Every Recipe Begins With--Chop An Onion

At least all of mine do.  Yesterday, before going off the work--a white knuckle drive in the first snow of the season--I assembled Split Pea Soup in the old crockpot.  Not the new one.  The older models always seem to work better than the new replacements.

The recipe off the internet mentioned 8 to 10 hours.  Eight if you like your split peas "al dente" I guess.  So, I returned my bowl of soup to the cooker, added ½ cup more water and waited 2 hours.  Perfect @10 hours, but by then I had eaten something else and instead packed up my soup in jars.

Now, after writing this--I will go looking for another recipe to make in my crockpot--using what I have here in the house.  Have rice, frozen artichoke hearts, frozen red peppers, onions, celery, some small red skinned potatoes and a very large butternut squash.  Black beans are also available--Black bean bisque is always nice.  I also have everything wheat free to make tuna casserole.  Only need potato chips.  I used to love lentil soup.  Ate it all the time.  Now it bothers me with acid reflux.  What is going on????

I have been needing 2 or 3 Benadryl a day (so far) to get thru a day without sneezing or having a running nose.  Also the allergy eye drops so I don't rub my eyes when they itch.

I have to go into the attic to get my winter boots.  Yesterday's walk to the car equalled cold wet socks. I had on crocs.  Crocs have holes in them.  Holes that fill up with snow.

I also have to solve a mystery.  On Monday I went thru my long sleeve shirt drawer and removed a small stack of shirts that "do not spark joy" and gifted them to a young mother who has just returned to work.  We worked together 10 years ago.  She didn't have clothing suitable for Winter.  Now she does.  I allowed her to hug me but refused the kiss.

Now the mystery.  While sorting the drawer, I actually remember two red striped LLBean tops.  Now I only have one.  The young woman doesn't have it.  I have searched and searched.  A co-worker says she couldn't find a pillow case.  Searched the drawer way too many times--no luck.  Then tried again a day later and it was on top of the pile.  This morning I opened the shirt drawer--wasn't on top.  I then sorted through the corduroy pants pile.  Not there either.  I will look upstairs.  See if the top managed to get all the way up there.

I've stopped watching PBS News Hour.  It's too much stuff to have to worry about.  I have also stopped reading the first section of the newspapers (other than the headlines) and stopped watching--even for a few moments--the cable news channels.   News overload and I can do nothing to change any of it, it would seem.