Well fed

A couple of weeks ago I saw a recipe online for what looked like a marvelous way to make a pork tenderloin. I sent the recipe to Justin for his reference and he decided to make it for dinner tonight. He asked me to make escalloped potatoes which I did, and added cheese to them for good measure. After he got home from work this afternoon, he showered and then went over to Winn Dixie to get the pork. He came back with a wonderful pork butt at a great price (tempted to go back over to get some more!) and some steaks, which were on sale for St. Valentine's Day. Nice!

The recipe called for red wine so got that as well, and used our Pampered Chef apple slicer to make his onion petals. Very clever idea, if I do say so myself! He still cried while cutting them up, but when I cut up onions for the potatoes, they didn't bother me at all. Marlena came into the kitchen and saw me cutting up potatoes, and stopped dead in her tracks. Something she has never seen before was me at the counter, preparing food! 

Because I had a building committee meeting at church tonight, we knew we would eating much later than usual, which was fine for the pork. He used the slow cooker roaster but in the oven. The base for the original slow cooker has ceased working but it's nice to have an extra casserole for just such occasions. The house smelled great when I came in after the meeting. All things were ready for me to just sit down at the table and eat!

 This is the pork roast, prepared with red wine and onion petals

The escalloped potatoes with cheese over the top

Oh, good! More rain!

Wakening once again to falling rain. I know it could be worse, we could be shoveling or having to scrape our windows, but really, this rain and gloomy skies and cold is getting to be too much!  Or, just enough. It's hard to believe that areas of the nation are experiencing a serious drought while others are in the throes of terrible winter weather including ice and snow. 

One of my friends from Victory who moved to SC a year or so ago spent nearly 8 hours without electricity, which also means heat. Her co-workers were coming to the hospital where they are on staff to shower in order to be ready to go to work. Some people have been without power for a couple of days already, just miserable. And I am murmuring because it's cold and rainy outside while I am warm and snug inside. But my boy has to work out in this junk and I feel badly for him.

           

It seems we are never short of anything to murmur about and don't take the time to consider the suffering others are actually enduring. I was grumbling to my friend about my dusting lady, scheduled first to come on Monday afternoon, then changed it to today, and now changed to tomorrow. I can set my watch by her not keeping her appointed scheduled. She seems to be do okay at her regular job but the side jobs, not so much. She has the sizable task of dusting in my room, which includes use of a ladder and dusting tools. She is lithe and spry, even though she is older than am I. It's been a while since this room was tackled and when I see cobwebs between my frames, it's time to call in Lithe and Spry!!

An off day

My entire day is thrown off because we didn't have Bible study this a.m. In the summer I know what to do with the 'free' time in the schedule but in the winter, I am at a loss! Somehow I did use the time but not the way I wished to. Justin asked me to do a favor for him and take a package to the Mailbox Store for him, so I did that. While there I got several books of stamps (no rolls available) plus sent a little something to my sister in Oshkosh. After I got the price for mailing this rather insignificant present to her, I'd have been better off waiting to just hand it to her in person next month when I am there! Wow, postage!!!

While I was out and about, I was able to take advantage of the 'special' deal at McDonald's for Mondays. Three days a week they are running deals with today's being buy one, get one for Big Macs and/or Quarter Pounders with Cheese. I was able to mix and match, taking one of each! Something else is bo/go on Wednesdays and then on Friday is bo/go for the Filet O'Fish sandwiches, which I really like. We shall see if I take advantage of that deal.

Instead of having Longhorn or Dairy Queen for lunch, my usual Monday fare, I had a Big Mac for my lunch. Such a mess! I had lettuce all over my desk, as hard as I tried to keep it under control. It's a tasty treat every now and again. I left the other sandwich for Justin if he wishes to have it another time. Or, for my lunch tomorrow! 

When he came home, I had just gotten seated at my desk, in the dark and watching Fox News. He pulled my doors open and waved a menu from Ming Moon at me. Since I had been feeling rather dreary all day, that did not really appeal to me, but when he suggested we go to Koko's instead, I was suddenly sprung to life! We went Dutch treat as he likes to order sushi alongside his meal, and we bring our bountiful leftovers home. For me, it could be a couple more meals, but he can tackle his leftovers for breakfast!  

We sat with a family of 5, celebrating one of the sons getting his driver's license. Justin was not impressed with the dad, being more observant of behavior than I was. He found him grumpy and domineering, especially to one son. It turned out the two boys were twins but only one of the got the license. It is interesting to share a table and a meal with strangers, to watch the dynamics (I do pay attention sometimes). At one point four of the five in their group had their phones out, but not for very long. I know phones have more than one purpose than making calls and do my own "check ins" when I get somewhere, but don't use the phone in lieu of conversation. 

So, anyway, we had a nice meal and then came home. Both of us were tired, each still at battle with the head colds and coughs. I had napped in the afternoon which made me feel fuzzy headed the rest of the day. Going to bed early was not a punishment for me!

Advent photos

Today my friend, Ed, downloaded all the photos taken two months ago at Victory's Ladies' Advent Service. The young lady who was the photographer ran into problems downloading so Ed helped her out. Interestingly, I ran into a similar problem this past week and even had Justin pick up a new card reader for me, before getting my old one to work. Must be something in the air!

Here am I seated next to my table hostess, Erica. At the end of the table is Cathy F. with whom I sat several years ago at another Ladies' Advent Service! I had Diet Coke in my glass while the others had water or tea.

Here is a fuzzy photograph of Lucy H. and me at the table, with Stephanie standing behind me at the coffee center. Lucy just loves "my son" as she always refers to him.

Erica and Stephanie posing together

Friday night Nancy W. had another friend and I over for dinner, and I just loved her placemats and glassware! 

