Domesticated folks, fall plans

 Speaking of domesticated animals

September, and fall is nearly here. I usually have some project for the upcoming season, but this summer's been so here and there with one damn thing or another that I don't have fall plans yet. 

Maybe it's a time to stop things, as a change from always embarking on them. Life keeps on presenting new embarking without looking for more. To be continued.

Chicken saga also continued. Gary and I saw a whole gaggle of chickens out pecking, which he loved. But he's dogsitting two granddogs, as well as Billie, and he's worried about the chicks wandering among them, not sure what would happen.

He tracked down the owners, turns out they've erected a chicken shed on their patio and they've had the chickens several weeks, but hadn't let them out. He cautioned them about our foxes and redtails.  Now he's looking around for greens, unsprayed, to give them. They're the granddaughter's pets  Never a dull moment. 

We worked on houseplants between catching escaping dogs, and eating a plate of chicken biryani, rice,  some very hot veg dish and that crisp spicy snack stuff Indians love. A neighbor brought it over to share.  

We reminisced about H and worried about her husband J and son J.  Gary started moving out stones ready to level for my new patio, and I pointed out the couple of self planted offshoots from the Russian sage that  he can have.

He and I are going to visit Hs widower next week. And there's my audiologist visit, and the knitting group and handsome son's visit, and the doors to be returned.  I don't think I have time for a project.

I did pick the last of the sweet peppers and roast them with olive oil and garlic powder, to crisp chips, to go with the last of the shrimp for lunch. Then I dropped the seeds into the container that used to hold the non potatoes. Maybe they'll sprout next year.

I pulled more dead foliage, so the garden is looking winter ready, or something. New sprouts of the crushed giant Russian sage have come up from the debris of the wall repair, right where my future patio will go. Gary has wanted one of these for  years, no longer obtainable. So he's going to dig up and transplant them, very happily.

In the course of pulling foliage I unearthed my long lost bird bath. 

Frogs have been known to occupy it when I've left an inch of water for butterflies.

The Chinese owner of the chickens sent over these leaves, doesn't know the English name for them. She makes a tea with them. 

Can anyone identify them? Hibiscus?  We both need to be careful to identify it in case it reduces blood pressure because of being on blood pressure medication.

I had a dramatic experience some time ago, ending in the hospital, after drinking delicious holy basil tea. It's used to reduce blood pressure, which I didn't know and I ended up with a serious overdose and plunging pressure.

Happy day everyone, do you have projects for the seasons? Aside from those grand ones like reading The Iliad, and the lesser known Anatolian poets, or maybe the care and feeding of neighborhood poultry.

Organizing, new life on old, emotional support chicken

Saturday morning I cleared out another cabinet, disposed of many useless small bags, found tinfoil, and, best of all, I found all my hand tools at the back of the dark shelf. I'd been wondering where they went. 

Then I went for a different walk, I always like to walk a circuit, not retrace my steps, and on the way around, found this dead tree which has become a host for many lichens, flourishing and growing 

After lunch I had an unscheduled nap while listening to Meghan O'Rourke's The Invisible Kingdom, a wonderful book, read by the author, about chronic illness and her search for understanding and health in a medical environment which produces indifference and little help.

Then I remembered the yes2next August challenge and did this routine, lower back stretches 

These are floor or bed stretches, depending on your ability to get up from the floor. They're familiar to most of us.

Later I looked out and saw a young woman sitting on the grass with -- a chicken. It pecked around the grass and she stroked it, well, she stroked her, I suppose chickens being female. I wonder if this was a sighting of an emotional support chicken. Pretty trendy. It was a peaceful scene, the chicken quite calm around her while she was reading.

I didn't want to intrude by getting closer,  but here's the gist, chicken on the left facing her  

Then a few minutes later, this little flock appeared, pecking busily, until they were rounded up by the same woman.  They're small and very pretty.

Maybe weekend visitors.

I've been thinking about my deceased friend H. She was one of the most self sufficient people I ever knew. She grew up in the country, hunting, rearing chickens, growing vegetables, had her own driveway stand of eggs and produce at age twelve. 

She could do just about anything. Rewired her own townhouse to get cable on every floor, as promised but not delivered by the builders. She cleaned the dryer vent and the chimney, and had a wood fire going all winter, wood she'd split and hauled. Installed her own ceiling fans. She fished for the table, and was a good golfer. 

When the appliance people delivered but failed to install my dishwasher, she did it for me. When the thermostat went weird and the professional heating guy couldn't fix it, she came over and put it right in seconds. Just took it off the wall, blew a lot of cat hair out of it, it's worked perfectly ever since.

