JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Everyone feel nice and warm after yesterday's trip down our childhood memory lanes? Good, because it's been a while since I had a good old beef session on this blog, and I've been saving up annoyances to share with you all, in the hopes that misery loves company.
In fact, the thing that really has me cheesed off is my furnace repair guy, Rick. A little over three years ago, the old oil tanks - a joined pair that held 500 gallons - had finally had it and needed to be replaced. I talked over whether to get another 500 gallon behemoth, or the more usual (and cheaper) 275 gallon version. "People used to fill up in the summer and take advantage of the lower price," Rick said, "but oil's been pretty stable year round for a long time now." So I went with the smaller tank. Why didn't you warn me about 7% inflation, Rick???
Say what? Let me tell you, on the NPR classical station, when the announcers talk about Mussgorsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, they say "The Great Gates of Key-yev." Is it Key-yev? Is it Keev? I'm really hoping it's not the latter, because I only managed to stop saying "THE Ukraine" a few years ago. I still get confused with Siam and Thailand and Ceylon and Sri Lanka. I'm all set with Istanbul, though, thanks.
4. Bridgerton. Whyyyy do I have to wait almost a month for the second season of Bridgerton?!? Ted Lasso's not going to be out until the latter half of 2022, and I don't think they've even hinted at a drop date for the next season of Only Murders in the Building. In fact, my relationship with all our streaming services seems to be: wait with impatient longing to get a show I'm dying to see, binge it down within a week, and then wait a year or longer for the next season. (Side grouse: when did six episodes become a season? I remember when you got twenty-two new episodes a year with TV shows! Now get off my lawn.)
We have, paid for by different family members, HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV, Amazon Prime and Hulu. And between the lot, there's only one show a month I'm every actually interested in. Verily, the Golden Age of TV has feet of clay.
But the only people eating this ham are me, and my young friend and temporary lodger Samantha. The meals have gone like this:
1st night: Ham, baked potatoes, green peas. Happiness.
2nd day: Ham sandwiches. Yummy.
2nd night: More ham. At least it's easy.
3rd day: Ham sandwich with fried egg to add a kick.
3rd night: Pasta with ham.
4th day: Ham on leftover cornbread.
4th night: Scalloped potatoes with ham.
5th day: Ham and despair.
And so on. Dear readers, I still have almost half a ham left! I may be forced to learn how to grind and pot meat just to do something with the rest of it. I just wanted sliced ham and a sandwich the next day, and instead I've entered some sort of Sisyphean existence where every day I roll a ham up a tall hill and every morning it's back at the bottom of the fridge, as large as ever.
But I have faith; someday, I'll be down to the bone, and then it will finally be time for homemade bean soup. Of course, it's a big bone, so it will have to be a very big pot of soup...
Dear readers, what's been driving you bonkers lately?
Okay, I chuckled over the ham . . . couldn’t you just slice it up and freeze it so you could forget about it for a little while?
ReplyDeleteAh, for the days of twenty-two episodes of a show every season . . . .
The whole Kiev pronunciation thing was so puzzling . . . I confess that I never thought much about whether the pronunciation was Russian-influenced or Ukrainian-influenced but the Ukrainians obviously did, so now I’m trying to remember the new pronunciation and the new Kyiv spelling . . . .
These days, my particular frustration is the annoying propensity for people to blame EVERYTHING on Covid, even if the virus isn’t even remotely to blame . . . .
That's what we do, Joan - Hugh puts a half dozen slices into three or four zip lock bags and freezes them, so he always has ham for his sandwiches or to fry up with an egg.
DeleteJOAN: Agreed. Pandemic fatigue is making people blame the virus on everything bad that is happening to them, and causing some to do crazy things.
DeleteJoan, I share your frustration about how EVERYTHING can be blamed on Covid. It is truly laughable, except sometimes I'm too annoyed to laugh at it.
DeleteJoan, I literally didn't know you could freeze ham. I know other cured pork products, like kielbasa, are terrible after being frozen, and honestly, every time I've cooked a ham in the past however many years, it's been for an Easter crowd, or my family of five, and those leftovers made one other dinner and a few sandwiches IF I was lucky. The learning curve of cooking for one or two continues...
