Confessions of a Grandma

Someone recommended a Netflix show to me the other day. From her description I had the notion that it was a documentary.  Last night Don was out for the evening so I decided to check it out. Good grief! It turned out to be this inane reality show which caused me to lose all faith the progress of the human condition. I gave it ten minutes -- which was really generous with my time. If you are curious here is the link to the trailer , but I warn you, you will regret letting it into your brain. Instead, I found the movie Persuasion  based on a Jane Austin novel with some amusing touches. Perfect solo girl viewing, in my opinion. Oddly enough there were characters with similar senses of entitlement to those in the Snowflake show -- but ever so much more enjoyable.

 How long have I had this computer? I think it's been at least two years. Today for the first time I noticed that I could do typing by just talking. So here I am trying it out. It feels a little weird. Sadly it also appears that a machine can spell much better than I. Another little blow to my self-esteem!  My mother insisted I take typing in high school. I really have to wonder what she would think of this!

  There's an old joke: Why to Vermonters lock their cars at night? To keep the neighbors from putting zucchini in the back seat.  And then there's the one about the woman who left a zucchini sitting on her passenger seat while she ran into the post office. When she got back, there were two more. I had friend's growing up who had zucchini and yellow squash pretty much every evening through mid to late summer. My parent's were not big into gardening so I don't remember any particular vegetable being relentless. Although my grandmother did seem to think rutabaga was a lovely accompaniment to any Sunday or holiday dinner. I like zucchini well enough. There are some pretty good recipe's out there. I like them sliced thin and baked with parmesan cheese and crumbs, in a no-noodles lasagna, or in one of those cheesy casseroles. The problem is that they pass this manageable, edible size very quickly. It's the monster size ones that become a scourge.  I slice a small ...

 

 I am not much of a morning person. I mean I do like that time of day, especially in the summer, but I am not at my fully functioning best. So my morning routine is simple and involves the least amount of decision making possible. To that end I go pretty quickly to a cup of coffee and an oatmeal muffin (made every twelve days of an afternoon so I always have one available). Well, yesterday it was time to make the muffins but I didn't have any applesauce, which I use in place of oil. I was out of bananas, a logical sub. One good habit I picked up during COVID isolation was not running out to the store every time I needed one item for something so I made a different substitution. Stay with me here -- I had some cooked beets in the fridge so I put them in the blender and used them instead of applesauce. The batter was a rather distressing pink. I have actually made a chocolate cake with beets before. The chocolate disguises the beet red. The muffins browned in the oven so as a finishe...

 It's what the founding fathers would have wanted! Be safe out there.

  Here's what can happen when one blindly follows technology's artificial intelligence (or what Kellyanne Conway might term "alternative intelligence). Smugglers' Notch Road in Stowe, VT, is a popular tourist stop during our lovely Vermont summers.  Part of route 108, it winds up, over, and down a steep mountain. There are sharp turns and narrows. There are also road signs warning truckers not to take the route no matter what one's GPS might be directing drivers to do.  GPS simply considers the road a short cut. Apparently, truck drivers love themselves a short cut. Seven trucks got stuck on the road in 2020. Assistance in getting these trucks unstuck is arduous and costly. Signs are posted that warn truckers not to attempt the route and inform drivers of substantial fines. The first truck of this year got stuck yesterday -- last night at 11:30 PM actually.  The driver: Yes, I saw the signs but I was following my GPS. The Florida man was fined $3,500 and will be re...