Thanksgiving has come and gone for another year. My Aunts and I went to Cracker Barrel again this year. It didn't seem quite as crowded this year as last. That may have just been because we went at a different time this year. They have good food and we probably eat less than if we were cooking at home. I seem to have lost the incentive to spend the day cooking, though it is nice to have left-overs. I worked on Wednesday, so was a bit tired. We were pretty busy with last minute shoppers. Today, I'm actually off. I'm just as glad. It gets slow on food sales, people are shopping the "black Friday" sales, not groceries. I like to be pretty busy, not slammed, but busy enough that the time goes quickly.
I'm grateful, as always, for friends and family. They are what makes life worth living and interesting. Our pets can be a joy as well. Mother Natures bounty is appreciated, even her quirkey sense of humor. I'm grateful for a few days without storms, though we have to trade that for hazy skies and temperature inversions. I guess if I want to see brighter sunshine, I can always go into the mountains.
I'm grateful that my Daughter-in-Law has a new job.I'm hopeful that things will work out as she wishes, it will certainly be a new adventure for her. As far as I know,my Grandchildren are doing well and my Son is working as well. One thing I'm not grateful for is the distance separating us, but I am grateful that they are happy with their location.
Life continues to be an adventure, which is perhaps the thing to be most grateful for. After all, who wants to be bored?
Friday, November 27, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Busy, Busy
Another "Taste of Sam's" is over for another year. This year I'm pretty glad too. It seems like I got more fun out of it the past 2 years, but maybe I'm just being forgetful. It's always a lot of work, but this year we had a regional manager putting us through our paces. That definetly adds to the stress. We also had some disatifaction from the members. as well. Management changed the format this year, giving us only one event table and our Chef's Meal Solutions, with everything else being done with individual carts, just like a regular day. That's one complaint we heard from members, that it was nothing special like it's been other years. We also served pretty much the same things we do every weekend, very few of the fancy things we have other years. It may be that management didn't feel that people would be willing to spend for the special stuff. I'm sure they would have been willing to taste it though. We did have some good stuff for the Chef event though.
My first day, on Friday, I did what's called a roaming demo, where you take the food to the people, generally near the check out area with the idea of getting last minute sales from people. I served almonds, candied with a creme brulee flavor. It's very tasty. Of course, I probably walked ten miles on cement floors. At least, when I stand at my cart, I'm on a matt!
On Saturday, I got to play chef. My feet got a break, as they put the chef on a wooden platform, and we get matts too. It was a nice break for my feet, but somewhat frustrating. The new form for the chef event requires that we teach or demonstrate a cooking/serving technique and we don't serve continuously. We haven't got the membership quite trained yet. I cooked Frenched Rack of Lamb with asparagus. I had to cut the rack into chops, season and cook in olive oil. Actually, very simple. The asparagus had to be cut and trimed before hand, I must have cut up 15 pounds or more. I cooked that in olive oil with minced garlic, cracked pepper and salt, then added slices green olives. A little different taste, but good.
On Sunday, I was a "runner". I helped out with the things we were cooking in the kitchen and got them distributed to the other Demo people, I made sure everyone had enough supplies and helped keep the kitchen clean. I got pretty tired, but it was a break not having to worry about selling anything.
When I left the store, it was in a blizzard of slushy snow. It was coming from the north and, of course, I had parked on the north side of the building. My hair was soaked by the time I got to the car. Fortunately, the roads were mostly just wet until Standsbury Park, where they started to get slushy. By the time I hit Erda, it was getting slick. In Tooele, on main street, it was beginning to ice up. By the next day, the sun was shining! We're supposed to have good weather until Saturday. Of course,I work Saturday.
My first day, on Friday, I did what's called a roaming demo, where you take the food to the people, generally near the check out area with the idea of getting last minute sales from people. I served almonds, candied with a creme brulee flavor. It's very tasty. Of course, I probably walked ten miles on cement floors. At least, when I stand at my cart, I'm on a matt!