DeleteHam changes texture when frozen and thawed: it becomes mealy. I think the answer is casseroles, in which cubed ham is fine after thawing, and usually has pasta, cheese, tortillas, onion, and such which are all great. You can make lots and freeze portions…
DeleteGood rant, Julia. I feel privileged to have you confide your problems to me. I have no solutions for anything but the ham as Joan suggests, slice it and package it in serving sizes for the freezer. In a month, when you are craving a ham sandwich, just defrost what you need. Cooked ham will last a whole year if wrapped well.
ReplyDeleteWho knew? This may put a whole new spin on my life. I love ham! Once in a while.
DeleteHowever one is supposed to pronounce it (and I'm told there ARE two syllables, Kee-eev, sort of merged together), and understanding that President Zelensky's election was sort of as though Martin Sheen had gone from "The West Wing" to the REAL West Wing, and despite the fact that Zelensky and Prime minister Groysman are Jewish, there are those of us who, born during WWII and knowing of the amount of collaboration between the Ukrainians and the Nazis (https://www.ushmm.org/m/pdfs/20130500-holocaust-in-ukraine.pdf), are not quite comfortable with the idea that American blood and treasure could be spilled in Ukraine. I saw the movie "Shoah," and just as "The Sorrow and the Pity" makes me very uncomfortable about France's collaborationist wartime government, I am uncomfortable about Ukraine. How much of history are we supposed to forget?
ReplyDeleteHorror movies do not scare me. Bars of soap rendered from the bodies of genocide victims scare me. I suppose a dead body is a dead body, but I feel a visceral anger when the body of a woman, used and discarded, days or weeks after her rape and murder, turns up like so much trash (or worse, is never found.) Treating the remains of humans, or even pets, with such disrespect, frightens me for the human race.
That Putin can command a European country to make war on its neighbors for the glory of Greater Russia scares me. That he sees himself as a latter day Tsar scares me. But then, the events of January 6th, 2021 scare me too. We are not so far removed.
Maybe this is not the place to express such fears. But they are why I do not write horror tales. I am creative, and I don't want to give anyone who isn't any ideas.
(PS Freeze the extra ham.)
Ellen, I never realized the joke about the "Chinese curse" of "May you live in interesting times" was NOT a joke until the past few years...
DeleteEllen,yes. My feelings about Ukraine, like yours, are mixed and with good reason. There's a lot to be said, but maybe not here? DM me to "talk"?
DeleteWhat's driving me nuts?
ReplyDeleteWork is crazy. Had a follow up appointment with the doc, they did some regular blood tests for the usual stuff, A1C etc. The results could've been better. Sigh, what a pain.
Never enough time to do everything I want to do in a given day.
Jay, ugh. I had my latest blood test, and now I'm not supposed to eat eggs or use salt any more. I agree, it's a pain.
DeleteEntertaining as always, Julia, even if written from a place of deep gripe.
ReplyDeleteAgree about Kiev (or whatever). What's annoying me is this: ten years ago we bought this little antique house. It didn't have a natural gas pipeline from the street. We paid to have it run to the house. We bought a new gas stove. We bought a new highly efficient gas boiler/hot water heater. All are working great. And NOW we learn gas stoves leak methane even when not lit, and we all should be switching to linked underground geothermal systems, plus electric stoves. Gah!
Also a PITA: American knotweed. Like burdock, that sucker will take OVER a garden. The only solution is Roundup - which isn't happening. Maybe I'll pour gasoline on it in a couple of months...
Get (or borrow) a goat for those weeds.
DeletePS. I have my great grandfather's 100 year old 3-burner Stewart stove. It does not have a pilot light (you have to light it with a match). When it's on, it's on. When it's off, it's OFF.
DeleteAND the price of natural gas is up as well, Edith, which is pinching a lot of Mainers who switched because it was supposed to be the responsible, economical alternative to fuel oil. I'm beginning to think the only frugal way to stay warm are wool sweaters, which will probably cause a rise in the cost of sheep!
DeleteEdith, I was horrified to read that about gas stoves. Sorry, I am not giving up my gas range! I'll have to try harder to reduce my carbon footprint in other ways!
