Blackened Bacon

The other day Ray was telling about how a guy he knew had this unique way of cooking bacon that kept it from curling up. It turns out this guy would put a plate down on top of the bacon in the pan and that pressed it down flat while it cooked and not only kept it from shrinking it also kept grease from splattering all over the place.

I decided to try it out, lawd knows I hate the grease splatter, as far as the bacon curling up, that wasn't really a deal breaker for me. I didn't have any plates that fit down inside my iron skillet, in fact I was curious about this particular detail as I can't imagine how he maneuvered that around while cooking. I decided to use a pot lid from a set of enamel pots that fit inside my skillet perfectly. My fork also fit nicely into the thingy you use to lift the lid so I didn't have to worry about burning myself.

It turned out that my bacon strips were still so long that they curled up around the edges of the pot lid, so no perfectly flat bacon here. The first batch turned out burnt to a crisp in the middle and raw on the edges. I got interested in reading my email (that's code for getting on facebook) a few short feet away from the stove and lost track of time, so I burnt the bacon.

The next batch, I cut the strips in half and had another go at it. Burnt again as I was a slow learner that day and didn't give the stove my full attention. Apparently my "lid it and forget it" technique was clearly not the way to go! Yep, I was still trying to fb and cook at the same time.

Third batch I realized that if I just listened closely, I could tell when the bacon was getting close because as it turns out bacon stops making a frying sound when it's on the verge of turning to charcoal. Better yet, use the same rules as microwave popcorn and when the popping sounds get slower, you better get your butt over to the stove and turn the bacon over.

All in all breakfast turned out OK. There was nary a kitchen fire, even though I neglected the frying pan the majority of the time. I have to admit though, the thick sliced bacon I purchased, turned out to be the same texture as Streak-O-Lean due to the lack of attention during the cooking process. That brings back memories, who else loves eating the rind from that salty treat? Mmmmmm, streak-0-lean, I need to add that to the grocery list!

Hiding Candy From Babies

Today I was on a mission to get some long overdue de-cluttering done in the front part of the house.  I began in the laundry room and discovered the exhaust pipe or whatever you want to call it that runs from the dryer to the outside vent has come loose yet AGAIN and there is lint everywhere.  If something ever generates a spark in there the laundry room is gonna light up like a Christmas tree.  You will see a black cloud of smoke for miles generated from the 10,000 pieces of plastic "silver" (as my grandmother used to call it) stored in there along with my many left over paper plates from various events.

It was during the throwing out of the 15 different plastic cake takers that have nary a lid that fits, that I discovered the wrapper of a Now and Later package with one lonely candy, hanging in the wrapper like a loose tooth, lying over in the corner of the laundry room.  This sweet find was partially concealed by a dust hippo, created from the endless supply of lint blowing wildly about every time a load of laundry spun dry.

Oh Goody!  Something sweet!  I blew the dust off my treat while doing the Snoopy Dance around the broom I was using to drag socks out from behind the  washer.  How do miscellaneous articles of clothing get back there anyway?  I know I'm not the one that is tossing unmentionables willy nilly into the washer at such a pace that they are getting flung behind the appliance.  What exactly is going on when I'm not there to monitor the goings on in the laundry room.  Inquiring minds want to know.

While weeding through the endless supply of crap that for some reason has taken up residence in the laundry room I decide that this is the perfect place to hide stuff, namely sweet stuff, from the kids!  I could shove a fistful of Smarties in a tube sock and hang them from a nail behind the washer.  One things for sure, the kids are not going to look for them there.

Don't judge, I know you all hide stuff from your kids, what grownup doesn't?  My kids have slowly but surely found all my other hiding places so I think this new place will fit the bill nicely.  Although, I'm thinking chocolate will not hold up very well to the heat generated by the dryer so I need to get Ray crack-a-lacking on that clothesline he's supposed to put up for me.....

What? Schools Out!

Uhhgggg.  Summer break is upon us and boy am I not prepared.  I am not ready for my seven hours of solitude during which I work out whatever I have planned for the day to end, just like that, in a puff of smoke.  Usually I am better prepared, and the entire last week of school is treated as my last hurrah during which I do my housework, lunch with friends, roam the local bookstore, and sip my coffee uninterrupted, well mostly uninterrupted on the front porch.  I really am pitiful, I never would have made it as a homeschooling mother.

This year, during the last week of school my time was spent doing all the things that take place for the graduating seniors.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not begrudging my senior her last week of high school and all the functions that we, as parents get to share with them, I'm whining about the fact that I didn't do my annual shoveling out of Abby's room before she was out of school for the summer.  This task is best done while she is not on the premises.

I'm bellyaching about the fact that now I will have to acclimate myself to people being in the house with me again during the day.   I'm sad about the disappearing of the wonderful silence where there are no TV's playing.   Gone will be the joy of having all phone extensions remaining on the hook to charge and being ready and available when you need them, or the satisfaction of  once  a room is cleaned,  it remaining that way until the other residents of this nut house arrive home at the end of the day.  Pitiful isn't it?

My days will now shift to include the kids out on the porch in the mornings with me, I wouldn't give anything for the conversations that have been had out there or all the ones to come.  I have found the best conversations with the girls happen either out on that porch or on drives in the car.  I look forward to the topics this summer will bring.

Alex has a job lined up so that should get her out of the house.  Instead of her wanting us to fund her activities, I look forward to her enjoying the feeling of  a job well done and the reward of financial independence as a result of it.

All I need to do now is figure out how to keep Abby occupied.  I wonder if I can employ the same tactics my own mother used on us?  You know, send her out to play and dare her to even think about coming in and dirtying the house.   I think I even remember my mom locking the screen door to keep us from slamming it, or was it to keep us out of her hair?

That could backfire on me since Abby is my adventuresome one.  A little while back, when she had a friend over to spend the night, I looked out the window in time to see her and her guest putting on helmet's as they climbed a tree to test out the zip line they had rigged up.  I better just suck it up instead and crack the whip in the picking up after oneself department.
Well, tomorrow is the first day of the rest of summer vacation, so wish