Animal Farm_ "all pigs are created equal, some pigs are more equal than others." Because that's EXACTLY what we were being told, we're all Pages "equally", but some of us are expected to work harder and be more accurate and productive than other Pages. And those of us that ARE expected to work harder, be more productive, and more accurate in our job, well...... If we're NOT, then we're obviously ONLY letting ourselves down. *shaking head* No, quite honestly, I can say I'm NOT letting myself down on the job, even on days when I'm not feeling completely present and accounted for, and just don't "pull my weight" as I can on other days. I come home those days and feel completely fine with myself, knowing that this is not a NORMAL condition, and I can go in another day and bust my rump, but occasionally it just happens that I can't "pull my weight" as thoroughly. However, those Pages who come in and give it an all-over half-assed attempt and just don't want to work because they couldn't care less....... It's not about MY ability or inability to pull my own weight, but why am I to be expected to NOT have any cruddy days, when this other Page is allowed to have EVERY day be one where they don't pull their own weight?!?! Why am I getting chewed out on a day when I just can't do it completely, and yet this other person is allowed to have that lack of "with it" at all times?!?! Pardon me for thinking that this is a cop-out on Boss Lady's part in order to get out of having to ADDRESS actual issues.
On top of that, Boss Lady seemingly ignored most of our concerns about the "Kiss Ass", except the one in which that Page is seemingly, permanently, incapable of getting to her desk and/or back-up shift on time. (That came down to who's getting paid for what hours on the job, and if that Page was off in her hours, it threw other people off in THEIR hours and messes up our Time-cards. THAT is not allowed. Therefore, it was addressed and dealt with. The other issues that come down to "personality" and personal capabilities, were blown off completely.)
CM and I decided that we'll give it a week or two, see if things are improved. If they do not, we're going to each print out a second copy of the list of concerns and complaints that we gave Boss Lady, and we're going to take them to our Union Representative. We're trying to talk CF (the third Page whom we know handed in a list of concerns to Boss Lady) and one of the casuals (who may not qualify for Union attention, but at least can verify our complaints and be a witness to our concerns) to go with us to talk to the Union Rep. Things just cannot stay the way they have at work, and if Boss Lady refuses to do anything about it, then we go over her head. And as Boss Lady's Boss was in on the meeting (and was asked to read over our written memos as well, and didn't add or subtract anything from Boss Lady's schpeal), if Boss Lady's Boss doesn't do SOMETHING in the positive about addressing these complaints, then it IS time to go over their heads to the Union Rep.
Edited to add: CM let me know via email that she actually talked to the Union Rep. yesterday after stewing over our blow-off by Boss Lady, and was given a talk that essentially said that there is NOTHING we can do about Boss Lady loading the Kiss Ass up with extra jobs, but that we CAN approach Boss Lady and "Using _I_ statements, explain that would like to be considered for any future "special projects" that arise." *sigh* CM seemed to think that this is the best we're going to get as far as somebody reigning the Kiss Ass in on her attitude and refusal to actually do the other duties in the job description. *rolling eyes*
**********
Anyway, onto better (tasting?) subjects. Here are a couple of recipes that I made this week. NEW recipes, that is. I'd never tried either of these before, and they both turned out very well. (And, neither of them as I post them here are the original recipes as I read them, but rather are how I've changed them to suit my needs.)
Creamy Corn Chowder
2 chicken bouillion cubes
1 c hot water
5 bacon strips
1/2 c chopped onion
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies
1/4 c flour
3 c milk or half & half
1-1/2 c frozen corn kernels
1 can cream style corn
1-1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
tobasco sauce to taste
Fry bacon to crisp, remove to a paper towel to drain & cool. Set aside. Fry onion in bacon grease till translucent. Add flour and stir till smooth(ish) and the flour starts to brown a bit. Gradually stir in milk and water. Bring to a simmer. Add in bouillion cubes, seasonings, corn and chilies. Simmer 10 minutes or till heated through. Season lightly with tobasco sauce as desired. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon just before serving.
(The original recipe uses green bell pepper that is sauteed along with the onion, and forgoes the canned chopped green chilies. Also, rather than tobasco sauce, it calls for a bit of basil. I didn't have any green bell pepper or basil in the house, so I went slightly spicy instead of savory as the original recipe led toward.) This recipe turned out very good and Scott said he'd consider this as an alternative to my clam chowder, which he also loves.
*****
Rye/Wheat Bread
3 c all-purpse white flour
1-2/3 c rye flour
2-1/3 c whole wheat flour (You could just use 7 to 8 cups of all-purpose flour as is called for in the original recipe, but this mix turned out VERY well for me.)
2 c warmed whey (from making some yogurt cheese, the whey is the liquid that drains off the yogurt as you've got it in a cheese-cloth lined strainer. It's very good for a person, supposedly. Plain water could be used instead, or even milk.)
1/3 c sugar (original recipe calls for 1 whole cup sugar)
1/2 c melted butter
1/4 tsp salt (the whey is salty, so I only used 1/4 tsp regular salt. Otherwise, up the salt to 1-1/2 tsp)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
Stir together flour, sugar, and yeast. Make a well in the center, stir in warmed whey, butter and eggs. Mix all together, beginning kneading before sprinkling in remaining salt and carefully kneading that in.
Knead till elastic. Place dough back in greased bowl, and turn over a couple of times to grease top of dough. Cover bowl with dampened towel, and set in warm spot to rise for about 2 hours.
Turn out to table or counter and punch down. Form into 3 loaves and place in greased loaf pans. (I could actually have made 2 larger loaves, but I wound up with 3 smaller loaves. White flour, or even whole wheat flour, rises better than rye does.) Cover with damp towel again, and allow to rise for 1 to 1-1/2 hour or until about doubled. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes. Brush with melted butter as soon as removed from oven. Cool in pans about 5 minutes, then turn onto racks to continue cooling.
*****
Tonight's menu is individual meat loaves (got 5 of them from 1 pound of ground beef and 1 pound of pork sausage) and Au Gratin Potatoes. I NEVER follow the same recipe for meat loaf twice, so your best bet would be to find one you like, but be sure to add a Tbsp of horseradish to whatever meat loaf recipe you use, as it really enhances the flavor of the meat, without being actually able to taste the horseradish. (Unless you LIKE to taste the horseradish, in which case, by all means use more than 1 Tbsp.)
I'm also going to be making southern style turnip greens with dinner tonight. But that's easy, just sautee some chopped onion in reserved bacon grease. (I keep a bit of bacon grease in a jar reserved just for that, in my fridge. It's great for sauteeing onions for southern style greens, and sometimes just for adding a bit of bacon flavor to things you want to fry up a bit.) Anyway, once the onions are translucent, add in your canned or frozen greens and simmer up for a while. (I'm using greens from my garden this year, frozen till now.) Season with a bit of cider vinegar, just before serving, and serve with crumbled bacon, if you've got some on hand.
Anyway, here's the Au Gratin Potatoes recipe. I've never made this before. I have no idea how it'll turn out.
Au Gratin Potatoes
8 c cubed potatoes (peeled, if you like, I don't)
1/4 c butter
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1-1/2 c milk (I used half & half.)
1 pound process American cheese, cubed. (I used Colby Jack.
About 2 tsp tobasco sauce
About 1 tsp garlic powder
About 1 Tbsp worchestershire sauce (these last 3 are my addition, and I added them to taste, basically.
parsley
In a large saucepan, cook potatoes in boiling water (you can boost the flavor by adding a couple of chicken bouillion cubes) till tender, but not mushy. Drain and place in a greased 2-1/2 qt casserole dish. In the same saucepan (rinse it out first), melt butter. Add the flour. Stir to form a smooth(ish) paste and simmer 1 or 2 minutes. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Add salt, pepper, tobasco sauce, worchestershire sauce, and garlic powder (if you want to use these last 3). Add cheese and stir just till melted. Pour over potatoes. Cover and bake at 350 deg. F. for 45 to 50 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley. (Actually, I added in the parsley with the other seasonings, as I was using dried. But, with fresh parsley I'm sure it'd be better to use as a garnish instead of a flavoring.)
*****
Well, there you are. Some recipes for the week. I'll post more next week, I'm sure. *grin*
That pretty well covers it for now. Not a hell of a lot going on, lately. More of the same, really.
Hope to get by and visit every one of you in the next couple of days. Hope all is going well with each and every one of you.
