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The Belt That Wouldn’t Buckle
So, a couple of weeks ago, I got a new belt for my uniform. The old one was getting frayed along the edges, and ok, it was getting a little small. The first day I wore it, I was working out at the entrance station.
The entrance station is 12 miles from the fee office, out in the middle of nowhere. This building does not have a bathroom in it. To go to the bathroom, we have to run across the road:
Yes, see that port-a-potty over there? That is where we have to go to use the bathroom. In order to go, you have to look down the road with a pair of binoculars, and if you can’t see a car coming, you have time to go.
So, the day I wore my new belt to work for the first time, I looked down the road with the binoculars, no cars were coming, so I ran across the road to the space capsule. I did my thing, and as I was starting to pull my pants back up, the buckle of belt fell off in the floor! I was like, WTF!!!
I was trying to hurry because I could hear cars coming down the road, but I just couldn’t figure out how to get that buckle back on the belt. So, when I got back over to the entrance station, and opened the door, this is how I greeted the visitor:
I was laughing, and the visitor was laughing, and I explained the situation. Soon after they left, I was able to get things under control. But man! I was embarrassed!
10 Google Searches That Landed Someone On My Blog
I have often wondered how and why certain search terms brought people to my blog from Google. Some of them I can understand, because the search term clearly shows that someone is looking for a gluten free recipe or other gluten free information. Other things, it really gives me a giggle to see the search and where it goes. So, here you go, the 10 top search terms that landed here at Fabgrandma, and the page they landed on:
1. T-shirt quilt Tutorial (this is not surprising. Neither are the next three)
4. Gluten Free Fried Cauliflower
5. And then there is the question, “Is fried shrimp gluten free“. My answer to that, just in case you want to know, is that it depends on what you use to coat, or bread, it with. I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Bisquit and Baking Mix, or, if I have it, I use corn flour, not corn meal.
6. Then there is the question “Where can someone go without insurance to see an emergency room doctor?” To that, I have to say, if it is a true emergency, like if you having a heart attack, or have a broken leg or something like that, just go to the emergency room. They have to treat you whether or not you have insurance in most instances if it is a true emergency. But if you are not near death, and just need to see a doctor, then go to a clinic or one of those urgent care or immediate care health clinics. The clinic I went to charged me $44 if I saw the physicians assistant, and $85 if I saw a doctor. Those type places are cheaper and more affordable than going to an emergency room.
7. Going to emergency room for non emergency. You know, while a lot of people do this, I don’t think it is a very good idea. For one thing, it ties up the emergency room staff with petty things. It also costs way more money to go to an emergency room than it does to go to a place like Kanab Clinic or to a place like Concentra in Flagstaff. $85 is nothing compared to having a bill for over $1000.
8. How do I found out about traffic accidents on I-40 east of Amarillo. I wrote a little post about an accident we passed on I-40 on our trip to Arizona this spring, and there have been lots of people looking for info about accidents on I-40 since then. I think I-40 has more accidents than any other road out there, judging by the searches for that term.
9. What do I take for an itchy rash on my face. My rash was diagnosed as Rosacea. My doctor prescribed three things: 1. I take doxycycl (an antibiotic) three times a week by mouth. 2. I use an antibiotic gel, Erythromycin, on my face once a day if there is any rash that erupts. and 3. I use an SPF 50 or higher sunscreen every day on my face. This helps prevent the rash from coming back.
10. What helps an allergic reaction to toilet paper. When I wrote that post, I had NO IDEA how many people would then find my blog because they were dealing with the same, um, itchy places, as I was. So, in order to try to help those people out, I will tell you what has helped me: 1. I started using wipes instead of toilet paper as often as possible. This has really helped a lot in reducing the itchiness that has been going on for me. 2. I also started using a moisturizer THERE once a day. The same one I use on my face. The moisturizer helps a LOT. I can’t say that doing this will help everyone, but if you do suspect that the itch you have is caused by the toilet paper you are using, then stop using it, and see if things improve. What do you have to lose besides an annoying itch?
Homemade Potato Salad Recipe
When we sold our house and moved into the RV, FabGrandpa decided he did not want to have to mess with a barbecue grill–cleaning it, storing it, etc. But after 10 years of not cooking out, I bought a small table top grill last summer. And we realized again how much we love to cook out.
Yesterday, we grilled a whole chicken, split in half and used some hickory chips to smoke it a bit. I cooked some fresh green beans and made some homemade potato salad to go with it. I used to only make potato salad on holidays, like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and 4th of July. But several years ago, I decided why limit myself to having one of my favorite foods only on holidays? It is soooo easy to make. So now I make it every chance I get.
