Can We Go Back To NORMAL Now??? Mom is under 'lock-down' again.

 

It is nearly 11 pm, fireworks have been going off since 7 pm, with more and more going off as it gets closer to midnight.  Indy is sleeping in her bed, not giving a darn about the fireworks going off.  This is much like the behavior Bubba had.  Skruffy, on the other hand, would be cowering in one of our laps or under the bed or chair...anywhere she would feel safe at.  She had the same behavior with Thunder.

       

Our celebration of the year's passing was having lamb for dinner.  I get boneless leg of lamb from Sam's Club.  This was a six pounder.  Marcia does all the seasoning preparation, I am in charge of the Crock Pot where we cook it.  On high for the first hour, then added the mushrooms and the green beans, put it back on high for 30 minutes, then it was on warm for the next 4 hours or so.  When it reaches 130, turn it off and let is sit for another 15 minutes still covered, then uncover until you are ready to cut it.  The white stuff is Cauliflower blended with an emulsion blender with butter, minced garlic, Cheddar Cheese, Pepperjack Cheese, and a few other spices to taste.  As you can see, we like our meat Medium Rare....just add more time if you want it cooked more, such as leaving it on high for an extra 30-60 minutes at the start.  Once it gets up to 100 degrees, it does not take long to get to 130...today it took 45 minutes to go from just over 100 to 129 degrees.  Now we have two big chunks of lamb in the freezer and one large (over 2 pounds) in the fridge for future meals.

Well, are you as tired seeing images like this one above depicting the Coronavirus that causes Covid?  Here in Florida we had around 230,000 new cases in the last five days (over 75,000 today), yet Covid hospitalizations in the state increased by only 484 on Friday, reaching 4,485, according to the Florida Hospital Association. That total is nowhere near the peak of more than 17,100 hospitalizations during the summer delta wave.  There have been reports where medical staff said that many of the Covid hospitalizations now are not nearly as serious as they were back in the summer.  The death rate still remains low compared to the summer outbreak.  Some have described this outbreak as like having a bad cold.  No doubt this is hard on people with other health issues.  A little over two years ago dad caught a cold, and it was too much for his weaken body to handle and lead to a total system shutdown just days later.  This was in November, by February we had our first cases in the U.S.  So when mom called today and said that the Independent Living Facility she is in has had a few cases of COVID according to tests given today, I did not panic.  They have locked down the facility again, isolating everyone to their rooms for at least five days.  If others don't come down with it, they will let up their restrictions...if not, I am sure the restrictions will stay in place.  Mom and most of the people at the facility have been vaccinated and have been given their booster...but this does not stop one from getting Covid, but it does, for the most part, make it easier on anyone who does.

So, WHEN can we get back to normal again????  Soon, I hope.  I hope no one dies in the facility, and I hope they open the dinning room up again real soon.  It is not easy being confined to a room for a long period of time...but it does help control a breakout from spreading uncontrollably.

Yummy Yummy YUMMY

No, NOT the 1968 song by the Ohio Express, that is about love, well, their idea of love.  I am talking about food, in particular, Prime Rib.  By the time I was 17 years old, I was the head cook at a Steak House about a mile from my house.  Eventually I was the General Manager of another store within the chain in Sacramento, but in reality I had worked at all three as either head cook, assistant manager, manager and at one, General Manager. (Well, at the one I was General Manger of I never was the Assistant Manager, but I sure trained enough of them while I was there for other locations.)  Bottom line, I learned to cook at an early age, and learned how to cook beef in just about any form or fashion.  So it was very easy to cook the Prime Rib for Christmas, and we enjoyed (after tonight's dinner) Prime Rib Sandwiches each night since Christmas which just melts in your mouth.

There is one of the sandwiches...Carbonaut  Low Carb Seeded Bread (2 carbs per slice found at most Sprouts Grocery Stores, among other places) with Pepper Jack Cheese and thin sliced Prime Rib with fat removed where possible.  Toast the bread, add cheese, quickly pan fry the meat to warm with some juice from the cooking, put together, cut and serve with a veggie on the side.

I needed to go to Sam's pretty bad since it had been nearly two weeks now.  Left at 11 am, did the gas first, which worked out well.  $2.979 per gallon brings it back to under $3 per gallon...but surrounding stations are still in the $3.20 range.

Saw this gal in front of me put her gas cap onto her Audi Gas Door.  Well, we are going to have to think about getting an Audi...until it was my turn, I opened the Gas Door and sure enough, I had a hook there for the gas cap too.  Always wondered what that hook was for!  Never too old to learn something new.

A week before Christmas I ordered a DNA test for Marcia from 23andMe, and it arrived Christmas Eve.  Marcia decided to wait until today to do the actual test, which involves spitting into a container.  There are many DNA testing places out there for finding out where your Ethnicity is from...we used this one because her half-brother on her mom's side had used it.  Of Greek Heritage, like Marcia, "HIS" DNA test came out with his number one Ethnicity match being Turkish, followed by Italian, followed by Greek.  Marcia had a different father, and she was wondering if hers would be different.  In a few weeks we will know...

Indy got a new Chew Stick for Christmas (along with a nice thin slice of Prime Rib, which bothered her little tummy a bit leaving me a little mess in the 2nd bedroom two nights later.  Gee...she is just going to have to keep on her Pork which I cook up, and her dry food which is chicken based, along with the occasional Hot Dog chunk.  (I get a large pack of Hebrew National Beef Hot Dogs which get placed in the freezer with one being pulled out just about every week.)

Indy also enjoyed watching Pick-A-Puppy on Christmas morning.  Pick-A-Puppy, Lucky Dog and any of Cesar's dog programs.  And there is still all the commercials.  I have seen her sleeping, a commercial will come on, she will open her eyes, listen, get up and attack the TV as soon as the dog appears.  It is the funniest thing.  I also took her to the Dog Park over the weekend, and again today.  Only one dog today, another arrived as we were leaving, but she still enjoyed it.