- Pork chops braised in tomatoes and onions and white wine
- Kale with sesame oil and garlic
- Fresh green beans with butter
- Cornbread from scratch
- Chocolate chip cookies from a tube
Sunday is the day that I watch football and clean house at the same time. I don't do either even half as well as I would if I just picked one.
I've got stuff everywhere. Tools on top of the dryer from weeks ago when I tried to fix it (and sorta did fix it). Tools in the bedroom from leaving screwdrivers in my pockets until bedtime. Tools in the bathroom from the time I pulled a chinchilla out of the drain. I keep thiking that I should put these tools away in the garage or the tool shed, but I don' t have either of those. I've got more tools than toolbox.
So instead of cleaning, I shop online for toolboxes. Like this Craftsman on clearance or even this nicer one, also on clearance. Like I really need to spend that much money on a box, instead of getting a new muffler or shoes, or fixing my bike so I can ride it to work and save $5 a day on parking. Of course the bike would just get rusty again, as there is no tool shed anymore.
So instead of cleaning or shopping, I'm doing this.
What books are on your nightstand?
I started training at my new job at Provence today. I'm the "Kitchen Guy". I'll be in charge of getting food into the cases at the cafe in the downtown library.
Today I cut fruit for fruit salad, then we made croissant sandwiches with scrambled eggs, bacon, and swiss. I cleaned some chicken breasts and made little tarts with chicken, brie, fennel, bacon, and tomato. There wasn't as much to do as there normally would be, because the chef was sick yesterday and left before some things were prepped, so all of the sandwiches were sent from the other kitchen with the breads. Several different green salads and some peaches with vinegar later, and we were done.
Everyone that I met was cool. There are three guys up front that handle everything up there, and a manager, who keeps them in line and has been doing some of the work that I'll be doing. There's an older guy who comes in and does dishes and cleans up and listens to oldies and loves public television. He also enjoys putting the ice scoop just out of the manager's reach.
The chef was talking about how unorganized things were, but the whole time I was really impressed at how organized things actually were. The position I'm taking has been open for a while, the chef is sick, and things still seem to be running smoothly. While I was chopping up stuff, it was hard to fight the urge to stick my head out front every minute or so to make sure things were fine. It is nice having a heirarchy and a limited, defined sphere of responsibility. Nothing is made-to-order, so there is very little stress, just a steady sense of quickness. Everyone seemed relaxed and busy.
I think that as soon as I get a sense of what comes from where, I'm really going to like this. I may have to bring in a better stereo to listen to before the dishwasher gets there for his oldies, but there are a few extras in the attic that I'm sure Brittney wouldn't miss.
Melissa will be hooking me up with some recipes soon, I think, and there are hundreds of cookbooks just two floors up from the kitchen, so I'll be adding my own stuff soon. The chef makes a run to the Farmer's Market a few times a week, so I've got all of that to work with as well. I'm pretty excited about it.
He was abandoned when his owners moved and left him behind. A kind woman in the neighborhood was keeping an eye on him and contacted Brittney this morning. She's been looking for a home for him for 5 months, and she'd taken him to the vet. We drove to her house thie evening and she went on and on about what a good, sweet boy he was. She gave us food and a leash and a book and was so grateful and seemed so relieved.
We went out to the car, and he acted as if he'd never been in one before. She scooped him up and put him in the back seat. She thanked us about a million times. We started the car and she walked down her driveway to go back up the stairs to her deck. She paused and put her chin in her hands for a few seconds. I put the car in gear and she turned and waved, then wiped her eyes and started up the stairs.
He was a good but nervous boy in the car. Brittney had bought him a collar at Walgreen's, but he is too skinny for it. We got home and let him in the backyard and turned Tootie loose on him. At one point she was so wound up that she ran under him from behind and carried him for about 8 steps as if he were a saddle. Poor guy.
He likes to be under the dining room table, so that's where he's sleep tonight. He'll have a free crate tomorrow. He smells like dirt and baby powder and Tootie slobber. We need to clean him up tomorrow, then get him caught up on shots and put some weight on him, then it's off with his balls.
- Turn on dryer after girlfriend complains that clothes are still wet after 3 cycles. Realize dryer isn't at all hot. Not even warm.
- Flip circuit breaker back and forth a few times. Try dryer again.
- Unplug dryer and pull into center of kitchen.
- Find socket set minus socket driver.
- Find socket driver.
- Remove back cover and take out every single electronic component, checking with multimeter for continuity.
- Eat dinner.
- Remove top panel and poke at timer motor assembly with pointy stick.
- Plug dryer back, turn dryer on and smell burning dust. Burning smell = hotness.
- Celebrate success by sending girlfriend to the store for more Diet Coke and dessert.
I saw a dead dog on Friday morning. One of my regular customers came in at around 9:30 am and looked upset. She has two dogs that she often brings with her, so she's a "dog person", and she said that there was a dog lying in the grass next to the sidewalk that runs beside the store. She was worried that he was sick or dead. I grabbed an abandoned umbrella from the toolbox and Skylar followed me outside.
The dog was dead. I knew that injured dogs can be pretty bitey, so I walked up to about 4 feet away and asked, "Hey buddy, you alright?", but the dog wasn't breathing. I tried to move his leg with my foot, and he was stiff. His tongue was out and there was some blood on the grass.
He looked like a very generic mutt, and since it was raining, I couldn't tell if he was clean, but his fur looked a little matted, and his elbows had big rough patches. He wasn't skinny or anything, and he did have a collar, so I'm pretty sure he was someone's pet. I turned his collar around to look for tags, but he didn't have any. That made me really sad. He was probably someone's dog, but I have no idea how to find that person and tell them what happened to their dog. I called the animal hospital down the road for advice, and they gave me the number for Metro Services, and they said they would send a truck to remove the dog. I walked over to the bank to see if they knew about it, since is was technically on their property. The teller was already on the phone with the same people at Metro.
As I walked past him again, I took a photo with my cameraphone. I can't decide if this was appropriate or whatever, but I just felt that the dog deserved to be remembered rather than just thrown in the back of a truck with deer legs sticking out of it and driven to the landfill. I wasn't there when any of my three previous dogs were put to sleep, but they all had family with them at the time. This dog's owner still might not even know that the dog is dead. I would want to know.
What is your favorite cover song?
Question submitted by Ray.
I really love Shudder to Think's "So Into You". I'd heard it for years before I heard the original Atlanta Rhythm Section version while shopping at a Revco at the foot of Signal Mountain. I knew that I recognized it, and could not figure out where I'd heard it before. It isn't a very faithful rendition, and that's what is so great about it.
The Atlanta Rhythm Section version has a lyric that I just now heard correctly. I've always heard it as "When you walked into the room / there was doodoo in a bag". The internet tells me that's not quite right.
