Tidbits

I was idly reading an article, contemplating the latest price for gas and wondering what new highs and lows were in the local news today.

One of today’s topics I believe was something to do with grocery stores and bagging your own groceries. ~ There was some mention about cashiers bagging or not, or at least something along that line of ~ Can you remember when?

Along a related line was the latest on environment green. No more plastic bags ~ back to paper bags again? But then what about cutting down the trees to make the bags? I tell you it’s a no win situation.

So can you just imagine some person having to bag their own groceries, standing in the line up and hating every minute of it. What was worse, ~ even having to buy the bags!

There they are dragging their butt and grumbling all the time while they bag. I guess one can’t blame them when you see the prices in the grocery stores these days.

This for some reason prompted me to come out with the remark:

‘Bag your own grocery shopping bag rage!’
I mean like. ~ Just think about it.

We have road rage and someone stole the parking space rage, or someone jumped the lineup rage etc, etc.

“Jeeze the stores these days want you to do their work for them! While they stand watching, with their blah, blah, blah.”

If you’ve ever grocery shopped, then you have heard it all before I’m sure.

Meanwhile you get someone else who is waiting in line, getting a little bit impatient, stomping around whilst waiting their turn to bag.

I can see it all now, ~ “Man gets arresting for whacking another customer with a wet lettuce while bagging same!” ~

The mind could work wonders with that one.

I must keep that possibility in mind and shop where they bag the groceries for you!

C’ya

A Golden Glow

One should never go shopping on a Saturday. Regardless, we went. To make matters worse, the wife was looking for specific items, has been now for weeks. After three hours of dragging our butt from pillar to post, the stomach starts to complain. It’s been a real zoo out here today so where to eat? Not being too proud by nature, we pulled into the nearest McDonalds.

We stumbled in through the door. Boy, I’ve never seen a McDonalds this small before, or so busy. I’m using my walker because of the oxygen tank, so with the crowd it was difficult to maneuver a path to a booth. Finally I am able to settle down. On looking up I see a baby one booth over in a high chair, staring at me. Babies always seem to do that, don’t they. I guess he was about nine months old.

Elizabeth checked to make sure I was seated ok and then went to line up for our food. The baby meanwhile, continued to eyeball me. Each time he screwed up his face to squawk, this mechanical hand reached out of the booth and fed him. I found it quite comical to watch this less than a year old child, already giving his parents the gears to get what he wanted. I shook my head, there’s just no hope.

While all this had been going on with the baby performance, I couldn’t help but notice a group sat at the tables in the corner to my right. The group consisted of a mother, two boys and a girl. The woman looked to be Asian. The boys looked about five and eight, the girl would be around nine or ten. The mothers face with large almond eyes was time worn. Grey pallor skin reflected a hard led life, to this point at least. She was probably no older than her late twenties, maybe thirty, judging by the ages of the kids. She was dressed most modestly as were the children, quite clean in appearance, yet nevertheless poor by most standards.

I tried not to appear too nosey while I waited for the wife to get back, but I couldn’t help casting a glance unobtrusively first at the baby, then over to the mother and three young kids in corner.

Meanwhile, up at the counter around the corner, where Elizabeth was waiting to get served, you could imagine the noise with all the other kids, the place being so busy. Loud kids, yelling and demanding, “I want this” and “I am going to get that. No that isn’t the toy I want, I want this one!”

All the time the kids at my end of McDonalds were so well mannered and quiet for their mother. They sat there silently, each of them holding just a McFlurry dessert and a plastic spoon.

For herself the mother had an ice cream sundae and a small package of French fries. I watched discreetly, somewhat amazed as the woman doled out two fries to each of the kids, then one to herself. Again she made the rounds with the fries, then she took a taste of her sundae, watching each child in turn and giving them all such a warm sweet smile. Once again she made the rounds with the fries. I never saw so many fries come out of such a small package before. Five fish and two loaves of bread crossed my mind. After the fries were finished she then took her spoon and fed some of her sundae to each child in turn. Not once was there a sound of protest or argument over what was going on.

It was a treat just to sit and see this little miracle taking place. When I looked at the woman she sat there looking as proud as any mother should look, and be dammed to the world looking on.

Once in a while during my life I have seen that proud look before, someone obviously in need but too proud to seek a handout. I sat and watched all this taking place and felt a little guilty when my big Mac and medium fries arrived complete with a chocolate milk drink. I would have willingly put a twenty dollar bill in her hand to help out, but I didn’t want her to think the wrong thing or get my face slapped.

