Progress - Fourth of July Food Edition

So far today I have:

• Completed the grocery shopping. At 9:30 am the supermarket was already packed.
• Went to the butcher shop. Meats have been purchased, as well as several pickled eggs for my father.
  
• Soaked dry beans overnight.
  
• Boiled the soaked beans this morning.
• Cooking beans with other ingredients in the crock pot for the next 9 hours.
  
• Fried bacon bits for the broccoli-bacon salad.
  

What I still need to do today:

• Make salsa.
• Cut pork into kabob-size pieces.
  
• Make marinade for pork (later tonight) and combine with pork.
• Clean!!!!!
• Furminate the cats.
• Figure out what I'm going to put all of this food in/on

Tomorrow I need to:

• Cut peppers and onions for the skewers.
• Wash cherry tomatoes for the skewers
  
• Prepare the skewers.
• Squeeze 2 cups of lemon juice out of lemons for homemade lemonade.
• Prepare broccoli-bacon salad
• Get ice for the coolers
• Place beer and soda in freshly iced coolers.
• Table-top prep.

And probably a bunch of other stuff that I'll remember at the last minute.

How Do I Get Myself Into These Things???

I'm hosting 4th of July-related festivities this Friday (that's when the fireworks at the lake will occur). We are also celebrating my dad's birthday that evening. Naturally, I'm in charge of a lot of food prep. I don't mind that so much, but I wish I had someone to clean for me. That part is a bit less enjoyable. While eating lunch just a moment ago, I plotted out my schedule for all of this work.

I'll be making/preparing the following items:

• This salsa. My dad requested chips and salsa. I was going to buy salsa, but the nasty (and premature) heat last week caused my cilantro to bolt, so I need to use it anyway.
  
• This broccoli-bacon salad.
  
• Pork kabobs marinated in a sauce that includes curry, chili sauce, honey, and other goodies. This means I will be chopping up pork, onions, and peppers. Thankfully the cherry tomatoes require less work.
  
• Hamburgers for the 2 or 3 people who are unwilling to try the aforementioned kabobs because they are unadventurous picky eaters. Two of these are kids under 9, so I forgive them. The adult has no excuse. I am picky, but I'll at least try things.
  
• Baked beans. Fairly easy, but I need to keep track of the schedule since I start with dry beans and slow cook them in the crock pot.
  
• Beverages for all ages.
  

All in all, it isn't too bad - my mom's making a Texas Sheet Cake for dessert and I'm making sure there's ice cream available. She's preparing some fruit, too. But of course, I have a lot of cleaning to do, as well as prep work and set up. I'm getting ready to make a grocery run today for all things that I can get ahead of schedule. I feel so domestic.

I'm Confused

After spending a day in the sun with no sunscreen on, a person I know got sunburned. I thought this person looked fairly red, actually, especially on the face. Anyway...this person did not treat the burn in any way - said it didn't hurt. This person then chose to spend the next day (from about 1pm to 4pm or later) outside in the blazing hot sun with NO sunscreen on.

Why, why, why would anyone do this? Am I the only one who thinks this is incredibly stupid? When I expressed a little concern, my concern was scoffed at. It seems like this is just asking for major skin damage.

I just don't understand. Maybe I'm over-protective when it comes to these things, but this just seems crazy to me.

Just Got Back

from Father's Day festivities. It was fairly low key, really. My dad got a new grill, so we grilled.


As such, I decided that it was ok to go with a cliché of a present and went with grill tools. Normally, I'd try to be a little more inventive, but, well, I wasn't.

I returned to this scene:



That's the packing paper my dad's present came with when it was shipped. The kitties seem to enjoy it. This was the first I had seen Sophie playing in it. Last night (yes, I've left it on my floor that long) Plum was all over it.



I think that maybe I just need to buy a big roll of this stuff.

I'm very excited about my container garden. I already have a few baby tomatoes!!! This is a pair of Amish Paste Tomatoes:


This is my first Old German Tomato. I love the creases in it!


