12/15/11

When life doesn't give you broccoli

Okay, so I am trying to be the do-it-all guy. And, we all know that do-it-all is impossible. But, I'm holding my own.

My holiday party was last night. Rob's is a luncheon on Friday. He always takes a side dish and we always get compliments. So, when he reminded me on Monday that he needed a dish, I said "I can do that"...ignoring the fact that I have been cleaning out the cupboards and we have no spare food in the house.

Tuesday morning, I looked through the cupboard and found no inspiration. What am I gonna do???

Tuesday night, I looked through the cookbook for vegetable casseroles and the only thing I had everything for was broccoli rice casserole. Rob isn't fond of rice, but this time, it couldn't be helped.

At 5:30 this morning, I stumble into the kitchen with my laptop open to the recipe and I start pulling stuff out. Except there's 1 cup of freezer burned frosty broccoli left in a bag, near the back.

So, I went back to the cupboard and nothing. I ransacked the freezer and pulled out all the green veggies I had...the cup of freezer burned broccoli, some peas, some peppers and onions and a can of green beans. I steamed it all together, made 6 cups of rice, and mixed up all the liquid ingredients, including grating and melting about a pound of cheese.

Put it all together. Taste it. Wonderful. Bake and Voila!

A gallon of veggie rice casserole. I mean, who needs broccoli. We all know that the only purpose of the broccoli is to be a carrier to make the cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, and pound of cheese sound healthy. Any veggie can do that.



This next pic is for you, Bonnie Hunter. It took months after your post about your sewing trolls for me to find any. But, I stumbled up on them in an antique shop on Saturday and snatched them up. The hardest thing was to figure out which ones to buy. They had about 12. Should have bought them all, but settled on this couple. One sits at each sewing machine.



And, the final chapter on thimbles for this year. I swear. The size 15 thimble came in the mail yesterday. First, it fits inside of a size 12. According to all the research I've done, it's not supposed to. Second, it would fit my pinky, if my pinky was strong enough to sew with. But, it ain't. To make it worse, I cannot find the size stamped on the thimble. It's like the seller just made it up. FRUSTRATING!! At that point, I just said "I give up" and Rob actually raised his voice (an infrequent occurence) to tell me that my unwillingness to spend real money on a custom fit thimble was irrational. And, clearly annoying. Okay, okay, I get it. And, as much as I've tried not to think about spending over a hundred dollars on something the size of a...well, a thimble, I might.

Hey, who doesn't need a good splurge once in a while???

And, this is the answer to Elizabeth's question about the holiday quilt; how many hours, how much thread?

Each corner took approximately 11 hours. The center, including the sashing, took about 14 hours. The border took at least 16 hours, maybe as many as 20. That's because of the pebbling. Another couple of hours to bind and an hour for the sleeve.

I used thread from three different spools on the top, so not exactly sure how much, but I started with a fresh, 1250 yard spool of bobbin thread and I can see the cone through what's left (not much left). I wish I knew how much thread fit onto a bobbin. I used 32 large bobbins. So, I'm going to call it 2300 yards of thread total (including what I picked out, which was considerable).

Everybody have a great Thursday. My day got off to a rollicking start with a very bad meeting. Really, it's a bad idea to try to tell me that what my boss is asking me for is information that I don't need. I tried to politely explain that I am stuck between a rock and a hard spot because them saying I don't need it doesn't mean my boss is going to stop asking. Conversation became heated and I suggested they tell my boss directly that HE doesn't need the information, things calmed down a bit and we got down to some serious work. Turns out that if I say the right thing, I can apparently get the information, whether I'm supposed to need it or not.

My boss likes that I get results. I hate what I have to do to get results. It leaves me feeling like a heel. But, if I tell my boss i can't get information, he goes ballistic (not at me) and makes my bit of being peaved look like a ride on a merry go round in comparison. But, why, oh, why can't we just get what we need with a polite request??????????

Okay, that's my go-off for the day. Have fun. Lane

Jingle bells, shotgun shells, Granny's got a gun.
Shot me in the underwear and boy I had to run.

7 comments:

Coloradolady said...

be all...do all.....fund all...that is the running anthem around here! I am trying to clean up my sewing room so I can FIND A BAG OF THIMBLES.....that I know is in there.

Lane, about that thimble....it is something YOU will USE and USE well and often. What if you needed special....shoes to walk.....and they cost more than a couple weeks worth of groceries....would you say forget it, I just won't walk. Of course not!!! Sometimes, I think it is better to not worry about the cost, but focus on the way it will make our lives better. And that thimble will make your life better.
I have the lady at the quilt shop here looking for a large one, going to call the "Manly" quilt shop and see what they tell me today......and going to find that bag of thimbles I have around here too!!
I have binding to get on two quilts and two shams....and here I sit.....reading about what others are doing and not getting a thing done!! Story of my life......

Impera Magna said...

"But, why, oh, why can't we just get what we need with a polite request??????????"


...because some people are control freaks?

I've run a few of those in my time... *sigh*

Anonymous said...

You had to show us your Troll dolls. When I saw Bonnie Hunter's trolls, I wanted one also. I checked on eBay and might still go back and get me one. As for the thimble - get it. You deserve it. You have to treat yourself once in a while and I know that you would put it to good use. Thanks for sharing.
cindy

Bonnie K. Hunter said...

Trolls Baby!!! ROCKIN! :cD And I'd eat that casserole, freezer-dehydrated broccoli and all!!

Coloradolady said...

I need a troll too!!

Well, friend, I found the bag, and most were size 5 and 5.5. Way too small for even me. There was one 10. It was a little big on my thumb, and I have I think a wide thumb. So I don't know, it still may be too small. The guys at the quilt shop had no clue....I am not kidding. They were talking custom done. I am thinking this might be a good business to get into. Manufacturing thimbles for men and larger women. Believe me, If I can not find it, it must not exist...I am pretty good at these things!!

Elizabeth said...

That's a funny twist on Jingle Bells! I've never heard that one before.

And WOW! on the hours of quilting. I know what you meant about wanting to know how much thread a bobbin holds, too. It really came out beautifully. You should pat yourself on the back.

As for the thimble, Rob might be right. It is OK to treat yourself once in a while.

xo -E

Anonymous said...

I've been reading your blog for only about a month, and last night I had the strangest dream. You invaded my dream and when I found you a size 22 thimble! LOL! Happy hunting!