My heart aches for hundreds of thousands of people this morning. The devastation of Hurricane Sandy is wide spread along the eastern seaboard of the US.
As you go about your daily life today offer up a prayer.
Many have lost everything in this storm, including a much loved member of their family.
There will be many with no home to return to. Once the storm is over they will find a ruin which once was a place of safety, comfort, and family.
I know the feelings and emotions they will have. The overwhelming feeling of loss and briefly feel their life is over. Tornadoes in Oklahoma are my experience.
Thousands will be without electricity. Those whose homes were spared. The daily comforts will be gone. A warm house, a hot shower, worry over food in their refrigerators and freezers, no coffee or tea. Stumbling around in a darkened familiar house that has become foreign to them.
Hospitals and nursing homes will have an influx of patients as they take in those from facilities flooded or where generators have failed.
Family members will squabble with each other as each of them come to terms with what they face.
There are many who live safely away from the devastation but are now faced with being jobless or just unable to get to work because much of the public transit has been shut down.
Raise a prayer of hope and comfort to all who are dealing with fear and hopelessness today.
Contact your local Salvation Army and ask how you can help. Gently used clothing, coats, shoes. Kitchen goods, i.e. pots and pans, dishes, cups, drinking glasses, tableware, and cooking utensils. You will be given a general list of things you can donate.
I must confess about a bit of selfishness. When I heard the news of the force heading to the east coast my thoughts went to my crafting friends and suppliers of goodies. I prayed each would be unscathed and remain whole so I could watch tutorial videos on YouTube they create or hunt their websites for my next “Must Have” item.
So with my heart heavy and my head hanging in a bit of shame I offer a prayer to all whose lives are now shaken and turned upside down.
Just picture in your mind these blocks of wood flying through the air and coming right at you.
Joe and I left home, this morning, around 8:30. The cooler temperatures and seasonal changes have a bearing on my bladder. The first week, or two, of autumn seem to be the time my body sheds water frequently.
About noon I told Joe I needed to find a rest area, again. This would be the third time in nearly as many hours. We were passing mile marker 83 on I-40, heading west on our way to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Joe called back on the radio asking if I could wait until the 11. Is he crazy?! I couldn’t wait 72 miles!
Just as I told him I couldn’t wait that long I saw a big truck, going east across the highway, shudder and throw up dirt. Then huge chunks of wood were flying through the air in projectiles. These chunks of wood nearly bombed cars in the left lane passing me. The wood bounced off the pavement and splintered into wooden shrapnel everywhere.
It was then I realized the truck had hit the guardrail on his side then move back into the driving lane.
Joe, driving in front of me, was my concern. I asked if he were alright. “What the hell just happened?” he asked as he pulled off the road and onto the shoulder of the highway. I followed him off the road.
Following is a photo of the guardrail the guy hit. I was told to go chase the guy down. Fat chance of that! I had to continue west for 9 miles before the next available exit would allow me to legally turn around and head east. Then 9 miles back and then some. I did as I was asked.
Joe was on the phone with the Highway Patrol before I pulled away from the shoulder to get back on the highway then exit to return.
Once I took the exit, nine miles later, and was in hot pursuit of the errant truck driver I received a call from the Highway Patrol dispatch asking if I had caught up with the guy. Man, I’m good but I’m not that good.
Before the dispatch officer ended the call she informed me the officers had found the guy. Parked beside the road. All the outside tires of his truck and trailer flat and torn up. The guy told the officers he didn’t even know he had hit anything.
So here is the damage to Joe’s truck from flying pieces of wood.
Thank God the wood pieces hit the big truck and not a car. That piece of wood would have gone through a car windshield and hurt someone.
Joe had adrenaline jitters for a couple hours. The truck no longer has air conditioning, along with other damage, but it is still driving down the road.
You guys, be careful as you drive your roads. You never know what the other yahoos are about to do to you.
As for the other truck driver. All I’ve got to say is I’m glad I am not him. He will be spending some unplanned time with the other inmates of the jail in Weatherford, Oklahoma for “Fleeing the scene of an accident”. Plus he gets to explain the cost of 5 tires at $600 each ($3,000). As well as any other damage to his truck. He might not have a job to go to once he gets out of the clink. AND he lives far away in Florida. He’ll have to figure out how to get home.
Man, sometimes the consequences of not paying attention to your driving get costly.
Signing off with one of Joe’s old CB radio phrases. “Be well and do good things”.
