Dahlias from the Saturday market
Hmmm, having my website back has not magically given me more time to write for it.
Last week was kind of a busy week. Not much cooking, too much eating, state library conference at the Kalahari Resort, featuring oblivious whiteness representations of Africa, in Wisconsin Dells, which itself is rife with oblivious whiteness representations of the First Peoples.
Monday I worked in the morning, and then went to prep the pantry meal in the afternoon, that I told you a bit about already. In the evening I had an online class meeting and then a connection check for the next day’s guest speaker in the other class – so that all took from 8:00 to about 9:30. I was going to make the leftover bbq tempeh from Mark’s party into a stirfry with the gorgeous shiitakes that Molly & David brought us, and other vegetables lurking in the fridge, but that seemed like too much work after cooking for the pantry, so I left everyone to fend for themselves. I ate a couple of the party stuffing balls and some cauliflower gratin I made Sunday night, and way too many gummy bears, before and after class.
Tuesday was a better day for me eating-wise, and I did finally make the stirfry for dinner.
Rach was here until Wednesday morning early. October 9, John & Al’s dad’s 70th birthday. And Yom Kippur, more tone deafness in scheduling on the part of the library association. I was up early, not as early as Rach, but early, to get over to Meredith’s on the east side to car pool to the library conference.
The library conference was its usual self – nice to see colleagues, nice people, stuck in an uncomfortable place with bad food.
Thursday I went to volunteer for the book sale. Our fearless leader, Jim Dast, hurt his back chopping wood while on vacation in Michigan, so I thought I’d be by myself, but Jim showed up with a cane and a back brace. I made sure not to let him pick anything up, and he let me crawl around and haul out CDs and DVDs while he priced the specials. Oh, and I got to throw away a bunch of crap – old yellowed Scholastic ed. paper back kids books, MCAT guides from the ’90s, self help. So satisfying to fling into the dumpster. Then back to the Kalahari for the awards ceremony. The last speaker, who got librarian of the year, spoke for FIFTEEN MINUTES. I gave away all my three of my committee’s literary awards in less time. I was thinking maybe we should take the award back.
Friday it was up early and back to Chicago for the symphony. We did kind of a high culture/low culture thing – train to the symphony, and a stop for coffee and split a PB&J. Then after the concert we went to the Revival Food Hall, and Mark had a meatloaf burger (which was good but a little too mushy) and cottage fries which we great, and I had a spinach stromboli, that had more mushroom than I expected, and a root beer. I took the bus back, took a picture of the Capitol from the window, and was home by 10:00.
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Saturday was my big day for grading, going to the Market and yoga, and doing something about all my kale and poblanos and squash. Just catching up, like I put flannel sheets on the bed, and did a bunch of laundry, and got batteries and a few extra front door keys made. Just as I got to the Market, my bike’s front tire went flat. I went around the market then walked my bike to my office and parked it under cover, and took the bus home, and had time to eat a banana before yoga. Then I went back with my car to get the bike, during the homecoming game, when everyone was in the game so there was traffic. Like I said a good day. Dinner at 8:30, folded laundry in front of TV, bed.
Then back to Chicago at 8:15 Sunday morning for the Opera. Barber of Seville. It was a fun production, humorous. This time we did breakfast before, then the show. We had to take the 6:30 train, and the power went out abut 3 stops before ours – the end of the line. It seems like we only lost about 30 minutes, but still it was awfully late when we got home – 10:30.
Apple pancakes & thick cut bacon, and Mark’s bacon benny off in the distance, at Cochon Volant.
Vaulted ceiling at the Palmer House – everything was crowded because of the Chicago Marathon and we needed a place to sit until the Opera, so we went there. Later Google maps asked me if I wanted to post my picture. ugh.
If I told you much about Monday and Tuesday, it would just be a similar litany of meetings, long days, too much to do ….. I got home at 8:30 on Monday, put my pajamas on and started cooking: made veggie broth and butternut squash chili and meatloaf that I put in the oven while I had online class on Tuesday. So we had a real dinner Tuesday, meatloaf, mashed squash, and green beans almondine. This pic is from last year, but they looked the same. Now I need to figure out what to do with the broccoli, cauliflower, and fennel from my last CSA box. Tomorrow I’ll be at the Friends Sale so no dinner, but there’re possibilities later in the week, and maybe the weekend. The tables looked a little empty after we unloaded everything at the sale this morning. All six of us can’t do the work of Jim.
