Preparing for the Storm

We're waiting for the big storm to hit, but I find it difficult to sit still and just wait.  Everything has been canceled and the schools are on half day to make sure buses aren't on the roads during 'the weather event'.  Since this is the South (USA) the area is not prepared to clear roads and line them with dirt and sand.  Our roads are especially slippery because the black top contains shiny bits of sea shells. I'm told the shelves in the stores are getting rather bare so people are preparing to stay home and wait the storm out.  My  biggest concern in this situation are the seniors who are alone as they're not able to protect themselves as well is needed. 

This is where I feel the need to tell you about a video I watched yesterday.  The man is from the North, but currently lives in the South.  The video was rather snarky about Southerners clearing the shelves of bread and milk.  While he (The great and powerful OZ) is always prepared for such emergencies.  The video stressed the attitude of Northerners told everything.  I am a transplanted Northerner, but I was never like that.  I developed a hard emotional shell to protect myself and can keep up with the snarkiest of them, but it's not my personality and can be most stressful to live in a constant motion of snarkiness.  I fit in down here in the South where people have manners and consider the feelings of others before their mouths engage.  The meanest thing I've heard here is, ' Well, isn't he (she) special'.  Meaning quite the opposite.


This morning I have a chocolate cake in the oven and chili on the stove top.  I make the cake (mix) with milk rather than water to add protein to the finished product.  Three eggs and 1 1/4 cup of milk makes the cake a healthy alternative.  No frosting is need, perhaps a sprinkling of powdered sugar. (or not)  It's the cake I like, not the toppings.

A few weeks back a friend gave me some of her chili to take home.  It was so good and packed with vitamins that I decided my chili has a lot to be desired.  I don't know what spices she used so I went looking for a packet of pre mixed spices.  I put back the packet I found in the grocery store because of the ingredients I had a hard time pronouncing.  I could pronounce the word 'silica'.  Translated to English, that means wood shavings.  No thank you.

At the Dollar Tree I found a national brand and read the ingredient label.  With nothing more than sugar and spices,  I bought a pack to try it out.

Nothing but real ingredients listed in this product.

Yesterday was spent with my 13 year old grandson.  He was sick and spent the day with grandma.  We watched the movie 'Purgatory' and ate soft foods that didn't irritate his throat.  To offer some relief to my daughter's busy daily schedule, at the end of the day we picked up his brother and I provided her with a pot of ham boiled dinner.

Boiled dinner is not my usual, but a friend encouraged me to use up left over ham and veggies and make the dish.  It includes cabbage, which I have an aversion to, but I went to the store and bought a small head.  I didn't eat any of the cabbage, but I don't mind the flavor.  I must say it was a delicious meal.  I left two helpings for myself before I gave the pot over to my daughter and her family.

S and I went to the large Dollar Tree this week to gather a few things.  They had a container of organic soup that I'm going to try from a national company.  Campbell's has recently put out a press release stating as they move forward their foods will be labeled and identified as containing GMO items.  This is a good business move as people have obviously stopped buying products that contain ingredients that are not whole foods.  It appears the company has identified the problem correctly and is rising to meet the consumer demand.  Hopefully other companies will join them in providing healthier alternatives.

Breakfast this morning consisted of - you guessed it - chocolate cake and milk.  Add a few sips of coffee in the mix and you'll find a happy girl. 

I tried to get a picture of the pup a minute ago, but she will have no part of it.  When the camera is pointed in her direction she turns her head.  The one picture I do have of her was taken when I caught her off guard.  The little stinker!

 The 'weather event' has just begun.  Stay safe dear readers.