random thoughts – Day 2,380 (Tuesday) – house stuff

Stuff coming off the house.

It was the usual lounge about on the couch drinking coffee morning, when, at 8:50, a white van pulled into the driveway and I launched myself into the bedroom to change out of pajamas and into jeans and a sweater. Years of quick ballet costume and fashion show changes has sometimes come in handy. The van had backed out and left, but a shiny silver pickup truck was parked out front. The van returned a couple minutes later with the contractor and his colleague, on site to begin the preliminary siding work and I was glad I was dressed.

I stepped outside for a quick touch base. It wasn't long before the old shutters, trim material, and skirting had been removed and stacked in the back yard. Later, while checking on the progress, I saw a bunch of white wood flower bed edging in the crawlspace that will be perfect for the flower bed planned for the side of the house. I asked the guys to pull it out and set it near the shed. I’ll clean it up and maybe paint it, then store it in the shed until spring. There may not be enough time to set a flower bed after the siding is completed, but I’ll be ready next spring. I'm also glad I didn't find any edging when I was shopping for it earlier. 

American chop suey
with provolone.

When I got to thinking about food I decided to make American Chop Suey, one of my favorite dishes going back to childhood. There was extra cooked macaroni left from the macaroni and cheese bake of the other day so one step was already done. After the green pepper and onion were chopped and cooking, I realized the can of diced tomatoes believed to be in the pantry didn’t actually exist, but there was a jar of sauce. Later, I discovered all the sliced American cheese had been used in the mac and cheese and there was none to break up to top the stuff on my plate like I did when I was a kid. The sauce was bit thick and the provolone cheese I used on top wasn’t correct, so it wasn’t exactly like the memory of Mom’s American chop suey, but it still tasted pretty good.

The afternoon included painting several 4-inch by 4-inch canvases black. Two are for a specific project, but it seemed wise to prep some extras while I was at it. I printed one of my favorite Kiki photos and will mount it tomorrow. Another one will feature a photo of Moose and Winston looking adorable.