Rattlesnake of Simmer
Jul. 19th, 2023 09:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ismoIt's been a non-stop ride around here, with very few moments when nothing was happening!
Saturday: the chair arrived! My worries about how they'd get it into the house, whether it would fit, etc. were proven groundless. The space we made for it by moving the bookcase was perfect, and I even found a furniture item in my office that I repurposed as a table so the Sparrowhawk can have somewhere to put his coffee cup and iPad. He then went off to the funeral. I had been completely uninspired in terms of providing food, but once he was gone, my cooking mojo reawakened, and I thought of some things to cook, even though my grocery shopping had been incomplete and inadequate. I revived a black bean and ham soup from the freezer, added some very fancy ground beef that I got half price, plus marjoram and parsley from my garden, harissa and turmeric. It tasted middle Eastern and much more lively than before. I was going to make green beans with almonds, but the package I thought was almonds turned out to be pepitas. What the heck, there's no reason not to use those instead, I thought. And indeed, a look at the internet later showed there are lots of recipes for that very thing. I also made some carrots and mushrooms with dill, and a caprese salad using fresh marjoram instead of basil, because that is what I had. Around 3:30, the Sparrowhawk returned with Deb and the Prussian in his wake. Everyone sat down and started talking immediately, and after about an hour, it was determined that we were all pretty hungry. We ended up ordering out from a Persian restaurant instead of eating the things I cooked. The Prussian and I got beef with eggplant, Deb got another form of spicy eggplant, with rice and fava beans, and the Sparrowhawk ordered a kebab. I brought out the caprese salad anyway, because I thought we needed more sides.
In the morning, the Prussian said the chair had worked extremely well for sleeping in. We all went to church together, came home and had a combo of leftover takeout plus my offerings. People said the soup was good, so I was happy. Our first set of guests started for home about an hour before the Nipper and family were due, but it turned out they forgot their iPad, so they had to come back, and for a moment, everyone arrived at once. Again we plunged into talk and catching up, but with a different group. I cooked some bratwurst with onions and mashed potatoes to add to the leftover vegetables. After dinner, we went over to the Village and got ice cream cones. The Sparrowhawk is loving the chair and spends most of his sitting time there, when he can oust Raptor, who likes to lie crosswise in it with his long legs hanging over the arm.
Monday: the Zoo! Lions and red pandas and black swans! We got home just before my bad knee gave out entirely. I had some ice water and ibuprofen, and then made a fast dash to the grocery store for a couple more items that needed replenishing. Dr. Nurse, Dr. Music, and Bird Baby joined us for dinner. We ate on the back porch, where the Nipper had moved some small table together to make a big one. The Sparrowhawk grilled steak, and I made potato salad and green salad with blueberries and pecans. We had strawberries and cream for dessert--also some gluten free sponge cake for the Redhead's benefit. Dr. Music had to take Bird Baby home for her bedtime, but Dr. Nurse stuck around and helped us play Pictionary until I finally gave her a ride home.
Tuesday: The Redhead had lunch with her team at work--people she hitherto had only met via Zoom. Her tummy was giving her some problems, so she stayed home and had a nap while the rest of us took Raptor to the city museum, where we had a ride on the carousel and saw fossils, an exhibit on the Ice Age, and all kinds of things. My knee was bothering me quite a lot, so I spent most of my time sitting down on handy benches. We went out for supper to a place that has nothing but gluten free food, so the Redhead had free range. Oh yeah, and the Sparrowhawk's brother Fritz also stopped by with his son-in-law to drop off a box of photos and mementos of their father. Fritz has been sorting out some possessions of his parents that were left in storage. It never rains but it pours!
Today was Beach Day! Alas, the Redhead didn't feel up to it. Sun sensitivity can give her a migraine, so she thought it was better to be cautious. It was a lovely day, and even the Sparrowhawk and the Nipper admitted that the water was warm enough to swim in. We swam and hung out on the beach, and stopped at the Whippi Dip for ice cream. At home, we went out again to a place that had amazing giant pretzels for Raptor, and gluten free sandwich buns for the Redhead. More Pictionary! I unpacked everything and washed the towels and swimsuits.
