Monday, February 27, 2023

Rainy Days and Mondays

The Rain Water Buckets are Full!

It rained on and off today.  The sky stayed uniformly grey all day.  The temperature never went above 48F, which is cold for us.  I stayed huddled close to the heater for the most part!

However, I managed to get a few things accomplished, today.  I washed the dishes that had accumulated in the sink, wiped the stove top, mopped the kitchen and the bathroom floors, cleaned the litter box, did a load of laundry (bath mats, kitchen rug, Dancer's rug, etc.), took the kitchen compost to the compost heap, and took the trash cans to the end of the driveway to be picked up, tomorrow morning.  

I also noticed that I hadn't quite escaped any storm damage - some of the end tiles on the garage roof had become loose and a couple had come off.  I will have to get that attended to as soon as possible, before it becomes a big problem.

Lemon Blossoms

Brunch was a banana muffin (yes, one, because after a few days, the banana flavor intensifies and then, I don't like them as much).

For dinner, I made over the turkey I had pulled from the carcass when I made the stock for the soup.  I didn't put all of it in the soup because there was a lot of turkey still left on that carcass.  I thought I had about a cup of shredded turkey, but, I had about two cups of it.  I wasn't quite sure what I was going to make with it .  It would have been good added to some pasta, either in a pasta bake or mixed in with some macaroni and cheese, but, I've already had quite a few pasta meals last week.  I could use to make fried rice, but, I didn't have any leftover rice and fried rice is best made with leftover rice.  Eventually, I decided that I wanted something spicy; either a filling for patties or a keema curry.  I sauteed some sliced onion, added the shredded turkey, some green peas, curry powder and chili powder.  Then, I took the last serving of the turkey soup that I had; I knew I was getting tired of the turkey soup, but, of course, I didn't want to waste it.  I strained the soup and added the last bits of potato and other vegetables from the soup to the sauteed turkey in the pan.  By which time, I was too tired and a bit too hungry to make the pastry for patties and bake them, etc.  Instead, I decided to cook a pot of rice and I used the broth from the strained soup to cook the rice!

Sauteed Shredded Turkey Mixture

I sliced some of the cucumber I still had in the fridge and dinner was ready:

Monday Night Dinner: Rice, Turkey Mixture, Cucumber Slices

Although I had been getting a bit tired of the turkey soup, the rice cooked in it was very tasty.  

I could make some patties, tomorrow, and use the turkey mixture as the filling, or, I could have it with the leftover rice over the next couple of days.  Options!

Today, I am grateful for:

- More rain for the garden
- The damage to the garage roof doesn't look too bad
- A working heater
- Chats with daughter and friend R
- What I was able to accomplish today

Today's joyful activity is video chatting with my daughter.

There is more rain in the forecast for tomorrow.  Plans for tomorrow include a doctor's appointment in the afternoon.

How was your Monday?  What would you have done with the shredded turkey?  What are your plans for Tuesday?

28 comments:

  1. 48 is pretty chilly to me too. I could probably make it through the day without the heater, but by nighttime I would have to turn it on for a while. Believe it or not TheHub came home today and turned on the a/c for a few minutes, and it's still February!

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    1. I am afraid I can't take such cool temperatures; too funny about your husband turning on the a/c! I went outside all bundled up, yesterday, and one of my neighbors was walking around in a T-shirt - I guess he didn't feel cold!

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  2. That's a shame you have damage to your garage roof hopefully the rain won't leak inside. You did well using up the soup in the rice to make your meal. I use left over chicken or turkey in a curry with rice too.Today I will be going to collect the new jigsaws I have ordered for my husband, they will keep him occupied for the foreseeable future :)

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    1. Yes, I was hoping I could get through the storms without any damage! I need to get the garage roof attended to before it becomes a big issue. The rice tasted nice, cooked in soup instead of plain water.
      I'm sure your husband is going to enjoy putting the puzzles together. I hope you'll post pictures of the finished puzzles. :)

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  3. A year ago who would have thought California would be experiencing such rain storms - seems several of the dam lakes are coming back to full capacity. It is amazing how quickly a small leak in a roof can become a major job. Was that a cucumber from your garden?

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    1. Some areas received a whole year's worth of rain in one weekend! It's good to see the reservoirs filling up, but, I wish that more of the rainwater can be captured and stored for the dry years.
      I need to get that garage roof repaired quickly. One of my neighbors is building an addition at the back of his house; maybe I'll ask him for his contractor's information to see if he could have his crew fix my garage roof, too.
      No, the cucumber was one that I had bought. It stayed fresh in the fridge for over two weeks.

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  4. Good use or reuse, I should say, of the turkey. I was wondering, do lemon blossoms smell as good as orange blossoms do?

