Well, another week has “flown” by. The excitement of the riot and insurrection has passed and now we are left to the blaming and finger pointing, of which there is plenty to go around. The “Orange One” professes total innocence; all of the Democratic members of the House of Representatives plus 10 of their Republican cohorts manage, in one long day of interminable talking, to impeach him again. Thus he becomes the first U.S. President to be impeached twice. We fear he will again not be convicted of the offenses, and will proudly wear this one as another merit badge. Again something that no one else has ever done, Making America Groan Again.
We now watch and wait as each State Capitol prepares for its individual marches, protecting itself from insurrection and arguing as to whether or not the idiots can carry their firearms into the various legislative buildings with impunity. Meanwhile, the National Guard stations 20,000 - 30,000 troops around Washington D.C. One hopes that will be enough troops to ward off another riot during the inauguration ceremony that the defeated departing person, once again throwing decorum and tradition into the garbage bin that has become his term of office, is refusing to attend. Florida can have him.
That is enough politics for this screed. Friday night we decided that spaghetti and meatballs sounded good, so we trotted out some frozen meatballs from the freezer box, mixed in some of our homemade tomato sauce from last years’ garden and toasted up some hot dog buns with garlic butter and parmesan. Add in a small salad, and we were back in Rome at some little trattoria enjoying a glass of wine and convivial surroundings.
Santa brought Deb an Instant Pot this past Christmas, and this week we tried it out for the first time. She took her famous (in certain circles) ham and bean soup and threw all the ingredients into the pot, pressurized it, and an hour later - voila - bean soup. It was edible out of the pot, but, as we customarily prepare meals sized to include four hungry children who we imagine might join us, we had a bit leftover. We have what we refer to as our outside refrigerator, actually our gas grill, sitting right outside the patio door. In very cold weather, as we have been enjoying lately, we stick the large pot in the grill overnight, and it comes out frozen solid the next day. So, the following morning we brought it in, scraped off the excess fat that had risen to the top, and reheated. Now the flavors had melded properly and we had a sublime soup. Enough left over after a second dinner and to have some for lunch later in the week.
Feeling the pull of comfort foods, Deb then pulled out some fresh ground beef and prepared her also famous meatloaf. This time intentionally making enough for sandwiches and dinner the next day. We accompanied the meatloaf with a try at a new (to us) Martha Stewart method of baked potatoes. We picked up two large Yukon Gold potatoes (not Russets) and stuck them, untouched, in the oven on the rack with the meatloaf for 90 minutes at 325Fº. We pulled them out, smashed them on the cutting board enough to pop them open and had a most delicious baked potato. Slathered in butter or your favorite sour cream, they were great and easy. The taste was different from the roasted Russets from years past, but a great and easy change of pace. Of course, all these meals are accompanied by a salad and home mixed vinaigrette dressing.
Last Saturday we were to have our denuded live (actually dead) holiday tree out at the curb for the Boy Scouts to pick up and haul away. We failed that test as we had not even started on the great takedown. We buckled down starting on Sunday, to deconstruct all the displays. We hauled all the empty crates up from the garage storage and began the repacking. The trees were untrimmed, with the live tree hauled to the backyard to entertain the birds and wildlife until spring. Last to go was the Santa display in the glass fronted cabinet. By Wednesday, all was put away back in the garage. The only remaining project was to place all the nice knickknack collection (that is probably not the correct word for these items but you get the idea) back in the cabinet. This will take a day or two to dig them all out of their drawers and hiding places. Some will turn up a month later as a drawer in the guest room is opened for some reason and there, snuggled in amongst the bedding or towels will be another missing item.
We had another nasal swabbing test on Thursday afternoon, and by Friday morning received our Negative results. We now are pleased to learn that we may be able to sign up for our vaccine inoculations next week. That will be something to really get excited about. Our friends Dell and Karen in Phoenix received there first inoculation on Thursday. As we post our comments this Friday morning, Omaha is in the middle of a full blown blizzard. Total snow accumulation is predicted to be near 3 inches, and the wind is gusting to 55 mph. Quite a change from Wednesday, when we were out chipping the last of the ice and snow from our rear deck, and refilling the bird feeders and suet holders around the yard. Such is the strain of living in middle America, where the landscape turns white while the politics remain red.
In the meantime, keep socially distancing, wash your hands repeatedly, stay in your own “bubble” group, and keep safe. We will write again after the inauguration and the final riddance of our 4-year sickness.
