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Daily journaler is seeking other daily journalers. I'm looking for other diarists that share some aspect of their daily life, whether it's limited to a narrow aspect of creativity or concern or is wide ranging. The diarist should be open to reading my entries and ideally is already reading the entries of folks in my circle.
ETA: Diarist should have high tolerance for typos.
2020-10-23 Ha, the future is here. Adding five more years to keep this at the top.
So i have some no-fat ricotta that i no longer need for the original reason. I figured maybe i could make something a little sweet and maybe it could satisfy my sweet tooth -- and it seemed like a good use for my dehydrated mulberries. I found some spice bush berries from 2024 in my pantry, preserved in sugar, and thought that might be a lovely combination. So: ground the mulberries, ground about a teaspoon of spicebush berries, and tossed the sugar from the jar in. Then spooned ... maybe half the small container into the bowl. I mixed, tasted, and ... brain churned, tastebuds argued, and... ah. It wasn't sugar, it was salt the spicebush berries were preserved in.
Oh my. So i mixed the rest of the ricotta in -- still really very salty -- and i read the internet. Apparently there is a drained, salted, and "aged" cheese called ricotta salata. So, i have put it in a filter bag and the tofu press and maybe it will be nice in salads?
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H/T [personal profile] https://sparkythegeek.dreamwidth.org/profilesparkythegeek https://sparkythegeek.dreamwidth.org/
1. What did you want to be when you were a kid? Writer, scientist... teacher probably came to mind.
2. What is your proudest accomplishment so far? My inner transformations.
*3. What is your dream job? *To survey and map properties for native and invasive plants, documenting the seasonal change and wild life, and helping the stewards understand the history and natural communities of their place.
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I hope i am thriving with Christine in retirement, involved with local community -- native plant people? spiritual (yoga? Quaker?) community people? -- creating, caring for my body, stewarding home and yarden,
*5. What does it take to make you happy? *Awareness and looking up from my complaints.
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H/T [personal profile] https://cmcmck.dreamwidth.org/profilecmcmck https://cmcmck.dreamwidth.org/ and [personal profile] https://minoanmiss.dreamwidth.org/profileminoanmiss https://minoanmiss.dreamwidth.org/ (hope that works)
1 what's your favorite kitchen appliance? My immersion blender with chopper and processor attachments
2 do you have a collection of anything? North Carolina made pottery. A small mask collection. I have large accumulations of books, plants, seeds but i'm not sure accumulation has the intentionality of collection.
3 what's the best job you've ever had? My current role is very satisfying.
4 what's the worst job you've ever had? It was the manager, not the role, that was miserable.
5 what's your favorite piece of furniture and where did you get it? I do not have a favorite piece. We have Christine's grandfather's quarter sawn oak craftsman desk that is meaningful, and the previous owner made a kitchen island with concave front, a cherrywood top and some other wood for the curved cabinet and drawers. It is a gorgeous piece no matter how many times i catch my hips on the corners which arc out.
6 what's your go-to recipe when you want to make something that requires minimal effort?
Bread and cheese isn't a recipe.... The "minimal effort" is confounding me. Minimal effort for one person is a muchness for another: i think nothing of cutting up fresh veg but it's a barrier for Christine. She makes things that require stirring which -- look if i have to do something to keep it from burning, it's not minimal effort.
7 are you married or do you intend to get married? Married for 35 years this year.
8 do you have kids? do you want them? No. "Want" seems weird to me in this context, although it seems a common enough frame for most people.
9 are you on good terms with your parents? It was very complicated with my mother. With my Dad, for a basic understanding of good terms, yes.
10 do you have siblings? do you hang out with them? My sister is near and we spend time together when we can; my brother is far and we try to make time to video conference.
11 do you vote? YES
12 what's the biggest purchase you've ever made? Our home.
13 what are your hobbies? Currently various yarden activities that are hard to delineate between hobby and maintenance and stewardship.
14 what's a hobby you'd like to get into? I'd like to return to photography, fiber arts (crochet and sewing and fabric dyeing), and visual arts. I wonder if poetry and writing are still interests.
