When Dinner Looks Back At You

This afternoon I got into a rare domestic mood and cleaned! Then, as if that wasn’t enough, I decided to actually cook something.

I had a huge chicken breast in the fridge and red potatoes in my pantry. I even had vegetables for a great salad. Hubby will be pleasantly surprised.

First thing, I needed to chop the breast into four pieces (that’s how large the thing was!). Then I got out .the Jamaican Rub I bought in town at the flea market.   I rubbed olive oil into the chicken then rubbed the rub in. I wrapped them up to marinate. I was feeling pretty proud of myself for getting a head-start on dinner instead of my usual M.O. of late – to whip up any old thing I had around.

Next, I got the 5-lb bag of potatoes from the pantry. Funny, but I bought them two weeks ago, and there were already “eyes” peeking out from the air-holes in the plastic bag. When I let the potatoes roll out of the bag and into the sink, I screamed and jumped back. I know I will have nightmares about all those hideous evil eyes looking up at me in a sinister way. I should have chucked them all and made rice, but those who know me understand how stubborn I am. Besides I wanted roasted potatoes cooked on the grill, so maybe I could sit and relax for just a few minutes. It never happens, but as an optimist I keep planning it.

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Every single potato had large bulging eyes, and on top of those, more bulging eyes. There were so many eyes the potatoes looked like they had spiny flowers growing out of them. The flowers were greenish-red and hairy, but I knew it wasn’t hair. I could not bring myself to touch them.

I stood there at the sink , staring back at my dinner, debating whether I should wash them first, or start hacking out eyes. I washed them first, after all they were already in the sink.

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Then with my trusty chopping knife and a potato peeler, I managed to find 5 potatoes that had more potato than eyes. After cubing them and mixing with butter and garlic salt, I double-wrapped them in foil. I cleaned the hacked up remains from the counters and handed the plate of chicken and the foil-wrapped potatoes to hubby to BBQ.

I’m sure that hubby enjoyed eating those potatoes, way more than I did. A true case of “Ignorance is Bliss”.

Moral of this story? Do not buy potatoes in bags. Pick potatoes one at a time.  😉

No Form Submissions = No Complaints

At first I didn’t complete Part 2 of last weeks Weekly Writing Challenge: Forms because I only had two readers respond to my form requesting comments on Chapters one and two of my Through the Door story. One was an accident (they thought it was another story), and the other was my daughter, who gave me a fabulous thumbs up, by the way:

Did you notice the main characters were not named? Yes
What should their names be? Robert and Chloë
What do you like in the story? descriptions, and dialogue
What do you NOT like in the story? WAITING!!!
Who are you? (name, blog URL, alias…) Your favorite Daughter….

Another 100 or so submissions like this one and I would be doing a happy dance.

Alas, there is no dancing.   NoDancingSign-cropped

Am I disappointed?  Sure.  Am I devastated?  No.

There are a million reasons people don’t take the time to submit a survey. I get that.  Because I LOVE my readers, followers and family, I forgive your non-participation, and I will assume your reasons were legitimate. Reasons like – You love the story, but…

  • You read very slow.
  • You forgot to pay your internet provider.
  • You misplaced your laptop/iPad/Kindle/iPhone…
  • The hospital you’re in banned WiFi.
  • Stomach flu (can’t get your head out of the pot?).
  • What you want to say is best not said on the internet.
  • You follow so many blogs that you can’t possibly respond to them all.

I have several long-time readers that would probably call me on a shoddy story (see my favorites list), so… I must believe that those who read the draft it are happy with it.

Am I right?   <— Don’t answer that!  Ha.  Like you would anyway…  😉
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photo credit: zyphichore via photopin cc

Vanity vs Cheap

WatchForSign
Why? What are they going to do?

I have a decision to make.

Our local grocery store considers you a Senior Citizen when you are 55-years old and over. Isn’t that a bit young? It used to be that grandparents got senior discounts at restaurants when they were over 65.  I mean I only turned 55-years old today. (Hard to believe, I know.)

I’m not ready to be a “Senior Citizen”. My grandparents were in their 70’s when they became senior citizens. Seniors are wise and dignified. You never see a senior shoving 3 pieces of gum in their mouth and be smacking it loudly, maybe even blowing bubbles. Or driving down the neighborhood with their car windows down and the stereo up high.

I have been known to still do those things. And although smart, I am not wise. I am so not a senior citizen.

Did I mention that seniors get a discount when they shop Tuesdays and Wednesdays, at our local grocery store?

It all boils down to one thing. How vain am I? Do I keep trying to look young, stay in denial about my age, -OR- do I accept the fact I’m old, and save a few bucks on the grocery bill?

Hmm…


photo credit: Ethan Prater via photopin cc