I've actually been in something of a funk and not really able to think of anything worth writing about. I think I am frustrated because I have been getting virtually nothing accomplished lately. I wasn't able to get half the stuff done I'd hoped during the summer and now the boys are gone to school, so I don't have them to do things with. I have a laundry list of projects to do around the house; for every project I finish it seems like two more things break and need repair. And, with no offspring about the house now I'm having to take out the papers and the trash (or you don't get no spending cash), mow the lawn, etc. Whatever, it seems like by the time I navigate the commute home, relax for a minute or two, start cooking, get the food on the table and finish eating the evening has been shot.
Anyway the inability to get ahead on any of this stuff is making my cranky. I blame the heat. Or maybe the traffic. Or maybe Leo.
Speaking of which, you may recall that I wasted most of a weekend installing Leo's doggie door. Well, that lasted about two days before Leo decided to eat it. We came home and found a large chunk of the door frame broken off and chewed up in the middle of the yard. Now, fortunately for Leo I have no direct evidence that he was the perpetrator. That is because Guns, the Dane from next door, was spending the day in our yard. Tree trimmers were at work in his yard, so his parents thought it best that he and Leo have a play date in our yard. It is at least conceivable that Guns was responsible, so I am cutting Leo some slack on this one.
At least Leo started using the door. Monday evening, arriving back at home I found Leo comfortably reclining on our bed, having once again forced his way into the house.
Back to my projects, I still haven't started my first attempt at home brewing, reasoning that it's way too hot right now to ferment beer. I think it is recommend to store the stuff at about 70 degrees. Our temperatures have been a little north of a hundred this week and likely will be for a while. With our house having been built in the pre-energy-crisis 1970's it is not particularly energy efficient. I'd need the AC running 24/7 to keep the beer cool. So, I'll wait a couple more weeks in hopes that the temperature will drop to more tolerable levels.
I have been reasonably effective on at least one project: emptying beer bottles so that I will have someplace to store my home brew. I could have just bought a couple cases of empty bottles, but what sort of challenge is that?!
I've also been doing a lot of cooking and trying to use up all the produce from our garden, with varying degrees of success. Saturday morning I concocted a scramble of eggs with home grown red potatoes, cherry tomatoes and habanero peppers. Delicious I thought and even Denise seemed to like them although she is not keen on the habaneros. I think that they are tasty and at about 300,000 Scovilles, how can you miss? (Actually, I only added the cherry tomatoes for Denise...they are so sweet that I figured, correctly, that they'd cut most of the heat from the peppers.) Saturday night was a grilled beef tenderloin roast and grilled Yukon Gold Potato salad from a Bobby Flay recipe, delicious and really easy, and Sunday morning, to use up still more produce, I made multi-grain pumpkin waffles. I wish the boys were home to help us eat this stuff.
Tonight I decided to make a concerted effort to accomplish something at least arguably productive. I don't know that I was successful; watered the garden and potted plants, mowed both lawns, took Leo for a walk, provided some tech support for a neighbors laptop, brought out the silk-screening stuff to start planning some T-shirt production and emptied a couple more beer bottles...
About that time I started blogging, so all productivity stopped.
Multi grain pumpkin waffles! The heck with the boys - I wish I was there to help eat that stuff.
ReplyDeleteI have not been very productive lately either. Sadly, I am unable to find a way to blame Leo. My usual go-to for any and all blaming is the hubster, but I think the real culprit is the heat. Have much yard work to do and none of it appeals in this weather.
You could have blogged on the 19th about International Talk Like a Pirate Day. (Will have to ask Em if she noticed any observances of it in Egypt.)
Going to go try and be productive. Type at you later.
Regardless of the heat or lack thereof, I'm never very productive--as evidenced by the fact that the partial stripping I did of the door trim has remained in the state it was at when I first started it 2.5 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI would enjoy some pumpkin waffles as well.
See you!
you don't need your boys to eat you out of house and home, you just need some bloggers that live near by, job done then. Wish I was your neighbour.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about the jobs I will have to pick up once the kids leave home, maybe having them stay home for this long isn't such a bad idea after all.
Don't worry about productivity,just keep emptying those bottles. The heat will soon go out of the sun and what ashame it will be if you don't have enough bottles.
Much love,
Lia xx