"Stay Inside and Lock Your Doors"

 

The First Snow Pea

Today (Saturday) I was woken up by the noise of a police helicopter flying low over my neighborhood, round and round, blaring, "Stay inside and lock your doors"!  I don't know how long it had been flying around before the noise actually penetrated my sleep and woke me up, but, it continued to fly in circles around the houses immediately behind me, for at least 2 hours before it stopped, eventually!  I could hear police sirens and at least one fire engine rushed past my house!  I had my doors locked, but, I could see some of the neighbors in a house two doors down across the street from me standing in front of their doors and looking at the helicopter.  According to cousin P who called to ask if I heard the helicopter, there was a man who was wanted for assault and who was considered to be armed and dangerous.  I am not sure if they were able to apprehend him or if he got away.

I live in a mostly quiet and peaceful neighborhood, but, police activity in my neighborhood is not unheard of!  I once came home from work to find my street blocked off by police with guns drawn and a man spreadeagled on the road in front of my house!  Another time, I was taking the trash cans to the curb and there were police officers standing every few feet in front of my house and neighboring houses and swarming all over my yard!  I was told to get back into the house and later, I found out that the owner of a small restaurant three blocks up the road from me had been shot dead and they were searching for the gunman!  Ha, ha, life in the wild, wild West!   

Later, after the helicopter had left and M called to say he was on his way over (he was bringing me the rest of the fruit trees I asked him to buy for me), I went outside and unlocked the gate.  But, I locked the gate after he left!

In the afternoon, I cleaned one more shelf in the china cabinet and washed all the items I store/display on that shelf and put them back.  A set of 4 stem glasses were removed for donating.  Then, I paid the phone bill online (!), practiced the piano, and watered the back garden, including the new fruit trees (still in their containers; an Asian pear tree with four varieties grafted onto it for cross pollination purposes; a nectarine tree, a Fuyu persimmon tree, and three blueberry plants, as well as the plum tree).  

In the evening, I called my half-sister and chatted with her for a bit.  Then, I called friend R.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Locked doors and gates!

- M bringing me the fruit trees and bushes

- The first snow pea on the vine!

- Phone calls and emails with family and friends

- Water for the garden

Today's joyful activity was receiving the new fruit trees.

Have you ever been woken up by the sound of police helicopters flying over your neighborhood, telling you to lock your doors and stay inside?

Thing 1 and Thing 2

 

Thing 1 and Thing 2

 

Or, maybe I should say Thingamajig and Thingamabob?

Thank you to all of you who identified what they were !  Thing 1 was a citrus juicer!  I picked a lemon from my garden and put it to the test, today!  I rolled the lemon on the counter a couple of times and inserted the juicer on the side of the lemon and squeezed - 

Citrus Juicer

It worked well enough

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to remove the rind from the portion where I inserted the gadget, but, I left it in place and it helped to keep the seeds from coming out with the juice.  But, after a couple of squeezes, the rind and the plug of lemon pulp that was in the center of the gadget fell out and of course the seeds came out, too.  But, squeezing the whole lemon was not that easy and, after a little while, the lemon split!  Maybe I was supposed to insert the gadget at one of the ends of the lemon instead of the side?   

But, the lemon split

In the end, I decided that Thing 1 was not worth keeping.  I can just as easily juice a lemon by hand!  Thing 1 was washed and will be put aside for donating - I will write "citrus juicer" on a tag and tie it to the gadget, so that, whoever will buy it will know what it is supposed to be!

Then, my daughter and I moved on to Thing 2, which Angela said was a cucumber spiral cutter!  My daughter was a little skeptical but, she soon got the hang of it!

Cucumber Spiral Cutter

It cored the cucumber, as well!

I poured a little of the freshly squeezed lemon juice on the cucumber and sprinkled a little salt and pepper on them to make a cucumber salad.  But, as Angela said in her comment, how many cucumber spirals does a woman need?

And then, we thought to try it on a potato!

Oh, Yes!  

It actually cut the potato even more easily than the cucumber!  So, what does one do with spirals of potato, you ask?  Why, you fry them up and make spiral cut potato chips, of course!  According to my daughter, they are called tornado potatoes or tornado fries; you are supposed to put a skewer through the potato, put the potato in a special machine that spiral cuts the potato and then, deep fry it!  I had skewers, but, I used my small frying pan which wasn't big enough to accommodate skewers.  So, I fried them without the skewers and made a potato slinky instead of a tornado potato!  LOL!

Potato Slinky!

Fried Potato Spirals

My daughter spiral cut two potatoes and I deep fried them, both.  We each had a potato and my daughter really enjoyed hers, especially since she hasn't had any fries since last March!  Thing 2 is a keeper, my daughter declared!  If I didn't want it, she will take it with her when she goes back to her apartment!  Maybe we will try making the proper tornado potatoes on skewers, next time! 

