Seriously, I'm thinking after today that maybe mothers should NOT try to multi-task. Well, maybe I should just be speaking to myself. Ever have one of those days, moms? (Please agree with me here!)
I may as well just jump right in and tell you why I'm saying this. No need to beat around the bush (since it burned up at McDonald's anyway. Hahaha! Ok. It's late at night and my humor is lacking.) so I'll just tell you what happened.
This afternoon I decided to freeze corn so I got all my supplies ready, had the water on to boil and started filling the kitchen sink with cold water to stop the blanching once the corn was done. I couldn't remember how long I was supposed to blanch the corn, so I came over to the computer and looked up pickyourown.org to find out how long I should keep it boiling. (By the way, this site is really good for telling you where to find pick your own produce as well as telling you how to preserve just about anything! Check it out sometime, when you're not doing anything else.)
As I was sitting there reading how to freeze corn and getting totally sidetracked by all the pictures and links and suggestions, I remember thinking once that I should turn off the water at the sink. Being distracted by the discussion on enzymes and blanching, that thought of the water didn't cross my mind again. In the back of my mind, however, I heard a fountain of sorts, you know, running water in a continuous stream that is quite soothing - uh - when it's out in nature ... but not when you realize that it is coming from your kitchen sink and is now flowing across your kitchen floor!! Oh boy! Did I ever jump up fast! Water was absolutely everywhere! I've never, ever in my life seen a kitchen sink overflow, but I'll tell you right now, I wish that I could still say that.
Christopher, my little helper, ran to get the mop and did a great job (for an almost five year old) of cleaning it up. There was way too much water, though, and both of us worked and worked at it to keep the water from going much further. What a disaster. What a mess! All because I was trying to do more than one thing at a time.
And by the way, I never did find out how long I was supposed to blanch the corn because by that point, those cobs had been boiling away for quite some time! I froze it anyway, so we'll see if it really makes a difference in the long run.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Earthquakes and Fires
I heard that there was an earthquake today. Some people around here said that they felt it, even though the epicenter was in Virginia. Supposedly the ground was swaying a bit here and people felt "wobbly" for a few seconds.
I was trying to figure out why I didn't feel anything. Nothing. Well, maybe I did, but not really. I'm not sure. We were at McDonald's for an after-blueberry-picking treat with Auntie Jo and as we were sitting there I heard a terrible rumbling sound and the ground was shaking but that was from the guy in the front of the store who was using a jackhammer to rip up the old sidewalk. The thought briefly crossed my mind (seriously!) as I watched a girl pull through the drive-thru that I wonder if she thought that was an earthquake. Hahaha, my tired mind thought. Why would anyone think there would be an earthquake around here?!
We finished our ice cream cones and headed out to the van. As I opened my door to get in, a thin trail of smoke in the mulch of the flowerbed next to me caught my eye. I stuck my foot out and tried to stamp it out, thinking that some irresponsible customer must have thrown a cigarette butt in the flowers. The funny thing was the every place that I tapped my shoe, another blackened and burned spot appeared. I figured that I should probably warn the employees inside that there was something smoldering outside so I went in and told the teenagers behind the counter that there was smoke coming from the flowerbeds. (Those oblivious teenagers, I thought. They won't take me seriously.)
I went back out to the van and an older manager came out to check it out. She stamped it a bit and then said, "Thanks. We'll keep an eye on it." and went back inside. I finished buckling in the kids and turned around to see a modern day version of Moses' burning bush next to me! The whole thing was in flames now! The mulch, the flowers, and a bush! Smoke was billowing up in the air and into the van.
I went running in, pushing past the long line of people and shouted, "There is a fire out in the flowerbed! You need to get it out!" The teenagers stared at me blank-faced and then repeated, "There's a fire in the flowerbeds" to which the manager shouted from the drive-thru window area, "I know. I told her I'd keep an eye on it." I shouted again (across the whole restaurant), "NO! THERE IS A FIRE IN THE FLOWERBEDS! The whole thing is on fire!" They really didn't seem to care, so I went back out, along with a few more customers who could see the evidence and watched as the area was totally going up in flames. A man ran to his truck and pulled out a huge fire extinguisher and started to blast the fire when the manager came out with, get this, a cup of water to pour on the fire! Another employee came out chowing down on her McChicken Wrap and a third stood there and said, "Wow. There really IS a fire." Well, DUH! Do you think I'd go running in there shouting like a maniac that there was a fire out there if it wasn't true?!
