Plumber's Helper

Yes, this is one more thing I can add to my list of things that I've learned how to do since retirement.  Yesterday, my husband was fixing toilets in the house, and I heard him calling me for assistance.  Who knew I would be a plumber's helper?  I learned the difference between a vise grip, crescent wrench, and a strap wrench.  As anyone who knows me realizes, I am not the most patient person.  I think it's because I'm hyperactive, and waiting is really hard for me.  Every time my husband would direct me, I asked, "OK, can I go now?"  He would say, "No, why don't you stick around for a little while longer?"  I would sigh, and say, "OK."

Right now, he's teaching me to make a chicken and andouille gumbo, but am I in the kitchen observing his every move?  Nope, I'm in the office on the computer.  Like I said, I am not the world's most patient person.  He showed me how he makes the roux:  two sticks of butter, melted in the microwave, and then whisk in a cup of flour.  Brown it in the microwave for five minutes, stir, and then back in the microwave for four minutes, stir, then three minutes, stir, then two minutes, stir, then one minute, stir, and then add the vegetables, two onions sliced up, a bell pepper, a couple of stalks of celery, and several cloves of garlic.  Stir up about half of the vegetables in the roux - that carmelizes the vegetables and cools off the roux.  Then back into the microwave for one minute, and let it sit for about five minutes.  Meanwhile, bring a big pot of water to boil, and add the andouille.  After the vegetables and roux have sat for the five minutes, then add that mixture to the andouille and water, one spoon at a time.  Add the rest of the vegetables to the andouille and water.  Then add chicken thighs and cook for at least an hour and a half.

Now that I've observed the whole process, it's not really as hard as I'd imagined.  I bet lots of things are like that, if only I had to patience!

So anyway, getting back to being a plumber's helper, the toilets have stopped leaking - how wonderful!!!  Do you get the impression that I'm easily distracted?  I started off writing about plumbing, and then had to write about learning to cook a gumbo, and then I went back to plumbing.  Yes, that's really the way my brain works, bouncing around from one topic to another.  It's amazing that I accomplish as much as I do!