mostly cloudy, cold

I ate too much junk watching football yesterday.....stayed up late so I could savor the Cowboys getting whupped, slept pretty good....I'll eat more snacks today watching the Sun Bowl probably......can have chicken corn chowder as supper, then do the black-eyed peas Fiscal Tuesday.....might make a fried egg sandwich for lunch today, that's always an option.....not much stirring downtown on my newspaper walk.....I'm going over to the store for OJ and chips.....chips for tonight and OJ for mimosas during the Rose Parade....it's important to be organized about these things.....I'll put the new calendar on the wall above the kitchen table before I fix any breakfast in the morning, a habitual ritual......who knows what tomorrow may bring?

hard frost, 25F windchill

but I could see the sunrise when I went out the door today....no clouds or fog.....but even with a sunny day on tap it's predicted to stay mid-40s.....there's Panthers-Saints today, and Packers-Vikings....and Cowboys-Redskins.....but they won't show Chargers-Raiders this far East.....I did make beef and cheese tacos for Saturday lunch, they were good.....sourdough rye whisky batter french toast with sausage links for Sunday breakfast.....probably french bread pizza while watching football this evening....finished a library book yesterday and got pretty far into another one.....also reading a sci-fi novel on kindle.....read last night after the overseas newscasts instead of looking for any movie to watch.....school will be out for another week, so things will continue muted around here.....

fogged out sunrise

rained all night, trees were still dripping but the last of the drizzle had stopped right when I went out for the paper at 7:30.....some standing water on streets and sidewalks.....the vacant lot is greening up nicely, except the parts that are underwater......was 44 Friday, predicted 54 today as some sun comes out as the day goes by.....maybe I can walk in the afternoon then.....otherwise it's going to be another quiet Saturday for just staying in and reading I guess.....not much on the TV sports.....Hosers play at Gamecocks....good luck with that.....still working with that roast beef for lunches, but it's getting near the end.....maybe I could make tacos today for lunch.....pork chop supper on the menu.....do you eat the black-eyed peas Eve or Day?  Google that....

overcast, freezing

32F ......good chance of rain tonight and on into Saturday morning......did get some champagne at Walmart, and the vitamins I was looking for....the kind for aged persons.....it got almost comfortable outside yesterday afternoon in the sunshine, but it doesn't look like any sunshine today.....I used up the last of the dressing and gravy with a pork chop and butter beans supper.....can finish off the bratwurst and kraut with fried potato today......still some roast beef for lunch sandwiches.....hot oatmeal is good on these cold mornings.....fireworks stands have been open for a few weeks now, for 1/1/13 skyrockets and what-all.....I think I stayed awake 'til the ball dropped last time, but I'm not sure about that.....champagne brunch during the Rose Parade is a favorite tradition in this house, looking forward to that......I'll try walking the park after lunch again, might warm up some by then.....

black ice likely

on your early morning commute.....I don't have to worry about that.....pretty hard frost this morning, windchill 26 at sunrise.....might get up to 50 today.....now it's sunny and calm at least, the wind event seems to be mostly over with....power went on and off again a few times last night....but everything boots back up usually....you might have to hit the wifi from your device again.....modern life....fixed a cheddar-jack beef melt on sourdough for lunch on Boxing Day.....supper was bratwurst, sauerkraut, cornbread dressing with gravy.....today maybe a pork chop platter.....I got my black-eyed peas, cornbread, collard greens for New Year.....I'll put diced Bacon Spam and sweet onion in the pot with the peas.....I forgot to get champagne.....maybe I'll remember that at Walmart, I need to go there today.....after the sun melts the ice off the Jeep windows.....what's going to happen in 2013?  we'll see....

maybe it's gone past now

the rain front......things are soaked from what came through late night and early morning....the vacant lot looks like a lake.....a cold front is expected now .....I guess I'll go do a small grocery trip, I still have some holiday food to eat up.....I do need more coffee though this time.....and something like trail mix for snacking.....it's going to be soup weather, I can get some of that chicken corn chowder I like.....I made cheese taquitos for Christmas lunch......probably back to a roast beef sandwich today.....swiss cheese, I could get that too at the store.....I'll go now while it's not raining....

hard to tell

which carol the church bells are playing.....it echos around too much to figure if it's Silent Night or Joy to the World.....and when two churches get going at once it's really confusing....part of the charm of downtown, the church bells.....they are a little more active this time of year.....fog this morning, not many people were out at 7:30 when I went walking.....the paper says 97% chance of rain for Laurens today.....it was a good soak yesterday,  and Wednesday is predicted wet too.....but with all the humidity it isn't freezing cold.....went hog wild with Eve dinner, meat and THREE sides.....roasted potato wedges with onion, cornbread dressing, and those real tiny sweet peas.....thinly sliced roast beef....all with gravy.....and I ate other treats later too....pecan cream cake, chocolate cashews, port cheese log with port wine to wash it down.....egg-nog.....slept well.....I'll gain weight like I did at Thanksgiving, but it only takes a week to lose it again, when I go back to my regular habits.....Merry Christmas, ya'll!

could have walked

 but it looked like the storm was almost here on the radar and I drove for the paper.....but I would have made it back to the house before the rain.....oh well, I'll get some walking done some time, it won't rain the whole day....maybe.....warmer today with the cloud cover anyway.....when the 49ers got behind by three touchdowns I went on to bed, I'd seen enough football by then.....there were some good games Sunday, from my point of view.....looks like some folks in the neighborhood didn't get the message as regards no trash pick-up on Xmas Eve, their trash is out in the rain, nothing gets picked up 'til Wednesday.....so it's an awfully quiet Monday with no trash trucks and no school traffic....and I haven't even heard a train this morning, which is odd.....it would be silly to go near Walmart today, I made that mistake one other Christmas Eve....don't need anything there anyway today.....I've got lots of food for sure.....that rare roast beef makes a good sandwich.....

expecting wet weather

for the next two or three days.....70% chance of rain on Christmas day.....this morning it's partly cloudy and cold, 25 windchill at sunrise.....so I've gone through the Sunday paper....looks like some good games on today as the NFL season gets down to the nitty-gritty....can the Panthers win another?  they host the Raiders I think it is at 1:00.....and the 49ers will be on the late game.....gravy on sausage and stuffing worked for Saturday supper.....today I'll either nuke a roast beef platter, or just convection a french bread pizza to eat while watching the middle game, the Ravens or something......yesterday it got warm enough to sit on the porch for a while in the sun, but it doesn't look like it will be that nice out today any time.....I used the last of the 15 grain bread for brandy-batter french toast breakfast, so my lunch sandwich will be the first of the sour dough loaf, with brat and kraut?   anyway, it's looking like the kind of day to just hunker down with football and egg-nog....the President said to do that in his speech the other night....drink some egg-nog....so it must be our national duty to do so....

frozen puddles

over on the vacant lot next door.....out walking by there at sunrise it was 23 windchill.....last night on the 5 o'clock news it was still 32 windchill in Laurens, after a day of sunshine.....snow in the mountains.....I can either have a roast beef sandwich for lunch, or a brat sandwich....or even cheese taquitos I guess.....I'm thinking bratwurst with onion-apple cornbread dressing and peas, all with the roast beef gravy for supper....got lots of gravy......I might go out later and buy eggnog and brandy.....and some kind of cake or pie as a special Holiday treat.....gas is under 3 bucks for regular here....AAA says this coming week is the deadliest period of the year on the highways.....glad I'm not going anywhere.....this town is going to look mostly empty until after New Year's......

Winter begins

and it's doing a good job of it so far.....wind chill of 28 on the sunrise walk.....12mph wind from the west, some branches down on Pitts St, and Academy....lights were flickering on and off some about the time I went to bed last night.....the wind came after the rain front went through.....some real downpours after suppertime while I was watching TV.....solstice at 6:12 AM for this longitude, so I was still in bed and didn't do any like solstice dance or whatever......world did not end?   sometimes it's hard to tell.....it might all just be an illusion anyway.....the skillet meal with bratwurst and etcetera worked well, will fix that again some time....might do the roast beef today......it's too dang windy and nippy outside to walk again right now....the heater is working to keep it warm inside.....

39F at sunrise

mostly clear, no wind, high humidity, large storm heading this way.....don't know when it will get here.....tonight I'll do something with bratwurst.....and sometime I want to make onion and apple cornbread dressing.....I read a recipe like that in the special section of the Clinton paper that comes out for the holidays.....it's got recipes that folks send in describing their special treats and cooking tricks, etc....some strange things in there...lots of sweets, and stuff like Coca-Cola Fried Chicken?  The washing machine I bought second hand when I moved in here has conked out.....it was made in 2003, according to the serial number....I gave $250 for the washer-dryer pair.....so I'm just going to go ahead and get a new washer, rather than put any money into parts and labor for something that old.....I followed some online troubleshooting advice and came to the conclusion that it wasn't anything I could fix myself anyway....the dryer works fine still.....always something......I can do my bit to stimulate the durable goods statistics for the Christmas buying season.....and I'll Shop Laurens County First.....I checked various stores online, and the store two blocks from here comes out ahead mainly because the bigger stores are further away and want more to deliver, install, and haul the old washer off.....I'm going over there right now to talk to them.....

