Mild and lovely day, and I got a half hour walk in, such a treat, my strength was up to it. Sometimes I'm not quite up to it, but the mild weather, nearly 70°f, made it much easier. The cold weather takes energy just keeping warm.
And the squirrel is no doubt getting his trace minerals from the cherry tree branches next door.
I made a great lunch, curried shrimp over jasmine rice, with pineberries and blackberries, yogurt and cane sugar for dessert.
Here's the shrimp, rice ready, and the sauce reducing. I really enjoy making this dish, enough for two lunches.
Getting it to the table was not without incident. I served it, then there was a young real estate agent at the door, inviting me to her Open House down the street, which I declined with thanks.
Then the shrimp was cold, so I warmed it and served it again. Then Gary was at the door needing help with little lidded containers, did I have any, for his oil based stain. So if it spilled, not so traumatic, I suppose.
Then the shrimp was cold so I warmed it again and served it again, and it was very good, likewise the dessert, a favorite combo of fruit and yogurt.
This afternoon I finished the first of the current pair of gloves, using two yarns together, warm tweedy effect.
After the second is done I'm wondering about making a neck gaiter in the same yarn in Tunisian crochet. I'm thinking simple stitch, which gives a nice flat fabric, not lacy, so anyone could wear it. I'll see.
I need a new project and it might as well be for the knitting ministry.
Still reeling a bit from the fireplace verdict, also knowing the condo water heater is required to be replaced this year, very expensive, I keep remembering to breathe, and
Wouldn’t you think that people would have the common sense not to disturb you at lunchtime? Seems like shrimp reheated several times would get a little tough.
ReplyDeleteIt was fine.
DeleteI am glad you finally got to eat the shrimp. I smiled at your efforts to have lunch. It all keeps life interesting!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely!
DeleteNice colour combo in the gloves!
ReplyDeleteI like how it worked. It makes knitting with black easier, and I'm using up donated black merino yarn, beautiful but too hard to see alone.
DeleteOh now you say its merino yarn. Pretty combo and can't wait to see the rest of your endeavors. Glad you took a minute among the many to take photos of your repast. And also glad you finally got to sit down to it nice and warm!
ReplyDeleteThe black is super wash merino, the blue is soft cotton. Yes, it was like the days of having a toddler around, trying to get a hot lunch!
DeleteNever a dull moment at Chez Boud!
ReplyDeleteYou'd think that using doubled yarn would end up in a noticeable reduction in stash but it seems not. I just finished knitting 22 adult-sized hats with doubled yarns and my stash still fills the same amount of space.
I think your stash is a different order of magnitude than mine! Also maybe like plants, the remaining amount expands to fill the space after pruning.
DeleteI HATE being interrupted just as I get a meal ready. In that, I am like the lion- don't get between me and my food!
ReplyDeleteThis time struck me as funny. So often Gary has come to the door with urgent questions just as I'm eating! Then has offered to share his food right after I've finished mine! Not in sync.
DeleteI love those gloves and the lunch --- although cooking it three times (that’s what I call reheating and even preparing a bowl of cold cereal) would have been too much for me. 1. Inhale. 2. Exhale. 3. Repeat.
ReplyDeleteI love your definition of cooking!
DeleteGreat job on the gloves! That yarn is so interesting. Squirrels get even more nibbly than usual at this time of year -- I think they're catching up on nutrients after a long winter!
ReplyDeleteThey particularly love cherry trees. They used to nosh on my old wild cherry all winter.
DeleteYou need a DND sign to get you thru lunch. 😊
ReplyDeleteThat's an idea, one of those clocks shops used to put up to say when they reopen after lunch!
DeleteKeep breathing. I know exactly what you're going through, since I just did on a different home subject! Love the gloves (although at first I thought the title of this post was Shrimp and Glove Ministry (vs. l/case letters) and wondered what that was? It sounded very interesting! OK, got it now! And the shrimp looks great!
ReplyDeleteIt was a joke on my Sock and Glove Ministry! Both are good.
DeleteI feel your pain. I needed to replace a refrigerator and a furnace in '22. It was bank account draining.
ReplyDeleteYour description of attempting lunch was sort of like a British comedy scene!
The sealing is $800, sob. The water heater more than that. Last year it was two fridges in two months. Can't get ahead!
DeleteGlad you got out for a spring-y walk. Your weather sounds lovely (for the moment! After all - March!). That color combination in the gloves is very nice. I didn't realize one could use cotton and wool yarn in the same piece. Wouldn't they need different kinds of care?
ReplyDeleteWhat a lunch! Both in yummy taste and in interruption level.
Chris from Boise
The wool is super wash, so I don't think there's a washing problem. By the time I got lunch I was ready for it.
DeleteI like the effect of those yarns. A neck gaiter to match would be lovely. Didn't the shrimp get a little chewy after being rewarmed several times?
ReplyDeleteThe shrimp held up well. I think the bigger kind wouldn't have.
DeleteYour shrimp meal sounded delicious, wish I could have joined you as you'd made enough for two meals!
ReplyDeleteThat would have gone fast!
DeleteThere are days like that here. I just sit to have a coffee and someone arrives. Not a visit. So I could just make them a coffee. But delivery men, people lost and need directions, hubby wanting something. You know those days.
ReplyDeleteThe gloves look great. Take every issue one at a time and yes. Just breath
Yes, interruptions that aren't company!
DeleteEmpathy on the expenses. I feel your reel, and recommend lots of deep breaths. 2023 was a year of unplanned major expenses for me, bookended by the $4K emergency water system repair on the 2nd of January, and the instant retirement of my trusty Highlander in October.
ReplyDeleteArghgh, yes. Stuff you absolutely can't postpone.
DeleteYour post makes me realize that dealing with bumps on life's road doesn't get easier or even less frequent with retirement - whether it is getting a meal eaten when it's ready, or maintaing essential services (which possibly gets worse as at one time in life I did so much of that stuff myself or did prep work and labouring). Even the interruptions that aren't really 'company' are social interactions and important for wellbeing. The walk will have been a boost - and finishing the gloves. Busy old day but better than moldering in an armchair as some would be doing (or believe they are entitled to do) at a similar stage in life.
ReplyDeleteYou can't really retire from daily life, true. Better just enjoy whatever happens. All the older folk I know are constantly on the go, to the point where I think a bit of just sitting might be a good idea.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain about the costs of repairs and replacements. Having recently made the decision to regutter our house, while knowing we're also living with an old water heater makes for a sense of unease. It's one thing (in our case) buying a house that is 30 years old, knowing some things are on their last leg, it's quite another to actually face the music of paying for their replacements. The overall cost is still a fraction of what our costs would be if we were renting, and we are making improvements to a property we will sell someday. We console ourselves with those thoughts, and then get on with enjoying our new improvements.
ReplyDeleteYes, making improvements for your own life is good. Making them only when you're preparing to sell, you're missing a lot of enjoyment. Both my properties date about 30-40 years, but since they're HOA developments, the exteriors have been renovated, roofs, gutters, down spouts, fencing, replaced more than once, without my having to do anything but pay the assessment.
Delete