Thursday Thoughts

Dinner for mom: ribs, salad, green beans

1. You may have noticed that I took a week off from blogging. I just haven't felt like it. Honestly, much as I like cooking, baking, eating, dining out, reading food magazines, I'm a little burned out on it all. I've lost interest in food blogs. Even mine. I don't yet want to quit, but I think over the coming weeks there might only be Thursday Thoughts posts.

2. I actually took a break from the internet/social media/computer/smartphone/tablet/TV news. I find that sometimes (OK, pretty much always these days) it just overwhelms and/or annoys me. I think I'm too old to really get it. I still don't really get Facebook (Please don't try to explain. I understand what it is/its purpose, it's just not how I am. I just don't care to be friends with the 200 people I graduated high school with and couldn't stand back then so why would I friend them now? Or friend people I've never met?).

• All the presidential news stresses me out and worries me. I keep hoping a white knight in shining armor will swoop in and save our country from the bozos trying to be the next president.
• Horrid news is just horrid and that seems to be all I hear and I wonder why we can't just be nice to each other and respect each other and behave like decent humans? 
• Seeing the same things tweeted over & over every single weekend is just annoying.
• Seeing repeated tweets of your dining adventures from 6+ months ago annoys me.
• Excessive hashtag use annoys me. Do you seriously need 15+ hashtags on every Instagram?

There's more. Much more. But I'll stop there. Just know I am old. So I don't get it.

I definitely need to continue the break from the interent/social media/computer/smartphone/tablet/TV news.

3. In the past week I read John Sanford's latest Lucas Davenport novel Extreme Prey. As always, I enjoyed the latest Lucas adventure and I'm looking forward to the next one where he just might be a US Marshal?! I'm in the middle of Cold Barrel Zero by Matthew Quirk. I'm enjoying it, but also having trouble being completely absorbed in it and unable to put it down like when I read Daniel Silva or Greg Iles or Lee Child. But that could be my twitchy allergy eyes.

Ribs!

4. Lately I can't stop listening to The Lumineers Cleopatra. My favorite song is Angela. I'm so quaint and old - I actually still buy CDs. Yes, I use Spotify and I have lots of Spotify playlists with lots of stuff I like, and I browse new music on Spotify, looking for new stuff to like, but for the music I really, really like, I buy the CD.

Homemade BBQ Sauce

5. TV update: still loving Tom Hiddleston in The Night Manager. Loving Game of Thrones. Enjoying The Americans. Wishing Orphan Black would move a little faster. Annoyed with Quantico. Feeling like Castle is going to be very disappointing next Monday. Loved Butch & Penguin in last Monday's Gotham. Looking forward to the Scandal season finale tonight. All the other stuff we watch? It's OK.

Grilled green beans with bacon & onion

6. Last year we saw SP's mom on Mothers Day so this year we saw my mom. My mom asked for ribs or grilled chicken. We made both along with salad and grilled green beans & bacon plus we had appetizers of Mediterra farmhouse bread with tomato-basil dipping oil and a cheese plate. We washed it all down with 2 bottles of chardonnay plus old fashioneds for my dad.

"Salad" - no lettuce because dad doesn't like it.

For dessert, we made creme brulee. We made the same cappuccino one we made in February and we made a lemon one. Sadly, not all the cappuccino ones set. Mine was very runny and disappointing. We even gave them an extra 10 minutes in the oven, but... So sad.

7. My 17 year old niece called on Mother's Day. She had just survived taking the SATs and prom, on the same day. Plus, before prom, she & her prom date went to a reception with his parents and some Congressmen/other political people for incoming freshmen at military academies. Her "sort of maybe boyfriend" (never ask too many questions about the boys!) is graduating and will be attending the Naval Academy starting in September.

We are excited for GA niece & nephew. Niece is going on a church mission to Ecuador this summer and we're pleased that she's getting out and seeing the world. She's also applying to colleges this summer. Very exciting time for her.

As for nephew, he is in Odyssey of the Mind and his team is the first team from their school district to ever qualify for the world competition, which will be held in Iowa in a couple of weeks. His 7 student team will be flying with their 2 teachers to Iowa. It's a great opportunity for him, to meet kids from all over the world and to travel away from home without his parents.

I love hearing both kids so excited about these things - I remember being that age and I'm just so happy they're getting to have these experiences and see places so different from the small town in which they live.