Shake It

Never underestimate the power of a good milkshake. Or even a fair one. 

Whilst in Columbus, on the way back to the car after looking at OSU's bookstore (Doug purchased some shirts, 710 might get away with justifiable homo-cide if I bring home one more t-shirt), Doug spotted UDF.  Or United Dairy Farmers. 

I think at some point in the '80s or '90s, we had taken to calling it U Dumb Fuckers. I couldn't tell you why. 

Anyhoo......Doug just had to go in.  They don't have them in Chicago. Hell, anymore, they don't have them in CLE. But you know, one convenient store is pretty much like the last one. 

All sell tobacco and vape stuff, along with Little Debbie's and assorted jerkies. I suppose not all serve milkshakes. 

I knew if I passed through their door, a vanilla one would be coming my way. And it did. A chocolate malt for Doug. 

It was fine. It didn't wow me, but it's a milkshake. 

That said, I'm needing them again - just to maintain my weight. As I pick up my mileage and speed, my pounds are dropping to where I don't want them. I'm fine where I am as of last Monday, but would really rather not weigh less. 

Yeah, I know: most people wouldn't think being thinner is a problem. Karen Carpenter thought that way too. 

Song by: David Bowie

Fuel

Gruel.  The breakfast of champions? 

For those who have read me for any amount of time have known I've been a Honey Nut Cheerios guy for years and years. Before that, Honeycomb.  In the last week (a little less), I've been trying something new. 

Oatmeal. 

I could say it is in a quest for being healthier, and in a way it is. The reality is: my fuel for long runs still comes up short. But I listen to people in the training group who say "oatmeal was a game changer for me".  This was after a 20 mile run where I struggled the last few miles (granted, they were all up hill). 

So, I consulted a running expert: Morty. I don't now he used it to fuel for running, but I knew he ate it daily. 

Growing up, we never ate oatmeal. Now and then my mother made us Malt O Meal or Wheatena. Both would have a generous helping of brown sugar to make it palatable. 710 goes through instant oatmeal kicks, but I've never really tried. 

With Morty's guidance, I got oatmeal and a topping - granola. 

This is tricky. Most granola has nuts in it - and worse, almonds. I'm not a fan of the smell or taste of those. But I found one with no nuts and some dried-ish fruit. 

I went further with toppings though: real fruit. Fresh blueberries and dried cranberries. It helps. 

Oatmeal has the consistency - and possibly taste - of wallpaper paste. The fruit gives it some flavour, the granola some texture. 

I can't say it's "yummy" (besides never using that word), but it's not unbearable either. The first few days it filled me up. The following day I was starving an hour later......and it wasn't even Chinese oatmeal!

I'm not noticing anything as of yet in terms of fueling, but I've only done 3-5 mile runs since starting this routine. Tomorrow is 10 mile race, so we'll see. 

My thought was to do this three weeks prior to the marathon to adjust my body (and poops) well in advance of that run. 

Here's hoping for a 'game changer'. 

____________________________________________________________

Additional Note:  I don't wanna say "told ya so", but..........

Yesterday's post on apps and such spying on or listening to us might be too on the mark. I inferred they were already spying / listening, and to pick on on app seems ludicrous. 

My normal blog volume ranges between 1,800 - 2,300 hits per day lately.  Yesterday?  8,970.  It seems the NSA and all had their agents turn their eyes on me for calling them out.  

That's my story, anyways. 

Song by: Echo & the Bunnymen

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

For the holidays, 710 got me a device - I don't know what to call it. A hydroponic garden? A kitchen counter herb garden?

Officially, it's called the Click & Go Smart Garden 3. One can grow certain flowers, fruits or herbs in it. 

Allegedly. 

I don't know if you choose which flora you get sent, but I'm assuming you would. I didn't ask. It seemed doubtful we would be growing wild strawberry. 

That's right. Singular. The website doesn't say 'strawberries'. Whichever - we have basil, which is good, because I use that a lot. 

There are Smart Gardens 9 and 27, but my husband doesn't love me that much. It's hard to blame him. I'm a lot. 

So, I'll kind of walk you through it. 

Ya gots the container with the grow light that is angled above it. And a place for tree pods. The bar on the left rises and falls depending on the water content. It basically tells you when to add more water by where it sits. 

Basil was the herb we're doing with. There are three pods in this package. 

Each one goes in its own little cubby. 

The grow light is on for 15 hours (!!!) per day. It takes up a bit of counter space but not tons. 

