Eclipsed: Use Your Words

 

Today’s post is a monthly writing challenge. If you’re new here, this is how it works: my friend Diane and I picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases to submit to each other to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once. Both posts will be unique as we each have our own set of words we're working with.

At the end of this post, you'll find the link to Diane's post, be sure to check it out, see what words I sent her and how she used them.

 
I'm using:  natural ~ nice ~ nothing ~ noodle ~ neoprene


                          

I have absolutely no idea how this group of words made me think of the first time I bought myself a new car, but that's what popped into my head, so I'm going with it.

Before this time, from literally the day I got my license, my dad had always bought my cars, ones he picked out (and I loved, btw). But now I was out of school, working, and looking to buy a brand new car, chosen (yay) and funded (boo) by me.

I had my handy dandy little notebook of facts, whatever facts you could get in what was just before a time when Google was at everyone's fingertips. But before I ventured out to the car lots, I wanted more, a little insight into the process. I mean, we've all heard the stories about car salesmen being sharks, as we, the consumers, wade into their territorial waters.

I'm not saying their reputation is fact, definitely not. Truth is, one of my closest friends, Mark, bought, worked on, and sold used cars. And I had all the trust and respect in him that I did any other friend. He was genuinely a really nice guy.

At the time, Mark had many cars, but mostly drove a Javelin, a car he loved. It had a standard transmission, something I didn't know how to drive. Mark decided that he'd not only teach me, but on the Javelin.

I did fine until he had me stop going up a steep hill. When he told me to start again, I couldn't get the clutch/gas ratio right and the car kept rolling back while I both gave it too much gas and dragged the clutch. Deciding that nothing said I needed to know how to drive a standard anyway, I, without a word put the emergency brake on, got out of the car and walked up the hill.

Stunned, Mark drove up the hill and picked me up. We laughed all the way home (but were done with lessons, for now).

So, before I went to check out the two cars I had pared my list down to, I had Mark over to dinner. We talked about what I needed to know, what I wanted to look for, and what I should consider. And then he offered to go with me. 

Cheesy Spinach Pinwheels

We walked onto the first car lot the following Saturday, me doing exactly what I'd been told, act natural (meaning try to look less like a target and more like I'd done this before).

As the salesman walked towards us, Mark whispered in my ear. He knew who this guy was, he could sell a neoprene suit to a jailed politician. OK, that's not how Mark put it, but you get the idea. I needed to not get carried away by a smooth talker.

He needn't worry.

First, Gary did not even acknowledge me, he addressed Mark. Even when told why we were there, he continued to talk to Mark, asking what car he was interested in, if he'd like to take a test drive. 

Backbone now firmly in place, infuriated by the misogyny, I piped up and said that I was choosing between two cars, one at that dealership and the second we would be looking at elsewhere. Gary let me know that I could not compare those two cars, they were completely different, then proceeded to tell me what other makes were comparable to the one I was interested in on his lot.

I think Mark smirked when I told Gary that I could choose between any two cars I wanted.

In the end, Gary was actually helpful in making my decision, I wasn't buying anything from him. 

And hopefully, when I left, Gary's reputation for being able to sell a neoprene suit to a jailed politician went to that of a guy who couldn't sell a pool noodle, to a woman who spends the weekend at her family's pool.

PS: loved my new red Mitsubishi Eclipse. Thanks, Gary.

 

Here's the link to Diane's Use Your Words posts:

On the Border

Cheesy Spinach Pinwheels

                                               ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 tube (8 oz) refrigerated crescent sheet

3 TBSP butter

2 tsp grated parmesan

1/2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 cup fresh, cleaned spinach

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 X 13 baking sheet.

*Unroll the crescent sheet onto a piece of parchment paper. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and roll out to a 9 inch X 15 inch rectangle. Remove plastic wrap.

*Melt the butter and mix with the parmesan and garlic powder. With a pastry brush, brush most of the butter (leave a little for the top) onto the crescent sheet, leaving about a half inch border at the two long sides.

*Chop the spinach and sprinkle onto the crescent sheet, last add the mozzarella.

*Starting with one long side, roll the dough up to create a tube shape. Brush the top with the remaining butter, and cut into about 3/4 inch slices. Place on the baking sheet, open side down. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the dough starts to brown.  

The Dress-Up Dress Down

 

Groceries. You can't live with them and you can't live without them.

Well, more like you can't live with the price of them and you can't live without them.

Potato, Potahto.

Speaking of potato . . .

