Sound Serendipity & The Sister Car

 
I have come to realize that driving a classic car means that automobiling will often be an adventure.  Two examples...

Let There Be Light

I wanted to surprise TBG with new lighting in our bedroom.  He is out at camp de-winterizing.  This is something he does so I don't have to.  On the other hand, I decorate so he doesn't have to.  The decor in our master bedroom is sadly lacking and that room will not be renovated for another couple of years.  This year, it's the siding, next year it will be the kitchen.  After that, we will knock down a wall and improve the bedroom.  For now, I just try to do little things to keep it from looking too crappy.

Friday Night Dinner

Our Friday night dinner splurge wasn't lobster -- but it was seafood.  We had scallops, made in the Sous Vide.  I had given up spending money on good scallops because I could never cook them just right.  That is not a problem with the Sous Vide.  The correct temperature is 125 degrees, and they need 25 minutes.  After that, just a quick pan sear in butter -- 20 seconds per side.

Rewards....

Busted!  OK, I have been known to tune in to Dr. Phil.... It's on when I get home from work and I watch it while I eat my lunch.  It makes me feel better about my life to know it's not in the least messed up or dysfunctional.  A wreck I can't help by drive by and look at...

Flavored Water

Yes, I love my home-brewed iced tea, but I have another favorite beverage that I'm guzzling daily too.  Each morning, I cut up veggies and fruit,  cram that in a jar with one green tea bag in the bottom, then fill the jar up with water and ice.  Usually I throw in a slice or two of ginger and a chunk of lemon (minus the peel/rind).   I bring the infusion to work and stick it in the fridge.  Once I've had my coffee, I am ready to drink my infused water for the rest of the day.  When the jar is empty, I just fill it up again with more filtered water from the cooler.

Porch Dreams...

We will be re-siding Chez Petite this summer.  At that time, we are going to build a new porch.  The stoop we have now is annoying.  With no over-hang, getting inside in the rain is a very unpleasant exercise.  The screen door also is not fitted well and it blows open in high winds -- a very frequent occurrence in Western NY.  The stoop is a poured concrete mold.  It is in good shape, but the stair slabs on top of it are beginning to crumble in spots.  The entire "presentation" is underwhelming, with the small light and hard to read house numbers.  The Federal pediment over the door gives it a nice colonial look, but that is cracked and will be removed.

Saturday Splurge

We had a nice dinner at home tonight.  A sirloin steak cooked to near-done by the sous-vide, then finished on the grill and topped with Gorgonzola cheese.  The sides were asparagus, roasted red potatoes and a salad with greens, red peppers, mushrooms, onions and blueberries.  For the wine, 19 Crimes -- whatever red blend it is that TBG gets.  I'm not particular!

Earrings

I can't leave the house without earrings.  That's just the way I am.  As a result, I like to have a go-to pair in both silver and gold.  That's because once I have a pair of earrings on, I generally want to then add a necklace -- and I don't generally like to mix gold and silver.  I'm strange like that.

Asian History

About ten to twelve years ago, when we had a substantially lower income and a much higher debt load (a mortgage that was at least double what we carry today), we had a bad restaurant habit.  Every Thursday night, we would meet another couple out for noodles.  Then we'd generally also go out either Friday or Saturday night.  At least one weekend morning saw us in a diner for breakfast.  We also partied a lot more and often went out for Saturday night.  Now, we get our Asian fix at home.

The Benz is Back!

We have our wagon back from the mechanic.  It went in on December 6th!  Since deciding not to drive it in the snow/winter, having it at the garage gave it a nice way to avoid a lot of the harsh weather.  It spent a lot of time inside.

There were three main things to address:  the heater, the dashboard lighting and the windshield washer fluid reservoir.  The total for all of this came to $1700 -- I am not lying.  It also could have been whole lot worse.

He's Good to Have Around....

Nobody in our house is particularly handy, but I am lucky that TBG is "in the trades."  Somehow, the condensing unit got knocked off our furnace last week and all the condensation was draining on to the floor.  Not to worry, he sells these things through his job, so he brought one home and had a contractor install it.  We feel it's better to leave that stuff up to the professionals -- and they generally give him a price break on the labor as a courtesy.  It was an easy fix and we got the part at cost.  I like that I don't have to worry about that kind of thing.

In the Bag

 My latest thrifting adventure was a huge surprise and success.  I had wanted to find either a summer skirt or a weekend tote, but went into the store with an open mind, not expecting success.  Imagine my delight that I found what I wanted -- even though I had no preconceived notion of what I would end up with.  The haul is a denim-washed skirt (tags still on), a tote (looked like never used) a small purse (also looks to never been used), and a silver-plate dish.

Scrounging Around the Dollar Tree Again....

By now, anyone who reads this blog knows I have a bad Dollar Tree addiction.  This is partially due to the fact that there is always something I need, then other things catch my eye.  My last trip originated with a need for trash can deodorizers, window washing refill (I know I could use vinegar, but for our glass shower door, the blue stuff works best!), and a cheap carton of eggs.  DT sells eight eggs for a buck and if I'm in the mood to bake a treat for work, I use those rather than the brown organic eggs we hard boil.  The large jug of blue stuff is enough to fill three spray bottles, which works for me!

