Monday, October 25, 2021

Rain on Monday

The forecasted rain arrived early in the morning.  It was already raining when I woke up at 7:00 a.m.  A slow, steady rain, not the powerful downpour that was experienced in northern California.  It continued to rain all day, but, it stopped around 5:30 p.m. and the sun peeked through while it set.  I was grateful for the slow rain which soaked into the garden without causing floods (other than a few flooded intersections).  We have had the second driest summer on record and the rain we received, at least here in my area of southern California, has been a blessing!

This morning, when I opened the sliding glass door to feed the garden cats, a certain Bun Bun was also waiting, with the cats, for his breakfast!  I think I've acquired myself a garden rabbit!  Since the cardboard is not preventing him from coming in, I think I will surrender gracefully and accept Bun Bun into my back garden menagerie!  

We left the house at 8:15 a.m., with me driving us to the clinic.  The freeway wasn't too congested and everyone was keeping to the speed limits.  The first proper rain of the season always leaves the roads slick as all the motor oils that have spilled over the summer starts to float above the water on the roads.  Often, there are accidents due to cars skidding on rain slick roads; today, we heard and saw one car skid as it took a turn too fast, but, luckily, no accidents.  We got to the clinic by 9:15 a.m.; my appointment was for 9:30 a.m.

The waiting room wasn't crowded, but there were people there who weren't wearing their masks properly!  One couple had their masks pulled well under their chins while they conversed with each other and my daughter and I felt very uncomfortable sitting in the same room with them.  Then, another man walked in and, although he was wearing a mask, it kept coming down as he first spoke to the receptionist and then, spoke on his cell phone.  I heard the receptionist tell him at least three times to wear his mask properly and another medical assistant also spoke to him and said if he didn't wear his mask properly, he will have to wait outside.  I felt encouraged by that to alert the receptionist that the other couple in the waiting room also had their masks completely down.  Once I pointed it out to her, she spoke to them in Spanish and asked them to pull up their masks.  Then, they were called inside and after a few minutes, I was called inside, too.  My daughter remained in the waiting room.

Once inside, I had my eyes dilated and checked; the doctor said that everything seemed fine.  Such a blessing!  I do have the beginnings of cataracts (and have had them for a few years now), but, I was told that they were still at the beginning stages and nothing to worry about for now.  I have another appointment in one year's time!  We parked in the medical building and parking cost $10 for the time we were there (maximum parking rate at that particular building was $18 for the day). 

Daughter drove us back and we had a good drive back, too.  Daughter had taken a few hours off from work in the morning to go with me to the eye exam.  But that did not prevent her supervisor from calling her about a work related matter before we had returned home!  She returned to work as soon as we got home! 

I rested for a couple of hours until my eyes returned to normal and I could remove my dark glasses.

Then, I made a pot of chicken and vegetable soup for lunch, using the bones from three of the chicken breast halves and the meat that was left on them, along with some vegetables I had on hand, including half a can of cut green beans that was approaching its expiration date.  Soup, made this way with what I have on hand, is a very frugal meal, I think.  I had the soup as it was; my daughter thought it was too bland and doctored it up with some additional ingredients to suit her taste!   

Then, I replied to blog comments and read a few blogs.  On one of the blogs, I saw a picture of American style biscuits the blogger had made and I asked for the recipe.  In the meantime, I decided to try my hand at making drop biscuits, adapting a recipe I found online (I substituted some half and half that was starting to turn sour - not so good for drinking, but fine for baking - for the milk called for in the recipe).

Drop Biscuits


With Butter

I think they turned out well, especially for a first try.  My daughter loved them and we ate several of them, while still warm from the oven!  She ate them plain, I tried mine with butter; they were pretty good with butter and my homemade strawberry jam, too!

After tea, I took the trash cans to the curb for pick up in the morning, practiced the piano for a bit, and spoke on the phone with friend R and aunt C.  Daughter ate some of the Korean food she cooked for her dinner; I had another bowl of my chicken and vegetable soup to warm me up from the inside out!  