This trip is reminiscent of the days when I first started doing Drive-Away. Moving trucks from one dealership to another.
We are moving 2011 Freightliners from Knoxville, Tennessee to Las Vegas, Nevada. From one Freightliner dealership to another.
We haven’t had a run like this in a long time. Most of our trips over the past few years have been to ports or to auction lots.
We are back to four trucks, once again, since Joe’s hospital stay for his Pulmonary Embolism in August.
He was feeling pretty strong the last couple weeks and decided to put my boom back on the trailer. Will this hard headed German give himself time to fully heal? What? Surely I’ve lost my mind.
We hooked up yesterday and he was weak, rung out, and slower than normal by the time we finished. The one extra truck and messing with my boom was almost more than he could handle.
The day was nearly over at 3:30 in the afternoon when we finally completed the 5 hours of working to hook up. It didn’t help that a lot of the time was spent waiting for new batteries to be installed in my back truck and the daytime temperature was still on the hot side.
We drove about 130 miles before Joe said he had enough for one day.
It was on the chilly side when we left Lebanon, Tennessee this morning. Not long after we encountered a fall rain.
There is a hurricane off the east coast that was reaching ever westward.
By the time we reached West Memphis, Arkansas the rain had become a mist with some really cold winds that chilled us uncomfortably when we stopped at a Wal-Mart for vitamins and batteries. Standing near our trucks it looked as though the misty rain was changing to flakes.
We have nearly 2,000 miles to travel over the next few days.
It is time to dig out the long pants. Albuquerque, New Mexico and Flagstaff, Arizona are going to be really cold. Winter’s cold fingers are reaching out and will soon have a grip on us. Until then it will be business as usual.
Hope you enjoy the upcoming weekend. Get your warm sunlight hours in before they are gone until next year.
Today’s post is about Nitrogen Refrigerated Liquid.
What, exactly, is Nitrogen Refrigerated Liquid you might ask?
When it is in the “Free State” it is 75%, more or less, of the air we breathe.
When it is in “Liquid State” it is about -278 degrees Celsius.
What is this scary Nitrogen stuff used in?
It is used in the welding process of steel, plastics, and other exotic materials. It is also used to make micro chips. It’s best known use, by you, is probably when the doctor “burns” off a wart. The nurse brings a thermos jug, of sorts, into your examination room and the doctor carefully removes the lid. A long wooden stick Q-Tip is inserted into the flask by the doctor. When withdrawn the stick is smoking. He then presses the tip on your wart. Your reaction is to immediately say “Wow, that burns”!
What the process actually is is freezing the non standard tissue, I.e. your wart, and probably some of the good tissue around the bad area. The good tissue will regenerate and voila the bad tissue is gone.
The reason for the wooden Q-Tip is the -278 degree Celsius temperature of the liquid will damage the “elasticity” of other materials to the point they instantly fracture when stressed.
Do you remember when Mr. Wizard bounced a rubber ball on the floor and then, with his heavily gloved hand, carefully slid the ball into the bowl of this steaming liquid? He used tongs to remove the ball after the boiling around it had ceased. Then he dropped the ball on the floor. The result was the ball shattering into a gazillion pieces.
Nitrogen Refrigerated Liquid has many uses. One other medical use is in microscopic examination of tissue samples. Biopsies for example.
The lump, bump, growth, mole, or other questionable piece of you that needs in depth examination will be sent to a lab where the sample can be immersed in the liquid and then pieces will be shaved for microscopic examination.
There are probably tons of uses for this liquid gas but Joe and I can’t come up with more.
Strict safety measures are demanded in the transport of this product.
Orange cones are placed at the front and rear of the parked vehicle.
The cones are to alert others driving near the tanker of the possible dangers involved in an accident.
Wheel Chocks are placed between the rear axles of the truck to stop it from rolling away while unattended.
I have posted about the “Day Cabs” we have driven. This is one of the trucking industries uses for day cabs.
Now that wasn’t a bad lesson in trucking today, was it? 😀
Holy Cow! As if Zombies and horror movies are not enough for the general population of the United States television and movie viewers.
The ultimate in horror shows, in my opinion, is Hoarders on the A&E network.
While home this week recuperating from that nasty cold/flu bug, and catching up on my blog reading I have read several posts where the author(s) claim to have sat through a marathon of the Reality TV show Hoarders. Curiosity got the better of me. I had to watch one.
People! Seriously? You watch hour after hour of this horror show?
