Abandoned Nest

A few weeks ago I noticed that the mockingbirds weren't screeching anymore and the only bird I saw flying to the nest site was a scrub jay. The mockingbirds have not come back so I can only assume that the scrub jay found their nest and maybe stole any eggs that had been laid. I'm sorry to not see the mockingbirds raising their little family but it is a lot quieter out there and Lucy is not afraid to get back up into her perch in the tree. It took her a few days before she figured out that it was once again safe to venture up the tree.

Speaking of trees, the one sugar maple that Keith didn't take back to walmart was planted in the backyard in the spot formerly occupied by the plum tree, the plum tree that I'm glad to see gone because no more green plums laying on the ground to step on and twist your ankle on and no more hundreds of ripe plums falling onto the ground to deal with either. We thought the sugar maple might die, it seemed to kind of shrivel up after it was planted, but we do see new buds and leaves forming so maybe it might just survive. I'd rather rake up leaves in the fall than rotting plums in the summer.

It's a nice morning here so far, the cats are all in the back yard taking their morning constitutional. We did treat them with the cheaper form of topical flea stuff so that they hopefully won't bring fleas back inside with them. Genie cowers in her basket until they all come back inside and it's safe for her once again. She is terrified of the indoor cats but will go after Lucy with a vengeance when she goes into Genie territory. I guess one interloper can be handled, but not five.

It's going to be a long hot summer I think, we are supposed to have triple digit heat this weekend. Yesterday I decided to make this baked bean recipe for lunch, why I decided to heat up the house by baking beans for an hour in the oven I don't know. I'm trying to think of things to eat, once again being totally bored with food and nothing sounds very good to eat. I liked the beans, but they were too sweet for Keith. I also made some coleslaw from this low sugar recipe magazine that I got and it was totally inedible. I'm not a huge fan of coleslaw unless it's really fresh, too many memories of soggy nasty school lunch coleslaw, but my fresh coleslaw was even worst than the soggy stuff. What a waste of time, energy, and cabbage!

We did go out for dinner the other night, I was wanting to go back to the Rice Bowl restaurant where you get good food for about the same amount of money you would spend on ingredients for a dinner at home, but we decided to try the Chinese restaurant right next door to the rice bowl. Well, actually not right next door, there is a street in between them so technically they are on different blocks. But still, if you come out the side door of the Rice Bowl, you are looking at the side door of Bill Lee's Bamboo Chopsticks or whatever it's called.

We should have gone to the Rice Bowl. I ordered orange chicken, just like I do at the Rice Bowl, but this orange chicken was definitely not as good, and it wasn't cooked long enough so that it was kind of soggy and slimy and my stomach is turning just thinking about how soggy and slimy it was. Keith got some kind of shrimp chow mein and his wasn't very good either. It was also a few dollars more than the Rice Bowl, so lesson learned there.

I do think it odd that two Chinese restaurants would open up right next door to each other.

If You Are Constipated

Then find the nearest Tutti Frutti self serve yogurt shop, serve yourself up a big bowl of delicious frosty goodness, and you will be feeling just fine by the next morning. I guess it's the probiotics in the yogurt, kind of like Activia but instead of eating 3 Activias a day to make it work, just one trip to the yogurt shop does the trick. Plus, it's absolutely delicious.

Before we went to the yogurt shop last night (not necessarily because we were constipated we just wanted some yogurt) I made every attempt to fix a home cooked dinner for us, it being one of the odd nights that Keith was actually home and not sleeping in preparation for a late night shift. I made chicken fried chicken, which came out fine, then warmed up a can of baked beans, then while the baked beans and chicken were cooking, was also stirring up a packet of country gravy mix to go on the chicken and simultaneously cooking some frozen vegetables in the microwave. It's the using both saucepans and having the microwave going that gets me every time. I can't handle so many pots on the stove and trying to cook (okay, warm up) three or four things at once. It makes me crazy and the vegetables didn't get cooked enough and it was too late to stick them back in the microwave by the time we realized they weren't cooked enough so we just didn't eat them.

I spent about 30 minutes in the kitchen, which is an eternity in the hate to cook world, I used two saucepans, a skillet, and a bowl for the microwaving, then we had our plates, bowls for the beans because I hate bean juice in my other food, another bowl for serving the inedible vegetables, silverware and cups. So, tons of dirty dishes and we ate the food that took 30 minutes to prepare in about 5 minutes. Then I had to clean everything up. Big messy kitchen for a few minutes of eating. So not worth it.

If we could afford it we would just go out to eat every night.

We did go out a few days ago, downtown to the Rice Bowl Chinese restaurant, where we had been for the Conductors Union holiday party in January. We wanted to go back after eating there that night but kind of forgot about it, it being all the way downtown and me not being all that big on Chinese food. But I did like the orange chicken at the holiday dinner, so that's what I ordered and it was really really good. Keith got a big plate of ribs and chow mein and such and we shared an appetizer of salt and pepper chicken, which is basically crispy fried chicken pieces with salt and pepper on them. Sounds blah but it's very tasty.

There was way too much food so we took half of it home but orange chicken really doesn't warm up all that well, it gets a little soggy outside and dried out inside but I ate it for lunch the next day anyway. I was pleasantly surprised at the dinner bill, the hot tea is included with your meal so for three huge, and I mean huge plates of food it came out to $30.00 and some change. Plus lunch was covered the next day for both of us, well breakfast for Keith because that's when he ate his leftovers. We've spent way more than that for some dinners that weren't half as good, so I think we'll be going back there again. Soon.

Dinner at the Rice Bowl

We've lived in the lovely? city of Bakersfield for 10 years now and have never once been downtown to the Rice Bowl restaurant to eat. We've seen the sign a bunch of times but never once have we been inside the place. Partly because it's all the way downtown and partly because I'm not all that big on Chinese food. But, last night we had dinner there. Keith's union was having it's annual holiday party there last night and Keith's schedule worked out just right to where we could actually go.

It's kind of strange inside the place, a very big building with lots of rooms and a bar, we were in the way back in like a conference room but next time we go hopefully we will sit in the much much nicer looking main dining room. They had those big round tables with the lazy susan in the center for the food, first bringing out an appetizer of fried chicken bits, called pepper chicken or something that were pretty tasty. Then came fried rice which I only ate a small amount of, then some kind of noodle dish which is not something I'm supposed to be eating, then some orange chicken which is all fried and breaded, again not supposed to be eating but I did and it was delicious. Then some pork or beef with green beans in it which I didn't like and then some battered and fried honey and walnut shrimp, which sounded good but I didn't like, picky eater that I am. The only way I like shrimp is fried up with cocktail sauce, and really I only like it because of the cocktail sauce.

Keith enjoyed the heck out of all the food, though, and there was so much of it that everyone at the table could take some home, so he'll have more of it for lunch today. I met a few of his co-workers, kind of nice to put a face with some of the names I've heard.

Anyway, it was a nice evening and really nice that I didn't have to come up with dinner last night.

This is their big sign outside which was not lit up last night and I was kind of disappointed about that, but cool sign anyway.

 And this is the gorgeous dining room that we did NOT sit in

And this is the 'Rice Parking Bowl' parking lot down the street that we did park in because everything by the restaurant was already taken.