Beef Bourguignon

 I was watching a rerun of Julia Child's first TV cooking show last night and she was making beef bourguignon and it made me hungry so that is what is burbling away in my oven.  I did not use the crock pot this time and I had a small bite of the beef and I think it is better than in the crock pot for some reason. I used a sweet red wine and it is delicious.  I used half a bottle. Hmmm what do you think I should do with the rest of the bottle? Andy has a fear of mushrooms, but that is the only thing missing from this dish.  I have carrots and potatoes which I put in the pot an hour after the meat had roasted.  In another hour, it shoud be finished.  I cut the chuck roast in to big pieces and I think that helped the whole dish too.  That's the way Julia did it, so it had to be right.

I am running out of things to write about. So, that makes my posts sporadic. I used to post nearly every day. I will have to delve back into my wealth of material concerning the days I was traveling to London and Paris every other month for several years. There are some good stories there, I just have to dig them out.

Have you noticed the grocery situation?  Andy has noted the high cost of common things and of course, beef has been more expensive for several months.  That kind of started the whole rise in prices. I am going to cook from the freezer for awhile.  It is packed and I should be doing that anyway.

I hope I can get a good picture of my beef dish to make you hungry too.

Packing up summer

It's that time of year when people are packing away outdoor furniture, deciding which plants can survive the winter, and where to place them ,and, saying good-bye to their gardens. The pools are covered...I dread that one.  I like looking out and seeing a pristine pool ready for the gang wo dive in.  Oh well, something to look forward to.

I am making pepperoni mac and cheese today, using up all the cheese in my cheese drawer. That dish was always popular with the Cincinnati gang and hopefully they can come and enjoy it before any more trouble hits the aged. It is just one hit after another.

Andy lost his credit card this week but the bank was fast in fixing the problem.  Have you noticed how few workers are manning the teller windows and private seating areas in the banks now? I worry if there is a big problem will they be able to handle it, such as hacking.  When we were hacked it took some serious sit down time with a few bankers to get things ironed out.  In the time between, we were pretty nervous. Anyway, they need to have staff to cover these problems. So many problems...

Matt brought all his girls over yesterday, after Madeleines tennis lesson (age 4).  I am not sure that's going to stick and she did mention getting back to ballet, so who knows? Even the kids are confused now day. Matt fixed my computer problems, you just learn to run one of those things and they change the rules.  I could accept emails but could not compose and send one.  Helpful.

Back to my mac and cheese. I may have gone overboard??

Today

 We are going to my friend and neighbor's funeral today. It is always a shock to me when someone I know dies. I guess we had better get used to it. While we are at the funeral home, Andy and I are going to make our arrangements. (Isn't this a cheerful addition to the post?) I asked my niece to write my obituary because she wrote such a poignant one for her sister. Nancy, my niece, was in my house thirty minutes after I asked her by messenger. They were on the road and happened to be near Columbus and nothing would do but they would come for a few minutes to check on us. We are in great health and in the top ten list of most healthy old people by our doctor who is head of geriatrics at The Ohio State University. We proved our point and they drove away convinced we were healthy, but odd. Now that is going to happen more and more often. It is nice to have some  one concerned about our welfare.

I am not cooking lately so I have no food news.  I am enjoying channel 252. I like Masterpiece on public TV.  I like Escape to the Country on channel 188 starting at 4:00 each day and going to 7:00. Nate likes to pop in some days to see the show and wants to include the English country side in his travels if things ever settle down. This year he is sticking to America. His business shuts down every winter and that's the time he hits the road for around three months. We miss him, but glad he is adventurous.

Talk to you later.

I am feeling good.  My house is almost back to normal and with a rug, chair, and pictures I will be finished with everything in place. I did twist a knee in my flurry to set things right, so I think I will have to make an appointment for a shot. Oh well, I am still on foot and that is a blessing. My dear neighbor and friend, Pauline Carberry, will be buried on Friday. She was so humble and never referred to her accomplishes.  She was only the second woman in the history of The Ohio State University to receive a doctorate in accounting.

