Saturday

Drinking coffee. Reading blogs.

One blog I found a few days ago refers to a wild child as a feral daughter. And it reminded me of a blog of an Army wife who had a challenging daughter. And I found her in my list on my blog page. Kinda wish these two women could meet and compare notes.

Thank you, Bob for the coffee. And toast with cinnamon sugar.

I went without a stovetop for almost a year. Don't cry for me Argentina. I wanted to see if I could do without one. Most cooking is done in the oven or microwave, and we have a toaster oven, and crock pot. The only challenge came when cooking eggs. Eggs come out super fluffy in the microwave, which is okay with Bob. But, I missed hard boiled eggs.

When Ben came home from his first semester studying to be an electrician, I wondered if he'd like to install the stovetop. Sure enough! He could not wait! I think he tackled it before breakfast. And had it installed by noon!

Yesterday, he decided that the bathroom needed another outlet beside the mirror/medicine cabinet. So he installed one. It is neatly done, and pretty and white. Bob was here to oversee, and being an electrical engineer, I was not worried. My "important" job was to hollar when the correct circuit was flipped so Ben could work without electrocuting himself. Bob flipped the breakers---first the computer blinked, then the light in the kitchen, then the light in the hall...and finally, the frig and light Bob was wanting that was also the bathroom circuit.

What would an electrician's dream house look like?? Outlets placed like art on the walls?? Outlets spaced every few feet for convenience? And an electrician's wife? Would she be understanding? Would she want outlet covers?

But--back to frying. I was hungry for some dressing. I could only find one box of cornbread dressing at Walmart, so I mixed it with a box of regular. Too lazy to make a pan of cornbread...I fried up, "stir-fried" celery and onion and used canned chicken broth---low sodium, and orange juice for the liquid. I made a ton, but it freezes well. Canned oysters would have been a good addition. or chicken. or turkey. But, without meat, I don't have to worry about spoilage and put some in the freezer for another day. And I will cut up what we don't use today and freeze in freezer baggies, too. I did not use much butter except to butter the pans. It was still not cornbready enough, but I am getting there. Cracker Barrel only serves cornbread dressing on one day a week special. And not on Friday, when we usually go for Ben's catfish.

Time to badmouth our post office again. Yesterday, I was all ready to send one more package to the grandbabies in Anchorage, and was excited to just dash in, use the machine, and be in an out in minutes. Wouldn't you know, the machine was out of order. The line was out the door. And only two clerks, and then, half-way to the counter, the one clerk took her break. Fifteen minutes. We could see her sitting back there. Unbelievable. Why wouldn't the post office hire more folks for the crush? Packages were stacked everywhere. Sadly, I recognized no one in line, and no one wanted to visit. Most were busy on their phones. Bob left to get the car washed, and I finally made it to the counter after the lady came back from her break. union? The other clerk is too chatty. If he did not have to visit with everyone, we could have been in and out of there quicker.