A Day of Accomplishment and Frustration Combined

I started yesterday out driving to the licensing division to get the license for our Going Out of Business sign. It wasn't a problem to find, and parking was no charge (a rarity for downtown St Paul). Although the website said their hours started at 7:30 am, their doors actually didn't open until 8:00 am, so I waited for about 15 minutes. No problem. 

The banner license is given by these people. It 
has to be within certain dimensions, and placed 
in a way that it's not impeding traffic or other things. 
That's fine, but if their computers are down for 
the week, they'll need to send it to me by hand. 

When I spoke to the young woman about my signage license, she directed me to fill out the information on their on-line system ... PROBLEM! Their on-line system is actually down for the week while they download the past 20 years of records into their new system. When I pointed that out to the young woman, she consulted with another person, and sent me to the zoning department at the other end of their very large room with lots of desks. (Of course, since it's a governmental thing - the desks are on one side of a barrier, the public on the other - LOL). 

I'm not sure exactly what my sign says - DH didn't 
even unfold it when the box arrived yesterday. It 
should be something similar to this, though, and 
measures three feet high and 8-1/2 feet long. 

At Zoning, I spoke with an older woman - very friendly. She told me the same thing, I again pointed out that their computer system is down for the week, and she gave me a paper form to fill out. I did that, she double-checked that I had everything there for their guy, and then we bonded over the store closing, and how she loved Native American art and crafts, and is moving from her place to a different place. She noted my address and said she'd try and drop by during our sale. She's more than welcome. We chatted for a bit, and when I left she said she would personally take my paperwork to the appropriate person when they arrived for the day. If I don't have the appropriate permit for my sign, I did everything that I could. 

My baked fruit - which varies from batch to batch - is my 
normal daily breakfast, along with a couple of slices of 
gluten-free toast. 

I spent the rest of the day in the kitchen. I have no idea when I'll have any chance to cook again with the sale starting soon, so I made my next batch of fruit which will take me through a couple of weeks, and also made my "Ogre Juice" for the next week. I didn't get a chance to make the soup I had wanted to get cooked, but that's actually something I can do at night. If necessary, I can put it into the crock pot overnight and pack it up when I wake in the morning. Since my pulled sciatica muscle still isn't allowing me to treadmill, I'd have time in the morning to get the soup packed up and put into the refrigerator. I'll probably get that going tonight. 

I'm sure that in some ways, Travis is regretting 
taking us on as clients. However, we're picky 
about what's happening, and we've paid him 
a LOT of money, so he can gripe all he wants, 
but he'd better come through. 

So, plans are made. I spent several hours exchanging grumbly texts with Travis. They set up a website for us specifically for the sale, StormcloudTrading dot Net. When I pull it up, I get the store closing information , but I'm also getting a subheading that says "Ann Crittenden Hallmark". If you have a chance, could you go on to stormcloudtrading.net and see what the splash page looks like to you? I'd love some additional input from people not directly connected with either Travis or STC. 

If you have a chance to check out the website, I'd appreciate 
it. There's a ghost website coming up in the header when 
I check here, and I want that eliminated and the correct 
web address inserted. 

On that note, I'm wrapping this up and hoping to make it to the pool. We had a possibility of icy stuff overnight, and if it's a skating rink out there on the roads, I'll skip the swim today and try for tomorrow instead. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Good Intentions Meet Reality - LOL

I had every intention of being on the treadmill this morning, but my thigh muscle is still bothering me, so I'll give it until Friday, swim my usual Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, and give myself this one additional day to recover and heal. It's a LOT better, but I think that being on the treadmill might set me back in my healing. Friday gives me a few more days to heal, and my swimming exercises my muscles quite differently than the treadmill does. 

I always have my hands on the side bars when I'm 
using my treadmill. I'm also fast-walking, not 
actually running. I'm not allowed to have that much 
impact on my crappy bones, but getting some is 
actually a good thing, so we thread the needle for 
what's good and what's too much. 

