Potato Pay

When my older daughter, second child, was about five-years-old, she hated green beans and loved macaroni and cheese. If both were on her plate, she ate her mac n cheese and begged for more even though she had not eaten one green bean. She had promised she would eat a green bean and then a bit of m n cheese.

So, we worked out a deal. I kept her mac n cheese in a bowl by me and she had to eat a green bean before I would put a bite of m n c on her plate.

Then, yesterday,I saw a commercial with the same idea. They call it 'potato pay."

I looked up the commercial to share with you. There was even a chart to help parents. I think the chart has rewards that are too large.

Exbf told me about a little girl at one of the dinners. She put a green bean in her mouth and made a face while she chewed it, an awful face that let you know she just hated the green bean. I wonder what the deal was for her.

Have you ever withheld food, bite by bite, and allowed your child to have it like in the commercial? Or, with any food the child wanted? Any other hated food stories?

Rough Weather and Food

We had some bad storms today in AL. During all this, 156K in Alabama are without electricity. I hear trees are down all over roads and houses in Birmingham. Something was said about Birmingham being city with second largest number of trees in the US.

In my city, torrents of rain were the problem. I was indoors in a lobby of a one-story building with offices. The rain did not start gradually, but the bottom dropped out and the rain was at its maximum from the first moment. The wind blew the rain sideways, part of the time,  but no trees that I know of were down.

I overate cookies Heath Bar cookies this afternoon, so I will not be eating bread today. Have you ever had these cookies?

This evening, I went to the free dinner. We had pizza, salad, loaded potatoes, unsweetened tea, salad dressing, and individual pies and cakes like Walmart carries. By the time I ate a bit of one pizza, the loaded baked potato, and salad, I did not want to eat the other 3  pieces. However, I did want the loaded potato, so I had more. I definitely over ate from 2:30 to 6:30.

The loaded baked potato was a casserole. I paid attention while eating to figure out what was in the casserole. This is what I think they did. The potatoes were baked, sliced in half and flattened into a huge casserole. Sour cream and butter were mixed together or put on as they were on the potatoes. So much cheese was put on the top and bits of ham or bacon were sprinkled over that. The casserole was covered and baked.  Servings were carved out in squares.

Oh, there were what seemed to be French fries, uncooked, over the top of the baked potatoes. One person said she thought it was potato sticks, the little crispy things. No idea.

Well, that is how I think it was made. Maybe the potatoes were not baked first. I don't know.

The casseroles were catered. The pizza was in boxes from a pizza place, The salad greens were from bags. I did not eat croutons on my salad, but they were purchased, too, I think.
The meal was exceptionally delicious, especially the stuffed baked potato casserole.

I brought home a little peach pie. Pizza is in freezer.  So is the peach pie.

Oh, the heat index was 115 here today because of 94 F and 81 % humidity. It was hot!

Have you ever eaten loaded baked potato casserole or made it? What did storms do in your town today?

Garden Hose Dead and Car Washed

About thirty-years ago, I bought two 50' hoses. They were very expensive. Due to age and people using them around here and leaving them in kinks, they are breaking. So, I gave J the black duct tape to fix the huge hole so she could use the water hose at full power. I suppose next year I will need to buy new hoses. That is annoying!

I have repaired them with the hose repair metal pieces. Well, I had a friend do it since it very difficult to do. Maybe I will just keep taping them for a few more years. Maybe not since they crackle when the kink is straightened. They will make good irrigation hoses when I replace them.

Sunday, J was to be here at 10 am to wash my car for $5. She set the time. At 10:05, she called saying she would be here in a bit. Well, I am not upset at her being here a little after 10 am. It is when she sets the time and does not respond to my calling an hour after she plans to be here that I am annoyed. Usually, it is two or three hours later, and I am livid.

She did a great job on the car. It was filthy. However, she could not start until I went away. I had sat nearby on the stone bench, just because. She stood, talked, and smoked. She says she works better with music, so she would wait for me to leave so she could turn on her phone. grrr

I discussed this with exbf. Neither of us works "better" to music. If I listen to music when I work, it is because I want to listen to music. He said it was the same for him. Music is an extra for us, not a necessity, a must.

She was yelling at men going by who were looking at her, or us, or her antics, or just because no one and no car is ever in that part of the yard.  Who knows why people look? I don't.  I really don't like that kind of trashy behavior in my yard. Besides, I am not a traffic watcher to see who comes and goes in the neighborhood.

She took out my trash as she was leaving the house to wash the car. We looked at the pot with the potato planted. It is there, not disturbed. I saw the largest, fattest chipmunk in my yard today. It will be just my luck that he likes potatoes! I had not seen a chipmunk in ages, so I thought all the cats had eaten them.

Occasionally, there is a Sunday paper in my driveway. She brought it to me. So, I didn't have to buy a Sunday paper today. Yay me! Saved $2.

After much insisting from me, J showed me her resume that a friend of her generous host wrote for her. It is a disaster. So, I will rewrite it for her to give her the best chance of using it for a job.  The resume she has will not help her and probably hurt her chances of getting a job. She insisted she did not need for me to look at her resume because it was really good.

Every place she worked, she listed "friend." She put down all the same people as references with our phone numbers. I really did not mind she listed my name and number, but I told her should never list anyone as a reference, personal or business, without asking permission first. I thought she was going to cry as she said she did not think I would care. sigh

She was strange and moody today. But, my car is clean, very clean. I think she is not happy with what she made. She was here from about 10:15 until 1 pm washing the car. She knew how dirty the car was, so she should have spoken up if I was not going to give her enough.

Oh, I forgot--bf was there at home and she had to get back to him!

We ate Reese's Ghosts. This is a ghost shape of Reese's cups but coated in white chocolate. I highly recommend them.

Sunday was a great day-- a clean car and mowed yard, and the potato survived its first night! The temperature was pleasant and the sun was shining. What should I plant next?

Your turn
How long do your water hoses last? Remember, I am planting in a thick pot, not a five-gallon bucket. It gets sun and I can keep it warm. What should or could I plant?