As you can see from the title image, only two of the three pods have sprouted. We are seeing if the company will give us an additional pod for the foible. 

But the basil is coming along. Oh, and the grow light can move to a higher position to accommodate the growing plant. It's supposed to grow to a decent size. I'll let you know how it turns out. 

Oh, and an aside: After selecting the title / song for this, I did a little wiki'ing on "Two Out of Three". There wasn't much there I didn't know - until I got to the last line..........and it KILLED me (in a good way).

Song by: Meatloaf

Hey, Bobba Needle

It was a gag gift. Kind of. Or supposed to be. Kind of. 

710 likes waffles who am I to deny him that? 

Personally, I can take them of leave them. They're not as good as French Toast, but not nearly as bad as pancakes.  Either way, they make me sleepy. 

It's a lot of carbs. 

I love Star Wars, and 710 likes it, but loves me, so...he wasn't about to say 'no' to a Boba Fett Waffle Iron, was he? 

I cannot state this enough - even if it's the one and only time:  it was a $16 Boba Fett Waffle iron. 

Gag-ish gifts are not meant to come from William Sonoma. 

Yesterday, he made waffles for us. 

Meh 

They're ok. You can't really brown them more than they are. I know is sounds odd, but no better description comes to mind:  waffles should have a certain crispness to them. 

What comes out here is soft and light, more like French Toast than its intended purpose. Only Boba himself gets a bit toasted. The other side is his ship, I'm assuming (though I really don't remember ever seeing it). 

The gift was good for a yuck, but 710 asked later if I'd be offended if he didn't use it again. 

Hardly. 

We have a FB group called 'buy nothing (add in your city/town)'. I've gotten rid of many things there. It's better than throwing it out.  ,,,,,or worse....storing it for the next decade. 

Song: Chubby Checker

Food for Thought

I'm all about the Cleveland Food Bank. 

We donate to it regularly - several times per year. And with their tie in to Harvest for Hunger, I never go to the grocery store where I don't donate $10.  Why that is only a promotion 1-2 weeks per year is beyond me. 

My thing is:  no one should ever go hungry.  No one.   

Ditto of doing without shelter, but one problem at a time. 

With work, we are encouraged to do volunteer time - something I usually haven't done, and mostly just relegated to cash / cheque / credit card. But you know, work is correct, we should be giving back to the community, so when I suggested the management team do something as a team, they ok'd the Food Bank as the area with which we'd work. 

Yesterday, we spent a few hours up there, along with other volunteers they had, assembling meals for children who don't have a way to eat regularly once the school year is completed. My employer actually does have a lunch program during the summer where kids and their families can get a free lunch - I'm always disheartened how little is seems to be used.  But it costs money to get there, right?  And that is not always something every family has. 

We all had jobs - but 90% were walking around an area collecting one item per table for each bag and tying the bag. 5% was putting it six meals per box and sealing it.  The other 5% (me) was making the empty boxes. 

I'd take the unassembled box, fold in all the necessary flaps, tape what needed to be taped, stack them in fives then move them over to the packing area. 

Naturally, I went at it. OCD comes in handy here. And I thought about autistic kids who need a job, and doing something like this probably is good and soothes them. It did me.  I think I was doing about 15 boxes every 5 minutes. I think. Oddly, I didn't time it or count how many I made.....so..........progress. 

Have you ever seen Parks & Rec when Jerry / Garry / Larry just stuffs envelopes for 12 hours?  Yeah - that was me. I recognized it early and really leaned into it. 

Someone said, you're making too many boxes for what we have. And perhaps I was. But we wouldn't be the only crew doing this over the days, week or months. Someone, at sometime, is gonna need those boxes. 

We prepped about 10,000 meals yesterday. There were already a few dozen boxes made before I got there, but I made a bunch, and I hope it helps getting the good out the door. Everyone else got in a few miles of walking doing their thing. I stood in one place - and I was happy doing it. 

Song by: Squeeze

when the party's over

I've made it no secret over the last 20 blog years that Thanksgiving is not my favourite meal. 

It's fine and all, but for all the work - and there is a lot of it - it's like any other meal that's over in a short amount of time. 

Of course, there is the clean-up, which just adds insult to injury. 

Keep in mind, this was just a dinner for three.

Honestly, I don't know how - or why - my mother did this meal for ages. It couldn't be just to have her kids around. I've met us. Trust me, that "reward" does not outweigh the effort. Turkey was my dad's favourite meal, so that's why she did it, but that's what turkey breasts are for. 

