It's the first of the month! I always feel that the start of a new month is a new beginning!
I woke up relatively early (8:00 a.m.) today, as the plasterer was scheduled to arrive, between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. He was here by 10:10 a.m. and didn't leave until almost 3:00 p.m.! But, the wall around the heater has been plastered on both sides. What a blessing to have that completed!
I had a very productive couple of hours while I waited for the plasterer to arrive. Since it was the first of the month, I made milkrice (kiribath) for brunch, as is my custom. While it was cooking, I multi-tasked and did a load of laundry (the sofa dust sheets) and hand-washed the dishes that were in the sink (some of them from last night). Once the milkrice was cooked, I picked two fresh roses from the garden, one for the altar and one for the mantel to place by the photo of my mother. Daughter and I enjoyed the milkrice with spicy onion relish (seeni sambol) and pork curry.
Once the plasterer was here and plastering, I replied to blog comments, read blogs, etc., and posted my monthly goals review. I also called the furnace company to find out if they wanted me to give the check for the final payment to the plasterer or mail it to them, directly; they asked me to mail it to them and I did that (after taking a photocopy of the check, etc.) The plasterer did a good job and now, it is a matter of waiting for it to dry and then, paint. He vacuumed and cleaned up after himself, but, I mopped the hallway and living room floor afterwards, just to remove the fine powder that was on the floor.
We put the heater on, in the evening, and it feels so good to have a warm house, again! It's 72F in the family room, instead of 62F!
Yesterday (Sunday), I made my version of the appetizers that neighbor S's daughter made and shared with us. Hers had a buffalo chicken filling. I made a curried chicken filling with the last of the baked chicken breast meat and used that to fill premade wonton wrappers, and fried them:
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| Crispy Curried Chicken Appetizers |
Daughter and I had some of them for our dinner, last night. I wanted to take some over to S and N, last night, but, N was not home and S was having an early night. We agreed that I would bring some over today, instead. So, in the afternoon, after the plasterer had left, I took a few over to them and then, daughter and I had the rest with our evening tea/coffee.
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| Coconut Flat Bread (Pol Roti) |
- Pick up groceries
- Clean the fridge
Good to read the plastering has been done and you have a nice warm home. I'm feeling so sorry for the bunny but it must be frustrating for you to be losing your plants to him. I read back on your blog and see you think he is an abandoned pet rabbit, he really needs a hutch and a run and regular food. I'm a big softy animal lover, can you tell? No plans for today but the rain has finally stopped and it's a nice sunny morning so that's good.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen. My daughter and I both feel very sorry for the bunny; he's just doing what he needs to do to keep himself fed! It's just that I didn't plant my garden with rabbits in mind! The only thing I worried about was keeping the garden cats (they are feral, but, hang about my garden because I feed them) from sleeping on and digging around the vegetable plants! I will have to plan the winter garden a little differently and plant everything behind wire mesh to keep the rabbit from eating them!
DeleteGlad to hear that you have a sunny day; hope you were able to have a nice walk in the sunshine. :)
Just a thought Bless, is there a pet rescue you could contact as the bunny really needs to be cared for properly?
DeleteThere probably is, Eileen; I just need to make a few inquiries. The thing is, at first, when I mentioned to one of my neighbors about seeing a rabbit, he said there were two white rabbits and they belonged to his friend! I didn't know enough Spanish to ask what they were doing running around free, but, said they shouldn't be hopping around. But, then, I didn't want to call anyone about the bunnies, because, I didn't want to get the neighbors upset, either. Then, I was told that another neighbor, who was a renter, had rabbits, too - those neighbors were in my front yard, one day, trying to flush out one brown rabbit, who might have belonged to them? They've since left that house and I haven't seen the brown rabbit since then, but, I am wondering if Bun Bun also belonged to them and he got left behind?
DeleteThat is encouraging to hear that your plaster work was completed & by someone so efficient & tidy. Other than turning the calendar page, I do not have any special new month beginnings but I like that idea.
ReplyDeleteI'm very glad that the furnace work has been completed. Now, I need to move on to the next project (I have a whole list of projects to be done around the house!). Maybe you can start your own beginning of the month special routines. :)
DeleteYou've been doing a lot of cooking recently. Must be that now you have heat, you have a new lease on life. :)
ReplyDeleteI do like to cook, but, often have to be in the mood to do so! :D
DeleteHow lovely to have all the messy work stage over and done with so you can enjoy the benefits of the new heater and relax in a warm house.
