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Jun. 19th, 2005 06:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickFriday morning at work we split up more of the big willow tree and threw it on the dumptruck. There is now a huge pile of willow in my front yard. *sigh* We've taken three loads of willow out of the yard back of 200 and there is still more. It's a sisyphean task, here, this willow tree.
Friday afternoon we looked at a water leak in Everett. The leak was not in a clear location and the Boro didn't have a firm opinion on whether it was on our side or their side. The whole thing was inconclusive and they decided to return on Saturday with a backhoe for further investigation. Friday evening I tore the roof off my aunt SJ's porch (her house was right next to the water leak) and started to replace it. (Note to self: If ever buying shingles again, check the colors before leaving the loading dock -- even if the yard guy loads them all from the same pallet.) As I am terrified of heights, this was rather more exciting than it should have been. My cousin Sandra helped with the roof project, partly because I do better on roofs if I have someone else to be not-wimpy in front of and partly because it was too big of a job for just me. We got almost done (lacking five rows of shingles) with that on Friday.
Saturday morning I made crepes for us (Sandra and me) for breakfast to use up some of the huge bag of strawberries that Joe had given me the night before. (I wanted beer, see, and I stopped in at Joe's because I saw the light on and I thought he might have beer. Frequently there is beer at Joe's... but not Friday night. Friday night, there were strawberries. Lots of them. Apparently you *can* get tired of fresh strawberries, especially if you plant like forty feet of them for a small household of two adults, a toddler, and a non-strawberry-eating infant.) After breakfast, we headed over to finish the porch roof. We wrapped that up around ten in the morning. There hadn't been much left to do -- we'd just run out of daylight on Friday. The water people were there with a concrete saw and a backhoe, digging up our new (less than six months old) sidewalk in front of SJ's house. They made some progress with the leak thing, most of which I wasn't following because I was busy finishing up the roof project.
Saturday afternoon, we (Sandra and SJ and I) went to Altoona to pick out matching fabric for San's window seat cushion and curtains. The old color was a horribly faded green print and she wanted something that would tie together her living room. We went with a black-and-red print that will pick up her accent pillows and black (sort of modern) furniture. It'll also hide cat hair pretty well. We had lunch at the Cracker Barrel. (I'd never eaten there before due to the not-getting-out-much thing). The chicken-and-dumplings were better than I thought they would be and the mashed potatoes were real. I make better gravy, but theirs wasn't horrible. The biscuits were quite good and I like green beans cooked with salted pig meat (something along the ham-bacon axis), so that was a success.
We also managed to hit a semi-annual sale at Bath and Body Works, where I bought rather a lot of clear glycerine girly soaps at a buck per. I do not generally admit to it in public, but I really, really like girly soap. The last guy who shared my bathroom brought his own soap because my soap was "girly enough to turn any normal man gay". Whatever. I don't see how he could have missed it, having inspected the area rather closely on multiple occasions, but wood splitting and roofing skillz aside, I do happen to be a girl. I'm ALLOWED to have girly soaps.
I took a nap when we got home, due to being fashed from the roof project and stuff. I felt a lot better after the nap and I went over to San's and made crepes (with chocolate sauce and more fresh strawberries) for dinner. She'd asked for 'em again since they were so tasty at breakfast. I was kind of thrilled that she liked 'em because San has actually been to France and had crepes at the Eiffel Tower and knows what they're supposed to taste like. The ones I make are apparently good enough to suit and she really liked the chocolate sauce thing, which I hadn't had the nerve to feed anyone else just yet. I'm glad it's not just me what likes the chocolate sauce stuff. Sandra asked for the recipe and instructions, which I handed over. I don't understand the not-giving-out of recipes, except possibly for real chefs. I'm not a real chef and I don't cook for money. If you want to know how I make something, just ask me and I'll tell you more than you ever wanted to know.
By then, the strawberries were pretty picked over so I topped the rest of them (2.5 cups) and dumped them in a pan with a good cup and a half of sugar. I mashed the strawberries with a potato masher, turned up the heat, and boiled the lot until things were jamlike. That came out rather well and jammed up better than I expected.
