9.21 A week later...

We got power back Monday night (only 17 hours without, which wasn't too bad, considering). The fridge and the freezer survived pretty well, although I feel the need to use up the blueberries in the kitchen freezer pretty soon. Some of them made a very nice pie.

It was a busy week (aren't they all?) and having now finished my quiz, my reading, my essay for the week, and my necessary messages to the instructor and my team mates, I'm turning my attention (briefly) to the question of my blog.

Hi.

What happened to the camera?

We had a mad cleaning frenzy yesterday (the house looks nice!) and the camera has fallen in. Someone probably put it away some place that made perfect sense at the time.

Maybe tomorrow. Also I'll tell you about K's extraordinary luck at the Fiber Festival today!

9.15 Generator?

So... Will this finally push us into getting a generator? We had the wiring done for using a generator when we had the house built, but have never gotten 'round to the generator part of the equation.

We lost power (Ike) last night and the RGE website says "yes we know you're out of power, 25 people on your block are, estimated time of service restoration: unknown". In other words, yes we know you don't have power, we have bigger fish to fry, don't bug us. J asked me how long the freezer and fridge will be ok - who knows? I see blueberry pie in our future and a dearth of blueberries across the winter.

9.10 September...

always brings with it a ton of new stuff, until we (and others) get settled into a new routine. K is starting 10th grade, starting the school play practices, starting in Women's Choir, starting in Show Choir (it only goes to 9th grade but after that the teacher takes a volunteer who wants to learn how to direct and run things - K is that person this year). S is starting 8th grade, starting goalkeeper for the 8th grade soccer team, starting goalkeeper for his travel soccer team. I'm back on the job at my internship, starting a new class, attending Parents' Nights at the schools, parent meetings for the play, for the Choirs, for the sports teams.

I have a cold which manifests itself in enormous sneezes, five and six at a time, and in a constant headache. I just want to go to bed and pull the covers up.

9.6 coneflowers

Exhibit B: Coneflowers make such a lovely display without requiring much special attention. I wish they came in other shades, partly because I'm not entirely fond of this shade, but mostly because everybody has this one. (n.b. they may very well do so, but not popularly available in the local nurseries and I am only now working up enough energy on the subject to start complaining and looking around. Any suggestions gratefully received.) I have these two plants in my big round bed, and intended to move them to the lower new bed. Since everyone in the neighborhood seems to have put them in, I'm reluctant to make mine more visible. I want the bed to look like something besides a stamped out version of the same bed everyone else has.

9.4 morning glory

One might not be able to tell fom my history of picture posting, but there actually are some (a few) flowers in my garden that are not lilies. Exhibit A: Morning glory flower. The morning glories grow on the trellises I have erected to disguise the gas and water meters, since these sightly (?) objects are mounted (relatively) high on the wall on the front corner of the house facing the direction that everyone comes up the street. This is just above the point where the sewer grinder/pump cover sits in the middle of the yard, previously projecting about 10 inches into the air above the level of the yard.
Having put an elevated circular bed (about 20 feet across) around the corner of the house where the sewer grinder/pump cover sits, it gave me a place to put the trellises, etc...
We have a sewer grinder/pump because we live at the upper end of a street with a swale in the middle. The grinder reduces all waste products to fit into a 1 inch pipe and then the pump pushes it past the uphill section. The pump is warrantied for 20 years (don't ask me what happens then), although one of our neighbors had to have theirs replaced in the first year and grumbled that it cost many thousands to have it dug out and replaced. The question of the warranty thus lingers in my mind, as no mention of any coverage accompanied this story, although as no mention of any coverage accompanied the story, my immediate cynicism questions as to whether something unauthorized entered their system at some point.
Behind our house, on the other side of the stretch of woods and stream, there are about 80 acres of farmland. Last year spring there was a public hearing in re. putting in senior citizen housing and assisted living facilities on this 80 acres, which would including a new pumping substation on the corner of the property. We were advised at that time that in a few years, this would imply that our subdivision's sewer system would be revamped and those of us with grinder/pumps would then be connected to a real system and would be responsible (financially) for the cost of doing so. My first thought was, what about my flower bed? Are they going to ruin it by digging everything up? (not to mention the wall?) J thinks it will simply be one of those underground mole machines, burrowing along and going right under everything. All well and good, but how do they get the grinder/pump dug up and carted away?
Oh, J says, they'll probably just change the connections at the house and leave the grinder/pump where it is.
Um, right. An entire, unsightly device, which we now won't need, and we're just going to leave it there. I don't know which I think is worse - leaving it there or taking it out.
The whole building project is now 8 months overdue to start and given the current housing market, I don't think I'm going to have to worry about the choice or my garden any time soon.

Ok, I finally tumbled into a meme...