DeleteJULIA: Sorry to hear about your rising fuel oil prices in Maine but be thankful you don't live in the UK. Their prices have skyrocketed as high as 50% this year. That's serious, having to choose between eating and heating.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-60054463
And I agree about Kyiv. I used to pronounce Ukraine's city the same way as chicken kiev (foodie) but most people on TV are pronouncing it as "keev" now. Maybe there is a difference between how the city is pronounced (and spelled) in Russian vs Ukrainian? In any case, it is very troubling that Europe may be headed to war.
And no surprise for anyone watching the news, my PITA is the continued fallout after our 24-day protest occupation by Freedom Convoy truckers and supporters was cleared out by an unprecedented multi-police force action this past weekend. We are still in a transition phase since I live 5 minutes away from Parliament Hill. A secure zone with 100 police checkpoints is still in place. Yesterday was a provincial holiday so most stores were closed and it was eerily quiet,
But my main shopping mall, bank, bookstore, public library branch, grocery store are still closed (since January 29).
Grace: The weekend police work was impressive and I really hope their lingering presence helps bring a long-lasting normal back to your city and neighbourhood.
DeleteAMANDA: Yes, the police response and using the Emergencies Act was unprecedented for Ottawa (and Canada). The physical barricades will soon come down but the dysfunctional city council & police board shows we have big problems in how Ottawa operates.
DeleteAnd sadly, there are still pockets of truckers staying in two rural areas outside of Ottawa. The multi-force police presence & vigilance will be here until they are sure that another protest won't be attempted.
The post-event municipal and federal review will likely change how we can access Wellington Street in the future.
Also quiet Ottawa is not used to be in the international spotlight. It has been fascinating to watch (online) the news coverage of our multi-day protest blockade by BBC, Australian TV and different US channels. FOX NEWS' comments and discussion about Canada makes me laugh and shake my head.
DeleteGrace, I'm beyond laughing at anything coming out of Fox 'News'--the damage they do just makes everything worse.
DeleteFLORA: The ignorance (and outrage) expressed by the hosts and guests on FOX NEWS about our protest situation has been both sad and incredible to watch.
DeleteGrace, did you see the report of the defendant who invoked his First Amendment rights in front of the judge? Both Canadian, of course. The judge leaned over and asked, "What first amendment?"
DeleteJulia, that is hilarious. Can we get some comfort that Canadians are as ignorant as our fellow citizens?
DeleteJULIA: No, I missed seeing that report. The worst FOX NEWS piece I watched yesterday was the host spewing outrage that in Canada, average citizens are NOT allowed to leave their homes with a gun! DUH, our gun laws are very strict here. And Canadians do not have "the right to bear arms", as you do in the US. That is the main reason the police we able to quell the protest finally without using (their) guns. No injuries or deaths either.
DeleteTRISS: Sadly, those 200 people who had to go to court are not the sharpest knives in the drawer. I would hope most Canadians know how our Charter of Rights and Freedoms works.
I did find out the First Amendment to the Charter is recognizing the right of Manitoba to exist as a state, for which I'm sure Amanda is very grateful!
DeleteThose buncha idiots should just get vaccinated and follow the rules!
DeleteNothing better than a good old moan. I feel better after your erudite rant, Julia. Thank you
ReplyDeleteOur winter here in Manitoba has been brutal, with serious cold temperatures for weeks (minus 41 degrees Celsius with the windchill this morning) and record-breaking snowfalls. We, quite literally, have nowhere left to shovel it on our small property. I am very ready for spring and anything green that wishes to pop up out of the ground.
AMANDA: With all that snow, what are the risks for spring flooding?
DeleteAmanda, I always wonder what the first European settlers of the upper Great Plains, lured there by the incredible fertile soil, through when they went through their first winters there. It sounds tough enough right now with modern technology (and insulation!)
DeleteI found out years ago that you can freeze ham. We can’t finish one very quickly either so I freeze it in manageable portions.
ReplyDeleteThis information is going to change my life. How often does that happen? :-)
DeleteFreeze the ham in single serving portions.
ReplyDeleteWhat about NBC's simultaneous broadcasting of athletes hurtling down a hill at 80 mph with COMMERCIALS?
