Three Cheers for Thursday (and Holidays!) PWYC

[CathyS]

Harriet the game had just finished. The team hadn't even lined up to high five each other when the TV shut off.

Dh and I both had a lazy afternoon today. We laid on the bed and he played on his phone while I read.

I cooked the chicken yesterday and there is enough for 3 nights. Tonight I will BBQ some and tomorrow night I'm making ramen with whatever is left.

[Lady Maverick]

On the way back home from getting drinks I made the impulsive decision to stop and purchase a couple of take-out meals. The special of the day was Monte Cristo sandwiches served with raspberry/jalapeno dipping sauce. Cowboy Caviar and baked beans were the sides. I removed the bread from my sandwich (because of gluten) and it was still amazing. 10 out of 10.

We have 2 eating establishments in our small town. Both are one person shows (owner is cook and manager). Each of these 2 places are only open 2 days a week. Both of them are closing for the rest of July (vacation) leaving only gas station pizza as our eating choice unless we want to drive out of town.

A weird thing is happening here. I say weird because I strongly suspect it is designed & organized by people who don't have a clue about small town life and ways. I think they have great intentions and I applaud that, but unfortunately it is worthless (IMHO). A non-profit has set up a traveling grocery store inside of a trailer. They travel to the small towns that do not have a grocery store and stay for 2 hours once a month selling their groceries. The trailer is 40' x 8' with shelves built along one side to hold the selection of groceries. 90% of what I saw was processed food in a box, bag or jar and the food price is comparable WM. The food selection is less than what Dollar store has. Most small towns don't have a grocery store, but all the small towns have dollar stores.
This project makes no sense to this small-town girl. Why would we need a trailer to come for 2 hours once a month and offer us the same food the dollar store has?
I'm giving them the benefit of doubt that they have good intentions with this effort.

DH and I are in childless mode for the next 3 days. Whoa! This is rare. All 4 of us have teeth cleaning and dental checkups at 2pm Monday so I know we will be back together by then.

[Nancy]

I made cauliflower egg salad / version of potato salad I've been enjoying w/out the taters. It is quite tasty.
Not a lot of it and the way I like it! I have had to clean up the kitchen several times and it needs more attn.
I cut up the cabbage and cooked up some for my lunch veg. to go with chicken.

Watched "The chorus" half way through on next flex I like it so far.
It earned the R rating / not for kids esp. in the 2nd half.

Worked on my journal a bit too.
I was looking for one page of info. to edit and did not find it but
enjoyed other pages I worked on.

Glad I got VOD [verse of the day] current,
Also glad ddoggo is good today too.

[CathyS]

I had 8 boiled eggs in the fridge, so I made devilled eggs. They are almost too easy to make. Dh loves them We also had coleslaw and potato salad to go with the BBQ chicken.

I need to cut up the watermelon.

[Kittykatt]

Cathy, would tou be able to share the recipe for devilled eggs?I keep reading about them, but at present they're still one of life's mysteries!

The clutch finally went on the car today, but I managed to limp it home from church. It is booked.in.at the garage for a new clutch, but the earliest they can do it is the 20th. So, for Jude's vet appointment today,.I just got an Uber. (DH was running..round in circles.when.I told him the clutch had given out. asking what were we going to do. Eventually, I told.him that I had no idea.what *he* was going to do, but he could help with getting Jude in her carrier, while *I* finished wrestling.with the Uber app to take her to her appointment.) I've also sorted out a lift for us to church on Sunday with DF PM, and I can walk to my appointments tomorrow in the city centre. ( Walking.back.up the hill won't be.so much fun, but that's life!)

[Lady Maverick]

I'm having flashback memories of shifting without using clutch. It took me awhile to learn just how much to rev the engine so it slips out of gear and then into the next gear without grinding. Spending hours driving farm equipment brings all kinds of lessons and skills that I never use anymore.

LucyLee - am I the only one stalking Life360 to check where our loved ones are? I don't care where he is as much as I seek assurance that he is okay. No crash detection notice = success. Only 6 more hours of driving and they should arrive.

[CathyS]

Hi Kittykatt!! I go to www allrecipes dot com for all of my recipe searches. I actully go to goo gle first and put in "allrecipes easy devilled eggs" and go from there. Actually I have more fun reading how people review most of the recipes. Reviews for something like "bangers and mash" might say "I don't like sausages, so I substituted with 2 sliced of roast beef, I don't like mashed potatoes, so I used boiled carrots, and I don't like gravy, so I just used butter on the carrots and put the beef slices between 2 slices of bread."

I had some hard boiled eggs, so they got cut in half length wise, the yolks went into a bowl and I added some mayo and a pinch of dry mustard. The yolks got mashed up in the mayo/dry mustard and then I filled the holes in the whites with the yolk mixture and sprinkled a bit of regular paprika over top. SO easy.