We had a lot of jokes together, including a scandalous imaginary development newsletter. I'll miss the color she brought me. I could tell when her husband and son were driving her mad, because she'd march in, unannounced,  with Abbie the little dog, and tell me "put the kettle on quick."  I think I helped avert a husbandandsonicide more than once over those cups of tea.

Happy day everyone, it's good to dwell on the good stuff sometimes. And there's always good stuff. Sometimes hard to find, sez 

Ted and Big Ursy 

Food, cleanup and at the end of the day sad news

Friday Michael the Transformer came and took away the kitchen doors and drawer fronts to refinish them and let them outgass across the street at his house.

He cautioned me to pace myself with clearing out, now that I can see what was behind the doors.  Hm. Not sure how that's done.

And an hour after he left, I'd sorted the two left cabinets 

So much easier when you can see what you're doing.

One thing led to another and I remembered the ginger in the fridge still waiting to be diced. Instead, having also remembered the microplane, I thought I'd just grate the ginger, skin and all, and dice what was left.

Now it's in the freezer ready to use. I don't like peeling and dicing ginger despite the lovely smell, so I think the microplane will be the go-to from now on. 

I was given it and thought I'd never use it. But it's so much easier than the way I used to zest lemons and limes, and now process ginger. 

I don't like prepping food at all, but do it because I need to. I do like the results though.

Then I went out and pulled out a huge armload of daylily foliage and dayflowers. I set them down to settle before carrying them to the woods to dispose of them. The front area looks much less wild now  

Then later I noticed a feature about items better made at home than ordered in a restaurant. One was about poaching shrimp in a court bouillon, which I'd never done.

I don't have any white wine but I had the necessary peppercorns, lemon slices, salt and you can use bay leaf but I used curry leaves.

I simmered this ten minutes, strained it, then brought it to a boil again, put in the shrimp, frozen, turned off the heat and poached for about five minutes. It's a couple of minutes longer than you'd use for thawed shrimp.

 

Poached shrimp, whole wheat toast, dipping sauce, summer supper. Another time I might put the court bouillon flavorings into a bag to make them easy to remove without straining.

I'd prepared this blog then I got a call from a local friend,  to say our longtime mutual friend died Thursday. She'd been sick and we'd been anxiously following her for news recently but it's still a shock.  

I went to visit her husband right away and at his request notified other mutual friends and neighbors.  She'd requested no services, a quiet private ceremony only.  She was in her sixties.

Three of my friends used to plan to be my caregivers in old age. I have now outlived all of them.  Please do vibes or prayers or what you do, for her widower and son. Her son has now lost his partner and his mother over just a few weeks.

Not a happy day, more of a getting through it day.  

Gardening, Misfits and podcasts, Mutts

Thursday, another cool sunny day, was fine for a bit of garden cleanup. I pulled out the sorrel and dayflowers, which will come back next year, and since the morning glories are fading and setting seed, I removed the supports and pushed the plant down, hoping the seeds will be protected there and we'll get them next year.  

They were a definite success 

Not so successful were the potatoes which never flowered, though they had plenty of foliage. So there was no harvest when I pulled them from the container. That's a first.

In the other hand, a little potato which evidently planted itself among the dayflowers emerged 

That one hadn't flowered either. Strange year.  I'll try again next year.

Misfits arrived early, Kareem's morning shift.

Interesting couple of surprises. The gala apples weren't there, already credited for them, and that drink, not ordered, was. I tried it, pretty good, various juices and a milky base, probably oat.

Coconut milk for the food pantry, it's on the list of items there. When people qualify, income, residence,  etc, they fill out forms where they alert the pantry about food allergies, religious rules, and general preferences based on availability. I think that's where Erum, the manager, derives her list for the website. So this week I checked and found coconut milk is requested. Fine. Done. I do canned fruit and veggies too.

The large size surplus spinach is excellent, very glad I got it again. Maybe a spinach pie, not sure. And baby broccoli, also beautiful leeks.

This time I chopped the leeks keeping the green part and white separate in case I get fancy. I usually don't bother.

I made the hot spicy plant-based roll into patties which I froze on parchment paper, easy to separate out one as needed. And the whole dates, favorite Medjool, will be a snack replacing the apple I usually have.

By the time I've washed and prepped and frozen or fridged or bowled what's needed, swept the floor and broken down the box for recycle, I'm ready to sit down.  Another week's food on its way.

I did try mixing yogurt with fresh chives, cut short, and a sprinkle of dried basil and spices, on potato bread, with afternoon tea on the deck. That was worth doing again. Maybe I'll make crackers for this purpose, too, good savory snack.

About podcasts, I've started following Shedunnit, about crime fiction, very good discussions, ranging all over the last hundred years, very knowledgeable, and easy to listen to while you knit or go to sleep.

