This and That

Formatting Issues...

Thanks so much for your patience with the blog format this week.  Blogger stopped supporting the template design that I was using, and I've been playing with the customized settings, attempting to get something that I like and that works for me.  For now, this is the format I'm sticking with.  I like to have a break in between my posts, and the template that Blogger handed me wasn't putting enough of a break between posts to make me happy. Unfortunately, all the posts from the same day are included in the same text box, but it's not a "run on" look like the last template was.   I like some white space in between posts - I'm a visual person, after all - and their template looked too cluttered to me.  I am still debating the color scheme... that might change again.  So, if the blog looks different every time you come back for a while, this is why.  Thanks for sticking with me!

Also, I've added a couple of new tabs on the side.  One for recipes and one for pictures.  I'm going back through old posts that contain recipes, and I'm adding the links in one at a time.  You might not use them, but I'm finding that I post a lot of recipes that I like here, and it's very easy for me to come back here than it is for me to browse through my cookbooks to find the one recipe that I want.  In the meantime, I'm still playing with the format, attempting to add pictures and work on the links.  It's going to take a little while, and I'm going to have to dust off my HTML skills to get it to look the way I want.

Tomato Season
I bought a 25 pound box of tomatoes yesterday.  I'm making lots of sauce today!  Since there's only going to be 2 of us this fall, we're freezing this into smaller serving sizes that will cover us for 1 meal without a lot of leftovers.  There's nothing like fresh tomato sauce in the middle of winter!  In addition to the tomato sauce that is currently simmering on the stove, I canned 8 pints of salsa early this morning, and now I'm getting ready to roast some more tomatoes.  Last night, we had a Margherita style pizza - we made pizza dough, cut up a tomato, and spread that all over the pizza crust instead of sauce.  We then added oregano, basil, and garlic along with our favorite toppings and mozarella cheese.  Awesome dinner!

These tomatoes are DELICIOUS!

Moving Days
Knock on wood, I think we've finally found everything we need for daughter's dorm room.  Something has occurred to me over the last month.  The boys were not nearly as particular about their rooms as she is.  Granted, she's paid for everything herself, but there's so much MORE stuff than the boys had when they went off.  (She's also going further away from home, so there's no swinging by for a quick weekend trip with stuff during the semester.)  String lights?  check.  Pictures in frames? check.  Removable wall art?  check.  Decorative twine and clothespins to hold stuff up?  check.  Extra plastic drawers with scrapbook paper taped inside to look pretty?  check.  Book shelves to go next to her bed?  check.  Computer?  what?  computer?  Yeah, we're going to pick that up next weekend.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute on that...Just days before she goes to school.  I sure hope nothing goes wrong with it!

We're moving middle child into his dorm room on Monday.  He doesn't have nearly as big a pile as his brother did, but then again, he only goes to school an hour away from home an can come back to pick stuff up as needed throughout the year.  He's enjoyed his summer at home, but he's ready to go back to school and start learning again!

Baltimore's Batman
And on a last note, the national news highlighted the work of Route 29 Batman this week, who was killed in an accident on Highway 70.   Leonard Robinson, age 51 was killed when his Batmobile was struck by another car after he stopped to check a problem with the engine.  Robinson made children all over the Baltimore Region smile.  He'd show up at hospitals, dressed in costume and visit the sickest young people, smiling, joking, and sharing his love of life with them.  Spending his own money to make others happy, Robinson is nothing short of a legend here in Baltimore.   I heard that at his funeral, mourners were wearing Yarmulkes with the Batman logo emblazoned on the back. 

To be remembered for bringing joy to others and the difference you made in the world... his legacy will live on for a long time.

RIP Leonard Robinson.  My condolences and prayers to your family.  You truly were an exceptional human being.  I wish there were more people in the world like you.

source: Washington Post