Have a Blessed Day!
I didn't get Tay's grades turned in Monday because I didn't have them finished yet, but that's ok because I found out that our teacher was going to be gone till THIS coming Wednesday for Spring Break. Eh, whatever. Suffice it to say, Tay's grades are still going very poorly. Her geography worksheets were well done (most of them), but it's not going to raise her 51% in history enough to be a passing grade. (Geography counts for less points over all than History, so it may raise it to about a 61 or 62%, but that won't be high enough for me to consider her "passing". I'm sorry, a low D is NOT a passing grade, as far as I'm concerned.) As it stands now, she's repeating 5th grade. And _I'M_ turning out to be the "MEAN" parent because of it, again. Scott continues to tell her that maybe if we bust our rears for the final two quarters, she'll still pass. Maybe if she does summer school. Maybe this, maybe that, maybe the other....... And yet, I continue to tell him that failing the first two quarters (primarily because of poor grades on tests, or not being willing to spend the time really thinking through the answers on her notes) means that even GOOD grades on Third and Fourth Quarters works will not be ENOUGH to make up for her failing the first two quarters. NOT to mention that we're SO far behind on school work right now that I don't think it's possible to even fit the 4th quarter work into the school year.
We've got Tay lined up to start into the group therapy and activity program at FCSA. She'll start having interactions with a "Group Coordinator" (who's also a therapist/councelor) and a Youth Councelor. The Group Coordinator leads the group therapy sessions, and takes the kids on their activity outtings. It sounds like the groups are limited to 5 or 6 kids, altogether. So there are multiple Group Coordinators. Tay was assigned to this nice, athletic guy named George. And each of the Coordinator has a couple of Student Councilors who work in conjunction with them and each Student Councilor has a couple of children that they are "responsible" for and really interact with on a day-to-day basis. Tay's Councelor is named Stephanie, though we haven't met her yet. (She was on training this past Thursday when we saw L. and met George.) It sounds like, when Tay gets really frustrated here at home, or I get really frustrated with Tay and need somebody to help "talk her down", one or the other of us can call this Stephanie, and she'll help manage Tay and almost be like a "big sister/mentor" to Tay. I'm really interested to learn more of how this works, though. I look forward to having a chance to ask Stephanie, George and L. more questions.
(I realize I'm using only one initial for L., but am calling Stephanie and George by their given names. I figure that as both Stephanie and George are relatively common names, but L's name ISN'T very common, I'll use her first initial but their first names.)
I have Tay's therapist's support AND the Special Ed. Teacher's support on holding her back, and yet that doesn't count for a lot when Scott keeps telling Tay otherwise, and makes ME out to be the "mean" one. I get really sick and tired of always being the one who is put in a position of making her follow the rules.
Scott's pissed me off a few times lately, as well. Like last night. On our drive home from the inlaws, Scott said that he'd like for us to go to the Ice Park this year. I asked him "When?" He kept saying "I don't know, one of these days" and I kept asking "well, WHEN?" I finally told him that he needs to stop being so abstract in his plans, and tell me a definite time, because the Ice Park would only be around for another week or so. (In fact, the last day it will be open this year is March 24th.) He told me to stop using such big words, he didn't understand what I meant. What does "abstract in his plans" mean???? Excuse me? "Abstract?" What the hell do you think "abstract" means?!?!? It means the opposite of "definite, defined". It means "vague", it means "loosely organized". I told him that I WAS NOT using big words, and he SHOULD know what "abstract plans" means, and he got all snippy with me again for using words HE doesn't understand. AND he gets mad at me when I tell Tay to look up a word in the dictionary, instead of giving her some watered down definition. He undermines me and tells Tay that she doesn't have to know what the word means. GIVE ME A FREAKING BREAK! So, I snapped at him and told him I'm not going to DUMB DOWN my vocabulary just because he doesn't feel the need to learn what words mean or look them up in a dictionary, and that goes for the kiddo as well. I've ALWAYS had a reasonably sized vocabulary with the ability to use "big" words, and I'm NOT going to quit just because he decides it makes him feel dumb.
Case in point, I used the word "Emulate" last year, and he thought I was talking about "masturbate". That was very funny. The neighbour couldn't understand why Scott got so up in arms after I mentioned that the little neighbour boy liked to try to "emulate" Tay. But, it ticked me off, as well. I told him "emulate" doesn't mean anything bad, it simply means "to copy", and Scott started going off on how I should have just said "so-and-so tries to COPY Tay", instead of using the word "emulate" in the first place. Why the hell should I have to dumb myself down for him or anybody else?!?! That's one of the many aspects of what is wrong with our society, those who don't want to spend the time looking up new words (or facts) and therefore learn something new, expect those of us who DO spend that time learning, to dumb ourselves down for them. That's not how I work, that's not how I plan to START working. If he didn't like the fact that I tend toward trying to be smart, instead of enjoying being a complete idiot, then he shouldn't have married me. And I'm not going to change and try to be dumb just for him, 12 years into our marriage. *grumble* I'm just so tired of this kind of attitude.
And now Tay's picking up on it as well. "Why didn't you just say that in the first place?!?!" I DID, you just don't have the desire to brush up on YOUR vocabulary a bit to understand that the word I used means the same as another, smaller word, that's not MY problem. You don't wanna be dumb, then DON'T be dumb! Look it up! Explore, be curious. But don't expect me to "dumb down" for you.
*****
In a similar vein, we had a "Page Meeting" this past week. That is, Boss Lady scheduled for we Pages to sit down in a 2 hour meeting together and go over some new details we needed instruction on, as well as covering details on items that were being dropped. A week prior to the meeting, Boss Lady put a request out that if we had ANY points that needed to be discussed during our meeting (or, for the Circulation Lib. Assistants in their meeting this coming week), we needed to PUT THEM IN WRITING and give them to her in advance of OUR meeting.
Ok, at least 3 of us (I'm guessing it was 4 or 5 of us, really) did this. I know I did, and my coworkers CM and CF did. The three of us also made copious mention of the patronizing attitude and lazy behavior of "the Kiss Ass". We tried NOT to name names, but we made it VERY clear as to whom we were talking about in our concerns that this person was A) spending WAY too much time doing her "special projects" to the exclusion of any regular page duties such as shelving or shelf-reading; B) failing to get to the desk or to her back-up shift on time, resulting in time lost by the person who she was supposed to be replacing; C) her attitude toward the rest of us Pages (including our Lead Page, who's been at the library for over 30 years) has become incredibly bossy and patronizing.
The Boss Lady started addressing these "issues" (and there were a couple that dealt with the "Lead Page" as well as another Page that has been on the library staff for 30 years, both of whom have stopped pulling their weight even to the fullest of THEIR abilities in the past couple years) by saying how sorry she was to find out that "so many of you are so sad at this job, that I LOVE my job, and I'd assumed that the rest of you did as well." In answer to the request that 3 of us made for more follow-up on accountability in regards to shelving, shelf-reading, and organizing carts, Boss Lady told us that "you're only accountable to yourself, at the end of the day. There are 11 different personalities, levels of capability, work ethics at work here, and to expect ONE of you to be as accountable as the next is NOT possible. At the end of the day, if you can look in the mirror and think that YOU did a good job at work, then THAT is what matters!"
*shaking head* As my coworker, CM, emailed me later, it was like reading an expanded version of the quote from _Animal Farm_ "all pigs are created equal, some pigs are more equal than others." Because that's EXACTLY what we were being told, we're all Pages "equally", but some of us are expected to work harder and be more accurate and productive than other Pages. And those of us that ARE expected to work harder, be more productive, and more accurate in our job, well...... If we're NOT, then we're obviously ONLY letting ourselves down. *shaking head* No, quite honestly, I can say I'm NOT letting myself down on the job, even on days when I'm not feeling completely present and accounted for, and just don't "pull my weight" as I can on other days. I come home those days and feel completely fine with myself, knowing that this is not a NORMAL condition, and I can go in another day and bust my rump, but occasionally it just happens that I can't "pull my weight" as thoroughly. However, those Pages who come in and give it an all-over half-assed attempt and just don't want to work because they couldn't care less....... It's not about MY ability or inability to pull my own weight, but why am I to be expected to NOT have any cruddy days, when this other Page is allowed to have EVERY day be one where they don't pull their own weight?!?! Why am I getting chewed out on a day when I just can't do it completely, and yet this other person is allowed to have that lack of "with it" at all times?!?! Pardon me for thinking that this is a cop-out on Boss Lady's part in order to get out of having to ADDRESS actual issues.
