Song of the day: …I am too sleepy, I can’t remember.
It’s been a friggin’ busy weekend and I, for one, am more than happy it is over.
The good news first. Today we went to hospital (were only ten minutes late. Had to feed the friggin’ dogs, ya know) to visit with grandpa. Just in case, I took him some bread and pumpkin chutney, and we sat there for several hours, waiting endlessly for the doctor who was said to be out and would come at some time up until 3 in the afternoon. Aargh. She did finally arrive after one and informed us that depending on the blood test result she was expecting any minute, he could go home today (going home regardless, but with which medication was the cincher) with three prescriptions. Read his file, and on the overall he is ridiculously healthy. Which is a good thing, or else this little mishap might have ended very differently. In fact, the file said that for his age he is in extraordinary good health. Hah. Go figure. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The doctor:
Were able to follow most of what she said, but then we started talking and we started doubting again, so I went in pursuit…only to find she had disappeared in a matter of thirty seconds. Grrr. Found the interpreter instead, to whom I explained my confusion and she sorted it all out, and told me that we could take him home today. Yay. Since the procedure of being tossed out on yer ear at the hospital takes a while, we left him to get dressed and start to gather his things while we went to the supermarket for some groceries.
We were back within an hour, but clearly the leprechauns had been busy because his paperwork had already been taken care of (did you hear that universal gasp of shock. Paperwork on time, at a state hospital? *shakes head) and he could leave at any time. Yay.
While big brother stayed with him to gather the last few things, I went looking for someone in charge to check if there was anything else necessary, and found the doctor who said we could go, just as soon as I made an appointment at the main information desk for two months from now.
First I got to the wrong desk, where the interpreter from earlier was at as well (thankfully) and they sent me to the right spot. Took about five minutes, at which time grandpa and big brother had fetched the car and came driving up. Were home at four thirty because we had to stop underway for a small donation (almost had to cancel, but we made it) at which time I was more than ready for a nap.
First I had to eat something, though, which I was not appreciative of, but it had to be done. Meat. Grrr. Didn’t manage the whole slab, but since it was slightly bigger than usual anyway that didn’t matter all that much. The nap got cancelled because Empera really wasn’t doing well, so we had to go take her to the vet. It wasn’t good. The vet looked her over, explained her confusion about Empies muscle atrophy and overall skinniness and explained that there was really very little that she could do without doing a whole battery of tests that would cost and arm and a leg. There was some discussion, but in the end we had to make the dreaded decision once more. *sigh* Empera. German shepherd: seven years old. Crazy as a loon. And member of the pack. Never a good feeling to lose one, but it will happen again. *double sigh*
Once we got home I crawled into bed and passed out for about an hour and a half. Had thought that big brother would wake me after an hour, or so, but he didn’t so I got an extra half hour. Yay. Strange dreams. Most of them involved the hospital.
Which brings us to yesterday, doesn’t it? In a rather roundabout way. Had to get up a little early to bake some patties for tasters. Were a little later than usual, and when we got there it was so busy with folks setting up that we had to wait some more before we could start ourselves. No sense in getting annoyed like some folks. This particular market doesn’t get into full swing until after noon anyway.
But anyway, we got set up, and once done I left Cousin Ed to it so I could go visit grandpa at the hospital, only five minutes away. Had to park about a mile off, which I wouldn’t mind so much if the friggin’ foot hadn’t been so bothersome. Arrived at his room sore as heck, but got to sit for a bit, so it didn’t matter. We talked some, him having a hard time of it again, which appears to be the norm at the hospital. I guess it is the long night that makes it harder. He kept his spirits up, though.
Stayed for about an hour, then hurried back to the market to eat a piece of bread with a pattie and lettuce on it, and rushed on through to the restaurant so I could do some writing. Managed to do three pages in the next hour and a half, at which time I quit and returned to our stand. Had some nice chats with folks. There were quite a few who wanted to try it out, and we sold about ten burgers through the course of the day…along with some other stuff that at least covered the expenses.
The nasty bit of news is that we got robbed. Yep, so a-hole stole one of the smaller dog beds. Grrr. We didn’t notice it for real until at the end of the day. I do remember vaguely that I wondered if Cousin Ed maybe sold it before I got back from the hospital, but then it slipped my mind again. Darn it. Luckily we did sell a similar one, later on, so it wasn’t a complete loss.
Got home, unloaded the car and trailer, had some food (big brother made mac & cheese) and took care of my messages, and then spent the last hour of the evening cutting bread for the dogs. Gawd, it’s not until someone’s out of the picture that you realize how much help those things said person does to take off the pressure. We were really scrambling this week.
Luckily mom and the sibs decided to take over the Saturday market, because we might not have been able to make that otherwise. Instead we took Sally and tenant to the hospital to visit with grandpa. A trip both ladies seemed to enjoy, if for no other reason than to repay him for visiting with them when their roles were reversed. All three had fun, I think, so it was a successful afternoon.
Once we got home I started making rice pie (turns out I mixed up dates. Middle sister’s birthday was on the 17th, while I remembered the 19th, darn it. So I was two days late with the pie) and a pumpkin chutney. Took me some odd three hours to make the birthday pie and the one for the market (only got rid of two pieces, by the way, despite the fact that it was tasty as heck). Luckily I did, without realizing it, give her lemon pie on her birthday. Hah.
Well after that there was the car to upload, which we didn’t finish with until dusk. Due to the weather we had to leave it to the last possible moment. There were clouds all over and it seemed as if it might rain. It didn’t…though today we did have some.
Practiced some Spanish, though not as much as I should have. Do have to say that I spoke quite a bit of Spanish this weekend. At the market, at the hospital. Ever since I’m doing these lessons I admit to having several occasions where I think like: Hey, I can say this sentence. I know how to say this! So the lessons are paying off. Hah.
Well, that’s it. Time for me to hit the sheets for some serious horizontal time until 6 and a half hours from now when Sally needs to go to the health center for a blood test. Since caregiver has to take tenant to the hospital in town for her kidney research, I’ll have to go along instead. *sigh* And that while I was planning on sleeping in, darn it!
Showing posts with label pie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pie. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Doing some comparisons
Song of the day: well, beside a really annoying children’s song from eons ago it was still “Things” only this time the one from Dean Martin and Nancy Sinatra.
Well, it was an incredibly busy weekend. First there was the Saturday market, which meant getting up at 6:20 in the morning and starting on the morning rituals involving a large mug of coffee that I basically scorched my throat on. *sigh* Hung the laundry quickly, and then headed up for the pancakes grandpa had made for breakfast. Had to hook the wagon up, got a phone call from mom with the whens and hows of this new market where we’ll be taking over someone else’s stand for the next few months. We arrived about ten minutes late but met with this fella who explained everything and then disappeared without a trace. We started setting up on the rather gray morning with clouds literally everywhere. Not a nice sunny market day, nor was it a nice market like on Sundays. There’s no friendly good mornings from the other stand holders. No smiles and waves to newcomers, just everyone shlogging through the motions of survival. Nothing against survival, mind you, but it does make the day less pleasant.
First off we had to set up the market tent mom borrowed from a friend and then I was basically on my own since big brother had to pee and there was not a single bathroom in the vicinity. Aaaahhh! Bless Funny Beach in that regard. Four bathrooms at a market are a blessing. Anyway, due to that little disaster, I basically did the set up on my own. Not that I mind all that much, considering I can bee incredibly fussy, but what the hey. Had it all set up to my satisfaction at a quarter to ten. Yay.
Only a short market in comparison, I assure you. I could easily stand there (my new shoes made it pretty darn comfortable, by the way. Got some new sneakers with extra spring (gel) in the heels. It made all the difference. My feet were tired afterward, rather than excruciating. Heck, I don’t even mind that they’re of this neon yellow. Hah) without hoping for the hours to pass. Did get the “need” to pee at around eleven, which got me a bit panicked. Cousin Ed and tenant were going to show up around that time, but didn’t, meaning that I kept postponing, and postponing some more until I was just about ready to just leave big brother the stand and head to a restaurant for relief.
Cousin Ed arrived around one, meaning I left them all to it and rushed off. Aaaagh. I made it, so I picked up tenant, and together we meandered around the market for a bit. Found a nice bit of ceramics for my kitchen, along with some of those beautiful pots with the permanent clips to shut them. I’ll need to find some more, but when I do, they’ll look grand on the shelves. Yay. Also these wonderful soup cups in the same style as that big set of plates I bought some months ago.
Also found a set of backseat seatbelts that we can use to replace the broken ones in the back of the Land Rover. Also found some oven dishes and had to call grandpa to ask if he could measure the new oven, but they were too short, darn it.
Tenant appeared to enjoy our short trip too, so it was a pity that her outing had to be cut short due to mom having an appointment for which she needed the car.
But anyway, by the time I finished my roaming of the stands it was almost two, and big brother had already started packing up. Took us about an hour and a half, which is nothing short of a record. Yay.
In the end we didn’t sell all that bad. The 2nd hand stuff definitely covered the expenses made, but regretfully there was no real profit. Did have a few nice chats with folks, but it was business, rather than just a nice day of watching people. Not even the customers are friendly. In fact they rush past as fast as they can, almost afraid to show any interest from fear of being hassled. Only few were up to a little chat, which is a pity, because it is those that make the day fun, don’t they? It would be so nice if everyone just figured out that a market would be so much more fun if everyone just relaxed and tried to have fun. It’s not as if a sour face and worries are going to make the profits any higher. *double sigh*
Had to go home the roundabout way because we’d agreed to pick up some stuff, and when we got home we had to unload prior to heading out again. Luckily it turned out that the trip was worth it in the end. Got some seriously nice stuff.
