Okay. . . So Now I'm Hungry!

Thinking about today's Ten on Tuesday topic - Ten Favorite Sandwiches - makes me hungry!  Sandwiches are a staple in our house -- quick and tasty, but not terribly fancy or involved.

My favorites?

1. Tuna Salad - with just enough mayo, more than a dash of pepper, a sprinkling of lemon juice, and jalapeños.  (And preferably on rye bread.)
2. Grilled Cheese - with sharp cheddar just oozing out enough to brown a little bit and mayo instead of butter.  (And preferably on sourdough.)
3. Turkey and Swiss - with lettuce, fresh tomato, dijon mustard, and a bit of mayo.  (Sourdough, please.) (And a pickle on the side!)
4. BLT - with fresh tomatoes and crisp lettuce and perfectly-cooked bacon that explodes in your mouth.  (On toasted whole-grain bread.)
5. Reuben - make sure there's plenty of Russian dressing!  (On rye, natch.)
6. Tuna Melt - with perfect tuna salad and a slice of cheddar -- open faced and perfectly bubbling under the broiler.  (On an English muffin.)
7. Fried Egg on Toast - with plenty of salt and pepper, some Tabasco sauce, and a bit of mayo.  Make sure the yolk is still runny and oozing over the bread.  (Whole grain bread for this one.)
8. Hot Turkey - Tom's post-Thanksgiving specialty -- leftover turkey, heated in leftover gravy, served on toast (usually leftover whole-grain).  (I usually mix in leftover cranberry sauce, too.)
9. Peanut Butter and Cheese - (Yeah, I prefer peanut butter with savory flavors rather than sweet.)  A little bit of bacon with the peanut butter and cheese is even better!  (On any kind of bread, toasted.)
10. Peanut Butter and Mayonnaise - Hey!  Don't knock it 'til you've tried it!  My Dad introduced this one to me as a kid -- and it has always been my favorite go-to, quick sandwich.  I took a lot of grief from other (more traditional) kids in the cafeteria as a child, but I stuck with my PB&Mayo!  (Tom has never quite gotten past my eating this particular combo either . . .)  (On good, old white bread.  Of course. . .)

How about YOU?  What's your favorite sandwich? 

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R and R (and R)

Back from vacation.  

 Rested.

 Relaxed.

Ready . . . to face the rest of this "winter-spring" weather.  

(But not so ready for re-entry!)

Breaking Away

Tom and I are breaking away.  We're off to Belize.  Seeking sunshine and tropical breezes and the Carribean.  It's been such a long, cold winter -- and temperatures are due to dip again here in Michigan this coming week.  I can't wait to get out of this icebox.

This looks so . . . perfect!

See you next week!

Friday Mailbag

 

Dear Lone Little Crocus:

You are so brave.  Or maybe just an overachiever.  Also foolhardy.  You let the warm sun wake you up just a little bit earlier than the rest of your clan, and now, of course, it is quite cold again.  But thank you for shining your lovely little self in my garden.  And giving me hope for what is to come.

 

Dear Kathy-the-Physical-Therapist:

I'm sorry I cried in PT yesterday.  You must think I'm a total flake.  Let me explain myself.  At our first evaluation meeting, I was really kind of disappointed when you went on and on about my tendinitis problems being caused by the way I walk and the way I stand and the way I balance on one foot and the way my toes grip (or don't grip) quite right.  I mean, I've been dancing and balancing and walking and running all my life.  And pretty well, thankyouverymuch.  (Of course, not right now.  Because pain.)  But I decided to give your approach a try.  And yesterday, after doing the exercises you put me through on the balance-y ball ankle board, I started to think you might be on to something.  I could feel some muscles and tendons doing work that they hadn't done in a while.  And after those exercises, when you asked me to rise up on my toes on my bad foot (something I hadn't been able to do at all at the beginning of our session), I was a total skeptic.  But when I did it -- when I rose up on my toes without any pain (for the first time in 4 weeks) -- I cried.  Kathy, I am sold.  Bring it.

 

Dear Grammar Police:

Thank you for expanding your rather tight little universe of prepositions to include the much beloved because.  I have been a fan of the "prepositional-because" for a while now, so it's nice to know I won't be cited for linguistic misuse.  I love it when usage drives grammar, because evolution (baby).  (Although I will not give up the Oxford comma.)  (Because.)

 

Dear Fellow Members of a Dying Club:

If you keep doing things the way you've always done them, you'll keep getting the results you've always gotten.  And, lately?  Those results have not been good.  Just sayin.

 

Dear Blog Readers:

We had a wonderful time in Chicago, my Mom and I.  The Flower & Garden Show was . . . well . . . a breath of spring air!  (My Mom also had a make-over at Macy's, which was maybe more fun than the flower show.)  Anyway, you'll have to wait awhile to hear about it.  Because vacation.  (Tomorrow.)

Grand Adventure

I'm off to Chicago today for the Flower & Garden Show. . .

It'll be a grand adventure!

Pot of Gold

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! 

 

(Have you ever noticed how really creepy leprechaun images are????)  (Really. Creepy.)

Here at the Mulhern house, we take our St. Patrick's Day somewhat seriously.  We don't go overboard or anything -- but we generally wear green, eat corned beef and cabbage, and wash it down with Guinness.  Tom, who spent quite a lot of time in Ireland early in his pharmaceutical career, has an exceptionally good repertoire of Irish songs and ballads, and, as St. Patrick's Day nears, he is often called upon to "perform" (he is a Big Hit at parties and drinking sessions . . . just sayin').  As a special St. Patrick's Day treat, here is Tom . . . performing "Sick Note" . . . just for y'all!

