Do You Remember The Remodel?

Do you remember that project that totally dominated the postings on this blog from February through early May? Wondering what happened? Assuming it was all an illusion and magically disappeared? 

Somehow in the Brouhaha of violent attacks on Wife's foot and trying to get back to normal on our return from Sweden, we kind of have just settled in without actually having an 'official end' to the project. One of the problems is there are still a number of small things that have not been completed. So if the job is 93% done, and it has been very frustrating getting those responsible to finish these last pieces. So, in fact, it isn't done. Another issue is Wife has declared that until we do all the final decoration (throw rugs, additional paintings, getting existing paintings up, etc.) completed the job is not 'DONE'.  

Now the problem with this is 'scope creep'. This is the fact that Wife Always has another idea of how to improve the beauty of the Towers. In this scenario the Remodel is actually never done! It's just a steady state of existence. 

Despite this at least three times I've started to take pictures to show the 'almost' finished product for a 'before' and 'after' post. Then I've been confronted with having done a piss poor job of taking 'before' pictures. I took a couple sad pictures of the bathrooms and COMPLETELY forgot about the flooring and painting which were major components of the job. 

SO. I've reconciled myself that I will only be able to show 'after' photos and have committed myself to doing so this weekend.

A #2 Family Fourth

Beloved #2 (aka Dowger Empress Poo Lee Shah) and the remains of her clan are scheduled to go off to their next work post, Medan, Indonesia, on July 27. It will be a much reduced clan. 2.2 is continuing her studies in Spain. 2.3 will be starting his university studies at Xavier in Cincinnati in August. So it will only be 2B and 2.4 who will be going off this trip. We very much wanted to see them before they leave. However, with Wife still in her boot and with limited mobility due to her broken foot. It was just not practical for us to fly and see them. Despite all the stuff they have to do to get ready to depart, they made the decision to come visit us for the 4th of July weekend.

We were very glad they did and we had a really good time. 

Put 2B and I in any given physical space and one can be sure there will be massive amounts of gastronomic activity. #2 wanted to be sure to get her NM Chile fix and bring certain things with her to Asia she can't get there. 2B also was on a NM food reminder kick. He also brought 4 bottles of wine with him for us to do a wine tasting. 

I planned a major 4th of July feast with smoked ribs, three kinds of kebabs (lamb, pork, chicken) and four kinds of vegetable kebabs (yellow squash, eggplant, mushrooms, onions) with Syracuse salt potatoes, and a strawberry pie (made by #2) for dessert. That was followed by our watching the entire city of Albuquerque a glow with home delivered fireworks from the upper deck of the Man Tower. 

A particular highlight of this trip for me was the time I spent with 2.4. As is the case with all of our grandchildren who have had their growing up years far away from us, it can be very difficult to develop a relationship. 2.4 is 11 and he has developed a real interest in cooking. This turned out to be a major opportunity for he and I to bond.

We started on Thursday. 2B & #2 really wanted to go out for NM food for lunch, there first real meal here. I suggested to 2.4 that he and I could go get a burger at local chain, Lottaburger, and then he could help me start prepping all the meat for the 4th. He jumped at the opportunity. 

 Me showing my pathetic selfie skills showing us at Lottaburger

 This young man has seriously good knife skills for his age. He wanted to and I let him cube all the meats for kebabs. This was some 4+ pounds of meat. Then we got to work on the flavorings. I seasoned the lamb with classic French garlic, thyme, rosemary & red wine, the pork with a Georgian combination of grated onion, oregano, & pomegranate molasses, and the chicken with an Indonesian inspired Salt Soy Sauce, Sweet Soy Sauce, & Five Spice Powder. 

2.4 showing some serious mortar and pestle skills pounding herbs taken with his own selfie video

Here are our meats ready to marinate overnight

 While we were doing our Georgian Pork marinade, 2.4 said he had seen a way to avoid the onion eye burning by doing the grating under the stove exhaust hood. I decided to give it a try.

You can see what happened

The next morning on the 4th, he and I went out again to Lottaburger for their great breakfast burritos.

Slightly better selfie of us taken by me with local mountains and blue sky in the background.

