Monday morning I was waiting for our new insurance people to call with the final numbers, and to be honest, I was getting anxious because the trucking company was scheduled to pick up the MINI in the afternoon. So.....I went to the kitchen and made something new.
These days I don't go to Costco too often, nothing like the days when six people needed nourishment three times a day. My purchases are mainly things that last for months, however, on my last trip I bought a large tub of ricotta cheese to make lasagne, which by the way was not very good. What to do with the rest I wondered? Well, somewhere in the back of my mind I knew people made cheesecake with ricotta, although I'd never done so. For that matter, I'd never made cheesecake period. Everyone's new best friend, Google, led me to a recipe by Martha Stewart.(http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/ricotta-cheesecake) Simple, it said. Good deal, I'll give it a go...
These are the beaten egg whites which I folded into the ricotta mixture. I'm afraid my trusty hand mixer is wearing out which doesn't please me one bit. Just yesterday afternoon I told Angela that I had WAY TOO MANY new things at once, causing me grief. Don't get me wrong, I'm a lucky gal, however, with a new blower, edger, pool, landscaping, there's too much to get right at once. Like, how to make the pool cleaner work.
After the requisite waiting period, I finally tried to set up the cleaner once again with no luck. I could not get the dial to turn, even after trying multiple times. I called the Bowles, leaving a message. No answer. I called again yesterday wondering why I hadn't heard anything. Well, they think I'm dumb is probably why. Who couldn't just turn a dial???? Well, me, for instance. Returning from the Polasek and errands, I phoned Angela asking her to give it a try. Duh!!! It wouldn't turn because I was trying to turn it the wrong direction! The cleaner is now sailing along the bottom picking up the multiple acorns that have been dropping like bombs. Seriously, when one hits the canoe, it is incredibly loud! Plus, some leaves are falling, nothing like will fall soon, but enough to make our beautiful pool look a tad less beautiful.
OK, where was I? The cheesecake--you want to see the cheesecake don't you?
It came out just like the picture. Oh my, I didn't try it until yesterday morning, but when I did, I swooned. Delicious! There is no crust, and a lighter texture than the cheesecakes you've probably eaten. As well, my sister Maureen will love the lemon zesty taste. This will definitely be added to my repertoire.
I forgot to mention the new grass, which at this point looks more like a patchwork quilt. At least I'm not looking at dirt!
In passing I just threw in that we are getting new insurance, which is really sort of a big deal around these parts. Our Nationwide agent retired last year, selling the business to someone new. Guy Wren was our agent for at least 25 years, always there for us, or at least his assistant Sabrina was. Every time we added a new car, I'd just give her a call, she'd set it up, and we'd be get to go. For any readers who don't know me personally, this doesn't sound like much. For those of you who do, you can well imagine that with four sons, there were cars aplenty. Of course, they probably were happy to have us as customers, especially when our auto insurance premium rose to $5,000 a year. That's what five cars will do for a policy!
I noticed some silly errors on our current policy, which after phoning them, got me nowhere. Remembering that our neighbor a few doors down was an agent I called him last Thursday evening. I explained that I was purchasing and insuring the MINI for Jonathan's use, until such time as he is established in Texas. No problem. SOLD! We're now in good hands.
So, here's the new baby car just before Dino, the truck driver picked it up. Did I mention I didn't even drive a MINI so as not to be too covetous?
The sports stripes are cute don't you think?
Monday morning Bruce flew to Chicago, picking up boxes for the move at Home Depot. You don't think of those kinds of things if you're accustomed to having a car at your disposal. Because Jonathan has none at the moment, he was mostly going to have to rely on UHaul boxes which are priced outrageously. Like $6.00 for a box that cost $1.00 at HD. Moving, it seems, is an expensive endeavor. The truck rental is over $1,000. So, I guess that makes it a little less than one dollar a mile, with a promise of 12 miles to the gallon. Yikes! While there, Bruce, Jonathan, and Alissa packed up the remainder of Matt's belongings, moving them back into storage. Again, the car thing. Next month, while Matt is stateside, he will make the hard decisions about what to do with his beloved books and music. Lest you think Jonathan can't do anything for himself, he carried boxes two miles from his office to his home. Fortunately, it wasn't snowing. At least for now...
Some serious cleaning needs tackling now so that's it for today. Just as the timer went off to remove the springform on the cheesecake, my neighbor Corrine came over with a magazine. She told me she was wondering if I'd gone back to work I was gone so much last week. I assured her that nothing was further from the truth. I'm a homebody. Matt, on the other hand is not. If you're interested in Iceland take a look at these amazing photos taken on a weekend trip there:
1 comment:
That's about what it cost us-plus Sandy driving to Chicago with all the kids & 3 of them flying back! Beats the cost of moving companies though. Good luck! Wish I had some of the cheesecake
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