Home At Last!

Good morning!

Yes, THANK GOODNESS we got home yesterday after a relatively tranquil drive. It was Ben who suggested that Sunday morning of a four-day weekend might give us the easiest drive--and he was correct..

We left at seven thirty and got home at five. It would have been earlier but for three--or was it four?--separate stall-outs of the engine on the freeways of Los Angeles.  Pretty scary, that, once! And multiples, scary times three.  Each time when we'd coasted over to the right for a modicum of shelter in the non-existant side of the freeway, and had given ourselves up for lost but for the ministrations of the triple A, Theo was able to start up the engine again and get us back onto the road.   A miracle!  We made it! (A little later than we might've otherwise.)

Coming down Hwy 5 from the Bay Area is a blast.  You drive through miles and miles of cow country, grass country, mountain country, oil country--and you are in a low broad valley in the midst of it all.  From time to time there is a pullout where you may take refreshment.  Yesterday we took it at Carl's Jr, where I'd had a good burger on the way up.  I had a turkey burger, no mayo.  Verdict: not edible. (Viz my crunched up sack afterward).  The elements were good, as the lettuce, tomato, pickle and purple onion were excellent.  Bun--bad. No one wants to eat cracked wheat type buns...! Turkey patty--so so.  It was only about half edible, as it was just huge HUGE and very dry.  So I put the lettuce tomato onion and pickle between the cold crunchy leaves of iceberg and ate that, plus some of the turkey. I never make turkey burgers, but by coincidence had made them twice while at Ben's. (He and I are both trying to eat less fat/beef.) They were derned good: Jennie-O's ground turkey has flavoring in it but was OK.  And the secret to a decent turkey patty is to make them small and cook quickly.  If you want a big burger, pile them in.  But thin and quick is good, thick and dry, NO.

I also had a banana strawberry milkshake minus the whipped cream and it was not good either.  When I think of the Blizzards I had in TX on our last foray!!! I had banana pie Blizzard that was just delicious and included small crisp bits of crust in the array.  Delicious.  All in all, I had no delicious food in Concord, and that included what I cooked myself.  Benjamin is on dietary restrictions, trying to change his eating habits.  Theo is on dietary restrictions, trying to fool his pancreas. (Not succeeding.)  I am trying to lose weight, or at least not trying to gain it.  Those three conditions preclude a lot of deliciousness right there.

I'd like to remind everyone that my Mama fried nearly everything she cooked, and weighed about 110 for most of her adult life.  I mean, that lady FRIED!  And she ate of the results.  And lived to 86!  And was beautiful. Riddle me that, folks.

Today James H. Kunstler has a great essay on American's birthday. It is not a feel-good bunch of boloney, I must warn you now.  But we all need to read it. Happy Fourth of July, everybody! YAZZYBEL--at home.