what would you give up?

I have seen posted on Facebook and Twitter variations of the question "Which of your senses would you give up to have an end to poverty, COVID, cancer, etc?" While many had responses that this or that would be the sacrifice that would be least offensive, i have a different take. I am sure that this doesn't surprise you, my friends that know that i'm a freak in so many ways.>>>>>>> You can close your eyes when you don't want to see something or need a break. Do you want to take a nap? You can close your eyes and eliminate the visual interference of the world. Do you want to get rid of a bad taste or avoid a bad taste? You can brush your teeth or rinse your mouth. You can close your mouth and not take in the gustatory input. You can even pinch/plug your nose to avoid the malodors that you wish to avoid. Great.>>>>>>> But, you cannot close your ears. Much the pity. >>>>>>> I went for a hearing test in the past year, twice, to see if perhaps i had a hearing loss. Both times, i was told that my hearing is "within normal limits for your age", whatever that means besides i don't need/get hearing aids. I would love to have hearing aids...so that i could take them off and be "non-hearing".>>>>>>> Hear me out (pun not initially intended but appreciated!).>>>>>> I am that freak who DOESN'T like music, in general. I wish that i could turn off the noise that is most music. Unfortunately for me, i married a man that i love dearly...who loves music. I cannot ignore the music when i am reading and it complicates my understanding. Even opera (which he is listening to right this very minute) is noise to me. A neighbor recently had a house alarm that would go off, loudly, across the valley three or four times a night, for about 2 minutes each. This "noise" was less offensive to me than the majority of the music that i hear. Yes, i would rather hear a house or car alarm than Luciano Pavarotti singing an aria. Don't even get me started on The Rolling Stones and Pearl Jam and anything that you might pull up on Pandora. >>>>>>> I wish that i could close my ears. I have heard my children speak their first words and many subsequent discussions. I read a lot, even the subtitles on films, so there is nothing that i would "miss out on". I don't need a morning alarm to get to work. No one calls me on the phone that i don't also text, which is a more efficient communication device as you can look back and reread.>>>>>>> So, i would gladly give up my hearing....without the incentive of curing cancer or ending local poverty (although that would be nice...). >>>>>>> Come on. Tell me what i would be missing. Tell me how "wrong" i am. I'd love to "hear" your arguments!>>>>>>> xxoxo-- your freaky overly-stimulated friend-- lisa>>>>>>> RECIPE:>>>>>>> This is a recipe...of a sort. It is "stupid-easy" because sometimes we just want to make something that we _know_ will work...every time.>>>>>>> YOU TOO "CAN" MAKE TACO SOUP!!>>>>>>> "SOPA SIETE" ( SEVEN SOUP)>>>>>>> (all cans are ~15oz) 1 can corn (drained)....... 1 can black beans, drained....... 1 can diced tomatoes, not drained, just dump ....... 1 can chicken/vegetable broth........ 1 can enchilada sauce....... 1 can/jar salsa **....... 1 can chicken either/or 1 can pinto beans....... **roasted or "taco seasoning" is extra good....... **mild, medium. or hot...you do you!........

Copenhagen Crazy Chicken!>>>>>>>Dr Pepper Pulled Chicken:>>>>>>>Instant Pot Dr. Pepper BBQ Chicken>>>>>>> A>>>>>>> 3# boneless skinless chicken>>>>>>> 8oz Dr Pepper>>>>>>> 3/4 C BBQ sauce>>>>>>> B>>>>>>> 3/4C BBQ sauce>>>>>>> Put A in IP and set for 15 minutes, NR>>>>>>> Removed chix from liquid, shred>>>>>>> Return chix to pan, add ~3/4C liquid + B>>>>>>> Stir/saute to heat>>>>>>> Serve over jacket potatoes, toasted buns, etc