That afternoon he cut up all the veggies for the kebab (there were a lot). Today, on Sunday, he helped with making brunch. I had a grilled veg frittata. He cracked and mixed all the eggs. I fried up potatoes. He cut all the potatoes. 

Seriously, this young man was a GREAT help and saved me a lot of time...not to mention us having real quality time together.

On Ziplock And Other Home Mysteries

The Perpetual Ziplock Bag

As I did the dishes tonight, I looked at the one quart size Ziplock bag on the counter. I should check and see if there are any holes in it, then clean it if there are none. Can I state that I DO NOT LIKE washing Ziplock bags? Washing them is a pain in the ass. There was a time when one just used your bag and then tossed it. Then there was a gradual movement that said that was wasteful. You should wash and reuse your bags. But if you used such a bag to freeze things the likelihood that it could be reused was slim. It would get holes. Great. Now I could throw the bugger out, not have to clean it, and not feel guilty. 

But sometime a few years ago, the Ziplock folk changed the formulation of their plastic. Now this stuff lasts forever! It seems so counter to U.S. corporate culture. They should want us to throw these away all the time so we buy more. But no, due to their pursuit of quality, I am condemned to washing bags over, and over, and over.

The Eternal Dishwasher Tablets

Some time in the distant past, we purchased a box of Cascade tablets for dishwashers. They do a reasonably good job. There is only one issue. The box never empties. It has been at about 40% full for as long as I can remember. This is good economically, but is truthfully a bit weird. It seems to me it should have been empty ages ago. What going on? Is reproduction taking place? And if it is, is it asexual reproduction like amoebas?  Or is there an ongoing washer tab orgy taking place on the bottom leading to new tablets being born. Even more disturbing...is there a window to another dimension on the bottom of the box and we are getting leaked dishwasher tabs from somewhere else in the multiverse? Is there another reality where a different incarnation of de-I is blogging about the amazing disappearing laundry tabs that diminish faster than they can possibly use?

We live in a strange universe.

Pulled Pork Innovation

We have eaten down virtually all of the smoked meat in the freezer. With the coming of the warm weather, it is time to start the smoker up and begin barbecuing. I already had a piece of pork shoulder in the freezer so pulled pork was first on the agenda. I have kept refining my pulled pork technique over the years. 

I've learned that you won't get a large piece of meat cooked to the proper temperature unless it is truly at room temperature when it starts smoking. That means taking it out of the refrigerated brine the night before. 

I learned about the chemical reaction that causes the internal heat rise to stall and the ways to get around it. 

I've refined my brining technique so the flavor is evenly distributed through out the meat. 

This weekend, through necessity, I've discovered a way to get around the super long time necessary to get a true pulled pork. Actually I haven't gotten around it. I have learned how to turn it into two separate cooking events. 

This started because (as I've mentioned previously) Wife and I don't like to eat large meals in the evening. But to have a pulled pork ready for a 2 PM dinner would mean starting at 2 in the morning. That isn't going to happen. So I conjectured, what if I brought the meat up to about 85% of the way on the smoker (that takes about 8 hours) the day before it was desired. Then took it off. Refrigerated it overnight, and then cooked it the rest of the way in the oven the next day. The challenge would be to get the cooking process restarted so it emulated the long, low cooking in the smoker. If it heated up too fast it would get tough. If I heated up too slow we'd be eating on Monday.

My technique was as follows.

• I had the meat wrapped in aluminum foil while in the refrigerator over night. I kept it in the foil during this entire second cooking process (that helps with overcoming the 'stall' mentioned above).
• I took the meat out 5 hours before the cooking started, again to get the internal temperature up.
• My initial oven temperature was 400 degree. The meat's internal temperature was 65 degrees. 
• I kept the meat at this oven temp until the meat internal temperature got to 120 degrees. This took an hour.
• I reduced the oven temp to 300 degrees. It took the meat another 2 hours to get to an internal temperature of 185 degrees.
• I reduced the oven heat again to 250 degrees. Over the next hour, the meat gradually got to my target of 200 degrees internal temperature. 
• But just before it reached that internal temperature, I dropped the oven to 200 degrees. Now the heating temperature was matching the internal temperature. 
• I left the meat at that state for about 30 minutes while prepared the rest of the meal.

