Karaoke Strikes Again

Hi all,

By now, you'd think Karaoke would be hardly worth mentioning, right? I have to say though, every time I go up my hands shake a little less and less. I did the right "Breathe 2 A.M." with Julia (co-worker next door) again and mixed it up with "Don't You Want Me Baby" - which Flo was fantastic in. Plus there were several people present would could acutllay really sing - which is always great, unless you go immediately after them. I did not. We were going to leave at 10:30, but didn't end up leaving until 11:30. But let's rewind...

Thursday morning I looked over my medicine giver's notes quickly and then conked out and dreamed about seizures. Pleasant. I got a few wrong on the test, but still passed with flying colors. With all the hype surrounding the test, I was surprised at how easy it was - although I can definitely see how it would be much more difficult for a non-native English speaker. And then I got a nap. : )
The afternoon was a short one-hour crash course in anthroposophical meds. It lasted a confusing hours and then was done. So then Schmee and I ran to the nearest grocery store and I got some pictures printed off for Maria from the zoo. I made it back in time to get everything set up for dinner, and made some especially potent pesto. Then I worked on another hanging tomato planter, which looks like this:

(They're looking better as I'm making more, this one is too long...)

Then we had karaoke. Housemom said she'll come next week (and she can sing, although I don't know if we can convince her to sing), and so hopefully that'll work out!

Today was pretty much a blur. I didn't have even Franklin this morning, there was a special meeting about a relationships course that will be happening. So I did the veggie/meat market run, made yogurt, started laundry, dropped off the milk pail, did a huge co-op run, vacuumed, emptied the dishwasher, set the table, made salad dressing, made a salad (wash greens, roast/chop walnuts, add craisins), thaw and reheat meat sauce, cook noodles, prepare meds, helped the substitute neighbor cook, grated cheese while keeping the youngest with me and amused, prepped cheese quesadillas, washed up all the dishes. All by 12:20.

The afternoon went by pretty quickly as well. With only one villager in the co-op (and she was in a very slow mood), I managed to get the Friday order list done and some restocking. A second one came in to give her family members a tour, although I ended up closing early to help out at the house for the picnic. Got the quesadillas fried just in time. The softball game was as fun as ever (and Beau had a wonderful time - he's a real crowd-pleaser!), although the Germans are still really struggling with the rules. (Have to explain that lapping people just isn't allowed...but they're so earnest that it's great.). I jokingly suggested a session during orientation that covered the rules...

And so, now I have a cake that needs a orange ganache and chocolate buttercream frosting...and I have a walk to the co-op to accomplish first. It's going to be a loooooooooong day tomorrow...

Hope all is well,
Steph

Stockholm Syndrome

Hi all,

Well, karaoke happened last night, so my post didn't.

To bring you up to speed: Thursday I was supposed to have medicine giver's course all day. However, we powered through all 4 sections in the morning and then the instructor realized that it was supposed to be for the day. So we only met for about a half hour in the afternoon. It was Polo's last day in the co-op, but I'd gotten a call at breakfast from the the workmaster (who always has seminar on Thursdays) asking me if I could do it alone in the afternoon because Polo wanted to shop.

Now, usually Polo calls me and double checks to see if this is ok. Doubled with the fact that it would've been his last day (and only day of work this week because of the special schedule), I was a tad bit upset. So I didn't go back to work even when I was done early. Instead, Schmee and I finally painted the planter (the first coat anyway) and had a heck of a time trying to clean up afterward. Exterior paint is (obviously) not water-soluble.

Anyhow, after dinner Sam cracked out his ice pops (he thinks they're amazing...), and so I got the Dimetapp flavored one. Yum...We also ended with the whole house outside and about 500 pounds on the hammock - which it held no problem. Got to hand it to LL Bean.

After we got people settled, we had one of the neighbor staff kids come and house sit while we did a co-worker meeting/walk. I'd never been up past the house before and discovered the gardens and orchard behind it. We also saw some rather unfortunate looking sheep, who'd only (for whatever reason) been partially sheared. I'm sure it looked funny to see a whole house's co-workers walking down the road that leads out of the village...escape!

We made our way to karaoke and I roped in one of the very talented and out-going male co-workers in my neighborhood to sing "Build Me Up, Buttercup". We pretty much rocked the house. It was a "Oh. So this is why people like karaoke". I just thought they were a glutton for self-punishment. Or only for people who can actually sing. We did miss the crush of about 1/2 of the co-workers coming afterward, which is nice - my hand was still shaking throughout the song.

This morning we made pancakes (per usual) and I had a harried morning getting lunch set up (except the noodles) for Sam by 11:10. I drove Polo into Hudson to take the train to NY. He's spending some time with his parents (he has so much luggage...it's ridiculous), and they're flying back with a majority of his stuff when they all go home. It was hard to say goodbye, mostly because it's a wake-up call to the fact that all the friends I've made will be slipping away throughout the summer - Polo is only the first. I think he may have Stockholm's Syndrome though. 2 months ago I asked what he thought he'd gotten out of his time at the village, and he vehemently exclaimed "Nothing!". Today, however, he was waxing on about the experience has helped to shape him, and the surrealism of leaving.

Makes me wonder if I've changed at all yet, or how much I will by the time I leave.

I didn't have much time for brooding this afternoon though, for neighborhood work we scrubbed the top of the garage (a cement patio) which was treacherously slimy. Gross. It took us a good 2 hours using a weak hose and kitchen scrubbies...

