August 11--Rye toast and coffee

[zyzyly]

I'm sitting out in the back yard munching on some rye toast and drinking coffee. It is a lovely morning, and I am savoring these last summer days. Malida is inside making cleaning noises. On the weekends we generally divide up the tasks ("Ill clean the cat box and the living room if you clean the kitchen and wash the sheets"). Mine are already done, though I will have to remake the bed and fold the clean sheets eventually.



It's pear season, so I bought some at the farmers market last week. We live near a big pear-producing area along the Sacramento River, so they are always good. I put them on the kitchen table near the window so they could ripen. They are just about there. I brought them outside so I could take some pictures. I have a whole series on pears. When I was first really into photography, I would buy pears at the market, and set them up in a little makeshift studio in my living room. I made prints for the pear growing people, and they gave me free pears whenever they saw me at the market for a few years thereafter.



Since my cholesterol and other lipid levels were so good this week, I decided to make macaroni and cheese. What was different this time was that I made it in my instant pot. It turned out great, though I will tweak it a bit next time. It takes longer to cook in the instant pot than it would in the oven, but when it is 100 degrees outside, it's perfect.



Some nice California peppers enjoying the dry heat.

I went into work for a while yesterday and got some stuff done, though I kept a leisurely pace. I was the only one there, so it was quiet, and I could turn up the music. I made a list of things I need to get done next week on a post-it note. I find lists helpful. When I was an ICU nurse, I made lists of things I needed to do for my patients on one of the long, rectangular post-it notes.

We were going to go down to the Bay Area and see my dad today, but he wants us to come next week instead, so I will go for a walk and do some other stuff.

Comments

[elainetyger]

I hardly ever fold sheets. I just put them back on the bed from the dryer. That's enough work.

Your making mac-n-cheese after getting a good lipid report reminds me of my Nana, who lived to be 94. She would generally eat what she wanted, mostly healthy stuff, but in the week before a doctor visit, she would eat only healthy things. "Oh I can't have any cake today, I'm getting at test at the doctor on Monday, and I want a good report." When I was 20ish and she was 70ish and I knew everything, I would tell her, "Nana, that's not how it works," but later on I realized, she managed to live all these years and I have yet to be proven, so who am I to instruct her on how it works? So much of our body chemistry is altered by mood.

[zyzyly]

I do that with the sheets about half the time, but I like to rotate them out of the linen closet sometimes.

Your Nana had the right idea!

[ocelot]

We used to stick the crock pot out on the porch to cook when it was hot to avoid even that much extra heat.