Random Info

Continuing some of the ramblings I started last week, here are some more random questions with my equally random answers. As for the cute little owl in the straw hat: he serves no other purpose other than he makes me smile.

What’s your go-to meal to cook when you’re in a hurry?

I’ve always had the means to whip up a fairly decent meal in a hurry by having a well-stocked pantry of canned goods.

Any kind of pasta with a can of meat (chicken, beef, tuna etc), a can of mushrooms and a can or jar of sauce.

A pound of hamburger can be thawed and cooked fairly quickly in the microwave while cooking up a box of seasoned rice on the stove.

Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Classic.

And we always have some kind of bagged vegetables in the freezer to balance out the meal.

Would you prefer to having people over for dinner, or going to their house?

Either one. We have a small house, so we’re limited in how many we can have over, unless it’s summer time and we can spread out in the backyard. I love having our friends over. It’s also nice to have someone else do the cooking. It’s a winner either way.

Do you ever go out to eat by yourself?

Sometimes. Don’t really care for it. I’d rather have company. I’ve never gone out to a real dinner by myself, it’s only been lunch or something. And I always have a book with me!

Do you finish a book if it’s boring or you don’t like it?

If it’s a book I’ve actually paid money for, yes. I might do some skimming, but I’m going to try and get my money’s worth. But I can’t remember ever buying a book I wasn’t sure about. If it’s a library book, or one someone’s lent me, and I start losing interest, I will go to the end and see how it turns out. Most of the time I will finish it though.

Circling the Porcelain Vortex

And I’m sure you get where I’m coming from. The last couple of weeks have been “interesting” to say the least. Lots of emotional upheaval, although that has calmed down somewhat. Lots of physical challenges. To put it mildly…I’m gettin’ old! Had about a week of needing my cane even in the house. That does NOT happen often.

And then there was the business with Oroville Dam and the damaged spillway…but that seems to have turned out OK. Marv did get stuck in Chico one night and had to sleep in the lab, but we personally weren’t affected much.

I was trolling around the net looking for fodder to write about and found a great little blog by a woman who has 5 kids, a hubby, a farm and a bunch of animals. She had a series of prompts for sparking the muse. As I looked over her lists, I was again reminded of my age. The vast majority of her prompts just plain didn’t apply to me anymore. I’m not in my 30s or 40s and I don’t have any kids at home anymore. I don’t deal with school issues, homework, etc. It was a bit sad. But she did have some good ideas to run with. So that’s what I’ll do…

What is a must in a hotel room?

We rarely travel and have need of a hotel/motel, but the last few times we did, we stayed in a very nice one in Clovis, CA. Most have a small fridge and a coffee maker, and I love that. I can remember way back when that was not the case. A lot of places also have a breakfast room with a pretty darn good breakfast in the mornings and have fruit you can take back to your room along with more coffee makings.

What is the funniest thing you saw on Facebook this week?

There are SO many funny memes and jokes and videos. I love them all, especially the cute animals. But this past week I saw something bizarre. It was an article about women dying their armpit hair. No thanks.

What’s your favorite childhood snack that you still eat as an adult?

There’s a lot of them, but about the only one I really feel somewhat guilty about is Cap’n Crunch. I STILL LOVE IT! Totally worthless as a food, but sometimes you just need a bowl of this sweet, sweet, yumminess!

And that’s it for this week. I feel better after having vented a bit. I really did like the title of this week’s blog, though. I think it would have made an awesome label for my blog, but being a cat person, I’ll stick with what I originally came up with.

Toodles!

February 2017 Book Report

A Fitting Conclusion (2015) by Emily Thomas

The last book in the Blue Hills Library series. This was a very enjoyable series and I’m glad they brought things to a close rather than just stop writing. The mystery involved a kitty and a diamond ring. As for the possible romance between Anne and Alex, that was finally dealt with openly, with the two of them deciding to go forward together into the future.

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Crosswords and Chamomile (2016) by Elizabeth Adams

Jan and Elaine host a crossword seminar at the tea room. Someone starts sending romantic puzzles to their friend Katelyn, and it’s up to the cousins to find out who the mystery gentleman is.

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Tales of the Peculiar (2016) by Ransom Riggs

Awesome book! This is the book Miss Peregrine refers to in the movie. “Written” by Millard Nullings, you read some of the lore pertaining to the peculiars.

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The Incredible Cat Caper (1985) by Kelly Roos and Stephen Roos

Cute kids book I got for Lia. Jessica’s mother remarries and moves from Canada to Florida. Jessica is happy with her new step-dad, but discovers she must leave her beloved cat behind. Her friends help her smuggle the cat on the plane and she manages to keep things under wraps until a series of burglaries takes place in the condo building.

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At Home in Mitford (1994) by Jan Karon

The first book in a wonderful series full of humor and warmth. Father Tim is perfectly happy with the way his life is going. Things start changing rapidly and he finds he has acquired a large dog, the guardianship of a homeless boy and a very attractive artist moves in next door.

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The Haunting of Grade Three (1987) by Grace Maccarone

Another great little kids book. Because of a shortage of space, the third grade is now being held in an old mansion that has a shady past. Ghosts seem to be haunting the school, and a small group of students start out to find out what is really going on.