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Twice-ironed Waffles

I’ll tell you from the outset that twice-ironed waffles were not the goal. I wanted breakfast on the table by 9, a compromise between John’s early rising and night-owl’s delayed struggle to wake. Waffles take time, even when you have a fairly hot iron, so I was doing other things in the kitchen while they baked. I put away clean dishes from yesterday, set the table, got out the syrup, put butter out, and prepped my coffee mug. John called David, John $pencer, and Rose to eat when I was cooking the penultimate waffle.

Returning to the iron, I was shocked that it was empty. There was no time to stress over old-age forgetfulness. I must have closed the iron without putting batter in it. I used four large spoonfuls of batter to fill the lower part, closed it, and watched with horror as most of the batter oozed out on all edges. The waffle I thought was not there, was very much there. It had stayed on the upper half where I hadn’t noticed it. With a fork, I pulled the already-cooked waffle onto the counter. It was a batter-covered mess, but it kept its shape. I cooked the last of the batter, and returned the soggy waffle to the iron, nudging the indentations into place. After it cooked, I couldn’t tell it from the normal ones.

Here is a photo of the waffle iron after it was cleaned up. I was too busy coping with the mess to get the camera out of my pocket.

The next meal was a community effort. I wanted to try making something like a Thai curry. I had rice, vegetables, green curry paste, coriander, a can of coconut milk, and cooked chicken. John $pencer and Rose were on their way to the supermarket, and they brought back ginger root and small peppers. They also had tumeric, garlic, hot sauce, vegetable broth, curry powder, and bottled coconut sauce. They were cutting and sauteing various things as David stirred the soupy part. John chose a bottle of wine, and we were set. At the table, we agreed we might not be able to recreate it, but we all enjoyed the meal. Only a few stray bits were left for Sadie to lick.

Logan’s Accuracy

Neighbor Logan (9) came over to visit, and one of the things he and John did was toss a tennis ball. When I went onto the deck to watch, Logan was counting the number of times they threw and caught the ball without dropping it. He is much more accurate than he was five years ago when we first knew him, and maybe John hasn’t lost his ability, either. The count was in the high 40s. I cringed when Logan dropped to his knees to catch a ball. I’m not sure if I was more concerned with the damage to his jeans or the horror if my replaced knees saw it.

The fellows posed for me in the kitchen when Logan was on his way home. Shawn, Logan’s mother, had been house-sitting for a daughter, and I didn’t think she was home yet. I said I wanted to send her a picture, which was as good an excuse as any, don’t you think?

I sent her the photo and was thrilled to have it for myself, as well.

Merry Valentinemas

We didn’t know when we drove to church in Asheville that we wouldn’t be home for 12 hours. On the way, we texted with grandson Nathaniel in Charlotte. He was free to have dinner with us at 4:00. Change everything! This was too good to miss.

After church we had a little time to kill, so I suggested we run in the dollar store to buy a few silly things for Nathaniel. Since we knew he would not be with us last Christmas, we didn’t have stocking stuffers for him, as we did for David. Also, his birthday was only six days ahead.

While we were driving, Nathaniel chose a restaurant. Since he is majoring in baking and pastry, he hears about local eateries. We headed for Tupelo Honey, only to find it closed five minutes before we got there because of the Super Bowl game. There was no notice of that on their web site. Thinking quickly, he ducked across the street to the Manchester 1812 restaurant. He must have looked at their menu quickly, because he came back and said we could probably order anything but steak. What a find that was! The place opened the previous year and was said to be a hot spot for trendy people. Because of the football game, there were very few patrons. We had fish and chips, a fried pork chop, and something called Bishop’s Chicken. All the food was good, but the chicken was exceptional – fried chicken bits with a sweet sauce over rice.

We kept asking questions about classes, so Nate regaled us with stories of desserts and breads. The bread baking course was his favorite. He used technical terms that were new to us. As to plated desserts, he said he wouldn’t care if he never had to do that again. We had no idea a plated dessert was different from a serving of pie or cake in a restaurant. A plated dessert must have five components. They are the sweet itself, two sauces, a cold bit (ice cream, sorbet, or whipped cream), and something crunchy. If you go to a fine restaurant and have a dessert, see if your plate has these things arranged artistically.

