Food and Weather Report

2012-02-01T10:35:00.000-05:00

2/1/12

2012-02-01T10:25:00.002-05:00

warmer today, some clouds.....rain after midnight they say.....went grocery shopping, going to have pintos with sausage over cornbread, a rice casserole, pork chops with stuffing.... for some of the meals this week.....got french bread pizza for maybe Super Bowl half-time....made a big batch of snax mix too, with dried fruit in it.....above I will post a photo of a new old guitar....spent most of the afternoon yesterday goofing around with that....the music shop dude is thinking of going out of business, so he is offering bargains....I hope he stays in business, since there isn't any other place in the county to buy strings.....that I know of.....guess there's always Amazon.....so right now I'm going to read the Clinton Chronicle, see if there's anything exciting in the local news....

the 31st

2012-01-31T08:52:00.002-05:00

the weather today should be like yesterday's.....in the 30s at dawn and getting into the 60s in the afternoon.....they moved the rain from Thursday night up to Wednesday night.....with more rain Friday.....so on the cloudy nights it should stay in the 40s rather than go down into the 30s.....I think I'll drive over to Laurens this morning, mainly just to take a drive.....though I could look into a couple of stores while I'm over there......I fixed steak with onions and 2 veggie sides last night.....I've got about a pound of those baked ribs left, that should be plenty for this evening.....with sides like maybe biscuits and the last of the limas.....I've got pintos and cornbread in the cupboard too, that can make a meal sometime.....get a bit of side-pork for the beans maybe....I didn't make it past 10 o'clock last night, but slept real well anyway.....I'd been staying up 'til 10:30 on the theory that then I might sleep past 4 AM consistently......I started watching a series about Edward VII (Prince Albert in the can) it's from 1975.....looks interesting so far.....I'm reading a kindle book about The Three Alberts......I, II, and III.....it covers some of the same happenings that were in the Short History of Scotland that I read recently.....Duns Scotus and Francis Bacon were roughly in that era.....and the colleges at Oxford and Cambridge were getting started, etc....I should check under the hood before I go driving off, haven't done that in while.....could wash the Jeep sometime too.....

overnight freeze

2012-01-30T09:22:00.002-05:00

sunny and cold again this morning.....I didn't see any school busses on my early walk? I don't think today is a holiday.....maybe it's a "resource day"......or maybe I just didn't see any school busses, but they were actually out there.....for Sunday supper I had scalloped potatoes with ham and more curried cream corn, instead of doing the rib-eye, so I still have the steak and the rest of the ribs for two meals, and then it's grocery day anyway.....no football yesterday....well, I don't usually bother with the Pro Bowl.....so I read a lot in the evening, more than usual....until about 10:30......did watch some news and one Firefly episode after supper.....there's now a Zaxby's open in Laurens.....so I looked at their menu online, and decided it didn't look like much....just another fast food chicken franchise.....when they opened a Bo Jangle's here in Clinton, I went in once.....same thing, more fast food chicken.....so I'll just keep fixing my own chicken, not spend any lunch money out anywhere.....no rain predicted until towards the end of this week.....

poker parlors and illegal baking

2012-01-29T09:12:00.003-05:00

20 something degrees when I went out at sunrise to get the newspaper....."you can read it in the Sunday paper...." that's from a song back in the 80's.....anyway, one thing I read was about "sweepstakes".....the old Red's Cafe near the mill now calls itself the "Chill Lounge" ladies night $1 mix drinks 8-10, etc....and it has a poster about "sweepstakes" on the front door.....turns out that this means that it's a video poker parlor that's found a loophole in the state gambling laws.....the sweepstakes format of online gambling falls through crack in the codes somehow.....at least for the moment....lawmakers are introducing bills.....the new hookah bar over on Musgrove also has computers inside? Aha....I was wondering how those two new places expected to make any money.....part of the trick is being a gambling parlor....they charge by the hour to play the games.....this last Thursday the church across the street had the sign out again for "Hot Dog Bake Sale.....Fried Apple Pies" I guess it's OK still if you're a church, but there was a thing in the paper about a lady being busted for selling birthday cakes to neighbors....it's against the law to sell home-cooked food....she was ratted on by a bakery.....something else that's illegal in a kitchen is to play poker....this goes back to when people of color were the people in the kitchen.....it's all too complicated.....I won't sell any of my ribs, I'll eat them all myself and be safe....they are delicious and meaty....got stuffed last night on that meal, have more left.....might have one nice fat rib and cheese toast for Sunday lunch....might have rib-eye, baked potato, lima beans for supper....breakfast was french toast and two sausage links.....lots of sun right now, but it's still cold outside....might get up around 50 this afternoon.....got another e-book from the library....more history.....

frosty

2012-01-28T09:00:00.002-05:00

clear, blue, mostly calm......that piece of rib-eye was tender and tasty.....there was enough chicken breast left to make chicken salad for lunch sandwiches, I had that yesterday.....some time today I think I'll go buy a potato to bake with the ribs, I forgot to get one Wednesday.....and I could get gasoline while I'm over that way.....almost finished one library book out of four, something by John C. Wright.....he seems to have written quite a bit of stuff, maybe I can find some more.....stayed up until about 10:30 reading, slept pretty well.....

the heavier weather

2012-01-27T09:01:00.002-05:00

the kind with "watch boxes".....it went by to the south of here overnight....maybe down around Columbia....was some wind and rain in Clinton.....was raining when I woke up......but it had stopped by the time I went for the sunrise walk.....clouds are coming and going, it sprinkled just a little about 15 minutes ago.....they say it will be sunny in the afternoon and get into the mid-60s.....but then the weekend will be "much colder"......I might eat more scalloped potatoes for supper today, or I might put a 4 oz. piece of rib-eye in Italian dressing marinade at lunch time, and then cook that in the evening .....with whatever sides I can think of.....I have biscuits....or cornbread.....it looks pretty windy right now to go out walking again....but it's not raining....we'll see.....

one sunny day

2012-01-26T08:50:00.002-05:00

that was yesterday.....this morning it's back to the overcast.....100% chance of rain tonight, possibility of scattered showers during the day.....but the cloud blanket kept it from getting real cold overnight.....freezing nights again by the weekend.....it looks like what they did at the Laurens St. grade crossing is tear up the asphalt, but leave the rails intact, 'cause trains are still going by.....maybe they will get new asphalt down today.....or concrete? Sierra Nevada is going to open a brewery in Asheville.....last night on the news you could watch the NC governor drinking Pale Ale......my scalloped potatoes came out fine, there are leftovers for another meal.....maybe today I can finish off the chicken dinner leftovers, and then see what's left of the bird to make chicken salad......might not be much left......grilled baloney and cheddar for lunch yesterday, probably again today.....had some strawberries for a late snack last night, while watching old sci-fi shows on Netflix.....

back from the store

2012-01-25T10:56:00.002-05:00

I got rib-eye steak and half-ribs.....which are the same thing as St. Louis style ribs, according to the lady in the meat department....today I'm going to use up the ham slice from last week in scalloped potatoes....with cream style corn as the side, which is traditional in this family for some reason....the kids used to say "it's cause then everything is yellow"......if you use cheddar cheese in the scalloped potatoes then they are yellow in color.....I guess you can make the dish without cheese sauce, just white sauce....but I've never done that myself.....actually today I'm going to use alfredo sauce, so the dish will be more or less white in color.....the corn will still be yellow.....I still have some roast chicken left....I got cheap baloney for lunch meat, though I'll probably still make some curried chicken salad sandwiches too .......got sausage links for Sunday breakfasts.....got fruit and nut trail mix to mix with Chex Mix.....ate an apple on the front porch in the sun, and then read the Clinton weekly paper.....it looks like it will be really nice weather for a walk after lunch.....clear, sunny, mild, calm......they are working on the train tracks today, but somehow the trains still go through? I guess they know what they're doing.....

the skies cleared

2012-01-24T15:46:00.003-05:00

the fog burned off....and it got warm enough in the afternoon to sit out on the front porch and use the wi-fi ......I got a library book that was a sequel, so I found the author online and got a summary of the plot so the story would make a little more sense.....no e-edition available or maybe I could have put that into kindle and read things in the proper order....and I did find several new books by authors I know at the library....so I've got plenty to read.....cousin Emily was there to check out the books.....and a neighbor from down the street was there, his books were due today too......it was still foggy enough that time of morning for most people to be driving with head-lights on.....

was raining

2012-01-24T08:44:00.002-05:00

when I went to bed last night, this morning fog.....mid 40's, might get to low 60's in the afternoon....of course they said that about yesterday too, but it stayed under 50.....was not nice out at all Monday, didn't ever get out on the park walk.....and didn't go to the library, so I'm headed over there when it opens.....I had ham, hash-browns, and one egg over easy for supper.....the kind of hash-browns you make by grating the potato......today was a poached egg on toast morning.....I might just have grilled cheese for lunch today, without the ham.....tonight will be chicken dinner.....there's a lot of that left, and tomorrow is shopping day already.....so I can probably get by with a light trip to the store.....I'm good on the staples like bread, eggs, OJ, olive oil, wine, apples.....might look at more strawberries......I should get the interest income statement from the bank one of these days......I finished that history of Scotland.....sort of an odd book, written around 1900.....different eras present different views of history.....

year of the dragon

2012-01-23T08:31:00.002-05:00

and a new moon on monday......I made it around for the newspaper between showers, but it was still cold and windy walking.....looks like another day to sit inside with the electric fire going.....those football games yesterday weren't decided by running or passing, but by the kicking game.....let that be a lesson to you, next time you're coaching a team.....my library books aren't actually due 'til tomorrow, but I might go over there today.....unless it's raining real hard, which might happen....90% chance of rain ......the deli chicken salad is all used up, so lunch can be grilled ham and cheese I suppose.....the applesauce I've been dumping in oatmeal is almost gone too, had some of that this morning......