On Saturday, I got to play chef. My feet got a break, as they put the chef on a wooden platform, and we get matts too. It was a nice break for my feet, but somewhat frustrating. The new form for the chef event requires that we teach or demonstrate a cooking/serving technique and we don't serve continuously. We haven't got the membership quite trained yet. I cooked Frenched Rack of Lamb with asparagus. I had to cut the rack into chops, season and cook in olive oil. Actually, very simple. The asparagus had to be cut and trimed before hand, I must have cut up 15 pounds or more. I cooked that in olive oil with minced garlic, cracked pepper and salt, then added slices green olives. A little different taste, but good.
On Sunday, I was a "runner". I helped out with the things we were cooking in the kitchen and got them distributed to the other Demo people, I made sure everyone had enough supplies and helped keep the kitchen clean. I got pretty tired, but it was a break not having to worry about selling anything.
When I left the store, it was in a blizzard of slushy snow. It was coming from the north and, of course, I had parked on the north side of the building. My hair was soaked by the time I got to the car. Fortunately, the roads were mostly just wet until Standsbury Park, where they started to get slushy. By the time I hit Erda, it was getting slick. In Tooele, on main street, it was beginning to ice up. By the next day, the sun was shining! We're supposed to have good weather until Saturday. Of course,I work Saturday.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Quotations
I've come across some lovely quotations that I like and would like to share them.
Three from Einstein: Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.
A human being is part of a whole....a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself....as something separated from the rest....This delusion is a kind of prison for us... Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
Imagination is more important than Knowledge.
From Thich Nhat Hanh: Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.
From Stephen Covey: Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will effect us.
From Chief Seattle: Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.
From Mahatma Gandhi: As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world--that is the myth of the atomic age--as in being able to remake ourselves.
From Helen Keller: The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.
Three from Einstein: Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.
A human being is part of a whole....a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself....as something separated from the rest....This delusion is a kind of prison for us... Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
Imagination is more important than Knowledge.
From Thich Nhat Hanh: Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.
From Stephen Covey: Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will effect us.
From Chief Seattle: Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.
From Mahatma Gandhi: As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world--that is the myth of the atomic age--as in being able to remake ourselves.
From Helen Keller: The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Busy Weekend
I had a pretty busy weekend. I worked 4 days, Thursday to Sunday. On Saturday, I and another Demo Associate, Michelle, worked on a meatball event. We used the same brand meatball and served it 2 different ways. Michelle served hers in a marinara sauce, cut in half on a toasted Italian seasoned toasted bagette. I served mine whole, on a tooth pick in a sauce made from barbeque sauce and grape jelly. It sounds strange, but is really quite delicious. It was quite a hit. Of course, you can't please everyone. Michelle got quite frustrated trying to explain to someone that she couldn't remove the grape jelly from a meatball for her. It was a tiring demo because our meatballs were being cooked back in the kitchen, and we would serve them so quickly that we were running back and forth, trying to keep up with demands.
It always surprises me how many people decide to go shopping when it snows! We had a snow storm on Saturday and it didn't lessen our crowds at all. If anything, it increased them. Of course, since we have a tire shop, that was most of the increase. People suddenly decided that winter was coming and they needed new tires. While they wait for the installation, they shop and/or partake of the free samples.
We had a lot of wind with the snow and it was very cold. It made the storm seem worse than it was downtown where the store is. When I left at 6 pm, I thought I'd missed having to drive in the storm because the clouds were breaking up and the roads were mainly wet. Unfortunately, by the time I hit Magna, it was snowing again. Going up the hill around Kennecot, visability was bad. The weather report had predicted "lake effect" snow, so I expected to have it all the way to Tooele, but it ended at Lake Point. We did get more snow in Tooele over night though. We ended up with 8 inches in Tooele. Great fun to shovel before work on Sunday morning. I'm pretty stiff and sore today,but it will pass.
It always surprises me how many people decide to go shopping when it snows! We had a snow storm on Saturday and it didn't lessen our crowds at all. If anything, it increased them. Of course, since we have a tire shop, that was most of the increase. People suddenly decided that winter was coming and they needed new tires. While they wait for the installation, they shop and/or partake of the free samples.
