Random 5 for December 5 – Gassy, routines, car noises, business man, assumptions

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Caution: Serious side effects including gas, stomach upset and wishing you had a mocha latte

There’s a moral here somewhere! – The kitchen has been ripped up for four weeks now. (No, it hasn’t gone fast!) I have 18 inches of counter space (and no nearby sink) to put together meals. We’ve done ok with a series of food I prepared ahead for the microwave and take out (although not as much as you would think). One of the first things that took a hit was fresh veggies. No place to clean and chop. After a few weeks my conscious thought it best to get some salads before my teeth fall out. There was the occasional side salad with take out and all went well. This past week I bought two different salad “kits.” Both were chopped. I prefer salads that have a lot of “stuff” in them and these did. Eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, cabbage, all good stuff. The first night I ate it I had mild abdominal cramps. I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome so sometimes I get them depending on what I eat. Last night I had more salad. Yeowza, I was holding my gut for several hours, waiting for takeoff. The moral is that you can slide into bad foods like chips, ice cream, cakes and processed foods quite easily without any side effects. If you are going to eat healthy, it’s best to do it slowly, sticking your toe in the cruciferous waters an inch at a time.

Sweet spots – There are times in the day that I especially enjoy. They are based in comforting routine. One is when I sit at my computer with my mocha latte first thing in the morning and after dinner when all the chores are done and I can put on my sleep clothes and relax. There are other things that are pleasurable but there is something about these two times that is so relaxing for me.

Dang honking – I hate car locks that beep. Some are so loud I wonder if the owner is deaf. They wait until I’m next to the car and then lock or unlock with a deafening blast that makes me jump. I have that feature but I silenced it to a very soft tone.

Speaking of the dang honking – There is a new regular at Starbucks on Saturdays. He’s a well-groomed man in a suit who arrives in a car with an out of state license. He’s quite dashing and every Saturday for the past several weeks, he picks up four drinks around 8 a.m. It reminds me of the old days when we wore business clothes for work (you know – suits or sports jackets for men, dresses or suits with pantyhose for women). I’ve wondered where he goes. There are a lot of car dealerships nearby but even those salesmen have gone casual in dress. His car lock signal is particularly loud. It doesn’t fit with his dapper persona.

Where my head is – I’m in a cat group on Facebook (surprise, surprise!). It’s a large group and people post about their cats or cats in general all day. I started reading a post about a women traveling on a plane with her “little one.” I read the whole story and was stunned at the end that she was talking about a baby. I had envisioned her traveling with a cat which included her very kind seat mate being willing to hold said critter to soothe it down. I have to get out more.

So how was your week?

60 thoughts on “Random 5 for December 5 – Gassy, routines, car noises, business man, assumptions”

  1. Oh, that cracked me up about the woman with the baby! Hahaha. Well, wouldn’t you expect it to be about a cat in a cat group?!!! My daughter used to travel on planes with her kitty, but once Izzie got to be a respectable age she didn’t want to do it any more.

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  2. Your remodel reminds me of one I had a while back to the main bathroom. They had to tear out the entire floor starting at the first of October. They promised me it would be done long before Thanksgiving. It wasn’t. I guess you went through Thanksgiving with no kitchen. Good excuse to eat out. Hope it is done before Christmas.

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    • It’s pretty iffy for Christmas. We don’t have the sink (which was ordered at the beginning of July). It was supposed to arrive yesterday but didn’t. Today is supposed to be the day. Without the sink, there is no countertop or water. We needed to do this but I would seriously reconsider any remodels during this time. At least don’t start without every piece sitting in your garage.

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        • Yes we are having that with the contractor who is replacing the window. He’s on another outside job that he wants to finish first. Two weeks ago he said 3 more days there. I don’t know how he counts time but 3 days should cover 2 weeks. The window will stall the backsplash but everything else can be done.

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  4. The car lock beep *can* be helpful when you forget where you are parked in a major parking lot. I’ve had to hold my fob up and lock over and over for a mean game of Marco Polo to find my car before, all while carrying groceries all up my arms because I swear I can do it in one trip without a buggy. Also on our new land I told hubby if he hears mine going off I didn’t get to the bear spray in time and need help and I’m in one of the spots with no cell coverage.

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    • It is useful for finding cars. I object to the person who just got out of his car, then locked it twice. Maybe even a third time as he goes in a store. We lost our car at a big venue once while attending a concert. The lot was huge so the car beep wasn’t useful. My husband has a distinctive license plate. We hear someone a few rows over repeat his license plate word and say “isn’t that cute?” If it wasn’t for that person we would still be walking around that multi acre parking lot! 🙂

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  6. My favorite times of day are early morning and late afternoon. I don’t do anything early in the morning, I am just awake. I have been experiencing a lot of gut issues since this last move. I have always had a funky stomach. Can’t even think about eating cabbage. My vehicle makes no noise and all I have to do is walk up to it and touch the door handle and I am in quietly. I do want your reno to be done. I feel your stress and pain. I also think I truly want to see your finished kitchen!

