Thunder! Lightning! Rain!

Hallelujah!  (and for once I didn't have to look up how to spell that, yay)  A house-shaking crash of thunder woke me just before 6 o'clock this morning, lightning soon followed, like, immediately, and then rain, glorious rain, pounding rain.  I didn't take this picture until the storm had mostly passed because I didn't want to open the door and let the lightning in.  That would be bad.  The power flickered just enough that one clock and the stove clock were flashing, and I noticed that it's eternally ten minutes to four in Lexington, KY, or at least that's what it says on the "DD clock" in the dinette.  Can't tell if it's AM or PM.  Perhaps it needs a battery?  The "snack pack" experimenting went well yesterday.  The only glitch was following the directions (found five good-looking recipes on the Women's Health mag site, thanks, Google) to mix the cereal (Chocolate Chex!), dried cranberries (didn't have dried cherries like I thought we did), and mini chocolate chips (I ended up using the big ones so they didn't get lost in the bottom), and then trying to divvy it out into 7 equal bags.  I sat frowning at the stuff in the bowl, stirring it, okay, tossing it like the recipe said, and wondering how I'd get equal portions of each per bag.  Durwood had the solution--weigh each ingredient separately (grams worked better than ounces) and put 1/7th of each on a paper plate on the scale, bag it, and go from there.  Worked like a charm.  He's so smart, that Durwood.  Plus I'm not restricted to making 7 bags at a time.  Then I had the problem of what to do with the mixed together stuff, but he convinced me that I could easily skim off the Chex and then sort the craisins from the chips on a paper plate.  Ta-da!  (I'm keeping him.)  Next I made 100-calorie caramel corn snack bags--popped the corn in a paper bag in the micro (thanks for the tip, DD) since we don't have an air popper anymore, mixed up the tiny bit of caramel in a big pot, and stirred in the corn and a few pistachios (didn't have peanuts and who really cares when there're pistachios), then spread it on a baking sheet to cool.  I didn't think to sort out the old maids so I ended up sitting at the table, sorting through the caramel corn, removing them with my tweezers. (eek)  I also think that I'll dry it in a low oven next time, it's a little sticky since you don't really cook it to any "candy" stage, you just melt a bit of butter, add brown sugar, salt and water, whisk it together, then add the popcorn.  It's tasty but sticky.  I can work with this.  I'm determined not to buy Cheetos or Snickers to munch on when we're driving.  If I can make things easy to grab and portion controlled I'll have a better chance of not denting my weight loss program too badly.  I have no illusions that I'll be a saint (hell, I'm not now) but a little effort now should pay big rewards later.  Right now the Reduced Fat Cheez-Its are a big fave.  Big.  Twenty-two of them is only 2 points.  22 makes a nice snack, not stingy but not gluttony either.  Plus they have that yummy, salty, orange, fake cheese vibe going on.  Who doesn't love bright orange, fake cheese powder?  Today's Photo A Day is "plate" so here's Durwood's breakfast plate--Rosen's rye toast with sliced tomatoes and mayo.  For breakfast.  Every morning.  The man's obsessed.  Happy, but obsessed.

July 18--Cameroon, Helmet Mask.  She dreamed of a wooden-faced man wearing a bead and cowrie shell hat and beard with his mouth open to curse her.  It was so real that she jerked awake, her hand raised to ward him off.  "Jesus," she said aloud, "I need to stop eating garlic bread for a bedtime snack."  She rolled over, turned her pillow to the cool side, and tried to get back to sleep.  The dream was so vivid, so close that she was sure she smelled wood smoke.  the wooden-faced man's long leathery fingers caressed her forehead and smoothed her hair back, welcoming her back into the dream.  The rhythm of the dancers pulsed up her bones and the fire threw red sparks toward the ink black sky.

That's it for me today.  Try to stay dry, and don't let the lightning catch you.  I sewed me a new skirt to wear to work today.  It's swirly.  I will like wearing it so I don't mind going to work.  I think.  Toodle-oo, chickies.
-Barbara