I learned a lesson in relinquishing control during the height of Covid. I ordered my groceries online for pick up. At first, I ordered most of my staples, but still needed to pick out the meats and fresh vegetables myself. Doing it this way meant still going into the stores, but for much less time.

Then things got worse, vaccinations were just being developed, people around here would not follow social distancing rules and didn't wear masks. I had to order all of my groceries. It was difficult for me, but when balanced with trying to stay alive, a no brainer.

Sometimes the vegetables were very close to what I would have picked out myself. Sometimes, not so much. A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog post about a sweet potato in my order that would feed a small country. Just after that, fully vaccinated, I went back to shopping just for my produce and meats, I'd gotten too used to the ease of ordering everything else.

Recently, though, I started ordering more and shopping for less. Yes, you guessed it, I ordered sweet potatoes. Two, one for me and one for College Boy. Oh, I got two sweet potatoes, I also got a lesson in perspective. That one I got a few years ago? That was small compared to the two I got this time. I think 50% of my bill was sweet potato. It's a wonder I could lift them. They were the size of pumpkins. I could carve them up, put a candle in them and stick them on the front porch. 

Figuring out what to do with one was a challenge. I cooked it, shared it with College Boy at dinner, but we didn't even put a dent in it. The leftovers provided lots of recipe development inspiration. I made Ginger Snap Sweet Potato Cake, Apple Pecan Sweet Potatoes, and Sweet Potato Blinis.

Sweet Potato Blinis

 

And I still had one left. 

So, working with that whole turn it into a jack-o-lantern vibe, and in honor of today being Halloween, I decided to share. In a Halloween meets politics meets produce. In a Mr. (Sweet) Potato Head kinda way. 

For instance:

I hear Ron DeSantis likes to talk a lot about drag performers and drag shows, seems sort of obsessed, actually. I bet he'd love to be gifted his very own queen.

Or perhaps Greg border-buoy-death-trap-in-the-Rio-Grande Abbott should get a look at what those of us with a moral compass see when we look at him.

And there are at least 19 defendants in Georgia who may be drastically lowering their clothing and barber shop budgets. I could give them a helpful glimpse into their future fashion style options.

Whether you're spending this Halloween partying, giving out candy, or dressing up your vegetables, I hope you're having fun.

Probably not as much fun as I'm having. That is, unless you order your groceries online too.

Sweet Potato Blinis         

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
about 2 medium sweet potatoes

2 oz cream cheese

1 packet instant maple and brown sugar oatmeal

1/4 cup quick oats

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup mini marshmallows, halved

3 TBSP butter

maple syrup 

Directions:

*Cook the sweet potatoes in the oven or microwave until fork tender. Discard the skin and refrigerate the rest to cool.

*While the sweet potato is cooling, allow the cream cheese to soften in a medium sized bowl.

*Once the sweet potato has cooled and the cream cheese has softened, measure out 1 1/2 cups of sweet potato and add it to the bowl with the cream cheese. Beat until smooth, then beat in the oatmeal packet, quick oats, flour, brown sugar, and salt. Add the egg and beat again. Mix in the mini marshmallows. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

*Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

*Spray a large skillet with cooking spray, melt 1 TBSP butter over medium heat. Add some of the sweet potato mixture (about 1 heaping TBSP per blini) to the hot pan. Leave space between each blini. Form into about 2 - 2 1/2 inch circles.

*Cook for 2 minutes, then lower the heat to just above low and cook until the bottoms start to brown, about 8 - 10 minutes. Flip over, pressing them down gently, and cook the other side, about another 8 minutes. Repeat this process with additional cooking spray, butter, and sweet potato mixture.

*Place the blinis on the prepared baking sheet and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.

*To serve, drizzle with maple syrup. Provide more maple syrup for dipping.

Screen for Humanity

 

It started with a distraction. 

Yes, something just that simple. It could have ended right there, faded away without more than a passing thought, but it didn't. Because, as I said, this was just the start.

In the morning, I happened to look up while in PurDude's bedroom.

But then that afternoon brought a text from College Boy that took my breath away. And had me looking at the morning's distraction with new eyes.

And the evening? In the evening it was the national news.

So, the beginning:

That morning, I'd brought towels and toiletries into PurDude's room. I was leaving them on his bed as he'd be coming home soon. Why I didn't just leave it all there and walk out, I don't know. But I sat down on his bed and looked up at the bulletin board that had been on his wall for years. At the very top was a commendation from his job. He'd been a lifeguard in high school, and had continued in the summers when he was home from college.

He had saved a life. 