On top of that, Boss Lady seemingly ignored most of our concerns about the "Kiss Ass", except the one in which that Page is seemingly, permanently, incapable of getting to her desk and/or back-up shift on time. (That came down to who's getting paid for what hours on the job, and if that Page was off in her hours, it threw other people off in THEIR hours and messes up our Time-cards. THAT is not allowed. Therefore, it was addressed and dealt with. The other issues that come down to "personality" and personal capabilities, were blown off completely.)
CM and I decided that we'll give it a week or two, see if things are improved. If they do not, we're going to each print out a second copy of the list of concerns and complaints that we gave Boss Lady, and we're going to take them to our Union Representative. We're trying to talk CF (the third Page whom we know handed in a list of concerns to Boss Lady) and one of the casuals (who may not qualify for Union attention, but at least can verify our complaints and be a witness to our concerns) to go with us to talk to the Union Rep. Things just cannot stay the way they have at work, and if Boss Lady refuses to do anything about it, then we go over her head. And as Boss Lady's Boss was in on the meeting (and was asked to read over our written memos as well, and didn't add or subtract anything from Boss Lady's schpeal), if Boss Lady's Boss doesn't do SOMETHING in the positive about addressing these complaints, then it IS time to go over their heads to the Union Rep.
Edited to add: CM let me know via email that she actually talked to the Union Rep. yesterday after stewing over our blow-off by Boss Lady, and was given a talk that essentially said that there is NOTHING we can do about Boss Lady loading the Kiss Ass up with extra jobs, but that we CAN approach Boss Lady and "Using _I_ statements, explain that would like to be considered for any future "special projects" that arise." *sigh* CM seemed to think that this is the best we're going to get as far as somebody reigning the Kiss Ass in on her attitude and refusal to actually do the other duties in the job description. *rolling eyes*
**********
Anyway, onto better (tasting?) subjects. Here are a couple of recipes that I made this week. NEW recipes, that is. I'd never tried either of these before, and they both turned out very well. (And, neither of them as I post them here are the original recipes as I read them, but rather are how I've changed them to suit my needs.)
Creamy Corn Chowder
2 chicken bouillion cubes
1 c hot water
5 bacon strips
1/2 c chopped onion
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies
1/4 c flour
3 c milk or half & half
1-1/2 c frozen corn kernels
1 can cream style corn
1-1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
tobasco sauce to taste
Fry bacon to crisp, remove to a paper towel to drain & cool. Set aside. Fry onion in bacon grease till translucent. Add flour and stir till smooth(ish) and the flour starts to brown a bit. Gradually stir in milk and water. Bring to a simmer. Add in bouillion cubes, seasonings, corn and chilies. Simmer 10 minutes or till heated through. Season lightly with tobasco sauce as desired. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon just before serving.
(The original recipe uses green bell pepper that is sauteed along with the onion, and forgoes the canned chopped green chilies. Also, rather than tobasco sauce, it calls for a bit of basil. I didn't have any green bell pepper or basil in the house, so I went slightly spicy instead of savory as the original recipe led toward.) This recipe turned out very good and Scott said he'd consider this as an alternative to my clam chowder, which he also loves.
*****
Rye/Wheat Bread
3 c all-purpse white flour
1-2/3 c rye flour
2-1/3 c whole wheat flour (You could just use 7 to 8 cups of all-purpose flour as is called for in the original recipe, but this mix turned out VERY well for me.)
2 c warmed whey (from making some yogurt cheese, the whey is the liquid that drains off the yogurt as you've got it in a cheese-cloth lined strainer. It's very good for a person, supposedly. Plain water could be used instead, or even milk.)
1/3 c sugar (original recipe calls for 1 whole cup sugar)
1/2 c melted butter
1/4 tsp salt (the whey is salty, so I only used 1/4 tsp regular salt. Otherwise, up the salt to 1-1/2 tsp)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
Stir together flour, sugar, and yeast. Make a well in the center, stir in warmed whey, butter and eggs. Mix all together, beginning kneading before sprinkling in remaining salt and carefully kneading that in.
Knead till elastic. Place dough back in greased bowl, and turn over a couple of times to grease top of dough. Cover bowl with dampened towel, and set in warm spot to rise for about 2 hours.
Turn out to table or counter and punch down. Form into 3 loaves and place in greased loaf pans. (I could actually have made 2 larger loaves, but I wound up with 3 smaller loaves. White flour, or even whole wheat flour, rises better than rye does.) Cover with damp towel again, and allow to rise for 1 to 1-1/2 hour or until about doubled. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes. Brush with melted butter as soon as removed from oven. Cool in pans about 5 minutes, then turn onto racks to continue cooling.
*****
Tonight's menu is individual meat loaves (got 5 of them from 1 pound of ground beef and 1 pound of pork sausage) and Au Gratin Potatoes. I NEVER follow the same recipe for meat loaf twice, so your best bet would be to find one you like, but be sure to add a Tbsp of horseradish to whatever meat loaf recipe you use, as it really enhances the flavor of the meat, without being actually able to taste the horseradish. (Unless you LIKE to taste the horseradish, in which case, by all means use more than 1 Tbsp.)
I'm also going to be making southern style turnip greens with dinner tonight. But that's easy, just sautee some chopped onion in reserved bacon grease. (I keep a bit of bacon grease in a jar reserved just for that, in my fridge. It's great for sauteeing onions for southern style greens, and sometimes just for adding a bit of bacon flavor to things you want to fry up a bit.) Anyway, once the onions are translucent, add in your canned or frozen greens and simmer up for a while. (I'm using greens from my garden this year, frozen till now.) Season with a bit of cider vinegar, just before serving, and serve with crumbled bacon, if you've got some on hand.
Anyway, here's the Au Gratin Potatoes recipe. I've never made this before. I have no idea how it'll turn out.
Au Gratin Potatoes
8 c cubed potatoes (peeled, if you like, I don't)
1/4 c butter
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1-1/2 c milk (I used half & half.)
1 pound process American cheese, cubed. (I used Colby Jack.
About 2 tsp tobasco sauce
About 1 tsp garlic powder
About 1 Tbsp worchestershire sauce (these last 3 are my addition, and I added them to taste, basically.
parsley
In a large saucepan, cook potatoes in boiling water (you can boost the flavor by adding a couple of chicken bouillion cubes) till tender, but not mushy. Drain and place in a greased 2-1/2 qt casserole dish. In the same saucepan (rinse it out first), melt butter. Add the flour. Stir to form a smooth(ish) paste and simmer 1 or 2 minutes. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Add salt, pepper, tobasco sauce, worchestershire sauce, and garlic powder (if you want to use these last 3). Add cheese and stir just till melted. Pour over potatoes. Cover and bake at 350 deg. F. for 45 to 50 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley. (Actually, I added in the parsley with the other seasonings, as I was using dried. But, with fresh parsley I'm sure it'd be better to use as a garnish instead of a flavoring.)
*****
Well, there you are. Some recipes for the week. I'll post more next week, I'm sure. *grin*
That pretty well covers it for now. Not a hell of a lot going on, lately. More of the same, really.
Hope to get by and visit every one of you in the next couple of days. Hope all is going well with each and every one of you.
Have a Blessed Day!
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Some Pictures, more Recipes....
First, some gratutitous pet pics. Jenny looking adorable as she tries to figure out how to manage 3 tennis balls at once.
We were blowing raspberries at her when this pic was taken, trying to get a funny reaction. It really was funnier in person.
**********
So, I have done a good bit of baking over the last couple of days. I've been in the mood for some soft pretzels, and after seeing Alton Brown make some really yummy looking ones on his show "Good Eats," I decided to look up his recipe and give it a try. DAMN! Those are some good pretzels!