I am a menace!

At least my jewelry is...oh, my goodness! I told Linda the other day how I am snagging my new comforter and throw pillows repeatedly with my rings and bracelets. In the three weeks since I've had the comforter on the bed I have already had to use my nail clippers to snip off the longer threads. How sad this is, my nice comforter being shredded every time I move my hands!

I guess if I simply used the laptop which is on my desk this wouldn't happen, but since I am half the time in or on my bed, snagging it is! The clasp on my necklace catches on the pillow used to prop my head up when I incline (or my head goes between the bars on the headboard---not good!). If you recall the time I had my skin tags and beauty marks removed at the doctor, that no matter who tried---me, Justin, the nurse, or the doctor---could not get the clasp open on the necklace. It had too much thread from my pillows wrapped around it, impossible to free it. That is, until I got to the dentist the day after and Yvonne, the dental assistant, would not rest until she got the threads snipped and pulled off. She then cleaned the necklace in the sterilization equipment! Now, I am loading the clasp all up again.

Sleepy tired eyes today

This morning was a rough one, hard to wake up. After a broken up night's sleep, all I wanted to do was sleep some more. But, it was time for Breakfast Club!

The reason my night was such a mess is attributed to a combination of things including a steady rain all night long, my stuffed up head and cough, and probably because of napping during the day. I fell asleep early enough but woke up just in time to see most of Jay Leno's last show. Almost like I planned it that way!  

Then, I went back to sleep only to wake up when the electricity went out. Usually when it goes out it comes right back up but not this time. I could hear the elevator 'alarm' beeping which meant it was the entire building, not only me, in the dark. No electricity means no TV, and no TV means no sleeping for me. If I had charged my laptop I'd have been able to listen to "The Big Bang Theory" in my sleep, but alas, it was not charged enough to do the trick. 

The power came back up about two hours later, and this allowed me to sleep again until just after 7:00. Short spurts of sleep, which I know some people get by on. I prefer to sleep longer in between waking up, thank you. I set my alarm for 8:00 a.m. which would allow sufficient time for me get ready for breakfast. I had showered the night before so that wouldn't hold me up. And it didn't!

After breakfast I came back home, the rain having finally ended in the earlier morning. My next door neighbors are moving out and I felt badly for them having to drag their stuff through the dirty puddles. Work, or rather, re-work on the sundeck is underway, trying to improve the slope of the tile. More jackhammers and residue, which accumulated in the puddles. Yech!  As a side note: it is most unfortunate that our association paid this contractor a quarter of a million dollars for this job begun in April of last year, and we still have problems with it. I think we should get a refund on the money we paid for 'project management'!

Justin had to work in this mess, which he doesn't like to do. The worst part of working on soggy lawns is that he can't make them look good, leaving ruts and brown grass as he goes. He said he can stamp it down but that doesn't make the grass look better. The guy likes to be proud of his work, and this rain is not helping. It might last into the weekend which does not help for the yards of next week.

                                 

At breakfast this a.m. Nancy invited Justin and I to have dinner with her, as she made a jumbo kettle of spaghetti sauce which she needed help eating. I was able to go, but Justin made plans with Jesse and Raymond for dinner. They are going to Whitey's for the half-price appetizers, and I am a bit envious! 

I had a very nice time at Nancy's, visiting with her and her neighbor, Jeannie, whom I have met before. She was the lady who I re-met at The Club on a trivia night, and she said, "I could have sworn you were blonde when I met you last summer..." Nope, just the sun having fun with my hair!

Justin to the rescue!

Today at Bible study, besides taking part in a very interesting class, I had the 'job' of taking photos of several people at the request of Judy A. She is putting together a pictorial project for the church or something so had me grabbing folks and photographing them. 

Justin and I were on a mission after class, so did not join the group for lunch. Justin's co-worker and friend, Raymond, who is Jesse's brother, experienced a house fire this past weekend. His girlfriend and he 'rent' her grandma's home on Fleming Island. The fire began in the garage, due to a faulty outlet. They were awakened by the sound of aerosol paint cans bursting open from heat. Saved by the paint cans!

Justin and I were going shopping to get Raymond a few things to hold him over, since his clothes and shoes were destroyed in the fire. Most of his stuff was in the garage where the washer and dryer were, and where they left their shoes. I was going to pick up some toiletries and such, trying to imagine what they could use. Temporarily they are staying with her mother but still need the grooming items, etc. 

At Happy Hour the night before, I mentioned to Janet and Arnie about Raymond having experienced this fire. They have known him since he was a child which is why I said something. Janet said, "I wish I could help..." and gave Justin some money to use for shopping. Then, this a.m. I got a call at Bible study from another neighbor offering some money as well, having talked with the other two people after we left Happy Hour. He deposited money via pay pal into Justin's account and away we go!

After The Dollar Store stop, we had lunch at Carrabba's which was nearby. With my first bite I dripped juice from my panini on my nice red sweater. Shoot!  It was not horrible but bad enough to embarrass me. We were going to Goodwill next which was okay for having a spot on the sweater. There I got Raymond 5 polo shirts, a pair of slacks, and a belt, for about $30. Not bad!  Justin dropped me at home and went on to Wal-Mart for some more items. Thanks to the generosity of our friends, he was able to get three pairs of shoes for Raymond, underwear, T-shirts, and socks. 

                                       

When I was at home, I got busy trying to access the church photos on my camera card with no success. The computer sent me error messages saying it did not recognize my card or something. Since Justin was at Wal-Mart, I asked him to pick up a new card reader for me which took some doing because my card is sort of old. At last he found one and brought it home for me. It didn't work either but he figured out what was wrong with my other reader so I got the pictures taken care of. Justin did nothing but rescue people today!