Too Good to Last

As gorgeous and sunny as it was yesterday--it's not today.  Gray and cloudy, and when I (reluctantly) woke up this morning raindrops were pecking at the window over my head.  I guess it was a good thing I didn't tear off the plastic and open it a crack.  I'm not a fan of being awakened by rain in my face.  It's supposed to clear up and warm up later but right now it looks pretty crappy out there.

I did get a fountain at Fleet Farm and we did get it together with only minor hitches.  The first one was missing a vital piece, the support for the water wheel, so I repacked it all (and almost exactly the way we got it), returned it, and got another one that I would only take out of the warehouse after I'd opened the box to make sure the part was there.  It was, so home I came so we could get it put together and working.  Everything went according to directions until we came to screwing on the last water dish.  The tiny screw that holds it to the bracket didn't have its screwdriver slit cut deeply enough so after trying a couple tiny screws that were laying around Durwood suggested that we put on a couple washers and use a needle-nose pliers to turn the screw.  It worked!  This is not a high end fountain, it was only $25 on sale, but it's got a solar light, a fish spout at the top and a waterwheel at the bottom.  It's pretty cool looking and if it attracts nesting wrens all the frustration will be worth it.

My ribs did pretty well on the smoker.  After a few hours the temperature hadn't climbed very high and it didn't look like the extra charcoal I'd put on had lit so I put the ribs on a big piece of foil, drizzled on some Sweet Baby Ray's, sealed them up in the foil, and put them into the oven for a couple hours on low.  It's pork and I didn't feel comfortable with them out there in the smoker since I was half-convinced that most of the heat registering on the gauge came from the sun.  They tasted smoky and were fall-off-the-bone tender.  I take it as a win.

On Saturday I whipped up a batch of Ham & Spinach Lentil Soup for this week's lunches.  I'm a big fan of lentil soup so I cobbled together the parts I liked of three different recipes and put it to cook in the crockpot.  The house smelled fantastic all day.  It's a kind of torture to be in the house while it's cooking, it's easier when you plug it in and go to work for the day, then come home to a great smelling house.  It was very hard for both of us to resist opening the lid to peek or stir but we managed.  Mmm, lentil soup on a rainy day.  What could be better?

April 13--US Flag.

Waving colors
snap in the fresh spring breeze
blow freedom over the land
from sea to shining sea.
Ring liberty and justice
from the mountains to the prairies.
White stars
shine for everyone,
Red stripes for the blood
of patriots,
Blue field
for the sky that arcs overhead.
~~~~~~

Meh.  It's Monday.  It's Payday!  Time to flee.  Have a... day.
--Barbara