ENE wind 10 mph

2012-01-22T09:13:00.002-05:00

at sunrise, for a windchill of 39.....clouded over.....got a little over one inch of rain yesterday.....most of it in a couple of hours in the middle of the afternoon.....the Aldi ad in the paper this morning has four pages of Super Bowl party food ideas.....the Confucius Institute is going to have events all week for Chinese New Year at PC.....a dance troupe, a movie, cultural talks, etc.....all free.....Blue Hose basketball lost last night to UNC Asheville......I watched the end of an App St. game on PBS.....they beat Western Carolina.....watched the Serenity movie the other night, so last night went back and started watching the Firefly series.....it probably won't get out of the 40s today....or not by much.....sausage and french toast Sunday breakfast.....lunch will be chicken salad sandwich and corn chips (Saturday lunch featured grilled ham and cheese on wheat).....supper today will be a microwaved plate of leftover roasted chicken, stuffing, peas, gravy.....around half-time of Baltimore-New England? I'm done with my library books, and am most of the way through the history of Scotland.....which gives the reader some insight into the mind-set of the religious right folks.....200 years of the Kirk fighting the King....Church trying to dominate the State.....you were fined if you didn't attend services....if that didn't work, you were tortured.....not by the Inquisition, by Presbyterians......Blue Laws, Blue Hose.....

drizzles and fog

2012-01-21T08:58:00.002-05:00

so far this morning......storm fronts moving over Athens and Augusta right now are headed in this general direction......was dry enough right at sunrise to walk for the paper....but you couldn't see any sunrise, just fog.....45 degrees outside......but I don't know about another walk.....it would probably rain on me looks like.....well, I have things I can read......finish up the library books by Monday......got a Guitar Player Thursday I think it was, still some articles in there I haven't read....the mail yesterday was my tax statement from Social Security.....I won't have to file again this year.....train going by right now.....I was reading in the paper a bit ago how one train from Atlanta to South Carolina was delayed the other morning because two guys tried to drive their pick-up truck across the river on a train trestle.....ended up wedged in the ties half-way across way up in the air at 5:30 AM.....

some people say

2012-01-20T21:35:00.002-05:00

it will rain all weekend....and maybe on into Monday.....it's been raining for a while already I think.....there was a break early in the afternoon and I went and walked around the mill park....I roasted the chicken breast down in the large iron skillet, and it made really good dark brown gravy 'cause there were some nice scrapings in the bottom of the pan....I put two cloves of garlic inside, and put olive oil and oregano on top.....an excellent supper all in all....finished off the strawberries for dessert.....I can hear it raining pretty good right now, and I can hear a train getting close to town.....the train crossing at Laurens St. will be closed this coming week for repairs to the track, says the train company.....I very seldom use that crossing....I usually just use Broad St. ....... but the school busses in the morning use the Laurens St. crossing a lot, I guess to avoid the congestion at the Broad St. traffic signals....but life goes on I suppose.....they will figure it out ...... so anyway now I have lots of good chicken dinner leftovers to work with, plus more of the ham slice for variety.....can watch NFL playoffs while it rains......

looks like rain

2012-01-20T09:13:00.002-05:00

probably get here this afternoon, overcast and gloomy looking this morning.....but above freezing, only got down to 36 overnight.....well, a rainy afternoon would be good for roasting the chicken....that's on the menu today, with cornbread stuffing and tender peas.....and gravy.....still have that store-bought chicken salad for lunches.....the strawberries are about gone....last night I threw a handful of raisins in the pan with the leftover pork curry and heated that up.....I should get chutney if I'm going to do curry very often ....Major Grey's? I can put some sweet onion in the cornbread stuffing.....put some oregano on the bird.....some bitters in the gravy.....I never did get around to cleaning the bathroom yesterday, forgot all about it....but did get a small load of laundry done.....

north wind

2012-01-19T08:53:00.002-05:00

a little below freezing ......mostly clear, some high clouds.....that deli chicken salad is good, crunchy bits of celery in it.....I suppose I can make my own later in the week with some of the chicken I'm going to roast......but I don't have any celery.....I'll put in sweet pickle relish, and maybe some curry powder.....did remember to get more of that yesterday.....got more olive oil too, the larger bottle was two dollars off.....those Florida strawberries are all right, but not as sweet as the North County strawberries I used to get for free at the Swap Meet at the right time of year.....fruit vendors would leave boxes of them at the gate for us workers.....some time I should get a soldering iron at Radio Shack and touch up the input jack on the white Strat....it's got a bad connection and a hum.....the Teisco Del Rey could use some work on the switches too.....some time or other, maybe.....today I can do laundry, and the bathroom sink needs washing.....watched CATCH-22 last night.....a movie with both Arthur Garfunkel and Orson Welles in it.....I know I read the book way back when, but I don't remember watching that movie in 1970.....there's probably a lot of things I don't remember from 1970....

Florida strawberries

2012-01-18T10:53:00.003-05:00

they had a big display of those out as you go into the produce section....pretty cheap, so I got some.....tasty mid-morning snack.....and I did get a 4 pound hen to iron skillet in the oven one of these days.....and cornbread stuffing was 2 for 1 so now I have that for this chicken and another box for a future chicken.....or for pork chops.....and I got a good-sized ham slice and peas and pintos and a potato.....today I think I'll have fried ham and potato with cabbage......got more snack mix and mixed it in with what was here already, so I'm set for TV snacking.....and I'm going to have a chicken salad sandwich for lunch.....with some corn chips and a glass of wine.....some time after lunch I'll go for a walk....

big rain-storm last night

2012-01-18T08:57:00.002-05:00

some thunder and some wind.....mostly just a downpour.....cleared out by sunrise, nice morning for the early walk.....I could get another bottle of curry powder when I go shopping, I used up all I had left in the pork rice dish yesterday......the grocery ad in the Tuesday mail had a good price on whole fryers.....maybe I'll be eating chicken this week.....and maybe they'll have a ham slice.....there was deli chicken salad in the ad too, for lunch sandwiches perhaps.....should stay clear and cool today, next rain on Friday so they say.....I got a history of Scotland to read free on kindle ......

in the forties

2012-01-17T08:56:00.002-05:00

this morning.....it rained a little before dawn, but didn't rain on me going for the paper.....some clouds and wind.....I had the last of the potatoes and gravy etc.....with some pork roast last night......today I'll make the curried pork fried rice dish, with cabbage as a veggie side....in a few minutes I'm going to walk over to the bank and roll over a CD one way or another.....probably for a year.....I'll take a little off the top and put it into checking, in anticipation of the remainder of the "heating season".....though there was an article in this morning's paper about how it's going to be a warmish Winter the rest of the way in the South.....maybe no snow this year? 100% chance of rain tonight, according to one source.....the fridge is pretty near empty.....I'll need to get eggs and bread this week.....some kind of lunch meat....and cheese.....I'll have to figure out main dishes for seven days.....you see some old folks at the store who just buy seven frozen dinners.....don't think I could live like that.....watched some Ernie Kovacs last night....television from 1951.....really strange stuff.....primitive......

just like yesterday morning

2012-01-16T08:56:00.002-05:00

32 degrees again at sunrise.....clouds coming in from the West.....empty streets again with school out and the City offices closed, etc.....I'll wait and see if it gets warm enough to go out walking again later......I fixed an omelette for Sunday supper.....I guess I can have a pork roast sandwich for lunch today.......didn't watch any movies last night.....read some after football was over......

at sunrise Sunday

2012-01-15T09:19:00.002-05:00

it was right at freezing.....32 degrees, which is 10 degrees warmer than Saturday sunrise was.....this was another morning when I could have walked for the newspaper down the middle of the street without worrying about traffic......stayed up until halftime in that Broncos game but then just went on to bed 'cause it looked like they were going to get whomped.....and they did get whomped.....the San Francisco game was a classic, watched all of that......I microwaved a plate of pork roast dinner yesterday, that was filling.....in the morning I drove over to Laurens because the Ingles grocery store in the shopping center on East Main has nuts, dried fruit, snack mixes, etc....in one of those bulk displays where you can fill and weigh a plastic bag and write the number of the bin on a sticker and then go to the check-out.....they have a large variety.....I got something called "Country Club Mix".....I mixed it about half-and-half with what mix I had left and so had something for a snack during the football games.....I used to make good snack mixes from the Bates Nut Farm selection years ago.....more NFL playoffs on today....I've got a novel about pirates on kindle.....another free book by Cyrus Townsend Brady.....look him up.....very florid style.....

28 degrees, fair

2012-01-14T08:56:00.002-05:00

at nine in the morning....it was 21 degree windchill again this morning at dawn.....I could vacuum today it looks like.....I should drive the Jeep some today, since it's been hard freeze the last couple of nights.....I saved one little piece of steak I can use at lunch in a sandwich....I've got those generic BBQ corn chips again to have at lunch.....I also used them instead of corn-bread yesterday in the bottom of my bowl of chili.....watched Under the Cheery Moon last night.....tonight I can watch football playoffs, the San Francisco game should be interesting.....it's not as windy today, so the house should stay warmer hopefully.....not use as much heating energy.....another dead quiet Saturday morning so far in Clinton.....

Friday the 13th?