Now the moment of truth. Meat is placed on a cutting board. I take my two large forks to start (I hope and pray) the pulling process. I have been at this point many times only to find I had a very nice roast pork but not pulled pork. Like Zorro, eight quick pulls and the entire roast is in shreds. I am bemoaning not having someone taking a video of this. 😭😭😭😭

And the flavor? Magnificent (he says with traditional de-I modesty). 

I am thinking I might use this as the 'go to' method for producing pulled pork.

My NEW FAVORITE Condiment Direct From Sweden

Talk about GREAT imports from Sweden

 Crispy Chili in Oil!

What?

You claim this is not Swedish!

Well I made the acquaintance of this delicious condiment in the #2's refrigerator in Malmo where it is a favorite of 3A. Then on my last couple of days in Gothenburg, I was in the supermarket and by golly, there it was. So I snapped it up and brought it home.

It is very dry so it keeps the heat somewhat localized on the tongue and mouth and not so much going down the throat (which for those of us with reflux damage is a great thing). It also has some kind of umami component but since the label has no English, I'm not sure what. 

Happily I can get it on Amazon!

😁

 

Sunset Cornucopia

I am sitting in the Man Tower. It is 7:45pm. The nightly show that is sunset is getting ready to begin.

The amount of variation from night to night amazes. Some nights you can see it build right away and announces it will be spectacular. Other nights, it seems as if nothing special is going to happen, only for a late display to occur. There are the variations for when there are clouds in the sky and variations for when the sky is completely clear. 

I used to prejudge. I would look at the sky and say, "Oh, we're not going to have a very nice sunset tonight." Then I would be surprised because something would occur much later. Now I take each night as it comes.

So each night as I listen to my music, write, read and/or watch YouTube, I am filled with the cornucopia of delights that is the sunset sky.

Hiking Resurrection

This morning I got up early. I put on hiking boots for the first time in years. I gathered up hiking poles for the first time in years. I went for my morning walk. In recent years, I have been happy just to do some walking along the neighborhoods. But as I have got into a more stable pattern of walking after a long period where doing any exercise seemed so difficult, I kept saying to myself, "You should really go back into the foothills. You can do it." But breaking the barrier of inertia held me back. 

I think to some degree Wife not being able to do her walking has motivated me. I felt the last few years, she was the one who was the fighter, going into the foothills and pushing to ensure we both were staying in shape because she motivated me to at least do something. Now I feel I must hike for both of us. I feel if I put in the effort it is not just for me, I'm psychically giving energy to Wife to speed up her recovery. 

All I know is it felt great to be back doing something I felt had been lost forever. 

Prognosis Good! (Foot Injury Update)

Wife had her appointment with the domestic podiatrist surgeon. They took new X-Rays and were happy to see things were still in place and showed signs of healing as they should. He confirmed that her activity level was okay and said staying in the boot was the optimum treatment (no cast necessary). 

This is all great news for Wife. He is okay with her taking the boot off as long as she is not moving the foot. He even gave her the green light to drive (as her injured foot is not the one she uses to drive. 

Wife will go in again for another X-Ray and check up in 6 weeks. 

Eldership Mission Sweden - The Navel Gazing Post

As is traditional after all of our trips, it is time for the mandatory self-reflection on the experience. 

The trip itself was almost an afterthought. We originally had planned to go to Malaysia in March but we had to cancel that due to the Wife blood clot scare in November. Once we got the green light that she had recovered, I pleaded for us to go somewhere, anywhere just to get back out traveling (remember we were in the middle of the remodel during all this!). Normally, I would not have chosen a Nordic country (You might remember our experiences in Norway, Tromso) and our experience in Finland where the whole country closed down on Oct. 1. But we wanted to be close to family and we hadn't seen the #3's is while so we selected Sweden.

As it turns out, maybe not a surprise to those of this area, the part of Sweden we were in was quite different from the other places in the Scandinavia/Finland we've visited. 

