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A while back, Lloyd was heating up some chili that had been in the freezer with some plastic wrap on it. I started to unload the dishwasher and smelled burning plastic.

“Did you forget to take the wrap off?”

“No.”

I scoffed inwardly because I knew he had….. then I saw this in the bottom of the dishwasher.

Dang it.

It got it real good.

I mean, real bad.

Eh. I had three spatulas and now have two. That’s one more spatulas than a person really needs, so it’s all good.

I have a weird obsession with lights. There are not many flashlights that I don’t love, although I am currently drawn to lights that you just plug in to recharge. Let me tell you about some lights around here.

There is a nightlight at the very top of the stairs. It’s plugged into an extension cord, but it exists so that we see Emme and don’t crush her. (Can you just barely see her? That’s the reason.)

Next, I bought a tap light for my sock cabinet. I get ready in the dark in the morning, and we are entering Sock Season. I don’t usually care, but it is preferable if the color of my socks matches what I’m wearing. This has been helpful.

Behold the light!

Last, I bought a dumb light for the shed/camping. It is currently in the shed right now and I am too lazy to go get it, so here is a photo of the tag that came with it. It is a tap light – you just tap the top and it cycles through three settings: warm/cool/daylight. It’s also dimmable! It recharges with a USB cord, so it ticks all the boxes!

….. I recognize that I have a problem…..

Nebraska is in a bit of a drought now. Everything is so dry – the grass is sharp and crispy and the dust on the playground is so dehydrated it’s like walking on talcum powder. The children are so, so dirty at the end of the day. They run around and it’s like watching Pig Pen from Peanuts come to life.

Add to that: it’s harvest time. The machines are out in the dry, dry fields kicking up a bunch of dust that hangs in the air. Bleh.

Add to that: the continuous roadwork in town. A friend of mine lives right along 6th street/Highway 15 and said that she hasn’t been able to have her windows open June.

Bleh. I need to go powerwash my nose.

This is the day that Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall. Deborah’s daughter, Macy, moved to Florida this year to begin her teaching career. The school is closed the next few days and Macy has evacuated to the home of a friend’s grandparents.

I am freaking out about the whole situation, and from my home in the middle of a triple-landlocked state, all I can do is pray for everyone. My little mind shuts down with overwhelming information and emotions. There is just so much disaster – both now and as they work to repair everything in the future.

Please pray. (And donate what you can.)

Our local brewery sells giant pretzels that you can buy frozen and take home. You spritz them with water, sprinkle on the salt and then pop them in the microwave for three minutes. Boom. Hot pretzel, and they even sell dips to use.

They are a bit pricey, and of course, Cheap Lauren wanted to try making them on her own. The recipe is really easy, and surprisingly it doesn’t take a whole day. Here it is, if you want to scroll through the big story and see it at the bottom.

I made some mistakes, but that’s ok. I’ll know more for next time. Mostly, I am incredibly proud of me for following the recipe to the letter. I know!

My big mistake was not rolling them out longer and thinner. I knew it as I was doing it but didn’t stop myself. I was mostly worried about them fitting in my giant fry pan of boiling baking soda water, but now I know to make three of them instead of two. Also, Lauren, don’t flour the rolling surface when you shape them.

The pan has 9 cups of water and 1/2 a cup of baking soda. It gave me a reason to repackage my old box of baking soda and say, “That’s a lot of b.s.”

Behold the aftermath of splashing boiling baking soda water all over.

Here’s the final product. As I said, mistakes were made. They are good with a dipping sauce, but they needed a bit more time in the oven, and since they were so globby, they browned unevenly. I worried the dark parts would be burnt before the rest browned.

I’ll do better next time.

I have had a crazy craving for Cap’n Crunch cereal lately. I’ve done a pretty good job putting it off because 1) food is rather expensive now and it seemed like a waste of money, 2) my waist is rather expansive now and it seemed like ….. eh, you get the joke. I don’t need to eat sugary junk like that.

Or do I?

We were running errands in Lincoln on Saturday and stopped at Aldi for lime juice and looking at their junk aisle. I looked at their knock-off Crunchberries and dismissed them. “I don’t need those.”

When we were in line, Lloyd said, “It’s past noon and you haven’t eaten lunch. I don’t want to ride in the car with you when you transform into a monster. Should we get something here?” I I hesitated…… and he went to get the cereal.

I ate it with sticky hands in the car and with a spoon this morning. No regrets!