Concrete

 The concrete slab is being poured as I write.  They were to come tomorrow but with topical depression Fred giving us rain they opted to do our inside job today.

This won't take long at all.

Another contractor to check off "done"!

Safety Advice

Usually my friend Marilyn sends me funnies to share.  This is a bit more serious and worth the read I think.  Here is what she sent:

 Good Advice, tell your friends.

Written by a cop for your safety

 

In daylight hours, refresh yourself of these things to do in an emergency situation. This is for you, and for you to share with your wife, your children, & everyone you know. After reading these 9 crucial tips, forward them to someone you care about. It never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in.

 

 1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do!

 

 2. Learned this from a tourist guide. If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you...Chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse.

 

 RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!

 

 3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won't see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives. (Also new cars have a lever to open the trunk from inside)

 

 4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc. DON'T DO THIS!  The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go.

 

AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE. If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF, Repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your Airbag will save you. If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it. As soon as the car crashes, bail out and run. It is better than having them find your body in a remote location.

 

 5.  A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage: 

A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat.

 

B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door.  Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.

 

 C.) Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard or policeman to walk you back out.

 

 IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)

 

 6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!

 

7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN!  The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; and even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ RUN, preferably in a zigzag pattern!

 

 8. As women are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP! It may get you raped, or killed.

Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well-educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked 'for help' into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.

 

 9. Another Safety Point: Someone told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her 'Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.' The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The policeman said, 'we already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.' He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby's cries outside their doors when they're home alone at night.

 

10. Water scam! If you wake up in the middle of the night to hear all your taps outside running or what you think is a burst pipe, DO NOT GO OUT TO INVESTIGATE! These people turn on all your outside taps full blast so that you will go out to investigate and then attack.

 

 Stay alert, keep safe, and look out for your neighbors!

 

 Please pass this on.

 

This email should probably be taken seriously because the Crying Baby Theory was mentioned on America's Most Wanted when they profiled the serial killer in Louisiana.

 

I'd like you to forward this to all the women you know. It may save a life. Lighting another candle does not dim a candle. I was going to send this to the ladies only, but guys, if you love your mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, etc., you may want to pass it onto them, as well.

 

Send this to any woman you know that may need to be reminded that the world we live in has a lot of crazies in it and it's better to be safe than sorry. Everyone should take 5 minutes to read this. It may save your life or a loved one's life.

Mount Rushmore of the East?

 My daughter read that Pratt Rock was described in the tourist publication as Mount Rushmore of the East.  That was a bit of a stretch we thought after we visited there.

Zadock Pratt was responsible for Pratt Rock.  He commissioned the sculptor.

Pratt's tannery was supposed to be the biggest in America at the time.  Notice he also served as a Congressman and was married 5 times, twice he married sisters.  None of his descendants survived to carry on his line.

The town of Prattsville, NY is just down the road.  The kiosk gave some background but I found this description of the geology rather fascinating.

The path was up the side of the mountain to see the carvings.

Granddaughter #3 walked the whole way.

There were several switchbacks going up.

Looking up we could see the carvings above us.

Here a bench had been carved out.

Sorry, can't remember if this is supposed to be Pratt or his son who died during the Civil War after the 2nd Battle of Manassas.

Looking out across the land gave us this view.

More carvings.

Another bench.

Not sure who first painted the carvings white, but without that paint they wouldn't be very visible.

This was surprisingly a popular spot.  We were the first car in the lot when we came in the morning, but when we returned to the car there were at least 4 other cars there.  We had passed several groups climbing up after us.  I guess the tourist magazine description must have had others wondering what this was about.

Summer Meals

 Ok, so hot weather with no AC is not a good time to use the stove or oven.  Heat wave really started on Wednesday but Monday night I made a tomato and onion quiche which heated up the room.  

Tuesday I made pasta carbonara with bacon and zucchini which also required standing over a hot stove.

Wednesday morning I realized that standing over the stove to cook pork chops was not going to be fun so I got out the crock pot and a crock pot cookbook.  I couldn't find a recipe I liked so made up this one which was delicious. 

Slice a large onion.  Place several slices in bottom of crock pot.  Lay on the boneless pork chops. salt and pepper and give them some sprinkles of hot sauce.  Lay on rest of onion.  Empty a can of cream of mushroom soup over it all and add 1/2 can of water too.  Cook on low for 6 hours.  

Pork chops were so tender and moist.  Soup made a nice sauce.  I did make rice, mushrooms, and steamed some spinach to go with meal.  I didn't get as hot as the days before.

Thursday, another scorcher of a day I decided the stove was out for dinner.  I looked for a gazpacho recipe instead.  Found several and modified.  Never made this before and I didn't have a blender having gotten rid of it when we downsized in 2016.  Dan reminded me he did have a NutriBullet for smoothies so I used that making the soup in two batches.  Traditionally this is red cold soup but mine was yellow from the yellow tomatoes I used.

Yellow tomatoes (I used one large and a pint of cherry sized)

1/2 green pepper

1/2 large zucchini

1/2 sweet onion

1 clove garlic

1 slice bread with crusts removed, soaked in water, squeezed and added to mix.

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar

chicken stock (I didn't measure because I had to add liquid to a line in the NutriBullet)

sprinkle cumin, rosemary, salt and pepper.

I cut everything fairly small so the NutriBullet didn't have to work very hard.  It did a grand job.

I chilled it in a large mouthed jar in the freezer for 15-20 minutes then served it with sour cream that I thinned with milk.  It was delicious.  We had crusty bread and olive oil to dip it in as an accompaniment.

There is only a small amount left for one of us to have at a lunch time.

Tonight we are having chicken salad.  The chicken breasts are simmering on the stove now.  Another cold meal in this heat.

What are you cooking that's cool?