In Russian, it's KIEV, pronounced with two syllables. In Ukrainian, it's KYIV, pronounced with one syllable. I remember asking my Russian-speaking husband why the newscasters had changed pronunciation.
I don't use Round-up, and I doubt smothering the weeds with black plastic or newspapers would work. I still had green weeds when it started snowing. They're still healthy. Wishing you an early spring!
Thanks for the explanation, Margaret!
DeleteThat makes sense, Margaret, and of course explains why the Mussorgsky title is pronounced the way it is still - it's Russian.
DeleteJulia, you write the best rants.
ReplyDeleteI grew up saying "Key-ev" and I don't think I couldn't change now without a lot of effort. And I'm not sure I want to.
Burdock - is that what they're called? Since Koda has such short, sleek fur, they don't stick to him. They do stick to his fleece coat - to the point I can't get them all off. Sigh.
If I were building a new house, I'd go solar/geothermal/whatever. I'm not. I have to make my now 100-year-old house work the best I can. Its in a great position for solar. The rest? Not so much. Especially as we are now contemplating moving to our "retirement/forever" home and I'm not inclined to pour thousands of dollars into this one.
In fact, that might be my rant. Every few years, something comes along that is the "right thing" we should be doing environmentally. Then in another few years, something else comes along, which of course costs more money than the first thing. The cynic in me suspects a conspiracy.
We do have solar panels, so if we move to an electric stove, we're all set. But...ten year old stove that works fine/ A move is unlikely.
DeleteLiz, burdock is just one of my of the "beggar's tick" type seeds from plants. They have some interesting names, and they're all different. My favorite/least favorite is devil's pitchfork. The name is cool; the seed is vile.
DeleteLiz, no they don't stick to smooth-coated Janey either, but the Shih-tzus? Ugh. In the summer, we have a different annoying burr; the tiny green ones from the common aven, which is a pretty yellow wildflower buy SUCH a PITA. And of course, you can;t just brush them out, they all have to be picked by hand.
DeleteJulia, as usual, you had me laughing hard this morning! If you ever get tired of murdering people on the page you could take your comedy show on the road.
ReplyDeleteI freeze ham bones, too, usually still with a lot of meat on them. It makes better soup.
Kyiv: I've heard NPR commenters say it in one syllable, with the "KY" as a new combination consonant. Not having realized the name was changed (along with the Czech Republic now being called Czechia), and I wondered if there were two cities with similar names. Oy.
Leaving the seedheads of the burdock to keep spreading around doesn't help. The only thing you could do is to cut it down and destroy it--either by burning it or by smothering it with layers of wet cardboard--before it goes to seed in the fall.
We have a noxious vine here called porcelainberry vine, a newly (in the last couple-few years) introduced invasive of mammoth proportions. It can literally grow 30' in one season, and is a prolific producer of truly beautiful berries, aqua, pink, baby blue, and lavender. The birds gobble them up, bur since it's not native they can't digest them, so they poop them out whole, super spreading more of them. The vines strangle trees, and literally created a gigantic curtain over the power lines between our yard and our neighbor's. I had a local teen working for weeks to get them out, and I have continued to use Roundup to try to quash the baby plants--it's the only thing that even remotely works, according to our Extension office.
I ordered something from Amazon yesterday, an item I've looked for locally for months with no success. It was delivered in the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. Is that strictly necessary? It really was not an emergency that I get lumbar pillow inserts with warp speed. Have we lost our collective minds??
KAREN: WTH, an overnight Amazon delivery? I hope they did not wake you up by ringing a doorbell? Another bad sign of our over-consumerism in North America.
DeleteNo, they just leave it on the porch. And take a photo to show in the email they send to alert me that it's been delivered.
DeleteThat is still better than the Fed-Ex driver I watched TOSS a package next to our mailbox--200' away along a busy road.
That middle of the night Amazon delivery is really bizarre! On a related note, our mailman (US Postal Service) has become very random about when he delivers our mail. Many of us in the neighborhood subscribe to "Informed Delivery," so we see scans of the items (via email) as it is sorted to us. It is a real head-scratcher to compare the day it was sorted to us with the day it finally hits our mailbox. He also sometimes marks deliveries as completed one evening but doesn't actually bring them until the following day. Not a big deal if it is your Amazon splurge purchase, but sometimes people are expecting perishable items or medicines or something valuable.