It Looks LIke Dinner, but it was Lunch!

This was our Friday lunch.  I know, it looks a lot like a dinner -- and that is because it was made from left-overs!  The pizza from Wednesday only used 2/3 of the dough I made.  I knew that with the extra time I have on my day off, that I could use it for lunch.  The soup was leftover from my big batch early in the week.

Tea Totalling

I made up another big batch of iced tea today -- my standard formula of White Jasmine, Green, Black and Ginger, with freshly squeezed lemon and also a bit of fresh ginger (steeped with the tea).  A little honey was added with the sugar for a change. It turned out very well!  We save a lot of money and calories making it at home.  The convenience is great too.

Second Sight

I am always thinking about what I can do with something next.  My whole obsession with re-using packing paper has been a past topic.  Today we got in an order with two rolls of tracing paper -- packed in lots of paper.  One long run of it.  I hope I didn't drive the architects too crazy unfolding and re-folding it.  That used to drive a former boss of mine crazy.  Then again, I am working in a "green" office where we're all about restoring, recycling and re-using.  A lot of presents can be wrapped or a lot of bags stuffed with this paper.

More e.l.f. Luck!

 More make-up magic at the DT.  I was in there today just looking for some frozen veggies for the pup but did a sweep anyway.  Dollar Tree had more e.l.f. products.  The stick and tube are general face make-up (blush/eye/lip).  The stick is in persimmon. The tube is a lilac blush.  Both will do well with my fair skin.  I like cream products better than powder now that my skin is a little dryer with age!

Bread Crumbs!

I know it's a small thing, but since I hate to waste, I saw no reason to throw away left-over bread crumbs from our breaded cod dinner on Sunday.  I just sealed them up and planned to use them for meatloaf tonight.

Spice Infusion Packets

I have been making spice infusion packets in an attempt to use up some old coffee filters.   This is a way I can get flavor out of spices that I don't use as much because they aren't in powder form.  I love rosemary but the woody texture doesn't always work well with all the things I like and I also am sometimes not fond of the powder version if it doesn't fully dissolve.

Even When I am Unlucky, I am Lucky

My weekend got off to a nightmarish start.  For some reason, my neck got stiff starting on Friday and I could not work it out.  By Saturday morning, it was agonizing.  We went to the urgent care where I got x-rays, a shot of pain meds and steroids.   I'm now on a course of NSAIDs and steroids.  I know people think steroids are evil, but when I have needed them, they have done a great job in relieving serious swelling.  The problem got so bad that I could not swallow.

You Had me at Half Price

I went out gathering the elements for dinner last night and decided I would shop Aldi.  My goal was to see what was there in either meat, poultry or fish, and then build a meal around it.  It was a surprise to find Icelandic  Halibut with a half-off sticker.  These days I try to shop every couple of days so I can avoid the weekend crowds.  My goal is to buy fresh and what we need.  Actually, my goal is to buy cheap -- so if I find anything like this marked half price, I know what I am going to build the meal around!

Here We go Again!

The house next door is on the market again.  It sold last time for 77K, which was about 40K more than it was worth.  After spending too much and not being able to sell their old house, the owners gave up.   They had torn out the kitchen and bathroom (all rotted from a massively leaking roof and vandalism), and installed really cheap vinyl windows.  The town made them do that because I complained that the existing windows were either broken (glass) or wouldn't stay closed so birds were in and out.  It has been vacant the entire time -- since it was first in foreclosure two or three years before we moved into our house (which we are now coming up on six years).  They also tried to do all the work themselves and didn't file for any permits, so the town told them they had to stop work.

Cheaper than Cheap

I am truly cheaper than cheap.  Even if I like something that already has a low price, I always hope to find it for even less.  While I don't wear a lot of make-up, I like e.l.f. brand -- it's decent enough in quality and not over-priced.  It is my favorite budget brand.

Beer Bread

I made more beer bread this weekend.  TBG did not finish the entire growler from a few weeks back and I am loath to let good beer go to waste.  This time I made two loaves.  I will bring some into work -- maybe on Wednesday.  The dough was 80% white whole wheat and the rest was all purpose white.  I added in some extra wheat gluten.  I love baking bread in my convection oven because the outside is crispy while the inside stays moist.

Before Brine...

 Long before I brined my first bird, I practiced the act of "Koshering."  It's been a while since I koshered a chicken and decided it was time I prepared one that way.  Koshering is a practice used to draw all blood out of a piece of meat.  The first step is submerge the meat for at least a half hour in water.  Next you remove the meat and dry it.  It is then set out to drain for at least a half hour.  Once it is drained and patted dry again, a liberal coating of Kosher salt is applied to all surfaces.  The meat sits like this for at least a half hour.  Finally, the salt is washed off and the meat is patted dry again.