Proprioception

 An odd feature of my disability I know what's wrong and can discuss it.  

For instance, my sense of proprioception, my sense of where I am.  What does that mean?  Driving is a good example, I couldn't keep track of my location in relation to the other cars around me.  Walking around I occasionally run into things because I can't process their location in time to stop.  

When I was young I had a terrible time learning to walk as a result of this.  I was about 2 before I learned.  My aunt has said she doesn't remember my exact milestones, but she and my grandmother often commented I was reaching them far beyond my slightly older girl cousin.  She would do X at 6 months, I would be 9 or 10 months.  I was actually diagnosed as "borderline retarded" as an infant.  Let me tell you that sent my mother into a spiral.  Even as late as my teens, my "performance" was always a solid 80 or so (limited) in comparison to sky high verbal intelligence scores.  

God can and does make beauty for ashes, because of all this, I have an evangelism ministry.  That said the old proprioception/;;;;" got me last night and I smacked the outside of my hand, on my hand cart, as I brought a heavy case of Bibles in the house.  It's an incredibly minor injury, the cats do far worse to me regularly.  It did bleed a fair amount.  I was standing in front of the sink, dripping blood, laughing because it's the same finger I broke when I fell on the Bible Handout a few years ago.

Like I said, incredibly minor.  I was surprised how much it bled.  I also thought that is funny 2x at least I have been hurt sharing the gospel to the point of shedding blood.  I don't think a lot of Americans can say that.  

But I just have a different life and I have come to accept that.  A lot of cats, a lot of evangelism.  A thankless retail hustle.  A nice safe place to live but in the ghetto every time I leave my neighborhood.  

My allergies have been pretty bad so I tried some Flonase last night.  I slept pretty well but I had a Flonase headache this morning.  I'm glad I'm off.  

Biscuit got under the covers with me this morning which thrilled me.  Cats hate, hate, hate being under the covers.  I don't even try.  But, on his own, he wiggled under there next to me curled up on my side (that's just how I sleep), he snuggled into the curve of my body and stuck his head out from under the covers.  I would have loved a photo.  I wrapped an arm around him (not over, they hate that too, around) and just enjoyed him.  He left about 10 minutes later.  What a sweet boy!  

Spotty got up in my lap while I was doing the earlier part of the blog.  

I double checked the schedule and I'm still off for 4 days with a 4 hour shift on Monday!  

One of my friends who drives a bus late at night called me last night to verify I wasn't riding.  It was miserably cold last night and I thought that was tremendously sweet.  People love me, I am seeing that.  

Ron did a real number on me.  

Here's another one.  I'll even put up a link: 

The day that lives in infamy

So he got very drunk and beat the crap out of me, if you don't want to read the link.  I was black and blue for weeks.  Arms, legs, he hit me in the face but it didn't bruise.  

Side note, a coworker accidentally smacked me in the face with something, was hugely remorseful (this woman is made of sugar and not a spiteful bone in her).  I said, absently "Don't worry, I've been hit in the face plenty and it never leaves a mark" I heard a choked gasp and I looked up at her goggling at me, mouth open.  I simply said "My husband" and went back to work.  

So my face was OK but the rest of me was not.  I stayed with my aunt and uncle for a while.  1.  Because, like I said in the post, I wanted to kill him.  2.  I didn't want him to kill me.  3.  I had to figure out where I was going.  

Long story short I went back.  I thought the blackout was a one time deal.  

 Side note, Ron actually told me, when we were dating "I have blackouts and I beat up my girlfriend during one of them, but she had it coming and I don't do that anymore.  You're not like that I would never hurt you and I don't drink anymore"  I didn't realize what that meant.  I read part of a report written on me that said, in part "Heather is extremely naive and trusting" and boy was I.  

Anyway I thought he had learned his lesson, he acted remorseful.  I also found out Ron would lose his federal security clearance if he was charged with domestic violence (a good idea, actually), so we would both be unemployed if I pressed charges.  I would lose my home, the cats, my whole life.  For what?  He made a big production out of pouring out the alcohol.  Swore he would never drink anything stronger than wine and only a box a month.  

Ron had a really bad habit with the drinking.  He would drink more than he had agreed and say "See, I'm fine I don't need these rules" and that happened pretty quickly.  

This isn't really about that, awful as it was.  This is about when I came back.  So I came back and Ron acted like the victim.  He would make big, dramatic, apologies in front of other people but in private basically tell me I had it coming because I tried to keep him from walking on broken glass in his bare feet.  He would do these long, pitiful speeches about how "I really messed up' to our regular drivers who would feel sorry for him.  He beat the crap out of me!  If I'd pressed charges he would have gone to prison!  

That, to me, was the sickest and most disgusting thing.  That he would beat the crap out of me and make himself out to be the victim.  Side note: everyone, and I mean everyone, kept asking me "What did you do to make him beat you up?"  

It doesn't work that way!  

Praise God I made it to a day off

 Tuesday a coworker wasn't looking well.  I asked, she said she was feeling run down.  I asked if she'd like a hug and she said yes, so I gave her one.  She called in sick today.  

Now conventional wisdom says "Heather that was really stupid now you're going to catch it" but I don't care.  She was hurting.  

God sent me here to minister to hurting souls, and if He moves on me to do something I'm going to do it.  I've already shared that one time I was suicidal back in 1992.  I took it to Jesus, and He moved on someone to come talk to me.  I want to be used that way.  

It's actually fairly terrifying to go to the Lord and say 'Use me however you want."  But I have and continue to do that. I have a lot of peace on that.  

And that's why it doesn't bother me they have thrown my schedule in the blender.  I'm still getting 32 hours.  And I'm reaching an amazing number of people.  

A week or so ago I bought a couple packages of Hot Hands.  Each package has 4 handwarmers encased in Mylar.  You open the pouch, there is a second pouch inside full of a substance that warms on contact with Oxygen.  I had one this morning, I gave it away.  I gave another one to a bus driver - who got me going home, as well, and made a point of thanking me for it.  There was a nice older man in a leather coat at the bus stop leaving the grocery store.  Poor man was freezing to death.  He got one.  This isn't difficult to do.  

Side note: in Houston you will see a variety of responses to very cold weather.  Many poor folk just wear a blanket around their shoulders like some sort of refugee.  The women tend to wear a cozy coat.  The men who aren't in abject poverty tend to have a leather jacket - no liner.  They wear that.  They're obviously freezing, but they're styling.  

I have never cared what I looked like in a coat as long as it was warm.  One of my favorite coats was a huge feather thing that looked like a sleeping bag with arms.  It was so, so, warm.  The feathers would migrate out, it ripped easily, but it was so warm.  

