Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Mondays Aren't All Bad

Good things that happened yesterday:

  • Shane was rained out at work (not good), but on his way home he stopped at a grocery store and brought home 12 pounds of marked-down beef, some of it as low as $1.45/lb. (The total was $21 for all of it.)  There was a roast, some steaks, and some stew meat, all of which I repacked into smaller amounts that are right for our family.  We can get at least a dozen meals out of it, depending on how I prepare it.

  • He also bought 6 pounds of frozen corn at 49¢ a pound.

  • We put out our Fall decorations.  I think I get more enjoyment from decorating for Fall than I do any other time of year, including Christmas.  That's mostly because Fall is my favorite season.  Also, since I steer clear of anything that is specifically for Halloween or Thanksgiving, going instead for decor that depicts leaves, harvests, pumpkins, etc., our fall decorations are suitable for the entire Autumn season. 

  • I made my first (I think) lemon meringue pie.  Shane has declared it his "new most favorite of all time" dessert.  While I wouldn't go that far, I do agree it was good.

  • Our lousy neighbors finally whacked down the jungle that was their backyard, in wet waist-high weeds, at the 11th hour just before a warrant was to be served by the city (according to our city councilman).  Shane, unfortunately, is still not happy, because he suspects (as we have suspected all along) that someone on the city payroll is tipping her off, and he doesn't think it's right that she lets her yard go all summer, yet gets out of paying fines for it.  I see his point, but I've been encouraging him to just let it go, because what we wanted was for the yard to be whacked mowed, and now it's done.  Sorry, no pictures to prove it.  It's raining again this morning and it's just not worth it to me to step outside to shoot a pic of their still-ugly yard...LOL!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful pie!! I've made dozens of meringue pies but mine never turn out as pretty as your very first one. I'm jealous:)

Melinda

A.Marie said...

Gotta love them 11th hour neighbors...I used to have one of those. Her back yard and my back yard were separated only by a row of really ugly trees and hedges. She also got notice by our city, but she was old and had to go to a nursing home, so her daughters started cleaning up her lot and when they wacked down that privacy row, Oh.My.Word!...I could then clearly see the mess....I was wishing they'd put that ugly row back in!

However, it has since been cleaned up and sold. So, we now have nice, clean, and orderly backyard neighbors.

That pie looks to-die for. I love lemon anything! :)

Sheila said...

What a nice deal Shane got!! I would love to find prices like that. I love fall decorations too but I've never decorated. We really don't decorate the outside for any holidays or time of year. I would like to though.
I think lemon meringue pie is one of my favorite desserts--just minus the meringue!! Your pie looks wonderful.
Glad the neighbor whacked her weeds--too bad she can't do it more than once a year!!! Take care.

Annie Jones said...

Melinda: You always surprise me when you comment. :) I'm going to call it beginner's luck on the pie. The meringue was good, but not very tall, and it had that watery "weeping" between the meringue and pudding layers. I'm not sure what, if anything can be done to prevent that.

A.Marie: We wish they would sell their house to someone who will clean it up, but that seems very unlikely to happen. However, the foreclosure across the street finally got sold to a rehab organization, so at least something good will be happening there.

Sheila: We haven't decorated for Fall outside our house yet, and I'm not sure if we will. I'd have to buy things to do that. Shane loves decorating outside at Christmas, but the miser in me thinks it's a waste of electricity.

Lisa B. said...

Annie your pie is beautiful! The only thing I remember from my grandmother making pies is the filling has to be very hot when topping with meringue. She always was careful to have very clean bowl and beaters and used super fine sugar. I'm sure there is more to it than that, but I can remember her being adamant about those things. She was known down here for her pies (and bread), worked at Red Onion and Dinner Bell for years. Do you remember those restaurants?

Way to go Shane! Those are some great buys.

McVal said...

What a fab deal on the meat!! Good job Shane!
And a beautiful pie! My hubby hates Lemon Meringue so I don't make it much at all anymore.

slugmama said...

Good deal on the meat!

Your pie looks good enough to eat.lol I "heart" pie.....
The month before I had my 1st son I craved choc. meringue pie and couldn't find one anywhere. Next time I'll just come over your house....don't hold your breath on that one tho as this baby factory is closed.lol

Melynda@Scratch Made Food! said...

Neighbors like that are the reason the country looks so good! We are fortunate here, thankfully, it is a quiet neighborhood, but I have concerns when all the houses turn after retirement of those living there now. In the meanwhile, that pie is stunning!

Annie Jones said...

Lisa: You know, this recipe's filling went in at room temperature. Next time I may try cooking it a little first...or I might try one with a cooked filling.

McVal: I can't imagine not liking lemon pie! Kat wasn't sure if she liked either the lemon or the meringue, but it turned out she liked both.

Sluggy: You could always pretend... ;)

Melynda: The rest of our neighbors are pretty decent people and we like the neighborhood. It's just the one family that's a problem. :(

Sonya Ann said...

That's the prettiest pie I've ever seen. Hmmmmm not going to go there.
We had neighbors that let their yard go. It was terrible.
Have a great week!