September 13, 2019 Lunch – Buffet King Dinner- Susan's Cajun Dinner Party

September 13, 2019 Lunch – Buffet King    Dinner- Susan's Cajun Dinner Party

Some days there is just too much food. Today was one of those days.

I started with a big bowl of granola as I reached the bottom of a bag and poured about a double portion of granola into my bowl and then 1/2 banana sliced and some milk and four T. of yogurt instead of three. But then I rode a really fast sub one hour ten miles to Rio Bravo and back, so I was happy for the extra energy potential.

I worked until 11;15 when the film technical crew came to view the house. I gave the key to Matt and started my errands and lunch run.  I first deposited Suzette’s deposit at her bank, then I took shirts to the cleaners and said hello to Zul and Rozie.  Then I drove to the Hispanic Cultural Center and purchased two tickets for Globalquerque’s Saturday performance on September 21. Then I drove to Comcast and took care of the problems with the installation of the new modem.  Apparently, when they moved me from the four package to a three package when I rejected the security system, they disconnected the fax line to the all in one printer.  Hopefully that is now fixed.  It was 12:3o and I did not need to be at Buffet King until 1:00, so I drove to the Apple Store and had a genius look at my I  Pad’s broken button.  The first person I talked to about my broken home button that prevented me from turning it on and off said I needed a new I Pad, so they directed me to a guy who was older and scruffier, who it turned out was a genius.  After I removed my I Pad from its case, he turned on his phone and hit a few buttons and turned on my I Pad.  Then he tuched a few buttons on my I pad and voila a home button appeared on the screen.  He told me that the new home button would stay on the screen and how to access it and was kind enough  to wait while I entered that data into a document and save it on my I Pad.

He asked if I wanted a new I pad and I said, No, but thank you.  I will use the one you just fixed since it is working again.” 

He said, “You I Pad is near the end of its useful life because it will only work within a range of software  updates and we are near the end of that range for your I Pad.  You will know when the I Pad says, ‘Can not update’ for a new software generation.  We are at update number 11.2 and I think it will end when we reach 13.” 

I thanked him profusely and left the store with my now working I Pad and drove to Buffet King and arrived only 11 minutes late.  Aaron was there and had had a plate of food as I suggested in a voice mail while waiting at the Apple store.

I took my first plate of food, mostly Steamed Manila Clams in black fermented soy beans and jalapeno chilis and fried shrimp and a few stir fried rice vermicelli noodles.  We talked a bit and then I took another plate of food.  This time it was filled with Mapo Dofu and six more fried shrimp.  This put me over the top of my available food capacity.  I could eat no more.  I love the Mapo Dofu at Buffett King, It is simply spicy pork sausage stir fried with soft tofu, it is an easy way to make the dish and is delicious.  The fried shrimp are the kind that are sold in boxes at Costco that are shelled and flattened and battered with panko and baked in an oven or fried.  The process for heating them is to bake them in an oven for 19 minutes.  They are not as greasy as the other fried items, such as fried sweet and sour chicken, but they are very filling.

After lunch I drove to the library and returned the Secret Chord and then home. Soon after I arrived the film construction crew arrived to remove my art from the walls of the TV room, Dining room and living room, where the next shots are being taken.  They will set up their furniture and art on Monday and Tuesday, shoot on Wednesday and then replace everything the way it was before the shoot on Thursday and Friday of next week.

I worked for a while but had to lie down at 4:00 and slept until 5:30 when Suzette came home.  I had forgotten the club soda for the mint juleps for Susan’s party, so I drove to Lowe’s Market and bought four liter bottles of Tonic water and three bottles of Club Soda and a package of sopapilla mix to take to Cousin Daram when we go to Los Angeles.  Suzette down when I returned at 6:00 and I watched the News Hour.  At 6:55 I awakened her and we gathered up the bourbon, the newly made pitcher of mint syrup, and two bottles of Club Soda and walked the ½ block to Susan’s house.  There were about a dozen people. We knew Steve and Karen and talked to them a lot.  They have a son named Ollie who is a genius who worked for Apple and now has his own small three person business in Albuquerque that contracts with Apple for special app assignments. His group made the app for the interactive displays for Liberty Island and then was hired by Apple and the marketing company that is now working on an interactive app for Ellis Island. Steve is body building and walking a lot and Karen is cooking a lot, which she always did.  She likes to bake and she made a sheet of corn bread and molasses muffins and honey butter using Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen and his pecan pie.  

I love the similarities of retirement to childhood.  We older folks who  are no longer tied to professional careers and desk jobs can do the things we loved to do as children, like ride our bike, take long walks, and spend long hours in the kitchen baking and cooking.

Jerry made a lovely bruschetta with fresh tomatoes drizzled rather heavily with olive oil.  Charles made steamed vegetables. There was a rum soaked cake garnished with fresh whipped cream and peaches, another platter of corn bread, and we made mint juleps.

Susan made seafood gumbo and crustacean jambalya and rice.

It was a wonderful dinner and, again, I ate too much.

We returned home at 9:30 and fell into bed.

I am up at 3.30 because of all the food but will get back to sleep soon.

Bon Appetit