Embrace Race: “Supporting children in the struggle against COVID-19”

March 24, 2020, 8:30 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)

I like this particular group and the seminars they offer. It seems like a good idea to support and promote them here at the blog; so, for folks who are focused on unlearning racism, “Embrace Race” is a great resource.

Here is the link to register for this particular seminar. And here is the description, to help you decide if you’re interested. If you can’t make it to the actual seminar, you will be notified when the recorded version is available, if you are registered.

Description: In the United States and abroad, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) threatens our health, disrupts our routines, and undermines our financial and economic well-being. Diagnoses of anxiety in children were at a peak even before the coronavirus provided more cause for alarm. Join us for a conversation with a developmental behavioral pediatrician, based in Houston, and a child psychologist, based in the Bay Area, about how parents, guardians, and other caregivers can best protect children in these difficult times. As always, we will devote a good chunk of time to your questions and comments.

Additional anti-racism resources are also available at this site.

Stay Safe!

Cottage Pie – When Ingredients are Limited

Bonus Tip: While we’re all stuck at home, and when everything we need may not be on the store shelves: Try to google ingredients you have in the house, and find recipes to match.

Now that many of us are buying whatever happens to be available at the store, we may not find our preferred brands, or even our preferred types of foods. I just posted another article to recommend bulgur wheat as a rice substitute. But a while back I posted a recipe for a sausage cottage/shepherd’s pie, that can be adjusted to accommodate may different ingredients.

The basic idea is a pot pie filling topped with mashed potatoes. It avoids the need for a crust if you can’t find flour right now. The one I made today did use a bottom crust, but it’s not necessary. You can compare the earlier sausage recipe with this one, to get an idea of how you can change it up, based on what you’re able to find at the super market.

Can’t Find Rice? Try Bulgur Wheat.

I’ve noticed folks cleaning out the dried goods aisle. The store I go to is an HEB Super Store. It has a bulk aisle. I did not expect to find much even there, but I was surprised to find the bulgur wheat silo was completely full. It was surrounded by several completely empty dried grain silos for rice and other things.

Heads up, bulgur wheat is a grain. It’s just cracked wheat. It’s fairly healthy for a grain. It’s a complex carb. It’s easier to cook than rice, and actually more difficult to ruin. I often have problems when I cook rice, but the only way to get bulgur wrong is to add too much or too little water, and it’s still pretty forgiving.

Life in the Age of Corona Virus

Why this topic?

I was going to share out an apple pie recipe today, but this became more relevant as one more thing in my life was impacted by Corona, and I decided to talk a little about my experience with this virus.

Let me start by stating the obvious. We all realize that most folks who get the virus will survive and that the measures being taken are about keeping the most vulnerable folks among our citizenry safe, and postponing and limiting the spread as long as we can in order to allow time for an effective response to be developed. My goal here is not to exaggerate concerns or panic anyone, it’s to talk about the real world impact we’re experiencing as a result of this pandemic.

Cat Food Can Wind Chimes with Beads

I found a local bead shop and decided to add some decoration to the cat food can wind chimes. The cans I buy are actually coated with a gold veneer. And I found these interesting square beads with blue and gold flecks. I scratched one to see if the coating would stick, and it wasn’t affected. I hope they will weather well?

I’m thinking of trying to find a way to use the cans themselves as the base. I have some fencing wire I think I can use as the “hanger”. I’ll play around and see.

The beads were a long strand for $3. I almost got some glass beads that would have been more like sun catchers. I will see how these go. I can always go back and buy more. I bought four strands of these. So I have a bag of them right now.

Enjoy!

Trim & Soffits Are Done!

The contractor came by yesterday and completed the work. If you’ve been following, there have been some ups and downs, but barring something going wrong, I’m pretty good with where it’s at now, and glad I had the work done.

My odyssey started when I realized I had to fix/paint my soffits and trim. And my house, although it’s only a 1-story, has a high pitch to the roof in some places, so I knew it wasn’t an DIY job for me.

I didn’t feel committed to the paint colors, and after sleeping on it, decided they had to change. I ended up going from a royal blue to a white, and that ended up costing me more because it required an extra coat to cover the burnt orange trim that existed on the house already.

So then Instant Repair came in and did the work. And it wasn’t bad. But I did notice some issues, and called them to discuss.

A minor issue was that I had the doors painted also, but one day of drying isn’t enough, and you can’t leave them open over night. So, there has been some issues with the edges needing a touch up. But I’m competent enough to handle that myself, so I did.

The front porch repair though, was the final issue, along with some caulk in the masonry cracks. That last bit ran me only an extra $125. And my total costs ended up at $3,375.00. That was for soffit and trim repair and repainting, and also repainting the front and back doors. Online I’d read that this type of work on a standard bungalow could run from several hundred to $6,000. So, I’m right in there.

On the front porch, I actually have to repaint the repair work after the first coat dries, but that’s nothing for me. And it looks really good. I didn’t even notice where he’d done the fix until he pointed it out. He also did a little extra sealing on the back gutter/trim near the chimney where it was starting to get soft from water damage.

But at least it’s done and done, and I’m good for at least several more years. Also the new color scheme looks great.

Take care!

300th Episode of “Holy Crap”–featuring me and Ryan McKnight of Truth & Transparency Foundation

Just a note to let folks know that I was very honored to be featured on the 300th episode of “Holy Crap” with Ryan McKnight, talking about the mission and work at Truth & Transparency Foundation. Hope you have time to check it out. We are hoping to expand the mission and do more to hold powerful institutions and individuals accountable for their actions. Feel free to share it out, if you think it’s worth sharing.

Thanks for your support!