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    1. Thank you, June. :) Yes, lemon blossoms smell as good as orange blossoms. I love the smell of citrus flowers. :)

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  5. Love reading your posts. 💕
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you, Regine; you write some lovely posts, yourself. :)

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  6. Oh I am so sorry that you are putting up with such miserable cold weather, especially as it is damp as well. We woke up to snow which doesn't seem to want to stop so far. We won't be going out in the car, today. Yesterday I was at the dentist and before I got as far as the chair, the dental hygienist got called away for an emergency so I have to go back next week. I did pick up a few items in the store so It wasn't a total waste of an outing.

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. I wish I could bottle up some of this cool weather to release during the heat of summer! LOL.
      Sorry you have to go back to the dentist's next week. Hope the emergency wasn't too bad, though. Good that you managed make use of your trip and pick up a few items while you were out and about, anyway. Hope your snow will ease up soon. Good idea to stay home and keep warm when it is snowing. :)

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  7. Wow - you have been really spoiled for rain! I hope the reservoirs and the water table generally are beginning to recover properly now. It's wonderful to see your garden looking so verdant. The lemon blossom is lovely and reminds me of magnolia. They are saying that the UK is in for a bumper fruit harvest this year, as the hot summer last year and the prolonged cold winter are apparently ideal conditions. The trees won't "wake up" too soon, will give a sudden burst of energy to make lots of blossom and, because it will be later, the blossom is less likely to be destroyed by frost. That's what they are saying anyway! (I am armed with hayfever tablets so let's see!)

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    1. We have received above average rainfall for this time of the year, which is very good news. Unfortunately, much of it gets carried away to the ocean, but, by all accounts the reservoirs are filling up, too, which is good to hear. The garden doesn't know quite what to do with so much rain and the cold night time temperatures we've been having! So far, all the plants seem to have survived.
      Oh, sounds like you'll have plenty of fruit this summer and fall to make your jams and preserves! In addition to the hayfever tablets, make sure you stock up on sugar and jam jars! :D

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  8. I hope you can get the garage roof fixed quickly and that it isn't too expensive for you. It's a nuisance but at least you have spotted it before it got worse.

    It sounds like you had a very productive day. Does it help warm you when you move about or do you feel too cold to want to move. I find I don't want to move if I get too cold but if I turn the heating up it feels too hot to want to work. I'm difficult to please!!

    I love your photo of the lemon blossoms. xx

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. Yes, I hope I can get the garage roof repaired and I hope that they won't say I need the whole thing replaced! :p
      I suppose I do get warmed up when I move about, but, if it is cold, then, I just want to sit huddled next to the heater! It has to be really, really hot (like 95F+) inside the house for it to be too hot to want to do anything. :)
      Thank you; every time I see the lemon tree, right now, I find myself humming, "Lemon tree very pretty"! :D

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  9. The weather sounds awful. On the other hand, what you did with the turkey and the soup sounds amazing!!!

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    1. The weather is definitely not what one would expect to find in southern California, but, I'm glad we are getting the rain we need.
      Thank you! I'm very pleased with how I made over the turkey and the soup! I suppose I could have frozen the last serving of soup, too, but, the rice tasted really good, cooked with the soup broth. :)

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  10. That is the main reason I dislike stormy weather. The thought of damage to my property, then of course the expense of having to get it fixed. And that is only if I can get manage to get a tradesperson out in the first place. I hope you manage to get your roof tiles fixed promptly. Xx

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    1. Thank you, Jules. Yes, I need to find someone to check the roof and give me an estimate, etc. My neighbor across the street is having some new construction done; work has come to a stop due to the rain, but, I can ask him for his contractor's info.

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  11. Your meals look delicious. I have been eating a lot of pasta, too. This weather has been intense. Still shoveling snow up here...

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    1. Thank you, Stephenie. I love pasta! I hope you are keeping warm and safe, up there. More rain/snow is expected, tonight!

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  12. Sounds like a busy day! It's not good that you've had all that rain, but glad you managed to capture some in the buckets for when things dry out. I'm glad the roof damage was minimal - hope you can get it fixed soon!

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    1. Thank you, Sharon. Yes, when it rains, it pours as the saying goes! :D

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  13. I know those buckets full of water make you happy. They make me happy too!
    You did a lot of housework on Monday. That must've helped you stay warm.
    It's so cold there! I hope the March winds blow out the cold weather for you and bring in something more moderate.
    After our first snow fall of the season over the weekend, we got more yesterday. Enough to have to shovel! I thought we might not have to do that this year.

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    1. They do make me happy, Debra. I wish I had more buckets to fill! Monday was a productive day. Tuesday, not quite as much. It's not cold enough to snow where I am, but, it snowed in nearby areas. Well, according to the forecast, we should get some warmer temperatures by the middle of March, so, that will help!
      Maybe the snow will melt before you need to shovel!

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  14. Hi Bless, I deleted your comment because I don't like to talk about my location online.

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    1. Perfectly understandable, Stephenie. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause any problems.

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