DeleteWe get Informed Delivery, too, and I've noticed that what actually lands in our mailbox does not always match our notifications, Susan. But our carrier, Rita, is awesome, and she's been delivering our mail for over 12 years. I'll have to ask her sometime who does the scans.
DeleteOMG, don't get me started on ranting about the new mail carrier on my street.
DeleteHe does not deliver a single parcel/package to my mailbox. Instead, I get a pickup notice to walk to a convenience store 30 minutes away! Not always fun to do in an Ottawa winter, with no downtown bus routes due to our protest closures.
Oh, Grace, what a pain. I wonder if your carrier is under time pressure related to the huge increase in mailed goods over the past two years? I've noticed we sometimes feel no mail one day and a large pile the next, and I do wonder if the main local office is sorting for efficiency.
DeleteMiddle of the night delivery is just weird, although again, if you're trying to get as many packages to as many people as possible, working round the clock is the way to do it...
JULIA: I gave him the benefit of the doubt during the busy holiday (parcel) season but not now. Other mail carriers 2 or 3 blocks away can deliver parcels directly to the recipient. No, this new guy is doing the minimum amount possible. My previous mail carrier was the opposite. I was shocked at how he brought everything up the building stairs to my apartment door. He said it was his job. And he did not drive a mail truck.
DeleteGrace, it might be time for a phone call or letter to the local post office...
DeleteWe have had a terrific mail carrier for years. I'm dreading the day when Mark retires...
DeleteI fear that everyone is in the late February doldrums right now. Courage! And put on another sweater. L.L. Bean has wonderful fleece lined knit pants. Gritty and difficult as it was to watch, I found Delhi Crime on Netflix to be bingeable. But I do enter into your feelings about having in theory a million watching options, and nothing you really want to see.
ReplyDeleteI am more than happy to get recommendations, U.N.! That's the way I've found several shows I loved, including Only Murder in the Building. I'll give Delhi Crime a try.
DeleteWhen we were young marrieds, a friend once told me plaintively that eternity was a ham for two people. (It does freeze well and I have some in my freezer at the moment.)
ReplyDeleteKyiv is hard for me. Do you suppose it's like Kolkatta for Calcutta and all those cities in China?
My biggest pet peeve is incorrect grammar used by supposedly educated people. The worst was when I heard someone on the radio or TV say, "Harry and I's car" Saints preserve us!
At least he knew not to say Harry and me's car!
DeleteMy highly educated oldest daughter (an English major!) persists in saying, "Brian and me are going to..." I love her, but one day I'm going to snap and bludgeon her into unconsciousness with a copy of Strunk & White.
DeleteI keep hearing, "Her and her husband are planning to do X" on local, and now even national, news. The scary thing is that it is starting to sound ok. But "less" for "fewer" will never sound okay.
DeleteBurdock can be a big problem especially if your property is large and the dog likes to wander all over. The only thing I know to do is cut it down while it is young, so probably early summer. Maybe invite a large 4-H group over to help. Then feed them ham!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant!
DeleteSeveral birds with one stone, Judi, I love it!
DeleteJULIA,
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about all of these. I try not to think about things that make me bonkers! Off the cuff, I would say two things: People who do NOT wear masks, especially those who do NOT socially distance at 6 feet. A year ago even people who were not wearing masks would at least socially distance at 6 feet.
A third thing would be people who smoke pot or cigars. It rarely happens now though it still happens. The smell is awful.
A fourth thing would be climate change. I try to reduce my carbon footprint, though.
Many of us are feeling pandemic fatigue!
Diana
Diana, I suspect that's a big part of it - like the rest of the would, I'm tired of the pandemic, and like everyone in northern climes, I'm tired of winter. The end of February is honestly the worst time... all the charming things about winter are old and stale, spring is still over the horizon, and sadly, a trip to warmer parts is out of the question this year.
DeleteI may draw a very hot bath, put on a playlist of Caribbean music, and call it a getaway.
