Text 9705, 130 rader
Skriven 2008-06-27 14:12:36 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
   Kommentar till text 9607 av Nancy Backus (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: I Lived Through It ...
==============================
Hi Nancy,

 NB>  NB>> It was indeed.  I slipped on the ice, and twisted 90 degrees as
 NB> I  NB>> fell. I dislocated the tibia, tearing the ligaments on both
 NB> sides of  NB>> it, and then the injury exited through the fibula,
 NB> breaking it...  NB>> or so the doc explained it to me...

 RH> You really did it up good!  Did your husband turn into a pretty decent
 RH> cook over the time you were off your feet?  Even more important--did
 RH> he learn to clean up after his cooking? (G)

 NB> He's a decent cook anyway... but he really doesn't like to cook... so

Most guys learn a bit for bachelor survival; some go deeper into real
cooking. Others are content to stay with the bare minimum, making
friends with take out,fast food and the microwave.

 NB> we had a lot of Marie Callendars (which at least are quite decent),

Those are rather high in the sodium department. Their ads feature "just
like grandma used to make"  but I guess in grandma's day, a higher
amount of salt in the diet was the norm.

 NB> there were a number of people that brought in food, which he was quite
 NB> capable of doing the finishing touches to, and re-serving multiple
 NB> days. My niece was living with us at the time, while in college, so
 NB> she helped out a little.  Richard's dad had died when he was little,

It's nice to have a support net work like that. We've had it done for us
and we've done it for others.

 NB> and his mom
 NB> kept working as a school teacher, so she trained him and his brother
 NB> well in the cooking and cleaning up, as well as in a number of other
 NB> aspects of housekeeping...  :)   He regularly helps with the clean up
 NB> after meals normally...  :)  And fends for himself fine when I'm away
 NB> on a trip, too.

Steve needed a bit of help in the clean up department at first but now
does quite well.  He'll clear the table as I'm finishing my last bite or
two and if he makes something in the kitchen, he'll do the clean up.
Some times it's just putting things into the dishwasher but many times
he will wash all the dishes he's used, even the ones that could go into
the dishwasher. When we've had supper or other meals with left overs, he
will start the other clean up (he's really good with pots, pans and
grills) while I put the food away. That way I know where things that I
want to re-use are. (G)

 NB> The best food that anyone brought in was the dim sum that my friend
 NB> got from Cantonese House.  She brought us enough to last for 3 days.

That does sound like it was a treat.

 NB> she called to ask what she could bring, I told her that what I was
 NB> missing the most was my usual fix of asian food...  She being Chinese,
 NB> easily understood that... ;)

When Rachel had an ectopic pregnancy 3 years ago, we flew in from HI to
help her for a few weeks. The other officer wives in David's unit (he
was in the Air Force at the time) sent or brought a week's worth of food
the first week we were there.  Quite often, it was more than one meal's
worth. One of the best dishes was a chicken curry; I asked Rachel, but
she never was able to get the recipe.


 RH> 93 & 94) and elbow in 01. Our girls learned some cooking techniques
 RH> fast--and they learned that you don't cook macaroni & cheese in the
 RH> microwave for 20 minutes. (G)

 NB> No, that would indeed be a disaster... ;)  I learned quite a few

As in it could have been used for a door stop. I usually cooked my
macaroni, put it in a casserole dish, made the cheese sauce (not
following a recipe) and mixed it with the macaroni.  Then I'd nuke it
for a couple of minutes to even out the temperature.  Rachel and Deborah
followed a recipe for the cheese sauce; it ended up thinner than mine.
They'd seen me microwave the dish and figured that was what thickened
the sauce so............they kept giving it more time in hopes the sauce
would thicken.  About 20 minute into it, Steve came home and rescued
them.


 NB> things about cooking growing up... Mommy kept having babies, so I, as
 NB> oldest,
 NB> had to learn early...  Actually, we all took turns with the different
 NB> chores, including cooking, dishes afterwards, the various cleaning
 NB> chores, etc.  The one who cooked didn't have to do the dishes later,
 NB> that was someone else's job...  But then, there were* 8 of us... the
 NB> oldest 5 got the most of the work, at least until we moved out... :)

If you saw one of my notes to Carol about my mom going to summer
school--she went to SUC Geneseo while we lived in the Catskills. Too far
to commute. (G) I'm the 2nd oldest, first girl of 5 kids. My older
brother got a job where he was home on week ends so most of the time I
didn't have to deal with his criticism.  He did lay it on, as did the
other siblings, when he could. During the school year, I had to cook
once a week as my mom took night classes at SUC Oneonta.  We did share
some of the chores but even if I cooked (as I did most meals), if my
name came up on the clean up rotation, I had to do my part. But, it
ended up being a good learning experience in the long run.

 RH> It was a way to get that last dollar out of the tourist.  As you said,
 RH> most major grocery store chains can get fresh pineapple quickly.
 RH> You've no idea when the airport stuff is picked & packaged and it is
 RH> not stored in ideal conditions.

 NB> Definitely a point.  Caveat emptor...  :)

Yes, and buy your pineapple at home.


 NB> ... Chopped cabbage....it's not just a good idea... it's the SLAW!

We always compare cole slaw we get when we eat out to the one my MIL
taught me how to make; it's our gold standard (it uses pineapple,
cabbage and carrot).  Sadly few measure up to it.  I tried a new recipe
earlier this week; my MIL had told me that she uses it now vs the other
one.  To make it short--we like her original one far better & will
continue to hold it as our favorite/standard slaw.

---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly@earthlink.net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


... Mind... Mind... Let's see, I had one of those around here someplace.

--- PPoint 3.01
 * Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)