In addition to playing with the gadgets, I cleaned a few more items that were stored in the china cabinet (my daughter said she can see herself using some of the items, which means I don't have to get rid of them!), and chatted with friend M when he tended to the garden.  He bought me several bags of soil amendment, the first of the fruit trees I wanted (a plum tree), some packets of vegetable seeds, and  planted more radishes for me.  Afterwards, we had a cup of tea and discussed plans for the garden.  He will pick up the rest of the fruit trees for me, this weekend.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Blog readers who were able to identify what the gadgets were

- Having fun trying them out and making my version of a tornado potato

- Friend M picking up the fruit trees and soil amendments for me

- Humming birds and bees visiting the peach tree!

- Daughter saying she can see herself using some of the items I keep in the china cabinet!

Today's joyful activity was trying out the kitchen gadgets!

Have you heard of tornado potatoes?

Thursday

Unidentified Objects from the Kitchen Drawer

Any Idea What They Are?

These are two items that were in one of the kitchen drawers.  I have no idea what they are!  I think the bluish plastic item on the left is some sort of a spout for easy pouring, although meant to be pushed into a container of what, I don't know!  I'm even more clueless about the white thing!  Whatever they are, I am not using them, haven't used them, don't even know what they are and how to use them, so, I have decided to declutter them.  Does anyone know what they are?  

It was another sunny and mild day, today, although the morning was a bit hazy.  

Today, February 4, marks the 73rd anniversary of Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon) gaining independence from Britain, after 133 years of being a crown colony.  Pay attention, because, there will be a quiz, later!  LOL.

I spent a quiet morning, replying to blog comments (one of my newer readers is reading some of my old posts and I am enjoying re-reading those posts and replying to her comments) and doing a load of laundry.  My daughter had three work-related online meetings which she did at the dining table, but, after she finished the last meeting, I started on the china cabinet.  I took everything down from the top shelf and washed the three pieces of glass that form the shelf.  Then, I polished the couple of very tarnished silver items I store on that shelf.  After that, I cleaned my bathroom and practiced the piano.

Dinner: Sweet and Spicy Pork Stir Fry with Rice and Broccoli

Daughter helped me cook dinner, tonight.  I had put four pork chops to thaw and she mixed up a sauce for them - honey, sriracha chili sauce, a little soy sauce, a little rice vinegar, some garlic powder and powdered ginger.  I decided to cut up the pork chops into strips and stir fried them a bit before adding the sauce and cooking them a bit longer.  Daughter cut up the broccoli for me and I just boiled it in a bit of salted water.  The rice was leftover from yesterday.  There's enough of the pork stir fry leftover for tomorrow's lunch or dinner.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Keeping in touch with friends

- Having daughter help with the cooking

- Working appliances

- Relaxed days

- What I was able to accomplish today

Today's joyful activity was cooking with my daughter.

Plans for tomorrow include cleaning another shelf in the china cabinet and going through another kitchen drawer.

Remember what I said about there being a quiz?  Here you go:

1. When/in what year did Ceylon/Sri Lanka gain independence?  

2. In what year did it become a British crown colony?

Bonus question: Why did the name change and in what year?

Wednesday

Another mostly sunny day with a high of 70F, today!  I spent a relaxed morning, replying to blog comments and reading other blogs, etc.  

In the afternoon, I practiced the piano and vacuumed.  I made sure to take a couple of puffs of my inhaler and put on a dust mask before I vacuumed; I still needed to take a break between doing the living room/dining area/kitchen and the family room/bedrooms.  But, the house has been vacuumed.  I also sorted through one of the kitchen drawers and decluttered a couple of small items.  I checked a couple of the lower kitchen cabinets, but, they are still tidy from when I cleaned the kitchen, late last summer, so I don't have to do them, this time around.

Today, I went through this week's grocery ads.  In the days before Covid, I would make a list of the weekly deals at a couple of the stores I went to on a regular basis and stock up on those items, which was how I managed to keep my grocery budget at $75/month for myself.  But, not now.  These days, I just shop at the regular supermarket, one in a chain of supermarkets, because they offer free curbside pick up with purchases of $35 or more and pay their prices.  Even so, I looked at the sales at the ethnic grocery store today and sighed - cucumbers are 5 for $1.00 (as opposed to $1 each at the supermarket), cauliflower priced at 3 lb/$.99 instead of $.99/lb. which is what I paid at the supermarket, and so on.

Later, I watched the evening news and crocheted.  I have now joined six rows of 10 granny squares, each.  I have eight more rows to join.