Sam and I managed dinner as housemom took the kids out - though by the way they were fighting today, I feel it probably benefited us more. Plus, she never gets a day off - but somehow manages to stay positive. Strong woman.

Hope all is well,
Steph

A New Low of Mortification

Hi all,

Yep. Definitely time for one of those posts again. You know, the one where I don't just drone on about my day to day living, but actually share how I managed to humiliate myself? Granted, it seems to happen a little less in a country where I speak the native language, but somehow I still manage. Anyhow, yesterday recap, just to postpone the inevitable.

I was pretty much out for most of the morning running errands again, and I got to go to the library to pick up a book. Connie has been taking music therapy, which has seemed to help her with getting some things out more smoothly. However, she then decides to repeat herself about 20 times. And then if you ask her not to repeat herself (or that you already heard her, and need to talk to someone else...) she gets super defensive, and it's a vicious circle that's incredibly annoying. Anyhow, she currently wants me to "NEVER EVER AGAIN MAKE ANYTHING WITH CHICK PEAS!!!" although she'd eaten plenty of things with them. My last soup apparently wasn't a hit. We all thought it was delicious. She also is trying to get housemom to "ban" the word "chick peas". And thinks this is a reasonable request. Did I mention she has poor capability for perspective-taking?

Anyhow, last night for dinner I made an amazing "Red Lentil with Bulgur Wheat and Mint Soup", which has Turkish roots. Definitely one of the best soups so far. After dinner it was cocoa night, and I was pretty tired. So, I had some coffee. My logic behind this was impeccable, of course. I knew I would poop out of karaoke if I didn't perk up, and I was counting on alcohol to countermand the effects. We left around 9:30, and got there shortly before 10. After a moderate dose of liquid courage (not to mention some urging and then seeing the other "singers") we went up as a group a few times. I know, I know. ME?? Yes. Plus, I totally rocked "Piano Man"...or something like that. It was a lot of fun, and nice and small group. I only had 2 drinks, but it was nice to relax and have some fun. My plan also worked, I got home and conked out at about 12:30, and sprang out of bed very awake at 6:30. Just in time to help with the "German Pancakes". Well, I liked them.

This morning was very busy. I did some vacuuming, cleaned a bathroom and then scrubbed all the disgusting mold out of my window frames. This is a lost cause, as it will quickly regrow because the wood is stripped of any protective layers. This also made my allergies very unhappy. Lunch was spaghetti (yay for Friday spaghetti!), and it was, interesting. I put onions and garlic into the food processors and, on a whim, threw in a few golden beets. I figured it'd be really bad or no one would notice. We only had about 1/3 pound of beef thawed, so although the beets didn't cook down to be completely soft, it had the same texture as a meat sauce. Needless to say, it was delicious and no one noticed. I wish I could say that about the rest of the meal.

Ready for this?

It's kind of gross.

In fact, if you're having second thoughts, you should probably not read on.

Ok. You were warned. So, the other night I was cutting bread and caught the knife on an almost-healed hang nail and bled onto a piece of bread. Gross, right? So, mindful of this, I decided to put a bandaid on it -just in case - when I made a last-minute coleslaw upon discovering that we (and both neighbor houses, and the co-op) were out of lettuce. In a frenzy, I managed to get the cabbage and carrots processed and the sauce made and it all thrown together in time to eat. Everyone really liked the sauce and coleslaw.

Suddenly, housemom made a face and pulled out a "piece of very chewy cabbage".

Except, of course, it wasn't.

Upon hearing what it was, I looked down in horror to find that, indeed, my bandaid was missing. Never mind the fact that it was clean and I wore it for less than 5 minutes probably, what a horrific experience! Plus, the acknowledgment that she'd contemplated just eating the "chewy cabbage piece". I was obviously mortified, and Connie immediately started yelling in an accusative manner:
"STEPHANIE! YOU SHOULDN'T PUT BANDAIDS IN THE SALAD. THAT'S GROSS!"
"You shouldn't do that! Why did you do that! That's gross. Don't do that...etc"

Over, and over, and over, and over.

Meanwhile, I was so embarrassed and when housemom and the new co-worker started laughing I just had to join in.
The new co-worker's response:

"Oh! That happened to me once with meatballs!"

And then he proceeded to eat the rest of the coleslaw on his plate. Bless him.

Housemom actually got quite upset with Connie, because, although we explained numerous times that it was an accident, she just wouldn't shut up.

So, naturally, the whole village will know about it tomorrow. I can't decided how much worse it is than the salted clafouti. Guess I'll find out?

To ice the cake, I gave up my rest hour to driving Connie to get a hair cut. After housemom made her apologize for being rude. Although she didn't mean it.

However, I had a great afternoon in the co-op, just keeping busy with routine things. My "workmaster" (ie, the co-worker who runs the co-op, officially) apparently didn't know a thing about my leaving until Bean mentioned it in passing this morning. It did occur to me, at one moment, that maybe it was his idea that I should do something else. I was kind of hurt at the thought that he just wouldn't tell me, but that definitely wasn't the case. It's very unusual, because neither he nor the woman who is the "workmaster" for food processing knew about the change yet. Obviously good communication. I don't want to make waves with the work group, as I do want to get into the stain glass workshop, but I was glad to hear that some of my concerns were valid. Whatever the outcome, it's nice that my co-workers enjoy having me around.

Hope all is well,
Steph