Category House and Home

Eat your veggies!

Michael Leave a comment

Supermarkets are a great place to get your dinner. Duh. No Kidding? Isn’t that what they are for? Well yes, you can get all the bits and pieces you need to make a dinner. Yes, they have your meats or non-meats as you prefer, bins and bins full of fresh produce, rices, pastas, salad fixings, and desserts both ready to eat and in pieces waiting for you to create them. But today’s mega-marts also have their own salad bars, hot foods lines, and prepared dishes. Sort of semi-healthy fast food alternatives.

My most often visited market has taken to packaging some of their more common selections into grab-and-go choices sized for one. They have each package, in fact the entire section, labeled “Meals For One.” It’s nice and handy and it saves the single shopper like me the embarrassment of asking the attendant at the prepared food counter for the ridiculously small portions only one requires. I can’t tell you the number of over-the-glasses-glances I’ve received after asking for a quarter pound of orange chicken and one egg roll. It’s nice to be able to take refuge at my own cooler of prepackaged loser portions – err, solo selections.

But they still don’t have a good handle on how much, or more appropriately how little only one eats at one meal. It’s not often that I’ll want to eat one pound of rigatoni in meat sauce at one sitting. Nor do they yet have a grasp of what makes a meal. At my last visit to the market I noted packages of the aforementioned rigatoni along with chicken marsala, stuffed shells, baby back ribs, chicken wings, and General Tso chicken with a choice of rice or lo mein. Except for the inscrutable general, none of them included anything other than the protein. No veggies, indeed no sides anywhere in site. Your mother would not approve.

They mean well. They just have to temper their desire to sell, sell, sell with the single consumer’s wish to save, save, save. Still, I grabbed a packaged chicken marsala knowing I could augment it with pasta and a nice salad after I got home.  That’s when I saw it. Proudly labeled Meals For One there was a pound of fried mozzarella sticks. With marinara. Back in went the chicken and into my cart when the cheese sticks. Hey, it’s not my place to argue with professionals about what makes a meal. And a tomato is a vegetable. Our government said so.

That’s what I think. Really. How ‘bout you?

Going to Town

Michael Leave a comment

Last week I had to go into town. Going to town around here isn’t quite the event as for someone from Queens going into Manhattan. But it’s close.

When I just a youngster, back in a different century, I grew up about 20 miles from town. Then going into town was indeed an event. Actually we had to differentiate our in-town trips. If we went “downtown” that was to the business district of our suburban hamlet. That was easy. Every piled into Dad’s car and in 10 or 15 minutes we made the one mile excursion from home to shopping, a rare dinner out, or to the Saturday matinee.. If you weren’t in a hurry a bus could get you there in about a half an hour. But going “to town” – that was something else.

We went “to town” once or twice a year and it required serious planning. Did we drive in or take the train? And when we said train we meant train. This wasn’t some glorified subway extension or light rail system. This was a big one with names like Baltimore and Ohio, Wabash, or the Pennsylvania Rail Road. Our line was the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Rail Road. (Even though the P&LE began business in 1875 it didn’t actually make it all the way to Lake Erie until sometime in the 1970s. You got to love their spunk back then!)  If we drove it would only be after the car had a serious going over. Tires, oil, and water checked and double checked. There was a bus that made the trip but that was a true adventure. If you didn’t mind a little walking you could make it to town with only one transfer. I don’t think I did the trip by bus until I was in college and then would make a weekly commute from dorm to home with real food, a television set (although black and white) and a washing machine. And the 2 hours gave me some study time.

Last week’s trip was an easy one. Now I’m only a half dozen miles out of the center of the city and even budgeting for rush hour and parking it’s a quick 15 minute commute that I made twice daily for almost thirty years.

Since I stopped work I haven’t been to town other than once or twice a year just like from back in my youth. All those years later there are still diners and restaurants, bakeries and pastry shops, meat markets and delis that don’t have anything to do with national brands. You can still buy artisan products from meats and cheeses to fixtures and furniture from real artisans that you can watch being artisanal. There’s even a classic haberdasher.

Yes, it can still be quite the event. Only now when I get home I have to do my own laundry.

That’s what I think. Really. How ‘bout you?

Milk and Bread and Toilet Paper – Oh My

Michael Leave a comment

A week ago I was writing about a restaurant with a sign up that said “Patio Open.” This week, that patio is covered with snow. There are times I truly hate February. But I have my milk, bread, and toilet paper so I know I’m set for the rest of the month.

