EVENTFUL DAY & Turkey Carcass Stock Recipe

First off, this morning; as I walked down the hallway and got closer to the kitchen/livingroom area … I started sneezing nonstop, my eyes and nose started dripping, and I was starting to wheeze.

It didn’t take me long to figure out why.

The chrysanthemums were making themselves felt.

I knew it was risky to bring them in, but I needed to tidy them up a bit before tucking them away to overwinter. They are all ‘delicate perennials’, so I don’t want to lose them; if overwintered in an agreeable atmosphere, they will thrive and put out new growth again in the Spring.

I got the coffee underway, pulled Bob’s old windbreaker on – and shifted the pots back outside.

On the front porch this time, in a kinder cooling atmosphere: where the cruel Fall/Winter river winds, and slashing rainfall won’t damage them.

Then, I dug the allergy capsules out of my handbag and swallowed one past the growing blisters on the back of my throat that was making breathing and swallowing difficult. The blisters are the result of nasal drainage running down the back of my tongue – they get quite big and hamper my breathing ability.

 

Chrysanthemums back outside. Sheltering Front Porch; away from hard frosts.

Allergy capsules; I keep these on hand in case of a bee (hornet or wasp) sting – I’m deathly allergic to stings: these capsules will buy me time to get myself ‘right’.

1 capsule makes me loopy: so, I only take one instead of the recommended 2. If I get stung, I’ll have to take 2 … and I pray I never have to use them when I am driving (this was not an issue when Bob was still here – he could spot-drive when necessary).

1 capsule will make me sleepy if I am inactive; so, as soon as I swallowed one of them, I got busy making the turkey stock while the coffee finished perking.

==TURKEY CARCASS STOCK ~10 to 12 cups

1 Turkey carcass, broken into pieces * any defatted Pan Juices or gravy that may be left over * 12 cups Water (or enough to cover carcass completely) * 2 medium Onions, coarsely chopped * 2 ribs of Celery, diced; with leaves, if possible * ½ cup Carrots, diced * ½ cup diced, well-washed Leeks * ½ cup diced Turnip * 1 clove Garlic, minced * 1 teaspoon Salt, optional * Bouquet Garni, made by tying in cheesecloth: 6 sprigs Parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes), ½ teaspoon Thyme leaves, and 1 Bay leaf

1) Combine all ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil; and simmer it partially covered, for about 2 to 3 hours (this stock tastes better the longer it is simmered – as long as you don’t cook away the liquid).

Cooking Turkey Stock.

Turkey Stock Ingredients.

2) Strain the stock, and skim off the fat.

3) If desired, remove all the bones, reserving any meat pieces. Discard the spice bag. In a blender, food processor, or hand sieve … puree the remaining vegetables in a cup of the stock and save the mixture for another soup; or for flavoring a stew or sauce.

*WHAT I DID: When the stock was finished cooking, I cooled it in the ‘fridge/bagged it up in freezer baggies, and slipped it into the freezer to use in future meals:

Turkey Stock ready for freezer. 6 ct. 2-cup baggies =12 cup

While the stock was cooking, I traced some more snowflake outlines onto the last 3 plastic canvas sheets – I don’t think I’ll have enough time this year to make all the snowflakes I want to hang in my windows from Thanksgiving though February, but I can have these shapes cut out/ink washed off them/and work on them for the 2021 season.

Making more snowflakes ...

It will give me something to do to keep me productively occupied during the dark and gloomy PNW Winter months.

I talked to my younger sister in the afternoon, and picked her brain about a destination I plan to visit in 2021 sometime; it’s close to where she lives, and I felt reasonably certain she’s been there and would know the layout and best time of year to drive there. She did, and she was very helpful info-wise.

So, this is the first destination that will be written on a slip of paper to go into my 2021 Get-Out-of-Dodge Jars.

It will be fun to do the drive – and I’m thinking of spending the night there, too. A BIGGIE for me; but a necessary step in moving forward and building a new life separate from the one I had with Bob. It is not healthy to live a forward life hemmed in by the past life.

I also talked to a fella about the dishwasher issue – he’s coming next Thursday to check into it.

Periodically, throughout the day, I checked my FB Page for notices and interesting tidbits.

A friend posted to his FB Page, this fantastic rendition of ‘The House of the Rising Sun’ song. The guitar is pretty fantastic itself … and the way the song is played is catchy.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLE-CaCPb1A)

In our early years, when we went dancing every weekend, Bob would request this song at some point in the evening because he knew I liked it; and he liked holding me in his arms.

Bob was a romantic fella – I don’t know if he was always romantic; but I do know that he was with me.

I also started reading another book today.

It’s not a new book, though it is new to me.

Book I started reading this morning.

Story plot

I buy my books at garage sales, or thrift stores.

I rarely buy new books because I breeze through them so quickly; forking out $5 to $8 a novel seems very wasteful to me, when I can read through the book in 24 hours – or less.

I don’t have a money tree growing on my small lot 😉

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMYQYyTCwDk)

The book should be interesting: I like ‘who done it’ plots.