A warmer day

Got my shopping and walking done.....it will be roast beef for Christmas weekend .....there's a four day weekend this year it seems.....got a small eye of round roast, to cook with potato wedges....serve with gravy and sweet peas.....also got bratwurst and sauerkraut, and another box of French bread pizza....got country sourdough bread, new variety in the store.....got eggs, orange juice, burgundy....the little fruitcakes were all gone, should have picked that up last week.....did get a port cheese log, to have with wheat thins and port wine on Xmas Eve.....so it's clear today but predicted to be rainy Thursday.....and then clear on the weekend until rainy Eve and Day.....but not cold enough for any snow, they say.....was mid-30 s at sunrise today, crisp out and bright.....had a kraut dog for lunch.....will do the hamburger steak tonight again.....yesterday the enchilada and frijoles bowl with an egg over easy on top and sour cream around the rim was a tasty treat, and filling enough....don't know which day I'll cook the roast, it will be enough for several meals....

a choice to make

I have enough hamburger and leftover sides to do that fake steak thing again for supper today, or I could use the last of the enchilada and frijoles with a fried egg on top like I saw online.....the hamburger steak was pretty good really.....and Wednesday is shopping.....the grocery store ad already came in the mail, with one page featuring "the 12 roasts of Christmas".....cheapest thing there was the Boston Butt, of course.....so maybe crock pot pork shoulder with veggies leading up to Xmas.....one recipe I looked at had  applesauce in it.....that sounds good....with potato wedges.....can I find pearl onions?  The sun is out today, after a bit of rain around 6:30 am.....pink and grey clouds on the newspaper walk, 52F then....never did get a second walk done Monday, with the rain coming and going.....but I can go walk now looks like.....

hamburger steak

that's what I'll make....I can use the ground beef I stuck in the freezer last week, when I used the rest in the enchilada pie.....I've done this before, it's like meatloaf done in a frying pan....I have the sweet onion, and can kick it up a notch with cilantro.....the rice and green beans can be the sides, same as with the rib-eye Sunday night.....I watched a lot of NFL yesterday, as it rained a lot outside....the vacant lot next door is mud, with a big puddle in the middle.....100% chance of more rain today, says one source.....the light bulb in the kitchen burned out, so I stole the one off the back porch....couldn't find any spares around.....so when I go over to the library right now I'll go next door to Fred's and get some curly bulbs.....this weather is coming from the South, so it's not really very cold this morning....mid-50s, should get into the 60s later.....the central heat hasn't kicked on in a couple days, but I have used the space heaters in the living room and bedroom to take the chill off some.....I made three taquitos with cheese and beans for Sunday lunch, today back to the chili dog and Fritos.....

storm front to the West

but the way it's moving on the radar I don't know if it will get here or not.....maybe part of it in the afternoon will.....so far just another overcast morning, in the 50s.....gloomy enough to have the lights on where I'm sitting.....should be some football on to watch....the newspaper characterized the Panthers-Chargers at 4:00 as an exercise in mediocrity......pretty cold comment, maybe true.....
     I was gone there for a few minutes, Dan called me on FaceTime from the Farmer Boy where he was eating breakfast....it was raining in S.B.   ......but I guess nothing much more to say anyway.....looks like I could run the vacuum some....already took the trash to the curb, when I emptied the kitchen and bathroom trash....I do that when I remember it or I'll forget it.....

Life's little problems

And small pleasures......I usually buy my kitchen calendar at CVS, but this morning the guy there said they didn't have any this year.....the Valantine stuff had shipped to him already, and calendars would have come before that if they we're going to come at all....and all of the vitamins were two for one, except multiple vitamins, which is what I'm gettin low on.....but I did get two cans of dark chocolate coated cashews for half price....seven dollars for two.....so that trip wasn't a total lose.....I found a calendar with "Beautiful Bouquets" at the dollar store for one dollar....but I didn't have any coin in my pocket so I had to give two ones to pay a dollar seven cents.....and I got some ruby port while I was over in that direction, so a small pleasure can be four or five chocolate cashews and a glass of port for dessert.....decadent, but actually antioxidant and healthful also....and now just after the Saturday noon siren, the sun has come out pretty good and it's in the mid 50s.....might get up to 60 later.....anyway, that was my Saturday morning pretty much...

one sunny day

and that was yesterday, looks like.....today back to cloudy plus cold....60-70% chance of showers or thunderstorms Sunday and Monday....then mostly cloudy going towards Christmas.....the City will not pick up trash Monday Christmas Eve....so that makes Wednesday my trash day that week.....the Clinton online thing helpfully tells you this stuff.....I still haven't gone anywhere after dark to see the decorations lit up on the streets.....don't think I saw them last year either....don't drive at night, generally speaking.....I might drive over to the CVS drugstore this morning....was 35 windchill at sunrise when I went for the newspaper.....I took a little piece of rib-eye and pounded it with sea salt and chopped cilantro and did it in olive oil in the iron skillet.....delicious.....also had rice, and "Kentucky broad green beans" sauteed with sweet onion as sides.....there will be another platter like that for Sunday, and today can be a return to enchilada.....stayed up late and slept through 'til 6 am pretty well....the town looks deserted so far today, hardly any traffic in evidence.....

frosty

clear, bright, cold at dawn.....couple degrees below freezing....but the clouds are gone....high today should be in the 50s.....I forgot that the rice takes a half hour to cook, so I just went ahead and had leftover enchilada and frijoles for supper yesterday....today I will try to be more organized at meal time, remember to put the rice on the stove.....I have cheese and bean tostadas as a lunch option too I guess, if I get tired of chili dogs.....I'll try to remember too to look for a 2013 calendar for the kitchen wall some time soon.....they usually have those at the drug store.....it was pretty cold on my walk by the park Thursday, and I guess it will be today again.....sunny, but not warm right now.....probably get below freezing Saturday morning early.....I wonder when the schools get out for Christmas, maybe the break starts the 17th, Monday?

ain't no sunshine

they claim that it's sunny today.....but I just can't see it.....overcast and low 40s, wind.....maybe it will clear off later.....was raining as I fell asleep again last night.....the enchilada pie, or New Mexico enchilada, came out just right....tasty stuff....one New Mexico enchilada recipe online is three or four tortillas layered up with chili sauce and cheese (meat optional) and topped with a fried egg and maybe some avocado in there somewhere....have to try that sometime, like a Sunday breakfast for supper thing....a variation of huevos rancheros.....today I will fix rib-eye in the evening.....chili-cheese dog lunch....these boots are made for walking.....when you have bad feet it's important to have good boots....I'm going to go walk some even though it's still cold out, 'cause I don't think it's going to get much warmer later anyway.....the natural gas bill came yesterday, reflecting the colder weather in dollars and cents.....not too bad though.....did I mention that my Medicare card came the other day?  Effective 04-01-2013.....that's a sure sign of old age.....

Looks like a rainstorm coming

And it's too cold to walk anyway.....from the radar it looks like it might rain a while this afternoon.....so I'll wait until another day to try out my new Doc Martens Industrial Wellingtons.....they came today in the mail.....Fed Ex ships them to USPS , and then they do the local delivery.....it was weird because Amazon tracking said my parcel was in Clinton last Friday, but I finally called the PO yesterday because no parcel had reached my address yet....they said the tracking thing was bogus, they got a lot of calls about packages that were not in any local office yet, they were merely in the mail stream somewhere....anyway, the boots are as advertised, very comfortable fit and appear to be well made.....of course they aren't made in England anymore, but in the orient somewhere.....they have padding where your ankles hit, that's nice....I don't think they'll need inserts for comfort, they have the AirWair soles, and padded heels already.....

enchilada pie

got the fixin's for that at the store, it's cold enough to cook something in the oven for sure....windchill 40 still, was 37 when I went out at dawn.....another clouded over and windy day....the rain today is south and east of here, closer to the coast....I stopped yesterday and got a one dollar double burger and sweet tea at McDonald's.....over near the music store when I was getting spare guitar strings.....and last night I woke up in the small hours with a stomach ache.....cause and effect?  I'm also going to do more rib-eye this week, with long grain and wild rice and sweet peas.....chili dog lunches....going to read the local weekly paper now, and maybe by the afternoon it will warm up some to go walking.....the central heat is running this morning still.....

from 4 until 10

afternoon on through the evening it rained.....when I looked out front before going to bed it was just starting to clear out.....colder air should be moving in today on a dry front from the north.....so mid-50s predicted for a high instead of the warmer days we've had.....things got a good soak anyway.....might be in the 30s overnight for a couple three days.....the roast beef is slowly getting eaten up, might make the box of rice this evening for a side, the potato wedges are all gone now.....might go over to Laurens later, broke a guitar string yesterday and don't have any replacements left.....variable clouds this morning, around 50 at dawn.....maybe the Pharmacy School is on break, no cars there when I walked by.....enough cheddar left for a grilled cheese sandwich at lunch time, then I'll need more at the store tomorrow.....need shampoo too.....have to figure out what else....

showers likely, thunderstorms possible

another overcast damp morning.....rain before sunrise, then low clouds and fog....it got up to 70 after all Sunday, with some break-up in the overcast during the afternoon allowing things to get warm.....Carolina actually beat Atlanta, much to my surprise.....maybe I want french bread pizza on Sunday because of all the pizza commercials on during football games.....one of those is enough to take care of the craving, without ending up with a big thing of cold pizza in the fridge leftover.....still have leftover roast beef for a couple meals.....sometime the week before Christmas I'll get some fruitcake and a cheese ball of some sort.....maybe more eggnog.....that's the extent of holiday partying for me....don't know what I'll get for meals next shopping.....guess I haven't done enchiladas in a while, or anything mexican style.....

some rain, some fog

55F at sunrise....it had just stopped raining so I got my newspaper walk done OK.....paper thick with more Xmas ads.....should get up to 70 again this afternoon.....might be more drizzles on into Tuesday.....Falcons and Panthers on at 1:00......Army-Navy was an interesting game.....roast beef supper was easy, today I might just have another french bread pizza, like last Sunday.....maybe a beef cheddar melt for lunch......pretty much just dreary-looking outside, damp.....but not too chilly anyway......2 sausage links and 15 grain french toast for breakfast.....black coffee, juice with bitters....went to sleep last night to the sound of rain, and slept through pretty well.....no noise at all on Sunday morning....

open the blinds

let some sun shine in.....at least there is some sun shine this morning, unlike the last few mornings....got down around 40 overnight, might get up  close to 70 late this afternoon is what they say.....my Amazon order is coming FedEx Smart Post again this time, which means it goes to the Clinton Post Office and then the mail man brings it here.....it was scanned into Clinton Friday morning, so just maybe it will be on my front porch this morning.....my Doc Martens boots.....they say to shop local, but when nobody local sells what you want, what can you do?  there was a lot of meat on those ribs last night, so I got plenty full....today I can nuke a roast beef platter, with potatoes, peas, gravy.....I don't know if Dan will do GoToMeeting today or not.....the only thing on TV sports-wise looks like Army-Navy.....I think PC is out now until next year.....but they still have basketball games?  A neighbor who has started working in their food services said that the dining is closed from 12/7 to 1/7, but maybe some people still hang around campus, don't know how that works.....seems like a long holiday break .....

another grey day

but the wind isn't as biting as yesterday.....the roast beef came out tender and moist, and I made quite a bit of gravy with the drippings.....potato wedges and peas as the sides.....today I can microwave a rib platter for supper.....and I can use the last of the corned beef for lunch today, and then start in on roast beef sandwiches in the days to follow....going beyond 12 grain, I got some 15 grain bread at Walmart.....I also got a package with 5 pairs of Dickies work socks, for warm feet in boots this Winter....it's pretty wintry looking already, but another fairly warm weekend is predicted....this area is now ten inches down on the rain gauge for the year.....lake front property is going for a discount right now at Hartwell, etc....because the boat docks aren't even close to the waterline......

spilling down into the Upstate

cold air from Canada, coming down the eastern edge of the mountains they say.....but it's still in the 50s early on, not down in the 30s or anything like that....but its dark and gloomy looking, with a chilly wind.....the ribs last night were good, and there's half a baked potato and 4 or 5 ribs leftover for another supper.....this afternoon I'll do the roast beef and red potatoes.....they had those little fruitcakes from Texas out at the grocery store yesterday, but I didn't get one....maybe closer to Christmas .....today sure looks like December so far.....they sell Christmas trees at the high school it said in the paper, that's a new one on me.....the Future Farmers or something like that?

