Meanwhile, on ApacheDug's Island.. there is meatloaf (finally) and Eve Plumb is paying a visit

Do you remember a few years ago (March 2023 to be exact) I blogged about getting a coffee table, as in should I or shouldn't?  Last night I was sitting here on the floor in front of my couch--my "island" in my apartment--wondering about it again.  I just like being down here, sitting cross-legged or legs stretched out.  It really helps prevent swollen feet and ankles.  

But I can't help wondering if it's time I got more civilized and got a table so guests will have somewhere to set their teacup down after I recover from this damn long covid and become social again.   

On the other hand... I've never been comfortable having more than one guest in my home at a time.  That will never change.  And I don't have any teacups. 

If need be, I have this sturdy hemp ottoman to set cups on, and a cool guest chair 

So what else... I finally decided to sully my sparkling oven with one of my big juicy meatloaves.  My cooking will never make it into Bon Appétit, but it was still pretty tasty.  I tossed in some baby carrots at the last minute.  I usually have corn or green beans with meatloaf, but these worked just fine.

Some chopped parsley for the potatoes and carrots would've been nice, but my meal was still good.  I put nearly half of this meatloaf in the freezer and still had plenty for meatloaf sandwiches this week. 

I was surprised at how little splatter there was in the oven, but in my ongoing effort to keep that shiny and clean, I wiped the insides down after it cooled.  I think I can keep it this way as long as I don't cook chicken or bacon in there.

And finally, look what I got today. I am such a hypocrite.  After I finished reading Jennifer Grey's book (her saucy autobiography) last week, I said "No more. My days on this planet are numbered, and there are better ways to spend my time than reading some tell-all from an actress who starred in one popular movie in the 1980s."

Then the very next morning while watching tv, I see Eve Plumb (who played middle child Jan Brady on The Brady Bunch) being interviewed on the Today show about her new book that just came out.  Another tell-all, another actress who starred in one popular tv show in the 1970s.

I said to heck with it, went online to Barnes & Noble to buy the ebook for my Nook, then changed my mind and paid the extra $5.00 and got the hard copy instead.

Why Doug, why?  I admit to having a thing for her, but that was 50 years ago.  Also, if I'd waited a couple years like I did with Grey's book, I probably could've saved a few bucks.  Oh well!

This one was different though.  I always related more to Jan than the other kids on the show.  I think a lot of people did.  

I do know when Jan was forced to get glasses (because she had to in real life) so did I, and I felt like we were kindred spirits.

Way back in 2015, I did a special "birthday blog" to Eve Plumb (with some pretty mental memes) you can check out here.

She also bears the distinction of being my last post on Facebook before I closed my account there in 2016.  I shared an article where Eve was donating her teenaged bedroom door to a pop culture art museum in California.  The door was covered top to bottom in 70s stickers and decals, and her parents left it that way, after she grew up and moved out. 

So I've just finished the first chapter of Eve's book, and it's a sweet and quiet read, nothing like Jennifer Grey's juicy word dive.  Eve writes she was a real surprise to her parents when she came along in 1958; they were in their forties and had a son and daughter in their mid-teens.  (She also says that aside from new carpeting, her parents kept the same paint, wallpaper, curtains and furniture in their home over 50 years, from 1950 to 2001.) 

There's lots of photos too, and Eve claims many of these have never been shared before.  I'm certainly looking forward to more of her story.