All is Well

It's a hard life to live. Gatto is willing to make the sacrifice.

Currently 36F, but will manage to get to the upper 50s. Life is stumbling along, a little creaky as we go, but we go. Yesterday was a tax deadline so today Mark plans to do mindless work; stripping some horse stalls. 

May all your soup be flavorful and bright.

Ciao

Sunshine

It's 38F and sunny. I think a beautiful day. The equines feel the same way about the weather as I do. This is life as they like it. It's laundry day. In between I think I should do some winterizing. It is coming, after all. We will get the outside Autumn things done this week, hopefully. I'm still waiting to mow.

It was another twenty minute meal last night. Roasted tomatoes and eggplant. The sauce was a bit tart so I put a little cream into it. Fixed. I haven't really had the cooking mojo working for me lately, so these meals have been frequent. I was prescribed Wellbutrin as an add on to Fluoxitine several months ago. I didn't take it, seizures as a potential side effect turned me away. I decided last evening I would start. I'm not in the black hole but I'm simply functioning. Simply functioning is not a place to be. Depression steals your life. I hadn't intended to say anything about this, but my fingers didn't listen. Anyway, I hope to begin feeling more engaged.

On that note....I think I'll start the laundry!

 

Sunday Morning

We've had about 4 inches of rain over a couple of days. Once again today, it's a dreary day. That's alright, no complaints. We need it. Autumn cleanup can wait. 

 

We had our first fire of the season. So it begins, my best time of year.

Like Looking in a Mirror

Allow me to introduce Crabby Tabby. He is Gatto's doppelgänger. He and his three siblings were born in my barn Mother's Day 2015. Tabby and his brother, McCool, were part-time house cats until Keetah came here to live. They didn't like her, so they stopped coming in. Mona never wanted in and Jiggs came in for good after an injury. This family of cats is not territorial, which is strange. Tabby gave a few hisses but that was it. Nothing bothers Gatto. After awhile Tabs wanted to go outside, so he did. Tabs is closest to the door.

Just incase it seems it's always soup or pasta (kinda is) I thought I'd show it's not. Chicken wings and a salad was for dinner. I managed to salvage a few tomatoes from the monster plant. It's a dreary, blustery day with rain coming in early evening. The last of the soup from a couple of days ago will be lunch. 

It's Alive! It's Alive!

I took a photo just before Mark pulled it out. It's a volunteer pear shaped cherry tomato plant that I had planted in a pot last year. It popped it's head up in July and went from there. Remember the 1950s movie with a young Steve McQueen, The Blob? That's how I have seen it, as day-by-day it has taken over. It's now in the trees. It will likely propagate there next year.

I plan to do some mowing today. The cool weather and rain have made my burnt lawn green and shaggy. There is more rain forecast tomorrow evening and all day Friday. We should be pretty close to being out of drought. 

Isn't this soup colorful? Yes, it is! Crisp, cool air just sings out soup weather to me. I've been making stock all summer so happy days are here again. Smoked pork shank seems expensive to me, but once I have the soup I forget all about that. It's so good. I plan to make a cottage pie (I learned and remembered, Boud!) tomorrow. Yep, comfort food is on the menu.

On a different note:  I have come across a medical clinic for women sixty-five and older. The closest of the three for me is about 40-45 minutes away but I believe I will give it a try. To say I have lost faith in the medical factory is an understatement. I would love an answer to my extreme exhaustion. One that isn't my current diagnosis...MFO. Mental. Fat. Old.

Gatto Love Him

Gatto decided to be a helper yesterday. He helped fold laundry in the morning.

 

He then decided in the afternoon he would assist in unpacking groceries. One never knows when one may find a snack. In the evening he got in the cabinet under the sink and freed a bunch of dishwasher pods from the container, just in case I needed a few. Overnight he thought I should practice some yoga positions so he appointed himself coach (yogi?) and put himself in my way on the bed all night. He is so helpful.

Another, Like the Other.

Gatto. Bird Watcher.

Here we are. Another Monday. It's my fun day. Not manic, I hope. The one day where I have maintained a schedule...laundry. Oh, boy! It's downright chilly  and is now going to remain that way, if my weather app is correct. The low to mid 50s as highs through the third week of October. Mark is busy with work until after the fifteenth, then the fall cleanup and put-away needs doing. I have inside winterizing to do, it comes upon us fast. One day it's 90 and the next it's 50. 

I've been using the lingering produce daily. It's been pasta and zucchini, farro with zucchini and tomatoes, pasta with tomatoes and eggplant. Mark commented last evening on our vegetarian diet. I used to call him the "meat eater". The thought of a meal without meat appalled him! He has changed. He actually prefers eggplant meatballs to the real thing. I've had no interest in cooking and these meals take very little time or effort.

I guess it's time to face the inevitable....a full hamper and a washing machine. Be still, my beating heart.
 

Such is Life

I got ahead of myself yesterday. I felt better, but my brain was clumsy. I couldn't really process thoughts nor communicate them when I did, so I gave up trying, as on blogger, and did mundane but necessary tasks, like washing the open shelving and the items on there. 

I got this shelf completed and half of another. I cannot safely reach the final two shelves and Mark wasn't home, so I'll get it and the final shelf done today. Open shelves and a used kitchen can be a problem. Frieda was doing quality control.

I had to turn the furnace on yesterday. It never got out of the forties. Mark went to the 65th birthday party of the third youngest brother yesterday. Of the ten siblings, eight were there. One came from South Dakota, the other from Kansas. They went to a restaurant and then to a brother's home for dessert. He had a good time and when they started talking about politics, he actually kept quiet. No easy task, but he is learning.

It's sunny and crisp, very Minnesota October, nice to see a moment of normal after the hellish summer. My son is camping and hiking somewhere in the North Woods with his Yorkie. What a sight they make, his little dog dressed up in his coat or sweater and this tall, large framed man. He took after his bio-dad's family, no tall in mine! They are constant companions. 

That's about it. Soup stock is simmering, the sun is shining and I am vertical.

Better

Thank you all for your kind comments yesterday. I am better today. I had some sort of stomach bug that knocked me down for a few days.  I spent a lot of time in bed. I did stay off the screen entirely. 

We are in full October weather now. It's mid-thirties this morning with a high in the fifties. I will need to bring in the houseplants soon. We have been recovering the rain deficit, which is very good for the trees. On the other hand, I am unable to mow. But, I was in no condition to mow anyway.

I'll leave with a way-back of Sunspot with her foal, Ari, a half Lipizzaner, and one of my greyhounds, Nellie. Nellie was a clown!

A quick note to say I have been ill. I spent all of yesterday in bed. I am better but not well today. The screen is hard for me to look at so I don't think I'll be visiting today, either. Hope all is well andI will see you soon.