Here's the recipe for Alton Brown's Homemade Soft Pretzels
1-1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 deg. F) water
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
1 pkg (or 1/2 Tbsp) active dry yeast
22 oz (aprox. 4-1/2 c) all purpose flour
2 oz unsalted butter, melted
veggie oil for pan
10 cups water
2/3 c baking powder
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 Tbsp water
pretzel salt
Combine the water, sugar and yeast. Proof 10 minutes. Mix together all but 1 cup of the flour, and salt. (Reserve 1 flour in case dough needs it, I found I actually needed less than was called for in the original recipe.) Add the water/yeast mixture to the flour/salt mixture. Stir in butter. Mix together ingredients well, stirring in more flour if needed. Turn out to table or counter and knead till somewhat smooth and elastic. Grease inside of bowl, and return dough to bowl, turning dough around to grease the top, as well. Cover with damp kitchen towel, and allow to rise in warm spot for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 450 deg. F. Grease 2 large cookie sheets lightly. Set aside.
Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8 quart saucepan or roasting pan.
In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 20 to 24 inch rope. Make a U shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other TWICE and fold back down to press ends into the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Set aside on work surface and return to folding remaining pretzels.
Once you have all 8 pretzels folded, drop one at a time into the boiling water for 30 to 40 seconds. (I dropped them in, one by one, and turned them after 20 seconds, letting them go for 40 seconds each, total.) Remove from the water using a flat spatula. Place pretzels on the cookie sheet, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture, then sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes (12 worked fine for me). Transfer to a cooling rack at least 5 minutes before serving.
(I also DIPPED my pretzels in melted butter within about 5 minutes of removing them from the oven.)
(I must have been having dislexic moments all weekend, I completely missed seeing that butter was to be included in this. They tasted fabulous without it! I also got the proportions of baking soda to water wrong, I thought the recipe read 3/4 c baking soda, till now.)
Here are the pretzels upon removal from the hot-water/baking soda boil.
As you can see, I wasn't quite done loading the cookie sheet up.
And here we have the lovely fat pretzels upon removal from the oven, as soon as I'd gotten them dipped in the melted butter.
We had a "Farmgirl Get-together" at my friend Mary's house last night. As this week's a rather financially slim one, I was somewhat at a loss for what to make to take along. I'd wanted to take cucumber salad, but didn't have the $$ to pick up more cucumbers at the grocery store. It occured to me that pretzels would be the perfect thing! And they were! They went over well. My friend, Mary, was the only one who didn't get to enjoy them, as she's still nursing her youngest, and the youngest is allergic to just about everything (dairy -butter included, obviously, eggs, nuts, the dog-hair clinging to my clothes when I arrived). So, anything Mary consumes, her little one consumes through her. She decided the butter that the pretzels had been dipped in would probably set off an allergic reaction. I'm sorry I didn't know about that before, I would have left off the butter completely. (Though, it REALLY DOES boost the flavor considerably!)
Anyway, everybody else wanted the recipe. *grin* And Mom wanted the recipe the other night when I was telling her about my first batch. (The pictures above are of the batch I made on Friday. I made a double batch yesterday as well for the Get-together.)
Anyway, everybody else wanted the recipe. *grin* And Mom wanted the recipe the other night when I was telling her about my first batch. (The pictures above are of the batch I made on Friday. I made a double batch yesterday as well for the Get-together.)
*****
In the spirit of trying to cook more frugally, here are a couple of recipes I've used from this past week.
Tuna Pasta Salad (from the April '96 Taste of Home Mag)
1 (7 oz) pkg small shell pasta (or macaroni noodles can be used!), cooked and drained
1 (6 oz) can tuna, drained and flaked
1 large carrot shredded (or sliced into thin half-moons)
3/4 c mayonnaise
1/4 c chopped onion
1/4 c milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp prepared mustard
1 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
(I added 5 large-ish radishes, thinly sliced into half-moons. Some diced dill pickle would also be good. And I added a can of tiny shrimp, drained of their liquid. This could be a good substitute for the tuna altogether.)
In a large salad bowl, combine pasta, tuna, carrot, onion, and radishes. Combine remaining ingredients; whisk until smooth. Pour over pasta mixture; toss to coat. Cover & refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
*****
Spaghetti with Garlic & Olive Oil
Bring 6 qts water and 2 Tbsp salt to rolling boil in large pot. Add 1 lb spaghetti noodles and cook until tender but firm. Meanwhile, in large skillet over medium heat, heat 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Add 4 tsp minced garlic (3 or 4 good size garlic cloves, pressed should do it). Cook, stirring constantly, till garlic is pale blond, about 2 minutes. Reserving 1/2 c pasta water, drain pasta. In large bowl toss together pasta water, pasta and garlic & oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot. No cheese should be sprinkled on top of this.
(I made this to accompany steaks. Could be a very simple main dish by itself, if you are so inclined. Maybe with a salad or some grilled zucchini?)
*****
Hamburger Dinner
Hamburger Dinner
1 lb hamburger, crumbled, cooked and drained. (I added half a diced onion to this before cooking the burger.)
3 c potatoes, sliced
1 small head cabbage
1 c milk
salt and pepper
(This is the ingredient list as it reads in the cookbook, I topped it with some shredded cheese this time, and next time I'd probably mix the milk with a can of cream of celery soup before pouring over the remaining ingredients.)
Shred cabbage and put 1/2 of it in a greased casserole. Add 1/2 of the sliced potatoes, half of the hamburger and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. (I also added a sprinkle of garlic powder when I sprinkled on the salt and pepper.) Add remaining half of cabbage, potatoes and burger in the same order. Pour on the milk and bake in a moderate (350 deg. F.) oven for 2 hours. (Again, I sprinkled this with shredded cheese at the last couple of minutes.)
This recipe came from an Amish cookbook my Mom or Dad got me while my middle sis was going to school up in Amish country in Lancaster, PA. Scott and Tay actually really liked the recipe as I made it this first time, but I found it a little on the dry side, and I think it'd taste better with that addition of cream of celery soup.
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On the crafting front this week, I've finished another project that's been in the works for years. A few years ago I was on a shawl-wearing kick, and I decided to make myself a knit shawl. It's a simple pattern with eyelet increases on each edge, to from the triangle up and out from the bottom. I wanted something relatively light and in a springy yellow color, so that's what I did. It didn't turn out picture worthy.
On the crafting front this week, I've finished another project that's been in the works for years. A few years ago I was on a shawl-wearing kick, and I decided to make myself a knit shawl. It's a simple pattern with eyelet increases on each edge, to from the triangle up and out from the bottom. I wanted something relatively light and in a springy yellow color, so that's what I did. It didn't turn out picture worthy.
Since that shawl is finished, I've moved on to finishing a scarf I'd started a couple of years back. It's knit on one of those round knitting looms. Goes quickly. Should be finished before too long. Then I've got at least one afghan I need to get more work done on, before I pick up any more projects. I'm really wanting to get some of these older projects done before I start anything new again.
**********
Tay has finally finished the first Semester's work. However, she's done such a half-assed job in so many cases, that all I can see is that she's not going to pass. She had an open-book test for her 1st Semester test, and she refused to crack a book, until I started getting on her case for it. Even WITH the open book, she misspelled a lot of the state-names for the areas of the country she's been covering since the last test, and she didn't capitalize a single one. Those are BASIC mistakes; stupid, careless mistakes. Mistakes made because she didn't want to take the time.
Tay has finally finished the first Semester's work. However, she's done such a half-assed job in so many cases, that all I can see is that she's not going to pass. She had an open-book test for her 1st Semester test, and she refused to crack a book, until I started getting on her case for it. Even WITH the open book, she misspelled a lot of the state-names for the areas of the country she's been covering since the last test, and she didn't capitalize a single one. Those are BASIC mistakes; stupid, careless mistakes. Mistakes made because she didn't want to take the time.
And I gave her a last warning that NEXT TEST, I won't allow her to correct them. And if that means she fails Geography, so be it. I'm sick of her being careless and purposefully acting stupid. I just cannot seem to get through her head how important this is! What child FIGHTS about having an open book test?!?! WHY on earth is she arguing about it taking too much work to look through her text books and notebooks for the answer, if it means she'll at least have better odds of getting the answers right. Then to almost purposefully misspell the names of states, when she knows that this act will get her marked down?!?!?! I just cannot conceive of the purposeful idiocy of these moves. It's like she WANTS to fail!
I'm just getting so frustrated with her. I mean, I was physically feeling ill last night, as I was grading her school work. And I've got a lot more to do today before I need to turn it in tomorrow. I guess I'd better get offline and get a move on. I'll be taking some school work with me today to grade at work, instead of reading during my lunch break as I usually do.
*sigh* I guess that covers it.
Have a Blessed Day!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
An afghan, Some Recipes, and allergies to boot.
