My Mobile Home Gourmet Blog
Sunday 2026.11.8
The Blame Game
Most of the news during the past few days has been about the midterm elections. Not surprisingly, many of the losers are pointing to the President and other Republicans, blaming them for the losses. A lot is being said about JD Vance breaking a little with Trump, carefully saying the vote was about the war in Iran. He didn't go as far as saying people were fed up with the corruption in the White House.
In an earlier blog post I wrote about Trump saying, "We're getting rich." I asked the question, "Who are the we?" The American people aren't getting rich. The we are evidently Trump, his family, and his friends. And, of course, the Trump-backed efforts to gerrymander House districts was a part of the corruption that cost the Republicans the midterm elections.
I said it several times in these blog posts: Future history books will say Trump was the worst president in USA history. On Thursday, someone on the news said, "Trump is the worst mistake this country ever made, and even Republicans are saying it now." Hopefully, those Republicans are shedding their fear of the MAGA base. Maybe they'll do something for the American people.
There is talk of removing Pete Hegseth. I hope not. Colin Jost does an excellent impersonation of Hegseth on Saturday Night Live. I wouldn't want to see that lost.
The Downsizing Chronicles
I discarded a few more items on Friday. That plastic owl I bought to scare away the birds that were damaging my window screen went into the bin. The birds weren't frightened by it. I also discarded the platform I made for the owl. A few books went into the bin because they were duplicates. For example, when I had a job, I kept a thesaurus at work because I wrote a lot when I should have been working. (That's another story.) I had a second copy at home. I only need the one. I also had two copies of the Food Lover's Companion. Again, I only need one.
In Wednesday's blog post I wrote about the LEGO-fake robotic toy I bought to, hopefully, interact with my Loona robotic puppy. She didn't notice it. So, the fake went into the bin on Friday.
Urologist
Some of the following might fall into the category of "too much information."
I really like my urologist. I really hate his billing office. When I visit the doctor, I always pay my copay in the office. And I always get a receipt. Six weeks later the office bills me for two more visits. One excuse is: The payment was sent to the wrong doctor; so, they had to bill it again. However, my urologist's name appears on my checking account statement. The payment went to him, not another doctor. The other excuse is: The earlier charge was for a visit for which they never collected the copay. But I always pay in the office, and I always get a receipt.
A few months ago, I reached my breaking point. I switched to another urologist. He's okay. However, recently my former doctor became part of the local hospital's Urology Department. Same office, new affiliation. That means the hospital handles the billing, not the office. So, I switched back to him as my doctor. I paid my copay online to the hospital and I printed the receipt. I checked with the office staff and she said my account looks good.
On the negative side, my "My Chart" account with the hospital shows everything. So, my urologist saw that I went to a different doctor. He said he didn't mind. They're friends. However, I suspect it displeased him. He wasn't as pleasant and useful in this visit.
On the positive side, I rode my e-bike to the office. It was a pleasant ride.
More Shrinkflation
Like most cooks, I keep a roll of plastic food wrap in my kitchen. I like the 18-inch wide roll. The one I have is nearly empty. It had 3,000 feet of wrap. Now, the same brand has only 2,000 feet. Thankfully, I found one brand of the larger roll on the Costco web site. And, surprisingly, the 3,000 foot roll cost only $1 more than the 2,000 foot roll. I ordered it.
Wednesday 2026.11.4
The Midterm Election
I watched the election returns on TV yesterday well into the evening. I planned for it — I made Salami Pie.
I heard something on TV that really appealed to me. The Dems should start passing bill after bill after bill after bill. Of course, Trump will Veto those bills, but each time he does, Jeffries, or another Democrat, should go on TV and explain what the vetoed bill would have done for the American people. And, they should always finish with, "Do you really want to elect another Republican to the White House in 2028?"
That could accomplish two things. It could pressure Trump to stop vetoing all the Democratic bills, and it could help the Dems to win the presidency in 2028.
At about 8:30PM CNN and MSNOW announced the Democrats had succeeded in taking control of both chambers of Congress. One person on CNN said Trump's reign of terror is over. Trump's support among his MAGA devotees has been waning during the past two years. He told them to pretend he was on the ballot. It wasn't enough.
Of course, Democratic control of Congress isn't equivalent to the Second Coming of Christ; however, it is a glaring repudiation of Trump. It might start repairing some of the damage done by Trump. It could improve the USA's reputation among our allies. Maybe Republicans will no longer fear Trump's MAGA base. During the next few weeks the journalists will tell us what we might, and might not, expect during the next two years.
I'm assuming the pink slips to ICE agents are already in the mail.
