The Friday Five for February 20, 2004
When was the last time you…
1. …went to the doctor? February 3, 2004
2. …went to the dentist? Three months ago
3. …filled your gas tank? February 19, 2004. A week ago I almost drained the tank dry, so I’ve been more careful about filling up.
4. …got enough sleep? February 20, 2004 I have the flu, and slept away most of the day and all night.
5. …backed up your computer? February 13, 2004. I know, I know….I’m supposed to do it every day….
Thanks to The Friday Five for the questions!
Monthly Archives: February 2004
Sick Day
Yeah……I’m having a sick day.
It doesn’t happen very often. I’ve had my flu shot, but it seems I’m going through a mild case of it any way. Thank God for flu shots! I got to spend the day bundled up in an extra sweater and a quilt, and the cat held me down. Thank God for cats!
Hello!
I’ve missed my on-line family! It seems that it’s my style to go for a few days between posting, so I really appreciate those of you who take the time to visit, to see if I’ve been around. Some days I get to browse through blogs, and other days I choose to write instead. I envy those of you who get to do both.
Brisket in Red Wine
We have been trying to eat meals that are lower in carbs. I found a tasty recipe for beef brisket that I’ve adjusted a bit, that has been a real hit.
Buy a small beef brisket (two pounds or less) and cut off all the fat. Spray a 13 x 9 metal cooking pan with Pam and set the brisket in the pan. Sprinkle the brisket with a 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt, and grind fresh black pepper over it, to taste. Put two to three teaspoons of minced garlic into the pan, along with two bay leaves. Slice two large onions into rings and cover the brisket with the onions. Then, pour 3/4 cup of red wine over the onions and beef. Cover the pan with foil and bake for five to six hours or until very tender, at 300 degrees F.
When you are ready to serve, remove the brisket to a plate and keep it warm. Lift all the onions out of the pan, and puree them in a blender. Return the onions to the wine and juice in the pan and blend them for a wonderful sauce. Cut the brisket into slices across the grain. We served roasted potatoes and baked apples, although garlic mashed potatoes would be wonderful (if higher carb) addition to it.
Prayer
God and I have very informal talks. There are times when I have the opportunity to hear a new pastor speak and I am overwhelmed by the quality of his prayers. I think….”I WISH I could put my thoughts into phrases that have such a lovely sound.”
Usually my prayers are apologies for my shortcomings, and pleas for help to be a stronger, better person. Sometimes they are a litany of the woes in my life. Occasionally they ask for help for friends and family, and some times they are the simple formulas we learned as children…..”Now I lay me down to sleep….”
I trust that God will forgive me for my shortcomings in the quality prayer department, because I’m sure that he knows they are heartfelt and sincere. I hope God has a sense of humor, because the prayer that frequently flits through my brain is “Dear God, please give me patience, NOW!”
Window Treatments
The front of our house has two half-round windows. Each of them sit above three vertical windows, and they bump out of the roofline in two barrel shapes. Both of those windows are in the rooms assigned to my mother, her sitting room and bedroom.
I wouldn’t presume to tell my mother how to decorate her rooms. Besides, she has better taste in decorating than I have. However, it was important to me that the two windows present the same appearance outside. Mother first chose verticle blinds to cover the bottom windows and then she selected honeycomb Duette fans to fill in the half rounds. Those fans are a pale raspberry color. The final touch was a layer of lace curtains with a swag in the center, over the verticle blinds.
I would NEVER have though of combining those three styles, but she made it work. Her decor is very Victorian, and though she’s used modern textures, she’s created a very feminine room that’s faithful to Victorian style.
Boil It! 3
I’m delighted to say that we no longer have to boil our water. TEN days after the boil order was put into effect, we have finally been told that our water is safe again. The city tests in thirty-three places and until seven days ago, two of those tests each day would come in positive for coliform bacteria. Friday and Saturday all the readings were clear, but they held off until Sunday afternoon to announce the relaxation of the restrictions.
