Friday Randomness
Here it is, Friday morning. I’m feeling both happy and sad today, and in a bit of a rush, so I’ll quickly tell you what’s going through my brain, and then move on.
- Sad. My best friend’s grandma died this week. She had a stroke a few weeks ago, and either something else came up, or she had another stroke. One of my grandmas had a stroke the same week, and is doing fine and fully recovered. Strange how life is. (Also, they caught my grandma’s stroke while it was happening, I think, which makes a huge difference.)
- Happy, because I’m going to Stockton today for the funeral. I’ll get to see my best friend and her family, and though the circumstances suck, it’s always nice to see her.
- Also, going to take Grandma and Aunt Flo to lunch while I’m in town. Happy about that. Where will they pick this time? Marie Callenders? Olive Garden? Red Lobster? Sizzler? One never knows.
- Maya and I made this for dinner last night, and it was pretty tasty. Mostly it tasted like mac & cheese with sausage thrown in. You didn’t really taste the butternut squash as much as we expected. So it was OK, but not fabulous. Still, it counts in the happy camp, not the unhappy camp.
- We cancelled our newspaper subscription awhile ago because the price kept going up. Not that I blame them, because with subscriptions down so much and people getting their news elsewhere, they have to bring in some money to pay the staff. But we couldn’t afford it anymore. Well, they offered us a 2 month deal that we couldn’t refuse, so we’re getting Fri – Sun papers for a little while. Today was the first day, and I was happy to open the door and find a paper waiting for me.
OK, that’s it. Gosh, in the heyday of blogging, they used to have something called a ‘Friday Five’, which was a quick meme that was usually just like this. 5 quick things going on in your life, then move on. Though maybe it was more organized than that, I’m not sure. I’m going to grab a Friday 5 for my picture, because blog posts are always more fun with a picture, right?
3 Comments
Ted
Even though it’s a happy/sad day, I hope you enjoy your time in Stockton today.
Nance
I laughed and laughed when I got to the list of restaurant options for your grandma and aunt. If they were here in Ohio, you could add Bob Evans to the list. Classic old folks restaurant.
If you want to taste the squash more, get a butternut squash, peel, then cut into small chunks. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast in a 425 degree oven for about 35 minutes or until chunks are tender. Mix into the dish at the proper prep time.
I’m crazy about squash, and I toss it in with sausage all the time. It’s such a great pairing. One of my favorites is farfalle, mild sausage, spinach, squash, and just olive oil. I add some grated asiago and call it dinner. So good.
J
Nance, your farfale dish sounds delicious, and I think I’m going to have to try it sometime soon. Thanks for the recipe!
Rachel Ray suggested roasting the squash if you had more time, but I decided to try the recipe as is. I think maybe it was just too much like mac & cheese for us. I love mac & cheese, but I have a separate recipe for that.
We ended up at Red Lobster. It was lovely. There was a time when I would try to take them to nicer, locally owned restaurants, but they were always a disaster. I had to give up and realize that I haven’t lived in Stockton for almost 30 years now, and a restaurant that I’d been to in 1985 might not be the same now. So now wherever they want to go, I take them. My great aunt once asked for Quiznos, and I was horrified. Made them go to some fancy place with tablecloths and wine and crummy food and horrid service. I really wished I had taken them to Quiznos.