We had a lot of wind with the snow and it was very cold. It made the storm seem worse than it was downtown where the store is. When I left at 6 pm, I thought I'd missed having to drive in the storm because the clouds were breaking up and the roads were mainly wet. Unfortunately, by the time I hit Magna, it was snowing again. Going up the hill around Kennecot, visability was bad. The weather report had predicted "lake effect" snow, so I expected to have it all the way to Tooele, but it ended at Lake Point. We did get more snow in Tooele over night though. We ended up with 8 inches in Tooele. Great fun to shovel before work on Sunday morning. I'm pretty stiff and sore today,but it will pass.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Thankfulness
It's November again. Our minds turn to gratitude and all that we are grateful for. Isn't it sad that we only reserve one month, officially, to be thankful? Of course, many of us practise gratitude on a regular basis. I used to keep a gratitude journal, formally recognising things to be grateful for each day. It got to be a little meaningless after awhile.My fault probably. I do better being spontaneous. Still, for this month I plan on posting something to be grateful for each day on my Facebook page, thanks to a fellow Facebook friend. Hopefully, it will catch on.
There are days when it is hard to find something to be thankful for, because of problems you are facing. This is really a time that we need to dig deep and find something to be thankful for, even if it's that you got out of bed that morning. When we are facing challenges, especially hard ones, it's really important to find at least one thing to be thankful for, just to show yourself that all is not totally dark.
Making a habit of gratitude can brighten and enrich your life. Just the knowledge that you can be thankful for something, just to be breathing, heart beating, aware of yourself, can sometimes be a pretty good gift, if not to you, at least to those who love you!
There are days when it is hard to find something to be thankful for, because of problems you are facing. This is really a time that we need to dig deep and find something to be thankful for, even if it's that you got out of bed that morning. When we are facing challenges, especially hard ones, it's really important to find at least one thing to be thankful for, just to show yourself that all is not totally dark.
Making a habit of gratitude can brighten and enrich your life. Just the knowledge that you can be thankful for something, just to be breathing, heart beating, aware of yourself, can sometimes be a pretty good gift, if not to you, at least to those who love you!
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Time or Timelessness
It's strange how we experience time. Time can seem like it is rushing along, pushing us to do more or making us feel that there is not enough time. Sometimes we feel like there's all the time we need. Other times, we feel there is no time, we're in the flow of whatever we're doing and time either doesn't exist, or it seems to stand still.
Notice how many times I've used the word "time" in the last paragraph. Notice the ways the word can be used. It seems pretty important for something that may or may not exist. Time is used to denote the linear progression of past, present and future. Even Einstein called time a stubbornly persistant illusion. The Greek had two words denoting time. Chronos is numeric or chronological time. The other word is Kairos, which lierally means "the right or opportune moment". This discribes metaphysical or devine time. This is the time we experience during meditation or during some intense, in the flow experience. Sometimes we have a sense of timelessness that gives us a glimpse into spiritual infinity, if we're very lucky. Metaphysician, Thomas Troward wrote, "The whole of the Spirit must be present at every point in space at the same moment."
Many indigenous people seem to have an ability to live in the present moment, not be tied down to the tyrant of time passing, as we "civilised"people are. Some of them don't even have words in their language to discribe time as we do. We should all strive to live each moment, just as it is. The past is gone and cannot be changed, only learned from. The future has not arrived yet and depends upon the present for it's outcome. We need to learn to act as if "now" is all there is, because it's true.
Notice how many times I've used the word "time" in the last paragraph. Notice the ways the word can be used. It seems pretty important for something that may or may not exist. Time is used to denote the linear progression of past, present and future. Even Einstein called time a stubbornly persistant illusion. The Greek had two words denoting time. Chronos is numeric or chronological time. The other word is Kairos, which lierally means "the right or opportune moment". This discribes metaphysical or devine time. This is the time we experience during meditation or during some intense, in the flow experience. Sometimes we have a sense of timelessness that gives us a glimpse into spiritual infinity, if we're very lucky. Metaphysician, Thomas Troward wrote, "The whole of the Spirit must be present at every point in space at the same moment."
Many indigenous people seem to have an ability to live in the present moment, not be tied down to the tyrant of time passing, as we "civilised"people are. Some of them don't even have words in their language to discribe time as we do. We should all strive to live each moment, just as it is. The past is gone and cannot be changed, only learned from. The future has not arrived yet and depends upon the present for it's outcome. We need to learn to act as if "now" is all there is, because it's true.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Strange Day
Today has been a strange, sluggish day. I woke up tired and I'm still tired. I have accomplished very little, when I had planned so much. I get really irritated by days like this. Maybe I just need to "go with the flow" and just get through it.