I sat through just one hour. It was the longest hour I’ve spent in my life! I was a raging *itch for hours after. My heart was pounding fiercely, my brain had images of the nasty show flitting around in my head, my adrenaline was cranked on full throttle and I was just steps away from pitching everything in our home out the door.
Poor Joe! He was totally dumbfounded by my stomping around the house and grumbling. He had dinner cooking out on the grill and was going about his business quite happily. I would hear little snippets of “I finally get to do something for my wife”.
“Are you ready for dinner?” Joe innocently asked. In his food prep he left corn silks in the sink drain, cracked ground pepper crumbs on the counter, smears of butter on the counter and a bit on the toaster from the corn he prepared to cook on the grill.
I have to confess. I went off. I went bonkers. I was possessed by a demon. I snapped at him with some pretty harsh words over the mess he left for me to clean up.
Needless to say I will not be watching another episode of that show. A&E you can count me out as one of your viewers.
I know, I know. A&E wants the publicity in anyway they can get it. My rant here only increases the likelihood of sending someone running to the television to watch the show.
Do I watch Reality TV? Yes, indeed I do. Shows that have a value.
SyFy Network’s “Face Off“: This show is a contest for makeup artists. Each artist puts together a full costume and makeup each week for a chance to break into the movie industry.
Spike Network’s “Ink Masters“: This show is a contest for tattoo artists. Each artist has a “canvas” (person) to work on in each episode for a chance to become recognized as an INK MASTER.
I’ll stick with the Reality TV shows that actually have something to share instead of the crap like Hoarders.
Okay, RANT over.
Maybe I’ll see you on the highways in my travels. Stay safe and watch out for those looneys that finish their grooming in the rear view mirror as they drive. Also watch out for those that have to text or read the Tweets while they are driving.
I will not take credit for this recipe. This recipe was featured on a noon news program in Salt Lake City, Utah back in about 1994 or 1995. The noon cooking segment was titled “The Gabby Gourmet” and what follows is the very best soup that I have ever had, in my life.
As soon as the weather begins to cool off, even slightly, the first thing Joe says is “When are we having October Soup?” This can happen as early as September in some of the places we get to in our travels.
Joe is not a fan of squash. Zucchini in particular. He ABSOLUTELY HATES SQUASH. So this might give you a clue as to how good this soup is if he begs for it frequently 😀
I don’t care for soups with a tomato base. Tomato soups give me heartburn that won’t quit and I am miserable for hours. This soup DOES NOT bother my stomach.
This soup is chock full of big chunks of meat, vegetables, and yummy goodness. While it is in the final stage of cooking your house will smell like pizza 😀
There are a couple things I want to say first before getting into the recipe and the cooking instructions.
MEAT:
For this soup to be super tasty and have everyone in your family raving about it, even if you serve it to a large group of friends that will be clamoring for the recipe, the meat can not be substituted. Trust me. I know what I’m talking about.
I’ve tried bratwurst, smoked sausage, hamburger, and other cheap types of meat. This recipe FAILS badly.
ALCOHOL:
This recipe calls for 1-1/2 cup of a red cooking wine. You can use table wines instead. You can also use white table wine or cooking wine.
For those that have an allergic reaction to alcohol – leave it out. This recipe will not suffer if you do not include the wine. Increase the beef broth from 3-1/2 cups to 5 cups.
COST PER SERVING:
The cost of this recipe is around $12. The Italian Sausage is the most expensive part of the recipe. There are approximately 16 cups of this soup in a batch. One serving is 1-1/2 to 2 cups and the cost is a little more than $1 per serving.
This soup freezes well. After it cools we put about 4 cups in a FoodSaver bag then put it in the freezer. The Bow Tie Noodles – you will see that later in this post – don’t freeze well. They get mushy and kind of grainy so for Joe and I the noodles only go in when I reheat the soup.
I transfer about 4 cups of this soup, when first cooked, to a sauce pan and add the noodles to the sauce pan. Cooking further until the noodles are done. Later I freeze the remaining soup.
Now that the tool list is out of the way, it is time for the ingredients.
INGREDIENTS:
One package of Johnsonville HOT Italian Sausage cut into 1/2 inch pieces
One package of Johnsonville SWEET Italian Sausage cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 medium onions chopped
3 cloves of garlic chopped
3 – 14.5 ounce cans of Italian Stewed Tomatoes – tomatoes squeezed to break them into small pieces
3-1/2 cups of beef broth
1-1/2 cups of red cooking wine – NOTE:Â The wine substitution can be a red or white table wine instead of the cooking wine.