I’m sure there are super-markets across the country, no, across the world that are overrun with mad shoppers a flake short of looters hoarding all the milk, bread, and toilet paper at the first hint of a storm. But here we can actually walk that particular cat back to a real crisis – sort of.

It was in 1950, the day after Thanksgiving. The forecast was dire, 12 inches of snow over the next 24 hours. The weathermen (remember, 1950, no weatherwomen then) were wrong. Over three feet fell over those 24 hours. Over the next few days the locals dealt with it. The snow came, emergency services served, and people existed on their Thanksgiving leftovers.

The weekend came and went and so did the leftovers. Probably because of those leftovers, the city grocers had fairly well stocked shelves come Monday. So well stocked they were that one of the local papers headlined how well things were going with “City’s Food Supply Is in Good Shape.” The story was slugged “There Is Plenty for Everybody…” That was a relief, but rather short-lived. The article’s second sentence began, “Milk was the one shortage that has hit all sections…”  The sentences that followed noted specific abundances, praised workers who showed up, and in general commented positively on how there is still plenty of food for everybody. Except for that milk thing. Oh, and bread which had been “doled out in some stores.” Remember, 1950. World War II rationing wasn’t that long ago. “Doled out” did not conjure up images of “plenty for everybody.”

Then to make matters worse the story continued that heads of families should buy “only what you need on a day-to-day schedule in order to have enough of everything to go around.” That doesn’t sound like “plenty for everybody” at all. No sir, not at all.  No milk, no bread and here are families who just spent a weekend of every meal that included leftover turkey gravy. And those were some big families (remember, 1950, baby boomers). If they needed enough of anything to go around it was going to be toilet paper. And it was going to be soon!

Ever since then, no matter what the forecast, if there was any snow in it then as God as our witness we will NEVER run out of milk, bread, or toilet paper! And that’s why today when I stopped in the bakery for a loaf of bread all that was left were a few mini-Italians and a couple donuts. The little cooler had no milk and they don’t even sell toilet paper. And yes, yesterday’s forecast called for 1 to 3 inches by tomorrow.

Fortunately I really don’t drink much milk. I myself am a mini-Italian so I was quite satisfied with the available bread. Since the inception of places like Sam’s and Cosco I can open my own toilet paper franchise.

The donuts? They were a plus. I figure you can never have too much of anything with sprinkles, and if I didn’t buy them somebody else would.

I can hardly wait for the next snowfall.

That’s what I think. Really. How ‘bout you?

 

 

They’re At It Again

Michael Leave a comment

About a year ago I posted a post where I posited that we all could make a nice piece of change by buying car insurance (see “Buy, Save, Repeat,” Jan, 15, 2015). There’s another opportunity out there just waiting to be taken advantage of – cell phone service.

Yesterday’s haul of junk mail included six (6!) offers of fabulous savings just waiting to be doled out in exchange for trading in my current cell service. Offers included a flat rate offer of $20/month and another of $30/month, one with a free phone and one with two free phones, one with a new phone, one with savings of up to 60% off, and one for half of whatever I might be paying now.

I did a little figuring and if I trade in my phone for the new service with 2 new phones then switch to the $20/month plan for each of those then take 60% off and finally move on to the half of what I would then currently be paying I could get service for $6/month and end up with an extra phone that I could sell.

Makes you wonder how these guys stay in business.

That’s what I think. Really. How ‘bout you?

 

Cockle Warming Time!

Michael Leave a comment

There’s so much that today’s post could talk about – Winter Storm Jonas coverage is wrapping up, the Super Bowl stage is set, the NHL All Star Game is just a week away, we are approaching the RRSB’s 400th post, how to celebrate National Opposite Day –  but what we will talk about is something really important. Today is National Irish Coffee Day. (Those of you in other nations, feel free to consider yourselves one of us today.)

So, everybody, put down that morning coffee you have going and let’s re-start the day and do it up right. Brew up some good strong coffee and pour about six ounces into a warmed mug, add an ounce and half of Irish Whiskey and teaspoon of brown sugar, then float about an ounce of heavy cream on top. You have now made the classic Irish Coffee.

The origin of this cockle warmer is not quite so distinct as the main ingredient. Most barkeeps attribute it to Joseph Sheridan, an Irish restauranteur who “whipped up” a collar of whipped cream to top a hot coffee/whiskey combination for weary travelers arriving on a wet, cold, dreary night at his Limerick establishment. The story goes that someone asked if they were drinking Brazilian coffee to which Sheridan replied, “No, it’s Irish coffee.”

