Torianna's Corner

If you’re a basketball fan like I am, you should know exactly what I’m referring to in the title of today’s vanity post, but if you’re not, I guess I’ll tell you. It’s the beginning of the 2026/2027 NCAA basketball season, and my team (the University of Kentucky Wildcats) played their first game of the season yesterday!

It was an exhibition game against the Little Rock Trojans, and I’m happy to report that WE WON! The final score was 69-49, and, according to “the guys who call the action”, Mark Pope (who’s going into his third season as UK’s head coach) and the players (who’ve only been playing together for seventeen weeks) learned a lot about each other during this first game.

It was also mentioned that much of what was seen during the game (as far as the team’s offensive skills, defensive skills, and the whopping number of turnovers) can be improved upon as the season progresses.

I sure hope they’re right because this UK fan is looking forward to a FANTASTIC season, and I have a feeling that this group of guys should be able to deliver! I’m hoping, anyway!

PLEASE LET UK CONTINUE TO WIN!

Go, Big Blue! Go, Cats!

P.S. I’m sure I’ll be giving you periodic updates about how MY team is doing, so feel free to brag about YOUR favorite NCAA (and/or NBA) team is doing during this season by leaving a comment below! Go, _______ (fill in the blank with your favorite team, and I’ll do the same with mine!

I FINALLY did something that’s been on “The Three Tasks” list of mine for quite some time, and it took a Halloween deadline to get it done! It sure felt good to (finally) be able to cross that task off my list!

However, that task was NOT without frustration! The thing that frustrated me the most was the Web site telling me that items (lots of items!) were “50% off when paired” with the purchase of something else. Well… I figured that since I was purchasing that “something else”, I’d be able to get 50% off quite a few items! Good deal, right?

Well… By the time I was ready to check out, I was in for a rather rude — and frustrating — wake-up call! When I double checked my shopping cart, I noticed that A LOT of the items I thought I’d be getting at “50% off” were listed at the regular price. So… I took all of ’em out and then, based on my true need, added some of ’em back into my cart.

At that point, I ended up with three items in my shopping cart:

1. that “something else”;
2. a storage case; and
3. another accessory.

Figuring that I’d try to get 50% off the more expensive item, I deleted the other two items and then added the more expensive item back into my cart. It showed that it was, indeed, 50% off — with the regular price crossed out and the discounted price listed. Next, I added the second item back into the cart, AND then the WEB SITE’s “back end” put the more expensive item back to its regular price and gave the less expensive accessory the “50% off” discounted price!

I guess I now know what they meant with they said “50% off when paired with” the purchase of something else. Oh, well… I guess they can’t be giving customers 50% off everything if they want to stay in business.

That, however, was only part of the frustration I experience placing this order. When I finally went to check out, I got a pop-up notification that said something to the effect of “something in your cart is out of stock, so it will be removed from your order.” Thankfully, that “something” was a book that I can purchase through Amazon. When I first saw it on their Web site, I wanted to give them the business by purchasing it through them, but that didn’t happen. So… I’ll be adding it to my next Amazon order — though I don’t know when that’ll be yet. I’ll be REALLY frustrated if I’m told that this book is no longer in stock when I place my Amazon order.

So, yeah… I’ve discovered (many times, actually) that ordering things online can be VERY FRUSTRATING!

Now that I’ve shared my frustrations with placing online orders, I hope you’ll share some of your frustrating experiences when ordering online with me by taking a moment to leave me a comment below!

When I was composing this post, my first thought was to title it “In a muffin mood…” because I was, indeed, in the mood for muffins (both banana and blueberry), then I thought about “Chemistry in the kitchen” (since Sweet Thing” likes to tease me by remindiing me that cooking is basically “chemistry” because he knows that chemistry is definitely NOT one of my strengths). Ultimately, I decided that “Epic fail…” OR more accurately, “Epic FAILS”.. was a more appropriate title, given the results of yesterday’s baking!

I attempted to make a batch of banana muffins to use up the VERY RIPE bananas that were sitting on my kitchen counter (attracting fruit flies, I might add). As I often do, I went to my beloved Betty Crocker cookbook and followed the variation for banana muffins, which involved decreasing the milk, adding the mashed bananas, and substituting packed brown sugar for the sugar called for in the original recipe. Unfortunately, I missed the part of the original directions that read “stir in remaining ingredients”. So… I didn’t add the last two (KEY) ingredients: the baking powder and the salt. As you can probably imagine, the resulting banana muffins were an epic fail…

The FIRST of TWO, actually!

