Snacks?

If you know me, you know that I'm not a vending machine person.  I come prepared with snacks, drinks, and usually a lunch. When Walt Kowalski and I first got together, I never went anywhere without snacks and a drink.  Good snacks.  Nuts, berries, fruit, and chocolate. Always chocolate. 

It was healthier and cheaper.  At first, he would say "but if we're hungry we'll just grab something."  Sometimes that's ok.  Other times, I don't want to spend the money on bad food, cheap food, or not good food. 

The 10 minutes it takes me to pack a snack at home is totally worth it.  After a few day trips, and some good snacks of cheese and crackers, nuts and berries, and of course, chocolate, Walt Kowalski is hooked.  Now he even packs the cooler while I'm packing the snacks. 

Today, I was very, very unprepared. (I was tired from splitting wood last night and didn't do my morning prep at night.  We just went to bed.)  I had plans to stop and buy something healthy at the store.  However, the store didn't have what I wanted.  I have my lunch and ate it for breakfast.  

Ok I have a couple of dollars, I'll see what is in the vending machine. 

Much to my surprise...

It's gloves, safety goggles, and lubricants. 

Cool, but disappointing snacks.

Brakes

So I mentioned in a previous post that things have just been a little rough lately.  I am certain it really wasn't more rough than every family.  But it just seemed like it was a lot all at once.

It's the small things that add up.  Here are the highlights:

-Work as been crazy busy for both me and Walt Kowalski. I usually take a day and go to the store at lunch, but when work is too busy, I cut my lunch short and skip the store.  I don't like to do that, but it happens. But that means no food at the Cat Ranch.
-The evenings after work have been full of work on the Front House.
-I have been a slacker making dinner, because I haven't been to the grocery store.  Thank goodness for meals I have prepared in advance and frozen. But you just can't freeze a salad.
    (WK: Make it easy tonight. Let's just have a salad. )
    (Me: We have no lettuce.)
    (WK: Nachos?)
    (Me: No cheese No lettuce.  No chips.)
    (WK: Shrimpy pasta?)
    (Me: No shrimp. No Angel hair pasta.)
    (WK: What kind of house are we living in?!?)
-I have neglected my chores at the Cat Ranch, there is laundry and cat fur and things that need put away because we come home and plop things down, eat, shower, and go to bed. 
-The shelf in the glasses cupboard slipped off the plastic clip and fell. Luckily, a tall glass on the shelf below held the shelf above, so the glasses didn't crash and break. Of course it happened in the middle of the night. I heard the clunk, but couldn't find it. I didn't sleep well the rest of the night. We bought new clips, but they weren't large enough to fit securely. I don't want to put anything away until the shelf is secure and clean. So there are glasses sitting everywhere. In the microwave, in the sink, in the dishwasher, in the stove, on the counter.
-The other morning I shuffled out to the kitchen in the dark and on the way I kicked something hard.  I thought it was a magnet that fell off the fridge, but when I turned the light on I found:

A glass coffee carafe has no chance in a porcelain floor. I must not have had it locked in securely when I made coffee the night before and a four-footed-fur must have jumped down from on top of the fridge and knocked it off the counter.

I love running the sweeper at 4:55am.  This coffee pot was only 2 weeks old!  Luckily, the old coffee pot was still in the donate box in the basement. I dragged it out, washed it up and Walt Kowalski had coffee. 

That same morning, I grabbed my bag to go to work only to find that I didn't screw the lid securely onto my water bottle and all of the papers in my bag were soaking wet.  The electric bill is now attached to the gas bill attached to the cable bill.  Thank goodness I pay them online.

But the thing that really pushed me over the edge was coming home from work Friday night. I was  half way home, stopped at red light just down a big hill when all of the lights on my dash flashed, the brake light stayed on, and Little Red jerked. At the next red light I had to press the brakes EXTRA hard to make the car stop.  It stopped, but it took twice the distance as normal! The back bumper of the car in front of me approached way too fast.

Heart racing.  Home is still 20 minutes away.

A panicked call to Walt Kowalski and a stop at the auto parts store for brake fluid that leaked out on to the ground, told me I had brake issues.  We could tow it, but it was now after 5pm on a Friday night and it would be towed to a garage that was closed until Monday morning.

Luckily, the rest of the way home was relatively flat and through construction zones, so I could go slow and put on my flashers when needed. I also had my hand brake if I really needed it. 

