Sunday

Because I didn’t sleep well, I got up at 8:00 a.m. It was cold (of course) and snowing.

I took a muscle relaxer, made a cup of coffee and finished the rather extensive Blog entry. Then I stripped the bed, threw the bedding into the wash and began the Sunday morning chores. Watering the plant, winding the clock and so on were okay, but refilling the pill box was a b*tch (more of those damn child-roof caps). Never had the need before, but I am going to talk to my pharmacist about further refills having just normal caps.

When the washer was done, I put the bedding into the dryer and started the last weekend wash load.

When the dryer was done, I made up the bed again. Later I either hung up or folded the clothes from the second load. Now I’m all ready for the coming week!

I was hungry and it was after 12:00 p.m. The brunch I had planned seemed like a lot of work for what was now too late in the day. So, I just ate some coleslaw and a dish of large-curd cottage cheese. I watched some taped DIY shows sitting on my fresh, clean-smelling bed.

My friend B___ called and we talked about the damn cold, our heating bills and my new truck. When we hung up, I put on my coat and went into the garage.

I sanded down Carl’s bar stool seat (finally). I used the palm sander, as it only takes one hand. I started with 60 grit and worked my way up to 220 grit. It turned out pretty good! Now I have to stain it (after I figure out what it was supposed to be – light oak? I dunno…) I need some stain samples, I guess.

Unless you know what it was, Carl!?!

Back inside, I thawed out a pound of shrimp for dinner. In case you are environmentally concerned, this was wild caught, Texas gulf shrimp.

Then my daughter Melissa called and we talked for quite a while. When we hung up, I started making dinner. I was making “Southern Shrimp and Grits.”

I peeled and deveined the shrimp. I don’t know if it was because they were wild caught, but the veins this time were dark and quite pronounced. I set the shrimp aside while I made my mise en place. I chopped up about a cup of yellow onion, 1/4 cup of green pepper (I used my frozen ones) and two cloves of minced garlic. I put this all in one bowl.

Then I chopped up two thick slices of bacon and slowly sautéed that in my non-stick skillet. When the bacon bits were crisp, I took them out and drained them on a paper towel.

Meanwhile, I added the shrimp to the juice of one lemon, mixed with a good splash or Frank’s Red Hot sauce. I tossed the shrimp and let that get happy while I sautéed the onions, green pepper and garlic in the bacon drippings for about five minutes (or until they got tender).

Meanwhile, I made a pot full of quick cooking grits.

I added the shrimp and broth to the skillet and added the bacon back in. I cooked that until the shrimp turned pink (another five minutes or so).

Then I plated the dish, first the grits and them the shrimp mixture. You were supposed to top it with green onions, but I didn’t have any. So, I used some of my frozen chives.

Now, I must confess that, in spite of my many trips down south, I have never tasted shrimp and grits. So, if you ask me if it was authentic, I don’t know. But I do know it was damn good eats!

I cleaned up the mess I made in the kitchen and went into the bedroom about 8:30 p.m. I couldn’t find anything all that interesting on TV for tonight, so I switched to Netflix and watched another episode of Sherlock. When it was done, I watched the end of the Grammy’s and then went to bed.