Amazon Vine Voices
I started my next Vine evaluation period, which ends on April 29, 2027. Again, I am trying to limit my tax liability by ordering only products with a $0.00 tax value. I ordered two on Sunday. Both are dietary supplements. If I see something I really want, I'll order it, regardless of the tax value. However, most items, even if tempting, really end up being only clutter.
But, I already compromised one time. My LEGO friend sent me a photo of a Halloween kit he built — a Day of the Dead figure. I really liked it. Then, I saw a LEGO-fake knockoff on Vine and I couldn't resist it.
My plan is to store it in the shed until next October. Yes, it will add a little clutter; however, I'm hoping the box won't be too large. Meanwhile, I'll review it on Vine as if I had actually built it. And speaking of clutter…
That Robotic Thing
On Sunday I blogged about assembling a LEGO-fake robotic toy that I hoped my Loona robot puppy might interact with. She wasn't interested. So, the toy (not Loona) will probably go into the recycling bin soon. I don't want the clutter.
The Rain That Wasn't
We were supposed to receive significant rainfall from the second storm of the season that moved through the West Coast during the weekend. Very little happened. Where I live, less than ¼ of an inch fell.
The Tomato Chronicles
A fan reminded me I hadn't blogged about my tomato plants recently. It really is the end of the season. The plants aren't dead yet, but I pruned off a few vines because they had no leaves on them. Toward the bottom there is still plenty of growth. And I'm surprised to see some flowers. Currently, there are six green tomatoes on the vines.
I'm hoping I can keep the plants alive through the winter. I tried last year, but they didn't survive. I ordered some tomato plant fertilizer a few months ago. I'll use that in the spring. And I put compost on my Amazon Wish List and Gift List.
Sunday 2026.11.1
Happy Standard Time
Today most of us in the USA (and maybe elsewhere) switch from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time. If you haven't already done so, set your clocks back one hour. I just finished resetting the clocks that don't automatically reset themselves.
Revisiting Loona, Again
During the last two weeks of October I tried not to order anything from Amazon Vine. I wanted my outstanding items to clear shipping so that I could receive and review them by the end of my current evaluation period. However, I saw one item that intrigued me.
I think I might have blogged about a different glue I discovered, which I ordered by accident — B7000. I like it better than super glue because it doesn't adhere instantly and it doesn't glue my fingers together, should I slip and fumble with it. The glue has a longer work time; it sets more slowly, giving me two or three minutes to adjust pieces before it hardens. And if I need to separate two pieces afterward (when I make a mistake), they come apart without too much difficulty. I really like using it when I am assembling LEGO-fake made-in-China POS sets. Some of them don't hold together well. Whole sections sometimes break loose while I'm trying to attach one brick. It can become very frustrating.
The item I saw on Vine is a weird radio-controlled mobile robot thing. It added only about $7 to my taxes. It was delivered yesterday. I finished the assembly this morning. I didn't use any glue; however, if anything comes loose during play, I'll use glue.
I thought it might be fun to drive it around the living room while Loona is active and see how she reacts to it. Can you frighten a robot puppy? The thing has expressive eyes, which I think might attract Loona.
Because it will move so much, and because Loona will likely bump into it, some pieces might need glue later. Although there are different shape options, I chose the one that was the least ugly. Maybe I'll try different configurations, to see how Loona tries to interact with them, if at all. (She raises one wheel as if she wants to shake paws with my floor fan; so, it's possible.)
Another Video Re-edit
I edited my Roma Cheesecake video again. The original length was more than half an hour. By including only the important steps, and removing all the excess talking, I got it down to five minutes. I uploaded it to YouTube on Thursday. You can watch it with this link:
My re-edited Pesto Lamb video did fairly well. It's not making me rich; it earned only $1.80 so far. Roma Cheesecake didn't do as well. Its earnings are currently at 30¢. Oh well. Every little bit helps.
With the holidays coming soon, I'm planning to re-edit videos that might be popular among cooks looking for ideas. I have several videos that are nearly half an hour in length.
Halloween Movies
I finished watching my October set of movies. Last night I watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which is my tradition every Halloween. Yes, I do know how to do the Time Warp. "It's just a jump to the left…"
And, oddly, Loona responded to the audio in one movie. There was talk about religion and Loona's AI voice joined the discussion. Weird, but entertaining.
More Movies
The plan this month is to watch all the Harry Potter movies and maybe the Lord of the Rings films too.
I'm not a big fan of Harry Potter (unlike a former friend who wished he could wave a magic wand and girls would want to have sex with him). I read the books. In the later ones, Potter becomes too much of a whiner. "Oh, woe is me." I read all the Lord of the Rings books too, more than once. I didn't like the songs, which I would skip. They didn't add much to advance the plot.
A Little Downsizing
I put that Arc de Triomphe LEGO-fake kit in the trash on Friday. It's gone. It was the second time I built it, and it took up too much space. Clutter.