And that is what we had. Like a 7lb breast. Yes, it stops us from using the bones for stock and soup, but we have enough meat for sammiches.......but 710 wants to try turkey hash, with which I'm fine. I have no preference one way or the other. 

The rest of the day was relaxing. A slippery, muddy hike, but in a new location........and a nap. 

The nap may have been the best part of the day, though I had some weird dreams.  Hope your days were good. 

Song by: Billie Ellish

Have Love Will Travel

In the mornings, I usually pack my gym bag with fruit.  Cherries. Blueberries. Grapes and a Banana.

I usually don't have all of them, but a combo of 2-3. Sometimes all. 

All but the banana go in my bag. The second I put a banana in any enclosed area, it goes over-ripe in a matter of minutes it seems. Add to that, a locker!, and well, I may as well toss it. 

Two days ago I did take one IN my gym bag. And left it there, as I forgot to fish it out to actually eat. I found it on my way home and oddly it was in decent shape. Not brown. Not squishy. Alrighty!

Knowing if I brought into the house, I'd forget to take it the next morning, I left it on top of my car. Of course, I'd see it and grab it to go. 

Except I didn't. 

After workout, I got to my office and went, "oh crap!".  Of course, I figured it was some crow's meal after it hit the pavement and got run over by an number of other commuters. 

Fast forward 12 hours (or more), and I get home from work and exit my car.  

There is the nanner. Exactly where I left it 24 hours earlier. 

Apparently I am a very safe driver. Or that sucker held on for dear life. 

It now sits in the kitchen, awaiting to be eaten this morning.  

Song by: the Sonics 

the Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys

I knew way back when that we had eaten at Comet Ping Pong in Washington DC. 

What I seemed to have repressed was the fact that we helped fund Hillary's Sex Trafficking Ring™.

For those who might not be "in the know", Comet's is the place where Qanon and well....the GOP, which is pretty much the same thing, said that Hillary Clinton was running her child sex trafficking ring out of their basement

.....but you could get calzone too, if lil' Tyler wasn't enough to fill your palate. 

I am not sure if they actually have calzone.......and I think it was determined there was no basement, just like at the Alamo. 

I know you're thinking two things: 1. $378 for pizza.   And 2. those motherfuckers are cheap as hell and left no tip. 

First off, it turns out we paid for 14 people! (man, I've been writing this blog wayyyyy too long.)   And we bought four MORE copies of Becky's novel.  It was a pricy trip (well, if I remember, I was in DC for work, so they paid for the flight).

I have to assume someone else agreed to pick up the tip, as we really aren't that cheap. 

I suppose it's possible that HRC sent over some young uns over to our hotel afterwards, but I suspect I'd remember that. 

She had gotten further if she had sent over dessert.   ....or the kid's dad. 

Song by: Traffic

Sundown

I kind of have nothing. 

We finally had our "January thaw" yesterday......and today. We hit almost 70!

Mind you, where there were piles of snow, there still is snow. But that was on the lawn and such just two days ago, are now gone. For now. 

It's NE Ohio. I've seen 8" of snow in May. 

Yesterday, I met friends Rebecca & Anita for drinks.  2.5 of them. Becky and I split the last beer, but apparently she wasn't too fond of a red Irish ale. 

She then came over for dinner, after we sent Anita home. It was the first time we've cooked for someone in our house - and we've been here almost two years. 

Yes, we had David & James over during Covid, but we brought in food, as to keep things as uncontaminated as possible. But last night I made pasta for us all. We sat at the dining room table and ate like humans. 

We chatted, we traded stories, we laughed. Shep was on his best behaviour, which isn't always a given with a guest in the house. You just never know. 

That's it.  That's all I got. Time for bed. 

Song by: Gordon Lightfoot

Margarita

During this staying at home, we've for the most part, have been staying at home. Everything is off.

I mean, overall, we are homebodies anyway, but this kicks it up a notch. Now we both have lunch at home instead of work, so our fridge empties out sooner, our dishwasher runs more often. You get the drift.

We want to support our local establishments, but honestly, we just haven't been good about it. When we do, all get big tips, as the regular cost just covers their operating expenses.....if that.

710 gets a daily drive-up (not through) menu from our local independent former Mexican place. Lopez closed a few months ago with a more fusion-y place (same owner) taking it's place: Mojo. Until yesterday, we've never taken advantage of it.

After a long day and not wanting to cook, we were happy to patronize Mojo. It didn't hurt that they are also selling liquor curbside. I mean, the margaritas came in a soup container, but the tequila was strong, good and needed. We weren't complete rubes, we did transfer the booze to glasses with ice. No salt.