One thing you need to remember when making potato salad is that not all potatoes are equal. I use only red potatoes for my potato salad, because they are “creamier” than russett potatoes or brown potatoes. So, here is my recipe:
Home Made Potato Salad Recipe
10 medium red skin potatoes
1 handful of salt
5 boiled eggs
1 bunch of green onions
4 ounces sweet pickle relish
3 tablespoons brown spicy mustard
1/2 cup mayonaise
Wash the potatoes (do not peel them) and put them in a large pot, like a dutch oven. Fill the pot with water to an inch or two above the potatoes. Add the handful of salt to the water. Bring to a boil, cover the pot with a lid, reduce heat to medium, and boil until potatoes are tender, about 40 minutes. Turn off heat. Drain the hot water off. Add ice cold water to cover the potatoes, and let them sit for about 10 minutes.
Pull the skins off the potatoes and cut out any bad spots.
Dice the potatoes into a very large bowl.
Peel and dice the eggs and add to the bowl with the potatoes.
Add chopped green onions,
and the rest of the ingredients, and mix well.
Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.
P.S. Make sure all of your ingredients are labeled “gluten free” to ensure the finished product is gluten free.
Getting To Happy
I just finished reading a new book by Terry McMillan, the author of “Waiting to Exhale”, called “Getting to Happy”. I really enjoyed reading it, and wrote a review of it on Blogher. To see the review, click here.
We Are Still Talking About Buying A House
For the last couple of years, FabGrandpa and I have talked about buying a small house in Georgia. We have seen lots of house like the one we have in mind in the west Georgia area. We want a little frame house with two bedrooms, no stairs, and a couple of acres of land, not in a subdivision. We want to be west of Douglasville, preferably west of Carrollton.
While we have had no trouble finding cute little houses that fit this description, in our price range, we have been getting the run around about financing. We have been told everything from “we can’t finance you because you have no income in Georgia” to “we can’t finance THAT house because the loan would be less than $30,000.” We finally talked to someone last summer who told us how we would have to proceed in order to buy the house we are dreaming about. And, after that conversation, we started looking again.
There are still a lot of cute little homes to be found in west Georgia and east Alabama. We have planned our coming winter so that we will have a month at a campground in Tallapoosa, Georgia so that we can look for “the perfect house.” We know that we will have to get a home warranty inspection, too, so that we will know that the house really is “perfect.” We’ll probably also need to find a new insurance agent, since we haven’t lived in Georgia for more than 11 years. It is all so much to think about, but I have confidence that we will figure it all out soon enough.
Wine, Food, and Friends=Fun
Just because I had three bottles of wine, I decided it was time to invite a few friends over and have a little party. A wine tasting party, with some food that I made today.
I made some gluten free chocolate chip craisin cookies using a Betty Crocker Gluten Free cookie mix.
I also made some gluten free cheese crackers using gluten free Bisquick. They turned out really tasty!
Our friends Richard, Nancy, and Kelly came over to have some fun, taste the wines, and just relax after a long week on the job. Richard loved the Pinot Grigio:
And Nancy just let it all hang out!
And me? I just loved tasting the wines!
To see the review of Flip Flop wines, click here.
One Of Those Days!
Have you ever had a day when you just wanted to tell someone to shut the “F” up? I had one yesterday. Without going into much detail, let’s just say I had a long day at work. I was told by a visitor that I “didn’t need to be snippy” with her. And I didn’t think I was. I merely asked her for her name, so I could find her reservation. Of course, I understand “snippy” is in the ear of the beholder. Or the hearer. Or whatever.
It was just one of those days where you can’t do it right, no matter what you do or say, so the best thing would be to walk off and let someone else handle the situation, except there was no one else there to handle it. So, I just started coughing, and said “excuse me” and stepped to the back of the room for a moment to gather myself together, take a drink of water, and try to compose myself. What else could I have done?
I know sometimes when you work in a customer service type of job, that there is nothing you can do to prevent “snippy”. You can say an innocent sentence like “What is your name, please?” and the person on the other side of the counter will go off on you, because they have ridden in a vehicle with five whiney children for over a hundred miles, or they had an argument with their husband over which exit to take and the one they suggested resulted in over an hour added to their trip. And you are the next person they see. So, they either take it out on you outright, or they do it subtly by calling you “snippy”. Either way, it can make your workday hard to get through. How would you handle this?