Not really a retired person’s schedule

Somehow last week got kinda busy. Monday and Tuesday weren’t so bad, and I told you about them the last post.

The rest of the week was the problem – three days in a row with all-day things, Wednesday Jasper, Thursday the state library conference, and Friday we went to Chicago for the symphony. Followed by selling DCFM cookbooks on Saturday and prep cooking for a cooking class on Sunday afternoon. And in the midst of all that, Saturday Mark had some kind of 24-hour bug, he thinks food poisoning but I’m not sure. The only things he ate Friday that I did not were his sausage bagel sandwich from Gotham in Chicago, and a couple of hunks of the Smitten Kitchen’s mom’s apple cake when we got home. I didn’t eat any apple cake; I had a salad, but I had a bite of his sandwich. His symptoms were that if he stood up he got dizzy and nauseated, which sounds more like sinus infection than food poisoning, but who knows. I composted the last of the cake later on Saturday.

So, yea Wednesday Jasper – a good day.

Thursday was the library conference and some things never change. We were out at a hotel/convention center with nothing really walkable close by. I tried going to Starbucks during one of the afternoon breaks, when the rain let up, but it had closed at 2:00. Lack of staffing I’m sure. Google maps still thought its hours were 6:00am-9:00pm, but the sign on the door, an 8 1/2 by 11 printed sheet of paper, said 5:30am-2:00pm. Maybe the biggest surprise was the hosted lunch – the standard slightly wilted salad and rolls were on the table, but when they brought the entree it was a big piece of meat, beef filet, with roasted potatoes that were actually quite tasty, and those steamed baby carrots that’re awful – you know big institutional kitchens take the bagged ones that are sorta OK raw and cook them and they’re awful. There had been coffee in the exhibit hall in the morning, and that ran out in seconds, I didn’t get any. And then at the snack break in the afternoon they gave us lemonade, and really gooey brownies, and lemon bars. Hence me walking to Starbucks to try to get more coffee. By the time I got back the bar was open, so it would have been easier for me to get a beer than coffee.

Friday we got up and got out of town and made the 9:20 train in Harvard. We got bagels at Gotham for lunch, and since it was still pretty warm in Chicago by then, sat and ate outside. The symphony was with a Danish conductor, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, I’d say guest but they’re all guests this year as CSO works on replacing Maestro Muti. In the first half, they played a long-lost Mahler piece that was very pretty, Blumine, that I guess at some point was the first or second movement of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, that they played in the second half, that Mark says is his favorite. We got the express train home, and Pia’s liaison had come by to visit and we all talked, and I ate salad and Mark ate cake.

So, all seemed fine until Saturday at about 4:00 when I went to tell Mark that due to all the prepping for the class, we were having baked sweet potato instead of the sweet potato soup I originally thought about making. And he replied, “Don’t make much dinner for me, please”.

So yea, all that cooking on Saturday was mostly prepping for class. Here’re the recipes. When I got home from selling the cookbook, I made the sponge for the pesto filled bread, and the dough for the little pumpkins and the butterflake loaf. Then I went and finished grocery shopping by car because I’d been so cold biking and selling the cookbook earlier, and because it was a late (big deal) football game, Ohio State. Bucky lost. Anyways, I thought I’d regret driving more than I did especially in the Whole Foods parking lot, but it was all pretty benign, plus the distilled water Mark needs for Katie cat’s fountain was on sale, 4 gallons for $5, and that would’ve been a bit difficult to carry on my bike.

The kittens curled up in Katie’s their box so they were helping while I cooked.

Like they’ve been helping me today while I write.

Monday they went to the vet. They got their shots and George has his appointment to be neutered on November 14. And this morning I walked to the Pick & Save to get Fancy Feast for hiding their de-wormer powder in. They ate it quite well. Gotta do it three days in a row now, and then again in 3 weeks. I’ll need more Fancy Feast.

Later on Monday Pia and I carved our pumpkins. She did the one she’d picked out when we went to Tipi’s gleaning day, and I did the little white one that fit in my bike pannier, that I got at the Farmer’s Market Saturday. The bigger one Mark and I bought at the market the week before has decided it won’t stand up so I didn’t want to carve that one. Lazy. It would’ve been A LOT of scooping to get all the guts out, too.

I felt a great sense of accomplishment after carving the pumpkins. Now we’ll see if any trick or treaters actually come by.

Last night Wilco played a tour ending show at Metro in Chicago, and I bought the livestream. I watched most of it last night, and the rest today. Lucy seems to really like Wilco, but both kittens decided it was good couch time to hang with me while I watched the show. I enjoyed watching the livestream a lot, I mean it’s Wilco, and I know all the songs and they were in Chicago and I love their interaction with the crowd, and I dunno, I just liked it. And realized today that it was kind of a private enjoyment, or just me & the kittens. Can’t really talk to Mark or Pia about it. Guess I can just tell you guys.

And tomorrow Jasper starts coming here for our granny daycare day. I think we’ll go to that little playground on Stevens for our walk if it’s not too cold.