This Is A Really Odd Day!

June 27,  2013.

Hello, family: I am sitting at the computer working on one of my projects, and the window is only 5 feet away from me, facing north. I heard some rumbling that sounded like movers, but movers "up there" somewhere. Sunny! I see sunshine on the ground, through the window. The house next door is right there, so I don't see any sky. 

Then I heard a FedEx plane go by so close, as usual because the airport is only ten minutes away, and it made a loud noise. Oh, I thought, it's the airplanes, they go by twice a day, about fifteen or twenty planes departing in early morning, and then again in the afternoon. I went back to my project. 

Again, there was that rolling sound, a little more explicit and loud. I went to the front door (west) to check out the sky, I just couldn't believe it!  It was sunny and no storm in sight. So I went to the back of the house (east) to look through the bathroom window, and sure enough, the sky was quite dark, with that stormy color of odd deep blue, and I also heard the next thunder raps. 

I came back to the computer, and the graphic picture on the weather page does not show any kind of storm! I haven't seen such a mysterious thing for a lonnnnng time.  

Ooooh, it's thundering again. I would like some rain to cool things down outdoors, but not such a thunderstorm. It seems that it's going to be a strong one. Maybe. Perhaps. I hope not. 

I just looked out the east window, and the stormy overcast sky seems to be so small, not broad and wide as most of the thunderstorms are. This one seems to be a 'skinny-ma-link' storm. But golly, it just rumbled so near and scary, I'm getting jittery. 

Okay, now, here is another mystery for me to figure out. The term 'skinny-ma-link' popped out of my brain as I was writing the previous paragraph, and I don't know from where! So I googled it and found it immediately! The first link has "Skinny Malinky Long Legs". 

I faintly remember hearing someone say, of some skinny child, "You're a skinny malink!" It could have been meant for me, because I wasn't fond of eating when I was very young. Someone said I was a picky eater and skinny. (I'm not, anymorrrrre!)

Another link is http://www.mamalisa.com/blog/to-the-gnat-a-poem-with-mp3-recording/ 

Try it, you might like it. 

Oh, now I see, the graphic on the computer is showing that the storm that just made all those rumbles is heading for Olive Branch, and several more of those smallish thunderstorms are heading southeast to Memphis, from Jonesboro, Arkansas. I'll have a little respite now. But watch out later! 

I'll see you at the Corner Post ...

This is for those who like kale.

June 26, 2013.

Hello, Chefs and Diners, AGAIN! 

In a cup of water, pour a tablespoon of olive oil, and half a teaspoon of butter. After you have rinsed off the leaves of kale, pulled the leaves off the stalks and broken them into bite size pieces, put them in the frying pan with the liquid I mentioned. By the way, do not discard the stalks. Cut them into three-quarter-inch pieces and use them in vegetable soup. 

Add two dashes of black pepper, a dash of dill weed, a dash or two of garlic powder, a teaspoon of dried chopped onion, a teaspoon of honey, a couple of dashes of Italian seasoning, two dashes of paprika, a dash or two of turmeric powder, and hmmm, let's see, I was staring at the spices in my little cupboard, and wondered what I could add. I probably should have quit at that point, but I was interested in adding something else. I glanced upward and spied the chili powder. I thought that a dash or two would be just fine.   NOT.

I took the chili powder and shook it not gently and there came three heavy dashes of chili powder, much more than I had wanted. Oh, dear! I was too quick in stirring and it was too late. Well, I thought, I can freeze this in small quantities and it will eventually be eaten by me. 

Simmering vegetables is one of my favorite ways to cook them. I brought it to a boil, covered it, and let it simmer away, stirring now and then and watching the amount of water that remained. I didn't want a lot of water, just enough to keep it moistened. I took a taste of it to see what it was like. Not very good, so I then added a teaspoonful of cider vinegar, and let it simmer for another fifteen minutes.

 

The kale was cooking quite well, and my next taste-testing took place. I masticated it and it really wasn't that bad, so I took another taste and said aloud, 'MMMmmm" and then "mmmMMMMMM!" What a nice surprise that was, to like the end result of the way I seasoned the kale. 

I must say that I did not freeze any of it. I ate a serving or three, and left the second half of it for tomorrow or the next day. I learned a lesson, though: we must use a measuring spoon instead of using too much muscle to shake dashes of spices out. As old as I am, sometimes I never learn. 

I'll see you at the Corner Post ...