2012-01-13T09:04:00.002-05:00

I put raisins and applesauce in my oatmeal this morning....that worked....the pork roast came out fine, and it made good gravy.....I'm thinking I could do pork chili one night.....and curried pork fried rice again some time.....and there's potatoes left for another regular roast pork supper too, with green beans, gravy, applesauce......it was real windy last night, the power flickered once just before I went on to bed.....and then it woke me up a couple of times during the night....the wind howling and rattling things......21 degree windchill as the sun was coming up....30 outside right now......no rain expected 'til next Tuesday.....just more of this clear, blustery, and cold.......can't think of anywhere I need to drive today, don't need to do any shopping.....a three day weekend for some folks? Tuesday I can go over to the bank and see what the CD rates are that day.....

electronic library books

2012-01-12T15:06:00.002-05:00

I got around to checking out a sci-fi book through the Jasmine system, which is a consortium of public libraries in the state pooled together to buy the e-books.....this is cool.....and I've been finding free books from Amazon too.....when I went over to the park in the morning it got real dark and cold and windy, but didn't rain....later in the afternoon it got warm enough to go out on the porch and get some air....I've got a 2 1/2 pound pork roast and three quartered red potatoes in the large iron skillet in the oven .....can have cut green beans with that ....will probably make gravy.....have applesauce too, something that goes well with roast pork.....had a steak-melt sandwich for lunch.....

lightly curried mayo

2012-01-12T08:42:00.002-05:00

for the artichoke dip....that worked.....I need to look at the weight of that pork roast to figure when I should start it......clear this morning mostly, with just some clouds around the edges.....windy, colder weather in the forecast for the next little while.....the gas bill for December was about the same as the bill for November.....$3 more is all.....my back feels better this morning....I can get out and walk here pretty quick, chance of rain again in the afternoon....but not a big chance......I guess North Carolina got some flooding and wind and hail damage yesterday, here it just rained a lot ......wasn't much interesting in the Clinton paper this week.....the City entered into a new 40 year agreement with the County regarding an expansion of the sewer treatment plant.....involves a 40 year loan from the Rural Development Agency.....not much else in the news ......

don't know why

2012-01-11T10:52:00.002-05:00

my back is hurting this morning in the same old spot.....the damp weather....or did I somehow "sleep wrong".....I didn't do anything different yesterday like pick up something heavy or whatever.....I rubbed on some extra Blue Goo after I got back from grocery shopping....no white rose potatoes, so I got red potatoes.....the Yukon Gold potatoes they have are similar to what I was looking for, but they are only sold by the bag, not loose.....it would take me forever to use a bag of potatoes.....they would start sprouting before I could use them all....anyway, I did get a small pork roast, and some applesauce.....so maybe tomorrow I'll make iron skillet pork roast with red potatoes.....today I'm going to fix a piece of steak with an artichoke and cheese toast....their artichokes looked decent today, fairly good size for the price.....I did get wet going into the store, but it was just drizzling as I was leaving and putting the stuff in the car....but I don't think there will be more walking today, there's a long line of stormy weather on the regional radar....

street lamps were still on

2012-01-11T09:04:00.002-05:00

during my early walk....it had been raining but it let up before I went out, so I didn't get wet going around.....heavier rain should blow in later in the day.....so I'll head over to the grocery store pretty soon and maybe not get rained on too much.....I don't remember seeing white rose potatoes in their produce section....but that's what I would like to use with a pork roast.....now I hear the rain hitting the south window harder, it's blowing up from Georgia as usual....SW wind 7 mph......I still have meatloaf for maybe three more sandwiches, maybe have some kind of pork sandwiches after that for lunches.....I should get orange juice today.....and the Clinton paper......

tuesday afternoon

2012-01-10T13:38:00.002-05:00

got some guitar strings and an apple fritter over in Laurens....and some guitar picks too.....so was playing the red guitar through the Fender Mustang amp for an hour or so, after I put the new string on....had a patty melt for lunch....weather is mild, still overcast.....the guy in the guitar store says the new donut shop so close to his store is going to make him fat....when he gets out of his truck in the morning all he can smell is fresh donuts.....

severe fog?

2012-01-10T08:50:00.002-05:00

well there's an official severe fog warning anyway....and on the early walk you could only see about a block, guess that is pretty bad....wouldn't want to be driving over on the interstate this morning .....but once again it's not that cold, 52 degrees.....100% humidity.....rain after midnight and on through Wednesday is the prediction.....I had an open-face steak sandwich with country gravy and cut green beans for supper Monday....I'll figure out something for this evening, and then go to the store tomorrow as usual.....I have enough eggs and bread already......did not see any of that game last night, in fact forgot all about it until the headlines this morning.....sounds like a dull game anyway.....and in my book this whole BCS nonsense is just a crock ......

forgot it was a monday

2012-01-09T14:13:00.003-05:00

well, I forgot that the guitar store is closed Mondays....I think I've done that before....and I was going to go into the new mom-and-pop donut shop that opened recently real close to the guitar store and look for an apple fritter....since the ad for the place in the paper said they had them....but.....closed Sunday and Monday.....oh well...so I continued on to Walmart and did find snack mixes at cut-rate prices.....and the good deal on a big bottle of mouth wash....but the Walmart bakery section didn't have any apple fritters out either....so I got a pastry I don't know the name of....the single pastries don't have name tags.....anyway, a while after I got home I cut the pastry in half and made one cup of coffee.....coffee and sugary pastry gave me a brief head-ache....but the rain had given way to fog....so a walk in fog around the park cleared my head....I found a free Jack Vance story at the kindle store and read that, it wasn't very long.....the single sugary pastry was only 58 cents.....

started raining about 5:30

2012-01-09T08:26:00.002-05:00

this morning, so no early walk.....windy and damp out still.....it was worth watching that Denver game for the single play in OT.....I broke a string on the red guitar yesterday while watching the earlier game, so later I might go over to the music shop in Laurens .....and stop in Walmart for their cheap price on mouthwash.....and look at their snack mix aisle.....I think they have a lot of options if my memory serves me well....finished off my snack mix yesterday with all that football on......and finished off those hash browns that had been in the freezer for a while with my steak and eggs last night....actually just one egg over easy with cajun hot sauce, not plural eggs.....this overcast morning is about to put me back to sleep.....guess I could read some on the kindle device....

record report

2012-01-08T09:23:00.002-05:00

It got up to 71 degrees yesterday at GSP, breaking the record of 70 set in 2008....global warming? I wasn't here then, didn't get here until August 2008....as far as I can recall.....last year at this time there was still ice in shady places from the big storms before New Year's ......sun coming in the window right now....was cloudy at sunrise, and raining to the north some, between here and Greenville.....some rain last night before I went to bed.....looked like the Saints were going to win, so I didn't watch all the 4th quarter.....I've got quite a bit of that cube steak left, so I might do Sunday breakfast-for-supper of steak and eggs with hash browns....lunch can be a cold meatloaf sandwich on wheat with mustard, mayo, Colby cheese, and pickle slices.....60% chance of rain this afternoon and on into the evening....finished one library book yesterday, and am working now on a novel in the kindle.....it didn't get very cold overnight, was around 54 for the dawn walk......

wild card weekend

2012-01-07T08:56:00.002-05:00

and it looks like some of the games at least are on the networks I get by antenna, so I could watch football for hours today.....probably will....the Falcons will get knocked out I suppose....maybe not....some cloud cover overnight, so it's not as cold this morning, and there was a fancy sunrise....can use a lighter jacket for a walk later.....I did the cube steak in a batter of egg and seasoned bread crumbs.....I put some sour cream in the gravy....I used brown rice....it was all good....I've got a little ground beef left so I can make a patty melt for lunch....I have Colby cheese....I think I'll walk over around the square today instead of over around the park....see if anything new is opened in the "historic district".....or if anything else has closed is more like it lately.....in Clinton now you can't smoke in a bar, but you can smoke in a tobacco shop....so I saw in the paper that this tobacco shop that opened on Musgrove is applying for a liquor license? Wonder what will happen there......this evening between football games I can just microwave a plate of meatloaf, baked potato, peas.....can have sausage and french toast for Sunday breakfast...

about as cold as yesterday

2012-01-06T08:51:00.002-05:00

this morning....right at freezing at dawn....but looking for mid-60s this afternoon instead of mid-50s.....and then starting Saturday night clouds and rain chance through Wednesday.....I need to mop the kitchen floor, so maybe I can do that later today when it might be warm enough to open the kitchen window and turn on the ceiling fan to dry the floor faster.....the meatloaf was a great success, I have leftovers for one more supper like that, and however many cold meatloaf lunch sandwiches later.....tonight can be chicken fried steak with rice and gravy and peas.....the final chili dog for lunch today......the meatloaf: two-thirds ground beef and one third country sausage....packet of onion soup mix....one egg....1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.....1/2 cup oatmeal (or you could use a little more maybe).....a pound of beef and half pound of sausage fits pretty well into the typical loaf pan.....spread bbq sauce over the top and bake at 350 for an hour and then take a look at it......

32 degrees outside

2012-01-05T08:47:00.002-05:00

same as it was at sunrise......but it might warm up to 55 by late afternoon....my newspaper horoscope says to take it easy today.....well, that's about all I ever do.....guess I can manage that.....instead of fixing meat loaf yesterday I ate that can of chunky chicken corn chowder....put a little curry powder in it....ate the last of the cornbread as a side....heated up with butter and marmalade.....that was filling.....so this afternoon I'll get the meat loaf and potato in the oven....should take an hour or so to cook.....I can have peas with that....I got one of those little ninety-nine cent things of sour cream for the baked potato.....I'll put bbq sauce on top of the meat loaf as it cooks, etc.....I used to put strips of bacon on top, but it's been at least a decade since I bought a package of bacon.....I put a can of cheap mixed nuts into my container of Chex Mix, kick it up a notch.....I started watching some movie last night and after about 30 minutes I figured out that I'd seen it before, so I turned it off and read for a while before going on to bed around nine-thirty......well, I'd better get busy taking it easy.....

in the teens

2012-01-04T08:44:00.002-05:00

19 degrees on the sunrise walk.....I did find my old heavy gloves in the towel drawer.....should warm up by the weekend, and maybe rain too......ski resorts are open in the mountains, they showed people skiing on the news last night.....I'm going to get stuff for meatloaf and baked potato at the store this morning.....and maybe look for pork chops or cube steak too....I've got peas, I could get green beans .....need to remember raisins and apples....probably should get olive oil this time too.....probably enough clothes in the laundry basket for a load to do some time today.....and maybe after lunch it will warm up enough to go out walking, which I didn't do yesterday what with messing around with computer things for hours.....it never got out of the 30s anyway Tuesday.....I still have three chili dog lunches left, and then I can do meatloaf sandwiches .....

$100 at Radio Shack

2012-01-03T14:48:00.002-05:00

and a call to AT&T tech support.....and my new router and modem are working great....the Mac, the roku, and the kindle are all connected....kindle on wi-fi, which is what it's really designed for.....it just took some help from a guy in the Philippines to explain the obvious to me....I could figure out what he was saying most of the time, but I got us side-tracked one time because I didn't do exactly what he said to do and we had to do that part over....oh well, maybe this set-up will last a few years.....