Once home there was plenty to do to prepare for Sunday market. There was some reloading, and of course the making of the yogurt sauce and a new pie. Opted for a lemon pie this time round and it worked splendidly. Yay! It was fluffy, the lemon piece just right, and yummy. Managed a few pages for the edit, but really had to head for bed early rather than risk a breakdown while on the market.
The day started off hazy, with clouds thick over the valley. It didn’t look promising, but I shlurped coffee, went to the coffee to bake the burgers and left at a quarter to nine with everything packed and a miserly rain coming down. *sigh*
We took a long time unloading, in particular since we didn’t dare risk unpacking everything with the threat of rain. It continued to look threatening, but everyone insisted it would pass (it didn’t) but since the temps were nicely warm we started with the tables and the big metal construction. Didn’t finish setting up until noon, but it did look rather splendid with the quilts hanging high, as well as my tie dyes. It all looked great.
Had a few more good responses to my patties, and even sold a packet, but the weather was appalling enough (even had stuff get wet at some point) for folks not to come to the beach. *sigh*
Did sequester myself in the restaurant at some point where one of the employees at some point came up to me, gave me a hug and two kisses claiming that my lemon pie was delicious. That sure made me chortle.
Turns out that another guy really liked it, because when we decided to start packing up (early, because the weather was not improving and we did get the expenses back) he came up to me and started asking me what it would cost to make him like eight or nine pies per week. There was some talk, negotiating, but he wanted to think on it some. Would be fun, because he wasn’t particular about which fruits, meaning I could experiment.
Did have a few nice chats, and this somewhat cute (if too young) drunk man started, with a lot of difficulty, asking me where the toilets were, made my day. Realizing he was English in about three seconds, I put him out of his misery and explained where the toilet was. He looked at me oddly (drunk, remember) and said, “You’re English, right?” which had me laugh and wave him off. Gawd, a bit of good news after all. Oh, and I did manage to write two pages for E.D., which is something at least. Loading took us about two hours and fifteen minutes, at which point we headed home and got there around six, for a change.
Tenant was in good spirits, and Sally a bit withdrawn, but according to her not feeling too bad despite a carpy morning. Totally didn’t feel like cooking, so I was happy to hear that big brother had baked spaghetti. Big brother was in a pissy mood, by the way. Turns out he worked with the computers most of the day, and hadn’t managed to solve the problem. Which reminds me. The problem is that both mom’s and little sister’s computers gave the spirits, and since they’re the same, big brother is trying to see if he can make one Mac out of two. He hasn’t succeeded yet…and kept on bursting out swearing like a sailor while we were unloading because he couldn’t put it out of his mind. The day got finished up with some edits, but not much.
What else?
Ticks. We’re facing a plague. Per plucking session I take off an average of 40 of the little pests, I check about ten to thirteen dogs a day, and some of them twice. You do the math of how many I’m putting out of commission per day. *sigh* Tack bath, asap…well, as soon as the weather improves again. Today it was downright nippy. Couldn’t do that to the poor critters.
Today involved catching up on all the neglected chores, then some more edits and practicing our Spanish. Didn’t manage a lot, darn it, which is very annoying. The dogs were rather happy with our being home, so they needed attention too. And the Knight needed to go to the vet with his stitches, of course, so we had to stop around four (again didn’t get around to eating meat, darn it) and head out.
Arrived at the vet, who was running a little late because she needed to make a house call later on. I warned her that Knight lost a stitch of two, only to have her discover that he lost all but one. But the wound is healing, so we’re going to see how it goes until Friday. Thank gawd we don’t need to pay for checkups, because it would cost an even bigger fortune. *sigh*
Also got new prescriptions for Sonia (who’s doing way better, thankfully. She’s actually running about again) and Empy, and much to my relief that doesn’t cost extra either. Let’s just hope that vets don’t start going bonkers like doctors and charge 15 (to 30) bucks just to prescribe something. *sigh*
Went past the vegetable distribution center afterward and got a nice batch of veggies for the dogs. Was really necessary too, considering grandpa used the last bit for tomorrow already. New plan, by the way, due to the teeth problem the dogs are always suffering from (aftermath of dog kibble, mind you) we’ve decided to follow mom’s suggestion to feed the dogs dry hard bread once a week, or so. It’s true, back in the day when we still did that occasionally, their teeth were downright beautiful. It should also help their gums. We’re going to have to see how that works, but it’ll be worth a shot.
Well, it’s late again, so I better leave it at this and see if I can get to bed in time for a change. I’m out.
Well, it was an incredibly busy weekend. First there was the Saturday market, which meant getting up at 6:20 in the morning and starting on the morning rituals involving a large mug of coffee that I basically scorched my throat on. *sigh* Hung the laundry quickly, and then headed up for the pancakes grandpa had made for breakfast. Had to hook the wagon up, got a phone call from mom with the whens and hows of this new market where we’ll be taking over someone else’s stand for the next few months. We arrived about ten minutes late but met with this fella who explained everything and then disappeared without a trace. We started setting up on the rather gray morning with clouds literally everywhere. Not a nice sunny market day, nor was it a nice market like on Sundays. There’s no friendly good mornings from the other stand holders. No smiles and waves to newcomers, just everyone shlogging through the motions of survival. Nothing against survival, mind you, but it does make the day less pleasant.
First off we had to set up the market tent mom borrowed from a friend and then I was basically on my own since big brother had to pee and there was not a single bathroom in the vicinity. Aaaahhh! Bless Funny Beach in that regard. Four bathrooms at a market are a blessing. Anyway, due to that little disaster, I basically did the set up on my own. Not that I mind all that much, considering I can bee incredibly fussy, but what the hey. Had it all set up to my satisfaction at a quarter to ten. Yay.
Only a short market in comparison, I assure you. I could easily stand there (my new shoes made it pretty darn comfortable, by the way. Got some new sneakers with extra spring (gel) in the heels. It made all the difference. My feet were tired afterward, rather than excruciating. Heck, I don’t even mind that they’re of this neon yellow. Hah) without hoping for the hours to pass. Did get the “need” to pee at around eleven, which got me a bit panicked. Cousin Ed and tenant were going to show up around that time, but didn’t, meaning that I kept postponing, and postponing some more until I was just about ready to just leave big brother the stand and head to a restaurant for relief.
Cousin Ed arrived around one, meaning I left them all to it and rushed off. Aaaagh. I made it, so I picked up tenant, and together we meandered around the market for a bit. Found a nice bit of ceramics for my kitchen, along with some of those beautiful pots with the permanent clips to shut them. I’ll need to find some more, but when I do, they’ll look grand on the shelves. Yay. Also these wonderful soup cups in the same style as that big set of plates I bought some months ago.
Also found a set of backseat seatbelts that we can use to replace the broken ones in the back of the Land Rover. Also found some oven dishes and had to call grandpa to ask if he could measure the new oven, but they were too short, darn it.
Tenant appeared to enjoy our short trip too, so it was a pity that her outing had to be cut short due to mom having an appointment for which she needed the car.
But anyway, by the time I finished my roaming of the stands it was almost two, and big brother had already started packing up. Took us about an hour and a half, which is nothing short of a record. Yay.
In the end we didn’t sell all that bad. The 2nd hand stuff definitely covered the expenses made, but regretfully there was no real profit. Did have a few nice chats with folks, but it was business, rather than just a nice day of watching people. Not even the customers are friendly. In fact they rush past as fast as they can, almost afraid to show any interest from fear of being hassled. Only few were up to a little chat, which is a pity, because it is those that make the day fun, don’t they? It would be so nice if everyone just figured out that a market would be so much more fun if everyone just relaxed and tried to have fun. It’s not as if a sour face and worries are going to make the profits any higher. *double sigh*
Had to go home the roundabout way because we’d agreed to pick up some stuff, and when we got home we had to unload prior to heading out again. Luckily it turned out that the trip was worth it in the end. Got some seriously nice stuff.
Once home there was plenty to do to prepare for Sunday market. There was some reloading, and of course the making of the yogurt sauce and a new pie. Opted for a lemon pie this time round and it worked splendidly. Yay! It was fluffy, the lemon piece just right, and yummy. Managed a few pages for the edit, but really had to head for bed early rather than risk a breakdown while on the market.
The day started off hazy, with clouds thick over the valley. It didn’t look promising, but I shlurped coffee, went to the coffee to bake the burgers and left at a quarter to nine with everything packed and a miserly rain coming down. *sigh*
We took a long time unloading, in particular since we didn’t dare risk unpacking everything with the threat of rain. It continued to look threatening, but everyone insisted it would pass (it didn’t) but since the temps were nicely warm we started with the tables and the big metal construction. Didn’t finish setting up until noon, but it did look rather splendid with the quilts hanging high, as well as my tie dyes. It all looked great.
Had a few more good responses to my patties, and even sold a packet, but the weather was appalling enough (even had stuff get wet at some point) for folks not to come to the beach. *sigh*
Did sequester myself in the restaurant at some point where one of the employees at some point came up to me, gave me a hug and two kisses claiming that my lemon pie was delicious. That sure made me chortle.
Turns out that another guy really liked it, because when we decided to start packing up (early, because the weather was not improving and we did get the expenses back) he came up to me and started asking me what it would cost to make him like eight or nine pies per week. There was some talk, negotiating, but he wanted to think on it some. Would be fun, because he wasn’t particular about which fruits, meaning I could experiment.
