Lingo Numbers

I hit two milestones just after midnight on the (currently) free language apps I am using.

 

Potatoes

Since I watch so many shows that contain cooking, I get inspired from time to time. I've always hated potatoes, ever since I was a child (unless they were in the form of French fries or potato chips, or something else similarly fried), but tastes change with time, and South Korean variety & cooking shows always make them look so appealing.

So a week ago I snagged a single large potato (only 66 cents!), and tonight I turned it into homemade French fries, to go with a soy sauced steak and sauteed mushrooms (vegetable and sesame oils). They came out so well (my first time ever) that the steak was the least enjoyable part of the meal. Hilarious, and totally worth the effort!

Another Nice Lake Day

I went to the lake today from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm. A nice walk. Then off to Dad & Ma's, where Sarah & Jon were getting ready to leave for Vermont for the long rainy weekend, and where Dad bought my 4 silver ounce bars (thanks!). It was nice to have a minor windfall.

Parents Time

From 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm I was at Dad & Ma's for supper and the Red Sox game. Ma made cheeseburgers (always great, I had them ten days ago too!), I removed both of their air conditioners from their respective windows, and the Red Sox won. A fun night.

Clean Windows

The sun was coming in the window, so I decided to Windex it to increase the effect. Fancy!

IW - Saturday

I went to the lake from 2:30 - 3:30 pm today. It was sunny and dry, but also cool enough to require a sweatshirt. I walked my mile (with Men at Work's "Business as Usual" in my earbuds), noting all the early signs of autumn, and then I Windexed the inside of my car windshield. I was also prepared to scrub the dried fish guts and pine pitch from the soles of my flip flops, but I'd left them bottoms-up outside for the week, and the rain took care of it for me! A nice interval in an otherwise quiet day (I later napped from 5:00 - 7:00 pm, since I only got five hours of sleep last night). 

I also ate the rest of yesterday's pork chops: one in a half-sandwich before the lake trip; two chopped up into the mac and cheese I had for supper; and one around 9:00 pm just because I wanted it (haha). So yes, they lasted four meals as planned, I just hadn't imagined it would be over the short span of two days!

IW - Friday

I got up at 10:00 am and then spent the next hour prepping and cooking a big center cut boneless pork roast that mas had sent home with me a few weeks ago. I cut it into eight chops, and cooked six of them with just salt and pepper, while I soaked the last two in soy sauce before cooking them. I had two with breakfast (2 fried eggs, 2 slices of multi-grain toast with butter, fresh broccoli and coffee), and two more for supper. Good stuff, and totally worth the effort.

Over the rest of the day I did 2 loads of laundry, swapped out the trash and did a few other chores.

IW - Thursday

 A very low-key day.

• I finished watching the rest of the 8 episodes of "Young Actors Retreat".
• I watched the Bills beat the Lions at the Bills' new stadium opener.
• I began watching "Earth Arcade" (An Yu-jin! ♥).
  

IW - Wednesday

I got up at 10:00 am today (after being up until 3:00 am watching the first 3½ episodes of "Young Actors' Retreat" on Tubi), and had coffee and cereal, as I picked up where I left off with last night's show.

Except for breakfast and my elaborate 'lunch' at 4:00 pm (see rest of post) I basically spent the day on the couch with all of the windows open. I turned off the series halfway through episode 7, and switched to "PTI", "Jeopardy" (last night's episode), the extremely enjoyable "Karting: Max vs. 100" go-kart race (F1 driver Max Verstappen starting behind 100 other drivers on go-karts, and beating them all by lap 18), and then tonight's episode of "Jeopardy". I also ate a pint of double chocolate ice cream for 'supper' around 9:00 pm (haha).

Lunch/dinner was:

• Organic long grain rice, with a dash of sesame oil and a handful of green onions.
• Fresh broccoli steamed over the rice toward the end.
• Boneless pork chops marinated in soy sauce for a half hour, then cooked in a wide skillet.
• I topped the pork with some oyster sauce, and then covered it all with the rice.
• On top I added rehydrated seaweed and two hard boiled eggs with salt & pepper.
• I had two kinds of grapes and a glass of iced tea on the side.

What a fantastic meal, 100% worth the effort. And I even have some of the pork left over for another day's breakfast or ramen.

IW - Tuesday

I went to the lake today 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm. A nice walk, and then some of my book (see below). I also ate an apple. Supper was a tuna fish sandwich and potato chips, after planning all last night and today on making boneless pork with either udon or rice, but I didn't have the energy once I got home.

IW - Monday

A quiet day. Lunch was a Red Baron pepperoni pizza. Dinner was ice cream (haha).

Here are the books I am currently reading:

• The Hobbit (last time was 2013, the first time I ever read it).
• Blue Mars (I've read both Red Mars and Green Mars more than once, but 'author style fatigue' set in both times, so this will be the first time I've read the final book. They are dense reads).
• Beer in America: The Early Years 1587 - 1840 (so far I am enjoying this author's writing style, which for me is engaging without being too dry).
   

IW - Sunday

I am going to try to do something interesting (to me) each day for this entire week, hence the title of each entry beginning with "IW".

Today I went to Dad & Ma's for lunch at 1:00 pm. Ma made cheeseburgers, which were amazing as always. Then Dad & I watched the NFL until 5:00 pm, once the rain-delayed Red Sox game began. I went to Hannaford on the way home, and the coffee delivery (three bags of ground Sumatra - thanks Ma!) from Amazon was waiting on my steps when I got home. I went the last two days without coffee!

Perfect Fall Day

I went to the lake today from 12:00 - 2:00 pm. It was sunny, dry and in the low 70's. On my walk one of the houses was having a yard sale. I read part of "Beer in America: The Early Years". There were no boats on the lake for most of the time I was there, which is bizarre for a Saturday with such weather.

Take a Hike - TV

 

I've been watching "Take a Hike" on Netflix the last few weeks. It's a South Korean hiking show, featuring: old favorite Car, the Garden ("Better Late than Single"), plus Tarzzan from Allday Project, Dowoon (drummer for Day6), and Lee Chae-min (actor). Since I'd recently been planning on resuming my Mountain Quest series again (after a 4 year break), it's been a great motivator, and entertaining in its own right.

I am hoping to kick off Mountain Quest 2026/2027 this week, at Crow Hills...

Lee Chae-min, Tarzzan, Dowoon, and Car, the Garden. (L to R)

Nice Lighting

I went to the lake today 6:30 - 7:30. It was cool and dry (I changed into the first sweatshirt of the season after my walk), and the light was beautiful. There was a big powerboat full of kids making a ton of noise and a lot of high waves, but I didn't even care, and it only lasted for a bit. Such a nice night.

Language Check-In

I am using the free version of DuoLingo to keep my habit going, though I am only able to do one or two lessons each day now. Also, I reached 275 days in a row on the free version of Lingo Deer. Here is an achievement badge from DuoLingo:

Friday Dinner

I made a variation of my typical pork and rice for dinner tonight.

• Basmati rice, with fresh broccoli steamed over it as it heated.
• A thick boneless pork chop cooked with soy sauce and then topped with oyster sauce.
• Rehydrated seaweed added to the mix.
• And a fried egg with salt and pepper on top.

Ridiculously good!

 

Thursday Lake

I went to the lake to walk and see the sunset. I was there from 6:30 - 7:30 and I listened to K-Pop (I.O.I and Hearts2Hearts) instead of my usual SOMA FM. It was nice. I went to Hannaford on the way home, and a delicious dinner of their in-house chicken nuggets.