NBC ... again!

  Our Night Blooming Cereus just bloomed the first week of June. Now, just two months later, it's blooming again.

 Four flowers opened last evening (08/02/22). This one is the same as the bud pictured below, only a few hours earlier.

 Those pink strands that encircle the bud are the final stage to watch for. Once they begin to loosen, the flower will open that night.

 Bloom #2

Bloom #3

Bloom #4

 This is a second shot of the first bloom posted at the top of the page. One leaf had several buds on it but they've all aborted. If the small buds begin to turn red, it's a sign that they will not develop and will eventually fall off.

 Though I've now seen  this plant bloom so many times throughout the year, it is always a new and glorious experience for me. Each blooming cycle is essentially identical and yet each impresses me with its own characteristics. This time there was but a slight scent; sometimes it is overpowering. The flowers choose their spots on various leaves (they prefer the sunnier locations). Some form out in the open; others are nestled among the leaves.

 I could think of no word to describe it better than "Glory!". It is the most glorious flower we have.

Tom's 66th Birthday

  Dear friend Nan McGinnis treated Tom to a meal at The Old Spaghetti Factory in Fairfield yesterday. We arrived just as they opened at 4:30 PM.

 We've been there several times and always enjoy the atmosphere. We had a waiter this time who was exceptional.

 Fresh yeasty bread is served before the meal (and we asked for a second "loaf", too). It's delicious with the soft butter.

 It seems odd to me that a spaghetti place wouldn't have Italian dressing - but they don't. Tom  and Nan got a specialty pesto dressing but I opted for a standard French (shown).

 Tom and Nan ordered Garlic Mizithra but since it comes with bacon it was off-limits to me. Both said it was a bit on the salty side.

I opted for Fettucine Alfredo. The  sauce is silky smooth but the calories for this dish are listed at 1090. That's going to mean some extra laps this week.

 The meal ends with a palate cleanser: spumoni ice cream. It's a small amount but about all a body can handle after a big meal.

 Here's Tom and I on his 66th birthday.

Coca Cola Cake

  Every year I make a Coca Cola cake for Tom's birthday. This is a popular item at Cracker Barrel and Tom often orders it when we're there. Recently, though, he was a little disappointed.

 I like the recipe at Just A Pinch. Click here.

 We bought a high-quality vanilla bean ice cream (Breyers) to go with it and enjoyed a slice last evening. It's just delicious (if you can avoid thinking about the calories).

 I prefer Hershey's Special Dark cocoa rather than the standard cocoa. It's not only darker but a richer, deeper flavor. See below for notes I jotted down while making this.

 The sheet cake should be moist but I've found that the "20 to 25 minutes" of baking time isn't quite long enough. This time 30 was just right. Use a cake tester or a toothpick and make sure it comes out fairly clean.

 Once it cools somewhat the frosting may be poured on. It'll seal the cake to the edges in a 13x9" metal baking pan.

 Now for my notes:

1. Instead of buttermilk I use regular milk to which I add a tablespoon of lemon.
2. I found the frosting to be a bit too liquid for my liking (though it may have set if I'd have given it the time) so I added additional powdered sugar (perhaps an entire cup) and then added a couple of teaspoons of corn starch. Neither may have been needed but I liked the result.
3. And as noted above, a 30 minute baking time was needed in my oven.

 This is quite a lovely cake and is certainly as good as the best Cracker Barrel offers.

Mari Vinyards

  Our hosts for our week in Michigan like wine and I decided early on that a couple of bottles from the nearby Mari Vineyards would be a good choice for a thank you gift. We drove to the location north of Traverse City on the Old Mission Peninsula on Thursday (07/14/22).

 The vineyard is owned by Marty Lagina, He's noted at Wikipedia as an "engineer, vintner and a star and producer of The Curse of Oak Island" which airs on the History Channel.

 That last picture is the two bottles we bought for our hosts and left on their table when we departed.