2 yellow squash cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 zucchini squash cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt (Kosher salt is okay)
2 Tablespoons of black pepper
1 Tablespoon of dried parsley flakes
2 Tablespoons of dried basil flakes
2 Tablespoons of dried oregano flakes
8 ounces of Bow Tie Noodles
Kraft Parmesian cheese sprinkled over the soup in the serving bowl
COOKING DIRECTIONS:
Italian sausage is, by far, the best meat for this soup. As I indicated up above I have tried different types of sausages and ground beef. The whole taste is altered and it is not very good. Unfortunately this is one of those recipes where the little bit more costly item is the best.
You will use all 10 of these links in this recipe.
My personal preference is to to remove the skin or the tubing from the sausage. Leaving it on or taking it off doesn’t change the taste of the dish, nor does it change the consistency of it. During the cooking stage I find the skin (gut) will stick to the bottom of my stock pot and tend to burn in spots. Removing the skin helps to keep the sausage from sticking.
One sausage at a time, cut it in half lengthwise then cut it in about 1/2 slices. You want these to be about “bite size”.
With your soup pot on the stove over a medium low heat, add the sausage to the pot. The medium low heat will allow the meat to cook and not stick to the bottom of the pan. There is no need to add any additional oil to the pot before cooking the meat.
Once all the meat is added to the pot, give it a good stir once in a while to keep it from sticking and burning. I had a little bit of a scorch going on while trying to photograph the steps to this recipe 😦 I had to enlist the aid of my fantastic husband to be the photographer 😀
While the meat is cooking it is time to prep the onions. Once the meat has nearly fully cooked you will add the onions and the garlic.
Just in case there are new cooks that come to this blog I have requested my “photographer” to do step by step photos. Those of you that are skilled you can skip down to the garlic bit.
2 Medium onions chopped.
Using a different cutting mat or board – or if you only own one cutting mat then give it a really good wash in hot soapy water and really good rinse in hot, hot water. You don’t want to use a cutting mat that has raw meat on it. Good way to make you and your family sick. Use a clean knife as well. If you don’t own two chef knives, then wash the one you used with the sausages really well in hot soapy water and rinse well with hot, hot water. I’m using a different knife. Wash your hands well with soap and water if you do have a different cutting mat and knife.
I can hear you all now. *eye rolls and a loud blow out of breath* “Yes, MOTHER”!
This is MY preferred method of chopping onions. Joe says my way is totally whacked and he has tried it but does NOT like it.
Cut off the leaf section of the onion. NOT the root end.
You will have a flat surface to cut the onion in half. (Joe cuts both the leaf end and root end off then peels the onion while still in the ball stage). I find it takes way to long to get the first peel layer off doing it this way. I usually end up with a really tough skin left on that ends up quite chewy in the dish.
Turn the onion over with the root end up. You will have a stable base to cut the onion in half.
Peel the onions and tear the skins off at the root.
Holding the onion between your finger, slice it from top to bottom. Holding the onion firmly while slicing will keep the whole thing together (most of the time) and will keep the slices from falling over.
Slice the onion down to the root. Make that your last cut and it can be thrown away then.
Turn the sliced onion so the slices are aligned left to right then cut through the slices to create your chopped onions. If I need to have “Small Diced” onions I put them in the food processor. Watching the cooking experts make lengthwise slices in the onion then cutting down through the top and over scares the fool out of me. I’m going to slice my hand open or stab myself in the belly.
3 Cloves of Garlic.
There are two ways to clean garlic. The long way and the short way.
The LONG WAY:
Cut both ends from the garlic clove. Top and root ends.
Peel away the outer skin of the garlic.
The way I do it is to whack the fool out of it using the flat side of my knife blade.
Lay the flat edge of your blade over the garlic clove. This is accomplished by using a large kitchen knife, one with the broader blade. No initial cutting of the stem or root end, leave the clove intact for this procedure.
Once the clove is fully covered by the knife blade and a small amount of pressure is applied to keep the clove from rocking and rolling on you, smack the blade fairly hard with the ball of your hand.
The peeling is totally dislodged from the garlic clove by this treatment. The clove is a bit smashed but that makes the chopping part easier to accomplish.
This method takes about 15 seconds to do, the first one takes about 5 minutes to peel the garlic. Next is chopping the garlic cloves.
First slice through the cloves to get them into more manageable pieces.
