6:55 PM

Mother Hubbard's Cupboard

What to make on a gray Sunday when you don't feel like going to the store? And you have a head of cauliflower in the fridge but not a whole heck of a lot more?

Ta-da!

Cozy Cauliflower Chicken Casserole

2 chicken breasts
1 can of soup at hand cream of mushroom soup
1 head of cauliflower
onion flakes
garlic powder
seasoning salt
cheese slices

Thinly slice or grate the cauliflower and place in a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle with garlic powder, onion flakes and seasoning salt. Lay cheese slices over top to cover.
Cube the chicken and saute until fully cooked. Add the soup and stir up any chicken bits stuck to the pan. Pour over the cauliflower in the casserole dish.
Bake at 350 for about 35-45 mins (I did it in a convection toaster oven so not sure of oven time) until bubbly and cauliflower feels tender when poked with a fork.

I enjoyed this with a slice of bread and butter but you could even put it over rice if you'd like.

Now back to my books and bad tv...have to love those rainy, gray days off!

8:56 PM

I am my mother's daughter

I just cleaned my house because a Bathfitter estimator was coming to do an estimate.

10:56 AM

The sum of its parts??

OK so in the past I've talked about loving vehicles. If I had oodles of disposable cash I would probably have a selection of them and a personal mechanic.

But I want to clarify to the universe that this does not mean that I love the parts. Or buying the parts. Or replacing parts. Or paying those bills!

Yesterday was my friday off (a huge perk!) and I had scheduled the car in to first switch out the winter tires at a tire place where I previously paid an exorbitant amount for winter tires and then go for a tuneup at the dealership. I knew what the tuneup would cost and had figured that the tire stop was a short and relatively painless (read: cheap) stop that was necessary because we hadn't had snow for a week and didn't have any in the forecast. (I'm not bitter about the snow in June at all).

Lo and behold, one of the tire guys comes into the shop holding a tire and asked "Didn't you notice this??" while gesturing to a spot on the tire missing a sizeable chunk of rubber. Now I like my car and all but I don't snuggle up to its summer tires over the winter. I carry them in the house in the tire bags and stow them under the stairs and leave them alone until summer.

I then asked what I knew the tire guy would think was a dumb question, "Can't we leave it on for now and I'll get around to replacing it in a few weeks?". Apparently one pothole could have blown the tire and then where would I be blah, blah...may as well just replace them now. And "them" is because you always replace at least 2 tires at a time to keep your car balanced and keep them wearing evenly. I had one other tire that had worn more so presto chango! 2 new tires....for over $400.

That kind of purchase is a bit like a water heater or furnace in your house. It's necessary but hardly exciting or something to boast about and enjoy. You never hear anyone say "You should see the water heater I just put in my house!". Tire guy might boast about his tires but the ones I put on my car aren't anything special even in his eyes. Or maybe they are.

So between the tires and the tuneup, some people would say I could have had a cheap old convertible. Ok, maybe not quite. But I could have definitely spent that money in way more fun ways...like on new counters (ok those aren't fun), or on a new tub (only "fun" when full of bubbles maybe) or a treadmill (also not fun but possibly stress releasing?)...ok, maybe not fun stuff but stuff I could appreciate more than tires.

Guess I'll have to make a point to admire them every day.

10:04 AM

Check out those pipes!

I have a problem. A car problem. I have a thing for them. If I won the lottery I'd be in danger of dropping my winnings on an assortment of vehicles. I have owned a mix of vehicles but some of my favorites were my '86 Camaro, my '90 Miata (both red) and my '96 Ranger. I actually sold a perfectly respectable new 2001 Sentra after owning it about 6 months to buy the Ranger because it was just too dull.

In the last few weeks, I have seen a few new ones to add to my list.

Last week I saw this one:










That's the 2009 Dodge Challenger. Even the gay guy walking down the sidewalk stopped to look at it. It might also have had something to do with the beautiful sound it made.

Then a few weeks back I saw this one:










That's the 2010 Camaro. I saw it in silver but liked this pic of it in yellow even more.

What's interesting about both of these cars is that their body styling hearkens back to the 60s and 70s muscle cars.
















And even in this era of environmentalism and high gas prices there is still a demand for them. I like a lot of older or shall we say "vintage" things so it's no surprise to me that I like them but apparently I'm not alone since they're part of the mass market.

One of my girlfriends says that my love of cars and trucks means "you're such a guy!". Actually it just means that I'm the granddaughter of a mechanic who passed on his love of cars and I extended it to include trucks. And it's tough not to appreciate trucks when you live in Alberta.

And for my feminine side, I could use a cabana boy with the ability to detail a car properly and then I could be ogling two kinds of pipes. But I'm not sure I'd let him drive my car...

9:27 PM

Price check aisle ?

While I was visiting in Winnipeg, we stopped at Safeway so I could run in and grab a coffee at the Starbucks. However, being myself I easily got distracted and decided we needed some veggies and then debated what to get for far too long. When I finally headed back to the car my sister was giggling; apparently I missed my older nephew's comments:

"How come she's taking so long? Did she find a boyfriend in there or something?"

Obviously I was shopping for the wrong things while in there!