We Have A Name In New Mexico For Late Spring Weather In West Sweden. We call it...WINTER!

 I'm sorry, I may come back to Sweden many times because the daughter and family are here, but you will never get me excited about a place where everyone is pumped and in shorts when the temperature hits 65 degrees!

Easy Getting Around

Whether we were in our public transportation phase in Gothenburg or our driving phase after Wife's foot injury, it  wasn't all that hard getting around. Of course, we avoid rush hour times but in general, it was quite easy to get around. It wasn't necessarily cheap. Transit was okay, not a bargain, but not unreasonable. Parking for the car was expensive. Our vehicle got great gas mileage so we didn't spend that much on fuel. Driving was relatively mellow with most people following the speed limits fairly closely. 

 Ease Of Interacting

 In general, this part of Western Sweden is pretty English speaking friendly. We had very little difficulty no matter where we were at communicating. This makes for a much less stressful time.

Despite Injury, We Got A Lot Of Shooting In!

The whole area we visited, both in city, and in country, had way more of photographic interest than I would have thought originally. It was a bit of an unintended blessing to have the excuse via having a car to get out of Gothenburg and explore a bit more widely. I think Wife and I are looking forward to further explorations around Sweden when we visit #3 and family in the future.

So Important To Travel

 Despite all the drama, fear, and anxiety with Wife's foot, I was still so incredibly happy to be traveling again. It makes me whole. It gets me out of a routine in the U.S. where I like I am less rounded, less exploring, less expanding of my inner self. 

Discovering Swedish Cuisine - Finally

It took a while, specifically once we had a car and were out of the larger town of Gothenburg that we found 'local food'. And we were very happy with what we found, Like the Spanish menu del dia, lunch was a bargain in most of the places we visited with some kind of salad bar and a main course and drinks. There were way more veggies on the plates we ordered then we expected. They were well prepared and we were happy to have them. The food was almost always well prepared and flavored. Alcohol, in general, is more expensive since it is a State monopoly. But, all in all, eating was enjoyable and not horribly expensive. 

In Conclusion

If the #3's were not living here would I come back? I don't think so. However, with them being here, is this a country worthy of more exploration? Yes!

Eldership Mission Sweden - Wheelchair Chronicles

On Tuesday, our adventure in Sweden came to an end. We were scheduled to return home. It was a lovely day for departing as we've learned to appreciate in Gothenburg with temperatures in the mid-50's and slight rain. We'd managed to develop a degree of a stable pattern over the last week dealing with Wife's injury. Now we were going to have to deal with the air transportation system to get home.

Preamble - Letting the System Know Your Needs  

If you've done any air travel, you've certainly experienced those people who get on the airplane first, and who seem to gum up the disembarking process. Well, that would be us now. Actually, you can't just show up at the airport and request wheelchair service. You need to get into their system. And you must do so a number of days before your flight. I communicated with the airline I made my reservation with, United.  They were able to handle the flight they actually were flying. But most of our flight was a code share with Lufthansa out Germany. I had to communicate directly with them for their flights. This required multiple calling to phone numbers that didn't work until punting and emailing a special group in NYC that dealt with medical issues. That got the result desired and we were 'officially' in the system.

Gothenburg  

I'd deduced that trying to drop Wife off with luggage, and then taking care of the rental car was going to be a logistical nightmare so I turned in the rental car a day earlier. This was good thinking as the rental car drop off was anything but well marked and logical. 

Day of the flight, we took an Uber to the airport where there were no wheelchairs or luggage carts available when you arrived curbside. Fortunately the airport was very quiet. Wife hobbled, and I did relay shuttling of the luggage until we got in the terminal. We found a luggage cart at last. The check in counter wasn't open yet. When it finally opened, we were acknowledged as 'in the system' for the wheel chair system we'd requested. We were sent to a 'waiting area'. There we were met my an attendant who stayed with us for the full time, getting us through security, to our gate, and coming back when it was time to board the plane.

We were asked multiple times if Wife could go up and down stairs. We responded negative, she could not. As I knew we were on a smaller regional jet for our first leg, I had a sinking suspicion that they were not using a jet bridge to load the plane. Sure enough, Wife and I were wheeled down on the tarmac and taken to a truck that brought us to the height required so she could walk on to the plane. This caused an already late plane to be even later. (And I'm sure earning us the opprobrium of a majority of the passengers.)

