Homebody as Winter Arrives

It's been a quiet weekend. I try to avoid errands on the weekends, especially in the Christmas season. I'm also trying not to spend too much money, and the weather has been cold, so I'm happy to stay home.

I cleaned, did a lot of laundry, cooked, made a shopping list for our Christmas meals, unpacked and organized, and read. 

I had been so obsessed with this move, the expense, and issues with our Norwalk condo--how could I have been so naive to think it would sell quickly--that I almost forgot that this is our first holiday season in our beautiful new home. Cause for celebration.

It will be just the three of us this Christmas, and that's good. We can get started on new traditions. 

Jace and I had a wonderful walk yesterday afternoon. It was sunny, about 50 degrees and the wind that seems to have been plaguing us for weeks was absent. I insisted we walk on the trails and boardwalk, even though Jace made it a shorter walk than I would have liked. It was the best walk in weeks. 

I like to call today the darkest day of the year rather than the shortest one. Everyday will be lighter from now on. Another thing worth celebrating.

Thanksgiving Eve

I think I should be in bed but feel too awake. I am very organized for our dinner tomorrow.  And when I use "very" I mean "very." So, part of me asks, "What are your forgetting?" I have a list I made last week. I washed the china and the flatware. I still need to wash the glasses and make cocktail sauce. 

Can that be it? I guess I can do some kind of quick touch-up somewhere. 

Maybe I can just relax.

And reheat.

What's Cooking

I always make a batch of spaghetti sauce for Jeff's birthday. Of course, I make it other times too. This year, I had the flu on Jeff's birthday, so I was late making the sauce.

Last Saturday,  I made pumpkin, apple, sweet potato soup. I've been making versions of this soup for  years, trying to recreate an especially delicious variation. Unfortunately, it still eludes me.

Yesterday (the fifth consecutive rainy Saturday) I made a flat iron steak and black bean chili. It wasn't ready for dinner last night, so we had it tonight with a tomato, avocado, and pepper salad. 

I have more of all three selections in the freezer.

National Cheeseburger Day

I heard the story on WCBS radio this morning as I returned from the doctor's office. Later as I wondered what to have for dinner and saw a half pound of bison meat in the freezer, my decision was made. Our veggie selection was limited. I had carrots, sundried tomatoes, and a small amount of romaine, and salvaged about half an avocado. 

I also roasted slices of summer squash with olive oil, sriracha panko, parmesan, and garlic. It's only the second time I cooked summer squash, and I'm pleased with the results.

I need to go food shopping tomorrow. 

Wednesday Weather Woes

The local meteorologists are keeping track: we're starting the first heat wave of the summer. It feels like all of July has been one big heat wave. 

Surprisingly, this morning as Jace and left for Taylor Farm, it was cool. That didn't last long. 

I'll make sure to get Jace out early for long walks the next few days. Spend as little time as possible outside. It's a good time for indoor projects. Unfortunately, I'd like to do some cooking, but that's not a good option. I even bought makings for marinara sauce on Tuesday. What was I thinking? Salads, chilled soups--those are good options. 

It should cool down on Sunday.

Cold

Today is the coldest day of the year--five degrees during my morning walk with Jace. At least it wasn't windy. Obviously, I didn't want to be out walking in five degree weather, but that's part of the deal in having a dog. In other words, "you knew the job was dangerous when you took it."

Other than Jace walks, I stayed in. I wrote. I made oatmeal, soup, bruschetta with tuna steak (left over from last night's dinner) a carrot salad, and chicken parmesan. 

Tomorrow temperatures will shoot up 20 degrees. Looking forward to that. 

Homebody, Housework, and Holidays

The last week-and-a-half flew by--one day to Thanksgiving. I made sure to put my order in with Whole Foods in plenty of time: a classic meal for four: turkey breast, green beans with shallots, mashed potatoes, herb stuffing, turkey gravy, and cranberry orange sauce. We've been happy with their food for the past two years. And it's easy. 

We always buy the dinner for four. The first year the dinner for four was only $10 more than the dinner for two. Leftovers! This year we have two joining us, so I'm keeping leftover expectations low.

