Posts by Liz

Plan C is the winner

I am a pseudo planner.

I make lists, I think I have good ideas… good ideas at the time!

So.

I have had the thought of upgrading my little (18 inch diagonal) bedroom tv.

Then an Amazon (who else) S.A.L.E. and I had a 32 incher on the way.

Yes, I measured and knew my existing “stand” was not enough, but thought I’d see how things looked before making a decision about modifications, wall mount, ???

New TV arrives … it seems HUGE. But it is light and sits on the existing stand combo … but not safely for a long term thing. I went looking at various mounting stuff and finally ordered a stand (that cost nearly as much as the TV :( … )

Right.

Some assembly required. I knew that, but I admit to being a little intimidated when I saw the packs of fittings…

And the instructions…

BUT. I did not reach the age of 65 without having assembled some things!!

My last big item: Kitchen Island

ONWARD!!

I watched a video. I took a deep breath. I reminded myself that I am the daughter of a mechanical engineer…

And I took my time and assembled the stand.

New tv on top … old tv bottom.

I lived with the new setup for 12 hours and decided that it was not right for me…

So … moved the new 32 inch tv and stand to the living room, booting the dinosaur LED/Tube TV to the garage…

Baby is back in the bedroom.

I’m happy.

Good grief… Buy a new TV.

Buy a stand for new TV.

Decide all is kind of a mistake.

Plan C.

Sit with my best boys and be grateful that all works out!

Time

As a “hired gun” computer programmer … paid by the hour… for almost 35 years … I have long had a relationship with the value of time.

I cannot make more time.

I think about time a lot as in: did I finish a task timely, billable time, should I do something myself or hire it done … i.e. where is my time best spent.

I consider myself VERY fortunate that because I DO make my living on the clock, I am VERY aware of time.

There is much of my time that I wish I’d spent more wisely!!

But … here we are: September 4, 2020.

Six weeks ago, I planned on taking this week through the holiday weekend off. I planned on doing a number of late summer/early fall/pre-winter chores as well as FINALLY doing some video learning/editing. But, over the past three weeks, I took some days off here and there and some priority tasks and ultimately I am taking a 4.5 day long weekend.

And even though, not quite what I’d planned, I started my off time yesterday (Thursday) afternoon with my work task list at a point that allows me to take these days with NO worries about how I’ve left things work-wise. That has rarely happened when I’ve taken time off.

So … my enjoyment of yesterday afternoon and today (Friday) has been immense!!!

Well, there is the pretty stuff done.

Meanwhile … baking projects, a furniture item assembly, a few chores … and who knows what else.

It is Friday evening and I am in full staycation mode!

… BUT WAIT!!!

Honestly!

Forecast goes from HOT (Saturday-Sunday) to COLD (Monday-Tuesday) and you cannot see extended, but there is a rebound to 80’s … Holy Darn Cow!

Clear Air

September 1 and the air is crystal clear!

The temperature briefly hit 80F at my house but with the dry, clear air and a nice breeze, it had that feeling of Autumn or almost Autumn.

Tonight is a full moon and I read that it is called a Corn Moon. Usually September’s full moon is the Harvest Moon, but since the October 1 full moon is the closest full moon to the Autumnal Equinox … that moon is the Harvest moon and tonight’s is a Corn Moon.

Thus ends today’s trivia lesson :)

If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think on those things

Phillipians 4:8-9: (NIV) 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

A most favorite Bible verse…

Lovely, lovely rain this morning…

My dear boys.

Upside to the whole bug bite or hives or whatever … after my steam clean and purge of 20 plus year old pillows/shams/dried flower wall hanging … new stuff for my bedroom: same color scheme, but freshened up.

And the wall hanging is “metal art” so easy to bring down, dust/clean … vs the dried flower thing which had a tendency to look like something out of the Addam’s family (cobwebs, dust webs, etc.)

Happy day full of loveliness and peace :)

Friday Fun: baking and sun

This is actually Thursday morning … far less smoke and much clearer air. Today is even better!

And it is Friday!!

An early morning baking project. I have been making Romel Bruno’s (youtube link at the end) recipe for Sweet Potato Buns, for the past couple of months. The original recipe is a yeast recipe, but I adapted for my sourdough (natural leaven) starter and it has become my favorite of all time bun recipe as well as a brioche loaf.

Yesterday, I mixed the dough, let it puff a bit and then refrigerated overnight. Actually I mixed a double batch as my plan was for hamburger buns, hot dog buns AND a pesto-feta babka.

This morning: shape and bake!

So, the dough gets rolled like a sweet roll, then sliced lengthwise and kind of braided to make the babka.

Yikes! I missed taking a photo of the braid bit … oops, but above in the pan is the result … and in the white bowl are the bits for buns.

While things were doing their final rise, we went for our morning walk…

Lovely, lovely morning!

Back to the kitchen.

The babka and the buns :)

I call this a snacking bread … it is not really practical for a sandwich, but sliced for a nibble or sliced with some yummy tomatoes, a sprinkle of parmesan and a bit under the broiler …

Ultimately, it is both fun and delicious and a bit different.

As promised: Romel Bruno on YouTube. I’ve not only made the sweet potato buns, but also the fried chicken and the tarragon aioli. The recipes are in the description area of the video. Romel uses some unique spices and the result is a wonderful mix of flavors.