It has actually been pretty nice weather for the last few days. I really need to work out in my garden a bit before the ground freezes, which could be soon or not, only Mother Nature knows. The nieghbors tree on our property line has lost most of it's leaves. They would make great winter mulch for the garden, but not if I wait until we get more snow. (the snow we got before Halloween melted)
Sometimes I feel really guilty when I'm not accomplishing something. I mean, life doesn't really last forever, at least not as the currant body, that is. Of course, time doesn't really exist,we just experience things in a linear fashion, so it's convenient to use a clock, I guess. That's why our Congressmen can get away with playing with our clocks. I guess it gives them something to do and makes them feel like they're earning their great health benefits, right. Well, tomarrow is another day, hopefully.
It has actually been pretty nice weather for the last few days. I really need to work out in my garden a bit before the ground freezes, which could be soon or not, only Mother Nature knows. The nieghbors tree on our property line has lost most of it's leaves. They would make great winter mulch for the garden, but not if I wait until we get more snow. (the snow we got before Halloween melted)
Sometimes I feel really guilty when I'm not accomplishing something. I mean, life doesn't really last forever, at least not as the currant body, that is. Of course, time doesn't really exist,we just experience things in a linear fashion, so it's convenient to use a clock, I guess. That's why our Congressmen can get away with playing with our clocks. I guess it gives them something to do and makes them feel like they're earning their great health benefits, right. Well, tomarrow is another day, hopefully.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Halloween
This is the second year I have worked on Halloween for my current job. I don't really remember last year, but I do remember this year. Of course that was yesterday, so I really should remember, right?
This year, our manager who is in charge of community outreach programs,(read PR), decided that since Halloween fell on a Saturday and we would see more children, we should supply them each with a paper bag and let them trick or treat in the store. That mostly meant supplying all the demo people with a supply of candy to hand out, in addition to our regular demo chores. We were kept supplied most of the day with plenty of candy. We're a warehouse store, we have BIG bags of candy.
It was a little distracting, sometimes a lot distracting. There were some really cute kids and costumes. There were very young ones who weren't quite sure what was going on, and there were those who were too shy to say "trick or treat". Sometimes we'd get so involved with the kids, to look up and find our trays empty of demo samples and mostly patient people waiting to taste some morsel or another. To say we were kept busy is an understatement. One of my demo associates said she wasn't even quite sure what day it was.
We had one or two demo people who tried to limit the candy to children, but most of us didn't worry about adults getting candy. I guess we remembered taking a little cut of the candy of our children when they were small.
It was dark when I came home and I worried about little goblins on the streets, but there were only those keeping to the sidewalks. Even with the "trunk or treat" programs at the churches and the downtown merchants giving out candy, we still had more kids than last year. We were close to running out of candy, which is better for my waistline anyway.
This year, our manager who is in charge of community outreach programs,(read PR), decided that since Halloween fell on a Saturday and we would see more children, we should supply them each with a paper bag and let them trick or treat in the store. That mostly meant supplying all the demo people with a supply of candy to hand out, in addition to our regular demo chores. We were kept supplied most of the day with plenty of candy. We're a warehouse store, we have BIG bags of candy.
It was a little distracting, sometimes a lot distracting. There were some really cute kids and costumes. There were very young ones who weren't quite sure what was going on, and there were those who were too shy to say "trick or treat". Sometimes we'd get so involved with the kids, to look up and find our trays empty of demo samples and mostly patient people waiting to taste some morsel or another. To say we were kept busy is an understatement. One of my demo associates said she wasn't even quite sure what day it was.
We had one or two demo people who tried to limit the candy to children, but most of us didn't worry about adults getting candy. I guess we remembered taking a little cut of the candy of our children when they were small.
It was dark when I came home and I worried about little goblins on the streets, but there were only those keeping to the sidewalks. Even with the "trunk or treat" programs at the churches and the downtown merchants giving out candy, we still had more kids than last year. We were close to running out of candy, which is better for my waistline anyway.
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