Can you tell it’s still winter?
January went out with a big snow storm… and February came in with even more snow. Of course, for us, that meant wind, which blew most of our snow to the next county.
Since the first of February, I’ve been kind of “missing in action” as far as blogging goes.
Way early on Friday, February 1, we got one of “those” phone calls. It was still dark, and I was really getting my best sleep when all of a sudden I heard Cindy calling to me… “Shari, Bev’s on the phone with someone and I just heard your name taken in vain!”
What the hell…?
I tumbled out of bed (and that’s not a pretty sight) only to discover there was no time for shower… Not even time to make my bed. Get dressed immediately! We’ve got to fill in at the Senior Center for Bill and Sue (the food service contractors). Thankfully, someone had started the coffee…
It seems Bill’s father had suffered a massive stroke, and Bill was a basket case. The father is quite old, and living with them. He was put on “hospice” earlier this year, so the end really is near.
By the time Bev and I got to the Senior Center, Bill had started on the meatloaf. Chris, the Center manager was helping out. She sent Bill home to be with his Dad. She’s added some ingredients to the meatloaf.
I got there and finished what I called “Meat Loaf by Committee”. The rest of lunch was Oven Roasted Potatoes and a green vegetable. Bev took care of the salads and dessert ( a cake).
We ended up cooking all last week. That’s something that absolutely fatigues me. It’s been 12 long years since I last cooked professionally, and my body just screams at me.
Going into this kitchen is quite similar to that program called “Dinner Impossible” on the Food Network.
We changed the menu around, since some of the things scheduled were “pet recipes” and there were no written instructions. I didn’t really want to mess with those.
Monday morning we battled the elements getting to work as we’d had a snow storm on Sunday. Additionally, Cindy had left the windows in the Avalanche open a couple of inches. (She smokes and was airing out the truck). Well, it was 4 degrees inside and outside the truck. with 1/4 inch of ice on all the windows.
That was the COLDEST 15 mile ride… might as well have been on the horse!
I scrambled all morning to get lunch done on time. The menu… Beef Stroganoff over Noodles with Green Vegetables. The first of the Meals on Wheels go out at 11 AM and we didn’t get to the Center until almost 8 after stopping to pick up the groceries at the local store.
Wednesday wasn’t much better. Again I was scrambling around. We had Country Fried Steak (really breaded chicken patties), made from scratch Roasted Garlic Smashed Potatoes, and made from scratch Glazed Carrots. You know how long it takes to peel 20# of potatoes and 8# of carrots?
Thursday we had to go to St George and shop for the Friday lunch. Since we took the Senior bus and had other seniors with us… it was an all-day trip by the time we shuttled around St George for doctors’ appointments, shopping at three different stores, and lunch, plus the 2-hour round trip drive.
Friday was the “easy” day. Pop the frozen lasagna into the oven. Open cans of green beans. Open cans of applsauce. Open bags of salad. We were really thankful for the “slack day”.
Sadly, Bills father passed away on Wednesday and as I’m writing this, they are having the Memorial Service for him.
This next week will be back to “normal” as they’ll return to work for a while. In time, we’ll fill in when they want some time off for themselves. Hopefully, we’ll have more than a quick phone call.
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