Condo

Making Popcorn

“Wow, you’re a real good one at twisting off things!”
— Lucy admires how I unscrew the top off her water bottle before a refill

Popcorn from Mike C on Vimeo.

Lucy has developed a taste for popcorn, so we usually pop some up on a “movie night”.

In the video you’ll see both Lucy and I wearing protective eyewear. I wear them whenever I cook with a hot pan. I started doing this years ago after hearing a story about someone getting splattered while cooking. I never thought much of it until a few months ago, when a huge hot oil droplet splashed right into my glasses. Boy, was I glad I had them on that day!

I actually burned a bit of the batch in this video, but most of the popcorn survived. When I think of popcorn, I think back to when I was a child. Before taking my five siblings and I to a movie, my parents would cook up a big batch of popcorn. Each of us would then get our own brown paper bag full of popcorn.

Sometimes if we were going to a Drive-In (I can already image Lucy saying “What’s a Drive-In?”) we’d get to wear our pajamas and bring blankets. We’d then get to lay down in the back of the station wagon with the rear door down or even on top of the car if it was a warm night. Fun stuff.

Milk Crates

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One of the perks of condo living is there are multiple recycle dumpsters throughout the complex. This can makes things interesting whenever I take out the garbage or recycleables, because I never quite know what may have materialized next to the dumpster since my previous visit.

This morning for example, I encountered some patio chairs, a big ol’ TV, kid’s table set, and a worn out punching bag. I actually thought about the bag a bit, but ultimately decided it was too worn to be of use.

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However, at another dumpster I found a milk crate mother lode! Yep, five milk crates sitting forlornly in a dumpster. That was a total no-brainer! I love milk crates. Who doesn’t? (maybe some weirdoes, I guess.) Is there anything as flexible and utilitarian as a milk crate? Needless to say, I rescued all five of the plastic cubes and they’re currently nestled safely in the garage. I’m sure I’ll find some use for them after a good scrubbing.

Racing stripes

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Lucy got a new table and chairs the other day, and they have racing stripes! She thinks they are super-cool. So do we!