The second one came when I attempted to follow the recipe for “Popovers”, which was right next to my “Muffins” recipe AND had the following note:

“Yorkshire Pudding: The traditional English accompaniment for roast beef is simply a popover batter baked in the meat drippings. Directions for preparing it with the meat are… (in my previous vanity post, #135).”

So, yeah… Since yesterday was National Yorkshire Pudding Day, I was bound and determined to make myself some Yorkshire Pudding. Except for cutting the recipe for Popovers in half, I followed the directions exactly, especially with regards to the amount of time in the oven. Sadly, this lead to the SECOND epic fail of the day! Instead of puffing up and turning golden brown like Dad’s Yorkshire Pudding always did, mine remained flat (much like my attempt at making banana muffins), and (again, like the muffins), stuck to the muffin tins. Had to pry the well-cooked popovers/Yorkshire Pudding out with tongs! In addition, one of my thoughts as I was prying ’em out of the muffin tins was Dad’s motto when it came to Mom’s cooking at times: “Brown it’s cooking; black it’s done.” My popovers/Yorkshire Pudding were definitely “done” — so “done” that I couldn’t even eat much of ’em! I ended up scooping out the soft center from the burnt shells and eating ’em that way.

Yesterday was definitely NOT one of my best days in the kitchen! I failed “Chemistry in the Kitchen” TWICE!

However, I have NOT given up on making muffins! Since I’ve got some fresh blueberries in the fridge, I’m going to attempt to make a batch of blueberry muffins — AFTER I toss the botched banana muffins. This time, I’m going to make sure that I “stir in the remaining ingredients”. PLEASE LET ME PASS MY NEXT “CHEMISTRY IN THE KITCHEN” LESSON!

Please help me feel better about these two EPIC FAILS of mine by sharing some of your failed “Chemistry in the kitchen” experiments and/or kitchen mishaps. I can’t be the only one who has experienced mishaps in the room that’s often referred to as the heart of the home! Looking forward to hearing from you!!

On Tuesday of last week, something happened that would affect me this weekend: a tropical storm started to develop as it reached the open waters in the Gulf of Mexico. It eventually developed into Hurricane Isaias! Here’s more information about Isaias:

“Hurricane Isaias was the first hurricane and first major hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, developing unusually late due to a strong El Niño.

• Formation and Intensification: The storm formed on October 6, 2026, and rapidly intensified, becoming a Category 3 major hurricane with 120 mph winds on October 9.
• Landfall: It made landfall near Destin, Florida, on the evening of October 9, 2026, as a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 105 mph.
• Impact: The storm caused at least 4 deaths and left hundreds of thousands without power across Florida, Alabama, and Georgia. It brought extreme winds, storm surges, and heavy rainfall, with some areas recording over a foot of rain.
• Aftermath: By October 10, Isaias weakened to a post-tropical cyclone as it moved north across the Southeastern U.S., bringing continued threats of flooding and tornadoes.

Sweet Thing told me that strong winds were forecast for this area as Isaias made its way “north across the Southeastern U.S.”, the holler was spared — though we did receive LOTS of rain — as part of the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias.

Since that milestone event I mentioned in yesterday’s vanity post (#132) is now history, I thought I’d share the history of my first alma mater (San Juan High School) that I found on the school district’s Web site. Here goes…

“The History of San Juan High School

In 1911 the need for a four-year high school was recognized. The original school was convened in a building in Fair Oaks with the Grammar School. That building is the Community Clubhouse now. The San Juan Union High School District was organized by 1913. It was composed of Sylvan, Orangevale, Fair Oaks, Roberts, and San Juan Districts. In 1913-1914 when the first classes were being held in the Grammar School, there were 46 students of whom 41 were freshmen. In June 1914, the first student graduated (Dorothy Gertrude Jerauld).