I wanted to re-do the master for a reporting sheet that we use daily at the shop, so I brought a copy home to reproduce. I was certain that I had a type-font ruler here. But, I was mistaken. So, I'm taking the form back to the shop with me, and I'll have to see what I can do off the cuff on my laptop instead. I had a clean master copy of the form that we used for years, but it's disappeared *sigh*. It's not the end of the world to reproduce the form, but it's a lot harder to do without the font-size ruler at hand. If I can find one that doesn't cost a lot, I might buy it on Wednesday. 

I used to have a typefont ruler. The fact that I can't find 
it isn't a surprise - I haven't needed it for many years. 
But ... I need it now. So, I'll end up buying a new one 
because it's rather essential for what it does. 

I made one of our favorite dinners last night - a request from DH who wanted my pork loin. It's easy enough to do, although I do have to be careful when basting the roast in the last hour of cooking - the glaze that I baste with is sugar based, and if that falls onto the oven door, it can be a total PITA to get scrubbed off. So I always use a sheet of foil that I pull under the baking pan when I'm applying the glaze every 10 minutes during the final stages of the roast. The one time I didn't do that took a LONG time to get the drippings cleaned off my oven door and base. I learned quickly. LOL

I love making my braised pork loin recipe. It's 
easy - it starts out in the crock pot for several 
hours and then finishes in the oven where the 
glaze is applied. It cleans up quickly, it tastes 
fabulous, it's a total winner. 

So, not a lot else to discuss. I'll be pulling our trade beads off our Etsy sales offerings at DH's request. He wants to have them available back in the store again, and I'm absolutely fine with that. We'll leave the Swarovski crystals up for the time being, but eventually we will pull those listings also. 

So, not much else to chat about today. I hope all of you have a wonderful Monday and I'll be back tomorrow - hopefully with a bit more to say on my way to the swimming pool. Slava Ukraini. 

Bouncing Around My Thoughts - Can You Keep Up? LOL

I hope all of you had a good St Patrick's Day yesterday. Mine was completely uneventful, but that's just fine. I have enough things going on in my life and really didn't need to add St Patrick's Day celebrations to the mix. And it was darned cold out - so people celebrating doing the various parades were most definitely bundled up if they were at all using their brains. (Sometimes I wonder if the brain simply goes on vacation sometimes when I see people in very cold temps without appropriate winter clothing on.) 

It was COLD yesterday, so I have no idea how attendance 
at our St Patrick's Day celebrations was, but usually the 
party goes on, no matter what. We're from the Frozen 
Northlands after all! LOL

Today will be a very busy cooking day. I'm out of almost everything I had made for my dinners, so I need to figure out what I'll make, and I also need to make a batch of baked fruit for my breakfasts. It'll be a day in the kitchen separated by loads of laundry and a bit of grocery shopping, ending with a meeting with our accountant for our personal income tax returns. I think I have everything together for Paul, but if not, I'll drop the rest by on Friday morning on my way to the shop. 

I need to make my next batch of baked fruit today. It's 
what I eat for breakfast, and I'm down to a single 
portion. It's not hard to make, but it does take some time 
to get all of the fruit prepped and onto the baking sheets. 

Meanwhile, DH keeps complaining about how Chickie and I aren't pulling our weight at the store, and we keep ignoring him. If we actually paid attention to him, we'd be totally in a bad funk of a mood, but we've learned how to just let his words blow by us. It's self-defense in our lives. 

Over the years, Chickie and I have mastered the art 
of letting DH's words just blow by us. If we actually 
paid attention to him, we'd be horribly hurt by his 
words at times because he has no filter and puts 
his stresses on us. Not fair, so we ignore him instead. 

I also have to remember to contact the customer service department of my vitamin supplements company. They resumed shipping, and I was on a "Do not ship until I contact you" order. I wasn't allowed to take any of my supplements for more than six months while going through cancer treatment, so I'm way behind. But I'm getting new shipments now, so I need to remind them to NOT send me anything until I contact them again! GRRRR I love my supplements, BUT I'm over-supplied! 

