Scenes from my Sunday

My journal page from yesterday. I was remembering other Washington's Birthdays back in the mid 50's when my Dad took my brothers and I to a local furniture store to "look" and get a "free cherry pie" just for stopping by. That was before all the Presidents got lumped into one holiday. Do school children even know about George and the cherry tree? A lesson in telling the truth. Probably not.

I went into my pantry to find canned sour cherries for a pie. Found, instead, that you can't keep canned fruit for "years" and expect it to still be good. I opened and dumped 5 cans of cherries into the compost bucket. Two of the organic cans had leaked. Today I will stop in and see if my local grocery even carries canned or better yet frozen cherries. We may not be having pie.

My breakfast bowl. Oatmeal every morning. 365 bowls a year. One teaspoon of sugar and a "splash" of 1 percent milk. It isn't that I love it. But I would miss it if I didn't eat it.

My bags of onions. In "person" I don't notice the highlights on the onions but here they show up. Good subject for a painting. I have been adding onions to nearly every dish I prepare. Last night I cleaned out the fridge with a stir fry of sliced fried onion and garlic with kale steamed on top. I plumped up some really old raisins (a small snack sized box) in boiling water and dug some almonds out of the drawer in the fridge. There was also a cup or so of cold brown rice. Everything in the pan with some soy sauce and I called it dinner. And some red pepper flakes. I Good combo. This is the sort of wonderful dinner I get to have when the husband is at work. Or out of town.

On our evening walk yesterday, Riley and I joined a neighbor (impromptu) walking two Golden Retrievers. A two year old and a 5 month old. Riley and the puppy were all over each other. If one had a stick the other had to try and get it. Leashes were tangled. Eventually, sigh!, they calmed down and actually walked. The puppy needed to be out FRONT. The leader. Riley needed to be UP on top of all the snow and ice banks. And the two owners got to have some conversation. When the walk was over the three walked away--never looking back-- to where Riley stood and watched them. He watched till they were out of sight and then turned, looked at me and sighed. What a dog!

What's Good Today: Sunshine but bitter cold. Walkable. Chinese Lunch. All afternoon to "do something". I wonder what I will decide? Nigella cooking in 15 minutes. Express. Riley knows we go walking when it's over. The minute it is over!!!!!!!

What's Not: G never got a break or lunch yesterday at work because management was running the entire store with 6 people (to make the numbers look good and get their bonus). And today they will "write G up" for failing to take lunch. No one was "available" to cover for him so he could leave the floor. But he had to cover their breaks. And the reason he didn't just walk off the floor--his two cashiers may have needed help with a customer issue and G thinks that being there to help customers when they are buying stuff is a "good thing". Unhappy customers (or team members) don't affect the bonus, I guess.