Did have a few nice chats, and this somewhat cute (if too young) drunk man started, with a lot of difficulty, asking me where the toilets were, made my day. Realizing he was English in about three seconds, I put him out of his misery and explained where the toilet was. He looked at me oddly (drunk, remember) and said, “You’re English, right?” which had me laugh and wave him off. Gawd, a bit of good news after all. Oh, and I did manage to write two pages for E.D., which is something at least. Loading took us about two hours and fifteen minutes, at which point we headed home and got there around six, for a change.
Tenant was in good spirits, and Sally a bit withdrawn, but according to her not feeling too bad despite a carpy morning. Totally didn’t feel like cooking, so I was happy to hear that big brother had baked spaghetti. Big brother was in a pissy mood, by the way. Turns out he worked with the computers most of the day, and hadn’t managed to solve the problem. Which reminds me. The problem is that both mom’s and little sister’s computers gave the spirits, and since they’re the same, big brother is trying to see if he can make one Mac out of two. He hasn’t succeeded yet…and kept on bursting out swearing like a sailor while we were unloading because he couldn’t put it out of his mind. The day got finished up with some edits, but not much.
What else?
Ticks. We’re facing a plague. Per plucking session I take off an average of 40 of the little pests, I check about ten to thirteen dogs a day, and some of them twice. You do the math of how many I’m putting out of commission per day. *sigh* Tack bath, asap…well, as soon as the weather improves again. Today it was downright nippy. Couldn’t do that to the poor critters.
Today involved catching up on all the neglected chores, then some more edits and practicing our Spanish. Didn’t manage a lot, darn it, which is very annoying. The dogs were rather happy with our being home, so they needed attention too. And the Knight needed to go to the vet with his stitches, of course, so we had to stop around four (again didn’t get around to eating meat, darn it) and head out.
Arrived at the vet, who was running a little late because she needed to make a house call later on. I warned her that Knight lost a stitch of two, only to have her discover that he lost all but one. But the wound is healing, so we’re going to see how it goes until Friday. Thank gawd we don’t need to pay for checkups, because it would cost an even bigger fortune. *sigh*
Also got new prescriptions for Sonia (who’s doing way better, thankfully. She’s actually running about again) and Empy, and much to my relief that doesn’t cost extra either. Let’s just hope that vets don’t start going bonkers like doctors and charge 15 (to 30) bucks just to prescribe something. *sigh*
Went past the vegetable distribution center afterward and got a nice batch of veggies for the dogs. Was really necessary too, considering grandpa used the last bit for tomorrow already. New plan, by the way, due to the teeth problem the dogs are always suffering from (aftermath of dog kibble, mind you) we’ve decided to follow mom’s suggestion to feed the dogs dry hard bread once a week, or so. It’s true, back in the day when we still did that occasionally, their teeth were downright beautiful. It should also help their gums. We’re going to have to see how that works, but it’ll be worth a shot.
Well, it’s late again, so I better leave it at this and see if I can get to bed in time for a change. I’m out.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Getting a little lost
Song of the day: “Never no More” by Patsy Cline. Love it…added to that, it always reminds me of “Space Above And Beyond” a sci-fi show from the nineties. It wasn’t all that special, but for some reason the song stuck to me because of that.
Gawd, I’m so late. It’s almost midnight and I was still working on the revision, darn it. It has been going well, still, so, Yay! I’m going to have to thank that editor at the publisher for giving me this chance to work on Kit’s story, because I’m having loads of fun doing the research and immersing myself into the world of the eventful ‘20s. Got lost on Wikipedia for hours and hours, reading up on gangsters, fashion, prohibition, politics and of course the city of Chicago. Then there are the pictures of the era, lots of which are on-line, which can keep me entertained for hours on end. *sigh* If only there were more hours in the day, eh?
But anyway, so far I’ve brought the word count up to 24K, meaning that now I’m going to have to start to be a bit careful unless I want to work this out into a full blown novel. Hah.
Okay, let’s move this along a little. It’s been a busy couple of days but getting it in the right sequence is not something I can take the time for now.
First off, I had tenant to myself yesterday morning, so, considering it was a nice warm day, I took her out into the old paddock and finally got around to trimming her hair. She wanted to go for something short and cool for summer, so the whole lot went off, (luckily, because there were knots in there that no amount of combing could untangle. *sigh*) giving her a rather fresh look. Added to that, she got a whole stack of pictures from her daughter, dating back some eighty years, making her a very happy lady. She’s been going through that stack ever since.
Then, today was her birthday, so I spent the majority of the day in her kitchen, first making strawberry cheesecake (and banana cake, because I made too much crust) and then her supper of fresh veggies with salmon. Personally, I get a little nauseous at the idea of salmon blundered through veggies, but what the hey, it’s her birthday. *double sigh*
Did manage to meat myself, both today and yesterday (Good Sammie), extra crispy and drowning in satay sauce. Could almost pretend I was eating a very crispy satay. Hah.
There were the usual chores, of course. Laundry, feeding the dogs, some cleaning, cooking and all that glamorous jazz. Hah. Also, since this whole head infection, I’ve had a kink in my neck. No worries, I won’t bore you with any of that.
Had to take Empera (German Shepherd) to the vet today, because we ran out of her medication. She is moving a little bit better, but she will have to stay on the prednisone and diazepam for now. Poor darling is just too nervous for her own good.
Another doctor’s appointment for me with that stupid spot on my head. The infirmary nurse did something with a needle up there (ouch!) but it wasn’t as bad as that first day. He also explained that from now on I’m supposed to wash normally and then reapply the cream. Since I had to drop by the pharmacy anyway, I got myself a special pair of insoles for Plantar Faciitis. Wonder if these will work better (or worse) than those of the doctor. They’re nice and soft, at least.
Spent some time in the yard hacking my way through chest high weeds that are insisting on filling our yard. Hah. There was stuff to harvest, and a citrus tree that’s finally strong enough to plant.
Had to go to town, where I got to pet a horse with her young. It was really a baby, because it didn’t eat grass yet, and it’s nose was so wonderfully soft, I just stood there drooling for about fifteen minutes or so, feeding “mommy”.
Got a message from the publisher for V.L., and it’s a no go. *sigh* I send them a reminder the day before yesterday (I was supposed to after four weeks according to their guidelines, and I waited six weeks) and so it was no. Did the same for A.I.L. tonight, but that one’s still in the running so…well, keep your fingers crossed, okay?
What else? I’m a little worried about Knight II. He’s got this lump on his belly that appears to be growing slowly. If it gets much bigger, I might have to take him to the vet to check it out. We also have several dogs to shave before spring really starts, and soon we’re going to have to give the pack their anti-tick bath, because let’s face it, ticks are popping everywhere now. Grrrr.
Sally isn’t doing well at all. She’s very frustrated with her memory at the moment, and she’s experiencing a lot of nausea. It doesn’t help that the medication she was receiving for her thrombosis made it so that her cuts and scrapes aren’t healing, which understandably, worries her a lot. She’s trying to keep her spirit up, but there are times that she really sags away into her mind.
That’s it for now. Time for me to go night-night and you…well, I’m sure you have other places to wander to. *wink*
Gawd, I’m so late. It’s almost midnight and I was still working on the revision, darn it. It has been going well, still, so, Yay! I’m going to have to thank that editor at the publisher for giving me this chance to work on Kit’s story, because I’m having loads of fun doing the research and immersing myself into the world of the eventful ‘20s. Got lost on Wikipedia for hours and hours, reading up on gangsters, fashion, prohibition, politics and of course the city of Chicago. Then there are the pictures of the era, lots of which are on-line, which can keep me entertained for hours on end. *sigh* If only there were more hours in the day, eh?
But anyway, so far I’ve brought the word count up to 24K, meaning that now I’m going to have to start to be a bit careful unless I want to work this out into a full blown novel. Hah.
Okay, let’s move this along a little. It’s been a busy couple of days but getting it in the right sequence is not something I can take the time for now.
First off, I had tenant to myself yesterday morning, so, considering it was a nice warm day, I took her out into the old paddock and finally got around to trimming her hair. She wanted to go for something short and cool for summer, so the whole lot went off, (luckily, because there were knots in there that no amount of combing could untangle. *sigh*) giving her a rather fresh look. Added to that, she got a whole stack of pictures from her daughter, dating back some eighty years, making her a very happy lady. She’s been going through that stack ever since.
Then, today was her birthday, so I spent the majority of the day in her kitchen, first making strawberry cheesecake (and banana cake, because I made too much crust) and then her supper of fresh veggies with salmon. Personally, I get a little nauseous at the idea of salmon blundered through veggies, but what the hey, it’s her birthday. *double sigh*
Did manage to meat myself, both today and yesterday (Good Sammie), extra crispy and drowning in satay sauce. Could almost pretend I was eating a very crispy satay. Hah.
There were the usual chores, of course. Laundry, feeding the dogs, some cleaning, cooking and all that glamorous jazz. Hah. Also, since this whole head infection, I’ve had a kink in my neck. No worries, I won’t bore you with any of that.
Had to take Empera (German Shepherd) to the vet today, because we ran out of her medication. She is moving a little bit better, but she will have to stay on the prednisone and diazepam for now. Poor darling is just too nervous for her own good.
Another doctor’s appointment for me with that stupid spot on my head. The infirmary nurse did something with a needle up there (ouch!) but it wasn’t as bad as that first day. He also explained that from now on I’m supposed to wash normally and then reapply the cream. Since I had to drop by the pharmacy anyway, I got myself a special pair of insoles for Plantar Faciitis. Wonder if these will work better (or worse) than those of the doctor. They’re nice and soft, at least.
Spent some time in the yard hacking my way through chest high weeds that are insisting on filling our yard. Hah. There was stuff to harvest, and a citrus tree that’s finally strong enough to plant.
