Tiffany Painter

People tend to have strong feelings one way or another about leftovers. I have met people who state they don’t eat leftovers. They usually say this with some contempt for those of us who do eat leftovers. I actually feel bad for those people. They are missing out. I’m not saying all leftovers are good. There are a few things that I really don’t like as leftovers. Just ask my husband about the chicken enchiladas I recently made. My husband was thrilled to take some the next day for lunch. I tried to eat one though, and could not get past the sogginess of the tortilla after it spent the night in the sauce. So when it comes to anything that can get soggy, I will stand by the “No leftovers for me” people. But, there are so many things that make worthy leftovers: Chinese food (sesame chicken over rice), pasta (really anything from an Italian restaurant), pizza (more Italian), most meats (steak after a barbecue). The list just keeps going. Think how great the second meal is when you had a great time enjoying it the first time. Leftovers are like a screenshot of a happy day. And they take the pressure off of over eating. If you save part of the meal rather than stuffing yourself, you can have a second meal the next day. A meal that is already prepared and doesn’t mess up the kitchen. Besides, I hate waste. If my eating a bonus meal means less food getting thrown out, I’m happy to do my part. There really are so many perks to leftovers. If I haven’t tempted you yet perhaps the thought of leftover desserts will win you over. Who doesn’t love the leftover pies at Thanksgiving? Now that Valentine’s Day is over, technically all those chocolate hearts are leftovers. I for one, will continue enjoying those leftovers for a few more days.

Somebody’s awake and starting to pace. Wait. Is that rain I hear? Ugh. It’s going to be a wet walk. Now he’ giving me his whimper. Okay, let’s go feed him. Oh, it’s not too bad out there. We’ll have to skip the lake because it’ll be muddy. Maybe it’s stopping. What does the weather app say. Wow. It’s going to rain all day. Better than snow that has to be shoveled. Of course, it’s been wrong a lot lately. I’ll just sit and scroll on my phone for a few minutes and give it a chance to stop. It’s not stopping. I guess I may as well get it over with. Okay raincoat, it’s your lucky day. Oh this isn’t too bad. It’s kind of nice. Maybe I’ll write about how nice a quiet walk in the rain is. Is that a pebble in my shoe? I can’t take my shoe off in the rain. Maybe if I just tap my foot a little it will move. That’s better. Oh, it’s back. Tap, tap, tap. Perfect. Nope. Tap, tap, tap. Good. Ugh. It’s just a tiny little pebble. Why is it so irritating. It’s like that story Princess and the Pea. I wonder if Dad’s relative was right and we’re descendants of Pocahontas. That could make me a princess. Princess and the Pebble. Hmm. I’ll have to think about that for a story. It’s really raining now. Look at how much water has filled up over there. I hope it runs off before it can freeze. I don’t think my sweats are going to resist the water much longer. I hope Zephyr doesn’t mind if we skip part of our walk. He’s not stopping to smell anything. I’ll just go right instead of left at the corner. Maybe he won’t notice. Now wind? Come on! It’s blowing the water off my hood into my face. Time to be a turtle and pull into my collar. Almost home. Stupid glasses. Don’t fog up. Good thing I put Zeph’s orange coat on. I’d never be able to see him. So much for these fleece-lined water-resistant sweats. The wet fleece is sticking to my knees. Yay! There’s my house. Just a few more minutes of this stupid rain. Wait. We should go in through the garage. That dog is going to shake when I take his coat off. I just hope I can get out of the way. Nope. I hope he doesn’t want to play ball for a while. We need to dry off. Stupid rain….That was the start of my day. I hope you’re having a dry morning.