Monday, November 23, 2020

 We have been doing some interior work on the home this past summer, starting with laying down 3/4" plywood in the kitchen and living room. We extended this into the bathroom, as the previous thin plywoods I had put down were crunching under our feet. The bathroom is still not finished, but i have a good sheet down where we walk and what a difference it makes! We are thankful - no more soft spots in our floors anywhere! The LORD provided us a new roof almost a year ago now, we are so blessed to not have leaks or a squooshy floor. Next item is gutters (drip right over our doors), a new washer (drum beats on the cabinet when it spins - loud!), and a new fridge (long story:-)

Alexa played us 'traditional CHRISTmas carols' all day yestreday while we worked on finishing the fireplace wall and above-mentioned floor. 



 

Last winter mantle for comparison

 


We're going to next paint the rest of the living room and kitchen walls white, add some more black to trim and accessories, and then trim it all out in pine. So excited to see what it will look like.


Sunday, November 15, 2020

 I have had very few events in my life that would be considered 'life-changing'. I have never had a broken bone or lost a very close loved one or been hit by a car or a falling piano. Our Lord let me deal with diabetes, heart failure, and partial blindness; and hopefully these have helped draw me closer to Him, but they certainly haven't pushed me hard enough to make the life long changes I know I should make. 

I still have a very strong affinity towards pizza and bourbon. I remember when I was first diagnosed with diabetes melitus, one friend told me I will have to give up pizza. That was thirty years ago, and my average monthly DEP (days eating pizza) are probably higher now than then. In fact I guarantee it's higher now than then. I trained myself to seek out and frequent establishments that provided slices of pizza with minimal to no wait time. The first one I can remember is Toaramino's on Ford Rd in Dearborn Heights back in the 90's - their slices were wrapped in foil to keep them moist and were about 16 inches long. Oh even as I type I am drooling, mercy!

Driving across State to various jobs has allowed me to investigate and frequent the finest pizza Michigan has to offer: Shepherd Bar (didn't have slices, but the best THICK crust pies) Fowlerville Grand Nickel party store, St John gas station, Bear Lake Blarney Castle right across from the lake, Ellen's Corners in Mesick had seven or eight pies to choose from, The Cabin just west of Mt Pleasant had phenomenal pizza, along with the coldest tap beer. Stofer Rd Marathon on N Territorial used to have fantastic slices but have moved into a bigger building and now host Ultimate Pizza and Chicken, whose chicken tenders are exceptional. There was a dirty little gas station on Whitmore Lake Rd in Brighton that I hadn't been in ever until about a year ago. They had a girl come in and bring her baked goods and pizza to sell - it was pretty darn good. East of town, the Brighton Market sells fried chicken, sandwiches, and of course great slices. Gus' Pizza in town also sells pretty good slices at their little shop on Grand River. On the west end, O'Connor's Deli has very good pizza slices along with cheese bread, and their very pricy garlic dip.

I must say, I grow weary of these monkeyshines.



MAGA YMCA parody 2.0

Bryson Gray - “Hate Speech” (Official Music Video - WSHH Exclusive)

Star Spangled Banner - Forgiato Blow x Bezz Believe x Bryson Gray

Pet Shop Boys - Always On My Mind (Demo "Movie Edit" Version) [HD, exten...

Sunday, November 1, 2020

Autumn Meatloaf - Recipe #1567

Still this morning slightly in shock and having not allowed the total joy of the Sparty victory at the Big House in front of 639 fans yestreday to sink in. Wow.

I am making a meatloaf for dinner/lunches this week and a cheesecake which is a practice for Thanksgiving. It's a pumpkin cheesecake and I see already that it is cracked all around the perimeter but who cares?!? Not I - it's the flavor, not the appearance, don't you know.

Put up some shiplap on the fireplace wall tonight before pulling the cheesecake out. Now the meatloaf is in our new oven happily cooking at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Gloria is playing at the Trump rally in NC while the folks wait for him.



Combine, blend, and allow to meld:

1# ground chicken
1# ground venison
1 sweet onion diced
1/2 green pepper diced
6 oz mushrooms diced
asparagus ends diced
1 tbs diced garlic
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tbs Dijon mustard
3 slices of rye bread diced fine
2 eggs
parsely, sage, rosemary, thyme seasoning - a pinch
ground black pepper
 
For the topping:
1/3 c catsup
1 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs red cider vinegar

I put this one in a three quart saucepan and baked it at 350 about 55 minutes until it got up to 160 degrees Fahrenheit internally.

Served with leftover whipped potatoes and a big yum from us here.