Rain staying north of here so far

High clouds and 70F at noon.....they finally came and took away the track hoe that had been sitting near my front porch since before Thanksgiving.....my boots have shipped.....I got a 2lb. sirloin tip roast, and a pound and a half of those St. Louis style ribs I like....think I'll do the ribs today, with baked potato.....the beef roast should be plenty for lunch sandwiches for quite a while.....I've got little red potatoes to cook with it....also got some long grain and wild rice mix in a box for a side with beef after the potatoes are eaten up....it should make gravy, the roast.....corned beef for lunch today....

73 yesterday afternoon, 57 this morning

rain and cold are rumored to be on the way for later today, just a few clouds in evidence so far.....coming back from the corner store with my newspaper I was surprised to see the house next door to Roscoe burned out .....Roscoe is a dog.....I didn't hear any sirens in the night....the street was still wet from the fire engine it looked like....maybe since that house is about a block from the fire station they didn't use any sirens.....nothing woke me up anyway.....I'm thinking of looking at beef roast this week, been a while since I cooked that.....maybe something will be on special when I go to the store here in a few minutes....otherwise I have no idea of what I'm going to get....I'm low on eggs and orange juice I suppose....could probably get more olive oil this week too.....I got wine at Walmart the other day, since the Franzia boxes are maybe three dollars cheaper there, something like that.....well, off we go.....

mid-50s this morning, cloudy

the front is supposed to come through tonight late, so colder and rainy Wednesday.....didn't see much inspiring in the grocery ads this week, don't know what I'll do for a menu.....I looked for wellingtons at Walmart and Tractor Supply but didn't see what I wanted.....so I went ahead and ordered Doc Martens Industrial Wellingtons (not hard toe) from Amazon.....Super Saver Free Shipping.....might be here next Monday.....the Wolverines I got last time have about had it, I wear out boots.....so no mail today....nice walking weather.... not too hot, not too cold......

lots of fog early

but it looks like it will burn off pretty quick.....did get up to 70 yesterday, might again today.....fog predicted tomorrow early again.....rain by Tuesday night.....just watched random bits and pieces of football games Sunday afternoon and evening.....couldn't work up the concentration to watch a whole game anyway....read quite a bit, played dobro, guitar, and piano.....sat on the front porch in the sunshine.....this morning I'll drive over to Walmart to look for a few things.....can have a pork chop supper tonight, rib-eye Tuesday, grocery shopping Wednesday.....

not sunny

for Sunday morning.....it has been bright early lately, but not today.....clouded over but not all that cold, mid-40s.....was a warm parade morning Saturday....I found a bench in the sun over in front of the school district office, and watched for an hour or so, and then got hungry and went home and made a sandwich.....look at GoClinton.com for a slideshow of the event.....the parade, not the sandwich.....I guess our parade is pretty funky compared to other localities, but Clinton is in fact pretty funky in general.....a small piece of rib-eye, half a baked potato, and some veggies was supper.....Georgia came dang close to winning, but no cigar.....might just have a french bread pizza for Sunday supper....must be some NFL games on....besides the Panthers.....it got warm enough yesterday to open a couple windows for a while....and to sit on the front porch eating pecans from the back yard again.....pecans have multiple health benefits, google it......I didn't have any ham or sausage left for Sunday breakfast, so I just had the french toast, coffee, juice.....I'll have a curried turkey salad sandwich for lunch.....

it was midnight

before the Pac12 championship game was over....they were slipping and sliding in the rain at Stanford....so I slept through to 6am pretty well.....around 40 for the early walk.....the parade should start at 10, but it never does....so maybe I'll take a walk over there at 10:30.....see if they are ready by then.....should be mid50s at that time.....stay on the sunny side of the street.....at 4 this afternoon Georgia plays Alabama for the SEC championship.....if Georgia beats them and then beats Norte Dame then the BCS trophy would be local sort of.....it's not far from here to Athens.....what are the odds?  Curried turkey salad sandwich made a good lunch yesterday.....more of that left for more sandwiches.....but today maybe back to the corned beef and cheddar, just to mix things up....I can have steak and baked potato later today, with mixed vegetables.....mid60s predicted for today's high.....

mid 20s windchill

should get up around 60 again in the afternoon.....tomorrow morning is the Christmas Parade.....this evening Stanford-UCLA is on Fox, 8 eastern time.....the turkey is almost used up, I'm thinking of making turkey breast salad for sandwiches.....with raisins and curry powder?  supper Friday can be a pork chop, with mixed veggies as one side, and either baked potato or hash-browns as the other side.....I've been walking after lunch instead of before, so it gets warm enough out there.....the mail truck went right by today.....yesterday it was just the receipt for property tax.....and this morning that came out of the bank looks like on the website.....and mog and netflix, two things that come out at the end of the month....music and TV on demand.....roughly 12 bucks a month for those seems like a great value to me.....

at dawn....clear, calm, frost

and right now some wind is coming on....so I guess I can wait 'til later to walk when it gets a little warmer, like I did yesterday.....below freezing in the night, with the full moon cold and bright.....no rain in sight....until maybe next Wednesday.....fixed iron skillet pork chop, dressing, fried apple for my last supper....the next one might be an open faced turkey sandwich with the last of the gravy and a leftover half a sweet potato.....I went for the corned beef sandwich for Wednesday lunch....brown mustard, mayo, cheddar, pickle slices on it.....wheat toast....Chili Cheese Fritos.....burgundy from Modesto.....this is corned beef canned in Chicago, not Brazil or the Argentine.....in a round can, not a square can with the dangerous opener thingy.....a new edition of Fantasy and Science Fiction showed up on kindle.....seems to be more fantasy than actual science fiction being written lately....maybe hard sci-fi can't compete with the real world anymore, we are living the future and it is ugly.....the British are making progress on their space-plane, tested the engine design the other day....so maybe straight to orbit with no boosters that drop off ......sounds like the mail came, I'll go check that out.....

Roller coaster

The TV weatherman says we can look for a roller coaster Winter.....like the first week in December it might get into the 70s.....and yet we might have a white Xmas like two years ago....guess there's a big storm system for northern CA hitting there soon, says in the paper.....I went to the store and the gas station this morning....$3.02 for regular... ..got some corned beef and cheddar cheese for sandwiches after I get tired of turkey sandwiches.....I'm using the turkey up OK with stuffing and gravy.....also got a rib eye steak and some pork chops for suppers this week.....I think I remembered the things I was thinking about for this shopping....paper napkins, coffee filters, etc.....in the 30s early on, and still not very nice outside, might see if it warms up for more walking later....right now I can read the Clinton paper....

rain clouds, warmer

was raining about 5:30 this morning.....most of the rain is likely around the middle of the day, lunch time or so.....was a nice walk with fresh air and mid-40s after breakfast, should be mid-50s for highs this week and on into the first weekend of December.....got some good library books yesterday, and 2 bucks worth of generic drain cleaner has the kitchen sink free-flowing and sanitary smelling.....today will be a laundry day, if I remember later.....I've already thought of several items I need at the store Wednesday, we'll just have to see if I can remember what they are when I'm actually shopping.....I should cook that sweet potato with supper, it's been in the cupboard a while.....my Bearpaw slippers fell apart so I threw them out....I found some old loafers in the closet I haven't worn much, going to try them a while and see if they are comfortable enough for light duty around the house after I've pulled my boots off in the afternoon.....

Chipwood

that's the name of the dirt/gravel little bit of a road off of Lisbon where you find the Goods and the Walstons.....well, nobody is living in the Good house right now, 'cause Addie and Ed are in the old folks home.....but that's where they did the Thanksgiving affair Sunday....all the usual good food items, plus "buttermilk pie".....made by cousin Ricky?  Sort of a custard pie....it was tasty, I thought.....I suppose pictures will get posted on fb sometime of the whole group on the front porch....so that all went well and I came back home and watched the 49er game.....we had eaten around 1, so by half-time I was able to chomp down a turkey and stuffing sandwich.....and before bed the last piece of pecan pie.....so the long food weekend is over, and we press on into the rest of the holiday travail.....remains danged cold this morning, after getting close to freezing in the night.....I'm going over to the library, and I'll also go into the store to get some drain cleaner, since the kitchen sink seems to be draining slow.....the turkey and stuffing will be featured in lunches and suppers for at least a couple more days....don't think I'll do any cyber shopping, even though it is Cyber Monday....I hope they come take away the track-hoe today, it's been there almost a week ......

clear, calm, 28 degrees

so the central heat is running.....the electric bill was about $20 higher than the previous month, with space heaters running some.....the natural gas bill will come right before Christmas, and no telling how much higher it will be.....had a regular turkey dinner platter last night.....breast meat, stuffing, green beans all with gravy.....watched Stanford-UCLA.....and this morning it turns out that Notre Dame and South Carolina won their traditional rivalry weekend games.....I was asleep before those were over.....Cindy says that the gathering at Aunt Addie and Uncle Ed's is "lunchish" in time frame.....I'll shoot for around noon ......I think I'll stop at the market on the way and get a poinsettia for Addie.....I'm sure there will be enough food without my bringing any.....I dug the sweater I bought a while ago at a church sale for .50 out of the chest of drawers....it will work as a decent holiday sweater....its some shade of green I think.....had the last of the egg nog with a piece of pie last night around half-time....one piece left for tonight, and then no more sweets until Christmas Eve......library day tomorrow.....maybe they will get the seed on the empty lot before it rains Tuesday night.....it would be nice to have it green instead of mud ......