I've been in a homebody mode for over a week after an expensive morning at the Farmer's Market, gas station, and liquor store. I've also been in a cooking mode. I did a good job with modified trout and green bean almondine, lobster salad, lobster risotto, lobster quesadillas, curried lentil soup. I overcooked chicken on a dish I've made several times before. D'oh.

On Sunday I concentrated on housework. The kitchen, bath, and hallway are clean. The dining area and living room are cleaner. I need to focus and finish. Finishing is important.

Monday was the last day of my fall writing class before we break for the holidays. I wasn't crazy about the prompt this week, but I wrote something. It's short--about 250 words (246, I just checked.) At least it was a good exercise in writing a male first person point of view.

I've already signed up for the winter fiction class beginning January 9. I need to decide if I also want to take the personal story class. 

Time to get moving--still lots of cleaning to do. I will also do a short workout and take Jace to Oyster Shell. After a few days of unseasonal cold, we'll see the 50s today.

A Wednesday in a Life

I don't remember the last time I did a post like this.

Here goes:

A tough morning with Jace started with him barking around 4:30 or so. I managed just a few more minutes of sleep before walking Jace at 7:15.

I had already decided that it would be a day for home chores starting with making flank steak black bean chili.

Before I started on the chili. I cut up peaches. They had ripened the day before and some had spots. We had peaches with breakfast. I worked on the chili and cleaning up after myself from about 9 to 11, finally showering then. I took Jace on another walk, sorted the laundry, and ran a few errands.

After a late lunch I doctored the chili, did dishes, and exercised. I took another walk with Jace and made an arugula, pear, and dried berry salad. When I cut the peaches in the morning, I saw that the pears and one avocado were also ripe and planned to use them the same day. I'm still a work in progress, but I am getting better at reducing food waste. 

We had the chili with fresh avocado and the salad for dinner and watched the Mets lose again. Sigh. I tried to come up with a story idea for my homework with no luck. I took Jace out for a quick pee break, and went to bed. Not exactly a red letter day.

What's on my Mind

1.    Jace

We took him to the vets today, and are going to follow up on a few things. We're getting to know each other. Tomorrow will be a week with him.

2.    Mercury

A few years ago, I learned from Jeopardy that the dark orange Mercurochrome antiseptic that Mom used to dab on my cuts and scraps was toxic. Then I did some research on hat manufacturing for my WPA inspired writing class and learned about mercury poisoning. Mercury is in Cinnabar which Jeff collects. Then I read a book in which Mercury poisoning was a key element of the mystery. I re-read/skimmed it after finishing Mercury Boys--so what is about Mercury? The name Quicksilver sounds good, though.

3.    The Mets

The Mets beat the Dodgers tonight 2-1, evening the series. Jacob deGrom is now 4-1 and Edwin Diaz notched his 29th save of the season. Tomorrow's game will be big.

4.     Meal Planning

I do this to some extent. I resist against planning a full week.  I hate throwing out food. So I'm full of contradictions. Should I try more serious meal planning?

What's for Dinner?

I've been reading The Frugal Girl blog for awhile. One weekly feature is WIS/WWA (What I Spent, What We Ate.) I spend a lot for two people: we live in an expensive area and buy some organic. I don't want to write about that. 

Instead, here's what we ate this week 

Monday: Mama Hu's Spicy Salmon Sushi Bake; salad with romaine and carrots

Tuesday:  Asparagus/Smoked Mozzarella Bongo Capacci ravioli with ramp pesto and cherry tomatoes, roasted asparagus with Parmesan 

Wednesday: Chicken Milanese with Romesco sauce, sauteed kale with garlic 

Thursday: Turkey fajitas

Friday: Pan-roasted salmon with red pepper and spinach and coconut milk; roasted carrots/beets

Saturday: Baked clams casino; salad with romaine, carrot, Brussel sprout, tomatoes. (We went out to lunch with my brother and his girlfriend, so a lighter dinner.)

Since I'm retired and have no kids, cooking is easier for me than many. 

I recently stocked up on some entree items, so that helps. Every week, we usually have salmon, chicken, and pasta. Now I have Sushi Bakes and crab cakes in the freezer (among other things) for the next few weeks. I think we'll do crab cakes on Monday and a sushi bake the following week. 

What about tomorrow? We've already decided to have my leftover Devil's Pass Pasta from Sedona Taphouse. as a course. I have plenty of time to figure out the rest. 

