Slow but Satisfying Saturday

Woke up early at 4:30 AM and started to hustle so I could get to work. Then I realized it was Saturday (has that ever happened to you?) So, I moseyed around and posted the Blog entry about 5:30 AM.

My breakfast was a half a pot of fresh brewed coffee. I was going to make eggs, fried potatoes and the last of the Spam, but I just couldn’t face it. There’s only so much Spam a man can eat (maybe I need a Spam filter). But it is a wonderful tinned meat (as they say in jolly old England) and I do enjoy it occasionally. And, it’s very big in Hawaii, or so I’m told.

I did four new loads of weekend wash throughout the morning.

I tried some of my refrigerator pickles and hot yellow pepper rings for brunch. Both were fantastic, especially the pickles. They had a crunch you never seem to get with store bought. The hot yellow pepper rings left a tingling in my mouth for hours. Trust me on this one, never throw away pickle juice!

I was sorting through my paperbacks to give the ones I didn’t want to the Goodwill Thrift Shop down the road. I found this book called “The Alienist” by Caleb Carr. I don’t know where I got it and don’t think I ever read it. So, I started to. You know me and reading, everything else then took a back seat.

I really need to go up in attic and get a box, so these books can join my fat clothes in the garbage bag on the backseat of my car. That’s to remind me to drop them off. It hasn’t worked in three days, but I think the theory is sound. It also amuses me to think of people at work saying, “Wow! John is really getting old. He’s been riding around with a bag of garbage in his car for three days now!”

I needed some things for my weekend dinners so I made a trip to Westborn. I picked up four ears of sweet corn for tonight (they were eight ears for $2.00, but my state-park grille is too small for eight). For Sunday’s dinner I got four green peppers and a bag of parsnips.

I also picked up some snacks: Four big California plums, three huge California peaches and a container of green grapes (my favorite snack).

I also bought a bag of Yukon Gold potatoes for resupply.

I then stopped at the Feed Store and bought a 40 bag of their Michigan Mix birdseed. Last time I got it, it cost me $15, this time it was $21 ($6 more! They said it was the price of corn).

When I got home and put everything away, I took a break and took a nap.

When I woke up, I got a drink of water and looked out the kitchen window. There was an unbelievable amount of birds flocking to the new bird feeder. I tried to take some photos through the bathroom window. If any turned out, I’ll post them.

I went out and watered the hanging plants. They are, unfortunately, Impatiens, and look like they are dead when it is hot. I was so pissed the second day after I bought them and saw them drooping and all the flowers dead. But they came back with water. It’s just one more pain in the ass.

Then I put the sweet corn in water to soak. I’m trying something new for me here. Now most recipes and cooking shows call for pulling the husks back three inches and stripping out all the corn silk you can get. Then you put the husk back over the ear of corn. I’ve never held with that as I believe the tight husk left alone helps it to steam better. But today I’m trying it, just to see.

I thought about pulling the sink and installing the new faucet, but realized I’d never get it all done tonight and thus would be with no kitchen sink. So I’ll leave it for the morning and read my book, instead (Note: cheap excuse here).

About 7:00 PM, I fired up the lump charcoal in the chimney starter. My neighbor called me over to the fence and asked me if I wanted some cucumbers. I said sure. So, she went and got a couple of beautiful cukes off the fence (Yes, they grow them on the fence as though it was a trellis). We chatted for a while, mostly about her daughter (she’s pregnant again and still unmarried). Her Mom's worried, especially since both her daughter and her boyfriend can only find minimum wage part-time jobs.

I'm so glad that all of my four kids turned out okay. They each have their quirks, but they are okay and that's all that matters. Besides, I'm a little quirky, myself, so they came by it honestly.

When the charcoal was ready, I grilled the sweet corn, turning it a little every five minutes or so. When it was done I put on a T-bone steak that I’d seasoned with just salt, pepper and a little garlic powder. I also put on a Vidalia onion I’d peeled, cut in half and oiled. I husked the sweet corn wearing my work gloves into a paper bag (it’s too messy to do in the house). When the steak was ready, I put everything on a platter and went back inside.

I ate dinner watching an old movie. The steak was perfect and the corn was excellent (so much for my old theory). The only disappointment was the onion. It was a little crunchy. I should have started it earlier than the steak.

I fell asleep before the movie ended. When I woke up for a bathroom break, I turned everything off and went to bed for real.