11:30

2012-01-03T11:30:00.002-05:00

and it's still freezing outside.....32 degrees with a windchill factor down to 24 degrees.....so a walk wouldn't exactly be comfortable.....I did see Emily at the library and she gave me an instruction sheet for setting up e-lending .....haven't done it yet since my internet connection is glitching again....I might go look at Radio Shack for replacement equipment modem/router wise.....at least it's warm in the Jeep, it has a good heater.....got mail from the bank reminding me a CD is rolling over on the 17th.....I doubt if any decent interest rate will be available....oh well, it sounds like several euro-nations are in worse shape than I am, credit-wise anyway.....

still not back to normal?

2012-01-03T08:42:00.002-05:00

no school busses yet, not much traffic on my sunrise walk.....my neighbor who was also out on an early walk said school starts up again on the 4th.....it was 25 degrees this morning.....it said there was a 15 degree windchill at the airport, but it was calm here at dawn, though they say the wind will pick up again later.....it was really blowing during the night....some of the mountain cousins got snow I guess.....I still haven't found my gloves ......watched parts of the bowl games online, and parts on TV....Gamecocks and Ducks did well.....I was asleep before Stanford apparently screwed up.....too many commercials during the Rose Parade, you didn't even get to see all the floats....I'm going over to the library....I'll renew one book I didn't even get started on because I started reading on the kindle instead.....maybe cousin Emily will be working this morning and she can show me how to download books from the library system....or somebody there can tell me how it works I hope....I'll take the gadget along anyway, they have wi-fi there....I have black-eyed peas and cornbread for tonight....lots of ham in the peas, tasty stuff.....and then it will be time to figure out meals for a week again.....haven't made meatloaf in a while.....

the extra holiday morning

2012-01-02T09:00:00.002-05:00

at sunrise was 32 degrees, clear, calm, frost.....made it to half-time in the Giants-Cowboys game and then went on to bed.....I have leftover suppers for today and Tuesday, but I think I'll go to the grocery store this morning for orange juice, wine, and snack mix.....the Rose Parade is on at 11 eastern time.....I can go for another walk after the store and before the parade? No wind now, but there's a wind warning for later today, as the cold front moves down to bring 20s overnight and 30s tomorrow during the day.....I think I read once that ESPN was going to stream the Rose Bowl online.....don't know if I'll bother with that or not.....bratwurst skillet for supper, chili dog for lunch.....oatmeal with cocoa and raisins was breakfast.....I'll get another bag of apples Wednesday....

no parade

2012-01-01T09:30:00.002-05:00

because it's Sunday? I stayed up until about 12:30, waited until the fireworks stopped going off.....I usually save a little champagne to make a mimosa to watch the parade with.....but no parade until tomorrow, so I guess I can have a glass of champagne and a chili dog for lunch....and at one the Panthers play the Saints.....then the college bowl games are on Monday.....this is confusing to me.....I see now why Monday is a holiday: because of the parade.....it just rained a little a few minutes ago, overcast and chilly this time of morning.....got my 2012 calendar up on the wall over the kitchen table.....it's not national parks this time, it's "Wonders of the World".....January is Petra, I think it's called....that city carved into a cliff in the desert somewhere in the Middle East....Stonehenge is one of the months.....another one is that army of clay soldiers they dug up in China, etc.....I've got the black-eyed peas for this evening, will be leftovers from that for another day too......I slept about a half-hour late, after staying up 2 1/2 hours late.....there went spent bottle rockets on the sidewalks around downtown on my walk for the paper.....very little traffic on the streets.....

didn't hear it raining

2011-12-31T08:52:00.002-05:00

during the night, but the streets were all wet this morning.....no clouds and not much wind at sunrise....and not too cold really, just around 50 degrees......might get into the 60s for the high today.....I heated up the curry last night in a pan, put an egg in it to kick it up a notch.....going over to CVS shortly to look for a 2012 wall calendar for the kitchen.....that's where I've been finding them the last couple of years.....the kind with scenic views from national parks.....and I'll check and see if they have cashews at a good price like they do sometimes.....get some for my snack mix for this evening.....no movies again last night, was reading a library book some and also reading something on kindle.....not at the same time, but alternating if you see what I mean......I don't think I need to buy a cover for the kindle, since I never go anywhere so I probably won't take it out of the house much.....there's the Sun Bowl on a channel I get this afternoon.....haven't seen any bowl games yet with no ESPN.....maybe I'll stay awake long enough to watch the ball drop in NYC....for supper I'll do that bratwurst, potato, apple skillet.....I'll have a little piece of country ham with my french toast in the morning, and wait for the Rose Parade to come on.....

e-reader

2011-12-30T14:12:00.003-05:00

Got the Kindle Touch in the mail, and as usual with any new tech toy I couldn't get it to work for a couple of hours since the instructions they give you with such things always assume some steps are obvious, when they aren't to me.......but eventually I got a couple of free books into it and am gradually getting the touch screen to work for me.....colder today than they said it would be, more clouds than they were predicting.....had the last of the smoked turkey for lunch.....walked over to a cafe on Musgrove to use their wi-fi and get a cup of coffee.....the owner there went to Helix High School in Le Mesa, so he never lets me pay for coffee, since Helix and Monte Vista were in the same league back in our school days.....his signal hits out on the sidewalk too.....I just wanted to see how the thing did wireless......I've got leftover pork curry for supper I suppose....just about finished a good Vernor Vinge book.....2:30 and it's getting dark enough from the clouds that I'll need to turn the lamp on to read some more.....

walked twice as far

2011-12-29T12:52:00.004-05:00

as usual after lunch today....maybe make up for that day earlier when it rained.....according to the tracking number for the Kindle it is already at the Clinton Post Office, should get to me tomorrow I guess, a week earlier than their initial expected delivery date.....my wi-fi is "corrupted" according to phone company tech support, but the Kindle stuff says you can download content via the included usb cable, which is also the charging cable.....and the library has wi-fi and lends e-books .......we'll get this figured out..... I use ethernet cables for my laptop and roku box......the radio that CSX uses to trigger the crossing arms at the train tracks can blitz the wi-fi band anyway, so I was never very happy with the radio link idea even when it was more or less working.....there's a big CSX antenna a couple of blocks from here.....in theory this shouldn't happen, but there's always the problem of resonant frequencies, as I learned working with that kind of stuff at Radio Shack....FCC warning label: This device must not emit RFI , but may receive RFI (Radio Frequency Interference).....

Blue Hose Black Knights

2011-12-29T08:53:00.002-05:00

not a song title.....PC beat Army last night, over there about half-way to the grocery store.....27 degrees here at dawn, heavy frost.....clear, calm.....we should all strive to be clear and calm.....so I'll wait a while before going on another walk, see if it warms up out of the 30s.....the weatherman is saying that a cold snap is coming with the new year, highs in the 40s next week, lows in the 20s Upstate....in the teens in the mountains.....tasty curry last night.....this morning it still had a curry smell in the foyer or entrance hall, where the down-draft is for the central heat....cooking odors always get sucked there ......didn't watch any movies last night, am trying to get through the library books stacked on the end table.....and next week I should get the Kindle Touch, and have all the reading material I desire, is what they advertise.....eight chili dogs for $2.75.....Bi-Lo had weiners for a buck, and buns for a buck, and that good chili-dog type chili for .75 a can.....not Texas Pete, but the east coast kind....forget the name at the moment.....I think I still have turkey for one more sandwich too.....so, cheap lunches this week.....

icy wind

2011-12-28T09:39:00.002-05:00

must be coming over the mountains where they got a little snow lately.....so I'm going to sit and read the Clinton paper instead of going out walking right now....I did get the park walk done yesterday between spells of wind and rain.....and I got my shopping done fairly early today, including the gas station.....I've got food left from last week, so my grocery bill was lighter than usual.....got the stuff for New Year.....got a slice of country ham to flavor my little batch of black-eyed peas....today I'll use up the last pork chop to make pork rice curry with onion and garlic.....got a potato to make a skillet supper with sliced bratwurst, sliced potato, fried apples......got a can of corn chowder for an easy meal one day.....remembered more snack crackers so I can finish off the cheese-ball with champagne staying up late Saturday.....don't know how late, haven't made it all the way to midnight the last couple of years I don't think....so it's clear and bright today, but was freezing at sunrise, and not much warmer now.....

wet, cold, dark

2011-12-27T08:23:00.002-05:00

two hours after sunrise and the street lights are still on....I think it started raining hard around two in the morning.....drove over to get the paper this morning, no cars or customers at the gas station/store.......so I'm holed up in the living room with all the lights on and the electric stove going.....tomorrow I need to go for groceries and gasoline.....actually I have food left for several days, but I would need to go before the weekend, so I may as well go my usual day.....maybe buy something for New Year, like the cornbread and black-eyed peas.....I might already have cornbread in the cupboard.....get some cheap champagne, like Andre.....I can have banger-and-mash this evening.....still making smoked turkey sandwiches for lunch.....still have at least half of that cheese ball, 'bout out of crackers, need to remember those at the store....still plenty of snax mix.....still raining right now, don't know if I'll get a chance to do much walking or not.....

why?

2011-12-26T19:48:00.002-05:00

Of all questions, why? is the least pertinent. It begs the question; it assumes the larger part of its own response; to wit, that a sensible response exists. from Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance

jack frost

2011-12-26T08:27:00.002-05:00

nipping at your nose.....folks dressed up like eskimos.....etc.....cold clear calm....the second day of Christmas....the Feast of St. Stephen? Boxing Day is a holiday on this side of the pond this year too....sort of....a federal holiday anyway.....yesterday went well with the relatives, pretty mellow, everybody tired out looking from the Season I think.....I ordered a Kindle Touch.....talked on Skype to David and Tree.....I'm getting behind on reading my library books.....after reading for a little while I find my eyes closing, starting to nod off.....I can renew a couple if I don't get through them I suppose......it rained most of the afternoon Christmas, and the next front will come after midnight and hang around all day Tuesday is the forecast....I didn't even fix a supper last night, having eaten my fill and then some at the gathering.....meat balls, little sausages in sauce, ham and cheese croissants cut into halves and quarters, pineapple sandwiches, pumpkin pie, hash brown casserole, corn casserole, cake, cookies.....I didn't eat all those things, just most of them.....I did eat more of my cheese ball too before I went on to bed pretty late.....even the dogs seem to be sleeping late today....