Loved the rant this morning Julia. Most of us had a solution for the ham for you. I have one for the burdock. It is edible. Burdock root is used mostly in northern Asian cooking. It is considered to be a beneficial plant. The roots have a mealy texture and taste a bit like parsnip. So there you have it. Ham and burdock stew. Problem solved.
ReplyDeleteTelevision. oh my. I had avoided television in favor of reading for the last year. I started watching again this month. RANT warning. We used a Fire Stick Amazon upgraded the device and now my elderly television cannot handle the new stuff. I am back to watching local tv. sob.. plus my computer is now classified as a 'potato' meaning a potato with wires has better storage than the protozoa known as Coralee's pc. Look for telegrams from Nome street soon, or as I have mentioned carrier pidgeons.
Energy costs in Florida are still fairly stable so far. I can't speak for winter costs, we used space heaters, and now are turning on the a/c at night. Wouldn't wind turbines be the answer for Maine? I am so impressed with the dwellings that are still standing after 100 + years. My house was apparently thrown up in 2 weeks. The builder used substandard materials. The house is now 21 years and I worry that it will survive another 10 years. (muttering worry fuss fuss fuss).
Coralee, we had the same problem with our TV - it couldn't handle the wifi upgrade. In true New England 'make it do or do without' spirit, we've "fixed" it by hooking a laptop up to it with an HTML cord whenever anyone wants to stream something.
DeleteYes, Maine would be an excellent place for wind turbines and, in the north, solar farms. The trick is getting the juice from point A to point B. There's a strong NIMBY movement in the state. Everyone wants sustainable energy, no one wants a new high-transmission tower in their area.
But no burdock stew, I see.. really is tasty I promise.
DeleteCORALEE: I don't eat it in a stew, but burdock is a common Japanese side dish (gobo).
DeleteBut since it is hard to find burdock, except in Asian food stores, so I only eat it on New Year's Day.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/kinpira-gobo-braised-burdock-root/
I may give it a go in the spring, Coralee - right now whenever I spot the little you-know-whats I snap the twigs off and burn them in the woodstove. It's very satisfying.
DeleteYour rants are so satisfying, Julia! Have you noticed the price of propane this year? Nearly double the price of a fill from early December to early February. If I had a firstborn, I'd be thinking hard right about now. The price of groceries--yeah, freeze the ham--especially if you have one of those bag-sealing machines that whoosh all the air out of the bag as it seals. That there's still a Putin in the world today. That the Trumps still aren't wearing orange jumpsuits. Lordy, Karen, really hoping the porcelainberry vine doesn't travel this far north! And an extra little rant, what the heck happened to the sunshine? Please tell me that's not our entire allotment for the month!
ReplyDeleteI mostly seal the bag, then use a drinking straw to suck the last bit of air out, then quickly finish the seal!
DeleteFlora, when we were in DC in May I noticed vines, including porcelainberry, draping a vast portion of the trees in the area. It was horrifying. Our poor trees are stressed enough already, without this scourge taking them down, too.
DeleteI just went down the internet rabbit hole on porcelainberry, and discovered despite being classified as an invasive, it's STILL being sold by some nurseries and landscape companies, as is Chinese privet and Japanese honeysuckle. Get a clue, people!
DeleteClever, Edith!
DeleteI, too, have been perplexed by the Kiev pronunciation change. I have actually found myself missing whatever was being said about it as I fixated on the pronunciation. Like someone else above, I had even wondered if there were two different cities with similar names, or just one with two pronunciations.
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else, I freeze ham slices. Since you bought a spiral cut, it is even easier! And using that bone will be so delightful.
I guess my only peeve worthy of ranting about is how everything seems to have been reduced to political polarization. The most seemingly benign topics are now landmines of coded preferences for one or the other extremes of political view. For someone who has always had views closer to the center, it is just exhausting.
My suggestion, Susan: lots and lots of classical music. I listen to that instead of news and it improves my mental health enormously!
