First Vidalias

 For the last few years, I have been searching for a friend. She and her husband were in craft shows with me in coliseums. She never did small shows or outdoor shows. I have searched obituaries. So, again today, I searched obituaries and found she had died in fall of 2020. I am not sure why her name did not show up before. It turns out she moved and had health problems for the few years before her death. Her house and acreage in the country appeared abandoned but well-kempt. This is not a close and tragic loss as some deaths have been, I really wanted to reminisce and catch up one last time. 

Today, we planned to stay home. Well, rain only came about 3:45 and the storm sped through. Tommy is washing the squash. If I leave a little bag of squash slices, he will put it in a salad. It is Vidalia onion season, so we bought those. He will love dices of Vidalia for his salad. He is a man who does not need to be encouraged to eat variety. 

Today, the right hip, the one that hit the concrete porch is so swollen. I doubt I will be able to ride 70 miles to a friend's memorial on Sunday and then get to church basement for a lunch and then ride back 70 miles. Plus, the right shoulder and elbow are in screaming pain in car. Too bad. 

The right hip waited a month to act up. Wonder what is up with that, especially since it is so swollen and hurts.

Today, I saw a cardinal land in the yard as I sat in my chair. Then, I thought I saw two more land. I went to door fast as I could. There were three female and two male cardinals. I wonder where they stay. 

We went to Publix after putting squash and eggs on the stove, turning both down. I wanted Vidalia onions. All the onions we had were going bad, so we tossed those. I cannot imagine what happened. The onions were mushy in the middle but looked fine otherwise. I bought fully cooked Jimmy Dean sausage patties, pecans, Vidalia onions. I will chop and freeze most of the onions. I will leave chopped onions in the refrigerator for Tommy to use in his salads and other concoctions. When we came back, he turned stove eyes back up for boiled eggs and squash. 

When we went to Publix, temperature was 61F with a slight breeze, so it was coolish. Thankfully, I wore a jacket. 

The eggs were boiled perfectly! The squash was delicious. Tomorrow, I will have tuna salad for lunch.

Not much happening, huh?

Different Car Search

 It s shocking when Tommy told me the squash we had bought eight days before was still in the refrigerator, two cups, along with three quarts of strawberries. You have to understand I rarely look in the refrigerator. 

He has washed two quarts of strawberries, telling me that he only lost about five strawberries. Today, I took care of the squash, one cup, anyway--squash casserole. 

I cannot remember the recipe, but sort of know. I tried what I thought a couple of years ago, and it was awful. So, I tried the same recipe with different cheese. I always used sliced American Cheese. But, the last time that was so awful, I tried to use a healthier cheese--Kraft Cheddar. So, this time is when I used sliced American cheese again. 

The trouble is that there was little American cheese. Tommy eats that; I don't. He had about a year's worth in the freezer, most of which we found when freezer was cleaned out. So, he brought out a package sized portion. It had ice all over it, tasted okay, but texture was awful--not cheesy, sort of crunchy, dry and crumbly. 

I cut the squash, put buttered bread pieces on it, along with the awful cheese. Well, it turned out great. I made slaw from slaw mix bought over a week ago! We will eat it soon so that I can mix the other package. 

Since I had put four pieces of lightly buttered bread in the squash casserole, I decided to have no bun with my burger. The burger, slaw, and squash casserole were delicious tonight. 

Well, that is a lot of talk about a very simple dinner! I probably won't make the squash casserole again this year. 

When I first came here, I tried to convince Tommy not to eat American Cheese he had, to eat Cheddar. I told him it was better for him. He said, "I will just eat good old American Cheese!"  When I told him why it was not good for us, he was shocked into silence. Now, he mostly eats other cheese.

Mower did not come today. Cleaner will come on Friday and Sunday. Mower will come on Saturday. I have just about convinced Tommy to use the guy from Lowe's to put up the light fixtures. 

I went into Publix instead of sending Tommy and spent over $40 and bought no food. It was all edible, though. I did buy a quart of Chobani yogurt for me and the cooked Jimmy Dean sausage patties. Tommy won't eat yogurt, and I will only eat two of the eight sausage patties, his reward for not getting sausage and biscuit from Hardees. I did buy Diet Mt. Dew bogo, but only six bottles. I will only drink half one at a time and not very often. I do not need the caffeine. I wish they made it caffeine free. 

I heard this woman on sort of whispered rant. Finally, I asked her if she was talking about cereal. She was. I told her I found it cheaper at The Pig, even when it was bogo at Publix. It was funny as she was raking Publix over the coals. 