15 do you collect anything? I am not currently collecting pottery as i have boxes that are not on display, and my mother's collection is in a little limbo. The masks and the art we have is not hung. I suppose i am collecting things that would make living comfortable if the power goes out for an extended time and yard, forestry, and gardening tools.
16 how long have you known your oldest friend? Over forty. Not doing math.
17 are you a member of any clubs or associations? The professional group IdPro. The NC Botanical garden and the NC Native plants society.
18 have you ever changed fields in your career or education? Not during education, but i have gone through a number of changes in specialist knowledge.
19 how many wisdom teeth do you have and have you had any removed? I think they are all removed.
20 what's your favorite beverage? Keemun tea.
21 do you have any living grandparents? No, but my paternal grandmother made it to 104.
22 do you have nieces/nephews/godchildren/other kids in your life that aren't yours? Niblings are in my life, more or less. I'd welcome them more in my life.
23 what's the coolest place you've visited? Is this temperature? Or hipness? Because when i was in Ohio last week is was 0°F (-18°C). But only a few places i've been to in Ohio seem cool.
24 what's your most recent degree and has it been useful to you? I have not used my certificate in GIS, but would like to.
25 would you rather own a dishwasher or a laundry machine if you could only have one or the other? Er, dishwasher, but there are not many laundramats where i live now. One five miles away, and if that didn't suit, one fifteen miles away.
26 do you make a list before going to the grocery store or just wing it? List
27 what's your favorite household chore? Erm....
28 what chore do you hate the most? Erm....
29 do you have houseplants and how are you at keeping them alive? I bring plants in for the winter, and this year they are not doing so well.
30 what's your living arrangement? who do you live with, in what kind of building, do you own or rent or other? My spouse and i live in a what i will call a cottage, although it lacks traditional cottage style elements. The weathered cedar siding inspired our front porch rework to have raw cedar log posts and live edge, rough cut slats in the railing, with "stone" facing on the masonry. Inside is cozy, cluttered, and comfortable as opposed to stylish. We "own" it, and will really own it hopefully in less time than the ten years left on the mortgage.
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HOME! I am home home home home.
This business of feeling feelings: so glad to be home. I think i loathe air travel. Thank goodness for e-books, enabling me to dissociate from the experience. There was a period when i was flying cross country and crocheting when audio books and crochet were my flight go tos, but between there being more of me and less room i can't imagine doing much than holding the phone. Between NC and Ohio with stops at a hub were just tiny hops in the air and back down and long stretches of sitting or lugging.
Work went well. We had an all staff meeting where our president cheer-led us in this year's theme of courage under pressure, and i think i needed to hear it. This project will take much courage. It will also be very engaging between now and retirement, and i wonder if it will exhaust me or engage me.
And there was some speaking of retirement. Our product person DH is retiring... soon? I thought it was next year but some chatter made me suddenly wonder if it's this year. I discussed that question with the engineering manager BC as he drove me to the airport. (We both thought it was further off.) BC said he was planning to retire at 60 as our employer has a health care benefit that continues then until Medicare. (He said it as if it was a long way off. Rummages in LinkedIn: hmm, he graduated from college 9 years after i did.) He thinks our employer will pay the same into our health care as they do now after retirement. I just thought we could buy into the same negotiated plan. I can take the benefit on Friday, 2028-03-31.
I don't know if it will be fiscally wise to retire then, but right now i hold that out as conceivable retirement to myself when my sense of energy flags. Working until 62 or 63 would have some financial benefits. I just don't know if i can i develop practices to take care of my physical body.
--== ∞ ==--
I did take double doses of my morning meds yesterday, unintentionally. Last day, i thought, and downed all the remaining pills, forgetting that the trip was a day shorter than planned. I found a pub med review of 400+ overdoses for the med and decided i did not need to call poison control. There's a one percent chance on paper of a bad reaction, and i am a larger person, so the impact would be diluted. I reduced caffeine, crossed my fingers, and all was ok. I have lots of other physical complaints and whining, but nothing worrisome.
Christine says she's feeling stronger and can tell she's healing.
I should move my body today, something in the yarden. Unpack. I probably have a long list of todos.
