What's on your Monday Menu?

We read None of this is true for Bookclub last month. I liked it!

I liked the style, the podcast interviews - it was very interesting. There are missing parts though about the kids and her relationship with Walter. I have a tendency to drift from listening sometimes so maybe I missed them. I like Lisa Jewell, but I'm never left with so many questions!

I am listening to None of this is True. Wondering where this will go. I think I am about half way through with Josie staying with Alex because her husband beat her (Josies claim).

You're doing fine. Don't set your expectations to high. You'll be there soon enough. That is a lot for 3 1/2 weeks.

Mornin' All!

I just have a film discussion group meeting today. The person who picked the film wanted something light and fun, so we watched "Miss Americana" (on Netflix). It's about Taylor Swift. None of us really knew that much about her (we're all over 60 yo - some of us way over...) and wanted to know what all the fuss is about. Anyway, loved it...and she now has a new fan! (maybe more than just me - I'll know later on today (at the meeting)). It's my turn to pick the next film. I need to check my running list and see if there's anything a little more upbeat than my usual pick. I usually pick kind of intense, issue-oriented things, and one of the people complained last time about there being too many depressing films (probably one reason why the other person went with "Miss Americana" this time). Although on the plus side, these "depressing" films usually stimulate a lot of discussion.

in other news, a chimney guy is coming over this morning. We had our water heater moved to the laundry room last month because that's where the floor drain is (the plumber who installed it suggested it, telling us they had one customer who had his heater not-near-the-floor-drain, and the thing started leaking while they were on vacation and caused thousands of dollars worth of damage. So...OK. After installing it, he told us to call a chimney person to seal the vent that the old one vented through. So we did. The guy came last week to do an estimate. While he was up on the roof looking at the chimney end of the vent, he noticed several issues with our chimney - it needs more substantial flashing, there's some missing mortar between some of the stones, and the cement cap thingie is cracked. So this will end up being a much bigger project than we bargained for, and much more expensive, too. So we decided we'd better get another estimate or two. So we'll see what this next guy says. The joys of owning an older home. It's always something...

QOTD: see above (i.e., movie)

coffee with half & half

Ratio yogurt, thin slice of Danish rye bread with butter and SF jam

protein shake

vegetarian chili

bagged salad

tuna salad on Wasa crackers

have a great day, everyone!

Same-sies on Ms. Americana and Taylor.

We had our entire nearly 100 year old fireplace redone 5 years ago. The flue relined, all the flashing, cap and such replaced, the firebox brick completely taken out and redone. It was a bit pricey, but has allowed us to use it without worry about our safety. So a net win in my book.

the second guy just left. He said with all the missing mortar, there could be water damage in the chimney, so he suggested he take it down to the roof and just rebuild it rather than just replacing the missing mortar. He said he can reuse the stones, so hopefully it'd be mostly labor charges. But still. Yikes. We'll see what the estimate is.

Miss Americana turned me into a Swiftie a few years ago. I love her.

Good morning, everybody!

Our local butcher was offering free vegetables to anybody who danced like a Leprechaun, so Marilyn scored 8 red potatoes and half of a cabbage with a little jig. Woo Hoo!!

Whatever was bothering my abdomen on Thursday evening kind of resolved itself. I still don't know whether it was muscular, gas pain, something stuck, etc. I guess I never will.

The knife skills class was fun. We made a salad with Persian Cucumbers, Spring Rolls, Stir Fry, and Green Tea Matcha Ice Cream with Orange slices. The ice cream was pre-made, so it was mostly about slicing the oranges. I liked the instructor, he had a lot of varied culinary experience and didn't try and sell things during the class. My three main take aways were: hold the knife correctly, keep the tip on the cutting board and slice down and forward.

My older son made it home on time, despite the Denver snow. He launched into a six hour nap while we were at the knife skills class. Friday night the four of us went to dinner. Marilyn got Cacio E Pepe made in a giant wheel of cheese.

Saturday, my son cooked us steak and asparagus. I had steak for three meals and have a little bit left for breakfast this week. Yesterday, I went to the gym and filled out my NCAA brackets. I know nothing about College Basketball anymore. We had the corned beef and cabbage for our lunch.

What I didn't do was 24.3, so I need to leave work early today and get it knocked out.

QOTD: I'm reading a Whole 30 Book that I got for Christmas. After I finish that, I think that I will re-read a John Buchan collection that I haven't read in awhile. We watched Mare of Easttown and loved it, so we started watching Happy Valley, a U.K. series that Mare was inspired by and have loved that as well. We are watching the Hercule Poirot's whenever they are on TV, but don't subscribe to Britbox.

Breakfast: Protein bar

Lunch: Catered

Dinner: Corned Beef and Cabbage

Have a great day, all!

I love Marilyn.