A cup of tea, a cheese biscuit and thou.
February 7th, 2003
The tea is black as tar and so tannic I can feel my tongue turning into leather. The cheese tea biscuit was not available, so it has been substituted by a cranberry/blueberry muffin, which is so sweet it has given me even more of a headache.
It's a toss up if thou art still present.
I am so glad it is Friday. I've kind of lost track of the past couple days. I am out of the habit of journalling, and while I think about journal entries throughout the day, getting them out of my head and into this format seems to be the sticking point. Part of it is that work has become insanely busy. I am not complaining...I much prefer being busy and challenged to boring and sedate days with not much happening. The problem is that things are coming so fast and furious that I barely walk in the door before it's time to leave again! Many little firestorms and crises have been exploding all around us...it sure isn't sedate at this present time.
This weekend, I think we are going to sketch out the plans for the bathroom in the basement. When we bought the house in October of 2001, there was a roughed in bathroom in the basement. Unfortunately, the plumber who did the work didn't know what he was doing because the space is completely unusable. The toilet is about 3 feet out from the wall, the vent stacks are so low and so obtrusive that the ceiling would be 6 feet tall if we tried to box them in. The drain for the shower/tub is located in a spot where it can't be used for any kind of current shower or tub on the market.
My father-in-law is a plumber and he's agreed to help us with our redesign of the space. So, this weekend we are going to clear all the junk out and start planning. Then we can get the jackhammer and start busting up the floor. This is going to be fun!
On the Plate:
Last night I cooked a really easy Thai stir-fry. Chris hates tofu, but he actually requests this dish!
Easy Thai Stir-fry
1 package firm tofu
1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste (or to taste)
4 tablespoons fish sauce
1 red pepper, sliced
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
1 small bunch of kale, chopped (take out the tough rib down the centre of each leaf) (or use baby spinach)
1 package rice stick noodlesMix the curry paste and fish sauce together. Cube the tofu and mix into the curry paste mixture, coating evenly. Let marinate. Boil a kettle of water and pour over the rice stick in a large bowl. Let noodles soak and soften.
Heat a bit of grapeseed oil or other oil with a high smoke point in a wok or large frypan. When oil is shimmery, add drained tofu (reserve liquid). Fry on high heat until brown around the edges. Return to bowl. Add vegetables and stir fry for a couple minutes. Return tofu and reserved liquid to mixture. Stir to combine. Add drained noodles and toss.
Books I have Read Lately:
- The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, The Wide Window, The Miserable Mill and The Austere Academy, all by Lemony Snicket. I began reading these for fun, and although I probably shouldn't have read them all one after the other (as they are a bit repetitive) they are quite entertaining. I think these work because they are quite clever! I smiled in glee a few times in reading these, but I think they truly would shine read aloud. They have a very nice flow and rhythm that is conducive to reading aloud. They are very quick little reads, perfect to polish off during a hot bath or while cooking supper ().
- In Legend Born by Laura Resnick. I picked this book up on one of my regular wanders through Chapters. I was surprised to see that this book has been out for a couple years because I haven't encountered it before. For a first novel, this book was quite enjoyable and impressive. The land and backstory are very complex and well-developed. It really felt as though this land was alive and breathing while the book progressed. I found myself getting sucked in after the first few pages, and that doesn't happen to me very ofted. I read so much fantasy that sometimes my brain just automatically coasts over familiar plots and situations, but I can say that I didn't do that here. The heroes are realistic, multi-dimensional, and there were enough plot twists and complexities that it didn't feel like a formulaic re-tread of Motley Band of Characters Save The World. ()
(All links go through Amazon.ca because of the affiliate program with The Usual Suspects. I spend so much time on there, that this is the least I can do.)