I hate hearing that fact diminished by those who say that first responders specifically (but lifeguards and many others too) are just doing their jobs when they save a life. They may just be doing their jobs, but these are jobs that they chose, study for, train for, and practice. They know that an integral part of what they will do is to take action when someone's life is at risk. It is an awesome responsibility.

Truth is, someone is still walking and living and doing all things large and small in their life because at their moment of need, someone came to their aid. There is enormity in the miracle of that, brought about by people who value humanity enough to take on protecting it.

In a strange coincidence, that afternoon brought me the exact opposite story. One of someone no longer walking and living and doing all things large and small in their life. It wasn't because first responders hadn't come to his aid, they did. It just wasn't enough.

College Boy sent me a picture that he took outside his work at lunchtime. "Awful car crash right by my work," he texted, "see the helicopter, someone is getting airlifted. I think someone died." We texted back and forth a bit, both of us deeply affected, expressing how heartbreaking it is to see that kind of response, understanding the seriousness of the situation, and hoping everyone would be OK.

They weren't. A motorcyclist was airlifted to the hospital but didn't make it.

Neither of us knew the people involved in the crash, but that didn't matter. When you are witness to a moment like this, even if it's just through viewing the scope of the aftermath, how do you not take a moment to acknowledge the frailty of life? The reality of the abrupt ending of a human life on an anonymous Friday at lunchtime? How do you not empathize, right down to your bones, with the family and friends about to get that phone call? Our humanity demands it.

Juxtaposed with that evening's proof of the pervasive rise of the opposite, man's inhumanity to man.

We were out on the deck having a drink and some appetizers. It was supposed to be a relaxing end to the day. 

Sweet Hot Mango Dip

 

But I had just shut off the national news. In the past month, we've been aware of not just the growing number of mass shooting, but additionally, the shocking rash of executions of kids guilty of just one thing, making a mistake. As with mass shootings, each one is an assault not just on our way of life but, more personally on our sense of safety and our emotional health.

People, everyday citizens, are shooting children for ringing their doorbell, turning around in their driveway, mistaking a like car for their own, or allowing a basketball to roll onto a neighbor's lawn. 

I'm a gun control advocate. No, we don't want to take away all guns, but we do want, we demand, responsible gun ownership. Actually, I take that back, I DO want to take all assault weapons from citizens. For all other gun sales (including shows and private sales) there must be laws, national standards, including screening, mandatory safety, instruction, and regular reviews.

The first step is screening. We need to screen for criminal records, and specific (but not all) mental health conditions. As much we, as a society, like to blame the mentally ill, truth is that not all shooters are mentally ill, and very few people with mental health diagnoses (about 25% of our adult population) are violent. 

But what the morning, afternoon, and evening of just one day brought me to is a question.

If a fundamental respect for human life, all human life, is not an involuntary function in someone, like breathing and blinking, then I need to know.

Basic humanity. How do you screen for that?

Sweet Hot Mango Dip         

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup onion and chive cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup pepper jelly

1 ripe mango

chips or crackers for serving

Directions:
*Whisk together the cream cheese, sour cream, and pepper jelly.

*Peel the mango and remove the pit. Slice a few pieces and refrigerate for garnish.

*Chop the remaining mango (small pieces) and fold into the dip, cover, and refrigerate for an hour.

*Top with the reserved mango slices and serve with chips or crackers of your choice.

Answering Rena: Secret Subject Swap

 

 

Today's post would normally be our monthly Secret Subject Swap. The way it works is that bloggers pick a secret subject for that month, send them to me, I put them in my sorting hat, and send them out to another participant. We each get a unique subject to write about or question to answer.

Although still a Secret Subject Swap, for this post, we each have individual prompts, not sent in by each other, but submitted by just one person.

For the past 8 years, our friend Rena had participated in this and many of the other challenges I run. Rena died unexpectedly in the middle of March. I was finally able to write about it just a few days ago, I hope you'll check it out, here's the link to Rena: Mourning to Missing.

When Rena died, she'd signed up for this Secret Subject Swap challenge through the year. I had 9 of her prompts sitting in monthly documents waiting for assignment to different friends. I could not get myself to delete those prompts, it just felt callous, disrespectful. I thought I might address them, over time, in my own blog posts, but then realized that maybe some of her other friends would like to join me. Some did.

Rena took the time to ask some questions. Today her friends are taking the time to answer some of them.

So, each of us have a subject, prompt, or question, sent in by Rena. We're answering in memory of a friend, a collaborator, a valued and missed member of our blogging community.

I have Rena's August prompt, and my subject is: If you could go back to school to become anything you'd like, what would it be and why? 

