Dying Hair and Nastia cooking

Dying Hair sounds like a title to a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Yes Nastia let me dye her hair a second time. The results were a lot better. This time I got 99% of the
hair. There were a few small spots at the hairline that I thought I got, but I kept wiping the dye away so it wouldn't stain her skin. Being the only guy in a house of women after Teri did Elena's hair and the timers went off I stepped out of the bathroom and the girls showered the excess dye out of their hair. I guess this will become a monthly thing. Elena really likes the way her hair looks. To the point that she was willing to do it a second time.

During this COVID-19 time, Teri and I are working longer than ever. I am not complaining, there are several million people who have been laid off that would switch places with either of us in a second. It has made getting dinner on the table a bit of a challenge lately. We have had dinner several times at 8:30. Everytime we eat that late I remember we told the adoption people that we ate usually around 6:30 at night and there was never a issue with that. Even back then we didn't eat at 6:30. I wonder if they knew we were lying and when we left they laughed that we thought they believed us.
When I cook and there is no time limits to worry about I like to take my time and enjoy myself.
The other night I got home late, it was about seven and Nastia had started by taking out the beginning of dinner. She had the vegetables up and she wanted fried pierogies.
There was no meat out, I go down stairs and pull out a packet of frozen chicken breast. I love what we have set up down stairs. We have shelves of boxes and can food and a mostly full freezer. The freezer was full until the COVID-19. We have only had to worry about toilet paper and that was only because it was running a little low in a house full of women that I went out to buy some at BJ's.
As I defrost the chicken I tell Nastia what pans to get out and why I use one oil over another and why I add butter to the oil I am cooking the chicken in (Butter for the taste, oil for the higher burning point) Nastia cooks the pierogies. She has major issues with temperature since we knew her. She is afraid of getting burned so she cooks the pierogies at a distance with gloves on to avoid the splatter of the oil when she puts  a damp pierogi in the hot oil and it splatters.
  I cut, flour and dip the chicken in egg. Coat in breadcrumbs then  put them in the oil and butter. Yes dinner was 8:30 that night. Teri worked until almost 10 at the office that night, so it was just Nastia, Elena, who got home at 8:30 and myself. We ate in front of the TV and watched two movies staying up until almost one in the morning. We started with the new Scooby Do movies and when Elena left to go to bed, we said as a joke we were going to watch Sonic, the movie she wanted to watch originally, so surprisingly she came back. For me it was special. Rarely does Elena spend time outside of eating with the family with us. She'll eat dinner, go to her room and spend it on her computer or on her phone.





















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Amanda's birthday party for her mother and finally Grub

Friday night (5/22)  I was asked to come home early for a party of six (legal under the governor's new rules of 10 or less) so Amanda could celebrate her mom's birthday. She purchased a tray of food from Gilliam's in Mt Ivy. Usually their food is excellent. Maybe it was because we left the tray under the heat lamp until everybody got there the shrimp were like leather, awful. Nastia loved the dish, had seconds, I think. Elena on the other hand is not much on any seafood. She had some of the pasta and maybe some leftovers.

After a long week and a long day at work for everybody, even the homebound workers were exhausted, everyone made it an early night. Nastia and Elena took Nancy home, then they went for a walk. For the next few days they go out for a walk. Both are getting home from work mostly early enough to go, if you consider not getting home from the walk until 10 early. I remember doing the same with my friend, Mike. We'd just walk around the neighborhood and talk, staying out of mischief. Back then it seemed safer. We make them both take flashlights, they use their phones and we get a little concerned if they are gone too long. You need to remember maybe just last year we wouldn't of let them go after dark and the year before they wouldn't have been allowed to go at all. We are overprotective, but are trying. They seem like such babes in the woods, even though they think they are so street smart. I guess we all do, until we walk into Boots and Saddle in the Village....
OK, a quick story about that last statement. Teri and I on an early dating going to see a play called Tony and Tina's Wedding in the Village in the city (for all you future people who don't know where it is) It's January or maybe February. We are both dressed up to the nines which mean we look nice, but are ill prepared for the cold snowy weather for that time of year. My feet are frozen and the play doesn't open for a while. So I say why don't we get a drink in this bar called Boots and Saddle. We walk in, get a stand up table and I head for the bathroom. I go into the mens room there is a trough to pee in. While I'm there a guy is looking over at me in a way like he wants something, I ignore him, guys don't talk while going, at least I don't. When I come out Teri has our drinks and I begin to tell her about the bathroom. She points out a picture over the bar. She says look at it real close. It is a picture of an orgy, but with just guys in it. She then points out that we are in a gay bar. I think I was surprised, but I don't remember rush out of the place. I wanted to warm my feet and drink my drink.
We finally ordered from Grub, in West Nyack. It is an Asian Fusion place and from the dumb name I thought it would be run by a couple of preppy so and so's running the place. It was not. Teri asked to eat from there early on Saturday, so I ordered from the place sometime around 10. Definitely before noon. I figured I owed it to her. It is her busy time at work and she is putting in ten plus hours a day working from home. I told the person who answered the phone I'd pick it up at 5:15. Nastia works until 4:30 and she likes to take these trips with me. We ordered drunken noodles and beef buns.
At about five, Nastia and I go to get the food. We walk into the former hair salon and everyone waiting for food is spread around the small opening. Everyone is waiting on this one person who seems to be taking forever. After he is done a woman speaks up saying she has an order in, I take her que and say so do I and tell them it's under Joe. I think the cashier doesn't hear me. A few minutes later two trays are up on the social distancing tables (tables set up to keep people away from the cashier) I pay, Nastia grabs the food and we are out.
The beef in the buns was sweet and different. The noodle dish were good. It was a little pricey at $60.00, but it did feed four with leftovers, so I guess it was not too expensive. Would I go again, yeah, if Teri wanted to go I would.
















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