Thursday and Friday we ate out. I was so sure that the boil order would be lifted that I delayed doing dishes Saturday. Finally, on Sunday morning, I couldn’t stand it any more. I emptied the dish washer and soaked the dishes in bleach water for 60 seconds and set them out to air dry. I bleached the counters and loaded up the dishwasher again. I did about six loads of laundry, fixed lunch, and repeated the entire process with the dishwasher again. Then I started working on dinner. Just about that time they phoned to say it was all clear.
So, after we finished cleaning up from dinner and bleaching the counters one more time, I cleaned and bleached all the screens in the faucets. I ran the ice cube maker to purge the system, and we ran hot water through the kitchen to clean out the lines. Oddly, the instructions in the newspaper were much less detailed than the original information on what to do following a boil order. I wonder if the situation was less serious than they originally expected.
At any rate, I’m damned happy we’re done with that!
Before I read the paper…
It’s glorious out this morning. We started the day with the lightest of snow flurries, and they have passed through leaving us with mostly clear sky and almost blinding light. It’s quite a change from the gray we’ve had.
There are icicles hanging from the gutter outside the window of my office, and they are dripping at a fast pace. The sun on the dark shingles must be melting the snow cover on the roof.
This morning I was getting ready to feed the birds, and looked out the window. What birds? Just a few moments earlier the feeders had been busy, and now there wasn’t a bird in sight. Of course, that means there’s a hawk nearby. The hawks are having the same problem finding food that plagues the little birds. The chipmunks and voles and mice must all be hibernating.
The hawk had landed in a tree about thirty feet from the feeder. He was absolutely still, and if you looked from the wrong angle, he really blended into his surroundings. But, the smaller birds weren’t conned. They all left for safer places. As I walked out the door to fill the feeders, the hawk took off, flying south through the grove. He’s a beauty, but I’m glad he didn’t get any of our little friends.
We have blue jays, cardinals, mourning doves, Eastern starlings, juncos, nuthatches, chicadees, finches, sparrows, downy, hairy and red-breasted woodpeckers, fox and gray squirrels, rabbits, a possum and deer, that we know of, and probably more who come to our feeders this time of the year. I hope Mr. Hawk continues to find his dinners elsewhere.
Boil It! Part 2
Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!
What a bunch of fools!
The water department is STILL trying to figure out where the coliform contamination in the water is coming from. Finally, today, they listed information on what to do during a Water Boil. They have known about this problem for one full week, and they have just NOW informed the citizens of the safety proceedures.
The Water Department has been testing thirty sites throughout the city. The contamination they are finding at some of the sites could simply be due to a dirty faucet, since at least two of the sites are in public restrooms. However, there is sufficient evidence that the 4-million gallon, underground clearwell is contaminated to justify shutting it down. We are now drawing water from two one million gallon above-ground reservoir. Unfortunately, the water from the contaminated tank has to be flushed through the system, and our appliances, such as the water heaters, so we are boiling our water.
If you would like more detail on what you must do during a Water Boil, read on.
A Quirkie Day
This is another of those entries that are hard to categorize. It could be “Off the Bookshelves,” but it’s not just a book review, so I’ve tossed it into Def-y’s.
I just finished J.D. Robb’s “Divided in Death.” Robb is a nome de plume for Nora Roberts, who is very probably the premier romance writer of the past two decades. In addition to the scads of romance books she has written, she has also penned a series of 18 hard-edged, gory mystery/detective books, with one more book due in August, 2004. The main character is Eve Dallas, a police lieutenant in New York City, in 2059. Her husband, Roarke, is an Irishman of uncommon beauty, who has made his wealth and position through a number of shady deals in the past. Roarke has gone (almost) straight for her, and uses advanced technology created by his companies to help her crack her cases.
All of the books are good. The gore is there, and it is not a wise choice for the impressionable reader. With each passing story, we learn more about their relationship, and of those who people their world. I highly recommend this series to all of you, not just to fans of Roberts or the romance genre. Guys will enjoy her plotting to overcome the bad guys, as much as her vision of the future.