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Made it to Ohio! Since my passport card is my real id, i left my drivers license. It was very last minute after taking the shuttle to the car rental place, and picking out a car, and driving to the gate when i realized.
At least there are things such as cabs and delivery dinner (salmon salad!) and colleagues with cars -- this should all work out just fine.
But argh. This is why check lists. Lessons learned can accrue on them.
Dublin, Ohio is far to the west of this timezone. The sky lightens up fairly late compared to what i am used to. That and the latitude, i guess. (It's north to me! 40° instead of 35.8°; y'all who live in real north can just laugh.)
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Friday, i managed to get ice off much of the deck and sidewalk. Deck's gonna need repainting and i think i will do it myself this time and address the issues that were not by the professional. (Eye roll). It was physically engaging, and i felt i'd had a real work out. The salt was impressive: while i didn't get rid of some of it in the driveway, i could rake and roughen the surface in a wa where i'd scattered salt that i couldn't elsewhere. Seeing the rusty salt on the white sleet-creet did give me opinions about my seed spreader: it definitely is not even. (But more even than hand casting.) I just disappeared into a book after all the effort.
Yesterday morning Other Places were snowed in and we were in the "dry slot." My feelings churned around the changing travel, but around 12:30 snow started. By 4:45 pm we had 1 7/8" of snow (measured using the recommended white board, which was then swept off), and it kept coming. This morning we have an additional 2 5/8" on the board, so that's a nice even 4.5" total
I hope i can relax today and also prep for the trip. I got a cancellation notice for the Sunday flight i had changed to Monday, but i've confirmed that i am booked Monday.
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And déjà vu: Sunday flight to Ohio has been moved to Monday. This time i really need to go (or give up). At least the forecast for Ohio temps next week isn't quite so arctic. Never above freezing, yes, but one can see the balmy temperature of the freezing point from the forecast.
Our north slope shaded house still has plenty of ice about. The clumping clay litter for traction ... well, better than breaking a neck. So glad i covered our steps last weekend. Expect this weekend will have Real Snow that can be shoveled instead of Sleet-crete, the accumulation of sleet welded together with freezing rain.
I had a meeting with my product people where i set Worry That We Are VERY AMBITIOUS at their feet to think about.
Christine is getting better but it's still soon after surgery.
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Yesterday after work i just escaped into a book. I finished Rachel Neumeier's Death's Lady trilogy. The first book felt complete and stand alone, and i found the in this world with a mental institution housing a distressed person from another world to be different and engaging. Would real therapists and psychiatrists approve? I dunno, but i enjoyed it. The next two books are one story that i was impatient with -- just as likely a me problem as that of the text, as in retrospect i regard it with some pleasure. The fourth book, last night, was of redemption. The lovely aspect of these books is the alternate world has recovered from a long traumatic time of cruelty and the young leader has an instinct for healing.
And i escaped there again.
I am privileged in that generally we can sit out the ice and snow and enjoy looking and walking in it. The stretch of road we are on retains the ice long after it clears elsewhere, our north slope grounds are shaded by tall pines and we keep the snow for a long while. I suspect that once we get round the curve i will, as usual, be surprised at how different everywhere else is.
"KEY MESSAGE 1...Confidence continues to grow in at least measurable snowfall in central NC Fri night into Sun morning, but considerable uncertainty remains with an incredibly wide range of potential snowfall amounts and related impacts.... This pattern is favorable for at least light snow with a high snow/liquid ratio within central NC, but also brings an incredibly difficult forecast challenge.... The likelihood ... remains a point of considerable uncertainty and may not be ironed out until 1-2 days before the event begins. However, the top analogs and latest suite of ... model guidance highlights at least the potential for significant snowfall totals somewhere from the Carolinas into the Mid-Atlantic. There are a few failure modes for this setup which would result in less precipitation over central NC. "
I like reading the local NWS (RAH) area forecast. The above is essentially how i skim the text. Whole paragraphs of technical air masses and troughs and poetic phrases like the "stronger synoptic ascent overspreads" i consume to produce some abstract impressionist concept of weather maps in my head, but i am on the look out for the process. These forecasters speaking to other forecasters focus on certainty and uncertainty and the basis for claims. The meaningful weather maps right now focus on what the probability is that warning or watches need to be issued -- not how much. The graphical ten day forecast i look at has no way to condense in all this uncertainty, except for the numbers to jump around as new models are run.