still windchill of 37 at 9 am

I can just stay inside and clean house some more .....yesterday it was my lunch time when I finally finished with the bathroom, so the kitchen didn't get done.....I'll do that after I dust and vacuum the other rooms....housework counts as exercise....I heated up pork pie for Friday supper, so today I must work on Thanksgiving leftovers.....probably another turkey-ham sandwich for lunch....there are a couple of college football games on in the afternoon, but nothing much interesting to me.....I might just take a nap in the sunshine on the sofa, that works.....paid bills yesterday after the mail came with the City bill....paid that and broadband and wrote a check for property tax and put that in the mail at the Post Office when I walked by there this morning after picking up my newspaper at the corner store....not much moving on a Saturday early in Clinton.....Shop Small Saturday.....I don't think I'll buy anything anywhere, sorry.....the City has the lights and some decorations up.....I don't know if more are going up, or if they have scaled back some this year.....nothing going up at this house, as usual....

too much food and football yesterday

The pecan pie and egg nog were the kicker.....don't usually have sweet things like that....might get up around 70 today, but early on it was still 33F windchill again.....clear skies make it cold at night....and you can see more stars with the leaves off the trees and the low humidity.....could see Orion from the kitchen window when I got a drink of water around 3 in the morning.....I need to mop the floor in the bathroom and the kitchen sometime....maybe today.....there's a lot of food in the fridge, some of it might get thrown out.....I have both turkey and ham to put in a sandwich for lunch, so I will do that....on wheat bread with mayo.....I didn't make the stuffing because Earl brought all that other stuff over, maybe Monday I'll be ready to do turkey, stuffing, gravy, green beans....in the mean time I can eat leftovers from someone else's Thanksgiving?  Don't think any of it would make me sick or something....the sweet potato pie is something I would not have made for myself....it's good....and that corn casserole dish like they have at a reunion sometimes....anyway, I should walk some more to burn off calories, and then clean house some for sure.....

Too much food report

My turkey breast roast was already cooking when my neighbor over the back fence knocked on the door and gave me three styrofoam boxes of Thanksgiving fixings.....turkey, ham, stuffing, tater pie, green beans ,corn.....and more stuff.....they had a half dozen cars in front of their house so lots of folks must have brought lots of food or something.....so  I ate a big plate of all that while it was still hot.....and then got my turkey out later and will have plenty of things to eat for days , ate a piece of pecan pie for dessert washed down with bourbon egg nog, couldn't eat another bite now......

Thanksgiving

the lot next door looks really big now that it's all cleared off.....they left their track-hoe and back-hoe sitting there though....don't know if they will pick them up this extended weekend or if they will be there 'til Monday maybe.....this morning after breakfast my weather page said it was 36F in Clinton, Coos Bay, and Escondido.....31 here if you factor in the windchill.....clear and bright so far, 0% chance of rain.....the pork pie came out really tasty, there's about half left....maybe a little more than half....the turkey breast roast says it can go right from freezer to oven if you want, it just takes longer to cook.....so however defrosted it is after one day in the fridge I'll still just rub it with sea salt and black pepper, sear it all round in olive oil in the iron skillet, and then put a lid on it and give it a 350 oven until the thermometer reads 165....or 'til it reaches the mark that says "turkey".....I've got chicken broth to use in the cornbread stuffing.....I'll bake a sweet potato in foil in the oven too.....pecan pie for dessert while watching some traditional Thanksgiving Day football game, whichever one is on by then.....looks like some good games are on today.....I don't get ESPN so I won't watch Clemson-Carolina....Clinton is about half-way between those two schools.....they already had their Oyster Bowl where fans from the rivals compete to see which side eats the most oysters, and whatever other stuff they cook with that.....a fundraising thing here locally.....I guess that Macy's parade must be on already, but I never watch that anyway.....football starts at 12:30 and will still be going way past my bedtime......

pork pie?

I got the frozen pie shells and a jar of pork gravy and some frozen mixed veggies (farm style).....I've done this years ago and I'm going to try it again today with that leftover pork roast....and I bought an 8" pecan pie in the bakery section.....and a 3 lb. Butterball Turkey Breast Roast in the meat department.....and corn bread stuffing, some Chex Mix, Wheat Thins, dental floss.....and etc....California Red Zinfandel.....should be good with turkey.....in the 30s here this morning....they are finishing up the clean-up next door.....so I have cold weather meals for the coming weekend, which is forecast to be chilly......but it should be mid-60s for turkey day, mild enough....

in the 40s this morning

still overcast.....no rain in the forecast until next Tuesday....should be fairly mild on Thanksgiving.....it's raining in Coos Bay.....there's just one corner left standing of the house next door, maybe they will get the job pretty well finished off today.....I sat out on the porch and watched them working some, but after a while the wind came up and it got chilly so I went back in the house.....I think I will buy wheat bread instead of rye tomorrow.....wheat bread sounds better with turkey sandwiches for some reason....the last of the potatoes and gravy will get used up for supper, but there will still be pork roast left for something....maybe just sandwiches.....maybe a curried pork rice dish.....I'm going to google "iron skillet turkey breast".....see if I can get some ideas for that....

still cloudy and windy, but warmer

20 degrees warmer.....52 instead of 32 for my walk after breakfast.....jean jacket instead of ski jacket.....Panthers lost, Chargers lost....oh well....I think Atlanta won.....that hot chowder hit the spot for Sunday supper....and I still have scalloped potatoes with ham ....and corn as the side.....that can be today's.....if I just buy turkey breast and make stuffing in the microwave....I can buy gravy in a jar....and have sweet potato or something with that.....and thus still end up with the makings of my turkey and stuffing lunch sandwiches for the "holiday weekend".....I saw pecan logs yesterday, but didn't buy one....I'll get some kind of dessert for Thanksgiving.....and I should look for something to take out to Mountville Sunday....last Christmas I took one of those seasonal tins of butter cookies, best I can remember.....I don't see anybody next door yet doing any demolition this morning.....

clouds from the East

a weather system on the coast has it raining some in the lowlands and midlands....but not here.....20% chance of rain today and Monday in the Upstate.....just cold and windy again, like yesterday....should end up about the same temp, around 50 or so......with the way things are shaking out in college football Georgia has a shot at the whole thing.....if they can keep winning....beat Alabama for the SEC title....and then maybe play Notre Dame for the BCS.....if USC doesn't beat ND.....etc......anyway, I liked watching a game from Pasadena.....in the rain?  Chargers-Broncos is showing this afternoon....or evening.....it will be getting dark here pretty soon after the game starts.....I think I'll have the chicken corn chowder with hot biscuits today, then another leftover pork roast dinner plate for Monday, pork roast and sweet potato for Tuesday, and then grocery shop the day before Thanksgiving.....maybe they will have just a turkey breast to buy, something like that.....maybe they will have some kind of small pecan pie.....maybe they will get the house next door torn down tomorrow.....so I'm going to Walmart to look at bathroom window treatments....like blinds if I can find them....since with the house gone my bathroom window won't be blocked from view by the rest of the neighborhood anymore.....

12 mph from the NNE

so the windchill reads 37.....it was 28 when I walked after breakfast.....I don't know if the demolition dudes are going to work today or wait 'til Monday to fire up the big machine they parked over there late yesterday afternoon.....it looks like it will make short work of the job whenever they do get started....USC-UCLA is on today from the Rose Bowl.....I don't think I'll try taking a walk until it warms up some, if it is going to warm up much later at all....or if the wind dies down some....the throw-away paper that appears either Saturday or Sunday morning was there today and three times as thick as usual.....Black Friday ads.....nothing much interesting there except Tractor Supply is going to have men's boots 20% off.....their clothing section is like a regular country-western store, the place to go for boots and hats, etc.....

another frosty morning

but not as clouded over and windy.....looks like we might get some sunshine today anyway.....yesterday it stayed in the 40s mostly, today it should get into the 50s.....the pork roast came out excellent, with nicely browned potatoes.....made tasty gravy......so today I'll have leftover scalloped potatoes, and tomorrow leftover pork roast, etc.....lunches continue with kraut dogs.....they started working pretty early next door cleaning up shrubs and tree branches and other things around the house.....the track-hoe for pulling it down isn't on scene yet.....looked like it took the City utility guys a while to find where the water line crossed the property line so they could cap it off there......if I bundle up enough I can go walking today and not freeze in the process.....the house looks pretty clean today.....that will last until I track more stuff in .....since it was below freezing in the night the central heat has been running pretty regular....running right now.....

Right now

The demolition man is next door with a back hoe and a big dump truck starting to clear off the abandoned house ....he says he should have it leveled off and seeded before he shuts down for Thanksgiving....I'd watch from the front porch but it's still too dang cold out...

storm came through

around 3 in the morning I think some thunder woke me up.....but the sound of the rain put me back to sleep OK.....things looked pretty soaked when I walked after breakfast.....windchill 33 degrees, solid cloud cover.....it's still nasty looking outside now when I usually go for another walk....so I guess I'll just stay inside and maybe find some house-cleaning to do.....well, there's plenty of that to do, won't have to look very hard.....the ham and potato supper last night was delicious, and there's another two servings of that left it looks like.....today will be cold enough to use the oven again and do the little pork roast.....with potato and apple wedges.....it should make gravy.....I got sweet peas to go with that.....the central heat is running with the chill wind blowing outside.....I guess Winter starts next week, right before Thanksgiving?  Winters get rougher as you get older....that's my theory....

In the local paper

The city council voted the money to tear down the house next door that's been sitting vacant and burned out.....also I read that Clinton Mill precient went for the President.....and that the Clinton mill neighborhood, commonly called Mill Village.....is being made a multiple housing revitalization zone under some program with federal money....I guess that means tearing down some of the old cottages and building apartments?  I'll have to try to follow that in the news......as I was buying apples this morning the produce man asked me if I was a Tingle....he's Amy's husband.....they live in the old farmhouse where Douglas and Becky lived, with the chicken houses, etc.....I don't think they still raise chickens there though.....I got a small pork roast......and I did get the fixings for kraut dog lunches this week....suppers will be anchored by the scalloped potatoes with ham, and pork roast with biscuits, gravy, and peas....some sun is coming out now, but there's still a cold wind....I'll think about walking after lunch....got the natural gas bill....a few therms more than last year the same period....

