Sunday, September 19, 2010

Giving in to Fate





After breaking my prescription reading glasses for the third time this year, I have given up and gotten the dreaded librarian chain. Yes, I am a middle-aged cataloguer with four cats who wears her reading glasses on a chain. Yes, I do own a twinset. The transformation into my grandmother is nearly complete.  Perhaps I can at least avoid breaking glasses by sitting on/stepping on/twirling them, and I will free up an extra hour each day that I don't have to spend looking for my glasses.




We finally got a slicing tomato from our CSA, so I was able to have the best lunch ever, a tomato sandwich. I used my favorite bread, 21 Whole Grains from Dave's Killer Bread, slathered it with Hellman's (Best Foods here in the West) mayonnaise, piled on the tomato and added salt and pepper. Bliss.



This may be the last weekend my husband has off until after Thanksgiving. Crush--the grape harvest and processing of the grapes to make wine--is almost upon us, and then the Thanksgiving weekend is one of the big wine tasting events each year. We had hoped to go to the beautiful Silver Falls State Park, but the weather refused to cooperate. It has been raining for almost a week now, just when we need it to be sunny so the grapes and other produce can ripen. Since we were kept in by the rain, I decided to make stuff. We had carrots and cucumbers needing to be used, so I pickled them.

Carrots soaking in brine . . .


. . . and in the jar

Cucumbers and onions

Old peanut butter jars do come in handy

After pickling things, I made a peach and blueberry cobbler. Not as healthy as a day of hiking, but every bit as pleasurable.  It was so chilly last night that we built a fire, and tonight we're making the first pot of chili of the season.

Later this week, I'll be heading to Oklahoma to visit friends, and will finally have a chance to wear summer clothes that have mostly stayed in the closet or drawer this year. Our current high temperatures are lower than their low temperatures in any given 24 hour period. It will be like a trip to the tropics! In the meantime, the cats and I enjoyed a few hours of sun in the garden this afternoon, where Gwydion reveled in the catnip harvest.

Size 6 cat in a size 4 pot of catnip

I'm not taking the laptop with me on my trip (gaahhh, separation anxiety) and next week I'll be spending Sunday in airports instead of in the Valley. Back soon though, with more riveting updates!

2 comments:

  1. Cokie,

    I had to laugh at your "librarian chain" (with you, not at you!) I started wearing them years ago when I was teaching, because even my bifocals were annoying to wear when I wasn't reading. Larry picked me up from school one day and my principal greeted us as we left. Looking at my chain he exclaimed, "Only librarians wear those." I pointed to Larry and my principal turned red.

    Also, tomato sandwiches as you make them are popular in this house, too! But we cannot grow catnip as our gardener cats demolish it before it has a chance to mature.

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  2. I've had my sunglasses on a string for years, and become anxious if the rope is missing. I haven't yet needed readers but my day is coming. till then I get longer arms.

    Wonder why chili is summer fare at our house?

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