Normalcy

Inspirational song: Bron-Y-Aur Stomp (Led Zeppelin)

They told me as I was getting my post-procedure instructions to take it easy for a few days. Apparently I didn't listen. I was ready to race neck-or-nothin' today. I had a house to clean and food to plan. I missed being able to cook for the gang, and I was determined to play well out of my current league to accomplish it. I had my kid come over to help mid-day, and she was of great value, but that didn't stop me from over-doing everything I did. We made a crust-less peach cobbler with the dreamy Palisade peaches that I buy every year from my Rotary group. And even though it was a hot day today, I have moved on to stews and soups season. We made two versions of boerenkool stamppot, a Dutch stew-slash-porridge that is made with potatoes and greens. For the vegetarian version, it was just potatoes, kale, and carrots, made with a cream base and my daughter's heavy spice hand. (I didn't see everything she put in there, but I saw a lot of chili powder, cumin, and I think turmeric?) For the meat eaters, we had the same vegetable base, with polska kielbasa cut up and sauteed in chopped bacon and onions. My seasonings were tamer, to accommodate my sensitive stomach, so it was bay, marjoram, celery seed, and coriander. Both versions were popular with the gang, as was dessert. I'm so happy that my summer of weakness is over, and my ability to feed the masses has returned.

The room downstairs hasn't been finished yet. It was just as we left it when we shuffled all the furniture around and vacuumed it three or four times over. The gang didn't seem to mind. Today was hot, and the upstairs was stuffy when everyone arrived at 7. We took our dinner downstairs, and it suddenly wasn't too warm for stew. I still have a long way to go to assemble the table I'm making, so that we can all sit in a unified space. There were people on the floor, one person (the DM) pacing around, and others perched where they could find seating. I told the nurses I have a table to construct, and they forbid me from getting back to it too quickly. How many days do I have to wait to be allowed to start on it? Maybe if I just use a hand sander instead of the belt sander tomorrow, I can ease into it.

I had about three hours of real energy before one of my breakers blew. I was in the middle of driving to the grocery store to get the potatoes and kale when I just melted down. I've been trying to power through it ever since. It worked after a fashion, but now my brain is fried and I'm wondering how I'm going to get through tomorrow. It is going to be a challenge.

Also, I forgot to take pictures today. Was too busy.