The food was good, but no matter how high end the tacos, that food just doesn't travel well. They needed to drain some of the braising liquid.

That said, they were extremely grateful for the support. We will have to make an effort to continue this in the upcoming weeks. It's important to keep the independents alive.




Song by: Great Big Sea

Sugar Sugar

Blobby had a doctor's appointment a few weeks ago, and heard the four worst words you can possibly hear at the doctor.

No, it wasn't, "you're going to die".  It was, "hop on the scale".

{sob}

I knew it was coming. And even worse, knew what the read out would be.

203.3.  Ugh!

Somehow whilst on vacation back in July and August, I figured I had to have dropped five. I was walking 10 miles per day.  I was swimming at least twice per day. My food and alcohol intake wasn't anything bad. Honest. Yet I came home almost 5 pounds to the plus side. Not plus size.

Ok. That last line isn't quite accurate, is it?

Maybe it's just age and metabolism doing  me in.

To my credit (?), this is not the heaviest I've been, but I don't care for the direction it's going......or looking in the mirror.

Honestly, in my life I've never dieted.  Mort will do alcohol free months.....ok....month.....singular, but booze isn't the issue of my weight, or so I'm assuming.  I believe it to be a white substance far more addictive than cocaine. 

Sugar.

I. Love. Sugar.   ....and it me.

Knowing I can't do it alone, I axed 710 to join me in a month of much less sugar.  He was on board.

Notice I didn't say 'no sugar'.  I'm not fool enough to think I can forsake all sugar. But there will be no cookies, cupcakes or the likes in the house for a month.  Well, a month and two weeks, as we finished anything we had and have opted not to buy more.

In my head, I'm taking us to the end of October to see if we notice a difference. We started two weeks ago.

I've also taken this one step a little further.  I'm packing my lunch more and more and there are no such thing as chips going with me to work. Carrots and celery are now my friends.  Any snacking I do consists of nuts, bananas and apples.  While I will take chicken salad or tuna, there is no longer bread.  But if I take cucumber slices and put either of those on, you certainly will get full.

Oh, and water. At this time, I'm taking in somewhere between 100-120 oz of water per day. 64 is recommended, but me being me, has to 'beat that!'.   This is foolish of course.  My getting up in the middle of the night to pee due to so much water isn't helping my already poor sleep habits.

I have a goal in mind for how much I want (and need) to lose. But I will try not to go back to old habits.

Over last weekend, we went to dinner at my niece's new house (where she is living in sin!), and took the dessert: six chocolate chip cookies from one of the best places that makes them.  In theory there was one for each guest, ourselves included.  Neither 710 or I had one, nor did we take them home.  As 710 said, he misses the routine, not the dessert.  That's fair.

When going to see Downton Abbey, I automatically stopped at concessions and then thought to myself, "what am I doing?" This showed me it's much more about habit than want or need.

It makes sense to make more sensible choices. My exercises has been on hold......I'm down to just one bad shoulder, but I need to get back to a gym too.  I hope to continue eating better even after the month, but I don't believe in cutting out anything completely, be it a carb, sugar or fat.

I shan't be mentioning my weight until the end of October or so.....and I'll let you know if I'm headed in the right direction.......or not.



Song by: the Archies

Out of Time

As we have transitioned my mother into independent living, we have other things to tidy up.

Right around the holidays, I kind of panicked and wondered if anyone had tossed the food out of my mother's cupboards after she had gone into the hospital in September - never to return.

My sister confirmed she had taken care of the fridge, but nothing else. So, 710, Shep and myself went over and started with the pantry.

Ruckiry (not Jon's boss), the medicine shelf had been cleaned out. That was always like Russian Roulette.  My dad would combine things - tylenol and motrin in the same container. Who knows what you were getting, what lot number or expiration dates.  It was all about conserving space - though they always had plenty.  (Don't even ask about programs he deleted from computers because they took up 'space'.)

The food sitch wasn't much better, as we would soon find out.

We made three 'piles'.  The donate to a food bank.  To keep - for my mother or us. To toss.

The latter was due to things already being opened, unwanted by anyone ever or items that had been expired.

Now, I'm not saying my mother was attempting to poison us at every single Sunday dinner, but I'm not not saying that either. 