Stocking Up

I mentioned recently that I sometimes stress about what to make for dinner. This has been a recent stressor, and I don't understand why I feel this way. Recent heat waves have made the dinner decision even harder--who wants to turn on the oven? Even using the stovetop heats up the kitchen.

I've been taking advantage of several farmers markets and loving fresh corn, tomatoes, and fruits. I've also bought some other food: Bongo & Capacci ravioli and cavatelli and Mama Hu's sushi bakes--I bought four today. (I won't mention the things I tried that we didn't like.) 

Last week I stocked up on our favorite crab cakes, buying 15 at Bon Ton Fish Market. I also picked up chicken, ground turkey, and ground buffalo at ShopRite. I even got some frozen mandarin orange chicken from Trader Joe's. Jeff's on a low-sodium diet so I can't buy most frozen entrees, but this chicken is fairly low in sodium. It's nice to have an easy option if I'm tired or busy or if it's too hot. 

I like having options. 

Thursday Thoughts

I've been going through feelings of self-doubt recently. It's funny how fast it hits. 

It's focused on my writing. I haven't been happy with my last two class assignments. They're not terrible; they're just okay. I haven't felt inspiration. I know I can't wait for inspiration--at least not if I'm a real writer. You/I have to write whether you are/I am in the mood or not. 

 

Recently, I did some newspaper searches for Sylvanus Merwin. I was psyched to find information. But in the 20 something articles I found, only one or two were minimally helpful. The two local books I read didn't add much to my understanding (and were pretty badly written.) I actually haven't done any writing. At least I could work on some background. 

I attended a good conference on Saturday--specifically the lunchtime seminar. Desmond Hall the instructor inscribed his book to me, "You were great in the seminar! Look forward to reading the story you come up with!" I felt so proud. 

Where did those good feelings go? Why does self-doubt take over so easily? Why does the question of "am I really a writer?" resurface so often? Am I too old to be able to write something?

My self-doubt extends to other areas.  Sometimes, I wake up in the morning stressing about what to make for dinner. I worry about wasting time, managing my time. Why am I such an inefficient cleaner?

Why does it take me so long to finish things?

Lots of questions, but I don't have answers. I'm going to keep writing and try not to sweat the other things. 

Bolognese Sauce

A variation.

I've been making my own sauce for over 30 years, but I never made a meat sauce. I was inspired by watching The Pioneer Woman at the gym. In one episode, she bought something like 10 pounds of ground beef and mentioned Bolognese Sauce. 

I had just decided to make sauce when Shoprite had a sale on organic ground beef. It was an omen. I starting cooking before I looked at a recipe. Many include ground pork; I don't have pork. Many call for a carrot; I do have carrots. I used crushed tomatoes, one-and-a-half pounds of ground beef, onion, garlic, pepper, and carrot. 

We had salmon for dinner tonight and will save the sauce for tomorrow. It will be good.

In the Kitchen

Had a lot to do in the kitchen today. First was finishing last night's dinner dishes. Then I made a bacon and eggs brunch using a small lobster tail, saved from last night's lobster risotto dinner. After brunch, I got a chili going in the crockpot: beef, bison, black, pinto, and cannellini beans, peppers, onions, crushed tomatoes, and garlic. (I was going to say a touch of garlic, but we're garlic fans--my touch is heavy.) Then I exercised, took Lola to Oyster Shell, and cleaned.

I don't really care about tonight's football game. Jeff's not feeling well and went to bed. I need to work on my story for tomorrow's class. Why am I procrastinating?

A Christmas Dreary

We slept in today, especially appropriate on a dark, dreary day like today. I made Christmas breakfast--a tradition we resurrected last year. 

It was just the two of us today, and it was just as well. After I cooked the turkey breast at 350 degrees, I turned up the oven to 400 degrees to re-heat the scalloped potatoes and the stuffing and cook the biscuits. Unfortunately, the oven wouldn't get any hotter. I thought maybe I had messed up. I turned off the oven and restarted it. The oven wouldn't get any hotter. 

Luckily we have a double oven and a new, fancy toaster oven. I heated the stuffing and potatoes in the upper oven (it's small and we usually use it only for broiling) and made the biscuits in the toaster oven. At least I had cooked the turkey in the main oven; it wouldn't have fit in the other two. Dinner was better late than never. 