This afternoon, a car advertisement came up on my news feed about a sale. I clicked on and had to go through this form to put name and email and zip code. I quit when they wanted my phone number. Three minutes later I got a call from a car salesman from a car dealer in Birmingham. I exclaimed, "Oh, I just knew you dealers were tracking me. At any rate, I agreed to come in maybe tomorrow or Saturday. Maybe I won't if people are coming here. 

I am quite sure I did not put in my phone number. My email was already in the form along with my first name and maiden name. I have not entered that for a car company, either. So, I suppose anyone knows all about me. A friend is so careful so no one tracks her as she browses. I think we have no chance of hiding!

Do you have people contact you after being on the internet? 

When you email or write something on a blog, does the item show up in an ad or a news feed? 

Books and Helpful Employee

 Bibliophiles Aren't Ready to Accept the Bookshelf Wealth Trend—Here's Why (msn.com)

My books are a part of my life, not mere decorations. They are part of my furniture, however. I need books to be on display just like I want pictures of my children. Books are a way of life for me. I saw a space where you could buy books in certain colors so books would be in your color scheme. How bizarre. 

Today, we cruised by Lowe's to see if baskets of flowers were out yet.  No, not really. But, I spotted a basket of pink petunias that I wanted. We were having to wait behind a trailer trying to load a patio door. We watched as a male employee and two male customers, and a female customer tried to get the door into a too-small trailer door. The female customer finally figured it out. 

We were looking at flowers, not just waiting for them to move. Finally, they finished. Before the male employee could escape inside, I asked him for help. I pointed to one hanging basket of pink petunias. Then, asked him if he could find a better one, so he enlisted the help of a young male employee. Both concluded that I had picked out the best. 

He took my Lowe's card in, came back for driver's license, took Tommy's, came back for Tommy's cc instead of mine, then returned with plant and receipt. He did not show one bit of concern for all the running and answering my questions. When he put the basket into the backseat, he did not just place it in the car and shut the door. He was muttering that he would put it in between to hold it up, then that he would 'hook it' somewhere. He was concerned it would fall over. Wonderful! 

The whole time I kept thanking him for helping and apologizing for his trouble. He had many patches all over his vest, so not just an employee in the aisles. 

So, I am still wondering where the multitude of flowers are for Mother's Day. 

Last night, I slept two hours in my chair, sitting up with laptop in my lap. I have no idea how I fell asleep! When I awoke, I watched a video because I was not in the least bit sleepy. Then, I went to bed before the sun came up. However, I had a rare night of tossing and turning in the bed. When I finally woke at 1:30 pm, I could barely walk. My left knee was so sore, probably from the poor sleep and sleeping with knee is a position that was not good. However, I felt rested. 

I would have gotten out at Lowe's, but I barely made it down the ramp to the car. That was why I enlisted help from an employee. Ordinarily, I would have made it to the flowers about 10 feet away.

A customer had told me the flowers were $12 or $12.98, forgot which. Well, the receipt said $7.60. I may go back tomorrow for a white basket and Stella d' Oro. Pink tulips, white tulips, and yellow lilies will work.  Maybe there are other flowers there on sale. Maybe I can secure a cart to ride. 

I just now put on yellow squash and white onions for dinner. We may have the leftover ham and chicken. Maybe I will cook a hamburger. Plus, there is kale and potato salad, both a definite part of dinner. All this talking is making me hungrier than ever. 

After he had eaten his dinner, he asked if the squash was done enough to eat. I told him as long as the squash and onions were soft enough for him to eat, they were done. So, he had a bowl of squash. Mine was delicious. 

Since my knee was so sore, I did not want to go to the church yard sale today. The thrift store near here is closed due to a fire. My goodness. The sign says they will be open soon. I hope they don't get rid of smoky items. Maybe they will have a great fire sale reduction. Amway's LOC removes smoke stains and smoky smell. 

Do you like books as part of your heart and soul? Or, do you just like decorating with books? 

So Excited!

 

                       Delightful Little Finger Carrot: Petite & Sweet (thegardenmagazine.com)

I looked online for the ad for Piggly Wiggly. Found it. Pepsi products were $3.49 for the 12-pack if you bought 5. So, I was excited for Tommy. I went in so I could put the five 12-packs in the electric cart basket. No, not at this Pig. I bought four pounds of carrots and left sorely disappointed. The carrots were cheap, we like them, and we eat lots of carrots. 

On to Food Giant. Tommy went in for the ad. We bought nothing.

