The last couple of weeks
-Tucker has been more active and social the last few weeks. He's been allowing some pets, playing, investigating the other cats, and generally exploring more of the house. I've woken up more than once to Callie growling at him and snarling at him to chase him out of her rightful realm. He also shows a strong affinity for the litterbox in my room versus the other two in the house. I'm not sure if he's discovered the heated cat beds in my room just yet.
-Speaking of cats, I recently took Callie in because I've noticed her wheezing when she breathes. It was just a little bit, occasionally, at first, so I didn't think too much about it, but while the wheezing itself hasn't gotten worse, it's become more frequent. Callie had opinions about being at the vet.
"We don't like being at the vet and want to go home RIGHT NOW."
-I rode nine miles total during the biggest storm Portland's had in a while (14 inches of rain, a record!). It wasn't nine miles all at once, but 1-2 miles here and there between work sites, enough times during the day that I never really dried out. Which moved up my timetable ~
-I just bought rain gear for riding my bike this winter & spring. I just bought rain pants that go over my regular pants, and booties that go over my shoes. I'm totally loving the rain jacket I bought a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully all that will help keep me warm & dry!
-I went to a neighborhood food swap. It only started last month (wasn't able to make the first one), and it sounds like enough people want it to be monthly or nearly-monthly. The one I went to, only six people showed up - it was the same day as the above-mentioned storm, so traffic was icky and a lot of people just stayed home. Still, we met some nifty new people, and I traded ketchup, jam pickles and pumpkin for grape jelly and grape juice, dried chanterelles, chocolate chip cookies, and some cinnamon chocolate salt. I'm already thinking about what to make for next month's swap.
-Today I went to my first book club meeting. The group has met for a handful of books so far, but this is the first book I really felt interested in reading - Frankenstein. Wow, I really hadn't remembered almost anything about it since reading it in college. I mean, I knew "Frankenstein" was the name of the man, not the monster, I knew there was a chase scene of sorts through the northen-most parts of the world, and I knew the monster died, but I didn't remember almost anything else. I also found pretty much everyone unsympathetic with the exception of perhaps the monster. If I hadn't been reading it for book club, I would never have finished it, I think. I was surprised and relieved to find out at least 3/4 of the group was also frustrated with or actively disliked the book. Lots of good discussion, no one was actually sorry they'd read it in terms of having the group meeting, but very few said they enjoyed it or that they'd read it again.
Next group meeting: A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet (the initial trilogy of the Time Quintet). I'm much more looking forward to reading it.
-So behind on dealing with the garden and yard. Still, tiny surprises abound. I picked two red bell peppers yesterday (which are now cut into strips and in the dehydrator) and a handful (such an exaggeration!) of saffron stamens.
-The change to cooler weather always gets me cooking. Yesterday I made a pot of peanut butter oatmeal, a pot of tomato rice soup (a favorite around the household), a pot of lentils & pumpkin puree with carrot slices and sausage, and a loaf of bread. I also made three batches of granola partly for book club and partly just to have around the house - peanut butter, pumpkin, and cranberry/cherry.
-Speaking of cats, I recently took Callie in because I've noticed her wheezing when she breathes. It was just a little bit, occasionally, at first, so I didn't think too much about it, but while the wheezing itself hasn't gotten worse, it's become more frequent. Callie had opinions about being at the vet.
"We don't like being at the vet and want to go home RIGHT NOW."
-I rode nine miles total during the biggest storm Portland's had in a while (14 inches of rain, a record!). It wasn't nine miles all at once, but 1-2 miles here and there between work sites, enough times during the day that I never really dried out. Which moved up my timetable ~
-I just bought rain gear for riding my bike this winter & spring. I just bought rain pants that go over my regular pants, and booties that go over my shoes. I'm totally loving the rain jacket I bought a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully all that will help keep me warm & dry!
-I went to a neighborhood food swap. It only started last month (wasn't able to make the first one), and it sounds like enough people want it to be monthly or nearly-monthly. The one I went to, only six people showed up - it was the same day as the above-mentioned storm, so traffic was icky and a lot of people just stayed home. Still, we met some nifty new people, and I traded ketchup, jam pickles and pumpkin for grape jelly and grape juice, dried chanterelles, chocolate chip cookies, and some cinnamon chocolate salt. I'm already thinking about what to make for next month's swap.
-Today I went to my first book club meeting. The group has met for a handful of books so far, but this is the first book I really felt interested in reading - Frankenstein. Wow, I really hadn't remembered almost anything about it since reading it in college. I mean, I knew "Frankenstein" was the name of the man, not the monster, I knew there was a chase scene of sorts through the northen-most parts of the world, and I knew the monster died, but I didn't remember almost anything else. I also found pretty much everyone unsympathetic with the exception of perhaps the monster. If I hadn't been reading it for book club, I would never have finished it, I think. I was surprised and relieved to find out at least 3/4 of the group was also frustrated with or actively disliked the book. Lots of good discussion, no one was actually sorry they'd read it in terms of having the group meeting, but very few said they enjoyed it or that they'd read it again.
Next group meeting: A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet (the initial trilogy of the Time Quintet). I'm much more looking forward to reading it.
-So behind on dealing with the garden and yard. Still, tiny surprises abound. I picked two red bell peppers yesterday (which are now cut into strips and in the dehydrator) and a handful (such an exaggeration!) of saffron stamens.
-The change to cooler weather always gets me cooking. Yesterday I made a pot of peanut butter oatmeal, a pot of tomato rice soup (a favorite around the household), a pot of lentils & pumpkin puree with carrot slices and sausage, and a loaf of bread. I also made three batches of granola partly for book club and partly just to have around the house - peanut butter, pumpkin, and cranberry/cherry.