Weekend Review

Saturday dawned sunny and warm.  I opened the windows to air the house and, on a whim, tried the heater, again, and it came on!  Yay!  At least the pilot light hadn't gone off!  That was a big relief for me to know that, because I was worried if the pilot light had gone off, then, that meant that the gas might be leaking!  I didn't smell any gas, but I'm glad to know that the pilot light was still burning.  So that meant, it was the thermostat that wasn't working properly - it doesn't always register that I've turned it on.

Sandy Expat had asked me about my space heater - it is a gas wall unit:

Space Heater

One side faces the living room, the other side faces the hallway which leads to the kitchen and bedrooms.  There is no fan to circulate the warm air - the heat diffuses and spreads throughout the house.  The warmest spot is directly in front of the heater, the coldest spots are the family room and the bed rooms. 

So, early Saturday afternoon, I went to the nearby home improvement store (Home Depot) and bought a replacement thermostat.  Then, I wandered around their garden center and eventually bought two pink flowered zonal geranium plants for the front garden.  For now, I placed them in terra cotta pots that I already had and placed on the steps leading to the front door. 

After that, I did the grocery shopping that I posted about, earlier.

All the shopping tired me out a bit.  After I came home, I ate a late lunch (bread and meatball curry) and rested on the sofa for about an hour or so.  I wanted to take a nap, but I didn't allow myself to do so, although I might have dozed a bit.

I had a cup of tea after that and then, took down the Halloween decorations.  I decided to wait on the Thanksgiving decorations until closer to the day. 

Then, I started to cook the chicken chili.

Later that evening, my aunt and cousin came to dinner.  After they left, I video chatted with daughter and changed the clocks before going to bed.  I was able to get the heater to come on again, in the night, so I was happy. 

Sunday, my daughter's phone call woke me up.  She was going to volunteer at a fund raising event and was waiting for her colleague who was giving her a ride there and back. 

After her phone call, I got up and had a cup of coffee, replied to blog comments, read blogs and commented on them, etc.  Sometimes, I read blogs during my lunch breaks at the office, during the week, but, usually, don't post comments from the office and I don't always have time to post comments during the evening, either.  At least, if I take the time to comment, then, I might not get anything else done!  So, often, even if I keep up with the reading, I get behind in my commenting.

My neighbor T called me in the afternoon and we chatted for a bit.  Last time I visited her, she showed me a figurine of an angel which her dog had knocked off the table and she was so upset about it, I told her I will buy some super glue and glue it for her.  But I haven't had time to buy the glue.  When she called me today, she said she bought a tube of crazy glue, so I went over in the evening and glued the figurine for her.  She asked me if I needed to rush back or if I had time to sit and visit awhile, so, of course, I sat and chatted with her for about half an hour.

After I came home, I started to cook the rest of the chicken breast strips - I made a sort of teriyaki chicken.  First, I marinated the chicken strips in a little teriyaki sauce (about 1/4 cup):

Chicken marinating in teriyaki sauce

Then, sauted the marinated chicken strips in a little sesame seed oil  and vegetable oil mixture and added some freshly grated ginger and a couple of cloves of garlic (also grated):

Grated garlic and ginger

I added a little (about 1 teaspoon) of honey to the chicken mixture and cooked for about 15 minutes.  Then, added a little cornstarch to thicken the sauce.

Teriyaki Chicken

I wanted to sprinkle a little sesame seeds on top, but the jar of sesame seeds I had in the cabinet had turned rancid!  So, I tossed the sesame seeds!  Next time, I will store the seeds in the freezer!

In the meantime, I cooked some rice and sliced some cucumber:

Dinner: rice, teriyaki chicken, cucumber

Dessert was yogurt with brown sugar.

Breakfast had been a banana.  Lunch had been a cold cuts sandwich.  I also had an apple for a snack.

There were 9 chicken strips; I ate one for dinner and kept 2 in the fridge.  I froze the rest in two packages with 3 pieces each.  Just enough for a meal for daughter and me or for a couple of meals for me.  

My aunt and cousin who visited me yesterday, called me today, too, to check on me; aunt in the morning and cousin in the evening.  They both said I had looked tired, yesterday, and they were concerned.  I also spoke on the phone with a friend (she called me on Saturday evening when aunt and cousin were visiting, so I told her I'll call her back, but it was too late to call her last night, so I called her today, instead).  Later, I video chatted with daughter.  She was tired after her day of volunteering at the fund raiser.

I cooked the pork trimmings, too - or, at least, started the process:

Pork Trimmings Being Boiled

I put the pieces in lightly salted water with about half an onion sliced, 3 cloves of garlic, and a few pepper corns.  Then, I covered it and boiled it for a good hour and a half, until the meat was very soft and the fat had rendered out.  Then, I put it in the fridge!  Tomorrow, I will decide exactly what I want to do with it!  Some sort of braised pork, maybe, or a stew, or broiled with a glaze.  I'll probably freeze half for later.  It's not meal planning, exactly, but knowing I have options in the freezer is a good thing. 

This weekend, I was grateful for:
- The pilot light in the heater hasn't gone out
- The heater works (sometimes)
- Aunt and cousin visiting
- Friends calling
- Being able to help my neighbor by gluing her figurine together

How was your weekend?  Did you have a nice weekend? How are you doing with the time change? What are your plans for Monday?