29 degree windchill

clouded over.....the next storm expected after midnight, maybe sooner.....I need apples and eggs this week.....trying to decide if I should bother cooking a turkey this year....I like the leftover turkey breast and stuffing sandwiches.....maybe just make enchiladas or something....don't know....maybe I'll buy wieners, buns, and sauerkraut for lunches this week.....I need cold weather meals I guess...."comfort food".....going to be 5 to 10 degrees colder than normal for a week or so says the evening news weatherman.....get a can of corn chowder, that's good.....make biscuits.....well, I'll just get out and over to the grocery store and see what I can find.....

season opening rout

the Clemson-PC basketball game.....guess who were the rout-ers and who the rout-ees?  overnight rain....patchy rain lingers....stuck in the 50s today.....my right heel/ankle had a pain in it this morning that persisted until after breakfast, when it finally made a popping/grinding noise and the pain subsided.....damn body parts.....things seem to fall apart while you are asleep, and then you have to get all the bits and pieces stacked up the right way again before you can get moving through another day.....heated up the mac n cheese and the cabbage right in the skillet with the ham yesterday.....nothing like slightly crunchy and a little greasy cheese sauce coated pasta....today I'll go to a back-up supper of store-brand chili with beans served over BBQ Fritos, with parmesan-romono cheese garnish....then Wednesday I can get potatoes at the store and make the scalloped potatoes with ham in the afternoon....I'll need eggs this week.....sounds like the wind is picking up outside, I'll have to stick my head out the door and see if conditions are good for walking or not......

warmish overcast

55F overnight and into this morning.....looks like a good sized rain system headed this way sometime soon, probably tomorrow.....GTM was Sunday, not Saturday so I got to talk to the brothers and even briefly see Jameson and wave at him.....had the Falcons on with the sound off at the same time.....Falcons lost their first game.....had ham, eggs over easy, and hash-browns for Sunday supper....I should buy some potatoes this week and make escalloped potatoes with ham.....the chicken salad is all gone....there's still some mac n cheese for a side again this evening.....the brothers were talking about Thanksgiving....can' t believe it's getting here so fast myself.....though it is looking like the season for sure, lots of leaves turning and falling, not much sunshine, some houses starting to decorate....it just makes me feel tired for some reason.....

too much football

but they were good games.....the Bama defeat and the Gamecock win.....but Oregon didn't even start 'til after I was asleep....says online they won.....I had sausage at breakfast instead of ham....today the Panthers and Falcons are on at the same time.....Falcons might be the better game.....got pretty cold overnight, was 36 when I went for the Sunday paper, which had plenty of ads packed into it....holiday madness.....finished one library book last night instead of watching a third football game....finally got a tuning that works well on the blue guitar....I think it's a G minor sort of....that poor old guitar is so ricketey you have to use a slack tuning I guess because it can't take too much high string tension without making strange hums and growls.....anyway, should be nice again outside by the afternoon....if the clouds that are moving in move out again....or burn off....

a total dud

that's what the morning paper said about the Laurens Raider's first playoff game in four years.....the home team suffered a 56-0 pounding....the game was in Laurens.....the Blue Hose played their first basketball game and beat Erskine, but Monday they play at Clemson.....we'll see what happens there....I think their last football game is here this afternoon.....Senior Day......Gamecocks and Razorbacks at noon on CBS today.....moving from sport to weather, another clear cold dawn....36F....but should get up around 70 in the afternoon.....no rain expected until Monday night-Tuesday morning.....you can sign up now if you want to be in the Clinton Christmas Parade....it's usually pretty cold that morning, as I recall....early in December.....on the food front, ham and yam last night as planned.....today ham and mac n cheese with the seasoned cabbage....I might add some curry to the seasoning too.....
Sunday breakfast will be ham and french toast.....had curried chicken salad sandwich with bread-and-butter pickle slices for Saturday lunch.....today's lunch sandwich will be (drum roll)....ham and swiss on rye....with pickle slices, mustard, mayo.....I think this is a GoToMeeting Saturday....so maybe I'll see Nick and Dan, and perhaps Dave....on the iPad at 1........I'll have the football game on with the sound off.....

Banjo strings, drive in the woods

I went to get a guitar string and got banjo strings too while I was over there....it was so nice out driving that I went to the Ora churchyard for a visit and then went the detour way back to Clinton through the woods....Fall colors, air like wine, etc.....and then I fought with the banjo for a while to make it get in tune....more or less.....going to have a sweet potato with ham for supper....mild enough to sit out on the porch this afternoon.....

little bit warmer

34 this morning instead of 32.....it did get up into mid 60s yesterday afternoon, suitable for a porch-sitting session.....used the last of the gravy on the ham and hash-browns and green beans.....I've got a can of seasoned cabbage lined up as the next veggie side.....sunny and calm out now, up to 48F....so I'll go walk the park.....broke a guitar string, so after lunch I'll go over to Laurens and get a string....and maybe do some other shopping if I can think of anything I need  while I'm out and about.....the mail just came, another cable company offer....no wonder Charter was in receivership .....they spend too much money on advertising....no mail at all Thursday.....Laurens High football goes into post-season as the 8th seed, plays the 10th seed tonight .....

definite frost this morning

32F, clear and calm when I went out the door after breakfast.....didn't get out of the 40s yesterday....but I did get some walking done in the afternoon finally.....will probably stay in the 50s today mostly.....around the corner on Washington there's workers out tearing the shingles off the roof....will be hammering noises for a couple of days I imagine....I don't think any rain is predicted the next few days.....next week they say the temps will be milder.....I fixed fried ham and mashed potatoes and gravy and creamed spinach for Wednesday supper.....today it might be ham, hash-browns, and green beans....the bag of hash-browns was a dollar off....an easy starch side....so lunch sandwiches will alternate between chicken salad and ham and swiss for a while.....I can go take a walk through the park if I put on my leather jacket and stocking cap I guess.....

One of those days

Every time I think about getting out walking some it starts raining again....and it's still dang cold....well, 41 and wet.....I did make more chicken salad and had a sandwich for lunch....put more onion and curry in this batch....did get a 3 lb. canned ham....so ham and sweet potato, ham and hash browns, ham and grits, grilled ham and Swiss on rye, ham with French toast on Sunday morning, etc.....it was raining gently when I was loading the bags into the Jeep, and unloading them too....nothing much new in the local paper....SC went 44% for the President.....roughly the same in Laurens County I think .....a lot of the people on my ballot had no opposition....strange local offices like sewer board or whatever.....Greenville and Spartanburg had some voting problems.....machines that didn't work and long lines.....but things went smooth here as far as I know.....

cold and drizzle

took the Jeep to get the paper today.....the online weather for Laurens said "chance of snow and rain".....I don't think it's really cold enough for snow.....stayed up until 12:30 watching the election results.....didn't stay up to see a concession or a victory speech....don't know when they got around to that.....about time now to go grocery shopping....I think I remember ham slices buy one get one free in the ad that comes in the mail....I suppose you can freeze a ham slice....or I'll look at the prices for a small ham or piece of a ham, haven't cooked ham in a while....cleaned the meat off the chicken bones yesterday and diced it up....had the creamed chicken on toast, that was good....and with the rest of the diced chicken I can make more chicken salad I suppose....need TP, OJ, bread, wine....might as well get going....it's still raining on and off looks like....

felt a few drops of rain

on the early walk.....cold north wind again this morning.....rain against the window panes every now and then.....one of those "scattered showers" days.....there were quite a few cars at the polling place when I went by there at 8, so I decided to wait for a bit before going back across the street to vote....let the folks on their way to work get done.....the grocery ad for Wednesday already came last Saturday.....it was all Thanksgiving cooking already.....turkeys discounted, various hams, everything for baking, etc.....I still have several meals left on that chicken I think.....I might just do a roast chicken this year instead of a turkey.....there's always too much left-over.....got some good library books, just read most of Monday afternoon.....that was the last sort of warm day for a while looks like.....the central heat came on before dawn today.....I can have a chicken salad sandwich for lunch.....pork chop last night, maybe something like creamed chicken on toast tonight?  I have a package of creamed spinach in the freezer, it was on sale for a buck.....well, I'll go vote.....don't know if I'll stay awake late enough to see the final returns.....

behind the cold front this morning

it's been getting up around 70 the last few days, but today will be more like a high of 60.....mid 40s and cold north wind right now.....went to bed at half-time of the Falcons game.....it says in the the paper they won.....used up the chicken gravy at Sunday supper, but I have a packet of Country Gravy to use today with breaded pork chop, mashed potatoes, the last of the peas.....liquor stores are closed tomorrow, but you can still buy beer and wine at the usual places.....sounds like the central heat just kicked on.....the wind seems to be picking up out there....in a few I'm going over to the library.....got my heavy flannel shirt on, with a sweat-shirt and a T-shirt too.....I might do a load of laundry later....the curried chicken salad made a good sandwich, and there's enough left for another lunch.....

Some rain after all

In the evening after supper....the Panthers won a game?  Watching Giants and Steelers with the stereo playing random rock.....finished my library books.....looks like the rain is stopping already, the front having moved through.....

nice Sunday morning

they were saying 20% chance of rain, but I don't see any clouds.....just bright and sunny....a front of some sort will come through later in the day I guess.....turning the clock back an hour wasn't enough to make me stay awake through the late football games....I was switching back and forth between Bama and LSU and Trojans-Ducks.....Ducks - Bama might be the big bowl game?  the undefeated Falcons play the Cowboys in the late game tonight....we'll have to see if I stay awake through that....Blue Hose were not defeated this Saturday.....only because they had a bye......didn't get that cold overnight, I don't think the heat ever turned on....it was 74 yesterday afternoon.....my lightly breaded pork chop was tasty and tender.....heated up stuffing, peas, and gravy in the iron skillet too....one after the other....so Sunday supper can be roast chicken platter.....the stuffing is used up so it will be mashed potatoes and gravy as the starch side.....lunch sandwich might be curried chicken salad on rye....the mayo is almost gone, but there should be enough to make some chicken salad.....with sweet pickle relish and just a little curry powder in there too....maybe some sweet onion chopped fine.....yesterday I was thinking I could go to Walmart this morning, but now I can't remember why....don't know what I was going to look for over there.....

sunny, lower 40s

it got up around 70 Friday afternoon, so I had the kitchen window open for a while around supper time.....supper today can be a pork chop with the same sides as the chicken.....stuffing and peas, gravy on it all......maybe I can use up that corned beef today at lunch.....with swiss on rye, etc....Laurens lost to Greenwood, so Greenwood goes undefeated and wins the Region .....Clinton didn't have a game, their season ended last week.....South Carolina doesn't have early voting per se, but to vote absentee all you have to say is that Tuesday is a work day for you.....I guess a lot of people have been doing that.....I'll just walk across the street and vote around the middle of the morning, not much of a line then judging from past experience.....maybe I'll watch the Oregon game this evening.....didn't watch TV after the news last night, just read a book until bedtime.....so maybe by Monday I'll be ready for a library trip, at this rate.....the property tax bill came.....two-hundred bucks.....but next year I'll be 65 and I can go file a "homestead" and the bill should go down to the minimum sixty dollars.....which isn't actually a tax amount, it's the "landfill fee" that shows up for every title holder.....

no frost

it actually ended up warmer than yesterday morning instead of freezing.....maybe because some clouds came in during the middle of the night .....it was clear just before I went to bed though, I stuck my head out the front door to take a look at the night, and the moon and Jupiter thing was going on with no clouds then.....so last night I used a fifty cent can of beans and some sausage and onion to make supper....tonight I can heat up some of that tasty roasted chicken with cornbread stuffing, peas, gravy.....it made plenty of gravy.... tomorrow we turn back the clocks and Tuesday we vote finally, get that over with.....didn't get any mail yesterday that I can remember.....there's still some meatloaf for one more lunch sandwich.....