The Weather Channel is apparently naming it Winter Storm Gianna.
Meanwhile, the project planning for which i am scheduled to fly to Ohio this weekend -- exhale, it will be what it will be -- gripped my heart yesterday with dread. I am feeling inadequate as i look into some cryptographic technologies and consider the chuzpah with which we undertake this planning. I think i had forgotten the depths of some of the issues facing us in this work, and yesterday it all came back to me. I am ... thankful ... for the pause that means i have this complexity in mind as we head into the planning.
Meanwhile, i read one of my Republican senator's statements critical of ICE and fume at the wishy washy way he weasels his critique to "protect President Trump's legacy." The press has carried stories about the fear these politicians have of getting in the crosshairs of the MAGA and Q faithful who have shown themselves willing to assault and attack. The attack on Paul Pelosi, on judges, on governors, even the attempted assassination attempts -- yes, i can understand the fear. But there are people on the street in Minneapolis who are brave and are also facing violence and attack and no doubt MAGA and Q faithful are doxxing people who have made themselves visible -- can this senator not be brave enough to do more?
The number of deaths in ICE's custody has shot up this year and part of it is the ignorance in which they bring people into custody, the lack of support for the people who have chronic conditions, the utter lack of care. Funding of DHS should also be contingent on hiring the medical staff and translators and custodial staff, and buying supplies to support the people in custody. If ANYONE is in custody, the state should be meeting their physical and legal needs.
ICE needs to be held accountable for those deaths, too. Not just the terror they are causing on the streets, but the tedious quiet horror of neglect in custody.
Argh, there is so much wrong with the whole horrible, racist process.
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Yesterday i could just feel all the stress from the week, the worry about travel, draining away. Some distress over not starting the generator, but it was cold, and cold gas engines are PITA. We have the propane heater and could heat the garage, and then could probably get the generator going, if that was needed. Or let the engine sit near the jeep exhaust for a while. We've done that to the wood chipper. At some point we need an electrician to come help us sort out the power: the previous owner had some way to plug the generator into the house, but it couldn't manage all the circuits. Then the solar panels and the interconnection to the grid was set up. What i would love to knoe is how we could power the pump or HVAC or fridge with the generator. The fridge at least i could theoretically get to the plug, and then plug that into an extension cord (for some hurricane driven outage when the heat and humidity is punishing). But there's a pretty big fridge outside right now.
Today i have been still and dull.
Gas engines frustrate me so. Once upon a time, i resolved i would learn how to maintain and manage them, then our car was stolen and we used the insurance to buy our first computer. I feel so careless of the engines i am responsible for. But the meta-care is more bandwidth than i manage. I want the tools to use to care for the property; why do the tools need so much care.
So i watch an interactive weather map: wind, temperature, radar -- watch the warm, wet air from the gulf be pulled up in a thin wedge, the temp gradient at the front so dramatic.
Then there was the news out of Minneapolis of the shooting, execution of Alex Pretti, and - there is no justification. There was no justification for shooting Renee Good. And there are others who have been shot, and people suffering in custody, and it is all so wrong.
I have nothing eloquent to say, just to recognize how the harm Trump causes is to the whole world, people and the environment, to systems of law and commerce and science. There's been no reported ICE activity in my county (other than someone being picked up at their parole office visit). I wonder if the conservative politics of the western part of that county shielded the Hispanic community there when the Triangle was targeted.
Here, https://bionicandthewires.com/ . Listen to mushrooms play synthesizers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbP2DgDp890
NOT traveling this weekend; work meeting moved to next week.
Major relief.
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So weather is forecast this weekend, and by weather i mean DOOM SNOW for North Carolina. Because 3 inches is end of world, what is 12 inches? And then an inch of winter mix on top?