We finished our meal and left to head home. Earlier I had been thinking what a wasted day out, milling around in the zoo of people and coming home empty handed.

One stop in McDonalds changed all that very quickly. What a treat we had been given. What a lesson in human dignity, where being poor didn’t make one hell of a difference to the woman and three kids.

My faith in the future of humanity had just been given a much needed shot in the arm, two fries at a time.

C’ya

Jack Sprat

Tonight we sat down to a delicious supper of orange-glazed pork chops, served with scalloped potatoes and cabbage as a vegetable.
During the course of the meal, I noticed Elizabeth cutting away a little bit of the fatty part of the chop. On seeing that I said to her that, that was one of the tastiest parts of the meat, but she wasn’t going to buy that one from me. That’s when the following nursery rhyme came into my head, which I quoted to my honey. I was surprised to hear that she had never heard it before, so I promptly googled it and showed it to her. The history of how that particular rhyme came to be was what I found interesting.

Jack Sprat

Jack Sprat could eat no fat
His wife could eat no lean
And so betwixt the two of them
They licked the platter clean.

Origin can be found in British History:

The Jack alluded to is in fact reputed to be Charles I and Henrietta Maria, his Queen. Apparently, when King Charles declared war on Spain, parliament refused to finance him (leaving him lean!) So his wife imposed an illegal war tax (to get some fat!) after the angered King dissolved Parliament. The first publication date for the lyrics of this nursery rhyme can be traced to 1639.

This is the recipe for a taste sensation.

Orange-Glazed Pork Chops

Prep: 15 min.
Bake 30 min.

1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon water
¼ cup orange marmalade
1 tablespoon lime juice
1-½ teaspoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 bone-in pork chops
(¾ inch thick)
1 small lime, thinly sliced

In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, ginger, soy sauce and water until small. Stir in the marmalade, lime juice, oil and garlic until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and stir mixture for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.
Place the pork chops in a greased 8 inch baking dish. Spoon glaze over pork; turn to coat. Top with the lime slices. Bake, uncovered, @ 400 for 30-40 minutes or until pork juices run clear. Yield: 2 servings. ~ Enjoy ~

Bon appetit!

C'ya

Class`ick’s

About a week ago now one of our neighbors endowed us with a gift of this very sizeable zucchini. This monster had to be about four feet long and weighed almost as much as me. The first question that came out of me was, where the blazes are we going to put that thing! Second I asked the wife, why? Why did you even say yes, I swear I don’t know what she was thinking of. So for two days ‘it’ resided on the end of the dining room table. (I’m sure if it was plotting to take over the whole house.) believe me it can be quite intimidating trying to eat a meal with that thing giving you the once over.
I know you can carve a pumpkin, I guess we could carve the zucchini, that would get rid of half of it at least.
The wife likes those things, can’t you tell I have no time for them. ~ Zucchini always reminds me of a cucumber that went rampant with the hormone pills!

On day four Elizabeth decided that she would have some of that monster fried, I declined, though I admit it did smell pretty decent when she cooked it.

So the monster now, somewhat subdued and smaller in length, graduated to the kitchen counter not that we have a lot of space to start with. Of course the cut end was covered, but even that didn’t stop it from discoloring slightly. Out came the knife and some more bit the dust, unfortunately, now the size would at a squeeze, fit into the fridge! ~ Oh no not that I said to the missus, it’ll contaminate the rest of the food. ~ She gives me one of those patented over the spectacles looks, the ones that say’s you’re crazy! I smile, for this is my way of teasing her about the monster.

***

Have you ever had a period of time when things don’t just feel the way they should? The last few days have been that way for me, and I’m dammed if I can put a specific label on it. The problem I am sure is that I have COPD.
For the benefit of those folks who aren’t familiar with COPD let alone what it means or entails, I can try and explain a little. To try and keep things as short as I can, COPD is a respiratory disease and the only visible signs are, if someone is really SOB (short of breath). A favorite saying is, ”Sick Lungs don’t show”.
A person can get COPD in various forms as well as various ways. If you have smoked cigarettes/tobacco for any appreciable length of time you can end up with emphysema that is one form. Being asthmatic or suffering bronchitis at any level is another form. In fact if you suffer anything at all that interferes with your breathing, chances are you have COPD. A spirometry test will determine how badly you are effected.
The problem is that once you have the disease then you become prone to anything that goes round, by way of germs/bugs. This is because with COPD your immune system is compromised, therefore you can get whatever is going around if you‘re not careful.