Sometimes you get what you asked for...only to find that you don't want it afterall. I am quirky. Ok, weird. Ok, difficult. And i feel bad for Joe that he has to put up with my being the crazy chick that i am. For 30+ years. I wished for him to have some difficult, annoying habits or behaviors so that icould feel "justified" in being the PITA that i am.>>>>>>>Then it came true. We are in Scandinavia now and he is.....testy. And the "clutter" of being in a different Air B&B every couple nights (pack/unpack/rearrange) is getting to him. And we didn't go to "lunch' until 3:00 yesterday (i had breakfast at 6.....i was faint with hunger as we were wandering a museum at 12:00 .....1:00.....1:30.....2:00....>>>>>I am feeling better now about being difficult. I just let his craziness roll off me....and feel slightly better that i am not the only one with "issues" that have to be dealt with.

i am in Copenhagen now and saw this recipe. While i love vacation....i'm ready to go home and make this dish. I am so looking forward to it that i've already given it a <3 rating (which means i love it!)>>>>>> <3 Copenhagen leek-red lentil patties>>>>>>> 1C red lentils>>>>>>> Rinse and soak in water to cover 20+ minutes>>>>>>> 1 LARGE leek, sliced>>>>>>> 1 onion, sliced>>>>>>> 1 sweet potato, grated>>>>>>> 1/2-1 CR carrot, grated>>>>>>> 2t minced garlic>>>>>>> 1t cayenne>>>>>>> 1t garam masala>>>>>>> 1t caraway>>>>>>> 2t salt>>>>>>> Sauté to soft>>>>>>> 2t baking soda>>>>>>> 1/2C bread crumbs>>>>>>> Mixy mix>>>>>>> 1/2 lemon, juiced>>>>>>> 1/2-3/4C parsley>>>>>>> Purée drained red lentils and this>>>>>>> Add to veggie mix>>>>>>> Form patties>>>>>>> Sauté to crispy>>>>>>> Serve with yogurt-tahini sauce

why do you do that in that manner?

Have you ever give a thought to why you do things the way that you do? If you're anything like me, you have things that you do regularly a certain way, the "right way", such that any other method would be "wrong" or just weird? >>>>>>> For example, is there, in your world, a "right" way to dry off after a shower or bath? I'll answer for you. Yes. Once the water is off, _immediately_ dry the face (had contacts for 20years, drying the face/eyes first allows you to not lose them...) Now to the drying. Start with the towel in right hand, dry the left hand (don't forget between the fingers),up the left arm, across the chest (quick swipe, no "bumps" in the way....), continue down the right arm to the hand. Now, bend waaaay over to let the hair drip on your feet. Dry the legs (starting with the feet) then flip the towel to the back and scissor back and forth. Lastly, do the turban-thing to the hair and flip up the head. Now you can step out of the shower and go get dressed.>>>>>>> Eating? Sososo many "right" ways to do things. If there is ice in a drink, a straw is optimal. Having the ice cubes clink to the lips or teeth is ....icky. Soup spoons are too big. I'm a klutz so i always eat soup (and i love soup!) with a small spoon. So, if we go to a restaurant, i have my own spoon, in my bag, at all times. Oh! And i don't eat with plastic, if i can avoid it. Again, i always have the spoon in my bag. Except for salad and spaghetti, anything i eat can be eaten with a spoon. (Yes, steak would not work with a spoon...but i won't be eating steak, right?)>>>>>>> Towles are all folded the same way. When i was growing up on Forestcrest Way, the "linen closet" (really a small little thing) was so narrow that if the towel weren't folded in 1/3's, they wouldn't fit. Now, so many years later, i still fold towels in 1/3's. Yes, i will refold the towels when i do laundry with Joe and he tries to "help". I don't iron sheets (or anything, really, for years) but do know how to fold a fitted sheet. Joe doesn't even try to "help" with that! Pillow slips have to be put on with the tags/zipper to the bottom so that the open side doesn't show them. Yes, i will re-slip a pillow slip that is put on "wrong", even at the hospital with the stretchers for the temporary patients (GI lab only had patients on the stretchers for ~1 hour but still...they deserve a "proper pillow").>>>>>>>Apples get cut in wedges or small pieces. I will rarely pick up an apple and just eat it. And, wedges, not sticks or rounds. I don't know why. >>>>>>>I don't "peel" celery, tomatoes, or eggplant....my mother always did (ok, no eggplant...she never made that) and probably still does. I peel carrots most of the time and cucumbers. I rarely wash fruits/veg with vinegar, etc. I've never gotten sick...and i eat A LOT of veggies.>>>>>>>What "right way" things do you have?

