Friday Fragments, Flu, Five-Quart Quinoa Soup, Fomites, and Flacco

Here I am in the 11th Hour of Friday.  Scattered thoughts and a bunch of happenings before and behind me  fill my mind, and sometimes I sleep better if I just write it down.  It helps to
call all the mumbo-jumbo something alliterative, too.





Friday Fragments. Clever title from Half Past Kissin' Time.   Won't you kindly pay a visit and see what else you might have in common in your fragmented world or fragmented blogworld at least?


Today is rainy, wet, and cold.  I made a big pot of soup I shall call Five Quart Quinoa  (KEEN WAH) Soup. Actually there's very little quinoa in it, save for a can of gluten free quinoa/bean/spinach soup.  I just starting choppin', dumpin', tastin', spicin',  and stirrin' till it tasted good. I ended up with an almost-full 6-quart pot, so that's how I named my soup,

It has carrots, onions, celery, cauliflower, black beans, lima beans, white hominy, corn, tomatoes, sweet potato, bay leaf, Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning,  salt and pepper. And maybe 1 quart of water. 


No meat  for the next 21 days.  I started the Daniel Diet today.    I didn't realize my ladies' Bible study had started it (most of them) on Monday since I plum forgot the meeting they had at one cheffy lady's home. There they talked about the plan. It's no meat, no dairy, no yeast, no caffeine, no sugar, no alcohol. Some of them are doing for 30 days, but I'm doing it for three weeks . (Hey, if three weeks was good enough for the guy who got thrown to the lions , then it's good enough for me. The purpose for us collectively is to seek God earnestly to make us more like the first church (Acts 2), for revival in ourselves, our families, our churches, our nation.

By the way,  I can kick some of those "forbiddens" on the Daniel Diet, but not all at once.  Or shall I say, I'm not ready to.  I am fasting from meat and most sweets and most dairy . I'm "beefing up" on veggies, fruits, and legumes.

Bonus to making that much soup today: I was able to take some to my parents who just got home yesterday from a few days in Florida. Now they are sick. I blame the airplane. Everything on an airplane becomes a fomite.   What's a fomite, you ask? I just learned this word in the psst year when I got pinkeye. A fomite is an inanimate object that transfers germs.  You have the flu, you touch the airline seat, the seat is a fomite. The next person to touch is exposed to your flu germs.  That second victim reads the airline magazine, puts it back, and the magazine and seat compartment holding it have become fomites.

 I'm not a germophobe, but writing that paragraph gave me the heeby-jeebies.  Can you give yourself the heeby-jeebies?

At any rate, my parents were very grateful for a hot, hearty soup, salad, and matzos, plus a homemade birthday card for my dear mom.  Such a pity to be sick with flu. . Even worse when it's your birthday week.


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 My son's math teacher is moving out of state. He  thinks she is the nicest teacher ever. Truly one of the sweetest souls I've ever met. I mean, listen to how she described to the incoming teacher when asked, "So, tell me about the students."   MOST of us who know them might be tempted to say "wild and crazy," or  advise her to "man the lifeboats!"  but Mrs M simply told the new teacher,  "They're all extroverts!"

We all went out for a taste-testing dinner last night. For what? To decide the menu for the upcoming wedding!  Boy, what a wonderful job--to be a food reviewer.  Gonna be a good rehearsal dinner, that much I know, even though we had to narrow it down to a few choices and "have" to go back next month when they have prime rib on the menu. Twist. my. arm.


Ever hear something peculiar which then becomes slightly unsettling? Well, this afternoon I heard not one, not two, not three, but FOUR small airplanes fly overhead in rapid succession.  Granted, we live near an army post, and they do training exercises occasionally,  but not often.  They were flying so low it sounded like they could hit the house. I shuddered.

Last but certainly NOT least, I will be cheering for our football team--the Baltimore Ravens tomorrow.   I hate to be a Debbie Downer and give my opinion when I should be optimistic, but I don't think we'll beat Denver. I really think Peyton Manning will outdo Joe Flacco. I think being in the Mile High City will prove difficult for our offense.  I hope we win, and I will be all kinds of EXTROVERTED myself (ie loud, wild, crazy) if we do, but I'm going to make my prediction and hope no one throws quinoa or black beans at me.  I predict the score 17-10 Broncos.

With that said, GO RAVENS.  I will love you no matter what.  But you know, it would be loverly to see you again in the SUPERBOWL. Send Ray Lewis out on the highest note possible, will you/ ??? Pretty please???