And this is the start of a Cherokee Purple tomato.


I can't wait for them to ripen! I haven't seen any of my brandywines yet, but I think they take longer to mature. The plant does have blooms on it, though.

ok - time to get to work since I haven't done anything academic today.

Fireworks, Powerwashers, And Helipads

I've seen fireworks for the past couple of nights. I wonder if there will be more tonight. I don't know if they are related to high school graduations/graduation parties this weekend, or if people are just setting them off for fun. There are at least two fireworks outlets/stores within 2 miles of where I live.

We had a smattering of rain earlier. Afterwards, my neighbor power-washed his driveway. He then brushed off the excess water. Then he power-washed the sidewalk/path around the side of his garage. Then he used the leaf blower on the walks and drive. I've never seen someone so obsessive about their landscaping and home exterior. He is constantly using his lawnmower, leaf blower, edger, or powerwasher - or, he's mulching, raking, sweeping, etc. It really is at the level of obsessiveness.

This past winter, I was shocked to encounter this scene outside of my window:



So, obviously my first instinct was to grab my camera and run outside to take pics. Anyway, as it turns out the guy two doors down now has a helicopter and a license to fly it. He has a helipad at his primary residence and is trying to think of a way to have one here. Naturally, my father suggested ways he could do this - primarily, building one, placing it on pontoons, and having it anchored/attached to their dock or yard or something like that. Apparently, this was already under consideration. So, we'll see if there ends up being a helipad in the neighborhood by the end of this summer.

Gratuitous Cat Photos:

mmmmmmm...a Sophiesicle!

And, I finally got a picture of Sophie doing something strange. Just so y'all know that Plum isn't the only one.

This might just need a caption.

2 + 5 = 7

About #1

So, I've been asked in a couple places what my "secret" is for Lesson #1 from my last post. In it, I wrote:

"You know those guys who are arrogant, condescending, hyper-argumentative, and a little bit sexist to boot? Of course you do - academia has its share. This is the same type of male student who challenges female instructors' authority. Anyway, apparently I really am good at dealing with them. Although I have to admit that I feel a bit icky when I see them giving me respect while treating others like #%#$(%(#@. I really wish I didn't have to be good at dealing with these jerks."

The thing is, I'm still trying to figure. That is, I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I'm doing that works. I suspect it's a different combination of factors that have worked with each one.

Here's what I know.

I'm pretty good at being calm and firm, not letting them see that they get to me, not giving them a weakness to prey upon. They're like dogs who sense fear on a person. They really are. The second they sense a weakness, they will take advantage of it. For example, I've had a male student try to invade my personal space and try to literally back me into a corner. Thing is, I didn't back up. I stood my ground and looked him straight in the eye. I'm 5' 5 1/2", which is about average and he was definitely taller, but height doesn't really intimidate me. I guess that comes from being the shortest in my family by 3 inches. My brother is a foot taller than I am. The guy tried it on one other occasion and then gave up. However, my actions in that instance could be construed as aggressive, I suppose.

Anyway, I've had a couple out there students in the past, at least one of whom had some untreated psych issues. I guess my mom's (the former social worker) advice about dealing with abusive personalities stuck with me. A lot of that involves remaining calm (or at least have the appearance of calm), keeping the voice steady and firm. Raising volume or pitch can work against you. [It's probably telling that my mother didn't raise her voice when she corrected us when we were kids. Instead, she spoke more quietly, forcing us to lean in and pay attention.] Keeping aware of posture can help, too.

I know that my language tends to be more formal and more polite (but not obsequious) in these situations. Follow through is important, too. If I say that "x" will be a consequence for "y," I absolutely have to stick with it. Even if inside I want to be nice, it must be done.

The reason this came up in the last post, was because I just went through this in an online situation. Apparently, I'm decent in dealing with these guys online, through writing, too. Somehow, towards the end of a thread (about Shakespeare, no less), I was the only one he was treating with any respect. What happened? I didn't react to his outbursts and hyperbole. I didn't respond to his comments using the abusive tone he inflicted on others. I was calm and almost coldly logical with him and actually was able to get him to address the point of the original post, which he hadn't done in the beginning as he was too busy slamming everyone else's comments.