Frankfurt

 (Note to self - Avoid using Frankfurt on International changeovers!)

We were running about 40 minutes late and we had a changeover time of and hour and 45 minutes so things were running tight. As we landed, I notice we are coming in about as far away from the terminal as is possible. We taxi and taxi and taxi until we come to one of these remote areas where they bus you in from the plane to the terminal. I am sure we're going to need the truck to take us down again. Sure enough, the whole plane deplanes and is taken off in their buses before, the truck comes and we are wheeled off. Then Wife has to transfer via walking to a car, that takes us the long drive into the terminal. Of course, through this whole experience, there is no communication of what the process is. You have no idea of what exactly is happening so there is this on-going anxiety.

We are put in a waiting area with others needing assistance. After a medium wait, someone comes down and gets us. We are wheeled to a electronic buggy that drives a long way and takes us to passport control, where Wife again has to walk until we get to an elevator and go to another floor where we walk until they put us on yet another buggy that will take to our gate. We are told to 'hurry', Wife managing getting on as best she can. We go this long ass way and get to the gate where they are already in the process of boarding. A wheelchair takes her to the plane entrance and we work our way to our seats.

Lufthansa did have the system pretty well organized and we were never lost 'in the system, as it were. It just had a lot of working parts and more walking than I thought was necessary.

Denver

We land in Denver. Now United Airlines will take us over. We are met by a wheelchair attendant who will take us through the entire process from getting off the plane all through immigration, baggage, security, transferring terminals, and finally our departure gate. He did a great job. No wondering what was going to happen next.

Then, the ball got dropped. There were three who had requested wheelchairs to get from the gate to the plane. None arrived and again Wife had to hobble down the Jetway to our seats. 

Albuquerque

Upon arrival in Albuquerque, we again got a single attendant who took care of us all the way until we got your bags and got into a taxi. Another job well done. 

The systems all worked for the most part. We made our flights. Wife had a number of times where she had to walk where I wished she didn't. I'd give the system a low B.

Eldership Mission Sweden - Sleepover and Varberg

As Wife wrote in her post on Friday, the #3's, after all kinds of trials and tribulations trying to come up to Gothenburg to spend another weekend with us, ended up holing up in our apartment. They arrived on Saturday right after Noon and left Sunday morning around 11am. It was like a multi-generational sleepover. 

After they arrived, we split up with #3 & 3A going to the supermarket in the mall to get snacks and drinks, while 3.1 and 3.2 helped me to transport Wife to a restaurant in the mall where we were all going to join up for a late lunch. This involved 3.2 and I going to get the car from the far parking lot, 3.1 helping Wife down to the car, us driving to a place in front of a mall entrance near the restaurant so I could drop Wife off, and me then finding a parking place and coming back to the restaurant. 

We actually timed the thing pretty well with #3 and 3A arriving right after we had sat down. We went back the place Wife and I had been to twice before and it did not disappoint. It kind of reminds me of the Greek owned diners on the U.S. East Coast that have just about a bit of everything on their menus, most of it good. I had the kebab pizza again so 3.2 in particular and others could try it. I wanted burger maven, 3.1 to try the burger which Wife and I had enjoyed our first time (she declared it quite good), while 3A and 3.1 had pasta, #3 a big salad, and Wife a kebab platter (essentially kebab meat and fries). 

Back at the apartment, we started to play games. 3.1 is in her element. She set up 3 different games using various apps. The most fun of these, by far, was a game called Gartic Phone. (The name makes no sense to me. We all started to call it Garlic Phone. It doesn't have anything to do with a phone.) In the game, each player writes a short sentence or phrase, that is sent to one other player. Each player must then make a drawing representing the sentence or phrase. The drawing is done on your phone, computer, or other device. That with the time limit severely limits what can be created. The drawing is passed on to another player (at random) who has to write down a sentence or phrase describing the picture. That is sent on for another picture to be drawn, with a last round of interpretations taking place. Then you look at all the results. The way the narrative evolves can be quite amusing as is the pathetic attempts to draw.

