Post-Thanksgiving Confessions of a Failed Pepper-Stuffer

I. Cannot. Breathe. [hack hack] I declare this to be my older brother's fault. I was fine until after I talked to him on the phone yesterday morning. I find that decidely suspicious. I'm sure he secretly sent his germs that were causing his problems through the phone to me so he would not be alone in his misery. For this, trust me, I will make him pay at a time when he is least expecting it. HA.

Being able to breathe last night was accomplished with Theraflu that my son kindly went and got for me (really. I would never threaten my own son. much.). Since I don't like taking Theraflu during the day because it knocks me out, this morning I took Dayquil (also courtesy of aforementioned son) - and it didn't even touch whateverthehell it is I've got. Now I'm trying Sudafed I found on a back shelf ... it expired in April (hey, at least it's April of this year) and I really don't care. Thankfully my nose has stopped running quite so much and I'm only having to blow every 15 minutes or so instead of every 2 like I was doing earlier.

I bow in humble adoration admiration and [sneeze][hack] reverence (ok fine, I also dropped my kleenex - aka toiler paper - on the floor and had to pick it up before the cat got to it and shredded it into a zillion fluffy linty little pieces, but I bow nonetheless) to my cousin for the damned ...oops ...er... absolutely wonderfully delicious and addicting Derby Peppers that she made for mom's birthday this past April. We gobbled those things up like pigs at the trough. Had I realized at the time how much work it took to make those - and the equally tasty Salmon Puffs that she also brought - I would have at least made everyone (myself included) stop for a moment to pay homage before stuffing more in our mouths.

All of this is my way of confessing that I absolutely suck at pepper stuffing. I never knew that about myself before. I un-covered this new truth because I brillantly volunteered to make them to take to my (younger) brother's for Thanksgiving ... thinking we could scarf up the delicious little appetizers and I might just bask in a smidgeon of kitchen-goddessness-glow. Well, that plan went down the tubes quickly.

It seemed easy enough, it really did. Get the peppadew peppers. Check. Get the dried Spanish chorizo. Check. Get the (aged) Cotija cheese. Check Check. Well, perhaps only one check - I searched the entire cheese wrapper and nowhere did it reference "aged" or "fresh" so I really don't know which it was. It just said Cotija queso so we went with that. Drain peppers. Check Check. (This was going really well so far. A fact that lulled me into a false sense of security, so I was still blissfully ignorant and was firm in my belief that I could pull this off - I assume now that part of my lack of touch with reality was a combination of the late hour [sneeze] and the absolutely lovely pineapple-infused tequila my son had given me earlier. At least that's my excuse :)

I put a thin slice of cheese in the bottom of the pepper as instructed - not a problem. Slice chorizo into little 1/4" thick slices a little shorter than the peppers. That wasn't too bad. I can cut fairly successfully (though my older brother might argue that point since he has used my knives before :).

Stuff a slice or two of chorizo into pepper. Okie dokie, got that. Stuff thin slivers of cheese into the spaces around the chorizo to hold the chorizo in place.

Hmmmmm. Ok, slicing the cheese ...that part went pretty okay. A little crumbly if I cut them too thin, but still, not bad.

Stuffing the cheese slivers into the pepper beside the chorizo - there I hit a huge snag. At that point everything quit cooperating, and after fighting with the cheese and peppers (well, it was 10:30pm so honestly I didn't fight too long) I threw in the towel (into the flour, which created a lovely cloud, then mixed with crumbled cheese and other cooking debris ...well, I'm sure you get the idea). The peppers, cheese and chorizo got tossed into baggies and then into the 'frig to be dealt with at some as-yet-undisclosed later date (possibly when they've grown mold and I can throw them out without feeling too guilty).

When I opened the 'frig door this morning I could hear them snickering. Little do they know I have a gun. :)

The cat (Bennet) is happy that I'm home today, sneezes and all. He's particularly delighted that I have finally figured out that all I need to do to make both him and I happy while I'm at the computer is move my keyboard up onto the desktop then put the small throw pillow between my lap and the keyboard shelf so he has an appropriately comfy spot to curl upside down, and he is kind enough to allow me to pet him while I type (the first clue was the nip to wrist when I wasn't petting).

