September 11, 2020

I just made eggplant and black bean veggie burgers from scratch.

I am not a good cook; I just throw things together. These came out good.

Our eggplants this year turned out to be long and very thin. I half-peeled a dozen, threw them in the chopper, did same with an onion and a drained can of black beans and three jalapeños we grew. Drained it some through a sieve, added two eggs and a little brown sugar. It was too wet so added bread crumbs.

Just fried up a patty and it sure looks and tastes like a burger to me. 🙂

September 4, 2020

You, too, can make big bucks in a vaccine trial, says Facebook.

I just talked to a person in a two-month Covid trial. He saw it on FB and applied. He's getting $2,000. He gets two shots, a month apart, and has to give daily reports on his reactions or side effects etc.

After talking to him, I searched trials on FB and found a couple, and now they're popping up in my newsfeed. I am not interested in doing one, but I find it interesting that this is out there.

August 31, 2020

Midnight in Moscow (or... Things the grandkids don't know)

It was 1962, I was 17.
Pouring rain on Decatur Street,
Midnight in Moscow from a dark bar.
Me standing at Aunt Sally's window, Squinting over at Cafe du Monde,
Wishing I had a dime for a beignet.
Kid comes along, my age,
Says he has a room down Royal.

He buys muffelettas.
We do it. I walk an hour up St. Charles
To Carondelet Street
Where I got a third-floor room
By saying I was 18 and worked switchboard
At the telephone company.

August 29, 2020

It looks like I won't be killing my 97-year-old mother.

I flew from Boston to Baton Rouge on two Delta flights that made me feel safer than I expected. I was alone in my row. Everyone stayed masked. They handed out sanitizer twice. Snacks and bottle of water were all in one plastic bag I could sanitize. I wiped down the rental car.

No sign of damage from Laura in Baton Rouge (the parts I've seen).

I heard the orange doofus is coming down here. I hope he draws a tight crowd of maskless cult members.

August 22, 2020

I'm chortling over my witty FB comeback.

A Repug relative posted:

There’s no way God told Noah to put two roaches on that boat!

My reply:

No, Trump and Pence were young and strong then, so they swam alongside until a snake boosted them up.


(I can just picture her sputtering indignation as she wonders what came over me; I don't usually engage the crazies)

If I were REALLY brave, and wanted to explain how they reproduced, I'd remind her that Pence has been his ----- from day one.

August 18, 2020

Probably a bad idea, but I booked a flight to Louisiana.

For August 27. I'm 75 and shouldn't risk it, but my mother is 97 and I have missed several of my usual trips down from Boston to see her. She uses Facebook, so we do communicate, but since a stroke last year she can't really hold a phone conversation.

My husband needs to go see his 100-year-old mother in Alberta, too. Maybe soon.

August 1, 2020

HOARDERS, Season 11, Episode 2, bashes Idonka pretty good!

From within the fog of her serious hoarding disorder, the subject of the show grabs a beat-up purse and says, "Look at this thing! Ivanka Trump! Made in China! $15? I wouldn't pay $15!" (It wasn't clear if she meant there was a price tag on it.)

This show is heavily edited, and usually apolitical. The producers could easily have cut that bit, but they didn't. I wonder how many nasty tweets and emails the show got from the Drumpf bots and crazies!

July 31, 2020

I just caught part of a Markey ad starring AOC.

If I were undecided, I'd be influenced by her enthusiastic endorsement! I hope the ad plays often.

July 16, 2020

Playing baseball today in Mass.

Well, not me. My 11-year-old grandson went to his first baseball practice now that it's allowed. He said seven kids showed up and everybody wore masks the entire time. He's looking forward to going again tomorrow.

We are proud of these kids for doing the right thing. It must be a challenge to hit and catch and run and pitch with masks on.

July 11, 2020

I love my husband, but...

Trying to watch A Quiet Place with him is stressful. Luckily I've seen it before, so I'm just trying to be tolerant. "How can they cook and eat without making noise? What if they fart? You can't have a childbirth without any sounds. Isn't the baby going to cry? Why did he do that?"

He doesn't have many faults actually. 😂