Michigan Scenes

  Tom and I traveled to Michigan from July 11 through July 16, enjoying a home base near Northport at the home of a friend and making mini trips from there. Here's some on the photos I took that week ...

Overlooking Lake Michigan from the bluff behind the house - 07/11/22

Tom admiring the sunset - 07/12/22

Sunset - 07/12/22

Peterson Park - 07/12/22

Bear Lake - near the Dayton Club - 07/13/22

Pierport - My 73rd birthday - 07/13/22

Pierport - Tom - 07/13/22

Frankfort Light - 07/13/22

Frankfort Light - 07/13/22

Frankfort Light - 07/13/22

Where we stayed - 11 PM - 07/14/22

ISS passes nearly overhead - about 10:45 PM - 07/15/22

Northport Marina - 07/15/22

The bluff behind the house - 07/15/22

During the week we traveled about 500 miles in each direction and probably as many while we were there. I checked the mileage on  my Cruze and got 50 mpg on the way up.

HVAC Woes

  On Saturday (05/22) - almost precisely at 5:15 PM - I was sitting at my desk on the second floor when the thunderstorms in progress sent down a lightning strike that I thought surely hit the house. It was one of those simultaneous flash/booms. And the snap was so loud I thought surely we had taken a direct hit.

 And yet the lights didn't flicker, my PC didn't reset. I quickly went downstairs and began checking things. Refrigerator: OK. Lights: OK. I even switched the HVAC to "fan" to make sure it worked. I then walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa and decided to take a quick round of the house to make sure the roof wasn't on fire. Nothing was obviously wrong so I decided to wait a few minutes until the rain subsided a bit.

 As I sat there I realized I smell smoke. It was not the scent of a wood fire but of an electrical one. The smell was strongest in the living room.

 When the rain lessened enough I made a wide tour of the house, getting far enough away to have a good view of the roof. All was well as near as I could tell. While out there I checked the garage and barn, too. Everything seemed fine.

  Sitting back down on the sofa - the smoky smell just as strong - I realized something was clicking in the basement. A relay? My first thought was of the water heater. I went down the steps and looked at it. All seemed well. The pressure gauge on the holding tank was normal, too.

 Then the click. But where was it coming from? I walked to several spots, stopped and listened. I soon realized it was coming from the top of the furnace. The thermostat was turned off for several days - but it would have been set to A/C had I needed it. I felt the top of the furnace. It was hot.

 I sent a text message to Dave, our local repairman and asked if he'd check it out the first of the week (Sunday rates were not an option unless necessary). He said he's stop by on Monday.

Monday, 05/23: Late in the day Dave stopped by and saw that the "Emergency Heat" on the heat pump was being turned on. It may have been erratic but we were using heat on days when we might have used the air conditioning.

 Dave said the main circuit board was probably damaged by the close lightning strike. The two occurred at the same time. He ordered another.

Tuesday, 05/24: Dave called. The circuit board wasn't in but it was expected in the morning.

Wednesday, 05/25: Mid afternoon Dave called. He had the circuit board. Would I be home in 30 minutes? I would. He came and replaced it.

Bottom line: the HVAC still doesn't work. The Emergency Heat is still on. By the way, Dave checked the thermostat on Monday and found it was not calling for heat (white wire). He's stumped but figures it might be a relay. Thus another part is being ordered and he'll try again tomorrow.

 The replaced circuit board is in the upper right and is mounted upside down. This is a Westinghouse electric furnace.

 And here's a wider view of where he's working.

Westinghouse model number of furnace

for future reference

Wednesday, May 26: Dave said he ordered more parts and that they'd be here "in three business days". This is a holiday weekend so I doubt he'll have anything in hand until next week.

 But he came by and disabled the heater which will allow me to run the air conditioning portion. It's supposed to be 90° by Memorial Day so that was a welcome  work-around.

 At first the compressor didn't kick on so Dave went out and pulled the fuses and plugged them back in, The unit began normally this time. That certainly must have been due to the lightning strike and probably serves as evidence that it followed the HVAC power line into the basement unit.