I did feel icky after this. He actually started addressing serious, on-topic comments to me while dismissing other people's valid points - even when I reiterated and supported those people's points. So yeah, he treated me like a human being, but he was still being a jerk to everyone else. Not a total win, but it made me think about this issue and a few "special" students I've encountered in the past.

As a side note, I'm also pretty good at breaking down their arguments logically, which doesn't hurt. As far as those academic guys like this are concerned, it almost disgusts me how many of them treat me like "one of them" because one of my reading areas was critical theory. Bleh! This happened with a number of my fellow grad students who also happen to be male. These are the same guys who are impressed by the fact that I've read Kant and a few other Dead Germans in German, never mind that I have a degree in the language. Even so, most professional translators have surely done a better job with these texts than I have.

Other than that, I'm not sure what the answer is. Maybe I'm oblivious to some things that are going on. Maybe I just don't care enough to let it bother me. Well, that's not true. It's probably more accurate to say that I have little-to-no problem confronting the jerks because I refuse to play their deranged reindeer games. I can be a little hard-headed about things like that. If nothing else, I am stubborn.

I was just thinking that all of these lessons about being calm, firm, and in control were also part of learning to work with the horses we had when I was growing up. Maybe working with large, powerful animals helped me learn how to physically and vocally present myself in these situations. Hmmmmmm.....something to think about.

Things I Learned This Week

1) You know those guys who are arrogant, condescending, hyper-argumentative, and a little bit sexist to boot? Of course you do - academia has its share. This is the same type of male student who challenges female instructors' authority. Anyway, apparently I really am good at dealing with them. Although I have to admit that I feel a bit icky when I see them giving me respect while treating others like #%#$(%(#@. I really wish I didn't have to be good at dealing with these jerks.

2) The local butcher carries hamburger patties that include ground bacon and chunks of cheddar cheese. I might have to sample one of these.

3) The pumice stone I use on my feet can also be used to remove RustOleum's Satin Strawflower spray paint from my skin (with the help of a little soap and water, of course).


4) I do not care if there is spray paint on the asphalt.

5) I shouldn't be allowed to go to the nursery for any reason. I went and I bought another tomato plant. I'm up to 4 now. That's 4 tomato plants, 1 me. Each one is a different variety. The new one is an Amish Paste tomato.

6) I have "tagger's finger."

7) The fact that my mom refers to Plum as "the juvenile delinquent" is not without cause.

What I Did For Mother's Day

I baked, of course!

Individual strawberry shortcakes are one of my favorite desserts to make. As you can see, I'm a fan of the biscuit variety (although the spongecake type is ok, too). What's really nice, is that it's easy to cut the biscuits smaller and make cute desserts for those who want smaller portions. I made fairly large biscuits this time and cut them out with a knife, but I've used all sorts and sizes of biscuit cutters in the past. They're also great if you want to get kids involved with the process, whether it be the baking, preparing the strawberries, or assembling the final product.

And then there's the most important part - they are delicious!!

A Perfect Example of Chewie's Mental "Problems"

The dog is crazy. Just plain crazy.




And this is his normal behavior.

One Day I'll Learn

I took the afternoon off (in terms of academic stuff) and planted everything that needed to be planted (that I hadn't yet planted - I did a little the other day). This is a good thing. Here are some of the results. There are more.




Anyway, there was a point before I finished when I knew I should stop. I had been out in the sun long enough. But no, I didn't stop. I wanted to finish this so I wouldn't have to play in the dirt again. As a result, I have a light burn. I knew better, I knew what would happen, and I stayed out anyway. I suppose it could have been worse (like, if I hadn't worn sunscreen to begin with). So, I took some ibuprofen, took a cool shower, and moisturized. Hopefully the pink will fade soon. I'm also a bit sore from lifting bags of dirt and moving filled planters to their proper location. I am such a wimp.