Culinary Capers

Well, it has been awhile since I have given a good, kind of gross, story about work. WE have been busy needless to say, but the other night, when I was frying artichokes.....well, a few of them splattered hot oil on my skin. Now, if I may say, anyone who tried to take a castle in the olden days and had hot oil poured on them....I pity the pain and blisters. Needless to say, I knew that one of the oil spots was big enough to leave a mark, which it did, no big deal. Well, when I was showing my burn to someone the next day, they didn't notice the one I wanted to show them, but one I didn't know about that had become a blister, so I didn't even know it was there because it didn't hurt. Well, it didn't hurt until last night when I rubbed it against something and the blister popped. All of a sudden, my arm was wet and then I realized what had happened. Oh well, I will live and it is a good thing I have my very own aloe vera plant.
It must have been a bad day for hot items, because that same night, I was helping clean up the hot food side of the kitchen, so I turned off the hot water well we keep sauces in, and flipped the drain so the water could run out. I think it must be the only drain in the whole kitchen that does not drain straight down, but kind of shoots out the hot water. I know you can see what is coming. My foot was right where the water shoots out, and if I may say, that water was hot. I yanked my shoe off to help keep the water from soaking in too far, and came away with no burns or anything, thankfully. So, I think that is enough culinary mishaps for a while, and hope I don't need to do another entry on them any time soon.

Introductions

I would like to introduce my good friend T, who has been a key component of many of this year's adventures; he is usually the friend in most of my stories, but not always, and I thought it was a good time to introduce you to him. Pardon the sunglasses, but he has trouble seeing in sun without squinting, and no, he is not a vampire.

The Wilderness Trail

So, T and I went hiking the other day, on a trail whose designation was "North Wilderness Trail." And when they say wilderness, they mean wilderness. We started off on a path that was little more than a trail maybe 3-4 inches wide through golden fields of weeds (pretty though.) I have a tick paranoia so I was covered in this cream that slows them down. Anyway, it was pretty fun because it was easy to pretend that we were scouts on an expedition to make sure the road was clear for the wagons...there were even good rocks for Indian lookouts to have been. (O.k. so maybe the imagination never grows up.) It was so fun, and we did eventually run into a few more people, one couple warned us about the ticks in the valley, they had found some on themselves. and I reapplied the cream. It was a fun day and as far as I can tell, neither of us came out with ticks at the end, although I made frequent checks on myself throughout the day.
One funny thing though occurred when we got in the car to drive out to the park. I looked over and realized that we were wearing the same colors....red shirts and khaki shorts...different colored khaki shorts, but needless to say, it was a bit embarrassing. We dressed alike unintentionally, which has not happened to me since my twin sister and i lived together and had similar wardrobes. I wasn't too fond of it then, and it is embarrassing when it is not your twin to be dressed alike, so we decided that if we took any pictures, one of us would have to wear a jacket. Made me laugh though.

Memorial Day

O.k. I may be about a week late, but I did want to thank all of the people who have and are serving our country to protect our freedom and to hopefully provide freedom to other's in the world. I attend a chapel run by the army, and they had a wonderful video tribute to all the men and women who have fallen in service to our country. There was one image in particular that was striking to me, and I have tried to find one similar, but have been unable to. These images come close. The most striking picture was one of a group of soldiers on one knee paying their respects to a fallen comrade with the memorial being his gun stuck upright in the ground with his helmet on top. As I read in the news how people are returning from this war and the affects it has had on them, I can only pray that each one will take time to seek help to deal with all they have seen and gone through in their tours of duty.

Happy Anniversary!

I'd like to say Happy anniversary to mom and dad...36 years!! thank you for the example of a healthy and good marriage you have given to us all over the years!