We watched some Christmas movies: It's a Wonderful Life is on now.

Merry Christmas. 

A Busy Two Days

Sunday was a wasted day after my Covid-19 booster shot on Saturday night. I had various body aches, fatigue, fever, and chills all day. I barely had enough energy to take Lola to Oyster Shell for a half-hour walk. I had very little appetite, only for rye toast with butter and mandarin oranges. I had prepared for a bad reaction, but hoped for less. A friend said she was ill for a day-and-a-half. Another woman told me it would be a cinch because the booster was a half-dose.

I felt better by Monday morning for my last writing class of the fall. I was pleased to get a good response to my story, especially from the best writers in the class. I took Lola for a walk on NRVT, made a steak dinner (postponed from Sunday when Jeff got Thai takeout because I was too wiped out to cook) and dusted the dining area and part of the living room.

Today I did the grocery shopping and the laundry. In between I took Jeff to the doctor and Lola to the dog park. The grocery store was much busier than normal, but since I am taking the easy way out for Thanksgiving (catering from Whole Foods) it went smoothly. I had more laundry than expected, mainly because of a blanket that fell behind the couch and flannel sheets. We had a relatively easy dinner of manicotti from the farmer's market (the first time we tried this) with my marinara sauce and a salad.

Now I'm winding down; I need to take Lola out, get ready for bed, and read a bit. I'm reading another book about the Romanovs--this one focused on finding and identifying the bodies of the last Tsar and his family, and all the imposter claimants to the throne. 

Thursday Thoughts

Thursday night feels like the end of the week even though I'm not working, and if you think of the week as running from Monday to Sunday, it's really mid-week. 

Whatever. I'm feeling like another week went by with minimal accomplishments on my part. For one thing, I'm committed to driving Jeff for treatments for his foot twice a week. While he can drive himself, we feel more comfortable with me driving. Sometimes his foot burns afterward and it's a 45 minute drive. I use the 45 minute appointment time reading, playing Spelling Bee, doing New York Times crossword puzzles, and occasionally journaling. 

Lola still has toxins in her kidneys, so she is getting fluid injections three times a week. Usually Jeff and I both take her, although either of us can do it alone. For the past week, we've scheduled Lola's appointments at 9 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and Jeff's for 10:45 on Tuesday and Thursday. It's easier to plan around the appointments when they are consistent. This is still a work in progress. Jeff's been on this schedule for two weeks, and Lola for one.

I'm doing most of the walking with Lola (sometimes both Jeff and I go.) It's frustrating because she no longer will walk around the neighborhood--I can't explain it. It's also frustrating to take her somewhere such as the Norwalk River Valley Trail--a 30 to 40 minute roundtrip--and she walks for barely 20-25 minutes. I've been trying to enjoy our walks more while the weather is nice. We've had a string of beautiful, unseasonably warm days, and I know they won't last. I'm letting Lola off-leash more. So far, so good. She runs a bit and seems to enjoy herself more. I just realized that I can now take her to Westport beaches (as of October 1.)

I've really fallen behind in cleaning and writing. Both areas will require more planning and scheduling to get back on track. I can't wait for convenient times or moods. One good thing is I've gotten back into a gym routine the last two weeks. 

I'm continuing to try new recipes usually from the New York Times. Last night it was Skillet Chicken with Black Beans, Rice and Chiles. It got rave reviews. We were disappointed. I was also annoyed that it was billed as a one-pot dish, when you needed two. It took about an hour to cook, which can be too much on a weeknight for most. 

Throwback Thursday. I finally backed up my computer and looked through some old photos. I found this of Spike from our New Year's visit to Daufuskie Island around 2005? He is in his element with a favorite squeaky ball, taking a rest from chasing it down the beach. As much as I love Lola, I still miss Spike.

A New Week

I'm happy to start a new week because last week was bad. It started a week ago Sunday (technically the end of the previous week.) I had a weird sharp pain in my side. It hurt every time I bent over. I did an abbreviated workout at the gym and ended up vegging the rest of the day. After that the pain subsided to a dull ache. I could live with that. I returned to the gym on Thursday and exercised here on three days. That's not too bad for a bad week. 

