Saturday Stuff

I had set the alarm on Friday night for 6:30 AM. I had a 9:00 AM appointment to get my hair cut and I have to water the lawn first. So, I got out of bed, shooed the cats off (hey, if I gotta be up, so do they!), stripped the bedding and popped it in the wash. Then I went out, hooked up the big sprinkler and turned it on.

Back inside, I made coffee. I had one cup before taking a shower. Then, after dressing, I went out and shut the sprinkler off, replaced it with the smaller sprinkler and began to water the front side lawn.

BTW, there is one thing I DON'T like about the new back door. You can open it and go outside without unlocking it! This must be a new thing, because Jake and Carla's doors are like that, too. So, you have to always pay attention, because it's too easy to lock yourself out of the house!

I emptied the dishwasher and reloaded it with last night's plate, glass and silverware, while having my second cup of coffee. Then I got dressed for errands. First came my haircut, then I went to the eye doctor's office. I bought these glasses back in December, and they are already all scratched up! What's worse is the places they are scratched the most are right in the bifocal area, so reading is a real problem (and, I love reading!)

What ticks me off the most is that I paid to have the anti-scratch lenses. So, I called last week and asked if there was any kind of a warranty and, it turns out, there is! So I took them in to have the lenses replaced (it will take about a week, but it's worth it).

Next came the market for four cucumbers and a bottle of buttermilk. Still working on my theme, I am planning on making cold cucumber soup. I thought about making borsht, but oddly enough, I cannot find a recipe that tells you to serve it cold (which is how I always thought it was served).

Then I stopped at the quarter carwash near my house and hosed the car off (it's been a while). Then I s-l-o-w-l-y drove down San Jose (so as not to kick up any dust) and parked on a sunny spot in my driveway. I got a towel from the house and dried the car off, and then I drove it in the garage. So, all my errands were done by 11:00 AM, which is a new record, I think.

Then I dug the bedding out of the dryer and made the bed. I definitely plan on taking a nap today and want it ready for me! Next I made the soup. It's pretty simple really. You peel, half and seed (using a spoon, its simple) four cucumbers (about 2 1/2 pounds). You keep one out and that one you dice into 1/4 inch cubes (just having made two batches of my gazpacho, this is child's play).

The other three you cut into chunks and throw into a blender. To that you add one cup of sour cream, one tablespoon of minced fresh dill, 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar, one teaspoon of Dijon mustard and one clove of minced garlic (omit this step if you are having Uncle Carl over - he'll diss you about it!) You pulse it then puree it until smooth. Then you transfer to a large bowl or container and add three cups of buttermilk and the reserved, diced cucumber. Mix well and season with table salt and fresh ground pepper.

Cover and refrigerate until well chilled (about 30 minutes or up to 6 hours). You should season again to taste before serving. Sorry Mom, but this soup must be eaten the day it's made. If you like, I'll make it for you the next time I'm out at the cottage, though. Oh, one other thing. You can add a pound of those small, cooked shrimp to make this a main course for a light luncheon or summer dinner. But, I never buy any cooked shrimp, so that's not really an option for me.

Carla called while I was making the soup. She and Jake will be over in this neck of the woods this afternoon and wanted to show off an outdoor game they just bought. They offered to bring hot dogs for grilling, so I said, "Sure!" Now I have a test panel for my cold cucumber soup!

So, with guests on the way, I did a quick check and an even quicker cleanup of the hacienda (hey, I have to call it that. I live on San Jose, for God's sake!) Since I just did a major cleanup last weekend (after the rear door project) it wasn't that bad. Then I laid down for that nap!

But, Fate intervened and they arrived before I fell asleep. They unpacked the game and assembled it. I'm not sure of the name (I think I heard both Ladder Toss and Lasso Toss) but it was two ladder-like targets that you threw these three things (like two balls hooked together with a short rope) at. If you wrapped them around the highest rung, it was one point, middle two and lowest, three. Like most games, you played to 21. You put the "ladders" about as far apart as the posts in horseshoes, so it wasn't easy, but a lot of fun. We played about 5 or 6 games before moving back inside.

Carla used the charcoal chimney to start the fire (I like a woman who can start her own charcoal, BTW) while Jake and I talked. She grilled the hot dogs while I set the table and poured out the soup. I also contributed a ridiculously small bag of chips (hey, I live alone, I'm trying to lose weight and don't buy full-sized bags of chips for myself, okay?) to the meal

We all agreed the cold cucumber soup was way too bland (especially after having the gazpacho). It really needed something...

They cleaned up and left before 6:00 PM. So, I went in and took that nap. I woke up before 7:00 and turned on the taped Friday Night Fights. Somewhere in the middle of watching them, I had another bowl of the cucumber soup, but this time I added a lot more salt (if you remember, we were supposed to season it before eating it, but nobody did). It was much better, but still missing something (more garlic?)

I also watched a hilarious episode of Family Guy on the computer that Jake gave me a link for. If you want to see it, just copy this into your browser: http://www.hulu.com/watch/6134/family-guy-mcstroke . But, I must warn you, you have to REALLY appreciate "Family Guy" humor, because Family Guy always, inevitably, offends "somebody." But, even being German, the "Dacow" line was brilliant!

Being wide awake after that nap, I stayed up until 1:00 AM. I was sitting on the porch for a spell earlier (it was nice and cool out) so I opened some windows before going to sleep.