Had to go to town, where I got to pet a horse with her young. It was really a baby, because it didn’t eat grass yet, and it’s nose was so wonderfully soft, I just stood there drooling for about fifteen minutes or so, feeding “mommy”.
Got a message from the publisher for V.L., and it’s a no go. *sigh* I send them a reminder the day before yesterday (I was supposed to after four weeks according to their guidelines, and I waited six weeks) and so it was no. Did the same for A.I.L. tonight, but that one’s still in the running so…well, keep your fingers crossed, okay?
What else? I’m a little worried about Knight II. He’s got this lump on his belly that appears to be growing slowly. If it gets much bigger, I might have to take him to the vet to check it out. We also have several dogs to shave before spring really starts, and soon we’re going to have to give the pack their anti-tick bath, because let’s face it, ticks are popping everywhere now. Grrrr.
Sally isn’t doing well at all. She’s very frustrated with her memory at the moment, and she’s experiencing a lot of nausea. It doesn’t help that the medication she was receiving for her thrombosis made it so that her cuts and scrapes aren’t healing, which understandably, worries her a lot. She’s trying to keep her spirit up, but there are times that she really sags away into her mind.
That’s it for now. Time for me to go night-night and you…well, I’m sure you have other places to wander to. *wink*
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Another weekend gone
Song of the day: “Gold Forever” by the Wanted. A bit of a whiny song, and typical earworm material if you ask me. It was there, so, yeah…whatever.
Okay, the weekend. Saturday was really rather uneventful, due to the fact that I am coughing way too much yet to go to market, and because Cousin Ed can hardly be expected to go on her own. So, again no market this Sunday, meaning that we didn’t need to load up the Land Rover.
Started reading “Game of Thrones”, and I though I don’t dislike it, I do have to say that I am a little surprised by the sexual tones in the story. I’ve read my fair share of high fantasy, and I can assure you that those didn’t mention the amount of details when referring to sex. In fact, some of the stuff I’m reading here rivals the more moderate romance novels I’ve read over the years. Very strange.
Big brother and I spent some time using the jackhammer on the concrete mixer. Grandpa has a tendency to not clean it properly, meaning that we lot about half the size of the drum to dried concrete. It took some hammering to clear that out, I assure you. Considering that there was a freezing northern wind, we were mighty uncomfortable up there in the full blast of it.
Managed to choke down some meat again, yay (Good Sammie) once I smothered it in Satay, and of course baked it to a friggin’ crisp. Don’t laugh, darn it. Eating meat is pretty darn hard work, you know.
There were of course three dog feeding sessions, and a trip to the city to pick up the food donation for the dogs from the drug rehab center. The usual stuff like laundry got done, too, of course, and cooking…with today pies for Sally’s birthday. She asked for lemon pie, so we had lemon pie. Boy did that work out well, already had a piece and a half. Those “sweet” lemons from the yard are really good for this sort of thing. You have the tang, yet not the nose-wrinkling sourness Lemons are known for.
But anyway, since we weren’t going to the market, big brother and I opted to head out for the tankless water heater job instead. Left bright and early (after feeding the dogs, of course, and after Chaos stole our lunch, which grandpa had left on the table. Had to take the makings of mac&cheese instead) and arrived on site with a nice bit of sunshine and hardly any wind. Bliss, I tell ya. The first cover that we’d worked on at home already went on without a hitch, but the second one, the one that we couldn’t pre-make because there was a logistics problem, took some figuring out. Did finally figure it out. A stab in, closing mechanism at the top trap door thing. It would work. Had the darn thing almost completely done when suddenly my drill broke, and I scraped it right through the netting, creating a three inch hole…so we had to start over. Big brother didn’t even swear, which I find admirable. Hah.
Fixed my error with new netting, and then left big brother to finish up while I headed out into the yard for some trimming. Managed only some cosmetics on about thirty trees, I guess, and by then the sun was going down, meaning there was no time to clean up the branches. Still had to load everything back up, clean up the mess we’d made during construction, and checking if we turned everything off that had to be turned off.
It was already dark by the time we headed home…not to mention bitterly cold. Brrr.
Here's the cover by the way:
Writing wise it’s been slow but steady this weekend and today. We’re still checking the new scene in context, meaning we have to check everything, make references, check, and cross check until we’re sure that it truly fits. Considering that such things take time, we’re taking it.
Which brings us to today. The usual chores and such preceded a nice quiet reading session of “the scene”. Followed by making two pies (one lemon, one kiwi…had a big batch of those, so they had to be put to use) and then hauling rocks down to the outside kitchen. Added a few more layers on the edges, yay. Soon we’ll be able to start putting in the high windows at least. Did some fancy masonry with some oddly shaped rocks to boot, which was fun…right before we headed into town to pick up some butter and a small donation.
Tenant is still the same. Difficulty drinking, a bit of a cough, a tad depressed…understandable of course. Hope that all this bad luck lately will pass soon.
Mom, on the other hand, isn’t feeling well at all. I’m afraid she might have caught the flu, or otherwise she’s overworked, which wouldn’t be surprising. The past few weeks have been pretty hectic. Have put her to bed with a hot water bottle, and the younger sibs are keeping an eye on her. Hope she feels better in the morning.
As for me. It’s incredibly late so I better start get ready for bed. Tomorrow’s gonna be here soon enough.
Okay, the weekend. Saturday was really rather uneventful, due to the fact that I am coughing way too much yet to go to market, and because Cousin Ed can hardly be expected to go on her own. So, again no market this Sunday, meaning that we didn’t need to load up the Land Rover.
Started reading “Game of Thrones”, and I though I don’t dislike it, I do have to say that I am a little surprised by the sexual tones in the story. I’ve read my fair share of high fantasy, and I can assure you that those didn’t mention the amount of details when referring to sex. In fact, some of the stuff I’m reading here rivals the more moderate romance novels I’ve read over the years. Very strange.
Big brother and I spent some time using the jackhammer on the concrete mixer. Grandpa has a tendency to not clean it properly, meaning that we lot about half the size of the drum to dried concrete. It took some hammering to clear that out, I assure you. Considering that there was a freezing northern wind, we were mighty uncomfortable up there in the full blast of it.
Managed to choke down some meat again, yay (Good Sammie) once I smothered it in Satay, and of course baked it to a friggin’ crisp. Don’t laugh, darn it. Eating meat is pretty darn hard work, you know.
There were of course three dog feeding sessions, and a trip to the city to pick up the food donation for the dogs from the drug rehab center. The usual stuff like laundry got done, too, of course, and cooking…with today pies for Sally’s birthday. She asked for lemon pie, so we had lemon pie. Boy did that work out well, already had a piece and a half. Those “sweet” lemons from the yard are really good for this sort of thing. You have the tang, yet not the nose-wrinkling sourness Lemons are known for.
But anyway, since we weren’t going to the market, big brother and I opted to head out for the tankless water heater job instead. Left bright and early (after feeding the dogs, of course, and after Chaos stole our lunch, which grandpa had left on the table. Had to take the makings of mac&cheese instead) and arrived on site with a nice bit of sunshine and hardly any wind. Bliss, I tell ya. The first cover that we’d worked on at home already went on without a hitch, but the second one, the one that we couldn’t pre-make because there was a logistics problem, took some figuring out. Did finally figure it out. A stab in, closing mechanism at the top trap door thing. It would work. Had the darn thing almost completely done when suddenly my drill broke, and I scraped it right through the netting, creating a three inch hole…so we had to start over. Big brother didn’t even swear, which I find admirable. Hah.
Fixed my error with new netting, and then left big brother to finish up while I headed out into the yard for some trimming. Managed only some cosmetics on about thirty trees, I guess, and by then the sun was going down, meaning there was no time to clean up the branches. Still had to load everything back up, clean up the mess we’d made during construction, and checking if we turned everything off that had to be turned off.
It was already dark by the time we headed home…not to mention bitterly cold. Brrr.
Here's the cover by the way:
Writing wise it’s been slow but steady this weekend and today. We’re still checking the new scene in context, meaning we have to check everything, make references, check, and cross check until we’re sure that it truly fits. Considering that such things take time, we’re taking it.
Which brings us to today. The usual chores and such preceded a nice quiet reading session of “the scene”. Followed by making two pies (one lemon, one kiwi…had a big batch of those, so they had to be put to use) and then hauling rocks down to the outside kitchen. Added a few more layers on the edges, yay. Soon we’ll be able to start putting in the high windows at least. Did some fancy masonry with some oddly shaped rocks to boot, which was fun…right before we headed into town to pick up some butter and a small donation.
Tenant is still the same. Difficulty drinking, a bit of a cough, a tad depressed…understandable of course. Hope that all this bad luck lately will pass soon.
Mom, on the other hand, isn’t feeling well at all. I’m afraid she might have caught the flu, or otherwise she’s overworked, which wouldn’t be surprising. The past few weeks have been pretty hectic. Have put her to bed with a hot water bottle, and the younger sibs are keeping an eye on her. Hope she feels better in the morning.
As for me. It’s incredibly late so I better start get ready for bed. Tomorrow’s gonna be here soon enough.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Very Law & Order-ish
Song of the day: “Can you feel it” by the Jacksons, of course. Awesome song, still, so nothing wrong with that.
Well, first thing off, I got the weirdest message today. Apparently a fella I’d occasionally chatted with on the Amazon discussions, and Good Reads was arrested for murdering his wife. How strange is that, I ask ya. I mean, really. It all has a bit of surreal feeling to it. I just read up on the media reports about it, and though there is a lot of pooha going around already, I’m going to wait and see whether he’s guilty or not. These days you just can’t ever be sure. I mean look at the Zimmerman thing, not to mention OJ. You never know what’s truth or fiction, so I’m just going to let it slide, and try to rid myself of this Law & Order tune that has been going through my head ever since I heard about it.
