Friday Orts and a Blurb

I post today's picture not (solely) to make you jealous of what I eat, although that is a nice side benefit. (Jealous, aren't you?) The point of this picture is that I have become the kind of person who has all the ingredients for a fancy feast on hand when I needed a last-minute meal:

Naan. Fire-roasted peppers. Pesto. Feta cheese. Shaved Parmesan cheese. Sliced olives. Free-range diced chicken. And basil grown on my own little plant in the back yard.

Who is this woman and what has she done with the macaroni-and-cheese queen who lived here a few years ago?

*****
Today is my younger sister's birthday. Although I talk about her less here than I do about Much Older Sister, she is equally spectacular in a totally different way. Because I wanted her to know how much I hoped her Big Day went well, I sent her a text:

"May cartoon bluebirds wake you and singing mice make you a gown!"

Later it occurred to me that this may be the creepiest birthday wish ever wished upon someone.

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If you have not yet seen the following video, it may be because a) like me,  you do not stay up late enough to watch the Tonight show in spite of your delight in Jimmy Fallon, or b) like me, you had never heard this song before even though it was the song of the summer (or so "they"say). But if hear it once, you will never un-hear it, especially if c) like me, you are completely unable to get it out of your head. You're welcome! Also, The Roots rock.

*****

Homeright SteamMachine

This week's blurb is for a self-indulgent purchase that turned out to be a pretty good investment. The Homeright Steam Machine people do a fine job of peppering the internet with free samples of their product, which they have given to every blogger in the world except me. I read the glowing testimonials to its ability to clean anything and remove everything from wallpaper to warts (well, maybe not warts) until I finally broke down and bought one.

That's because my kitchen cabinets were gross. In spite of hours and hours worth of attempts to clean them with everything from vinegar to expensive chemicals, I could not get the greasy/grime accumulation of the years off  the oak doors. We were even thinking of replacing the cabinets, which ain't cheap. But after one tankful of steam and a wipe-off with an old towel, now I have cupboard doors that are no longer sticky and icky. (Although Husband tells me that if I don't quit running my hands over them them and saying "You're so smooooth!" they won't stay clean long.)

Nice job, Homeright SteamMachine. And just think what a great review I would have written if you had actually given me one of these instead of requiring that I shell out my own hard-earned American cash for it. Hrmph.