A post in which it is a really nice Saturday*

I woke up with stuff to do. That was fine.  Eventually I got up and decided to go do some of it.  I had a lovely breakfast of left-over garlic knots from Della Ventura, deliciously crisped in the toaster oven and devoured with scrambled eggs with cheese - YUMMY!  I had to go get eggs, having eaten the last two this morning.  I try to schedule to buy eggs on Saturdays because then I can go over to Swamp Rabbit to get locally produced eggs which are hopefully from places where they treat the chickens a little better.  Now their prices are pretty high, and they're located next to a popular biking trail, so the place is usually eaten up with high-strung yuppie women with their organically-fed spoiled children and bike riders who all but snort derisively at you for your sedentary lifestyle, equipped as they are with $500 (or more) bicycles, designer riding togs, and high-maintenance abdomens.  I usually recruit Rhonda to go with me so at least I have a real person ally, but she refused to go this morning.  At my most charming I failed to change her mind.  So I went on alone.  I had thought that since I left the house in a driving rain that the place wouldn't be as crowded, but I was wrong.  They were just all inside today. 

I finally emerged triumphant, having spent a little over $11 for a dozen eggs and a gorgeous-looking, organic-floured, baked-that-morning spinach and feta pastie (apparently called a pogacha if you pay $6 for one - what I had bore no resemblance at all to any pogaca I found online).  On the way out the rain had stopped, and I had an itch.  I had planned to go to the flea market this morning, but the continuing monsoon had put the kibosh on that little plan.  But there is a big thrift store over near Swamp Rabbit, so I decided to stop in and nose around.  I hadn't really gotten in the door well when I found two Ruby Red tumblers.  They matched the set of five that I have at the house (I would have sworn that I had six of them, but when I washed them out of the window there were only five).  So I picked them up.  I stopped into the grocery store on the way in to the house. 

I had picked up some potatoes last weekend, and was toying with making some buffalo potatoes (my own recipe), but after having that potato salad at work last week I was craving Mama's potato salad.  I picked up three more pounds of poatoes to go with the ones I had, along with some stuff to make bars.

RBL were having a game night tonight, and since Gary had told me he was coming in the morning rather than tonight, I had made plans to go over there. I've been really craving those Hello Dolly bars.  Apparently everyone can make them but me, but I had a new strategy and was keen to try again.  Because Logan hates coconut, I also made some chocolate chip cookie bars, to which I added some Butterfingers. I had intended to chunk them in the little food processor, but they went right to dust, so I just mixed in the Butterfinger dust. 

While those were baking and cooling, I peeled my potatoes and put them in to bake.  The hardest part of making good potato salad is getting the potatoes right.  Cooked too much, you have mashed potatoes, and cooked too little you have "crunchy" potatoes.  Yergh.  I had a technique I use for another recipe that I decided to try today.  You wash and eye the potatoes and put them in a big ceramic baker along with about an inch or so of water.  Then you cover them tightly, bake for an hour or so, and just turn off the oven and let them cool.  The get cooked through without getting boiled apart.  I have done it with red potaotes with the skins on, but it seemed to work just fine today with peeled potatoes also - they were delightfully tender. 

While all this was going on, I had a text from Gary.  He had changed his mind because he didn't want to miss game night, so I just sent the boys a text and got cleaned up.  About the time I showered up and all, he got to the house.  I talked to him and caught up on all of his stuff about his dad (that's where he was all last week) while I cubed up potatoes. 

We went on to game night.  The guys just orderd pizza for everyone.  The cookie bars (that I was sure wouldn't work) actually turned out great, but the Hello Dollies again didn't turn out right.  They were edible, but not the way they are supposed to be.  I can't believe that I can make freakin' pastry cream and souffle, but can't make these stupid bars, which are supposed to be super easy.  Grrrr.

The game tonight was called Quelf.  Meh.  It wasn't the most fun ever, but at least it didn't take three hours to understand how to play.  I just must not be a game player any longer.  I don't have much patience for them.  But Logan REALLY likes games of all kinds, and everyone else wanted to play, so I went along.  Afterwards we adjourned to the comfy chairs in the living room, where they found a movie called Sharknado already in progess on ScyFy.  Now I never watch Scyfy channel, and was quite surprised to find that even they have apparently stopped taking themselves seriously, and produce a lot of openly satirical fare at this point.  Sharknado was such a spoof.  It was pretty stupid, but once I suspended my disbelief (an effort even for me in this case) it was pretty funny. 

When the movie was over and a second stinker came on though, I was pretty much done.  Gary and I went home to go to bed.  It had been a good day, and it wasn't quite over just yet...