Finally Friday

Ah, Friday! Despite the forecast, it wasn't raining when I woke up. I was careful to avoid puddles both to and fro work and at lunch time, so my car still looks pretty good.

I got home and started the weekend laundry. Jake and Carla are coming over tomorrow afternoon, so I have a house to clean, a 9:00 AM haircut and a quick Kroger trip (I'm just making snacks) in the morning. So, I am trying to get as much done tonight as possible.

I cranked the radio up and got going. First, a grocery list of items I "don't" have for the recipes I want to make. Then I started on food.

First I'm making homemade Sloppy Joes. I plan on serving them as finger food by putting them on sliced-in-the-middle dinner rolls
I saut�ed 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef, one chopped medium onion, and 3/4 cup of sliced celery in my large skillet over medium-high until the meat was fully cooked and then drained off the excess liquid. I mixed in a tablespoon of minced garlic, one teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of Montreal grill seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon of cumin, 1/4 teaspoon of paprika, a tablespoon of chili powder, a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 14 ounces of ketchup, 1/8 cup of brown sugar, and 1/8 cup of water. I reduced the heat to low and simmered it uncovered for 30 minutes.

Somewhere in the middle of making this, my daughter Melissa called with some sad news. Her Grandmother Brogan had a severe stroke and is not expected to survive. My thoughts and prayers go out to Fran and her family. I have not seen the woman in years, and Melissa says she is, well, difficult at times. But, I remember her as a hard working, long-suffering wife and mother of 12 and will never forget taking her to and from the hospital when her youngest daughter, Donna, was born.

Unfortunately, we talked too long and the conversation did not end well (my bad). When I got off the phone, I was starving, so I ate a Sloppy Joe on bread and put the rest in the fridge. It was too late to make more snacks or clean house, so I watched a taped show that Jake's been talking about: "Manic Organic" (on Bravo). Goofy guy for a host, but an interesting show (he grows his own organic food and then cooks it).

I was tired and feared falling asleep if I watched TV, so I switched to reading. I did fall asleep, but since I had my glasses off already to read, it was no problem.