So first off, here are those pictures of the "baby" afghan. It's really more lap-ghan sized.That is, it's nearly as tall as I am (5 feet) and approximately twice as wide as I am. *grin* (No, I'm not giving inches as to how "wide" I am.)
This first pic, the blanket is actually folded in quarters.
A close up, for color-detail purposes, though unfortunately it looks rather washed out.
And pardon the sideways-ness of this picture. Goodness knows why it flipped back sideways when I transfered it from my photo albums. I had flipped it around right-side up and cropped some of the mess out from the sides. Anyway, this gives SOME idea of how big the afghan is, spread over the top (most of the top) of my kitchen table and the bench along the outter edge of my table.The colorways in the yarn really came through beautifully, when viewed like this. Kinda an unintentional color-pattern. (I did alternating rows of this pink, brown, tan and cream ombre yarn, and a simple solid cream colored yarn. In a ripple pattern.) Anyway, it seems that the pink and brown really kinda stacked nicely, though inadvertently, when crocheted up.
Ok, enough with the baby afghan. On to other things to mention.
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I saw a clip yesterday that was apparently on Good Morning America or some similar show. It was about this 93 year old Grandma who's great grandson talked her into recording some of her depression (or, pre-depression) frugal recipes & meals on YouTube. I checked it out, you should too! If for no other reason than that "Grandma Clara" talks about life during the Great Depression of the 30's, and we've got precious few elders who are even still alive from those days. HERE is the website!
I remember being about 13 or 14 and asking my Dad's mom (my "Mom-mom") some vague, not-very-well-thought-out questions about her teenage years in the Great Depression and her early 20's during World War 2. Mom-mom was rather insistent that she didn't remember much. And by the time I was old enough (a few years ago) to really have COHERANT questions to ask, Mom-mom was too far gone, mentally, to be able to answer anyway. She died a few years ago now. And it's now that I'm most wishing I'd really had the wherewithall to ask her some real questions about her life and how they made it through those years. As it is, I only have one recipe (that I know of) from Mom-mom. That is my recipe for belgian waffles. VERY yummy. I'll share it in a minute.
So, seeing and hearing this Grandma, who's approximately the same age as Mom-mom would be if she were alive today, talk about her teen years during the Great Depression, and make some of the meals she learned to cook from her own Mom during those years, makes me happy that SOMEBODY's grandma is still lucid enough to pass down some of this lost wisdom to us. And I'm grateful to "Grandma Clara" for sharing with us some of what she recalls of those days. And I thought maybe y'all would appreciate seeing it the videos, too.
*****
I've been attempting to cook more frugally, around here. I'm trying to incorporate more meals that are light on meat, or without meat at all. Scott's made it clear he's got NO interest in "becoming a vegetarian". That's fine with me. I like a bit of meat well enough. BUT, it's also rather unhealthy to eat meat every meal, and in the quantities that Scott (and now Tay) seem to prefer it. AND, it's NOT frugal at all. Considering we've been unlucky in getting a Moose or Caribou for several years now, it's not frugal in the least to have steak several times a week. Even when that steak has been bought out of the clearance bin at the grocery store (usually marked down 30 to 50 percent before it absolutely must be tossed by the store for safety purposes). (I have yet to get any "bad" meat out of the clearance "bin". We haven't had any problem with any of the steaks or roasts or stewmeat being rotten.)
And Tay's rather aggrivating me, these days, with her insistance that meat is a requisite for a proper meal. And not just a small bit, but large amounts. And not just at "proper" meals, but at ANY time she wants it. I came home from work the other day and found that she'd decided to open a can of spam for snack, and had almost HALF the piece of spam from the can! For SNACK! *shaking head* Then she gets all pissy when this upsets her Dad and I, as if she's done nothing wrong and why are WE yelling at HER when she was "just hungry" and "there wasn't anything else in the house to have for snack!" *rolling eyes* If it wasn't for the fact that dinner is so frequently a very late meal around here, I'd do away with her having an afternoon snack at all. As it is, my idea of snack is half a bag of popcorn, or a bit of peanut butter on a graham cracker or celery stick. Not HALF a tin of spam! *shaking head* She's become even more adamant about her "need" for meat than her Dad is. And it's really starting to tick me off.
So, this past week, here are some of the things I made for supper:
Fake Steak (mind you, origional recipe makes 24 servings, I cut it down by about a factor of 5)
1/3 c milk (would use an egg instead, next time, the milk didn't "bind" very well)
1/3 c dry bread crumbs
1 small onion (or half a large onion) chopped fine
3/4 tsp salt (give or take, as this is cut down from a recipe 5 times what I'm dictating here)
1/4 tsp pepper
1 pound ground beef
2 cans (yeah, so I STILL use 2 cans) cream of Mushroom soup, undiluted
1/4 c milk (this is for diluting the soup)
In a bowl, combine the milk (egg instead!), bread crumbs, onions (sauteed them up a bit first), salt and pepper. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into small oval patties. (I think I got nine small-ish patties, or about 5 larger patties.) Place in greased 13x9 (or, smaller?) baking dish. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. (This is where I diverge from the recipe. I just pan-fry them as soon as I've made them.)
Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F. for 15 minutes; drain. Combine soup and 1/4 cup milk; pour over patties. Cover and bake 20 to 30 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F (the patties will remain pink inside).
(As I said, I diverge from the origional recipe once we get to the cooking stage. I don't let the patties "sit" more than a couple of minutes. I pan fry them right away. I also use BOTH cans of cream of mushroom soup called for in the origional recipe, and about twice as much milk as is called for, and pour it over the patties once they've browned a bit and I've drained off some of the grease.)
This is great served over egg noodles, with green beans or a green salad on the side.
*****
Tamale Pie
1 lb ground beef
1/2 c onion, chopped
1 can tomato sauce
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
1 can kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes (with juices)
1 Tbsp (or two small-ish cloves) minced/pressed garlic
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp (I used 1/4 tsp) chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin (not in origional recipe, but I use it)
1 (8-1/2 oz) box corn-muffin mix (Jiffy mix)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (Colby-Jack also works well in this recipe)
Brown meat and onions and drain. Stir in remaining ingredients EXCEPT cornbread mix and cheese. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Prepare cornbread mix as directed on box. Pour meat mixture into 2 qt casserole dish. Top meat mix with cornbread batter. Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes or till center of cornbread is firm. Top with shredded cheese and bake 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted.
(I forgot the beans this last week, while making this, so it was "chili" without the beans, topped with cornbread, basically. THEN Scott decides to tell me -and Tay piped up, agreeing with him- that he "hates" kidney beans and wishes I would never use them. *rolling eyes* I prefer kidney beans over pintos, and beans are a rather cheap way to stretch some of that meat, to make it go further. NOW he's telling me -after 11+ years of me making chili and Tamale pie and such!- that he "hates" kidney beans?!?! WTF! And he wonders how I'm going to spend less at the grocery store, when he's getting pickier and pickier about healthier/cheaper eating by the minute?!?!?!)
*****
Pork with Sauerkraut
1 lb lean pork (boneless pork loin "steaks"), cut into 1 inch "cubes"
4 Tbsp vegetable oil or melted "lard" (olive oil!)
1/2 tsp paprika
14 oz shredded sauerkraut, drained of juices and well rinsed (important to rinse! Otherwise this dish is TOO sour!)
2 fresh red chilies (sweet-spicy, I used some of the ground chili peppers from the pepper plant I grew this past year.)
6 Tbsp pork stock (a chicken bouillion cube and some water!)
salt and ground black pepper
1/4 c sour cream
coarse grain mustard, paprika and sage leaves, to garnish
crusty bread, to serve.
In a heavy based frying pan, cook the pork in the oil until browned on all sides. Add the paprika and shredded sauerkraut. Stir well and transfer to flameproof casserole. (I simply used my cast-iron skillet, as it has a heavy glass lid and was plenty big enough. Also used less dishes this way.) Halve the chilies (or, in my case, I used the ground powder from the chilies that I'd dried) and remove the seeds before buring the chilies in the middle of the casserole. Add the stock to the casserole. Cover tightly and cook over a gentle heat for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent it sticking to bottom of pan. Remove the chilies (or, don't) and season to taste before serving. Spoon on the sour cream and spoonfuls of mustard, sprinkle with paprika and garnish with sage leaves. Serve with crusty bread. (I served with some microwave-steamed, halved baby-potatoes tossed with a bit of butter and dill.)