The problem with going slow on the highway is that it gives other cars the opportunity to pull out.  Especially in the construction zone. 

I limped my way home to a friend's garage and borrowed Pap's car.  At least I can get to work on Monday while the brakes are getting fixed.  But on the way home from Pap's house, the same thing happened to his car.  All of the lights on the dash flashed, the brake light came on and the brakes were smooshy when pressed.  THE SAME THING HAPPENED IN A SECOND CAR!!! (Had both cars been parked at the same house I would think someone tampered with the brakes.)

I switched out Pap's car for his truck and waited to hear the news about Little Red.

There was good news and bad news. The brake line to the rear brakes was broken.  The reason the brake line was broken is because the frame cracked and was getting worse. The brakes could be fixed, but it wasn't worth fixing the frame on a 16 year-old vehicle with so many miles.

"Drive it carefully. Don't hit too many bumps." was the instructions from the mechanic and Pap. "Don't go over train tracks." Uh, we have to go over train tracks to leave here!

"Don't drive it all." was Walt Kowalski's plan.  He let me drive Big Red and he drove Little Red to work.

I knew a new car was in my future.  Near future. I just didn't think it was in this near of the future. I really didn't want two car payments at the same time. I also didn't have the energy to go car shopping.

Could someone just go pick one out for me?

I knew what I wanted.  We drove a nice model on vacation. I had a few requirements. Good gas mileage. Good traction for winter driving. And the most important feature was that Walt Kowalski had to fit in it comfortably.  He was never comfortable in Little Red.  His knees were always at his chin. 

Here she is:

I like it.  In Little Red, I would have to fill up the tank every 4 days.  Now I get 6 days and some weekend errands before filling up. It is quiet and smooth. 

The rough patch has passed.

Soup Season

It is soup season! I still haven't turned the heat on in the house.  I don't think I'll make it without through this coming weekend, though.

This past weekend I slow roasted a piece of beef. Normally, I would save the broth and freeze it for later, but I couldn't wait.

This is the way my grandmother made it. Leave a big hunk of beef, pull it out, shred it, and you can add as much as you'd like to your bowl.

I never used to like peas in my soup.  Then I started making soup.  The peas need to go in the pot last so they are only heated, not cooked within an inch of their life. Same with the corn.

 

Delicious.

I also made homemade croutons.  AKA What can I do with stale sandwich buns other than give them to the birds? Melted butter, garlic salt, and Italian seasoning. Stir stir stir. Bake.

Delicious. This recipe wasn't healthy. Next time I'll make a healthier version. 

My grandfather always said the soup was too hot to eat.  So he would take his bowl and set it outside, often on the patio stones.  We always used to joke that a chipmunk was going to run by and take a taste.  Now it would be the Yoo Hoo raccoon.  She'd bring her spoon.

Next up...chili, potato, and more chicken noodle.  (our favorite!)

Duty

I have been working on a catch-up post, but once again, I have to postpone. I have other civic duties for which to attend.

It was a beautiful day yesterday.

 
The courthouse is beautiful.  I was told that two of the courtrooms use colors to depict spring and fall. 

Call me Juror #8.

Blood Moon

As with so many nighttime meteorological events, what happens?  It's  beautiful all day, then when it's time, the clouds move in.

Of course it happened with the Super Moon. Walt Kowalski, Power Tower, and I were out by the fire when we could see the clouds starting on the horizon. Even as we ate dinner on the patio in rain sprinkles we were hopeful.

They stayed out by the fire after dark, I went inside to finish my chores and joked "call me when the Super Moon comes through the clouds."

A little while later, they came knocking the back door.

 
We got to see the moon twice through the clouds.  Once as it was just rising, there was a break in the clouds.  The moon so clear and bright.  Brighter than normal. It was the perfect moment.

Then the clouds came

But about a 1/2 hour later, there was another break in the clouds and we could see the start of the eclipse.  Beautiful.

With the clouds on the moon and the trees blowing, it had a very Halloween feel in the air.  Just as quickly as the moment with the moon came, it passed.  Bigger clouds started and rain started.  At least we were able to see the Super Moon for a moment.

Clouds

It has been a rough couple of weeks at a the Cat Ranch.  Not terrible things. Just normal life stuff.  I'm certain not more than any other family struggles with daily. 

So today I will just give you two, beautiful photos.

This was on the way to work a few weeks ago. The rain was moving in.

