How many blogs have I written that started off with a hamburger? I’m afraid to look. Anyway, this was last night’s dinner and while chowing down I decided it does NOT get any better than this.
This is a 1/3 lb Bubba Burger on an Arnold Potato Roll. It’s topped with sauteed peppers & onions, and steak sauce. Hands down, Bubba Burgers are the best burgers you can buy. Those are Red Robin Steak Fries, and if you cook them just right (32 minutes in a cold oven set to 425F, shut off the oven, open the door to let out steam, then close it for 2 more minutes)… absolute perfection.
That roasted broccoli is God’s gift to man. Cooked a little longer than 30 minutes? Delicious. Take it out a little earlier than 30 minutes? Delicious. You can’t go wrong.
Okay, enough of my meal. Speaking of meals, why am I always taking photos of my lunches & dinners? I don’t always share them here, but I still take ‘em. If you’d like to see more pics, why I’d be happy to.
I wanted to say something about my friend Diana. After my last post, three people reached out and asked if something special was going on with us, and if there wasn’t, how come? That was nice they asked, I got a big kick out of it. But if I gave anyone the wrong impression there was more between us, I’m sorry.
The simple truth is, Diana & I are only friends and will never be more than that. Diana lost her husband to covid 3 years ago, and now wants to devote her golden years to her garden, church, events in her community. (She lives in nearby West Virginia.)
As for me, I’m not ruling out the possibility of hooking up with someone someday, but I’ll be just fine if it doesn’t happen. I like my apartment in the city, I like watching too much tv and eating too many hamburgers. And I am not a church goer. And that’s that.
Finally, here’s that “extra” I wanted to share about my new space heater. What you’re looking at below is my LASKO Oscillating Tower Fan. It has 3 speeds, rotates, has an ionizer feature, and it came with a handy remote.
I bought this fan in 2017, and it’s been a real champ. In the summer, it distributes the cool air from my main vent throughout my lving room. It does the same with warm air in the winter.
3-4 years ago, the remote stopped working. I replaced the batteries, it didn’t help. I contacted Lasko, and they sent a replacement. It didn’t work either. When I let Lasko know, they said “The remote isn’t the problem, it’s the circuit panel in your fan.” Made sense to me.
The fan has manual buttons on top, but then the IONIZER button stopped working, and the highest fan speed went next. But here it is, 8 years later and I’m still using it.
Okay—a couple days after getting that Dreo space heater, summer finally arrived in Pittsburgh and I decided it was time to pack it away until the fall. (Our building won’t switch over to heat until October, and there’s bound to be some chilly days come September.)
I’m not the type to just toss it in the closet—I packed it in it’s original carton, packing materials included. After it was safely stored away in my bedroom closet, I came out into the living room and DOGGONE IT—I forgot to pack up the heater’s included remote.
I sighed and plopped down on the couch, picked up the remote and aimed it at the TV, pressed the ON button for no particular reason. My LASKO fan to the right of my set suddenly came on. What the—!!
I pressed the Oscillator button—my fan began rotating. I pressed the timer button, the fan increased to speed 2. I pressed it again, it went to Speed 3. Speed 3 hasn’t worked in 3 years!
I pressed the ECO button on the remote and the blue IONIZER light above my fan lit up. That hasn’t worked in 3 years either!
So not only did that little space heater deliver some much needed warmth, it’s given my old fan some new life. I did look up both brands (Dreo & Lasko) and they are not owned by the same company, they are competing brands. So go figure!
Okay that’s it for now—until next time, thanks for listening and take care everyone.
That is hilarious! And just think! If you were not forgetful, you would have never discovered this.
ReplyDeleteHaha good point. Thanks Debby. 🙂
DeleteFirst of all, I love seeing pics of your meals. You look like you eat very healthy, Dug. I love broccoli and put cheese on top also (usually shredded cheddar)... and steak fries are a fav too (not big on hamburgers - although some are better than others).
ReplyDeleteLike your little Dreo (?) space heater. May look into that for my bathroom. BTW, the plug-in ionizer I bought for the bedroom seems to be working well. I feel like the air is cleaner and haven't coughed as much during the night - but it could just be my imagination.
Thanks very much Rian, I wish I could say the same about hamburgers. I eat too many. And that is very good news about your ionizer, I was wondering if it would make a difference. They're good at fine particles in the air, so I wouldn't be surprised it's helping you cough less.
DeleteI am a huge fan of food pictures. It is probably my unhealthy attachment to eating, but I don't care. I can just taste that luscious burger - the crispy fries, the delicious broccoli. I take way too many food pictures, too. I actually started a private facebook page that only my husband (who doesn't look at it) and I can access. I had way too many food pix on my phone and needed to park them somewhere!
ReplyDeleteHow cool is that about the remote!!! They do make universal tv remotes so I guess some heater/fan remotes must be universal, too. What a great thing to happen!!!