11/1/12

34 degrees at sunrise....so I got my wool cap out of the chester drawers, and my leather jacket out of the closet.....trickertreat was busy this year.....churches in the neighborhood had trunkertreat, and the City had a big deal going on over at the square....so there were plenty of families around....and all my candy was gone by 7:18 ......two bags of Tootsie Rolls.....the other years here I've had some leftover.....the sear-roasting experiment with the chicken made for delicious eating.....but did fill the kitchen with smoke and make some mess with grease in the oven....you can still smell smoke this morning....it made really good gravy.....and leftovers for a few meals this week.....the County is under a Winter Weather Statement.....which amounts to a Frost Advisory I guess.....I've got the check written out for car insurance, and I'm going to walk over to Allstate and pay that shortly.....it's still cold outside but I can bundle up and make it .....some of the chicken can go into curried chicken salad sandwiches I suppose.....to use up sausage I'll make pinto beans with sausage and onion tonight and have that in a bowl over Chili Cheese Fritos.....instead of making cornbread like last time with the pork n pintos.....might have the last half of a bratwurst in a sandwich for lunch today, finish off that sausage too.....if you google iron skillet roasted chicken there's a link to a video of sear-roasting....but to get the delicious aroma you'll have to try it live.....

windchill 38F

that'll wake you up when you go walking after breakfast.....might get down to freezing tonight.....hopefully after trick or treat is over.....got to remember to get the candy this morning at the grocery store....might get a chicken to roast too, haven't done that in a while....St. Louis ribs were in the ad yesterday.....I've got cornbread stuffing to eat up, that goes with about anything.....need olive oil this week, and a dozen eggs....out of Fritos too.....the central heat is running, guess the" heating season" is here right on time......my neighbor from around the corner came over yesterday and picked up a bag of pecans from out back, there are way too many for me to do anything with.....and I don't bend over very well to pick things up any how.....so, off to the market.....

From outer space

You can see the Frankenstorm images show the edge of the system extending over the Upstate again....this time coming in the back door over the mountains....where it is blowing snow probably....here it is 42 windchill and dark with clouds....I don't feel like getting out and going for a walk right now....maybe it will be a little warmer by the afternoon....I did meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and squash all in the iron skillet yesterday, instead of heating it up in the microwave....makes for a better presentation.....today I will sauté sweet onion and bell pepper in olive oil and then add a box of cornbread stuffing. ....that will be the "starch" side with more squash as the veg and a brat as the meat....I've got the electric fire on in the living room, and lamps on to make it less gloomy.....the forced air heat kicked on during the night....it is a lot quieter with the replacement fan motor than it was in previous years.....you have to concentrate on the sounds to tell if it's even on, whereas it used to be that the floor vents would whistle sort of.....I should go out and cut off whatever it is that is rubbing against the wall outside the bedroom in the wind, pestering me at night....must be the wisteria...that's all we've been getting from the storm, lots of wind....

43 at sunrise

my weather page showed the same reading for Escondido.....predicting 37 for Monday night-Tuesday morning......calling for wet heavy snow and high winds in the mountains, but dry and chilly down 'round here getting into Halloween night.....glad I don't live in New York or anywhere near it.....so it's crisp walking weather this morning.....the World Series is over so I can get to bed earlier tonight than I have been.....can have meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and yellow squash for supper.....then do something with bratwurst Tuesday and go shopping Wednesday.....I think there might be a box of cornbread stuffing still in the kitchen cupboard, 'cause they were buy one get one free.....a potential side with the brat?  we'll make something work....that's another day anyway.....

more Giants

so I stayed up late again watching the baseball.....maybe SF will win the Series tonight in a sweep?  watched the Dawgs bite the Gators.....don't know if I'll bother watching those lousy Panthers or not.....sometime in the wee small hours I woke up briefly thinking I'd felt a slight earthquake.....but the only earthquake news online this morning is a 7.7 off Vancouver Island.....don't think I felt that....it said there was a tsunami warning for Oregon....I wonder if the warning siren went off where Caroline lives.....the wave ended up being four inches tall I think it said.....hurricane Sandy has gone North, the Carolina coast got some rain but no real bad winds or damage.....there's a big black bank of cloud visible to the West, must be that cold front moving this way.....52 for the Sunday sunrise, with lows in the 30s predicted for tonight....I had a sausage patty with my french toast this morning, rather than the usual two sausage links.....got a half pound of bulk country sausage to use up somehow, maybe in chili later this week.....it looks like it's going to be dang cold Halloween night.....I haven't bought any candy yet....can do that during my regular Wednesday shopping....

hurricane weather?

clouds and wind from Sandy reaching into the Upstate area.....and the cold front slowly slipping south and east to get here Sunday sometime.....but they say the worst of it will be in the North-East where the Frankenstorm hits.....60s this morning, persistent winds, clouded over.....Laurens and Clinton both won their football games, and Laurens plays unbeaten Greenwood next week in their Region showdown.....Georgia and Florida will be on this afternoon.....and tonight will be game 3 of the Series.....I'm going to ride over to Laurens and Walmart, come home the back way.....mainly just for the drive, get out of the house.....plenty of leftovers for suppers and sandwiches this weekend.....ads in the paper for holiday dinners.....frozen turkeys on sale, etc.....pages of pictures of pies, cakes, and candy....ack, the holidaze....bah humbug.....

the best meatloaf I ever made

maybe I say that every time I make meatloaf.....it was good anyway, and plenty left over.....instead of walking right now I'll go out and run the mower for perhaps the last time until Spring.....the grass has already stopped growing pretty much, but a quick pass over it all will blow away or grind into mulch a lot of the stuff falling off the trees.....need to blow the acorns off the sidewalk too.....55 outside, should be comfortable enough.....late night again watching that baseball game.....a pitcher's duel I guess you could say.....and the Giants had lots of lucky breaks again.....so I can have a cold meatloaf sandwich for lunch....pickles, mustard, mayo....on rye.....this week seemed to go by fast....if we can live through the election and the Holidays we will be in 2013 before we know it.....

81 yesterday

today should be much the same....50 at sunrise again this morning....but after this weekend they are saying the highs will be down in the 60s or 50s even.....hurricane Sandy may or may not send clouds this way before or at Halloween......watched the Giants again....another good game, so another night of not getting to bed until almost 12.....but then I sleep through pretty well until 6:30 when I get going out of force of habit anyway.....I checked online for the time and temp for the oatmeal meatloaf.....and it's 3/4 cup of oats for 1.5 lbs. meat.....I use 1 pound of ground round and a half pound of country sausage.....diced onion, diced bell pepper, diced garlic, cream of mushroom soup for the liquid....one egg.....spices may very by whim......bake a potato with that, serve with peas.....I have peppered gravy already made from yesterday's banger and mash.....another baseball game this evening at 8.....I'm half-way through Horse Shoe Robinson.....the action takes place in this neck of the woods towards the end of the Revolution.....Musgrove Mill and all that.....the story is mostly true, but the writing is 19th century florid romantic in style.....oh, time and temp are one hour at 350.....

Gone barefoot

Was sweating when I got back from the park....so changed from boots and jeans and flannel shirt to T shirt, shorts, and barefoot....yesterday it went from 50 in the morning to 80 in the afternoon....today should be the same thing....I'm not complaining.....went to the store and got fixings  for meatloaf, baked potato, bangers and mash......got peas, squash.....remembered the paper towels this time, got more whipped butter....brat, grits, egg over easy as a breakfast for Sunday supper?  We'll figure things out eventually.....I'm still feeling somewhat beat up from Monday working in the yard....as the wise man said, it's Hell getting old.....lunch menu can vary this week with bratwurst sandwich, meatloaf sandwich, and patty melt as options to the corned beef sandwich.....going to put a whole bell pepper into the meatloaf, probably tomorrow....done that before and it's good....today is banger and a mash with tender peas, gravy......haven't looked at the Clinton paper yet....

Finally

The gas company is next door with a back hoe digging up their line to the burned out house.....the one guy says the place should be demolished in the next couple weeks....sounds good to me....then I'll have an empty lot next door maintained by the City as far as mowing down the weeds there....they already picked up my yard debris from yesterday....I had to rub some extra stuff on my lower back last night to get to sleep, after working on those shrubs in the morning....got to bed around midnight since I stayed up to watch all of that pennant game from on the bay out West....it was finished in a regular deluge.....my beans and rice with slow roast pork made for a hearty supper....will finish that off today, and then we will see what we can find at the grocery store next morning for another week....paid my broadband bill and the City bill.....my car insurance is due on election day....I'll get over there before that and pay it .....Allstate is just a couple blocks from the house.....nothing good in the mail today.....had a pleasant walk through the park....ate my little green apple on the front porch in the sunshine.....I'll fix grilled Swiss and corned beef on rye in a while for lunch....I've got plenty to read...

Hedge trimming

I don't think anybody would hire me to trim hedges....not if they saw the way I hacked things up along the north fence this morning.....I did get a big pile of trimmings moved out to the curb for the truck tomorrow .....the clam shell on a crane will pick up maybe a pick up truck worth of stuff all at once....that's about how much I put out there.....sure is easier this way than actually putting it in a truck and driving it to a dump and paying for that .....I guess in Sonora I could have burned it.....anyway, I got a good part done....will do more some other day.....was 41 at sunrise.....now it's 68 outside, but not that warm inside....watched the Giants last night so I got to bed late, but it's cold enough lately to sleep pretty well.....cold pork sandwich with pickles and Swiss cheese on lightly toasted rye spread with brown mustard and mayo for lunch.....ate all my Sun Chips yesterday watching sports on TV, so I had Fritos and a pepper and a glass of Merlot with that....later today I can do up some more pork with sweet onion and garlic in olive oil to go into the black beans and rice....the cooked pork, it will just have to brown up some with the garlic and onion.....that yard work put a bend in my back, so now I can just lie down for a bit I think....

