I don't understand leftovers...

I've never understood leftovers. Grandma used to put leftover food in the refrigerator and keep it going like a fine tuned clock,  Sundays roast was Monday's, sandwiches, Tuesday's hash Wednesday's stew, until well I never wanted to see a roast again. 

Mom. having been raised on Grandma's leftovers, had a free for all day, where she put it in the refrigerator pulled it all out on Saturday and had a hodgepodge. This meant on Saturday nights we had things like chicken next to tuna casserole and it didn't always seem appetizing. 

Of course if we didn't eat it, we were admonished: "There are children starving in China!"

I personally, never understood how eating my broccoli could help the kids in China, so helpfully one day I suggested that maybe they would like my broccoli and could I please mail it to them?

Lets just say I enjoyed the rest of my dinner in a standing position. 

My Aunt Jane was more realistic. She didn't believe in leftovers and they were gone the minute they left her table, to the dogs. "that's why we have pets, dear."

My Aunt Rose flat threw them away: 

"Why would I save a baby food jar of peas, just to have it come back to me on Saturday and I have to throw it away? I'd rather throw it away,. now. "

And my Aunt Gertrude "Well, we can't waste food"

. Her solution was to put the leftovers in the refrigerator until they started growing on their own then throw them away, 

"Well, I guess I waited too long to serve these."  she sighed on refrigerator cleaning day, and joyfully throw all  the leftovers out at once. Some should have been donated to the Johnson and Johnson so the could have extracted the spores for penicillin. 

My Mother one day in an effort to make them exciting called them "made overs" She had read Peg Bracken's  "I hate to cook book and created some elaborate new recipe, which when we got to the bottom of it was still just, Sundays roast following us around. . We never got really excited about it. She ended up making new leftovers to go with the old leftovers, so we had leftovers from the leftovers left over . Did you get that?

 Me I try to make just enough to feed the family, but with our schedules we all eat at different times, my son doesn't believe in leftovers, apparently, because he eats, snacks, cooks, 24/7 so I never have to worry, anything in the refrigerator will not be there long.

And if it is and he missed it, I can just cook it and pretend its new. We are in and out so much, no one knows whats leftover or not. Isn't that why God invented microwaves?

I believe in not wasting food, but I wonder why leftovers got such a stigma? The same meal we enjoyed yesterday, today because somewhat drab because we had it yesterday. It is funny, because alot of food tastes better the second day.

Chicken tastes much better the second day. Of course hardly anyone has leftover chicken, just a leg or two and you eat that for breakfast. 

I don't think leftovers are a big deal anymore, hardly any of us have them, but it is kind of sad like a lot of things gone by.  Sitting down to the table trying to guess what the dish is and what it used to be is a lost art, I used to be so good at it. 

I was over at a friends house and we had just come back from a church youth activity, she was rushed for dinner so she opened up her fridge, I saw a ham, chicken, assorted veggies, a casserole in it. I thought, ",Well she's set." 

Karen (my friend) quietly closed the fridge picked up the phone and called out  for pizza. 

Thats the way we  handle our leftovers in the 21st century. 

It's Wednesday

I have always been very friend impaired. I don't make friends easily. I meet people and am friendly, in the first few minutes we talk and then it sort of scales down to a hello and a smile from there on. I don't quite know what to do or say after the initial meeting. 

My brother used to tell me it is because I stole his brownie at a birthday party when we were six and seven. "I put a spell on you," he told me at 13. "you will NEVER make friends you will always be shy". 

Luckily he recanted this when he was 17. But I still don't have the knack for the social things. So of course, I hate doing anything social.

Now if you haven't guessed where I am going with this, let me tell you. This is Wednesday and I am doing the things I love and things I hate blog. My brother Keith and I were a year apart, he was the baby and I was supposed to be the one who was the most responsible. That was actually true, but got me in more trouble then I can even begin to tell about. I was also a great instigator between, well everybody in the family. So, I guess the first thing I hate is:

• 1: instigators. I was really good at it. My older brother and sister fought all the time, mainly because of me. But I hate to see it today.  And there are some at work. Luckily I am the boss.
  
• 2. I love peacemakers, you know the one who comes in and smooths things over. That's not me, but it is my daughter. Denise spent her entire childhood always breaking up fights and keeping the peace between her younger sister and older brother. No wonder she grew up with middle child syndrome. 
  
• 3. I hate politics. I really do. Why can't politicians be honest and just tell us they are not going to do anything? We'd just have to decide which party to vote for that is not going to do anything. 
  
• 7. I hate Wendy's except for the frosty's
  
• 8. I love golden corral. Unfortunately s so does everyone else in the world. A new one has opened here in Charleston and every time we try to go there are lines all the way to the first row of  cars in the parking lot. Although we could wait, Tasha can't so we go to IHOP. Yuk.
  
• 9. I hate cooking shows where everything comes out perfectly. I mean doesn't anything ever taste bad or not come out like they expected? Doesn't a guest every say,  I hate mushrooms?
  
• Don't they burn anything? guess that is why it is pre recorded.
  
• 10. I really love Iron Chef, I like the competition and excitement. More importantly, I like Bobby Flay. I'd wash his dishes anytime. 
  

So much for my likes and dislikes, this week. last time I did this I received excellent response, I hope to again.

I hope the weather where you are is as great as the weather is here.

Thanksgiving, flu and traveling

I woke up Monday with the biggest headache in the world. I took some pills hoping it would go away, but a few hours later I was sporting a sore throat, then chills. It felt like 0 degrees when everyone else was running around in tee shirts. I gave up and came home for work, fell into bed and didn't move until the next afternoon when my daughter took me to the doctor. Flu with a sighting of strep was the diagnose. The doctor, my first visit since leaving Virginia, briskly wrote me out of work. for three days. Now the thing is, if I don't work the day before the holiday and the day after, I don't get paid for the holiday. I thought about that for three seconds, took my antibiotic and crashed.
Today after two days on the antibiotic, I feel better so may I will go in tomorrow but since my daughter has to work, and I have to work the question comes up Who's cooking thanksgiving dinner?
We haven't even shopped for it and somewhere there is a frozen turkey waiting to be dumped in cold water overnight because I forget to thaw it as I usually do every year but this year I even forgot to buy it.
Thanksgiving is a low key holiday. People ski9p over i t and jump to Christmas. They stop for a minute and buy dinner, but most of the people who come into Wal -mart shopping are actually Thanksgiving shopping on the side. People are waiting for the big sale on Friday.
Why do we put such little emphasis on giving thanks? I personally have much thanks to give. I have my kids and my granddaughter. I have the fact that I can start over, once again. I am reasonably healthy. So I am pausing to give thanks. I usually rush out and buy the tree and Christmas presents, but this day I may just reflect a little.
A friend who does blogging (actually she is my daughters friend from childhood but she has grown into such a lovely young lady and I am so proud of her, she is just my friend now. Deni will have to share her. ) any way she actually got me into blogging: did a blog on traveling alone.
I have been planning for years a trip up the coast, to visit lighthouses. I love lighthouses, the history. I have always wondered if I was brave enough to take this trip alone. I may actually do it. This is one of the things I will be reflecting on. and planning, and thanking God I can still do both.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.