So getting back to my being under the weather for a few days. It did not mean I was ill or sick again, it just meant I was under siege by whatever is afloat, for even the very weather itself can do it. If it is hot/damp/humid then that makes the air very heavy & hard to breathe. The cold can do the same thing too, for then it freezes your lungs and once again you are out of action.

Today was supposed to be rehab drop in, I didn’t make it because of the above difficulties. Instead then, we decided to try and go in the a/c truck to the a/c mall and pick up some needed med supplies.

On the way to town there was ample evidence that fall is upon us, with all of the changing leaves. This then brought to mind our visits to the park and the declining number of days left. We had hoped to get to the park again today, but the weather put paid to that idea. Still there we were driving along and thinking. I could almost see the park from where we were, so tantalizingly close and yet, so far off limits for today at least.
At the mall we took care of a number of things, and at least I got some walking in, which is good for me. We did get one real steal today at the ‘Cole’s bookstore‘, ‘Windows Vista for Dummies” book was on sale at 30% off , not bad when you can get a book like that for under $20. So now if the computer starts acting up, I can at least, whack it with the dummy book!

We also ended up at the food court and the tasty ‘Frisco Fries’ need I say more! I keep telling myself that the extra couple of lbs I have put on recently, is simply because winter is coming and I need the insulation, yeah, that’s what I thought too, that works if you’re a bear.

Guess I have to do a workout when we get home.

C’ya

Rehab ~ Hawaiian style

When we had arrived at the hospital for the rehab yesterday, we had noticed that there was a huge sign set up on the boulevard near to the entrance to the grounds. Vaguely I had noticed it said something. Of course, being in the hurry I was in to get to rehab I didn’t really have any idea what it was all about.

Boy! Were we in the right place at the right time. We noticed a bit of action happening on the front lawn. A catering truck was setting up barbecues, cases of water, pop and potted plants?

The surprise happened when we were on out way out after finishing rehab just over an hour later. On reaching the hospital entrance foyer, there were all kinds of people milling around and a lot of them were dressed in differing forms of Hawaiian dress. I still I didn’t know what the occasion was.

I thought maybe the dressed up people were there to visit with patients in the hospital. After all we had bumped into a lady and a huge Newfoundland dog doing a weekly visit with patients in the hospital, on our arrival.

That’s when we noticed everyone outside on the grounds, with some sitting on the lawns eating. Music was playing from an outside system. After talking to a couple of people I was able to determine that all of this was a fundraiser for the hospital.

Apparently this local catering business from town came each year and put on a BBQ. When they say cater, they certainly mean cater!

They supplied everything for the event which was a steal at $5 a plate, with all proceeds going to the hospital. This was a most generous gesture on their part and must have been costly with them supplying all the food, music set-up, plastic plates and cutlery, lots of Hawaiian trappings and decorations all were freely provided by the business, for the fund raiser.

With the bbq setup on the centre grassy lawns and with potted flowers and the inflatable palm trees, it was heavenly! Really it looked just like an oasis in the middle of an urban asphalt jungle.

~ Most spectacular! ~


I tell you, yesterday I ate some stuff I had never tried before ~ remember I am an Englishman/Canadian and I love my meat n potato’s! Pretty much a creature of habit you might say, and at my age, not wont to try things that differ from my norm!

From the barbecue ~ chicken burgers with roasted pineapple.The wife reached for a bun and spread some curry mayonaise on it, then handed the plate to the smiling chef. "Would you like mango salsa on that?" 'Sure' she said, meanwhile, suspiciously I eye the salad, gritting my teeth ~ I spoon up some ‘baby spinach leaf salad‘…(normally I hate spinach) with mushrooms, onions and mango ~ Elizabeth asks about the dressing. The chef beaming, "Cointreau, orange liqueur without the alcohol". Then there was a choice of spring water or various fruit pops.

Dessert consisted of a choice of chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry homemade ice cream, two heaping scoops. Decorate for yourself with a selection from crushed oreo cookies, colorful candy bits, fresh caramel sauce, strawberry sauce and chocolate fudge.

I know! To heck with the calories!

I enjoyed every morsel of it! ~ Boy have I been living in the dark!

This is the link to the caterers’ with a number of recipes including the Hawaiian chicken.


Read and enjoy!

C’ya

Lobster!

Can you believe it? Whenever the weather gets hot and humid, you just know that you’re in for a violent summer storm.

