Hi all,
Today I spent a lot of the morning cleaning with Hum. We were working on separate projects (more window washing and general tidying up for me, then some vacuuming) and it seemed to go well. It does look nice with everything clean, and she was working a full hour or two before I got up this morning. Good that she's also committed to clean, I guess.
Afterward I got a quick shower before we went into Great Barrington for lunch and to go to the kitchen store. Well, I ended up sitting with the 3.5 year old in the cafe while Hum went to the store waiting for him to finish his lunch. I didn't mind too much because it was nice to sit and he's pretty good-natured.
In the afternoon I went to the Co-op for about 3.5 hours to finish up unpacking some orders and to start the order list, which I finished. Although I didn't get the order put into the computer yet. I might tomorrow. It was actually very relaxing, except when a group of staffkids and their friends came in and left a bottle of vodka on the counter. It turned out to be a bottle with water in it, so that was good. Otherwise it would've been a hassle.
Anyhow, I have most of tomorrow off - at least until Franklin comes home in the evening. I plan to do some arty stuff (need to make a design for my next glass project attempt and a chain for my first project...still!), and work on the long-neglected necklaces and of course, more tomato planters.
And I missed midnight.
The highlight of the day was when I was driving D'Artagan to the trainstation and right outside of Cupcake we saw a bunch of hot air balloons. D'Artagan joked that the whole town of Cupcake was evacuating...I would love to go up in one...
Hope all is well,
Steph
Showing posts with label Day off Tomorrow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Day off Tomorrow. Show all posts
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Tiramisu
Hi all,
Why, yes, that is the amazingly tasty-looking orange-chocolate cake that I made last night at 11. It included one trip to the neighbor's and then to the co-op for cocoa and chocolate. It was a triple-layer chocolate cake with a bottom and top layer glaze of orange dark chocolate ganache with orange marmalade in the middle layer, surrounded by a chocolate buttercream frosting. Of course, it had zero calories. Well, the cake was a bit better, as I substituted yogurt for the oil, since I was out of applesauce. I do a 1:1 conversion ratio. Honestly, with something so rich, I can't even tell if I'm missing anything!
It was a hit at the cafe, and I luckily got to try it before it was gone. I think the pretty orange twists (waaaaaaaay too much work...I taped thinly vegetable-peeled slices of peel to chopsticks for a half hour!) helped. But ahead of myself here.
Maria's mother arrived before breakfast, and things were a little chaotic. We decided to commence with Saturday morning cleaning as usual, so after I did the orange twists and got Maria ready I: cleaned the upstairs bathroom, cleaned out the back fridge, did a garden run with Beau and something else that I've already forgotten. Oh, then I helped make an enormous salad, pickled some radishes and helped lay out the lunch meats and cheeses that Connie's and Franklin's family brought. Beau's brother came and I really enjoyed him.
It's stressful being with so many of the people's families. I mean, they obviously put a lot of blind trust in us (especially the short-term co-workers!) and I know they have their child's/sibling's best interest at heart, but it can still be incredibly intimidating. A bit like being under a microscope. Even normal interactions can seem a little forced, and the last thing I would want anyone to believe is that I'm faking the relationship I have with them. However, we got a lot of compliments which was really nice, and I'm sure I'll be keeping in closer touch with them, as housemom is leaving. That's kind of a lot of responsibility.
Lunch was a great success, and was completely scrumptious. Afterward we barely had time to clean up. Beau's brother helped me label some old pictures I found in his room and we put them into his photo album. Since he's gotten some cowboy books and the photo album, he hasn't been tearing up Franklin's (or the house's) books. Because there's only so much of a discussion you can have with someone who's essentially non-verbal. Although it's always surprising at how much you can gleam through expressions and demeanor. Because of that, we were late to the ribbon-cutting for the new cafe/library, but still got there in time for cake. Sam was very helpful and brought the one I made for me. After cake I headed up to help housemom get some things down from the attic before going back to take a shift in the cafe. It was pretty much over by then, so we mostly just cleaned up.
Afterward, Maria and Franklin were both gone and Connie went out to dinner with her family. So Sam and I took Beau to Bash Bish Falls (it was SUPER hot and muggy today, I felt like all I did was melt, one drip at a time...) for a little hike down to the river/swim hole (which was occupied) and had a light picnic dinner. It was nice. It was also nice to miss the deer that jumped out right in front of me just a mere 1/2 mile out of the village...yikes.
