Friday, November 24th, 2023
Friday Five!
TGIF! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I’m sure we did too, but since I’m writing this post early in the week since we’re traveling, I can’t tell you about it :-). But I should be able to answer this Friday evening or Saturday. Here’s my 5:
- Packing is a pain, and I never know what I’m going to need or want. Also I never wake up young, slim and beautiful with an amazing wardrobe in my closet, which is always a bit disappointing. To compensate, I overpacked and probably still took all the wrong things. In the end, none of it will matter and we’ll have fun. I’m excited to see how Maggie does too. It’ll be a whole new experience for her.
- I bought some very inexpensive outdoor/hiking boots. I’m not sure my wonky ankle can handle the boots because I have a permanently swollen joint that can get prickly when anything presses on it wrong. When that joint gets mad, it’s painful and looks uglier than usual. So these are my test pair. If I can break them in around my ankle and use them more than two or three times a year, then I’ll consider investing into a better pair. But I’m excited to try! I won’t use them for daily walking, but for going on offroad trails where I need more protection and stability than running shoes.
- I made taquitos in my air fryer last night, and Wizard loved them. They are still a multi-step pain to make, but much less greasy in the air fryer and I enjoy making them. I like my air fryer. It’s fun and useful at times, but I still believe it’s not an essential tool like I consider my crock pot to be.
- And talking about cooking reminds me, we had a guy out to finally align a few cabinets in the kitchen ( more than a year after we moved in!). To do that, he was opening the cabinets and drawers. When he came to my spice drawer, he looked up. “So you’re a chef.” That cracked me up. I’m so not even close. I’m an average cook on my best day, and I’m not being modest. I know I can bake — see not modest there! But I have more time to try things now, and I enjoy being in the kitchen. That spice drawer really brings me joy, and I was jazzed that someone noticed it.
- The Mustang is at the dealer. Wizard has suspected something was off with the fuel tanks (the Mustang has two fuel tanks), and his suspicion was confirmed when he ran out of gas not even a block from the gas station. He called Triple A because our policy with them includes bringing us gas if we run out. The driver was at that very gas station filling up, and could actually see Wizard. Talk about weird and funny coincidence! The problem with the Mustang has been diagnosed and will be fixed. But dang, I didn’t realize how protective the two of us are about that car. Both of us are uneasy when it’s not in our sight or secured in our garage. That will get better with time, of course. But we’re kind of laughing at ourselves over it.
So that’s my five and now I really want to hear yours! I will answer Friday evening or Saturday. I hope everyone has a great weekend!
November 24th, 2023 at 8:47 am · Link
I usually pack light. LG is the overpacker. LOL Fingers crossed 🤞🏼 the hikers work! They do make “off-road” easier if your ankle doesn’t rebel. Yay for taquitos! What do you put in yours? Chef…master baker…same same.
Poor ‘Stang. And yeah, I totally get beting possessive over vehicles. Okay, my five:
1. I forgot to make note of notable things this week so I grasping at straws for five things. LOL I’ll get the bad out of the way first. We may or may not have to get a new fridge. Ours is around 12 years old now and is right in that “more sense to buy new than repair due to costs” spot. Uncle Fix-it thinks it might be the thermostate which isn’t too costly a repair. He’ll send his guy out. With the occasional use of “extra cold” boost button, we’re keeping the fridge part in the green. 🤞🏼
2. I fell again yesterday and landed on the same damn knee. Paralysing pain, but again, nothing appears to be broken. I loaded up on pain meds, went to bed with ice pack and propped up on a pillow. Crashed from about 5:00 to 11:30. Got up to use the “litter box,” and munch on something since I missed dinner. Went back to bed after usual round of night-time meds and managed to get back to sleep and awak at normal time today. I haven’t looked at this morning. It’s stiff but “load-bearing.” I’m such a klutz! Luckily LG was home and could help me off the floor because I would have lain there awhile it he hadn’t been around.
3. T-giving lunch with the blended family was fun. Food was good. I even tried a “scalloped parsnips” dish. I’ve never eaten parsnips. The cook said it was a Martha Stewart recipe and he tried it on a whim. It won’t make it into my recipe box but it was my “new-to-me-food” dish for the season. My rolls were a hit, as was my pumpkin pie. (I fell AFTER getting home yesterday afternoon.)
4. The WIP is currently at 93.4K words. At this point, it will be OVER 100K. Not sure how long I’ll be upright today to work on it but I will definitely hit my NaNoWriMo goal of another 50K on the book. This is the second year it’s been my NaNo project. I wrote the first 50K back in 2021. Better late than never, right?
5. No funny cat story this week, but I have a tale on Jake. I didn’t see it happen but LG related to the story. Jake gets salmon jerky sticks for treats–usually when he goes outside or if we’ve had to leave him home (like yesterday because 25 people in a 1500 sq. ft. house does not leave much room for giant dogs and with kids running in and out and doors open…anyway. He always gets double treats when we get home. At night, after his dinner and his yard break, he gets a giant “munchy bone” that is flavored and fairly soft. we keep the bag of them on the counter next to the trash can. LG kept hearing a soft mechanical clunking sound in the kitchen so he went to investigate. Jake was eying the bag of munchy bones and kept stepping on the pedal of the trashcan, opening the lid as he tried to nose closer to the back so he could grab it and run. When he realized “Pop” had caught him, he gave Emmett Kelly puppy-dog eyes. He got a salmon stick, but not the big treat. Tell me our furbabies don’t “own” us!
So that’s my five. Hope everyone’s T-giving was wonderful. Can’t wait to hear all about yours on Monday, Jen! 🥰 Good luck if you’re doing the Black Friday thing. I had all the peopling I want for the week so I’m staying down and in and looking forward to a weekend of college football and leftovers.
November 24th, 2023 at 8:56 am · Link
🤦🏼♀️ Oi vey, the typos! I hope y’all can parse. I need to edit closer. Maybe that’s my clue that instead of working on the book, I should just go back to bed since brain and fingers are soooo not in sync this morning! Gah!
November 24th, 2023 at 6:14 pm · Link
Silver, my taquitos are basic — for beef I used shredded beef from roast I put in my crock pot, then season it with taco seasoning, and sometimes mix in cheese. My chicken ones are a similar process — Wizard likes food simple
Also the Mustang is home, we picked it on up on our way hopefully. Hopefully the issue is fixed. Okay now for you:
1) I hope you can get away with an inexpensive repair. I’ll keep my fingers cross for your fridge! But yeah, there’s a point where it’s better to buy new and stop dumping money into it.
2) OUCH!! I’m so sorry you fell again on that knee. That hurts so much. but keep in mind this is twice you fell, so keep an eye on things. You might be dropping in blood pressure or something. Hopefully you’re knee will heal up quickly.
3) Sound like a good time for T-day until you fell. It’s fun to try new foods, we really don’t know until we try. So glad you had good food and fun!
4) I love the way you make NaNo work for you! You’re really making excellent progress on the book, hope you still love it!
5) LOLOL!! Yep we all know who runs the show in our homes! Jake deserved the treat so it’s all good. Stepping on the trash can lid is funny — as long as he doesn’t use the new skill to get himself some snacks from there. Jake’s smart enough to figure it out if he wants to.
I had no problem with typos, don’t even worry about it! Hope you have a great weekend and your knee feels better!