Stonehenge Supplements just changed their 
packaging recently to look more streamlined. 
I'm not a fan. I liked their old look with the 
Stonehenge monument on the label. Nonetheless, 
these two work well together and I really do 
notice a negative impact when I don't take them 
(as required while I was undergoing my surgery and 
recovery from cancer last year). 

Have a great Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow - hopefully for a less busy and stressful day. Be kind and Slava Ukraini. 

Olympics? - Of Course! We're Totally Olympics Addicts

We're entering the final week of Winter Olympics competition. I haven't been able to watch as much as I've wanted to - I've been super busy framing items or generally working in the shop. We're even there on Sundays getting things together, taking photos, and DH working on the inventory in the computer, getting rid of all zero entries (and there's a lot of those). We both love the Winter Olympics, and have had very little actual time to be able to watch them. Still, a week left means lots of fun things to watch whenever I have some time. That's a totally awesome thing.

We were glued to the curling last night - not the doubles from 
earlier - this was the team competition and we totally rocked 
tossing those rocks down the ice sheets. Very well done, USA! 

I've got a stack of bills in front of me. I need to take a quick peek at my checking account balances, and then get onto the computer and get them paid. It's a lot easier and faster to pay things digitally than writing and mailing a check, but I still have to make sure I have enough money in my various accounts for the payments. A minor detail, but an important one - LOL. 

We have a lovely JD Challenger original that 
needed reframing, so I got to work on that 
yesterday afternoon. It's nice to work on a Sunday
 when I don't have to deal with customers and 
can actually spend a few hours on what I 
need to accomplish. 

I started reframing a JD Challenger original watercolor yesterday. It's a BIG piece - very heavy, and he did the original framing himself. That's both good and bad. For some unknown reason, he felt it necessary to triple-mat the painting, and even though he built an extra-deep frame to accommodate it, it's still a VERY snug fit. I'll have some issues with potential cracking in the frame backing when I'm trying to get the nails set for the new minimal backing I purchased yesterday afternoon on a quick run to the art supply store. I had nightmares all night about putting the damned thing back into the frame upside down, so I'd better check that out before fastening everything together - LOL. 

I had four green peppers that needed 
stuffing and baking. They turned out 
great - very tasty. I use non-dairy cheese 
in my salads and cooking, and used the 
last of the cheddar on them. Yummy! 

Oh, and yesterday, Gordon Ramsey would have been proud of me. I had four green peppers in the refrigerator that I needed to get stuffed and into my refrigerator for meals ahead. So I started working on that, and managed to streamline everything together to have it put together and in the oven within 15 minutes. And it's damned tasty! We were going to get Chinese take-out last night, but when I got there to order my Mu Shu Pork, they told me they were working on a HUGE order and it would be 45-60 minutes before my little order could be cooked. I left without food and returned to eat one of the peppers I had made (which is why I can say they're really tasty). 

Italy is doing a fantastic job hosting the Winter Olympics 
this year. The games have been fabulous - exciting, 
entertaining and top-class competition. 

So, I'm wrapping this up and heading to work. Have an excellent Monday, enjoy the Olympics today if you're watching, and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Finally Back to the Pool and the Olympics, Of Course

So, a quick post before dashing to the pool. Yesterday I skipped the gym, texting a friend that I was too exhausted from the Olympic Curling mixed doubles finals to be able to swim. They might not understand my love for curling, but I'm quite sure a lot of them are catching whatever they can of the broadcasts. 

The majority of the USA Curling team are from the Duluth 
Curling Club, which is HUGE. We're busy watching the 
men's curling now. 

Last night was figure skating - Ice Dancing. I actually had caught most of that during the afternoon while I was cooking, but it was nice to watch without having to dash back to the stove or pull something out of the oven. I didn't get everything I needed cooked yesterday. I'll still have to pull off my stuffed peppers either tonight or tomorrow night. There was a lot that needed cooking, and my baked fruit was more important than a dinner was. I'm now stocked for another 14-16 days of fruit, so the time was well worth it. 