  

And, with that, here's what I would do . . . should I ever find that elusive pot of gold:

1. Buy a round of Guinness for everyone!
2. Save a bit.
3. Give some away.
4. Travel.
5. Travel some more.
6. Upgrade my kitchen.
7. Build a little greenhouse.
8. And a clever potting shed.
9. Put a screened-in porch on the cottage.
10. Travel some more.

How about YOU?  What would you do . . . if you found the pot of gold?

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Springing Forward

Yeah.  I know that our clocks went springing forward last weekend.  But this weekend?  Everything else is springing forward!

After a few sustained days of temperatures over the freezing mark, much of the snow is melted (there are still plenty of big piles left . . . but I choose to focus my gaze on the exposed ground).

It's such a treat to drive with the sunroof open again!  Some People are able to get back outside for a run or a long walk with their dogs.  (Although Some People are not.*)

Garden Buddha is smiling and snow-free -- a sure sign that things are springing forward!

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*  Some people are sidelined with peroneal tendinosis.  Physical therapy begins tomorrow. 

 

 

Time Out

I had a busy day yesterday.  Lots of running around.  Lots of taking care of things.  Lots of crossing off on the to-do list.

I really didn't have time to stop in at the KIA to see an art exhibit.  
Even though I've heard it's phenomenal.  
And time is running out, because it will be leaving this weekend.  
I've wanted to see it; I've planned to go.  
But I haven't.  
Because no time.

So yesterday, in the midst of my running around, I decided to stop in.

Let's just say. . .

WOW.

The artist is SeungMo Park.  (You can see more of his work here.)  The exhibit at the KIA featured some of his wrapped wire sculptures.

And also some of his wall-sized "images of illusion" -- truly amazing and just breathtaking!

He creates these images from layers of stainless steel mesh!

My iPhone photos just can't do these works justice.  I wish you all could've seen the exhibit with me!

More. . . 

Another view of the mesh layers . . . 

Such an amazing exhibit . . .

 So glad I stopped on a busy day . . . for a time out.

 

 

A Bevy of Misfortune

When people ask me about my daughter, Erin, I usually describe her as unusually perceptive . . . with a unique worldview and a wicked sense of humor.  She's also an excellent writer with a quick wit.  And . . . she has a rather volatile temper.  (Ahem.)

 

(She also loves dogs.)

I used to worry about her on the road or when confronted with life's obstacles.  Because That Temper + her proclivity for retaliation + quick wit/loose tongue = Trouble.

And there were . . . incidents.

But, as she's grown up, she has calmed a bit.  She no longer wishes complete evil on those who irritate her.  She's discovered her own strategy for keeping her emotions in check and her temper under control.  

Now, instead of blurting out some well-timed, cutting remark (usually outloud, I may add), she wishes people a "bevy of misfortune" instead (and, thankfully -- in writing).

Now, when Erin encounters "an idiot" in her day-to-day life, she holds her tongue . . . and silently types out a note like this one on her phone:

"And I hope that today his afternoon coffee gets cold too quickly, that he drops his keys in a snow bank and finds them but only after snow has gotten in his glove, has a bad commute, burns his dinner just a little, is unable to take a nightly crap because he is constipated, and falls asleep before he finishes doing everything he needs to do."

A bevy of misfortune, indeed!

She has learned (the hard way, of course) that it's not always in your best interest to comment publicly when issues are controversial.  What to do?  Wish them a bevy of misfortune . . . on your own timeline, of course!

 

I am completely taken with her concept of wishing those who annoy . . . a bevy of misfortune!

So.  Here goes.

To the woman who was rude to the cashier at the grocery store on Monday . . . May your plastic hangers all have rough spots that snag your favorite clothes, may your windshield wiper leave a streak just in your field of vision, and may you run out of toilet paper just when you need it most.

 

Spring Forward

 

I've never really understood the point of Daylight Savings Time.  I mean, I know the history and theory behind it, but I just don't . . . get it.  Because we have an extra hour of daylight in the evening, sure.  (And that's nice.)  But it's only because we stole it from the morning.  (And that's helpful how?)

Anyway.  I'll adjust in no time at all!

Now that we have that "extra" hour of daylight (not really) (because we just stole it from the morning), Carole asks us what we're going to do with it.  (Which, of course, is complicated by the fact that there is still a whole lot of snow out there.)  (But it's melting fast this week.)  

Here's what I'll be doing with my "extra" daylight:

1. Driving Tom crazy with my exclamations like, "I can't believe it's already 7:00!  It's so light out!"
2. Countered, of course, with my early morning exclamations like, "How can it be 6:30?  It's so dark!"
3. Thinking about using the grill again for dinner plans.  (Once the patio melts and the grill is accessible again.)
4. Noticing how awfully dirty my windows are after the winter.
5. Thinking about gardening.
6. Dreaming about gardening.
7. Planning my garden.
8. Seriously thinking about planting some greens and peas. (As soon as the patio melts enough that I can place some pots out there.)
9. Enjoying expanded options for walking the dogs.  (Because I never walk them early in the day.)
10. Feeling energized!  Because whatever you think of Daylight Savings Time, it is certainly energizing to have more daylight at the end of the day!

How about YOU?  What are you doing with "more daylight"?

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