My LORD, the expired things in her cabinet. And not by weeks or months. That she used !!!  Granted, the pic is the extreme - and who was really using Nesquick anyways?  I'm sure it was bought with the grandkids in mind, some of whom are already out of college, the rest about to enter it. But I did have to laugh at the 2003!

It took us way longer to clean out the pantry, one cupboard and the freezer then anticipated. We'd have kept going but her big-ass trash bin was full.......and now weighted like 200 lbs. Thank g-d it was on wheels.

The Cleveland Food Bank got a three nice big boxes of fud donated to them. I hope the stuff went to good use.

We still have like the spice cupboard to go. But that won't take long.

What we are ready to do now is get the house ready to put on the market.  That's another post altogether (c'mon Airplane fans..........you know what to do!)



Song by: the Rolling Stones

How Can I Refuse

Poor "little"  (see, it's in quotes because she isn't!) Sarah Fuckabee-Sanders got her plus-sized panties in a wad because she was denied service at a restaurant in Virginia.

Of course there is / will be the right outrage and the eventual on-line and probably physical backlash to the restaurant and its owner.

Of course the same people outraged won't see the irony the whole gay wedding - cake shop refusal thingy.

Yes - while SCOTUS did the ruling, Fuckabee-Sanders praised it and the baker's right to free speech.

Naturally I'm biased here. I hate this administration, I hate this woman and every single thing for which she stands. Sure the bakers based their refusal on 'religious freedom', but the owner of the Red Hen could do the same thing. It's now the law of the land.  All they have to say is under the Ten Commandments they view 'lying' as a sin and the second biggest liar in the land was in their establishment which they could not condone by g-d's law.

Period.  Boom!

All this aside, why should these clods expect to ever get an excellent customer experience?  Fuckabee-Sanders went to a town that overwhelmingly did not vote for BLOTUS. She had to know that. And she has the second most recognizable face in this administration (yeah, that includes you Pence).  Why the fuck did you think you'd be accepted in this place.........or any?

This administration is finally starting to see how disliked they are. Take this headline from Friday:

How how I laughed and laughed and laughed.......inside....where it counts.

I think the most reprehensible thing of it all is Fuckabee called out the restaurant and her experience on twitter...............but not her own personal account.  Nooooo - it was on the Press Secretary account, which basically saying the government condones a praise or tear down any singular personal business, helping to sway public opinion.  Even I'll give that fat-ass president the nod that he uses his own account and not the POTUS one for his buffoonery.

If the Red Hen wanted to publicly shame Fucakbee, they could just say didn't have enough food - they had to decide to feed her or the rest of their customers.  That might shut her pie-hole.



Song by:  Heart

Open All Night

Another mass shooting.  Another time I'm not remotely surprised.

Of course, the location and dress, or lack thereof, is what made the story unique........at least to start.

Nekkid he came.  Nekkid he shot.

I never bother with the shooters name. It's meaningless and they're not going down in the annals of history or anything. They are blips. Giving them names - repeating and publishing them - gives them a feeling of power, or being someone.  They're not.

First off - the only wearing a jacket into Waffle House was a genius move. Do you know how sticky every surface is in there?  Boysenberry syrup all over the counters and floors. That stuff is murder to get out of your clothing.     (too soon?)

Practically though, it's probably harder to trace a scent, should one be using dogs, if you dress later.

While of course the murders are horrible - W.T.F. with the FBI and this dude's dad?

The FBI confiscates this will-be killer's guns a year ago after being arrested near the White House (which now is really just a northern Waffle House.....with the same clientele).......and gives the fucking guns BACK to his father? 

What the hell, man?

I don't care if they were owned by the dad or not (and I don't know if they were). But when Secret Service and the FBI see you as a threat here's a little hint:   keep. the. confiscated. weapons.

...and dad just giving them back to the kid?   I'm sorry - but this guy is an accomplice. The criminal court might not see it that way, but I bet the civil one will. Doubtful that guy will have anything to give the defendants, but fuck it, take everything he owns and sell it.

The truly plausible part of this whole tale?  The "delusions" that Taylor Swift was stalking the gunman. It's quite possible. I mean, is there anyone left she hasn't dated?




Song by: Darryl Hall & John Oates

Nothing's Changed Here

I mentioned a little while ago that Christopher Kimball was out at Cook's Country / America's Test Kitchen.

As I said, depending on the story, he was ousted or quit. Still it was a show he developed and then sold out to a corporation, as he apparently did give a damn about the greenback, a dollar.

It's just that that corporation affiliation came to bite him on the ass.

That was a dish the test kitchen did not work all the kinks out of, apparently. And it was served cold!

