At home
Thursday, 31 December 2020
I went outside in the early afternoon into a cold wind, with the intention of finding potatoes for Allan’s birthday dinner. As I dug in the potato patch next door, which I’d already dug through several times, it felt just a bit like that scene in Gone With the Wind.
I had found enough spuds to fill 3/4 of a gallon flower pot. I put them in the garage and didn’t mention them even when Allan sadly said that evening that we were out of potatoes.
I then thought perhaps I could find some more spuds in a previous planting area inside our own garden.
Inside the deer fence, the wind was no longer annoying. It had blown down the vulnerable bamboo again.
I walked to the southeast corner bed where I had once grown potatoes, hoping to find more. Although I couldn’t tell anymore where the stray potato plants had been, I was smitten with the urge to take down the phlox and Joe Pye weed nearby.
Because I’d had no intention of gardening, I didn’t get clippers, just broke off the brittle stalks.
Before I could gather up my chopped debris, the rain returned and I went back indoors, happy to having reading weather again. But first, I needed to prepare the mystery bananas (left in a bag outside a few days ago) as they had reached the perfect ripeness. I like bananas a bit green, but ripe ones dry with the best flavor. Faerie found that next to the dehydrator was a cozy place to nap.
Friday, 1 January 2021
I gave the banana another hour of dehydrating. I like them to be so dry that they rattle like coins, which takes about 11 hours.
I read a useful book, written with a droll sense of humor and lots of cat stories.
Among much good advice, the author gave me insight into our happy cat household of the past.
When Skooter came to live with us, he joined a household of three social facilitators. Frosty and Calvin were friendly cats who liked to groom the others, but Smoky was the best, the perfect cat, friend and groomer to all. That is why the four of them got along so well…
….and why I thought Skooter must be lonely without them and would be happy to have new cat friends. He had also seemed, later on, to enjoy pestering cantankerous Jazmin. Well, he hates the new cats, but I now am following advice from the book and trying to create a group scent by brushing Skooter and the cattens with the same brush. The author’s claim is that this will create a bond if I do it for a month and then afterward if any hostility returns.
The forecast promised reading weather.
The wind was not as bad as predicted….and a good thing the power stayed in for Allan’s birthday dinner!
Saturday, 2 January 2021
Today was Allan’s 68th birthday. That is hard to believe. Time is moving awfully fast now.
During a torrential rain day, he worked on his book while I sorted some photos and started to reread I Capture the Castle.
I made dinner, an almost unheard of event. I managed a very British fry up of eggs, potatoes (surprise!), onions and dried Cherry tomatoes with beans on toast. From a Christmas present from Montana Mary, we had the right kind of beans.
I don’t know how Allan stands cooking every night. It was exhausting. So now that we are half retired, I think it only fair that I try cooking dinner once a week. (When I lived alone, dinners were instant, or take-out from the salad bar that used to be at the Ilwaco grocery store, or bagged salad on top of couscous.). The fry up was quite delicious. I had plenty of potatoes after all.
Here is an inspirational article about beans on toast.
Fortunately, Allan had made a cake a few days before so we had a proper birthday dessert, along with two Shaun the Sheep movies, which made Allan happy.
A belated Happy Birthday to Allan! You made a delicious sounding cozy birthday dinner for a cold winter day. He must have been pleasantly surprised by the potatoes.
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Yes, he was happy with the spuds.
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Happy, happy birthday to Allan! Dinner sounds scrummy, as Mary Berry would say. LOVE “Shaun the Sheep.” A great way to celebrate a birthday. Also, I really liked “I Capture the Castle.”
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Yes! Another fan of my favourite book! There are more literary, highbrow books that I love but I have to say there is no book I’ve read as many times.
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Monty Don in his January tips said now is the time to trim up garden debris and get it mulched. So we can officially feel guilt free tidying up.
Capture the Castle, loved that book!
We share the cooking, although the s/o likes it more than I do. I would much rather use that hour or two reading, or puttering in the garden, or on a project, or even going for a walk.
Happy birthday Allan! Although, isn’t it supposed to be a “birthday week”…so, you know, a full week off kitchen duty? 😁
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Oh hush about the kitchen duty. :-D. Plus we are not shopping so that makes it harder to make a stir fry.
Thank you, Monty!
I am so thrilled you like I Capture the Castle. The movie was awful. Having read the book the day before the movie, I was just shocked at scenes they added and scenes where they changed the actual motivation of the characters.
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I have done the same thing with the communal soft brush for the kitties. Our *problem* child is Nod (7 years old), who thinks she is the Alpha now. She likes to annoy Nano (14 years) old and Hope (13 years old). Hope holds a grudge.
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Last night Faerie tried to sleep with Allan. Skooter was enraged. So Faerie got put out. Then there were little feet under the door. So it’s time for me to step up and sleep with cats. As a restless insomniac, I’d rather not, because she jumped on my head! But I hear on good authority that she’s a quiet little sleeper now. I hope she will pick me after having sat on my lap with a book all day.
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Happy birthday, Allan! I’m glad my gift helped uplift Allan’s birthday. Love the informative article, which ends with some solid advice:
Some people find that the bean juices make the “ramp” piece of toast too soggy, but that is because they are not eating fast enough. You cannot hang around with beans on toast.
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I love that article so much. Thanks again for the beans. Remember how I always sent local canned tuna and then couldn’t find it anymore? But I think a new local place has it, so I can send again after the pandemic. But anyway, Heinz Beanz would always be the perfect gift. 😀
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Happy birthday to Allan. That sounds like my kind of cooking.
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I enjoyed the beans on toast article as well. Who knew there were so many do’s and don’t? Crazy!
Happy b-day to Allen. My husband is just ahead of him in age and just as active. Very inspirational for me. Especially in this dismal winter weather.
So tempted to just hibernate but NO, we must go for a hike between showers. 😉
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I live for hibernating in the winter. 🙂 The only sign of being an older person that I see in Allan is sometimes he falls asleep in his comfy chair while watching the news. But I think that’s just because we watch a show with talking heads analyzing the news. Any sort of more interesting program will keep him awake.
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