Yesterday's blog post made have use of one reigning favorite acronyms--CAT MOAN Country. We love that one. Well, imagine our delight this morning to wake up and read today's Pickles cartoon strip. Opal actually uses a complex acronym. YES! You Go, Opal!
Pickles is a real interesting cultural reflection. We have actually met numerous elders over the years who refuse to read Pickles because "it hits too close to home," as they generally say. One Old Codger once said, "I don't read it because it reminds me of myself." Younger people generally don't read it because they have no interest in old people and can't really relate to the daily tête à tête between Opal and Earl or any number of various interpersonal permutations portrayed in the strip. We're pretty certain the artist who creates Pickles is LDS. Not that this factoid matters but it probably does underlie the bombproof "G" rated content of the cartoon strip. The artist was born in Twin Falls and has some Idaho Falls ties, too. Click here for some info on the strip. Well, we've digressed pretty far afield so we shall return to The Daily News now.
Yesterday took more twists and turns than a hairpin highway perched on the flanks of precipitous mountain cliffs. Wow, what a roller coaster ride. The day was full of fruition and failure and the flair of dramatic denouement. We're all OK but our schedule is quite likely in a state of flux now. Frankly, we're not quite sure how to assess the near-term future.
The most dramatic vignette of the day took place about 3 pm. Susun went off to the dentist for what she termed a routine procedure. The next time I saw her was when they were wheeling her out of the dental office in a wheel chair. She had a lump the size of a golf ball high on her right cheek and was woozy from the heavy sedation they laid on her. Meanwhile, the young girl who ran the front desk walked me through all the meds and precautions for things that might go wrong as Susun begins her multi-week recovery from this totally unexpected turn of events. Yes, I am sure you are wondering how this could be unexpected. Well, it just happened that way, and somehow clear communications fell through the cracks. She's feeling well this morning and thankfully not in acute pain. The swelling has gone down and she's getting back to Her Shining Self. It sure was a shock to both of us yesterday.
While she slept after the dental visit I did what I always do to relax and unstress--I go shopping. The best places to go shopping when impulse buying is a clear and present danger are at our three local thrift stores, Deseret Industries, Idaho Youth Ranch and the Bonneville Humane Society. I wound up buying items at all three places. The biggest score of the day was a item I never dreamed I would pay $15 for. Paying $15 for a single item at a thrift store is against the rules, especially for a dirty old tabletop grill the likes of which one can buy new usually for a mere $20.
Well, this wasn't no ordinary grill and it was clearly worth the time and trouble to clean it up last night. It's an antique Turco cast aluminum grill. By antique, we are guessing it's probably 20 or 30 years old. It's SOLID, thick aluminum. After taking everything out of the grill for cleaning, I weighed this puppy at 9.5 pounds. I'm guessing there almost 9 pounds of solid cast aluminum in the body of this grill. It's heavy and it's built to last 1,000 years! They simply don't make tabletop grills like this any more. Nope, the tabletops of today are pretty much disposables. Most people use them a few times and throw them away. They are junk. No so with this one. A regular size cast iron skillet actually fits inside the grill! I fried up some pork shops in the grill last night. It's an awesome grill and well worth paying the Big Bucks for it. I don't think I've ever paid as much for a thrift store item in my entire life!
(Yes, I know this babble ought to be on the camptips page--I just couldn't help myself this morning. Sorry 'bout that.)
1 comment:
Poor Mom and the icky dentist experience!!
Good thing you were there!!
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