Publix was our sweet spot. I had a list and told Tommy not to get certain items. Nature's Honey Wheat Bread was bogo again. Since we still have half a loaf left, we can still get this deal later in the ad week. He bought Philadelphia Cream Cheese bogo again, but the original like I wanted. I will use the 1/3 less fat version he bought for something where it is not evident. The mouth feel of the 1/3 less version is not good. Eggs were $3.71 for Grade A extra-large. We needed eggs, so I thought Easter would bring a good price. I suppose this was it. 

Yet to get for various reasons, but bogo at Publix: Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup, Cheerios, bread. Red potatoes are 5# for $3.99. Tommy said we have plenty of potatoes. Maybe by next Tuesday, we will need potatoes.

We sat at green shrubs in a parking lot and had a chicken snack.  

Then, we stopped at Walgreens for a prescription for both of us. There was a wait, but it was bearable. 

We arrived home just in time for Tommy to see Jeopardy. We both love it. 

While I was waiting for Tommy in Food Giant and Publix, I managed two fruitful calls. I have an appointment with dermatologist to have growth removed below my eye. Oops! I forgot to make an appointment at the same time for Tommy. I called friend for more info on storm door she said gave her friend fits, trying to keep it repaired. I try to make my waits in the car count. 

Moreover, I slept well last night, and the day was beautiful, dry, and only had a slight breeze. 

After we watched Jeopardy and 30 minutes of the news, we went outdoors. I sowed the Cosmos seeds in a pot where something died off over the fall and winter. If it comes up, it comes up. I have pink Alyssum to plant anywhere there is a pot that looks dead. We may have two flowers in the same pot. Then, there are the carrots. The seed packet says,"12" pot, container variety." We do have empty pots and potting mix. I still want to get cayenne to grow and make pepper jelly.

We went out together to garden...lol...ten minutes of sowing flower seeds and more for carrots. We are such great gardeners. I lost the carrot seeds before we went out. I wanted to sow the allysium. As I opened the package, I realized it had been opened before and was taped. I shook out two seeds. TWO SEEDS. So, where and when did I sow the rest. I decided to sow the Cosmos in the same pot. Why not? 

There were still bits of root and plants above ground when I sowed both those. I used a gardening fork to pull out some of the dead growth above ground. We will see what happens.

After I could not find the seeds, I searched high and low. I even shook out my day planner. Tommy helped me search by using a flashlight to shine under the footrest on my chair while I held up the quilt. We do this all the time. Not there. When we came in, he wanted the other remote. I did the same thing, putting up the footrest and holding up the quilt. He saw the remote AND the carrot seeds. Mostly, I had searched on the left side of my chair. The seeds were on the right side! I have decided I will put the seeds on toilet paper to get them into the 12-inch pot without spilling them or hurting my back. 

I put a fake snake over the flower seed pot. When I plant the carrots, I will put a snake over that, too. I don't want birds to have carrots seeds for a snack.  Have you ever planted Petite Sweet Little Finger carrots? 

It has been a pleasant day with lots accomplished except for planting carrot seeds. We have heard nothing from the pest control company. Maybe manager listened to the phone call like he said he would and heard me being told someone would come Wednesday or Thursday.

Any advice about carrot growing? (other than the info under the carrots above)

How was your day?   

Grilled Squash Fans

When I find a recipe I like in a magazine, eventually I tear out the whole page with the recipe so I can get rid of the magazine. I have had the now-wrinkled, ripped out page from the Southern Living May 1987 issue since I tore it out 31 years ago. I cannot believe it has been that long ago.

This is one of my favorite recipes to serve, whether at home or as a dish to take somewhere and share. I believe this would cook as well in the oven as the on grill. I think that I cooked these in the oven a few times. So, no grill marks.

You can go HERE and view the grilled squash fans ingredients. Plus, get the recipe. Okay, I copied the ingredients and directions below.

Ingredients

• 6 yellow squash
• 3 plum tomatoes
• 2 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1 Teaspoon salt
• 1 Teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 Cup olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, pressed
• Garnish: fresh basil sprigs 

How to Make It

Step 1

Cut each squash lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices, cutting to within 1 inch of stem end. Cut tomatoes into 1/4-inch slices.

Step 2

Combine chopped basil and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring until blended. Add squash and tomato, tossing gently to coat; let stand 1 hour.

Step 3

Remove vegetables from marinade, reserving marinade; insert tomato slices between squash slices, and secure with wooden skewers.

Step 4

Grill, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat (350° to 400°) 8 minutes on each side or until crisp-tender, basting often with reserved marinade. Garnish, if desired.