What Spices Go With Black Beans?

June 25, 2013.  

Good day, my dear chefs, and diners, 

I am making a meal in a frying pan, beginning with a little olive oil and butter, simmering black beans with onion, garlic, green peppers, tomato juice, a tablespoon of raw white rice, and seasonings. I went online to get an idea of what seasonings to use. This page came up, and I am sending it to you, just in case you might like to try some of these beans and seasoning combinations. (The first one is ADUKI beans. I thought they were Adzuki beans.) 

I'm getting hungry, now, just looking at this list. Can't wait to have my dinner ~ it smells so good. The  seasonings I put in are these: Dijon mustard, cumin, thyme, a little oregano, basil, a bit of cayenne pepper, rosemary, and a teaspoon of cider vinegar. I just tasted half a teaspoonful of the food. Not bad! Not bad at all. Except that perhaps I used a tad too much of cumin. I do like experimenting and exploring when I cook.  

• Aduki Beans: coriander, cumin, ginger

• Black Beans: bay leaf, chile peppers, cilantro, coriander, cumin, epazote, garlic, ginger, oregano, parsley, savory, thyme

• Black-Eyed Peas: bay leaf, cayenne, chile peppers, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, ginger, turmeric

• Cannellini Beans: parsley, sage, savory, tarragon, thyme

• Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans): cardamom, cilantro, coriander, cumin, fennel, garlic, ginger, mint, paprika, parsley, rosemary

• Fava Beans: basil, cilantro, cumin, fennel, garlic, mint, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, thyme

• Flageolet Beans: parsley, savory, thyme

• Kidney Beans: bay leaf, cumin, fennel, oregano, parsley, sage, savory, thyme

• Lentils: bay leaf, cardamom, cilantro, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, curry, ginger, mint, parsley, oregano, thyme, turmeric

• Lima Beans: cilantro, mint, parsley, sage

• Mung Beans: cilantro, coriander, cumin, ginger

• Navy Beans: basil, bay leaf, garlic, parsley, savory, thyme

• Pinto Beans: chile peppers, cilantro, cumin, oregano, parsley, savory

I'll see you at the Corner Post ...

Groceries; Handicapped; Apology.

June 14, 2013.

It was quite a day today. I had an appointment with the senior bus to take me to the grocery store. Around 10:20 am, the bus driver phoned to let me know he was about ten minutes away and would pick me up. He arrived at 10:30, and I was quite pleased to get this grocery run over with.      NOT.

He dropped me off at one of the Kroger's, and I was as happy as a lark to get busy shopping. I took my time, trying to find this and that, that I needed. I hadn't been to the grocery store in a few weeks. I needed eggs, meat, greens, carrots, popcorn, Scotch tape, and ice cream. Along with other things, too. 

At almost noon, I phoned the driver to see how far away he was ~ Hernando! It would take him at least a half hour or 35 minutes to get to where I was, and besides that, he had to pick up someone and take them home, THEN come and get me. I said that I would browse a little, and then check out my groceries. I thought he'd be there by that time.      NOT. 

I decided that instead of browsing I would buy myself a lunch (it turned out to be a big lunch so I brought half of it home), and went to the little corner in Kroger's where they sell people some lunch and there are three little tables with chairs there. I had a pleasant time eating, and put the container with leftover food in my grocery cart, and checked out. 

Did that, and waited near the front door, inside the entry, and sat in one of those motorized scooter / shopping vehicles. Sat and sat, and kept looking at each person who came in or out. Ho hum. I did have a pleasant time, though, taking in all those sights of different people, different hairdos, different clothing, little kids, big kids, tall men, heavy women, over-weight men and slender women, different nationalities, watched a little girl trying to get that machine with the hook-grabber, to catch a stuffed toy inside the windows. "No soap", poor little girl. 

I was a little worried about one item I had in my shopping bag-on-wheels with a water-proof lining. The beloved item was a carton of vanilla ice cream. I succumbed again, buying dairy, but it had only four ingredients in it, and that's why I bought it. I was hoping it wouldn't melt into a smoothie before I got home. 

Suddenly the driver phoned me again, and said he'd be coming along shortly, in about ten minutes.      NOT.

It was fifteen minutes, and I eagerly got up and went outside, as he was pulling up and parking. He was gracious to put my groceries into the bus, and he even took the cart back in. Very kind, he really is. And we were on our way!        NOT. 