So, the big question of the day - well a month ago, until I promptly forgot about it - was who would take over hosting duties? I never saw Kimball pick up more than a pair of tongs to help one of the chefs turn a chop. I am unsure of if he could actually cook at all.

I mean, I knew the host wouldn't be the dour one - whose name I cannot remember, and I'm guessing no one else can either. Becky is way way WAY too perky. Dan and Bryan are cute in their own way, but have made far too few appearances to qualify for the job.

That left Julia and Bridget - that is assuming the show hired from within.

If you recall, I've back storied an entire thing where I believe the two absolutely loathe each other. At the time of the firing / quitting, I told 710 it would be a cage-match to see who got the job and who joined Kimball on the unemployment line.

Two days ago, 710 forwarded me an email he got from America's Test Kitchen - because he subscribes, dontcha know - and he gleefully holds up the email with an image of the two new CO-hosts.

He so wanted to prove me wrong with my fiction.

I looked at it for 0.08 seconds, look back to what I was doing and go: "it's photoshopped". 


Song by: Dwight Yoakam

China Girl

I'm behind on posts - at least if I want them to be "timely".  But what is time, anyway? I mean - really?

This didn't need to be timely anyways, as the event would have been over before I wrote about it.

As Cleveburgh expands and becomes more lively, there are more evening things to do. Now, I will freely admit that many a night, 710 and I are home bodies. I like to cook dinner, and we like chillaxing with Sophie and Petey.

I know people think gay life is one big rave after another - but it's just a lie. I mean, except for the meth-heads. For them it is all one big party......until they OD.

Anyhoo...... we were asked to attend Night Market, which is a new thing in 2015. It runs down part of a street through our Asian Town. I don't think we can call it "China Town", as there are Vietnamese, Indian, Korean, etc places in this area of town.

This turned out to be the last one of the season. There were only four planned, as they didn't know how the turn-out would be. Allegedly the first had about 500 folks. The second closer to 2000. This last Friday was probably closer to 5000.

So Night Market is gaining momentum. Big time, I would say.

Ruckiry (not Jon's boss), we got there relatively early. So we had little wait for the things we wanted to sample. I stayed away from the Indian food because. well..........I wasn't sure of the bathroom situation. And I don't mean to stereotype Indian food into becoming gastrointestinal distress, but really - why risk it?

And unlike David and his wife, I did not try the squid or octopus.  {shudder}.  And....see paragraph above!

There were lots of food vendors, but also businesses (well, a few), there was also clothing, art, and performing art.

Sadly, they only brought this out for display. I was hoping to see folks moving it through the crowd.

They had really good music. A number of American songs done in Japanese, Chinese or the likes. But they had some of their own music as well. Most of it was not SoundHound-able. Trust me, I tried.

I did get one: the Cambodian Space Project.

HOW are you not going to love a band with that name?

I almost used it as my last song on My Music Monday for songs I dance to. That would be kind of a lie. I mean, I did groove to it - much to the delight of David, his wife and their two friends, Carlos and Sonya (sp), but before that night, I didn't know it.

But their song, "Dance Twist" was fun. I hyperlinked it there for you.

I had iffy Pad Thai. But I had one of, if not the, best egg rolls ever. Actually, I had three of them.

It was fun to people watch, and as David pointed out, it was a place we didn't run into anyone we knew. That is not such a small feat anymore - so it was nice to just hang - and I always love being with his wife. Though the reality is, she and 710 are cut from similar cloth, while David and I are.....wellllll....David and myself.

Oh - and I got to see this little guy.

If dogs do feel humiliation, I felt bad for this poor guy. I'm sure I wasn't the only person to take his picture.

Since the sun is setting earlier, it seemed like we were there for a long time. Until David said, "it's 7:30!".   That's it?  I figure it had to be 10p.

We stuck around for a little while longer, but mostly just to catch the light and the sunset.

I'm glad we got in on this before it becomes too insane next year. I mean, we'll still go, I'm sure, but we'll be able to say, "I knew it when......"



Song by: David Bowie

Boris the Spider

I was preparing dinner on Monday when I felt a pain on the back of my hand.

I assumed I had been careless and shredded skin when I passed it over something sharp or something of the likes.

As it really started to hurt, I finally looked at it - which I hadn't bothered to do before. There it was. A bump. A fairly small bump at that.

It hurt too much, and didn't yet itch, so I ruled mosquito bite out pretty early on. I had encountered no bees of which I know, so I assumed - and that's all it could be, an assumption - it to be a spider bite.