So i'm looking at the weather and my Sunday evening flight out of RDU through Charlotte and i'm just certain, that ain't gonna work. And i'm just dreading the chaos. (And then i begin thinking of Christine and her surgery recovery and snow and....) So, as i churn, i asked my colleague if he could change the schedule so Monday isn't so important for my presence. It turns out there's something called a weather waiver where airlines give you a chance to reschedule your travel instead of waiting for your flight to be delayed. I figured i would have to wait until Thursday before there would be a chance to change.
But no. I got the email this afternoon that my flight would be impacted. I've rescheduled for a midday Monday departure, a long layover in Chicago O'Hare/Orchard Field, then on to Columbus landing at 7 pm. That is far more relaxed.
So, tomorrow is grocery day, and i think we need a dump run so i can do that lifting, and then i need to wrap the well with heating tape (the next days are sub freezing and i just want to make sure things are prepared for Christine on the off chance the pump freezes). Oh, we need to keep the water filtration system from freezing too. And i guess moving the generator and trying to start it..... And check the weight of the salt to make sure it's in a range she can lift.
--== ∞ ==--
I'm a little drained from therapy. I'm realizing i didn't have any reassurance, "Don't worry, it will be OK" growing up and i need to hear that from my inner mother more. I lean a lot on my faith: believing that i only see a small part of all the things and i might not ever see t that i am helping the world be better place. But there's something different about the "Am i doing it right?" i constantly feel with respect to ... everything. And maybe giving myself reassurance more will help.
And this snow event and travel: 100% waves of am i doing it right, how do i make sure it's going to be OK, ....
--== ∞ ==--
Waffles with yarden blueberries for dinner! Maybe not weight wise, but yum.
( all the airports American Airlines is worried about weather )
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Bleep Marlowe. She attacked my ankle -- just a few stinging claw punctures -- as i went over to the cat barrier where she'd confronted Bruno. I hope he learned that the barrier protects him. Ugh.
I am so easily distracted.
I feel a little guilty having today off work and nothing more than "try and get myself moving" as the order of the day. Plus tomorrows walk out protest and my conflict in attending (because work, which is whole point, i get it). Plus [deleting incomplete list and replacing with] all the other distressing issues with the slide to fascist government in the US.
Time passes
I have attended the Pendle Hill hybrid worship. There was a moment of clarity for me: a sense that released the guilt, a wave of grace, a sense that it is right to engage in zest in living. Not much more clarity than to turn my attention to my usual forward.
And then looking at the temps for Ohio as my travel dates begin to show up in the ten-day forecast: yikes. So far a high of 21°F and a low of 8°F. More concerning is the snow event on the day i need to get to the airport. I know better than to trust the call for 7" of .. snow? But....
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Christine's surgery plus work prep for the in-person meeting at the end of the month has sent me into a withdrawal from everything else. The surgery turned out well and her recovery state is far better than the general recovery for the type surgery she had.
The lack of proactive communication before and after the surgery is the most frustrating because it seems so resolvable. I understand uncertainty, i don't understand crap communication. Anyhow, my poking at possibilities on the internet and finding general surgery recovery instructions helped us (over) prepare for after care. I recognize that is my own soothing action:over prepare. Like i took EVERYTHING to the hospital and ended up just reading on my phone (but i did eat my healthy sandwich). Management for her recovery catheter - antiseptics, antibiotics, gentle soaps and various other cleaning things listed in keeping up catheters -- did get used for a few days. In general, she seems to be recovering more quickly than i did from my nose surgery.
--== ∞ ==--
I am heading to Ohio at the end of the month and spent week one working full out on getting clarity on complexities that were being ignored by product in writing stories that the engineering staff knew too little to question, then coming up with alternatives, and documenting the complexities.
This week was trying to come up with ways to communicate the complexities of the new product product wants to build and how that overlaps with the engineering executive director goal. I think i have come up with a simple place to start which can create a common cognitive grounding from the executive directors to engineers, and on which i can add the complexities in an iterative fashion. Next week is a short work week, so ... eek. Four workdays to the next meeting.
