Oatmeal, YUCK

Actually, Cliff and I like oatmeal just fine; I dress it up with raisins and fruit and walnuts, and it tastes good.  The problem is that we're both tired of it.  We will, however, continue to eat it at least three times a week.  It's good for our hearts, it's cheap, and since I don't add salt, there isn't much sodium in it.  I never buy the instant stuff:  The servings are too small, salt is added, it's expensive, and I can spare three minutes it takes to cook the regular stuff.  Of course it helps that Cliff and I eat at the same time, so one batch is all that's necessary.  On the days we're not forcing down oatmeal we have Cream of Wheat, which Cliff prefers, or cold cereal with some of the fruit I put in the freezer last summer.  
For years I thought I didn't like brown rice, although it's much better for us.  Turns out I wasn't cooking it long enough and it was crunchy; we're using more brown rice now.  
I've gotten rid of my T-fal pans except for one large skillet that I like to use for frying catfish.  I've always used non-stick pans for cooking rice, which sticks so easily to the pan.  But now I have a stainless steel double boiler, which totally prevents any sticking.  It takes a little longer to cook the rice, but I have plenty of time.   
One thing I love about Sparkpeople.com is that it not only keeps track of your calories, but also any nutrients, sodium, cholesterol, and so forth that you choose to monitor.  With that tool, I have found out we never go over the recommended salt intake requirement as long as we eat at home.  I used to buy no-salt tomatoes and tomato sauce at the store, but unless Walmart is carrying those (which they sometimes do, in their house brand) the prices are prohibitive.  For now I am canning my own tomatoes without salt and buying tomato sauce that contains salt.  If we eat out, we go way over the recommended sodium level.  One six-inch Subway sandwich contains more salt than a person should have in a day.
Cliff loves ketchup, and if he's turned loose he can easily eat a half-cup or more of ketchup on a hamburger.  His mother once told me he used to tip up the bottle and drink the stuff.  He's back to limiting it somewhat.  You can buy no-salt ketchup, but Cliff doesn't like it.   
After our walk I toasted some sliced almonds to use in recipes.  I spilled about a cupful of them in the hot oven, and was fretting about how to get them out when Cliff came up with the obvious solution:  the vacuum cleaner.  Later I grated some more home-made cheese and cooked some brown rice to put in small batches in the freezer, for times when I'm in a hurry.  

I have a progress report on the monstrosity next door:  They spent the morning tearing off a dormer that wasn't serving any purpose except, I guess, to balance out the house.  

It's going to look a little unbalanced, but hey, there was no reason for it to be there!  The remaining dormer is part of a bathroom, so I don't think they'll remove it.