These days - and I plan to get myself a parka this year, probably in July when they'll be cheap - it will be a light color easily visible at the bus stop.  

I wore 2 pairs of long underwear - wind chill in the 20's - it was still fairly cold.  I had my parka but Lands End quality control really went to hell the year I bought it.  I have had multiple issues.  My aunt did a patch job but I need to think about another one eventually.  Something online I'm thinking.  I will just go up a size or two from actual because I like a bigger coat with a little room in it.  

Years ago I got several pairs of wool socks on clearance and I wore a pair of them as well.  And my trusty military surplus navy wool watch cap.  It looks like something a homeless man would reject but it's cozy.  I have an enormous wrap/scarf thing that is 8 feet long and a couple of feet wide.  With that, the hat, a parka, and my ratty "pop top" gloves I am pretty well set, especially if I have a handwarmer in one of the gloves.  It's not a stylish look.  

I'm going to bed.  Lots more on my days off.  

Lookout weekend

 I didn't get much sleep but I'm here.  

I made some boneless pork chops in the crock pot last night.  I decided it would be better to do it that way.  I was exhausted and didn't want to fry them.  I chopped up some plantains, onion, sweet potatoes, threw in some smoked paprika and cumin seeds, we'll see how it turned out.  Normally I cook things like that on low for several hours.  I set it for low when I went to bed.  I decided to turn it up to "high" for another hour before I put it in the fridge.  It is simmering right now.  

It's cold this morning wind chills likely in the 20's.  Even Scrappy is home.  

That's a happy boy right there.  

I have 4 days off in a row, today I work 4 hours, Monday I work 4 hours as well.  Sometimes working with my boss I wonder if I am really everything she implies, then I looked at another employee in my department, a good worker, and she was dreading clocking in yesterday when she saw the boss was there.  Not because she doesn't want supervision it's just the way she supervises.  I can use a little break from that.  I am also completely sleep deprived.  

I plan to do my hair and watch a lot of TV, do some laundry, a lot of cooking and some cleaning.  The weather will be nice by Monday.  

That's it for now!  

Tuesday night thoughts.

 The boss is staying late today that is not fun.  

While walking through the store I heard someone calling my name.  It was the marriage counselor Ron and I saw in 2005.  He didn't ask about Ron (maybe because he saw my bare left hand) and I didn't tell him.  I just gave him a hug and went back to work.  

While waiting for my dinner I thought about an incident from many years ago.  

When I was a teenager and young adult I really enjoyed going to the mall.  There was a large and thriving mall fairly close to my apartment in CA.  Ron would go with me.  

I used to like to go to a bath and body shop.  It had big jars of perfume oil I could apply and a lot of highly priced things I could not afford.  One time we went and I applied a new fragrance behind my right ear.  It was one of those fruity scents so popular in the 90's.  

I had an acute allergic reaction.  My ear swelled up and became incredibly itchy and painful.  Ron was mortified I had "Allowed" this to happen and kept asking me what people would think of him walking with me like that.  I was sick.  I was in pain.  I could have died.  He should have taken me to the ER.  Instead he had a tantrum and demanded we leave.

I'm just going to leave it there and go do something fun.  

I just have to shake my head

 There is a task I will call mopping the floor.  I am very good at mopping the floor.  Everyone else hates to mop the floor.  When the boss isn't looking they ask for my help, and if I can, I give it because they are good, kind, people.  

A couple weeks ago my boss said I was "mopping the floor wrong" and I "would be written up, there's going to be some accountability" if I did it any more.  So I stopped.  I was doing it correctly, though.  

Yesterday my other boss said I need to get "going on mopping the floor, OK?" in a very serious voice, as I was leaving.  Hello?  You told me to stop, with threats.  They don't know what the hell they're doing.  

So I will do that today.  [shaking my head]  This is why I won't buy Walmart stock.  

I like to look up recipes on my down time, on my phone.  I also like to look at cat rescue stories and photos of my gang while listening to Christian hard rock and metal on my earbuds.  The earbuds were a really good ($10) use of a gift card.  I also like to listen on the bus if the driver doesn't want to talk.  

I got some chocolate on clearance.  There's a coworker of mine who has been through a lot.  I think, like me, Valentine's is just a terrible time for her.  I saw her on the 15th.  I had gotten some Peanut M&M's in the big bag (on clearance) to share with coworkers.  I waved her over with a smile, offered her the bag, and said Happy Clearance Day!  She laughed at that, got a handful, and left.  So I had 2 bags of Peanut M&M's for coworkers and 3 bags of chocolate candy for drivers.  I managed to score a bag of Ghiradelli (sp?) even though I didn't get in to work until after 7 on the 15th.  I also got a couple of the wrapped, Reese's, Hearts although I have to handle it with gloves as it has peanuts.  

I need to buy some more candy to hand out but I got enough groceries.  Yesterday I got off at 4:30 but I got delayed leaving.  When I did leave I saw my bus passing the store.  So much for that.  I caught the next one, a lovely lady who was just delighted to see me and chatted all the way to my stop.  

I went to the import store on the way home.  The very serious older man was running the shop.  I'm a talker and I was talking to myself a little as I shopped.  "Ooh!  Henna!  The good one!"  That kind of thing.  I heard him chuckle a time or two and then he settled down with a paperback.  I got some incense, some fancy soap, the henna, spices, Haleem Wheat, Paneer cheese, etc.  I spent about $40.  I can do a lot with what I bought.  One thing I want to try is a Sambar lentil stew, I have what I need for that.  I also got some spice mix for Tikka Masala.  I just need to get some plain yogurt for that.  

I came home after that, called my parents.  My schedule has been all over the place, I don't know why, it doesn't really matter.  I am getting the hours I need.  

What I have not said is that "Coach" (over my bosses) gave me a 4 hour shift on Wednesday, 4 days off in a row, a 4 hour shift on Monday.  So I basically get a vacation starting tomorrow.  

That's why I really need to get all that work done today.  

I slept pretty well last night, and no headache (Sunday post, and Monday morning)

 The plantains in rice (in the crock pot) are a game changer.  They are great for taking my medication as well.  

I have some pork chops and a ton of vegetables in the crock pot that will cook all day while I'm working.  

My schedule is pretty rough this week, a lot of "daily doubles" as I call them, work a night, come in early the next day.  I'll make it.  I am paying for 2 rides home this week.  

I rode home with someone who has the ear of the boss.  I told her 2 things: 1.  I like working 11-8 that would be great (boss wants that too) and 2.  I don't care which days I have off but 2 together in the middle of the week would be great (everyone wants the weekend).  

Sunday work was pretty crazy as expected.  One thing I don't like about retail - the customer can be the rudest, most verbally abusive, and disrespectful customer and we are just supposed to take it with a smile.  The customer really thinks they can come in and treat us like crap just because we wear a uniform.  And management has the attitude we have to take it with a smile.  