[Harriet]

I went to find the tips for hard-boiled eggs and deviled eggs in Appetizers in our Recipes section at the top of She's In The Kitchen forum below. That link has fizzled but I added Southern Living Magazine's tips there instead, and they seem helpful. ("Eggs should be boiled for 11 minutes, 30 seconds for perfect hard boiled eggs." - gee, not 40 seconds, not 50 seconds... .. I can see some differences of opinion coming since some folks stop the boil and then cover ... .. )

Anyway, Kittykatt, I can tell you how a cook in my neck of the woods would make a dozen eggs into 24 deviled eggs to carry to her or his church potluck. Like Cathy said, cut cooled, hard-boiled eggs longways in half. The yolks will pop out as half-balls in a rather satisfying way, for you to mash them up with other ingredients on a different plate, leaving the whites behind a while. Mayonnaise is the main next ingredient. As far as a recipe, I have seen people try to come up with amounts, but they will suggest anywhere from 3 tablespoons mayonnaise to a half-cup mayonnaise per dozen eggs , so obviously a big difference in opinions.

It's really trial and error and taste-testing, since it's different with different sized eggs, etc. - somewhere in the middle there is where I land. Generally, yellow mustard and vinegar will be the next two ingredients for my region's cooks. Thanks to you and Cathy, I read a bit in an old cookbook of my dmothers and learned that vinegar keeps the egg mixture's shape and keeps it from "deflating" (learn something new every day). Apple cider vinegar is probably what I use but white is fine. I like to start with about 1-and-1/2 teaspoon of each. Then, it becomes an experimenting project with no wrong answers. After you've mashed/mixed well with a fork, does it seem to live up to its name? Tangy, tasty? Does it seem as though it has a "pipe-able" consistency to dollop into the egg cavity? Some people also sprinkle pepper into their mix. After either spooning or piping into/onto the whites, you can shake paprika like Cathy to get that fun, appetizing color. My family likes them plain yellow, too. Pop them into the fridge to chill. They last several days. Well, no they don't - but that's because elves steal them.

[Harriet]

I appreciated the diversion into cooking thoughts.
Sewing found me trying a little too much difficulty on one part and I needed a break.

I ordered more hair bands to get these bangs off my face while they grow out. Hopeful that it won't make me look older, lol. The ones I have seem to help frame my face and allow some lift. Without it now, no height at all since there is more weight.

I mixed up some organic liquid fertilizer and gave it to the container plants. What a delightful aroma, lol.

DgsW came and mowed. He was moving the car for that task, and HRH asked him to clean out the car because we're sending it for tire rotation tomorrow. He only meant any scrips of paper or leaves. Next thing we knew, the car was completely detailed and the trim cleaned and polished with heat. Goodness gracious. W has been experiencing significant summer boredom! Ds also drove it for a while to feel the pull to the right for himself - agrees it's probably just in need of tire rotation.

lucylee and Kittykatt, they say they can get the vehicle back to us that day so we won't be without it over the weekend. Experience tells me, however, anything can happen. It really can take a while to get vehicles back sometimes, especially if there is decision-making with the verdict.

Nancy's review reminds me - we did enjoy The Sheep Detectives with Emma Thompson (Nannie McPhee) and Hugh Jackman (Wolverine, lol - how ironic for a sheep movie). Except for one rather grisly moment, it was suitable for anyone, even children, and that scene was "filmed" in some darkness to soften the violence. It had a good full-circle plot and plenty of giggles with the mystery.

[lucylee]

Happy birthing day to you, Twins, and happy birthday to the twins! I bet they got to enjoy fireworks a lot for their birthday celebrations!

Hello to Cathy and blessed -- so good to see you popping in!
Cathy, my Sunday School class is taking a meal to a friend on Saturday. (She is home from an emergency hospital visit, diagnosed with what is commonly called "broken heart syndrome." I think they are going to be able to treat her with medication and she is doing much better. Anyway -- someone said they would bring fruit, and the leader of the group said, "Note, she doesn't like watermelon." I thought, WHO doesn't like watermelon? LOL... of course, y'all are probably ALL thinking, "Who doesn't like deviled eggs???"

Woo hoo, LadyM!!! Congratulations on getting the cholesterol numbers down! That's amazing!
Thank you so much for ds' opinion on the engine mount. (This will only be for one side, apparently; I hope your ds didn't think that was the price for two. The mechanic says the passenger side looks fine, and I could easily see that it was shifting on the driver's side.)
I hope your ds and his fiancé have a good trip, but I hope they do NOT like that part of the country as well as where YOU live!