We'll blame Freyalyn. (Bold indicates I've eaten it, other comments are probably self-explanatory.
Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee - I've had it but am not enough of a connoisseur to understand why I want it over others I've tried.
Rose harissa - ?
Bellini - ?
Calamari - particularly with parmesan-pepper sauce.
Clotted cream tea - clotted cream - yes, tea - yes; never tried mixing them.
Louche absinthe - ?
Fried plantain - Yum.
Flowers - I've had them but they didn't strike me as one way or another. I'll eat them if they're in my food, but wouldn't go out of my way to get them.
Fresh wild berries - Absolutely!
Mole poblano - most excellent.
Baba ghanoush - once was enough.
Bagna cauda - ?
Carp - Rumors of massive numbers of bones put me off.
Kaolin - ?
Roadkill - Never seen any that looked edible.
Venison - I've been fortunate enough to only have good venison.
Nettle tea - Nothing I'd go out of my way for.
Huevos rancheros - most excellent, especially as prepared in the little restaurant down the street.
Steak tartare - No interest, sorry.
Crocodile - I'd try it if it was put in front of me, but I've no idea where I'd find it around here. Black pudding - Not being much into pudding of any kind...
Cheese fondue - It's ok.
Borscht - Tried some once at a French/Russian restaurant. Not the highlight of the meal, but not bad either.
Pho - Nope.
PB&J sandwich - If the PB is fresh and crunchy and the jam is apricot and home made, yum.
Aloo gobi - ?
Hot dog from a street cart - In four different countries.
Black truffle - I wish.
Pistachio ice cream - I liked the one best that wasn't dyed green. Plain white with little green nuts.
Heirloom tomatoes - all fresh tomatoes are wonderful. No need to add any other comment there.
Foie gras - Never tried. I'm not a big liver fan, whatever the species.
Rice and beans - of course. Which ethnicity's version would you like?
Brawn, or head cheese - No.
Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper - No! I'm fond of my taste buds.
Dulce de leche - Chocolate's better but dulce de leche is right up there.
Oysters - there was a period of my life where steamed oysters formed a large portion of my diet, and I always go back to a seafood restaurant in San Jose to get the Oysters Rockefeller they fix.
Baklava - I love this stuff. I found a place recently that keeps it on the menu, but they don't use any nuts. Need to make my own again.
Wasabi peas - Not that fond of horseradish taste.
Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl - not in sourdough bowl. I don't like my bread soggy.
Salted lassi - ?
Sauerkraut - yum. Particularly in rouladin.
Root beer float - A childhood favorite that never lives up to memories.
Cognac with a fat cigar - a cigar is NOT food. Agree. No arguments there.
Vodka jelly/Jell-O - Ick. No desire ever to try.
Gumbo - no interest.
Oxtail - no interest.
Curried goat - yum.
Whole insects - no interest.
Phaal - ?
Goat’s milk - it's ok.
Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more - I don't like whisky enough to spend the money to find out if I'd like expensive whisky.
Fugu - No.
Chicken tikka masala - ?
Eel - in sushi, it's most excellent.
Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut - Way too sweet.
Sea urchin - No.
Prickly pear - Several times, but most of the ones I can get here look several weeks old.
Umeboshi - ?
Abalone - No.
Paneer - ?
McDonald’s Big Mac Meal -No.
Spaetzle - Sorry, fits in the soggy bread category.
Dirty gin martini - No.
Beer above 8% ABV - Yum.
Poutine - ?
Carob chips - Just give me the real chocolate.
S’mores - Of course.
Sweetbreads - No.
Currywurst - ?
Durian - why? Just to say I had?
Frogs’ legs - Yum!
Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake - if they are really fresh and made in newish oil.
Haggis - must I?
Chitterlings, or andouillette - No.
Gazpacho - One of the few soups I care for.
Caviar and blini - Not worth the cost.
Gjetost, or brunost - ?
Baijiu - ?
Hostess Fruit Pie - No!
Snail - Yes! Snails are mostly an excuse to eat garlic-buttery toast, but there was a restaurant in Germany with a recipe for a garlic-cheesy white sauce served on a plate with a side of really good bread and you got a dozen or more schnecken and not just a measily 6...
Lapsang souchong - good.
Eggs Benedict - No - I've avoided it, see note above about soggy bread.
Pocky - ?
Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant - I WISH. Agree. What else to say?
Kobe beef - ?.
Hare - Tasty, organic, wild caught. What’s not to like? Again, what else to say?
Goulash - Yum.
Horse - No.
Criollo chocolate - ?
Spam. - No.
Soft shell crab - No interest.
Catfish - Yum!
Bagel and lox - yum.
Lobster Thermidor - not since visiting Maine, but I'd go again in a heartbeat.
Polenta - Not a fan.
Snake - No.