Enduring Big Ed Malfunctions On The Tandy Hills With Lost Shopping Carts At Town Talk

Big Ed recovered from his most recent bout of Extreme Gooberitis, to a wellness level that allowed him to go hill hiking with me on the Tandy Hills today, for the first time in a long time.

Big Ed got a digital camera for Christmas. Apparently this is a complicated digital camera.

The camera has Big Ed totally bum puzzled.

Big Ed tried to take a picture of me taking a picture of him, but he somehow got his camera into some sort of delayed timer mode that results in a lot of beeping and red light flashes before the picture gets taken. And then the resulting photo is in some strange landscape format tinted blue.

I remember when Big Ed had to give up mountain biking because of repeated incidents where he'd get his shorts somehow caught on the pedals, resulting in all sorts of embarrassing mayhem. This camera malfunctionizing sort of reminds me of that.

Other than making the mistake of taking Big Ed to the hills today, today was another absolutely perfect day to be outdoors in North Texas.

Because Big Ed went to the hills with me today that meant he also went to Town Talk. I asked Big Ed to watch my cart while I ventured into the super packed, human gridlock, warehouse area, where I'd find stuff and then send it back to the cart via Big Ed. That was working out okay, til Big Ed lost the shopping cart.

With the shopping cart lost I had to start over again, re-bagging a lot of hot peppers, of bright red and a yellow varieties. These peppers are shaped like jalapenos, but I have no idea if these are of a similar capsaicin level, or way hotter. Or cooler, than jalapenos.

I also got a lot of avocados, making this a sort of Mexican themed day at Town Talk.

Speaking of jalapenos, I have discovered a burn free method to deal with the little firecrackers. I  slice off the top and then remove the innards with a potato peeler. This works real slick, with no burning eye or other burning delicate areas, ever since discovering this method.

The First Friday Of February Is Jalapeno HOT In Texas In More Ways Than One

Currently, coming up on 4 in the afternoon, the sun is shining through thinning clouds. It is humid. 71 degree. I have my windows open.

This time last year I was fighting frostbite.

In the noon time frame I took off, heading to the Village Creek Natural Historical Area, to get my daily endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation. And then on to ALDI to get Super Bowl Party supplies.

By the time I reached Village Creek precipitation was precipitating. So, I bailed on getting any endorphins and continued on to ALDI.

When I returned to my abode I made lunch and then after lunch I made what currently appears to have been a mistake.

I am making a HUGE batch of chili for my Super Bowl Party. 15 pounds of ground beef product, currently slow cooking in the oven.

I chopped up 9 jalapenos and 2 poblano peppers to add to the chili beef product while it slow cooked.

I was careful to rigorously scrub my hands with soap and water after chopping up the jalapenos. Usually this removes the Capsicum, which causes the burning.

But not today.

My right hand, the one that holds the jalapenos while my left hand cuts them up, is burning. A momentary lapse had me touching my right eye zone with my right hand, causing more burning.

I need not detail all the locations that are currently on fire. Suffice to say, I must find another means to chop up multiple jalapenos in the future.

I understand there is a product called a kitchen glove that might be useful.

Snail Hunting On The Cool Windy Tandy Hills With Lobster Tacos & Jalapeno Progress

On Saturday on the Tandy Hills I came across a bottle full of frozen water, sitting on ground heated over 100. With no humans seen.

The next day that bottle was gone.

And today, about a foot from where that bottle sat, there was a white snail shell stuck to a thick stalk of prairie grass.

I have seen snail shells on the Tandy Hills ground, previously, but never stuck on a grass stalk. I would seem that something like a snail must not have an easy time dealing with a drought.

It was barely 80 when I hit the Tandy Hills today a little after noon. Wind frequently gusting over 20 mph provided a nice wind chill factor. Making today the coldest day on the Tandy Hills in a long, long time.

I rather liked it.

The pool, this morning, bordered on cool. And had me wondering how it is that I manage to go swimming all winter long, as long as it is above freezing.

Labor Day lunch was Lobster Tacos. With Extra Sharp White Vermont Cheddar. Lobster Tacos may be my new favorite. I was not much of a lobster fan when I lived where there was a lot of fresh seafood available, with lobster not being among the fresh seafood one could fetch from Puget Sound.

I have never made tacos using Dungeness Crab. Methinks Dungeness Crab Tacos would be really tasty.

I made Jalapeno Progress today. No, Jalapeno Progress is not some Mexican food item. What I meant is I made progress via having a successful Jalapeno chopping experience. Meaning, I did not have a burning a super-sensitive area incident after chopping a Jalapeno.

In my simple world I have to make note of the little things to have any sense that I'm making some progress somewhere.