*****
Grandfather's Soup (so called because it is easily digested by the elderly)
1 large onion, finely sliced
2 Tbsp butter (or, 1 Tbsp each olive oil and butter)
12 oz potatoes, peeled and diced (I don't peel them, simply scrub them up)
3-3/4 c beef stock (I used pre-made chicken stock instead)
1 bay leaf
sald and fresh ground black pepper
For Drop noodles (dumplings)
2/3 c self-raising flour
pinch of salt
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (1 tsp dried parsley), plush a bit extra for garnish
1 egg, beaten
chunks of bread to serve
In a wide, heavy-based pan, cook the onion in the butter gently for 10 minutes or until it begins to brown. Add the diced potatoes and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then pour in the stock. Add the bay leaf, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the noodles (dumplings). Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and rub in the butter. Stir in the parsley, then add the egg to the flour mixture and mix to a soft dough. Drop half-teaspoonfuls of the dough into the simmering soup. Cover and simmer gently for a further 10 minutes. Ladle the soup into warmed soup bowls, scatter over a little parsley, and serve immediately with chunks of bread.
(I used some coarsely crushed dried lambsquarters instead of MOST of the parsley. Scott and Tay can't tell the difference and I believe the lambsquarters to be a bit healthier. Then I sprinkled it with parsley at the very end, for appearance sake mostly. Also, I decided to use some of the leftover egg noodles I had from when I made Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup a few weeks back. THAT was a mistake!! They were so dry, that they never DID cook through entirely, and I let them simmer LONG past the 10 minutes the dumplings were supposed to simmer for in the origional recipe. Next time, I'm doing the dumplings! Tay was peevish about this because there wasn't any meat. Scott was peevish as well, but quietly so when I reminded him that it's NOT a vegetarian meal because it DOES use meat-stock/broth. *grin* But, admittedly, he would have prefered to see even just a bit of diced up chicken breast in the bowl.)
*****
Pork Bitki (I've done this before with ground turkey, and it was ok. The original recipe calls for ground -or very finely chopped- chicken, which I can't find around here.)
1 Tbsp butter, melted (used a bit of butter and a bit of olive oil, as usual)
4 oz mushrooms, finely chopped (used button mushrooms, also used about 1/4 c diced onion, in addition to the mushrooms, even though they're not called for)
1 cup fresh white breadcrumbs (to heck with this! Use dried!! It's much easier!!!)
12 oz pork sausage (ok, it was actually a 1 pound log, like Jimmy Dean or some-such)
2 eggs, seperated (you're supposed to reserve the eggwhites for later in the recipe, next time I'll reserve them for an egg-white omelete or something, and NOT put them back into this recipe)
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
2 Tbsp plain flour
3 Tbsp oil
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
green salad and grated pickled beetroot, to serve.
Melt the butter in a pan and fry the mushrooms for 5 minutes until soft and all the juices have evaporated. (Throw the onions in after the mushrooms have had a couple of minutes to cook on their own. The onions add too much more moisture right at the start, otherwise.) Allow to cool. Mix the crumbs, pork, egg yolks, nutmeg, salt, pepper and mushrooms together well. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Stir half into the pork mixture, then fold in the remainder. (THIS step resulted in my meat mixture being far too wet! As I said, I'd just reserve the egg whites for something else next time.) Shape the mixture into 12 even meatballs (actually, fat little finger-sausage shapes). Roll in the plain flour to coat. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the bitki for 10 minutes, turning until evenly golden brown and cooked through. Serve hot with the green salad and pickled beetroot.
(These are good served with properly done potato latkes and sour cream. Or boiled potatoes, or mashed potatoes..... I also didn't serve them with the green salad -as we don't have any fresh greens right now- or the pickled beetroot per say. Though I DID make a fresh beet salad to accompany that I'll post next.)
*****
Beetroot and Celery Salad
1 lb uncooked beetroot, peeled and grated (I chopped it into fine matchsticks, instead. I hate grating root vegetables as I invariably try to add some knuckle to the veggies.)
4 celery sticks, finely chopped (thinly sliced on the bias)
1/2 onion, sliced thinly into half-moons (ok, not original to the recipe, but good anyway!)
2 Tbsp apple juice (didn't have, so substituted apple cider vinegar)
For the dressing:
3 Tbsp sunflower oil (substituted walnut oil)
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
4 spring onions, finely chopped (substituted dried chives, would rehydrate next time before addition to the dressing)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (once again with the substituted dried)
sald and freshly ground black pepper
Toss the beetroot, celery, onion and apple juice together in a bowl to mix. Put all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together till will blended. Stir half into the beetroot mixture. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the top. Allow the salad to marinate for at least 2 hours before serving, for the fullest flavour. Garnish with fresh herbs.
(Tay and I really liked this salad. Scott said it was actually pretty ok, esp. since the beets were raw! He can't stand cooked beets. Tay said this salad would be better without the celery, but I liked the celery just fine, and Tay certainly liked the salad even with the celery.)
*****
Scotch Broth
1 lb ground beef, browned & drained (original recipe calls for soup bones to be simmered and meat seperated from the bone, and all that other stuff first, but I just use ground beef instead.)
2 quarts water
several cubes chicken or beef bouillion (not original to the recipe, but who cares)
6 whole peppercorns (never use this, use a bay leaf instead)
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 c chopped carrots (never use this either, use frozen chopped spinach, or lambsquarters instead)
1 c chopped turnips (dehydrated from last year, not fresh)
1 c chopped celery
1/2 c chopped onion
1 can diced tomatoes (MY addition, not original to the recipe), juice included
1/4 c medium pearl barley (also added about 1/4 c quinoa, this time)
In a large soup kettle, sautee the onion and celery for about 5 minutes in about 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Then add remaining ingredients and cover and simmer about 1 hour or until vegetables and barley are tender. (Note, the quinoa really only needs 10 minutes to cook. So next time, if using, don't add it till that last 10 minutes. Otherwise it just melts away to nothing. This is one of Scott's favorite soups, and the only "brothy" soup Tay actually likes. I don't tell him that I use lambsquarters. As far as he knows, it's just spinach, always spinach.)
*****
Mom-mom's Golden Waffles
2 cups flour
2 eggs, seperated
3 Tbsp baking powder
1-1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp sugar
Beat egg yolks and add milk. Add dry ingredients; beat till smooth. Add in oil. In a seperate bowl, beat egg whites to stiff peak stage. Gently fold egg whites into batter. Carefully ladle a spoonful onto your waffle-iron. Cook till iron indicates done. (Sorry, I don't know how long it takes really, I just use my electric waffle-maker.) This recipe makes INCREDIBLY light and fluffy waffles. YUMMY!!!
*****
As you can see, I'm trying to introduce some "peasant" cooking into my recipe repetoire. Not hard, as my cooking is USUALLY home-style cooking anyway. I rarely do the "gourmet" cooking thing. The "Pork with Sauerkraut", "Pork Bitki", "Grandfather's Soup" and "Beetroot & Celery Salad" all come from this _Russian, Polish and German Cooking_ cookbook I've got. Bought it when I worked at Waldenbooks, a few years back. It's got a load of really yummy looking recipes in it, and thus far I've been pretty happy with them. (Though, obviously I make my own adaptations based on what I can get my hands on, and what I think we'll like as a family.)
Now, to get to work coming up with a menu for this coming week. *grin* I know it's going to include a cucumber salad and a lasagna. (Tay's been requesting both for a couple of weeks.) We'll have to see what else I decide on, and what I find at the grocery store.
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The allergy bit mentioned above? Well, it seems my allergies (and Tay's as well, apparently) have decided to reassert themselves. Really, that's not unusual. They usually DO this time of year, and on into spring and early summer. Thing is, I can't tell if it's inside allergens that are simply getting to a really annoying level, or if there's actually something in the air outdoors this time of year. You'd think, seeing as we've still got thick snow cover, that the outdoors wouldn't provide any allergens to annoy us, but I wouldn't bet on it. (Even today, with it actually snowing outside!)