--== ∞ ==--
In Bruno news, i convinced Christine we should buy a "cat gate" -- two clear plastic doors that we can tension mount against ceiling and floor to partition Marlowe and Carrie from Bruno, while allowing more visibility, scent, and air exchange. My biggest worry was that if Christine was overwhelmed while i was away, i could at least ease her worry about Bruno being isolated. Christine bought in when it was clear it was a way we could have Marlowe and Bruno more exposed to each other in a controlled way.
It arrived yesterday morning, and we set it up during lunch. Bruno has pretty much stuck to his safe places since. He's clearly learned over the past months the open physical door means Marlowe or Carrie can show up. Unlearning that will take a while, although maybe not weeks. Marlowe has tried hard to break in, comically. I'm pretty confident it's secure against her. It's probably not secure against a medium sized animal intent on breaking through: i think if Carrie threw her body weight against it repeatedly she could dislodge the tension supports. Fortunately Carrie is a Good Girl and accepted there is a barrier.
--== ∞ ==--
Meanwhile, ( weight stuff, to be referred to as cabbage )
Disclaimer: my new year for goals and growth and change starts at the beginning of March because, ugh, darkness.
But happy new year! (Again) Because this is the first day back to work and so on, the year feels restarted even more today.
I celebrate that using strong ("Super-potent Ultra-high") steroids and antibiotics have brought great relief. I am cautiously optimistic, although i look forward to seeing the relief persist in the summer and in the midst of work stress.
I celebrate an insight from therapy that i may be bringing the sense of last year -- emergency on emergency -- to this year with C's upcoming surgery and the trip to Ohio. Instead of interpreting the energy of my colleagues as urgent critical -- thus emergency -- energy, i might try to interpret it as excitement enthusiasm.
Christine and i took a slightly delayed junket to Raleigh for a little more anniversary observation. The Gregg Museum of Art + Design had some powerful exhibits. The "In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers" wasn't as cool as i had hoped, but the cyanotypes on glass with gold gilding -- https://www.leahsobsey.com/thoreaus-flowers -- by Leah Sobsey were wonderful, as were also all the insects and pines that graced the entrance. I suspect my botanical interests wanted more; Christine thought it was great.
I hadn't expected ‘the halls of a changing sea’ and WORDS = POWER to be as moving as they were. WORDS = POWER was probably moving more in a meta-impression: queer and trans focused works up in a state (affiliated) institution stirred hope. ‘the halls of a changing sea’ also was a strong meta resonance with strong connections to plants and soil as well as queer identity. I look forward to experimenting with the soil of this place in my own way. Currently, what i want to do is carve a large chunk of the saprolite, rock so chemically weathered it is almost clay, soft and cuttable, yet still distinctly not clay. I want to set it on a raw log plinth and photography it regularly as it dissolves in the weather.
The museum had not existed when i was at State, but i had helped raise funds for it (as an undergraduate participant in the visual arts committee of the student activities program). As an undergraduate employee i did data entry, with the Avon perfume bottle collection most memorable. They still have them: http://searchgreggcollection.arts.ncsu.edu/mDetail.aspx?rID=1983.004.127a-b&db=objects&dir=GALLERYOFART&osearch=avon&list=res&rname=&rimage=&page=1
We also stopped at the used book store and exchanged a box of books we'd been hauling around, and then went to Krispy Kreme, which no longer has the diner-like counter, which i will always remember due to a poem someone wrote about meeting their best friend Jim Beam at the counter, and the professor Not Getting It. Much memory, very fun.
From oursin:
Grab the nearest book. Turn to page 126 The 6th full sentence is your life in 2026.
Phenology, Theresa M Crimmins "You can do this at your home by tracking daily temperatures and calculating accumulated growing degree days..."
Nifty!
Happy New Year! I had an overly quiet and still day yesterday, distracted by electrical bills and all the confusing riders and charges. My major accomplishment for the day was updating expiring debit cards across a variety of billing systems.
TIL that a satellite maximum altitude of 67° feels like it is going straight over my head (which would be 90°). Wow, are there many starlink satellites up there. I stepped out to open the deck door -- although Marlowe has no interest in being out in the dark -- and observed a satellite going overhead and through the big dipper. And another . I checked my watch and then after tea was made and pet feeding staged, checked Heavens Above to see what i saw. Fortunately it's passage through the big dipper was concrete enough that i could compare tracks against the stars and be confident.