 She could have called herself Dr. Pauline Carberry, but never did and most people did not realize her accomplishments. I will miss her and the fun we had together.

I am still cussing this new computer. Why can't they stop fooling with and changing things that worked? I need Matt to come over and set me on the right path ...again.

I have a lot to do today and am looking forward to it even though it is work. Having said that, I do wish people would actually get back to work!

Note: Go to YouTube.com Paris shut down.  They are shutting down the country seemingly without fire or looting or destruction. It's about the mandate over restrictions. Actually add London, Italy, Africa, to that list all protesting in the right way.  Hoards of people.  Why is this not on our news?  If it is, I missed it.

Adjustments

We have been busy making adjustments here at Many Branches. Putting the plants to bed is a big deal since we have so many, thanks to Nate.  He has taken a great interest in this property and has built an orchard and enhanced many flower beds to name just a couple of his accomplishments. We are now deciding what can come in the house to live and if the porch can hold any more beauty.

If you follow this blog, you certainly know about the middle bedroom to-do.  I tell you I had construction going here for years, big construction and changes, and it was easier than trying to put the middle bedroom together. Never buy a bed on line involving more than one provider. Enough said other than it is still not done! At this point the headboard directions read longer than the The Declaration of Independence.

All of this is minor and silly to worry about.  With this virus, the middle bedroom is not needed. But, someday it will become important to sleeping arrangements once again. I do sometimes feel cut off from people and places.  But, I then look around and decide there is no better place to be, so get over it.  It's just the fall droops that visit me at this time of year.

I do miss the Cincinnati gang and their visits here. They are going through some rough patches now. Andy and I think about them often and talk to them over the phone a lot. It is not the same as a good visit with lots of food and gab, but that's the way we are living now.  How did we get into this mess?  Each morning I read what is going on in America and it sets the tone for the day.  It takes effort to put it out of my mind which is what most people are doing I should think.

We are still smoking and enjoying this novelty.  I have never had so much meat in my life.

All the butterflies have left us without a nod to us for bringing them into the world.  I know, they could do it on their own but we made the process safe for them.

I hope you are all well and happy.

Up date:

Mike and Nate (son and grandson) rode to the rescue with their tools and they are putting the bed together. YEA! And no small feat!  I can now start arranging the room to my imagination. Kisses and thanks.

 

Resignation Culture

 Resignation culture has set in here in Columbus. We ran into two incidents just today of two workers in a giant warehouse (American Freight, a Sears outlet) of merchandise doing nothing.  Over whelmed. Where there were once twenty people serving the public and many more behind the scenes these guys simply unlocked the building and let loose.  People could, and maybe will, wheel out washers, dryers, sofas and anything for the home because no guards and no employees were showing up for work.  That cost us too, because we had already paid for the merchandise with promises and merchandise unfulfilled. We sent Nate to try to bring home the things we had paid for in his truck...no luck, unless he wanted to steal the stuff, which he didn't. I am sure the two guys hiding in the back of the warehouse would have said have at it. Macy's, where we had first ordered our stuff, started the trouble for us.  I read their reviews ,unfortunately afterwards, and only 3% of hundred of reviews showed that people were satisfied with their service. Mike and Nate are having trouble receiving products to do the business as are many other people.  There is a national break down and it is going, I fear, to get much worse. Oh, one I forgot, Andy went to get KFC chicken last week and they shut down while he was in line because of lack of workers. Oh, another case, three of Nate's employees earning $35. dollars an hour quit and  said they would return at the beginning of the season next year, but who knows. I think they were going to rest on government money, unemployment benefits, until they ran out.

Well, it's a find mess we find ourselves in to.  Good luck and stock up.

Up date:

We lost $79. of our payment to the above company through no fault of theirs, the company cannot get workers. Finally, one man answered the phone and he was the only worker on the premises yesterday. He agreed to get my order together if Nate would come and pick it up and load it...something we had paid to have done because we are old. Someone was to come and put it together, which of course, did not happen.  The man on the phone said they had no such service, so the woman had to have put the payment in her pocket.  (I have put big homes together faster and easier than I can put this room together, however, I have a man who says he will do it...but, I have heard that before.)

