Mother of Mercy! I am SO glad it's my weekend. Lines are converging: I've been under labor budget (a percentage of sales) in the busy season. I'm right at budget now as sales slow, and have to start pinching my labor pennies to make it later in the off-season. I was right at 100 hours for the pay period, myself. I ran out of corned beef yesterday, ( Read more... )

I slept in until 9:30! Then we got some coffee and got in the car and headed east. The phone rang just as we were turning away from the house and it was one of my boys asking about portobello mushrooms. I assured him the farm would deliver today, and I was off the hook with him and could leave town ( Read more... )

Aside from the five gallons of blackberry juice already in our freezer awaiting canning, Kevin finds fresh wonderful free food everywhere. We have dried rose hips and pears and plums and I don't know what else so far (in the three weeks we've lived here). Right now he's out looking at a pear tree behind the restaurant. Here is our dining table with ( Read more... )

I'm typing this to get down in words what's happening and how I feel, though I doubt it'll make it to LJ for a few more days.

Kevin got the old apartment cleaned out and turned in the keys on Friday, so he should get back at least half of the month's rent he paid there.

The new house is big and quite new. Instead of a 95-year-old brick hotel with ( Read more... )

Busy, hot in the kitchen, but a good day. Got in a bag of teres major, a cut of beef from the shoulder clod and the second-least-exercised muscle on the carcass. It wighs about 13 ounces on the average and trims down (lots of silver skin) to about 10 or 11. It broils rather slowly, but is tender and juicy and delicious. I gave one to the boss for ( Read more... )

I've spent the last thirty years, mostly, in cities of a half-million or more. With all its scary prosaic gossipy stereotypes, I think living in the same rural/wilderness county as all the Gifford Pinchot National Forest campgrounds will be its own reward.

I want this to work. I hope I can relax soon.

Okay, the car just has to hold up for another week, *ptui ptui ptui*.

Just talked to the new landlord and will be meeting him tonight and handing him a check for the August rent. We take possession on the 8th.

I tried the pepper-salt squid at a place called Sam Ho. It was good. Kevin's lemongrass chicken was less so. We agreed at the table that we were both worried about not having heard from the landlord of the duplex ( Read more... )

My contrary side expresses itself partly in my work week: most people's Monday is my Friday.

Today I got to the restaurant at 10 and met with the boss. He's concerned about specials, so I have to do more homework. I think maybe I'll make a deal with him: dinner specials are special, fancy and pretty and exotic, but lunch specials are things *I* ( Read more... )