DeleteDorothy Parker is usually given as the source for "Eternity is two people and a ham." As always, she nailed it in just a few words. My own peeves list gets deeper and longer all the time and then I retreat into old favorite books. Adn I am enjoying Gilded Age! It's not really as good as Downtown Abbey (same creators_)-characters not nearly as well-written, IMHO - but it is fun. Like a trashy book by Edith Wharton if that existed. Visit to Brooklyn (avoiding spoilers here) was great, and I'm sort of starting to admire Mrs. Russell in spite of myself. Interesting article in today's NY Times
ReplyDeleteTriss, I've been looking at the reviews and thinking about Gilded Age. I'll give it a try. (I DO love seeing beautiful dresses, not going to lie.)
DeleteHam and despair...LOL!...Damn it, I just spit coffee all over my keyboard, Julia! Three deadlines looming and I haven't showered in three days. I feel like I have a new born, more accurately triplets, and time has ceased to have any meaning. I'm on the manuscripts' clock now, eating whatever food the Hub delivers to the office and falling asleep in my chair or on my keyboard. Good times!
ReplyDeleteI'll send you a ham sandwich to help see you through, Jenn...
DeleteHugs, Jenn!
DeleteJulia, I am sure other's have suggested it, but FREEZE THE HAM. Divide it into usable portions for sandwiches or cooking, wrap in press and seal put in a zip lock bag and viola. Ham for the day when it once again sounds attractive.
ReplyDeleteAgree 100% about oil. Have you gotten your electric bill yet? Don't know if you have Versant, but we do and mine went up almost $100 thanks to the newly negotiated "delivery" fee. Small businesses up here are talking about going out of business because of the new rates. It's, dare I say it, criminal.
I did get mine from CMP, Kait, and I quietly folded the paper and sat down for a while with a cold compress over my eyes. It hasn't helped that Samantha's room is genuinely cold (former attic space, so no insulating empty space over it) and so we've been using an electric heater for much of each day. I wonder if using candles instead of light bulbs might solve two problems: increase the heat and decrease the electrical bill?
DeleteMy electric bill doubled from one month to the next--I wish I could say the same for my budget.
DeleteIt's insane. Usage down, bill way up!
DeleteMy morning rant... Why do we still have wretches like Putin hanging around causing world -wide problems ...while today we are burying Gail Halverson, the Berlin Candy Bomber? Today, in my state it is Gail Halverson Day, and all the flags are at half-mast.
ReplyDeleteLiane, I had not heard of Col. Halvorsen until the bio pieces came out at his death. What a life, and what an amazing man.
DeleteHopeful comment for the day...My son is getting married today in Maui. Twosday, 2/22/22. May everything go well.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes to the happy couple, Liane! That is good news.
Delete3. It's Key-yev. The original cast soundtrack for Fiddler on the Roof has spoken. (And seriously, it's annoying me as well.)
ReplyDeleteI forgot the Fiddler on the Roof mention! Thanks, Mark!
DeleteUsually attributed to Dorothy Parker--it could be someone else:
ReplyDeleteEternity is a ham and two people.
Sorry if someone else mentioned this. I haven't read all the comments yet.
I am definitely proving that saying this week, U.N.
DeleteMy current bonkers list: Political ads. Persons drowning out the TV news while offering their slant on the story. Which annoys me when I haven't heard the original story yet. And I have two of those people in my household. Final seasons for TV shows split into two or three parts. I thought I was watching the final final for Ozark and had a WTF moment when it ended. What??? Then I found out it was Part One. This is all minor stuff. You don't want me to escalate to the hardcore bonkers list.
DeleteJulia, you are responsible for a lot of coffee in keyboard accidents today! Ham and despair... Leftover ham is one problem I don't have, as my hubby cannot stand ham. (I think there's a book in there somewhere.) But when I am lucky enough to end up with a hambone, I freeze it for soup.
ReplyDeleteMy first rant would be Texas weather. It was 80 degrees yesterday. 3 a.m., ferocious hail storm that stripped every single berry from our beautiful possumhaw holly trees the front, the only bright spot in our winter garden. Tomorrow, ice.
No one wants me to get started on the other main peeve, Texas politics.
Chop up that ham for a big ol' pot of ham and beans, Julia, or omelettes. Or chef salads. You can do it. I know you can.
DeleteDelivery vans that park in driving lanes on major thoroughfares and fire lanes and the like. We won't talk about semi trucks parked where they shouldn't be parked.
