Friday, February 13, 2015

7 Quick Takes about Super Vegetables, Potluck Futility, and Dams that Beavers Didn't Build

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday!

—1



As a result of Phillip's latest unusual food experiments, I can now say that I've eaten cheesy breadsticks made out of... cauliflower.


I guess during the good old Atkins days, tons of recipes substituted cauliflower in carb-heavy dishes, so maybe it's not news to anyone but me that you can do that. 


Regardless, I can't help being impressed at a vegetable that can be a side dish, a bowl of rice, a pizza crust, a chocolate cake, or mac and cheese. I hear it can also power your house, walk your dog, and solve global poverty.


—2



My 3-year-old brought this drawing out of her Sunday school class at church:


It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

I asked what the green circle was, and she said, "A deep, deep hole."

"So... it says 'Jesus will help me a deep, deep hole'?"

"Yes. With a ladder in it."

Alrighty then.

(I later learned that her teacher told a story about someone who fell in a hole and was helped out with a ladder, so it turns out that my daughter isn't completely insane.)


—3


A couple of times a year, we have a potluck lunch after church on Sunday (after 3 hours of church, you'd better bet I deserve some free dessert!)


As always, I look forward to the food and the chance to socialize. But I don't know why I do that, because what really happens is:

  • It takes 20 minutes to make sure each child gets through the line and gets food on their plate
  • They decide they don't like any of it and just eat bread
  • I don't eat anything OR talk to anyone because I'm cleaning up spilled water, feeding the baby, and fetching napkins and spoons the entire time
Then we forget the crockpot lid at the church and go home, where everyone announces that they're hungry.

—4



So I don't mean for 7 Quick Takes to turn into The Weather Channel, but there was another snowstorm this week. The governor called a state of emergency again and the kids' schools were canceled again... this is starting to get ridiculous.


There must be someone in my town who is making God really mad, because every time we look at AccuWeather we see our house surrounded by the worst-colored circle.



It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
It's either me or my neighbors, but somebody's on Mother Nature's bad side.


—5


It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
Meanwhile, in the driveway...

We ended up getting another 12" on Monday. Which isn't a big deal after Winter Storm Juno a few weeks ago, but it had the added bonus of... ice dams!

An ice dam happens when snow on the roof melts, trickles down to the eaves, and refreezes into an impassable chunk of ice that traps all the melting water. With nowhere else to go, it leaks onto your bathroom ceiling:



It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
Two huge water stains. It's like tie dye! Groovy!

Phillip spent the day on the roof with a ladder clearing snow and removing ice dams.


It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
Phillip is thrilled to have me taking his picture right now, I assure you.

—6



How do you remove an ice dam, you ask? Well, you fill pantyhose with ice melt and put them on the roof to melt channels in the ice for the water.


There are some times when I'd really like to read the mind of the cashier at CVS when he scans your purchase. Because Phillip isn't really a guy who looks like he has an urgent need for 10 pairs of pantyhose.


It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}


  —7


I'm not all that fashion-conscious, which was pretty clear when my son's speech therapist came over and was showing him pictures of objects that he had to name. 

When she reached the card with the picture of a hairdryer, he had no idea what it was. He looked at it for a long time and then guessed, "Sewing machine?"

I guess that doesn't speak well of my mad seamstress skills, either.

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7 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm not entirely sure what the Seven Quick Takes thing is all about but I think it's like a green light to just throw together some random thoughts that wouldn't quite make up a blog post on their own? Which is genius frankly and I yours always make me smile - you write with such humour - makes me think you are very much a glass-half-full kind of person :-) X

Jenny Evans said...

Exactly. This is pretty much what my thoughts look like over the course of a week... so 7 quick takes for the last 7 days!

Queen Mom Jen said...

I have never heard of these ice dams before, now that I have can I say I am glad we live in Arizona? Now make sure to ask me that same question during the heat of summer and well I might have a different viewpoint...

Unknown said...

So, I have seven quick comments for each of your mini-posts because I liked them all so much. :) Thanks for sharing your humorous writing. Here they are, in no particular order. 1 - I'm sorry about the damage the ice dams have caused. 2- your daughter looks really small compared to the feet of snow in your driveway. 3- the CVS cashiers think your husband is going to rob a bank, maybe.:) 4- At least your child understood the sharing time lesson. 5-I had no idea cauliflower could do all those things. 6-I wish you could send some of your snow west, we're in dire need of it, and 7-At the potluck, skip all the "healthy" stuff and just get your kids dessert. That way they'll eat and you'll socialize. :)

Jenny Evans said...

I can imagine that spontaneous combustion would always be a concern if you're just walking around when it's 1,000 degrees outside.

Jenny Evans said...

We still have some pantyhose left over and I was just asking Phillip the other day what we should do with them (I don't wear them.) I guess we'll keep them in case we decide to try our hand at bank robbery (I think we have enough to rob 4.)

Anonymous said...

I get it about the snow and ice dams. I live in the jackpot zone. My snow blower is exhausted. And recently I saw a picture of a snowman standing on the road with his thumb out, hitchhiking. The destination sign he was holding said, "Jamaica."