He drove and then went toward the out-patient door of the hospital to pick up a woman who can't walk very well. He had to help in getting her onto the pull-down lift for wheel chairs and walkers. She very slowly made her way into the bus because she cannot bend her extremely swollen and bandaged knee, and I became very empathetic about her medical difficulties. 

She finally got seated, and I kept thinking about her greatly swollen leg, with the very bad knee. I had been having trouble with my knee, and swollen leg, and wasn't happy to have that condition, but suddenly I changed my mind about myself. How painful her knee is, how handicapped she is, how sorry I feel for her and her pain and inability to do what she wishes. In other words, I feel truly blessed to be able to walk around, do my chores, shop for my groceries, and bend my knees. I shall get down on my knees this evening and thank God that I am so much more capable than I had thought! May this woman regain her ability to walk better, very soon. 

I apologize for being frustrated because I had to wait. Pooh! that was nothing.  

I'll see you at the Corner Post ...  

Been Posting Family Stories; Ice Cream Van; Marching Bands.

June 7, 2013.

Hello, you sweet dears! 

I've been posting some notes that my Mom had written on various pieces of paper. Little anecdotes that she remembered from her childhood, and her youth, and some characteristics of the older members of the families. It is tedious work and a little slow. I have been at it for a few hours, and I am quitting for the day. 

She was very fortunate to obtain much information from the priest in our ancestral village in Europe, too, and I've been browsing through them. We have a large extended family, since she was one of nine children. 

My Dad's family also came from the same country. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I looked out the front door to see what kind of weather is happening, and a robin made a low flight from across the street, swooping over the street knowing just where he wanted to land, and flew about three feet above the front lawn. In the blink of an eye, as he was coming in for a landing, I just KNEW that he would sit on that little concrete bench. I figured he would poo on it too, and he DID sit on it, but no...  ahem...  poo. Imagine that, he did not. But sometimes they DO poo on my bench, because there are telltale signs of it!  

I have been so intrigued by the birds recently, as I watch them flying back and forth across  the street, as they go hunting for food to feed their babies. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday when I was going outdoors to wait for Bill and Jen picking me up for Vespers, supper, and a class by Father John (love his teaching, and his sermons), I saw with such glee, the large ice cream van stopped directly across the street where there were six kids waiting. It was so exciting to see it all. These children had shorts on, and no shoes, and  they'd been playing with the hose and water in the afternoon. I had watched them for a while, earlier. They really had so much fun!

All it took for me to get excited was a glance under the van, and I quickly got my camera out. The whole length of the van between the wheels is long enough to have room for those kids to line up on the other side of the van, with their legs showing under the van. I counted fourteen legs! All I saw of those kids standing on the other side of the van was their bare legs! I had never seen such a whimsical sight, and by the time I could get my camera out and focused, there were only about six pairs of legs. I did take a shot or two of that. Then from up the street there was a little boy about five years old, walking down to the ice cream van, barefooted, hurrying gingerly, his mother a little way behind him, walking too. 

He got his ice cream cone, and headed back home; she was waiting for him about twenty feet up the street. How cute, how cute, it was! He was little, and could get his very own ice cream cone!

A few more children came from here and there, and the music kept tinkling over and over. What a joyful moment in my day! I'll bet the ice cream man was quite happy! Even the grown-up (looking after all those kids) had some ice cream. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

By the way, The Drummers are back! The percussion departments at schools really do well in preparation for the band concerts, as they practice diligently and often. It sounds quite loud when they pass through the alleyway in back of the house, and the sound comes flowing through the two cul de sacs on the sides of the houses to the street. When I hear it, I run to see them. Last year we attended some of the concerts in the area, and it was marvelous to hear such good band music. Congratulations to all those students and their teachers!

Oh, I'd better tell you that I do not RUN to see them, because I don't want to break my promise to my 'managers' that I will not hurry too fast for fear of breaking anything, even an eyelash. 

I've just had my early dinner, and will try to relax a long while in my rocking chair, watching something from an old video. 

Love and hugs to each and every one of you! 

I'll see you at the Corner Post ...

Another walk? Gee... more birds to watch.

June 6, 2013.

Good morning, y'all, as they say in The South. 

