Did I mention that I made applesauce? No? Well, I did. Turns out it’s very relaxing. Just a lot of loitering and stirring while the apples mushify.
Now I’m baking molasses cookies and the house smells like Christmas.
Again, more loitering while the cookies bake.
I could get used to this.
After accidentally pouring iced tea on my Frosted Shredded Wheat, I KNEW that I really did need a day off. I spent the morning at home…marinated a steak for dinner, made molasses cookie dough to bake tomorrow evening, ironed tomorrow’s work clothes, and updated my to-do list template for tomorrow.
Had lunch with the folks at Nola’s (very good chicken sandwich!), then visited our newly chosen graves (do we know how to have fun, or what?), handled some banking paperwork, and finally settled on their patio. Last time I was over, the chipmunks were running amok. Today, not so much. Probably because I was trying to take pictures. This little guy stuffed at least three whole peanuts (shell and all) in his cheeks, then scampered off under the air conditioning unit. On his last trip, a bird dive-bombed him. He shrieked, jumped, and never returned. I think he had to change his pants.
After whining most of the night (pain, fear, morphine?) Scout seems much better today. We walked our usual route this afternoon and he trotted right along like always. He’s barking his head off at the TV which is another good sign. Boo’s snoozing, pretty much oblivious to HIS close call. All is once again right in our doggy world. Phew.
Half of the afternoon was chewed up with an after-church meeting. I felt myself fading with hunger and fatigue (I slept in fits and starts, listening to Scout whimper). We had a quick late lunch of cheeseburgers, then took our walk. The day was sunny and 60-ish. Beautiful for this time of year.
After the walk, we took a spin on the Spyder, and stopped at Dunkin Donuts for iced coffee. I’m finally feeling recharged. Sun, wind, caffeine, and a crisis averted will do that.
I’m almost feeling ready to charge into Monday. ALMOST.
Books at the Horned Dorset, where we had Easter Dinner.
Now that I’ve purchased MacJournal, I better start using it.
But for now, it’s off to bed to watch The Real Housewives of NYC.
My mother recently gave me copy of the Westminster Church Cook Book from 1924. The ads are hysterical and the recipes themselves are maddeningly vague. Tonight it struck me…I think I’ll post a recipe a day. Maybe I’ll even try a few. MAYBE.
We’ll start with SOUPS AND CHOWDER—
Clam Chowder
25 clams, 4 potatoes, 2 onions, 1 carrot, 1 tomato, 1/2 pound of salt pork, milk to suit taste. Add few cracker crumbs toward the last to thicken if desired.
Chop pork fine and fry in a separate pan until brown. Then take out some of the fat. Add the finely chopped onions, and fry brown; then put into a kettle and add a quart of boiling water, and clam liquor which has been boiled and skimmed. Then add vegetables chopped fine. When all is tender put in the chopped clams; Last of all add the scalded milk to suit taste.
-Mrs. J. A. Drew
My uploaded pictures aren’t appearing on Flickr which is what I use to post photos here, soooo no photo today. I made progress on the Christmas card assembly this evening (doing it is much faster than thinking about it) and also made a meatloaf for tomorrow’s dinner and dealt with the baggie of Amish Friendship bread that a friend foisted on me.
There’s been cold rain and occasional flurries all day, but nothing dramatic. Just dark November dankness. I sprouted another migraine this afternoon, but that’s finally gone, and now it’s time to head to bed and read about Alex the parrot.
God, I’m tired lately.
I took the day off and my biggest accomplishment was reorganizing a closet that had gotten out of hand. Now pants are grouped by color, and shirts are sorted into groups of plain, striped, plaid, and floral. It took me all of twenty minutes and made me feel lighter all day. I decided, though, the wire hangers should go, but I’ll save that for another day.
Next— the t-shirt drawer (not for the faint-hearted).
Filed under: Home sweet home
The sermon today talked about how Jesus was for others…the oddballs, the down-trodden, the shunned, the outcasts, the criminals. How his actions mirrored his words. How he hated the hypocrisy of the high priests who talked the talk but didn’t walk the walk. Which reminds me of a line in Woody Allen’s “Hannah and Her Sisters,” where the Max von Syndow character says, “If Jesus came back here, and saw what was going on in his name, he’d never stop throwing up.”
Note to self: Don’t make Jesus throw up.
Not much of a day of rest, but we did squeeze in a walk with the boys. Also, tackled a little decluttering (magazines and catalogs BREED), and did some work work. Now– bed and my Kindle. Peace. At last.
Friday at last. The work day was busy enough to fly by but calmer than the hair-tearing pace of yesterday. I actually exhaled a few times. And peed. And drank a little water. Some days there’s no time for such luxuries.
Because we get zero kids for Halloween (busy street, no sidewalks) we headed out for dinner at our new favorite little hole-in-the-wall restaurant, Bennu. Well, dinner was actually an enormous beef quesdilla and a California wrap, which we split. Bennu’s owned by the same guy who runs our favorite pizza joint, and it’s just a few doors down from the pizza place in the same barely-hanging-on shopping center. Despite it’s shopping center location, this place has atmosphere with a capital A. It’s casual, the food’s great (and cheap), and the decor is calming and fun. Halfway through the quesadilla, I could feel my shoulders relax.
Now, fresh from the hot tub, I’m downright floppy. Monday, with its ringing phones and panicked jumble of requests, feels very far away.
I made this for dinner tonight. Yum. It seems as though I’ve successfully broken out of our god-awful food rut, thanks to Real Simple and Everyday Food. And PLANNING. So far, so good.
Note to self–topics that I need to cover here:
Softub
Multi-pens
Spyder
OCC
It is POURING out. We’re holed up and hunkered down with tea, chocolate chip cookies, and a little work to do. Feels good. Also jump started my Christmas gift spreadsheet and ordered a bunch of magazines for friends. The cards still need to be made. Or, really, finished. Just do it.