Now all that happened in 1942 but recipes for the drink have been traced to Irish High King Brian Boru who ruled from 997 to 1014.Since most people agree that coffee was not “discovered” until the 11th century and didn’t reach Europe until the 15th or 16th century, Brian might have had less to do with Irish coffee than some give him credit for.

In addition to Irish whiskey, people have been adding all sorts of adult beverages to coffee including Scotch whisky, rum, vodka, gin, tequila, and various liqueurs. There are variations of Martinis, Cosmopolitans, and Margaritas starring espresso and other bold coffee blends. Then there’s my personal favorite – Kentucky Coffee made with dark roast coffee, bourbon, and a splash of honey.

However you take your coffee, take it today with a healthy dose of whatever you have measured in “proof” and raise your mug to Misters Sheridan and Folger. Long may they weave!

That’s what I think. Really. How ‘bout you?

Water, Water Everywhere

Michael Leave a comment

I like to keep a bottle of water on my nightstand. Actually I’d like to keep a bottle of wine or fifth of bourbon but I used up my alcohol life allotment about 15 years ago and I’m trying to cut down. So I keep water there instead. I’d keep a glass of water on the nightstand but I know I’d knock the thing over more than I’d drink from it so that’s not a good option for me.

This water bottle doesn’t have to be filled with bottled water. I’m just as happy with tap water and I’ll do the unthinkable and re-use a bottled water bottle for a week or so. Thus a six pack of fresh mountain spring water might last me a couple of months. Now I don’t do this because I think it’s foolish to pay good money for water when you can get it free out of the tap. For one reason that water coming from the tap isn’t free.  But the biggest reason why I do this is because I’m basically lazy. I don’t want to add “water” on my weekly shopping list. It’s bulky, it’s heavy, and I have limited storage space.

Last week I did have “water” on my shopping list. I don’t care much what type of water I get; I’m more concerned with how sturdy the bottle is. Thus I have no brand loyalty when it comes to bottled water. And thus I found myself in the water aisle and suddenly realized how much water there is there. I suppose I always knew but this day was the day it finally hit me – there’s a lot of freaking water out there. I walked it off. I paced along 36 feet of shelving devoted to water. Each section held 6 shelves for over 200 linear feet of crystal clear, mountain spring, or factory generated, bottled water. And that’s just the plain water. My shopping list specified only “water” so I hadn’t included the vitamin water, sparkling water, soda water, flavored water, mineral water, or seltzer. Just water. Wow.

Someday I have to meet whoever first came up with a marketing plan for bottled water. That person is very good!

That’s what I think. Really. How ‘bout you?

On the Tenth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me – Ten items or less, cash only.

Michael 2 Comments

Four days into the New Year. Now would be a good time to get back to normal. If you’ve been reading for a while you know that I am still in the midst of the holiday season. I won’t de-holiday until the Feast of the Epiphany, counting through all of the proverbial twelve days and marking the presentation of gifts by the Wise Men. It’s a quaint custom observed by few.

But some customs I’ll be glad to see go and the sooner the better. I would give a present a day for each of those aforementioned twelve to not have to spend 45 minutes in the checkout line at the grocery store. I can see the specialty shops being busier than normal during the holidays but for the life of me I don’t understand how an everyday, ordinary supermarket turns into Mecca between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Where do all the people come from, why are they concentrating so intently at the produce as if they are perusing the masterpieces at the Louvre, and please tell me where do these people shop the rest of the year?

You can’t say they are there more because they need more during the holidays. That argument only works if you can say that someone who normally buys 1 pound of coffee but because there will be guests now needs 3 pounds of coffee that the someone will make three trips in to buy three one-pound containers of coffee.  You can’t say it’s because they are buying more and different things to eat over the holidays. They aren’t; they are substituting. Instead of buying a pack of chicken breast they are buying a whole turkey. Instead of stew meat they are reaching for a standing rib roast. Whether the green beans end up sautéed with onions and mushrooms or baked into a casserole with fried onions on top they are still just a pound of green beans.

Yes, I’ll be glad to see my store return to its pre-holiday emptiness with the only waiting done at checkout is for the cashier to ask how things are going this week.

That’s what I think. Really. How ‘bout you?

Customer Disservice

Michael Leave a comment

Last night, actually early (VERY early) this morning, I was watching a blank TV screen in bed. It was the best thing I could get. When the screen wasn’t blank I had a message from the cable company that read “Something has gone wrong. Please unplug your box for ten seconds then plug it back in. When the signal returns, you can begin watching your show again.” Now that’s a polite message for a cable company. It was also a big fat lie.

