Box, lots

There's been this vast pile of stuff occupying the area between my living room and dining area for...a few years now. And all this time, I've looked at it with despair. it's been between waist- and shoulder-high, and just looking at it has made me queasy.

I've been spelunking through it, and I'm disgusted with myself. Half of it is---drumroll, please---empty freaking boxes. Or boxes with a couple things in the bottom---a hat, some junk mail, loose grocery bags. There are maybe four boxes that I actually need to sort through, certainly nothing panic-worthy.

I also need to haul the leftover odds and ends off to a thrift store. At the moment, it's stacked up in front of the TV...and a respectable stack it is. With that out of the way, I'll be that much closer to having a civilized living room.

In the morning, I'll start ferrying some of the legion of boxes down to the curb for Friday's pick-up. Upwards of a dozen, from here and there. Several bags of trash. Progress. The middle is fine now; the perimeter still needs work.
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Box, lots

There's been this vast pile of stuff occupying the area between my living room and dining area for...a few years now. And all this time, I've looked at it with despair. it's been between waist- and shoulder-high, and just looking at it has made me queasy.

I've been spelunking through it, and I'm disgusted with myself. Half of it is---drumroll, please---empty freaking boxes. Or boxes with a couple things in the bottom---a hat, some junk mail, loose grocery bags. There are maybe four boxes that I actually need to sort through, certainly nothing panic-worthy.

I also need to haul the leftover odds and ends off to a thrift store. At the moment, it's stacked up in front of the TV...and a respectable stack it is. With that out of the way, I'll be that much closer to having a civilized living room.

In the morning, I'll start ferrying some of the legion of boxes down to the curb for Friday's pick-up. Upwards of a dozen, from here and there. Several bags of trash. Progress. The middle is fine now; the perimeter still needs work.
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A wet and icky Thursday afternoon

Heaps of boxes at the curb getting soggy in the rain. Several trash bags too, including one that leaked on its way out of the house, necessiting I stop to mop the trail it left behind. Can I get more out today? Maybe. If I can stop going in circles and muttering to myself. This is one of those days where I'm oozing neuroses out of my pores.

Am going in about four different directions. Trying to clean, talking to J and making calls for her---bless her heart, she has offered to take me around to drop off some applications next week. (Because I'm at the point where I don't have a lot of gas, or money to refill, it's about 15 cents a mile to go anywhere, and one place in particular will ONLY take resumes/applications delivered personally---and they're 10 miles each way. There's a reason I avoid talking about this, it makes my brain short-circuit. Arrrgh.)

I should also do laundry. The garage is horrendous; I flung stuff out there to clear other areas, now I need to deal with it all. And my bedroom closet---that stuff is clean, but most of it can go, either I don't wear it or it doesn't fit. Or I don't wear it because it doesn't fit. Department of Redundancy Department much?

Plus, if I can do sheets and such NOW, I won't have to worry about it when GK gets here. Pillow(s), I'm sure I have a couple I can boil clean. Do I have a twin fitted sheet anywhere? IDK, it's been about 15 years since I've had a twin bed to put one on, but I can always wrap a queen-sized sheet around the mattress. It's only for a few nights. I doubt it'll be cold enough for a quilt, but THAT I've got.

Part of the problem is, Excedrin is the only thing standing between me and involuntary decaffeination. I don't want to take too much of it because I *don't* need the aspirin, so I may get even squirrellier. Be afraid.

A wet and icky Thursday afternoon

Heaps of boxes at the curb getting soggy in the rain. Several trash bags too, including one that leaked on its way out of the house, necessiting I stop to mop the trail it left behind. Can I get more out today? Maybe. If I can stop going in circles and muttering to myself. This is one of those days where I'm oozing neuroses out of my pores.

Am going in about four different directions. Trying to clean, talking to J and making calls for her---bless her heart, she has offered to take me around to drop off some applications next week. (Because I'm at the point where I don't have a lot of gas, or money to refill, it's about 15 cents a mile to go anywhere, and one place in particular will ONLY take resumes/applications delivered personally---and they're 10 miles each way. There's a reason I avoid talking about this, it makes my brain short-circuit. Arrrgh.)

I should also do laundry. The garage is horrendous; I flung stuff out there to clear other areas, now I need to deal with it all. And my bedroom closet---that stuff is clean, but most of it can go, either I don't wear it or it doesn't fit. Or I don't wear it because it doesn't fit. Department of Redundancy Department much?

Plus, if I can do sheets and such NOW, I won't have to worry about it when GK gets here. Pillow(s), I'm sure I have a couple I can boil clean. Do I have a twin fitted sheet anywhere? IDK, it's been about 15 years since I've had a twin bed to put one on, but I can always wrap a queen-sized sheet around the mattress. It's only for a few nights. I doubt it'll be cold enough for a quilt, but THAT I've got.