So okay, let’s get to the normal daily business. Strange weather, both today and yesterday. Yesterday it was friggin’ hot until about six in the afternoon when suddenly the wind changed (from the south) and had the temperature drop drastically. Where in the early noon I was thinking about getting rid of my trousers, I later had to don a sweater just to be comfortable.
While big brother spent most of the afternoon in the yard, cousin Ed and I worked over my cabin trimming the semi-dead mimosas, dragging the dead wood away. Since there was still some life visible in the plants we decided not to cut them completely down, but dug big holes at their base so we can give them some extra water this summer, and hope that it was water shortage that is wrecking them.
Luckily, in this spot of the yard, working during a warm day wasn’t all that bad, since it is in the shade. The only not so nice part is that there is absolutely no spot where you can put your feet straight. But anyway, managed the feat without breaking out ankles, and so far my new sandals are working well. Bought them the other day, hiking sandals designed so that you can go downhill too, without slipping forward (works like a charm).
While working there, we immediately took out two plants that were in the way of the future water tank. And even planted a new small mimosa that should do a good job of filling any necessary gaps in the near future.
Had a rather wonderful workout yesterday morning too. Did a solid hour and a half of punching and kicking, and worked up a solid sweat what with the early morning heat already full in swing.
Tenant went for her second appointment with the dentist yesterday. If all goes well, she’ll have her new teeth by Friday, so yay!
Little brother enrolled at a driving school yesterday. He had planned to go in the village, but ended up going to the same one as big brother and I went to three or four years ago. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the teacher didn’t remember us at all. I always have this unreasonable fear that I’m so weird that people will remember me ‘till their dying day (not in a good way) so it was definitely good news for me. Hah.
Cooked a rather nice dinner. Ratatouille with macaroni on the side. While today we opted to go with veggie burgers on sandwiches with lettuce, cheese and tomatoes. Both meals went down nicely.
Spent both mornings, after feeding the dogs, working on Akata. The husky has been suffering from an infected ear of late, so we’ve been cleaning it properly and giving him medication to ease his level of comfort a bit.
We had a new rock hauling trip yesterday evening. The rocks looked a tad different yesterday. Older, I think, layered too, which is going to make its future wall look interesting to say the very least. Took Knight II along, so he actually ran a bit, which is a good thing, to say the least. Am seriously pondering taking Chaos along as well, because the Basset is getting way too fat.
Two edits past since the last blog, of course. Yesterday we did eight pages, and today, six, I think.
We’re halfway through the edit now, so, Yay! We’ll get there yet.
Middle sister has a bad cold at the moment. Seems like it went through all the sibs this past month or so, and I, for some strange reason, have developed a strange huskiness in my voice. Seriously, I can really do Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes” well at the moment. Hah. I better not be getting a cold, because I really don’t have time for that sort of stuff. *sigh*
This morning I was occupied making chocolate cake for middle sister’s birthday. I asked her the other day what kind of pie she would like and her face lit up, showing this crooked little smile and said, “chocolate” in this wishful way. So yeah, that meant that I spent two hours this morning, making cake with the help of tenant (caregiver was at her other job again) that had so much chocolate in it, you could lean against the scent. Made two different ones. One cherry chocolate, and one coffee chocolate coffee. I have had a piece of both, and I can’t decide which I like best. Regretfully everyone else who’s tasted it, has the same problem.
But anyway, middle sister’s b-day. Gawd, time goes so fast. I remember well that she was just a teeny little girl of two or three. *nostalgic sigh* All grown up now, and working on a career of a seamstress…or perhaps animal trainer. Hah.
I only had a short trip down into the yard today (needed that after two hours in the kitchen, really. That and helping tenant to my terrace where she enjoyed the sunshine, and a cool breeze most of the day) and harvested broccoli and sugar peas for us, along with a big batch of three different kinds of cabbages for today’s dog food. Was properly relaxed afterward, and even though I had wanted to plant a couple of trees on the edge of the property, there really wasn’t time.
Instead I had to weave some fence because tomorrow our last day at the fence-building-site. The owner asked if I could trim the rest of her trees as well, so since I’ll be going out there for that anyway, big brother is going to come along to do some final checks on the fence and help out. Hope we manage the thing in one day, that’s for sure.
The car is loaded, however, and since this will definitely do for today’s blog, I’m going to get ready for bed now. I’m definitely running on fumes.
Well, first thing off, I got the weirdest message today. Apparently a fella I’d occasionally chatted with on the Amazon discussions, and Good Reads was arrested for murdering his wife. How strange is that, I ask ya. I mean, really. It all has a bit of surreal feeling to it. I just read up on the media reports about it, and though there is a lot of pooha going around already, I’m going to wait and see whether he’s guilty or not. These days you just can’t ever be sure. I mean look at the Zimmerman thing, not to mention OJ. You never know what’s truth or fiction, so I’m just going to let it slide, and try to rid myself of this Law & Order tune that has been going through my head ever since I heard about it.
So okay, let’s get to the normal daily business. Strange weather, both today and yesterday. Yesterday it was friggin’ hot until about six in the afternoon when suddenly the wind changed (from the south) and had the temperature drop drastically. Where in the early noon I was thinking about getting rid of my trousers, I later had to don a sweater just to be comfortable.
While big brother spent most of the afternoon in the yard, cousin Ed and I worked over my cabin trimming the semi-dead mimosas, dragging the dead wood away. Since there was still some life visible in the plants we decided not to cut them completely down, but dug big holes at their base so we can give them some extra water this summer, and hope that it was water shortage that is wrecking them.
Luckily, in this spot of the yard, working during a warm day wasn’t all that bad, since it is in the shade. The only not so nice part is that there is absolutely no spot where you can put your feet straight. But anyway, managed the feat without breaking out ankles, and so far my new sandals are working well. Bought them the other day, hiking sandals designed so that you can go downhill too, without slipping forward (works like a charm).
While working there, we immediately took out two plants that were in the way of the future water tank. And even planted a new small mimosa that should do a good job of filling any necessary gaps in the near future.
Had a rather wonderful workout yesterday morning too. Did a solid hour and a half of punching and kicking, and worked up a solid sweat what with the early morning heat already full in swing.
Tenant went for her second appointment with the dentist yesterday. If all goes well, she’ll have her new teeth by Friday, so yay!
Little brother enrolled at a driving school yesterday. He had planned to go in the village, but ended up going to the same one as big brother and I went to three or four years ago. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the teacher didn’t remember us at all. I always have this unreasonable fear that I’m so weird that people will remember me ‘till their dying day (not in a good way) so it was definitely good news for me. Hah.
Cooked a rather nice dinner. Ratatouille with macaroni on the side. While today we opted to go with veggie burgers on sandwiches with lettuce, cheese and tomatoes. Both meals went down nicely.
Spent both mornings, after feeding the dogs, working on Akata. The husky has been suffering from an infected ear of late, so we’ve been cleaning it properly and giving him medication to ease his level of comfort a bit.
We had a new rock hauling trip yesterday evening. The rocks looked a tad different yesterday. Older, I think, layered too, which is going to make its future wall look interesting to say the very least. Took Knight II along, so he actually ran a bit, which is a good thing, to say the least. Am seriously pondering taking Chaos along as well, because the Basset is getting way too fat.
Two edits past since the last blog, of course. Yesterday we did eight pages, and today, six, I think.
We’re halfway through the edit now, so, Yay! We’ll get there yet.
Middle sister has a bad cold at the moment. Seems like it went through all the sibs this past month or so, and I, for some strange reason, have developed a strange huskiness in my voice. Seriously, I can really do Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes” well at the moment. Hah. I better not be getting a cold, because I really don’t have time for that sort of stuff. *sigh*
This morning I was occupied making chocolate cake for middle sister’s birthday. I asked her the other day what kind of pie she would like and her face lit up, showing this crooked little smile and said, “chocolate” in this wishful way. So yeah, that meant that I spent two hours this morning, making cake with the help of tenant (caregiver was at her other job again) that had so much chocolate in it, you could lean against the scent. Made two different ones. One cherry chocolate, and one coffee chocolate coffee. I have had a piece of both, and I can’t decide which I like best. Regretfully everyone else who’s tasted it, has the same problem.
But anyway, middle sister’s b-day. Gawd, time goes so fast. I remember well that she was just a teeny little girl of two or three. *nostalgic sigh* All grown up now, and working on a career of a seamstress…or perhaps animal trainer. Hah.
I only had a short trip down into the yard today (needed that after two hours in the kitchen, really. That and helping tenant to my terrace where she enjoyed the sunshine, and a cool breeze most of the day) and harvested broccoli and sugar peas for us, along with a big batch of three different kinds of cabbages for today’s dog food. Was properly relaxed afterward, and even though I had wanted to plant a couple of trees on the edge of the property, there really wasn’t time.
Instead I had to weave some fence because tomorrow our last day at the fence-building-site. The owner asked if I could trim the rest of her trees as well, so since I’ll be going out there for that anyway, big brother is going to come along to do some final checks on the fence and help out. Hope we manage the thing in one day, that’s for sure.
The car is loaded, however, and since this will definitely do for today’s blog, I’m going to get ready for bed now. I’m definitely running on fumes.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Forced leave
Song of the day: “I hope you dance” by Leann Womack. Love this song, so beautifully done.
I had another nightmare the other night. Though, I did of course not remember the details of it when I woke in the morning. I hate it when that happens. Dreams are tricky when you don’t remember them, and seriously, knowing I had one, and yet being unable to remember them, can wreck my day.