Speaking of … I need to shut the laptop down, crack the book covers, and get back to titillating my gray matter while the river winds whip the tree tops, rattle their limbs, and snatch the leaves off one by one to send them skipping down the quiet blacktop.

Strong river winds tonight.

There’s been very little street activity this day.

It should be a peaceful relaxing evening.

The fireplace giving off a warming ambiance, cocooning myself in Bob’s fleece blanket, book in hand; and hot cocoa at the ready.

I can embrace that.

BATTING CURVE BALLS

Well …

The “further issue” of last night became the present issue of today.

I checked the floor before walking down the hallway to bed last night – and there was a bit of water under the front edge of the dishwasher; not puddling like before: just wet.

There is obviously a slow leak somewhere.

So, I before I moseyed down the hallway to the bedroom, I turned the under-sink water valve back off; that flows into the hose that feeds through the side of the kitchen sink cabinet, and into the dishwasher.

And first thing this morning, I texted Shay – she contacted her contact … and the waiting is on.

I'm going to need Shay's fella ...

Black mold is a serious concern.

Thankfully, I do have $$$$ in savings to shift around to cover this new added expense.

But that is money that is earmarked for Emergency Tire Fund – it will be the second time I have had to pull money from savings in an 8-week period of time.

I feel guilty having to do it: when Bob was preparing to go to OHSU the end of November 2018, he stressed to me the importance of making sure I had a specific amount of ready $$$$ set aside/available for emergency tire replacement. He knew OHSU was a make-it-or-break-it gamble on lifesaving measures, and he wanted to be sure I was {set} financially if things went south in a heartbeat.

Things did go south in the short 21-day-period of time we were in Oregon.

November 24^th; afternoon. Finally made OHSU ... aka Hospital Hilton.

BOB; 1967 – The face that stole my 10 year old heart.

Our Wedding Night; 1974. No one gave us a 6-month chance ... we made it for 44 wonderful years.

Bob & I; 1984.

BOB; 2006.

BOB; 2017.

December 2018; Bob playing Solitaire on his laptop that I brought back with me from home on Tuesday. (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2018/12/pancreatic-nightmare.html)

December 14th, 2018 – Bob’s last day on Earth, with me. (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2018/12/widowhood.html)

And I have been very careful to keep that Savings Balance necessary – until the demonrat political covid bullshit – which has businesses going off the rails with ass-saving mask rules that do absolutely nothing but make life stupidly hard for the rest of us.

When I had to update my glasses, about 8 weeks ago … my regular optometrist would not see me unless I agreed to suffocate myself: I refused, which meant scheduling with another optometrist – with an added $300 billing increase.

I did a Bazaar the end of October and was able to replace 2/3rds of the filched Savings fund; only to have the dishwasher go wonky yesterday.

These past 22 months have been a constant 3-step shuffle; I can never quite master the waltz now that my dance partner has left his earthly sneakers behind, and now wears golden slippers to trip the lights fantastic beyond the clouds.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k4ujBGRGf8 & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpwdwbO1uvM)

And though I do enjoy a rousing baseball game … right now, I’d enjoy it more as a spectator than an active player: my batting arm is starting to burn with the continual activity.

Widowhood – familial abandonment – a leaky tire (it has been patched, but it still needs careful monitoring; and will eventually need replaced) – necessary replacements (like glasses, that are seriously necessary) – and unexpected expenses (that always seems to crop up when the government goes into slap-down mode).

I miss the sharing of decision making. I miss being able to take a rest from life’s sucker punches once in a while; I miss the comfort of knowing my husband was bearing 50% of daily responsibilities. I miss the comfort of Bob holding me when life got rough and tough.

It can start weighing on you, after a while.

I try to stay upbeat.

I don't allow a lot of negativity into my life. 

Hopefully {replacement} things will start slowing down; and I can have a little more wiggle room again financially.

Then again … maybe not, if the obama-clinton-pelosi-biden-harris coup actually becomes another obamanite nightmare scenario.

My wiggle room will pretty much disappear.

I know Elohim loves me, and has my back.

I trust Yeshua 100% to be my Husband/Provider.

I trust God.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5-6gwssX0Y)

Just once, in this new life of mine, I’d like to bat that curve ball out of the Ball Park and enjoy a home run.

GIVE IT TO GOD

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBldegpMVDs)

My day was pretty boring, up ‘til about 5:58 PM.

It had been stormy all morning – with spotty internet service. I turned the internet off after it cut out the 2^nd time in half an hour’s time; and played a few hands of solitaire.

I lost every hand.

I was becoming very bored; very quickly.

Around noon, the rain had backed off enough, that I had driven into town to buy some eggs and quart-size Ziploc baggies (this could actually have waited, but I was bored and boredom can be depressing; I needed to get out of the house); after my purchases were made, I decided to come back home over Columbia Heights/Lone Oak/Pacific Way/Coal Creek back streets. That way added a few additional miles, but it also made my eyes happy to see the golden leaves piling up along roadsides … and colorful landscape ornamental trees bedazzled my eyes further, with their brilliant red, orange, burgundy-purple Fall vividness.

