Appliances

I never owned a toaster oven until husband came along, not only that I had never bothered to own a microwave or a VCR.  As a result of his influences these appliances soon made their way into our household.

The microwave was swell for melting butter and making popcorn and eventually bacon and fresh corn.
The VCR's multiplied and recorded many many MANY old episodes of mid century television programs.
The toaster oven surprisingly enough replaced the on-its-last-legs toaster and flourished.

Until this weekend.  Popped in toast, NOIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Hmph, try again.  Same NOIZZZZZZZZZZZ.  Smell of electrical components burning.  Finished preparing breakfast, warmed bread in microwave (bleach) and put new toaster oven on shopping list.

We spent Memorial Day afternoon shopping. The new toaster oven has a generous slot for toasting on top
and a dainty little oven for warming up the smaller frozen entree type meals.  I purchased some English muffins to try it out and works perfectly.  I am hungry for a toasted English muffin even as we speak.
The dead toaster oven (Great name for a rock band by the way) fit nicely into the garbage can and was picked up this morning. 

Forms coming off revealing gray concrete wall.

 Nice gray wall on view outside the office window.  Nice.

The crew are still dumping rock and pounding into a more or less flat area, from down by the clinic it now looks like standing at the bottom of the Hoover dam looking up, way way up.  Ah progress.

This is Bulwer-Lytton's home in Jolly Old.

Below is my 2011 submission for the annual Bulwer-Lytton contest.  I had originally submitted this last year and it was rejected because my first version had nattered on far longer than their guidelines would allow.
I will post results when they come out sometime next month I think.  R

-----Original Message-----


From: SCOTT B RICE [mailto:srice@pacbell.net]

Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 3:05 PM

To: Royce Alden

Subject: Re: BW contest entry 2011
Your submission has arrived and will receive the treatment it deserves.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: BW contest entry 2011
BULWER LYTTON CONTEST 4-14-2011
The Iron Chef inhaled the secret ingredient saccaromyces cerevisiae and was
reminded of his favorite breakfast of sourdough pancakes topped with genuine

maple syrup the kind that came in a maple leaf shaped glass bottle, which

once empty could be used to hold wildflowers after rinsing and thought it

was going to be an excruciating sixty minute battle.

VIRTUAL VERSION OF CVH MARCH 2012

BUILDING AND BUILDING CONSENSUS

View from lobby window of the goings on.

Today a group of us spent the better part of the morning looking at various choices of chairs, furniture, etc and choosing.  Just because we like it does not automatically guarantee that we will get it.

We were given green stickers and red stickers and allowed to select green for yes and red for no.  We seem to like the lighter colored office furniture. 

Fabric swatches most of these are very tough microfibers, can withstand at great deal of wear and tear.  As you can see all of the violently vibrant colors went by the way side in favor of muted blues, grays, greens, tans etc.  There is one pesky paisley print in that got everyone excited.  Meh.

RECAP

Boo hoo hoo.   I was expecting to lose the view but not THIS soon.
Yep wall type activities going on.  I think the crew decided to start on the wall next to all the windows because some of them may wish to take off their shirts in hotter weather (no hot weather yet) and some of them really need to keep their shirts on.

BUILDING IN THE 'HOOD:

This lovely old farmer's lady  (1890's) is getting a new roof and
what look suspiciously like windows in the roof!  (I am having a senior moment, can't remember the name of the sky panels, not solar panels but well you know what I mean). (Sky light!!!)  This house has stood empty for nearly five years.   It was on the market as is for at least 250k.  Not even a nibble.  I believe they may have replaced the heating system because the nasty 200 gallon oil tank has been removed.   Last year they jacked the old lady up and put in new cinder block foundation.  Since the roof had moss growing on it, they ripped off the shingles and took it right down to the barest of bones.   Those new windows will make nice light into the third floor attic.  Wish we had them on our roof, but anyone who puts those kinds of windows in here in rainy Oregon is asking for an eventual leak. 

PUTTERING WITH RECIPES:

This past Wednesday was Appreciation Day at work.  The senior staff dons aprons and head gear, heads for kitchen and makes omelette's for everyone.  Mr. Z puts on his tux and cummerbund and takes orders, bus tables, schlep fruit cup and muffins.  Mine was delish.  Afterwards I spoke to our personnel director.   I suggested that they try sour dough pancakes.  Monte looked interested and asked for a starter....

I took out the starter and knew immediately that Mom would pout.  I was out of white flour, so I substituted whole wheat. 

Add  two cups flour and two cups warm milk to starter, let set over night in warm place.  Rats! I used two cups of water instead of milk.  (Mom! Stop rolling your eyes!).  Next morning, slight workage of yeasty beasty but nuthin' to get excited about.
So I added a tablespoon of pure maple syrup because my honey had crystallized and let it set another 24 hours. (Stop with the eye rolling)

Saturday morning.  Gratifying bubblage in the starter, kept out 1 1/2 cups for each of two quart mason jars.  One will be delivered with directions to the PR director. The other will be stashed in the fridge.
I got to thinking, and you know how dangerous that is, Mom always used whole milk.  I have been using 2% for so long I have almost forgotten how whole milk tastes and I am sure that makes a huge difference on how yeasty the sour dough becomes.  So next time I use whole milk,gently warmed to less than 100 degrees.

I stirred up the balance of the sour dough batter with egg, sugar, oil, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cooked six nice sized pancakes.  The three I had for breakfast were pretty good for non standard Virginia sour dough pancakes.

DREAMZ:

Last night I dreamt about money.
I was at work and someone from the front office gave me a form. With this form I was to go to my bank and receive sixty dollars.
I went to the bank and was seated at one of the service desks in the lobby. I gave the lady my form and she went to process. She returned to tell me that the form could not be processed because it was the wrong form.
I left and stood in the outer lobby a bit and decided I would go back to work.




INTERPRETATION:
To dream that you lose money, suggests that you are lacking ambition, power and self-esteem. You are experiencing unhappiness and setbacks in your waking life. You may also be feeling weak, vulnerable, and out of control in your waking life. Now that is just boring.


To see a bank in your dream, denotes your desires for financial security. The dream may be trying to offer reassurance and that your fears of financial instability are unfounded.
Meh.



One last thing.  Yesterday the mail carrier left a plastic bag to be filled with canned good, packages mix etc to be donated to the local food banks.  I sorted out some canned veggies, corn, peas, green beans.  The mail carriers will pick this up today.  I hope who ever uses this stuff lives long and prospers. The canned tuna is mine regardless of mercury content.

Baby boomer land marks....

Visited the optometrist this past Wednesday.    I didn't expect much but alas there have been just enough vision changes to warrant new glasses.   Insurance covers exams once a year but no new frames for two years.  So the plan is that I will get new eye pieces inserted into my present frames. 

and....I have newly diagnosed cataracts.   When do we remove them?   Not for at least ten years, maybe never.  Okay then.

I feel grumpy..

I feel grumpy..

I feel grumpy and frumpy and gray.....

Oh wait.  I AM grumpy, frumpy and gray.

MUCH better.