Life Rolls On

Hard to believe how long it's been since my last post. It's not that we haven't been eating, but, mostly, what we've eaten has been variations of our usual fare, with nothing to base a new post on, foodwise.

We have been moving along on the project, with paint on the walls and trim. Today Sweetie showed me how to use a battery operated airless sprayer to paint the pantry door. It is so light and much easier to use than the corded version. He has a real feel for spray painting and a supple wrist to make it happen. Because the weather today was perfect for painting we were able to paint both sides and get the door back where it belongs by dinner time. Dinner was lasagna from the freezer and carrot sticks...see, food has taken a backseat for a while.

Last weekend we visited our neighbor's pigs. They are so cute (and I never thought I'd say that about pigs!) and big show-offs. You could even say hams. Sorry, couldn't resist.

We try to take a walk with Pi at least every other day. One day this week the waterway we like to walk by was pretty as a picture.

We walked past blooming blackberry bushes, past blooming anise plants, past wild grapes that were in flower, too.

The heat the weekend before is encouraging rampant growth of the blackberries, so Sweetie brought clippers and snipped off the ones that were headed across the path. Pi walked along with his tail swinging; a very happy dog.

It was foggy most mornings during the week until today, but now we will have a row of days with high heat. That seems to be the way of it in summer. Maybe I'll beat the heat by trying bread baking on the BBQ like Elizabeth does. If I do, I'll let you know how it goes.For now, there are cabinet knobs and pulls to pick out, faucets to find and more painting to do. Life rolls on. Hope yours has been as enjoyable.

Snippets of Now

For some folks who know me this blog is a way of keeping up with what is going on in my life at the moment. As you can see blog posts are few and far between. The same thing is pretty much true for baking and cooking.

I have baked bread recently, but it was a sourdough loaf pretty much the same as some others posted in the past. I've been making things like a turkey breast roasted over some stuffing, but the stuffing has been posted in the past, too, and I didn't do much to the turkey breast other than a sprinkle of poultry seasoning and some pepper. Lots of salads, but pretty standard mixed greens with cucumbers and tomato and maybe some avocado. Again not really blog-worthy.

I did make some personal size chocolate whiskey cakes last weekend, (photo at top) with the rest of the batter going into a loaf pan. They turned out pretty cute and helped to cheer me up...I have been missing my dog quite a bit. He would have enjoyed licking the whipped cream bowl. Sweetie and I enjoyed the cake (baked in a 5" springform pan) while watching an episode of a British TV series from the late 90s...the House of Eliott...which we got through Netflicks.

Here is the link to the Chocolate Whiskey Cake, Bundt version: http://feedingmyenthusiasms.blogspot.com/2007/02/how-do-i-love-thee-as-do-gooder_09.html

The main things keeping me out of the kitchen have been work, my garden, and 'the project'. Work continues to be a challenge but the work is still interesting. The last couple of weeks have been all spreadsheets all the time...not my favorite but necessary.

The garden is finally giving forth ripe tomatoes

and continues to bless us with zucchini and chard and cucumbers.

The haricot verts are pretty much done. Lots of roses, sweet peas, Queen Anne's Lace, and some nigella keep things looking pretty and smelling sweet. Watering, feeding, and weeding are constant tasks and lately I've been tying up tomato branches as they get heavy with fruit. (Yes, tomatoes are a fruit.)

The task that consumes the most energy is the second story deck refurbishment. Today was a red letter day...we secured the first plank of Trex, the lumber substitute we are using. Prior days have included joist work, securing and staining and caulking the plywood sub floor, drip edge work by Sweetie,


staining of railing components by yours truly,

and installation of posts, a true team effort. With luck it will all be done in a couple more weeks, just in time for me to be inundated with homework. I started an InDesign class last Monday. The homework for the first few weeks is pretty simple but it should be more challenging in another two weeks or so. Our instructor, Paulette Bell, is quite a good teacher with a nice mix of stressing technical aspects of the program and a warm, humerous attitude that isn't stressful. Serious when needed, fun the rest of the time. I'm also enjoying taking the class with a couple of friends from the scholarship group. Very eco-friendly...we ride-share.

As you can see, never a dull moment around here. One day soon I might even post a recipe or two. In the meantime, lots of the blogs on the sidebar are fun to visit and often have delicious things to try, so check 'em out if you have time.If you do, tell 'en I say 'Hi', too. Visiting other blogs has also been a tabled activity of late, unfortunately. Hope to visit them myself soon.

XO Elle