A quiet weekend

Tony's captured the essence of the road warrior in his new Cat-E-Whompus post, Roadrunnin'. Be sure to take a look.

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I'm feeling very thrifty this morning: I've managed to turn a $4.99 rotisserie chicken from the grocery store into a number of meals, the latest of which is bubbling away in my crockpot.

We had it sliced accompanied by fresh corn on the cob and steamed broccoli the first night.

A couple nights later I mixed more of the chicken with my garden zucchini, a sauce and some homemade sourdough stuffing to create a yummy casserole -- I did it in the crockpot but prefer it baked in the oven, actually. There's enough left to give us another meal at least and possibly a serving to go in the freezer.

And then yesterday I threw bones, skin, water and seasoning in the crockpot and let it simmer all day, resulting in a lovely rich broth. I skimmed off the bones and skin (then chopped up some of the bits and gave it to the outside kitties, who scarfed it right down), then put a pound of great northern beans in the broth along with a few spices and let them cook all night. I've added the rest of the chicken, onion, celery, hot peppers, and more spices to it this morning and we'll enjoy it as white chicken chili either tonight or tomorrow. And there will be plenty leftover to freeze or eat as lunches this week.

Weather is in transition today: mostly cloudy and warm-ish, but not really enough for air conditioning and too humid for swamp cooler. We're expecting rain tonight and tomorrow, and temps very mild through the coming week. I'm hoping we're done with the 90s, but also am not stupid -- we've had 100-degree days into October in past years. Alas, with the weather changes also come achey-breakys, and my joints are creaky this morning.

Based on kitty behaviors, I'm predicting another early, cold winter this year. The outside kitties have porked up considerably from their summer slim-down, and their fur has thickened and is very plush. Even Minnie, our tiny old little girl, has a tummy and her mottled black long hair is fluffing out. Not a lot of acorns, however, although there are enough that the deer have mostly lost their starved look. Leaves are already falling too, although there are plenty on the trees.