We gave Nathaniel the dollar store finds when we got back to campus. I had intended to get a pack of toothbrushes, since everyone else got that in their stockings from this dentist’s daughter. We found the brushes and tossed in a tube of toothpaste. Nate said he would have needed toothpaste in a few days. David helped choose a Valentine bowl, balloon, garland, and pillow, knowing Nate likes to celebrate holidays. The photo shows the first things he pulled out.

He laughed at the last item – toilet bowl cleaner. He shares a bathroom with one other fellow, and they have to provide their own supplies. We had hand soap for him, too. For the finale, Nathaniel draped the garland around himself and posed for a silly picture.

We drove home as quickly as possible, because John wanted to be off the road when the Super Bowl game was over. We spent five hours on the road to visit with Nate for three hours. It was worth it! We all enjoyed the time together.

Tom’s Creek Falls

On grandson David’s day off, we went adventuring. He found an easy-access waterfall near Marion from our book about falls. We had not seen Tom’s Creek Falls before, and we gave it high ratings. There was a parking area for several cars, and the path to the falls was wide and even. I was thankful there were no rocks or roots to trip over. If you have the stamina for a mile-long walk on gentle grades, you will probably enjoy the walk and the easy viewing platform near the base of the falls. David took an extension of the trail to get on a high rock.

From there, he took a shot of John and me on the viewing platform.

From the high rock, he went down to the creek for a closer view of the water.

I liked David’s zoom of the falls, bringing the water pattern closer.

Forgetting that I couldn’t change the orientation of a video, I took one that can only be shown sideways. I need a little fellow to come out of the camera and hit me on the head to remind me to shoot in landscape position. The sound won’t change, even if the water is defying gravity across the screen.

I took one selfie to show off my band-aid badge. Before we went adventuring, the dermatologist took a biopsy of a bump on my nose. Her assistant suggested I make up a fanciful story to explain the bandage on my honker. I thought “biopsy bump” was explanation enough. I was thankful to be distracted from my nose, because the band-aid was more bothersome than the tiny wound.

On the way home, we drove by Andrew’s Geyser. We’d been there several times before to watch trains screeching around the Loops to climb over the mountain. The geyser was not working, but we were pleased to see the site improvements. There was a well-defined parking area with a railing. A new set of steps and a ramp gave easy access to the ground.

David and I wandered over to the gurgling stream, dreaming of wading in hot weather. I saw a bird flying over the water and realized it was making a sound as it flew. I suspected it was a king fisher, and seeing it confirmed my hunch. Most bloggers would follow a statement like that with a perfect close-up. I won’t, because I was nowhere near enough or quick enough to catch it with a camera. I hugged the memory to myself the rest of the day.

Logan Entertains Sadie

Neighbor Logan (9) stayed with us while his parents went to the movies. Never has time flown so fast! Logan was disappointed that David was working but thrilled that Rose’s dog Sadie was here. Sadie was delighted to have someone her size to play with. The two of them rolled on the floor with abandon.

When boy and dog were not on the floor, they were running and dancing.

We often bat a balloon about when Logan is with us. Sadie went wild when John, Logan, and I hit the balloon to each other above her head. She leaped as high as she could, sometimes bumping the balloon with her nose. She barked and yelped, bringing Rose from the back of the house to see what was going on. It probably sounded pretty awful. Rose was immediately in the game, hitting the balloon when it came to her in the doorway. Finally it came down tail first, and Sadie got it with her teeth. Boom! Game over!

Logan found the pink pig, one of Sadie’s favorite toys, and they played a version of football with it. Logan had energy to spare, but we wondered if Sadie needed a rest. She was panting heavily, though still eager to play. I liked a series of shots of Sadie and Logan in a chair.

After Sadie went to Rose’s room, Logan suggested we play the alphabet game. We took turns naming a famous person beginning with successive letters. John and I were heavily into history and musicians. Logan favored sports and entertainment figures. That was out of our league. Several times he giggled and admitted he made up a name. The first time we didn’t recognize a name, I asked Alexa. She knew it. After that, when we looked baffled, Logan asked Alexa for confirmation. I suppose the name of the game for us should have been, “Are you smarter than a fourth-grader?”

Posing Balloons

I love helium balloons. This is not a part of my second childhood, because I never had them in my first childhood. We began buying balloons for the grandchildren, but I’m sure I took more delight in them than they did. This past season I had two for my birthday on December 22nd, and they were banned – BANNED!!!! — for Christmas. And this is from a family that prides itself on celebrating a birthday for a whole month! I enjoyed my marvelous balloons exactly two days before they were removed. In all fairness, I must add that sister Barbara and Thom threw a surprise party for me on the 19th, and it was fantastic. However, the subject here is balloons.