I went for another walk this morning, but didn't leave early enough. The humidity is not good, although there was a cool breeze now and then. I must train myself to go before 8:45 am. It seemed a little unusual, there weren't as many birds today as there were yesterday morning. My walk was a bit slower and it took twenty-one minutes, but that's all right. I always must stop to take a breath, and I make it a bit longer to watch the birds or admire flowers. Kill two birds with one stone ...   oh, no! no killing of birds!!!!!!!! 

I did see several robins here and there, and spent a couple of minutes at several stops to watch them. I love the way they stand up so tall when they stop to see what I am going to do, while studying my movements and determining if I am safe to have around or not.  

There was a shiny black bird, with a long tail, a black beak, and shiny light golden eyes. It's a bit larger than a robin. It makes me wonder what kind of bird it is, as there are quite a few blackish birds. I don't think I would have to take a college course in ornithology to find out what kind of bird that is, though. 

The vine with those star-like blossoms showed wilted blossoms this morning. It appears to be a flower that fades and dies after blooming one day and night. 

There is another one that is deep purple, across the street, that has a similar star-shaped arrangement of petals. So lovely. I did make plans to stop and look at the little lavender-colored bush that I said was a foot high. NOT. It is about sixteen inches high. This morning I made it a point to 'talk' to it, and pay homage. I feel so blessed that there are such gifts as lovely plants with astonishingly beautiful blossoms.  

Back to the shiny black bird ~  as Wikipedia says, it is a Great-tailed Grackle or Mexican Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus). He's native to North and South America. I say 'he' because the female is smaller and mainly brownish-black, with a pale brown throat and belly. And there you have it: I watched a Great-tailed or Mexican Grackle hopping around as I was passing his territory where he was pecking at the lawn. Truly gorgeous with his shiny feathers that sometimes show iridescence as he moves in the sunshine.  

Y'all have a good day, and accomplish what you planned. 

I'll see you at the Corner Post ...

On My Walk; Flowers; Happy Birds.

June 5, 2013.

Good morning, Dear Family: 

I should have gone for my walk within minutes after I woke up after a well-broken-up night. By 8:53 am when I started out, it was so humid, and the air was really 'close'. I had on a turtleneck top because I thought it would still be 'morning chill'. HAH! no way! 

As soon as I came back, I turned on the air conditioner to cool me off. My walk was all of sixteen minutes, all the way to Rasco and back, on Chesterfield. I stopped several times to catch my breath, and thought it would be longer than those few minutes. 

I stopped to admire in several places a few yellow flowers, a lawn full of beautiful white / pinkish clover blossoms, and a very lovely five-petaled lavender flower new this year. This foot-high plant grows in the same little plot that has such pretty pansies. The flower-lover at this house does a marvelous job all of the time.

 

Around a mailbox, along the street, there is a vine that has white blossoms in a sort of star shape. So pretty, it is! I thought it might be Moonflower, but I don't think so now, after I googled Moonflower images. 

There were lots of birds flitting here and there. I love those robins, they are so cautious, and keep hopping a few steps ahead of me and then to the side, to keep me off the right path to their nests. I keep wanting to say to them, I am NOT interested in where your nest is, Robbie! They are so whimsical and cute, I really enjoy watching them and having them in my neighborhood for a few months. Then I miss them when they've gone on their vacations. 

There are also a few other birds that are about the size of robins ~ some mocking birds, some darker birds, and lovely mourning doves a bit larger. Maybe those doves are just ordinary doves, but they have a long-lasting melancholy coo... coo... coo... as they sit on the top of the telephone poles. Sometimes they sit on rooftops or gables. I've seen them in the backyard from time to time, sitting on the part of the fence under a tree they call their umbrella. They shake off the raindrops from their feathery coats every once in a while, like a doggie. 

I spotted a broken robin's egg shell a couple of times this morning. Sure enough, it's hatching time for them! AGAIN! Then they are so very busy getting chopped-worm snacks for their little ones. It's quite odd how they will snatch an earthworm, and instead of just flying away with it to the nest to get out the cutting-board and chop the worms in bite-size pieces for their boys and girls, they do it on the ground. It is so interesting to watch them do this. Chop-chop, pick up the longer pieces and chop-chop again, and finally have the long earthworm in several pieces. After the food preparation, they gather it all up in their beaks and fly away with the gourmet lunch bag for their cradle-babies.  

There are several batches of baby robins throughout these long summers in Missipp, and it seems that the parents must be so tired out by Departing Time. They probably talk to each other on their way, saying, "Good grief, it's about time we can retire!" 

I'll see you at the Corner Post ...