Since this morning I have officially been forbidden to lift heavy stuff, grrr…which, admittedly was a good thing, since I was incapable of even lifting the laundry basket. Hah. It’s not all that bad, really, just annoying. That nerve stuff is pain in the behind on the most part. I just need to take it a little easy, be careful, that sort of thing. Considering we finished the terrace yesterday, it is not a bad thing either.
The last few rocks were placed, the ground equalized and weeds yanked, creating a nice spot for two rows of potatoes and…well, something else. Hah.
Spent yesterday morning making dough for patties again, which worked out rather well as a breakfast substitute. Grandpa’s moped is playing up again, and big brother hasn’t gotten around to fixing it yet, so that meant no fresh bread for us. A pity too, considering we had pumpkin soup for supper, which tasted so fine I ate a really big batch.
But back to the terraces…Only two more trees to go. One apple, and one orange tree. For the apple I’ve already picked a spot, but I still haven’t figured out a good location for the orange. There had been a bit of a miserly rain in the morning, but nothing big, which is a pity, since the plants could sure use some more moisture before summer starts.
While grandpa, cousin Ed and I were working in this part of the yard, big brother (still bothered by his back thing) spent time in the greenhouse, sowing zucchinis, pumpkins, peppers and tomatoes. We’re getting some nice harvest of the tomato plants in the greenhouse, by the way. We have an average of eight tomatoes a day, which isn’t bad at all.
Finishing up down there, (grandpa started turning earth today) big brother joined us with a few more rocks and a handful of strawberry plants that he planted among the orange trees. We’re thinking of doing a few berry bushes there as well. Hmmm. We’ll see.
Labhana appears to be feeling a bit under the weather. Almost like she’s depressed. I’ve a suspicion that it has to do with the loss of more than half my pack in the past year, (Gawd knows I can relate). And ever since Amri went, she hasn’t improved much. It’s so sad. She used to be such a cheery Labrador, and yet now she will sit somewhere, staring ahead somewhat disconsolately. I’m going to have to engage her more in the near future.
We had to go out again, both today and yesterday, but yesterday we got home to mashed potatoes with kale. Which was yummy, as usual. It certainly revitalized us for the pending edit, and some relaxing chats online, following the usual hassle of messages and such.
Which brings us today this morning, which was spend in the kitchen making vanilla cream and rice pie. Gawd, did that work out well. Seriously, I ended up making two pies, and a small one without cream or milk, just to see if it would be possible. It is, so, Yay. Two more recipes for the book.
It took a long time, but since I was banned from heavy work anyway, I didn’t mind all that much. Did go down a bit to harvest tomatoes and broccoli, and also to water fields which were getting just too dry due to the persistent absence of rain. I don’t get where the water is going, because we’re constantly covered by clouds. By rights we should be getting rain constantly. *sigh*
We are starting to get decent amounts of veggies at the moment, by the way. Right now we’ve got a cue going of stuff we have to eat. Like tomorrow I’m planning for red beets with broccoli on the side. The next day we’ll be going for either a white, or a red cabbage with a nice white sauce with green herbs. What follows will probably be a batch of chickweed with cheese…but then, knowing how things go these days, I might be too positive into thinking that we’ll manage to adhere to that plan. Hah.
There were two “unload the car” sessions, of course, and seeing as mom and the sibs had their market day today, (didn’t go bad, despite the market being eerily quiet) they had an unloading session as well. Hah.
The plan had been for us to go get rocks today, but for obvious reasons that just wasn’t possible. *sigh*
Well, that’s it for me today. I still have an edit to do, of course, and with a little luck I’ll be in bed on time…considering summer time started last night, I might have some issues with that. Hah.
I had another nightmare the other night. Though, I did of course not remember the details of it when I woke in the morning. I hate it when that happens. Dreams are tricky when you don’t remember them, and seriously, knowing I had one, and yet being unable to remember them, can wreck my day.
Since this morning I have officially been forbidden to lift heavy stuff, grrr…which, admittedly was a good thing, since I was incapable of even lifting the laundry basket. Hah. It’s not all that bad, really, just annoying. That nerve stuff is pain in the behind on the most part. I just need to take it a little easy, be careful, that sort of thing. Considering we finished the terrace yesterday, it is not a bad thing either.
The last few rocks were placed, the ground equalized and weeds yanked, creating a nice spot for two rows of potatoes and…well, something else. Hah.
Spent yesterday morning making dough for patties again, which worked out rather well as a breakfast substitute. Grandpa’s moped is playing up again, and big brother hasn’t gotten around to fixing it yet, so that meant no fresh bread for us. A pity too, considering we had pumpkin soup for supper, which tasted so fine I ate a really big batch.
But back to the terraces…Only two more trees to go. One apple, and one orange tree. For the apple I’ve already picked a spot, but I still haven’t figured out a good location for the orange. There had been a bit of a miserly rain in the morning, but nothing big, which is a pity, since the plants could sure use some more moisture before summer starts.
While grandpa, cousin Ed and I were working in this part of the yard, big brother (still bothered by his back thing) spent time in the greenhouse, sowing zucchinis, pumpkins, peppers and tomatoes. We’re getting some nice harvest of the tomato plants in the greenhouse, by the way. We have an average of eight tomatoes a day, which isn’t bad at all.
Finishing up down there, (grandpa started turning earth today) big brother joined us with a few more rocks and a handful of strawberry plants that he planted among the orange trees. We’re thinking of doing a few berry bushes there as well. Hmmm. We’ll see.
Labhana appears to be feeling a bit under the weather. Almost like she’s depressed. I’ve a suspicion that it has to do with the loss of more than half my pack in the past year, (Gawd knows I can relate). And ever since Amri went, she hasn’t improved much. It’s so sad. She used to be such a cheery Labrador, and yet now she will sit somewhere, staring ahead somewhat disconsolately. I’m going to have to engage her more in the near future.
We had to go out again, both today and yesterday, but yesterday we got home to mashed potatoes with kale. Which was yummy, as usual. It certainly revitalized us for the pending edit, and some relaxing chats online, following the usual hassle of messages and such.
Which brings us today this morning, which was spend in the kitchen making vanilla cream and rice pie. Gawd, did that work out well. Seriously, I ended up making two pies, and a small one without cream or milk, just to see if it would be possible. It is, so, Yay. Two more recipes for the book.
It took a long time, but since I was banned from heavy work anyway, I didn’t mind all that much. Did go down a bit to harvest tomatoes and broccoli, and also to water fields which were getting just too dry due to the persistent absence of rain. I don’t get where the water is going, because we’re constantly covered by clouds. By rights we should be getting rain constantly. *sigh*
We are starting to get decent amounts of veggies at the moment, by the way. Right now we’ve got a cue going of stuff we have to eat. Like tomorrow I’m planning for red beets with broccoli on the side. The next day we’ll be going for either a white, or a red cabbage with a nice white sauce with green herbs. What follows will probably be a batch of chickweed with cheese…but then, knowing how things go these days, I might be too positive into thinking that we’ll manage to adhere to that plan. Hah.
There were two “unload the car” sessions, of course, and seeing as mom and the sibs had their market day today, (didn’t go bad, despite the market being eerily quiet) they had an unloading session as well. Hah.
The plan had been for us to go get rocks today, but for obvious reasons that just wasn’t possible. *sigh*
Well, that’s it for me today. I still have an edit to do, of course, and with a little luck I’ll be in bed on time…considering summer time started last night, I might have some issues with that. Hah.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Birthday pie!!!
Song of the day: “Perhaps perhaps perhaps” by Doris Day. Also had several other songs tumbling around in this messy brain of mine, but let’s face it, for as far as my brain is concerned, yesterday might as well be ten years ago. *sigh*
But no matter, it’s been a busy couple of days and since I thought to take my diary out with me, I can just check everything off while I write this.
First off, there is of course, always the edit. I know this is starting to get boring, but there you have it, ‘tis an innate part of my life and I wouldn’t change that part of it for anything. Admittedly big brother and I get into quite fierce debates about this one, and for the life of me I can’t imagine why this is the case. Sure, we had the same problem with Saving Nina, but with AIL we had hardly any trouble. Perhaps it has to do with the plot, more than anything.
Anyway, let’s see what I can write about yesterday. I spent a lot of time with tenant again, seeing as caregiver was at her other job, but tenant was in good spirits, so we got to chat and sing as we made our way down the mountain to the basin terrace. There she spent the majority of the early afternoon, reading, cutting veggies, and napping, as she is prone to do a lot this time of year.
During breakfast I made dough for pie, seeing as mom’s birthday is today, hah. It meant making dough in the morning, peeling apples around two in the morning and putting the dough in the pans, and preparing everything for the morning. They went into the small oven this morning, and right now, tenant and I are waiting for cousin Ed to whip up some cream as bring us a piece. Yay. I love apple pie! In particular when there are walnuts, almonds, raisins, coconut shavings and some apricot jelly in it. Gawd, I just had supper, and already my mouth is watering again, darn it.
As appears to become the habit at the moment, we’re peeling our supper potatoes during breakfast these days, or else we just don’t have enough time to get it all done. But we had our very first Filderkraut cabbage yesterday (sweeter than normal white cabbage) together with freshly harvested broccoli and the first try at using our own cheese. I was a tad disappointed (I’m really not much of a fan of soft cheeses) but everyone else like it, so it doesn’t really matter.
