They FINALLY released “Dogma” on digital and streaming, so we bought it.
My knitting buddy Dave came for a pizza, cocktail, and movie night tonight to watch it. Jeffrey started a fire, and we’re settling in for some cozy cuisine and cool cinema.
Not a bad way to spend a chilly Monday night!
Cheers!
Sorry for the silence.  I’ve been busy.
The BFJ and I haven’t really had any quality time or done anything Mano y Mano together for a while, what with all the holidays and bad weather yada yada yada so, this weekend, we checked into a hotel in a nearby town for the weekend and did all our favorite things together: shopping, playing Skip-Bo, talking about our husbands, my retirement, future plans, our friendship, marriage moving to CT, life, the, universe, and everything; and, of course, going out to dinner and having cocktails.
We didn’t solve any of the world’s problems, but it did heal my soul a little bit to spend this quality time together. Next weekend is his birthday and we’re going to Provincetown to celebrate it, but there will be other people involved, so this was kind of a pre-birthday hang.
Tomorrow morning is my first day back to work and first day in the office since filing for retirement. I wonder if it will feel any different walking into the building tomorrow.
On a side note; I cannot hear, write, or think about the number 76 without instantly hearing “76 trombones” (from “The Music Man”) in my head.
Guess where I went today?
Honestly, I can’t believe how quick and easy it was. Our appointment was at 9:00am and by 9:30am, I had filed my paperwork and made it official…I’ll be retired on Thursday, May 21st. (But my last day of work will be actually be Friday, May 15th.)
I wasn’t nervous going in (why would I be?) but for some reason, had butterflies in my stomach coming out. Excitement? Relief? Anticipation? Maybe all 3. Whatever the case, I’m relieved to have it on the books.
I’m still going back and forth on when to inform my boss. I’m shooting for March 15th (the earliest) and April 15th (the latest.) I guess we’ll see how I feel on March 15th. A
ll I really know right now is that May 15th can’t come fast enough!
Last night, one whole side of our living room lost power…the side with the TV, WiFi router, 4 lamps, and the lights over our mantle. We checked the fuses but everything seemed fine. So we hauled out an extension cord and got things working again.
We (Jeffrey) called our HVAC company this morning because we saw on line they also provide electrical services. Surprisingly, they sent someone out this afternoon. Her name was JoJo (🎵she was a showgirl🎵) and she got right to work trying to figure out what happened. Turns out 2 of our outlets blew (?) inside the wall…one had a burnt wire end. The other was completely charred. She total us we were very lucky the outlets just died…it could have been worse (electrical fire.) JoJo replaced the two outlets and repaired one outlet whose top plug has not worked since we bought the house 14 years ago. It cost WAY less than we expected. AND we got an extra outlet out of it. Woohoo!
While she was here, I needed to hang out upstairs in case she needed me. I get awkward around strangers so, to keep busy and distracted I decided to make stuff with my sweet potatoes.
To start, I peeled, boiled, and mashed some sweet potatoes then made a load of sweet potato bread:
It came out perfect and is delicious. I will be making this again.
Then I sliced up some sweet potatoes with our mandolin slicer for air fryer sweet potato chips:
I only took a pic of the slices soaking before hand, and forgot to take one after they were done, but they, too, came out perfect and also tasted delicious.
The remainder of the peeled potatoes got diced up for roasting later. I plan to try a suggestion Persnickety left in my comments: roasted sweet potatoes tossed with marinated Persia Feta. Can’t wait to taste that!
I have one sweet potato left. I may mix it with some new potatoes for a mixed potato salad, or shred it to put in a salad. I need to get more because there’s a soup I want to try making with them.
I am definitely a sweet potato convert and plan to make them a regular part of our diet, going forward!
Nothing is going on right now,  other than the bitter cold and promise of an eternal winter, so I’ll just point out some of the things we’ve spent our hard earned cash on, recently.
We purchased two new garbage cans with motion activated lids for our regular garbage and our recycling. Each of them are smaller than our original large garbage can and recycling bins, and fit our kitchen space much better.
We also purchased a new cover for our gas stove. It is a large, thick, black, wooden Square with handles. This will allow us to use our stove as extra surface in our tiny kitchen. As an added bonus, it hides all the food detritus on the top of our stove if we don’t get a chance to clean it before we have company.
We also purchased a new popcorn maker. It is a collapsible silicone bowl. you just fill the bottom of the bowl with kernels and pop it in the microwave for 4 1/2 minutes and voilà. You have a nice fresh hot bowl of popcorn that you can butter in season to your preference amount. Much easier and cheaper than buying the pre-bagged microwavable popcorn. No fuss no muss no oils no nothing.
In addition, I was able to snag a rare, hard to find Mattel Justice League Unlimited Giganta action figure on Mercari. Giganta is a super-villain and primarily an enemy of Wonder Woman who has the ability to increase her size. (If you saw “Ant-Man and the Wasp”, or “Captain America: Civil War” you know how impressive that ability can be.) What’s even cooler is that she comes in a set: the standard JLU action figure size of 3 1/2 inches and a matching larger figure of 6 inches.
This will be a sweet addition to my collection. 230 figures down…16 to go!
And in the spirit of newness, I made something new for dinner tonight;
Swordfish steak with an orange glaze and sweet potato casserole with a brown sugar almond crust.