Now, about yesterday.  What the heck happened to Facebook and Instagram yesterday? That nation-wide outage was very strange and little is being said about it. Me thinks trouble is afoot.

.

It's back!

The Great British Baking Show is back, at last. It is on Netflix but does not seem to be on any schedule of regular TV.  It was at first on Public Television, but I have not seen it there and I check often. The cast needs to get their acts together, their bakes were pretty bad on this first installment. I like it on Netflix because I can watch it when I want to.  I must confess, I just finished Ozarks and figure I have 'seen it all' after that series. It's like a wreck you don't want to watch, but you can't stop. Sigh.

We have been doing fall cooking.  At least once a week we smoke a roast of some kind and it always turns out to be delicious.  I hope that continues because it is so easy. We did a pork shoulder with cherry smoking chips and it was successful and Nate ate nearly the entire thing.  It's a delicate cook and I thought when he bought the smoker that I was not crazy about smoked products, but this works for us and it is so easy.

Well, I have brought out the sweaters, having been cold for two days.  But yesterday was glorious and we have a week ahead with more of the same.

I have been redoing one of the bedrooms and find shopping on line is more helpful and enjoyable than I realized.  Order, knock on the door, no mask, and there it is. I would like it even more if they would unwrap it and set it up. I paid extra to have the bed set up and that is to happen on the 2nd--we will see how that goes. Macy's better come through or I will be cranky.

Nate's flowers are still showing off and we bid our 4th butterfly good-bye a couple of days ago. That butterfly process is so interesting and rewarding.  If I were still teaching, I would have that set up for the children to watch.  It would have been so easy and rewarding.

Have a great week-end.

beefs

 Does anyone else find the background music irritating while a TV host is trying to give directions or when watching a movie the music is louder than the speaker? How about the movie scenes where the scene is so dark (and the spooky music is so loud) you can't tell what is going on except maybe for the heavy breathing. Some movies it is night all the time and then I just give up . The BBC has a big problem with dark content coupled with their accent and the darkness, it is a problem for me.  How about the music to shop by.  I could scream! I went in to one store recently where there was no music and it was such a comfortable shop for me. How about the saving on the light bill where the entire place is moody and it is uncomfortable to shop. Many times I find that when they have to save on electricity they are on their way out of business.

How about the TV shows where the ads take up more time than the content? On Fox news the ads jump around and cover the content most of the time. I don't know if that's a sign or what.  Does that happen on other news shows? It is though the show is on crack and can't quite find peace.

I am sure I will add to this post as I am reminded of these irritants. Let me know about yours if you have time.

9/11

 Andy and I were in Paris when America was attacked. We were staying at the Lux Hotel where we had two rooms, one for packing the antiques we came to buy and one for sleeping.  Andy was in the packing room busy doing a good job of securing the antiques for departure day which was Monday. He came into the sleeping room wide-eyed and said I think something terrible happened in America. I went with him and saw the plane. It was surreal, we thought maybe it was a movie but soon learned the fate of America. The impact on those who were in America at the time was much greater than we felt. First of all can we get home?  Since the flight was Monday we thought things would be sorted out by then...foolish I know, but actually we did take the one and only flight out of France on that Monday.  We arrived at the airport where armed men walked us to the check in site.  Now, we had bought big for two weeks and had fifteen boxes and trunks full of china...and a chicken weather vane. The long stick of the weather vane was wrapped in bubble wrap and the chicken was too but separated from the pole.  Well, the pole looked like a gun and the people in our line kept moving to the other line when they looked at the wrapped pole and when they noticed our driver was Middle Eastern.  They really scurried away to the other line then, so we got up to the desk pretty fast and we kept telling Hassan, our driver, that we were safe, but no he had to load the trunks and boxes to be sure we were well taken care of.  It was a circus. Finally, when he saw us going through he waved good-bye.  There were only 75 passengers on that flight to America and we were treated like nobility.  We arrived, I think in New York, and then had to change planes but did not, for once, have to unload everything to be check in then reload it back up for the last leg of the trip.   We, again, were met with armed military and walked to our destination.  Being the only flight in, the areas were dark and gloomy. It was like a bad movie and we were walking into big trouble.