recipe to go with "feathers and bricks"

you KNOW that i have to have a recipe with every posting, a remnant of the "snail mail" that i used to exchange with my mother (back when i did "snail mail"...back when i was corresponding with my mother...). so, without further ado..... CHICKEN BASIL from "Chicken Dinners in ONE POT">>>>>>> SPICY CHICKEN WITH SWEET BASIL (i thought that this would be super-appropriate to go with "feathers"...and it's what we are having tomorrow for the "Olga-fest")>>>>>>>3 s/b chicken breasts, ~1#, chunked>>>>>>>(2T olive/peanut oil--- which i leave out)>>>>>>>1t minced garlic>>>>>>>1t crushed red pepper flakes>>>>>>>1 zucchini, chunked (i added this)>>>>>>2T soy sauce>>>>>>>2T Thai fish sauce(yes!!! you need this...no, you cannot leave it out!!)>>>>>>>1t sugar>>>>>>>1C small, fresh basil leaves (no, you cannot use dried.......)>>>>>>>2 green onion, sliced>>>>>>>saue onion, garlic and red pepper flakes to hot and beginning to soften>>>>>>>add chicken and zucchini and saute until chicken is white but not yet completely cooked (3-5 minutes), add rest and saute until chicken is done and basil is wilted>>>>>>>squeeze a bit of lime/lemon juice over ( if you have it!)>>>>>>>serve over fluffy rice (which i always have in the fridge)>>>>>>>fluffy salad and/or sliced pineapple is a good side dish here

feathers and bricks

I saw something the other day on the 'net that stuck with me and wanted to share it with you. I don't know if you'll like it as much as i did but here goes.>>>>>>> The woman was talking about those things in life that can "ruin a perfectly good day". She said that her daughter would come home from school and, when asked about her day, would start in on how so-&-so said that her hair was wonky or her outfit was weird, how her lunch sandwich was mushy or the bus was stinky. How her day was ick because this or that happened. The woman said that these were like "bricks" that blocked her daughter from seeing that it had been a pretty sunny day...that she had beautiful hair and a great figure that made every outfit look great...that her bus ride took her all the way from the school to the house without breaking down and she didn't have to walk home in snow or blinding heat. That i was really a good day but those "bricks" blocked her from seeing this.>>>>>>> What if, instead, one saw these things (the "wonky hair", the "weird outfit", the "mushy sandwich") as "feathers", just little flips what occur and then blow away in the wind or a puff of air from your lips? What if every time something happens that could be a block in your view of happiness was seen as a feather that could just be blown away with a puff of breath? >>>>>>> I tried this yesterday to mixed results. Ok, the "no water situation" was more a brick than a feather....but the cat waking me at 0200, the waking too late to do yoga before i had to make breakfasts, the twinge in my back while walking--- feathers. The lunch that was highly anticipated and then only 'meh"-- feather. The book that i thought would be good...that i looked forward to reading after a morning of chores and to-dos tat ended up being a bust (but i felt that i had to read a bit more b/c surely it would get better soon!)?....feather. >>>>>>> I felt like Libby, accumulating a pile of feathers around me (although she kills the bird first). I just puffed and blew away the feathers. Did i completely see the beatiful day? Not really but i did see it more clearly than the wall of silly bricks that were my bland lunch, bland book, and stiff back. I can walk without a wheelchair (unlike my friend's hubby). I was able to eat the bland lunch (unlike when my jaw was wired shut a few years ago). I had the afternooon to read the bland book (didn't have to work the 12+ hour shift that my son does every weekend).>>>>>>> pura vida. Trying to see the forest, not the few wilted trees within it (and the feathers at the bases of those trees). >>>>>>> See if you can pfft away some of the feathers in your days this week. I'll tell you about my successes (and "do-overs") this week. Good luck!>>>>>>>