Sometimes, I think, you need to set boundaries, especially with the younger generation.  Take Valentine's candy for instance.  We had some Saturday, none yesterday.  Someone comes up to me "Gimme candy" "Sorry we're out".  "I know you have some, give it to me!"  "We're out!"  "Go check in the back" "I'm sorry we are out"  "Well (cue verbal abuse)"

In a realistic situation we would be able to say "Hey, that's not alright, cut it out" and, if it continued, have them thrown out of the store.  But, at my store at least, it has to be the most egregious abuse before they will step in.  

I had an incident some time ago.  I found a customer opening packages and taking things out.  I said, very nicely, "Ma'am, please don't open the packages" She went off on me cursed me out, shouted at me, etc.  Then she went and found my boss, said "I was rude".  She came to me (thankfully not with the customer) and took the customer's side even though I explained she was opening packages (we are supposed to stop them).  So I got it twice.  

How likely am I to stop the next customer?  

The customer has learned they can be as abusive as they want, all they have to do is say "The associate was rude" and the associate gets in trouble.  "I want to cash this phony check for $10K" "Sorry we can't do that" "Management he was rude to me" (associate gets in trouble) "Sorry you still can't cash the check".  

Side note that same customer came back a week or two later, tried to check out with a $130 stroller.  She had gotten a barcode somewhere for a 50 cents part from hardware and had it stuck on the box.  I was assigned to "help her with a price check" as security caught it.  She kept pointing at "her" barcode.  I scanned it and saw it was not the item.  I took it off (boy was she mad about that) and scanned the correct one, which was $130.  I recognized her so I was very cheerful.  There were lots of witnesses.  So she couldn't say anything about me.  But she tried, later, to get the stroller for $70 I heard her talking to another associate.  She did not get it.  She is stupid because if you pull something like that I'm certain you go in a database with facial recognition.  

We have a system that does facial recognition on everyone who walks in the store and flags known troublemakers, alerts security.  

I'll put up the recipe later but I made roast pork with apples, plantains, lime, and some vegetables.  It turned out very well.   

I plan to cook up stir fry meat (diced boneless pork chops) tonight and freeze that, then I can thaw it, cook with stir fry vegetables.  I have to cook it by the 18th.  

I don't freeze raw meat, only cooked and ideally in a meal.  So the meat will be done at least then I can add whatever veggie sounds good.  I will also pan fry some pork chops with gravy and of course make an unseasoned one for Cleo.  

I also have 10 pounds of chicken.  I plan to make a chicken paprikash with half and then maybe a Tikka masala with the other half.  

That's it for now!  

A couple things including a Handout

 When I was sick a coworker looked me up online.  So I have to assume that, in addition to the pest, I may have her reading as well.  Gulp.  

I have also been very busy.  Working 9 hour shifts with a 90 minute commute each way is no joke!   But the boss said she had asked to make me full time which means I'll net more money.  

I have had some good experiences sharing my faith going home at night (off at 8 PM) so I plan to ride the bus at least 3 days a week, that will save a lot of money too.  I should net about $200 more a pay period.  I plan to take the Ramsay approach and maybe take $40 of that for fun money/lunch that kind of thing and plow the rest into bills.  

Speaking of work a few weeks ago the schedule came out, I was not supposed to work at all this week.  I told my boss who, to put it kindly, flipped out and got on the phone to the lady who made the schedule.  She was told "I want Heather working (this week)!" a pause "11-8!".  But I'm part time only 32 hours a week, which meant if they wanted me Monday - Thursday I couldn't work Friday (fiscal week stuff).  I saw that.  

I don't lie but I can refrain from telling.  I really wanted to do a Valentine's Handout.  They never fixed it, I checked several times, so I went and did that yesterday.  I dressed up the Bibles in cute little gift bags and meant to put some little Valentine's in them as well but I had a migraine.  Good thing I didn't work the buss was hell and it's maybe 20 minutes each way to the venue.  I did put the God Loves You tracts in the Bibles and got them in the gift bags so I feel good about that.  The presentation was a big hit so I'm glad I did it.  

I had gotten a new "garment of praise" t shirt (a brightly colored, very visible, solid t shirt).  I didn't try it on at the store.  I was wearing it over a navy thermal top (I wore matching navy thermals under the t shirt and jeans) and boy that neckline was a little low!  I need to check these details before the day of the Handout!  

The Handout went very well and people seemed very touched.  Please pray for them.  Someone in the chemical plant, I think, saw me working, couldn't leave, and sent his assistant to me to get Bibles.  She wanted one too so I I set them up with enough for the whole office.  I probably should have sent some Spanish, too.  

I battle pride issues - I've been very clear on that.  I have been asking God to help me work on that.  So yesterday I had a ghastly migraine.  It wasn't too bad while I was working but before, after, all night it was brutal.  I'm certainly not arrogant today.  

After the Handout I went to the grocery store with the hand cart.  I had the cart with me of course.  I have a laminated poster board sign.  Corporate was visiting the grocery store when I came shopping after a Handout one day and very nicely told me to put it in a box, please, no distribution.  I respect that, it's there house.  I wouldn't want JW's shoving stuff at me while I shopped.  So I rolled up the sign.  

I just did not feel well at all.  And there's a special kind of hell, grocery shopping with a migraine.  It wasn't that it was loud or bright.  I am used to that at Walmart.  It was fairly crowded but not too bad actually.  But looking at the food (especially the meat!), meal planning, making selections was just very unpleasant.  I did not have problems with the fruit and vegetables, the cheese, just the meat.  I ended up getting 2 kinds of pork chops (with bone, and without, the ones with a bone were a very good deal and can go in the crock pot)  and a 10 pound bag of chicken leg quarters.  The beef is too expensive.  I told myself I would buy myself a nice cut of red meat (maybe a roast or some stew meat) after my promotion.  

In the meantime my coworkers were blowing up my phone, horrified.  I told them I had been scheduled off and why.  I am sure that got back to my boss who seems to be dragging her feet on putting me at full time.  If I had said "They gave me the day off", which is true, it would have sounded like I asked.  I didn't ask.  I put it in God's hands.  He knew why I wanted it off and He gave it to me.  I will have a lot of hard questions today I am sure.  

I got home (a different driver), it was unpleasant.  I put up the food.  I texted my parents and went to bed.  I must have been sick I had the original gangsters (3 cats) with me all night.  

Today isn't too bad, 9-5.  I'll probably get home around 7.  

That's it for now!  

Thursday night

 Busy

My boss let slip she did ask for me to be promoted.  One of the other ladies wasn't happy about that, fault finding and tattling all week.  It gets old.  