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  8. I like a certain amount of routine. It’s comforting and doesn’t include stress. Win-Win. Car beeps are annoying. I actually always open my door, hit the locks, and close the door just so I can avoid the noise. I’m going to a fun meeting tomorrow except for having to come up with an outfit. It’s been almost two years of wearing comfort clothes and no one cared. I hope I can find my makeup. 🙂

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    • I lost some weight during the pandemic. I’ve been trying to find jeans that fit for about 3 months now. Either they don’t have my size or it fit is wrong so I continue to wear baggier jeans hidden by tops. I thought Christmas would be a great time to find some but it turns out the inventory isn’t any better.

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  9. I decided a few years ago to do a lot of salads in the Summertime. Between walking and blogging (and oh ya … work), I decided bagged was best. Figured one bag for two days and picked up enough for about 8 days. I know we used to have these in the past, but all the lettuce (and not iceberg either) made me have to pee so bad, I didn’t make it home. I ate nothing else different. So, a little worried to have the rest of the bag the next day – same thing happened. I resorted to a side salad, not a dinner salad, finished off the rest and called it done. I worry about all the salmonella and listeria in salad ingredients and thought triple washed was the answer. I’ll try again, but not the bagged salads. There was a story online at my all-news station site of a woman on a plane trying to brest-feed her hairless cat. I spelled it wrong so it doesn’t go to SPAM. I’m too old for this world sometimes.

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    • I don’t eat salads every day. I’m not a big fan of green stuff even though it’s good for you. I much prefer a “salad” of tomatoes, onions and cucumbers with no lettuce. I’m nervous to try the salad again. The spring mix type works better.

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      • We had iceberg lettuce for years and when we got our canaries, had to switch to Romaine lettuce for them as iceberg was bad for them, so we switched too. I used to like a dinner salad every so often, but not going to try this again any time soon. It is good for you – like everything that is good for you, it takes time to prepare and it is more costly. I’ve seen the spring mix in the bagged and organic boxes but never tried them before.

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  13. My sweet spots are also related to routines. I don’t drink my coffee until after breakfast, but I have lots of morning routines that are comforting because I do them every day. In the evening, I love taking off my bra, taking a shower and reading before I go to sleep.

    Speaking of routines, the older I get, the better it is when I stick to the foods I usually eat. And not too many times in a row. I made a nice big pork and beans recipe the other day. After eating it two days in a row, I think I’d better lay off for a while.

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  15. I had a chuckle at your first paragraph about healthy eating Kate.
    We hadn’t been married very long when Hubby was admitted to hospital with severe stomach issues. He was diagnosed with IBS and I told the doctor it wasn’t my fault. Seems apparently it was as Hubby couldn’t handle ‘healthy food’ as the new norm, and t was my cooking that had triggered it all off. We laugh about life insurance policies being up to date, and he is avoiding mushrooms LOL.

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  16. I love sitting at my computer with my coffee first thing too. Get up, feed the critters, take the dogs out in the yard for a quick pee, then sit down with my Peet’s House Blend at my computer and catch up on blogs, email, and Heather Cox Richardson (absolutely essential reading each day.) If I have a really early client and I can’t do all of that, my day just seems off. At least in semi-retirement I don’t have too many clients who can’t wait until 8 or 9 am for a visit.

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  17. Sorry about your IBS episode. Dietary disruptions no doubt are exacerbated during any reno process which already has enough land mines built into it. Hope both are resolved soon.

    Your last observation entertained me. Would I be off base to think the author of that FB post might be a millennial? Given half a chance, I’d pick the furry kid over the two-legged version every time.

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  18. You got it right, Kate ~ we don’t always get “positive feedback” when we increase the fiber in our diets . . . best to take it slow. But eating more fruits & veg IS a good move to make if we want to keep moving.

    I tried a new to me dish this week ~ lettuce wraps filled with rice noodles, blanched veggies (carrots, celery, cabbage, red cabbage) with 3 GF dipping sauces ~ teriyaki sauce, coco amino, and spicy peanut. Messy, but delicious! The noodles are quick to rehydrate. If you bought chopped veggies (e.g., shredded coleslaw), the dish would be a breeze to make in your minimalistic kitchen. In the future, I won’t bother wrapping in lettuce leaves . . . I’ll just top chopped lettuce with the mixture. YUM!

    We’re enjoying the decorations and just learned that my niece and her 8 mos. old will be here for a belated Christmas, a couple days after the 25th. Her husband is staying in Kentucky as he must work. J is a teacher with the holidays off from school. So our holidays will be more fun than expected. 😀 But mum’s the word, J is planning to surprise her parents (my sister and BIL).

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    • The food part — I deconstruct recipes a lot. I found that making a chicken enchilada casserole saved me the trouble of wrapping the innards in tortillas and it went on from there. Even helupki has an easy method using chopped cabbage instead of wrapping. I’m glad that you can share you Christmas with a young’un. Although 8 months is young, it will be fun!

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  19. LMAO at your shock over the “little one” being an actual baby. Usually it’s the other way around, when people with kids are so shocked to hear that someone’s beloved baby is covered in fur!

    As the recovering older sister to far too many baby siblings, I’ll hold your baby if you need help or it’s crying, but I don’t have much interest in fur-less ‘little ones.” I will happily coo over your cat or pit bull, though!

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