Weekend accomplishments: Festival International edition
Saturday I actually didn't have a lot to do, in addition to being limited to what I could do because I couldn't drive across Lafayette. I didn't have any prescriptions to pick up for once. I made breakfast for myself and the 'rents, and had a little bit more of a relaxed morning than I usually do on Saturday. I went to Michael's and the grocery store, then vacuumed the downstairs rugs and put away some boxes that are normally stored in the RV garage but that Mom had made Phil drag into the house for some reason. They were dusty and she wasn't actually doing anything with them, and I got tired of walking around them.
In the afternoon my essential oil spinning tower arrived, so I put that together, then put all the oil bottles in it starting from the bottom. Then I realized the top tiers are the easiest to reach where I'm keeping it (on a bench that's about knee-high), so I took them all off and put them back on starting on the top shelf, in alphabetical order.
Taking this photo made me realize a lot of them were dusty, so I wiped them all off with a damp paper towel. The bottom shelf is all back-up bottles that I will move into the correct spot when the one I'm using now is empty. And I have a few bottles that are too large to fit, but it does easily fit both 10 and 15 ml bottles, which is the size most essential oils come in. I probably bought these larger ones because they were on sale or an especially good deal or something.
Standard disclaimer that I do not believe anything goofy about essential oils, I just like things that smell nice. I use these to make blends for a room diffuser. It's important to me that people know that!! This is a hobby that I've invested a lot of time and money in--altogether this is hundreds of dollars worth of oils, and it's taken me about 7 or 8 years to amass it--and it just makes me itch to think it might be misconstrued.
David made burritos for supper, and afterwards I did a little of the paint by numbers I'd bought at Michael's and watched more Black Sails. The first half of the 3rd season kind of dragged, Flint and his men were off in their own story removed from the main action, but the back half has picked up. I mean, the show is primarily character-driven anyway, but when the plot is "pirates resisting the world's most powerful empire", it's kind of hard to not fret that you aren't getting to the fireworks factory fast enough, you know?
Sunday I knew Lori and Jeremy were going to stop by on their way back to New Orleans (they came for Festival and stayed with an old friend of Lori's), but I had no idea when or for how long, so I decided to just have my usual Sunday and they'd show up when they showed up. I made pancakes and bacon for breakfast, changed the bed sheets, and got in the shower. They came just as I was finishing getting dressed and drying my hair, so that was good timing. We put Jeremy to work trying to get the new TV headphones going, David hadn't been able to figure them out. (They're so Phil, who is extremely hard of hearing, can watch TV without deafening anyone else who might be in the vicinity.) He used his nerd voodoo to figure it out.
I made a Steen's syrup cake; I had planned to make the coconut ice from Baking Yesteryear, but for some reason syrup cake just popped into my head, and it's been a couple years since I made one. I washed a load of towels and my sheets, and made focaccia. Lori and Jeremy left around 3:30; while they were there we talked some about what Jeremy insists on calling "Mr. Toad's Wild Texas Road Trip" with Larry's ashes and Mom, Lori, and myself realized we'd all had the same thought about putting a little bit of Larry's ashes in Bayou Vermilion. You ain't never escaping Louisiana, Larry!
I had some wine and read, finishing Bad Summer People. I have no idea how this wound up on my TBR, it was like if an episode of Real Housewives was a book. It's supposed to be a murder mystery, but the murder doesn't even happen until the book is like 4/5 done. it sucked, but by the time I realized it sucked I was pretty far in and figured I might as well finish it. At least I didn't pay for it, or not really; I'm trying a 60-day trial of Kindle Unlimited for $0.99 and this was one of the titles available.
Afterwards I started Island of the Lost, which I think I mentioned before, it's a non-fiction story about how 2 different crews were shipwrecked at the same time in the Auckland Islands and didn't know about each other until they were rescued. Actually one of them rescued themselves, by building a boat out of the shipwreck remains and sailing to New Zealand. Before they could do that, they had to make the tools to build it, which means before they could do that they had to make a forge. Good dog people were so much resourceful in the 19th century. They had to be, I guess.
I made chicken piccata for supper. My main problem with that dish is usually that it can come out kind of tough, even with the breasts butterflied, so I gave each one several good whacks with the meat tenderizer, and they cooked up really tender. I do love a good stovetop chicken recipe.