ReplyDeleteThe curry appetisers look good. Will you be making them again?
Are you having second thought about allowing Bun Bun to live in your garden?
How's the piano practice going? I'm glad you are restarting your lessons as it was something you enjoyed doing.
It feels great to have the wall plastered up and the furnace running! I had it on during the night and turned it off, during the day.
DeleteI will make the curry appetizers, again, but, I want to try baking them, instead of deep frying them.
I have second and third thoughts when I see Bun Bun eating my vegetables and garden plants, but, then, again, I feel sorry for him, too! But, I'm not going to chase him away again; my aunt told me that rabbits bring good luck! I guess I can sacrifice some plants for any good luck he might bring me! :D
The piano practicing is coming along very slowly! I have four pieces to learn, including a very simplified version of Brahms' Lullaby and Bach's Minuet in D minor (the other 2 pieces have titles written in the Cyrillic alphabet and I haven't tried to translate them, yet!). S called today to schedule the date and time - Thursdays at 5:00 p.m., starting on the 18th. :) I've two weeks to really practice!
That flatbread looks delicious. It must be a relief to have your furnace fixed. I need to have someone over to fix the thermostat in my gas oven. Bunnies can really nibble our plants down to the ground!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephenie; the flat bread is a favorite of ours. It is a great relief to have a new, working furnace! Even though they installed the furnace, last month, I didn't want to turn it on until the wall was patched and plastered. I hope you can get your oven's thermostat fixed. I remember you saying that rabbits ruined all your hollyhock plants! I'm afraid I'll have to put wire mesh around all the plants I want to keep safe from him!
DeleteI'm glad to hear that you now can have a warm house. Your appetizers and the flat bread look delicious.
ReplyDeleteNovember 1 is the "birthday" of our house as it is a modular home that was craned onto a prebuilt foundation on a lovely sunny day, 31 years ago. It was like "instant house"! It has many good memories. We have much to be thankful for.
Thank you, Bushlady. A warm house is a such a blessing! I really liked the appetizers, but, I need to find a way to bake them rather than deep fry them!
DeleteHappy birthday to your house! Here's to many more happy years in that house and all the memories yet to be made! :)
Glad the plasterer finished their work. Bet you're glad that's done!
ReplyDeleteYou sound as though you had a busy day.
I love hearing adventures of Bun. I bet you're frustrated with him, but he does sound as though he's enjoying the garden too.
Thank you, Sharon; yes, I'm very glad that's done! :)
DeleteI did have a busy day, didn't I? I seem to have more energy at the beginning of the week and more motivation, too. Need to learn to pace myself a bit better, though, because I felt very tired by the end of the day!
As for Bun Bun, he's a rascal, but, I do worry about him when I don't see him. I'm sure he feasts in someone else's garden when he's not here. :)
Happy November! No, can't say we do anything differently or eat anything special at the beginning of each month. We do eat well though so I'm not complaining. Did those chicken appetizers taste as good as they looked? And the flatbread? Your food always looks good. Glad the plasterer finally showed up. I can't believe he was there for five hours! That is a long time. We have workers coming in the morning to re-grout, re-caulk and seal the tile work around our bathtub. I sure hope it doesn't take five hours. Having said that, I probably jinxed myself and that's probably how long it will take. LOL Denise
ReplyDeleteHappy November to you, too, Denise! :) The appetizers were crispy and tasty; it was hard to stop eating them! :D The plasterer took longer than I expected, but, there was a lunch break of about 45 minutes in there as well. I hope the work you are having done doesn't take quite as long! Hope your day goes well. :)
DeleteYour beginning of the month was very productive. I need to read on and see what else you've been up to.
ReplyDeleteI like how you always start your month with your milk rice and onion thingy. I bet your house smells good when you make that.
I've had a very good (productive) start to the month! I don't do meal planning that well, but, you can pretty much count on having milk rice on the first of the month! :D
Deletep.s. I'm glad the plasterer came! Was this night the first time you turned your furnace on? I don't recall another time other than testing it.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was the first night I had the furnace turned on. :)
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