As for the majority of activities both yesterday and today was work in the yard. We’re clearing a new, wild section of the garden, which we plan to cultivate into a produce section. It’s taking some effort, in particular since we used to dump garden waste in that particular spot in the past. The entire incline is filled with old bougainvillea branches, dead Broom plants, and more Morning Glory vines than anyone ever should be require to battle. Hah. It is shaping up nicely, actually, and we’re revealing quite a bit of good soil down there. Once we get some serious rocks hauled down there, to create some terraces, it should do fine for veggies.
Did have to take out at least fifty strawberry plants for it. They’re on the terrace we’re expanding, and there’s at least double that amount of plants still standing there. We’re going to have so many strawberries at some point…if they all survive that is.
In the afternoon we headed out to a plant nursery and got our order of fruit trees. It took two years of saving, but now we are about to ad seven more citrus trees to our collection of fruit trees, two cherry trees, two nectarines, one peach, and three apples. Sure, they’re not in place yet, but we’ll get them in place before summer. Hah.
This morning we had to treat both Njanna’s and Carla’s ears. Both have a rather fierce infection going there, so for the next few weeks, we’re going to try to clean the mess several times a week in the hopes of battling the problem. Poor darlings hated it, but we popped them both a pain pill and hardened our hearts. It had to be done.
Gawd, eating pie now. Yummy! And blasted dogs also like it. “Get away, this is mine!!!” Ya gotta be fast round these parts. “Get. Off. The. Table, Dax!”
Both today and yesterday involved watering the plants, of course. It takes about an hour, and since I’d already opened up and watered the greenhouse and seedbed, (popped on down between laundry and breakfast) I could start immediately after getting tenant settled. In the meantime big brother and grandpa already continued with clearing the terrace.
I still need to varnish my doorway between my cabins. Just didn’t have the time today, darn it. Ah well, some other day.
Okay, that’s it for today. I still need to head out to pick up a donation, so time’s a bit short. Gotta go.
But no matter, it’s been a busy couple of days and since I thought to take my diary out with me, I can just check everything off while I write this.
First off, there is of course, always the edit. I know this is starting to get boring, but there you have it, ‘tis an innate part of my life and I wouldn’t change that part of it for anything. Admittedly big brother and I get into quite fierce debates about this one, and for the life of me I can’t imagine why this is the case. Sure, we had the same problem with Saving Nina, but with AIL we had hardly any trouble. Perhaps it has to do with the plot, more than anything.
Anyway, let’s see what I can write about yesterday. I spent a lot of time with tenant again, seeing as caregiver was at her other job, but tenant was in good spirits, so we got to chat and sing as we made our way down the mountain to the basin terrace. There she spent the majority of the early afternoon, reading, cutting veggies, and napping, as she is prone to do a lot this time of year.
During breakfast I made dough for pie, seeing as mom’s birthday is today, hah. It meant making dough in the morning, peeling apples around two in the morning and putting the dough in the pans, and preparing everything for the morning. They went into the small oven this morning, and right now, tenant and I are waiting for cousin Ed to whip up some cream as bring us a piece. Yay. I love apple pie! In particular when there are walnuts, almonds, raisins, coconut shavings and some apricot jelly in it. Gawd, I just had supper, and already my mouth is watering again, darn it.
As appears to become the habit at the moment, we’re peeling our supper potatoes during breakfast these days, or else we just don’t have enough time to get it all done. But we had our very first Filderkraut cabbage yesterday (sweeter than normal white cabbage) together with freshly harvested broccoli and the first try at using our own cheese. I was a tad disappointed (I’m really not much of a fan of soft cheeses) but everyone else like it, so it doesn’t really matter.
As for the majority of activities both yesterday and today was work in the yard. We’re clearing a new, wild section of the garden, which we plan to cultivate into a produce section. It’s taking some effort, in particular since we used to dump garden waste in that particular spot in the past. The entire incline is filled with old bougainvillea branches, dead Broom plants, and more Morning Glory vines than anyone ever should be require to battle. Hah. It is shaping up nicely, actually, and we’re revealing quite a bit of good soil down there. Once we get some serious rocks hauled down there, to create some terraces, it should do fine for veggies.
Did have to take out at least fifty strawberry plants for it. They’re on the terrace we’re expanding, and there’s at least double that amount of plants still standing there. We’re going to have so many strawberries at some point…if they all survive that is.
In the afternoon we headed out to a plant nursery and got our order of fruit trees. It took two years of saving, but now we are about to ad seven more citrus trees to our collection of fruit trees, two cherry trees, two nectarines, one peach, and three apples. Sure, they’re not in place yet, but we’ll get them in place before summer. Hah.
This morning we had to treat both Njanna’s and Carla’s ears. Both have a rather fierce infection going there, so for the next few weeks, we’re going to try to clean the mess several times a week in the hopes of battling the problem. Poor darlings hated it, but we popped them both a pain pill and hardened our hearts. It had to be done.
Gawd, eating pie now. Yummy! And blasted dogs also like it. “Get away, this is mine!!!” Ya gotta be fast round these parts. “Get. Off. The. Table, Dax!”
Both today and yesterday involved watering the plants, of course. It takes about an hour, and since I’d already opened up and watered the greenhouse and seedbed, (popped on down between laundry and breakfast) I could start immediately after getting tenant settled. In the meantime big brother and grandpa already continued with clearing the terrace.
I still need to varnish my doorway between my cabins. Just didn’t have the time today, darn it. Ah well, some other day.
Okay, that’s it for today. I still need to head out to pick up a donation, so time’s a bit short. Gotta go.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Just one of those days.
Yesterday's lack of sleep, followed by the numerous activities, took its toll today for sure.
I am sore all over, mostly due to the cold, and by the time my alarm goes off I barely manage to peel my eyes open when every single fiber inside me screams for more sleep. I hurt, I ache and most of all I feel too blue to even think about getting up and go about the day's schedule. This, of course, is no valid reason to stay in bed and be lazy for a few hours more, no matter how much my bones protest against rising, for the dogs have no pity for the weak limbed.
Crazily they bounce up and down around the bed, Trin Trin and the giant Dane tugging relentlessly on my blankets until I finally mutter a curse, roll from the mattress -catching myself on the nightstand, just barely- and straighten while whimpering like an old woman.
The alarm still screeches, my mind too much of a blur as I try to make my way around the exuberant pack, now certain of their eminent release. Struggling with the monster Boxer is par for the course on any given day, but now, as I stumble to the door for their noisy release into the yard, I am a hair's breath away from wrapping my hands around her thick throat so I can return to bed. Hah!
I suppress that particular urge, since no matter how much trouble she is, I love her dearly, and force my eyes open just wide enough to go through the morning rituals and head down to the house. Food doesn't appeal this particular morning. As a matter of fact, thinking of it, it hasn't been appealing for days since my stomach is upset for some peculiar reason. But, remembering that I haven't eaten properly in 48 hours, I stuff a sandwich down my involuntary throat and after a little while sit down behind the computer, the way I always do.
I swear that I consider placing matchsticks between my lids, noticing that every few minutes or so they've lowered until I am gazing somewhat dazedly at the words swimming on the screen in front of me. Today doesn't carry the promise of much productivity for me.
The arrival of big brother sends Knight II into a wild frenzy of excitement, forcing me to grab his collar and drag him to my side where he can't hassle the dogs that come pounding down the stairs around big brother's feet.
Forced by my own promise and small measure of guilt at having done nothing in the time I've sat there, I switch to the dreaded synopsis from yesterday and start rereading and polishing the dratted thing. Finally after several hours, we decide that it's as good as it is going to get.
A personal query letter needs to be written by then, since for some reason publishers all request a personalized note from the "pleading" author, while they in turn stick to a standard message of receiving your hard work, and often a standardized rejection several weeks later time and again.
Why is it that these publishers are allowed to make this demand of the struggling author with the accepted explanation that they are simply too busy to respond personally to every submission they receive? Oh wait, I know. Because they offer a service and without them a writer cannot reach an audience.
It is not like I have time to spare to write these dratted queries and synopsis. I assure you that I have other, often time far more important things to do that need to be put aside while I try to oblige all the set rules that I am supposed to follow if I want to have a remote chance of being accepted.
Admittedly, I don't understand that one demand, most, if not all, publisher place on their sites. "Edit and reedit your story until it is perfect before submitting it."
What on earth... Like I would send something that I hadn't edited time and again to make it as perfect as I possibly can, before I finally delude myself into thinking that it's good enough? What self respecting author wouldn't? It is such a redundant demand that it makes me shiver every time I come across it.
Don't they understand writers at all?
And then I'm not even talking about all the alterations that have to be made to any given manuscript for practically every different publisher.
There appear to be no set rules (as in one set for all) as to how a manuscript has to be sent. Everyone has their own personal preference and if a writer wants a chance, then said writer better follow it, or else... which is basically what all the submission facts state.
This company wants the margins to be thus, the other wants the exact opposite... I can never just prepare one manuscript, but need to clutter up my computer with all sorts of different versions so the requirements are met.
One requires genuine dashes and em dashes, while yet another won't even consider a script that has these in them.
Seriously, after going over the variety of guidelines of what feel like thousands of different publishers, my mind is bordering on complete and utter insanity.
It'll dishearten any passionate writer first starting out. Heck, I've been trying it off and on for years, and the sending alone is a hurdle I rarely manage to conquer.
But besides this particular, rather annoying part of sending out submissions to publishers that actually admit to often not reading more than the first page of the several hundreds I have slaved over, there is also the one that really gets my hackles up.
It goes something like this: "We don't accept unsolicited manuscripts from authors without an agent."
It sounds reasonable enough since there are a multitude of writers out there all knocking at their door trying to sell their "product" but you have to be in this particular world for a bit to understand that getting an agent is just as hard as finding a publisher.