Anyhow, it will take some adjusting with Franklin and Maria gone - we lost our main laundry person and mail runner. So I spent part of tonight folding and doing some laundry, and of course - baking a cake for tomorrow. I made a vanilla cake and some lemon curd, and housemom will top it with whipped cream and maybe coconut tomorrow. I plan on going to a museum with Flo tomorrow, and hopefully doing some more tomato planters and a sketch for my next stain glass learning project (something with curved lines, and hopefully not completely abstract).
Hope all is well,
Steph
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Picking Up Pieces of Me
Hi all,
When you live with a group long enough, in an isolated setting especially, you see how you start to pick up other people's characteristics/habits. I now have a good portion of the house commanding inanimate objects to "Stay!", between Sam and I a lot now say "Ja!" and today when I caught Beau talking to himself he stayed completely unfazed and brightly said "Hi!" - something I also do when caught mumbling (or full-out lecturing) to myself. This, of course goes 2 ways and I'm sure that I'm picking up pieces of other people as well.
This morning started off slowly, and then had some nice grueling cleaning: bathrooms, vacuuming, co-op run, dishes...after a few hours you're just ready for lunch and a nap. I didn't get the nap, but since we were heading off to Millerton I didn't mind. Millerton is named after the engineer who designed the railroad system, by the way. Just a fun fact that we picked up while doing our short hike after poking around the downtown. It's a nice paved hiking path that they put over where the rail used to run. We were a motley group with the children, and I'm afraid we pissed off some "hardcore" bikers. Meh.
While walking along with the eldest child, she earnestly confided (after hearing how I got my cigarette-burn scar) that she has: "A particularly good dirty look". I told her she should become a teacher. Her mother chimed in Librarian. Unfortunately, she soon rolled her ankle while racing, and I gave her a piggyback ride for the last 3/4 of a mile or so. Considerably more of a challenge with 50 extra pounds on your back!
It's ok, it probably helped me burn off our "tea break" that we'd taken at the cafe before starting. I looked over from my table to see housemom with a blissed-out look on her face as she sneakily pinched off a glob of the frosting from her cupcake to devour with a look of utter contentment (and then utter embarrassment as I caught her eye...). My seat also faced towards the entrance, and at one point an older gentleman walked in, rubbed/itched (?) his back against the inside door frame corner and then left. This was a little odd, and slightly confusing.
Beau was in high spirits today and cheerily waved to passerbys and drivers alike - getting a wave from a USPS driver and several outside diners. After dinner (pizza...always a crowd-pleaser!), we drove back home. While driving with Beau up front (housemom in another vehicle), we got passed rather unsafely by a little mini cooper. I braked for them, and Beau shook his fist. Good to have solidarity on that front!
Anyhow, tomorrow is my day off. I have a whole list of things I need to work on. First I have to get my room moved (yay for downstairs!!!) and then various other things as well. Should be a full day. It's also "Whitsun" so there's special celebrations going on (I made a paper dove today...) and they're also doing something with the new greenhouse. Again.
Hope all is well,
Steph
When you live with a group long enough, in an isolated setting especially, you see how you start to pick up other people's characteristics/habits. I now have a good portion of the house commanding inanimate objects to "Stay!", between Sam and I a lot now say "Ja!" and today when I caught Beau talking to himself he stayed completely unfazed and brightly said "Hi!" - something I also do when caught mumbling (or full-out lecturing) to myself. This, of course goes 2 ways and I'm sure that I'm picking up pieces of other people as well.
This morning started off slowly, and then had some nice grueling cleaning: bathrooms, vacuuming, co-op run, dishes...after a few hours you're just ready for lunch and a nap. I didn't get the nap, but since we were heading off to Millerton I didn't mind. Millerton is named after the engineer who designed the railroad system, by the way. Just a fun fact that we picked up while doing our short hike after poking around the downtown. It's a nice paved hiking path that they put over where the rail used to run. We were a motley group with the children, and I'm afraid we pissed off some "hardcore" bikers. Meh.
While walking along with the eldest child, she earnestly confided (after hearing how I got my cigarette-burn scar) that she has: "A particularly good dirty look". I told her she should become a teacher. Her mother chimed in Librarian. Unfortunately, she soon rolled her ankle while racing, and I gave her a piggyback ride for the last 3/4 of a mile or so. Considerably more of a challenge with 50 extra pounds on your back!