And people complain of spider bites all the time. I guess the question is - no one ever seems to actually see a spider, let alone see it bite them. I supposed these arachnids could be getting a bum rap, but I think they aren't.

The pain was annoying, but me being me, did nothing about it, save wash my hands a dozen times. I think before bed, I put on hydrocortisone cream, just to keep it from stinging so much. I'm not sure it did a thing.

By the time I woke up on Tuesday, It was almost impossible for me to make a fist. That was a bummer, because I was going for the Welter Weight title that very afternoon!

Seriously though.......bending or stretching my hand was extremely difficult and somewhat painful. And just annoying. You don't realize how often you use those muscles until you can't. And no, I wasn't deprived of self-love.......I'm a leftie...if it ever comes to that.

Still - what's a boy to do?  Well.....like most men in healthcare: hope it will go away.

Well, I did some quick research online because 710 goes (well, via text), 'what if it's cellulitis?'. Cellulitis is a thing in his family, so he didn't want me to be on that train.

WebMD said to elevate the hand, to which 710 asked if I was doing the Queen Elizabeth Heil Hitler maneuver. I was not. And you can really only elevate a hand for so long as you go about your day. It's not realistic. I didn't do ice on it either. But I did take a Benadryl Wal-Dryl.

Not only did the medication do nothing really to relieve my symptoms, I later found that my arm hurt from elbow to wrist. I figured that can't be good.  Still, I did nothing about it.

Power through - I say.

I don't know that is the right or wrong answer, it's just the approach I took.

A little after dinner on Tuesday evening, I took another Wal-Dryl and some ibuprofen.

I woke yesterday in better shape. The pain was less, the swelling was down, almost no itching and I can contract and expand my hand. I think all is right with the world.

It was only before drafting this did I have a light bulb go off. I bought grapes on Monday and reached in to clip off a bunch, so I could wash and eat them. You always hear about spiders and such being stuck in produce that is shipped from g-d knows where. I'm guessing whatever was in that bag - and you know it was a Brown Recluse! - is where I obtained my bite.

But I suppose I'm immune to a spider's bite and all their venom - or whatever poison they put in my system.

Great. Now I'm hungry for grapes.



Song by: the Who

Art Official Cage

Let's see.....what is new......?

Friday we went to the Cain Park Arts Festival.  Meh.

We've missed the last three years, mostly due to summer vacation travel. Let me rephrase: we didn't go the last three years, I'm not sure we "missed" a thing.

You know the score: the same handful of artists travel from art show to art show hawking their wares. For me, I can skip the pottery and jewelry booths. And there are only so many hand colour-tinted black and white photos that one can stomach.

I think that left me with 2-3 items I actually liked. One was, oddly enough, a drawing of part of a street in German Village - in Columbus. No big deal mostly, other than it was of the house 710 lived in when he was in GV.

The vendor was a snapping prick. I think he realized it, but by then it was too late. When he said, "that's German Village", I cut him off and go, "I know exactly what it is....." and walked away.

The piece I liked the most had no price tag. WTF?  I'm not sure an event like this warranted hunting down the artist to ask for pricing. I walked. I'm not sure I was that invested.

It is really after the festival we go for - 20 or so gay men get together for dinner. Usually the same invite list. Always the same restaurant. I'm not a huge fan of Indian food (but I did eat a lot of naan), but I go for the camaraderie. And maybe the booze.

But this year there were quite a few changes to the roster. We knew only a handful of men. But we made the acquaintances of a few new ones - some that we liked very much. But since the table was one big long one (that's what she said), it was hard (read: impossible) to converse with anyone at the other end unless you got up and moved.

As it turns out, one of the gentlemen is the new director of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Che'Che'

He and his partner (husband?) seemed nice, but we didn't get to chat very long. Yet we made plans with two other couples - new ones - one for dinner and one for drinks. So that's kind of nice.

And yesterday, we went down to the Cleveland Flea.

Like the art event, we didn't buy anything, but the people watching was better and the items were a bit more interesting.

Well we did buy something: lunch.  Food trucks. My choice wasn't as good as last year, but live and learn. And we also ran into two of the new guys from the night before. So that was fun.

We did get to see a good band - Sammy Slims. You can listen to his / their record, but they were much better live than they seem to be via the studio.

The crowds and parking were a bit much, but it's the price one pays for helping an event flourish in a town on the rebound.

Worth it.