Christmas morning

2011-12-25T09:49:00.002-05:00

some sun is coming out.....was clouded over early on.....empty streets, but the Gate was open as usual to get my newspaper.....saw one car getting gas, but the highway was empty as far as I could see in either direction right then.....can't remember if I've heard a train today or not.....Chargers lost again? The Panthers game was pretty good, but I fell asleep with the Cowboys on later.....the cheese ball is tasty, but it's going to take a while to finish that sucker off....can only take a little of that at a time.....I'll eat a turkey sandwich sometime this morning, and then see what's to eat later over in Mountville....I'm sure there will be a bunch of stuff....probably little smokie sausages and/or meatballs....dip....snack mix.....I'm taking bakery cookies....small chance of rain in the afternoon.....got cold enough overnight for the heat to come on.....the fireworks stands are open for New Year, so of course some firecrackers are going off from time to time already.....but mostly it's a quiet morning.....

three day work week?

2011-12-24T09:04:00.003-05:00

I can't keep up with the work-day world, since I'm not involved in it at all really.....and the pro football games are on Saturday this week? At least some of them seems like, the paper says the Bucs at Panthers at one this afternoon.....at Walmart the other day I got myself a port wine cheese ball, for my wine and cheese Christmas Eve extravaganza....I think I still have enough snack crackers to use up some of it anyway....$2.78 for a cheese ball.....and Eagles-Cowboys will be on in the evening, late afternoon, whatever......my bangers-and-mash supper worked well, I now have leftover mashed potatoes and onion gravy, to use either with a pork chop or another bratwurst some time.....leftover peas too.....I need to sweep the kitchen floor, and vacuum the carpet in the other rooms, and take another walk I suppose....colder today, some clouds at dawn....it will probably stay in the 50s, drop to the 30s overnight.....

four day weekend?

2011-12-23T08:51:00.003-05:00

I didn't realize that's what's going on for lots of people.....this town is deserted.....no traffic to speak of on the streets.....PC beat Navy last night.....it rained yesterday afternoon, and then a real storm came through later at night, about the time I was going to bed....some thunder involved with that one.....those pork chops turned out to be real thick, so I butter-flyed half of one last night and that was plenty of meat.....with mac-n-cheese, and curried baby carrots.....this morning is clear and bright, should be fairly warm again today.....I'm going over to Walmart for a couple of things, and I'll look for some kind of dessert to take to Mountville Sunday afternoon.....cousins coming down from NC to Addie and Ed's.....hopefully Walmart won't be too crazy .....I finished off the tortillas and frijoles for lunch yesterday, so today can be a smoked turkey sandwich....supper can be a bratwurst, mashed potatoes, peas.....

warm Winter so far

2011-12-22T08:29:00.002-05:00

fog, mist, 63 degrees ......was raining a little just before dawn, about the time of the Solstice....so 100% humidity and everything's damp .....I noticed those little carrots still in the vegetable bin....so I guess tonight's menu could change to sauteed carrots, pork chop, mac-and-cheese....I always used to make candied carrots, with brown sugar.....but I don't have any sugar in the house anymore....finished off the stew last night, with a piece of rye toast.....made a sandwich yesterday for lunch with that tasty smoked turkey breast, sweet onion, bread-and-butter pickle slices, a little swiss cheese, and mayo, on wheat berry bread.....two thumbs up .....had the last of the Australian merlot with that, so now I'm back to California burgundy.....should be able to walk again this morning, since the next rain isn't supposed to get here until later today.....in the form of thunderstorms maybe.....

raining when I went to sleep

2011-12-21T09:58:00.002-05:00

raining when I woke up.....still raining when I went to get the paper, and when I went to get groceries.....raining right now....the windows are fogged up 'cause it's a warm system coming up from down in the Gulf.....on the radar it looks like there's plenty more on the way....so I'm going to eat an apple and read the Clinton weekly paper instead of trying to go for a walk....I got a bag of Gala apples this time.....and I got some "California" mix and some more Traditional Chex Mix and some peanuts and poured them together in a large bowl.....should be enough snack mix to last me until 2012 and beyond.....I also have orange juice, eggs, and bread enough for two weeks I think.....still some stew left, and I got a couple of pork chops, a package of brats, can of fried apples, mashed potato mix, country gravy packet......and such like.....I'll do bangers and a mash with peas for a couple of meals.....pork chop with fried apples and mac-and-cheese twice I suppose....I've got smoked turkey breast deli sliced to order for lunch meat.....they had a good price on that, 5 bucks a pound instead of 7....I asked for 1/2 lb. but ended up with 3/4.....oh well....

complications

2011-12-20T12:44:00.003-05:00

As I was coming back from Laurens I was signaling to turn right but the guy waiting at a stop sign didn't go ahead and pull out....so I was wondering if my right front turn signal was working.....so when I got home and checked it, sure enough, it wasn't....so I went and got the bulb for $1.38 and followed the instructions in the Jeep manual for changing the bulb....but it was frozen in there so it broke and I had to get the base out with needle-nose pliers....I got the new bulb in after several attempts and checked to see if it was blinking....it was....then I put the whole assembly back together and checked it again.....it wasn't.....took it apart again and jiggled the wires, etc.....gave up and took it over to Carolina Automotive, where they had fixed an electrical problem one other time....it's over there now and they'll call me when it's fixed....hopefully some time this afternoon....the socket looked somewhat corroded to me .....I didn't think WD-40 was going to fix it either.....that bulb had been in there 8 years that I know of.....on another front, the Clinton City Facebook thing says that there will be no trash pick-up Dec. 26 or Jan. 2.....so the City takes those as holidays looks like.....but my library books are due the 2nd, so the County doesn't? But I can put my trash out on Tuesday instead.....

colorful sunrise

2011-12-20T09:01:00.002-05:00

with those scattered clouds to the south and east.....I guess the sunrise is about as far to the south as it's going to get this year.....some moisture is predicted to come up through Georgia this afternoon and evening, it looks like things will stay dry enough this morning for another walk....and later in the day I might drive over to Laurens for some shopping.....gasoline came down ten cents overnight, at least at the Gate, where I go in the morning for the paper....I've still got 3/4 of a tank I think.....it won't use much to run over to Laurens.....I had leftover stew and the last biscuit for supper yesterday.....today I have the last of the pork steak and chili beans to use up, and then start all over with Bi-Lo shopping tomorrow.....Bi-Lo bought Winn-Dixie, a much larger grocery chain....the article in the paper says that this will improve logistics for both brands, or something.....for me it might mean starting to see whatever generics they sell at Winn-Dixie showing up here? The paper also said that two reasons for Bi-Lo's popularity are the senior discount and the fuel discount points.....exactly.....I mean those are big factors for me anyway....plus a couple of my neighbors work in there.....I'll look for some different lunch meat, since I'm down to the last of the corned beef.....maybe deli turkey?

35 outside

2011-12-19T08:57:00.002-05:00

I usually go for a walk around this time of day, but it's still pretty nippy this morning.....I'll wait...maybe until the afternoon.....I stayed up late and watched the Chargers game all the way to the end, and then slept well enough.....you can count on the trash truck to wake you up plenty early on a Monday......the fun part of the football yesterday was that Carolina trick play....it's probably on Yahoo or You Tube or something if you haven't seen it.....that Stouffer's stuffed pepper was tasty.....I used to make those fresh myself but it's so easy to just microwave a frozen one, when you're only cooking for yourself anyway.....I would use cheese on top though, instead of so much tomato sauce....and put some onion in it.....wasn't a bad deal for $2.50......anyway, back to stew this evening.....the revised weather forecast seems to be calling for rain starting late tomorrow and going through Wednesday.....wasn't it raining the last time I went shopping?

Baltimore at San Diego

2011-12-18T09:44:00.002-05:00

is the late game tonight.....maybe I can stay awake past half-time.....don't see many Charger games in this market.....and maybe I can see the Tebow Show too.....there's a Denver game around supper time.....haven't seen them this year either that I remember.....son-in-law Cory is a big Broncos fan......and the early game after lunch is Panthers-Texans.....maybe Carolina can win another game this season....maybe not......windchill of 22 at dawn.....streets were empty on my Sunday morning walk....the only traffic I saw on Broad St. was a gas tanker and the Krispy Kreme truck.....fresh daily I guess.....breakfast was french toast and two sausage links.....lunch might be a Rueben sandwich....and I'm thinking of the stuffed bell pepper in the freezer as an easy supper.....this clear-and-cold thing might go on until the middle of the week, and then maybe three rainy days before a clear holiday weekend.....they say no chance of a white Christmas, like we had last year....

last of the fruitcake

2011-12-17T09:34:00.002-05:00

I ate it yesterday......one of those little $5 fruitcakes from somewhere in Georgia.....I'm tempted to get another one.....maybe they'll be marked down after Christmas....maybe two-for-one? The rain all stayed to the north and west of here, just clouds and colder this morning.....it got pretty warm Friday afternoon....I think I saw 72 once.....right now there's an east wind that's keeping it about 50 outside, so I'll wear a jacket I guess to go walk the park......I had a bean and cheese tostada for lunch yesterday, using up the last of that head of lettuce before it started rusting too much.....used up the olives too.....so now I have rye (with seeds) swiss and corned beef for sandwiches.....I've been eating that store brand party mix for snacks but I probably shouldn't buy anymore, I think it might be addictive.....there are these little things in it called honey-roasted sesame sticks.....

