Choice Morsels

 I was going to do a Mama Kat prompt today, but I'm not up to it--- sooo tired. I'm sleeping, but get up everyday still tired. It's stress from being in this state of disorder with this floor installation. They arrived late this morning due to having to a first stop for a "quick" repair that didn't turn out that quick. Turns out that spot where the sewer pipe that been replaced back in the mid-nineties, well, that patch cement there wasn't quite 100% dry. Is that unbelievable or what? That's why the edges of it's sheet vinyl patch started coming peeling up. The floor guys had us run the heat at 70 all night to dry to it out. A bit warm for me, but it did the trick. Another thing---we were concerned about some of the wood trim getting a little beat up during removal, since it's supposed to go back on. One piece was snapped. Granted, it's 20 odd years old, but still---so, I talked with them about that this...

The Mama Kat Blog Prompt for today is : "Tell the story of trying to learn a new talent or hobby that you only pursued briefly." The duel between the Man in Black & Inigo Montoya from Princess Bride: among the best stage sword fighting scenes ever! Believe it or not, fencing was my brief hobby. A number of years ago, my husband and I participated in a 6-week beginners course I learned was being offered locally. There are several levels of competitive style sword fighting:   Foil ,  which is your basic dueling level with a light, straight sword. The target zone is only the upper torso and one wins with a striking thrust to this zone.   Then  Epee , which is still a thrusting combat, though the target zone is now the whole body.   And finally, there's Saber , which is a narrow, slightly curved blade with a rounded guard protecting the hand. Like, Epee, the target zone is anywhere. There are also different styles of stance, which vary...

      The Mama Kat Blog Prompt for today is: "A Valentine's Day you remember." The Unexpected Gift I've never been a big fan of Valentine's Day, but, in earlier years, my husband and I would, at least, exchange cards. One year we even gave each the exact same card and that was a laugh! Then I became a floral designer at a flower shop. Holy-moley! I quickly learned to detest Valentine's Day! For me it was 16 hours on my feet getting fingers torn up by rose thorns and being sworn at over the phone by customers who waited too late to call and couldn't understand why we didn't have another dozen roses available. Not to mention I think spending $80 bucks on something that's going to die in a few days completely ridiculous. After a few years at the flower shop, my husband was well acquainted with my utter disdain for fresh Valentine's flowers.  But wanting to do something special for me, he came up with a brilliant bit of creativity. N...

Welcome back! Any plans for Valentines? The Mama Kat prompt this week will be about how my husband made one Valentine's day uniquely special. The Gary Sinise & Lt. Dan Band this past Saturday was fantastic! A fun, family orientated free show that lasted 2 1/2 hours ! They do a lot of USO touring, though this wasn't USO sponsored. It was sponsored by the base and the GarySiniseFoundation.Org. The concert was outdoors. Fortunately, it was a gorgeous sunnyday, though the breeze was chilly. I missed the memo on being able to bring a blanket and the metal bleacher seats, since they'd been out all night, were freezing cold! Mr. Sinese is a great speaker and shared how he got involved with  supporting military veterans, which he's being do for 20 years .  His memory of the rejection Vietnam vets experienced post-war in the 70's is what motivates him to make sure that never happens again. I remember that, too. I joined the Air Force right after high school in 19...

  So, we have a floor installation date for the end of February. (Pic on left is the tile color we've picked, though it's sooo much prettier in person. Picture does not do it justice.  This is 4 squares, grouted.)     Certainly the quickest installation date I've ever set up for anything floor related. We re-carpeted the bedrooms several years ago and had new vinyl applied in our master bath and it took 6 weeks just to come in. So, this is fast.   Everything I was afraid might happen never did: *I was afraid the sales person would try to up-scale us into a pricer floor, like ceramic. Didn't happen. He just went with what we were interested in. *I was afraid we'd be told we'd have to be responsible for removing the old vinyl ourselves. (I've heard that before.)  Nope, they take it up as part of the installation.    (Sigh of relief, because the other thing wasn't gonna happen.)   *I was afraid of a long wa...

  The question inquiring minds want to know from Mama Kat today is: "If you were on a job interview and the interviewer asked you what color best described your personality, what would you say? (inspired by blogger  Jamie Miles )   As a knee-jerk response, I might be tempted to say,"green." It's my favorite color. Though, I don't mean Irish green when I say that. I mean olive green. But does that really represent my personality? On deeper reflection, I say " no."   So what color does reflect my personality ? Years ago, a friend remarked to me that I was "flamboyant." Now flamboyant means "dashingly colorful or strikingly showy."  It fills my mind with fiesta images, swirling orange and yellow skirts and brightly colored pinatas. It sounds exuberant and fun.  I do wear the strong teals and purples of my autumn palette all the time, plus coordinated necklaces, showy earrings and scarves. I guess I stand out like ...

Welcome to the first full week of February! Did you watch the Super Bowl? Did you like the commercials? I can think of a couple I never want to see again. Our singles put on a Super Bowl gathering up at the Lighthouse Airman Center on base, so I go with my husband to that, though I don't understand the intricacies of football all that well. I can tell  which way the balls going and who's winning, but that's about it. Today's Good Eating Topic is a great comfort food: Jambalaya! I got the recipe from allrecipes.com, doubled the quantities, served it last Sunday with cornbread and got rave reviews! It's called "Easy Cajun Jambalaya" and you can get the recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-cajun-jambalaya/detail.aspx It just uses chicken & sausage. It calls for red pepper for heat, but I think a small diced jalapeno, seeds removed, would make a good replacement. For cornbread, I just buy a ready-made mix. I prefer Jiff...