Saturday: the chair arrived! My worries about how they'd get it into the house, whether it would fit, etc. were proven groundless. The space we made for it by moving the bookcase was perfect, and I even found a furniture item in my office that I repurposed as a table so the Sparrowhawk can have somewhere to put his coffee cup and iPad. He then went off to the funeral. I had been completely uninspired in terms of providing food, but once he was gone, my cooking mojo reawakened, and I thought of some things to cook, even though my grocery shopping had been incomplete and inadequate. I revived a black bean and ham soup from the freezer, added some very fancy ground beef that I got half price, plus marjoram and parsley from my garden, harissa and turmeric. It tasted middle Eastern and much more lively than before. I was going to make green beans with almonds, but the package I thought was almonds turned out to be pepitas. What the heck, there's no reason not to use those instead, I thought. And indeed, a look at the internet later showed there are lots of recipes for that very thing. I also made some carrots and mushrooms with dill, and a caprese salad using fresh marjoram instead of basil, because that is what I had. Around 3:30, the Sparrowhawk returned with Deb and the Prussian in his wake. Everyone sat down and started talking immediately, and after about an hour, it was determined that we were all pretty hungry. We ended up ordering out from a Persian restaurant instead of eating the things I cooked. The Prussian and I got beef with eggplant, Deb got another form of spicy eggplant, with rice and fava beans, and the Sparrowhawk ordered a kebab. I brought out the caprese salad anyway, because I thought we needed more sides.
In the morning, the Prussian said the chair had worked extremely well for sleeping in. We all went to church together, came home and had a combo of leftover takeout plus my offerings. People said the soup was good, so I was happy. Our first set of guests started for home about an hour before the Nipper and family were due, but it turned out they forgot their iPad, so they had to come back, and for a moment, everyone arrived at once. Again we plunged into talk and catching up, but with a different group. I cooked some bratwurst with onions and mashed potatoes to add to the leftover vegetables. After dinner, we went over to the Village and got ice cream cones. The Sparrowhawk is loving the chair and spends most of his sitting time there, when he can oust Raptor, who likes to lie crosswise in it with his long legs hanging over the arm.
Monday: the Zoo! Lions and red pandas and black swans! We got home just before my bad knee gave out entirely. I had some ice water and ibuprofen, and then made a fast dash to the grocery store for a couple more items that needed replenishing. Dr. Nurse, Dr. Music, and Bird Baby joined us for dinner. We ate on the back porch, where the Nipper had moved some small table together to make a big one. The Sparrowhawk grilled steak, and I made potato salad and green salad with blueberries and pecans. We had strawberries and cream for dessert--also some gluten free sponge cake for the Redhead's benefit. Dr. Music had to take Bird Baby home for her bedtime, but Dr. Nurse stuck around and helped us play Pictionary until I finally gave her a ride home.
Tuesday: The Redhead had lunch with her team at work--people she hitherto had only met via Zoom. Her tummy was giving her some problems, so she stayed home and had a nap while the rest of us took Raptor to the city museum, where we had a ride on the carousel and saw fossils, an exhibit on the Ice Age, and all kinds of things. My knee was bothering me quite a lot, so I spent most of my time sitting down on handy benches. We went out for supper to a place that has nothing but gluten free food, so the Redhead had free range. Oh yeah, and the Sparrowhawk's brother Fritz also stopped by with his son-in-law to drop off a box of photos and mementos of their father. Fritz has been sorting out some possessions of his parents that were left in storage. It never rains but it pours!
Today was Beach Day! Alas, the Redhead didn't feel up to it. Sun sensitivity can give her a migraine, so she thought it was better to be cautious. It was a lovely day, and even the Sparrowhawk and the Nipper admitted that the water was warm enough to swim in. We swam and hung out on the beach, and stopped at the Whippi Dip for ice cream. At home, we went out again to a place that had amazing giant pretzels for Raptor, and gluten free sandwich buns for the Redhead. More Pictionary! I unpacked everything and washed the towels and swimsuits.