When I went in to order my contacts a few weeks back, the contact specialist on staff at the eye clinic questioned me as to my allergies. At that point, the ONLY indicator I had was how watery my eyes have been for the past couple of months. But, I usually tear up easily anyway, so it rarely bugs me too much. (It DOES keep me from wearing mascara much, though. Even the waterproof mascara tends to smudge, as often as I'm rubbing my eyes.) So, I told the lady at the eye clinic that my allergies may be "there" right now, but they're really not bothering me. Well, in the couple of weeks since, I've started feeling a ticklish throat, and some sniffles, but not the head-achey and stuffiness that indicates a cold. So, I know it's just allergies. (If my head feels clear, or even if the pain is focused in my sinuses, I can usually figure it's just allergies.)
Then I got up this morning. And my nose was stuffy, and my throat was ticklish, and my eyes are itchy!!!!! YUCK! I know Tay's been dealing with some allergies the last couple of weeks, but this is the first morning in a long while that I actually feel like I'm "dealing with allergies" myself. Usually it doesn't but me, but this itchy eye feeling, combined with the rest...... BLECH!!! And I can't really take anything for my allergies, because NOTHING I take works consistently, and ANYTHING I take has side-effects that I can't stand. So I don't take a darned thing to treat these allergies, I just deal with them. Thankfully, they're simply "annoying" and a bit "aggrivating" but never really beyond that. (Ok, ok, occasionally a sinus headache will hit that really knocks me for a loop, THEN I do take something like benadril or sudafed, but ONLY then. And EVEN then, it doesn't always help.)
**********
I mentioned that it's snowing again. It's been snowing for most of the last 4 days. But it's been warm, too! Today, it's up to almost 30 degrees. YEAH! I can handle the snow, as long as it's reasonably warm as well, and rather light skies, like it is. And on the clear days, you can tell that the sun's actually WARM, not just BRIGHT. Spring is on it's way! And there's the added benefit that the snow may well keep the fires down this summer. A good drenching that melts off reasonably slowly (giving the moisture a chance to soak into the ground) results in less fire hazards over the summer, and the fires that DO happen don't get so wildly out of control as is otherwise possible, because a lot of what would otherwise burn, is still reasonably wet from winter. So, I'm enjoying the snow this year. (Except for the occasion that I step in a hidden deep drift in nothing but my crocs. THEN I grumble a bit because my feet are cold!)
As I was starting to type this post, the little boy from next door (a roly-poly 5 year old) and his older cousin were out playing on this little snow-berm at the bottom corner between our yard and theirs. The cousin (who's about 13) was pulling the little boy up the hill in the sled, then tried to turn him around and let him slide the 4 feet back to the bottom. *grin* They got up the top of the little hill, and when they went to turn it around, the little boy was so heavy that the sled sunk in on the back edge, and the cousin had a heck of a time getting it uprighted and angled the CORRECT way down the little hill. It was freaking hilarious, and it was nice watching a couple of kids out there enjoying the snow and doing a little bit of "sledding" even if it only lasted about 10 minutes.
All the other kids around here, except little Robbie now, are "too old" and "too cool" to be caught dead sledding on such "baby hills" as these little snow berms we get from the snow plows. Even Tay, who used to be a die-hard snow fan, can hardly be persuaded to set foot outside to play in the snow, these days. Occasionally Tay will have a friend come over, and they'll take Jenny out for a bit of a romp, but it's usually short-lived and it never happens often enough for Jenny's pleasure. (And poor Puck, can't be trusted not to run off, so he NEVER gets to go outside and just romp, without his leash.)
**********
Thanks again for the prayers and positive thoughts for Mom. According to her blog, she sounds like she's doing pretty well with the healing.
Have a Blessed Day!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sharing Simply.....
Robin shared this story over at her blog, and I felt the urge to post it here, as well. Awesome, and the sharing and giving to Donna Byrne the along the way is what struck me most.
Jobless Woman Headed For Texas On Horseback
by Brian Reed
On roads teeming with motorcycles, pickup trucks and 18-wheelers, it isn't too hard to spot a woman on horseback.
So Donna Byrne is attracting a lot of attention. After she lost her job as a ranch hand in Arcadia, Fla., the 44-year-old couldn't afford her rent, so she decided to ride her horses, Jay and Tonto, to Texas — maybe even Montana — in search of work as a cowgirl.
In the first few weeks of her journey, Byrne has already received a large showing of goodwill. She says every day people stop to ask about her journey and offer a hand.
"She loaded up her horses and all her worldly goods and hit the road," says Daniel Skidmore, who pulled over on U.S. Route 301 in Wildwood, Fla., after reading about Byrne in a local newspaper. "I don't know many women [who] would do that."
At a rest stop up ahead from where Skidmore found her, Byrne ties Jay and Tonto to a handicapped parking sign, and they gulp down five buckets of water. Byrne pats them on the neck, nuzzles them and scolds them when they start drinking too sloppily. She says Tonto has a nice demeanor — that is, until someone tries to ride him.
"Then he wants to buck," she says, which is why she's designated him as her packhorse.
And as for Jay, "She gets one of them temperaments," Byrne says. "She wants to go, go, go, go — you've got to hold her back."
The horse's personality is not unlike her rider's. Byrne was a truck driver for many years, and that road mentality has stuck. She has no family, so when work didn't pan out in Florida, Byrne says, heading west was the best solution she could think of.
"It's been a dream of mine to do this ride," she says. "Lost a house, lost a job. Had to do something quick. I figured right now'd be the best time to do it."
Byrne spent the first few nights of her journey sleeping outside, until two local newspapers picked up her story — The Tampa Tribune and the Bradenton Herald. And that's when people started looking for her. Drive-by benefactors pulled over and donated cash. Some people offered their homes and their stables. A vet gave the horses roadside shots. A farrier gave them a new set of shoes.
In these tough economic times, something about Byrne's old-fashioned earnestness seems to strike a chord with people. In some ways, it's almost as if she rode straight out of a John Steinbeck novel.
"Owning a log cabin house," she says, longingly describing her dream life in Montana. "Having my own piece of property. Doing my own ranching. Mountains all around it."
But of all the people who are helping Byrne, horse lovers seem to be especially galvanized.
"Horse people are kind of a stick-together bunch," says Lisa Pannell. "So you know you kind of help out somebody if you can."
Pannell was at the receiving end of an elaborate phone chain to find lodging for Byrne in Wildwood. She let Jay and Tonto stay in her paddock, while Byrne slept at Sandy LeNoir's house down the road.
"I just think she's trying to hang onto her horses, which is, for a lot of us, that's our sanity," LeNoir says. "And she's hanging onto them and going after her dream. She's got nothing to lose."
Members of a Florida chapter of Cowboys for Christ, a national organization, have started a Web site for Byrne, and they've been making calls on her behalf. They're trying to connect her with people through Florida and even on to Texas. Nobody's really thinking beyond that yet.
That is, nobody except for Byrne. She says the word is that there isn't much more work in Texas than Florida.
"It's tough all the way around. It really is," she says.
And if she finds the Lone Star State lacking in job prospects?
"Just keep on riding," she says.
And that's exactly what she's doing — every day. After the horses slurp their last bit of water, Byrne ties the bucket to Tonto's pack and hoists herself onto Jay. She tips the floppy brim of her cowboy hat, and the three head on down the asphalt trail.
**********
What stands out at me most in this story is the simple sharing that folks are doing. Giving her a bed to sleep in for the night, vaccinations for her horses, the free shoeing job from a farrier, food for the horses...... Folks are coming out of the woodwork, and they're not all sharing a LOT individually, as we're all in a tight position, but each person sharing a LITTLE bit is helping this woman in her journey.
I think that this needs to be a major factor in our lives again. In stories of the Great Depression (the 30's depression, as I don't think we'll be able to call it the "Great Depression" for much longer without getting confused), you hear about hobos riding the rails, and they'd jump off and trudge along looking for a mud-daubed symbol on a fence-post. They found that symbol, and knew they could stop in and ask the lady of the house for a bit to eat. If she had a spare job that needed doing in exchange for food or a night's rest. And they knew that the lady of the house would be the sharing simply type. Not much to go around, but enough for one more mouth, or room for one more head to rest.
Would that we all would be more like this. Yeah, invite the neighbour over for supper occasionally, but how about taking a cup-full of chowder down to the homeless guy sitting on the corner. Making an afghan for a friend's baby? Great. How about using the extra yarn toward a scarf or a hat for the homeless shelter, or even to donate to the local school for those cold winter days and the little boy who doesn't have a hat to wear at recess. Enough yarn, you can even get a scrappy afghan made (or enough fabric scraps, and you can put together a scrappy-quilt) to donate to the homeless shelter. It's not fancy, it's not much. It's sharing simply.