By this time, a few more customers had grabbed fire extinguishers from their vehicles and were spraying the whole thing down while the manager waited until they had finished and then she bravely walked over and dumped her little cup of water in the middle of the smoke. POOF! By this point, Jo and I were no longer sympathetic, but laughing with great amusement at this manager. This McDonald's had just been remodeled and the finishing touches were being made. They spent a pretty penny on this place and she wanted to put out a flowerbed fire with a little cup of water. We pulled out and backed away and she impishly glanced at me and mouthed, "Thanks." No problem, Ma'am, but the next time someone yells to you that there is a fire in front of your new store, you should probably take it seriously.
And so sometime in the middle of all that ruckus, there was an earthquake. And I missed it. Sigh.
I was trying to figure out why I didn't feel anything. Nothing. Well, maybe I did, but not really. I'm not sure. We were at McDonald's for an after-blueberry-picking treat with Auntie Jo and as we were sitting there I heard a terrible rumbling sound and the ground was shaking but that was from the guy in the front of the store who was using a jackhammer to rip up the old sidewalk. The thought briefly crossed my mind (seriously!) as I watched a girl pull through the drive-thru that I wonder if she thought that was an earthquake. Hahaha, my tired mind thought. Why would anyone think there would be an earthquake around here?!
We finished our ice cream cones and headed out to the van. As I opened my door to get in, a thin trail of smoke in the mulch of the flowerbed next to me caught my eye. I stuck my foot out and tried to stamp it out, thinking that some irresponsible customer must have thrown a cigarette butt in the flowers. The funny thing was the every place that I tapped my shoe, another blackened and burned spot appeared. I figured that I should probably warn the employees inside that there was something smoldering outside so I went in and told the teenagers behind the counter that there was smoke coming from the flowerbeds. (Those oblivious teenagers, I thought. They won't take me seriously.)
I went back out to the van and an older manager came out to check it out. She stamped it a bit and then said, "Thanks. We'll keep an eye on it." and went back inside. I finished buckling in the kids and turned around to see a modern day version of Moses' burning bush next to me! The whole thing was in flames now! The mulch, the flowers, and a bush! Smoke was billowing up in the air and into the van.
I went running in, pushing past the long line of people and shouted, "There is a fire out in the flowerbed! You need to get it out!" The teenagers stared at me blank-faced and then repeated, "There's a fire in the flowerbeds" to which the manager shouted from the drive-thru window area, "I know. I told her I'd keep an eye on it." I shouted again (across the whole restaurant), "NO! THERE IS A FIRE IN THE FLOWERBEDS! The whole thing is on fire!" They really didn't seem to care, so I went back out, along with a few more customers who could see the evidence and watched as the area was totally going up in flames. A man ran to his truck and pulled out a huge fire extinguisher and started to blast the fire when the manager came out with, get this, a cup of water to pour on the fire! Another employee came out chowing down on her McChicken Wrap and a third stood there and said, "Wow. There really IS a fire." Well, DUH! Do you think I'd go running in there shouting like a maniac that there was a fire out there if it wasn't true?!
By this time, a few more customers had grabbed fire extinguishers from their vehicles and were spraying the whole thing down while the manager waited until they had finished and then she bravely walked over and dumped her little cup of water in the middle of the smoke. POOF! By this point, Jo and I were no longer sympathetic, but laughing with great amusement at this manager. This McDonald's had just been remodeled and the finishing touches were being made. They spent a pretty penny on this place and she wanted to put out a flowerbed fire with a little cup of water. We pulled out and backed away and she impishly glanced at me and mouthed, "Thanks." No problem, Ma'am, but the next time someone yells to you that there is a fire in front of your new store, you should probably take it seriously.
And so sometime in the middle of all that ruckus, there was an earthquake. And I missed it. Sigh.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
