How about these apples?
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My fingers are blue
I got to work at the crack of dawn as usual and let myself into the building. The building was cold. Not being a permanent resident of the building, I wasn’t sure what the protocol was for warming the building up or even where the thermostat is located. I unloaded the mail I was carrying (I’m a modern day pony express rider) and went upstairs to my office. I proceeded to freeze. Here’s a sentence from an email I sent the better-half, “Think I’m going to put my coat on and sit hunched over and wonder why Mr. Scrooge won’t let me put another lump of coal on the fire.”
I just went downstairs to pick up something off the printer and it was deliciously warm. I stood over one of the heat ducts and didn’t mind being mocked for being so cold. That’s when the receptionist said, why don’t you turn on the heat. Indeed! Our building is actually three old row houses and each house is controlled seperately (who knew). I walked into the office where the thermostat is and asked the occupant if I could crank the heat. She turned around and says Oh I guess so.
Two discoveries…the thermostat was still set to AC. And the temperature was registering 60 degrees.
I set it to 68 and am finally feeling like I’m thawing. I hear chatter down the hall about the heat being on. I will break bad on these people if they think we need to go back to 60 degrees. I grew up in a household where you did not run the heat and that’s bullshit that I won’t put up with in my old age.
First Radishes
I actually ate the first radish a few days ago, but here’s a picture of our first harvest. I saved the green tops and we’ll have those in salad later this week. We also picked a few leaves of spinach. Our row of spinach is a disaster. Only a handful of plants came up so we’re also growing some in pots near to the house. We’ll see how those do.
Asado and Tortillas
Dinner was delicious and the corn tortillas turned out pretty well for our first attempt. I think next time we’re going to play around with adding a little baking powder so they aren’t quite so dense. We finished them off this morning with some chorizo and eggs.
Making the asado yesterday was a ball. I made the chili paste first with the softened ancho chilies and it’s a cool thing watching water and peppers come together quite rapidly as a paste. Ah, the rich color and heavenly smell and taste.
Here’s an action shot (ha!) of me opening the lid to the pot…the dish had been cooking for almost three hours at this point.
If you like pork and a savory sauce with just a touch of heat, I’d recommend this dish. It was perfect for the first really chilly Saturday we’ve had this fall.
Dinner Last Night
I was going to post pictures of our delicious dinner last night but upon looking at them I’ve decided it really just looks like a mess on the plate. Imagine, if you will, pan seared scallops with a sauce of onions, mushrooms, sour cream and brandy. And now that you are hungry, think about the fabulous side dish of roasted acorn squash stuffed with barley, onion, carrot and celery. A nearly perfect meal for a rainy, cool night.
Tonight we’re going to have Asado. I put the ancho chilies in to soak bright and early this morning–why is it that I can’t seem to sleep very far past my regular wake-up time? We’re also going to attempt to make corn tortillas from scratch. We bought some masa harina a month or so ago and the bag has taunted me since. We’ve had a tortilla press for ages and we’ve never used it. Tonight that will all change.
Hopefully the pictures from this meal won’t be such a train wreck.
Scratchy Throat
I’ve had a scratchy throat for the past few days and it’s starting to annoy me. Not annoy me enough to go to the doctor–just complain about it and eat throat lozenges. Whether from the throat or the fullish moon, I woke up around 4 this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. I got up around 5 and took a shower.
Then I read for about a half-hour, covering a chapter in Edgar Schein’s Organizational Culture and Leadership book. As it turns out the chapter was about human nature. It seemed fitting that I should read that chapter in the very dark of the early morning with nothing distracting me except the cat.
I got to work a little before 7 and let me tell you by 3pm I was done-in. I got quite a bit of work completed which was excellent but that was a long day of nose to the grindstone work. In fact, I’m thinking of lounging on the couch and watching bad teevee.
Posted in Watching
3 Comments
Cool
We’re going to the Get Out the Vote concert when it comes to the Richmond Coliseum. So we’ll be pushing our walkers through the hordes of young people on October 28th.
Working from Home
I’m working from home today. We’re supposed to find a regular day to work from home but I’m not totally sold on the idea and so I told my boss I’d try it today and see how it goes. I used to work from home a lot more often when I was a contractor but more accurately it should have been called I’m-working-at-my-husband’s-office-instead-of-the-really-loud-and-completely-uninviting-rat-hole-you’ve-set-me-up-in-to-write-curriculum, instead. I need the structure of an office to work and I need to be able to not think about the stack of laundry, or the amazing day outside, or whatever. As you can see, I’m already goofing off by writing this post. Truth is I probably would have done a post this morning anyway.
I have a project I’m just beginning at work and it’s the one that’s been mine, been someone else’s, been mine and whined about on this site. Earlier this week, I met with the Subject Matter Expert (SME) to confirm that the direction I was thinking is the right direction. I plan on knocking out a great deal of this project today. Yesterday just before class, I got an email from a co-worker asking me a question about this project because she was about to start it. I just forwarded the email to our supervisor with a simple “Huh?”–the supervisor needs to manage this process. Either I’m working on it or I’m not and I’m tired of the back and forth. The supervisor said I am actually working on it. Since I wasn’t sure the supervisor told the other employee, I emailed the co-worker that I was working on it and had met with the SME. Please let this be the end of the drama surrounding this project.
Posted in Generic Thoughts
2 Comments
Day Off
I had an 8:15am doctor appointment today and decided to take the whole day off. No one need know that the doctor’s office is about a mile from my office and I could have easily been to work around 9:15. Instead I went to the new Whole Foods (beautiful) and Trader Joe’s (parking lot nightmare). I didn’t go too insane on purchasing things but I did manage to spend about $100 today. We’ll be eating some amazingly fresh looking vegetables over the next few days and rib eye is on the menu tonight. I also found gas for $3.04 and so filled up the car.
I’ve been spreading milky spore around the yard and decided to take a lunch break. I have a bunch of lime to spread afterward.
After I got home from my traipse around the West End, I put up an Obama/Biden sign down nearish to the end of our driveway. It went out around 10:30. I’m making a point of writing down the time because I’m not all that sure that it will stay out there. I’m a bit nervous some idiot is going to pull it up or steal it. The better-half said if that happens he’ll go get another one and we’ll keep putting signs out. We’ve never posted a sign for a candidate before but this is definitely a strong Republican area and so I won’t be surprised if there is a reprisal for being so bold as to buck the voting trend.
Update:
We had this for dinner along with baked potatoes and my special broccoli dish (with garlic, soy and red pepper flakes). The rib eye recipe had to be modified because where there’s a steak, there will be grilling. Or, should I say if it is more than 16 degrees Fahrenheit outside, we’re going to grill.
Posted in Gardening, Generic Thoughts
2 Comments
Best Raffle Ever
Today I bought a $5 raffle ticket off someone in one of my classes. I occasionally consider buying raffle tickets to be nice. A lot of times I lie and say I gave at the office and keep my $5 to spend on beer.
Well, wouldn’t you know that some creative person has figured that ploy out. I bought a $5 ticket tonight for a raffle in which the grand prize is a wheelbarrow filled with 50 liquor bottles. Not only do you get to keep the wheelbarrow but there is an assortment of booze in it. 50 bottles o’ assortment.
I swear to you if there is a raffle I was meant to win, it’s this one.