Weekend accomplishments
We finally got someone to come out and trim the trees. The insurance company had been after us because some of the branches were really close to the roof or to windows. It had to be done, but I miss the way it looked having the water oaks and crepe myrtles encroaching on the house. Very southern gothic.
Saturday I made eggs and toast, had a leisurely second cup of coffee over my book, then got in the shower. The only thing I had to do outside of the house was go to the grocery store. When I got home I made a batch of dog treat dough, then baked 1/3 of it and put the other 2/3 in the freezer. I prepped December in my planner since October is almost over.
I continued my bedroom decluttering by cleaning up the corner between my bureau and the wall, which I usually think as the craft area because it's mostly taken up with one of those 3-level rolling carts which, in theory, is supposed to hold all my collage and paint supplies. In actuality that stuff was all over the place. I organized everything on the cart and tossed some stuff, then took out all the paints, which made room for the other stuff that hadn't fit before.
There's also a wicker 4-drawer storage unit in the corner which was full of old junk, mostly CD roms and cables from a desktop we got rid of when Obama was president. I tossed all that and put my paint sets in the bottom drawer. Which leaves 3 drawers of available storage if I need it.
Next week is the desk and that's gonna be a doozy. I may have to split that into 2 weekends.
David made tuna melt fritters for supper and afterwards I started the 2nd season of Slow Horses and did some painting.
Sunday I had planned to make pancakes for breakfast, but we didn't have enough Bisquick. Then I thought I'd make french toast, but remembered what I was making for supper and decided that seemed like too much bread. So I made some corn muffins with a box of Jiffy I had in the pantry for just such occasion, and whipped up some butter with honey and orange zest while they were baking.
I hadn't slept well the night before, so I allowed myself to doze off in front of the new Dateline and did the bed sheets after my shower. I put the dirty sheets in the washer and ran some vinegar water through my essential oil diffuser to clean it. (I should do that every week but frequently forget.) I baked a spiced pumpkin cake with maple glaze. I tried to vacuum the rugs, but the head of the vacuum is all clogged with hair and dust and doesn't have much suction. I really did not feel like cleaning it, so I dragged out the carpet sweeper and used that. I did some dinner prep, drank wine and ate some Doritos, and read. I finished Looking Glass Sound; I thought it kind of went off the rails in the last third, but it definitely wasn't boring. I decided to re-read Piranesi.
I made shrimp toast!
I knew I wanted to make something with some of that shrimp in the freezer, but something other than the shrimp and grits and pastas I've made dozens of times. I don't know what made me think of shrimp toast, but it turns out to be pretty easy, at least if you have certain equipment. I toasted the bread lightly and cut off the crusts, then made the shrimp paste in the Cuisinart. (The sesame seeds are optional, but we had them so of course I used them.) We have an electric fryer that keeps the heat very steady, and is big enough to fry several pieces at once. Anyway, it was something different. Everyone liked it, even Phil said he really enjoyed it and he usually doesn't think to compliment food any more.
Saturday I made eggs and toast, had a leisurely second cup of coffee over my book, then got in the shower. The only thing I had to do outside of the house was go to the grocery store. When I got home I made a batch of dog treat dough, then baked 1/3 of it and put the other 2/3 in the freezer. I prepped December in my planner since October is almost over.
I continued my bedroom decluttering by cleaning up the corner between my bureau and the wall, which I usually think as the craft area because it's mostly taken up with one of those 3-level rolling carts which, in theory, is supposed to hold all my collage and paint supplies. In actuality that stuff was all over the place. I organized everything on the cart and tossed some stuff, then took out all the paints, which made room for the other stuff that hadn't fit before.
There's also a wicker 4-drawer storage unit in the corner which was full of old junk, mostly CD roms and cables from a desktop we got rid of when Obama was president. I tossed all that and put my paint sets in the bottom drawer. Which leaves 3 drawers of available storage if I need it.
Next week is the desk and that's gonna be a doozy. I may have to split that into 2 weekends.
David made tuna melt fritters for supper and afterwards I started the 2nd season of Slow Horses and did some painting.
Sunday I had planned to make pancakes for breakfast, but we didn't have enough Bisquick. Then I thought I'd make french toast, but remembered what I was making for supper and decided that seemed like too much bread. So I made some corn muffins with a box of Jiffy I had in the pantry for just such occasion, and whipped up some butter with honey and orange zest while they were baking.
I hadn't slept well the night before, so I allowed myself to doze off in front of the new Dateline and did the bed sheets after my shower. I put the dirty sheets in the washer and ran some vinegar water through my essential oil diffuser to clean it. (I should do that every week but frequently forget.) I baked a spiced pumpkin cake with maple glaze. I tried to vacuum the rugs, but the head of the vacuum is all clogged with hair and dust and doesn't have much suction. I really did not feel like cleaning it, so I dragged out the carpet sweeper and used that. I did some dinner prep, drank wine and ate some Doritos, and read. I finished Looking Glass Sound; I thought it kind of went off the rails in the last third, but it definitely wasn't boring. I decided to re-read Piranesi.
I made shrimp toast!
I knew I wanted to make something with some of that shrimp in the freezer, but something other than the shrimp and grits and pastas I've made dozens of times. I don't know what made me think of shrimp toast, but it turns out to be pretty easy, at least if you have certain equipment. I toasted the bread lightly and cut off the crusts, then made the shrimp paste in the Cuisinart. (The sesame seeds are optional, but we had them so of course I used them.) We have an electric fryer that keeps the heat very steady, and is big enough to fry several pieces at once. Anyway, it was something different. Everyone liked it, even Phil said he really enjoyed it and he usually doesn't think to compliment food any more.