Food

Rode the Bus to Work Today

No, not the 30 foot long diesel powered belching black smoke kind, but the tandem bicycle. The morning wasn’t half bad, but the fog had us riding through a cloud on a couple of occasions. The ride home was very warm, but not unbearable. We made a stop downtown for lunch at the Stoplight Deli. On our Friday afternoons off we like to hit the Deli first thing to beat the crowds, but today because of the time required to change into cycling attire and pedal there instead of drive, we hit it at peak lunch crowd. The line was at least 8 deep at the counter, but the food was fairly quick in arriving and, as always, tasty enough to make us forget the wait.

Meal Cost: $13.38
Tip: None
Spent Today: $13.38
Year to Date: $1664.72
Meals out, 97 of a possible 639.

The four shocks did only take four days to get here from California. I thought I was so smart to have them delivered to work, but the joke was on me as they showed up on the day I didn’t have a car. So when we got home I jumped in the Miata and drove right back where we came from to pick up my two boxes that weighed 30lbs and were too heavy and to large to fit in our panniers.

Started down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 306

Memorable Camcorder

JVC GR-D770Every year the company holds a service awards banquet and the employees who are celebrating any 5 year increment anniversary get a gift, plus a nice steak dinner for them and their spouse, followed by a DJ with dancing.

Donna and I went for our 5 year anniversary and have not gone back for the past three. The main reason is the building where they hold it allows smoking in the bar area where you have to go to get your alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages. The bar is a separate room, but with all the traffic in and out for drinks, you might as well leave the door open. Another reason is the food, it is the usual fare for 150 people, fatty rib-eye steaks, baked potatoes in aluminum foil and a green over cooked vegetable. The HR department does a nice job with all the work that goes into something like this and a lot of people really enjoy the event, but it is just not our cup of tea.

The gifts are chosen from a catalog from a company that specializes in just that thing and is approved by the corporate office, everybody in Emerson chooses from the same catalog. The gifts increase in value as you advance through the 5-year increments. At five years I selected a wooden pen & pencil set, at 10 years I got a nice looking gold plated plastic wall clock (that is keeping perfect time in the garage) and for the life of me I don’t remember what I got at fifteen years. This year I was probably going to end up with anther forgettable gift as well, there were probably 2 dozen items to choose from, but like the event itself, there was nothing in there that was my cup of tea. Then I had an idea. Why not get the camcorder and give it to Donna’s brother and his wife. They have a new baby and it would be perfect for them to capture those precious moments.

When we visited them in May I asked them if they had a camcorder. To which I got the unexpected reply of, “Yes.” It was too late to change my gift choice, I was getting a camcorder. This year’s award banquet was last Saturday night, so Monday morning I got a letter of congratulations and a small box containing a JVC GR-D770. Great, now what am I going to do with this thing, I certainly have no need (or desire) for a camcorder. Giving it as a gift to a relative seemed OK, but somehow selling it on eBay seems ungrateful.

Whatever happens, I will remember my 20-year award unlike the forgotten fifteenth.

Started up, went down, back up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 303

FRS

The Emperor came home today from the doctor’s tonight after his ligament replacement surgery and fluid transfusion. On the way home we stopped for pizza at a place called Nick’s House of Pizza in West Columbia. Because it is called Nick’s you know that they also serve Greek food. So we had a Greek salad to go along with the 10″ pie with sausage, pepperoni, onions and bell peppers. There were a couple of waters and a Sprite involved too.

Meal Cost: $17.92
Tip: $3.58
Spent Today: $21.50
Year to Date: $1549.16
Meals out, 88 of a possible 597.

On July 1st the FRS had a 10-1/2 game lead over the Yankees. From the first of July through last Saturday the Red Sox have gone 6 & 5, but the Yankees have a record of 7 wins, 4 loses and were 10 games behind. On Monday morning when I mentioned that I thought the expected FRS slide had begun, I was scoffed at. I predicted that the Yankees would only be 5 games back by the end of the month. Both my Yankee fan manager and Mark the Braves fan felt that the Sox were too good this year and the Yankees too weak. My boss was just making excuses in case and Mark is used to the Braves always winning the division, but I on the other hand have had to suffer through several decades of Red Sox collapses.

Both now may believe my prognostication powers because since Saturday the Yanks have won 4 while the Sox are 1 win, 3 loses shrinking the lead to 7 games. I may still be wrong, at this pace the Yankees may be ahead of the Bosox by August 1st. Which brings to mind a memorable quote from the movie Game 6, while in the bar watching the titular game, the kid tells Michael Keaton’s character that he should be happy because the Red Sox are winning, to which he replies, “The Red Sox are always winning…until they lose”. The screenwriter must have been an FRS fan.

Started up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 283

Imposing

Marlboro County Court HouseWhen you are driving towards the center of Bennettsville, SC on Broad Street you can’t help but be impressed with the sight of the Marlboro County Court House as it fills the street in front of you.

