Crudola!

I've already gotten my day off to a suspicious start. Krl and I went to the store yesterday in hopes of avoiding having to get out during the inclement weather. We purchased all the ingredients to make a stew and when we returned home, Krl began putting it together. I was in the middle of a computer problem but took a time out to peel and cut potatoes.

Krl makes an awesome stew. In fact any of her cold weather specialties are top shelf. Chili. Check! Beans. Check! Soup! Check! She never quite got satisfied with yesterday's stew. She kept fine tuning it and at different times she would have me taste it for any recommendation. I thought it was pretty good. She felt like it lacked some small something.

We decided to rush the stew and have some of it for supper last night. Krl kept creeping up the temperature trying to get the potatoes done because everytime she would test one, they were a little tough. Finally, we decided it was as close as it was going to get in the short term. I chowed down on a bowl of it with some texas honey corn bread, and Krl made it about halfway through her bowl of stew. I felt it my duty to help her finish hers off. Hey, someone's got to do it!

This morning I awoke and decided to put the remaining stew back on the stove to slowly simmer. As any connoisseur of fine stew will tell you, a stew is much better the second day. I slipped into the office and was reading some on-line newspapers, playing a few cards and trying to get myself in gear to generate a little computer work. (The seasonal co-workers have began calling asking if I know when they can expect their W-2's. I have some work to do before Krl can do this.) Back to the story, in a short while I began to smell the aroma of Krl's stew. It grew a little stronger, then much stronger and I went into the kitchen to stir it.

What I found was not pretty. I guess I could blame it on not being all that familiar with the stove. But I won't. It was negligence. I didn't turn the work light on, just reached down and turned the knob to what I thought was simmer. What I forgot was that these are two burners in one. Turn it one way it is the larger burner, turn it the other way it is the smaller burner. Upon closer inspection I found that what I thought was simmer on the larger burner was actually high on the smaller one. It is exact opposite of the setting I was wanting. High on the small burner is plenty hot. I immediately took the pot off the burner, but it already smelled scorched. Dang! And I was counting on at least two more meals out of this thing! I let it cool and then gave it the taste test. Yuk! It wasn't even going to be salvageable by dipping off the top portion.

I can hear Krl now, "Dandy, you got some 'splainin' to do!"

So, I have to decide what I'm going to do. I sure hate it when I do something stupid. Would it be possible to reconstruct Krl's stew before she gets up? We'll never know.

One of the things I enjoy about going to the grocery store before a cold spell is I have a different mentality. Everything I buy is usually hot and spicy. One item I wouldn't usually buy was some Jalapeno Relish. It is goood! It just makes me want to get my spanish book out that the girls at the seasonal work got me for Christmas. (Margaret and Margarita. It is a spanish language learning book with margarita recipes!)

When Krl and I went to the store yesterday it was crowded! There was not one single space in the parking lot. People were parking any place they could find. Luckily the store was geared up because milk and rotelle were moving out the door! There is no telling how much milk will be consumed and how much rotelle dip will be made.

I spent about an hour visiting with the GM at the truck repair shop. BS 222 remains there. For some weird reason, their computer was not able to access the truck computer Thursday. Friday I spent a couple of hours in the shop, helping the technician go through a series of tests. When the computer finally began to talk, it said the cruise brake pedal sensor was bad. They were optimistic it would fix things. It didn't, but I guess my visit with the GM paid off. They took the truck off the time card and were letting a computer technician from Lubbock look at the truck computer on-line to see if there was a programming reason the cruise won't work. In fact the shop manager asked me if they could keep the truck into next week. My response was as long as it's not costing my employer!

Well, Krl is up. I confessed. She admitted she has done the same thing with the stove, just not to the extreme I did. Surprisingly she didn't banish me from the kitchen. This could be a long and painful punishment.

Well, regardless of where you're at, keep close to the fire. Have a day!

FATHER, I pray for those on the road, for their safety, for those in the elements that they would have shelter. YOUR nature amazes me. My GOD how great YOU are.