It's ok, it probably helped me burn off our "tea break" that we'd taken at the cafe before starting. I looked over from my table to see housemom with a blissed-out look on her face as she sneakily pinched off a glob of the frosting from her cupcake to devour with a look of utter contentment (and then utter embarrassment as I caught her eye...). My seat also faced towards the entrance, and at one point an older gentleman walked in, rubbed/itched (?) his back against the inside door frame corner and then left. This was a little odd, and slightly confusing.
Beau was in high spirits today and cheerily waved to passerbys and drivers alike - getting a wave from a USPS driver and several outside diners. After dinner (pizza...always a crowd-pleaser!), we drove back home. While driving with Beau up front (housemom in another vehicle), we got passed rather unsafely by a little mini cooper. I braked for them, and Beau shook his fist. Good to have solidarity on that front!
Anyhow, tomorrow is my day off. I have a whole list of things I need to work on. First I have to get my room moved (yay for downstairs!!!) and then various other things as well. Should be a full day. It's also "Whitsun" so there's special celebrations going on (I made a paper dove today...) and they're also doing something with the new greenhouse. Again.
Hope all is well,
Steph
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Funny Bunny Business
Hi all,
Imagine that, several good days in a row! Inconceivable! Well, apparently not...
Friday got off to a long start with cooking. I was making my grandmother's Italian meatballs and sauce recipe. Only I ended up tripling the amount of meatballs, because housemom said she'd love some for the soup. Plus we could freeze extras. Have you ANY idea how many meatballs 6 pounds of meat can make?!? Probably close to 200. So, between the sauce, the french baguettes (of dubious taste, but sopped sauce great), and the meatballs and salad, I was pretty swamped.
It's just me and Franklin Friday mornings (he lives in the house, and is Beau's roommate), and so it's usually pretty relaxed. We got a surprise visitor, however, when there was a spat next door between 2 villagers (something about a birthday snub???) and one trundled over to our house - without telling the co-worker. So I got it sorted out that they stayed and putzed a round the house, occasionally holding the phone to my ear as I was covered in meatball gunk for several hours. The lunch turned out fantastic, and everyone loved them. The extra sauce and meatballs (I saved out about 50 non sauced ones as well...they're now frozen) became the soup for the night. We also now have a plot to invite one the co-workers that is kind of quiet to dinner for lunch next Thursday. However, he seemed a little intimidated when I asked and I didn't get a confirmation. We will see...
After lunch we went to a neighbor's house, bringing the "Orange Truffle" and "Chocolate Mocha Walnut" cakes for a co-worker's birthday that housemom baked. I'm not the fastest of friends with said co-worker, so I slipped in to be polite, but before I could slip out I was interrogated by the housefather (in the kindest manner possible). He's Irish, but has a similar wicked sense of humor...
"You look like you need more cake..."
"I look like I need to go plant some seeds and take a shower"
"Plant some seeds, eh? Is that like when D'Artagnan says one thing but really means another?"
"Uh, no. It pretty much means I need to plant some seeds (seedlings, actually) and then take a shower..."
"Well...if you say so..."
So I went home, transplanted some seedlings...and took a shower.
I'm all tricky and devious like that...
The co-op was rather low-key. We only have 1 villager, who was a bit of a mess - she fell asleep while wrapping up the bulk cheese! We had to get quite firm with her, and eventually sent her home. Polo and I had a good time chatting with an abnormally large amount of co-workers who ended up dropping by and it was a good end to the week.
After dinner we went to see the production of "Harvey" that the neighbor's daughter was in. She has a bigger role tonight, and I wish I could have seen her in it. There were several spectacular actors, and the ones playing Elwood (who "sees" Harvey) and his sister were both pretty hilarious and quite good. Maria, as predicted, spent the majority of the time looking for "Harvey". She still seemed to enjoy it. Unfortunately, we were there for 3 hours...ugh. So we didn't get home until almost 11. A very late night for us, and completely destroying any plans for socialization. Oh well.