Today, I am grateful for:

- A safe drive in the rain to the eye appointment and back
- My daughter was available to drive me back
- A good eye appointment
- The rain we received - a slow rain which soaked the garden and didn't cause any damage in my area
- Chicken soup and drop biscuits!

Today's joyful activity was making drop biscuits.

Plans for tomorrow include doing some tidying up and sewing.

How was your Monday?  What are your plans for Tuesday?

14 comments:

  1. Oh my God you're killing me with those drop biscuits with butter. They look so good. My grandma made them all the time. But I'm trying to drop a few pounds so all I can do is dream. LOL People around here are pretty good about wearing their masks properly. Every once in awhile you'll see someone not wearing one properly but we just keep our distance. Glad your eye exam went well. And yes, I think you have to accept the fact that Mr. Bun Bun likes your yard and considers you his family. Denise

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    1. Oops! Sorry, Denise! I must admit that the drop biscuits are not low calorie! But, they are delicious and I think I will be making another batch before long! Bun Bun was making himself very much at home, this morning, stretched out by the sweet potato vines and, later, nibbling on the kibbles the cats hadn't finished!

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  2. I'm glad your eye appointment went well and the driving there and back wasn't too stressful. Well done to the receptionist for insisting on correct mask wearing and well done to you for speaking up about the couple in the waiting room.

    The drop scones look so tasty.

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. I'm glad I spoke up and the receptionist was willing to insist that the masks be worn properly. When one is in an enclosed waiting area (no windows to open for ventilation), proper mask wearing becomes important; our numbers are still on the high side.

      I am buoyed by my drop biscuits success! I think I will try scones, next!

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  3. I love biscuits and those look delicious. I bet they went perfectly with you soup.

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    1. They went very well with the soup and just on their own, as well! I will be making them again!

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  4. I'm glad your eye examination went well and you had a good and safe journey there and back. Those biscuits look very tasty. UI had a nice visit from my friend yesterday before she returned home and she has emailed some photos she took of Tilly, it was very kind of her and I need to print some out now.

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. Everyone goes a bit crazy when it rains, here! The biscuits turned out really well; I'm going to try making scones, next! So glad you had a nice visit with your friend and she has send you some photos of Tilly for you to print out. I hope you will share some of them on your blog for us to enjoy, too. :)

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  5. So Bun Bun has triumphed! Admit it, you'd miss him now if he went missing. You just need to go through extraordinary measures to protect your plants.
    I understand your frustration with the people who weren't wearing masks properly, it drives me nuts, too. I was supposed to have a return visit to my optometrist next month but they are in a dispute with the Ontario government over lack of funding - they were basically subsidizing patients for several years. I hope it gets sorted out soon as DH needs to visit, too. The scones look delicious and I prefer something like that over gooey sweet treats any day.
    Rainy here, too, on and off, but at least it isn't snow, which I'm hoping will hold off for at least 6 weeks!!

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    1. Yes, Bun Bun has won! Persistence pays! He seemed very much at home, this morning, when I went out into the back yard, stretched out by the sweet potato vines and later, finishing off the kibbles the cats had left, nudging aside the cardboard box I had left out on the top step for Mama Cat (Stripey's mama) to get at the kibbles!
      I hope the funding issues get sorted soon and you and your DH are able to get your optometrist appointments!
      The drop biscuits weren't sweet (no added sugar); but, I am all in favor of adding some sugar to the dough and making a sweet biscuit - maybe to go with some peaches!
      Hope your snow holds off! No rain here, today. Sunny and a high of 71F; I'm looking forward to Thursday, when we are supposed to go up to 87F! :D

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  6. Hot biscuits and butter is about as close to heaven as one can get!

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    1. It was delicious! I will be making them again, soon!

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  7. Well, those biscuits look delicious. It's early in the morning here as I read this. I'm wishing I had a couple of those to go with my morning tea.

    I'm glad your appointment went well and the rain didn't cause any big problems for your drive.
    Yeah for rain for Southern California!

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    1. The biscuits turned out really well and I wish I could have shared a couple with you! :)

      The rain caused some damage in northern Calif., but, not so much down here; I heard it is headed north east and hope you are not impacted much.

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