Eats & Leaks

I  came across a can of sausage gravy that was hiding in the cupboard.

The Mister loved to have buttered toast that was covered in this gravy and I had forgotten all about it. Actually, s.o.s .was one of his favorites too even though he had lots of that when he was in the army. 

Here is what I did. I cut a couple of slices of my freshly baked Rhodes bread, toasted and buttered it. I opened the can of gravy and scooped it into my two-cup Pyrex measuring pitcher. I like to heat things up in the microwave slow and low. While that was heating, I cooked about one third of a bag of frozen chopped spinach, then drained it completely. The spinach was put on top of each slice of toast, the gravy poured on top. It was delicious and I have enough saved for another meal. Actually the meal was quite balanced (in my way) with meat, dairy, fat, carb, green vegetable! It's not something you can just order at a restaurant! Now I have a hankerin' for calves liver - no bacon - no onions, just gently sautéed in a little butter with a side of mashed potatoes! Maybe a vegetable. 

As for the leaks...In the past years, the flashing around the chimney has had to be redone a couple of times. When we get hard rain for long lengths of time an indoor flashlight inspection is done to see if the log around the chimney at the top is at all wet. Oops! Yes, this morning the chimney was darker than it should be up there and the log on one side was dark. I called my favorite home repair business and a fellow came immediately to inspect. Monday he'll return to do the fix. There is NEVER a dull minute around here. The rain has now stopped and that is a good thing. It was coming down VERY hard for several hours here.

This graphic made me laugh! A many of you know I have the nicknames of cranny grammy and nookworm... 

P.S. I dusted a little today! Yay!

Back to Rain!

I think maybe I LIVE IN A JUNGLE! The air is so heavy with moisture and the soils are so wet that hayfields will grow too high and it will be difficult to bring it in this year. My potted plants are too wet. We don't need all of this rain that is forecast for the next week or so. WOW. Neighbors are having difficulty keeping the lawns mowed and the weeds pulled. 

As I took a quick ride around the lake yesterday, I noticed wild yellow pond iris in the area by the lily pads and cattails. I think the wild iris is considered invasive. I never saw them before. 

Again, more Phlox is blooming along the road's edge and the willow tree loves the wet conditions.

I caught this critter when parking my golf car. Something has been snatching the cheese and the peanut butter from the baited mouse traps and leaving them sprung and empty. Maybe this is the culprit!

please click on image to view larger

Off Course

Did you ever have a day when nothing went right? Everything takes a left turn? Well, yesterday was THE day for me. Nothing terrible, thank goodness, just time consuming and nerve trying.

As most of you know we don't have a washer or a drier here and there is absolutely no room for either. It's really OK because there is a laundromat right at the edge of town, about 4 miles away. I go there when the old wicker hamper is full. At this time of year it is not as often as the occurrence of  trips in the summer. As a "frequent flier" I know this place very well for over 20 years and have my favorite washers and driers. Usually I like the 'big boys' but the amount of laundry this time didn't warrant their use or cost. Silly me, but that's how I am.

There were two new washers installed recently and they were the agitating type. I, personally believe that these clean clothes much better than the front door washers. Besides, I can fill one, add my bleach to the water, agitate it a little and then put my whites in. You cannot do that with a front loading machine.

I proceeded to do just that as there was one of the new ones free and then I put the dark things in a front-loader right next to the new agitating washer.

Time went by. The white laundry was in the drier and the darks were spinning. I noticed the spin was slow and water was seeping out under the door! No one else was in there, so I just waited for the machine to stop.

When it did, I could see through the window that water was still flowing into the washer and seeping out the bottom. The door would not open! My clothes were trapped and in a washer that was at the end of the cycle and the water was beginning to flood the place! The second time I tried to open it, it did - and water gushed out all over my feet and legs and was still coming in from the top.

For a long time, I have been carrying the business card of the owner, who also has an office above the laundromat in the upper level of the building which is accessible from the street front. He sometimes is there. I activitated my cell phone and.....TA DA! The battery was dead!

(I very rarely use it and never even thought to check if it was charged.) So I put on my coat and trudged up the parking lot, around to the top and knocked on the office door. WOW was I out of breath! The ground was snow and ice covered and the distance seemed to be a mile. He answered, and we went back down and around to the laundromat entrance, he holding on to my arm and moving slowly.

I sat exhausted, and watched him climb up on top of the line of washers, (which are along a wall)  remove a long panel and scoot along on his belly to find a shut off valve for that particular machine. Apparently the input water valve stuck to only that machine. He then climbed down, took my laundry out and transferred it to a big boy and ran it through the entire 40 minute cycle. While I folded my white laundry, he mopped and cleaned up the floor. The Mister came to pick me up after the usual length of time and I was nowhere near being ready to leave. He is my taxi and basket carrier in the winter months for the laundry duty.

My feet were cold! and wet! and I was very glad to get out of there.

AND.....When putting the linens away, I discovered THERE IS A MOUSE IN MY HOUSE! (I know, because he left a calling card in my linen closet.)