Colds and Other Discomforts

What have I been up to lately? Not a lot, or a too much, depending on your outlook.
First of all, we have all been sickly. My son caught some nasty flu bug at the Dr's office when he was getting a check-up. He started getting all gobbery and snotty, and I knew I had a problem. My mom caught it next, and because she smokes like a chimney, she got it bad. Hacking hacking hacking, wheezing, and sleeping. Then my husband got it, and he never gets sick. He came home early from work one day when I was out shopping. When I came back and saw his car sitting in the driveway, I about had a heart attack. The last time he came home from work early, he was laid off. I rushed inside to find him fast asleep upstairs. He opened one eye miserably and informed me that he didn't feel good, and to shut the door because he was taking a nap. I just shook my head and laughed. He gets so grumpy when he is tired.
Then I started to get it. Luckily, I had thought ahead and purchased a big box of Cold Ease. They come in many different flavors including; strawberries and cream, orange cream, cherry, honey lemon, citrus, and green tea. I've tried a few of them, and I don't care how good they make them sound on the box, they all taste gross. Don't get me wrong, they work like a dream, but you still can taste a slightly metallic taste. I started popping those things right away. So far, only a slightly stuffy nose and a light cough which seems to be going away right quick. Meanwhile, my mom still sounds like a TB patient.
In other news, we close on our house tomorrow. It's been very stressful due to some unexpected last minute repairs we have had to make, but the deal is almost done. I'm a little sad and a little happy at the same time. It irks me a little that the new owner is planning on ripping out the old carpet and flooring and completely repainting the house, but I guess it's their prerogative. I happen to like my design choices, but hey, I'm the one who picked them out. If they rip out my shrubbery or the trees, then we may have to talk. I love those bushes! I spent hours digging holes, wallowing in the mud like a pig, all to the amusement of my neighbors.
Tomorrow, we also have to pay a visit to the friendly Indiana DMV. We seem to have somewhere along the way lost the title to a car that we want to get rid of. I can't wait to spend hours and hours at the house of corruption. It should be fun. "Number 101, number 101, please step to the window please so we can abuse you and take all your money. Thank you, please don't come again."

East Meets West

I was messing around the kitchen tonight with my mother. We only had a 1 lb of chicken between us, a pantry full of canned goods, and a few odds and ends I picked up on the spur at the moment at this weird Asian supermarket I decided to explore this afternoon. She wanted to make chicken potpie or chicken fajitas, both of which did not sound good tonight to my picky palate. I told her to stand down, and took over the preparations.

I had really wanted some hot and sour soup, which is why I had wandered into that Asian supermarket to begin with. First of all, it is located in the most strictly all-American neighborhood strip mall you can image. At one corner, a Walgreen’s dominates, with its large red sign promising delivery from all kinds of aliments to the young and old alike that live in the area. On the other end, an H&R block, looking strangely vacant this time of year, is squeezed in next to a Subway. The rest of this strip mall is the Asian Supermarket. I was wondering about this, and today I saw multitudes of Asian folk heading into the market. So I wandered in. It was amazing! They had rows and rows of fresh vegetables, all reasonably priced. It was difficult to name some of them, as I had never seen them before and most things where written in Chinese. I did manage to locate a few things I recognized, cilantro, ginger, mushrooms, and I picked these all up for pennies. Then I wandered through the store, finding some chili paste I knew I could use. Their meat area amazed me. They had all sorts of strange things I would never eat, including cow hearts, pig knuckles; chicken feet packaged by the pound. But then they had regular stuff like pork and beef, cuts that I recognized. Some items in the sauce aisle looked interesting, but it was all in some type of Chinese, so I was hesitant to buy. They had all sorts of interesting rice, noodles, and tea. I'm looking forward to visiting again!

Anyway, this is the recipe I sort of threw together from some of the items I had laying around and some of the items I found in my treasure hunt. It was very tasty, and cleared out the sinuses. After eating this, you won't need the remedies from the Walgreen’s. I call it East meets West Chicken Soup. It is very easy, and doesn't take much time.

4 servings, or two really hungry people servings with some leftovers for lunch.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips or cubes
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth
1 can of pinto beans, drained.
1 can of petite cut diced tomatoes
1 can of corn, drained.
1 small white onion
1/2 green pepper, diced.
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon Cheyenne pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
dash of paprika
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon white sugar

Cook chicken in stock pot until cooked through, then add green pepper and onion, cooking until onion is clear. Then add broth, corn, tomatoes, and beans. Stir. Then add salt, pepper, ginger, Cheyenne pepper, red pepper, paprika, vinegar, and sugar. Stir. Cook on low at a low simmer about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Spot of tea?

I just came back from a lovely visit with one of my best friends and her family. They are both from the UK. Her son is just a few weeks younger than ours, so it's fun to get the boys together. It's amazing to see to little babies play together. They try to grab each other’s hands, feet, and faces. In my son's case, he grabbed his friend’s sock and pulled it off. I'm sure if I hadn't absconded with the errant sock, it would have ended up straight in his mouth.
When we got back, my husband said, "You're talking British again." Which was true. I tend to pick up their tone of voice, sayings, and the penchant for teatime.
It occurred to me that most Americans have no idea sometimes what British phrases mean. In fact, it goes both ways. For example, I told my friends that my husband talks on the phone more than a teenage prom queen. They didn't get it. They don't have proms in the UK. In fact, they don't even have high school. They have some other system that I really don't understand. It involves picking out your career path at age 16. Can you imagine? They only thing I knew I wanted to do at age 16 was get a car and get out of the dink little town I was living in.
So anyway, here is a brief cheat sheet from The Best of British in case I say something you don't understand after visiting my British friends.

The British flag, also called the Union Jack:


Ace - If something is ace it is brilliant.

Bloody - One of the most useful swear words in English. Mostly used as an exclamation of surprise i.e. "bloody hell" or "bloody nora". Something may be "bloody marvellous" or "bloody awful". It is also used to emphasise almost anything, "you're bloody mad", "not bloody likely" and can also be used in the middle of other words to emphasise them. E.g. "Abso-bloody-lutely"!

Cheeky - Cheeky means you are flippant, have too much lip or are a bit of a smart arse! Generally you are considered to be a bit cheeky if you have an answer for everything and always have the last word.

Dodgy - If someone or something is a bit dodgy, it is not to be trusted. Dodgy food should be thrown away at home, or sent back in a restaurant. Dodgy people are best avoided. You never know what they are up to.

Gutted - If someone is really upset by something they might say that they were gutted. Like when you are told that you have just failed your driving test

Posh - Roughly translates as high class.

Rubbish - The stuff we put in the bin. Trash or garbage to you. You might also accuse someone of talking rubbish.

Wanker - This is a derogatory term used to describe someone who is a bit of a jerk.

Also they have a queen, which I just bring up because I wanted to put this picture in:

!
To see a few more pictures of the boys playing, click here. They are a lot cuter than the Queen of
England, I guarantee! (Thanks to my friends for taking the great pics!)