Clear and chilly Sunday morning

41 degrees at sunrise when I went out walking for the paper.....didn't see much going on that time on a Sunday. ...one jogger and the guy at the store were about all that seemed to be moving....a train did go by.....I ran the electric fire some to heat up the living room....55 in the rest of the house.....had my French toast and sausage this morning.....corned beef and Swiss on rye for lunch I imagine.....supper might be French bread pizza while watching some football game or other....Panthers play the Cowboys in an early game I think....Gamecocks did not do well....Blue Hose lost.....they won the first half, but not the game....with the slow pork yesterday I fixed brown rice and the last of the spinach greens....so there's slow cooked pork to dice up and use with red beans and rice for a
 couple meals.....leaves out the window seem to be turning color as we speak....I picked up some pecans off the back lawn the other day and sat on the porch edge and cracked and ate some....some others were old, not good to eat....a lot haven't fallen yet.....

68, blues skies, leaves in the breeze

From the front porch there's the music from the street fair.....inside there's some football on with the sound off.....and the aroma of the chili-curry pork in a slow oven....makes for another lazy Saturday afternoon.....family groups walking to and from downtown, those headed back into mill village have balloons tried to the strollers......I think all the kids rides and games are free, there's some couple who pays for that every year .....

Fall Festival Report

not too much festive happening early on downtown.....as usual, nobody stepped up to a microphone to start anything when it was scheduled to begin.....various people with clipboards or pieces of paper in their hands were twisting about looking  like they were trying to find somebody who appeared to be in charge.....but nothing happened .....they do have two nice rented PA systems set up a few blocks away from each other.....both of them going "test one two three".....the sound guys were ready anyway....not a very good car show this time....no old Studebakers or Packards like that one year.....I think there's a major cruise-in going on today in a bigger city.....this event is usually one weekend closer to Halloween, so some vendors are some where else I guess.....the hash dog folks from Greenwood were not there this morning.....so maybe it will pick up later, get more people .....it goes on until after dark with a street dance, but I'll be watching Gamecock football by then, if I get that channel....I think I do.....saw some innings of the Giants last night, and it looks like they hung on to win and send it back to Frisco.....I should probably go ahead and cook up those country ribs that are defrosted now.....do something with them before they get funky.....it's cool enough for folks out over there to be all wearing jackets and sweatshirts or something, will probably stay in the 60s with some west wind all day.....anyway, I got some extra walking done, and I can go back over after lunch maybe.....probably not.....

just a walk in the park

another fine Fall morning for it.....also went to the library, even though it's not my usual day....'cause I was done with my books.....found something more for a while....got stopped by the empty returning coal train on the way over....I guess if they close some of the coal-fired power plants like they are talking about maybe those trains won't run?  This is the time of year when acorns drop loudly on top of your car as you drive along in front of the college.....I'm going to vacuum, take a shower, wash a load of laundry, eat lunch in there some time.....there's various leftovers for supper this evening....like chow mien.....going to be sunny and around 70 mostly.....pretty soon I can take a drive out through the forest and look at the colors of the season....you don't have to go far out of town to be in the middle of all that....got the electric, water, trash bill this morning and paid it online.....not bad for September since I didn't have to run the AC at all and the heating only came on one or two of the colder nights we had....

50, cloudy

but the rain front fell apart before it got here looks like, just sort of dissolved on the radar replay.....I don't know what tweaked my back yesterday, but it is acting tricky this morning.....muscles knotted up in the same old spot as usual.....I turned off the TV last night when the ballgame went into rain-delay.....SF lost anyway it says on Yahoo Sports......so if the World Series ends up with Detroit and St. Louis, who will care?  SF and NY would have better ratings, I think.....just a second, I heard the mailbox......dang, something from my bank.....Accidental Death Insurance?  useless.....whether it's an accident or not, you're just as dead.....and would hence have no need for the money.....the shrimp dish turned out pretty good for supper, enough left for another night.....today I think I'll make pintos cooked with sweet onion and diced up pork served over hot cornbread.....lunch can be corned beef and swiss on rye.....hopefully Saturday morning won't be dismal like this.....we want a good crowd for the Fall Festival don't we?   maybe if I put on a warmer jacket the walk around the park will be comfortable enough right now.....

Mostly cleared off

After chilly overcast earlier in the morning.....went grocery shopping.....some meals will be: shrimp chow mien, pintos with pork over cornbread, and red beans and rice with pork .....got the other package of pork out of the freezer obviously .....the above should be 2X suppers....so six days taken care of there, and I still have a French bread pizza.......had hash tacos today, finished off tortillas and hash.....so now for lunches I have rye bread, swiss cheese, can of corned beef.....along with peppers, pickles, Fritos.....got some Sun Chips 'cause they were half price.....got more eggs and OJ.....remembered toothpaste this time but forgot paper towels again .....watched Elvis Costello and the Imposters from 2004 in Memphis....another great Netflix offering.....I think I saw that show live on some Dish channel back when.....looks like the Giants game is on at 4 this afternoon.....

Nice afternoon

Lawns are starting to go dormant, trees are turning color.....not too hot, not too cold.....I looked up piano tuning online, and it said a rule of thumb is to sound A# above middle C with the stops off and see if it resonates at 440 .....something like that anyway.....with a Seiko quartz guitar tuner I got the green diode lit up....so the dang old piano might be pretty much in tune....it must have been tuned some time since 1941......on the food front, I've got a sweet tater needs to be used.....and spinach greens too....so supper can be some of that pork fried up, cooked spinach, sweet potato baked.....didn't see anything in today's grocery ad to inspire me, but I'll find something I suppose when I go to the store in the morning.....

clear, cool, less humid a little

was 46 at sunrise......I'll go for another walk and then I really should mop the kitchen floor, it's pretty bad.....watched a Pretenders concert from somewhere in L.A. in 2003.....two hours worth of the hits, that was a good show.....went out on the porch for a few minutes after that, and then it was bedtime.....got a Guitar Player in the mail yesterday, along with three insurance solicitations....one to "Tingle Family" offering insurance on children?  Why would you insure children......I got Merlot while I was over at Walmart, 'cause the 5 litre box is a few bucks cheaper there than at the grocery store.....didn't find the other things I was looking for.....it was a nice drive though, raining just enough to run the wipers on the slowest speed going over that way.....it had stopped by the time I came back home.....

new moon on Monday

64F this morning....the clouds kept the warmth pretty well....I got around my route for the newspaper before the rain front got here....it started coming down while I was reading the paper....but I don't know how long it's going to keep coming and going this morning, hard to tell from the radar which way it is heading exactly.....but things got wet so I won't try to go out and trim up the shrubs out back with the electric pruner.....I was thinking of working on that today because Tuesday is the day they pick up yard cuttings from the curb.....watched a lot of football yesterday, but when the baseball Giants got behind by 6 runs I gave up and went on to bed at my regular time.....I guess I'll go over to Walmart, I can do that while it's raining easily enough.....some things I want to look at over there.....it will be back to pork platter for supper today, and lunch can be some kind of sandwich.....maybe a fried egg sandwich, I do that every once in a while for variety....

mostly cloudy

mid-50s......some rainy weather might start moving up during the night, 40% chance for Monday......49er game on TV later.....and even MLB with the SF Giants at night.....but I'd never stay awake through a baseball game running that late, doesn't start until 8?  Looking like grilled swiss on rye with some onion for lunch, french bread pizza and spinach salad for supper.....that's easy.....this cooler weather is good for sleeping....even in the middle of the day...it's easy to take a bit of a nap after lunch.....since there's nothing much else to do anyway.....the library books are going fast this time, good stories.....only half a  book left......

invigorating

walking just after sunrise.....54F, windy.....gets the blood pumping after breakfast.....did get to 75 yesterday, 70 predicted today....maybe it will get that warm if this cold wind lets up by the afternoon.....should be some football on to watch today and this evening....Laurens and Clinton both won their games, so they are "alive" as regards getting through region and into post-season play.....Laurens is in a strong position, Clinton just barely hanging in there.....the mail man just came by.....nothing but somebody trying to sell insurance again.....and it's dang cold out there still in that wind, so I might forgo walking around the park this morning.....today lunch can be pot roast sandwich, supper can be the rib platter heated up.....

Warmer today

75 predicted.....nice morning, so I got out and knocked down the weeds behind the house and some along the north side.....I talked to a couple of guys who were looking at the burned house next door.....the City had put an ad in the paper for bids to tear it down, and these guys said they had quoted eight grand .....so they don't know if they will get it or not.....maybe some day it will get gone....I boiled the crock pot juices down into a gravy, with just a little flour in there to thicken it up....and that was good with the rib meat and the stuffing, etc....for lunch today I'll make hash taquitos.....and supper might be spaghetti and meatballs and a salad....using a frozen entree I got a couple weeks ago for a buck I think it was....just to vary things instead of having the same supper two nights in a row.....nothing in the mail but an insurance solicitation.....lots of acorns this year, so they say the bears have a good supply of mast to eat so they shouldn't come into town so much and get in garbage.....but there is a bear warning right now in the campgrounds off the Blue Ridge Highway.....bears went on a rampage last weekend for some unknown reason, chased out some tourists.....

cold front?

a cold front was predicted to come through in the middle of the night.....not such a terrible cold front I guess, the heater didn't come on at all.....and it's sunny out this morning with a high around 70 called for this afternoon.....it was 46 at sunrise.....the weather page gave the same reading for Coos Bay.....hash on rice is a tasty and hearty meal, I'll have to do that again some time.....today will be the pork that's in the slow cooker already.....lunch will be a cold pot roast beef sandwich with pickles, mustard, mayo.....some BBQ Fritos, and a glass of merlot....and probably a Greek pepper too.....
I might need the jean jacket when I go walk again, there is a north wind.....finished another library book, and on the fly it said that two books by the author had been made into movies, so I punched into Netflix search and watched one of them last night.....Elvis in Texas fighting a soul-sucking mummy.....Bubba Ho-Tep?  I think that's what it was called.....