Unlike you, Nancy, I was NOT up in time -- for anything! I lolled around in bed half the day, rewarding myself for all the intensity of time with dmom yesterday... and then I had to go out to her house and roll her hair. She has also filled my weekend, which I will get to in a minute...
I was awakened at 9:30 a.m. actually, by the mechanic. He said, "Mrs. ___, I'm sorry to bother you, but would you check and see if I left my wallet in your car yesterday?" I jumped up and went out to check, but nope, not in my car. I told him I knew that was a huge concern, not just the money but the driver's license and all the other stuff. He said, "Yes ma'am, I'm just calling everybody I worked on yesterday because I don't know where I lost it." I felt so sorry for him but I checked under my seats and between the seats and behind the seats. Maybe he has found it.

ALSO -- my aunt told me today that someone had hacked into her bank account and emptied it! She said the bank called her and notified her and will be getting the money back to her.
It has JUST occurred to me that that phone call might have been the scam!!! You know how people can make the caller ID look like the right place, but it's not? Oh my... I may ask daunt if we should go by the bank tomorrow -- we'll be close by -- and let her speak to someone in person. I know if you get a call like that, you are supposed to stop and call the number you KNOW instead of giving info to the person who called you... I don't want to scare her, but I need to make sure she has checked this out.

Mystery -- that's so neat, that you mentioned Sheetz. DS was happy to see one on their route to Washington & Gettysburg. We do not have any around here. Also -- Wmart and our local grocery store both have the little drink packets for water bottles with Sonic Cherry Limeade. Of course, that doesn't give you the crushed ice, etc. You'd have to go to a little more trouble for that, but the flavor is pretty good. It has the Sonic logo on it and everything.

I think we had some more storms this afternoon sometime, but I don't think I got any rain. Some in my area were complaining of power outages, but thank goodness, I didn't have that either. I did go out and walk for about 20 minutes around 8:00 p.m. I wouldn't say it was "cool" -- nothing like yesterday -- but it wasn't unbearable like it was around 4:00 when I was at dmom's.

LadyM, I love seeing all those World Cup celebrations and all the people who are so thrilled with things they are experiencing here in America. Sometimes it's too easy to take for granted the good things and focus on the bad, and I think this has helped make this Fourth of July more meaningful.
Oh, and yes, I've been stalking Life360 also. I try not to let them know! Like today, when he said they were leaving Gettysburg, I was like, "Oh, that's great! Did everyone have a good time?" LOL. But I will be glad to know they're back home.

kinda faking the concentration

(((Harriet))) I have to admit I have to do this sometimes when dgs is launching into one of his "lectures" about sports teams or historical events. He reminds me of a college professor, giving some sort of talk on something. And he paces while he talks -- I'll think he's finished, go back to my newspaper, and here he comes again. He assures me that he does NOT annoy his peers with these subjects.
I'm so glad you're feeling better today. You certainly deserve a "step back" day sometimes!

WELL. Y'all... remember last week at this time I was sad about my babies leaving me and I was going to be alone all week? Nah... that didn't happen.
YESTERDAY, I spent a good part of the day getting my Tahoe back and going to Wmart with dmom and putting her vacuum cleaner together and all that. We also found out that the mother of a dfriend of my mom and dad's had passed away, and dmom said she really needed to go to that funeral. It will be about 15-20 miles away and dmom doesn't often drive there by herself, so I offered to take her. I know their friend also; he's a little younger than me and he worked with my dad some.
THIS MORNING, while looking online to find the time of that service, I found that the step-mother of another dfriend had passed away. This lady has no children of her own, and was a member of dmom's church. Her step-daughter (my friend) is the one with heart trouble living out of state. Her step-son grew up with my dbro and is the only real family this lady has. Dmom and I feel we should go to this funeral also. SMH. I can just hear dh... he thought I went to too many funerals. (He would probably be amazed to know how many came to his.)
So... tomorrow we are going to leave here at 10:00, pick up my aunt and go to the first funeral at 11:00, and then get back to dmom's and go to the second funeral at 2:00.
After all that, or in between services, I need to go to the grocery store because dmom wants me to get lemonade and watermelon for us to enjoy Saturday... she has a Fourth of July celebration in mind, even though it is much too hot to be outside, and ds and ddil are going to be much too tired to attend.
Saturday at 5:00 pm, I will be dropping off tea and rolls (which I also have to get tomorrow) for the friend I mentioned (who doesn't like watermelon.)
POSSIBLY, Saturday night at dark, ds and family will join me and we'll go watch fireworks at the nearby park. I suspect dgrands will both want to spend the night.
SUNDAY, I will teach ddil's SS class while she and ds prepare for the bluegrass music service at church... we will meet our new pastor... and dmom is going to come to church with us. I hope she will take us out to eat afterwards.

I never vacuumed the house. This week certainly got away from me in a hurry.