Things I Learned From the Funeral Luncheon

Leeza 2005

My friend Argie called and asked if I could help in the kitchen for the luncheon.  Yes! I said.  She is one of my favorite people and was Leeza's mother before I was.  

The men had set up the tables and chairs, yay.  Food was dropped off and we started off with six women, one who could just help with the setting up and that was just fine.  Argie and Lori have done this several times so they had a good idea how much food was needed for 50 people.  Not too much left over to parcel out after.  So here is what I learned:

• There are always those who have an opinion of the way things should be done, which is their way.  Best to keep quiet and let them just do it
• There are those who struggle to make a decision and it is kind to step in and gently make a suggestion.
•  It's good to have a plan and a plan in writing is really helpful.
• Salt and pepper shakers are more easily dispersed when they leave the kitchen on a tray rather than carrying out two pair at a time.(I did learn that years ago but it was after years of doing it the hard way, so there is most likely someone else out there that finds this true enlightenment.)
• Bring towels for drying dishes.  The church kitchen only has paper towels.  Also an old bath towel for under the giant water jug.
• Fill water pitchers earlier in the day if possible and refrigerate.  You're ahead of the game and need less ice.

And the best thing I learned...

• Cut and freeze lemons so you have a bagful at the ready!  It's such a nice touch to the water pitchers plus you can buy them when they are on sale.

I can say that it was a delightful and fun afternoon and a great example of many hands make light work.  And to top that all off, the men came and put the tables and chairs away, swept the floor in the cultural hall and mopped the floor in the kitchen.  No heavy work for the ladies. Wow.

Oh and the brownies were outstanding!

Happy Birthday Sally!

Google image

Tumblr sent me a message this morning saying "Happy Birthday, 4 years old!"  Kind of funny since the blog isn't on Tumblr anymore but still it was a surprise to me that it was only four years ago that I started this.  In all ways it seems longer than that, perhaps because so many pivotal things happened in those four years.

So I'm saying less pivoting and more twirling in the next four years!  (And back to more writing.)

Spending, not wearing, The Green.

The Big Dog has not been eating his kibble for two days and there have been puddles in the kitchen for the last two mornings.  I was concerned that the fabric consumption on Friday had caused a blockage so we were at Dr. Park's at 8:30 this morning.

I gave Dr. Park all the details and he said without the story he would have said Dylan was a healthy guy based on observation, listening and a normal temperature.  Then he gave him a thorough palpitation of all his organs.  Dylan showed no signs of discomfort when Dr. Park did that and Dr. Park did not feel any masses, as in a blockage.  Good things.

So the diagnosis is gastritis and we have amoxicillin tablets and in that ginormous syringe (that's a quarter in the picture) is a paste of Kaolin, Soy oil, Pectin, Silicon Dioxide, Encapsulated Dried Enterococcus Faccium Fermentation Product, Powdered Sugar, Chicken Flavor, Natural and Artificial Flavors.  Fortunately, for both of us, all medications are orally delivered.

And I bought a small bag of his old food and he ate a cup of that right up and is already feeling better.

Janie came over for lunch and as a green contribution brought avocados and also Key Lime cupcakes.   Did you know that if you take off the top of the cupcake and turn it upside down and replace it, you don't have to worry about getting frosting on your nose.  Very tidy!

 

Les Mis

Jan and I went to the Hale Theater in West Valley City yesterday to see Les Mis.  It was a wonderful production in a small theater seating about 800.  Much different from seeing it at The Capitol Theater in Salt Lake.  I think I really liked it better because of the small theater and what small theaters do best, put you right into the story.  The matinee performance started at 4 and finished at 6:30 allowing us a before and after rush hour time to be traveling the freeway.  Plus we had allowed ourselves plenty of lead time to find the theater and then have a leisurely lunch.

An all around perfect afternoon.

But...

this is how the curtain on the front door looked after I picked it up off the floor and rehung it.  I don't know if someone had the audacity to knock or if it was just the dreaded mailman but something sure got Dylan riled up.  He also ate part of a piece of stitchery which, fortunately, was only in the drawing stage, no threaded needles. 

Upset dog tummy today.  I'll spare you the details.

Perched

A blustery morning yesterday.  Dylan and I moved very quickly on our short 15 minute walk as the wet snow battered us.  We were soaked when we got home.

Spotted this plump fellow through the kitchen window.  Harbinger of spring?  Not sure the robins ever really leave here but as he was sitting right there, I took it as The Sign.  Our days have been warming up more than usual anyway and the sun did come out yesterday.  It's here.  Putting the snow shovel in the garage.  Yay!

QOD

 "Abby Hoffman said we should all eat 

what we kill. That would put an end to war."

 Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Mysteries, #1, p.233)

I just started of new mystery series by Louise Penny which just delights me.  Fabulous characters with a tone of civility even with a murder as the plot.

Enoch's Quilt

Not a quilt I have done but one mnCarol is getting finished.  This is what I helped her with this past week.

This is a good sized quilt, designed for a twin size bed.  Ambitious for a first quilt but wow, it turned out so well!  A simple rail fence block made of many different "bug" fabrics.  I contributed some that I had on hand and Carol found others and then mixed in some non-bug that fit in color wise.

Tuesday we met and went to a carpeted room in the Church to lay out the pieces for the back and get those brains working on measurements.  Much laughing.  Thursday we met again at the Church and this time went to the gym to spread back, batting, and the top.  Then the pinning.  We each brought towels to kneel on but that only worked some of the time.  We pinned from the middle out and then in quadrants.  We had two packages of pins, 130 total, and could have used one more package.

Now Carol is working on the machine quilting.  A big learning experience.

Salad Pizza

mnCarol makes a fabulous salad pizza for her family and every now and again runs a couple of pieces over to me.  The surprise for me is that they use arugula for the greens and I never thought I would really care for arugula.  She makes her pizza for a large family with homemade crust and on sheet cake pans.  Of course, this kind of pizza does not keep for leftovers so I thought I would try it using pita bread.  Perfect!  I could eat them three times a day.  There are a lot of options but this will get you started.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
1 pita bread piece
1 oz. of shredded cheese
a handful of greens
cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
oil for drizzling
balsamic vinegar to drizzle
salt and pepper

Once oven is hot, place bread on a cookie sheet and add shredded cheese.  Carol uses cheddar, I used jack and next time I might try pepper jack.  When cheese has melted, remove from oven.  Add the greens and tomatoes, drizzle with oil, Carol uses olive oil, I used grapeseed oil, and balsamic vinegar.  Sprinkle with salt, Carol uses kosher, I used flaked and coarsely ground pepper.

I just folded mine in half to eat in a tidy way but Dylan was waiting for a tomato to bounce out and hit the floor.  He scored.

Pencils

I like writing with a pencil and last night when I listed a few key items for today, I took a look at the pencil I had picked up.  It has the KSOP radio logo on it.  I know that I picked up that pencil at their booth when they were recording live from the state fair, mid 90s.  Almost twenty years ago.  It's still 6.25 inches long so it seems there is plenty of pencil left.  There are plenty of other pencils in the house so no need to add them to the shopping list.

03/07 Clarification Edit: when I say I picked up that pencil, I do not mean I wantonly took it.  They were handing them out as promotional items.