Snake Plant in Bloom

What a surprise I had recently!  Did you know that Snake Plants (Dracaena trifasciata) bloom? 

 

I didn’t either; I was amazed when I pulled open the curtain so it could get light and saw 3 spikes with nectar dripping flowers.  The flowers had no scent but they lasted a long time.

What fun!

On The Edge of the Quad State Storm

 Saturday 11 Dec 2021

 The entire night Friday had been spent watching... praying... prepping as an insane weather system rolled towards us.  The night time temperature here was 73*F. 

 At 10pm news of a bad hit in Kentucky started making the news.  About 80 miles NNW of us a factory had been hit in Mayfield.  People trapped.  Then more reports...  The downtown of this Mayberry-ish town gone.  Destroyed.  Debris was lifted 35,000 ft into the sky.  To give that some context, a commercial jet cruises at that altitude.

 

(Mayfield, KY - to the right is what remains [nothing] of the destroyed factory.) 

At 12 midnight there were 3 tornado reports 30 miles WNW in the Dover, TN area. 

At 12:24 am the Clarksville airport reported a wind gust of 61 miles an hour. 

At 1:15am Bowling Green, KY was hit. 

Because of the weird arching shape of the front line, areas north and west were hit well before we were.     

Around 3am the wind started blowing here.  For the next 20 minutes the thinnest part of a weather band stretching from Texas into Ohio crossed over our home.  This area was spared.  At the same time south of us in Dickson and Greater Nashville was taking a hit.  The Nashville airport recorded a 78 MPH gust (the 3rd highest ever record there). 

I finally went to bed at 7:40am this morning.  Got up at 3pm.  The afternoon temperature is now 46*F (tonight will be around 28*F).  There are a few branches down.  We still have power. 

We are grateful.

If you wish to help in a very real and tangible way, I suggest a donation to Samaritan's Purse.  Semi-trucks were being loaded this very morning to head out to Arkansas and Kentucky.  The crew will be clearing debris and helping people gather what remains.  Blue tarps will be covering roofs to protect against farther damage.  And they will be listening to and holding shocked grief-stricken victims.

https://samaritanspurse.org/     

Edit:  This interview was on Sunday.  Worth watching and confirms what I said about Samaritan's Purse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1lLmgqlUyI  

 

 

#3 Is Done

 

On Friday I received my 3rd Covid vaccine.  I had my strongest reaction yet.  My arm actually hurt to touch this time.  

And tiredness?

First and second time a nap was a very good idea.  This time SLEEP was mandatory... as in all of Saturday and most of Sunday I could not keep my eyes open.  I'm very thankful I'm retired because I would have not been able to work.  Face planting on one's desk just is not good!

But I didn't get sick or have pain so it's all good.

Honor

 It is estimated there are fewer than 100 survivors left...  Give them honor.

Review: USB Laptop Light

 My computer sets on the end of our kitchen table for my ease of use.  Love being able to cook and have something to do while I'm waiting for bake - boil - saute to finish.

The not so great thing about my space is the terrible lighting at night.  My keyboard was liking trying to see into a black hole.  While the keys have 'back light', it only lasts about 10 seconds after the last key stroke.  So much for thinking about anything while typing.

So I headed over to Amazon to see if there was some solution to the problem.  

Oh yes...  

Just what I was hoping for!

I found this little jewel!

It clips onto the monitor frame and has a notch so your camera lens isn't covered.  It is hinged so you can adjust the angle of light.

The light quality is adjustable.  There are 10 brightness levels and you can have 'warm' or 'cold' light... or inbetween.  

It has made a 'night and day' difference with my computer use experience.  

The light I purchased can be found here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NPBRVHP?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

(I was not paid or compensated for this endorsement.  I just love the product!)

Cleaning for the New Year

 OK, I'll admit my house cleaning routine has taken a hit these last 2 years.  Sure, we keep up the necessary stuff.  But when you know that nobody is going to come through your door... why bother to keep the dusting up or chase dust bunnies (or as we say 'dust kittens') from under the furniture?  

I've decided this has to change!  

This year I am going into 2022 with a CLEAN & ORGANIZED house.  As in floor shined and ceiling cob web banished, along with everything between.

Being I completely recognize how lazy I've gotten (no smirking!) I've decided the month of December is just about the right amount of time to get  ~ in sloth cleaning time (I get it done when I get it done).  No working on Sundays or an appointment day.

I'm weirdly excited about this...

ROASTED CHICKEN STUFFED WITH CHORIZO

 Did a Gordon Ramsey cooking lesson tonight.  Roast chicken with chorizo stuffing.  Good!

 ROASTED CHICKEN STUFFED WITH CHORIZO

 Ingredients

1. • 1 tsp olive oil

2. • 6 ounces chorizo sausage, diced

3. • 1/2 onion, diced

4. • 2 cloves garlic, minced

5. • 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, half-dried

6. • 14 oz cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

7. • 1 tsp fresh thyme

8. • 1 whole chicken (4-5 lbs.)

9. • 1 lemon

10. • 1 tbsp olive oil

11. • 1 tbsp paprika

12. • salt and pepper

13. • 1 cup white wine

14. • 1 cup water

15. • 4 sprigs thyme

 (I used more chorizo and beans because it looked so good.  Glad I did!)

 Instructions

 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

 2. Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add chorizo and sauté until browned, about 3-4 minutes. Add onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, beans, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium and cook until vegetables have softened, about 7-8 minutes. Remove from heat.

 3. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Stuff the cavity with the sausage mix. Place the lemon in the cavity and tuck the legs together to hold the stuffing and lemon inside.

 4. Rub olive oil on the outside of the chicken. Season with paprika, salt and pepper. Place chicken in a roasting pan. Pour wine and water in the pan with the thyme sprigs. Cover the chicken with aluminum foil and roast the chicken for 1 hour.

 5. Remove foil and continue cooking the chicken for 30 minutes or the internal temperature reads 160 degrees F. Remove chicken from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes.

 6. Remove the lemon and stuffing from the cavity. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the cooking juices. Strain the juices.

 7. Break down the chicken, cutting the breast, thighs and drumsticks. Drizzle the strained juices onto the chicken and stuffing. Serve.

 By GORDON RAMSAY