Today, I am grateful for:

- A sunny and warm day

- Availability of curbside pick up services at select grocery stores

- A gorgeous sunset (tried to take a photograph of it, but, I couldn't capture the colors with my cell phone)

- Having my daughter home

- Chatting with friend R

Today's joyful activity was crocheting.

Plans for tomorrow include more kitchen cleaning, piano practicing and paperwork.  

How was your Wednesday?  What are your plans for Thursday?

Tuesday

Crocosmia Flowers

A sunny day, today, with an afternoon high 73F.  I strolled around in the garden (not a good day for brisk walking; the air quality was moderate, but, not good for those with asthma, etc., it said) and dug a hole to plant something, brought the trash cans in, practiced the piano, had my piano lesson (received 2 new songs to learn, but, didn't play the old songs that well, so have to practice them a little more, too), cleaned one of the kitchen drawers, crocheted, watered the indoor plants, cooked another chicken curry, and made coconut flat bread/roti for dinner. 

A member of the prayer group I participate in had put out a request for prayers for a friend's son, so I responded to that.  We haven't met for our monthly prayers since early last year, but, we do keep in touch.  Called friend R in the evening and chatted with her for a bit, too.  

Today I am grateful for:

- A sunny warm day

- Piano lessons

- The garden in which to stroll

- Frozen grated coconut

- My daughter's yarn stash (had to take another skein of yarn from her!)

My joyful activity today was having my piano lesson.

Wednesday's To Do List:

- Vacuum

- Paperwork/filing 

- Clean/organize another kitchen drawer

- Start on the china cabinet shelves

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

Starting February

It's February, already!  January just sped by, I feel!  I'm excited about starting a new month, though, and am looking forward to February.  

It rained a little in the morning, but, the afternoon was sunny and dry. 

In the morning, I made milk rice (kiribath) and spicy onion relish (seeni sambol), for brunch, since it was the first of the month and it is my custom to do so.  Then, I practiced the piano and dusted the living room, dining area, family room, and my bedroom.  Changed the bed sheets, too, and, during the course of the day, did three loads of laundry.  

I called cousin V to wish her for her birthday and chatted with her for a bit.  Later, neighbor T called and I chatted with her, too.  She called me again, later in the afternoon, to say she had the empty jar from the jam I had given her for Christmas, so, I walked over to her house and collected the jar from her.  In the evening, I chatted with friend R.

Both my daughter and I went outside in the afternoon to get some sunshine - she sat on the low wall between neighbor T's house and ours and worked on her computer; I walked for about 15 minutes.  I had set the timer for 20 minutes, but, I got tired after 15!  Shortly after that, I had an asthma flare up and I had to take my rescue inhaler.  

In the evening, I took the trash cans to the curb and cooked a chicken curry for dinner.  I had a tortilla with it for my dinner; daughter had rice.  Freshly picked oranges from the garden for our dessert.

It was a productive day until the asthma flared up!  I am happy with what I was able to accomplish today.

This week, I will be focusing on the dining room for my weekly cleaning.  My plan is to clean the china cabinet - take everything out, wash the glass shelves, and put things back.  Hopefully, I will also be able to declutter a few things, too (my decluttering goal for this month is 30 items).  

I have also picked on the kitchen as my room of the month.  I was debating between choosing my bedroom or the kitchen, but, I think, with two of us cooking, the kitchen needs my attention more than the bedroom!  The cabinet under the sink is in good shape after I cleaned it, back in September, but, other cabinets and drawers need tidying and the wall behind the stove could do with a good scrubbing!

Today, I am grateful for:

- The start of a new month

- Inhalers and medications

- Phone calls with family and friends

- Working appliances

- Fresh oranges from the garden

Today's joyful activity was chatting with my cousin.

Tuesday's To Do List:

- Water the house plants

- Piano lesson

- Bring the trash cans in

- Pay bills/do paperwork & filing 

- Start on the china cabinet

- Start on the kitchen (utensils drawers)

How was your Monday?  What are your plans for Tuesday and the rest of February?

Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt: January Photos

I wasn't able to take a lot of pictures for the Scavenger hunt, this month, but, took a few.  These are my selections for the January link up:

2.  Round and round - the electricity meter: - the flat disk that can be seen just above the words "Sangamo Electric" slowly spins as the current is used and that causes the arrows in the five circles above to go round, showing the amount of electricity being used.

#2: Round and Round

6. Horizontal:  Dancer was happy to demonstrate being horizontal!

#6: Horizontal - Dancer Demonstrates Horizontal

# 6: Dancer - Horizontal

10.  Work in progress:  My current crochet project - all the granny squares I made with scrap yarn are having a grey border crocheted around them before being joined in rows of 10 for a blanket.

#10: Work in Progress

My December photos are here.

Thank you, Eileen, for organizing this!