Chock and Bates pulled out the Silver Medal last 
night in an almost flawless performance. Well 
Done!!!

Do any of you use or work with Facebook Ads? I've never bothered, but apparently it's a very important part of my liquidator's contact weapons. I thought I had given him all of the information needed, but he's still having problems. But ... I'm sure we'll figure it all out. I've never used Facebook for advertising, and I'm not fond of my friends getting notifications like that, but it won't be for a long time and then I can pull back from the ads part of the software and go back to the friends part only. 

I don't really do much with Facebook at all, and have 
never received any Facebook ads to the best of my 
recollection. I can't say they'll be a major splash, but you 
never know. 

But, now I'm going to wrap this up and get to the pool. Missing it yesterday was a good decision- I really needed that extra bit of sleep - but I don't like feeling like a slug in the mornings. Have an excellent Thursday, and enjoy the Olympics if that's your thing. I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Olympics and Cooking - It'll Be a Very Busy Day Off

I was up late last night watching the finals in curling at the Olympics. We didn't win Gold, but we did win Silver and that's great. I'm very proud of my Minnesota people. They stepped up to the plate and played brilliantly. 

I am very proud of our Minnesota winners. They played 
brilliantly, and even though they had a couple of rocks 
that simply didn't cooperate, they won Silver. Bravo! 

But, since I was late, I texted my swimming buddy and let her know I was blowing off today's swim. I was still up early, but at 5:00 am instead of the 3:30 am that I use on swimming days. I needed that additional sleep. 

I really don't use Facebook ads to keep in touch 
with my customers, but Travis does, so he needed 
this and that from me. Which I gave him ... but apparently 
it's not working properly on his end. When I want to 
contact my customers via email, I use Constant 
Contact because I want each person I contact to be 
someone who voluntarily signed up with us at the shop. 

I'm trying to figure out what's not working for Travis and our Facebook advertising account. I have the codes that I passed on to him, but for some reason or other, he can't access our Facebook account to be able to post ads to my FB followers. I'll delve deeper into that today on my "day off", but I also have a LOT to do around the house and only one day to get it all done. 

I'm still having my veggie alkagizers at least four days a 
week, usually for my lunches at the shop. It's keeping my 
nutrition at high, and my weight at low. All good! 

I'll start the day out by grocery shopping - I have to make "Ogre Juice", my baked fruit for my breakfasts, and also my meals for the next week or so. I think stuffed peppers seems like a winner for the week. They are easy to make, minimal muss and fuss, and it'll give me the kitchen time I need for my baked fruit, which is a bit more labor intensive. 

I used to make stuffed peppers by hollowing out the pepper 
and keeping it upright. I've switched to half-peppers because 
they cook easier and they store easier in the refrigerator. 

So that's my plan for the day. I'll try to have the Olympics on in the background too - I know I can get it on the downstairs TV, but I'm not sure about the kitchen TV. That reception is quite a bit more limited. Still, one does what one can - LOL. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Today and Tomorrow and Then Radio Silence

I shouldn't be so rushed on a Monday morning, but I am. I have thoughts of the sale email that we've been tweaking in my head and I need to get that finalized and sent out for out after-Christmas sale. I have this and that, gifts and groceries, and a refrigerator full of food (for just the two of us - LOL). We have a ham and a prime rib. I guess I'll be cooking a bit - LOL. 

I've got a baked ham in the refrigerator. I think DH has 
already pulled off a piece or two (just to test the taste, 
you know? - LOL). 

I don't know if I'll have anything magnificent to say over the next few days, and I'm quite sure most of you will be busy with your own Holiday events and preparations, but I want to make sure to wish all of you a Good Solstice, a Happy Hanukkah, and a Blessed Christmas. If I missed any of you with the greetings, just pick your own and plug my name into it. I'm hoping for everything good for each and every one of you. 

I'll be cooking the Prime Rib on Christmas Day. It always 
makes me a bit nervous to cook such an expensive piece 
of meat, but really, they just cook themselves - LOL. 