Shoe Goo

2011-12-16T10:17:00.002-05:00

Last time I looked in Walmart they didn't have it anymore....at least not where it had been, with the shoelaces and shoe polish....but I found it this morning in CVS, which is close by.....I had checked on line first for Shoe Goo retailers, CVS was there.....I always wear out the left toe of any foot gear, because my left leg sort of drags.....old nerve damage or whatever.....stayed warm in the house overnight, around 60.....and it's mostly sunny again.....so I don't need to turn on the heat or wear a jacket out walking the park......the stew last night was delicious and hearty, and there's leftovers, of course.....this evening I think I'll iron skillet a pork steak with oregano and BBQ sauce, and have chili beans and a biscuit as the two sides.....I haven't found Ranch Style Texas Beans in my usual market, but these pintos in a chili sauce (the label says "just add meat") are close enough.....I don't add meat, just heat them up ......and then I can alternate stew with whatever up 'til next grocery day......senior discount day is on Wednesdays, because SS shows up on Wednesdays.....mine comes the third Wednesday of each month, which is the 21st this month.....and then after the new year there will be an SS cost-of-living increase.....won't amount to much, but any little bit helps, what with the rising food prices and all.....so Winter starts this Thursday too......

was misty early on this morning

2011-12-15T09:37:00.002-05:00

now it's bright and clear, 46 degrees......predicted to get up to 68 in the afternoon.....chance of rain late tonight......the dogs were all barking a while ago, the city meter reader was walking around....so probably around Monday I'll get the utility bill.....it's going to take some months, but the City will eventually get new software from some company in Canada and put the utility bills online if you want to go paperless.....at least that's what it said in the local paper I got yesterday at the supermarket.....other projects include fixing the water intake point on the river to allow for greater capacity ......and upgrading the whole thing on the other end too, where the sewer plant is near Joanna.....so water can come in and go out in sufficient quantity to meet projected growth.....you can't expect any industry to locate here without a good water supply and sewer system....lots of wisdom in the paper.....Angus beef stew meat, packet of onion soup mix, diced bell pepper, diced sweet onion, half a bag of baby carrots, can of mushroom soup, oregano, black pepper, cup of red wine.....that's what I put in the crock-pot....in that order.....later I'll stir it up....I'll fix some biscuits too for supper....might make a Rueben sandwich for lunch, but with no thousand island dressing....since I don't have any....

fairly warm again today

2011-12-14T12:34:00.002-05:00

didn't need a jacket for the park walk......I got fixings for beef stew at the market, I'll do that Thursday I guess.....slow cook it all day......I'm getting towards the end of the mexican food, beef and bean taquitos for lunch, probably a giant tostada for supper today.....the natural gas bill came in the mail, 50 bucks for the last two weeks in Nov. and the first two weeks of Dec. That's about the same as last year......That's all that was in the mail.....Besides the stew I've got a pork steak and beans for a meal, and a Stouffer's stuffed pepper for another.....I had a chicken pot pie yesterday for supper.....this warm weather should continue into next week they are saying.....I've got the front door open, with just the storm door shut right now, lets some light in the house anyway.....

turned out to be a lovely morning

2011-12-13T11:24:00.002-05:00

for a walk in the park, pleasant conditions.....and when I got back the Tuesday junk mail had just been delivered.....two loan offers, two insurance offers, four different flyers for Dish, two for Direct TV, that thing you always see for custom books of checks.....who writes checks anymore? And the Fred's ad.....toys and Christmas candy, seasonal decorations.....the Tractor Supply ad.....an industrial air-compressor under the tree? The Bi-Lo ad is what I wanted to look at.....a good price on beef stew fixings, including those little peeled carrots, two-for-one onion soup mix.....might do a crock-pot stew this food week.....canned pearl onions.....small whole potatoes.....and I think I'll do swiss cheese and rye bread this time around....biscuits to have with the stew.....I need to remember oatmeal, and olive oil.....I'll look at their store-brand party snack mix.....they will have big displays of things like cheery cordials out at cheap prices.....resistance is not futile.....hopefully.....

today will be much warmer than yesterday

2011-12-13T08:52:00.002-05:00

that's what it says this morning for Clinton on Weatherunderground.....it was 45, might get up to 65.....still chilly this morning, but that north wind isn't around anymore so walking for the paper wasn't too bad.....I made a taco salad last night, cut up a couple of tortillas and made chips for the bottom of the bowl.....the Taco Bell/KFC here doesn't have taco salads......remember when they had the Sea Food Salad, back in the 1980s? Shrimp and "artificial crab meat"......it was like $3.95 maybe, which was expensive fast food 30 years ago.....but it sure was tasty, with the tortilla bowl to eat, etc....I delivered mail for a while to Mr. Bell's mansion out in the orange groves south of Riverside......the Bell Estate sponsored that model farm and day camp thing out there on Cole Grade in Valley Center.....but they didn't serve tacos, just organic produce mostly.....so anyway I guess it's time for the park walk, or close enough.....corned beef sandwich for lunch today I think, with pickles and mayo......

they changed the forecast

2011-12-12T08:48:00.002-05:00

now they think it might rain here today.....but the storm down around Columbia seems to be moving to the east, and it would have to move north to get to Clinton.....clouded over and cold though, with that pesky north wind still blowing......I didn't watch anything but football yesterday, and just one little spot of local news in there somewhere.....went to bed at ten, half-time of the Sunday Night game.....the library will open in a few minutes, so I'll head over there and turn in my books and look for some more......I don't think I need anything at the store while I'm out that way.....I can keep working on the tortillas, for lunch and supper I guess.....I've used up the pintos, but I have a can of frijoles refritos still......probably enough cheese to last 'til Wednesday.....

Atlanta at Carolina

2011-12-11T09:38:00.002-05:00

in Charlotte at one this afternoon.....I liked that Army-Navy game, with all the running and almost no passing......well below freezing overnight, and the wind is keeping it cold again this morning....but blues skies and no rain in the forecast ......I should attack this living room with the feather duster, the sunlight through the south window is highlighting cobwebs and just plain dust build-up......I had three tacos and some beans for Saturday supper.....for lunch today I might do something not mexican, like a corned beef sandwich......and I could do huevos rancheros for a Sunday breakfast-supper, I've got everything for that.....we'll see, I might feel like something different by then.....I think Nick's birthday is this Wednesday, but Facebook didn't remind us of that?

tacos and pintos

2011-12-10T09:22:00.003-05:00

were pretty tasty, and there's plenty left over.....watched a samurai movie from 1964 last night.....north wind this morning is keeping it in the low 30's , frost on the early walk again.....I'll go walk the park shortly I suppose.....I could make a tostada for lunch to use up some lettuce......yesterday's lunch was two small white corn quesadillas and some olives....I forgot to get the olives out last night at supper...oh well.... Army-Navy is on this afternoon.....the school district says that schools will have a half-day Friday the 16th......and then I think school is out until the day after New Year's.......I saw some hunters out on my walk, six guys had three large pick-up trucks, three vehicle trailers, and three ATVs.....seems like a lot of equipment.....I wonder if they found room to park all that at the Waffle House, or if they were just going to drive through Mc Donald's.....carefully.....

another morning

2011-12-09T08:45:00.002-05:00

where you could see your breath and smell wood smoke from fireplaces on the dawn patrol.....high clouds, pink and orange around the edges on the horizon......right around freezing....I finished off the enchilada pie last night.....in the afternoon I had a snack of cornbread spread with marmalade.....this evening I'll cook up some taco meat with ground beef, onion, cilantro, garlic, and chili powder.....I'll do pintos with onion also.....I've got Old El Paso taco sauce....I'm going over to the store later today for wine and laundry detergent ......yesterday for lunch I had grilled cheese on wheat with grilled corn beef and sauerkraut in there too.....just a half sandwich of all that.....so it's 34 outside now, and I guess I'll bundle up again and go for a walk.....

that'll wake you up

2011-12-08T08:44:00.002-05:00

stepping out of the warm house into the bracing dawn air.....with the sun just coming up through the bare trees ......32 degrees, some wind.....never did get any walking done yesterday, rain and wind kept coming and going.....snow on the NC mountains.....read in the paper that Harry Morgan passed away.....so long Officer Gannon.....I saw some old black-and-white movie a while back where he and the other Dragnet dude were the mobsters instead of the cops....they were robbing a race-track I think, but of course got shot down in the end.......the mini enchilada pie worked out well.....with olives all around the edge in my smallest Corning Ware casserole.....enough left for another supper.....I guess I'll do quesadillas for lunch today.....white corn tortillas, got lots of 'em to use up.....the walk around the park this morning will be cold, but doable......

pretty good storm

2011-12-07T15:29:00.002-05:00

went through earlier....the power flickered once during the heaviest part.....looks like it has blown to the East now.....cold air should move in by morning, down to freezing.....I've got the smallest enchilada pie I've ever made in the oven, might be enough for supper and a lunch tomorrow.....and then I've got taco fixings for more meals.....and I got a can of corned beef, since there is still sauerkraut in the fridge.....

might rain all day

2011-12-07T08:36:00.003-05:00

and on into the evening.....and then clear off in the middle of the night and drop down into the 30's as the actual cold front gets here.....so no walking today probably.....pretty soon I'll drive over to the supermarket, shouldn't get too wet doing that......saw a movie last night about Napoleon on St. Helena....that was interesting.....I need to remember to get eggs.....and the grocery ad had Chex Mix two for one......it got up to 70 Tuesday by supper time.....was 60 in the kitchen at breakfast this morning, with rain blowing against the window over the sink.....

