A visit to the ER

There's no faster way to get admitted into an emergency room than to double over in the entryway, throwing up within site of the triage nurse.

We ended the weekend in the ER, Michelle being treated for a migraine. 

( Courtesy snip )

It was a stressful night, and I'm tired today with my dining room half torn apart (that's another post), and I don't feel charitable. 

And the headache may not be gone.  Thankfully, we have prescriptions for both heavy-duty pain killers and nausea meds.  My wife is hurting with something I cannot fix despite my best efforts.  Praying, as much as I'm able.

A visit to the ER

There's no faster way to get admitted into an emergency room than to double over in the entryway, throwing up within site of the triage nurse.

We ended the weekend in the ER, Michelle being treated for a migraine. 

( Courtesy snip )

It was a stressful night, and I'm tired today with my dining room half torn apart (that's another post), and I don't feel charitable. 

And the headache may not be gone.  Thankfully, we have prescriptions for both heavy-duty pain killers and nausea meds.  My wife is hurting with something I cannot fix despite my best efforts.  Praying, as much as I'm able.

I could do with a quiet weekend

...but rarely get one.


The engineer pointed.  "There's a bridge at that spot, Richard, and the General doesn't like it."

Harper grinned.  "That means there's going to be one bloody big bang."

 - Sharpe's Eagle, Bernard Cornwell



Well, it wouldn't be a spring weekend at Osage if I wasn't knocking holes in the wall.  Or repairing a hole knocked in the wall at some earlier date.  Or knocking holes myself that I'll have to repair at some point in the future.

I've been working on the dining room for some time now, trying to make the electrical make sense, the walls plumb, the windows less drafty.  Saturday was the day for the wall adjacent to the kitchen/living room.  The plan: widen the doorway to the living room to seven feet or so, to let more light in and open up the space as much as possible.

I started removing drywall to assess the underlying frame and found siding.  That I found siding on what was once an exterior wall is hardly surprising in this house, seeing as my uncle took every shortcut imaginable when he rebuilt the old farmhouse in 1954.  Why strip off the siding when you can just throw drywall up over it?  No one will ever know.

Indeed.

( This Courtesy Snip sponsored by 'This Old House' )

So, my dining room looks like a bomb went off in it.  Yep, pretty much a normal weekend.

Oh, we're having a party in ten days.  I'm not panicked.  Yet.

I could do with a quiet weekend

...but rarely get one.


The engineer pointed.  "There's a bridge at that spot, Richard, and the General doesn't like it."

Harper grinned.  "That means there's going to be one bloody big bang."

 - Sharpe's Eagle, Bernard Cornwell



Well, it wouldn't be a spring weekend at Osage if I wasn't knocking holes in the wall.  Or repairing a hole knocked in the wall at some earlier date.  Or knocking holes myself that I'll have to repair at some point in the future.

I've been working on the dining room for some time now, trying to make the electrical make sense, the walls plumb, the windows less drafty.  Saturday was the day for the wall adjacent to the kitchen/living room.  The plan: widen the doorway to the living room to seven feet or so, to let more light in and open up the space as much as possible.

I started removing drywall to assess the underlying frame and found siding.  That I found siding on what was once an exterior wall is hardly surprising in this house, seeing as my uncle took every shortcut imaginable when he rebuilt the old farmhouse in 1954.  Why strip off the siding when you can just throw drywall up over it?  No one will ever know.

Indeed.

( This Courtesy Snip sponsored by 'This Old House' )

So, my dining room looks like a bomb went off in it.  Yep, pretty much a normal weekend.

Oh, we're having a party in ten days.  I'm not panicked.  Yet.

Slowly recovering...

I had an invitation to go out with friends which, with regret, I had to turn down.  Michelle is better, but not THAT much better, so I stayed home and made supper for us.  Because it was SOOOOOOOOOOO good, I'm going to share.

Dipping Sauce

4T Spicy Mustard
1/4t Liquid Smoke
1t honey


Tiger Chicken

2 chicken breasts, sliced into tenders
1C all purpose flour
1C milk
1 large egg
1t kosher salt
1 box Frosted Flakes

Crush the Frosted Flakes into crumbs in a large bowl and set aside.  Make a batter from the flour, milk, egg, and salt.  Dip the chicken into the batter, then into the Frosted Flake crumbs.  Set aside and let the pieces sit to allow the coating to set.

Heat peanut oil in a large skillet over medium heat^†.  Fry the pieces of chicken until golden brown*, about three minutes per side.

* "and delicious" (c) 2001-2007, Alton Brown.
^† The temperature is a delicate balancing act.  Too cool, and the chicken will turn out oily.  Too hot, and the sugars on the cereal will burn.  Count on losing the first batch while you adjust.

Slowly recovering...

I had an invitation to go out with friends which, with regret, I had to turn down.  Michelle is better, but not THAT much better, so I stayed home and made supper for us.  Because it was SOOOOOOOOOOO good, I'm going to share.

Dipping Sauce

4T Spicy Mustard
1/4t Liquid Smoke
1t honey


Tiger Chicken

2 chicken breasts, sliced into tenders
1C all purpose flour
1C milk
1 large egg
1t kosher salt
1 box Frosted Flakes

Crush the Frosted Flakes into crumbs in a large bowl and set aside.  Make a batter from the flour, milk, egg, and salt.  Dip the chicken into the batter, then into the Frosted Flake crumbs.  Set aside and let the pieces sit to allow the coating to set.

Heat peanut oil in a large skillet over medium heat^†.  Fry the pieces of chicken until golden brown*, about three minutes per side.

* "and delicious" (c) 2001-2007, Alton Brown.
^† The temperature is a delicate balancing act.  Too cool, and the chicken will turn out oily.  Too hot, and the sugars on the cereal will burn.  Count on losing the first batch while you adjust.