With your knife blade held firmly at the tip with the palm of your other hand you will be doing a rocking motion – up and down – with the blade cutting through the garlic.
Rock the knife blade up and down, moving right or left each time you raise the handle end of the blade to cut into the garlic. Work left to right in this manner until you have all the garlic chopped into ever smaller pieces.
I have created a video showing how to use a Garlic Press vs the Chef Knife. You will see how I chop garlic. Maybe it will help to clarify the photos above.
When the meat is nearly cooked through add your chopped onions and garlic to the pan.
Put the lid on your pot and leave the heat on medium low. Continue cooking the meat until the onions are translucent. For those that are new to cooking….”Translucent” means that you can sort of see through the onion pieces. They get kind of a glassy look instead of being totally white like they are in the photo above.
This is what “Translucent” looks like after the onions have fully cooked.
After the onions, garlic, and meat are fully cooked you will see the grease in the pan. The Gabby Gourmet recipe says to leave the grease in the pan. It flavors the soup. You can choose to drain the grease or leave it in.
At this point it is time to add the wet stuff. Italian stewed tomatoes, beef broth, and the wine (or additional broth if you will not be adding the wine). First 3 – 14.5 ounce cans of Italian Stewed Tomatoes.
Next will be 3-1/2 cups of beef broth. OR 5 cups of beef broth if you will NOT be adding the alcohol.
Finally, 1-1/2 cups of either table wine (white or red) or the same amount of a cooking wine (white or red).
Starting with the Italian Stewed Tomatoes. Joe wanted to make sure I showed his much prized kitchen tool 😀 It is a can opener that runs along the rim of the can. Cute little thing that latches on and buzzes around doing its intended job.
This gizmo is cordless and Joe has fun watching it move all by itself around the can 😀
If you like chunky pieces of tomato in your soup then skip the next steps. If, however, you don’t then follow these steps.
Holding your hand over the top of the can drain the fluid into the pot while stopping the tomato chunks from getting out.
Dump out a small amount of the tomatoes into your hand. You will be crushing them with your fist to break the tomatoes into smaller pieces.
Repeat this step with each can of tomatoes until you have all three emptied and the tomatoes crushed.
It will begin to look like soup 😀
Next is to add the beef broth. 3-1/2 cups of beef broth. Remember if you will be opting out of the next ingredient then this will be increased to 5 cups.
Also add 1-1/2 cups of wine. I, personally, don’t like wine. Red wine is stronger and bitter in this recipe (in my opinion) so I use white wine. Whatever you like, use it. Table wine or cooking wine, doesn’t make any difference.
Now you need to cook off the alcohol in the wine. Crank the heat up on your stove. You want this to come to a full rolling boil and continue boiling for 15 minutes.
For those new to cooking a “Rolling Boil” is when the liquid contents of the pot is boiling so quickly the bubbles are large and don’t pop. The contents of the pan seem to be rolling around in circles along with the bubbles.
A “Simmer” boil is when bubbles come to the surface of the liquid and pop. It is slow bubbling and popping. A “Rolling Boil” is really fast and furious and the bubbles don’t pop.
While the tomatoes, broth, and wine are cooking away and your kitchen smells heavy of alcohol it is time to tackle the squash.
Cut both ends off the squash, the stem end and the bottom end.
Next slice the squash in half down the length.
Say, where did Lynn go? Did anyone see? Oh, she ran gagging and muttering from the room you say?
My friend, Lynn, from the UK ABHORS squash. She calls them “courgettes” I think she has mentioned to me in several comments.
Well, she might return after while. She may have had to take a tipple to get the sight of squash out of her brain 😀
Now where was I? Oh, I remember.
Turn the squash over so the flat sides are on your cutting board. One at a time, cut the small end away from the body. You will be using this whole squash but cutting it into bite sized pieces. The neck part (the smaller and skinnier part) will make “shavings” if you do this step all at one time.
The next step will be to cut the squash into bite sized pieces. First start by cutting the squash lengthwise into strips.
Turn the squash strips on your cutting board because you will now be making the cuts that will turn the strips into chunks.
Do this to both of the yellow squashes. Cut them both into bite sized pieces.
If you wish to have a more, shall we say, oooh and aaah look about your chopped up squash you can use this little device. I have no idea what it is called but it can be purchased at any store that sells kitchen ware. It makes corrugated or ripply cuts to your vegetables.
Squash is firm but quite tender. This ripply tool cuts easily through squash. Use this in the same manner as I did with the chef knife.
