Snowy days and road trips...

I woke up to the alarm at 6:30 AM on Tuesday, dressed hurriedly and took the garbage out to the road. I forgot to mention this yesterday but a road crew came down the street and put some soft gravel (my friend B___ later informed me that, from my description, it was slag) on each driveway to make a ramp up to the road. Thanks, guys! It's kinda squishy right now, but I imagine the rain, snow and my car will help to pack it down.

Back inside, I put on a pot of coffee and got ready for physical therapy. When I left the house it was 34 degrees F. (today's high).

On my way home from therapy, I stopped at Westborn for some veggies and herbs. When I got home, I noticed that the "slag" on the driveway to the townhouses was compacted from all their traffic. Since it rained or drizzled or fogged (whatever) all day yesterday and is supposed to go below freezing this afternoon, I spent the next 10-15 minutes pulling in, moving over a tad and backing out onto the road (my neighbors must have thought I'd went nuts - but that's not the first time, I suppose). I did compact it a LOT, however!

So, today I had the final checkup on my rotator cuff surgery at my orthopedic doctor's in Mt. Clemens. Since my brother Carl lives about a mile from the doctor, I deliberately left 1/2 an hour early so I could drop in and see how he was doing. Yes, that was my plan...

As I normally do, I took Inkster up to 8-Mile and 8-Mile to Groesbeck, which is then a straight shot into Mt. Clemens. It takes anywhere from 45-60 minutes and you don't have to deal with the damn construction on all the freeways.

Sidebar: I understand that construction thing is lightening up a LOT. Oh, not because the roads are fixed, you see. Michigan just doesn't have the money to fix them anymore, that's all. So, along with all the school teachers, firemen and policemen that have been laid off, we can now add laid-off road construction workers and bad roads... The hits just keep on coming!

Okay so that was my plan until I was stopped about one mile away from the train track at 8-Mile and Groesbeck, waiting on what had to the be longest, slowest train EVER!!! By the time I got to the doctor's (and I will admit to speeding just a little - okay, a lot!) I had less than five minutes to my appointment (sorry Carl!)

Okay, so let's review: I drove 1 1/2 hours to get there (in and out of snow-showers), I had a brief discussion with the girl at the counter about my new (and certainly not-improved health coverage) and in less than five minutes I was in a room. I waited maybe two minutes more and the doctor came in. He congratulated me on finishing physical therapy, asked me to raise my arm up and told me that between my knee replacement and the rotator cuff surgery, I was his official miracle patient. He said to call sometime next summer and we'd review. He left and in less than 15 minutes, I was back on the road.

So, I drove 1 1/2 hours to get there and then an hour back home to get a 10 minute visit. What's wrong with this picture? Jake, of course, has an opinion.

I'd told my friend B___ that I would be in the area and suggested a visit. I told him I would call when I was done, probably around 2:30-3:00 o'clock. Instead it was 1:45 PM. He reminded me to call first (he won't answer the door). So, I dug out the cell phone from the console and tried to turn it on. It was dead as a doornail! I drove through sleet to his house.

So, as you can tell, I decided to take the chance and stopped by. I rang the bell several times and finally he opened it (it was still sleeting then and now much colder, BTW). He said I was lucky he looked outside (and I believe it). He offered me both food and/or a beverage, both of which I refused. I had a glass of water and we chatted for an hour or so. It snowed off and on during that time.

He mentioned that cell phones should be charged about one a week (like I know that? I don't like or even use cell phones unless it's an emergency - in fact, they even took away my company cell phone a while back when they discovered there were NO minutes on it for several months - I personally think that's what the damn desk phone is for). I believe the last time I charged it was a couple of months ago. But, it did scare me into recharging this damn thing more, because I always count on it in case I have car problem on the road. If I'd had an accident or even a flat tire today, I would have been toast.

So, I left there about 3:30 PM. Because of that damn train thing, I took I-696 instead of going to 8-Mile. That worked out pretty good until I got to Southfield Road. That was stop-and-go, sitting through several lights and just inching forward until I got to the Southfield freeway. Then I flew home and made it in less than an hour.

When I pulled in, I saw several areas that my tires hadn't touched the slag (as I now know it's called). So, I repeatedly backed up and pulled in, hoping to smash it all down. This seemingly infuriated Caley, who was pawing at the picture window (she knows my car and wanted her treat). I finally got inside, treated both of them and settled in for the night.

Somewhere on that snowy, cold ride home, I decided the only acceptable dinner tonight was home-made chili, so I took out two pounds of ground beef and the last stew meat from last year's shared cow. I put that in the dish rack to thaw and started filling in this rather lengthy Blog entry.

Okay, so for the chili, I'm gonna wing it. So, I heated up a couple of tablespoons of bacon grease and saut�ed two large yellow onions, medium diced (I want that smoky flavor). I tipped the Dutch oven off to one side of the burner and put all the onions there. The other side, on the heat, I put the two pounds of semi-thawed ground beef.

Meanwhile, I thawed the beef stew meat in the microwave ( I would have used a chuck roast, cut into 1/4 inch chunks, but it's a little late in the day for thawing). I took that out of the microwave and cut it into 1/4-inch chunks. After the ground beef was cooked, I added that in. I like the taste of pure hamburger, but miss the texture of beef.

I seasoned it with salt and pepper and then added the seasonings (I am NOT measuring this); some hot paprika, a handful of ground cumin, a shit-load of chili pepper and some cayenne pepper.

To that, I added a cup of tomato paste and 28-ounces of whole tomatoes (I put that in another bowl and squished it before adding it). I opened up a small can of green chilies and then some beans (black beans, kidney beans and pinto beans - none drained).

I added the small can of green chili peppers I fine diced and a handful of jalape�os from a jar. (Had I thought of this earlier when it was warm outside, I would have brought fresh jalape�os at Westborn). I taste tested it and took the cover off and let the chili to reduce for a while.

At 8:00 PM, I plated a bowl of the chili, topped it with shredded cheddar cheese and some green onions (or scallions), turned off the burner and went in to watch some TV.

Whew! In spite of all my constant taste-testing, it was a little spicier than I would have liked, but it was damn good. The cheese toned it down a bit. I put the now-cooled pot into the fridge and then went to bed.