I'm going to start with the two guesses I think Rena, well probably all of you, would have made.

Then I'm going to say WRONG! 

First, writing. Truth is, I thought a lot about it. I had a middle school teacher who, after I'd turned in a writing assignment, suggested it. I even took over running my dormitory area newspaper for a while in college. But, when it comes to writing, I do best when I feel the stories, when they almost pour out of me. I'm not sure how I'd handle a career of being assigned the story and having to make a deadline. Sometimes, yeah. As a side gig, yeah. But daily? I don't know.

Truth is, I wonder if all of that structure, of the subject matter being out of my hands, whether it might diminish my love of writing. Or maybe it would actually hone my skills, provide focus and growth. Hard to say. 

So how about being an author, writing fiction? I love a good mystery. In fact, I did start my own book. I wrote the first sentence. That was 10 years ago . . . Still got that sentence. Nothing else, though.

OK, so you're thinking along the culinary lines.

Perhaps I'd want to be a chef, or a baker, or both. Maybe work privately, or even open my own restaurant.

I could apply to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Or more locally, both MIT and Harvard have culinary arts majors.

But the food industry is grueling. Chefs are, for the most part overworked and underpaid and, unless they can afford to go out on their own, unable to nurture their own creativity.

Truth is, my recipe development often comes from a place of stress relief, a creative way to get out of my own head for a while. My recipes tend to be more pedestrian. My creations are always geared towards the specific tastes of my family. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

BBQ Pork Corn Chip Nachos

I'll tell you about one thing I have loved my whole life, as far back as I can remember, and still to this day. It's ballet.

If I could, I would love to be a ballerina. Yes, it's a difficult life, both physically and emotionally, but I'd make the sacrifice. Any and all of them.

NY would be the place to go. Although some colleges do offer dance programs, it's almost true that by the time you get your degree, you're almost too old for the industry. So Julliard, Joffrey, School of American Ballet are where I'd be battling to be accepted.

One problem, though. Well, there is the whole talent issue. But more than that is the constraint that's insurmountable by effort, and practice, and guidance, and even luck. 

Seems I've been unable to change the fact that I'm only five feet tall. 

I want to thank Rena for her years of support and friendship. And I want to thank everyone who wrote these posts today, for standing by my side as we honor a friend lost way too soon. 

 

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts in honor of Rena. 

Climaxed 

What TF Sarah 

Part-time Working Hockey Mom 

On the Border

BBQ Pork Corn Chip Nachos         

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
3 boneless pork loin chops

3/4 cup of my Blackberry BBQ sauce or the BBQ sauce of your choice, divided

2/3 cup canned black beans, drained

1 green onion, chopped

1 (8.75 oz) can corn kernels, drained

3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar, divided

1/4 cup drained, sliced pepperoncini

1 bag (8 oz) scoop sized corn chips

NOTE: I often make barbecued grilled pork chops for dinner, making sure to have enough leftovers to use the next day for these nachos. If you're using leftover pork chops, you'll have to warm it before mixing with the other ingredients.

Directions:

*Marinate the pork chops in 1/2 cup of the BBQ sauce in a resealable bag for 24 hours, turning now and then. 

*Grill the pork chops until completely cooked through. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. 

*Heat the beans in the microwave for about 1 minute, just until warm. Chop the pork into very small pieces, mix with the beans, green onions, corn, and 1/4 cup of the cheese, then toss with 3 TBSP of the remaining BBQ sauce. 

*Place in the center of a round baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese, then the pepperoncini. Surround with the chips.

*Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cheese melts. To serve, drizzle with the remaining TBSP of BBQ sauce.

Shop at Your Own Risk: Fly on the Wall

 Welcome to a monthly Fly on the Wall group post. Today 3 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 was here over Thanksgiving. I was showing him pictures of a few desserts I've made that he might like to try. He thought he'd love the French Toast Pumpkin Pie.

 

Me: The edges get really crispy, you have to drizzle them with maple syrup, right?

Hubs: Yes, they get very crispy, like hard as a board.

Me: Well that really wasn't necessary. 

Hubs: I mean it's delicious . . .

Me: Yeah, don't even bother.

Hubs: How do I get out of this?

PurDude: Stop talking before you ruin my chances of trying that pie.

College Boy: Yeah, dad, let them eat pie. 

 

How wrong did that conversation go? Let me count the ways . . . 

 

 

From the "shop at your own risk" files: 

I had been shopping online, looking really, here and there, not for anything specific. Somehow I ended up looking at candy for a recipe, and then . . . well . . . this came up:

Umm, no thanks.

