Picked up a bunch of local Swiss chard to stir-fry with dinner. Normally this veggie is not on my radar, but Dwight suggested I should look out for some.
Category: Home Living
All Set for Sausage Saturday
Looked straight ahead as I walked past Kramarczuk’s extensive display of cakes to pick up garlicky house-made Ukrainian sausage at the meat counter. Next, I braved the chilly walk-in beer cooler at Surdyk’s, just down the road, for a local brew. Earlier I’d picked up crusty bread, a massive cabbage, and ice cream at Seward…… Continue reading All Set for Sausage Saturday
Brushes With AI
At the Victoria & Albert Museum it was Digital Design Weekend. Here, museum visitors are on a date with a difference. They’re communicating via phones using language restricted by AI. Meanwhile another AI system is generating social media comments on how the date is going. Elsewhere, machines creating water colors inspired me to imagine the…… Continue reading Brushes With AI
Sunday Afternoon
As you walk through our home today, you walk from great cooking smells to the intense smell of rubbing alcohol. I’ve been preparing dinners through Wednesday, Dwight’s been spraying plants that have attracted bugs. Tonight, mushroom risotto; tomorrow beans (with a Spanish-style sofrito base) and rice; Tuesday, risotto patties; Wednesday, beans and polenta. “Food is…… Continue reading Sunday Afternoon
Teacher Appreciation
At Coastal Seafoods, I pointed at a slab of fatty Atlantic salmon and asked for a piece to be cut from the thicker part then deboned. The cashier asked if I was a teacher, as they were offering a 20% discount to teachers. I replied that I was a volunteer English Language teacher, which she…… Continue reading Teacher Appreciation
Katydid’s Camouflage Fail
I’ve lived in the Twin Cities for 45 years and only today saw one of these cleverly camouflaged creatures on our window presumably sheltering from rain. It looked like a folded leaf! Its body was about two inches long, and it was walking vertically on its six legs, which seemed to have suction cups at…… Continue reading Katydid’s Camouflage Fail
Mushrooms: My Two Cents’ Worth
Yesterday Dwight picked up Shiitake and (new to us) Trumpet mushrooms at the farmers market. Tonight I’ll put them in a risotto. Many suggest not washing mushrooms, but I prefer to run them through a bowl of water, then dry them. Shiitake stems are full of umami, but sadly they’re tough and stringy, so they…… Continue reading Mushrooms: My Two Cents’ Worth
Old Dell, New Tricks
Our 14-year-old Dell was slowing down, so I gave it a new lease on life today by dual-booting Windows 10 and Linux (Ubuntu). Running Linux, it’s blazingly fast and handles almost everything Dwight and I need. Total outlay: $0.00 + too much of my time.
Fast-Forward to Fireworks
Aquatennial fireworks from our balcony capped off an evening of Olympic action. We’ve splashed out $15 for NBC’s (proud as a…) Peacock service for commercial-free on-demand access to every event. Paris is 7 hours ahead, so we can fast-forward through the boring bits.
Our Saturday Ritual
It’s Sausage Saturday, which means sausage and cabbage on the barbecue, a movie, and ice cream in the intermission. Tonight’s picks: The Kids Are All Right, pausing for this excellent cashew-milk-based ice cream.