The difference between the two cutting tools will be what you prefer. Oooooh, pretty or just plain.
You will do the same cuts to the Zucchini. First cut the stem and bottom ends off. Cut it in half lengthwise, then cut the squash into strips, then into chunks.
Set the chopped squash aside in a bowl.
Go check out the boiling pot to make sure it has not boiled dry. Give it a stir to make sure nothing has stuck to the bottom of the pan. The 15 minute cooking time is just about up.
When the timer goes off, turn the heat back down to medium low temperature.
Now add the chopped squash to the hot pot.
Give the pot a good stir to incorporate the squash well. Next will be the addition of the salt and pepper.
One TEAspoon of salt will be added to the soup.
One TABLEspoon of black pepper. I use coarse ground pepper and Kosher salt in my cooking.
Give this soup a good stir to incorporate the salt and pepper. Put the lid on the pot and set the timer for 15 minutes. Let this simmer to cook the squash.
When the timer goes off it is time to add the dried herbs. Your kitchen will smell like pizza in a little bit and the wine smell will vanish. You will be adding dried parsley flakes, dried basil flakes, and dried oregano flakes.
1 TABLEspoon of dried parsley flakes.
2 TABLEspoons of dried basil.
2 TABLEspoons of dried oregano.
Give your pot a stir to incorporate the herbs, set your timer for 10 minutes and put the lid on the pot to simmer in all the herbal goodness. Enjoy the smell wafting around your kitchen 😀
If you will be serving this soup to your family for dinner then the last thing to do is add the Bow Tie noodles after the timer goes off.
You will add 1/2 a package of the noodles, or about 8 ounces to the soup pot. Give the noodles a good stir in, put the lid on, and let this simmer for about 12 to 15 minutes.
I have taken some of the soup out of the big pot and put it into a sauce pan for Joe and I. As I said earlier, way up top in this post, cooked noodles don’t freeze well. If you will be freezing the soup and eating it in small batches then one or two handfuls of noodles is more than enough for 4 cups of the soup.
Once the noodles are done then it is time to dish up this hearty soup. Sprinkle the top of each serving bowl with a little Parmesian cheese and stir it around.
Hope you enjoy this soup. Lynn, maybe you won’t be enjoying this soup. The wine and dried herbs make the squash more palatable to those that don’t like squash.
This soup is really good at warming you up after spending time outside in the cold *now (I’m not saying the “S” word). It will fill your belly with scrumptuous goodness 😀
If you do give this recipe a try leave me a comment and let me know if you will be passing this recipe on to your friends and family.
Leslie
This cook would also like to thank the tireless endeavors of the photographer. Waiting patiently for the next step in the process, or while occupied with his own things being called over to assist me. Good job Honey Bunny :D, my readers appreciate all the hard work and deft skills you displayed in getting these amazing shots 😀
And filled your email boxes with responses. Please forgive me for crashing your inbox.
Over the past two weeks I have had the energy only to use my Four Square App to indicate where I was each day.
Having copious amounts of sinus drainage – deluge to be exact – accompanied by fits of coughing that sometimes brought stars in my vision and seemed to strangle the breath out of me was very difficult to deal with. Driving a truck while tending to these physical ails was down right frightening at times. Most especially when I coughed so much and could not breathe or when I had stars floating in my vision and a feeling of light headedness during a bout of coughing.
I lost my voice and my temper several times. Not wanting to talk to anyone, even Joe over our little radios, because that would bring on a coughing fit was not fun. Least of all for Joe. He was trying his best to let me know he was still with me even though he was in a separate truck and a quarter of a mile in front. I got really testy with him wanting to just jabber.
Being achy, feverish, filling my plastic shopping bags with used Kleenex, and trying to drink fluids other than coffee during the day all the while wishing I were in a bed somewhere sleeping off the cold didn’t help much. At night in the hotel rooms I kept Joe awake with my hacking and coughing then sitting up at the bedside gasping for air. All I wanted was to be home and left alone in my misery.
We arrived home Monday afternoon. A few errands had to be run before I could hole up at home. I am happy to say the snot factory has subsided. The coughing has quieted some. I still have some bouts throughout the day and into the night. I’m tired and feel really washed out. The light headedness has subsided as has the seeing stars when I cough. That was totally frightening. All I could imagine was telling the police officer and our dispatch office that I passed out from coughing and that was the cause of the accident. That was so terrifying to me and added to my testiness.