On our way back to the hospital in Florence on Saturday, Susie asked if I would stop at a McDonald’s so young Katlin could get a Happy Meal. Ever the obliging driver I spotted a Mickie D’s and got in the drive up line. Susie also wanted a Snack Wrap or something for herself. Because the only thing I have ordered at a McDonald’s Drive Up in the last three decades is a Hot Fudge Sundae, Susie would tell me what to repeat into the microphone, in essence translating McDonald’s speak through me. After we ordered and the team member inside told us, “Dat ill be foe six dee.” I got to repay the earlier favor by translating Southern for Susie, and told her that the total for the food was four dollars and sixty cents.

At the second window we received our two bags of stuff. Susie’s wrap in one and the Happy Meal in the other. When Susie pulled out the toy from the Happy Meal bag it was a Monster Wheel obviously intended for a boy. I tried to hand it back to the team member in the window saying, “Could we get a girl’s toy?” She wouldn’t take it back, they were all out of girl’s toys. With no Hello Kitty toy on the horizon and rather than get nothing, Katlin excepted the neon green wheel thing with a frown.

To try and lighten the moment I told Katlin that I guess she didn’t get a Happy Meal after all, but instead she got an Un Happy Meal.

Well, I thought it was funny.

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 280

Spenser’s Crime Buster Tips

#31: If you have a name and no address, try looking in the phone book.

For some reason the first three of these I found, they were in the same book, were called Spenser’s Crime Buster Rules, but this one was called a Tip. I have decided to read all 35 (so far) Spenser books to chronicle all the tips/rules and collect them on a separate page here. I have now re-read two of the four books I own and tonight when we visited the used book store I picked up three more. They probably have another half dozen on the shelf still for later.

Today was a two-fer, breakfast and dinner out. Donna told me point blank this morning that we were going out for breakfast and because it was a weekday that meant Hardee’s. Biscuit & Gravy for her, Sausage & Egg Biscuit for him, O.J. and Hash Rounds to split.
Meal Cost: $5.71
Tip: None
Spent This Meal: $5.71

Dinner was out because it was the monthly Miata Club meeting, for July it was in Aiken at Olive Oils. Crab Bruschetta for appetizer, Seafood Ravioli for her, Hot & Sweet Sausages for him. We went whole hog and got desert, Chocolate Ice Cream for her and Key Lime Pie for him.
Meal Cost: $43.00
Tip: $6.45
Spent This Meal: $49.45
Year to Date: $1461.06
Meals out 82 of a possible 576.

 

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 270

Shrimp Wiggle

Sea LionThree months ago I wrote about a dish that Donna’s aunt used to serve to her kids when they were growing up – Egg Wiggle. An internet search came up empty on a recipe or any mention, so I thought that it was something Aunt Mary had made up. I was wrong, but only because there was no mention of seafood.

Tonight while I was re-reading Robert Parker’s “Cold Service” I was shocked to come across this passage:

Cecile and Susan talked about their respective practices, and I shared occasional thoughts on sex and baseball, which, by and large, were all I had for thoughts. As usual, Hawk said little, though he seemed to enjoy listening. I had been reading a book on the human genome. We talked about that for a while. Cecile served us a variation of a dish my father called “shrimp wiggle”: shrimp and peas in a cream sauce. Cecile served hers in pastry shells. My father didn’t know what a pastry shell was, and with good reason.

So I searched the interweb for Shrimp Wiggle and got lots of hits. Even got one return that was a list of other Wiggle recipes from Cooks.com that feature salmon, tuna, shrimp and chicken. Now maybe with four kids in the house at once Donna’s aunt & uncle couldn’t afford meat to put in there or maybe there was meat in there and the kids just didn’t remember it because of the overall weirdness of peas & hard boiled egg pieces in a cream sauce. Either way, mystery solved.

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 268

New Britain 2

Friendly'sThis is the 3rd memorial service in the last two months and I hope this doesn’t become a trend. First, in April, it was Donna’s Aunt Mary, then Jerry the Condo King in May and now my Mom’s in July.

Tonight’s for my mom was a nice little service and even though the minister had never met her he did a credible job. Mom was not real religious, but in the early years she would take us kids to Sunday school and church, but when we moved to the other side of town my dad wouldn’t drive us back over to the church on Sundays (Mom never got her license), so we just stopped going. I wonder how my life would have differed if my church going days hadn’t ended at the age of six?

After the service my brother had arranged a little gathering at the VFW hall with finger foods, etc for anyone who attended the service to go to. We went, ate a bit and chatted with my step dad’s kids, but most of the folks there were Paul’s friends or co-workers. We had a request for soul soothing ice cream from the family table, so Donna and I, younger sister Diane and her husband Allan and big sister Ginny headed to Friendly’s.

Top made an extra transition today because I washed the southern bugs off the nose in preperation for gathering some northern species of insects the next couple of days.

Started up, went down, back up, back down, up again, down, up yet again, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 245