It was yummy!
Clearly, I’m the exception to the rule…..
I have slept in the last two days and it has been AMAZING. I usually get up at 5:00am on In-Office work days, and 6:00am on work from home days and weekends. Saturday, I slept until 8:00am, got out of bed, moved to the couch, and then slept another 3 hours. This morning, I slept until 8:00am. It was awesome! I feel more rested than I have in a long time. Maybe the whole “getting enough sleep is good for you” thing isn’t the misnomer I thought it was.
Today, we gave Harvey a bath. He has been extra itchy lately, shoving his little puppy posterior in our faces begging for a scratching. Jeffrey ordered some anti-itch dog soap, which arrived today, so we gave him a bath. He is not a fan of baths, but he’s small and very obedient, so he stands in the ankle deep warm water in the bathroom sink, and shakes while we drench him in water, rub him all over with soap, then rinse him off. He hates being wet but somehow survived and, so far, it seems like it may have helped.
I got on the treadmill for the third day in a row. My goal is 30 minutes a day, at 3 mph, which equates to about 1.5 miles a day. I use this time to read blogs, killing two birds with one stone – exercising and keeping up with blogs. So far, it has been a good combination, and I feel good about the regular exercise. Please keep posting…it is helping me stay healthy. The only downside is that I can’t comment while on the treadmill. Sorry, folks!
Mattel issued both a set of 4.5″ DC Comics Justice League Unlimited superhero figures, and a much smaller set of Justice League Unlimited 10″ DC Superhero figures.
I have the bulk of both sets but still need 15 of the 3.5″ figures:
and 3 of the 10″ figures.
Today, I located and purchased one of the remaining three 10″ Figures (Hourman) and only have 2 left to acquire (Justice Lords Batman and Justice Lords Green Lantern.) This is VERY exciting (for me). The remaining 2 of the 10″ figures and 15 of the 3.5″ figures are limited, highly collectible, and rare, so they are a bit more expensive. I continue to keep my eye out for the (affordable) remaining 4.5 ” and 10″ figures. I am trying to obtain all of them before I retire and our income decreases a bit.
There is another snow storm on its way tonight…predictions are 12″ to 24″. Our Governor, Kathy Hochul, has declared a state of emergency and ordered all civil servants who work for the Executive Branch to stay home…those that can work from home, should; those that can’t, get a day off. It is the one downside of telecommuting: we miss out on the rare days off due to weather. However, this means I do not have to work in the office this week, as I have Wednesday off and Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday are my regular telecommuting days this week. Jeffrey works for the Judicial Branch and, so far, has not been directed to stay/work from home. Regardless, if the weather/roads are bad, he will call in and stay home.
As a result of our recent grocery order through Instacart, we received a bunch of sweet potatoes we did not order (or pay for.) I will be exploring recipes using sweet potatoes. I plan on making mashed sweet potatoes, roasted cubed potatoes, and sweet potato bread. Any other suggestions?
Even though it’s Sunday night, I don’t have the usual Sunday night blues. I get to work from home the entire work week, and we have had a lovely, relaxing weekend, so I am in a great state of mind. The extra sleep hasn’t hurt, either!
Keep fighting Fascism, folks!
My favorite breakfast is cereal. I made the mistake of giving Harvey a few pieces of cereal and a little milk a few months ago. Now, every morning, while I’m eating cereal, Harvey stands on my lap and stares at me, waiting for his cereal, so I have to leave a little bit of milk and a few pieces of cereal in my bowl for him.
I am so whipped!
Well, the results are in, and they ain’t good! Blood test results , that is. Apparently, my cholesterol is a little high as are my triglycerides. Also, my eGFR is a little low, and my Creatinine is a little high, indicating my kidneys may not be putting in a full days work. So I’m off to see a nephrologist in the near future, and I need to improve my diet and increase my exercise. Sigh. Another “ologist” to add to my collection.
Honestly, this was the push I needed to get my arse in gear. Exercise, weight loss, and better eating habits can take car of that nasty cholesterol and triglyceride problem. And I’m sure it won’t hurt whatever is going on with my kidneys to have less alcohol and junk food to filter. Since there is no time like the present, I jumped on my treadmill at lunch and did a 31minute brisk walk. I have already mapped out a better eating plan for the next few weeks (more fish and veggies, less red meat and carbs.) Nothing to extreme, just a few adjustments that should help over time. And, hey, its not like I’m going to miss those extra pounds.
It started snowing today, then turned to sleet in the afternoon, making the roads a bit treacherous to navigate. Although I was safe and sound working fro home, Jeffrey had to drive in it home from work, and when he says it’s bad, you KNOW it’s bad. (he’s a great and confident driver.) Fortunately, he made it home safely. Unfortunately, the bad whether resulted in our friends cancelling their plans to visit tonight for dinner and games. I would rather have them home safe and sound, so I’m glad they made that decision.
Since we are no longer entertaining this evening, we’re having Orzo with leftover homemade marinara sauce, and Jeffrey built a fire,which is the only good thing to come from this inclement weather. We will watch a movie or two, with Harvey curled up in a ball between us, snoring away.
Not a bad consolation prize evening, if you ask me.
Idle Eyes and a Dormy 