Thank heavens my family is not sadistic and did not demand that I kill the balloons. The floaty objects of joy moved to my bedroom. They kept me company while I used the computer and stood sentinel during the night. The big Christmas tree balloon took over the dining room on Christmas Eve, and it was relegated to the bedroom on New Year’s Eve to make room for the last one of the year. Now I have all four to myself. I enjoy the company, even when they just hang there. It’s fun to walk among them, ducking under two to get to the dresser. When the heat blows, the balloons come alive, dancing on their ribbon tethers. They twirl, bob, nod to each other, and retreat. With a little music, they could be ballroom dancers.

I wanted to pose the balloons for a formal portrait, but the heat was on. The camera called for action, “Video!”

I shall complain no more, because I will keep these balloons until they sink to the floor. It could be days. It could be weeks. Party on!

The Roomba Dance

Roomba and rumba are two different things. Rumba is a dance, but Roomba is a robotic vacuum cleaner that I have drooled over since it was first produced. Being able to flip a switch to make a robot clean the floor is intoxicating to me (my idea of living HIGH). The price was astronomical and is still too expensive for this miser. John saw the box on the shelf at Aldi’s supermarket and said we should try their knock-off. We knew from looking at the box that it was a dusting tool, not a vacuum. Still, I reasoned that having a gadget remove dust under tables and chairs would be a fun thing.

On a day when dog Sadie wasn’t here, I prepared to run it. That’s when the dance began – a dance with music from the kitchen speaker. There were many crumbs on the floor, so I whipped around with the dust buster to remove the big stuff. The dust buster didn’t work well, and I found it was clogged with Christmas tree needles and hair. Clearing that was a slow dance. I turned on the robot and set it loose. If you watch the video, note that two of the percussion sounds were produced by the robot as it hit legs of a table and chair. This was interactive cleaning at its best.

The idea behind the robot was brilliant. It moved in a straight line until it ran into something and changed directions. That’s when I began a really fast dance. To keep it from going into the living room, I jumped over it and stood in the doorway. It lumbered back toward the stools, and I jerked them out of the way. Oops! It got caught among the kitchen chairs, which I shuffled away. Its profile was so low that it went under the platform holding up the table. Great! Thinking ahead, I pulled up wires going to the lamp and chargers. I sprang in the doorway to the hall, guiding the robot back to the kitchen. Thankfully the robot cut itself off, not a minute too soon. It may have used up its charge, or a tiny pebble may have locked one wheel. My frenetic Roomba dance was over for the day. I found I have a limited amount of energy for this labor-saving device.

Decline Documented

I privately lamented the loss of my brain due to a bad cold. I searched for words and hit a blank wall. Mixed up dates were the new norm. I failed to put necessary items on the shopping list. I knew you by face/name, but I couldn’t remember when I last talked to you. Like the flaky taste buds, the brain seemed to work every other day. I played a game on my phone that I win 99% of the time, and I couldn’t get past the initial moves. Hours later I could win steadily. I wasn’t overly concerned until the sock incident. Now this post could be the first recording of Alzheimer’s disease for me, although I spelled that name correctly without help.

Yesterday I looked for a pair of socks I knew I had worn. They were not near shoes, not on the bed, not in the laundry basket, not in the bathroom, and not anywhere logical. My eyes happened to land on the wastebasket, filled with tissues. There, tucked carefully to one side, were my socks. I have thrown socks away when they were beyond redemption, but I remembered when and why. You might try to comfort me that it was the middle of the night, but I know my brain was AWOL. Away! Gone! Recording turned off!!

I am on high alert to notice these periods of blankness, and I’ll forgive my family for watching me closely.

Amusement While Walking (AWW)

Neighbor Beth wished us a Happy New Year from the open window of her car. It was unusually warm for a winter’s day. Five degrees warmer, and we would have eaten on the porch! The next person to pass said a pleasant good morning through his open window. We responded in kind. John, ever attentive to car tags (license plates), saw the orange color as the car rolled past and called out, “A NEW YORKER!”

The man heard him. Suddenly his head emerged from the window and turned around completely to face us. “IT’S A RENTAL!!!!” We erupted in laughter as the head disappeared and a hand came out to wave enthusiastically. We waved back, hoping to prove to all that it was a friendly interchange. [For anyone who doesn’t know, John was born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens. He lived most of his live on Long Island.]