This is definitely preferrable to him sitting on the desktop in front of the monitor and me then having to peer around him at the screen to try to see what is going on. He's busy purring right now. Hope he will allow me to get up and get lunch soon as I'm getting hungry and I hear leftovers calling my name. Oh wait...or is that the peppers... are they planning an ambush??!?

Thanksgiving - only a little crazy

My feet are protesting seriously from standing for the last three hours cooking and the necessary cleanup (mostly from me having thrown flour all over the place) so it was time to grab a fresh glass of wine and jot a quick note.

The spicey-still-warm smell of freshly cooked pumpkin pie permeates the house, the pecan pie just went into the oven since the broccoli-cheese-rice casserole and chocolate banana squares came out and are now cooling on the counter. I've had to give up on making my cousin's "derby peppers" appetizers. It's a shame because the little things are very tasty but I've had no luck at all with trying to stuff little slices of dried Spanish chorizo and aged cotija cheese into zesty peppadew peppers and she would probably nevery speak to me again if I called her at this hour to go over the instructions again :) So I'm stopping the insanity and declaring no pepper appetizers for us!

My sister-in-law is taking care of the turkey and most of the sides (I'm contributing the aforementioned broccoli casserole etc) this year, since we're going to her and my brother's house for the day. Last year we took part in Operation Homecooking... that's a program where two Air Force recruits (still in basic training) who don't have family or friends in the area to visit go to someone's home for Thanksgiving day. It was great! We had so much fun with our two recruits...and don't think I've ever seen anyone eat quite that much food quite that fast :) It was a wonderful way to share the day, though, and is something we will definitely do again.

For now I'm going to sip my wine, put my feet up while I wait for everything to cool and remember all the things I am so very grateful for. I hope you will have a wonderful day tomorrow, wherever you are and whatever you do. - Jo

Hope you had a great weekend. Mine was ...hmmmm, how to put it kindly... oh yeah...uneventful(to say the least). Really. Did nothing. A mushroom could have accomplished more than I did. Sometimes it makes me quite happy to do nothing, but this time I just felt, well, useless. ICK. My energy level has been up and down lately. Hey, maybe that means I need more chocolate :)

Can you believe Thanksgiving is almost here?! As usual, I'm not ready, but at least this year I don't have to cook as we're going to my brother and his family's. It's nice not to have be running around like crazy. It's not the being crazy part that's a bother, I'm used to it at this point... it's all the running around that's a pain. Well, at least that's my take... Jo

While we're on the subject

I wasn't going to do it because she sets my teeth on edge... but I changed my mind, I have to share my take on Sarah Palin.

First, let's back up just a bit. Was the Republican Party kidding? Sarah Palin was seriously the best qualified person (male or female) to be Vice President of the United States in the entire party? Really, they had to be kidding. There was absolutely no way. Personally, I was pretty undecided until they named Palin as McCain's running mate. I liked Hilary a lot but I (was) also a John McCain fan. That I ended up voting for Obama was not so much a vote for him as it was a vote against Palin.

My main complaint(s) about Palin? Besides having no experience (I'm sorry, but one term as mayor of a small town and one partial term as a governor is not experience), she showed no depth. And that she cannot blame on the McCain aides. She still shows no depth.

It's great to be a rogue maverick joe-the-plumber joe-six-pack pit-bull-wearing-lipstick hockey mom...and I really would like some honest, decent, smart people running the country. But I got so sick of hearing those phrases over and over; they were worn out and lost their worth within a week. Show me that you are more than one-trick pony. That you can ALSO meet with the leaders of the world and do something besides toss around joe-the-plumber (excuse me while I gag) phraseology. Can you hold your own at the world economic summits or the United Nations? Can you deal effectively with the Cabinet and Congress? Do you have any sophistication at all? Can you talk knowledgeably with the Queen of England? We already know you cannot talk knowledgeably with Katie Couric.