When I work a 9 hour shift, ride the bus each way (90 minutes each way), etc. it adds up.  I don't have a lot of juice left.  

Also someone at work may have found the blog so I have to be careful how I approach things.  

That's it for now!  

Sunday

 I was delighted to hear my aunt and uncle were in town, and wanted to see me.  They picked me up this morning, we went to church.  After church we went out to eat - I had an appetite.  We went to my favorite taqueria and the manager asked if I wanted my "usual" a large beef quesadilla with bacon.  I wasn't up for that but I had a regular cheese quesadilla.  My aunt and uncle had what they normally do and were delighted as usual.  

We ran a few errands afterward.  They dropped me off at the house, saw Scrappy lounging out back (they all, were), hugs all around, and left.  

It was a good day.  One feature they bought me a large bag of "the" candy and a box of ziplocks for it.  So I am set for a while now.  

That's it for now!  

Steamed plantains and rice

 Well I made the rice with plantains.  I think the usual approach is steam the rice, fry the plantain.  Just the word "fry" makes me gag.  So I cut up the plantains and put them in with the rice and a little spices. 

I did 1 cup rice (basic white rice), 2.5 cups water, 1/2 t ground ginger, 1/2 t ground cinnamon, 1/8 t salt, 1 cut up ripe (going black) plantain.  

Photos: 

The rice is very sticky.  It seems bland, which is what I need.  I put a lime wedge in there, squeezed the juice out and then put the wedge in before I cooked it (I removed it when done).  It's something different to eat at any rate.  The plantain only cost me 50 cents at work, I already had the other ingredients.  

Saturday Afternoon

 I don't, as a rule, like helping people with disabilities at work.  Most of them are very difficult.  It is easy to see why no one wanted to go shopping with them.  

Very early on in our relationship Ron told me "All blind guys are perverts" which extends to some other guys with physical problems - one man who uses a wheelchair has groped me, and other women, on the crazy train bus route.  I guess he figures no one's going to slap him because he's in a wheelchair.  He's one of those guys I encounter occasionally who is constantly sizing me up.  I've learned to look out for that type.  

It's sad, I used to have a "Halo" effect, I thought they could do nothing wrong.  But I had one customer in a power wheelchair zipping all over the store making me chase her with a shopping cart.  She wasn't in a hurry, she just wanted to run me around.  My boss had told her I could only help her until 3 PM.  2:55 she is checking out and I take her stuff to the door.  She turns to me and says "I forgot the ranch dressing we have to go back."  I told her you do, my boss told me to leave at 3.  But this nice lady here will watch your cart for you.  She had already told me her ride didn't come for another hour.  

Then there is the couple I first encountered on paratransit.  They like to shop in the late afternoon on the weekend, and complain there is no one to help.  I told them for years, if you want help, if you want the store to yourself, go at 7-9 in the morning.  On a weekday.  It is great, plenty of employees around ready to help.  "I don't want to get up that early".  So I see them shopping by themselves in the late afternoon.  

Things like that.  Then there was the blind guy.  My boss told me to go help a customer "over there" "You will know who he is, Heather' with a grin.  And sure enough there's a blind guy about my age.  I walked up and asked if he needed help shopping.  He said yes.  Tried to tell me how to guide him.  I told him "I was a teacher's aide in a class for blind students for 2 years before I married my husband, who was also blind..." he cut me off and said he found the word "blind" offensive and I had better use the words "Low Vision" from now on.  I said.  "He was blind".  

The guy argues with me, "He had some vision, didn't he?"  "No he did not, not even light perception".  Then I helped him get what he wanted.  For instance he wanted Powerade bottles.  We didn't have one of the flavors he wanted.  I said we have a Powerade powder you can put in a bottle of water it's a lot easier to get home.  If you already have bottled water at home?  He said yes and take me to it.  I did, he got a couple flavors.  I even got him a candy bar from the checkout because he said he was hungry and wanted something quick.  

It left a bad taste in my mouth.  I guess I sort of figured I would meet a man with a disability but that hasn't happened.  That's fine.  I don't have to do any caregiving either.  

The cats are very low maintenance.  Spotty laid down with me for a nap.  Well he laid down until I fell asleep and then he left, but it's lovely weather for a human or a cat - they like the same weather we do - so he went out.  Good, have fun, be safe baby.  

I did my henna touch up on my roots.  I basically mush it in at the hairline and my part, the crown of my head, wrap it in plastic, the same henna routine just 1/10 of the hair covered.  I wrapped the affected area in plastic.  Happily I can wear my glasses.  I have about 3 hours to go.  

I am cleaning the house - it needed it- and my aunt is coming.  She's going to love my hair.  It is so long now I have to use 2 clips to put it up during my shower.  It's about 3/4 of the way down my back.  The henna really helps it grow in fast and strong.  Thank you, Indo-Pak import store!  

I still have enough to do a couple more months.  I like to do a root touchup about halfway through (2 weeks).  I need to clean up the kitchen and fix something for my dinner.  I did clean out the fridge thank God that was a lot.  

That's it for now!  

My aunt is in town!

 I will see her tomorrow.  

I think it's funny, a couple weeks ago I had a tiny space heater next to my chair, running, because it was so cold.  It must be 80 (F) out and I have a small fan running instead.  

I'm going to do a henna touch up on my roots pretty soon.  I need to look around the house and do some picking up too.  Clean the litter boxes.  

I've seen a lot of Scrappy today.  He let me pick him up but he didn't like it and buried his head in my arms, I won't do that again.  

Later on I'm going to experiment with some plantains.  I have a riper one (sweeter) I plan to cook with some rice, then add coconut milk before serving.  I have a more starchy one I plan to make some sort of veggie stew with some carrots, sweet potatoes, red potato, plantain.  Those should be nice and bland for my stomach.  

I have to be careful how I talk about people - God's working on that.  I had a Facebook friend who was a very big proponent of essential oils.  She liked one MLM brand a lot.  She swore patchouli oil was good for nausea.  I have a very cheap Walmart brand patchouli oil.  I add a drop or two to my henna treatment to help mask the (grassy) scent of the henna.  I dabbed a little on my belly and sure enough I do feel better.  I can't do that tomorrow because my aunt is very sensitive to fragrance and that would send her straight into a migraine.  I will do ginger root tomorrow.  

By the way, both plantain dishes will feature ginger root.  

Now I need to go clean out the fridge!  Prayers appreciated!  I couldn't eat ANY of the food I cooked last weekend and I didn't have room in the freezer.  

Early Saturday

 I slept OK but still queasy.  I am going to take my time.  I have several regular bananas, some plantains, pounds of rice, a rice cooker, broth, pretzels, etc.  I'll be OK.  