ReplyDeleteWaiting 48 hours for the snow removal company to get to us because they are "too busy with all the snow." well, yeah.
On a grander scale, I am being driven bonkers by hate, greed, disrespect and the things people will do for power and money. Since that encompasses most of what passes for political discourse and civil society these days, I am increasingly anxious. For one given to anxiety disorders, that is not a comfortable place to be.
I am reminded of a fragment of Archilochus that went something like "take pleasure in what is pleasant and be aware of the rhythms that hold men in their bonds."*
Freeze the ham. It will be there in June when someone suggests a picnic on short notice.
*The translation is attributable probably but I'm not certain to whom besides I'm only certain of the sense of it and not the actual quote!
Julia, you crack me up. I'm right there with you about the stickies the dogs get. Philip takes Lulu, our Brittan Spaniel, for a long walk in the morning, and they often get in the truck and go down by the river and other wild places. Of course, she can get a lot of stickies that way, not burs, but brownish/beigeish little stickies. They do come off fairly easily, but sometimes I might have something else I'd rather do than pick them off. Philip also will use the metal comb and get them out that way, if there are a lot. And, it's important to get stickies out when the fur is dry. Kiev. I've always pronounced it Kee-ev, same as Key-ev.
ReplyDeleteI trying not to think much this week about what drives me bonkers. It's my birthday week (day is Thursday), and I try to let myself have the week to enjoy things and put off the worry. I have no doubt it will be there waiting next week.
Oh, the charge d'affairs from the Ukrainian embassy in Canada on the CBC this morning said 'kee-ef' but elided so it isn't really two syllables.
ReplyDeleteI and others answered about ham, so I’ll skip that.
ReplyDeletePEEVES:
1. GMC and Chevrolet car & truck commercial showing drivers happily driving while clapping hands, etc. instead of hands on wheel, eyes ahead. It’s irresponsible even if you have auto driving features.
2. The Olympic ROC women’s ice skating scandal. No one who fails a drug test should compete, period. Further proof of how ruinous politics are.
3. The assumption that everyone has a mobile phone and should add that number to their account (bank, store, etc.) for “added security”. Not everyone has a cell phone, or wants one. The same is true about social media. Not everyone is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. nor wants to be!
4. Anti-vaxxers: just get the damn shot, already. It’s not about your “personal freedoms “, it’s about public health.
5. People who ban books are bad. Censor your own reading if you must, but leave others to read what they wish.
That’s enough, but I agree about Covid being used as an excuse for so many failings, and the same with “supply chain problems”. Bah. On the brighter side, we had snow yesterday, and also yesterday our first Daffodil bloomed.
It's ironic that all those people fussing about THEIR freedoms, have no trouble trampling on everyone else's. If there are American truckers up there in Canada, throw them out and ban them forever.
ReplyDeleteThe Russian drugging is bad enough but what upsets me is that they gave drugs to a 15 year old. That's child abuse, and all those coaches, trainers, etc. should be banned from skating for life. We didn't always protect our athletes but at least Larry Nasser and Jerry Sandusky are in jail, and a lot of others got fired. Either protect the children or raise the age limits.
As far as Ukraine it is hard to get used to new spellings and pronunciations but the world moves on. I know people with relatives still in Ukraine who are very worried.
SO late..deadline day!
ReplyDeleteBut STILL LAUGHING! I don't like ham, and rarely have it (ham, swiss, dijon, baguette, okay, that's all. We had a family meltdown over ham salad 60 years ago, never the same since), so I am no help.
I am a freezing fool now, DEVOTED. Even sliced turkey works. Try the ham!
Rants? People who just MAKE STUFF UP. And then it kills people. More I will not say.
Julia, you are a treasure.
Keev is Ukranian, Kee-yev is Russian. So I hear.
ReplyDeleteYour ham woes remind me of the time my parent's fridge went kaput, and they had to wait two weeks for a new one. So they were getting food daily from the little Polish market on the corner. My mom was buying Polish sausages for almost every meal, and after about 8 days, my stepdad had enough. I don't think he ever ate another Polish sausage again!
ReplyDelete