About a month ago I had a semi-similar problem. I had to upgrade the type of set top box I had been using so I had them ship me a replacement for a self-install. Even after carefully following the directions I couldn’t get the thing to work. A call to the support center revealed that they couldn‘t get the thing to work either. But not for trying. I was on the phone with them for about 35 minutes while the technician sent a variety of reset signals, check error codes and ping-backs, and generally did what she could to correct my problem from a distance. It didn’t happen. After apologizing for her inability to get the box working and for making me wait so long, she arranged for a technician to come out the next day and replace the box with a new one. I was also issued a credit for being inconvenienced by the lack of service for a day.

Last night’s technician could have used some guidance from the previous encounter. After confirming my name, phone, address, social security number, mother’s maiden name, length of great toe on my left foot, and the winner of the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay of 1962 (To Kill a Mockingbird) she began her diagnostic check. First she told me to unplug my set top box for 10 seconds then plug it back in. As we waited for it to reset she told me that when the signal returns I could continue to watch my show. (Yes, I thought it sounded familiar also.)  Eventually the screen replayed the same message. “Well,” she said, “I’m stumped. Let’s set up a service appointment for you. Our next opening is next January 6 at 4:30.” Yes, that January 6. Sheesh. “Thank you for calling.”

Within minutes I received an e-mail confirming the appointment and noting that I will be charged a $50 service fee my next bill. I will be calling customer service later this morning.

Sheesh. Again.

That’s what I think. Really. How ‘bout you?

‘Twas the Day Before Christmas

Michael Leave a comment

It’s here, Christmas Eve. Why is it that to kids Christmas seems to take forever to get here but to adults Christmas is here before we know it? For both groups, Christmas is pretty much on the horizon.

There’s actually a third group. It seems the older I get, Christmas is getting to taking longer to get here again. Years ago there was a whole house to decorate, a tree in every room (yes, even THAT one), lights across the roofline, in the trees and stretched along the drive, wreaths in every window and a big one on the front of the house, toys to assemble, and gifts to wrap. And then there was the cooking and baking. No wonder Christmas was so soon upon me.

Then, little by little, light by light, cookie by cookie, things started to quiet down. Without recounting every step along the way, I’ve made it to this Christmas with three trees, two wreaths, and a partridge in a pea……..um, and one table centerpiece. (I still have all 34 nativities out but that’s the cross that I bear.) There are only a handful of presents to wrap and none of them require assembly. Baking cookies is now in my daughter‘s domain. Thus I am left with more time to enjoy Christmas movies and music, to actually see the lights out on the horizon, and to just plain anticipate the big event.

And that event is pretty special.

That’s what I think. Really. How ‘bout you?

 

It’s ____ (8 letters)

Michael 1 Comment

It’s the first day of winter, the first of summer for those of you south of the Equator. That makes it the shortest day of the year, or the longest again for those in the southern hemisphere. And that’s good news! The days are going to get longer and back to consistently warm and pleasant. Or bad news and the days will be getter shorter and colder. It’s like a tale of two cities, or worlds. And it’s all very puzzling.

And that reminds me…today is also International Crossword Puzzle Day! (How’s that for a cheesy segue?)  (Sometimes you really do get what you pay for.)

Crossword Puzzle Day, December 21, the 102nd anniversary of the first publication of what would soon become a worldwide fascination with filling in little squares on a rectangular grid based on sometimes obvious, sometimes cryptic clues in the morning paper over morning coffee sometimes wishing it was something much stronger in that cup.

Crossword puzzles are pretty universal. Everybody knows of them, almost everybody has completed at least one of them, and a whole lot of somebodies work at one or more of them just about every day. Crossword puzzles sharpen the mind, improve vocabulary, and provide bragging rights for the nerdier ones of us out here.

I had done a puzzle or two here or there usually to relieve boredom perhaps on a flight when I had forgotten a book and was tired of paging through the in-flight catalog. Then I ended up in the hospital.  When I got to the point that I was looking forward to watching The Price is Right I knew that I was in deep doodoo. That’s when my daughter downloaded a crossword puzzle app for my tablet. Since then I have acrossed and downed my way back to mental health.

I still do a puzzle a day and my mind is sharp, my vocabulary adequate, and I’m just as nerdy as always and darned proud of it. Even if I don’t know the value of today’s shopper’s showcase.

That’s what I think. Really. How ‘bout you?

Want to work on that first crossword puzzle. To see it and read a history of crossword puzzles click here to read Tiffany Crawford’s article on the 100th Anniversary of the Crossword Puzzle in 2013 in the Vancouver Sun.
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/This+History+December+1913/9311790/story.html