I want you to know that two weeks ago I sat down on a Sunday and wrote a blog. I really did. Then... I deleted it... because it was nothing but a litany of complaints/problems. It all started out simple enough with a broken dishwasher and a zit. It then turned into a rant almost 30 bullet points long (and I could have kept going). By the time I got to bullet point 21, I was so pissed I was gasping for air. None of the items on the list were singularly malevolent , it was having them put down in words, in one place, right there in front of my face, that set me off. Most of the items could be dealt with if I would just 'do it'. The two extras roosters, with a little fortitude on my part, could be turned into chicken dinners. The 30 year old dishwasher that came with the house? ( its so old they don't even make generic parts for it). I COULD just buy a new one. But, I don't want to. The puppy accidents? This would require even more diligence than I already exercise. I've been told by other dog owners that getting him fixed would go a long way to solving the problem. We haven't done it yet because he was so under developed when we got him. He's due for snipping in January. I am now being forced to buy produce from a commercial market. There is nothing I can do about this one....it is winter. Everything on the list was either something I had a good reason for not dealing with or something that was out of my control. So, I deleted it. And I decided to NEVER do that again. It was simply a bad idea. It did however provided impetus for a couple of things I could do. In true Frankie form...I began a purge. First I went through the kitchen. I got rid of three boxes of stuff that had been shoved in corners....mismatched wine glasses , scratched up cookie pans. Tortilla warmers I've never used and other assorted odds and ends that were just getting shuffled around in the cabinets while I searched for the kitchen items I actually use. My beloved came into the kitchen while I was doing this and rescued two water bottles. He tried to rescue several lidded , thermal coffee cups but I wouldn't let him. I had to explain to him that we don't need a mismatched set of twelve. I kept a couple of the nicer ones but the rest had to go. Its not like we spent money on them. They were almost all gak from one show or another that Jimmy and I had worked on. And then there was the big argument over the vegetable steamer. Jimmy bought the thing 6 or 7 years ago and the handle had long since fallen off. He argued that it was still usable. I argued that it was broken and dangerous. He argued that he bought it and it belonged to him. He was right (and yet so wrong). I stopped arguing and just glared at him. He dropped it back in the box and went downstairs to avoid further confrontation. I resumed purging with renewed vigor. By the end of the day I was down to stainless steel and cast iron organized and within easy reach
It paid off. The thanksgiving feast went extraordinarily well.
The turkey was astounding. I need to work on my timing for the xmas feast. I put the turkey in the smoker at 8 am. I should have put it in at 5 am like the neighbors did. I used one of those little plastic pop up turkey thermometers. I wont ever do that again. Long after the turkey was done the pop-up still hadn't popped up.
In my next blog I will try to give the whole process I followed and post some photos.
I will also rant about the 'grizzley-he-man ' crap I've had to listen to for using an electric smoker instead of a 'real' fire smoker. DD's squeeze ( his was just one in a long line of smug he-man comments I've heard since I got the smoker ) asked me what would I do if the electricity went out in the middle of smoking. I replied...'exactly what I did (ok......exactly what Jimmy did) during the Christmas from hell a few years ago. I would put the turkey in the dutch oven and finish it and everything else on the barbque.' I am prepared for the apocalypse. I have spent the last seven years learning how to be self sufficient and how to grow and make everything we need for basic survival but, the end isnt here yet and I still have electricity and running water. I'm going to use them while I have them.
It paid off. The thanksgiving feast went extraordinarily well.
The turkey was astounding. I need to work on my timing for the xmas feast. I put the turkey in the smoker at 8 am. I should have put it in at 5 am like the neighbors did. I used one of those little plastic pop up turkey thermometers. I wont ever do that again. Long after the turkey was done the pop-up still hadn't popped up.
In my next blog I will try to give the whole process I followed and post some photos.
I will also rant about the 'grizzley-he-man ' crap I've had to listen to for using an electric smoker instead of a 'real' fire smoker. DD's squeeze ( his was just one in a long line of smug he-man comments I've heard since I got the smoker ) asked me what would I do if the electricity went out in the middle of smoking. I replied...'exactly what I did (ok......exactly what Jimmy did) during the Christmas from hell a few years ago. I would put the turkey in the dutch oven and finish it and everything else on the barbque.' I am prepared for the apocalypse. I have spent the last seven years learning how to be self sufficient and how to grow and make everything we need for basic survival but, the end isnt here yet and I still have electricity and running water. I'm going to use them while I have them.