Song by: Prince

Cooking with Blobby

In my quest (well, one of many quests), to mix up our vegetable sides - per 710's inference - this time I went with potatoes.

I like potatoes well enough, I suppose, but over all, they don't do much for me. Somewhere, Morty just fainted, but he'll recover.....probably.

Oh, I'll eat them if put in front of me, but I don't go out of my way to make them, usually.

Yet, I was watching an old(er) Barefoot Contessa show the other day - all about side dishes - and everything she made, save one, was something I would just never touch. Alas, the last item, brought me to attention.

Mustard Roasted Potatoes.

To quote the woman herself, "how bad can that be?"

Well, it probably could have been better, but I doubt it is any fault of Ina herself. I'm not sure it's my fault either. In certain ways I love our big ass industrial oven, but in other ways, well.........when it comes to no broiler or worse, regulating the temperature, sometimes it tries my patience.

Let's get going, shall we?


Yukon Gold Potatoes - 2.5 lbs (it's a lot and had leftovers)
Yellow Onion - 2 (I used one), slice crossways, 1/4" thick
Olive Oil - 3 T
Stone Ground Mustard - 2 T
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 425.

Cube the potatoes and cut the onions. Lay them evenly on the pan. 

The onion part was my undoing. I did as Ina said, but I think they should have been thicker. You'll see why shortly. 

Drizzle with the olive oil. Apply salt and pepper and the mustard. 

With clean hands, toss it all together, making sure that all parts have oil and mustard distributed evenly. 

Bake for 50-60 min. 

Like in what I am now calling "Petergate",  the one vegetable - the onions - cooked way too fast. I think a thicker sliced onion would have held up better. But I don't want to overlook the fact that somehow even while set on 425, the oven got to 500 in the first 15 minutes of roasting. 

Yes, I turned it down more, but the damage was already done...or on the way. 

In actuality, the now crispy onions were not really so bad. I just have to believe they'd have been better if roasted appropriately. 

The mustard helps. Both 710 and I said our mouths were afire, but that could have been from the bbq sauce on the chicken. 710 asked if I used red pepper flakes on the potatoes. I had not (though not a bad idea).

What really helped?  Having them the next day. I thought the flavours were better after reheating them as leftovers.

I would totally do this again as a side. But I'd still do thicker onion slices.  ....and a lower temp.

Martha

You know me, always on the hunt for something to make.

Scratch that.....

Something easy to make.

I don't mind complicated, but sometimes you just want easy. And something new. Not that Fettuccine Alfredo is "new", but the real deal can be such an ordeal.

Ruckiry (not Jon's boss) for me, on Sunday evening (though I was a little tipsy), I flipped through Martha Stewart's PBS cooking show. Sometimes I watch, sometimes I keep on flipping. But "3 Ingredient Fettuccine Alfredo" made me stop in my tracks.

I made it the following day.

But to be gayer than Martha's general demographic (which is pretty fucking gay, I'm thinking), I upped it FOUR ingredients (six if you count salt and pepper, which Ms. Stewart clearly does not).


Fettuccine - 1lb
Butter - 2 sticks (softened)
Parmesan Cheese - 1/2 pound grated


then salt and pepper (and I used parsley too)

Mix butter and cheese together until they are creamy. 

Here's what it looks like afterwards. Leave it in mixing bowl. 

 Boil pasta according to directions. Reserve one cup of hot pasta water. 

Drain pasta, add it to the mixing bowl. 

Toss together until butter / cheese mixture melts and incorporates into / onto the pasta. Add some of reserved pasta water if it needs to be loosened up (I needed about 1/4 of a cup).   

Season with salt and pepper, as needed. 

Added more pepper and garnished with chopped flat leaf parsley. 

The flavours were good - but not great. But maybe this dish isn't really about an abundance of flavour. I rounded it out with salad and bread.

No need for eggs or anything - so that's a huge plus. And it's not a jar, so a big plus. But it's heavy. Martha says to garnish with more grated cheese, but trust me, it didn't need it, so we didn't add it.

I liked it, but I'm not sure I'd rotate it through that often.

First - this probably feeds six. Cut it back if you need. I'll be eating this for lunch for the next few days.

Second - while there aren't a ton of dishes to clean, that mixing bowl is like glue. The melted cheese / butter mixture just congeals. I'm trying not to think what it did to my intestines. Even rinsing and soaking immediately didn't help at clean up time as much as one might have thought.

It was a good experiment and probably really good for a casual dinner with 5 other friends. But I won't be revisiting that often.




Song by: Jefferson Airplane