Yesterday i made a chickweed and other yard green soup. There's an "earthy" quality -- spinach and beet greens have it too -- that is not my favorite. I added amchoor and pepper, which helped, i think. I find the plant annoying, little fiddly leaves and stringy tender stems, and soup where it is well blended seems the tolerable state. The other abundant green this time of year is Potentilla indica (Indian strawberry -- that's India Indian, not some mistaken notion of native American). It's also fiddly, and it's easier to get 100g of chickweed quickly compared to picking the leaves.
The cut leaf coneflower has some leaves out, but not really enough to do anything. The "forage kale" i tossed out as a cover crop -- turns out to have a really sharp mustardy taste. OK, that's why it's a cover crop seed. It was fine in small quantity garnishing my blackeyed peas last night. For Christine, i garnished with sorrel, which might have been not tender enough to be interesting. I have some endives that are surviving -- yowsa, bitter! Too bitter for me and i like bitter!
It's a good thing i'm not relying on my yard for food. The first few years here i had some good brassica beds: i would enjoy having some nice collards again.
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In health news, i now have yet another additional skin diagnosis, autoimmune and well correlated with existing diagnosis. I also have a clear plan. Well, clearish. Will write up and get confirmation, because memory and the instructions on box differ.
Bruno has crystals in his urine which could explain what seems to be increased urination outside the box. Having a barrier pad on the couch paid off this morning. X-ray next to look for kidney stones.
Yesterday dawned with Gulf warmth and humidity and ended with an arctic blast that dropped the temperature 20°F degrees and the dew point 35°F over the afternoon into evening. I dunno, it seemed more abrupt as it was happening, but now doesn't seem that remarkable. The low passed over us at 13:37, with the dew point (an absolute measure of the humidity independent of air temp) at 60°F at 13:12 and 25°F at 19:17 and hitting 16°F at 7:22 this morning. Temperatures fell, too, with a high of 62.6°F at 13:07, 40.8°F at 19:17, and a low of 24.9°F also at 7:22 this morning.
Taking today off to go with Christine on a visit to her sister A's in Mayberry/Mount Airy, riding up with sister D. This is fraught for Christine in part with the concern about bathroom stops and anti-trans politics, and her health condition about which she is not wanting to make clear to her sisters. Instead, there is abundant worry about A's health and D's grief. And how A doesn't recognize D's grief. And D's anger over how their brother L's widow is being treated by brother L's kids (which is both objectively problematic treatment, but probably compounded by D by her recent widowhood). And A wanting to ignore that and not talk about it at Christmas.
I had tea with my sister last night when i went to pick up my new scripts, gave her a big hug, and told her how thankful i was for our relationship. I am so very very very lucky in my relationship with L and do not take it for granted. Brother N is on his own planet, which is more intense now that his sons are at college and his wife and daughter have moved back to the states. I feel sad for him on one hand, but on the other -- well, i suspect that his regrets are going to be more of a headache to for L & I to negotiate as Dad gets older and passes, and we have to deal with the "family" home (note N never lived there). But L: i feel lucky we are both honest, open, and compassionate with each other.
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Happy cooking things:
Bread pudding in a pumpkin: will do again.
Seared baby bok choi with potatoes and pre-cooked tofu made a nice lunch. (I've learned that pressing and then air frying slabs of tofu really creates a nice chewy texture).
Used hatch chili skins that i'd shoved in the freezer, ground up two very old dried-out okra, and coriander stems and seeds to make a broth. That plus left-over black beans from the freezer and some left over tomato paste made a very satisfying soup. House smelled lovely.
Realized we still had frozen Wellington from Thanksgiving, so not making that today. Caramelized onions and made quasi-duxelles from the fresh mushrooms and shoved in freezer for some other time.
Shallots and beet greens, first cooking the stems and shallots down, then adding the greens. Served over toast that i used to wipe up the caramelized onion pan with slivers of a nice sharp cheese (Sartori Merlot BellaVitano). Bliss.