These are the blogs I read daily and try to leave comments on. Unfortunately, these are the blogs that I have inundated with comments in my endeavor to catch up on what has been going on with them.
Garden Pinks – My friend Lynn, from the UK, has been in the throes of Red Tape. She and her husband are selling their home and getting ready to “Keep, Toss, and Give Away” 37 years of living in a home they refurbished. Please go check out her other blog – Stanley Mount Cottage – to read about all the work they did to make a long neglected building into a home. You want an adventure, you’ll find one just reading her blog.
The Nickel Nook – My friend Nancy, from Canada, has a style of her own in crafting. I love seeing her work and reading how she gets her ideas. She is totally funny and has a writing style that is always upbeat. For anyone that wonders how to incorporate their religious beliefs into their crafting Nancy does it very well, and beautifully I might add. Nancy takes part in challenges, quite a number of them, which make me wonder if she ever goes to bed 😀
Tracy’s Treasures – My friend Tracy, from Canada, is a Copic Queen 😀 She makes the cutest cards and colors them up. She makes the most fantastic mini albums as well and I love reading her blog because she shows the creative side of her talents and gives snippets of her daily life as well. She makes me laugh. Mostly she makes me totally green with envy as I look at her cards and often say to myself “I want to be like her when I grow up”. That is a bit too late because I am far older than she is….but one can always hope 😀
The Pioneer Woman – This blog will take up your entire day….it does mine anyway. There is so much to learn at Ree’s blog. She is a wife of a cattle rancher, home schools her four children, cooks some good looking food AND now has a show of her own on the Food Network. Seriously, you have to check out her blog and see the diversity of her work. No paper crafting at her site but there is a lot of other stuff that is worth looking through. And her sense of humor keeps me coming back.
Crafting Glass – I love this blog mainly because Julia writes with a bent sense of humor that I find enjoyable. She writes about her struggle with her chronic illnesses and those in her family but she keeps on going and doing. Anyone that can watch several hours at a time of the horror show “Hoarders” and continue to be sane must have a strong constitution. Julia Christine always has some kind of inspirational bit in her blog entries. Either in her daily life or videos she shares.
Bucket List Publications – For such a young woman she has done things that this old broad is too fearful to do. She jumps out of airplanes, bungee jumps, rides in acrobatic airplanes, swims with sharks, and all kinds of things that I cringe at. However, she is getting into my head and maybe….just maybe…..one day I will get control of my fear of the ocean and go on a cruise with Joe. Maybe! If there is something you would like to do…do you have a Bucket List?….check out this website to see how it can come true.
Texanas Kitchen – If you want to nearly pee yourself laughing this is a blog to visit. The best part is there are recipes at the end of her blog post that make you (well me) want to get in the kitchen and start banging pots and pans around. I love the style of writing in this blog.
The Frugal Crafter – This blog is chock full of crafty goodness. All kinds of crafty goodness. Not just cards or scrapbook layouts but tons of stuff. I love reading this blog to see what she comes up with. There is usually a video that goes along with some of her crafting and she has some ingenious ideas. There are tools she comes across that I’ve never heard of before and she demonstrates how to use them.
Min Has Something To Say – When I first came upon this blog I was unsure of what the content was about. Let me tell you, this young woman is conquering a major daily battle and it is truly something to read. Mindy is on a weight loss campaign and she is nothing short of amazing. Starting out at over 600 pounds she has lost well over 200 pounds in a couple years and continues to push through every day. I must admit to feeling quite ashamed of myself for looking out the door of the hotel rooms in the mornings and grimacing at walking around the grounds for 30 minutes or so in my effort to lose about 70 pounds. This girl has a daily regimen she sticks to and I can barely stick to my piddly little 30 minutes.
What You Make It – My friend Jann, from Tennessee, always has some kind of inspiring project she shares. I love going to her blog to see what she has created. Her cards are beautiful and her videos are really fun to watch. Jann breaks down the techniques and the process of making her pieces into very easy to understand steps in her videos. I love her funny quips and sense of humor that come through as she works away. Want to know how to make a “Splat”? Just watch one of her videos and she will show you how to do it and you’ll laugh out loud and be totally ready to run to your craft stash and give it a try.
A Spot 2 Stamp – My friend Shelly, from Illinois, is a stay at home Mom and grandmother. She has a self titled “Soap Opera Life” that is chock full of real life happenings that most people evade talking about. Shelly’s blog is her way of reaching out to her friends in a conversational way to let us know she is still around and trying to find time to craft. Shelly and her husband, Brian, have children of their own that are grown and out of the house. They also have three young children at home that came into their lives as Foster Children as babies then later adopted by Shelly and Brian. These children have some special needs but to hear Shelly talk about her kids they are normal and the love of her life.