The last time I was that way, I was with Bob.

9 months before our lives would be forever changed.

It was snowing: Bob drove us home that way because he knew how much I love snow; and how falling snow always captivated his snowbaby.

That was the last time he would ever drive that route.

That was the last time he would see falling snow.

35 months ago.

A long time ago.

A short time ago.

A lot different now.

Now, I am driving solo lobo along the route that holds memories of US.

Back at home: wrapped in the fleece blanket Alyna and I made for him so long ago, I laughed aloud as I read the closing plot sequences of the book, I had been reading.

I put the book in the ‘read pile’, and selected another to begin reading.

Then, I decided to remove the dishes I had run through the dishwasher last night, before going to bed.

And felt my slippered foot get wet: I had stepped into a pretty good-sized water puddle.

WTHeck?

Glancing down at the floor, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Then, what I was seeing scared me.

There was quite a bit of water on the floor.

I know my situation is not unique … but, it is frustrating. And an added complication to a life already complicated enough.

I could see that the water was pooling around the lower baseboard of the sink cabinet and dishwasher corner.

What to do?

I opened the sink cabinet to see if there was a water leakage problem there: it didn’t appear so. I pulled the garbage cans and bucket of dishwasher-soap-powder out and checked thoroughly.

It was dry as a bone: no problem there.

The dishwasher had to be the culprit.

My heart sank.

I didn’t know what to do.

Bob would know – I am not Bob.

Bob’s thought would be focused.

My thoughts were all over the place.

The water puddle was concerning.

It was not there earlier.

Why had it suddenly appeared?

Bob would have turned off the water.

I had no idea how to do that.

Do I need to turn the water off inside the house: if so, where?

Do I need to turn the water off outside: if so, where?

I was trying not to panic every time my eyes fell on that water puddle.

I finally bit the bullet – picked up the phone … and called candy.

I don’t like talking to candy: ever – about anything.

she is directly responsible for my husband’s death.

she is the Park Manager … I needed her to send someone to my house to check this situation out for me.

The phone rang.

My heart was racing.

I did not want to hear the voice that sent my husband to ER; a visit that eventually led to his death.

It galled me that I should need help from a woman that destroyed my life.

she answered.

I explained my situation.

A fella arrived a few minutes later.

I did have help trying to figure it out – but it is still a mystery.

Thank you, nameless stranger; who came over quickly to check things out, and turn off the water.

Inside.

Now, I know what to do.

I had him show me how he turned off the water – it is important to know, in case this happens again. I was really worried about the subfloor under the stone tiles.

The Good Samaritan seemed as confused as me.

I needed to see the floor under that bulky beast. My worry was that the stone tile may not be laid all the way back to the wall, and the subfloor was exposed; if that was the case, then the subfloor would be soaked. Neither Bob, nor I, had stood over the construction crew that had overhauled the entire kitchen; including laying the stone flooring in 2017.

I thought another thinker may be worth bringing into the situation.

I reached out to my friend, David.

My phone decided to be a putz.

We played phone-tag for a couple minutes.

The battery, I saw … was low; the phone refused to be our go-between-messenger.

The Good Samaritan eventually left.

The puddle had been sopped up … but the problem still remained.

Why had there been a puddle – and was there more standing water underneath the stubborn dishwasher?

I tried David one more time: my phone would not allow a call to go through, but I could send/recieve texts; so, I did. I wanted to know why the dishwasher was refusing to be pulled out – I know they can be: this one was not budging.

He said it may be screwed to the floor, or to the countertop.

The F-bomb was dropped again.

I am not ladylike … even though Bob called me his ‘Lady’ 😉

I had no idea where to check for screw points – but I was thankful for the information. If I had to call someone else in to take a look into the situation, that information could be passed on and checked into.

The puddle issue still troubled me.

I decided to try another avenue … I reached out to another friend, who I felt confident would be able to point me in the direction of who to look to for help.

She did; and could. But she also opted to come over herself and see what she could do 😊

Thank you, Shay!

She showed me how to unscrew the bulky beast – manhandled it half out of its cubbyhole; I was pretty impressed – and we were both relieved there was no standing water underneath.

The floor under the dishwasher was bone-dry.

(((THANK YOU, LORD!))))

But she was as mystified as me.

We chatted for a while, catching up on each other’s lives … and made tentative plans to have lunch in town sometime next week. She’s a good girl, I always enjoy time spent with her 😉

Hopefully the water-puddle-issue has resolved itself.

It’s a real mystery.

The puddle was there … but there appears to be no reason for the puddle.

I tend to overthink complex and mystifying situations.

But, tonight, I refuse to go down that path.

I am not going to overthink this situation: I will go to bed later on, and sleep soundly; confident that what could be done has been done … and the situation, as weird as it has been, is no longer an issue.

And, if there is “a further issue”, Shay will connect me with someone who can rectify it 😊

Either way, “it” is under control and there is no reason to overthink it.