I'll try to post tomorrow, it's a swimming day so I should be on schedule, but then I'm off on Wednesday and Thursday for the holidays and I won't be posting those two days. Enjoy, I'll be here tomorrow and then "radio silence" for two days of much needed holiday. Slava Ukraini. 

A Bit of This and a Bit of That - It's Warmer Today! Yippee!

It's much warmer today, which will be excellent since I forgot the battery to my heated vest charging at the shop. I'll be very busy today, so I'm hoping the weather will cooperate. At this time of the year, you can never tell about that - LOL. But, being at the freezing point now instead of ten to thirty degrees colder is a definite plus. 

I love my heated vest, especially when the 
temps are sub-zero. It's warm today, though. 
Right at freezing. So the fact that I left the 
battery (and my laptop charging cable) at 
the shop isn't horrible. I'll pick them up 
this morning on my way to the co-op. 

I've got a desk full of things that require attention, and it's also the 17th of December - Christmas is less than two weeks away. I need some stuff for DH, so I'll have to make some shopping time for something other than just groceries. DH has an eye doctor appointment before he goes to the shop, so I might have to go over there to make sure everything is turned on and ready before I head to the grocery shop. I'll also drop by the shop long enough to pick up my battery and laptop cable. Then I might head to the co-op just to see if they have any fresh cranberries left. They have the best bulk cranberries from Wisconsin - they're just plumper than the raw cranberries I can usually get at my local grocery store. I think one more batch of cranberry sauce would be delightful before calling it done for the season. 

There's nothing like cranberry sauce made from fresh 
cranberries, and it's easy to make. But, I prefer the berries 
at my co-op - they're a bit larger than what I can get 
bagged up at my local grocer's. 

All of my holiday cards are in the mail. Once again, I apologize for not making hand-made cards this year - it's been a tumultuous year - LOL. But, we're working through things one day at a time. It's really the only way we can effectively live our lives, after all. 

I highly recommend Andrew Ross Sorkin's 
latest book. I know him from CNBC where he 
is a regular financial analyst. It's VERY 
readable, and extremely well researched. 

I've been reading Andrew Ross Sorkin's book "1929" and it's totally fabulous. I'm familiar with him from CNBC - the financial channel that DH has on from the time he wakes up in the morning. I've always had respect for his insight, and I've always been interested in that period of history. The stock market crash of 1929 didn't just happen in a vacuum. There were a lot of factors that built into it. I thought Mr Sorkin would do the subject justice, and I've been VERY pleased with the book so far and highly recommend it to any who would be interested in the subject, as viewed by someone whose business is finance and the stock market. Fascinating and very readable. 

Have an excellent day. I'll be busy, busy, busy - but 
that's always a lot of fun too. 

So, I'm off to the pool. My friend Meg, who broke her leg more than two months ago, was actually in the pool yesterday. She's still wheelchair bound, but Steve drove her over. She changed clothes in the handicapped locker room, and he wheeled her out to Lane 1, which she shared with Rosemary for a while. It was GREAT to see her - her smile, at being back with all of us - was beaming! So, may you have a day filled with joy. I'm going shopping, then I need to cook, and it would be nice if I could get some of DH's gifts wrapped and onto his chair. We'll see - time will be tight today. Slava Ukraini. I'll be back tomorrow. 

It Was a Fun Cooking Day, Now Reality is Knocking Again

I spent most of yesterday in the kitchen. My refrigerator looks much happier now - prepared meals and morning fruit are stacked on my side. I always enjoy a good day of cooking, and one of the best things about yesterday is the roast beef that I made. It turned out glorious - perfectly medium-rare, and my slicer still works well. I ended up with 30 slices of roast beef for sandwiches for about $16. A steal of a deal. 

The roast beef I had purchased on Wednesday cooked up 
wonderfully and I was able to slice it super thin, so even 
though it's a tough cut of meat, it's still very tasty and easy 
to eat. Lunch! LOL

We had been waiting for a reply from Travis regarding our next steps for our business liquidation, but frankly, I wasn't super happy with what we got back. We're supposed to schedule another phone meeting. I'm fine with a lot of that, but at some point I'm going to need more assistance and I'm hoping against hope that he'll be able to actually provide that. I'll also have to do some searching for firms we'll need to hire for publicity, mailings and website advertising. More things on my plate "sigh". 