Belle Grove Plantation – This blog is about a couple who are turning a historical home into a Bed and Breakfast. There is history in this blog, and written in a way that makes history interesting instead of boring. Most of the players are from the Civil War Era and the lineage of who owned the house from the day it was built and occupied by the first residents to the current times sometimes reads like Genesis in the Bible with all the “begats”. This is an interesting blog and I like reading it because many of the businesses in Virginia I have driven past and the towns I know because of the highways we have traveled.
The Crippled Cricut – Tina has some really awesome layouts she has created. Her blog posts are very short but the photos of her completed work are so worth a look. Tina is going to kill me because I think I’ve just about blown up her computer catching up on all of her posts. Go take a look at her work. Not many people have left comments on her posts, which is a shame, but I’m hoping she will get other viewers of her blog.
Crafty Homemade – My friend, Indira, is from the Dominican Republic. In my opinion, Indira is the Cricut Diva! She makes the cutest cards using her Cricut machine. She doesn’t post often on her blog, I think she does more on Facebook, but her cards are totally worth a look. Indira makes me want to drag out my Cricut machine and figure out how to work it. I think you will enjoy the things she makes for her family and friends.
Okay, so now you know where I have been the last couple days. Catching up on my friend’s blogs and reading up on everything I have missed out on over the last few weeks and months. Each blog I love to read is written by someone that either has a wicked sense of humor that makes me laugh or they leave me inspired by their creativity. Mostly it is because of the things that each one is passionate about and they give me a glimpse into life outside of the highways I always seem to travel and the unending driving of trucks.
I’m tired, and feeling a bit feverish now. I think I will head back to bed. I did have some ideas of making some Christmas cards while I’m home for a few days but my body is about to throw me on the floor if I don’t give it time to heal properly. My sprained foot is letting me know it is not happy with me either. Joe tenderly wrapped it in an Ace Bandage so the shooting pains have subsided at the sprain and are now just a constant ache.
So “Ta-Ta” for now. Maybe tomorrow I will feel like getting into my craft room and making something. Until then I hope you all enjoy your day.
Sneezing and nose blowing registering in as gale force winds. Coughing, and hacking have lead to a shut down of all auxiliary components.
Primary functions, only, are in use mainly to drive from one hotel to the next in hopes of getting, at least, 400 miles in one day.
This has proven to be difficult as the driver seems to be incapable of keeping tissues away from her face. Drowning in snot is likely, but not imminent.
This blog will resume its normal broadcasting of foolishness and mayhem when the severe conditions pass.
One note of importance. Use of NyQuill in excess of three nights may result in hallucinatory dreaming that can be disturbing. Vivid imagery and intense life like themes can be experienced in a dream state.
I just thought I was kookoo, now I think it is highly probable.
When I can go for more that 5 minutes without a coughing fit or marathon nose blowing I will resume posting to this blog.
I haven’t been sick for five years! No colds, no flu, no ails, no ills.
I knew I was going to have sinusitis after all of the hot and cold temperature changes in Florida. Hot outside, cold inside.
I have been self medicating with NyQuill at night so I can sleep. DayQuill for the daytime to dry up all the mucus.
Where does all the mucus come from?! Horrid amounts of the stuff. Can’t seem to stay on top of it all. Start hacking then have bubbles forming out my nose. It is terrible I tell you. Not to mention unsightly!
Good grief! Have to get this stopped!
I used a Breathe Right Strip for the first time ever last night. Man, go “get you some”. They help keep the nasal passages open and makes breathing so much easier. They don’t do anything for the mucus problem though.
Another day or two and this will be a memory. For today I will fantasize about being home in a comfy chair drinking hot Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Tea while Joe waits on me hand and foot.
Okay, I did say it was a fantasy!
We are at a Kellogg warehouse in Youngstown, Ohio getting ready to take three trucks to Texas. Joe’s two go to Schertz – near San Antonio – and my one truck goes to Ft. Worth.
Seems that work has evaporated for a bit. We will plan on going back home after delivery and the work will take that idea away fast.
Hope you all are enjoying a cool, nearly chilly, Sunday. Also hope you do it minus copious amounts of mucus and no hacking.
Foolishness and Mayhem 