Four or five days ago it rained.. The weather channel had given out a storm warning and this was the beginning. It wasn’t long before the wind picked up as the storm moved into the area and with it, the intensity of the rain increased. Soon things started flying around the place like tumbleweeds in a ghost town! Someone had reported earlier, seeing three funnel clouds in the area. That’s quite the storm.

The trees started to bend and twist, debris flying everywhere as leaves and small branches were ripped off and scattered all over the place. The rain was just pouring down in sheets and hitting the metal overhang with a noise like a hundred freight trains. Close behind was peal after peal of thunder followed by lightening. Suddenly the sound of thunder overhead and sphitz! Bang! Lightening splattered nearby and the power went out !

Earlier we had been trying to decide what to have for supper. We had reached an impasse on whether it would be steak, or as Elizabeth favored, lobster ~ I can’t stand the stuff yuk! ~ I’m a meat and potato’s man myself.

The advent of the storm had surely solved that argument at least! Guess you could say we certainly got 'Surfed and Turfed!'

A screeching whine rang through the air as the alarm on my oxygen concentrator went off. Announcing it had not been shut down properly. A clear indication our power was off. Elizabeth quickly switched me over to a portable tank.

Both computers shut down with a jolt, and an eerie quiet took over inside our small apartment building. Surprisingly not too many people were home. A call to the hydro soon confirmed that the whole town was down and would be for a little while. ~ So we wait.

An hour later comes a knock on the door. A kind neighbor concerned that I might "be gasping for air" decided to check to be sure. She too suffers asthmatic COPD. We explain to her that I am ok and good for about 2 days on portable tanks.

Another hour. ~ Looks like the steak dinner we had planned will have to wait. We don’t want to open the freezer, the wife‘s funny that way and how the humph! are you going to cook it!

Earlier Elizabeth had made a potato salad (to go with the steak) so we plan around that. Cold baked beans and I suggest, "Honey, remember that can of lunchmeat I bought". She gives me that look of horror. (I start rummaging around the cupboard for the can she had hidden! )
Really there’s not a lot of choice. ‘Canned sockeye‘, she perks up desperately . "Just give it a try", I win and offer to help. I open the can and slice the meat up nice on a plate.

My sweetie looks pale. ~ I think the sun just went down! ~

I ignore the obvious and serve the meal. A few minutes of silence elapses then, “hmmm not that bad really , how‘s your lobster honey?!” ~ I think I’ve seen that look on the MIL before! ~ I button up. ~

C’ya

As Time Goes By

Have you ever had one or two of those days when everything is absolutely dead? I guess most people have at one time or another. This weekend has been one of those times.

Yesterday once again the weather was not the greatest, another sprinkle of snow had fallen, so much for the ground hog! It’s been eight weeks already since that pesky critter went into hiding! Grrrrrrrr. Back to yesterday, being the day it was nobody really felt like going anywhere. So at first we said, that just to get out of the house we can go local for milk and a dozen eggs.

By the time I had got myself ready though, the sun had come out and things looked decidedly better. We decided then, I really didn’t want to sit in all day so off we went for a nice drive.

That was when we ended up at the wife’s favorite ‘humungous’ grocery store! Even so; we went into the store for a look around, saying we didn’t really need anything except the exercise. Well an hour later and being somewhat lighter in the cookie jar we got out of there! This is what we ended up with:

3lb carrots
Garlic 5 pack
Romaine lettuce
3lb onions
Small Rutabaga (unbelievable @ $1.79)
Bananas
Croutons (3 boxes)
Brown Sugar (for muffins)
2lb tomato’s on the vine.
Less salt OXO (2)
Bouillon
Kraft salad dressing (3 cheese ranch)
Windsor Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Aylmer tomato’s (2)
Apple juice (2)
Mouthwash
Raisins (for muffins)
Shredded wheat
Garlic powder
Cheddar cheese (old)
Salsa X-chunk
Haddock
Whole wheat bread
Veal cutlets

Total = $72.19

Do you see milk and eggs anywhere there? !!

Can you believe we went all over that store and forgot the only two things we went out for!!

We had snow over night again! And this morning Elizabeth woke up full of a cold! Now that, really finishes the weekend off in fine style!!

Poor honey, she’s been wearing her nose out on a case of tissues all day. On top of that, with me having COPD I have to be very careful I don’t go down, it could get serious! That would really be bad news!

~ Come on in May, lets have some summer! ~

C'ya