so what did I do this weekend? Well, Friday I took the day off to get some stuff done that I will need to do in the upcoming months. Mostly I went through my files/folders to pull the 2007 receipts I will need for my taxes which will be coming up in April. I also got a good amount of shopping done, mostly for the dinner I was going to be making for my mom on Sunday. I decided to make a brined turkey breast, along with a order of my smashed potatoes. I got home and did some cleaning and some other stuff.

Saturday, I decided it was a me day. I stayed in all day, and prepped the brine for the turkey breast. My Dad came in, and wanted me to sew a piece of his glove back on, so I pulled the sewing machine from it's corner, and did some quick repairs. After he left, I got the urge to complete the enclosure idea I had for the bottom of my sewing desk so that no oil leaks out, and no dust starts gumming up the works. I spent the next few hours making a mess around the house assembling it. I went to put it on the desk, and realized that since the hole I cut in the desk was off center by ~.25 inches, I didn't have the necessary clearance I needed to put the cover on with the legs. I took the leg off that was crowding it, and in a testament to how much of a loser I am, I was out at 9pm on a Saturday with a grinder taking metal off of the leg. I brought it back indoors, needed more off, went back out, and then it fit. I just need some "L" brackets to stick it on the bottom of the desk with, and to treat the sides of the cover, which are wood, with something to keep any leaking oil from soaking in. I also solved the problem of the low flow out to the barn, so it's a whole lot easier to water the horses again. I went to bed early, because Sunday was just jammed packed.

Sunday I woke up early, got my breakfast on, and started outside. I fed,watered,hayed, and then got ready to go to my Mom's. I had almost everything set aside and organized, and except for a pair of tongs, I didn't forget a thing. Then the Sunday curse kicked in. First, the power switch on my razor broke, which meant I couldn't turn it off. I would have let it run itself down, but that might have over-heated it, so I ended up having to open it, and break off one of the battery contacts to silence it. Now I just have to figure out how to fix it, or get another razor. I loaded up my car with all of my cooking tools and the food, which evoked a nostalgia from happier times, and started off. While on my way, I had to divert to pick up some cranberry sauce, which with just going into the store and buying it took 20 minutes, made me late. I arrived, got the oven ready, rinsed and dried the bird, stuck it with a probe thermo, and threw it in the oven. I admit I mis-judged the time it would take to cook, and made the potatoes too soon, but they were still good. The turkey decided to crawl it's last 15 degrees, but it was finally done. Everyone said it tasted good, but I think it could have used more sugar. I helped clean the bird off, threw that in a bag for the barn wiggles, and sat down to watch the Giants/Green Bay game. Because it was so close, I didn't leave until the game was done, which was like 10:30. I got home, changed into warmer clothes, fed the horses, and came back inside to pretty much crash b/c it was so late. I still have to clean the house and do some dishes, which I may do tonight.

Other than that, nothing much is going on. OK, I should get back to work.


And now, because all of my quotes are on one of my flash drives and I never want to search for it as I write my entries,

Quote For Today:
Scotty: "What do you mean, you're dumping me?"
Fiona: "Scott, I just can't take all the lying and cheating on each other anymore."
Scotty: "What are you talking about? Sweetie, I never cheated on you."
Fiona: "I know. That's what makes this so hard."
Eurotrip, 2004

I was in the cafe at work and I was remembering the best breakfast I used to have. I worked across the street from a manhatten bagel, and since I was the midnight guy, I used to get off at like 630-700am. I remember how I used to go across the street and get either a fresh (still warm) garlic or seasame bagel and they would slide on Taylor ham, egg, and cheese on it. OMG that was the best. The nice soft bagel with a hint of garlic, mingling with the warm gooey cheese. And the crisp tang of fresh taylor ham straight off the roll, lightly singed on the griddle. And the egg was always just perfect. Never over cooked, and espically never undercooked. It was heaven on earth. It's just amazing how lost the art of it is. I mean, outside of Jersey, almost no one knows what Taylor ham is. I mean, they have NEVER heard of it.

Perhaps it's for the best. Our little secret. I mean if the whole US knew of the wonder which is Taylor Ham, there would be none for us. Let them have their Canadian bacon or just slices of Ham, even the glorious SPAM. But Taylor Ham is ours. It even blends well with other foods. You wanna try something great? Add a slice of taylor ham to the top of your next burger. It is just excellent. It works with the hamburger to add a little flavor, but it's ego is not too big, and it lets the burger take most of the credit.

OK, I am seriously hungry now. If I had a car at work, I think I would drive to find the nearest place with fresh bagels and taylor ham. HMMMMM, maybe there is one along the train route. I might be leaving early today.