Yes, I'm still learning things. And I'm past 50. So here's a few things I've learned.
1. Want spagetti without as much fuss or mess? Use elbow macaroni. Bonus it can be served out of a bowl and you can use a spoon rather than a fork. Less mess. I know, earth shattering, but it works.
2. I've learned to make pudding. I already talked about not being able to use commercial puddings because of carrageenan, but, seriously, on the back of Knick-Knick gluten free Vanilla Wafers is a recipe for vanilla pudding. It only takes 20 minutes longer than the cook-the-powder stuff and tastes a whole lot better. Almost makes banana pudding (vanilla pudding poured into a casserole dish full of vanilla wafers and banana slices) taste great. The things I do for Mrs. Andrew.
3. Keep a web browser open when watching movies or tv shows, along with a notes page in whatever word processor or notes program. Why? When a question about something comes up, pause said video and look it up. When a piece of music comes across that sounds nice, you can look it up under (name of show, episode, soundtrack.) And when reading a book, same thing. You can look up what words mean or how they're pronounced and look up data on whatever is going on or get a clarification on a character or the author.
4. Fine china is great, but Corelle Ware is much more shaky hands safe. But when it breaks, it breaks into horrible sharp shards (after all, it's basically a sturdy glass.)
5. For home use, instead of tissues or handkerchiefs, cut squares out of old t-shirts. You can wash them and the soft fabric is much less abrasive on one's nose.
6. Dab a little bit of petroleum jelly on a new scar as it will help the skin heal.
7. Be very glad Monday's coming around so juvat can do a post.
8. It's okay to be a misanthrope. Especially in this day and age. But you still need to get out to buy good vegetables, fresh breads and meats. Once a week should suffice.
OH! Vanilla BLANCMANGE! Even though they call it custard. (Yes, I'm being a pedant) In a 1940s cookbook I found a recipe for "Lemon Cream Dressing to use on fruit salads. The flavor base for it makes a killer Lemon Custard.
ReplyDeleteLemon Cream Dressing
3 TBS Lemon Juice (3/4 cup)
3 TBS Sugar (3/4 cup)
1 Egg, well beaten (4)
1 Cup Light or Heavy Cream, whipped
Combine Lemon Juice, Sugar, and Egg in double boiler and cook over hot, not boiling, water until thick. For the Dressing, fold the Lemon Curd into the whipped cream. Amounts in () are what I use for making Lemon Curd to have as Lemon Curd. I bet it would make a nice Nanner Puddin'
Sounds good. We like lemon flavored things.
DeleteNumber five sounds doable and there are plenty of old t-shirts around.......careful Beans, with this list you're threatening your self described number eight naming........:)
ReplyDeleteI can still hate people and provide helpful advice. Just think of Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino, but without sitting outside...
DeleteI discovered the elbow macaroni advice after I was sixty. I recommend it to anyone, and wonder why my brain was so slow in determining the advantage.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy eating spaghetti, twirling it on the fork & all of that..
DeleteI like fusilli; you can eat it with spoon or fork and it holds more sauce
DeleteBecause I channel 'Pig Pen' from the "Charlie Brown" comic, well, I can make a mess without moving. So I've always broken spaghetti in half. Then I started breaking it in thirds. Then in quarters. Then even smaller. So I end up with little chunks of spaghetti noodles. And then I made the transition to elbows. Much easier, less mess.
DeleteYou might want to try Fideo
Deletehttps://a.co/d/0muNYsA
things I learned past 80:
ReplyDeleteyou can still make love to your wife - OK. it won't be the same as when you were 30 (you should, y'know: just ask her)
don't be too proud to use a walker if the doc tells you that you need one; much better than dealing with a broken shoulder or hip - they heal (if at all) very slowly
if y' gotta use a ladder to change a light bulb, think about it first - carefully
My doc's advice was to wear a hat when the sun is showing up, because I'm basically a magnet for skin cancer. And wear sunglasses when the sun is showing, because people who are very susceptible to skin cancers also are susceptible to losing vision due to sunlight literally burning one's visions out.
DeleteAs to changing lightbulbs, I tend to use two large Igloo coolers with a plank of plywood on top as a kind of scaffolding. Especially since I can get dizzy standing on a step-stool. Problems with inner ear issues and vertigo, yay me. And all my lightbulbs are compact LEDs and they've lasted for 8 years so far...
I'm in Hawaii and I'm the only one in my family who has not gotten sunburned because of my long sleeve shirts and big floppy hats. My dermatologist praised me the last time I saw him since he had nothing to do.
DeleteYeah, I swear, when I still had the house, the neighbors would come out to watch the freak show when I was mowing. Blue jeans, combat boots, long sleeve shirt, floppy lady's gardening hat, face mask, protective sunglasses, gloves. All on a 1/3rd acre lot. In the middle of summer. In Florida.
DeleteIt was often far more comfortable to be in armor and fighting than mowing said lawn.
But we have the skin of a 20 year old, +/- 30 years.
Delete#3 - One of the habits recommended in my youth was look up every word you did not know in a dictionary to increase your vocabulary (And encyclopedias for other things back in the day, of course).
ReplyDelete#7 - I mean, you do just fine.
#8 - The older I get, the more I understand why old men are the way they are.
#2 - You are a good man, Beans.
Regarding #3, one of the things I learned from my reading instructor was to learn definitions from inference. And then to check using a dictionary. So much easier today when I come across a word that I don't know.
DeleteAs to #8, yeah. I think the two brothers in "Second Hand Lion" and the aforementioned Clint Eastwood in "Gran Torino" are an inspiration to all of us.
DeleteSecond hand Lions? It would be a pleasure to go out that way.
DeleteAnd as you get older you might forget stuff, but it is fun to learn old tricks that seem new. A great feeling of accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteJB
But it sucks when you know you used to be able to do something and now you've forgotten how to. I used to make a really killer version of fried rice, but haven't made it in years and because I didn't write it down, I'd have to experiment to get it right again. Bah. So I've been basically writing recipes up. And then I print them and hang them on a cabinet door in the kitchen when cooking said recipe.
Delete#1--for years, I've said that pasta is pasta. You can mix it up. Nobody will arrest you.
ReplyDelete--Tennessee Budd
Mostly true, but trying to eat whole lasagna noodles with meat and sauce is going a tad crazy.
DeleteOn #3 - Reading, I learned the meaning of many words from context. Can't pronounce them correctly because I have never heard anyone else speak them. On #4 - Cheap plastic Melmac dishes (I used to make them long ago) are almost indestructible. Paper ones are even better. On #5 - Disposable shop towels are reasonably soft and don't turn into mush when used. Between winter colds and summer allergies, my nose runs like a drip cock (the petcock that drains condensed water out of a steam engine cylinder).
ReplyDeleteI was the second-most allergic person in my high school. The first-most allergic person was one of my friends and his mother did the cut-the-tshirt thing for him.
DeleteI moved away from all the tropical plants after school but the allergens eventually found me after the great flood of 2024, and rediscovered said tshirt material rule because my nose was beginning to resemble hamburger meat from being abraded.
This is off topic for this post, but is related to a post I just read about the roster for C1-26inf. My Grandfather served in 1-26-I as an MP from Normandy to Germany and stayed on AD there for several years after the war. I wonder if you can help me find out more. He was with the Blue Spaders Special Police Unit. I can send contact info.
ReplyDelete