Thursday, June 24, 2010

Yes, we have no shrimps.

Bourbon Street.

Interesting timing for a Cajun restaurant. There's an article in the USA Today about how the raw material for these kinds of eateries is disappearing. Prices going up.

"Gulf Spill Takes Bite out of Restaurants."

"As the ruptured BP well spews oil into the Gulf of Mexico, seafood restaurants nationwide are rewriting menus to cope with volatile prices and spot shortages for shrimp, oyster and crab. Some menu items, such as Gulf oysters, may disappear entirely. Other restaurants may import seafood to fill in the holes. Prices for harder-to-find foods may increase, and portions may shrink."

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We have a couple of bluejays who are hounding our cat night and day. I'm worried that they're getting a little too bold. Our cat is fat, but she can move surprisingly fast. The cat was on the couch the other day, when Linda heard an unholy racket, she went upstairs to find the male bluejay perched on the kitchen island screaming at Panga, who was trying to ignore him.

It's pretty much a constant bawling out, anytime the cat nears the screen door.

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I've lost about 6 pounds this month, about 2 pounds a week, by cutting back to 1500 caleries a day. My trick is that I just don't eat much of anything the first half of the day, and then eat almost normal (minus treats) the rest of the day. I know there are all kinds of things wrong with that approach, but it works for me....

I look the same, whether I'm 25 pounds heavier or not -- but it usually gets to a point where I don't like the feel of it. So I'm just going to follow through for the rest of the summer; 18 pounds or so.

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As often happens, I'm being disciplined about my diet and my budget at the same time. The cutting back frame of mind just seems to extend into all areas of my life.

Anyway, I'm finding that I'm just not getting as many deals on the liquidations that I thought I would. Turns out, I was ordering stuff that was only discounted 10% or so, and my new standards are deeper than that; turns out, there aren't a whole lot of items offered at my new standards.

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Sales haven't really picked up. I mean, slightly. But not the big boost I'm always hoping for in the summer. It's more a matter of how much I'll make -- we're in really good shape. Bills paid, credit cards zeroed out.

Still....I wouldn't mind seeing an increase in sales.

I have to remind myself of what I told myself going into this: It takes a whole lot longer to come back to normal than you think. So much longer, actually, that it usually doesn't happen until you've given up on your hope, and adjusted to a lower standard, and forgotten about it...

Which is a long time. I think that's what I should expect to happen this time, too.

My looking for an increase on the upside, is just residual optimism. I can't help it.

3 comments:

H. Bruce Miller said...

Jays are very aggressive about protecting their nests and nestlings. The jays probably have a nest nearby and your fat-but-nimble cat probably has been prowling around it.

Quimby said...

Those bluejays, stellar jays, camp robbers what-have-you, are BAD BAD birds. I'm rooting for your cat! Go get 'em Panga!

Seriously interesting creatures they are. We feed our quail and other finch/songbirds and when the jays show up, it's "PARTY OVER!". They even go so far as to imitate a hawk's scream and the other birds scatter. Fascinating to watch.

potatochiplover said...

I see no problem with your approach to dieting. I simply eliminate potato chips when I want to drop a few pounds. All this dieting stuff is really overdone. Just stop eating as much as you have been, and you'll lose weight!