Spotty likes to sleep by my head which I love.  Generally I have found it's the old cat wants to do that.  He's only 6.  

Speaking of young cats, Scrappy has been in and out but mostly out, the weather has been lovely.  If nothing else I want him to have a safe bolt hole.  

I don't have much planned today.  I have a moderate headache.  Biscuit slept with me (he's more a leg man) and is now laying very close to my chair on the floor.  I'm thinking of going back to bed for a while.  

"You can look at the menu but you just can't eat"

This morning I was faced with a "Sell by Feb 7", ten pound, bag of chicken in my fridge.  

Even now the thought of chicken in any form, even chicken broth, is sickening.  I managed to fix it up nicely, I felt, put it on the crock pot timer, and went to work.  

By crock pot timer, I mean a $5 wall timer I bought in the hardware department years ago.  I set the crock pot on "low", set the timer to go on and off when I want (today I set it to cook for 9 hours), and make sure the food is cold when I put it out.  I had also frozen some chicken broth to put on it but I forgot.  I think it is still fine.  

I did chicken leg quarters, onion (not much), ginger (a lot), lemon (a lot), salt and pepper (modest amounts).  

It looks good but it makes me want to gag.  Mentally I want to taste it but physically I am nauseous just eating some dry pretzels sticks.  

I did manage to feed the cats some wet and dry food (separate bowls).  Spotty's an odd little duck he only wants dry food.  He has been sleeping by my head at night which I love.  

And I'm going to bed.  

Fair to partly crappy

 But I can work.  

My friend from the Caribbean said the plantains I bought would be good in a veggie stew (the starchy green one) and some rice with coconut milk (the sweet, black, one).  I'm going to try that this weekend.  

Next week it gets interesting.  I work weekends, etc but I would rather have time off during the week.  So that's fine.  

Trauma Survivors Day

 At the time of Ron's accident, we had two, level-one, Trauma centers.  They flew him downtown.  

He was released after several weeks, I took care of him after that.  He went back in the hospital a few times after that but he always came home.  

Anyway, after Ron's accident I heard the trauma center did a "Trauma Survivor's Day" to showcase the patient and the people who cared for them.  They invited, they said, all the trauma patients every year.  

Ron never got an invitation.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe they didn't see him as a positive outcome.  He was a lot better to me after the accident but that's not saying much.  

But I've been thinking about that lately, how many of us are trauma survivors.  I had a lot of issues with food, for instance.  I always had to have a lot of food in the house.  I always bring more than I'll eat for my lunch.  Some of that, I share, but a lot of it I bring home.  

I see people at work, who have obviously had food insecurity, take food from the lunch room not because they're hungry but because it's there.  Old donuts, things like that.  We get donuts from the bakery every Friday.  They're not very good.  But some employees will get a paper towel and stash 6-7 donuts in their bag in addition to the 1-2 they're eating.  It's obvious they've suffered want.  They don't want the food but they feel compelled to take it.  

I was surprised how fat I was in a lot of the baby pictures I got from my sister, particularly ones after my Dad remarried.  I leveled out at some point.  I was about 130 pounds and five-seven at seventeen when I met Ron.  

But we never really recover, I think.  We move on, we adapt, we adjust.  We make it look easy.  No one would ever guess.  But we carry the scars.  

 Well my gut is about 80%.  I'll be able to work tomorrow which is a good one as it's a long day.  I am a little revolted at the food commercials on TV.  I think I'm just going to make some rice or pasta for my lunch tomorrow.  

I'm still not hungry for today.  

The Original Gangsters were very cuddly today.  Scrappy has been in and out.  

I have a hard time taking a sick day

 I almost always have a terrible migraine when I call out.  I had a moderate headache when I got up at 7 but the Excedrin is doing a good job.  I keep running to the bathroom, I'm not over this yet.  Happily I did not have a vomiting food illness although it was pretty close a few times last night.  

I feel like I should be up, cleaning the house.  I have a hard time just resting.  Good news, I did just buy 4 quarts of chicken broth.  I have veggie soup in the fridge but I'm going to go on my old rule of not eating until I am actively hungry.  

I did have a a banana when I took the Excedrin as I wanted something coating my stomach.  I have plenty more bananas, oatmeal, pasta.  My stomach is fine but my gut is not.  

I think I'll get some probiotics when I get paid.  

My one (the "good cop") Team Lead tried to call during my nap but I had it on silent.  The lady who brought the food also called.  With her I'm going to either blame the people on the bus getting me sick with a norovirus or "bad leftovers" (they are fine).  

I am battling a moderate headache.  

Wednesday

 I was up all night with what I believe was food poisoning.  It was very unpleasant.  I called out.  I only worked 5 hours today anyway.  It's a shame because I would have only seen the spicy boss for a half hour anyway.  

She is up to her old tactics.  Supervisors can get printouts from people applying for positions.  Someone had quit about a week ago.  She did that and put application printout papers where the associates would find them "I can replace you, too!" But that is a major violation of employment law as the papers have confidential information, like full socials, on them.  They are not supposed to give us access to that kind of stuff and little Ms Nosy (not me) was browsing them yesterday.  

She also said I was "in trouble" for doing the thing they have been demanding I do, and not training me on at all despite repeated requests on my part.  That if I "kept it up there would be consequences".  

What?  The work getting done?  I believe the place I send it after it's done is complaining because now they have actual work to do.  "They have to review it" (I did it correctly!) "Before they will let me do more".  Fine, in the meantime it continues to pile up.  

If there's a real problem with how I'm doing it why not train me directly so I can do it "their way"?  This is why I won't buy Walmart stock.  They're not efficient.  Everyone is trying to save their job they're not focused on making the company money.  

Anyway I'm going to hydrate today.  I have been flushing all night there can't be much left now.  More later.  

"You've spent the best years of your life in prison"

 It makes me sad I had to cut myself off for so long.  

My orange glop turned out very well.  I had some for breakfast and I'm still not hungry at 4 PM.  It's not heavy though but it does have a lot of fiber.  

I think I put the recipe up already so I won't, again.  

Friday I think it was, I was wanting a veggie stew, some beans, potatoes, carrots, in a rich broth.  I am working on that now.  I didn't figure it out until after I started it but it will be great for those nights when I come home from work wondering what the hell to have for dinner.  

I have potatoes, carrots, barley, diced tomatoes in it.  The nice thing about cooking for myself alone I can add or remove things according to my taste.  I don't like cooked celery, for instance, so I don't have to use it.  I have bay leaf, thyme, oregano, and sage in it.  A little black pepper.  

