Do you follow recipes?

I think of recipes as guidelines rather than instructions to be followed verbatim. This morning I was putting dinner in the crockpot since I won't be home till 7 (work then volunteer at the animal shelter then pick up the boy from drivers ed). Hub is in charge of "making dinner" which means making rice to go with the dinner in the crockpot.

Have I ever mentioned I love my crockpot?

Anyway, I was making curry and I had a new recipe. But I wasn't quite sure about it (didn't sound spicy enough) so I pulled out an old tried and true recipe, then split the difference. Sadly, I'll never be able to replicate it exactly. I do write down my recipes sometimes, but my mom always thinks it hilarious when she calls to ask for a recipe and I ask which version and then begin to rattle it off b/c they live in my head.

I was grating ginger into the crockpot. Until recently I wouldn't have had fresh ginger on hand and would have been stuck using ground ginger as a poor substitute. But I read a tip somewhere about cutting your fresh ginger into 1 inch pieces and then freezing them. Well duh! Why hadn't I ever thought of that? Fresh ginger that's never withered and forgotten in the bottom of the veg drawer. It's the little things that make me happy sometimes.

Warning: MIL Whinge ahead

It's no secret that I'm not MIL's Number One Fan. I find it hard to empathize or have any patience with someone as hell bent on making themselves a victim as she is. (If you wonder how someone like that has a son like Hub, just know that she didn't raise him.)

The Saturday before moving down here she got her prescriptions refilled. In the week and a half since she has been down here, she has established a routine: sleep till noon, crochet & watch tv. She made a halfhearted attempt at seeing a doctor but when she found out where she used to go isn't accepting new patients, she didn't pursue it any farther. Now, this is a woman with health problems, among them diabetes and a broken foot that is healing VERY slowly. And stomach problems. And high blood pressure.

You think going to a doctor and seeing about 1) getting prescriptions set up and refilled and 2) seeing someone about the fact that she feels bad (her foot is hurting plus she's having a lot of body aches) would be a priority. But not so much. Oh, and she's on the new diabetes diet. I call it "a cake a day keeps the doctor away." My mom bought a small pound cake at fresh Market. She had 2 small slices. My MIL ate the rest - in one day. She also drank A WHOLE GALLON of coffee creamer (vanilla, NOT sugar free) her first week of living with my mom. Oh, and she's been busy on a half gallon of ice cream as well.

Now, I am not a medical professional, but in my medical opinion if I were to design a diet which would enable a diabetic to commit suicide via food, I think this would be it. As long as she takes care of what she needs to in order to get this apartment in K'ville, then whatever. But she isn't going to just sponge off my mom's kind nature.

Hub called yesterday & told her she needed to get off her a$$ & start taking care of stuff. My mom agreed, but in a nicer way. I told mom to keep us posted and if she hadn't made any progress by next Wednesday we'll be coming by for an in person come to Jesus.