Thanks very much Miss Merry. You are a kindred spirit. 🙂
DeleteWow, that's cool about the remote. Since I have no clue how remotes work, it's all a miracle to me! There are many people who don't think that women and men can be friends, but that's not true. Sometimes circumstances dictate that that will be the level of our relationship. I love pictures of food and your meal is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteMargaret, thank you so much and I hope you know how much your friendship means to me. 🙂
DeleteI have no one perfect meal, but several…
ReplyDeleteSushi and sashimi combination,
Pasta with pesto sauce – my own homemade pesto, not bought stuff,
Steamed salmon with black beans and mirin,
Steamed white fish with teriyaki sauce (and green onions and garlic),
My own homemade vegetable soup.
I’d better stop there.
I have a stereo hooked up to my TV so I can get quality sound when I play music videos. They both have remotes.
I find that when I change the volume on the stereo it changes channels or does some other mischief on the TV.
They are different brands too.
I think this might be a universal problem with remotes.
Thanks for sharing Peter, your dinner choices sound delicious and healthy! In fact, you eat nearly the same as my friend Diana! As for the remotes, I have been learning this these last few days, but this was a first for me. At least it worked out in my favor. 🙂
DeleteSome of those remotes are universal. The best use of them is to go up to each door in your apartment building and start pressing the remote buttons! If you don’t hear yelling, move on to the next apartment door. 😈
ReplyDeleteP.S. Being single ain’t so bad 😁
Jase you just made me laugh out loud for real. Thanks my fellow Trekker. 🙂🖖
DeleteGigi Hawaii— you came up with 2 posts while I was gone to Never Never Land. Sorry for that. But I like your space heater too. I bought one in Munich, Germany 1969-1970) because it was so frigid. But it blew out the fuse and tenants were pounding on my door screaming at me. So I had to return it to the store. Congratulations on the remote. Things are going well for you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gigi, that's a wild story but I totally believe it--those old space heaters often did blow fuses. We've come a long way since then, thank goodness. :^)
DeleteI am so happy to hear that you've got a good fan again, thanks to serendipity and more.
ReplyDeleteThank you DJan--gee I just love that word serendipity, you don't hear it enough. :^)
DeleteThat remote looks very much like one of the remotes we have for one of the large, circulating fans we use in the very hot summers here in the San Joaquin Valley. I'm thinking they have some sort of "common denominator."
ReplyDeleteThanks dkzody, my original fan's remote is very different from this one. It's oval shaped, an inch thick (takes regular AA batteries). I should've added a picture of it here. When it's time to put out the space heater, I'm going to see if I can use my fan remote on it. :^)
DeleteDoug, that is crazy! Glad you were finally able to get your fan working again. I am also very glad you have Diana in your life. She sounds like such a lovely lady. Your supper looks delicious! Have a good week Doug!❤️
ReplyDeleteRobin
Haha thanks Robin and I'm very glad to hear from you! Much appreciated what you said and I sure hope Chuck is doing okay. Please give him my best, and thanks again my friend. 🙂❤️
DeleteWell, that was a lucky find to discover the remote works both the fan and heater. Now if had turned the television on as well...that would have really been something. :)
ReplyDeleteBurgers are one of my favorite summer foods as well. The first one off the BBQ is always the best one. I use the air fryer for my fries, and it works well. As for the broccoli, I know I'd enjoy it but my son would back away quickly. I long for the days when he would eat "trees", our nickname for broccoli.
Thanks very much Maebeme, I'm glad to hear from you. As for my remote turning on the tv, I don't need it--I was just talking to a friend on the phone, said I wanted to finish a Bette Davis movie before I went to bed, and my Roku turned my tv on! Anyway, too funny about the broccoli--when I was a kid I called them little trees too :^)
DeleteThis post is a warm, funny, and surprisingly touching blend of food enthusiasm, personal reflection, and a delightful tech twist. I loved the unexpected magic of the remote revival proof that even old fans can find new life. A joy to read!
ReplyDeleteI just follow your blog
Hope we can be friend
Greetings from Indonesia
Hi Asep, thank you so much for your very kind comment. This was so nice to read. I hope to hear more from you again. :^)
DeleteDug, I'm confused. On September 18, 2024 and January 22, 2025 you talked about how afraid you were of gaining all that weight back but here you say you are happy with being too sedentary and eating too much. So are you no longer worried about regaining that weight? A true friend would call that out. Respectfully, John.
ReplyDeleteThank you John, I appreciate your concern. In all honesty I was half kidding in this post about enjoying too many hamburgers. I do exercise daily, but I've also gained back 15 to 20 lb of that weight I lost. I'm just stocky by nature, you'll see in the next blog. But I do know I need to start being more careful.
DeleteDoug, Thanks for the laugh; your accidental remote universality discovery is too hilarious. I was trying to find something positive to post after your last long covid issues post, but could come up with anything! No need, your new universal remote is positive is happy note for all of us.
ReplyDeleteCheers - Mike TX
Mike you're such a nice guy thanks so much! I'm always so glad to hear from you, much appreciated. 👍🙂
DeleteI'm a little late to the party, but would love to see more food pix. I have a friend who texts hers to me all the time...we call it Food Porn.😉 Love that your new remote fixed your old fan.
ReplyDeleteBobi you just made me laugh out loud, thank you my friend! Your wish is granted, I'm working on one now for tomorrow. Too funny! 😄
Delete