68F, overcast

2011-12-06T12:20:00.002-05:00

so when I got back from Walmart I opened the front door and cracked a couple of windows open a bit.....it was colder in the house than outside.....I was looking for jeans and fish-oil at a good price, and knew I could get both at wallyworld....so I walked up to the men's jeans table and the first pair I laid eyes on I bought....20 bucks for Wrangler 38X30, straight leg relaxed fit, slightly distressed style....perfect.....it's hard to find the 30 length sometimes, and I have to settle for 32 and roll up the cuffs.....my legs must be too short, is why the unusual size? And the fish-oil was two bottles for the price of one.....I did get my walking done before lunch.....which was the next to last kraut dog.....I'm looking at tacos or quesadillas for lunches the new food week coming up....I'm down to my last library book, but it's sort of hard to follow.....it's the sixth book in a series ( which I didn't notice when I got it off the shelf ) so it would probably make more sense if I knew what they were referring back to.....sometimes you can Google a series and get a synopsis.....maybe I'll try that......I think I'll go sit out on the porch for a while, since it seems a shame to waste such warm weather in December sitting inside......

spin-off showers

2011-12-06T08:36:00.002-05:00

is what the weather guy called them.....the warm moist air coming up from the Gulf is sliding along against the cold front coming from the West.....leading to periodic rain showers....it was raining during breakfast, let up while I went and got the paper, is raining a bit more now.....so I wonder if I try to go walking will it start raining again, like yesterday? You can't really see these events coming on the radar, they just sort of come out of thin air.....meeting thick air, or whatever......I could drive over to Tractor Supply and look for blue-jeans, for something to do other than walking.....could walk around the store, they have lots of stuff.....and Big Lots is right next door, they have lots of junk......the fridge is almost empty, and so is the cupboard.....I do have hash and eggs fixings still for today's supper....and now I have leftover cornbread too....cold cornbread is good for a snack, or a side with the supper I suppose.....it's in the 60's this morning, but as the cold front moves down this way they say it will drop into the 30's again overnight in a couple of days.....maybe tomorrow.....

monday, clouded over, but warmer

2011-12-05T08:43:00.002-05:00

didn't need to bundle up as much on my newspaper walk, 54 degrees instead of below freezing.....the weather guy last night seemed to be saying that stuff was coming from both the West and the North today.....moisture from one way and cold from the other.....all to get here this afternoon or evening.....so maybe cold rain this time tomorrow......I had wheat toast with marmalade along with with hash and eggs yesterday....supper between football games......today I've got cornbread and chili on the menu.....garnished with chopped sweet onion and sour cream.....I'm looking ahead to taco time for the next grocery week.....I figure if you can make a personal pizza, you can make a personal taco pie too, instead of a big one that lasts for days.....and then with a package of tortillas you can have regular tacos one night, and a giant tostado one time....taco salad....I'll get a head of lettuce I suppose, etc.....I have enough cheese already.....

dem old blue jeans

2011-12-04T09:29:00.003-05:00

I had the left knee rip out of two pairs of faded jeans in the last week.....don't know why the left knee.....one pair I got for $2 at a yard sale probably 2 years ago....the other pair were $3 at a thrift store, around the same time.....so the jeans I have on this morning are still relatively dark blue rather than faded blue....but the knees are more faded than the rest? Time marches on.....things just plain wear out.....so I guess I'll look in Walmart or Tractor Supply for more jeans, since I'm down to my last not-raggedey pair.....french toast with apple juice in the egg this morning, and two sausage links.....box of link sausage was $1 at the store Wednesday.....I'm already thinking breakfast for Sunday supper again.....half a can of corned beef with an egg poached in it.....with some Cajun hot sauce ......cloudy and cold this morning, north wind.....

Christmas Parade day

2011-12-03T09:11:00.002-05:00

lots of towns around here have their Christmas parades today.....ours is scheduled to start at 10, but I'm not going over there until around 10:30, 'cause that's when it actually seems to start....judging from the last 3 years anyway.....hopefully it will have warmed up some by then, and the north wind will have slacked off a bit......windchill of 25 on the sunrise walk today......looking out at the back yard, the wind is still blowing pretty good at the moment.....so I need to vacuum it looks like, and sweep the kitchen floor.....that will take up a little time until the parade starts......

no Walmart trip

2011-12-02T13:53:00.002-05:00

I just went over to Bi-Lo after lunch instead.....got the two things I'd forgotten last time; apple cider vinegar and sour cream....the sour cream is for my baked potato tonight, and maybe to cool down the turkey stew some.....mellow it out maybe......and I went ahead and got one of those little fruit-cakes from Georgia that they have out this time of year....those suckers are really good.....just eat a small slice at a time, about a two-inch square.....at lunch time I steamed some sweet onion with the sauerkraut and wiener.....and steamed the bun.....the onion and kraut work well together.....got that idea from an article about a hot-dog place in Greenville or somewhere that mentioned they did their kraut dogs with onion....they also had deep fried wieners as an option.....and bacon-wrapped and iron-grilled....like the street-dogs at the Swap Meet.....don't know that I'll ever get around to looking for that place or not.....I did a fairly long session with the SG, jamming with "Deep Purple Radio" on Pandora.....the "kill-pot" on that guitar is a strange thing.....either awesome or plain silly.....depending on your use of it I suppose.....it warmed up enough after my park walk to sit out on the porch in comfort.....they were saying into the 60's today, but in the middle of the afternoon it's 55....but pleasant enough, no wind......

sun's been up for a couple of hours

2011-12-02T08:54:00.002-05:00

but it's still right at 32 degrees outside.....the frost persists......sunny and blues skies.....with no clouds in the night and low humidity I've been able to see Orion from the kitchen window before dawn when I go and get a drink of water.....I guess the trees bare of leaves help with the star-gazing too.....the turkey stew came out pretty spicy, and filling.....I have another helping of Wednesday supper I can heat up tonight.....ribs, potato, butter beans.....watched a movie last night about the RAF in Germany....the Baader-Meinhof Gang? Was it Red Army Faction or Red Army Front? Anyway, a somewhat scary reminder of those years, late 60's early 70's......or is it Meirhof....or something......well, it was a good movie....seemed realistic.....last time I went to Walmart it was getting pretty crazy in there, a couple of days before Thanksgiving.....so I may or may not make a run over there today.....I don't really need to I guess......

December

2011-12-01T09:15:00.002-05:00

and it felt like it on the early walk.....below freezing, heavy frost.....I've got the turkey stew going in the crock-pot, should make the house smell good today.....last night I fixed baked country style pork ribs with baked potato and butter beans.....lunch today will be a kraut dog.....I got a 3 lb. bag of Granny Smith apples instead of the Rome which are a dollar cheaper per bag, because the Rome just don't have the same crunch.....I have one Rome left for today.....I finished watching the "Dragon Tattoo" trilogy last night.....and overslept with strange dreams.....got started on the day about 1/2 hour late.....stopped at the bank while I was walking and got cash out of the machine, since I forgot to get cash back at the grocery store yesterday.....the cash is for the newspaper every day......it looks nice outside right now, but it's still pretty cold and windy for more walking....don't know if it will be much better if I wait an hour.....

ice on the windshield

2011-11-30T08:34:00.002-05:00

freezing on the sunrise walk......on the street that a lot of people use to avoid the busy intersection where the highways cross the crossing arm was down and the red lights were flashing.....but there wasn't any train.....maybe the school bus drivers know who to call about that....they have the Christmas lights up on the lamp poles now.....Thursday night they will have the lighting of the Christmas tree.....and carriage rides on Broad Street.....or maybe they use some side street.....it's going to be around the freezing point overnight the rest of the week probably, so I could stop at the Shell station and fill up, and pour in a bottle of the gasoline de-icer too......regular should be under $3 with my Bi-Lo points.....$2.85 I figure......at the market I think I'll get wieners and buns, and sauerkraut.....for lunches, I've had enough turkey sandwiches.....tomorrow I'll fix turkey stew in the crock-pot, just let it go all day in there.....with corn, green pepper, onion, oregano.....what else? Chili powder? Today should get into the 50's by the afternoon, instead of the 40's like yesterday.....I might wait and see if it looks better for walking then, 'cause it's still dang cold here this morning.....36 or so......

cold damp afternoon

2011-11-29T15:52:00.002-05:00

barely got into the 40's.....I've been staying inside with the electric fire, reading strange novels.....playing guitar some.....listening to the stereo.....took a nap after lunch I think......it was very brisk on the park walk before lunch.....on the radar it looks like some snow coming down in the mountains north of here......

yesterday in Birmingham

2011-11-29T08:49:00.002-05:00

November snow for the first time since 1950......but the dip in the jet stream didn't get to the Upstate, so no snow here, wasn't that cold.....just lots of rain, some worries about the creek rising in the higher country.....down into the 30's overnight, won't get out of the 40's here today.....I made a curried turkey salad sandwich for lunch yesterday.....bought a loaf of wheat bread, used the last slice of rye this morning with my poached egg.....watched three episodes of DS9 last night....there was one story-line that went for three shows.....on 3rd Rock I watched the Christmas show.....and I saw the Thanksgiving show late last week.....nothing like an alien view of your own society to clarify matters.....I'm going to need the wool cap and scarf for the park walk looks like....there might be more rain coming this afternoon?

starting to rain

2011-11-28T09:02:00.003-05:00

and on the radar it looks like a lot could be coming up from Florida over the next few hours.....so maybe I'll stay in and clean house some instead of trying to take another walk.....the streets were damp when I went for the paper, but it wasn't raining right then.....got up to 70 yesterday.....stayed around 60 in the house overnight, haven't had to run the heater much lately.....I need to go out sometime for a loaf of bread......

turkey salad sandwich

2011-11-27T11:22:00.002-05:00

just like a chicken salad sandwich, but with diced up turkey breast meat.....and mayo and sweet pickle relish.....on lightly toasted rye bread.....next time I might do it with mayo and curry powder....I'm low on snack mix, but I think I have enough for Sunday afternoon football.....got "James Gang Radio" fed into Pandora on the big speakers.....might crank up the red SG pretty soon.......the Guitar Player came a couple of days ago....the cover story is 34 electric guitars for under $499.....some cool things in that article......I keep looking at that Kindle Fire on Amazon.....it works where there's Wi-Fi? My discount store denim jacket has these big inside pockets, like pouches.....the gadget could ride around in there.....if I needed one ........

ham on rye french toast

2011-11-27T09:11:00.002-05:00

the last thin slice of deli ham......59 on the early walk, storm clouds to the south-east, and wind from that direction.....but no sprinkles here yet......stayed up until 11 last night listening to Tigers-Gamecocks on the radio, I don't pay for ESPN anymore.....actually the game was streaming online, but it was pretty glitchy.....radio was easier to put up with.....leftover turkey dinner last night, of course.....same thing for today, I imagine.....turkey sandwich will be lunch, etc.....no turkey for breakfast anyway, have to draw the line somewhere.....Carolina Panthers will be on TV this afternoon, but since they have only won two games so far I think I'll watch Bills-Jets instead, they are both at 5-5........and still have a chance for the playoffs......it might rain starting tonight and on through Monday night, seems to be what the newspaper says.....

"Freddy, I want to live my life."

2011-11-26T12:27:00.002-05:00

"You must learn to live the life of the mind."

"And talk to plants?"

"Do you know why I talk to plants, Fredericka?"

"Why?" she asked.

"They listen."