Friday afternoon we looked at a water leak in Everett. The leak was not in a clear location and the Boro didn't have a firm opinion on whether it was on our side or their side. The whole thing was inconclusive and they decided to return on Saturday with a backhoe for further investigation. Friday evening I tore the roof off my aunt SJ's porch (her house was right next to the water leak) and started to replace it. (Note to self: If ever buying shingles again, check the colors before leaving the loading dock -- even if the yard guy loads them all from the same pallet.) As I am terrified of heights, this was rather more exciting than it should have been. My cousin Sandra helped with the roof project, partly because I do better on roofs if I have someone else to be not-wimpy in front of and partly because it was too big of a job for just me. We got almost done (lacking five rows of shingles) with that on Friday.
Saturday morning I made crepes for us (Sandra and me) for breakfast to use up some of the huge bag of strawberries that Joe had given me the night before. (I wanted beer, see, and I stopped in at Joe's because I saw the light on and I thought he might have beer. Frequently there is beer at Joe's... but not Friday night. Friday night, there were strawberries. Lots of them. Apparently you *can* get tired of fresh strawberries, especially if you plant like forty feet of them for a small household of two adults, a toddler, and a non-strawberry-eating infant.) After breakfast, we headed over to finish the porch roof. We wrapped that up around ten in the morning. There hadn't been much left to do -- we'd just run out of daylight on Friday. The water people were there with a concrete saw and a backhoe, digging up our new (less than six months old) sidewalk in front of SJ's house. They made some progress with the leak thing, most of which I wasn't following because I was busy finishing up the roof project.
Saturday afternoon, we (Sandra and SJ and I) went to Altoona to pick out matching fabric for San's window seat cushion and curtains. The old color was a horribly faded green print and she wanted something that would tie together her living room. We went with a black-and-red print that will pick up her accent pillows and black (sort of modern) furniture. It'll also hide cat hair pretty well. We had lunch at the Cracker Barrel. (I'd never eaten there before due to the not-getting-out-much thing). The chicken-and-dumplings were better than I thought they would be and the mashed potatoes were real. I make better gravy, but theirs wasn't horrible. The biscuits were quite good and I like green beans cooked with salted pig meat (something along the ham-bacon axis), so that was a success.
We also managed to hit a semi-annual sale at Bath and Body Works, where I bought rather a lot of clear glycerine girly soaps at a buck per. I do not generally admit to it in public, but I really, really like girly soap. The last guy who shared my bathroom brought his own soap because my soap was "girly enough to turn any normal man gay". Whatever. I don't see how he could have missed it, having inspected the area rather closely on multiple occasions, but wood splitting and roofing skillz aside, I do happen to be a girl. I'm ALLOWED to have girly soaps.
I took a nap when we got home, due to being fashed from the roof project and stuff. I felt a lot better after the nap and I went over to San's and made crepes (with chocolate sauce and more fresh strawberries) for dinner. She'd asked for 'em again since they were so tasty at breakfast. I was kind of thrilled that she liked 'em because San has actually been to France and had crepes at the Eiffel Tower and knows what they're supposed to taste like. The ones I make are apparently good enough to suit and she really liked the chocolate sauce thing, which I hadn't had the nerve to feed anyone else just yet. I'm glad it's not just me what likes the chocolate sauce stuff. Sandra asked for the recipe and instructions, which I handed over. I don't understand the not-giving-out of recipes, except possibly for real chefs. I'm not a real chef and I don't cook for money. If you want to know how I make something, just ask me and I'll tell you more than you ever wanted to know.
By then, the strawberries were pretty picked over so I topped the rest of them (2.5 cups) and dumped them in a pan with a good cup and a half of sugar. I mashed the strawberries with a potato masher, turned up the heat, and boiled the lot until things were jamlike. That came out rather well and jammed up better than I expected.
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no subject
Date: 2005-06-19 01:57 pm (UTC)I'm of the opinion that those of us who get good and grubby on a regular basis probably have more need of and appreciation for froofy, girly bath products.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 01:30 am (UTC)Yours are better.
On the other hand, had a spiffy curry puff at a thai restaurant this weekend, and it was to die for. Must write up the foods from NYC and our trip. Note to self. : >
no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 01:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 11:15 pm (UTC)I can deal with that!
no subject
Date: 2005-06-24 02:59 am (UTC)(Yes, I know it's not last week anymore. :( Sorry...)