Happy that that is net-less stuff in freezer, plus got fresh green things eaten or fixed before they went too sad.
I need to eat down the freezer so that when Christine has surgery on Jan 13, we can have comfort food for her in the fridge.
I carefully watched for a low stress time to give Christine more stress: i shared with her some observations about the things listed for her surgery appointment that point to some recovery aspects i knew she would find.... hard. She's coping OK. I am pretty sure the surgeon's description of recovered state was interpreted by Christine to apply to immediately post surgery, so it was a surprise. What is stressing me is the need to go to Ohio and the uncertainty about the recovery needs. I have a hard time believing that we could be scheduling the week of MLK day.
Today both Marlowe and Bruno did inappropriate urination. That stressed Christine lots. I got a laundry line set up in the back porch, under the ceiling fan, so hopefully this will ease some of the appliance demands.
We had a pleasant holiday. I am very thankful for my relationship with my sister. We had a long phone call before our households woke, and a walk together later in the day. I am well aware how special our relationship is. Christine and i also joined her family and my Dad for gift exchanges, Swedish pancakes and (Norwegian -- from her husband's side) Sandbakkels (lovely sugar cookies baked into domes). I'll just note Mom didn't go all Swedish heritage until after i was in college, so only a few things i remember from my born-to-Swedish-parents great aunts and grandmother hint to their Swedish heritage. They were encouraged to assimilate.
Yesterday we took Bruno to the vet to find out whether there's an infection or similar causing his urination. It's probably psychological, and we have gone all in on Feliway, which seems to be the general advice. We'll try a little kitty prozac. I occasionally try to sedate Marlowe with gabapentin (days i won't spend working in the same room with Bruno). Sometimes it works but most of the time it doesn't. Wish i knew what would make that reliable, so we could expose them to each other without Marlowe going all special forces on Bruno. Carrie Dog had a panic attack Friday morning. Poor pups. I did feel a bit like this is the household of misfit beings, yesterday morning, but we can be a refuge for these beings and ourselves.
For Yule Christine has given me a maslin pan, which is the answer to the question: what type pot is wide enough to get all the jam and jelly to the right temperature while also not boiling over? Deep stock pots are not the answer. After reading rhapsodic accounts of jelly made in 100% copper pans, then reading why it's safe -- high sugar content buffers the acids in fruits -- i chose the more practical stainless steel. That should make jelly, jam, and fig leather prep next year more pleasurable.
I managed to pass on some Frankoma Plainsman green dishes to my sister, who missed out on the 70s overdose of avocado green. I knocked the handle off one of my Pfaltzcraft Heritage Christmas mugs as i got them out for the first time since, i dunno, pre pandemic? Pre Mom's stroke? I think it will glue back OK. I am trying to decided if i should just ditch it. I also broke a ramekin (and thinking back a broke a 4 oz jelly jar).
Meanwhile, time passes. Myself and all around me slowly giving over to entropy.
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I recorded one consumed medium every two and a half days (2.3), where the media are movies, documentaries, TV series, articles, short stories (thanks to Amazon's proliferation of single shorts under one cover), novellas, and novels. There does seem to be a growing pattern of shorter serials rather than large epics, so i've plowed through them when available. That's about 77% more entries than i recorded last year. I would have thought it was a greater fraction more, as i felt like i spent much of my time off in books this year, and the short stories would inflate counts. I guess the fatigue over the summer of 2024 had its impact.
I will admit that much of the reading is shaped by what is at my library's Overdrive instance and then by Kindle Unlimited. I've recorded 37 purchases.
I think Robert Jackson Bennett and Victoria Goddard are the new to me authors that most engaged me. I look forward to more Ana and Din mysteries.
We continue our tradition of Sunday night British mysteries, Monday night NCIS (including as of this year, NCIS: Origins - we have caught up with the network release), and Wednesday night science fiction. On other nights we frequently end up watching NCIS: New Orleans. Sunday mornings we frequently watch art documentaries or Landscape Artist of the Year. Today we will likely watch the final episode of the 2020 season 6.
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