By 1915, the decision was made to locate at the present site on Greenback Lane in Citrus Heights. The land for the school was donated by Walter Trainor (the man who named Citrus Heights). In the summer of 1915 work was begun on the building. Enrollment swelled to 92 with a large group coming from Folsom (Folsom High School was not built until 1922). The original building was a two-story school with a frame construction and a tile roof. This structure remained until the late 1950s (since 1938 it was hidden behind the auditorium and the “A” and “B” wings of the present structure). At its inception, San Juan served all students living east of Fulton Ave., south of the Placer County line and north of the American River. Boys rode in a Tally Ho Mac Truck and girls in Pierce Arrow Stages. Some farm families transported students to the old Railroad Station south of Fair Oaks Village, where the bus met them.

By 1940, two years after the “A” and “B” wings were built, the school enrollment totaled about 400. The old school building, which had been nearly abandoned in the 1930s, was reoccupied room after room until it was in full use again. Following the end of World War II, it became possible to add the “H” wing (music) west of the auditorium. A gradual program of building shops, a gymnasium, and classroom wings was begun, which culminated in the late 1950s with razing of the original building and the construction of the “C” and “D” wings on its former site. The present enrollment at San Juan is approximately 600.

We are indebted to Phoebe Cale, San Juan High School Librarian for 37 years before her retirement in 1977. No one person knew more about San Juan and its history.

Drawing from our rich history of academic excellence, San Juan High School is preparing for a dramatic new change to give students an excellent foundation in career and technical education as we enter the next 100 years of San Juan High School.”

So, there you have it: the history of my first alma mater: San Juan High School! Don’t ya just love history? I know I do!!

Once again, you’ll notice that I highlighted a couple of things in this article. This is because they brought back memories of the four years I spent at San Juan High School. The first of these (the “H” wing (music) was where I spent a great deal of time. No, I wasn’t musically inclined back then (nor am I now), but my best friend in high school (Hi, Daina!) was! Consequently, she’d often ask me to meet her at one of the practice rooms in the “H” wing before school, between classes, during lunch, or after school since we didn’t have very many classes together. So, yeah… During those four years, I became very familiar with the “H” wing… and the auditorium, for that matter.

In addition, I highlighted the name Phoebe Cale because I also spent LOTS of time in the library at San Juan High School — for studying AND attending IMC Club meetings. The “Instructional Media Center” was Phoebe Cale’s name for the library, and the IMC Club members (including me) could often be found in the library — doing a variety of “literary activities” (most of which I don’t remember anymore). I always enjoyed talking with Phoebe Cale, probably because I loved soaking up all the history she knew, especially about the history of my/our high school. I’m glad she decided to retire AFTER I graduated from San Juan High School!

I’d love to hear about any memories you have of your years in high school (and/or attending any of your high school class reunions), so please take a moment to leave me a comment.

This evening, people will be gathering at a fancy country club to enjoy a (catered) dinner AND to celebrate a milestone for students in San Juan High School’s “Class of 1976”: Our 50th high school class reunion. Sadly, I’ll be with them in spirit only, but I’ll be celebrating (at my holler in Kentucky) with a fancy (home-cooked) dinner of my own.

In a recent San Juan Alumni Association newsletter, I found the following article that I thought was interesting (and, of course, brought back memories), so I thought I’d share it with y’all. Here goes…

“Fifty Years Ago At San Juan High School

Spartans celebrate the Bicentennial of the USA. Two new companies are incorporated — Apple and Microsoft, maybe they will do well. Jimmy Carter defeats Gerald Ford for the US Presidency.

The musical group ABBA has a breakout hit with “Dancing Queen”. Men and boys sport long hair and polyester bell-bottoms.

The Greenback Notes for ’76 is dedicated to Mr. George Sakamoto. George had been forcibly interned at a camp for Japanese Americans at Heart Mountain, Wyoming, with his mother, father, brother, and two sisters from 1942 to 1945.

The Wrestling Team are CVC Champions. Don Phipps and Glen Cooper are stars.

A foreign exchange student from Costa Rica, Orlando Pacheco attends San Juan as does Eva Renning from Norway.

Sports teams include water polo and women’s gymnastics, bowling, and badminton.

San Juan activities include the Cadet Corps and a Black Student Union. The marching band has fancy uniforms; the drum major is David Haigh.”

So, there you have it: some information about what was happening in my high school way back when!

Note: I highlighted “bowling” above because I was actually on San Juan High School’s bowling team, and I’ve even still got a miniature wooden bowling pin with my high score (of 123, if I remember correctly) on it! Finding that relic from my past in the reliquary really brought back memories — as did finding this article from the alumni association’s recent newsletter.