My cake was very toothsome.
I put a smidge of almond extract in the whipped cream. My mother always tears up when she eats gâteau de sirop because it reminds her of her mother and her grandmother. Work is love made visible.
In the afternoon my essential oil spinning tower arrived, so I put that together, then put all the oil bottles in it starting from the bottom. Then I realized the top tiers are the easiest to reach where I'm keeping it (on a bench that's about knee-high), so I took them all off and put them back on starting on the top shelf, in alphabetical order.
Taking this photo made me realize a lot of them were dusty, so I wiped them all off with a damp paper towel. The bottom shelf is all back-up bottles that I will move into the correct spot when the one I'm using now is empty. And I have a few bottles that are too large to fit, but it does easily fit both 10 and 15 ml bottles, which is the size most essential oils come in. I probably bought these larger ones because they were on sale or an especially good deal or something.
Standard disclaimer that I do not believe anything goofy about essential oils, I just like things that smell nice. I use these to make blends for a room diffuser. It's important to me that people know that!! This is a hobby that I've invested a lot of time and money in--altogether this is hundreds of dollars worth of oils, and it's taken me about 7 or 8 years to amass it--and it just makes me itch to think it might be misconstrued.
David made burritos for supper, and afterwards I did a little of the paint by numbers I'd bought at Michael's and watched more Black Sails. The first half of the 3rd season kind of dragged, Flint and his men were off in their own story removed from the main action, but the back half has picked up. I mean, the show is primarily character-driven anyway, but when the plot is "pirates resisting the world's most powerful empire", it's kind of hard to not fret that you aren't getting to the fireworks factory fast enough, you know?
Sunday I knew Lori and Jeremy were going to stop by on their way back to New Orleans (they came for Festival and stayed with an old friend of Lori's), but I had no idea when or for how long, so I decided to just have my usual Sunday and they'd show up when they showed up. I made pancakes and bacon for breakfast, changed the bed sheets, and got in the shower. They came just as I was finishing getting dressed and drying my hair, so that was good timing. We put Jeremy to work trying to get the new TV headphones going, David hadn't been able to figure them out. (They're so Phil, who is extremely hard of hearing, can watch TV without deafening anyone else who might be in the vicinity.) He used his nerd voodoo to figure it out.
I made a Steen's syrup cake; I had planned to make the coconut ice from Baking Yesteryear, but for some reason syrup cake just popped into my head, and it's been a couple years since I made one. I washed a load of towels and my sheets, and made focaccia. Lori and Jeremy left around 3:30; while they were there we talked some about what Jeremy insists on calling "Mr. Toad's Wild Texas Road Trip" with Larry's ashes and Mom, Lori, and myself realized we'd all had the same thought about putting a little bit of Larry's ashes in Bayou Vermilion. You ain't never escaping Louisiana, Larry!
I had some wine and read, finishing Bad Summer People. I have no idea how this wound up on my TBR, it was like if an episode of Real Housewives was a book. It's supposed to be a murder mystery, but the murder doesn't even happen until the book is like 4/5 done. it sucked, but by the time I realized it sucked I was pretty far in and figured I might as well finish it. At least I didn't pay for it, or not really; I'm trying a 60-day trial of Kindle Unlimited for $0.99 and this was one of the titles available.
Afterwards I started Island of the Lost, which I think I mentioned before, it's a non-fiction story about how 2 different crews were shipwrecked at the same time in the Auckland Islands and didn't know about each other until they were rescued. Actually one of them rescued themselves, by building a boat out of the shipwreck remains and sailing to New Zealand. Before they could do that, they had to make the tools to build it, which means before they could do that they had to make a forge. Good dog people were so much resourceful in the 19th century. They had to be, I guess.
I made chicken piccata for supper. My main problem with that dish is usually that it can come out kind of tough, even with the breasts butterflied, so I gave each one several good whacks with the meat tenderizer, and they cooked up really tender. I do love a good stovetop chicken recipe.
My cake was very toothsome.
I put a smidge of almond extract in the whipped cream. My mother always tears up when she eats gâteau de sirop because it reminds her of her mother and her grandmother. Work is love made visible.