Blandness Unrefrained

So, the real disappointment with Carol's cooking is that nothing (except her Chili) has any flavor. I thought it was just her hallmark meal -- baked potatoes with vegetables on the side - she also apparently does not believe in salt. Now I understand that some things are fine without salt, and too much salt is bad - blah blah blah, but no salt in anything makes everything taste like crap.

Like the other night - she had been talking about making potatoes with broccoli and cheese. I was actually anticipating eating this meal as it sounded tasty, and I didn't think you could go wrong. But no...it was bland! Broccoli and cheese were bland! I was shocked that this meal sucked so much. So halfway through the meal I stood up and went and got the salt, because I was desperate, and even as much salt as I could get on there, it did not really make it that much better. I really do not understand how you mess that up. Like I have made things that are less exciting, and that are flavors that I think are so-so, but I have never had something that completely lacked flavor. That must be a peculiar talent that she has.

And it is really funny her misperceptions. As in she thinks that Janardan doesn't like regular potatoes. He had told me this before, that he doesn't particularly favor sweet potatoes, but asked his mom one time if he could try a sweet potato instead, and since then, she has thought he prefers them to regular potatoes. So I was making myself a baked potato, on which I put cheese and broccoli, and she said, "Janardan wouldn't really want to eat something like that would he?" After which she said, "Well I know he only really likes sweet potatoes. I do know that." To which I smiled inside and did not respond.

Now it may seem rude to not respond, and generally I would think so too, but Carol speaks in such a way that most of the times it would be awkward to respond. I don't know if this has been her style of communication all her life, or it has come as a result of being married to Art, who is much less responsive than the normal person. Probably a deadly combination.

Also yesterday I came to an interesting realization. Janardan's mom had made chili for lunch (her chili is yummy, but has about 7-8 different vegetables, so naturally Janardan cannot eat it without getting sick). She asked him if he was going to have some, and he said, "Oh maybe later." And it was like - ding ding ding. Because he had no real intention of eating any, it was just a way to avoid offending his mom and causing strife. And Janardan will do this to me, and I always wonder why - like I keep telling him - "NO! Tell me if you are really going to eat any or not." So now I have learned that I can add to it, "Remember, I am not your mom. I do really want to know whether you are going to eat it or not." So, living here may be beneficial in coming to understand why Janardan does some of the peculiar things he does, and helping him realize that he can act differently with me.

I think when I start writing again, I am going to go to the library. I really need ample amounts of time away from the house and away from Carol in order to keep up my friendliness towards her. The first few days, I was spending a lot of time with her, and I think it was a bit too much. So I will figure something out.

It is so nice to have a venue where I can write about what is really going on. I have had so many urges to write stuff on my normal blog, but do not want to drama that could come from that. Sometimes it is better for people not to know the negative feelings you have for them, especially when the person is incapable of there being a positive outcome from the exchange. So here I can vent. Here I can share, and here I can express how I am trying to figure out a balance between Carol thinking that I am not trying to avoid her, and avoiding her enough that I actually like spending time with her, lol.