They (agents) have the same set of rules to follow, each one slightly different once again. Added to this is another fact that comes into play: On the most part it is rare that an agent wants to take chances on an unpublished author. It is a nasty little truth that after spending months, if not years on finding an agent that dares to take a risk, the author has no guarantee whatsoever that said agent will actually succeed in finding a publisher.
It is a vicious circle. The one won't take the eager applicant without the other, bringing the fledgling author absolutely nothing in the end.
No wonder more and more writers (myself included) are leaning towards independent publishing, if for no other reason than finding an open door in what appears to be a closed off industry is getting practically impossible.
But I'm drifting off course again, the way I always do. Where was I. Ah yes. Preparing my manuscripts.
After several hours of more tedious fine-tuning, big brother is finally able to gather all materials together and send the package off to what we both hope will be an interested party in the near future.
I do admit that the entire process is a lot less taxing now that big brother has decided to come to my aid, at long last. In the past I faced this frustrating part of being an author on my own, and it was never an easy task. It still isn't easy, but better at least.
That done, along with some more searching for a different publisher for yet another book that we intend to start sending out sometime in the following weeks, I finally decide to cease my battle against drooping eyelids and shut the computer down for dinner- once again prepared by the younger sibs.
Though my stomach is still upset, I manage to choke it down and actually enjoy it while slouching in front of the TV and trying to follow the humorous episode of Hotel Babylon and its loony patrons.
Feeling suddenly restless -by the time the show comes to an end- I get up and decide to make pie. For some reason I have a sudden hankering for something sweet and fruity, and since the cupboards are emptying now that the last trip to the grocery store is more than a week ago, I rummage through our meager supplies until I find what I need.
Some boring cookies, smashed into a fine powder are heated in a pan with some butter, sugar and spices, make for a wonderful base, and some vanilla pudding powder, the last two bags stuffed in the back of a drawer, will make a nice creamy layer once some yogurt is added to it.
For the toppings I decide on the only fruits we have at this time. Canned cherries, peaches and pineapple are chopped and mixed as the liquid is heated along with some orange juice. The last few bags of gelatin join the wonderfully fragrant potion, along with several spoonfuls of apricot and raspberry jam.
Putting it all in a dish, the thin base followed by vanilla pudding and then the fruits, I'm most pleased with the end result and shove two large pies into the freezer so the hardening won't take as long as it would if the cooling is hurried along.
I love making treats that don't require an oven. These two pies take less than half an hour and allow me to once again drop into my seat by the TV and wait impatiently for the pie to be ready for consumption. It is delicious and I manage half a serving before I decide to leave the rest for tomorrow, in hopes that my stomach won't revolt at the mere thought of food landing in it.
Not the best of days, but in the end some things got done, and I can try to get some shut eye... on time hopefully.
I am sore all over, mostly due to the cold, and by the time my alarm goes off I barely manage to peel my eyes open when every single fiber inside me screams for more sleep. I hurt, I ache and most of all I feel too blue to even think about getting up and go about the day's schedule. This, of course, is no valid reason to stay in bed and be lazy for a few hours more, no matter how much my bones protest against rising, for the dogs have no pity for the weak limbed.
Crazily they bounce up and down around the bed, Trin Trin and the giant Dane tugging relentlessly on my blankets until I finally mutter a curse, roll from the mattress -catching myself on the nightstand, just barely- and straighten while whimpering like an old woman.
The alarm still screeches, my mind too much of a blur as I try to make my way around the exuberant pack, now certain of their eminent release. Struggling with the monster Boxer is par for the course on any given day, but now, as I stumble to the door for their noisy release into the yard, I am a hair's breath away from wrapping my hands around her thick throat so I can return to bed. Hah!
I suppress that particular urge, since no matter how much trouble she is, I love her dearly, and force my eyes open just wide enough to go through the morning rituals and head down to the house. Food doesn't appeal this particular morning. As a matter of fact, thinking of it, it hasn't been appealing for days since my stomach is upset for some peculiar reason. But, remembering that I haven't eaten properly in 48 hours, I stuff a sandwich down my involuntary throat and after a little while sit down behind the computer, the way I always do.
I swear that I consider placing matchsticks between my lids, noticing that every few minutes or so they've lowered until I am gazing somewhat dazedly at the words swimming on the screen in front of me. Today doesn't carry the promise of much productivity for me.
The arrival of big brother sends Knight II into a wild frenzy of excitement, forcing me to grab his collar and drag him to my side where he can't hassle the dogs that come pounding down the stairs around big brother's feet.
Forced by my own promise and small measure of guilt at having done nothing in the time I've sat there, I switch to the dreaded synopsis from yesterday and start rereading and polishing the dratted thing. Finally after several hours, we decide that it's as good as it is going to get.
A personal query letter needs to be written by then, since for some reason publishers all request a personalized note from the "pleading" author, while they in turn stick to a standard message of receiving your hard work, and often a standardized rejection several weeks later time and again.
Why is it that these publishers are allowed to make this demand of the struggling author with the accepted explanation that they are simply too busy to respond personally to every submission they receive? Oh wait, I know. Because they offer a service and without them a writer cannot reach an audience.
It is not like I have time to spare to write these dratted queries and synopsis. I assure you that I have other, often time far more important things to do that need to be put aside while I try to oblige all the set rules that I am supposed to follow if I want to have a remote chance of being accepted.
Admittedly, I don't understand that one demand, most, if not all, publisher place on their sites. "Edit and reedit your story until it is perfect before submitting it."
What on earth... Like I would send something that I hadn't edited time and again to make it as perfect as I possibly can, before I finally delude myself into thinking that it's good enough? What self respecting author wouldn't? It is such a redundant demand that it makes me shiver every time I come across it.
Don't they understand writers at all?
And then I'm not even talking about all the alterations that have to be made to any given manuscript for practically every different publisher.
There appear to be no set rules (as in one set for all) as to how a manuscript has to be sent. Everyone has their own personal preference and if a writer wants a chance, then said writer better follow it, or else... which is basically what all the submission facts state.
This company wants the margins to be thus, the other wants the exact opposite... I can never just prepare one manuscript, but need to clutter up my computer with all sorts of different versions so the requirements are met.
One requires genuine dashes and em dashes, while yet another won't even consider a script that has these in them.
Seriously, after going over the variety of guidelines of what feel like thousands of different publishers, my mind is bordering on complete and utter insanity.
It'll dishearten any passionate writer first starting out. Heck, I've been trying it off and on for years, and the sending alone is a hurdle I rarely manage to conquer.
But besides this particular, rather annoying part of sending out submissions to publishers that actually admit to often not reading more than the first page of the several hundreds I have slaved over, there is also the one that really gets my hackles up.
It goes something like this: "We don't accept unsolicited manuscripts from authors without an agent."
It sounds reasonable enough since there are a multitude of writers out there all knocking at their door trying to sell their "product" but you have to be in this particular world for a bit to understand that getting an agent is just as hard as finding a publisher.
They (agents) have the same set of rules to follow, each one slightly different once again. Added to this is another fact that comes into play: On the most part it is rare that an agent wants to take chances on an unpublished author. It is a nasty little truth that after spending months, if not years on finding an agent that dares to take a risk, the author has no guarantee whatsoever that said agent will actually succeed in finding a publisher.
It is a vicious circle. The one won't take the eager applicant without the other, bringing the fledgling author absolutely nothing in the end.
No wonder more and more writers (myself included) are leaning towards independent publishing, if for no other reason than finding an open door in what appears to be a closed off industry is getting practically impossible.
But I'm drifting off course again, the way I always do. Where was I. Ah yes. Preparing my manuscripts.
After several hours of more tedious fine-tuning, big brother is finally able to gather all materials together and send the package off to what we both hope will be an interested party in the near future.
I do admit that the entire process is a lot less taxing now that big brother has decided to come to my aid, at long last. In the past I faced this frustrating part of being an author on my own, and it was never an easy task. It still isn't easy, but better at least.
That done, along with some more searching for a different publisher for yet another book that we intend to start sending out sometime in the following weeks, I finally decide to cease my battle against drooping eyelids and shut the computer down for dinner- once again prepared by the younger sibs.
Though my stomach is still upset, I manage to choke it down and actually enjoy it while slouching in front of the TV and trying to follow the humorous episode of Hotel Babylon and its loony patrons.
Feeling suddenly restless -by the time the show comes to an end- I get up and decide to make pie. For some reason I have a sudden hankering for something sweet and fruity, and since the cupboards are emptying now that the last trip to the grocery store is more than a week ago, I rummage through our meager supplies until I find what I need.
Some boring cookies, smashed into a fine powder are heated in a pan with some butter, sugar and spices, make for a wonderful base, and some vanilla pudding powder, the last two bags stuffed in the back of a drawer, will make a nice creamy layer once some yogurt is added to it.
For the toppings I decide on the only fruits we have at this time. Canned cherries, peaches and pineapple are chopped and mixed as the liquid is heated along with some orange juice. The last few bags of gelatin join the wonderfully fragrant potion, along with several spoonfuls of apricot and raspberry jam.
Putting it all in a dish, the thin base followed by vanilla pudding and then the fruits, I'm most pleased with the end result and shove two large pies into the freezer so the hardening won't take as long as it would if the cooling is hurried along.
I love making treats that don't require an oven. These two pies take less than half an hour and allow me to once again drop into my seat by the TV and wait impatiently for the pie to be ready for consumption. It is delicious and I manage half a serving before I decide to leave the rest for tomorrow, in hopes that my stomach won't revolt at the mere thought of food landing in it.
Not the best of days, but in the end some things got done, and I can try to get some shut eye... on time hopefully.
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