 

Speaking of Walmart, I just want to say, I have no idea what this is. Self assist?

And listen, if you do know what kind of self assistance this thing provides? Please, for the love of all that's holy, keep it to yourself.

 

 

 

Moral of the story (again): shop at your own risk.

 

 

This one I didn't even find myself, it found me, in my Facebook feed.

I have to admit, I had no idea dogs were into S&M.

And I'm not sure that's information I ever needed to know.

One morning last week, Hubs was in the kitchen and I was in the den on my laptop.

 

Hubs: I wish . . .

Me(looking up): You wish what?

Hubs: Nothing.

Me: Nothing, you have one wish, what do you want?

Hubs: Well, I was going to say more cream cheese.

Me (giving him a withering stare): You have one wish, and you're wishing for cream cheese?
Hubs (looking a bit sheepish): Fine, world peace and more cream cheese.

 

Jalapeno Popper Rollups

A friend was at the house when Hubs came home. He handed me a Powerball ticket and told me he'd played my numbers for me because Powerball was up in the hundred millions.

 

Liz: He bought you a Powerball ticket, how sweet.

Me: Sweet? Yes and no.

Liz: Yes, and no?

Me: Well, he thinks I'm going to share if I win.

Liz: Aren't you?
Me: Yes and no.

I had finally gone through the file I keep for our medical bills. It was stuffed and nothing else would fit in it. Probably because I hadn't cleaned out the file since 2016.

I pulled out all of the old bills that we didn't need, it was about a 3 inch stack. I took the stack into our office to start shredding. It's just a home shredder, so I knew it would take many different shredding sessions to get through them all.

Even being careful, at one point the shredder stopped working. I told Hubs I thought I broke it, but he figured out that the cord was just loose. But he was worried I'd try to do too much at once so he decided to do it himself. I sat down with a book.

 

Me: Don't do more than a few pages at a time.

Hubs: I won't.

Me: And do some, then stop so it doesn't burn out.

Hubs: I will.

Me: That's too much!

Hubs (exasperated): It was one page.

Me: It didn't sound like one, you're going to burn it out.

Hubs (more exasperated): It was a thick paper. Go read something.

Me: I just finished my book.

Hubs: Go write something.

Me: I don't have anything to write.

Hubs (really, really exasperated): Go buy something.

Me (running from the room): I can do that.

 

Later:

 

Hubs: So . . . what's the damage . . .

Me: Don't you have some papers to shred? 

I have a question, maybe one of you can answer this for me. 

 

If your husband walks by, sort of singing under his breath, and you catch a few words, Sir Mix-A-Lot's "I like big butts and I cannot lie," should you be questioning his fidelity? Or be insulted?

 

Got up one morning, came, quietly, downstairs, to peek into the kitchen.

 

Hubs (who'd caught a glimpse of me: What are you doing?
Me: Just checking.

Hubs: Checking what?

Me: Your face. 

Hubs: My face?

Me: Well, I wanted to just be sure you're OK.

Hubs: Why wouldn't I be OK?

Me: I woke up with a bruised knuckle.

Hubs: And?

Me: Just checking to be sure your face wasn't what I bruised my knuckle on.

 

 

 

 

Apparently it wasn't. Good thing, that meant I was safe to go into the kitchen, which is necessary since that's where we keep the coffee.

 

As to what I could have cut my knuckle on in the middle of the night? Still a mystery.

 

 

Sometimes it's fun having kids who get their sarcastic sense of humor from you. Other times, not so much.

Me: I'm going to head upstairs and read before I go to sleep.

College Boy: Mom?
Me: Yeah?
College Boy: I hope you sleep better than you look.

Somehow he found that much funnier than I did.

 

 

 

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

Menopausal Mother 

The Diary of an Alzheimer's Caregiver

Jalapeno Popper Rollups 

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 tube refrigerated crescent dough

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar

1 small jalapeno pepper, stem removed, seeded, and finely chopped

1 TBSP canned chopped jalapenos

1 TBSP bacon bits

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a piece of parchment paper onto a baking sheet and roll out the dough onto the parchment paper.

*Mix together the softened cream cheese, shredded cheddar, fresh jalapeno, chopped jalapenos and bacon bits. Carefully spread onto the crescent dough, leaving about 1/8 inch border on all sides.

*Roll up, using the long side of the dough. Slice into about 16 approximately 3/4 to 1 inch rounds. Separate them onto the parchment paper, turning them so they lay flat. Gently press down with the palm of your hand.
*Bake for about 15 minutes, until the sides are browning and the tops are hot.