The Spook House

 My parents could have made a fortune flipping houses if that had been popular doing the time I was growing up. They bought a farmhouse with a wrap around porch right across  route 60 and the Muskingdom River. It was so over run and down at the heels that they didn't discover the standing hand pump right in the front yard for three weeks. Every week-end we had traveled to the house and they worked and I sunned down at the river.  At night in bed you could hear the river talking like ocean waves.

They fixed it up and it was a show piece by the time they finished.  I was teaching at Maize School and talked about the Spook House to my class one year.  I believe it was grade five. I always tried to do special things with any class I had and so I thought I would invite them all for the week end at the Spook House.  I did not tell them it was fixed up, instead I told them about Pearl and Edna, the sisters who lived and died there. They were happy to go anyway. There were sleeping bags and tons of food because those kids could eat! They were allowed to sleep anywhere on the property but had to stay away from the river. We had dinner and one boy in the class was not used to big meals or meals of any kind really and he ate so many hot dogs he threw up running through the house from the kitchen to the living room.  Suddenly every one was asleep and I was left to clean it up. The boy crawled into a sleeping bag and was asleep as his head hit the pillow. The next day the room mothers prepared breakfast and the children were again allowed to eat where they were happiest.  They were very relieved that Pearl and Edna had not made an appearance.  They also thought I had pulled their legs because they thought the place was wonderful and pretty. Then the rain came.  Twenty-five pairs of eyes turned to me.  No problem, I knew just the place to spend the afternoon...my old stomping ground The Colonial Inn.  It was a bar with dancing and the best french-fries in the world . One of the fathers was a preacher so I asked him if we could get away with going there and he was all for it. So we spent the entire afternoon playing pool and  dancing to the jukebox. Do you think I could have pulled that off in this day and age?

Andy and I were sitting out side in the sun just now and I had a feeling like we were at the Spook House.  So happy, so relaxed, and that made me think of that story.  Many of my former students are on my Facebook. They were such a fun group of smart children with good parents.  It was kind of like the fifties vibe.

I hope you find your happy place this week end. Enjoy.

The Spook House

This and that

 Today I looked at the groaning fridge and freezer determined to cook from one of those units at least.  I made a lovely vegetable gratin using up more of the products that tend to let us down if not used right away.  So I am on the good track there.  I am thawing a beef roast for the week end smoker feast. Matt and Stacey bring their girls over on the week end sometimes and we give them a break to go shopping or whatever. The girls cry when they leave to go home, so I guess they like it here at Many Branches.

I wanted to tell you one thing to not buy at Trader Joe's is the Norwegian crackers...seeds and grains crisp bread. It is packaged and looks like a deck of cards size-wise. Enticing but dull and no taste.  I have been thinking what to do with it.  Yesterday I crumbled a cracker into a salad and that worked. I have avocados, so I could make a spread.  It's a shame, they look right, they just have no taste. One could easily break a tooth on one of those crackers as well.

Starting tomorrow I am going to have a rough week ahead, so I will be either in a state to write like crazy or too stressed to do anything. This too shall pass, thank God.

I start early in the morning with Andy's coffee and the computer.  I tell you it is getting harder and harder to do this. It's like flogging yourself with all the nasty news that greets us each day. That nasty and the new TV shows are nasty...what will we do? 

l calm myself with another coffee and a container or two of flowers to dead head. Yesterday and today were perfect for this and I regained my composure. Nate has hung bird feeders and I have never seen so many birds and we have lived here 34 years. That and the birthing of butterflies keeps us entertained.  We have four now getting ready to turn into butterflies. We sent one on its way and he never looked back. That's nature. See, it doesn't take much to entertain us these days. lol