Cats and Fish

Do you think he'd like the world to just go away?

I can't say I don't have moments myself.

Gatto's doppelganger Tabs. Or is the other way around?

Our rollercoaster weather is still rolling. 50s F yesterday, 80 today. Tomorrow back to 60s. 

I was productive this past week, from cleaning, sorting and organizing the mess of the broom closet to doing the same in the bedroom. Yesterday I finished that job by steam cleaning the two large area rugs in there. I have an over-sized bedroom. The rambler type addition put on in 1973 had a living/dining room combination. After the 1984 addition put onto the east end, it was no longer needed as that. When we bought the place we closed it off from the kitchen to make it a bedroom. It's larger than it needs to be, but there it is. The middle of the house is what is left of the original. The kitchen, laundry and butlers pantry. Yes, it has a butlers pantry, large enough to put the washer and dryer in there. A very odd home indeed! A complete mess when we bought it. I loved a house that needed work. Mark just shook his head.

I think I will give my back a rest today, then carry on with sorting, winnowing, sort of, and cleaning tomorrow. 

I bought a bag of frozen mahi mahi at Costco. I saw the price and said nope. Mark, who has become me as I have become him, said if you like it, buy it. Who is this guy? I did. We had it for dinner last evening, with a lemon, butter, garlic sauce. Accompanied by couscous and my second favorite vegetable, broccoli. I think perhaps cooking and baking keeps me sane during these chaotic, frightening times. It makes the world go away for a short but valued time.

 

Horse. Dinner. Bread. Oh, My.

My first born, Tempered Steele (Remington Steele x LF Diamond Rose) otherwise known as Babe. She was perhaps three in the photo. She is now 32 and chugging right along. She produced some very nice foals, including one halter champion.

And then a bright, simple dinner of leftover pork loin, leftover sweet potato and some nice green broccoli. We do have meals which do not contain pasta. Pasta is just so darn versatile. Just don't break the spaghetti! 

This is a recipe I got from Denise a couple of years ago. Irish soda bread. I make it often, sans raisins. It's so simple and very good. She added a good one to my bread repertoire. 

I also made a batch of sandwich rolls from the same recipe. They look a little rough but I didn't want to handle the dough too much. They still taste good. I make some larger for Mark and smaller for me.

We are having a dreary, on/off rainy day. I still have some soup I made a couple of days ago and today is a perfect day for soup at lunch. That's it. Have a perfectly wonderful Saturday.

Mama Mia

A little profanity

 Do not break the pasta. Seriously.

It's a written in stone rule.

A Year Spent

Nothing much is happening on the old homestead so I have been going through my computer to clear out photos. I came upon these taken in 2020 by the realtor's photographer. This is where I lived from age seven, when we returned from San Diego, until I was twenty.

I spent 8 months emptying, cleaning and refreshing the house. Matthew helped me the final two months. I started at the beginning of May, finished and sold it at the end of December.

This was the last block to be developed, during the 1950s. This house was the model home, which my parents bought when development was finished. The rest of the neighborhood was 1940s, mostly bungalows. We were on the Eastside of St. Paul, a 20 minute bus ride to downtown.

The time I spent there that year was cathartic. I enjoyed giving the home a new life. It felt like I was lifting sixty years of weight from both the house and me. I could feel the lightness as I went along. Being alone most of the time was also helpful. I went along, going through memories, both good and not so good. Matthew and I realized it was our therapy.

Checking In

It is now official. I am an old cat lady.

I'm not feeling chatty at the moment. I'm not going to go on about the why. I will say I caught the last 45 minutes of the 1 1/2 hour press conference yesterday and leave it there. We were 23 degrees F this morning. There is a warmup this week. We just follow the bouncing ball. I look forward to getting out in the gardens and play with some dirt.

 

Worth a read 

Gatto knows how to make the world go away.

I know how to warm the kitchen on a chilly day.

The next three days will be snow, then rain and then snow. We do need the moisture but couldn't the weather gods just pick one? Silly question.

Monday, What Can I Say

Yes, I have the humor of a ten-year-old boy.

 

We the People

My hometown.

Bruce Springsteen was here, but he didn't sing that song.

 

When Do We Hit the Bottom of the Rabbit Hole?

To the Moon 

So. Now the plan is to spend 20 billion dollars to build a livable structure on the moon and send astronauts there every six months. To what end? In the meantime, insurance subsidies have been pulled, housing is in short supply and outrageously expensive. We are spending billions on an unauthorized war we started, with the help of Israel, eying Cuba as the next place to show our superiority and turning longtime allies into foes. The cost of living has become unlivable, for many, truly. Yet, fly me to the moon. Yep. That's a solid plan. Hey, are we great yet? Cause I think if we were mediocre before I'd rather that.