This is another nice thing about living alone.  I have a nice, 4 ounce, jar of black pepper.  We have some great, regional, spice companies in addition to the imports and national brands.  This was Bolner's, they're headquartered out of San Antonio.  Spicy World actually imports spices and repackages them for retail sale in Houston - good stuff.  Bolner's is a good spice brand on single spices but I have found many of their blends have MSG.  Anyway, I got a nice jar of pepper from them.  

My cheaper spices have a screw cap.  Undo the cap and there's a flimsy shaker top.  The top is easy to remove and stick my measuring spoons in there.  The Bolner's has a very stubborn shaker lid.  The main lid unscrews easily but I have spilled the pepper twice now trying to get it off.  

So, when I got it off, I threw it away.  I don't shake pepper on my food.  I use measuring spoons to get it out and put it in what I cook.  Why keep the annoying lid and spill all my pepper?  So I threw it away.  No one's going to object.  

That's the kind of thing Ron would have been livid over.  

I'm watching NCIS reruns on ION.  After Ron died, the first thing I did was turn off the cable TV.  I have internet of course and it's Rico but very reliable.  I watch TV on my day off (one day) while I cook.  It's over the air tv with my antenna.  

Anyway two characters were talking.  A terrorist tells Ziva "You've spent the best years of your life in prison" and I thought, wow, that's entirely true.  But I still have a good 30 years left and I'm going to enjoy them.  Share the Gospel.  Be kind.  Love my cats.  

It's been very nice today and Scrappy has been out more than in, but when he comes in he meows very sweetly, finds me (I talk to him), gets some pets, checks out the food situation.  

My washer was making very unhappy noises and then got out of round on the spin cycle.  Horrible noises.  I've decided I'm going to do what I can to fix it.  I'm very sentimental when it comes to things, my fridge, the washer, my vending machines.  It's 8.5 years old but maybe I can fix it.  I'm going to look into it, at least.  

Ron called an appliance repair company to come work on the fridge.  They charged us $200 and didn't fix it.   So much for that.  He found a commercial refrigerator repair technician who thought it would be great fun to work on a household fridge for a change, especially when he found out it was made in 2001 (my food is still cold!).  It was having an icemaker issue.  He came out, had a look at it, and said "It's going to be cheaper to replace your built in microwave" (when he saw it was dead) "Than repair it.  Also they don't make parts for this fridge anymore.  Just use it as long as you can if ice doesn't matter to you."  It didn't, to me.  Ron and I had some bitter arguments he wanted to replace it.  I wouldn't allow it.  

I don't have his number.  And I have zero faith in the appliance repair guys in Houston, now.  So I'll call the Sears Repair #.  They are about $200 to come out I think.  But I want to at least try.  

Sentimental, I know.  If I really do go full time (boss says she wants it) I will be able to afford it.  I think I'll do that first, Scrappy is OK for now.  

Then I'm getting his little furry butt neutered, a chip, shots.  He's not full grown yet I'd say between 6-9 months.  Old enough.  

Of course he'll get fat once I do it but that's OK.  I love black cats and he is very, very, sweet.  

I have been talking to Spotty who is conflicted about this and we had a good nap together today.  

Orange Glop

 I decided to make red lentils today, with sweet potato, carrots, and pumpkin (all orange vegetables).  I'm going to season it with cinnamon and Kashmiri Chili powder and finish it with a little coconut milk.  I think it will be fantastic.  If it's a fail it isn't a lot of groceries.  

I also bought a 10 pound bag of chicken leg quarters, the old poverty special.  Basically every bill I had came due at payday.  Even with vegetables and work snacks my total only came to $15.  That will last me a while.  I really love lentils, they are filling without being heavy.  It's a wonderful meal at work, heats up quickly and sticks around without making me sleepy.  

I'm also going to make a veggie stew with pretty much all my favorite veggies (no meat).  Sometimes I just don't want meat.  I grew up in a household where Dad wanted very heavy, meat and potatoes, type dishes every night.  I am not afraid of fat in my cooking but not all the time.  I like lentils, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables.  Stir fries, soups, etc.  

And the budget grocery store came through on that.  I even got some good work snacks, pretzels, little cups of flan, and lemon sandwich cookies.  

I'm going to take a nap, I got a late start.  

I forgot about the pork chops.  I got a package for $5.  It had 6 chops.  I took the first one out, threw a little lard in my skillet, cooked it and cut it up for Cleo.  Scrappy had some, too.  A lot of rescues got accustomed to eating people food in their street cat days.  

Pork chop photos: 

I made "pilaf" with 1 cup white rice, some leftover chicken broth, water, about a cup frozen mixed veggies, a teaspoon of salt.  Rice cooker.  

I basically just pan fried the chops in the skillet, in lard.  I had plenty of drippings left so I made gravy: 

I do love a good gravy.  I just used cornstarch I don't like flour gravy.  

I had 6 chops.  One to the cats, one for dinner, one in the fridge, and 3 meals prepped for work.  

For the glop: 

I used old lentils so it took about 3.5 hours to cook.  It probably could have been half an hour if I used fresh.  

.5 t Kashmiri Chili powder
1 t cinnamon (this was fresh if you use older I would go up 1/2 t)
2 T fresh ginger root, chopped (or could use 1 t dry) add this at the start
1/2 t powdered ginger root (add later)
1/4 t salt
I/2 can plain pumpkin puree (find on the baking aisle)
I measured - 6 ounces (or about one medium) chopped carrot. Make it as big or small as you like for boiled carrots. I made mine pretty small.
1/2 medium (or 6 ounces) chopped sweet potato (I left the skin on)
1 cup red lentils (the mistake I made tonight I used older ones, you want fresh ones for this). I have gas issues with beans if I don't soak them first so I did soak them. That removed some of the red coloration but again, these were old.

I soaked the lentils and poured that water off (really cuts the gas I even do this with split peas). I cut everything up and got out my spices and measuring spoons. I boiled 4 cups of water in a larger pot (4 quart). It expands a lot I wouldn't use anything smaller than a 3 quart saucepan if you follow this to the letter.

Once the water was going I added half the cinnamon, all the chopped ginger, and half a teaspoon of chili powder. I added the vegetables (can use more by the way but make sure they are orange), waited for the water to boil again.

Once it had I added the lentils. If you use fresh lentils this will be over in half an hour. I used lentils that "expired" 4 years ago. Fresh.

Cook until lentils are soft and falling apart, adding water as needed. Add the rest of the seasonings about halfway through.

They have an amazing kick to them.  

As you know I get a lot of migraines, many food related.  So I tried a little "glop" with some coconut tonight.  If I get a headache it probably won't be awful, and I'll know not to use the coconut milk.  It was amazing, though.  If I can do coconut milk I'll use half a can.  