Today was a pretty typical Saturday. I did cleaning (bathroom, fridge), a co-op and town run and kept busy for the morning. Lunch was leftovers and after a far too short rest hour we went over the rec center at the neighboring community. Unfortunately, the ping pong table was broken, and Beau was pretty disappointed. We still managed to play around, especially with the large exercise/yoga ball, which was fun to bounce. Since it was a rainy afternoon, it was a good day to be inside. The children became rather cranky, and so it was good to escape them before Bible Evening. It was rather lack-luster, the story didn't strike any strong chords.
Anyhow, I have to leave in about a half an hour to pick up a friend/co-worker at the train station. Not that I've driven there, but it shouldn't be too hard. Probably easier to find at night, plus I have her cell number. A lot of people are going out to celebrate a birthday, but I'll probably get back too late for that. However, the sound on my computer is working, so I might just watch a film instead.
Hope all is well,
Steph
Imagine that, several good days in a row! Inconceivable! Well, apparently not...
Friday got off to a long start with cooking. I was making my grandmother's Italian meatballs and sauce recipe. Only I ended up tripling the amount of meatballs, because housemom said she'd love some for the soup. Plus we could freeze extras. Have you ANY idea how many meatballs 6 pounds of meat can make?!? Probably close to 200. So, between the sauce, the french baguettes (of dubious taste, but sopped sauce great), and the meatballs and salad, I was pretty swamped.
It's just me and Franklin Friday mornings (he lives in the house, and is Beau's roommate), and so it's usually pretty relaxed. We got a surprise visitor, however, when there was a spat next door between 2 villagers (something about a birthday snub???) and one trundled over to our house - without telling the co-worker. So I got it sorted out that they stayed and putzed a round the house, occasionally holding the phone to my ear as I was covered in meatball gunk for several hours. The lunch turned out fantastic, and everyone loved them. The extra sauce and meatballs (I saved out about 50 non sauced ones as well...they're now frozen) became the soup for the night. We also now have a plot to invite one the co-workers that is kind of quiet to dinner for lunch next Thursday. However, he seemed a little intimidated when I asked and I didn't get a confirmation. We will see...
After lunch we went to a neighbor's house, bringing the "Orange Truffle" and "Chocolate Mocha Walnut" cakes for a co-worker's birthday that housemom baked. I'm not the fastest of friends with said co-worker, so I slipped in to be polite, but before I could slip out I was interrogated by the housefather (in the kindest manner possible). He's Irish, but has a similar wicked sense of humor...
"You look like you need more cake..."
"I look like I need to go plant some seeds and take a shower"
"Plant some seeds, eh? Is that like when D'Artagnan says one thing but really means another?"
"Uh, no. It pretty much means I need to plant some seeds (seedlings, actually) and then take a shower..."
"Well...if you say so..."
So I went home, transplanted some seedlings...and took a shower.
I'm all tricky and devious like that...
The co-op was rather low-key. We only have 1 villager, who was a bit of a mess - she fell asleep while wrapping up the bulk cheese! We had to get quite firm with her, and eventually sent her home. Polo and I had a good time chatting with an abnormally large amount of co-workers who ended up dropping by and it was a good end to the week.
After dinner we went to see the production of "Harvey" that the neighbor's daughter was in. She has a bigger role tonight, and I wish I could have seen her in it. There were several spectacular actors, and the ones playing Elwood (who "sees" Harvey) and his sister were both pretty hilarious and quite good. Maria, as predicted, spent the majority of the time looking for "Harvey". She still seemed to enjoy it. Unfortunately, we were there for 3 hours...ugh. So we didn't get home until almost 11. A very late night for us, and completely destroying any plans for socialization. Oh well.
Today was a pretty typical Saturday. I did cleaning (bathroom, fridge), a co-op and town run and kept busy for the morning. Lunch was leftovers and after a far too short rest hour we went over the rec center at the neighboring community. Unfortunately, the ping pong table was broken, and Beau was pretty disappointed. We still managed to play around, especially with the large exercise/yoga ball, which was fun to bounce. Since it was a rainy afternoon, it was a good day to be inside. The children became rather cranky, and so it was good to escape them before Bible Evening. It was rather lack-luster, the story didn't strike any strong chords.
Anyhow, I have to leave in about a half an hour to pick up a friend/co-worker at the train station. Not that I've driven there, but it shouldn't be too hard. Probably easier to find at night, plus I have her cell number. A lot of people are going out to celebrate a birthday, but I'll probably get back too late for that. However, the sound on my computer is working, so I might just watch a film instead.
Hope all is well,
Steph
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