It's so easy to start a business - a minimum of muss 
and fuss and a single piece of paper filed with the 
city you're operating in. Closing a business, on the other 
hand, is a nightmare of regulations, governments (city, 
state and local) and procedures. ARGH! 

I took a bit of time last night to contact a friend about a gift for another friend. Since at least one of these people reads my blog semi-regularly, I'm not going into specifics, but I do hope that Friend #1 can do what I'm asking (I'm perfectly willing to pay a good rate for the job), and that Friend #2 will be pleased with the result. I'll have to wait and see, but I have high hopes on this one. 

Next Thursday is looking like a train wreck already. I have my virtual court hearing scheduled for 11:50 am, and as soon as I'm finished with that, Claire and I will head to the MCI course I'm taking at my local health center. I'll have to tell them we might be slightly late, but we should be there on time, if everything clicks. I'll have to do the Zoom call from the shop, so I'll have to gather whatever paperwork I think might be relevant and take it to the shop with me. My documentation is shit - my birth certificate is almost a joke it's so bad. But, I do have my naturalization papers and other things that back me up as being who I'm claiming I am. If the Judge asks for something I forgot, however, it's not going to go well. 

It's been a while since I was last on Zoom, and both 
Claire and I will be in the same room for the hearing, since 
we need to leave for our MCI group as soon as it wraps up. 
I'm just hoping it will be cut and dried without any speed 
bumps. 

So, stress upon stress for the upcoming week. I'm going to wrap this up and try and enjoy a busy Saturday and a Sunday raking leaves (ick!). Have a great weekend, I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

It Was a Good Kitchen Day - VERY Busy

Yesterday turned into a fabulous kitchen day. I started the day out with a lot of almost empty shelves, and ended it up with a full side. I did a large batch of my fruit, I cooked another batch of cranberries (they're so easy - they practically cook themselves), and at least two other things were cooked. My kitchen was a very busy place for several hours. Of course I also did three loads of laundry, and had a nice but focused shop at the grocery store. But, since I was doing cranberries, I started the day out at my co-op. 

My Co-Op isn't close to my house or, for that 
matter, to my business. But I love going there 
anyway. They have awesome produce, and sometimes 
I just want that quality. My regular grocer also has 
good produce, but the Market has the odd thing, 
like the specific raw cranberries I crave at this 
time of the year. 

They've been doing a major re-do at my Co-op, and it's turned out fantastic. Everything is upgraded, nice, clean, refreshed, repainted, with new shelving, new signage, new everything. It's fabulous! They're finally finished with the actual construction work, and are busy putting new product on the shelves. Another week or two and they'll be complete with this make-over which has taken the better part of two months. I think it was well worth the inconvenience. 

There's something rather wonderful about raw cranberries. 
They practically cook themselves, and they're so very 
tasty. I started using raw cranberries a few years ago and 
have been in love with them ever since. 

I found my cranberries and bought a lot, I also fell in love with a bag of small sweet potatoes that I roasted into fingers later in the day. I bought some other fruits too, they just looked so tempting. After a quick stop at my regular local grocery store, I was ready to dive in. I didn't get everything done, but I got a lot done. I

I like sweet potatoes, and one of the easiest ways 
to cook them is to cut them into spears and put 
them into the oven. So tasty! 

I roasted the sweet potatoes, I made a batch of four pork chops for dinners, I did my cranberry relish again because it's SO tasty and easy, I made another batch of my BBQ sauce since I used the last of the old batch on the pork chops, and I also got a "steal of a deal" at my local grocer for an Eye of Round Roast that was sticker offered at $10 off. I got a great piece of beef for a little more than $10. I'll roast that tomorrow and slice it into thin roast beef for sandwiches. Yummy! 

