A Plethora Of Plans!

So...we had to skip our walk this morning because workers are swarming our house! The brand new air conditioner needs a repair...they are at fault and paying for a huge repair bill. And our bug guy is coming to patch potential squirrel ports of entry and apparently mice have access to our house, too! Yuck!

We were going to go out to lunch today...my second outing in my baseball cap...but everyone is coming at lunch time. We still might go to a late lunch. Or not...to be determined.

I am thinking of making a single jar of jam today! The Kitchn had a post about what to do with leftover too ripe fruit. The author was sick of tossing fruit in the trash. I am really leery of too ripe fruit. I don't like to buy more than three of anything at a time. Den has a huge soft spot for peaches and that is what is overripe in the fruit bowl right now. All that's needed for this jam is sugar and lemon and a jar. I have all three. We have already tossed out a huge local cantaloupe, a plum , one peach and some watermelon...not my purchases. The cantaloupe was mush...the watermelon way too much for two people and the peach...not sure what happened to that...the plum was wrinkled and scary. But I bit it and it tasted delicious. I could not get past the wrinkles, though, and tossed it.

When I was teaching one of my co workers always brought fruit in her lunch. This was in September when fruit was abundant. The fruit looked really over ripe to me but she swore it was amazing. I still can't get past fruit wrinkles! I have to catch fruit at just the right point in its short fruity life. Bananas destroy me...I only like them at their first ripening point...not a minute past that. I actually like them better more under ripe. So every time I see overly ripened fruit...I think of my teacher friend!

A very scary banana...Den always grabs these, peels them and freezes them for smoothies!

Books...

Again...I am reading nothing I said I would read except this...this book is very strange yet very mesmerizing. It takes place in Montenegro...which is near tons of Slavic countries. Thank God I am reading it on my Kindle because I need to look up tons of places as well as foods because it's so interestingly strange. The magic of Iris and her twin Malina has been hidden for all of their lives. Malina sings polyphonically...in many voices...and Iris blows unbelievable glass flowers. Their mother is attacked and they have to find out what happened. It is a beautiful (kind of scary) hypnotic story.

I am setting myself free of a few things and not having a bookish plan after this book. I am going to do what I used to do...think about the book I just read for a while...take some time...and then choose my next book. I have tons of new books to choose from! I am not sure how I got so many at one time! But I did! More on that next week!

Off to watch college ball with Den and make Taco Soup! It is chilly and rainy here today but it feels so good. We have on long sleeves with shorts...my favorite combo.

So...have an awesome week end...see you on Monday!

Patty

 

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Today...

I would think that every time I walk it would get easier and easier. But that doesn't seem to be the case. Sometimes my body aches and I just want to sit down. What I love about this walking trail is that just when I think I need to sit...just for a minute...there is a bench. I need the benches less and less but sometimes...I just need a bench! Den walks the trail 4 times while I still walk it about 1 and a quarter times. But...I try for a little more every day.

When we come home after our walk we are both in a swirl of activity. Tidying rooms, laundry, dinner prep. I like to get dinner ready because I am still too tired to think about it later in the day. I am not ready to go out to dinner yet...it's the hair situation. So prepping early works for me. We've been having yummy salad like sandwiches for lunch...local tomatoes and other veg are awesome right now. Today I made a French Yogurt cake. I found the recipe on Food 52. It's like a yellow vanilla cake. Den is over the top excited about eating this. It smells amazing. This is the photo from Food 52 but my cake looks just like it.

 

Books...

I am reading this still. It's about twins who have strange powers/gifts that their mother has been trying to keep hidden. The writing is lovely and it's too easy to get lost in this book. The sisters can "gleam"...their magic comes out in glass blowing and music...I know this sounds so weird but it's actually what makes this book so addictive...their "gleaming" must be hidden...or else!

Against my better judgement I am reading two sort of fantasy/dystopian books at a time...

I am actually going to start this one...just to balance everything out. I need to read something sort of realistic!

Hugs,

Patty

 

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So...

Why...when I really do sleep well...do I still wake up at around three ish every single morning? Den and I both fall asleep with Kindles, glasses and kitties scattered all over our big bed. I wake up with either Lucy tucked next to me...sharing my pillow...or Roxie tucked into my side under the covers...or both! And they do it without waking me. When I wake up at three ish they are sound asleep! I disturb them! I can fall back to sleep but I hate that early morning waking up...totally hate it even though I spend that time reading.

Books...

This one was a YA psychological thriller and it was so good. It was filled with yummy dysfunctional pairings that ultimately led to disaster. It was extremely well written. I was able to get inside the heads of these fascinating and irritating characters. I loved reading this fast paced book.

Reading this...grabbed it when I woke up this morning and can't stop reading it...magic, witchy, evil?

Foods...

I am tempted this week by this Carrot Quick Bread from The Kitchn...

This steak and tomato salad from View From Great Island.

These zucchini chips from In Jennie's Kitchen.

And...last of all...do I want these fuzzy Ugg slipons?

Yes...I do!

I seem to be overwhelmed with tons of YA fantasy...there is a huge new crop of these books out there. I try to not read more than one at a time but my Kindle is bursting with them! Sigh! I don't know how to manage them. I just seem to download them and just keep on reading which is both a good plan and a bad plan. Oh well...

It is 69 degrees here today and raining...no trail walking today plus Den is out to lunch with his boys. They always go out for Mexican food...they allow themselves one good Margarita and Den brings home tamales for dinner. We have tamales and salad for dinner on his lunch days...sounds strange but it's so good!

Have a great day!

Patty

 

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Monday!!!

We just came in from our walk. It's our second time walking in this beautiful place minutes from our house. It was delightful! We met a puppy...a lab doodle named P.J. I walked the trail once and Den walked it twice. He will probably start walking it three times and hopefully I will gear up to two times.

Resting!

On our way home we stopped at a local farm for corn, yellow tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, peaches, nectarines, lettuce, celery, peppers, zucchini and a jar of something I have never heard of before. I am not sure what to use it on...hot dogs?

Books!

I read the top two this past weekend.

They were both fast paced sort of psychological thrillers. I didn't read anything I thought I would read...I didn't follow my own plan. But I rarely follow my own plan. Sigh!

I have no clue what I will read this week. But...I did start this and I find I can't stop reading it...it is so good.

When we came in from our walk we had to deal with our vegetables. We bought a dozen ears of corn and Den scraped the fresh corn kernels from the cobs and we put them in freezer bags and froze them! We are going to do it again later this week. I made a yummy tomato salad loaded with green peppers and tomatoes and cucumbers and celery and a little bit of red onion. Olive oil and red wine vinegar makes it really delicious. It's a salad my mom always made in the summer. I made two loaves of rye peasant bread, too. This was a really productive day...but now I am relaxing and I am finished for the day.

Off to rest and read...

Hugs,

Patty

 

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