Call Me Wing Saver: Fly on the Wall

 

 

Welcome to a monthly Fly on the Wall group post. Today 2 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house. At the end of my post you’ll find links to this month’s other participants’ posts.

PurDude came home for a few weeks at the end of last month and the beginning of this month. When he walked in the door, I noticed that he looked different, he had changed his haircut.

Me: You're wearing your hair differently. I like it.

PurDude: Yeah, I'm growing a mullet.

Me: A mullet? They've been out of style for years.

PurDude: They're coming back.

Me: I'm sorry to hear that.

PurDude: You just said you liked it.

Me: Well, it's short, it's not long in the back.

PurDude: Maybe I'll just keep it this length, it's still a mullet though.

Me: Ummm, well, how about we call it mullet- adjacent?

 

 

He and Hubs were talking about the Denver airport, and Hubs was telling a story about how he once went all the way down to the sub-basement to recover his lost luggage.

PurDude: You can't go down there any more, the sub-basement is the headquarters for the illumaniti.

Me: That's not true, it's a conspiracy theory.

PurDude: You can't even get in the elevators, they have guards there.

Me: Come on, you don't think that the basement has been taken over by the illuminati?

PurDude: Oh, I know it.

Me: You know it? You have, like, illuminati radar?

College Boy came to visit. We had already eaten so he decided to walk to a restaurant down the street from us and got a quesadilla. It was gigantic, and he got fries too.

When he came back in, I went to sit with him in the kitchen. It was clear he'd gotten high on the way back home.

College Boy (after eating a ton of food): Mom, I ate the fries and half of the quesadilla. I think I'll wrap up the other half and have it for dinner tomorrow, I'll be over but I'll be really late again.

Me: OK, just stick it in the fridge.

About 20 minutes later, I was upstairs, when College Boy came to find me.

College Boy: Mom?
Me: Yes?

College Boy: I have something to tell you.

Me: OK.

College Boy: I just ate tomorrow night's dinner.

LOL.

It was freezing and miserable outside, Hubs, PurDude, and I were inside watching Purdue basketball. They were losing.

Hubs had to run out and pick up College Boy. When he came back, Purdue was winning.

Me: Go stand out front.

Hubs: Huh?
Me: They were losing when you left, and now they're winning.

Hubs: And?

Me: You need to go back out. 

Hubs: I don't think so.

Me: It's the least you can do, come on, take one for the team. 

Hubs: The team's just going to have to figure out how to win without me freezing my face off.

Me: Fine, keep your face, some team player you are . . .

I was working on the blog, so I set the timer on the microwave to remind me to preheat the oven to 350 so I could get dinner into the oven on time.

The timer went off, I got up, set the timer to 350, and sat back down.

In just under 4 minutes, I finally realized what I'd done.

Cajun Potato Wedges

I was trying out a new recipe for Cajun Potato Wedges. The heat issue is tricky around here in terms of preference. 

They looked good, it was taste test time:

Hubs: Oh, those are really hot. 

PurDude: These are nowhere near spicy enough.

I guess all we needed was to find Baby Bear's porridge potato wedges.

PurDude wasn't feeling well when he first got home, his throat was really sore. He put on a mask and took a Covid test, which was negative.

On his second day, his throat was worse. I was concerned he may have strep throat and with Thanksgiving in just 2 days, insisted he go to an urgent care. He was not happy with me when he came back. His throat was red but he had no infection.

Of course, on Thanksgiving Day he woke up with a bad cough, his chest was sore from coughing. I rounded up all of our cold medicine, and was in the kitchen with College Boy reading the labels. 

Me: Looks like most of these expired in 2020.

College boy: Those won't do him any good.

Me (looking at the last bottle): This one expired in 2013.

College Boy: Oh, you should keep that one.

Me: Why?

College Boy: It might be worth something some day, it's an antique.

I really wanted to get PurDude some relief. I called all of the local grocery and big box stores but, of course, they were closed on Thanksgiving. 

College Boy suggested I call a gas station up the street and see if they were open, and if they carried any cold medicine.

Me (on the phone): You're open today?

Nice guy who answered the phone: Yes, until midnight.

Me: Do you happen to sell any cold medicine in your little mart there?
Nice guy who answered the phone: Let me go look.

Me: You don't have to do that, we'll come in.

Nice guy at the gas station: No problem. Yes, we have night time liquid, day time liquid, pills . . .

Me: That's great, thank you.

Nice guy at the gas station: Let me warn you though, they're not cheap.

Me: That's OK, nothing else is open, we're desperate, see you in a few minutes.

I hang up the phone and College Boy and I both look at each other, then we both break out laughing.

College Boy: Why did you tell him that? How much do you think they're marking that stuff up as we speak?

Turns out, you could by a small house for what they charged. And it turns out I was more than happy to pay the price.

The family was watching football in the den when I came downstairs. I went into the kitchen and turned on the light to check on dinner.

Me (looking over at the counter): Oh, I just found my glasses.

Hubs: I didn't know they were missing.

Me: Neither did I!

A fly on the wall this month would have seen me becoming an acrobat. Although not on purpose.

I was making Teriyaki Wingettes for the family. I bake them ahead of time, then heat them up on the grill. 

Of course, just before I lit the grill, it started to snow. Too lazy to put my shoes on and off each time I had to go out there, I put my flip flops on, taking them off and leaving them on the little rug at the sliding doors to the deck. Perfect.

The final time I went out, to bring the wings in, I didn't take my flip flops off at the rug. I took one step onto the kitchen floor and started flying through the air, headed for a hard crash onto the wood floor.

Did I try to put my hands down, break my fall? Nope. All I could think of was having nothing to put on the table for dinner. So with my left hand I threw that huge plate of wings onto the counter.

Saved the wings. Every one. Myself? Not so much.

 

 

 

Now click on the links below for a peek into some other homes:

Menopausal Mother

Cajun Potato Wedges

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
4 medium potatoes

4 TBSP butter

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 tsp salt, divided

1/4 tsp pepper

OPT: ketchup or sour cream for serving

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a large (15 X 10) baking sheet.

*Wash and dry the potatoes. Cut in half, lengthwise, then cut each half into 4 spears, Place in a bowl.

*Melt the butter. Mix with the cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and pepper. Pour over the potatoes and mix so they are all coated (using your hands is the easiest).

*Place the potato wedges, a cut side down, singly, on the baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes.

*Flip the potatoes over, sprinkle with remaining salt, and bake another 20 minutes.

*OPT: serve with ketchup or sour cream.