At the risk of hearing a chorus of groans and raspberries I will confess that today was a holiday for me. It is one of the nine holidays that we observe at the community mental health center where I work. That period from Thanksgiving through President’s Day is always a good one as there is at least one long weekend in each of the four consecutive months. And now begins the dry spell.
I don’t know if you do anything special in observance of President’s Day (a question obviously directed at U.S. citizens 
). We don’t do anything particular, nonetheless it is nice to have holidays like this that call to mind our history, especially during times where there is chaos, turmoil and unrest in various areas of our day to day lives. It is nice to be reminded of what this country has stood for in the past and can still stand for now. It is nice to take a moment to think of the patriots past and present who have given their lives in service to this country. Even if those observances are brief in nature, I am grateful for these holidays which make me stop and think on things that might not otherwise penetrate through the noise of a day at work.
Allow me to say “thank you” to those men and women serving and who have served in our armed forces and also those who have or are serving in the political arena. Though either career choice isn’t always appreciated and can bring with it lots of criticism, the fact of the matter is that you are making a sacrifice for our country and I am thankful for all that you do. I am grateful and need to do a better job of keeping you in my thoughts and prayers on a regular basis.
Beyond those thoughts, we have had a really nice day:
After a good night’s sleep I was able to get a solid hour of aerobics in this morning which felt really good.
Mary and I got the idea into our heads last night to make fresh salsa and so we went out before lunch and bought some ingredients and came home and grilled out and made this lovely meal of grilled pork steaks, peach and tomato salsa, and toasted asiago bread (thank you Panera) with honey almond goat cheese made by Heartland Creamery here in Missouri. Our Hy-Vee grocery store stocks three of Heartland Creamery’s goat cheese blends and they are all delicious, so they deserve this shout out.
As you can see, the meal looked delicious:
And even more wonderful is the fact that it was delicious!!! Oh man. We were both exclaiming during the meal how excellent everything turned out. The salsa is always better if you can make it with in-season ingredients and leave it sit overnight, but even this quickly whipped up version was really good.
Our recipe:
Cherry tomatoes (about a pint) diced
2 peaches skinned, pitted and diced
1/3 of a red onion
A couple of tablespoons of fresh Cilantro
1 medium sized anaheim pepper (we use banana peppers when we can find them)
Juice from 2 limes
We let it marinate for 20 minutes or so. This made enough for our meal with servings left over for our daughter when she gets home from work and servings for us to take to work tomorrow with the extra pork steaks I grilled. Yum!!!
Prep time for this meal was a little longer than what we usually do but we worked together while listening to some great music on Pandora and the results, as I mentioned, were well worth the time.
Interspersed within our day were episodes from Season One of American Pickers on Netflix streaming.
Since we only have free TV we had heard about this show for a long time but hadn’t seen it. It’s addition to Netflix has come at a perfect time to coincide with our renewed interest in our own picking for items to add to and redecorate our house with. We did some shopping in the small town of Greenwood, Missouri this weekend and came home with these treasures:
Mary likes to get Pyrex stuff that she finds cute and I’m big on the rusty/metal stuff. I was particularly excited about the matching machine parts that the seller had accurately labeled “thingamagigs that would be fun as sculptures”. He or she sold me right there because the instant I laid eyes on them I thought they would be really cool as part of a grouping with some neat pictures and such. Maybe they’ll go in my new box?!?!
In between bouts of rain we took a 1.5 mile walk with the dog. This evening we will probably catch a few more episodes of American Pickers, maybe watch a British mystery on Netflix streaming, and enjoy a light taco salad for dinner.
All in all it has been and will no doubt continue to be a very nice President’s Day. How was your weekend/holiday?
I actually had a three-day weekend too! The community mental health center where I intern was also closed PLUS I too off of my Saturday job this weekend, so I had a VERY unusual long weekend.
Oh, and your salsa looks amazing! What’s the name of the British mystery show? We’re completely TV-less over here, so we’re always looking for new Netflix streaming shows to get hooked on.
We watch a bunch of British mysteries. We just finished up the last of the Midsomer Murders that are on Netflix and will now have to go through the library. We’ve been watching the first season of George Gently most recently which is also good. As is Lewis, Inspector Lynley, Marple, Poirot (although they don’t have very much of their stuff on streaming).
Nice to know you got to share in a long weekend as well. They are rare treasures, aren’t they?
hmm that food looks good!
sean is working today, but N and I have been kicking back all day, which is lovely lovely.
It was soooo good!
A kicking back day is lovely, isn’t it. They are a real gift.
No way! I had no idea Mary collects Pyrex refrigerator dishes. (or is this a new collection?) I also have a set of the primary colors.
She just has a small collection but she’s been buying for a few years. We found some really nice small round Pyrex dishes last year on our anniversary trip. They had some slightly larger blue and yellow ones with these red ones but they were a bit pricey.
The blue and yellow ones are part of the same set as the red ones. I do see them on occasion, but the blue seems to be the most difficult to locate.
Let me know if you want me to add them to my “watch list” for you.
Yes, they actually were selling them as a set but had some of these red ones extra.