I want to cook the roast tomorrow. I ran 
out of kitchen time yesterday. I'm looking 
forward to it. 

I topped my day off with my weekly conversation with Aearwen. We've been chatting on Wednesday afternoons for years now. We've never met in person, but I consider her one of my best friends. Somehow things just click between us. It's wonderful when you meet a person like that - in person or virtually. I'm very fortunate in my friends - physical and virtual. So, on that note, have an excellent Thursday. I'm off to swim and then dive into a busy day at work and my MCD meeting at the clinic in the afternoon. I can give Claire her "Comfort Chicken" - LOL. Enjoy your day, I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Oak Island, Computer Growls and Cooking - A Busy Day

Oak Island is back for a new season, and they're really digging into the history of the island now - which is dating back firmly to the Knights Templar. I'm thrilled to be back watching once again - a devoted "acorn" am I for many years. This is the 13th season, so yeah - it's been a really long time with a LOT of money behind it. Without the TV show (and it's popularity with viewers), I doubt they could have gone so long, purchased the high-grade equipment they are using, and accomplished everything that they have. As a trained archaeologist, I love what they're doing, and not everything is "bring in the backhoe and start digging". When merited, it's true archaeology - trowels and slow, methodical excavation. 

The Curse of Oak Island has started Season 13 and yes, 
we took time away from watching hockey to watch the 
show (we're total "acorns"). I'm really looking forward to 
what they're going to find this year. They're stretching 
the history of the area farther back almost every season. 

I had wanted to load my next book onto my headphones for today's swim, but I'm in the wrong format for that book. It's in an MP7 format instead of an MP6 format. I'll need to run a file conversion on it later today when I have a bit of time, get it shifted to MP6, and then shifted once again to a file that my Audible headset can use. It's not difficult, but it will take some time and time isn't what I've got right now. So, I'll re-listen to a bit of the previous volume in the series for today's swim, and do all of the fancy electronic work this afternoon instead. 

My audio files for my ebooks are generally in 
ep6 format, but for some reason, the next book 
in my series is an ep7 format. I'll need to run 
a conversion software on the book before loading 
it onto my headphones because I can't listen to 
ep7 files on them. *sigh* That means I'm 
relistening to 45 minutes of yesterday's book 
today, but that's not the end of the world. 

I also need to get some household bills paid. Of course that's a simple matter of getting onto the computer, accessing the appropriate bank account, and e-paying the bills. But again, it's been a time factor. It's going to happen today because it has to happen today. No choices. 

It's soup and stew season now. We're getting colder every 
day. I'll need to pull the last of my hot peppers today, 
we're going to be getting our first frost within the next 
few days. 

Oh, and I do hope to be doing some cooking today too. Chicken for dinner, with thoughts ahead for what I'll make on Friday that will carry me through the rest of the week. It's soup and stew season now ... we're getting colder and more blustery every day now. A nice hot dinner will suit me very well. So life continues onward, chores are ongoing (today is three-load laundry day - a lot of laundry), and adding the electronic BS to the mix really wasn't something I needed ... but what the heck. If it's necessary, I'll just have to get it done. The real definition of life - live it and get things done. Here's hoping you have a day of accomplishments today and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It Wasn't The Best of Nights

It wasn't the best of nights. I went to sleep easily, but awakened about two hours later and couldn't get back to sleep for another hour or so. Bleh! I'm operating on minimal sleep today. I really don't have any good excuse - tensions and pressures are no different than they were last week or the week prior. But my mind was racing 1000 MPH and I simply couldn't calm it down enough to sleep thoroughly. 

I have no idea why, but I awakened after two 
hours of sleep and just tossed and turned until 
I finally gave up and read for an hour or so to 
calm my hamster brain. 

Of course, today is a day off, and I'm grateful for that. I need to bake fruit, and if I have a chance, I think I'll also roast some peppers and tomatoes and make my tomato soup. I adore it in the winters, and it's almost Halloween, so I think that might qualify - LOL. I'll have to scan through my recipes to get it pulled, however. I don't keep that one in the 10 or so recipes that I have on hand at any time upstairs. 

