What did ya do today?

[Sailor Kenshin]

Made some “Smoky black bean and sweet potato chili”.

Wasn’t sure how it would taste, but it’s delicious.

Attachment 76237

It should be; the only way I like sweet potatoes is baked soft and mashed in the shell with butter, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Or maybe cubed and sauteed with onions, garlic, and splashed with hot sauce.

Yesterday I made pepperoni rolls, wnich didn't look impressive but were instantly Hoovered up. And I got my fingers covered in MB Irish Green but I cured my Osmiroid 65 leak.

[dneal]

Went to get tires put on the truck. Scheduler messed up and tires weren't there yet. Going back tomorrow morning...

Speaking of car stuff... Lady O: squealing brakes are a big pet peeve! Sometimes it's because the mechanic doesn't grease the pins, but brake pad material can be a culprit too. Rule of thumb for me is to order OEM brake pads.

Lastly - sweet potatoes. Wife and I gobbled down that little pot of chili. I usually prefer them "make your ears ring" sugary-sweet, with pecans (and no marshmallow, please). I'll eat them baked (with lots of butter) if I have to, and the occasional foray into sweet potato fries is no longer novel or appealing, so I wasn't sure about the chili at first. They're super healthy, and now I've found at least one healthier way to eat them.

[Lady Onogaro]

Went to get tires put on the truck. Scheduler messed up and tires weren't there yet. Going back tomorrow morning...

Speaking of car stuff... Lady O: squealing brakes are a big pet peeve! Sometimes it's because the mechanic doesn't grease the pins, but brake pad material can be a culprit too. Rule of thumb for me is to order OEM brake pads.

Lastly - sweet potatoes. Wife and I gobbled down that little pot of chili. I usually prefer them "make your ears ring" sugary-sweet, with pecans (and no marshmallow, please). I'll eat them baked (with lots of butter) if I have to, and the occasional foray into sweet potato fries is no longer novel or appealing, so I wasn't sure about the chili at first. They're super healthy, and now I've found at least one healthier way to eat them.

It was the brakes, again. Took the car back and they replaced the pads and the hardware. The squeal is gone!

[Lady Onogaro]

Took my car to the shop to have the brakes done again (I just had them done in December, but they kept squealing and screeching; this is the second time I have brought the car back because they missed something!)
Went to Lola Pink (fabric, quilting, embroidery store) to get my friend a gift card for her birthday. Ended up buying that and $100 worth of fabric for me.
Ran other errands like the bank, grocery.
Came home and graded. Had dinner. Graded again. Watched an episode of Inspector Morse on BritBox ("Death is now my neighbor" in which he reveals his first name is Endeavour).
Graded again. Finally finished.

We watched the last everl episode of Endeavour last night and saw that they are available all on ITVX along with all of the Morse episodes.

Endeavour will be on our PBS channels in a few weeks.

I like Endeavour, but I just don't see how Shaun Evans's Endeavour becomes the gruff Chief Inspector Morse. But it's probably because I liked John Thaw so very much. It broke my heart when he died.

I think Endeavour takes place in one of the other multiverses, like Star Trek Discover, Strange New Worlds and the Star Trek movies with Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto. I know Discover and Strange New Worlds are supposed to be prequels to the original series, but I just can't wrap my head around them, and no one will ever really be Spock besides Leonard Nimoy, as much as I like Zachary Quinto. I just wish they would all make up their own space stories and leave Star Trek alone.

I get BritBox which carries all the Morse episodes. I also have Acorn and just finished Detectorists, which I loved so much! I also liked Holding. I am watching Wild Bill now.

[Lady Onogaro]

Lastly - sweet potatoes. Wife and I gobbled down that little pot of chili. I usually prefer them "make your ears ring" sugary-sweet, with pecans (and no marshmallow, please). I'll eat them baked (with lots of butter) if I have to, and the occasional foray into sweet potato fries is no longer novel or appealing, so I wasn't sure about the chili at first. They're super healthy, and now I've found at least one healthier way to eat them.

We were eating gumbo at a popular Lafayette restaurant yesterday, and the discussion of whether to eat potato salad in your gumbo came up (it's not uncommon around Acadiana for Cajuns to put potato salad in their gumbo along with their rice; it probably is due to the German immigrant communities around here, like Robert's Cove). Anyway, she said she always puts sweet potatoes in hers. I had never heard that before. She said her family has always done it, but they were farmers and grew sweet potatoes. We used to have a sweet potato canning facility around here for many years, so I suspect that's why she uses sweet potatoes.

FYI: I have potato salad on the side but take a forkful and dip it in my gumbo. I like the mix of hot and cold.

[dneal]

Wife and I had lunch with the boy. He chose Cracker Barrel. The worst thing about that place is deciding between breakfast or dinner. Breakfast can be eaten at any time of day - even for supper. Fight me (lol). The meatloaf won out over Uncle Herschel.

We have 5 types of woodpecker around the house. Downy, Hairy, Red Bellied, Pileated, and the Flicker. The first 3 are always at a feeder, and the Downies are damned near tame. You hear the pileated in the treeline, and occasionally catch a glimpse or semi-decent view of them (they look like Woody, with the red-crest; and raise all kind of commotion with their jabbering).

The flickers are hard to spot, also shy, and are usually on the ground eating bugs. They're also often paired. This afternoon, they were just outside the back door next to the patio.

[Sailor Kenshin]

We have Downies, Hairys, Red-Bellieds, and Flickers (not at all shy, see them all the time). No Pileated, no Cracker Barrel. 😢. Want both.

[dneal]

The Downies sit in arms reach and watch my wife fill the feeders in the morning. The Flickers take off as soon as they see you.

Here's a video of two Pileated last summer.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Awesome! Downies are fearless, but so are our flickers. We'll be sitting on the patio while they root in the ground two inches away for insects, and they look at us like, 'I'm doing you a favor!'