I've also found the podcast version of Lucy Worsley, her Lady Killers series about real life female murderers. She's just as interesting without the historic buildings and costumes, she does love to dress up. But her presentation doesn't need dressing up, really interesting and well researched.

I get my podcasts on the free version of Spotify, which comes with ads, but not in the middle of the podcast. 

Happy day everyone, and if you have recommendations of podcasts, not the political ones like Daily Beans, Daily Fail, Meidas Touch, etc, we know them. More literary or historic ones is what I'm looking for just now. Thank you kindly.

Kitchen done! More about keys

This morning's walk was beautiful, cool sunny weather, happy neighbors on their patios, including one who's just finished getting his redone with tiling. He was so pleased when I admired it, though I think hello and yes was the limit of his English, but we communicated anyway.

What happens when you neglect to move the kids' bikes before the landscapers come around.

 The Sleeping Beauty effect.

And this looks like a natural object at this point, so weathered 

This morning Michael the Contractor came, caulked the cabinet, chatted about his mother, the food pantry, his noisy neighbors, crunchy tofu, he loves it.  

Also I paid him, very fair price, though a stretch for me. I rationalize that it's a once only job. I may have converted him to contribute to the food pantry; he didn't know where it was till now. Also he's going to see if his mother can get the bone density injections I get.  Quite a productive convo.

About locks and keys, when I had the pet care service I had many keys I kept safely, coded for security. One time I got an anguished call from a client, so sorry to disturb me, could I rescue him? 

He happened to live close by, which I knew but he didn't, for my security -- I didn't broadcast my address. Anyway he lived in a third floor condo in my development,  only one possible entrance from the staircase. 

He was getting his excitable Golden retriever ready for a walk, dog jumped at him, he staggered out the door,  the door slammed shut, he heard the lock drop! 

This left the dog inside with the keys, owner locked outside, luckily with phone and my number saved. I brought my copy of his key, let him in, no charge,  and he begged me not to mention it to his wife, who would never let him live it down! I did get a nice Christmas gift that year. No connection I'm sure..

Happy day everyone, try not to let your dog lock you out! You feel pretty silly explaining it when you need help.

Up to now: the Gubbernor ordered the rainbow crosswalk near the Pulse, scene of a mass shooting tragedy, painted over. A crowd of LGBTQ+ people protested with joy, flags and chants and repainted the rainbow. Once more Gov. Boots had it painted black. Once again the rainbow returned. Up to now. 

Don't let anyone dim your rainbow! Screenshot this one to preserve it in case Boots paints it over again.

Tuesday, cabinets, locks, Textiles and Tea

Tuesday's plans got moved around a bit. Michael the Marvellous Maker, installed the cabinet and the door keys.

Ted and Big Ursy checking there, to make sure he does it right.

Then we had a ceremony of carefully keeping the new keys, tossing the old, and I tossed all the old then later had a thought. The top lock, for which I had several keys, was the original builder-installed one. As is the lock for the outdoor storage.

I vaguely remembered there was a key for the outdoor storage, too. I never lock it but, in case any kind neighbor turns the inside knob and carefully locks it, locking me out, I'd better find the key. 

So I retrieved the two old keys for the top lock and, clever me, they fit the outdoor storage. So now they're labeled and saved. 

I thought about the neighbor possibility because years ago in our first house a visiting friend followed us out to the garden, to drink tea,  locking the door after her. 

I was too late to stop her, and pointed out I didn't carry house keys out to drink tea in the garden! And the only other door was the front porch, which only locked and unlocked from inside. Windows were too high for any of us to force. Very expensive locksmith visit ensued. The friendship was a bit dented by this incident.

Back to the present, Gary buzzed in and out, admiring, making me accept potato bread, he's deglutenizing his kitchen, retrieving the plants I minded for him, and Billie barked along. 

After all this I thought I'd rest a minute, after lunch, before my Tuesday knitting group. I woke when it was half over. Oh. But I did make the planned delivery to the food pantry, ahead of their Thursday distribution.

Then it was a pot of tea on the deck, crowds of shouting birds, and my kindle open to

Late summer deck reading, very niche.

Textiles and Tea was a revelation about making, farming, dyeing and working with silk.

Karen has literally done all that and learned from silk farmers in India, working with wild and domestic silk production. That's what her book is about. She's a plant whisperer!

I made the crunchy tofu for supper, this time as dice, with more seasoning -- umami mix, cayenne -- in the batter. 

It used up the rest of the batter from the fish, and the panko. I thinned the batter a bit.

This worked fine, in the toaster oven, not much oil, and it still crisped up, about 40 minutes at 400°f, or what the toaster oven claims to be that.

Foyle in the evening. Nice day, despite detours.

Happy day, everyone, may your detours be fun ones.