 

This was last night. After mowing (Walt Kowalski) and washing windows (me), we sat and watched the sunset.

The mosquitos enjoyed us watching the sunset. 

A Quiet Night

It was a quiet night at the Cat Ranch. We worked on the brick pile for a bit (more about that in another post), came inside early, had dinner at a reasonable hour, and got to bed early!  (Early for us is 9:45pm. Anything before 10pm is great. )

It was perfect sleeping weather.  Windows open, cool breeze, no fan needed.  Just one thin blanket ready for the early morning chill. Ahhhhh

Around 2:45am, I was searching for that blanket and flip flopped over to look at the clock.  Yes, I still have 2 more hours to sleep. 

Snuggle down in under the blanket.  Ahhhhh.

Then about 10 minutes later.

CRASH!  A huge crash. Walt Kowalski and I both jumped up out of bed.

It was really dark.  2:55am is like that. No porch lights. No headlights.  We couldn't see a wrecked vehicle.  Looked out the front window.  Nothing.  Looked out the side window.  Nothing. 

I opened the side window in the kitchen and said to Walt Kowalski "I hear music." He listened.  He said, "I don't hear music."

We waited for a car to come by so the headlights would aluminate the guardrail.  No car.  Except, I heard a car and looked out the front window.  The drug dealer on the top of the hill was leaving his house.  Hmmm.  Odd, but then I'm not usually up at this hour, maybe it's normal.

Still no car lights.  Now we could hear sirens in the distance.  Ok, there was a wreck and someone else in the neighborhood heard and called.  Finally, a car drove by and we could see the smashed guardrail, but no wrecked vehicle. 

It was difficult to believe a vehicle could wreck that big and then drive away.

Ambulance came.  And drove by and left.
Fire truck came. and drove by and left.

Second department fire truck came.  Drove by, turned around and came back to see the guardrail. More fire trucks came and left.  Too weird.

We went back to bed.  10 minutes later,  we saw more blue lights reflecting on the ceiling and more cars.  State Police were here and were searching down the lane.  They were looking with flashlights in the woods.  Then they left. 

OK this is all too weird. Back to bed we went.  It was a restless sleep for the next 2 hours. 

In the morning, we could see the damage to the guardrail.  When we got home in the evening, we could REALLY see the damage to the guardrail.

But no vehicle.  It looks like you can kinda see tracks where a vehicle HAD been.  They must have pulled it out while we were at work.

While I was taking pictures, the Farmer called up to us that we could get a better view from below in his yard.  I said I was ok from here, thanks.  But he insisted.  "Really, you'll get a much better view down here.  Come on down."

He was right. You couldn't see the vehicle from the road, but you could see it from his yard.  When we first approached I could see a front end of the vehicle that was majorly damaged.  Then as I walked around the other side I realized and exclaimed "The truck is upside down!"

It was so damaged at first sight I couldn't tell that!

The big crash we heard was the vehicle hitting the guardrail, going airborne, flipping over, crashing to the ground, and sliding through the trees. Never heard a crash like that before.  Don't want to ever again.

The reason the first ambulance and fire truck never came back past our house is because the driver climbed out of the truck and started walking! He had only head injuries.

I really have no words for this sight.  It's amazing that he survived.  (that says at lot about vehicle safety.)

He hit so hard and so fast, the roof is embedded in the ground.

 

 

 

But there is more to the story.  One of our neighbors was leaving for work just after the wreck and an other car was blocking his driveway.  At the same time, the drug dealer came back home (only 5 minutes later. Really?  Where do you go at 3am that you are back in 5 minutes? Our neighbor had words with the people in the car blocking his driveway and then left towards the drug dealer's house.  

 

All of this JUST before the police and fire trucks arrived. Coincidence?  Nothing is a coincidence in our neighborhood.  Especially at 3am!

 

After talking to the Farmer and his wife he asked the State Police to leave the truck there and he would have it removed, because they wanted to cut down the trees to get it.  The trees are his defense against a wreck of this type ending up in his house.  He's now thinking about installing a concrete barrier in the woods, too.

 

The State Police also said that a local company called this morning to report that one of their employees didn't show up for work and that one of their trucks was missing.  The police said "White truck? Yeah, we know exactly were it is." They believe the driver was high (which, amazingly, probably saved his life) and knowing the recent activity in our neighborhood, he was probably going to get another fix.

 

We can't get these people to move soon enough to suit us.