Monday, June 20 – Saturday, June 26, 2022
The Week in Juneteenth: My main job recognized Juneteenth last year, but we did it at the last minute and the office was sort of open (meaning people who worked could get their time earned converted to time off). This year, Juneteenth was official. I was out and about running errands and had some nice chats with folks who appreciate the importance of the day.
The Week(s) in Putting it Together: Since the COVID lockdown, I’ve had a jigsaw puzzle going on my dining room table at all times. I usually do 1000 piece puzzles, and I just randomly put in pieces as I pass by they table or while I’m cooking. Normally, it takes me 4 or 5 weeks to do a puzzle.
For Christmas, I got a Lego puzzle and it has been on my table since March. That is moving me from 4-5 weeks to 4-5 months! OY! I’m just starting to see that the end is in sight. Also, all those yellow faces seems to be laughing at me. I’ve got to finish soon or they might start talking to me, too!
The Week in Support: My neighbor attended her first FC soccer game this week and I lent her my FC scarf. With the temperature in the 80’s at game time, she was unsure that wearing a scarf was a good idea. I assured her she might not feel cool temperature-wise, but she would feel cool supporting the team. I told just to wash it and, because I’ve noticed it’s my job to teach her domestic tricks, I told her to wash it in a laundry bag. Well, that threw her for a loop. She didn’t know what a laundry bag was. So, I told her and then I lent her my scarf, and a laundry bag. She supported the team, and I supported her growth as efficient runner of her household!
The Week in Alice: When I walk home from work, I take a circuitous route that helps me build up my step count for the day. On my walk home Friday, dressed in work clothes, swinging my well-used purple lunch bag, I passed a wide open new door to a brand new bar on Main St. It looked hip. I did not. I went home, changed clothes, and went to the new bar, Alice. It’s neat. Very eclectic. And since I was there on just the second day they were open, I felt like an influencer when I posted a picture on Facebook. Sure, I get it. Facebook is for old people, but I’m going for an elder millennial vibe!
Oh, when I asked the bartenders why the bar was called Alice, they didn’t know. We rattled of some pop culture Alice references (Alice in Wonderland, Alice in Chains) and I said there was a show in the 70’s called Alice. The twenty-something bartender said, “Before my time.” I said, “No shit.” LOL!
The Week in Raman: On Saturday I was just about to call it a day and have a single person’s evening, complete with an alcoholic beverage and some ramen. I have graduated from the cheap, American ramen packs that nourished me through college, and I now spend a couple bucks on imported ramen. They are often a surprise with packets of foodstuff I cannot always identify.
I had my ramen ready to go, water boiling and all, when a friend texted me about my dinner plans. I sent him this picture and asked him to intervene. He did. I went out to eat like a civilized adult…and I still have yet to see what exactly the kimchi in the foil pack looks like. Very suspenseful.
The Week in Farm Fresh: Sunday at Findlay Market I kept putting vegetables in my backpack with no plan at all. I just knew I wanted all the veggies and I knew I wanted to use the Jollof sauce, a locally made Jamaican sauce that is outstanding. I gathered up the bounty and the sauce, and the first half hour or so of my weekly food prep mostly involved me staring at my full kitchen counter. I ended up using the sauce with chunks of chicken, fresh peas, and spring onions. Then I cooked the green beans very simply in a little butter as a side dish for pork chops with fresh potatoes and spring onions. I still have broccoli rabe and baby eggplant left. I need to exercise some vegetable self control.
The Week in Fresh Tomato Snacking: I took a tomato to work to eat as a snack at my desk. I like to eat tomatoes like apples, or more similar, hard boiled eggs, simply biting and salting my way to the stem/core. Not to be too gross, but with a fresh tomato, you kind of have to bite and suck to keep the juices in check. Anyhoo, I’m at my desk biting and sucking away when I realize the large and that provides ambient noise in the office has gone silent. That tomato tasted great, but I’m sure I sounded like an animal to my co-workers. (The next day I brought a cut-up tomato!)
Nothing Ever Happens on My Street 