Anyway, I'm on vacation from work this week. This morning I put a turkey in the oven. It was hanging around the freezer for awhile and I decided I'll use it for various things: hot open turkey sandwiches, snacks for the kitties, and to make turkey stock. After I put it in the oven I took a little trip to Trader Joe's in search of pure vanilla extract. (Yes, I left the house with the oven on. Washer was on, too!) The price has skyrocketed this year, so I figured I'd check Trader Joe's, as I find their prices are lower than most places on many items. I found a 4 oz. bottle of bourbon vanilla for $8.99. That's not bad considering Price Rite--a discount store--wanted $4.99 for 2 oz. and Sam's Club had an 8 oz. bottle for $20.98. I also plan to make my own; however, I've noticed that there are no vanilla beans being sold in my usual haunts. I know there's a big shortage right now, so that's why the prices are so high and beans are scarce. If I find some beans and make my own extract, I'll post about it.
I bought these flowers for myself at Trader Joe's ($3.99!), along with some pineapple salsa, two bags of riced cauliflower, and a cat. A cat?? Just kidding! That's Leia and she was highly interested in my flowers. I had to put them on the fireplace mantle so the cats can't nibble on the leaves.
When I got home, I found the house hadn't caught on fire, much to my relief. Actually, the oven wasn't even on anymore. Upon further inspection I found that the microwave, toaster oven, coffee maker, laundry room and dining room were all without power. I headed down into the basement to check out the electrical panels (a scary prospect: heading to the basement, alone, in a very old house...). None of the circuits were tripped. I let Bob know and he called to tell me to check the sub panel. Turns out everything on the sub panel was without power, which means the sub panel is blown or the wiring is blown. Either way, not a good thing. Luckily the fridge and deep freezer are not on the sub panel, so my food is in no danger of spoiling.
So, yeah. I came home to a half-cooked turkey and a half-done load of wash. I have a gas stove, which is great when the power goes out. But the oven is controlled by digital buttons. I grabbed an extension cord and was able to plug the stove in and finish the turkey (much to Leia's delight). Unfortunately I can't finish the wash because I have well water, which requires a pump and that pump runs on power. I do have water at the moment, but I need to conserve it until the power is fixed.
I have to go to physical therapy later for my back. It seems to be helping a little; however, now I have a lot of pain in the base of my neck and left should blade, which is causing me a headache. It's been a week and isn't going away. I'll have to mention that when I go to PT later.
No big plans for the rest of the day, other than to scan some of the family pictures. I brought all the bins back from my parents' house and I've decided I want to scan as much as possible so we don't lose any precious memories. There are lots of scrapbooks, too, the my grandfather put together. I think it will be a fun, if very tedious, project for the remainder of the week.
No comments:
Post a Comment