The weekend, in theory

It's 620pm CST, and I've finally got the chance to sit down. That's the problem with Saturdays. If you have a M-F day job, Saturday is the first expanse of time that's your own, and since much usually needs doing, one tries to get it all done. None of these things are onerous in and of themeselves--pick up new glasses, run Kuro through carwash, do grocery shopping--but the time adds up. It didn't help that I had appointments for haircut and massage--boy, did I need the massage. It also didn't help that I had the bright ideas to 1) use up last Sunday's roast chicken in a spur-of-the-moment stew and 2) buy a floor lamp that required assembly.

The stew turned out "meh", even with my scratch stock. The primary flavor I could detect was salt, and I know I didn't add that much. In any case, it's been split into small containers and stuck in the freezer. I will say, though, that the merits of a non-stick cooking surface were finally driven home. I used a Dutch oven with a non-stick bottom, added olive oil and some garlic-sun-dried tomato mashup, onion, celery, and chicken pieces. As that browned, I defrosted stock and cut up zucchini. Added the stock, and oh my, what a lovely color bloomed as the browning dissolved. A dark golden brown, darker than some pork gravies I've seen. If I can work out the right herb/veggie mix, I'll have quite a stock. This time, I added diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, and that helped. Serving it over rice or another starch might help, too. Anyway, that's a total of 8 meals from one chicken, which is kind of amazing when you think about it.

Then came the floor lamp. My living room is all dark wood with a single panel of north-facing windows, and the lighting has always stunk. I could barely see the MacBook keyboard by the light of the table lamp, so when I spotted an inexpensive floor lamp with an adjustable reading light, I snapped it up. It does throw a lovely, bright light, which proceeded to illuminate the dog hair on the couch. So I vacuumed. Then came dishes, coffee grinding, and sitting. Now I have to feed the boyz, who have set a new Spring record for mud carried into house by a two-dog team. I'm not even going to bother to try to clean the floor until the yard dries out.

I just want to sleep, and I have to write *something*.

The weekend, in theory

It's 620pm CST, and I've finally got the chance to sit down. That's the problem with Saturdays. If you have a M-F day job, Saturday is the first expanse of time that's your own, and since much usually needs doing, one tries to get it all done. None of these things are onerous in and of themeselves--pick up new glasses, run Kuro through carwash, do grocery shopping--but the time adds up. It didn't help that I had appointments for haircut and massage--boy, did I need the massage. It also didn't help that I had the bright ideas to 1) use up last Sunday's roast chicken in a spur-of-the-moment stew and 2) buy a floor lamp that required assembly.

The stew turned out "meh", even with my scratch stock. The primary flavor I could detect was salt, and I know I didn't add that much. In any case, it's been split into small containers and stuck in the freezer. I will say, though, that the merits of a non-stick cooking surface were finally driven home. I used a Dutch oven with a non-stick bottom, added olive oil and some garlic-sun-dried tomato mashup, onion, celery, and chicken pieces. As that browned, I defrosted stock and cut up zucchini. Added the stock, and oh my, what a lovely color bloomed as the browning dissolved. A dark golden brown, darker than some pork gravies I've seen. If I can work out the right herb/veggie mix, I'll have quite a stock. This time, I added diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, and that helped. Serving it over rice or another starch might help, too. Anyway, that's a total of 8 meals from one chicken, which is kind of amazing when you think about it.

Then came the floor lamp. My living room is all dark wood with a single panel of north-facing windows, and the lighting has always stunk. I could barely see the MacBook keyboard by the light of the table lamp, so when I spotted an inexpensive floor lamp with an adjustable reading light, I snapped it up. It does throw a lovely, bright light, which proceeded to illuminate the dog hair on the couch. So I vacuumed. Then came dishes, coffee grinding, and sitting. Now I have to feed the boyz, who have set a new Spring record for mud carried into house by a two-dog team. I'm not even going to bother to try to clean the floor until the yard dries out.

I just want to sleep, and I have to write *something*.