The Sunday Story

I woke up at 5:30 AM on Sunday, but I didn't get out of bed until 6:15. I was reading that magazine Tammy brought me, you see. I warmed up a cup of coffee and then posted the rather lengthy Blog entry.

I decided I was hungry, so I made my favorite weekend breakfast: a can of roast beef hash, topped with two eggs over easy. Next I took a shower. Then I got to work. While the shower was still wet, I scrubbed the floor tiles with Soft-Scrub and a brush.

I cleaned the office and the bedroom. In the bedroom, I found a fresh hairball Scruffy deposited on top of the just washed bedspread. So, back in the washer it went (what a waste of water and electricity!)

It was close to noon when I decided the house was clean enough. So, I got out the blower and cleaned off the patio (it was covered with those damn red things that the maples drop in the spring).

Then I got out the line trimmer and cleaned everything up on and around the patio. I took the board off the reflecting pool and was shocked to find it filled with water! That's the first time that's happened. So, I went and put about a cup of bleach in it to kill the algae.

I lugged out the young Shaolin monk and set him in place to watch over the pool. Then I took out the Japanese lantern and set it in its place. I'll wait a few days until the algae is gone, drain the tub and refill it and then put out the water lily (the one that that never blooms).

I put away the blower and trimmer and fired up the air compressor. I have always had a slow leak in the riding lawn mower's one rear tire so, I pumped it up. Since the air compressor was on anyway, I checked all the car tires (one was a little low). I checked the oil in the mower (full, but a bit dirty - I'll have to change it before I use this again) and the car (perfect).

I filled the mower with fresh gas and fired it up. I pulled it around back, shut it off and then went to close the garage door. I went through the house and out the back door and began to cut the back yard.

There were wide swaths that were just too wet to take the mower through (see photos), but I did get a lot of the now too-tall grass cut down. When I finished and got the mower back in the garage, I opened the oil drain hose (you may remember me installing that back when I bought the mower) and pointed it into a drain pan. I'll let it drain for a day or two and then refill it with fresh oil. I also will clean and re-oil the air filter (I had to learn the hard way, but I am now a firm believer in preventative maintenance). When I was finally done and back inside, it was 2:30 PM.

I downloaded the photos and posted them. Both Scruffy and Caley were asleep on the bed and that sounded like a damn good idea to me! So, I went and took a nap.

When I woke up, I went out to make some coleslaw for next week. So, I took a small head of cabbage, quartered it and then cut out the core. Then I sliced it as thin as I could (I should have gotten out the madoline, but then I would have had to wash it, lol!). Next I got out the box grater and grated a carrot (that I added to the cabbage) and a medium onion (that I put in a bowl).

Along with the grated onion, I put in 3/4 cup of mayonnaise, two tablespoons of sugar, one teaspoon of celery salt (it should have been two teaspoons of celery seeds, but I didn't have any), three tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. I whisked that all together, tasted it, added a little more salt and then dressed the cabbage and carrot mixture. I put it in a Tupperware bowl and into the fridge to get happy.

So, it was almost 7:00 PM and time to make dinner if I wanted to watch my Sunday shows on time (and I did). First I got my Uncle Ben's Wild Rice mixture going (it takes 25 minutes). Then I set up my breading station (the classic dry, wet, dry). I put flour, Lawry's seasoned salt and fresh ground pepper in the first tray, three eggs and milk in the second and just yellow corn meal in the third.

I put about 1/2-inch of canola oil in my cast iron pan and turned the burner to medium-high. When the oil started to shimmer, I breaded the first two filets and put them in the pan. When they were a golden brown I turned them over. When they were done, I put them on my rack, sitting in a cookie sheet covered with paper towels. I hit them with salt on both sides and fried the next two filets up.

When they were done, so was the rice, so I plated my food and wandered in to watch some TV. Before my 8:00 PM show came on I had a few minutes, so I loaded the dishwasher and got it started. I still had two bowls, the Shun knife and the cast iron frying pan to deal with, but I ran out of time. I'll catch them in the morning...