When finished: 

Saturday morning

 "What is it with Friday?"  I asked the lady behind me on the bus "It's always the crazy train!"  She agreed as we watched the manic homeless guy bouncing up and down the aisle screaming about being A Solider Of The Lord.  We had him for almost a half hour.  

Work was pretty uneventful.  Other employees are saying they like the way I teach how to to "the thing".  "It's so much easier when Heather shows you" said one employee who's been there over 10 years.  Another employee, right next to her, also a 10 year veteran, agreed.  The Team Leads are thrilled I am teaching them.  It is getting back to them and they have always liked to come by and watch what I'm doing.  

I figure, knowledge is meant to be shared, the more people who can do this, the better.  

About an hour before quitting time (they had adjusted my schedule so I worked 11-8) my Team Lead called me over (she's top dog and the one who is in the computer as "my boss").  She asked if I "could" work full time.  

Many associates are on some sort of benefit that's adversely affected by additional work.  I am not.  I told her that.  She said "Good, do you want to be full time?"  I said yes.  She said "Good I'm putting you down for 11-8".  

That is great to hear but I'll believe it when I see it.  Right now I am still getting 32 hours on my schedule.  I didn't get a chance to talk about days off, I'm going to tell her I don't need the weekends off and would rather have 2 weekdays.  Just 2 days together, please, I don't care which days.  

I talked to Ace about it on the way home, he said 8 is great for him.  "What I'd like to do" I told him "Is call you 1-2 days a week, that way I can keep doing the evangelism on the way home" he chuckled because that is exactly what I'd think and said that was fine.  Good.  

If I'm off at 8 I can take the bus home now and then.  

I got home OK slept pretty well and woke up at 4 with a moderate headache, took something, went back to bed, woke up around 7.  

I'm going to take a look at my budget, take a shower, do my God Time, and go get a few groceries.  I have a lot of components to make some delicious meals.  Take a nap today, relax.  It's going to be a nice weekend.  

It's still pretty cold right now, in the 40's.  I got the schedule for the week of the 15th, they have me working the weekend and 2 days off I think Wed-Thurs.  That works for me.  I still have Valentine's off so I can do the Handout.  

That's it for now!  

Friday morning

Yesterday was really long.  It wasn't bad but it was long.  

My boss got in trouble again.  I suspect management is tired of the ongoing poor employee reviews and high turnover.  

I can see what's behind it but I doubt anyone else can.  She also has problems communicating what she wants.  Employees who only want to do a few things and no more.  Whiners, tattlers, you get the idea.  Last night another department dumped a big project on me.  Chief Snitch was having a seizure over it.  It was something only I do.  I don't know why she was so upset, I flex.

I said "I've got this" and was teasing the other lady "Is that all?  Gimme more!" while CS was shouting and calling the boss.  The boss called me and asked me to deal with it, I assured her I would.  

She came by later.  "Where is it?"  "I did it like you told me".  She looked me dead in the eyes "Thank you, Heather".  I can work with her, I'm scared of her but I can work with her.  

I paid all the bills yesterday, not much left.  I did get more cat food on my way out.  They all like the Mixed Grill so that's what I got.  Most cat foods have fish in them and I'm not doing that.  

I've had 7 boy cats.  I usually fed a fish based cat food.  3 of them got FLUTD, two of them died of it.  I am very, very, careful what my boy cats eat.  

Cleo, by the way, enjoyed the pork roast trimmings and ate all of it.  She never, ever, vomiits.  She's my gutter rat and I love her.  

The house was not fresh when I got home last night so I cleaned all the boxes, then Biscuit used one.  I felt bad about that (bad for him) it reminded me of me, in the bathroom, at work, looking in all the stalls for the least worst option.  I am OK for litter for another week so I'm not going to worry about that, plenty of treats.  

I want to get some chicken and the fixings to make tikka masala, my favorite Indian food.  I already have basmati rice.  I have pork chops, pork roast.  I just had some milanesa beef steaks the other night.  Cleo had one too - I didn't season one, cooked it first, cut it up and gave it to herr.  

Cleo gets whatever she wants.  

I find it interesting, I prefer to get up about 3 hours before I leave, do my thing, go to work, come home, eat, take my pills, go to bed, repeat.  

That's it for now.  It's a long day today so I'll try to post on my lunch.  

Pork roast!

 It's just me so I like what I call "small meats" smaller cuts I can eat up pretty quick. I don't want to eat 20 pounds of hamburger. I have a tiny freezer so I meal prep a couple dozen single meals, put them in containers, that's it except for some frozen veggies and the cold packs I stick in my lunch pail every day.

So when I saw a nice looking pork roast, 2 pounds, for $3 I got it.

Ingredients:
1 t thyme
1/2 t rosemary
1/2 t ground sage
1/2 t salt
You want to divide this into 2 portions and mix them up into a little cup or bowl.
You also need 2-3 whole bay leaves. Set one aside for each portion of spice.

I had some baby carrots and half a big whole carrot, so I chopped that up. About 2-3 cups depends on how you like carrots.

I chopped up half an onion. I also set aside 2 big slices I did not chop.

Potatoes - I love a red potato so I used 2 of them chopped. I wish I had done 3 or 4.

I also chopped a medium sweet potato (I didn't peel any of this by the way).

I put the chopped onion and other vegetables in the floor of the crock pot. I added 1 and a half cups chicken broth (you can use no salt or reduced salt versions if you're watching sodium), and a splash of apple cider vinegar. I sprinkled half the spices on it and a bay leaf.

I then turned to the pork roast. I rinsed it off (it was a little bloody) and patted it half dry. I reached into my cup of spices and used it as a rub all over the meat. All over that meat. Herbs everywhere!

When I finished I plunked it on top of the vegetables (bonus if you put it on top of the bay leaf). I then put the last bay leaf on top (if you do 3 bay leaves I would do 1 on the meat and 2 on the veggies), and topped it with what I'll call the "onion cap". I'm glad I took pictures. If you don't want to do that just use the slices on top.

I use my crock pot on a timer so it cooked while I was at work (I just plug the pot into a basic wall timer). When I came home it was ready!

I made my meals - I got 6 nice meals out of it - and then used the juices to make a gravy. I added a smidge of salt, rosemary, and thyme, heated up the broth. I used about 1/4 cup cold water and 2 T cornstarch to make the gravy, then I portioned it out on the food. I had a nice amount for each meal.

First thing Monday

 They don't know what they're doing with the schedule.  This week it's 11-6, 11-8.  Next week it's 9-3.  Week after?  Who knows.  

I am accustomed to waking at 3 and I did today as well.  I went back to sleep and got up at 5.  All the cats are home which is good.  I kept finding a soggy black cat on my front porch yesterday every time I threw out some trash.  He would meow at me, come in for a while, and leave again.  I still haven't settled on a name.  

