Fourth of July Afterglow

Random Thought:  I was telling Lisa at work how my online buds said to put a saucer of beer out in the garden to catch slugs.  I had found a fat slug hanging on the side of the raised (wood) bed.  I wondered how he knew there were incipient tomatoes there.  She said, "I think they smell them."  My thought: Do slugs have noses?

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I'm over it now -- for the moment.  My Fourth of July weekend actually started on Thursday after work.  I took a short lunch so I could leave early and get my new glasses.  Woohoo!  This is the saga that began 3 weeks ago.  I should have known two weeks ago when I first got to the eye glass place and they said they were closed for a staff meeting, even though the door was open, that it was an ill fated journey.

Anyway ... the first pair of glasses were marked incorrectly by one mm on one side and by two mm on the other side.  And there was this big blurry spot.  Oh, you need blended they said. I go back last Thursday and I still can't read. You need progressive they said. You told us you don't have progressives.  You do have progressives ... we're going to have to charge you ... I left so angry that I could barely speak.  They are going to call the doctor because they said his prescription doesn't seem right.  Can you say "bait and switch"?

Luckily, after that, I went to Mom's place and picked up wonderful Chinese take out for Phyllis and me.  We had fun watching "Madmen" while we munched.

Friday, the actual Fourth of July, I did not do one blessed thing! I watched TV, napped, watched TV, and napped.  I saw some fireworks on TV.  Oddly enough, they are pretty much the same every year ... 

Saturday Update: Still in my jammies late morning, the doorbell rings and it's Jade from next door.  My, how that child has grown tall!  She brought me this:

Colonel Vinskey's Blueberries

I was so happy to see that they are taking care of the blueberries! They had rented out their place for two years and I don't think anything was done with the blueberries.

Embarrassed that I still wasn't dressed, I decided to make lunch and use up some leftovers.

The Shrimp Are Frozen, Not Leftover

It all went together fairly easy and I  have some peppers leftover for tonight (Sunday).  I even used my special seasoning.  I call it "well done onion."  Okay, okay, so maybe I shouldn't have walked away from the stove.  But the charred onion didn't really taste bad -- it just gave it a weird color.  It tasted as if I had used onion soup instead of water for the rice.

Finally, I decided I really needed to get out of the house so I went to see Melissa McCarthy in "Tammy" at the movies.  Even though there are some poignant parts, I laughed and laughed.  Tammy (McCarthy) is having a really bad day that begins with her hitting a deer on her way to a minimum wage job.  It all goes downhill rapidly from there.

Susan Sarandon plays her grandmother and I thought, "What a gutsy thing for Sarandon to do.  She doesn't mind looking/seeming old as long as it's a good part."  And it is a doozy of a part.  Another of my favorites, Kathy Bates, is in it too.  I highly recommend this movie for an instant pick you up.

Supper at the diner before picking up a few groceries is how I ended up buying groceries at 9:30 p.m.

Sunday (today): Got up early, which is my downfall because then I fall asleep again (while watching CBS Sunday Morning).  Anyway, I had to use those blueberries because I had just bought some at the grocery store on Wednesday!

Why, you may ask are there two lemon cakes?  Each is one layer.  (Mom, the Duncan Hines Lemon Cake mix was only $2.)  So Jade and her family have one and the McCabes on the other side have one.  That's Cool Whip on the lemon cake.  My mouth is watering, but notice how good I am? I gave that whole sucker away.  Sigh.

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Coming back from delivering one of the cakes, I decided to check the garden.  My first harvest!

I'm thinking the basil will go nicely with my beef stir fry for tonight. I almost didn't buy the "beef for stir fry" because the per pound cost is high, but then it dawned on me that I'm buying so little that it's still cheaper than buying something out.  Unless I buy a dollar hamburger, that is.  But that dollar hamburger is really bad for me, especially since it needs to be accompanied by dollar fries.

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One of my favorite things to read in The Valley Advocate (a local alternative newspaper) is News of the Weird, which is a syndicated column edited by Chuck Shepherd. And it's what the title implies: weird news items.

So there's one story of a guy who was convicted of burglary in Fresno, California.  But somebody goofed and checked off "not guilty" on the court form and they let him go.  He went to his sister's house and a few hours later, he got into a fight with his sister's boyfriend.  The boyfriend stabbed him to death.  Now that's a bad day.

I'm going to eat some blueberries.  I hope you all had a relaxing Fourth of July!