My roasted pepper and tomato soup requires broiling the 
veggies (and fruit - tomato is a fruit) in the oven, then 
peeling them and putting everything into the blender for a 
serious blend along with other ingredients. It's very tasty, 
and not super complex to make. 

DH is rather funny sometimes. He's asked me to get him a phone leash like I use. I bought myself one before the State Fair, and I use it every day. It's just plain convenient - I don't have to worry about whether or not I have a pocket, and I don't have to remember where I was last looking at the phone. It's available to me whenever I need it. So, yeah - convenient. Apparently DH thinks it's convenient too, because he said he's always looking for his phone (true that!). I added a leash to my current Amazon order and I'll release the order as soon as I've got the dollar amount up a little more to quality for free shipping. 

I bought myself one of these before the 
State Fair this year. A Torras phone 
leash. I love it. I use it at the shop, and 
it's extremely convenient. I don't have to 
hunt for my phone any more - it's right 
there. It's adjustable - I can wear it any 
number of ways, but I prefer it like 
a coach's whistle - about that length. 

Today will be a heavy kitchen day, however, even heavier if I add making soup to the mix. I need to bake my next batch of fruit. That's a lot of prep work, but the actual cooking isn't anything major. I purchased professional grade baking sheets several years ago and they hold up to the heat and the weight beautifully. It's just the cutting up of the fruit that takes time, but it's SO worth it. I love my fruit portions for breakfast every day. So it'll be a day in the kitchen and doing laundry today. Very domestic! LOL Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

TV Installation Day Wasn't a Huge Disaster - LOL

Yesterday was TV installation day for our new kitchen TV. Of course, that entailed a serious clean-up of that counter - it's been DH's spot for assembling crap, gathering mail, and stacking unsolved crossword puzzles for several years. It was a monumental task, and one that I wouldn't have bothered with at all if I had been doing the installation, which had been my original plan. But he wanted to install the TV, and I was happy to let him. 

I think it's the first time I've actually been able to see my 
countertop in several years. Sure I had little bits that were 
open in the kitchen part, but the rest of it was a disaster. 
It took DH four hours to get his crap cleaned up, moved 
to the appropriate rooms and give the countertop a good scrub. 

Four hours later ... yes, it took THAT long to get things cleaned up, thrown out, washed down and put away in the proper locations ... he started working on getting the TV up and running. I specifically chose a TV which would pull channels "from the air" since we don't have cable in that room, and we weren't 100% sure we would be successful with just doing that with the antenna attached. But it actually worked like a dream, loaded quickly, and we're up and running. We were quite happily watching football (my Denver Broncos won, so I was delighted) within a short time, and our arguments were minimal. 

The balsamic glazed pork roast recipe I use is so 
easy, and so good. I don't even put the recipe onto 
my recipe stack. I just leave it in the kitchen with my 
frequently-used recipes - about 10 or so that I make 
time and time again. 

I also made my favorite pork roast for our dinner - it's cooked in the crock pot for 4-5 hours, then moved to the oven where a balsamic glaze is brushed onto it every few minutes while it comes up to the appropriate temperature. It develops this incredible glaze and it's SO tasty. It's one of our favorite recipes because it's actually really easy to make, it's inexpensive, and it's damned good eating. 

We're totally enjoying "Magrit" on PBS. It's a new show for 
us, and we're total fans. I don't know how many episodes 
we'll actually get, but we'll happily take what we're offered. 
(I could look it up in my monthly PBS magazine, but I'm 
too lazy to go upstairs and check it out - LOL). 

We finished the day off by watching "Magrit" on PBS. We've really been enjoying that show a lot. So, all that remains of the TV changeover is my taking the old TV to the electronic recycling location that just opened near me. I'll try to do that on Wednesday, and that will be that! A weekend of success, minimal arguments, minimal stress and a relaxing afternoon/evening. Can't ask for much more than that! Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back before heading off to the pool tomorrow. Slava Ukraini.