Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Productive Monday


A New Box for Dancer

I was woken up, this morning, by the sound of more hammering; the roofers were back laying more plywood over the last section of neighbor T's roof.  They finished their work and left around 10:30 a.m.  T's daughter K was over in the evening and she told me that the workers will be back on Friday as they can't proceed with the roofing until the City building inspector comes out to check on the progress and approve it prior to the shingles being installed.

Today, I changed my bed sheets, did a load of laundry, dusted the living room and dining area, did the dishes and tidied the kitchen, cleaned the fridge, took the trash cans to the curb for Tuesday's trash pick up, watered the garden both front and back, and started the car.  After I came in from watering the garden, I put some rice to boil, cooked the cabbage stir-fry (cabbage thel dala or tempered cabbage), and warmed up the shrimp curry.  I had it with some zucchini chutney for dinner:

Rice, Shrimp Curry, Cabbage Thel Dala, Chutney

Brunch had been the leftover beef ravioli.  That finishes the bag of frozen ravioli I had bought in mid-May.  I had been a bit underwhelmed by them, the first time I tried them.  But, I liked them better, the next few times I had them.  The trick, I discovered, was to cook them in the pasta sauce, rather than boiling them in water and then adding them to the sauce.  Will I buy them again?  Maybe.  I might try the cheese ravioli, next time.  But, for $4.29 for a 25 oz. bag, they were a good item to have on hand for a quick meal on a day when I didn't feel like cooking.

In the morning, Aunt C called and we had a long chat. In the afternoon, neighbor T called and we had a shorter chat.  Later in the evening, I chatted with friend R and video chatted with my daughter.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- Working appliances and the electricity to run them
- Water for the garden
- The car started
- Chats with family and friends
- Getting prescriptions delivered

Today's joyful activity was being out in the garden, watering.

Tomorrow, I have to go for a blood test in the morning.  Plans for the rest of the day include dusting the family room and my bedroom and watering the indoor plants.  

How was your Monday?  What are your plans for Tuesday?


14 comments:

  1. Haha is Dancer planning on leaving home :-) Your meal looks good, it's a long time since I've eaten cabbage as it's another vegetable my fussy husband won't eat. I remember telling you he will not eat ravioli either after my mother served it up to him all those years ago and he hated it. He's off to have his eyes tested today with him being diabetic, they haven't been tested since before the pandemic as they stopped doing them, so fingers crossed there are no changes.

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    1. Dancer was trying out the box for size - I think he was planning to have a nap in it! :D
      I remember you saying that your husband doesn't like ravioli. Too funny! I, too, didn't like cabbage for a long time, but, now, I like it, provided it is cooked this way. My daughter thought she didn't like cabbage for a long time, but, fount out that she just didn't like it the way I cook it! :D
      I hope your husband's eye exam went well and there were no changes.

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  2. Cats do love their boxes, don't they? I'm glad that Dancer is enjoying his new "toy". Sounds like you had a productive day. I had a big program at work yesterday that took most of my energy. Today I hope to catch up on some of the things I let slide.

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    1. That they do! :D I hope you had a little time to rest and recover from that big program at work. Hope you are able to take it a little easy, today.

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  3. Sorry to hear your sleep was disrupted ... did you manage to catch up on a few zzzzs during the day?

    I hope your blood tests go smoothly tomorrow and the results are good.

    I've had a good day with PT, some shopping, sorting books and piano playing. I'm just waiting for the sun to move off the garden and I will water the pots, and then that's it for today!

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    1. Thank you, Eileen; no, I didn't take a nap during the day.
      There was an hour long wait at the clinic for the blood test, but, I had the test done, eventually, and came home. I'll find out the results on Friday, when I go to see the oncology nurse practitioner.
      Sounds like you had a busy day! Hope you have a relaxing evening after you water the garden. :)

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  4. Your dinner looks so good! I'm hungry and if that were in front of me, I would gobble it up lol
    Is your Aunt C the one who moved to Florida? I don't remember.

    Cats love boxes don't they?

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    1. Thank you, Debra; if you hurry over, you might be able to have the leftovers for dinner, tonight! :D
      No, Aunt C is here, in So. California, a few miles away from me. Cousin P and her daughter are the ones who moved to Florida. Aunt C isn't really an aunt/blood relative; her late husband and my father were first cousins. But, I call her aunt because, according to our customs, she is considered an aunt. :)
      Cats do like their boxes! :D

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  5. Your dinner looks wonderful. I just googled the cabbage dish, found a recipe at The Ceylon Chef (does say Sri Lankan cooking)! I have cabbage in the fridge needing eaten, I might try it tonight. Cats and boxes...I left an Amazon box out I planned to recycle, but now it's been claimed and I'll feel bad taking it away!

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    1. Thank you, Celie; I looked up the recipe you referred to ("Ceylon" used to be the old name for Sri Lanka; the name changed when it became a republic). It is a good recipe, although I cook my cabbage a little differently, using dark roasted curry powder and adding some Maldive fish pieces (a type of dried fish). :)

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  6. It's always good to have something pre-made in the freezer when you don't want to get into serious cooking. Dancer reminds me of our cats we used to have. A box was fair game for either of them, and I've not found a cat yet that can resist an open paper grocery sack!
    Yesterday I spent a lot of time on the internet watching the Pope's visit to Edmonton and the spectacular costumes of our indigenous people. Today I pruned some bushes in the morning and we went down to the town in the afternoon.

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    1. Often, when I cook something, I make enough for about 4 servings, have a serving that day, keep another in the fridge for later in the week, and freeze the other two servings. It's not exactly bulk cooking, but, it works well for me.
      Boxes and paper grocery sacks are favorite cat toys, aren't they?
      The Pope's visit to Canada was on the news, here. I found it to be very interesting.
      Sounds like you had a productive day, Bushlady. I hope you have a restful evening. :)

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  7. Isn't it funny that cats just love the empty boxes more than toys! I hope the neighbour's roof work gets finished soon.

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    1. Cats are funny when it comes to boxes! :D

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