Some of the provinces in Canada are starting to have a holiday on the Monday, but not here yet.. Hopefully next year! I really like American Pickers, though.
I will keep my fingers crossed for you Kailana! The more holidays the better!
Sounds like you had an awesome day
Sadly, I’m in the UK so no holidays, thought I did get to spend half of the day being filmed, which was pretty cool.
That does sound cool, Jamie. At least it made the non-holiday Monday and interesting one.
Free tv? I didn’t know there still was any. email me about it please. I watch American Pickers and Storage Wars (in reruns and when other shows are in rerun) I sure wish those shows were on low channels instead of the History channel so I could get the “basic cable”.. extended just went up they are now only a few cents off of 70.00 a month it’s seriously something i have to learn to “do without” and get only their basic which is like 20 channels, which would be fine if those very few things I watch on history weren’t nearly ALL of my evening tv…basically my tv isn’t on until 5 pm (sometimes its on in daytime but not a lot)
the food all looks DE-licious!! but the Pork most of all since I can’t have a grill and can’t eat any meat but fish, chicken or turkey.. that pork looks good enough to drool on!
I love your new finds!! but your box still wins my fav of what you all have found…but will admit the salt and pepper shakers were sure different and I like “different” lol
Free tv is the digital television that started up a couple of years ago. You have to buy a converter box which I think only costs about $20. If you have a newer television is has a digital tuner, if not you may need rabbit ears to get some channels to come in. I really like it because not only do you get the big networks but there are several additional local channels, some that play old stuff ala Nickelodeon and others that are about food, crafts, etc.
I have to give a shout out to my friend James who reminded me of his marinade (white vinegar, Lowry’s season salt, onion powder, garlic powder). We soaked the chops for about 20 mins in that and they were so moist and delicious.
That meal looks great…my mouth is watering. I remembered Presidents day and pulled out my US presidents shirt in honor of the day. It is odd spending American holidays abroad. Those are the days I really realize that I live in a different place. Thanksgiving was very strange.
It would be odd spending U.S. holidays abroad. I hadn’t even thought of that situation you were in yesterday. That would be very, very different. Glad you celebrated in your own way though and thought of us over here.
What a healthy and happy day. I’m glad you’re both feeling better
That salsa looks amazing BTW 
Me too Kelly, thank you!
Good on you, Carl, nice job buying for and preparing the meal. I had bought some chicken parts (breasts, legs, thighs) and baked them with my sauce (BBQ sauce, sesame oil, summer savory, oregano, Worcestershire sauce and lemon – or orange – juice). Served with sauteed Zuccini and pine nuts and a green salad. We had chocolate dipped oatmeal cookies, but were too full to have any, so that will be this afternoon with vanilla ice cream. Oh sin!
Then I settled in to read Under the Moons of Mars, the new collection of John Carter stories I got recently. So far, so good. Of course we put out the flag.
Thanks! I am really looking forward to preparing this salsa in the summer when the ingredients are fresh. We want to try a mango one too. I need to read up on how to tell if a mango is fresh because I have no idea.
Your meal sounds very, very delicious! I love sauteed zuccini and also yellow squash. I especially like preparing it on the grill and serving it with noodles and alfredo sauce. I’m going to have to find something lighter to prepare it with this year. Maybe a white wine sauce.
I love the cover of that collection and will have to pick up my own copy. Won’t be long until the movie comes out. I hope it is entertaining. I don’t expect great things, I just hope not to be bitterly disappointed.
That salsa looks delicious – I love it fresh – I also like it with avocado, but most of my friends/family don’t like avocado so I don’t usually indulge!
Great picture
Lynn
It really is. I’m sure we’ll be making it again before long. Mary, Tori and I all love avocado as well. Yum! Just had some fresh avocado on our salad last night. I like to have it on sandwiches too. And of course guacamole is the bomb!
You have my mouth watering with that plate of food Carl!! It looks amazing!! And I always love seeing the treasures you and Mary come home with
Y’all have such a great eye for finding some really neat stuff 
The cool thing about it is you can actually make your own from fresh stuff you grow now that you’ve become a year round green thumb!!!
Oh, my gosh, that looks delicious! I’ve never made my own salsa before, but I starting to think I should try it sometime soon (especially since I’ve been on a big beans and rice kick lately).
I had to work on Monday, so I might be shooting tiny glares in your direction right now. (I did get holiday time for it, so I shouldn’t complain.) It was a stressful, crazy, busy day that ended well, but MAN, did I have to earn that ending.
Anyway, glad to hear you had a great weekend! I’m going to get drool all over my keyboard if you keep showing yummy food like that, though
That salsa over a bed of rice would be fantastic! I need to work more beans into my eating habits. They are one of the foods on the cholesterol lowering list.
Sorry you had to work Monday, but it is nice to get extra pay for the same work.
I hope your week is going well and that your weekend to come is a great one.
You and your wife know how to celebrate a Presidential Holiday! The colorful picture of that yummy salsa really caught my eye. And I love almond honey ANYTHING!
Yes, honey almond anything is quite yummy. I’m glad it ended up being nice enough for that brief window of time that I was able to grill out. We’ll be making this combination again really soon.