My way

I hand select each crook neck squash and the tomatoes which must be just the right size. I do like the tomatoes to extend a bit further. I think other tomato varieties would work as well. I use Roma. I like the look of the crook neck squash but the straight neck yellow squash is fine.

If you are using produce from your garden, ignore sizes, just assemble what you have regardless of sizes. 

This is a slippery last step. So, be prepared to not be able to answer the phone, pick up a child or stir anything on the stove. Work over the bowl or a plate! A dishtowel nearby can really be helpful. 

Do you like squash and tomato? You will love this. The squash fans are an impressive presentation. Did you grow all the ingredients in your garden? I know sluggy did. And, I have green plates to serve them. 

Okay, so I have a few things to do on my birthday, but I will be back!

A Few Answers and a Few Questions

Today, I went to the Farmer's Market and there were no tomatoes. Bummer. I looked around and got two small cups of crookneck squash. I paid $6 for the two of them. Because I was out and had things to do, I did not go home.

My question: Was the price exorbitant? While I had the bag in WM, I stuck it on the scales--2.64 lbs. That makes the cost per pound $1.52. In WM squash was $.99/lb.

I know all the positives of Farmer's Market--local food, supporting local farmers. However, I know for a fact they use pesticides.

Not bringing the bag home meant I carried a bag of squash into the doctor's office. I did have a bit of a problem in urine, but doctor downplayed it. I cannot think of anything else that causes this malaise in me. I continually have problems with gastrointestinal tract. I feel queasy all inside. So, now I have ten days of meds for uti.

So, after this ten days, I will start taking the prophylactic does of meds to keep bladder sterile. I refused to take small doses without first clearing things up entirely.

My question: have you ever taken a prophylactic dose of meds for uti and not had a full prescription to make sure bladder contents are sterile before you start taking the lesser dose, prophylactic dose?

Since I have been queasy, I have not eaten salads. I feared it would keep me in bathroom more than I already am. So, I gave away more of the salad.

My ac is dying, so I suppose I will, too.  It's a scorcher today, up to 90 already.

The tomato plants I bought had not been hardened off. The seller is not a good liar. He did not even know what it meant to "harden off" a plant. He said in reply to my question and under his breath, "I set them out at night." That did not answer my question.  He quickly and cheerfully volunteered, "I picked off all the suckers for you." WHAT?

These were leggy plants and he had stripped all but a few top leaves off.  Do you pick suckers off plants are a foot high? I think you wait until they are planted and are surviving to even look for suckers. These plants were looking puny, so he pulled off all the leaves that looked less than healthy!--my belief.  This man retired and decided he wanted to make money--what he told me and said he could figure this out.

I bought the red and white onions from him, just took the bag. When I got home, the onions had dirt all over them. I wonder when he pulled these. Did he lay them out to dry? I do not want my vegetables washed because they rot faster, but do you think knocking off the dirt would have hurt? I don't think he laid them out like they are supposed to be done. The dirt seemed too fresh.

Okay, I am going out now to buy a squash plant and a zucchini plant. Hopefully, I can handle the sun and heat to plant them tomorrow along with the two tomatoes and two cayenne plants. Today, it makes me dizzy.

I bought a yellow and a black container of Plaid paint and sponge brushes. In a few moments, I am going to look for things in the yard to paint black and yellow since I was inspired by the bee theme from Tuesday.

Remember the garbage can that was crushed and the guy said someone would bring me another? Well, a brand new can showed up next to the crushed one. The crushed one sort of healed itself. It did not seal itself, but the bottom is not so gapped as when it was crushed. I am going to keep it since it does have a lid. It was the one kept right outside the chicken pen so I could drop things in it after I fed the hens. I did not tell the mower to put the garbage can on the street. I should have told him to empty it like I TOLD him to do in the beginning.

I feel lousy but ambitious!

After I wrote the above, I went out again. Before I did, I used the bathroom and the uti symptoms showed up and I screamed a bit. I am so happy I did not wait until tomorrow.

Plant shopping is so much fun. I love squash and zucchini, but the Farmer's Market vegetables are too large. I just won't buy them. Small ones are the ones I want. If I get 7 small squash off my squash plant, I will have broken even considering the price I paid today for squash.

I bought one crook neck squash plant, one zucchini plant, and one bell pepper plant. Exbf was eagerly listening and gave a little grunt of approval. He like all three. It will be six weeks before it get any produce from them, but that's okay. I will just purchase what vegetables I want until then. Everything I plant will go in buckets, even the squash.

Someone is coming to mow the lawn in the morning...yaaay!