Tuesday, June 1: Dave was back at noon with the ordered part but it didn't fit. He said he ordered it by part number stamped on the original but the small black relay he received had four pins on it where the one in my furnace has seven.

 I asked whether the relay simply plugs in. "No," he said, "there's a wire that connect to each of the contacts."

 He wasn't happy. "They charged me for shipping, too"

Sunday, June 5: Dave contacted me and told me he has been in the hospital since last Thursday with pneumonia. I told him to get well. His health is a priority, not my HVAC. In the meantime he said he'll run down the correct part.

Wednesday June 15: Dave contacted me today noting how long the delay has been and explained that during this heat wave there have been lots of people with no a/c at  all. Of course I agree. We can cool and winter's a long way off. So he's taking the tack I would have taken. Maybe Friday, he said.

Tuesday, June 21: Yesterday I tried to change the furnace filter and found it thoroughly "stuck". It's a 14x20x1 and the slot it drops down into cannot be much more than an inch wide. I've had trouble before but was always able to wiggle it out. This time the more I pulled, the tighter it stuck. So I sent Dave a quick text to advise him. He said he'd stop by today and would text first.
 He came by about 9 AM and the two of us extricated the filter in pieces.

 Dave said he'd have a metalworker make a new holder for the filter. The filter will slide in horizontally behind an actual door. No idea what that will cost but it's certainly needed.

 As for the relay, he said he still has not located one. He took pictures of more numbers and will try again. I told him I'd be on vacation in three weeks. He's going on vacation next week. So further service will probably wait until mid-July.

 In the meantime the furnace has no filter so I covered the open slot with duct tape. We want air drawn through the cold air ducts, not directly into the furnace, So for now I'm  OK.

Thursday: June 30: Dave called. Tomorrow? Nope, I won't be home till 2 PM. Too late for him. How about one day next week? Fine with me.

Tuesday: July 5: Dave sent a message early this morning. Will 2 PM work? Yep, fine.

    About 1 PM: "Having fits with the job I'm working on. Going to be late of course. I'll call"

 It's fixed! Dave replaced the entire emergency heater assembly and that was the culprit. This one is going out for the trash:

 So what began on 05/22 is finally fixed on 07/05. It's been a long process but at least we had a/c while the analysis was being done. And though I won't post the price I paid for the repair, I'm very happy with it. One project is finished.

Zucchini Casserole

  We had our first zucchini in the form of fritters last week and I told Tom we had another zucchini coming on. How about cooked? He would tolerate it but it wasn't something  he wanted to have very often. So I started thinking of other ideas. Zucchini casserole? Yes, that would be good.

Mom made a delicious - and simple - casserole from a recipe Lois Masters gave her. I didn't have everything she used but I figured a few changes wouldn't hurt.

 The casserole makes a delicious combination of fresh zucchini, tomatoes, onions, melted cheese and bread crumbs. Here's Mom's original handwritten recipe:

We only had cherry tomatoes ripe so I used them. Full-size tomatoes sliced are a better choice. And rather than Colby cheese, I used shredded sharp cheddar. And I distinctly remember Mom using cut up slices of packaged American cheese on this dish.

 Mom always made her own bread crumbs but I used Panko. Also she lightly salted and peppered the layers as she went and I just added pepper stop (Tom does not want salt used when I cook). All in all, it's not quite as good as Mom's but it's definitely a satisfying dish.

Just out of the oven

 I think an important step is not to overbake this dish. The zucchini should still be firm, not limp and soggy. I set the oven  to 350° and turned it off at the 35 minute mark but let the dish sit there while I finished some corn on the cob.

Prior to going into the oven

 Tom and I had several helpings of the casserole (me three, Tom two) and an ear of boiled and buttered corn. Then I made a sundae with vanilla bean ice cream and put a strawberry sauce on top. What could cap it off better?