Tag: compound

100 Happy Days: 84

Sometimes it’s the little things… I had a hanging wire basket many years ago–I think it was mandatory during one of those past decades when I’d probably barely cut my teeth–and who knows what happened to it along the way with a divorce and an ever-changing cast of roommates and homes.

Recently I was reading how this thing I do–putting damn near everything in the refrigerator because of the climate I live in–is bad for potatoes, onions, and some fruits and vegetables. I love almost all vegetables, but I have a problematic relationship with fruit. I like it okay, but I rarely think about eating it. And if I put it in the refrigerator, it’s really easy for me to forget we even have it.

Solution: back to the wire basket. Some things still have to be refrigerated, but as long as we eat those apples and oranges quickly, they can stay at room temperature. It’s working, because I’ve eaten at least half a piece of fruit a day ever since Tom figured out a place to hang this Container Store version in our small kitchen. Making healthier choices is a happy thing.

100 Happy Days: 37

Last Christmas David and Geri sent the dogs several toys. The dogs loved them–they loved them to pieces. And then they stopped loving them because they were just pieces. No more stuffing to remove, no more squeakers to squeak.

All that is except one dog. One dog still pounces on those toy pieces as if they’re the best thing ever. He prances around with them between his teeth, tosses them into the air, and catches them. He carries them in his mouth until they are saturated with dog slobber, lets them dry, and does it all over again. It’s Tim’s boy dog, Pollock, who still has enough puppy in him to appreciate all the things the other dogs shun. I call all his toy pieces “my precious” and scold Tim and Tom for throwing them away (as what sane person wouldn’t? But puppies aren’t meant to be sane. They’re meant to be cute. Pollock delivers.).

Today I was sweeping up the truckload of dust and dog hair that accumulates by the minute, and I had the nagging sense that I was overlooking something. As I swept everything into the dustpan, I could dimly make out two eyes staring at me.

Don’t worry, Pollock. Your precious went back in the toy box.

100 Happy Days: 20

I made it to Day 20 before I resorted to a food post! Here are the sides for our Tex-Mex tonight: cheese, sour cream, chiles, onions, black olives, tomatoes, and lettuce to go in beef and/or bean burritos, or to become part of nachos or taco salad along with chips and queso, and Mexican rice. Hungry?

You will note the absence of jalapeños. I can’t take the heat.