As I posted on Tuesday, I stayed up till 1 AM to finish Paradise Alley. Unfortunately, that messed up my sleep for the whole week. Even this morning I woke up at 3:30 and tossed and turned for about three hours before finally getting up.

I had one good night of writing for my class today. I gave myself permission to drink more wine because I was writing. Not the best idea, that helped mess up my sleep too. 

Saturday night I ruined the dinner. I had defrosted a ribeye steak and got corn on the cob and tomatoes at the farmer's market. Although I had made the steak before the same way, this time is was much too raw, and then I overcooked it. It was very frustrating. At least I redeemed myself Sunday with Chicken Milanese, Romesco sauce, roasted potatoes, and a avocado cucumber salad.

Then there are the New York Mets. Sigh. On Friday as the Mets began a three-game series with the Phillies, I told Jeff that the Mets had to sweep. Their lead has already dwindled to a half-game in the National League East. Well, there was a sweep, but it was not by the Mets. The Mets start today in third place behind the Phillies and the Braves. They hope this is rock bottom. Sigh. Being a Mets fan isn't easy.

On a more positive note, we shared our true crime stories in today's fiction class: they were really good. Next week our theme is carnivals and we have to write an Abcedarian story. The first sentence starts with A, the second with B, through Z. I've done two of these before. A few of the letters are challenging, but it's fun. Next week is our last class of the summer, and then we're off for four weeks. 

We're heading into a heat wave. That will give me time to do the cleaning that I neglected last week and some writing. Sounds like a plan. 

Memorial Day Weekend

As I have probably written here dozens of times, I don't like to travel on holiday weekends. I can do without extra traffic and crowds. 

I understand this Memorial Day is special for many people--the first, almost post-pandemic holiday. Unfortunately the weather is extreme in parts of the country--here in the New York City area, we have record cold and rain. We didn't go to DPF and had to postpone meeting a relative, which involved an outdoor meeting. No biggie, it's not like we planned a vacation. 

Today I did some cleaning and cooking. For lunch, I made chicken soup from the broth I  made the other day. We had duck breast with fruit sauce and vegetable medley for dinner. I asked myself why I made a potentially messy dinner after thoroughly cleaning the stovetop today.

I also started on a story for my writing class. We don't meet this Monday because of the holiday, but it's nice to have an idea of what I'm writing. Our assignment is to write a one-page monologue or story about some kind of theater ghost. 

The Westport Fine Arts Festival is this weekend. The organizers seem to be cursed. Last year they changed the day from sometime in July (after a series of 90-plus degree Festival weekends) to May. Of course, Covid-19 ruined any in-person festivals last spring/summer. This year they have record cold. I'm not tempted to attend this year based on the cold, but I learned yesterday that the Westport Library book sale is also this weekend. I enjoyed the Pequot Library book sale so much. I'm willing to brave the cold for more books.

What's Been Happening

For the past three weeks, we've been dealing with household problems, specifically a leak in our bathroom ceiling. I don't want to write much about it, but it was frustrating: we had to fight with our management company to get the problem resolved. The ceiling was finally repaired this week.

Jeff's back at physical therapy, which was postponed because of issues with his insurance. I've been taking care of my own health to-do's (one item left.)

I mentioned that I've transitioned out of a job. I've been purging work-related books and papers. I'm not quite finished with the process; I had accumulated a lot of material. I've also purged my mother's old financial records. I have to take them to get shredded. 

I've been thinking about my food shopping habits and expenses. The pandemic has changed the way I shop. I'm also at least trying to be more frugal. This week for the first time I bought frozen vegetables. I wasn't crazy about some of the combos available. I got broccoli florets and a combination of greens. I had my most expensive shopping trip in a while because I stocked up on chicken and other things I needed for specific planned meals, as well as paper and cleaning products. 

I'm back in a cooking mode. I tried a new recipe with lentils, sweet potatoes, and spinach that we liked (though it was too watery and had even used one fewer cup of broth than the recipe indicated.) Today, I made a batch of bison chili. I'm also planning to make a carrot ginger soup. 

Bad news for Lola. Yesterday she was running across a field to Jeff, yelped, and stopped short. At first I thought she had stepped on a thorn or something. Unfortunately, it was more serious--a cruciate ligament. She's on pain pills and is moving slowly. Our poor baby.