My black cat Bubba (they bear a remarkable resemblance) had the "legal" name "Mr Black" and the "nick' name Bubba.  So for this guy his "legal" name's going to be "Lucky" and then the other name will find me.  

Ron used to get annoyed because I would recycle cat names, Baby Girl, Cleo, etc.  I don't want to do that here and he really isn't a Bubba.  He sings a lot, he likes to wander, he's very sweet.  I haven't seen him hunt at all.  Bubba was a big, fat, lazy boy who loved to hunt.  

So, for now, I'll go with Lucky.  

I took care of the cats first thing when I got up, fed them, did the boxes.  

I need to get ready to go.  

You think they'd make it easier to take my money

 I tend to self experiment (not that!) on my day off.  For instance, allergy season is coming up so I thought I would try taking my allergy pill at night.  The first night it went fine.  Last night it energized me and I had a terrible time falling asleep.  Lesson learned.  I was glad I had today off.  

I didn't have a headache from the curry spices, I was very happy to see that as I have very large (7 ounce) bags of spices!  

I need to organize my spices somehow, right now when I open their cabinet they fall out on me.  Times like this I do wish I had a handyman around.  I can envision it so clearly, a nice cabinet, with shelves, and doors (spices shouldn't be in the light), mounted in my kitchen on the end of the stove cabinets... 

But the imported spices some in large plastic bags.  That's not a problem, I guess, if you use them up pretty quick (and I am going through them at a pretty good clip).  I need some glass jars.  I will figure it out.  

I just paid my property tax.  For the county, that's the big one, over a thousand dollars.  Boy, they don't make it easy.  Nothing on the bill, no website, nothing.  I don't just want to Google it because I could get a fake link and pay my $$$ to some scammer who drains my account.  I finally found the website on a slip of paper behind the payment envelope.  

So I find the site and I try to autofill my bank card information and it doesn't work.  Says I have an invalid number on the back of my card, I look, it's right, I try again.  And it says it "can't process my request".  

Well screw you, Google Wallet.  I input the number myself.  That went through.  I will say the fee charged wasn't bad (to run my card).  $25 and change.  

I'm going to do school tax next.  That's going to wipe me out until payday but I want all these taxing authorities off my back.  My Revolutionary war ancestors are rioting over this.  

Let's get that over with... that one wasn't hard but I had to tell Google Wallet to go (censored) itself.  I think I'm going to turn it off, anyway.  

So now I have about $400 left on my property taxes.  That's not bad.  The fees were not bad about $20 each taxing authority.  

I am glad that's done for another year.  From what I remember last year the school district wasn't hard to pay.  

My home's value has doubled since we bought it 20 years ago.  I am very happy here.  

Lentil and veggie curry recipe

 Sometimes I cook a meal, it's alright but I'm not excited about leftovers.  On occasion, though, I cook something and I can't wait to see those leftovers in my lunch pail.  

Tonight was one of those days.  

I read cooking websites, watch cooking videos, try to soak up facts, then turn around and use them around my food intolerances/allergies to create good food.  

For instance, every meal always features garlic, online.  I can't do that so I eliminate it.  

Tonight I made a lentil/vegetables curry.  I am very happy with how it turned out.  I'm going to share the recipe but I think it's important to state I had very good quality, fresh, spices.  This won't turn out if you use that 4 year old little jar of "curry powder" that expired 2 years ago.  

It features the following (you need all of them).  It does feature "hot" chili powder but not much in relation to the amount of food cooked.  It has a kick but I'm a White girl, if I can eat it, almost anyone can.  

• Madras curry powder I bought a 7 ounce bag today and used a Tablespoon to make this.  Madras curry is different from regular curry, it has different spices in the blend.  Important to use this.  I love the way it smells and tastes.  
• Kashmiri Chili powder.  You've heard me talking about this for a while and it is worth the hype.  Excellent.  I haven't used any other chili powder since I got this I put it in my chili even.  
• Garam Masala.  I don't know much about this, it is a finishing spice when making curry.  You'll see I only added it at the end, it breaks down if it cooks too long.  
• I used "Mix Dal" from the import store which is basically just "lentil blend".  You could use either the red or the brown grocery store lentils here, or if you want to get fancy you could do half of each.  
• Another note, I found this a very filling meal.  I had a one cup portion for dinner (I'm a big eater) and it was almost too much.  

One thing I've learned making curries, it's important to have a good, BIG, heavy pot WITH A LID.  

First, you want to soak those lentils so you don't get gassy after you eat them.  I did an experiment on myself years ago and I have to soak those lentils.  I used 1 cup dry and about 3 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt.  I left them in the fridge for a few hours, poured them in a strainer, rinsed them off, and set them to the side.  

1/4 cup vegetable oil or butter 

1/2 chopped onion 

1 T Madras curry powder 

1 t Kashmiri Chili powder

Heat up the oil and add the onion and spices.  

This is what I used but you could vary this somewhat.  

2 medium red potatoes, chopped 

1/2 sweet potato, chopped 

(You could put a chopped carrot in here as well, I didn't have a whole carrot so I didn't)

(Red pepper would be good, too, but I forgot to get one at the store)

I stirred them around for a few minutes.  I added 3 cups water (you could use chicken broth), brought it to a boil, and added the lentils.  

I texted a friend about 10 minutes later and found out I could add a can of diced tomatoes.  So I did that.  The whole can + juice.  

I covered it and stirred it every 5 minutes or so.  I had it on medium heat.  

After about 20 minutes I added half a bag (16 ounce bag so 8 ounces) frozen mixed vegetables.  It was a mix of carrots (!), corn, and peas.  I don't like any of those vegetables mushy so I didn't want them cooking the whole time.  

I had to add water periodically I would say I added about a quart over a half hour.  Or broth, if you have it.  I would NOT use the commercial vegetable broth as that has celery in it and that would be awful with the curry.  

I salted to taste.  I have to eat a lot of salt due to a medical condition so I would say add 1 t, less if you used commercial broth (which has a lot of added salt).  

I didn't, but I'm pretty sure you could add some chopped kale - a cup or so - about 10 minutes before the end.  

I tasted periodically, adjusted spices (the #'s I gave you are final numbers), and took it off the heat.  It expanded quite a bit I would say I have 3 quarts, easy.  

I added 1 t Garam Masala at the end (total).  Turned off the heat, stirred it really well another minute or two to blend the spices, and made myself a small bowl.  

I bought some nice flatbread today and had a piece with the curry.  It was very good.  I am really happy I have so much left as I want this in my lunch box all week!  

You could serve this with any kind of bread or rice.