Snacks and chocolate were consumed during all this. We closed the evening off with a movie after which all crashed. Next morning I took the two grandchildren back to the supermarket to buy donuts and pastries. We had a nice breakfast, played another round of Garlic Phone and then the #3s had to make their way back to Malmo. Wife and I decided to have one more day trip down south to a small city called Varberg. 

Because of the time, we decided to find a place for lunch first. I've made a lot of jokes about Swedish cuisine, or the lack thereof, however, I think we've finally cracked the code to get Scandi food as #3 calls it. You go to any place called 'Restaurant' with no other ethnic designation. You're going to find a place that has a salad bar (some fairly sparse, some extensive, a choice of fish and meat entrees, with a burger and a kebab plate thrown in, and free coffee. The food is going to be pretty good to very good and have a surprising amount of flavor. 

 The Meal at Varberg

This place had an incredible salad bar. I kind of wish I could have just ordered it! I should have taken a picture of the whole spread but I was too shy. 

My Plate

Two kinds of pickled herring, two kinds of potato salad, a pasta salad, two kinds of cabbage salad and pickled onions...about 30% of what was on the bar!

I had a Grilled Plaice, a whole flat fish with boiled buttered potatoes, roasted veg, butter & caper sauce, with a shrimp garnish.

 

Wife had the Pork Schnitzel & gravy, with roasted potatoes, Bernaise sauce, and veg.

 It was so much food!

We were at a place on the outskirts of town near a nature preserve. The nature of the sky over the weeks we've been shooting photos has been rather blah and i was in the mood to give monochrome a try.

 

 

 Study of Espouses Fotograficus Unus Pedibus

She Contemplates

She Stalks

That which is Stalked

 Stalking the Stalker

 In Varberg City

(With the mobility challenge we really did not do much, but said to ourselves next time we visit the #3's we will want to spend a good day shooting here.

Dragon Ship

Old Customs House

 The Port Square

More Black & White

Eldership Mission Sweden - The Island Edition

With Wife bummed seriously at having our trip plans severely circumscribed because of her injury, I was determined to take advantage of our now having a car to get out and see some places we would not have otherwise gone to. Driving allowed us to be out and yet minimize impact on her foot. Over the last three days we went to two sets of islands. 

On Tuesday, we were on what are called the North Archipelago (as distinguished from the 'South' Archipelago) of Gothenburg. These are a series of islands that are associated with the city...sort of suburbs so to speak that are only accessible by ferry. The Southern ones are automobile free, the Northern ones you can tour by car after taking the ferry over.

On Thursday, we headed north of the city to the island of Tjorn and the town of Skarhamn. This is an area that is reputed to be a 'genuine exemplar of the Swedish West Coast genre'. Maybe some day we will visit the East Coast of Sweden to see how different it might be.

 Another Statement on Weather

We have a special term for the weather they have in Western Sweden during the late Spring.

We call it Winter

How to tell a Swede from a New Mexican during the late Spring here.

A Swede

A New Mexican

The wind seems to be incessant whether here in town or on the coast

 

 

 

 

Towers and Clocks are still important on the islands

 Traditional Swedish Food is found everywhere

 Red Roofs and Red Buildings are the architectural calling card

 

 

 

Smiley Face Church

Scaffolding is so important they have companies that specialize in it

Rare footage of scaffolding actually going up!

Even with a broken foot, Wife, Photographer, will not be denied.

 Sculpture

Want to walk around the entire island of Tjorn? Follow the starfish.

Sunset at our apartment. The apartment complex we are in is rather pedestrian compared to say our place in El Campello. And because of the weather, there hasn't been much in the way of sunset opportunities. Wednesday night was an exception.

 Thursday Lunch in Skarhamn

We had another good meal (though not as good as the one we had on Tuesday with haddock two ways, fish and chips & with a Newberg type sauce. The salad included a nice (not too mayonnaise!) cole slaw made from purple cabbage.

 SIGNS OF THE WORLD

Sweden has very precise instructions for Poop Scooping