"Rot."

from Freddy and Fredericka .......Mark Helprin.

ten degrees warmer

2011-11-26T09:02:00.002-05:00

on the sunrise walk, than yesterday.....because of the cloud blanket? But it's not warming up very fast, for the same reason I suppose......I'll go out for the park walk in a few minutes.....looks like this afternoon there's Alabama-Auburn......Georgia-Georgia Tech isn't in the local TV listings, which I find odd......I cleaned some odds and ends out of the fridge, so there's nothing much in there but Thanksgiving leftovers and condiments....and some orange juice......and eggs.....but I'm good until grocery day I think.....I got a 3 litre box of California merlot when I was in Walmart, to see if it's any better than the 5 litre box variety.....can't tell much difference.....the price comes out about the same per litre......hardly any traffic this weekend out walking, the town looks deserted pretty much......

a lot of turkey

2011-11-25T15:58:00.002-05:00

and it came perfect out of the oven, in my unbiased opinion.....it was easy to get it all off the bones when I was cleaning up after eating....ate early 'cause it was done and ready.....so now I have containers of gravy and stuffing in the fridge, another of white meat, and a bag of dark meat which can go into a stew with brown rice, corn, onion, bell pepper.....what else? Figure that out grocery day......anyway, now my lunches switch to turkey sandwiches, that's for sure.....

that strange friday

2011-11-25T10:43:00.002-05:00

after turkey day.....long ago we always started a Monopoly game on this day....there's some football on later I guess.....the Dallas-Miami game last night actually got interesting for a while....I've got a turkey in the oven, with sweet onion and cornbread stuffing, spiced up some.....it's going to warm up and be another great looking day......I finished one library book last night and started another one that is starting off interesting....and it's a big thick one that could last a few days.....got my walking done.....35 on the first one, 54 on the second, some north wind....it sure is quiet around here, maybe the neighbors are all over the river and through the woods somewhere.....except the one guy who is always out on his front porch drinking beer when he isn't at work....he's out already....when the sun is to the south like this time of year it hits right on that porch pretty good......there used to be two guys there, but the other one went away I suppose.....still two chairs there, on either side of the front door......or maybe he is still there but never comes out of the house anymore? a mystery......it's getting too warm in the living room to need this sweater on.....

detailed food report

2011-11-24T17:06:00.002-05:00

let's see.....turkey, dressing, gravy, green beans, rolls, cole slaw, hash-brown casserole, sweet potato casserole, mac-and-cheese, congealed salad, lemon merinque pie, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, cookies, snack mix, sweet tea.....I know I'm forgetting something.....all perfectly done and very tasty......pleasant company and conversation.....a good Thanksgiving.....going to watch some news and some football .....if I can keep my eyes open much longer.....

clear and colder

2011-11-24T09:00:00.002-05:00

pretty crisp out on the early walk.....not much left of the newspaper after I took out the black-friday ads.....I'm certainly not going near a store tomorrow......yesterday I had something a little different for lunch, ham and fried egg on rye toast, with mayo.....BBQ chicken and beans for supper.....so now the fridge is pretty empty except for the thawing turkey......which will go in the oven Friday morning, or maybe around noon .....so by Saturday the fridge will have leftovers in it....I'll probably end up making a stew and cornbread some time next week.....the City crews got started the other day putting up the Christmas street decorations.....I think the parade always ends up being the same day as the one in Laurens, except here it is in the morning, and there it is in the evening......so the crazy guys in the funny hats with the little go-karts can kill two birds with one stone, as it were? I should look in the closet for something half-way decent to wear over to Thanksgiving dinner....something besides faded blue-jeans and a sweatshirt, my usual costume this time of year.....khaki slacks and a flannel shirt?

beautiful morning

2011-11-23T10:29:00.003-05:00

after a large rain spell in the middle of the night.....the City was trying to get leaves out of the gutter yesterday with their trucks, so they wouldn't clog the storm-drains.....worked most places looks like, except right in front of the church on Academy, where a lot of that pine-straw they use as mulch under bushes stopped the drain and made a flooded sidewalk.....happens at that spot a lot.....real nice for walking, in the 60's with some wind, broken clouds.....Thanksgiving Day should be sunny, mild.....maybe down into the 30's overnight.....on the early walk everything looked deserted, light traffic and no school busses.....they take a five day weekend? We had to go to school the day before Thanksgiving, as best I can recall.....back in the old days......I got a tin of Original Gourmet Christmas cookies to take over tomorrow, so as not to arrive totally empty-handed.....I got the tin with Venice on it.....gondolas, St. Mark's Square in the background? I got that one because I remember having that exact same tin back around 1958 or so....when I was in Cub Scouts.....I kept my Cub Scout pocket knife, pennies, pebbles, sea shells, whatever stuff like that in it.....I can only surmise it's meant to depict Christmas in Italy.....the other tins have Santa's sleigh and more usual such images.....I looked online and it seems the company has been selling the tins since 1938.....did the Scouts sell them as a fund-raiser one year, or is it some school organization I'm thinking of.....the P.T.A. or band or whatever? When Caroline was in school they sold those huge holiday decorated tins of popcorn, various flavors.....

high humidity

2011-11-22T09:00:00.002-05:00

mid-50's.....80% chance of rain tonight.....might have rained just a little last night, thought I heard some once ......I dozed off for a few minutes during the evening news, what with a gut full of beef curry.....today it will be back to chicken leg quarter, mac-and-cheese, green beans....or peas.....don't know what for Wednesday, but Thursday I'm invited over to Cindy and Matt's for turkey day.....so I'll cook my own turkey Friday....I think that's what I did last year too.....I didn't get any pecan pie, though I still could.....I'm sure there will be desserts at the family thing.....but I should probably stick to my no-sweets-in-this-house rule.....if they ain't here, yuh can't eat 'em.....I'll keep making high-fiber no fructose no salt snack mix for TV watching.....I watched a Kurosawa flick last night I'd never even heard of before.....three hours worth.....it was a good one, I forget the name of it, but it's the one where a warlord dies and the clan replaces him with a double.....it got up to 77 yesterday.....

reduced visibility

2011-11-21T11:00:00.002-05:00

foggy early on, couldn't see all the way down the block.....but not very cold, 60 or so.....now it's burned off to just some high clouds, and 64 for the park walk.....went to the library, and went to the store and got a 12 lb. Butterball for 12 bucks.....when I'm more organized I'll go back and get a box of stuffing and whatever else....maybe pecan pie and whipped cream, really go hog wild for the Holiday.....just for myself all I make is the turkey, stuffing, gravy, peas....that's plenty.....turkey and stuffing sandwiches for lunches is what convinced me to go ahead and fix a bird again this year.....might warm up another 10 degrees by the afternoon, might not need to run the heat much this week.....

it is sunday

2011-11-20T09:40:00.002-05:00

I woke up thinking it was Monday, but it's not......52 degrees and a light drizzle.....a few showers coming up from Georgia on the radar.....the last time I saw a weather forecast on TV they were saying no rain until Tuesday.....this must have snuck up on 'em......looks like a lot of rain over by Nashville......looks like rain in California too? I made my french toast with brandy in the egg batter this morning......as I was fixing the toast I was wondering why the sausage wasn't starting to sizzle.....it was because I hadn't turned the burner on....that would explain the cold frying pan.....anyway, did get breakfast cooked eventually, and it was tasty.....walked for the paper and sat down and went through it......the Walmart ad has computers and TV's damn cheap, it looks like to me....."while supplies last"......I think to use up some of that steak in the fridge I'll do curried beef fried rice with peas this evening.......a meal in a bowl kind of thing.....in case it didn't make your local news, the Blue Hose won their football finale 45-14, and the mens' hoops upset #20 Cincy Bearcats with a late three-pointer.....and the female Hose hoops won also.....Gamecocks won, Clemson blew it.....so they play each other next week in The Big Game, going in with identical 9-2 records.....there will be plenty of gridiron hoopla in this neck of the woods Thanksgiving week.....maybe I'll get a turkey after all.....I've got to go over there to the library in the morning anyway.....then it would have plenty of time to defrost in the fridge.....

Saturday, clouded over, cold

2011-11-19T09:05:00.002-05:00

but no rain predicted until Tuesday.....will stay in the 50's today.....the Gamecocks are only on PPV, so to see them I'd have to go to the bar.....which is an idea, but I doubt I'll follow through on it.....too lazy and cheap to actually get out and do something like that.....and Clemson is on ABC, which I don't pick up on my antenna at all....I think it comes from Raleigh NC, the closest ABC station? If I watch any football this afternoon it will probably be Georgia Tech......let's see....for supper I can do BBQ chicken leg quarter, mac-and-cheese, green beans......still working on that deli ham for lunch meat.....still have some sausage for Sunday breakfast......so all on an even keel through another weekend......

remembered

2011-11-18T15:42:00.002-05:00

what I was thinking I could get at Walmart as I was falling asleep last night....a doormat, or welcome-mat, whatever you call it....I got one that doesn't say anything, so I guess it's just a doormat...they had one that said "Got Dirt?"......anyway, I've been wanting one for a while because I keep tracking stuff off the lawn into the house....maybe I can remember to wipe my feet....and I got a couple of other things while I was over there.....never did warm up much today, though it looked sunny ......lots of people out shopping it seemed.....guess the Season is at hand....the guy behind me at the check-out had a cart with two frozen turkeys in it....nothing else.....

cold, clear, bright, windy

2011-11-18T09:01:00.002-05:00

lots of frost on the roof-tops this morning, and on the lawns.....bundled up good for the early walk.....trying to decide whether to go out again now or wait 'til it gets warmer.....34 with the windchill still.....I fixed some green beans with a little ham to flavor them up.....and a chicken leg quarter and the last of that batch of cornbread.....not a bad little bit of supper.....this evening it will probably be steak and chili-beans.....they say it might be up around 70 before Thanksgiving Day......but only mid-50's here today as the high......I might take a Walmart trip later, maybe in the afternoon.....if I can remember why I was thinking of doing that....it was for something or other.....

"Oh dear,

2011-11-17T12:04:00.002-05:00

you of all people must recognize a substition when you're possessed by it? It's the opposite of a superstition: it's real even if you don't believe in it. My mother taught me that; she was a goblin." from Snuff by Terry Pratchett.....