My younger brother has a theory. He thinks the McCain camp knew an economic tsunami was coming and picked Palin on purpose. So McCain could lose and not have to be responsible for trying to fix it. I think he just may be right.

That's my take. Have a great evening. -Jo

Say What??

We have a light sprinkle outside right now...it's long past dark and I'm hoping we will get a decent rain. Grab a glass of heart-healthy red wine or if you insist, grape juice, and relax.

Quick Mom Update...
She's doing fine! Thoroughly enjoying being the center of the household at the moment and she's eating better and feeling better than she has for quite some time.

Current Events...
Are they kidding with this breast cancer preventative screening study?! "Sure you might get breast cancer, but don't bother trying to detect it early because you might get a false positive and suffer some unnecessary anxiety."

This is not only insane, it is, in my opinion, dangerous. I am personally friends with three women who have survived breast cancer. If their cases had not been detected as early as they were we may have lost any one or all of them. I agree, false positive readings happen and that would be an awful experience. But I think you might find having a true positive reading at say, Stage 4, would be just a trifle more upsetting. Especially if a mammogram a year earlier could have found it and thus given you a good chance for survival.

I watched an interview on Good Morning America this morning with one of the members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that conducted this study. Nothing he said convinced me that the results of the study are something we should believe. Robin Roberts asked one question that I think should have been taken a step further. She asked if any women had been a member of the task force (the answer was yes). What she should have asked is if there were any women who had been diagnosed and treated for breast cancer on the task force. I would really like to know the answer that question.

My personal opinion - I think the insurance companies will use this study to stop paying for preventative mammogram screenings and I would really like to know how much stock in health insurance companies the members of the task force own and just how many perks and benefits have or will be coming their way from health insurance company vendors.

I'll end my tirade with this: When are they going to advise men to not perform self-examination for testicular cancer or to not have prostrate cancer screenings so they do not have to risk suffering through the pain and horror of a false positive?

That's my take. Have a great evening - Jo

My Voice

I'm an ordinary, softly-aging female baby boomer ...and this is my voice. I would like to be on a beach somewhere (warm), gazing up at the endless-dark night sky counting a million stars. Since that's not possible tonight, I'll talk and give you my take on things.

Life changes...
I know that my life will be changing again - possibly sooner rather than later - and I do not always welcome change gladly. My mother is gently approaching the end of her days...hopefully not for years yet, but I know it is not something that can be staved off or that we have any control over. As our time together grows shorter I find myself alternating between remembering childhood days - both my own and stories mom has told me of hers - and reflecting on Life in general. Wonder what I will be like if I am lucky enough to live to be her age (she's currently 93 and 1/2). I'm hoping I will stay energetic, alert and healthy.

Healthy...well that will be a topic for another day! For now, let's just say that while I am presently in decent health, I do realize that I am going to have to start seriously working at improving my health if I do want to be active as I grow older. I'll let you know how I do with that.

But back to mom... she has been able to live on her own, with no help, up to this point. Yes, we know we are extremely fortunate. She's going to be spending the next month or so with my younger brother, then a month (or so) with me, to give a stress fracture in her hip time to heal. Our hope is that the fracture will heal without surgery and that she possiby will even be able to return to her home. We are well aware that the latter may not be possible, but her will is strong so we are not counting that option out.

This will be a challenging time as we learn to cope with the changes she is facing (there have been occassional signs of mild confusion and her eyesight continues to deteriorate) - and we adapt to the new strengths required of us. Mom needs care now, but it's equally important that she still feel useful and independent... loved but not smothered. Hopefully this is also a chance for us all to renew our bond. We, her children, generally only get to visit with her a few times a year since none of us live in the same city and having her with us now is truly a gift and time that we will all treasure.

That's my take for now. Enjoy your evening - Jo

Single for years (twice married and divorced), I was laid off twice last year but was extremely fortunate to only be out of work a total of two month (hmmm, hadn't noticed the theme of 'two' before!). I currently share my home with my grown son and one (fortunately not two) mildly schizoid cat, and will be sharing my take on things here.