Part of the problem is, Excedrin is the only thing standing between me and involuntary decaffeination. I don't want to take too much of it because I *don't* need the aspirin, so I may get even squirrellier. Be afraid.

A pause to destress: The writer's block question du jour

Batter up!
From China to the local IHOP, what's your favorite meal involving pancakes?

Growing up, my mom made what we always called Norwegian pancakes. The original recipe was my Norwegian grandmother's, although I have it on good authority that Mom's were better.

They were very thin, like crepes, and Mom created them in her trusty cast-iron skillet. Peter once said that Mom's pancakes had barely enough flour to hold the eggs together, but I just remember how good they were. There were vanilla and orange extracts in the batter; I've always thought that restaurant pancakes taste bland and floury compared to them.

Mom would made a quantity of them, folding them, layered, into one of her classic Corningware casseroles to keep warm. We all sat around the kitchen table and I'd take a pancake and unfold it and gently baste a pat of butter across the still-warm surface. Take a slice of American cheese, fold it into quarters lengthwise, and run them along the fold-line. Roll the pancake around the cheese and drizzle with Log Cabin syrup. Eat. Repeat until stuffed or Mom refused to make any more, whichever came first.

I was too young at the time to think to ask for details of the process or the recipe, which wasn't written down---and to the best of my recollection, we never had them after we moved to Florida when i was 13---but about once a month during my childhood, that was our special Sunday brunch.
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A pause to destress: The writer's block question du jour

Batter up!
From China to the local IHOP, what's your favorite meal involving pancakes?

Growing up, my mom made what we always called Norwegian pancakes. The original recipe was my Norwegian grandmother's, although I have it on good authority that Mom's were better.

They were very thin, like crepes, and Mom created them in her trusty cast-iron skillet. Peter once said that Mom's pancakes had barely enough flour to hold the eggs together, but I just remember how good they were. There were vanilla and orange extracts in the batter; I've always thought that restaurant pancakes taste bland and floury compared to them.

Mom would made a quantity of them, folding them, layered, into one of her classic Corningware casseroles to keep warm. We all sat around the kitchen table and I'd take a pancake and unfold it and gently baste a pat of butter across the still-warm surface. Take a slice of American cheese, fold it into quarters lengthwise, and run them along the fold-line. Roll the pancake around the cheese and drizzle with Log Cabin syrup. Eat. Repeat until stuffed or Mom refused to make any more, whichever came first.

I was too young at the time to think to ask for details of the process or the recipe, which wasn't written down---and to the best of my recollection, we never had them after we moved to Florida when i was 13---but about once a month during my childhood, that was our special Sunday brunch.
.

Good eats...the budget version

A little while ago, I said to myself, "Self, you really ought to find something to do with that package of Little Smokies you got from the food pantry the other day."

For starters, I threw them into my trust cast-iron skillet and heated them, and as that was going on, I rooted around in my pantry, because basically Little Smokies = weenies and we all know beans and weenies is a classic. And god knows, I've got beans.

So I threw in a drained can of pork and beans, then a can of drained light kidney beans. Nice, but it still looked inadequate.

I drained some diced tomatoes and plonked them in. Good, but a bit bland, so I fished out a packet of taco seasoning...best by last March. It was caked up, so I grabbed a strainer, held it over the skillet and dumped the taco stuff in. Ended up being about half the envelope, which given the sodium content, is plenty. It's enough to give it a little favor.

Despite having been drained, there's still a certain amount of pan gravy to it, so I threw the macaroni from a box of mac'n'cheese in to nuke.

Dinner will be served momentarily.
.

Good eats...the budget version

A little while ago, I said to myself, "Self, you really ought to find something to do with that package of Little Smokies you got from the food pantry the other day."

For starters, I threw them into my trust cast-iron skillet and heated them, and as that was going on, I rooted around in my pantry, because basically Little Smokies = weenies and we all know beans and weenies is a classic. And god knows, I've got beans.

So I threw in a drained can of pork and beans, then a can of drained light kidney beans. Nice, but it still looked inadequate.

I drained some diced tomatoes and plonked them in. Good, but a bit bland, so I fished out a packet of taco seasoning...best by last March. It was caked up, so I grabbed a strainer, held it over the skillet and dumped the taco stuff in. Ended up being about half the envelope, which given the sodium content, is plenty. It's enough to give it a little favor.

Despite having been drained, there's still a certain amount of pan gravy to it, so I threw the macaroni from a box of mac'n'cheese in to nuke.

Dinner will be served momentarily.
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