Raccoon of Bluster
Mar. 17th, 2026 09:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ismoThe cleaners have come and gone, and have removed the entire besmirched carpet, swabbed everything with antimicrobial cleanser, and installed two giant fans and a dehumidifier to dry it all out. I'm relieved that the mold and damp has been expunged, but I'm not elated. What's left is a bare concrete floor painted an unappealing color, and still anointed with some curlicues of rug glue that will have to be removed before the floor can be repainted and adorned with some moisture resistant indoor-outdoor rugs, which is my plan. The process will be even longer than that sentence. I feel tired already. And all these books will still be all over the place until we complete the process, because I'm NOT going to refill the bookshelves until I'm sure I won't have to move them again.
Two young men did the work, one named William and one named Nathan. I learned that William is a poet and has self-published several books of poetry. He plans to keep working at the cleaning business for five years, until he has saved enough money to open a bookstore, which will also be a typewriter museum, because his other hobby is collecting and restoring typewriters! And then Nathan admitted that he too is a writer, and is currently trying to find an anthology to publish his 40-page fantasy story written "in the manner of Strabo," as he put it. I am slightly astonished, and wish them both the best of luck.
Our celebration of St. Patrick's Day was muted at best, though it did begin with listening to a stirring choral rendition of the Breastplate of St. Patrick. I cooked a large portion of corned beef for the Sparrowhawk, who isn't even Irish, not to the slightest degree! But he does like corned beef. I seared it and placed it on a bed of onions and carrots, and rubbed it with the traditional pickling spices plus a mix of spicy brown mustard and a dash of Ray's barbecue sauce, and then poured a splash of a tasty and aromatic unfiltered apple cider vinegar over it, covered it, and cooked it low and slow for a few hours. It came out so very good. The Sparrowhawk said the vegetables were almost the best part. I didn't have any cabbage, but maybe I can add some later, as by design, there are plenty of leftovers. I foresee some Reubens in the future. I can't see myself eating them at the moment, because my stomach is very unhappy after a night of not enough sleep. Maybe it will get better tomorrow . . . .
Two young men did the work, one named William and one named Nathan. I learned that William is a poet and has self-published several books of poetry. He plans to keep working at the cleaning business for five years, until he has saved enough money to open a bookstore, which will also be a typewriter museum, because his other hobby is collecting and restoring typewriters! And then Nathan admitted that he too is a writer, and is currently trying to find an anthology to publish his 40-page fantasy story written "in the manner of Strabo," as he put it. I am slightly astonished, and wish them both the best of luck.
Our celebration of St. Patrick's Day was muted at best, though it did begin with listening to a stirring choral rendition of the Breastplate of St. Patrick. I cooked a large portion of corned beef for the Sparrowhawk, who isn't even Irish, not to the slightest degree! But he does like corned beef. I seared it and placed it on a bed of onions and carrots, and rubbed it with the traditional pickling spices plus a mix of spicy brown mustard and a dash of Ray's barbecue sauce, and then poured a splash of a tasty and aromatic unfiltered apple cider vinegar over it, covered it, and cooked it low and slow for a few hours. It came out so very good. The Sparrowhawk said the vegetables were almost the best part. I didn't have any cabbage, but maybe I can add some later, as by design, there are plenty of leftovers. I foresee some Reubens in the future. I can't see myself eating them at the moment, because my stomach is very unhappy after a night of not enough sleep. Maybe it will get better tomorrow . . . .
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Date: 2026-03-18 01:49 pm (UTC)