Hash on rice

With spinach salad as the side.....that's for today....tomorrow I'll do country ribs in the crock pot with BBQ sauce, onion, apple cider vinegar, oregano.....and whatever.....a little soy sauce?  And the sides will be cornbread stuffing and cut corn.....you can boil the drippings into a reduction sauce gravy, put some on the stuffing.....

sun's come out

still some chilly morning air though, crisp walking conditions.....went to get groceries and gas.....90 bucks for those....regular Shell I got for $3.29.....got country pork ribs cheap today too, froze half of them and the other half will be plenty of supper meat for a week.....pinto beans, cornbread stuffing, sweet tater, spinach greens, etc.... for sides.....lunches will be pot roast sandwiches, or grilled swiss on rye....or both of those put together as a beef melt?  got fruit and nut mix for snacking.....I already had enough eggs and apples on hand 'til next time.....got more orange juice, and oatmeal....well, I've got the Clinton paper to look at....the gas bill came, and yesterday the car insurance bill came that's due in November for six months worth.....this will be the last real cheap natural gas bill, since I fired up the heater two nights ago and it will cost more and more as it gets colder and colder.....the City posted hints on saving on your energy bill.....one of them was "wear clothes"......I hadn't thought of that.....

Indoor day

It just didn't want to warm up today.....did my daily walking in the chill and then have been mostly playing guitar and listening to Internet radio....or both at the same time.....right now got Sonic Youth Daydream Nation (remaster) on mog....earlier I had on that blues station that streams from Suriname while jamming along with the Silvertone  Fastback plugged into the Pedal Farm Hybrid Fuzz and then into the Fender Champion 600 reissue.....cheap thrills.....sounded good....good tone anyway, don't know about good licks.....close enough for government work, as we used to say.....mid fifties in most of the house, warm enough in this room with the electric fire on....

colder still

46F outside at sunrise, about 10 degrees warmer in the house.....the newspaper described the wake-up weather as "drizzle/fog".....that's about right.....out early walking the cars had on headlights but not wipers.....but the cold NE wind has stopped, so it should get warmer this afternoon than it did yesterday.....Monday I had the hash fried with an egg in the middle and fried grits too.....well, you boil them the regular way and then fry them sorta as a patty, with butter.....I think there's enough of the pot roast veggies and gravy left for one more of those meals tonight....one biscuit left for that....don't know what I will find in the morning for another week of eating....I need to buy toothpaste....two chili-dogs left to fix.....one of these days soon I should go to the gas station with the Jeep, got about a quarter tank left.....

52F, lowering skies, 12 mph NE wind

but on the radar it looks like the rain isn't coming near here any time soon....it's over in the mountains.....60F in the house, put a sweatshirt on.....maybe I'll have to turn on the central heat one of these days.....it looked to me like San Diego was going to get beat, so I went to bed by half-time....sure enough.....I watched most of the Falcons game too, and parts of a couple of others, switching back and forth with the flow of commercials.....and on PBS I saw "Give Me the Banjo".....that was good, inspired me to get the banjo out of the corner and strum it during the last of the football.....they showed some old-timey dude playing it with a slide.....I like to play the mandolin with a slide sometimes.....had pot roast last night, which is about like a stew as you get towards the end of it 'cause there's lots of gravy left....there will be a good chunk of the beef left to do something with.....tacos or sandwiches.....I've got that hash to work with too.....it's too nasty out to consider yard-work again, so maybe I'll just bundle up some and go for a walk.....as some of the bushes out there loose some leaves it will be easier to work on them....when I can see what I'm doing....that's my rationalization.....

Staying chilly and windy

This day isn't good for much but reading or watching football.....or taking a nap .....on the radar it looks like rain headed this way from the west.....maybe it will just be a pot roast day, since it's so autumnal....

grumbling and flickering

thunderstorm passing to the north of here in the dark just before it was time to get out of bed.....didn't get any rain from it in Clinton .....so dark overcast, windy, chilly.....street lights still on after dawn when I walked for the newspaper.....should stay in the 60s today.....I don't think the City takes a holiday on Columbus Day.....I'll try putting the trash out and see if it gets picked up.....ham and rye french toast for breakfast, last little bit of that ham slice.....lunch can be a chili dog or a hash dog.....supper might be a french bread pizza watching a football game in the living room.....or maybe fried hash with an egg and grits.....watched plenty of football Saturday evening, some interesting games.....I think a Charger game is on today later .....on a channel I get.....I don't know if it was from stomping around in Laurens yesterday, or from the change in the weather....but my left knee and right ankle were doing their aching thing in bed this morning....but not too bad now, after I got my feet under me and some walking done.....if it's going to be this gloomy of a day it should just go ahead and rain, at least make it worthwhile.....

did get some hash

but no brisket.....they all said their brisket wouldn't be ready until 12:30 or 1:00.....and that's pretty much nap time for me these days....if it can't get done in the morning, it doesn't get done....so I had a lot of lunch, a chili dog and a hash dog....and some good sweet tea.....to use up my tickets I got some hash to take home .....so now I have containers of pot roast and hash in the fridge....easy to fix meals for a few days anyway....the hash is pretty tasty, might have it over biscuit for supper.....in T shirt and jeans it was getting hot seemed to me by 11:30 or so.....made my escape from the crowd.....saw Cindy and Addie and Edson over there.....Addie is 4 years older, but they appear to be the same height....I walked around a lot over there, so got my boots off as soon as I got home....and put on some old ragged  bluejean shorts, 'cause the weather has switched back to warmish, at least for today.....only mail here was ads trying to get me to sign up for various Medicare Advantage programs....tore them in half and tossed them in the kitchen trash.....Cindy said there was a good crowd last night too, and it goes on today until bands and fireworks after dark.....I put in my ten bucks worth for the civic festivities....somebody must be making money on it all.....

Cool morning

So I got out and did the front yard, trimming and mowing.....clear today, finally no clouds....the pot roast is a success, tasty with a large bell pepper in there with the other stuff....guess I'll have that again this evening.....tomorrow I'll get a lunch of ribs and whatever over in Laurens ....last year I got three ribs and a chili dog and an apple fritter, or some other sweet thing at this church bake sale booth....I want to see if I can find a sample size of beef brisket maybe.....in a sandwich?  It's something different to do anyway on a Saturday, other than just sitting around as usual.....they have lots of crafts booths, but I've never seen anything  I needed to buy.....

crock pot roast

meat and veggies and such cooking slowly, ought to be plenty.....high humidity again today, mostly cloudy....was raining around bedtime last night, gently......looks like it will be dry and mild Saturday morning for the festivities in Laurens.....I forgot yesterday to get extra cash at the store for ribs and whatever else at the Square, but my bank has ATMs right there.....I remembered parmesan-romono, so I had some of that on top of my bowl of beans and rice....tasty that way....the front lawn is too wet to mess with, so I'll look at it again Friday morning....did not watch any debate, don't see any point in that....near the end of a good library book, and I have three more.....might get up to 78 today they think,  was 64 at sunrise when I went for my first walk....

clouded over, somewhat muggy

at the grocery store I got a small beef roast to put in the crock pot tomorrow with potatoes, carrots, green beans, bell pepper, and a can of mushroom soup....got Texas biscuits to have with that....mop up the juices with a biscuit....tonight can be red beans and rice, Tuesday I had ham, the last of the mac n cheese, green beans.....lunch today was a chili dog with onion, two small Greek peppers, and the last of the burgundy....the new box of wine is merlot.....high of 79 expected this afternoon....should play some piano, read some books, play some guitar, take a little nap......finish looking at the Clinton paper....that won't take long....

strange

it was 10 degrees warmer when I got out of bed than when I went to bed.....warmed up during the night?  that just seems wrong.....it's because a warm front from the south overpowered the colder front that had been here a few days.....72F outside, 70 in the house.....got my newspaper OK, but right now it's raining some....I'll try for a dry spell later for the park walk....I did get some walking done yesterday, in an afternoon haze.....the bowl of red beans and rice made for a filling supper, and there's plenty for today too.....the grocery flyer came in the mail Monday this week.....looks like a good price on rump roast.....for "Crocktoberfest" as the meat department ad said.....I might do a pot roast.....those make for good lunch sandwiches.....or maybe it's time to do chili-dog lunches again....I get that craving.....used up all the onion last night, need to remember that tomorrow.....don't think I need to drive anywhere today....I dreamed I was working in a gas station.....I've never had a job like that....where do these ideas come from?  maybe sometimes you get a dream meant for somebody else.....

It's not nice out

I thought is was supposed to warm up this afternoon some....but it's still 63.....it was 63 at sunrise this morning....not really raining right now, just sort of a cold blowing mist.....wind 6 mph from the north-east.....not very inviting for a stroll around the neighborhood....

rain and more rain

was raining when I went to bed, think it rained all night, and it's still raining.....63F, high of 73 predicted....might rain the rest of today and on into Tuesday.....should help ease the drought conditions.....so it's too wet for walking....and people drive crazy in the rain, you might get run over out walking.....so today I can make red beans and rice with ham diced up in it, and that should be enough for two days, and then it's grocery day again.....this weather is all coming from south and west, so it's not a cold system, just wet.....so far it's just coming straight down steady, but thunderstorms with wind might show up before it's over.....off to the library in a bit, see if I can find something to sit inside with and read.....didn't do much yesterday but slouch on the sofa and watch football, but woke up with an ache in my right shoulder....can't figure that out.....maybe it's just the damp getting in aged joints....

gloom

gloom as in dark.....it was pitch black out the kitchen window when I started fixing breakfast at 7.....'cause of heavy clouds I suppose.....and the fact that the sun didn't rise until 7:21 today?  It was bright with the light from the full moon when I looked out the bathroom window some time in the middle of the night....stormy Monday predicted, and Tuesday too.....was a brief splatter of rain while I was reading the Sunday paper earlier on.....last night there were tornado warnings a couple of counties over.....Spartanburg and Union.....yesterday here it was on and off rain most of the day....Panthers and Falcons at 1 this afternoon.....that Bulldog game yesterday was a good one, watched all of that....Blue Hose won their game.....finished off the tortilla soup yesterday, as a rainy day lunch.....library day tomorrow, and the 1st of October......can do grilled spam and swiss on rye for lunch, and ham and eggs with hash browns and toast for the Sunday breakfast-for-supper.....I was ticked off because France 24 news stopped playing on the iPad app.....but last night it showed up again on Roku Live Station where it was when I first started watching it.....I don't know what governs these things....license agreements or something......