This and That

 

We have nice blue skies today.

We have a glorious break in the weather this week with temperatures in the 70°Fs and 80°Fs. Such a welcome break from the feels-like 100-degree heat we were having. But the cold front that brought the nicer weather brought a lot of rain with it. We had 5" at our house in under 2 hours. Unfortunately, that caused water in the basement. But fortunately, the waterproof flooring we had installed a few months ago held up well. An area rug, not so much. Everything has finally dried out, and we're good to go. This was a minor inconvenience compared to the devastation that can come with floods caused by heavy rains. We know we are lucky.

Do you ever have those moments when you learn something that the rest of the world has known forever and wonder how you missed the information? Well, I had a couple of those this week. First up, I was baking a cake, and my baking powder was a couple of years past its best-by date. I didn't want to ruin the whole recipe, so with a little Googling, I learned that you can put baking powder into hot water to test it. Bubbles=good. No bubbles=bad. Fortunately, mine was good.

The other thing I learned about was that my vegetable brush has two sets of bristles--a stiff set and a soft set. I had never noticed that until I tried to brush silk off corn on the cob, which was another new thing I learned from a friend. 

I don't know if you remember, but after last Christmas, when I was putting my mantle back together, I couldn't find the two framed X-stitch pieces I had displayed there. I usually stand them upright next to a shelf or dresser in an out-of-the-way place while the Christmas decorations are up. 

However, this year, I couldn't find them. I looked and looked at various times and in a lot of extra places where I was pretty sure that they weren't there. Wally looked. Ward looked. No luck. Well, I finally found them this week. They were hidden in plain sight, hanging on the wall in the extra bedroom, also known as the drop-it-here until you have time to put it away room. I went into the room regularly, but never noticed them, which made me feel silly. I am relieved that they are back where they belong. 

That's all for now. Time to go outside and enjoy the weather.

Until next time...