And, even among people you may not know well enough to be friends, and aren't needy enough to be homeless or hobos or beggars, simply sharing a favorite cd with somebody you see regularly, and have noticed they like similar music to yourself. A regular patron in at work the other day mentioned to me a favorite classical musician, and copied the front of his favorite CD by this musician (Debussy) and brought it to me. It's been added to my list of music to look for. It wasn't much, he photocopied the front and remembered to give me the picture. But, it's a simple joy he thought to share with somebody else. It's a simple joy that will probably add a little light to my day, should I ever get my hands on the actual CD. *grin*
I think I'm going to put a note up by my bed where I'll see it every day, just something brief to remind me to share simply throughout the day. Find a little SOMETHING that I can share with somebody else, and DO! If it's a bit of time to help somebody pick up something they've dropped, or a little time toward working on that hat or scarf for the shelter, or buying an extra danish or cup of soup for the homeless guy outside the grocery store, an extra can of chili or milk or some-such for the food-donation box at the grocery (or at the school, or at work), thinking to pass a book on to a friend/coworker/aquaintance whom might enjoy it, and having enough food in the house that I can offer a passing hobo a bite, if one were to stop in looking.
Just some thoughts I had, after experiencing this guy at the library sharing a tidbit on music with me, and especially after reading that news bit that Robin posted about this lady riding her horses cross-country in search of a job. Thanks, Robin, for sharing that with us. I appreciate it!
*****
BTW, I have to get a couple of pics of the afghan I just finished a few days ago. It's for that little premie girl I was telling y'all about. Anyway, the baby-shower is this coming Sunday, so I won't have the afghan on hand much longer. Need to get a pic while I can. *grin*
Have a Blessed Day.
Jobless Woman Headed For Texas On Horsebackby Brian Reed
On roads teeming with motorcycles, pickup trucks and 18-wheelers, it isn't too hard to spot a woman on horseback.
So Donna Byrne is attracting a lot of attention. After she lost her job as a ranch hand in Arcadia, Fla., the 44-year-old couldn't afford her rent, so she decided to ride her horses, Jay and Tonto, to Texas — maybe even Montana — in search of work as a cowgirl.
In the first few weeks of her journey, Byrne has already received a large showing of goodwill. She says every day people stop to ask about her journey and offer a hand.
"She loaded up her horses and all her worldly goods and hit the road," says Daniel Skidmore, who pulled over on U.S. Route 301 in Wildwood, Fla., after reading about Byrne in a local newspaper. "I don't know many women [who] would do that."
At a rest stop up ahead from where Skidmore found her, Byrne ties Jay and Tonto to a handicapped parking sign, and they gulp down five buckets of water. Byrne pats them on the neck, nuzzles them and scolds them when they start drinking too sloppily. She says Tonto has a nice demeanor — that is, until someone tries to ride him.
"Then he wants to buck," she says, which is why she's designated him as her packhorse.
And as for Jay, "She gets one of them temperaments," Byrne says. "She wants to go, go, go, go — you've got to hold her back."
The horse's personality is not unlike her rider's. Byrne was a truck driver for many years, and that road mentality has stuck. She has no family, so when work didn't pan out in Florida, Byrne says, heading west was the best solution she could think of.
"It's been a dream of mine to do this ride," she says. "Lost a house, lost a job. Had to do something quick. I figured right now'd be the best time to do it."
Byrne spent the first few nights of her journey sleeping outside, until two local newspapers picked up her story — The Tampa Tribune and the Bradenton Herald. And that's when people started looking for her. Drive-by benefactors pulled over and donated cash. Some people offered their homes and their stables. A vet gave the horses roadside shots. A farrier gave them a new set of shoes.
In these tough economic times, something about Byrne's old-fashioned earnestness seems to strike a chord with people. In some ways, it's almost as if she rode straight out of a John Steinbeck novel.
"Owning a log cabin house," she says, longingly describing her dream life in Montana. "Having my own piece of property. Doing my own ranching. Mountains all around it."
But of all the people who are helping Byrne, horse lovers seem to be especially galvanized.
"Horse people are kind of a stick-together bunch," says Lisa Pannell. "So you know you kind of help out somebody if you can."
Pannell was at the receiving end of an elaborate phone chain to find lodging for Byrne in Wildwood. She let Jay and Tonto stay in her paddock, while Byrne slept at Sandy LeNoir's house down the road.
"I just think she's trying to hang onto her horses, which is, for a lot of us, that's our sanity," LeNoir says. "And she's hanging onto them and going after her dream. She's got nothing to lose."
Members of a Florida chapter of Cowboys for Christ, a national organization, have started a Web site for Byrne, and they've been making calls on her behalf. They're trying to connect her with people through Florida and even on to Texas. Nobody's really thinking beyond that yet.
That is, nobody except for Byrne. She says the word is that there isn't much more work in Texas than Florida.
"It's tough all the way around. It really is," she says.
And if she finds the Lone Star State lacking in job prospects?
"Just keep on riding," she says.
And that's exactly what she's doing — every day. After the horses slurp their last bit of water, Byrne ties the bucket to Tonto's pack and hoists herself onto Jay. She tips the floppy brim of her cowboy hat, and the three head on down the asphalt trail.
**********
What stands out at me most in this story is the simple sharing that folks are doing. Giving her a bed to sleep in for the night, vaccinations for her horses, the free shoeing job from a farrier, food for the horses...... Folks are coming out of the woodwork, and they're not all sharing a LOT individually, as we're all in a tight position, but each person sharing a LITTLE bit is helping this woman in her journey.
I think that this needs to be a major factor in our lives again. In stories of the Great Depression (the 30's depression, as I don't think we'll be able to call it the "Great Depression" for much longer without getting confused), you hear about hobos riding the rails, and they'd jump off and trudge along looking for a mud-daubed symbol on a fence-post. They found that symbol, and knew they could stop in and ask the lady of the house for a bit to eat. If she had a spare job that needed doing in exchange for food or a night's rest. And they knew that the lady of the house would be the sharing simply type. Not much to go around, but enough for one more mouth, or room for one more head to rest.
Would that we all would be more like this. Yeah, invite the neighbour over for supper occasionally, but how about taking a cup-full of chowder down to the homeless guy sitting on the corner. Making an afghan for a friend's baby? Great. How about using the extra yarn toward a scarf or a hat for the homeless shelter, or even to donate to the local school for those cold winter days and the little boy who doesn't have a hat to wear at recess. Enough yarn, you can even get a scrappy afghan made (or enough fabric scraps, and you can put together a scrappy-quilt) to donate to the homeless shelter. It's not fancy, it's not much. It's sharing simply.
And, even among people you may not know well enough to be friends, and aren't needy enough to be homeless or hobos or beggars, simply sharing a favorite cd with somebody you see regularly, and have noticed they like similar music to yourself. A regular patron in at work the other day mentioned to me a favorite classical musician, and copied the front of his favorite CD by this musician (Debussy) and brought it to me. It's been added to my list of music to look for. It wasn't much, he photocopied the front and remembered to give me the picture. But, it's a simple joy he thought to share with somebody else. It's a simple joy that will probably add a little light to my day, should I ever get my hands on the actual CD. *grin*
I think I'm going to put a note up by my bed where I'll see it every day, just something brief to remind me to share simply throughout the day. Find a little SOMETHING that I can share with somebody else, and DO! If it's a bit of time to help somebody pick up something they've dropped, or a little time toward working on that hat or scarf for the shelter, or buying an extra danish or cup of soup for the homeless guy outside the grocery store, an extra can of chili or milk or some-such for the food-donation box at the grocery (or at the school, or at work), thinking to pass a book on to a friend/coworker/aquaintance whom might enjoy it, and having enough food in the house that I can offer a passing hobo a bite, if one were to stop in looking.
Just some thoughts I had, after experiencing this guy at the library sharing a tidbit on music with me, and especially after reading that news bit that Robin posted about this lady riding her horses cross-country in search of a job. Thanks, Robin, for sharing that with us. I appreciate it!
*****
BTW, I have to get a couple of pics of the afghan I just finished a few days ago. It's for that little premie girl I was telling y'all about. Anyway, the baby-shower is this coming Sunday, so I won't have the afghan on hand much longer. Need to get a pic while I can. *grin*
Have a Blessed Day.
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