Another Wet Wednesday

It was another damp, dreary and chilly day in Michigan on Wednesday. I am not only tired of living through this ridiculously wet spring; I am tired of writing about it! So, from now on, when I write “Weather: ditto” you know what I mean.

It will take me a month to get the backyard back into shape. In some places, the grass is eight inches tall!

I ate lunch at home (leftover Campbell’s Bean with Bacon soup and half a turkey sandwich) and then went to Building 50 to meet another vendor and get a quote for some data drops.

On the way back to Building 73 (where I reside), I stopped at a locksmith and got a set of keys made for Melissa. Actually, I had two sets made, so I never have to do this again. As I think I mentioned, one of the keys is an antique and can’t be found at, say, an Ace hardware. It cost me just over $18.00 (ah, the joys of parenthood never end!)

Back home after work, I documented the poor showing of my lilac this year (I blame it on the weather – but then again I blame everything on the weather these days) and cut two blossoms to take into the house. I love that smell, it takes me back to childhood and life on the farm at 24 Mile Road.

And, I guess, scent is a personal thing. When I was visiting my friend B___, I mentioned taking the two hyacinths, rinsing the mud off and putting them in a vase in my bedroom. He actually shuddered and said, “God, I hate the smell of those things!” Curious, I asked why. He said they always remind him of funeral homes. Funny, I’ve never made that connection.

Back inside, I got out a photo mailer (I’d bought them for some reason or another a long time ago – they are waterproof plastic and have two thick pieces of cardboard inside to protect your photos). I laid out the keys and a key ring and traced their outlines with a magic marker. I cut out the outlines, inserted the keys and taped the backs of them to the one piece of cardboard. I addressed the envelope to Melissa, covered the one piece of cardboard with the other, inserted it in the envelope and added two stamps and a return address label. I’ll mail that in the morning.

Now the only thing I have to check is that my brother Carl had the water turned on (or will before June 17).

Then it was 7:00 PM (I took a break and watched the NBC Nightly News) and I was thinking about dinner. I really wanted to have more French Dip Sandwiches, but I have a container of milk that will go bad in a few days. So, instead, I made some potato soup.

Nothing fancy and I just made up the recipe. I cut all my remaining redskin potatoes into chunks and boiled them in salted water, along with two medium yellow onions, sliced. When they were fork-tender, I drained off most of the water and added a stick of butter, a big glob of sour cream (I told you I was making this up), a handful of dried parsley, fresh ground pepper and enough milk to cover the potatoes (the rest of the milk I threw away).

After that got up to a boil, I used my spyder to take out about 1/3 of the potatoes and put them on a plate. The big chunks I threw back into the pot. Then I used my immersion blender to cream the pot. To that, I added two strips of bacon, cut into bite-sized pieces and all had I had in the house (about 2/3 of a packet) of cheddar cheese with the reserved potatoes. I let that get happy for a bit, stirring every now and then. Then I plated up a big bowl and went in to watch the finish of the original “Jurassic Park.”

I had another bowl of soup.

I watched that movie until it ended at 9:00 PM and then switched to a 1941 TCM movie “The Wolfman” staring Lon Chaney, Jr., until I fell asleep. When I woke up for a bathroom break, I put the remaining soup into four-cup containers (I got three and half of them) and put them in the fridge. Then I went to bed for real.