Weekend

Quite a boring, nice weekend here in outer Monrovia. After last week's visit with Frank and my sleep deprivation in the ensuing week, it was good to slow down a bit. Unfortunately, Saturday began with more sleep deprivation as I woke at 3:15 AM. The desire to go back to sleep was thwarted by Shawn who was a tad restless, though sound asleep. I envied her as I got up and made my way downstairs. Deciding that this morning was going to be productive, I decided to make some bread. If I timed it right, there would be a small chance that the house would smell of baking bread by the time Shawn rose from her slumber. Luck was with me as Shawn got up late. It's been a while since I made bread, so I forgot how long it takes to make a yeasted loaf from scratch. I made a couple of loaves using mostly whole wheat flour, a little all purpose flour, and a little dark rye flour (I was a little short on whole wheat flour to do a pur whole wheat bread). The bread was slightly sweetened with honey. It turned out really well...I was quite pleased.

While the bread finished, SHawn got up and shared tea with me. Eventually I set myself to making us some oatmeal for breakfast. The week earlier, I had gotten some organic pear juice from Whole Foods. I mixed 3 cups of water and 1 cup of pear juice to use in my oats. For the confused, we eat steel cut oats which require more liquid and take about a half hour to cook, but they are less processed, lending more fiber and nutrients than flat oats. My usual seasonings are a bit of cinnamon and some ground ginger powder. We had some currants, dried apricots, and dried apples (the latter we had dried ourselves) that I added to the meal. It was a chilly morning (about 39 degrees) and this warm comfort food hit the spot. We also had the fire in the fireplace for the first time since summer.

Shawn set about doing homework most of the rest of the day. I alternated between being on the computer, reading, watching television, and taking a nap. We did go on a walk together in the afternoon when the fall sun was able to make it's way from behind the clouds. Left over potato soup with bread and salad made up our evening meal. About 8, I crashed on the sofa. No doubt the sleep exhaustion was catching up with me. I did not stir again until nearly 5 the next morning...well, except to get myself to bed.

Sunday was similar to Saturday - without the bread or nap. After breakfast (a frittata with cauliflower, bell pepper, zucchini, mozzarella, parmesan, and onion served with toasted bread, jam, soy sausage, and canned ginger peaches), we voted via absentee ballots. My votes went to Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians. Shawn will testify that I held my nose as I voted in the presidential category. It was a nice day out, so I ended up working in the yard a little. We picked more tomatillos (got to do something with those again!) and looked over our fall plantings. I weeded one bed and some of the herb bed, trimming old oregano branchs and creating room for the thyme to receive more light. We talked about what needed to be done on the yard this week - Wednesday and Thursday are supposed to be dry. I picked the African Blue basil, hanging some of it to dry and using the rest to make basil flavored olive oil.

The SciFi channel re-ran their new miniseries, Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars. I had watched it earlier in the week, but I enjoyed the camp in it so much that I decided to watch it again while I made dinner. Dinner was a simple meal: vegetable biryani and a salad. I got the laundry and the dishes done before heading off to bed.

Up this week: Shawn's classmates are coming by this Saturday to work on their major project for this term. I'll have to think about snacks for them. Also, John and Kim are coming up for Thanksgiving weekend from Long Beach. Shawn's parents and her grandmother will also be here that weekend, so we're beginning to plan the meal.